FEATURE: Debbie Harry at Eighty: Bringing Her Life to the Screen

FEATURE:

 

 

Debbie Harry at Eighty

PHOTO CREDIT: Louie Banks for The Times

Bringing Her Life to the Screen

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I have written about this…

IN THIS PHOTO: Debbie Harry in 1977/PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Stein

before when it comes to Debbie Harry. The Blondie lead turns eighty on 1st July. Because of that, I have been thinking about the way that she has inspired so many people through the generations. One of the most talented and coolest band leads who has ever lived, she is hugely important. I don’t think there has ever been a biopic of Blondie. It seems like an oversight. I think that Debbie Harry would not object to having someone portray her on the screen – whether film or T.V. Blondie have been portrayed in projects before but not them at the centre. Harry is someone who has also inspired so many other musicians. I am not sure who could bring her to life, though I do think that there needs to be some form of representation very soon. As Harry is eighty very soon, I am thinking about Blondie and their rise. If not a biopic about the band, then something that is all about Debbie Harry and her life. I want to bring in a new interview from The Times. In the interview, Debbie Harry talks about the thought of turning eighty. She also discusses her 2019 book, Face It: A Memoir:

“That she looks so fabulous certainly belies much of what has happened since her bombshell heyday. With classics such as Hanging on the Telephone, Call Me and Rapture, Blondie sold millions of records before they split up in 1982. Harry partied at Studio 54 with Andy Warhol, Truman Capote and Paloma Picasso. But by the mid-1980s things were bleak. She and her bandmate, long-term boyfriend and co-songwriter, Chris Stein, had been dealing with heroin addiction and his serious illness caused by an autoimmune condition that Harry nursed him through. After being hit with a huge tax bill (their accountant hadn’t paid their taxes for two years), the couple had their possessions seized by the Internal Revenue Service, including their Manhattan townhouse. In 1987 they split. Stein subsequently married and had children, Harry didn’t, but they’re still best friends. “Those were tough times,” she says, characteristically deadpan. “But they were also very creative. Creativity and chaos often go hand in hand.”

During the 1990s, Harry, by now long since cleaned up, found herself virtually back where she started, fronting an obscure jazz outfit. But posterity has rewarded her. In 1997 Blondie re-formed and had another No 1 with Maria. Charli XCX and Sia wrote songs for their 2017 album Pollinator. One Direction and Miley Cyrus introduced the band to a new generation with their respective One Way or Another and Heart of Glass covers. There was a storming 2023 UK tour, which included playing Glastonbury.

What does Harry think her teenage self — growing up in suburban New Jersey — would have thought of a septuagenarian rocking a festival? She hoots. “She woulda thought, ‘Send the old bitch back!’ I was a snotty little ageist thing.”

In fact, her star just continues rising. Her latest role is as a face of Gucci’s Cruise 2025 collection, shot for its We Will Always Have London campaign in the back of a black cab by the renowned photographer Nan Goldin. “I just love Nan, she’s a sweetheart and a talent …” she says before being interrupted by her phone, which she squints at and then chuckles. “That was a butt dial.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Louie Banks for The Times

This career twist happened after Gucci’s creative director, Sabato De Sarno, relaunched the Blondie handbag — a 1970s archive piece — at the Cruise 2025 show, held at the Tate Modern, London, last May, with Harry in attendance. “There was a long, rampy staircase. They said, ‘Sabato is up there,’ so I was huffing and puffing up them and almost ran into him. We had an explosive moment and then … ” She was handed the campaign? “Yes, I don’t know what their thinking was but I was surprised and excited to be looked at.”

Having such an archetypal New Yorker front a London-based campaign may sound counterintuitive but, as Harry points out: “Blondie was part of the culture over there for such a long time.” It’s true the band broke the UK before the US, with their first tour here starting in Bournemouth in 1977. “Bournemouth may not seem punk now but it was then. I went back recently and thought, ‘Oh! It’s gentrified.’” Hasn’t everywhere? “Yes, everywhere’s changed.”

Yet Harry is resolutely unsentimental about the past, refusing to be drawn into any old-fogeyish praising of the good old days. “I don’t think anything can go backwards,” she says. Of today’s female pop stars, she likes Doja Cat and SZA. She loves making new young friends. “Doing this Gucci thing I’ve met a whole bunch of different people. [Her fellow Gucci campaign star, the musician] Kelsey Lu is one of them, she’s absolutely adorable.”

She’s equally unemotional about the many obstacles she has overcome. Her 2019 memoir, Face It, briskly — often humorously — lists events most people would categorise as traumatising, from having a stalker (the inspiration for One Way or Another), to being raped at knifepoint, to escaping from a car that she’s convinced was being driven by the serial killer Ted Bundy.

“Well, I had to make the book exciting,” she says. “But I’ve never been prone to hysterics. I have bad moments when I’m tired but most of the time I take things philosophically. So much the better for me — why would I want to rock my boat? I was on stage once when a bunch of Hell’s Angels took it over. I kept singing away but all of a sudden Chris yanked me off. Everyone was worried but I wasn’t. The bikers were absolutely charming, they were just so into the music”.

Some might say that it is a bit niche to have Debbie Harry biopic. Maybe it would attract fands of Blondie, though it could gain a wider audience. I know that music biopics are a risky thing. In terms of the story and who is cast in the lead. However, when it comes to Debbie Harry, she could consult and could have a direct say in who plays her. Supervise the script and direction. I am going to end with a Blondie playlist. Demonstrate and illustrate just how amazing their music is. I am not certain whether a Debbie Harry biopic or Blondie one would be best. There are other great interviews with Debbie Harry that I would advise people to check out. She is this fascinating artist who I hope records more music with Blondie. Even though their drummer Clem Burke recently died, that is not to say the band will discontinue or disband. I think that we are going to see them continue for a while. Look back at their incredible catalogue of work that it is among the most important in all of music. Debbie Harry is this icon and source of inspiration who has weathered so much. If you read Face It: A Memoir, “Harry, who is now 74, outlines the influences and events that led to her rise to fame. Written with the music writer Sylvie Simmons, the memoir is based on a series of lengthy interviews, which makes for a conversational style, though anyone looking for an excavation of the soul might be disappointed. Harry has rock ’n’ roll stories to burn but the memoir as a confessional isn’t her style. For the most part, the Blondie character remains”. On 1st July, Debbie Harry turns eighty. In addition to the celebration around that, I think there will be this sense that she needs to be brought to the screen. If done with care, passion and conviction, it could be among the best music biopics of recent years. I am sure that Debbie Harry would not object. Shining a light on the life and work of one of the greatest artists…

OF all time.

FEATURE: The Great American Songbook: Paul Simon

FEATURE:

 

 

The Great American Songbook

Paul Simon

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THIS is a run of features…

IN THIS PHOTO: Paul Simon with Art Garfunkel

where I compile a twenty-song playlist from some legendary American artists. In future parts will be Taylor Swift and The Beach Boys. I am starting out with one of the greatest songwriters ever: Paul Simon. From his earliest years as part of Simon & Garfunkel through to his amazing solo albums, his contribution to music has been immense. Not to disrespect the actual Great American Songbook, but this feature is my own spin. Looking at artists from the 1960s through to the modern day whose catalogue is among the most impressive and influential in all of music. It will be fun to explore some truly titanic artists. Starting out with Paul Simon seemed like an obvious choice as, alongside the likes of Bob Dylan, he ranks as the greatest songwriter the country has ever produced. Some people might know all of his music and be superfans, whilst some might only know the bigger hits. This twenty-song mix goes right back to the earliest days of Simon & Garfunkel and drops in a song from his latest album, 2023’s Seven Psalms. For those who love the work of the mighty Paul Simon, then I hope that this playlist is up to scratch. It goes to show that his songwriting is…

LIKE nobody else’s.

FEATURE: A Wake-Up Call for the Music Industry: Inside Linda Coogan Byrne’s Why Not Her? A Manifesto for Cultural Change

FEATURE:

 

 

A Wake-Up Call for the Music Industry

Inside Linda Coogan Byrne’s Why Not Her? A Manifesto for Cultural Change

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WITH her book…

written “For the Girls”, Linda Coogan Byrne’s Why Not Her? A Manifesto for Cultural Change is an essential and urgent read. One of a few books this year that I have come across that I feel everyone needs to own. Released on 11th April, you can buy the book here. I am going to come to some thoughts regarding the book and is aims. It is a project that its author put her heart and soul into. Someone who tirelessly campaigns for gender equality and recognition of women in music. Her statistics and words regarding Irish female musicians and how they are overlooked on playlists is especially shocking. How there are always excuses that they are in the minority. You can follow Why Not Her? here. Taken from Linda Coogan Byrne’s book, when it comes to Irish women they “are releasing music independently — without the label support, playlist backing, or radio airplay their male counterparts get. The odds are stacked. And still, they rise”. I am going to explore that thought and sad realisation. Before that, here is more information about a book every music fan needs to own:

“Why Not Her? A Manifesto for Culture Change—A Bold Call to Action from Linda Coogan Byrne

Author, Activist, and Award-Winning Music Industry Consultant Demands Systemic Change in Music and Beyond

London/Dublin – April 11, 2025 – The wait is over. Why Not Her? A Manifesto for Culture Change is here to challenge the status quo and shake the foundations of the music industry—and beyond.

Written by Linda Coogan Byrne, a leading voice in gender equity and diversity, this manifesto is a fearless exposé of the systemic barriers that have long kept women and marginalised voices locked out of opportunities. With over two decades of experience in music, activism, and data-driven advocacy, Coogan Byrne lays bare the stark inequalities in the industry, weaving together powerful research, personal testimony, and an urgent call to action.

"This isn’t just about playlists or festival lineups. It’s about power—who gets heard and who is silenced," says Coogan Byrne. "This manifesto is my refusal to comply with a broken system. It’s about rewriting the rules and demanding better."

IN THIS PHOTO: Linda Coogan Byrne (photos via Irish Examiner)

Through her Why Not Her? movement, Coogan Byrne’s reports on gender and racial disparity have reached millions of people, forcing industry leaders to confront their biases. Her work has been featured in The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, BBC, RTÉ, and Music Week and has driven tangible policy shifts across the media sector of the government.

A core message of the book is clear: silence is complicity. Resistance is not just necessary—it is imperative. With sharp analysis and firsthand industry insight, Coogan Byrne not only exposes injustice but also lays out a blueprint for real change.

As she writes in the book’s final chapter:

"Equality is not a gift to be granted—it is a right to be reclaimed. When one voice speaks up, it sparks change. When many voices rise together, it becomes a revolution no system can silence."

This is more than a book—it’s a movement. For industry professionals, policymakers, artists, and anyone committed to dismantling exclusionary structures, Why Not Her? is an essential read”.

Radio stations genuine gave these excuses when asked why they do not feature more women: “We don’t make the rules” (they do); “Women just moan” (they don’t); “We actually had some women on a special Friday night show back in February” (how generous of you!). The situation is bad for U.K. female artists but it is positively bleak for Irish women. This time last year, Why Not Her? published a report that outlined how Irish female artists made up just 2% of most-played songs on Irish radio in past year. The situation has not got much better. Think about incredible Irish women who are played on U.K. radio such as CMAT, and I wonder how her career would fare if she had to rely on Irish radio for support. The reality is Ireland has so many incredible women shaping and pushing the music landscape in exciting new directions. The fact that radio stations and festivals there marginalise them means many move out of the country or feel like they are trapped and cannot stay where they are. Gender imbalance is slightly improving in some areas. I have said how a massive festival like Glastonbury, whilst attempting to create greater balance across its bill, is taking steps back when it comes to female headliners.

Two last year (SZA and Dua Lipa) was the first time more than one women headlined the Pyramid Stage. Count the number of female artists who have headlined Glastonbury is the past fifty years and it makes for astronomically depressing reading. This year could have been a chance to keep moving in the right direction, though a festival with two male headline acts on the Pyramid Stage – Neil Young and The 1975 – seems like the festival settling into old (and bad) ways, in spite of a broader and fairer shake for women across over stages. I am going to bring in some passages from Why Not Her? A Manifesto for Cultural Change. I am starting out with this:

“The gender disparities evident in festival lineups (and on radio and streaming playlists - which we will look at in the next few chapters)  are  more  than  isolated  industry  phenomena—they  are symptomatic of deeper, systemic inequities that ripple across all facets  of  society.  Festivals,  as  public  spaces  of  cultural  expression,  provide a striking lens through which we can explore these issues. While the music industry serves as the primary focus of this mani-festo, it also acts as a microcosm of much broader societal structures that  dictate  who  gets  opportunities,  whose  stories  are  heard,  and  who is left behind. By  stepping  back  from  the  music  industry,  we  can  see  how  these patriarchal frameworks not only shape creative spaces but also 11

influence how we define success, handle adversity, and allocate value in our lives.The music industry is but one thread in a much larger tapestry. The  inequities  we  observe  there—from  who  gets  booked  at  festi-vals to whose voices dominate airwaves—mirror the structures that dictate opportunities in every other sphere of life. These patriarchal frameworks seep into education systems, workplaces, and even our homes, shaping not just who succeeds but how we perceive success itself. To truly understand systemic inequality, we must broaden our perspective beyond the stage and playlists.These  structures  don’t  just  dictate  opportunities  or  gatekeep  success—they  shape  everything  from  career  progression  to  men-tal health, impacting men, women, and gender-diverse individuals alike. The pressure for men to adhere to outdated notions of mas-culinity is as damaging as the systemic silencing of women’s voices. This conditioning runs deep, with consequences that are undeniably severe,  particularly  regarding  mental  health,  as  evidenced  by  the  harrowing realities of suicide”.

I am going to come to my own thoughts and opinions to end. However, there are a couple of other extracts from Linda Coogan Byrne’s new (and essential) book that caught my eye and caused shock. Aside from fascinating statistics and urgent calls for change, there are passages like this that makes it clear how sexism and misogyny runs right through music. It seems especially severe and prevalent for Irish women:

“For generations, Irish women’s voices, much like the banshee’s, have  been  dismissed,  feared,  or  outright  silenced.  The  warnings  they sounded—about inequality, about exclusion, about the cultural erasure they were experiencing—were waved away as exaggeration, just as the banshee’s cries were once shrugged off as superstition. But the truth always reveals itself. The banshee’s lament wasn’t a myth; it was a reckoning. And so too were these reports. In  some  myths,  the  banshee  isn’t  just  a  signal  of  doom  but  a  figure of mourning, keening for the loss that has already happened. In  that  way,  she  mirrors  the  women  in  this  industry—forced  to  carry the weight of exclusion, their warnings dismissed, their voices trailing into the wind until, finally, someone listens. I remember poring over the data late at night, seeing the reality of what was happening to women in Irish music laid bare in cold, hard numbers. The eerie thing was, we already knew this. Women in the industry had been crying out about it for years—just like the banshee, their voices trailing through the air, only to be met with denial, discomfort, or outright refusal to listen. There’s a long tradition in Ireland of women being seen as too emotional,  too  dramatic,  too  much.  The  banshee  herself  is  feared  not because she causes harm, but because she forces people to con-front something they don’t want to face. And isn’t that exactly what happens when women speak uncomfortable truths? They are called difficult, disruptive, hysterical—anything but right .But here’s the thing about a banshee’s cry: you can’t un-hear it. Once she keens, the message is out in the world, and nothing can take it back. These reports were our own banshee’s wail—undeniable, Linda Coogan Byrne26

impossible to ignore, and signalling that a long-overdue reckoning was at hand”.

You can see the facts and statistics and get a numerical and graphical representation of the inequalities that affect women through radio playlists, festivals and beyond. However, it is what the industry does with that data that is important! There does need to be action and activation from those in power. Especially in nations like Ireland where women are such a minority across playlists and when it comes to the most played artists, it cannot be for women to fight for themselves. At a time when women are producing the best music and ruling the industry, they are not being rewarded with opportunity or parity. It has to change:

“Understanding the facts is the first step toward consciousness, which leads to change. Facts alone are insufficient; they need to be combined with compassion, tenacity, and a will to confront embed-ded inequalities. This art is not about pointing fingers; it is about constructing bridges. The reports were more than simply critiques; they were blueprints, outlining specific strategies, offering actionable steps even, to break down the walls that had held so many people back. From redesigning radio playlists to broadening festival lineups, the idea was not to demolish what existed, but to reconstruct it in a way that acknowledged the contributions of all voices. Change is not easy, but it is always worthwhile. Using statistics to open doors and start conversations made me realise that when we face the truth and commit to improving, progress is not just possible but inevitable. With this important work, each step forward brings us closer to an industry that values talent and artistry over bias and tradition. The journey to equity is more than creating space; it’s about reimag-ining  and  reconstructing  the  foundations  of  our  systems  to  serve  everyone equally. This transcends the music industry. It’s a blueprint for collective liberation—a vision where the power of unity, diversity, WHY NOT HER? A MANIFESTO FOR CULTURE CHANGE33

and shared purpose propels us toward a more inclusive world. And at the heart of this transformation lies the undeniable strength and indeed vast potential of women, whose leadership will, one day, light the path forward. This path has always been about more than just discovering the truth  or  inspiring  action;  it’s  about  reimagining  what  is  possible.  The  data  may  have  opened  the  doors,  but  by  Jesus  the  countless  conversations kept them open, and it was during those chats that I realised something fundamental. The fight for equity is more than just a professional endeavour; it is a deeply emotional reckoning”.

I admire the work that Linda Coogan Byrne and Why Not Her? do. Publishing annual reports that look at the date around women being represented across the industry, including radio stations. I know that some of those highlighted in the report take note and improve but, too often, there are these excuses and ignorance. If men supposedly are requesting only men – which is not the case, and if you only play men then, funnily enough, that is all they will know! -, then it is down to those who play the songs and book acts to make change! If it means disappointing those listeners (sexists) then that is what need to happen. It is not about upsetting people or grand gestures. It is about levelling things up. That is the absolute minimum! The music industry should be gender-balanced when it comes to festival line-ups, playlists and including women (and non-binary artists). Women are dominating so should actually be in the majority in that respect – though we have to be realistic and realise the music industry might never go that far! I dread to think how Irish music will evolve if women feel they are not being heard and have to move to other countries so they can have a career. Festivals are still imbalanced and it is easy to make big leaps. Organisers hiding behind their own excuses. The data is out there, and Why Not Her? A Manifesto for Cultural Change is a book that argues consistently why this data cannot be ignored. Women practically backlisted in an industry that they are making golden and extraordinary. It is not about quality, demand or tradition. It is sexism and misogyny. It is also a music industry that is stuck in its patriarchal ways. Why make any change if people are not screaming en masse? There needs to be greater male allyship and calls for change. Incredible organisations like Why Not Her? do amazing work, though this needs to be met with similar commitment and outrage across the industry. What will the story be in a matter of weeks when Why Not Her? publish another report around gender and racial disparity across U.K. radio. The statistics on Irish radio. Despite some steps forward in some areas last year, I suspect we will have more questions than solutions this year. This needs to stop! Women need to be given more respect. The industry needs to realise their invaluable contributions and how the industry has, for decades, overlooked and side-lined them. If major changes do not happen, then it will be a massive disservice. Go and buy Why Not Her? A Manifesto for Cultural Change, as it is one of the most important books…

OF the past few years.

FEATURE: Spotlight: The Pill

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

The Pill

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MAYBE not an area…

of the U.K. that is getting as much attention as it should, the Isle of Wight has given us some huge modern artists recently. Lauran Hibberd among them. The brilliant Wet Leg. One more to add to this growing list of Isle of Wight treasures to follow are The Pill. Lily Hutchings and Lottie Massey might get compared to Wet Leg’s Rhian (Teasdale) and Hester (Chambers), but their music and vibe is different. Having just released their new long-E.P., THE EP, they have this incredible release that is connecting with fans and critics. The duo have tour dates coming up. If you have not heard of them or only one or two songs then please do some more exploration. Spend some time with them. Before coming to a few recent interviews with The Pill, God Is in the TV Zine highlighted this amazing new E.P. from an act who are going to playing some big festival stages before too long - I predict that will happen. I know I say this about a lot of new artists, yet it is true in the case of The Pill:

“The Pill have released their hotly anticipated debut, The EP, featuring the fierce, witty new jank-punk track ‘POSH’, first heard on BBC 6 Music earlier this week.

The EP brings together their recent red-hot run of singles that have put them firmly on the map.The EP is their first body of work, and comes just over a year since their joyous and urgent debut single ‘Bale Of Hay’, a track that instantly grabbed the attention of key tastemakers like Steve Lemacq. They quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting new duos in town, with ‘Scaffolding Man’ and ‘Woman Driver’ tracks setting them apart with their chaotic brand of DIY punk. Live, they are a sensation. Serving satire, their fresh, frenetic sets light up the venue. GIITTV were delighted to chat with them after their Rockaway Beach set earlier in the year. Read here.

Behind their bubble gum lyrics and fierce hook-laden riffs hides whip-smart, witty, searing social commentaries on gender stereotypes. Their stagecraft, banter and synchronicity are phenomenal. With basslines that would make The Breeders proud, they gloriously juxtapose a lightness of lyrics with a buzzsaw of riffs and breakneck guitars. Their songs are freewheeling, frenetic and hook-laden, giving them the potential to be huge.

Speaking of their new track, the band say,

“Written on a night out, about a night out. ‘POSH’ is drawn from the point of view of the messy, bratty, party girl personas we put on for a laugh after a few too many drinks. It’s a wild, stupid parody of ourselves and our music.”

The band just played to a packed crowd at The Great Escape in Brighton which follows spectacular dates with Big Special and HotWax. They’re currently on tour with Panic Shack before heading back to London on 18th June for their first headline show there at The Grace. Alongside ‘The EP’ they have announced a string of dates across the UK in September”.

I am going to move to an interview from DIY. It is a great introduction from a duo who are growing their fanbase and are getting respect and love from radio stations and many corners of the music press. As they have an E.P. – or is it a long-E.P., technically?! – out there, I know they will be bringing these songs to the stage very soon. I would love to see them live, as I can imagine they really connect with every crowd. Such an incredible electrifying act:

“Hello and welcome back to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… which aims to get you a little bit closer to the buzziest acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.

This week, we’re sitting down with The Pill - the no-holds-barred, no-fucks-given duo who marry serious shredding with a hefty dose of fun (think synchronised dance routines, winking lyrical quips, and a brilliant line in slogan-sporting merch). Though they only have four singles to their name so far, the pair - comprised of guitarist/vocalist Lily and bassist/vocalist Lottie - have already stirred up trouble in all the right places: last year’s ‘Woman Driver’ playfully skewers automobile-related gender stereotypes, while latest cut ‘Money Mullet’ decries the comeback of the world’s most Marmite hairstyle. Ahead of what’s set to be a busy old year of gigs and grooves, we find out more about The Pill’s story so far…

You hail from the Isle of Wight - musically, what was it like growing up there? What were the first gigs you ever went to?

Growing up on the Isle of Wight is definitely a unique experience, but definitely not a negative one. I mean, we still live here with no plans of leaving! We wouldn’t say there’s an enormous amount of things you can do on the island, but we see that as a good thing as it encourages you to make your own fun, be creative, get drunk in a field etc etc.

Due to the island being this way, there’s definitely a very strong community - we’re so grateful to be a part of the music scene here. Growing up and being surrounded by other creative people has been so influential to us. We have one venue here, Strings, which we and all our friends regularly frequented when we were younger. They weren’t our first ever gigs, but we would say they were the most poignant - we owe so much to going there and watching our friends play multiple times a week!

Your latest single, ‘Money Mullet’, is a bit of an anti-mullet anthem. But what are the worst haircuts / ill-advised fashion moments you’ve ever had? And if you could ban one item of clothing/hairstyle/accessory etc from ever coming back into fashion, what would it be (and why)?

Lottie has definitely had a lot of questionable phases, which means a lot of questionable haircuts. She actually even had a mullet at some point - what a hypocrite. But the worst was definitely the emo fringe, we even nicknamed it ‘the wall’ because it was so ladened with hairspray.

And not to be basic, but we’re still big haters of skinny jeans - I know everyone says that, but maybe everyone is right. Oh, and those really tight suits men wear, with the slight sheen and the pointy shoes. Get rid.

What were the first songs/albums/artists you developed an obsession for?

Lily: It definitely wasn’t the first album I got obsessed with (as I didn’t wait till 2017 to listen to music for the first time), but I was definitely obsessed with the Baby Driver soundtrack - it helped me walk really really fast to college every day.

Lottie: Talking of soundtracks, my most listened to album of all time is probably the soundtrack from ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. Every single song is a masterpiece and I refuse to only listen to it at Christmas or Halloween - all year round, 365 days, I’m spinning that bad boy.

You recently played one of DIY’s Hello 2025 shows at the Old Blue Last, and things got a bit crazy… How do you go about gearing up for a live show - any rituals, weird rider requests, or hype songs? And what would you say people who have never seen The Pill should expect from a gig?

We had so much fun at that show! Thank you so much for having us and embracing our chaos, it definitely got a bit crazy. Before we play live, we would say the main thing is just trying to get as riled up as possible, a bit like Jack Nicholson before he shot the infamous Shining scene - you know that clip of him jumping up and down with the axe? That’s like us.

Lily: I always have to have at least four Redbulls, and if there’s a bottle of gin hanging around I’ll be very happy.

Lottie: I’m a simple woman, some beers are all I need. Oh, and we always listen to ABBA - without fail.

For anyone wanting to come to a Pill show who hasn’t already (why? Where have you been?), just expect a lot of noise, a lot of shouting, a lot of chaos and lots of giggles”.

I do like how The Pill started out as a joke/fake band. They sort of manifested something online. I like hearing how artists start and how groups come together. A lot of the stories can be run of the mill and boring. No such issue with The Pill! Lily and Lottie have this amazing background and story. They seem almost sisterly in their bond. There is this chemistry and connection that comes through in their music. I am moving to an interview from February from DORK. I do think that the Isle of Wight is this treasure trove of artists that we should all be focused on:

“We actually originally started the band as a joke. Shocking, I know, as we’re so serious now,” explains Lottie, one-half of the band’s core duo. “Back in 2019, we made our Instagram page and hid our identities and tried to build up some fake form of hype over our fake band – obviously bored and procrastinating school work to engage in some sort of weird social experiment.”

The experiment took an unexpected turn when their mysterious online presence began generating genuine interest. “People actually started getting interested, so we thought ‘maybe we should actually do this?'” Lottie continues. “Then promptly booking our first rehearsal and arranging our first ever show, which actually sold out – crazy.”

The band’s formation story becomes even more remarkable considering that guitarist Lily hadn’t even played before The Pill. “We had never done anything like this before, Lily actually learnt guitar for the band,” Lottie reveals. “I don’t think in a million years we would’ve expected what is happening with The Pill today when we were sitting in my bedroom making that Instagram account.”

Their musical foundations, however, run deeper than their playful beginnings might suggest. Both members grew up immersed in rich musical environments. For Lily, The Cure provided an early soundtrack: “The Cure was a huge part of my growing up; I remember listening to their ‘Greatest Hits’ album in the car with my dad on holiday when I was 10, and it stuck with me ever since.”

Lottie’s musical awakening came through both parental influence and popular culture. “I grew up very influenced by my dad’s favourite music; I was a die-hard Queen fan from about the age of 6 months. ‘Radio Gaga’ was the first song I ever danced to,” she shares. A pivotal moment came while watching a certain Jack Black vehicle: “I have a core memory where I was watching School of Rock when I was around 10 or 11 and thinking the bass guitar was the coolest thing ever – I swiftly started learning, and the rest was history.”

The Pill’s trajectory has been marked by a series of increasingly confident singles, each maintaining their signature blend of sharp wit and frenetic energy. Their latest offering, ‘Money Mullet’, takes aim at a particular subspecies of the controversial haircut. “We have had a handful of run-ins with some mullets, a particular kind of mullet,” they explain. “They inspired us to write the song, so we will thank them for that, but nothing else, particularly not the hours wasted cutting them. New drinking game: take a shot every time you see a mullet in London’s financial district.”

Their rise has been particularly meaningful given their roots in the Isle of Wight’s close-knit music community. “The Isle Of Wight is a scene we are very grateful for; you can be creative with all your friends,” they reflect. “Most of our teenage years were spent going to our friends’ shows in our local venue every week, so you’re constantly surrounded by music and creative people.”

This foundation has served them well as they’ve expanded beyond their island beginnings. Recent highlights include commanding the River Stage at the Isle Of Wight Festival and making their European debut at Eurockéenes. The connection with their growing audience remains central to their mission. “Anyone who listens to our music or comes to our show and has fun – that is probably the biggest compliment to us,” they share. “Seeing people laugh at our jokes or our lyrics is very surreal, but an amazing feeling.”

Looking to the year ahead, The Pill’s momentum shows no signs of slowing. “We have a very crazy 2025 coming up. It is going to be the year of The Pill, so will 2026,” they declare. “New music is in the works, too, so keep your ears ready. It’s going to be a big bimbo summer.”

When not crafting sardonic punk anthems, the duo pursue distinctly different interests. “Most days, you can find me outside as I’ve started trying to tame crows, so I’m feeding them to tempt them into a beautiful friendship,” Lottie shares. Meanwhile, Lily has developed a creative side hustle: “I try to spend as much time as I can in my workshop twiddling away at jewellery making. I would like to put my hand to rally driving this year, though?”

I am going to finish off with a review of THE EP by DORK. Before that, I am coming to a great interview from CLASH. Even the duo have a lot of humour and there is this sense of fun about them, they do have a love of drama. The Pill are on the precipice of hitting the big time, so I am not sure whether they will leave behind the Isle of Wight and will reside permanently in London or elsewhere. I forgot to mention that another great Isle of Wight export is Coach Party – a band I spotlighted years ago. I love how CLASH write in their interview: “There’s an “island mentality” insofar that these artists tend not to take themselves too seriously. This homegrown authenticity by putting fun foremost is getting them noticed”. A great chat with the incredible Lily and Lottie:

“The Pill get a real sense of satisfaction when it comes to irritating punk rock music’s self-appointed gatekeepers. Which, by and large, tend to be middle-aged men flooding their Instagram uploads with angry comments.

“Ohhh yeahhh,” Lily Hutchings and Lottie Massey mischievously reply in unison when asked if that’s the case, an impulsive yet perfectly in-tune response which says as much about their mission statement as a band as much as their tight bond as best buds.

“That’s one of my favourite parts of being in a band,” guitarist and singer Lily continues, before bassist Lottie adds, “every day there’s so many men that are so angry. ‘This isn’t punk’ etc. Ok, well I wasn’t fucking asking you. The problem is with social media, I’ll get a bottle of wine, absolutely pissed, and will just be like ‘I wasn’t actually asking you stupid man’ [in a parodying nasal voice], or just lean into it and be like ‘omg you know so much about punk music that I don’t know’. We do rejoice in it, but sometimes it’s a little intense. As a woman, if you’re pissing off men you’re doing something right.”

“It’s funny, now we’ve started to see a few people in our merch,” Lily chimes back in, keeping a chuckle at bay. “It’s hilarious seeing middle-aged men in a t-shirt that says ‘I’m just a girl with big tits’. It’s incredible. It’s probably those guys going home and saying we’re fucking shit online.”

Later that same night, the Isle Of Wight duo played a hometown show for Independent Venue Week at Strings in Newport, the island’s capital. Seeing the crowds double-taking the band’s t-shirt slogans emblazoned with ‘Bimbo, Butthole, Tits’ as they trickled through the venue’s doors was indeed a sight to behold. An amusing one at that.

Throughout their five singles to date – the latest being ‘Problem’, a pogo-ing sub-two minute track that bristles with a kind of cheerleading satirism – The Pill’s approach to making music has been to lampoon provincial attitudes towards women and the stereotypes that come with it, prodding fun at modern life’s many absurdities as well as their own romantic misadventures. Deploying a knowingly cutesy, piss-taking vocal style and with their tongues firmly in their cheeks, you can’t help but snigger along with them. In naming themselves after the contraceptive, they were “just thinking about a girl-centric thing that when we explain to a dude might get slightly uncomfortable.”

Stuffed into one of the venue’s frosty corridors for the interview, Lily and Lottie exude the energy of a chaotic comedy duo with droll senses of humour, bouncing off each other and off the proverbial walls for the most part. Starting out in school as initial rivals – “I was such a jealous little ratbag,” Lottie confesses – the two soon befriended one another and have been virtually inseparable since. After Lottie cites her musical influences which included Amyl and the Sniffers, The Slits, and PC Music, Lily provides hers: “Bit niche. Rain sounds, some atmospheric things going on. No words, just vibes.”

“We can’t be serious,” Lily shrugs. Writing songs with a humorous, satirical slant came naturally to the pair, shuddering at the thought of ever being po-faced in their songwriting. But it also comes from growing up on an island where you’re twice-removed from knowing everyone in your age bracket, so the fear of being judged and mocked is perhaps more acute. “I think because there’s so little of us, you feel weeded out if you do something serious,” she continues. “There has to be an edge to everything you do, to save face.” “If I wrote a serious song, I’d be so cringed out,” Lottie agrees, before admitting “even though I mostly listen to serious music”.

I will end with that review of THE EP from the brilliant DORK. I do love how artists such as The Pill (and Panic Shack) can take everyday subjects and comical angles and mix it with social commentary and deeper subjects. They can address some big themes and inequalities but wrap it around this humour and wit. It makes the music more powerful and nuanced in my view:

“Life’s most cringe-worthy moments deserve their own soundtrack, and The Pill have appointed themselves as chief composers of the uncomfortable. Their debut EP – fittingly titled ‘The EP’ – bundles together their string of infectious singles with new track ‘POSH’ to create a perfectly formed snapshot of why they’ve become one of the UK’s most exciting new bands.

Opening with ‘POSH’, the Isle of Wight duo immediately showcase their talent for wrapping sharp social commentary in irresistible hooks. The track’s tongue-in-cheek take on class tourism and party personas – “No babe, don’t cum on that, it’s Gucci” – deftly demonstrates their knack for finding humour in social dynamics while keeping the energy cranked to eleven.

Across the six tracks, Lily and Lottie’s dual vocals ping-pong between sweet (often sarcastic) melodic moments and urgent calls to arms, while their instrumental interplay creates controlled chaos that’s incredibly danceable. ‘Scaffolding Man’ exemplifies this balance perfectly – its jumpy guitar riffs and playful narrative about unexpected encounters manage to be both pointed and really very funny.

‘Money Mullet’ continues their winning streak of commentaries; what starts as a straightforward critique of dodgy ‘dos evolves into a meditation on identity and social conformity. ‘Problem’ and ‘Bale of Hay’ carry the same urgent energy that made them standout singles, their scuzzy guitar work and hook-laden melodies proving just as effective in the context of a larger release.

The EP ends with a bang, ‘Woman Driver’ taking tired stereotypes and flipping them into weapons of empowerment through clever wordplay and an absolutely massive chorus.

While many of these tracks might already live on your playlist, hearing them together highlights the sharpness of The Pill’s songwriting and their ability to balance serious musical chops with humour. They’ve created a sound that’s smart, funny and ferociously energetic all at once: an absolute riot”.

Anyone who does not know about The Pill needs to follow them now. Go and listen to THE EP and add them to your playlists. They have some great dates coming up. They play London’s The Garage tomorrow (28th May) in support of Panic Shack. Their headline tour begins on 18th June starts at The Grace, London. Maybe labelled as a ‘rising act’ at the moment, the simply incredible The Pill will…

BLOW up very soon.

___________

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FEATURE: Ringo Starr at Eighty-Five: With a Little Help from My Friends: An Artist I Admire and Envy

FEATURE:

 

 

Ringo Starr at Eighty-Five

PHOTO CREDIT: Dina Litovsky for The Atlantic

With a Little Help from My Friends: An Artist I Admire and Envy

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I am going to come to…

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles in 1963/PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

a couple of recent interviews with Ringo Starr. He released his new album, Look Up, on 10th January. It won a lot of critical praise. One of the best albums of this year. His twenty-first album, it arrived almost fifty-five years to day after his debut album, Sentimental Journey, came out (27th January, 1970). Even though Starr now resides in the U.S., he was born in Liverpool and holds the city dear in his heart. He turns eighty-five on 7th July, and I know there will be a lot of articles about him. Such celebration from music journalists and fans. I wanted to write a few about him, so I am starting out with one where I write why I both admire and envy him. I used to live in the same village as Ringo Starr back in 1999. He moved to Cranleigh, Surrey then and moved out not that long after. He sort of did the Rock artist thing in reverse. They normally start out in the U.S. then retire to a quiet village in England! I love how Ringo Starr is in the U.S. As I have theorised in a previous Ringo Starr feature, I think that is a way of being closer to John Lennon. Lennon was living in New York when he was killed in 1980. Lennon would have turned eighty-five this October. On 8th December, we will remember him, forty-five years since he died. It is strange he is not around. I think Ringo Starr wants to be close to Lennon in that way. Perhaps he has different reasons for being in the U.S., but I would like to think it is because of John Lennon! Starr occasionally performs with Paul McCartney. The former Beatles have been on stage a few times recently. I do hope they record together again and there is some collaboration. As Sam Mendes is making four Beatles films – biopics of the four members that will be released in 2027 -, that might bring Starr and McCartney together. I want to include a couple of recent interviews with Ringo Starr. Promoting Look Up, it must be a fascinating experiencing getting to speak with such a music legend. The Times interviewed Starr. He explained why he always wants to be in a band. He also reveals why Liverpool has always been the capital of Country music:

“At 84, and following that pre-Christmas live reunion at the O2 in London playing Helter Skelter and Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with his mate Paul McCartney, 82, Starr has just unveiled his collection of 11 new country-leaning tunes. From start to finish Look Up is a delightful surprise — although perhaps it shouldn’t be, given Starr’s lifetime love of the music; he sang lead vocals on the Beatles’ version of Buck Owens’s Act Naturally on the Help! album nearly 60 years ago. That at a time when most British listeners’ idea of country music was more Jim Reeves than Johnny Cash.

But the affair began earlier, in Richard Starkey’s teenage years in working-class Merseyside, even before he became Ringo. Like his former bandmates, he has always accredited his love of rock’n’roll and soul to living in a port town where young men in the merchant navy returned home with exotic 45s from their travels. But they were also his introduction to the down-home music of the southern states.

“Country’s been good to me,” he tells me. “My idea of country is, ‘The dog’s dead and I don’t have enough money for the jukebox.’ Hundreds of records about the jukebox. I keep saying Liverpool was the capital of country music. In the streets I lived in every other house had some 18 to 25-year-old who was in the ‘merch’. And you could always tell those kids — there’d be a camel saddle in the living room because they’d been to Egypt,” he says with a laugh. “But they also went to America and came back with all the records, so we were getting them before everyone else.”

Look Up is produced and largely written by that most assured studio superintendent, T Bone Burnett, the man who oversaw Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s award-hoovering 2007 collaboration Raising Sand. Burnett has won 13 Grammys, including for his work on soundtracks for such classic Americana-fuelled movies as O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Cold Mountain and Walk the Line.

“There was no plan to make a country record,” says Starr, who first met Burnett socially in the 1970s. When they reconvened more recently at an event hosted by Olivia Harrison, Starr asked T Bone for a song. “He sent me this beautiful country track, and that blows me away even today. I thought he’d be sending me a rock-pop sort of song, because you’re just in that world.” The song was Come Back, a splendidly old-fashioned lullaby in the style of “Singing Cowboy” Gene Autry, complete with Starr whistling.

Burnett then proceeded to present Starr with no fewer than nine tracks, inspiring the drummer to sidestep his recent policy of making EPs and go the whole hog with an album for the first time since 2019.

These songs are the best Starr has been involved with for decades, Burnett’s sage production sympathetic to his unmistakable if limited voice, and making sparing use of vocal partners from the modern Americana scene, including Larkin Poe, Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings. Krauss accompanies him on the closing Thankful.

That track features an unusually personal lyric by Starr. “I had it all, then I started to fall,” he sings, acknowledging his place in the most famous pop group of all time and then his descent into a drink-induced haze, before he and his wife got sober in the late 1980s.

“There is a nod to the past, because I’m thankful for Barbara being in my life,” he says sweetly.

“I’m thankful that my life has changed. [I was] at the top of the mountain, and gradually it worked its way down. And then I looked up and life came back. I truly believe in looking up. You’re always in a better mood if you’re looking up. It’s one of those things you notice, walking around London, or it doesn’t matter where. They’re all looking down. There’s nothing down there.”

The album was also a full-circle moment for an artist whose second solo album, Beaucoups of Blues in 1970, was an arch-traditional country record, cut in two days with the American producer and pedal steel player Pete Drake. “Pete realised I liked country music and said, ‘You should come to Nashville and make a record.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to go anywhere for two months.’ And he said, ‘What are you talking about? Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline was made in two days.’ I thought, ‘I can handle that.’”

We talk about how much country music has changed since then, and its latter-day adoption by stars of R&B and hip-hop. “It’s just popped up. I mean, in a pop music sort of way,” he says. “I know Beyoncé made a record and it was No 1 for, like, ten years,” he says, laughing. “But no, I haven’t heard it”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney and Ringo Star together at the O2 in London in 2024/PHOTO CREDIT: Raphael Pour-Hashemi/Mega

I am going to move things on in a minute. However, The Atlantic’s interview with Starr from March is incredible. It goes into such depth and detail. Someone who seems incredibly funny and charming in interviews, Ringo Starr is near the top of my wish-list of artists I would love to interview – though I realise it won’t happen. I am so glad that he is putting out music:

“What does “normal” life look like for an 84-year-old former Beatle? I was able to ascertain some details about Starr’s day-to-day. Does he drive? (Yes.) Does he have a trainer? (Yes: three days a week, weights, yoga, pilates, treadmill.) Streaming? (“Yeah, I love TV,” he told me.) What shows?

“Well, I’m not going to plug anybody,” he said, and I withdrew the question.

Naturally, Starr is a fan of Liverpool FC of the Premier League, but also the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. He saw me wince when he mentioned the Cowboys and asked why. “Just like everyone loves the Beatles, everyone hates the Cowboys,” I explained. Starr objected—mostly to my choice of words.

“Why would you hate them?” he wondered. “That’s a strong word, to hate. Dislike is a better word.”

Confronted with more inner-directed questions about what it’s like to be Ringo Starr, the man can be stubbornly understated. “My name is Ringo, and I play drums,” he said when he entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2015. On the topic of how he came to join the Beatles, Starr is similarly laconic. “They wanted me to join the Beatles,” he told me. “I got this phone call, and that’s how it all happened.”

In 2022, Starr was given an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music, in Boston. “I don’t have a lot to say, just ‘Thank you,’ ” he said.

“You know, I just hit them. That’s all I do. I just hit the buggers,” he added, “the buggers” being the drums. “In a way, it’s like some strange fairy tale.”

Perhaps the strangest quality of this fairy tale is that it’s still unfolding. Starr’s country collaboration with T Bone Burnett, Look Up, is one of Starr’s most successful albums in years, hitting No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Country Artists Albums Chart and selling briskly in the U.S. as well.

Coverage of Look Up has noted that Starr is one of several pop acts who have recently made country albums, as if Starr has latched on to some new crossover fashion, chasing the likes of Beyoncé and Post Malone. But Starr sounds genuinely oblivious to the bandwagon he’s supposedly hopping on. “I know Beyoncé made a record and it was No 1,” Starr said in an interview with The Times of London. “But no, I haven’t heard it.”

In fact, Starr’s life and career have always been steeped in country music. As a boy, he loved Westerns and worshipped Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy. His early music idols were Hank Williams and Hank Snow; later, he admired Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. He dreamed of escaping the Dingle for Texas. He even wrote to the Houston Chamber of Commerce after resolving to live close to the country-blues icon Lightnin’ Hopkins. As a general rule, this was not something poor Liverpool boys aspired to do.

Burnett says he always considered Starr to be the Beatles’ resident country ambassador. He thought of him as “rockabilly.” Burnett pointed to “What Goes On,” from Rubber Soul, and “Don’t Pass Me By,” from The White Album. “Even ‘Octopus’s Garden’ is country,” Burnett told me. “It sounds like Chet Atkins playing guitar.”

Country also played an essential part in helping Starr adapt to his post-Beatles life. The withdrawal was difficult at times: eight years of manic, identity-warping hysteria and creative intensity. Then, suddenly, nothing. Starr wallowed. He drank, a lot. The plaintive strains of country music made for a fitting companion. “The wife’s left, the dog’s dead, or I need some money for the jukebox” is how Starr sums up the standard trajectory of country tunes.

“I sat in my garden, wondering what to do with myself,” Starr told me. “And get over, really, missing and playing with the other three boys. And I thought one day, I’ve got to get up.”

He talked with Pete Drake, an American producer who worked with Harrison on his album All Things Must Pass, about making a country album. Beaucoups of Blues would be Starr’s second solo release. Hearing it now, it’s striking how well suited Starr’s voice is to country singing. He sounds playfully mournful—or mournfully playful—like someone perfectly at home in the genre.

“Are you worried at all?” Jimmy Kimmel asked him. “Why would I be worried?” Starr replied.

Starr has long been a casual acquaintance of Burnett’s, who has won about a million Grammys (13). In November 2022, the pair encountered each other at a reception for Olivia Harrison’s book of poems about her late husband. Starr mentioned that he was making an EP and asked Burnett if he wanted to contribute a track. Sure, Burnett said. He came back with a song, and then Starr asked for more. He sent nine, all of them country songs, figuring Starr could pick one or two. Starr said he liked them all.

Look Up is a vibrant and gentle compilation with recurring themes of despair, resilience, and, especially, gratitude. “Thankful” (with Alison Krauss), the record’s second release, is an homage to hard-won lessons and, in some ways, a countrified rendering of Starr’s post-Beatles trajectory.

His descent into alcoholism and long path to sobriety is a clear subtext. “ ‘Thankful’ is the most personal song he’s ever written,” Burnett told me. “It starts off, ‘I had it all and I started to fall,’ ” Burnett said. “It’s about being in the Beatles, and being on top of the world, being the most famous person in the world. And then being an addict.” A central figure of Starr’s recovery—and the main object of his gratitude—is his wife of more than 40 years, Barbara Bach. Together, they embraced sobriety in the late 1980s, which was around the time Starr convened the All Starr Band and resumed his touring career.

“Thankful” resonates with familiar Ringo refrains (“hoping for more peace and love”) and contains echoes of some of his signature songs (“I needed a friend to help me along”). After I listened a few times, I came to hear the song as an updated version of “It Don’t Come Easy,” conveyed by a blessed old soul, who had lived, thankfully, to sing the tale”.

I couldn’t let Ringo Starr’s upcoming eighty-fifth birthday slip by. I wanted to write about him. He is the musician above all others I envy. In terms of how he has lived his life. Looking so young and vibrant at the age of eighty-five, he has lived his life right! Even though he has made mistakes and no doubt indulged in more than his fair share of excess and drug-taking with The Beatles, he is now in a place in his life where he seems happier and healthier than ever. Living a relaxing life in the U.S., he is still performing a lot and recording music. We hope to get more Ringo Starr albums. Many who are in older bands put distance between themselves and the group. Starr loves The Beatles and recalls his time with them fondly. He is close with Paul McCartney but also does not forget John Lennon and George Harrison. Starr always proffers peace and love. He is someone who has had the same values since he was young. One of the most conscientious and nicest people in all of music, Starr is someone to look up to. A really positive role model still! His new music is among his very best. I also love how he has had this amazing career.

In my mind the best drummer who has ever lived, he was the heartbeat of The Beatles. Responsible for some of their best moments. Perhaps the most respected member of the group, as the eldest member, there was this sense of authority and wisdom. Songs that Starr sung on – like With a Little Help From My Friends, Boys and Yellow Submarine – are among the most joyous. His bandmates always delighted to be backing him! The things he has seen and his experiences with The Beatles. Though we hear a lot from Paul McCartney and there have been a lot of books about him and his legacy, there has not been the same focus on Ringo Starr. His role in transforming popular music and culture really cannot be underestimated. I admire him because he has remained so modest and ego-free. You can check out Ringo Starr’s books here. Like Paul McCartney, Starr is someone whose photography is another strand worth spotlighting. I hope that Ringo Starr writes a memoir or autobiography sometime soon. I almost think his times with The Beatles is more interesting than the other three members. The biopic of Ringo Starr – Barry Keogh will play Starr – is the one I am most looking forward to. This music icon turns eighty-five on 7th July. There will be so much love for him on the day. I hope that we get to celebrate his ninetieth and ninety-fifth birthday. Someone who is in rude health and is looking ahead, I do feel this jealousy. Starr has had this life that I could only aspire to. Those two interviews I included are really engrossing and worth reading. He has this passion and energy for music that seems undismissed. Such humour and wit. I do hope that he has something big planned for his eighty-fifth birthday. Salute, peace and love to a musician I admire…

ABOVE almost everyone else.

FEATURE: In His Own Write… The Dream of the In-Depth Interview with a Major Artist

FEATURE:

 

 

In His Own Write…

IN THIS PHOTO: Lorde/PHOTO CREDIT: Theo Wenner for Rolling Stone UK

The Dream of the In-Depth Interview with a Major Artist

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IT is bittersweet…

PHOTO CREDIT: Suzy Hazelwood/Pexels

being an independent music journalist. There is the autonomy to write what I want when I want. I do not have to stick to a particular writing or formatting style – which is a relief, but it also something I might change in the future -, and there is the freedom to work the hours I want. I can react to music news stories and do my own features. There are strict rules with music magazines and magazines where you have to pitch ideas or it can be difficult to get your work seen. It is hard to sustain a blog when you are independent. Making money can difficult unless you have advertising or subscribers. Most do not. Because of that, sustainability and growth is very hard. Many blogs call time. Also, if you have quite a small following (like me) then getting post engagements and traction is tough. You can dream big but the reality is that it is hard to lure big artists. However, as I have been doing this for nearly fourteen years, there is the possibility of making a blog a reality that is a long-term thing. There are not enough working-class music journalists around. More than there were, yet many who work for bigger sites and magazines are privately educated. There are flaws of being an independent. You can miss out on so much. Those huge interviews with mainstream artists. The sort of access to locations and artists that are out of reach. Having a big following that means your work can get seen by thousands of people. However, there are plenty of advantages in terms of flexibility. My blog has been going for a while and has never made any money. The costs are not that high. Away from domain and the annual registration and upkeep of my blog on Squarespace, I am not really incurring big costs. I don’t go to gigs much and I can keep expenses quite low. I realise that things are difficult for sites that I go to all of the time. Whether you are NME, Rolling Stone, The Line of Best Fit, CLASH, The Forty-Five, DIY or anyone like that, there are going to be challenges staying afloat.

IN THIS PHOTO: Nadine Shah

I can do pretty much anything that bigger websites can do in terms of reviewing albums and songs and highlighting artists. The thing that I aspire to is doing a long interview with a major artists. There are many that I have in my sights. Nadine Shah and Billie Marten are artists I have always wanted to interview. Big dream interviews like with Paul McCartney. There are many more that are in my mind. I am glad that this side of music journalism is still flourishing. One of my favourite recent interviews is from Rolling Stone UK  and their talk with Lorde. The interview is brilliant and it is such an immersive and engaging read. The photography is wonderful too. It is an extensive piece, but I want to highlight the final parts of Brittany Spanos’s interview. It is such a vivid and fulsome interview. That sort of long read that is music journalism at its very best:

“Lorde had been reading her own Wikipedia page recently while in a meeting. There’s a quote she had given as a teenager that stuck out to her: “I have nothing against anyone getting naked… I just don’t think it really would complement my music in any way or help me tell a story any better.”

“That’s the evolution right there,” she says. An hour earlier, at the shoot with Brown, she had draped herself over a sofa in her underwear.

As a teenager, Lorde felt protective of her body and her sexuality. Her clothes acted as a kind of armour: long sleeves, high necks, opaque colours. It was a double-edged sword, though: Lorde debuted around the same time that a generation of teen superstars were starting to grow up. Artists like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez were shedding the purity rings and forced modesty of their Disney careers in order to embrace their bodies and sexual agency. Lorde, by contrast, became a symbol of some type of moral purity, and her modesty was, in essence, used to slut-shame her peers.

“I remember vividly in that first year of being famous, so many people saying — I’m paraphrasing — ‘It’s so good you don’t take your clothes off like these other sluts,’” she says. “I was up on a pedestal because I wasn’t employing the same tools. And I remember being like, ‘No, no, I will take my clothes off one day. Be ready.’ I’ve always known that having those qualities ascribed to me so young [meant that] me being more open with my body, with my sexuality, [would] carry real weight and agitate and alienate.”

There were expectations placed on Lorde about how a girl becoming a young woman should act. It was another way she made herself small, trying to please the world and be good. But as she oozed, she redefined herself, and she saw that her gender identity could get bigger, too. On Virgin’s opening track, she lays the tale of her rebirth bare: “Some days I’m a woman / Some days I’m a man.”

I ask her how she identifies now, what it means and what’s changed. “[Chappell Roan] asked me this,” Lorde recalls. The pair have become close friends over the past year. “She was like, ‘So, are you nonbinary now?’ And I was like, ‘I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man.’ I know that’s not a very satisfying answer, but there’s a part of me that is really resistant to boxing it up.”

Though Lorde still calls herself a cis woman and her pronouns remain unchanged, she describes herself as “in the middle gender-­wise,” a person more comfortable with the fluidity of her expression. In some ways, she feels like her teenage self again, back when her friends were mostly boys and there was a looseness in how she dressed and acted.

PHOTO CREDIT: Theo Wenner for Rolling Stone UK

In 2023, she went shopping at clothing store C’H’C’M’ and tried on a pair of men’s jeans. She sent a picture to Stack to get his opinion. “He was like, ‘I want to see the you that’s in this picture represented in the music.’ This was before I had any sense of my gender broadening at all.”

Towards the end of that year, she went off birth control for the first time since she was 15. “I’ve now come to see [my decision] as maybe some quasi right-wing programming,” she admits, presumably referring to years of far-right influencers pushing anti-contraception disinformation. “But I hadn’t ovulated in 10 years. And when I ovulated for the first time, I cannot describe to you how crazy it was. One of the best drugs I’ve ever done.”

She wrote the album’s opening track soon after, as well as ‘Man of the Year’. She felt like she had superpowers, like being off birth control had peeled a film off her life. But the “best drug” came with bigger crashes than she had ever experienced. She would be diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric ­disorder, a severe form of PMS that causes debilitating mood swings, among other ­symptoms; she has since inserted the IUD visible on her album cover. The experience opened up an avenue of discovery she hadn’t anticipated. “I felt like stopping taking my birth control, I had cut some sort of cord between myself and this regulated femininity,” she explains. “It sounds crazy, but I felt that all of a sudden, I was off the map of femininity. And I totally believed that that allowed things to open up.”

When Lorde wrote ‘Man of the Year’, she was sitting on the floor of her living room, trying to visualise a version of herself “that was fully representative of how [her] gender felt in that moment”. What she saw once again was an image of herself in men’s jeans, this time wearing nothing else but her gold chain and duct tape on her chest. The tape had this feeling of rawness to her, of it “not being a permanent solution”.

“I went to the cupboard, and I got the tape out, and I did it to myself,” she tells me. “I have this picture staring at myself. I was blond [at the time]. It scared me what I saw. I didn’t understand it. But I felt something bursting out of me. It was crazy. It was something jagged. There was this violence to it.”

We talk about the Trump administration’s war against the trans community. While opening up about her own identity terrifies her, she knows she has less on the line than people whose gender identity does not match what they were assigned at birth.

“I don’t think that [my identity] is radical, to be honest,” she says. “I see these incredibly brave young people, and it’s complicated. Making the expression privately is one thing, but I want to make very clear that I’m not trying to take any space from anyone who has more on the line than me. Because I’m, comparatively, in a very safe place as a wealthy, cis, white woman.”

As the candle burns down, Lorde recalls a moment after her second psychedelic therapy session. She found herself searching for the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee sex tape. She’s not sure why, but she watched the whole thing.

PHOTO CREDIT: Theo Wenner for Rolling Stone UK

“I found it to be so beautiful. And maybe it’s fucked up that I watched it, but I saw two people that were so in love with each other, and there was this purity. They were jumping off this big boat… They were like children. They were so free. And I just was like, ‘Whoa. Being this free comes with danger.’”

The consequences of freedom have been on Lorde’s mind a lot lately. She’s realised the consequences of not taking these risks would be worse. “It feels worse to keep it all bolted down,” she says. “But God, of course, I’ve had many moments in the last couple years where I’m like, ‘If I could just have a nice normal life where you don’t elicit any strong reactions from anyone.’ But that’s not my path.”

In late April, Lorde shoots the final scene for the ‘What Was That’ video. The idea is to dance and lip-synch to the single in the centre of Washington Square Park’s fountain at dusk, surrounded by fans, whom she tipped off via a texting service she’s been using to communicate with them. Lorde was genuinely not sure how many people would show up. She had also started to get cold feet about the video being shot on iPhone, “pre-party jitters” getting the best of her.

She decided to cast a wider net for a crowd to join her, posting a shot of the park’s fountain on her Instagram story. Within a couple of hours, thousands had showed up — so many that the NYPD shut it down.  Lorde was getting ready in her apartment when she got word.

Her team and video crew were in panic mode. It seemed like weeks of planning had just come crashing down. On Instagram, she removed her story announcement, then told everyone to disperse, due to orders from the NYPD. But just a few blocks away, Lorde wasn’t worried. “I get very calm in a crisis,” she says. If Virgin, in its clearness, is about keeping the scars visible, then this hiccup fitted perfectly in the world she was about to build. “I was like, ‘This is amazing. This is such a good thing.’”

In the chaos, she called up Dev Hynes, with whom she regularly walks through the park. He was there already, en route to play football with friends, and stopped to play Lorde’s new single for the fans while she looked on via FaceTime. Meanwhile, Lorde watched the sunset from her building’s rooftop.

Sometime after 8:30, dusk had passed and the park had emptied out just enough for Lorde to finally emerge; by then, riot police were on location at the park (“and Counterterrorism, or something,” she says). She and her small crew were able to shoot one, three-minute take in the fountain — and they nailed it. The video was edited that night and posted online just two days later. Virgin came to life. By the weekend, ‘What Was That’ would become her first number one song on US Spotify since ‘Royals’.

When Lorde first moved to New York City, she used to avoid walking through Washington Square Park. With its throngs of young people congregating in all corners, it was a space that forced her to confront the fact that where she lives is no longer separate from where she exists as an artist.

Once she let go, she began to embrace the intimate one-to-one conversations with her fans that are part of her everyday life. It was again in the park that she recognised what this was all about: the very pure, clear channel between her and her uncasual listeners. “I’m kind of an intense bitch,” she says. “I’ve connected with the mission to do what only I can do. It’s enough”.

There are so many more examples. Rolling Stone/Rolling Stone UK are particularly fine examples of publications/websites where you get these detailed and long interviews. The New Yorker and The New York Times. NME do some deep dives too. I think a lot of what we get in terms of music news and information is quick and short. Hannah Ewens is someone who has conducted so many engrossing interviews for Rolling Stone and Rolling Stone UK. It is always a thrill reading these interviews because you picture yourself in the scene. A real sense of time and space. Background and biography. Modern context and some incredible exchanges. I wanted to highlight the Lorde interview as it is one of my favourites of this year. However, there are so many other examples. This great interview from Lucy Dacus from The New Yorker is another gem. I do love these long-rolling magazines and publications like The New Yorker. That has been going for a century now! Even though it focuses on more than music, I love their music journalism and style. Rolling Stone too. The fact that there are a lot of British music websites still going strong is cause for hope. At a time when music journalism is not as healthy and prolific as it once was, we are still seeing these phenomenal interviews and features. Many websites do have paywalls, though it is a gift that you can access many without payment.

IN THIS PHOTO: Lucy Dacus/PHOTO CREDIT: Lenne Chai for The New Yorker

Advertising revenue is the reason behind that, though it is also nice to give people a taste of what you produce and then seeing if they would like to subscribe. It is not a luxury many independent blogs and websites can do. It is something I want to do one day. Beautiful and interesting photos and an in-depth interview. There is a chance of it happening, though I think you have to have a bit more experience than me to get that sort of chance. Bigger interviews. I would love to head to the U.S. and interview Ringo Starr. Nadine Shah in a London interview. I want to approach legends and modern-day greats. I look at these new interviews coming out and it sparks something in me. However, it does seem far-fetched at the moment. A lot of my work gets overlook and people are mainly interested in Kate Bush stuff. That is a mixed blessing. I would like for more of my other features to get noticed and shared. However, I do have this platform where I can write what I want. I have been going for years, so I do not have much cause for complaint. It is only natural to dream bigger and have that sort of ambition. I hope one day I can get a commission for a big music website and feature a wonderful artist. I guess I need to keep putting the work in and do some more interviews soon. I am not sure whether I will branch out and do podcasts and audio interview. Maybe not at the moment. Perhaps expand what I post to Instagram and get noticed that way. I will come up with a solid plan going forward. I guess I should be proud I have a blog that is still being read (though not as much as I would like) over thirteen years later. Not many independent journalists can say that! Putting the effort and dedication in, it is something that I have…

IN THIS PHOTO: Ringo Starr/PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

WORKED so hard to achieve.

FEATURE: Alright: D'Angelo’s Brown Sugar at Thirty

FEATURE:

 

 

Alright

D'Angelo’s Brown Sugar at Thirty

__________

1995 is a year…

when some all-time classic debut albums were released. One of the absolute best was Brown Sugar from D’Angelo. Among the very best albums of that the 1990s, it turns thirty on 3rd July. I want to celebrate that upcoming anniversary by exploring  the album. Fusing contemporary R&B and traditional Soul music, Brown Sugar sprinkles in other genres and sounds to create this heady and intoxicating brew! I love how D’Angelo played so many of the instruments and was very much at the centre. A prodigious talent and incredible voice, Brown Sugar still holds up thirty years later. It is one of those classics that is not played and talked about as much as it should. Perhaps not as celebrated as its follow-up, 2000’s Voodoo, I know there will be people writing about Brown Sugar at thirty. I am going to end with a couple of (the many) positive reviews for this 1995 jewel. An album that sounded unlike anything around it at the time. I will start out by bringing in some retrospective examination of Brown Sugar. I am starting out with a twenty-fifth anniversary feature from Albumism. An album that arrived on 3rd July, 1995 in the U.K. and the following day in the U.S. It remains this flawless masterpiece:

“D’Angelo’s DIY approach to recording was a rare phenomenon, particularly so among new R&B artists who typically surrounded themselves with marquee producers and peppered their albums with cameos from other artists. His record label was more than a little skeptical of their superstar-in-the-making’s independent streak. “I wrote [Brown Sugar]—the majority of that record—in my bedroom in Richmond,” D’Angelo explained during a 2014 Red Bull Music Academy interview. “All of the demos for it were done on a 4-track, in my bedroom. And I think EMI was a little leery of me being in the studio producing it on my own, which was what I was fighting for. So it was important for them that I go in with someone, an engineer. I picked [revered studio engineer] Bob Power, because of my love for [A Tribe Called Quest] and what they were doing [together].”

The consummate virtuoso with multi-dimensional expertise, D’Angelo supplied the majority of the vocals and played the lion’s share of the instruments heard on the album, taking after his musical hero Prince. “Everything [Prince] did was the bomb,” he reflected to Wax Poetics. “And, he could do it all himself. I was one of those kids reading the album credits. I knew back then that I wanted to do that type of shit.”

As further testament to his unparalleled ambition and self-sufficient work ethic, D’Angelo also produced all ten tracks, with help from Power on a handful of tracks, as well as Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Raphael Saadiq, who co-produced the title track and “Lady,” respectively.

By the middle of the decade, soul music had stagnated and was starved for revitalization. Whatever creative energy had flowed during the early ‘90s apex of the New Jack Swing movement had effectively been sapped by 1995. Only a small handful of adventurous artists—Tony! Toni! Toné! and Meshell Ndegeocello most notable among them—were pushing the sonic envelope for soul music at the time, so to speak. While there were a few stellar soul albums released that year, most offered little to nothing beyond the predictable fare squarely calculated for mainstream airplay and sales.

The then 21-year-old D’Angelo arguably reignited the artistic flame of contemporary soul with Brown Sugar, and his motivations for doing so were fueled by purer forces of unbridled passion and perfectionism. Shortly after the album’s release, he clarified to the Los Angeles Times that, “I just want to make some dope black music, some good soul music. I could [not] care less about a hit song. This is only my first album. I feel like I’m growing musically, that now I know what I want to do, and how better to do it. I just want to keep elevating my music to a new level.”

D’Angelo always envisioned the album’s sound as more organic, less artificially polished.  Although he has since alluded to harboring at least some dissatisfaction with the final output—which he has referred to as too “buttery”—D’Angelo’s original vision was largely fulfilled. From vintage analog instruments (Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ) to more modern digital technology (drum machines, computers), the mélange of sonic ingredients used during recording coalesced to form a savory gumbo of an album founded upon a warmer, more natural sound.

Brown Sugar expanded beyond its obvious classic soul evocations to integrate hip-hop flavors, jazz stylings, traditional blues and gospel inspirations throughout. In other words, this was quintessentially neo-soul, the marketing-driven term that the early D’Angelo champion Massenburg would coin a few years later as a way to differentiate the emerging sound and aesthetic from those that came before.

Propelled by D’Angelo’s southern drawl-drenched falsetto vocals layered atop lushly languid grooves, Brown Sugar’s filler-free ten tracks exude a palpable swagger, an effortless cool. Nowhere is this more richly manifested than on the album-opening title track. As the first of four singles released from the LP, the hypnotic “Brown Sugar” was our formal introduction to D’Angelo’s many charms, though the song’s innuendos may have been lost on some. Not, in fact, a tune about one of D’Angelo’s lady friends, “Brown Sugar” was a slyly clever ode to Mary Jane, in the same spirit of Rick James’ 1978 hit song. Check the lines midway through the song’s first verse (“See, we be making love constantly / That’s why my eyes are a shade blood burgundy”) and you’ll wonder how you could have missed the true meaning all along.

The rest of the album is largely comprised of laid-back love songs awash in thick bass lines and heavy organ and piano riffs, the highlights of which are “Alright,” “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine, “Lady,” and “When We Get By.” Two additional standouts are the gospel-tinged “Higher,” an impassioned hymn to the power of love, and the funky “Shit, Damn, Motherfucker,” a slowly smoldering lament for a cheating wife that ultimately takes a twisted, fatal turn.

Twenty-five years ago, Brown Sugar redefined the soul long player as we knew it then and ushered in a crucial pivot point in the history of the genre. Merging critical aplomb with commercial viability, it became the new prototype for contemporary soul—subsequently branded as neo-soul—and one that countless artists would work hard to emulate during the latter half of the 1990s and beyond.

And while D’Angelo’s recorded output to date may be sparse relative to others who have been in the game for nearly three decades, from a consistency and quality perspective, his body of work is unparalleled and it all began with Brown Sugar”.

I love reading about the background of Brown Sugar. This incredible and young talent who burst through with this amazing album. Though it did not get the same hype and spark as other albums from 1995, it is one of the most accomplished and enduring albums of its time. I want to come on to a great feature from CRACK. In 2020, they spent some time investigating a listening experience like nothing else. I think I first heard Brown Sugar many years after its release. I regret I did not hear it in 1995, as it would have opened me open to artists like D’Angelo:

“Just out of his teens when he recorded his debut record, D’Angelo – real name Michael Archer, the son of a preacher man – surrounded himself with equally funky creatives like Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Raphael Saadiq and music producer Bob Power. The result is an LP that sounds like it was cut in the dead of night by bugged-out geniuses; you can almost hear the sound of weed smoke blowing from the speakers and the creative spirits of Al Green, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye and Prince circling overhead. Like The Purple One, there was an aura surrounding D’Angelo. In real life, he was shy, difficult to read, more mystic than man. Unlike Prince, his powerlessness to create the body of work his genius demanded became the stuff of legend as he spent years struggling with his demons.

The D’Angelo mythos starts on the jazzy opening chords of the title track. D’s impossibly high falsetto rings with a carnal sensuality as he croons about sex or weed or maybe both. He sounds equally stoned and surly on Jonz in My Bonz, allowing his funky fingers to run over his organ as the beat summons the dusty sounds of New York hip-hop. Like most numbers on Brown Sugar, the song has a free-spirited feel, as though the whole record was laid down on analogue tape during the most perfect late night jam session that the gods and goddesses ever bore witness to.

D’Angelo’s Christian roots stir on the gospel opening of Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine and sanctified closer Higher, while there’s an underground jazz club feel to the plucked double bass and tinkling piano of tap-along classic When We Get By. It’s not all saintly: D gets nasty on Shit, Damn, Motherfucker, calling out the dude his wife’s been creeping with. “I’m ‘bout to go get my nine/ And kill both of y’all behind,” he threatens, a whole six years before Ronald Isley gained significant pop culture traction by playing a similar role in The Isley Brothers’ Contagious. Brown Sugar’s own songs for the radio come in the form of a lustrous cover of Smokey Robinson’s Crusin’ and Lady, a pretty pop track D’Angelo supposedly hated. That was, until fans started telling him their kids had been conceived to it.

This aversion to Lady probably stemmed from the simplicity of its structure, and D’Angelo’s hunger to experiment with arrangements would manifest on the darkly hypnotic psych-funk album Voodoo five years later. In the process, he dumped the oversized leather jacket and pudgy-cheeked look for a more overtly sexualised styling. His unhappiness with the image almost buried the singer as he collapsed into substances and depression. A 14-year album drought was finally broken in 2014 when D’Angelo dropped Black Messiah with band The Vanguard, another instant classic. All the while neo soul lived on through Bilal, Musiq Soulchild, India.Arie, Eric Roberson and Alicia Keys, offering a raw, lustful alternative to the sensibilities of most contemporary R&B. And so Brown Sugar helped start a musical moment. Twenty-five years later, it still feels out of step, out of time, eternally innovative, and just as gorgeous as it did on first rotation”.

There are two reviews I want to highlight a 2017. I will start with a review from Pitchfork. An expanded edition of Brown Sugar was released. It showcased this incredible genius who arrived fully formed in 1995. There is not a weak or insincere moment on D’Angelo’s debut album. I wonder whether the man himself will post anything to social media on 3rd July. He should be incredibly proud of what he released in 1995. One of the finest albums ever in my view:

“Brown Sugar arrived during the peak of hip-hop’s golden era, when rappers like Nas and The Notorious B.I.G., and groups like Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest were at the height of their powers. D’Angelo instantly fit the mold. With his straight-back cornrow braids and baggy clothes, he looked like a rapper of that period, yet his music countered that which dominated the airwaves. Until Brown Sugar arrived, Top 40 R&B skewed very much toward hip-hop, from the upbeat tick of its beats to the guest rap verses that felt obligatory for almost every single. Songs like Monica’s “Don’t Take It Personal,” Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” and Adina Howard’s “Freak Like Me” seemed influenced by Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing-style production, which dominated urban music in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

D’Angelo was different, the perfect amalgamation of modern rap and old soul, and Brown Sugar was a masterclass in this alchemy. It was as if, from the very beginning, he wasn’t trying to go against the grain, he just wanted to keep things low-key. For instance, in the video for “Brown Sugar,” the scene unfolds in a smoky jazz club on what looks to be open mic night. It harkened back to the essence of soul and jazz music, live records cut at the Village Vanguard or Five Spot. The title track and the album felt honest and organic; you could feel the lush instrumentation, the sincerity in the lyrics, the warmth of the keys. This wasn’t R&B purposely intended for younger ears; Brown Sugar was grown folks music, it just so happened that a 21-year-old created it.

All these years later, Brown Sugar is still just as resonant, emitting a strong vintage quality that works in any era. It had everything: “Shit, Damn, Motherfucker,” a dark tale about death and infidelity, became a gritty street anthem that soundtracked a pivotal scene in 1999 film The Best Man. With its upbeat gospel sway, “When We Get By” was an uplifting tune in the vein of Ray Charles, as a track that meshed the genre’s traditional and contemporary aspects. On “Cruisin’,” the Smokey Robinson classic of the same name, D’Angelo kept the integrity of the original—the fluid guitar riff and wafting strings—yet he quickened the pace just slightly, and added weight to the drum kick. The finished product paid rightful homage to Smokey and might be a little better than the 1979 cut. The two-disc deluxe edition of Brown Sugar includes four remixes of D’Angelo’s “Cruisin’,” one apiece from producers King Tech and Dallas Austin, and two others labeled “Wet Remix” and “God Made Me Funky Remix.” Of the “Cruisin’” renditions, Austin’s is closest to D’Angelo’s portrayal; canned drums give it a distinct ’90s knock, but the strings and vocal arrangements are unchanged. The title track, “Lady” and “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine” also get a few different a capellas, instrumentals, and remixes here.

Listening to Brown Sugar’s deluxe edition is like walking through the mid-90s. The record feels like an artifact in that way, capturing D’Angelo at a nascent stage in his creative development while dusting off rhymes from Kool G. Rap (who originally appeared on King Tech’s remix of “Brown Sugar”), Redman (featured on the Def Squad remix of “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine”) and AZ (himself a featured rapper on DJ Premier’s “Lady” remix). Where Voodoo and Black Messiah felt especially grainy and dark, Brown Sugar feels especially lush and radiant, an outcome of Bob Power’s and Russell Elevado’s masterful engineering work. (Conversely, for Voodoo, Elevado and D’Angelo recorded everything on tape, which gave the record its lo-fi sound). Brown Sugar shifted modern soul, not only putting pressure on himself to exceed expectations moving forward, but it opened a door for a new movement in black music”.

I am going to finish off with another review around the reissue of Brown Sugar. Marking twenty years of a classic, The Line of Best Fit shared their thoughts on an album that has this incredible legacy. There are articles like this and this, that give you more insight into the seismic Brown Sugar. An album, as I said, that still sounds fresh and new. You can tell which artists recording today are influenced by D’Angelo’s masterful debut album. It will continue to inspire artists for generations:

“What’s remarkable about Brown Sugar is that it doesn’t fall prey to either of the likely fates for a solo record that draws on so many influences and was born of such a range of instrumental ability; it feels neither disparate nor like a kitchen sink job. In fact, on the contrary; Brown Sugar is masterfully restrained, an exercise in tasteful minimalism. The rhythm section drives the record, yet rarely seems to amount to much more than the crackle of the snare and a wandering bassline. The piano lines are unobtrusive, yet crucial; on the jazzier tracks - “Smooth” and “When We Get By”, for instance - they almost seem independent of the song, running parallel to it rather than feeling part of it. The guitar is used almost entirely for punctuation, but when it is - on “Alright” and “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine”, especially - it’s indispensable.

There’s early evidence, too, of D’Angelo’s flirtations with classical arrangements; the string section on that now-classic cover of Smokey Robinson’s “Cruisin’” is a masterstroke. In the larger scheme of the record, it was just another factor setting D’Angelo apart from the rest of the mainstream R&B world in the mid-nineties. At that point, the transition in the very meaning of that tag - from the rhythm and blues classicism that it actually stood for to where it stands today, effectively as a byword for urban-inflected pop music - was already underway, and in 1995, when the likes of Jodeci and Brandy had one eye on the charts, D’Angelo was continuing to fly the flag for purism - that he still managed to deliver something startlingly original in doing so is testament to his ability as a songwriter.

Also distinguishing him from his peers was his lyricism, which, on Brown Sugar, largely felt like a throwback to classic soul; this is an album replete with love songs, making it far and away his least complex album in conceptual terms. There’s nothing wrong with that, by any means; if you’re going to delve into straightforward balladry, then at least take your cues from the old maestros. Stevie Wonder’s presence is palpable on “Dreamin’ Eyes”, “Smooth” and “Alright”, whilst the spiritual leanings of “Higher” are a direct thematic nod to D’Angelo’s gospel roots. That he still found room for a chillingly sedate murder ballad - “Shit, Damn, Motherfucker” - and the nudge-wink of the title track, an ode to good weed rather than women, is impressive in itself.

And then, there’s that voice - and something else that has you realising what a one-off the man is. So much of a soul singer’s force of personality is wrapped up in their vocal delivery, so for D’Angelo - who by no means is a slouch in that department, with a readily recognisable falsetto - to pare back the importance of the vocals in the overall mix - to treat them as just another instrument, and to apply to them the same principles of minimalism as he does to every other area of Brown Sugar’s compositions - was a maverick move. He pitches his vocal approach somewhere between the soul that pervades the album’s instrumentation and the languidness that his hip hop heroes could lay claim to. His voice might sound smooth throughout the album, but his actual delivery was often not - there’s an offbeat confidence to his refusal to be bound by conventional standards of where the vocals should sit in relation to the rest of the track, something he probably owes as much to his jazz influences as to his admiration of Rakim or A Tribe Called Quest.

This new vinyl reissue is no remaster, and with just reason; there’s nothing wrong with the original. It’s all too easy to romanticise analog recording and the vinyl format itself in this day and age, but Brown Sugar provides compelling reason to feel nostalgic about both; it’s difficult to imagine how an album this sparse could still feel so warm if it had been digitally recorded, rather than cut to tape. Long since out of print on wax, this repress will allow a new generation to hear such a crisply captured R&B album the way it was intended. More than that, though - two decades on from its release - it provides an excuse, if anybody needed one, to revisit a game-changing classic of the genre, and in doing so, allow it to step out of the shadow cast by Voodoo and, more recently, Black Messiah”.

It is important that we mark thirty years of Brown Sugar. A stunning debut album from D’Angelo, I do wonder if he will follow up 2014’s Black Messiah (as D’Angelo and The Vanguard). He is one of the most consistent and talented artists of his generation. If you have not heard Brown Sugar then play it now. A sublime, soulful and scintillating work of genius, go and spend some time with…

THE perfect Brown Sugar.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Revisited: Coco Jones

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight: Revisited

Coco Jones

__________

THIS is the third time…

I am featuring this artist. I included her in my Spotlight feature back in 2023. The wonderful Coco Jones released her debut studio album, Why Not More?, in April. I am going to end with a review for the album. However, before I get there, I am including a few interviews with Jones. If you are nearby and can see her on tour then go and book a ticket. Having starred in Bel-Air as Hilary Banks (the series ended last year), there is going to be other acting opportunities for Coco Jones. A GRAMMY-winning artist (she won for Best R&B Performance for her song, ICU). I am going to start out with some biography for this dazzling and multi-talented artist:

“Coco Jones has captivated the world with her timeless artistry, sensual voice and emotive songs to become R&B’s breakout artist. She signed with High Standardz/Def Jam in 2022 and released the EP What I Didn’t Tell You with the lead single “ICU,” which has been certified platinum. In 2024, she was nominated for an impressive five Grammy Awards—including the coveted Best New Artistaccolade— and won for Best R&B Performance “ICU.” The song was lauded by fans and critics alike and peaked at #1 on the Billboard R&B Airplay chart, leading to Best New Artist wins at the BET Awards, The Soul Train Awards and NAACP Image Awards.

With the release of 2x GRAMMY nominated song “Here We Go (Uh Oh),” as well as “Sweep It Up,” and “Most Beautiful Design” Ft. London On Da Track and Future, this next chapter finds the 26-year-old multihyphenate singer/songwriter and actress embarking on her debut album and stepping into an era of empowerment and connection.

Coco Jones was raised in Nashville, TN by a mother who was also a singer, and a father who played in the NFL. Early on, she learned the importance of following her dreams. She began recording at the age of 9 and was called to acting—first as a recurring guest on Disney’s musical sketch comedy, So Random!, and in 2012, as the golden-voiced love interest in the network’s TV movie, Let It Shine. Since then, she’s showcased her formidable acting skills playing Hilary Banks in Peacock’s Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air and Netflix’s Vampires vs. the Bronx. Her visibility has made her a role model for beautiful and talented dark-skinned Black women”.

I am going to move along to a 2024 interview from NME. They write how the Tennessee-raised artist has not had the smoothest ride, though she is getting her second chance. A successful actor and acclaimed artist, it was definitely a new chapter for Coco Jones. She aims to redefine R&B. I think she is doing that. We have a wave of great British R&B artists coming through. I have not followed modern U.S. as closely as I should. I have been a fan of Coco Jones for a few years now:

“She attributes her love for R&B and soul to her family and upbringing. She says: “I think what draws me to R&B is familiarity and relatability. I feel like whatever music you’re raised on, you naturally gravitate more towards – R&B feels like home to me. R&B has so much cultural impact in Black American culture, and [other genres like] soul is Black history – so a lot of why I like it is because I’m a Black woman and it’s my history.”

Her time at the Disney Channel sharpened her superstar qualities from a young age. In 2012 she starred as one of the lead roles in TV film Let It Shine, alongside Abbott Elementary’s Tyler James Williams. She also had recurring roles in the shows Good Luck Charlie and So Random!, acting alongside Disney alumni Bridgit Mendler and Demi Lovato.

Being a Disney girl was the dream for Jones as a child; “I was obsessed with Cheetah Girls! I always wanted to be on Disney, so I just went to loads of auditions,” she explains. The experience taught her about how to hustle and compartmentalise, she says, which are lessons she carries to this day.

Jones credits her father (a former NFL player) and mother (a backing singer) for being a crucial support system in her teenage years while she learned these qualities: “My mom is always so wise… she taught me how powerful it is to be confident.”

Her mother is equally as appreciative of her children, and wears their achievements with pride. Jones’ Grammy trophy is at her mother’s place; “I always send my awards to my mom… she has her own section in the house for all of her kids and all of the accolades that we’ve ever won.”

Her journey from Disney Channel star to Grammy-winning singer was not straight-forward. Disney’s music operation, Hollywood Records, signed Jones at 15 – before dropping her almost a year later following creative differences. “That knocked me all the way back,” she explains. “It was uncomfortable for me, I did a lot of partying to cope with not being where I wanted to be in life. But it also helped me forge a relationship with my faith and with God… I really wasted years with negativity and distractions. Now I’ve learnt my lessons from that.”

It took her a lot of hard work to reach the point of being able to sign to a major label again, but she credits her work ethic for the achievement; “I would just put things out. I did independent releases and funded my own videos and I auditioned a lot and would put myself out there. I would post covers even if they got low views, I did something everyday.”

In the period she was unsigned, Jones released an EP titled ‘HDWY’ [He Don’t Want You]. Written during the span of her first breakup, Jones flexes her vapory, husky voice and flaunts her newly curated R&B and neo-soul sound. “I learned what I lacked sonically through discovery of new music coming out at the time,” she explains. “I was heavily inspired by people like SZA and PARTYNEXTDOOR, and I liked people that told the truth. I can’t act like there’s nothing going on with my life, I had to figure out my truth too.”

It’s this radical honesty in her musical which made a successful comeback possible – redefining her brand from a former Disney pop star to an unashamedly authentic vocalist. She describes herself as an “emotional person”, but says that this helps her in both her singing and acting skills. “[Singing and acting] have to deal with emotion, in different ways. One is like your own story, and the other is like a story that was written,” she says.

Jones currently has a main role in Peacock’s Bel-Air, reprising Karyn Parsons’ Hilary Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She’s enjoying it and draws similarities between Hilary and herself: “We’re both girls’ girls,” she laughs, and compares Hilary’s likeliness to the girls she is friends with in real life. She commends the skills of her castmates and is happy to be both singing and acting again. “It’s hard to balance, though, I’m not gonna hold you!”

Moving forward, she wants to hone her redefined sound and mix it with new influences in a full length project. “I just want to outdo everything I’ve already done, and experiment with new sounds,” she says. Yet, despite having already been nominated for prestigious genre-specific awards, she is determined to make herself a staple name in the industry. “R&B is more of a patience game, whereas something like pop could be a trend overnight. With R&B, it’s like a seed that needs to sprout and then grow. I want to modernise R&B”.

Last year was a huge year for Coco Jones. It was one where her music was taking off. There were some great interviews from last year. ELLE spotlighted an artist who was doing things her own way. I know Why Not More? is among this year’s best albums. We are going to hear a lot more albums from Jones. Such a remarkable and original talent:

“What has been your most unbelievable moment in music?

Being nominated for five Grammys was not a sentence I ever thought I was going to hear at this stage in my career. That’s been the most unbelievable. And winning a Grammy feels kind of surreal as well. But the way my mind reacted to the five nominations, I was like, “No way.”

What’s your overall career goal?

I want the option to be able to be involved in whatever I’m into. If I don’t want to put out an album for five years and I want to open up an art gallery for Black women, that would be what I do. And it would be respected and it would be valued and taken seriously because of my name and because of how hard I work. I could score a movie, start a product line, or develop an artist. I want to have options to do whatever I desire.

Has your definition of success changed as you’ve gotten older and more famous?

My definition of success used to just be: Beyoncé. But I can’t focus so much on what this woman that I am a huge fan of did. I can take the core principles, the hard work of it all, the authenticity of it all, the re-creating yourself of it all. But it has to be the Coco way. I used to do that with so many people: “I want to do what she did,” and just leave it there. But I’m me, so I can’t be what someone else is. I have to find a new way.

Have any female R&B artists served as mentors to you or given you advice?

I love Ella Mai. She’s my homegirl. She’s had the type of success that I’m working toward, so she gives me a lot of advice. It’s also just the peer-to-peer support. Chloe x Halle and I are constantly uplifting each other whenever we see each other, because we grew up together in the Disney world. That’s the really beautiful part, the “Girl, we see what you’re doing. Keep going.”

You’ve mentioned that you don’t like being famous.

I don’t feel like anyone would like it if they got a taste of it. It’s very strange. I feel like an animal in a zoo sometimes. But I know that it’s not something to complain about. I think about my younger self and how I would feel when I saw people on TV in real life. I didn’t know how to act, and it’s just not normal. I’m not normal. And the human reaction to seeing me in my job, because it’s an un-normal job, is going to be an un-normal reaction. So I just have to look at it like a human response to seeing somebody that you only see on your phone. It’s strange. So I don’t take it any way but the logical way. I feel like there’s a lot of good that comes with people wanting to know more about you. You can tell them your journey, you can inspire, you can uplift. So there’s good and bad with that, too. But of course, if it was my preference, I would [just] release my songs under an alias and collect my funds.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sharif Hamza

Do you have a dream collaboration?

Mine would be Beyoncé, but I have so many other artists that I love as well: Jazmine Sullivan, Brandy, Rihanna, Alex Isley. I would do a song with Ella [Mai]. And I love Tate McRae. I think she’s fire.

Is there a question that you’ve never been asked that you’ve always wanted to share?

No one has ever asked me if the work that it takes once you do get to these things was anything that I could have understood before I got here. People see that I’m signed, I have a show, and I put things out. They don’t think, “I wonder if she knew what she was really signing up for.” The answer is no. There are so many other little things that you have to do. You have to be the final say in so many things. I didn’t know there would be so many questions that need answers, [many of which are] time-sensitive. You’re also balancing so many different sides of you: “Do you want to do this interview and this commercial? This product wants you to be aligned. Do you like this product? Can you go on tour? This artist wants you to sing on this song.” You have to constantly make sure that you can really stand on business with what you’re saying yes to. And if you don’t want to do that thing, then it’s like, “How much of this is a necessary thing for where I’m trying to get? Or is this really a choice?” On your schedule, there are things you really want to do, things you definitely don’t want to do, and things you just have to do to keep it going and not lose yourself in the midst of all those things.

I want people to think about that, too. On social media, everybody’s like, “Drop this [music].” You’re trying to still be an artist and you’re trying to live your life so you can write songs that you relate to. It’s not all glitz and glamour. The payoff is amazing, but I feel like sometimes I read comments talking about an artist. I’m like, “Girl, you have no idea what the smoke is like over here.” You have to make sure that you do what’s necessary, but also the things that are you. They don’t mesh all the time”.

The final interview I am sourcing from is Harper’s Bazaar. Reacting to Coco Jones attending the Academy Awards “in what she calls “Coco and Coach’s version”, it was an interesting conversation. In spite of a typo on their part – ‘Brittany Spears’ should be ‘Britney Spears’ -, we get to learn new things about one of the most spectacular and promising artists in R&B:

“What’s your biggest inspiration, both style wise and in your career, and how has that influenced your work and approach to success?

I will not lie. I do get a lot of my influence from the ‘90s and the early 2000s. I think I would probably say that Destiny's Child has influenced my style the most. I love super feminine skin-tight crop tops, body showing.

You recently released your single “Taste,” which includes a sample of Brittany Spears’ 2003 track “Toxic” with an R&B spin. What about that song and/or Britney Spears inspired this single?

I have been doing a lot of experimenting with this album. I feel like one of my goals is to continue to push the boundaries of what R&B can be. People, I think, are also still learning about me. I'm still learning about me. But when you put out your first album, it's kind of like, hey, this is who I am. Some people will be hearing me for the first time and so I wanted to continue to show different sides of me. One of the sides of me that I feel like hasn't been fully represented yet is I did a lot of music in the pop world. I mean, I was signed when I was 14. I was doing Disney Channel. And I was obsessed with Britney and Hannah Montana and all of the girls that were in that pop world. I've done a lot of, like, super R&B, very traditional, but I kind of wanted to cross that pop and R&B world in a couple of my songs on this album. And with that intention in mind, we had this pitch[ed] down “Toxic” sample of Britney, and it just kind of morphed into “Taste”, which became the single.

You just announced your debut album and tour that are coming this Spring. What are you most excited for fans to take away from this new era?

I want to be the type of artist where there's a song for every mood. There's a song for the girls who just are chill. There's a song for the girls who are ragey and have mad energy, aggressive, the toxic girls, the girls who are flirty, cutesy, and the girls who are still figuring themselves out. We all have so many sides to us that I kind of want them to be like Ben & Jerry—pick your favorite flavor.

What are some films (past or present) that have informed who you are today?

My first thought was Dream Girls. I'm also gonna say Princess Tiana, not for nothing. I do love cute animation, and I also love beignets, but not frogs, though. I would also say Clueless is one of the ones that I love. I just love that girly girl stuff and Mean Girls.

What are some of the films that are nominated that you’ve enjoyed this year?

Substance I think is super dope, and I love a lot of that cast. Honestly, it's hard to choose, because when you go to the Oscars it’s such high quality stuff. So I feel like it's hard to choose, but Substance or Wicked.

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What are you most looking forward to tonight (The Oscar’s)?

Hopefully getting to meet Ariana. Love her. I did get to meet Cynthia Erivo yesterday and she was so sweet. She actually followed me on Instagram, and then I followed her back, and she had tagged me two years ago, so super crazy. You never know who's watching and listening to your music.

We know you have a lot in store in terms of your music, but can you tell us what’s next for you in terms of your acting career?

I have a film that I executive-produced last year and I was also in. It's kind of like a black rom com that gives you those throwback vibes, and hopefully it's one of those classic staples that, you know, people fall in love with. I'm actually going to South Africa in a couple weeks to film this scary movie, but I'm not doing the scary parts. I hope to continue to build my film and TV side as much as I put that same energy into music”.

Let’s end up with a review of Why Not More? from NME. If you have not experienced Coco Jones and her amazing music then you need to rectify that. I know that she will rise to be included alongside the most influential R&B artists ever. She has the sheer talent to go as far as she wants. This is an exciting artist that everyone needs to follow:

“Coco Jones’ debut album ‘Why Not More?’ has been a hard-fought battle over a decade in the making. Following several false starts in the 2010s as she tried to transition from Disney teen actor to singer, the former NME Cover star slowly laid the groundwork for her music career. She finally took the R&B world by storm in 2022, with her sublime single ‘ICU’, a soulful ballad with shades of Brandy and Toni Braxton.

What followed were a whirlwind couple years for Jones that included several milestone firsts: the release of ‘What I Didn’t Tell You’ in November 2022, her first major label EP since 2013; her first solo headlining tour across the US and Europe in 2023; and her first Grammy win for Best R&B Performance for ‘ICU’ at the 2024 ceremony. It has all readied her for this moment.

The record is a resounding portrait of a woman unafraid, one who has navigated tough times and come out the other side swinging. On ‘Why Not More?’, Jones isn’t scared to push boundaries, whether it’s her own or R&B as a genre – or both at the same time. That’s the case on the daring ‘Taste’, where she interpolates Britney Spears’ pop classic ‘Toxic’, but flips it around with silky synths and trap beats that bring out the best of her soulful R&B voice.

That creativity is on display elsewhere on the record, too. There’s the gut-wrenching ‘Hit You Where It Hurts’, a guitar-driven moment that that wouldn’t feel out of place on an indie record, or just simple-but-smart wordplay on the Kelly Rowland-esque ‘AEOMG’ (“Fresh up out the shower, boy, it’s getting filthy / Using all my vowels, legs up on the ceiling / Talking about, A-A-E-E-O my god”). At times, there are also echoes of Aaliyah, such as on ‘Thang 4 U’.

But, of course, Jones is at her finest when her voice is the star of the show. The highlight is ‘Here We Go (Uh Oh)’, which recalls the best of Jazmine Sullivan, where Jones laments about a lover she just can’t move on from (“I wanna love another person, can I please love another person”) over a sample of ‘’Cause I Love You’ by Lenny Williams. The authentic vulnerability in her vocals doesn’t just cut through on the record’s ballads (‘By Myself’, ‘Other Side of Love’), but also on groovier cuts like the reggae-infused ‘Why Not More?’ with YG Marley.

As an album, ‘Why Not More?’ is deeper, richer and more wide-ranging than anything we’ve ever seen from Jones. But the singer also uses the record to signal that there are depths that she has yet to explore – and with this newfound sense of confidence, this album is just the beginning for this star in the making”.

I will wrap there. A magnificent artist whose music will definitely stay in the head and heart, I am interested to see where she goes next. What her next acting project is and what a second studio album might sound like and involve. I spotlighted her a couple of years ago and wanted to return to her career as she has released her debut album. It is clear that her future is going to be very bright. Coco Jones is...

A monumental talent.

_______________

Follow Coco Jones

PHOTO CREDIT: Paige Margulies for NME

Official:

https://www.therealcocojones.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/cocojones/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@cocojones

Twitter:

https://x.com/TheRealCocoJ

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/c/cocojonessings/featured

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CocoJones/

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Debbie Harry at Eighty

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: S. Savenok/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Debbie Harry at Eighty

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I may do another feature…

around Debbie Harry, as she turns eighty on 1st July. It is a big birthday for one of music’s true icons (a word I use with all confidence). A lot has changed in the Blondie camp the last few months or so. I believe the band we rerecording an album or in the process of starting it. We learned the sad news that the drummer Clem Burke died on 6th April at the age of seventy. I am not sure how that affects Blondie’s future plans and recording. However, we remember his phenomenal work. The band’s lead is one of music’s all-time greats. Debbie Harry has inspired so many people and remains one of the greatest band leads in music history. In this first feature ahead of her eightieth birthday, I have assembled a Blondie playlist. I know I have done this before, however, I am taking a different approach this time. I am not going to do all their hits and deep cuts. Instead, I am limiting it to an essential collection: the twenty Blondie songs that you cannot do without. In a new feature, I am running a series where I look at great American artists and compile their twenty essential tracks into a playlist – to introduce them to people who may not be overly-familiar. I will get to the Blondie mix in a bit. However, first, this website gives us some background to and biography of the peerless and super-cool Debbie Harry:

“Who Is Debbie Harry?

Debbie Harry met guitarist Chris Stein in the 1970s, and the two started a band that would later become the world-famous Blondie. Categorized as new wave (a genre of music shaped by styles that include punk, electronica, reggae and funk), Blondie eventually met commercial and critical success. The band's third album, Parallel Lines, catapulted Harry to stardom and the song "Heart of Glass" reached No. 1, later followed by other chart-toppers like "Call Me," "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture." With her musical know-how and mesmerizing aesthetics, Harry became a pop icon, influencing many female singers to come.

Background and Early Life

Debbie Harry was born Angela Tremble on July 1, 1945, in Miami, Florida, and was adopted by Richard and Catherine Harry when she was 3 months old. Growing up in Hawthorne, New Jersey, Harry sang in the church choir. She tried college for two years before dropping out and moving to New York City in the late 1960s. Having sang with the band Wind in the Willows and worked as a Playboy Bunny, Harry ended up waiting tables at Max's Kansas City, a popular club that was part of the downtown art and music scene.

Forming Blondie

Harry later joined the Stilettos, a female trio, and met guitarist Chris Stein, who became a member of the group. Over time, Stein and Harry became romantically involved. In 1974, the two started the band which would eventually be known as Blondie. The burgeoning new wave act played many of the legendary clubs in New York, including CBGB.

Blondie's self-titled debut was released in 1976. The following year, the band toured in support of their second album, Plastic Letters, which scored a No. 2 spot on the British charts with single "Denis." Over the years, Blondie would continue to be a formidable force in the U.K.

Commercial Breakthrough: 'Parallel Lines'

Blondie's third album, the critically exalted Parallel Lines, helped catapult the band to pop music stardom. The disco/glam single "Heart of Glass" reached the top of the U.S. charts in 1978, while the campy, more traditionally rock-ish "One Way or Another" became a Top 25 hit. Harry served not only as lead vocalist for the group but wrote many of its songs with Stein. With her white-blond hair, high cheekbones and commanding, cool style partially inspired by comic books and movies, Harry became a pop music icon. Harry was one of the few female recording artists to rise to the top and paved the way for later acts like Madonna.

More Hits: "The Tide Is High," "Rapture," "Call Me"

Blondie continued to be successful with the group's next albums Eat to the Beat (1979), which included "Dreaming" and "Atomic," and Autoamerican (1980), which featured two more No. 1 hits — the reggae/mariachi-influenced "The Tide Is High" and dance-rap number "Rapture." The band had also landed another No. 1 with the rock song "Call Me," a collaboration with producer/songwriter Giorgio Moroder that was featured on the soundtrack for American Gigolo (1980).

Breakup of Blondie

Blondie broke up in 1982, as around this time Stein became ill with a rare skin disease. Harry took time out from her career to look after him. He recovered and although their relationship didn't survive, the two remained friends. Harry later revealed that she has also been romantically involved with women, though her longer-term relationships were with men. The singer has pointedly spoken about desire and intimacy throughout her life via interviews and her work.

Solo Career: 'KooKoo' and 'Def, Dumb & Blonde'

Harry released her debut album KooKoo, produced by Nile Rodgers, in 1981. Another solo album, Rockbird, came forth in 1986, while her single "French Kissin'" reached the Top 10 in the U.K. Her third album, Def, Dumb & Blonde, dropped in 1989, featuring the Top 20 U.K. hit "I Want That Man." Another effort, Debravation, followed in 1993.

Switching musical styles, Harry joined the Jazz Passengers as lead vocalist for their 1997 album Individually Twisted. She then returned to the studio for her first solo album in more than a decade with 2007's Necessary Evil.

Blondie Reunited

In 1997, Harry reunited with her Blondie bandmates to tour in Europe. Their first album together in more than 15 years, No Exit, was released in 1999. The album's song "Maria" hit the top of the charts in England but wasn't received as well in the U.S.

In 2004, the group released their eighth studio album, The Curse of Blondie, featuring the Top 20 U.K. single "Good Boys." After being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, Blondie went on tour in 2008 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines. Three years later, they released a new album, Panic of Girls.

In 2014, the band released its tenth studio album, Ghosts of Download, bundled with re-recorded versions of greatest hits. Blondie followed with Pollinator in 2017, with its lead single, "Fun," reaching the top spot on the Billboard Dance chart.

Films and TV Shows

While still riding high on the early success of Blondie, Harry found time to act in film projects like Union City (1980) and Videodrome (1983). She went on to land roles in films that included John Waters' Hairspray (1988), Heavy (1995) and Six Ways to Sunday (1997), as well as in TV series like Wiseguy and The Adventures of Pete & Pete.

In 2006, Harry appeared in the theatrical dance production The Show (Achilles Heels) and the independent film Full Grown Men. Additionally, she and her Blondie bandmates began having their music featured on popular TV series like Ghost Whisperer, Smash and Glee.

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In 2015, Harry appeared on the Hulu original series Difficult People. She also began campaigning for fair pay to artists in an age of streaming, citing what she deemed a lack of appropriate compensation given to musicians/singers by YouTube.

Memoir

In August 2019, Harry made waves ahead of the publication of her memoir, Face It, with the release of a passage that recalled how she had been raped at knifepoint in her New York City apartment in the mid-1970s”.

I will try and put out another Debbie Harry feature ahead of her eightieth birthday on 1st July. There will be a lot of love from her peers and those through the music world. One of the all-time greats. It will be amazing to think there is another Blondie album on the way. If not, we can celebrate their enormous legacy! To honour Debbie Harry, I have selected the twenty Blondie tracks that define the band. People may quibble with a few – and there may be the odd omission -, though I feel it is a solid mixtape. Songs that showcase the brilliance of…

THE one and only Debbie Harry.

FEATURE: Beneath the Sleeve: Saint Etienne – Foxbase Alpha

FEATURE:

Beneath the Sleeve

Saint Etienne – Foxbase Alpha

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ONE of the finest…

IN THIS PHOTO: Saint Etienne in 1991/PHOTO CREDIT: VICE

and most distinct debut albums of the 1990s, I wanted to look inside Saint Etienne’s Foxbase Alpha for this Beneath the Sleeve. Pulling from club music and House sounds of the time, this, blended with 1960s Pop, created this amazing sound. A dreaminess that mixed with a tougher edge. Sarah Cracknell was not an official full-time member of the band at this point. She does not appear on Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Moira Lambert is on vocals). However, there is another reason why I want to explore this album. Saint Etienne announced that they are going to release only one more album. Ending a thirty-five year recording career, the British band announced that International is going to be their last album together. It is out on 5th September. I want to go back to the beginning. I would recommend people to pick up Foxbase Alpha on vinyl if they do not have it already. I am going to come to a couple of retrospective features about the album. End with a couple of reviews for a Deluxe Edition version that was released in 2009. Apologies if I repeat anything in terms of details and bank history. I am starting out with a feature from Albumism. They celebrated thirty years of Foxbase Alpha:

“Beginning with their debut LP Foxbase Alpha, a seminal recording of the era released in October 1991, Saint Etienne convincingly blurred the lines between pop, indie and dance music, while embracing both retro and contemporary inspirations, all of which made for a kaleidoscopic, endlessly addictive sound. And ultimately, while their initial foray is stylish and catchy as all hell, it’s music of sophistication and substance to boot.

Foxbase Alpha—and the rest of Saint Etienne’s dynamic and varied discography, for that matter—is evocative of time, for sure, but also emblematic of place. Namely, London. Indeed, the group’s insatiable affection for their native city permeates their music and cross-media endeavors, as manifested on the silver screen via their multiple collaborations with filmmaker Paul Kelly: Finisterre (2002), What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? (2005), This Is Tomorrow (2007), and How We Used to Live (2014). Along with their most recent Alasdair McLellan orchestrated short film (and corresponding album) I’ve Been Trying To Tell You (2021) which celebrates the expanse of the United Kingdom beyond London, they’re all must-watch material for anyone who has ever been seduced by the seemingly infinite charms of the UK capital. London is, in essence, the fourth member and guiding spirit of the band. And to reference one of Foxbase Alpha’s many standout songs, London most certainly belongs to them.

Though Stanley and Wiggs are the sonic masterminds behind Saint Etienne, both gentlemen have always been content to defer the lion’s share of the immediate spotlight to the more visible third member of the trio, the heavenly-voiced singer-songwriter Sarah Cracknell. While Cracknell has been the group’s lead vocalist for as long as most can remember, ‘twas not always the case.

Originally, Stanley and Wiggs envisioned Saint Etienne as a platform designed for multiple vocalists, a la London dance circuit compatriots Soul II Soul and Bristol sound system stalwarts Massive Attack. On Foxbase Alpha, three different vocalists can be heard: Moira Lambert (formerly of the London-based group Faith Over Reason), Donna Savage (of Auckland-based band Dead Famous People), and Cracknell. While the latter is the most prominent of the three across the entirety of the album and deservedly earned the permanent gig as a result, the three-headed voice heard on Foxbase Alpha certainly makes for an intriguing listen. Particularly so when coupled with its mellifluous, multi-textured mélange of house, disco, dub, folk, and pop influenced flourishes, which Stanley describes as “a scrapbook” and “stylistically all over the place.” Instead of a messy hodgepodge of incongruous elements, however, Foxbase Alpha is a gorgeous, gratifying pastiche of symbiotic sounds and expertly incorporated samples.

Attempting to cover Neil Young is considered an outright act of hubris in many circles. But Saint Etienne’s stirring, Lambert-fronted debut single and album opener “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” which was recorded in all of two hours’ time, manages to stay faithful to the original’s melancholy weight while transforming Young’s minimalist composition into a fresh and thrilling dancefloor-friendly affair.

Propelled by multi-layered dub basslines, house rhythms, piano loops, and pounding drum breaks, the group’s interpolation sounds little like Young’s 1970 single, save for the equally plaintive power of Lambert’s ruminations. While the album version stuns, the various remixes orchestrated by the likes of the late Andrew Weatherall and Masters at Work are worth seeking out as well.

Fueled by a sample of Dusty Springfield’s 1967 track “I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby’s Face,” the buoyant throwback soul of third single “Nothing Can Stop Us” is an indisputable highlight, though plenty of other standouts abound. Atop a rolling groove bolstered by Cracknell’s emotive admissions, “Spring” is an endearing ballad framed from the perspective of a friend expressing her support and love for a heartbroken man. With lines such as “I've been watching all your love affairs / Three years now, don't you think I care / How many times have you looked into my eyes / Don't you realise we're two of a kind,” the song evokes and encourages a romantic rebirth of sorts with the coming of the new season. The dense dub basslines resurface on the yearning “Carnt Sleep,” a subdued and relatable ode to infatuation-driven insomnia.

Elsewhere, memorable moments include the soaring house soundscape and hypnotic, repeated refrain of “Carrie’s got a boyfriend” on “Girl VII,” the lush and dreamlike “People Get Real” (the second of the two US-only bonus tracks), and the propulsive instrumental track “Stoned to Say the Least.” The kinetic “She’s the One” examines the deplorable jealousy of “the girl who thinks nothing of breaking up two people in love,” with sampled vocals from The Four Tops’ “In a Different World” (1968) and a nod to The Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me” (1963) and “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)” (1962). Finally, with lines like “Close our eyes, breathe out slowly / Today London loves us only,” the aforementioned, downtempo “London Belongs to Me” explores finding bliss in the city one calls home and doubles as the group’s first of many love letters addressed to their beloved London.

“[Foxbase Alpha] had that first album syndrome, which is a good thing in that it was a melting pot,” Cracknell has suggested. “We thought `my god! We’re making an album and we might not get to make another one ever!’ so we really went for it.” And their ambition and musical adventurism paid off, both in the short- and long-term. Foxbase Alpha was shortlisted for the first-ever Mercury Prize back in 1992, but ultimately conceded the honor to another masterpiece of the period, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica. No matter though, as in the years since, Saint Etienne have crafted nine wondrously nuanced studio albums and a slew of compilations and mixtape-like collections, not to mention Cracknell’s underrated solo recordings (most recently the sublime Red Kite).

As Foxbase Alpha first made abundantly clear three decades ago, and as each of their subsequent recordings has reminded us time and time again, Saint Etienne are an indisputable class act and will forever remain an (inter)national treasure”.

The next feature I want to source is Louder Than War’s thirtieth anniversary salute of Foxbase Alpha. One of the most extraordinary albums of its time, it is amazing that the band are still recording music thirty-four years after their debut arrived. If you have not heard the album then go and check it out, as it still sounds so phenomenal. Like nothing else in music:

“Saint Etienne is born

Thus Saint Etienne was finally conceived in 1990, the name taken from the French football team, just because, in Bob’s words, they liked the sound of it, nothing more, nothing less. They made their mark quickly with an audacious and magnificently inspired dub-meets-Balearic debut single, a cover of Neil Young’s plaintive 1970 acoustic ballad Only Love Can Break Your Heart, recorded in just hours for the princely sum of a few hundred quid.

The song was an otherworldly delight: a tripped out, hazy, lazy shuffle with some gorgeous filmic atmospherics and a spaghetti western, tumbleweed aura conjured up by the heavily-reverbed production. An eerily distressed honky-tonk piano playing out the catchy motif along with a cavernous dub bass underpinned everything, whilst on top of this floated an almost spectral vocal from guest singer Moira Lambert. It was almost as if King Tubby had hitched a ride on a train bound for Brixton and Clerkenwell rather than his native Jamaica.

A second cover version followed a few months later – this time a faithful rendition of a dance track Let’s Kiss And Make Up by indie pop legends The Field Mice, which further boosted the profiles of both bands (Saint Etienne shared personnel and producer/engineer: Harvey Williams and Ian Catt respectively). A different female singer fronted this song: Donna Savage from venerable Australian indie popsters Dead Famous People.

Sarah Cracknell enters the fray.

After two different singers, the band were divided as to whether or not they would pursue their original intention of having *just* guest vocalists on all future tracks, as they regarded with great admiration the likes of many other acts who featured guests, such as Massive Attack to cite but one example.

Sarah Cracknell was previously in a short lived indie band Prime Time with guitarist Mick Bund, who also later played in Felt (sadly Mick passed in 2017), but she was asked by Bob and Pete to contribute vocals on Nothing Can Stop Us, the first self-penned composition to be released as Saint Etienne’s third single in 1991. It was at this point that their new partnership gelled when they realised that Sarah could sing more than just one track, and they duly recruited her to lend vocals to other tracks on what would become their first album. Thus started a friendship and close collaborative relationship which would last for the next thirty years, and endure to this day. The duo now became a trio. They were ostensibly The Champions – or Randall & Hopkirk/Hopkirk (Deceased) – of pop.

Foxbase Alpha reappraised

Released in mid October 1991, Foxbase Alpha was an audacious debut to say the least. It distils pretty much all of the sounds and influences that Bob and Pete loved over the decades, from their beginnings as infants and teenagers to the present day, with the club scene making such a giant impact on the musical landscape of the UK. Put simply, the 13 tracks serve as a musical travelogue of everything from public information films, to long lost but very much enduring memories of 1960’s Swinging London, Northern Soul, through selected reprisals of 1970s cultural ephemera (the artwork on the inner sleeve for example of ’60s and ’70s stars and sports personalities brings to mind the old schoolyard craze for Panini Stickers and Top Trumps), and then sleek modern dance/pop numbers, which then rub shoulders with dreamy semi-acoustic ballads and ambient/dub.

Eclectic is the word to describe Foxbase Alpha. And deliberately so. The abrupt shifts of style and tone from one track to the next, in some cases interspersed with dialogue, would be a Saint Etienne characteristic for much of the output for the next year or so (culminating in the equally diverse tour de force that was their second album So Tough, released in 1993, which took this approach and refined it further). Samples are taken from all manner of sources and weaved into the structures of – and around – the tracks, creating a kaleidoscopic journey into all weird and wonderful sonic territories.

Side One

The self-namechecking opener This Is Radio Etienne is a brief intro featuring a French Football radio broadcast lifted wholesale from an unknown, undated source, and this serves as a perfect prelude which pre-empts the first song proper – the aforementioned inspired cover of Only Love Can Break Your Heart. When placed in this context it really is stunning: without question one of the greatest – and indeed most uniquely original – cover versions I have heard.

Track three Wilson is another short instrumental diversion, this time featuring some sampled dialogue from an old 1971 decimal currency public information film but then juxtaposing it with sampled exclamations of ‘Come on auntie we’ll miss the bus!’ providing a complete non sequitur (another Saint Etienne trade mark which will be seen time and time again in many subsequent recordings) with which to baffle and amuse the listener. The title Wilson, incidentally, arises from the fact that the repeated sampled organ loop is lifted from a Wilson Picket cover of Hey Jude and not a reference to Brian Wilson (that would come later in their next two albums).

Sarah Cracknell makes her first appearance on the album on track four: Carnt Sleep, a dreamy somnambulant number replete with spidery rim-shots and a dub bassline topped with Sarah’s exquisite sighing vocals which perfectly suit the resigned and almost submissive mood of the track. It’s a beautiful moment of calm reflection which offers some space before the following track returns us to clubland with its big thumping house beats.

Girl VII could be Saint Etienne’s wry nod to Madonna’s Vogue, because it practically sounds like they had consciously cribbed from Ms Ciccone’s evergreen dance classic. Sarah coos her way through the verses in her now distinctive style, only to then come up with a refrain which has caused no end of amusing misinterpretation as to exactly what the words are that are being sung: Is it ‘Plays in her wigwam’? Is it ‘Helen’s had a breakdown’? No, it’s actually ‘Carrie’s got a boyfriend’. Lyrically, Girl VII is intriguing because the spoken bits name-check locations in London offset by random place names all over the world – which is where the nod to Vogue comes from : ‘Primrose Hill, Staten Island, Chalk Farm, Massif Central, Gospel Oak, Sao Paolo, Boston Manor, Costa Rica, Arnos Grove….’

Side Two

She’s The One closes the first half with more sampled refrains (taken from I’m In A Different World by The Four Tops) before we hit the pause button and adjourn for a short break – courtesy of Richard Whiteley and Countdown – only for the second half to commence with more ’90s dance beats heralding the epic tripped out 7.5 minute instrumental odyssey into lysergic atmospherics Stoned To Say The Least.

This is promptly followed by THE hit single Nothing Can Stop Us, another sure fire exemplary pop moment that simply oozes pure 1960s nostalgic heaven, with Sarah in fine sultry form and the refrain cleverly sampling Dusty Springfield’s evergreen classic I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby’s Face. Saint Etienne somehow manage to make this sort of thing sound so natural and effortless which is some achievement given their own – then – self-effacing confessions of being aimless amateurs trying to make the greatest pop record they can, despite their own inherent shortcomings as musicians.

A quick diversion with another experimental interlude, Etienne Gonna Die, which samples dialogue from the 1987 film House Of Games, before we return to blissed-out lovers pop territory with the sublime urban romance of London Belongs To Me, side two’s perfect companion piece to the first side’s Spring. Like the latter, this track utterly enraptures in its use of echo and reverb to evoke the most euphoric and ecstatic feelings of optimism and invincibility whilst in an almost dream like reverie: ‘Close my eyes/Breathe out slowly/Today the sunshine loves me only/To the sound of the World Of Twist/You leant over and gave me a kiss’. A beautiful sun-drenched vibe with flutes and harpsichords conjures up the perfect idyll of a blissful summer sojourn experienced through a soft-focus haze.

Enduring legacy

Foxbase Alpha was only the first instalment of Saint Etienne’s enduring legacy of great albums. Bob Stanley strangely now looks back on the record with surprisingly less fondness than he did when it was released, saying that it doesn’t even figure in his top 6 of favourite SE albums as he found it too ‘uneven’ and ‘unfocussed’. Perhaps the shifting sands of time can have that sort of effect on one’s reassessment of their early work, who knows?

What is undoubted though is when this album was first unveiled, it marked a brave new dawn in how so many disparate influences from subcultures and genres past could be fused into one satisfying and truly spellbinding whole. It was in every way as influential and epochal a modern contemporary album released in that new decade as was Nirvana’s Nevermind, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica and the magnum ambient/dance opus that was The Orb’s Adventures From The Ultraworld. Truly conceived of – and perfectly encapsulating – its time, its appeal endures to this day.

In fact, it was still so relevant to some people that in 2009, noted remixer and producer Richard X re-configured the entire album in sequential order and released it officially as a new stand-alone album project for Saint Etienne under the revised title of Foxbase Beta”.

There are a couple of reviews for the reissued Deluxe Edition. The Guardian awarded it five stars when they sat down with it. I was very young when Foxbase Alpha came out, but I did hear songs from it in years since. I still go back to it now. Significant to revisit it as Saint Etienne are about to release their final album together:

“Eighteen years old this September, Foxbase Alpha remains one of the most dewy-fresh debut albums ever made. Newly relocated from suburban Croydon to Tufnell Park, north London, schoolfriends Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs set about making what Stanley has called "a time capsule of our lives in that year". Foxbase Alpha (named after a childhood in-joke about a place filled with gorgeous people) is both retro and modern, a love letter and a scrapbook, a compendium of private passions from Dusty Springfield to King Tubby, David Mamet to football, C86 to ambient house, and London, always London. The packaging, with its Jon Savage sleevenotes and Smiths-inspired gallery of 60s icons, is gorgeous, and an eclectic bonus CD of singles, B-sides and offcuts enhances the sense of joyous adventure.

The effect is to invite the listener into a world slightly warmer, brighter and more exciting than the real one. And despite its many American influences, its Swinging London romanticism anticipated Britpop. The balearic reinvention of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart may be its most celebrated moment but London Belongs to Me's NW1 fantasia is the album's awestruck heart: Sarah Cracknell coos the opening line, "took a tube to Camden Town", like she's Alice passing through the looking glass”.

The last thing I am dropping in is a Pitchfork review of Foxbase Alpha’s 2009 reissue. There is a generation that has not heard of this album. I do think that it is important that as many people as possible listen to Foxbase Alpha. It is such a beguiling and head-spinning listen! One that I keep coming back to. Nothing Can Stop Us is one of my favourite songs ever:

“What about when Saint Etienne was new, maybe even a potential commercial prospect? Listen to this new reissue of the band's debut album, 1991's Foxbase Alpha and you'll hear that, then as now, Saint Etienne made lovely, accessible music. But Foxbase is also far closer to capital-P pop than the band's recent refined blend of exuberance and melancholy. So why didn't I hear Saint Etienne songs like Foxbase's "Nothing Can Stop Us" and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"-- both Billboard #1s on the dance charts-- burbling from communal boomboxes in eighth grade?

One theory for why Saint Et stiffed in the States is also a big part of the band's draw to many fans: The potentially limiting pleasures of Anglophilia. So yes, Foxbase is littered with odd, musty little samples from odd, musty Olde England, and beats from the highly polished dancefloors of contemporary London. In fact, Pitchfork contributor Tom Ewing once wrote a wonderful essay that suggested Foxbase was best understood as a musical embodiment of the whole vibe of late 20th-century UK living, including, but not limited to, the mix of chic, glossy multi-cultural collisions and grubby, hospitably lived-in neighborhoods that made up London itself. (A brief break to get some conflict of interest stuff out of the way: A) The aforementioned Mr. Ewing contributes an essay to the liner notes of the Foxbase reissue, and B) Saint Etienne member Bob Stanley has contributed to Pitchfork. If either of those things stick in your craw while reading the more-or-less gush that follows, well, sorry.)

Another reason Saint Etienne never hit with a U.S. mass audience? While the likes of Snap! and Crystal Waters made big-budget dance records with an urbane sheen, records that would work in any capital city club around the world, Foxbase Alpha's sonics had a DIY edge, an underground-gone-mainstream bulletin from a very specific milieu. Albeit one that can still be enjoyed by anyone not predisposed to hate the soft, the sunny, the lilting, the laid-back, and the mildly twee. Foxbase is on one level a UK indie pop record with a particularly unique sound and vision-- the joys and pangs of cusp-of-adulthood love and loss, delivered with a clued-in-ingenue mix of wide-eyed enthusiasm and knowing languor by Sarah Cracknell, set to a backing stitched from the gentler side of pop history by studio whizzes Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. It's just a unique indie pop record that happened to bump to a bright pop pulse.

What's funny about bringing up the always divisive p-word is that I remember some big-name 90s dance producers actually dissing Saint Etienne by calling the band "bubblegum." We can assume those producers meant Saint Etienne erred too much on the indie side, sacrificing dancefloor kick. But much like the Anglophilic fantasy world the band conjures, that split allegiance is another part of Saint Etienne's specific appeal. Foxbase tracks like "Spring" and the cover of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" do indeed sound like heart-on-sleeve pop kids (in the C86 sense) trying their quite adroit hands at lounge-y hip-house and piano-driven disco.

But several of Foxbase's best tunes move past adding idiosyncratic touches to off-the-rack uptempo 4/4 rhythms, and into something more unique and beguiling. The drowsy, heartsick ballad "Carnt Sleep" sounds like a humid summer spent spinning Sarah Records 7"s back to back with Sade, slick soul secretly slid into an indie-friendly sleeve. Or there's the Cocteau Twins-ian shivers of "London Belongs to Me", with its smitten, multi-tracked Cracknell crooning to herself across a diamond sea of piano chords. Assured but approachable, these club-informed but not quite club-ready songs offered a wholly other kind of "indie dance" from the previous punk-funk generation or the cheap-and-easy preset-punching remixes of the blog-house era, something like careful cursive on pastel paper compared to blurry cut-and-paste photocopies or generic computer typeface."

Foxbase squeezes so many "lighter side of" sounds-- be they from the worlds of rock, dance, soul, whatever-- into one LP that it's a marvel it sounds so unified, mostly owing to Wiggs and Stanley fixing on the platonic house rhythm as the glue to hold their disparate passions together. But the second disc of bonus tracks often feels like two producers still figuring out how to make the raw materials of post-acid house their own. A grab-bag of late 80s/early 90s rave sonics-- only sometimes processed through what we know as the Saint Etienne idiom-- dates much of the material. "Chase HQ" and "Speedwell" are competent but sketchy early UK house singles, full of jittery samples and keyboard stabs. Fun, but ultimately too generic without Cracknell's voice or the sample-choice oddness and studio chops Wiggs and Stanley would bring to the band's later music. Better is the dub playground chant of "Sally Space", Cracknell humming "Iko Iko" through a quiet storm front of classic ambient house textures, the Orb with a dose of girl-pop glee.

Speaking of the p-word (again): Continental, a previously Japan-only odds-and-ends collection reissued in the same batch of Saint Et records as this new Foxbase, works as a sort of mirror image of Too Young to Die, the band's almost absurdly listenable 1995 singles compilation. If the all-hits uniformity of TYTD represents Saint Etienne's final, most obvious stab at Now That's What I Call Pop immortality, then Continental is the beginning of the more wide-ranging (and hit-or-miss) restlessness that's characterized the band's records from 1998's Good Humor onward. Each track is recognizably Saint Etienne-- Cracknell's inimitable winsome-but-grown-and-sexy coo announces that, if nothing else-- but the tracks (frequently darker, often instrumental) go very different places than the uniform, bubbly house-lite of Foxbase's uptempo moments”.

I am not sure which album I am going to cover for the next Beneath the Sleeve. I was motivated to feature Saint Etienne’s debut album as the band are calling time. They might reform in years to come but their next album is their last. The wonderful Foxbase Alpha is…

DIZZYING and divine.

FEATURE: I Should Say So: The Revival and New Resurgence of Artists Who Were Huge in the 1990s

FEATURE:

 

 

I Should Say So

IN THIS PHOTO: Louise (Louise Redknapp) 

The Revival and New Resurgence of Artists Who Were Huge in the 1990s

__________

IT is not a new…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Supergrass

thing at all, but we are seeing a case of artists who were at their peak or started out in the 1990s coming back today. I guess Supergrass have not officially broken up. They definitely had a hiatus but are very much back together. Perhaps not making another album, they are touring their debut album, 1995’s I Should Coco. They are not the only band from the time that are very much back in business. Suede are back with new music and are creating some of their best work ever. Oasis are the biggest example of a 1990s band who have reformed and got this new lease of life. Not sure if they will make it into the studio – I hope not, as another album will not be great -, they are going to be touring soon. There is this wave of bands and artists who were huge in the 1990s back now. What could be behind that? I shall come to Skunk Anansie in a minute. Even if they formed long before the '90s, Pulp very much had their regency during that decade. Their new album, More, is out on 6th June. It is going to be among this year’s very best. It seems like they are going to make more albums together. In a new interview with the Observer, “Jarvis Cocker and fellow members Candida Doyle, Nick Banks and Mark Webber talk about their accidental new album, growing up while refusing to grow old … and the sex pond at the back of Banks’s garden”:

“But now they’ve had to put other projects aside, even the sex pond, because Pulp are back, back, BACK – and people are excited. Is it fun?

“I’m enjoying it a lot,” says Doyle. “This is my favourite time ever to be in the band – but I don’t like to think about being in Pulp. If I think about it too much, it does my head in.”

“I don’t really understand it,” says Webber. “I can’t explain it.”

“There’s no manual,” says Banks. “I think that kids these days think there is.”

Cocker ponders.

“In recent years, there’s been a lot of mentoring of pop stars, like in X Factor. Which gives an idea that you can be taught how to do something, and there’s a right way to do it, a wrong way to do it. But a band is just people who have started off together. You learn your own way of doing it. Like we tried to do a song that sounded like Barry White – what a crazy thing to do, you know, for some people in South Yorkshire to try to sound like Barry White – but you end up inventing your own ways, and that’s good. It’s a self-sufficient thing, rather than this template that you have to adhere to.”

“We all have our own ways of playing our instrument,” says Banks. “Like Candida has got a wonderful, unique way of playing the keyboard which no one else has got, and that just brings, I think, a massive spin of differentness and how all of us interact.”

Pulp is the whole band, that unique combination of ideas and talent; and also a world that you enter into, that takes certain things seriously, and others not. A few years ago, Cocker wrote a book, Good Pop, Bad Pop, that used objects – personal ephemera such as matchboxes, notebooks and toys that he’d kept in an attic – as a way of telling his autobiography. Webber, too, brought out a book last year – I’m With Pulp, Are You? – that’s similarly filled with physical objects, real life detritus of being in Pulp. The band is a celebration of the ordinary, the amateur, the physical; a rejection of dull professional virtual slickness.

“I probably should just chuck all my stuff away,” says Cocker, who recently moved to Derbyshire and will be selling his London home in the next few months. “People don’t have so many physical objects any more, do they? Their life and memories are on their phone. But I worry about that. And the objects really bring back very, very vivid memories, so I don’t know whether I can get rid of them. I’ll have to be buried with all my objects. Like Tutankhamun. It’ll be an enormous coffin.”

It can be hard to get older when you’re weighed down by the past.

“It’s not weighing down though, is it? It’s not physical, because physical work doesn’t really exist any more,” says Cocker. “And that used to really wear people out, so then they really would be old, because they were physically worn out. Whereas, although we can say, ‘Oh, it was hard work playing yesterday,’ it wasn’t really that hard. I was in a taxi a few months ago and went past lots of young kids queuing up to go into somewhere like a roller disco. And they were, like, mid-teens, and you could sense all that unsureness, because they were wondering how you act when you’re on the threshold of being an adult. I would not want to go back to that. That’s one of the things about getting older that’s good, at least you don’t have to do that any more.

He pauses. “I used to think that one day I was going to wake up and think, ‘Oh, yes, I’m an adult now, I know how it all works. Let’s go have some sushi.’ That day never happened. But you do get to know yourself. For better or for worse”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis

With Oasis and Supergrass storming stages this year, I think other bands from the 1990s will reform. I want to get to a few more interviews before finishing off. Before coming to a new album from Robbie Williams, I am moving to Skunk Anansie. Led by the fabulous Skin, this band released their debut album, Paranoid & Sunburnt, in 1995. One thing that links a lot of these artists is 1995. Supergrass’ I Should Coco was released then. Oasis’ (What's the Story) Morning Glory? was released then. Robbie Williams left Take That in 1995. Pulp’s Different Class came out in 1995. Not all tied to a thirtieth anniversary, it does seem like these artists are consciously entering a new stage and reacting to that thirtieth. Williams wanting to create an album he wanted to in 1995. Bands like Supergrass and Oasis inspired by past glories. I will expand on this more. What is pleasing is that they are back together. Rather than it being a nostalgia hit, it shows that artists one might associate with a specific decade have endurance and are back. In the case of Skunk Anansie, their most recent album was 2016’s Anarchytecture. Their new album, The Painful Truth, is out and has won some huge reviews. I am going to move on to a brilliant interview from Metal Hammer that was published last month. Skin spoke about Skunk Anansie’s new album and her experiences during the 1990s. I have selected some parts of the interview that caught my eye:

“People look back on that time and think of it as such a blokey thing, but there were loads of women in bands. Your friendship with Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson is one of the loveliest things on Instagram.

“I interviewed her for my show on Absolute Radio. She started off saying, ‘In the 90s, I had a bit of a beef with you, because I was always getting compared to you.’ I had no idea. They were always trying to tear her down by saying I was better than her. And she’s like, ‘Now, I realise it was so much harder for you.’

I mean, Garbage are massive in America. They did a fucking Bond theme [1999’s The World Is Not Enough], we were nowhere near the size that they were, and the way that people would try and knock her down is by comparing her to me. But yeah, me and Shirley love each other.”

What kind of person were you back then?

“I was very ambitious. The aim was to be in a rock band forever, like The Rolling Stones. It was all about climbing mountains. It was very stressful having that mentality, because you have your goals, but you’re not enjoying the process. It’s only when we stopped and then we reformed that I just enjoyed the climbing more than the goals, and that comes with maturity and age.”

You were good friends with Lemmy. What was he like?

“He was very gentle. He was the most authentic person I’ve met. He was who he was, and he wasn’t going to hide it. Also, he had absolutely the most perfect skin you’d ever imagine on a man, good baby skin. He was such a gentleman.

We were writing music together whenever I was in LA, and I had the sweetest messages from him. I remember one time I was supposed to write with him, and I couldn’t, because I’d had a break-up, and he just left me the loveliest, kindest thing: ‘I’m here for you. Come over to LA and we’ll hang out.’ He was a sweetheart.”

You coined the genre ‘clitrock’. What was that about?

“Clitrock was an accident. In the very beginning of our career, people were like, ‘What do you think about being a Britpop band?’ And I said, ‘Britpop? We’re Clitpop?’ It was a joke, but it became a whole thing. There’s a Clit Rock festival, which, of course, I give my blessing to. But it was just a sideways comment, I was just being cheeky.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Rob O'Connor 

Who were your allies in the rock and metal scene?

“We played a lot with David Bowie. He was the ultimate inspiration. I loved him. I was nervous meeting him, because there are certain people who’re elevated beyond everybody else. But he was just a down-to-earth dude. And his wife Iman is as hugely iconic as he is, and she was a delight as well. The only people that I didn’t like were boybands. Five were fucking horrible. I think it’s because they didn’t have control, they didn’t write their songs, they were just puppets.”

What was the Rammstein tour like?

“Those guys are unbelievable live. They’d have the pyrotechnics and the fire was just beyond anything, and then they’d have these backstage parties where they played this really fast, Russian, cheesy pop. It was so funny that they love that kind of music.”

You released the song Yes It’s Fucking Political in 1996. Was it the big statement that it seemed?

“That song came out of people slagging us off because we’re political. My point was, everything’s political. It’s in everything we do, whether it’s clothes or the food that we eat. If you want to live in a world where you don’t talk about politics, that in itself is a political statement.”

Why did the split happen in 2001, and how did that affect you?

“We were just worn out. We had really overworked ourselves and hadn’t really taken care of ourselves. We didn’t even have an argument – we just stopped and went off and did a bit of solo musicianship.”

You’re based in the UK and in Brooklyn now. How’s life in the US post-election?

“That was the saddest day I’ve had in a very long time. Us lefties have got to stick together and not tear each other apart, because these people literally don’t want us to exist. Especially trans people. They’re trying to wipe trans people off the face of the Earth. And when they come for them, they come for all of us, they’re just first on the list. Next it’s diversity, it’s queer people, Black rights. But I’m in New York, and it’s like its own country. That counts for a lot, because otherwise I think it’d be very difficult to be there.”

You were awarded the OBE in 2021. What did that mean to you?

“It’s a weird thing, because I think that for Black people, there’s so much negativity around us accepting any award. But of course I wanted to accept it, it’s a great honour. It was a lovely thing to happen. It was a record of everything I’d done up to that point. And it made my mum really happy and proud. It’s not like Prince Charles even knew who I was. It’s a body of people that decide, and that body is extremely diverse”.

There are two artists I will finish up with. Both members of enormous bands of the 1990s who they left to follow solo careers. I will finish with Louise. She is a former member of Eternal. I sort of hope the group reforms one day. Robbie Williams rejoined Take That but he left in 1995. It was one of the biggest music news stories of the decade. Maybe Skunk Anansie are recapturing some of the essence of 1990s’ Britrock and updating that sound. Supergrass and Oasis is perhaps more to do with an anniversary or nostalgia to an extent. Pulp are doing something new, though the fact Different Class has a big anniversary later in the year no doubt compelled them to an extent to release a new album. Robbie Williams is righting a wrong. Trying to reclaim some of that chaos and hedonism from 1995. His forthcoming album, BRITPOP, is out in the autumn. It boasts one of the best album covers of the years. I like the fact that Williams didn’t phone it in with an album cover! The fact its title is called BRITPOP might be a reason many 1990s acts are entering this new stage of their career. Thirty years since they started or were at their peak, they are back together and touring. Speaking from the Ivor Novello Awards recently, Robbie Williams spoke with NME about his new album:

“And new album ‘BRITPOP’ – will that recapture all the noise, energy, colour and hedonism of the halcyon days of the ’90s?

“If hedonism is Jaffa Cake-based or Cadbury’s Fruit And Nut, then I’m in,” Williams replied. “Everything else I’ve got to park until I die. If I don’t park it, it’ll kill me.”

Elaborating on his guitar-heavy new sound, he continued: “I was playing it safe and I’ve not been driving my own car. I’ve not had my hands on the wheel through second-thinking myself and guessing what people like. I just wanted to do something that I like.”

With a tour of his own fast approaching (“You can expect the world’s Number One light entertainer – entertaining you in a light way that ranges from light to heavy depending on how many drinks you’ve had,” he joked), he downplayed the chances of him embodying the Britpop spirit and attending the reunion tour of his former rivals Oasis.

“Not only will you not be seeing me at any Oasis shows, you will not be seeing me at any shows full stop,” he admitted. “I’m a wonderful agoraphobe, and a very happy agoraphobe.”

After playing together at Hyde Park last summer, Williams was introduced to the Ivors with a speech from superfans Soft Play – who also joined us for our interview backstage.

“These lads appeal to the 14-year-old version of me that wanted to rage hard, be cool, shout, be aggressive in a kind way – which is what you are. You’re aggressive in the kindest way possible,” said Williams, turning to the punk duo. “There is a bit of a love-fest. I don’t get to hang out with them as much as I would like to. Hopefully they’ll come and join me on tour for a little bit.

“This is a shout-out to the 14-year-old me going, ‘Look at the people I like liking me’.”

“He soundtracked a big portion of our lives with bangers, and now he’s our mate and we love him,” said singer and drummer Isaac Holman, before guitarist Laurie Vincent added: “Just in the Volvo V70 as a kid, I didn’t listen to anything more than Robbie – and he’s our dad.”

Could a supergroup performance at Glastonbury be on the cards? “Maybe…” replied Williams, coyly.

Williams is set to release ‘BRITPOP’ this autumn following his upcoming UK tour kicking off this month. The tour will then continue across Europe with dates in countries including Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Sweden. Find a list of new dates below, and visit here to buy tickets”.

There is this feeling of taking back control or rewriting the narrative. Robbie Williams left Take That thirty years ago. Louise (Redknapp) left Eternal in 1995 too. Speaking with The Independent recently, Louise explored how her new album, not being a nostalgia act, and a non-negotiable that squashed a potential reunion with Eternal:

“She quit Eternal in 1995. “It felt weak to leave but actually, looking back, it was strong – I knew I was really sad,” she says. “I was in my early twenties, and you shouldn’t be sad at that stage in your life.” She still owed four albums to Eternal’s label as part of her deal, and was asked to make it up via solo records, which she reluctantly agreed to. “It wasn’t part of the plan, as I actually really enjoyed being part of the band,” she says. “We were just quite different characters.”

There was talk in 2023 of an Eternal reunion – the group’s original line-up had more or less disbanded by 2000 – but it reportedly fell apart after the Bennetts told Louise and Bryan that they didn’t want to perform at Pride events. “There are some non-negotiables in my world,” Louise says, firmly. “The queer community has stuck by me from day one. I wouldn’t have a music career without them, and they have held me up at my darkest moments. I respect that you have your beliefs and that’s where you stand in your life – but that doesn’t mean it has to be my life. I have my path, they have their path. For me, it wasn’t a hard decision to make.”

The right-wing press had a field day with it (“Louise trying to get Christian members of Eternal cancelled” read one headline), but she’s used to criticism by this point, she says. When she and Redknapp announced their separation in 2017, shortly after Louise placed second on a series of Strictly Come Dancing and she began plotting a musical comeback, she found herself targeted by the tabloids and accused of walking out on her family. “I was the villain,” she says. She admits to concealing a lot of the sadness she felt at the time. “I’d been lucky in my career because for many years I didn’t really have a lot of scrutiny. Then bang, everybody’s got an opinion.” She wrote a book, which touched on her divorce and the creative restlessness she felt as a stay-at-home mum, but says that she “nitpicked over every word”.

“Anything someone could perceive as negative, I cut out,” she says. “If I ever wore my heart on my sleeve I’d get loads of comments, like, ‘woe is me – you left him’. Nothing I said was right. To defend myself was wrong. To not defend myself was wrong. I felt like I was walking up a one-way street with just nowhere to go on it.”

The centrepiece of Confessions is a track that tackles that time in her life. “Don’t Kill My Vibe” feels vaguely Brat-ty in its execution, with run-on sentences and diaristic lyrics against a chugging synth beat. It carries an emotional honesty that until now has never been Louise’s forte. “It wasn’t easy,” she sings in it, “but I got back on stage and felt like people liked me/ And they liked me for me/ One thing I can say with chest, I built a castle from that mess.”

She’s incredibly proud of the song. “Inside I was breaking, but I just kept going because it was the only way I knew how to handle it all,” she says. “And that song is me basically telling society: don’t kill my vibe. Don’t take away what I love to do. Don’t take away my freedom. Don’t kill off the one thing that I’ve got.”

Louise released an album in January 2020, called Heavy Love, but its promotion and tour were curtailed by Covid, leaving Confessions to feel like her proper return to music. She wants it to do well but adds that she’s a realist about it. “It’s a good time to be making music because you’ve got your Kylies and…” She pauses, as if suddenly aware that it’s tricky to think of another woman in her fifties making hit pop songs. “See, I’m of two minds about this. I think you’ve got to be the lucky one – there’s no general rule of thumb. There are certain radio stations, regardless of the song, that will not play you because you’re of a certain age. I’ve made a record produced by someone who’s just won a Grammy – there is something current there.” She shrugs. “But all I can do is try and break down those walls, and definitely 10 years ago that would have been unthinkable.”

She says she’s in a good place. “I’ve realised that all my biggest fears have kind of happened. I’ve been on my own. I’ve gone through a s*** time. And I survived. I’m all right”.

It is interesting that so many acts who were big commercial successes in the 1990s, particularly 1995, are back with new material. In the case of Pulp, there has been this gap of over twenty years. Less of a gap from Skunk Anansie. Supergrass touring I Should Coco thirty years after their debut’s release. Oasis maybe cashing in on thirty years of their second studio album and Britpop legacy. Louise is not doing that. She is very much making different music to what she produced with Eternal and her solo career afterwards. Not wanting to lean on her reputation and hits. Robbie Williams a bit in both worlds. Some looking back to the heyday of the 1990s, but also keen to put out a very personal statement. I do wonder whether other bands and acts from the 1990s will reform to tour or release another album. People have their wish list, though I don’t think it is a fad or all about recapturing the past. I find it interesting that it is thirty years since most of the artists I mention in this feature are back with new dates and material thirty years after such an important part of their career. It is wonderful, mind! Cynics might think it is about rekindling a spark or it being about nostalgia. However, for most of these artists, there are other reasons for new music. They very much do not want to define themselves as…

LEGACY artists.

FEATURE: Feminist Icons: Gina Martin

FEATURE:

 

Feminist Icons

PHOTO CREDIT: Holly McGlynn/Stylist

Gina Martin

__________

I do know…

that the words ‘icon’ or ‘iconic’ get overused. In music journalism, it tends to be applied to so much! From outfits to songs to artists and albums through to venues, there is no way you can escape it. It is a bad habit of journalists like me to label everything iconic. Elevate artists to almost religious heights! However, in terms of definition, an icon is “a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration (great respect; reverence)”. I don’t think it is hyperbole or superlative to call artists and albums iconic. I mention it, as this feature is about feminism and those who fight for equality. I call these women iconic. I have highlighted Michelle Obama and Gloria Steinem. Even if Gina Martin might not consider herself to be as important as these amazing women, I would disagree. I have no hesitation in saying she is a modern-day feminist icon! At least a role model and vital voice. I first came across her work a couple of years ago. She released her book, “No Offence, But...”.: How to have difficult conversations for meaningful change. She was speaking with The Trouble Club alongside Charlie Craggs. She (Craggs) was speaking about her experiences as a trans woman. It was a wonderful discussion. Martin spoke so passionately about her book. One that people should get (“A practical, inspiring roadmap for changing the conversation on social justice issues. 'Not all men. I don't see colour. To play devil's advocate. Climate change is coming.' From the persistent to the insidious, too often, antagonistic responses threaten to distract and derail the most urgent conversations. Tackling twenty of the most enduring conversation-stoppers, No Offence, But... equips readers with the knowledge, tools and context to respond with confidence. Alongside other trailblazing writers, educators and advocates, acclaimed campaigner Gina Martin helps us to unpick these phrases, understand why they are harmful and feel empowered enough to change the conversation”).

PHOTO CREDIT: What Olivia Did

People may recognise her name but try and work out there they know it from. Before getting to a few interviews with Gina Martin, it is worth introducing in some background. This is someone who helped bring in a law that was long overdue. Making upskirting a criminal offence. Something that has affected so many women, it was a huge moment. This article explains more:

“In 2017, Gina and her sister attended British Summertime, a family-friendly daytime festival in London. At 5pm, in a crowd of over 60,000 people, they were standing next to a group of men who were overstepping the mark when interacting with Gina and her sister, including making jokes that then turned into more vulgar and sexual comments. To Gina’s horror, she then caught a glimpse of one of the group's phones and on it was a picture of her crotch.

Gina, after being physically grabbed by the man, bravely snatched the phone from the man and ran towards her nearest security point – whilst being chased by him. Gina then requested assistance from the Police; upon their arrival and to Gina’s surprise, they informed her that because she was wearing underwear, it wasn’t actually something that they could help with. She was then told that if she had chosen not to wear underwear, something could have been done about it because the photo would have been classed as a ‘Graphic Image’.

It is a categorical fact that Gina’s choice of clothing was not to blame for what happened to her; it was the perpetrator and the perpetrator alone. After hearing what the Police had to say and fed up with a victim-blaming narrative (that women should wear more clothes), Gina set about changing the way that voyeurism is seen and dealt with by the law.

Gina, charged by what happened at British Summertime, aimed to change the law around voyeurism, starting and spearheading a social media movement that grew rapidly. Gina’s campaign eventually resulted in a petition that amassed over 110,000 signatures, and after an 18-month battle to illegalise upskirting, she finally won The Voyeurism (Offences) Act, commonly known as the Upskirting Bill. The Voyeurism (Offences) Act was introduced on 21 June 2018 and came into force on 12 April 2019.

You can read more about it on the UK Government website and find exactly what is covered by the law  We would also encourage you to check out our Know Violence campaign for Cambridgeshire constabulary about acts that might not be illegal but are still unacceptable”.

I would urge people to subscribe to Gina Martin’s Substack. I have really been inspired by her! To do more and to become a more active feminist. I still think that I am a little too performative and not active enough. In a radical or physical sense. I write a lot of about feminist women and address topics like sexual assault, gender inequality and discrimination through music, though I have not gone beyond that. In terms of going beyond social media and articles and making a difference. I think that Gina Martin is one of our most important feminist writers and thinkers. The first interview I want to include is from Glamour from 2022, where activists and friends Gina Martin and Ben Hurst talk about the importance of male allyship:

“Both almost immediately take aim at the current state of activism. It’s no secret that many view a lot of the noise online as performative, while these two deal in action, not pithy Instagram slogans.

Ben’s work at Beyond Equality means going to schools and universities, running workshops with young boys and men to actively deconstruct toxic masculinity, talk about mental health (suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 45) and, in the process, discuss how to become better allies to women. Alongside Gina’s actual changing of the law, it’s no wonder they are a little dissatisfied with the ‘shouty’ tactics of a lot of shallow activism.

“I see it even with people who claim to be male allies,” Ben says. “Often men are just repeating what women say, but not turning around and thinking: ‘Yeah, but what can I do?’”

“I agree,” Gina says, grinning at her friend. “Plus, a lot of the time, all I see and hear is, ‘f**k the patriarchy’ and that’s great but… what do you do afterwards? When it comes to the next part, we need men.”

So how can men be good allies? Gina believes the answer lies in what Ben was suggesting the first time she heard him speak. “Sort your own stuff out,” she says. “Personally, I am exhausted having to constantly explain to men – even good men like my fiancé – why I am angry, why this is all so affecting. I feel like if men just went away and dealt with their own issues with the patriarchy, we may actually arrive at a similar place.”

“It’s definitely that,” Ben agrees. “Because the problem has been that, for years, women have shouldered the burden of ‘fixing’ sexism all alone and that’s just a lot of extra labour. If we are still asking them to do that now, it fails to tap into the power dynamic that’s at play. In the work I do, we’ve created space for men, by men, to try and help. There’s also important stuff that we need for women to be present for, but I think women should be able to opt into that, because why should we constantly be asking them to fix what isn’t a problem they caused?”

Ben has been involved in youth work ever since his dream of becoming a church leader was scuppered when he was kicked out for having sex. “That was super, super intense, but I came out having done a degree in youth work and theology, knowing I wanted to work with young people. That option of working in church, in ministry, being off the table, and thinking: ‘What am I going to do?’” He worked as a teacher and then for a sex education charity, which led him to pop into a Beyond Equality session. It blew his mind so much, he never left.

“You know what, I don’t think at the start this work for me was about creating a better, more equitable world for women,” he says, laughing as he adds how growing up with older sisters meant he was raised to think women were: “Way better than me in every way."

“I think that session looking at the constraints of our idea of manhood really made me think: this is the answer to the questions that I have about myself and my mental health and how I treat women in relation to that. Then at the end, they were like… ‘And that’s intersectional feminism.’” He mimes a mic drop.

Ben’s feminism is unquestionable, as is his willingness to learn – asking Gina what more men can be doing. She in turn wells up, remembering how keenly she sought male assistance at the time of her up-skirting. “I remember being like ‘Oh, I’ll make eye contact with everyone, because then they’ll help me,’” she says. “And I made eye contact with these two guys and I remember instantly thinking that they won’t do anything.”

“When they should be doing something!” Ben jumps in. “Men need to be more solutions-focused. I feel like if you’re an ally, your job is not just to recognise your privilege, but to use the power you have to dismantle it.”

Gina nods along and you can see that, even five years later, she still likes what Ben has to say”.

I want to head back to 2018 and a beautiful interview from What Olivia Did. They were compelled and awe-struck by Gina Martin’s #stopskirtingtheissue upskirting campaign and her devotion to her cause. One that not only affected and impacted her but countless other women. Anyone who has not discovered Gina Martin or read her work needs to do do. I do feel like there will be another great book from her. I am going to drop in some podcast episodes that she has been involved with. She had a podcast with comedian Stevie Martin, Might Delete Later. There is this incredible catalogue of work – from podcasts to the written word – that gives us a picture of this incredible activist, campaigner and feminist:

“Gina! So, thanks to the internets I was introduced to you, your eye for sweet style (THE GRID) and most importantly your amazing campaign #stopskirtingtheissue. For those that don’t already follow you, can you introduce yourself?

Of course! I’m Gina Martin and I’m a freelance writer and campaigner – I’m probably best known for banging it on about why upskirting should be a sexual offence and turning into a Goverment bill! I also am a big advocate of positivity and creativity.

And tell us a little more about your campaign- which has MADE IT THROUGH!! Such an enormous achievement which you must be so, so proud of…

YAAAAYYYY. It’s been a really tough journey and we’re not quite there yet but we’re incredibly close. Last year, at British Summertime Festival two guys who’s advances I’d rejected stuck their phone between my legs and took photos of my crotch. I saw the photo on one of their phones, grabbed it and ran to the police with the guy in tow. The police told me there wasn’t much they could do and I found out that upskirting isn’t a sexual offence in England & Wales. I began writing, lobbying and posting about my experience and launched the campaign in the media. Since then, my lawyer and I have been working with the Government, tabled a bill, had it blocked by Christopher Chope (DAMN IT!) and then tabled a new Government Bill which we are now seeing through the process (plus it can’t be objected too – woo!). It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done personally and professionally but we’re almost there…!

How did you get started with putting the campaign together? It must have seemed like such a daunting task that must have felt impossible to know where to begin with!

It really did feel like so daunting at the start. I was basically doing media saying upskirting should be made a sexual offence and I suddenly thought ‘the law isn’t going to change from me complaining about it on the media, I have to do this the right way’. So I found an incredible lawyer by reaching out online and we put together a strategic plan, gained backing from law authorities, police commissioners etc and did all the work before even approaching Parliament. I deffo googled ‘how to change the law’ at the beginning though… turns out you have to work that out on your own!

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A post shared by Gina (@ginamartin)

Obviously, as with so many things online- you have made it look admirably easy (which it obviously hasn’t been). What has been the toughest challenge?

It’s so important that I keep supporters (not to mention women and girls who it’s happened to) positive that change will happen so social media is key, but it’s been overwhelming. The toughest moments have been the politics which is exhausting, and doing media when everything I say can be taken out of context. Being thrust into a world you don’t belong in, like politics, and trying to get your voice heard is incredibly tough – Ryan has been a godsend there. The online comments and trolling have been really hard too. I’m a magnet for slut-shaming and misogynists. But that’s okay. I have thicker skin now.

‘The best advice would to be to reach out to others and ask for help. Don’t do it all alone’

Hearing about your campaign and relentless energy and determination for it felt like something so selfless and admirable- what was it that made you want to power on and even put together something like this? What has been the greatest achievement through everything?

It was genuinely just the straw that broke the camels back. I was so over dealing with this stuff, brushing it off and thinking ‘we’ll that’s just part of life being a woman’, so I thought ‘this SHOULDN’T be part of life and instead of me saying “someone should change this!” I thought, well… why not me?’ So I started. Then the amount of messages from other victims just propelled me into this incredibly determined mindset.

My greatest achievement so far, I think, is just picking myself up and carrying on when I’ve wanted to pack it all in. I think I’ve realised I’m stronger than I thought I was.

I know so many women will be in awe of you, and putting a law to something that affects so many of us. What would you say to another girl wanting to go ahead and make change? How did you go about it- and what steps would you give to another girl wanting to take heed from your amazing work?

The best advice would to be to reach out to others and ask for help. Don’t do it all alone. You can find everyone on the internet – ALL the information you need is there. I found the current law, Scotland’s bill to make upskirting a sex offence from 2009, a lawyer and every media contact I needed from googling. And also, send emails. Thousands of them. Plus, an old fashioned letter to people of importance is taken notice way more than an email. Remember that!”.

I am going to wrap things up soon. There are a couple of other interviews I am coming to before that. The Guardian interviewed Gina Martin in 2023. Around the time of the release of "No Offence, But...". Following her on social media and reading her Substack, this is someone who I am always learning from. Rather than her purely being about upskirting and pigeonholing her as this one thing, Martin is much more than that. Someone who everyone should know and follow. I am probably not doing her full justice here - though I was keen to write about her and point people in her direction:

“Since I was 26 I have been known as “the upskirting girl”. I still receive emails from those who’ve used the law and get stopped on the street by people thanking me. Sometimes they pass me a note with their story hastily jotted down, because repeating it will make what’s happened to them feel too real. I cherish these interactions and I’m proud that my political activism has had a lasting positive impact, but I also have a complex relationship with it.

The upskirting campaign was my first campaign. I see it as part of my work, not the extent of it, and it’s also intimately tied to pain. For the public, being upskirted was an exciting origin story, but for me it was trauma. I was assaulted in public, and everyone knows the details. They want to hear the story from my mouth so they can enjoy the triumph at the end. The plot twist.

At some point, the narrative became no longer mine. Recently, I recounted it to my therapist, and couldn’t get through it for crying. She gently told me it may be because this was the first time someone was here to help me, not just for the story. Changing the law was the most difficult work I have done, or will ever do. I worked full-time in an office while campaigning, lobbying parliament and running a national media campaign with very little money in my pocket, zero political or legal experience and a never-ending inbox of rape threats and abuse. I came up against sexism and misogyny in parliament, was underestimated constantly, and was under the spotlight of the British media. I don’t look back at that period fondly – but my feelings about it are not only due to my trauma or how hard the process was.

In 2017, I believed the best way to prevent upskirting was by criminalising it; it was the biggest I could think and would lead to the most impactful change. The institutional script teaches us that prosecuting people for the harm they cause will solve the problem. I was also driven by the experience of being a victim of stalking who had spent years feeling terrified by a man that the state didn’t deal with, so to me, changing the law was about making victims and survivors feel safer by giving them something to use. I didn’t ask if the men who commit this act – because it is overwhelmingly men – would be changed by the process. I didn’t think of them much at all.

My politics is no longer the politics I had eight years ago. I know now that the UK has the most privatised criminal “justice” system in Europe. I know that companies who operate prisons have a vested interest in maintaining incarceration. And that prison is the opposite of growth and rehabilitation. And so here comes the tension: my immediate safety has been improved by the incarceration of men who want to hurt me, but the system that did it will not make them less likely to harm me, others or themselves when they come out.

You see, what I need in a society where the threat of danger is ongoing is not the same as the society I want. I can’t opt out of this reality, but I can see where we could be and I want to be part of helping us get there. I don’t want more prisons and punishment. I want more prevention. A small number of men convicted of upskirting have been sentenced to prison under my law (and a significant number of them were also convicted of other sexual offences; one was found to have 250,000 indecent images of children). While I am thankful that children will be safer because of his conviction, my work now also asks, “How do we prevent this before we need to criminalise it?”

Though I’m not rejecting my past work, I see my purpose now as trying to make my own law moot; if I can contribute to a reality where sexual assault is significantly reduced and the voyeurism act is used less, I’ll be happy. If I can do work that breaks the circuit of lost boys becoming insecure men who use sexual assault as a way to feel powerful, I’ll be proud.

That’s why I host sessions on misogyny and the impact of it; why I’m training in facilitation so I can run workshops with young people on masculinities and gender; and why I speak in schools across the UK as well as raise funds for grassroots organisations. There may not be a big, sparkly win, but there will be consistent impact in the form of smaller wins. There may not be headlines about the boys who attended masculinity workshops and grew up respecting people of all genders more, or about the girls who felt seen and used their voices because of activists who created spaces for them, but I’d much rather move forward as that woman than “the upskirting girl”. Even though it’s much less catchy”.

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You can follow Gina Martin on Instagram. An Ambassador for Beyond Equality and someone who has delivered talks and seminars at schools, Martin is this amazing activist and feminist. I want to finish off with a feature she wrote for Elle following the horrifying multiple rapes that Gisèle Pelicot suffered. Ending things with reaction to an event in history that is so fresh still. The shockwaves still being felt. The barbaric and distributing abuses against a woman who waived her write to anonymity and was so brave! Standing up to her attackers and speaking out. It is a really fascinating article from Gina Martin:

“Last week, I watched every single news outlet report on the horrifying rape case of a French woman named Gisèle (although she has waived her right to anonymity, I won’t be using her surname as it is that of her abuser) whose husband abused her and enlisted local men to do so too for over a decade. A law I helped create was what caught him. He was found upskirting women and when the police searched his devices they found tens of thousands of videos of his wife allegedly being raped by other men. According to prosecutors, more than 70 men chose to abuse Gisèle when she was unconscious (many of them deny this, saying her then-husband had manipulated them or that they believed she was consenting). That amount of men is terrifying women all over the world: if her husband was able to find that many local men that felt comfortable abusing an unconscious woman when offered, what does it mean?

All week people have been contacting me thanking me for my work creating the Voyeurism Act in 2019 – or making upskirting a specific sexual offence – but I feel no pride. Not only because my opinions on criminalisation as a solution to violence have changed, but also because I don’t gain any pleasure from finding out a woman has been victimised, even if their perpetrator was caught using a law I helped create. I just feel really sad. Deeply, deeply sad.

There are layers to this sadness and rage, because as a gender equality activist who has worked across law and policy change – with UNWomen UK and for our country's leading gender equality charities – there is hopelessness in seeing how much our media discourages society not to connect the dots between stories about gendered violence, and to look away from what causes it.

Of late, the news has been overrun with painful outcomes of male violence including the heartbreaking death of Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei who was reportedly set on fire by her ex-partner. But what enraged people in the sector I work in was how passive the headlines about these stories were, and how so many of them reinforced misogyny: Gisèle was called 'vengeful' for holding her husband accountable in one headline. Why shape our perceptions of rape survivors as malicious and distract from the violence inflicted on them in doing so? Media style-guides have so much to answer for. Weeks ago, headlines about the alleged murder of Suffolk local, Anita Rose, were written so passively that social media users thought she’d been attacked by a dog. No perpetrator was mentioned even though a murder investigation has been launched and Suffolk police are appealing for information about two men. The headline 'woman dies after attack while walking dog' encourages us to think of male violence as some random abstract force.

Activists and athletes carry a banner as they march through Eldoret, western Kenya, in September 2024, to demonstrate against the murder of women in Kenya after Rebecca Cheptegei's death.

And yet, the reality is that 98% of all adult arrests for sexual offences in England and Wales are men. When trying to figure out why, we can point at obvious symptoms of misogyny: porn culture, misogynistic streamers, social media, gender – and the socialisation of it. Misogyny is a defining indicator that runs through all of these atrocities and yet as a society we are absolutely unprepared to admit or examine that.

Misogyny is a defining indicator that runs through all of these atrocities and yet as a society we are absolutely unprepared to admit or examine that.

Those of us who work in gender equality are well-versed in the decades of work by feminists and radical thinkers who exposed that the socialisation of the gender binary was a colonial invention that was harming us all; yes even men with power. Traditional gender roles, introduced by colonial powers, socialise people into ideas about who they must be and how they must act. Masculinity is about being strong and independent; men are told that the only acceptable emotions to show are happiness or anger, and they must procure women in order to be seen as masculine. They are socialised to be an island, unwilling to be vulnerable or ask for help, not expected to be emotionally intelligent. They must be competent and hold down the role of the dominant one in their relationships, families and wider society, with violence being an acceptable way to handle problems or fears. When you spell it out like this it’s pretty clear how this gender stereotype leads to violence. Comparatively, when you look at how femininity is socialised (Submissive! Quiet! Existing in proximity to men!) you can see a problem in how men are conditioned to view women.

Culture is changing and conversations about gender have permeated the zeitgeist, but actual literacy around the socialisation of masculinity and misogyny remains low. We need to change this urgently, so that more people can start to understand how gender shapes our sense of self and behaviours and how misogyny is a system not just individual behaviours or comments; they are a symptom. Without understanding how this system shapes us and how we are all part of upholding it, we can’t start to move the dial on this”.

I am going to leave things there. There are other articles like this that I want to point people in the direction of. However, I would also compel people to explore beyond that. A phenomenal campaigner and activist, it was a no-brainer including Gina Martin in this feature! Consider the hugely important work she has done and continues to do. I am always in awe of what she does and how she is constantly fighting for equality rights for women. A person committed to the fight for women’s rights, she has made a big impact on me. Ever since I heard her speak two years ago for The Trouble Club, I have followed her and her work. An amazing human who has transformed so many people and helped bring about enormous changes, I feel like her influence, passion and brilliance will continue to bring about change…

IN the years to come.

FEATURE: Kate Bush: Something Like a Song: Moments of Pleasure (The Red Shoes)

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush: Something Like a Song

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: John Stoddart

Moments of Pleasure (The Red Shoes)

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I talked about this track…

not that long ago. However, I have not really given a proper spotlight to one of Kate Bush’s best and most underrated tracks. Featuring on The Red Shoes – though it sounds like it should have been on The Sensual World -, maybe people forget about it because it is on one of her less-loved albums. Moments of Pleasure was released as a single on 15th November, 1993. It reached twenty-six in the U.K. Bush reapproached this song for 2011’s Director’s Cut. Instead, this version features the chorus without lyrics. Some prefer the later version. However, there is something evocative about the original. I am going to get to some words from Bush regarding this song. Before that, I am pinching wholesale from Wikipedia, where they collate critical reviews for Moments of Pleasure:

“In his review of the song, Ben Thompson from The Independent remarked, "A smile and a tear from the Welling siren." Chris Roberts of Melody Maker said, "'Moments of Pleasure' is The Big Literary Effort, Kate at her very tremble-inducing, vocal-range-like-the-Pyrenees best." Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song four out of five and named it Pick of the Week, writing, "Beautiful and traditional Bush fare with expansive orchestrations, poignant vocals and off-her-trolley lyrics. As subtle as 'Rubberband Girl' was direct, and probably as big a hit." Pan-European magazine Music & Media noted, "For most singers a ballad is just a slow song, but for Bush it seems like it has to be an emotional confrontation which classic composers would like to be credited for." Terry Staunton from NME commented, "Her personal exorcisms reach new heights on 'Moments of Pleasure', a deceptively simple ballad with a swooping chorus and a coda where she namechecks the people who've been important to her over years. It's a song that may baffle the world at large, but it wasn't written for us; Kate's just decided to share it”.

This is a classic Kate Bush song that doesn’t get talked about enough. I am going to pull in some information that I have sourced before. Important that we get some background to this song. One of her most beautiful music videos, I think Moments of Pleasure warranted a higher chart position. Before moving on, I am going to come to an interview Bush gave in 2011, where she discussed some misconceptions around the meaning of Moments of Pleasure:

“I think the problem is that during [the recording of] that album there were a lot of unhappy things going on in my life, but when the songs were written none of that had really happened yet. I think a lot of people presume that particularly that song was written after my mother had died for instance, which wasn’t so at all. There’s a line in there that mentions a phrase that she used to say, ‘every old sock meets an old shoe’, and when I recorded it and played it to her she just thought it was hilarious! She couldn’t stop laughing, she just thought it was so funny that I’d put it into this song. So I don’t see it as a sad song. I think there’s a sort of reflective quality, but I guess I think of it more as a celebration of life.

Interview with Ken Bruce, BBC Radio 2, 9 May 2011”.

It is clear there were some unhappy times during recording of the song. However, Bush was not reacting to tragedy. Instead, she was at a stage in her life where she was thinking about family, her own situation and age. Growing up and getting more wistful and philosophical. It is one of most remarkably deep and revealing songs. Why do people not discuss songs like this more?! You do hear it played on the radio, though most go for other tracks. There is not the same joy or catchy vibe as some Kate Bush songs. One of the standouts from The Red Shoes, I approached the song last October. About eight months later, I thought it worthy coming back to it. Rather than cover the exact same ground, this is about shining a light on a beautiful piece of work.

I want to bring in this article from 2014. Arriving in the world at a time when Britpop was starting and there was not really any other artist like Kate Bush around, one wonders what impact Moments of Pleasure would had if it were released years before. I do think that this song could have easily slotted on an album like Hounds of Love (1985) or The Sensual World (1989):

“In 1993 I was listening to a lot of new music. From the first stirrings of Britpop still fizzing with youthful energy (that would change), to indie disco sounds, lo-fi rock, British neo-soul and Weegie dance beats.

The albums I kept going back to that year - Suede's eponymous debut, the sophomore effort by Saint Etienne, One Dove's Morning Dove White (my enraptured exposure to Dot Allison's voice) and, best of all, the post-Sugarcubes solo debut of Bjork (spoiler alert: we may be hearing more of Ms Guðmundsdóttir in this space anon). All of them shiny new sounds.

And yet.

And yet the singles I loved that year were from familiar voices, doing things they'd done before; but maybe doing them better or more affectingly than before.

Two in particular. If I hadn't gotten into terrible trouble from the Not Fade Away Standards and Ethics Committee for my 1982 Not Fade Away choice I'd be tempted to cheat and say I couldn't decide between my two favourites again.

But a man can only bear so many Chinese Burns, and so I have to decide. Between New Order's Regret and Kate Bush's Moments of Pleasure. On one hand I have my favourite song from one of my favourite bands. On the other, the most personal and most potent track of Kate Bush's career (IMHO and all that).You already know which way I've gone by the picture on top of the page but genuinely as I write this I haven't come down definitively on one side or the other.

Just being alive, it can really hurt ...

I'm not sure when I stopped listening closely to Kate Bush. Some time around The Sensual World, I guess. Loved the single but for the first time didn't feel the need to buy the accompanying album. Maybe the thought of contributions from Eric Clapton and Lenny Henry didn't stir me much (nor even a contribution from Prince). Maybe I felt that she was something of a teenage obsession for me and I'd now grown up a bit (a pretty poorly thought-through reason if it was true). I don't know.

All I know is that I wasn't playing her records much at the start of the nineties. And yet when one of her singles came on the radio I'd always turn it up.

So it was with Moments of Pleasure. From the minor key melancholy of those opening piano chords and the accompanying shiver of strings to the breathy shimmer of that familiar voice, it catches me every time I hear it (and not just because I get to hear Kate Bush say my first name near the end). I loved it at the time and as the years pass it has grown to be my favourite song from her catalogue.

It's a mournful thing, a catalogue of loss replete, as her biographer Graeme Thomson says of its parent album The Red Shoes, with "all the ache of letting go". A song full of ghosts. Her Auntie Maureen, guitarist Alan Murphy, lighting engineer Bill Duffield. It was only years later that I learnt that the man in the lift in the second verse was in fact an account of her meeting with the film director Michael Powell in a snowy New York not long before he died, a tribute to a peculiarly English artist by another.

The music is lovely, a beautiful swell of sound on which her voice - which travels back and forth between breathy intimacy and high drama - settles into. But it's the words that get me every time”.

A wonderful song from Kate Bush, it is one of my favourites. This series is about focusing on individual tracks that you need to listen to. In the next part, I may come to one from an album like Never for Ever (1980). However, as The Red Shoes gets overlooked, I wanted to discuss one of its gems. The sublime and gorgeous Moments of Pleasure is a Kate Bush work of brilliance that…

WE need to herald.

FEATURE: Based on a (Sort of) True Story: The Pink Elephant in the Room: Why Do Albums Not Get As Many Negative Reviews As Films?

FEATURE:

 

 

Based on a (Sort of) True Story

PHOTO CREDIT: Mikhail Nilov/Pexels

The Pink Elephant in the Room: Why Do Albums Not Get As Many Negative Reviews As Films?

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MAYBE someone will contradict me…

IN THIS PHOTO: Will Smith

but you can look at film reviews every week and there will be those that get one-star reviews. Look at the lists of the worst films ever and people have very strong opinions! The ‘best’ of the worst as it were subjected to a real hammering! I am not sure whether it is a purely subjective thing, though there are films I feel are undeniably terrible. Critics have no issue in handing out savage reviews. Maybe the same with theatre and other areas of the arts. Thinking about music and you do not really get that. I was looking around the albums from this year and not many have got one-star reviews across the board. Music is subjective, so some critics will hand out a beating, though for the most part albums will at worst get more mixed reviews. Metacritic track this sort of thing and the ‘worst’ albums of this year have still found some reviewers who like it. This website collates the worst of this year. Arcade Fire’s Pink Elephant has not fared well. Even so, there are some positive reviews for it. Will Smith’s Based on a True Story has been deemed among the worst of this year so far. It has got the odd one-star review but it has mostly got two-star assessment. Films that could get a plethora of one-star reviews and some really negative reviews. Instead, for Will Smith’s fifth studio album, there is this feeling of disappointment. Like it lacks depth or Smith addressing the Oscars controversy. It is more a stunt of an album rather than it being offensively bad. There are albums of the past few years that have garnered a royal kicking. Last year, Katy Perry released 143. Her seventh studio album, it did get some one-star reviews. Even so, there was a smattering that marked it slightly higher. CLASH perhaps the kindest by giving it 5/10. Even so, you cannot deny that this album was among the worst-reviewed of 2024. However, there have not been many examples from recent years where critics have all agreed on a rating. That an album has been deemed, well, irredeemable. Got one-star reviews from nearly everyone. And yet films are often slated this way week in week out. I wonder why music garnered a less visceral reaction when it comes to perceived inferiority?!

Perhaps cinema being a visual medium has a different effect than music. Which is almost entirely audio. Films are also longer than albums and maybe film critics feel that if a flick is that bad then they cannot find anything good to say about it. Less nuance to a terrible film compared to an album. Can music truly offend in the same way as a film? These are words and vocals after all, so we are not having to endure abysmal acting, terrible jokes or misjudged lines that leave a sour taste. There is this sense of holding back with music critics. One can say that it would be cruel and unnecessary for music critics to all dish out a one-star review for a bad album. Ones from this year by the likes of Drake and Rebecca Black, whilst reviewed low, have not got the same sort of pasting that the worst films of this year have received. A film such as Snow White getting more than its share of hate! Many noting how unnecessary it is for Disney to do a live action remake of a classic. In fact, think about music, and one-star reviews are rare for any album. Maybe smaller ones can get that but, even for Katy Perry or Will Smith, most were keeping things above that. Is it seen as offensive or too much if you give an album a one-star review? Definitely very few from the past decade or so that have got nothing but that. Everyone agreeing it is a calamitous mess. Films do not get spared this kind of treatment. Can it be as simple as a film being longer and investing us more? Asking more of us? Can audio provoke as extreme a reaction as visuals? I was thinking about when reading film reviews that do not hold back. Music critics are not necessarily more civil, though few take off the brakes and really lay into the music – just this feeling or disappointment for the most part. Katy Perry’s 143 is a rare example of critics piling on. Rolling Stone and The Daily Telegraph scoring it very low, though there was not this unanimous hatred.

I don’t think music is necessarily better or worse than film. It does seem like the two mediums are judged differently. I have heard albums from the past few years that are really awful, yet I did not come away feeling violated or like I had seen an unmitigated car crash. Instead, maybe that feeling of boredom. However, with a film, you can get this real sense of the senses being offended. It makes me wonder whether music can capture the imagination and heart the same way as films. There have been ample examples of modern albums scoring five-star reviews across the board. Modern works of brilliance. Charli xcx’s BRAT an example from last year. Maybe nothing from this year so far that has gained the same sort of euphoria from all critics, though very few albums too that have been kicked to death or seen as trash. Films seem to have those extremes. When they are seen as offensively awful by critics then they will say so. There are cases of films being savaged right across the board. Every week seems to offer a film that will get a one-star review from someone. Less common when it comes to music. However, the very best and most effecting films tend to get the sort of adulation and words that the most profound and moving albums receive. I was curious to explore this subject. Not to shine a light on bad albums. However, even the supposed worst of any year does not get as low an average rating as the worst film. What would a modern artist have to do to release an album that scored one or two-star reviews from everyone? Would subjectivity mean that could never happen? It would have to be offensive in terms of its lyrics or deliberately awful. Are music critics simply holding back and do not want to be that cruel/honest? I do also disagree that music cannot stimulate and wow people the same way as a film can. There are threads that pose the question: Why are there fewer negative album reviews compared to film reviews? One can say that music is reviewed less commonly than it used to be. Streaming has affected that. However, there are loads of music blogs and established sites reviewing, so I am not sure that is it! Music critics have been threatened and attacked after giving bad reviews. Also, many critics might avoid an album that they feel is terrible. Reviews used more to promote an album rather than shape a narrative. However, you can look at film reviews and say the same thing, and yet critics more freely give out very detailed negative reviews.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay/Pexels

I put my question through Google too and wondered what reasons there might be that music critics are less likely to assault a bad album and dish out their one-star rating compared to film – or many other areas of culture. Is it to do with an attitude or expectation? Are expensive films expected to be good when you consider the money spent on them (and that we spend on them)? Films are more multi-layered in terms of dynamics, component parts etc. They are longer and ask more of you. However, there were some interesting responses:

“It's a common observation that movies often receive harsher reviews than albums, and several factors contribute to this disparity. One key reason is that film criticism often focuses on the overall artistic merits of a movie, including narrative, cinematography, and acting, while music criticism may be more subjective and less focused on objective criteria. Additionally, the ease of streaming and the decline of physical music sales have led to fewer reviews, potentially creating a more positive bias in music criticism.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Objective vs. Subjective:

Film reviews often assess a movie based on established criteria like plot structure, character development, and visual artistry. Music, on the other hand, is more subjective, and reviews can vary widely based on personal taste and preferences.

The Rise of Streaming and Physical Sales Decline:

The shift towards streaming has made it cheaper and easier to consume music. This means fewer people might be investing in physical copies and reading reviews to guide their purchasing decisions. As a result, music reviews are less common and may be less critical.

The Influence of Social Media:

In the digital age, social media and online platforms have changed the dynamics of media consumption. Critics may be more cautious or reluctant to give negative reviews, fearing backlash from fans or artists on social media.

Power Dynamics:

In the music industry, artists often have more control over their image and can exert pressure on publications to give favorable reviews. This can create a climate where negative reviews are less likely.

Self-Selection:

Critics may choose to review albums they enjoy, leading to a skewed perspective. They might also be more likely to focus on positive aspects of a new album than delve into critical details.

"Haterism" Requires Distance:

The pure act of negative criticism often requires a certain distance and objectivity that may be less prevalent in music criticism, especially for emerging artists.

The Role of Snide Dismissals:

Some critics may avoid negative reviews altogether, resorting to snide dismissals or broad generalizations about certain genres or artists, which can limit the depth and nuance of their critiques”.

I agree with some of this. However, I am not sure how much sway major artists at least have over reviews. Critics can be free to speak honestly. Also, film criticism requires you to react to what you have seen, so you cannot put distance between you and a film. Also, I am not sure reviewers are necessarily selective. There are other factors at play. Maybe music objectively does not have the same capacity as film to provoke such strong negative reactions. I am thinking about every album I have heard and whether one sticks out as much as the most terrible film I have seen – I am not sure that it does. Curious that there is perhaps a bit more mercy from music critics when they are presented with an album that has nothing to recommend. Is that selective honesty helping music buyers? Are people looking at reviews when they buy an album? Maybe film goers are more concerned about reviews before they go to the cinema. Whatever the reason is, it does seem albums cannot stir the sort of offense and anger that films do. I guess that this is a good thing…though there must be other reasons why. I would be interested to know…

WHAT others think.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Paul McCartney at Eighty-Three: A Beatles Selection

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Paul McCartney at Eighty-Three: A Beatles Selection

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THIS is my second feature…

IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney with The Beatles/PHOTO CREDIT: Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

about Paul McCartney ahead of his eighty-third birthday on 18th June. It is another mixtape. The first was a collection of solo tracks from 1983 to today. In this Digital Playlist, I am going to focus on a selection of great songs he wrote/co-wrote for The Beatles. I may do a third feature that is more in-depth about his career and albums in general. However, for this feature, I was eager to focus on The Beatles and examples of Paul McCartney’s songwriting brilliance. I would urge anyone who is a McCartney fan to check out this resource that lists some amazing interviews. There will be celebration and focus on him on 18th June. I wanted to pay tribute to him by assembling my favourite Paul McCartney Beatles-era work. Were his songwriting brilliance and genius was really coming to the fore. From those earliest tracks through to masterpieces on Let It Be (1970), this giant songwriter has…

CHANGED so many lives.

FEATURE: Trouble…in a Good Way: Returning to a Brilliant and Inclusive Club (and Offering a Personal Apology)

FEATURE:

 

 

Trouble…in a Good Way

IN THIS PHOTO: CEO and Founder of ByErim, Erim Kaur, will speak at The Trouble Club on 28th June

Returning to a Brilliant and Inclusive Club (and Offering a Personal Apology)

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I am going to look ahead…

IN THIS PHOTO: Jess Davies was compelling when she was The Trouble Club’s guest on 20th May at Ladbroke Hall/PHOTO CREDIT: Rhiannon Holland

to events until the end of June. It is quite a packed schedule for The Trouble Club! I am going to start by looking back at events I have attended recently that left an impression. I will end by stating why the ever-evolving and diverse club is one that constantly provides inspiration, community, importance and urgency. The range of speakers that have appeared blows the mind! Even though I have a sort of wish-list of people I would like to see there – including a returning Laura Bates, Michaela Coel, Lauren Laverne, Jameela Jamil, Billie Piper, Gillian Anderson and a whole host of musicians, actors and authors -, the women who do appear are fantastic! If you have not joined yet and are enjoying membership then I would recommend it. You can find them on Instagram. Led by their brilliant Owner and CEO Ellie Newton, the fabulous team hosts these incredible and memorable events at a range of interesting spaces through London (they also host events in Manchester). I am going to end with a bit of a personal apology as one of my best/worst traits is booking tickets to events with The Trouble Club before I check if I am available or can get there in time – which sometimes means having to cancel and disappoint myself! However, I am going to look back at some phenomenal events I have attended since my previous feature about The Trouble Club. I will omit a few, though you can check out their schedule and some of the events past and ones coming up. Even though I will not go into detail about Fats Timbo, Viv Groskop or Sanam Mahloudji, they were great events that I thoroughly enjoyed (and I mentioned them in my previous Trouble feature from March). I am going to start off by looking at the wonderful evening at The Ministry (in Borough) where I and other Trouble members attended The Life of a Black Woman DJ with DJ Paulette on 15th April (I also mentioned Paulette in my previous feature but want to come back to her as she was especially engaging and extraordinary). Earlier this year, Paulette spoke with Mancunion about a book that everyone needs to own:

“When they approached me to write [the novel], I was like yeah, I’ve got loads of material,” she reflected, thinking of the decades of diaries that encompassed her personal and professional journey. However, this was seemingly not enough, with editors through the writing process advising against Welcome to the Club’s narrative: “They said it’s not sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll enough”. This struck a nerve.

“When people were telling me that my story wasn’t relevant”, she was coerced to question “why is your story relevant and mine isn’t?” Beginning the writing process in 2021, “this is when the world had changed” for Black writers such as herself. No longer was their writing being immediately dismissed. Following the reignition of the Black Lives Matter movement in the early pandemic, “people were now looking for that story” she reflected, “it became possible to talk about the Black experience and to see that as relevant”.

Paulette reminisced on the early period of her career in a similar way, writing in her first chapter, Finders Keepers: “I fought for recognition” and a space “in the boy’s club”. It’s obvious from the novel that this fight was not something that ceased quickly for her.

The recognition of non-white creatives and consumption of their work increased in the following years, while feeling like relatively distant history now, which created a collective mindset shift towards Black creatives. Alongside creating more opportunities, it also created more frustrations. I enquired into the responsibility that intrinsically comes with such an intersectional identity as DJ Paulette, and the frustrations of only being spoken of as a queer, Black, female DJ – never just a DJ. She simply explained, “I have to be a representative and I have to lean into that. I’m okay with that”.

Whilst this representational responsibility within the creative sphere is something that Paulette acknowledges, she continued, “Sometimes it’s frustrating, you know, I can’t speak for everyone, not every Black, female DJ is from Manchester or working-class but also studied at university and wrote her own book”. For her, Welcome to the Club is creating visibility of one life, a life that could be relatable, enlightening or inspiring. “When I started there was no one – so I wanted to be that”.

Titling the novel The life and lessons of a Black woman DJ she encompasses its purpose. Paulette is a singular Black woman DJ using her 30-year career to project this experience in an attempt to enlighten people who are similar and opposing to her.

The book is a written role model, the protagonist a unique identity navigating the creative world: “I didn’t want to just put myself out there but the fact that I exist – not even that I exist but that it exists and it is possible”. ‘It’. Queer. Black. Working-class. Northern. Woman. Success.

“I didn’t want it to be a me-biography”, she mused, “I wanted to focus on the music, focussing on the personal story but only from the point of where I had discovered this self – this self that I still am”. The novel begins in 1992, when DJ Paulette was still just Paulette, halfway through her degree, halfway through her divorce, and her first DJ gig had just fallen into her hands.

Beginning chronologically, we are taken through the beginnings of her DJ career. “What happened from 2002 to 2008, when I was in Paris, was I started to experience the real-life politics of it”. During this chapter (London to Paris: Eurostar), the novel “stops being a story of me and becomes a story of the career, of being a female creative”.

Why did you not want to write a me-biography as you phrased earlier? She replied, “I’m not dead. I’m still working, I’m still DJing and I didn’t want to feel like I’m shutting off because I’m still going”. While the highs and lows of her career undoubtedly shaped the DJ Paulette that we listen to today, “I wanted the book to really make a space the foundation of the job [instead of] people seeing it as a hobby you can just retire”. The novel has a much higher purpose than outlining one person’s DJing career, “I want politicians to read it and to get to understand what the culture is”.

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A contender for the all-time best Trouble Club event happened at Union Chapel on 30th April. SLAGS! An Evening with Emma Jane Unsworth & Dolly Alderton was electric! The beautiful venue packed in hundreds of people – perhaps the most-attended event The Trouble Club have held in years – to witness something truly special. You should buy Emma Jane Unsworth’s book, as I have started reading it and can thoroughly recommend it! Because this interview from The Guardian caught my eye, and it is in promotion of SLAGS!, I wanted to include sections from it here:

“My favourite book growing up

After my nanna’s Mills & Boons, stolen from her bedside table, I’d have to say Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Another iconic ginge. Also Anne and Gilbert were the greatest “will they/won’t they?” until Mulder and Scully in The X Files.

The book that changed me as a teenager

Like a lot of 90s teenagers, I loved Judy Blume’s Forever. Thanks to Judy for putting it all out there, especially birth control. Not sure I’ll ever get over the idea of a penis called “Ralph”, but on the demystification front it was otherwise flawless.

The writer who changed my mind

In my early 30s Jennifer Egan showed me what books could do; the playfulness of A Visit From the Goon Squad was really inspiring. I’m also grateful to Maggie Nelson for The Argonauts, and to other writers who have written about motherhood and bodies so honestly and brazenly.

The book that made me want to be a writer

The Romantic poets are to blame for this! All those passionate feelings and excesses. And the symbolists. Let’s chuck them in there. I was a wreck when I discovered Yeats. I genuinely think most of my career has been a massive “I’ll show you” campaign in reaction to Yeats.

The book or author I came back to

I didn’t get Patricia Highsmith for a long time. People kept telling me to read her but I kept getting stuck. Then I hit my 40s and something clicked. Now I think Strangers on a Train must be one of my favourite books, and such an education in how to write effective, elegant humour.

The book I reread

Wintering by Katherine May. I find this book so soothing. I listen to it on audiobook, over and over. It’s such a good antidote to the stresses of modern life. I feel like it resets my nervous system. I dip in and out of it, like an ice bath. Which is possibly the most middle-aged thing I have ever said.

The book I could never read again

Anything by anyone I’ve ever dated and then been ghosted by, you know who you are”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Mónica Feria-Tinta

A venue I did not even know existed, The Magic Circle Theatre London, hosted two incredible and different speakers on 7th May. I was there to see Trouble Meets Ferne McCann and A Barrister for the Earth: Meet Mónica Feria-Tinta. Both brilliant, I would recommend you read this interview with Ferne McCann about her new podcast and motherhood. If you have not bought A Barrister for the Earth: Ten Cases of Hope for Our Future by Mónica Feria-Tinta, then do so now. I was moved by both events and came away learning a lot. Questions were asked, but I had more based on what they said, so those talks stayed with me. I am going to move to two more recent events before casting ahead to future ones I am looking forward to – and one or two I am sadly unable to attend. On 20th May, I was lucky enough to be at Ladbroke Hall for No One Wants To See Your D*ck with Jess Davies. I have fanboyed quite a bit over Davies’s book, No One Wants to See Your D*ck. It is a remarkable, important, often shocking and personal book. I am re-reading it now and learning new things. I follow Jess Davies on Twitter and Instagram, and her content is always so important. What she shares and discusses. She was so candid, funny, bold, brilliant and sharp for that Trouble event. An incredible writer and speaker, her knowledge, intellect and passion was hugely impressive (that sounds patronising; I was just a bit mesmerised by that evening!). There are great interviews with Davies (including this from Quake), but I want to take once more from a fabulous interview from The Guardian, where Davies talked about No One Wants to See Your D*ck and personal experiences online. Having images of her shared when she was so young. She talked about that with The Trouble Club - and it was heartbreaking. When she speaks about it, there is no doubt other women can relate:

“Her book sets the spotlight firmly back on the perpetrators to ask how their online behaviour could ever be accepted as “normal”, or “just what happens”. Davies doesn’t have to look very hard to find activity that should disturb anyone: nudify requests where AI apps are used to create fake nude images (“nudify my sister/cousin/mum/dead wife”); the collector culture – “One thread, for example, where someone requests images of girls from Birmingham or my home town Aberystwyth, gets hundreds of thousands of views because men from those places click on them,” she says. “Someone would say: ‘Has anyone got X from Plymouth?’ And men would reply: ‘Yes, I’ve got her, have you got Y?’ For me, that really hit home. These are men in our daily lives who we see every single day, whether it’s in the shops or at the school gate, or in our homes.”

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Davies saw things she almost wishes she hadn’t. A game called “Risk”, for example, which has various versions but the premise is that someone posts a woman’s picture and if someone else “catches” it – by responding within five minutes – the original poster has to give him the woman’s full name and socials. One man was “risking” pictures of his mate’s wife and daughter. When asked how his own wife would react if she knew, he replied: “Divorce, no questions asked. She’s a bit of a prude. The risk makes it hotter somehow.”

Her book describes several games like this. In “Captions” someone posts a picture and the real name of a woman and others create detailed captions, usually involving violent rape and humiliation fantasies. In “Make Me Ashamed” someone posts a picture of his mum, for example, and invites the most graphic response in order to make him regret it. She sees cybermobbings play out: someone posts a picture of a girl with freckles and “kind brown eyes” along with her contact details and the instruction, “Go ruin her”. Others add, “Let her know she’s a whore” and “Tell her how she needs to get fucked”. At this point, Davies says, looking at this gently smiling, oblivious girl, she felt a crushing weight on her chest.

Still, Davies is glad she saw all this. “Those men exist in such an anonymous, secretive world and I’m glad I know what they’re talking about, what they’re doing,” she says. Her book includes pages of advice on how to protect yourself online – how to have content removed, how to block and report, how to call this out, where to seek help – and also looks at projects to tackle it. Davies herself goes into schools and talks to boys. She points to the loss of community and the decimation of youth services – in England, there was a £1.1bn cut in funding between 2010 and 2021. The internet has filled this void. “The boys I speak to are usually 14 to 19 and some have never had a conversation about consent before,” she says. “How are we expecting so much from them when they are blasted with content telling them to act a certain way?”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Georgina Sturge

One more event from the past before looking ahead to a selection coming up. Muslims Don’t Matter: Sayeeda Warsi in Conversation was at Covent Garden’s The Conduit and happened on 22nd May. You can buy her book here. It was a powerful and incredible event. I have not mentioned how important the interviewer is in making the events so captivating. Usually Ellie Newton – but not for each and every one -, I always take something away from every Trouble Club event. On Wednesday (28th May), there is A History of the UK in Data with Georgina Sturge. Taking place at SPACES Camden, this is one that is particularly interesting. Facts, figures and history all in one event:

“Almost everything in life can be reduced down to data. Facts and figures can open our eyes to the most exciting of possibilities and the most terrifying of threats. No one knows this more than Georgina Sturge. Georgina is the House of Commons Library statistician. When MPs need numbers, they come to her.

Join us as we explore the times the UK has counted itself - from the revolutionary first census of 1801 to modern worries over technological surveillance. Condensing a whole society into numbers brought hidden problems to light: mapping cholera deaths in Soho led researchers to a single deadly water pump and the discovery that industries like firework-making were almost entirely staffed by women helped improve workers' rights.

Records reveal the remarkable presence of escaped American slaves living in nineteenth century Leeds, and that by 1901 there were 600 professional Italian cooks in the UK. Sturge also tracks those who have resisted the state's attempts at tabulation - people burning survey forms, stripping naked in protest and, in the case of 500 Suffragettes, avoiding the 1911 census by skating all night round Aldwych roller rink”.

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One thing that is quite new for The Trouble Club is holding two events in the same venue. It means you get this double-header where you can either see one or both of those interviews. Table for One with Emma Gannon and He Said, She Said with Award-Winning Barrister Charlotte Proudman will be at Marylebone Theatre on 3rd June. There is a bit of a downside but, as I will explain a bit at the end, there are also some big benefits to this type of event. I shall provide a bit of information about both before moving on. From Trouble’s website, here is what you can expect from Emma Gannon (where she will discuss her book, Table for One):

“We have been fans of Emma Gannon for YEARS and she is finally gracing the Trouble stage to talk about the most important relationship we’ll ever experience…the one with ourselves!

The award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author of eight books has just written the ultimate novel for those wanting to put the focus squarely back on themselves.

Funny, fierce and life-affirming, TABLE FOR ONE is a love letter to you. If in doubt, date yourself!

Join us as we meet the acclaimed author to discuss her career to date and how she manages to create the most brilliant yet relatable reads. We’ll discuss heartbreak, major life transformations and ultimately becoming comfortable at a table for one.

EMMA GANNON is the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author of eight books, including her latest non-fiction, A Year of Nothing, and Olive, her debut novel, which was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award. Emma also runs the popular Substack newsletter, The Hyphen, hosts creativity retreats all over the world, and she is a judge for the 2025 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction”.

He Said, She Said: Truth, Trauma and the Struggle for Justice in Family Court by Charlotte Proudman will be discussed following the interview with Emma Gannon. Go and buy Proudman’s essential book. I am looking forward to hearing what she has to say. Someone else I follow on social media, her content is so vital. Below are more details regarding what you can expect if you are coming along to the event on 3rd June:

“The family courts are failing the very people they’re meant to protect. Women seeking safety from abuse are instead met with disbelief, hostility, and a system that too often sides with their abusers. Award-winning barrister Charlotte Proudman will expose these injustices - both in the courtroom and beyond.

In this powerful and urgent discussion, Charlotte will reveal the harrowing real-life cases she has encountered, the misogyny embedded in the legal profession, and the systemic failures that continue to harm women. She will share the voices of those silenced for too long and offer a compelling vision for reform.

This won’t just be a conversation - it will be a call to action. Don’t miss it.

“Dr Charlotte Proudman is an award-winning barrister, academic, and campaigner Charlotte represents survivors of rape, domestic abuse and controlling behaviour in the family courts whilst also challenging misconceptions across the sector. She uses her knowledge and experience of the justice system to advocate for legal change and protect victims.” Legal 500”.

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Six more events that I shall get through fairly quickly. One of the biggest that The Trouble Club have organised – in terms of the reaction the speaker will get – is one that I am a bit upset about. I shall explain why later. At St Johns Hyde Park on 9th June, Still Beautiful with Katie Piper is happening.

“Katie Piper is one of the most compelling voices on trauma, recovery, and self-worth today.

In her characteristically unfiltered and deeply compassionate style, Katie will join us at The Trouble Club to talk about the realities of aging in a society obsessed with youth, the pressure to remain flawless, and how beauty ideals often silence the more powerful stories women carry with them.

We will discuss how trauma, recovery, and time reshape not just our bodies but also our sense of self. Katie brings unique insight into how we can reclaim our identities as we age, challenge narrow standards of appearance, and stop apologising for the natural process of growing older.

Expect frank conversation, quiet strength, and fierce encouragement. This is not about going back. It’s about moving forward.

Katie Piper OBE is an international bestselling author, inspirational speaker, TV presenter and charity campaigner. She is a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women and a presenter for BBC Radio 2. Katie shared her remarkable story in a Channel 4 documentary called ‘Katie: My Beautiful Face’, which was watched by over 3.5 million viewers and nominated for a BAFTA in 2010”.

Her book, Still Beautiful: On Age, Beauty and Owning Your Space, is out on 6th June. It is one you will want to buy. I am looking forward to reading it. Many people will have heard of Katie Piper but might not know her story and the trauma she has experienced. This book is going to be a very moving and emotional read:

“Age is a gift not everybody is given…

When a life-threatening acid-attack left Katie Piper physically and visibly scarred at just 24, her approach to ageing was irrevocably changed: she now sees each passing year as a reminder of the privilege of being alive.

Over a decade on from sharing her story for the first time, Katie reflects on what it means to age well within a world that has too often made women feel irrelevant or invisible for going through the natural ageing process.

From how to know your worth to how to take up space in a society that tells you to be small, this book will help you cultivate a confidence you can depend on and find the real beauty in getting older”.

I am really looking forward to Madame Matisse! With Sophie Haydock on 12th June at The Hearth in Queen’s Park. I have seen Sophie Haydock speak with The Trouble Club before, so it is going to be great to hear her discuss her new book. I would advise anyone who has not booked a ticket for this event to go and do so as it is going to be really interesting:

“Join us for an intimate evening with award-winning author and journalist Sophie Haydock as she discusses her latest novel, Madame Matisse. This captivating work delves into the lives of three remarkable women - Amélie Matisse, Lydia Delectorskaya, and Marguerite Matisse - who were integral to the life and art of the renowned French painter Henri Matisse.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of 1930s France, Madame Matisse brings to light the untold stories of these women, exploring themes of love, ambition, sacrifice, and the complexities of muse-artist relationships. Haydock's meticulous research and evocative storytelling offer a fresh perspective on the art world, highlighting the often-overlooked contributions of women in shaping artistic legacies.

During the event, Haydock will share insights into her writing process, the historical context of her characters, and the inspiration behind bringing these women's narratives to the forefront”.

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Spitfires, Helicopters & Life in the Sky: Trouble Meets Pilot Katherine Moloney is going to be fascinating. Taking place on 18th June at The Tab Centre Shoreditch, I did not know much about Katherine Moloney but was really curious. The statistic around women pilots in the U.K. is really shocking, so this is going to be an evening that will shine a light on that and raise some powerful and necessary questions:

“Currently, only 5% of pilots in the UK are women. Katherine Moloney is on a mission to change this.

Get ready to go wheels up with one of the most dynamic voices in aviation today. Trouble is sitting down with pilot Katherine Moloney for a wide-ranging Q&A that spans vintage warbirds, modern helicopters, and everything in between.

From flying Spitfires with precision to piloting helicopters with ease, Katherine will join us to dive into life behind the joy stick. But it’s not just about the machines, this conversation is about the mindset, the grit, and the purpose behind it all which for Katherine includes Elevate (her), a growing community designed to support, mentor, and elevate women who are chasing big dreams in aviation and beyond.

Expect stories from the sky and insights into leadership, resilience, and ambition. Whether you are an aviation nerd or someone looking for inspiration to live bolder, this is not one to miss”.

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A rescheduled event, All the Other Mothers Hate Me with Sarah Harman is on 28th June at the beautiful Conway Hall. Another book that you need to get, it is notable that this event takes place on a Saturday. The Trouble Club has social events at weekends but not many of their main events like this. It is a good opportunity for those busy with work to turn out. I am looking forward to being at Conway Hall for the morning:

“Sarah Harman is a recovering journalist with over a decade of experience reporting on major breaking news around the world. After years of reporting the biggest stories, Sarah has turned her hand to creating the drama instead.

Sarah will join us to discuss this year’s biggest thriller, All the Other Mothers Hate Me which was acquired in a major 9-way auction and is soon to be adapted for screen by the makers of The Bear.

'SPIKY, WITTY, A BREATH OF FRESH AIR' PANDORA SYKES

'AN ABSOLUTELY WILD RIDE: IMAGINE IF THE WRITERS OF MOTHERLAND TRIED THEIR HANDS AT A MISSING PERSON MYSTERY’ INDEPENDENT

All the Other Mothers Hate Me is set to be a blockbuster. Join us as we meet Sarah to discuss how she created this incredible thriller”.

The final two upcoming events take place at Conway Hall on the same day. In a first I think, we have three events at the same venue on the same day. That could change if things get rejigged but, after Sarah Harman at 11 a.m., there is a break before we go back for Building A Beauty Empire with Erim Kaur at 5 p.m. Perhaps an event you would think I would not be that interested in – most of those attending will be women -, I am excited to hear Kaur speak:

“What do you get when you mix a grandmother’s kitchen table, sheer grit, and a vision for modern beauty rooted in heritage? You get ByErim, the viral hair and beard oil brand built from scratch by none other than Erim Kaur, one of the most compelling young founders in beauty today.

Join us for an energising conversation with Erim as she shares her early life story, the real origin of her business (hint: it includes late nights, homemade formulas, and plenty of hustle), and the rollercoaster of scaling a brand that now commands a cult following.

We’ll dive into:

• The ByErim kitchen-table-to-cult-brand journey

• The highs and heartbreaks of being a founder in the spotlight

• What it takes to create a brand that always sells out

• How Erim became the largest female Sikh influencer in the UK

• And - of course, what it means to be a troublemaker for good in today’s business world

This is Trouble meets entrepreneurial grit. Don’t miss it.

Erim Kaur is the CEO & Founder of ByErim which has sold over 100,000 units worldwide, with retailers in the UK and the UAE. After winning Natwest x Telegraph’s female Entrepreneur of the year, she was then selected to be part of the cohort for Goldman Sachs x Oxford University mini MBA. Erim has built a loyal following of over 750,000 across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Erim is the largest female Sikh influencer in the UK”.

Right after Erim Kaur is Trouble Meets Entrepreneur Grace Beverley. There are some great interviews with Beverley (including this one from last year). If you have not booked a ticket or know much about the speaker, here are some more details:

“A serial entrepreneur, changemaker and one of our most requested speakers at Trouble, Grace Beverley is an innovator by nature. Founder of activewear brand TALA, fitness tech brand Shreddy, and personal organisation brand The Productivity Method, and Co-Founder of AI company Retrograde, Beverley has a global following of over 3 million people.

Join us as we meet this incredible force in the world of business. We’ll discuss building outstanding organisations, finding purpose and beating procrastination. Known for confronting big topics in an informal & accessible way, Grace is a leading voice on female funding, the representation of women in media, sustainable fashion and entry into entrepreneurship, which she has spoken about on BBC Radio 4’s Woman's Hour, Bloomberg News and Vogue Business.

Despite tackling mammoth topics, Grace will prove that you don't need to take yourself too seriously to be a revered businesswoman”.

The Trouble Club is growing all of the time. A new team with a range of different interviewers (though Ellie Newton takes most of the events), there are these new venues to explore. I am ending with a bit of a personal apology. I did mention how I book nearly every event coming up. When the text comes through announcing new stuff, I always jump in and book my ticket! Time was when the events all pretty much started at 7 p.m. and the venues were mostly within a short distance of where I work. Though a necessary move, many are now starting early, so it is impossible to get to them on time (as I finish work at 5/5:30 p.m.). It does mean that I will miss at least one coming up. I will not be able to see Katie Piper, which I am gutted about – as I cannot get to Hyde Park so quickly after work that evening. I might also miss the start of Emma Gannon, though I might just about be able to make it. Apologies to Ellie Newton, as I try and make as many events as possible but realise I might need to U-turn or be a bit tardy to one or two coming up soon. That is why Saturday events are great. The ones that start at 7 too. I suppose various venues are only free at particular times, so you have to grab what you can. However, it is sad to have to pass on some events because of the early start (and I have a couple of tickets I might need to donate back because of the starting times). In any case, I have at least six or seven upcoming events in the next month that I will be able to get to – so it is not like I am missing out! A big thanks to Ellie Newton and her amazing team for always putting on these wonderful events with some compelling and brilliant women. I hope (and know) that The Trouble Club keeps going for many years to come. If you are not a member already then I would strongly urge you to…

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CHANGE that now.

FEATURE: Spotlighting Billie Piper and Florence Pugh: Two Amazing Women Who Could Offer Something Incredible to Music

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlighting Billie Piper and Florence Pugh

IN THIS PHOTO: Florence Pugh/PHOTO CREDIT: Erik Madigan Heck/Harper’s Bazaar

Two Amazing Women Who Could Offer Something Incredible to Music

__________

THIS might seem quite random…

IN THIS PHOTO: Billie Piper/PHOTO CREDIT: Manuel Vazquez/The Guardian

and pretty niche, but I have been reading new interviews from two incredible women in the entertainment industry. Both incredible actors. Maybe this extends beyond music or is a desire to see them act alongside one another. Billie Piper and Florence Pugh. Both hugely busy at the moment, Piper is working on a romantic comedy. Pugh is starring in some massive films. I feel they both have careers in acting beyond performing. Piper is a writer and has directed, though I feel we can see her move to directing big films. The same with the mighty Florence Pugh. Someone who I feel will write her own stuff and direct. Having Billie Piper and Florence Pugh write together or appear in a project would be wonderful! That is something that might well happen. I am going to go on to say why I feel both could offer something incredible to the music industry. Billie Piper is a former artist, so it is not new to her – Florence Pugh has sung on film. I am going to start with a couple of interviews: one with Florence Pugh and one with Billie Piper. I am starting out with one from The Guardian, where Billie Piper spoke to them ahead of a BAFTA special (she was also nominated for a BAFTA). Piper spoke about, among other things, “toxic masculinity, raising teens, and playing complex characters”:

“You’ve said one of your aims with your work is to ‘lift the lid on what it means and what it costs to be female’. Do you think that cost is increasing or decreasing?

Increasing. It feels like, in many ways, we’re going backwards. I wonder if there is a greater hostility from guys towards girls. There’s certainly a world available to men that violently rejects feminism or emancipation. It’s really frightening. Now that I’ve had a daughter, I can see violence against women more clearly. It’s like I couldn’t see it for myself, which is alarming, and I’ve had to do work reframing a lot that I’d normalised in my life. It’s a fine balance: how do we keep women safe while also nurturing boys, who are facing issues, too?

How do you deal with conversations about toxic masculinity with your kids?

Look, Iven’t got this down pat, but with my daughter and sons with whatever they’re facing, it’s about listening, holding your nerve when they say something that feels not quite right, and understanding they have to make mistakes. I can’t believe the pressures on them to have these political views all the time. There’s such expectation for young people to get it right immediately. And if they don’t, they’re written off. When I was their age, I was just, I don’t know, smoking cigarettes!

Does the idea of being a role model sit heavily with you?

I don’t like it. I’ve never liked it. It feels too frightening, and it doesn’t allow a lot of room for error. And I really struggled with that when I was a teenager, as a singer, I just hated that feeling. That’s been a bit of a hangover for me.

Tell us about the romcom you are working on.

If I watch 1990s romcoms now, I find them hard to understand. They just sit differently. Even though I love those movies, it’s a time that felt so radically different from the world we live in now. So I’m trying to do something that feels authentic to now, but still feels dreamy and hopeful.

How do you cope with writer’s block?

I panic! Luckily, I’m so green even the bad days seem achievable”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Erik Madigan Heck/Harper’s Bazaar

I am going to move on to an interview from Harper’s Bazaar that was published in April. Ahead of starring as a lead in the Marvel film, Thunderbolts*, she spoke about “fame, fertility and fighting for our futures”. It is another great interview that caught my eye and also connected with things that Billie Piper spoke about in her interview:

“She clearly also adores the process of making a big blockbuster. “I got to do a stunt that has never been done before,” she says, proudly. “My double, the female co-ordinator and I are all now Guinness World Record holders!” All I can reveal about this impressive achievement is that she jumps off something very, very high.

In one way or another, Pugh is always willingly throwing herself off heights for her career. She talks about putting herself through ‘trauma’ for Midsommar, picturing her entire family in coffins to tap into her character Dani’s grief (“I left the film feeling like I had abandoned myself in that field”). We joke about the apparent disregard she has for her hair, which she hacked to pieces on camera for her role in A Good Person and which Andrew Garfield shaved off for her in We Live in Time. “I give so much of my body to what I do,” she says.

This summer, Pugh will begin filming the third instalment of Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune, in which she returns as the enigmatic Princess Irulan (“I hope we see more of her. I want more cool outfits!”). She has just come back from New Zealand, where she has been making a miniseries of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, playing the anti-heroine Cathy Ames. In many ways, the character is perfect for Pugh’s tastes – a woman Steinbeck himself describes as having a “malformed soul”. “People keep on saying to me, ‘I read the book. She’s a terrible person.’ But I get really arsey about that,” she says. “I can explain all the awful things that she does. It’s my responsibility to understand the character, because they can’t defend themselves.”

Pugh was first approached about the project by the show’s writer Zoe Kazan (the granddaughter of Elia Kazan, the director of the 1955 film starring James Dean), who also asked her to executive-produce. “I remember reading the scripts and thinking, ‘She wants to give me this power?’” It will be her second producer credit after A Good Person, and it has inspired her to do more behind the camera. “I love writing dialogue. It’s my second main enjoyment outside of acting,” she says. “I’ve got a couple of shows and a movie that I want to make. I know who I want to play, and I see how I want it shot.”

But her decade of stratospheric professional success has come at the expense of her personal life. “I’ve worked back-to-back since I started, and I’ve missed so much,” she says, listing family events, birthdays, barbecues with friends. “I’ve now come to terms with things that I don’t like about myself and want to change. I don’t want to have things just happen to me any more.”

Part of this reckoning – brought on, she says, by the themes of mortality in We Live in Time – was her desire to take control of her romantic life. Following her amicable break-up in 2022 with her partner of nearly three years, the actor and director Zach Braff, Pugh embarked upon a relationship (she won’t be drawn on the question of who it was with) that ended as the film began shooting. “It was a scary break-up,” she says, “and I think that movie forced me to realise I can’t wait for people any more. I can’t accept this version of love. I have to help myself.” 

She tells me she is currently in love and is approaching her new relationship very differently. “I’m more sympathetic to the people who are in love with me, because it’s not easy! I’m tricky – I’m always busy, I can never make dates,” she admits. “But it’s not good enough for me to ask someone to just accept that. I’ll just end up alone. I don’t want that – I want a family.”

Having being diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, she has begun the process of freezing her eggs which she describes as “tiring and horrible”, though she recognises she is lucky in being able to afford the procedure. “There was a clickbait article about me doing it,” she says. “I know you shouldn’t read the comments but... urgh. I wish there was a little more tenderness and understanding.”

Recently, Pugh deleted Instagram for five months which she describes as “bliss” (her dream, she later tells me, is eventually to leave London for a quieter rural existence), but she was compelled to come back on to post about the LA fires, feeling that her platform could be useful for spreading information. After all, she does have more Instagram followers than the entire population of Austria, I tell her. “Wait, what?” Pugh is flabbergasted. “Wow, that’s funny.”

Nonetheless, she displays a healthy degree of scepticism about social media, increasingly feeling a responsibility to move beyond armchair activism. “Instagram posts can only go so far. Yes, they make you aware, yes, they can change a few opinions, but I want to make sure that I’m awake to what’s going on and feel like I’m a part of the change.” At a time when, as she puts it, “plenty of unstable, powerful men are dictating our futures”, she would like to be on the front line of the resistance movement. “Being more active in this very aggressive change in the world right now feels correct to me,” she explains. “At least I know that my energy is going somewhere.”

A few hours later, I watch her perform on the catwalk. “Be determined,” she says to the crowd. “Be fearless... but always, always be yourself.” It is an apt description of Pugh’s compelling career thus far; and the rallying cry of a woman prepared to fight for what she believes in”.

Two incredible actors who are role models and inspiring figures. People who want to make changes and bring about difference through their work. One might feel they could be less effective and progressive through music than film. The former is predominantly an audio format – unless you watch a gig or a music video – whilst the latter is almost entirely visual. The power and effect you get from a picture compared to a sound. The scope of cinema and a single film compared to an album. However, there is a reason why I would love to hear music from Billie Piper and Florence Pugh. Maybe neither has it is in their sights. Billie Piper, trading as Billie, was a massive Pop artist in the 1990s/early-2000s. Releasing a string of brilliant singles – including Because We Want To – and a fabulous debut album in the form of 1998’s Honey to the B (her second and final album was 2000’s Walk of Life). One might think, at forty-two, would she want to go back into music. I am about to write a feature that looks at artists who were popular in the 1990s and are returning now or have endured since that time and are releasing amazing new work – including Robbie Williams, Skunk Anansie and Pulp. I do think that a Billie 2.0 would add the surname and the music would probably sound different to what she was producing as a teenager. However, given how she is this activist, vital voice and hugely loved person, she would have a lot to offer! Beyond songs about love and the ordinary – though it is very important -, she could genuinely offer something moving and challenging. Whether that is something that would ever appeal or is something she wants to leave in the past. Someone who does have this incredible voice – both in the literal sense and when it comes to her work -, I do imagine a new Billie Piper album. She is going to busy writing a new film and appearing in other projects. She works alongside the charity, Refuge, and she is someone who has multiple commitments. However, given the fact there is this wave of artists from the 1990s entering a new phase of their career, it would be awesome to have new Billie Piper music! I could imagine it would blend subjects like toxic masculinity and female empowerment, though she would also reflect on relationships and life in her forties. If Piper retired from music in 2001, there is this gap in the market that she could fill. I do feel these inspirational and wonderful women have something really valuable to offer. So it would be a dream if she were to come back into music – if only for one more album.

I do know that there is this chance that Florence Pugh could release an album at some point. Again, I could see her using that platform to write these songs that address big themes. Those that also have a personal edge and perspective. She has said how she would like to record music soon. She has appeared on songs, thought she has not as yet released a studio album. One of the busiest people around, hearing her speak about her life, where she is now and where she wants to head. That could be incredible translated into music. She may well write her own film or launch this project that is very personal to her, though I feel there is this desire in her to release music. Many scoff when actors go into music but, for many, it is their first and true love. We have seen recent and successful transition from the likes of Kate Hudson. Florence Pugh will also prioritise acting and that side of her career. However, as someone who has recorded songs and has been active in that world for a little while now, it is very much a moment when someone with her gift, voice and passion could really do something good. In terms or themes explored through music, many do not go beyond their own lives. That is all well and good; though there is something about Florence Pugh and Billie Piper and what they have been talking about in recent interviews that got me thinking about music. One who has had a former career in the industry and the other who has not as yet. It will be interesting watching this space. In the meantime, I think Billie Piper will appear as a character in the U.S. series, Wednesday, and she is also going to feature in another T.V. show, Coming Undone (currently in development). Florence Pugh has filmed her part in  T.V. adaptation of East of Eden (that will broadcast in 2026) and she will also appear in Avengers: Doomsday. I do hope Billie Piper and Florence Pugh collide at some point as I can see Pugh being perfect in Piper’s romantic comedy – as Pugh is a wonderful comic actor and does not get as many roles in that genre. I shall leave it there. I was compelled to write because I admire both of these women but I sort of hope, in a selfish way, that they record music in the future. It would be wonderful. I wanted to shine a spotlight on these…

PEERLESS talents.

FEATURE: Overcoming the Cringe: Why Kate Bush’s Lyrics Could Never Be Embarrassing

FEATURE:

 

 

Overcoming the Cringe

Why Kate Bush’s Lyrics Could Never Be Embarrassing

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WHEN looking around…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979

for any Kate Bush updates or seeing what people were writing, I cam across a recent feature from Louder. Looking through the interview archive, they came across a moment when Kate Bush reflected on some of those early lyrics. One song in particular, Oh England My Lionheart, came under fire. One that she cringed at. Felt embarrassed about. I think that the first couple of albums, as I have explored before, she seems to push away. One might say that there are some albums where the lyrics are not at her peak. However, as I will write, Kate Bush should never disown songs or feel her lyrics were naff or something to feel shame about:

“One of England's most original and widely-admires musical artists, Kate Bush is a true national treasure. But, in a 1993 interview with Britain's [now defunct] Q magazine, the then-35-year-old singer admitted that one of her most poetic songs about her homeland made her cringe with embarrassment.

Oh England My Lionheart is the closing song on side one of Bush's second album, Lionheart, released on November 10, 1978, less than nine months on from the release of her million-selling debut album, The Kick Inside. Featuring lyrics such as "Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park / You read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames", the song was described by Bush as "a sort of poetical play, if you like, on the romantic visuals of England, and the second World War."

"It’s only got acoustic instruments on it and it’s done … almost madrigally, you know," she told Melody Maker's Harry Doherty in November '78. "I dare say a lot of people will think that it’s just a load of old slush but it’s just an area that I think it’s good to cover. Everything I do is very English and I think that’s one reason I’ve broken through to a lot of countries."

Ffifteen years on, however, Bush was rather less enamoured of the song. When Q writer (now BBC 6Music presenter) Stuart Maconie mentioned it to Bush, the singer-songwriter gasped, "Do you like that one? It makes me just want to die. It's such an old song."

When Maconie enquired as to which other old songs made Bush wince, she responded, "My God, loads. Absolutely loads."

"Either the lyric's not thought out properly or it's just crap or the performances weren't well executed," she continued. "But you have to get it in context. You were doing it at the time and it was the best you could do then. You've got to live with it. Some of those early songs though, you think, What was I thinking about? Did I write that?.

"There's not just one," she admitted. "There's too many to mention. But I was very young, so I can be gentle on myself for that. Having said that, I think some of my lyrics were just, well, mad really. And why not! You've got to be prepared to fail and get a bit hurt or bruised along the way”.

It is not unusual for Kate Bush to say something like that about her music. She has said how some songs she didn’t like and how there were moments that she does not think about with fond memories. However, when it comes to her lyrics, I don’t think that she should ever feel bad about them. Those early albums, 1978’s The Kick Inside and Lionheart, are filled with incredible visions and lines. I really like Oh England My Lionheart. Even if the song could be interpreted by some as nationalistic and patriotic – in the sense right-wing British people could see it as a call to get the country back to its roots (in an anti-woke and racist sense) -, it is a beautiful number. Even if the production (by Andrew Powell) is not perfect, the song is a lot stronger than Bush gives it credit for. Dreams of Orgonon discussed the song in 2019:

“The title track “Oh England My Lionheart” engages with this British tradition. It is a classical song in a fair few regards. Unlike most of Bush’s music, the song is played features acoustic instruments exclusively, including Richard Harvey’s recorder and Francis Monkman’s harpsichord. If reading that you thought “huh, this sounds like a Renaissance song,” you would be correct. Bush described the song as being done “madrigally.” It’s not difficult to imagine “Oh England My Lionheart” being used in a classicist production of Twelfth Night. “Lionheart” sounds like a folk song, with its fixed structure of repeated chords, its descending melody, and its lengthy descriptions of scenery. This isn’t the first time Bush has interacted with folk music, of course. Bush often imbues antiquated styles with her own vision of strange things. With “Oh England My Lionheart” she takes the folk ballad and takes it on a tour through England, from the Thames to London Bridge to Kensington Park. Yet for its breadth, “Oh England My Lionheart” is dreary, positively crawling through its three minutes and twelve seconds. Bush is outright crooning in this song, doing little heavy lifting on lyrics like “give me one wish/and I’d be wassailing.” It’s an uncharacteristically mellow performance with an iffy production. Few songs could get over these hurdles, and “Oh England My Lionheart” is put to the test by them.

The production does the song a disservice, as it makes “Oh England My Lionheart” sound more conservative than it actually is. It’s easy to read the song as a nationalist ballad, but “Lionheart” is more nuanced than that. The song narrowly treads a line with its war-inflected imagery, but let’s look at exactly what Bush explores here. She’s living in a postwar England where “the air raid shelters are blooming clover.” “Dropped from my black Spitfire to my funeral barge,” Bush sings as if the country is going to land on her. Pastoral England is growing over wartime England. The country is a romantic lead here, giving solitude to those in it. “Oh England My Lionheart” is a return to Bush songs about spying on an inaccessible love. Bush cries “I don’t want to go” in the outro, desperate for her country to stay with her. Without England, there is no Kate Bush, and she knows it”.

There are so many examples of Kate Bush’s brilliance on her earliest albums. Maybe she felt that they did not reflect her career and sound years later. Something a bit naïve perhaps. However, they are hugely original and evocative songs that should be celebrated. I think that all of her lyrics are distinct and deserve to be highlighted. Maybe there is an issue later down the road when we get to albums like The Red Shoes (1993). Lyrics of love and regret that might tip into commercial or cliché. Not as distinct and extraordinary as other Kate Bush lyrics. However, Kate Bush should never feel like these lyrics should be excused or pushed aside. One of the finest songwriters ever, we need to realise just how extraordinary her words are! Her lyrics book, How to Be Invisible , is filled with brilliance and examples of her genius. These were selected by Kate Bush as particular standouts. I think there is a place and call for another volume. Maybe she would not include Oh England My Lionheart, though I do think she should reconsider a few of those earlier songs that did not make the cut. We all do it. Things were wrote or said when we were younger seem embarrassing when we grow older. That is human nature. However, I always feel like Kate Bush does not have huge appreciation for her earliest albums. Songs she wrote when she was very young; feeling like she did not hit her stride until she reached albums like The Dreaming (1982) and Hounds of Love (1985). That article that highlighted Oh England My Lionheart got me thinking. Why Kate Bush should never cringe at her songs. Feel proud about what she created! These songs have endured and I feel hold immense power now. The images she summons. Even if there is a touch of inexperience or some misguided lines, these early song showcase a keen and imaginative songwriter who was not doing what her peers did regarding writing about love and going through the motions to an extend. These are wonderful songs that we need to talk more about. They demonstrate that Kate Bush was and is…

A true visionary.

FEATURE: Modern-Day Queens: Olivia Dean

FEATURE:

 

 

Modern-Day Queens

PHOTO CREDIT: Pat Martin for NYLON

Olivia Dean

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THIS feature…

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Fedorov

is about the magnificent Olivia Dean. The London-born artist released her debut album, Messy, in 2023. Award-nominated and critically acclaimed, this is someone who is going to have a very long career in music. I have spotlighted Olivia Dean before. I wanted to return to her music because she is one of modern music’s finest talents. Heralded as a breakthrough artist and someone to watch, there is this anticipation around her second studio album. There is no set date for that at the moment, though it is not too far away. Dean has some U.S. tour dates ahead but she has some dates in the U.K. before then. I am going to get to some interviews from last year with Olivia Dean. I cannot find any interviews from this year, but I think we can get a good sense of Dean’s future plans and where she is in her career right now. I am starting with an interview with DAZED. Olivia Dean spoke about her next album, Beyoncé, and her post-show rituals. The Neo-Soul artist was speaking ahead of her first headline performance at Love Supreme:

“Olivia Dean has always felt a “strong gut intuition” telling her that she belongs in the music industry. When her first EP, OK Love You Bye, released in 2019, was streamed millions of times, resulting in her signing a recording contract with EMI, her beliefs were confirmed. Her 2023 debut album Messy has only further cemented her success, with Sophie Williams of NME rating the album 4 out of 5 stars, complementing Dean’s “confidence to occasionally dissect subjects that others swerve” while keeping a “mainstream” appeal. The album ends with “Carmen”, a personal favourite of mine and its crowning achievement. While incredibly personal, the song feels like a love letter to all who came before us, letting us admire those stronger than we’ll ever be.

You have mentioned that you are inspired by The Supremes, Lauryn Hill (your middle namesake), and Amy Winehouse. How do you maintain these inspirations while staying true to your own unique sound?

Olivia Dean: I think, especially with people like Diana Ross, it’s less of me taking direct reference from the music or the style and more her energy. It’s a funny one with Amy - that’s a tough one to be compared to. I don’t think anyone will ever be like Amy. She was saying exactly what she thought, and you’ve got to be brave to do that, but obviously, I like it because I keep doing it. It’s very freeing.

We’ve caught you after your successful UK and Europe tour, and you’re about a month away from headlining your first festival, Love Supreme. How would your ten-year-old self react if you told her this?

Olivia Dean: I think she would be like, ‘No way, you actually did it’. Because, from when I was like eight or ten, I really wanted to be a singer. I think she would be like, ‘Fair play, you actually committed to that one.’

So that’s always been your goal in your mind?

Olivia Dean: As long as I can remember. I can’t even describe it. I have such a strong gut intuition that tells me that this is what I need to do with my life. It’s like I can’t waver from it or compromise.

Your last album was released about a year ago, and you were just featured on the soundtrack to the BBC series This Town. Can we expect any new music from you soon?

Olivia Dean: It’s the million-dollar question. The answer is yes, you can. I’m working on another album, which will be a little further down the line.

What’s your ghost outfit?

Olivia Dean: That’s a funny question. I’d probably wear a big, flowy, swishy skirt and a white vest. You can’t go wrong with a white vest. And adidas Superstars. Just keeping it classic, you know?

A stylish ghost! What’s your star sign, and are you a typical one?

Olivia Dean: I’m not too into star sign stuff, but I’m a Pisces and have been told I’m a big-time Pisces. Pisces are emotional and creative, so yeah, I guess I am.

What conspiracy theory are you actually quite into?

Olivia Dean: I like that one about Avril Lavigne being replaced by somebody else. That’s quite funny. Imagine that circulating about you – it’s mental.

Do you have any recurring dreams?

Olivia Dean: I mean, sometimes I have the dream where all my teeth fall out, but I’ve looked into that, and it’s just intense stress and anxiety.

What’s on your FYP right now?

Olivia Dean: I really like food and interior design stuff. I’ve got a love-hate relationship with TikTok right now. My new year resolved to never go on it again, and it lasted until last month.

You almost made it halfway – still an accomplishment. Next question: If you could only listen to one musician for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Olivia Dean: OK, it’s bait, but it’s got to be Beyonce. She’s got everything I need! If I need to feel empowered, she’s got me. If I need to dance, but I’m also really in my feelings, she’s got me. She can give me country, she can give me house, she can give me club. You know what I mean?

What do you put on your rider?

Olivia Dean: This is dumb, but I really like sliced meat – like cold, sliced meat. It’s just a fun snack for me. I used to have a bottle of champagne, but then I realised you can’t drink champagne every night because it stops being special. Also, a bouquet of flowers, which I thought might be unsustainable, but we always give it to somebody after the show”.

I want to move on to Olivia Dean’s first Australian interview from late last year. Speaking with Russh, Dean spoke about her second album and what lied ahead for this year. If this artist is new to you, then you need to follow her. Someone who is going to release so many wonderful albums:

“There’s a particular kind of magic that comes with firsts. First tours, first festivals, and, for Olivia Dean, her first Australian interview. Warm and effervescent, she greets with the ease of an old friend. "You’re the first one!" she says, her voice carrying the weight of a golden stamp on the moment.

Her presence easily fills the space like honey dripping from a spoon; unhurried, golden, and undeniably sweet. Her voice has the same effect: both on and off stage, it's a thread of warmth, each lyric and word seemingly chosen with care. She’s the artist you'll discover and never forget, her songs lingering like a nostalgic memory. Now, with a coveted spot on Laneway Festival’s 2025 lineup, she’s ready to etch her name into Australian music history. “I’ve always wanted to come back to Australia,” she says, recalling a childhood visit during the Beijing Olympics era. This time, though, she’s returning on her own terms, and on the stage.

From the soulful intimacy of Touching Toes to the statement-making Glastonbury look created by Chopova Lowena, her creative choices hit with intent. “I’m always into less is more,” she says, a mantra that shapes both her style and her songwriting. Her pre-show rituals follow the same logic: classical music, honey and lemon, and a quick fist bump with her bandmates. It’s a slow, steady ascent into the adrenaline of a live stage.

Her latest single, Touching Toes, is a testament to that ethos — raw, intimate, and unguarded. Written on a gifted guitar, it was a song she once considered keeping for herself. “It felt quite vulnerable,” she admits. But in sharing it, she closed one creative chapter and opened another, an offering of closeness between artist and listener. With a second album already underway and whispers of more shows on the horizon, it’s clear she’s just getting started.

Below, we sit down with Olivia Dean on a late night in London to discuss her return to Australia in February and what’s in store for her in 2025. 

I really appreciate the time, and it's such an honour to be speaking with you.

Oh yay! Thank you, this is my first Australian interview.

Wow, I'm so honoured.

Yeah it's you, you're the first one. 

We’re so excited to see you at Laneway in February, will this be your first time in Australia?

It actually isn't my first time in Australia. I came as a child. It would have been– I only can remember it because it was when the Beijing Olympics were on. So when was that? I can't remember, but I came back on a family holiday, and I went to Brisbane, and I loved it. And I've always wanted to come back to Australia, but this is the first time like for music that I'll ever be coming so kind of, yes, exciting.

I heard you're a fan of the water and beach. Is there any beaches you're hoping to visit while you're here in Australia?

I feel like I need to do some research and, like, figure out where your best beaches are. Maybe you can give me some recs. I feel like all I know is Bondi Beach. Is that the one to go to? I want local gems. 

Camp Cove, Kutti Beach, and Bronte Beach. They're beautiful.

Is there good surf in Australia?

Maroubra Beach then for surfing. But when it's time to shift and get into the right headspace for performing, do you have any pre-rituals that you do to get in the mindset?

Um, do I have any pre rituals? I normally like, have half an hour before I'm gonna play– also I have this silly plaster on my finger, so not very chic *laughs*

Normally half an hour before I listen to classical music, I like to get really calm, like, leading up to that moment.

I'm listening to just like hype music, like Beyonce, Destiny's Child, but then closer to the time it's classical, lots of breathing, steaming my throat, honey and lemon. Nothing crazy, really. And then I'll give my bandmates all a spud *fist bumps*. Like, that's a ritual we have to do before every show, otherwise it feels weird. And just then, just go for it really. 

And going on to stages, do you find performing on a festival a little bit different to performing at your own show?

Definitely. I mean, I've always said I actually sometimes, in a way, prefer festivals. I think I like the idea of a festival that somebody could be walking by and not know who you are and like, and that's your chance to, like, win them over, you know, and them discover you. I love my own shows so much, obviously, but there's like, I think, a thrill for me with a festival where it's like, you don't quite know how it's gonna go or, like, if anybody's gonna turn up, like, always before, a best friend, like, nobody's gonna come. It brings a different energy.

You also have an incredible fashion and a beauty team with you: Celia Burton for makeup and Simone Beyene as your stylist. When you're preparing for a night like the recent British Fashion Awards, what does the preparation look like?

Well normally the styling, that's done like weeks before, me and Simone are very prepared for stuff like that. Like, it's never to the last minute. It's never like, "Oh, what will I wear tonight?" But normally we're just like, all together. I have an all female team, so it's really warm energy getting ready . I'm always DJ-ing, playing music for everyone. Maybe we're having a glass of champagne, and it's like a conversation, you know, I really respect what they both do (Celia Burton and Simone Beyene), respectively, and my hairstylist, Sophie,  I'm like, 'what do you guys think would be good with this?' We work together. I just think it's all about collaborating. And I like to play with fashion and makeup. It's supposed to be fun, you know.

You also have impeccable taste outside styling, with music. I see your Spotify playlist, Sweet Things that you post on your Instagram. How do you go about creating and choosing these artists for that playlist?

Honestly, I'm always listening to music. Like, aside from making it, I'm just like obsessed with it, and I kind of use Spotify like I would imagine some people use Tiktok – I'm not really a Tiktok person, but I'll just sit on Spotify all night and just like, look for stuff, like virtual crate digging. I'm a big fan of YouTube. Like, there's loads of cool stuff on YouTube that you can find, just random old soul records. I like a lot of old stuff. I'm quite bad for that. it's just, it's just a hobby of mine. Really, I just love music. 

I would love to talk about your latest song, Touching Toes. It's such a delicate love song about letting someone into your space and recognising the moment when you know it's love. Why did you choose Touching Toes to mark the end of this chapter?

Honestly, I got a good guitar given to me by my manager after Messy was finished and out, and I've been writing a lot on the guitar, and I wrote Time and Touching Toes  on it, but especially Touching Toes, I really held onto it for a moment, because it felt quite vulnerable. And I was a bit like," I don't know, maybe I don't need to share this one". Maybe this is just a sweet song for me, but I think it just felt like a good, a good closer to this couple years of music. And I like how close up it is. I really like how intimate it feels. It just felt like a sweet way to end this bit of music and be close with people that like listening”.

I want to finish with an interesting interview from Singapore Vogue. Last year, they spoke with an artist who was putting womanhood front and centre of what she does. Also, Dean was approaching Neo-Soul “with confidence, joy and relentless creativity”. Someone who is always so open and honest in interviews, I love reading what she had to say:

“As a passionate feminist, Dean knows exactly what I’m alluding to. She brings up Alva Gotby’s They Call It Love: The Politics of Emotional Life, a book she has been reading recently. “It talks about how women often do so much work to create a good vibe and constantly show compassion to make people feel better. It is labour, it is tiring and it is unrecognised.”

She continues breathlessly, like she’s been waiting for our conversation to take this turn: “Women are amazing and we don’t get enough credit. The main motivation behind my music is to lift women up.”

It comes as no surprise that Dean feels so strongly about womanhood, given the lineage of strong women who have raised her. Her maternal grandmother, who moved to the UK from Guyana as part of the Windrush generation, was a key figure in Dean’s childhood.

“We’ve always been close and share a very special bond,” Dean says affectionately. “We used to share a bedroom when I was younger. She’d pick me up from school while my parents were working. At night, we’d be side by side in our two single beds. We’d talk for ages and do her Bible words.”

It was her grandmother to whom Dean dedicated Messy, her critically acclaimed, Mercury Prize-nominated debut album. ‘Carmen’, the 12th track and my favourite from the album, starts with the sound of the matriarch’s voice. “You found a door and held it open… You transplanted a family tree/And a part of it grew into me,” Dean sings tenderly, paying tribute to her grandmother’s sacrifice in moving to a foreign land to start a new life for her family.

I tell Dean that my first listen of ‘Carmen’ brought me to tears, reminding me of my own grandmother whom I now lived far away from. She visibly glows at that, confessing that the song had been a highlight of her career to date. “At the age of 18, my grandmother made the massive decision to disrupt the course of her life. She did it not just for herself but for her children and her children’s children. I think people like that should be celebrated, you know?”

Dean can hardly think back to a time when music wasn’t the love of her life. “Even as a child, I remember being fascinated by this other language we had created, which transcends language and culture, but is so emotional and communicative. I wanted to figure out what it was about a song that made people cry or last 50 years.”

She grew up in a household immersed in music thanks to her father’s massive record collection and her parents’ shared love for a wide range of genres. “Music was always around and I could see the way that it made my parents feel. I remember being in my auntie’s kitchen and seeing her and my mum with a glass of wine, jamming to Jill Scott.”

Her mother, whom Dean talks about with great love and reverence, has been another strong influence in her life. When Dean first expressed a desire to make music her career, her mother—in signature immigrant-parent fashion—agreed to support her, but only if she was willing to dedicate herself fully to the pursuit.

PHOTO CREDIT: Petros

“My mum has always believed that if you truly want something, you have to put in the work to get there. She would take me to singing lessons and really set me up to be the intentional person I am today.” Dean had known that she wanted to attend the prestigious The BRIT School long before she got in and credits her upbringing for the fire she has in her today.

“You want to make your family proud and you want to show them that the time they invested in you was worth it. So yeah, it’s something deep in my belly. I just cannot stop. I’m relentless,” she laughs.

Having completed her first headline tour in Europe and the UK with no sign of slowing down, she gushes about the joy of performing. “I’m very much someone who writes music to get it out on the road. I love the atmosphere we have cultivated of singing together with the audience. It’s probably my favourite part of the job.”

Dean’s charisma onstage is enhanced, at least in part, by her fantastic sense of style and costuming. A Chanel ambassador, the singer is no stranger to dressing up and exuding power through her wardrobe. Was this always the case?

“Let me tell you, growing up, I had absolutely no swag—none!” she laughs. “I was wearing what everybody was wearing. But music changed that for me. Fashion is now so interlinked with my artistry. I love putting on a fabulous dress and a little heel when I go on stage. It’s been important for me to lean into more glamorous styling because I want people to feel glamorous when they come to the show. Does that make sense?”

Of course it does, I say. After all, as a woman, doesn’t seeing another woman truly feeling herself fill you up with confidence in turn? “That’s exactly it,” Dean exclaims brightly. “I just want the girls in the audience to feel good, you know?”.

I will wrap up now. Anyone who is new to her music needs to follow her now. I am going to watch with interest where Olivia Dean goes. 2023’s Messy was a fabulous debut from someone adding her own take and flavour to Neo-Soul. A wonderful live performer, I would expect her to be headlining major festivals around the world very soon. Even though she is starting out her career, Olivia Dean is going to be around…

FOR a very long time.

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Follow Olivia Dean

Official:

https://www.oliviadeano.com/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@oliviadeano_

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/oliviadeano/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/00x1fYSGhdqScXBRpSj3DW?si=yMrbY-1KTGGaFqFL8g8ZFA

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYKlku5Zg5FnAc3bgY7kQnA

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/oliviadeanmusic/

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Paul McCartney at Eighty-Three

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: MJ Kim

Paul McCartney at Eighty-Three

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ON 18th June…

the greatest musician who has ever lived turns eighty-three. As part of The Beatles, Paul McCartney has written some of the most enduring and important songs ever. His work with Wings, Linda McCarney and as a solo artist is part of music’s greatest catalogue. I am marking his upcoming birthday by collecting his best songs and deep cuts from 1983 to today – as he is soon eighty-three. Rather than bring in some biography that charts his whole career – that will take a while to read! -, I want to highlight his earliest days. A bit about his family and the household he was born into. The Paul McCartney Project provide some useful background of this genius musician:

“James Paul McCartney was born on 18 June 1942 in Walton Hospital, Liverpool, England, where his mother, Mary Patricia (née Mohin; 1909–1956), had qualified to practise as a nurse. His father, James (“Jim”) McCartney (1902–1976), was absent from his son’s birth due to his work as a volunteer firefighter during World War II. Paul has one younger brother, Michael (born 7 January 1944). Though the children were baptised in their mother’s Catholic faith, their father was a former Protestant turned agnostic, and religion was not emphasised in the household.

McCartney attended Stockton Wood Road Primary School in Speke from 1947 until 1949, when he transferred to Joseph Williams Junior School in Belle Vale because of overcrowding at Stockton. In 1953, with only three others out of ninety examinees, he passed the 11-Plus exam, meaning he could attend the Liverpool Institute, a grammar school rather than a secondary modern school. In 1954, he met schoolmate George Harrison on the bus from his suburban home in Speke. The two quickly became friends; McCartney later admitted: “I tended to talk down to him because he was a year younger.”

“The type of people that I came from, I never saw better! In the whole of the world! I mean, the Presidents, the Prime Minister, I never met anyone half as nice as some of the people I know from Liverpool who are nothing, who do nothing. They’re not important or famous. But they are smart, like my dad was smart. I mean, people who can just cut through problems like a hot knife through butter. The kind of people you need in life. Salt of the earth.”

McCartney’s mother Mary was a midwife and the family’s primary wage earner; her earnings enabled them to move into 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, where they lived until 1964. She rode a bicycle to her patients; McCartney described an early memory of her leaving at “about three in the morning [the] streets … thick with snow”. On 31 October 1956, when McCartney was fourteen, his mother died of an embolism. McCartney’s loss later became a point of connection with John Lennon, whose mother, Julia, had died when he was seventeen.

McCartney’s father was a trumpet player and pianist, who had led Jim Mac’s Jazz Band in the 1920s. He kept an upright piano in the front room, encouraged his sons to be musical and advised Paul to take piano lessons, but Paul preferred to learn by ear. He gave Paul a nickel-plated trumpet for his fourteenth birthday, but when rock and roll became popular on Radio Luxembourg, McCartney traded it for a £15 Framus Zenith (model 17) acoustic guitar, since he wanted to be able to sing while playing. He found it difficult to play guitar right-handed, but after noticing a poster advertising a Slim Whitman concert and realising that Whitman played left-handed, he reversed the order of the strings. McCartney wrote his first song, “I Lost My Little Girl“, on the Zenith, and composed another early tune that would become “When I’m Sixty-Four” on the piano. American rhythm and blues influenced him, and Little Richard was his schoolboy idol; “Long Tall Sally” was the first song McCartney performed in public, at a Butlins holiday camp talent competition”.

Ahead of 18th June and the eighty-third birthday of Paul McCartney, I wanted to put together a special mixtape. Songs from his career that take us from 1983 to now. The best of the past four decades or so. I wonder whether we will get another album from McCartney. He is still touring but, in terms of his solo output, was 2020’s McCartney III his final studio album? Someone so prolific, I am sure that we will hear something from him soon – let’s hope so! Listen to that distinct and peerless music and it is clear that Paul McCartney, as a songwriter, is the greatest…

WHO has ever lived.