mostly david ephgrave

I saw an advert for McBusted’s tour today which described them as “The Ultimate Supergroup”. Who am I to argue? The combined forces of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne could never compete with a cut-and-shut two-boyband line-up like that. The Traveling Wilburys may have had one of the most influential songwriters and cultural forces of the late 20th Century in their ranks, plus one of rock’s finest voices and an ex-Beatle – but pit them against the guy with the glasses, the guy with the hair, the guy with the hair, the guy with the hair, the guy with the hair and the guy from Strictly and there’s no competition: McBusted win by a cuntry mile.  (Misspelling intentional.) Think of the setlist. They could open with ‘All About You’ (obviously), stick ‘All About You’ in halfway through to lift the mid-show lull, then close with ‘All About You’. I’m not sure what Busted would bring to the table as I can’t remembe...

I was very sad to hear of the passing of Phil Everly this morning. The Everly Brothers pretty much originated close harmony singing in popular music; without them, there would have been no Beatles, no Beach Boys and no Simon & Garfunkel. Their music was beautifully constructed, with voices that blended so perfectly that if it wasn’t for the musical interval between them, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were one. They were contemporaries of Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison, touring extensively with them both. Their influence on each other was huge: just listen to Buddy’s ‘Listen to Me’ and ‘Words of Love’, for example; you could easily mistake it for the Everlys. It was a time of cross-promoting between artists, with both Buddy and Roy actively writing for the duo. Phil and Don also supplied the distinctive “Dum, dum, dum, dum-me-doo-wah” that helped make Orbison’s ‘Only The Lonely’ such a big hit.  The two brothers and Buddy were exceptionally close. Phil was eve...

I’m a little bit obsessive-compulsive. It’s not debilitating – I haven’t washed my hands once since starting this sentence - but it definitely plays a part in my everyday life. Incidentally, OCD would scan a lot better alphabetically. Part of it probably comes with being an actor. It’s quite common to go through a series of little rituals before a performance; partly out of superstition, partly out of the necessity to warm up. I definitely do this - though sometimes it’s hard to tell whether my little pre-show routines fall more into the former or the latter category.   Sometimes it’s just about clearing your mind. When you’re onstage in a play, it’s very easy for your personal thoughts to intrude; the last thing you want when you’re trying to concentrate on what your character should be thinking. This is particularly common if you’ve been doing the same show night after night; I remember Hugh Laurie once describing this in an inter...