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www.celtic-connection.com
DECEMBER 1999/JANUARY 2000
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CELTIC MUSIC REVIEWS
BE I Rogue Folk Club 1 Vancouver'sbestCeltic/Folk/RootsMusic atThe W.I.S.E. Hall(1882AdanacSt.L<
Friday December 10th (8:00) Latin music & jazz on guitar & mandolin JOHN REISCHMAN & JOHN MILLER Sunday January 2nd (8:00) Kick upy'our heels to launch the newyear withJohnEllis&HisHighlandCountry Band, direct from Scotland SCOTTISH CEILIDH
Saturday December 18th (8:00) Former Planxty& Patrick Streetfiddler teamsupwithAltan 'ssinger/guitaristfora <x>ncenoftraditiondlrishdancetimes,songs in English and Gaelic, andafew traditional Irish Christmas songs. Theywilleachgive workshopsthefollowmgday(call251-4063) JAMES KELLY & DAITHISPROULE Saturday JANUARY 8th (8:00) AneveningofworldmuskandcUncewith twohot Vancouverbands ASZA & MAS ABO (Van East Cultural Centre)
Friday January 21 st (8:00) StunningCanadianguitaristplusguests DAVID ESSIG
Sunday December 19th (8:00) Compellingsinger/Kmgwriterfrom Texas STACEY EARLE &MARK STUART Friday January 28th (8:00) CeltictunesandoriginalsongsqfB. C history The TILLER'S FOLLY
Tickets at Black Swan, Highlife, Rufus', Virgin ^Info. / Reservations736-3022;www.roguefoik.bc.ca^
Up and Coming Events in December
ala
CAFG
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December 19th.
Songs, Dances and Traditions of An English Midwinter Featuring:
The Vancouver Morris Men, Kits Point Sword Dancers, V.M.M. Mummers, The Folk Alliance Wassail Chorus and Jiggery Pokery - Tickets: $10
New Year's Eve - Millennium Bash
Includes a 3 Course Dinner, Live Irish Music and Champagne at Midnight - Tickets: $75.
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LIVE CELTIC MUSIC
Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday Night
COMING UP IN JANUARY
Robbie Burns Supper
For inquiries call: (604) 983-3463
999 Marine Drive (at McKay) N. Vancouver B.C. Reservations recommended Call: (604)983-3463
IRISH TENORS
HOLIDAY COLLECTION
If you only buy one new CD for the holidays...the Irish Tenors have an exceptional holiday collection with all your traditional favourites, delivered with their unique vocal power and emotion on Home for Christmas. Recorded with a stunning 78-piece orchestra and the Dunshaughlin Chamber Choir, the album is conducted by Frank McNamara.
Some of the songs include, Joy To The World, Ave Maria, Adeste Fideles, Good King Wenceslas, Angels We Have Heard On High, Away In A Manger, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, What Child Is This?, The First Noel, Silent Night and Amazing Grace to name but a few.
To order The Irish Tenors Home For Christmas, call Island Music in North Vancouver at (604) 984-9110
71 Hogmanay and Robbie Burns Offerings
Just in time for Hogmanay is When the Pipers Play, featuring the powerful and evocative voice of Isla St. Clair. Some tracks on the CD are When The Pipers Play, Ticonderoga, Teady O'Neale, Flowers Of The Forest, Muir Of Culloden and A Hundred Pipers.
Another favourite is The Best Ever Scottish Compilation which includes two CD's of over 130 minutes of fantastic Scottish music on this double CD. This amazing and varied album features a huge range of styles and sounds which make up what is generally known as Scottish/Celtic music.
Some tracks are Isle of'Skye, Wild Mountain Thyme, Dashing White Sergeant, Over The Sea To Skye, Flower of Scotland, Amazing Grace and Will You No' Come Back Again? performed by The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra and Massacre of Glencoe, by John McDermott. A very thrifty buy indeed!
Boy George Fronts Culture Club After 15 Years
LONDON — Last year it took the return of a group whose last hit was in 1986 to add a bit of colour to the UK charts — and now Culture Club has released their first album of new material in over 15 years with Don't Mind If I Do.
George O'Dowd (38), better known to as Boy George is also now one of the UK's top club disc jockeys but he points out he never did leave mainstream pop music, having made four albums as a solo artist.
Culture Club reformed after they were featured on a television special in the United States. George, Jon Moss, Roy Hay and Mikey Craig split in acrimonious circumstances.
The disputes which led to the destruction of Culture Club were laid bare in George's autobiography, Take It Like A Man —■ especially regarding his relationship with Jon Moss.
But the new older, wiser Club found it easy to work together
again. George said, "The human spirit is extremely resilient and it's amazing how quickly you can forget about something.
"I'm not a grudge person and I'm definitely not a secret-keeper. I don't think everybody in the band appreciated my autobiography, but the way I deal with things and the way they deal with things is very different."
He said it was easy for them to get back together. "We all fitted back into our old personalities quickly — Jon's the joker, Mike's the laid back one, Roy's mad — like a child who's had too much orange juice. It was like going back to the family for Christmas."
These days Culture Club is just one more string to George's bow. He regularly fills clubs across the UK and beyond as a DJ, his syndicated radio show is taken by a clutch of commercial stations around the country, and newspaper editors love to quote him for his witty, pithy and bitchy comments. — BBC News
Dublin Hosts MTV Europe Music Awards
DUBLIN — It was a glittering gala event, with the music world focused on Dublin when the MTV Europe Music Awards were staged at the Point Theatre. This was the sixth year for the awards — past venues have included Milan, London, Rotterdam, Berlin and Paris.
Some 4,000 people crammed into the Point to see the stars in the flesh — a small number of tickets on sale to the public were snapped up within minutes of going on sale. An estimated television audience of one billion people watched the show live and saw a host of stars perform at the ceremony.
Performers included Mariah Carey, the Cardigans, Dundalk's the Corrs, Marilyn Manson, Iggy Pop and Steps. Guest presenters were, Pierce Brosnan, Christina Aguilera, Geri Halliwell, Damon Albarn and Eternal. Boyzone won two awards and Bono was also honoured for his work in advocating the write off of Third-World debt.
Tom Jones Re-Emerges as Cult Icon
The transformation of Tom Jones from leather-trousered housewives' favourite to cult icon receives another boost with the release of a new single with Catatonia star Cerys Matthews.
The track, Baby It's Cold Outside, comes from Tom's album of duets, Reload, for which the veteran star teamed up with musicians ranging from Van Morrison to Robbie Williams.
"There's no limit to the people I can sing with. Because of my versatility and love of all different kinds of popular music," said the 59-year-old singer.
Jones admits the album, which has catapulted him back to the top of the UK chart, would not have been possible when he first shot to fame in the Sixties.
The record has also been an opportunity for top Welsh musicians such as Cerys Matthews, the Stereophonies, the Manic Street Preacher's James Dean Bradfield to pay tribute to the godfather of "Cool Cymru." — BBC News
Cliff Richard Topping Charts
LONDON — Cliff Richard's controversial new single has gone straight to number two in the charts — despite struggling for air play since its release. His charity song Millennium Prayer is the Lords Prayer set to the music of Auld Lang Syne.
The latest success makes Cliff the UK's biggest ever charting artist with 132 hits in 41 years — more even than the Beatles. Many stations thought Millennium Prayer unsuitable for their playlists, which govern the air time given to songs.
However, it has leap-frogged teen favourites Robbie Williams and Will Smith to take the number two slot. — BBC News