Giffard Arms, Wolverhampton, UK17th April 2026
Ghost Dance & Support: Steve Mercy, Plutonium
Built in 1922, the Giffard Arms is a biker / rock bar with an enchanting gothic allure. The decor embraces the macabre - coffin-shaped tables, corners cloaked in shadows and its very own iron throne - complete with dragons... It’s positioning - opposite the door - a deliberately decadent and in-your-face fixture that few visitors can resist sitting in for the perfect photo opportunity.
It’s little wonder that, come the weekend, goths and rockers alike gather here to soak up the atmosphere. Stories about the Giffard being haunted by two ghosts; murder victim Anne Horton and a Victorian boy, linger... their presence adding to the gothic charm. Upstairs, the Darkroom event space - self-contained and intimate - offers a different kind of immersion hosting live bands and club nights. Tonight the Darkroom plays host to one of the most beloved Goth / Alternative bands on the scene: GHOST DANCE.
Steve Mercy
STEVE MERCY opened the night. Steve is a Gothic Blues / Rock artist who performs melancholy acoustic numbers on guitar. His influences range from JOHNNY CASH to the SISTERS OF MERCY, and this is evident in his music with tracks like ‘Summerland.’ He was already mid-set as we arrived, but from the bottom of the steps, the appreciation was evident by the applause. https://www.facebook.com/SteveMercyUK/
Plutonium
Next up were PLUTONIUM: a traditional Punk Rock band from Telford, UK. Their songs with simple riffs are lively and full of attitude. With catchy tunes like: ‘Banana Face’ they are a fun band to watch, entertaining and waking up the crowd after STEVE MERCY’s set. Punk’s not dead, it’s irradiated. https://www.facebook.com/SHROPSHIREPUNKS/
Ghost Dance
GHOST DANCE stand as one of the defining legacy bands to emerge from the Leeds / Bradford Post-Punk / Goth / Alternative scene. Formed in 1985 by vocalist Anne-Marie Hurst (SKELETAL FAMILY) and bassist Gary Marx (THE SISTERS OF MERCY), their sound - bass-heavy and infectious - quickly carved out a following in clubs and the independent charts alike. Tracks such as ‘Down to the Wire’ and ‘River of No Return’ made them instantly recognisable and rememberable. GHOST DANCE were immensely popular in the mid to late 80s and were soon invited on tour with bands like THE MISSION and ALL ABOUT EVE.
They quickly amassed a band of followers: nicknamed “The Spook Squad” and produced radio sessions with the likes of John Peel and Janice Long. Sadly, just when they appeared to be on the cusp of commercial success, having signed to major record label: Chrysalis, the group disbanded - playing their final gig in 1989. Fans were delighted when 30 years after the breakup, GHOST DANCE reformed in 2019. With a new line-up, they began touring and in 2023, they released a new album: ‘The Silent Shout.’
The highly anticipated release shot to the top of the indie charts... in fact at one point, GHOST DANCE had no less than seven singles in the iTunes independent charts. They toured in the UK, Europe and South America. Due to other commitments, the line-up recently changed again... with Anne-Marie remained the one constant. Now she is joined by an expert band of musicians who each boast their own impressive resumes: Nick Procter and Gavin Coulson on guitars, Stephen Palmer on bass, and Billy Lockwood providing drums.
Stephen has his own band: SHIP’S CAT, Gavin sings and plays guitar with Rock covers band DOGHOUSE and has previously toured all over the world with a variety of famous musicians including members of SAXON and T-REX, Nick has played in many bands including DEVIL’S REJECTS and THE SEX PISTOLS EXPERIENCE, Billy started drumming at the tender age of 14 and currently plays drums with T-REX. The current incarnation of GHOST DANCE feels less like a revival and more like a continuation in a different body... regenerated like Dr Who.
Since reforming, GHOST DANCE have toured the UK, Europe and South America, bringing along old followers and adding new ones on every tour. In December 2025, their 40-year celebration in Bradford saw Anne-Marie share the stage with Alan Davis (ROSE OF AVALANCHE, REDEMPTION ZERO) for ‘(This Is) Babylon’, a track already threaded with her voice in its recorded form. Decades on, GHOST DANCE remain a living force - touring, evolving, and still drawing crowds into their orbit. https://www.ghost-dance.com / https://www.facebook.com/GhostDance2021/
Music and Performance
Downstairs, the bar hummed with low conversation and a quiet anticipation, the resident DJ was indulging the goths with a little BAUHAUS and SISTERS OF MERCY, but it was upstairs where things ramped up. As we entered the Darkroom, there was a quiet buzz of expectation. We found a seat at the back for a moment - just long enough to exchange a few words with a fan - before the atmosphere shifted. The band entered, and something in the room changed instantly. We rose, pulled forward by an invisible thread as Anne-Marie, Nick, Gavin, Stephen and Billy took their places. Instruments in hand and the moment we were all waiting for - arrived.
‘When I Call’ opened the set - up tempo direct, cutting through the room, like a blade. “Here we are,” the song announced, “and this is what we have to offer.” Anne-Marie had a request for the sound engineer between tracks - more volume on her vocals and Nick’s guitar. There was something compelling in that control - in the insistence on precision... it worked. From ‘A Deeper Blue’ onwards, everything was perfectly aligned. There is something humbling about these moments... like we are sharing part of the process. The 40-year milestone was announced with ‘Celebrate’ and greeted by a ripple of unrestrained “woo-hoos.” Then ‘River of No Return’ - with Stephen’s unmistakable bassline resonated- we felt it as much as we heard it.
Anne-Marie stood, flame-red hair resplendent in the fan’s wind - a living Goddess. There was something alchemical in the image - fire and movement building intensity and transforming the energy into a living entity. The room had grown stifling - the kind of heat that clings to your skin. ‘Promised Land’ brought a shift - not softer, but deeper. A trace of history threaded through it, her SKELETAL FAMILY past flickering beneath the surface. She moved with ease, with rhythm, and the crowd followed instinctively. The music pulsed - alive, insistent, a dark, glittering heartbeat running through the room.
The opening bass of ‘Down to the Wire’ triggered immediate recognition. It landed low, almost physical in its impact. GHOST DANCE was a well-oiled machine... Anne-Marie’s intoxicating stage presence, backed by Gavin and Nick’s duelling guitars and Stephen’s booming bass all kept in perfect time to the beat of Billy’s drums. Later, my friend tried to explain it - the way the energy enveloped until you weren’t watching anymore - you were part of it. I told her I’d be pinching that as it was so poetic. It was her first time seeing GHOST DANCE, even hearing them properly, and yet there were moments she recognised echoes from years gone by in the Phono. It didn’t matter. She was already caught under the GHOST DANCE spell.
‘Spin the Wheel’ offered a slower pace - the chance to breathe without fully stepping away. It lingered, softening the edges just enough to give everyone a rest from the frantic energy... for a moment at least. By the time ‘The Last Train’ arrived, the room had been well and truly won over - this wasn’t performance alone; it was connection, sharpened by proximity. There is no show without the audience after all, and in this intimate venue, we were very much involved. ‘I’ll Wait’ closed the set in the first instance - but with no green room to disappear into, there was no encore exit strategy. “We’ve got a couple of songs for the encore,” Anne-Marie said, a flicker of amusement in her voice. “So… this is the encore.”
The crowd responded anyway - calls of “More!” rising out of camaraderie, rather than expectation. ‘Cruel Light’ followed, and then ‘Walk in My Shadow’ - a final surge of sound and presence that left the room suspended for a moment before breaking into applause. Afterwards, everything felt slightly unreal - the way it does when something intense releases its hold. We lingered over drinks, reluctant to step fully back into the ordinary world. Anne-Marie laughed at my terrible joke about getting the ghosts dancing, whilst we watched in astonished wonder as Billy made endless trips up and down the stairs, dismantling his kit piece by piece - aided by Gavin.
The rhythm of it was almost meditative - but also afforded a glimpse of the effort that goes into making a performance such as we had just witnessed. In a way it was a transition back to the mundane world. There was something shared in that space - something exchanged rather than simply observed. With soaring vocals, driving guitars, and a rhythm section that anchors and seduces in equal measure, GHOST DANCE continue to straddle the line between goth and rock. In a space like the Darkroom, there’s nowhere to hide - from the sound, from the heat, from the pull of it. What unfolded wasn’t just a set. It was something closer, something heavier. Something that stayed. Then the spell was broken and we traipsed downstairs to the main bar. The night will stay with many, for a long time.
Ghost Dance will be back in Wolverhampton for Dark Fest at KK’s Steel Mill on 22 August 2026 and will be touring the UK, Europe and South America, later in the year.
Setlist
01. When I Call
02. A Deeper Blue
03. Celebrate
04. River of No Return
05. A Town Called Sympathy
06. Down to the Wire
07. Spin the Wheel
08. Yesterday Again
09. Last Train
10. Goodbye
11. I Will Wait
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12. Cruel Light
13. Walk in My Shadow
All Pictures by Aaron Fellows
