Open Magazine Autumn 2012 by OPEN Magazine

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OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE

Editor: Robbie Muldoon editor@open-mag.co.uk Creative Director: Robert May rob@open-mag.co.uk Director & Sales: Michael Smith mike@open-mag.co.uk Director: Adam Duffy adam@open-mag.co.uk Sales: Michael Tremarco michael@open-mag.co.uk Website development: Stephen White prettyflystudio.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS: David Crighton, Francesca Kearns, Ashley Waugh, Kieran Owens, Victoria Melia, @Scousebirdprobs, Lauren Fitzsimons, Feargal Brennan, Ashley McCoy, Becka Corner If you are an aspiring writer with something to say and would like to contribute to Open Magazine contact info@openthecity.co.uk Photography: Mike Brits, Amy Faith, Adam Johns Special thanks to: Lucie Cave, Ellie Phillips, Joanne Aicher, Will Blackburn, Gemma Dolan, Nicola Pink, Emily Howells of Think Publicity, Justine Mills of Cricket, Tom Thurley of size?

EDITOR’S LETTER I have lived in Liverpool all 27 years of my life and I don’t think I have ever been prouder of my city than during the Hillsborough vigil at St George’s Hall in September. After 23 years, the real story of what happened, and the cover-up by the establishment – finally came to light for the whole country to see. Politicians, the police, the S*n and its vile editor Kelvin MacKenzie all lied. The Hillsborough families in contrast have acted with such dignity and determination throughout the years that they shine as a real beacon of hope in a very dark story. Now for the justice… On to this issue and autumn will see not one but two music award shows taking place in the city. First off is the MOBO Awards whichwill be held at the Echo Arena on November 3rd. We take a look at the urban music scene within Liverpool and speak to three of the best talents out there; KOF, Esco Williams and Miss Stylie. Then there is the first ever Liverpool Music Awards celebrating the best of the city’s music scene. You can see who is up for an award and also be in with a chance to attend the event in our competition. If jokes about bangers and tallywhackers are not up your street then you might want to skip the very rude Q&A session we have with Mr. Keith Lemon! We also have your fix of all the latest fashion, art & design, and our pick of the best events taking place this autumn. This issue also sees the use of the latest technology bringing pages of the magazine to life. Pages have been enriched with Layar and contain digital content that you can view using your smartphone (it’s all explained below). Now you can instantly listen to music by the artist, watch videos of the people we interviewed, or buy the products we feature. This adds another dimension to print media and goes by the name of augmented reality - but we just call it the future of magazines! Robbie Muldoon editor@open-mag.co.uk For subscription information go to openthecity.co.uk. Open is published four times a year.

Illustration: Robert May

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CELEBRATING THE CREAM OF THE CITY’S MUSIC TALENT

The first ever Liverpool Music Awards ceremony will be held on Saturday November 17th at The Dome Grand Central Hall. The showpiece event will be celebrating and rewarding the incredible musical talent and entrepreneurial achievements within Liverpool’s music industry over the last 12 months. The 10 judges who make up the Liverpool Music Awards panel have whittled the shortlist of nominees down to three

ONE TO WATCH All We Are The Guardians The Hummingbirds

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Ali Ingle Robert Vincent Esco Williams

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Kathryn Rudge Lizzie Nunnery Rebecca Ferguson

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in each of the 15 categories, including the “One To Watch” Award, which is specifically for musicians aged 16 to 21. Here’s Open’s guide to who’s up for an award… You can vote for your favourite online at liverpoolmusicawards.com. Voting is open to the public until midnight on Friday November 10th.

DJ OF THE YEAR James Rand Lee Butler Bernie Connor

LIVE MUSIC VENUE OF THE YEAR The Caledonia The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic The Kazimier

MANAGER/MANAGEMENT TEAM OF THE YEAR Bold Management Josh Mateer Charlotte Bower

PRODUCER/PRODUCTION TEAM OF THE YEAR Mike Cave Rob Whiteley Mike Crossey

RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR

BAND OF THE YEAR Man Get Out Stealing Sheep Tea Street Band

Anti-pop Viper Recordings 3Beat

RECORDING STUDIO OF THE YEAR Elevator Parr Street Studios Creative Minds Charity

LIVE MUSIC NIGHT OF THE YEAR Liverpool Acoustic Monday Club Harvest sun Presents

SINGLE OF THE YEAR Bang on “Got It” Tea Street Band “Summer Dreaming” Sound of Guns “Antarctica”

ALBUM OF THE YEAR Stealing Sheep “Into The Diamond Sun” Bill Ryder Jones “If” Ian McNabb “Little Episodes”

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Interview By: David Crighton

THE WORLD FAMOUS MUSIC DIRECTOR FROM WEST DERBY WITH A GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATED RIHANNA DVD AND SIR MACCA LIVE SHOW UNDER HIS BELT – AND STILL ONLY IN HIS TWENTIES. During his school days Paul Caslin quickly realised that there were not many avenues to get well paid work out of his art and design course. So after completing his studies at Liverpool Community College, Paul embarked on a journey which has since seen him nominated for a Grammy Award, direct an award winning live DVD for McFly (beating Madonna and Beyonce in the process) and direct a live concert for Sir Paul McCartney in front of 27 million TV viewers in the Ukraine In his words... “It’s been a bit surreal!” Open caught up with Paul to find out how it all began and what he’s got in the pipeline. How did you take the giant leap from working on local film projects to working with some of the biggest stars from the world of music? When my studies were coming to an end I wanted to put myself in a position were I’d be ahead of the curve and ahead of any other aspiring young directors. I sat down one day and compiled a list of my favourite bands and artists and sent my showreel and cover letter to their management companies. The list included Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Stereophonics, Kylie Minogue and The Sugar Babes. This was all in the days before YouTube so there was a lot of waiting around for companies to receive my showreel and respond. Once they were sent I had to just hope for the best and luckily Robbie 10

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Williams’ management got back to me and wanted to offer me a break. I think at the time they appreciated I was young, as I was only 20 at the time, but they could see I was enthusiastic and liked what I was trying to do with my showreel. So, I was invited on Robbie Williams tour of Europe filming backstage footage of him as exclusive video content for his official website. That was my first step from smaller projects to working in the industry properly. Working with big names in music must be a daunting experience, especially when you first start out. Have you found that dealing with celebrities becomes easier as you are exposed to them more often? When you’re 20 years old, which I was when I started doing the Robbie stuff, you’re hanging out with the team after the shows and you’re enjoying the experience and taking it all in - it’s all kind of strange. As I’ve gotten older and I’ve started to work with people in the public eye, such as Rhianna or Cheryl Cole, you’re initially taken aback but once you get chatting to them you realise that they’re just normal people and that you’re there with a job to do. You have to be professional so the sooner you accept what you’re doing and get on with the task in hand the easier it becomes. How did the Paul McCartney gig come about? The Paul McCartney thing came from out of the blue really! He was looking for someone to film a concert for him out in Kiev which was part of the celebrations for Ukraine Independence Day. I’d just finished filming a live DVD for Rhianna and there had been a bit of buzz about that at the time and from that I was asked to do the Paul McCartney gig. That must have been an amazing experience? Going into it I just kept thinking ‘this is Paul McCartney- one of The Beatles!’ so it doesn’t get much bigger! Then when the time came I actually got stage fright and didn’t think I was at

the point in my career were I could film a Paul McCartney show. It was the first time that I’d be directing a live show for broadcast; going out to twenty seven million people in the Ukraine and, going out on big screens to three hundred and fifty thousand people in the city’s central square. I actually spoke to his management and told them that I didn’t think I was ready to do the show! I was 24 at the time and the message got passed on to McCartney. He sent a message back to me saying, by the time he was 24 he’d had five #1 albums and if I was good enough I was old enough! That gave me the confidence to get on and do the gig and it turned out amazing. After the show he came to see me and we had a little laugh about my wobble but he was a top top guy. Out of all the people I’ve met or worked with he’s been the best, a really massive idol of mine. The buzz from the Rhianna DVD got you a Grammy nomination as well as the McCartney gig, where were you when you found out? The whole Rhianna thing was incredibly surreal from start to finish to be honest! Firstly it was a dream come true to be asked to direct her live DVD because she’s one of the biggest stars in the world and even when we’d started work on it I kept thinking ‘how the hell have we landed this job?!’. We were really pleased with the final product and everyone who OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

worked on it had given their all.

What is it you’re working on at the moment?

Then one day I was on the tube and I got a call from the office saying Rhianna had been nominated for a few Grammy’s but, before I could be told if our DVD was in one of the nominated categories my signal went! I was in a bit of a panic so I scrambled off the tube at the next stop and found myself sprinting up the steps to get a signal! I managed to call my producer back and he’d had an email from Def Jam Records saying that I’d been nominated for my directing in the ‘Best DVD’ category.

I’ve recently been working on a lot of stuff with Plan B- he’s amazing to work with because he’s one of the most creative people I’ve ever met- I’ve just done two promos for him. I’m back working on the X-Factor again this year and I’ll be working with their creative teams to do a bit of directing on

It was the first big scale DVD I’d ever done so, to be nominated for a Grammy was a superb experience! How was it going over to LA for the ceremony? It was really good and it was extra special as it was my first trip to America. Burberry gave us all amazing suits to wear for the event and we were invited to a banquet before the ceremony itself. It’s a long evening because there are so many awards and my category was near the end. As it drew close I could see another director in my category making a few notes on a scrap of paper, so I knew it wasn’t going to be our day at that point! He did end up winning the award for a documentary on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers but speaking to him afterward he was very gracious. Music directors don’t seem to get any credit from the public outside of big award ceremonies. Does that frustrate you since you have a lot of creative input but the artists take the credit? The important thing for me is that I have the respect of my peers and, that the artists I work for and their management companies are happy with what I produce. The whole industry is designed to make the artists look good and, in my opinion, that’s the way it should be because they’re the ones that have to live with the publicity every day and I think it’s only right that they get the praise.

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that later this year. I’m also working with Cheryl Cole and Girls Aloud on a few bits that’ll be out at the beginning of next year. You live down in London now but how often do you get back up to Liverpool? I come back to Liverpool every couple of months and when I’m back I like to chill out and relax. When I first moved down to live in London I arrived late on a Sunday evening and the streets were buzzing. I thought there was some kind of event on but the longer I was down there the more I realised it’s always like that, always moving at a frantic pace! So, when I’m back home I like to spend time with my family and friends, play some five-a-side (chances to play footy in London are limited!) and go out drinking around Liverpool One. Getting back helps me keep my feet on the ground and escape the hustle of London.

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business! new landlords can expect to deal with the owners when bringing their property to Golding, this type of service is appreciated with landlords and offers peace of mind that their investment is being managed in a professional manner. Q. What measures have the company taken to stay ahead of the game? A. All Golding's staff are now ARLA qualified (Association Of Residential Letting Agents), and the latest employees are training towards ARLA accreditation. I feel this is important as it proves to clients that we know what we're talking about! in an industry that is not currently regulated it is massively important for clients to know that their property is in safe hands. The inventories and check outs are all undertaken by our own in house Building Surveyor, this ensures that no stone is unturned and the quality of the reports protects the landlords interest i.e. if a tenant moves out and a proportion of the deposit has to be returned to Golding, the detailed inventory which is around seventy page document with around eighty pictures of the property ensures there is no dispute, which saves the landlord time and money. Q. What are the future plans for Golding? A. Golding's objectives over the next couple of years includes building an increased presence within the city centre market, and building on our existing managed portfolio across the city. We are considering future growth in to neighbouring cities such as Manchester, Warrington & Leeds.

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GO LDING EST2005 ATES

The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1996, are being held at the Echo Arena on Saturday November 3rd to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music. Talent from across the globe will be arriving in Liverpool to be present at the awards â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so we decided to make sure our own homegrown talent get the attention they deserve. We speak to Kof, Esco Williams, and Miss Stylie who represent an exciting and growing urban music scene in Liverpool.

Words by: Robbie Muldoon Photos by: Mike Brits

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We’re sitting at a table in the Camp and Furnace, a trendy converted warehouse within walking distance of the recording studio KOF is due to shoot some filming in later that day as part of a new three part project individually titled Love, Life, and Live. “We’ve got a Kanye West cover, a D’Angelo cover and I’ve remixed it in with some of my own stuff.” So what does KOF’s own stuff sound like? “I’d probably say alternative soul,” he suggests. “I’m saying something in my music, whether that be social things you know the bullshit we have in society or relationship things. The bullshit and shit we have with relationships with other halves and stuff, which I feel everybody can relate to.” The industry appears to have its ears tuned in to talent outside London, and KOF is definitely being heard. This year KOF was placed on 1xtras ‘Hot 20 for 2012’ list alongside the caliber of artists such as Frank Ocean and Azealia Banks – acts that KOF is a big fan of. “I’ve been making music for what? Six, seven, eight years and then to go from doing all that to then be placed in this bracket of artists - it’s great.” “It doesn’t add up.” That’s the summary of the support for urban music shown by Liverpool’s major media outlets, a claim that carries significance when it comes from the mouth of KOF, recently listed as one of BBC 1xtra’s ‘Hot 20 for 2012’. The twenty something singer-songwriter from Liverpool has been bubbling for a number of years now, racking up more playlist records on 1xtra in the past five years than any other artist in the UK, together with airplay on Radio One and music videos broadcast on MTV. So when you hear KOF claim the local media industry is not supporting music of black origin, you believe him. Could the arrival of the MOBOs to Liverpool in November help change that? KOF is dubious. “It’s a bonus though, for this city. Let me get that straight.” With a history of performers including Amy Winehouse, NeYo, and The Black Eyed Peas, the majority of MOBO Award shows have been held in London since it was established in 1996. When they first came to Liverpool in 2010, KOF was still cutting his teeth as an artist, did he see any benefit the last time they rolled into town? “Things picked up for a while in terms of some publications, I don’t wana say the Echo - fuck it - the Echo. They supported some artists for like a week, two weeks, and after that it just dried thin.” KOF was born in inner-city Liverpool but spent his teen years in East London, smack bang in the middle of the UK Black music explosion, eventually moving back to Liverpool after finishing school. It is then that KOF blossomed creatively and started making and crafting his music. He cites Michael Jackson as the biggest influence on his music, with Jackson’s dedication to quality control something KOF has adopted himself and sees him spending almost as much time editing his own music videos as he does making the music. At the moment KOF has found himself listening to a lot of Terri Walker, as well as American exports Kendrick Lamar, ASAP Rocky and Musiq Soulchild.

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As for the current urban music scene in Liverpool, KOF believes it to be “vibrant right now” after a period of “stagnation”, with a variety of new talent putting “a lot more effort” into the craft and seeing the results. Outside of music KOF together with his cousin and manager Yaw are founders of an award winning Liverpool based youth culture organisation called Urbeatz and work closely with other local good causes including the Anthony Walker Foundation set up after the racist murder of the teenager in 2005. The activities of Urbeatz include arranging days out for groups of kids from different parts of the city, taking them to the cinema or bowling with the aim of stripping away certain stereotypes they may have about kids from other parts of the city. “When they like the same type of music and they love the same artists with a passion, it seems crazy that we have these divides that are placed on us from the older generation,” states an obviously socially conscious KOF. Perhaps the local radio stations need to be taken on an Urbeatz day out? After a year of recognition and national media exposure, what does 2013 have in store for KOF? “Next year I’m bringing out my album, I’m about 80-90% done with the album”. Whether we will be hearing KOF on Juice FM or Radio City any time soon remains to be seen. KOF hopes so. “I think the local radio stations, it’s their job to support big artists of course, but also support the local artists because that’s what the local people would like to hear as well.” See for yourself

www.kofmusic.com Twitter: @KOFMUSIC

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reflection of me. I was born in the 80s grew up in the 90s, we are probably the most colourful generation in terms of crazy music, best cartoons, all the good games were coming out and that kind of stuff. We’ve been raised on Playstations and Nintendos so I’ve incorporated that in all of my music as well. So it’s a reflection of my generation and where I’m from.” Starting out in the city was tough at first for Esco. “I was on gigs with heavy metal acts, rock n’ roll acts and I’d go to crowds that necessarily wouldn’t like me.” That was when he was just 17 years old, the Liverpool urban music scene has progressed since then. “We’re going from strength to strength. I mean urban music – I don’t really like that phrase at all – just good soul and RnB music and all that kind of stuff. It’s got deep roots in Liverpool. Motown used to do all their first tours here, they used to support The Beatles.”

“This is the turning point of me going more pro.” Doors have started to open up for Toxteth born Esco Williams since winning the national MOBO Unsung competition earlier this year. Even receiving the red carpet treatment after performing at the MOBO Award nominations party to a crowd packed with the likes of Lemar, Tulisa, and Misha B as well as the industry heads capable of making an artists career. And with gigs alongside hip hop legends The RZA and Dead Prez already under his belt, when Esco says he is about to breakthrough – you better believe him. As a confident Esco puts it himself “getting local recognition is one thing. When you’re getting national recognition and they’re putting you on par with people like Wretch 32 and all that kind of stuff, your like hang on a minute, he’s in the charts and you’re saying I’m on that level?” A MOBO bestowed award will see more people take Esco Williams seriously, as his debut album title describes him, the New Challenger to the current music landscape. If gaining MOBO backed exposure has increased Esco’s profile, his music has earned him all the plaudits. It has been warmly embraced earning comparisons to the likes of Aloe Blacc, Al Green and Cee-Lo Green infused with a rock star swagger. But Esco claims to be no Liam Gallagher, his image is more ‘geek’ than ‘on the beak’. Esco is heavily influenced by what he terms “nerdy culture” and admits, “if I’m not doing anything music related I’m playing Xbox. I’ll be on Battlefield Call of Duty, Street Fighter and Super Mario. I’m all over games that’s what I do.” So just how do you describe the music of a Toxteth born 25 year old self-professed ‘soul powered nerd’ raised on a concoction of Marvin Gaye and Sonic The Hedgehog? Esco pauses for a moment… “get on this, my music is a hybrid and a melting pot of Liverpool culture, how’s that? I think it’s a

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The MOBOs have already had a positive effect for Esco, but what effect will the award show have on Liverpool? “It’s going to have a bad ass effect. Liverpool on a Saturday night is a beast anyway - you have the MOBOs on a Saturday night it’s gona’ go extra epic. What it’s going to do it’s going to celebrate a whole separate side of the culture that is a part of Liverpool and has been a part of Liverpool since its first founding days. From the date the MOBOs happens from there on after, Liverpool Black music will be more so a part of the Liverpool scene – fingers crossed.” As we sit chatting in the surroundings of Studio 2 – Parr Street Studios, home to where Coldplay recorded their first album Parachutes, I ask Esco what music he is currently tuned in to. “At the minute I’m listening to my peers. I’m listening to Coffee and Cakes for Funerals, I listen to The Hummingbirds a fair bit from Lianne La Havas and Frank Ocean. Very little Jay-Z, very little Coldplay, they fell off.” The accusation feels blasphemous as we sit beneath Coldplay album covers hung on the wall symbolically. “Coldplay they’re not even the same, they’re like U2 now - it’s stadium music. Everything is just epic. The same with Jay-Z, everything’s too polished, too clean. It’s lost its hunger, its thirst.” How thirsty is Esco? What does he consider success? “If I can buy a house from the strength of my music then I’m successful. If I can build Pleasure Island and bring that back then I’m extra successful!” For those who don’t know, Pleasure Island was a leisure theme park for kids on the edge of the city that closed in 1997... and was the go to place for birthdays. If Esco finds much inspiration in his past what’s in store for the future? After the MOBOs have packed up and left Liverpool on November 4th with a massive hangover, what’s next for Esco? “You can expect to see the Here Comes a New Challenger single out on November 10th and then world domination after that… Pleasure Island.” See for yourself

escowilliams.bandcamp.com Twitter: @EscoWilliams

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old enough to legally enter the clubs she was desperate to MC in, she would stand outside city centre scouse house haunt the Fudge for hours in the rain until they would allow her inside and on the mic. “My dream back then was to MC in the Pleasure Rooms that was my goal in life!” she says laughing. “I couldn’t see no further than the Pleasure Rooms. I worked in the Fudge for three years MCing on no pay and then other people noticed me and started offering me money to do gigs and I thought - this is good this, I like this! So I started going out to Wigan, Southport, Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port, I just started travelling and working with other big MCs - like JFMC back in the day and eventually the Pleasure Rooms. MC B, I’m good friends with him, he invited me down and I started doing a few nights there and that was the highest of my life ever!” Drawing on a wide range of influences and tossing in a few different genres means Miss Stylie likes to label her music as ‘heavy salad’. She is honest enough to admit that she is experimenting with a mix-mash of sounds as she continues to develop. “I still haven’t found myself as an artist yet, I mean I know what to do, but as me on a vocal I can go over any genre of music and that’s not even being big headed, it’s just something that I have learned and had to learn really.” “I’m knocking down barriers now.” When it comes to challenges it seems nothing phases Jade Jackson - AKA Miss Stylie. I am lucky enough to sit in on a studio session as she records her latest material, a collaboration with The Tea Street Band’s Timo Tierney who provides the guitar riff and backing vocals over an electro fuelled beat. Miss Stylie proceeds to lace the track with a slick and punchy flow packed with razor sharp lyrics. It’s almost as though she is sparring with the track from the vocal booth. The result is the scouse answer to a Rhianna and Calvin Harris collaboration. Football, basketball, boxing, DJing, rapping, singing, MCing and barbering – Miss Stylie can do them all. It could even have been Jade Jackson and Natasha Jonas in the womens boxing at this years’ Olympics. “I grew up sparring with her, we were the only sparring partners in our club. We were on the same level all the way through. I spoke to her the other week and she said it could have been you at the Olympics, it broke my heart because I thought it was either music or boxing and I’ve took that chance of giving my all to music. But I’m so proud of her.” Hailing from Toxteth, the 22 year old has seen her reputation build to the point where she is now one of the big hitters of Liverpool’s urban music scene. But how does somebody with so many talents describe what they do? “I’d say I rap, I sing, and I MC a bit. But I do it over everything, RnB, hip hop, garage, old school garage, funky house, electro… everything.” The tattoo on the side of Stylie’s neck reads ‘Have No Fear’ and it is exactly that mentality that she needed in the early days to get her voice heard. Starting out at just 16, not even

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With such ability and desire to cross genres I ask if we will be seeing Miss Stylie venture into house music territory again? “Well I’m a DJ as well. I play minimal funky house, I’m a bit of a Bedlam head, I’ll be in Garlands. I like Dave Booth he’s a god to me! So I love all my funky house and Electro, I’m big on that so I’ve started doing my own little mixes.” Miss Stylie has a clear vision of what success will look like for her. “When I’m performing to a crowd of thousands and they’re actually singing their song back to me. That’s success to me. Obviously the fame and the money if it comes is a bonus. I’d rather be playing Glasto on the main stage and everyone singing my songs back to me with a full band, a load of dancers and a hype man. That’s success to me.” As for the MOBOs coming to her home town, she is unsure of what the grass roots effect on the city will be but is happy to see it shine light on a particular local talent and friend Esco Williams. “Don’t get me wrong it is a good thing for the city and I’ll only say that because Esco is up for an award. If he weren’t then I don’t know, my views would be a bit different. But it’s fabulous. It’s going to build up a bigger reputation for Liverpool and obviously Esco. I hope he shines from it - well he is. He’s going to go far from it. So there’s only good that can come from it.” See for yourself

onesheet.com/missstylie Twitter: @MissStylie Miss Stylie’s debut EP Heavy Salad will be available from iTunes from October 31st

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All your winter wardrobe pieces to compliment a night on the town. Here’s a selection of the winter 2012 range from across Liverpool ONE. Party and shop ‘til you drop...

Photography: Mike Brits Stylist: Becka Corner Make up by: Louise Gibney Hair by: Natalie Freeman (Capello) Models: Kris Donnelly & Holly Brooke (Nemesis Model Management) Location: The Hard Day’s Night Hotel

Female Calvin Klein coverage level 1 pushup bra £39 Calvin Klein Calvin Klein hipster shorty £25 Calvin Klein Male Calvin Klein metallic chrome microfiber low rise trunks £25 Calvin Klein Christian Louboutin High Top Leopard Print Sneakers £775 Cricket

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Male Burberry cotten trench coat £750 Flannels Hugo Boss Polo scout 1 £125 Hugo Boss Hugo Boss Venturi 05 jeans £199 Hugo Boss Balenciaga High Top Contrast Panel Trainers £345 Cricket Female Becky Pink leather jacket £350 Reiss Mits chunky rib jumper £110 Reiss Aurella Skirt £139 Reiss Astra shirt £110 Reiss Grunge Spikes Converse £85 ConverseByGem

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Male Eton Diamond cotton shirt £135 Flannels Munro 2 button suit £495 Flannels Female Cedar paint batwing dress £179 Reiss Mary Pouch £69 Reiss Elodie chain £85 Reiss Black ankle Lanvin boots £ 875

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Female Calvin Klein sleep women’s robe £55 Calvin Klein Calvin Klein coverage level 1 pushup bra £39 Calvin Klein Calvin Klein hipster shorty £25 Calvin Klein Male Calvin Klein metallic chrome microfiber low rise trunks £25 Calvin Klein

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FASHION WITH FRANCESCA A FABULOUS GIRL’S NIGHT OUT Okay Ladies and Gentlemen… It’s that time of year again when ‘Team Couture’ plans to wow all you Fabulous Fashionistas with the unveiling of our Autumn Winter collection, ‘High Voltage’. I’m loving the collection so far, and hope you will too! I’ve decided to unveil the first images from the latest shoot that we have done exclusively in Open magazine to show you what’s in store... In recent years since I started the label, our annual October Fashion show, has became somewhat of a highlight on Liverpool’s social scene and I’m quite proud to say that they are talked about for months after! The strength of the collection and buzz around the shows has always meant that our fashion conscious customers would immediately rush to the shop in the days after, desperate to order their favourite pieces in time for the Christmas party season. By mid November we are inundated with orders and have to stop taking any more!! As I love to dress as many gorgeous girls in my sequins, tutus, frills and bows as possible, there is nothing worse than having to turn customers away. So this year I have had an idea... Inspired by the recent ‘Fashion’s Night Out’ events hosted by Vogue, this year ‘Team Couture’ will bring you an alternative event in the form of a fabulous ‘girl’s night out’ style pop-up boutique, in the exclusive ‘Grey Space’ in Liverpool City Centre. Excited? The fun will start on the Friday evening when Guests will literally walk into a fashion wonderland with the venue transformed into a scene inspired by my favourite artist, the photographer Tim Walker. I’m hoping that this will be a completely unique and exciting experience for all in attendance with breath taking surprises, visuals and interactive areas. But of course, I cant give too much away!! This alternative way of unveiling the new collection will allow guests to not 32

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only see the range as previously in the fashion shows: but will provide the ultimate shopping experience in a spectacular party atmosphere, sponsored by Liverpool’s own drinks brand Lambrini. You will literally be able to see the clothes, try them on, show your friends, and buy or pre-order on the night, meaning you are the first in the UK to get your hands on our amazing new collection. I can also promise that the majority of the range available at the event will be exclusive to Liverpool, and to my own boutique.. so you would be mad to miss it!! Not only will you be able to purchase our latest styles, we have teamed up with ‘Converse by Gem’ who will also be launching her new range of unique Converse customised with

“ IT’S A KNOWN FACT THAT THE GLAMOROUS AND GORGEOUS LADIES OF LIVERPOOL LOVE GOING OUT ” diamante, frills, ribbons, bows, studs and spikes and much much more! There might even be a pair of ‘collaboration cons’ which could see a combined effort from the two brands... who knows? To recreate the atmosphere of an amazing night on Liverpool’s club scene, the evening’s soundtrack will be provided by who else but Liverpool’s very own fabulous female DJ superstar, Billie Clements who is literally ‘SMASHING IT’ lately!! I’m very proud to say that Billie has been causing a stir and making herself known in the hottest clubbing destinations this summer, even doing a set at the closing of Cream in super club Amnesia, Ibiza. How good is that? So glad that Billie has agreed to be part of this before she goes Global, which I doubt will be long the way shes going!! Bringing a little bit of rock to the event in its most fabulous form will be up and coming girl band ‘The Union Dolls’, I have been following the girls for a while now

Francesca Kearns is a fashion designer from Liverpool, and owner of Miss Francesca Couture. Here she delivers her latest thoughts on the world of fashion

and just love their sound and amazing image so I’m really excited to see them performing live in the midst of all the glamour glitter on the night. In the past year so much has happened for ‘Miss Francesca Couture’, and we have developed into a brand as well as the bespoke boutique which started from humble beginnings only two years ago. Whilst I am so excited about seeing my clothes being sold in hand picked exclusive boutiques around the U.K. as well as online at ASOS, and major national department store ‘Selfridges’ (yes, you heard it here first), it is my cute little boutique, and my loyal customers that have stayed with me from the beginning, that are at the heart of my designs, and are the essence of Miss Francesca Couture! I want to transform the venue into my ‘fantasy’ boutique, and invite you all to come along and enjoy the party, have a drink and grab some goodies and giveaways! The boutique will be open to the public during shopping hours on the Saturday also to give shoppers the opportunity to visit us, browse the collection, be fitted and order from myself and our specialist team, and grab a bargain with 20% off all orders with an open card. There will even be a chance to purchase all your glamourous essentials, with makeovers and manicures, and the very best in hair extensions from Millionhaire.co.uk It’s a known fact that the glamorous and gorgeous ladies of Liverpool love going out, and may even love their fashion more, so I’ve combined the two, to create the perfect girls night out - I can’t wait! ‘Miss Francesca Couture’s FANTASY Boutique- a Fashion Night Out’ At Grey Space, West Africa House, Water Street, L2 0RG Friday 26TH October guest list only Saturday 27TH October open to public between the hours of 10am-6pm. Customers with an Open Card will be treated to an exclusive 20% discount on all purchases.

Lauri Paine models Autumn/Winter range for Miss Francesca Couture Photography by Amy Faith

THERE’S MORE TO LIFE THAN ‘LOUBI’S’ So I’m not usually one to rant, and I’m hoping this will be my first and last time so here goes... Like the majority of females in Liverpool, Merseyside and beyond I love all things fashion; clothes, shoes and accessories make up the majority of my daily activity and conversation. My appreciation for beautiful accessories means that I trawl various publications, websites and shops, admiring the new styles in footwear, and adding them to mental wish lists and imagining what they could be worn with... we all do that don’t we? Lately, to my annoyance I have found that social media sites are swamped with people posting

about their ‘Loubi’s’ (referring to Louboutin’s), bragging about their latest buys, why they wouldn’t wear anything else, and worse of all kicking up one foot whilst posing for a picture to show the famous red sole!

Louboutin! But I would like to point out that there are many amazing shoes on the market that are overlooked simply due to ignorance and the lack of a red sole... There is more to life than ‘Loubi’s’ girls, why not try on these YSL’s for size.

Please don’t get me wrong, I Love a good pair of killer Louboutin heels as much as the next person but I feel that the current obsession with ‘loub’s’ driven by celebrity and the media is cheapening the brand and making it somewhat tacky rather than exclusive. The red sole is not worn as a fashion choice or an appreciation of a beautiful design, but rather as a symbol of social status and a measure of success! I hope I am not sounding too harsh, because as I have said before I am a huge fan of the genius that is Christian

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David Price: The man and the boxer Salisbury ABC is a boxing club steeped in history and tradition. Based within walking distance of Liverpool city centre the club offers an opportunity for young men and women to do something different to the norm, gives an alternative to ‘knocking about’ on street corners and provides a breeding ground for aspiration. Open went along to the club (affectionately known as ‘The Solly’) to speak to one if its most famous alumni, British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion, David Price. Interview by: David Crighton Photos by: Mike Brits

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Walking through the doors the first thing to hit you is the atmosphere - not dissimilar to boxing gyms depicted in the movies - the place is full of young and hungry fighters. The walls are adorned with newspaper cuttings and international vests celebrating a mixture of Solly stars past and present. It is little wonder the current crop of fighters looked so focussed and determined. After observing a gruelling training session Open caught up with David to get his thoughts on boxing, Liverpool and his aspirations for the future.

How did you feel first stepping into a boxing ring? First stepping into a boxing ring was like going into the unknown, even though I’d done sparring in the gym nothing can prepare you fully for your first actual fight. The atmosphere, the sound of the crowd- even though compared to what I go through now it was nothing- at the time it was intimidating, going into a room full of people at a hotel function suite. You could still smoke in public at the time and the smell of booze and smoke in the air made it a bit of a daunting experience but nevertheless a good experience. It was nerve wracking!

Apart from coming to watch me, where you are guaranteed an explosive fight, I think people appreciate all the things Liverpool has to offer as a city. The place has always been brilliant to be around, as far as I’m concerned, but now we have great shopping, nightlife, restaurants and we’ve always had excellent architecture. The whole package is just brilliant from a tourist point of view.

What is it about Liverpool that makes it an attractive place for people to come and watch boxing?

When I’m out of training camp my local is the Sefton in West Derby Village, I like going for a drink there before heading around the corner to a good little restaurant called The Grill Room. My favourite restaurant in Liverpool though has to be The Bacchus on the Dock Road. I’ve been going there for years and the food is amazing!

Having gone through experiences like that in the early days how does that compare to fighting in your home town now? To fight in my home town is an honour and it’s something I enjoy doing. I’ve been lucky enough to have had my last four fights here in Liverpool so that’s exciting for me and it’s good to know that people are enjoying watching me because they’re coming back and they’re coming back in numbers. It’s a massive compliment to me that the people of this city, and from further afield, are coming along to support me and it excites me. Fighting in Liverpool is exciting and it’s an exciting prospect because the atmosphere is always red hot and I’m expecting that again in my next fight.

music on. That’s a really good night out. Another place I like to hang out is in the bar at the Hilton Hotel in Liverpool One, the atmosphere in there is nice and that’s a good night out too.

Liverpool has a thriving fight scene, describe your relationship with the other Liverpool fighters.

So, where are your typical places to hang out in Liverpool? I mainly hang out in the quieter areas of the city really. My gym isn’t too far from the centre so, when I’m in camp, I’ll usually head into town after training for lunch with a couple of my friends or girlfriend. There’s a nice sandwich shop near the Crown Court called Challains where we’ll often meet up. As far as nightlife is concerned I love a night out in The Green Room- Ricky Tomlinson’s place- on Duke Street. It’s a cabaret club and it’s great! You get a little table to sit there and watch the acts, have your drinks brought over to you and they have comedy and live

We’ve got a special bond which stems from our amateur days because back then we spent a lot of time together travelling abroad and fighting in international tournaments. In the pro’s its more a case of every man for himself and we don’t see as much of one another. However, we’ve got that type of relationship that means you can go six months without seeing them but when we meet up it’s like you were with them the week before. I think that shows we do have a good bond there. As boxers we’ve been through some tough times together; when you’re a fighter the build up to a fight can be a stressful time and you need good people around you to get through it. We’ve been there for one another and the boxers fighting out of this city are all good lads.

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A good mixture of Reds and Blues? Yeah, there’s a good mix of Reds and Blues! Me and all the Smith brothers are Reds and, obviously, Tony Bellew is the standout Blue! There is a great mix but there are so many lads fighting out of the city you’d be here all day going through them but, we do all like to have a laugh over the footy and give each other a bit of stick. Any desire to sit next to Tony Bellew at a derby match? Haha! I couldn’t stand sitting next to him at a derby match at Goodison or Anfield! I’ve sat next to him when Liverpool have been on telly against other opposition and we’ve been stuck away on training camps and that was just about bearable! He gets animated to say the least so, I couldn’t imagine sitting next to him in the ground at a derby. We’d probably end up rolling down the stairs scrapping with one another!

When you turn professional boxing becomes a business- if I get injured I don’t make a living. So, you do have to make more sacrifices in the pro game and some of those things are subtle. Putting in more time training to make sure you prepare properly to avoid injuries, missing nights out with your mates and spending time with the family. These are things you have to sacrifice but they’re all things you can catch up on when you retire. The bottom line is every sacrifice I makeand I absolutely work my backside off in the gym- is worth it when your hand is

That’s my dream but it’s something that has taken time to become my goal. It was never like I said at 14, ‘I wanna be heavyweight champion of the world’ , it didn’t work like that. Winning breeds confidence and as you develop as a person, and as a fighter, you get to a point where you start believing more and more in yourself. At one stage I never believed I’d be an Olympian but I was and I won a medal before turning pro. As a pro my first goal was to win a British title and now I’m at that stage you start to believe you can go all the way. What sacrifices do you have to make when reaching for your goals?

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That’s why it’s important to restrict how much you think about the fight when you’re not training and its important to switch off. When I switch off I’ll spend time playing with my kids or spending time with my girlfriend or mates talking about things other than boxing. A lot also depends on your environment too. For my last fight I was holed up in East Berlin with my trainer for a few weeks and that’s when you do start getting really moody, when you’re away from your family, friends and familiar surroundings.

What’s your ultimate goal? My ultimate goal is to become heavyweight champion of the world. You’ve got to aim high in whatever you do in life and in boxing the ultimate is to become champion of the world and it doesn’t get any bigger than being heavyweight champion. Luckily enough I’m a heavyweight and I’ve got everything going for me to be able to do it. I try not to focus on that as my overall goal and stay focussed on my short term goals and if I keep notching up the shorter term goals ultimately the big one will come in the end.

pressure and it’s big business. You could compare it to a big deal going down on Wall Street, tensions are high and people get angry and people get moody and it’s no different for me. It’s my livelihood and if I get moody because I’m a little tense or feeling a bit of pressure I’ll get a bit of a cob on and then that’s it.

You’ve got a reputation for being thoughtful, well spoken and considered in media interviews, is that a conscious decision you made when turning pro because traditionally the heavyweight division is full of brash talkers?

raised at the end of a fight. Boxing is an individual sport and you’re on your own in the ring but the upside is you get the plaudits at the end of the fight and that feeling is worth the sacrifice. How does your personality change leading up to a fight? In the build up to a fight I probably start to get a little bit moody with the people around me. In the gym I probably even get a bit moody with my trainer without even noticing it but that’s how it is and you’re not going to hear anyone complaining about it. At the end of the day this is potentially a multi-million pound operation when you start talking about world title fights. It’s a high pressure situation, not only am I fighting for my next payday but I’m trying to secure a future for my family and I’m trying to secure a nice financial situation for my team as well; it’s high

The reputation I’ve got for being thoughtful and respectful in interviews is not something I’ve set out consciously to do, it’s just the way I am as a person. I’ve come from a good family background and been brought up well, I’ve got my manners and I’ve learnt along the way to respect people. I’ve got good people around me, I’ve got the same group of mates I’ve had since school and we’re all good lads. Without blowing smoke up our own backsides, we do have intelligent conversation and we don’t just sit around talking nonsense. I think it’s just intelligence more than anything else really. They say the loudest person in the room is the weakest person in the room, so I don’t need to be loud and I just look to keep my feet on the ground.

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Interview: Robbie Muldoon Guillem Balagué is a Spanish Sky Sports football expert and a journalist with a great reputation throughout the game. You don’t get bullshit from Guillem, his insights are informed and accurate. If Guillem tips a transfer to happen, you better believe it’s going to happen! He is the man in the know regarding transfers to and from La Liga. He was first to break the transfer stories about Beckham to Madrid, Torres to Chelsea and De Gea to Manchester United. Guillem is also the author of A Season On The Brink a book about Liverpool FC and close friend Rafa Benitez. Guillem has also just completed the biography for Pep Guardiola (out in November), which has been two years in the making. Open met up with the Spanish football experto (Spanish for expert) to find out what exactly his links to Liverpool are and discuss Pep Guardiola - the man behind arguably the greatest football team the world has ever seen. 46

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What brings you to a wet and windy Liverpool in September? The original reason is I went to interview Jose Enrique, but it was never just that. I met Brendan Rodgers for a cup of tea, I’m meeting Moyes tomorrow to see them training at Everton and then just see lots of friends because I lived here for ten years and I’ve got lots of friends in town. So what do you talk about when you meet Rodgers and Moyes? That’s completely off the record! I mean with Brendan I met him in Moscow when he was the reserve coach of Chelsea, and he came over - he’s a huge fan of Spanish football and we just chatted. So it’s just a bit of catch up. You learnt to speak English at university in Liverpool. How did you end up studying in Liverpool? The reason was because there was a student in Liverpool, Alistair Jackson,

who went for the Erasmus (study aboard programme) and he was looking for a place to stay. He came over, and he was a typical scouser! He thought he was just a student and would go out late – my mom kick him out basically, after a little bit! But still we kept in touch and he said if you’re coming to England stay over with me if you want. So I said OK, I’m thinking of coming over for three months when I finish university. I did that. I stayed in his house for a year and a half. That was it, I come to learn English. His dad picked me up from the airport and him as well, I had done a year half English in Spain – I just couldn’t understand a word that was being said, it was so depressing! But I got into it very quickly, school in the mornings and then spend about 5 or 6 hours in the pub everyday and that’s where you learn about life and English.

Have you picked up any scouse slang? Yeah! I think it takes me half a day to be in Liverpool and all the accent comes back. So there is a lot of work [scouses the accent up like he’s going to spit] in my way of talking. I could be a year away from Liverpool and then once I’m here it just comes back, which I love. And with slang, yea I pick up some stuff and you don’t know your saying it, and it’s like ‘you’ve been in Liverpool’.

There’s no doubt that Rafa probably considers there is a little bit of unfinished business with Liverpool that his time at the club has not been properly explained, that many people have twisted what he did. That it will take time, and I told him this from day one when he left – it will take perhaps ten years for people to realise what you’ve done. But they will, eventually they will. And because he feels that that recognition is still not there, but that he did a great job. I’m pretty sure that he would like to do that job again. But in football you can never predict anything How close are you to Pep Guardiola, do you know him personally?

So what made you become a fan of Liverpool FC during your time here? Did you consider Everton? Ahhhh, controversial question! I’m an Espanyol fan in Spain and when I came to Liverpool I was already following Liverpool because they play in a very Spanish style, have always done possession, pass, and at that time you would only ever see the European Cup semi finals, or quarters. So the 70s or 80s you saw a lot of Liverpool and it grow into us a place of legend - the standard we recognised and because Espanyol never win anything. So I come to Liverpool and I think I should back Liverpool, at least they win things. This is ‘91 right, what’s happened? How do you describe the city of Liverpool to your friends back in Spain?

Well I’ve just done his biography for him, and that comes from conversations with him and his entourage, players and Jose Mourinho. So I don’t know, if I should call myself an expert now? I’ve written his biography but he’s the kind of guy, how can I put it – peculiar personality. Very unlike any other football person I have ever met. What are your first memories of Pep Guardiloa? Well I’m an Espanyol fan and he was the captain of Barcelona for a long while. He was part of the dream team. Straight away he buys this idea of being the symbol of the club the Catalan of the club. There’s a lot that he represented that I resented because I was an Espanyol fan and we never win and we’re in the shadow of Barcelona. But now I understand what he was doing, he was just a dream come true. He was the young kid who came into the club and embraced what Barcelona means and with Johan Cruyff took the club to a different level. So from my point of view, somebody to be admired. Then he had the balls to come back to

Barcelona and take a club that was on the way down quite clearly and as a manager take them again to a different level. The most amazing thing about Pep, even when he start his first game - they got defeated and then a draw and everything that he did even at that point was to his beliefs. He’s got his beliefs and he’s going to die with them and that is something to be admired - not just in football but in life. Did you see the potential in him to become a great manager? I don’t think nobody did. At the point where he did the first year at the B team, then everyone realised he was manager. Before that you could see that he was a leader that he was a guy that knew football, he could play football really well and he had an aura. So if you have this thing where people will listen to you and you can explain yourself well, you can do whatever you want in the world. You could see the aura, you could see that he knew about football, but he was a former player. There are not many former players that have become great managers.

So many times people have come to me saying I want to go learn English in England, where in London? And I say forget London! Everybody that come to England recommended by me - they come to Liverpool. Because it is a place - I don’t know if it’s the Catholic thing, or the community mentality that is here - the group mentality that makes you very welcoming when we come, so everybody’s loved it. How to describe it? It’s not England. It’s an Independent Republic of Merseyside. You’re good friends with Rafa Benitez, do you think he will ever return to Liverpool? OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

Guardiola or Mourinho, who do you rate the best manager and why? One of the things I say in the book is they’re very similar. Very similar in a lot of what they do. They represent themselves in a completely different way. Both of them are actors, they both represent a role quite clearly. A role that can change depending on what happens or the circumstances. Pep represents the cosmopolitan guy and Mourinho is the one that will put a bomb in what status quo establishment he finds. But they are much more than just that. The way they work with a group and put the team together to work in one direction, that leadership value they both have. The key to them is not so much the tactics, although they can do that, but it’s how they convince the players to do what they have to do. And the way they talk to them, the way they embrace them and show them love it’s exactly the same thing.

group work better together like Deco, like Ronaldinho. Guardiola comes in and says Eto, Ronaldinho and Deco - the biggest guys - I don’t want you anymore. All he thought from the beginning was just building this team to Messi.

But if you had to choose… for Real Madrid – Jose Mourinho, for Barcelona – Pep Guardiola. You cannot put them in any other way. OK, you got out of that one! Do you think we will see Guardiola return to management in the Premier League, and which club would be his best match? One of the things we talk about in the book is that he is going to become a manager abroad. He wants to be a manager abroad. Now the logic would say that when he left Barcelona as a player he was going to go to either Manchester United and he negotiated with them or Juventus and he negotiated with them or Inter. But ended up at Brescia. From Brescia he went to Roma from Roma he went to Brescia and then he went to Qatar. This is Pep Guardiola, at 32 he was in Qatar! So it’s like, there is no logic to your career. Again you cannot predict, but he is in New York to learn English - no not to learn English he speaks very good English - but to perfect his English and then he will look for his opportunity in the Premiership. But I think ,as he says, he wants to be seduced. Which club do you think could seduce Guardiola? There are two different things, which club can seduce Guardiola and which

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club will fit Guardiola. I mean, who can seduce Guardiola? Arsenal, Man City, Manchester United, Liverpool even. But who will? Manchester City will be there about, they’re always mentioning to his entourage you know, we’ll talk to you if you’re available – but Mancini is doing well. Clearly Chelsea are changing the structures of the club to become more like Barcelona - not a lot but more - and to be able to fit him quite easily if he comes. Chelsea is the ones who have tried harder and when the book comes out you will see why and what they have tried to do. How much does the success of Guardiola owe to Lionel Messi? Obviously you wouldn’t have got a team that has won 14 out of 19 titles without Messi - there is no doubt about that. We have never seen anything like that in history. But, Guardiola has made Messi better. Under Rijkaard Messi was playing on the wing, the idea was to put him central but he was surrounded by people who didn’t help to make the

Another manager would have said, ‘no Ronaldinho we have to give him another chance’ - which the chairman wanted to. So the decisions that Guardiola have made have benefited Messi. And as I say in the book Guardiola has understood better the silences of Messi. Messi’s the kind of guy that doesn’t talk - but if you don’t know him you’re like, why is he not talking to me? What have I done? And if you are Pep Guardiola you go, ‘I’ll talk to him when I have to’. So it is a mutual beneficial relationship. Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography by Guillem Balague is available to buy from all good book stores or online from November 15th

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Holdi Indian The aroma of an exquisite curry is emanating from Woolton Village

Holdi is now open and can be found at 5b Woolton Street, Woolton Village, Liverpool, L25 5NH. Tel: 0151 428 9894

By Victoria Melia

www.holdispicelounge.com

Holdi Bar, Restaurant & Lounge is a hidden gem set back from the main hub in Woolton Village. Serving a vast menu of Indian classics and more than a few unique surprises, Holdi manages to cater to all palates from the daring vindaloo to the mild mannered korma with an array of chef’s specialty dishes thrown in for the more adventurous diner. Having just opened in August, Holdi has evolved from their sister restaurant, Holdi Spice Lounge on the Wirral, into a sleek South Liverpool hangout for the city’s curry lovers. The restaurant is a little off the beaten track, blink and you’ll miss the sign; ‘Exquisitely Indian’. A keen tip is to follow your nose; the aromas emanating from the restaurant prompted a vigorous rumble of the stomach as we traversed the lane to Holdi’s secluded location. Our arrival was greeted by enthusiastic staff in a luxurious cocoon-like dining room with walls of bubbling water encased in glass. The head waiter, Jay, ushered us to our seats at a private booth and there began our Indian feast of banter, laughter and tantalisingly good food.

Our evening at Holdi was a real pleasure; great staff serving unique flavour-filled food in a beautifully tranquil setting. It’s well worth a visit, and to be sure you’ve given the extensive menu a real taste test, you’ll need to return again and again… just remember to follow your nose!

“ The food was moreish, incredibly aromatic and lacked the greasiness that is often found in many Indian dishes. ”

We started with a traditional serving of poppadoms and chutneys, a fish chat puri and a good old onion bhaji. The bhaji, funnily enough, is a snack close to my heart, having spent twelve years of my youth as a vegetarian I became more than familiar with the Indian favourite from various takeaways across Merseyside, a feat not to be scoffed at! I enjoy them bite-sized with a generous portion of sliced onion and as little grease as possible. Holdi nailed all three. Honestly, it was one of the best bhajis I’ve eaten in a long time. My partner’s fish chat too was peppered with onion and garlic teamed with the saltiness of the fish, it went down a treat. We also had a crack at an Indian Shiraz on the wine list which, to our untrained taste buds tasted like any other bottle, but was a nice novelty for the evening. Throughout the evening our meal was interjected by conversation from friendly staff, in particular our head waiter, Jay, whose humour and cheeky wit entertained us thoroughly and would be a good enough reason alone to return for another meal! We delved into the main courses of Chana Pradesh, a yoghurt-topped, sweet chickpea curry from Laos, and the rather hot Pumpkin Squash dish served in a sea of chillies and tender chicken tikka pieces. The food was moreish, incredibly aromatic and lacked the greasiness that is often found in many Indian dishes. In fact it was so good we took the leftovers home, which tasted even better the day after.

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OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE

When we heard Keith Lemon was releasing a new book this autumn we instantly thought (and hoped) it would be a collection of the strawberry blonde sex god’s lifetime of sexploits! Disappointed that this was not to be the case, Open caught up with the man himself to put the idea to him... He agreed and now we give you 50 Shades of Lemon! Warning - it’s rude!

Describe yourself in three words Fit strawberry blonde. What is your best feature? My cock. What type of woman turns Keith Lemon on? One that’s got arms and legs and all the other faculties of a lady such as tits and minge. Is there anything about a woman that turns you off? Women that aren’t actually women and have a willy. How would you describe your looks? I’d compare meself to Owen Wilson cos I look like him, apart from the fact I’ve got a ’tache and my nose is noseshaped rather than penis-shaped. You share the name of a zesty fruit, and fruit is known to be a natural aphrodisiac. Can you give any tips on how to raise a woman’s sexual desire? Rub her clit if you can find it – it’s down there somewhere. Scouse birds have a reputation for being fabulous, fit and fearsome. How would you handle a scouse bird? How would she handle me is the question and has the bird got big or small hands? Have you banged many groupies? I’ve never slept with a groupie. I’ve just poked ’em. What’s the best feature of a woman? In t’past I would’ve said t**s. But Rosie’s (Keith’s girlfriend) got none. Is Keith settling down? I’m always saying I’d smash whoever’s back door in, but I think it’s time to grow up. What do you do on a Saturday night? Watch the X Factor. That’s a sign when you’re getting old when you’re tweeting, staying young by tweeting.

What makes a’ bang tidy’ woman? Pretty face, lovely bum, brown legs like hot dogs. Not too brainy so I don’t look daft when we’re having serious banter, ‘cos I don’t know ‘owt about politics and stuff. What makes a proper man? Being a real man is knowing how to treat bang tidy birds, and knowing where your local IKEA, Homebase or B&Q is. If you had to have your own back doors smashed in and you could choose the lucky smasher, who would you pick and why? I’d never let anyone smash my backdoors in – I am the smasher! What was your first sexual experience like? I thought I were going to wee meself but little did I know it was a sexy wee. Can you describe your ultimate sexual fantasy for us? Fearne, Holly, Kelly and Rosie in a shower. What about Jessie J? She’s both, in’t she? Sucks and blows. What about Kim Kardashian? Usually she’s moaning that everyone says she’s got a fat arse and done a sex tape, which is the truth. If I were as fit as her, I’d do a sex tape every day. Will we be seeing a Keith Lemon sex tape? I keep tellin’ Holly and Fearne we should do one to promote Juice. But they won’t do it. What did you think of Tulisa’s sex tape? Most girls suck dick, but don’t film it. She was in a relationship. Horrible he sold it. What a wanker. What’s the best way to get famous? Always tell loads of lies to make yourself bigger than you actually are. And then you start believing that you’re bigger and people believe that you’re bigger.

Do you lie to your girlfriend Rosie? I’m always telling lies - it makes conversation more entertaining I fink. How would you describe your sex life with Rosie? Deep, romantic, wet, hard, floppy, long, thick, quick! Have you always had ‘tache? I had one of those bum-fluffy ones. Then it turned into man hair. Not many men can pull it off. Do the ladies love the ‘tache? They do ‘cause they like the feel of me strawberry blonde ‘tashe rubbing on their bean. How big is Holly’s bush? It’s massive. If you throw a pound coin at it, it’d bounce back and hit you in t’face. Do you make sure to please the woman? I think it’s important for her to enjoy herself because, let’s face it, we can do it instantly, in seconds. Do you work out? I’m not ripped up, but I am robust like a proper man. What is the last book you read? That Michael J Fox book. What a great man. I love Michael J Fox. Me and Rufus Hound recently went to see Back to t’ Future both dressed as Marty McFly. Tell us one thing about yourself that no one knows? I don’t have a foreskin. I’m as smooth as a dolphin’s beak. Being Keith: How I Got Here (If you don’t know how I got here) by Keith Lemon is published on 8th November by Orion Books

OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE

For advice write to editor@open-mag.co.uk or follow @scousebirdprobs

- Tattooed and horny, aged 24

Dear Scousebird Problems, I got out of a long-term relationship earlier this year — I was completely in love with my fella, but he cheated on me repeatedly, and our breakup was long and ugly. I had a couple of rebounds and got over it, but it took a while. my ex isn’t. The problem is, I don’t feel as strongly for him as I did for my ex. My ex recently contacted me, and he wants to get back together. It’s been almost a year since we broke up, and in that time, I feel like he’s grown a lot — shall I stick with the safer option or get back with my ex?

This all depends on what you want out of life. For example, have you got a fella you’re desperately trying to swerve? If so may I suggest getting a tattoo of his name? It’s a statistical certainty that youse’ll split up within the week. The only problem is you’re left with a permanent reminder of that fuckin weapon for the rest of your life. As punishment you’ll have to cover it up with something wool like a dolphin jumping through a tribal symbol. As a side note, you pointed out to me that you are horny…this concerns me. I want to be clear, scouse bird doesn’t swing that way soz girl. Maybe a better tattoo would be a full tribal sleeve? You can then couple this with a semi buzz cut and start hangin out in the Lesbon, sorry Lisbon. I think you’ll like it there.

- An Ex and a hard place, aged 23

Dear Scousebird Problems,

Girl are you high? If you’re enough of a divvy to go back to him then really you deserve all the heartache that’s comin to ya. Do us all a mazzy favour ﬁrst though and delete any and all social network accounts. No one, least of all me is gonna wanna see the on/oﬀ borderline schizophrenic nature of your upcoming relationship. “OMG I love him so much, he’s my one.” Next day “OMG I FUCKIN HATE YOU YOU BAD PIG I CAN’T BELIEVE I EVER WENT BACK TO YOU” Next day, “Cuddled up on the couch with my one watching X factor. <3 <3” Gerra grip girl, seriously. My advice is, ditch them both, go buy the highest pair of platforms St Johns market has to offer and go swing round the poles in Pink with all the queens. You’re not allowed near a straight fella til you’ve developed some self esteem. Scouse Bird orders.

I’m starting to suspect that my boyfriend might be cheating on me, he’s gone all weird on me lately and started acting like a proper arse hole. He literally jumps out of his skin if I touch his phone, he is going out every weekend for a ‘quiet one’ and lying about what time he gets in. He lives with his mum still so I don’t see what time he actually gets in.

Dear Scousebird Problems, I currently have 4 tattoos & I’m looking at getting a couple more but I’m stuck for ideas. I’m not one of these people who gets them as it’s the current thing to do, each of mine has a personal, symbolic meaning to me and as such that is the reason it has taken me 6 years to get only 4. I was just wondering if you have any suggestions as to what I should get and where I should get them?

What can I do to find out if he’s cheating? - Suspicious mind, aged 21 Oh no girl, he’s probably just planning a surprise birthday party or proposal yano. HAHAHAHA! Sorry I couldn’t keep a straight face there. Have you seen “He’s just not that into you”? Right, ok well it’s basically putting it out there that all men are the friggin same but occasionally there’s an exception to the rule and you’re kidding yourself if you think you’re lucky enough to get that exception. He may be planning a surprise party or proposal but it’s unlikely. I’d go all FBI on his sorry ass. Buy the same phone as him and accidentally swap them then run away and lock yourself in the bog. Buy a wig and follow him out at the weekend. This behaviour isn’t at all cranky, it’s legit. Nah but seriously, girls have a spidey sense aba these things an if it’s bleepin, he’s cheatin. Go and get a fella who’s at least 3 out of 10 below you an he’ll be grateful to have you. Just use one of those Primark bags for his head when you’ve gotta do the dirty. It’ll be sound.

OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

A selection of what the Liverpool Biennial has to offer this year

The winner of the John Moores Painting Prize 2012 ‘Stevie Smith and the Willow’ Artist: Sarah Pickstone Oil, enamel and acrylic on aluminium panel, 198.3 x 229 cm How do we define image? Is image a visual thought? Do all images have their source in other images, or associations with other images? ‘Stevie Smith and the Willow’ is a painting from a series of works which nod towards creative communality. It has at its heart the drawing that accompanies Stevie Smith’s 1957 poem, ‘Not Waving But Drowning’. Smith was definitely an original, whose poems (and pictures) make a confluence of the comic and the metaphysical. In the painting, the girl (artist, poet, reader, child) bathes in the water under an old weeping willow: part tree, part self, part story, part rebirth. I’ve been working for the past three years on the ways in which figures, places and ideas meet and open each other, specifically referencing writers who happened, in history, to pass through London’s Regent’s Park. The park has long been a source for my work, a place where the public and the private, the external and the psychological worlds, come together. It’s also a place of constant renewal. The painting is about this renewal, natural and aesthetic, across form, time and image. www.sarahpickstone.co.uk

Exhibition: But I’m on the Guest List Too! Artist: Elmgreen and Dragset But I’m on the Guest List Too! examines the hierarchy of values and meritocracy established by “WAG” and celebrity-culture. The artists’ oversized V.I.P. door - slightly ajar - is guarded by a bouncer. It invites the viewer in but cannot be opened fully, blurring the line between welcome and exclusion. But I’m on the Guest List Too! can be treated as a sculpture as well as a frustrating barrier to potential social advancement. 62

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE

“I’d like to teach the world to sing” Artist: Laura Keeble Enamel paint, Cola can found in London 2011 In 1971 a congregation of multicultural teenagers sang from a hilltop. Their song, a unified call for perfect harmony, equality, housing and Coca-cola. In August 2011, on the back of the uprisings in the Middle East (Arab spring) a call to arms was made by a mass congregation of culturally diverse teenagers in the U.K. Using Social Media, rioting spread across London and other cities, including Birmingham and Manchester. The can was a discovery, a treasure I found on visiting Greenwich the day after the first night of rioting. Laying in the road it was perhaps a relic of the evening’s events. I was interested in its memory, the energy it captured. How many people had walked on it? Rioters or the Riot police? The symbolic values of equality, harmony and cultural diversity crushed under foot. It left me questioning if these values are protected or suppressed? In my practise I try to create a dialectic between the work and the viewer. I am interested in creating a pause. A brief moment in time, when a double-take allows for an internal question, a need to assess or understand. I use symbolism and familiarities of the everyday to question what is dictated to us www.laurakeeble.com

Exhibition: The Lift, 2012 Artist: Oded Hirsch Hirsch’s first public realm commission, The Lift, appears as an elevator bursting through the pristine and seductive shopping district of Liverpool One. The Lift immediately interferes with how the space is usually moved through, and points disconcertingly to the possibility of an unknown, subterranean place.

Visit liverpoolbiennial.co.uk for all the information about the UK Biennial of Contemporary Art taking place across Liverpool until November 25. OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

He illustrates stuff, and we love it If you have ever been to Ibiza’s Zoo Project you probably know what it feels like to be in a drug fuelled environment with strange animal looking creatures captivating your eyes. If not, then take a look at John Biddle’s psychedelic animal illustrations…

Can you tell us a little about yourself and the ethos of your work? Hi, my name is John Biddle and I am an Illustrator. I graduated from the Liverpool School of Art and Design in June (2012) with First Class Honours (Best in Class). After working as a Freelance Illustrator for a couple of years whilst I was studying I was accepted onto the LJMU Entrepreneurship program and in between drawing am currently attempting to set up my illustration company which has a working title of This Pendant World although I am toying with changing the name to Lonely Bear after an ink drawing I drew a couple of years ago that I still like. I recently moved into a Victorian seaside cottage on the Wirral and at the moment am converting part of it into my new studio - this is taking up rather more of my time than I had hoped it would. When I set out to draw something new I usually have a very rough idea of what I would like to do but this usually evolves to be something completely unrecognizable by the time I’ve finished. I am heavily influenced by things I have read - at the moment I am really into Science Fiction - I’m currently reading ‘Childhood’s End’ by Arthur C. Clarke about seemingly altruistic visitors to earth who create a one world community, turning Earth into a Utopia which has it’s advantages and disadvantages. Who have your clients included so far? Yoox.com (via the Alberto Biagetti Design Agency (Milan); Lime Pictures; Nomad Editions (NYC-based digital 64

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publishers); The Double Negative; Open Magazine; Spiel Magazine; Bido Lito Magazine; Red Bull; Chibuku; Unilever; Liverpool Everyman Theatre; Mercy; Non Conform Design; Uniform; 4th Wall Creative; Dan Croll; Loved Ones; The Daily Post; Liverpool Echo; The Music Consortium; plus quite a number of Liverpool bands… What were your drawings like as a child? What did you enjoy drawing? I have always been interested in both drawing and writing but as it has turned out I am a lot better at the former. I’m not sure that my drawings have

“My dad was and always will be my greatest inspiration.” changed a great deal, I have my fancy pens now and graphics tablets and computers etc. but ostensibly the ethos is pretty much the same – I keep adding bits of detail until I don’t have any space left on the page then I move onto the next one. Some of the doodles I drew on my textbooks at School bear more than a passing resemblance to pieces I would now try to pass off as art… I grew up on a farm which as a child I hated (no one likes to be different at school) though now I am older I can see that it has given me an unending inter-

est in animals, almost everything I draw will have an animal in it somewhere. I love walking down my driveway of a morning to see a family of hedgehogs wandering past. When did you realise your future was to be an illustrator? I was in a band for 5 years and had a lot of fun touring about and recording. When that reached it’s natural end I was ready for some normality and so got a regular job which I stuck at for a couple of years. As much as I needed the routine, I do find myself constrained in an office environment, I would find myself getting home from work and drawing until late into the night just to get the ideas out of my head. My day job seemed less and less important and so one day I quit and went back to university. That was a great decision. The lecturers at John Moores were great and really helped me to develop my technique, a few clients naturally gravitated towards me somehow and so here I am today. Who or what has been the biggest inspiration on your work? My dad was and always will be my greatest inspiration. There aren’t many people left on this earth with as little interest in our silly material world as he had. His great loves were farming and Engines (and Ken Dodd). Literally everything else he had so little interest in, it was amazing. I think we all get so stressed about things that in the scheme of things don’t really matter; he didn’t worry about anything, he spent a long and fulfilled life doing the things

OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

Jim Stoten; Jack Teagle; Micah Lidberg; Alan E. Cober and Jon Klassen. Your work can be described as psychedelic and weird, can you tell us of one of the weirdest things to happen to you? It’s hard to think of weird things that have happened to me because I try to block things like that out of my mind wherever possible. We had some strange experiences with the band whilst living in France certainly. One thing that has always haunted me is that once when I was quite young in the middle of the night I saw a giant black dog standing in the hallway of our old farmhouse staring right at me. I know it was probably a trick of my mind – I can’t believe in anything without evidence – but the vision of those eyes has always stayed with me and I am still too terrified to stand in the hallway on my own at night in that house. Thankfully I don’t live there anymore so that’s not a problem now. 5 top things right now 1) Growing your own vegetables. 2) Newfoundland. I went to St John’s for a family wedding last month and didn’t want to leave. They have a great life over there. 3) Jack Teagle. I just love his paintings. I wish I could draw like him. 4) The Double Negative. Those guys work so hard I swear they never sleep and they champion some great new Liverpool creative talents such as: Will Daw; Nik Glover; Michael Cottage and Sean Wars to name a few. 5) Pet Hedgehogs. Short term they seem like a great idea though I’m not overly convinced on the long term benefits. What is something new you have noticed or learned recently? I have been reading about spiders recently. They first appeared on Earth 386’000’000 years ago and have remained pretty much unchanged ever since. That’s pretty amazing. Who is your all time hero and why? The problem with heroes is that we are all human and so ostensibly fairly boring. I am forever in awe of people who have the motivation to go out there and create something new. If it’s ok I’d rather not have an individual hero but rather I would consider all of the great inventors and innovators of history as my heros. Tim Berners-Lee is certainly up there. The Internet is a mixed bag

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE

but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. I don’t know what I’d do without it. What’s your vice? Judge Judy. I just love her. Do you have a recurring dream? I dream of Giant Tidal Waves and Spiders (though not at the same time). What is your biggest fear? Giant Tidal Waves and Spiders. What do you think, in general, is great about Liverpool right now? Liverpool has always been famous for

this but there is a lot of young creative talent at the moment. Studying at LJMU meant I was lucky to be in the midst of it all. Musically Liverpool is producing some brilliant artists right now too: Dan Croll, Stealing Sheep and Loved Ones are all ones to watch. What is not so great about Liverpool right now? I was walking in to a well known Liverpool store the other day and suddenly all of the alarms went off and at that same moment a well dressed gentleman legged it down a side street. Crime is not cool. Of course that’s not specific to us but Liverpool is such a great city it makes me sad that a small minority bring it’s reputation into disrepute.

“ I grew up on a farm which as a child I hated, though now I am older I can see that it has given me an unending interest in animals. ”

OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE

OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

For a superhero legal service, why would you opt for second best?

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE

At Liverpool Legal Alliance we use our super powers to locate the best possible solicitor to deal with your legal matter . We don’t claim to be faster than a speeding bullet or quicker than the speed of light, but next time you’re stuck in a web of legal problems and you don’t know who to turn to, call LLA . Visit www.liverpoollegalalliance.co.uk Email info@liverpoollegalalliance.co.uk Call 0151 291 2400 @L_L_Alliance facebook.com/LiverpoolLegalAlliance

Visit our facebook page today and vote for your favourite superhero

OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

minimising any possibility of scarring. Finally, keep any documentation, guidelines and aftercare leaflets received together with receipts, either from the treatment itself, or from creams, medications or prescriptions purchased since the incident occurred.

A: If you want to contest a speeding charge, you must return the completed Section 172 notice within 28 days. Even if you’re sure you weren’t speeding, you must still respond and provide your name as the driver.

A: There is no obligation for photographic evidence to show who was driving. The purpose of the photograph is to identify the vehicle so it would normally focus on the number plate. The Police do not have to show who was driving. All the Police need to do is prove the identity of the vehicle and that they have asked the registered keeper to identify the driver at the time of the alleged offence. That request shifts the burden onto the keeper. An offence is committed if no driver identification is given unless you are able to provide a satisfactory explanation as to why it is impossible to establish the driver’s identity.

Q: What defences are available to avoid speeding?

Q: How can they prosecute when it’s my word against the Police officers?

A: The prosecution have to prove beyond reasonable doubt each of the following elements; • The identity of the driver • That they were driving a motor vehicle • That they were driving on a public road or in a public place • That they were exceeding the speed limit at the time

A: Simply because the officer’s word is evidence. However it is still up to the prosecution to prove their case.

MOTOR OFFENCES Q: I have been fined for speeding, can I challenge a speeding ticket and how?

FAMILY LAW Q: I am an unmarried father named on my 10 year old son’s birth certificate; does this mean I am legally obliged to adhere to the rules of Parental Responsibility? A: No. A father only has Parental Responsibility if: • He is named on the birth certificate and the child’s birth was registered on or after 1st December 2003 • He was married to the mother at the time of the child’s birth or subsequently • He has a Residence Order • He has entered into a parental responsibility agreement with the mother Q:-How long does a divorce usually take? A: - 6 months

BEAUTY TREATMENTS Q: My 16 year old daughter is starting to get beauty treatments. As a concerned mother and beauty consumer, what should we be looking for when visiting a beauty salon? A: Make sure health and safety certificates are clearly displayed in the building. Ask to see certificates showing what your therapist’s qualifications are, how long they have been performing each treatment they offer and where they trained. The therapist should be suitably qualified and fully aware of the manufacturer’s instructions, whether involving the use of machinery or mixing products and chemicals. In order to do this they will have read the manual and follow all the instructions and guidelines. Q: What should I do if something goes wrong? A: Firstly, keep a written and photographic diary. Include as much information as you can about the treatment, what you asked for and what the outcome was. Our experience has shown that keeping a photo diary is the most beneficial, even therapeutic, step. Most of us have mobile phones with a camera. Take a picture of the results of the treatment daily – a picture paints a thousand words and is good evidence. Secondly, always seek medical advice, whether from your GP or local walk-in centre. You must make sure you are treating the problem in the right way and 72

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Q: If they can’t see my face on the photo, can they prove it’s me?

They have to prove each and every one of those elements of the offence and if they can’t prove one of them then the whole prosecution case fails. So if you can cast doubt on any or all of the following; • The suggestion that you were driving • The suggestion that you were in a motor vehicle • The suggestion that you were on a public road or in a public place • The suggestion that you were exceeding the speed limit Q: How do I get the evidence that I was speeding? A: There is actually no statutory requirement for them to do so and if they choose not to, it does not prevent a prosecution.

Q: There is a mistake on the notice of prosecution? Is it still valid? A: If you ignore the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) the Police will issue a Summons for failing to identify. At Court, the Magistrates will consider whether you genuinely believed that the Notice was intended for another party and if so, what action you took to return the Notice on that basis. If the Magistrates take the view that you are attempting to use a typing error as a technical defence, you will probably be convicted for failing to identify which will result in 6 penalty points. The Police inevitably use information that is supplied by the DVLA and if that information is incorrect, the Police will not be criticised for being unaware of an error. Likewise, the Police will always have the option to amend clerical errors at Court. In most circumstances, it is obvious who the Notice is for and you should therefore provide the information requested in order to avoid prosecution for a more serious offence.

Music MUSIC

SPACE Daresbury, O2 Academy, October 26, £17.50, 0844 477 2000 The platinum selling band famous for hits such as ‘Female of the Species’ and ‘Neighbourhood’ are back for a hometown show. www.echoarena.com

child. Plus we all love that Lionel Rich Tea picture doing the rounds! www.echoarena.com

Fresh aka Dan Stein brings his sound to Liverpool. www.o2academyliverpool.co.uk

LIVERPOOL MUSIC AWARDS

KOF - NOTHIN’ BUT THE MUSIC

Echo Arena, November 3, £29 to £100, 0844 8000 400 Now in its 17th year, the MOBO Awards will again showcase the finest selection of established and up-and-coming national and international MOBO Music acts on the shores of the Mersey. www.mobo.com

The Dome Grand Central Hall, November 17, £50 The inaugural Liverpool Music Awards celebrating the incredible musical talent and entrepreneurial achievements within Liverpool’s Music Industry. Hosted by Janice Long and officially supported by BBC Radio Merseyside. www.liverpoolmusicawards.com

Mello Mello, November 23, £5 Catch the Alternative Soul artist KOF, as featured in this issue of Open, with DJ Ronnie Herel from 9.00pm at the world famous Mello Mello. www.mellomello.co.uk

THE KILLERS

DJ FRESH PRESENTS FRESH/LIVE

Echo Arena, November 9, Sold Out, 0844 477 2000 The Killers are touring the UK and tickets for the Liverpool show sold out within a day. The Las Vegas group are promoting their hotly-anticipated fourth studio album, Battle Born. www.echoarena.com

O2 Academy, November 22, £15, 0844 477 2000 With two No.1 singles already under his belt and two sold out UK live tours, DJ

MOBO AWARDS

KOF + LIVE BAND Rampworx Skatepark, November 9, £2, 0151 530 1500 Catch the Alternative Soul artist KOF, as featured in this issue of Open, with full live band from 6.00pm at Rampworx Skatepark Netherton. www.rampworx.com

LIONEL RICHIE Echo Arena, November 10, £40 - £65, 0844 8000 400 He has shaped popular music culture and his music has served as the soundtrack to several generations around the world – first kiss, first wedding dance, first break up, first

ELBOW Echo Arena, November 29, £29.50, 0844 477 2000 Elbow cap another phenomenal year with a series of UK tour dates in 2012, coming to Echo Arena on 29 November. Elbow will be joined on tour by special guests Here We Go Magic! www.echoarena.com

ALANIS MORISSETTE Echo Arena, November 30, £32.50, 0844 477 2000 Since 1995 Alanis Morissette has been one of the most influential singer-songwriter-musicians in contemporary music. The multiplatinum, Grammy winning artist will be returning to the UK this November.www.echoarena.com

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE Echo Arena, December 10, £29.50, 0844 8000 400 After a summer that has seen Florence + The Machine command massive crowds at festivals around the world and celebrate their longawaited first number-one single with ‘Spectrum’ in July, they will be playing at the Echo in December. www.echoarena.com OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

COMEDY

KEVIN BRIDGES Empire Theatre, November 4, Sold Out, 0844 8713 017 Kevin Bridges returns to the road in the Autumn of 2012 with a brand new show called the The Story Continues... which follows up the huge success of his sell-out UK & Ireland tour of 2010. www.liverpoolempire.org.uk

MICHAEL MCINTYRE Echo Arena, November 22-24, £35, 0844 477 2000 Star of Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Britain’s Got Talent and winner of the 2010 British Comedy Award for Best Male TV Comic, Michael McIntyre returns to the road for his third and biggest UK arena tour to date. www.echoarena.com

CHRIS MOYLES LIVE O2 Academy, November 23, £17.50, 0844 477 2000 The former Radio 1 DJ will be touring the country with a show containing a full live band, games involving audience participation and a live question and answer session. Are you excited? www.o2academyliverpool.co.uk

this unique exhibition celebrating the artists’ love and connection to Liverpool and its people. www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

LIVERPOOL BIENNIAL ARTS & CU LTURE

LIVERPOOL LOVE Museum of Liverpool, October – November 25, Free, 0151 478 4545 Works by Yoko Ono, Sir Peter Blake, Noel Fielding and Stuart Sutcliffe star in

Various locations, Until November 25th For ten weeks every two years the city of Liverpool is host to an extraordinary range of artworks, projects and a dynamic programme of events. It is the largest international contemporary art festival in the UK. www.biennial.com

TURNER PRIZE 2012 Tate Liverpool, October – January 6, £10, 0845 604 7083 Discover the work of the four artists shortlisted for the UK’s most prestigious contemporary art award. The £25,000 Turner Prize is presented to an artist under 50, living, working or born in Britain for an outstanding exhibition in the previous 12 months. www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

WILLIAM KLEIN + DAIDO MORIYAMA Tate Liverpool, October – January 20, £12.70, 0845 604 7083 Explore modern urban life in New York and Tokyo through the work of photographs of William Klein and Daido Moriyama. www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

We endeavor to make sure listings are correct and the best available across the region at the time of entry but Open Magazine holds no responsibility for incorrect listings or cancelled events. Please check event before attending, as listings may be liable to change.

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NIGHTLIFE

CHIBUKU SHAKE SHAKE WITH ANNIE MAC The Masque, November 3, £18, 0151 706 8045 Theatre: Annie Mac, Atrak (Duck Sauce), Mele. Loft: Redight + MC Dread, Joker, Btraits, Rich Furness www.chibuku.com

GRANDMASTER FLASH LIVE Privilege, November 10, 0151 345 3745 As seen on Channel 4’s House Party earlier in the year, Grandmaster Flash tears it up with his DJ set. He’s live in club Privilege for one night only. www.privilege.com

CHIBUKU SHAKE SHAKE WITH CHASE & STATUS The Masque, December 8, £15, 0151 706 8045 Chibuku keeps on evolving, its ethos the same since day one; and like The Guardian once said: “Expect a minor riot.” www.chibuku.com

FARMAGEDDON Ormskirk, Until November 3, £16.50, 0844 736 0152 The ultimate Halloween festival. Farmageddon is a “Scream Park”, an interactive horror experience. The whole park is themed with roaming zombies and creatures of the night. The park contains three interactive horror houses; bigger, better and badder than ever... www.farmaggedon.co.uk

BODIES REVEALED Liverpool ONE, £13.75 September – January 2nd 2013 Bodies Revealed lets visitors of all ages explore deep within the human body in a way that informs. www.thelanterntheatre.co.uk

AN EVENING WITH JEFF STELLING AND THE SKY SPORTS PRESENTERS Echo Arena, November 15, £29.50, 0844 477 2000 Liverpool player Jamie Carragher and former Everton player/manager Joe

Royle will join Liverpool FC legend Phil Thompson and the rest of the Sky Sports team including Jeff Stelling, Chris Kamara, Charlie Nicholas, Paul Merson and Matt Le Tissier for this amazing event. www.echoarena.com FASHION EVENTS FASHION EVENTS

MISS FRANCESCA COUTURE’S FANTASY BOUTIQUE – A FASHION NIGHT OUT Grey Space, October 26-27, Guest list only – contact info@missfrancescacouture.co.uk Inspired by ‘Fashion’s Night Out’ events hosted by Vogue, this year ‘Team Couture’ will bring you an alternative event in the form of a fabulous ‘Girl’s Night Out’ style pop-up boutique, in the exclusive ‘Grey Space’ in Liverpool City Centre. The boutique will be open to the public during shopping hours on the Saturday also to give shoppers the opportunity to visit us, browse the collection, be fitted and order by myself and our specialist team. You can also grab a bargain with 20% off all orders with an Open Card. www.missfrancescacouture.com

OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

OPEN CARD OFFERS AUTUMN USE YOUR OPEN CARD AT THE FOLLOWING PLACES TO GET SPECIAL OFFERS.

TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE OPEN CARD VISIT WWW.OPENTHECITY.CO.UK 76

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE

OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

COMPETITION WIN AN EVENING AT THE LIVERPOOL MUSIC AWARDS FOR TWO CALLING ALL MUSIC HEADS – CELEBRATE THE BEST OF THE CITY MUSIC SCENE IN STYLE. The first ever Liverpool Music Awards celebrating the incredible musical talent and entrepreneurial achievements within Liverpool’s Music Industry is set to take place at The Dome Grand Central Hall on Saturday November 17th. The evening will feature unique performances from artists including: Lawson, Ian Prowse, Jamie Broad, Charley Blue, Cold Shoulder, Craig Colton, Susan Hedges, Mark Simpson, Esco Williams, Sense of Sound Choir, Ivy and The Chance, Katie Taylor, Stereo Electric Mistress, and Manukah. Presenters of awards will include: Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Liz McClarnon, Mike Di Scala and The Wombats. Tickets to this red carpet event are selling fast, but we have got a pair up for grabs. Open have also teamed up with the luxurious Radisson Blu Hotel to offer an overnight stay for two people with breakfast and chic Mayur Indian Restaurant will provide the lucky winners with a pre-award show meal. Enjoy the Liverpool Music Awards in style on us!

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE

WHAT YOU WIN 2 tickets to the Liverpool Music Awards on Saturday November 17th. Overnight stay with breakfast at the Radisson Blu Hotel. A pre-award show meal at Mayur Indian Restaurant

HOW TO ENTER For your chance to win this night of entertainment for two simply send an email to win@open-mag.co.uk with your name, contact number and the answer to the following question. Which one of the following was a member of The Beatles: A. Keith Lemon B. John Lennon C. Jimmy Savile To complete your entry you must sign up for your free Open Card if you haven’t already. We will reply back to your email to confirm we have received your answer and provide you with a link to sign up for the free Open Card to complete your entry. Good Luck!

OPEN MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2012

AUTUMN 2012 / OPEN MAGAZINE