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Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
EKKSTACY Gets Candid About Substance Abuse, His New Relationship & Going for a ‘Full Band' Sound on ‘FOREVER' Album
'Forever,' Prince famously declared in the pastor-like open to his carpe diem chart-topper 'Let's Go Crazy' – 'that's a mighty long time.' 'Live now,' the Purple One urged us in song, 'before the Grim Reaper comes knocking on your door.' FOREVER is also the name of the fourth project and third studio album from EKKSTACY, the Canadian alt/indie musician who knows a little something about getting crazy and living like there's no tomorrow. Yet on the new LP, out Friday (May 16), he's entered a new chapter: fundamentally changing his recording process, embracing a new band-centric sound and turning out his most energized and confident work to date. More from Billboard Andy Bell Confirms His Place in Reunited Oasis Lineup Snoop Dogg Drops 'Iz It a Crime' Album Featuring Sexyy Red, Wiz Khalifa & Pharrell: Stream It Now The Lemonheads Preview First Original Album in 19 Years With New Single, 'Deep End' 'I wish I could have stayed there longer,' EKKSTACY – born Khyree Zienty, but known to friends and fans as Stacy – says over Zoom from Vancouver. He's talking about Mexico, where he and his girlfriend have just spent a long weekend to celebrate his 23rd birthday and recharge for what should be a big year ahead. Now he's back home, about to go to Los Angeles to shoot a fifth music video from the LP, and ready to talk about a record that he had 'so much fun' making, with a lot of the credit going to his new producer, Andrew Wells. 'I love that fool,' Stacy says of Wells, whose impressive writing and production CV includes Fall Out Boy, ROSÉ, Meghan Trainor, 5SOS and Halsey. 'We just clicked. Our first session we did two songs, full songs, first day we met. I was like, 'Alright we just gotta do it with him.'' The two met before EKKSTACY and his band went out on a two-month tour last fall, Stacy having written and recorded acoustic demos for most of the songs. FOREVER was done when he returned from tour, in short order. 'With Wells, it was so easy,' he recalls. 'Andrew is just so good at producing. We'd be finishing the songs in like an hour, hour and 20 minutes. It would be done.' That hit-it-and-quit-it energy is felt throughout FOREVER, and it is in marked contrast to the way EKKSTACY used to craft records. Through his come-up — including the 2021 aura-defining EP NEGATIVE and its breakout single, 'I walk this earth all by myself,' followed by his debut album, 2022's misery — Stacy's music mirrored that of some of his early influences. 'I used to listen to a lot of Current Joys and programmed, like Linn drums and lo-fi guitars, sh-t like that.' Comparisons to bedroom pop acts with a surf bent, like Surf Curse, Current Joys and The Drums, were inevitable; Stacy even collaborated with The Drums' Jonny Pierce on a 2021 single. 'But then I got into a lot of emo,' he says. 'I got into Remo Drive, and blink, and then a lot of Nirvana. I got to the point where I was, 'Okay, I can't make this anymore. I have to do something else.' I was tired of the computer-indie sound, you know? I wanted to go full band.' Stacy says he'd already reached the point of burnout on his old sound by the time he made his last record, 2024's self-titled EKKSTACY. While it arguably won him more mainstream attention than ever, due in part to features from The Kid LAROI and Trippie Redd, he recalls that album as going through the motions. 'By then I was inspired by other stuff. And I just didn't think I had the tools to just do what I wanted really, so I just stuck to what I knew, and I was tired of that. It was kind of just beating a dead horse. I had really done everything I could do in that space, but I just had to make a whole 'nother f–king album of it. And I was just like, 'This f–king sucks, dude. F–k this.'' He doesn't mince words. I talk to a lot of young artists who, perhaps understandably in this age, are guarded in conversation. Not so Stacy, who lets it rip with very little filter, on everything from music to drinking and drugs to girls to – you name it. He has no qualms telling me, a decades-long New Yorker, that he 'hates' our city, having spent some time here last year, before quickly adding, 'It's just not for me, I'm not built for it.' He dismisses his first full-band recording, last year's one-off single 'Mr. Mole,' with, 'Sh-t's ass, I f–king despise that song.' And when I point out that he's never done the most high-profile tracks from the EKKSTACY LP on tour – 'alright' (with LAROI), 'problems' (with Trippie), and the uncommonly sunny, buoyant 'bella' – he bluntly replies: 'Yeah, and they never will be. I don't like those songs. They're just so – cringe-y, to me.' Fair enough. But back to what Stacy does like and is proud of. FOREVER offers the most thrilling one-two punch opening of any EKKSTACYrecord: the power-pop explosiveness of opener 'if I had a gun' reminds me of a sped-up take on the old INXS chestnut 'Don't Change,' and its energy would no doubt be approved by the Paulson brothers of Stacy faves Remo Drive. It's followed by 'forever,' on which another of his heroes, blood-pumping Canadian countrymen Japandroids' influence can be heard in a rousing, shouted, 'Hey! Hey!' Later, the album's standout rawker 'she will be missed' offers a frenetic stop-start feel that isn't far afield from blink-182, who EKKSTACY opened for last summer, a career moment. But there's more than just one flavor to FOREVER. There are gentle acoustics on 'messages' and 'one day I'll wake up from this.' 'wonder' serves up gauzy Beach House feels (Stacy is an unabashed fan of '00s and '10s indie) while 'shoulders' — a C86-styled track that opens, 'It's summertime / You made it out / Soon I'll be ashes / In the ground' — might earn a Morrissey thumbs up. There are two forays into shoegaze-adjecency: the dreamier 'head in the clouds' and 'stain,' maybe EKKSTACY's heaviest track to date. 'Yeah, I really love My Bloody Valentine,' he explains. 'I was just listening to them a lot when I was in Poland. I've always loved that sound and so I just wanted to see what I could do with it.' Other benchmarks for Stacy on the new LP include more guitar playing than ever. He shares guitar credit on some tracks with his bandmate and right-hand man in live shows, Erez Potok-Holmes, but he has sole guitar credit on most songs. He's also using his voice like never before. While he is blessed (and cursed, maybe) with a sweet, melodic timbre that will never allow him to be truly screamo, on songs like 'she will be missed,' he pushed himself with Wells' help. 'I wanted to really sing,' he says. 'On my older records I'm not singing as hard as I can, and I'm really maxing my sh-t on this album. I'm at the top of my range a lot, but in a good place, where I'm really projecting.' What hasn't changed throughout EKKSTACY's musical eras has been the angst. He was a SoundCloud rap-era teen, an acolyte of XXXTentacion and Lil Peep; the faded emo trap of his early single, 2020's 'Uncomparable,' wouldn't sound out of place next to Juice WRLD. When Stacy turned a sonic corner and leaned into lo-fi indie, then came the real gloom with titles like 'it only gets worse I promise' and 'christian death' (a fan favorite). His brand was equal parts self-deprecation ('I just wanna hide my face'), melancholy and worse ('wish I was dead' 'I want to sleep for 1000 years' and 'I want to die in your arms'). If angst was your thing, and for millions it is, EKKSTACY was your man. The disaffection is tempered a bit on the new album, but still presents throughout: 'What's wrong with my head / How long can I take it' he wonders on 'what's wrong with me'; 'I'm so sick /I'm so tired of everything' on 'one day I'll wake up from this'; and 'can't put the bottle down' on 'stain.' On the wiry, propulsive post-punk of 'sadness,' Stacy's entire lyric is a recitation of generally not-good things: 'Drinks, pills, nicotine chills, death, sadness and fear.' 'I was just kind of describing my thoughts, and everything that's around me,' he says of the compact song. Stacy's candor about his drinking and drug use is refreshing. I am no expert on addiction, but I believe I am safe in saying that, in general, honesty is the best policy, and the artist makes no bones about his penchant for hard partying, mostly with alcohol but with no shortage of pills and powder. 'My thing is – I'm an alcoholic,' he admits. 'It's just straight-up, I am. I am an alcoholic and I'm functioning. Sometimes it gets really bad and there's been times when it's like, I can't function, and I go into psychosis, and I start doing really crazy sh-t. And then sometimes it's like I'm fine, and I just drink every f–king day, but…if I could shake that? If I could snap my fingers and not drink anymore, I would. But – I don't know – the thing about drinking for me is that I just have so much time on my hands. And I have nothing to do really, so it just creeps up every day. I'm like, 'Well, sh-t, I guess I'm gonna drink this bottle of vodka that's on my f–king counter! [laughs] I don't have sh-t to do tomorrow!'' And, of course, there's the road, which has tested the most disciplined of sober souls. Time and again it has roped Stacy back into wild living, nowhere more so than in Germany, where he enjoys an outsize popularity and has toured extensively. 'I can't explain it, but I love it there!' he says. 'I feel like a god there [laughs] – I mean, no, I'm just f–king around, but I just love it.' Godlike treatment often means getting offered a lot of things that can be hard to turn down. 'I did [coke] hardcore for like a week in Germany,' he recalls. 'And for me, coke is like – I liked it, but I didn't love it as much as people say they do. I'm a really anxious dude. Like really bad, I've always been like super anxious. So I would wake up and just be almost on the verge of psychosis, every morning. So once I ran out of Xanax, I really couldn't do coke.' (We commiserate on the wonders of Xanax, and why it's the wildly popular – and widely abused – drug that it is.) But Stacy's most recent visit to Deutschland may have been a breaking point. 'I was just doing a lot of drugs and partying really hard,' he says. 'And when I got home from it, it kind of transferred to me in Vancouver, like I was doing drugs at the club and sh-t, and I was just like, 'Dude, I can't do this.' I remember I woke up one morning after doing a lot of coke, and I was just sweating and f–king freaking out in my bed. I opened all the windows in my house and laid in front of the window for like two hours, and I was having such a bad panic attack. 'Cause I was on a bender for like a month.' Stacy offers even more detail on his use of the anti-seizure medication Klonopin, along with a ton of alcohol ('I was going f–king mental. For like, a good month.') before getting around to how he moved past this dark period. It happened during his Vancouver panic attack. 'I called the girl I'm dating now,' he remembers. 'I'd talked to her for like year, before we even met. I called her that morning, when I was losing my sh-t. I had really liked her for a long time, but I had never met her, 'cause she was hesitant to come meet me. She's pretty shy, and she's just smart.' During our talk, he mentions a Russian girl he used to crush on, who inspired him to get the Cyrillic любовь ('lyubov' or 'love') tattoo splayed across his chest – just one piece in a mural of ink that covers much of his body. Another woman, a fellow musician he declines to name, was dating Stacy in the early days of FOREVER, and helped him find his songwriting mojo. 'She's an incredible writer,' he explains. 'And at the beginning of the record, I was kind of like, 'F–k, like what the f–k do I write?' Watching her write, it blew my mind. And helped me write a lot of songs. She would talk to me about writing. She'd say, 'You take it so serious! You just gotta write.'' But no one has impacted his personal trajectory quite like his current girlfriend. 'I called her that morning and I talked to her on the phone for hours and hours, and I was just like, 'I need to meet this person, dude.' So I don't know, I just kind of threw the drugs away that morning. I still had some problems with pills for like a few months after that, but the hard sh-t I stopped.' It's been a wild ride. Is it any wonder that at times on FOREVER, Stacy longs for a less complicated time? On 'seventeen' he looks back six years to a more carefree point in his life, singing, 'I'm not who I used to be / And I hardly know this new me…I kinda miss being 17.' He echoes the sentiment on thoughtful closer 'keep my head down': 'I was young once / I miss it so much / Where did that go?' Simpler days. 'Everyone was just happier,' he explains. 'No one had jobs, and we were just kids, doing everything for the first time. The best day ever back then was all of us sleeping at one of our homies' houses and getting hammered. And that was literally just peak life. And going skating.' At only 23, he says he doesn't feel 'old' as much as just 'jaded,' and weary of the nonstop bacchanal. 'I've just seen – so much has happened – I don't even know what else I can feel,' he says. 'I feel like I've just done enough partying, bro. Like, I feel like I'm ready to just be with one person. And this person I met is honestly like the most incredible person I've ever met.' As for the year ahead, FOREVER feels like a record built to give EKKSTACY his most high-powered live show to date. Joining Stacy and Potok-Holmes on his upcoming summer tour will be two new band members, bassist and fellow Vancouverite Hannah Kruse, and drummer Sean Friday (Dead Sara), though he says they just may be 'temporary.' And just possibly, Stacy won some new fans last year when he joined $UICIDEBOY$' annual Grey Day arena tour, sharing a bill with the New Orleans punk-rap mainstays, as well as the acclaimed hip-hop adventurer Denzel Curry and others. It was a good look for an artist hoping to expand his audience, even if he had to warm to the experience. 'At first I felt like I was such an outsider, that it was like, 'What the f–k am I doing? No one f–king wants me here?'' he recalls. 'But then we slowly started socializing with everyone, and it was sick, it felt like a little f–king society in there. And it was fun, after I started meeting fools, it was really nice. I made some really good friends.' All that talk of psychoses, blackouts, anxiety and booze-and-drug benders has led more than a few observers in the past to worry about EKKSTACY's health and future. But he's quick to point out that he's always been knee-deep in sad songs. As open as he is about his stresses and the potential pitfalls of self-medication, he's equally quick to tamp down reading too much into depressive lyrics, and put off by the idea of commodifying mental health as a talking point. Not every tortured musical poet is necessarily going through it 24/7, nor considering self-harm – even an artist who once recorded 'wish i was dead.' 'I'm just like – bruh, I was just a kid, talking like that,' he says. 'I was just a kid, 18, 19. My brother is 19 now and I look at that fool like he's a child. I just want people to f–king feel me. I want them to know that I'm just hanging out, and that I'm just normal. That I get f–ked up and hang out with my friends, and skateboard, and live normal as f–k. And I still stress about the same sh-t that everyone else stresses about.' That said, FOREVER does feel like a marginally more hopeful record than Stacy's past work. Even if some of the new record lingers on the past, its very title – also the name of Stacy's upcoming tour — seems to anticipate many days to come. It's certainly more forward-looking than NEGATIVE or misery. On the moving final track, 'keep my head down,' he offers, 'I won't stop saying that things will be better soon / Put my head out the window I don't have time to be blue.' When I observe that the lyrics suggest he may be in a better place, Stacy, true to his no-BS self, quickly retorts: 'I don't think I am in a better place. I think I am calmer, but I'm still f–king scared. But I'm definitely more mature, and just chilled out, than I have been in the past. But I'm still nervous.' Nervous, but apparently in a great creative place – he says he is eager to work on another album – and in a relationship unilke any he's been in. He's even contemplating becoming a dad. 'It's on my mind,' he admits. 'I want to get married and have a kid.' So yeah, Prince, 'forever' is a mighty long time. Maybe, like EKKSTACY, we just take forever day by day. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
CBS News
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Paisley Park honors Prince 9 years after death with ceremony, concert screening
Monday marked nine years since the death of Minnesota superstar Prince , and his former home and recording studio honored the occasion by inviting fans for a day of remembrance. The two-part event, dubbed A Day 2 Remember | A Night 2 Reflect, started at 10 a.m. at Paisley Park in Chanhassen. The public was invited inside to create an origami dove and add a message to it. At 4:21 p.m., there was a candle lighting for Prince, who was found dead inside the complex on April 21, 2016. The ceremony was livestreamed online for those who couldn't make it to Paisley Park. On Monday night, Prince's former home — which now serves as a museum to the Purple One — was scheduled to screen a concert from 2011. "The music is a gateway to discovering who he is," said Dorothy-Inez. Dorothy-Inez and Danielle Gaskins were among those paying their respects at Paisley Park Monday. "I would say around the seventh year of his passing, I kind of felt like this transition from mourning to just remembrance and celebration," said Gaskins, who says she had seen Prince perform live 69 times. Dorothy-Inez says she has been a Prince fan since 1978, and moved to Minneapolis from Los Angeles because of the man himself. "My first experience is camping out the summer of '84. I saw Purple Rain 55 times," said Dorothy-Inez. "I dressed up like Vanity every single time I saw the movie." Fans said Prince was truly a one-of-a-kind artist, the likes of whom may never be seen again. "He told us that, in his music, there will never be another. There will never be another like me," said Dorothy-Inez. "He was the Mozart of our day." Over the weekend, musicians who played with Prince gathered in Hopkins to pay tribute to the late musician . "It's hard to believe it's been nine years [since] he left," said longtime Prince collaborator Dr. Fink ahead of the show. Lawmakers in Minnesota have proposed a bill this session to make Prince's "Purple Rain" one of the state's official songs . Prince, a Minneapolis native, died of a fentanyl overdose at the age of 57.
Black America Web
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
10 Artists Prince Actually Respected (And Even Admired)
Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE On the anniversary of Prince's passing, we're looking back at the rare list of artists the Purple One genuinely showed love to. Prince was a once-in-a-generation creative force who operated on his own frequency. He guarded his art. His privacy. And, his praise…so when he did give it up, it meant something. RELATED: Prince Doc Canceled At Netflix, Estate Will Work With Streamer On Alternative He wasn't afraid to call folks out, go toe-to-toe with the industry, or protect his legacy at all costs. But every now and then, someone would break through that filter. From protégés and collaborators to fellow game-changers, these are the artists who earned Prince's respect, and in some cases, his mentorship. 10 Artists Prince Actually Respected (And Even Admired) was originally published on
CBS News
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Paisley Park to honor Prince 9 years after death with ceremony, concert screening
Monday marks nine years since the death of Minnesota superstar Prince , and his former home and recording studio is honoring the occasion by inviting fans for a day of remembrance. The two-part event, dubbed A Day 2 Remember | A Night 2 Reflect, started at 10 a.m. at Paisley Park in Chanhassen. The public was invited inside to create an origami dove and add a message to it. At 4:21 p.m., there will be a candle lighting for Prince, who was found dead inside the complex on April 21, 2016. For those who can't make it to Paisley Park, the ceremony will be livestreamed online. Monday night, Prince's former home — which now serves as a museum to the Purple One — will screen a concert from 2011. Before the screening, attendees will be invited inside for a tour. The event requires tickets . Over the weekend, musicians who played with Prince gathered in Hopkins to pay tribute to the late musician . "It's hard to believe it's been nine years [since] he left," said longtime Prince collaborator Dr. Fink ahead of the show. Lawmakers in Minnesota have proposed a bill this session to make Prince's "Purple Rain" one of the state's official songs . Prince, a Minneapolis native, died of a fentanyl overdose at the age of 57.
Telegraph
15-04-2025
- General
- Telegraph
The ultimate store cupboard essentials, according to Telegraph readers
Not only are we facing soaring prices on supermarket shelves, but brands we once trusted are beginning to let us down. Take Twiglets, for example. A recent recipe tweak to reduce their salt content has left fans mourning the loss of the snack's signature tang. If it wasn't bad enough that Quality Street ditched its sparkly plastic wrappers and introduced paper tubs, the final nail in the coffin for many has been the decision to change the size and shape of the Purple One and Orange Crunch. Heinz has quietly discontinued its popular Tomato and Lentil Ragù sauce, while Cadbury has been called out for shrinkflation. In January, eagle-eyed shoppers noticed that multipacks of Twirls now contain only three bars instead of four, yet the price remains unchanged. Meanwhile, Nestlé was forced to abandon its new Nesquik milkshake formula after receiving backlash from loyal customers, who likened the new taste to 'vile sludge'. Thankfully, chef and food writer Xanthe Clay has been putting everyday supermarket staples to the test for the past few years, holding brands to account. Each week, she blind tastes a specific household essential to unearth the best value for money. While some of you agree with Xanthe's verdicts, many of you have firm favourites of your own. So we've rounded up your most-loved products, the ones you believe are still worth every penny. From nostalgic favourites to unexpected gems, here's your definitive list of essential must-haves on (nearly) all of your shopping lists. Your store cupboard staples: At a glance Earl Grey Your favourite: Williamson Tea Twinings was once a staple in many Telegraph readers' kitchens, but a subtle recipe change over a decade ago caused many loyal drinkers to look elsewhere. Reader Frances Sutton, 68, a painter from Argyll in Scotland, and a fan for over 50 years, said, 'after they altered something absolutely vital, it was never the same again.' David and Melody Forrest 'have ditched Twinings forever' after drinking it for 40 years too, while Sarah Heywood cannot bear to drink it, describing it as 'tasting of thin, metallic dishwater'. Williamson Tea, on the other hand, seems to be winning over more cups by the day. Andrew Ve, 62, lives in Edinburgh, and his family can't get enough of the stuff, and it seems his local community can't either: 'My wife has been buying Williamson's Earl Grey for years, but our local Waitrose keeps running out of it. Everyone who drinks tea in our house comments on how good it is.' Joy Christopher writes: 'I've had Williamson Earl Grey for years. The others I've tried just have no flavour in comparison.' For Lance Cole, who knows a thing or two about tea after growing long-leafed varieties in Zimbabwe, it's clear: 'I've been consistently disappointed with Twinings tea and tea bags. But Williamson's Earl Grey? That's the real deal with actual bergamot rather than artificial flavourings.' While Gavin Thomas sums why this brand of Earl Grey is so popular perfectly: 'It's easy to imagine yourself in the late afternoon, sitting on an upholstered steamer chair on the upper deck of a paddle steamer cruising gently down the Nile with a bone china cup of Williamson's Earl Grey, with a slice of lemon and a shortcrust biscuit, watching the river bank glide by…' Tinned Tomatoes Your favourite: Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes When Xanthe Clay conducted her blind tasting of chopped tomatoes, many readers were outraged at the omission of Mutti Polpa. Food editor Amber Dalton explained that they weren't included this time around because the focus was on chopped tomatoes, not finely chopped 'polpa' or whole plum tomatoes. 'Mutti will get a look-in then,' she assured us. However, when it came to enhancing your tomato-based dishes, you insisted that you weren't fussed over whether your tomatoes were chopped, plum or polpa, so long as they came with the Mutti label. Several of you wrote in to say how you buy Mutti in bulk, such as reader Luke McCairns, who shared: 'I buy Mutti, they're delicious and make a fantastic pasta sauce of any kind. 'When they're on a deal at Morrisons, I buy tons of them. I always have over 20 cans and bottles of the various varieties stocked up.' David Cain also buys them in 24 packs because 'there just is no competition, especially when it comes to a pizza topping.' Although Mutti might be on the more expensive side in comparison to supermarkets' own-brand varieties, Mark Newman, 64, from Worthing, Sussex, suggests: 'If you buy the tins online, you can get them at 95p a can. I've tried cheaper options, but why spoil a dish for 50p, especially when it comes to pasta dishes.' Mustard Telegraph readers are infatuated with Colman's Mustard, but attest that it must be in the 'sinus opening' powder form and not the 'watered-down' jar. Reader Oliver Tattersall, 44, from Broadstairs in Kent, recalls his first encounter with it: 'I remember being six or seven and mesmerised with the Colman's mustard tin. There was something about the bright yellow tin and lettering that I found pleasing to the eye. 'One day, armed with a tablespoon, and before my Mum could stop me, I managed to take a huge heap of the powder and put it in my mouth. I have always since given the utmost respect to the strength of Colman's.' Many of you share how you use this punchy staple. Don Murray, 60, a gardener who lives in Bishops Stortford, swears by 'a pinch or two in a cheese sauce', while Mr Click prefers the powder form because 'it is more versatile as it can be dusted onto roast potatoes or a beef joint as well as used to make fiery Piccalilli.' Further afield, the loyalty remains strong. Arthur Pewty, 67, a former RAF officer, writes: 'Living in France, it is easy to just accept Moutarde de Dijon as the norm. I do. But for French food. 'However, when roasting beef and eating a 'Brit' meal, Colman's Mustard Powder is unbeatable. Adding the power powder to the outer layer of a rib of beef for a roast is unbeatable. Bon appetit!' Across the med, Andrew Cowles, 47, who works in IT, says: 'We're living in Greece now and mustard is surprisingly popular, but it's pretty mild, somewhere between American and Dijon. 'I ask my family to bring the Coleman's powder over because it's great for making a cheese sauce, baking cheesy breads or doing dry rubs to marinade beef.' Mayonnaise If one is short on time, or eggs, which seem to fly off the shelves these days, many readers shop for the most established brand of mayonnaise: Hellmann's. As one reader puts it, it's popular for a reason. Quite right too. But you won't go near the squeezy bottles. Kay Polak loves mayonnaise and has tried many varieties, but 'the only one I go back to is Hellmann's original – in a jar – for it's eggy, fresh and fluffy consistency'. She continues: 'Squeezy bottles are useless and make it runnier, you lose a good tablespoon at least.' Meanwhile, an anonymous reader questions our taste tester's ranking. 'I struggle to see how Hellmann's only scored a three [out of five]. It's popular for a reason.' However, the reader remains open-minded: 'Or am I missing out? Only a trip to Aldi will tell.' For some readers, it's homemade mayo or no mayo. Gary Nuttall says: 'It takes about five minutes with a mason jar and a stick blender. Just ensure the egg is fresh.' He too abhors the squeezy bottles of mayo, which 'taste poorer to screw tops.' Here, Mr Nuttall shares his own recipe: Sardines Your favourite: Waitrose Sardine All'Olio Sardines tend to divide a table – people either love them or hate them. For most of you, they're an absolute favourite. James Walker, 43, from Manchester, writes: 'The only good thing David Cameron did for us was leave us with a decent sardine recipe. 'I like mine with a squeeze of tomato paste, some mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcester sauce and Tabasco on toast.' Many of you expressed your disagreement with Xanthe's one-star rating of Waitrose's Sardine All'Olio, including Jackie Lowe, who said: 'Our family live off Waitrose's Sardine All'Olio, we love them and they never taste metallic.' Allistair Yoxall agrees: 'They're delicious. I buy them whenever I see them and use them to make a puttanesca pasta or just pop them on toast.' Sam Oliver 'love[s] these sardines and I have them everyday for lunch on toasted Gail's olive bread', while Caroline Minto likes to 'tart them up with half a lemon, some mint and finely cut onion.' But it's not just Telegraph readers fighting the war on sardines – your dogs are in on it too. Lady Penelope, 63, who lives in east Anglia, says: 'The dog gets a sardine, whatever vegetables we're having and kibble for his evening dinner. He can count to five and understands a great deal, which we attribute to the sardine suppers as well as his great coat.' When it comes to sardines, Patrick Kirby's dog 'puts a new twist on 'gone in sixty seconds' as he never gets anywhere near the minute mark.' Honey Readers agree with Xanthe's verdict that M&S Collection Apiary Pure British Honey is a humdinger of a honey. However, it is of prime importance to readers to buy locally-sourced honey, whatever the cost, when possible to avoid unnecessary additives and secure the best flavour. Reader David Stainer, 71, a retired professional technical officer for the Defence Equipment and Technology Agency, opts for the M&S honey if English honey from local producers at a farmers' shop is unavailable. Mr Stainer, who resides in Maidstone, Kent, admits, 'Local honey costs a lot more, but I would rather pay the extra than buy some concoction coming out of a Chinese factory.' Likewise, Lynda Benson, 68, believes 'M&S single apiary honey is good if you can't find a local beekeeper.' She appreciates that the M&S honey names the apiarist and location on the label and wishes 'if only people would read labels and apply some thought to what they're buying, instead of just looking at the price'. Meanwhile, Andy Jack, 70, drives from Thrapston to Oundle a few times a month. Coming back towards Thrapston on the A605, the retired nurse sometimes sees a car and an awning, which belongs to 'Basil the Apiarist'. 'Basil is from Romania, and he sells his own honey and mead. The honey is very, very good. It is ten quid a pot, not runny, cloudy and spreadable. It's gorgeous. It's from rapeseed flowers. My neighbour does honey too, but it's not a patch on Basil's,' Mr Jack says. Butter Readers also back our taste tester's top choice of butter. Xanthe described Morrison's Spreadable with Real Butter as having 'a gently unfolding flavour rather than the wallop of cheap butteriness'. Reader E. Hatfield uses ''real' butter for baking and putting in jacket potatoes, but 'spreadable butter' – Morrisons – for bread and toast in winter.' To him, this 'seems an ideal compromise'. John Mulvany keeps his preferences to the point: 'Lurpak is a rip-off, these days. I'll try the Morrison's stuff.' Similarly, Steve Mitchell prefers 'a good butter dish (ceramic) and a bar of unsalted Morrison's at room temperature.' Besides Morrison's, readers argue that any British butter that was 'real', or in other words, a dairy spread that wasn't awash with additional vegetable oils or fats, suits them just fine. Ian Woodier, 79, who lives on the outskirts of Manchester, shares his love of 'real butter': 'Since eggs, full-fat real milk and real butter were admitted back into the fold and declared not to cause instant death, we have gone the whole hog and are enjoying it.' The retired ex-seafarer adds: 'If you want spreadable butter, just leave it out of the fridge.'
