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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,
John Aizlewood's rating
Reader rating
Description: The punky folk band.
Phone: 0844477 2000
Website: www.brixton-academy.co.uk
Email: mail@brixton-academy.co.uk
Trains: Tube/BR: Brixton 
, Tube / Bus: 2, 35, 37, 59, 109, 133, 159, 333, 432 
Extra info: Pub
Joy and sorrow: singer Shane MacGowan and accordionist James Fearnley
Now in its sixth year, the Pogues’ Christmas tour is undeniably part of the festive fabric. That last night was the first of three Academy shows suggests genuine public demand means we’ll meet again same time, presumably same place next year.
Joy of joys, seven of them were on sterling form, rolling back the years and replaying their youth, be it James Fearnley, the remarkably spry accordionist, or Spider Stacy whose tin whistle could bring the comatose out of a coma.
Alas, the eighth Pogue was Shane MacGowan. Now, I know it’s a miracle he’s actually here, I know he’s one of the most poetic lyricists of the late 20th Century, etc etc, but he’s become a bore.
Watching him oafishly slur away his legacy and casually desecrate his own beautiful creations as he has done in the 20 years since the third Pogues album, If I Should Fall From Grace With God, is no longer sad or tragic, it’s pathetic.
Ewan MacColl’s Dirty Old Town and MacGowan’s masterpiece Rainy Night In Soho survived intact, simply because he was outsung by a crowd not entirely composed of teetotallers.
Astonishingly indulgent, they applauded him whenever he put a bottle on his head (it always fell off) and whenever he muttered something unintelligible between songs, although, frankly, you’d get more sense out of a pint of Guinness.
At one point I couldn’t tell whether he was attempting Sayonara or Sunnyside Of The Street, he seemed unfamiliar with his own Sally MacLennane and when the feisty Anna Finer (daughter of Pogue Jem) joined him for the still stunning Fairytale Of New York, he couldn’t be bothered to get even the call-and-response right and, as the fake Christmas snow descended disconsolately, the night was lost.
Tonight and tomorrow (0844 477 2000).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
It was cute when he was a songwriter who was drunk, but it's ugly now that he's just another drunk trying to remember a song.
- Matt, NYC, USA
Good lord, he's still alive?
- Swill, sf, us
Shane was on much better form the second night, sang really well.
He can be hit and miss, but I don't think anyone goes to a Pogues concert for the note-perfect delivery.
- Chris Roe, London
Oh dear. Can't they give him a chair and a tambourine, like when Linda went on tour with Wings?
- Bloke, London
