Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Sunday, 28 June 2015
Rolling Stones legend Bill Wyman forces officials to change 'disgusting' blue plaque snubbing Brian Jones reports the Mirror Online
Rolling
Stones legend Bill Wyman has forced officials to change the wording on a blue
plaque honouring the band after condemning it as “disgusting”.
The
inscription at Dartford station in Kent said Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met
there “and went on to form The Rolling Stones”.
But Wyman,
78, objected, saying it was the late guitarist Brian Jones who created the group.
The bass
player, who quit the band in 1993, told Radio 5 Live the plaque was
“disgusting”.
He added:
“It should be to Brian Jones. It’s wrong. I don’t like history re-written.
"Mick
and Keith didn’t create the Stones, they were part of it, like all of us.
“Brian
wanted to form a blues band and enlisted each member one by one. He gave us the
name, he chose the music and he was the leader.”
Jagger and
Richards both went to school in Dartford.
They met
up again on platform 2 of the town’s station in 1961 and bonded over a love of
blues, forming a musical partnership that still endures.
Council
leader Jeremy Kite said: “A new plaque will makes it clear that this is where
Mick met Keith before going on to be part of the Stones.”
Wednesday, 24 June 2015
Scooters set to descend on Widnes for testicular cancer charity's Dream Day reports the Liverpool Echo
A Halton
testicular cancer charity will be holding its sixth annual Dream Day scooter
rally and family day this weekend.
The Mark
Gorry Foundation (MGF) will join forces with scooter clubs around the North
West on Sunday, June 28, from noon to 6pm at The Parklands Sports And Social
Club in Widnes.
An
estimated 200 scooters are set to ride in from across the region to join the
now-famous convoy through Widnes to the social club.
The ride
out has been organised by Widnes Scooter Club’s Freddie Moran who has been a
real driving force behind the event by helping to cement the scooter scene
within Halton.
In
addition to the scooter rally, a number of bands from the area will be playing
ska tunes with music from Mad Hat Ska, Indigo Violet and The Sundowners.
The
charity was founded by Widnesian Mark Gorry in 2009, who eventually lost his
fight against the illness.
More than
£4,000 has been raised by the charity through previous Dream Days.
A charity
spokeswoman said: “Helping to continue with this real community feel, there
will also be performances from long-term favourites The Hotsteppers who have
danced in previous years, as well as a celebratory performance from the cast of
The Victoria Music Company’s Our House which has just completed a successful
run at The Brindley.”
Wristbands
costing £4 can be purchased on the day for children’s activities including face
painting, bouncy castles, garden games and special appearances from some
popular characters.
A tombola,
raffle and official MGF merchandise will also be available on the day, with a
host of local stalls also joining the team.
The
Parklands staff will be catering for the event, providing a range of food
including burgers, hotdogs and a hog roast.
The Wizard Of Oz is relocated to 1970s Nottingham for Northern Soul production of The Wiz
Grab your
ruby sneakers. The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz is being relocated to 1970s
Nottingham for a Northern Soul-inspired adaptation of Tony-award-winning
musical The Wiz. Rachel Gorman talks to director Martin Berry.
Welcome to
Nottingham's Oz, where the Tin Man is a mod, the Scarecrow sports a fierce afro
and the Emerald City lies inside a Northern Soul club.
"The
Wiz is a mid-1970s Motown rock'n'roll take on The Wizard Of Oz", says
director Martin Berry of his latest production at Nottingham Lakeside Arts.
"It's
all about Dorothy escaping from her humdrum life and it just occurred to us to
set it in 1970s Nottingham when youngsters used Northern Soul as an
escape."
In this
version, a collaboration between New Street Theatre and Nottingham Lakeside
Arts, Dorothy's yellow brick road leads her to a downtown Northern Soul club
where Munchkin ditties are replaced by club classics such as Tainted Love and
The Night.
Picking
the music and rearranging songs from the original The Wiz stage show left Berry
feeling like a kid in a sweet shop.
"It
was just a case of listening to a ton of Northern Soul tracks and finding the
right ones, which was no great chore. It was brilliant fun.
"Rearranging
songs from the show just involved a lot of listening, a lot of research and
we've got a couple of what we've called Northern Soul consultants, who are
chaps in their senior years, shall we say, who were there at the time. They've
been great in helping us to get it right.
"It's
the most fun, light-hearted, joyous thing I've ever directed. It's just a great
story with lots of dancing, lots of singing and just a great night out."
The Wiz:
The Super Soul Musical originally opened in 1974 at the Morris A Mechanic
Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1978 it spawned a film version with Michael
Jackson starring as the Scarecrow, Diana Ross playing Dorothy and comedian
Richard Pryor taking the reins as title character The Wiz.
"It's
a bonkers film," says Berry. "It shouldn't work but somehow it does.
I was a huge fan and I completely adore the original Wizard Of Oz film too,
it's in my top three films of all time."
The
production is quite a departure from Berry's last few productions at Lakeside
Arts which have included Sweeney Todd and Oh, What A Lovely War! and covered
more serious themes.
But it is
a change Berry has relished.
"I
don't want to give too much away but our Lion is only 13 and he's completely
brilliant and the Tin Man is a mod, riding a scooter around. There's a big
range there in terms of age and experience, the way that people sing and
perform – and that was completely deliberate.
"The
first run-through is on Saturday, everything is on its feet, so we've got four
weeks now to polish and perfect.
"This
is my favourite bit, when the hard work in terms of the creativity is largely
done and the hard work of the spit and polish can begin."
The
production runs from July 14-25 with an open dress rehearsal on Monday, July
13. To book, visit the www.lakesidearts.org.uk or call 0115 846 7777.
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