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AW11
Alex Witham talks about the new fashion season
Sergio Aguero
The new hero at Manchester City
MATTHEW HENSHAW The Changing Man
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A note from the editor...
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ashley Allen MUSIC EDITOR Haydn Allen GRAPHIC DESIGN Matthew King, Haydn Allen Contributors Alex Witham © Just Like Media 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Just Like Media’s office is 50 Richmond Avenue, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 8QY. All information contained in this magazine is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Just Like Media cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Just Like Media to publish your submission in whole or in part in this edition of the magazine. Any material you submit is also sent at your own risk, and although every care is taken, Just Like Media shall not be liable for loss or damage. Suited Magazine: 50p where sold 2 | Suited www.suitedmag.com @suitedmag
Welcome to the first issue of Suited magazine. I’m kind of bias towards this issue being my favourite, because it is the launch issue, but at the same time, I have a feeling of anticipation towards it. Will people like it, will people dislike it, you know the feeling. Anyway, let’s talk about the magazine - rather than my nerves - and what we have got in store for our readers. The first issue’s cover star is Matthew Henshaw, a UK singer/songwriter that’s been compared to some big names of late, including Plan B and Mike Skinner. After the tragic death of Amy Winehouse, we read so many articles about her passing away, we wanted to do something a bit different, so we decided on a piece dedicated to other musicians who sadly lost their lives at 27 years-old. Then we have recruited a fashion columnist, Alex Witham, who will be sharing his advice and opinion on current trend in every issue, this time round he talks about the AutumnWinter season. We’ve also added in some geeky tech stuff, like gadgets and apps for the iPhone (we don’t want to hear the word Android mentioned) and some good old football talk now that the new football season is upon us. The last six or seven weeks have been crazy, we’ve been making new contacts, writing, researching, designing, writing a bit more, drinking too much coffee and energy drinks, getting up early, going to bed late, (now take a breather) and this is what we have came up with. But it has been 100% worth it, and now it’s time to start all over again and begin planning for the bumper Christmas issue. Where this year has gone, only god knows! First up thought, we have Leeds Festival to tackle, I haven’t been since ‘05, instead i’ve been going to V Festival, but this year it’s time for a change of scenery. A muddy field, plenty of music and an over-the-top amount of beer, perfect. Right, from all three of us at Suited, we really would like to thank you all for your support, let us know what you think about the magazine, what you’d like to see, what you don’t like. We want to hear it all. Ashley Allen Editor-in-Chief @ashleyallenuk
INSIDE OUR FIRST ISSUE 3. MAILBOX The best letters, emails and tweets we’ve had sent to us since we launched (not many). 7. FACTS IN NUMBERS People across the world are joing Social Networking sites every minute, and we have some interesting faces about them. 8-9. iPHONE APPS AND GADGETS Apple is now bigger than ever, so we thought we’d share some of the best apps and gadgets that are available for the iPhone. 10. THE FIVE MAIN GOOGLE+ FEATURES WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN ELSEWHERE All the hype surrounding the recent launch of Google+, but we don’t know why because we’ve seen the main features already, on other social networks. 11. RIM ANNOUNCES FIVE NEW SMARTPHONES In a bid to stay relevant, RIM plans to debut five BlackBerry phones this year. 13. FASHION COLUMNIST, ALEX WITHAM Suited’s fashion columnist and expert talks about the must-have pieces for Autumn-Winter 2011.
14. AW11 STYLE GUIDE The perfect pieces for AutumnWinter 2011. 16. COVER: CHANGING FACES, MATTHEW HENSHAW Matthew Henshaw has taken a new direction for his forthcoming record, and this time it’s influenced by drinking tea, and lots of it. 18. #NOWPLAYING The tracks we just cannot get enough of right now. 20. THE 27 CLUB: MUSICIANS THAT DIED FAR TOO EARLY Music idols who died tragically, at the age of 27. 22. SAY HELLO TO THE NEW HERO OF MANCHESTER CITY The new mercurial talent in Manchester, with different characteristics than his international team mate, Carlos Tevez. 23. THE PRODUCTIVE MIDFIELDER, CHARLIE ADAM Charlie Adam’s may not be as good as Xabi Alonso, but he can fill the gap left at Liverpool when Alonso departed, according to our very own Ashley Allen, anyway.
@suitedmag www.suitedmag.com September 2011 | 3
MAIL BOX
We’ve collected the best letters, emails and tweets - we only launched a month ago, so there isn’t many - and squeezed them into this page. Next issues Letter of the Month, will win this sweet looking O’Clock silicon watch worth £30. Send all your letters to: Editor, Suited Magazine, 50 Richmond Avenue, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 8QY, email: news@suitedmag.com or tweet us @suitedmag.
Letter of the Month
> Carlos Tevez didn’t end up moving away from Manchester City, I think he is a mardy, money-grabbing, chubby, ugly git, anyway so i’m glad he didn’t leave. I can’t wait to see him crying on the bench every week. Can you? Ian Fisher > Firstly Ian, congratulations on winning the Letter of the Month. When we read this out at Suited HQ, it actually had us all laughing out very loudly. Secondly, he is a moneygrabber, whinger, we agree but we wouldn’t put your bets on him sitting on the bench too much this season, even with the arrival of Sergio Aguero.
> Hey Suited! The first issue of the magazine is free, will it always be free? Cheers Orry Stevens Hello there Orry! You are correct the first issue of Suited is free and every other issue of Suited that follows will be free, too. We want to make it our for our readers to access our magazine, so we put it out digitally for free!
> I found your site on Twitter and started following you, you claim to be a ‘lifestyle magazine’, so why do you post more music than anything else? Aaron Aldred Good question Aaron. As the site grows, we will try to level the content 4 | Suited www.suitedmag.com @suitedmag
out. However, music and tech are our main focus, so there will always be more content in those categories than any other.
> Are there plans for an iPhone or iPad app? @nay_interiors > At the moment there are no plans for an iPhone or iPad app. We are concentrating on developing the site, then the magazine and it’s optimised for mobile browsing, but that’s it for now. In the future though, well all we can say is watch this space!
> Aren’t these letters supposed to be about you and stuff? Well, I want to know who you think will win the Premiership this season? @rivertobias > Has to be Man United, man! Young, Jones and De Gea are great additions to the squad, but Manchester City, we be up there. Liverpool have a lot to prove after spending over £100m, so they should be up there, too. Forget Chelsea’s aging team and Arsenal’s youngsters.
> Why is your magazine only 24 pages, couldn’t you think of anything else to write about? Marc Stevenson > Harsh, but we will take it on the chin. The team behind Suited is only 3 strong, we are a very young bunch and have never done anything like this before. It’s all about progression, Marc, the first issue is the start of - what we hope - big things to come. And for piece of mind, the December issue will have more.
> Your web site is damn cool, the black and red go together like a fat kid and cake. Adam Chadwick > We’re glad to here you like the design. We wanted it to be easy on the eye and that’s why we went for the black, red and white. Surprisingly, we didn’t think about the fat kid and cake combo, though. LOL
> Competitions, competitions, I want to see more of them. Mainly because I enter them all the time and never win, hopefully you will let me win. Please. Josh Hill > We’re glad to here you like the design. We wanted it to be easy on the eye and that’s why we went for the black, red and white. Surprisingly, we didn’t think about the fat kid and cake combo, though. LOL
> Quick question, where did the name Suited come from? Paul Bunting > Erm, it was just a random shout out. We sat thinking brainstorming names - basically shouting names that came to our head - one Sunday, and Suited came out of, one of our mouths and we stuck with it.
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FACTS IN NUMBERS
This issues ‘Facts in Numbers’ are focused on Social Media. More and more people across the world are joing Social Networking sites every minute. Oh, and increasing popular reason for married couples to divorce. Whoops.
The number of average friends Facebook users have.
The number of divorces that are blamed on social networking sites.
The percentage of male and female users on LinkedIn.
The number of searches on Google, every day.
140,000,000
1/5
The minutes of the average daily use of mobile apps. The number of tweets sent from Twitter on a daily Basis
25,000,000
The number of users on Google’s new product, Google+.
81 130
1,000,000,000
6 | Suited www.suitedmag.com @suitedmag
KEEP CLAER Dear Bungling council, Please can you educate your workers to spell ‘clear’ correctly? they seem to have misspelled it on this huge ‘keep clear’ road marking in Kingswinford, West Midlands. Kind regards Suited magazine Oh, one last dig, Irene Willis, 76, who lives nearby, said: “I can’t believe they could be so stupid - a child could spell that.”
@suitedmag www.suitedmag.com September 2011 | 7
iPHONE GADGETS IRIG MIC AND VOCALIVE
The combination of the iRig mic and VocaLive provides a powerful set of software and hardware tools to any recorders toolbox, whether you are recording the next big musical track or recording a business podcast from your home office. At 12.39, the price of the VocaLive is a little steep for an iPhone app, but considering its capabilities, power and flexibility, it’s great value for money. The iRic mic, at £35, brings a solid sounding microphone to the iOS world.
CLINGO UNIVERSAL PODIUM
The Clingo Universal Podium has been in the Suited HQ for a few weeks now. Made especially for the iPhone using its own unique self adhesive technology, the podium comes with a ball and socket system so you can rotate the holder to view your iPhone in virtually any position possible. A sturdy little podium, that comes with a mere £19.99 price tag.
BEATS BY DR DRE BEATBOX SOUND DOCK
Dr. Dre’s Beats range hosts some of the best sound sytems aroud including headphones, sound docks, and more recently speakers in laptops. You want an iPhone/iPod stereo system that delivers huge sound; able to fill big rooms; have a cool design and style about it; big bass; convenient carrying handle, then the Beatbox Sound Dock is right up your path.
8 | Suited www.suitedmag.com @suitedmag
iPHONE APPS PHOTOSYNTH
Created for taking panoramic photographs, Microsoft has unleashed a beast in Photosynth. The app automatically shoots and pulls photographs together as you filter out your background. It’s one of the simplest of apps to use, too. Simply hold up your iPhone - or iPod Touch - and begin moving around, Photosynth will then take photos as you move and pulls them together, on, erm, a blink of an eye, it is really that quick. Don’t worry if you get strange looks from passers by for waving your iPhone around in the sky and down at the floor, you look cool in your own little way, honest. And besides, it’s the results of the photo you should only be concerned about. Photosynth does a fantastic job of pulling together your photos, and if you spot any areas that you want to improve, you can manaully re-take pieces of the panorama until you are happy. Now that is pretty awesome, right? Once you have uploaded your photos to www.photsynth.net, you can then embed your photos into blogs, send links to friends and Facebook directly. All for free, as well.
FIRST TOUCH SOCCER
The new football season is now upon us, and what better than a new iOS football game to make the start of the season even more fun. Choose between current Premiership and Championship teams, play a one-off match, a tournament, or even a season. Play is controlled by an analogue stick and three buttons, for attack and defense. Double tapping the right side of the screen makes your players do Ronaldo-esque special tricks. Then there is the option of uploading your best goals to YouTube (our favourite feature), and online multiplayer. Can we stop for breath now? No, not you FIFA, you need to hit the development studio because First Touch Soccer is after your crown and for £0.69 only, too.
MODERN COMBAT 2
Ok, this game may cost more than £4.00 and for an iPhone app (also works on iPod Touch and iPad), it may seem a bit excessive, but the gameplay is worth every single penny. 12 missons deep, Black Pegasus requires you to fight your way through thousands of enemies in jungles, deserts and even offices. Controled by an analogue stick and a right tap to shoot - the shooting is made easier with aim assistance, although this can be turned off if you are a total and utter game geek. Gameloft has also nailed the best online multiplayer experience on iOS with five maps and four different modes to choose from. Without a doubt, this is the Call of Duty for iOS. @suitedmag www.suitedmag.com September 2011 | 9
THE FIVE MAIN GOOGLE+ FEATURES THAT WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN ELSEWHERE FEATURE 01: CIRCLES The most talked-about and hyped up Google+ feature is Circles, a simple tool that allows you to manage the people you follow and want to share updates with, a bit similar to Twitter lists, except Twitter limits the amount of people you can add in each circle, Google doesn’t. With BELO W G O OG LE SPA RK S
A B OVE GOOGLE+ MAIN STREAM
Circles, you can send status updates to select groups, rather than shouting it out to everyone, just like you can do on Facebook, with Groups. FEATURE 02: HANGOUTS Another key feature on Google+ is Hangouts. This allows you to video chat with up to 10 people at the same time for free. Facebook recently joined forces with Skype to bring video chat to Facebook users, however, it only supports one-on-one video chat. Mark Zuckerberg has hinted that more features are in the pipeline, but right now Google+ is winning the video chat race. FEATURE 03: MOBILE Google has released the Google+ apps for its Android OS, as well as iOS, and both offer much to users on the go. Funnily enough, it looks similar to Facebook’s mobile app. What Google+ has that Facebook and Twitter apps don’t is a mobile group chat feature called Huddles. This allows you to chat with your friends at once.
10 | Suited www.suitedmag.com @suitedmag
FEATURE 04: DATA DOWNLOADS Google’s new Takeout service lets you download your personal data and updates from Google’s servers. So if you leave Google+ today, for example, you could easily download your status updates and...well, do nothing with them after. Facebook offers a service like this, but it is hidden away with a barely noticeable link, now a days. FEATURE 5: SPARKS Sparks, the feature that you can utilise to find content like articles, videos and images related to any topic you can think of. A share button is cleverly placed at the bottom at the bottom to make it easy to share in your circles. Facebook and Twitter make already have services in place to make it easy to find and share content. Facebook use Share, Recommend and Like buttons, Twitter use a Retweet button. So Google Sparks is nothing we haven’t seen before.
RIM ANNOUNCES FIVE NEW SMARTPHONES In a bid to stay relevant, Canadian smartphone maker RIM plans to debut five BlackBerry phones - two Bold models and three Torch devices, all running Blackberry OS 7 - in what it calls its “largest global launch ever”.
The forthcoming BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 will become RIM’s thinnest smartphones yet, with tiny 10.5mm frames. Both models feature physical keyboards to complement their touchscreens and NFC ( near field communication) chips for contact-free connections and payment. The 9900 comes with tri-band frequencies, allowing it to connect to more types of network, that is the only difference between it and the 9930, presumably the 9930 will be the lower market smartphone. Then there’s the BlackBerry Torch 9810 - the so called ‘successor’ to the 9800. This phone sports a 3.2 inch touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard. It packs a 1.2-GHz processor under the case and, in America, 4G internet on AT&T’s HSPA+ network. The final two Torch devices are the 9850 and 9860 BlackBerrys, the touchscreen-only designs. Both have the largest displays on a BlackBerry, 3.7”, like the 9810 it packs a 1.2GHz processors, and supports a 5 megapixel cameras - nothign to shout about. The 9860 is tri-band and the 9850 isn’t. All five phones will run on RIM’s new BlackBerry OS 7. The feature-bumped operating system offers a new WebKit browser, better HTML5 performance, and more pre-loaded apps, but the killer feature (and one we really like the sounds of, even though we are Apple fans) is the support for NFC chips, making mobile payments even easier. The phones will be available around the world later in August 2011. @suitedmag www.suitedmag.com September 2011 | 11
SUB SCRI BE
Suited magazine is free and will be free forever. So you don’t actually need to subscribe and it’s digital, which makes it even easier to access. The only thing we want you to subscribe to is our newsletter. suitedmag.com/subscribe.
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COLUMNIST
Suited’s fashion columnist and expert, Alex Witham, talks about the must-have pieces for AutumnWinter 2011. Are you ready for it? As I work for Topman, I get a first hand look of what the next season holds for the leading high street gentleman’s retailer. At the recent press day, these images were released to give us a sneak peak of what the Christmas stock will look like. Whenever you walk into any high street shop at present, the first thing that strikes you is the amount of colours used in these seasons garments. Bright red skinny chinos replace the black skinny jean as the new wardrobe essential. Over autumn/winter we’ll see chinos continue to overpower denim, the lightweight casual trouser, once a thing worn by geeks in the 1980’s, are dominating the high street. Key colours over the next few months will be brick Red, Purple and once again, mustard. My pick from the high street are the lightweight red skinny chinos (over the page) from Topman priced at £28 – an absolute bargain and a must for every gentleman’s wardrobe this season. Wear with high tops and an oversize tee to create the perfect silhouette. River Island also stocks a similar style in a range of colours for £30. With the success of Kate Moss’s collaborations with Topshop, many celebritiesare getting involved in high street fashion. My pick of these would be the collection contributed by DJ, Deadmau5. These are sold in River Island for £20. Deadmau5 is also to soon launch a range of footwear in collaboration with ‘Puma’. River Island is making a comeback
this season, after a couple of months trading in the shadows of H&M, Zara & Topman. There two current trends, ‘Sports Deluxe’ and ‘Urban Town’ have both proved very popular on the high street. My favourite of the trends – ‘Urban Town’ – consists of chinos, worn with high-tops, stripes and layered with a denim shirt. Flat caps and a worn leather satchel complete the urban look – with a twist. Over the page you will see chunky knits and bold prints, layered with a blazer and worn with rust coloured chinos. Also drop crotch trousers are set to hit stores again around October/November. Every year we see the return of ‘Christmas’ jumpers – with reindeer and snowflake prints, these can be expected to be in stores as early as September. Topman has also recently brought in lots of Corduroy, so expect to see these dominating stores from September onwards in mustards, reds and greens. With regards to accessories, swap your beanie for a flat cap. This new vintage look is key this season, and flat caps will be all over the high street so it shouldn’t be hard to find one that you like. Flog your old satchel on EBay and invest in a worn leather briefcase. Forget about ‘The Inbetweeners’ banter, a briefcase is the ultimate gentlemen’s accessory, adding a touch of class to a ‘dress down Friday’ look. For more fashion advice and opinion from Alex, follow him @AlexWithamPR on Twitter.
@suitedmag www.suitedmag.com September 2011 | 13
Satchel with Retro Styling Stockist: ASOS £30 Luke Connor Preppy Blazer Stockist: Xile Clothing £120
Navajo Hoodie Jumper Stockist: River Island £32 14 | Suited www.suitedmag.com @suitedmag
Jansport backpack Stockist: ASOS £20
Deadmau5 t-shirt Stockist: Chemical Records £18
Nike Vandal Hi Trainers Stockist: JD Sports £65
Rust Cotton Skinny Chinos Stockist: Topman £28 @suitedmag www.suitedmag.com September 2011 | 15
WORDS: ASHLEY ALLEN PHOTOS: JACQUELINE BEDNALL PHOTOGRAPY
I remember watching Matthew and his former band, Censored, play the Leeds Festival unsigned tent back in 2005, six years on and the buzz around the 23 year-old is bigger than ever. It’s been a over a year since you played LoveBox. How did it feel to be playing at the same festival as the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Mark Ronson and Roxy Music? It doesn’t feel like a year at all. Time seems to be really flying, I must be enjoying myself, and I suppose really I am. Time is flying, you’re right! Who else have you been playing with since you hit the Big Smoke? After Lovebox I did a thing with Jessie J just before she went all massive, nice girl, and her dad is very proud of her, nice chap. And a little bit with Shy FX. I’ve been busy as working at being a student in the mean time so I’ve been pretty strapped for time where the music is concerned but I’ve done more than enough good stuff. Looking forward to seeing where it might take me, it feels more like an adventure than it ever has done because I haven’t really got any clear goals, just rolling with the punches. I played a show late last month with Sincere, Roxxxann, The Thirst and Sinead Hartnett in Camden ... so now I’m having a few weeks off to brush up some tunes and then go into David Gray’s studio in North London and see what happens. You haven’t been that busy then! When can we expect to hear these new tunes? Living life keeps me busy enough. I do the music thing as much as I can, not half as much as I’d like, it’ll be nice to have a month in the studio though to work on something with real proper focus. Not sure when you’ll be able to hear the fruits of my labour, soon enough, but nothing is fixed yet. You’ll probably get teased to death by snippets, but it will be different again from anything I’ve ever done before, I like to keep myself on my toes musically. Definitely some real personal stuff in there too. Different to anything you’ve done before...are you going to make some ‘phat’ drum & bass for your fans? No, that wouldn’t be a million miles away from some of the remixy and dubstep stuff from this past year. I’m going a bit softer, no rappers, blaring guitars or phat drums to shout over. I think people will really like it though, I feel like I’ve always done stuff that’s listenable whatever genre mix you decide to put it in. I’m gonna be recording at David Gray’s studio in North London with a producer who’s just finished Frank Turner’s album so that might
give you a bit of a clue as to how it might turn out, but I’ve been listening to a lot of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby along with my old soul and Ian Brown records. It sounds like the next record will have a more relaxed vibe to it. So when i’ve had a bad day in the office and I want to drown my sorrows in cups of tea and biscuits, will it cheer me up? Definitely. That’s a great image. It has been written very much under the influence of tea. One of the songs was actually written straight after I watched a film called An Education, really great British film with Carey Mulligan, there’s a scene where she’s crying and her dad brings her a cup of tea and some custard cream biscuits and it had me bawling my eyes out, I’m not ashamed to admit it. Toy Story 3 had me as well. But, yeah, definitely something to listen to the morning after the night before or a long shift at work, and hopefully people will be able to take something positive from the lyrics. So you won’t mind if I save your new record under my ‘Miserable mood’ playlist on the iPod? Ha! If that translates as “I’m in a miserable mood so I need a little something to cheer me up” then I won’t mind, no. I’d be happy enough if it’s on your iPod regardless of what playlist it’s on. Take what you will from it. It will be on there, don’t worry. Talking of playlists, is there any other artists you think we should look out for at the moment? Who’s doing big things, right now? There’s a young man from Clifton in Notts called Jake Bugg who is writing songs wise beyond his years, and he’s a cracking little acoustic guitar player. Worth a look. A young man from Nottingham, i’ll keep an eye out for him then. Much respect to you for coming into Suited, Matt, keep safe. @suitedmag www.suitedmag.com September 2011 | 17
#NOWPLAYING
The tracks that have been blasting out Suited’s speakers in recent weeks. Words: Haydn Allen
TRACK OF THE MOMENT KAYNE WEST & JAY-Z Otis Kayne West and Jay-z announced their plans for a collaborative album - which will be named Watch the Throne - and finally the wait is over to hear the first single. Otis is a soulful tune, and features the rap duo go in verse-for-verse on each other, old school style. The track sample Otis Redding’s 1966 tune, Try a Little Tenderness, over an explosive beat produced by Mr West, himself. “It sounds so soulful, don’t chu agree?” questions Jigga before he continues; “I invented swag, poppin’ bottles, puttin’ supermodels in a cab,” he gloats. “Proof / I guess I got my swagger back/ Truth / New watch alert / Hublots / All the big-face Rollies / I got two of those.” Then Kayne comes back with; “Damn, Yeezy and Hov where the hell y’all been? / N—-s talking real reckless / Stuntmen / I adopted these n—-s / Phillip Drummond and them / Now about to make them tuck their whole summer in/ They say I’m crazy / Well I’m about to go dumb again.” “I got 5 passports I’m never going to jail.” says Jigga, and Kayne claims; “I made ‘Jesus Walks’ I’m never going to hell.” and it’s those types of lines that have made the superstar duo untouchable in the rap world. In summary, Otis is a triumphant debut for one of the most highly anticipated albums of all time.
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PROFESSOR GREEN At Your Inconvenience The Hackney rapper chooses to go in on several big named football stars on his new track, including the likes of John Terry and Wayne Bridge, but the most damning line is delivered to Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney “Obnoxious preposterous loony a damn nutter/if I ever see Rooney anywhere near my grandmother ah!”. We salute you Professor Green, for that line alone. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds The Death of You and Me Noel Gallagher begins his new solo project with the release of The Death of You and Me. Noel begins with classic rhyming couplets such as, “High tide summer in the city/ Kids are lookin’ pretty/ But isn’t it a pity that the sunshine is followed by thunder/ The thoughts of going under, and is it any wonder?” This song would sound out of place in his former band, Oasis, and from listening to the track many of times, it’s clear Noel is keen to stamp his own mark on his new material.
VISIT SUITEDMAG.COM/ MUSIC TO LISTEN TO ALL THE MUSIC LISTED IN OUR MAGAZINE
BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH Atlas Hands (Mike Skinner Remix) The 21-year-old labeled by many as the new James Blunt, which is total and utter rubbish, he’s nothing like the miserable Blunt, apart from the fact he is a singersongwriter. For his latest track, he’s pulled in the help of Mike Skinner – formerly of the Streets and now, well apparently retired. When we heard Skinner had remixed the track, we thought we would hear his clever lyrics over this acoustic beat, instead Skinner opts for dreamy female vocals and a more aggressive sounding beat with added synths. DELPHIC This Momentary (Skreamix) Skream has turned This Momentary in to what can only be described as 7 minutes and 14 seconds of pure dubstep epicalility. KASABIAN Days are Forgotten “Have you had enough; are you feeling rough?” says Tom Meighan in Days are Fogotten. Amplified vocals, spoken words and huge riffs, Days Are Forgotten see’s the Leicester band at their stadium-sounding best. Kasabian’s very own Serge wrote and produced the track, too.
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THE 27 CLUB: MUSICIANS THAT DIED FAR TOO EARLY The recent death of Amy Winehouse has placed the 27 year-old in a group of music idols who also died tragically, at the age of 27. Words: Haydn Allen
JANIS JOPLIN 1943-1970
KURT COBAIN 1967-1994
The American singer-songwriter formed grunge band Nirvana, with Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1985. Cobain was the brains behind Smells Like Teen Spirit, which was never meant to have the success which it went to have, and still has to this day. Cobain was ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as the 12th greatest guitarist and 45th greatest singer of all time, and by MTV as 7th in the “22 Greatest Voices in Music.” During the Aberdeen-born star’s latter years of his life, he struggled with heroin addiction, chronic stomach pain and depression, as well as his fame and public image. Come 1994, Cobain’s body was found with a shotgun lying on his chest, the coroner ruling he had died from a gun wound to his head and concluded the death to be a suicide. 20 | Suited www.suitedmag.com @suitedmag
JIMI HENDRIX 1942-1970
Regarded by many as the greatest electric guitarists in musical history. Hendrix, always known for his defining dress sense, recorded his first studio track March 1964, when the Isley Brothers, with Hendrix as a member of the band, recorded the two-part single “Testify.” Hendrix was found dead on September 18. According to surgeon John Bannister, the doctor who initially attended to him, Hendrix had choked on his own vomit, although, former Animals “roadie,” James “Tappy” Wright, published a book in May 2009 claiming Hendrix’s manager, Mike Jeffery, admitted to him that he had Hendrix killed because the rock star wanted to end his management contract.
Whilst at the top of her career, the singer was known as the Queen of Rock n’ Roll, and the Queen of Psychedelic Soul. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time back in 2004, and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Joplin’s body was discovered by her road manager John Cooke at the Landmark Motor Hotel in Los Angeles in October 1970, her death was coupled with the fact that Jimi Hendrix, another musical idol, had died sixteen days earlier in September. Joplin had a heavy addiction to heroin and it was the drug that eventually killed her, according to the official coroner’s report. Cooke has always stood by that fact that Joplin died from a dose of heroin stronger than the normal, as several of her dealer’s other customers apparently, “also overdosed that week.”
AMY WINEHOUSE 1983-2011
The latest member to join the famous 27 club. Winehouse’s debut album, Frank, released in 2003, but it was her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, that led the jazz-singer to the success her undoubted talent deserved. She went on to recieve six Grammy Award nominations, and Winehouse became the first British female to win five Grammys, these including three of the “Big Four”: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year, in one night, too. The singer was found dead in her North London home on Saturday July 23 2011. The cause of death is still not clear, many claim a drug overdose, many claim no drugs were found on the premises. Amy’s family, believe it was from alcohol withdrawals. What ever the cause of death, 2011 was the year we lost a real musical talent, and it’s clear her celebrity friends thought exactly the same. Her best friend, Kelly Osborne turned to Twitter, saying “I can’t even breath right now i’m crying so hard i just lost 1 of my best friends. i love you forever Amy and will never forget you. Other big names to tweet their respects included Russell Brand, Ashton Kutcha, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Kate Moss, Jessica Alba, and many more.
BRIAN JONES 1942-1969
One of the founding members of English rock n’ roll band, The Rolling Stones. He is better known for his guitar and harmonica playing in the band, Jones initially started out as the business manager for the Stones. Although, when Andrew Loog Oldham was appointed as manager - he produced every Rolling Stones record from 1963 to 1967 - Jones quickly became renowned as much for his musical contribution as his legal troubles, estrangement from his band mates, drug abuse and mood swings. In June 1969, the other members of the band decided that they needed a reliable lead guitarist for their upcoming tour in the United States, the 27-year-old was then replaced in the band by Mick Taylor. Less than a month later, July 1969, Jones was discovered dead in the bottom of his swimming pool at Cotchford Farm. Anna Wohlin, his girlfriend at the time, insisting he still had a pulse when he was found in the pool, however, by the time the doctors arrived, it was too late. He was later pronounced dead and the coroner’s report stated “death by misadventure”, and claimed his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse.
JIM MORRISON 1943-1971
Morrison’s long-term girlfriend, Pamela Courson, had encouraged him to develop his poetry, and this is what he became known for, improvising poems whilst on stage. To date, Morrison still remains one of the most popular and influential singer-songwriters in rock history and was ranked number 47 on Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” He was the stereotypical rock star: menacing, sexy, shameless, and often mysterious. Morrison was found dead in a bathtub in a Paris flat on July 3, 1971. No official post-mortem examination was carried out because the doctor who attended the scene claimed there was no evidence of “foul play” and ultimately ruled that the cause of death was heart failure. Since then, the conspiracies surrounding the death of the Doors front man has been documented, friends believed he died of a drug overdose. Some believed the musical icon, who suffered from asthma, had been suffering from a respiratory condition which led to him coughing up blood and choking on it.
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SAY HELLO TO THE NEW HERO OF MANCHESTER CITY Carlos Tevez may have won over the Manchester City fans for his hard work and goal scoring antics, but City fans now have a new striker to adore, one that plays an whole diffent game to that of Tevez. Words: Haydn Allen
Comparisons with Diego Maradona began before he had even left school, and even then, a young Sergio Aguero wasn’t daunted by such expectations. Now at the world’s richest club, the talented Argentinian could well replace his International team mate Carlos Tevez, and he isn’t daunted by that prospect either, if Tevez stays which looks increasingly unlikely now - Aguero will still go on to become the ‘Darling of Manchester City’. Tevez, captain of the Eastlands club, scorer of 53 goals in 86 appearances during his two years at City, has been a pleasure to watch at times but a Mardona-type player he has not been. Real Madrid, Chelsea, Juventus, and Barcelona were amongst the clubs chasing frantically after the 23-year-old’s signature, a player who is known for producing goals out of nothing has football experts, managers and former players drawcomparisons to another with another South American, legend, Romário. Romario scored over 300 goals at professional level, won 70 caps for Brazil, was named the FIFA World Player of the Year
and won the World Cup Golden Ball in 1994, and was named as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA’s 100th anniversary celebration. The likes of Pep Guardiola and Jorge Valdano have both likened Agüero to the Brazilian legend who at times was prone to contreversay - for all the right reasons. “Agüero has something of Romário, a capacity to create in the most difficult circumstances,” Valdano says. “He has no fear.” Where as Tevez can be compared to the troublesome side of Romario, in the fact that every club that he has been at, he has caused controversy for one reason or another. “If you compare him with Tevez, I would say he is more of a proper striker, a traditional centreforward. He is very skilful, strong, two-footed and he has the number one thing that all top frontmen have, and that is an ability to make scoring look very easy,” claims Ossie Ardiles, the former Argentina World Cup winner. His talent was spotted early on when he broke a record held by - nowfather-in law - Maradona by becoming the youngest player to appear in
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Argentina’s Primera division. 15 years and 35 days was the age Aguero made his debut for Independiente. Less than three years later and Agüero was flying to Madrid to seal a deal for about €20m to Atletico Madrid. It was a big move for a Agüero - because he was moving away from Argentina at such a tender age, being compared to Maradona, and cost Atletico €20m - and life wasn’t easy at the beginning, it took until his second season and the departure of Fernando Torres for him to settle. 2007-08 season, Aguero finished La Liga’s third-highest goalscorer, and his individual performance against Barcelona, bagging two goals and two assists in a 4-2 victory, was the moment fans, managers, pundits, and so on, realised what an exciting talent this young man is. He comes with a similar low centre of gravity to his good friend and international team mate, Lio Messi; enabling him to turn defenders inside and out, and exposing tight spaces with his explosive pace. He also has the ability to embarrass defenders at ease, his close footwork allows him to use the ball
quickly and create yards of space that no other player can see. Aguero’s finest aspect, and a key aspect for any striker, his composed and clinical finishing that saw him grab 102 goals in five seasons for Atlectico Madrid. Tevez has caused upset within the Manchester City team, mainly for sulking and wanting to stay, then wanting to leave, over and over. This isn’t the case with Agüero though, he already has bought his family over, as he looks to settle in England, as quickly as possible. “The point is that Agüero wants to play in England,” Ardiles says. “Carlos was not happy with the situation in England and being away from his family. But Agüero has been in Spain for a few years now. He left Argentina when he was very young and he has been in Madrid for five seasons so he is already acclimatised to European football. This is a big difference with Carlos.” All that is left now is for Mancini to find out how best to deploy the mercurial 23 year-old, i’d like to see him playing up top with Mario Balotelli playing the link-up role behind him.
CHARLIE ADAM; THE PRODUCTIVE MIDFIELDER Suited’s Ashley Allen believes Charlie Adam’s move to Liverpool is a a great move for him, and for his new club, as he’s the type of player they have missed since the departure of Xabi Alonso.
July 2011 was the end of Liverpool’s 7 month chase for Scottish midfielder, Charlie Adam. They finally got their man for £8.5 million. Now come the questions as to whether or not Adams is good enough for Liverpool and what he will bring to the team. Regardless of this mass dispute, I firmly believe Adam will go on to become a Liverpool great. The key component of the 25 year-old’s game is his passing. He’s been playing the Xabi-Alonso role in pre-season, and getting rave reviews, despite the poor results from the team. OK, so he isn’t as good as Xabi-Alonso, but his left peg has a range of fine passing in stock. Last season, Charlie Adam made 2059 passes, and that came with a pass completion rate of 67%. Why will this be beneficial for Liverpool, easy answer Andy Carroll. That doesn’t mean the Merseyside club will become a long ball/direct team either, Adam’s ammunition will come from long-range passes, short passes, crosses and his set-pieces. I agree that Adam tried too many ‘Hollywood’ balls at Blackpool last season, but there won’t be as many at Liverpool, I can assure you. At Blackpool, Adam was the best player, the team revolved around him. Thus he was given the licence to use the ball as he liked, basically. At Liverpool, Adam will not be given as much freedom. He will be expected to play his role in Liverpool’s three man midfield. If Adam is wasteful with in possession, tries too
many ‘Hollywood’ balls, Dalglish won’t think twice about dropping him. In all respect to Blackpool, they are no Liverpool, Adam may have got away with under-par performances at Blackpool but if Adam doesn’t tuck his shirt in, dig in, and perform, another midfielder will take his place, and with Gerrard, Henderson, Meireles, Lucas, Aquilani, Spearing and co all battling for a spot in Liverpool’s midfield, they have an abundance of talent available. Adam’s attacking ability is the most-spoke about part of his game, but let’s not forget his defensive abilities. Last season Adam made 62 successful tackles, 13 more than Raul Meireles, who made the most successful tackles for Liverpool. Add this in with his leadership, determination and hunger to succeed are all traits which will be a great addition to the Liverpool squad. He was Blackpool’s ‘captain marvel’ last season, a Jack of all trades and master of many. However, his desire to win is sometimes the main flaw in the Scotsman’s game and he will need to keep this in shape, if he is to be fully appreciated by the Kop faithful. Last season Adam averaged 2.3 shots per game, compared to Luis Suarez at Liverpool, who averaged 1.7 per game. Overall, stats prove Adam is a very productive player, not a big name, or as glamourus as others, but his football does the talking and and that is why I think he will be a great signing for Liverpool. For more football talk from Suited, follow @Suited_Football on Twitter. @suitedmag www.suitedmag.com September 2011 | 23
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