Liza Minnelli's Latest Comeback

Originally published on www.sosogay.co.uk

With an Oscar, an Emmy, multiple Tony Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award under her belt and over 50 years in the business that is show, Liza Minnelli is the definition of the term ‘living legend’.

Not content with sitting out her later years on a vast yacht in the baking sun telling stories about all the other greats she’s known – such as her mother, her father, Frank Sinatra or Sammy Davies Jr. – Liza continues to keep busy, and this year is no exception as she brings her celebrated gifts to the London stage for a one-night-only performance on March 1^.

Minnelli will be performing at the Royal Festival Hall in London as part of the Southbank Centre’s ‘Berlin in the 20s and 30s’ weekend, where she will perform songs from the legendary Cabaret, jazz standards and Broadway tunes. However, as she mentioned in The Telegraph, she’s still re-writing the show, so who knows what could happen.

The performance at the Royal Festival Hall will be her first performance at the venue since 1973, when she performed her renowned Emmy Award winning show Liza with a Z there.

The weekend will also see a screening of Cabaret, which celebrates its 41^st birthday this year and marks the 40^th anniversary of Minnelli’s Oscar win for her performance of Sally Bowles.

Aside from her one night engagement in London, this year appears to mark another comeback in the life of the legendary performer. With scheduled performances at the New York City Town Hall alongside Alan Cumming, a performance at the State Theatre’s 25^th annual benefit gala in May, a return to acting with a guest appearance as herself in TV shows Smash and Arrested Development and even, according to an interview with The Huffington Post, a new album in the works, it looks like Liza may be doing a few more appearances this year. Well here’s hoping she does.

Review: Rita Ora - Radioactive

Originally published on www.sosogay.co.uk

Not content with having chart domination throughout the majority of 2012 with a number one album, two solo number one singles and another as a featured artist, Rita Ora is back with her fourth solo single and from the sounds of it she may get her another top ten.

Opening with a slow build up of dance music, which is slightly different to her previous releases, ‘Radioactive’ focuses on the vocals of the London-based singer before breaking into an eclectic mix of dance music that appears to be inspired by chart hits from the 90s to now.

The song itself seems a little darker than her previous singles and makes you feel like you should be dancing-till-you-drop in the darkest corner of a seedy nightclub somewhere. Although the verses are a little slower than her other singles, there’s no denying the shouty and chanting chorus will have everyone dancing along in the coming weeks.

We’re also treated to a mini musical breakdown towards the end of the track before Ora returns to the song telling everyone that ‘we rise tonight’ and to ‘unite’.

Rita Ora is a musically eclectic breath of fresh air with her mix of many dance inspirations coupled with R&B, and is most definitely on her way to becoming the British equivalent of Rihanna. However, it has to be pointed out that she has a much better voice that her bad girl counterpart.

All in all this is an excellent dance song that will have people moving around until the small hours for quite some time. With ‘Radioactive’ she definitely has another hit on her hands.

These Pharaohs are certainly anywhere but the grave

Pharaohs from the Grave are a new upcoming alternative punk rock band based in London, who have been described as anything but a generic rock and roll act. And after hearing two tracks from the band I can genuinely say they certainly aren’t generic.

The band are a great mix of heavy guitars and drums mixed with excellent vocals by Emily ‘Wolf’ O, who displays tinges of early Shirley Manson and Gwen Stefani with a little bit of punk icon Patti Smith sprinkled on top for good measure.

Considering they cite people such as Garbage and No Doubt as influences I’m not surprised. The two tracks I listened to, ‘Higher’ and ‘Success’ both show what this band is good at, great rock music that hasn’t been around the charts for awhile.

I only got to hear two tracks from the bands EP but I can’t wait to hear what else this band can come out with.

Check them out at: http://www.pharaohsfromthegrave.co.uk

Seriously ...

I just have to say, what is wrong with children/teenagers???

Now I know I'm only 21 but I can honestly say I was no where near as bad as some kids around at this very moment in time.

Only last week we saw images of numerous children under the age of 16 jumping on board the rioting band wagon in the hope of stealing some new trainers or to simply just smash something up ... seriously what the hell is that all about?

Numerous people said during the riots said they were doing it because there was nothing for them, so because there is 'nothing for them' they decided to smash up what ever was left, smart move! But after seeing a lot of these young criminals in the newspapers quite a few did have something going for them, such as the girl who was an ambassador for the Olympics ... Seriously how can she say that there's nothing go for her?

Only yesterday I was walking into town when something smashed into the side of my leg, which I assume was a tomato after there were seeds all over my leg. The culprits were a group of about 10-15 kids aged between about 12 and 15, who soon ran away after throwing the ever dangerous tomato. 

Now as you can assume I was fuming and rightly so, but what if it hadn't been a fruit? What if had been a brick?

If it had been a brick and it had caught me in the head then I think I can safely say I wouldn't be writing this right now. No doubt these were probably the sort of 15-year-olds who joined the rioting Facebook groups that were promptly shut down last week.

I seriously do not know what is wrong with young people today, and they are giving the remainder of young people a bad reputation. Now I was no saint when I was 15 but I didn't go around throwing things at people and smashing things up! I wouldn't have dared because my mother would have killed me to be quite honest and i think that's is the problem with these idiotic children now, their parents.

They seriously need to learn how to discipline their kids because one day it will be a brick and someone will end up dead ... and whose fault will that be?

Media Graduates

So after finishing University I was under the impression that finding a job wouldn’t be as hard as it has turned out to be, call it pre-uni naivety but I honestly didn’t think it would be as hard as it is.

Now like most graduates I’ve applied for nearly every job I’ve seen, as I check the job website’s on a daily basis. Now the responses that I’ve received from the places that I’ve applied for pretty much all say the same thing, and that is you aren’t experienced enough.

Now here is where it gets annoying, as a media graduate the only way I can get a job is by having experience and the only way I can gain experience is by having a job, so basically like most media graduates I’m stuck in a catch 22 situation. However there is interning.

Now interning all sounds good because it looks good on your CV and you get to gain experience, but just think about it, if you take part in a one year internship which will most likely be unpaid because the majority of them are, then you helping the company that you're interning at for free, so they get away with not having to employ an extra person.

Now I don’t seem to think this is fair, because people seem to think it is fine to make people intern for free in the media or fashion worlds, but you wouldn’t expect a nursing graduate to work unpaid for a whole year so that they can gain the experience would you?

Now I know students who study nursing take part in placements whilst at University, but I also took part in a work placement, and I’ve done other work placements outside of University, and all the assignments that I did must count for something right?

It just seems really unfair, especially when about 80% of internships are in London. So that would mean working in London unpaid and holding down another job in order to stay alive, so basically unless you already live in London or your parents have money then you are screwed.

Now I’m aware this just sounds like a huge rant but it is something that genuinely frustrates me, how people want you to work for free to help you gain experience, when in actual fact it is just so they can get around actually paying someone to do the same job, therefore saving themselves money!

How wonderful :/