-
The label that gave the world Bob Marley and Grace Jones celebrates 50 years with a festival
18th May 2009 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
In these hard times it is an incredible achievement for a business in any industry to survive for 50 years, but when the industry in question is as fickle as the music industry, keeping afloat is twice as hard. Which is why t5m was particularly pleased to learn that Island Records is 50 years old this year, and that the milestone will be marked by the label and founder Chris Blackwell, with a festival.
The Island 50 Festival will feature gigs from a range of artists from the legendary Rita Marley herself to new artists such as Ladyhawke in London this month.
Chris, founded Island records in 1959 with £1,000, and after a few years of selling music out of the boot of his Mini Cooper, he produced ‘My boy Lollipop’ for a 15 year old girl called Millie. The record reached number 2 in the British charts and sold six million copies worldwide.
Chris is perhaps best known for giving a little-known reggae artist Bob Marley his big break, and was recently quoted as saying, “Bob Marley was a gamble. I gave him £4,000 up front to make the first album. Everybody said I was mad and I’d never see the money again. The Wailers had a reputation for being total rebels and being sort of impossible to deal with. It was simply because they had been treated unfairly. I took the risk and trusted Bob and it paid off many times over”.
Island is now part of Universal music group, but the iconic logo still adorns albums from the likes of Amy Winehouse, Keane and Paul Weller. The festival kicks off on May 26 at the Shepherds Bush Empire and the line-up confirmed so far is as follows:
Tue 26th May – Sly & Robbie & The Compass Point Allstars feat Grace Jones, Aswad (reuniting especially for the show), The I-Threes (comprising of Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Erica Newell), VV Brown, and Tinchy Stryder.
Wed 27th May – The Fratellis; Steel Pulse; Bombay Bicycle Club.
Thu 28th May – Cat Stevens/Yusuf And Friends, Baaba Maal.
Fri 29th May – Paul Weller; Ernest Ranglin; Spooky Tooth.
Sat 30th May – Keane; Tom Tom Club; Ladyhawke.
Sun 31st May – Amy Winehouse; Toots & The Maytals; I Blame Coco.The festival will run for a week all proceeds from the shows donated to Amnesty International and The Oracabessa Foundation in Jamaica.
Ticket prices for each show at the festival vary from £27.50 to £37.50, depending on ticket type. To buy tickets go to www.island50.com
‘Keep On Running – The Story of Island Records’ is released on 21 May. The Island Life exhibition is at the Vinyl Factory, London W1, from 22 May to 17 June. -
ARIA award winning Gurrumul comes to London
12th May 2009 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
Last night, a hushed gathering of muso’s, industry executives and t5m were stunned by an intimate performance from Geoffrey ‘Gurrumul’ Yunupingu, an indigenous Australian musician, high in the lofty reaches of ‘Sound Advice’ HQ.
Gurrumul is undeniably an incredible musician; despite being born blind and having never been taught Braille. He is a refined guitarist, with a haunting voice made more atmospheric by his heartfelt lyrics in his native ‘Yolngu’ language. Having witnessed his performance last night, it is unsurprising that Gurrumul has transcended various physical and racial obstacles to go on and be nominated for four ARIAs in 2008 and to win three ‘Deadlys’ in the same year. Read more »
-
Glastonbury, T in the Park or Latitude? A festival run-down
7th May 2009 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
At t5m we have decided recession or no recession this summer will be a great one. So ditch the long haul-flights and expensive hotels and have fun at an array of great festivals happening throughout the UK.
For those who were not so quick off the mark; Glastonbury, has sold out of tickets. Neil Young will be headlining, joined by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Blur, Franz Ferdinand, Lily Allen, and t5m favourites Fleet Foxes! Here’s hoping to better weather than previous years, although mud fights are always fun.
Next up is the big name festival – T in the Park. This is kind of a guilty pleasure festival; it has all the names you want to see, but sometimes don’t want to admit to. Kings of Leon, Snow Patrol, The Killers and Blur are headlining, and then there are the artists who you expect to see in more intimate gigs, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Saturdays, White Lies, to name but a few. Enjoy spotting the occasional big-name celeb, and hopefully some Scottish bare bottoms (kilts people, kilts!). Read more »
-
Nick Van Bloss, pianist with Tourettes plays first concert since 1994
29th April 2009 | 2 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
London’s Cadogan Hall last night witnessed a note in history, as prodigal concert pianist Nick Van Bloss performed two concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra for the first time in 14 years.
An exceptionally gifted pianist, Nick also suffers from a chronic form of Tourettes Syndrome, so severe that he suffers from 40,000 ticks each day, forcing him into a life of isolation, living in a crumbling mansion in Lisbon and playing to no one but himself. Read more »
-
Ivor Novellos go pop with M.I.A, Duffy and The Ting Tings
24th April 2009 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
The Ivor Novellos are the ‘musicians music awards’ – without the gossip column appeal of The BRITs or the obscurity of some of the Mercury nominees – the Novellos are the awards artists seem to enjoy the most. And we wouldn’t turn them down either, now in their 54th year the Ivor Novello awards are renowned for recognising genuine talent – be it big hitting names like Radiohead or the lesser known Cherry Ghost’s, awarding not only prizes but huge amounts of prestige and industry kudos.
The nominees for this year’s awards are out now out – and t5m aren’t the only ones who have noticed that this year’s categories are full of much more mainstream acts than previous years – with Dizzee Rascals ‘Dance wiv me’ up for Best Contemporary song alongside nu-rave poster children The Ting Tings who also nominated for Best Album. Add to this M.I.A, Duffy and Coldplay who are all up for awards, and the Novellos begin to look a lot like the other music ceremonies we’ve seen this year. Read more »
-
James Blunt on music, Kosovo and Ibiza: Exclusively on t5m
24th April 2009 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
Singer, songwriter, musician and former officer in the British Army, James Blunt has done it all. Since his debut album, Back to Bedlam and the single which needs no introduction ‘You’re Beautiful’, James has seen his career go from strength to strength, winning two BRIT Awards, two Ivor Novellos and being nominated for a staggering five Grammys.
He released his second album, All the Lost Souls in 2007 and has also lent his support to charity ‘Médecins sans Frontières’ (MSF), which is famed for providing emergency health care in war and conflict zones – attending meet and greets and publicising their cause. And then, when it all gets too much, James can retire to his palatial villa on the island of Ibiza – we’re very jealous.
t5m caught up with James for an exclusive interview, where he talks about everything from what motivates his music to his time serving in Kosovo. Revealing, honest and charming – the James Blunt Exclusive Profiles are not to be missed.
To see James Blunt as you’ve never seen him before, check out his ‘Exclusive Profile’ on his channel here on t5m.
-
Myleene Klass pitches it perfectly at Classical Brit nominations
21st April 2009 | 1 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
The great and the good of classical music were out in force last night, as the nominees for this year’s Classical Brit Awards were announced at London’s Mayfair Hotel.
And while we know it is all about the music, t5m couldn’t resist sizing up all the outfits on show and deliberating over which dress we would quite like to wear if we were ever to grace the red carpet of a glittering awards ceremony. Would it be Katherine Jenkins’ black and white lace asymmetric gown with peep-toe shoes and Bardot-worthy hair? Or, New Zealand’s premier soprano Hayley Westenra’s knee-length flirty pastel dress with adorable silver sandals?
And of course, special mention should go to Britain’s Got Talent prodigy Faryl Smith, who at the tender of age of 13 was snapped up with a £2.3million record deal, making her one of the fastest rising stars in opera and definitely one to keep your eye on. Faryl looked ever inch the star last night, with her midnight-blue prom dress and metallic pumps, and a very impressive blow dry.
But ultimately, the prize for best dressed star has to be the one and only Myleene Klass, who flew the patriotic flag wearing a voluminous, wet-look Vivienne Westwood wrap-dress, incredible Stephen Jones Union-Jack mini-top hat and vertiginous Yves Saint Laurent Tribute heels. Injecting some fun and energy into the proceedings, the evening’s host Myleene was by far the most fashion-forward of the bunch, opting out of the high-maintenance, uber-groomed preserve of many red carpet stars and go for something far more chic and daring.
While not everyone appreciated Myleene’s outfit, we all think she looked fab and cannot wait to see what Ms. Klass will be wearing on the 14th May!
-
U2, Duffy and Bob Marley’s mentor out in force at Music Week Awards
9th April 2009 | 1 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
The great and the good of the British music industry were out in force last night at London’s Grosvenor Hotel, celebrating the music industry Music Week’s 50th anniversary with a glittering awards ceremony.
The most prestigious award of the evening, ‘Most influential figure in British music’, went to Island Record founder Christopher Blackwell beating competition from Sir George Martin, who discovered The Beatles and reality X-Factor mogul Simon Cowell. Christoper Blackwell can take credit for the careers of Nick Drake, Roxy Music and Jimmy Clef, as well as pioneering the career of future reggae legend, Bob Marley in 1972,after starting up the record label in 1959 with just £1500.
Coalition PR founder, Rob Partridge, who sadly passed away last year, won the equally revered ‘Stat’ award, with Bono of U2 paying tribute to the man who was one of the early champions of the band “I think it’s fair to say that you believe in us before we believed in ourselves”.
Other big winners include Duffy’s mentor and manager, former Public Image Ltd member Jeanette Lee for ‘Manager of the Year’, whilst Polydor, home of Girls Aloud and Take That won “Record Company of the Year”.
BBC Radio 2 won radio station of the year, while the Brixton Academy was named best live music venue.
Well done to all the winners!
-
Madonna donates ’substantial sum’ to Italian earthquake victims
8th April 2009 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
Madonna has donated an estimated half a million dollars to the victims of Monday’s earthquake, which has so far claimed 228 lives in the Italian city of L’Aquila.
Madonna, whose grandparents lived in the hamlet of Pacentro in the city hit by the tremor which measured 5.6 on the Richter scale, responded to the city’s mayor who appealed personally to her for help after the devastation of the quake in the Abruzzo region of Italy.
“I am happy to lend a helping hand to the town that my ancestors are from,” she told People.com. “My heart goes out to the families that have lost loved ones or their homes.”
With 50,000 people estimated to be homeless and around 13,000 buildings destroyed, rescue efforts have been hampered by the aftershocks as families wait to hear the fate of their loved ones. Read more »
-
Paul McCartney gets by with a little help from Ringo Starr at David Lynch charity concert
6th April 2009 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed together for the first time in seven years on Saturday, in aid of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace.
The ‘Change Begins Within’ concert held at New York’s Radio City Music Hall also featured Moby, Pearl Jam and Jerry Seinfield, but there’s little doubt that the crowd – who paid $500 for tickets – were there to see the two surviving Beatles on stage again. They last played together in 2002, at a tribute concert to George Harrison at the Albert Hall. Read more »
