One of Vaultage 80's best new Brighton acts was Emma Sharpe & the Features. Their track 'Motorway' was full of energy, imagination and revealed a gift for songwriting. You can catch up with the band and their new incarnation, Fontaine, thanks to their mastermind, Alan Hall, who sent us an interesting and informative biography - plus a half-decent photo, so we built a page to show them off.

Unavoidable circumstances prevented our intrepid reporter from attending the Concorde on the 14th of November. We were hoping to cover this gig, arranged by Attilla the Stockbroker in aid of Strummerville.com, to raise money for the Joe Strummer charity. Brighton's Helen McCookerybook, formerly of the Chefs, was performing a set. Anyone who did get to the gig, we'd be much obliged if you could give us any of your comments or observations. The Leader reckoned it was a good night out all round.

First Joe strummer, then John Peel, it's not been a good year from that point of view. But there's also been a lot of positives to take from the last 12 months, check out our archives to recap on the year.