Daily Mirror - 06.09.2019

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(^44) DAILY MIRROR FRIDAY 06.09.2019
MILES DAVIS
Rubberband ★★★
Though it hardly ranks
among the exalted
and multi-faceted
peaks of late, great,
trumpet-playing
legend Davis’s career,
Rubberband repays curiosity. Originally
recorded just before his classic 1986
album Tutu, Rubberband has been
completed after the fact, with a not always
obliging series of add-on grooves, edits
and vocals. But no player ever sounded
like Miles, and the passages where MD’s
trumpet takes centre stage bring a
singularly giddying thrill.
CHRISSIE HYNDE &
THE VALVE BONE
WOE ENSEMBLE
Valve Bone Woe
★★★★
Chrissie Hynde, 67, is
in an enviable and
unassailable position.
One of the classic
voices of her
generation, it’s the perfect time to explore
the jazz roots of her childhood in this
covers collection. There are many
unexpected pleasures to be had in hearing
Rock Chick numero uno turn her sultry
charms to selections from the songbooks
of Brian Wilson, Rodgers and
Hammerstein, Frank Sinatra and more.
MAHALIA
Love And Compromise ★★★★
Bred for certain
stardom from the age
of 13 – when she first
signed to a major
label – Leicester lass
Mahalia (Burkman)
isn’t about to go into
the business of disappointment on this
debut album. There’s an engaging and
spry personality presented in songs
such as the Burna Boy-assisted Simmer
with a voice both fresh and soothing,
brimming with seductive, candy-cool
soul smarts. Lovely.
Album releases
MUSIC
TALK
WITH
MUSIC with GAVIN MARTIN
BELINDA CARLISLE
It’s still all
Go-Go for
Belinda
The wild times are past, but Carlisle still enjoys life on the road
F
rom the comfort of her
Thailand home, Belinda
Carlisle is reconsidering
her remarkable career.
Born into Hollywood
poverty, Belinda, 61, spent much of
her formative years as a star – she
was a member of pioneering all-girl
LA punk group The Go-Go’s, and
during the nine-million-selling solo
career that followed she struggled
with cocaine addiction.
Since becoming sober
she’s pursued a healthy
yoga regime and featured
her enthusiasm for
Buddhist chanting on her
records.
“I don’t wanna talk
about drugs any more,” she
sighs. “I mean, it’s kind of
well documented that, you know?
I’ve done my share.”
Associates in the LA punk scene,
such as Darby Crash of the Germs
and Derf Scratch of Fear, died young,
but somehow Belinda survived the
wild times.
Short of buying a racehorse (as she
woke up to find that she had done
after one binge) what was the
wildest thing she ever did?
“I hitchhiked from LA, from
Hollywood, um, to San Francisco in
the late 70s, on acid. That was pretty
wild and dangerous – stupid and
pretty crazy to do today, too.”
She married political
adviser Malcolm
Mason, son of the late
great actor James
Mason, in 1986.
Malcolm advised
President Ronald
Reagan while The
Go-Go’s kicked up
merry hell. The couple’s
son, James Duke Mason, was born in

1992. Perhaps keeping separation
      between their respective careers has

allowed their marriage to endure?

“We may give each other advice if it’s

asked for but, for the most part, we

don’t meddle in each other’s things,

for sure.”

Gold, Belinda’s new three-CD

solo career-spanning collection,

features appearances from Beach

Boys legend Brian Wilson and late

Beatle George Harrison.

So how do you get a Beatle to play

backing musician? “It was just a

matter of asking. We asked and he

said he would do it. You never know

until you ask,” she says.

She and Malcolm moved to

Thailand in 2017.

“We have friends here and we just

love the people and the lifestyle.

We’re gypsies – we lived in France for

24 years. Tried to go back to the

States but that didn’t work so we

decided to try Asia.”

These days, Belinda still connects

with old fans on tour.

“I find it’s much easier these days

than it used to be. I know I always

thought that I needed to have a

drink before I got on stage – just to

loosen up.

“But then I found it much easier

the other way, just going on stage

stone cold sober.”

■ Triple CD set Gold released today.

Her UK tour starts at the Sage,

Gateshead, September 21

WILD DAYS Belinda in the Go-Go’s

‘‘I used to think

I had to drink

to go on stage.

Now I find it

easier sober

The Second Sleep

Robert Harris

In the year 1468, a priest,

Christopher Fairfax, is travelling

to Exmoor on horseback when

he finds an iPhone. How can an

iPhone exist in 1468? Because

most of the human race was

wiped out in 2025 and survivors

restarted the calendar at 666,

so Harris’s book is set 800

years from now.

The church holds sway and

scientific investigations are

banned. Our descendants live

primitive, superstitious

lives.

But Fairfax has been

sent to Exmoor to

conduct the funeral of

another priest. He is

shocked to discover that he

took a dangerous interest in

the old world – and died a

mysterious death. As Fairfax

begins to question the church’s

dogmas, Harris takes you on a

thrilling ride while serving up

serious food for thought.

BY JAKE KERRIDGE

Hutchinson, £20

Chastise: The

Dambusters

Story 1943

Max Hastings

Operation Chastise was carried

out by the RAF’s 617 Squadron

on reservoirs in Germany’s Ruhr

Valley on May 16, 1943. The valour

of the aircrews was unparalleled

and Barnes Wallis’s bouncing bomb was proof of

British technological brilliance. A vivid account

from the commanding general of history.

BY JOHN LEWIS-STEMPEL

William Collins, £25

A Single Thread

Tracy Chevalier

In 1932, Violet is still mourning

her fiance and brother who died

in the First World War. But she

manages to leave her suffocating

life with an overbearing mother to

rent a room and work as a typist in

Winchester. There our surprisingly

modern heroine embarks on a relationship that

could change her life for good. An evocative,

beautifully written story from the author of Girl

With A Pearl Earring.

BY EMMA LEE-POTTER

HarperCollins, £14.99

BOOKS with CHARLOTTE HEATHCOTE

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