Rocky Horror - A book compiling interviews with original cast members of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and rare behind-the-scenes photographs is to be published this September. The show’s writer, Richard O’Brien, has provided the foreword for the literary homage to the cult classic musical, which this year celebrates half a century since the well-known film was first released. Rare images snapped behind the scenes of the six-week filming process by the late photographer Mick Rock form the bulk of the book, which also includes interviews with original cast members and quotes from fans including musicians Courtney Love and Peaches.
Announcing the book, publisher Coronet said: “The late great Mick Rock has gifted us all with the most joyful visual celebration of Richard O’Brien’s glorious creation. 50 years on, the musical continues to occupy its own unchallenged place in modern popular culture.” Rocky Horror will be published on 30 September in hardback and ebook form.
Time Out - New for Glastonbury 2025 this week, Dragon’s Tail is billed as “a gloriously relaxed new space to take time out, find shade and shelter, and revel in the moment”. Situated between Shangri-La and Unfairground, here you’ll find “a pocket of calm in the site’s fabled South-East corner. Vast murals adorn the area and at its apex, you’ll find the striking 40m stained-glass dragon sculpture, created by acclaimed artist Edgar Phillips, that lends the space its name”.
Peace and Love - Global Beatles Day, 25 June, celebrates ‘the phenomenon and ideals of the Beatles’, collectively and individually. Lennon & McCartney’s All You Need is Love was first performed by The Beatles on the BBC produced programme, Our World, the first ever live global television link. Broadcast to 26 countries via satellite and watched by 400m, the programme was broadcast on 25 June 1967, ‘The Summer of Love’.
Opening Time - A former Debenhams store in West London is set to be converted into a 600-seat theatre despite concerns from some residents. Capital Theatre will open with Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story Live on Stage this autumn at the Shepherd's Bush Westfield shopping centre. Licencing was granted in February despite objections that drunken people would cause disruption and again when the planning application was submitted, but the latest meeting unanimously approved the plans.
Planning officers, who recommended the change of use said the show would be an immersive experience where visitors would "only be able to dine within the proposed development in combination with viewing the show". The venue was granted permission to show plays until 12.30am Monday to Sunday and to stay open until 1am.
Teenage Opera - A musical starring teenagers and a chihuahua aims to give the budding actors invaluable experience of being in London's West End, organisers have said. 25 children aged from 11 to 17 are performing Legally Blonde, a play based on the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon, in four ticketed shows at South Shields' Westovian Theatre. Charlotte Reid, who runs the Drama Geeks group, said it would give youngsters from all backgrounds a chance to learn and "get their teeth" into performing. The group, which trains children in drama and is based in the town, provides scholarships to families who may otherwise struggle to access the arts.
Farewell - Deacon Blue's keyboard player James Prime, who was also a music lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland, has died aged 64. Prime, from Kilmarnock, was a founding member of the band when it was formed in Glasgow by singer Ricky Ross in 1985. In a statement on Instagram, the band said that "our brother, James Prime, passed away after a short struggle with cancer. Thank you so much for the messages of support that you shared over the last two weeks, they meant so much to Jim, his family and us."
Alfred Brendel, who was considered one of the world's most accomplished pianists, has died at the age of 94. Most critics have acknowledged him as one of the foremost interpreters of the works of Beethoven. The musician was also known as an acclaimed essayist and poet, with an irrepressible sense of humour. He often cited his first musical memory as "winding up a gramophone playing opera records and trying to sing along to it". RIP.
(Jim Evans)
