1980s
Ultravox, Hammersmith ApolloFriday, 28 September 2012
Now I think I've seen it all. After a storming two-hour set Ultravox returned to the stage for a celebratory twin-pronged past-meets-present encore of "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" and "Contact". At the very end, during a touching, soft-spoken... Read more... |
BarbaraMonday, 24 September 2012
For a remarkable BBC Radio Four half-hour programme broadcast on 14 September, The Stasi Jigsaw Puzzle, Chris Bowlby pieced together tales of treachery in the former German Democratic Republic. At one point a 1950s recording of a trial of a woman... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: R.E.M., Alice Cooper, The Durutti Column, Aztec CameraSunday, 23 September 2012
R.E.M.: Document 25th Anniversary EditionKieron TylerAlthough the band themselves have not lasted out the 25 years since the release of their fifth album Document, R.E.M. haven’t dropped off the face of the earth. The memory will live, fed by... Read more... |
Dexys, Queen's Hall, EdinburghWednesday, 19 September 2012
Kevin Rowland has gone to great lengths recently to ensure that no one is under any misconceptions: the return of Dexys is no nostalgia trip. Last night’s show in Edinburgh hammered home the point. There aren’t many bands that could return after 27... Read more... |
CD: The Killers – Battle BornWednesday, 12 September 2012
The showbiz titibit that has intrigued me more than any other in recent weeks is the story that comedian Jimmy Carr helped to inspire one of the tracks on The Killers’ fourth album. The Lloyd Cole lookalike apparently suggested to Brandon Flowers... Read more... |
Dallas, Channel 5Thursday, 06 September 2012
Praise be, they’ve kept the title sequence. Dallas, the mama of all American soap operas, is famous for a lot of things – Stetsons, satin sheets, surreal shower scenes, the slow disintegration of Priscilla Presley’s nose – but perhaps the most... Read more... |
CD: The xx – CoexistThursday, 06 September 2012
One of the current tropes in stand-up comedy is the way that television appropriates music to manipulate emotions. Sean Hughes employs a flurry of Snow Patrol when he acts out buying some bread, while newcomer David Trent has Sigur Rós on his... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Lee Hazlewood, T-Coy, Laibach, Boppin’ by the BayouSunday, 02 September 2012
Lee Hazlewood: A House Safe for TigersGraham RicksonLee Hazlewood’s voice can still invoke awe. It's gravelly, sonorous, rasping, but incredibly affecting – even when he’s scraping around in the depths it always sounds musical. A reissue of a... Read more... |
Soul Sister, Savoy TheatreSaturday, 25 August 2012
The fright wig is instantly recognisable. Even with her back turned, it’s obviously Tina Turner on stage. Except it isn’t. It’s actress Emi Wokoma playing the singer in a performance virtually guaranteed to turn her into a star. Casualty and... Read more... |
CD: Jessie Ware - DevotionWednesday, 15 August 2012
Although the Eighties revival has now been going on for longer than the actual Eighties, it shows no sign of abating – to the point where maybe it would be more sensible to refer to it as a tradition or a palette of techniques rather than than... Read more... |
Interview: 10 Questions for Nik KershawMonday, 06 August 2012
Nik Kershaw (b 1958) is best known for a run of hits in the mid-Eighties, songs such as “Wouldn’t It Be Good”, “I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me”, “The Riddle” and “Wide Boy”. He achieved international success and played Live Aid in 1985. Raised in... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Freedom Sounds, Marilyn Monroe, Modern Music, Samantha FoxSunday, 05 August 2012Various Artists: Trojan Presents Freedom Sounds, a Celebration of Jamaican MusicKieron TylerThree-and-a-half minutes in, a heavily reverbed drum suddenly rattles and the track heads off into outer space. Morse-code bass dominates, the hi-hat swishes... Read more... |
