The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2011 01:56 AM PST British singer-songwriter/comedian George Formby was true to form as your archetypal 'cheeky chappie'. IT'S been a long time since I started looking backwards instead of at what's around me. Call it snobbery or a mere desire to gain perspective but I tend to wait until all the hype dies down before really giving something the time of day. In the mid 1980s when I began this habit, most of my classmates would be found watching Family Ties or Growing Pains, whereas I'd be into the wierd and wonderful world of Monty Python and the Carry Ons. It was during a dull school holiday afternoon that I stumbled upon the work of a spiritual ancestor of the Carry Ons in the form of a buck-toothed, ukelele-toting nincompoop who somehow turned himself into a sex symbol. British singer-songwriter/comedian George Formby was no intellectual giant, nor was he conventionally handsome. His voice was rather squeaky and his musical talent while considerable, might have seemed to have been little more than a short-term gimmick. Yet he became a bona fide film and recording star, and I dare say the world is better for it. Formby (born in 1904 as George Hoy Booth) hailed from the working class, mining town of Wigan, Lancashire. His father was a music hall comedian and young George was exposed to the world of entertainment at an early age. After flirting with a jockey apprenticeship, he too drifted onto the stage. Initially "just" a comic, Formby took to performing with a banjulele (although he is known as a ukulele player, it is actually the banjo-ukelele hybrid that he plays). His risque lyrics and charming, self-depreciating style won him many fans. Formby was notable for having his greatest successes during some of Britain's most difficult periods. His first successes were gramophone records made in the early 1930s as the Great Depression took hold. His first sound movie Boots! Boots! in 1934 made him an instant star and for the next decade, Formby was one of Britain's most familiar voices and faces. His cheeky double entendre lyrics (which came from first Noel Gay and then the team of Fred Cliff and Harry Gifford, with Formby himself writing a few) actually got him into trouble in 1937 when he sang With My Little Stick Of Blackpool Rock. The BBC objected and the song was actually banned! However, Formby kept his popularity and when WWII broke out he found himself cast in the unlikely role of cheerleader. Songs like Our Sergeant Major and Imagine Me On The Maginot Line showed a distinct inclination to address the brewing war, but his greatest acheivement was almost certainly the morale-boosting movie Let George Do It (1940). Formby plays a bumbling musician mistaken for a spy who inadvertantly thwarts the Nazis and in a dream sequence gets to wallop Hitler. He gets the girl (a quite gorgeous Phyllis Calvert) and trots out some of his greatest and funniest songs like Mr Wu's A Window Cleaner Now, My Grandad's Flannelette Nightshirt, Count Your Blessings And Smile and Oh Don't The Wind Blow Cold. In a way, it was a pity that this was the first Formby movie I watched because I saw a few more before realising I'd started with the very best one! Formby was an iconic figure in Britain during WWII, but as it ended so did his remarkable career, swept away by the new order. His music may not always be politically correct but the subtle racism of Mr Wu is disctinctly countered by the fact that Formby refused to play segregated venues while on tour in South Africa and even courted controversy for hugging a young black girl who presented a bouquet of flowers to his wife. In 1961, Britain's much-loved comedian succumbed to a heart attack, although not before garnering heavy press coverage over his desire to remarry within two months of his wife's death. Ultimately, George Formby strumming away on his ever-faithful banjulele and uttering a string of timeless catchphrases like "Mother" and "Never touched me" have passed into the folklore of the years between the Great Wars. ● Martin Vengadesan, a music lover and history buff, combines his two passions in his fortnightly column. If you have any interesting stories you want him to research, do drop him a line. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2011 01:55 AM PST Zee Avi is a bundle of energy as she chats about her new songs, art and her love for pop yeh-yeh. DESPITE nursing a flu and dealing with tour fatigue after recent whirlwind shows in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, singer-songwriter Zee Avi was in good spirits during her interview session at the Universal Music Malaysia office in Petaling Jaya, Selangor on Wednesday. It was a day before her big homecoming gig at KL Live. There was a Zee Avi buzz in the air. Before settling down to speak to the local press, she was like a kid in a candy store, especially after raiding the music label's cabinets – she grabbed new albums from Florence & The Machine, Noel Gallagher, Boyz II Men and Metallica & Lou Reed. The 26-year-old, who is based in New York, remains a music fan at heart and she was all smiles with her swag. While the interviews, promo obligations and tours might be hard work, Zee has taken them in her stride. At the Universal office, she was in a chatty mood as she talked about the inspiration behind her new songs, art and also what local dish she plans to make her label mates in America eat. Since 2008, Zee has been signed to Brushfire Records, a label partly owned by American folk singer/surfer dude Jack Johnson. When asked if new singers at Brushfire are required to pick up surfing as a hobby, she laughed. "They said, 'Zee, before we sign you, take that surfboard and go to that wave,' " she jokingly said. She also mentioned that she should make a famous Sarawakian dish for her label mates (Matt Costa and Jack Johnson). "I should make them eat the umai. I'd just say hey guys, have some Sarawak sushi!" Nevertheless, surfing is the inspiration behind Swell Window, the first single from her sophomore album Ghostbird. For those who are in the dark, a swell is the term surfers use for waves heading towards the shore before it breaks. In this sense, a 'swell window' would mean catching the opportunity to ride the perfect wave. "Swell Window is a song about calmness and seizing the moment. That song was inspired by a friend who was visiting a friend. He told me what a swell window is, and he explained it in a way I could understand. Ten minutes after he told me what it was, I went to a corner, picked up my ukulele and wrote a song about what he said." Inspiration was also derived from the work of a book featuring paintings of animals and texts about their lives. Her second single The Book of Morris Johnson is very much like the work of Floridian folk artiste Morris Johnson or MoJo – whimsical and colourful. When asked about who her current inspiration is, she cited the work of Alex Grey. "His work is really out of this world. He is really detailed, accurate and he touches on a lot of the human sensory and it's amazing. I'm currently reading his book called Art Psalms and it's basically a guideline of how you can step back and reconstruct your feelings." As for her own visual art, Zee said her favorite medium is simply just, crayons. "I love the smell of Buncho crayons! As a visual artiste, my medium is crayons and collage. But I can only work out of things I find around the table, on the floor, like eyelash glue." What about new music? Previously, Zee has talked about how she aspires to revive Tan Sri P. Ramlee's Getaran Jiwa and songs from the pop yeh-yeh era. At the moment, that project is her baby. "I'm very careful when it comes to covering songs. Getaran Jiwa means fluttering of the soul and if you listen carefully, it means deep love for music and melody. I owe it to P. Ramlee to have a lot of thought put into it yet still make it sound as effortless as possible. I'm not gonna rush into it. It's my baby, I want to take my time and make sure I get it right," she concluded. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2011 01:55 AM PST Not that she needed to prove it, but Zee Avi is still every bit Malaysian, as she treated a spirited audience at KL Live recently with songs old and new. RETURNING to the Malaysian stage after nearly two years, Zee Avi was received like a queen playing to a packed hall of nearly 2,000 fans at KL Live, the first stop in the Malaysian leg of her Asian tour. She played her second show at Straits Quay Convention Centre in Penang on Friday, and will be returning to her home state on Nov 26 to perform at the former Dewan Undangan Negeri Hall, Kuching. Opening for her was One Buck Short drummer Imran Fadzil Ishak, performing under the banner of his solo project as acoustic guitarist Narmi. The opening act for Liyana Fizi's album launch in September, Narmi seems to be earning his place the old fashioned way – playing one show at a time. He showed his versatility with a mix of tunes, including Malay love song Cair (Melt), a funny ditty on Malaysian lateness, Chasing and ended with The Road Home, a perfect song to welcome Zee's return. Her band started the opening notes of Milestone Moon while Zee strutted on stage garbed in an asymmetrical blue dress, looking radiant with a bird of paradise flower tucked neatly in her hair. More birds decorated the stage with cutouts of flamingos holding ukeleles and owls asleep in the wings. "Tonight, I'm going to mostly play songs from Ghostbird," she paused and with a conspiratory wink added "that's a burung hantu (owl). "But there'll also be some throwbacks, like this next song – do you recognise it?" And recognise it they did, the entire audience singing along to Zee's Just You And Me, roaring out the "pada pada pada" chorus. The 26-year-old showed just how much she has progressed since playing in that same concert hall at KL Live last March, performing the song with effortless cheek and charm. She "messed around" with the song like with an old friend, perfectly confident in pushing its boundaries without going too far. Fans of her self-titled debut were not disappointed as she made it a point to do all the favourites including Bitterheart, Kantoi and Honeybee. Band mates, guitarist David Hurwitz adding the sape to his arsenal and Rafael Pereira's soft touch on percussion also helped add new dimensions to the songs. When it came to her first single, she gleefully introduced it in mock-dramatic Malay, "lagu seterusnya adalah single terbaru saya, berjudul (this next song is my new single titled) The Book Of Morris Johnson." While The Book was one of two songs from Ghostbird to heavily feature electronic effects, in a twist, Zee choose to use only acoustic instruments (with the exception of bassist JP Maramba on bass guitar). Taking the twist further, the tune seamlessly seagued into Foster The People's breakout hit Pumped Up Kicks. One of the unexpected highlights of the night was the sentimental Sibok Kita Nangis (Don't You Cry). Zee sang the languid tune, swaying gently on stage in a slow-motion hula dance, with nearly every audience member singing along, but respectfully not raising their voices above hers. "It's so good to be home," she paused choking back the tears, "don't you tell me not to cry. Selamat (luckily) this mascara is waterproof!" "Orang sana tanya (people over there ask) is Zee Avi Malaysian enough," she said with fire in her voice. "I say, you don't need Gamelan, baju traditional, or a flower in your hair," she said, sheepishly adjusting the flower in her hair, before continuing, "as long as you are warm and accepting, you're Malaysian enough in my book!" Beginning the set with a song about the moon, it seemed a poetic choice for Zee to end with the summery song Roll Your Head In The Sun. "Gimme the sun," she shouted, and the lighting engineers lit up the stage with spotlights that created a smiling sun. Ending on a quiet note, Zee silently danced off the stage as the boys jammed to the bizarre lightshow and the fans' wild cheering. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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