As Scottish musicians led by a frontwoman who takes no prisoners, you might have assumed CHVRCHES are thick as thieves with Shirley Manson – especially now that, like the Edinburgh-born singer of Garbage, the Glasgow trio have relocated to the US. In fact they only met her not long ago at a party in Los Angeles, where they were… Read more →
Tag: 2018
JACK WHITE, The Garage – Evening Standard, 29 March 2018
Perhaps not since Prince’s guerilla gigs in 2014 have such lengthy queues formed in hope of seeing a big musician in a small room. In addition to this evening’s launch of his third solo album in the 600-capacity Garage, a last minute afternoon pub gig near London Bridge sent London Jack White crazy yesterday. Also like Prince, these days you… Read more →
MADISON BEER interview – Evening Standard, 23 March 2018
It’s obvious why Madison Beer has picked her particular life goal: “I always said that I want to sell out Madison Square Garden before I turn 21,” she tells me. If only the 19-year-old New Yorker had been christened “Islington” she could have ticked off a more manageable namesake gig this weekend, when she arrives at the north London Academy… Read more →
LILY ALLEN, The Dome – Evening Standard, 22 March 2018
It would be easy to think that Lily Allen’s job is shooting down trolls on Twitter, but she’s actually a singer-songwriter, saddling up to release her fourth album in June. She returned to a small hometown stage last night after a spell in which she’s mostly been in the news for the demise of her marriage, speaking out about the… Read more →
H.E.R. interview – Evening Standard, 16 March 2018
I’m a little worried that my interview with H.E.R. is going to have to be conducted behind a screen, like a protected witness in court, or using the voice of an actor, like Gerry Adams in the late Eighties. Actually, I’m surprised that we’re meeting at all. The Californian R&B singer wants to keep her true identity a secret,… Read more →
UK FESTIVAL GUIDE 2018 – Evening Standard, 9 March 2018
Glastonbury is having a year off in 2018. Better spend the summer on a Netflix deep dive and keep the jester hat in the loft for another 12 months right? Wrong! Did you know that a host of music festivals that aren’t called Glastonbury have been going on this whole time, and we haven’t even noticed? Here’s a selection of… Read more →
TOM MISCH, Roundhouse – Evening Standard, 9 March 2018
Despite the giant silhouettes of his face framing the Roundhouse stage, Tom Misch has managed an impressive rise while remaining remarkably anonymous. Still a month away from releasing his debut album, the south London guitarist has sold out two nights at the Roundhouse this week and played a prestigious outdoor show at Somerset House last summer. We can credit a… Read more →
PALE WAVES interview – Evening Standard, 2 March 2018
Arriving in the bar of the Oxford venue where Pale Waves are due to perform later, I walk straight past singer Heather Baron-Gracie. She’s sitting on a sofa with a glass of white wine, talking to some young folk who look like fans of the band. With her pale face, black hair and panda eyes, I assume she must be… Read more →
STEFFLON DON interview – Evening Standard, 23 Feb 2018
Stefflon Don has brought her mum to the interview. Ordinarily that would be a little unusual but fine, an excuse for a bit of cosy background chat about what the 26-year-old rapper was like as a little girl. However, in this case I’m a bit unnerved. “Diss my mother then your skin start bleed/So don’t bother mess with my… Read more →
BRIT AWARDS 2018 commentary – Evening Standard, 22 Feb 2018
It was worth watching the BRIT Awards all the way to the end – traditionally the point when the Lifetime Achievement winner is trudging into their ninth song – to see, instead, Stormzy demonstrating why he more than deserved his status as man of the night. First seen on the BRITs stage as part of Kanye West’s backing crew in… Read more →