Trevor Horn’s Echoes: Ancient & Modern finds the veteran musician and producer attempting to recontextualize some of the biggest pop hits of the past 40 years within the sounds of contemporary pop and electronic music. At best the results are bland, and at worst they exemplify Gen-x nostalgia at its most saccharine.
The album opens, rather unexpectedly, with a cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools (Drank),” featuring a characteristically impassioned vocal performance by Tori Amos. The arrangement and production, however, are so sanitized, so slick and gussied up with melodramatic strings and synths, that the point of the song—its central irony and message about the dangers of generational alcoholism—is swallowed whole.
Horn imbues the album’s 11 songs with a grandiosity that quickly becomes flatulent, with big orchestral swells and heart-tugging keyboards. By the halfway point, the material all starts to blur together, as the majority of the songs...
The album opens, rather unexpectedly, with a cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools (Drank),” featuring a characteristically impassioned vocal performance by Tori Amos. The arrangement and production, however, are so sanitized, so slick and gussied up with melodramatic strings and synths, that the point of the song—its central irony and message about the dangers of generational alcoholism—is swallowed whole.
Horn imbues the album’s 11 songs with a grandiosity that quickly becomes flatulent, with big orchestral swells and heart-tugging keyboards. By the halfway point, the material all starts to blur together, as the majority of the songs...
- 1/14/2024
- by Thomas Bedenbaugh
- Slant Magazine
Tori Amos and The Buggles’ Trevor Horn have teamed up for a cover of Kendrick Lamar’s 2012 single, “Swimming Pools (Drank),” reimagining it as a moody, modern piano ballad.
Amos and Horn’s take on the song arrives as the opening track on Horn’s new covers album, Echoes: Ancient & Modern. Built around a subdued piano and colored with silky strings, Amos’ multi-layered vocals lead the tune, placing Lamar’s lyricism in a new context. In the liner notes for the new album, Horn explained: “I thought of it as a kind of literate, modern American standard, a rap song open to reinterpretation. I wanted something distinctly 21st-century with original, eloquent lyrics, and my longtime engineer Tim Weidner suggested this.”
Continuing, Horn praised Amos’ creative contributions. “Tori Amos took the idea of adapting Kendrick Lamar’s psyched-up swagger in her stride and made it intensely cinematic,” he said. “I listened...
Amos and Horn’s take on the song arrives as the opening track on Horn’s new covers album, Echoes: Ancient & Modern. Built around a subdued piano and colored with silky strings, Amos’ multi-layered vocals lead the tune, placing Lamar’s lyricism in a new context. In the liner notes for the new album, Horn explained: “I thought of it as a kind of literate, modern American standard, a rap song open to reinterpretation. I wanted something distinctly 21st-century with original, eloquent lyrics, and my longtime engineer Tim Weidner suggested this.”
Continuing, Horn praised Amos’ creative contributions. “Tori Amos took the idea of adapting Kendrick Lamar’s psyched-up swagger in her stride and made it intensely cinematic,” he said. “I listened...
- 12/1/2023
- by Jo Vito
- Consequence - Music
Soft Cell have announced an expansive reissue of their breakout debut album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, out October 20th via Mercury-Emi/Umr.
The release is highlighted by a 6xCD, 98-track Super Deluxe Edition featuring 40 previously unreleased tracks. In addition to a new remastering of the album by Barry Grint, the first disc includes the A- and B-sides in their original 7-inch versions. Meanwhile, the second disc features extended versions and new remixes of each of the album’s tracks, and the third is filled with BBC session highlights alongside demos, outtakes, and audio from BBC TV and radio appearances on The Richard Skinner Show, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops, and more.
Also included are a full instrumental version of the album and demos, original 12-inch A- and B-sides from 1981 and 1982, and live recordings from Soft Cell’s shows at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo in November 2021 and...
The release is highlighted by a 6xCD, 98-track Super Deluxe Edition featuring 40 previously unreleased tracks. In addition to a new remastering of the album by Barry Grint, the first disc includes the A- and B-sides in their original 7-inch versions. Meanwhile, the second disc features extended versions and new remixes of each of the album’s tracks, and the third is filled with BBC session highlights alongside demos, outtakes, and audio from BBC TV and radio appearances on The Richard Skinner Show, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops, and more.
Also included are a full instrumental version of the album and demos, original 12-inch A- and B-sides from 1981 and 1982, and live recordings from Soft Cell’s shows at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo in November 2021 and...
- 8/30/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
Being a foremost member of the royal family isn’t only about living a life of luxury for Prince William. His long list of royal duties keep him plenty busy: Representing the crown, traveling to countries in the British commonwealth, promoting conservation and mental health, and bestowing knighthood and damehood. That last one lets the presumptive future king mingle with plenty of stars, including these musicians Prince William knighted before he became first in line for the throne.
Prince William knighted Ringo Starr in 2018
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was one of the famous musicians Prince William knighted. The royal performed the ceremony in 2018, but England was a little late in honoring Starr’s artistic achievements.
The French government gave Ringo a rare honor when it named him Commander of France’s Order of Arts and Letters in a 2013 ceremony in Monaco. Still, being recognized for his lifetime accomplishments in his...
Prince William knighted Ringo Starr in 2018
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was one of the famous musicians Prince William knighted. The royal performed the ceremony in 2018, but England was a little late in honoring Starr’s artistic achievements.
The French government gave Ringo a rare honor when it named him Commander of France’s Order of Arts and Letters in a 2013 ceremony in Monaco. Still, being recognized for his lifetime accomplishments in his...
- 7/16/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Four years ago, Taron Egerton revealed on “Watch What Happens Live” that his celebrity crush was Rachel Weisz. But he probably never thought anyone would tell her. When we surprise them both with the clip during this conversation, Egerton turns bright red with embarrassment. Beyond that connection, both actors have stretched to new heights on streaming shows this TV season. Weisz portrays identical twin gynecologists Elliot and Beverly in the Amazon Prime Video drama “Dead Ringers,” based on the 1988 David Cronenberg film starring Jeremy Irons. And Egerton gets jacked as prisoner James Keene, a former college football star arrested on drug charges, in Apple TV+’s “Black Bird.”
Taron Egerton: I love your show. I thought I’d start by asking about the genesis of it and whether it came from you or the amazing Alice Birch.
Rachel Weisz: She is incredible, Alice Birch, the writer and showrunner.
Taron Egerton: I love your show. I thought I’d start by asking about the genesis of it and whether it came from you or the amazing Alice Birch.
Rachel Weisz: She is incredible, Alice Birch, the writer and showrunner.
- 6/17/2023
- by Emily Longeretta
- Variety Film + TV
Morrissey, Blondie, Bauhaus and Devo are among the artists that will perform at Pasadena, California’s rescheduled Cruel World Festival, now set for May 14th, 2022 at Brookside at the Rose Bowl.
The single-day fest will also feature Psychedelic Furs, Violent Femmes, Echo & the Bunnymen, English Beat, Public Image Ltd., Berlin, Missing Persons, Christian Death, the Damned, the Church, and more. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 11th at 12:00 Pm Pst; check out the festival’s site for more ticket information.
The lineup for the...
The single-day fest will also feature Psychedelic Furs, Violent Femmes, Echo & the Bunnymen, English Beat, Public Image Ltd., Berlin, Missing Persons, Christian Death, the Damned, the Church, and more. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 11th at 12:00 Pm Pst; check out the festival’s site for more ticket information.
The lineup for the...
- 6/7/2021
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Morrissey, Bauhaus, Blondie, and Devo will headline a new one-day festival, Cruel World, set to take place May 2nd at the Grounds at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles.
The lineup boasts an array of luminaries from the worlds of new wave, goth, and post-punk, including Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Violent Femmes, English Beat, the Church, Public Image Ltd., Gary Numan, Berlin, Marc Almond, She Wants Revenge, and Cold Cave. A complete lineup is available on the Cruel World website.
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Cruel World...
The lineup boasts an array of luminaries from the worlds of new wave, goth, and post-punk, including Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Violent Femmes, English Beat, the Church, Public Image Ltd., Gary Numan, Berlin, Marc Almond, She Wants Revenge, and Cold Cave. A complete lineup is available on the Cruel World website.
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Cruel World...
- 2/11/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
This triumphantly sad-sack ballad first surfaced in 1963 as a b-side from Bobby Darin, then an icon of aspirational cool thanks to his definitive version of Brecht/Weill’s “Mack The Knife.” Then, in ’64, Sammy Davis Jr. released an even sadder version of “Not For Me,” with potent subtext added to its alienated, un-wed lovelessness — while the Civil Rights Act was signed that summer, interracial marriage remained illegal, the Loving v. West Virginia decision still years away.
So it’s fitting that, in the 21st century, the song’s outsider-anthem evolution...
So it’s fitting that, in the 21st century, the song’s outsider-anthem evolution...
- 11/29/2018
- by Will Hermes
- Rollingstone.com
Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria is now in U.S. cinemas and opens in the U.K. on November 16, 2018.Luca Guadagnino was a 10-year-old student at summer camp when he became transfixed by the poster advertising Dario Argento’s Suspiria, excitedly drawing versions of the key iconic bloodied ballerina image in his school notebook. But it wasn’t until he was 13, after seeing the actual movie broadcast on Italian television, that he knew for certain the terrifying tableaux of fantasy, fascination and fear would somehow feature in his future. And now the Oscar-nominated director has fulfilled his obsessive childhood dream of repurposing the cult shocker that so scarred his psyche in those formative years.But that has been the potent legacy of the original Suspiria for an entire generation of horror aficionados ever since it was released to huge global acclaim and box-office success to become continually listed as one of...
- 11/12/2018
- MUBI
Catherine Pearson Oct 11, 2017
With the remake of the 1980s soap opera arriving today, what better time to take a nostalgia-filled lookback at Dynasty?
Cast your mind back, if you can, to the year of 1981. Bucks Fizz, Adam and the Ants and Soft Cell were storming the charts, Only Fools And Horses aired its first series on BBC One and Gregory’s Girl was playing in a cinema near you. Meanwhile, stateside, ABC had cooked up a suitably glamorous and scandalous competitor to Dallas, the CBS drama packed full of Stetsons and suspense. The world may have recently discovered who shot J.R., but there was still plenty of room for the Carringtons.
Enter Dynasty, a show based around the business and family of oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) whose recent marriage to his former secretary Krystle (Linda Evans) was making waves within the family mansion. With the Colby family...
With the remake of the 1980s soap opera arriving today, what better time to take a nostalgia-filled lookback at Dynasty?
Cast your mind back, if you can, to the year of 1981. Bucks Fizz, Adam and the Ants and Soft Cell were storming the charts, Only Fools And Horses aired its first series on BBC One and Gregory’s Girl was playing in a cinema near you. Meanwhile, stateside, ABC had cooked up a suitably glamorous and scandalous competitor to Dallas, the CBS drama packed full of Stetsons and suspense. The world may have recently discovered who shot J.R., but there was still plenty of room for the Carringtons.
Enter Dynasty, a show based around the business and family of oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) whose recent marriage to his former secretary Krystle (Linda Evans) was making waves within the family mansion. With the Colby family...
- 10/7/2017
- Den of Geek
Ordinary Lies: BBC One, 9pm
Salesman Pete (Mackenzie Crook), a severe hypochondriac, comes under financial stress when he finds out he and his wife are expecting a baby.
Things worsen when he and Jason (George Bukhari) are carjacked during a double test drive and the police begin to suspect their involvement.
Critical: Sky 1, 9pm
Medical drama following a team of emergency medics in a state-of-the-art trauma centre.
A fire breaks out in the women's changing room, and the victim is horrifically burnt beyond recognition. The team must fight to save her life, whilst her identity slowly becomes clear.
Later Live... with Jools Holland: BBC Two, 10pm
The musical extravaganza returns for its 46th series.
With performances from the likes of Blur - with tracks from their forthcoming album The Magic Whip - The Vaccines and Laura Marling. Marc Almond also joins Jools for a chat.
Supernatural: E...
Salesman Pete (Mackenzie Crook), a severe hypochondriac, comes under financial stress when he finds out he and his wife are expecting a baby.
Things worsen when he and Jason (George Bukhari) are carjacked during a double test drive and the police begin to suspect their involvement.
Critical: Sky 1, 9pm
Medical drama following a team of emergency medics in a state-of-the-art trauma centre.
A fire breaks out in the women's changing room, and the victim is horrifically burnt beyond recognition. The team must fight to save her life, whilst her identity slowly becomes clear.
Later Live... with Jools Holland: BBC Two, 10pm
The musical extravaganza returns for its 46th series.
With performances from the likes of Blur - with tracks from their forthcoming album The Magic Whip - The Vaccines and Laura Marling. Marc Almond also joins Jools for a chat.
Supernatural: E...
- 4/14/2015
- Digital Spy
Blur, The Vaccines and Laura Marling will perform on the first episode of the new series of Later... with Jools Holland.
The BBC Two music show will return on April 14.
Natalie Prass, Songhoy Blues and Davina And The Vagabonds will also perform on the show, while Marc Almond will be interviewed, according to NME.
A half-hour live edition of the show will air at 10pm on Tuesdays, with the extended edition of the show airing on Friday nights.
Blur's upcoming new album The Magic Whip will be released on April 27.
The band will headline the Isle of Wight Festival on June 13, as well as holding a show at Hyde Park on June 20 as part of the Barclaycard British Summer Time series.
Watch Blur perform 'Beetlebum' on Later... with Jools Holland in 1997 below:...
The BBC Two music show will return on April 14.
Natalie Prass, Songhoy Blues and Davina And The Vagabonds will also perform on the show, while Marc Almond will be interviewed, according to NME.
A half-hour live edition of the show will air at 10pm on Tuesdays, with the extended edition of the show airing on Friday nights.
Blur's upcoming new album The Magic Whip will be released on April 27.
The band will headline the Isle of Wight Festival on June 13, as well as holding a show at Hyde Park on June 20 as part of the Barclaycard British Summer Time series.
Watch Blur perform 'Beetlebum' on Later... with Jools Holland in 1997 below:...
- 4/3/2015
- Digital Spy
Kate Bush's comeback concert on Tuesday night in London attracted such celebrities as Bjork, Lily Allen and actress Gemma Arterton (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Quantum of Solace) and rave reviews in the British press. The singer-songwriter's first stage performance in 35 years at the Hammersmith Apollo also led to unconfirmed suggestions that Madonna and David Bowie may be in attendance, according to The Guardian and other papers who mentioned the various stars actually spotted in the crowd. Among them were also such 1980s pop stars as Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Marc Almond, as well
read more...
read more...
- 8/27/2014
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier has had a second stellar weekend at the box office.
That makes it two worldwide weekends in a row at over $100 million and nearly half a billion to date as it continues to draw audiences internationally and in North America. With the success of directors Joe and Anthony Russo’s sequel , Marvel/Disney have officially announced Captain America 3 will open on May 6, 2016.
About two years have passed since the alien invasion of New York was repulsed by Nick Fury’s special team – The Avengers. The world is now well aware that extra-terrestrials, godlike beings and monsters may be lurking in the cosmos and that Super Heroes walk among us. The demand for protection of the world’s citizenry has reached a zenith. In response to the world’s justifiable fears, S.H.I.E.L.D. has expanded its presence to enhance the security of Earth.
That makes it two worldwide weekends in a row at over $100 million and nearly half a billion to date as it continues to draw audiences internationally and in North America. With the success of directors Joe and Anthony Russo’s sequel , Marvel/Disney have officially announced Captain America 3 will open on May 6, 2016.
About two years have passed since the alien invasion of New York was repulsed by Nick Fury’s special team – The Avengers. The world is now well aware that extra-terrestrials, godlike beings and monsters may be lurking in the cosmos and that Super Heroes walk among us. The demand for protection of the world’s citizenry has reached a zenith. In response to the world’s justifiable fears, S.H.I.E.L.D. has expanded its presence to enhance the security of Earth.
- 4/14/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Bad Education and The Call Centre are at the centre of BBC Three's Christmas schedule this year.
Bad Education's festive special will see Jack Whitehall's character Alfie staging the Abbey Grove Christmas play - only to decide on a mash-up of The Nutcracker and RoboCop called Robocracker.
Elsewhere on BBC Three, hit documentary The Call Centre will return for the holidays, with CEO Nev Wilshire deciding to start a Christmas choir and tea lady Hayley battling the budget to stage a successful office Christmas party.
The channel's festive schedule is rounded out by a Christmas episode of Bluestone 42, which sees the team being joined by over-confident Corporal Gordon House on his first tour of duty.
Meanwhile, BBC Four also revealed its plans for Christmas, with Strictly Come Dancing host Len Goodman fronting Dance Band Days - an exploration of the British dance bands which paved the way for modern pop.
Bad Education's festive special will see Jack Whitehall's character Alfie staging the Abbey Grove Christmas play - only to decide on a mash-up of The Nutcracker and RoboCop called Robocracker.
Elsewhere on BBC Three, hit documentary The Call Centre will return for the holidays, with CEO Nev Wilshire deciding to start a Christmas choir and tea lady Hayley battling the budget to stage a successful office Christmas party.
The channel's festive schedule is rounded out by a Christmas episode of Bluestone 42, which sees the team being joined by over-confident Corporal Gordon House on his first tour of duty.
Meanwhile, BBC Four also revealed its plans for Christmas, with Strictly Come Dancing host Len Goodman fronting Dance Band Days - an exploration of the British dance bands which paved the way for modern pop.
- 11/26/2013
- Digital Spy
The seventies glam rock musician Jobriath who was known as "The American Bowie," "The True Fairy of Rock & Roll," and "Hype of the Year" has been rediscovered and profiled in Kieran Turner’s music documentary, "Jobriath A.D." The feature explores Jobriath, the first openly gay rock musician and his brief reign as a star before a publicity machined doomed his career leaving him to die in obscurity at the Chelsea Hotel as one of the first victims of AIDS. Henry Rollins (Black Flag) narrates the film which features the artists Jobriath influenced including: Marc Almond, Joey Arias, Jayne County, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields, Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters, Will Sheff of Okkervil River, and Justin Tranter of Semi Precious Weapons Factory 25 has acquired the film and will be releasing it digitally on December 10th via cable VOD, iTunes, Amazon Vudu, X-Box, Sony Playstation and other digital outlets.
- 11/25/2013
- by James Hiler
- Indiewire
Son of Rogue's Gallery, a compilation of songs from the seafaring tradition, will feature a grizzled crew including Keith Richards, Michael Stipe, Nick Cave and Shane MacGowan
Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Tom Waits and the Pogues' Shane MacGowan are among the contributors to a new compilation of pirate ballads. The grizzled, A-list crew was assembled by Johnny Depp, who performs on the album, and the people behind the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
First, some more names. Among the hearties who are shivering timbers on Son of Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys: Tom Waits with Keith Richards, Michael Stipe with Courtney Love, Nick Cave, Broken Social Scene, Marianne Faithful with the McGarrigle sisters, Sissy Bounce with Akron/Family, Beth Orton, Macy Gray and Sean Lennon.
The two-disc set, due next year, is the sequel to a compilation from 2006. There too, Pirates producer Hal Willner manned the tiller.
Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Tom Waits and the Pogues' Shane MacGowan are among the contributors to a new compilation of pirate ballads. The grizzled, A-list crew was assembled by Johnny Depp, who performs on the album, and the people behind the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
First, some more names. Among the hearties who are shivering timbers on Son of Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys: Tom Waits with Keith Richards, Michael Stipe with Courtney Love, Nick Cave, Broken Social Scene, Marianne Faithful with the McGarrigle sisters, Sissy Bounce with Akron/Family, Beth Orton, Macy Gray and Sean Lennon.
The two-disc set, due next year, is the sequel to a compilation from 2006. There too, Pirates producer Hal Willner manned the tiller.
- 12/7/2012
- by Sean Michaels
- The Guardian - Film News
Tony Blackburn and new Radio 1 Chart Show host Jameela Jamil have marked the 60th birthday of the Official Charts at a special event. The pair were joined by musicians Marc Almond, Sandie Shaw and Boney M's Liz Mitchell at a parliamentary reception to celebrate the milestone on Tuesday (November 13). The Official Charts Company hosted the reception in conjunction with the House Of Commons All-Party Parliamentary Group On Music and a number of music industry associations. Blackburn hosted BBC Radio 1's Official Chart Show between 1979 and 1982, and is also (more)...
- 11/14/2012
- by By Kate Goodacre
- Digital Spy
Industrial band Throbbing Gristle has announced the completion of its long-awaited tribute to Nico’s Desertshore. The record will be released November 26, two years after the death of band member Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, who conceived the idea for the project in 2006. Bandmates Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti decided to finish work on the album after Christopherson’s death. The group has released two trailers for the double album Desertshore/Final Report, one including vocals by Antony Hegarty, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Blixa Bargeld, Soft Cell's Marc Almond, and Sasha Grey. 'Desertshore / The Final Report' teaser 1 from ...
- 9/20/2012
- avclub.com
London Lesbian and Gay Film festival
It may be something to do with his extraordinary stage moniker – somehow redolent of Goliath and Job – that Bruce Campbell aka Jobriath has maintained a tenuous foothold in pop culture, somehow remaining a name to conjure with, unlike the legions of has-beens and never-wases who litter the rock'n'roll stage. Of course, Jobriath was something special, even by the standards of rock loserdom: hyped to the max in 1974, signed – apparently – to a massive contract, given a billboard in Times Square for his debut album, and then promptly became an epic commercial disaster.
Jobriath was swiftly relegated to a footnote after punk rock detonated in the mid 70s, mostly for intrigued David Bowie fans mildly insulted by such an apparently flagrant act of copyism. (At least, that's how it looked to the likes of me, a decade or so later.) But give any act long enough,...
It may be something to do with his extraordinary stage moniker – somehow redolent of Goliath and Job – that Bruce Campbell aka Jobriath has maintained a tenuous foothold in pop culture, somehow remaining a name to conjure with, unlike the legions of has-beens and never-wases who litter the rock'n'roll stage. Of course, Jobriath was something special, even by the standards of rock loserdom: hyped to the max in 1974, signed – apparently – to a massive contract, given a billboard in Times Square for his debut album, and then promptly became an epic commercial disaster.
Jobriath was swiftly relegated to a footnote after punk rock detonated in the mid 70s, mostly for intrigued David Bowie fans mildly insulted by such an apparently flagrant act of copyism. (At least, that's how it looked to the likes of me, a decade or so later.) But give any act long enough,...
- 3/29/2012
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Billed as the 'new Bowie', Jobriath exploded onto the glam rock scene in the 1970s – and then disappeared. Marc Almond salutes a personal hero
Britain in the early 1970s was going through a depression: the naive dreams and optimism of the 1960s had soured and evaporated; life was filled with drudgery, strikes, power cuts and unemptied bins. Against this colourless backdrop, glam rock emerged, sprinkling glitter over the grime. And its gods – Marc Bolan with his cosmic love songs, Bryan Ferry with his glamorous cinematic sleaze – reigned supreme. David Bowie was busy transforming the musical landscape.
The British music press of the time was a lads' domain, deeply homophobic; the rule was you had to be a serious musician who had paid some dues. Bowie, who had been reluctantly accepted, was becoming a phenomenon. Ferry's sci-fi, 1950s-inspired torch songs were considered fresh and alluring, played on a strange new electronic instrument called a synthesiser.
Britain in the early 1970s was going through a depression: the naive dreams and optimism of the 1960s had soured and evaporated; life was filled with drudgery, strikes, power cuts and unemptied bins. Against this colourless backdrop, glam rock emerged, sprinkling glitter over the grime. And its gods – Marc Bolan with his cosmic love songs, Bryan Ferry with his glamorous cinematic sleaze – reigned supreme. David Bowie was busy transforming the musical landscape.
The British music press of the time was a lads' domain, deeply homophobic; the rule was you had to be a serious musician who had paid some dues. Bowie, who had been reluctantly accepted, was becoming a phenomenon. Ferry's sci-fi, 1950s-inspired torch songs were considered fresh and alluring, played on a strange new electronic instrument called a synthesiser.
- 3/28/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Billed as the 'new Bowie', Jobriath exploded onto the glam rock scene in the 1970s – and then disappeared. Marc Almond salutes a personal hero
Britain in the early 1970s was going through a depression: the naive dreams and optimism of the 1960s had soured and evaporated; life was filled with drudgery, strikes, power cuts and unemptied bins. Against this colourless backdrop, glam rock emerged, sprinkling glitter over the grime. And its gods – Marc Bolan with his cosmic love songs, Bryan Ferry with his glamorous cinematic sleaze – reigned supreme. David Bowie was busy transforming the musical landscape.
The British music press of the time was a lads' domain, deeply homophobic; the rule was you had to be a serious musician who had paid some dues. Bowie, who had been reluctantly accepted, was becoming a phenomenon. Ferry's sci-fi, 1950s-inspired torch songs were considered fresh and alluring, played on a strange new electronic instrument called a synthesiser.
Britain in the early 1970s was going through a depression: the naive dreams and optimism of the 1960s had soured and evaporated; life was filled with drudgery, strikes, power cuts and unemptied bins. Against this colourless backdrop, glam rock emerged, sprinkling glitter over the grime. And its gods – Marc Bolan with his cosmic love songs, Bryan Ferry with his glamorous cinematic sleaze – reigned supreme. David Bowie was busy transforming the musical landscape.
The British music press of the time was a lads' domain, deeply homophobic; the rule was you had to be a serious musician who had paid some dues. Bowie, who had been reluctantly accepted, was becoming a phenomenon. Ferry's sci-fi, 1950s-inspired torch songs were considered fresh and alluring, played on a strange new electronic instrument called a synthesiser.
- 3/27/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Comedy has been a mainstay of the fringe for years. But now serious plays are attracting a broader range of stars
Film stars have developed a habit of venturing on to the West End stage to hone their acting skills in front of a live crowd. But now an unprecedented number of big names in showbusiness are to take the challenge one step further by facing Edinburgh fringe audiences in a series of intimate, temporary venues. The city's pavements may still be lined with student hopefuls during the annual festival, but suddenly there are familiar A-list faces vying for attention too.
This summer the world's largest fringe arts event, which opened in earnest in the Scottish capital this weekend, will boast performances from the Los Angeles-based British film star Julian Sands in a solo show directed by John Malkovich, and from the television and film actor Art Malik, who will...
Film stars have developed a habit of venturing on to the West End stage to hone their acting skills in front of a live crowd. But now an unprecedented number of big names in showbusiness are to take the challenge one step further by facing Edinburgh fringe audiences in a series of intimate, temporary venues. The city's pavements may still be lined with student hopefuls during the annual festival, but suddenly there are familiar A-list faces vying for attention too.
This summer the world's largest fringe arts event, which opened in earnest in the Scottish capital this weekend, will boast performances from the Los Angeles-based British film star Julian Sands in a solo show directed by John Malkovich, and from the television and film actor Art Malik, who will...
- 8/6/2011
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
With Kick-Ass all set to arrive on DVD and Blu-ray, we take a timely second look at what is arguably one of the year’s greatest comic book adaptations…
Sometimes missing a film's theatrical release isn't such a bad thing. Freed from the weight of expectation, the rave reviews and the hype, you're free to enjoy a film for what it really is. At least, this is my excuse for having missed the mighty Kick-Ass the first time around.
In a year that has seen a colossal glut of highly capable heroes take to the screen, it's refreshing to see a movie that runs so counter to the Hollywood and comic book myth of the indestructible, caped protagonist.
In Kick-Ass, superheroes are, in several instances, exactly as you might expect them to be in real life: well meaning, but ultimately deluded vigilantes whose reach constantly exceeds their grasp.
Dave Lizewski...
Sometimes missing a film's theatrical release isn't such a bad thing. Freed from the weight of expectation, the rave reviews and the hype, you're free to enjoy a film for what it really is. At least, this is my excuse for having missed the mighty Kick-Ass the first time around.
In a year that has seen a colossal glut of highly capable heroes take to the screen, it's refreshing to see a movie that runs so counter to the Hollywood and comic book myth of the indestructible, caped protagonist.
In Kick-Ass, superheroes are, in several instances, exactly as you might expect them to be in real life: well meaning, but ultimately deluded vigilantes whose reach constantly exceeds their grasp.
Dave Lizewski...
- 9/2/2010
- Den of Geek
Ellie Goulding performing at Camp Bestival 2010 during day 2 at Lulworth Castle in the UK.Photo copyright by Landmark / PR Photos. Tinie Tempah performing at Camp Bestival 2010 during day 2 at Lulworth Castle in the UK.Photo copyright by Landmark / PR Photos. Madness performing at Camp Bestival 2010 during day 2 at Lulworth Castle in the UK.Photo copyright by Landmark / PR Photos. George Clinton performing at Camp Bestival 2010 during day 2 at Lulworth Castle in the UK.Photo copyright by Landmark / PR Photos. Marc Almond performing at Camp Bestival 2010 during day 2 at Lulworth Castle in the UK.Photo copyright by Landmark / PR Photos. 07/31/2010 - Madness - Camp Bestival...
- 8/3/2010
- by James Wray
- Monsters and Critics
Mark Kermode picks film and TV's most enduring bloodsuckers
Max Schreck, Nosferatu (1922)
An unacknowledged adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (which was banned in Britain after copyright complaints from the author's litigious widow), Fw Murnau's silent gem still startles and amazes; the sight of the vampire's shadowy hand grasping at the heart of his victim ranks among cinema's most enduring images. So convincing was Max Schreck's unearthly performance that the modern movie Shadow of the Vampire would playfully suggest that he was the real deal; a genuine vampire hiding his identity in plain sight beneath the cover of movie magic.
Federico Luppi, Cronos (1993)
Debunking that most enduring vampire cliche, Guillermo del Toro's chilling masterpiece manages utterly to desexualise its antihero's bloodlust with extraordinary results. Having availed himself of the weirdly mechanical "Cronos" device, Federico Luppi's Jesus Gris staves off death with the occasional snifter of spilled claret. A...
Max Schreck, Nosferatu (1922)
An unacknowledged adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (which was banned in Britain after copyright complaints from the author's litigious widow), Fw Murnau's silent gem still startles and amazes; the sight of the vampire's shadowy hand grasping at the heart of his victim ranks among cinema's most enduring images. So convincing was Max Schreck's unearthly performance that the modern movie Shadow of the Vampire would playfully suggest that he was the real deal; a genuine vampire hiding his identity in plain sight beneath the cover of movie magic.
Federico Luppi, Cronos (1993)
Debunking that most enduring vampire cliche, Guillermo del Toro's chilling masterpiece manages utterly to desexualise its antihero's bloodlust with extraordinary results. Having availed himself of the weirdly mechanical "Cronos" device, Federico Luppi's Jesus Gris staves off death with the occasional snifter of spilled claret. A...
- 7/10/2010
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor Stephen Fry and singer Marc Almond paid tribute to controversial British artist and author Sebastian Horsley at his funeral on Thursday, July 1. The star was found dead at his London home by his girlfriend in June after suffering a suspected drug overdose. He was 47.
Horsley was given a star-studded send-off at St James's Church in the British capital on Thursday morning as his coffin was carried in with T. Rex's hit Cosmic Dancer blaring out in front of hundreds of mourners. Fry turned up to pay his respects to Horsley and delivered a eulogy, praising his pal's "sweetness".
The funnyman then took to Twitter.com following the ceremony to write, "We saw off dear Sebastian Horsley. Stopped (in) Soho & Shaftesbury Ave with the cortege. Fine funeral in St James's." Singer Almond also paid tribute to the flamboyant writer, saying, "He was unique, his own creation. Sebastian was fearless...
Horsley was given a star-studded send-off at St James's Church in the British capital on Thursday morning as his coffin was carried in with T. Rex's hit Cosmic Dancer blaring out in front of hundreds of mourners. Fry turned up to pay his respects to Horsley and delivered a eulogy, praising his pal's "sweetness".
The funnyman then took to Twitter.com following the ceremony to write, "We saw off dear Sebastian Horsley. Stopped (in) Soho & Shaftesbury Ave with the cortege. Fine funeral in St James's." Singer Almond also paid tribute to the flamboyant writer, saying, "He was unique, his own creation. Sebastian was fearless...
- 7/2/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Actor Stephen Fry and singer Marc Almond paid tribute to controversial British artist and author Sebastian Horsley at his funeral on Thursday.
The star was found dead at his London home by his girlfriend last month after suffering a suspected drug overdose. He was 47.
Horsley was given a star-studded send-off at St James's Church in the British capital on Thursday morning as his coffin was carried in with T. Rex's hit Cosmic Dancer blaring out in front of hundreds of mourners.
Fry turned up to pay his respects to Horsley and delivered a eulogy, praising his pal's "sweetness".
The funnyman then took to Twitter.com following the ceremony to write, "We saw off dear Sebastian Horsley. Stopped (in) Soho & Shaftesbury Ave with the cortege. Fine funeral in St James's."
Singer Almond also paid tribute to the flamboyant writer, saying, "He was unique, his own creation. Sebastian was fearless and a hero where as I am just a shape shifter. He was the last king of Soho. With Sebastian's passing something else precious has gone from the heart of London. He was a colourful character and we really need individuals like that in this world of mass commercialism."
Police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding Horsley's death.
The star was found dead at his London home by his girlfriend last month after suffering a suspected drug overdose. He was 47.
Horsley was given a star-studded send-off at St James's Church in the British capital on Thursday morning as his coffin was carried in with T. Rex's hit Cosmic Dancer blaring out in front of hundreds of mourners.
Fry turned up to pay his respects to Horsley and delivered a eulogy, praising his pal's "sweetness".
The funnyman then took to Twitter.com following the ceremony to write, "We saw off dear Sebastian Horsley. Stopped (in) Soho & Shaftesbury Ave with the cortege. Fine funeral in St James's."
Singer Almond also paid tribute to the flamboyant writer, saying, "He was unique, his own creation. Sebastian was fearless and a hero where as I am just a shape shifter. He was the last king of Soho. With Sebastian's passing something else precious has gone from the heart of London. He was a colourful character and we really need individuals like that in this world of mass commercialism."
Police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding Horsley's death.
- 7/2/2010
- WENN
This week! Do people have a right to be obnoxiously gay in public? What famous divas also have singing sisters? What popular songs are really gay duets? More!
Have a question about gay male entertainment or need life advice? Contact me here (and be sure and include your city and state and/or country!)
Q: I am curious about duets by mainstream artists with other men, specifically love songs, and more specifically overtly gay ones — or at least those that could be interpreted as such. I think back to RuPaul and Elton John’s remake of “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart” on his Duets album and how excited I was, novelty notwithstanding, that it was a duet between two men. I love the hell out of Robbie Williams because of his “Swing While You’re Winning” tribute album, because it has a straight-up gay duet with Rupert Everett and...
Have a question about gay male entertainment or need life advice? Contact me here (and be sure and include your city and state and/or country!)
Q: I am curious about duets by mainstream artists with other men, specifically love songs, and more specifically overtly gay ones — or at least those that could be interpreted as such. I think back to RuPaul and Elton John’s remake of “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart” on his Duets album and how excited I was, novelty notwithstanding, that it was a duet between two men. I love the hell out of Robbie Williams because of his “Swing While You’re Winning” tribute album, because it has a straight-up gay duet with Rupert Everett and...
- 6/1/2010
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
Patrick Wolf has announced that ex-Soft Cell star Mark Almond and former Atari Teenage Riot frontman Alec Empire will be his special guests at an upcoming live show. The singers will perform at Wolf's one-off concert at the London Palladium on November 15. Wolf said: "It is a total honour that I am able to duet with the legendary singer-songwriter, Marc Almond. To me, he is one of the most genius brave and passionate renaissance artists of the last three decades, a total inspiration. "We will be doing two songs together, but time will tell what they may be. Hopefully one from each of our own songbooks." He (more)...
- 9/23/2009
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
When the music documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man made its North American premiere in Austin in 2007, I interviewed its out filmmaker Stephen Kijak (Cinemania). As a full-fledged proselytizing Scott Walker freak, I would have liked the fact that Stephen has the gay to be enough to get our readers to give it a click, but let's get real. The audience for documentary films about obscure ex-pat musical geniuses is neither large nor disproportionately well-represented on our site.
I found a way to get around that little problem when the publicist for the film sent out a note that one of its associate producers was also available for press events in Austin: actor and AfterElton.com hot 100 listee Gale Harold (Queer as Folk, Desperate Housewives). I interviewed him; the article did well, so my editor was happy; I got to write about one of my musical obsessions, so I was,...
I found a way to get around that little problem when the publicist for the film sent out a note that one of its associate producers was also available for press events in Austin: actor and AfterElton.com hot 100 listee Gale Harold (Queer as Folk, Desperate Housewives). I interviewed him; the article did well, so my editor was happy; I got to write about one of my musical obsessions, so I was,...
- 1/24/2009
- by christiekeith
- The Backlot
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