Celebcity: The Feeling, Bill & Ted, Genteel Dragon & The Big Art Secret
The Feeling are back in Brighton this month to play at the brilliant Concorde 2. We caught up with them to discuss Brighton memories before they bring hits such as ‘Never Be Lonely’ and ‘Fill My Little World’ to the coast on 24th March.
What are your favourite Brighton memories?
“Some of our first gigs were in Horatio’s on the end of the pier when we were teenagers. We had to get all the gear from the road to the end of the pier on a massive trolley, which took ages. Ciaran’s leg was in plaster, so he had to go on the trolley too!”
What’s special about a Brighton crowd?
“Three of us grew up in Sussex, so we’ve always got lots of friends and family at our Brighton gigs, which makes them special for us.”
What would be on your ‘Brighton’ Spotify playlist?
“Loads of mid-’90s grungy stuff. That’s what everyone was listening to and playing when we first gigged in Brighton, which is how I’ll always remember it.”
What can we expect from the upcoming tour?
“We always make sure we play the songs people know us for [Love It When You Call, Fill My Little World, Never Be Lonely], plus a good few songs from our new album, Boy Cried Wolf. The new songs sit really well alongside the others, and have been getting as good a reception as them too. It’s probably the best live set we’ve ever had.”
And finally – Palace Pier or West Pier?
“We’ve not done a gig underwater yet, which the West Pier would be ideal for now! Though a return to Horatio’s might be cool.”-
The UK’s first same-sex marriage
You may not know their names now but this Brighton couple will be going into the history books: Andrew Wale and Neil Allard are going to be the first ever same-sex couple to be married in the UK. Andrew and Neil, who have chosen the beautiful Royal Pavilion for their 00:01 wedding on April 1st, will be married as soon as the law legally allows. Wale, 49, explained: “I feel so lucky to live in a country where human rights and equality are moving in the right direction, and in a city with such an impressive history of tolerance and inclusion.” What with this and Brighton’s Pride festival all confirmed for August we’ve got a lot to look forward to in Brighton and Hove’s LGBT calendar!
The Big Art Secret 2
St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Eastbourne has just launched its second Big Art Secret exhibition at the Towner Gallery, featuring over 1,300 postcard sized pieces of art from local artists, international celebrities and many more.
Among the celebrities who have contributed artwork is English artist Grayson Perry, comedian Graham Norton, hospice patron and TV presenter David Dimbleby, TV personality Andrew Marr, 2012 Olympic gold medallist Katherine Grainger, actor and director Tom Conti, Squeeze member Chris Difford and many more. However, no one will know the name of the artist behind each piece until the auction ends on 23 March! www.stwhospice.org
Bogus journey
Alongside our Emma, cult film creation Bill & Ted celebrate their 25th birthday this year, with original film Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure å in 1989. The quarter-century old film franchise has a surprising link with our fair city with hilarious sequel – Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey – becoming the debut film of successful Brighton film-director Peter Hewitt back in 1991. The film marked the first in many successes for BAFTA-award-winning Hewitt – from TV series The Borrowers (remember that!) to the Rupert Grint fronted Thunderpants; just another reminder of the rich creativity our city has offered to the world! If we manage to squeeze it in around Emma’s celebrations we’ll be sure to raise a glass to Bill and Ted this month. Bodacious, dude!
Genteel Dragon
It looks like Brighton now boasts its own Bruce Lee, with local martial arts superstar Jake Sharpstone being awarded one the highest possible honours in the combat art.
Jake now ranks as one of the most elite ‘Ninjutsu’ fighters in the world – ranking even higher than Chuck Norris, Jet Li and Bruce Lee himself! The Brighton-based lighting technician is known by his warrior name ‘Genteel Dragon’ and has received the rank of ‘15th dan’ (‘really, really good’ to you and me) from grand master Maasaki Hatsumi – he of very trendy purple hair. Speaking to The Daily Star about his role as Brighton’s biggest kick-ass, Jake explained: “Part of Ninjutsu is secrecy. It would not be very secret of me to walk through the streets of Brighton covered head-to-toe in black.” What a shame – we’d love a local street-ninja!
