1980s
Public Image Ltd, O2 Academy, BirminghamMonday, 21 October 2013
Thirty seven years since first breaking into the public consciousness and following a period being regarded as punk’s pantomime dame, John Lydon is now finally reaping wider musical recognition and kudos. Recent times have seen a revitalisation of... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Madness, ABBASunday, 20 October 2013
Madness: Take it or Leave itIn 1981, Madness followed The Beatles, Slade and The Sex Pistols by playing versions of themselves in a film. Take it or Leave it is no masterpiece, but it is hugely entertaining. At the time, surprisingly, a soundtrack... Read more... |
Bintley Triple Bill, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sadler’s WellsWednesday, 16 October 2013
Is David Bintley the one that got away, the wrong turning the Royal Ballet took in the early 1990s? I have long thought so, and watching their current triple bill, the feeling only grows. Bintley trained at the Royal Ballet School, graduated into... Read more... |
Patrice Chéreau, 1944-2013: a partial viewTuesday, 08 October 2013
It has to be partial, because out of the 10 opera productions from the iconoclastic French actor-director, who died yesterday of lung cancer at the age of 68, I’ve seen but two, on screen only – but a big two at that – and only three of his 11 films... Read more... |
Fleetwood Mac, O2 ArenaWednesday, 25 September 2013
We all know the backstory of the Mighty Mac, the breakups, the betrayals, the addictions and now, finally, the reunion. These days they're more like the Mellow Mac with the emotional hatchets buried, lingering hugs on stage, and tender tales of... Read more... |
Cutty Cargo presents Jessie Ware, Ely's YardFriday, 13 September 2013
It was a bittersweet kind of evening. Walking down Brick Lane, it was striking how Caucasian, tanned and healthy most people we passed were, and we couldn't help wondering if the Bangladeshi locals were starting to get priced out of their own... Read more... |
CD: Elvis Costello & The Roots – Wise Up GhostTuesday, 10 September 2013
Alex Turner says he wants to sound like 50 Cent. Adele has recently been recording with Wiz Khalifa. There really are very few musical barriers to be demolished these days. But 59-year-old Elvis Costello goes hip hop? Now that's a turn up for the... Read more... |
10 Questions for Russell Smith of Terminal CheesecakeMonday, 05 August 2013
In the late Eighties one of the most sonically unhinged bands of all time came together in East London. Terminal Cheesecake caused few commercial waves but gathered a devoted coterie of fans for their unholy racket at pummelling concerts. Their... Read more... |
DVD: Runaway TrainTuesday, 30 July 2013
Influencing Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, director Andrei Konchalovsky’s underrated marvel Runaway Train is finally available on crisp Blu-ray: think masculine philosophy meets Alaskan wilderness in an existential thriller as exciting today as it was in... Read more... |
Burton and Taylor, BBC FourTuesday, 23 July 2013
They’ve served BBC Four well, these dramas about the private lives of the stars. From writers to comics, presenters to chefs, the secret traumas of yesteryear’s celebs have entertained and enlightened. And, if we’re honest, embellished. Now that the... Read more... |
Interview: Grant Hart on Science, the Devil and DeathTuesday, 23 July 2013
In both a personal and literary sense, Grant Hart has been to hell and back. While the 52-year-old Minnesotan is still best known as the drummer and songwriting contributor behind legendary US punk band Hüsker Dü, his fourth solo album, The... Read more... |
Extract: That's Not Funny, That's SickMonday, 15 July 2013
Christened the Blues Brothers, Elwood and Jake’s first public appearance was as the warm-up act Lorne Michaels used to put the studio audience in a receptive mood before the show started. The audience became so warmed up that in April 1978, Michaels... Read more... |
