Belladrum: Supergrass and CMAT headline Bella's busy Friday
The three-day music festival near Beauly in the Highlands is due to close later with Tide Lines, Peter Capaldi, Example, Tom Walker and Texas among the headliners.
Hot House main stage performers earlier on Friday had included blues guitarist Toby Lee, while funk band Bohemian Monk Machine and blues/rock singer Elles Bailey were among the popular acts over on the Garden Stage.The festival site on the historic Belladrum Estate got busier during the evening as fans poured in for performances by CMAT and Supergrass, who had both appeared at the Glastonbury Festival earlier this year.
But other acts also drew big crowds.There was barely a space to be found inside the Grassroots tent for Black Sabbath tribute act, Sabbra Cadabra, and their show in honour of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne who died just days ago at the age of 76.And the Garden Stage - Bella's second largest venue after the Hot House stage - was rammed for Beluga Lagoon, a musical project led by Scottish wildlife cameraman Andrew O'Donnell.
The festival's theme this year is cinema, and few festival-goers could match Tony Lawther's effort.He drove almost 600 miles from Southampton in his 44-year-old DeLorean - a car that is one of the stars of the Back to the Future films.Dressed as the movie's character Doc, Tony joked his journey from the 1980s to the future had gone as well as hoped though added: "The flux capacitor fell out half way up the M6, but apart from that it was great."BBC Alba is providing live coverage of the festival and iPlayer broadcasts across the weekend.The shows can be watched live or on demand from Thursday on Belladrum on BBC Alba.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
32 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Why did we ignore this glorious classic musical for 35 years?
If there is to be a revival of Lerner and Loewe's unrepentantly whimsical 1947 musical – and there hasn't been one in London for 35 years – then Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is the place to do it. Known primarily through the 1954 film starring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse, Brigadoon has enchantment in its bones, demanding its audience buy into the idea of a magical Highland village that emerges from the mist for just one day every 100 years. That is considerably easier to do with an outdoor venue in which the falling dusk during evening performances is an inbuilt part of the scenery. And if Drew McOnie's effervescent yet punchy production – the first he has directed since taking over the venue this year – relies on admittedly flimsy source material, then so be it. This show is delightful. There's a hint of Powell and Pressburger's 1946 film A Matter of Life and Death to Rona Munro 's new adaptation, which accentuates the musical's Second World War setting by changing the two American men who find themselves lost in rural Scotland on May Day, 1945, from hunters to shot-down pilots. Is the idyllic village that suddenly appears to them, with its indefatigably happy residents blissfully unaware of the war (indeed, they have no concept of modernity at all), the hallucination of Tommy and Jeff, who are badly damaged by the horrors they have witnessed on the battlefield? Or have the pilots willed the village into being as an alternative to the prospect of dying on the hills before they can be saved? Either way, Munro subtly reinforces the idea of fantasy as a self-protective mechanism by suggesting the village itself originally 'disappeared' in order to escape the 1745 Jacobite uprising. Reality and dream co-exist in both uneasy and bewitching ways in this sensitive update, even as it unapologetically rests on Lerner's undeniably barmy book in which the wounded Tommy falls in love with local girl Fiona (a winning Danielle Fiamanya; she shares the role with Georgina Onuorah) whom he is to lose at midnight when the village vanishes, unless he commits himself to living in Brigadoon forever. McOnie's production retains Brigadoon's old-fashioned MGM musical quality with beautifully choreographed Oklahoma! -style scenes of swirling village women in full skirts and lace-up boots, and men merrily loading wagons with milk churns, images that knowingly lean into the idea of the art form itself as escapism incarnate. Loewe's score is pure romance, too, with its swooning harmonies led by filigree fiddles, the melodies unashamedly pretty. Basia Binkowska's set, with its sloping wood-clad walls and inclines, bears an unfortunate resemblance to a provincial ecology centre, but the pink and blue hue of the lights and the abundance of gorse and heather provide twinkling compensation, as does powerful use of a couple of pipers, particularly during a desolate funeral scene. There are some fine performances – notably from Gilli Jones as a puppyish Charlie and Jasmine Jules Andrews as Fiona's spirted sister Jean, whose marriage the villagers are celebrating. There is darkness, too, in the subsumed violence of an en pointe sword dance, and in Danny Nattrass's performance as the embittered Harry, desperately, unhappily in love with Jean. He provides a haunting counterfoil to the utopian happiness the village supposedly embodies. And as that dusk falls, Munro's ending neatly resolves the plot, while leaving a few unsettling questions lingering in the night air. At Regent's Park Open Air Theatre until Sept 20
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Harry and Meghan's £75m Netflix deal has been an 'expensive failure' for streaming giant, admit insiders - and miffed bosses feel 'undercut' by Duke's memoir Spare
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are said to be 'absolutely over the moon' with their new Netflix deal - but behind the scenes there are claims the couple have been an 'expensive failure' for the streamer. The Duke of Sussex's biography 'Spare' is said to have 'upset' Netflix executives who felt it was 'undercutting' the docu-series that they had paid a fortune for, it has also been claimed by insiders. 'The $100million deal has been an expensive failure for Netflix, however they want to dress it up', one source told the Daily Mail today. An insider with knowledge of the deal told The New York Times the Sussexes' new deal is less lucrative and 'a sign that the high-profile 2020 deal may not have met expectations'. Archewell Productions, Meghan and Harry's media company, had said it would make 'inspirational family programming' in documentaries, docu-series, films, scripted shows and children's television when the $100million (£75million) deal was announced in 2020. But in those five years, Archewell has not made any children's television, feature films or scripted shows at all. Pearl, the working title for the Markle-created animated show about a 12-year-old, was cancelled in 2022. The Sussexes then announced in August 2023 that they would be producing a film of romantic novel Meet Me At The Lake - but two years on Archewell is reportedly yet to hire a director or pick a cast. Sources have claimed 'it may never happen'. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are said to be 'absolutely over the moon' with their new Netflix deal Meghan said in a statement that she and Harry are 'proud' and 'inspired' to extend their 'creative partnership' - but experts have said their relationship has been 'downgraded' because it is a 'first look' deal - meaning Netflix will have first refusal on Sussex projects but is not compelled to make them. The Duchess of Sussex in her Netflix series With Love, Meghan which came out in March. Season 2 is on the way The couple yesterday signed a new 'multi-year' contract with the streaming giant, however, it is understood to be worth much less for the pair than their previous contract. Experts have pointed out that their relationship has been 'downgraded' deal because it is a 'first look' - meaning Netflix will have first refusal on Sussex projects but is not compelled to make them. Meghan said in a statement that she and Harry are 'proud' and 'inspired' to extend their 'creative partnership'. Bela Bajaria, Netflix's Chief Content Officer, insisted: 'Harry and Meghan are influential voices whose stories resonate with audiences everywhere. But three sources at the streaming giant have told the New York Times of 'tensions' over the years. There were similar reports of tensions between the Sussexes and Spotify before their deal ended, with one executive branding them 'grifters'. The NYT has claimed that Netflix bosses were upset when they only found out about the release date of Harry's bestselling memoir 'Spare' a matter of months before the docu-series come out over consecutive weekends in December 2022. Spare came out on January 2023 but this 'upset some Netflix executives because the book covered some of the same ground as the series, undercutting the exclusive nature of the show', the newspaper said. Spokesmen for Archewell and Netflix have said there 'was no tension between the two companies', calling the notion 'false'. The 'first-look' arrangement announced yesterday means Netflix can say yes or no to new film or television projects before anyone else - allowing them to pick and choose what they invest in. PR expert Mark Borkowski described the new deal as a 'downgrade', claiming it falls a long way from the jackpot figure of Harry and Meghan's original contract in 2020. He told the Daily Mail: 'I think Netflix has done a very neat job of pivoting away from two very expensive people who didn't deliver, and they've taken that deal off the table, and they've given them a modest one. 'It's not like they're gradually uncoupling – it's a downgrade. Netflix are not going to expose themselves to those budgets again. It's Netflix saying, 'Let's have a look at your content, but we'll pick and choose, mate'.' He believes the pair will be paid for each production selected by Netflix rather than receiving an overall fee, such as the reported $100million of their first deal. 'I would be surprised if it's not pay-as-you-go and it's well, well below that first mark,' he added. The couple's new output will include a second season of the Duchess's 'With Love, Meghan' lifestyle show later this month, as well as a Christmas special in December. The Sussexes are also working on 'Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within' - a documentary about orphaned children in Uganda, where the 'shadows of the HIV/Aids crisis linger'. There is also 'active development' on other projects with Netflix which 'span a variety of content genres', including an adaptation of romantic novel Meet Me At The Lake. But Mr Borkowski said the couple will not be granted the same budget as they were under their previous contract with the streaming service. 'They have shot the golden goose of 2020 - more of a 'we'll call you' than 'here's the chequebook',' he said. 'It's a first-look deal, which means Netflix gets first dibs but no obligation to bankroll every semi-royal whim. 'I reckon Netflix is trimming fat industry-wide, so this is less carte blanche, more curated cameo. 'They're still in business together - Meghan's. As ever brand and seasonal specials keep them in the Netflix shop window but make no mistake, this is a slimmed-down sequel to the blockbuster original. So Harry and Meghan's new Netflix chapter [is] less champagne budget, more Prosecco by the glass.' The couple's new output will include a second season of the Duchess's 'With Love, Meghan' lifestyle show later this month, as well as a Christmas special in December Netflix has already released the first series of With Love, Meghan as well as Polo, Heart of Invictus, Live to Lead and the couple's bombshell documentary Harry & Meghan as well as being a business partner on Meghan's lifestyle brand, As Ever. Five years ago, Harry and Meghan secured a lucrative contract thought to be worth $100million (£74million) with Netflix after quitting as senior working royals in 2020. The renewed deal was described by the Sussexes - who made the announcement with Netflix - as 'extending their creative partnership' through Archewell Productions. But the new terms are understood to be worth less for Harry and Meghan than their previous contract, according to a person familiar with the deal, and represent Netflix loosening its ties with the couple. In a statement, Meghan said: 'We're proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As Ever brand.' Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said: 'We're excited to continue our partnership.'
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The Chase viewers rage 'it's an absolute shambles' after string of 'grim and bizarre' questions - fuming 'is a kid on work experience in charge?!'
The Chase viewers were left fuming after a series of 'grim and bizarre' questions that had fans branding the episode 'an absolute shambles'. In a vintage installment of the hit ITV game show, a series of unusually eccentric questions caught both the contestants and the chaser off guard. To kick off the episode, host Bradley Walsh introduced four new players - Pam, James, Jorja and Mark. Mark won an impressive £6,000 in his cash builder round, but the peculiar questions began in his one-to-one with Chaser Paul Sinha. One read: 'The Rosetta Stone is inscribed with a decree on behalf of which Egyptian pharaoh?' The three multiple choice answers were Rameses II, Ptolemy V and Thutmose III. A baffled Paul was shocked, saying: 'That was the hardest question I've ever seen on this show,' as both he and player Mark answered incorrectly. The next question was: 'The US Department of Agriculture requires what to be at least 35 per cent cooked meat and no more than 50 per cent bread?' The multiple choice options were pizza, kebab and sandwich, and when it emerged that sandwich was the correct answer, the studio was left shocked. 'Is this a wind-up?' joked host Bradley, before adding: 'I'll have to call the sandwich police. Don't move, get on the floor.' In yet another incorrect choice, Chaser Paul selected kebab on the basis that it was 'the only logical answer.' Mark managed to make it back to his team with £6,000, but viewers were unimpressed with the selection of questions and flocked to social media to express their shock. One fan wrote: 'Who is in charge of these bizarre questions on The Chase? 'Absolute shambles, is it a kid on work experience? Are the regular question setters off on Holibobs? Yikes, that was grim.' Meanwhile, long-time host Bradley, 65, has rubbed fans up the wrong way with an infuriating habit viewers claim is 'doing their head in.' The charismatic host is known for his everyman quality and ability to put even the most nervous of contestants at ease. But after more than 15 years as the face of the programme, the Watford native has irritated viewers, who have claimed he pretends to know the answers before they are revealed. In the ITV game show's most recent installment, Bradley welcomed Nick, Paris, Jane and Lucy - contestants playing for a sizable cash prize. As usual, each player took part in an individual cash builder to set the tone for the later battle against the chaser, which was Darragh Ennis. But it was during the multiple choice section against The Menace where avid watchers noticed Bradley's quirky tendency. At one point, Jane was asked: 'According to a scientific study published in 2022, which sound causes the greatest fear to animals on the African savannah?' When it emerged that Jane selected 'lion's growl' - Bradley questioned whether she had made the right choice, saying: 'You've put lion's growl. Hmm. Okay. Elephant's trumpet, surely?' But, unsurprisingly, the lion's growl turned out to be the right answer. Bradley's presumptuousness got under viewers' skin, with one writing online: 'Ah yes, the fearsome carnivorous elephant.' Good-natured Bradley congratulated Jane on her correct choice, but it didn't stop him from enacting the same tactic with Lucy when she was going head-to-head with Darragh. The contestant was asked: 'In the Sondheim musical "Into the Woods", who sings "On the Steps of the Palace"?' When it emerged Lucy picked Cinderella over Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel, Bradley chimed in: 'You've put Cinderella. It's got to be. It's got to be Cinderella.' Many put the presenter's remarks down to light-hearted enthusiasm, but some keen fans were not as impressed.
