It may be hard to believe but there was a time when Progressive Rock was considered past its sell by date, the emergence of punk in the seventies had done its best to dismantle it but it was the era of the nineties music scene which seemed to finally kill off the behemoth. Thankfully you can never keep a good seven minute song down for too long and the genre was soon flourishing once more with the likes of Touchstone and The Reasoning.
Originally published by L.S. Media. September 14th 2010.
Marseille are finally back and kicking in the best way possible. After a couple of years touring and ironing out any frustrations they may have felt along the way, the band have at last released their fourth studio album and the first one since 1984’s Touch The Night.
Craftily calling their new album Unfinished Business is a reminder to all the fans of the band that when the group dismantled there was indeed something left unsaid. Indeed within certain rock circles it has always been a game of what if and how far could they have gone within the ranks of others that came under the banner of NWOBHM.
Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Originally published by L.S. Media. September 17th 2010.
Back in the late sixties the musicians that made up the Moody Blues could never have dreamed that their combined efforts would produce some of the most loved songs of the latter half of the twentieth century.
It has been a while since they last played Liverpool and despite the early autumn chill that was in the air, it seemed as though there were still plenty of fans throughout the area who would come and see them play. With no room inside to park a mellotron, the scene was set within the Philharmonic Hall for a night of music that would never have been thought about when the band produced one of the defining moments of musical history, the inspired Days of Future Passed.
Cast: Kieran Cunningham, Pauline Daniels, Stephen Fletcher, Mark Moraghan, Georgina White, Sophie Fraser, Chris Mason, Abby Mavers, Jack Rigby. Mia Molloy.
We have all been on one, no matter of our age. The school day out is one of those times that if pushed we will remember detail for detail, whether it was a day trip to the local seaside to let off steam or an exercise in futility where the teachers tried to show that they could be down with the kids and be their friends for one day.
Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. September 21st 2010.
Paul Heaton is one of those rare enigma’s in the music industry, much loved by all those who have followed his career from the days of the Housemartins and through to the heady days of chart success with The Beautiful South and now someone who, even though primarily a very private man, wears his heart and beliefs on his sleeve when making his own brand of music.
By kicking off his tour to promote his new album Acid Country in Liverpool, Paul almost guaranteed that the first night would be one of the finest and well supported nights.
Originally published by L.S. Media. September 21st 2010.
Cast: Ken Bradshaw, Kevin Harvey, Matti Houghton, Paul McCleary, Eileen O’Brien, Emily Pithon, Stuart Richman, Nicholas Shaw, Hugh Skinner.
The Everyman theatre is well renowned for its staging of hard, gritty and sometimes disturbing plays. None so more perhaps than the opening play of the new season, John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore.
There may be those who would shy away from the subject of incest, murder and impinging insanity but director Chris Meads has built a reputation for getting the best out of actors even in the most unusual of plays and in Tis Pity he has struck gold again with a cast that tackles some of humanity’s base instincts and wanton desires.
Originally published by L.S. Media. Sept 22nd 2010.
Acid Country is the new studio album by one of music best wordsmiths. Paul Heaton has made a living from his use of intelligent and interesting lyrics set alongside some of the most upbeat music over the last couple of decades, whether from his time in the eighties with the Housemartins or in later years with the impressive and chart toppers The Beautiful South.
Now on his second solo album, Paul has once more reached the musical highs that are associated with him and produced an album full of charm and his own personnel stamp emblazoned throughout.
Cast: John Branwell, Liz Carney, Jo Gerard, Catherine Kinsella, Ror North, Wendi Peters, Phil Rowson, Barrie Rutter, Matt Sutton, Jos Vantyler.
Harold Brighouse’s name might ring more bells with drama and literature lovers as the writer of the classic play Hobson’s Choice, however thanks to a dramatic find in a Canadian University, Barrie Rutter and his team of players that make up Northern Broadsides have breathed life into the play The Game.
Northern Broadsides have continued to thrill Liverpool audiences over the last few years, with productions such as The Man with Two Gaffers and their own take on Romeo and Juliet, it seems as though the company can do no wrong in wrong in local eyes.
Originally published by L.S. Media. September 24th 2010.
There are two bands on the circuit right now that have changed the idea of playing rock/metal and punk tunes, turning them upside down and inverting them to the point that the meaning of the songs has changed. The first is The Bad Shepherds with their folk versions of classic punk tunes; the second is America’s Blue Grass sensations Hayseed Dixie.
Mixing their distinctive style with tracks that have been loved by the Metal/Rock community for the best part of 35 years has led the guys to become much loved by their legions of fans and a guaranteed enjoyable night out.
Originally published by L.S. Media. September 28th 2010.
Cast: Denise Black, Elaine C. Smith, Julia Hills, Rachel Lumberg, Anna Charlston, Jennifer Ellison, Susan Bovell, Joe McGann, Bruno McGregor, Bruno Langley, Mikyla Dodd.
Surely there is no better way to get some of the leading ladies of British theatre and television on one stage that by bringing the celebrated Calendar Girls to the Liverpool Empire.
Based on a real life story, Calendar Girls tells the tale of a group of Women’s Institute members attempt to create a piece of work that will raise much needed funds for a hospital sofa, the same hospital in which one of the member’s husbands had been treated for Leukaemia.