Latest news with #Marquee
The Herald Scotland
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
This Scottish rock trio shared a dressing room with Hendrix
The band's two Sunday shows there, on the evening of May 7, 1967, saw Hendrix, who had already tasted UK Top Ten chart success with Hey Joe and Purple Haze, assaulting his amplifier with his guitar while, out of sight of the cheering audience, a diminutive roadie struggled to keep the speakers upright. Sharing the bill – and Jimi's dressing-room – that night was a powerhouse trio from Scotland, called 1-2-3. They consisted of Billy Ritchie on Hammond organ and guitar, Harry Hughes on drums, and Ian Ellis on bass guitar. Ritchie and Hughes were just 20, Ellis a year older. For a band that had made its debut at Falkirk's La Bamba only the previous November, 1-2-3 had made stunning progress. In London, they had impressed the manager of the Marquee venue after playing a mere half of one song at an audition. The venue's newsletter remarked that the band had created 'an entirely new sound in 'pop group music''. Jimi Hendrix was supported by 1-2-3 in 1967 (Image: PA) Their subsequent residency at the Marquee was a series of riotous affairs, with half of the audience loving them and the other half taking an active dislike. Fellow musicians such as Greg Lake, Robert Fripp and Keith Emerson watched them play, however, and were impressed. Epstein was, too, to the point that he signed them to his NEMS Enterprises management company. The Saville Theatre gigs in May 1967, then, were another step forward for 1-2-3. The concert programme (copies of which are for sale online at eyebrow-raising prices) noted that they had a wide-ranging repertoire dominated by standards arranged in modern jazz style" and that NEMS would shortly be releasing plans for a debut album release). Not everyone shared such upbeat assessments of 1-2-3, however. Derek Boltwood, a writer on the Record Mirror music weekly, wrote in a review: 'It seems to be all the rage for groups to have a line-up of only three people. There were two such groups at the Saville last week — The 1-2-3, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience — the 1-2-3 should take a lesson from Jimi Hendrix — you've got to be very good musicians if there are only three of you to make the sound'. Someone who took umbrage at this was a young man named David Bowie, who was about to release his debut album. He had been friends with Billy for a while, having heard their adventurous version of one of his earliest songs, I Dig Everything. And it was Billy who introduced him to Hendrix at the Saville. Not long after Boltwood's review appeared, Bowie bumped into the band at the Marquee and told them that he had written an indignant reply to Record Mirror. His letter spoke of 'three thistle- and haggis-voiced bairns who had the audacity to face a mob of self-opinionated with a brand of unique pop music which, because of its intolerance of mediocrity, floated as would a Hogarth cartoon in the Beano …' The story of 1-2-3 would evolve further – a change of name to Clouds, the release of three albums, and high-profile tours, but for a variety of reasons the trio never received the acclaim their musicianship and ambitions deserved. In later years. however, they have been rediscovered and favourably reassessed. Ellis and Hughes had been in a Bathgate-based group, The Premiers, when they first came across Ritchie, who was already renowned as an expert on the Hohner organ and was capable of playing front and centre rather than on the side of the stage – a decidedly unusual arrangement for the time. At length, the three formed 1-2-3. The first rehearsal, as Billy wrote in his revealing memoir, The ABC of 1-2-3: The True Story, 'was the best musical experience of my life. We all knew we had hit on something special. '1-2-3 was, I believe, one of the finest bands ever to emerge in popular music. It was a tragedy that the band, in that form, never recorded. 1-2-3 wasn't as polished or as powerful as Clouds later became, but what it lacked in experience, it more than made up for in soul and inspiration… Clouds at the 1971 Reading Festival. Photo courtesy of Billy Ritchie (Image: unknown) 'The band', he added, 'was rooted in blues and jazz and pop principles that were not only musical gold dust, but a godsend to all who took from it, and that band would still sound unique today… there really hasn't been a band like 1-2-3 before or since'. A good example of their boundary-stretching work is their version of Paul Simon's song, America, before it had even been released on Simon and Garfunkel's 1968 studio album, Bookends. Rewritten by Billy to include new time signatures 'and as much scope as possible for the three of us to express the song in every way', it showed what the trio were capable of; it was 'Prog before there was such a thing' They also reworked a very early Bowie song, I Dig Everything, even dropping a snippet of Bach into the middle section. A recording made at the Marquee can be listened to on YouTube. Epstein certainly liked 1-2-3, but his sudden death at the age of 32 in late August 1967, just a few months after he had signed them, rendered their immediate future uncertain. Impresario Robert Stigwood, who had just merged his own company with NEMS, took control of their career, but his priority was the career of a promising young act, the Bee Gees. His relationship with 1-2-3 did not last long, and the band and NEMS parted company. Soon, however, they came into contact with Terry Ellis, of the Ellis-Wright agency, who became their manager and agent. When Clouds's debut album, The Clouds Scrapbook, was released in August 1969, tracks such as The Carpenter, I'll Go Girl, Scrapbook and Waiter, There's Something in My Soup all played superbly to the band's individual and collective musical gifts. Today, writes Billy, Scrapbook is regarded as a really good album, one that attracted rave reviews at the time; 'it was', he observes, 'a strange mixture of pop songs, muso playing, and flashes of what would become progressive rock. For me, Waiter … is the best piece of work on there, as close to the bridge between Beatles pop and progressive rock as you will ever hear'. Promotional material by Island Records, issued in advance of the album's release, said: "It would be nice if we could just tell people that Clouds are an extraordinarily talented group playing exciting music in a totally original style". However, it continued, "mental barriers are thrown up against anything new and uncategorised and we are forced to be sneaky and use an easily accepted superhype method of attracting attention to Clouds and their album 'Scrapbook' - again, not what one would expect to hear. Clouds have successfully utilised all their talents to present a varied piece off aural entertainment. Presenting something new, which you believe in, is always something of a crusade, although always most rewarding. So watch Clouds tonight, listen to their album and well ... JOIN THE CRUSADE". Clouds on tour, pictured with friends. Photo courtesy of Billy Ritchie (Image: unknown) Clouds now began to enjoy to a new level of public exposure. They gigged around Europe with the Island Records Tour alongside Jethro Tull and Ten Years After (including a memorable gig at the Royal Albert Hall in May 1969), and the Bath Festival of Blues the following month, headlined by Led Zeppelin, The Nice and others. They played prestigious venues in the States, including the Fillmore West in San Francisco, New York's Fillmore East and (alongside the Stooges) Los Angeles' Whisky-a-Go-Go. In Montreal, they shared the bill with Van Morrison and Johnny Winter. Every time, they delivered a storming set that often put other acts in the shade. In June 1970 Billboard magazine, reviewing a gig at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom noted enthusiastically: 'On the basis of its showing here June 5, Clouds will be a giant. The group is a trio from Scotland that drew a standing ovation on the basis of its hard-driving sound that never lets up ... The group is young, talented ..." There was a second Clouds album, Up Above Our Heads (1970), which was issued only in the States, and finally, that same year, Watercolour Days – 'a beautiful piece of rock orchestration with piano, organ, harpsichord, guitars, mouth organ, drums and violins', said Florida's St Petersburg Evening Independent. But Chrysalis – the record label eventually established by Ellis – was, in Billy's telling, more concerned with Jethro Tull, another band on their roster, and made little or no attempt to promote Watercolour Days. Disillusioned, Clouds broke up in October 1971. Discussions continue to this day after the effect that 1-2-3 had on music at the time. Many fans take the view that 'prog' – progressive rock – was influenced at the outset by 1-2-3. As one fan argues on the progarchives site: 'Many British musicians would strongly argue that UK Prog began with Billy Ritchie and his band 1-2-3. Their residency in late '66 and early '67 at the Marquee introduced musicians as diverse as Jon Anderson, Jeff Lynne, Deep Purple, David Bowie and Keith Emerson to the idea of complex orchestrations played in extended works'.
Time Out
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The Edge's skydeck will be throwing huge parties this summer
Just when you thought summer nightlife in New York had peaked, Tao Group Hospitality is taking it way higher. Literally. The legendary nightlife brand behind Marquee is launching Marquee Skydeck, a pop-up party series perched 1,100 feet above Manhattan at Edge, the city's highest indoor/outdoor observation deck. Starting on Saturday, May 31 and running every Friday and Saturday through September, the 21-plus series will feature headlining DJs, sky-high energy and panoramic views more jaw-dropping than current NYC rent prices. If you can't wait for the official launch, an early preview DJ set by Carlita will drop on Friday, May 16. After that, the series kicks off in full force with techno heavyweight Maceo Plex on opening night. And don't worry—this isn't just another rooftop bash with a Bluetooth speaker. Marquee Skydeck is bringing the full sensory experience that the Marquee brand is known for, hosting world-class sound, lights and beats over Hudson Yards. It's not just a flashy party stunt, though; it's also part of a broader Tao Group takeover of Edge's hospitality game. The group already runs the show at Peak, Quin Bar and other concessions at the venue. With Marquee's flagship Chelsea club temporarily closed for a massive renovation until September, the Skydeck series is stepping in to fill the glittery void. 'There's nowhere else in the world where you can party at this altitude, with this view, and with the Marquee energy our guests love,' said Noah Tepperberg, Tao Group's co-CEO, in a release. The Edge, already famous for its glass floors and 360-degree views, has hosted music videos and album drops—but this is its first foray into full-scale nightlife. And according to Hudson Yards' Andrew Lustgarten, 'You haven't seen it all until you've seen how Edge does nightlife.'
Irish Examiner
07-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Cork Luas could get stuck in traffic, slowing journey times
Last month marked a significant milestone for the future development of Cork City with the publication of the proposed Cork Luas project. It will be the first light rail project in the city since the closure of the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway in 1934. The new light rail line will connect Mahon Point in the east of the city to Ballincollig in the west, stopping off at Kent Station and Patrick Street en route. It forms part of a forward-thinking vision for transport in Cork City set out in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy 2040 and which includes the Bus Connects project. What initially leaps out about the preferred route is how successfully it links many of the leisure, recreation and sporting facilities in the city - Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Marina Park, the Marquee, Páirc Uí Rinn, the Mardyke, MTU Sports Grounds, Mahon Golf Club, etc. - as well as linking to several schools and both universities. It moves this proposal beyond a purely peak-time commuter service and towards a much broader transport solution for the city which should deliver significant reductions in car-dependency and make the city more accessible for all. With tram stops on Washington Street, Patrick Street and MacCurtain Street, the Luas will bring people right into the heart of the city without the worry (or the cost) of trying to find parking. A tram stop on Main Street in Ballincollig offers an opportunity to further enhance the public realm there so that the town feels more like a destination and less like a thoroughfare. The route links in with the proposed Bus Connects Network so it can also help to improve access to areas within the city not served directly by the Luas such as Blackpool, Douglas and the Apple campus in Hollyhill. Cork is forecast to be the fastest growing city in Ireland in the coming decades and it is essential that it has a transport system capable of accommodating that growth. Put simply, we're going to need to move a lot more people, more frequently. To do that within the fabric of the existing city means a shift to more efficient modes of transport. Without that shift we would be condemning the city to ever increasing congestion as more and more cars fill up the limited road space. Reliability But any public transport system will only be successful if it offers a frequent, reliable and efficient service when compared to the private car. This doesn't just mean shorter journey times. What really makes a public transport system successful is reliability – will the tram or bus be there when I want it, and will it get me to where I want to be in a predictable journey time. To achieve this, you need to ensure that the public transport service has priority over other modes of transport so that it doesn't get stuck in the same congestion as every other road user. Whether the current design for the route can achieve that is not a given. What is proposed in Cork is different in one quite significant way to what has been built in Dublin. The extent to which the rail line will share road surface with buses and, in several sections of the route, with private cars is much higher than is the case with the Dublin Luas network. This doesn't just impact on journey times due to slower tram speeds, it also risks impacting on reliability unless other measures are put in place to limit congestion risks through strict traffic management. Design questions There will be different opinions on various aspects of the design. Would it make more sense for it to extend into the western suburbs of Ballincollig towards the Dell plant? Should it run to the north of Páirc Uí Caoimh and follow the old Blackrock and Passage Railway alignment rather than winding its way through Maryville and Churchyard Lane? Should the crossing of the Killumney East Roundabout be a bridge? The public consultation process currently under way - it finishes on Friday - will no doubt bring out many more issues, but these questions should not be used as an argument against the project but rather should be seen as an opportunity to improve it. Transport Infrastructure Ireland and its consultants have carried out a complex and extensive analysis to arrive at the proposed route, but this shouldn't mean it is cast in stone. A meaningful public consultation process which draws on the local knowledge of people living and working in Cork should inform improvements to the design and move it towards a project that all can feel invested in and be proud of. With a bit of luck, and with the support of the people of Cork, we might see a light railway running down Western Road again in time for the centenary of the closure of the Muskerry Tram. Ciaran Ferrie is an architect interested in urban planning and sustainable design Read More Why Cork needs transport plans that benefit the whole city — not just one side of the Lee
Hans India
06-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
SRM-AP conferred with placement excellence award
Amaravati: SRM University-AP has been conferred with the prestigious title of 'One of the Best Universities with Excellent Placement of the Year – India' at the World Education Summit 2025, hosted by Asia Today Media. The accolade comes as recognition of the university's outstanding placement performance in the academic year 2023–24. Adding to its global footprint, 65 students received international offers from Australia, Canada, Japan, Sweden, and the USA. With the highest salary package of Rs 55 lakh per annum (LPA) and an overall average of Rs 9.38 LPA, SRM-AP continues to set benchmarks in graduate employability. Students from the Computer Science and Engineering stream averaged Rs 10.6 LPA, while programmes such as B Com, BBA, MBA, and M Tech saw top offers touching Rs 31 LPA and averages of Rs 7.5 LPA. Notably, 67 percent of the graduating cohort secured Marquee (Rs 20+ LPA), Super Dream (Rs 10+ LPA), and Dream (Rs 5+ LPA) offers. Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Union Minister of State of Jal Shakti, Nilesh Ronil Kumar, Consular, High Commission of the Republic of Fiji and Mohan Singh Bisht, Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly were present at the award ceremony at Delhi. Director (Corporate Relations and Career Services) Dr MS Vivekanandan received the award on the university's behalf. Vice-Chancellor Prof Manoj K Arora and Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Ch Satish Kumar congratulated the relentless pursuit of the varsity in striving towards this accomplishment.
The Herald Scotland
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
'Scotland's great lost rock star' looks back at his band's debut album
It's always interesting to ask musicians how they feel about their debut albums - albums that, in some cases, might be a few decades old. Goodbye Mr Mackenzie's excellent introduction, Good Deeds and Dirty Rags, is a case in point. Released in April 1989, within weeks of such landmark albums as Pixies' Doolittle and The Cure's Disintegration, it sounds as fresh and captivating today as it did back then. It sprinted into the UK charts at number 26, contained some of the Edinburgh band's strongest material, and led to eventful tours of the UK and Europe. Live, too, they were a formidable proposition, one guaranteed to get the audience up on its feet. One review of a London Marquee gig, in 1989, begins: 'What an extraordinary bunch these Mackenzies are! If they ever become famous enough to have a cartoon series or soap opera written about them, the scriptwriters will have a field day'. Many fans of the group have fond memories of the debut and of such songs as The Rattler, Open Your Arms, Goodwill City, and Face to Face, all of which charted. When, a few months ago, the question was asked on Facebook, what's your favourite Goodbye Mr Mackenzie song?, many opted for them. 'Face to Face', said one. 'First time I heard it, have to admit brought a tear to my eye and ever since'. Wrote another: 'Now We Are Married [from the follow-up album, Hammer and Tongs] was the first song at our wedding, but I need to go with Goodwill City. Don't tell the missus'. Does Martin Metcalfe, the band's charismatic singer, feel that the album has aged really well? 'I don't think I'm the person to ask', he demurred earlier this week. 'There are fans who still love it, so it hasn't dated for them, and that's great, but it's not something I can stand back from and say, that was a timeless piece of work or whatever. Certainly, it has stood the test of time, because it keeps getting played on national radio, so I suppose it must have some kind of timeless element to it'. It was, however, something of a turning-point for the group. In a 2019 interview with Narc magazine, Martin did acknowledge that the album had been a 'defining life moment' for him: 'In those days any musician who managed to have a proper album released felt they'd arrived in one way or another. The fact that it went top 30 was yet another life landmark and I suppose would have cemented the 'arrived' metaphor if we'd managed to keep performing at that level'. Goodbye Mr Mackenzie - Martin, 'Big John' Duncan (formerly of the punk group, The Exploited, on guitar, Fin Wilson on bass, Derek Kelly on drums, and Shirley Manson and Rona Scobie on keyboards and backing vocals - were formed in Bathgate, and emerged into a thriving music scene in the capital. 'For lads coming from Bathgate and immersing ourselves in that [Edinburgh] environment, it was actually great', Martin says. 'It was an era when things were really opening up in Scotland, and Edinburgh anyway. 'I know that Glasgow had the advantage over Edinburgh regarding venues, possibly because of the size of the city. But the great thing about those days was that student unions had funding: in Edinburgh you had gigs at Telford College, Napier College, Teviot Row, and Queen Margaret College in Corstorphine. 'You had gigs in Chambers Street in Edinburgh - a huge building that had three floors, maybe four, and on three of those you could stage gigs. Also, you had Potterrow, which was a real centre of young bands. Ents committees wanted to bring local bands in and had a desire to attach themselves to local musicians. 'That college circuit in the UK, which lasted into the Mackenzie's big period, was a genuine support. They had budgets to pay bands a reasonable amount of money. That is something that hasn't happened for a few decades now. 'On top of all of that you had The Venue, on Carlton Road, where bands like Suede kicked off … then along came La Sorbonne [in the Cowgate], which was a fantastic place for bands'. Read more: The band toured widely. In Glasgow, there were gigs at the famed Barrowland venue, in 1987 (supporting the Blow Monkeys), in 1988 (supporting Aztec Camera) and headlining in 1989). Asked how Goodbye Mr Mackenzie's distinctive sound evolved, Martin responds: 'It really came out of post-punk. When punk came along it was like an adrenaline rush, an explosion, but as Steven Severin [bass guitarist with Siouxsie and the Banshees] said, it wasn't that different in a lot of ways from pub rock and rock'n'roll'. He marvels now that, looking back, the Banshees managed to influenced much of the post-punk movement without having released a record, having won invaluable exposure from John Peel sessions in 1977 and 1978. They and other unsigned, groundbreaking acts broadcast by Peel were picked up by numerous other groups across Britain, who absorbed the sound and altered their own musical style. 'Initially, Goodbye Mr Mackenzie wanted to play this punk music but by the time we were starting to play, and were a little bit older, post-punk had taken over. The bands we were listening to, and loving, were Magazine, the Banshees, the Skids, the Scars and other bands like that. And then Joy Division came along …' Good Deeds and Dirty Rags was released on the Capitol label. Listening to it afresh after 36 years is to release the truth of something that Vic Galloway wrote in 2018 - that they 'blended the feral nature of punk, arty intelligence and effortless pop melodies'. It's a well-crafted album, intelligently written. The Rattler remains, perhaps, their best-known song, a perennial audience favourite. In 1986 they performed it on the TV music show, The Tube. That same night, when they played the Hoochie Coochie in Edinburgh, the venue was rammed because everybody had seen them on The Tube. Speaking to Billy Sloan for the Herald in 2021, Martin discussed the song and some of the influences hat went into it: 'We were completely taken aback when [The Rattler] took on a life of its own. I look at Bowie and wonder why his work was such genius. I think he just sucked in information from so many different sources. In the art world you'd call it research. 'I love Iggy Pop, New Order, The Cocteau Twins and Talking Heads. All had direct input into what we were doing. I'd also seen a documentary about Woody Guthrie where he travelled from town-to-town on trains spreading a socialist message, and got up to no good while he was doing it. 'So that had an effect on the song too. It could have been about a rattlesnake but it could also have been a Freudian symbol for sex … a train going into a tunnel. [Scots poet William] McGonagall wrote a poem called The Rattling Boy From Dublin – which is absolutely hysterical – so it's in there too.' Another song on the album, Face to Face, is a provocative piece about a female hitchhiker who was repeatedly raped in a pub, only to see her attackers being acquitted in court on the grounds that she had been 'asking for it' because of the way she was dressed. Yet another track, Goodwill City, is about the Aids crisis that afflicted Edinburgh in the Eighties. 'I had a couple of friends round about that time who affected by Aids', Martin says. 'That was quite a powerful moment in time, quite a landmark affecting a small part of the Eighties. I've got a friend who is an Aids survivor from that period. He's still alive, which is amazing'. Read more On the Record: About the album as a whole, he is philosophical. 'The thing about artists is, not many of them can ever look back at their own work and think, that was great, that was perfect. The word 'perfect' never comes into it. 'Most bands hate the song that they're weighed down by - their albatross, the song that everyone shouts for, the one that everyone films on their phone and ends up on YouTube a million times. But I like listening to The Rattler. And I think it's a really good record'. Unfortunately, Goodbye Mr Mackenzie would go on to be plagued by record company indecision and internal politics. Though there were three further, very fine, albums - Hammer and Tongs (1991), Five (1994), and The Glory Hole (1996) - the band came to an end, with a final live gig at Glasgow's The Garage in late 1995, after Manson and Duncan had departed. Along the way, band members had created a side-project, Angelfish, whose well-received 1994 album was produced by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads. As for Martin, his later projects have included the acclaimed Filthy Tongues, alongside his old Goodbye Mr Mackenzie bandmates, Derek Kelly and Fin Wilson. Profiling the Filthy Tongues in 2005, the Herald's David Belcher had this to say: 'Martin Metcalfe may be Scotland's great lost rock star. Blessed with the stature to look lanky Nick Cave straight in the eye, a dark rich baritone and the songs to match, in the 1980s and 1990s it seemed he could only pout it all away. Fate conspired to take matters out of his and Goodbye Mr Mackenzie's hands, thanks to eccentric management, and the emergence of Shirley Manson as one of the pop music icons of recent time'. During that Herald interview Martin looked back on his days as such a distinctive frontman with Goodbye Mr Mackenzie. "All that rock star stuff is just acting', he said, 'as Bowie explained with Ziggy Stardust. I used to think people like John Lydon were more real than that, but I remember reading something one of his friends said about him just pursuing the theatre of rage, just basing his character on Richard III and things like that. But I think I did an okay job of playing a rock star'. And of his old band itself he declared: "We were like a family because there were girls and boys in the band, it wasn't your average lads' band, going off and getting trashed and hanging out with women. On tour we were our own unit, we didn't need anybody else, but included our crew in that because we had a special relationship with them as well. Even though we were all quite dysfunctional people, as a band we were quite a functional unit.' Goodbye Mr Mackenzie has had a legacy. In 2007, when Vic Galloway challenged his radio listeners to name the top 50 Scottish bands of all time, they came in at number 31, ahead of Blue Nile, the Cocteau Twins and the Skids. And The List magazine once observed that they 'left behind the most complex and fascinating footprint of any Scottish band'. In 2019 Goodbye Mr Mackenzie hit the road again, to mark the 30th anniversary of the debut album. As he told the Herald's Barry Didcock at the time: 'It happened by accident. Me, trying to make a crust, had decided to try to do the album in its entirety as a solo gig. But the response I got was so incredible that I thought I can't do this without at least asking if Fin and Kelly want to do it.' In that interview with Narc magazine mentioned above, he declared: 'To be perfectly honest, I wasn't excited about revisiting the whole album as we've moved on from 80's subversive pop/rock and as a creative person it's hard not to be critical of your own work but in the end, we realised that (most of) the songs were really well crafted. 'There aren't many moments live where I think this part of the song doesn't work or that part goes on too long. I think we had a solid grasp of song arrangement back then, so in many ways, I'm proud of how we pulled it together'. He has every right to be proud. And the band are still active, still touring, still looking and sounding great on stage. Their forthcoming gig at Glasgow's Oran Mor on July 11 should be something else.
