- Nov 27, 2020
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: IS THIS THE REAL LIFE
One of the pleasures of writing this column is that scarcely a week goes by when I am not entranced by an artiste or two entirely new to me. Once more I have the good offices of Fresh on the Net’s Listening Post to thank for highlighting a prodigious young talent, Cathy Jain. She has led a cosmopolitan life to date; born in Salford, brought up in China, then spending a year in Australia before moving back here three years ago. At the age of just 16 the college student has alr
- Nov 20, 2020
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: A CHRISTMAS COMMERCIAL
It’s that time of year again. The Christmas TV ad is back in abundance offering nice warm feelings in exchange for shifting stock. Whether you blank that biggish screen in your living room or not, there is no escape as you’ll find them online and across social media too. Though one who considers viewing metrics to be as accurate as the contents of a Donald Trump tweet, I was still staggered by the number of YouTube views already garnered by the big retail players for their Ch
- Nov 15, 2020
A TRIBUTE TO SOPHIE MCGEORGE: A BEAUTIFUL AND RARE SPIRIT
I came across Sophie McGeorge when she entered the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition in January this year. The annual contest offers unsigned UK and Ireland-based acts of any musical genre the chance to compete to play on a main stage at the iconic festival. My task as one of 30 first round judges was to listen to an original song and watch a live video from over 200 different entrants and to pick just three to go through to the next stage. Sophie was in my assigned set
- Nov 13, 2020
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: PARASKEVIDEKATRIAPHOBIC? ME?
So, Friday the Thirteenth: a seemingly endless horror franchise from the 80s or just plain unlucky for some? Not one for the paraskevidekatriaphobic then. I put that one in the vain hope that a few of Susie Dent’s 600k followers on Twitter might get excited. However, rather than contemplate irrational fears or stupidly long words – what have the Greeks ever done for us; actually, quite a lot – today I am more mindful of the passage of time. As we hurtle towards an uncertain C
- Nov 6, 2020
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT
So, is love but a second-hand emotion? It goes without saying that without love a deep seam would be missing from the songwriting mine. If you can’t help falling in love, it can be an endless source of inspiration. Tainted or not, love is the drug. You can have a whole lotta it or it can hurt, be your sunshine or make you crazy. So, if you can’t live if living is without [insert him, her, it], want to know what becomes of the broken-hearted, or simply want to second that emot