Out On Blue Six: Gorillaz

In the heady days of Britpop and the Blur/Oasis rivalry, the odds on Noel Gallagher working with Damon Albarn must have been pretty stratospherically high - wish I'd have had a punt on it anyway, I'd've been quids in now.

It was Paul Simonon's birthday bash in 2015 that finally brought them together and now, Noel performs on the track, We Got The Power, on the latest Gorillaz album, Humanz

However what was easy to predict is Liam's reaction to this unlikely love-in. The younger Gallagher brother took to Twitter to vent spleen;

"Now that dick out of Blur and the creepy 1 out of Oasis need to hang their heads in shame as it's no dancing in the streets as you were LG x"

and,

"That gobshite out of Blur might have turned Noel Gallagher into a massive girl but believe you me next time I see him there's gonna be war"

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Out On Blue Six : Blur

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Live Forever (2003)

If you haven't been living under a rock this last month you'll doubtless be aware that it is now 20 years since Britpop. I'm acutely aware of this fact and, when coupled with the realisation that you've now spent more time out of school than you have in it, it doesn't half make you feel old I can tell you. 

When Britpop hit the scene in 1994 its fair to say that as a 14/15 year old it struck a chord with me. I'd previously devoured my parents vinyl collection for Beatles records and rode the criticism from my peers for being into 'old fogies' music. Then came Oasis and suddenly the world turned on its head. Six months down the line I well remember the alleged cool kids at school saying 'well if you like Oasis you really wanna check out The Beatles, because they're much better' Hmm, not exactly what you were saying a year ago eh guys? Being at school, GCSE's on the horizon, standing on the precipice of the big wide world it felt revitalising to believe something was genuinely in the air, that the country was on the up, just as much as it felt odd that music, mere music, could give us that sense of optimism.

Of course we quickly discovered that the up meant Blair and a massive big fart in our collectively hopeful faces. 

Live Forever a 2003 music documentary film directed by John Dower covers all of this, walking the line between the music, the politics and the cultural compass of the UK at the time. There's a great feeling for all of this and the period as a whole right across the board as befits the team that brought us the equally conscientious and well edited/compiled One Day In September, as well as some wonderfully candid talking heads; Jarvis Cocker is always good value, Damon Albarn once again shows how savvy he is and how unfairly maligned he was during his heyday whilst Sleeper's Louise Wener proves to be the most intelligent and aware of her alumni. Then there's the brothers - Liam and Noel. The former is his usually funny and infuriating self with one scene regarding his alleged androgynous appeal proving a particularly hilarious highlight, whilst the latter proves to be just as intelligent and articulate as the others but still clearly somewhat bewitched and misguided about that now infamous Number 10 meet and greet. Face it Noel, you were bought.

For the 20th anniversary this film, made just in time for the 10th anniversary, is still a fitting watch but I would argue a few more talking heads would have made it something truly special; Elastica, Garbage, The Manics, Suede, Menswear, Supergrass, Echobelly, Catatonia...surely some of those were available?

Incidentally, the eternal question 'Blur or Oasis?' continues to reverberate to this day - I've seen Damon Albarn asked about the rivalry twice just yesterday on two separate TV shows - for what it's worth whenever I was asked it in the playground I always answered the same; 'Pulp'.

Everything (2004)

Everything is a film that is now already ten years old, which took me by surprise watching it post midnight last night (or this morning, whatever) as I presumed it was more recent - which is why it has been in my 'to watch' since it was on BBC2 last year, as some of Ray Winstone's most recent offerings have been largely lifeless stereotypical affairs. I certainly liked this one, there's not a shadow of Ray's 'BetFred' or whatever it is persona, he plays a mostly inarticulate, vulnerable and hesitant bear of a man who begins visiting a Soho prostitute, played by Jan Graveson, with a strange agenda that consists of seemingly just wanting to talk and ask questions about her profession. 

It's a low budget, small affair (shot in nine days for £47,500) as evinced by the majority of the films scenes being ostensibly a two hander between Ray and Jan. When it does open out to include other characters they're very small, and one is played by Ray's own daughter Lois, lending to the intimate proceedings. 

Jan Graveson is an actress who really made an impact on the wee me way back in the early 90s when she was, for a time, a recurring in character in EastEnders playing Disa, a runaway living on the streets and selling her body. Just like then she's excellent here, carrying the brunt of the dialogue heavy material in the interplay between her and Winstone. It's a brave performance too which requires the then 39/40 year old actress to strip off and pose for Winstone's character, but it's written and performed in such a manner that it is Graveson who has the power and the upper hand, and her strength and bravery radiates throughout the scene. It's a remarkable turn and it's a terrible shame she isn't as well known as she should be.

Like I say, I put this film on late last night with little expectation or information regarding the piece. Ultimately I was so engrossed in this captivating production with its drip drip drip approach that I never once found myself trying to guess the outcome - either through tiredness or just a simple 'blind' agreement to allow the film to take me wherever -  to such an extant that the eventual motivation behind Winstone's visits were a complete surprise to me and very satisfying.  If I had any criticism, and it is very minor, it's that the secondary plots for the supporting characters - such as Winstone's wife and, most especially Katherine Clisby as Tania, a young Eastern European prostitute - don't really go anywhere and seem to exist purely to break the two hander scenes up and explore the ramifications of the sex industry.

Lastly, where else are you going to watch a film whose closing titles feature Ray Winstone singing a suitably tender rendition of Blur's Tender?!

Recommended.

Out On Blue Six : Blur

'Blow, blow me out, I am so sad, I don't know why...'

The music video for Blur's 1995 summer hit couldn't be more 90s, it's directed by Damien Hirst and it stars Keith Allen, Page 3 stunna Jo Guest, Vivienne Westwood muse and actress Sara Stockbridge and Matt Lucas, with inspiration seeming to stem from a strange mix of yesteryear - Benny Hill and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody!

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Face (1997)

Some people don't like this film.

Some people are idiots.

On the surface, Face is a typical London gangster movie; a group of five men break into a security depot which they believe will have a pay off of 3 million pounds. However when they come to divvy up they realise they got nowhere near that amount. They go their separate ways but have to reunite when they realise someone is intent on stealing their money and killing any one of them who gets in their way. But who is robbing the robbers?

It's hard to make something different in the tired London gangland/heist genre, but Antonia Bird's film from Ronan Bennett's script manages to do just that by incorporating a distinctly socially aware and political edged atmosphere into the world of blags, double crosses and revenge. Made in 1996, the film is as much about the previous two decades, the London criminal scene of the 1970s and also how Thatcher's 1980s crushed the hope out of young people who wanted to make a difference and, in the case of our central character Ray (Robert Carlyle), instead decide to hit the establishment where it hurts, by robbing their banks.  Watching it now it's an interesting snapshot of a tide about to turn, filmed as it was just before the landslide Labour victory of 1997.

Bird gathers together a brilliant ensemble cast including her regular Carlyle (he'd previously appeared in Priest and Safe and would go on to star in Ravenous , he also runs 4 Way Films with her) Ray Winstone (remember when he could and actually did act? He's spellbinding here) Phil Davis, Steve Waddington, Lena Headey and Blur frontman Damon Albarn making his acting debut (he would later provide the soundtrack to Ravenous) Also in supporting roles are the legend that is Peter Vaughn, Sue Johnston and other Bird regulars Andrew Tiernan (Safe) and Christine Tremarco (Priest) 

Well directed, Bird knows to let the pace of a film find itself and doesn't talk down to the audience with jump cuts or overly obvious close ups. The cinematography is very good, creating a real atmosphere for the piece and benefiting from genuine London locations. I also really like the grey grimy look the film has, with only the occasional flash of colour such as the yellow boiler suits in the film's impressive robbery scene. The soundtrack is especially memorable and rather eclectic (Paul Weller, The Clash, Billy Bragg, Death In Vegas, Longpigs, Pigforce, Puressence) but equally Bird knows when to let a scene go on in silence. It's been some time since Antonia Bird made a film for cinema release (and indeed has only recently returned to TV with the BBC's excellent The Village) but I hope that she will make more for the big screen soon. It's an unfair criticism from some quarters that the film is a bit 'TV movie', a phrase used rather insultingly. You have to remember what kind of meagre budget Bird was working with here, and the fact she managed such themes and a new slant to the format on a shoestring and at 100 minutes is to be applauded. 

So why do some people dislike it? Well I guess it's not the Guy Ritchie mockney shenanigans that some audiences expect from the genre. There's more heart and intelligence involved behind Face.