Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
Latest editorial
Memorable communion with audience
A worthy trip down a memory lane of musical innovation, principles and messages that still matter in our current austere times, writes MIK SABIERS
IRREPRESSIBLE: Heaven 17 in action
[Andrew Hurley/flickr]
SIMON DUFF relishes the cross contamination of Damien Hirst’s greatest hits by street artists from France and the US
In view of the grooming gangs inquiry, SIMON PARSONS feels the relevance of this powerful examination of trauma suffered at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre
JOHN GREEN doubts the motivations of a US war photographer who never questions why, or for whom, she is producing images of imperialist conflict
MARIA DUARTE reviews Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Hedda, The Mastermind, and Regretting You
TONY CONWAY welcomes a thrilling and concise history of Hope not Hate, that is also a manual full of tactical advice
PAUL DONOVAN welcomes an inspiring account of living with deafness that has important lessons for the treatment of deaf people in today’s UK
Heaven 17
London Roundhouse
WHEN the BBC banned Heaven 17’s debut single Fascist Groove Thang for its left-wing lyrics in 1981, it took two more years before the band’s most well-known single – Temptation – almost hit the top spot.
This slow burn mirrored that of The Human League, who formed back in 1977 but only saw commercial success with Don’t You Want Me once founding members Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware had left the band to form Heaven 17.
The Human League’s first two albums, co-written by Ware, may have been innovative, but weren’t necessarily commercial with tracks like Circus of Death, Life Kills and Being Boiled.
Similar stories
MIK SABIERS wallows in a night of political punk and funk that fires both barrels at Trump
MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
EWAN KOTZ relishes a veteran Glasgow band that have lost none of their verve for live performance
TOM STONE recommends the sonic and visual impact of a band that keeps evolving, musically and politically