The ‘rollercoaster' career of NI music legend George Jones – from providing ‘an oasis' in the Troubles to a ‘tragic year'
Music and broadcasting legend George Jones has by his own admission been on a 'rollercoaster' journey and said he feels bring happiness to others is what he has 'been guided to do with my life'.
That realisation has come having found religion and looking back on a past well lived which has seen him wear all manner of hats – musician, comedian, broadcaster and more latterly artist and Christian.
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Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
John Swinney criticises venue over Kate Forbes cancel culture row
The First Minister said Summerhall's actions were not appropriate Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... John Swinney has criticised the treatment of his deputy by a major venue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A cancel culture row broke out after Kate Forbes was interviewed on stage at Summerhall Arts earlier this month. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The venue later described the booking as an 'oversight' and said it would be writing 'robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that prevent this from happening again'. Kate Forbes and John Swinney, pictured in 2024 | PA The Deputy First Minister is a devout Christian and a member of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland, and has been criticised for her stance on gay marriage, abortion and trans rights. Asked about the row, Mr Swinney told journalists: 'I think there is no reason why Kate Forbes shouldn't be able to speak at any venue in Scotland.' Pushed on Summerhall's actions, he said: 'I don't think that's appropriate.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The First Minister made the comments after appearing at an event hosted by the Enlighten think tank in Edinburgh. Summerhall Arts, which has received hundreds of thousands of pounds in public funding, has since U-turned on its position, with chief executive Sam Gough saying: 'No one is banned from appearing... We have not banned anyone.' Ms Forbes spoke at the venue on August 7 as part of a series of events organised by The Herald newspaper. In an email sent to artists that day, Summerhall said: 'At this point, our main concern is that cancelling the event could pose significant additional risk to the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ artists, staff and audiences by attracting those who share Kate Forbes's views outside of these walls to Summerhall, and as such the interview will take place as scheduled, with all proceeds from the event donated to a local LGBTQ+ charity, the amount and the recipient will be published as soon as possible. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'While the event is happening, staff will be on hand to help anyone who may wish to make use of a designated relaxed space. 'We do not believe LGBTQ+ rights, nor their existence, is up for debate. We recognise that the LGBTQ+ community make up a significant proportion of our artists, audiences and staff, and we have work to do to repair the damage from this oversight. 'At this stage, we can guarantee that we will be writing robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that prevent this from happening again.' Ms Forbes has said she 'fervently' believes in freedom of speech, adding: 'Any effort to cancel people, especially politicians, undermines democracy. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Many people attended the Herald event and it is important that we could freely discuss and debate matters in a respectful manner. 'I respect and acknowledge the fact that, in a liberal democracy, there are people who will agree with me and others who will disagree with me. 'That is all the more reason to create events where the audience and journalists can question politicians openly, as the Herald did.' Last week, Nicola Sturgeon, who appointed Ms Forbes as finance secretary while she was first minister, also criticised Summerhall.
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
Summerhall founder condemns apology over Kate Forbes event
He described the wording of a statement, which suggested Ms Forbes would be prevented from the Scottish Government-funded venue in future, as "idiotic" and "nonsense'. He insisted he would not have allowed it to be signed off had he still been responsible for Summerhall. Read more: Mr McDowell, who revealed he had attended the deputy first minister's event at Summerhall, said it would be 'impossible' for a Fringe venue to enforce any kind of ban on an individual taking part in future events. In an exclusive interview with The Herald, he suggested the main concerns for arts venues should be to ensure they operate within the law and uphold principles of freedom of speech. Robert McDowell has previously won Herald Angels Awards for his work at Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue Summerhall. (Image: Stewart Attwood) Summerhall Arts, which has taken over the running of shows and events at the venue from Mr McDowell, 'apologised unreservedly' to artists and performers appearing during the festival for the appearance of Ms Forbes in its programme. The deputy first minister, who was booked to appear as part of a series of political events organised by The Herald, has direct responsibility for the funding of Edinburgh's festivals as the culture secretary, Angus Robertson, represents the Edinburgh Central constituency. Ms Forbes announced £300,000 for funding aimed at 'safeguarding' the future of the Fringe in March, when she described the festival as 'one of Scotland's signature events.' Summerhall, which is now run by chief executive Sam Gough and a board led by Deborah Christie, secured public funding for the first time in January when Creative Scotland decided to allocate the arts charity more than £600,000 for the next three years. Ms Forbes spoke at Summerhall days after announcing she would not be standing in next year's Holyrood election, saying she wanted to focus more on family life. A devout Christian and a member of the Free Church of Scotland, Ms Forbes was criticised during her SNP leadership battle over her views on gay marriage, abortion and trans rights. The apology from Summerhall Arts, an arts charity formed months before the venue was put up for sale by Mr McDowell's family, said it should have considered the likelihood of Ms Forbes being booked for The Herald's Unspun Live events, and the 'understandable upset it would cause'. Alerting companies to the appearance of Ms Forbes hours before she was due to appear, the venue added: 'Our main concern is that cancelling the event could pose significant additional risk to the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ artists, staff and audiences by attracting those who share Kate Forbes' views outside of these walls to Summerhall. 'We do not believe LGBTQ+ rights, nor their existence, is up for debate. We recognise that the LGBTQ+ community make up a significant proportion of our artists, audiences and staff, and we have work to do to repair the damage from this oversight. 'At this stage, we can guarantee that we will be writing robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that prevent this from happening again.' Mr McDowell, who bought Edinburgh University's former vet school building to turn it into a year-round culture venue, said he was no longer involved in the programming or running of Sumerhall, but had been visiting every day during the Fringe to attend shows and events. Mr McDowell told The Herald: 'I've not been able to find out who issued that apology. I don't know who wrote it. If I had been asked, I would have said that it was nonsense. 'Of course, these things are up for debate. Everything is always up for debate. What are the arts if they don't allow freedom of speech? 'If somebody has an objection to something you don't ban it. You just turn up and ask a question or make a statement. It's an opportunity to say what you think. 'Whoever compiled that statement was just addressing their friends. It's part of a cancel culture kind of way of thinking. 'Some people sometimes take it upon themselves to sort of think that if the feel strongly enough about something there ought to be a law and if there isn't they will impose their views. 'Sometimes people feel that if someone has gone out on a limb they have to show a bit of a solidarity and then get carried away 'Unfortunately we all have to try to tolerate it and hope that will get over themselves at some point. "The idea that you could ever construct a way of doing this is idiotic. It would be possible. There's no way you could second guess artists or shows. 'I could see how the apology happened, but I thought it was silly and stupid. It's what happens when people rush to judgment. 'I don't like the way everybody rushed to judgment on JK Rowling. She can cope with that. I'm on her side, pretty much, but I can understand why some people aren't.' Mr McDowell drew a contrast between the apology over Ms Forbes and the efforts of long-time arts campaigner and promoter Richard Demarco to bring artists from around the world to Edinburgh. He was recently forced to move part of his archive from Summerhall, where he had been offered space by Mr McDowell after he opened the venue in 2011. He said: 'Demarco crossed the Iron Curtain more than 90 times, not because of propaganda or politics, but to embrace across the divides. That's we have to do in the arts, that is our job. 'One of the good things about the country and democracy we live in is freedom of speech, where can have debate and we can have discussion. 'What I do not like is where people do not want to have debate or do not want to discussion, or where they say: 'It's more important that I don't ever feel uncomfortable'. 'Venue management only have to apply the laws. They can have views and opinions, but they cannot censor. This is about freedom of speech.' Mr McDowell said he would be opposed to any attempt to ban elected politicians from speaking or being interviewed. He added: 'It's extremely important for freedom of speech for journalists to be able to question people in public, and to have further discussion and debates in public. 'I sat in on Kate Forbes' session. I think she is a lovely person. I used to enjoy meeting Alex Salmond, even though he and I had opposite views. I respected him. He was a real person.' Creative Scotland issued "dignity at work" guidance to all applicants for long-term funding. They state: "Everyone working in Scotland's creative and cultural sectors is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, whether they are an employee, freelancer, contractor, board member or volunteer. "Creative Scotland does not tolerate bullying, harassment, or victimisation under any circumstance, and expects the same of any organisation that we support with public funding. "Those applying for activity that involves employing other people should ensure that they have appropriate safeguards in place to ensure dignity at work, including approaches to ensure best practice in areas such as equality and diversity, harassment and bullying, disciplinary and whistle-blowing. "Our role is as a funder, and we do not have a regulatory role. However, we expect all grant recipients to take their responsibilities around safeguarding and dignity at work seriously when in receipt of public funds and failure to do so could result in payments being suspended or grants withdrawn." A spokesperson for Creative Scotland said: "We are in dialogue with Summerhall Arts to understand recent events and the steps they are taking to address concerns that have been raised." The Herald has teamed up with to make the purchase of tickets for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe so much easier. To buy tickets, please click here.
Belfast Telegraph
4 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
How the charts found God: the creeping dominance of faith-pop
God is trending. A new generation of male pop stars are on their knees – literally – begging for redemption. How did we get here, asks Hannah Ewens When I saw moustachioed pop sensation Benson Boone play a show in London last year, the pop star performed the best of his pedestrian midtempos last: his religiously ecstatic hit, 'Beautiful Things'. It was inevitable that his UK No 1 track would be saved to leave the audience with a lingering sense of catharsis. In the song, Boone depicts himself as a simple man on his knees, praying to the divine. As the music builds to a holy drop, he belts out: 'I want you, I need you, oh God / Don't take / These beautiful things that I've got.' Cue a dramatic backflip, a Boone trademark at this point. (But really, how else can a man demonstrate religious fervour if not by launching himself into the air from a dangerous height?). The mostly reserved congregation went wild. Faith-pop, sung by faux-ordinary guys desperately appealing to God, is the dominant sound in Top 40 music right now. TikTok star Alex Warren has just scored the longest-running UK No 1 this decade with 'Ordinary', a cinematic, 'take-me-to-church' number full of heavy-handed Christian metaphors. 'You got me kissin' the ground of your sanctuary / Shatter me with your touch, oh Lord, return me to dust,' he croons on the chorus. The almost-as-ubiquitous gospel-tinged radio hit 'Lose Control' by Teddy Swims was one of the biggest tracks of 2024 and remains one of this year's most-streamed and bought. The addiction anthem may not explicitly mention God stuff (bar the aside that 'the devil's knocking at my door'), but – through its themes of surrender and brokenness – reads clearly as Christian-coded.
