Monday 25 May 2026

Monday 25 May 2026. MIDGE URE live at The Barbican. Midge ( now aged 72) is playing a full UK tour . A curated live experience that reimagines Midge Ure's career as one flowing narrative. Celebrating over 40 years of innovation, from glam and punk to synth pop and orchestral textures. This bold new live concept offers a rare and deeply personal concert experience. For the first time, Midge Ure will seamlessly blend his iconic hits and fan favourites with the atmospheric instrumentals that have long featured on his solo albums — many of which have never been performed live. The result is a rich, immersive show designed to take the audience on an emotional journey, both visually and sonically. From his early days with Slik and The Rich Kids( with Glen Matlock) , to defining the sound of the '80s with Ultravox and co-creating the global charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas?, Midge Ure has always challenged musical expectations. With Ivor Novello, GRAMMY and ASCAP awards to his name, he continues to push boundaries with this ambitious new show. Midge Ure played with Thin Lizzy from July 1979 to early 1980. He stepped in as an emergency guitarist after Gary Moore abruptly quit midway through a US tour, and Midge was flown out on Concorde at very short notice. I saw Midge with Ultravox over a dozen times , including at Live Aid in 1985 , and three times with The Rich Kids back in 1978. Rich Kids Nashville Pub, London 26.01.1978 feat Glen Matlock -debut London show Rich Kids,White Cats feat Rat Scabies Lyceum Theatre, London 26.04.1978 Mink DeVille,Rich Kids Hammersmith Odeon, London 22.06.1978 ---------- The venue is full apart from a couple of rows at the back of the upper circle. The alternative electronic duo Scenius are the support act. The Anglo-French, dark synth-pop duo (formed by UK producer Steve Whitfield and French musician Fabrice Bellanger) is accompanying Ure on his 21-date "A Man Of Two Worlds" tour. They arrived on stage at 7.30pm for their 30 mins set The synth-pop duo were a bit quiet and not very exciting to watch. The bemused crowd gave them some polite applause . MIDGE URE and his band on stage at 8.20pm for their 90 mins set. The band members were synth , drums and bass/synth. A lovely light show and there were digital images behind Midge too. Midge said he had a bit of a sore throat , and he did sound a bit rough when he talked. The first half ticked along ok with no words from Midge , then the second half shifted up a couple of years as the crowd got up and danced to the well known tracks. The 20 songs played included 11 Ultravox and 2 Visage , but sadly no Rich Kids. A really good show. Full MIDGE URE setlist played tonight .... A Different View Again We Love (Visage song) Call of the Wild Accent on Youth (Ultravox song) The Ascent (Ultravox song) Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again) ( Ultravox song) Astradyne (Ultravox song) Wastelands Man of Two Worlds (Ultravox song) Lament (Ultravox song) Monster Vienna (Ultravox song) Reap the Wild Wind ( Ultravox song) If I Was The Voice (Ultravox song) Fade to Grey (Visage song) Dancing With Tears in My Eyes (Ultravox song) Encore: ( did not actually leave the stage ) Yellow Pearl (Phil Lynott cover) Hymn (Ultravox song) ----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Sunday 24 May 2026. The Artists Defining Spotify’s Streaming Era Spotify’s all-time leaderboard shows how dramatically music consumption has shifted in the streaming age. Nearly every album in the top 20 was released after 2015, reflecting how streaming platforms accelerated global reach, playlist discovery, and repeat listening at massive scale. Latin pop, hip hop, and crossover R&B dominate the rankings, with artists like Bad Bunny, Drake, and The Weeknd building audiences measured not in album sales, but in tens of billions of streams. The data table below lists the highest-streamed albums in Spotify history as of late April 2026. Look who has sneaked in at Number 10, with 15 billion streams...pretty amazing. 1 Un Verano Sin Ti 22.79 Bad Bunny 2022 2 Starboy 20.97 The Weeknd 2016 3 ÷ 18.99 Ed Sheeran 2017 4 SOUR 17.96 Olivia Rodrigo 2021 5 Future Nostalgia 17.74 Dua Lipa 2020 6 SOS 17.62 SZA 2022 7 Hollywood's Bleeding 16.37 Post Malone 2019 8 Lover 16.36 Taylor Swift 2019 9 After Hours 16.10 The Weeknd 2020 10 AM 15.22 Arctic Monkeys 2013 ----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Saturday 23 May 2026...I went to two events today... 1pm to 5pm. NAMMOS - restaurant preview - 15 Berkeley Street , Mayfair, London W1. They have a prime Mayfair location , just up the road from Sexy Fish. Their other locations included Dubai , but this their first UK site. No need to visit Greece , as they have transported Mykonos to Mayfair. They have even flown in some staff from their Mykonos restaurant to help with the opening days. Nammos Mayfair reimagines the iconic Mykonos beach-club aesthetic for an upscale, urban environment on Berkeley Street. The decor blends timeless Aegean elegance with coastal-inspired luxury, featuring bespoke hand-layered textured white finishes, curved architectural forms, and illuminated niches that evoke sunlit sand and stone. Lots of staff fussing over the guests. Some food we shared and some we had our own plates . Homemade Arabic Pitta Two plates of Prawn Tempura with four on each plate. Grilled Octopus Spicy Crab Tartare Greek Salad Lobster Linguine Plate of four lamb cutlets to share with sides. Desserts were.. White Chocolate & Strawberry Cheesecake each and a classic chocolate mouse to share. They had an extensive drinks list and we each had five glasses of Ruinart champers and five cocktails. It was a totally excellent four hours here , but it is expensive due to the prime location. What they say about the restaurant ... They'll be taking over from Il Borro on Berkeley Street and are planning something subtly different to their Mykonos venture, more suited to their new Mayfair location, an "urban expression" of the beach clubs they've become known for. The London opening will be the template for the brand rolling out in cities all over the world. As for what to expect, the food will be hitting that current trend of Mediterranean cuisine, with a focus on seafood and sushi. We also hear that Black Angus steaks will be fresh off the Josper Grill, alongside signature dishes like aubergine mille-feuille with feta mousse and the spicy crab tartare finished with yuzu truffle. If you've been in the building before, you'll know it's a two-storey affair. The main restaurant will be on the ground floor with a space for private events upstairs. then SOOSHI MANGO live at Shepherds Bush Empire. I saw this Australian comedy trio at this same venue two years ago in 2024. The trio consists of two brothers, Joe and Carlo Salanitri, and their best friend, Andrew Manfre. Sooshi Mango is best known for their comedy skits, acts, videos, series and live shows, paying homage to their experiences growing up in an Italian family, and around Italians, Greeks, Croats, and other ethnic cultures living in Australia. The comedic influences of the group include Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Benny Hill and many more. Being most strongly inspired by their European ancestry, their content is commonly rooted in humorously depicting the Italian and Greek ethnic and cultural diaspora and their role in Australian society, and its racial prejudice and social mechanisms of the modern-day world. This is the first of two shows at this venue. They can headline big arenas back home in Australia, like renowned venues like Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. ---------- It is stalls seated tonight .Levels 2 and 3 are closed tomight.Maybe only 400 tix sold out of the 1000 capacity. Mainly Aussies here, but also Italians and English . The show was on for 85 mins over two sets. There is a big screen to show some of their video clips. Brothers Joe and Carlo Salanitri along with best friend, Andrew Manfre created Sooshi Mango to honour and keep the memory alive of their parents as well as the European immigrants of the 50’s and 60’s. Coming to a new country not knowing the language and trying to establish a new life makes for lots of challenging and funny stories. The lads from Sooshi Mango have taken all those and rolled them into one funny comedy show in Off The Boat! All the well-loved characters made an appearance. How can you not love Sam, Vince and Johnny? We go back in time, forty years ago to learn how the three paesano’s met and became friends. Going back in time to also meet the young Greeks Stavros, Tasso and Kosta and the three ‘bella’s’ Carmela, Angela and Guiseppina was also hilarious. The animated black and white silent films have all the comedy vibes of a Laurel and Hardy or Charlie Chaplin skit. Sooshi Mango have perfected the art of slapstick comedy and it highlights their comedic timing and abilities. The show takes us from yester-year to today where we find out what the characters, after a lifetime in Australia, are up to in 2026. There are court room dramas, crazy fiss and tsip shop (Fish and Chip Shop) antics as well as trying to get a bird cage up a tree. Oh, and tomatoes. There’s always an argument about who has the biggest tomatoes in their garden! The highlights for me were their two comedy lyrics and dance routines for AC/DC ' Thunderstruck' to the words 'Bring Cash Back' and some messing about for ' I Wanna Dance With Somebody '. They’ve taken their life experiences and turned them into hilarious sketches. An enjoyable show.

Posted 24th May 2026