We're pleased to be bringing SLUG to the Deaf Institute - for a Halloween special!

Having released his debut album Ripe in April of this year, SLUG – aka Sunderland’s Ian Black, ably supported by a revolving cast of Sunderland’s finest – have plotted a brand new set of dates across coming months. Coming up are appearances at Green Man and Festival No 6, dates in Edinburgh and Manchester with FFS (having been handpicked by Alex Kapranos), not to mention their own headline jaunt across the country in October.

To celebrate, SLUG have released a brand new track, continuing in the grand tradition of North East bands covering Kate Bush. This time, SLUG tackle The Big Sky. Ian Black explains: ‘The approach was not try to match the majestic original (for I would have lost… badly) and have some fun with it. It has Rundgren pianos, daft synthesisers, a Led Zeppelin breakdown and myself struggling with the vocal delivery that only Kate would be able to pull off so brilliantly. Hope you enjoy it.’

About this show, Black adds: 'Since Manchester has been very sweet to me and my band over the last year and with the Deaf Institute show falling on Halloween I think it's only fair to provide a one-off treat!' SLUG will be doing two sets, he explains: 'The first set will be a selection of songs from my debut album and the second set will be a performance of a selection of works which are dear to me from the world of 1970s horror films. So if you enjoy the aural delights from the brains of horror composers such as Goblin, Fabio Frizzi, Andrzej Korzynski and Riz Ortolani among others, feel free to dress up and join us.'

Support comes from Manchester-based three-piece Hey Bulldog. Multi-talented musician Rob Manton named his venture after the last song that all the Beatles recorded in a room together, recorded the debut EP, New York City Blues, by himself with the help of a drum machine. Finding a pair of likeminded cohorts Matt Parry (bass) and Ben Howarth-Lees (drums), Manton turned Hey Bulldog into an outstanding live bluesy three-piece psychedelic rock band known for their musicianship and live improvisations. The latest single Makin Friends Not Millionaires, which was mixed by EMI producers Boe Weaver (Archie Bronson Outfit, Pete Molinari, Whyte Horses, Wolf People), was named in Little Indie Blogs Best New Releases of the week and was Killing Moon’s Track Of The Day. After being exclusively revealed on XFM, it had multiple plays from John Kennedy on XFM Xposure and BBC Introducing, plus it was featured on BBC 6 Music Recommends with Steve Lamacq.

This show is for ages 14+. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.