A Winged Victory for the Sullen are a duo consisting of Dustin O’Halloran and Adam Wiltzie who have released two studio albums. The 2011 self titled album and 2014’s Atomos, which is a dance score commissioned for contemporary choreographer Wayne McGregor’s company Random Dance. It premiered at Sadler’s Wells, London, on 9 October 2013.
Pink Floyd’s legendary guitarist David Gilmour will be performing a handful of dates at the iconic Albert Hall during October 2015. Two tickets are up for grabs for these sold out shows with proceeds going to the Liberty Choir, a prison rehabilitation project. The project brings together current and former Wandsworth Prison inmates with singers from MJ’s Choirs. In the prison, weekly sessions are available to inmates in 8-week programmes, and all participants are encouraged to continue singing with the choirs after their release. The project is run by MJ Paranzino, singer, composer and choir director, and her partner, the journalist and writer, Ginny Dougary. “It gives real hope and optimism … they don’t just come out of prison into a vacuum and the same temptations. This gives them at least one night a week with something to do where they feel valued, and they can join in with something artistic that is uplifting.” David Gilmour.
If you would like to bid for one of these tickets then click here
If you would like more information or would like to make a donation to the amazing work of the Liberty Choir then click here
MJ’s Liberty Choir programme is managed by a Community Interest Company called MJ’s Community Choirs. All income is used to benefit the community by delivering programmes in the prison and extending and developing the Liberty Choirs. (company number 8323037). One 8-week program costs £6500. £39,000 a year to enable continuous weekly sessions
Take a bit of the British music hall comedian Max Miller who was generally regarded as the greatest comic of his time. Blend with a touch of Gene Vincent, infuse with musical influences including jazz, rock and roll, funk, and reggae, Then overlay with poetry, word play, observations of everyday life, character sketches, and sexual humour. You end up with Ian Dury and the Blockheads. I was asked recently, “if I could bring a musician back from the depth of death to play a one off concert who would its be?” I ponder for a while and mentally went through the options Lennon, Marley, Joplin, Gaye, Mayfield, Hendrix, Cash, Morrison, etc. I settled for Ian Dury. After accidentally stumbling across his bio film, Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll it just reinforced what a special talent he was and that he never failed to make me smile. If you are unlucky enough not to have come across his classic album New Boots and Panties (1977) then it comes highly recommended. A masterclass. Dury died of metastatic colorectal cancer on 27 March 2000, aged 57. An obituary in The Guardian read: “one of few true originals of the English music scene” I wholeheartedly agree.
When touring Louis Armstrong wrote constantly, sharing favorite themes of his life. He avidly wrote on whatever stationery was at hand, recording instant takes on music, sex, food, childhood memories, his heavy “medicinal” marijuana use and even his bowel movements, which he gleefully described in graphic detail. He had a fondness for lewd jokes and dirty limericks. He made frequent use of laxatives as a means of controlling his weight, a practice he advocated both to personal acquaintances and in the diet plans he published under the title “Lose Weight the Satchmo Way”. His laxative of preference a herbal remedy called Swiss Kriss. He would extol its virtues to anyone who would listen and pass out packets to everyone he encountered, including members of the British Royal Family. He also appeared in cards that he had printed to send out to friends. The cards bore a picture of him sitting on a toilet, as viewed through a keyhole, with the slogan “Satch says, ‘Leave it all behind ya!'”
Jimi Hendrix with his 12 string acoustic guitar.
Irregular Frequencies 