The Week in Light & Sound
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The changes come after several years of falling ratings. This year's ceremony, which saw performances from Pink, Dua Lipa and George Ezra, was watched by 4.1m people, down 400,000 from 2018.
This year, all awards will be decided by a 1,200-strong "official voting academy", made up of “experts” from all areas of the music industry. Brits chairman David Joseph explained the changes, saying: "We will be putting creativity, British culture and exceptional performances at the heart of the show to make Brits night a world class celebration.”
MTV EMAs - BTS won three categories at this year's MTV Europe Music Awards held on 3 November in Seville. The K-pop seven-piece won in the best group, best live and biggest fans categories. Flying the flag for the UK were Little Mix (Best UK & Ireland Act), Liam Gallagher (Rock Icon) and FKA Twigs (Best Alternative). Ariana Grande and Lil Nas X came away empty-handed, despite starting the night with seven and six nominations respectively. Niall Horan, Halsey and Mabel were among the performers, while US singer Becky G hosted. Liam Gallagher closed the show with Wonderwall.
Black Widow - Lady Gaga will reportedly star in Sir Ridley Scott's upcoming film about the killing of Maurizio Gucci. According to |Deadline, Lady Gaga will play Gucci's ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani, who was found guilty of ordering his death. Maurizio Gucci was the grandson of the man who founded the fashion brand - Gucci. Reggiani was convicted of hiring a hitman to kill her estranged husband outside his Milan office in 1995 in a mafia-style hit. During the trial which attracted global media attention, she was labelled the "Black Widow" by the Italian press.
Musical Cinema - The staged concert of Les Misérables will be broadcast to cinemas next month, following its closure in the West End. Starring Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Matt Lucas, Les Misérables – The Staged Concert will be screened in cinemas across the UK and Ireland, as well as in the US, on 2 December. The concert version is currently running at the Gielgud Theatre, while the production’s home, the Queen’s Theatre, undergoes a renovation.
The theatre will reopen in December as the Sondheim Theatre, allowing the full-scale production to resume. The concert plays its last scheduled performance on 30 November, however there will now be an additional showing on 2 December which will be live-screened.
The Drifters Girl - Beverley Knight is to star in a new musical about singing group The Drifters. Knight will star as Faye Treadwell, the manager of The Drifters. Called The Drifters Girl, the show will premiere at the Newcastle Theatre Royal from 5 September 2020, for 15 performances. It will then have a run at the Garrick Theatre following this. Jonathan Church will direct the musical, which features songs including Under the Boardwalk, Stand By Me and Saturday Night at the Movies.
The show has choreography by Karen Bruce, with design by Anthony Ward and lighting by Ben Cracknell. The musical is written by Ed Curtis. It is produced by Michael Harrison and David Ian.
World of Leather - A leather outfit worn by Olivia Newton-John in Grease has been sold for more than £300,000 at an auction in Beverly Hills. The jacket and tight leather trousers were sported by her character Sandy in the hit 1978 film during the final song You're The One That I Want alongside Danny Zuko, played by John Travolta. While the jacket fetched £188,000, the trousers were sold for £125,000 - double the expected price. In total, 500 lots went under the hammer in California - and proceeds from the sale are going to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre.
(Jim Evans)
5 November 2019
