Gerald Finley has a range capable of encompassing German Romantic ballad, Victorian parlour song and the razor-sharp social wit of Cole Porter. Perhaps not quite with equal success, however... more
Despite four years this month of the smoking ban in England, and a vigorous anti-smoking campaign paid for by the taxpayer, it has not lowered the number of smokers. Their number remains at about 20 per cent - the hardcore, of which I am one. It might kill me, although if it doesn't, something else will... more
Dressed in a white Forties dress, sporting a blonde bobbed wig and in the middle of a seven-hour set playing Cole Porter and George Gershwin on a white baby grand piano, Sarah Balfour looked around Piccadilly's In and Out Club and thought: "I could do this"... more
Designer Nicky Haslam talks to Katie Law about stripping off in a photograph on display at the National Portrait Gallery, how he beat cancer and preparing for cabaret at the Savoy ... more
Nicky Haslam has been to more parties than anyone and knows how to make an evening fizz: start planning three months ahead; decorate the ceiling; invite Paris Hilton; and never, ever engage the host in conversation... more
When Robbie Williams's pleasing, pleading voice is coupled with a background orchestra on Superblind he has something he's never previously come close to: gravitas.... more
When a dancer friend of Andy Warhol's pirouetted out of a window to his death on the sidewalk below, Warhol is reputed to have sighed and said: "Oh God I wish I'd been there to film it"... more
The A-listers who received an invitation to socialite Nicky Haslam's credit crunch-busting party were instructed to wear diamonds - and dress only in couture.... more
The suspense levels of The Black and White Ball aren’t exactly of Agatha Christie proportions but Matthew White’s production is so darn elegant that we soon stop quibbling and start smiling.... more
English National Opera is joining forces with the Young Vic to create a new kind of opera out of a film by David Lynch. Something as bold as this could work only in London, says its director Diane Paulus.... more
Bad enough that Fabio Capello is teaching us how to play football, his Italian compatriot Renato D'Aiello is showing Londoners how the tenor sax should be played... more
She'll never be as stroppy as Angela, but soprano Nicole Cabell has proved she's talented enough to stand in for the great diva at a day's notice.... more
In this week's album releases Yo La Tengo tread an eclectic path, The Fratelli's Costello Music relies on ol'-fashioned geezer charm and The Rogers Sisters play it cool.... more
Sound check: German industrial metal band Rammstein literally play with fire in their live performances - and now they are about to unleash their singeing spectacle on London. Watch out for your eyebrows
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