I’m incredibly honoured….I’m going to demand a recount. I voted for Mr Ralph. I can’t understand why he didn’t win.
Good man, Brian, you thoroughly deserve your new title.
It also looks like Brian is set to win the new BiNS title Brummie of the Decade – get voting now for your favourite Brummie to get ultimate kudos this festive season!
UB40 played their Raise The Roof gig at The Rainbow last night, raising publicity to the campaign against the Noise Abatement order as well as money for a new, sound-insulating roof. Photographer Karen Strunks listened to her gut instinct and went to the gig sans press pass, but managed to sweet-talk her way in (she’s good at that) and got some great photos.
UB40 gave their support to The Rainbow because it is under threat as it has received a noise abatement order from local residents (or resident). Although the landlord Kent Davis has agreed to build a noise insulating roof, there was still more funding needed. UB40 stepped in, and the sales from the tickets and takings behind the bar will go towards the new roof. Digbeth is a vital part of Birmingham’s cultural scene and the music in and around the area plays an important role. I hope that tonight, The Rainbow has managed to raise all the funding needed. As the local saying goes “Keep Digbeth Vibrant!”
UB40 – One In Ten – Steve Recommends… – Tonight UB40 are playing a free gig at The Rainbow to help them Raise The Roof and hopefully fend off the noise abatement madness. Here, according to Steve Lawson, is why it’s important:
…UB40 are playing a gig at The Rainbow in Birmingham. A venue plagued by problems in a city where music venues are disappearing at a rate of knots. It’s a pretty big statement for them to do this, and hopefully the conversation will continue to grow about what needs to happen to protect that vital voice in Birmingham Culture that its music scene has provided over the years.
It’s also a chance to hear UB40 without any of the trappings or expectation of an arena show. Most bands get less interesting the bigger they get. Throw them back into a pub gig, and it all gets vibrant again. I’m here to be won back :) It’ll be broadcast live on Rhubarb Radio.
The gig is sold out, but you can catch them live on Rhubarb Radio from 8pm.
Some thoughts on Birmingham’s music scene | Created in Birmingham – It’s not a pretty picture, I’m afraid. But it does include the news that UB40 will be playing a one-off gig at The Rainbow on 3 November to raise money for a new roof on the building in an attempt to reduce outside noise (and noise abatement orders). It’s unclear where people can obtain tickets yet.
The Hearing Aid: Radio 4…Rainbow Nil – Many thanks to The Baron for posting this link to Radio 4’s You And Yours on Fri 17th July, which features the fight to save The Rainbow.
‘It’s a great little feature, again starring your friend and mine Martin Mullaney, Birmingham’s Cabinet member for Leisure, Sport and Culture. That’s a joke right? Will he not rest until the place is another nice little apartment block? Clearly not. Anyway, have a listen, it’s about 15minutes in.’
It is indeed a great piece, also featuring interviews with Rainbow landlord Kent Davis, local Music Producer John Mostyn, and UB40’s Brian Travers who states ‘The Rainbow represents the beating cultural heart of Birmingham.’ It also, very fairly, shows the other side of the coin in an interview with Abacus tenant Adam, who describes living there as ‘like being in the pub’.
The Rainbow was packed on Friday night with people waiting to see Kent Davis react to Birmingham City Council’s serving of a Noise Abatement Order against his much-loved live music venue. And what a stirring, impassioned speech it was – people were saying things like ‘Henry V’ and ‘Agincourt’ afterwards. If you missed it (and trust me, you missed something a bit special), Pete Ashton caught the whole thing on his Flip camera:
I caught up with Kent afterwards, who described himself as ‘overwhealmed’ with the level of support he’s received:
I also had a chat with Digbeth Residents’ Association Chair Adam Crossley, who mused that The Rainbow had really caught the public imagination and was possibly a ‘better platform’ for tackling the issue than The Spotted Dog was.
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Normally, I would link to all the other online media regarding this nonsense around about here. But I don’t need to. Pete Ashton’s gone and done the job for me by creating a thread on The Rainbow’s Facebook group.
Harry Palmer: Birmingham’s hedgehog crisis. – Make it to St Martin’s Church on Saturday afternoon to hear plight of the ickle, prickly things. ‘This will be followed by Dominik Kai Brotherton who will publicly speak about alternative relationships and why they have a lasting impact.’ Sounds bizarre enough to be fascinating.
Custard Factory Flea Market – The Antiques Diva gives us the lowdown on the Sunday arts and crafts market. ‘Stalls range from the bizarre to the truly wonderful. Japanese baby clothes, vintage and handmade garments, rare records, original photography and art, crepe suzettes, pottery, kitsch collectables and homemade fudge are a small taste of what’s available.’
A Creative Masterclass with Michael Wolff – Creative Republic offer you the chance to join the team of Michael Wolff ‘a champion of design and innovation’. ‘We have invited Michael to take on the challenge of developing a fantasy brief for that imaginary role, a creative director for Birmingham. This event is not a lecture – those attending will be participating and expected to contribute actively during the evening…we plan to run a session as if we, the creatives, were part of Michael ’s team . How would this team market the creativity of the city? How would Michael brief the first meeting of this campaign team? What would the immediate actions and priorities be in the first 90 days? Come along to find out.’ The event is at Fazeley Studios next Thursday 27th November from 5.30pm and is well worth signing up to the Creative Republic Charter for.
Birmingham Central – The Big City plans outlines the options for each of the policy areas. Let’s see, do we want Digbeth to be Start-up Digbeth, Business Digbeth or Living and Working Digbeth? Or all of the above? And how will it connect to the core and other outer quarters? Ta to D’log for bringing this to the wider web.
UB40’s Red Red Wine pub becomes a victim of the Credit Crunch – Birmingham Eastside blog features the Sunday Mercury’s coverage of the closed-down pub, with UB40’s Red, Red Wine video that was filmed there for those feeling nostalgic. Local ‘UB40 fanatic’ Helena Payne said, “The Eagle & Tun was an historical venue for UB40 and their fans, so it’s really sad to see it boarded up and shut down…it’s been closed for a while now, so although we really hope someone will take it over, we’re not hopeful that will happen. I don’t know what’s in store for the building. It may turn into apartments or it could even be knocked down.”
Islam Awareness Week 2008: Celebrating the Best of Britain- Promoting Shared Values – ‘South Birmingham College are proud to be holding an event for Islam Awareness Week. Activities include a series of monologues followed by a Question Time session, a light buffet and an opportunity to view some displays.’ On Thurs 20th November 2-4pm. Part of a series of events going on around Birmingham.
UB40 threaten to leave Birmingham – After Birmingham City Council refuse planning permission for a proposed mixed use building, which would have included recording studios, next to Birmingham Proof House weapon testing centre in Eastside. Don’t leave us this way!
