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Showing posts from April, 2012

Interview with Elly Fiorentini - BBC Radio York

  In the run up to Saturday's book signing at Waterstones in Harrogate, here's this afternoon's chat with Elly Fiorentini at BBC Radio York . We ramble on in true local radio style about  Frank's Wild Years , Ted Lewis, Mike Hodges and a bunch of other gangstery stuff. I'm first up -  just after the Simply Red track (in which Charlie Drake witters on about fairgrounds and the thought of coming home). It's about 8mins50.

Crime in the Library - With TV4 Change

For anyone who couldn't make it along to Cleethorpes Library last Thursday evening to witness Nick Quantrill and myself talking crime fiction and reading from The Late Greats and Frank's Wild Years , here's a brief snapshot of the evening courtesy of North East Lincolnshire's Channel 7/ TV4Change project. Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who came along, contributed to the Q&A, bought books. And of course to Chris Johnson from Tv4Change for the clip. Click here   for the link.

NEW MUSIC: The Savage Nomads

The Savage Nomads ... 'hungry and on the move' I have to confess, I know very little about this band. Other than they're from London, they're named after a New York street gang from the late 60s and when Gideon Coe played their new single Tension in the Middle  on Thursday night, it hit the spot. Reminds me a little of The Foals from a couple of years back, and there's a Talking Headsy groove and a nod to Mark E Smith. The video  for Tension in the Middle is sublime. London's Southbank just being beautiful. The album Coloured Clutter came out last year. For the rest, I'll leave it to a few press quotes from one or two names you might recognise.   'This year’s best debut album from a British band’   Artrocker Magazine 'I can’t think of anyone better than The Savage Nomads to rock the whole world' Mick Jones, The Clash 'The country’s most un-English sounding band, singer Cole channels his inner David Byrne, but m

REVIEW: Daz's Short Book Reviews - Frank's Wild Years

Darren Sant puts Frank through his paces. Click the pic for the link.

VISUAL ARTS: Linda Ingham – Open Series: meditations on place, self and time

Open Series - Self Portrait The first time I wrote about Linda Ingham’s work was for the (sadly defunct) Article Magazine in 2009. Back then, Linda was publicising Open Pores, the launch platform for the much larger Pore Project : some 200-plus works derived from representations of the human face - mostly the faces of friends, acquaintances and volunteers, with some self-portraits. On the eve of Linda’s new show at Caistor’s 28 Plough Hill we met at the artist’s Cleethorpes Studio. The first thing that strikes you about the works are their openness. There’s an honesty that makes them instantly engaging. This isn’t simply a case of every picture telling a story; the viewer’s own readings of the work are guided by the artist creating layers of meaning. So much so that the works welcome an almost literary interpretation. With self-portraiture the focus of Linda’s work, does she feel the revelation of herself, often in an unflattering light, demands a degree of courage?

INTERVIEW: 'Debut Novel is Tale of a Changing Man'

Interesting headline - I never mentioned Weller, honest guv, not once. I was too busy trying to find interesting ways to explain the 'story behind' the novel without falling back on stock answers or risking plot spoilers. So, Frank is a 'changing man'. Aren't we all? Click HERE  for a link to the interview.