Musician Ally Rhodes has written a lovely song dedicated to Doctor Who’s River Song. She describes it as a song about the triumph of love over predetermined destiny.

Check it out below! It’s lovely!

You can buy the song on iTunes!

http://allyrhodes.net
http://twitter.com/allyrhodesmusic
http://facebook.com/allyrhodesmusic
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ally-rhodes/id429975858

Doctor Who: The Ballad for River Song by Ally Rhodes is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Liverpool is famous for many things – the Mersey ferry, the unique ‘scouse’ dialect and for being awarded the prestigious title of ‘European Capital of Culture’ in 2008. More famous than all these factors combined though, is the fact that Liverpool is the birthplace of one of the most successful and critically acclaimed bands in rock and roll history – The Beatles.

For all die hard Beatles fans a pilgrimage to Merseyside is a must – and with Liverpool hotels available at great prices if you book early, plus the great selection of transport links to the city, there is no better weekend away for a Beatles die-hard than a couple of days in the ‘pool.’

For the true Beatles experience, check out these great places of interest.

The Casbah Coffee Club – 8 Hayman’s Green Liverpool L12 7JG

The Casbah Coffee Club is where it all began for the Beatles and you can now visit the unique basement club where they played some of there very first gigs. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, at the time part of ‘The Quarrymen’, helped the proprietor paint the club in its early days. The clubs’ underground room, an ex-coal cellar, is now Grade II listed as recommended by English Heritage.

The Beatles’ Childhood Homes – Woolton and Allerton, Liverpool

In an excursion run by the National Trust, you can experience the childhood homes of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney in a tour of Mendips and 20 Forthlin Road. Investigate the area and landmarks that inspired many of The Beatles most famous hits and the houses where the Beatles met, rehearsed and composed some of the most iconic rock and roll songs of a generation.

The Beatles Story – Britannia Vaults, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AD

To get a real education on just how four lads from Liverpool went on to become one of the greatest bands of all time, visit The Beatles Story. The Beatles Story is an award winning one-of-a-kind attraction which takes you through the life, music and culture of The Beatles, through a series of fun and interactive features.

The Cavern Club – 10 Mathew St Liverpool L2 6RE

If the Casbah was where the Beatles were born, it is Cavern where they really began to blossom into the band we know and love today, playing the now famous club almost 300 times in the 1960’s. First opened as a jazz club in 1957, the Cavern is still one of Liverpool’s top music venues.

Guest Post: Visit Liverpool for the True Beatles Experience – Top Beatles Attractions in Liverpool England is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The Battle Proms is a series of open-air picnic concerts at some of England’s finest stately homes and Palaces.  These concerts are quintessentially British spectaculars featuring a full 52 piece orchestra with choreographed Spitfire air display, Napoleonic cavalry re-enactors, 200 live firing cannons and breathtaking fireworks!

Our website is  www.battleproms.com

Here’s a video of a recent concert:

Venues include Highclere Castle the venue for TV’s Downton Abbey, and Princess Diana’s family home Althorp Park:

• Burghley House, Lincolnshire – 7 July
• Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire – 14 July
• Hatfield House, North London – 21 July
• Highclere Castle, Berkshire – 4 August
• Althorp House, Northamptonshire – 11 August
• Ragley Hall, Warwickshire – 18 August

These are all within a couple of hours drive from London – see the map on our homepage.

What is a Proms concert?

The concept of the ‘Prom’ concert was first introduced in 1895 by Mr. Robert Newman, manager of the Queen’s Hall, London, and talented young musician and conductor Mr. Henry Wood. Their aim was to heighten the popularity of classical music by staging concerts with an informal atmosphere where the audience could stand, walk around (hence the ‘promenade’), and eat and drink. This relaxed and quintessentially British way of appreciating live orchestral music remains to this day a truly exceptional experience.

It is this great Proms tradition which inspired the Battle Proms Concerts, but in order to go that extra mile we have moved to the great outdoors and developed a distinctive and unique event with additional drama and flare, and a few thunderous surprises!

Attendance at the concerts is between 4-8,000 people, creating an electric party atmosphere. Concert-goers are invited to bring their own food, drink and furniture and make the party their own. Highlights include the 1812 Overture with live cannon fire and a sing-along proms finale with all the favourites like Rule, Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem. Our concert series continues to grow, and for many it is the event of the summer. This year will of course feature a special tribute to the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II in the form of a salute fired by a team of gunners from an authentic vintage field gun. No summer trip would be complete without this uniquely British celebration!

Coming Soon: The Battle Proms Concerts in 2012 – One at Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey)! is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The parklands of the ancient Glastonbury Abbey will host the 2012 Orchestra in a Field music festival in July.

The two-day festival is organised by international conductor and BBC TV’s ‘face of classical music’ Charles Hazlewood. He says: ‘People associate big orchestras with stuffy concert halls, and a lot of people are alienated by that image of “classical music”. But take the music out of that setting, and it’s a revelation.

‘Imagine a brightly lit stage in the middle of a field at night, and the sheer sensory assault of a symphony orchestra at full tilt, plus soloists and a big chorus – it’s an amazing spectacle, let alone the sound!’

The main concert items will be Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Bizet’s Carmen. The Mussorgsky piece will include improvised replies to the orchestra from Charles Hazlewood’s All Stars, a musical ‘supergroup’ featuring Will Gregory from Goldfrapp and Adrian Utley from Portishead.

Other highlights of the festival will include a performance of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, the world’s largest-ever electric guitar group (the Adrian Utley Guitar Orchestra) and a performance by the Scrapheap Orchestra which is an orchestra made out of scrap material and the recent subject of a major BBC TV film.

The British Paraorchestra, the UK’s first-ever national disabled orchestra will also perform.

Glastonbury Abbey is set in 15 hectares (36 acres) of parkland in the centre of the ancient market town of Glastonbury. Before the Reformation, the Abbey was the most powerful in the land and it is believed to be the site of the oldest Christian church in England and the resting place of three early English kings.

Orchestra In A Field is on 30 June and 1 July, with tickets priced from £20 to £65 for a weekend ticket with camping at Worthy Farm.

Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 9EL
Websites: www.orchestrainafield.com
www.glastonburyabbey.com
Facebook: Orchestra in a Field 2012
Twitter: @OrchestraField

Music: Classical music in a field at Glastonbury Abbey is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will headline the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival. The three-day event will also feature Elbow, Biffy Clyro, Madness, Example, Noah and the Whale and Noel Gallagher.

The Isle of Wight Festival was first held in 1968. The 1969 event starred Bob Dylan and The Band. In 1970, with The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and the Doors headlining, the festival attracted an estimated crowd of 600,000. This led to the parliamentary Isle of Wight Act in 1971 which prevented gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island without a special licence.

After a 32-year gap, the festival was revived in 2002 with Robert Plant as the headline act. Since then Paul Weller, the Rolling Stones, the Police, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Coldplay, the Sex Pistols and the Stereophonics have all appeared at the event, which won the Best Major UK Festival award in 2008.

The Isle of Wight is England’s largest island, lying 3–6km (2–4 miles) off the south coast. It measures 37km x 21km (23 x 13 miles) and has a resident population of about 132,000. Over half the island is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it attracts around 2.6 million visitors a year. There are ferry crossings to the island from Southampton, Portsmouth and Lymington.

The Isle of Wight Festival is on the weekend of 22–24 June, tickets for all three days £190 including camping, £160 without camping.

Isle of Wight Festival, Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight

Tel: +44 844 499 9955

Website: www.isleofwightfestival.com

Facebook: Official Isle of Wight Festival

Twitter: @IsleOfWightFest

The Isle of Wight rocks again in 2012 Festival is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Several months ago, I ordered a copy of the acclaimed British music magazine, MOJO, to be sent to me in the post.  The particular issue I ordered also came with a compilation CD featuring artists on the London music label, Communion.  Communion is of great interest to me, not only because the label was co-founded by Ben Lovett, a member of one of my favourite bands, Mumford & Sons, but also because they specialise in working with very talented singer/songwriters, many of whom I’ve recommended in previous columns (such as Daughter, Pete Roe, Marcus Foster, and Johnny Flynn).

Once I received my copy of the magazine and gave a cursory glance at the names on the back of the accompanying CD, I put it on, turned up the volume, and went about tidying up my kitchen.  Then, I heard a voice that made me stop dead in my tracks.  I heard this:

To my ears, it sounded like the second coming of Otis Redding, and I actually got goosebumps on my arms whilst listening to it.  So I picked up the CD jewel case once again, and checked to see who the voice that had floored me belonged to.  Michael Kiwanuka was his name.  I put the song on repeat, finished up my chores in the kitchen, then headed straight for my computer to find more of his music.

The next song of Michael’s that I stumbled upon—as a result of my Internet search—was called Bones.  The video I found for it was of a performance he’d done at Union Chapel in London.  I fell in love with the song, and even more so with his voice.

Every song of Michael’s that I came across thereafter thrilled me.  His voice and sound reminded me of the great soul singers my parents had loved and had raised me on, like Otis, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Bill Withers, and Curtis Mayfield.

A bit more Internet sleuthing led me to additional information on Michael.  He grew up in Muswell Hill, London and his parents are from Uganda.  He’s only been writing songs for about 3 years (which I found simply stunning, considering he’s only 23), and I learnt he had recently opened for the incomparable Adele on her summer tour, and would also be opening for my beloved Laura Marling.

I checked his gig schedule, dying to know if he’d be in my neck of the woods anytime soon, and discovered that he was scheduled to play a free show in Birmingham during the same time I’d be on holiday in England.  I decided that a day trip to see him perform live was absolutely in order.

And so on a fine Tuesday afternoon in October, I boarded a train to the hometown of Ozzy Osbourne and Duran Duran, checked myself into a nearby Premier Inn upon arrival, and ventured off to see Michael perform at a tiny jazz club near the city centre called The Yardbird.  Here’s just a taste of what I witnessed that evening:

Getting the chance to see an incredible talent like Michael perform in such a small venue before he really hit the big time… I can say, unequivocally, that it was absolutely worth the trip.  Michael sings with a wisdom far beyond his 23 years.  His sound is a mix of soul, folk, and jazz that he melds together so beautifully.  He truly makes what he does look effortless.

Michael is garnering all sorts of attention in the music industry these days.  He was recently nominated for the BRITs Critics’ Choice Award, and is also one of 15 artists nominated for the BBC Sound of 2012 Award.  He’s been featured on BBC Radio 1, as well as on Later… With Jools Holland.

Currently, he has released two EPs, with a third coming out at the beginning of 2012.  His full-length, debut album, Home Again, will be released on the 26th of March, 2012.  He’ll also be playing live throughout the UK through February.  If you get the opportunity to see Michael perform live, don’t hesitate.  Do. It.  I promise that your ears, heart, and soul will thank you profusely.

You can find out more about Michael Kiwanuka on his official website at http://michaelkiwanuka.com/

Chuffed to Bits: British Music Artist on the Rise – Michael Kiwanuka is a post from: Anglotopia.net

If you’re excited about the next Adele album, you’ll be waiting longer than you’d expect and it has nothing to do with Adele’s recent vocal surgery.

According to the Telegraph:

Adele, who is 23, has been recovering from throat surgery and she toldBillboard via an email interview: “I’m really looking forward to some time to do nothing. I imagine I’ll be 25 or 26 by the time my next record comes out, as I haven’t even thought about my third record yet. I’m just gonna lay some concrete, set up home and just ‘be’ for a bit. I’ll disappear and come back with a record when it’s good enough. There will be no new music until it’s good enough and until I’m ready.”

Brit Music: Don’t Expect a New Adele Album for a few years is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Coldplay is going on tour in 2012 and they’ll be making quite a few stops in North America and we have the schedule thanks to the folks over at Britscene.

Here are the dates:

Coldplay North America Tour Dates:
April
17 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place
18 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
20 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
24 – Portland, OR – Rose Garden Arena
25 – Seattle, WA – Key Arena
27 – San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion

May
1 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
2 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl

June
22 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
25 – Houseton, TX – Toyota Center
28 – Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum
29 – Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena

July
2 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
5 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
8 – Washington, D.C. – Verizon Center
23 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
26 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
29 – Boston, MA – TD Garden

August
3 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center
7 – Chicago, Il – United Center
11 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center

Source.

Coldplay: 2012 North America Dates and Cities Announced is a post from: Anglotopia.net

A young musician who had to memorize Hamlet’s Soliloquy put it to song to help her remember it. The result is rather good!

Check it out below:

Friday Fun: Hamlet’s Soliloquy as a Song – Video is a post from: Anglotopia.net

More than 4,000 musicians, singers and dancers from over 50 countries will come to North Wales next July to perform at one of the world’s most colourful festivals.

The 66th annual Llangollen International Eisteddfod will offer six days of music, song and dance (3–8 July), and will include visitors from South Korea, China, Moldova and Slovakia. During the day, musicians, choirs and dancers compete in over 20 competitions. Each evening the best and most colourful competitors share the stage in concerts given by professional artists. Every year the festival opens with a Parade of Nations through the small town.

The 2012 line-up features Alfie Boe (best known for his role as Jean Valijean in Les Misèrables), instrumentalist/composer Karl Jenkins and singers Wynne Evans and Lesley Garrett. Other performers include trumpeter Alison Balsom, violinist Nicola Benedetti, soprano Fflur Wyn, opera star Mark Llywelyn Evans, one of Wales’s most successful choirs, Côr CF1, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The Choir of the World finale takes place on Saturday 7 July.

Many singing stars started their careers in Llangollen. Placido Domingo acknowledges that his first professional experience in the UK was at the 1968 International Eisteddfod. In 1955 Luciano Pavarotti competed with his father in the male voice choir competition with others from their home town of Modena.

Singer Lesley Garrett explains: ‘Llangollen Eisteddfod is an amazing festival that brings many genres of music together. This is a cultural festival with great longevity and a fabulous history. Some of the world’s best singers have headlined here over the past 65 years. I’m also looking forward to performing at Llangollen again and sharing the stage with the fantastic Alison Balsom and Nicola Benedetti. They are wonderful instrumentalists and performers.’

The new Music Director of the Llangollen International Festival is conductor and composer Eilir Owen Griffiths.

Llangollen International Eisteddfod, Royal International Pavilion, Abbey Road, Llangollen LL20 8SW
Tel: +44 1978 862001 (box office)
Website: www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk
Facebook: Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod
Twitter: @llangollen2011 

Music of the world comes to Wales for International Festival is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The director behind 24 Hours Party People is going to take on The Beatles.

According to the BBC:

24 Hour Party People film-maker Michael Winterbottom will direct The Longest Cocktail Party, a film about Beatles label Apple, its producer has said.

Andrew Eaton, co-founder of Revolution Films with Winterbottom, also told The Playlist blog that Peep Show creator Jesse Armstrong had written the script.

The film, based on Apple worker Richard DiLello’s book, is co-produced with Liam Gallagher’s film company.

Eaton described the film as “one of my passion projects”.

Former Oasis singer Gallagher, whose In 1 Productions company owns the rights to the memoir by The Beatles’ “house hippy” DiLello, revealed last year that the film would be made.

DiLello, whose responsibilities included making tea and listening to demo tapes, began working for the company as a teenager after he “wandered into” the Apple building in 1968.

His memoir, which charts the period from 1968 to The Beatles’ break-up in 1970, features tales of a one-man band auditioning in the company’s reception hall and the Beatles’ last public performance on the roof.

Source.

Sounds interesting!

Michael Winterbottom to Direct Beatles Film is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Coldplay have released the first video from their upcoming album Mylo Xyloto for the single Paradise. Check it out – there’s a large part of it in London.

The new album comes out Tuesday! We can’t wait!

Coldplay: Paradise Music Video Released – Very Londony! is a post from: Anglotopia.net

This fun video takes 22 Beatles songs about love and mashed them together.

What fun!

Attention all Beatles fans! Can you identify the 22 Beatles love songs in this video?

Video: Beatles Love Song Mashup – Do You Know Them All? is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Recently, I watched George Harrison: Living in the Material World, the new documentary directed by Martin Scorsese.  As a lifelong Beatles fan, I was fascinated to learn more about George Harrison’s life before, during, and after his time with the Fab Four.  If you haven’t yet seen it, I highly recommend it.  Here’s the trailer for the film.

To be honest, Paul has always been my favourite Beatle, with John coming in a close second (sorry, Ringo). However, I learned a few things about George that I wasn’t aware of prior to seeing this documentary that may have just moved him to the top of my list.

He put his mark on some of the Beatles’ best songs.  I have no idea why I thought Lennon and McCartney were the ones who wrote Something, but it was actually George who wrote what Frank Sinatra once called the greatest love song ever written.

Harrison also came up with the memorable guitar riff for And I Love Her. Paul McCartney says in the film that he didn’t write that part at all, that it was George who thought the song needed a little something extra. That 4-note riff (DO, DO, DO, DO) made a great song even better.

Upon further research, I also discovered that it was George who sang the lead vocals on my favourite Beatles song of all time, Do You Want to Know a Secret.

He was a producer of cult films such as Life of Brian, Time Bandits, and Withnail and I.  Harrison was a big fan of Monty Python and according to Eric Idle, he mortgaged his house to finance the movie Life of Brian because he really wanted to see it.  I happen to love Withnail and I, so I was really chuffed (to bits!) to learn that George was also a producer on that film as well.

He did a lot of the work on his country estate, Friar Park, himself.  George loved nature, and was an avid gardener, doing much of the landscaping and renovations on his 30 acres of land and 120-room gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames himself.  In the film, his son Dhani (who bears a striking resemblance to his father) talks about how his father used to look out at the grounds in the moonlight because the shadows would mask all of the weeds and imperfections, and in that light he could visualize how he wanted the estate to look.  Interviewed recently by Rolling Stone, Dhani shared some thoughts about his dad, stating that when he was a small boy, “I was pretty sure he was just a gardener.” Harrison would work 12-hour days planting trees and flowers at Friar Park, pursuing his vision.

He had a great sense of humour.  In the documentary, Harrison’s wife Olivia recounts the harrowing experience they both survived in 1999, when a crazed fan broke into their home and attacked them, stabbing George as many as eight times.  Eric Idle shares a side note to this story.  Apparently there were some new household staff members at Friar Park around that time.  These people had only been working for Harrison for a few days, and as he was being carried out of Friar Park on a stretcher by the paramedics, George looked over at the new employees and said, “So, what do you think of the job so far?”  Ringo Starr also shares a very poignant moment about when he went to visit Harrison at the end of his battle with cancer.  Starr had to leave to fly to America to be with his daughter who was having a brain tumor removed.  Ringo gets visibly emotional as he recalls George asking him, “Do you want me to go with you?”  He may have been known as the quiet Beatle, but George Harrison certainly didn’t take himself too seriously, even under the most dire of circumstances.

He was extremely spiritual.  I’ve always known from listening to his music as a solo artist that George Harrison was a spiritual person, but I had no idea how deep his belief and faith in spirituality really was until I watched this documentary.  George was a devotee of meditation, studying with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and was also a devotee of Hinduism and the Hare Krishna tradition of japa (chanting a mantra).  In addition, George produced the Hare Krishna Mantra as a single, and even included the actual mantra in his hit song, My Sweet Lord.

George Harrison was an incredible human being, and George Harrison: Living in the Material World certainly illustrates this in a fascinating, beautiful way that pays great tribute to the man, his life, and the legacy of music he left behind.

Chuffed to Bits: Living in the Material World – 5 Things I Learned About George Harrison from the Scorsese Documentary is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Sir Paul McCartney has defied logic and married for the third time – this time to an American heiress named Nancy Shevell whom is presumably not after his money because she has her own. Smart move Paul!

I’m really quite shocked he’s married again.

Tabloids are taking pains to state that they got married at the same place as his first marriage to Linda McCartney – hopefully that will give them a bit of luck that this will go better than his last go at marriage!

Here are some Paul McCartney Wedding Pictures:

Love Me Do! Sir Paul McCartney Wedding Pictures – Photos Inside is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Thought this fun Doctor Who video was worth sharing.

WEDDING OF RIVER SONG SPOILERS!

This is a trock parody of Ke$ha’s Tik Tok. It’s about Season 6 of Doctor Who.

Video: Doctor Who Series 6 Parody – Tick Tock Goes The Clock (Trock Parody of Tik Tok by Ke$ha) is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The folks over at Neatorama have a great article about the final process it took to kill the Beatles on paper and the drama that unfolded behind the scenes.

Here’s an excerpt:

Technically, it is hard to pinpoint the exact moment when the Beatles ended as a group. John Lennon had officially walked out of a meeting at Apple headquarters, with the other three Beatles present, on September 20, 1969. His immortal words, just before he haughtily exited, were, “I want a divorce. Just like the one I got from Cynthia (his first wife).” Other things were said, but suffice it to say, with these words, the die was cast.

Interestingly, Ringo had already quit the band, back in August of 1968, during the recording session for The White Album. In January of 1969, during the filming of The Beatles’ last movie Let It Be, George Harrison too got fed up with the quarreling and the sniping -and Yoko Ono- and he, too, made for the nearest exit. “See you around the clubs, George said as he bolted. Both George and Ringo were eventually talked into returning, although John never did.

Read the rest here.

Behind the Scenes the Day the Beatles Officially Died is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Music means everything to me.  My friends will tell you that I always have a song in my head and my heart that I’m dying to talk about and share.  Albert Einstein once said, “…I often think in music.  I live my daydreams in music.  I see my life in terms of music…  I get most joy in life out of music.”  I think Einstein and I would have been great friends.

Like most people, there are many songs that hold a special significance in my life.  There are songs that remind me of certain individuals, and songs that remind me of particular feelings or events I’ve experienced.  And there are, of course, songs that remind me of certain places.  I’m a big fan of the shuffle feature on my iPod, and more often than not, a song comes on that reminds me of England, and I’m instantly transported by it.  The sights, the smells, who I was with, how I was feeling… all of it comes flooding back.  So I thought I’d share some of the songs that always remind me of my life and times in Blighty.

LDN by Lily Allen.  Cheeky and fun, this song is a favourite of mine.  Before my first visit to England in 2009, my friend and I used to listen to this and joke that we’d meander through the streets of London on bicycles like Lily does in the song, whilst singing this out loud.  Well, once we arrived, it turned out that we weren’t very good at even crossing the streets without nearly getting hit by a car (LOOK RIGHT!), so that pipe dream went straight out the window.  But despite our lack of pedestrian prowess in the UK, this is still a marvellous tune, and it will always remind me of that inaugural trip.

London Skies by Jamie Cullum.  This is the song I listen to without fail when I’m packing for a trip across the Pond.  I’ve also been known to listen to it on the plane ride over, and I have fond memories of listening to it whilst wandering through Green Park.  It always makes me happy.  Keep in mind that I’m a native of a state where the sun shines 300+ days a year.  You know what they say; you always want what you don’t have.

Ticket To Ride by The Beatles.  I was listening to this song when I saw English countryside for the very first time.  My friend and I were travelling on the Eurostar from Paris to London, and when we cleared the Chunnel and I caught my first glimpse of those gorgeous, green, rolling hills… there just aren’t words for how I felt in that moment.  My friend glanced at me and said, “Look at you! You’re lit up like a Christmas tree!”  I could not stop smiling.  I was on a train, listening to The Beatles, in England for the very first time in my life.  I will never forget it.

Can’t Be Sure by The Sundays.  The Sundays were my favourite alternative band when I was a teenager.  A Doc Martens-clad, pensive teenager who gobbled up any and all music from the UK that I could get my hands on.  And now as an adult, this song reminds me of people watching in Trafalgar Square.  I sat on the steps in front of the National Gallery last year, and listened to this during a solo trip to London.  A brilliant track.

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths.   This is another song that conjures up people watching memories from Trafalgar Square.  I lost count of how many double-decker buses actually passed by (safely, thank you very much) as I sat there, sipping Earl Grey tea from a paper cup, marvelling at the fact that once again I was in my favourite city in the world.  I adore The Smiths and Morrissey, and I loved this song long before it was made famous by (500) Days of Summer (which is a fantastic film, by the way, if you haven’t seen it).

London Calling by The Clash.  This song is on a mix CD that I have in my car.  Last month, during the London riots, it flooded my speakers unexpectedly, and it gave me chills.  However, I have another, much happier memory associated with it.  Last year, I went to see American singer/songwriter Joshua Radin perform at The Roundhouse in Camden.  As I stood inside the venue waiting for the show to begin, a group of young Englishmen passed by me as this song was playing over the sound system.  They were obviously several pints into quite a fun evening, and as they careened past me in a single file line, train-style, they loudly sang out in unison, “Cause London is drowning and I… I live by the river!”  I laughed, savouring yet another amazing moment in the Big Smoke.

Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty.  My only memories of this song up until last year were of hearing it on the radio when I was growing up, and then hearing it featured in the playground fight scene of the film Good Will Hunting.  Then one day, whilst trying to find the London Beatles Store, I found myself on the Baker Street. And, musical sap that I am, I immediately found it on my iPod, and let that infamous saxophone hook fill my ears as I walked.  This song will always be a part of the memory of my Beatles Day in London.

Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles.  After my walk on Baker Street and my rather successful visit to the Beatles Store, I headed to Abbey Road Studios in St. John’s Wood and the infamous crosswalk.  I got lost in the surrounding neighbourhood, but I didn’t really mind too much because I was listening to some amazing music.  I’ll give you three guesses as to what album I had playing on a loop whilst I was there, and the first two don’t count.

Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons.  These guys are one of my favourite bands of all time.  They are quintessentially English, and I genuinely believe they can’t make a bad record.  I was in Brighton last year, eating lunch at a pub, when this song came on.  In fact, the next three songs were all by Mumford & Sons, and I soon struck up a conversation with the owner of the pub about the band.  I’ve been lucky enough to see them live twice: the first time was in a small club where they played to a crowd of about 150.  The second time was earlier this year, where they played to a crowd of 10,000.  They’re obviously doing something right.  Note: There is an expletive in this song, so if that sort of thing offends you, keep calm and carry on…

England by The National.  I’ve only just discovered The National.  I highly recommend checking them out; their album High Violet is simply brilliant.  I first heard this song as a cover, actually; Mumford & Sons did a magnificent version of it on VH1 Unplugged.  I loved it, but of course I sought out the original, and promptly fell in love.  This American band has somehow captured the essence of England that continues to enamour me more and more each time I visit.

Which songs remind you of England?

Chuffed To Bits: Songs On My Brit Music Playlist – British Music I’m Listening To Now is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Coldplay has released a new single called Paradise in anticipation of their upcoming Album release.

Check out the song below:

The full album called Mylo Xyloto will be released on October 24th 2011.

If you pre-order the album now on iTunes you can get the single now. Click here.

Coldplay Releases New Single – Paradise is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Last night was the Last Night of the Proms in the UK – the last night of a summer long concert music season. The Last Night is one of my favorite British traditions and it wasn’t a disappointment. Unfortunately, it wasn’t aired anywhere in the USA but we have some video highlights from the event.

BBC Proms 2011: Last Night – Land of Hope and Glory

The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Edward Gardner play Elgar’s ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ from the Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 at the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, with the help of the audience at the hall and at the Proms in the Parks celebrations in Hyde Park, Dundee and Bangor.

BBC Proms 2011: Last Night – Rule Britannia

Susan Bullock sings Arne’s ‘Rule Britannia’ at the Last Night of the Proms with The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Edward Gardner. The audience join in from Hyde Park, Bangor and the Royal Albert Hall

BBC Proms 2011: Lang Lang plays Liszt

Lang Lang plays Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Edward Gardner at the Last Night of the BBC Proms at the Albert Hall in London

BBC Proms 2011: Katherine Jenkins at the ‘Last Night’

Katherine Jenkins sings ‘This is my Beloved’ from ‘Kismet’ at the Proms in the Park celebration in Hyde Park, London. Keith Lockhart conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Video Highlights from the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms 2011 is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The Beatles have been used in a new video from the Music Matters project to illustrate how important it is that we continue to pay for music.

Check it out below – pretty cool animation.

Video: The Beatles Used to Implore us To Pay for Music is a post from: Anglotopia.net

An exhibition opens in Liverpool in September exploring the connections between the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

Elvis and Us is jointly curated by The Beatles Story in Liverpool and Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc, the parent company of Graceland in Memphis. The exhibition will be a multimedia, interactive experience with music, video and exhibits of both Elvis and the Beatles. It will include rare and exclusive artefacts from the Beatles Story and Graceland archives, many of which have never before been displayed publicly.

One of the key elements explored in Elvis and Us will be the evening Elvis and the Beatles met in person on 27 August 1965 at Elvis’s home in Bel Air, California. The white Fender bass guitar played by Elvis and The Beatles at their meeting will feature in the exhibition.

Councillor Joe Anderson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, says: ‘Elvis and Us is a huge coup for the city, and Liverpool’s world-renowned musical heritage once again comes to the fore. This unique and exclusive exhibition will focus on two legendary acts who have helped shape today’s music scene. And it’s even more special considering that this is the first exhibition Graceland has embarked on in the UK in over 20 years.’

Elivis and Us opens at The Beatles Story on 15 October and will run for two years. The Liverpool attraction is open daily 9am–7pm (Apr–Oct), 10am–6pm (Nov–Mar), admission £12.95 adults, £9 concessions, £7 children under 15, under-5s free.

The Beatles Story, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AD
Tel: +44 151 709 1963
Websites: www.elvisandus.com
www.beatlesstory.com
Facebook: elvisandus
Twitter: elvisandus

The Fab Four and the King – New Exhibit Explores Connections Between Beatles and Elvis is a post from: Anglotopia.net

I’m surprised that I hadn’t even heard of this movie. One Day looks interesting but I’m not so sure about Anne Hathaway’s accent.

You be the judge:

Is it better than Colin Firth’s Texan Accent?

One Day opens in the USA August 19th.

Can Anne Hathaway do a Yorkshire Accent? Video Inside is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The Coldplay concert at Lollapalooza in Chicago on Friday night will be broadcast live and free on YouTube for everyone to see.

The webcast can be seen at www.youtube.com/lollapalooza at approximately 8:30pm CT / 6:30pm PT / 2.30am UK time (click here to find out what time it is where you are).

Highlights will be available after the concert.

Coldplay Lollapalooza Will Be Broadcast Live Online Friday is a post from: Anglotopia.net

This is a fun interpretation of the Harry Potter theme music and it’s pretty impressive.

Harry Potter: Heavy Metal Meets the Harry Potter Theme – Video is a post from: Anglotopia.net