65 m. ago Fatboy Slim: ‘I was in the same class as Keir Starmer – he’s one up on me now’

The electronic producer and DJ Norman Cook talks about learning the violin with Keir Starmer, his love for his label maker and crossing swords with MobyGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailYou did violin lessons with Keir Starmer when you were a child. Who was better at violin?I can’t actually remember the violin lessons. But I was in the same class at school as Keir for five years, so I remember him well. He must have been better at the violin than me, because I did it for about one term. My parents could take no more noise, so I would say Keir was better. It is quite weird when one day you see someone on the telly and go, “Oh look, it is Keir Starmer from 4B.” I think he’s one up on me by becoming prime minister.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

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95 m. ago Michael McIntyre's Big Show guest Perrie Edwards' family life, net worth and Little Mix 'hiatus'

Former Little Mix star Perrie Edwards joins Holly Willoughby as one of the guests on Michael McIntyre's Big Show this weekend

Events

1 hour ago The heartbreaking reason Simon Cowell missed Britain's Got Talent auditions after pausing filming

Simon will be joined by his fellow judges Amanda Holden, Alisha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli this weekend

Politics

2 h. ago Writer David Szalay: ‘We live in an era of short attention spans – we have to work with it the best we can’

The Hungarian-English author on addressing what it’s like to be a male body in the world, learning the tricks of literature from Frederick Forsyth, and the feeling of nearly winning the BookerDavid Szalay, 51, grew up in London and now lives in Vienna with his wife, having previously moved in 2009 to Hungary, his father’s birthplace. In 2016 he was shortlisted for the Booker prize with his fourth novel, All That Man Is, nine separate stories “self-assembled in the reader’s mind into a sort of collage-novel” (London Review of Books). His new novel, Flesh, follows the fluctuating fortunes of a young Hungarian ex-convict who makes his life in the UK after serving in Iraq.Tell us how Flesh came to be. I decided to abandon a book I’d started in 2017. It just wasn’t working, so it felt like a weight off my shoulders; nevertheless, I was under contract and had to come up with something. Literally nothing in Flesh is directly autobiographical, but it started with my underlying experience of...

Politics

2 h. ago Johnson’s early double sets Tottenham on way to emphatic win at Ipswich

Some afternoons come like a kick in the teeth. Not only did Ipswich suffer a fourth successive home defeat in a game that never felt as one-sided as the scoreline ultimately suggested but fourth-bottom Wolves inflicted on Bournemouth only their second defeat in 16. After weeks of bubbling along in touch, the gap to safety is now five points and survival is becoming an ever more distant prospect.There was no sense in which this was an undeserved win for Spurs, some sort of smash and grab to offend notions of dignity and propriety, but equally it wasn’t entirely convincing. Not for the first time this season, there was a sense that if only Ipswich had been able to seize their opportunity, it might have been very different. Continue reading...

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3 h. ago Arsenal vs West Ham LIVE: Premier League latest score and updates as Bowen goal stuns Gunners

The Gunners hope to close the gap on Liverpool with win over the Hammers

Sport

4 h. ago Usain Bolt reveals how quick he could run 100 metres now eight years after retiring

The eight-time Olympian has revealed that he wouldn't get close to running sub-10 seconds if he ran the 100 metres now, years after hanging up his spikes

Politics

4 h. ago Arsenal vs West Ham LIVE: Premier League latest score and goal updates as Mikel Merino starts in attack

The Gunners hope to close the gap on Liverpool with win over the Hammers

Sport

5 h. ago 'King Charles must speak out over Prince Andrew's links to paedophile pal Epstein' demands top lawyer

In a direct message to his majesty, famed US attorney Gloria Allred told him: "We can handle the truth, and the public deserves the truth" over Prince Andrew's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

Politics

5 h. ago Police officer caught removing burglar’s tag in secret sexual relationship

Natasha Conneely’s ‘entirely selfish’ actions risked leaving known burglar free to commit further crimes, Bedfordshire Police says

Events

5 h. ago Trump to speak at CPAC after late night purge of top military leaders: Live updates

President also directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to solicit nominations for five additional high-level positions, which will be announced soon

Politics

7 h. ago Britain's Got Talent star Paul Potts' life after win and surprising Taylor Swift connection

Britain's Got Talent is set to return to ITV screens this weekend with a host of talented acts set to take to the stage.

Politics

8 h. ago How to watch England vs Scotland in Six Nations: TV channel, live stream, kick

England host Scotland at Twickenham as the Six Nations returns this weekend, with Steve Borthwick’s side seeking to make it consecutive home wins after beating France last time out

Politics

8 h. ago London Weekend Travel Disruptions: What new updates for you?

London Weekend Travel Disruptions: What new updates for you?  Travel And Tour World

Politics

8 h. ago Bong Joon Ho: ‘I wish I had Ken Loach’s energy, but I’m just thinking about nap time’

How do you follow up an Oscar winner like Parasite? If you’re the South Korean auteur, you make a sci-fi satire where Robert Pattinson dies over and over again. The director discusses the inspirational Loach and Mike Leigh and why it’s hard being a ‘middle-aged film-maker’We are in the run-up to the release of Bong Joon Ho’s latest, Mickey 17, and Warner Bros has got the Oscar-winning Korean director stashed away in what appears to be some kind of basement storage room, with grey-painted brickwork and exposed wiring. In fact, this room could pass for one of the “gritty and kind of nasty” cargo-container-packed cabins of his film’s spaceship setting.Not that anyone is complaining. Bong, who speaks good English but prefers to conduct interviews via his longtime interpreter Sharon Choi, appears cheerful throughout our conversation, taking occasional sips from a takeaway coffee cup, while dressed in his usual arthouse auteur uniform of a slate-grey blazer over a black T-shirt. He i...

Politics

9 h. ago ‘The essential ingredient is openess’: Curtis Sittenfeld on the deep joy of midlife friendship

Friendships become closer as you get older argues the novelist, because by middle age everyone has faced dramatic challenges, disappointments and sorrows – and being honest about them is a powerful point of bondingMy ninth book is published this week, and in recent years I’ve described my writing like this: I take care with my sentences, but exquisite prose isn’t my goal. My goal is to give the reader the feeling that you – and by you, I mean me – have when you’re going for a long walk with a close friend, and the friend says: “The craziest thing just happened to me.” What?! You think and possibly say. Tell me immediately! And then what happened, and then what happened? As a writer, this is the urgency I’m chasing, this is the investment, the richness of emotion, the confiding and closeness and caring.A line in Miranda July’s 2024 novel All Fours, a book I’ve discussed with many friends, perfectly captures for me this sense of participating in a bottomless conversation: “I was often...

Events

9 h. ago ‘The essential ingredient is openness’: Curtis Sittenfeld on the deep joy of midlife friendship

Friendships become closer as you get older argues the novelist, because by middle age everyone has faced dramatic challenges, disappointments and sorrows – and being honest about them is a powerful point of bondingMy ninth book is published this week, and in recent years I’ve described my writing like this: I take care with my sentences, but exquisite prose isn’t my goal. My goal is to give the reader the feeling that you – and by you, I mean me – have when you’re going for a long walk with a close friend, and the friend says: “The craziest thing just happened to me.” What?! You think and possibly say. Tell me immediately! And then what happened, and then what happened? As a writer, this is the urgency I’m chasing, this is the investment, the richness of emotion, the confiding and closeness and caring.A line in Miranda July’s 2024 novel All Fours, a book I’ve discussed with many friends, perfectly captures for me this sense of participating in a bottomless conversation: “I was often...

Events

9 h. ago Needle drop! The world’s first sewing machine orchestra takes Munich

This weekend, a symphony of Singers (not that kind) will lead an experimental performance that stitches together feminism and fashion – and offers the audience free repairsStepping into the studio of the Brazilian-born artist and performer Lisa Simpson – no relation to the cartoon character – feels like entering a crossover between the Mad Hatter’s workshop and a postindustrial steampunk landscape with a colourful girl-power twist. The ground floor space in Berlin’s southern district of Neukölln is filled with shelves laden with old sewing machines and coat racks brimming with hats, bags and fabric scraps. Even more sewing machines propped on two tables might suggest that this is a tailor’s workshop, were it not for the tangle of cables and synthesisers connected to them. Toy sewing machines in candy colours have a purple phone receiver attached; colourful cables with knitted covers sneak out of household sewing machines and seam overlockers; pins and needles are connected to microp...

Politics

9 h. ago ‘I tried Meghan Markle’s favourite wellness activity and couldn’t believe the results’

As the popularity of holistic healing therapies continues to grow, Lauren Goodwin-Grafton tried out a sound bath experience on a weekend retreat to Down Hall Hotel & Spa

Politics

9 h. ago Action movie labelled 'the most intriguing crime thriller' to air on BBC One

An action-packed movie branded one of 'the most intriguing crime thrillers made' is set to air on BBC One this weekend

Events