The view from up here is magnificent, the possibilities endless
but it has to be beyond memorable to catch everyone’s eye
and make them sigh inwardly with a rush
of pleasure that they may have seen a piece of you
as they go on their way past the noise of seagulls
as they flap in God-like unison looking for the worms on the very bottom
where you actually reside and breath.
As they climb back down the stairs and every so often pause
to see how the view looks from a different perspective,
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The title of Lords of the back stage at The Cavern of this year’s International Pop Overthrow might be fought over with the same ferocity as men would have squabbled, bickered and fought over the throne of England in the days when such things mattered, arguably though one of the main contenders would surely be the inventive and insanely talented Blake Jones & The Trike Shop.
The Fores at this year’s I.P.O. in Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
For both Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, it could be argued that sport, no matter the game, is perhaps higher on the agenda that adding too much more of their independent and well crafted ideological contribution to the way of life in England and the U.K. as whole. The Midland counties may boast of two of the more iconic music venues in the country in the Leicester De Montfort Hall and Nottingham Rock City but the amount of musical groups and artists that spring to mind and with ease is perhaps completely undervalued.
McCrei at the Cavern in Liverpool as part of the 2015 I.P.O. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
They say there is no greater bond than that between two sisters. Others might disagree and point to other just as valuable relationships on which are just as loving and can be just as destructive when the whim of necessity rears its head. However, one cannot argue with the closeness that two sisters will have, especially when working together on stage in close proximity and sharing the experiences of their lives through music.
Susan Hedges at the International Pop Overthrow 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Susan Hedges surely has one of the most distinctive voices on Merseyside. That voice, one that can soar as high as an angel with a helium addiction or as deep and powerful as if able to hold its own in a bar brawl and come out as the last one standing in a cage fight, unbloodied, unbowed and unrepentant, is one of the reasons that Ms. Hedges is always in demand and quite rightly so.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Think of The Who and the thought of one of the greatest ever British bands should immediately spring to mind, the thought of the Rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia will occur naturally not far behind and songs delivered with overwhelming talent and power such as The Kids Are Alright, Who Are You, Pinball Wizzard and My Generation with couple themselves with images of four of the finest rock talents to ever come out of London. The mix is explosive, it has any fan of the band reaching for an album to get their fix, their daily dose of exuberance, excess and excellence.
I cannot feel my pulse under the skin
and my breathing
at times too erratic, too shallow,
unkempt
and barely noticeable, only captured in the smoked over
glass as the whisper of exhalation or in the stagnated
overthrow of winter’s icy breath
that makes me want to remember images
of my childhood with a chocolate cigarette, two fingers
up to the corner of my mouth as if I
was recreating a scene
from a film noir
and I was the gumshoe solving
my own imminent demise.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Into every I.P.O. must fall a band so insanely catchy, so raucous, so outrageous with their clever lyrics and achingly good music that they make the whole week seem like a dream.
In its thirteenth consecutive year of showcasing some of the finest power pop acts around at The Cavern in Liverpool, perhaps no other band has had such recommendations come before them, of being urged to take in their warped but tremendous songs filled with pathos and excellent humour as much as Colin’s Godson has had thrown their way.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The Saturday of the Independent Pop Overthrow has always been a powerhouse of emotions in which to revel in the glory of a festival so enormous in its preparations that it puts many of its counterparts to shame. The setting of The Cavern was exactly the right staging for the I.P.O. and the weekend the main focal point as visitors to the city, the throng of human activity, make their way to the music capital of the U.K. in search of something new, fresh and hopefully exciting.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 1/10
Cast: Mark Addy, Jack Donnelly, Robert Emms, Aiysha Hart, Sarah Parish, Jemima Roper, Juliet Stevenson, Amy Manson, Ken Bones, Peter De Jersey, Lorcan Cranitch, Vincent Regan, Robert Lindsay, Joseph Timms, John Hannah, Robert Pugh, Ronald Pickup, Philip Correia, Anya Taylor-Joy.
The surprise was not that Atlantis was cancelled but the fact that it was made at all.
In one of the rare mistakes of drama production by the B.B.C., Atlantis finally washed up on the shores of discontent and died a long lingering death in a series that was split in two. Much heralded as a winter replacement for Doctor Who, the second series of the fantasy based drama descended to the point where arguably viewers were watching to see how bad it could actually become.