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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It has to be said that if there is a finer venue in which to stage an intimate evening of quality and interesting Jazz, Blues and Pop than the Small Concert Room of St George’s Hall, then many will never have to worry about seeing it, with Jacqui Dankworth, the daughter of the illustrious music visionary couple Dame Clio Laine and Sir John Dankworth, Charlie Cook and a superb trio of musicians on stage, then things – to papraphrase D-Ream – can’t get any better.
It is from inside the cell
that I write to you,
as I do everyday,
on the off
chance
that someone will revoke
the charge and set me
free
or finally come to their sentences
and order the execution.
I write to you out of hope
for either
and not be trapped alone
for a minute more
than I can bear, sweat
driven and festering
in a half state of perpetual ghost
state at the hands of those who run my state;