Prestopia

I've spoken before about the thing, and how that can stop our beloved The Ferret from becoming yet more student accommodation in the greasy hands of some property developer who doesn't give a s**t about culture or goodness.

Time, however, is getting a bit tight - the Ferret's stay of ex*****on has nearly come to an end and the building will be able to go on the market again, and from there... well it's likely only a very short matter of time.

So all hope is lost. F**K NO - hope, my friends, springs eternal.

The Ferret is on one final, desperate push to raise £150k to make up the shortfall and enable them to have a serious crack at owning the building to secure the future of the venue, and in time to expand the building into becoming a protected cultural hub for Preston.

Every band on this page has played The Ferret or a place like it, they probably got their first live show at a Ferret. It's ours and it matters more than ever after this country spent all its financial and emotional capital in becoming as s**t as it possibly could.

So - I assume that if you like Prestopia, you like and give a s**t about music. If that's the case, then PLEASE donate to try to save The Ferret.

#SaveTheFerret - Time's up! The final push! Help us Save The Ferret, transferring it into community ownership & ensuring we can host live music for generations to come.

You know what? I'm going to suggest you listen to one of my bands! Yeah! I've been coding for days, so it only seems fair. From 2005-2012 and through a constantly revolving door of membership, we were Bikini Black Special.

It's hard to pick a personal favourite out of the stuff we recorded (full disclosure, there's a lot) but I was particularly proud of Physioterrorists, which was written and recorded as I recovered from a smashed ankle with a giant metal frame stuck on my leg and a near endless supply of dihydrocodeine.

Anyways, here we are, as we were: Bikini Black Special

Bikini Black Special - Prestopia

They said "never forget about Star 27" and it's safe to say nobody ever did. Without a doubt one of the finest bands of their era in Preston, this brainchild of Frank Beaver was a piano led wondershow of devilishly memorable tunes. Of particular note are "Diceman", "Bukowski's Secret" and of course their king of tracks, "Find A Bridge". Get them in your ears now.

Star 27 - Prestopia