LEMONSUCKR + GOODBYE + GIRL APOCRYPHA + NOT RICHARD & HER MAJESTY – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 31.10.26
Halloween night is a busy one for us as we have hot-footed it from the nearby Hope & Ruin where local heroes Penelope Isles were playing the first of two headline shows today, and that finished a mere 13 minutes ago (Review HERE).
We are now located at the dingiest darkest most cobweb ridden dungeon of a venue, the unique Green Door Store for their “Halloweiner” bash, where they take spookiness very seriously! Tonight they have collated a devilishly ghoulish lineup for this year’s Halloween night, and best of all it’s a free entry affair to those who have appropriately dressed up! Otherwise those in normal attire were respectfully charged £5 each on entry. So fire up your cauldrons, cast your spells and grab your broomsticks as we delve into the night’s scary proceedings!
The venue has curated a spellbinding lineup of a quartet of local bands, who are each very different in their own ways. This evening we shall be seeing Lemonsuckr, Goodbye, Girl Apocrypha, and Not Richard & Her Majesty. Tonight is very much about dressing up and having fun, so the visual side of things arguably took precedence over the audible side. It was to become very much a party affair, that at times skirted with danger, blood and gore…I kid you not!
First up were Not Richard & Her Majesty who really knew how to get the party started! With a “Good afternoon you motherf*ckers!” from lead vocalist/guitarist Rich Fownes, they got under away and immediately Rich leaps off the stage and is in amongst the crowd. We have reviewed this act before, but this is my debut encounter with this Brighton based Glam-Punk Queer Doo Wop band, who are certainly causing quite a stir on the circuit. It’s certainly going to be a memorable one!
There’s a half dozen souls up on stage, four of whom I’m afraid I don’t know their names. Their tools of the trade are Rich Fownes (lead vocals, guitar), Phoebe Bentham (keyboards, vocals, laptop), Unknown (drums), Unknown (guitar, vocals), Unknown (bass) and Unknown (vocals tambourine). They reward us with an 8 tune set, which starts with the drumming led twangy guitarred ‘Beautiful’ from 2026’s ‘Success & Fulfilment’ album. Some members are seriously dressed, or should that actually read undressed for a party, there’s much flesh on show, and I can see that our photos are going to have to be very carefully selected!
Track two is the rock’n’roller anthem that is ‘Everything Explodes’ from 2025’s ‘Not Hot’ EP, which now sees the scantily clad Phoebe Bentham heading off into the crowd. Tune three certainly caught my attention as the band summoned their innermost Ramones, and with its frenetic drumming start and a “1,2,3,4” they unleashed ‘My Twink Death’ from ‘Success & Fulfilment’, which is a standout track of the set. ‘Something Savoury’ from their ‘Not Hot’ EP is up next and this has a 70’s surf and blues beat with lashings of 70’s Bowie dramatic theatrical bent.
Rich introduces the next number as “about being a slut”, its title is ‘It’s You, Soul Stew’ and it can be found on ‘Success & Fulfilment’. It’s a slower paced tune than their previous tracks and benefits from retro sounding keys. “You ready to dance Brighton” Rich yells and they dive into ‘My Mess’ from ‘Not Hot’ with more retro sounding keys. A mosh pit seriously kicks off and the tambourine player has a go in the crowd. Another rockin’ tune is unleashed in the form of ‘A Song About Being A Parasite’ from ‘Success & Fulfilment’, which is a real hip swinger that benefits from joint vocals.
The crowd are totally onboard tonight and are as much the spectacle as the band, that is until the final number, ‘Not Hot’ from ‘Success & Fulfilment’ which we are informed is about “rebirth”. There’s a vocals, keys and bass intro and then boom, the beat goes Black Sabbath rock style and back again. Rich jumps on top of one of the floor standing speakers which topples off stage and lands at our photographer’s feet as I managed to pull her clear, unlike Rich who lands on the cobblestone floor and has clearly done some damage. There’s blood and so it could be a poorly kneecap or shin, but the show must go on. Looking back up on stage, I now witness Phoebe smashing up the equipment and bashing the synth stand against the back wall, in true Basil Fawlty Austin 1100 Countryman fashion. Once back up on stage Rich attacked the guitar foot pedals, which certainly got a good seeing to. It was a crazy ending and I think that prior to this last tune that Rich had said something about not playing for a while, and so had we all just witnessed the implosion of this exciting band? God I hope not, as these would be the perfect support for Martin Degville’s Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic.
Provided that the band members have recovered in time, their next local bash is showing up as being at Daltons on Friday 6th November with Delivery and Painkillers – Tickets HERE. Failing that you can catch them as part of the Hidden Herd showcase at The Hope & Ruin on Wednesday 27th January, that also features The DSM IV, Sounds Mint, and Blitzer.
Not Richard & Her Majesty:
Rich Fownes – lead vocals, guitar
Phoebe Bentham – keyboards, vocals, laptop
Unknown – drums
Unknown – guitar, vocals
Unknown – bass
Unknown – vocals tambourine
Not Richard’s & Her Majesty setlist:
‘Beautiful’ (from 2026 ‘Success & Fulfilment’ album)
‘Everything Explodes’ (from 2025 ‘Not Hot’ EP)
‘My Twink Death’ (from 2026 ‘Success & Fulfilment’ album)
‘Something Savoury’ (from 2025 ‘Not Hot’ EP)
‘It’s You, Soul Stew’ (from 2026 ‘Success & Fulfilment’ album)
‘My Mess’ (from 2025 ‘Not Hot’ EP)
‘A Song About Being A Parasite’ (from 2026 ‘Success & Fulfilment’ album)
‘Not Hot’ (from 2026 ‘Success & Fulfilment’ album)
The second act on the bill this evening is rising Brighton-based alternative/grunge-pop project Girl Apocrypha who I have very recently seen, but this evening there seems to be an extended lineup in operation, clearly they have pulled out all the stops for this evening’s all too brief circa half hour set.
On stage we have Emia Demir on vocals (who is formerly of the band Rottweiler), Nathan Hayward on drums and Molly (whose surname I don’t know) on bass, a trio who I witnessed paying at Volks on 8th October, but there’s no Willow Simpson on guitar this evening, but there is a guitarist, plus there’s a keyboardist on Korg and other keys plus laptop, as well as two singers, one of whom was the guest singer the other night.
The band have put together a special performance for this evening and prior to taking to the stage, they had handed around psalm hymn sheets for folk to sing along to. The theatrics commence with Emia in clown fancy dress pretending to be dead and being held up by the two guest vocalists. Words are said and she comes alive, the two vocalists vacate the stage at this juncture and the musicians begin with the unreleased ‘I Love You Even When You Don’t Like Me’. After which we are welcomed to the Halloween spooktacular and the funky keys and bass guitar slaps are in action for their popular ‘Madonna’ single. A second yet to be released track comes next, this being the funky bouncy rocker ‘Me + U’. I note that Emia attaches a small black box to her hip area and this unit doubles her vocal delivery when required, which is pretty cool.
From here on in, it really was Halloween and scariness, as they performed a medley of covers. First up was Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’ which then segued right into Rockwell’s ‘Somebody’s Watching Me’. I hadn’t ever imagined hearing these tracks together before, but it blimmin’ well worked! Gone was Emia’s crown outfit in preference for her goth clothing, but this was then covered up by a white bridal gown.
The two guest vocalists returned to the stage and there was a skit about Girl Apocrypha (aka Emia) being crowned the Green Door Store Queen, which of course she was! After this the hymn sheets were required as they and many of the crowd sang the National Anthem. Not having procured a songsheet, I’m not exactly sure whether they actually stuck to any of the exact wording! Emia produced a fake blood sachet and bit into it and the blood covered her white dress, which certainly made her look the part! They signed off with one more tune, this also being a cover, this time around it is Blue Oyster Cult’s ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’. Sweets were thrown into the crowd and confetti cannons were let off. A carefully thought out set, so hats off to them!
Girl Apocrypha will be headlining The Folklore Rooms on Friday 20th November – Purchase your tickets HERE.
Girl Apocrypha:
Emia Demir – vocals
Molly – bass
Nathan Hayward – drums
Unknown – guitar
Unknown – keyboards, laptop
Unknown – vocals
Unknown – vocals
Girl Apocrypha setlist:
‘I Love You Even When You Don’t Like Me’ (unreleased)
‘Madonna’ (a 2026 single)
‘Me + U’ (unreleased)
‘Psycho Killer’ / ‘Somebody’s Watching Me’ (Talking Heads cover / Rockwell cover)
‘God Save The King’ (National Anthem)
‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ (Blue Oyster Cult cover)
The third act on the bill this evening are Goodbye whose very first concert we proudly covered. Tonight we are in their company for 32 minutes (from 8:39pm to 9:11pm) and in that space of time we are given 7 selections, one of which being a very pleasant surprise indeed. Goodbye are all in fancy dress tonight and they comprise Megan Wheeler (vocals), Sarah Ryan (electric & acoustic guitars, vocals), Alfie Beer (who I barely recognised on guitar, vocals), Jake Smith (bass), Elik Eddy (drums). During their set they invite up their friend Megan Thompson as an impromptu dancer. I’m guessing it’s not the first time Megan has been up on the stage on account of her previously working in the venue.
The band take to the stage as ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ by Kiss was booming out of the soundsystem, which really got the punters in the mood. I would have preferred the 1998 cover of the song by German techno happy hardcore outfit Scooter. The opening guitar notes and solid drumming sound like Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, but this rapidly gives way to the traditional Goodbye sound which sits between shoegaze shimmer, post-punk grit and upbeat jangling indie. This sound is a moody mix of reverb-drenched guitars, brooding basslines and keyboards, over which cut through emotionally raw vocals that reflect and soar in equal measure. This opener is the first of two cuts in a row from their 2026 ‘These Things Take Time’ EP, this being ‘Meat’.
The drumming led ‘13a’ is tune two and with a scream it sounds like Siouxsie And The Banshees (remember that), and then this gives away to a more quieter affair. Megan Wheeler’s vocals sit nicely atop the buzzing unreleased ‘Iron’, which is followed by another yet to be recorded number, this being ‘With You’. They inform us that this track has only ever yet been played in the Netherlands, which is where they have just come from. Sarah kicks this one off with an acoustic guitar strum and it reminds me of The Sundays. Megan Wheeler joins Sarah on joint vocals and this works very nicely. If this is a sign of what is to come from the band, then I would suggest that they are very much a band who are on the up! Not surprisingly, I’m not alone and this is the best received tune thus far.
It’s next that Megan Thompson is requested to join the band for something a little special, their rendition of Siouxsie And The Banshees’ ‘Spellbound’, which witnesses rapid guitar and drums interplay. They absolutely nailed it, it was a truly fabulous rendition, and can I urge the band to seriously keep this version in their future sets, as it makes the band even more urgent! The track hasn’t dated and it’s so right for them! We are then teased that the next number might very well be their next future single, according to their setlist, it’s called ‘Switchblade’ and it’s where the band’s sound meets goth, another enjoyable listen! They bid us farewell and leave us by stating that the next tune is the first song they ever wrote, it’s ‘Benji’s Collar’ which turned up on this year’s ‘These Things Take Time’ EP. It has a very quiet beginning with Tracy Thorn (Everything But The Girl) sounding vocals, until the drums come crashing in, and then the song becomes a totally different beast. I must say that this has been the most enjoyable Goodbye set that I’ve had the pleasure of watching and listening to. Plus you could tell that the whole band were really having fun tonight, judging by their big beaming smiles and laughter, especially from Sarah.
Goodbye will be featuring at Chalk on Thursday 21st January as part of the unusual ‘Bryne’s Night’. Further information on that and tickets can be found HERE.
Goodbye:
Megan Wheeler – vocals
Sarah Ryan – electric & acoustic guitars, vocals
Alfie Beer – guitar, vocals
Jake Smith – bass
Elik Eddy – drums
Megan Thompson – impromptu dancer
Goodbye setlist:
(Intro tape) ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ by Kiss
‘Meat’ (from 2026 ‘These Things Take Time’ EP)
‘13a’ (from 2026 ‘These Things Take Time’ EP)
‘Iron’ (unreleased)
‘With You’ (unreleased)
‘Spellbound’ (Siouxsie And The Banshees cover)
‘Switchblade’ (unreleased)
‘Benji’s Collar’ (from 2026 ‘These Things Take Time’ EP)
It was finally time for this evening’s headliners to take to the stage! Lemonsuckr are securely entrenched within my Top 5 Brighton bands at the moment. They relocated to Brighton two years ago under the banner of Rugrat, but now there really is a big buzz around this exciting outfit.
Lemonsuckr are Guy Ferris (vocals, tambourine), Ollie Thomas (guitar), Oscar Post (guitar), Matt Saunders (drums), and Jake Andrews (bass). They are sometimes joined by Matt Gleeson on synth, but there’s no synth action this evening. Together play music that makes you want to move around, sing along, dance, and on occasions mosh too. Their sound is quite unique and frequently incorporates Middle Eastern-influenced riffs, achieving synth-like guitar tones by using specialised guitar pedals. They have two real quality EP’s to their name, last year’s ‘H.E.A.T.’ and this year’s ‘Life Is A Heist’.
The atmosphere in the Green Door Store has become electric, with extra folk turning up at the last minute and filling the performance room to full capacity and beyond. We are now packed in like sardines and it’s going to get lively….very lively….very, very lively!
We are in their company for 34 minutes, from 9:40pm to close of play at 10:14pm, when folk are encouraged to vacate the premises as there is a club night starting at 11pm and running through the wee small hours. After we exit ourselves, there is already a sizeable queue of happy Halloween revellers waiting to get in. Lemonsuckr have also dressed up and the band have gone for the nuns look and frontman Guy is dressed as a bishop (or something like that).
Matt sets off a preset on the sampler and church bells are heard and the lads stand at the front of the stage in a standing praying position. They partake of some holy water and indeed we are anointed ourselves. They can now begin, with Guy shouting “How we doing Green Door?”. We can spy their setlists, but they go and surprise us by adding an additional opening tune, this being the unreleased ‘Fear The Children’, with its solid drumming action. It’s a solid start! But the intensity increased with ‘Instant Kinks’ from 2025’s ‘H.E.A.T.’ EP with its earworm “whooos”, which the punters in the know join in on. The crowd is bouncing, people are jostled, it’s getting lively.
The unreleased fast Arabic sounds of ‘Werk’ are selection three, which is followed by the first cut from their latest ‘Life Is A Heist’ EP, this being ‘Stain’ and the room erupts! The fast booming dance beats of the unreleased ‘Sedated’ comes next, followed by another yet to be released number in the form of the shouty vocaled ‘Crashing Out’, which sees Guy literally dive off of the stage and go crowd surfing. There are some people on other people’s shoulders and euphoria is filling the air.
Their penultimate selection is the title tune from their debut ‘H.E.A.T.’ EP, which is a slow starter with just two guitars and tambourine, and then erupts with the earworm chorus lyrics of “Hotel Echo Alpha Tango; Tango Tango Tango Tango”. Mid tune Guy demands that we all crouch down and they on the signal jump up like Jack-In-The-Boxes. It’s a simple trick, but it always works and gets the punters further onside. The song then incorporates part of The Specials ‘Ghost Town’ before reverting back to ‘H.E.A.T.’ again.
After this, Guy then informs the crowd that Lemonsuckr don’t do encores, so that we had better make the final number count! Talk about a call to arms or what! As the opening notes of ‘Rugrat’ from ‘Life Is A Heist’ EP commence there’s utter mayhem on stage as well as off stage. We do try and get in amongst the action for the best photos and a reviewers birdseye view, but tonight I wish I hadn’t, as I love to feel the music through my body as well as hearing it. Thus I was resting my hands on top of one of the floor speakers (the same own that was decked by Not Richard & Her Majesty earlier), when guitarist Oscar moved across from his position and endeavouring to stand on top of the speaker, it immediately gave way and his whole body and guitar came crashing down onto my hands. I immediately knew that he had done damage as I felt sick. I believe he’s broken one of my fingers! Mind you he really must have hurt himself too, but he played on, such was the adrenalin. Vocalist Guy had a bloodied leg as well, but at least they gave me a go on the cowbell again.
So in summary the Green Door Store Halloweiner doesn’t specialise in fake blood, it delivers the real thing! Despite the injuries, it had been a bloody good night out, so well done to all involved!
Lemonsuckr’s next Sussex concert will be taking place at ‘Rockaway Beach’ at Butlins Bognor on 8th January 2027, where for my money both them and Mouth Ulcers are the best acts on the bill so far! Tickets HERE.
Lemonsuckr:
Guy Ferris – lead vocals, tambourine, cowbell
Ollie Thomas – guitar, backing vocals, cowbell
Oscar Post – guitar, backing vocals, cowbell
Matt Saunders – drums, samples
Jake Andrews – bass
Nick Linazasoro – guest cowbell player
Lemonsuckr setlist:
‘Fear The Children’ (unreleased)
‘Instant Kinks’ (from 2025 ‘H.E.A.T.’ EP)
‘Werk’ (unreleased)
‘Stain’ (from 2026 ‘Life Is A Heist’ EP)
‘Sedated’ (unreleased)
‘Crashing Out’ (unreleased)
‘H.E.A.T.’ (from 2025 ‘H.E.A.T.’ EP, with elements of ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials)
‘Rugrat’ (from 2026 ‘Life Is A Heist’ EP)
