#London Calling Festival 2013

[pastdaily]

Jacco Gardner - Live At London Calling 2013 - Past Daily Soundbooth: Rock Without Borders Edition

Jacco Gardner – Making giant leaps in 2013. https://pastdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/jacco-gardner-london-calling-live-paradiso-may-22-2013.mp3 Dutch psych-meister Jacco Gardner tonight, in a concert recorded during the 2013 London Calling Festival, held at The Paradiso in Amsterdam and faithfully recorded by VPRO in Hilversum. A little bio sampler via Tim Sendra at AllMusic: Dutch-born…

[daisyblog]

Proud Sister

Our Story Masterlist Summary: YN is by Louis side at his London Premiere for All of Those Voices.

Based on this request

Sitting in the back of the black Range Rover with Louis, felt all too familiar to YN. She had done it a few months ago at the Venice Film Festival when they supported Harry for the Don’t Worry Darling premiere. She can remember walking the red carpet when One Direction’s This Is Us was released in 2013. 

YN was stunned when Louis had asked her to walk by his side on the carpet, for his own documentary, All Of Those Voices. Of course she was going to be there, supporting her big brother. But she was expecting to walk with Harry and her siblings. 

She was in Sydney with Harry, when a FaceTime from Louis popped up on her phone. 

“Hey Lou!”.

“Tiny! You alright my love?”. Louis’ cheery voice boomed through the speaker.

“Yeah..I’m alright…whot’s got you smiling like that?”. YN couldn’t help but notice how chirpy Louis was considering it was early morning back in London.

“Cheeky fucker…I’m always ‘appy.”. Louis pretended to be offended. “Anyway..I want to ask you something-“.

YN was quick to interrupt. “Yes I want a One Direction reunion.”.

“Yeah I know, but you’ll have to wait.” YN pouted at Louis words. “But how do you feel about walking with me on the red carpet?”.

YN eyes were wide, in shock at what Louis had just asked. It must have been a joke because out of everyone why would Louis just want YN to be by his side. 

“Is this a joke?”. She couldn’t help the words flowing out of her mouth.

Louis chucked, his blue eyes crinkled as he did. “Course fookin’ not…m’serious.”.

“Why me?”.

“Why you…are you being fookin’ serious right now”. Louis couldn’t believe how oblivious YN was on how much she had supported him over the years. “Tiny…you made me a big brother…you were my first friend…you were there at my audition believing in me…you cheered me and the band on through the show…you were by my side through three tours…you were the one who listened when Zayn left and the band decided to go on a break…you were the one by Mums side when I couldn’t be…you were the one who held it all together for us all when Mum passed…you were the one who made me believe in myself when it came to making my own music…you were the one trying to help me support Felicite…you are always the one by my side, so yeah I want you where you always are…walking by my side.”.

Louis and YN had always had a special bond, and Louis had always been loving towards his siblings but hearing Louis list all the things that YN did naturally because that’s the kind of person she was, had hit her hard emotionally. 

“You’ve made me cry now Lou.” YN was trying to gently wipe away her stray tears as she was getting ready to watch Harry’s show. “I’m a fookin’ mess…look at me.”.

“Yeah…well…I was only saying the truth.”. Anyone who knew Louis, would know that unless he meant it then he wouldn’t say it.

“Yeah of course I’ll be by your side.” YN eventually answered as she dabbed under her eyes with a tissue. “You’re my best friend too Lou…you know that right?”.

“Oi…don’t fookin’ start me off…right m’going before I cry���love you Tiny.”.

“Love you Lou.”.

As the car approached Leicester Square, screams could be heard from fans waiting for Louis’ arrival. Louis got out of the car first, before holding his hand out to help YN step out. 

As the siblings walked further up the red carpet, security following their every move, fans and the press were quick to snap photos and videos of the Tomlinsons. 

Louis stopped to take photos with fans at the side of the barrier, whilst trying to have small conversations with them. YN admired the interactions from her position slightly behind him. Louis and his fans had a special connection that only they could understand, and it was precious to watch the love between them. 

Louis was signalled to pose for photos by himself, before he called YN over to have their photos take together. Louis wrapped his arm around his sister, YN doing the same as they wore bright smiles on their faces. 

As Louis made a joke about his cheeks hurting from smiling so much, loud screams were heard from further down the red carpet.

“Your boyfriends arrived.” Louis playfully nudged YN’s shoulder with his.

“How do you know that?”. YN looked at her brother, confused how screams meant Harry had arrived.

“Believe me love…I just know.” Louis playfully squeezed her cheek with his finger, like her used to do when she was younger. 

Proving Louis right, YN could see Harry further down walking with her grandparents and siblings, trying not to draw attention to himself as in his words “today is Louis day”. YN had always known she was blessed but seeing her family all together made her realise it more. 

Louis had been called over by an interviewer to answer a few questions, meaning YN could sneak off to see her family. After giving each of her grandparents and siblings a quick cuddle and a peck on the cheek, she found herself next to Harry who immediately placed his arm around her hip and leaving a peck on her cheek. 

The Tomlinson siblings posed for photos together, before they were escorted into the screening. YN and Harry found their seats and sat comfortably next to each other. YN was in the middle of telling Harry something that had happened previous in the evening, when a voice interrupted them.

“Is this seat taken?”. Liam’s voice was heard. YN and Harry would recognise his accent anywhere. 

Harry stood from his seat and took Liam into his arms. “Nice to see you man.”.

“You too Styles!”. Liam let go of Harry, before leaning in to give YN and hug and a friendly kiss on the cheek. “How are you love?”. 

“I’m good…you kept this a secret.”. YN called Liam out on his surprise appearance at the premiere. 

After a quick catch up, Liam went to his own seat where he was sat further back with his new girlfriend. 

Before finding his seat next to YN, Louis said a few words and thank everyone involved in the making of his documentary, thank his fans because without them he wouldn’t be standing where he is now, thanked his four brothers who were a huge part in his journey.

“And a massive thank you to my family…who constantly support me through my personal life…as well as my career.”.

As part of the documentary, Louis grandparents and siblings were all asked to be a part of it and to answer some questions about Louis. 

The audience had a little giggle at the part when Daisy and Phoebe had explained that they saw Louis as a controlling big brother, but really he was always right. 

But what had the audience awwing was when a clip of YN came on. She was sat in her and Harry’s living room, family photos hanging on the wall behind her, but one that stood out was one of YN stood between Harry and Louis from their tour in 2014. The three wore big smiles on their faces as Harry and Louis both hugged YN close. 

“Louis always says how lucky he is…but everyone who has Louis in their life are the lucky ones…he’s just too humble to realise it”.

At YN’s words, Louis reached over and squeezed YN’s hand, a little gesture to show how much that meant to him. There were many emotions shown through the screening. Happy times, sad times and bittersweet times. Louis aim was to show all the sides to his story, and he succeeded! 

As the credits played on the screen and everyone stood to give a round of applause for a touching documentary, YN brought her brother into a big hug and whispered “Mum would be so proud of you.”.

To the world he was Louis Tomlinson, to YN he was Louis, her big brother. 

Tag List: (let me know if you would like to be added) @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @harrys-flower @platinumbarbie143 @frickin-bats @harrysbbyh0ney @chronicallybubbly @goldensunflowe-r  @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @kaverichauhan @peterholland04 @panicattheuc @or-was-it-just-a-dream @hittiesontour @bunnyharold @fanfictioncafe @lilfreakjez @jerseygirlinca @iamahallucinationnn @theekyliepage @indierockgirrl @buckybarnessimpp @ashleighsss

[reluctantjoe]

‘Baddies are my new type’: Mathew Baynton on Ghosts, Wonka and wicked villains

He is about to say goodbye to his role in beloved spectral sitcom Ghosts. But dastardly turns in Wonka and the a festive Agatha Christie drama suggest the actor’s future is bright – if somewhat nefarious

“I feel like I’m moving into really wanky territory now,” says Mathew Baynton, looking a little anxious. We are talking about Ghosts, the much-loved comedy about a gaggle of spirits consigned to spend the afterlife in a crumbling country mansion, which Baynton co-writes and in which he plays a deceased Regency poet. After a triumphant five seasons, Ghosts officially breathed its last in October – except there’s now a Christmas episode on its way. (Last year’s Christmas special drew 5.9 million viewers, making it the BBC’s biggest comedy of 2022.)

When I ask Baynton what it is about Ghosts that struck a chord with viewers, he worries he might sound pretentious. “But here goes,” he says. “I have learned that, as a writer, you don’t always know what you’re writing. There are the quite boring times where you have an idea and it comes out as you imagined, and there’s no mystery in that process. But when it’s exciting, you have an idea and it leads you to places you don’t expect.”

With Ghosts, he and his co-writers initially imagined hundreds of spirits haunting Button House, which would have allowed them to tell different stories with a new set of characters each week. “But when we looked at the taster tape we made, we all went: ‘Hang on, there’s something much richer here,’” Baynton continues. “We realised it was a show about people being stuck together, potentially in eternity, and how they find ways to get along. All of which is to say that I’m enamoured with Ghosts too because, right from the get-go, we had absolutely no idea what it would become.”

Baynton, who is 43, is talking from his study at home in north London where he lives with his partner, the film historian and film-maker Kelly Robinson, and their two children. He is self-effacing and thoughtful, choosing his words carefully and, at intervals, wondering if he could be expressing himself better. “I think it’s partly the writer in me,” he says, “but I do come away from conversations thinking how I’d like to rewrite things I’ve said.”

As an actor, Baynton has cornered the market in ultra-sensitive men who walk a fine line between pathos and silliness. Along with his lovelorn poet in Ghosts, there was his turn as a Victorian psychiatrist in 2017’s Quacks, who masterminds a new treatment for patients called “talking”; his lute-playing bard in the 2015 film Bill, about the early life of Shakespeare (“London is not going to know what hit it!”); and good Samaritan Sam in The Wrong Mans (2013-14), which he co-wrote and starred in alongside James Corden.

But this winter heralds a new set of projects that Baynton has dubbed “my Christmas of villainy”. In Murder Is Easy, based on the Agatha Christie novel about a spate of killings in a sleepy English village, he plays a doctor who, he says, “is an awful person with some very awful views”. Next year brings A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, based on Holly Jackson’s bestselling YA novel, in which a young true-crime enthusiast investigates a five-year-old murder case; Baynton can’t reveal too much, although he confirms his character is a far cry from the puppy-eyed romantics for which he is known. And in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel, Wonka, released in cinemas earlier this month, he plays the devious Fickelgruber, Wonka’s Brylcreemed rival in the confectionery business.

Baynton can’t account for this sudden pivot into treachery beyond the fact that “a few [casting directors] had the same idea at the same time … Acting is strange like that. You do one notable thing early on and you are put on a track that for 10 years that can be hard to get off. Perhaps baddies are my new type.”

Wonka was co-written by his friend and Ghosts compadre Simon Farnaby (who also co-wrote Paddington 2) and was filmed at Warner Bros Studios in Hertfordshire. For Baynton, it “felt like you were with the same kids but in a plush playground … Even though you’re working with this huge Hollywood star [Timothée Chalamet, who plays Wonka] and you’re on a set that probably cost the same as an entire series of Ghosts, it’s still a comedy with a big heart, so for me it felt like home.”

Baynton and Farnaby first came together on the set of Horrible Histories, the anarchic children’s sketch show that recreated history’s most ludicrous and bloodthirsty moments, alongside Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond. Shortly after it finished its decade-long run, the six of them wrote the madcap puppet comedy Yonderland, largely because “we couldn’t bear that we weren’t going to get together for more mucking about in front of the camera”. This was followed by Bill, and, four years later, Ghosts. They have even given themselves the collective name Them There, mostly for production credits, though “no one actually calls us that”. Aren’t they more Britcom’s answer to the Brat Pack? “I don’t know about that,” Baynton says, bashfully, “though it depends on which of them you think I am.”

The youngest of three children, Baynton grew up in Southend on a diet of sea air and his dad’s Monty Python cassettes. He reckons being lowest in the pecking order at home contributed to his desire to perform and be noticed. In his teens, he went through a morose period during which he was overtaken by self-consciousness, but then he discovered theatre via a production of Bruno Schulz’s The Street of Crocodiles by Theatre de Complicité “which moved me to tears in ways I couldn’t understand and ignited something in me. I knew I wanted to be in that world in some way.”

Baynton went on to drama school, where he studied directing, but when he got there he realised acting was his calling. He spent a summer as assistant to Cal McCrystal, then director of the physical theatre group Peepolykus, who pushed him to join in with improv games. Later he went to Paris to study under the renowned clown Philippe Gaulier, which cemented his love of slapstick. Upon returning home, McCrystal gave him his first break on the stage in a production of Joe Orton’s Loot.

But it was Horrible Histories that really opened doors for Baynton, both as an actor and writer. On being offered the job, he nearly turned it down, fearing that he might get stuck doing nothing but children’s TV, but his agent persuaded him to take the job by telling him: “No one will see it.” In a talk last year at the Oxford Union, Baynton remarked how, were they making it today, they would do certain things differently, such as not using white actors in tanning makeup to portray Egyptians.

“I think it’s important that we examine where the line is [around portrayals of other cultures],” he says now. “It’s a murky area where intention sometimes doesn’t match reception. Certainly, no one had bad intentions making Horrible Histories and none of us at that time, in the culture as it was, hesitated and thought: ‘Hang on, maybe I shouldn’t play an Egyptian.’ But times have changed and I would hesitate now.”

If the odd Horrible Histories sketch hasn’t aged well, it is worth observing the sensitivity and inclusivity that runs through Ghosts. Baynton notes how throwing together characters from different historical periods allowed them to “highlight wrongful attitudes and interrogate how they had arrived at them. At one point, there’s a gay wedding at Button House and [the ghost of] Lady Button is appalled and goes on this journey in which she faces her own homophobia. When we were writing that story, it felt like I was having a conversation with my homophobic nan.”

Baynton is content moving between acting and writing, not least because “if I’m between acting jobs, it means I get to dream up new projects for myself and my friends”. Keen to avoid any signs of egotism as his career soars, Baynton keeps his feet on the ground by recalling the “pure dystopian hell” of his time as a school leaver working in a call centre. There, every second of the day was monitored and he was once upbraided by a manager for taking too many toilet breaks. “So when I’m on set in a scratchy costume or I’m feeling a bit tired and thinking what a terrible time I’m having,” he says, “I remember that time, and what a privilege it is do what I do.”

[black-arcana]

NIGHTWISH's TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN Doesn't Rule Out Second Solo Album

In a new interview with Finland's Tuonela magazine, Tuomas Holopainen — the keyboardist and main songwriter of NIGHTWISH — was asked if there is a chance of a follow-up to his solo album based on a graphic novel called "The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck", written and illustrated by Don Rosa. "Music Inspired By The Life And Times Of Scrooge - Written And Produced By Tuomas Holopainen" came out in April 2014 via Nuclear Blast.

Tuomas said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's not that long ago that I had this idea — it's kind of a musical idea — that I got really excited about. And I was thinking we can't do this with AURI and we can't really do this with NIGHTWISH either. So maybe another solo project kind of thing at some point in the future. I don't know. It's so early still, but maybe.

"After I finished doing 'Scrooge' 10 years ago, I thought this was a one-timer," he continued. "'Never again. Don't really need [to do another one]. But if there comes an idea that doesn't fit AURI or NIGHTWISH, maybe I have to go solo again. And both bands are musically so varied that you can do almost anything with those two labels. But if the theme would be something that the other bandmembers can't really relate to, then I might have to turn to the option of going solo. That's what happened with 'Scrooge'. I mean, the NIGHTWISH members don't have such an intimate relationship with a duck as I do. [Laughs] So that's why I had to go solo."

Regarding the possibility of him performing material from "The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck" live at some point, Tuomas said: "Um, I don't know. It would be an interesting experience. I know that album has a bit of a cult status already and that it would be a success. But at the moment, I'm not really feeling it. But I've learned never to say never. So let's see.

"I've been asked to do the whole album a few times, actually, even on main stage of a rock and roll festival on Saturday night," he added. "I don't think it would have worked, but we have to wait and see."

"Music Inspired By The Life And Times Of Scrooge - Written And Produced By Tuomas Holopainen" contained 10 songs, with total duration of approximately 60 minutes. The music was said to be in the soundtrack / classical / folk genre in the vein of Vaughan Williams, Michael Nyman, James Newton Howard and Enya.

Pip Williams did the orchestral arrangements for the "Life And Times Of Scrooge" disc, continuing his collaboration with Tuomas after the NIGHTWISH records "Once", "Dark Passion Play" and "Imaginaerum".

There were a number of guest musicians appearing on "Life And Times Of Scrooge", including the London Orchestra, The Metro Voices (a choir from London) and four lead vocalists: Alan Reid, Johanna Kurkela, Johanna Iivanainen and Tony Kakko. Other guest appearances included Troy Donockley (uilleann pipes, low whistles, bodhran),Mikko Iivanainen (guitars and banjo),Teho Majamäki (didgeridoo),Jon Burr (harmonica) and Dermot Crehan on the solo violin. The recordings took place during August - October 2013, first at Angel Studios in London, then in various locations around Scotland and Finland.

NIGHTWISH's new album, "Yesterwynde", is due on September 20, 2024 via Nuclear Blast. It marks the band's tenth studio LP, following on from the release of "Human. :II: Nature." in 2020.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)

[livesunique]

Ms Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida OMRI (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023)

Destined to be called "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World", Ms Lollobrigida was the daughter of a furniture manufacturer, and grew up in the pictorial mountain village. She studied sculpture at Rome’s Academy of Fine Arts, and started her career with minor Italian film roles before coming third in 1947’s Miss Italia pageant. 

After refusing a contract with Howard Hughes to make three pictures in the United States in 1950, Ms Lollobrigida gained for starring turns in 1952’s “Fanfan la Tulipe” and 1953’s “Bread, Love and Dreams,” the latter of which netted her a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Actress.

Ms Lollobrigida’s first American film was “Beat the Devil,” a 1953 adventure comedy directed by John Huston that cast her opposite Humphrey Bogart. Over the course of the ’50s and ’60s, she starred in numerous French, Italian and European-shot American productions, with highlights including “Trapeze” with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” as Esmerelda, “Solomon and Sheba” with Yul Brynner, “Never So Flew” with Frank Sinatra and Steve McQueen, “Come September” with Rock Hudson, and “Woman of Straw” with Sean Connery, and “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell,” with Shelley Winters.

Her roles made her a major sex symbol of Italian cinema; in 1953, she won Italy’s David di Donatello award for Best Actress for her performance in the opera star Lina Cavalieri’s biopic “Beautiful But Dangerous,” known in Italian as “The World’s Most Beautiful Woman.” 

She later won two more David di Donatello Award for “Imperial Venus” and “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell,” a Golden Medal of the City of Rome in 1986, a 40th Anniversary David in 1996 and a 50th Anniversary David in 2006. In 1961, she won the Golden Globes’ Henrietta Award for “World Fan Favorite,” and received nominations for “Falcon Crest” and “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell.”

After the ’60s, Lollobrigida’s career began to slow down, but she continued to act intermittently, including in the 1995 Agnes Varda film “Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma,” and in ’80s TV shows such as CBS’ “Falcon Crest” and ABC’s “The Love Boat.” 

Ms Lollobrigida also developed a successful second career in photojournalism during the ’80s. She obtained an exclusive interview with Cuban leader Fidel Castro and also photographed many famous film stars, as well as publishing a number of books of her photographs.

In 2011 she made her final film appearance, playing herself in a cameo for the Italian parody film “Box Office 3D: The Filmest of Films.”

The screen legend sale of some of her 23 jewels from her Bulgari  collection at Sotheby’s in 2013 to help fund an international hospital for stem-cell research. 

On 16 October 1999, Lollobrigida was nominated as a Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Ms  Lollobrigida won the Berlinale Camera at the Berlin Film Festival in 1986, Karlovy Vary Film Festival special prize in 1995, and the Rome Festival’s career prize in 2008. In 2018, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ciao, Gina, Riposa in Pace

(Armando Pietrangeli, “Light and Shadow,” Gina Lollobrigida,1960, Trapeze 1956, Woman Of Rome,1954, Salomon & Sheba,1959, Come September, 1961,Un Bellissimo Novembre,1968, The Hunchback of Notre Dame,1956, In London to publicise her book of photographs titled Italia Mia,1974, Fidel Castro shot by Ms Lollobrigida,1974, Gina Lollobrigida pictured on July 11, 2022 in Rome).

[denimbex1986]

'Writer and poet Benjamin Zephaniah has died aged 65, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.

A statement posted on his Instagram account confirmed he died in the early hours of Thursday.

The statement said Zephaniah's wife "was with him throughout and was by his side when he passed".

"We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this news," it added.

Zephaniah was born and raised in Handsworth, Birmingham, the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse. He was dyslexic and left school aged 13, unable to read or write.

He moved to London aged 22 and published his first book, Pen Rhythm.

His early work used dub poetry, a Jamaican style of work that has evolved into the music genre of the same name, and he would also perform with the group The Benjamin Zephaniah Band.

As Zephaniah's profile grew, he became a familiar face on television and was credited with bringing Dub Poetry into British living rooms.

He also wrote five novels as well as poetry for children, and his first book for younger readers, Talking Turkeys, was a huge success upon its publication in 1994.

On top of his writing work, Zephaniah was an actor and appeared in the BBC drama series Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022.

He played Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus, appearing in 14 episodes across the six series.

Zephaniah famously rejected an OBE in 2003 due to the association of such an honour with the British Empire and its history of slavery.

"I've been fighting against empire all my life, fighting against slavery and colonialism all my life," he told The Big Narstie Show in 2020.

"I've been writing to connect with people, not to impress governments and monarchy. So I could I then accept an honour that puts the word Empire on to my name? That would be hypocritical.

He often spoke out about issues such as racial abuse and education.

When he was younger, Zephaniah served a prison sentence for burglary and received a criminal record.

In 1982, Zephaniah released an album called Rasta, which featured the Wailers' first recording since the death of Bob Marley.

It also included a tribute to the then-political prisoner Nelson Mandela, who would later become South African president.

In an interview in 2005, Zephaniah said growing up in a violent household led to him assuming that was the norm.

He recalled: "I once asked a friend of mine, 'What do you do when your dad beats your mum?' And he went: 'He doesn't.'

"I said, 'Ah, you come from one of those, like, feminist houses. So, what do you do when your mum beats your dad?'"

In 2012, he was chosen to guest edit an edition of BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Zephaniah was nominated for autobiography of the year at the National Book Awards for his work, The Life And Rhymes Of Benjamin Zephaniah, which was also shortlisted for the Costa Book Award in 2018.

During a Covid-19 lockdown, Zephaniah recited one of his poems in a video for the Hay Festival.

"Benjamin was a true pioneer and innovator. He gave the world so much," the statement announcing his death said.

"Through an amazing career including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television and radio, Benjamin leaves us with a joyful and fantastic legacy."

A statement from the Black Writers' guild, which Zephaniah helped establish, said: "Our family of writers is in mourning at the loss of a deeply valued friend and a titan of British literature. Benjamin was a man of integrity and an example of how to live your values."

Others paying tribute included author Michael Rosen, who said: "I'm devastated. I admired him, respected him, learnt from him, loved him. Love and condolences to the family and to all who loved him too."

Actress Adjoa Andoh posted: "We have lost a Titan today. Benjamin Zephaniah. Beautiful Poet, Professor, Advocate for love and humanity in all things. Heartbroken. Rest In Your Power - our brother."

Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy said in a statement: "Benjamin was a truly gifted and beautiful human being.

"A generational poet, writer, musician and activist. A proud Brummie and a Peaky Blinder. I'm so saddened by this news."

Broadcaster Trevor Nelson said: "So sad to hear about the passing of Benjamin Zephaniah. Too young, too soon, he had a lot more to give. He was a unique talent."

Singer-songwriter and musician Billy Bragg added: "Very sorry to hear this news. Benjamin Zephaniah was our radical poet laureate. Rest in power, my friend."

Comedian, actor and writer Lenny Henry said: "I was saddened to learn of the passing of my friend Benjamin Zephaniah. His passion for poetry, his advocacy for education for all was tireless."

Writer Nels Abbey said: "To call this crushing news is a massive understatement. He was far too young, far too brilliant and still had so much to offer. A loss we'll never recover from."

The X/Twitter account for Premier League football club Aston Villa, whom Zephaniah supported said everyone at the club was "deeply saddened" by the news.

"Named as one of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008, Benjamin was a lifelong Aston Villa fan and had served as an ambassador for the AVFCFoundation. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time."'

[foxes-that-run]

2021 Haylor Timeline

Timeline Tag, or years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

2 January - Harry at Jeffs wedding with OW. Holding hands at wedding photos - the Paparazzi Clint and his partner follow Olivia to a hotel in Santa Barbara. He later does an hour long podcast on following them and explains he then realised Harry was there and takes photos. After a few phone calls, the two photographers discover rumors of a romantic relationship between Harry and Olivia. 10 minutes later, photographed them together. in Nanny tell all Nanny said Olivia was still texting Jason to say she loved him, that Olivia was pretending to not have service. Nanny found out she was at the wedding online.

3 January - walking with OW in Santa Barbara

4 January - Harry hike in LA

15 January - Ted Lasso Season 2 starts filming London, in Nanny Tell all nanny said that Ted confronted her on the plane there about her telling Olivia that Jason had been crying and not coping. Jason then offered the Nanny a life coach to get info out of her and they were attending therapy with the Nanny.

18 January - Coney Island released as a single.

14 February Olivia at Harry’s LA house with luggage. Don't worry Darling filming wraps. On the 21st Taylor Lover tour cancelled.

16 February - E News Harry and OW fly to London together. DWD wraps, Harry OW cast photo

20 February - OW near Jason Sudeikis /her kids London house

6 March - Oliva posts photo of Branston Beans from Harry's Kitchen, the curtains can be seen. Lockdown laws mean she should not have been able to travel there and was bragging about it and posting inside his house.

10 March Instead of congratulating Harry on the nomination Zayn posted “F the Grammys”

15 March -Talk at the Grammys, Taylor and Harry part of small group of attendees. Harry goes over to Taylor and they are polite, Harry seems a little awkward and says “well it was nice to see you”. He keeps looking at her during his acceptance speech for record of the year.

Taylor wrote High Infidelity and WCS with Aaron Dessner while in LA for the Grammy's, when she saw Harry & J Mayer.

Niall and Liam congratulate Harry on his Grammy win, Zayn and Louis do not.

31 March - architect of Harry’s Erskine House renovations posts photos of the interior to their website. It has a black, wood pale grey palette with pink stairs

13, -25 April - OW with Harry london

April 27 - Joe leaves UK to Belfast to film.

May 11 - HS & TS both at Brit awards (the 26th was a blood moon)

May - Harry’s bassist since HS1, Adam Pendergast, leaves love band (date from his LinkedIn)

20 May - Harry and Olivia dinner at Refuel Bar & Restaurant at The Soho Hotel. ET Rumours Joe and Taylor engaged.

15 June - Harry seen with fans wearing Apollo eleven tshirt

21 June - Harry wrapped My Policeman in Italy, started in Feb. Released 1 September 2022. Holiday in Italy

2 July - renegade released

3 July - Harry at England v Ukraine game Italy

8 July - Harry and Olivia on yacht and in Italy

26 July - Charlotte Clarke (Harry’s backup singer) said she was let go and doesn’t understand why. won’t be on HSLOT

28 July - Taylor posts for folklore' anniversary, "It’s been one year since we escaped the real world together and imagined ourselves someplace simpler." with a photo from Donegal Ireland. Heavily TTPD coded with Victorian gown, like the Betty speech’s on eras tour and lakes (poets), two coffee cups too, was it already a double album?! Coffee also as in the end of the Karma MV. Joe posted photos from the same trip on July 22nd

9 August - 26 August Harry in studio maybe mixing Harry's House in the behind scenes photos here you can see outfits he wore in LA on these dates.

4 September – 22 July 2023 - Love on Tour, Harry has a new bassist Elin Sandberg

7 September - Taylor in Belfast visiting Joe. Red TV entirely recorded at Kitty Committee Belfast UK (her home)

9 September - Taylor at Toronto Film Festival and to premiere all too well

11 September - Harry at Toronto Film Festival to premiere My policeman, talks about wasted time being the worst thing in presser

17 September - wildest dreams TV released, TikTok about recording Red TV and a glitch. Harry and Olivia in Phili with Xander, max and family

May 11 - HS & TS both at Brit awards (the 26th was a blood moon)

May - Harry’s bassist since HS1, Adam Pendergast, leaves love band (date from his LinkedIn)

May 24 - Joe and Taylor together in Paris

3 June - Harry OW her parents London

21 June - Harry wrapped My Policeman in Italy, started in Feb. Released 1 September 2022.

30 June - H Holiday in Italy

2 July - renegade released

8 July - Harry and Olivia on yacht and in Italy

13 July - Jason sudokis GQ that he still doesn’t know why they broke up and it ended in November 2020. Harry mentioned.

14 July - HSLOT announced for September

26 July - Charlotte Clarke (Harry’s backup singer) said she was let go and doesn’t understand why. won’t be on HSLOT

7 August - OW and Harry had guests at house, Harry has moustache and greets someone.

9 August - 26 August Harry LA in studio maybe mixing Harry's House in the behind scenes photos here you can see outfits he wore in LA on these dates. Walking with Olivia 19 August

31 August - Taylor and Joe hiking Franklin Canyon

4 September – 22 July 2023 - Love on Tour, Harry has a new bassist Elin Sandberg. OW at first show.

7 September - Taylor in Belfast visiting Joe. Red TV entirely recorded at Kitty Committee Belfast UK (her home)

9 September - Taylor at Toronto Film Festival and to premiere all too well

10 September - Harry golfing in Dallas

11 September - Harry at Toronto Film Festival to premiere My policeman, talks about wasted time being the worst thing in presser

17 September - wildest dreams TV released, TikTok about recording Red TV and a glitch. Harry and Olivia in Phili with Xander, max and family

18 September - Harry seen with Olivia near her parents in DC before show there

22 September - first heart kiss since 2018! St Paul - Falling, with Two Ghosts intro (4:31). Then again weekly till the end of the year

25 September - Taylor London Lena's wedding.

29 September - & 1 Oct Harry played Nashville and wore a white satin outfit, he played with his rings while performing Beautiful. Harry plays To Be so Lonely for 9 shows then never again, including Nashville N2 and NY. In Nashville looks up. OW at shows

3 October - OW parents at HSLOT but she is in LA.

9 October - Harry in Florida dinner

13 October - fan sends to DM that they saw Harry, no OW at Pittsburgh cathedral of learning with “more police and security than I knew existed” wouldn’t have recognised him if it wasn’t for them.

16 October - Harry wore “all things must pass” hoodie NYC OW walked awkwardly holding him. One security person.

22 October - one more photo of Taylor and joe in the bathroom leaked (the proper selfie), photos from 2016 leaked in 2020

25 October - Harry seems to be in a bad mood when he first goes on stage in Boston, also wearing no rings. Heart kiss in Falling, OW there and not seen with him until harryween in a week.

26 October - Taylor posts TikTok "Autumn Lovers RISE" as a reenactment of a 27 September 2017 Tumblr post. She writes lyrics to ATW "just between us did the love affair maim you" "and Plaid stuff and ankle boots" she's wearing a skirt but says 'stuff' plaid shirts and ankle Chelsea boots is Harry in 2011-2013. And "Maroon/Hunter Green" The ATW move included a book coming out 13 years later about the love affair.

30 October - Harry dressed as Dorothy at harryween MSG NY, Olivia as Dolly Parton posted photos with exercise bike and boobs. Olivia left for LA.

31 October - Moon Harryween Harry played MEDICINE!! For the first time since 2018

1 November - rumors Harry and OW fighting

10 November - heart kiss in falling. Tumblr anon said about OW “I was working at the venue in Sacramento when he played during LOT. Her backstage privileges were revoked after the show prior to that...which was..I think...Portland. Our backstage security was instructed to not allow her backstage under any circumstances. She didn't even arrive to the venue with him. From what I understood from Sacramento through the end of that tour her security access was no more than say..contest winners..radio personalities etc. I was shocked at the time that they lasted another year since there was clearly trouble in paradise.”

11 November - Harry has a bruise on his back I. Love on tour backstage photo

12 November - Red TV released Harry wears red in his show on the 11th. All Too Well Short Film premiere Dylan O'Brien (who is in ATW film) is included in this footage of Austin and Dylan cheering when Jack plays Question..? in the Studio. Appears on Fallon and says she easter eggs 3 years in advance in reference to ATW.

16 November - Pleasing launch with Harry on bike photo on cover of Dazed

17 November – Taylor leaves NYC for Panama to go see Joe. Taylor posts a drunk TikTok from Panama. On the 20th she went to the national theater and leaves on the 22nd. Joe stays and films. Midnights written while gone

21 November - Last time Taylor is photographed in public for 3 months is the SNL performance for All too Well

25 November Rolling Stone noted the Haylor call and response “the long-running songwriting badminton between her and Harry Allegedly is pop call-and-response the way it ought to be”

28 November- 13 December Harry MIA. after his shows. OW seen alone in LA

1 December Taylor wore Gucci lion ring to Zoe’s kravitz birthday throwback photo shared day after YLM date identified by Jack.

5 December - You're losing me written. Love on Tour in Buenos Aires

28 December - Harry and OW Italy. Fans post they saw them Hampstead NYE, no photos.

Continue to 2022

[spinef0ryou]

Interview with Ville Valo in Metal Hammer magazine, words by Alexander Milas. Transcript under the cut

It’s a gloomy November evening in London and inside the crystalline bowels of the Universal Music tower there are dark goings-on under a winter moon. An arcane gathering of power-brokers, decision makers, and tastemakers, has convened to hear the first, dulcet tones of a new record in its entirety - a lyrical and melodious exsanguination called Neon Noir. Less an album, the subject of tonight’s attention is more like a swan song played in reverse or a departed loved one’s voice playing in the wind. We’ll get to that.

There are no robes here, such vestigial ornaments long since done away with to provide anonymity on public transportation, but the importance of these proceedings is in no way diminished. This is how the music industry in all its mysterious dealings determines where and when its various powers are to be invoked - an Illuminati-like network of aligned hands is this rogues' gallery of journalists, label managers and festival promoters. Even the helmswoman of the gazette you hold in your verv hands can be seen lurking in the shadows.

At the centre of the dim chamber stands a lone, flat-capped figure, his chiselled visage peculiarly, vampirically unchanged by the many years since he first graced the cover of an international publication such as this, and let it be said that he was never a stranger to these folios.

If anything can be said of Ville Valo's appearance it's that he could teach anyone half his age a thing or two about self-presentation - and, for the record, they'd be 23 at time of publication. Svelte, casually besuited and elegantly understated in his attire - all different hues of black, obviously - he's been affably chatting with the gathered conclave with such fluidity and confidence that anyone would think it's something he does every day, and anyone who knows his incongruous penchant for reclusiveness when off the stage would suspect that maybe he's changed since we saw him last.

For the record, he does not, and he has not. Ten long years have passed since His Infernal Majesty's final release, the career summation that was 2013's Tears On Tape, and it has been five years since Him played their final note on the second of two sold-out nights at the London Roundhouse in December of 2017. Their concluding song was the aptly chosen, syrupy dirge of When Love And Death Embrace, and the mortuary pallor of its refrains couldn't have been better matched to the forlorn mood of that distinctly funereal moment.

For many, it was a farewell to one of life's few constants: Him were less like a band and more like a comforting gothic world to those who fell prey to its blackened enchantments, and as if further affirmation is needed, no one in the field of music has since emerged to even remotely fill the heartagram-shaped hole left in Ville's wake. As the lights in the venue went up to reveal no shortage of streaked mascara, it would have been impossible to surmise whether we'd ever hear from Ville again - such was the finality of that tour and the deathly vibe of that night.

More desolate still was the long silence that ensued after the 26-year adventure he spearheaded under an iconic banner designed by his own hand. Eight records, ten million sales and countless fans getting heartagram tattoos of variable quality were the tallies of Ville's musical ledger.It was over. Him was dead. Their founder was gone. And then, quietly, headless blooms began to flank his headstone.

First came the news that he was blowing off the cobwebs to undertake a tour of Finland to record and perform songs by the late, beloved Finnish singer-songwriter Rauli 'Badding' Somerjoki, with Somerjoki's old band, Agents. The project smashed the charts in Finland before they eventually disbanded.

More silence followed until March 2020, when an unheralded EP was released under a new banner, VV complete with an updated reimagining of the famed heartagram. A portent of what was to come, Gothica Fennica Vol. 1 was far from alien to anyone familiar with Him's long-established sound, but it also bore the hallmarks of a songwriter unbound by the restraints of collaboration or co-writing. As the world smouldered, it was a hopeful omen that perhaps not everything had been lost to the pandemic.

We retreat from the listening session to a quieter room to shine to shine a neon light on the story of the rebirth and toil that followed, a res-erection-

Ville shoots a look as if to say, 'You're not gonna write that, are you?' Well…

“‘Promo tours are like Bullet-point for my Valentine.”

Ville has sunk into his armchair, a body deflated. We've just been talking about the sometimes less-than-rock'n'roll demands of album promotion, and how while just 10 years have passed since Him's final release, a lifetime of change in the industry's inner workings has followed. It's Thursday and Ville's already done the rounds in Berlin this week, plus a big photo session, too - rumour has it that a smoke machine for a cover shoot triggered a confrontation with security here yesterday. Whoever the photographer was that bolted the door shut so the shoot could continue remains a mystery at the time of going to press.

But despite Ville's tiredness after two days of media-based pokes and prods and his first international flight in five years, he's still exhibiting a remarkably playful way with words: the product of voracious reading and self-confessed Anglophilia that can make it easy to forget this is his second language, although as we'll soon discover there are some words that resist translation.

We're reflecting on how many times he's appeared in the pages of Metal Hammer. I produce a photo from many years gone by, taken by Mick Hutson. It's Ville, looking like a goth deer caught in headlights, sitting in the back of a limo between the late Dimebag Darrell and Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx on his way to the Metal Hammer Golden God awards. He smirks.

"It was a playground, wasn't it?" he says of the Ville of yore. "Oh my god, that was a weird one. I remember Dimebag - he'd been up all night, and there's me stuck in the middle. I gave my Golden God award to Zakk Wylde's daughter. He told me she was a huge fan and I'd had a sip too many, so…”

And let it be said that by the time Him went stratospheric - a runway stretching between 2000's Razorblade Romance and 2003's definitive Love Metal - there were few publications that weren't peppering their pages with images of Ville. photogenic but, more importantly, hilarious, his wry and dismissive self-regard tempered the styled polish of his many covershoots. In a time when emo was king, Ville brought something current but gleefully out of step with fashion, musical and otherwise, but he persevered because, arguably, beyond the music he possessed that rare quality that escapes so many whose trade is on the road and in music studios. He was interesting, and Him and their legion of fans were their own movement. For a time, if you ever stood at the back of one of their sold-out shows, it looked something like Beatlemania directed by Tim Burton.

“What would you say to yourself back then?” He smiles and takes a moment before replying.

“It isn't a horror movie thing, but my oldest self has whispered to my younger self many times. You know, I could have done stuff way wiser in the sense of trying to become more successful in terms of money, listening to record companies or whatnot, because people had a damn hard time trying to figure out what we were all about. I wouldn't do anything differently because then I wouldn't be here - that's the beauty of it."

And, tracing the course of what Ville did, what he's doing now, there's little to suggest that anything has changed in terms of his resistance to the common methods of self-promotion. In a time of compulsive micro-blogging and algorithm-feeding content, the official 'Heartagram' Instagram account posts at roughly the same rate as the Vatican. Be it about the preservation of mystery or a refusal to play the game, let it never be said that he didn't do it his way.

“I’m a slow learner. I only learned about the eggplant emoji yesterday! But as for those whispers, it's something to do with the nonlinearity of time," he continues. "I had some foresight to the pandemic, though, and found myself a house with a photography studio which I turned into a music studio. It's one big room that enabled me to spread around all the weird pieces of kit from all eras - sort of my creative central. During the pandemic, that's all I did. There was no rhyme or reason, I just thought it was time to move on and do something different. It could have been my older self whispering to my younger self in the middle of the night, like, 'Now's a good time. You'll understand it better in a few years.' So yeah, it could be one of those things."

We notice a white wall in the corridor is covered in dozens of Sharpie signatures from fellow artists who’ve passed through. Some are small, while pop groups Bastille and Westlife have gone big with huge cubital letters. Unimpressed, Ville reaches for a glow-in-the-dark V sticker from his breast pocket and wryly sticks it up at the top. Always a rebel.

Was it hard to decide which direction to go in after Him?

“Musically, I'm a pair of bell-bottoms," he says. "If you want to follow hits, you're always going to be too late. Music and art is essential for my wellbeing, it's the air that I breathe - it's natural for me, but at times I've felt like a human among the lizard people, an infiltrator from another galaxy. The only thing I can do is the thing I can do."

Of course, it raises the question of how VV and indeed Neon Noir came about. That Ville has always presided over every detail of his music is no secret - there's never been a doubt as to whose vision it all was, and the ending of Him is just as important as the beginning we're here to discuss. As anyone who's seen the end of a relationship will know, the signs of impending demise can appear long before the cracks emerge, and the conclusion of Him was no different. To paraphrase a singer named BB on the prologue to VV, the thrill was gone...

"Expiration is funny when it comes to bands," he says matter-of-factly. Whatever wounds may have been inflicted, they have long since closed, and he's at ease when prompted on what went down.

"It didn't happen overnight - we'd started having trouble after Tears On Tape. Gas (Lipstick] had left the band and we found a new drummer, which was fantastic for a time, but we just couldn't find it in ourselves - a new album. We started working on ideas, but they didn't sound very good. The adult way to approach things is that if it's something you really do love, you have to love them enough to let them go when the right moment comes. The spark was no longer there, so timing-wise, it was good - I wouldn't have minded it to happen a little earlier because now I see the end of my own career in the distance. I never wanted it to feel like a job. You'll see bands touring where it quite clearly is. Something so central needs to be full of passion and laughter and joy and tears - dramatic, like a pint of milk."

Dairy funny. Have you been in touch with the guys since then, we ask?

"I haven't been in touch with Gas in more than 10 years," comes the reply. "And Linde [Mikko 'Linde' Lindström, guitarist] is quite a solitary fellow who's not a big talker anyway. But Mige [Mikko 'Mige' Paananen, bassist] was a bit of a Rick Rubin on the album. He was like this weird guru that came by every three months and gave me a stamp of approval, like, 'Yeah, this is fine.' He's one of my earliest childhood friends and one of my best mates still, so we keep in touch - that's rare. It's been 35 years or something..."

It was that relationship that provided something of the lifeline that Ville needed. He describes the feeling after Him's final show as something akin to phantom limb syndrome, where amputees report sensation in appendages that are no longer there.

"I felt like an outsider, an outcast," he says. "[I felt like] I didn't understand myself, and that the world doesn't understand me or that I didn't belong. It's a profound feeling, you know, to existentially feel that you don't understand the world or your place in it. Funnily enough, how I got through that was writing. The pandemic really painted everyone into a corner. I wasn't suicidal, but there was a tinge of depression as well, not seeing tomorrow or the worth of the day after tomorrow. People reacted in different ways. I forced myself back to music, and music gave me the gift of song once again. I was able to pull off a couple of Sabbath rip-offs, so that made me feel better. That was a big deal."

Ville will go on to animatedly recount how the loss of purpose and trajectory coupled with the worldwide shutdown was in some sense the perfect reset post-Him, and while he hit a very low ebb, it was precisely the kind of downtime he needed and hadn't had since Him's formation when he was just a teen.

"There was no scheduling, nobody to communicate with about what I was working on, so it was very unfiltered intuition, straight to tape or whatever recording medium, and I found myself having goosebumps like I'd never had before. Well..." his eyes impishly go to the ceiling, "musically, at least. I'm scared of stuff being really repetitive - it's nice to enjoy a binge watch on Netflix, but you're never gonna get the time back. That doesn't mean, 'Don't do it! But enjoy the now, take advantage of the time. That's what we'll be doing when we go on tour with the band next year, challenging myself to do lots of things and not step into a sort of zombified existence. People are so distracted…”

At the beginning of the Divine Comedy, the main character - Dante Alighieri's Pilgrim - wrote of finding himself in a dark wood halfway through the walk of life; the straight path, lost. It was a roundabout way of describing the confusion that can come with middle age, but in his mid-4os and with the deep shadows and brilliant highlights of an illustrious career in the rear-view mirror, I wonder aloud if the same could be said of the current predicament.

Dante's come up because, as is often the case with Ville, the subjects of language and literature are never far away. I ask him to elaborate on that tinge of depression he's mentioned, and he says one thing. and lets it hang in the air: "Kaiho."

Sorry?

"Kai-ho," he says again, slowly. It's a Finnish word, he explains, that defies direct translation but describes the twist of emotions he was detangling in the wake of a lifetime on the road and in the limelight. "It isn't a negative feeling. It's a bittersweet reverie. I think Finnish people find it profoundly positive as well, because it also means that you have lived, you have loved and that you experience things that actually make a difference, at least to you personally, hopefully, for the people around you."

Did you struggle?

"I had a month where I didn't get out of bed," he states.

"Around that long, at least. I was pretty worried about it. I forced myself up and back to music through conversations with mates, you know, getting my spirits up a bit, but it was a weird feeling. It's not like you can't get up. You just don't want to get up. You don't want to do anything and you can't really do anything: just super-tired, some form of post-traumatic stress after all the years. It could be that it took a while for it to hit, and it coincided with a pandemic. I wasn't able to do anything, so my body and my mind told me to get the sleep I missed back in the day. Thankfully I slept it off, but life doesn't get any easier. It's getting more complicated, more bittersweet - a tough combo. A pint half full, half empty…”

Of course, the wrought-iron melody of Neon Noir's various paeans to love and loss wouldn't seem correct if they came from a place of emotional buoyancy, but if the slump Ville describes really was just making up for lost sleep-time, he's making no bones about his desire to get back to work.

"I'm not thinking about the end, but what I do realise is that, thinking in logical terms, it's going to be really weird if I'm 60 and still in it, which means that I have less than that in terms of album cycles. It starts to get a bit scary because I've done music all my life, but then again, thinking like that makes me smile."

So how does a 46-year-old's vision of love change from, say, a 20-year-old's?

"Well, maybe we haven't had that 'one true love' in the traditional sense in Shakespearean drama: the overwhelming one that takes over everything. You can't compare relationships and you shouldn't - different times, different people, different chemistry, different reasons. Music is still at its best when it's a soundtrack to important events."

So how does Neon Noir reflect your own life?

"It's very sincere - it encapsulates things. The indecisiveness on whether I belong to the camp of Black Sabbath or Depeche Mode, the constant struggle with good and evil. Run Away From The Sun is the first song I wrote and I didn't know if I had a song in me at all, but I had to start from somewhere. I had all these ideas. I started to do it and follow my intuition. I wasn't in a rush, I had no deadlines - I didn't even know if I was going to continue, and that was the most fruitful ground, because it felt real and unadulterated by pressure…”

As new as it all is for Ville, there are some things that have remained unchanged, or perhaps present is a better word. The heartagram was, after all, the gothic bat-signal of the early 00’s onward...

"It was everything Him stood for," he says. "I just wiggled that one line and realised it has my initials, and that was the reason I called the project VV, and I liked that it had a 'V for Victory' kinda vibe to it, and visually it had the traditional aspect to it, a current iteration of the same idea. It's symbolic, because I didn't want to force myself to take a completely different route musically. I'm not an actor, and Him all happened very organically. I was finding my voice, or whatever you want to call it, through Type O and Black Sabbath back then, and I still am."

From the mood in the room it's a welcome return indeed. It seems that for the first time in a lifetime he's found his path -with the help of a little neon to hold back the darkness.

LIGHTS OUT

Ville Valo reveals the dark secrets behind new album Neon Noir

01: ECHOLOCATE YOUR LOVE

"I was enjoying a documentary on the navigational skills of bats and imagined their nocturnal courting calls bouncing eerily between the walls of the abyss in a gothic ping pong-fashion. To make sure I was communicating this musical vision clearly, I included a cowbell in the middle eight, just because whenever one can, one should."

02: RUN AWAY FROM THE SUN

"The light at the end of the tunnel can sometimes shine so bright it’s scary, and my running-away skills have been highly developed over the years by sweeping most of my issues under the carpet. There are also a few church bell samples ringing among all the 80s-inspired synth sequences, only to make sure the ever-fickle balance between good and evil doesn't err on the side of Skywalker."

03: NEON NOIR

“ A cheerful memento mori if there ever was one, and my first guitar solo on record. The working title was 'Vangelis Halen' and I think I managed to get fairly close in marrying the claustrophobic beauty of Blade Runner with the reckless abandon of VH, in a sort of funeral-car-crash-in-slow-motion-type setting.”

04: LOVELETTING

“ An ode to the setting sun and a tale of dancing on the razor's edge between holding on and letting go. A moribundle of joy in a patchouli garden, with handclaps."

05: THE FOREVERLOST

"The Finnish tourism board should definitely include ‘Nyctophile Shangri-La' as a tagline promoting Finland from now on instead of the worn-out Santanic slogans of yore. A menace-à-trois between Andrew Eldritch, Jaz Coleman and Peter Hook.”

06: BABY LACRIMARIUM

“Quite a traditional love song written by someone who takes the Poe in poetry a wee bit too seriously. A study on blocked tear ducts and The Cure."

07: SALUTE THE SANGUINE

"None of the ways out are easy, so taking the road less travelled is always the preferred method. 'If I could only say the same about the music,’ mutters the little Devil on my shoulder."

08: IN TRENODIA

"A world-building exercise at its bleakest, 'Trenodia' representing a highly modified utopia lit by every shade of blue, with a suitably melancholy soundtrack played at the wrong speed."

09: HEARTFUL OF GHOSTS

"Heartful Of Ghosts is essentially a heart-wrenching tale of paranormal love and supernatural betrayal. Sonically, this lies somewhere between a lava lamp and acupuncture... with fangs.”

10: SATURNINE SATURNÁLIA

"Saturnine Saturnalia is romantic doom and gloom at its very finest, and probably the most Sabbathian moment there is on the album. I dug out my Excalibur - the deranged fuzz pedal and vintage army flask-combo that Mige of Him built me many a moon ago - and tended to my tinnitus with gusto.”

11: ZENER SOLITAIRE

"Imagine if this was Phil Spector's ghost reinterpreting Goblin's soundtrack for Dario Argento's movie Suspiria in glorious lo-fi."

12: VERTIGO EYES

"When you meet someone whose eyes are as hypnotic as watching the Vertigo logo spinning on your turntable, you're either in love or your drink has been spiked. This is a nod to the ghosts of the past, present and future, and a suitably hallucinatory way to end the record."

[tayfabe75]

Love your blog. Been going down rabbit holes myself. I’m fascinated by the idea they may have met sooner than 2013/14.

Taylor’s first UK concert was August 22 & 23 at V Festival. The headline act was none other than Oasis, a band that Matty has a history of liking and excessively calling out for breaking up, both from Manchester area.

Ironically enough, Calvin Harris also played at that same festival.

So it’s possible he went to the show? I can’t find anything that says Drive Like I Do was playing anywhere that day. But they were starting to play gigs at this time & with Matty’s parents connections, it’s not far fetched he would be close to some of the acts there.

Also Matty does write in The 1975 song Mine the lyrics “looking back on 2009” & with the “Mine” reference on Guilty As Sin? it’s making my head hurt.

Who knows. I’m clowning. But interesting information if you have anything else from this time period.

Thank you so much!! I've been a bit quiet since I'm working on a pinned post that will better help users navigate the blog better, hopefully aiding in falling down more of those rabbit holes!

First and foremost, I personally believe chances are pretty good that Taylor and Matty knew each other before this 2009 festival you mentioned (more on that here). Here are all of my posts from 2009, so you can get a sense of what was going on for them around this time (most notably, Taylor appears on Loose Women and, please read this post thoroughly about when and where she started writing a 13 on her hand!)

As for Drive Like I Do, it's so hard to find information about their early gigs, but they seemed to play small bars around Manchester and occasionally in London. Even if DLID was not playing at the festival, chances are still good that Matty was there, since he has talked about going to music festivals when he was younger.

I'm glad you brought up Oasis! Taylor happens to have a very curious unreleased song from 2006 called Love to Lose. As much of a banger as it is, I don't think there's any chance it could end up as a vault track on Debut TV because of how sonically and lyrically similar it is to Wonderwall by Oasis!

Wonderwall: And backbeat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out Love to Lose: Come on, gather 'round, I'm gonna tell you how the fire went out

Curious to me that she would so heavily base one of her early songs on not just a song from Oasis, but one of the most popular songs of that period? lol Like you said, a Manchester band that Matty once described as the "coolest band in the world". Wonderwall was also featured on her playlist from 2008.

My question is... could this possibly be a "plot device"? 'Love to Lose' would also come to have one of its melodies recycled in a 1989 vault track 'Is It Over Now' (listen here) (IION also uses of of Matty's melodies!) I can't shake the instinct that she uses these "plot devices" to tie songs, themes, and perhaps subjects together. I mean, we're seeing her do this in real time with her surprise song mashups!

While there's no telling whether Taylor meant her 'Mine' or Matty's 'Mine' in 'Guilty as Sin'… the song has a country feel to it, right? Another song with a country feel is 'Roadkill' by The 1975! Interestingly, at about 1:42 in the visualizer, the word "mine" starts floating around the screen! The storyline in the video is also worth analyzing, especially since the song shares lyrical similarities with 'Cruel Summer'.

Is any of it related? Who knows! But my "tattered" brain is stuffed with strange coincidences and parallels, so now I'm giving it to you to clown around with lol 🤡 As for Taylor's 'Mine', well she played it as a surprise song in Nashville with Matty in attendance, and gave a fascinating speech beforehand! Thanks for the ask! 💛

[melmordfjordslorn]

@lovleycrowley

Phase Four: We Are Still Humanz (2013–2018)

During the attack of Plastic Beach, Murdoc escaped the island with Cyborg Noodle in a submarine. On his way home to England, Murdoc was captured by EMI, the now-defunct former publisher of Gorillaz' music. EMI had been searching the globe for Murdoc, who they threw in "Dungeon Abbey", a secret prison beneath Abbey Road Studios. Murdoc was eventually released under the condition that he was to immediately begin work on a new Gorillaz album. Murdoc agreed and moved into a new studio/home in West London.

Shortly after the attack on Plastic Beach, Noodle awoke in a small Japanese village and began working as a pearl diver under the apprenticeship of Chiyoko, the women who had nursed her back to health after finding her washed up on the Japanese shore. While working one day, Noodle accidentally released Mazuu, a shape-shifting devil that had spent over 500 years trapped in a large pearl at the bottom of the ocean. Noodle spent years chasing Mazuu, finding it in Tokyo disguised as a human, having risen the criminal underworld. Noodle infiltrated Mazuu's headquarters, decapitated Mazuu, and escaped in one piece. She packaged herself in a FedEx crate and addressed it to "West London, England, c/o Murdoc Niccals".

While escaping Plastic Beach with Noodle, Russell had gotten separated off the coast of Japan. Being mistaken for a whale (due to his unusually large size) he was harpooned but managed to escape. He lost consciousness and washed up on the shores of North Korea, where he was carried to Pyongyang and exhibited as "Pulgasari", North Korea's "Godzilla". Russell became the country's most popular attraction before shrinking back to normal size due to malnutrition, after which he was sent back to London where he moved into Murdoc's home in West London to create a new Gorillaz album.

During the attack of Plastic Beach, 2-D was swallowed whole by "Massive Dick", the whale that terrified him throughout his time spent on the island. Shortly after, Massive Dick died and washed up on the shore of a desert island. 2-D emerged from the whale's carcass and spent months surviving solely off of Massive Dick's dead body, before realizing he was actually on Guadalupe Island off the coast of Mexico. He walked thirty minutes before finding a beach resort and spent the rest of the year there on vacation before finally heading home to England where he was picked up by a driver Murdoc hired and was reunited with the band.

The band recorded throughout 2016 at Studio 13, Murdoc’s secret new studio in London, finally completing their first album in 7 years, Humanz, in 2017. Murdoc decided to release the album by throwing “the party to end all parties” in a haunted house in Detroit known as the “Spirit House”. When the band first arrived at the house in the “Saturnz Barz” music video, they were haunted by three demons. A giant one-eyed blue worm haunted Noodle, a gray multi-limbed monster haunted Russel and a pizza slice with a face haunted 2-D. In the "Strobelite" music video, Noodle and 2-D have fun dancing at the party, while Russel sleeps and Murdoc does shady business with a mysterious man at the bar.

In June 2017 a song/music video called "Sleeping Powder" was discovered in 2D's room in the Gorillaz app. Later the same day, the video was released to the public, and one week later, the song was officially released as a single on digital platforms. 2D recorded the song and music video himself as a response to fans who criticized Humanz for having too many collaborators and not enough of 2D's voice. 2D was able to record the track and video in secret due to Murdoc being placed into a week long coma.

The band went on a world tour, and even created their own festival called the Demon Dayz Festival. The first of which took place in Margate, England in June 2017. Before Gorillaz took the stage at Demon Dayz, a mysterious cult called the “Kool Klown Klan” were spotted holding bells and marching. Little is known about the cult, but they are referenced in the lyrics and imagery of the Humanz song “Momentz”.

In December 2017 the band released their own Magazine called G Magazine. The 34-page magazine features insights from the band on Humanz, editorials from each Gorillaz member, and an interview between the band, and their own co-creator Jamie Hewlett. In February 2018 the band won the Brit Award for Best British Band. While attempting to accept his award, Murdoc was arrested and taken to HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs in London for an undisclosed crime.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

I’m coming to the HowTheLightGetsIn festival in HAY-ON-WYE with my novel Red Team Blues:

Tomorrow (May 28), 1130AM: The AI Enigma

Monday (May 29), 12PM: Danger and Desire at the Frontier

I’m at OXFORD’s Blackwell’s on Monday (May 29) at 7:30PM with Tim Harford.

Then it’s Nottingham, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, and Berlin!

#10yrsago Bank of Canada kills editorial cartoon, calls it “counterfeiting” https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/jack-knox-the-90000-duffy-buck-stops-here-bank-of-canada-decides-4592661

#10yrsago Toronto mayoral car-crash: homicide detectives search mayor’s office after tip on crack-smoking video; top staffers quit https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/two-senior-members-of-toronto-mayor-rob-fords-staff-resign/article12168106/

#10yrsago UK Ministry of Justice denies that the court system is to be sold to hedge funds https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/may/28/moj-denies-privatisation-courts-service

#10yrsago Shambling Guide to New York City https://memex.craphound.com/2013/05/28/shambling-guide-to-new-york-city/

#10yrsago Canada’s business groups wants to hack your computer even more than the creeps at the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property https://www.thestar.com/business/2013/02/08/business_thinks_antispam_law_should_protect_them_not_consumers_geist.html

#10yrsago Disaster porn and elite panic: the militarized lie of savage disaster aftermath https://web.archive.org/web/20130609055535/http://www.ochbergsociety.org/magazine/2013/05/in-haiti-and-beyond-learning-to-look-for-resilience/

#10yrsago Toronto cops hospitalize hotel guest who recorded them arresting another guest https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/05/26/exclusive_toronto_police_arrest_man_take_phone_after_attempt_to_film_takedown_at_sheraton.html

#5yrsago The first cyberattack took place nearly 200 years ago in France https://www.economist.com/1843/2017/10/05/the-crooked-timber-of-humanity

#5yrsago Germany’s scientific texts were made free during and after WWII; analyzing them today shows the negative effect of paywalls on science https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/effects-copyrights-science

#5yrsago 8 years of austerity have turned the UK into a bleak Victorian dystopia, where pensioners without electricity die from fires ignited by their candles https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/28/world/europe/uk-austerity-poverty.html

#5yrsago Canadian Conservative parliamentarian accuses black rival of “thinking the world revolves around her skin colour” https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bernier-cesar-chavannes-tweet-1.4680467

#5yrsago RIP Gardner Dozois, pioneering, genre-defining science fiction editor who helped launch my career https://memex.craphound.com/2018/05/28/rip-gardner-dozois-pioneering-genre-defining-science-fiction-editor-who-helped-launch-my-career/

#5yrsago Futuristic designs for products the EU’s stupid new copyright law would kill https://web.archive.org/web/20180615000000*/https://futurenotmade.eu/

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Hay-on-Wye, Oxford, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

[concerthopperblog]

A La Sala 2024 Tour - Khruangbin Live at The Eastern

· Khruangbin announced on January 29th via their socials two tours in 2024 in support of their latest release, A La Sala, in Europe and North America. Some months later, on June 18th Khruangbin announced three special dates in Atlanta, GA. for this tour: September 26th & 27th at the Fox Theatre and September 28th at The Eastern. Tickets for the last show announced at The Eastern sold out fast and that was expected based on their previous two-night tour stop at the same venue back in 2021. Like the great poet Andre 3000 once said, “You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can’t predict the weather.” Unfortunately, Hurricane Helene decided to ramp up in the southern region right before this tour stop, and with the path of the tropical storm headed straight towards Atlanta. Khruangbin chose to cancel the first night of their two-night stand at the Fox Theatre for Thursday evening with immediate refunds available to the ticket holders. But Khruangbin did announce over the weekend that they would be adding a Sunday show (09/29/2024) at The Eastern to make up for the canceled Thursday show. Khruangbin fans rejoiced after hearing this wonderful news from the band. A lot of people in the area needed this break from the chaos that was happening around Georgia at the time. If you want to help those who have suffered loss during this dynamic situation, please take the time to donate via the American Red Cross/ All Hands and Hearts/ Americares.

For those who do not know, Khruangbin is a psychedelic rock/surf rock/funk/instrumental rock/dub/rock band from Houston, Texas that has been making music since 2010. This trio has released five (5) LPs, five (5) EPs, one (1) compilation album, three (3) remix albums, eight (8) live recordings, and several singles over their impressive and talented career. Khruangbin’s most recent release, A La Sala (April 5, 2024), released by Dead Oceans Records has received some amazing reviews since its debut. Pitchfork wrote that “the band thrives when it sheds all of the frills and creates a small world where anything is possible.” A La Sala (which translates as “to the room” in Spanish) is a call back to their humble beginnings as a band with a more stripped-down product that relies heavily on funk and 70s psych rock intertwined with catchy global ambiances. It is also worth noting, that A La Sala is the first full-length, release by Khruangbin without any additional musical collaborators. I was excited to hear some of the new tracks of A La Sala like “Pon Pon”, “Juegos y Nubes”, and “A Love International” played live on this tour for the first time in Georgia.

For the Atlanta portion of the A La Sala 2024 tour, Shabaka was announced on September 3rd as their opening support for all three dates. Shabaka Akua Lumumba Kamau Iyapo Hutchings is a jazz/Avant Garde jazz/ jazz fusion/afrobeat/world music/spiritual jazz musician/bandleader/composer from London, England who has been credited as performing since 2013. Shabaka has released multiple albums under his namesake, as a leader in bands, or as a co-leader:

·         Released as Shabaka – two (2) LPs

·         Sons of Kemet – four (4) LPs

·         Melt Yourself Down – two (2) LPs

·         The Comet is Coming – four (4) LPs

·         Shabaka & the Ancestors – two (2) LPs

·         Supporting others or as a sideman – ten (10) LPs

·         As a featured artist – eight (8) LPs

I was fortunate to catch Sons of Kemet at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (2022) with my best friend Markus based on his recommendation. Since he had never steered me wrong before, I went with him to their set and was very happy that I made that decision. Fast forward a few years, and I am now taking photos of Shabaka’s spirited and vibrant opening performance at The Eastern as opening support for Khruangbin. From start to finish, Shabaka and his band set a jazzy vibe that was very relaxing but continuously upbeat with some funky breakdowns. As an opener for this tour, Khruangbin knew what they were doing when they asked Shabaka to come out on tour. A big thank you to Khruangbin for bringing such talent and beauty with them on the A La Sala 2024 Tour.

You can check out Shabaka’s setlist from this evening at The Eastern below:

·         Drum/flute solo

·         “As the Planets and the Stars Collapse”

·         5-7

·         “I’ll Do Whatever You Want”

·         Flute solo

·         “Forest in the Dream”

·         “Living”

·         “Step Lightly”

You can stream some of Shabaka’s musical projects and follow Shabaka Hutchings on Bandcamp today! Or head over to the Verve Records website and pick out some Shabaka merchandise, CDs, and records.

It was time for Khruangbin to grace the stage, and you could tell each exuberant fan in attendance was ready for what was coming! The first night at The Eastern, Khruangbin brought out the fire with “Como Me Quieres” and “The Recital That Never Happened” as the first two songs of the night. That set the tempo for the evening, and you could tell the band was in the zone. Something about Khruangbin that I love and admire is how they continue to move, groove, and dance around the stage while entranced in the music that they are performing. And when you gaze into the crowd, the fans are doing the same thing around the venue. Upstairs and downstairs. What is not to love about that? A constant dance party by one of your favorite bands live. I tell you what, this is just what the doctor ordered for the state of Georgia. A few nights out of the week for the people of Georgia and some out of towners, to get together and forget about all of the troubles of the day. Focus on personal healing and try to make tomorrow a better day despite the clouds of Helene hovering above us.  

You can view the setlist from Khruangbin’s thrilling performance Saturday night at The Eastern below:

You can view the setlist from Khruangbin’s thrilling performance on Saturday night at The Eastern below:

·         “Como Me Quieres”

·         “The Recital That Never Happened”

·         “The Man Who Took My Sunglasses” > “Master of Life” > “Shades of Man”

·         “Dern Kala”

·         “Pon Pon”

·         “Todavia Viva”

·         “Juegos y Nubes”

·         “Hold Me Up (Thank You)”

·         “Summer Madness” (Kool & the Gang cover)

·         “Blind Man Can See It” (James Brown cover)

·         “Lady and Man”

·         “The Infamous Bill”

·         “Pelota”

·         “Time (You and I)”

·         “Evan Finds the Third Room”

·         “Maria Tambien”

·         “Firecracker” (Yellow Magic Orchestra cover)

ENCORE

·         “White Gloves”

·         “People Everywhere (Still Alive)”

You can check out some of my previous reviews featuring Khruangbin exclusively on Concerthopper.com: Khruangbin w/ Will Van Horn: Winter Tour 2018 and Night Two (SOLD-OUT) w/ Khruangbin & Nick Hakim at The Eastern (12/03/2021)! You can also check out some of their music by heading over to Khruangbin’s official Bandcamp page and give them a listen!

You can still catch Khruangbin on the following dates (U.S.A. & European dates included):

 Oct 2

St. Louis, MO

The Factory

Tickets

Oct 3

St. Louis, MO

The Factory

Tickets

Oct 5

Austin, TX

Austin City Limits

Tickets

Oct 7

Oklahoma City, OK

The Criterion

Tickets

Oct 9

New Orleans, LA

Saenger Theatre

Tickets

Oct 10

New Orleans, LA

Saenger Theatre

Tickets

Oct 12

Austin, TX

Austin City Limits

Tickets

Oct 31

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

AFAS

Tickets

Nov 1

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

AFAS

Tickets

Nov 2

Antwerp, Belgium

Lotto

Tickets

Nov 4

Paris, France

Olympia

Tickets

Nov 5

Paris, France

Olympia

Tickets

Nov 7

Berlin, Germany

Tempodrom

Tickets

Nov 8

Berlin, Germany

Tempodrom

Tickets

Nov 11

Milan, Italy

Alcatraz

Tickets

Nov 12

Zurich, Switzerland

Halle 662

Tickets

Nov 15

Glasgow, UK

OVO Hydro

Tickets

Nov 17

Manchester, UK

Apollo

Tickets

Nov 18

Manchester, UK

Apollo

Tickets

Nov 20

London, UK

Eventim Apollo

Tickets

Nov 21

London, UK

Eventim Apollo

Tickets

Nov 22

London, UK

Eventim Apollo

Tickets

Nov 24

Dublin, Ireland

3 Arena

Tickets

Feb 20

Christchurch, NZ

Electric Avenue Music Festival

Tickets

Feb 25

Melbourne, VIC

MCA

Tickets

Feb 26

Melbourne, VIC

MCA

Tickets

Mar 2

Brisbane, QLD

Riverstage

Tickets

Mar 5

Sydney, NSW

Hordern Pavilion

Tickets

Mar 6

Sydney, NSW

Hordern Pavilion

Tickets

Mar 7

Sydney, NSW

Hordern Pavilion

Tickets

Mar 10

Adelaide, SA

WOMADelaide

Tickets

 Curious about Concerthopper? You can find more music-related articles, interviews, various photo galleries, indie music reviews, our ‘Bars & Bites’ section, our exclusive “She Said, She Said” column, or become a Concerthopper at www.concerthopper.com. Sign up for our monthly newsletter by following this link: The Setlist! Please ‘Like’ our page on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date in 2023, on all music-related events/festivals such as King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Live at The Fox Theatre (Atlanta), Underoath “They’re Only Chasing Safety” 20th Anniversary Tour: Live at Buffalo Riverworks, Americana Music Association – AmericanaFest 2024 (Nashville), Seasons 21st Anniversary Tour – Sevendust Live at Water Street Music Hall (Rochester), The Deathless Tour Part 2: Set It Off Live at Sharkey’s Event Center (Liverpool), The Popular MonsTour II: World Domination – Falling In Reverse Live at Darien Lake Amphitheater (Darien Center), Real Friends Live at Town Ballroom (Buffalo),  Carnal Tour 2024: Nothing More Live at Buffalo RiverWorks (Buffalo), Knocked Loose: Live at Buffalo Riverworks,  North American Tour 2024: Opeth Live at Tabernacle (Atlanta), Klash of the Titans Tour: Testament and Kreator Live at Tabernacle (Atlanta), High on Fire & Weedeater: Live at The Masquerade (Atlanta), The Plot in You: Live at Buffalo Riverworks, Senses Fail & Saves The Day: Live at The Beacham (Orlando), Pierce The Veil Live at The Oncenter, Joywave: Live at Town Ballroom (Buffalo), North American Tour 2024: Slift Live at Terminal West (Atlanta), and The Jesus Lizard Live at Variety Playhouse (Atlanta) by following us on all social media formats: Concerthopper on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  You can also follow my concert hopping on Facebook and Instagram.

[polishwomenartists-sztukakobiet]

MAGDA HUECKEL

Rituals, Passage, 2018

Self-portrait

@art.by.women_women.in.arts

RITUALS / PASSAGE - Rytuały / Przejście is a series of photographs, which opens a new cycle called ‘Rituals’. I photograph my own body in the natural environment. This time, however, I place it in the direct relation with the organic elements. This work reflects my fascination with traditional rituals, especially from Africa. The project was created with the support of Fundacja Archeologia Fotografii (Archeology of Photography Foundation) within the ‘Live Archives’ project.

Number of works: video and 10 photographs

Size: 40x27cm

Technique: lambda print, dibond

Visual artist, theatre photographer, set designer, traveller. Her work has been exhibited at dozens of exhibitions in Poland and around the world (including Tate Britain in London). In 2013 her photograph album “Anima. Pictures from Africa 2005–2013” was published, and a year later it was nominated for the Photography Publication of the Year Award. In 2015 her photograph album “HUECKEL/TEATR” was published. She has worked on film projects with Tomasz Śliwiński as a scriptwriter and camera operator. Their documentary Our Curse was nominated for the Oscar Academy Award in 2015, and won prizes at numerous international festivals. She graduated from the Faculty of Painting and Graphic Design of the Fine Arts Academy in Gdańsk. She was awarded scholarships by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and the City of Sopot. Between 2002 and 2004 she formed part of the photographic duo known as hueckelserafin with Agata Serafin. Via Artist's website

#MAGDAHUECKEL #Rituals #Passage

#Selfportrait #artbywomen #womeninarts #naturalart #ecoart #PalianShow

[telltalesonline]

Dua Lipa’s Dating History: A Full List of Boyfriends

With seven Brit awards, three Grammys, and a spot on The Sunday Times Rich List, British-Albanian singer Dua Lipa is undeniably one of the most successful female artists of her generation. But has this global pop icon had the same success in her love life?

From a rumored fling with Trevor Noah back in 2022 to a whirlwind romance with Romain Gavras in 2023, we’re bringing you all the juicy details of Dua Lipa’s high-profile dating history.

Is one kiss really all it takes, or does the songstress secretly have a cold heart?

Let’s find out!

Ex: Isaac Carew

Who is he? Chef & model Dated in: 2013 – 2017, 2018 – 2019

Dua’s love life has been anything but smooth sailing, and her first public romance was no exception. Back in 2013, two whole years before dropping her debut single New Love, the popular star was linked to British model and chef Isaac Carew.

Sharing a romance both in and out of the limelight, the pair had a bit of a rocky relationship, briefly splitting in 2017, before reconciling in 2018 when they were papped arm in arm enjoying an evening out in London.

Unfortunately, that same year, things got messy when Carew found himself in the middle of a dating scandal. Spotted hanging out with a mystery woman at G-A-Y nightclub, the internet exploded with speculation.

At the time, Isaac took to Instagram to clear the air, stating, “Both Dua and I have fallen into the hands of tabloids causing drama and linking us to different people when there is simply nothing there…” He then went on to clarify, “We spent 3 and half years happily together with loyalty and love and we never broke up in the first place because we had problems like that… Luckily our skin is tougher and love is stronger than this.”

Sadly, even with all that love and tough skin, the pair called it quits for good in 2019.

Ex: Paul Klein

Who is he? Singer Dated in: 2017-2018

Next in Dua Lipa’s dating history is Paul Klein.

Taking a break from her relationship with Isaac, Dua embarked on a passionate, albeit brief, romance with the LANY guitarist and frontman. Meeting at the British Summertime Festival in June 2017, the pair quickly started sharing cozy snaps together, and it was clear that they weren’t all that fazed about hiding their romance from the public eye. 

After heading out to dinner together in Mexico, Dua posted a photo on Instagram, captioning it: “Tonight was perfect. Paul and I stumbled upon the best omakase restaurant ever. The wagyu beef was so good, Paul starting saying some crazy things and we ate till we couldn’t breathe and ended the night next door in a japanese whisky bar on perfect whisky sours that tasted like lemon pie. The end.” 

Despite giving us #couplegoals, Dua and Paul’s love story didn’t last, and she ended up back with her ex in 2018. Since then, some LANY fans have speculated that Klein wrote the track Thru These Tears while wrestling with his heartbreak following their split.

Ex: Anwar Hadid

Who is he? Actor & Producer  Dated in: 2019-2021 

In 2019, Dua made her annual pilgrimage to the British Summertime festival, but this time, she was spotted in the arms of a new bae: actor and producer Anwar Hadid. The younger brother of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid was photographed sharing a kiss with the singer as they cozied up to watch their favorite bands together.

With their festival snap plastered across the internet, romance rumors started spreading like wildfire, and by November 2019, they had gone red carpet official, sharing another public smooch at the American Music Awards. 

After conquering the red carpet, the pair got to know each other even better when they were forced to isolate together during lockdown. Speaking to People, Dua shared, “We’ve been making the most of this because we got all this extra time that we weren’t expecting to just hang out. It’s been an absolute blast, and we’re learning so much more about each other.”

It turns out, all that getting to know each other didn’t guarantee a fairy-tale ending, and by the end of 2021, the pair parted ways due to “scheduling conflicts.” 

Continue reading at Tell Tales Online

[pontiobangor]

The Shining, Twin Town, International Women’s Day and WOW – special events in Pontio’s Cinema in March!

During March, Pontio’s Cinema will display a wide range of films, celebrating worldwide cinema as part of the WOW Festival (Wales and the World as One), celebrating International Women’s Day, and the iconic comedy film Twin Town at 25 years old, as well as a screening of the extended version of The Shining.

On Thursday 7 Marth Pontio Cinema will host a special screening of the extended version of The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. To accompany this will be the launch of the latest memoir of the life and work of Stanley Kubrick, called Kubrick: An Odyssey by Nathan Abrams (Professor in Film, Bangor University) and Robert P. Koller with special guest Gordon Stainforth, who worked as the assistant editor of the film, as well as Vivian Jubrick’s documentary about the film Making of the Shining.

On International Women’s Day 2024 (Friday 8 March) we will be displaying two films; The Piano (1993) directed by Jane Campion and The Bling Ring (2013) by the director Sofia Coppola. Jane Campion won a Palme D’or in 1993 for The Piano, the first female director to win the prize in addition to three Oscar awards for Best Writing for the Screen, Holly Hunter as Leading Actress, and Anna Paquin for the Best Supporting Actress when she was only ten years old. Then, a chance to see The Bling Ring by the biggest female director currently in the industry, starring Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Taissa Farmiga and more!

The WOW Festival (Wales and the World as One) who have been celebrating the richness of the world’s cinema since 2001, bringing a selection of eclectic, interesting and moving films from every part of the world to cinemas across Wales will be visiting Pontio for the first time. The films will be displayed across the duration of four days, between the 11th and 14th of March. The programme includes a wide range of films including films in Arabic, Bengali, Spanish, African, and Igbo. The programme will include Tale of the Three Jewels (1995), the first film to be filmed entirely in the Gaza strip and Mami Wata (2023), Nigeria’s black-and-white Oscar entry for 2024, a captivating tale that intertwines magical imagery and haunting narrative threads.

At the end of the month, we will be celebrating 25 years of the dark and iconic comedy Twin Town on Wednesday 27 March with a special screening. Following the screening, film director Kevin Allen and Llŷr Ifans, who portrayed Julian Lewis – one half of the famous twins, will be joining us for a Q&A session under the leadership of Nathan Abrams from the Department of Film, Bangor University.

The rest of March will be offering some of Hollywood’s biggest films, The Colour Purple, The Iron Claw starring Zac Efron, Bob Marley: One Love and DUNE: Part Two with Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Florence Pugh. The live screenings include The Motive and The Cue from The National Theatre, London directed by Sam Mendes and Madama Butterfly from the Royal Opera House Live.

Dion Wyn, Pontio’s Cinema Coordinator said, "March is full of special events which celebrates Welsh, female, and international cinema. We look forward to inviting special guests for discussions and to be part of the WOW festival for the first time – a festival which gives us the opportunity to display a variety of international films as well as broadening our programme for our audiences."

Tickets for all events and screenings in March are available on pontio.co.uk or from the Box Office and the full programme is free and available in the centre.