She did it her way: Mina Harker recounts her version of events in Imitating The Dog’s Dracula: The Untold Story
IMITATING The Dog directors Andrew Quick and Pete Brooks are staging their production of Dracula: The Untold Story as a live graphic novel.
Their new high-tech hybrid play is inspired by Bram Stoker’s classic gothic horror novel but, in an interesting twist, is told from the perspective of Mina Harker: “in many ways an archetypal late-Victorian woman in the book, but a modern heroine – some might even say vigilante – on stage,” they suggest.
Running at Leeds Playhouse until October 9 at the outset of a tour to November 13, the co-production with the Playhouse combines cutting-edge digital technology with live performance.
Leeds company Imitating The Dog have made this theatre technique their own, not least in Night Of The Living Dead – Remix, their 2020 co-production with Leeds Playhouse wherein they lovingly recreated George A Romero’s cult zombie film frame-by-frame live on stage.
Graphic novels have always influenced Imitating The Dog’s work, where the pulp narratives of detective, sci-fi and horror fiction has provided rich source material for their big screen projections and live camera work.
For Dracula: The Untold Story, they also are utilising the latest face recognition technology to create live, large-scale graphic novel layouts that switch seamlessly between 2D and 3D as the pages turn and the three-strong cast explores – and updates – the classic yarn.
No longer a 19th century gothic tale, Imitating The Dog’s brash, vivid and fast-moving play is set in Sixties’ London, with pared-back dialogue and bursts of action that will “grab audiences by the throat and not let go”.
Head back to New Year’s Eve, 1965, London, England. Just before midnight, as revellers celebrate the beginning of another year, a young woman enters Marylebone Police Station and confesses to a brutal murder.
She claims to be Mina Harker, the last living survivor of the intrepid group that witnessed Count Dracula’s destruction 70 years before. But Mina Harker has not been seen since 1901. And if she was alive, she would be ninety years old.
As Mina confesses to events that are much more terrifying than in the original, she retells the events of Bram Stoker’s classic novel. She claims it is the true story. The untold story. And she must tell it now, before sunrise, before it’s too late, before…October 9, if you want to see it in Leeds.
Tickets are on sale on 0113 213 7700 or at leedsplayhouse.org.
Arm in arm: Wife-and-husband duo Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman celebrate 25+ years together in On Reflection at the National Centre for Early Music, York, on October 20
THE autumn and Christmas season of jazz, world, folk, film and classical music at the still socially distanced National Centre for Early Music, York, is under way
Saxophonist Jean Toussaint, who came to prominence with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, returned to St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, last Friday to launch the NCEM programme in the company of pianist Andrew McCormack and bass player Orlando le Fleming.
Tonight, the Black Swan Folk Club presents Devonian folk singer-songwriter John Smith, supported by Hannah Reed at 7.30pm.
Known for his intimate song-writing, honey-on-gravel voice and pioneering guitar playing, Smith has toured internationally for 15 years, and his session-musician guitar skills have been in demand from Joan Baez and Tom Jones.
Saxophone returns tomorrow at 7.30pm when Tim Garland (saxophone, bass clarinet), Malcolm Creese (double bass) and Gwilym Simcock (piano) celebrate 20 years together as the highly adventurous, ground-breaking British jazz ensemble Acoustic Triangle.
Olcay Bayir: Turkish singer makes her NCEM debut on October 10
Noted for their site-specific work, particularly in sacred buildings, such as St Margaret’s Church, they draw on wide-ranging influences, from ancient themes and folk styles, through impressionism and the jazz era, to the avant-garde, in Garland and Simcock’s compositions, complemented by works by Henry Purcell, John Taylor, Olivier Messiaen, Cole Porter and Maurice Ravel.
A third jazz highlight will be Byron Wallen’s Four Corners showcasing London trumpet player Wallen’s new album, Portrait, on November 10, with guitarist Rob Luft, bass player Paul Michael and drummer Rod Youngs.
Conceived when sitting in the central square in Woolwich, the album’s nucleus is Anthem For Woolwich, composed in response to Wallen being struck by the community around him with its mixture of ages and nationalities.
Taking inspiration from “the timeless sound of the human soul from all corners of the Earth”, Wallen explores and reinvents blues, mode and groove landmarks, while also drawing on early Renaissance music, Central and East African rhythms and polyphony and the works of Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and Thelonious Monk.
“I’m hoping that York Music Forum’s Ian Chalk will be able to organise for young York jazz players to play with Byron and take part in the concert,” says Delma.
Out of the woods: Fiddle player Sam Sweeney re-emerges with his Unearth Repeat album and concert on November 19. Picture: Elly Lucas
The autumn season presents three world-class guitarists, demonstrating their contrasting styles: Brit Martin Taylor, Spaniard Juan Martin and Italian Antonio Forcione.
First up, on October 15, Grammy-nominated Harlow jazz guitarist Martin Taylor shows why he is widely regarded as the world’s foremost exponent of solo jazz and finger-style playing.
Next, in his solo concert Melodic Beauty And Rhythmic Passion on October 29, Andalusian flamenco master Juan Martin performs pieces from his latest album Guitar Maestro.
Intense, artistic, passionate, unpredictable and formidably inventive jazz guitarist Antonio Forcione, from Molise, Italy, returns to the NCEM on November 26, blessed with “the hands of a tarantula and the heart of a lion”, as one reviewer put it.
Twenty albums to his name, Forcione has toured extensively, to Australia, Hong Kong, Russia and the Caribbean, as well as Europe.
Martin Taylor: Finger-style guitar playing on October 15
“The wonderful acoustics of the NCEM’s beautiful home of St Margaret’s Church provide the perfect setting for the acoustic guitar, adding a special touch of magic to the experience,” says director and programmer Delma Tomlin.
World music is represented by not only Juan Martin but also Olcay Bayir, from Gaziantep, Turkey, and the welcome return of Making Tracks.
Making her NCEM debut on October 10 – and appearing on the cover of the NCEM’s September to December brochure to boot – Olcay Bayir focuses on ancient poems and original songs in Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian in Dream For Anatolia: an evening of music and words that reflect her Anatolian heritage. Note the earlier starting time of 6.30pm.
Set up in 2010 and relaunched with an ambitious new model in 2019, followed by a digital edition in 2020, Making Tracks brings together young artists from the UK and around the world to showcase unique musical traditions, initiate collaborations and contribute towards a global community of environmentally engaged musicians.
Full details of November 1’s NCEM concert are yet to be confirmed but the eight diverse musicians from Britain and Europe have been chosen.
Antonio Forcione: Returning to the NCEM on November 26
Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer John McCusker has cancelled his John McCusker Band 30th Anniversary Tour date on October 3, although The Wishing Tree Tour gig by John Doyle, John McCusker & Michael McGoldrick is still in the diary for The Cresent, York, on November 3.
The enduring folk partnership of wife and husband Kathryn Roberts & Seth Lakeman marks 25+ years of making music with On Reflection at a rearranged NCEM concert on October 20.
Co-promoted by the Black Swan Folk Club, this celebratory night takes a whistle-stop tour through their artistic journey from the early days of folk supergroup Equation to latest album Personae, via a nod or two to their extracurricular musical adventures.
After his Unfinished Violin Project, former Bellowhead fiddle player Sam Sweeney returns the NCEM on November 19 to promote his latest album, Unearth Repeat, wherein he embraces the groove and swagger of traditional English folk and the huge sound, flair, energy and festival spirit of bands from the Celtic and Scandinavian music scenes.
Sweeney first played the NCEM when director of the National Youth Folk Ensemble. This time he will be joined by Jack Rutter on acoustic guitar, Louis Campbell on electric guitar and Ben Nicholls on double bass.
Nanook Of The North: Robert J Flaherty’s 1922 film will be accompanied by an improvised live score by Frame Ensemble at a Yorkshire Silent Film Festival screening on October 14
The Yorkshire Silent Film Festival plays host to Nanook Of The North (certificate U, 79 minutes) on October 14, when the pioneering 1922 documentary film will be accompanied by a live score by Frame Ensemble, a quartet of improvising musicians that specialises in creating spontaneous soundtracks for silent film.
“Pianist Jonny Best, who runs the film festival [as well as being a musician, researcher, producer, educator and writer], will be doing the accompaniment with his ensemble,” says Delma. “I find it so enthralling that they create such musical magic out of nowhere.”
Filmed by director Robert J Flaherty in the vast Canadian Arctic, where Nanook and his family live under an endless sky and in conditions of unimaginable cold, Nanook Of The North is a mix of recorded reality and staged drama, depicting the everyday struggle of the Innuit (Eskimo) people to stay alive.
From the bitter chill of the northern reaches of Arctic Quebec to Christmas at the NCEM in the form of the York Early Music Christmas Festival 2021, running from December 3 to 11.
Guest musicians include The Gesualdo Six; Joglaresa; Pocket Sinfonia; Prisma; tenor James Gilchrist and lutenist Matthew Wadsworth, plus the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, presenting JS Bach’s B Minor Mass, with more details to follow in a separate preview shortly.
Green Matthews: Midwinter Revels in the mood for Christmas on December 16
.Christmas revelry continues with modern-day folk balladeers Green Matthews on December 16. That night, Chris Green and Sophie Matthews perform Midwinter Revels: A Celebration Of Christmas Past, a seasonal selection of stories, carols, winter folk songs and tunes played on a plethora of weird and wonderful instruments.
Delma says: “We’re so pleased to be able to bring you this wonderful season of music for all tastes and to welcome friends old and new back to our home in York. We decided: let’s get dates in the diary and enjoy music-making again and try to get back to a sense of normality.
“We’ve put together a programme of world-class musicians, and we’re also looking forward to the return of our community singing group, Cuppa And A Chorus, as well as the latest in our not-to-be-missed series of silent films with live music. We hope to see you at the NCEM very soon.”
Nevertheless, in light of these pandemic times, a reduced capacity will be in operation. “The NCEM realises that audiences are returning to live events with caution, and for added safety and comfort, we are reducing our capacity so that social distancing is possible,” explains Delma.
“We’ve put together a programme of world-class musicians,” says NCEM director Delma Tomlin
“We are continuing to operate with many safety precautions in place and recommend mask wearing and hand sanitising.”
Tickets for the autumn season are on sale on 01904 658338 and at ncem.co.uk, joined by the York Early Music Christmas Festival from October 4. “Tickets for all concerts are selling quickly, so early booking is advisable,” recommends Delma.
“So far, there’s definitely a substantial core audience who do want to return, and we’re so fortunate that there’s no fixed seating, so we can give people more space, and hopefully they will feel more comfortable with that and will gain confidence as we come into the winter.
“That’s why we’re retaining social distancing while ensuring there’s still a three-pronged energy between the venue, the artist and the audience.”
Performances start at 7.30pm unless stated otherwise.
Billie Marten: Ripon singer-songwriter in full bloom on third album Flora Fauna and at secret Harrogate gig with a full band. PIcture: Katie Silvester
WHAT else do culture vultures Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson cram into Episode 57 of Two Big Egis In A Small Car?
How about Blade Runner and where next for billionaires in space?
What’s going on with Covid passports and arts venues?
What can the arts expect from novel Tory Culture supremo Nadine Dorries?
What is the future for album covers?
What was CH’s verdict on Tonderai Munyevu’s Mugabe, My Dad And Me at York Theatre Royal, The Woman In Black at the reopened Grand Opera House, York, and the pie-laden Waitress at Leeds Grand Theatre?
How does it feel to face up to the questions for the revived People We Love exhibition, soon to return to York Minster.
York band Five Minutes at their reunion gig after 30 years at the Victoria Vaults in February 2020
A BAND called Five Minutes had their 15 minutes in York in the late-1980s. Then they reunited after 31 years for a one-off gig at the Victoria Vaults, in Nunnery Lane, on February 29 last year, squeezed in just before the pandemic struck.
This autumn, the self-styled “Sexy Soul Sensations” will reassemble again for a Victoria Vaults gig on October 23, having written new songs over lockdown meetings on Zoom to complement their extensive back catalogue of original, danceable, driven, catchy soul numbers.
“We were pleased as punch to see so many old friends and familiar faces at our first gig in over 30 years,” says trumpet player Matthew “Duck” Hardy, now a professional musician in his fifties.
Joining him in the soul and funk line-up at their first gig since January 1989 were business development manager Chris Turnbull on vocals and guitar; IT consultant Sean Rochester on bass; cinema owner Nigel Dennis on drums and retired police officer turned Criminology MSc mature student Mark Pearson on saxophone. New to the soul crew was Craig Brown, music teacher, on trombone.
Not there, but there by the wonder of a video link, was ex-pat trombonist and urban dog trainer Paul Shelbourne, from his home in Brisbane.
“That night there were loads of York’s late-‘80s music scene in attendance and many more who were gutted they couldn’t make it,” says Matthew. “Hopefully announcing this new date well in advance will cement it in people’s diaries and we’ll reunite even more acquaintances.
Five Minutes, playing York Arts Centre in 1988
“We’ve come together over the summer to rehearse the songs, so spread the word and let’s pack the Vaults to the rafters once more!”
Here, in an excerpt from Time Will Tell – The Five Minutes Story, saxophonist Mark Pearson reflects on the comeback gig and looks ahead to next month’s show.
“The reunion gig at Victoria Vaults was a bit like the first at the Spotted Cow, played in front of an invited audience of friends and family, old telephone books studied and social media trawled to find out who may still be alive who had seen us in the first place and who may want to see us again.
“Jem, defying medical science, still alive and managing the sound. Nige’s parents getting in early for the soundcheck, to get a seat and complaining about his drums being too loud. Accompanied by Rocky and Sweat Box, friends and music from the same era.
“The girlfriends (now wives) returning to bop and sway at the front of the stage, except something was different; they were accompanied by our children, all of them around the same age that we were when we played back in the Eighties.
“The large Paul-shaped hole was filled by the new 6th Minute, Craig and his trombone. He’d not come to any rehearsals. The first time I met him was at the sound check, but any reservations on my part that he may not fit in were soon dismissed. We played the middle harmonies for Happy Home and I smiled inside.
Five Minutes back together in February 2020: from left to right: Nigel Dennis, Sean Rochester, Mark Pearson and Chris Turnbull. Fellow member Matthew “Duck” Hardy took the picture. “Most of us hadn’t seen each other for 30 years,” he says
“A couple of hours later, and a couple of pints to smooth the nerves, a nervous wee and we entered the stage to Welcome Home by Peters & Lee.
“Victoria Vaults was packed; the sweat was already starting to run down the walls; Nige kicked in the insistent Northern Soul drum beat of The Party; we invited the expectant audience to ‘get up, get down and groove’, and we all joined Nige to deliver the ‘still’ sexy soul sound of Five Minutes. We were back.
“We drove through the set of just about every song we had written or covered. Some old faces in the crowd still knew some words, sang along and made a good effort of replicating their dance moves of 30 years ago.
“Younger faces, not born when we had last played, moved, clapped and cheered, and my son and daughter sang along (I must have played the tape I still had of a live recording too many times in the car when they were children).
“We finished the night off with the energy of All The Daughters and C’Mon Everybody. Then Pat Rice joined us on stage to belt out the chorus of ‘Go, Greased Lightning’. After the gig, Pat asked Chris ‘Why did you stop?’. Chris replied, ‘We ran out of songs’. Pat said, ‘Not tonight. Ever’.
“Tom Forman, who also always took the mic for Greased Lightning, couldn’t make it; he was double booked with a cricket team function, I didn’t know it then but I would never see him again. The Covid lockdown kicked in soon after and Tom died almost a year to the date from cancer. He will be missed.
Five Minutes in the 1980s, when they were four, before they became six, although they were never five! From left to right: Nigel Dennis, Sean Rochester, Mark Pearson and Chris Turnbull. Matthew “Duck” Hardy and Paul Shelbourne joined later
“The joy of the Victoria Vaults gig tumbled into a need to do it again. Plans were made; we lived far apart, but we could do a couple of gigs a year, three, maybe four. Youthful excitement from 50-year-old voices.
“Unbeknown to us, the Coronavirus was taking hold, the country was about to shut down, with restrictions implemented that have failed to prevent more than 136,000 people in the UK from dying, and we haven’t stopped counting yet.
“I was fortunate. Close friends and family are all well, I had an income and something to do, my dissertation, followed by a job where I could work from home, in the back bedroom I now call my office. Many others have not been so fortunate.
“Time sitting in one place allowed some space to think. I started writing lyrics again, not commenting on the pandemic, but influenced by it, change, hope, family, love. I’ve Got Soul: a reflection of what I was truly missing, a damn good night out, music, dancing. Worthy Of Your Love: describing my love for my children.
“Five Minutes: considering that we can change, for the better, and also I wanted to write a song that had the band’s name in it. Thought It Would Be A Good Day: a recollection of an incident when I was in the police. There are others but I won’t bore you with them any further.
“I presented them via e-mail to Chris, anxious at the response. Without the confidence of youth, I was concerned they were crap, but they came back, edited, music attached, wrapped in the same influences but unmistakably Five Minutes.
Five Minutes and friends on stage at York Arts Centre in 1988
“Now we are all jabbed, given we are the ‘at risk’ generation, and there are six of us, we are rehearsing again. The tantalising promise that restrictions could be completely lifted in June sped us on to book a further gig and I was pleased to find out that the Victoria Vaults had lived and had been refurbished to boot.
“Unfortunately, many other bands eager to perform had beaten us to it. The nearest Saturday available being 23rd October. Anyway, it should give us time to rehearse and try out at least a few of the new songs from the second album. Whether they are good or not, hopefully you could be the judge of that.
“When I think back to the time we were playing in York, the mid to late-1980s, whether it was fuelled by the post-punk era’s belief that you could just do it, get together and have a go, or, I hate to give any credit to Thatcher, but an atmosphere of entrepreneurship existed, where there was self-belief that you could accomplish anything.
“Or, was it just the arrogance of youth, unabashed, unashamed, ready to put yourself out there, you had something to say and you wanted to make yourself heard? Whatever it was, it has never really left me, I still think I can, even now as the hairline recedes and the waistline increases, we could have another chance, give it a go.”
Five Minutes “give it a go” at Victoria Vaults, Nunnery Lane, York, on October 23. Doors, 7pm; Happy Hour, 7pm to 8pm; Five Minutes, 9.15pm to 10.45pm; after-show party with Sweat Box DJs Bri G and Rocky until 1am. Free admission.
Back in action after three decades: Five Minutes having a blast at the Victoria Vaults on February 29 2020
The artwork for RhymeNReason’s Put On Shorts at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
WHAT was Margaret Thatcher’s relationship with Jimmy Savile? Why did a Yorkshire pensioner try to smuggle a fruit cake through Australian customs? What really happened on day three in the Garden of Eden? How should a perfect murder end in a real cliff hanger?
Questions, questions, all these questions, will be answered at the RhymeNReason Put On Shorts four-day run at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from tomorrow (29/9/2021).
These funny, thought-provoking short plays by Yorkshire writers David Allison, Steve Brennen, Lisa Holdsworth and Graham Rollason were first performed in Leeds, as part of Slung Low Shorts or Leeds Pub Theatre/Leeds Literature Festival, and at York Theatre Royal Studio at Script Yorkshire’s Page To Stage competition.
“They thoroughly deserve another airing,” says Theatre@41 chair Alan Park. “What better way to mark the beginning of live theatre being back to normal? That is a rhetorical question. Answers on postcards are not required.”
Tickets for the 7.30pm performances on September 29 to October 2 are on sale at tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Sax Forte: Sax to the max from Chris Hayes, Keith Schooling, Jane Parkin and David Badcock
YORK saxophone quartet Sax Forte will return to St Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel, York, on October 1 to open York Unitarians’ new season of Friday concerts with a 12.30pm programme of English and French music.
Sax Forte formed in York in 2016, with all four member, Chris Hayes, Keith Schooling, Jane Parkin and David Badcock, having extensive experience with other quartets, bands and orchestras.
Introducing themselves, Sax Forte say: “Chris plays soprano sax because he likes showing off; Keith plays alto sax because he tries to keep up with Chris; Jane plays baritone sax because she’s got the strongest shoulders; David knows his place (with apologies to The Two Ronnies and John Cleese)!”
Looking forward to Friday’s concert, they say: “We’re all thrilled to be invited to play at the Unitarian Chapel again, now that social-distancing restrictions have been relaxed.
“Since July, we’ve been lucky enough to play for a number of events, and it has been immensely exciting after so many months of lockdowns and prohibitions. Performing for a live audience again brings a renewed sense of purpose.”
The saxophone is more commonly associated with jazz, blues and pop, but Sax Forte demonstrate just how well the instrument suits a far wider range of music.
“The saxophone was not invented until the mid-19th century, but Friday’s programme includes arrangements of earlier classical and baroque pieces, as well some traditional folk tunes that have been re-arranged for four saxes,” say Sax Forte.
“We’ll also play a selection of 19th and 20th century works composed specifically for saxophone quartet. Our programme is drawn mainly from English and French composers, and we hope to show the range, versatility, sensitivity and beauty of the saxophone.”
Sax Forte will perform Jean-Joseph Mouret’s Rondeau from Sinfonie de Fanfares; Jean-Baptiste Singelée’s Allegro de Concert; Gabriel Grovlez’s Petite Litanies de Jésus; Pierre Vellones’ Prélude & Rondo Français; Eugène Bozza’s Andante, from Andante & Scherzo; Gabriel Fauré’s Pavane and Henry Purcell’s Rondeau (Abdelazer Suite).
Further works will be: Handel’s And The Glory Of The Lord (from Messiah); William Byrd’s Pavane for the Earl of Salisbury; Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite: Mattachins; George Butterworth’s arrangement of Banks Of Green Willow; Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Linden Lea; Caryl Florio’s Quartette (Allegro de Concert) and Gordon Lewin’s arrangement of The Poacher.
The next Friday Concert will feature Chris Hill and Amy Butler, flute and piano, playing works by Mendelssohn, Poulenc, Chaminade, on October 8; then, Stephen Raine, piano, October 22, and Lucy Phillips and David Hammond, violin and piano, October 29.
Tickets for each concert cost £5 on the door; cash only.
Stacey Dooley: In Conversation in York, with the chance for the Barbican audience to put questions to the investigative journalist and documentary maker next February
INVESTIGATIVE journalist, television documentary maker, show host, author and 2018 Strictly Come Dancing champ Stacey Dooley will be In Conversation at York Barbican on February 16 2022.
Dooley, 34, will be on tour for 20 dates promoting her new book, Are You Really OK? Understanding Britain’s Mental Health Emergency, wherein she explores the mental health crisis in Britain and its impact on young people in particular, inspired by her two most recent documentaries on the subject.
Dooley will “open up the conversation about mental health in young people, to challenge the stigma and stereotypes around it”.
“Having worked in collaboration with mental health experts and charities, Stacey will responsibly share the stories of young people in the UK directly affected by mental health issues, in order to shine a light on life on the mental health frontline and give a voice to young people throughout the UK who are living with mental health conditions across the spectrum,” her tour publicity states.
In addition, Dooley will touch on related, broader topics that she has tackled in her documentaries – poverty, addiction, identity and the pressures of social media – and look back on the stand-out moments and interactions from her wide-reaching career.
Alongside her BBC investigative series, the Luton-born documentary maker and author of On The Frontline With The Women Who Fight Back is the presenter of BBC One’s This Is My House, BBC Two’s DNA, BBC3’s Glow Up and W’s Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over.
Join her on February 16 for a thought-provoking, inspiring and informative evening with a chance to try your own hand at journalism by asking Stacey questions.
IN the wake of 2021’s 50th anniversary of Don McLean’s American Pie, he will be touring next autumn “in honour of the day the music died”, playing York Barbican on September 28 2022.
McLean, who turns 76 on October 2, released his iconic double A-side from the October 1971 album of the same name, charting at number one in the United States and number two over here.
Despite decades of attempted interpretations, McLean has remained enigmatic as to the oft-quoted song’s meaning and the mystery is no less today.
Fifty years on, American Pie resides in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, one of fewer than 500 works to do so, as well as being named a top-five song of the 20th century by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) and being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.
McLean, a troubadour from New Rochelle, New York, cut his teeth on the Big Apple club scene in the late-1960s, before charting at home and abroad with Vincent (Starry, Starry Night), Castles In The Air, Cryin’, And I Love You So, Wonderful Baby, Since I Don’t Have You, It’s Just The Sun and If We Try, let alone American Pie.
Madonna, Drake and Garth Brooks are among many artists who have covered his songs, or about half a song in Madonna’s truncated case with American Pie.
McLean is an inductee of the Grammy Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame and has received a BBC Lifetime Achievement award. This year, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to be found in front of The Pie Hole Bakery, between Hollywood and Vine, Los Angeles.
His song And I Love You So was the theme for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May 2018; American Pie appears in the Avengers’ film Black Widow and an upcoming Tom Hanks movie, Finch; next up for Mclean is a children’s book, set for release in 2022.
McLean appeared previously at York Barbican in May 2015 and April 2018. Tickets for next year’s return are on sale at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
“Not so much a new artist as an artist renewed,” says Afterlight, after her name change from Thea Gilmore
THE artist we once knew as Thea Gilmore, for 19 albums no less, is changing her name to Afterlight, the title of her upcoming release too on October 1.
The Oxford singer-songwriter, 41, will showcase the new record on her first ever completely solo tour, complementing material from all stages of her career at a sold-out Pocklington Arts Centre on October 8 at 8pm.
In her official statement, she opens by saying: “Afterlight is doing it just like Chekhov said. She was always the loaded gun that appears in the first act. Now, as the third act unfolds, it’s time to put on your bulletproof vest.”
She continues: “After the stop comes the start. After the dark; the light. This is not a drill. Afterlight is a real account of one woman’s journey from impressionable 16-year-old bound into a toxic working and romantic relationship with a man 23 years her senior, to a brand-new artist and free woman finding her own beginning.
“Written, produced and performed by Afterlight, the eponymous debut spans the brutal truth of the opening track – an account of all the damage wrought upon one small life – through the slow, painful realisation that her entire world was built on control and lies, on to the emergence of a woman learning for the first time who she really is, making new connections and, finally, finding her own voice.
The artwork for Afterlight’s self-titled debut, out on October 2
“Only now that she has freed herself of that life has Afterlight been able to complete a different kind of debut – not so much a new artist as an artist renewed.”
Postponed by 12 months due to the global pandemic, her tour now takes place under the new name but will still find the former Thea accompanying herself on guitar, keyboard and loop station.
Her October 8 audience is promised “a chance to hear some of her most special songs exactly the way they entered the world – raw, unadorned, delivered intimately by that long revered, hauntingly beautiful voice”.
Since first stepping out aged 18, she has released 19 albums, 6 EPs; been lauded by Bruce Springsteen; collaborated with roots royalty Billy Bragg, Joan Baez and The Waterboys; performed on BBC Radio 2 with Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and contributed songs to the soundtrack of BAFTA-winning film Bait.
Always keen to explore new musical boundaries, now she stretches herself further on and as Afterlight. Look out for a second album, The Emancipation Of Eva Grey, arriving on October 1 too.
Exit Thea Gilmore, enter Afterlight, “a woman learning for the first time who she really is, making new connections and, finally, finding her own voice”
THE Shires, Britain’s best-selling country music act, will bring their 2022 intimate acoustic tour to Pocklington Arts Centre on January 26.
Award-winning duo Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes have made habit of playing Pocklington since their Studio debut in 2014, appearing regularly at PAC and playing the Platform Festival at The Old Station in 2016 and 2019.
“Wembley Stadium, MEN Arena, Grand Ole Opry are all amazing, but Pocklington will always be a special place for us,” say Ben and Crissie, the first British artists to win Best International Act at the prestigious Country Music Awards in 2017.
The Shires released debut album Brave in 2015, followed by two further gold-certified albums, 2016’s My Universe and 2018’s Accidentally On Purpose. In 2020 came Greatest Hits and Good Years, and in April 2021 a new version of the ballad On The Day I Die arrived, recorded with American country star Jimmie Allen. Now the duo are working on album number five.
PAC director Janet Farmer says: “We’re delighted to welcome back Ben and Crissie for this very special intimate, acoustic show. From first playing our studio in 2014 to headlining and selling out our summer festival in 2019, it’s been a fantastic journey following their phenomenal success to date and we can’t wait to see them again.”
Tickets cost £32.50 at pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk or on 01759 301547.
