#swinging-london

#swinging-london

I dreamed of curating a tour with my favourite bands that could bring some positivity in our troubled times. I'm thrilled that this is actually happening this summer with the Things Can Only Get Better Tour... Our aim is to bring some joy with the banging pop anthems that we all know and love.

The xx opened with 'Crystalised,' closed with 'Infinity,' and included the first-ever live performance of 'Season's Run' in their setlist.

I was panicking. You don't know what you might have been caught doing. What if they've got a horrible video of me? After all, she was just literally stood having a conversation. Yet she felt embarrassed. That intrusive lens completely violates all privacy.

Shot by photographer Michael Ochs, the band appears completely wrapped in a single sheet of translucent pink plastic or fabric, a playful literal riff on their name that perfectly suits the whimsical, experimental spirit of the psychedelic era.

But John loved her, and that's the bottom line. You really can't go beyond that, no matter what you might think. Not my type, but I swear she rang me shortly after John died and said, 'You know, I think John might have been gay.'

Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter have announced a Fall 2026 North American tour that will make up for an outing postponed last year due to guitarist Steve Jones' broken wrist. The tour kicks off September 11th in Dallas, and runs through an October 18th show in Los Angeles.

My driving belief is that we need to be able to communicate, to touch humanity, to try to connect to each other in some way, but I'm also not trying to forgive or underplay the extremities. There was fighting either between different factions or just for fun. Initially, what I saw was deeply shocking. When you're in those environments, it's so venomous and hateful.

1. Soda and beer cans that came with pull tabs:

Somewhere between truffle fries and fully loaded fries, we crossed a line. What began as indulgent extras has turned into a full-blown flavour arms race. Carrots arrive drenched in hot honey and chilli. Cabbage is glossed with XO. Potatoes are crushed, confit, fried twice, showered in herbs, spice blends and something crunchy for good measure. Sides aren't padding. They're flavour bombs, competing with starters and mains for attention.

"I'll Follow the Sun" is "a 'Leaving of Liverpool' song," McCartney explained in his 2021 book The Lyrics. "I'm leaving this rainy northern town for someplace where more is happening." Once they did leave, the band's rise to fame was stratospheric.

Sutcliffe, who was born in Edinburgh but grew up in Liverpool, met John Lennon while they were both studying at the Liverpool College of Art. By early 1960, the pair were living together and Sutcliffe joined Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison 's band in May. Sutcliffe played acoustic guitar and took on the responsibility of booking gigs, but various accounts suggest he was no more than a competent musician. Sutcliffe's real talents lay in his "marvelous art portfolio," according to Lennon's description.

Looking back at 'em through rose-tinted glasses, the 2010s seemed like they were a much better time. London hosted the Olympics, Sherlock was on the telly, and everyone was wearing Joni jeans and tea dresses from Topshop. Could things be returning to the simpler days when all you had to worry about was how tight your skinny jeans were and how to get the perfect side parting? Maybe, because Topshop is making a comeback to British high streets.

Choosing a particular model does not necessarily mean focusing on excessive colour, but rather knowing how to identify the lines and volumes that communicate a precise aesthetic vision that breaks with convention. This process requires a certain awareness of materials and proportions, as a shoe with a strong design has the ability to transform even the simplest outfit into a sophisticated and modern style statement.

There isn't one songwriter, and so the flavour of the band is always going to change, says Dave Vanian, reflecting on 50 years of the group of which he has been the sole constant member, the Damned. Captain Sensible is a great fan of syrupy pop music and prog and glam rock. So his writing is very poppy, melodic and quite wonderful.

There's plenty to enjoy in Amber Martin and Shannon Conley's production of The Carnaby Street Girls regardless of whether you're old enough to remember the British Invasion or just discovering that there was a whole lot of great music that came out of England in the '60s. Playing last weekend at The Cutting Room in Kips Bay, the two powerful singers had a great time, singing together and separately, with a repertoire of fab tunes that were hits for a number of swinging British gals.

UK proto-sophistipop post-punk OGs The Monochrome Set are back with their 17th album, Lotus Bridge, that will be out March 13 via Tapete. Frontman Bid co-produced the album with engineer John Clayton and features original Set bassist Andy Warren alongside Stephen Gilchrist on drums and Athen Ayren on keyboards. The album's themes were born out of a dream Bid had when the band were talking about making a new album.

"When I read the fine print, it was 'an experience with REO Speedwagon's music.' It's none of the original members," Fletcher recalls. "I don't want to promote the show unless it's the real thing. I don't know why you would want to see that. It's just a cover band. To me, that's a little bit strange." He adds, with a sigh, "If there are no original members, who cares?"

The first floor of the iconic pub on Lower Richmond Road will be extended to create the new terrace, which will have a retractable roof and spiral staircase. The venue will also get new equipment to allow it to sell a better range of food, while it will undergo some internal reorganisation and redecoration. An artist's impression of the refurbished pub The Half Moon on Lower Richmond Road

Toyah and Robert Fripp are back in the kitchen with a new episode of Sunday Lunch. This week they're taking on X-Ray Spex 's skronky punk classic "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!" and of course they are decked out in bondage gear, with Robert in gimp mode. This week's sign: "Fripp's Ma Sub." Watch that and live footage of X-Ray Spex's original below.

Dry Cleaning singer Florence Shaw likes to keep some distance between her vocals and the rest of the band. Shaw's curious confidences, spoken-word confessions, and bemused monologues appear to have only a passing relationship to the propulsive rhythms and brittle riffs that frame them. That dissonance can be striking at first, but it grows restrictive-stark contrast can only take you so far.

It only takes 33 seconds for Jason Williamson to drop an F-bomb on "The Good Life," the first track from The Demise of Planet X, Sleaford Mods' first record in three years. This latest record, released January 16, isn't much of a departure from the duo's signature sound: Williamson furiously yelping and rapping over Andrew Fearn's driving electronic beats. For a group that has always trafficked in anger, a world unraveling into chaos is perfect fodder for a Sleaford Mods record.