Sixes and Sevens

Not to be confused with Sixes & Sevens.
For the card game, see Contradance (card game).

Sixes and Sevens
Studio album by
John McKay
Released9 May 2025
Recorded1980–89
GenrePost-punk
Length42:00
LabelTiny Global Productions
Singles from Sixes and Sevens
  1. "Flare"
    Released: 7 February 2025
  2. "The Blessed West"
    Released: 21 March 2025
  3. "Vigilante"
    Released: 25 April 2025

Sixes and Sevens is the debut solo album by English musician John McKay, the first studio guitarist of Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released on 9 May 2025 through Tiny Global Productions, on vinyl, CD and digital.[1]

The songs were recorded in studio between 1980 and 1989, and then archived in McKay's vault, before being mastered in 2024. Upon release in the UK, Sixes and Sevens reached number 38 in the Albums Sales Chart and number 23 in the Vinyl Albums Chart.[2]

Background and recording

After his departure from Siouxsie and the Banshees in September 1979, John McKay was still a musician under contract with Polydor. The record company soon asked him to record some of the new songs he had composed at that time. The songs "The Blessed West", “Flare” and “Taken For Granted", were taped at the PolyGram Studios in 1980 with McKay on vocals and guitar, the first studio drummer of the Banshees Kenny Morris and bassist Mick Allen. In 1982, McKay worked with other musicians and hired drummer Graham Dowdall and bassist Matthew Seligman. In the mid-1980s, the band did a few concerts as Zor Gabor, with McKay's partner Linda Clark also on vocals.They recorded in studio regularly. A single "Tightrope" was released in 1987 on In Tape (a record label run by Marc Riley of the Fall). David Cunningham produced the songs "Sacred Measure" and "Tightrope". McKay did a last recording session in 1989. McKay kept all the original tapes in his vault and in the early 2020s, music journalist John Robb, then his second wife, Laurie, and friends, introduced him to the owner of the label, Tiny Global Productions. The recordings were mastered in 2024. The title of the album summed up how lost and confused he felt after his exit of the Banshees, he was at sixes and sevens.[3]

Release and tour 2025/2026

In February 2025, McKay announced the release of eleven unheard songs for a archive release through Tiny Global Productions. The album was released on vinyl, CD and digital on 9 May.[1]

McKay formed a band and toured under the moniker John McKay's Reactor in the UK in 2025. His band features singer Jen Brown, bassist Billy King and drummer Jola.

In 2026 McKay and his band will be on tour in June and July. In June they will play six co-headlining shows with Miki Berenyi -previously of Lush. They will be in Portsmouth on 18 June,[4] London on 19 June at Bush Hall,[5] Norwich on 20 June,[6] Birmingham on 24 June,[7] Liverpool on 25 June,[8] and Hebden Bridge on 26 June.[9] McKay and his band will then play in Huddersfield on 10 July 2026,[10] and they will headline the "Deadinburgh Festival" in Edinburgh, Scotland on 11 July.[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Classic Rock8/10[12]
Mojo[13]
Record Collector[14]
Uncut7/10[15]

Victoria Segal of Mojo gave the album four out of five stars review, stating it was a "fascinating" "trove of songs".[13] Uncut hailed the record as "a surprising jolt" with "relentless" and "intriguing" songs.[15] Simon Price of Record Collector praised the album, giving it four stars, saying it was an "unexpected treasure" offering an "insight into an alternate universe where the original Banshees never broke up".[14] Chris Roberts of Classic Rock rated it 8 out of 10, saying it included "sharp songs" with a sound that is "ugly-beautiful, serrated-smooth", citing ""Zen And The Art Of Nonsense" as "a prescient pinnacle of angular guitars".[12] Louder Than War praised it saying it was a "reminder of what’s possible when musicians treat culture as a site of struggle rather. [...] A call, perhaps, to make things harder again. To be challenging. To be ambitious."[16] The Wire published a positive review and notably hailed "Sacred Measure" as "exceptional" where different elements "miraculously ... gel".[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John McKay (composer and lyricist) and Linda McKay (lyricist).

Sixes And Sevens track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Zen and the Art of Nonsense"04:33
2."Fun on the Floor"02:45
3."The Blessed West"03:02
4."Taken for Granted"03:29
5."Looks Can Kill"03:20
6."Sacred Measure"05:18
7."Flare"04:33
8."Black Five"02:30
9."Vigilante"02:17
10."Zor Gabor"02:58
11."Tightrope"07:17

Personnel

  • John McKay – vocals, guitar, saxophone
with

°Morris and Allen played on three 1980 tracks “The Blessed West,” “Flare” and “Taken For Granted.”

  • Linda Clark McKay – vocals
  • Graham Dowdall – drums on the other tracks
  • Matthew Seligman – bass on the other tracks

Additional musicians:

  • Andy Diagram – trumpet on "Sacred Measure"
  • Susie Mészáros – violin on "Tightrope"
  • Ruth Phillips – cello on "Tightrope"

Production:

Charts

Chart performance for Sixes And Sevens
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 22
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19] 19

References

  1. ^ a b "John McKay Sixes and Sevens - Vinyl - CD - digital". Thejohnmckay.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
    "John McKay Sixes and Sevens - Vinyl - CD (UK)". Norman Records. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
    "John McKay Sixes and Sevens - Vinyl - CD (UK)". Resident-music.com. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
    "John McKay Sixes and Sevens - Vinyl - CD (for the US)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
    "John McKay Sixes and Sevens - Vinyl - CD". Roughtrade. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
    "John McKay Sixes and Sevens - Vinyl (for Germany and Europe)". hhv.de. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
    "John McKay Sixes and Sevens - Vinyl - CD (for France and Europe)". Cultura. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
    "John McKay Sixes and Sevens - Vinyl - CD (for France and Eurooe)". Leclerc. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
    "John McKay Sixes and Sevens - Vinyl - CD (for France and Europe)". Fnac. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  2. ^ "Sixes and Sevens - UK Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  3. ^ Simpson, Dave (April 2025). "Banshee's Back". Uncut.
  4. ^ "Portsmouth 18 June John McKay's Reactor - with Miki Trio". Seetickets. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  5. ^ "London 19 June John McKay's Reactor - with Miki Trio". Seetickets. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  6. ^ "Norwich 20 June John McKay's Reactor - Miki Trio". Seetickets. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  7. ^ "Birmingham 24 June John McKay's Reactor - Miki Trio". Seetickets. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  8. ^ "Liverpool 25 June John McKay's Reactor - Miki Trio". Seetickets. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  9. ^ "Hebden Bridge 26 June John McKay's Reactor - Miki Trio". Thetradesclub.com. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  10. ^ "Huddersfield 10 July John McKay's Reactor". Seetickets. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  11. ^ "The Deadinburgh Festival 2026". Thedeadinburghfestival.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  12. ^ a b Roberts, Chris (June 2025). "John McKay - Sixes and Sevens [album review]". Classic Rock. No. 340.
  13. ^ a b Segal, Victoria (May 2025). "From the Air [Sixes and Sevens - album review]". Mojo.
  14. ^ a b Price, Simon (17 April 2025). "Sixes And Sevens [album review]". Record Collector. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  15. ^ a b O'Connell, Sharon (May 2025). "John McKay - Sixes and Sevens [album review]". Uncut.
  16. ^ Davenport, Neil (25 May 2025). "John McKay's Sixes and Sevens and the Lost Aspiration of Post-Punk [album review]". Louder Than War. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  17. ^ "John McKay Sixes And Sevens - review". The Wire. No. 498. August 2025.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 16/5/2025 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  19. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 16/5/2025 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
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