Tag Archives: books

Fatboy Slim, It Ain’t Over...  ‘Til The Fat Boy Sings, Norman Cook

It Ain’t Over…  ‘Til The Fat Boy Sings

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You know how sometimes you look at someone and think “You look kinda familiar” but you can’t place the face and move on, think nothing more of it. But sometimes you think “You, I know”. Well… 

I was in the Helm Gallery to meet The Whistler’s food editor who was there to discuss a show she was recording and I was having a look around and… “You look kinda familiar. What’s going on here?”  

“What’s going on is I’m taking over the Helm Gallery for six weeks” Norman Cook tells me. “It’s half art exhibition and it’s half art sale. There’s lots of prints by artists that are associated with me or who I’ve collaborated with, and it’s all based around the book “It Ain’t Over…  ‘Til The Fat Boy Sings”.

“I realised at the beginning of this year that I am entering my 40th year since I quit my day job at Rounder Records and ran off to join the circus, and I was thinking about how to mark or celebrate that anniversary.  

“I’ve always shied away from doing an autobiography. I’ve been asked a few times and I just, I can’t remember the really good bits. And the bits I can remember I can’t tell while my children and my parents are still alive, so when this idea of a visual documentary came about it seemed a good idea. It’s a coffee table book, so mainly pictures. There’s no warts and all stories, nothing about celebrity drug taking, I’m afraid…”

Could we do an after hours version? 

“Yeah, talk to me about that later”. 

Are you one of these characters who’ve always squirreled stuff away? “Yes, I’ve got every single backstage pass I’ve ever have. The first year, I tried to keep tickets every gig I played, that was just untenable, but I’ve kept the backstage passes from every single one, and I’ve kept photos of all sorts, the boxer shorts that inspired the album title “You Come A Long Way, Baby”. I’ve also got the dubious honor of having a dildo named after me and we’ve got a photo of that in the book…

Moving swiftly past the inevitable line about it being a pop-up book… When you were a kid and you went to gigs when you’re 13 or whatever, have you still still got the stubs? 

“Yeah, the stubs are in the book, there’s the fanzine I used to write for…”

It’s a fantastic memorabilia collection, and while it’s obviously Norman’s book, a little bit This is Your Life, it’s also a lovely ride through the pop cultural landscape of the last 40 years.   

40 years. That’s a long time. Are you going to continue doing it?

“Doing what?”

You know the thing you do, where you stand there and play records. 

“Oh, that thing. Yeah, that’s what I do. I’ve done that thing twice this week already. I’ve got this weekend up the next weekend. I mean, Amsterdam, Stockholm and somewhere else, and then do some British dates in December. This year, I’ll do 109 shows, which is my personal all time record for shows in a year”.

That’s extraordinary. 109 shows. That’s… almost every other day. It’s not far off. 

“It’s two a week or one every three days. I mean, it has been quite relentless, but I love my job. It never feels like work. I just love it”.

l Helm Gallery 15 North Rd, Brighton and Hove, BN1 1YA    https://helm-gallery.com/

l It Ain’t Over… ’Til the Fatboy Sings (Rocket 88 Books) 

Elif Shafak, There Are Rivers In The Sky

Charleston Festival: Elif Shafak by Gilly Smith

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“A novelist’s job, says Booker Prize nominee, Elif Shafak at the Charleston Festival, “is not to shy away from the difficult questions, but to create a space, and then step back for the reader to find the answers.”

I’m not sure that there are many spaces like the Charleston Festival, home to the Bloomsbury set’s Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Quentin Bell where the really big questions are pondered in such thought-provoking surroundings. A wander through the old farmhouse before the Festival events finds the ghosts of London aristocracy conscientiously objecting to war, creating art on the backs of doors, on tables, on the side of the bath and playing with their sexuality in the bosom of East Sussex’s South Downs. Changing the conversation, if in a rather refined way, is what Charleston is still all about.

In the Festival tent, French born Turk, Elif Shafak is joined by Peruvian lawyer and author, Monica Feria-Tinta to talk about their latest books as part of the Voices of Resistance series. Monica, a refugee from what she calls a ‘godless’ country is the author of A Barrister for the Earth, a title she has earned since coming the UK as a refugee and fighting for eco-justice, including, among other victims of development and pollution, East Sussex’s River Ouse.

But the audience packing the tent on this late spring afternoon is here for Elif , the author famous for the intricate narratives that transcend geographical and emotional boundaries. A powerful voice in contemporary literature, she’s a thorn in the side of Turkey’s conservative government, fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, exploring themes of identity and belonging, blending East and West, and challenging the norms of both through the personal with the political. She’s one of Turkey’s strongest advocates for women’s rights and social justice.

There are Rivers in the Sky, her latest book, which is shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize, is her best yet. A multi-generational sweep across empires and peoples from The Tigris to The Thames, the book uses water as a device to connect the stories of persecution and power, opportunity, art and love to transcend the worst of times. “You want to know its story,” she tells us about the drop of water that marks the beginning of each section. “You want to see the whole world through it.”

“Water gives us an illusion of abundance,” she tells us. But, she reminds us that it has always been used in war; the poisoning of water and the flooding of lands can kill a collective memory. And with drought and flash floods becoming an everyday story of climate change, she suddenly summons up the ethereal beauty of Leila, the Yazidi seer in her book. “Water wars are the future” she whispers. And we believe her.

The Q&A is hard core. Someone asks which to prioritise – the housing needs of local people, or the rivers locked in the developers’ sights. Someone else asks Monica what hope felt like in her godless homeland. “A light”, Monica says, and when she tells us that it’s why she’s here right now, on stage with Elif Shafak to talk about eco-justice, a shard of that light seems to brighten the tent. A professor says that she is naturally pessimistic – how could she lie to her young students about the state of the world – and asks Elif if she has hope. “I’m naturally pessimistic too”, says Elif. “I’m Turkish. It’s in my DNA.” And everyone laughs. “We live in the age of angst”, she says. “We need to stop Googling for answers. We need to read books and listen to podcasts, and have real discussion about what we find.” And not to know the answer is the goal, she says, with that look of Leila descending again. “Knowledge is slow to come.”

Cabaret, Catalyst Club, Cinecity, Cinema, David Bramwell, Horatio's Bar

David Bramwell tells the story of The Catalyst Club

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Back in the noughties TV seemed to be awash with things like Room 101, An Idiot Abroad and Grumpy Old Men, programmes that reinforced an already stablished British stereotype  – having a right good moan. Comedians like Jack Dee peddled misanthropy, as did best-selling books like Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit? Despite having agreed to be on the programme in the first place, Stephen Fry chose Room 101 to put in Room 101. Something we shared was a disdain for privileged celebrities on the radio and telly, bitching and complaining. (In true circular fashion, Steve Lowe who co-wrote Is It Me with Alan McArthur, later gave a talk about it at The Catalyst).

Having spent my formative years in Brighton in the early 90s going to spoken word, cabaret and open mic nights – and loving the inclusive, grass roots aspects of these  – I had an idea that an event I’d like to go to would be the antithesis of Room 101: a night where people from different walks of life shared their passions with a live audience in the form of an entertaining 15-minute talk or presentation. Topics would remain a secret, only to be revealed on the night: the best talks after all are rarely down to the subject but the speaker themselves. The only problem was – the night didn’t exist. So I decided to set it up myself. 

The Catalyst Club began at what is now the Rossi Bar on Queen’s Road, with three friends having kindly agreed to come and speak. One chose the history of the Martini, another ‘sex and classical music’ and a third told us about a road trip round the states with his band. From hereon I never looked back and have never been short of guests or new topics. 

Over the next 19 years the Catalyst Club ran at the Latest Music Bar clocking up over a thousand talks from speakers whose ages have spanned from 16 to 93 and topics that have ranged from the ridiculous (musician Ron Geesin’s collection of 10,000 adjustable spanners) to the sublime (Sally’s Kettle’s heroic account of how she rowed across the Atlantic with her mum and made it into the Guinness Books of Records). From alchemy and Hove’s secret blancmange history to Cornish Rap and the books of Patrick Hamilton, the knowledge and passions of Brightonians seem to know no bounds. 

Quentin Crisp once said that there is no such thing as a boring person, merely our need to ask more interesting questions and be better listeners. We all have our unique personal stories to tell, our singular passions to share. And you don’t have to be an academic to share your interests at the Catalyst Club or be a professional performer. 

Sometimes these qualities can be a distinct disadvantage, masking our ability to speak from the heart. It is what we do for the love of it that really matters. Of course for some folk public speaking is on par with root canal work or being trapped in a lift with Jacob Rees Mogg. It’s ok to come and just be a punter. Though it needs to be said that the Catalyst Club has nurtured a few nervous speakers over the years. One, despite saying, ‘never again’, has since travelled the world giving talks on underwater photography. 

In 2016, in collaboration with BBC Radio 4’s Archive on Four we explored the theme of public speaking, offering advice from the most practised to anxious newbies. My favourite was a speaker called Charlotte whose topic was ‘The Terrible Knitters of Dent’ and whose advice was, ‘three pints of cider hits the sweet spot.’ 

This year, Brighton’s Catalyst Club celebrated its 20th anniversary. I never imagined it would last this long. Our new home – for now at least  – is the Nightingale Room above Grand Central. Coming up in November we have magician Paul Zenon, hypnotist Danny Nemu and cinephile Linsay McCulloch. All are welcome. You never know what you might learn. 

l The next Catalyst Club is Thurs Nov 7 at the Nightingale Room Above Grand Central doors 7.30pm 

l To sign up to the Catalyst Club mailing list visit: 

catalystclub.co.uk or drbramwell.com 

A Brighton Catalyst Club and Cinecity Special: Horror on the Pier! 

Occasionally The Catalyst Club likes to go rogue and host a themed special in which we do share the topics for the night. In collaboration with Brighton’s Cinecity Festival we’re doing a horror special at the end of Brighton Pier. Our guest speakers for are cinephile Mark Keeble, who’ll be giving a tour of his favourite classic horror anthology films; Alexia Lazou on the three Kings of Horror – Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Vincent Price, while Horror actor and TV presenter Emily Booth (Pervirella, Cradle of Fear) will be sharing her personal journey through horror and dipping her claws into a few classic black and white horrors to discover if sometimes, less is more. 

Thursday Nov 14th 8pm-10pm £10 

Horatio’s Bar, Brighton Pier 

A beautifully-designed compendium of biographies, Bramwell leads us on a picaresque ride unearthing an artist’s pilgrimage around the world with a giant, inflatable ‘deadad’; the world’s biggest treasure hunt, an extraordinary eleven-year odyssey involving Evita’s mummified corpse, an ethnobotanist’s search for the psychedelic secrets of the Amazon and a couple who walked the Great Wall of China from opposite ends, only to spilt up when they finally met in the middle. It all ends with a At the very end is a Brighton-based graphic novella that incorporates the town’s hidden river, Aleister Crowley’s ashes and the occult talisman, the Hand of Glory. There’s also a story about Andy Warhol’s penis ending up on the moon – but I’m not sure we’ve got room for that here. 

l https://oddfellowscasino.bandcamp.com/merch/outlandish

Bom Banes, Brighton Life, Peter Chrisp

Peter Chrisp talks to Jane Bom-Bane

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Jane Bom-Bane plays the harmonium while wearing beautiful mechanical hats, which illustrate her songs, such as ‘I’ve Got A Goldfish Bowl On My Head’. She had the idea to open a café while running musical evenings at the Sanctuary in Hove with her then partner, the multi-instrumentalist, Nick Pynn. After she bought 24 George Street in March 2006, they spent six months restoring the building and creating the café. 

“It was a wing and a prayer,” says Jane. “A lot we did ourselves. People who helped us were friends and gave us really good prices. For a lot of years after, we were giving people free sausage and mash.” Here she’s talking about stoemp and sausage, one of the café’s great Belgian dishes created by Andre Schmidt, the first chef. It’s still on the menu today.

Jane and Nick built seven mechanical tables inspired by table-related wordplay. These are the mirrored Tablerone, the Water Table (a model of the Palace Pier with working rides standing in a rippling sea) and two Aesop’s Tables, showing 1920s animal fable cartoons. The Uns-Table, the Turntable and the 27 Chimes Table all have delightful surprises which I leave to you to discover.

“Until the day before we opened, I still hadn’t worked out a way of putting water in the Water Table. I knew it had to be an oil because water would evaporate. I wanted a transparent oil, but the things I ordered on the net were yellow. And I was in Boots just around the corner and do you know what it was that I spotted? Baby oil! And that baby oil’s been in there for 18 years!”

The front wall of Bom-Bane’s has a bust of Jane with a revolving tray on her head with its own story to tell. Made in 2007 by her brother-in-law, Johnny Justin, it was stolen in 2012, later found in a student garden, minus its hat, and restored in 2017.

Go down the spiral stairway and you reach the basement, the main performance space, its walls covered with paintings and instruments. Although there’s only room for 25 people, it’s a room performers love. Stewart Lee, Bridget Christie, Jerry Dammers and Rich Hall are among the many who have played here.

Bom-Bane’s has a tradition of singing staff, beginning in 2008 with the waitresses Rosi Lalor and Candy Hilton, who Jane discovered were wonderful harmony singers. “I thought I’ve got to harness this, and so I wrote a musical. It was all about the café and how we cooked things, and how I got parsley and coriander mixed up.” 

This was the start of the Bom-Bane’s Family Players, who would perform a folk musical written by Jane every May fringe and at Christmas. These often used the whole building, with an audience of just five following a promenade performance from the attic to the basement.

Puppeteer Daisy Jordan, fresh from art college, joined Bom-Bane’s as a dishwasher in 2010, and soon found herself singing and performing puppetry as a member of the family players. Today she says, “I wonder if I would be a performer/puppeteer if it weren’t for Bom-Bane’s.” 

Isobel Smith, another puppeteer, had only made one puppet when Jane invited her to put on her first show here. Rosi Lalor, encouraged by Jane to write and perform her songs, has gone on to make two solo albums. 

To celebrate the centenary of the crossword in 2013, Jane turned the building into a big crossword puzzle, 5 Down and 20 Across. Her sister, the crossword setter Pegleg, wrote puzzles which were placed on the building’s 20 doors, which had all been turned into black and white paintings by different artists.

I painted one of the doors with the story of the explorer Sir John Franklin’s mysterious disappearance in the Arctic in 1845. By a curious coincidence (or Bom-Bane magic?), Sir John’s ship was discovered a year after I did the painting. This led to me hosting a series of Franklin Disaster Mystery evenings, with Arctic food, Inuit testimony, whale song and Jane as Sir John’s widow singing Franklin ballads.

The current chef is the singer-songwriter, Eliza Skelton. Unlike the waitresses who became singers, she was a singer to begin with. She performs here in the musicals, which she now co-writes, and as a member of the Silver Swans, a madrigal group with Jane and Emma Kilbey. She learned to be a great chef by working in Bom-Bane’s.

In 2008, Eliza and David Bramwell first staged Sing-a-long-a-Wickerman here. Audience members, invited to dress in character, were given a ‘Pagan Hymn Book’, which allowed them to sing along with the songs from the film. Eliza and David take this to festivals and theatres around the country, and still host Folk Horror film screenings in Bom-Bane’s. 

Today, Jane spends midweek with her mum in Coventry, and so the café is only open at weekends. It’s staffed by Jane, Eliza and recent recruit Kate Holden. Jane says, “Kate is helping me in the kitchen. She says she’s not musical, but I’m teaching her to play the guitar, and I think she can sing. Most people can sing.” That very evening Kate made her stage debut, accompanying Jane in a song.

We ended by talking about plans for the future. On the anniversary, 1 September, there’s a coming-of-age celebration, with 18 songs sung by Jane and her family of players. “There was a couple in last week who I got talking to. Somehow we got talking about when we first opened here and he said, “Was there anything that you planned to do that you didn’t do?” And I said “Yes, I wanted to make a tap with water music so that when you turned the tap on music came out with your water, but I never got around to it.” And he said, “I’ll do that for you!””

I tell Jane that I think the cultural impact of this little building has been massive. “When you look at it like that, yes, it’s been a springboard for a lot of people that normally wouldn’t do it. It’s because it’s so little and friendly, and that’s what Brighton’s like, isn’t it? It catches you if you fall.”

l Bom-Bane’s, 24 George St, Kemptown, BN2 1RH

For bookings email janebombane@yahoo.co.uk

Bom-Bane’s

https://janebom-bane.bandcamp.com

https://www.elizaskelton.com

https://www.daisyjordan.co.uk

https://rosilalor.bandcamp.com

The Arts

Books to Enjoy

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I was discussing with a friend a recent article in The Guardian celebrating Alan Bennett’s 75th birthday, and she asked me if I had read The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, [Faber & Faber RRP £10.99]. I hadn’t and so I bought it and loved it.

It tells the story of the Queen following her yapping corgis to Westminster City Council’s mobile library which is parked by the kitchens at Buckingham Palace. Inside are the librarian and Norman Seakins, a kitchen lad. Feeling obliged, the Queen asks if she might borrow a book and takes one by the rather hard-to-read Ivy Compton-Burnett. Her Majesty has no background in reading books despite having met, and bestowed honours on, many writers. This delightful story unfolds with Her Majesty becoming passionate about books.

Norman is promoted upstairs to select books for her and to become her amanuensis. The equerries’ disgust is palpable. Alan Bennett’s observations are a joy. The book is only a hundred and twenty pages long, and as the blurb says, “turn off the ’phone, lock the door and devour it”. Enjoy.

Isla Robertson