Image by Paul Husband. Black Grape return this year with a new album ‘Orange Head’, which will be released on DGAFF Recordings on 3rd November. The album arrives ahead of a small UK tour, with Shaun Ryder and Paul “Kermit” Leveridge and the band due to headline venues in Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff,...
Interview: Ashley Banjo of Diversity talks about starring in this year’s Mayflower panto and more
Photos by Stuart Martin. This year’s Christmas pantomime at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, starring Britain’s Got Talent winners and street dance sensations, Ashley Banjo and Diversity, alongside panto royalty, Christopher Biggins. Diversity shot to fame in 2009 when they won Britain’s Got Talent...
Review – 2:22 A Ghost Story, Mayflower Theatre, 17th October
By Joy Mckay 2.22 A Ghost Story was written by Danny Robbins and launched in the West End in 2021. It first came to my attention as it was heavily advertised on the escalators on The Tube in London with Tom Felton taking the lead role. The posters said...
Southampton listings 17 – 23 October
This week sees the first half of the autumn school term draw to a close and the beginning of the school holidays, so there are plenty of family-friendly things going alongside a huge range of options for child-free outings, with more than 100 events taking place this week, and...
Suburban Safari: St. James’ Park
By Katie Isham. Of all the parks in the city of Southampton, St. James’ Park in Shirley may be my favourite. Don’t tell the others. But there’s a certain something about this one that makes it impossible not to love. Maybe there’s bias in the fact it’s home to...
Heritage: why are people from Southampton called Sotonians?
By Martin Brisland. Photo: Mike Daish. Do you regard yourself as a Sotonian? Do you live in Soton? Have you ever wondered where these words come from? They are thought to have been first used by a former Southern Daily Echo editor Clarence Firbank Carr (1892-1979). Echo journalists found...
View from the Kingsland: What did you expect?
Saints column by Nick Mabey. There was much talk after our last league game about Saints’ fans reactions to a home draw with Rotherham. In the ground during the match I also noticed there was a lot of debate going on about the way the team plays and should...
Southampton’s Mantrafox releases debut single
Southampton-based Mantrafox release ‘I’m Needing You’ today (October 13th). Mantrafox is the brainchild of singer songwriter Robert Freemantle. Having ‘squirrelled songs away’ for years, he has emerged from the shadows of depression and anxiety to begin finishing/releasing them at last. He explains, ‘Addressing the complexities of mental health holds...
Interview with Punk Rock Factory – from online fun to TikTok stars, now selling out a venue near you!
By Nick Mabey. Punk rock, Disney songs and sausages; in the words of Maria Von Trapp, these are a few of my favourite things. And so it was I keenly put my hand up to interview Peej Edwards, singer and guitarist with South Wales on-line-turned-live band Punk Rock Factory,...
Comedian Connor Burns comes to Totton following Edinburgh success
Hot on the heels of his totally sold-out Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 season, which saw him add 2000 extra seats to what was only his second-ever Edinburgh Fringe, Scottish comedian Connor Burns is set to embark on a debut national tour with his critically acclaimed show Vertigo, bringing him...