Friday 03 February 2023.

Friday 03 February 2023. Celebrities and rock royalty have turned out in their droves to pay their final respects to guitar legend JEFF BECK. The virtuoso was laid to rest at St Mary’s Church in Beddington, South London, today...Friday. Beck died January 11 aged 78 of bacterial meningitis. Stars in attendance included Johnny Depp, Sir Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. Also at the heart-breaking farewell was Sir Tom Jones, Robert Plant, Chrissie Hynde, Eric Clapton , David Gilmour, Jimmy Page ,Kate Bush, Joss Stone, Imelda May, Kirk Hammett, Roger Taylor (Queen) and Live Aid legend Sir Bob Geldof. Edward Scissor hands filmmaker Tim Burton and comedians Harry Enfield and Vic Reeves were also spotted at the church. ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Thursday 02 February 2023....I went to two events tonight.. 6pm to 7.45pm UNIT GALLERY - private view , 3 Hanover Square, Mayfair, London W1. MAURO C. MARTINEZ'S latest solo exhibition with Unit London examines our relationship to technology. The artist’s latest body of work expands on the principal image of his previous exhibition, The Last Man, delving deeper into the idea of the gamer setup. Inspired by the online subreddit thread, RateMySetup, where users post images of their gaming systems, Martinez’s exhibition of the same name explores the lengths that people will go to in order to stay online. While always maintaining a characteristic sense of humour, RateMySetup uncovers our dependence on convenience and our capacity to innovate, allowing space for both criticism and reflection. Martinez presents a series of works that depict gaming setups, both in the home and in the outside world. Exploring contemporary ideas of hyper-convenience, these artworks comment on our increasing intolerance of any disruption to our comfort and needs. Around 100 guests here enjoying three different complimentary cocktails and beers. I had one each of the cocktails. Then a dash to Waterloo Train Station for my journey to Twickenham. ------ SLIM CHANCE live at The Eel Pie Club, 67 London Road, Twickenham. The 180 capacity venue is located upstairs at The Cabbage Patch pub & restaurant. Three members of Ronnie Lane's band play tribute to the sadly passed Ronnie. Ronnie Lane passed away on 04 June 1997, as he succumbed to pneumonia and multiple sclerosis. Mick Jagger and Chris Jagger turned up at their most recent London show at The Half Moon, Putney. I have been to loads of big shows at Twickenham Stadium , but have never been to The Eel Pie Club. They hold live music events every two weeks , on a Thursday. The next gig after Slim Chance is Dana Gillespie & The London Blues Band on 16 Feb. www.eelpieclub.com - Visit their website here to buy tickets. -------- Really good to finally get along to the home of Richmond & Twickenham Rhythm & Blues. The venue is full, with the early arrivals nabbing the seats at the front and the sides. An older crowd here who lovingly remember Ronnie Lane from the early 1970s. SLIM CHANCE arrived on stage at 9.10pm for their 90 mins set. Six musicians on stage including keyboards, sax and accordion. Folks are soon dancing down the front, and many of the crowd are mouthing the lyrics. We get both the Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance Top 40 hits from 1974 'The Poacher' and 'How Come?' which were both really great. The highlight was the three classic tracks from The Faces played at the end of the set. A spine-tingling version of 'Debris' was superb , as were 'You're So Rude' and 'Ooh La La'. A really good set, in a nice intimate venue. ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- Wednesday 01 February 2023. Teenager SHANE HAWKINS has won big at The Drummer Of The Year Awards. Drum Performance Of The Year: Shane Hawkins The winner of this award put on a legendary, must-watch performance during 2022, either with a full band at an event or in a solo studio video. 16-year-old Shane Hawkins did just that (watch the full video on youtube), pouring his heart and soul into a live performance of “My Hero” at a tribute concert dedicated to his late father and Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins. It touched millions of people and showed how much love, energy, and spirit can come out on the drum kit. I was at the Wembley show, and it was pretty amazing how good Shane was given the circumstances. ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------- Tuesday 31 January 2023....press/VIP opening night... THE CHER SHOW live at The New Wimbledon Theatre, London. This musical is on all this week at Wimbledon - Tues 31 Jan to Sat 04 Feb The Cher Show tells the incredible story of Cher’s meteoric rise to fame, flying in the face of convention at every turn. This HUGE new production features a fresh take on her show-stopping costumes which earned her the title of "the ruler of outré reinvention" (VOGUE). In a dazzling glitter fest sparkling with Cher’s signature wit and style to the sounds of her biggest hits, including If I Could Turn Back Time, Strong Enough, Gypsies Tramps and Thieves, The Shoop Shoop Song, I Got You Babe, and Believe....35 songs will be performed in total. This week of shows are part of a year long UK tour. I have seen the real CHER just the twice in concert...for one of those shows we had backstage passes, and next to her backing bands dressing room, was a sign on a door that said "CHER'S WIG ROOM". www.newwimbledontheatre.net - Visit their website here for more info and to buy tickets ,which start at a mere £13. www.cheronstage.com - Visit their website here for tour dates. ----------- This large 1670 capacity theatre is a rammed solid full house tonight. There is a full red carpet outside the venue with half a dozen photographers , and we have several well known faces arrive, including ARLENE PHILLIPS and NINA WADIA. The show was on for around 2 hours 10 mins , over two sets of 65 mins each. The Cher Show tells the amazing story of Cher’s incredible career to date , year by year. Told with not just one Cher but three . One portraying her in the 1950s and 60s (nicknamed “Babe”), one for the 1970s (nicknamed “Lady”), and one for the 1980s and 90s (nicknamed “Star”). The three interact with each other and help each other out at various points. Cher has had major success in music, film and tv over her six decade career. Goddess warrior of pop turned Hollywood royalty, the Grammy,Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning Queen of re-invention has conquered it all. The three Cher's all look and sound like Cher, and have some fantastic sparkly costumes. So many classic Cher songs are performed throughout this part biopic , part jukebox musical show. Cher gained popularity in 1965 as one-half of the folk rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher after their song "I Got You Babe" peaked at number one on the US and UK charts. Together they sold 40 million records worldwide. Her solo career was established during the same time, with the top-ten singles "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" and "You Better Sit Down Kids". She became a television personality in the 1970s with her CBS shows; first The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, watched by over 30 million viewers weekly during its three-year run, and then the namesake Cher. She emerged as a fashion trendsetter by wearing elaborate outfits on her television shows. While working on television, Cher released the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", "Half-Breed", and "Dark Lady", becoming the female artist with the most number-one singles in United States history at the time. After her divorce from Sonny Bono in 1975, she released the disco album Take Me Home (1979) and earned a very nice $300,000 a week for her 1979–1982 concert residency in Las Vegas. The second set included her relationship and second marriage in 1975 to drug abusing rocker Gregg Allman, who looked the spitting image of Sam Ryder tonight with his long hair and rhinestone outfit. The finale of the show had everyone up and dancing for some of her much loved songs such as ‘Believe ' and ‘If I Could Turn Back Time'. A really enjoyable show, and well worth getting a ticket for. 10.30pm to 11.30pm was the aftershow party in the circle bar. All the cast eventually turned up Around 100 guests here enjoying complimentary wines, beers and cup cakes. ----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Tuesday 31 January 2023. Happy Birthday to punk legend JOHN LYDON who is 67 today. Today at 10.30am John was interviewed on ITV live from Dublin, where he is rehearsing for his Irish entry 'Hawaii' for Eurovision Song Contest on Friday. John got very emotional when talking about his wife Nora illness. Looks like it is Sex Pistols overkill day as GLEN MATLOCK was on BBC1 at 9am, talking about his single 'Head On A Stick' , his new album, and slagging off The Tories and Brexit.

Posted 31st January 2023