MUSIC
rs. For whatever reason. the attentions of record companies and the music press tend to focus on one city at a time. From Glasgow to Liverpool to Glasgow again. then to Manchester and Dublin. At the moment. Edinburgh is vying for attention. like a city bidding for a future ()lyrnpic Games. but the presence of musicians. A& R men and journalists in Dublin over the last few years has been the most sustained of all. and has resulted in major companies signing up almost everything that isn‘t nailed down.
Whether or not this will prove to have been the best thing that could have happened to the city. it has resulted in a plethora of releases by groups like The l lothouse Flowers. In 'l‘ua Nua. A l louse. Something Happens and more recently No Sweat. Power of Dreams and An Emotional Fish. all of" whom released their debut albums in mid-1990.
A band comprising four old friends — Gerard Whelan. [inda Wyatt. Dave Frew. Martin Murphy. and An Emotional Fish -— look set to be one of the big rock acts of the ()(ls. Their first single for the major label liast West. ‘(7elebrate‘. had already been a 'l‘op'l'en hit in Ireland. and an excited Radio 1 FM leapt on them with surprising rapidity to offer them a place on a season ofsponsored live gigs. Another good sign is the bizarre range of comparisons thrown at the Fish — "l'he Doors and (‘armed l leat'.’
The band followed up ‘('elcbrate' with their debut l.P this month. Produced by Tim Palmer ('l'in Machine. Gene Loves Jezebel) it swells with the confidence of ‘a major rock release‘. and will ensure that their two gigs in the area will be packed out. (Alastair Mabbott)
An Emotional Fish play The Venue. Edinburgh on Fri 3 I and King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow on Sat l.
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Operatic youth
Having just finished playing host to some 1000 young instrumentalists in the Glasgow Festival of British Youth Orchestras, the RSAMO gets no respite lrom talented young musicians this summer as the British Youth Opera is about to set up camp there. Now in its fourth season, the company aims to give young professionals at the start of their careers the chance to gain the invaluable opportunity of perlorming. Most of the members — 70 singers and players in all —are in their mid to late 20s and see British Youth Opera as a way of complementing the formal training of music college. Competition is such that over 200 young singers auditioned. Up until now. the company has concentrated on Mozart operas and, indeed, this season includes a new production at The Marriage of Figaro by James Boss. currently a staff producer with Scottish Opera and ' Opera North. Partnering it, however. will be Tchaikovsky‘s Eugene Onegin
ian clubbing
The New Glasgow Jazz Club gets underway at The Shelter this month, with an inaugural concert by alto saxophonist Mark Crooks's band Pieces of Nine on 2 Sept. According to the organisers, the club is designed to be ‘a subscription club in a listening environment, notjust another pub gig,‘ and will operate a membership system with a pay-at~the-door provision for non-members.
Sunday afternoon has been selected asthe time forthe club's regular fortnightly gigs. The remainder of the September programme features Ron
Finlay‘s trio Jaz-Beep Dood on 16 Sept, I
and keyboard player Steven Hamilton’s Trio on 30 Sept (doors 12.30pm, band on at 1pm).
The Shelter is situated at 7 Benfrew Court, and all enquiries regarding the Club should be directed to Ziggy Zigman on (041) 649 4044. Over in Edinburgh, meanwhile, the Edinburgh Jazz Club is converting to a monthly rather than a weekly schedule, with 27 Sept pencilled in as the next date.
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with the title role sung by 24 year-old William Dazely, winner of the 1989 Decca-Kathleen Ferrier Prize and a student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Twenty-two year-old Julia Melinek sings Tatiana, and Olga is Julie Unwin, winnerol the International Young Singer of the Year at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. Anotheryoung Guildhall student, 25 year-old Karl Morgan from South Wales, takes the role of Figaro. There will be two performances of each opera — Figaro on 3 and 5 September and Onegin on 4 and 6 September. Rehearsals started in London in July, and the Glasgow visit follows a week at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London and prior to a final week of performances in Cambridge. (Carol Main)
British Youth Opera, 3—6 September at 7pm, New Athenaeum Theatre, RSAMO, Glasgow. See Classical listings.
Martin Taylor
That Swing Thang (3 Sept), Martin Taylor & Friends (6 Sept), and the Strathclyde Youth Jazz Orchestra (9 Sept) are among the headline acts at the annual Paisley Arts Centre Jazz Festival (14) Sept). The venue plays regular host to local jazz events, but offers an expanded programme in both bar and theatre for the Festival, beginning with the cabaret-style The Brasshoppers on 1 Sept. See Listings. (Kenny Mathieson)
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SDNIJSI'I
'\llf.!ll\l l3 September lWll43
v FOLK noor NOTE
Peggy Seeger lop-rate local groups and the consummate bluesy musician showman Mike \Vhellans hold up the Scottish end of thingsin the closing daysofthe lidinburgh Festival. with the astonishing Rory Macl .eod bringing his songw riting. harmonica playing. and vibrant performing style from south of the border. In fact .‘vlacl .eod and Whellans would make an explosive combination. and they are appearing in the A MC the same evening! But there are two women. a singer and an instrumentalist. who sum up the evolution
and enduring vitalityof traditional mirsic. and who both play on the last day.
Peggy Seeger is forever linked with her partner liwan Mac( 'oll. whose death last year reverberated round the world. not just offolk singers and song collectors. but political activists. radical dramatists. broadcasters and working-class historians. lor his work and life united all those activities.
Singing and playing guitar. banjo. dulcimer. autoharp and concertina. Peggy Seeger has recorded over 7() albums. about «illof those with Mac(‘oll. and on this tour will introduce his autobiography. and accompanied by Irene
Scott. sing from her vast repertoire oftraditional and contemporary British and North American song.
Later the same day. Kathryn 'I’ickell stepson stage w ith her band. No longer the teenage prodigy on the Northumbrian srnallpipes. with glamour enough to delight magazine picture editors. five years of touring have given her the experience and confidence to stamp her own character on a band sound. And her fiddle playing is really
good tool (Norman Chalmers)
Acoustic .‘llus‘n‘ ('r’nln’. (‘humln'rs Street. 2.30 3403. Rory .llrlr‘la’mf. xlugfi’l. 7.30pm. [5 (13.5”); fill/w H'hcl/uns. xlrrgil. III..1’/)pm. 14(13): Peggy Seeger. 50p! 1.
j. ill/m1; Kathryn Tic/(VII
Hand. My)! I. 7.30pm. 1!) (Lil.