Last weekend I went to Cologne for a concert. This might seem an excessive indulgence for someone living in Kent, but you have to understand, this was Slapp Happy. Formed in 1972, the band has – to the best of my knowledge – played live just three times. The first was in London in 1982Read More
One of the most notorious of all film credits is that alleged for The Taming of the Shrew (USA 1929): “additional dialogue by Sam Taylor”. Sadly the credit line is a myth – certainly it’s not appeared on any print that I’ve seen – but it’s the gag that counts. It was the absurdity ofRead More
Next up in this occasional series on handy web resources is film databases. Everyone knows about the Internet Movie Database, which has reached such a state of majesty that it doesn’t just reflect the film industry, it helps drive it. But there are plenty of other film databases out there, some loyally documenting a nationalRead More
The former Labour MP Chris Mullin has published an autobiography called Hinterland. Its title comes from the argument, regularly made, that politicians ought to have a background beyond politics, to broaden their view of life. I don’t think it can be proven that having a rich back story inevitably makes you better at politics, norRead More