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Preview:Manchester Tattoo, Sigur Ros, Interpol
by Conrad Astley7/ 7/2005
IAN CURTIS might continue to disappoint fans by remaining dead,
but the next best thing is about to come to Manchester.
Interpol, compared by reviewers the world over with Joy Division,
are playing The Lowry tonight (Friday).
Named after everyone's favourite cross-border policing
organisation, New York's Interpol were formed in 1998, and were one
of the last bands to benefit from John Peel's Midas touch after he
championed them in 2001.
The following year's Turn On The Bright Lights made them indie
stars, while follow-up album Antics, along with a seemingly
relentless touring schedule, ensured their popularity showed no
sign of wavering.
The band were recently approached by the makers of American TV
series Six Feet Under to contribute a new song for the soundtrack,
and found the idea in an old recording session they had taped "a
long time ago".
This week's performance is a compensation prize for fans
disappointed the four-piece, fresh from appearances at Glastonbury
and support slots with Coldplay, did not appear alongside Chris
Martin and co at the Reebok Arena.
THIS YEAR has been an important one for military commemora-
tions. The 60th anniversary of VE Day was followed by the 200th
anniversary of victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Tomorrow's Manchester Tattoo at the MEN Arena has been described by
the organisers as a special opportunity for the city's residents to
reflect on the sacrifices made by members of the armed
forces.
For the first time, it will include performances from the Highland
Band Of The Scottish Division, a highly skilled band of musicians
including members of Scottish regiments such as The Black Watch and
Queen's Own Highlanders.
There will also be pipe and drum performances from Manchester's
Scots Guards' Association, and the Greater Manchester Police band,
while the Tameside Sea Cadets will perform their famous window
ladder display - in which they climb up a network of ropes in time
to music - as well as a formation club-throwing display.
There will also be performances from the Portsmouth Action Field
Gun Crew, as well as Manchester-based Ukrainian folk dancing
ensemble - Podilya.
The Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force will be on site, while
another demonstration will be made by the Dog Display Team.
A BAND who made a 70-minute mainly instrumental album, sing
almost exclusively in Icelandic, play guitar using 'cello bows and
once performed a concert playing an enormous specially-built
xylophone made from slabs of rock . . . Sigur Ros are not obvious
candidates for mainstream US acclaim.
However, that was the reaction they were unexpectedly greeted with
after their music was used in Tom Cruise's film Vanilla Sky.
Sigur Ros, who had been happily creating their ethereal soundscapes
since 1994, were suddenly the new favourite band of every Hollywood
star who wanted to be cool.
The Icelandic musicians, who play the Lowry tomorrow, were
astonished to sell out an American tour, and watched on as a huge
race broke out among record companies eager to get them US
distribution.
Having gone with the deal giving them the most artistic freedom,
the band's third album made it to number 52 on the American
Billboard chart in 2002.
This may not have put them in a position Mariah Carey or J.Lo
needed to worry about, but it was still an impressive achievement
given that the album contained no discernable lyrics, was over an
hour long, considered less accessible than even their previous
work, and was called only ( ).
The band even had to turn down an appearance on the David Letterman
show, as they were offered a three-minute slot. When the producers
attempted to come to a compromise, offering them four minutes, the
band still had to refuse as most of their songs are twice that
length.
Sigur Ros claim their otherworldly music reflects the mysterious
beauty of their homeland, and they do not behave like normal rock
stars.
Bass player Georg is nicknamed white fang because of his ability to
catch trout with his teeth, so their fans believe.
They had originally planned to record ( ) in a disused Nato base in
Iceland's most northerly mountain.
But beyond the image of mad Scandinavian artists, they do have a
more mundane side. Their second album agaetis byrjun is translated
as "alright start" as that was the comment a friend made after they
played him the first track.
And the last lyrics on their first album are about the band
listening to the completed recording, deciding it "wasn't very
good" and hoping the next one will be better.
Sigur Ros play the Lowry as part of a world tour, ahead of the
release of their still-unnamed new album, expected in the
autumn.
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