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famespotting
Dara O'Briain
Already well established in his native Ireland, Dara O’Briain should soon be Just as well known here. He writes for Ireland’s largest selling paper, the Sunday World, is team captain on satirical telly show Don’t Feed The Gondo/as, and has presented the Irish equivalent of Blue Peter.
’The kids stuff and the satire Just didn’t work together,’ he admits. ’In the morning I’d be saying, "Hey, Boyzone are cool! ” and then at night it would be, "Hey, Boyzone are crap”. Appearing at the Fringe for the first time. ever, he is one half of Full Irish Breakfast With John Henderson.
’Our only bad show was the day after the Omagh bomb. Some of our material deals With how the Irish are perceived abroad, and it seemed to touch a couple of buttons. But comedy is a good way of dealing with these thrngs.’ (Kirsty Knaggs)
Ful/ Irish Breakfast (Ff/[790) John Henderson And Dara O’Br/ain, Calder’s Gilded Balloon // ( Venue 36) 226 2 75 7, until 37 Aug, 9.30pm, [7.50 ([650).
Susan Graham
In Hanger 51 in Roswell, New Mexico, the American Government supposedly carried out an autopsy on an alien being. Not that this has anything to do wrth mezzo soprano Susan Graham, except that it’s her home town, and any mystery surrounding her talents Will be cleared up when she makes her debut at the Edinburgh International Festival. Her past engagements read like a glossary of the world’s top opera houses. At Covent Garden she sang the title role in the world premiere of Goehr’s reconstruction of Monteverdi's Arianna, while her interpretation of C herubino in Mozart’s The Marriage Of Figaro had one commentator at the Salzberg Festival raVing it would be ’talked about years hence as one now talks about past great indiVidual performances at this festival’. In 1996, Edinburgh was blown away by American mezzo Michelle DeYoung (who returns this year on Fri 4 Sep); last year, Jennifer Larmore crossed the Atlantic to make her Edinburgh debut. With a programme of Mozart, Hahn and Mahler, Susan Graham lines up to complete the mezzo hat-trick. (Alan Morrison)
Susan Graham (Festival) Queen’s Hall ( Venue 72) 473 2000, 7 Sept, 77am, f4--f78.
The Yummyfur
Charmingly-monikered Glaswegian gUItar-worriers The Yummyfur have been around in one form or another since 1992, making them long overdue a Famespotting mention. But as singer John McKeown pOints out, that was Yummythen, this is Yummynow. There have been numerous line-up changes, including a Spinal Tap-esque seven drummers — ’they explode mentally’ — resulting in an ineVitable shift of musical emphasis, particularly on current single ’Shoot The Ridiculant’. ’It was a real
Do not
disturb experiment for us,’ says McKeown. ’There’s no guitars
'F on it. It was all recorded using old analogue synths. We did it because I’ve always liked techno but never heard a L truly pop techno record. It’s also to fight off claims that The Yummyfur are a punky, lo-fi band. lwrite pop music i and try to record pop music but due to lack of funds it 3 doesn’t come out as I want it to. If I had my way, all our :2 records would sOund likes All Saints.’ (Fiona Shepherd‘i
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The Yummyfur iP/anet Popi, (as Rock, 229 434 l, 28 Aug. 9pm, [4
lhe Yu/ii/iiyfur' also play King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgo'.'.; 0/41 22.7 5279, X/Aug, 8pm, [5
If you haven't heard of these people yet - you soon will ‘