Metal band Okilly Dokilly frontman Head Ned explains that to sing like Ned Flanders, one must “channel everything that is not Ned Flanders — all the pent-up hatred from never getting your power tools back, from trips to the post office, from constant encounters with foot-longs — you take it and you push that with the diaphragm and from there you can scream all the diddilies that you want”
Pink Floyd’s “Great Gig in the Sky” Played On The Theremin
Great songs don’t always need words. “The Great Gig in the Sky” from Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, by Richard Wright and Clare Torry, played on theremin, an early electronic instrument controlled without contact.
John Cleese “Why There Is No Hope” Canadian Tour Launching May 5
Legendary comedic actor John Cleese (Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers and A Fish Called Wanda) will embark on a 13-city Canadian tour this May, presenting an evening of humour and political insights in Why There is No Hope. Described as part lecture and part stand-up comedy, Why There Is No Hope sees Cleese put his signature keen-minded, humanistic, comedic observational spin on the dysfunctional world we live in. The tour comes on the heels of the re-release of Monty Python’s Life of Brian in theatres on April 18 in commemoration of the film’s 40th anniversary.
John Cleese’s Why There is No Hope is a presentation of Unique Lives & Experiences; tour dates are as follows:
● Halifax – Sunday, May 5 – Scotiabank Centre
● Saint John – Tuesday, May 7 – Harbour Station Arena
● Charlottetown – Thursday, May 9 – Eastlink Centre
● St. John’s – Friday, May 10 – Mile One Arena
● Toronto – Monday, May 13 – Roy Thomson Hall
● Kitchener – Tuesday, May 14 – Centre in the Square
● London – Thursday, May 16 – Budweiser Gardens
● Regina – Wednesday, May 22 – Conexus Arts Centre
● Saskatoon – Thursday, May 23 – Sid Buckwold Theatre
● Vancouver – Saturday, May 25 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
● Edmonton – Monday, May 27 – Northern Jubilee Auditorium
● Calgary – Wednesday, May 29 – Jack Singer Concert Hall
● Victoria – Monday, June 3 – Royal Theatre
John Cleese first made his mark as a member of the legendary Monty Python troupe in the 1960s and has gone on to write, produce, direct and star in some of the greatest comedic hits of the last forty years, even receiving an Oscar nomination for best screenplay for A Fish Called Wanda. But John is far from your garden variety entertainer. From the beginning of his career he has continually parlayed his enormous talents into advancing the political causes he believes in. In 2014, John released his New York Times best-selling memoir, So Anyway… which shares his ascent in the entertainment world, from his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town and his early comedic days at Cambridge University.
For 25 years, Toronto’s Unique Lives & Experiences has specialized in promoting ‘live’ lecture entertainment, bringing celebrity speakers with diverse opinions, profound insights and fascinating life stories to audiences across North America. From world leaders to political figures and distinguished journalists to Hollywood Celebrities, Unique Lives’ goal is to showcase inspirational stories with a unique perspective.
The 1975, Ghetts, Jorja Smith and Arctic Monkeys among Ivor Novello nominees
The nominees for this year’s Ivor Novello Awards have been announced, with The 1975, Ghetts, Jorja Smith and Arctic Monkeys among the nominees for the top awards.
“The works nominated for The Ivors 2019 are brilliantly diverse, and we’re delighted to see so many first-time nominees recognised”, says Ivors Academy Chair Crispin Hunt. “As the only peer-nominated music award in the country, they are a fantastic reflection of the exciting emerging talent of British and Irish music creators today”.
The winners will be announced at Grosvenor House in London on 23 May. Here are all the nominees.
Best Song Musically And Lyrically: Arctic Monkeys – Four Out Of Five (Alex Turner), Ben Howard – Nica Libres At Duck (Ben Howard), Hozier – Nina Cried Power (Hozier)
Best Contemporary Song: Ghetts – Black Rose (Ghetts, Kojey Radical, Daniel Miles, JoJo Mukeza, Jaime Naldo Menezes), Jorja Smith – Blue Lights (Guy Bonnet, Dizzee Rascal, Roland Romanelli, Jorja Smith), The 1975 – Love It If We Made It (George Daniel, Adam Hann, Matthew Healy, Ross MacDonald)
PRS For Music Most Performed Work: Jax Jones – Breathe (Jax Jones, Ina Wroldsen), George Ezra – Shotgun (George Ezra Barnett, Fred, Joel Pott), Rudimental – These Days (Julian Bunetta, Dan Caplen, Macklemore, John Ryan, Jamie Scott)
Best Album: Young Fathers – Cocoa Sugar (Kayus Bankole, Graham Hastings, Alloysious Massaquoi), Let’s Eat Grandma – I’m All Ears (Jenny Hollingworth, Rosa Walton), Idles – Joy As An Act of Resistance (Jonathan Beavis, Mark Bowen, Adam Devonshire, Lee Kiernan, Joseph Talbot)
Best Original Film Score: American Animals (Anne Nikitin), Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Daniel Pemberton)
Best Television Soundtrack: Flowers Series 2 (Arthur Sharpes), Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (Clint Mansell), Requiem (Natasha Khan, Dominik Scherrer)
Best Original Video Game Score: Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (Michael Georgiades, Joe Henson, Alexis Smith), QUBE 2 (David Housden), Sea Of Thieves (Robin Beanland)
Wannabe Managers – Check Out This New Podcast From The Music Managers Forum
How Did You Manage That is a series which delves into the world of music management. Every episode Ally McCrae & Sophie Paluch will be sitting down to chat with a music manager about their career. They’ll be talking to managers of global superstars as well as those just starting out on their journey and discussing the highs, the lows and everything in-between. How Did You Manage That is brought to you by The Music Managers Forum (MMF) and sponsored by AWAL.
Touré Speaks With Corey Glover — I Am the Cult Of Personality
Corey Glover is the lead singer of the biggest Black rock band that ever lived – Living Colour. He’s got stories to tell about band chaos, gigging in the south, and shooting “Platoon” with Charlie Sheen.
BBC Arts’ Orkestra Obselete play New Order’s “Blue Monday” using 1930s instruments
New Order’s Blue Monday was released on 7 March 1983, and its cutting-edge electronic groove changed pop music forever. But what would it have sounded like if it had been made 50 years earlier? In a special film, using only instruments available in the 1930s – from the theremin and musical saw to the harmonium and prepared piano – the mysterious BBC Arts’ Orkestra Obselete present this classic track as you’ve never heard it before.
The Growing Popularity Of Musical Bingo
You have to hand it to bingo, it’s a game which has been around for centuries and it still to this day manages to hold its own in the entertainment industry. A lot of bingo’s success is down to it embracing change and technology, moving with the times to appeal to an ever-changing audience. As a result, bingo has audiences that enjoy the excitement of bingo halls to now being able to play 24/7 online as well as via mobile apps with mFortune and other popular brands. Furthermore, we have also witnessed different variants of bingo born over the years too, with one type rapidly growing in popularity.
Musical bingo is a whole new way of playing one of the world’s best loved games, with many describing it as the “after-dark version” of the classic game. It works by replacing numbers on bingo cards with song titles instead, and this variant of the game has managed to have a big impact already.
While classic bingo provides a great interactive experience, which is also a superb social occasion, musical bingo manages to take things up to a whole new level, with it arguably being even more of an interactive attraction. The first instances of musical bingo took place in pubs and bars, ideal venues as they’re both well known for music. Pubs and bars are also known for attracting teams to take part in quizzes, which have been popular for years, and musical bingo therefore works in a very similar way and has a very similar effect.
It’s not just pubs and bars where musical bingo has managed to have an impact, but with nightclubs as well. It’s been known for musical bingo to take place in trendy clubs, with partygoers ticking off songs they hear on the cards provided throughout the night, with prizes such as drinks tokens and VIP entry up for grabs. Musical bingo manages to create totally interactive experiences, regardless of where it’s played, and that’s one of the reasons why its growth is continuing in an upward trajectory.
Furthermore, musical bingo is also proving popular at retirement homes as well, and while it does once again provide great entertainment. It’s also proving useful when it comes to improving memory capacity too. Classic bingo has been a long time favourite game to be played in senior’s homes around the world today, but by adding music to the equation, players are asked to recall the titles of songs they may not have heard for a good few years, which is incredibly beneficial.
You could say that bingo at times has needed fresh life breathing into it, and what better way than by introducing music into the mix? Music appeals to people of all ages, and so does fun, excitement, and the thought of winning. It’s hard to see the popularity of musical bingo waning, especially when it can be played in pubs, bars, nightclubs, retirement homes, and even at birthday parties and other social occasions. It’s an easy game to create and organise too, making it even better.
What Went Into the Making of the Song “We Are The World”
In 1985 Africa was going through a severe famine our world news was full of horrific scenes of starved people. American artists came to together and sang a powerful song that saw them raise over $60 million that went to several countries.
Writing and producing
Harry Belafonte and talent manager Ken Kragen had the idea to gather black artists to perform in a charity concert for Africa. They brought Lionel Richie to help write an original song and got Quincy Jones to agree to produce it, and he brought Michael Jackson.
The famous lyrics “We are the world, we are the children” are Lionel Richie’s work. The bulk of the song’s lyrics were Michael Jackson’s work. Quincy Jones recorded the music before recording the vocals.
The arrangement of the song and singers
The song has two stanzas, a chorus, and a rousing bridge. Seven soloists sang in the first verse, and three soloists brought in the second verse. Each of the soloists has unique voices and Quincy Jones who orchestrated their positions in the choir. He wrote everyone’s name on tape and stuck it to the floor.
The song is about 7 minutes long because it had to be the right length for radio play, yet still long enough to feature as many celebrity soloists as possible. Fortunately, the stars were respectful of Quincy Jones and ditched their demanding personalities before coming to record.
USA for Africa ran on a tight schedule and took a month to complete. All the stars came to Los Angeles in January, for the American Music Awards, and after the ceremonies, went to A&M Studios for the recordings, a period of roughly twelve hours.
Many Americans, corporate bodies like Washington Lawn Mowing Services, colleges, universities among others were called upon to help raise money.
Trivia tidbits
Prince did not participate. He turned down the invitation to join on this charity song, but he contributed a song for the benefit album, called “4 The Tears In Your Eyes”.
Bruce Springsteen was the first non-white artist to join the project. His presence and enthusiastic involvement helped the other rock artists to follow suit.
Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson sat through several national anthems in a bid to create a song that would sound familiar to many people.
Cyndi Lauper’s jewelry caused a disturbance by jingling into the microphone.
How did the benefit song perform?
The single was released in March and sold out the first shipment of 800,000 singles. A month later, in April, the song was #1 for four weeks in the United States, and it was #1 for two weeks in the United Kingdom. The single rose to #1 on the R&B chart in May for two weeks.
Conclusion
“We Are The World” won Grammy awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. , and a remake of the charity song was made to give aid to Haiti. To this day, it is still an anthem for assisting stricken countries.
Songwriting Legend, Stan Rogers, and Maritime Masterpiece “Peter’s Dream” by Lennie Gallant to be Inducted to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame
Celebrating Canada’s greatest songwriters and songs, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) partners with the 31st annual East Coast Music Awards (ECMA) to honour the legacy of a national music icon and enduring Maritime ballad. The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the induction of musical storyteller Stan Rogers, and the induction for the song, Peter’s Dream, by 18-time ECMA winner Lennie Gallant, who is also confirmed as a performer at this year’s ECMAs in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
After the ECMAs, music fans from across Canada and the world can see inductees celebrated through exhibitions at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, in Calgary. As the physical home of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the National Music Centre will continue to honour new inductees through on-site exhibitions, featuring stories, photos, artifacts, and memorabilia.
“I am deeply honoured to have Peter’s Dream inducted to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. It means the world to me that so many people have covered this song and were moved by it,” said Lennie Gallant. “There is no greater reward for a songwriter than to have a song take on a life of its own, and that certainly seems to have happened with Peter’s Dream. Songwriting is my passion, so to have one of my songs added to this amazing Canadian collection is something I’ll always treasure.”
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame will present Stan Rogers’s induction to his family and widow, Ariel Rogers, with a performance by JUNO-winning artist, Old Man Luedecke. The song induction for Peter’s Dream will be presented to Lennie Gallant, and performed by hometown folk-pop singer Rose Cousins. Both inductions will be part of the East Coast Music & Industry Awards on Sunday, May 5th beginning at 7:30pm ADT in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Stan Rogers was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and absorbed the sounds of traditional music while spending summers in his mother’s hometown of Canso, Nova Scotia. Rogers gained national prominence playing his own folk-roots compositions for CBC Radio and on “Celtic Godfather” John Allan Cameron’s popular TV show. In the 1970s he appeared (often with his brother Garnet) at such prestigious events as the Mariposa and Winnipeg Folk Festivals, winning over audiences nationwide with his authentic celebrations of Canadian culture and experience. Rogers wrote dozens of memorable songs, often ship- or history-related, from The Nancy, about a Great Lakes naval battle during the War of 1812, to the more contemporary Make and Break Harbour. There was also his Bluenose – symbol of his beloved Nova Scotia – and The Wreck of the Athens Queen. But his songs also explored the West (Field behind the Plow), the North (Northwest Passage) and Ontario (White Squall), making him a truly national folk bard.
“Northwest Passage” (1981) was Rogers’s last studio album before his life was cut prematurely short. He tragically died at age 33 on June 2, 1983 aboard an airplane, as he was returning home from performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. Since his death several albums of earlier material have been released, allowing his immense talent to live on.