The Week in Light & Sound
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The music event will return to Worthy Farm in Somerset from 21 to 25 June 2023, and tickets - which usually sell out in minutes - will go on sale on 6 November. Fans must register before purchasing in a bid by organisers to stop ticket touts.
Bittersweet - The Lord Mayor of Liverpool said winning Eurovision was "bittersweet" and vowed to do his utmost to honour the Ukrainian sister city. Councillor Roy Gladden has written to the Mayor of Odesa after Liverpool secured the right to host the 2023 European Song Contest last week. He said it will celebrate Ukraine's culture with a "scouse twist".
It comes as BBC director general Tim Davie praised Liverpool for its "energy" and "warmth" and "record of delivering great events", after meeting the city's culture team to discuss the forthcoming show.
In his letter to Mayor of Odesa Gennadiy Trukhanov, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool said he was "proud" the city would host in Ukraine's place on 13 May, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service. "When it was announced that we were the winner, it was a bittersweet moment. We know this is your event - it should be you and your colleagues across your country working together on plans to host the competition in 2023 - but sadly that is not to be.
"Ukraine is at the heart of our Eurovision plans - we will do our utmost to celebrate your culture, your people and your country - giving it a scouse twist which we're sure you'll approve of."
Jacko’s Back - Michael Jackson musical MJ will open in the West End in March 2024, playing at the Prince Edward Theatre. The Broadway show, which won four Tony awards, is written by Lynn Nottage and directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. It has scenic design by Derek McLane, lighting by Natasha Katz, costume by Paul Tazewell, sound by Gareth Owen and projection design by Peter Nigrini. Musical supervision is by David Holcenberg, with orchestrations and arrangements by David Holcenberg and Jason Michael Webb.
Nottage said: “as a Black musician and a pioneering voice in the music industry, Michael Jackson demanded inclusion, broke incredible barriers and in the process made indelible music that continues to resonate, delight and move listeners today. I am drawn to his complicated, singular and uncompromising creative process, and to understand where, why and how he made his music.”
Island Music - More than 90 lost recordings of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs have been discovered by an audio collector from Lowestoft in Suffolk. Bing Crosby, Dame Margot Fonteyn, James Stewart, David Hockney and Dirk Bogarde are among the big names who appear in the episodes found by Richard Harrison.
Dame Margot's appearance in 1965 was the 750th edition of the long-running show. The Royal Ballet's prima ballerina extraordinaire told presenter Roy Plomley she was looking forward to living on a desert island as she would be "delighted" to get away from the telephone.
As for reading matter, Hockney requests an out-of-print pornographic book, Route 69 by Floyd Carter, "otherwise you might fantasise too much on the island". Crosby wants Roget's Thesaurus because with that, and a sharp stick, "I could do some useful writing".
Boutique - A 200-seat "boutique" concert hall is to open in London, billed as the first new one of its kind since 2008. Music charity World Heart Beat is opening the performance and music education centre in south London. Located in a development at Nine Elms and part of the ongoing expansion of Embassy Gardens, it is the first new concert hall to be built in London since the opening of Kings Place by London’s King’s Cross station. The £3.65m project will open its doors on November 1. The funding comes from trusts, individual donors and statutory support, Arts Council England and the Levelling-Up Fund.
Cabaret - Lido de Paris, which closed its doors this summer after running for 76 years, is to reopen as a musical venue later this year. It will start its new season with a production of Cabaret, starring a British cast.
The Champs-Élysées cabaret spot was purchased last year by hotel giant Accor. According to some dancers, communication between the new owners and cast started to dwindle at the beginning of the year as rumours of its closure began to circulate. The rumours were confirmed in May, and it was announced the Lido was closing. Having closed its doors at the end of July, the venue is now to reopen as Lido 2 Paris, a dedicated musical venue, on 1 December.
Farewell - Noel Duggan, one of the founding members of the Irish folk band Clannad, has died. The group said it was "heartbroken" by the news, which it shared on its Twitter account. The 73-year-old "died suddenly in Donegal" on Saturday evening, according to the tweet. Clannad was formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól and Moya Brennan and their uncles Noel and Padraig. The group successfully bridged traditional Celtic music and pop and became the first band to sing in Irish on Top of the Pops in 1982. RIP.
(Jim Evans)
18 October 2022
