Music
POP SUGABABES
Irn Bru Live + Loud, Bellahouston
Park, Glasgow, Sun 16 Jun
OK. OK. the deadly dull Westlife are
playing. As are Blue. A1 and the
laughable Liberty X. And it‘s not meant for grown-ups. But if you find y0urself
at the Irn Bru Live‘n'Loud day
accompanying some tiny tot or other. there is a ray of hope for you in the
form of Sugababes. Let's not go daft here. the sassy
teenage three-piece girl band are as
manufactured as yer S Clubs or yer
Kittens. but there is a certain tiber-cool
chic to what they do that most
bubblegum outfits can only dream of. as their recent bootleg-mimicking number one ‘Freak Like Me' proved. And perky scouse new girl Heidi Range is all for keeping it real. pop-style. ‘We don‘t sit down and go for a particular style of music.‘ she says. ‘It's just us messing around with different sounds and keeping it refreshing for ourselves as well as the fans.‘
POP
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR Irn-Bru Live + Loud, Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, Sun 16 Jun
Going by it's latest marketing campaign. Sophie Ellis-Bextor should be the darling of VH1. She kicks serious ass in the video to ‘Murder on the Dancefloor'. has collaborated with Alex from Blur and Moby on debut album Read My Lips and even Cher took exception to the explicit lyric 'lt's only fair I get my way' in ‘Take Me Home'. It's easy to forget that there's so much more to SOphie Ellis-Bextor than chiselled cheekbones. glittery eyeshadow and over- pronounced vowels.
'When I was growing up in the 80s — just before Stock. Aitken and Waterman — pop mUSlC was something that had a bit more style to it.‘ says Ellis-Bextor. It was made by grown-ups for grown-ups and it wasn't something that was an immediate and accessible way of making money. That's what I wanted to do with the album: just remind people that pop could be something that wasn't going to patronise anyone.‘
From indie beginnings with
Win Irn-Bru Live + Loud Freebies
30,000 people are expected to flock to lrn-Bru Live + Loud to see the likes of Westlife, Samantha Mumba, Blue, H & Claire, 38L, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Toploader, Sugababes, Liberty X, Lulu, Darius, Aurora and Ian Van Dahl in action.
Now thanks to The List and those nice folks at Scottish Radio Holdings. the organisers of the whole shebang. you could be jOining the throngs at Bellahouston Park on 16 June.
46 THE LIST f} —?(L .Jun 200?
theaudience to her high profile collaboration with Spiller. Sophie's trademark style has evolved into a melodic 80s dance 80und; a sound which transfers beautifully from the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh to an unadulterated pop festival in a Glasgow park. New single — a double A-SKIO of 'Get Over You' and 'Move This MOLintain' — juxtaposes her indie
To Win a pair of tickets and an Irn- Bru Live + Loud goodie bag (containing all manners of interesting gubbins) just write in and tell us:
What the name of the recent No 1 single by Sugababes?
Send your answer to promotionsfailist.co.uk or lrn-Bru Live s loud Competition. lhe List. 14 High Street. Edinburgh. [fl-ll tTE by Tuesday 1 1 June. Please include a daytime telephone number and yetir age.
Listen out for live broadcasts of Live i Loud from 26pm on Clyde 1 and Forth ()ne.
‘Babes in arms
And this diversity is to be reflected in the band's forthcoming album. apparently. ‘There’s loads of different flavours thrown in.‘ says Range. ‘There's indie rock. reggae. hip hop. R&B. garage and pop. We love everything from Motown to garage music. know what I mean?‘
Yes. indeed we do. lDoug Johnstonel
More than just chiselled cheekbones
and dance influences. proving that this is one lady who won't be pigeon-holed. 'People say: "Oh. you're a dance act." but I don't think music is that limited any more.‘ she says. ‘And it means that I've still left the next album very open for myself. I'm not trying to back myself into any corners here.‘ Alta girl. (Maureen ElliS)
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TERMS AND CONDITIONS
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ROCK THE UK AIR GUITAR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Bannermans, Edinburgh, Sat 1 Jun 0..
Someone who doesn't wash for a week is unpleasant. but anyone who avoids soap for a decade merits a certain amount of respect. Similarly. while there are few things more cringeworthy than the idea of a grown man playing an invisible guitar. anyone courageous enough to do it in front of an audience deserves a bloody great medal.
So we shouldn't judge the number of performers at tonight's regional heat too harshly. The ‘about twenty' promoter Thee Cryptmeister (his mum probably calls him something elsel is claiming at the start of the evening turns out to be exactly six. Still. the signs are auspicious - at 10pm MTV2 is showmg A History of the Mos/ipit. live band Tergaxzi are playing grizzly metal. and the inside of Bannermans is reeking of leather and sweat.
It's all a very modern concept - instead of using instruments to make music. the likes of Subtle Paradox and Sexy Bitch Samosa are using music to make instruments. It's all style and no substance. punk's DIY ethos twisted into low-grade beer-quaffing performance art. The artists themselves aren't helped by a DJ who plays Zeppelin when he should be playing Motomead and the fact that only a limited proponion of the audience can see what's gomg on.
5"."
Plenty of hot air
Still. we get good range of scissor kicks. peIVIc thrusts and general floor-- based rifferama. some fine costumes (one contestant sports spandex and a fake tache) and some engaging chat from our post-ironic hosts. who've obvrously seen l/Vayne's World a few too many times.
Eventually Dances With Trousers. Sexy Bitch Samosa and Rick go head to head in a stage—stradtlling three axe bid for the title. Rick Wins With the help of a partisan crowd. getting a trip to the London final for his pains. Maybe it'll be less messy and more prestigious down in the big smoke — just as long as no one starts taking things too seriously. jJames Smart)