Paul Smith

As guitarist Paul Rafferty tunes up with a familiar riff the trilby-wearing vocalist explains that the band can only communicate with each other via the medium of Dire Straits guitar solos.

Amelia Ward on the Maximo Park frontman's latest venture

Chicago, USA

Walking into The Deaf Institute is a bit like walking into something from a gaudy children’s book. It’s both exquisite and random. There are massive parrots on the wallpaper, a glass balcony that is set off by an enormous glitter ball hanging from the ceiling and old wooden floors. Huge red velvet curtains ad

Giving the appearance of the stereotypical, bespectacled, lank-haired college geek, but very far from it, his self-penned songs explore dark places with dystopian Gormenghast-like imagery and are far removed from the Folkie archetype.

The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, Scotland

Cluny, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK