The Alarm in Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 4th 2010
The last night of a tour is always quite emotional for any band, but for Mike Peters and the Alarm it is always special when they finish their tour in Liverpool. Mike has a lot of affection for this city and it comes through in a lot of the lyrics that the band has written over the years.
Hugh Cornwell in action. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 17th 2010.
One of the joys of travelling around the country to see musicians ply their trade is that sometimes you get to go to a completely new venue in a brand new city. For the first time as a fan of music I had the pleasure of visiting Gloucester Civic Hall to see Hugh Cornwell on his latest tour and I wasn’t disappointed by the venue or the man behind some of the iconic songs of his generation.
Steve Hogarth at the Cavern. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 17th 2010.
Steve Hogarth last entertained his loyal Liverpool fans nearly 18 months ago when he played at St Brides Church, a cold evening that was warmed up beautifully by Steve’s vocal talent and the joy and warmth that was felt by the audience.
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 22nd 2010.
It’s not often an album drops through your letter box from an artist that you have never heard of but who has heard of you. What do you do with said CD; you might put it on once, listen attentively for a while and then put it in your collection, never to be heard again.
To do this to the album In Avanti by Florida born and Californian based Alexx Calise would be nothing short of a shame, it is a stunning piece of work by someone so young and so very obviously talented.
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 30th 2010.
It’s hard to imagine a time when Steve Harley could ever be out of favour with the music establishment and not be received well by critics and some of the general public alike but the last few years has seen resurgence in the popularity of the man behind some of the most memorable songs of the seventies.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 3rd 2010.
The Divine Comedy (in the guise of Neil Hannon) have been quiet the last few years, (the only album Neil has been on is the magnificent Duckworth Lewis Method album from 2009) recording only one album since 2004’s smash Absent Friends. Now, finally the master of baroque pop is back with a collection of new songs from the wittily titled Bang Goes the Knighthood.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 9th 2010.
Cast: Peter Howe, Christopher Robbie, James Hedley, Seb Morgan, Danny Fox, Russell Clough, Antony Gabriel, William St. Clair, Craig Whittaker, Kirk Barker, Paul Chesterton, Christopher Llewellyn.
There are books and stories that are just too epic and grand in scale to try and transfer over to the theatre, The Hobbit isn’t one of them…just.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 29th 2010.
It has been 17 years since the last time Steve Miller decided to go into a studio and record an album. Some artists would consider that to be against their work ethic and would rather retire and walk away from it all forever than to tease any loyal fan base in this way…but the Godson of the last great Les Paul can be excused any travesty of recording timing when he pulls out an album of superb blues covers from out of the half hidden music locker.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 29th 2010.
L.S. Media Rating * * * *
Sometimes you approach an album by an artist that you respect and adore with a certain amount of trepidation and concern. Questions flutter round your brain like lost piano notes floating in the ether. Will it be as good as the last album? Have they lost their touch? What has influenced them this time? In the case of Ed Harcourt’s latest album Lustre these questions are answered and a few well worn reservations thrown out.
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 4th 2010.
With a career spanning over 4 decades, Robert Cray has carved himself a position as one of the best blues guitarist to come from America, his gentle on stage demeanour and apparent genuine love of making an audience happy comes across from the moment he picks up his guitar and plays his first note.
Robert was making only his second visit to Liverpool at the invitation of the Liverpool Summer Pops organisers and there are not many artists who could be a perfect choice to be one of the opening acts for this celebration of live music.