It was raining on King Street, the thin sideways kind North Shields does in late October when the year has decided it is winter and not told anyone. I had wanted a ticket for the better part of a year and assumed it had sold out. It had not. Resident Advisor turned one up at the last minute. I drove over, left the van on King Street, and collected a friend who lives on the street and had agreed to hear some Geordie jazz on the clear understanding that it was not her thing.
You see the building before you see the door. King Street Social Club wears a wall of 1970s tiles, rust orange, slate teal and cream, laid in long vertical runs like a punch card, with the club's name across it in red letters and a mural of a face on the wall beside it. Under the tiles is a light box that says C.I.U. AFFILIATED. A small hanging sign by the door has lost most of its K and reads, if you squint through the rain, TRING STREET. I squinted. It is the best front on any building in the atlas that nobody has ever called beautiful.
A social club, still
This is not a bar themed as a social club. It is a social club. The members own the building, and the club's own website lists bingo nearly every Friday, a meat raffle, a key draw and tribute acts. Downstairs is for members. Walking in put me straight back to being seventeen in a Newcastle social club for a cheeky pint, which is a feeling you cannot buy and nobody is trying to sell.
On a gig night you are ushered upstairs, away from the regulars. Through a swinging door on the way up you glimpse the old boys of North Shields at their games on the baize, then the door swings shut on them. The arrangement is the point. Geoff Kirkwood, the DJ and producer who records as Man Power and was born and raised in North Shields, has thrown parties here since August 2022, and since 2024 has run the upstairs concert room full-time, with a new sound system, as a venue called Are You Affiliated. He has called the club "a bona fide working-class community organisation", and Red Pepper reported last year that bar takings are said to have risen nearly tenfold since. His great-grandfather ran a shop on the site, so he is not a visitor either.
Upstairs
The concert room is long and low, the bar at the back, the stage at the far end under a ruched curtain pelmet. The bar is cheap, takes cash and card, and pours a gin and tonic with intent. I had a couple of pints, then the gins, and for a while a drink in each hand, which is my own reliable sign that an evening is going well. The crowd was my age, forties, local, a few faces I knew. I had been in this room twice before, at the tail end of Man Power's day parties, which spill back into the club when the daylight runs out, and both times a rave in a social club felt slightly wrong in a way I liked. A jazz band from the West End of Newcastle would fit it better.
The night after the Mercury
Knats are Stan Woodward on bass and King David-Ike Elechi on drums, West End lads who went to London to study jazz at Trinity Laban, with Ferg Kilsby on trumpet and flugelhorn, Sandro Shar on keys, George Johnson on tenor and the poet Cooper Robson. The name is Stan backwards with a silent K for King. Their second album, A Great Day In Newcastle, came out on 1 May 2026, produced by Geordie Greep of black midi, and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. The night before I saw them, they had played the ceremony at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle. RAYE won. They came home to North Shields for the first night of their tour and told us mid-set that it was the biggest show of their own they had done. The title will not last: their Boiler Shop show in Newcastle next April is already sold out.
On record they are beautiful. That is the word and I will stand by it: a hard rhythm section, horns that know when to hold back, and over the top Robson, a Heaton lad who told Newcastle United's website he is "a scruff poet who writes in his bedroom", talking in his own accent about the pit, the pitch and a young fighter. The label calls it Geordie Jazz Noir. Clash gave it eight out of ten and called it "an album to get lost in". They did Later... with Jools Holland in June. For a year the city has known something was coming.
“Gleefully rewire jazz with a hard-as-nails rhythm section.”
The Guardian on Knats, as quoted on the band's Green Man and Latitude pages
The set
Live, they are something else, and I mean that in the plain sense. The record is beautiful; the room was heavy. Elechi plays the kit like he is trying to get downstairs through it, Woodward's bass lines are the kind you feel in the wet hem of your jeans, and when the horns came in together the thing tipped from jazz into something I can only call grunge with a flugelhorn. Angry, aggressive, North East to the bone, and played by people who can really play. Several times a tune came apart on purpose, somebody took it somewhere, and the rest went with him without a glance. The record cannot give you that. Woodward told Jazzwise last year: "There's nothing shy about us!" He undersold it.
Cooper Robson is the other reason. Jazz with a Geordie voice over it was new to me, and I have spent years hunting down jazz bars in New York and London. It is not singing, and he would be the first to say so: it is spoken word, a lad from Heaton telling you a story over a band on fire, and in that room it landed like local news. They played Never Gonna Be A Boxer, the six-minute one they took to Jools Holland, and it was the highlight of my night. Nobody wrote the setlist down, and a couple of pints and a gin or two in, my word would be worth what it is worth, but I had my phone up for that one, and the film is above. The crowd did not dance much, which I noticed because my friend and I were; jazz is hard to dance to until you pick an instrument and follow it, and I picked the drums. By the end the front was moving, the band had their arms up, and the room was the green of a swimming pool at night.
On stage
Man Power, and the after
The night was an Are You Affiliated show, and on Resident Advisor it carried a second line: Knats AfterShow Party with Knats and friends plus Man Power. Kirkwood is the North Shields lad who lived in Mexico and Berlin, has a Rinse FM residency and a 2024 Essential Mix, runs the Me Me Me label, and came home in the pandemic to throw parties in the social club. The guest list since reads like somebody's record bag: Skream, Daniel Avery, Optimo, Caribou, Mike D of the Beastie Boys for his first UK headline show. The regular nights are what I would point you at: the Me Me Me Halloween Ball with DECIUS and Man Power on 31 October, Bodega on 20 November, 2ManyDJs on 18 December, and the day parties.
The album is A Great Day In Newcastle. The remix EP, out the Friday I saw them, is A Great Night In Newcastle, which is either a joke or a plan, and in Newcastle those are the same thing. Four tracks, fifteen minutes, and the first is Nadine Shah and Man Power's remix of 7 Bridges To Burn, Kirkwood producing, Shah on the vocal. It is the one I keep going back to: an electronic tinge that reminds me of an old UNKLE tune from the James Lavelle years, something for an early-2000s Fabric mix CD, which is the highest compliment I have. The rest hands Never Gonna Be A Boxer to corto.alto, Carpet Doctor to Squid and Farewell Johnny Miner to Frankie Archer. Shah and Knats shared a Proms stage at The Glasshouse in Gateshead in July, so the pairing has form. I think they played 7 Bridges that night too. Pints and gin: see above.
“It's a social club, just not as you know it.”
Geoff Kirkwood, Man Power, to I Love North Shields
The right room
Sonic Paths spends most of its time on beautiful rooms: Union Chapel, where the building does the listening for you; The Glasshouse across the river; KOKO in Camden, where Knats were the live band for two sold-out Geordie Greep nights. The concert room at King Street is not beautiful and I will not pretend it is. The outside is, with a North East charm nobody in London could fake, and the inside has what the beautiful rooms sometimes lack: the music and the place are the same thing. A Geordie jazz band that writes about Jackie Milburn and the pit, in a C.I.U.-affiliated social club with the old boys at the baize downstairs: this is the right music in the right room, and it is the whole reason this site exists.
Part of why it works is that the accent has stopped being a punchline. Sam Fender won the Mercury in the same arena last year, the first time the ceremony had left London, and in my view he made a Newcastle voice familiar to people who have never crossed the Tyne, cool rather than cheesy. Knats walk through that door with a flugelhorn. A year ago you had to be a serious jazz head to drive 300 miles for a social club in North Shields. This time next year, when people have cottoned on, I think they will, and I think they should, because this band in a bigger and prettier hall will be a different thing. This is the thing.
Dates
Knats on tour
- ExchangeBristolUpcoming
- MOTH ClubLondonSecond date, on saleTickets →
- MOTH ClubLondonSold out
- London Calling, Paradiso Kleine ZaalAmsterdamFestival
- HeartbreakersSouthamptonOn saleTickets →
- The Cornish BankFalmouthUpcoming
- St Peter's Church, ParkstonePooleOn saleTickets →
- The BodegaNottinghamOn sale, moved from 18 NovTickets →
- Kirkgate Community CentreShipleyOn saleTickets →
- AmpedHuddersfieldUpcoming
- Future YardBirkenheadOn saleTickets →
- Village UndergroundLondonOn saleTickets →
- Boiler ShopNewcastleSold out
Checked on 26 October 2026 against the tour list in the band's press releases and the venue and ticket listings. Dates that appeared on one aggregator only (Brighton, Camberwell, Montréal, Dublin, Norwich, Latitude 2027) are left out until a venue confirms them. The tickets go fast: the second MOTH Club night was added after the first sold out, and Boiler Shop went before I got this written. Check with the venue before you travel.
Play before you go
- 7 Bridges to Burn: the opener of A Great Day In Newcastle, two minutes forty-four, Cooper Robson's story of a young fighter over the band. The video uses archive film from the Yorkshire and North East Film Archive.
- Wor Jackie: Jackie Milburn, the pit and the pitch, written after Stan Woodward talked to his pitman grandad. Setlist.fm has it as the song they played at the Mercury.
- Never Gonna Be A Boxer: six minutes thirteen, the one they took to Later... with Jools Holland, and the one that finished me off at King Street.
- Bowling Ball: the July 2026 single, written after a counter-protest on the West Road, with cover art by Jim Moir, who called them a beautiful Geordie jazz cake.
- A Great Night In Newcastle: the remix EP, four tracks in fifteen minutes. Start with Nadine Shah and Man Power's remix of 7 Bridges To Burn and work backwards.
I came out into the same rain. The band were due back on the floor for the after-party with Man Power, and I had the van, parked somewhere along King Street. Next time I will get the Metro: the station is in the town centre, but measure the walk on a map and check the last train before the second gin. Rooms I have stood in, with my own photographs, are filed under Visit notes. This is the first, and it is on my doorstep, which is not a coincidence.
Featured in this piece
The rooms and the people
Every place and artist in this piece has its own page in the atlas or on Pulse, with sources folded underneath.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Where is King Street Social Club?
King Street Social Club is at Phoenix House, 27 King Street, North Shields NE30 1BZ, on Tyneside in the North East of England. It is a members' social club that still trades downstairs, with bingo nearly every Friday. Gigs and club nights happen upstairs in the concert room, which has been run full-time since 2024 by Are You Affiliated, the venue founded by the North Shields DJ and producer Man Power (Geoff Kirkwood). North Shields Metro station is in the town centre; tickets for Are You Affiliated shows are sold through Resident Advisor.
Are Knats worth seeing live?
Yes. On record Knats are a beautiful Newcastle jazz band with Cooper Robson's Geordie spoken-word poetry over the top; live they are much heavier, louder and more aggressive, with long improvised passages the records cannot give you. Their second album, A Great Day In Newcastle, produced by Geordie Greep, was shortlisted for the 2026 Mercury Prize and they played the ceremony in Newcastle on 22 October 2026. Their autumn 2026 UK tour opened at King Street Social Club, North Shields, the next night. Tickets sell out, so buy early.
Who is Man Power?
Man Power is Geoff Kirkwood, a DJ, producer and promoter born and raised in North Shields. He runs the Me Me Me label, has a residency on Rinse FM and recorded a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in 2024, and has played Glastonbury and Burning Man. After years in Mexico and Berlin he moved home during the pandemic and in August 2022 began throwing parties at King Street Social Club; in 2024 he opened Are You Affiliated, a full-time venue in the club's upstairs concert room. In October 2026 he produced Nadine Shah's remix of Knats' 7 Bridges To Burn, the opening track of the remix EP A Great Night In Newcastle.
When are Knats touring?
Knats' autumn 2026 UK tour runs from 23 October (King Street Social Club, North Shields) to 21 November (Future Yard, Birkenhead), with London dates at MOTH Club on 28 and 30 October (the 30th is sold out), Bristol, Southampton, Falmouth, Poole, Nottingham, Shipley and Huddersfield in between, and London Calling in Amsterdam on 31 October. In 2027 they play Village Underground, London, on 2 April and Boiler Shop, Newcastle, on 3 April, which is already sold out. Dates checked on 26 October 2026; the full list with ticket links is in the article.
Sources (32)
- Mercury Prize, RAYE announced as overall winner of the 2026 Mercury Prize, 22 Oct 2026
- Mercury Prize, 2026 Albums of the Year revealed, 30 Jul 2026
- Music Week, Charlotte Krol, Olivia Dean, RAYE, Pulp, Jade and more to perform at 2026 Mercury Prize ceremony, 30 Sep 2026
- Music Week, Andre Paine, Fontana signs musically exhilarating UK jazz act Knats, 24 Apr 2026
- Clash, Nick Roseblade, Knats, A Great Day In Newcastle, 1 May 2026
- The Line of Best Fit, Knats share new single Bowling Ball and announce UK tour, 17 Jul 2026
- Knats, A Great Day In Newcastle, Bandcamp (release 1 May 2026)
- Knats, A Great Night In Newcastle remix EP, smart link (released 23 Oct 2026)
- That Eric Alper, Knats turn Newcastle's jazz revolution into a night out with Nadine Shah, Man Power and Squid, 23 Oct 2026
- Trinity Laban, Trinity Laban students Knats shortlisted for 2026 Mercury Prize, 30 Jul 2026
- Newcastle United, Tom Easterby, Stan Woodward and Cooper Robson interview, Oct 2026
- Jazzwise, Eddie Myer, Taking Off: KNATS, 20 Feb 2025
- DownBeat, Cree McCree, Knats: From Newcastle with Lotsa Love, 5 May 2025
- Directors' Library, 7 Bridges to Burn, Knats (Simon Waldron), Jul 2026
- Green Man, Knats artist page (Guardian and Jazzwise quotes)
- Mixmag, Jamaal Johnson, New club Are You Affiliated opens in North Shields, 23 May 2024
- Mixmag, Megan Townsend, The Mix 047: Man Power, 30 Jan 2025
- Resident Advisor, Man Power artist page (Knats AfterShow Party, 23 Oct 2026)
- Resident Advisor, Are You Affiliated promoter page
- Resident Advisor News, Man Power opens Are You Affiliated in North Shields, 29 May 2024
- Red Pepper, Jerry Iles, High art, low ceilings: remaking social club culture, 12 Sep 2025
- I Love North Shields, Suzanne Coulson, The Star Turn (Kirkwood quote)
- I Love North Shields, Suzanne Coulson, Man Power profile
- King Street Social Club and Are You Affiliated, official site (address, bingo, listings), read 26 Oct 2026
- Dork, King Street Social Club venue page (Mike D)
- Moviefone, Later... with Jools Holland, series 68 episode list (21 Jun 2026)
- Billboard Canada, Thomas Smith, Sam Fender wins the 2025 Mercury Prize, 16 Oct 2025
- Wikipedia, North Shields Metro station
- setlist.fm, Knats (Mercury ceremony setlist; no setlist for 23 Oct)
- ents24, Knats listings (MOTH Club, Southampton, Poole, Nottingham, Shipley, Village Underground, Boiler Shop), read 26 Oct 2026
- Future Yard, Knats, 21 Nov 2026, listing updated 26 Oct 2026
- eventslist, Knats at Boiler Shop, 3 Apr 2027 (sold out)
Every fact in this piece comes from one of these, read on 26 October 2026.
