music
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Sunny Afternoon – The Kinks Musical at the New Alex Theatre
The Summer of 1966 must have been the best time to be alive. London was swinging (apparently), England won the World Cup and it was all soundtracked by the stunning, iconic sounds of The Kinks, with Sunny Afternoon pouring out of radio’s everywhere. But, ‘Sunny Afternoon;, The Kinks musical written by frontman Ray Davies, shows that behind the brilliance of the songs, there was a band tortured by fame, mental illness and internal strife. This was all brought vividly to life in Birmingham, at the New Alex Theatre last night. Sunny Afternoon is the story of the early Kinks from Ray Davies side of the story. It shows the start…
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The Glenn Miller Story at The New Alex Theatre – Thoroughly Entertaining
For a night packed with unforgettable songs, a lead character that is both iconic and the subject of one of the most enduring mysteries of the 2oth Century, and for the chance to watch a real living legend still exuding his charm and personality in his 80th year, you must catch The Glenn Miller Story, which is currently at the New Alex Theatre with the legendary Tommy Steele in the lead role. With a big band on stage to give you that 1940s feel, this is a show that has charm in abundance, but it is not without it’s issues. The main one, unfortunately, being Tommy Steele in the lead…
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Prince – The death of an Icon
I still can’t believe I am writing this. In the year in which we said goodbye to David Bowie, we are now mourning the loss of Prince Rogers Nelson, known to all as Prince, a unique, beautiful, sensitive talent who was probably the greatest, most prolific songwriter of his generation. Prince was just 57, still performing, still writing and still the vibrant icon like no other. And now he is gone too, another casualty of the terrible year that 2016 is proving to be. I will not lie and say I was the world’s biggest Prince fan, when I was growing up he was too dangerous and sexy for me,…
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Making the Most of a Night to Yourself
As most moms known only too well, finding time to relax when you have younger kids can be difficult at the best of times. This is why every mom should seize the opportunity to relax and unwind if they do find themselves with the chance to enjoy a night alone without the kids. While we all love our children, having the occasional night off to unwind can do us the world of good. There are many different ways in which you can relax and enjoy some ‘me time’ from the comfort of your own home, so you can really make the most of the chance to kick back and put…
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Janis Joplin festival style
Over the Easter holiday I enjoyed catching up on a bit of television, and one thing that I watched was a docu-film about the legendary Janis Joplin. Called ‘Janis Joplin – Little Girl Blue’, it was a story that told about her life, her work, her problems and showed many of her legendary performances, including ‘Ball and Chain’, ‘Cry Baby’ and ‘Another Piece of My Heart.’ One of the things I noticed whilst watching the film was what incredible style Janis had. This was the late 1960s when hippy chick was all the rage, and with festival fever taking off with Monteray, Woodstock and The Isle of Wight festivals amongst…
