Goldie's Fab Four #5

My cultural highlights of the week

Hamish Hawk (Hare and Hounds, Birmingham)

Lyrics that are witty, literate and yet heartfelt; tunes that feel widescreen, epic even, but never bombastic.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Hamish Hawk, the name of both the band and their bouncing frontman, who – at Birmingham’s Hare and Hounds – twitched and gurned his way through a set that yoked the bedsit yearning of Morrissey to the captivating melodrama of Scott Walker or Suede.

Hamish – the singer - is blessed with a winning baritone croon; and while his skittish, ‘cheeky chappie’ persona sits slightly at odds with the material, the disjunction seems to confirm that this is the real deal – a band going their own quirky way through life.

I mean, when was the last time you heard the word “catastrophising” in a song lyric?  Or eyeballed a bass player in a tank top?

There’s obviously a buzz about this emerging Scottish band – witness the sell-out crowd – but I’ll be honest, I’d missed the hype. I only went because my regular gig buddy Sammy nudged me into it.   I’m so glad he did.  

Showcasing the new album Angel Numbers (their fourth) Hamish Hawk are already delivering great things, and it felt like a privilege to witness them in such intimate surroundings.  We won’t the chance much longer, I suspect.

This felt like Gig Of The Year already

Hannah Barnes – Time To Think

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that Hannah Barnes new book is likely to give ammunition to those Culture Warriors who’ve settled on Trans issues as their favourite battleground.

I know Hannah personally – she’s a former BBC colleague – and I’m confident that’s not her game.

What she’s discovered through numerous interviews and access to previously unseen official documents is disturbing evidence that puberty blockers for teenagers were routinely prescribed via the UK’s primary gender identity clinic, the Tavistock, on evidence which was at best questionable, at worst non-existent.

It’s astonishing – as well as immensely troubling - to discover the process by which that came to happen. 

Packed with first-hand accounts – including those of Trans people who were treated at the Tavistock – this is an urgent and a vital investigation.

Spitting Image: Idiot’s Assemble (Birmingham Rep)

Satirical 80s TV puppet show gets a theatrical reboot – and while it certainly isn’t subtle, there are plenty of belly laffs. 

The gags are written by Al Murray, Matt Forde and the Rep’s Artistic Director Shaun Foley – who also directs – and it’s true to the brutal spirit of the original telly show, skewering politicians and celebrities alike.

Old faves like John Major and Margaret Thatcher get a run out, but the most memorable caricature is surely Suella Braverman – cast as a cross between a vampire bat and the girl posessed by demons in The Exorcist.  (I know what you’re thinking – they may have been too kind to her).

The plot riffs on Avengers Assemble, with Tom Cruise hired by King Charles to rescue the tattered fabric of Britain – in this case, a pair of underpants with skid marks.

Highlights include a brilliant royal (piss) take on Bohemian Rhapsody – the Queen plays Queen – and a Buzby Berkeley-style willy waving routine which is a real hoot.  The pace never flags, and I’d say a West End transfer is inevitable.

Recommended.

Whitby

Never been to Whitby? It’s great.  This former fishing port and seaside town on the North Yorkshire coast has become ‘the home of Goth’ boasting (at least) a couple of festivals because of links Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’.  Whitby is also proud of its fish and chips.  There’s a museum worth exploring, and signs of a positive genetrification - bookshops, decent pub grub etc. Well worth a visit.