Frank and Dougie take on the full Oasis 2027 spectacle: from Liam and Noel looking gloriously out of place in Venice, to the surprisingly emotional Don’t Look Back in Anger cinema documentary, to the utterly ridiculous modern ritual of trying to buy Oasis tickets. Frank brings personal memories of seeing the band in Hong Kong and Frankfurt, while Dougie explains why Oasis in Manchester are less a band and more a permanent state of mind. Funny, sarcastic, nostalgic and slightly exasperated — just as it should be.

In this episode of Echoes and Encores, Frank treks through the Frankfurt forest to a football stadium packed with 30,000 neon-clad survivors of the 1980s. What starts as a high-stakes nostalgia trip quickly turns into a night of industrial-grade pyrotechnics, heroic stage presence, and spectacular engineering failures—both musical and sartorial.

Frank reviews a marathon lineup including a silver-wrapped Martin Fry, a powerhouse performance from Alphaville, and Tony Hadley, who turned the stadium into a giant pub singalong while dodging a surprisingly large piece of airborne lingerie. He also deconstructs the Boy George disaster, where earpiece glitches and an 'overdressed hobbit' aesthetic led to a dramatic backstage disappearance, leaving Holly Johnson to save the day with a riot of Frankie Goes to Hollywood hits. It’s funny, loud, slightly sweaty, and proof that even in 35-degree heat, the 80s still know how to start a fire.

Frank heads to Berlin for night one of The Cure’s three-show run at Parkbühne Wuhlheide—and, naturally, nothing goes quite to plan. What was supposed to be a simple one-night trip turns into a three-day father-son Berlin adventure, complete with impossible ticket hunts, flying ants in the queue, Cure crowd-watching, and a surprise backstage drama when Simon Gallup is suddenly unable to perform. Luckily, his son Eden steps in on bass, the newer songs quietly disappear from the set, and the reward is nearly two and a half hours packed with classics, Disintegration highlights, and a truly massive Plainsong opener. Add in a bit of accidental Cure spotting at the Ritz-Carlton, and you’ve got one of those wonderfully imperfect music trips that ends up being even better because of the chaos.

In this episode, Frank heads to Bonn for Madness at the open-air venue Kunst!Rasen and, in true style, manages to turn a regular standing ticket into a front-of-stage view by spotting a gap in the system and taking his chance. From the support acts The Slapstickers and The Lottery Winners to Madness themselves, this is a full review of a night packed with ska, comedy, gold jackets, classic hits and just the right amount of barely controlled chaos.

Frank talks about Suggs still delivering with suit, sunglasses and robotic charm, Lee Thompson behaving like a man permanently one bad idea away from falling off the stage, and why Madness remain one of those bands who don’t need reinvention when the old magic still works. It’s funny, nostalgic, slightly illegal in places, and proof that sometimes the best concert stories begin before the music even starts.

Frank takes us to Stuttgart for a very hot, very entertaining night with Duran Duran, finally ticking off one of the biggest gaps in his live music history. From the band’s glossy rise in the early eighties to a concert that doubled as his wife’s birthday present, this episode mixes sharp memories, affectionate sarcasm, and a proper fan’s view from the front of stage. There’s praise for the setlist, admiration for the band’s staying power, a few words about Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes, and one major complaint about the mysterious absence of The Union of the Snake.

Welcome to the debut of Echoes & Encore.

I’m Frank, and after forty years chasing live music across Germany and Europe, I’ve decided it’s time to share the stories. This isn't just a trip down memory lane; it’s a celebration of the bands that defined us and the new sounds that keep us listening.

In this introductory volume, we meet the team:

• Frank (The Host): A concert veteran with a penchant for stadium anthems, the German music scene, and an enduring obsession with The Cure.

• Dougie (The Northerner): Our guide to the essential sounds of Scotland, Ireland, and the legendary Manchester/Liverpool axis.

• Spike (The Rebel): A veteran of the underground who lives for the raw energy of punk and the atmospheric depths of dark-wave.

We explore our roots, our territories, and exactly why we’re likely to spend most of this series arguing over tracklists.

Pull up a chair. Get comfortable. And prepare to disagree with almost everything we’re about to say.

Welcome to Echoes & Encore.