COUNTRY duo The Shires are moving their 25-date 2020 tour to the autumn,
in response to the Coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes have switched their York Barbican show from May 20 to November 1, when they will be joined by Texan country singer and songwriter Eric Paslay.
Tickets remain valid for the revised date – The Shires’ only Yorkshire
gig on the itinerary – but those seeking a refund should contact their point of
purchase.
The first Brits to win Best International Act in the American Country
Music Association awards, Earle and Rhodes released their fourth album, Good
Years, in this anything but good year on March 13, reaching number three in the
charts.
As with their past albums, 2015’s Brave, 2016’s My Universe and 2018’s
Accidentally On Purpose, the recording sessions took place in Nashville,
Tennessee.
The album artwork for The Shires’ new album
“We are so excited to be releasing Good Years,” say Earle and Rhodes. “Honesty and storytelling have always been such an important part of our song-writing. We’ve poured some of the incredible experiences and life we’ve lived into these songs.
“We can’t wait to play these live across the country. The songs mean so much to us personally, but there really is nothing like looking out at our fans in the crowd and seeing how much of an impact they can have in someone else’s life. It’s truly a very special thing”.
The Shires last played York Barbican in May 2018 and performed a headline set at Pocklington’s Platform Festival at The Old Station last summer.
Only a smattering of seats remains on sale for their Barbican return on 0203 356 5441 or at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
“The show I do is pretty much all of Elvis’s eras,” says The King Is Back tribute act Ben Portsmouth
ELVIS is making another comeback…in 2021.
The King Is Back, Ben Portsmouth’s tribute show, will be back at York
Barbican on April 9 next year.
Berkshire singer Portsmouth was last in the building with his Elvis Presley act on December 20 2019. Tickets for his return are on sale at yorkbarbican.co.uk or on 0203 356 5441.
Portsmouth and his band Taking Care Of Elvis have been taking care of
Elvis tribute business for a dozen years in a show built around “a little less
conversation, a lot more action, please”.
“The show I do is pretty much all of Elvis’s eras,” he says. “So, from
the Sun Studio to his movie years. Then I’ll do the 1968 comeback with the
leather outfit.
Portsmouth to York: Ben Portsmouth confirms York Barbican concert next spring
“The first half is more like a story of Elvis’s
life and what he was doing in his career at the time. The second half is
just like an Elvis Seventies’ concert.”
In pursuit of authenticity to the maximum, all of Portsmouth’s
Elvis outfits are flown over from the United States, with the peacock jumpsuit
being his favourite.
In August 2012, Portsmouth made Elvis history when he became
the first act from outside the United States to win the annual Elvis Presley
Enterprises “Worldwide Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist”, held in Memphis,
Tennessee.
Portsmouth loves the Elvis voice, the look, the stage charisma, his
humour, but more than that. “He was just a people person,” he says. “He was just a simple country boy who liked his cars, his food and all
the rest of it.”
Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara: Remembering The Oscars tour moves to Spring 2021
REMEMBER the new York Barbican date for Remembering The Oscars. Strictly
Come Dancing couple Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara are rescheduling
their postponed April 10 show for April 21 next year.
In keeping with all 38 dates, ten free VIP tickets will be made available to NHS staff “as a way of the producers and Aljaž and Janette showing their gratitude to these front-line heroes” caught in the eye of the Coronavirus pandemic storm.
This will include a meet & greet with the Strictly duo, and information
on how to claim these tickets will be announced very soon “once normal services
resume”.
Aljaž and Janette say: “We know what we are offering is a relatively
small gesture, but we want to acknowledge the amazing effort of the NHS staff who
are facing unimaginable pressure on a daily basis as they treat patients across
the UK affected by Coronavirus.
“We’ll be rolling out the proverbial red carpet for these heroes and we
look forward to thanking them in person throughout the tour.”
The 2020 tour of Škorjanec and Manrara’s new dance spectacular had been
due to start earlier this month, but was postponed after theatres closed
nationwide in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The tour now will run from March 20 to May 4 2021 and all tickets will
remain valid for the rearranged dates of Remembering The Oscars, wherein Aljaž
and Janette will give the red-carpet treatment to Oscar-winning songs, dances,
movies and stars.
Janette says: “We are so thrilled to have the opportunity to put on this
magnificent show, which we are so proud of, in 2021. We hope that when these
difficult times pass, we can bring joy and smiles to everyone’s hearts; nothing
would make us happier.”
Aljaž added: “It was heart-breaking to not be able to open with our show
this year, but we are now so thrilled that our beautiful show will still be
seen by the UK audiences next year. We cannot wait to be back on stage and perform
for you all.”
York Barbican is the only Yorkshire date on the tour. Ticket holders unable to attend the April 21 2021 show should contact the Barbican box office, 0203 356 5441.
Friends! The Musical Parody: new York Barbican date next March
FRIENDS! The Musical Parody has been
rescheduled for March 3 2021 at York Barbican after the March 20 show was postponed
under the Coronavirus strictures.
The lampooning show both celebrates and pokes fun at the misadventures of Manhattan 20-somethings Ross, Chandler, Monica, Phoebe, Joey and Rachel from the cherished 1990s’ American TV sitcom as they navigate the pitfalls of work, life and love.
Friends!
The Musical Parody is a “good-hearted romp through our favourite moments in an
uncensored, hilarious, fast-paced, music-filled show” that opens on a typical
day at New York coffee shop Central Perk. When an unexpected runaway bride
enters the picture, it kicks the whole gang out of second gear.
The show
will play York Barbican as part of the off-Broadway and Las Vegas musical’s now
extended first UK and Irish tour. Tickets for the revised date are on sale at
yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The poster for the Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets spring tour, now moved to autumn
A GOOD journalist may never reveal his saucers, but the secret is out: Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets are moving their postponed-by-Coronavirus May 1 gig at York Barbican to October 4.
Pink
Floyd drummer and percussionist Mason, 76, is joined in his Secrets operative
by lead guitarist Gary Kemp, yes, that Gary Kemp, from New Romantic Islington
pop dandies Spandau Ballet, now 60.
In the line-up too for The Echoes Tour are Pink Floyd touring and recording bassist Guy Pratt, guitarist Lee Harris, from The Blockheads, and The Orb’s Dom Beken on keyboards.
Together,
they celebrate Pink Floyd’s earliest work “in all its psychedelic, freaked-out
glory”, and the re-arranged 2020 tour will see the band further
expand their repertoire to encompass songs from the early catalogue up to Floyd’s
1972 album Obscured By Clouds.
Nick Mason in performance with his Saucerful Of Secrets
Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets made their debut at four intimate London shows at Dingwalls on May 20 2018 and The Half Moon in Putney on May 21, 23 and 24. The Dingwalls date was his first show since Pink Floyd played at the 2005 Live 8 concert in London and the run of London gigs was his first since Floyd’s Division Bell Tour in 1994.
Mason’s
band subsequently sold out theatres around the world, and memories came
flooding back at three nights at London’s Roundhouse, where Pink Floyd had played
some of their most revered early shows in the 1960s.
Last September, Mason was named Prog Magazine’s Prog God at the Progressive Music Awards at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, following in the footsteps of Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Ian Anderson, Carl Palmer and Steve Howe.
Tickets remain valid for the new Barbican date. For bookings, go to yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Did you know?
BORN on January 27 1944, in Hampstead, London, drummer
Nicholas Berkeley Mason CBE
is a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink
Floyd.
He is the only Pink
Floyd musician to have played on all of their
studio albums and their only constant member since their formation in London in
1965.
Alan Carr looks shocked as he learns he will play York Barbican four nights in a row in December
YET again, Alan?! Yes, comedian Alan Carr
is adding a fourth night of his Not Again, Alan! show on December 16 as he turns
York Barbican into York Carrbican.
Carr, ever-chatty son of former York City footballer Graham
Carr, will play four successive Christmas nights in York, having already added
December 17 to his December 18 and 19 gigs on his first tour in four years.
Tickets for the extra date areon
sale on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box
office.
Since his last comedy travels, chat-show host Carr has “managed
to find himself in all sorts of dramas”, apparently. Such as? “Between his
star-studded wedding day and becoming an accidental anarchist, from fearing for
his life at border control to becoming a reluctant farmer, three words spring
to mind…Not again, Alan!” says his tour publicity. “Join Alan on tour as he
muses upon the things that make his life weird and wonderful.”
Even louder hailer: Alan Carr announces a fourth December night at York Barbican
Not Again, Alan! will be Carr’s fourth UK solo show in four-year
cycles in the wake of Yap, Yap, Yap’s 200 dates in 2015 and 2016, Spexy Beast
in 2011 and Tooth Fairy in 2007. He last brought his chat, chat, chat to York
on the Yap, Yap, Yap! itinerary on July 11 2015 at the Barbican.
Later this
year, Carr will host Alan Carr’s Epic Gameshow on ITV, wherein five all-time
favourite game shows will be supersized and reinvigorated for a new audience:
Play Your Cards Right, Take Your Pick, Strike It Lucky, Bullseye and The Price
Is Right. In 2020 too, Carr will return to the judges’ panel on the second BBC
series of RuPaul’s DragRace UK.
Given the ticket demand for Not Again, Alan! again and again,
again and now yet again, York Barbican advises prompt booking.
DANCE troupe Diversity will play York
Barbican on April 25 2021 on their Connected tour.
Last year marked ten years since Diversity won the third series of Britain’s Got Talent, an anniversary celebrated on the sold-out 48-date Born Ready tour.
At those shows, Diversity promised to continue into a second decade and, true to their word, founder and choreographer Ashley Banjo has created Connected, a show that centres around the world of social media, the internet and the digital era we now live in, but, more importantly, how this connects us all.
Banjo says: “Every year that goes by,
and every time we get to create a new touring show, I cannot believe we are
still lucky enough to get to do this.
“But even after all this time, we are
still growing, and this new decade and new chapter for Diversity is sure to be
something even more special than the last. I truly do believe that we are all
connected in more ways than one and I cannot wait to bring this to life on
stage.”
Banjo has returned to the judging
panel for his third series of ITV’s Dancing On Ice, whose final on Sunday will
feature fellow Diversity member Perri Kiely competing for the
winner’s trophy.
He also has hosted, choreographed and starred in the BAFTA-nominated The Real Full Monty from 2017 to 2019 and the International Emmy Award, Broadcast Award and Royal Television Society Award-winning The Real Full Monty: Ladies Night in 2018-2019. His Channel 4 show, Flirty Dancing, completed it second series last December.
Diversity’s nine tours have sold more
than 600,000 tickets. Tickets
for next spring’s Connected show at York Barbican are on sale on 0203 356 5441,
at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Running from March 19 to May 29 2021, the Connected tour also will visit Harrogate Convention Centre on March 20; Victoria Theatre, Halifax, March 21; Hull Bonus Arena, April 3, and Sheffield City Hall, April 4. Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; Hull, 0844 858 5025 or bonusarenahull.com; Halifax, 01422 351158 or victoriatheatre.co.uk; Sheffield, 0114 278 9789 or sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.
Heather Findlay, left, Jess Steel, Beth McCarthy and Annie Donaghy relishing I Feel Like A Woman at A Night To Remember. Picture: David Harrison
REVIEW: Big Ian’s A Night To Remember, York Barbican, February 29
DEMENTIA
is a team game, says Ian Donaghy, now as much a motivational speaker at
conferences as a showman, fundraiser and event host.
Not only Dementia
Projects in York, but also St Leonard’s Hospice, Bereaved Children’s Support in
York and Accessible Arts and Media benefit from these nights to remember.
Saturday,
sold out as ever, was the eighth such night, nights that had raised £150,000 so
far. Big Ian is yet to confirm this year’s total, but £5,700 was taken in bucket
collections alone.
Torch singer! Big Ian Donaghy has the phones out for Lionel Richie’s Hello at A Night To Remember at York Barbican. Picture: David Harrison
Yes, the
fundraising is important, but Big Ian puts the fun into that fundraising, as
well as the heart and soul, in a community event that, no matter what hell of a
world is going on outside right now, always brings out the best in York.
Here’s
the news, delivered in a specially recorded Look North spoof bulletin from Phil
Bodmer, devotee of Big Ian’s Guestlist nights at York Racecourse. This would be
the biggest gathering of A Night To Remember yet: not only the old father time
of musical directors, George Hall, on keyboards with his band of bass, guitars,
drums and percussion, but 14 brass players to boot, four from Big Ian’s band
Huge and a whole heap of shiny young players from York Music Forum, gathered
under the tutelage of Ian Chalk.
What’s
more, the musicians and singers had an 80-year age range, from those fledgling
brass talents to 93-year-old Barbara from the Singing For All choir, a force of
nature who summed up everything joyful about this celebration of the power of
music throughout our lives.
River deep, mountain high: Graham Hodge conquering Cry Me A River. Picture: David Harrison
Big Ian
took the lead, brass assisted, on Elton John’s I’m Still Standing and, yes, he
would still be standing three hours later, still urging us to fill those
buckets.
Simon
Snaize’s rendition of Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, with the brass section breathing fire, was an early highlight; Boss
Caine’s mine-deep voiced Dan Lucas turned Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 from daytime to
night-time hours; Jess Steel, as vital to these nights as Big Ian, climbed the
first of several vocal mountains with Barbra Streisand’s The Way We Were.
Songs
were interspersed with Dementia-themed video clips, usually recorded on Ian’s
phone, some bringing tears, others cheers, all indeed making it a team game.
Thank you for the music: A Night To Remember’s singers and musicians take a bow at the finale. Picture: David Harrison.
Kieran O’Malley’s
fiddle bow was a wand of magic whenever he played, whoever he accompanied;
Heather Findlay and Simon Snaize’s duet for Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain had exactly
The Chain reaction it deserved, guitar solo and all.
Ken
Sanderson, alias Las Vegas Ken, normally restricts himself to a solo slot, but for
the first time, he was joined by Hall’s band, at Big Ian’s urging: another hit
at this “Gang Show with people we really like”.
Later, a fellow staple of these shows, 6ft 3 folk stalwart Graham Hodge, newly turned 70, would be seen as never seen before, again at Donaghy’s suggestion, as he eschewed folk balladry for a dinner jacket to knock Cry Me A River out of the park with the vocal performance of the night. Better than Bublé? No troublé!
Jessa Liversidge, front, centre, leads one and all in I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing..and she did! Picture: David Harrison.
What better way to open the second half than radiant York singer Jessa Liversidge leading her Singing For All group, ebullient Barbara and all, in fact all the audience, as we sang I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing. In perfect harmony, of course! “I’m a bit c**p these days,” said Barbara, but singing is about so much more than the act of singing, and you could see how much it means to her after all these years.
From Annie
Donaghy’s Careless Whisper to Beth McCarthy’s U2 and Guns N’Roses mash-up, Hope
& Social’s Gary Stewart turning into Paul Simon for You Can Call Me Al, to
Annie, Beth, Heather and Jess, all in black and white, for Shania Twain’s I Feel Like A
Woman, the show-stoppers kept coming.
Out came
the phone torches on Big Ian’s command for Lionel Richie’s Hello and a big, big
finale followed up the apt Don’t You Forget About Me with Jess does Dusty for
You Don’t Have To Say You Love M and, what’s this? A video message of support
from Rick Astley that arrived in Ian’s in-box from Sydney, Australia, at quarter
to five that morning.
Cue a Never Gonna Give You Up singalong, and no, you just know Big Ian is never gonna give up on these special nights, his belief in making every life vibrant and vital to the last. Well done big fella, well done sound techie Craig Rothery, well done York.
Even the audience’s shoes were shining stars on A Night To Remember at York Barbican on Leap Year Saturday
Annie Donaghy, Big Ian Donaghy, Beth McCarthy, Heather Findlay and Jess Steel at A Night To Remember in 2019 at York Barbican. Picture: Karen Boyes
A NIGHT To Remember, tomorrow’s charity concert at York Barbican,
has sold out but any returned or cancelled tickets will go on sale this morning
from 10am.
Now in its eighth year, this annual fundraising event helps good
causes in the city to make a difference, as organiser and host Big Ian Donaghy
brings together “the finest musicians and singers for a gang show like no
other”.
Tomorrow
night, all the singers will perform as an ensemble exceeding its constituent
parts. “When you have a dream team on the stage, it seems a shame to not use
them, so everybody sings on everybody else’s songs,” reasons Big Ian.
Jess Steel: taking on “near-impossibly demanding songs” at York Barbican
A Night To Remember lets singers take on their favourite songs.
“Soulful Jess Steel will take on a Dusty Springfield classic, as well as other
near-impossibly demanding songs that she’ll deliver in the manner she’s now
well known for.
“Heather Findlay will bring her class into the mix, performing
two of her favourite songs,” says Big Ian.
Beth McCarthy, who made her debut at the Mount School when Big
Ian ran a School of Rock concert there, will be stepping out of her comfort
zone to rock the Barbican foundations.
Beth McCarthy: “Stepping out of her comfort zone to rock the Barbican foundations”
Annie Donaghy will put her spin on a George Michael classic on a
night when the set list will feature covers of Dusty Springfield, Shania Twain,
Simple Minds, Paul Simon, Michael Buble, Guns N’ Roses, Barbra Streisand, Peter
Gabriel, Elton John and Marvin Gaye classics, as well as a few surprises.
York singer Jessa Liversidge will lead her fully inclusive
Singing For All choir, a group with members aged up to 98, who will sing The
New Seekers’ I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing.
Among the men, Graham Hodge will “venture into very different
areas” as he celebrates his 70th birthday; gravel-voiced
Boss Caine, alias Dan Lucas, will tackle a country favourite that nobody would
ever guess; Hope & Social’s Gary Stewart will play the congas, as well as
singing a Paul Simon rouser.
Jessa Liversidge: bringing her Singing For All choir to York Barbican
The gig’s house band will be led by York music stalwart George
Hall, joined by powerhouse duo Rob Wilson and Simon Snaize on guitar duty.
“This year, the show has a bigger, brassier feel with a 12-piece
brass section, made up of Kempy, Pete, Stu and Chalky from my band Huge, being
joined by funk horns and brass players from York Music Forum, ranging in age
from 13 to 18, led by Ian Chalk,” says Big Ian.
He also
promises “ground-breaking, heart-warming and heart-breaking films” to raise
dementia awareness. “Watch out for surprise appearances, as previous years have
included messages from Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, The Hairy Bikers, Rick
Astley, Nick Knowles, Anton du Beke and Kaiser Chiefs’ Ricky Wilson,” he says.
Oh, what A Night To Remember as singers and musicians gather at the finale of last year’s fund-raising concert at York Barbican. Picture: Ravage
“But the
real reason these musicians come together is to help St Leonard’s Hospice,
Dementia Projects in York, Bereaved Children Support York and Accessible Arts
& Media.”
Any
returned or cancelled tickets for tomorrow’s 7.30pm concert will be on sale on
0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or
in person from the Barbican box office.
Katherine Jenkins: from The Masked Singer’s Octopus to a cinematic new album and 2021 tour
KATHERINE Jenkins, the biggest-selling classical artist of the
century, will return to York Barbican on February 5 next year.
The Welsh mezzo-soprano, 39, will be showcasing her 14th
studio album, Cinema Paradiso, set for release on Decca Reecords on April 17
this spring.
Tickets go on sale on Friday (February 28) at 10am on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Sharing its name with Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1988 Italian film, Cinema Paradiso is a collection of “unforgettable songs from some of the world’s best-loved movie moments”, such as Moon River, from Breakfast At Tiffany’s; Pinocchio’sWhen You Wish Upon A Star; a duet of Tonight, from West Side Story, with Welsh singer and actor Luke Evans, plus themes from Schindler’s List, The Lord Of The Rings and Dances With Wolves.
“I’ve always loved movie soundtracks,” says Katherine, who turns 40 on June 29. “I wanted to create an iconic movie moment with this record: all the best film musical themes that we know and love, all together on one album.
“The last few albums I’ve made have been inspired by what’s happening in
my own world. This one, in particular, was inspired by the things that were
going on around me. Having played my first movie role last year, it felt like a
natural transition for me.”
The poster for Katherine Jenkins’ 2021 tour
Katherine’s endeavours in the world of film have been a huge inspiration
in the making of Cinema Paradiso, especially her role in the upcoming Minamata,
directed by her husband, Andrew Levitas.
Katherine not only makes her film debut, performing alongside Johnny Depp
and Bill Nighy, but also she co-wrote the title track with Eminem’s right-hand
woman, Skylar Grey, and performed on the film score written by Sakamoto, the
Academy Award-winning singer, songwriter, record producer, activist and actor.
Minamata will be released later this year, having received its world premiere at this month’s Berlin International Film Festival with Katherine in attendance, amid glowing reviews from the film industry and fans alike.
Returning to discussing the album tracks, Katherine says: “West Side Story has always been up there for me in
terms of musical films. Somewhere has been specially recorded for this album –
minus the Octopus mask [from the ITV series The Masked Singer] and I’m thrilled
to have Luke Evans join me on Tonight. I loved seeing some of his TV
performances last year and it was great fun to create an all-Welsh version of
the duet!”
Another pick for Cinema Paradiso, I’ll Never Love Again, from A Star Is Born, has been released as a single, going straight to the top of the iTunes Classical Chart.
I’ll Never Love Again also kick-started Katherine’s journey on The
Masked Singer in the guise of The Octopus, en route to finishing third. “My job
can be quite serious at times, but I have a four-year-old daughter who
absolutely loves Blue Planet, so I created ‘The Octopus’ character for her,”
she says.
“The hope with this album is that each song conjures up an iconic image from cinema,” says Katherine Jenkins
“Her favourite colours are pink and purple with sparkles and I thought
it would be something to allow her to understand more about what mummy does. I
can’t think of a better reason to do the show”.
Katherine adds: “The hope with this album
is that each song conjures up an iconic image from cinema. A Star Is Born is
quite a recent film, but the scene where Lady Gaga sings I’ll Never Love Again
is so touching and memorable that it felt completely right to include it as one
of my favourite movie musical moments.
“In a bid to disguise my voice on The Masked Singer, I chose songs that weren’t the norm for me, and so this track is a happy experiment for me, and after Ken [judge Ken Jeong] said it was the performance of the season, I felt it deserved a place on the album.”
In 2017, Katherine was crowned the number one-selling Classical Music Artist of the Last 25 Years by Classic FM and she made chart history in 2018 when Guiding Light became her 13th UK classical number one album.
Katherine last performed at York Barbican in May 2019, having previously
sung there in February 2012 and February 2015.
