The Perrier Awards are now called the Fosters Awards, after the makers of the Australian brand of non-beer, who have taken over from the French brand of non-water. Fosters have announced a new award which will be open to a public vote, for the best ever Edinburgh Festival comedy act. The eligible acts are any who have been short-listed for a Best Award or Best Newcomer award. Ross Noble was among those tipped to win and this prospect so enraged comedian Stewart Lee that in response to a press release from Fosters he wrote: “Think about the logic. Who among those who are going to vote has ever heard of Frank Chicken, who for all anyone under 30 knows may be the best act on the list?” Lee accidentally pressed “reply to all” which has led his fellow comedians to start a “Vote For Frank Chickens” campaign on Twitter. Frank Chickens are a Japanese duo who were discovered by John Peel in 1984 when they did a spoof of a Japanese pop record called Blue Canary. They are still going strong. This video shows how brilliant they are. Let’s make sure that Frank Chickens wins, Ross Noble comes nowhere.
Frank Chickens Blue Canary (You Tube)
Archive for the ‘Arts’ Category
Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Vote for Frank Chickens
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
Two Beers or Not Two Beers
What is true simple and sincere is most congenial to man’s nature”
Cicero
Sarah Thurston has this quote from Cicero on the home page of her website, which proves her Slow Life credentials. She is also famous for living life in the fast lane, which she proved by giving the most magnificent, generous, party at the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster in celebration of her 60th birthday. Lavish quantities of Champagne (very Sarah) were followed by a sumptuous buffet from Very Simply French and then a brilliant cabaret in the Dukes Theatre, specially written for Sarah by her friends. Helen Longworth ruthlessly, hilariously, exploited Sarah’s perceived likeness to Edina in five Ab Fab sketches, of which I caught four on my flip video. Here’s the link. The video here is of a sketch by Damien Warren Smith, which culminates in Sarah receiving, most appropriately, a great big kiss.
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
Who is John Galt?
I was with a bunch of media people and someone mentioned that Michael Caine had chosen Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead as his book on Desert Island Discs .Good choice Michael. Not surprisingly very few of those present had heard of Ayn Rand. This included a girl who has a first class degree in English and a Master’s in English and Philosophy. How can anyone who has taken a Master’s in Philosophy not know of Ayn Rand?
I love The Fountainhead- it’s one of my favourite books, but Ayn Rand is better known for Atlas Shrugged, which is something of a phenomenon in America. A survey in 1991 by the Library of Congress and The Book of the Month Club put Atlas Shrugged as second only to the Bible as the book that made the most difference to readers’ lives. A poll by Modern Library in 1998 of the 100 best novels of the 20th Century has Atlas rated first, with 217,520 votes cast. This is remarkable for a book which is as long as War and Peace, which has never been filmed or televised and which contains no sex or violence (which probably explains why it isn’t well known here). Even last year, 52 years after its first publication Atlas sold half a million copies and was number 13 in the best seller’s list, above Barack Obama’s “Dreams of My Father”, in the week of Obama’s inauguration.
John Galt is rumoured to have been the inspiration for Don Draper in Mad Men. There have been frequent references to Ayn Rand in the series, which must have been baffling to most British viewers, even to graduates with first class degrees in English.
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Richard Wilson 20:50
The artist Richard Wilson has made his reputation and his fortune from his discovery that oil is a good reflective surface. His artwork 20:50 where a room seems to be half-filled with oil, reflecting the walls, windows and ceiling of the room is a favourite of Charles Saatchi’s- it has appeared in all of Saatchi’s galleries over the years- and is now installed in the space in the basement of the Saatchi Gallery in Duke of York’s Square which until recently was occupied by the highly entertaining installation of waxwork figures of ancient crones in motorised wheel-chairs who played a never ending game of dodgems.
Children loved the wheel-chair dodgems and they seem to love 20:50 as well; I viewed it last week during half term when the gallery was full o school kids and they seemed to be
fascinated by it. I wondered why the surface of the oil wasn’t littered with sweet wrappings- at that age i don’t think I’d have resisited the tempation to see what would happen if I
threww something onto the oil.
Tonight I’m at the Saatchi Gallery to hear Richard Wilson talk about his art. His aim, he tells us, is to challenge our preconceptions of architecture. He spoke with great intelligence and lucidity and convinced even a huge sceptic like me to seek out his work wherever I can find it.
This video clip shows the artist talking about 20:50 with a brief glimpse at the artwork itself.
After the talk I asked him about the conundrum of the sweet papers. He told me that the oil absorbs dust and most pieces of debris and that one bonus for him is that when an installation is dismantled, the bed will be full of coins! By the way- although Richard Wilson didn’t admit this on the night, the oil is in fact only two or three inches deep. My guess is that it is contained in a huge plastic tray supported by beams.
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
My Mother Said I Never Should
“They tuck you up, your Mum and Dad”
Adrian Mitchell (after Philip Larkin)
The Round at the Dukes Theatre is an exceptional experience for the spectator. There are only three rows of seats on all four sides so that the audience is right among the action. This was particularly effective for Amy Leach’s production of ‘My Mother Said I Never Should’ which has an all female cast, with Christine Mackie playing Margaret. The play is more Larkin than Mitchell, more Mum than Dad, although Dad doesn’t get away scot free. It’s about four generations of a Northern family and how each disappoints the other in it’s own special way. Some uncomfortable truths were laid bare. Slightly unnerving to watch sat next to your fifteen year old daughter. The play is marvellous in every respect, but don’t go if you don’t enjoy a good blub.
There’s more about the play and the production in this flip video of Christine, taken after the show. Thank you Christine.
Monday, November 16th, 2009
Its a hard rain…..
There’s a dramatic and moving open-air art exhibition entitled “Hard Rain” at St Martin’s in the Field, London. The exhibition, by photographer Mark Edwards, is based on the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s song “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” written in response to the Cuban missile crisis in 1963. Mark Edwards has cleverly adapted Dylan’s apocalyptic message from nuclear melt-down to climatic wipe-out. I wonder what Dylan would make of it- his protesting days are long gone and he has devoted the last 45 years to making music and money.
It was interesting to see echoes of our own “Hard Rain” artwork here at Yewbarrow House. Alan Ward’s carvings are an ironic reference to our own damp climatic conditions and the fact that the sculpture garden looks out onto the Heysham Nuclear reactor.
I photographed Mark Edwards’ pictures and my daughter Joanna has used the photos to compile a slide-show accompanied by Andy Hill and Renee Safier’s version of A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Sony blocked Dylan’s version when we tried to put it onto Youtube- what did I say about the great man’s attachment to money?).
Below, are photos of some of Alan Ward’s “Hard Rain” carvings.
