Author Archives: admin

A Mountain To Climb.

I may not be able to climb a mountain,

if I could I would have given Chomolungma

my best shot, frost bitten toes and missing

nose perhaps worth the price

of seeing the world in peace,

I wouldn’t have minded sailing the Atlantic,

lonely solitude a gift that keeps giving,

the endless days and sleepless nights, no

different to what my life entails now,

just the dark of the Ocean

calling out, each wave hitting

the side of the boat like an S.O.S. message,

join us, join us and swim under the pressure;

A Mountain To Climb. full post

(250 words, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)

The Herbal Bed, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating: * * * *

Cast: Philip Correia, Patrick Driver, Jonathon Guy Lewis, Emma Lowndes, Michael Mears, Charlotte Wakefield, Matt Whitchurch, Heidi Morgan.

William Shakespeare will always be remembered for being Britain’s finest ever writer, however not many of us will know much about his life and family. In this revival of Peter Whelan’s The Herbal Bed, Royal & Derngate, Rose Theatre Kingston and English Touring Theatre have collaborated to bring this drama back to the stage.

The Herbal Bed, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

The Simon And Garfunkel Revival Band, Gig Review. Concert Room, St. George’s Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It is within the sound of silence that the deafening roar of appreciation can be felt, that the music of arguably the greatest Folk duo to ever come out of America can, even in the splendour of the grand and majestic, gain the type of standing ovation which would normally only be reserved for the gods and the honest bounty hunter bringing home the distinguished and the well known.

The Simon And Garfunkel Revival Band, Gig Review. Concert Room, St. George’s Hall, Liverpool. full post

(432 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

The Feeling, Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It is always good to find that a group that have managed to worm their way into your collection, that have produced eloquently driven pop songs and the odd anthem pleaser, still retain the power to bring about the sentiment of beauty and the sensation of enjoyment four albums down the line, it should come as no surprise though when that band is The Feeling.

The Feeling, Album Review. full post

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

The Creative Process: A Documentary About Art. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Art is subjective, there can be no full consensus on any aspect of it, no full agreement on what makes one form stand out more than anything else for art divides people more than unites; it is the passion and the pursuit of it that makes it breathe and in those who give it so semblance of life, their words must always be heeded if we are ever to understand the world of the creative process.

The Creative Process: A Documentary About Art. Film Review. full post

(435 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: The Labyrinth Of Buda Castle. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Tom Baker, Lalla Ward, Kate Bracen, Mark Bonnar, Peter Barrett, John Dorney, Anjella Mackintosh.

The key is information, how we translate the data supplied is down to the individual and how it is acted upon could arguably seen as a form of control. Information and secrets, the ingredients to winning a war, without either in your arsenal the battle is surely lost and as the Doctor prepares to fight a foe who makes much of how information is gathered, then the web he finds himself in under the foundations of Buda’s grand castle is enough to bite deep into the resolve of unravelling the facts of The Labyrinth Of Buda Castle.

Doctor Who: The Labyrinth Of Buda Castle. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish. full post

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

The Modern Way To Corner Prey.

It is the curse of the modern day

autograph hunter, not content

with waiting come rain or shine

or hanging around in the darkness

waiting for the object of their affection,

pen at the ready, checked twice,

ink bleeding in anticipation

and growing hot under the pulse

of the sweaty palm;

not content with this

or even the chance of a photograph

that will adorn their wall,

the bed side fondle of the Kodak

captured moment as they stroke

the thin memory

till it blurs and fades through exposure

The Modern Way To Corner Prey. full post

(271 words, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)

Midge Ure, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Midge Ure, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, March 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It is to be seen as a rare honour to be able to watch Midge Ure perform not only in Liverpool, but also an electric set which sends shivers up the spine as much as his brilliant acoustic solo shows for which the audience can be seen almost salivating with excitement over. Those moments of rare beauty are to be savoured and given room in the memory banks for they don’t come round that often.

Midge Ure, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(501 words, 1 image, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)

Nick Heyward, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Nick Hayward at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, March 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Nick Heyward at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, March 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Nick Heyward and the band Haircut 100 was arguably the epitome, alongside the likes of Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran, of the clean cut image presented to music lovers as the 1980s decade honed into view and took root in the decade; fun loving, a band that would capture many teenage girl’s hearts and have young lads ditching the idea of punk rebellion and the afterglow of Progressive Rock for almost a decade or so.

Nick Heyward, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(437 words, 1 image, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Curiosity Killed The Cat, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

The 80s were a decade of contrasting emotions and feelings, in one corner the excess of the decade, its reliance on greed and almost feelings of dishonest pursuit were enough to make any sane person feel ill under the weight of decadence and obtuseness, it was the going against the grind in which to be different was sneered up from upon high, to want social justice had you tarnished as not being with the so called programme and woe-betide if you fell into any category in which to be against the Government had you marked down as a misfit…times don’t seem to have changed much in that regard.

Curiosity Killed The Cat, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(470 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)