…And the sacred hearts are turning in their mass grave.
The destruction of memory is close at hand
When even hallowed ground is up for sale
And will do more damage than any falling bomb could muster.
The image of splintered charring wood, blackened will be the only thing saved
As The Economy, greed, meanness and the rest of their merry band
Try to call Time on the Bombed Out Church without fail;
Carrying out the gluttony of savings from another city in all its finery and bluster.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 71/2/10
Cast: Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, Peter Capaldi, Luke Pasqualino, Howard Charles, Ryan Gage, Maimie McCoy, Hugo Speer, Alexandra Dowling, Charlotte Hope, Roger Ringrose, Sarah Belcher, Alice Patten, Gabrielle Reidy, Peter-Hugo Daly, Robert Krejcik, Miroslav Navrati, Leigh Jones, Filip Nespor.
The question may well have been asked, “Who will rid me of this troublesome barren queen?” The penultimate episode of the B.B.C. Series, The Musketeers, sees the four heroic French swordsmen protect Queen Anne from the drunken amorous ravings of her husband who states that she must be murdered so that he is free to marry another woman.
After a day of tears
And laughter
Rain and sun
A double rainbow
Lights the purple evening sky
Arching high
Heaven’s bridging
Symbol of hope
Symbol of faith
In love, light
And the magic of just being alive.
© Dr Erica Wright
To have seen someone become the person they are artistically is one of life’s greatest pleasures. To have watched a talent flourish and blossom is a thrill that sometimes defies words. From having watched in awe as the sound of a young woman took tentative steps and be beguiling even in the realms of student radio and onto a stage infront of hundreds can only surely make you smile. For Mersey Wylie this coming weekend is going to be the biggest step yet as she steps from behind many a shadow and shows the audience at Zanzibar that the Wylie name is something that will forever associated with the city of Liverpool.
Tommy Scott of Space at the 02 Academy, Liverpool. 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
It had all been leading to this. The moment when the re-emergence of one of the great Liverpool bands kicked off touring again, being back in the studio for the first time in years, re-connecting with those that never wanted to say goodbye to them and the songs; the epic nature of tracks that more than ever had the ring of truth and perfection about them.
Saffron at the 02 Academy, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Just one look from the stage down at the heaving throng of fans said it all. The perhaps half missed wink from Saffron in the general direction of fans who clambered alongside Republica for the incredible ride suggested further hair raising times ahead and yet the manner of the performance was one of electric reminisance and a love rekindled for many in the o2 Academy in Liverpool. The wink, the strut, the pulse of a heartbeat growing stronger by the second proposed the adulation of a band that were cruelly cut off in their prime but who now in the form of the stunning Saffron, Tim Dorney and Jonny Glue, were back and sounding as terrific as they did in 1995.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9 1/2/10
Silver and Wood might be Jacquelyn Hynes’ debut solo album but there is no denying just how tremendous it is and like a rare bird should be left to roam the Earth sending its goodwill throughout.
The sound of folk but with the twist and feel of being somewhere else in time, of being displaced and in the hands of a woman adept at causing music to sound both sentimental, dramatic and pleasingly cynical is perhaps the finest example you will be ever to say you have listened to for many years. It is female heroism personified but with the tragedy of having met the unfortunate victim and mourning her loss.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Elbow are not Britain’s hidden treasure anymore. While the band and their albums have always been the critics’ favourite, they never became really famous. Until there was their magnificent, Mercury award-winning The Seldom Seen Kid, which launched the band into stardom: they sang for the B.B.C., wrote the Olympics tune and played into sold-out stadiums. Now they have released another splendid album, The Take off and Landing of Everything, and this is celebrated with a world tour at the biggest venues. The kick-off of this tour, call it a warm-up if you like after a hiatus of fourteen months, however, starts at a very small and venue: Paradiso in Amsterdam.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Whatever happened to Spitting Image? Whatever happened to the truly anarchic satire that had the so called great quaking in their boots at the thought that at least some of the decisions they made on behalf the British population might be held up to the kind of scrutiny in which they would at least have to grin and bear the extra publicity or come out looking even more foolish than they do?
Liverpool Sound & Vision Rating: * * *
Cast: Michael Swift, John Doull.
If you have ever wondered what kind of jobs out of work actors will do, then John Godber’s play The Debt Collectors gives you a good insight into just how desperate some people can be when looking for work. When a vacancy opens up for debt recovery, actors Spud (John Doull) and Loz (Michael Swift) think that they are the perfect pair for the role, with no hint of any acting work and broke to boot they throw themselves into demanding money from the good citizens of Liverpool. Along the way, they discover some home truths and are reminded of just how lucky they actually are.