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Darren Stephens
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

·May 11

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. …

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

A northern man

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