Keighley and Ilkley Liberal Democrat Website (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009
The above is the national motto of Belgium, and means "strength through unity". A few years ago, the then Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt said, “Belgium is the laboratory of European unification”. I have long had great respect for Belgium, and her contributon to the European Project. As a student of the history of the EU, I well know the hard work and vision of people like Paul-Henri...
Am i the only one who thinks things sound more romantic...more...mysterious in a different language? say...Jacques Brel - Ne Me Quitte Pas Ne me quitte pas Il faut oublier Tout peut s'oublier Qui s'enfuit deja Oublier le temps Des malentendus Et le temps perdu A savoir comment Oublier ces heures Qui tuaient parfois A coups de pourquoi Le coeur du bonheur Ne me quitte pas Now as Jacques Brel - Don't...
Just a quick reminder that Anthony Reynolds , formerly of this parish (oh, he's back again), will be performing Syd Barrett songs at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff (Saturday, 14 November, 9pm). I'm a big fan of Reynolds' Jacques Brel-esque oeuvre so I'm curious to see how he'll tackle Barrett's particular brand of English psychedelia. I understand the songs will be given a classical emphasis. Intriguing....
Yes, I was amazed to see on Roy Evans Burstiner's blog the photo of Jacques Brel. I've been trying to remember his name for months as I'd like to download some of his music from iTunes. I don't know what he sings about-probably politics and love- but he sings with passion and conviction and has a voice so powerful it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I know he isn't a native of France,...
Time for some new music, after a week of looking back. There's a new single (album coming up) from Isabelle Boulay , dedicated to the fall. Chanson pour les mois d'hiver isn't Les feuilles mortes (there's a tad more sunlight), but a grown-up, solid song that steers on the right side of mainstream to appeal to me. Clara plume (pictured) is, like Luciole for instance, a slammeuse (a young poet that...
Here are three videos of Carousel rehearsals last month at Music Bank in the Tower Bridge Business Complex in which I sang through -- for the first time with real musicians -- three Jacques Brel songs arranged by David Coulter and Mike Smith, and translated by me (you can read my translations, two of which were made specially for this performance, beside the videos as they appear on YouTube). The band...
This was a 7" Bowie single from 1973. "Sorrow" comes from Bowie's Pin-Ups LP, his album of cover versions from 1973. The song "Sorrow" was written by Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer. It was first recorded by The McCoys and became a big hit in the United Kingdom in a version by The Merseys in 1966. Bowie's remake of "Sorrow" was the only single...
Carousel: The Songs of Jacques Brel Featuring Arno, Marc Almond, Diamanda Galás, Arthur H, Momus, Camille O'Sullivan - Barbican, 22 October 2009 Is any excuse really necessary for performing Brel songs? This year would have seen his 80th birthday which...
An oddly shambolic concert took place at the Barbican tonight in what was supposed to be a show to highlight the music of Jaques Brel and his ongoing influence on musicians. Instead we had a band that drowned out the singers, half the singers sounding as if they had spent a bit too long at the bar, and a concert that looked and sounded like it needed to have a tech run and a rehearsal. Some people...
My full-spectrum dominance of the UK press continues as I tell the New Statesman how the love affair between me and Jacques Brel began, and land a jabby scissor-kick on Blair's press secretary Alastair Campbell... Read on... By the way, if you were thinking of coming to see me, Marc Almond, Diamanda Galás and others singing Brel at The Barbican next Thursday, you're too late; I'm told it's sold...
Nick Currie, aka the artist and performer Momus, was struck by the music of Jacques Brel from an early age. Here, he pays tribute to the “industrialist of song”
If you’re wanting to really enjoy some melancholia, and you’re a hopeless romantic like myself, it’s hard to beat “Ne Me Quitte Pas” by the Flemish/Belgian/French Jacques Brel. It’s the number one song on my self-pity list. My friend Hayley reminded me of the song recently on Facebook. I hadn’t realized how awful the English [...]
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