- May 27, 2022
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM
So, this week let’s start by raising a glass to that amazing supporter of new music through many channels including Fresh On The Net and BBC Radio 6 Music, Tom Robinson. His ‘Never Too Late’ 70th Birthday Tour reaches London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire tonight for its final stop. Twice postponed in successive years due to the pandemic, I’m sure a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday will be delivered tonight ahead of Tom turning 72 now this coming Wednesday. Tom has some great gue
- May 20, 2022
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: LIVE AFTER COVID
After 10 days or so locked away with Covid, it was nice to see a single red line on the LFT so that I was allowed out to attend successive nights of live music on Wednesday and Thursday. Time being somewhat at a premium this week, I won’t be able to do justice to detailed reviews of said shows nor bring you quite the fully oven ready diet of new music readers might be getting accustomed to. There, I said I would never use the phrase ‘oven ready’ and I just have [That’s twice
- May 13, 2022
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: THAT DAY AGAIN
Today being Friday the Thirteenth gives me yet another opportunity to bring that wonderful word that simply rolls off the tongue - paraskevidekatriaphobia - back into play. Right now, I can’t claim to harbour a morbid fear of this date; indeed, after last night’s great result at White Hart Lane I can scarcely contemplate anything gloomy. Well, not until I saw the headline announcing that up to 91,000 civil service jobs are to go; just the thing we need to speed up the issue o
- May 6, 2022
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: SUNSHINE ON LEITH
In a week when the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Final took place and Michael Eavis was given the Freedom of Glastonbury in recognition of his services to the town and its local economy, it seems appropriate to focus this week’s issue on live music. Michael can now drive his sheep through the centre of the town unencumbered should he choose to do so. As he is known as a dairy farmer, I pondered whether this symbolic act would even be possible but after a bit of digging found th