George Thorogood: Good To Be Bad tour date at York Barbican
GEORGE Thorogood & The Destroyers will play York Barbican on July 22 on their Good To Be Bad: 45 Years Of Rock tour, their first in more than seven years.
“Ever since our first shows there in 1978, the UK has been one of our
favourite places to play,” says boogie-blues guitarist Thorogood, from
Wilmington, Delaware, who will turn 70 on February 24.
“We’re talking great venues, great energy and truly great audiences, and
we’re looking forward to coming back for it all. Expect our best, because
that’s what you’re gonna get.”
Since 1975, Thorogood & The Destroyers have sold more than 15
million albums and played more than 8,000 ferocious live shows, built around Who
Do You Love, I Drink Alone, One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, Move It On Over
and his definitive badass anthem, Bad To The Bone.
“To hear George Thorogood flail his slide
up and down his guitar,” wrote Greil Marcus in Rolling Stone magazine, “you
might have thought he was Ben Franklin – that he’d discovered not the blues,
but electricity.”
In the Destroyers’ line-up alongside Thorogood will
be Jeff Simon on percussion, Bill Blough on bass, Jim Suhler on guitar and
Buddy Leach on saxophone.”
Tickets can be booked from Friday (February 21) at 10am on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Cellist Jamie Walton: “skill of a practised magician”. Picture: Wolf Marloh
REVIEW: York Guildhall Orchestra,
40th Anniversary Concert, York Barbican, February 15 *****
HAD I not been there myself, I
would have hardly believed that the Guildhall Orchestra (as it was then known
and is still popularly described) first saw the light of day 40 years ago.
It has been a marvellous four
decades. And still there is a sense of excited anticipation before its every
performance. We know we are in for something special.
Saturday’s
celebration, conducted by Simon Wright, was no exception. A Ravel suite, an
Elgar concerto and a Brahms symphony were leavened by a birthday cake of Celebratory
Fantasy Variations baked by the founder himself, John Hastie.
His tasty pastiche wove myriad
musical allusions – including Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Ravel, Vaughan Williams,
Britten, even a samba – into variations on Happy Birthda’. As the piece finished,
the audience even got to join in with the song’s last line (wisely, after a
rehearsal). Good fun.
Ravel’s
Mother Goose featured on the opening night in 1980. Here it was again in all
its gentle finery, giving us a chance to admire again the nicely controlled
talents of the woodwinds: sinuous oboe for Tom Thumb’s walk, for example, and
clarinet and contrabassoon representing Beauty and the Beast, not forgetting
nifty xylophone (Janet Fulton) and rippling harp (Georgina Wells).
We
are fortunate indeed to have a cellist of international standing living right
on the edge of the North York Moors. Jamie Walton must have played Elgar’s
concerto countless times, but surely never as spellbindingly as this.
He achieved his intensity,
paradoxically, through subtle understatement, drawing in his audience with the
skill of a practised magician. The opening was steeped in a very English
melancholy. The jagged figure at the start of the Allegro spoke volumes about
the scherzo to come and Walton’s clarity at the top of his range was startling.
The
slow movement was beautifully, mouth-wateringly, spacious. Every rest was made
to count, delicately caressed. This kind of playing is risky: it can easily
backfire. Not here. Walton was exactly on Elgar’s wavelength, finding solace in
an elegant cantilena.
Fireworks, such as they were, came
in the finale, but nostalgia was never far from the surface, not least when the
work’s opening motto was rekindled just before the close. All the while, the
orchestra kept in very crisp attendance, typified by the brass interjections in
the finale. I have heard this work dozens of times, but was never quite
persuaded of its logic. Until now. The conjunction of two such intelligent
musicians as Simon Wright and Jamie Walton delivered an intricate precision
that is extremely rare. It will live in the memory.
Inevitably,
perhaps, Brahms’s Second Symphony was not going to reach quite this level. But
it brought catharsis of a kind, while showcasing the orchestra’s three choirs:
strings, winds and brass. Violin ensemble in the first movement had a wonderful
sweep, conjuring pastoral moods; they were enhanced by Jonny Hunter’s solo
horn. The cumulative effect of this huge movement was majestic. Not to be
outdone the cellos, who are in equally fine fettle, took centre stage in an
introspective Adagio.
The
paint-box of the orchestra, the woodwinds, enjoyed their moment in the
spotlight in the Allegretto, sparkling into a sunlit momentum and recapturing
it again at the finish after several distractions. Showing admirable stamina,
the whole orchestra combined for a finale of exuberant brilliance, reaching a
peak when the trombones returned in the coda.
This
orchestra is one of the treasures that makes living in York such a delight.
Roll on its half century!
The album artwork for Ronan Keating’s new album, released this spring
TWENTY years since releasing his
chart-topping debut solo album, Boyzone’s Ronan Keating will mark the anniversary
with a new record and tour, taking in York Barbican on June 19.
That night, the Irish boy band graduate will be promoting an album perfectly entitled for this year, Twenty Twenty, out on May 1 on the Decca Records label.
Tickets go on sale on February 21 at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk, on 0203 356 5441 or in person from the Barbican box office.
Dubliner Keating, who will turn 43 on March 3, describes Twenty Twenty as “a greatest hits of brand new music”. To
help him celebrate the 20th anniversary of his self-titled debut, he made
two inspired choices: to dive into his back catalogue torevisit
three of his biggest hits and, for some new numbers, call in some friends.
Ronan Keating’s 20th anniversary solo album will be “a greatest hits of brand new music”
First single One Of A Kind, despite its title, is a duet, wherein the Irishman is joined by Emeli Sandé. “I guess I’ve been known for those first dance songs at weddings and this has me written all over it,” says Keating. “It’s all about the night before the wedding, the day of the wedding and spending the rest of your life together.”
He decided the song demanded a duet
partner, and for Ronan there was only one choice: the Sunderland-born,
Scottish-raised Sandé.“I was completely honoured when Emeli said she’d
love to do it,” he says. “I was just blown away by her vocal. She’s obviously
got a brilliant voice, and she’s a lovely, warm person, so the personality
she’s brought to the song is just incredible.”
Two of a kind: the single cover for One Of A Kind replicates Twenty Twenty except for the addition of Emeli Sande
For Twenty Twenty, Keating had production
assistance from his longstanding wingman, Steve Lipson, who has worked with
such big hitters as Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Annie Lennox, Simple
Minds, and Whitney Houston. Names of further collaborators and track titles will
be revealed in due course, but Keating teases by revealing those collaborators
comprise some of his closest musical and chart-topping friends.
Over the past 20 years, Keating has
chalked up 30 consecutive Top Ten solo singles, ten studio albums,
multiple tours and 20 million records sales on top of 25 million sold with
Boyzone, as well as judging on The X Factor and The Voice in Australia; acting in
television drama and film; playing Guy in the romantic Irish hit, Once The
Musical, in the West End and co-hosting Magic FM’s breakfast show.
Over the past 12 months, he has worked tirelessly on an album that celebrates a longevity he does not take for granted. “There’s not a lot of artists that have been lucky enough to do 20 years and still be here,” he says, appreciative too of sustaining solo and band careers. “I’m very honoured to have had that, so I wanted to mark it with an album like this.”
Ronan Keating last played a York concert in July 2018 with Boyzone at the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend
In York, Keating last performed with Boyzone at a York Racecourse Music Showcase post-racing show on July 28 2018 on their 25th anniversary tour. His last solo appearance in the city was at York Barbican on September 21 2016. Last summer, the dangers posed by a massive thunderstorm led to his open-air solo concert at Castle Howard, near York, on August 4 being cut short.
Out of step with all around him: Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in Joker
JOKER – Live In Concert will bring Todd
Phillips’s award-laden film to York Barbican with live orchestral accompaniment
of Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score on May 17 at 7.30pm.
Preceded by the world premiere at the Eventim
Apollo, London, on April 30, the international tour has further Yorkshire shows
at Hull Bonus Arena on May 16 and Sheffield City Hall on June 24.
Central to the emotional journey Joaquin
Phoenix’s character Arthur Fleck takes through Phillips’s film is Guðnadóttir’s
beautifully haunting, BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning and Academy Award- nominated
score.
The fusion of looming industrial
soundscapes with raw, emotive string-led melodies – led by a lone cello – creates a melancholic shroud
marked with moments of hope, unfolding gradually to become a fever pitch of
disquieting tension.
Phillips’s music will be brought to life by a full orchestra to build a “vivid, visceral and entirely new Joker viewing experience”.
The London premiere will be conducted by Jeff Atmajian, the conductor and orchestrator of the original soundtrack; Senbla’s Dave Mahoney will take over for the UK tour dates, including York Barbican.
The poster artwork for Joker – Live In Concert
Hildur Guðnadóttir, the first-ever solo female winner of the Golden Globe for Best Original Score, also won a Grammy for her score for HBO’s miniseries Chernobyl. “I’m thrilled to get to see and hear Joker in the cinema with a live orchestra,” she says.
“When we recorded the music, the
orchestra brought such depth and detailed attention to the performances that we
were all literally holding our breaths during most of the recording sessions.
It was a beautiful trip. I’m so happy to get to go there again and for an
audience to experience that too.”
Director Todd Phillips says: “I speak for the entire Joker team when I say how thrilled we are to be working with Senbla and Ollie Rosenblatt on Joker – Live In Concert. I think it’s a wonderful way for audiences to experience Hildur Guðnadóttir‘s haunting and immersive score, while bearing witness to Joaquin Phoenix’s descent into madness as Arthur.”
Joker already has won the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Critics’ Choice awards for Best Actor and Best Original Score and is nominated for 11 Academy Awards, more than any other film. Those nominations for the Oscars awards ceremony include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Music/Score.
Tickets for Joker – Live In Concert at York Barbican go on sale at Friday at 10am on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office; Hull, 0844 858 5025 or bonusarenahull.com; Sheffield, 0114 278 9789 or sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.
Jools Holland: on tour for 32 autumn and winter dates
BOOGIE WOOGIE pianist Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
will be joined on tour for the first time by veteran singer Leo Sayer, as well
as original Squeeze compadre Chris Difford.
Both Sayer and Difford will perform at York Barbican on November 11,
Harrogate International Centre on November 27 and Leeds First Direct Arena on
the 32-date itinerary’s closing night, December 20. Sayer, but not Difford,
will be a guest at Holland’s Sheffield City Hall show on December 3.
Tickets for Holland’s 24th autumn and winter tour will go on sale at 10am on Friday (February 7) via Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Ticketline and Stargreen, as well as the venues.
Leo Sayer: touring with Jools Holland’s orchestra for the first time in 2020
Joining
jaunty Jools too will be two long-term participants, gospel, blues and soul
singer Ruby Turner, who has written songs with Holland, and original Squeeze
drummer Gilson Lavis. Regular vocalist Louise Marshall will be there each show
too.
Sayer,
71, who became an Australian citizen in 2009 after moving to Sydney, New South
Wales, in 2005, charted in the Top Ten with all of his first seven hits between
1973 and 1978: The Show Must Go On, One Man Band, Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance),
Moonlighting, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, the chart-topping When I Need You and
How Much Love.
Further
success followed with I Can’t Stop Loving You (Though I Try) and More Than I
Can Say in 1978, Have You Ever Been In Love in 1982 and Thunder In My Heart,
contributing vocals to Meck’s number one in 2006.
Chris Difford: Squeezing in autumn and winter dates with Jools Holland
Difford, Holland’s fellow Squeeze co-founder, has worked through the
years with Glen Tilbrook, also writing with Elton John, Paul Carrack, Lisa
Stansfield, Bryan Ferry, Helen Shapiro, Elvis Costello and Holland too, who
calls him “the John Lennon of London, the John Betjeman of Blackheath and the Alain
Delon of Deptford”.
Holland and his orchestra have performed previously with Eddi Reader, Lulu,
Joss Stone, Fine Young Cannibals’ Roland Gift, Spice Girl Melanie
C and Marc Almond. For his 2020 tour, UB40 featuring Ali and Astro will join him for
three November gigs in Guildford and London.
Jools is recording his next album, whose focus will be on piano
stylings, duets and collaborations with top instrumentalists, for autumn
release.
Tickets for York Barbican, where Holland last played on October 31 2019, will be on sale on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; Leeds, firstdirectarena.com; Sheffield, 0114 278 9789 or sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.
YORK Guildhall
Orchestra will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a
special York Barbican concert on February 15.
Almost 40 years to the day from when the orchestra was founded by John Hastie and played in a “one-off” in the York Guildhall in February 1980, the anniversary will be marked with a 7.30pm programme of works and composers from that first concert.
Who
could have foretold the amazing journey, reputation, critical acclaim and
popularity of the Guildhall group that has developed in the intervening years?
The anniversary concert will
begin with the first piece the orchestra played in 1980: Ravel’s Mother Goose
Suite (Mere L’Oye), a showpiece for glorious orchestral tunes featuring the
talents of the wind section.
This will be followed by
the return of soloist Jamie Walton, founder of the North York Moors Chamber
Music Festival, for Elgar’s evergreen Cello Concerto. A celebratory
orchestral work by John Hastie will open the second half that will conclude with
Brahms’s Symphony No 2 (Symphony In Norahms).
This finale will call on
the whole orchestra to do what it loves doing best: play a luxurious, full
orchestral work of the Romantic period of classical music.
Tickets cost £6.30 to £17.55 on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Loud hailer ! Alan Carr announces a third night at York Barbican
WHAT, again, Alan? Tickets have sold so quickly for Alan Carr’s first tour in four years, that Not Again, Alan!, is now, Yes, Again and Again and…Again, Alan, at York Barbican.
Carr, ever-chatty son of former York City footballer Graham Carr,
will play three successive Christmas nights in York, newly adding December 17
to December 18 and 19.
Tickets 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.”
Carr pile-up: Alan Carr to play York Barbican again and again and again
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.
Loudhailer! Alan Carr announces a brace of York Barbican gigs for December
HOW does
joker Alan Carr feel news of his first tour in four years will be received?
By
calling it Not Again, Alan!, the son of former York City footballer Graham Carr
supplies his own answer as he announces York Barbican gigs on December 18 and
19.
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.”
Tickets go on sale on Wednesday at 10am on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
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.
STRICTLY Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice will lead his cast of professional dancers in This Is Me at York Barbican on June 11.
For his fourth year of touring, the 29-year-old
Sicilian will be joined by leading lady Giulia Dotta, a professional dancer
on Dancing With The Stars Ireland, who performed with Pernice on his first
two solo tours and has appeared around the country in shows such as Rip It
Up and Here Come the Boys.
The poster for This Is Me, Giovanni Pernice’s new touring show
In the company too will be Oksana and
Jonathan Platero. Oksana is a former Strictly professional, reaching the
quarter-final with Judge Rinder in 2016. Her husband, Jonathan, is a world
salsa champion and they both dance on the Latin version of So You Think
You Can Dance? on American television.
The line-up of dancers from around the world also will include Larisa
Untila, Valerio La Pietra and Domenico Palmisano.
This Is Me is directed and choreographed by dance power-couple Trent
Whiddon and Gordon Grandosek Whiddon. This duo has performed in such
shows as Burn The Floor and on screen in Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing
With The Stars, as well as creating the musical Le Hotel.
Giovanni Pernice on stage, leading his company of dancers
Pernice’s new show will pay homage to the music and dances that
have inspired a career that has taken him from competition dancer to Strictly
regular on BBC One.
Last
summer, Strictly trio Pernice, Aljaž Škorjanec and Gorka Marquez played Harrogate Convention Centre
on June 25 and Hull Venue on July 17 on their 38-date Here Come The Boys tour.
Tickets for This Is Me’s 7.30pm performance are on sale on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
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
AS New Year’s resolutions wane and gym memberships become a direct debit, a group of York musicians start their boot camp of rehearsals for A Night To Remember.
Now in its eighth year, the annual fundraising event helps good causes in the city to make a difference.
Organiser and host Big Ian Donaghy brings together “the finest musicians and singers for a gang show like no other” at York Barbican.
“This year’s show is so jam packed with quality that we’ve had to create another day to fit it in: Saturday, February 29, in the leap year of 2020!” says Big Ian.
Heather Findlay performing at last year’s A Night To Remember fundraiser. Picture: David Harrison
Unlike other shows, A Night To Remember has all the singers performing as an ensemble exceeding all of 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,” says Big Ian.
“It’s become a big musical family – and there’s some range on stage! For example, festival superstar Kieran O’Malley, on fiddle, could power the entire night with his energetic performance leading the crowd like a pied piper,” says Big Ian.
A Night To Remember lets singers take on their favourite songs. “In previous years, no song has been off limits. Last year saw the cast rise to the challenge of Bohemian Rhapsody in its entirety, something not even Queen tackled!
Jess Steel: taking on “near-impossible demanding songs” at York Barbican. Picture: David Harrison
“Soulful Jess Steel will take on a Dusty Springfield classic, as well as other near-impossible demanding songs that she’ll deliver in the manner she’s now well known for.
“Heather Findlay, fresh back from a sell-out UK tour, brings her class into the mix, performing two of her favourite songs.
“Overall, you should expect showbiz, expect boundless energy, expect the unexpected.”
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.
The poster for A Night To Remember 2020
Look out for Beth McCarthy, who made her debut at the Mount School when Big Ian ran a School of Rock concert there. “I still call him ‘Mr D’ as he was my teacher,” says Beth, who will be stepping out of her comfort zone to rock the Barbican foundations.
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.
York singer Jessa Liversidge will bring her fully inclusive Singing For All choir, a group with members aged up to 98.
Beth McCarthy: “Stepping out of her comfort zone to rock the Barbican foundations”
“This choir is all about bringing people together to combat loneliness and celebrate a love of music with rehearsals that are very tea and cake heavy,” says Jessa.
“I love Jessa’s passionate, positive approach to bringing the community together, so it was an obvious fit to raise the choir’s profile and show the city just how fantastic they are,” says Big Ian.
“So much, so we’ll have them singing The New Seekers’ I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing.”
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.
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
“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.
“We’re celebrating the young talent in the city within the brass section and putting them alongside singers up to 98 years old. Music has no age limit. It is for all of us!”
Possibly the most important man on the night will be sound engineer Craig Rothery, who has the unenviable task of mixing this leviathan of a line-up.
“Craigy is a phenomenal sound engineer, who mixed the launch event for the Tour de France at Leeds First Direct Arena that was viewed by millions. Craig is so much more than a safe pair of hands; he’s the cement that holds us together,” says Big Ian.
Graham Hodge in action at last year’s A Night To Remember concert
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.
“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.”
Jo Cole, of Bereaved Children Support, says: “As well as helping us fund one-to-one counselling, A Night To Remember has raised our profile, so families who desperately needed us to help now know where we are.”
Working the crowd: A Night To Remember host Ian Donaghy
Emma Johnson, of St Leonard’s Hospice, says: “Big Ian and the team have provided invaluable help for years, making such a difference in the city.”
Big Ian, who speaks all over Europe about dementia care, concludes: “Dementia awareness and the difference we can make by bringing community together is the envy of many cities around the UK.
“We throw everything into this evening. It takes months of hard work and phenomenally talented people working tirelessly. I’m so proud to be part of this team.”
Tickets are available at £17.55 and £15 on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
The 7.30pm show is being sponsored by Haxby Group and Care Shop.
Singers, musicians and the York Barbican audience pose for a group selfie after last year’s concert
