Music interview: Jethro Tull at the Colston Hall

e3admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:05:34 +0000

Jethro Tull’s leader Ian Anderson reveals some on-the-road shenanigans with Led Zep, a brush with Cynthia Plaster Caster and what it’s like to play in the frozen wastelands of Siberia. Steve Harnell finds out more from rock’s flute-playing maestro.

Ian Anderson is the polar opposite of everything you’d expect from a veteran rock’n’roll star. With a fierce intellect and astute business sense, he’s no grizzled survivor clinging stoically to a past of half-remembered anecdotes from the good old days.

Comedy interview: Chris Addison at the Tobacco Factory Bristol

e3admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:08:41 +0000

The Thick Of It’s Chris Addison tells Natalie Hale why he’ll never resort to dumbing down his stand-up

“People are smart and quite often there’s this perception that the public are thick. It’s disgusting and it’s patronising.”

Chris Addison is quite rightly ranting about the underlying assumption in the entertainment industry that we, the viewer, need to be talked down to. Television moguls and comedians alike ‘dumb down’, feeding us a diet of reality TV and no-brainer gags.

Theatre interview: Brenda Blethyn in Haunted at the Theatre Royal Bath

e3admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:02:30 +0000

Brenda Blethyn talks to Natalie Hale about her brush with Hollywood royalty and new play Haunted

Few performers stir the genuine affection and admiration inspired by Brenda Blethyn. And it is well deserved – her endearing, bubbly charm is backed up with an acting talent that is respected across the globe.

Food feature: Cookery lessons for mums

e3admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:02:30 +0000

Mark Taylor meets the young mum who hosts home cookery lessons for parents that are specially tailored to meet the needs of their babies

As any parent or carer knows, cooking for young children can be challenging at the best of times. We all want our children to eat healthy, nutritious meals instead of ready-made baby food but many parents don’t have the time or the basic cooking skills.

Now, help is at hand thanks to the Bristol-based company Baby Bites, run by former chef Louise Barnard.

Music interview: Fun Lovin’ Criminals at the O2 Academy Bristol

e3admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:29:36 +0000

After a spell out of the limelight, the Fun Lovin’ Criminals are back with a new album and UK tour. Frontman Huey Morgan talks to LAURA WILLIAMS about marrying a local girl and taking time to enjoy the good life.

Almost two decades ago Huey, Fast and Frank were just three guys going about their daily life in the States.

Fast-forward 17 years and the Fun Lovin’ Criminals have five albums, widespread recognition and a dedicated fanbase under their belts. Frontman Huey Morgan also has a wife and several feathers to his hat.

Theatre interview: Juliet and her Romeo at Bristol Old Vic

e3admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:59:07 +0000

Veteran actors Sian Phillips and Michael Byrne take time out from rehearsals for Juliet and Her Romeo at the Bristol Old Vic to talk to Natalie Hale

The role of Shakespeare’s tragic teenage heroine Juliet is one of the most coveted in the acting profession.

For centuries, eager adolescent actresses have longed to play the bewitching beauty opposite a dashing young Romeo.

Comedy preview: Ricky Gervais at the Colston Hall

e3admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:52:07 +0000

Ricky Gervais is back on tour with new show Science. As with Animals, Politics and Fame before it, Science bears little relation to the content of the show, rather it is an excuse to set the stage as Frankenstein’s castle laboratory. But what’s in a name as long as the material’s good?

Here’s hoping it is. Animals and Politics were impressive stand-up shows – you’d never have known these were Gervais’ first forays into live stand-up comedy.

However his third tour, Fame, was a disappointment.

Food interview: Bristol Vintage

e3admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:49:08 +0000

Fancy a bit of vintage style in your life? Mark Taylor meets the duo who want to bring back one of the great lost British institutions

There was a time when everything stopped for tea, preferably served in floral china cups with a slice of cake, and now two Bristol women want to revive this fine English tradition.

Katie Daniels and Ali Cook run Bristol Vintage, a retro china crockery business that hires and sells tea cups, plates, cake stands and just about anything else required to recreate the perfect afternoon tea.

Comedy interview: Stephen Lynch at the Bristol Hippodrome

e3admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:28:54 +0000

Natalie Hale catches up with controversial US stand-up Stephen Lynch who is making waves on both sides of the Atlantic

If you don’t know it already, remember this name: Stephen Lynch. He’s a big comedy cheese in his native America and the strong smell of dairy produce is now wafting over to these shores.

Stephen’s clean-cut good looks, sweet tone of voice and sensitive guitar picking afford him a unique element of surprise.

Food feature: Cafedirect and the Fairtrade movement

e3admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:00:13 +0000

Mark Taylor meets the Bristol businesswoman who is playing a vital role in the Fairtrade movement

She may now be the CEO of Britain’s largest Fairtrade organisation, but Anne MacCaig’s interest in consumer goods started as a child working in a small grocery store in Bristol.

Anne grew up in Westbury-on-Trym, in the house where her parents still live, and from the age of five to 18, she went to Clifton High School.

Music interview: Richmond Fontaine at The Tunnels Bristol

e3admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:00:13 +0000

Steve Harnell compares notes with songwriter and novelist Willy Vlautin ahead of his band Richmond Fontaine’s hotly-anticipated Bristol date

Meet Willy Vlautin: Renaissance Man. The leader of the much-lauded Americana outfit Richmond Fontaine for the past decade-and-a-half, he’s also a highly-respected author whose last three books have seen him emerge as one of the finest novelists of his generation.

Theatre interview: The Secret of Sherlock Holmes at the Theatre Royal Bath

e3admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:00:13 +0000

Natalie Hale talks to TV favourite Philip Franks about his return to the role of Dr Watson in The Secret of Sherlock Holmes

“I’m often asked what it was like to kiss Catherine Zeta Jones. It was nice, thanks... and it was 20 years ago!”

For many, he will always be thought of as bumbling tax inspector Charlie who bumped lips with the then unknown CZJ in The Darling Buds of May.

But this is doing Philip Franks a huge injustice.

Music interview: Europe at the O2 Academy Bristol

e3admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:16:08 +0000

Steve Harnell talks to Europe’s frontman Joey Tempest as the classic rockers prepare for their new UK tour

The Final Countdown – three words that will send any thirtysomething back to the mid-Eighties and a world of bubble perms so large you could see them from space.

While Swedish rockers Europe will never completely escape their huge global number one from 1986, they’re now several years into the second phase of their career which has given them a whole new lease of life.

Food feature: Mullion Cove

e3admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:24:43 +0000

Mark Taylor meets the woman who has swapped the bright lights of London to set up a business which bangs the drum for Cornish artisan food

Apple juice from Helford Creek, pilchards from Newlyn and real English tea grown on the Tregothnan Tea Estate – Mullion Cove is a new Bristol-based company specialising entirely in artisan Cornish food and drink.

Launched in July 2009, it was set up by Clifton-based Sophie Bowden, who gave up her job as a PA for the directors of a large private equity firm in London.

Comedy interview: Andy Ford at the Bristol Hippodrome

e3admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:24:42 +0000

Andy Ford was such a hit at the Hippodrome’s panto last year, he’s been asked back to perform a one-man show. Natalie Hale meets the man who gives old-school variety a 21st century twist.

When I saw the posters for Snow White at the Hippodrome this Christmas, I wondered who the funny-looking man with the unfortunate teeth was.

And when Andy Ford walked on to the stage in his full ‘Muddles’ regalia, I thought ‘Here we go. A poor man’s Joe Pasquale’.

Theatre interview: Rosamund Pike as Hedda Gabler at Theatre Royal Bath

e3admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:24:42 +0000

Natalie Hale talks to movie star Rosamund Pike about her new role on stage as Hedda Gabler

“I know that people struggle to pin me down, but I don’t mind that.”

Rosamund Pike is certainly something of an enigma. The elegant actress, who recently starred in the Oscar-nominated film An Education, is quietly spoken yet assertive and intense, and our interview is punctuated by hearty laughs and thoughtful silences.

Music interview: Marina and the Diamonds at The Cooler, Bristol

e3admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:53:11 +0000

Steve Harnell talks to Marina Diamandis, one of the most hotly-tipped young stars of the year, and discovers how she sees her songs as colours and why she'll never become a vacuous celebrity

In these days of fledgling pop stars being media-trained to within an inch of their lives, it makes a refreshing change to interview an up and coming artist with something to say.

Comedy interview: Lee Mack at the Bristol Hippodrome and Colston Hall

e3admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:50:46 +0000

Natalie Hale talks to Lee Mack about his first stand-up tour for two years

When I call Lee Mack at home in Hampton Court, it sounds like the picture of domesticity. He’s making lunch in the kitchen as his two boys, Arlo aged five, and three-year-old Louie, dart around his feet.

“Sorry about this,” says a ruffled Lee. “My little one is tugging at my leg asking me to put CBeebies on... It’s their new drug... two seconds...”

Theatre interview: Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory

e3admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:50:46 +0000

Natalie Hale talks to Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory’s Andrew Hilton and actress Stephanie Cole about the company’s new season

Without doubt, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory offers the most consistent and captivating programme of Shakespeare in the country.

Tonight, the revered company returns to the Tobacco Factory for its 11th spring season with two of Shakespeare’s most magical plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest.

Music interview: Massive Attack on their new album Heligoland

e3admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:40:06 +0000

Steve Harnell catches up with Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja at the band’s Bristol studios to get the lowdown on their much-anticipated new album Heligoland

Massive Attack have never done things the easy way, and after 20 years together, they’re not about to start now.

The labyrinthine story behind the making of their fifth album Heligoland is one of reinvention, false starts and the reconnection of two founding members.