OPINION: Love in the time of Coronavirus

Words by Ed King

Last week we were counting ‘reported cases’. This week we’re counting ‘deaths’.

I was in India, a country relatively (at that point) unaffected by Coronavirus – there were pockets of contagion in the far north and south, with quick containment, and neither the virus nor the fear had spread very far – the ‘reported cases’ were just tipping 30, whereas the UK was pushing 400.

My return flight was with Air China, including a four hour layover in Beijing. So, each day began with a pot of curd, several cups of chai, and a scan of online news reports to see what airlines were affected – my biggest fear was missing my transfer and getting stuck in China, having been held up coming into Beijing because a Swiss man had lost his jacket. Over 40 minutes on the tarmac, in December, with the bus doors open. I travelled through the UAE when SARS struck and we spent hours in Doha airport being questioned and swabbed – my faith in the Civil Aviation Authority of China, who present themselves like the Ministry of Love when there isn’t a global pandemic, was limited. I needed to readdress my route home.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, from Bangalore to London City. Booked, packed, and ready to go. But by then I was stuck in the daily news cycles (a wagon I’ve been falling in and out of since leaving the world of PR agencies in 2006) and followed the Coronavirus story from CBS to Al Jazeera. Where had the virus been found, who was responding in what way? What public statements of blame and tacit panic were coming from the podiums of what countries? Europe was infighting; North America were wearing slogans on caps. China was silent. The Daily Mail even found a way to blame it on immigration. It was fascial, in my mind, and I braced myself for the circus of panic buying and ignorance that would undoubtedly greet me once I landed in London.

On Tuesday my niece was sent home from school with a fever. An old friend of mine in London is seriously ill. My mum is too afraid to hug me and every handshake I’ve had comes with an air of suspicion. Professionally, I lost near £5,000 in 24 hours and I’m in a better position than most. Every day we huddle round our iPhones to hear Uncle Johnson’s latest fireside chat and watch the doors of our social outlets close until further notice. It’s not a circus; no one is laughing or cheering. There’s no grand finale. Not a fun one, anyway. And the hubris I carried around for the first few days has turned into embarrassment and shame.

Don’t get me wrong, I still see the cracks in the story – the quiet announcements that pave the way for privatisation of our front line services, where ‘strain’ will become ‘support’ from the private sector. The selfishness of consumers and the arrogance of a designer facemask. The special measures being passed through parliament whilst we’re distracted by body counts. The contracts waiting for Big Pharma, who will be painted as ‘pioneers’ and ‘saviours’ as they make billions from a global cough. I’m still skeptical. But, curiously, now, I’m hopeful too.

There’s something else that’s palpable, aside from Google led health concerns, armchair assessments, and crumbling economies; there are other waves washing over the country I both defend and despise. Compassion. Community. A sense of mature camaraderie, that regardless of whether you’re red, blue, yellow, green (or heaven forbid even purple) in your politics this is something beyond the ballot box. And I’m not talking about taking Whitty and Vallance verbatim, which is another conversation, but more the small decisions people are making to simply support one another.

Since Monday, I’ve had conversations in two supermarkets because the men beside me wanted to know “…are you already mate?” My housemate is currently downstairs batch cooking curries for our neighbours. Professional peers are paying my invoices early, where they can, and the largest tour operator in the country has told me I can settle up whenever. I have a WhatsApp group with my family, where we’re sending my sister jokes, gifs, and memes as her household stay under quarantine – I went to bed last night after sharing a video of goats jumping on a wobbly sheet of metal. We haven’t played like this since we were children.

I’m changing too. I’m swapping the self-import analysis of the public domain for community spirit. I’m not Gandhi (Gandhi wasn’t Gandhi) and I’ll start with my own love list first, but I’m going to pitch in. I’m going to do the right things at the right tie, to plagiarism our premier. I’ll probably still go to the pub, until I’m forced not to, but I’ve shut down all my events until August and I’m watching the briefings from Downing Street with a clearer sight. I’m listening. I’m not picking them apart. Well, not as much anyway.

And whilst I will hold onto my belief that there is manipulation in the media, because there is, I’m choosing not to fight that this time. My energy is can be better spent. Rightly or wrongly, people are scared. My friends are scared. My family are scared. Part of me is scared too. And there’s only one way and one emotion I know of to fight fear.

Ed King is Editor-in-Chief of Review Publishing – you can follow Ed King on Twitter at www.twitter.com/EdKing2210

For more on Review Publishing, visit www.reviewpublishing.net/

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual aggression in the music industry and beyond – from dance floor to dressing room, everyone deserves a safe place to play.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

OPINION: The Hold Tight Sessions – Nerina Pallot

Ed’s note…

This was first published in Nerina Pallot’s newsletter, issued to her fans on 18.03.20 – we thought it was such a good idea (and such a warm piece of writing) that we asked if we could syndicate it to our readers. With all the fear in the world right now, alongside the damage to the creative and other industries, we loved seeing a silver lining.

The clue’s in the title, but watch out for Nerina Pallot’s online concerts – The Hold Tight Sessions –  streamed every Thursday at 8pm; we’re still safe to make sound, even if it’s a little further away than the traditional front row. For more on this, click here to visit the Facebook event page or click here to visit Nerina Palllot’s YouTube Channel.

And there’s a couple of sneaky peaks of Nerina live at the end of this article, please excuse the picture quality of the first one but we thought it was a good clip/representation (and please excuse Gloria Hunniford’s segue…)

Be safe and be kind to each other; now is the time for community and compassion. With love from all at Birmingham Review x

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Words by Nerina Pallot / Pics by Katja Ogrin

Before I sat down to write this newsletter, I looked for a poem with which to begin it. I rifled through the books I already have, thought ‘surely me old mucker Philip Larkin has something to say about all this business. Or Pablo Neruda. Maybe go all high falutin’ and rustle up something by that naughty Mr Marvell. Or a bit of Rilke to make us all pause for thought and look all moody like tortured teenagers.’ I spent a long time leafing. Gave up. Googled – what was I gonna Google? Poems for uncertain times? (The poems in existence didn’t bank on times as uncertain as these.) Poems for a world on lockdown? (Nope. Nada in that larder.) Poems for when we’re up a creek nobody knew existed and you have ten thousand spoons when all you need is a paddle?

Guess what. There are no poems for this, but I suspect many will be born because of it.

Tell me, if even a mere month ago somebody had come to you and said in France, if you want to leave your house, you need papers to explain where you’re going and what you’re doing you would have thought them mad. The whole notion was preposterous; a conspiracy theory cooked up by the sort of people who think juicing cures cancer and love to tell you all about it on Facebook. And yet at midday yesterday, this is what came to pass. In France. Land of la liberté, egalité et fraternité. In Italy, people are singing to each other on balconies because that is all there is to do. The world is shutting its doors to keep out an enemy it cannot see, smell or hear.

Now, some of us have waited our whole lives for state sanctioned introversion. We feel validated. We got this. A legitimate excuse to stay home in our pants and read and listen to music and draw and never have to see people? Yes please thank you very much. But now that the option to come out of ourselves has been removed it doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel very good at all. Perhaps we have more in common with those folk who move through the world as if it were an amusement arcade. We’re just not very good at parties. But now there aren’t any parties to go to anyway.

And suddenly, I dunno about you, but I could do with a bloody good party.

None of us have any real idea of what is about to unfold, or how long this unfolding will take. Some of us are living week to week, pay cheque to pay cheque. We may be working from home, but only for as long as the companies we work for can keep going. We may run businesses that are trickling away before our very eyes. Some of us may have seen our pensions – everything all those years of slog and sacrifice were meant to be worth it for – slip like sand through an hourglass in just a fortnight. Some of us may be ok. But if we don’t know what it is to come, how can we know for sure?

Here’s the thing. It’s a WE thing. Because for once in human history, every single one of us is affected and we are all in this together. And not in the way David Cameron meant either.

And that is a wonderful thing. I don’t mean this flippantly. Not a single one of us can come away untouched from this – not even Jeff Bezos or Vladimir Putin or Kay Burley’s hairdo. And for all the crappiness in the world – the war, the sickness, the terrorism, the poverty – we also live in a time of extraordinary progress. At the peak of scientific discovery, where right now, at this very minute, all over the planet, there are amazing men and women in white lab coats straining over microscopes and working at lightening speed to find a way to despatch this pesky virus into the biohazard dustbin of time. They will do it. They always do.

We are humans. We do some shitty things, but we also put men on the moon (like in my song sort of) and figure out that as well as making some excellent cheeses, mould can make life saving drugs. We also like to dress our cats in unicorn costumes.

Right now, as I see it, we can only control ourselves. Everything else is out of our jurisdiction – but isn’t it always that way, much as we like to convince ourselves otherwise? So with that in mind, we have to sit this out. Take care of ourselves and each other as best we can. Eat well. Brush our teeth. Get some rest. Watch the bare minimum of news. Concentrate on only each day as it comes. Add gin where necessary.

Do what we can.

What I can do is sing and play music and chat nonsense. And so that is what I’m gonna do for you in coming weeks. Every Thursday at 8PM UK time I’m going to do a little concert from my living room for you. I will happily take requests – although I may need them a day or two in advance to avoid disappointment because I have written A LOT of songs now as I’m old. If glitch free technology allows, I might be able to get some musical friends to join me from their living rooms too. We’re looking into it.

Feel free to dress up and share your photos of sartorial elegance. THIS MEANS PLEASE WEAR CLOTHING. The fancier, the better. I refuse to let you slip into the slovenly ways of the couch potato. We are going to get up every day and make an effort and put lipstick on even if the only person there to witness it is the cat.

‘Stay Lucky’ – Nerina Pallot (live from the Trades Club, Hebden Bridge)

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‘Sophia’ – Nerina Pallot (performed live on Heaven and Earth / BBC)

Nerina Pallot will be hosting a living room concert every Thursday from 8pm GMT – The Hold Tight Sessions. For more on this, click here to visit the Facebook event page – or click here to visit Nerina Pallot’s YouTube channel.

For more on Nerina Pallot, visit www.nerinapallot.com

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual aggression in the music industry and beyond – from dance floor to dressing room, everyone deserves a safe place to play.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

BREVIEW: Paloma Faith @ Genting Arena 21.03.18

Paloma Faith @ Genting Arena 21.03.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Words & pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

I never thought I’d witness a Genting Arena steward dance. Yet here I was, an hour into Paloma Faith’s show, watching a red-haired stewardess shimmy down the central aisle to the bemusement of the surrounding crowd.

Call it cliché, but it was unavoidable – the atmosphere of the evening was intoxicating, and it was all down to Paloma Faith’s incredible performance.

As the lights went down and the stage glowed an ominous red, Faith appeared and strode down the opposite staircase to where the four other photographers and I had been placed.Paloma Faith @ Genting Arena 21.03.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe Cue an awkward minute or so of camera clutching as we waited for Faith to safely descend in a pair of mammoth white heels, microphone in hand, as she sang the title track from her latest album The Architect. The stage resembled something out of a post-apocalyptic Sci Fi film, with holographic geometric platforms housing her band whom she referred to as “the dream team”.

Paloma Faith @ Genting Arena 21.03.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeOne thing I was taken aback by was just how fond I grew of Paloma Faith as the performance went on. Between songs, she touched on numerous subjects such as childbirth, self-love, politics and war, with the charm and finesse only the Hackney-born singer could possess. Not pedantic or patronising (as some artists can be on these subjects) but delivered heartfelt and in all honesty, even hilarious at times.

Faith is not one to skirt around details either, as she recounted her hopes for a relaxed home birth before “it all went to shit, and I became a well of pus – Beyoncé didn’t have that, surely”.Paloma Faith @ Genting Arena 21.03.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe These witty anecdotes grounded the evening’s performance, leaving the audience cheering for more.

And what a performance it was. Faith’s set list contained a whole host of tracks, both old and new. Songs such as ‘Crybaby’ and ‘My Body’ proved to be hits with the crowd, who were beginning to rise from their seats and dance along. Watching two women leap up and run down the main aisle whilst being chased by security, during ‘Warrior’, was a true highlight to the evening, especially when Faith actively encouraged their behaviour.

Paloma Faith @ Genting Arena 21.03.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeHer slower songs proved to hit a poignant note with the crowd too. Faith’s duet of ‘I’ll Be Gentle’ with her guitarist, BB Bones, left my jaw slack in awe, as did her rendition of ‘Picking up the Pieces’.

Although Faith is working hard to craft herself a new niche in today’s music scene, she hasn’t strayed too far from her former work – a refreshing change from the numerous artists that attempt to reinvent themselves every few years.

But that’s the beauty of a Paloma Faith show, the dynamic is simply ever changing – from clambering onto a grand piano to mournfully sing ‘Just Be’, to knee sliding along the stage during Sigala’s hit single ‘Changing’, you never quite know what you’re going to get. Apart from a bloody good show; that’s a given.

For more on Paloma Faith, visit www.palomafaith.com

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com

For more form the Genting Arena, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk

BPREVIEW: Paloma Faith @ Genting Arena 21.03.18

Paloma Faith @ Genting Arena 21.03.18

Words by Ed King

On Wednesday 21st March, Paloma Faith performs at the Genting Arena – with support from the Liverpool based jazz and soul artist, XamVolo.

Doors open at the Genting Arena from 5pm (Forum) and 6pm (Arena), with XamVolo performing at 7:30pm followed by Paloma Faith’s headline set at 8:30pm. Tickets are priced at £40.45 / £51.75 depending on your position within the arena, as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours.

For direct show information, including full venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Paloma Faith is out on tour with her fourth studio album, The Architect – coming to the Genting Arena to play one of her final England based shows, before heading out for two dates in Ireland and two dates in Australia. Paloma Faith has further UK dates planned for June, July and August, including the inevitable appearances across the festival season. For direct information on all the Paloma Faith shows announced for 2018, click here. 

The Architect was released in November 2017, entering the UK charts at No1. No small achievement. Mind you, Paloma Faith’s previous three albums all hit the double platinum markers in the UK albums charts. So no small achievement times three, times 600k, and counting. And to think Epic Records wanted to wait a while…

Championed by Radio 2, Paloma Faith was invited to headline one of a series of special concerts from the broadcaster as part of The Architect’s introduction in last year. And despite a somewhat overzealous smoke machine, the show introduced a breadth of new content to Faith’s already fervent fanbase.

Inspired by the call to arms of common concerns and compassion that Marvin Gaye presented with What’s Going On, Paloma Faith’s fourth album moved away from the tropes of relationships, heartbreak, love and loss – exploring a more socio-political landscape and the issues we all face within it.

The album’s opening track, ‘Evolution’, features a soliloquy from Samuel L Jackson about the dichotomy of masculinity, with writer and political/social activist Owen Jones offering a reminder of the basic human rights much of society had to fight for (and our responsibilities to honour those who fought for them) in ‘Politics of Hope’.

But love is always at the heart, and even if it embraces socio-political thoughts, ambitions and endeavour, The Architect is not an outright political record. It’s a human record.

Plus, a Paloma Faith show is just that, a show. And the arena tour that’s supporting her latest LP is set to be packed with all the soul and spectacle the world has come to expect from this unique artist and performer. 

‘Til I’m Done’ Paloma Faith (live session) 

Paloma Faith performs at the Genting Arena on Wednesday 21st March, with support from XamVolo – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk/whats-on/paloma-faith 

For more on Paloma Faith, visit www.palomafaith.com

For more on XamVolo, visit www.xamvolo.com 

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com

For more from the Genting Arena, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk