Latest news with #British-Australian
Express Tribune
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Tim Minchin happy he did not succeed in 20s
Tim Minchin's latest album Time Machine is a collection of songs that the now successful 49-year-old wrote, but never recorded, back in his twenties, when he couldn't get a record deal. After gaining critical success as a comedian in 2005, the British-Australian Minchin went on to write the music and lyrics for hit West End musical Matilda the Musical and signed with record label BMG in 2020. In an interview with Reuters, Minchin looked back on his new record as well as his songwriting and views on social media. Below are excerpts edited for length and brevity. Q: Your album is out, how does that make you feel? "I feel really reflective. But also I've reached a point in my career ... where I just feel like ... here's my offer ... and because I don't read social media anymore and I won't read reviews, it's just out in the world... And hopefully people listen to it." Q: How would you describe your music? "I think the way I use words is slightly different from a lot of singer/songwriters... Most pop songs, they're broad, you can hear in them what you want ... whereas mine are like – 'oh no, this is what the song's about'." Q: Is there a difference between writing music for yourself or characters such as Matilda? "I always feel like, in a way, I'm placing myself in someone else's shoes... some of my songs are really personal and they're really about me. But it is a craft – songwriting – and that can mean placing yourself in a particular emotional state." Q: Do you wish you had released this album in your twenties? "The greatest thing that ever happened to me is not getting success (then) ... it's terrible for people... I'm very happy that I'm just gently putting these songs out into the world (now)."
Mint
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
A Minute With: Musician and writer Tim Minchin looks back
LONDON, 2025 -Tim Minchin's latest album "Time Machine" is a collection of songs that the now successful 49-year-old wrote, but never recorded, back in his twenties, when he couldn't get a record deal. After gaining critical success as a comedian in 2005, the British-Australian Minchin went on to write the music and lyrics for hit West End musical "Matilda the Musical" and signed with record label BMG in 2020. In an interview with Reuters, Minchin reflects on his new record as well as his songwriting and views on social media. Below are excerpts edited for length and brevity. Q: Your album is out, how does that make you feel? "I feel really reflective. But also I've reached a point in my career ... where I just feel like ... here's my offer ... and because I don't read social media anymore and I won't read reviews, it's just out in the world... And hopefully people listen to it." Q: How would you describe your music? "I think the way I use words is slightly different from a lot of singer/songwriters... Most pop songs, they're broad, you can hear in them what you want ... whereas mine are like - ''oh no, this is what the song's about'." Q: Is there a difference writing music for yourself or characters such as Matilda? "I always feel like in a way, I'm placing myself in someone else's shoes... some of my songs are really personal and they're really about me. But it is a craft - songwriting - and that can mean placing yourself in a particular emotional state." Q: What makes you feel inspired at the moment? "My job is to put good ideas into the world and beautiful stories and make people feel things... That job of spreading empathy and joy and laughter and emotion and if I can do that and feel optimistic ... then I'm one person not being a cynic." Q: Do you wish you had released this album in your twenties? "The greatest thing that ever happened to me is not getting success (then) ... it's terrible for people... I'm very happy that I'm just gently putting these songs out into the world (now)." (Reporting by Sarah Mills; editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
The National
4 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Miriam Margolyes 'disgusted' by Labour's complicity in Gaza
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday National, Margolyes said the UK Government was supporting "evil on a grand scale". The 84-year-old British-Australian actress, who is Jewish, has previously shown her support for Gaza, having recently signed a letter calling for change in the BBC as a result of its reporting on Israel and Palestine – but she has rarely spoken to the media about her position. Miriam Margolyes (Image: Impressive PR) Margolyes said that while she had always been a Labour supporter, the UK is currently in "a right old mess". "I think it's about as low as it's been, certainly in my lifetime," she told the Sunday National. READ MORE: My family starves in Gaza while the world watches. We must keep speaking up "They've forgotten what Labour is about. I don't recognise any of the people, I don't recognise what they want, I don't share in their hopes. I feel very, very depressed about the political situation, I really do." Margolyes highlighted the UK Government's "ghastly" position on a number of issues, but was particularly "concerned" about Gaza. She said: "Because I'm Jewish – although not a believer in it – I do care very much about what happens to Israel and to the Palestinian people. And that is where I think we've gone terribly wrong. "I think the Labour Party should have made more sanctions against Israel, and stopped this nonsense about antisemitism. "Of course, there is antisemitism, there's always been antisemitism – nobody likes Jews, they never have. "But this is about Israel and the actions of Israel, it's not about Jews." (Image: Fatima Shbair / AP)Margolyes went on to say that when she sees "that people who have nothing now – who have no home, no food, no medicine, no hope – are being hounded from place to place by an immensely powerful opposing power, I know that it's wrong". "I don't have to think about it, I know that evil is happening on a grand scale, and my country is supporting and helping it," she told the Sunday National. "I'm shocked and disgusted and dazed by this, and I don't understand why everybody isn't, I really don't see why people allow this horror to take place. "It's completely, completely wicked." READ MORE: Scottish community-owned island announces full boycott of Israel Margolyes acknowledged that she often receives criticism for speaking on political issues as an actress, but maintained that "it's not about me as an actress, I'm thinking about it as a person". "I try and raise awareness when I think something is wrong. And I am absolutely bloody certain that what Israel is doing is wrong, wicked, indefensible," she told the Sunday National. She continued: "For 80 years, they have tried to destroy the spirit of the Palestinian people. They have failed conspicuously. "If they think that bombing and killing young children, and herding people from place to place, if they think that's going to build loyalty towards Israel in Palestinians, or stop them from being their enemy, they are quite wrong. "They are building – ensuring – hatred every day. "Of course, I have to speak about that. I'm a human being, it's about being a human being. Keir Starmer, and that long drink of a fellow Jacob Rees-Mogg, and Nigel Farage, they've all forgotten how to be human." Margolyes added as an aside: "Everybody thinks that I'm a comedian, and that I'm a bundle of laughs. When there are things to be laughing about and have fun with, I'm happy to do it. But God Almighty, it's difficult now, isn't it?" 'I would vote SNP if I lived in Scotland' WHEN Margolyes spoke to The National last year, she revealed that she would welcome Scottish independence. One year later, her position remains the same – and she has revealed who she would vote for if she lived in Scotland. "I like the way that the SNP politicians talk about Scotland. If I lived in Scotland, I would probably vote [[SNP]]," she said. "I don't live in Scotland, but I hope that they do very well in the elections." Margolyes will be returning to Scotland next month for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with her show Margolyes And Dickens: More Best Bits. Miriam Margolyes (Image: PA) The show is split into two parts: A deep-dive into the world of Charles Dickens, who she describes as "the art in my life", followed by an open-floor Q&A. Margolyes expressed her love for the Fringe, having first come to the festival when she was around 10 years old, but stressed that it was becoming harder for young people to attend. She said: "It's all so expensive. I'm very lucky because I've become well known, so I've got a production company that's representing me. I don't have to do anything, I just have to deliver a show and go on stage and do it. READ MORE: Comedian cancels Fringe show over 'terror' charge bail conditions' "I don't have to do what I did have to do when I first came, which was to go round with leaflets, begging people to put them up in their restaurants and launderettes and on their windscreens, begging for attention, trying to talk to journalists. "It's hard for young people to get going. I think that there should be a kind of, not exactly a levy, but people like me who've got money, we should put aside a lump sum to help young people find a place to live, so that life can flourish and that they don't dwindle and die because they can't find a place to perform. She concluded: "It's the young that give it the majesty and the miracle, it's not oldies like me. It's the young: They're the people that astonish and delight." Margolyes And Dickens: More Best Bits is at the Pentland Theatre at Pleasance at EICC, August 9 to 24 at 6pm.
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Britain, Australia to deepen AUKUS commitment, economic ties
SYDNEY: Britain's commitment to Australia was 'absolute', Defence Secretary John Healey said on Friday as the two countries' defence and foreign ministers held talks in Sydney on boosting cooperation, including deepening their commitment to the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. Healey and Britain's Foreign Minister David Lammy were met by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney, ahead of talks focussed on boosting trade ties and progressing the AUKUS partnership for Britain and Australia to build a new class of nuclear-powered submarine. The United States is reviewing the trilateral agreement struck in 2021, and has pressed Australia to increase defence spending to counter China's military build-up in the Indo Pacific region. Healey said on Friday that AUKUS is one of Britain's most important defence partnerships, and a treaty to be signed with Australia confirms Britain's commitment for the next half century. The new British-Australian treaty will underpin each country's submarine programmes for 50 years, creating tens of thousands of jobs, and is expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27 billion) to Britain in exports over the next 25 years, Britain's Ministry of Defence said. In opening remarks, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the two countries were working to shape collective security in the Indo-Pacific region. 'Our UK commitment to Australia is absolute,' Healey told the meeting. The two militaries were deepening ties amid increasing uncertainty and threats, he said. 'This demands a new era of defence, an era in which indivisibility of security in the Indo-Pacifc alongside the security of the Euro-Atlantic, in which the deep relationships like ours with you must be reconfirmed,' he added. Following the Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN), ministers are scheduled to travel to Melbourne and the northern garrison city of Darwin, where the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has arrived for the Talisman Sabre war games. Trump aware, supportive of AUKUS pact, US defense secretary says As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia's military has said are a rehearsal of joint war fighting that contribute to stability in the Indo-Pacific. Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with 3,000 troops taking part.
DW
6 days ago
- Business
- DW
UK, Australia to deepen AUKUS treaty and economic ties – DW – 07/25/2025
The UK has joined Australia in a 50-year commitment to the AUKUS submarine pact as US support wavers. The deal could bring 20 billion pounds in British exports. The UK said on Friday it will join Australia in a 50-year commitment to the nuclear-powered submarine pact with the United States. The move reinforces the agreement as Washington signals uncertainty about its long-term role. The new British-Australian treaty will support both countries' submarine programs for the next 50 years, generating tens of thousands of jobs. British Defense Secretary John Healey said the deal could deliver up to 20 billion pounds (€23 billion, $27 billion) in British exports over the next 25 years. Healey, who is visiting Australia with Foreign Secretary David Lammy, described the AUKUS as one of Britain's most important defense partnerships. "This demands a new era of defense, an era in which indivisibility of security in the Indo-Pacifc alongside the security of the Euro-Atlantic, in which the deep relationships like ours with you must be reconfirmed," he added. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the two countries were working to shape collective security in the Indo-Pacific region. The 2021 AUKUS agreement calls for Australia to acquire at least three Virginia-class submarines from the United States within 15 years and eventually to manufacture submarines of its own. But in the US, critics question why Washington is prioritizing the sale of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia rather than strengthening its own naval fleet. The US, which brokered the trilateral pact in 2021, is currently reviewing its commitment. Washington has urged Australia to boost defense spending amid growing concerns over China's military expansion in the Indo-Pacific region.
