1980s
They Might Be Giants, Barbican review - genuine, authentic humourThursday, 04 October 2018
The songs of They Might Be Giants have an irresistible way of combining the playful, the childlike and the absurd. The band’s major label debut album, Flood from 1990, which was most people’s entry point into their music, is full of quick-witted... Read more... |
The Everyday and the Extraordinary, Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne review - the ordinary made strangeThursday, 04 October 2018
There’s a building site outside the Towner Art Gallery and a cement mixer seems to have strayed over the threshold into the foyer. This specimen (pictured below right) no longer produces cement, though. David Batchelor has transformed it into an... Read more... |
CD: Echo & the Bunnymen - The Stars, The Oceans & The MoonTuesday, 02 October 2018
Releasing albums of re-recordings of an artist’s work is not a new concept, and it’s one that has been done to great effect in the past. Live albums, remix albums, new versions of poorly recorded songs and even stylistic re-imaginings have all been... Read more... |
Soft Cell, O2 review - a memorable finale to their careerMonday, 01 October 2018
Soft Cell have been teasing us for almost three hours. “I think we might have forgotten to do one, Dave,” says Marc Almond, pacing the stage, a wry smirk on his face. His protégé, Dave Ball, is next to him, ensconced behind a corral of old analogue... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Soft CellSunday, 30 September 2018
This weekend sees Soft Cell play the O2, a one-off gig celebrating their era-defining music. It’s 16 years since they last worked together and 37 since their heyday, yet they clearly still have a devoted fan-base: they sold out the gigantic London... Read more... |
Psappha, Kok / Kempf, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Stoller Hall, Manchester review - new and oldSaturday, 29 September 2018
The Stoller Hall, the modest-size auditorium inside Chetham’s School of Music, is really proving itself to be the venue Manchester has long needed this season. Two concerts on successive days, each the first of a series and both making something of... Read more... |
CD: Nile Rodgers & Chic - It's About TimeThursday, 27 September 2018
Nile Rodgers is a pop juggernaut, up there with the very biggest. Aside from Chic's disco monsters “Good Times” and “Le Freak”, he’s also responsible for Sister Sledge’s career (“We Are Family”), “Let’s Dance” by Bowie, Madonna’s “Like a... Read more... |
Heathers The Musical, Theatre Royal Haymarket review - a sardonic take on teen angstThursday, 20 September 2018
This London premiere of Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe’s 2010 musical (based on Daniel Waters’ oh-so-Eighties cult classic movie, starring Christian Slater and Winona Ryder) had a development period at The Other Palace – no critics allowed... Read more... |
CD: Prince - Piano and a Microphone 1983Thursday, 20 September 2018
Knowing a deceased artist's archives are available for re-release is a double-edged sword. Will there be a shoddy flood of any and every old bit of tat a la Jimi Hendrix? Will there be half-arsed, half-finished and even fake songs bodged together by... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Soft CellSunday, 16 September 2018
During their original 1980 to 1984 lifespan as a recording unit, Soft Cell issued three albums, a mini-album, eleven singles and EP. There were also compilation appearances, bonus tracks on discs included with albums or singles (such as the 12-inch... Read more... |
CD: Hawkwind - Road to UtopiaSaturday, 15 September 2018
Implausible times call for implausible music, and it doesn't come much more unlikely than this. Hawkwind, the die-hard troupers of gnarly cosmic squatter drug-rock, have re-recorded highlights from their catalogue, arranged and produced by Mike Batt... Read more... |
CD: Many Angled Ones - Suicide: Songs of Alan Vega and Martin RevFriday, 31 August 2018
The long career of New York electronic duo Suicide finally came to an end upon the death of their vocalist Alan Vega in 2016. They had not, however - and to say the least – been very prolific in decades. Their reputation rests almost entirely on... Read more... |
