

Mel’s Coming Home to Colne
by Laura Storey
Supporting the band on the night will be Walter Mitty’s Head
Colne’s own The Mel Outsider Reformation is ready to get the hometown crowd dancing this September when they take the stage at The Muni on Saturday 27th September.
“I’m expecting a big night in Colne,” says frontman Mel Outsider with a grin. “I enjoy playing everywhere, but it’s extra special to play here. It’ll be a real dance-off. People will be able to get into the groove – it’s a very danceable vibe.”
Supporting the band on the night will be Walter Mitty’s Head, a high-energy local punk outfit known for their electrifying live sets.
Mel’s journey has been anything but ordinary. After running away from school to join the circus, he went on to form The Outsiders UK, a Brit rock band that became known for relentless touring – once clocking up 286 gigs in 365 days.
“There was no luxury involved either,” Mel recalls. “We were all in the back of a van, sitting on the gear. We had a lot of fun and went all over the place.”
Those wild years are echoed in Mel’s songwriting today. His upcoming album opens with a line parodying life on the road: “Living in the back of a van – with a bucket and a frying pan.”
“The stories are very Northern. I don’t see the point in writing about places I don’t know anything about.”
After releasing four acclaimed albums, Mel took a break from music in 2016. But in 2022, the spark reignited. He reformed the band with a new name and a fresh sound: The Mel Outsider Reformation.
“It was like a rebirth,” he says. “We changed the music, too. While before it was more rock-driven, I wanted to focus more on the lyrics.”
Mel brought in a host of talented Northern musicians to create a groove-driven, soulful sound. He reunited with long-time collaborators Matt Pawson (bass) and Liam McCartan (guitar), and now rotates a line-up selected from a pool of 15 musicians.

The Mel Outsider Reformation
Their debut album under the new name, Miss Victory V, was released in 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. Inspired by local history, the title references the Victory V sweet factory in Nelson, which crowned a “Miss Victory V” each year for an annual beauty pageant. One track recounts a lost weekend in Blackpool with a pageant winner.
Critics praised the album’s eclectic, genre-blending sound. Get Ready To Rock’s Pete Feenstra called it, “Full of ideas. Unfettered creativity sets him apart from his punch-drunk contemporaries.” International Times described it as “everything you most loved about music rammed through the blender’s immaculate mix.”
Now, with his second album, Mel Goes Funky, set for release on 26th September, Mel continues to evolve. This 10-track collection leans into a funky, rock ‘n’ blues soul style, steeped in Northern storytelling and tongue-in-cheek reflections.
“It’s taken on a funky, soulful groove,” he explains. “The stories are very Northern. I don’t see the point in writing about places I don’t know anything about.”
The album was produced in Oswaldtwistle, with album artwork by Nelson artist Colin J Morgan.
Beyond his own music, Mel has produced 28 albums for other artists, including Michael Chapman, Heads Hands & Feet, and New York songwriter Angela Costa, a recipient of the Alan Ginsberg Prize. He also travelled and worked with Delta blues legend David “Honeyboy” Edwards, the last living link to blues pioneer Robert Johnson. Mel plans to release a collection of unheard Honeyboy recordings in late 2025.
Tickets for The Mel Outsider Reformation at The Muni are available here.
Listen or buy music at: www.meloutsider.co.uk
Or stream on Spotify.
ColneLife Autumn 25