18 h. ago The recorder is dying out as kids swap classroom classic for ukuleles and guitars

The recorder has been a popular instrument for children learning music for generations but now only one in six youngsters chooses to play it, a new report suggests

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43 h. ago The Life of Sean DeLear review – loving film about queer black punk rocker, and secret legend

Sweet documentary about Sean DeLear, of LA punk band Glue, who never landed a major record deal but was famous among celebrities That’s Sean DeLear, pronounced like “chandelier”, born Anthony Robertson in 1964. You probably haven’t heard of him: DeLear was the lead singer of a band called Glue on the underground post-punk scene in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 90s. On stage, he performed in drag, singing punk songs dressed like a 1960s go-do dancer in cute little dresses. The band never landed a major record deal, and DeLear died from cancer in 2017. This sweet, scrappy documentary has been lovingly put together by his friend Markus Zizenbacher.It’s not the first posthumous attempt at recognition for DeLear. In 2023, his teenage diary, written in 1979, was published under the title I Could Not Believe It. Extracts of this queer black memoir are read here on the voiceover – and they are glorious. Even aged 14 years old, living with his Christian parents in a conservative suburb of Los...

Politics

6 d. ago Cristiano Ronaldo is closing in on 1,000 goals – but may be running out of games

The finishes are still flowing for Al-Nassr but, at 40, his future for club and country is under increasing scrutinyOn Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo can take a big step towards a first major trophy since moving to Saudi Arabia but the quarter-final of the Asian Champions League against Yokohama F Marinos also offers a chance to take a smaller stride towards an unprecedented personal milestone: 1,000 first-class goals.Pelé scored plenty but claims of 1,279, recognised by the Guinness World Records, included unofficial and exhibition games and perhaps, wondered Diego Maradona, backyard games against his nephews. The stats site RSSSF credits the Brazilian with a total of 778. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut and Lynne Ramsay’s latest among significant Cannes additions

Ramsay’s Die, My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, helps take number of female directors in competition to a record-breaking sevenLynne Ramsay’s long-awaited new film, Die, My Love, has been announced as a late addition to this year’s Cannes competition lineup. The film, which is Ramsay’s first for eight years, stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson and concerns a woman in rural America who experiences psychosis after the birth of her baby.The inclusion of Ramsay’s movie takes the number of female director’s in the official selection to seven – a record for the festival. It also means that a British director is now in the running for this year’s Palme d’Or. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Revealed: Tiny sum Marianne Faithfull left to her family as records show pop icon and Rolling Stones muse died without a will

Faithfull who died aged 78 on January 30 this year became the ultimate rock chick, inspiring Stones songs such as Wild Horses and You Can't Always Get What You Want.

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1 week ago Teen's chilling last words before tragic death in fatal train crash that killed 57 people

Maria Karystianou was initially told her daughter, Mathi, 19, died instantly in the crash but a phone recording reveals the young woman's final moments after a government "cover-up"

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3 w. ago Octavio Dotel, who once held record of pitching for 13 major league teams, dies in DR roof collapse

Former major league relief pitcher Octavio Dotel was among the dead after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in his native Dominican Republic where he was attending a merengue concert

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