WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
Potential but little pop power from Pale Waves
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
Pale Waves
Shepherds Bush Empire, London/Touring
WITH debut album My Mind Makes Noises just dropped and an expectant crowd clamouring at the front, darkness descends and dry ice kicks in as Manchester's Pale Waves emerge on stage. They're greeted by a sea of phones and a chorus of cheers, with the biggest for lead singer Heather Baron-Gracie.
Signed to Dirty Hit, backed by The 1975's Matty Healy, shortlisted for the BBC's Sound of 2018 — they were fifth — and winners of the 2018 NME Under the Radar award as one to watch, Pale Waves are playing their biggest headline show.
And they know how to get the crowd on side, immediately launching into Television Romance, a stand-out track combining their standard indie-goth guitar fare with would-be anthemic choruses.
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