VultureHound - Issue 09 by VultureHound Magazine

VULTUREHOUND NCIS Star Ducky

JANUARY 2016 ISSUE 9

DAVID MCCALLUM

A tribute to Motorhead Legend

LEMMY

Dad's Army Movie

DAVID E I W O B

HOLLI DEMPSEY

Nick Helm

AIDEN

WILLIAM FRANCIS - THE LAST INTERVIEW

playing …and out come the wolves

Me First & the Gimme Gimmes FRANK TURNER AND THE SLEEPING SOULS Sick Of It All © Less Than Jake Four Year Strong Dillinger Four 30 years anniversary

excl. benelux

excl. mainland eu

Biohazard © Dag Nasty © The Movielife © Emmure © Letlive Saosin (with Anthony Green) © Juliette & The Licks © No Fun At All Youth Of Today © BlessTheFall © The Aggrolites © burn Modern Baseball © Venerea © Flatcat © Success © Night Birds Rozwell Kid © Siberian Meat Grinder © Bad Cop Bad Cop © Pears

APRIL 29 & 30 | MEERHOUT (BE) TICKETS FRIDAY €65/€75 SATURDAY €70/€80 DOORS: FRIDAY 15.00 SATURDAY 11.00 CAMPING THU 18.00 COMBI €98/€115 CAMPING €15/€20 CAMPING TICKETS ARE NOT SOLD SEPARATELY

W W W.GROE ZROCK .BE

IL L U S T R AT I O N A N D D E S I G N : © D O MINI C VA N H E U P E N

+ more to be announced

HELLO

WELCOME

EDITORIAL David Garlick Editor / Design david.garlick@vulturehound.com

Michael Dickinson Online + Film Editor

‘ll get to it and say that it’s been a terrible start to 2016. David Bowie and Lemmy were icons of music and film, who will be greatly missed. In this issue we look back with tributes to both men. As you will have seen we decided it was only right to make Bowie our cover star.

It is also an end of an era for Aiden, who are sadly calling it a day and we got the chance to talk with founder and front man in one of his final interviews. We also spoke with, comedian, musician and creator of BBC Three’s ‘Uncle’, Nick Helm as well as Holli Dempsey who starts in the film remake of the classic comedy, Dad’s Army. Our new music editor Jaclyn O’Connell and team made everyone feel old by looking back at albums thats still sound great 10 years later. Feel free to share yours with us on social media.

michael.dickinson@vulturehound.com

Jaclyn O’Connell Music Editor jaclyn.oconnell@vulturehound.com

Shane Bayliss Deputy Music Editor shane.bayliss@vulturehound.co.uk Grae Westgate TV Editor grae.westgate@vulturehound.com Kimberley Bayliss Live Music Editor kimberley.bayliss@vulturehound.co.uk

ADVERTISING To discuss advertising please contact advertising@vulturehound.com

There’s plenty more to get into so I’ll leave you to read. It might be a bit late now, and not the happiest but... Happy New Year!

David Garlick (@davidgarlick) @VultureHound

search ‘VultureHound’

@VultureHound

HIGHLIGHTS

Copyright 2016 VultureHound Magazine. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of VultureHound. Requests for permission should be directed to: info@vulturehound.com.

CANCEL CHRISTMAS, ALAN RICKMAN HAS LEFT US

NEWS

t’s not been a good year so far. On Monday we woke to the devastating news of the loss of The Thin White Duke, leaving fans of all ages weeping along to Heroes on their way to work. Today, however, the world has said a stunned goodbye to one of the most unique voices (in more ways than one) in British cinema. Alan Rickman and his dulcet tones have become one of the most instantly recognizable icons of the last few decades, with his unsurpassable skill at portraying bastards with hearts of gold, his films are always wonderfully watchable and instantly quotable. So when the news hit this morning that the beloved actor had lost his battle with cancer at the age of sixty nine (seriously, what is it with this week??), this writer was left feeling the utter bewilderedness that comes more often with losing a loved one. I grew up loving Rickman more for his voice than anything else. Watching Prince of Thieves as a child, I remember Rickman’s Sheriff being one of the first voices I tried to imitate. An utterly charming villain, running around threatening to cut hearts out with spoons and cancel Christmas in his deep

04 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

Primavera unleashed a huge lineup The hugely diverse shindig in Barcelona revealed their mammoth 150+ name lineup which featured some stunning names. Most notably, Radiohead. That’s right, the comeback is actually happening, it’s been on the cards for a long time, but we finally have a festival headline appearance for them. It’s finally excusable to start getting properly excited. There’s also notable appearances from LCD Soundsystem, PJ Harvey, Tame Impala, Suede and another long awaited return from The last Shadow Puppets.

and nasal manner was both hilarious and despicable. His begrudging turn in 1999’s Galaxy Quest as world-weary thespian Alexander Dane solidified my obsession with the man.

Star Wars obviously blew the box office away W

Everyone was a bit skeptical when Disney took over the saga. In the end though the skepticism was put to rest and the film broke about every record it possibly could. First film to gross $1 billion. Biggest worldwide opening weekend. Highest grossing Star Wars film. Biggest Disney international opening. Highest grossing Disney release. Biggest IMAX worldwide opening weekend. Biggest single day IMAX worldwide gross. That’s not even half of them but you get the point.

KENDRICK AND KANYE FINALLY TEAMED UP It's been a combination music fans have been yearning for, for a long long time. Two rappers at the height of the business, the track in all fairness did actually live up to what it should have been. It's old school hip hop, and we're hoping this collaboration continues long into the future.

ROBOT WARS RETURNT The staple of childhood viewing in the late 90s, some might say it was the biggest catastrophe in TV history when it was taken off air, but we need fret no more. Craig Charles has already stated that he’d love to return to the arena to host the show as well which is even greater news. Bring Razor and Hypnodisc back and we’ll have sheer television gold back in our lives again and the world will be a much better place.

NEW LAST SHADOW PUPPETS MATERIAL After the years of teasing and rumours, Alex and Miles finally gave in and got back in the studio together to produce this album that we’ve all been waiting not so patiently for. ‘Bad Habits’ was the first snippet we got and it was just as full of them orchestral elements that made the debut record so popular.

And then there’s Christmas. Most will argue that ‘tisn’t the season until they see Hans Gruber falling off the roof of the Nakatomi Tower. And yes, I will admit that Die Hard is mandatory Christmas viewing. For me, however, his turn in Love Actually really shows off Rickman’s acting talent. As an aging businessman who falls for the temptations of a young secretary, his onscreen relationship with Emma Thompson is absolutely heartbreaking, and perhaps one of his most underrated roles. For most people across the globe, however (and indeed judging by the statuses of my Facebook friends from outside the UK), Rickman will always be remembered as Professor Severus Snape. Soothingly slurring out every syllable, Snape’s sinister presence is perhaps the highlight of the entire Harry Potter series, and as the news of his death reverberated around the office this afternoon, it seems that it is the role that really defined him as a screen legend. We have lost not only a wonderful voice today, but a great actor and an icon of many childhoods around the world. Goodbye, Mr. Rickman, and thank you for everything Words: Grae Westgate

HOLLI DEMPSEY

Words: Maddie Buisseret

DAD'S ARMY FILM STAR

HOLLI

DEMPSEY A

s film audiences pine for the days of yore more than ever, Britain’s beloved war comedy Dad’s Army is finally getting a breath of fresh air with the release of a new film, which comes to theatres February 2nd. I had a chat with actress Holli Dempsey, who plays Vera in the film, quizzing her on how Dad’s Army will appeal to young viewers, memorable moments on set, and meeting your heroes.

06 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

FILM

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 07

HOLLI DEMPSEY

IT'S A REAL DREAM TEAM WITH SOME OF THE BEST BITISH ACTORS IN THE INDUSTRY.

TUREHOUND 08 VULTUREHOUND DECEMBER 2O15 JANUARY 2016

Looking back in retrospect at an interview you did with Hello! Magazine back in February last year, were there any big surprises that happened during production in Dad’s Army? I think you expect to feel a lot more, and I’m not sure what I mean by that. My brother said that when he met Ricky Gervais when we all went on a night out together, that it was just a bit disappointing even though obviously they’re amazing people, but you just expect to be knocked over backwards in their presence. To be honest it’s disappointing in a nice way because it makes their ‘niceness’ more accessible, if you get me. I was like that with Bill Paterson, because I was such a fan of his performance as Mr. Jenkins in The Witches and I did knock on his trailer door at one point asking for a chat. He still cherishes that film as one of his favourite projects, and as a bonus it turns out the line ‘I don’t want cock-a-leekie, I like cress!’ was totally improvised!

Dad’s Army is obviously a classic that’s seen several different formats across radio, television and the 1971 film. Was it something you ever grew up listening to or watching because of your parents? Honestly it wasn’t something I was at all interested in growing up! It was the green and grey look of the show, the fact that everyone apart from Private Pike is older. When you look at shows like Harry Enfield and Chums, it’s an adult show with adult humour, but there was still an appeal for kids, whereas this is just seemed to be a grainy war show. However once I got the audition, I now feel ashamed because the box set is absolutely fantastic.

Did you feel at all intimated being such a young cast member amongst the industry heavyweights but also the fact that it is a show mostly of older generation characters? To be honest if I’d felt like that I would have had a breakdown on day 1. The first rehearsal you had people like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bill Nighy walking in and out and it was just like “oh wow, play it cool!” But it’s not a competition, like my co-star Emily Atack (who plays Daphne in the film) and I are in the same age group despite her being more well-known than me, you can really learn from being around such amazing and friendly people. I can accept that I’m happy to sit there with my hands on my chin listening to their stories, and it makes for a great learning experience. Bill Nighy for example, as much as he’s done in his time, is just so normal and sweet.

So your character Vera is a newly created role for the film. Was there anything about her characteristics that resonated with you personally, or any inspiration you used when playing her on set? I knew from the beginning that she was very sweet, quite working class and loyal whereas Emily Atack’s character is a bit more of a bombshell, so very confident and sexy and

Vera isn’t like that at all. I didn’t have loads to go on but Ollie (Ollie Parker, director) obviously liked it, and my character is also quite balanced out by Pike (Blake Harrison, The Inbetweeners 2) which helps, as he’s very sweet and obviously young like me, so we made a lovely little couple!

From an acting point of view, do you have a favourite scene from the film?

Well there’s a scene where Catherine ZetaJones and I go headto-head, which was incredibly fun, but I actually got a scar on my leg from the scene! It’s also hard because you’re obviously trying to be in character but part of you is sort of looking at yourself from the outside, going “Look at me doing this one-to-one scene with Catherine!”

Speaking of Ollie Parker, do you think as a director he’s made

this film appeal to a new generation of viewers, most of which probably haven’t seen Dad’s Army before? Additionally how is it still going to appeal to our parents and grandparent’s generation? The first thing has to be casting- it’s a real dream team with some of the best British actors in the industry, and they also look spookily similar to the actors from the old series, which helps I >

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 09

HOLLI DEMPSEY

CATHERINE ZETA JONES AND I GO HEAD TO HEAD think. On top of that, I wasn’t actually sure how they were going to pull it all together because I only saw it for the first time last Sunday, but Ollie’s made a clear effort to really make it into a film with all the cinematic bells and whistles, without the characteristics of a small TV show or ‘spin-off’ feel like the older works. Then you see all the men but they have the ‘familiar faces’ feel, which I think will be a relief for older viewers. Even someone like me who never watched it as a child, it felt familiar!

Do you feel the film is loyal to the old show? I think we were aware that we were working on one of Britain’s best treasures, and you don’t want to just run with it and revamp it to death. We actually have two remaining cast members in it, Ian Lavender who was the original Private Pike, and then Frank Williams who played the original vicar. They were both so happy and proud to relive and revive it, so we definitely weren’t trying to change it.

10 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

So do you think there’s enough humour that will resonate with younger audiences? I really do, we actually had some kids in the audience when I saw it a week ago and they were giggling away, and fortunately kids can’t fake that enjoyment just because their dad was the cameraman or something. In particular there’s plenty of physical comedy thanks to Toby Jones (Captain Mainwairing), because he’s such a brilliant physical actor. I mean nothing too ridiculous, but there’s bits where he completely embodies Mainwairing and I think it’ll really make kids giggle.

Did you find it difficult coming from a show like Derek to a classic film? Also you were working on both at the same time, correct? I pushed myself to the nth degree on this job because I was doing Ricky Gervais’ Derek at the same time, and it was a real stamina challenge. Obviously it’s a question of nailing the character and the lines, but on top of that it was like, after working on Dad’s Army, can you stay awake on a train until 1am, have two hours sleep and then get up and do Derek? You don’t want either party to feel you’re not prioritising them, so that can definitely be a challenge but obviously no complaints, because it’s all I fought for. In terms of coming from one project to the other, they were both comedies, although Derek isn’t a straight comedy. I don’t think anything is going to be like Derek because we finished filming at 4pm, and it’s all mocumentary style, so

it’s a lot more fast paced and you never get bored of a scene because once you’ve done it and laughed a few times, you move on to the next. Dad’s Army was obviously a lot longer, sometimes with one scene taking two days to film when everyone is cold, hungry and tired so it tests you in a different way.

Were there any memorable moments from the cast? Well it’s not from the set, but basically I got an email about a dinner invite on the first Saturday of filming, and it was simply: ‘Catherine would like to invite you out for dinner,’ and I was so confused, I thought it was a funder, or someone from a channel wanting to take us out. I went up to an Assistant Director saying, “I got this email about a Saturday night dinner, who’s Catherine?” And of course she just looked at me like I was from the zoo, and then obviously told me it was in fact Catherine Zeta-Jones! I was so embarrassed, but of course she’s lovely and very down to earth, and we had a great time.

So what’s on the cards for this year? I recently came back from Bulgaria, shooting a new series called The Aliens for E4, it’s an adult comedy with a great script and cast, and will be coming out in April. I want to do lots more work this year particularly in theatre, as you really work from the bottom up and it’s incredibly challenging. Radio would be great too; to be honest I’m open to anything! Dad’s Army opens in theatres February 5.

LIVE

ottingham’s Rock City is currently celebrating 35 years of service to the UK music industry, with a whole host of bands playing the legendary venue during the month of December. Bringing the ‘Black to the Future’ tour to Rock City were Satanic legends Ghost, so obviously we had to check them out. The anticipation of Ghost is built long before the band take to the stage, with incense and classical choir music creating a buzzing atmosphere, tonight Rock City is no longer a music venue but instead the Church of Ghost; the crowd the willing congregation. The staging and style of Ghost is nothing short of perfect, with masked bands there is that chance of it being naff but Ghost avoid this perfectly and are one of the most interesting live bands on the scene. Words/Photo: Kimberley Bayliss

T S O H G

JOIN US @VULTUREHOUND

LEMMY

Words: Lee Hazell

KILLED BY LIFE:

A TRIBUTE TO

LEMMY

KILMISTER n the 28th of December 2015, the world lost Lemmy Kilmister. It was a shock to many because he had only been diagnosed with cancer two days before hand and the news had not travelled to many. But mostly, it was a shock because Lemmy Kilmister was thought by most to be immortal.

12 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

MUSIC

Photo: Craig Taylor-Broad

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 13

LEMMY

IT WAS A SHOCK BECAUSE LEMMY KILMISTER WAS THOUGHT TO BE IMMORTAL 08 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 14 DECEMBER 2016 2O15

A Rockstar with a notorious reputation, Lemmy may have been a musician first and foremost, but when pushed most people would struggle to name three of his songs. The source of his fame isn’t his song writing. When people think of Lemmy; when they say that they worship him; dream of being like him, they aren’t thinking of the music, they’re thinking of the lifestyle. Lemmy was a true Rock ‘n’ Roll great of exceptional talent and musical ability. He was a purveyor or the dirtiest and sleaziest kind of rock; he could make a bass almost sound diseased he could play it so filthily. But his daredevil, hard partying, drug taking, whiskey drinking way of life will be what people think of whenever they think of Lemmy. You probably know far more rumours surrounding the ultimate party animal than the tunes he committed to vinyl. That he switched from scotch to vodka for health reasons. That if he stops taking speed his heart would go into shock and he would die. That he had an orgy with every single one of the Nolan Sisters at the same time. Fact and fiction have often mingled in his life, him being the fact and fiction being the saucy minx he would often bed. Lemmy was born on the 24th of December, 1945, a few months after the end of WW2 in Stoke-onTrent. He grew up in North Wales before returning to England to tour and play with various bands throughout the Midlands. The first signed act he joined was The Rockin’ Vicars, a Beatles aping quartet with a typically cheeky name. He would then become a roadie; one of the bands he would tour with was The Jimmy Hendrix Experience, a time that would be the inspiration for the song We Are The Road Crew. His big break came when he joined the Space Rock group Hawkwind. It’s funny thinking of Lemmy, the maestro of Sex & Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll getting his first shot at fame in the Star Trek of British Rock. Tellingly, they are mostly known nowadays for their number three hit, Silver Machine, Lemmy’s debut vocal. He was the new kid in the band, so when question were raised about Robert Calvert’s performance, he was the last person they asked to give the vocals a try. According to the man himself, he mastered it in one or two takes when all others had failed. It’s a testament to the confidence and self-belief that would see him through five decades of rock.

Motörhead were a revelation in British Rock music. They were harder and faster than anything anyone had heard before. They paved the way for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal to take over the rock landscape in the 80s. Their fusion of bluesy rhythms and punk speed

was one of the inspirations to the thrash movement across the pond. They gave metal a speed and an aggression that other bands were building to, but Motörhead were the ones to break that wall down with nothing but amplifiers and a distortion switch. There was always a purity to Motörhead that other bands couldn’t match. Lemmy’s favourite subject was life on the road, the drinking, the drugs, the women. It would be the thing that connected him to the people. If Rock was about a way of life as much as the music then Lemmy brought that life to the masses. Others talked a good game but Lemmy played one. His lyrics aren’t ambiguous, he doesn’t hide drugs behind clever metaphors, and he doesn’t disguise the thrill of the chase behind a fanciful mask. He lives, he writes it, he sings is.

That’s his enduring legacy. To be as much of a dude you want to get drunk and stoned with as jam with. To revel in the hedonism of the bohemian life, to indulge without fear of consequence, to never look at the clock and think of quitting. Lemmy is the Rock ‘n’ Roll dream personified. As we move farther into the digital future and further away from the tactile pleasures of life, as we choose to live through others instead of choosing to experience life for ourselves, this is an image we need now more than ever. I would say Rest In Peace Lemmy Kilmister, but peace is never something he sought or desired. Peace would be a kind of hell. Better to go to actual hell and drink and dance into oblivion with the Devil himself. Then dethrone that pretender. Lemmy’s the new king in town.

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 15

Photo: Goran Beg

His lifestyle, both the source of his immortality, and his flawed humanity, would lead to moments of erratic behaviour that would see him cast out of the group. The final straw came after he was found with a bag of Amphetamines and spent five days in jail, forcing the band to cancel some shows. The last song he would write for them was called Motörhead and would be the stimulus for his new project, the band that would become forty year veterans by the time its founder would come face to face with his own mortality.

NOSTALGIA (I definitely am listening

ALBUMS WE’RE STILL SPINNING 10 YEARS LATER ostalgia is a wondrous thing; holding the ability to transform your emotions in just a few moments, its power is boundless. From an old photo to a beloved home-cooked meal, the sensory experience that sends us back to happy, comforting, or even painful moments is easily triggered by seeing, smelling, touching, tasting or hearing. Though, the most common way nostalgia is sparked is through music.

Simply known as “Music-Evoked Nostalgia,” memories rise to the surface when you hear a song that connects with a particularly impressionable time in your life. The song that you played on repeat when your heart was broken for the first time, or the track that you and your best friend listened to on the way to school every day, so much that the words are still engrained in your memory; hearing these songs days, weeks, even years later produces a sense of nostalgia. You slowly drift back into that moment or general time in your life, remembering how broken-hearted you were and believing you would never fall in love again, or how excited you were to just to see your best friend and sing at the top of your lungs. While memories only last so long, great albums live forever, continuing to impose themselves on the lives of emotionally charged young adults only to resurface later and send us into a daydream soaked in nostalgia. 2006 was a fantastic year for music, one of variety and innovation, and a decade later, many of these albums (in no particular order) still find their way into our rectangular pocket computers, continuing to bring us happiness, comfort, or pain.

16 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

to it though, because it’s awesome!). Louder Now is one of the very few albums that I can say shaped my current musical tastes. In 2006 I was young and impressionable, and Taking Back Sunday joined the

TAKING BACK SUNDAY – LOUDER NOW Released 25 April 2006 By Rhian Wilkinson I didn’t even have to listen to this album to write this piece. I could have told you without even looking at a track listing that ‘Liar (It Takes One To Know One)’, ’Makedamnsure’, and ‘Twenty-Twenty Surgery’ were some of my most played tracks of 2006 and 2007. That is how much it has stuck with me

ranks of my iPod mini with bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and AFI. Turning on this album gave me a little excuse for an impromptu karaoke party. I love everything about it. The first six tracks are insane, I found myself singing along without even trying, and I was expected my absolute noughties pop-punk/posthardcore party to die off by track seven, but frankly it kept going, I knew every damn song—and I have the memory of a goldfish. This may actually be in my top

RISE AGAINST

MUSIC The record as a whole is

and danceable. There

a heart-pulling, emphatic

are downbeat, minimal

piece of work, that keeps

tracks like ‘Silent Shout’

bubbling in the ears after

and ‘Forest Families’, as

the sound dissipates. It’s

well as propulsive but

also full of courageousness

sinister songs like ‘One

and rage, bellows of

Hit’—because there’s

desperation.

always room for electro bangers satirizing (in its

A decade later, it still

glorification of) domestic

resonates with so many

violence.

largely in part to tracks like

THE KNIFE

‘Prayer of the Refugee’,

‘The Captain’ is as

which describes poverty

cold and barren as the

and the struggles of living

fictional landscape the

a life with obligation. It also

title character navigates

contains a littleW guitar

and ‘Still Light’ is heart-

riff that sticks in the brain,

wrenching, supposedly

pulling at the receptors.

about a woman waking up

Contrastingly in ‘Roadside’,

after having an abortion.

we’re given a piece of

But fear not, the duo can

emotive songwriting

also write impossibly pretty

and vocal work, which

songs. ‘From Off to On’ is

showcases a rare subtlety.

about our obsession with

albums ever, not just a 10-

1999, and with main

year reunion banger.

lyricist and singer Tim

Taking Back Sunday’s

McIlrath leading the charge,

Louder Now has achieved

they’ve played all over the

something incredible for

world, pushing for change

me, it is an album that 10

and a stern resistance.

worked. It might sound

Despite all this doom

to some as the opus that

and gloom, there are just

more than I ever did before.

The band have released

highlighted a different

enough upbeat, semi-

I will admit that I hadn’t

seven albums that have

direction, but it still offers

danceable tunes to keep

listened to it for a few

conveyed the inner

a musical balance that is

the album listenable. ‘Like

years, and on returning to

workings of political

ever so engrossing.

A Pen’ sounds like the

it, I can now happily say it

restlessness. Their eyes and

will remain in rotation for

minds have been fixated

2016.

on trying to find peace in a

THE KNIFE – SILENT SHOUT

world that’s broken-hearted

Released 15 February 2006

and in chaos, and through

By Jon Gunter

years on, I probably love

RISE AGAINST – THE SUFFERER & THE WITNESS Released 4 July 2006 By Mark McConville Rise Against are pioneers of the new wave punk scene. The Chicago-based band have lit the music sector with their politically drenched songs since

technology and ‘Marble The Sufferer & The Witness

House’ might just be the

is an album that is

best love song of 2006.

compelling and beautifully

weirdest techno you’ve ever

the work that they’ve developed, people can

Silent Shout, the third

listen on and create their

album by the reclusive

own mission statements.

Swedish brother-sister duo The Knife was, at

With all the wonderful,

the time, a monumental

abrasive and highly

career peak and many

charged records that Rise

(including myself) still

Against have released, it

think it’s their best album.

was 2006’s The Sufferer &

It showed you could make

The Witness that boosted

electro-pop cerebral and

them to higher ground.

dark as well as catchy

heard, and the brilliant ‘We Share Our Mothers’ Health’ has been described (by my own father, no less) as sounding “like Talking Heads jumping on a trampoline.” Songs like these make it perfectly clear that this is not just another generic electro band trying to jump on whatever bandwagon is relevant—something that many of their Swedish counterparts could learn from.

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 17

NOSTALGIA groundbreaking 1991

Gallows’ first album

“Writing half the lyrics

record Blood Sugar Sex

Orchestra of Wolves that

in the fucking car” from

Magik, where guitarist

just feels right. It is UK

the song ‘Rolling with the

John Frusciante told

punk at its best, and if

Punches’ refers to Frank

Total Guitar that “there

you have never listened to

and I driving from Slough

were beings of higher

it, the 10-year anniversary

to Watford trying to write

intelligence controlling

is a damn good time to do

words to the songs. I think

what I was doing.” We’ll

so. What makes it so good

that’s part of the album’s

take your word for it,

is how vicious it is, snarly

charm, we really weren’t

John.

and intense, it makes

trying to be anything

itself heard. I spoke to

and we definitely didn’t

Regardless of whether

Gallows’ Laurent Barnard

overthink anything, we

or not the Red Hot Chili

about how he feels about

were just going with the

By Emily Mee

Peppers received divine

the album 10 years on.

flow.”

To release a 28-track,

is, without a doubt, one of

“Orchestra of Wolves

It is worth noting that

the defining albums of the

was a strange album for

Barnard recorded all of

band’s career, but also of

Gallows. We went into

the guitars on the album

2006.

the studio as a three

himself after fellow

piece, myself, Stu and

guitarist Paul Laventure

Lee and after recording

left the band before

we would audition singers

recording began—making

or have them sing on

it even more of a feat of

the instrumentals. By

greatness that it sounds

the time Frank returned

so damn good.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – STADIUM ARCADIUM Released 9 May 2006

double-disc album would be make-or-break for most artists—but for Red Hot Chili Peppers, the release of Stadium Arcadium on 9th May 2006 only served to cement their status as psychedelic

help, Stadium Arcadium

GALLOWS – ORCHESTRA OF WOLVES Released 25 September

funk rock gods. It was

2006

hailed by Rolling Stone

By Rhian Wilkinson

as the band’s best album yet, and sold a massive 7,900,000 copies. The anthemic ‘Dani California’ and its music

There is something about

to the band and sung on the album, we had a short amount of time to record vocals. The line

GALLOWS

video, which featured the Chili Peppers dressed up as various rock icons, were probably two of the best things to come out of 2006, while other tracks ‘Snow (Hey Oh)’, ‘Tell Me Baby’ and ‘Hump De Bump’ were also memorable. Interestingly enough, we might have a “haunted” house to thank for this classic album. It turns out that the album was recorded in the same Hollywood Hills house as the band’s

18 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

SENSES FAIL – STILL SEARCHING Released 10 October 2006 By Mark McConville Post-hardcore band Senses Fail have become a cult mainstay in the emo scene, delivering the type of music that may haunt your innocent dreams. And they’re fronted by the enigmatic and controversial Buddy

Nielsen, whose whiny, but

Fail ahead in the emo

bolder, darker album for

finale of Grey’s Anatomy

clear-cut voice escalates

genre, and is their best

Yellowcard, and it paid off.

in which it was featured.

like a burning phoenix.

work.

There is more weight to

And the two lead singles

the songs, and that weight

from the album ‘You’re All

has held it in stead as one

I Have’ (UK) and ‘Hands

of the best Yellowcard

Open’ (US) were both

albums ever recorded.

certified heart-wrenchers

The band hail from New York and have released six albums since their inception in 2004. Being prolific is what they’re used to while being original is what they thrive to be, and with belief running through their veins, they’ve lifted themselves upon a steady platform. In 2006, the band released Still Searching, and to this day, it still haunts and stings the musical world. It’s an album that has been brutally made to quiver unsettled spines, not only to entertain, but to also make the listener slip into deep pensiveness. One of the album’s more intense and obscure tracks, ‘Can’t Be Saved’ begins with a pulsating guitar riff that develops when the chorus hits like a hammer, showcasing the band’s elevated and progressive approach to the emo genre. Lead singer Buddy Nielsen bellows out his grievances and troubles, pushing his feelings to the forefront of drama. And we’re also given the articulate ‘The Priest and the Matador’ which offers a subtle vibe with dark undertones. Still Searching is the record that placed Senses

YELLOWCARD– LIGHTS AND SOUNDS

too.

Released 24 January 2006 By Rhian Wilkinson

Earning the title of the UK’s best-selling album of

Lights and Sounds by

2006, and going platinum

emo-pop-punk-violin outfit

in the US, Snow Patrol’s

Yellowcard has stood the

Eyes Open became one

test of time, it not only

of Ireland’s best selling

makes me remember what it was like to be hearing it for the first time at 15, it gives me all the same feelings now. Following on from Ocean Avenue

albums of all time.

SNOW PATROL – EYES OPEN

I don’t know many people

Released 28 April 2006

Cars’ does absolutely

By Rhian Wilkinson

nothing for them, and

was a big ask, and the

who can say that ‘Chasing

most people will admit

opening instrumental

Honestly, I know that

track ‘Three Flights Up’

that they have cried at

Snow Patrol existed before

was, and probably still is,

least once while listening

Eyes Open, but did they

the furthest thing possible

to Snow Patrol. Eyes Open

matter before it? ‘Chasing

from what people were

makes my list of albums

Cars’ was skyrocketed

expecting to hear when

that have stood the test of

into the charts thanks

picking up a pop-punk

time because I still love it.

to the emotional season

From start to finish,

album. The title track of the album, ‘Lights and

YELOWCARD

Sounds’ is definitely the standout song, toning down the violins that were such a huge part of Ocean Avenue garnered criticism from critics at the time, but now, 10 years on, the sparing use just serves to make those moments where they are used more special. ‘Words, Hands, Hearts’ is the best example of this, the violins take it beyond being just another poppunk ballad. Lights and Sounds was a

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 19

NOSTALGIA ‘Degausser’ and ‘Limosine’,

more times—before I knew

the heart-ripping lyrics

I was jamming out in my

sung at a higher-than-

car to ‘Mein’ and ‘Rats!

expected pitch matched

Rats! Rats!’. One note I

with a layered guitar-bass

have to make about this

combo suffices for a well-

album, and about Deftones

constructed emo ballad.

overall, is that their music

Meanwhile, ‘You Won’t

is sexy as hell and I will not

Know’ and ‘Handcuffs’

hear differently. I mean,

leave your soul feeling

have you heard ‘Beware’?

ripped wide open with their ominous undertones and

My personal favorite track

impeccable use of violins.

of this whole album is ‘Xerces’, which I listened

BRAND NEW

If you’ve never listened

to on repeat for days at

to The Devil and God Are

a time, so much to the

Raging Inside Me or heard

point where I’m pretty sure

rumors that it’s ‘not as

my thoughts were being

good as Deja Entendu’, I

narrated by Chino Moreno

fear you have made a grave

(for the records, this would

mistake.

never be a bad thing, ever). Aside from several

I think it is a beautiful,

It’s an even greater talent

painstakingly recorded

to provoke such strong

DEFTONES – SATURDAY NIGHT WRIST

album. There is still so

reactions after an already

Released 31 October 2006

much emotion embodied in

heavy-hitting album like

By Jaclyn O’Connell

those songs for me, maybe

Deja Entendu. So I’m sure

it’s because I listened to

you can understand why

When I first listened to

the record when I was

Brand New’s The Devil and

Saturday Night Wrist, I

young and melodramatic,

God Are Raging Inside Me

wasn’t that taken with it.

maybe it’s just because it’s

truly needed to make this

It seems quasi-generic

incredible.

collection of decade-old

Released 20 November 2006 By Jaclyn O’Connell There aren’t many artists whose music can simultaneously energize you and bum you the hell out. It takes a special talent to provoke feelings of helpless depression and vigorous passion within five emotion-soaked minutes.

this album stand out from many others released in 2006: ‘Pink Cellphone’. Annie Hardy offered her airy, condescending tone to the track with an emotionless and enigmatic dialogue, which was a rather bold route for a band worked.

in shock it’s been 10 years since its release.

To this day, I listen to Saturday Night Wrist at

Centered on illness, loss

least once a week and

and suffering (you can’t be

swoon over Moreno’s harsh,

that surprised), the Long

dry crooning, making this a

Island pop-punk-turnedemo quartet purposely

and rather obsolete. I

submersed themselves

bet there are a bunch of

into the loss of friends

folks scoffing at me right

and family. This is most

now. But, I really though

apparent in Jesse Lacey’s

“well, what’s the big deal?”

seething premiere track on

though I don’t think I let it

the album, ‘Sowing Season

sink in as much as I should

(Yeah)’. As a personal fan

have on the first listen. So

of the composition of both

I tried again, then a few

20 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

differentiator that makes

to take in 2006. Well, it

albums. Frankly, I’m still

BRAND NEW – THE DEVIL AND GOD ARE RAGING INSIDE ME

stellar tracks, there’s one

forever favorite.

! e n i z a g a m g n i l FREE WRESt SteelChairMag.com

AIDEN

THE FINAL

INTERVIEW Words: Shane Bayliss | Photo: Kimberley Bayliss

22 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

MUSIC

We Spoke to Aiden frontman William Francis ahead of their final ever shows... JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 23

AIDEN

24 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

A s we walk into the main dressing room of Birminghamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rainbow venue, there is a thick blanket of smoke, and there in the corner of the room sits Will Francis: cigarette in hand. The Aiden front-man is half way through the final ever tour, bringing to a close thirteen on and off years of make-up stained Punk Rock...

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 25

AIDEN You’ve decided to end Aiden in the UK, what was the reasoning behind coming to the UK for your final ever run? I suppose it just worked out that way. We tried to do something in September, but the agents that we were working with couldn’t pull it off, and we had the America tour set to go for October/November so the only time we could come over was after the holidays.

With this being the final ever tour, is this more about closure for yourself, for the fans or a bit of both? Definitely a bit of both, for years people have been asking “when are you going to do a new Aiden album, we’d like to see you on tour.” The way that it ended so abruptly with Victory, and then I immediately started working on William Control stuff, it left it all hanging, and I wanted to make one more album that fucking ripped and do another tour and say goodbye.

In terms of the tour, you’re playing the whole of ‘Nightmare Anatomy’ in full as you did in the States. What was the reason behind choosing that, is it your favourite album, or is that the one you get asked about the most? That’s the album that kids got into, in 2005 Victory was a machine! Victory Records was the biggest independent label in the world, and in turn was able to get that album out to a lot of people, so it feels as if that record was the one that at the time, kids connected to the most than any of our albums after that. It connected with what was happening in that scene at the time, so I wanted to play the album in full because A) people like it; love it and B) we’ve never played a lot of those songs live. 10 years later! It’s a long fucking time! It’s kind of a milestone for me.

A friend of mine showed me the ticket for this show, and it feels like every element of this tour has been meticulously planned, and every detail has been taken into account. Is that the case, because it feels like a very DIY feel to it in planning? Yeah we have! Crilly from Ashestoangels booked the fucking thing. There’s no managers, no agents, no labels, it’s just us. 26 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

So very much back to the DIY roots of the scene? Which is how Aiden started, so it’s kind of like full circle.

Moving onto the new album, before you started writing it you wrote an open letter on Facebook to your former band mates, which felt very personal. Was that something you needed to get out before writing again, to clear the air with everything? Yeah, I suppose that I felt it was the fair thing to do. Kind of thank those guys, without them Aiden wouldn’t have existed. I wouldn’t have had a career in music, I wouldn’t have gone on to do William Control, or open my own print shop if it wasn’t for Jake, Angel and Nick. So I wanted to thank them for what they did for me.

I read it, and the section to Jake felt really personal. I know there are bands that put stuff out in the press purely for PR reasons but that felt really organic. It must have been difficult to write? Human beings... we have problems getting along sometimes, friendships you think will last forever end abruptly and it’s hard. It’s hard losing people you consider your brothers, but that’s just life. People come in and out of the revolving door of your life and you just have to say goodbye. To me writing that, it was cathartic and it was heartfelt, I felt there were some things I needed to say to him. I don’t have his number, his email or his Facebook or any of that shit, I haven’t talked to the guy since 2008. That was the only way I could have got a message to him, which I don’t even know if he read.

The new album you released as a free download, at a cost to yourself. With no record labels, and no interference is this the truest Aiden album? I’ve got to be honest, there was never anybody saying “you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that” I’ve written all the Aiden songs since ‘Our Gangs Dark Oath’ and I’ve never had someone come in and say “you can’t do this.” That’s part of what Aiden has always been about. We started this band because we loved the bands we grew up listening

D R A H “IT’S G N I S LO U O Y E L P O E P R E D I S N O C R U O Y , S R E H T O R B S ’ T A H T T U B ” E F I L JUST to so much we wanted to be a band like them. We loved the Misfits, Metallica, NOFX and Bad Religion, and we wanted to play Punk Rock. Probably the reason we signed to an independent label, is because I never wanted to be told what to do. Even though we were at the whim of Victory and their schedule, Tony Brummel never came to our recording sessions, all the records I wrote were just where I was at that part of my life. With regards to your question about this being the truest album, I feel like yeah it is. I feel

like the self titled album that came out in 2015 is preciously what Aiden is in every aspect from ‘Our Gang’ to ‘Nightmare’, ‘Conviction’, ‘Disguises’ and ‘Knives’ and all the records put together ‘Aiden’ is essentially a Horror Punk fun, sing-along chorus, riffy, Punk Rock band that loves Metal but isn’t good enough to play Metal! I feel like I took all the elements of every Aiden record and put it together to make one last really great album.

You also attempted to make the entire Aiden catalogue available for free, was

that your way of trying to stop people profiteering off the legacy of Aiden? By allowing anyone to access it? Yeah! I tried, but then I got a cease and desist letter pretty quick from Victory Records. They took it down pretty quick, but they own the records. I was a naive kid that signed over my artwork to a business man, and that’s my fault.

With you being the soul original member of the band, and you’ve said you wrote the other Aiden records, is Aiden you now, and it’s your record?

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 27

AIDEN

“I NEVER WANTED TO BE TOLD WHAT TO DO When I met Jake and Angel they were like a Blink-182 band with screaming vocals, they wanted to be a Pop Punk band but they wanted to scream. It was real weird! When I joined the band I was like “this is cool, but here is a song from my old band” which I’d just gotten out of, so primarily our first record ‘Our Gangs Dark Oath’ is songs from my old band Youth At Risk, I’ve always been the main song writer for Aiden from the very beginning. We’ve collaborated; the band members and I have sat in the room and collaborated and been like “that part sucks” but I’ve written 95% of everything that’s on the Aiden albums.

and William Control, when you writedo the songs organically go one way or another, or do you sit down with a specific project in mind?

Now with the two

the last 10 years to

projects: Aiden

28 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

Kenny our bass player helped me write this last Aiden album in the studio, when I sit down and write an album I’m pretty much writing a William Control album or I’m writing an Aiden album, I don’t really deviate.

make an album. With William Control, honestly I don’t listen to any new music at all. I listen to Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke, dead guys, shit that doesn’t even make sense. You would think that I would listen to whatever electronic bands are out now, but I don’t even know what’s out in the electronic music scene, I couldn’t tell you the top five bands that are playing. It’s a weird endeavour- music! We just fucking write it!

Some bands don’t listen to any outside interference, do you listen to specific bands to get you in a particular mindset? This album has guest vocals from the likes of Ash Costello, Chris Motionless and Kier Kemp on it, was that your way of No, with ‘Aiden’ I just drew passing the baton to the bands that are inspiration from the legacy of going to follow Aiden in the Horror Punk Aiden, and used all the ideas scene? and riffs I’ve had over

I feel like all those bands Fearless Vampire Killers, Ashestoangels, Motionless In White and New Years Day are all bands that are kind of doing what Aiden and My Chemical Romance and AFI were doing in 2005. Which is awesome, that 10 years later there are still bands that wanna paint their faces up and go on stage, I think that’s great. I don’t feel like I’m passing the baton on because these are bands that are self sustaining and great bands all on their own, I feel like I just wanted to put them on the album because... shit I like them! They’re my friends.

Final question, is the end ever truly the end? Yeah, it will definitely be the end. I’m 34 years old, I wrote these songs in my early 20’s when I was fresh out of jail and treatment. Throughout my career people are always saying “you’ve changed, you’re different”, mother-fucker of course I’ve changed! I’m a grown up now! I’ve got a mortgage, a family, bills; I have a place to live, I’m not a homeless kid. Things change, people grow up, have new ideas and I’m definitely not the same kid that I was 12 years ago. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about the world around me, I’ve traveled to a lot of places, seen a lot of shit, and spanked a lot of asses.

As The Last Sunrise Tour comes to an end, we can but reminisce as Aiden drift off into the past, but fuck have they left a legacy, summed up by Will’s final words on his time, he’s “spanked a lot of asses”. RIP Aiden it’s time to ‘Die Romantic’ as today was truly ‘The Last Sunrise’

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 29

DAVID BOWIE

Words: Michael Dickinson

MY WORD ON A WING,

THANK YOU DAVID BOWIE

Illustration: Govinder Gabria

usicians, film stars, celebrities, famous people they come and go. They all die, as is the pattern with our existence. We say “what a shame”, “too soon” or “I admired him”. This morning I woke up to hear that David Bowie had died and for the first time on hearing somebody famous had died I felt genuine shock. Even as I type this having put Teenage Wildlife on the background to offer some comfort I find myself welling up as though I’ve lost a best friend I hadn’t spoken to in years.

The out pouring of grief we’ll see over the news and social media outlets over the next few days we’ll demonstrate how much Bowie meant to so many. Weirdly I keep company with those who never said he was much cop. They’re wrong but you can’t go round hitting everyone you disagree with… Oh crap I just started crying… Teenage Wildlife probably wasn’t the

best choice. Growing up with parents who were fans of Bowie I grew up to the constant sounds of Life on Mars, Ziggy Stardust and Beauty & The Beast – which remains probably my favourite song of all time. So many childhood memories are soundtracked by his songs – like the exciting one where I visited a John Deare factory to the sounds of TVC15 and Golden Years. At university my flat-mates held an intervention when I delved to deep into his music and listened to nothing but Bowie for 3 months. Weird live bootlegs and Italian versions of Space Oddity emanating from my room till they had enough. That 3 month period was a damn fine one, I had every album and every odd track you can name and it was glorious. For a man known throughout the world who sometimes spoke of the most obtuse subjects his voice and music would cut to the very heart of things. From social songs of injustice (Black Tie, White Noise), emotional cries for help (Word on a Wing), horror-thriller concept albums

(Outside) things were never made simple. That’s why we admired him so much. Whether the music worked or not (sometimes it didn’t but let’s celebrate his imperfections) that he always sort to change and improve was an attractive quality in an artist. Some called him a sponge, some a dilletante, others accused him of outright plagiarism for appropriating other artists styles – be in German electronic pioneers, Philadelphia soul singers or London Drum N’Bass artists. What he did though was bring these musics to a wider ranging audience. His audience. I know where the mouth of the river is when it comes to my broad taste of music, it’s name is Bowie. This piece probably doesn’t say one thing that I actually meant to say, for now the news is still setting in. I loved this man and I never met him. The sound of his voice has literally been with me my entire life. Mine is a life where his music dominates and I feel all the more grateful for it. Thank you David.

UNDERRATED

TRACKS Cygnet Committee (Space Oddity) Saviour Machine (The Man Who Sold the World) We Are the Dead (Diamond Dogs) Win (Young Americans) It’s Hard To Be a Saint in the City (Sound + Vision Box Set) Teenage Wildlife (Scary Monsters... And Super Creeps) You Belong in Rock n’ Roll (Tin Machine II) The Mysteries (The Buddha of Suburbia) Outside (1. Outside) Battle for Britain (The Letter) (Earthling)

THE CRACKED ACTOR any folk will have been introduced to the majesty of Bowie through the art of cinema as opposed to his music. I myself travelled round for years thinking Tom Waits was simply a man who could do a fair old run at Renfield in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Playing an ageing vampire Bowie was once more the logical choice. Even in spirit his quivering early new-romantic frame almost said something about his standing as an artist at the time. Christopher Nolan has spoken passionately how there could be no other actor for the part of Tessla in The Prestige, going so far as to asking Bowie a second time after turning him down (a first and only for Nolan apparently).

For many children of the 80s it is Labyrinth which he is known for. For fans who dig deeper though there are two other films in particular which stand as his monuments in the field. The Man Who Fell to Earth, Nicolas Roeg darkly epic followup to Don’t Look Now. Bowie plays, frankly a version of himself during that period, Thomas Newton a traveller from another world. Famously chosen for the part after Roeg saw Alan Yentob’s documentary ‘Cracked Actor’ showcasing an “alien” looking Bowie in the back of a limousine flying across America. His chauffeur in real life was even hired for the film, incongruous looking as he was. It’s a film that divides people even now. Some same it’s pretentious tedium. Others say it’s a fractured and disturbing look into a world that seems to have become the norm. Guess which side I lay on?

The late 90s saw him pop in the lowbudget Drum n’Bass gangster film Everybody Loves Sunshine as a cockneyas-all-hell gangster/music producer. The part was fine but film was so out of step with anything he ever did before or since it’s worth tracking down to marvel at it. Man he must have loved the scene.

The other watermark is 1983’s Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence by the master Nagisa Oshima. Bowie plays a British POW under the eye of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s pleading Captain who is constantly at odds with his sergeant played by Takeshi Kitano. Bowie? Sakamoto? Kitano? It’s a dream cast. Oh yes and Tom Conti’s there too. Bowie even managed to bring some of his mime training into a role that basically said in few words what took Bridge on the River Kwai a long time to say. Being a POW is no easy task. His other roles saw him working with Tony Scott in his first feature, The Hunger.

Elsewhere he could be relied on to be himself, whether in Zoolander, Gervais’ episode or the opening to The Snowman, he instantly brought credibility and showed us glimpses of the man behind the mask through sentimentality and humour. Oh yes and and if anyone to this day can explain why he pops up in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me deserves a medal (other than the fact David Lynch loved him). To top it all he’s the reason Christopher Walken has his bleached white hair in A View to a Kill. They wanted Bowie to play the Nazi experiment Max Zorin and when he declined asked Walken to take the haircut. Walken has said his motivation for each scene was “look at my hair, can you believe what they did to my hair? What do you think of my hair?”. Finally there was his role in Just a Gigolo which the man himself described as “all my Elvis movies come at once”. Come on man you were always far better than you gave yourself credit for. I just remembered his time playing John Merrick on Broadway, I’ll leave you to find that for yourself. Damn the man can do anything.

DAVID BOWIE

Words: Adam James

UNWASHED AND DAZED... nwashed and somewhat slightly dazed – for over a week now. I do not subscribe to what Stewart Lee referred to as “the shrieking, hysterical grief of twats”. When Lady Diana died, I acknowledged that two boys had lost their mum and was saddened by that. I was genuinely astonished that so many people gave so much of a shit on such an apparently personal level. When Our Cilla died (and I personally think she made some great records), I don’t remember being particularly bothered. In fact, my prevailing memory is of being hungover with Film Editor and Fop in Chief of this publication, Mike. I recall both of us commenting that a surprising number of weeping scousers (and Jimmy Tarbuck) were not needed in work that day; but there was no actual emotion. When Lemmy, whom I also admired, passed, I was mainly surprised that it hadn’t happened years sooner. When I heard that Bowie had died (or simply gone home, if you prefer) I wept. I’m thirty years big. I’m not a massive crier except at the films of Pixar. I did not know Bowie, nor had I seen him live a lot. Just once actually, in what turned out to be his final tour. So why did the death of one supremely wealthy stranger cause at least four of my colleagues to come and clap me on the shoulder and say “you ok mate?” Why did someone, who smeared himself in glitter during the seventies whilst singing songs about space, dying, make my girlfriend squeeze my hand and say “I don’t understand it but I’m here. Shall we put that one with Changes on? I like that one” (She meant Hunky Dory and the answer is always “Yes! Yes we absolutely should!”). My father even text me his condolences and he’s from the North, so… It’s because he was mine. And he was Pete’s and Mike’s and Emma’s and Steve’s and everyone’s. But he remained private, personal and special. He belonged to us and helped define us. When I was sixteen years old my mum and dad bought me his greatest for Christmas (the two disc Best of Bowie with the composite image

Photo: Hunter Desportes

on the front – a superb primer for the neophyte). I remember playing it on my hi fi as I tried to record it onto mini disc; I remember painstakingly writing the tracklist in biro on the front and wondering if the comma in John, I’m only dancing was essential (yes). What happened that day is as close to a religious experience with pop music as I’ve come and it is precisely why this art form is so important to people. Suddenly, I had a “thing”. I’d never really cared for computer games and football was quite dreadfully boring. In Bowie, I not only had all these amazing sounds and cryptic lyrics to decipher, I also had the otherworldly cache that I felt for liking him; I had a wealth of records to go back and collect, none of which seemed to sound alike. I had a seemingly endless torrent of trivia to learn – much of which I later found that he had just made up; much like he made himself up. I was a Bowie fan. Each record was like a present. Some of which were more gratefully received than others to be honest: he had a comparatively thin eighties. But nevertheless, still something that deserved your attention. He has never been disposable to me. In my life I can recall weeping to Word on a Wing after a break up. I’ve been drunk out of my mind dancing to Modern Love. If I’ve had a shit day at work, I still listen to what amounts to the entire early seventies turned up loud. Even when a record has disappointed me, the pleasure I have had debating it with similarly inclined people has more than outweighed its negligible content. He has soundtracked my life to date and will continue to do so. “I did not grow up with David Bowie, I grew up because of him” – Not my words, the words of a guy I met at a party. Well, not his words actually, his boss’ words. But great words because they mirror exactly how I have felt of late. As though the catalyst that helped me become who I am has been ripped away. When I was casting around for an identity, like many teenagers before me, I found him. I didn’t start wearing lycra or make up, I certainly didn’t learn how to play an instrument or start writing songs. He just made it ok to be who I was. So yeah, I cried. I felt like I’d lost a part of myself and I still do. I love you David Bowie and goodbye.

Words: Tom Roden

LONG LIVE DAVID BOWIE! D

avid Bowie is not dead.

No matter how news outlets may report it, or social media commentators may cry about it, David Bowie is not dead. To imply or insinuate that Bowie is dead is to horribly misunderstand the purpose of Bowie or the art that it worked its life, and even its death, for. So let us clear the facts: yes, David Jones – the human host of the immortal David Bowie essence and persona – has today passed away, age 69. That in itself is horrible news, which means that the spirit of the starman no longer has a vessel through which to bestow its otherwordly pop gems onto us. For David Bowie was never truly human. Born in 1947, David Jones would have no idea of the spirit that would one day – twenty years on – inhabit him. Bowie’s birthing sound of The Laughing Gnome may not have charted, and it may not even be an especially great song,

but it demonstrated that spark of something else. That bizarre charm and wonderful weirdness that made Bowie the artistic alien that it was. It is only right that Bowie is referred to not by male or female phrases, but only ever in the gender neutral ‘it’. Not simply because of the androgyny that was Ziggy Stardust, but because to give Bowie any form of human trait is to do it a disservice. A spirit that morphed so frequently and successfully, from Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane to Goblin King and beyond. There is no set sexuality, gender or appearance of Bowie. Bowie is a concept, a spirit of the times, but never human. No further proof is needed of the elongated artform that was this lifeform than the death of David Jones. Since his human body suffered a heart attack in 2004, Bowie gradually and graciously began to remove itself from the public eye. In 2013 the shock dropping of The Next Day sparked rumours of a return, but Bowie never had any intent of that happening.

The Next Day marked the first, in a sense, album by Bowie to not feature the figure of David Jones on it. While it technically did, it was a recycled image of 1977’s “Heroes” album with the face removed. This was, two days prior to the death of Jones, followed by Bowie’s final album Blackstar. Blackstar was the first album by Bowie to not feature Jones’ face, simply settling for a minimalistic black star logo that will forever be treated as an artistic full stop. With Blackstar Bowie has returned to the stars, finally deciding after 49 years that this planet was not for it. As we bid farewell to the pop majesty of Bowie and mourn the death of the regal human David Jones, the only suitable way to do so is to repeatedly listen to the finest epitaph that any artist, whether human or other, could hope to produce: Blackstar.

Photo: Adam-Bielawski

DAVID JONES HAS DIED

DAVID BOWIE

Words: Michael Dickinson

BOWIE'S FINAL GIFT ith the wretched benefit of hindsight it would be easy to listen to Bowie's final work, Blackstar, as a morbid self-penned obituary. On the contrary there's so much to celebrate with this album.

Firstly let's clear the air and get that time honoured tradition that befalls any ageing musicians latter day music. Yes I'm going to break the glass and unleash the "it's his best work since...I'm going to go for... Outside". It's true. Despite the unmitigated excitement that came with the release of The Next Day it did ultimately feel underwhelming. Search your feelings you know it to be true. Granted 'Where Are We Now', 'Love is Lost' and 'Heat' are all future classics but 'Dancing in Out of Space', 'How Does Your Garden Grow' and 'If You Can See Me' all felt like unfinished ideas from Reality's disappointing second half.

jazz work. The now famous ten minute opening title track is one of the most sprawling things Bowie ever committed to wax. It's run-time, running mate Station to Station is the only thing in his canon that equals it in terms of length and being able to hold your attention throughout. At once a voodoolike chant, sci-fi tinged theatrical showstopper and bad ass grind song. All the while incorporating wonderful synth work and the jazz fuelled drumming. Vocally he lulls us into a sense that he's an aged man before hitting the third act (I like to think he wrote it as a play) where his voice soars a gracefully as anything he ever did. This song currently holds 40 listens on my fruit based listening device. Not many ten minute songs can say that.

- will now, probably, stand as his epitaph. Featuring what now read as uplifting/tragically (dependent on your view) autobiographical lyrics. It now sounds like a man coming closer to death but through reputation and a life time of work will go on to live forever. The notion that through homage, imitation and downright copying his name will last forever. 'Blackstar' covers a similar theme "somebody took his place and bravely cried I'm a Blackstar". Read as such it is a quietly devastating song especially when conjuring up the videos image of him bed bound. Not since Johnny Cash's shaking hand pouring away a cup of red wine has an artists final video been so unnerving.

BLACK Blackstar sounds and feels instantly like his most conceptually realised work in a long time. His decision to work with a jazz band even brings his musical work beautifully full circle as it was in Jazz and Blues bands where he honed his saxophone skills in the early 1960s. It seems weird that until now Black Tie, White Noise (inflected with early 90s dance) was the closest he ever came to a

'Tis A Pity She Was Whore' was released as a frankly bizarre b-side after the release of The Next Day. Here it as been re-recorded to feel more like a free-form improv that suddenly forms a coherent piece. The original recording was much more electronically tinged, with his voice almost vo-coded to oblivion but here and resides over it all. It's a feverishly deranged song which could frankly sit nicely next to Outside's 'I'm Deranged'. It also features a gut wrenching primal scream. 'Lazarus' - released as a single and video just days before his death

'Sue (Or in A Season of Crime)' has also seen release before. Appearing on 2014's compilation Nothing Has Changed it pointed very clearly to what path his next work would take and he didn't disappoint. With a machine gun like drum pattern it sounds like an audio car chase. Vocally it doesn't sound a million miles away from Bowie's cover of 'Nature Boy', employing his operatic leanings. Prominently featuring a rhythm guitar it's the closest thing the album comes to a rock out. 'Girl Loves Me' once again wouldn't sound out of place on Outside or weirdly Earthling. The angry refrain of "where the fuck did Monday go?" speaks more of the ballsy, funwheeling Bowie of the late 90s.

With a synth backing, that Trent Reznor would perhaps loved to have used in Gone Girl, it's a strangely atmospheric track speaking to something more disturbing under the surface. It feels more like the Bowie the writer than Bowie the biographer. 'Dollar Days' is destined to grow on me I'm certain of it. It's languid opening, flows like a summer's stream and makes me think "ahhhhh" - a relaxed sigh not a tortured cry I may add. But then it develops into an acoustic guitar driven ditty that sounds like an old idea from ...hours. The pleasant music betrays the more melancholic lyrics about seeing England's green lands again which given the songs retrospective context is a devastating reveal. Especially when he says "I'm dying to, push their back against the grain and fool them again and again", oh wow I've just realised that this is probably the most subtly upsetting song ever written. Oh wait no it's not... 'I Can't Give Everything Away' - the day before he died I commented to a friend how it reminded me of Heathen with a harmonica from 'A New Career In A New Town' thrown in (I apologise I've done a lot of "well this sounds a bit like..."). The harmonica does invoke his earlier glories. That song signified a huge change in Bowie's musical output and here it seems to herald in the final change, the ultimate change. The strings which roll in and out, do hark back to Heathen's title track which was perhaps the closest he ever came to God musically. "I know something is very wrong. The pulse returns for prodigal sons .The blackout's hearts with flowered news. With skull designs upon my shoes" when heard now is frankly upsetting. But as he says he can't give everything away so it was left till after he left us to tell us the truth. Bowie was a man who gave everything for his music, perhaps sometimes that made him a bad person, an eternally fascinating one though. That his last album should stand as one of his strongest works in decades is not just a relief (you don't have to lie when you say it was one of his best) but it's a great testament that he went out in search a surge of creative glory.

KSTAR As he delivers the chorus one last time and synths slowly fade out all I can think is "I wish this song would last forever".

Nick Helm

Words: Shane Bayliss

k c i N m l He

he 11th January will be etched in the annuals of history as that’s the day that the world came to hear about the passing of the legend that was David Bowie. It was also the day that we picked up the phone to chat with BAFTA nominated comedian, writer, director and musician Nick Helm.

I was going to start with the BAFTA nomination, but in the light of this mornings events I wanted to start with David Bowie. You’re heavily influenced by Rock music, to me I can see a potential influence that Bowie might have had on your work? He didn’t have a huge amount of influence directly on me, I like David Bowie and I think my Mum was quite a big fan but obviously it’s just really shocking. It was his birthday on Friday and everyone was posting that it was David Bowie, so he was in the public conscious and then the weekend has passed and everyone is posting about him again that he is dead, and that’s pretty awful. He influenced a lot of artists either directly or indirectly, I’ve always been influenced by Alice Cooper, I know Alice Cooper and David Bowie got inspiration from each other, Ziggy Stardust is an alter-ago much like Alice is an alter-ego. When I was growing up one of my favourite films was ‘Labyrinth’ and I always thought David Bowie was really great in that and

Moving away from Bowie, congratulations on the BAFTA nomination. Thanks very much, have you seen the film?

I have, I was actually looking at the nominations on Friday so I’ve been back and watched it on iPlayer over the weekend. It’s a very British love story. Interestingly we mention David Bowie in it, and it was one of those things where his influence like, we weren’t even trying to pay tribute to him and he still pops up in a nine minute film we made. But yeah, it is British! We were sort of aiming to do a classic comedy, or classic romance in a casual way.

Did you have a lot of free reign on the project? Did BBC just give you some cash and say “go make a film with a Valentines theme?” Yeah, sort of, it was a really long process to get to the point of making the film. Ten years ago I lived in Brighton for a year, and I had a really terrible year where everything fell apart, went wrong, I ran out of money and I didn’t have any friends and was struggling through living in Brighton. I wanted to be really creative, be a writer and an artist and all these things, the only thing that got me through it was that I became friends with this girl and I always thought that was a really interesting

the songs were amazing in that.

relationship. You’ve got a man and a woman who are friends

He’s one of those people you get to and go “I don’t know enough

they’re just friends because they need each other and then don’t

about David Bowie.” I was making a list over Christmas, people like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, and I guess David Bowie

with each other, and there might be something else to it, but want to risk damaging that friendship by taking it any further. That was the starting point, and then for ten years I was writing

should be on that list really to listen more to.

different drafts on and off, I was writing a play, and a web series,

He’s one of those artists where I’ve got his Greatest Hits on my iPhone, but I’ve never really delved deeper into his back catalogue.

BBC comedy and said I’ve got a series, he said we haven’t got

a film version of it and eventually I met up with the head of any slots at the moment but we have got these Valentines bits coming up, and I said “can I direct it” and he said yes. Through the years I’ve been doing comedy, I’ve been looking for a female counter part to help me writing it, so that it wasn’t from a male

Yeah, and if one of his songs comes on you know it. I had to

perspective, it was really important we collaborated together. So

sing ‘Under Pressure’ last year at Edinburgh, so I was listening

I was looking around and I was working with Ester at the time on

to his and Freddie Mercury’s vocals a lot and there is a version

‘Uncle’ and she’d expressed in the past that she wanted to write

without any music on, and he was obviously amazing. Whether

and we’d worked in the past and that’s how it happened really.

you were trying to seek him out or not, you’d hear a David Bowie

The idea was to do a sketch really, but we used it to do a ten

song and you’d know it without even knowing; he’s always been

minute pilot or taster. I did an album a couple of years called

a presence in British music or international music. I feel like it

‘Hot and Heavy’ and I had a lot of control over that, and pretty

would be disingenuous to write a big obituary, and there has

much I’ve got everything I wanted out of this short film. So I

been a big outpouring of love on Twitter and Facebook but I

think this and the album are the two things I’m most proud of.

think my way of dealing with that would be to finally sit down a start listening to him.

Nick Helm

Talking about ‘Hot and Heavy’ you are going to be playing some of that stuff for the All Killer, No Filler show which seems quite an ambitious show, and you’ve also got a new album.

up, and I just started selling it after gigs so there wasn’t really a fanfare it just sort of came out. So what I learnt because it takes so long to put an album together, I just think that you want to celebrate it and let people know about it, so the show is just going to be a combination of everything that I’ve done. Really we’re putting together a big show with everything I’ve got. So

The gig is a gig, so it’ll be like music gig. Couple of years ago

that’s what the show is!

in Edinburgh I did a couple of really big shows, which was like music shows. In terms of what I’m by comedy is a lot of

The new album is called ‘Nick Helm is Fucking Amazing’, it’s

comedians, but equally I’m influenced by music and by acts

quite eclectic it’s got lots of different styles of music. The first

like Alice Cooper. In terms of putting on a show, I go and see

album was more a straight Rock album with jokes, this album

things like Motley Crue and KISS, they put on shows. When I

has got some really heavy songs but it’s also a little bit ‘Sgt.

do a comedy gig it’s an hour, and the starting point is that it’s

Pepper’ inspired, some Acoustic stuff and Music Hall stuff and

a comedy show but you are also trying to create some level of

don’t really want to use the word Jazz but there is some Jazzy

“special” to it, so I always use my music influences and channel

stuff on there. There’s a song that is Paul Simon influenced,

that into my comedy. When we did these two big shows a couple

and there is a duet on there which I’ve never done before. It’s

of years ago, we basically just did a rock concert with a full

a combination of some of my favourite songs that I’ve never

band and pyrotechnics and smoke, all of that kind of thing. We

recorded that only existed in live shows, and some I’ve written

went and did a big production number on it.

especially for the album. I’ve just got this album finished, but I’m already thinking about the next album. I do it because I love

Like a proper show?

music, I love writing songs and it’s good to be able to release it for people who want to hear it.

Yeah, like a proper rock show! What happened when I did my first album, it happened really organically, we recorded the album and mixed it until we were happy with it. So the first album works as a whole album, we picked the songs so there is a flow to it. When it was finished we got the album printed

Have you ever read the Amazon reviews for ‘Hot and Heavy’? Yes, Mr. Bird who doesn’t quite approve of my swearing.

The new album is a little bit Sgt. Pepper inspired. Was that something you went in search of, reading the reviews? No, I never read reviews I try to steer clear of them. I did a podcast the other day and my mate Joel Dommett looked up the Amazon reviews, but I think I knew about that before, somebody told me about the Mr. Bird review. He’d been really complimentary as well, saying I’ve got this amazing rock voice but was gutted because I swear so much. I don’t think it’s for you then mate, he even says he’s not a prude. The new album’s called ‘Nick Helm is Fucking Amazing’ and there is swearing in every single song so he’s not going to like the new one.

Stand up and music are something that play a big part in the ‘Heavy Entertainment’ series, which is out now on DVD.

my Edinburgh shows, the majority of

will go online, then it’ll be repeated on

comedians have a microphone stand

BBC Two or BBC One.

in front of a black curtain with a microphone but I always wanted to put on a show. I wanted to do an Alice Cooper show with all the bells and whistles, but on a budget. I like the fact that you are aiming so big, but because of the budget limitations you end up falling really short of what you are aiming for. Everything is home made and hand made, but you’ve got really lofty aspirations of doing something really big and slick. Basically I do variety shows with a bit of everything in, I think it’s a confidence thing and wanting to keep people engaged throughout the hour. I just throw everything I’ve got at the show, so there are songs, stand up, one liners, poems and costumes, a bit of everything. So when it came to doing the show, there were no variety shows around and what I do is variety, so I thought I’d do a one

repeated the second series yet but the first series was on after Graham Norton and that got really good viewing figures. I was really lucky to have got ‘Uncle’, the guys saw me in Edinburgh and gave it to me, and wrote it so he was a musician so I could write a song every week, so it was nice that they shaped it around me. I was really lucky to get it! The thing is BBC Three is a different organisation to BBC Two, so BBC Three commissioned ‘Uncle’ so we are loyal to BBC Three and once they’ve shown it online we get the chance to go on another channel and find a wider

BBC have confirmed a third series of ‘Uncle’ and with the channel going online do you know what is going to happen?

is going to work, it’s exciting.

audience. But we don’t know how online

Nick Helm will be performing his All Killer, Some Filler show at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town on the 14th April and ‘Heavy Entertainment’ is out now on DVD.

BBC Three is going online, and the third ‘Heavy Entertainment’ evolved from

It’s really great, I don’t think they’ve

man variety show. I really loved it! Out now on DVD!

Did you enjoy that experience? It’s a little different in that it has the music and stand-up which is a nice mix.

It must be nice getting the repeats on mainstream BBC, which has been a staple of what BBC Three have been doing.

series is being filmed in the summer and

Words: Michael Dickinson CUARON DAVID MCCALLUM

NCIS

Words: Grae Westgate

DAVID M U L L A C MC

40 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

avid McCallum has had a long and illustrious career. From his early role in The Great Escape to stealing the world’s heart as Russian agent Illya Kuryakin in The Man From UNCLE, David has more recently become synonomous with his role as chief medical examiner Donald “Ducky” Mallard in NCIS. We were very lucky to catch up with the living legend as he took a breather from laundry, paperwork and Thanksgiving in Vermont…

How does it feel to still be considered a heartthrob after all these years? What’s quite extraordinary is that they’re playing The Man From UNCLE here for the first time on network television now and I’ve been sitting down watching them, watching myself fifty two years ago, and at the time I had no idea why people had this emotional response to Illya Kuryakin. When you’re doing it, you don’t realize what it is you’re doing. But seeing it fifty years later I can see how people found him kind of enigmatic and attractive, and just having fun. He was a cool character! It wasn’t until now that I managed to realize what that was like. Also, going on the internet, on YouTube, you come up with things like The Andy Williams Show where I’m singing and dancing with Judy Garland, and another one with George Burns and Carol Channing and I’m dancing with these people! Whoever this guy was that was me once upon a time,

TO BE A PART OF A SHOW THAT`S NUMBER ONE ALL OVER THE WORLD AT MY AGE IS A COLOSSAL PLEASURE AND PRIVILEGE he was a cool dude! It’s different now, when you get to eighty two you get put on a shelf to a certain extent. I’ve had the great fortune, thanks to Don Bellisario, who created NCIS, of playing Ducky. To be a part of a show that’s number one all over the world at my age is a colossal pleasure and privilege.

What's it like to have been involved in a show for almost 300 episodes? How do you keep things fresh?

Well, I’ve played the same part for thirteen years. It’s still the same; from episode one to 295 that we’re doing at the moment. Things don’t really change. You still have to get the script, work out how you’re going to play the character, learn the lines, talk to the writers about any changes you feel might be needed, make suggestions… And then you go to the studio, you hang about and hang about, and then you do the scenes and try to make them as exciting as possible. Then you jump in the car

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 41

DAVID MCCALLUM

and drive home. That hasn’t changed in thirteen years!

could ever fill Ducky's boots should he ever leave?

What does the future hold for Ducky? He's been training Palmer up over the past few seasons; do you think he

Well that’s trying to write a show that hasn’t happened yet! We’re going to finish shooting this season at the

42 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

Your new book Once a Cooked Man comes out soon. What were your experiences writing it? I sat down about fourteen years ago and decided to teach myself how to write. I would write a couple of pages and then chuck them away and I kept on writing stuff, putting it away, writing stuff, putting it away, and eventually I finished a book to a certain extent, but by the time I’d finished it, a lot of it was very old fashioned and not really up to date. Three years ago I decided it was a shame to just leave it laying about; I’d had too much fun doing it, so purely for pleasure I finished

THINGS AREN’T QUITE AS EASY AT EIGHTY TWO AS THEY WERE AT TWENTY EIGHT!

end of April, and DiNozzo, played by Michael Weatherly, we’ve told people a long time ago, is leaving at the end of the season. So the writers have to decide what to do when one of the four members of the original cast leaves. When Michael leaves, there’ll just be three of us. I will go on doing Ducky for at least another year I believe, provided my health holds up. Things aren’t quite as easy at eighty two as they were at twenty eight! So I will go on as long as I can. It would be a nice idea to bring Mr. Palmer up, but you have to look at the reality which is that someone who is a medical examiner in the position that Ducky is has been to medical school and done far more than Mr. Palmer has ever done. So you can’t really make Jimmy Palmer the medical examiner, that would not be logical. The Christmas show this year brings back the young Ducky, with Adam Campbell as young Ducky. You find out a lot about the character when he first joined the medical corps and why he is who he, which was very exciting to do.

it. I showed it to a wonderful man in New York by the name of Will who decided to publish it! So, that’s how it came about. I never sat down to write a novel, it just grew out of my brain over many years. My family makes fun of me, asking what the hell I’m up to now; to have a published novel at my age and suddenly start a new career, because of course when you write a book, everyone wants you to write another one, at eighty two it’s quite ridiculous. But Joanna Lumley was very sweet; she read it and then on the cover of the English paperback she writes “David McCallum’s first book is dazzling!”, so the next time I see her I shall give her a very big hug!

How much of your own career has influenced the story? The main character is a New York actor, and the things that have happened to me happen to him. Obviously, you draw on what you know. He’s not quite like me, he’s a little bit different from what I do. But he’s a likeable fellow, and if I do write another book, he will definitely be the leading character again!

You’ve done so many things in your career, from actor to writer, to even playing Alfred in Batman; if you could pick one thing, what would you say has been the highlight? I’ve said all my life that I don’t have favourites, and I think that still holds true. I think the pleasure of actually having this book published, something that you’ve worked so hard on… It’s unique in a way because when you finish a book and it’s published, you don’t have anything to do with it other than the promotion of the book. It’s a great pleasure to just watch and see how the whole thing emerges. I work also with the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, who I’ll be giving part of the proceeds from the book to. NCIS Season 13 starts Friday 8th January on FOX, and David’s book Once a Crooked Man hits stores in January.

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 43

REVIEWS

FILM

Words: Grae Westgate

HATEFUL EIGHT

3.5/5

arantino.

Say the name around the office, and you are undoubtedly going to begin a gush of adoration from any number of your co-workers. The pedestal upon which the American director has been placed is almost unrivalled in modern cinema, and it often seems that in many fans’ eyes, the man can do no wrong. Whether discussing Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, or his later work such as Django Unchained or even the quite frankly uttely overated Deathproof, the esteem in which he is held is untouchable. As such, it is with some trepidation that I approach this review. The Hateful Eight is Tarantino`s eighth film (because apparently the two Kill

44 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

Bills only count as one), and features the mandatory all-star cast, with regular alumni Kurt Russell and Samuel L. Jackson leading up the titular band. Following a group of bounty hunters and misfits as they are holed up in a cabin during a blizzard, things quickly begin to turn sour as the double-dealing assembly begin to off each other in suitably bloody and over the top ways. What follows is a tense and twisting couple of hours with some of cinema’s elite. The biggest problem with The Hateful Eight however, is just how freakin’ long it takes to get going. The first hour of the three hour epic is so utterly slow paced that at times I felt myself wondering whether I had enough change for the bus home rather than concentrating on the typically pithy dialogue. Had the film kicked off when our heroes arrived at the cabin, every

moment of the movie would have been a delightful watch, but Tarantino seemed more concerned about making his film as arty as possible instead of actually making it enjoyable for the audience. Five minute long shots of horses running followed by ten minute swoops of the Wyoming mountains are not what I have spent my hard-earned cash to see. That said, once the longest prologue of all time is done with, what transpires is a typically Tarantino-esque tale of trickery and treachery, made all the more thrilling by a quick witted script that would make a fantastic stage play, often feeling more like David Mamet than Tarantino. Performances are solid throughout, with Jackson delivering his trademark “angry black man” with aplomb, and Russell doing a great job as the aging bounty

hunter John Ruth. The highlight however is Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Machinist, Road to Perdition) as the unhinged murderess Daisy Domergue. Leigh is wickedly funny as she cackles her way despicably through the blood-soaked proceedings, her insane liplicking creepily reminiscent of Heath Ledger’s Joker. Demian Bicher (Che, A Better Life) is also delightfully understated as Senor Bob, the cabin’s Mexican handyman. Overall, The Hateful Eight is a solid contribution from the American auteur. Had an editor been brave enough to insist the director cut about an hour’s worth of the film, it could have been one of Tarantino’s best. Unfortunately, as it stands, the film is over long and somewhat self-satisfied in a way that takes out much of the pleasure that could have been had. That said, there is still fun to be found.

MORE UP TO THE MINUTE REVIEWS ON VULTURE HOUND.COM

If I never see another shot of horses pulling a bloody stagecoach though, it’ll be too soon.

JANUARY 2016 VULTUREHOUND 45

Photo: Justin Roch

FINAL WORD

FINAL WORD heroes. The problem with social media, is that people feel it is their personal right to counteract somebody’s online grief over the death of a music or film star with “but you didn’t even know them”, well who the fuck is anyone to tell you who you can and cannot grieve for.

SHANE BAYLISS

eople die, it’s a fact of life but the last few weeks have seen out pouring of love and grief over fallen

46 VULTUREHOUND JANUARY 2016

Music and Film stars mould our childhoods, they influence our teenage years, they are there with us through break-ups and deaths, they are ingrained on your soul; and sometimes you just don’t know why. For me when Harold Ramis died two years ago, it hit me in a way that no family or “celebrity” death had hit me before. As a kid, when we played ‘Ghostbusters’ I was always Egon, as a teenager I discovered Ramis as a writer and director. To this day ‘Animal House’ and ‘Caddyshack’ are

two films that I could watch everyday and never not be in stitches. For my wife Kimberley (she won’t mind me saying) this, the death of Stephen Gately left her in tears in a hotel room in London. Neither of us had met these people, but something had connected us to them so strongly that their passing was a crushing blow on a day that to many people was just a normal day. What I’m trying to say is this, yeah I never met Lemmy, I never met Bowie and I never met Harold Ramis but they played a much bigger part in my life than you did- Mr Random Hater on Twitter. People grieve in their own way, and once I’ve finished this, I’m going to sit down and listen to ‘Ziggy Stardust’ and watch ‘Ghostbusters II’ in the background.

! e n i z a g a m g n i l FREE WRESt SteelChairMag.com