Month: March 2024

PREDICTIONS: Eurovision Song Contest 2024 finalists starring Nebulossa, Olly Alexander & Marcus & Martinus

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WHEN?: 8pm (UK time) 11 May 2024

WHERE?: Malmo Arena, Sweden

HOW DO I WATCH?: BBC1 in the UK SVT Also eurovision.tv

Nebulossa (pictured) showed some cheek in Spain’s national final selection and below we predict how it and the other pre-qualified finalists will fare in the Eurovision Song Contest final.

  • Read on for reasons including how we think this year’s 6 Eurovision finalists will do on 11 May 2024
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Glorious by Bananarama (March 2024)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK: ****

TRACKLIST: Really Saying Something; Cruel Summer; Robert De Niro’s Waiting; Venus; More Than Physical; A Trick Of The Night; I Heard A Rumour; Love In The First Degree; Only Your Love; Preacher Man; I Could Be Persuaded; Movin’ On; Last Thing On My Mind; Every Shade Of Blue; Take Me To Your Heart; Prove Your Love; If; Crazy; Move In My Direction; Look On The Floor; Feel For You; Love Bite; Love Comes; Love Don’t Live Here; 17; Extraordinary; Baby It’s Christmas; Now Or Never; La La Love; Stuff Like That; Looking For Someone; I’m On Fire; It’s Gonna Be Alright; Favourite; Masquerade; Forever Young; Running With The Night; Cruel Summer (3am Mix); Feel the Love; Supernova

Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin have been a duo as Bananarama for the last 33 years of their 44-year career and so this curated album finds them choosing 10 tracks from each of the 4 decades of their career thus far.

  • Read on for reasons including how this album reminds how they’ve written some of pop’s finest moments across 40-plus years
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PREVIEW: 9 reasons why we can’t wait for April 2024 starring Sir Ian McKellen in Player Kings

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

  1. Player Kings starring Sir Ian McKellen

Director Robert Icke (Oresteia and Hamlet, Almeida) combines Henry IV parts 1 and 2 and McKellen (Mother Goose, Duke Of York’s Theatre) plays Falstaff alongside Richard Coyle’s (Ink, Almeida) Henry and Toheeb Jimoh’s (Romeo and Juliet, Almeida) Hal. Runs at the Noel Coward Theatre 1 April through 22 June 2024. Tickets McKellen’s ‘performance of a lifetime’ Player Kings review

  • Read on for reasons including new Pet Shop Boys album, Bananarama at the Palladium & Two Strangers
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SONG OF THE WEEK: Europapa by Joost (week beginning Thursday 7 March 2024)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

We’re holidaying in Barcelona and leaning into the flood of Eurovision songs just released and this Netherlands entry stands out on 1st listen for its riffing on 90s Dutch superstars 2 Unlimited and their best known charttopper No Limits.

  • Read on for reasons including how this may be a comedy entry but will finish top 10
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THEATRE REVIEW: Cable Street at Southwark Playhouse

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Tuesday 27 February and runs through 16 March 2024 RUNTIME: 145 minutes (with a 20 minute interval) UPDATE: This production transfers to Southwark Playhouse (Elephant) 6 September through 10 October 2024 Tickets

You join us on 4 October 1936 in the East End’s Cable Street where its community of socialists, communists, Jews and Irish people refuse to let Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF) pass.

  • Read on for reasons including how to get tickets for this sold-out run
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SONG OF THE MONTH: Dizzy by Olly Alexander (March 2024)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

Last year we described Mae Muller’s I Wrote A Song as ‘the UK’s best Eurovision entry since Gina G’ and we’d say the same of this extremely catchy and tasteful track which draws on Pet Shop Boys influences.

  • Read on for reasons including why Dizzy is exactly the sort of song the UK should be entering for Eurovision
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GIG REVIEW: Zara Larsson at Camden Roundhouse

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Thursday 22 February, tour runs until 26 July 2024

SETLIST: Venus; I Would Like; Escape; Look What You’ve Done; Girls Like; Words; Never Forget You; Ruin My Life; The Healing; Symphony; Wow; None Of These Guys; Ammunition; You Love Who You Love; Ain’t My Fault; End Of Time; On My Love; Lush Life; Can’t Tame Her

We haven’t seen Larsson live since 2017 but we’re immediately struck by how strong her live vocals are even when she’s negotiating her staging’s stairways or sashaying with her 4 dancers.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a crowdpleasing set showcasing Larsson’s many hits
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PREDICTIONS: Melodifestivalen finalen 2024 starring Marcus & Martinus

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WHEN?: 7pm (UK time) Friends Arena, Stockholm Saturday 9 March 2024

WHERE DO I WATCH?: SVTPlay

Norwegian twins Marcus and Martinus are the best shot Sweden has of winning Eurovision for a record breaking 8th time. UPDATE: Marcus and Martinus won Melodifestivalen.

  • Read on for reasons including how we think the finalists would fare in Eurovision in Malmo in May
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