Art & Culture

ARTIST AT WORK

No.40: Victoria Jardine, Cutting Ties, Stoneware Coil Pot, Vintage Bookbinder’s Thread, Bobbin and Dressmaker’s Scissors, 27cm H, £880

Victoria Jardine is a studio ceramicist whose obsession with the vessel form sits at the heart of her practice. Her latest series of vessels continues her new exploration of ways in which pots might operate as sympathetic conveyors of quite private narratives.

‘When potters talk about pots, we use very anthropomorphic language. A pot has a foot, belly, neck, shoulder and lip. These very ‘human’ references reveal something of the relationship between mankind and vessels. An ancient notion of ‘pot’, that vibrates through every culture from the moment we first learned to shape mud with our hands. It is this very potent language that, I believe, gives pots unique agency as storytellers.

‘I have often talked about my work as autobiographical… a constant making and re-making of myself. The new ‘Bobbin Pots’ examine some of the narratives of my own childhood and the stories and histories that I have, at times, felt bound by. But they also provide the playful opportunity to rewrite those stories, to reframe the narrative… to remake myself.’

Victoria’s new Bobbin Pot Series will be on display at Jane Shaw’s Studio in May, as part of Dorset Art Weeks alongside some pieces from her lockdown project, ‘Wound Series’.

victoriajardine.com

Dorset Art Weeks 14th - 29th May dorsetartweeks.co.uk

ON FILM

Andy Hastie, Yeovil Cinematheque

As with Burning, the previous excellent South Korean film we showed in November at Cinematheque, our presentation this March is also driven by a story of social inequality. Director Boon Joon Ho’s Parasite (2019) is showing on 23rd March at the Swan Theatre in Yeovil. This black comedy thriller has, over the past three years, garnered numerous accolades including four Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. It can also boast the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, two Baftas and the Palme D’or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. In short, it has become a unanimous, international phenomenon captivating audiences and critics around the world.

The genesis for Parasite started in 2013, when Bong Joon Ho wrote a play based on his experience as a young tutor for the son of a wealthy Seoul family. He chose the title as it offered a double meaning – both the poor and the rich can be parasites on each other. Bong is quoted as saying, ‘I got this feeling that I was infiltrating the private lives of complete strangers. Every week I would go into their house, and I thought how fun it would be if I could get all my friends to infiltrate the house, one by one.’ It is this idea that he slowly adapted into the screenplay for ‘Parasite’.

Brother and sister, Kiwoo and Kijung, live with their parents in a dingy basement in Seoul, living hand-to-mouth with occasional casual work and the uncertainties of the gig economy. Typically in South Korean society, those who don’t pass university entrance exams have a future of narrowing horizons, so

Parasite (2019)

when Kiwoo’s friend gives up his job teaching English to the teenage daughter of the wealthy Park family and offers him the chance to take it on, Kiwoo realises this could be a way out of his family’s dire lifestyle. Posing as a university student, he tricks his way into the Park household, then slowly, as he is able to gain their trust, manages to inveigle the rest of his family into the house too. Each takes on a staff role; a chauffeur, housekeeper and art tutor, without letting on that they are actually related.

The first pacy half of the film has the audience rooting for this clever, scheming family, but when the Parks go away for a few days, leaving their staff the run of the house, events very quickly unravel as the tone of the film changes dramatically...

Boon Joon Ho has created a scathing, hilarious, thrilling, beautifully constructed film, highlighting Seoul’s social divide, receiving international acclaim along the way.

If you would like to catch up with this inventive film, come to the Swan Theatre on 23rd March as a guest, to see on the big screen what all the fuss has been about. We’d love to meet you!

cinematheque.org.uk swan-theatre.co.uk

___________________________________________ Wednesday 23rd March 7.30pm Parasite (2019) 15 Cinematheque, Swan Theatre, 138 Park St, Yeovil BA20 1QT Members £1, guests £5

CONFESSIONS OF A THEATRE ADDICT

Rosie Cunningham

Images: Marc Brenner

Ifeel like I have been hit by a bus. Due to the knock-on effect of Covid closures, I saw Mark Rylance at the Bristol Old Vic in Dr Semmelweis and then the following day, Eddie Redmayne at the Kit Kat Club in Cabaret. Both left me completely exhausted and breathless, but only in a good way. We are incredibly lucky to have such a wide range of highclass theatre currently on at our theatres and spoilt for choice. Theatre is such an excellent way to find release and enjoyment after months of enforced restrictions, so take that plunge and go and see something.

Cabaret is on at the transformed Playhouse Theatre, renamed and entirely refurbished as the notorious Berlin club, the Kit Kat Club, until October. It is a sensory, sensuous experience from start to finish. ‘Patrons’ enter through a dark and atmospheric basement, passing decadent scenes of intimacy, before entering the Club. Most of the traditional theatre seating has been removed, with the addition of small tables surrounding the stage where food and champagne are served to high-paying punters (well worth the money!) This is a fast-moving, writhing, opulent stage show with Eddie Redmayne as Emcee, whipping up the action and teetering on the brink of dissolution and disaster. The songs are familiar, but the choreography and the costumes are anything but. Jessie Buckley was ill, so Emily Benjamin played Sally Bowles and, whilst I love Jessie, this was Emily’s turn to shine, and it was clear to all that a new star was born. Eddie kindly gave Emily her own personal ovation at the end. That man is a master of his craft. His facial expressions throughout showed inner turmoil, conflict and trepidation. Special mentions also go to Omari Douglas as Clifford Bradshaw and Liza Sadovy as Fraulein Schneider. This is a stellar cast as befits a superlative show. It is an extraordinary performance and should not be missed.

Dr Semmelweis is a play about a maverick doctor in 19th century Vienna who discovered that doctors were causing the death of hundreds of newborn children which they had delivered, and their mothers, by spreading bacteria from the dead to the living due to lack of hygiene. Sadly however, he was considered unbalanced, and his pioneering views unsound, which eventually cost him his sanity and his life. Conceived and performed

by Mark Rylance, in collaboration with the writer, Stephen Brown, one of our finest stage and screen actors, the dedication he brought to this role was incredible. Rylance is now in rehearsal for Jerusalem, written by Jez Butterworth, at The Apollo Theatre which opens on 16th April. This is a reprise of his role as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron, who he last played eleven years ago, and for which he won both Tony and Olivier Awards.

The World of Stonehenge exhibition is on at The British Museum until 17th July and includes new insights, and ground-breaking recent archaeological and scientific discoveries. Definitely a must for anyone who travels up and down the A303, stuck in the inevitable queue of traffic.

kitkat.club apollotheatrelondon.co.uk britishmuseum.org

Spring Baroque

Glorious German Baroque music, from Biber to Bach, with period instrumentalists Sherborne Chamber Choir Sherborne Baroque Players

Conductor Paul Ellis

Sherborne Abbey | Saturday 19 March 7.30pm

THE RETURN OF DORSET ART WEEKS

14th - 29th MAY Paul Newman, Producer, Dorset Art Weeks

David Marl

With the return of Dorset Art Weeks this year, the north west corner of the county has much to offer fans of visual art in and around Sherborne, with an area reaching towards Crewkerne and down to Maiden Newton, and across to Sydling St Nicholas, Cerne Abbas and back up to Buckland Newton. There’s a return to a regional focus for this year’s event, with the county organised into six distinct areas, helping audiences navigate over 250 venues taking part.

Creativity in this part of Dorset continues to thrive as artists adjust to the challenges of the last two years and find new, innovative and resourceful ways to engage with audiences and share their work. Dorset Art Weeks features returning venues from the 2021 event as well as new venues signing up to one of the largest Art Weeks events in the country. So what can audiences expect in our neck of the woods?

Two artists’ studios in the centre of Sherborne, James Budden and Laurence Belbin, both feature work in oil, with paintings derived mainly from direct observation. James focusses on contemporary portraits, figures, musicians, still life, landscapes and townscapes, exploring meaning beyond the everyday, with Laurence capturing the light and rhythm of the West Country and further afield, along with hand-built wooden autonoma produced in lockdown. As with many studios, these spaces are rich with the ephemera and other items of the artist’s working life; sketchbooks, pencils, brushes and rags, works in progress and piles of books providing inspiration.

Also in town are painter David Marl, working mainly in the English Visionary tradition, Robert Forbes who produces sculptures of life-sized birds using recycled items, and ceramicist Norrie de Montigny, who uses clay, oxides and pigments to create vibrant ceramic reliefs. Just off Cheap Street this year is Trouvaille Gallery, with an exhibition by Marianne Louise Ceramic Designs, Pippa Hill Sculptures and Lindsay Wilson.

Out of town, in Hermitage, Graham Booth and the Sherborne Times’ own Jo Denbury will be showing work that celebrates fauna, landscape and coast. Graham’s photography is inspired by the beauty of Dorset, seeing

Laurence Belbin Susan Fawthrop

landscapes from a fresh perspective, creating unique images that are arresting, intriguing and beautiful, whilst Jo specialises in small animal and bird sculptures in bronze resin, with oil paintings and sketches of Dorset landscapes.

Sometimes the venue buildings themselves also deserve attention! Anne-Louise Bellis produces striking landscapes and seascapes inspired by the Dorset coastline, skies and countryside. Along with Martin Dickson, who creates ceramics for interiors and gardens, their venue occupies a beautiful period barn studio in Glanvilles Wootton. This year, the well-established Yetminster Group of Artists include Bee Grant Peterkin, Melita Frances Moule, Lucinda Thomson, Anne Boyden, Jacqueline Clough, Judy Copp and Di Grattan-Cooper, who all meet in an unusual studio in Chetnole Mill, an 18th-century flour mill. If you fancy your art with fine refreshments, the Gaggle at Buckland Newton hosts an exhibition by three artists, Emma Munday, Robyn Carter and Jessamy Keily. Other collectives banding together include Anna Stiles and Friends to the north of Sherborne and Elm Yard Gallery to the south, both venues featuring an eclectic mix of work.

Regular visitors to these pages will be familiar with some of these artists’ work from the monthly Artist at Work features, such as Pearl Gatehouse, Sam Dodd, Pippa Hill and Graham Church. Art Weeks allows you to get out and visit the artist in person, and to find out directly what goes into the creative process. Such conversations can be part of a vital dialogue between the artist, work and viewer. Artists welcome enquiries about their process and the chance to share their inspiration, and many will take commissions too. For younger visitors, a visit to an artist’s studio or exhibition can spark creative enquiry which can last a lifetime. Artists really value your support during Art Weeks, and for many visitors it’s a chance to acquaint themselves with the artists and their work which can often lead to a longer fascination with the artist and their process.

Part of the fun of Art Weeks is seeking out who is taking part and using the Art Weeks Directory, App and DAW website to plan your own routes, venue visits and days out - what a beautiful area to do this in and make unexpected discoveries! Visitors will often find clusters of venues and some routes can be planned on foot or by bike. Some venues will offer refreshments and all will be taking measures to ensure continued safety at this time.

There are many other artists in the north west area and, of course, across the county so look out for the Art Weeks Directory, App and updated DAW website from early April to start planning your visits. Along with the five other regions in the county, and an accompanying event programme, there’s plenty to explore this May in Dorset Art Weeks.

dorsetartweeks.co.uk

___________________________________________ Saturday 14th - Sunday 29th May Dorset Art Weeks Venues across the county. For details visit dorsetartweeks.co.uk, pick up a copy of the DAW Directory, or download the app.

WELCOME TO THE NEW HOME OF PROJEKTITYYNY, THE NORDIC HOME TEXTILES BRAND.

OUR WORK IS A MODERN INTERPRETATION OF AGE-OLD TEXTILE TRADITIONS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON TEXTURE AND TACTILITY, INDIVIDUALITY, QUALITY, LONGEVITY AND TIMELESSNESS. QUALITIES THAT STEM FROM OUR FINNISH ROOTS. WE DESIGN AND CREATE OUR PRODUCTS AT A SMALL BARN HERE IN WEST DORSET AND HAVE NOW OPENED OUR VERY FIRST SHOP AT THE OLD MUSIC HOUSE, SHERBORNE. OPEN WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 10AM - 4PM AITTA, THE OLD MUSIC HOUSE, THE GREEN, SHERBORNE DT9 3HX PROJEKTITYYNY.COM INSTAGRAM.COM/PROJEKTITYYNY

THE BEAUTIFUL EVERYDAY

Mark Jerram, Jerram Gallery

Judith Warren, Beach Flower, Oil, 10” x 12”

This exhibition of new work by stilllife painters Benjamin Hope, Barbara Richardson, Sarah Spackman and Judith Warren celebrates the beauty of everyday objects and natural forms, showcasing a selection of pieces by four highly accomplished still-life painters.

Benjamin Hope’s work is characterised by his earthy palettes of natural tones and painterly representation of his subject in space, directly from life. Often depicting bottles, jars and vessels, Hope sets up unusual compositions, angles, and viewpoints. Alongside a career in mathematics and physics, Hope is a self-taught artist and has been painting full-time since 2011.

Honorary Secretary of the Small Paintings Group since 2010, Barbara Richardson has a fascination with the intriguing process of creating an image that has weight and conviction of form, using a familiar collection of everyday objects in her work. Her muted natural tones and supreme ability to capture the textures of different spherical items is seen in her stilllives of terracotta, porcelain and golden vessels.

Sarah Spackman’s fundamental belief in the value of drawing and the importance of creating relationships within the pictorial space is evidenced in her minimal sensitive compositions which capture ‘the

Barbara Richardson, Green Vase and Silver Sugar Bowl, Oil, 8” x 10"

Sarah Spackman, Spring Anemone, Oil, 10” x 8” Benjamin Hope, Seashells, Oil, 12” x 12”

specific beauty of an organic form’. Spackman’s close observation gives her objects weight and substance, as does her rich palette of warm, subtle tones on a luminous, white ground prepared by herself from tempera and oil. Conventional perspective is often discarded in pursuit of a greater understanding of the way the eye travels across the surface.

Judith Warren’s rich and contemplative still-life paintings take as their starting point the shape, colour, light and mood of everyday simple objects and surfaces – such as fruit, ceramics, wood and stone. Starting with a preliminary oil sketch, Warren will alter the composition and colour as the painting progresses, so that the finished work perhaps has a different atmosphere and feeling from the original idea.

jerramgallery.com

___________________________________________ Saturday 5th – Wednesday 23rd March Benjamin Hope, Barbara Richardson, Sarah Spackman and Judith Warren The Jerram Gallery, Half Moon Street, Sherborne Open Tuesday - Saturday 9.30am-5pm 01935 815261 info@jerramgallery.com

Dani Howard Claire Lees

HAVING A BALL IN OBORNE

Nigel Masters

It is not strange when two people with wide circles of friends and similar passions spark a connection. But it is much stranger when that happens across two centuries. When Susanna Stranders encountered the French mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot, the link was instant. Both share a passion for music and opera, both revel in bringing artistic talent together and both are dedicated to championing young musicians. The result of that sparking connection is a blaze of operatic riches, including a new English version of the comic operetta, Cinderella.

Susanna first met Pauline Viardot through the pages of The Europeans by Orlando Figes, which celebrates the amazing life and talents of this 19th century musical polymath. Diva, composer, socialite and teacher, Viardot might reasonably be described as the Maria Callas of her day, with the edge of being both a first-class composer, and a muse and mentor to some of the brightest young musicians and composers of late 19th century Europe. While still too rarely recognised, it is encouraging that Viardot’s talent and influence are now being picked up by such programmes as Radio 3’s Composer of the Week. With Susanna’s own background in opera, at Garsington and Covent Garden, where bringing out the very best music talent is her vocation and delight, it is easy to understand how Pauline’s life resonates with her. When not-for-profit opera group Cameratina approached Susanna to create a weekend of music in Oborne, the theme of Pauline Viardot was the inevitable and inspired choice. That it is Pauline Viardot’s bicentenary simply adds to the celebration.

That spark of inspiration has ignited a blaze of ideas that has proved hard to contain in one weekend. Clearly, a fine singer would be needed to take centre stage and we are lucky that Katie Bray has agreed to take that role. Katie, who will feature in three performances over the weekend, is perhaps best known for stealing the audience’s heart at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2019 and carrying off the Joan Sutherland Prize. The Saturday recital, in which she is accompanied by Susanna, will focus on Viardot’s beautiful Mélodies, which she composed for her students to sing. The Sunday concerts centre on Viardot’s championing of young composers, with Katie and Susanna’s trio, Ellipsis, preparing for and then performing two newly commissioned works by awardwinning British composers Dani Howard and Lilly Vadaneaux. Dani is rapidly becoming an established presence in international music and has recently been awarded a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Prize for

Katie Bray Susanna Stranders

her Trombone Concerto. Lilly is earlier in her career but already has a string of prizes to her name. Having completed her course at the Guildhall School of Music, Lilly is studying music at Cambridge and is a pupil of Roxanna Panufnik. Both composers were asked to create works based on the poem ‘Enough’ by Ivan Turgenev, which is thought to have been written after a fraught and highly risky rendezvous with Pauline Viardot in Moscow, under the noses of the Tzar’s secret police. The emotional exhaustion of the poem is wonderfully captured by the two new and quite different pieces.

On the Sunday afternoon, the audience is invited to sit in on a workshop at which Katie and Ellipsis explore these pieces with the composers, chasing down the nuances that Dani and Lilly are seeking to achieve in their music. This is followed by an evening concert that will evoke the atmosphere of the celebrated Paris Salon that Viardot ran in her later years and at which many new pieces were given their first performance. Katie and Ellipsis will perform the two world premières as the centrepiece of a recital that will feature music, readings and art from the artistic personalities who visited the Salon, many of whom dedicated work to Viardot or credited her with launching their careers – from Brahms and Saint-Saëns to Fauré and Tchaikovsky, from George Sand to Tolstoy.

If the Salon showcases Pauline Viardot at the most influential time of her life, she left her most joyful composition to almost the end of that life. Well into her 80s, she created a comic gem – the delightful operetta Cinderella. Originally in French, Susanna has secured a new English translation from the acclaimed lyricist, director and composer, Jeremy Sams. With translations for ENO and the Royal National Theatre, Sams is no stranger to the world of stage and opera and his new libretto for Cinderella is a witty and sophisticated take on this most beloved of folk tales. Cinderella features an exceptional cast of some of the brightest young talent in British opera including Claire Lees as Cinders, with Georgia Mae Bishop, Liam Bonthrone, Robert Lewis, Kieran Rayner, Alison Rose and Katy Thomson. The ensemble is led from the piano by Susanna and directed by Cecilia Stinton.

The four productions across the weekend, created by Susanna Stranders, celebrate Pauline Viardot’s extraordinary life as diva, composer and muse. It is no surprise that the inspiration that Pauline sparked two centuries ago can cause artistic brushfires today.

cameratina.org

___________________________________________ Saturday 2nd April 6pm and 8.30pm Cinderella Music and words by Pauline Viardot in a new translation by Jeremy Sams. Tickets at £40 a performance (£15 for children) are available at info@operainoborne.org or by calling Nigel Masters on 01935 817194. For further details of all performances visit cameratina.org

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

SAM WANNAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Kitty Shropshire, Lower 6th, Sherborne Girls

For many of us ‘A’ level English students, Blanche McIntyre’s Measure for Measure was the first live production we had seen for at least a couple of years and I’m pleased to say that it did not disappoint. It exceeded our expectations and reminded us of our love for Shakespeare, as well as our love for live performances. Watching in person was, unsurprisingly, a totally different experience to watching a recording of a play in the classroom, on a screen. McIntyre had the difficult task of tackling one of Shakespeare’s notorious ‘problem plays’ referred to by some as a ‘tragicomedy’.

We certainly couldn’t have been luckier with the weather! We left a frosty, crisp Sherborne midmorning and were welcomed into London by bright blue skies highlighting the well-defined London cityscape; a stark, but fascinating contrast to the countryside. En route we managed to identify as many buildings as we could from Wren’s St. Paul’s, to the ‘Walkie-Talkie’ building which we later found out was formally referred to as the Fenchurch building! A very educational trip, giving us knowledge of Shakespeare and of our own capital! It was expected that we would encounter a little bit of traffic but in the meantime, much to our delight, Mrs Troup took the opportunity to give us our very own South Bank bus tour. Pointing out of the window, she told us how it had changed from when she was younger and worked there. I was certain that there would be a Pret-a-Manger nearby for lunchtime – after all, it’s a well-known fact that there’re more than 200 in the city! Usefully situated next to the Globe, we were warmed by a Pret cappuccino and cheesy toastie before we excitedly entered for the matinee.

Promptly at two, we took to our seats in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, named after an American actor who was blacklisted from Hollywood in the 50s for his communist views. I realise this interestingly relates to our GCSE Crucible context studies of McCarthyism and The Red Scare last year. The theatre is indoor and forms part of the Globe, with a layout inspired by The Black Friars Theatre.

The director carefully chose to relocate the play from the brothels of 17th century Vienna to 1970s London – an era of electrical outages, which explains the blackouts at the start of the play. McIntyre deliberately and ingeniously decided to change the dynamic from a ‘flexing patriarchy to a modern society wrestling with antiquated habits’. The signature, slender beeswax candles described as ‘like fingers of Jacobean gloves in Jacobean portraits’ were lit on what looked like bronze chandeliers – they didn’t detract from the play but gave more of an intimate setting for the audience. I later learnt that for each performance of a comedy, or tragedy, around 100 candles are lit and throughout this performance, they were raised to different heights. The setting around this era in London echoes the 60s Profumo political scandal, with the powerful Angelo (Ashley Zhangazha) arguably damned by virtue. James Cotterels’ costumes appropriately suited this era, with the ‘provosts’ dressed up as modern police officers – it helped us understand who was playing what character as we tried to think back to when we studied the scenes in class.

McIntyre plays with gender politics in her production, by making Escalus, along with the Duke, female. This makes her wedding proposal at the end of the play to Isabella more progressive, with homosexual undertones. Isabella’s (Georgie Landers) pause brought a poignant, asphyxiating silence which made the audience feel unsatisfied, bringing an untidy end to a supposed comedy with a supposed happy end. This left us thinking after the curtain call about our own views on the ending that Shakespeare had written. The ending, as we know from studying Measure for Measure was rather out the blue, with no foreshadowing in the text. When asked to describe the play in one word, the Lower 6th came up with a collection of ‘gripping’, ‘inventive’, ‘modern’, ‘stimulating’ and ‘pedagogic’ – which after researching, I learnt means ‘relating to teaching’!

We caught the last glimpse of ‘golden hour’ light on the South Bank, before arriving at the coach when it had turned dark – perfect for having a snooze on the journey back to Sherborne. Such an enjoyable outing – we got back to house in good time! As I dozed off, I thought about the subtleties of the memorable candles that effortlessly lit up the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse theatre.

BENJAMIN HOPE BARBARA RICHARDSON SARAH SPACKMAN JUDITH WARREN

4th March – 23rd March

SARAH SPACKMAN OIL

JUDITH WARREN OIL

www.jerramgallery.com

THE JERRAM GALLERY Half Moon Street, Sherborne, 01935 815261 Dorset DT9 3LN info@jerramgallery.com Tuesday – Saturday

COUNTER CULTURE

Paul Maskell, The Beat and Track

No.7 The Wedding Present: Renewing Their Vows

Born from the remnants of a band called Lost Pandas, The Wedding Present was the conception of lead guitarist and vocalist David Gedge. Formed in 1985 it wasn’t long before the band was being championed by the likes of John Peel, who went on to hold a longstanding collaboration with the band. The first six years saw the release of three LPs, two EPs and twelve singles. Two of the albums, Bizarro and Seamonsters found positions within the top 40 and saw the band record with legendary producer Steve Albini. The band also scored a top 40 hit with the single Kennedy, now labelled an indie classic. Never afraid to look outside the box, with the influence of their guitarist of Ukrainian descent Peter Solowka and the enthusiasm of John Peel, the band recorded a session of Ukrainian folk songs. A collection of an eventual three sessions were later released on their own album with the band changing their name to the Ukrainians for its release.

In 1992, with the band flying high and appearing in all the music tabloids for the right reasons, it was decided that it was time to push the envelope once more. The idea was to equal the record held by Elvis Presley for the most UK top 30 hits in one year. The band decided to write, record and release one 7” single every month for the whole of 1992. The logistics of this were fairly scary but alleviated slightly by making each B-side a cover version.

So, one single a month, two songs, one video and one t-shirt. Throw into the mix four different producers and you’ve got your work cut out for you. Incredibly the band decided to do this while still touring their latest album in the UK and the States. All 12 singles hit the top 30 with eight out of the 12 hitting top 20 positions. The B-sides included covers of songs by Neil Young, Altered Images, Isaac Hayes, David Bowie and Elton John. Gedge’s favourite cover was Falling, the Julee Cruise theme tune to the David Lynch series Twin Peaks. The producers for the series of singles included Ian Broudie (frontman of The Lightning Seeds) and Jimmy Miller (sometime producer for The Rolling Stones).

The whole series was a great success and saw fans queuing at their local record shop to ensure that they had the next instalment of Wedding Present genius. The series saw the band appear on the legendary Top of the Pops four times that year and brought their music to a wider audience. It’s now 30 years since the project was conceived and completed. Since then the band have gone on to record six more albums, 11 live albums, 13 compilation/session albums, three EPs and 11 singles. So what do the Wedding Present do next? They do it again, 30 years later, but better. No covers, all original songs released as a single per month for the whole of 2022. David Gedge has this time teamed up with Sleeper guitarist Jon Stewart to write 24 Songs. The first single is out and features a guest appearance from Louise Wener, singer from Sleeper. The 1992 Hit Parade singles adorn my collection at home and I have a feeling that this year’s project will too. How about you?

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THE FREE WESSEX ARTS AND CULTURE GUIDE EVOLVER MAGAZINE

Pick up your copy at arts venues, galleries, museums, art shops, cafés, libraries and tourist information centres (etc) throughout Dorset, Somerset, East Devon, West Wiltshire, Bristol and Bath Or subscribe online at: evolver.org.uk Instagram: evolvermagazine