Take It or Leave It

10/8/2026

Before Mrs Thatcher's Britain had had a chance to become exactly that, a band called "The Invaders" were mooching about in London's Camden trying to get some gigs. That is proving easier said than done for the keyboard player-cum-organiser Mike Barson as he tries to spin half a dozen plates in the form of men who have varying musical skills, varying singing skills, zero plastering skills and an even more varying commitment to a band that was operating quite literally out of the back of two vans more suitable for delivering cabbages. Watching those charismatic live performers trying to get their act together, you'd never have put any money on them getting a gig in Dublin jail let alone the famous boozer the "Dublin Castle" in the first place, let alone a recording contract and a supporting