6 d. ago Nineties icon revealed as Strictly Come Dancing's second Christmas special star

One icon of the nineties music scene is set to compete in the festive special of Strictly Come Dancing, and is the second celeb to be announced after Scarlett Moffatt

Politics

6 d. ago They wore heels, sequins and little else! The heady nights and glistening bodies of cult queer club PDA

In the pounding heat of a sweaty basement, revellers danced till 6am posing in lavish outfits and flexing their thigh-high boots. Liz Johnson Artur relives how she photographed the anything-goes spirit of this DIY oasisFor more than three decades, Liz Johnson Artur has photographed “the people I’m with” – a characteristically modest expression that belies the radiance, intimacy and unshowy brilliance of her pictures, an extraordinary archive numbering thousands of images that celebrate beauty, resilience, community and resistance. Intimate and alive, her photographs – often shot on the fly, in streets, nightclubs and living rooms – pull you right into the moment, just before it disappears for good.PDA, the photographer’s latest book, celebrates a bygone London underground music scene. PDA was a popular queer club night that ran monthly in a Hackney basement from 2011 to 2021. The abbreviation PDA did not stand for a single phrase, apparently. Rather, the founders playfully suggested...

Events

9 d. ago Perth songwriter follows Saints song with album on ups and downs of lockdown

Ollie Wale was one of The Shrugs who wrote and performed the St Johnstone Scottish Cup final track in 2014 - and is now making his way in the music scene in London.

Culture

1 week ago All we know after Stone Roses' Gary 'Mani' Mounfield's death as tributes paid to 'proud Mancunian'

Gary 'Mani' Mounfield, the bassist for The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, has died at the age of 63. Tributes have poured in for the musician who was a key figure in the Manchester music scene

Events

2 w. ago The 'most important rock n roll pub in Britain' might just be ready for its encore

"Every music fan in Manchester treasures the pub and its role in the city’s legendary music scene"

Politics

2 w. ago Juubi: the new grassroots music collective sparking hope for London’s independent music scene

Juubi: the new grassroots music collective sparking hope for London’s independent music scene  South West Londoner

Culture

2 w. ago ‘Young audiences are less scared of it’: why London jazz clubs are expanding and thriving against the odds

As the Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scott’s expand, and Blue Note eyes its arrival, proprietors say there’s an energy in the scene – but financial pressures remainAs small gig venues around the country nervously eye their futures amid rising utility prices and a cost of living crisis, one corner of the live music scene seems to be thriving: London’s jazz clubs.The Jazz Cafe is extending its Camden venue and opening an east London location, Ronnie Scott’s is being refurbished, and New York’s iconic Blue Note club, which has already spread to Japan, Brazil, Italy and China, will open its first London venue next year. And while financial pressures remain, a host of other, smaller venues are bringing in vibrant new audiences. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Everybody comes from a place of mundanity’: northern gothic, the strange music scene rooted in small

Lurking at the fringes of electronic music, artists such as Richie Culver, Rainy Miller and Iceboy Violet are confronting the alienation and deprivation of the UK’s north‘What kind of god builds a world on this forgotten town?” Richie Culver seethes on Curse, closing out his dark, cinematic album I Trust Pain. He’s referring to Withernsea, a faded seaside resort near Hull, where he grew up and then desperately wanted to leave. “I remember feeling so resentful,” he says. “I heard Tracey Chapman’s Fast Car and thought: is this song about me?” He duly got out aged 17, eventually settling in London and finding success as a visual artist and musician.But in recent years, the 46-year-old began hearing younger avant garde musicians “talking about their satellite towns” in other often forgotten corners of the north. “I’d never looked at the north like that, in the way these artists are unravelling these narratives.” Having dabbled in music for decades, he was inspired by these acts to embar...

Culture

3 w. ago Rapper blocks UK beauty spot to shoot music video with £300k Rolls

Rapper Tion Wayne was pictured blocking one of the Peak District's most-visited routes with his vehicle while filming a music video - with police called to the scene

Economics