Liverpool Culture Blog | Culture, arts, music, theatre and media in Liverpool, Capital of Culture

Here’s an image of scousedelic Liverpool band The Coral clearly relishing the idea of piling into a Ford Transit for a 87-date tour around the UK, back in 2006.

The Sun has open a Liverpool Twitter account. Not such a big deal? Maybe to the people of a city accused of the most hideous lies imaginable by the paper after Hillsborough.

It’s hard to imagine, in these tough times, a better local newspaper story than an NHS hospital spending £7.5K on a room for men to masturbate in.

The photo desk has received this images of the Spirit of Shankly demo that took place at the weekend, in protest against the continued ownership of LFC by Gillet and Hicks.

The Culture Blog’s paparazzi desk has sent this image of new Liverpool Football Club Roy Hodgson taking a stroll down Hope Street.

I went to see the Ragged Trousered Philanthropists at the Everyman feeling generally positive, but wary that the lengthy book would be tough to recreate on the stage. In the final analysis, I feel my caution was well placed.

The latest episode in the Liverpool Versus The Tories saga hit the news-stands today, with the news that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has implied that hooligans caused the Hillsborough disaster.

This fairly uncunning Sven Goran Eriksson ‘lookalike’ was spotted in Liverpool this week, including detours to the Newz Bar and the Shankly Gates.

Liverpool Culture Blog’s paparrazzi desk has uncovered these images from Berry Street, where relatively new restaurant and bar Tribeca suffered an attack by a Ford Fusion earlier this week.

There are a few areas around the country that are fairly unimpressed by the England football team, but none so much as Liverpool.

Someone recently told me that to understand the future, you had to understand the past. How did Liverpool get where it is today? What forces and trends and people formed the city we now live in? What’s gone on on the streets, above and below?

The Culture Blog’s snapper desk has received this image of Ray Davies prior to his gig at The Phil last night.

One Night In Istanbul is an extremely basic piece of work. And that’s nothing to do with my postcode, my sense of humour, my footie shirt or my birth certificate.

Those of you who care about such things probably know already that death metal singer Michael Buble has been in town for a gig at the Echo Arena.

Straight from the camera of the Culture Blog’s roaming paparazzo is this image of Rihanna – whom I’m told is some sort of torch singer – entering Liverpool Club Bamboo, wherever that its.

This photo shows two swans building a nest on the pond in Sefton Park from a few weeks ago. A nest at the base of a water fountain. Epic swan fail.

The bars, the clubs, the violence and the whole sickening spectacle of Concert Square are symptoms of the problem, but Liverpool’s city centre should never have been allowed to get in this state in the first place.

So, LFC finally look like getting shot of their American tycoon owners, but we all know the perils of getting what you wished for, don’t we? Here’s what will probably happen next.

The Liverpool Echo and Daily Post are staging a joint exhibition in the foyer of the Echo building on Old Hall Street, consisting of 96 pages from the two papers in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster.

Here’s one of the highlights of those old Black+White magazines; Che’s gonzo, strangely but aptly troubled interview with Alexei Sayle.

Kneehigh’s Hansel and Gretel, at the Everyman, is great fun for kids and big kids alike, with some wonderful music and a diverting script.

I’ve noticed a few anti-Gillette and Hicks posters around the city recently, but haven’t given them much thought beyond that.

Apparently the people who bought the old Whitehouse Pub, on the corner of Berry Street and Duke Street, are going to paint over the Banksy-painted rat that has adorned it for the best part of a decade.

The shots of the staff, particularly, are wonderful portraits of proud employees, and the information on how long many of them spent working at the department store testament to how well Lewis’s treated its employees.

Merepark’s Central Village, which will include the Lewis’s building, is set to redress the cash drain towards Liverpool One, but it’s not clear to me whether the city can support so many different retail/leisure/lifestyle hubs – is there genuinely enough cash being spent to go around Liverpool’s various city-centre areas?

A rare good decision from Liverpool City Council, whose licensing committee has advised that no further licenses be granted for Aigburth’s Lark Lane or Allerton Road.

Ghost Stories maintained a powerful hold on me throughout. It felt like the product of two people who understood the demands, quirks and rigours of the medium perfectly – and it showed in a brilliantly entertaining, and perfectly terrifying, experience

Andrew Beattie reviews Terry Pratchett’s Nation, which was shown at Fact earlier this month. I am well aware of Sir Terry Pratchett’s Work. At any given moment my Dad is likely to recite lines of conversation from some of Discworld’s finest and not so fine characters chuckling to himself and leaving me with a brief [...]

There’s nothing much to say about the big wheel in Liverpool One’s Chavasse Park, so I did a little video during a ride on it.

Some predictably stupid news finds its way to me from the University of Liverpool, my alma mater, concerning new VC Howard Newby

I don’t know why Liverpool seems so determined to abandon its citizens to the hazards of icy roads and footpaths.

Campaigning anti-consumerism evangelical preacher Reverend Billy exorcises a till in the Bold Street Tesco branch.

I’ve asked a group of people well placed in media, music, arts and other general culture vultures to venture their high- and lowlights of Liverpool in 2009.

No more fan mail, please. I’m spending all of my time dealing with your bloody fan mail.

Every bit of the 39 Steps works wonderfully – it’s an absolute pleasure. The little things – the Hithcock references, the snow falling fro the ceiling at the end, the staff dressed up in period garb. Make sure you catch it before the end of the year.

Dave Evans has sent over some images from today’s Santa Dash, which kicked off earlier today. Up to 7,000 Santas took part in the 5km run, with hopes of reclaiming the world record for jogging Father Christmases. Local celebs such as Craig Phillips from Big Brother and Michael Shields were joined by the ubiquitous Mike [...]

Pantomimes and me don’t mix. I’m fundamentally a rather grumpy personality. If there’s no ironic fall-back position I feel a bit lost.

I hate to say I told you so but, as I predicted, Destination Kirkby has been thoroughly kiboshed by the government.

It was, financially, a good deal for Everton and an affordable way out of a crumbling ground badly served by surrounding infrastructure.

But it was also a good few miles away from Goodison and came with a bundle of other leisure and retail strings attached.

Communities secretary, John Denham, was apparently worries about the negative impact on surrounding areas of a vast out-of-town development.

It’s almost enough to make one what Liverpool One’s management team made of it all.

There’s a tricky duality as a journalist to slating other journalists and newspapers.

As a human being I despise The Sun for its lies, prejudice, snideness, cynical politics, nepotism and the way it glories in being a kind of dunce’s comic.

UK old-skool hip-hop pioneer Derek B, who has died at the age of 44, had skills as an MC, DJ and producer.

Sadly he’ll always be known best for The Anfield Rap, which, incredibly, he co-wrote with Craig Johnstone. In amongst all the drivel listen for some famous hooks.