Live4Ever - Singles of the Year 2021

The last 12 months have been, if nothing else, a year of extremes.

Although the first three felt like a year – the usual January blues maximised and extended to an intolerable degree with lockdown for a whole season – as the spring arrived, society began to slowly re-awaken.

But it wasn’t until late July that music fans could finally get to a full-blooded, cheek-to-jowl sweaty gig. Sadly, some real heavyweights didn’t live to see them, with the sad passing of Charlie Watts, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Don Everly amongst the fallen.

Since the summer it’s been about making up for lost time as venues have struggled to accommodate a backlog which includes the cancelled tours from 2020 and shows from acts with albums released during the pandemic. While the venues were surely happy just to make some money again, there is a real risk that some burgeoning creatives have been stifled.

Yet, compared to where we were a year ago, it’s a nice problem to have, albeit less so for the artists themselves who struggle to make a living without playing live.

The Broken Record campaign has made some real inroads in 2021, with parliamentary debates and actions following a report into the allocation of profits, which is nothing less than excellent news. (Note to Tom Gray: if you could get a ban on Spotify Unwrapped while you’re at it, that would be ace.)

Sadly, the other main revenue for artists (merchandise) is also suffering because of a backlog, with delays at vinyl manufacturers of approximately six months as the format’s revival stutters.

Which makes it all the more frustrating when there is so much great new music around, as our Best Tracks list is once again testament to: The Lounge Society picked up the accolade of our song of 2020 with ‘Generation Game’ and feature highly once again with the marauding glam-rock of ‘Cain’s Heresy’. Their debut album, when it arrives, should be something special indeed.

https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2021/12/live4ever-tracks-2021-dry-cleaning/