Why I Don't Feel Excluded by Radio X
As a female I am clearly not in Radio X's highly publicised target demographic stated ahead of their launch a week ago; added to that the fact that I'm also nearly outside the upper age range of 25-44...
View ArticleFriends - I Was There
I was there. In June, 1994 I was among 10 writers who set out to write the series, Friends, created by David Crane and Marta Kaufman. If you had described to me at that moment how big Friends would...
View ArticleRadio's New Lease of Life in 2015
It's been a busy year in the radio industry. Zane Lowe left London for LA to set up Beats 1. Grimmy and Melvin got second jobs with Simon Cowell. Chris Evans brought TFI back and became a Top Gear...
View ArticleThe X Factor 2015 Bootcamp Show Two
Week one of Bootcamp had more drama than a month of Coronation Street. We witnessed drinking, tears, arguments an, of course, the occasional decent singer. 180 were through to Bootcamp, now just 93...
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No More Worries - 4 Stars
I've long extolled the merits of spoken word and Simon Mole has previous for pushing, twisting and manipulating the boundaries of the art form. His latest spoken word theatre piece, No More Worries,...
View ArticleNobody Does It Better? I Wouldn't Be So Sure Of That
Well, you can't help feeling that they got the wrong man for the job. Not only the wrong man, but in all likelihood also the wrong sex. Writing's on the Wall. It is indeed. Has been for a while now....
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Ireland on Screen: The Latest Blockbusters
Next month sees the release of The Lobster, which was filmed in Dublin and locations around county Kerry. The film starring Colin Farrell which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year...
View ArticleSome Things I've Learnt While Being a Moderately Busy Director...
1: I am not loaded! Not that I've been the most careful spender of money and it's true Ebay has been kept busy with a fair few idiotic and impulsive purchases of mine, but I don't have a spare room...
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Songwriting and Success: An Interview With Glen Hansard
Photo credit: Danny Clinch I first meet Glen Hansard by accident. We're both in the lobby of a private members club in Soho. I've arrived early while Glen is running late. The receptionist looks at us...
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10 Kids TV Shows From the 90s That Saved Me From a Life of Internet Notoriety
Kids' TV today isn't what it used to be - it's all CGI and 3D. Back in my day, the most exciting plot twist involved a character opening their lunch box only to realise that their mum had packed them...
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Why 'Drops of Breath' May Be the Ultimate Immersive Art Experience
Photo: Carolin Negrin for Drops of Breath There are few artist or performance collectives that can boast the ideals of true diversity - particularly in the realm of dance. Drops of Breath is a...
View ArticleEmbracing a New Mindset in Music Education
If, as conductor Marin Alsop said at the Last Night of the Proms, inequality is one of the greatest challenges facing us today, then music has a way to catch up. I've recently researched and written a...
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I Am Obsessed With Prince
I'll admit I'm a little bit obsessed with Prince, he's an enigma. The man is clearly a music legend, he's sold millions of records and has an army of adoring fans across the world. I play a lot of his...
View ArticleThe Teddy Bear with a Stiffy - A Review of 'More Lives than One'
When I opened Fergus Byrne's biography of Felix Dennis (More Lives Than One, Ebury, 2015), I knew precious little of his subject save for the Oz trial. Dennis was one of three defendants put on trial...
View ArticleHow On-Demand Is Changing the UK Film Industry
Although it's still business as usual for the UK film industry, changing audience demographics, tax reliefs, on-demand streaming and funding strategies are changing the day-to-day process of the way...
View ArticleHere's to All Those Women
The sad passing of icons such as Jackie Collins and Cilla Black hit me hard. These glamorous, bright, fiercely intelligent women who were legendary in their field, universally known but generally...
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Made In England, Loving France
Traditionally, American rock bands that couldn't make it big in the United States used to move to England. The idea was that in this smaller country, it would be easier for major record companies to...
View ArticleWhy Sherlock's Dr Watson, Martin Freeman, Is Wrong About Circus Animals
Martin Freeman, who plays Dr Watson in TV's Sherlock, is the latest celebrity to join forces with PETA in calling for a ban on circus animals. In a letter to prime Minister David Cameron, he said, "I'd...
View ArticleLet's Talk About X! Is It Wrong to Target a Male Radio Audience?
Amid the fanfare and publicity that saw the arrival of Radio X, there was more than a touch of discontent about the station's target audience and male presenter line up. The likes of Fiona Sturges...
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The Force Awakens: Star Wars, My Son and Me
A long time ago in a village far, far away, a young boy really wanted to see Star Wars. He was the only child at school not to have seen it, and as such faced constant ridicule from his peers....
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