Linton Kwesi Johnson at the Queen Elizabeth Hall

On Monday night I went to see Linton Kwei Johnson at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank. He was being interviewed and talking about his life as part of the Southbank's BOLD festival (i.e. B(e) OLD) about artists over the age of 60 (or something like that). Linton wasn't over 60 when he created his great works, but he is now, and looking good and dapper to boot.

I first heard of Linton 40 years ago in 1978 when he was righteous with his dub poetry album and heavy, heavy reggae backing to poems about protest and resistance to racism and police brutality and the wonderful and scary 'All Wi Doin Is Defendin'. I last saw Linton ten years ago at the Barbican when he was celebrating the 30th anniversary of his first album, 'Dread Beat An Blood' (as Poet and the Roots) with Dennis Bovell and his band providing the reggae to his poetry.

Linton talked about his early life in Jamaica, coming to London as a child in the early 60s and experiencing racism, joining the Black Panthers and becoming politicised, developing his approach to poetry and performance, adding a reggae backing to his performances. There was lots of name-dropping, from influential black writers and thinkers to John Lydon and Public Image Limited who Linton supported in the late 70s.

He finished off the evening with a reading of four poems, beginning with 'All Wi Doin Is Defendin' which he wrote in 1978 even though it wasn't recorded and released until 1978. It was great to hear him read his poems and the rhythms in his voice.

It was fascinating to hear him talk about politics and some of the 'causes' he'd been involved in and led and the gradual rise of the influence of black politics. He gave a shout out to David Lammy MP for continuing this today. He also commented that he wasn't just spouting slogans, he was 9and is) a serious political activist - don't just talk it, be it and do something.

Some favourite comments:

- he hasn't published any new poetry in recent years since he doesn't feel it's up to the standard of his earlier material.

- in the early days he recited his poems to a reggae tape and had three mates skanking behind him to enhance the atmosphere - I loved him referring to them as his 'backing dancers'!

- he's not 'West Indian', he's Caribbean - 'West Indian' refers to Columbus getting lost and mis-naming the islands because he read his maps wrongly.

It was great fun to see Linton again and just listen to him talk about his life. The interviewer was Robin Denselow who asked a question and then wisely shut up and just let Linton talk. If only more interviewers were like that!  The photos were nicked randomly  from Twitter so I can't give credits - sorry, but thanks for posting.

If you're interested, there's a new selection of his poems recently published by Penguin and it's well worth a look.

'A Christmas Carol' at the Queen Elizabeth Hall

OK, so Christmas festivities started today with giving a Tree a home for Christmas and going to hear a reading of 'A Christmas Carol' at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank. I also wore my thick, furry winter hat for the first time so it must be nearly Christmas.

Most years I read 'A Christmas Carol' in the run-up to Christmas and I never get tired of it. Dickens is a master story-teller and this is one of his best, the tale of how Mr Scrooge became the epitome of Christmas spirit. It's not easy but old Ebenezer does it.

We all know the story of Scrooge being visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future and how he grows to love Christmas, of Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim. All classic characters that tell a very touching tale of one man's journey into Christmas and humanity. Yes Ebenezer, that's you.

It's a stage reading - the same as I saw last year - with different actors taking on the characters and reading an abridged version of the story by Rosie Kellagher. Griff Rhys Jones was Dickens/the narrator and Bill Paterson played Scrooge (reprising their roles from last year). Ron Cook played Bob Cratchit and Tim McInnerny played a few roles. It was great fun and surprisingly dramatic given they're all dressed in suits and wotnot rather than costumes. The big screen at the back of the stage featured various period illustrations in black and white but I can't help feeling the atmosphere would've been enhanced with a Christmas Tree or two on stage. Or maybe just some candles?

In any case, it was a really good start to the real run-up to Christmas. The foyer had a small brass band playing carols and everyone was cheerful as we trooped into the hall to take our seats. I'd wandered along the Southbank beforehand, browsing in the Christmas market and the excitement of the colourful magic roundabout and found a huge tree outside the Royal Festival Hall for the Macmillan's cancer charity, a wish tree where you can write wishes and memories of people with cancer and some of them were very touching. This is, I think, the first time I've seen a Tree on the Southbank and it's most welcome.

Welcome to Christmas 2014!

Ronnie Spector - Beyond The Beehive at Queen Elizabeth Hall

Last night we went to see Ronnie Spector's 'Beyond The Beehive' show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in which she takes us through the story of her life with words, music, photos and videos. The show was part of the Women of the World series and she brought out and talked about her own experiences as a woman in the early days of pop music through to today, most particularly being married to a controlling and threatening man.

Ronnie kicked off my taking about her childhood in Spanish Harlem in New York, her mother part Black and part Cherokee while her dad was Irish. As she talked she showed photos of those long ago days, keeping it fast paced and punctuated by songs, from her love of doo-wop to forming the Ronettes, touring the UK supported by the Rolling Stones, flirting with the Beatles and the shock of leaving the music business unexpectedly when she married Phil Spector. The format was a few minutes of talk and photos or video projected behind her followed by a song and then more spoken word.

The core narrative seemed to be that she married a jealous control freak who ended her career when they married and, when she escaped, bullied and threatened her into becoming a non-entity and erasing her from the history of pop music. She fought her way back into becoming the singer she always wanted to be and ended the show by saying she will not be erased from history. She sounded delighted about finally being inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame against threats from Phil Spector, her place finally secured. But she still wants us to remember the music, the songs she helped bring to life.

She gave us songs from across her long career, from the Ronette's 'Be my Baby' in the 60s to 'Girls From The Ghetto', an autobiographical song from her last album in 2006. She gave us her version of 'Time Is On My Side' by the Stones, the song she recorded for George Harrison, 'Try Some, Buy Some', 'Say Goodbye To Hollywood' recorded with the E-Street Band and 'She Talks to Rainbows', recorded with Joey Ramone. She brought us right up to date with her version of Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black'.

It must be odd being in Ronnie's position, someone who was around from almost the start of pop music as we know it, became a huge star and then vanished just as her career was really taking off. Knowing all the luminaries of the 60s and 70s, appearing now and then to make music with them but never reaching that peak again. Resurfacing with Bruce Springsteen and later with Joey Ramone, always the rock chick but no longer the superstar. She tells a fascinating tale.

My favourite piece of video was the Ronettes shaking their pert bums at incredible speed on stage in the early '60s - how did they do that?

Extra kudos to Ronnie for playing The Ramones as the entrance music ('Blitzkreig Bop' anyone?) and closing with Joey Ramone's 'What A Wonderful World'. That's a nice tribute to an old fan and friend who is no longer with us.

'A Christmas Carol' at the Queen Elizabeth Hall

This evening I put my festive foot forward and headed to the Queen Elizabeth Hall for a reading of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'.

It's a great story and one I've read many times in the run up to Christmas and we all know Ebenezer Scrooge. To get us in the mood the foyer was decorated with gaudy Christmas lights and a small brass band playing carols and songs. There was mulled wine and mince pies at the bar (re-named the Queen Liz for some reason) and the place was packed. The only thing missing was a Christmas Tree (and the stage would have benefited from one, I think).

Griff Rhys Jones played Dickens who narrates the tale, with Bill Paterson as Scrooge, Tim Pigott-Smith as Marley, Phil Daniels as Bob Cratchit and Janine Duvitski as his wife as well as others, all playing multiple roles. Each reader stepped forward to their microphone as it came their turn to speak and, on a screen at the back of the stage, were projected old Victorian illustrations from the book as the story progressed. We found a cast list laid out like a Christmas card on our seats when we went in. I'll keep it as a memory of a lovely evening.

They all did terribly well and helped evoke the spirit of Christmas. Mr Scrooge, of course, understands the Christmas spirit more than most of us and becomes the embodiment of it. Bill Paterson was most excellent as Scrooge with a nice mix of whine and incredulity as he has his adventures with the ghosts. I also quite liked Freddie Fox as his namesake, Fred (Scrooge's nephew), who for once didn't annoy me. Janine and Phil were excellent as the Cratchits as was Griff as Mr Dickens.

It was adapted for a one and a half hours reading by Rosie Kellagher. That must have been a brave undertaking since it's known very well by so many people and, probably, by  most of the audience. At first I noticed, 'oh that bit's gone' and 'that scene's missed out' but then I gave in and went with it, enjoying what we were given. She did a jolly good job.

It was only on for one evening so you won't be able to see it but it would be a good tradition to start and read it every year. Next time (if there is a next time) they should read it in costume - and have a Tree on the stage.

Marianne Faithfull at Meltdown 2013

Marianne Faithfull, accompanied by Bill Frisell on guitar, played at the Queen Elizabeth Hall last night as part of Yoko Ono's Meltdown. Marianne did talking and singing and Bill did guitar playing and miscellaneous guitar fanciness. No band this time.

Marianne had a rapturous welcome and launched in 'Broken English' to open her show. She was on for about 1.5 hours and it was very much a songwriters set with Marianne name checking the writers of the songs and a few words about them or her response to them. It was nice hearing her talk about the songs she sings and mentioned an album due out next year that she's making with Bill and with Steve Earle.

She sang three songs from 'Broken English' and the rest were from the 80s onwards with two exceptions. She sang her first hit from 49 years ago, a song she proudly said was written for her but not who wrote it (although we all know), 'As Tears Go By', and she gave us a touching version, almost of a mature woman looking back at her younger self. I couldn't help but think of her with her hair cut short for the video of 'We Love You' while she sung that song.

She also gave us 'Rich Kid Blues', a song she said she has only recently come to terms with since it reminded her too much of her bleak years as a heroin addict living rough in London. For some obscure reason mentioning being a heroin addict brought cheers from some misguided people at the back of the hall - Marianne certainly wasn't proud of it and looked pained.

At one point she lit up a cigarette on stage (which also brought cheers) because she needed it and then realised she had nowhere to stub it out so dropped it in her glass of water. She said it was due to the emotion of the show and I believe her. She also said that she hates being disapproved of by Yoko for smoking so she pretends she's given up smoking when she's with Yoko. Cat's out of the bag Marianne!

People were shouting out the songs they wanted to hear and that annoyed me. Marianne has probably spent weeks deciding on just the right running order so she's hardly likely to drop all that planning and practicing with Bill to play the song you want. So why do it? And why do people turn up late for gigs with clearly advertised start times? And by late I mean an hour late. What's that about? Get a watch!

Favourite songs were 'Vagabond Ways', 'Crazy Love', 'As Tears Go By', 'Tower of Song' and 'Strange Weather' (which was the encore). I also liked 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams', 'In Germany Before The War' and 'She'.

I will always love the 'Broken English' album which I remember buying on cassette way back when and she sang three songs from it - 'Broken English' opened the show, 'Working Class hero' which she said she'd better get right because it was Yoko's Meltdown, and 'Ballad of Lucy Jordan' which closed the show - her version of the song is perfect, a vision of bleak loveliness, sadness and hopefulness.

By the end of the show she seemed to be more relaxed and welcomed the standing ovation. I look forward to seeing Marianne play live again, hopefully next year to promote the new album.

Buffy Sainte-Marie at Meltdown

I've fallen behind with my blogging due in part to the Olympics but mainly because my laptop died on me last week. I need to do a mammoth Olympics blog but the day after the Closing Ceremony is not the right time. Instead I'll tell you about something that can only mean joy - Buffy Sainte-Marie has been back to London for two shows on the Southbank as part of Anthony Hegarty's Meltdown festival and I attended both (indeed, had guest list tickets to both but that's showing off).

The first event on Monday 6 August in the Purcell Room was originally billed as, 'An Interview With Buffy Sainte-Marie' but, due to the absence of an interviewer became, 'Buffy Sainte-Marie - A Multimedia Life'. We were treated to a slideshow of Buffy's photos over the years to get us in the mood and then on she strode with the confidence of an experienced public speaker. Buffy spoke for the next hour or so, delivering an entertaining and thought-provoking talk about indigenous peoples and how the ordinary peoples of Europe had suffered for centuries under the same rulers that invaded the Americas.

She then did a Q&A, answering questions the audience had previously written down. I had three questions answered:

• 'No No Keshagesh was originally called AIM Elijah - what does that mean?' - Elijah refers to Elijah Harper, a Native American politician in Canada who blocked constitutional changes that hadn't been agreed with native peoples. AIM refers to the American Indian Movement.
• 'What was the last record you bought?' - Alabama 3
• 'If you were in the Olympics what sport would you take part in?' - Buffy pulled a face and said, 'naah' she wouldn't be in the Olympics since she lacks the competitive gene. She loves flamenco dancing but if she was being chased by a tiger she'd be the meal!

As a teacher, Buffy gave us three book to read as homework: 'Indian Givers' by Jack Weatherford, 'Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee' by Dee Brown and 'The Female Brain' by Louann Brizendine.

The second event was a gig in the Queen Elizabeth Hall and we were treated to a full two hours set. She walked onto the stage in a glitter jacket and with glitter in her hair with her band of Jesse, Leroy and Mike (also known as Juno award nominees Bruthers of Different Muthers). The setlist was:

Piney Wood Hills
Cho Cho Fire
I'm Gonna Be A Country Girl Again
Mister Can't You See
Cripple Creek
Still This Love Goes On
Up Where We Belong
No No Keshagesh
Universal Soldier
Darling Don't Cry
Until It's Time For You To Go
Working For The Government
Little Wheel Spin And Spin
Soldier Blue
Generation
The Big Ones Get Away
Cod'ine
Blue Sunday
You're Not The Loving Kind
Goodnight
Look At The Facts
The Priests Of The Golden Bull
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
Starwalker
He's An Indian Cowboy At The Rodeo (encore with pow wow dancing).

There were two big highlights for me. The first came with 'Darling Don't Cry' when I was transported back to Belleville in Canada in 2005 and the theatre erupting into pow wow singing as the mainly First Nations  audience sang along and lifted the roof with their beautiful sound. The second was hearing 'Generation' for the first time played live.

Since it was an extended set then Buffy played some songs that she doesn't normally include in her set and 'Generation' was one of the additions. It's from the 'Buffy' album from the early 70s and a song I recall hearing for the first time back in 1976 on a BBC2  programme about Buffy. It was released again a couple of years ago when all of Buffy's early 70s albums were re-released. A mighty 'wow' for that song. The chorus ends with the line, "I just want to dance with the Rosebud Sioux this summer" and I was wearing my rosebud shirt to celebrate Buffy in London.

It's always good to see Buffy play live and the Queen Elizabeth Hall is a good venue to see her. My one beef about the Meltdown is that Buffy wasn't mentioned in any of the promotional materials for the series other than on the main poster that listed everyone - or, at least, I didn't see any mentions. Why was that, Meltdown people?