We do love a live gig over here at Into Creative towers and it is fair to say there are some top notch bands about to hit the road across the U.K. and beyond in the coming weeks and months. There is nothing better than getting out to see an act in the flesh, the promise of a favourite song, the occasional bum note, the electricity and anticipation of “what next” and doing it all in the company of kindred souls (apart from those twats that insist on talking through gigs but that’s another article entirely). We bring you our top five gigs and we firmly believe (and know) that these are 100% gonna be great. So, read on and get yourself along to one of these shows (or more), you know it makes sense!
Artists: The Psychedelic Furs/Anja Huwe Venue: Glasgow Barrowland Date: 24 October 2025
Back in the early eighties, and barely into my teenage years I would be bundled into the family car and taken they twenty miles or so with my mum and dad to the Barras market. With a couple of quid in my pocket I’d head to the various stalls selling second hand records. It was here I first came across The Psychedelic Furs. The typography and colours on the sleeve of their 7″ single We Love You immediately got my attention, as did the name. What, “we love you”? Instantly intrigued, I flipped over to the back cover where the band proclaimed “The Psychedelic Furs are beautiful chaos“. Record duly purchased (I still have it) and so a long lasting relationship began. Indeed, upstairs from the market is the magnificent Barrowland Ballroom where I first saw the band live a few years later in October 1991 and here we are, some thirty-four years later with the band returning to the exalted venue for there next Scottish gig.
The Furs are as strong as ever, a truly magnificent live act who have a back catalogue few can match. I was fortunate enough to see them at the Forever Now festival in Milton Keynes Bowl back in June this year where the great and good of the alternative/post-punk scene were playing. The Furs were head and shoulders the best act on the day. Richard Butler’s voice remains a husky thing of beauty while the band behind him are so attuned to each other in their musical delivery it’s quite the thing to behold.
Eight albums in, tracks such as Heaven, Sister Europe and Pretty In Pink are sure to be played and hopefully a few from 2020’s Made Of Rain album, their last release to date which contains some absolute belters. We also recommend you get in early to see support act Anja Huwe. The former Xmal Deutschland vocalist will be playing her first U.K. dates in fifteen years.
The Psychedelic Furs play Glasgow Barrowland on 24th October. It is sure to be a beautiful chaos. For tickets, head to the band website here.
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Artist: His Lordship Venues: Edinburgh Bongo Club/ Glasgow Ivory Blacks Dates: 06 & 07 November 2025
At the end of every year Into Creative will relax, maybe pour a fine malt and ruminate on the year gone by and in particular to the memorable live gigs attended. 2024 was no different and right up at the top was a show I can only imagine was like being in the centre of a hurricane, the fans battered, bruised and utterly burst. Why? Well, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to His Lordship, an unhinged rock and roll band that play top notch tunes, leave nowt at the door and demand the same from their audience.
On the back of their self-titled debut album, His Lordship were live in the city, a smoking hot splurge of flame-thrower rock from front man James Walbourne and drummer Kristoffer Sonne. Having played with the likes of The Pogues, The Pretenders/Chrissie Hynd, these cats know how to put on a show and then some.
Fast forward to now and their second album Bored Animal (it’s great) has landed and the band are out on the road to promote it. Not long back from supporting Johnny Marr in the USA, this promises to be a loud and lively one. New single Johnny Ain’t Got No Beef is out 14th October and showcases the band at their finest, great guitar riffs and a solid backbeat prevail with Walbourne on fine vocal form.
Walbourne has been a long time collaborator with Edwyn Collins and Bored Animal was recorded in Collins studio in Helmsdale with Sean Reed and David Wrench involved in the production and mix. Clocking in at just thirty-eight minutes, the eleven tracks are unrelenting, solid rock and roll and simply DEMAND your attention.
For more on the album and the tour, head to the website here.
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Artist: Spear of Destiny Venues: Edinburgh The Caves/ Glasgow Oran Mor Dates: 15 & 16 October 2025
It’s only a few weeks ago Kirk Brandon was touring, including a Glasgow date with his other band Theatre of Hate. No time to rest and the singer/vocalist is back at it, this time with Spear of Destiny. It’s an incredible work ethic which has to be admired and it is not just playing live, the band have recently recorded Janus, an album which takes the best of the Outland (1987) and The Price You Pay (1988) albums and re-record them the way Brandon had originally envisaged.
It helps of course that the core of the band have been playing together solidly for a number of years and this comes across both on record and in the live environment. While other singers have had their vocal power diminish through time, that can never be labelled at Brandon, his chords still capable of reaching the high notes, a voice that in many ways defines the band. Adrian Portas on guitar adds dexterous licks, Phil Martini’s drumming on Embassy Song is intoxicating while Clive Osborne’s saxophone takes some tracks to another level, another dimension. Brass is often an underrated and perhaps a non-obvious part of a post-punk band’s set up, but here, it shines like a diamond and the Spear Of Destiny sound is all the better for it.
Janus is a double album and the band will be playing tracks from it on a twelve date U.K. tour. Spear of Destiny retain that last gang in town vibe and with tracks such as Land of Shame, The Price and Tinseltown possibly getting an airing, this is one show not to be missed.
Artist: Charm of Finches Venue: Glasgow Glad Cafe Dates: 04 March 2026
And just like that 2026 is on the horizon (where does the time go)? Yes, the dark nights are creeping in and while there are a few gigs to attend over the winter months, a wee look ahead and there are some decent concerts already taking shape in the new year. If you like your music with a drizzle of folk-pop, intertwined with heartfelt vocals, melodies and haunting harmonies then Australian sister duo Charm of Finches are the band for you!!
Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes make up the band and they’ve already released four long-players to date and have a strong reputation in their homeland, having landed plaudits and awards on a regular basis. Using chamber music, Americana and old Appalachian tunes as an inspirational nod, the Melbourne sisters hit the U.K. next February/March with fourteen dates lined up, the tour concluding at the Glad Cafe in Glasgow on 04th March.
With a fifth album in plan, the band said “Since our last UK tour in 2024, we’ve toured all around Australia, and it’s given us a chance to be inspired by new parts of the country we’ve never been to like northern Queensland, where the oldest tropical rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef. Then over to New Zealand, hiking up volcanoes. Immersing ourselves in nature is integral to our artistic practice, and we’re excited to share new songs and stories infused with the wonder of these landscapes. On our last UK tour, we connected with so many people and we can’t wait to visit again – singing in old churches, stuffing ourselves with English breakfast and patting highland cows. Then we’ll be writing songs by the windswept coasts and rugged mountains of Scotland, creating our fifth record.”.
Charm of Finches release a new single, Meteor on 14th November. For more detail on the tour and tickets, head to their website here.
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Artist: Ist Ist Venue: Glasgow Oran Mor Date: 29 November 2025
If you were going to a gig purely on the aesthetic appeal of the venue, Glasgow’s Oran Mor would clearly be in the mix. Add in the post-punk raw, industrial motorik sound of Ist Ist and it is quite possibly the perfect(o) combination. Incredible to think that the Mancunian four-piece have been making their unique music for over ten years now, during which time they have released four outstanding albums, the 2024 release, Light A Bigger Fire perhaps the best of the bunch (though I’m likely to change my mind with the weather, such is the consistency of their output).
Time doesn’t stand still though and their fifth album, Dagger is scheduled for release on 6th February and is preceded by the single I Am The Fear. Talking about the new album, guitarist Mat Peters said “We started working on the album as soon as we got back from the European tour in late 2024. The momentum you carry from a tour into the studio is powerful and you’re still in that live headspace, so the music you write in those moments tends to be more visceral. You go with the flow a little bit more rather than it being methodical. What you end up with is a collection of songs already primed for the stage.”
The new single is a head-swimmer of tuneage, the whirring ripple of keyboards to start before a buzzsaw guitar kicks in to support Adam Houghton’s deadpan vocal, the rhythm section quietly bossing the direction of what is one of the best songs released in 2025, it is that good.
For more on the new album, single and tickets to the upcoming tour, head to the Ist Ist website here.
