‘Prince’s Purple Rain guitar was in the corner of the studio and his lava lamps were everywhere. You couldn’t help but be inspired’I was in a band in Hull called Akrylykz. When the Beat came to play at the Welly club we gave them a demo tape. Then th...
As the Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scott’s expand, and Blue Note eyes its arrival, proprietors say there’s an energy in the scene – but financial pressures remainAs small gig venues around the country nervously eye their futures amid rising utility prices a...
Samir Shah says BBC must ‘champion impartiality’, as Ed Davey warns UK must ‘defend our democracy from foreign interference’BBC director general resigns – latest updatesThe BBC’s chair has apologised for an “error of judgment” in the way a Panorama d...
Speaking at a screening of hit play The Fifth Step, the actor reveals he is ‘not comfortable at all on camera’Slow Horses star Jack Lowden has said it was a “relief” to return to the stage in the intense role of an alcoholic in the West End hit The F...
The Land in Winter has shortest odds of victory, ahead of Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and SunnyAndrew Miller is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the 2025 Booker prize, which will be announced on Monday evening in London.The English author t...
The Netflix film graphically highlights the importance mobiles bring to both work and home life, as well as their potential to wreak havoc on a global scaleSince its release, A House of Dynamite has triggered its own fallout over how accurately the f...
Head of entertainment Kalpna Patel-Knight says hit show ‘promises to be just as unmissable as the first’The Celebrity Traitors will return for a second series in 2026 after a phenomenal debut that broke audience records, the BBC has said.Ardross Cast...
At 79, the British artist is still skirting real peril, questing across the planet to depict the unspoiled vastnesses shown to grand effect hereTravelling with Tony Foster comes with a disclaimer. According to the terms of the contract signed by the...
Focus / Culture - 10 hours ago
Her natural performance in Willy Russell’s masterpiece seemed effortless but Collins found it hugely challenging – and still made every day a partyPauline Collins was a unique phenomenon: a superb light-comedy actress – as she described herself – who...
Focus / Culture - 10 hours ago
The latest in our series of writers remembering their most rewatched comfort film is a tribute to the Coens’ playful star-packed comedyThe opening credits suggest a work of serious intrigue: a view of Earth from outer space zeroes in on the east coas...
Focus / Culture - 12 hours ago
In this excellent series, Flack’s mother Christine is steely and resolute as she questions a growing number of inconsistencies and demands answers about her daughter’s deathOn the evening of 15 February 2020, news broke that the television presenter...
Focus / Culture - 13 hours ago
This heartfelt film bears witness to a defiant community, forms a vital piece of oral history and shows the resilience of those determined to stay onIn many cities across Europe, there is a familiar sight of longstanding housing estates being gutted...
Focus / Culture - 13 hours ago
Ola Ince, who has refreshed Agatha Christie’s record-breaking mystery, says ‘we all fancy ourselves as detectives’Audiences left hungry for more suspense after the nail-biting Celebrity Traitors finale should visit the ultimate murder mystery, The Mo...
Focus / Culture - 13 hours ago
Wigmore Hall, LondonIn a deftly curated programme, youthful compositions rubbed shoulders with music from her most productive period, the 1920sAmong the plethora of female composers finally receiving their due in recent years, Rebecca Clarke stands o...
Focus / Culture - 13 hours ago
Smith’s incantatory voice shines through in this surprisingly revelatory follow up to Just Kids and M TrainThe post-pandemic flood of artist memoirs continues, but Patti Smith stands apart. The poet who wrote punk into existence before pivoting to po...