Daily Post

So You Want to ... See a Sleuth

FROM the Hound of the Baskervilles to the Sussex Vampire, there was scarcely a mystery Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr Watson could not crack as they were called on to solve murder most foul throughout the fictional Victorian England created by Arthur Conan Doyle around the turn of the 20th century. But for Holmes fans the man behind the deerstalker and the pipe remains an enigma, but always keeping his private life and thoughts shrouded in secrecy.

Searcher Is a 60s Survivor

JOHN McNally was just back from a funeral when we spoke, a sad but regular event for the bands from the 1960s. McNally is a survivor, vocalist and rhythm guitar with The Searchers and still going strong. He had been at the funeral of Swinging Blue Jeans bassist Les Braid where he met up with a number of fellow group members from the 1960s. He had already seen the passing of original members of the Searchers, drummer Chris Curtis and bassist Tony Jackson.

This Is the Story so Far - but Watch This Space

SOMEWHERE along the line between Stradivarius and Nigel Kennedy the violin ceased to be cool, it certainly ceased to be a candidate for use in rock and roll. Essentially the violin has remained slightly naff, a bit Vanessa Mae - there's nothing intrinsically wrong with the virtuosity of the playing, it's just not Jimi Hendrix, it's not even little Jimmy Osmond.

Zen and the Art of Being a Legend ; Achieving Iconic Status Is Enough for Most Rock Stars, but Mike Chapple Discovers John Cale Is Still Forging Ahead with New and Exciting Styles

FOR a man of 63 John Cale retains all the fire and ambition of a man thirty years his junior. He's not looking bad either for someone who bought the t-shirt - with the tour programme and the backstage pass thrown in - when it comes to substance abuse.

Culture Vulture

A NEW, week-long classical music festival, with a definite emphasis on Welsh music, is to be launched in Caernarfon on September 18. The line-up includes Bernard Roberts, my pianist of the moment Llyr Williams, Gwyn Hughes Jones, and Celticana - plus there will be a performance of the Karl Jenkins' Requiem by the Welsh Chamber Orchestra and Voces Angelicae, of which I have written before, at Galeri Creative Arts Centre on Friday September 23.

Shape of Hope ; South African Sculptor Inspired by Love of Wales

MAUREEN Langley says her world-admired work is inspired by "life, hope, and growth". But the South African sculptor who now calls North Wales home insists her art reflects the world and people around her and shows none of the grief that has affected her life.

Gog Sound

POP in Welsh has been around for over 40 years, and literally thousands of bands and artists have contributed to its development. But in the last decade or so, a number of events have drawn attention to the problems that have always underpinned the scene. In theory, Welsh-language popular music shouldn't exist. Aside from anything else, it is a contradiction. How can you classify an industry where a record that sells 10,000 copies is considered a massive success as "popular"?

Kitten Takes a New Musical Direction

JENNY FROST has had the perfect week. Looking tanned and radiant, the singer welcomes me in enthusiastically, before saying in a scratchy voice: "You'll have to excuse my voice. My throat is a bit hoarse from the weekend. I've had one of those hectic weekends. I went to see Babyshambles on Friday night, then U2 on Sunday night. "And I just came back from Turkey. It was fab, just me and Dom and a couple of other friends. We got a villa and chilled out for five days," she adds, referring to her...

Games: Adrenaline Rush to Wipe You Out

Title Wipeout Pure Platform PSP Genre Racing Price pounds 34.99 THINK of everything we've come to associate with Wipeout games, whatever console it's appeared on - slick, futuristic graphics, awesome power-ups, sheer speed and a real challenge. You've pretty much described Wipeout Pure, the latest in the next-generation racing series.

Books: Correspondents Have Stayed Course ; From Our Own Correspondent, by Kate Adie & Tony Grant, Published by Profile Books, Pounds 16.99

BUILT on the successful formula of its namesake programme on Radio 4, From Our Own Correspondent is a compilation of observations and personal insights from BBC correspondents around the world. From Gavin Esler's love/hate relationship with the United States, to Orla Guerin's three hours at gunpoint in the West Bank, each account offers a much sought-after insight into the human experience of our trusted on-screen friends.

Film: Red Eye Means White Knuckles ; Damon Smith Takes a Flight of Fright with Wes Craven

EVERY time you board an airplane, you unknowingly take part in a lottery. The first prize is the man or woman of your dreams in the next seat; the booby prize the harassed parent with a mewling infant or truculent teen with a deafening personal stereo. Beautiful young businesswoman Lisa Reisert (McAdams) thinks she has hit the jackpot with Jackson Ripner (Murphy), the blue-eyed charmer with whom she shared a brief flirtation in the departures lounge. Jackson is equally surprised: "What are th...

Classical

NEXT week it's The Last Night of the Proms again, coming around it seems, more often than Christmas. There are a few who retreat behind closed curtains, and sink into a stage of siege at the prospect of another night of traditional rollicking, but for most it is one of the great annual occasions. Its continuing popularity is remarkable. However, much the organisers try to vary the programme many of the pundits only attend to whoop it up through the second half, especially the Sea Songs Rule B...

Film: A Very Dodgy Business

NICK Love's follow-up to The Football Factory is a gangland thriller that struts back in time to the Thatcherite '80s. South London likely lad Frankie (Dyer) takes a cricket bat to his mother's abusive boyfriend and has to head for the Costa Del Sol where he is instructed to drop off a bag containing cash to a bar owner called Charlie (Hassan).

Music: Catchy Hook From Dolls with Attitude

PUSSYCAT DOLLS Don't Cha One listen to this single and you'll be hooked! The Pussycat Dolls from Los Angeles - Nicole, Carmit, Melody, Jessica, Ashley and Kimberley - have already won over stars like Mary J Blige and Dr Dre. Don't Cha, a female empowerment song, has a catchy hook and a chorus you'll sing along to DANIEL RACHEL Pearl Northern pop is often reminiscent of the 80s and Daniel's new single is no exception. This uplifting brass-led soul stomp is about a girl leaving the familiar for...

Cd Reviews

David Gray The One I Love THOSE expecting another piano ballad from David Gray as he makes his return to the charts will be disappointed. The One I Love is a surprisingly upbeat, punch-the-air anthem that will

Music: Elevate Aims for Big Lift On Ibiza

ONE of North Wales' most popular clubs is heading to Ibiza with hopes of setting up a permanent summer residency on the party island. Elevate has brought some of the finest trance and house around to the region for five years, with top names such as Seb Fontaine, John OO Fleming, Matt Hardwick and Rebekah at the monthly night at Bangor's Time venue. Next Saturday sees Holyhead-based DJ and club promoter Jay Slingsby take his baby to the Balearics for the first time, with Elevate at the island...

Music: It's a Free World for Indie Rockers ; Will Marlow Finds Elbow Frontman in Relaxed Mood

FOR a man who's about to release an album, Elbow frontman Guy Garvey hasn't got much on at the moment. Surely he should be doing some work or something? "Work isn't that hectic," he says with a grin. "Our guitarist Mark is having a baby so it's not too busy at all. It's really nice in fact." So while Elbow guitarist Mark Potter deals with the stresses of impending fatherhood, the rest of the band - Guy, drummer Richard Jupp, organist Craig Potter and bassist Pete Turner - are chilling out on ...

Dvd View

Jaws 30th Anniversary Special Edition (12 THE Chimp was asked the other day whether he had ever seen Jaws. "What? That film with the rubber shark in? Oh yeah" replied the nephew in a "been there done that" drone which appears to be standard mode for today's 10 year olds. Which is missing the point. In this era of computer generated images, there appears to be no place for mechanical sharks nicknamed Bruce. But this special edition still has the power to shock, even though you know what's goin...

Now Showing

THOSE with a fear of flying had better avoid this movie set on an aircraft with one passenger taking a white knuckle ride. It's not so much bombs, crashes or hijacks that strike fear, but the passenger in the next seat.

The Big Picture: Going Back to Business ; the Business (Cert 18) Starring: Danny Dyer, Tamer Hassan, Geoff Bell and Georgina Chapman; Director Nick Love. 96 Mins Rating

BRITISH director Nick Love managed to inject an alarming number of swear words into his football hooligan film The Football Factory. He seems to have outdone himself in The Business. As it is about a gang of South London hoodlums involved in drug dealing on the Costa del Crime in the 1980s, one can only excuse it by suspecting that this is the way such people talk. Even so, it is quite an assault on the ears.