Month: May 2020

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Chromatica by Lady Gaga (June 2020)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

OUT: 29/5/20

TRACKLIST: Chromatica I; Alice; Stupid Love; Rain On Me; Free Woman; Fun Tonight; Chromatica II; 911; Plastic Doll; Sour Candy; Enigma; Replay; Chromatica III; Sine From Above; 1000 Doves; Babylon

Madonna will be fuming at our Mother Monster (or the ‘monsta’ from ‘monstagigz’) as final track Babylon draws on Madge’s hit Vogue and with it Gaga crowns a triumphant and euphoric return to pop’s dancefloor.

  • Read on for reasons including where Gaga is due to play in London next

LIVE REVIEW: Beverley Knight via Leave A Light On

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? online at Leave A Light On RUNTIME: missed 20 minutes, saw 25

WHEN? 29/5/20

I haven’t seen my mum since lockdown, our phone call lasts longer than I expected and I miss the first 20 minutes of the finale of this 10-week musical theatre livestream fundraising triumph.

  • Read on for reasons including how to see Knight in the West End next

Read More

PREVIEW: 9 reasons why we can’t/couldn’t wait for June (2020) starring Lady Gaga

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

  1. Lady Gaga’s Chromatica album

This blog was named in part after ‘Mother monster’ and album number six features single Stupid Love and Ariana Grande duet Rain On Me. Chromatica‘s release was postponed from April and is now due to be unleashed 29/5. Tickets for her Chromatica Ball at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London are still onsale for July although it looks likely to be postponed.

  • Read on for reasons including Will Ferrell Eurovision film, Bertie Carvel festival, Old Vic podcast and Lena Philipsson album

Read More

SONG OF THE WEEK: Rain On Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande (week beginning 22/5/20)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

OUT: now

Lockdown might mean there’s a great deal of life people are missing out on but dealing with it by declaring ‘bring it on’ through gritted teeth might be the best way to sum up the sentiment here.

  • Read on for reasons including everything we know about Gaga’s Chromatica LP out soon

Read More

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Okta by KEiiNO (May 2020)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

OUT: now

TRACKLIST: Take Me Home; Black Leather; Would I Lie To You?; Spirit In The Sky; Dancing In The Smoke; Roar Like A Lion; Praying; Colours; Louder; Bed With The Wolf

A year ago in Tel Aviv Norwegian trio KEiiNO won the Eurovision Song Contest televote eventually finishing sixth overall with our favourite song of that year’s competition, the soaraway pop smash Spirit In The Sky.

  • Read on for reasons including our thoughts on this album’s four new tracks

Read More

MINI ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch by Fat Rascal Theatre (May 2020)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

OUT: now

TRACKLIST: Nasty; We Didn’t Make It To Disney; Unfortunate; Female Role Models; To Be King

‘My mother ate my father with lemon, lightly fried’ is a line from our titular protagonist Ursula in a parody musical that we’ve yet to see but are loving this song selection from.

  • Read on for reasons including what Fat Rascal Theatre is doing next – Covid-19 permitting

Read More

Top 5 Greatest Eurovision Winners of the 21st Century

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

  1. Loreen Euphoria (Sweden, 2012)

‘We’re going up, up, up, up, up, up!’ Euphoria is a song which is well-titled. A number 3 hit in the UK, it was also memorably performed in a Kate Bush-fashion ripe for lampooning years later in best interval act ever Love, Love, Peace, Peace. The song itself is a credible piece of electro pop which only narrowly missed out on our greatest ever winners list but did make it to the Melodifestivalen top 5.

  • Read on for reasons including Conchita rising like a phoenix, a fairytale and some flying on the wings of love

Read More

SONG OF THE MONTH: Te Amo España by Divine Comedy (May 2020)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

OUT: available to watch on YouTube

‘One day when the lockdown is over, We’ll get on the ferry at Dover, We’ll drive down to Spain, to say: ‘Hola!’ again, Te amo, Te amo España.’ Derry boy and Divine Comedy frontman Neil Hannon has Eurovision form.

  • Read on for reasons including how to vote in the Isolation Song Contest

Read More

Top 5: Greatest Eurovision Runners-Up Ever

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

  1. Verka Serduchka Dancing Lasha Tumbai (Ukraine 2007)

We were at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki in 2007 when this had the misfortune of following immediately after eventual winner Molitva by Marija Šerifović. We hadn’t fancied it much before we left London for Finland but when we arrived it was clear what a fan favourite it was. Multiple key changes, a riot in Bacofoil and a simple, insistent hook, it defeated Šerifović in a recent Eurovision Again vote. ‘Let’s speak dance!’

  • Read on for reasons including the UK’s greatest runner-up, Chiara and why Selma was All Out Of Luck

Read More