Chris n that

2009-12-23T18:40:00.006Z

On Saturday night Owen and I went to see the legend that is Ray Davies at Hammersmith - which thank God has a roof - Constant Reader, you will remember we went to see him earlier this year in an open-air gig at Kenwood House - where it absolutely TIPPED down! However, as awful as it should have been, there was something resolutely Kinksian in the sight of us all sitting there in the pouring rain listening to songs about the oddness of Englanders!

However back in the dry...The show consisted of 100% Ray - no need for a support when you have so much material to draw on! The first segment featured Ray playing acoustically with fellow guitarist Bill Shanley then being joined onstage by his band. In the second half he was joined on stage by The Crouch End Festival Chorus for choral renditions of some of his greatest songs.

He was wonderfully acerbic about how some of his songs were less successful at the time than others and he is as baffled by the ways of the music business as ever. He joked with the audience's half-arsed attempts at banter but more often than not he was taking us through his amazing catalogue of songs. Ray is rightfully proud of his songs - and more often than not played the chorus again after the finished the song so everyone could join in again!
Personal favorites were from the acoustic section "I'm Not Like Everybody Else", "Sunny Afternoon", "Apeman" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" - singing the last verse a la Johnny Cash which sounded strangely believable - from the section with his band I loved "Dead End Street" and "Where Have All The Good Times Gone". He also sang the lovely "Postcards From London" which he insisted wasn't a Christmas song - despite the fact it's mentioned in the song!

Although the chorus sometimes sound strange on some of the tracks - "All Day And All Of The Night" just sounds odd - more often than not they lift the songs into whole new realms of Englishness, none more so than on the medley of songs from "Village Green Preservation Society". They also boosted "See My Friends" into a strangely transcendental moment in time while "Victoria" nearly took the roof off Hammersmith Apollo.

I wish I knew what was in the DNA of the song "Waterloo Sunset" that gets the tears rolling down my face but it does - every time. I can usually hold it together until the last verse but then I just go. It is one of only a few songs that affects me in a deeply profound way.

I was hoping Ray might have mentioned Kirsty MacColl in his introduction to "Days" as she is as much associated with the song now as he is - if not more - but it was not to be. It was still a moving experience however. The evening was rounded off with an encore of "Lola" - "that old faggot song" as his neighbours in New Orleans used to call it!

I have seen Ray Davies twice this year so hopefully he will be as good as his word and be back next year.

2009-12-20T22:31:00.005Z

It was with some sadness that I heard today of the death of Brittany Murphy at 32 of what is suspected to be a cardiac arrest.

She appeared in films such as 8 MILE as Eminem's love interest, as one of the disturbed patients in GIRL, INTERRUPTED and Clive Owen's girlfriend in SIN CITY.
However it was her sparky, eye-catching performance as 'Tai' (in centre) the "clueless" new pupil in CLUELESS who Alicia Silverstone and Stacey Dash attempt to mold into a valley girl like them that I will remember her for.

Very sad...

2009-12-18T22:07:00.005Z

Nine years ago today Kirsty MacColl went scuba-diving with her sons off the coast of the island of Cozumel in Mexico only to be killed by a speeding motorboat which was breaking the law by being in an area reserved for divers.

In a few seconds one of the most original voices in music was silenced and that is a silence that has resounded through British music ever since.

Tomorrow I am seeing Ray Davies who of course wrote DAYS, one of Kirsty's best-loved recordings. When he sings it tomorrow my mind will be on Kirsty and our visit to Cozumel in 2006 to pay my own tribute to her by scattering petals in the clear, blue sea.
The sadness is mitigated by the thought of the new friends made through the past nine years by the coming together of Kirsty's fans - the most obvious result is the bench dedicated to Kirsty's memory in Soho Square.

There was... there is... no one like her.

2009-12-18T14:11:00.010Z

Last week Owen and I went to see the latest in the National Theatre's seasonal stage adaptations of literary children's books. After Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials", Jamila Gavin's "Coram Boy" and Michael Morpurgo's "War Horse" this year's offering is Terry Pratchett's "Nation".

I have never read any of his books but I know they are quirky as all get out so was intrigued by what the evening would hold especially as the adaptation was by Mark Ravenhill, he of SHOPPING AND FUCKING fame.

Sadly the whole thing was Amateur Hour In Dixie (thank you Suzanne).

The play was an uneasy mixture of eco-messaging, Empire-bashing and native dancing with a dash of puppetry, no doubt hoping that some of the WAR HORSE magic might rub off. It didn't.

The plot tells of a young South Seas Islander Mau (well played by Gary Carr) whose return from a boy-to-man trial coincides with a tsunami which wipes out his island's population. Shipwrecked on the island is Ermintrude, a young and prim English girl, who was on her way to see her father who is a Governor in the region. She is accompanied by her salty-mouthed parrot, and unknown to either the boy or girl, also surviving the shipwreck are two of the ship's crew and Ermintrude's former butler who has gone not-so quietly mad after the death of his son from an influenza epidemic and who is determined to kill the rich girl.Ermintrude soon adapts to her surroundings, so much so she changes her name to Daphne - and who wouldn't? Soon she and Mau have a new tribe gathered together from survivors from the surrounding islands - luckily one of them speaks English - and Daphne is soon proving her worth, helping give birth to an islander's baby and sucking the milk out of a huge pig to spit into a bowl to feed it. As you do.... However their idyll is shattered when a tribe of cannibals makes their presence known... and their leader is Cox the murderous former butler.

I presume any of Pratchett's quirkiness has got lost somewhere along the line - apart from the idea that Daphne's father is 156th in line for the throne, and there *is* a flu epidemic remember - so what we are left with is an opposites attract plotline saddled with lovable islander schtick. Which is contrasted against the fact that all the white characters are played as either eye-rolling, murderous scrutbags or Imperialist toffs. Even the late appearance by Daphne's father - who has been flagged up through the show as a decent Englishman- appears with a cricket bat under his arm. As you do. Don't worry Constant Reader, I haven't gone all Daily Mail on you... but I found the saintly islanders vs froth-mouthed British baddies rather infuriating after a while.

As I said, Gary Carr makes a good impression as Mau and Jason Thorpe as the parrot with a dirty word for every occasion was a welcome relief from the the pious platitudes and am-dram performances. A special mention must be made too for Gaye Brown as Daphne's imperious aunt - a caricature sure, but a caricature at least played with a panache.

The design features three large screens behind a revolving island and there were a couple of nice scenic effects utilising them - drowning sailors slowly spinning in space as they are thrown from their ship and an ominous shark slowly emerging from the darkness but that was about all.

The bittersweet ending strove for profundity that would have worked had the relationship between Mau and Daphne ever hinted as having any depth.

After the majestic WAR HORSE, NATION was a National Theatre disappointment.

2009-12-16T22:04:00.003Z

Miss M working boobs, opera gloves and heels on the NINE premiere red carpet...

2009-12-11T22:00:00.009Z

Time to catch up with what I've been up to this week... We went to the wilds of Kentish Town to visit the Forum where the unstoppable New York Dolls were appearing. We had tickets for the first level seated area and as my eyes got used to the gloom - we had got there just as the support act were finishing - I saw that there were vast stretches of the padded bench seating which were empty. It was quite surprising - this was the New York Dolls people!They slouched on... David Johansen looking quite respectable in a suit and Sylvain Sylvain in his regulation leather cap, t-shirt and turned-up jeans. They were augmented by the ever-good Steve Conte on guitar and Sami Yaffa on bass with Brian Delaney on thundering drums! They launched into "Looking For A Kiss" then the title track of their new cd "Cause I Sez So" and followed this up quickly with "We're All In Love" which grew and grew into a wild rock squall with lights flashing and thunderous sound... it was a real rock gig!!They bounced into "Nobody Got No Bizness" and "Better Than You" from the new album and from their last album we got the two knockout tracks "Dance Like A Monkey" and "Get Away From Tommy" - yay! Needless to say we also got some of the songs that propelled them to success in the early 70s - "Pills", "Private World", and "Subway Train". Sylvain sang the opening verse and chorus of Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" which David took up and led into "Lonely Planet Boy". The end came with "Trash" - both the glam thrash version and their newly-recorded reggae version - "Personality Crisis" and, my favorite song of theirs - the glorious "Jet Boy", one of The great songs of the 1970s. It's been a long time since David, Syl and their broken Doll mates - Billy, Johnny, Jerry and Arthur - burst onto the rock world with their bouffant hair, platform boots and tranny-hooker make-up. As they roared through "Jet Boy" I hoped a screen would drop with the footage of them performing the same song to be sneeringly called "mock rock" by Bob Harris. Maybe so Bob... but they are also fabulous. It's a shame they were at the Forum though where the sound is uniformly muddy.

On Sunday I went with Owen to see Alison Moyet at the Festival Hall where she was promoting her recently released Best Of album.

La Moyet showed her fans something they had never seen before. Namely her waist. Wearing a figure-hugging long black dress she showed her new shapely self which doesn't appear to have affected her pipes.

Although a big fan when she was part of Yazoo I never really took to her as a solo artist although her early run of singles were good enough to make me add her first Best Of to my cds. It was interesting that the songs that showed some sonic variety of tone where the old Yazoo hits.

I know I should like her, she certainly fits the mould of singers I like but there is something about her that I simply cannot warm to. Is it that dreaded way she has of chewing off the last word in a line? The can't-be-arsed attitude on stage which I am sure most find endearing? I don't know.

I know one thing which pisses me off though about her. Now I will admit my favorite song from her back catalogue is INVISIBLE written by Lamont Dozier, without doubt one of the greatest writers of popular song. However her total dismissal of this song I find frustrating.

Her double standards toward this song is exemplified by her including it on her latest Best Of collection but her refusal to sing it live - and to go out of her way to say she isn't going to sing it - is perverse. Oh no Alison... sing us one of your recent meandering dirges but leave out this classic song which also gave you your biggest US hit. When she bored away about the fact that she would never sing the song I booed. She did however sing "Weak In The Presence Of Beauty" which is another song she said she usually refuses to sing. Which of course is another excellent pop song... written by someone else.

I don't know - maybe she looks upon "Invisible" as 'a woman as victim' song - but if this is so then why sing Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away" - the ultimate 'victim' song? Go fuckin' figure.

2009-12-11T00:46:00.003Z

Catherne Zeta Jones sounds a bit of a worry but it looks like Angela Lansbury is working on the definitive "Liaisons"...

Breaking News: the cast is gong in to record a new cast recording in January...

2009-12-07T00:56:00.004Z

So here we are - December rings in the last of my year-long tribute to my personal Legends of Motown.

This month's Legend has to be the group who first got me excited in the label and it's artists and I guess for quite a few in my generation that was through The Jackson 5.

It helped that I was the age that I presume was their demographic audience and I remember playing my 7" single of ABC at the primary school leaving party. I just loved them. I remember staring at the record wondering how that happy sound could be actually hidden in those grooves. Of course what I also was hypnotized by was my first blast of Soul.

The next year I bought with my birthday money what was for me then - and probably still is - The Greatest Album Of All Time: Motown Chartbusters Volume 5. Apart from The Jackson 5 (The Love You Save / I'll Be There) it had Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (Tears of A Clown), Edwin Starr (War), The Supremes (Stoned Love), Marvin Gaye (Abraham, Martin and John), Martha Reeves and The Vandellas (Forget Me Not), Four Tops (It's All In The Game / Still Water (Love)), The Temptations (Ball of Confusion), Stevie Wonder (Heaven Help Us All / Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours), Jimmy Ruffin (It's Wonderful To Be Loved By You / I'll Say Forever My Love), Diana Ross (Ain't No Mountain High Enough), The Spinners (It's A Shame).

I played that album to death... looking at the pictures of all the artists on the cover... wanting to know who they all were and dreaming of going to this magical place where all these people made this amazing music.

Needless to say my bedroom wall was covered in pictures of the happy smiling Jacksons in their multi-coloured outfits and my nose was always pressed against the screen whenever they appeared on TV - when they appeared on TOTP singing "Rockin' Robin" in their orange and yellow outfits I nearly self-combusted, to say nothing of their appearance on the 1972 Royal Command Performance.

I remember the bafflement I felt when they tailed off in success over here - their last chart single here "Skywriter" didn't even make the Top 20 in 1973 - and of course then came the madness of world fame for my former hero and all that it entailed.

When I heard the news earlier this year of Michael's death - ironically on returning home from a 50th Motown celebration at Wembley - it was with a sadness for the Michael of both our youths... the ever-smiling, whirling dynamo with the perfect afro who introduced me to the ABC's of Motown.

2009-12-03T20:21:00.007Z

If it was Wednesday it was definitely Diva Central at Hammersmith.

Owen and I were among the 25 scared men who huddled together for solidarity in the face of row upon row of women who had loudly come to party. It was all rather overwhelming - the show was sold out and they were standing along the back and down the sides. I tell you - if three of them had experienced a joint hot flash we would have all gone up.

We were there to worship at the altar of three BIG-voiced Sisters of Song namely Lulu, Chaka Kahn and Anastacia. I can't say I have ever particularly cared for the latter but am a big fan of Lulu and Chaka, although Lu was the only one I have ever seen live before.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect but assumed it would take it's lead from the Divas of Motown show where they each had an allotted time to shine before maybe a group singalong at the end.

Wrong.

The three of them appeared together and came and went in ones and twos in a show that seemed to have been sequenced by the director putting his iPod on shuffle. They all had solo moments to shine but Lulu for some bizarre reason lost out in this.

Anastacia had two solos with "I'm Outta Love" and "Left Outside Alone" while "One Day In Your Life" was shared between them. Chaka shared "I'm Every Woman", "Ain't Nobody" and "I Feel For You" with her co-stars but had a solo with "Through The Fire", a lovely ballad needless to say ignored by the audience chattering through it - oh and Owen too.

And Lulu? Well, "Shout" made a for a priceless second half centrepiece, "Independence" was shared with her co-stars as was "Relight My Fire" which made for an obvious encore. But that was it - no "Man Who Sold The World", "The Boat That I Row", "I'm A Tiger", "To Sir, With Love"... hell not even "Boom-Bang-A-Bang" made it!

Even odder was the fact that the "Proud Mary" and "Disco Inferno" arrangements used showed that someone had been listening to the "What's Love Got To Do With It" soundtrack - so why not use "I Don't Want To Fight"... written by Lulu?
What we did get was a generic Motown tribute - odd to watch after the real thing had been on the same stage a couple of weeks back! I was bemused by this 1960s sequence - with Austin Powers-style groovy video projections and the obvious mini-skirted dancers - wondering what does Lulu think of having the decade that made her famous neatly summed-up in this short-handed way. We also had "Soul Man" thrown into the edit as well as Chaka soloing on "Respect" - where even she was drowned out by the audience!

There was also a generic Disco sequence which featured "Enough Is Enough" and "I Will Survive" (yawn). We also had them doing their version of the 'MOULIN ROUGE "Lady Marmalade" and slotted in between were numbers to show that our Divas are still "relevant" - Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" came and went just as they were becoming too incongruous but Lulu had a solo with Duffy's "Mercy" which again raised eyebrows - but which actually proved how she could sing the arse out of the song. Chaka seemed a bit going-through-the-motions - she obviously Doesn't Do Choreography - I was wondering whether the format suits her style of performance. It was great to see her finally on stage though. Anastacia came across well - grinning and shaking hands with the front row at the drop of a hat.

The show certainly had been stylishly put together with video sequenced backdrops, six hard-working dancers and big lighting design but the transitions from sequence to sequence could have been tighter.

I wondered after to Owen whether I would have enjoyed the show a bit better in a smaller venue where there might have been some real engagement with the audience.

2009-12-01T21:47:00.012Z

My second theatrical excursion, with Owen, Sharon and Eamonn, was to see the well-reviewed play SPEAKING IN TONGUES at the Duke of Yorks Theatre. I suspect the critics must have had a particularly bad stretch of plays before they saw this one. On reflection it wasn't bad... just not good.I must declare an interest before this - I have yet to enjoy an Australian play. Admittedly I haven't seen that many but the ones I have seen seem - lightweight. Obvious. First-draftish.

The play started interestingly enough - two couples are meeting in two anonymous hotel rooms for extra-martial shags. We watch their embarrassed, fumbling attempts at small talk, each wondering who makes the first move. One couple finally do the deed... the other couple can't bring themselves to. We then follow the couples back and with Charity's "fickle finger of fate" - or a tricky playwright - the cheating man is married to the non-cheating woman and vice-versa. The scene ends where non-cheating wife and non-cheating husband slap their cheating spouses.
Now these two scenes are played on the same set by the actors at the same time with characters saying the same lines for most of the time. A clever theatrical device... if used sparingly. Here, it just draws attention to itself so I wasn't so much following the play, more waiting for one of the actors to miss their cue.

We then get roughly the same scene played twice as the two men, then the two women, meet by chance in a bar and realize who each other is.

The first act ends with the cheating husband, a police detective, telling his wife about a lingering dream he had featuring him scaring another man and the cheating wife telling her husband about her witnessing their next door neighbour furtively disposing of a woman's shoe while appearing in a jittery, scratched state.Act Two then spins the dramatic bottle and our quartet of actors are now playing new characters. A man writes to an ex-girlfriend telling her how he can't forget her - the ex-girlfriend has an uncomfortable session with her analyst about the letters while the analyst is more keen on the woman's latest relationship - the analyst is stranded on a dark road miles from anywhere and leaves increasingly panicked messages on the home answerphone for her absent husband - a man tells an unseen interrogator about how he gave a woman a lift on a dark road who then fled his car in a panic leaving her shoe which he then tried to dispose of until interrupted by his neighbour. See where this is going?

Sadly yes I could see where it was going.

Even more so when the final scene had the Detective from the first act interviewing the guarded husband of the missing woman who finally admits that the reason he was not home for her calls was because he was seeing his mistress.

And of course... the play ends with the ex-girlfriend who was in analysis with the missing woman getting a call from her lover.... guess who?

As I said as we left, does writer Andrew Bovell not realize that we might have actually seen LA RONDE?

The play was the basis for the well-received Australian film LANTANA and I can well understand how the plot contrivances would work better in a film setting. A seemingly random cross-section of people coming into contact with each other by chance reminded me of the film SHORT CUTS but on stage SPEAKING IN TONGUES eventually showed a writer striving for a universality which ended up being just groaningly obvious.

I will admit to never being bored while watching Toby Frow's production, just dulled into submission by Bovell's join-the-dots plotting. Although none of the actors are particular favorites of mine, they all invested the play with more commitment than I think it deserved.

John Simm showed a wry humour as the Detective and an angry defiance as the man accused by his neighbour of wrong-doing. Ian Hart met himself going off coming on as he played three roles - the hapless husband thinking better of having an affair, the sad ex-lover and the vanished woman's husband wrestling with guilt.

Hart launched himself at an audience member recently who he said was talking during his performance. He was probably explaining to his friend which one Hart was playing!

Actually the scenes between Simm and Hart were the best in the production, all played with a teasing tension that as said, gave the play a merit it hardly deserved.

Lucy Cohu made the most of the opposing characters she played - a jaundiced, tempted wife and the emotionally fraught analyst. Kerry Fox fared less well as the gauche, suspicious wife and the defensive patient.

And to quote Mrs. Patrick Campbell, when a rain effect in a play she was appearing in started pouring down on her rather than outside the set's windows, "And it cost the earth!"

2009-11-29T17:32:00.018Z

I have had two theatrical excursions in the past few days that, of course, must be shared with you Constant Reader....

On Wednesday I made my first trip to the Menier Chocolate Factory since I was interviewed for a box office job there. Three productions have been and gone since then so I feel enough water has passed under London Bridge. And as no other theatre has felt the urge to revive SWEET CHARITY I guess it's time to return...

Indeed it was the lure of seeing Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields' classic 1966 musical on stage for the first time that had me back on the purgatorial banquettes. I have seen the film countless times and have enjoyed both the soundtrack and the 1967 London cast recording with Juliet Prowse as Charity and the magnificent Josephine Blake as Nickie but the stage version was unknown to me.

It's last London incarnation was in 1998 at the Victoria Palace in a short-lived production starring Bonnie Langford which amazingly didn't have me laying siege to the box office for a ticket and the only other opportunity to see the show was in 2005 when Christina Applegate was appearing in a revival on Broadway. There were still tickets available the evening Owen and I checked into our hotel but we eventually decided food and a snooze were higher up the agenda. So it was with a sigh of relief that the lights dimmed around me, Owen and Angela and the Menier band struck up the brassy, swaggering Overture.I had been quietly looking forward to the show but a nagging doubt remained. Last year the Menier misfired bigtime with an awful production of THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG which worryingly also had a book by Neil Simon but Matthew White's production was, by and large, a success and I had a great time. I actually think the main problem I had with the show was Neil Simon's book. What was rib-tickling 43 years ago doesn't always raise a smile now and I felt it was definitely time for a revision. But then I have never been a huge fan of his writing. He does however come into his own with the exchanges in the Fandango Ballroom - "We don't dance, we defend ourselves to music".

Luckily Cy Coleman's memorable score and Dorothy Fields' tart, gimlet-eyed lyrics save the day - it's remarkable the show isn't revived more often with show-stoppers like "Big Spender", "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" and "Rhythm of Life". Surprisingly they lost out on a Tony Award to the dour MAN OF LA MANCHA.

Although it seems just plain wrong for the "Rich Man's Frug" not to be danced to Bob Fosse's ice-cool choreography, Steven Mears' does a fine job in this and all the other routines.

Director Matthew White keeps the show moving at a rare clip and has given all the scenes in the Fandango Ballroom an air of quiet desperation and barely-disguised menace - none more so in the scene when a new girl appears among the hardened and disillusioned taxi dancers.

The main surprise of the evening has to be Tamzin Outhwaite as Charity. Although maybe not as obviously sympathetic as her character should be, she more than holds her own in the dance numbers and has a nice singing voice. I guess it was a surprise as since her departure from 'Eastenders' she has worked consistantly on television in humourless tv series where she has been a sort of televisual Barbie - army Tamzin, hotel manager Tamzin, doctor Tamzin etc. But here she is very watchable and easily navigates the more time-worn elements of Simon's script.
She is more than ably abetted by Josefina Gabrielle and Tiffany Graves as Nickie and Helene, the dancehall hostesses closest to Charity. Although they both appear to be channelling their previous roles as Velma and Roxie in CHICAGO, they both bring a heady waft of hard-bitten world weariness to the Fandango scenes and their "Big Spender" was deliciously aggressive.
In a nice casting decision all the men in Charity's life are played by the same actor, suggesting how she keeps making the same mistake. Mark Umbers plays in order of appearance: a menacing Charlie, a suave Vittorio Vidal and a panicky Oscar. The character of Oscar is so underwritten by Simon that you need an actor with bags of charm to carry the role off and Umbers has exactly that, making the ending all the sadder when Oscar denies Charity her happy ending.

The always dependable Paul J. Medford was a suave lead male dancer in the "Rich Man's Frug" and in the second half stopped the show as Big Daddy Brubeck with a fantastic "Rhythm Of Life" wearing an afro wig that had a life all it's own!

Jack Edwards was a ribald Herman, the commandant of the ballroom, and belted out a fine "I Love To Cry At Weddings". The ensemble doubled and tripled up to fine effect and a special mention must be made of the statuesque Ebony Molina who turned it OUT as the lead dancer in the "Rich Man's Frug" wearing a dress that made her a human glitter ball!

Although I doubt whether it will continue the pattern of Menier Christmas shows that then transfer into the West End - SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - it's a production that brims with - well, the rhythm of Broadway life and is well worth seeing so get booking now!

I'm not sure whether the decision to stage SWEET CHARITY, which is based on Fellini's film "Le Notti di Cabiria", was decided upon to tie-in with the cinema release of Rob Marshall's screen version of NINE, the musical of Fellini's "8 1/2" but it's a strange twist of fate if not. Or as Charity would have it "The fickle finger of fate".
I must admit, the closer it gets to it's release the more I want to see it!

2009-11-24T16:41:00.019Z

You know how it is Constant Reader... you just get fed up looking at the same four walls.

So Owen and I had a nice 24 hour visit to Paris a fortnight ago!Needless to say Paris kept up it's reputation as being as overcast as it has been the two previous times I visited. I must say up until now I have never really *got* Paris - I suspect it's because, thanks to Eurostar, I never really feel I have travelled somewhere... I just remain in 'city' mode. However this time I felt some of it's charm remained with me. I am now quite handy in getting about the city too which helps.Our base was the lovely Hotel Scribe which is two streets away from the Opera Garnier. It was the former home of the Jockey Club and hopefully we will be revisiting it one day. We were hardly there though as Owen had decided that this trip was all about the art!
So we hit the ground running and ended up at Lady Louvre. We decided to go for the most obvious wing, the Denon as that appeared to hold most of the Must-See works of art.
Now we had only been once before... to have a sandwich and a cup of tea in the cafe and whizz round the shop! So it was nice to actually see something this time other than the admittedly fabulous entrance hall under the pyramid!

We plunged ker-plop into so many hundreds of years of art. Bugger me, there's binloads of it in there! The best laid plans of Meissen men crumble when faced with rooms and corridors jam-packed with European paintings. There were so many paintings to try and take in so eventually I ended up just drifting along, stopping occasionally when something caught my eye. There is a jaw-dropping corridor in the wing which runs down the Seine side of the building which you could just imagine a Bourbon Roi sweeping along it surrounded by fawning courtiers. I did my best to sweep but the place was mobbed.

We saw big paintings, small paintings, famous paintings and ones that the world wouldn't mourn if they were used as enormous jotting pads... yes that's your lot Guido Reni!

We walked the length of the corridor until we worked out that we had missed the turning to "the shrine". We doubled back and about halfway down we found the room and took our place in the four-deep ever-moving crowd of people in front of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci...
It was a very strange experience - staring at this iconic painting which has been reinterpreted ad infinitum. And you know what? Despite being kept behind a barrier quite a way from the painting protected by a 6 inch glass pane, I understood why she has held our gaze and attention for over 400 years. I also had an audible chuckle over the constant whirr and buzz of cameras... like.. you are all going to be buying the postcard in the shop ANYWAY!!!

Of course the Denon wing is also home to another icon of feminine perfection... luckily these two Divas are kept apart - goodness only knows what would kick off if they ever met!

From there we wandered around the Sculpture Hall and out for a much-needed cake and Diet Coke. It also gave us a chance to nominate the three items we would put in our shopping trolley - mine oddly enough were all from the Sculpture Hall....Then we had a lengthy poke around the shop which oddly isn't all that. It's more an upmarket gift shop - as if the mere thought of having a nodding Mona Lisa would affront the famous Parisian sensibilities. Luckily in the bright and airy Carousel shopping arcade there is a gift shop which is much more comme il faut.

After all the classic art it was time for something a little bit more contemporary. We walked over to the Centre Pompidou to have a look at the permanent collection of 20th Century modern art and we were treated to yet another jaw-dropping space but as it was later in the day on a Monday night it was less crowded so easier to walk around and take time over certain exhibits. Again there was a lot that it was very easy to glide by but I enjoyed wandering around every so often being confronted by a famous work that truly justified it's status.By the end we were both tres fatigues so we went on a quick sniff around Les Halles in search of grub and found a charming bistro Au Père Fouettard where we successfully negotiated the menu to get something vegetarian for Owen to eat. Over our dinner I nominated the three things I wanted in my shopping trolley from the Pompidou - a Calder mobile, a Leon Bakst costume design for Nijinsky as "Dieu Bleu" and a Giselle Freund portrait of Virginia Woolf.
On the whole I enjoyed the space and the collection but the building itself left me a bit cold... although I'd definitely like another go on the snaking outside escalator and the great view from the top of M. Eiffel's gift to the city....Then it was back to the Scribe for a well-deserved sleep... that was until we saw, peeping around the back of the Opera Garnier, the full-on wow-factor of the Galeries Lafayette - NOW I've seen the City of Light! The animatronic teddy-bears and gingerbread man in the Xmas windows were good fun too!

So after a restless night - don't go there - we started a bit late for our Tuesday morning and afternoon. Sadly The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays but luckily that gave me time to wander around the dvd section of the subterranean Virgin Records - I bought Truffaut's DAY FOR NIGHT which isn't available here - and yes I DID check it had sous titres dans Anglais. We then stopped for the obligatory inverted pyramid shot which is handily outside the Virgin Records...
but not before witnessing the glorious sight of some dozy mare walking towards it gawping up at the pyramid, bumping into the little stone pyramid underneath it and smacking her gob off the glass.

Constant Reader, I pissed myself.

After that we had a calming walk through the monotonous charm of the Tuileries and decided to chance our arm with a quick look around the Musee d'Orsay on the Left Bank.
Of course as it was open and the Louvre was shut there was a long queue to get in and the place was again mobbed but once inside and seeing the main hall I was tres jolie. I raced up to the top floor - no mean feat - only to find that the gallery that held the Seurat works closed and no indication where they had been moved to - you knobtetes!

I had such a visage on me I HAD to have something to eat so we had tea and cakey in the rather fabulous cafe situated behind the right-hand clockface - needless to say it was a popular little eaterie.
We then had a quick wander around the Impressionist galleries - more bloody god-awful Sisleydaubes than you could wave a match at but there were some truly impressive works there which again, caught me unawares to be seeing them actually there... in the paint in front of me... and looking so much better than any reproduction.Time was catching up with us though and so we made a concerted effort to find the small but priceless collection of van Gogh paintings... needless to say we should have just headed to where there was the smallest room and the biggest crowd! Again I had to laugh out loud as people jostled each other to get their friends to take their photo in front of the famous self-portrait - truly a male Mona Lisa! Owen luckily had time to commune with a painting which he has long wanted to see - "The Church at Auvers-Sur-Oise".Then we whizzed around the impressive museum shop - the only annoying thing was the absence of a handy Musee d'Orsay "Greatest Hits" type paperback as opposed to large coffee table books or the door-stop catalogue. The d'Orsay is, once again, a wonderful gallery which would be great to revisit.It was a tough choice - but the three items I would like to take away in my shopping trolley from the Musee d'Orsay would be van Gogh's portrait of Dr. Gachet, Carolus-Duran's "Le Convalescent" and Caillebotte's realist masterpiece "Les Raboteurs de Parquet".
Then we had two more treats left - a quick hop on an always grin-inducing double-decker train to get us back up to Opera to dive into the wonderful confectioners La Cure Gourmande which we had wandered into the day before and been force-fed The most amazing strawberry biscuits! We stocked up an enormous paper bag full of different flavoured biscuits for our dinner on the Eurostar and headed off to Gare Du Nord.
All this and I never got to visit Jean Seberg's grave in the lovely cemetery in Montparnasse as I have done on my previous Parisian jaunts. I'll have to go twice next time to make up.

Yes I think Paris has finally won me over.

And finally...

...the enigmatic smile of the timeless beauty that thousands have looked on in awe.

And some Italian mystery in a painting.

2009-11-16T20:10:00.017Z

No wonder there was such a downpour on Saturday night as lightning definitely struck twice in Hammersmith earlier with more exposure to the glories of the Motown Divas!

Owen had splashed out on VIP front-row stalls tickets which saw us whisked up to a small room with a free bar - excuse me people - with our fellow front-rowers and we speculated on what treats we were going to be given by our heroes of song!

We were escorted down to the stalls - eeek! - and the show started with Jack Ashford strolling onto the stage playing his tambourine - those in the know gave him the ovation he deserved and the show was off and rolling.

Jack and his excellent Funk Brothers band under the eye of keyboardist John Shipley gave us a few numbers to get us warmed up and again we were treated to great vocals by (I think!) Valencia Robinson and Al/Art (??) and Jeneane Cranert. It would have been nice for them to be introduced along with the other musicians.
As with the Jazz Cafe, the first guest onstage was Mable John, this time dressed in a resplendent white lace gown. She sang her four songs from the earlier show - MY NAME IS MABLE, WHO WOULDN'T LOVE A MAN LIKE THAT, RUNNING OUT and SAME TIME, SAME PLACE - but again she did them with a great charismatic authority that made it impossible to watch anyone but her onstage - it's not every 79 year-old who could chat up her musicians - and be believable while she was doing it!! She exited the stage to a rapturous, standing ovation.Surprisingly next up was Brenda Holloway who had closed the Jazz Cafe show. Brenda was eye-popping in a low-cut silk dress of flounces and frills (on more flounces and frills) but she gave a non-flouncy performance which dripped with class and pure solid soul! I'm still not sure what her opening number is but she followed it up with pure classic Motown: OPERATOR, WHEN I'M GONE, a full-on torch version of EVERY LITTLE BIT HURTS and an uplifting YOU MADE ME SO VERY HAPPY. Like Mabel, she connected effortlessly with the audience, seemingly making the Hammersmith auditorium into an intimate space. Needless to say she exited to a delirious standing ovation.Jack then said when he met the next singer again for this tour he assumed it was her daughter - silver-tongued devil! He introduced onto the stage my own favorite Chris Clark. It was great to see her sneak on from the wings to a huge cheer. She performed the same set as at the Jazz Cafe - LOVE'S GONE BAD, DO RIGHT BABY DO RIGHT, I WANT TO GO BACK THERE AGAIN and DO I LOVE YOU (INDEED I DO) and looked magnificent dressed all in black, which set off her mane of white-blonde hair wonderfully. "Gee this is a big stage" Chris informed us and indeed most of her set was performed closer to the band than the mike stand! Again she was wonderfully 'herself' on stage - grinning from ear to ear, saying a heartfelt thanks to the fans for keeping the music and the performers alive and viable as well as complementing Mabel and Brenda on their stagecraft.

It was fab to see Chris on the large stage where she - as well as Mable and Brenda - deserved to be! She left the stage during the gospel wig-out coda to DO I LOVE YOU so quickly the audience were just getting to their feet but Jack called her out again and she stood and waved by the wings - bless!

We scooted back up to our VIP room for more free booze and a free poster - in lieu of the non-existent brochure - then it was back for more from Jack and his Funkateers then on with the guests: Scherrie Payne and Lynda Laurence are former members of The Supremes and they were joined onstage by Joyce Vincent who used to sing with 70s group Dawn - well she IS from Detroit.Now as you all know I saw the first - and best - line-up of the 1970s Supremes twice on that very stage so it was with mixed feelings that I sat through their repertoire (the longest of the evening). Poor Lynda Laurence has had my evil eye on her for 30+ years as she took over from Cindy Birdsong thus ending my favorite Supremes line-up and she had an oddly strident voice - Scherrie Payne certainly had the better voice of the two. They did an accomplished and polished routine but it was the act I felt the least about. The 1970s Supremes had a great run of hit singles in this country but they only sang STONED LOVE, everything else was from the Diana Ross era. Now I know they *have* to sing these songs but as they had the longest time on stage they could at least have tailored the routine to at least acknowledge the period which saw them employed! No NATHAN JONES, no FLOY JOY, no AUTOMATICALLY SUNSHINE... they were hardly playing to an unknowing audience - as was acknowledged from the stage, we knew the lyrics as well as the artists did! A missed opportunity.Last but not least we had the dynamo that is Thelma Houston who WORKED that stage - she never stopped moving!! I am still racking my brain to remember what her opening number was but she followed it up with SATURDAY NIGHT, SUNDAY MORNING and a Motown megamix which got us to our feet - finally! We stayed there for her final number which was of course DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY which was pure disco heaven!!
After that there was nothing more than to get all our Sisters of Soul back on stage for a rousing version of DANCING IN THE STREET - again with Chris retreating towards the back of the stage!! There was a lovely moment when Brenda showed her a few dance steps! Needless to say they were all cheered and applauded with gusto.

Then we were shepherded first back to the VIP room where we hung around for a bit before being ushered back to the circle bar where the after-show was taking place so it wasn't so much a 'Meet and Greet' as a "Hunt The Star" which is hardly the same thing. For some unknown reason wherever I went, there was Ian Levine bending the ears of the artists, reminding them AT LENGTH about where they had met, what he had in his collection, what he was working on etc. etc. I could hardly get a word in edge-ways with Jack Ashford but he signed my book while shooting glances my way as Levine reminded him of some long-forgotten track - I said to Jack "Is your life flashing before your eyes?" to which he replied "You know it".

I also stood patiently with poster outstretched in front of Scherrie Payne while she chatted away to a guy from a small radio station who was trying to get an interview with her. Her young and gushing rep then joined in and demanded a photo of her with the other faux-Supremes and Freda Payne while a Mutual Appreciation Society was formed. Needless to say I didn't wait too longer after that.
However no such problems with Brenda Holloway who was happy to sign whatever what was put in front of her, pose for pictures, answer fans' questions and give out hugs and kisses with abandon - see Scherrie? THAT'S how it's done. Thelma Houston was also very gracious too.And of course... there was Chris Clark. Instantly surrounded by fans, she won hearts as she chatted away like a chatty thing, smiling and signed, posing and laughing. I edged closer and closer to her and her face lit up when she saw me wearing my signed t-shirt from the Jazz Cafe. She signed my poster and I asked her a question. In between the two concerts I had posted a review on a Motown yahoo group and had seen later with amazement that the head of the label that recently re-issued Chris' SOUL SOUNDS album on CD posted a follow-up saying he had spoken to Chris and read her my review! I asked her if he had done this and she told me she loved what I had written and that it had made her day - that made my night!We chatted for quite a while - and Constant Reader, that remains a secret! I am so glad I had a chance to tell these remarkable women how much there music has meant to me and how it continues to delight and move me.

Come back soon!!

2009-02-01T17:00:00.005Z

My February Legend is the truly wonderful Chris Clark. Back in the 1970s when I started buying Motown albums the inner sleeves would have illustrations of other releases and one fascinated me as it seemed so out of place, a blonde Kim Novak lookalike in a black sequined dress - she didn't appear on any of my Motown Chartbusters albums and there were no records available - so who was Chris Clark?

It was only in the 1990s, when perusing a new Motown compilation cd, I saw that it included "From Head To Toe" by Chris Clark - I couldn't pay for it quick enough! After that I managed to land a European cd release of that long-lost album SOUL SOUNDS and my musical world was rocked - here was a seriously under-rated singer, very similar to Dusty with a throaty growl. Although never particularly successful in the charts she built up a big cult following particularly on the Northern Soul scene.
After only two albums she settled into an executive role with the company when it moved to LA and even won an Academy Award nomination for co-writing the LADY SINGS THE BLUES script. She married the FRENCH CONNECTION scriptwriter Ernest Tidyman and since his death has concentrated on being a photographic and digital artist, still playing the occasional gig.

She appeared at a Motown Weekender a few years ago in the north of England where she wowed the faithfull - and endeared herself to them by taking a photo of them from the stage!

2009-11-12T13:59:00.017Z

To misquote Diana Ross and The Supremes, some things you do get used to. One of them being that it was very unlikely that I would ever see a couple of my favorite Motown female singers, both in their early 60s, play a London venue.

But one should never stop believing! Last night Owen and I went to the Jazz Cafe for the first of two 50th celebrations of Motown Records we have this week - and both feature the divas in question, Chris Clark and Brenda Holloway. On last night's bill too were Mable John, the first woman ever to be signed to Motown and Jack Ashford, one of the original Funk Brothers who provided the musical backbone to the label's legendary releases.

I kept telling Owen nervously that I didn't believe it was actually going to happen as we sat at the centre table in the gallery looking down onto the stage. But just in case I was wearing a self-made t-shirt of Chris Clark's fabulously va-va-voom cover photo from her album SOUL SOUNDS...Dinner came and went, drinks were sipped nervously... then the musicians appeared behind us and made their way down to the stage followed by three backing singers and finally by the very tall and wide frame of Jack Ashford himself, resplendent in a pink and purple glittery jacket. At 75 he was a bit unsteady on his pins but plonked on his stool beside keyboardist and musical director John Shipley he was soon at home, regaling us with tales from back in the day with a dry wit and a twinkle in his eye. The band then bounced through some Motown classics with Jack making his tambourine SING y'all.For me the least successful part of the show was just after one of the most affecting parts... over an understated piano vamp Jack mentioned each of the original Funk Brothers most of whom have sadly gone. He ended his list with the name of the late and great bassist James Jamerson who was given a huge cheer. This moving tribute was undercut by one of the backing singers giving us a power ballad rendering of the lachrymose Michael Jackson song "Gone Too Soon" - it was particularly icky that she kept turning to Ashford, laying a hand on his sleeve and saying "Jack..." then singing the next line about them being gone like a twinking rainbow in the sky or some such cock. Like... he knows they are gone, I'm sure he went to most of their funerals.

The band left the stage for a quick break and as they walked past the back of our table to the dressing rooms Owen alerted me to the fact that Chris Clark was there watching them - and there she was! The outline of a tall woman dressed all in white with a mass of white blonde hair backlit by the open door behind her - my heart skipped a beat! Soon enough Jack walked past us again followed by the diminutive figure of Mable John, dressed in an outlandish black admiral jacket with gold epaulets and detailing!

Although not a well-known name to many, Mable was the first woman signed by Berry Gordy in 1959 to his fledgling Motown label where she had a few releases, none of which really made an impression. Her earthy rhythm and blues style was soon at odds with the sound that Gordy's producers and songwriters were pursuing and she eventually left the label in 1962. She recorded for Stax Records and eventually became one of Ray Charles backing singers The Raelettes. Since then she has mostly worked for church and charity organizations while also becoming a Doctor of Psychology!

What can I tell you? Mable turned it on and turned it out! She gave us "My Name Is Mable", the joyous "Who Wouldn't Love A Man Like That" (incorporating both Gordy's arrangement with the later Holland-Dozier-Holland/Stevie Wonder one) and ended with "Same Time Same Place". She rocked and rolled her way through the songs with a bluesy sass that had the whole audience in the palm of her hand. She then dropped her bombshell - inviting us to America next year where she planned to celebrate her 80th Birthday "with music". She was given a rapturous ovation as she left the stage - both Owen and I got a handshake from her as she passed us with a gracious smile and "thank you". I have borrowed Owen's photo to show you all who great Mable looks!All the way through Mable's set I had noticed that Chis Clark was at the top of the stairs hiding behind a pillar watching her set and clapping along... now was the moment I had waited over 30 years to see... Chris Clark live on stage. I was SO nervous... what if she wouldn't be able to live up to my high expectations? She descended the stairs wearing tinted Jackie O specs looking a tall vision in white - a long blouse/skirt with a fringed shawl loosely tied low over her shoulders, a silver belt and white knee-boots and a mane of wavy white blonde hair - she looked Amazing! Back in February I explained about my introduction to this most under-valued of Motown singers when I made her my February hero of Motown.
She is so tall she often vanished behind the overhead stage speakers - but she soon came outfront and launched into Northern Soul classic "Love's Gone Bad" and she sounded Fantastic!! Her sexy growling soulful voice has lost none of it's power and as she swayed and sang to the band she never once stopped smiling widely. She appeared genuinely surprised at the massive ovation that song received and totally won me over with her sheer joy at being onstage. She said it was a humbling experience to be somewhere where she was so loved as "back home I can't even sell my white ass". She seemed full of nervous energy which was totally endearing - she was just happy to be given this opportunity to perform. She also said that when she heard Jack Ashford was putting the band together she knew it would be OK "because you are always safe in Jack's hands" - then added slyly "It wasn't always the case!" which got a huge laugh!

She reminisced about her time at Motown particularly doing the punishing Motown Revue Show 5 times a day at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. She said that she found out after the event that in the week leading up to the show they played a film trailer where as all the acts were announced the audience cheered and when her picture appeared on the screen, it was booed as she was a white artist. She also told us how Berry Gordy had instructed her to start singing her first song offstage and then to walk on. No doubt the audience were shocked to suddenly see that the voice they liked belonged to a white girl. I think it's this reverse racism that Chris seemed to be subjected to by others outside the Motown family is what makes her so endearing a performer. She also apologized for her seemingly unprofessional stage presence and that she couldn't act like Mable and flirt with men in the audience as her mother would drag her offstage if she heard about it!

However she then proved there was nothing to forgive by singing glorious versions of "I Want To Go Back there Again" (when introducing it she looked at Jack and said with obvious emotion "I think this says what we all feel") and finally she sang a stonking version of "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" which took the roof off the Jazz Cafe. She left the stage to a massive ovation and as she headed back towards the dressing room past our table I stood up to shake her hand and to show her my t-shirt - she said "Oh wow!" and gave me a massive hug!! PEOPLE I WAS HUGGED BY CHRIS CLARK!!!! She said to see her afterward as she wanted to sign it!!

I am afraid by the time I wafted down from cloud nine Brenda Holloway was already into her first song but I soon readjusted my concentration and enjoyed her utter professionalism, happily gliding through band miscues and sounding as warm and creamy as her 1960s recordings.

She looked luscious in a sea-green gown which was cut low enough to prove that Brenda was not behind the door when they were handing the busts out!

She gave us scintillating versions of "Every Little Bit Hurts", "Operator", "When I'm Gone" and of course her classic "You Made Me So Very Happy" which she reminded us was co-written by her recently deceased sister Patrice.

After the show it was time to join the other fans for the chance for autographs and more handshaking! After getting Mable and Brenda to sign their latest Motown collection booklets, it was time to present myself to Chris Clark! We laughed over the fact that she kept loosing her nerve to sign the t-shirt while I wore it but eventually did and Owen got a few photos of Chris... and the other Chris (as she signed herself!). I am a little in love I think.Needless to say I floated home (via a night bus) relishing a night which celebrated not just the durability of the music of Motown but the artistry and indomitability of three rather exceptional women.

2009-11-05T22:10:00.006Z

Last night Owen accompanied me to Heaven (first time I have been there since the '90s!) to make sure I didn't self-combust... 'cos I was going to be seeing my Pop heroes Alphabeat for the 2nd time live!

Anders SG, Stine, Anders B, Rasmus, Anders R and Troels saved my sanity while I was working in Borehamwood so many times - their debut album THIS IS ALPHABEAT could shake me from the deepest depression with it's wonderful set of classic, joyous pop songs so they collectively have a special place on my heart. It was great to see the place sold out and there seemed to be a good vibe happening.

We got through the supporting act Ou Est Le Swimming Pool with no major excitement. All the songs kinda sounded like half-baked 70s & 80s synth-pop - I swear to God one of the them used the synth line for DO YOU THINK I'M SEXY? Still the audience seemed to find something in them - and Alphabeat like them so I'll leave it there.

We then shuffled to a better sightline - why are people so bloody tall these days? - we listened to the latest Alphabeat mixtape - which included Barry White, DeeLite, Black Box and the late 1970's Supremes! - and I got more and more nervous. Where were they? They were late on stage and I was even getting fed up with the mixtape. Techies came and went, came and went... and then the lights dimmed again... and they were there - all smiles and waves.

They slammed into ALWAYS UP WITH YOU from their forthcoming 2nd album, showing off the early 1990s Eurodance sound that they say has influenced the album. Despite not knowing it, by the end I was singing along with the chorus - the mark of a good pop song. After that we were treated to GO-GO from the first album.

Stine looked fab in her blue sparkling dress and sounded amazing with her Pure Pop voice and Anders SG was his wonderfully manic self - imagine if you will a cross between Ian Curtis, Bez and an over-excited 7 year-old at his first school disco and you might get an idea of his shape-throwing! They make great focal points for the group.

They then launched into the delirious pure joy of THE SPELL which sounded even better live. They followed this with another new track HEART FAILURE which again made me hunger for the album - but it's not out here till February - waaaa! This was followed by the swooning WHAT IS HAPPENING from the first album. The response to all the known tracks was ecstatic but the new tracks were all given a rousing cheer too.

We then got two more new tracks - the glorious superdisco of DJ and the stop-start intrigue of CHESS - and then were treated to a punchy, crunchy cover of what the Beaters think is one of the Greatest Song Evah - Chaka Kahn's AIN'T NOBODY. They know their music, that's what I like about 'em.We galloped into the final section of the show with a explosive TOUCH ME TOUCHING YOU with the audience hollering "Of course you can" when asked by Anders SG and Stine if they could touch us. By then I was well and truly touched to the core by them! They somehow managed to get us even more excitable with a glorious 10,000 NIGHTS which was followed by THE BEAT from the new album.

Stine then elicited a large "nooooooo!" by saying they had come to their last song which she also admitted was her favorite and launched into a glorious version of the pop masterpiece BOYFRIEND.

By then I was a smiling, clappy bellowing thing so, just to shut me up, they came back on to sing their next single HOLE IN MY HEART and then with spotlights refracting off the mirror balls hanging above the stage, the band started thudding out a martial beat - Anders SG and Stine started chanting "The Word Is on Your Lips" to which we chanted back "Say The Word"! Over and over, "The Word Is on Your Lips" "Say The Word" carried us higher and higher towards the ceiling until they exploded into a delirious, explosive FASCINATION which brought the show to a fabulous end.

This time it was my turn to float home like a grinning balloon... Alphabeat are the best thing to happen to pop music in years and show up the atrocities perpetuated on the charts by Simon Cowell with his TV variety shows to be the shite it is.SAY THE WORD!!!

2009-11-05T16:47:00.005Z

November is here so it's time for my penultimate legend.

Next week will bring the long-hoped-for opportunity to see three Motown Divas: Mable John (the first woman ever signed to the label), Chris Clark and Brenda Holloway. This month I am celebrating a Diva who sadly died nearly 40 years ago.

Tammi Terrell lived a life that sounds like the sort of plotline Halle Berry would give her eyeliner to play... sadly Tammi had to live it.

The daughter of a politician and actress, Thomasina Montgomery first came to notice singing in her church choir which led to her singing on stage and a record contract with Florence Greenberg's Sceptre Records in 1961 aged just 16. She was loaned out to James Brown's record label but found no success with either label.

In 1965 while singing at the 20 Grand Club in Detroit she was approached by Motown boss Berry Gordy who was thrilled with what he saw. In the same year she met and - allegedly - married boxer Ernie Terrell whose sister Jean would also become a Motown star when she took over from Diana Ross in The Supremes.

Frustratingly this wonderful singer found minor success as a solo performer but two years into her contract, fate intervened. Kim Weston left Motown in 1967 and Gordy picked Tammi to be Marvin Gaye's new duets partner. Instant chemistry. Tammi's infectious personality and sensuous vocals seemed to release Marvin from his rather guarded and stiff personality and their duets still crackle with a sense of fun and delicious teasing sexuality - just listen to AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH, YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE, IF I COULD BUILD MY WHOLE WORLD AROUND YOU, AIN'T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING and YOU'RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY.

But fate again intervened. After having suffered headaches, Tammi collapsed on stage into Marvin's arms. Rushed to hospital, Tammi was eventually diagnosed with a tumour on the brain. She endured eight operations but her condition never improved.

So many rumours swirl around Tammi's life. Did she and James Brown have a relationship during her time at his label leading to her parents insisting they sever their professional partnership? Was her illness caused by the beatings she endured at the hands of "a Motown executive" and her on-off lover David Ruffin of The Temptations? And the ultimate mystery: how much of her final album with Marvin actually features Tammi's vocals?

Tammi was certainly in no condition to perform live but it was reported she could still record. Two of the twelve tracks featured Tammi's original solo recordings with Marvin's voice added after. Years after the event Marvin Gaye told his biographer that Valerie Simpson, co-writer and co-producer of the album, substituted for Tammi. To this day, Simpson says that she might have filled-in the occasional phrase but that was all. One can understand her wanting to protect Tammi's reputation. Her failing health had a profound effect on Marvin Gaye who withdrew from live performances for two years.

Tammi died in March 1970, aged 24.

Remember her this way... singing with Marvin in a rainy Expo 67 in Montreal.

2009-10-28T21:39:00.008Z

Well I didn't believe it would happen but it did... as he said himself "The North will rise again". Morrissey made it through his Royal Albert Hall show with only the occasional wobble.

He actually sounded a lot better than he did the last time I saw him during his curtailed residency at the Roundhouse.

Sadly, owing to the fact that we had truly abominable seats in the upper circle literally looking down onto the middle of the stage, I didn't engage that much with the show as I should have done. I will never sit in such crap seats again... especially for someone I like.

He appeared on stage in a blazer and jeans, announced "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night" (sadly no Bette Davis impression) and launched into a frantic "This Charming Man" which sounded like it was being sung to Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life". Then he raced through "Black Cloud" and the Hispanic-flavoured "When I Last Spoke To Carol" which sounded a lot better than on YEARS OF REFUSAL.

The classic intro for "How Soon Is Now?" buzzed out across the auditorium and was rapturously received - though it was a bit scary that he chose the end of the song to have a lie-down on the stage. Luckily he bounced up and sang a great version of "Ganglord".

We then had similarly fierce versions of "Cemetry Gates", "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris", "Teenage Dad On His Estate" - happy that's on the new b-sides album SWORDS - and "Nowhere Fast".
He then gave us a blistering "Irish Blood, English Heart" - one of his greatest songs Ever - and quickly changed the mood with a lilting "Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself".

After a couple of ho-hums with "One Day GoodBye" and "Death At One's Elbow", he reminded us that no Celebrity Chef is a vegetarian which made Moz conclude that indeed "The World Is Full of Crashing Bores". He then bounced into "Is It Really So Strange?" and a cracking rockabilly "The Loop".

He slowed it down with "Because Of My Poor Education" - he retorted to the applause with "That bad, eh?" Yep Moz.. it was a bit drear. He finished off with REFUSAL's "I'm OK By Myself" and he was gone! I guess it was understandable that it would be a short set although he did come back for a rousing "First Of The Gang To Die".

He was mordant as always - he said he understood that we couldn't afford to come to the upcoming Alexandra Palace gig as well as tonight "I can't afford it either". So I expect that will be cancelled!

He also announced that SWORDS had been released on Monday but that was probably another album that no one would buy - but his moan was punctured by a punter yelling out that he had bought it - "Well that spoils it!" Despite the atrocious sound where we were sat - along with the pigeons of Kensington - the band sounded raucous and propulsive.

By the way Owen has been on at me to blog about the Maximo Park gig we saw at the Albert Hall a few weeks ago. What can I say... I liked a couple of the songs as they actually had a melody as opposed to the rest of the setlist which sounded like they were playing the same song over and over again only with different song titles. I liked "Acrobat", "The Coast Is Always Changing" ('cos Owen likes that one), "Going Missing" and "Girls Who Play Guitars" got their over-excitable fanbase almost self-combusting.

Oh and look how close we were to the stage...*kicks coffee-table*

2009-10-27T16:34:00.008Z

It had to happen I guess...

Next month sees the premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in California of BONNIE AND CLYDE: THE MUSICAL!
Yes. The musical.

True, there is no reason why there shouldn't be a musical of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.
But then again there is no reason why there should be one. What can be expressed through song that we don't already know about them?

Stark Sands - great name - and Laura Osnes will be playing the thieves who set Depression headlines aflame during a two year campaign of small town robberies.

The score is by Frank Wildhorn whose shows have never made it over here but they include THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, CARMEN, JEKYLL & HYDE, THE CIVIL WAR and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. No... not the most original composer ever. The lyrics are by Don Black so expect something along the lines of "He asked me for a bun / I said no so he showed me his gun".

Oddly enough I watched the 1967 film again on DVD and despite it's grating hip 1960s sensibilities it still holds up well as a landmark film.

By the way Constant Reader, did you know that it was the first X film I ever saw? It was re-released in 1973 and as I was smitten by Gene Hackman after THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE I had to see it come Hell or high water - no pun intended.

So I dressed up in my brother's jacket and my platform shoes - don't ask - and went to the ABC Hammersmith (long-since pulled-down) and sinking my natural soprano down to basso profundo asked for a ticket. Of course the dear old ABC staff would probably have let a babe in arms in as long as it paid cold hard cash so I was in! It was one of the most exciting experiences of my life - waiting to be tapped on the shoulder at any moment!

The interesting thing about the BONNIE AND CLYDE dvd is that it also includes a US TV documentary about the couple which tells the real story of their less-than-dazzling career - and also shows how the screenwriters didn't let a little thing like facts get in their way!

2009-10-26T20:38:00.004Z

Here is the new artwork for the upcoming show SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM which opens at Studio 54 next March with the incomparable Barbara Cook.
It took me a while but I got it eventually.

I am sure it's been a few years since Steve crossed his legs that way!

2009-10-26T18:01:00.004Z

OI... BRITAIN... Sort your bloody ears out!
The glorious pop-drenched THE SPELL by the masters of naughties Power Pop Alphabeat entered the charts at #20 - bloody 20!!! Meanwhile the bogus charms of Cheryl Tweedy Cole of course went straight into number one.

For fuck's sake people... is there to be no progress from this musical quagmire of tv-related crap?

Today I screamed - out loud - when I saw a tv ad for this....Yes... a former X Factor-wannabe has joined the army and recorded an album with two of his oppos.

The utter cynic emotional blackmail behind this venture is astonishing, cashing in on the dubious patriotism of "our lads" allied with the knowledge that the profits are going to charidee.

Like... just send the damn money to the charity.

Well if some record company is happy to milk this so will I...

I presume it will be a covers album so let's have OutKast's "Bombs Over Baghdad" or any songs by The Afghan Whigs.

Probably not "Army Dreamers"....

2009-10-25T15:03:00.005Z

Still Ill?

Well one thing you can expect being a Morrissey fan is the unexpected.

I was gearing myself up for this Tuesday when I was seeing Moz at the Royal Albert Hall for his rescheduled gig from earlier in the year when he cancelled due to ill-health.

And now he's gone and collapsed in bloody Swindon of all places. He is carrying his love of Diana Dors just a little too far if you ask me.

So I am presuming the Albert Hall gig will be rescheduled again. I am beginning to think that we Stephen Patrick fans are becoming the reincarnation of those Judy Garland fans at the end of her career who would take their seats wondering whether she would even manage to get on the stage or not.

Constant Reader I have decided that my near-Poverty Row status might drag me back to selling my tat.... my valued ephemera on eBay again.

I was having a poke about for suitable candidates for selling when I came across a hidden cache of old cuttings from Back In The Day. Yep I think I can now share my old clippings of Blondie with someone who probably would actually look at them from time to time. So Dawn, Paul and Kevin should get caught up in a bidding war hopefully!

Actually it was instant nostalgia looking through them all.

I even found the very first picture of Debbie I ever saw from Sounds in 1977.... and here is is! It actually still makes my heart skip a beat.

That effortless New York cool...

2009-10-21T00:44:00.004+01:00

Is your mind-turning to the end of the year?

Have you started to think now about what to get one's mother or aging gayer mate?

Think no more.... 2nd November will see the release of the complete CROSSROADS 1965-1979.

A delightful box set....of 41 discs!!!!

41 discs!!! It's probably the size of a small Midlands motel.Thank God I'm not tempted.

*quietly tempted*

2009-10-20T22:50:00.005+01:00

Yes Constant Reader it's true... I am back on the rock 'n' roll. Borehamwood is once again no more. Here's a word to the wise... never go back.

Now on to the important news. Today is my 2nd birthday on Last.fm!

You can keep your Eekbook, MySpazz and Twatter... gimme Last.fm where you can see who is listening to what music.

Now there's nothing I love better than a list so here you go... an adapted questionaire on my favorite 50 artists according to Last.fm - I hasten to add it's done in a random order:

1) How did you get into Peggy Lee?

The seed was sown after hearing “He’s A Tramp” when I saw LADY AND THE TRAMP as a wee ‘un.

2) What was the first song you ever heard by The Smiths?

“This Charming Man”

3) What’s your favourite lyric by Diana Ross?

“Little girl, please don’t wait for me / Wait patiently for love, someday it will surely come”

4) What is your favourite album by Suzanne Vega?

Tried and True”

5) How many albums by Aretha Franklin do you own?

Ten (including a 4 cd boxset)

6) What is your favourite song by Cher?

“Half-Breed”

7) Is there a song by Macy Gray that makes you sad?

“I Try”

8) What is your favourite album by Lulu?

“Something To Shout About”

9) What is your favourite song by Marianne Faithfull?

“Running For Our Lives”

10) Is there a song by Beverley Knight that makes you happy?

“Greatest Day”

11) What is your favourite album by Culture Club?

“Greatest Moments”

12) What is your favourite song by Diana Ross and The Supremes?

“Come See About Me”

13) What is a good memory you have involving Ne-Yo?

None in particular!

14) What is your favourite song by The Four Tops?

“I Get A Feeling”

15) Is there a song by Tom Tom Club that makes you happy?

“Genius of Love”

16) How many times have you seen Chris Clark live?

Eek - seeing her for the first time next month

17) What is the first song you ever heard by Carole King?

“It Might As Well Rain Until September”

18) What is your favourite album by Sugababes?

“Change”

19) Who is a favourite member of The Kinks?

Ray Davies

20) Have you ever seen Madonna live?

14 times (including in a play!)

21) What is a good memory involving The Mamas and The Papas?

The first time I heard “I Saw Her Again”

22) What is your favourite song by Prince?

“I Would Die 4 U”

23) What is the first song you ever heard by Kanye West?

“Jesus Walks”

24) What is your favourite album by Alphabeat?

Their only one “This Is Alphabeat”!!

25) What is your favourite song by B-52s?

“Love Shack”

26) What is the first song you ever heard by Little Jackie?

“The World Should Revolve Around Me”

27) What is your favourite album by Kirsty MacColl?

“From Croydon To Cuba”

28) What is your favourite song by Pet Shop Boys?

“Being Boring”

29) What was the first song you ever heard by Amanda Palmer?

As a solo artist – “Creep”!

30) What is your favourite song by Mary J.Blige?

“Just Fine”

31) How many times have you seen Boy George live?

Six

32) Is there a song by Kim Weston that makes you happy?

“A Little More Love”

33) What is your favourite album by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas?

“Gold”

34) What is the worst song by The Temptations?

“Positively Absolutely Right”

35) What was the first song you ever heard by Tammi Terrell?

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” with Marvin Gaye

36) What is your favourite album by Sinead O’Connor?

“Throw Down Your Arms”

37) How many times have you seen Brenda Holloway live?

Seeing her for the first time next month

38) What is your favourite song by Marvin Gaye?

“What’s Going On”

39) What was the first song you ever heard by Mary Wells?

“My Guy”

40) What is your favourite album by Gladys Knight & The Pips?

“Gold”

41) Is there a song by John Legend that makes you happy?

“Number One”

42) What is your favourite album by Shelby Lynne?

“I Am Shelby Lynne”

43) What is your favourite song by Barbara Cook?

“Errol Flynn”

44) What is a good memory you have involving Nancy LaMott?

Meeting her at the Donmar when she was appearing in IT’S A BETTER WITH A BAND

45) What is your favourite song by Linda Lewis?

“The Moon and I”

46) Is there a song by Grace Jones that makes you happy?

“Williams’ Blood”

47) What is your favourite album by Dusty Springfield?

“Simply Dusty” (4 cd box set)

48) What is your favourite song by Laura Nyro?

“Wedding Bell Blues”

49) What is the first song you ever heard by Estelle?

“1980”

50) How many albums do you own by Morrissey?

Sixteen!

2009-10-12T22:48:00.005+01:00

Eeek! I have yet to blog about last Thursday's visit to Wembley Arena to see the one and only Miss Gladys Knight.

Gladys is currently on her farewell tour - a course of action which needs to be stopped preferably by an act of Parliament! Every one of her 57 years on stage has made her a consummate live performer - effortlessly commanding the stage, always in control and performing monologues and bits of business as if she just thought of it that moment... and vocally either tearing it up or holding you in the palm of her hand.

Either by timing or design we missed Tito Jackson's opening turn but from the noise in the auditorium the biggest crowd-pleaser was the introductions of Jackie and Marlon Jackson in the audience. It's an odd life to be one of the Jackson family eh? Doomed to wander the earth looking for reflected glory.

Wembley Arena was about half-full which is a bit sad but then it's an odd venue to have booked her into. The empty parts of the Arena were draped in black curtains - handy as the show was being filmed, hopefully for a dvd. But then most gigs these days appear to be filmed and they rarely appear for sale!At 9pm Gladys appeared from behind a screen and we were off to musical heaven! From the start Gladys was on the money - she kicked off with a nice surprise I WILL FIGHT from her 1980s Columbia years and sounded fierce. She then took us on a whistlestop journey through her musical life with humour and of course, fantastic musicality. We were treated to great versions of I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, I'VE GOT TO USE MY IMAGINATION, BABY DON'T CHANGE YOUR MIND, BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME, THE WAY WE WERE, THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS (handy for a pee break), IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN, a thrilling LICENCE TO KILL and SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME.

There were surprises along the way - two early classics LETTER FULL OF TEARS and EVERY BEAT OF MY HEART and a personal favorite from the 80s SAVE THE OVERTIME (FOR ME). For an artist with so many hits to her name Gladys certainly did a few covers: NEVER TOO MUCH, THE END OF THE ROAD and IF YOU DON'T KNOW ME BY NOW - all of which got the audience singing along!

We had a 'surprise' visit from Bubba Pip who won the audience over with his comedy schtick and energetic James Brown impression and towards the end was the cherry on the cake - Gladys joined on stage by Dionne Warwick. Dionne might be even more wobbly than usual in her upper register these days but with Gladys on hand for harmony we were treated to unforgettable versions of I'LL NEVER LOVE THIS WAY AGAIN and THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR.
After two hours on stage it was time for the last song which of course was MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA - was there ever a more perfect soul song? She had another surprise up her glittery poncho sleeve with her encore - a full-on discotastic I WILL SURVIVE!

Yes Gladys you have - and you are as magnificent as ever.