him:-
The Engflsh beat
The Band of I IolyJoy‘sJohny Brown may be one of the more articulate lyricists in new British music. but his conversation is peppered with the phrase ‘blah blah blah‘. perhaps as a kind ofshorthand meaning ‘Iill in the Usual journalistic phrase‘.
‘()bviously. there's a bit of anlishness in us. but it's English beat music. as in James. The Smiths or‘l‘he Kinks. or [)exy ‘s Midnight Runners. and of course. with the accordions. we‘ve got a great love of French chansons a Jacques Brel. Piaf. blah blah blah. so there's a bit of that there. And we‘re very aware ofwhat‘s happening in Europe. having travelled round for the last five years. we‘ve got friends in Italy. France blah blah blah. y"know. European literature. as opposed to
blah.’
'l‘hings settle down a bit when we go further afield to the USSR. where the band. . . blah blah blah . ..
‘I think they were quite impressed.
the cream ofsociety out there. all the middle- aged mums and dads had bought tickets. 1 think fully expecting ’l‘he Beatles. But Moscow was wild. All the hippies and punks down the front. rolling joints and what have you.‘
They were dumped by the Moscow promoters - ‘cowboys. on the hustle. y‘know‘ — btit there‘s talk ofthem going back. The Lithuanian promoters met with their approval. and the bands stay there ended on a sad note. the tanks rolling in the night they left.
‘I don‘t think I'm a very good writer.‘ he concludes. before ringing
maybe American literature blah blah
ln Archangel it was weird because all
. MUSIC US?
1 REVIEW
j
. Any first-time opera-goer uncertain of where to begin could do a lot worse
. than be broken in with Scottish Opera’s
- new production of ‘Salome'. It's short
for a start- only one-and-three-quarter hours-it's a Iamiliarstmy and, best of
all, it has a superb score, given full iustice by John Mauceri and the Scottish Opera Orchestra. Andre
- Engel‘s production is a bit difficult to
V place, but Herod’s uncomfortable cigarette as Salome performs her dance of the seven veils, and the odd assortment of costumes, would suggest some time this century. The set. however, is Moorish in its dark browns and intricate lattice work. The pseudo-temple sounds at the beginning were out of place and ditiicultto lathom. Likewise. the
.billows of dry ice were an
1* unneccessary gimmick to herald John
: the Baptist. the orchestra capable of providing all the atmosphere necessary. Salome is a role which
‘ ‘ \x“ ‘1
Cynthia Makris has sung several times, maybe explaining hervery meticulous pacing, letting Salome grow as the opera unlolded. Her dance was subtle, reminiscent of the first photographs of Princess Di showing her legs through a thin skirt. The cast is an excellent one vocally, Greer Grimsley a strong John the Baptist and Eduardo Alvares and Elizabeth Vaughan as Herod and Herodias doing much to bring out the ugly sexual relationships of the opera. But perhaps more striking than the production itself is the confirmation that not only in 1990, but permanently, Scotland has a valuable international asset on its own doorstep. If Glasgow 1990 was to do nothing else, it would have done well to bring this point home. (Carol Main). Salome is atthe Theatre Royal, Glasgow on Fri 11, Thurs 24 and Tue 29, and the Playhouse Theatre. Edinburgh on 28 June.
Toby Mangle has left Ramsay Street. Iraq, apparently, has enough parts to build a ‘supergun'. Trying to ‘vogue' like Madonna often results in groin strain. to these times of despair. unease and pain, people need a
elevate them to a place on high where the sun always shines and personal ' hygiene problems are a thing of the
Agutter pres
'2 I]
saviour- someone or something to lift them out of the depths of bad vibes, and
S
fashionable to be a scally then. We‘re not part of that scene.‘ Indeed not. ‘Reunion Wilderness' was Wigan‘s finest sons' debut mini-album on Factory, and established their mark as purveyors of pure and perfect pop heroism. Sensitive boys with sensible haircuts, the bediellows of The Smiths and Aztec Camera, but somehow better. If music is sex, The Railway Children are the ultimate passion, but without the damp bits.
Three years on, after an near-classic album on Virgin, ‘Recurrence‘, the imminent ‘Native Place‘ is the band's Third Coming. In the meantime. here’s ‘Music Stop’. a single full of chart-bound promise. ‘There’s not so much janeg guitars on the new stuff, it‘s harder sounding,‘ avers Newby. ‘I think it‘s a progression on all counts. It's a different direction.’
But still The Railway Children's brilliant cornerstones are there: honey-rich vocals, tunes to change the world. and massed ranks of flowing
V BOOK NOW
ROCK
I GLASGOW BARROWLAND (041 228 4579) Big Country. 20 May; The Wolfe Tones, 27 May; Joe Satriani, 28 May; Deborah Harry. 31 May; James. 5 June; The Dogs D'Amour. 12 June; Bruce Dickenson, 23 June.
I GLASGOW HAMPDEN PARK (041 227 5511) Rolling Stones, 9July.
I GLASGOW PAVILION (041 332 1846) Martin Stephenson 8 The Daintees. 28 May; Nick Cave 8 The Bad Seeds. 30 May; They Might Be Giants. 14 June; Gary Numan, 25 Sept; Gene Pitney. 19 Oct. I GLASGOW SECC(031557 5959) Metallica, 25 May; Belinda Cariilse. 6 June; Sinead O'Connor. 19June; Ry Cooder/David Lindley, 27 June; Miles Davis Group. 3 July; The Christians. 3
Dec.
I EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE (031 557 2590) Magnum, 28 May; Joan Baez, 29 May; Hothouse Flowers. 30 May; Dio. 1 June; Robert Plant, 2 June; Sinead O‘Connor. 20 June; The Christians, 1 Dec.
JAZZ & FOLK
I GLASGOW RENFREW FERRY (041 227 5511) Humptt Family. 17-18 May; The Journalists. 19—21 May; Tracey Nelson. 19—20 May; Hank Wangiord, 21-23 May; Ivo Papasov, 22-23 May; Lenny Pickett. 23-28 May; Ronnie Scott. 24-25 May; Blues ‘n' Trouble, 29-30 June; Dave Oeiries Sextet, 1-2 July; Slim Gaillard, 3-4July; Tam White Band. 7-8 July.
CLASSICAL
I GLASGOW CITY HALL
. (041 227 5511)Gabrieli
Consort. 19 May; Moscow Radio 80. 20 May; BBCSSO. 23 May; Polish CO. 24 May; Pops at the Phil, 27 May; BBC SSO/Stravinsky, 16.19 June.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (041 227 5511) Berlin Phil. 940 Oct; Bolshoi SD. 12 Oct; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. 15 Oct; London Phil. 30 Oct; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orch, 31 Oct—2 Nov; Israel Phil. 21 Nov; Orchestra De Paris.16—17 Dec.
I GLASGOW HENRY WOOD HALL (041 227 5511) Yo Yo Ma/Kathryn Stott. 18 May; Evelyn Glennie, 21 May; William Conway/Peter Evans. 22 May.
I GLASGOW TRAMWAY (041227 5511) Kronos Quartet. 29 June; Tennents Live! Jazz. 30 June-1July; Kingsnake Blues Caravan, 2 July; Steve Williamson, 4
r LISTINGS: ROCK 55 JAZZ 59 FOLK 61 CLASSICAL 63
off. "l'here‘s too much bollocks . past. Come on down, The Railway guitars. ‘People say guitars have gone ::¥6:m::fl°§fo"‘g" there. too much bullshit. Maybe in a ' Children. out, but people will always go back to July. wmem Bunk" ' few years .‘ (Alastair M :lhhtill ) i ‘We used to do a lot of gigs early on l them - 60$,psychedelia.12.strings. Konémel. 7 July.
_ y y with Happy Mondays.’ says There‘s only three good sounds you can . someone" GEORGE “W 30ml 0/ I W." IMP/‘1." (I! I he a too-handsome-ior-his-own-good- get outoia guitaranyway.’ (Craig SOOARETHEATRE Venue. Edinburgh. on Fri 4 and on (he git vocalist and chief engineer Gary McLean) MDZSIKGS & "am
their mm a! King 'l’ur‘s H'uh with I In: 5 New)”. ‘When “Reunion wademess" The Railway Children play King Tut‘s Sebestyen. 2 June (call 031 «m Sm 5. l Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow on Mon 14. “759°3'°"°""‘l-
came out they were nothing. It wasn't I
54 lhel.ist~1 I7 Mav 1990