Madame says: JEFFREY HINTON @ THE NPG
I went with Paul and Etienne (who took this picture) to the NPG last week for Jeffrey Hinton’s scratch video/slides presentation, in conversation with Princess Julia (who of course appears incredibly often amongst the films and stills) and Timberlina.
Beginning at the Warren Street squat days of the late 70s when they all became friends, many of the survivors of those exciting, creative times were in the audience; Boy George, Michael Costiff, John Maybury, Baillie Walsh, Stephen Jones, David Holah, Les Child…and many many more!
What was marvellous was the amount of emotion felt and expressed in the room. The number of people appearing on the screen no longer with us was horrifyingly high…but what a wonderful tribute it was to see them in their prime, wearing their 70s/80s and 90s finery! Jeffrey has only felt able to unearth his considerable archive recently due to the heartbreak delving into it incurs.
I feel that the incredibly positive reaction his efforts got last week will open the floodgates for more shows…and tears. What an influential group of people they really were. Their influence not only trickled down at the time but is still being felt today.
I ‘ll keep you posted for the next one!
Madame says: ALBION VOICE
I’m on a sewing marathon today and I’ve been vibing blissfully to the sound of multi Bishi voices on the album sampler she sent me for the just-about-to-be-released Albion Voice. You can buy the single here, the combination of folk, Indian sitar and lush orchestration is incredible…and pure Bishi. I’m really looking forward to hearing the entire album…
The artwork is brilliant too, love her here as Britannia – but with a Bengali tiger.
Madame says: WALLPAPER vs TOILETPAPER
Had so much fun at the Wallpaper vs Toiletpaper party in Milan with Martin and Bethan!
The parmesan, the torch-songs sung by 13 year old Luigi, the wipe-clean table art, the waltzing, the Amaretto, the chihuahua, the line-dancing…the blisters!!!
Amazing.
Madame says: KVADRAT
I’ve never been to Milan Design Week before, it was a treat to experience a fraction of the furore – which is a bit like Fashion Week without the gnarly fashion crush, and with furniture – and the Kvadrat show was the HOT ticket!!
At Jil Sander HQ in their white, perfect catwalk space these primary coloured creations by upcoming designers, celebrating Nanna Ditzel’s classic fabric (Hallingdal 65 which has been one of Kvadrat’s best-selling textiles for over 30 years) were outstanding. Some used the durable, utilitarian fabric as is and some reinvented it completely. Lovely to bump into Simon Hasan who I first met when I was DJing at a Fendi event where he was one of the artisans creating one-off pieces in-store. He had utterly deconstructed the textile, creating rope from the fibres and weaving them into a beautiful bench with a steel base.
On party-night this tranquil space was a fabulous-hot-crush! But the next morning when I took these pictures…not a spot on ANYTHING! Not so much as a single splash of Campari…how is that possible?!
Madame says: DRESS REHEARSAL
I love trying out looks and photographing them – especially if it’s a hotel bathroom! I was in Milan last week to DJ for the Kvadrat party in the Jil Sander building and was lucky enough to get to wear a Jil Sander Navy dress AND a Boudicca dress for the occasion!!! Costume changes we love!!
The other is a vintage kimono close to my heart I’ve been trying to make work for weeks….after spinning around the dancefloor at the Wallpaper vs Toiletpaper party in Milan on my last night it’s my new FAVOURITE dress!
Madame says: EASTER FEASTER
Easter feasts of note: Alex’s incredible chook and lentils, not to mention the overdue catch-up and Harry’s generous egg-gift. Peas at Brawn with Henry and Mark, creamy and delicious…those boys are GREAT lunch dates. One of my sister’s famous curries…first time in years, legendary.
Madame says: “THE MOTHER OF DESIGN”
This is what the boys call Joe’s godmother Stevie.
And so they should. Joe and Duke both get one-off BodyMap pieces on occasion…we went to the park with Stevie and Mucky on Sunday and she’d popped up to her studio that morning, made a pattern and whizzed this vest off like lightning!
Lucky isn’t the word.
Madame says: BEFORE THE SNOW COMES…
Despite his protestations that “Regents Park does nothing for me”, I think Paul managed to force himself to have a good time as we caught some late-in-the-day sun the other evening…
Particularly liked how the cafe, closed in the dwindling sunlight, took on the appearance of an abandoned sci-fi space station or somesuch, and we felt like the only inhabitants, playing piggy-in-the-middle with Frieda in the beautiful but almost-spooky light.
Madame says: JOBRIATH A.D.
Kieran Turner’s film, Jobriath A.D.had its world premier at the BFI Lesbian & Gay Film Festival this week. My first sighting of Jobriath was on the Arena documentary about the Chelsea Hotel in the early 80s. The beautiful, camp, wry performance from the coolest apartment in NYC (the pyramid on the roof of the building) of his song, “Sunday Brunch” hit me hard and stayed filed away somewhere until Morrissey’s t-shirt at a gig in Brighton and then Superduck’s kind compilation a few years later joined the dots and confirmed me a fan. I’m so glad this well-researched film has been made. The early footage and photos were a revelation. What a talented, beautiful, unique, doomed star.
He was the first ‘out’ rock star. And I mean OUT. “The True Fairy of Rock & Roll” to quote his publicity blurb. This would be an outrage even now in 2012…imagine the reaction in 1973.
Rupert Smith gave an excellent lecture afterwards, focusing on Jackie Curtis, Lyndsay Kemp and Jayne County – above with Curtis looking remarkably like Marc Bolan – about how the phenomenal success of certain straight rock stars was rooted in no small way to the appropriation of the genius of these performers. David Bowie anyone? Watching before-unseen footage of Wayne County at the Trucks (interestingly financed by Bowie’s management company Mainman, then ‘lost’) which was recently unearthed by Superduck for his film about Jayne, we were reminded that without these queens, rock & roll would be quite the barren landscape.
After dying a public death a decade earlier, Jobriath died alone in 1983.
Long live Jobriath.
Thanks to Etienne for the pictures from the premier and to John for sending me this picture of the cover of Morrissey’s My Love Life EP from the Japanese release.
Madame says: WRAP PARTY
Some favourite pics from the Dexy’s wrap party the other night…I still haven’t heard the album but it was fun to dance while Kevin Rowland sang over the outros, and spin around to “Young Hearts Run Free” with Tim from Orlando (the band not the place!) who I haven’t seen since last century! In fact, I haven’t danced like that for aaaages, even Superduck had a soft shoe shuffle going on. Brilliant.
Now to get my hands on the CD…