Scritti Politti’s poster for next year’s 35th anniversary celebration of Cupid & Psyche (albeit in its 36th year)
SCRITTI Politti are to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Cupid & Psyche 85 by performing the gilded album in its entirety for the very first time next autumn.
Among the nine dates will be September 28 2021 at the City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds, the city where Welshman Green Gartside first formed his agit-pop band in 1977 while studying at Leeds Polytechnic. Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Friday (4/12/2020) at aegpresents.co.uk/events.
Released on June 10 1985, the immaculate, technologically complex Cupid & Psyche is described today by Gartside, 65, as “pyrotechnics of pointillist syncopation”.
Overseen by legendary Turkish-American producer Arif Mardin (1932-2006) and featuring myriad New York session musicians, the album spawned five singles, all hits on one side of the Atlantic or the other: Wood Beez, The Word Girl, Absolute, Perfect Way and Hypnotize.
After witnessing a show by The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned and The Heartbreakers in 1976, Green Gartside – real name Paul Julian Strohmeyer – felt as if he had been “given permission” to form a band.
Scritti Politti gradually took shape as a squat-dwelling Camden collective who produced what Cardiff-born Gartside called “scratchy-collapsy” music, all tumbling drums, tinny guitars and breathless vocals.
After releasing a clutch of singles and EPs, most notably The Sweetest Girl, later covered by Madness, Scritti underwent a tectonic shift, inspired by black American R&B pop of the early 1980s. “Just fantastic, liberating music…a sort of epiphany,” Gartside recalls.
Geoff Travis, at Rough Trade, introduced him to keyboard wizard David Gamson and drummer Fred Maher, whereupon this new configuration of Scritti began work on what would become Cupid & Psyche 85.
“The Scritti of Fred, David and I never did play live,” says Gartside. “We had a tour lined up and we kinda reluctantly went into a rehearsal place somewhere in Manhattan to figure out how the **** this album could be played. If I recall correctly, it became apparent immediately that we couldn’t reproduce the sound. The project was abandoned.”
Now, however, that project has been revitalised by the new-variant Scritti Politti, featuring Robert Smoughton, Rhodri Marsden and Dicky Moore, who have played alongside Gartside for the past decade.
Next autumn’s shows will complement Cupid & Psyche 85 with material from across Scritti Politti’s history, taking in 1987’s Provision, 1999’s Anomie And Bonhomie and 2006’s Mercury Prize-nominated White Bread Black Beer.
Another Night, Another Town, another live album from Shed Seven: their fifth but first since re-forming as a five-piece in 2007
SHED Seven’s release date for their live album Another Night, Another Town is being put back by a fortnight…and Covid-19 is to blame.
“We haven’t been able to do the signing for the signed copies,” explains lead singer Rick Witter. “But everything will now be ready for December 18.”
Specially curated by the York Britpop luminaries and available exclusively through the Sheds’ store, Another Night, Another Town “captures their dynamic live performances and anthemic songs over 21 tracks”.
As trailed on the shedseven.com website, Sheds’ followers can pick up a limited-edition coloured gatefold vinyl edition, a special double CD set, a 180g heavyweight triple vinyl version and a download, plus a selection of new merchandise.
Pre-ordering signed copies has come with the enticement of downloads of album opener Room In My House and Ocean Pie.
“We’re delighted with the results, which we think are as close as we can get to capturing the Shed Seven live experience on record,” says frontman Rick Witter of the Another Night, Another Town recordings
“A few words” from frontman Rick Witter accompanied the album announcement: “When it became clear virtually no live events would be taking place this year and with no Shedcember [December tour] to look forward to, we thought it was a good time to go through recordings from our 2019 [Shedcember] tour and 2018 Castlefield Bowl show [in Manchester] to curate the best live album we could.
“From 10,000 people singing along to Chasing Rainbows at Leeds Arena to playing the classic outro of I Am The Resurrection in the home of the Stone Roses, this 21-track album features the best from our live shows over the last couple of years.”
The live album has been mixed by Chris Sheldon, who produced the Sheds’ 1996 album A Maximum High and 1999 single Disco Down (whose lyrics have been raided for the ‘Another Night, Another Town’ title).
“We’re delighted with the results, which we think are as close as we can get to capturing the Shed Seven live experience on record,” continues Rick, 48. “We haven’t released a live album since we returned as a five-piece in 2007 and we certainly haven’t released one as good as this!
The poster for Shed Seven’s all-Yorkshire bill for The Piece Hall, Halifax, now rearranged for next summer
“We hope this album provides just a little bit of the live experience we’re all missing before we return in 2021.”
Another Night, Another Town will be Shed Seven’s fifth “live” album after Where Have You Been Tonight? Live, in 2003; Live At The BBC, in 2007; See Youse At The Barras: Live In Concert, 2009, and Live At Leeds 2007, digital download only, in 2009.
The track listing will be: Room In My House; Mark; Where Have You Been Tonight?; People Will Talk; Devil In Your Shoes; Butterfly On A Wheel; She Left Me On Friday/I Am The Resurrection; Better Days; On Standby; It’s Not Easy; Getting Better; Enemies And Friends; Ocean Pie; Dolphin; High Hopes; Disco Down; Bully Boy; Going For Gold; Parallel Lines; Invincible and Chasing Rainbows.
Meanwhile, after a frustrating year of Covid-cancelled gigs, Shed Seven’s diary for outdoor engagements in 2021 is taking shape: Don 21 Music Live, Doncaster Racecourse, May 15; Neighbourhood Festival, London, May 29; Isle of Wight Festival, Newport, June 18; The Piece Hall, Halifax, June 26; Corbridge Festival, July 3; Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Beaufort, July 31, and Watchet Music Festival, Somerset, August 29.
Palisander: Dynamic young recorder quartet will be performing the competing composers’ works on award day at the 2021 NCEM Young Composers Award in York
THE call-out for entries for the 2021 NCEM Young Composers Award in York is under way.
Launched on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show today, the annual competition invites composers aged 25 and under to write a new work for recorder quartet.
Each year, the award is presented by the National Centre for Early Music, at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, in association with BBC Radio 3, joined for the 2021 award by the vibrant young recorder quartet Palisander.
This major national award is open to young composers resident in the UK and is divided into two categories: 18 years and under and 19 to 25 years.
Composers are asked to create a new work for recorder quartet based on any dance form from across all eras and cultures, from the bransle and the galliard to the Charleston and the tango.
The work may be a single movement rooted in a single dance form, a continuous movement that combines different dance forms, or a suite made up of two, three or four short movements. The entire piece should last between three to four minutes.
Shortlisted composers will be invited to the award day at the NCEM on Thursday, May 13 2021 when the shortlisted compositions will be presented by Palisander in a workshop led by composer Christopher Fox. In the evening, Palisander’s Lydia Gosnell, Teresa Wrann, Miriam Monaghan and Caoimhe de Paor will perform each of the pieces for a panel of judges.
The two winning pieces, one from each age category, will be premiered by Palisander in a public performance at St John’s Smith Square, London, on May 20 2021 as part of the London Festival of Baroque Music and recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show.
“We can’t wait to hear what people come up with,” says NCEM director Delma Tomlin
NCEM director Delma Tomlin says: “We are delighted to introduce an exciting new element of dance into this year’s awards. This really helps us to open up the award, giving us the opportunity to work with an ever-broader community.
“Palisander are well versed in supporting school groups and emerging musicians and we are thrilled to work with such a dynamic young ensemble. We can’t wait to hear what people come up with!
“Shortlisted candidates will be able to enjoy an action-packed day of workshops in York with Palisander plus composer Christopher Fox. The winning compositions will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show, a feather in the cap of any young composer.”
Alan Davey, the Beeb’s controller of BBC Radio 3 and classical music, says: “Supporting young talent and promoting new music are both central to BBC Radio 3 and we are proud to continue our commitment to supporting the next generation of composers inspired by early music.”
Palisander, all alumni from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, are “very proud” to be partnering with the NCEM and Radio 3 for next year’s award. “Our programmes, though rooted in history, are not bound by it. Contemporary compositions, arrangements and performance presentation play a central role in our concerts, so we’re eager to hear the next generation’s take on one of our favoured genres: music to dance to!” say the London quartet.
“We look forward to introducing the young composers to our plethora of recorders of varying shapes and sizes, as well as the different timbres and extended techniques at their disposal. As passionate ambassadors of our instrument, we hope that the young composers will be as inspired as we are by the plentiful possibilities of the recorder family.”
The closing date for registration is Friday, February 19, 5pm; the deadline for submission of scores is Friday, March 19, 12 noon. Shortlisted candidates will be informed on Friday, April 9 and will be invited to attend the award day and workshops in York on May 13.
Terms and conditions and details of how to take part, including Palisander’s advice on composing for recorder quartet, can be found at: www.youngcomposersaward.co.uk/2021. Alternatively, email: info.composers@ncem.co.uk.
Christmas At Home with Palisander : York Early Music Christmas Festival launches an online weekend to complement the socially distanced concert programme at the NCEM. Palisander will play their part in both
PALISANDER will present Mischief & Merriment at the York Early Music Christmas Festival at the NCEM, Walmgate, York, on December 4 at 4.30pm and 7pm.
The recorder quartet of Lydia Gosnell, Miriam Monaghan, Caoimhe de Paor and Teresa Wrann will recall how Christmas was the highlight of the Tudor calendar when strict Advent fasting would be followed by 12 indulgent days of mischief and merriment.
These elaborate celebrations were presided over by the Lord of Misrule, who co-ordinated the Christmastide entertainments for the court. For their December 4 programme, Palisander will return to the NCEM to take on the role of Lords of Misrule, presenting festive songs and dances to keep toes tapping throughout December.
Traditional Renaissance settings of familiar carols will be paired with music to accompany the whopping 20-plus course Tudor Christmas dinner, complemented by Yuletide courtly dances and playful contemporary takes on the Lord of Misrule’s spectacles.
Palisander will showcase their full recorder family, from the six-inch garklein to the six-foot contrabass, plus everything in between, and among the featured composers will be Antony Holborne, John Dowland, Thoinot Arbeau and Michael Praetorius.
York Christmas At Home will present nine online concerts in three days from December 11 to 13. Palisander’s Mischief & Merriment will be streamed at 1pm on December 12 and will be available to view on demand until January 6 2021. Tickets are on sale at: https://tickets.ncem.co.uk/en-GB/shows/palisander%20online/events.
Tickets for the York Early Music Christmas Festival can be booked at ncem.co.uk. Hurry, hurry, is the advice
Scouting for gigs: Scouting For Girls have lined up their longest-ever tour for 2021, taking in York Barbican next autumn
SCOUTING For Girls will play York Barbican on October 10 on their 42-date 2021 tour, showcasing next spring’s Easy Cover album alongside all the hits.
Tickets will go on sale at 9am on December 4 at yorkbarbican.co.uk for the London indie-pop trio’s first appearance in York since the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend in July 2015.
Roy Stride, piano and lead guitar, Greg Churchouse, bass guitar, and Dr Peter Ellard, percussion, first performed at the Knavesmire course in July 2011 and had been booked by promoters Cuffe and Taylor for the inaugural York Festival, at York Sports Club, Clifton Park, on June 20 this summer until Covid changed everything.
Scouting For Girls initially responded to this strangest of years by “surrounding themselves with sources of comfort and escapism, things from what felt like a simpler time”.
Going back to the 1980s’ music of their childhood days, the trio regrouped during what should have been a summer of festival appearances, and the result is a joyous album of cover versions and new compositions, buoyed by an optimism that “2021 can be everything that 2020 was not”.
For Easy Cover, Scouting For Girls revisited Eighties’ pop masterpieces and indie alt. band favourites alike, taking in Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins (presumably Easy Lover?), Tears For Fears, The Waterboys and more besides.
Scouting For Girls’ artwork for their 2021 tour
Not only covers motivated the band to write original material inspired by the decade for next year’s March 26 album. So did their abiding love of those halcyon days, leading Stride to write I Wish It Was 1989 and festive new single Xmas In The 80s.
Looking forward to the Londoners’ longest tour of their 15-year career, Stride says: “Touring is our very favourite aspect of being in this band and to go out longer and harder than ever is a dream come true.
“We’re going to put 2020 behind us and put two years of pent-up energy into every night of this tour. We can’t wait to give people the most fun night out of 2021”
Since forming in 2005, Scouting For Girls have chalked up two million album sales and a similar figure for their singles, such as Top Ten hits She’s So Lovely, Elvis Ain’t Dead and Heartbeat and 2009 chart topper This Ain’t A Love Song.
BRIT Award and Ivor Novello nominations have come their way, as have sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena, the London Palladium and the Royal Albert Hall.
Oh, and apparently Scouting For Girls are the most played band on Spotify in York.
THE 2020 York Early Music Christmas Festival will be not one, but two festivals, one at the National Centre for Early Music, the other online.
Festive concerts will be performed with Covid-secure safety measures in place in the mediaeval St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, from December 4 to 12, complemented by a new online weekend festival to be enjoyed from the comfort of home.
After the success of the streamed York Early Music Festival, held remotely from July 9 to 11, the NCEM will present York Christmas At Home from December 11 to 13, with the Yuletide music concerts available on demand throughout the Christmas period until January 6 2021.
York Early Music Christmas Festival’s live concerts will be staged with socially distanced cabaret-style seating and the option to pre-order drinks, including a warming mulled wine. Tickets cost £20.
Matthew Wadsworth: York Christmas At Home streamed concert with Kate Bennett Wadsworth
The line-up comprises:
Palisander, Mischief & Merriment, December 4, 4.30pm and 7pm;
The Marian Consort, The Great Mystery, December 5, 4.30pm and 7pm;
Illyria Consort, How Brightly Shines The Morning Star, December 7, 4.30m and 7pm;
Joglaresa, Bring Us Good Ale, December 8, 4.30pm and 7pm;
The Marian Consort: Concerts at both the York Early Music Christmas Festival and York Christmas At Home
The York Waits, The Waits’ Wassail, Music for Advent & Christmas, December 9, 4.30pm and 7pm;
Bethany Seymour, soprano, Helen Charlston, mezzo-soprano, Frederick Long, baritone, and Peter Seymour, harpsichord, Bacchus Is A Pow’r Divine, December 12, 4.30pm and 7pm.
In addition, the 7pm concerts by Joglaresa on December 8 and The York Waits the next night will be live-streamed, with tickets available at £10.
The York Christmas At Home programme will feature many of the NCEM’s favourite artists, who have “worked tirelessly to deliver a joyful selection of music, guaranteed to lift the spirits”.
The concerts will include works by Bach, Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell, Monteverdi, Dowland and many others, with harpsichords, recorders, lutes, trumpets, oboes, theorbos and glorious voices, plus verse by John Donne, George Herbert and others.
Bethany Seymour, left, Frederick Long and Helen Charlston: On song at the NCEM and online
A York Christmas At Home festival pass costs £50, covering all nine concerts, while individual concerts cost £10.
Artists taking part are:
The Marian Consort in a programme of vocal music from Renaissance Italy;
The Chiaroscuro Quartet, performing Mozart’s late Prussian Quartets;
Palisander with their Mischief And Merriment programme;
Illyria Consort, performing seasonal music for the Nativity from across Europe;
Singers Bethany Seymour, Helen Charlston and Frederick Long exploring the theatrical genius of Purcell and John Blow with harpsichordist Peter Seymour;
Theorboist Matthew Wadsworth and cellist Kate Bennett Wadsworth, sharing an extravaganza of Venetian music;
Illyria Consort: Seasonal music for the Nativity from across Europe
Spiritato!, presenting The Leipzig Legacy with music by Bach and Fasch;
Steven Devine, continuing his 2020 project to share Bach’s Preludes & Fugues: Book 3;
Stile Antico, completing the weekend with a return to the Renaissance for their very own Nine Lessons and Carols.
Festival director Dr Delma Tomlin says: “The York Early Music Christmas Festival was created in 1997 to introduce audiences to the extraordinary wealth of music associated with Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, from the Medieval to the Baroque, intertwined with the sagas, stories and tales of the north.
“This year, I’m delighted to be able to carry on the tradition, welcoming audiences to our beautiful home, St Margaret’s Church. I’m also thrilled to spice things up, introducing our online festival York Christmas At Home, an array of amazing music, which can be enjoyed well beyond Christmas and into Twelfth Night.”
Full programme details for both Yuletide festivals can be found at ncem.co.uk. Tickets are on sale at ncem.co.uk/york-christmas-at-home/
Michael Chapman recording Ancient & Modern at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York, for streaming on Sunday
VETERAN troubadour Michael Chapman has recorded a special concert during Lockdown 2 at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York, to be streamed online on Sunday (29/11/2020) at 7pm.
Filmed on November 12, the Ancient & Modern recording represents a look-back over the long and illustrious career of the 79-year-old Leeds singer, songwriter and guitarist, who combines classics and newer compositions in a concert also featuring a support slot and interview by close friend and mentee Katie Spencer.
Sunday’s event marks a first venture into streamed concerts by the York community venue The Crescent and promoters Please Please You and Ouroboros, alias Joe Coates and Harkirit Boparai.
“This is new terrain for us, but we are big believers in Michael and his music, and it’s an honour to present him during these times and at this point in his career” says Boparai. “Michael is a unique musician with more than 50 years of experience, floating between Americana, blues and psychedelic folk.”
Boparai was delighted the recording could go ahead despite Lockdown 2 being imposed from November 5. “We were lucky, the lockdown nearly threw everything, but then it emerged under the Government guidance that streaming and rehearsal were permitted as long as everyone involved were ‘professionals’,” he says.
“They still want us to work! I also think, to be fair, they saw the value in allowing culture to continue in an online form.
Chapman by candlelight: The poster for Sunday’s streamed concert from the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall by Michael Chapman
“Merchant Adventurers’ Hall had a new clerk starting in the week of lockdown, and I remember anxiously waiting for their decision and interpretation of guidance…”.
Good news was forthcoming, whereupon Chapman could head to the hall. Explaining his choice of concert title, he says: “I wanted to call it Ancient & Modern in reference to the hymn books of days gone by and because it reflects the songs I selected to play for this show.”
The title also acknowledges Chapman’s approach and sound. While firmly rooted in traditional folk, blues and Americana, his constant pushing of the envelope has inspired a new generation of artists, such as instrumentalist-turned-singer Steve Gunn, who produced his last two albums for the Paradise Of Bachelors label, 50 and True North, featuring pedal-steel guitarist BJ Cole and singer-songwriter and guitarist Bridget St John.
Gunn says: ‘It’s been an honour to share a stage with Michael, or even just to be in the room when he’s playing. I know so many of his stories and songs by heart now. I cherish them.”’
This continuous evolution of style has garnered a cult following for Chapman, also making him virtually impossible to categorise. While this may sometimes infuriate reviewers and concert bookers alike, it is exactly what keeps his fervent supporters on board and has brought a whole raft of younger appreciators to his music over the past decade.
Chapman’s journey has taken him from the acoustic virtuoso of the early Cornish folk days, typified by his Fully Qualified Survivor album, through to Memphis Soul, courtesy of Stax producer Don Nix, and the album Savage Amusement, dipping into New Age music via Heartbeat, and onwards even to full-on improv for Thurston Moore’s label, Ecstatic Peace.
Moore says: “Michael Chapman, beyond the machinations of the record industry, became the great teacher for all of us guitar playing songwriters coming up in the late-20th century. With an organic mix of passion and remove, he showed that getting lost in the music was a way to find the truth of the heart. No better lesson learned, I’d say.”
After making the acoustic guitar his own, Chapman has been exploring the electric guitar in these latter, mellower years, while still retaining the intensity of his playing and song-writing.
Chapman may be approaching 80 – that landmark will fall on January 24 2021 – but it will not diminish his need to move the music forward, dip into the past and embrace the present with as much enthusiasm and fervour as a man at his stage in life can muster.
“Michael’s online concert will be available for ticket holders to watch as many times as they like for up to three days from the time of broadcast, and you can watch on computers, phones or through smart TVs and Chromecasts,” says Boparai.
Tickets cost £10 or you can choose to pay £15 to further support Michael Chapman and the freelance production crew during these difficult times.
For the last word on Chapman’s lasting impact, here is Rockford, Illinois guitarist, singer and songwriter Ryley Walker: “One of my greatest influences in life. Taught me to play guitar better, act like a professional, and always demand the cash at the end of the night. 80 years and just getting started. A true honour and privilege to call Michael a friend and mentor. MC shows love and truth in every tune. Guitar king and living legend Michael Chapman!”
Here comes the flood: Rowntree Park viewed from the Reading Cafe balcony in sodden November. Now we wait for the vaccine dove but meanwhile the arts will not be beaten into retreat
LOCKDOWN 2 wears the mask of uncertainty for another fortnight until the next Government proclamation on when and how it will all end in tiers.
Leaving predictions to the betting shops, this column will state the facts as they stand now on what – definitely or hopefully – will be happening in the weeks and months ahead as we wait for a prick to make a difference.
Charles Hutchinson consults his diary, written in pencil just in case, to help to fill yours.
Look who’s taking part in the first #yramathome on November 22
Virtual shopping goes arty for Christmas: York River Art Market online
AFTER summer stalls by the Ouse were Covid-cancelled, York River Art Market will host a series of online markets in the lead-up to Christmas.
The #yramathome Virtual Winter Art Markets will run from 10am to 5pm each Sunday from November 22 to December 20, plus the last Saturday before Christmas Day, December 19.
Online shoppers can browse and buy artworks from a selection of 20-plus different “indie makers” at each market day via Instagram. Information on each weekend’s makers, along with instructions on how to shop, will be shared via the York River Art Market (YRAM) Facebook page.
Snowfall In The Woods, mixed media on board, by Sharon Winter at Blue Tree Gallery, York
Exhibition of the week: The Christmas Show, Blue Tree Gallery, York, online initially
ORIGINAL paintings by Colin Cook, Giuliana Lazzerini, Nikki Monaghan and Sharon Winter feature in The Christmas Show, the latest Blue Tree Gallery exhibition in York until January 16 2021.
Lockdown 2 means the show is starting online only at bluetreegallery.co.uk/christmas-show-2020, but the Bootham gallery will re-open in December, subject to the new Government rules and regulations.
Driftwood sculptures by Natalie Parr, Christmas-themed ceramics by Kath Cooper and oxidised steel hanging decorations by David Mayne will be tempting Christmas buyers too.
Say Owt alumni Stu Freestone, left, Henry Raby, Hannah Davies and Dave Jarman in pre-Covid days. Now they head online for a live-stream tomorrow
Live-stream of the Week: Say Owt’s Lovely Lockdown Lyricism, Friday (20/11/20200), 7pm to 7.45pm
SAY Owt, York’s battleground for warring wordsmiths in slam clashes and regular host to spoken-word artists du jour, switches to online transmission for a night of alliteratively entitled Lovely Lockdown Lyricism.
Whirling wisps of wordy wonder in Livestream 2: In Owt/Shake It All About, will be Say Owt’s A-team of anarchic administrator Henry Raby, co-founder Stu Freestone, associate artist Dave Jarman and playwright, tutor, theatre director and slam champ Hannah Davies.
Tune in for “good Friday vibes” at facebook.com/events/283791622875447. Looking ahead, Say Owt hopes to re-convene in socially distanced mode at The Crescent, York, on December 11.
Danny Mellor and Anastasia Benham in Badapple Theatre Company’s The Snow Dancer
Let it snow in York: Badapple Theatre Company, The Snow Dancer, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, December 5, 2.30pm, 7.30pm; December 6, 1pm, 6pm
GREEN Hammerton’s Badapple Theatre are to revive their 2019 Christmas show, The Snow Dancer, for two days only at the Covid-secure JoRo Theatre, newly equipped with chair wraps to denote the socially distanced seating plan.
Last year’s cast of Anastasia Benham and Danny Mellor will re-assemble to perform writer-director Kate Bramley’s cautionary global-warming tale, set in the Great Wood, where something is awry.
The animals are desperate for sleep, but with the onset of climate change, the weather is just too warm. Step in Mellor and Benham’s intrepid heroes, who decide they must seek out the mysterious Snow Dancer if there is to be any chance of ever making it snow for Christmas.
Kate Rusby wishes you a Happy Holly Day in her streamed Carol concert after having to cancel her Christmas tour
Christmas concert at home: Kate Rusby’s Happy Holly Day, December 12, 7.30pm
THE 2020 Kate Rusby At Christmas tour will not be happening, ruling out her South Yorkshire pub carol concert at York Barbican on December 20.
However, in response to the Covid restrictions, the Barnsley folk nightingale has decided to go online instead, presenting Kate Rusby’s Happy Holly Day on December 12.
At this special concert, streamed worldwide, expect all the usual Rusby Christmas ingredients: familiar Carols but set to unfamiliar tunes; wintry Rusby songs; sparkly dress, twinkling lights; her regular folk band and brass quintet; Ruby Reindeer and a fancy-dress finale. For tickets, go to: katerusby.com/happy-holly-day/
Elf and safety measures: Christmas films lined up for Covid-secure Daisy Dukes Drive-in Cinema: Winter Wonderland at Elvington Airfield
Drive-in home for Christmas: Daisy Dukes Winter Wonderland, Elvington Airfield, near York, December 18 to 20
AFTER Knavesmire in July and Rufforth Airfield for Halloween, the apostrophe-shy Daisy Dukes Drive-in Cinema finds a new Covid-secure home for Christmas: Elvington Airfield. Father Christmas, elves and screen characters will be driving by too.
December 18 will offer Frozen 2, Home Alone, Edward Scissorhands and Die Hard; December 19, Elf, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Gremlins and Bad Santa; December 20, The Polar Express, Home Alone 2, Batman Returns and Love Actually.
The Friday and Saturday programmes will start at 12 noon; the Sunday shows at 11am. Audio will be transmitted via a specially assigned FM frequency direct to vehicles’ radios and food can be delivered to customers’ cars.
Come Home, Tim: Yorkshireman Tim Booth will lead James to Leeds First Direct Arena next autumn
Looking ahead to 2021: Red Rose stalwarts James and Happy Mondays to invade the White Rose
JAMES have had to forego their traditional winter tour in 2020. Moving on, however, they will play Leeds First Direct Arena on November 25 2021, supported by fellow Manchester mavericks Happy Mondays.
“Feels like a new dawn to trumpet a celebratory tour, a week after the first news of hope,” said Clifford-raised frontman Tim Booth on Twitter. ”So looking forward to seeing you.”
Tickets will go on general sale from 9.30am tomorrow with more details on the Live page at wearejames.com. Look out for a new James live double album and DVD, Live In An Extraordinary World, on December 11.
York Theatre Royal Travelling Pantomime cast members Anna Soden, left, Faye Campbell, Josh Benson, Robin Simpson and Reuben Johnson in rehearsal on Tuesday
And what about?
As trailered previously, York has two upcoming pantomimes. York Theatre Royal’s Travelling Pantomime will be making its way around all 21 wards from early December with a choice of three shows, Jack And The Beanstalk, Dick Whittington and Snow White.
York Stage will be full of beans from December 11 to January 3 at Theatre @41 Monkgate with writer-director Nik Briggs’s production of Jack And The Beanstalk, choreographed by West End hotshot Gary Lloyd.
At home, TV is in the crowning season: The Crown season four and The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix and the crowning of The Great British Bake Off champion on Channel 4 on Tuesday night.
Albums to discover: Elvis Costello’s Hey Clockface; Fleet Foxes’ Shore, This Is The Kit’s Off Off On and, what joy, Songhoy Blues’ Optimisme.
May Tether as Jill in York Stage’s pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk
James: 2020 live album and DVD, 2021 studio album and winter tour
JAMES will open their 2021 winter tour at Leeds First Direct Arena on November 25, supported by fellow Manchester institution Happy Mondays.
“Feels like a new dawn to trumpet a celebratory tour, a week after the first news of hope,” said Clifford-raised frontman Tim Booth on Twitter. ”Soo looking forward to seeing you.
“We’re playing with the brilliant Happy Mondays. Last played with them in 1988, hopefully this time they won’t steal our rider or try and spike my drink…”
James announced their seven-date itinerary on official website wearejames.com. “Lockdown greetings to one and all. In these extraordinary times, obviously our traditional winter tour won’t be possible, but let’s set a date for this time next year so we in Jamesland collectively have something to look forward to!” it stated.
“With that in mind, you’re cordially invited to our 2021 winter tour of the UK and Ireland, joined by very special guests and fellow Mancunian mavericks, Happy Mondays.”
The 2021 tour poster for James’s Mancunian double bill with Happy Mondays
Welcoming Shaun Ryder’s Madchester icons aboard, bassist Jim Glennie said: “True Manchester legends and old band buddies, it will be an honour to have them as our very special guests. Make sure you get your tickets for an exceptional double bill of fun and fantastic music.”
Pre-sale tickets go on sale at 9.30am tomorrow (18/11/2020); remaining tickets will be on general sale from 9.30am on Friday with more details on the Live page at wearejames.com.
The website also trailered “thrilling whispers on the new music front”: “Springtime 2021 there’s a brand new James studio album due – our sweet sixteenth! – currently entitled All The Colours Of You. Much more of that to come, shouted from the rooftops, in due time!”
The message concluded: “Hopefully this newsflash has brightened a dreary day with thoughts of winter singalongs to come and a year full of new music. Of course, you can still order our forthcoming live album and DVD if you can’t wait for your James fix! Stay warm and well X.”
The aforementioned live album and DVD, Live In Extraordinary Times – a title twist on their 2018 studio set Living In Extraordinary Times – will be released on December 11.
Extraordinary: The artwork for James’s upcoming live double album and DVD
“You asked (okay – pleaded, pestered, perhaps even profaned) and finally we’ve delivered,” the website proclaimed. “A new live double album and DVD! Including a beautiful photo-book set, as well as coloured vinyl, double deluxe CD, signed prints (get in early!), T-shirts, the full works.”
Booth, 60, commented: “As requested by many lovers of the band – a live DVD and album to capture the spirit of the gigs of the last few years. Hopefully, this will help us through the long nights of lockdown – reliving these gatherings of intimacy and passion. Thank you for coming along for the ride in the crazy world of James.”
The website bulletin went on: “In a year feeling anything but ordinary, this special collection reminds us of the power and connection of live music.
“Released just in time for St Nick to get his hands on it for you…11th December 2020. Sorry we can’t put on one of our traditional winter tours to warm your quarantined cockles but hopefully this is the next best thing.”
In the meantime, bask in the memory of James shows of recent Yorkshire times – Leeds First Direct Arena, Scarborough Open Air Theatre and the night in March 2019 when fighting broke out at Hull Bonus Arena – as you dance just like Fred Astaire until next winter’s tour.
New way: Ewa Salecka, right, leading a Prima Vocal Ensemble bubble rehearsal after lockdown easement
2020 marks the tenth anniversary of Prima Vocal Ensemble, Ewa Salecka’s exhilarating brand of communal choir in York, but this is the Covid-ruined year when group singing indoors is on the lockdown list of forbidden pleasures.
“Here’s a genuine irony,” says musical director, conductor and producer Ewa. “An activity proven to have such a positive effect on our mental health has been so drastically restricted by events that make those very same benefits more essential than ever.”
Prima Vocal Ensemble “got through” Lockdown 1 with online rehearsals and once the Government measures eased in the halcyon days of summer, Ewa was able to re-assemble group meetings, albeit in a socially distanced, bubble format, for eight weeks.
Describing running a choir in 2020 as being “intense”, she praised her singers for showing “amazing community spirit”, especially now that the brief choral corridor has been closed off once more in Lockdown 2.
“It has been an extremely difficult year for everyone working in the arts,” says Ewa. “Here in York, with its rich history of choral singing, directors across the spectrum have had to adjust to cancelled plans and uncertainty.
Old way: Ewa Salecka, top, left, directs 200 Prima and Angel City Chorale singers in a rehearsal in pre-Covid days
“As a musical director, conductor and producer, keeping one step ahead of the pack has always been the aim. Now, it’s a case of keeping one step ahead of a global pandemic and – let’s admit it, sometimes confusing – Government advice.”
Nothing energises Polish-born Ewa more than a seemingly insurmountable task. So, back in March, she wasted not a single week in setting up weekly virtual rehearsals for the 100-strong Prima Vocal Ensemble.
However, the necessities of lockdown quickly brought with it many other issues. “I struggled at times, being physically disconnected from both my personal support and international artistic network, but after seeing Prima each week online, the reality for some really hit home hard,” Ewa explains.
“I could see some people coping with the stress of lockdown worse than others and quickly understood that this was now not only about continuing with high-standard rehearsals, but also about protecting mental health and well-being of our singers through regular community engagement.”
Choir members responded immediately to Ewa’s call for support networks, stepping up to the mark to reach out to everyone in the group who might be finding the alienating circumstances difficult.
“I’m in awe of their perseverance and dedication through this dramatic year,” says musical director Ewa Salecka of her Prima Vocal Ensemble singers
As lockdown eased and a “very restricted” return to physical rehearsals looked hopeful, new challenges arose. “I knew not everyone would be able to attend in person, but nothing was going to stop me bringing a glimpse of normality– and more importantly, hope – to as many people as I could,” says Ewa.
“I spent the whole of August on constant micro-planning for the ever-changing scenarios: live simulcast broadcasts to set up for those at home; tons of administrative detail; appropriate venues; risk-assessments; seemingly endless regulations and disclaimers – and the weekly Zoom sessions continued alongside!
“It was so new for everyone, I couldn’t just call out for help. I simply had to get on with it: find that balance between creative output, Government guidelines and undisputed science. Being able to be back in one room with Prima was both emotional and exhilarating.”
Given 2020 being Prima Vocal Ensemble’s tenth anniversary year, it means everything to Ewa to keep the spirits of this singing community high. By working from a professional home studio, fitted with top-standard equipment and a baby grand piano, she can provide high-quality resources for her singers in York.
“They really are both ambitious and inspiring,” she says. “I’m in awe of their perseverance and dedication through this dramatic year. When we finally began to meet up after a half-a-year break, I was blown away by how fantastic they sounded, especially with the new repertoire.
“It was clear to me that our tutored virtual rehearsals really worked. And although it took a moment to adjust to the new space arrangements, the choir was in top form.”
Armed woman: Ewa Salecka on baton duty as she conducts Karl Kenkins’s The Armed Man
Her professional studio set-up has enabled Ewa to continue her work as a vocal coach, having the pleasure of training private clients and seeing her York St John University music students graduate with top results this summer.
“I was immensely proud of them all, although I did feel for them missing out on a traditional graduation ceremony!” she says.
Come November 5, come Lockdown 2. “For Prima, until we can resume our ‘bubble rehearsals’, it’s a temporary return to full-on Zoom,” says Ewa, “I aim to find uplifting content that everyone can engage with and we will soon start working towards future events.
“Among Prima’s concerts, in 2021 we will be performing on three occasions with The Voice tenor Russell Watson and we already have bookings for 2022. We’re now preparing for a winter project that will be available to view online in December, so watch this space.”
For all the frustrations and stalled plans of 2020, nevertheless Ewa says this is the perfect time to join Prima Vocal Ensemble: “We’re open to welcome new members with spaces for more tenors and basses and a couple of 1st sopranos too.
“There are no auditions to join,” she stresses. “The repertoire is extremely versatile, from inspiring, feel-good pieces in all genres to formal classical orchestral works. Ability to hold the line is essential, and with my professional training, you’re guaranteed to develop your voice and musical skills.”
“I’m not going to let the lockdown or the pandemic prevent me from inspiring people to be involved in music making,” vows Ewa
You can contact Ewa by emailing info@primachoral.com, adding “Joining PVE” in the subject line.
“There’s a waiting list for altos and sopranos, but as there are various additional projects being planned, all singers are encouraged to contact Prima if they wish to be added to the list and informed of the new singing opportunities,” says Ewa.
She has limited spaces too for private vocal clients, either in person or online. To enquire, email Ewa at the address above, adding: “Vocal training”.
Noted for her unstinting positivity, she offers a final thought. “I’m not going to let the lockdown or the pandemic prevent me from inspiring people to be involved in music making,” says an adamant Ewa.
“Singing, creativity and artistic engagement can happen, will happen and is absolutely guaranteed to help all of us through this time, both physically and mentally.”
For more information on Prima Vocal Ensemble, visit the “Join Us” section at primavocalensemble.com.
Russell Watson: Three concerts with Prima Vocal Ensemble in the pipeline for 2021
