THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR SUMMER SPECIAL 2026

We’ve reached the middle of 2026 already, and for the first half of the year, submissions to our Singles Bar have been coming in fast. Naturally, there hasn’t been the time to highlight everything we’ve enjoyed from week to week, and a lot of great tracks have not made the cut. Passing these by would be an absolute tragedy, so, as is traditional at the end of June, we’ve pulled some of the “best of the rest” together for our SB Summer Special! These were picked from a staggering 230 track selection, but we feel they best capture the Singles Bar spirit. We hope you can spare the time to explore this selection of tunes, and as always, hope you find something new to enjoy. Remember: good music does not have a sell-by date!

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STATUS QUO – The Early Years Vol 2 (1970-1972)

As any big Quo fan knows, the band’s early recordings for Pye Records have been milked to death for the reissue market. From cheapo compilations to multi disc sets, it’s felt as if Pye era material has always been an easy licence for anyone hoping to make a quick quid. Most of the compilations are a little lacking, but occasionally a decent one will creep through, and BMG’s 2024 release ‘The Early Years, Volume 1’ did the best job ever, presenting a 5CD box set rounding up pretty much everything from the band’s archives from between 1966 and 1969.

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REAL GONE GOES OUT: Bowling For Soup – Dreamland, Margate, Kent 25/6/2026

When Bowling For Soup played in Brighton on their ‘Together Again! You’re Welcome’ tour, the show became notable for three reasons: the tour marked the last time guitarist Chris Burney would visit the UK as a touring musician; the band managed to hit the Sussex coast just as Storm Dennis hit and it was interesting to see fans of all ages and sizes struggling to navigate the seafront and actually get into the venue (at one point, it wasn’t even a guarantee it would be safe to leave once the gig was over), but most importantly – although nobody knew this at the time – this would be the last big night “out out” for many, since everything went into a lengthy pandemic lockdown just a few weeks later.

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Watch: Lost Velvet share new video for ‘Right Back’

The first thing that’s striking about ‘Right Back’, the current single from Reading based newcomers Lost Velvet, is how perfect it sounds. The rhythm track cracks through the slow arrangement with a genuine edge that’s rather striking. It contrasts the mellow music and hazy vocals brilliantly. The second thing you’ll likely note is how quickly this band are able to set up a great atmosphere: the sharp production contrasting with the trippy vocal sounds evokes a great mood even before the first verse has reached its climax.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #162

Welcome back to the Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the past few weeks. This time around we have the return of a superb instrumental act, some fine retro sounding darkwave, a nod to shoegaze, an interesting offering from a low-key singer songwriter…and more. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!

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