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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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Review – Let it Be at the New Alexandra Theatre
For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of The Beatles. As a child I had one of those ‘first’ record players (I know there are some people reading this right now thinking what’s a record player – grrr). These were the portable ones with a lid and a carry handle and it went everywhere with me. I used to plunder mom and dad’s record collection, and loved ‘From me to you’, ‘Hello Goodbye’ and ‘Get Back’ on that instantly recognisable Apple record label. For me, The Beatles are the standard that all other bands aspire to, their music is what the word ‘classic’ was invented…
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Marilyn Monroe by Eve Arnold
Maybe it was because she was a woman, but Eve Arnold never felt the need to over sexualise Marilyn Monroe like some of the studio photographers did. In her photographs, many taken on the set of The Misfits, Marilyn is an earthy presence, beautiful and natural, a captivating woman with undeniable vulnerability. I first became a fan of Eve’s work in my late teens. A huge fan of Marilyn since childhood, the name Marilyn Monroe evoked images of a glorious goddess in gold lame, or standing over a subway vent as her skirt lifted around her head, a fantasy figure who was somewhat over-worldly. Then I discovered that an exhibition…
