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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
David Smyth's rating
Reader rating
Description: The Sheffield singer-songwriter plays songs from his new Mute album, Lady's Bridge.
Mature: Richard Hawley finally found fame with his last album
The glitterball was finally turned on eight numbers into Richard Hawley's set, for his softly swaying song Hotel Room, but it could have twinkled away all night.
For almost every song in the Sheffield crooner's arsenal is a lovelorn slowie perfect for a smoochy slowdance, a fact he knows all too well.
"Okay then, let's ballad!" was his opening command, rocking being something that younger musicians do.
Hawley, a long-term jobbing guitarist whose stints with Pulp and the Longpigs kept him working but out of the limelight, finally found fame with his last solo album, Coles Corner, just before he hit 40.
An equally mature audience fell for a vintage sound characterised by low, twanging guitars and sweeping strings, and lyrics that see our lovesick hero perpetually walking down a dark road towards the sea.
The mood here could have been sombre, with new songs such as Roll River Roll and Valentine, from his latest album, Lady's Bridge, shuffling along at a particularly funereal pace.
But the singer brightened things, not with faster music (although Serious had a lively touch of Shakin' Stevens about it), but with stand-up comedy.
He fired out gags like a Christmas cracker between tracks, insulting Ipswich, Runcorn, his wife and the Irish, and getting enough big laughs to sustain a career in stand-up if his musical popularity ever fades again.
A remarkably enthusiastic audience also contributed towards the party feel, giving Hawley's bandmates a five-minute ovation just for the hell of it.
If yearning epics such as Darlin' Wait for Me and his extraordinary closer The Ocean brought a tear to the eye, the crowd flooding home was all smiles.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
