A Quiet Sun Listening Party

Join Prog, Record Collector, Classic Rock, MOJO and The Wire journalists Jo Kendall, Mike Barnes and Sid Smith for a celebration of Quiet Sun – a listening party for the 2026 stereo mix reissue of the 1975 release, Mainstream. Our very special guests will be band members Phil Manzanera and Bill MacCormick.

Doors will open at 12.30pm and in Side A, from 1pm, Jo, Mike and Sid will be grilling Phil and Bill about the remarkable sole album that was created by Phil on guitar, Bill on bass, Dave Jarrett on keyboards and Charles Hayward on drums. The group had formed while at Dulwich College in the 60s, then broken up. Years later, with Phil now in a little known beat combo called Roxy Music, a break in Roxy's schedule gave the four friends chance to record their one and only album at Basing Street Studios at the same that Phil cut his solo debut, Diamond Head. Bill's brother Ian – NME journalist and later the author of one of the greatest Beatles chronicles ever, Revolution In The Head – also appeared on the record, alongside Phil's Roxy bandmate Brian Eno. 

We'll have a break for refreshment around 1.45 then Side B will start about 2.15pm. This will be a full playback of Mainstream's new 2026 stereo mix, followed by reactions and final thoughts by the panel and you, the audience.

There will be copies of the album for sale on CD and vinyl. The newly-remixed Mainstream is a deluxe double-disc hardcover mediabook. A 60-page book accompanies a Blu-ray disc containing a Dolby Atmos 5.1 mix, a new Abbey Road remastered version of the original mix from the original analogue ¼ inch tapes and a new 2026 mix. The second disc is a stereo CD with the new 2026 mix. The vinyl edition is a gatefold single disc vinyl release with the new 2026 mix included.

Phil's book Revolución To Roxy (Wordzworth, 2024)  and Bill's book Making It Up As You Go Along: Notes From A Bass Imposter (Iona, 2024) will also be on sale – so bring some dosh!

Sid says of Mainstream: "  first bought this album on release in 1975, and it took my head off with its unhinged spiky rock, energetic counterpoint and arty wordplay. 51 years later, the 2026 mix has blown me away all over again, making it feel as though the band are in the room in what is a bold and brilliant reimagining of a stone-cold classic."

More release info is here: quietsun.co.uk