Anton Corbijn's Control, which follows the last years of Ian Curtis before he killed himself on the eve of Joy Division's first US tour, won Best British Independent Film last night. The award ceremony was held at The Roundhouse in North London.
Sam Riley, who plays the iconic singer, was named Most Promising Newcomer and Anton Corbijn won Best Director for his first feature film.
Control, with a soundtrack including New Order, David Bowie, the Sex Pistols and Iggy Pop, also earned Corbijn the Best Debut Director title.
Toby Kebbell, as Joy Division's manager and Factory Records' Rob Gretton, won Best Supporting Actor.
"Created in 1998, The British Independent Film Awards set out to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, to honour new talent, and to promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public."
Material: manchestereveningnews.co.uk & bifa.org.uk
Twenty years after its original release, U2's The Joshua Tree has been remastered for release in a series of special formats. As well as a fourteen track bonus CD of b-sides and rarities, the 2007 release features a live concert DVD from Paris in 1987, liner notes from the band and producers, and previously unseen photos in a limited edition booklet.
The Joshua Tree, remastered from the original analogue tapes, began worldwide release this week. In 1987, the album reached #1 around the world, won a Grammy for Album of the Year, and Time magazine put the band on its cover, proclaiming them Rock's Hottest Ticket. The album went on to sell in excess of 20 million, and remains the band's best-selling album.
The Joshua Tree, produced and engineered by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, was the bands fifth studio album is widely considered to be their magnum opus.
"There has been continuous demand from U2 fans to have The Joshua Tree properly re-mastered," says Paul McGuinness. "As always, the band had to make sure it was right, and now it is."
Photo: Irv Dierdorff via joshuatreepictures.com
Material: u2.com & myspace.com/u2
After 18 years The Blow Monkeys return. Once again into the fray - all four original members. Dr Robert, songwriter/singer/guitarist, Neville Henry on saxophone, Mick Anker (he of the bowler hat and sideburns) on bass and Tony Kiley on drums.
A word from Robert: "The timing just felt right. Everybody in the band has carried on making music over the years but there's a chemistry when we play together. It was essential to everyone that we made something new - no nostalgia trip. Of course we will play the old songs too - we are really proud of what we achieved and those songs are still relevant, but we also have something new to say.
"In a way we are going back to the beginning...to a time when it was just the four of us playing in a room. We never really documented our sound. The nearest we came was our first album Limping For A Generation. We want to get back to that raw, experimental but melodic sound."
Fronted by Dr. Robert, The Blow Monkeys formed in 1981. In 1984, they released their interesting debut album which was characterized by a dark mood, and a mix of pop rock and new wave.
Their first hit would not come until 1986, with Waist High favorite "Digging Your Scene," from their second album Animal Magic.
The band released She Was Only A Grocer's Daughter in January of 1987, which contained "It Doesn't Have To Be This Way," and in 1989 a greatest hits compilation went to #5 in the UK.
The band called it quits in late 1990 shortly after the release of their fifth and last album, Springtime for the World.
Material: myspace.com/theblowmonkeys & wikipedia.org
After more than twenty years the long awaited release date for The Alarm - Spirit Of '86 DVD has finally arrived!
The Alarm - Spirit Of '86 concert, the legendary live worldwide broadcast, was first recorded in front of 25,000 Alarm fans at UCLA in Los Angeles on Apr. 12, 1986. The concert, with yours truly in attendance, was transmitted via a historic first-ever satellite transmission to millions of homes around the globe on MTV.
Previously only ever available in the immediate aftermath of the concert, the original video was subsequently withdrawn at the request of the band (who were unhappy with the original unmixed sound quality), and has been out of print for over twenty years.
The Alarm - Spirit Of '86 concert is now available as a special Collectors DVD/CD Digipak featuring a massive amount of content that took Mike Peters the best part of a decade to assemble after relentlessly searching for and eventually finding the original master tapes through the Capitol Records/MTV/Alarm archives.
The Alarm - Spirit Of '86 concert features a complete digital restoration of the original footage re-edited and enhanced into a modern 16:9 widescreen format plus a complete remix of the concert audio into both stereo and 5:1 formats.
The Special Edition Collectors Digipak also includes a full colour 12 page 85/86 Tour Program booklet and also includes a separate audio CD of the complete concert featuring for the first time ever the previously unreleased and legendary lost encore, "We Are The Light."
Special features include a previously unseen 1986 interview with Mike Peters and guitarist Dave Sharp plus the original MTV concert trailer and backstage feature, the Strength album TV advert and all Strength album UK/USA videos together with previously unseen footage of The Alarm in concert at Rutgers University in New Jersey on Mar. 11, 1986. The DVD also includes a restoration feature including a brand new interview with Mike Peters.
Included on the DVD is a special alternative acoustic concert soundtrack recorded by Mike Peters that has been synched to the original footage, providing a unique perspective on this historic Alarm performance.
Individual audio commentaries from all the original group members plus Alarm manager Ian Wilson provide a fascinating insight into the inner workings and dynamic of the band during this period in time.
The complete concert features the following songs:
Declaration/Marching On/Howling Wind/Knife Edge/Blaze Of Glory/Absolute Reality/Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?/Walk Forever By My Side/Spirit Of '76/Sixty Eight Guns/Strength/Knocking On Heaven's Door/We Are The Light
Click here to order.
Material: myspace.com/thealarm
The third album by Los Angeles band X is said to be Exene Cervenka's favorite. Much of the material, including the album's title track, was written in the aftermath of the tragic death of Cervenka's sister (Mary) in an automobile accident. The stark black & white cover art was also a reflection of the mood of the band, particularly Ms. Cervenka, during this difficult and painful time.
The overall sound of the record, produced by Ray Manzarek, still contains the hard-edged, fast paced punk rock that became the band's trademark, but a more country and blues sound had also emerged from the mournful period. The album even contains a rare X soft song, "Come Back to Me," done in a 1950s "doo-wop" style that is, once again, a tribute to Mary Cervenka. A fast-paced version of Lead Belly's song "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" done in a country-swing style was also a tribute to Mary.
The album opens with the great "The Hungry Wolf," features Waist High favorites "Blue Spark" and "How I (Learned My Lesson)," and closes with "The Have Nots," which was played on a jukebox tavern in a season 4 episode of The X Files titled Never Again.
X is one of Los Angeles native Waist High's all time favorite bands and an important band to the city of Los Angeles. X are widely considered one of the most accessible and tuneful of Los Angeles' many punk bands, and their landmark 1980 record Los Angeles resonated so loudly with the artisans of the city it is named after, that the band received an Official Certificate of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles in acknowledgment of their important contributions to Los Angeles music and culture.
Material: wikipedia.org
Chronological guide to the songs of Siouxsie and the Banshees now available
For sale through print on demand publishers lulu.com, Songs From the Edge of the World is an in depth, chronological look at every song that Siouxsie and the Banshees released or performed, as recorded by the press and the band themselves. The book includes artwork, photographs, release dates, chart positions, and reviews.
Says author Peter Routley: "Having dismissed the idea of a full-on biography I instead decided to focus on the reason that Siouxsie & The Banshees first caught my attention some 26 years ago, the songs.
"This is a great compendium of Siouxsie And The Banshees' career. The astounding collection within was collected with a great deal of passion and integrity, and streamlined for quick reference. The thoughts of the band members themselves on all of their songs, rarities included, is of great interest; not to be overlooked are the sweet boxes of trivia added in, tour listings and press reviews, discography, film credits, a listing of the many bands that have covered Siouxsie And The Banshees songs, and many great photos throughout their career."
Material: Carl Floyd via lulu.com, lulu.com, and myspace.com/theedgeoftheworldbook
Released in October of 1982, Friend or Foe was the first solo album by Adam Ant, released after Adam & the Ants disbanded. Friend or Foe became Adam Ant's most successful album, giving him the hit song "Goody Two Shoes" which peaked at #1 in the UK. Other hits from the album include "Desperate But Not Serious," the fan-loved "Place In The Country," and the title track.
A remastered version of the album was released in 2005, featuring 12 additional tracks.
Material: wikipedia.org
A cancer awareness group and a team of British and US musicians claim to have staged the world's highest concert - on the slopes of Mount Everest.
The US-based Love Hope Strength Foundation said the Everest Rocks concert was held at 18,540ft. Earlier, the group said it intends to register the performance with Guinness World Records.
Six musicians performed at the concert - Mike Peters of The Alarm, Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats, Cy Curnin and Jamie West of the Fixx, and Glenn Tilbrook and Nick Harper of Squeeze.
The group of more than 30 trekked to their performance site at Kalapathar hill, near the base camp used by mountaineers scaling Everest, on October 21.
"Today she (Everest) allowed our Love Hope Strength team to look at her charms from 18,540ft and to share with her some of our humble songs and to break the record for the world's highest concert on land," said Peters, a former cancer patient.
Before leaving for the mountain, organisers said money raised from the performance would be used to buy equipment for the Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital near Kathmandu.
The Colorado-based Love Hope Strength Foundation (LHSF) is an international charity with chapters in the US, UK and Australia. Founded by leukemia survivors Mike Peters of the Welsh rock band the Alarm and President of CSI Entertainment James Chippendale with the goal of providing all cancer patients with the same opportunities that they had, including access to information, quality cancer treatment and the best medication available. The Love Hope Strength Foundation (LHSF) raises funds and awareness for international cancer centers and networks through music-related events and promotions.
Material: The Press Association & lovehopestrength.org
