Get to know... English Teacher
‘We’ve been waiting for this moment for so, so long,’ says Douglas Frost, drummer of this Leeds quartet, who are set to release their debut album This Could Be Texas on Friday. The genre bending, alt-rock-adjacent band began making music four years ago, when vocalist Lily Fontaine rallied them together while studying at uni. Since then, their surreal visuals paired with dry humour and an indulgent, melancholy sound have had us hooked, particularly with singles ‘R&B’ and ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’. As they celebrate their album, listen to English Teacher’s Friday night playlist here.
Revel in the wit and wisdom of Ruby Wax
This weekend the wacky presenter is putting on a two-day workshop titled Speaking from the Heart: A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled at Conway Hall. Can’t afford £400? Here are some of her insights — for free.
‘Thoughts aren’t fact, so don’t take them seriously.’
‘People who say … they’re perfectly fine [are] more insane than the rest of us.’
‘You shouldn’t run away from your problems, you need to aim straight for the heart of the beast.’
Visit club Saltburn
Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that Saltburn’s soundtrack was jam-packed with nostalgic club gems, transporting us straight back to the early Noughties via Princess Superstar’s ‘Perfect (Exceeder)’ and Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’. Now, popular club night False Idols is bringing the two artists together and recreating the Saltburn mansion at north London superclub (and ex Ikea store) Drumsheds. One question remains… will there be an appearance from Barry Keoghan joyfully bopping around the place in the buff? Let’s see.
13 April. Tickets £42.50 (drumshedslondon.com)
Take a crash course in the life of Amy Winehouse
As you’ve likely heard, Back To Black, the new biopic of the late London icon has hit cinemas. Our Deputy Editor Hamish MacBain hardly loved it, so if you don’t fancy forking out for a cinema ticket, let us fill you in on the life she lived and the legacy she left behind with Amy Winehouse In Numbers...
13 Chart position ‘Frank’ reached meaning that — as documented in Back to Black — her label didn’t think it was worth releasing in the US. She called their marketing of her debut album ‘f***ed’, the promotion ‘terrible’ and everything else ‘a shambles.’2 Amy Winehouse heroes who are name-checked in ‘Rehab’, those being: Ray Charles (‘I’d rather be at home with Ray’) and Donny Hathaway (‘There’s nothing you can teach me, that I can’t learn from Mr Hathaway’).7 Months after the release of her second album, Back To Black, that Amy and Blake Fielder-Civil were married.2018 Year in which the Winehouse estate signed a deal for the biopic of her life, Back to Black, out this week.16 million copies Back to Black ultimately went on to sell. In the UK, it’s the second biggest-selling album of the 21st century, with only Adele’s 21 shifting more copies.2014 Year in which a statue of the late star was unveiled in Camden.
Choose a new exhibition to match your mood
Not into mooching about old masters? Let us match you to just the right exhibition.
Nostalgic for this old town? See Gilbert & George: London Pictures
From regal to everyday, G squared get to grips with what it means to be a Londoner offering a ‘moral portrait of our times’ in their own inimitable colour clash.
The Gilbert & George Centre (gilbertandgeorgecentre.org)
Feeling revolutionary? Try Yinka Shonibare: Suspended States
Taking the colonial history of monuments and artefacts and wrapping it all up in batik fabric, Shonibare ‘comments on the tangled inter-relationship between Africa and Europe’ with distinct beauty.
Serpentine South gallery (serpentinegalleries.org)
Rave ready? Visit Seana Gavin: Hidden Tracks, A Decade of Free Parties
Looking as fresh as the nights they partied away in the Nineties, Gavin tracks back to a decade of illegal raves that swept the UK and beyond around the birth of acid house. You’ll want to shave your head and drive to a field immediately.
Gallery46 (gallery46.co.uk)
Watch Feud, finally
Popcorn at the ready! Feud: Capote Vs The Swans has finally landed on UK soil. Starring Naomi Watts, Demi Moore, Chloë Sevigny and many more, American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy’s re-enactment of writer Truman Capote’s savage bust-up with some of New York’s most prominent socialites isa must-see.
