frntlins
Timothy Leary
To celebrate the first anniversary of the good Dr Leary's death, a new CD has entered the material realm. The man who popularised LSD in the mid-60s, encouraging socio-chemical revolution with the immortal words ’tune in, turn on, drop out’, died of cancer on 31 May 1996. 'When I found out I was terminally ill I was thrilled,’ he claimed. ’I’ve been waiting for this for years.’ Now his trippy musings on life, death and the doors of perception have been married to a series of suitably trance-like backing tracks by Jim Wilson and David Silver. The result is Beyond Life With Timothy Leary, which also includes contributions from beat poet Allen Ginsberg (who died earlier this year), British hippies The Moody Blues, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, and Dr Fiorella Ternenzi, described as ’Leary’s astrophysicist pal'. Leary might not have died tripping, but he certainly went out with a smile on his face. Beyond Life With Timothy Leary is available now on Mercury records.
Richard Jobson
The Dunfermline-born television presenter and former punk singer is back in Fife this fortnight. Positively Forth Street is a touring collaboration with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Fife-born poet Ronnie Kerr, and composer Malcolm Lindsay — another Fifer, who has written string quartets inspired by seven of Kerr’s poems. With live orchestral accompaniment, Jobson will read the seven poems, while computer animation and still images are projected onto a 24ft screen, creating a multi-media feast to merit that perilous journey across the Forth.
Positively Forth Street is at Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, Fri 73 Jun; St Brycedale Church Centre, Kirkcaldy, Sat 74 Jun; Corn Exchange, Cupar, Sun 15 Jun.
Howard Stern
Crass, sexist and racist — these are but a few of the criticisms levelled at America’s top-rated talk-show host over the years. The outspoken shock jock now makes the jump from radio to the big screen, starring in the film version of his best-selling autobiography Private Parts. But it's not all about outrageous viewpoints that turn the airwaves blue and make the censors see red. Like The People vs Larry Flynt, the film takes the life story of a controversial character and uses it to defend the right of free speech. Well, it wasn’t going to work with Tony Blackburn or Dave Lee Travis, was it?
Private Parts goes on general release on Fri 20 Jun. See review on page 25.
2TllE UST 30 May—12 Jun 1997