Following on from the amazing lineups of the past two years, the Mencap Little Noise sessions are back again this November to raise more money for the mental disability charity.

The lineup is almost complete, with a string of pretty amazing performances scheduled. Personally, I’m most excited about Editors day, along with the pop-tastic Alexandra Burke, Mika and Newton Faulkner days – all of the shows have great talent and with the promise of special guests, I say you should hop on down to Union Chapel to check out some great music. Head on over to the Little Noise Sessions website for more answers to your questions.

The artists so far announced include:

Monday 16th November
Editors
The Maccabees
Bombay Bicycle Club
Everything Everything

Tuesday 17th November
Alexandra Burke
Alphabeat
Marina and the Diamonds
VV Brown

Wednesday 18th November
Mika
Paloma Faith
Alex Gardner
Daisy Dares You

Thursday 19th November
Richard Hawley
I Blame Coco

Friday 20th November
Lostprophets
The Blackout
Egyptian Hip Hop

Saturday 21st November
Taio Cruz
Tinchy Stryder
Chipmunk

Sunday 22nd November
Florence and the Machine
Golden Silvers
Erik Hassle
Ellie Goulding

Monday 23rd November
David Gray
The Low Anthem
Lisa Mitchell

Tuesday 24th November
Newton Faulkner
Scouting for Girls
Little Comets
Stornoway

Richard Hawley is arguably Sheffield’s finest guitar-toting bandolero. If you haven’t followed his career since he was in the Long Pigs or collaborating with close mate Jarvis Cocker, he has released 5 solo albums since 2001, using his amazing songwriting talents to record songs sure to be timeless classics. He got my attention via 2005’s ‘Coles Corner’ and 2007’s ‘Lady’s Bridge’, both of which are sentimentally tied to Hawley’s affection for his hometown. They brought me back to a simpler era of songwriting when the focus was on a man and his guitar, where there was no electronic wizardry for a songwriter to fall back on. Hawley’s quiff even recalls back the days of Brylcreem adverts, Cliff Richard, and Elvis Presley. In his leather jacket, he epitomizes the word ‘hip’. And he is back this fall with a new album-length offering.

Hawley previously brought me to tears with ‘Valentine’, so it should come as no surprise that he has done it again, making me turn on the waterworks with his latest single, ‘For Your Lover Give Some Time’, now available digitally from iTunes. It’s the first single from his sixth album ‘Truelove’s Gutter’ (to be released on 21 September in the UK). The track has very un-rock ‘n’ roll cello and violin background instrumentation and is as tender as rose petals falling softly to the ground. It sure sounds different than everything else out there right now and I encourage you to give it a listen, especially if you’ve never heard any of Hawley’s solo stuff before. It just might make you a believer too.

‘Truelove’s Gutter’ will be released in the UK on Mute Records on 21 September in the UK.