Old Gold - The first leg of the much-hyped Desert Trip festival took place over the weekend, with The Rolling Stones, The Who, Roger Waters, Paul McCartney and Neil Young taking to the stage in California. Organised by the people behind Coachella - and dubbed #Oldchella by some of the music press - the event was particularly dignified, with wood-panelled, flushable toilets for the 75,000-strong audience. The weekend's highlight came when Paul McCartney brought Neil Young out on stage to duet on the Beatles classic A Day in the Life, which segued into John Lennon's Give Peace A Chance.
Flying Pig - Roger Waters made his feelings about Donald Trump abundantly clear during his performance at the festival. As the 73-year-old performed the Pink Floyd song Pigs, Mr Trump's face appeared on the massive video screen above the stage. Meanwhile, a parade-sized balloon shaped like a pig floated above the audience.
Northern Soul - Newcastle and Gateshead have been selected to host a major exhibition showcasing art, design and innovation from the north of England. The area has been selected by the government to host the £5m Great Exhibition of the North in 2018. It was chosen above three other shortlisted bidders - Sheffield, Bradford and Blackpool. Former Chancellor George Osborne came up with the idea as part of his Northern Powerhouse package.
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said she was won over by Newcastle and Gateshead's "ambition", including the organisers' estimate that the exhibition will attract three million people. "That level of ambition really did stand out," she said. "But that doesn't mean this is just for Newcastle-Gateshead." The 77-day exhibition will have the overarching theme of The Blazing World - The Fires of Invention.
Other News - Andrew Lloyd Webber has reconfirmed his commitment to using London's St James Theatre to develop new musicals, as the venue is renamed the Other Palace. Lloyd Webber has also announced that Paul Taylor-Mills, originally appointed an advisory producer to help pro-gramme work at the venue, has been made artistic director. Taylor-Mills said he would use the space to host musical writers both established and new. His first season of work includes Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party and a new show from production company Perfect Pitch.
Lloyd Webber said the venue would focus on areas such as musical theatre development and audi-ence engagement. "I very much hope that writers and producers will use the Other Palace as a space in the heart of London where they can try out and refine new material without the distraction of com-plicated sets and automation. I had a great experience trying out School of Rock at the Gramercy Theatre in New York in this way. It was a joy to work on the material without computers getting in the way. I hope my experience will be repeated by others in these exciting spaces," he said.
(Jim Evans)
