Arguably Britain’s finest R’n’B music act, Dr. Feelgood, have announced that they will be very shortly returning to play live here in Sussex. In fact, the date is a mere two weeks away!
That’s not the only exciting thing, as you can add to that, their selected venue this time around. It’s a mere 10 minute train ride north of Brighton and the venue is amazingly situated right in the station car park! Perfect! I feel some ‘Milk And Alcohol’ coming on if that’s your thing!
Dr. Feelgood will be appearing on Friday 17th September 2021 at a venue called the Mid Sussex Music Hall which has a standing capacity for 230 people and is situated at Hassocks Station Car Park, Station Approach East. There is ample free parking very close to the venue should you decide to drive (put in BN6 8HN to your sat nav) or if you fancy a pleasant train ride then that’s a great option too.
For the train option, the off-peak day return tickets from Brighton Station to Hassocks Station and back again are currently showing as only £5.10 and £6.90. The most ideal train appears to be the ten minute journey one (with no changes) that leaves from Brighton Station at 7:55pm and arrives at Hassocks Station at 8:05pm. The venue doors would have been open for just five minutes! There are several trains back to Brighton after the gig has finished, for example, the 11:52pm Hassocks Station train will arrive back at Brighton Station just ten minutes later at 12:02am. Check out the information HERE.
Dr. Feelgood formed on Canvey Island in Essex in the early 1970s and remains one of the most popular and exciting live R’n’B acts in the world. Their raw and uncompromising style during their live performances resulted in the 1976 released album entitled ‘Stupidity’, which was recorded at the Sheffield City Hall on 23rd May 1975 and at the Southend Kursaal on 8th November 1975. It was the first ever live album to go to No.1 in the UK chart in its first week of release.
Dr. Feelgood have also enjoyed global success with a string of hit singles including ‘Milk And Alcohol’, which hit inside the UK singles Top 10 and was at the time available in a brown vinyl edition (as in alcohol) and a white vinyl edition (as in milk) – mine’s brown! Other hit singles included ‘Roxette’, ‘Back In The Night’, ‘Down At The Doctors’, ‘She Does It Right’, ‘Going Back Home’ and ‘See You Later Alligator’ – which gave the group their first gold record.
The last album to feature lead vocalist Lee Brilleaux – ‘Down At The Doctors’, was recorded live at the Dr. Feelgood Music Bar on Canvey Island, (now the site of the Oysterfleet Hotel located at 21 Knightswick Road,) just two months before he died in 1994.
According to Wikipedia, the current Dr. Feelgood line up features the rhythm section Kevin Morris on drums and Phil Mitchell on bass (both with 37 years service in the band), Steve Walwyn on guitar (31 years), and Robert Kane (formerly vocalist of The Animals from 1994-99) the most recent addition – joining in 1999. Although I did hear that local boy Gordon Russell has re-joined on guitar, having originally served in the band from 1983 to 1989.
Julien Temple’s film ‘Oil City Confidential’ released in 2nd February 2010, tells the story of the bands formative years featuring the Wilko Johnson era.
May 2011 saw the digitally remastered re-release of ‘Chess Masters’ originally released in 2000 on EMI Records … the band’s tribute to the Chess label, home to many of the finest blues artists of the 20th century and the first Dr. Feelgood album to feature Robert on vocals.
Read the Brighton & Hove News gig report from their last Brighton concert HERE.
For tickets to see Dr. Feelgood live at Mid Sussex Music Hall in Hassocks click HERE.
More info on Dr. Feelgood – www.drfeelgood.org
