Yearly Archives: 2014

Taylor Swift, 1989. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Every decade, as every year, is important, but some stand out in history more than others purely because of the times and memories associated to them. For 1989, not only was it the beginning of the end in terms of the cold war but it was the end of a decade in which could have seen the world truly destroyed by political stupidity, arrogance and fear. The decade saw strife world-wide, anger, decimation, terror, political brutality…but also the emergence of hope in the unlikeliest of places and driven forward by the most unlikely of men or women.

Taylor Swift, 1989. Album Review. full post

(643 words, estimated 2:34 mins reading time)

Michael Ball To Return To Liverpool in 2015 As Part Of National Tour.

Michael Ball is Britain’s leading musical theatre star, a double Olivier Award winner, multi-platinum recording artist and a hugely popular radio and T.V. presenter. November 2014 will see the release of his latest album If Everyone Was Listening, featuring 15 tracks chosen by Michael to include a mix of individual classics, award winners and contemporary songs spanning the years 1960 to 2013.

For more than 25 years Michael has been at the top of his game starring in musical theatre productions in the West End and on Broadway winning critical acclaim, a devoted following and awards for his stage work and recording career.

Michael Ball To Return To Liverpool in 2015 As Part Of National Tour. full post

(367 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)

Yusuf, Tell ‘Em I’m Gone. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

For many different reasons the man behind the superb new album, Tell ‘Em I’m Gone seems to have had two very different careers. Two distinct arenas in which he has performed in and separated only by Time. Even the one in which he carved his name out initially under the name of Cat Stevens and latterly Yusuf, the bohemian minstrel with a voice and lyrical ability unlike anything else around at the time, a man whose lyrics could cause tears to well up at a moment’s notice, is disconnected but so entrenched in each part that to enjoy one area of work is to simply be gratified and comfortable in the other.

Yusuf, Tell ‘Em I’m Gone. Album Review. full post

(394 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Chasing Infinity, Dance With The One That Brought You. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

In what seems the dim and distant past, another world existed within the musical spectrum. It was a world in which musicians and bands were given the freedom to grow at their own pace artistically, to be nurtured and perhaps allowed the room to breathe. Not every label was so forward thinking back then and perhaps even less now, everybody wants their piece of the action and worse perhaps the unholy chasing of the Pound/Dollar or Euro that goes with it.

Chasing Infinity, Dance With The One That Brought You. Single Review. full post

(384 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Jason Manford Announced As One Of The Stars Of The Producers At The Empire Theatre.

Award winning comedian Jason Manford will star in a brand new U.K. Tour of The Producers. Based on Mel Brooks’ beloved Academy Award winning movie, The Producers is a hilarious musical comedy that has taken Broadway and the West End by storm, winning a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards and 3 Olivier Awards; it opens its U.K tour in March 2015.

Jason Manford Announced As One Of The Stars Of The Producers At The Empire Theatre. full post

(407 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

YEP Bring Alex Joynes’ Half Baked To The Playhouse Studio.

This October the Everyman & Playhouse will present their latest work for young people, by young people, Half Baked. The production is produced by the theatres as part of the Young Theatre Makers touring network alongside Birmingham Rep and Ipswich New Wolsey. Half Baked will open at the Playhouse Studio from 29th October to 1st November followed by a regional North West tour to Wirral, Kendal, Oldham and Lancaster.

Half Baked is written by Alex Joynes, a recent graduate of the Everyman & Playhouse’s Young Writers programme, directed by Young Everyman Playhouse associate director Chris Tomlinson and designed by recipient of the 2014 LIPA Design Award Adele Hayter, the production’s cast is comprised of Young Everyman Playhouse actors.

YEP Bring Alex Joynes’ Half Baked To The Playhouse Studio. full post

(451 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

The Southbound Attic Band, Our Day In The Sun. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are those that seemingly take great pleasure in deriding the power of Folk music. They are willing to sneer and complain that the story, often or not a tale of great morality with twists that raise a smile, is irreverent to the way of the world now. It is not a complaint that passes the lips of those that have Celtic blood raging through their hearts or those with an understanding that Folk, whether Celtic, European or English, touches upon the very nature of communication, simple, effective and memorable.

The Southbound Attic Band, Our Day In The Sun. Album Review. full post

(382 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Tim Firth Returns To The Playhouse With New Hit Musical, This Is My Family.

Following a critically acclaimed, award-winning run last year in the Sheffield Studio, Sheffield Theatre Artistic Director Daniel Evans’ production of Tim Firth’s fast-moving, laugh-out-loud and hugely moving new musical This Is My Family comes to the Liverpool Playhouse from Tuesday 4th to Saturday 8th November.

The new musical from the writer of Flint Street Nativity goes to the heart of the question: what exactly is the point of family in the modern age? Tim Firth’s hilarious and heartwarming show won the U.K. Theatre Award for Best Musical Production.

Tim Firth Returns To The Playhouse With New Hit Musical, This Is My Family. full post

(409 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: In The Forest Of The Night, Television Review. B.B.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Samuel Anderson, Abigail Eames, Jayden Harris-Wallace, Ashley Foster, Harley Bird, Michelle Gomez, Siwan Morris, Harry Dickman, Jenny Hill, Eloise Barnes, James Weber Brown, Michelle Asante, Curtis Flowers, Kate Tydman, Nana Amoo-Gottfried, William Wright-Neblett.

In a series that has welcomed new writers to the home of Doctor Who, none perhaps come more equipped to weave a tale of intrigue, fun and the very essence of danger whilst highlighting humanity’s need to depend on the natural world more so than Liverpool’s Frank Cottrell-Boyce and his debut story, In The Forest Of The Night.                       .

Doctor Who: In The Forest Of The Night, Television Review. B.B.C. full post

(575 words, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Vince Killen Of Crowded Scouse.

There is a time and place for everything in life but sometimes the brutal truth of health is something that no matter what time of day it is, no matter the mood you have arrived at your chosen venue in which to talk to someone about their life and their plans, catches you unawares and knocked sideways, especially when delivered by someone so intelligent, full of life and as candid as Vince Killen of Crowded Scouse.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Vince Killen Of Crowded Scouse. full post

(2079 words, estimated 8:19 mins reading time)