SHEENA EASTON FEELS WELCOME IN SCOTLAND

SHEENA Easton had revealed she feels welcome in Scotland despite being booed at a Glasgow festival three decades ago.
The Morning Train (9to 5) singer vowed to never perform in Scotland again after being pelted with bottles, some containing urine when she sang at Glasgow’s Big Day in 1990.
However, Sheena, who was spotted on a chocolate shop in Durness with two female friends just this week now appears to be more comfortable with her homeland. 
She explained: “Well, I haven't performed back in Scotland for a long time, but I was just back in the West End in London doing 42nd Street for the entirety of 2017. That wasn't that long ago. And I had tons of people coming from all over and lots of people from Scotland coming down on the train to London to see the show.
So I felt like I was welcomed back home to work. People were very kind to me and that meant a lot to me.”
The singer, who still remains sprightly at the age of 65, admitted the run of shows in London’s West end was exhausting and that it took her a while to recover. 
She said: “ The first role that I did on Broadway was Man of La Mancha with Ralph Julia. And then I did Greece. And then actually for all of 2017, I was over in London and I was in the West End doing 42nd Street.
She admitted: “I have to say, doing eight shows a week and the rigor of that is probably the hardest thing that I've ever done. And I have a great deal of admiration for people that go out there and do that year after year after year, because I don't know how they have the energy to do it.
A year of that at a time and I was wasted. I was tired. I had to take like a few months off after every time I did that, just because it absorbs your entire life and your entire being.” 
Sheena who has had success with a whole host of songs over the years including 
She Says she is now very much at one with herself and said: “My life is well balanced with having a good home life and then still out there working all the time, seeing the fans, doing the shows. And we get to go all over. I mean, we've been, this year we were in Switzerland doing a show, we were out in the Caribbean doing a show, we were up in Canada, we've been to different states all over.
So yeah, we get to see fans from all across the globe and it's wonderful because, you know, I haven't recorded in a long time, so the fans coming to see the shows, they know they're coming to see those legacy hits and they keep supporting me and they keep giving me a reason to go out and do gigs and I'm forever grateful for that.”
Looking. back Sheena says she owes it all to the documentary she starred in when she was at drama school. 
She said: “ I'll be honest, I didn't have to struggle. I mean, I was lucky that when I was at drama school, I get the chance to do this documentary.I guess nowadays they call it a reality show. But back then, reality shows didn't exist. And reality shows now are kind of scripted and set up.
There's not a lot of real about reality. This was real. This was six different documentaries.
And when I did that and it was shown on British television, my music got attention because I had television exposure and I was lucky that I had hits early on. So I won't claim that I had a long struggle. But I will say that yes, my dreams have come true.
I got to do everything that I wanted to do and again and again. So I have no complaints. I have had a great life and music has brought so much to me and so many wonderful people into my world.So yeah, I really feel blessed.”
These days she’s keen to have other artists cover her songs and laughs: “ Lover on me
You know, I think that would translate as a country song. I think it's something that, you know, some of these young artists out there should check out this old lady's portfolio and gassy them up. Well, gassy them up, give them a new treatment and get them out there
She also says she knew pretty early on that not everyone in her audience would be appreciative of her talents. 
She said: a”I decided that pretty soon I would audition for my first gig and went on from there. I think I didn't let it faze me because I knew that I would get a lot of people telling me, yeah, you've got no talent, you can't sing. You just know it's gonna happen.
Not everyone's gonna like you. I don't like everyone that I hear. I don't care how successful they are.”
Sheena who also has worn a variety of sparkling and revealing stage outfits in her time also admits that not everyone was appreciative of her style. 
Now a self confessed ‘Fao girl’ who is not a dresser upper,l and no binder gets fancy. she recalls the Royal verity performance  “.I felt like I was a sort of dress up doll. And I think that when you step up on stage, you have to be a slightly different character anyway. And so when you dress up in all these crazy outfits and all the crazy hairstyles, it's like a little kid again. So it was fun then. It was fun for the young me, but the old tired me, I'm like, uh-uh.
“I got in trouble, though, doing that. Did you hear about that?
I got in trouble because I was wearing a sassy little outfit with long black leather gloves. And apparently, that was not the thing to wear when you were meeting the royal family. And back then, that kind of thing counted.
So I got told off by some people in the media that I wasn't appropriately dressed. So there you go.
She still has a mountain of stories form her times with Prince. Jenny Rodger’s and bring a bond Girl singing the theme for your eyes only, but says she has no interest in writing a memoir. She added: “Not at all.No, I'm private. You know, that's why I don't do social media and document every thought that I have on a daily basis. No, no, I really, really value my privacy.”

SUSAN BOYLE NEW YEAR SURPRISE IN DUNFERMLINE

SUSAN Boyle surprised revellers celebrating the turn of the year when she turned up for an unplanned duet with the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.
The Celtic rockers were playing their regular end of year show at the Alhambra when 
Susan arrived to watch her friend and vocal coach Chris Judge perform.  
The 62 year old who recently told that she had suffered a minor stroke last April was just there to watch the show but after speaking with Chris and the band backstage, she was asked if she might like to join them. 
Chris was about to sing his last song of the first half of the show with the pipers but paused to tell the large crowd they had a star in their midst. 
Chris teased: “The singer that we wanted was not available because our favourite singer comes from Blackburn in West Lothian. 
But tonight she’s not in Blackburn West Lothian. Dunfermline please welcome to the stage our friend Susan Boyle.”
Susan then duetted on the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah as the audience went wild. 
And after hitting the high notes with Chris she told the crowd to have a happy new year. 
Chris said of the magical moment: “Susan and I had never properly duetted on stage before and it was such a buzz, the smiles say it all. 
She surprised the audience and earned a worthy standing ovation and it was a moment I will cherish forever.”

The rest of the band added on their social media: “What an honour!!! Last night wasn’t only an incredible night with it being the last show of another amazing year for the band, it was also capped off by an extra special moment when the world famous and Scottish national treasure, Susan Boyle joined us on stage to sing a song with her good friend and our singer, Chris Judge. 
“Susan had came along to the gig, and we couldn’t believe that she was willing to give us the honour and privilege of allowing us to share the stage with her. It’s safe to say that the crowd gave her the reception she deserves, and what a memory it was for every single person in the auditorium last night.”
Happy New Year to all of you out there, much love from all of us wherever you are in the word.”
Susan’s impromptu appearance came after she was filmed stealing the show as she appeared on-stage for a singalong with Donny Osmond in Glasgow at the start of December.
The world talent who shot to fame with her rendition of the Les Mis smash hit I Dreamed A Dream on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, appeared alongside the American singer to preform 'This is the moment.' 

SHIRLEY MANSON LEFT UNABLE TO WALK AFTER GARBAGE HIP

Pic : Shirley Manson Instagram 

SHIRLEY Manson was left unable to walk after her hip gave out following an on tour injury - and now she says she is grateful to be alive following a life changing hip replacement last month. 
The 56 year old Garbage singer and actress  from Edinburgh had been struggling with her movement on and off over the last seven years after she fell off the rotating stage at a gig in LA whilst singing her band’s song Special. 
And after touring with Alanis Morrisette two years ago the Stupid Girl singer realised things were becoming worrying.
Reliving the moment she fell at KROQ Weenie Fest in the US Shirley told Curious Creatures podcast: “I knew what was happening as it was happening.
”I went into slow motion and I was like, I'm gonna f***ing fall off the front of this f***ing stage. 
“I f***ing can't believe it. Oh my god. Here I go yep, tumbling forward and then all of a sudden I've landed on my feet. Thank God. Unbeknownst to me at the time I really jacked my right hip on the barrier. I landed on the barrier. And then for six years, I've had some problems. 
“And then the last I was on tour with Atlantis Morissette two years ago and I couldn't walk on days off. I said: ‘What the hell's going on?’”
Following a medical consultation Shirley's doctor told her she needed a hip replacement which she had in March - and she claims it has been a humbling experience.  
She explained: “My doctor was like, ‘Yeah, you need a hip replacement’. So I had that a month ago and it was so humbling.
Like I've never had any physical problems my whole life, like nothing. I've never broken a leg or a finger or anything. And then all of a sudden, I find myself using a bedpan p***ing in a bedpan, you know, and having some nurse come and clean me up, I was like, This cannot be happening to me. This cannot be happening. It was happening to me.”
Shirley recalled having to use a zimmer to walk around LA and says it was a great ego check. 
She added: “And then I couldn't walk for two whole weeks. 
“And then I was with a walker, like shuffling around Beverly Hills, outside my doctor's office because I do not live in Beverly Hills, I hasten to add, and it was just such a great ego check of like, yeah, you are just you and you are going to die and you better enjoy your life that you've got left.”
Shirley who is working on Garbage’s eighth studio album is currently touring North America with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.  
And, as she joked that she was looking forward to bleeping at every security check, she said: “Now, you know, just really seize the day. It was really both a cool experience and an awful one. But here I am, with my amazing bionic hip, which looks so beautiful on the X ray, and I'm grateful to be alive. So there you go. It's a triumphant story in the end.“

LEWIS CAPALDI GETS HIS FOURTH NUMBER ONE SINGLE

LEWIS Capaldi has done it again as the Scots born global superstar  today scores his fourth UK number 1 single with ‘Pointless’, equalling the likes of Whitney Houston, Cher, Jay-Z, One Direction, Pharrell, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Busted, B*Witched & Pet Shop Boys.

Theshowbizlion.com has followed Lewis since the early days of his singing life and ‘Pointless’ follows his previous three number 1’s inSomeone You Loved (2019), Before You Go (2020), and Forget Me (2022), and is the second single from his upcoming second studio album Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent - out May 19th on EMI Records.

"Thank you so much if you have streamed, downloaded or listened to ‘Pointless’ in any way, it really means a lot.” says Lewis. “This is my fourth UK Number 1, I now have the same amount of Number 1s as B*Witched, so pretty f*cking good if you ask me! I know there's a cost of living crisis, so thank you for spending your money on my music."

Lewis recently performed the new ballad at this year's Strictly Come Dancing semi-finals show HERE, and on The Graham Norton Show.

‘Pointless’ arrives as one of his earliest compositions for the new album, written on the first day with Steve Mac. With Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid also on the session, the trio were working on one song (“which hasn’t made the cut”) when Lewis’ collaborators mentioned a verse they’d previously begun writing with Ed Sheeran. 

Recently, Capaldi was announced as one of the headliners for Reading & Leeds Festival 2023, as well as unveiling his biggest outdoor headline summer shows to date in Manchester, Edinburgh & Belfast . The announcements came after he sold out his upcoming 2023 UK arena tour in seconds, which kicks off this Saturday in Leeds. The overwhelming demand for him doesn’t stop there, recently being crowned the ‘King Of Streaming’ with his global hit single ‘Someone You Loved’ becoming the UK’s most streamed song of ALL TIME.

If his first album made him an international star, with his second it’s nothing less than superstardom that beckons. His return has shown that the insatiable appetite for Capaldi burns as bright as ever.

JANUARY
Sat 14th                                     Leeds, First Direct ArenaSOLD OUT

Mon 16th                                  Sheffield, Utilita ArenaSOLD OUT

Wed 18th                                  Manchester, AO ArenaSOLD OUT

Thu 19th                                    Liverpool, M&S Bank ArenaSOLD OUT

Sat 21st                                      Newcastle, Utilita ArenaSOLD OUT

Mon 23                                       Aberdeen, P&J LiveSOLD OUT

Tue 24th                                    Glasgow, OVO HydroSOLD OUT

Thu 26th                                    Birmingham, Utilita ArenaSOLD OUT

Fri 27th                                       Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena                          SOLD OUT

Sun 29th                                    Belfast, SSE ArenaSOLD OUT

Mon 30th                                  Dublin, 3ArenaSOLD OUT

FEBRUARY 

Wed 1st                                     Cardiff, International ArenaSOLD OUT

Thu 2nd                                      Exeter, Westpoint ArenaSOLD OUT

AUGUST
Fri 25th                                       Manchester, Wythenshawe Park                        ON-SALE FRI 20^TH JAN

SEPTEMBER
Fri 1st                                          Edinburgh, Royal Highland Centre                      ON-SALE FRI 20^TH JAN

Sun 3rd                                       Belfast, Vital FestivalON-SALE FRI 20^TH JAN

Pre-Order Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent HERE. More info at https://shop.lewiscapaldi.com

x5 Top 10 Singles & x4 Number 1’s
‘Someone You Loved’ The UK’s Biggest Streamed Song Of ALL TIME

Biggest Selling UK Album Of Both 2019 & 2020
Longest Running Consecutive Weeks In Top 10 UK Album Chart For Solo Artist Album (77 Weeks)
‘Someone You Loved’ More Weeks In Top 10 Than Any Song EVER By British Act
Biggest Selling Single Of 2019 
Biggest Streamed Week 1 Debut Album Of All Time
x2 BRIT Award Winner & GRAMMY™️ Nominee
x5 UK Official Top 10 Singles including 2 x UK Official Number 1 Singles
x5 Billboard Top 10 Singles including Number 1 Single 'Someone You Loved'
x5 Consecutive No 1 US Radio Airplay Singles ('Someone You Loved' & 'Before You Go')
Over 25 Billion Worldwide Streams

ROD STEWART CHEERS WITH DELIGHT AT CELTIC BABY NEWS

ROD Stewart cheered with delight as he announced his daughter Ruby was expecting a baby boy and even made up a jingle on the spot to welcome the new addition to the family.
Maggie May rocker Sir Rod was given the honours of revealing the gender as Ruby told her followers on social media of the good news she and her other half Jake Kalick had for 2023.

As the family gathered round, Sir Rod could be seen reading from a piece of paper after opening the envelope from the hospital and he was delighted as he fist pumped the air and referenced his favourite football team as he said: “Its a boy. Mon the Celtic.”
Beaming from ear to ear, he then showed off the announcement on paper and sang a new naughty tune entitled: “Another winkle in the Stewart family.”
Ruby who is the daughter of Sir Rod and his ex girlfriend, the model Kelly Emberg, and Jake moved in together six weeks after they met during the beginning of the lockdown period.

Jake is co founder of cookware company Made- In.
The good news came following the recent death of Ruby’s uncles Donny and Bob.
Ruby urged her followers: “Hire Sir Rod Stewart for your gender reveal! He’ll even write a custom jungle for your unborn child!”
As she posted up a video of her black and white scan, she wrote: “Out of all of the things that happened in 2022 you were by far the most beautiful...We can't wait to meet you..Baby boy Kalick coming in April…”

Amongst those to congratulate her were her half sister Kimberley who wrote: “Def has the Stewart nose.”
Rod’s current wife Penny Lancaster added: “Can't wait to meet him.”
And his second wife Rachel Hunter added: “You are going to be an incredible Mum.”
Rod’s first wife Alana Stewart added: “How wonderful! So happy for you.”

CALLUM BEATTIE WILL PUT ON INTIMATE GLASGOW HOTEL PERFORMANCES

CALLUM Beattie is celebrating the release of his album Vandals with two intimate full-band performances in a Scots hotel. 

 

The RED Sky Bar, perched on top of Radisson RED Glasgow and with the most unique view in the country, will provide the perfect setting for these very special shows on Tuesday, November 1.

 

Callum – who is normally found on the main stage at TRNSMT, supporting the likes of Amy MacDonald at the Hydro or on tour or at Montreux Jazz Festival – will perform to just 150 lucky fans at each show.

 

Callum said: “I love the venue – it’s really something special – and we have had some great times at Radisson RED.

 

“So when we wanted to put on something really cool for fans, it was the first place we thought of – and luckily they jumped at the idea.

 

“The whole idea was to keep it small, intimate, so the RED Sky Bar is perfect – and we are doing two performances so 300 fans will get to be part of it overall.

 

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the album release – hanging out with fans, playing old favourites and new stuff from the album and just having a party in this beautiful room overlooking Glasgow.”

 

Radisson RED has been building an impressive pedigree of big names playing there, from Tom Walker to Arielle Free, George Bowie and Baby Strange as well as massive club nights with international DJs

 

Curator Graham Chalmers said: “We are thrilled Callum is marking his album release with these very intimate shows in our RED Sky Bar.

 

“He’s dropped by for an impromptu song or two a few times in the past but we are really pleased he wants to celebrate such a huge occasion with us.

 

“It will be an incredible evening, seeing him not on a massive stage miles away, but just a few feet from the audience. 

 

“Callum is one of the most exciting talents to come out of Scotland in years and he will be headlining arenas soon, so this is not to be missed.”

 

The performances will be at 7.30pm and 9.30pm, with each lasting around an hour. Tickets are on sale now priced £30 for each show. 

 

Tickets are available now from these links, one for each show – so follow the link to the one you’d like to attend - 

 

7.30 show - https://buy.stripe.com/4gweYGcSo9FX3VS004

 

9.30 show - https://buy.stripe.com/bIY6sa7y4bO5fEA005

 

Strictly over 18’s only.

EXAMPLE KICKSTARTS 2022 WITH TOUR

We love hearing from our friend Example and we can’t wait to have a wild time with him in January 2022 when he Kickstarts his new tour. 

 The ever exciting singer and platinum selling chart-topper who we meet up with regularly when he’s in Scotland has today announced a highly anticipated UK wide tour after a hiatus, hitting major UK cities including Leeds, London and Manchester as well as Bristol and Glasgow in January 2022. 

On the brink of releasing his 8^th studio album, the homegrown legend in the scene and triple-threat singer, rapper and producer Example is back to re-live both his old and new hits with fans on a 14 date tour in February, available here! www.trythisforexample.com, 
 
A UK festival favourite, Example’s career is soaked in accolades, in 2011 his 3^rd studio album “Playing in the Shadows” peaked at #1 in the UK charts and two of the singles off that album ‘Stay Awake’ & ‘Changed the Way You Kissed Me’ also went to #1. Armed with his brand new single ‘Every Single Time’ ft What So Not and Lucy Lucy and having just hosted his own stage at Creamfields, his trademark vocal over blissful production is to be embodied live next year, hitting UK stages again. His earlier discography reminiscent of the nostalgia from the EDM uprising in the 2010’s, the tour represents Example’s evolution through his sonic journey bridging the gap between pop, rap and electro, as he now revisits major UK cities post pandemic. Example’s inescapable anthems have seen him collaborate with fellow global stars Calvin Harris, Professor Green, Wretch 32, Giggs, Pet Shop Boys, Skream and many more.
 
The forthcoming tour is available for general sale on 10^th September @ 9.00am BST via Gigs and Tours here: www.trythisforexample.com, 

Tour Dates:

Wed 26 Jan 2022         De la War Pavilion, Bexhill
Fri 28 Jan 2022            The Great Hall, Exeter
Sat 29 Jan 2022           Bournemouth O2 Academy
Sun 30 Jan 2022          The Great Hall, Cardiff
Mon 31 Jan 2022          Corn Exchange, Cambridge       
Wed 2 Feb 2022           Glasgow O2 Academy
Thu 03 Feb 2022          Leeds O2 Academy
Fri 04 Feb 2022            Nottingham Rock City
Sat 05 Feb 2022           Manchester Academy
Fri 07 Feb 2022            O2 Academy Newcastle
Tue 8 Feb 2022                    UEA, Norwich
Thu 10 Feb 2022          O2 Academy Bristol
Fri 11 Feb 2022            Birmingham O2 Academy
Sat 12 Feb 2022           O2 Academy Brixton

CALEDONIA WRITER DOUGIE MACLEAN WANTS ROD STEART TO SING ANTHEM

CALEDONIA writer Dougie Maclean says he would love Rod Stewart to sing his famous anthem as he gets ready to pick up a Special Recognition award at this years Specsavers Scottish Music Awards. 
Caledonia, which Dougie wrote in 1977 as a ‘wee homesick song’ in his twenties, has been covered around the world and is seen as an unofficial anthem for Scotland, played regularly at football and rugby matches, weddings and funerals.
But despite being covered by everyone from Dolores Keane to Amy Macdonald, Dougie says he’d love Rod to do his own take on it. 
He said: “It’s a fantastic thing as a songwriter to have a song that has become a part of common culture. I always thought Rod Stewart would sing a great version of it. I don’t think he has ever done it.”
Caledonia is just one of hundreds of songs written by Dougie over a careers spanning forty six years. 
He said: “As I grow older my music becomes more personal. Music is quite magical.  My daughter was at school what her daddy did and she said ‘my daddy is a magician’. Music brings a lot of pleasure whatever story is behind it.”
Dougie’s songs including The Gael have soundtracked films like Last Of The Mohicans as well as having actors like Sean Connery quote them.
He said: “I did an advert for Visit Scotland and I got to meet Sean Connery who had to read a line from Caledonia in it. It was done in a film studio. You’re standing there and thinking ‘There’s James Bond and he’s saying the words of my song and it’s nice’.”
Yet despite his success he says he is not rolling in riches. 
He said: “I’m not minted and have not treated myself to anything other than guitars by Jimmy Moon, my pride and joy. I have three of them and they are the tools of my trade.”
For Nordoff Robbins fundraiser Scottish Music Awards on Saturday, Dougie plans to play a special song which he wrote after meeting a very sick girl in Rachel House years ago.
He said: “I was very lucky to sit in the music therapy for terminally ill kids and wrote a song called The Gift which came from watching a wee girl who got music therapy. I often thought I’d love to give the song to the mother.”

Five Caledonia Covers 
Frankie Miller (advert for Tennents Lager)

Paolo Nutini (T In The Park)

Amy Macdonald (on album This Is The Life) 

Ronan Keating (on album Winter Songs)

Sir Sean Connery, Lulu, Amy Macdonald, Sandi Thom, Eddi Reader, Brian Cox, golfer Sam Torrance, multi Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy and Scottish international rugby players Thom Evans and Kelly Brown(Homecoming Scotland ad 2009)

ANNIE LENNOX GETS SET FOR NOVEMBER RELEASE

WHEN it comes to Scottish icons they don’t get much bigger than Annie Lennox who, with over 83 million albums sold, plans to return this November.

 

Annie  is releasing a digitally remastered version of her sixth solo album, A Christmas Cornucopia - a collection of inspired interpretations of traditional festive songs, rounded out by a Lennox composition, “Universal Child” on November 20.

 

The 2020 re-issue of A Christmas Cornucopia will be released via Island Records to mark its 10 year anniversary just in time for Christmas. It will feature a brand new, previously unreleased track, “Dido’s Lament”, a new tracklisting, and new artwork (across all formats – vinyl, CD and digital). 

 

The showbizlion.com is particularly pleased to hear of Annie’s return as we have had the pleasure of hosting and supporting at The Circle charity events in Glasgow. The Circle is Annie Lennox’s Charity to help women in need and it does great things around the globe.

Annie said of the album:  “I’m absolutely delighted to be releasing the 10th Anniversary of A Christmas Cornucopia. 2020 has been an unprecedented year around the world… The carols on this album represent continuum -  harking back to a time before modern technology, climate emergency, global pandemics, pollution, forest destruction, species extinction and all the challenges our world must urgently deal with in terms of crisis in sustainability. I hope this recording will at least offer some comfort and nostalgia, but also an awareness that political leaders, religious leaders and everyone around the world must face up to the question of how many more Christmases we have left to spend on this blighted earth.” Min ;

 

“Dido’s Lament” - written by Henry Purcell in the 17th century and arranged by Annie Lennox and Mike Stevens -  references the tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas as documented in Virgil’s legendary epic poem, The Aeneid, from the 1st century BC. It will be released as the lead single from the album on 10th November and will be accompanied by a music video (out 12th November). 

 

All proceeds earned from Annie’s original composition on the album, “Universal Child”,will be paid to The Annie Lennox Foundation.The Annie Lennox Foundation raises money for various charitable projects, primarily those supporting and educating women and children in Africa and people with HIV/Hepatitis C in Scotland.

 

The music on A Christmas Cornucopia was mostly played by Lennox, in collaboration with co producer Mike Stevens, and originally recorded in his southwest London studio – at the bottom of his garden in 2010. But to achieve the resonance and vibrancy that were integral to Lennox’s ideas for these re-energized reboots, the pair also worked with a 30-piece orchestra at Pinewood Studios. And they travelled further afield too: to South Africa, to record with the African Children’s Choir, a remarkable organization with which impassioned campaigner and activist Lennox has long had a relationship.

 

A Christmas Cornucopia is far from a saccharine packaged selection box. As befits its title, it offers an abundant track listing drawn from British, French and German traditions covering the well-known alongside more untrodden ground. It’s broad spectrum encompasses a wide range of narratives and emotions – from joyful and celebratory thorough melancholic and haunting to poignant and timely. On “Lullay Lullay”, for example, Lennox draws direct links between the Nativity and the plight of Africa’s child soldiers. 

 

Vibrant but vintage, classic and contemporary, glorious but with a polemical edge, Annie Lennox’s A Christmas Cornucopia is no ordinary collection of seasonal songs. 

 

 

A Christmas Cornucopia 2020 re-issue - tracklisting

 

Vinyl:

A-Side

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

2. The First Noel

3. Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant

4. See Amid the Winters Snow

5. Silent Night

6. Universal Child

B-Side

1. Angels From the Realms of Glory

2. The Holly and the Ivy

3. As Joseph Was a Walking

4. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

5. Lullay Lullay

6. In the Bleak Midwinter 

7. Dido’s Lament

 

CD:

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

2. The First Noel

3. Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant

4. See Amid the Winters Snow

5. Silent Night

6. Universal Child

7. Dido’s Lament

8. Angels From the Realms of Glory

9. The Holly and the Ivy

10. As Joseph Was a Walking

11. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

12. In the Bleak Midwinter

13. Lullay Lullay

 

Streaming:

1. Universal Child

2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

3. Silent Night

4. Angels From The Realms of Glory

5. The First Noel

6. Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant

7. Dido’s Lament

8. The Holly and the Ivy

9. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem

10. In The Bleak Midwinter

11. See Amid The Winter's Snow

12. Lullay Lullay

13. As Joseph Was A Walking

 

 

PRE-ORDER THE 10^th ANNIVERSARY RE-ISSUE OF A CHRISTMAS CORNUCOPIA HERE: 

https://AnnieLennox.lnk.to/ChristmasCornucopia

 

GARBAGE SINGER SHIRLEY MANSON TALKS LOCKDOWN ANXIETY

Pic from Garbage Twitter header 

GARBAGE singer Shirley Manson claims she’s had depression and anxiety through lockdown in a year that has been a real s***show but is excited about her bands 25th anniversary. 
The Edinburgh born singer also thanked everyone from her fans to her bus drivers, pressing plants and runners for looking after her during the course of her career. 
Shirley who is set to release a new album with Garbage in coming months said of lockdown: “Having the time of my life like everyone else. I really shouldn’t complain, but of course, I do. I read a thing today with Michelle Obama talking about low-grade depression and anxiety, and I’m like, “Well, at least I’m in good company.” 
Shirley reckons the Covid 19 Crisis has been like walking through ‘an endless landscape with no hope and no dreams.’
She added: “There is no form to my day whatsoever. We’re in the middle of mixing a Garbage record, so thank God for that. It’s the only thing keeping us sane. I’m cooking a lot, walking the dog a lot. I’m reading a lot, which has been fantastic. I haven’t read this much since I was in adolescence. So that’s been one of the amazing things, I think, about getting time like this. But it’s hard.“
In a chat with Rolling Stone magazine the singer said she was looking forward to ‘a bright future’ with her band. 
She added: “The sad thing is, we were looking at the most fun year we’ve had in quite some time. We’re restructuring our business and changing the way we release records from the way we have in the last eight years. We have a lot of touring lined up, which of course we can’t carry out. We have a new record being mixed as we speak that’s going to come out next year. We’ve got three more songs to go and then we’re done. And then we’ll concentrate on the artwork and start planning for next year. We were really excited. We were talking with our team this morning, and things are still looking hopeful.” 

LULU WISHES SHE HAD BEEN MORE AUTHENTIC

LULU wishes she had been authentic and honest when she was younger instead of trying to hide her real feelings. 
The 71 year old Scots singer who grew up in Glasgow’s  Dennistoun claims she was too scared to reveal anything about her personal feelings when she was younger. 
She also claimed she felt God-like because she felt the pressure to provide for her family. 
In a chat with BBC presenter Fearne Cotton on her Instagram, Lulu said: “You’re now at an age where things have changed. You’re so open and you’re so authentic. I don’t think I was brave enough in those days to open up and say the things I wanted, that were going on with me. I didn’t even know what was going on with me. It’s such a change from when I was young.“
Lulu went on to say that she often thought she ‘was God’ because she had to provide for her family. 
She explained: “There was a lot of fear about revealing things cause I was the eldest of four and wanted to take care of everybody and if I didn’t take care of everyone and it didn’t go well for me everyone else would kind of suffer. God, I thought I was God, quite clearly but not consciously, sub consciously. What you’re saying is kind of what I have come to later on in my life, not that I was inauthentic but I was fearful so now I’m really saying my truth and that’s what is so great about now.“
The singer also said she empathised with Fearne's recent comments about becoming bulimic after feeling fat when she compared her self to ‘tiny popstars’. 
She said: “You talked a lot about that food thing and how you would look at these little people you were interviewing and think that you weren’t as good as them and think they were so much thinner or better looking. A lot of that was my story. I was with the rockstars and every one of them, I would hang out with them and their girlfriends would be six foot tall stick thin models and I would think I was, you know I wasn’t, but I thought I was fat. I wasn’t. I had a little fat face, but I can see how many things were similar.“
The Shout singer admitted it had been tough mixing family life with her career but said she had been providing comfort via the phone to her grandchildren during lockdown. 
She said: “When I look back at me and my career, getting married, I have one son and I don’t even know how he turned out so well because it’s tough trying to juggle. 
She added: “During lockdown, my granddaughter called me because she was very sad. She said ‘Nana I’m very sad because I can’t see the friends I want to and Teddy (her little brother) has got it easier’. Anyway,  I made her laugh and it was better for a minute because I make up all sorts of conspiracy theories and tell her not to tell anyone. She laughs at me and I say ‘Don’t tell anyone I said that, because you know I’m crazy, but we don’t want everyone to know.’ It broke my heart.”