There has never before, in the annals of television, been a programme so exquisitely tailored to our need for an exposé of the emperor's new clothes
Read full article...US drama Mad Men is set in a Madison Avenue advertising agency, where ladies zip themselves up into improbable dresses and men thread the cufflinks that will prove the killer accessory
The new President isn’t just a beacon of hope for black people — he’s also a hero for the world’s left-handers
Those of you who haven't been reading the tabloids lately can catch up on the news with Beg, Steal or Borrow — The Official Babyshambles Story by Spencer Honiball. In it, Pete Doherty admits to taking a few drugs in between flashes of inspiration. On the other hand, if you want to know some new stuff, get hold of The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia by Michael Gray. This is a massive tome that deserves its size for once. Facts are presented amusingly, yet the critical tone prevails. Lewis Carroll gets a lookin.
Take a deep breath, because this is a novel that plunges you in at the deep end. The time is evidently post-apocalyptic, the place is somewhere on the edge of what remains of the known world. The action is by turns muted and frantic, and the characters are at once human and grotesque.
Since he became famous as a member of The Beatles in the early Sixties, John Lennon has been a focus of attention.
The GCSE results are published today and, for anyone who ever took an exam, this is a time when a cloud of retroactive butterflies are released
Peaches Geldof's marriage in Las Vegas is already following the time-honoured tradition of such unions: she has returned to London without her new husband
It is generally acknowledged that we are living through a time of upheaval. The old certainties - or at least those that pertained for the past 10 years or so - have been undermined
This is the second half of the author's previously published Austerity Britain 1948-51, an account of how this country coped with the postwar years when the British still lived on powdered egg, snoek and promises of a better menu. The National Health Service was in its infancy and the rush was on for drugs, spectacles and false teeth. The story is told through myriad eyes, from the hubristic to the humble, and mercifully there is not a lifestyle in sight, this being a sensible and sobering account of people just getting on with their lives and, for the most part, making their own entertainment.
Like Alan Bennett, John Mortimer is a most unusual national treasure. Owlish and never in robust health, he has nevertheless managed to combine a notable career in law with a prolific output as a writer, somehow also managing to maintain a colourful sideline as a ladies' man and gifted raconteur. Valerie Grove has done a splendid job of unravelling the myths that her subject has spun around himself. She reveals his selfdoubts? "I don't have great periods like Picasso" ? and notes that a man who has appeared to glide through life in a state of gilded grace actually gets up at 3am to meet deadlines.
This is the story of the rise and fall of the classical music recording industry over the course of the 20th century, although its tone is anything but funereal. Lebrecht leads us into a world populated by the charismatic, the power-crazed and the mentally unbalanced, from which unlikely combinations sprang an art form which spread beauty and promoted civilisation throughout the electrified world. The end of this great era was hastened by new technology and a desire for greater commerciality, which led to the dubious delights of the crossover album. The author's scorn for this latter phenomenon makes for exhilarating reading. The second half of the book is devoted to lists: 100 recorded masterpieces and 20 records that should never have been made. Herein is classical music with attitude.
The infuriating fact about our greatest author is that there are precious few facts available about his life. Charles Nicholl has fastened upon one of these, a minor court case involving an unpaid dowry at which Shakespeare gave evidence in 1612. From a few lines inscribed in his own hand, Nicholl draws out a portrait of the man and the milieu in which he moved, giving us a glimpse of the ordinary human being who had the extraordinary ability to turn a humdrum dowry dispute into King Lear..
With the author's untimely death last year, this is destined to be the last outing for the world-weary Aurelio Zen, one of the great fictional detectives. Zen is dispatched to yet another part of Italy with which he is not familiar (Calabria), where his struggles with the local culture are as intense as his efforts to unravel a dastardly plot. To be honest, this a far-fetched tale of illicit treasure-hunting conducted under the cover of movie-making, but such details have never been the strength of this series. The true enjoyment resides in again making the acquaintance of a droll companion. And, sadly, saying goodbye..
As The Coburg is named Bar of the Year, Pete Clark toasts the renaissance of civilised drinking and reviews the city's best hotel bars.
The record shows that neither politician nor pop star has ever profited by close association with each other
Morrissey was 13 when he fell in love with America's proto-punks. Their reunion will be the highlight of his Meltdown festival at the South Bank between June 11-27.
Everyone suffers the occasional bad hair day, but the rock'n'roll fraternity with its taste for excess has turned that into a bad hair eternity. From the Beatles' mop tops to the extravagant spikes of Seventies punks, the tonsorial antics of the music industry have long been a source of amusement
The announcement by iconic jeans company Levis of its new focus on the youth market is a further blow to the plain blue denim classics. Are designer snobs destroying the single most important fashion statement ever?
Pete Clark reflects on the switching of ITV's Midsomer Murders from Sunday evenings to Fridays.
We sent one lucky family off to experience inspirational Iceland. Read the full story here.
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