Latest news with #DeepPurple
Leader Live
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
BGT's Olly Pearson wowed at 'first festival'
The Wrexham youngster secured the golden buzzer for the second time during the semi-final earlier this month to ensure that he'll be one of ten hopefuls competing for the hit show's main prize on Saturday, May 31. The 11-year-old guitarist has been performing across social media and at shows in both Wrexham and Chester since picking up the instrument at around age seven. A Chester photographer who spotted him at the Handbridge Summer Festival in 2023, says his talent was evident even then. 'I'd been documenting some of the events near the centre of Chester and I'd walked over to the Co-op car park [for the festival]. 'I heard the music, and I thought 'That sounds good', and I walked around the corner and here's this little lad, and I think he was playing Apache at the time,' says Jeff Price. He saw Olly with his grandad, Lee, stood to the side of the stage. Lee told him that he had begun teaching Olly the guitar just a few years before. Jeff, who's photographed several bands down the years including Deep Purple, Whitesnake, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, added that he was struck by his ability at such a young age. 'The first time I photographed him, I think he was about nine, and I thought it was bloody marvellous. 'When I saw [he'd made the final] I thought, this is amazing.' Olly's mum, Sarah, described the event as "Olly's first festival" in a Facebook post at the time. The youngster will now be hoping to wow Simon Cowell and his fellow judges one again when he takes to the stage this weekend. You can watch Olly performing in this year's BGT final on ITV and ITVX on Saturday, May 31.
The Age
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
These Offspring are all grown up - but the post-punk bangers keep on coming
MUSIC THE OFFSPRING Qudos Bank Arena, May 11 Reviewed by Michael Ruffles ★★★½ What do you do when one of your giant lightning skeleton zombie props fails to inflate properly? When you're The Offspring, you just keep playing because the guitars are electrifying enough. The California rockers tore through a blistering set of pop-punk bangers, barely pausing for breath as they proved why they have survived long enough to morph from the genre's enfants terribles into elder statesmen. They play hard and fast. The crushing and crunchy riffs of Come out and Play, interspersed with the bright licks of 60s surf rock, was the perfect tone-setter. It's an incisive look at youth violence with equal parts anger and wry humour. In short, anarchy. Original Prankster is made for mass appeal and goes down easy, Staring at the Sun is built for speed and is a high-wire act (and the only time the band wobbles a bit) and Hammerhead is relentless (skeleton snafu notwithstanding). Relief comes when frontman Dexter Holland and lead guitarist Noodles become a comedy act; the skits include riffing on Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and (most brilliantly) Edvard Grieg. Have you even heard Hall of the Mountain King unless you've heard it shredded by an ageing skunk-haired punk while the mosh pit heaves? Holland provided the most affecting moments of the night, sitting at a white grand piano as smoke drifted across the stage for a stripped-back rendition of Gone Away. The once-howling lament was made more poignant for its simplicity, before the band ramped up a cathartic finale. Before any tears had chance to dry, the band unleashed the biggest vibe shift of the night and launched beach balls at us while jumping into the one-two punch of Ob la di -inspired Why Don't You Get A Job? and the batty mega-hit Pretty Fly (For a White Guy). Whether it's nonsense or genius, you've had nearly 30 years to make up your mind. What is in no doubt is The Kids Aren't Alright is terrific, a searing indictment on middle America and undeniably rousing.
Sydney Morning Herald
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
These Offspring are all grown up - but the post-punk bangers keep on coming
MUSIC THE OFFSPRING Qudos Bank Arena, May 11 Reviewed by Michael Ruffles ★★★½ What do you do when one of your giant lightning skeleton zombie props fails to inflate properly? When you're The Offspring, you just keep playing because the guitars are electrifying enough. The California rockers tore through a blistering set of pop-punk bangers, barely pausing for breath as they proved why they have survived long enough to morph from the genre's enfants terribles into elder statesmen. They play hard and fast. The crushing and crunchy riffs of Come out and Play, interspersed with the bright licks of 60s surf rock, was the perfect tone-setter. It's an incisive look at youth violence with equal parts anger and wry humour. In short, anarchy. Original Prankster is made for mass appeal and goes down easy, Staring at the Sun is built for speed and is a high-wire act (and the only time the band wobbles a bit) and Hammerhead is relentless (skeleton snafu notwithstanding). Relief comes when frontman Dexter Holland and lead guitarist Noodles become a comedy act; the skits include riffing on Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and (most brilliantly) Edvard Grieg. Have you even heard Hall of the Mountain King unless you've heard it shredded by an ageing skunk-haired punk while the mosh pit heaves? Holland provided the most affecting moments of the night, sitting at a white grand piano as smoke drifted across the stage for a stripped-back rendition of Gone Away. The once-howling lament was made more poignant for its simplicity, before the band ramped up a cathartic finale. Before any tears had chance to dry, the band unleashed the biggest vibe shift of the night and launched beach balls at us while jumping into the one-two punch of Ob la di -inspired Why Don't You Get A Job? and the batty mega-hit Pretty Fly (For a White Guy). Whether it's nonsense or genius, you've had nearly 30 years to make up your mind. What is in no doubt is The Kids Aren't Alright is terrific, a searing indictment on middle America and undeniably rousing.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
James Foley, filmmaker who directed Madonna music videos and 'Fifty Shades' sequels, dies at 71
Filmmaker James Foley, whose directing career spanned music videos, television and film, with stars including Madonna, Al Pacino and Bruce Dern, has died. Florent Lamy, a representative for Foley, confirmed the Brooklyn-born director's death to The Times on Thursday. Lamy did not provide a cause of death, but according to media outlets including the Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker had been battling brain cancer. Foley was 71. "James Foley was not only a talented director but also a dear friend," Lamy told The Times. "He was one of my very first clients, and over time, he became someone very special in my life." Read more: Ruth Buzzi, who played a purse-wielding spinster on 'Laugh-In,' dies at 88 Foley's diverse directing career — which notably included films "Glengarry Glen Ross," "At Close Range" and the "Fifty Shades" sequels — began in the mid-1980s. The 1984 film "Reckless" marked his directorial debut and gave him the opportunity to work alongside actors Daryl Hannah and Aidan Quinn and prolific producer-filmmaker Chris Columbus. In the following years, Foley directed films — including 1986's "At Close Range" (featuring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken) and 1990's "After Dark, My Sweet" (starring Dern) — as well as music videos and other visuals for Madonna, who was en route to global pop stardom at the time. From 1985 to 1990, Foley directed music videos for Madge's "Dress You Up" and "True Blue." He directed both her music video "Who's That Girl?" and her 1987 comedy of the same name. Foley also directed music videos for rock band Deep Purple and Marky Mark, actor Mark Wahlberg's former rap persona. He would later reunite with Wahlberg for the 1996 thriller "Fear" and 1999's "The Corruptor," with Chow Yun-Fat. Read more: Priscilla Pointer, 'Dallas' and 'Carrie' actor and mom to Oscar nominee Amy Irving, dies at 100 In 1992, Foley directed the film adaptation of playwright David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross." One of Foley's most popular works, the adaptation featured a star-studded cast of Pacino, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey and Jonathan Pryce. Pacino received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his work on the dark comedy. Foley's final film credits, "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed," also were among his popular works. Foley took over the film franchise, based on E.L. James' erotic novels, after "Fifty Shades of Grey" director Sam Taylor-Johnson departed over reported disputes with the author, who was also a producer. The "Fifty Shades" films starred Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. Foley also directed episodes for series "Twin Peaks," "Hannibal," "House of Cards" (which reunited him with Spacey) and "Billions," among other shows. Read more: Lar Park Lincoln, 'Knots Landing' actor who became audition coach, dies at 63 In a 2017 interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Foley said he embraced the variety of his decades-long career. "I've had a very fluid career of ups and downs and lefts and rights, and I always just responded to what I was interested in at the moment and I was very unconscious about genre," he said. "I've always just followed my nose, for better or for worse, sometimes for worse. What's best and what's worst [about the industry] are almost the same to me," he added. "Because what's worst is you get pigeonholed and what's best is I haven't been. It means that I'm still making movies, despite hopping all over the place." Foley's survivors include his brother Kevin, sisters Eileen and Jo Ann, and nephew Quinn, according to several reports. He was preceded in death by his other brother Gerard. Sign up for Indie Focus, a weekly newsletter about movies and what's going on in the wild world of cinema. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
James Foley, filmmaker who directed Madonna music videos and ‘Fifty Shades' sequels, dies at 71
Filmmaker James Foley, whose directing career spanned music videos, television and film, with stars including Madonna, Al Pacino and Bruce Dern, has died. Florent Lamy, a representative for Foley, confirmed the Brooklyn-born director's death to The Times on Thursday. Lamy did not provide a cause of death, but according to media outlets including the Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker had been battling brain cancer. Foley was 71. 'James Foley was not only a talented director but also a dear friend,' Lamy told The Times. 'He was one of my very first clients, and over time, he became someone very special in my life.' Foley's diverse directing career — which notably included films 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' 'At Close Range' and the 'Fifty Shades' sequels — began in the mid-1980s. The 1984 film 'Reckless' marked his directorial debut and gave him the opportunity to work alongside actors Daryl Hannah and Aidan Quinn and prolific producer-filmmaker Chris Columbus. In the following years, Foley directed films — including 1986's 'At Close Range' (featuring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken) and 1990's 'After Dark, My Sweet' (starring Dern) — as well as music videos and other visuals for Madonna, who was en route to global pop stardom at the time. From 1985 to 1990, Foley directed music videos for Madge's 'Dress You Up' and 'True Blue.' He directed both her music video 'Who's That Girl?' and her 1987 comedy of the same name. Foley also directed music videos for rock band Deep Purple and Marky Mark, actor Mark Wahlberg's former rap persona. He would later reunite with Wahlberg for the 1996 thriller 'Fear' and 1999's 'The Corruptor,' with Chow Yun-Fat. In 1992, Foley directed the film adaptation of playwright David Mamet's 'Glengarry Glen Ross.' One of Foley's most popular works, the adaptation featured a star-studded cast of Pacino, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey and Jonathan Pryce. Pacino received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his work on the dark comedy. Foley's final film credits, 'Fifty Shades Darker' and 'Fifty Shades Freed,' also were among his popular works. Foley took over the film franchise, based on E.L. James' erotic novels, after 'Fifty Shades of Grey' director Sam Taylor-Johnson departed over reported disputes with the author, who was also a producer. The 'Fifty Shades' films starred Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. Foley also directed episodes for series 'Twin Peaks,' 'Hannibal,' 'House of Cards' (which reunited him with Spacey) and 'Billions,' among other shows. In a 2017 interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Foley said he embraced the variety of his decades-long career. 'I've had a very fluid career of ups and downs and lefts and rights, and I always just responded to what I was interested in at the moment and I was very unconscious about genre,' he said. 'I've always just followed my nose, for better or for worse, sometimes for worse. What's best and what's worst [about the industry] are almost the same to me,' he added. 'Because what's worst is you get pigeonholed and what's best is I haven't been. It means that I'm still making movies, despite hopping all over the place.' Foley's survivors include his brother Kevin, sisters Eileen and Jo Ann, and nephew Quinn, according to several reports. He was preceded in death by his other brother Gerard.
