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Darren Stephens
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Published in The Cult of Stupid

·Pinned

Goodbye, Farewell, Auf wiedersehen …

As this story is released, the UK’s transitional deal with the EU will end, and we will step out, blinking and dazed, into a strange and unfamiliar world. For many of us, first the EEC and then the EU has been a low background thrum in our lives since childhood…

Eu

6 min read

Goodbye, Farewell, Auf wiedersehen …
Goodbye, Farewell, Auf wiedersehen …

Published in Fifteen Minutes of Mantra-filled Oompah

·6 days ago

Review: Ed Byrne-If I’m Honest

Billingham Forum 10 May 2022 — It’s a strange night tonight. The venue is about two thirds full¹, and over the course of the evening it’s clear that this troubles Ed just a bit because it keeps coming up. There are reasons of course, principal of which is the fact actually sitting here tonight has only…

Ed Byrne

5 min read

Review: Ed Byrne-If I’m Honest
Review: Ed Byrne-If I’m Honest

Published in Fifteen Minutes of Mantra-filled Oompah

·May 6

Review: Nish Kumar — Control

Tyne Theatre, 5 May 2022 — Well, it’s been a mad old time. This was the week of the five gigs¹, and tonight is the last. It’s always nice to come to the Tyne Theatre. It’s a lovely auditorium, and the vibe is always relaxed and friendly. I had a brief but friendly chat in the…

Nish Kumar

8 min read

Review: Nish Kumar — Control
Review: Nish Kumar — Control

Published in Fifteen Minutes of Mantra-filled Oompah

·May 6

Review: A Saucerful of Secrets

Newcastle City Hall, 3 May 2022 — Oh, to be 17 in 1967, down at UFO or any number of the other groovy happenings in the Summer of Love. For those of us too young to have ever been there (i.e …

Nick Mason

5 min read

Review: A Saucerful of Secrets
Review: A Saucerful of Secrets

Published in Fifteen Minutes of Mantra-filled Oompah

·May 1

Review: Half Man Half Biscuit

Durham Gala Theatre: 29 April 2022 — There’s just something about a Half Man Half Biscuit gig that’s not quite like anything else, especially for repeat offenders like me . Yes, it’s a roomful of mostly middle aged men jumping up and down like loons and not worrying about the arthritis until you can’t get out of…

Half Man Half Biscuit

5 min read

Review: Half Man Half Biscuit
Review: Half Man Half Biscuit

Published in The Cult of Stupid

·Apr 13

Letter Writing

I just sent this letter to my MP. This was about as short as I dared go within the bounds of at least some semblance of politeness, because right now I am angry almost beyond the point of rational speech. Dear Robert Goodwill, This will be a relatively short message…

Leeter

6 min read


Published in Fifteen Minutes of Mantra-filled Oompah

·Apr 9

Review: Rachel Parris — All Change

Middlesbrough Town Hall: 8 April 2022 — A lot has happened to Rachel Parris in the last three years, and the pandemic, as we discover later, appears to have been the least of it. We’re in the Crypt tonight, and the audience is, on the whole more, probably female than male, even though this is also very…

Rachel Parris

6 min read

Review: Rachel Parris — All Change
Review: Rachel Parris — All Change

Published in The Cult of Stupid

·Mar 30

#TWARTISAN

A portmanteau of wankery — Twats walk among us. They breathe the same air, sadly sometimes continuing to exhale as they do, often mask-free, as they wander about the place. Mostly it is just the background thrum of quotidan bellendery that offends us. And honestly, I don’t exclude myself from this. Sometimes I’m a twat…

Twat

3 min read


Published in The Cult of Stupid

·Mar 16

Review: Richard Cooper The Unplugged Alpha

No, this piece is really not what you think. — DISCLAIMER: This is probably not going to be that coherent. It’s written on the hoof, and as it continues it feels mostly like a bit of rage piece, so there will be typos. Apologies in advance. I was alerted to this book by a friend on Twitter. She saw a…

Alpha Male

10 min read


Published in Fifteen Minutes of Mantra-filled Oompah

·Mar 15

In Praise of … Equinoxe

Ok, so I talked about Zoolook, and because I’ve done that, I feel that I really have to talk about Equinoxe now. Equinoxe is a problematic album in the Jarre canon, because it’s the one immediately after THAT one, the one everyone knows, or at the very least knows one…

Jean Michel Jarre

6 min read

In Praise of … Equinoxe
In Praise of … Equinoxe
Darren Stephens

Darren Stephens

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