Great songs transcend their immediate space and morph into something grander, greater and immortal. “Somewhere Over the rainbow” and “My Way” are obvious examples of music standards that have enjoyed that rite of passage. “Heroes” is edging its way into that rarified space.
On the album it was a straightforward love song, but his performance live on “Isolar2” added a reflective, plaintiff longeur quality which I liked very much, a reading which endured until it was popularised again during the 9/11 tribute concert and reinvented as a tribute to the heroes of the hour. I do not particularly like this adaptation- but it has worked.
It happened to Springsteen with “Born in the usa” woody Guthrie with “This Land is your land” and Clapton with “Wonderful tonight”. Sometimes a song takes on a life of its own.
Bowie was unusually adept at picking subjects and song titles and writing music and lyrics which could be reinvented- think “”Space oddity”, “Life on Mars”, Fashion, Lets dance, and Fame.
Thus we all have our own versions of the song in our heads and hearts. The refrain of “we can be heroes- just for one day” is genius as is Fripp’s guitar.
This was my fourth time over the years that I have seen Rocky Horror. Like a fine wine it improves with age
Jason Donovan slips on the heels as Frank N Furter, supported by Lauren Chia as Janet, Connor Carson as Brad, Nathan Caton as The Narrator, Job Greuter as Riff Raff, Natasha Hoeberigs as Magenta / Usherette, Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli as Columbia, Morgan Jackson as Rocky, Edward Bullingham as Eddie / Dr Scott.
50 years on Rocky Horror continues to tell the tale of two innocent college students, Brad and his fiancée Janet. When their car breaks down near a mysterious castle en route to visit their former professor they encounter Frank N Furter,- all of the audience know what happens next
The show audaciously opens with its best song “Science Fiction, double feature” ( natasha as the usherette and magenta) and never lets up seamlessly linked by Nathan Caton as The Narrator who is superb and unafraid to talk about his afro Caribbean heritage, As a stand up comedian the heckles are meat and drink to him- his put downs very funny
Jason Donovan is unrecognisable and superb. Channelling the spirit of a fading rock star or Holly wood Beauty as in “Sunset Boulevard..”I.m coming home” was sung with genuine pathos
Christopher Luscombe’s direction is energetic but it sags in the second half. The first half curiously is only forty minute before a twenty minute break and a one hour second half. Lods of fun aznd a wortwhile reboot.
This is the third successive season that I have seen Mansfield’s opening game, First at Crewe, then at Barnsley. Mansfield are always well supported away from home, and a crowd of 5170 which may prove to be Burton’s highest home gate at the end of the season showed up to watch them win 2-1 courtesy of two excellent long range efforts.
A warm summers day, a well contested match and an enthusiastic crowd- a good day out
Oldham v Colchester
A mad 200 mile round trip for a a groundhop. This was Oldham’s frost home game in the EFL since promotion from the National League the previous season. The second highest ground in england after the hawthorns it is knows as Ice Station Zebra for its froideur.It once held 50,000,in the days of mass industrialisation and the Avro lancaster/ Vulcan factories close by providing a walk up, now around 13500.
Northampton V Mansfield
A new ground, number 66, and a feminder of wehy i had not been before even though it is comparatively close to Both Bedford and Birmingham where I lived for extended periods. A soul less, lego, matchbox style stadium which reminded me of Colchester united’s new home, or Chesterfields’ but smaller. i shall not be back. And you have to walk up a hill to the car park
Lovely contrived schmaltz. I watched this knowing that the real life protagonists were fraudulent grifters and enjoyed it far more as a result.
Every device that you can think of is wheeled out, Gillian Anderson as dodgy Wyn and Jason Isaac as Moth are magnificent, squeezing the maximum out of every situation. A dominated young woman is rescued from a coercive boyfriend. A waitress provides free food. Young children gambol in the fields like lambs while the itinerant adults smoke dope . Crowds gather to listen to Moth read from a book and throw money at him.
The “just walk it off” message for serious illness is an insult. It amounts to another contrived story about how reconnecting with nature is good for the soul” as Anderson listens to birdsong
The scenery is magnificent . A reassuring fantasy.
Tom is the Black Country’s answer to Tim Minchin. Now if you don’t like Minchin I accept that is faint praise .But I do- and I like Tom’s work very much. Tom is a membrer of Lichfield Poets, Tim Minchin isn’t….yet
The venue was The Lych Gate Tavern in Wolverhampton city centre,courtesy of Poets , prattlers and pandemonialists, unsurprisingly he has been asked to return on Tuesday 12th August at 7.30pm with City Voices
Tom is a dad. To prove it he brought his two children and their mother along. His youngest (child, not mother) slept through the entire performance.
Lots of us in the audience were dads ( and grandads)- his poems instantly struck a chord with us all. Why is there no manual? How are you supposed to keep a child alive with no previous experience? At least before you buy a dog there are some kennel club checks.
The ability of children to ask profound questions which would test Aristotle or Descartes at bedtime is known to us all. Descartes would have said that he would cover Cartesian Doubt tomorrow. Tom feels duty bound to answer it on the spot.
Tom’s easy, laconic style is a joy, the wordplay which underpins the delivery outstanding. Catch him while you can
The story, co-written by the Coen brothers and others, is based on a blockbuster sized book by Laura Hillenbrand.
Inevitably the story has to be retold. Jolie’s inexperience makes this an uneven exercise. The first half is strong, the second half isn’t, such that I found myself willing the Japanese Commandant to kill our protagonist to put him, and me out of our misery.
Ther movie is formulaic. The beginning has us with the hero, Louis Zamperini (played by Jack O’Connell), in a big bomber heading for some targets against Japan in WWII. As trouble begins, leading to the crash which makes up the real start of the movie, we also get flashbacks to his simple Italian-American childhood. This is effective, but it’s sentimental stuff. And it lets you know the kind of wholesome intentions of the movie. The only thing missing is mommas home made apple pie
There is a lot going on here, in three main sections: running, surviving on a raft, and the prison camps. That Zamperini suffers and endures is the point of the film, and in that way the narrative is very straight forward. There are villains and buddies. The skies rain bombs and the sea is full of sharks. Some people are merciless, and others kind. But in the middle, through every turn and travail, is Zamperini. “If you can take it, you can make it,” is a mantra in the film, and that’s the message. That doesn’t need over two hours.
In his own words this is an exploration of “the centrality of drugs and drug culture to the development of the British music business”,
A legendary manager in pop and rock, this account by Napier Bell is an exhaustive, largely accurate and illuminating insight into how drugs culture have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship.
His roster of artists under his management impresses, but his analysis crosses the industry, and both sides of the Atlantic
It is authoritative, intelligent, diligently researched and unpretentious , and largely avoids self -aggrandisement. his first hand experience of managing Marc Bolan , The Yardbirds ,Wham! and Japan- uses his wealth of contacts and personal experiences to tell the story of an industry in thrall to substance abuse. Where bad behaviour is not only tolerated but encouraged and where drugs are sometimes as important as talent,
I loved his inside track on the artists, but tired of the drugs tales after a while. Just like the real thing , there is only so much you want to take. He is disappointingly tight lipped about the indiscretions of some of his fellow managers, notably Tom Watkins. A policy of omerta reigns.
Somehow, despite being in my sixth decade, and a regular visitor to Wales I had never made St Davids. A t trip to the Pembrokeshire coast rectified that omission.
The UK’s smallest city is named after the patron saint of Wales, St David. Back in the 6th century, Dewi Sant, as he’s known in Welsh, founded monasteries across his homeland and France, including one in his local community.
He was born to a lady named Non, who also became a saint, and his birthplace is marked by the remains of St Non’s Chapel, easily reached on a 20-minute walk from St Davids centre.
Back in town, a spectacular cathedral, which has been a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of years, holds the saint’s remains and was built in the 12th century alongside his monastery. It’s said that two pilgrimages to the cathedral are equal to one pilgrimage to Rome, and it brings thousands of visitors from around the world to the tiny city every year – not to mention Welsh visitors who want to honour their saint in his final resting place.
The sweeping beaches of the Pembrokeshire coast were used as rehearsal locations for D Day. When i visited Tenby it was easy to see why.
Prior to D Day President Eisenhower visited the coast to check on preparations. I stopped at Solva and had a drink in the harbour pub, a pub where Eisenhower and Churchill had dropped by for refreshments much to the astonishment of the landlord.
Paced brilliantly and has the twists and turns of a thriller novel despite being a true story. Superbly researched.
This is more than simply an account of the attempt to assassinate Thatcher and her cabinet. It is also an exploration into the history and development of “the troubles” and covers the Mountbatten and Neave killings as part of the build up to Brighton.
Carroll is studiously detached and non judgemental. Brighton bomber Pat McGee is not portrayed as a hero, nor is the British establishment painted as the villains.
The Long War ultimately is deemed a failure, not so much by Carroll as by its participants. The heroes, if any exist are surely the Police, riven by inter departmental rivalries who triumph in identifying McGee using hard work, skill, determination, and luck.
Numerous vignettes and anecdotes lighten the story. Initial attempts to establish a casualty list were hampered by the number of Tories who had booked rooms in assumed names ,with assumed spouses, to cover illicit liaisons. Who were the casualties and survivors and how many were there? Everyone lost their clothes, so Marks and Spencer was opened up at 7am to enable delegates to buy replacement clothes for the conference later in the morning which went ahead- paid for by a Conservative party tab.
Remarkably, Thatcher left the police to get on with the job of tracking down the bombers with no interference or pressure.
However Carroll succeeds in pursuing a fundamental point. McGee came very close to succeeding in his assassination attempt- what would have happened if he had?
Those, like myself, familiar with the overall study will be enthralled by the detail. Those unfamiliar, will find this an invaluable insight into one of the great political stories of the late 20th century
Rangers and the Famous ICF: My Life With Scotland’s Most-Feared Football Hooligan Gang- Sandy Chugg, Book review
**** out of five
I knew nothing about the Scottish firms beyond their propensity to behave appallingly at any game in England be it club or national.
I have never seen a Sottish club side play, but did see the national side in Euro96 versus Holland. Apart from their being drunk at 8.30am as I was turning up for work, they were good as gold.
A number of factors contributed. Birmingham is a City still enraged by the IRA pub bombings, The Republican element of Scotland’s support, particularly that of Celtic, was always going to kept on a short leash by their ( Rangers) loyalist compatriots. Villa’s mob were out the night before to “encourage” respectful behaviour, and that was honoured. Hollands support was no pushover either, and the Scots clearly did not fancy a battle on several fronts. So the overwhelming mood was good natured. The Dutch and Brummies enjoyed the Scots’ “Jimmy Hill is a Poof” chants and flags. There has never been any love lost between the cities of Coventry and Birmingham.
Chuggs’s authenticity and credibility is beyond question. However his claims of being a reformed non combatant family man are less convincing. But that has no impact on his accounts of historic activity.
I was not aware that the scots had amalgamated their club firms to create a National one- The SNF. Whether they travelled on SNCF trains in France is unclear. I was equally unaware that the two Dundee firms mobs had teamed up to create the Dundee utility.
The violence depicted is brutal, visceral and compromising. Chugg, with the ICF is at the centre of it. Their legendary trouncing of Celtic : when fifty ICF took on a thousand Celtic fans before the controversial title decider of 1999 and the Raid on the Gallowgate: when the ICF took it to the pubs of the Gallowgate, Celtic’s spiritual home, are recounted in reverential terms.
Although the firms of many rivals are namechecked, the ICFs romp through the lower leagues after Rangers’ punishment demotion is ignored, as is Ross McGill, Glasgow and Scotland organised Crime Kingpin and Union Bears leader.
Well written, humorous and self deprecating, for me Chugg tries a little too hard in the final chapters to convince us that he is a reformed and changed man. He also name checks his solicitor, who presumably ensured that there would be no legal come back on his tales and admissions of illegal behaviour.
Th book serves well as a testament to the bigotry and sectarian hatred which permeates the game in Scotland. As a first hand record of football violence it is unsurpassed. A bleak tale of what it was like to be young and poor and Glasgow
Garyswordz 