What a Wallop!: Rob Beckett makes a speedy return to York Barbican
THE comedy year on York Barbican’s main stage will end with another dollop of Wallop! and a welcome dose of honesty.
After walloping the Barbican on October 24, comedian Rob Beckett returns on December 12 with his Wallop! show. The “Mouth of the South” cheeky chappie, 33, hosts BBC One’s All Together Now; does team captain duties on Channel 4’s 8 Out Of 10 Cats; co-presents The Magic Sponge podcast and has joined Romesh Ranganathan for Sky’s Rob And Romesh Vs.
Ed Byrne: Playing York Barbican next week. Honestly, he is.
In his confessional If I’m Honest show on December 13, , ever observational 47-year-old Dubliner Ed Byrne takes a “long hard look at himself and tries to decide if he has any traits that are worth passing on to his children”.
Byrne last played York on his Spoiler Alert! tour at the Grand Opera House in March 2018. Fact.
Tickets for both 8pm gigs are on sale on 0203 356 5441 , at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Taylor made: Harrogate comedian Tom Taylor spins his stories at York Barbican
HARROGATE
comedian and Sitting Room Comedy promoter Tom Taylor hops over to York to
headline the Laugh Out Loud ComedyClub line-up at York Barbican on
December 20.
Taylor
is an award-winning humorist and writer who featured on BBC Radio 4 in the BBC
New Comedy Award with his offbeat musical comedy and droll one-liners.
MIke Newall: smooth-talking Manchester comic
Both a stand-up and character actor, Taylor has penned and performed two
murder mystery solo shows, A
Charlie Montague Mystery: The Game’s A Foot and Try The Fish/ The Man
With The Twisted Hip, as seen at York’s Great Yorkshire Fringe.
Joining him in the Fishergate Bar will be casual, smooth-talking,
story-telling Manchester comedian Mike
Newall, whose Nineties’ Britpop haircut has gained him the nickname “The Real
Magic Mike”.
Debra-Jane Appleby: no-nonsense northerner
Debra-Jane Appleby, former winner of the
Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year and Funny Women Comedy Award in 2005, completes
the 8pm line-up with her no-nonsense northern take on the world.
Doors open at 7pm, and the host, as
ever, will be Laugh Out Loud promoter Damion Larkin.
Tickets are on sale on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Milton on a mission elsewhere: Jones adds loads more gigs for next autumn, but not here in Yorkshire. Picture: Aemen Sukkar
MILTON Jones is adding a heap of extra dates next autumn for
his 2020 tour show, Milton: Impossible, but not one of the 34 additions is in
Yorkshire.
Panic not, the shock-haired matador of the piercing one-liner
is booked in already for York Barbican on February 22, Victoria Theatre,
Halifax, February 23, Hull City Hall, March 18 and Leeds Town Hall, March 19,
on his initial January to April travels.
One man. One Mission. Is it possible? “No, not really,” says the Kew comedian, who will be performing 100 shows in total as he reveals the truth behind having once been an international spy, but then being given a somewhat disappointing new identity that forced him to appear on Mock The Week, Live At The Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy and Dave’s One Night Stand.
“This is a love
story with a twist, or at least a really bad sprain,” says Jones. “Is it all
just gloriously daft nonsense, or is there a deeper meaning? Every man has his
price. Sainsbury’s, where good food costs less.”
This adds to an earlier statement by the devotee of particularly bold
Hawaiian shirt designs when he first announced his 2020 mission. “My latest show is called Milton: Impossible and is loosely based on a
Tom Cruise film I saw once called something like Undo-able Task,” he said.
” This is a love story with a twist, or at least a really bad sprain,,” says comedian Milton Jones of his 2020 show, Milton: Impossible
“In it, I
play a Milton who appears to just have a job in Asda, but at night he’s also an
international spy involved in secret things and quite bad situations. But if
daft jokes give you an allergic reaction and send you into a coma, then don’t
come running to me.
“Also, at a
difficult time for our country, I believe there’s a chance this show could
unite the nation. Admittedly quite a small chance.”
Tickets for
York Barbican are on sale at yorkbarbican.co.uk and on 0203 356 5441; Halifax,
victoriatheatre.co.uk; Hull, hulltheatres.co.uk; Leeds, leedstownhall.co.uk.
Those wishing
to travel farther afield on their Milton mission next autumn can find out more
at miltonjones.com, with tickets going on sale from Thursday, November 28.
Jones, 55, has played York many times, both at the Grand Opera House and latterly at the Barbican, where he presented his Milton Jones Is Out There show on September 30 2017.
THE Shires, Britain’s biggest-selling country act, will return to York
Barbican on May 20 2020.
The announcement coincides with today’s release of New Year, a taster
single from their upcoming fourth album, Good Years, a title whose sentiment
reflects on the impact of Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes’ two gold-certified
albums and three top ten singles.
The Shires will be playing 25 dates, with York as the only Yorkshire
destination, having last performed at the Barbican in May 2018.
As with 2015’s Brave, 2016’s My Universe and 2018’s Accidentally On
Purpose, Good Years was recorded in the home of country music, Nashville.
Earle and Rhodes describe it as a poignant project after becoming the
first British artists to win Best International Act at the CMA Awards.
“We’re so excited to be releasing Good Years, our fourth album recorded
in Nashville, and also to announce our next UK tour,” say the duo, who played
this July’s Platform Festival in Pocklington. “Honesty and storytelling have always
been such an important part of our songwriting. We’ve poured some of the
incredible experiences and life we’ve lived into these songs.
“We can’t wait to hit the road next year and play them 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.”
Tickets will go on sale on Friday, November 29 at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk, on 0203 356 5441 or in person from the Barbican box office.
The arch cynic returns: Romesh Ranganathan adds a third York Barbican gig: Picture: Rich Hardcastle
HE may be a cynic, but Romesh
Ranganathan knows when he’s on to a good thing.
Having sold out his two November gigs at York Barbican, the deadpan Crawley comic, actor and television presenter has wasted no time in adding a third night of The Cynic’s Mixtape next spring.
Ranganathan will complete his hattrick
of Barbican performances on May 10 2020, when the 41-year-old star of Asian Provocateur,
The Misadventures Of Romesh Ranganathan, The Reluctant Landlord and Judge
Romesh will deliver “a carefully curated selection of all the things he has
found unacceptable since his last tour”.
Let the cynicism begin again: Romesh Ranganathan will have plenty more to moan about by next May
On his mind will be why trying to
save the environment is a scam, why none of us is truly free,
and his suspicion that his wife is using gluten intolerance to avoid
sleeping with him.
Ranganathan ditched his burgeoning career as a Maths teacher – maybe it
just didn’t add up to much – in his early 30s to focus on comedy, with plenty
to moan about in such subsequent shows as Rom Com, Rom Wasn’t Built In A Day
and Irrational.
Agent provocateur Ranganathan and his Rob & Romesh Meet co-star Rob Beckett hosted the 2019 Royal Variety Performance on Monday at the London Palladium, to be aired on ITV in December. This was the first time that two comedians had hosted the event together in more than 30 years.
Tickets for Romesh Ranganathan: The Cynic’s Mixtape are on sale at yorkbarbican.co.uk, on 0203 356 5441 or in person from the Barbican box office.
Kim Wilde’s poster for next year’s Greatest Hits tour
EIGHTIES’ pop star Kim Wilde will play
York Barbican on September 17 next year on her Greatest Hits 2020 Tour.
Wilde, 59, last performed there on her
Here Come The Aliens tour in April 2018, her first on home soil in almost 30
years, after releasing a studio album that year inspired by a real-life close
encounter in the gardening expert’s back garden in 2009.
Wilde subsequently released the live
album Aliens Live, and next year she will be marking her 40 years in pop that
began as “the voice of a generation of rebellious youth” with Kids In America.
Her Greatest Hits Tour will take in
further hits such as Chequered Love, Water On Glass, View From A Bridge, You Keep
Me Hangin’ On, Cambodia, You Came, Never Trust A Stranger and Four Letter Worn, complemented the
less often aired A Million Miles Away and Love Is Holy. As in 2018, her band
will include two drummers.
Her special guests will be fellow
Eighties’ chart act China Crisis, best known for Wishful Thinking, King In A
Catholic Style, Black Man Ray and African And White.
Tickets go on sale from Friday at 9am on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or from the Barbican box office in person.
Yes: lining up to play Relayer and Yes classics at York Barbican next May
YES are to play York Barbican next spring, but no, not the ‘Yes’ that
performed there in June 29018 under the name Yes featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor
Rabin, Rick Wakeman, as they now have to call themselves.
No, this Yes is the one that officially tours as Yes, with Steve Howe
on guitars, Alan White on drums, Geoff Downes on keyboards, Billy Sherwood on bass
guitar and backing vocals, Jon Davison on vocals and Jay Schellen on additional
drums and percussion.
This Yes are booked into the Barbican for May 29 2020 as part of an
eight-date May and June itinerary for The Album Series 2020 Tour, when the
prog-rock veterans will perform 1974’s Relayer in its entirety, preceded by a set
of Yes classic cuts. Expect “full production and a high definition video wall”.
Released on Atlantic Records in late 1974, Yes’s seventh studio album
marked a slight change in direction as Patrick Moraz replaced Rick Wakeman on
keyboards, bringing “an edgier, avant-garde feel” to the recordings.
The opening Gates Of Delirium, almost 22 minutes in length, battle scene
et al, featured Moraz’s keyboard jousting with Howe’s guitar before the battle
gave way to the ballad Soon, a prayer for peace and hope.
Further
highlights on an album that reached number four in the British chart and number
five in the US Billboard chart were Sound Chaser, a prog rock/jazz fusion experiment heavily influenced by
Moraz’s style, and To Be Over, the calm and gentle closer, based on a Howe melody.
Yes’s poster for The Album Series Tour 2020
“We’re really looking forward to playing all of
the Relayer album,” says Howe. “Having premiered The Gates Of Delirium
this year, we continue by expanding our Album Series with all the tracks: The
Gates Of Delirium, Sound Chaser and To Be Over.”
Howe adds: “During the first half of the evening, we’ll be performing a
refined selection from Yes’s enormous 50-year repertoire. See you there.”
Drummer Alan White says: “I always enjoy coming home to England, so
I’m especially looking forward to Yes’s upcoming Album Series 2020 tour. Relayer,
I believe, is one of the most creative and interesting musical compilations in
the band’s repertoire.
“Challenging and extremely enjoyable to play, I’m happy to be bringing
this music back to live stages throughout Europe. I hope all who attend our
shows will enjoy these cuts as much as we like performing them for our
audiences.”
Tickets for Yes’s 8pm show are on sale on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Did you know?
ROGER Dean, designer of Yes’s iconic album artwork, will attend every
show of the 2020 British and European dates. An exhibition of his work will be
on show, and Dean will be available to chat with fans front of house, sign
merchandise and take part in VIP meet and greets.
KATIE Melua will play York Barbican on November 7 next year on her
45-date winter tour.
Tickets for the Georgian-born singer-songwriter go on sale on Friday, November 22 at 10am on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Katie last performed at the Barbican last December, where she was joined
by the Gori Women’s Choir.
The tour announcement coincides with news of a Live In Concert double
album, featuring the Gori Women’s Choir, recorded at the Central Hall,
Westminster, London, last December.
This limited-edition collection is presented as an 84-page hardback book,
containing never-before-seen photographs of moments on stage and
behind-the-scenes, captured by photographer Karni Arieli.
The book also contains illustrations created by the show’s creative directors,
Karni & Saul, and opens with a foreword by Melua.
Born in the Georgian city of Kutaisi, Katie and her family moved to Belfast when she was nine years old. Now 35, she has released seven studio albums, the most recent being In Winter, the 2016 silver-certified set recorded with the Gori Women’s Choir in Georgia.
The new Live In Concert double album opens at Katie’s birthplace in Georgia
with her solo rendition of the folk song Tu Asa Turpa Ikavi. Plane
Song, performed with her brother Zurab Melua, speaks of their childhood in the
city of Kutaisi, and is followed by Belfast, tracing the
family’s emigration to the United Kingdom. Here, Katie’s journey towards
becoming a professional recording artist began, leading to her debut album,
Call Off The Search, released in 2003 at the age of 19.
The show recording continues with songs from all Katie’s albums, works
by writers that have inspired her, crowd favourites and tales from her past.
Through the blustery autumn, the still English winter, and eventually to
the spring with the world in full bloom, the artists on stage finally bring the
show to a hopeful, joyous and optimistic close with a rendition of Louis
Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World.
“I still remain cautiously optimistic about being at the edge of light,” says Steve Hackett
FOR the
first time, former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett is on the road performing
his old band’s 1973 album, Selling England By The Pound, in its entirety.
Now 69, Hackett will be performing the venerated likes of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, Firth Of Fifth, Cinema Show and I Know What I Like (In My Wardrobe) at a sold-out York Barbican on Tuesday (November 19).
This will
be complemented by further Genesis numbers, selections from Hackett’s Spectral
Mornings album to mark its 40th anniversary and highlights from this
year’s At The Edge Of Light release.
“The idea
to do the whole of Selling England By The Pound came from recalling that, at
the time, John Lennon said it was one of the albums he was listening to that
year,” says Steve.
“By the
time Sgt. Pepper came along, there were surprises around every corner in The
Beatles’ music, so the challenge for me was always there, and I was rather
hoping that Genesis would expand to an orchestra, but in fact they did the
opposite and got smaller and smaller!”
He looks back
fondly on Selling England By The Pound. “It was my favourite Genesis album that
gave us our first hit,” he says.
“Then
something special happened with Spectral Mornings, with my first touring band,
and now I feel this year’s album, At The Edge Of Light, is special too, doing
something political that I knew would be uncommercial, doing something that I
wanted to do at a certain point, like when Queen and Led Zeppelin did creative
things in an earlier era.”
As the
title would suggest, At The Edge Of Light is a place still shrouded in
darkness. “Much of the album does centre on that: the populist world view
evinced by politicians, that dark times are ahead. It’s very worrying,” says
Hackett.
“Look at
the situation in so much of America. The man who was ‘going to make America
great again’ has put 800,000 people out of work. That’s haunting.
“We don’t
mention names, but much of the album is symbolic lyrically, but there are other
things on there beyond politics: love songs and travelogues, so I don’t think
it’s a one-horse-race album.”
Songs for
this fully orchestrated album partly came out of conversations with his wife,
Jo, suggesting lyrics, then Hackett coming up with melodies. In addition, he drew
inspiration from the music of his youth. “I was born in 1950, and by the time
the Sixties were in full cry, you had Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Buffy Sainte-Marie,
doing wonderful versions of Dylan songs, with music carrying a deeper meaning
without being didactic…though there’s nothing wrong with boy-meets-girl songs,
but music changed for the better.”
Hackett
urges people to make friends across the world, rather than for Britain to
become insular in these toxic Brexit days. “The idea that we can just exist on
our own, sailing off into the Atlantic…if that happens, I think there’ll be a
rude awakening, once people realise what they have voted for. Be careful what
you wish for. Look at what’s happening in America, with people queueing up for
food in Washington. I don’t know what to say about that, but I hope people come
to their senses.”
Nevertheless,
the choice of the word ‘light’ in the album title indicates Hackett’s view is
not all doom and gloom. “I still remain cautiously optimistic about being at
the edge of light, rather than the edge of an abyss,” he says.
At The Edge
Of Light is an album where Hackett “pulled no punches, gave it everything, but
not in an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink way”, and he had a “great time doing
it as I thought ‘let’s give it the full monty’.”
He brought
such a scale to his Autumn 2018 tour too, performing Genesis and Hackett
material with a 42-piece orchestra, including an October show at London’s Royal
Festival Hall recorded for the newly released Steve Hackett – Genesis Revisited
Band & Orchestra: Live double album and Blu-Ray digipak.
Now he
re-visits Genesis again, this time Dancing With The Moonlit Knight at York
Barbican.
Steve Hackett, Selling England By The Pound, York Barbican, Tuesday 19 November, 7.30pm.
