Speaking to the BBC on whether arthritis has affected his playing, Richards said, “Funnily enough, I’ve no doubt it has, but I don’t have any pain, it’s a sort of benign version. I think if I’ve slowed down a little bit it’s probably due more to age. And also, I found that interesting, when I’m like, ‘I can’t quite do that any more,’ the guitar will show me there’s another way of doing it. Some finger will go one space different and a whole new door opens. And so you’re always learning. You never finish school, man.”

The Rolling Stones have only recently celebrated their 60th anniversary and noted the landmark with a special tour. This seemingly put the fire back into the band, with frontman Mick Jagger expressing a desire to get back into the studio to record a new LP. Commenting on the finished product and Jagger’s influence on proceedings, Richards continued, “he [Jagger] hit me in the right spot. I’ve always wanted to record the band as soon after we get off of the road, because the band is lubricated.”

The band have covered a lot of ground in their long and storied history, forming in 1962 in London with the now legendary story of Jagger and Richards meeting each other on the platforms of Dartford train station-Richards with his guitar and Jagger holding records of Chuck Berry among other blues musicians. The pair quickly struck up a friendship and the rest is rock history of the most illustrious kind.

Hackney Diamonds, The Rolling Stones’ 24th studio album, is set to be released on 20 October and features guest spots by Paul McCartney, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Charlie Watts and former bassist Bill Wyman.

Hunter and the Bear on stage. Photography Francesca Paolozzi

It would be a pretty difficult task to meet a more down to earth group of guys than Hunter and the Bear. In their own words, they play the kind of music they want to listen to, and are three best friends who just want to play as many gigs as possible, due to their love of being on the road. Their sound, is according to Will “a folky mix of rock and country with an emphasis on rock”. It’s a unique sound, one that you might not necessarily hear too much in the UK these days, particularly since the disappearance of a particular band who I shan’t name. But as a threesome they all share different tastes which brings about their sound. “Will is a massive Elton John fan, Josh is a massive fan of Arctic Monkeys, we all listen to rock n roll, folk and country and that mix is what brings us our sound”, states Jimmy. There is no particular influence when it comes to writing, with the boys showing each other the different sounds they have been listening to and then taking it from there. “The way it usually works is someone will show the rest of the band a group they’ve been listening to, and then the others will either be like no or yes and then if it’s a yes we go through a period of everyone listening to the band”, according to Josh. “Its funny though coz when we listen back to our songs we can tell who we’ve been listening to at that time, but in terms of sitting down and thinking who do we want to write like, is not really a thing that we do”, Jimmy adds firmly.

Photography Francesca Paolozzi

Although the three of them are now based in London, it is a far cry from where they spent their upbringing, with Josh hailing from Yorkshire and Jimmy and Will both Scotsmen. Moving down south to the capital city could prove daunting for any young group of lads, but is a choice they are starting to see the rewards of now. “For me where I’m from is so far out in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains by the sea and things like that and its such a different lifestyle and its the simple life up there, people love what they do up there, there’s a big fishing community and things like that”, Will reveals solemnly. “I got used to the city when I was at uni (in Newcastle), Jimmy doesn’t live in a city either even though he sounds like he’s from Glasgow. It does take getting used to, London is massive. But it’s wicked though”. London is often said to be the place to be if you are in a band and want to make it, and is a view shared by the group, with Josh saying “The thing has been quite obvious from the start, people have been saying to us if you want to do this then you’ve got to be in London. There’s no point being somewhere else”.

No matter how impressive a year 2013 has been, Hunter and the Bear are looking for more next year. When asked about their plans for next year, Jimmy immediately responds “A new EP for sure and a big festival season”. Josh back this up, saying “The masses are the target right now and we just want to be at one every weekend and be on the road, we love being on the road”. Going from strength to strength seems to run in the blood in the group, and they never seem to be left resting on their laurels. Your aims change all the time, when we started our aim was to play once every couple of weeks then it was once a week, then we wanna play here, want to play a festival, when you reach these things you can’t believe it at the time, but you want to move on so quickly to the next thing, so hopefully we’ll keep moving that way”, states Will, reassuring the fact that they won’t be happy sat on their backsides allowing their instruments to gather dust. Josh wraps things up by saying “We’re pretty hungry for more as well, we’ve got a lot of ambition. We’ve got to that point now where the cogs are moving and we want more, so I don’t think the trains gonna stop”.

Photography Francesca Paolozzi

As the three of them step out onto the stage at 02 Academy 2 at Islington, they are welcomed with not just warm applause, but volcanic eruption hot applause. As they effortlessly glide through their set with tracks from their recent EP Dusty Road amongst others, their fans adoring eyes never venture far from the stage. Not happy with the length of their set, they come back on for an encore, and you can tell by the bewildering looks etched across their faces that they did not expect this kind of reception. As lead single from Dusty Road Forrest On The Hill gets it’s second play of the night, you start to feel that something special is brewing up here.

Having spent the last two years going from playing tiny venues around their hometowns of Oslo and Bergen to playing prestigious Scandinavian festivals including Pstereo and Hove, Man The Machetes continue to go from strength to strength, and the video they’ve just let see the light of day confirms this fact.

Mageplask (pronounced Mah-guh-plahssk for those who don’t have Norwegian as their mother tongue) is three minutes of pure hardcore rock and roll energy. The video starts off gruesomely, with a first person shot of someone spitting up blood into their hands, something that would be a common sight deep within any Man The Machetes mosh pit. A riff that could reduce Mount Everest to mere rubble comes storming in, and there is no time for a breath for fresh air as vocalist Christopher I growls like a rabid dog hungry for his next meal, ensuring you keep moving no matter what your body wants. It’s like going twelve rounds with Muhammad Ali; it’s fast, it’s brutal, you don’t know where you’re going to end up. But it’s bloody brilliant.

Having already received praise from Norwegian radio broadcasters NRK P3 by being played on their version of BBC Introducing and supported the likes of Gallows, expect to hear more and more about these five bonkers Scandinavians. You can check out the video for Mageplask below, and Idiokrati is available to buy now. The single is released on November 25th.

Ahead of their new E.P Don’t Play With Fire getting it’s official release in early October, the electric quartet will be bringing the power to live venues all over the UK with each show set to kick off. China Rats combine the best parts of 70s punk with a modern indie twang to create a sound distinct to themselves, and have given themselves a sterling reputation in the meantime.

Putting the frustrations of most twenty something men these days into song lyrics could prove a bit of a handful for most, but for the raucous rockers it seems to come effortlessly. The group recently released an inventive video for latest track N.O.M.O.N.E.Y which saw them all being replaced by a collection of coins. Well at least it’s a bit different to the normal boy meets girl, they fall in love, disaster strikes that we’re used to seeing all over the place eh? You can check out the video below, and it’s a bloody good song to go along with it too.

China Rats go on tour this October, and you can find the dates below. Don’t Play With Fire is released on 30th September.

Tuesday 1st – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Wednesday 2nd – Bodega, Nottingham

Thursday 3rd – Louisana, Bristol

Saturday 5th – Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

Sunday 6th – Korova, Liverpool

Monday 7th – Lock 42, Leicester

Tuesday 8th – Green Door Store, Brighton

Wednesday 9th – Sebright Arms, London

Thursday 17th – The New Adelphi, Hull*

Wednesday 23rd – Clwb Lfor Bach – Cardiff*

Thursday 24th – Leadmill, Sheffield*

Sunday 27th – The Cluny, Newcastle*

Monday 28th – King Tuts, Glasgow*

Tuesday 29th – Ruby Lounge, Manchester*

*with The Weeks

Fresh from a weekend appearance at the Mighty Sounds Festival in the Czech Republic, the punk rock n rollers will be travelling the country with Australian punk rock act The Terraces on the Punk of Mother England (POME) tour. They will be visiting some  far corners of the UK, with trips planned to places as diverse as St Albans to Blackpool and Gateshead, before finishing up their summer tour with a main stage slot at the Beautiful Days Festival in Plymouth. If you like your rock n roll fast and balls deep in attitude, make sure you catch these guys doing their thing this summer.

They will be playing the following dates at the height of British summertime.

02/08/13    Frolic Festival – Herne Bay

05/08/13    The Lady Luck – Canterbury
Rebellion Festival Warm Up Show!
With Choking Susan & Social Schism

09/08/13    POME TOUR 2013
The George – Ashford, Kent
with ‘The Terraces’ Australia

10/08/13    POME TOUR 2013
The Underworld – Camden
With Walter Lure & The Terraces

11/08/13    POME TOUR 2013
Rebellion Festival – Blackpool

14/08/13    POME TOUR 2013
The Horn – St Albans

15/08/13    POME TOUR 2013
Warrington TBC

16/08/13    POME TOUR 2013
Black Bull – Gateshead

17/08/13    POME TOUR 2013 Karns Bar, Hinkley

18/08/13    Beautiful Days Festival – Plymouth
(Main Stage)