Henge – who are they? Where do they come from?

words Lee Taylor

I usually don’t respond to personal requests from bands, but this case seemed different. These guys had all been born on different worlds and after one environmental catastrophe or aggressive act they had had to abandon their home planet. They all ended up here on Earth, in Manchester to be precise.

henge music

As a way to make money and survive in our cutthroat world they decided to form a band. It made sense in such a musical city. This way they could feed and clothe themselves and also entertain us earthlings.

So I headed to the venue admittedly with some trepidation. I had never met alien lifeforms before and wasn’t sure of the culture I’d encounter or the etiquette required.

What to say about Henge? Well I was intrigued by what I’d heard. It was promising to see the place packed. There was a certain anticipation in the air. Many of these people had been before. Others must have caught on by word of mouth or personally invited as had I been.

henge band

A certain worry in my mind. Bands that are just built around a witty concept often tend to collapse under the weight of their own hilarity. I clamped firmly down my nagging doubts.

I had no reason to doubt though as Henge are quite brilliant. They really get into the stories they’ve woven around themselves. Yes they dress up but they play it all straight. They are not joking. They really are from planets beyond our solar system. The singer is more like a lead spokesman for the band of aliens. He does join in and even wield a demon axe sometimes. He looks a bit ancient interplanetary druid to me but has a glass orb on his head. The music is apparently programmed from the brainwaves inside this orb.

henge manchester

Yes we know it’s not real but we choose to believe. They are really good musically. If they weren’t then the whole edifice would collapse. It’s very infectious and quite dance-able too. They are the leader -backed with live drums and two brilliant aliens twiddling away on laptops and keyboards – different kinds of alien though. They’re are not from the same planet remember. Some alien ladies dressed as mushrooms came on as backing dancers during the set which was a lovely reference to how we should value our natural planet (or so I think).

They are here to entertain us humans. We humans thank them for it. We laughed, we danced, we felt part of something. We felt transported.

Tags:

You May Also Like

Sid and Nancy film

Sid and Nancy film – A tale of self destruction

Sid and Nancy film – A story of self destruction restored for a new ...

james oldham

Infectious melodies: Music in the time of Coronavirus with James Oldham

words Daniel Lamb In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, different people have developed ...

Festival No. 6 Treasures: Magpahi, Meilyr Jones & Hot Vestry

Number Four has always been my lucky number and year number 4 at Festival ...

Lawrence of Belgravia – An Encounter With Felt & Denim Legend

This looks like a fascinating evening – a special screening of the documentary film ...

Nadia Tehran

Swedish-Iranian hip hop star Nadia Tehran meets Sian Anderson

Swedish-Iranian hip hop artist Nadia Tehran meets Sian Anderson – words Alexa Wang Hip-hop ...