Music – Lady Lavish

Berlin, The Prodigy and Bagdad Bistro

We booked flights to Berlin pretty late, once we decided we wanted to go and see The Prodigy there. I didn’t really know what to expect, and in typical style I hadn’t looked into it at all, so it was all a pretty big surprise once we got there.

We flew into and out of Schönefeld Airport, which was the airport for East Berlin during the Cold War. It definitely felt like it had been around for a while! But with hand luggage only, getting through the airport was easy and we jumped on the train into town.

Our hotel was pretty near Alexanderplatz, which is a main public square in the area of Mitte. So we got off the train there and walked down about half a mile to the Radisson Blu Hotel. The hotel was really good value when we booked it online and we were immediately impressed with it. Not least with the mahoosive fish tank in the middle of the atrium – and the nice looking cocktail bar beneath it!

The sun was shining so we headed straight out for lunch, though we didn’t venture very far. Our hotel had a lovely restaurant right on the river front, so we whiled away a couple of hours eating lunch in the sun and watching the world go by. Being able to sit outside for the first time this year was a big treat – we were really lucky with the weather.

We walked up to The Brandenburg Gate after lunch, which was a nice walk up through the Museum district, and we got a cab back for cocktails and cake in our hotel, before a snooze and then dinner!

On Saturday we walked our feet off. Leaving on foot from the hotel we set off without a plan and walked, and walked, with only a stop for brunch in between! We also jumped on the train a few stops a couple of times and went to see Checkpoint Charlie. We also walked the length of a remaining section of the Berlin Wall, which is covered in amazing street art. We lunched near-ish to the hotel and that’s where I discovered Aperol Spritz!

We knew the band were on about half nine so we left in good time to get to the venue, which was the Velodrom, about 10km away. We collected our passes ok, and found our way backstage so we could say hello to Keith and see the band come on and we were able to watch the gig from the side of the stage. I’ve seen The Prodigy before but this was the first live hearing of tracks from the new album ‘The Day is My Enemy’ played – and they sounded pretty awesome. It’s definitely a different view of 12,000 people going mental from the stage, than being down there in it !

After the gig we had a quick chat with Keith then left to find a cab – and food. We got a drink back at the hotel, and a top tip from the barman to head to Burgermeister – a burger bar in an old converted public toilet – which apparently did great burgers and chilli chips. So we jumped in a cab and off we went at midnight, in search of Burgermeister.

Luckily our cab driver had been well briefed by the barman and we were soon there. But rather than a burger, our eye was caught by the ‘Bagdad Bistro’, and amazing looking place selling fresh meat, with breads and salads. Yes, kebabs, but not as I know them. We ordered two and beers and I can honestly say it was the best kebab I’ve ever had. Perfect, sitting in the middle of all the Berlin clubbers and nightgoers eating and drinking after a great gig.

We flew back on Sunday morning and were home in time to put our feet up Sunday afternoon and relax before work the next day.

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16th April 2015

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Soul Boys of the Western World

On Tuesday we went to the film premier of Soul Boys of the Western World at the Royal Albert Hall. The film is the story of Spandau Ballet.

I loved a bit of 80’s pop, but I wasn’t a big Spandau fan. However, after watching the film you couldn’t help but warm to them, and I hadn’t realised quite how cool and ‘in the moment’ they were at the beginning. The early footage of Billy’s and The Blitz was brilliant, as were the fashions and the faces. Spandau were flamboyant, but you got the sense they were also just five down-to-earth Islington boys. They weren’t a political band, but it did help to have the context of late-70’s and early/mid-80’s backdrop through some of the footage. Looking back on that time was brilliant and very nostalgic.

The film, directed by George Hencken, is constructed entirely of found footage, with a wonderful storytelling narrative overlaid from interviews with the band. The fact it was audio only and didn’t feature talking heads meant the story didn’t get interrupted and it became totally absorbing. The band recorded all of their parts separately, and I suspect the film left out a lot of the worst excesses, though Martin Kemp’s assertion that it was all ‘vodka and cheese sandwiches’ made me laugh. At it’s heart it feels like the story of a friendship, with a bunch of lads that just happened to go on to become internationally famous pop stars. Which is why the acrimonious split and subsequent court case was so poignant. There was a quote (I think it was John Keeble who said it) that went something like ‘everyone’s lives were getting in the way of the band. People were having to leave early because they were having a sofa delivered.’ It seems everyone knew that the band were falling apart during the recording of the Heart Like A Sky album.

I think the film really works because the band weren’t involved in the edit and none of the audio was recorded with them together. So it has an honesty that you probably wouldn’t have got if they’d have directed or produced it. Some of the footage really took me back – the recording of Band Aid, the Live Aid concert, various TV appearances – and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Following the showing of the film, there was a 20 minute Q&A with the director and band and a short, hit-heavy set from Spandau. It was really, unexpectedly, good and a lot of fun.

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5th October 2014