SIMON McBRIDE 14TH MARCH – 13TH MAY 2011 CONTENTS: • Tour Editorial • Album Reviews
Momentum PR 39 – 41 North Rd, London, N7 9DP – tel: 020-77000 275
THE SCOTTISH SUN – MAY 6TH 2011
With Shelley Marsden
WED 4 THUR 5
LECTURE
DANCE
IRISH ACHIEVERS IN BRITISH HISTORY
THREADS PURCELL ROOM,
SOUTHBANK CENTRE, LONDON, 7:45PM
IRISH CULTURAL CENTRE, LONDON, 7.30PM
T
he Irish Achievers in British History Lectures Series will take place every Wednesday evening, profiling eminent Irish achievers in British politics, literature and the arts. Its subjects, in date order for each week, are John Wheatley MP (this evening), then Sir John Lavery, Elizabeth Bowen & George Bernard Shaw. John Wheatley MP, “Red Clydeside” Labour MP and Minister of Housing in the first Labour Government in 1924, is credited with introducing social housing into British politics as well as bringing the Scottish Catholic vote over to the Labour Party. Wheatley was mistrusted by Ramsay MacDonald and never held office in subsequent Labour administrations. Lecturer Steve Schifferes. Professor of financial journalism at City University and formerly producer at London Weekend Television, BBC journalist and has worked at Shelter, the National Campaign for the Homeless. Free entry.For more visit http://irishculturalcentre.co.uk.
K
eira Dance return to the environs of the Southbank Centre with the new dance piece Threads, a fresh and distinctive fusion of contemporary and Irish dance styles which includes live traditional music and song. Choreographed by Keira Martin, it explores various ideas on the subject of migration, including the fierce emotions experienced when longing for home. With session musicians and three dancers Keira Dance present an atmospheric, lively evening that, much like an Irish cèilidh, has your foot tapping and your heart leaping from the first beat of the drum. Keira Martin is a West Midlandsbased dancer, choreographer, teacher, mentor and musician. She began her dance adventure by ring-leading her friends into dancing in the streets with her for free tickets and camping at folk festivals. Visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk. Tickets £13, also see the company’s website www.keiradance.com.
SIMON MCBRIDE
F
ormer Young Guitarist of The Year and now fully-fledged blues-rock virtuoso, Irishman Simon McBride came off playing to thousands of people each night when he opened for Joe Satriani on his recent UK tour - now he will embark on a new tour playing more modestly-sized venues. His latest album, Since Then, released earlier this year and rereleased at the start of his May tour, has wowed critics, prompting Classic Rock magazine to say “At last Irishmen in pubs will stop going on about Rory Gallagher!” Simon started playing the guitar when he was ten. By age 15 and entirely self-taught he was good enough to enter Guitarist Magazine’s Young Guitarist of The Year, a performance competition staged at Wembley Conference Centre, which he won against strong competition.
40GUIDE
07 MAY 2011
FRI 6
SAT 7
MEDIUM
COMEDY
BLOOMSBURY THEATRE, LONDON, 7.30PM
READING, 19:30
DEREK ACORAH
T
op spirit medium Derek Acorah, described as ‘The model of the modern medium’(if you believe in such things!), Derek, brings his True Vision show to London for one night only. With hours of spirit contact, one-to-one readings, numerous TV appearances and twenty years of live stage shows, Derek Acorah is probably the most time-honoured and respected spirit medium in the UK today. His friendly and sincere delivery, down-to-earth charm and obvious dedication to his work has endeared Derek to thousands, including those who regularly join him in the audience at his live stage shows. Derek’s readings have brought comfort and understanding to many thousands and with Sam, his Spirit Guide, beside him Derek Acorah’s ongoing live events and True Vision tour will continue to bring help to many more. He said, “I’m delighted to be back on the road … Tickets £21.50. Call 020 7388 8822 or see www.thebloomsbury.com.
DON’T MISS
DYLAN MORAN HEXAGON THEATRE,
I
rish comedic legend Dylan Moran, 39, is also a writer, actor and filmmaker – are there no ends to this shaggy-haired man’s talents?! He is arguably most famous for his sardonic observational comedy, the utterly brilliant television sitcom Black Books. Moran also appeared as one of the two lead characters in the home-grown black comedy "A Film with Me in It" in 2008. He is a regular performer at national and international comedy festivals and in 2007 was voted the 17th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups (too low in our opinion) and again in the updated 2010 list as the 14th greatest stand-up comic. He has also twice won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Situation Comedy, both for Black Books. Who else would describe his own hair thus?: “It`s its own bioculture, I just leave it alone... we sleep in separate rooms.” For all tour dates see www.dylanmoran.com. To book for tonight, visit the website www.readingarts.com/thehexagon or call 0118 9606060.
A few months after his sixteenth in the UK. As birthday Simon was recruited by the well as Belfast-based pioneering metal band Satriani, he Sweet Savage, who reformed in 1994 has opened in without founding guitarist, Vivian the UK and Ireland Campbell (Dio, Def Leppard), who Simon for Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa replaced. Simon toured with the band and US slide maestro and Grammy and recorded two albums, Killing Time nominee Derek Trucks. 1996 and Rune 1998. Visit www.simonmcbride.net. After leaving in 1998, he joined fellow Irishman Andrew Strong, who made his name in the 1991 cult film The Commitments and went on to a successful singing career. Playing with Strong was in stark contrast to Sweet Savage. As Simon says, the change of musical style was a useful and enjoyable learning experience. He spent six years touring with Strong before leaving to pursue the idea of a solo career. In 2008 he released his debut solo album, Rich Man Falling (“BLUES ROCK PAR EXCELLENCE” CLASSIC ROCK), after which the band played a string of major festivals. Now McBride starts his ascent
! www.theirishworld.com
THE IRISH WOLRD – 7TH MAY 2011
IRISH IN BRITAIN SEMINAR SERIES
T
he Irish in Britain Seminar Series 2011 runs from 10 31 May: The recent upturn in Irish migration indicates that Britain continues to be one of the primary destinations of Irish migrants into the 21st Century. The series covers a broad range of research in the field and aims to put current trends into their wider historical and political context. Seminars are: 10 May, Dr. Jennifer Redmond, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
The Irish World
NOTTINGHAM EVENING POST – APRIL 29TH 2011
EXPOSED MAGAZINE SHEFFIELD – MAY ISSUE 2011
URBAN LIFE MAGAZINE MANCHESTER – 24TH APRIL 2011
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www.thestar.co.uk
The Star, Friday, May 6, 2011
HEAR&NOW 02 Academy: SimonMcBride. Picture:Jordan McLachlan
Bishopsupafter Sungoesdown THEY might not be able to promise you grass skirts any more but The Brothers Unconnected will deliver the music of legendary US experimental band Sun City Girls when they roll up to The Riverside on Thursday. Alan and Richard Bishop founded SCG in 1981 with Charles Gocher joining as percussionist a year later. SCG went on to become what many regarded as America’s most innovative and influential underground group. When Gocher lost his battle with cancer four years ago the Bishops immediately decided SCG would no longer exist and the following summer toured under the name The Brothers Unconnected: a tribute to SCG and Charles. Plans to visit Europe have finally come to fruition with Alan and Richard visiting Mowbray Street for an acoustic guitar set that includes several tracks written by and/or originally performed by Gocher. The night will start with a 40-minute film of his video experiments.
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Liam’s mixed upinall sorts
Simonsaysit’s timetotour
SHEFFIELD uber-rockers Def Leppard had an indirect hand in launching award-winning blues guitarist Simon McBride on to bigger things. For it was their recruiting of Vivian Campbell to replace the tragic loss of Steve Clarke that opened up a vacancy in Belfast band Sweet Savage a few months after self-taught Simon’s 16th birthday. That was in the mid-’90s then after two albums he left to work with Andrew Strong, of The Commitments film fame, for six years before finally releasing a solo album three years ago. That flagged him up to Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani, Derek Trucks and Joe Bonamassa, for whom he has since opened. Simon’s second album Since Then has him headline touring with Sheffield’s O2 Academy in his sat nav on Wednesday. Blues-soul player JJ Grey & Mofro opens on the back of his Georgia Warhorse album.
KEEPUP-TO-DATE
YOU don’t often get something for nothing these days. So when energised studio whizz Liam O’Shea, pictured above, decided to follow-up his album matching Sheffield bands with innovative remixers and give the results away gratis, he had a bit of convincing to do. (Re)Mixed In Sheffield Now + Again hit the internet this week, offering an alternative and adventurous snapshot of musical talent in England’s fourth city. “I was trying to build on what I did first time,” says the curly-haired muso. “I’d done the thing of getting bands together with DJs, cross pollinating, getting different people to listen to different people’s music and hopefully increase the penetration of music into different markets. “With this one I just wanted to reach more people and involve some bigger names.” Eighteen months on from the first album, the sequel
has 44 bands being remixed by 44 different DJs and producers. Among them is Arctic Monkeys drummer and occasional decks dabbler Matt Helders – apt as Liam did the mastering in the Monkeys former rehearsal rooms near Devonshire Green, previously Avalon Studios. Even with a ‘Sheffield artists only’ brief, Liam says he still had 250 to choose from. And besides quality control, he needed parameters to narrow down the choices. “There were a couple of things; concentrate on people already working and helping themselves and also pick some struggling to get some traction, so it’s not exclusively people who are already known. “That’s the point of getting bigger names involved, giving something back by attaching their name to others. Hopefully people will pick up on smaller artists who weren’t getting noticed
before.” Some ruled themselves out either through quality, apathy or simply refusing to be involved. “I had to use discretion with bands and source material. Also you ask certain bands, try to get something off them, but after a while pestering you give up. “Some are so slack and don’t even get back to you. Some want to get involved but have managers that think they don’t need to.” Then there was the likes of local Dubstep DJ turned Radio One host Toddla who was up for it immediately. “You can’t get any bigger than Arctic Monkeys as far as Sheffield is concerned. Matt handled Wet Nuns and was one of the easiest to deal with, very prompt and efficient and he’s done one of the better remixes.” Elsewhere Liam’s matchmaking involved a degree of discretion and feeling. “Sometimes I’ll pair people
up because I think they’ll be right. Then I threw a few curveballs like getting ex-Monkeys bassist Andy Nicholson to do Sarah Mac. I put two quality acts together even if they’re not suited on the face of it to see what comes of it. “And people can remix in many different ways; a faithful reproduction of the song or using a tiny bit. “This project is showcasing that aspect as well, looking at all the ways people attack this. All of it is acceptable and creative to a degree and then it comes down to a matter of taste and the real issue of why people get remixing done, which is to get their stuff heard on different dance floors.” While Liam admits some pairings were a gamble, most worked out, the cast ranging from Heaven 17, The Spires, I Monster and Cabaret Voltaire to Neil McSweeney, Playground Mafia and Alvarez Kings. As for doubters of Liam’s
motives, there were some. “The fact is it’s a free album. “If I wanted to make money I would do something very different. It took from November until today... I’ve lost money, never mind made it.” Among others championed is Lord Of Flatbush leader Steve Edwards who has never made the impact as a solo vocalist he has guesting for artists such as Basement Jaxx, Cassius and Bob Sinclar on global hit World Hold On. “In 2006 he was the biggestselling dance artist in the world on iTunes, but no-one knows who Steve is,” adds Liam. “He’s always had that problem, sung on a load of hits but no-one knows. Love Like Water (handled by Toddla T) could be where people look at Steve and start joining the dots, before his solo album comes out this year.” Visit mixedinsheffield. co.uk to download the goodies.
LISTENING POST... LISTENING... LISTENING POST... n Love Inks E.S.P. (Hell, Yes!) A TEXAN trio but frankly their frugal wares could have evolved anywhere. Opening with the dinky Wave Goodbye the lyrically and musically simple approach continues through dreamy debut single Black-
eye and the nagging gem Leather Glove. And therein lies the charm; like The XX there’s an organic feel to Love Inks which allows Sherry LeBlanc’s vocal warmth and a lone guitar to shine. It’s hard not to fall a little in love with this, even if Rock On could have been recorded in a Victorian gents.
n The Robot Heart The Robot Heart (Bleeding Heart Records) TO say that Tom Marsh had lived a full life before landing
in Brighton is an undertstatement. The music born of those experiences – deaths of friends, arrests, booze and drug abuse – could have erupted into furious angst or flowed contemplative. The latter ensued with a soulful meshing of acoustic guitars, choral layering, plaintive electronics and a hint of
Sussex sunshine to deliver hopeful, filling, unusual indie folk. Forget the title, this is a very human record.
n Pete Lawrie A Little Brighter (Island) LOOKING not unlike Sheffield’s Jon McClure, this chap is more positive than he looks. Get used to a voice that sounds like he needs a good hack, and there’s a richness as it combines with acoustic strumming and the slightly over-powering
SHEFFIELD STAR – MAY 6TH 2011
strings of opener In The End. The Liverpool-born Welshman’s gruffness remind of Chris Rea or Ray Lamontagne as tunes sway between the mercilessly poppy All That We Keep, the Bluntballadry of Half As Good and the troubadour-natured How Could I Complain without quite hitting the ‘complete’ button.
WOLVERHAMPTON CHRONICLE – MAY 6TH 2011
BIRMINGHAM GIGS – MAY 6TH 2011
NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE – MAY 6TH 2011
SELBY TIMES – FRIDAY 13TH MAY 2011
IRISH WORLD ONLINE – 26TH APRIL 2011
SCORPIO PROMOTIONS ONLINE – APRIL 2011
SCORPIO PROMOTIONS – MAY 2011
THE LIST SCOTLAND – 28TH APRIL – MAY 26TH 2011
THE LIST ONLINE – APRIL 2011
THIS IS BRISTOL ONLINE – APRIL 2011
HUDDERSFIELD DAILY EXAMINER – 20TH MAY
MUSIC KATY B On A Mission (Sony) JOINING the new generation of musicmakers alongside Jessie J and Tinie Tempah, 21 year-old Kathleen Brien kicks off her debut album with Power On Me and remains on a high-energy roll until finalé Hard To Get. With touches of house, dubstep, drum ‘n’ bass, rave, UK garage and R&B, Katy, who writes all her own songs, refuses to be pinned down. Singles Katy On A Mission and Lights On (featuring Ms Dynamite) stand out, but there’s enough to suggest household name status beckons. JD
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SIMON McBRIDE Since Then (Nugene) I WAS lucky enough to share a Jamesons with the late, great Rory Gallagher in his heyday. Since his death in 1995 no blues-rock guitarist has come close – until now. Simon McBride, who plays the Robin 2 at Bilston on May 10, is a revelation, whether he’s racing through Gallagher-style rock and roll like Take My Hand or playing the blues on Down To The Wire and Sweet Angel. Elsewhere, Save Me will appeal to the Bad Company crowd and Devils Road adds odd, and unnecessary, electronics. PC
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PANIC AT THE DISCO Vices & Virtues (Decaydance) PANIC At The Disco survivors Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith have turned back the clock. After the overblown pomp of Pretty.Odd this is a return to the excitement of the band’s breath of fresh air debut A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. The Ballad Of Mona Lisa is simply irresistible with its busy beat and guitar crunch; Let’s Kill Tonight sounds like it’s set in a Transylvanian nightclub, Memories is the purest pop and Hurricane is 1980s incarnate with more than a metallic twang of Duran Duran. PC
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Jolene is little miss naughty
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HE wears bargain shop panties and drinks moonshine until she’s ill. Little Miss Higgins, you see, doesn’t do demure. She’s a goodtime gal who was raised in a Kansas town named, oh so aptly, Independence. And if you thought that Imelda May had added sassy sex appeal to the 50s, then prepare to be blown away by some naughty nostalgia. Jolene Higgins, to give this little miss her full name, struts and serenades her way, guitar in hand, lips fiery red, onto any stage. Then the pocket-sized powerhouse serves up a heady mix of old-time country blues sprinkled with jazz, a hint of folk and a dash of roots rock. Set somewhere at the crossroads between the 1940s and 50s, she’s backed by a horn section, guitar, mandolin, banjo, upright bass, muckbucket bass, and chunky percussion. It’s old school but somehow thoroughly modern at the same time. Jolene, who these days lives in Canada, started out young: “When I was four my dad bought this old piano at a local bar,” she recalls. “It was a mini grand piano. He brought it home and told me it was mine. I carved my name in the side and started taking piano lessons.” Her stage name started out as a lover’s term of endearment but one day she put it on a poster and it stuck. Little Miss Higgins was born. Her influences, she says, are wideranging. “As a songwriter, I’ve been influenced by everyone from Memphis Minnie, Billie Holiday and Big
LITTLE MISS HIGGINS
ALBUM
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KATY PERRY
Monday April 4, LG Arena, Birmingham, 0844 338 8000 KATY doesn’t do things by halves, so the Birmingham stop-off on her world tour promises to be spectacular. All the hits and more will be dressed up in the current album’s Cotton Candy theme and, she says, “I hope that it’s going to engage all of your senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch”. She’s shifted 10 million singles since she kissed a girl, and liked it.
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JEKYLL & HYDE
Mon April 4 to Sat April 9, Birmingham Hippodrome, 0844 338 5000 MARTI Pellow, hugely successful solo artist and frontman of Wet Wet Wet, makes a return to the UK stage in a new tour of the hit Broadway musical. It’s not unfamiliar ground for Pellow, who has already starred in the West End, on Broadway and on national tour in stage musicals Chicago and The Witches of Eastwick.
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Bill Broonzy to Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton and Bob Dylan.” Her new album Across The Plains, out tomorrow, is a delight, and will be followed by a gig at the Manhattan Live Lounge At Nuvo in Birmingham’s Brindleyplace on April 19. Bargain Shop Panties is a jump-jive singalong; Beautiful Sun is a breezy opener straight out of Preservation Hall; The Tornado Song is something T Rex might have recorded had Bolan been about during Prohibition. Glad Your Whiskey Fits Inside My Purse is lo-fi fun; Snowin’ Today: A Lament For Louis Riel adds French lyrics to the true tale of a Canadian resistance fighter. Best is Hope You Don’t Feel Blue, which seeks to right historical untruths and social injustice within the framework of a dramatic blues. Don’t be misled by the name. This little miss is a big hit. PC
ACCLAIMED singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson’s new album Bella combines some lean rock and pop with lush, beautifully arranged ballads. The album was recorded in Thompson’s adopted hometown of New York City and features accompaniment from his excellent touring band, comprising Ethan Eubanks on drums, Jeff Hill on bass and Daniel Mintseris on guitar. As well as being candid, Teddy Thompson’s lyrics are articulate. Don’t
Tonight, 02 Academy, Birmingham, 0844 477 2000 THE hardest working rock and roll band this side of E Street, the Jim Jones Revue hits town. If you like your gigs hot and sweaty, then head down to the Academy for an explosion of old school rock and soul delivered with more energy than a Japanese nuclear reactor.
Wednesday April 6, Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, 0870 320 7000 CELEBRATING 25 years since his first hit (The Housemartins’ Happy Hour), Heaton is back on tour with a new single, The Old Radio, out tomorrow. He’ll be backed by his band – Jonny Lexus (guitar), Jonny Wright (bass) and Pete Marshall (drums) – to serve up solo songs and a few Housemartin hallmarks.
ACROSS THE PLAINS
you just hate it when you can’t make out what a singer is on about! In Looking For A Girl, he lists all the qualities he likes in a woman: “I’m looking for a girl who drinks and smokes, who takes a lot of work but can take a joke. I’m looking for a girl who’s good in bed, but knows when it’s time to knock it on the head.” Other great tracks include the selfeffacing The Girl I Can’t Have, the tortured Over And Over, the Phil Spectorlike Take Me Back Again and the Roy Orbisonesque Tell Me What You Want. The best new album of 2011 so far!
JIM JONES REVUE
PAUL HEATON
OF THE WEEK
TEDDY THOMPSON Bella (Verve Forecast)
7 TO SEE
ALBERT LEE
Wednesday April 6, Robin 2, Bilston, 01902 401211 ONE of the world’s finest guitarists, Albert Lee needs no introduction to country and rock fans – and his band, Hogan’s Heroes, boasts some of the best-known and most respected musicians in Britain. Originally formed by steel guitarist Gerry Hogan to play at his annual festival in 1987 (hence the name) they’re not to be missed in such intimate surrounds.
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PETER KAY
YOUR MEMORIES...
Thursday April 7 to Monday April 11, National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, 0844 338 8000 HE stole everone’s thunder during Comic Relief again, but this is Peter Kay doing what he does best: gentle observational comedy that’s strictly old school but right on the mark. There are few of his gags that fail to ring a bell simply because he has such a keen eye for eccentricity and downright daftness.
) B B KING Making Love Is Good For You (T Bird) The follow-up to Riding With The King – a Clapton collaboration – this album is on CD for the first time. Best tracks include versions of Barbara George’s I Know, Willie Dixon’s Don’t Go No Further, Buddy Woodrow Johnson’s gorgeous Since I Fell For You and the Tony Joe White title track.
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M Read my blog at www.sunday mercury.net and tune to Bev Bevan and Jimmy Franks on WM from 10pm to midnight every Tuesday.
BEVAN’S HEAVEN
ANDY PARSONS
Friday April 8, Wolverhampton Civic Hall, 0870 320 7000 IF you like your comedy more barbed, then here’s an increasingly rare chance to catch Mock The Week star Andy Parsons in full stand-up splendour. Parsons once found some underpants in a jar of mayonnaise. He may talk about it. Or he may not. This is his third tour round the country, and it may be his last. There’s only so much of the UK a man needs to see.
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BEV BEVAN
SUNDAY MERCURY – APRIL 3RD 2011