ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Bunny Mode by Jaguar Jonze (June 2022)

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

TRACKLIST: Know My Name; Who Died And Made You King; Swallow; Drawing Lines; Trigger Happy; Loud; Little Fires; Cut; Not Yours; Man-made Monster

Little Fires was the jury winner in this year’s Eurovision selection show Australia Decides and it was our pick too thanks to its Beatles/Radiohead vibe springing into uptempo angst.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is good enough to find an international audience
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9 best acts at Glastonbury Festival 2022 starring Pet Shop Boys

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

This was the 1st Glastonbury Festival since 2019, the 1st 1 since it turned 50 years old in 2020 – and it didn’t disappoint.

  • Read on for reasons including Pet Shop Boys, Kalush Orchestra, Diana Ross and Pam Ayres
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PREVIEW: 9 acts we’re most looking forward to at Glastonbury Festival 2022

  1. Diana Ross (Pyramid Stage 4 to 5.15pm Sunday

Her Thank You Tour is currently making its way around the UK with a setlist including I’m Coming Out, Baby Love, Stop! In The Name Of Love, You Can’t Hurry Love, Chain Reaction, Upside Down and Why Do Fools Fall In Love? This is promising to be a legends slot to remember for many years to come.

  • Read on for reasons including Pet Shop Boys, Years and Years and Wet Leg
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THEATRE REVIEW: Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World at Theatre Royal Stratford East

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Saturday 18 June (matinee), running to 17 July 2022 RUNTIME: 85 minutes (no interval) UPDATE: Transfers to the Other Palace Theatre 20 July through 8 September 2024 Tickets

11-year-old schoolgirl Jade gets lost in a museum on a school trip and stumbles across a secret Gallery of Greatness where she encounters the titular Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World.

  • Read on for reasons including how songwriter Miranda Cooper has co-written number 1s for Sugababes and Girls Aloud
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PREVIEW: 9 reasons why we can’t wait for July 2022 starring Sister Act and Beverley Knight

  1. Sister Act starring Beverley Knight and Jennifer Saunders at the Eventim Apollo

Knight (The Drifters Girl, Garrick Theatre) steps in for original star Whoopi Goldberg and leads a stellar cast including the hilarious Jennifer Saunders (Blithe Spirit, Harold Pinter Theatre), amazing Keala Settle (& Juliet, Shaftesbury Theatre) and fabulous Lizzie Bea (Hairspray, The Coliseum). This revival of the musical based on the Goldberg-starring film runs at the Eventim Apollo 19 July through 28 August 2022. Tickets

  • Read on for reasons including 101 Dalmatians, Lady Gaga, Duran Duran and Tears For Fears live
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SONG OF THE WEEK: She Still Leads Me On by Suede (week beginning 11 June 2022)

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

We’ve enjoyed but not especially loved the 3 albums this beloved band have made since their reformation in 2013 but think this single is their best they’ve released since their 90s imperial phase.

  • Read on for reasons including everything we know about new album Autofiction
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SONG OF THE MONTH: This Hell by Rina Sawayama (June 2022)

WORTH A LOOK: *****

Imagine finding out from a poster in the street that society says you can expect eternal damnation based on who you are spending your time with.

  • Read on for reasons including everything we know about Sawayama’s new Hold The Girl album
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GIG REVIEW: Macy Gray, Kim Wilde, Tia Kofi X Little Boots, Five Star and Sugababes at Mighty Hoopla

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Saturday 4 June 2022

We’ll be at Glastonbury Festival in 3 weeks’ time and we wouldn’t be surprised if Macy Gray pitches up on the strength of this 4pm main stage slot during which she absolutely achieves the goal of getting this 25,000-strong capacity party started.

  • Read on for reasons including Kim Wilde, Tia Kofi X Little Boots and Five Star
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GIG REVIEW: Lorde at Camden Roundhouse

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Thursday 2 June 2022, tour runs to 18 March 2023

SETLIST: Leader Of A New Regime; Homemade Dynamite; Buzzcut Season; Stoned At The Nail Salon; Fallen Fruit; The Path; California; Ribs; Hard Feelings; Dominoes; Loveless; Liability; Secrets From A Girl; Mood Ring; Sober; Supercut; Perfect Places; Solar Power; Green Light; Oceanic Feeling; Helen Of Troy; Royals; Team

There is a moment during the piano-led ballad Liability when the music goes quiet three-quarters of the way through, a fan shouts ‘We love you’, Lorde looks genuinelly moved and the crowd responds with a crescendo of applause.

  • Read on for reasons including how this gig was the best this reviewer has seen in a long, long time
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SONG OF THE WEEK: I Specialise In Love by Tia Kofi X Little Boots (week beginning 2 June 2022)

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Little Boots has released what is probably already our favourite album of the year so far and here teams up once again with a drag queen who is making a name for herself thanks to some brilliant pop collaborations.

  • Read on for reasons including how to see Tia Kofi X Little Boots in London on Saturday
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