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Still fab after 60 years: how The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night made pop cinema history

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267">Alison Blair</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> I first saw A Hard Day’s Night at a film festival over 20 years ago, at the insistence of my mum. By then, it was already decades old, but I remember being enthralled by its high-spirited energy. A Beatles fan, mum had introduced me to the band’s records in my childhood. At home, we listened to Please Please Me, the band’s 1963 single, and the Rubber Soul album from 1965, which I loved. Television regularly showed old black-and-white scenes of Beatlemania that, to a ten-year-old in the neon-lit 1980s, seemed like ancient history. But then, I’d never seen a full-length Beatles film. I had no idea what I was in for. When the lights went down at Dunedin’s Regent Theatre, the opening chord of the film’s title song announced its intentions: an explosion of youthful vitality, rhythmic visuals, comical high jinks and the electrifying thrill of Beatlemania in 1964. This time, it didn’t seem ancient at all. Since that first viewing, I’ve returned to A Hard Day’s Night again and again. I now show it to my students as a historically significant example of pop music film making – visually inventive cinema, emblematic of a fresh era in youth culture, popular music and fandom. <h2>Beatlemania on celluloid</h2> A musical comedy depicting a chaotic 36 hours in the life of the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night has now reached its 60th anniversary. Directed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0504513/">Richard Lester</a>, the film premiered in London on July 6 1964, with its first public screening a day later (incidentally, also Ringo Starr’s birthday), and the <a href="https://www.discogs.com/master/24003-The-Beatles-A-Hard-Days-Night">album of the same name</a> released on July 10. The band’s popularity was by then reaching dizzying heights of hysteria, all reflected in the film. The Beatles are chased by hordes of fans, take a train trip, appear on TV, run from the police in a Keystone Cops-style sequence, and play a televised concert in front of screaming real-life Beatles fans. Side one of the album provides the soundtrack, and the film inspired pop music film and video from then on, from the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060010/">Monkees TV series</a> (1966–68) to the Spice Girls’ <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120185/">Spice World</a> (1997) and music videos as we know them today. <h2>The original music video</h2> Postwar teen culture and consumerism had been on the rise since the 1950s. In 1960s Britain, youth music TV programmes, notably <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196287/">Ready Steady Go!</a> (1963–66), meant pop music now had a developing visual culture. The youthful zest and vitality of ‘60s London was reflected in the pop-cultural sensibility, modern satirical humour and crisp visual impact of A Hard Day’s Night. Influenced by <a href="https://nofilmschool.com/french-new-wave-cinema">French New Wave</a> film making, and particularly the early 1960s work of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000419/">Jean-Luc Godard</a>, A Hard Day’s Night employs <a href="https://indiefilmhustle.com/cinema-verite/">cinéma vérité</a>-style hand-held cinematography, brisk jump cuts, unusual framing and dynamic angles, high-spirited action, and a self-referential nonchalance. The film also breaks the “fourth wall”, with characters directly addressing the audience in closeup, and reveals the apparatus of the visual performance of music: cameras and TV monitors are all part of the frame. Cutting the shots to the beat of the music – as in the Can’t Buy Me Love sequence – lends a visual rhythm that would later become the norm in music video editing. Lester developed this technique further in the second Beatles film, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059260/">Help!</a> (1965). The closing sequence of A Hard Day’s Night is possibly the film’s most dynamic: photographic images of the band edited to the beat in the style of stop-motion animation. Sixty years on, it still feels fresh, especially as so much contemporary film making remains hidebound by formulaic Hollywood rules. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A Hard Day's Night movie poster" /><figcaption>A new pop aesthetic: original film poster for A Hard Day’s Night. Getty Images</figcaption></figure> <h2>Slapstick and class awareness</h2> As with much popular culture from the past, the humour in A Hard Day’s Night doesn’t always doesn’t land the way it would have in 1964. And yet, there are moments that seem surprisingly modern in their razor-sharp irony. In particular, the band’s Liverpudlian working-class-lad jibes and chaotic energy contrast brilliantly with the film’s upper-class characters. Actor Victor Spinetti’s comically over-anxious TV director, constantly hand-wringing over the boys’ rebelliousness, underscores the era-defining change the Beatles represented. Corporate pop-culture consumerism is also satirised. John Lennon “snorts” from a Coca-Cola bottle, a moment so knowingly silly it registers as more contemporary than it really is. George Harrison deflects a journalist’s banal questions with scathingly witty answers, and cuts a fashion company down to size by describing their shirt designs as “grotesque”. And there is Paul McCartney’s running joke that his grandfather – played by Wilfred Brambell from groundbreaking sitcom <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057785/">Steptoe and Son</a> (1962–74) – is “very clean”. Even the film’s old-fashioned visual slapstick still holds up in 2024. Showing the film to this year’s students, I didn’t expect quite as much laughter when Ringo’s attempts to be chivalrous result in a fall-down-a-hole mishap. In 2022, the <a href="https://www.criterion.com/">Criterion Collection</a> released a high-resolution restoration of the film, so today A Hard Day’s Night can be seen in all its fresh, black-and-white, youthful vigour. Happy 60th, A Hard Day’s Night. And happy 84th, Ringo. Both still as lively and energetic as ever.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/228598/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267">Alison Blair</a>, Teaching Fellow in Music, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> Image credits: THA/Shutterstock Editorial This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/still-fab-after-60-years-how-the-beatles-a-hard-days-night-made-pop-cinema-history-228598">original article</a>. </div>

Movies

Pop legend dies just days after retiring

One of the founding members of British pop band Black Lace has passed away at the age of 70, just days after announcing his retirement. Colin Gibb was best known as the longest-standing member of the band, famed for their tunes such as the Aussie hit Agadoo and Do the Conga. Black Lace became a household name after finishing seventh for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979 with their song, Mary Ann. On Sunday, Gibb's wife Sue Kelly told fans her “dearest husband” had died in the afternoon, sharing the news on Facebook. Alongside a photo of the couple, she wrote, “I love you Colin, spent 22 years living your Agadoo dream, we were due to retire to Spain on Thursday, you were so happy, so looking forward to our new life, now you’re gone." “As we used to say, always love you forever.” Just days before his passing, Gibb took to his social media page to tell fans he would be playing one final show that week as he thanked them for their support over the years. He wrote, “Well all good things must come to an end. I have decided to retire." Despite numerous line-up changes over the years, Gibb – born Colin Routh – stuck with Black Lace for decades, seeing them through the height of their success in the 1980s. Image credits: Facebook

Caring

Scarlett Johansson slams tech giant's AI update

Scarlett Johansson has issued a furious public statement, claiming that tech giant OpenAI used a voice that is “eerily similar” to hers in the latest version of ChatGPT. In the statement published by NPR, the actress claimed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had approached her last year asking if she would be interested in voicing their new AI voice assistant. After further consideration and "for personal reasons" she rejected the offer. She claimed that Altman then reached out to her agent again just days before the AI voice assistant was released, but before she had a chance to respond, the voice "Sky" was released. “When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” she said in the statement. She also said that the similarity seemed intentional, as Altman tweeted the word "her" upon Sky's release, which is the same name as a 2013 movie she was in where she voiced a chat system. “In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity,” the actress said in her statement. “I look forward to resolution in the form of transparency and the passage of appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected.” OpenAI announced that it had paused the use of the “Sky” voice on Sunday, and insisted that it wasn't Johansson's voice, but another actress. “We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice — Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice,” the company wrote. Image: Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto/ Shutterstock Editorial

Legal

"Big one for shenanigans": Aussie larrikin paddles a giant pumpkin down a river

In potentially the most Aussie story ever and a suspected world first, one bloke has pinched his mate's award-winning pumpkin to turn into a paddle boat and sail down the Tumut River. The enormous pumpkin was grown by farmer Mark Peacock, who grew the vegetable to a whopping 407kg and would regularly post updates on the gourd's growing progress on Facebook. The pumpkin even earned a fitting name, Tormund after a character in Game of Thrones, and was used to feed his livestock. After the pumpkin had served its purpose, Peacock's friend and local canoe club commodore Adam Farquharson saw a once in a lifetime opportunity. Sporting a sailor hat and pipe, he navigated the hollowed-out pumpkin, dubbed ‘Cinderella’, down the Tumut River in New South Wales’ Riverina region, much to the amusement of bystanders. “Barry Humphries said that he’s a big fan of the unnecessary, and I am too. I’m a big one for shenanigans,” he told <a title="www.abc.net.au" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-16/man-turns-mammoth-400kg-pumpkin-into-a-canoe/103708438">ABC Riverena</a><a title="www.abc.net.au" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-16/man-turns-mammoth-400kg-pumpkin-into-a-canoe/103708438">.</a> While initially surprised by Farquharson’s antics, Mr Peacock acknowledged that it was characteristic of his friend’s sense of humour to do something out of the ordinary to make people smile. “He’s really hilarious. But he’s random, occasionally,” he said. “I intentionally grew this as a family project and then started doing Facebook updates every week.” For Mr Farquharson, the voyage was simply about enjoying himself and giving locals an opportunity for a laugh. Farquharson joked about potential future exploits but remained grounded about his brief moment of fame as “Popeye the Pumpkin Man.” “I think the worldwide fame will wear off pretty soon. I won’t end up like Taylor Swift. I’ll just get back to life as normal,” he said. Reflecting on the unusual journey, Mr Farquharson humorously considered preserving the pumpkin as a national curiosity by placing it on a pedestal among Australian sporting royalty. “It was a sad moment. I did jokingly say to my wife that I should petition the prime minister to have it preserved and put next to Phar Lap’s heart at the National Museum,” he told the ABC. “She thought I was an idiot.” Image credits: Facebook

Domestic Travel

Vale ‘sister suffragette’: how Glynis Johns became a pop-culture icon in the story of votes for women

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ana-stevenson-196768">Ana Stevenson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lindsay-helwig-1500979">Lindsay Helwig</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> Glynis Johns, most famous for her role as the suffragette mother Mrs Winifred Banks in Disney’s Mary Poppins (1964), passed away last week at the age of 100. A fourth-generation performer who made her <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-17-ca-126-story.html">stage debut</a> in London when she was only three weeks old, Johns inherited her Welsh father’s love of acting. She appeared with him in The Halfway House (1944) and The Sundowners (1960) and argued for the establishment of a Welsh National Theatre <a href="https://twitter.com/huwthomas/status/791367871242862592">as early as 1971</a>. Johns’s career spanned eight decades in Hollywood, Broadway and the British stage and screen. As Palm Springs’s Desert Sun <a href="https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19630426.2.50">reported</a> in 1962, her “husky voice and big blue eyes” were her hallmarks. But it was her portrayal of Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins which would make her a pop culture icon. <h2>A childhood inspiration</h2> Feminist activists and scholars often describe the Mrs Banks character as a childhood inspiration. As feminist communications scholar Amanda Firestone <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Resist_and_Persist/s5HiDwAAQBAJ">reflects</a> on the film: "I especially loved […] Mrs Banks (Glynis Johns), who marches around the family home, putting Votes for Women sashes onto the housekeeper, cook, and the (departing) nanny. Of course, as a kid, I had no idea that the people and events embedded in the song’s lyrics were actual parts of history, but I did find a kind of joy in a vague notion of women’s empowerment." Set in 1910, the symbolism associated with Mrs Banks references the history of the British suffragettes. Johns’ musical showstopper, Sister Suffragette, directly refers to <a href="https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-pankhursts-politics-protest-and-passion/">Emmeline Pankhurst</a>, who founded the militant Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903. In 1906 British newspapers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859007003239">coined</a> the moniker “suffragette” to mock the union. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K0SDECwO54E?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> This ambivalence continued into the 1960s. Historian Laura E. Nym Mayhall <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4316653">argues</a> that American concern over the impact of women’s public roles on their domestic responsibilities influenced the film’s depiction of Mrs Banks, especially her movement from a public suffragette back into an involved mother at the film’s end. For Mayhall, the figure of the suffragette emerges in popular culture as “a symbol of modernity”: a harbinger of democracy and political progress whose characterisation would elide ongoing struggles such as the civil rights movement. <figure class="align-right zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=949&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=949&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=949&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1193&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1193&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1193&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>This 1909 Dunston Weiler Lithograph Co. anti-suffrage postcard offers resonances of Mrs Banks and her household staff in Mary Poppins. <a class="source" href="https://thesuffragepostcardproject.omeka.net/items/show/44">Catherine H. Palczewski Postcard Archive/The Suffrage Postcard Project</a></figcaption></figure> While some see the character of the suffragette mother as <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Mary_Poppins/BLujEAAAQBAJ">supporting</a> women’s votes during the 1910s and women’s liberation during the 1960s, other readings of the film suggest a more satirical representation of the suffrage movement. Some historians even find <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/02705346-6923118">resonances</a> of anti-suffrage propaganda in Mrs Banks, including in her usage of her Votes for Women sash as the tail of a kite in the film’s final scene. Looking back at film reviews offers insight into how audiences received this character – and, by extension, Johns as an actor. American studies scholar Lori Kenschaft <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Girls_Boys_Books_Toys.html?id=Or13vhnA_W4C">suggests</a> that film critics who saw Mrs Banks as a “nutty suffragette mother” reiterated popular stereotypes about suffragettes and feminists being “mentally unbalanced”. Such stereotypes may have been reinforced by the film’s depiction of motherhood and the nuclear family. Involved parenting emerged as the bedrock of the 1960s nuclear family, an idea both supported and actively promoted by Walt Disney in both his films and his theme parks, as <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Children_Childhood_and_Musical_Theater/XHrRDwAAQBAJ">argued</a> by American musicologist William A. Everett. As Mrs Banks, Johns embodied the transition from the distant, uninvolved parenting of the British middle-class in the earlier 20th century to the involved mother who facilitated the stable nuclear family. As women’s studies scholar Anne McLeer <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4316893">argues</a>, Mary Poppins, through Johns’ portrayal of Mrs Banks, demonstrated the liberated woman of the 1960s could be contained within the nuclear family: the bedrock for a Western capitalist economy. <h2>A long career</h2> Beyond Mary Poppins, her most prominent role was in Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway musical A Little Night Music (1973). Johns originated the character of ageing actress Desiree Armfeldt, becoming the first to sing Send in the Clowns. As she <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-17-ca-126-story.html">reflected</a> of the classic in 1991: "It’s still part of me. And when you’ve got a song like Send in the Clowns, it’s timeless." Sondheim composed this song with Johns’s famously husky voice in mind. Yet some were less enamoured with her performance. One 1973 theatre critic <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3850619">described</a> Johns as “a now somewhat overage tomboy, kittenish and raspy-voiced, precise and amusing in her delivery of lines but utterly, utterly unseductive.” <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OAl-EawVobY?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> A veteran of stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. In 1998, she was honoured with a Disney Legends Award for her role as Mrs Banks. Johns also received critical acclaim throughout her career, including a Laurel Award for Mary Poppins and a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for A Little Night Music. Regardless of how incongruous her status as a “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-05/glynis-johns-mary-poppins-send-in-the-clowns/103287036">Disney feminist icon</a>” may be, Johns’s extraordinary influence upon the 20th century’s cultural memory is a remarkable legacy. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220766/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ana-stevenson-196768">Ana Stevenson</a>, Senior Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lindsay-helwig-1500979">Lindsay Helwig</a>, Lecturer in Pathways, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> Image credits: Disney This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/vale-sister-suffragette-how-glynis-johns-became-a-pop-culture-icon-in-the-story-of-votes-for-women-220766">original article</a>.

Caring

Meg Ryan is back after a "giant break"

Meg Ryan is back and she has spilled it all, ahead of her first rom-com release in nearly 15 years. In an interview with People Magazine, the When Harry Met Sally star revealed the reason why she took a step back from her career. "I took a giant break because I felt like there's just so many other parts of my experience as a human being I wanted to develop," she told the outlet. "It's nice to think of it as a job and not a lifestyle. And that is a great way of navigating it for me." The 61-year-old also shared the inspiration behind her first rom-com What Happens Later, which she directed, wrote and starred in. "It came to me during lockdown," she gushed. "The essence of it is these two people who are stuck together. I just love that idea that we're held in a space, even if it feels conflicted, maybe for reasons that heal them." This is the first rom-com that she has acted in for over a decade, with her last film in that genre being Serious Moonlight back in 2009. In another another conversation with Interview magazine's Carol Burnett, she opened up about the process of making her film. "Truly, the easiest part was acting in it," she told the publication. "I want to direct again just so I can sit in the chair, because I’m sure there’s a lot of things I missed." "I hadn’t done a role in a really long time, but it was fun with David," she added, referring to co-star David Duchovny, known for his role as Fox Mulder in The X Files. "A lot of it was done in two shots. I’m proud of that. I set up everything beforehand so that once we were there, it was just David and I trying to tell the truth." She revealed that the film was assembled together with a very "deliberate" process and a budget of only $3 million. "We had to do it really quickly. A lot of those extras weren’t even ours, they were real people," she said. "We went back in post and made everybody the same palette. There’s a lot of stuff you can do digitally now, thank god." The actress first shot to fame in 1980 for her girl-next-door image, after playing the love interest in iconic films like the original Top Gun and When Harry Met Sally. Images: Getty Images/ Edward Berthelot/WireImage

Movies

“This should be illegal”: Pop icon sends fans into a tizzy over shirtless pics

Harry Styles has sent his fans into a tizzy after he was snapped cooling off on a scorching day in London. The 29-year-old pop star was spotted enjoying a much needed break from his two-year run on the road with his Love on Tour concerts, as he soaked in the sunshine in the UK heatwave. Styles went shirtless and showed off his tattoos as he dived into a public bathing pond in Hampstead, North London, as temperatures soared above 30 degrees for the sixth day in a row. “He kept a low profile and went mostly unrecognised. He was swimming laps and practising his diving,” an onlooker told <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/9050688/harry-styles-abs-swimming-heatwave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a>. The steamy pics have sent diehard fans into a frenzy, with several fan accounts reposting the photos, with one fan writing, “He’s so hot, this should be illegal.” Styles has been spotted around London several times over the last few weeks while on his break from tour, with fans recently seeing him cycling around the city centre with James Corden. Styles and Corden were also seen at the National Theatre together, watching a performance of The Effect, starring Canadian actress Taylor Russell, who is rumoured to be Styles’ new girlfriend. Following the performance, Styles and Russell were soon canoodling with other cast members. “It looked like they were holding hands,” a source told Page Six at the time. “Harry stayed by Taylor’s side the whole time. He introduced her to James and was whispering to her and laughing and smiling.” Image credits: Instagram

Body

Pop star discovered tragically dead at 33 in the wake of scandal

South Korean pop star Choi Sung-bong, who was caught running a notorious cancer scam has passed away at age 33. The Korean Times reported that Choi was found by police at his Seoul home on the morning of June 20. He was pronounced dead soon after. Authorities have reportedly ruled the singer’s cause of death as a suicide. According to the Hollywood Reporter, after years of online fame stemming from a 2011 performance on Korea’s Got Talent, Choi confessed he had tricked his fans into donating money to him after claiming he needed funds for cancer treatment. Choi had claimed he had been battling multiple forms of cancer to obtain the donations, however, his claims were later exposed as a hoax. He also claimed he had returned all donated funds from a false fundraiser. Choi later issued a grovelling apology and vowed to return all of the donations sent by his fans. One day before his alleged suicide, Choi posted a note on his YouTube channel apologising for “foolish mistakes” in the past, according to The Mirror. The chilling letter said he needed to "repay for his sins with his life” and showed the address of where his body would be after taking his life. “My body can be found at [his home location]. I don’t know how to write a final message, so I will just write it in my own style. Even though my breath may have stopped now, I have no regrets about the brilliant journey of my life. I have lived my life to the fullest and made efforts to find happiness every day. Age thirty-four," (as per Korean age system), he said. Choi was best known for competing in Korea’s Got Talent in 2011, coming in at second place. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIy99OT2BAQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vIy99OT2BAQ"></iframe></a> A clip of him singing a cover of Nella Fantasia by Ennio Morricone quickly went viral online, thrusting him into the spotlight – with singing sensation Justin Bieber even acknowledging his talent. Image credit: YouTube

Caring

Inspiration, influence and theft: what the Ed Sheeran case can tell us about 70 years of pop music

a US court <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/may/04/ed-sheeran-verdict-not-liable-copyright-lawsuit-marvin-gaye">ruled in favour of singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran</a>, agreeing his song Thinking Out Loud did not breach musical copyright. The high-profile court case, brought by the estate of soul singer Marvin Gaye, claimed Sheeran’s song was too similar to Gaye’s song Let’s Get It On. On the stand, Sheeran <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/28/ed-sheeran-sings-in-court-as-part-of-marvin-gaye-copyright-case">defended his songwriting process</a>, stating: “I draw inspiration from a lot from things in my life and family.” Sheeran’s case brought up some difficult questions around what we understand as inspiration and influence, and what we may hear as theft. Musical copyright cases are part of songwriting history. Radiohead’s Creep was found to be <a href="https://entertainment.time.com/2013/08/22/11-suspiciously-sound-alike-songs/slide/the-hollies-the-air-that-i-breathe-1974-vs-radiohead-creep-1992/">too similar</a> to the Hollies’ The Air That I Breathe, and in 2018, Lana Del Rey’s Get Free <a href="https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/lana-del-rey-claims-lawsuit-with-radiohead-is-over-watch-1202736177/">was found to plagiarise Creep</a>. Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars altered the credits to Uptown Funk to <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lawsuit-bmg-uptown-funk-royalties-gap-band-heirs-1234660379/">acknowledge the similarity</a> to The Gap Band’s Oops Upside Your Head. Here in Australia, the flute solo in Men at Work’s Down Under, which quoted the melody of folk song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree, was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jul/06/men-at-work-down-under">ruled as plagiarism</a>. In this case against Sheeran, the song’s chord progression was at the heart of the claim. The prosecution argued Sheeran’s chord progression was too similar to the chord progression of Gaye’s. But can we copyright a chord progression if it is used extensively in other pop songs? Gaye’s song uses four chords that gradually move upward (I-iii-IV-V). These same chords can be heard in the Beach Boys’ I Can Hear Music, the Seekers’ Georgy Girl, the Beatles’ I Feel Fine, in the Motown tune This Old Heart of Mine by the Isley Brothers, Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds, Cher’s Believe and ABBA’s Knowing Me Knowing You, among many others. This chord progression and many others are part of the songwriting toolkit of rock and pop and have been heard continuously over the past 70 years. <h2>The 12 bar blues</h2> A chord progression is the main instrumental part you hear in most pop music, usually played by a guitar, piano or synth. One of the oldest chord progressions in pop is the 12-bar blues – a looping pattern of three chords that is very identifiable. As the name suggests, this set of chords stems from early blues and was a way for musicians to easily play together and improvise. A version of this progression can be heard in Muddy Waters’ I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man or John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom. You can also hear this progression in a number of other pop songs – listen to verses of Queen’s I Want to Break Free and Kiss by Prince – both use the same chord progression, but sound very different to each other. More recently, Lizzo’s Better in Colour uses the 12-bar blues in a way that makes an old formula fresh. <h2>The ‘doo-wop’ progression</h2> The “doo-wop” progression has appeared in pop music for close to 80 years, and is named because most doo-wop songs feature this chord progression – it was an essential part of its sound. You can hear it in 1950s hits such as the Penguins’ Earth Angel and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers’ Why Do Fools Fall in Love?. The strength of these chords means they are used in pop music of all kinds, including ELO’s Telephone Line, Don’t Dream it’s Over by Crowded House, Destiny’s Child’s Say My Name, Blank Space by Taylor Swift, and Flowers by Miley Cyrus. Despite its consistent use, these chords still cross genres and eras, and still catch our ears. Comedy act Axis of Awesome use a similar progression in their video for 4 Chords, where they cleverly play almost 50 different songs with a variation on these four simple chords. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oOlDewpCfZQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h2>The I-IV-V (the ‘one, four, five’)</h2> Perhaps the most common chord progressions in rock and pop are those that use the I, IV and V chords in various combinations. They’re usually the first three chords you learn on an instrument and open up thousands of songs to play – from the rock and roll of Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran, the garage rock of Wild Thing by the Troggs, the bubblegum of Hanson’s Mmmbop and the indie rock of Coldplay’s Yellow, to the modern pop of bad guy by Billie Eilish and good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo. <h2>Going forward</h2> Rock, pop, blues, doo wop and other musical genres can often be defined by their use of repeated chord progressions. These chord progressions are part of a songwriter’s toolkit in a similar way to how an artist may use different paint brushes. As Sheeran’s lawyer Ilene Farkas <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/may/04/ed-sheeran-verdict-not-liable-copyright-lawsuit-marvin-gaye">noted</a>, chord progressions are, "the letters of the alphabet of music […] these are basic musical building blocks that songwriters now and forever must be free to use." It is how these “building blocks” are used, and in what combinations, that gives us a great variety of pop songs over many decades. The true craft of great pop music is to take these formulas and turn them into something unique (while simultaneously making it sound easy). The ruling in Sheeran’s case supports the rights of musical artists to continue to use these progressions as part of a songwriter’s toolkit, and to build from the artists who came before them. It also acknowledges that influence and inspiration from previous works are part of the construction of the pop music we love. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/inspiration-influence-and-theft-what-the-ed-sheeran-case-can-tell-us-about-70-years-of-pop-music-204747" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

Online travel giant uses AI chatbot as travel adviser

Online travel giant Expedia has collaborated with the controversial artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT in place of a travel adviser. Those planning a trip will be able to chat to the bot through the Expedia app. Although it won’t book flights or accommodation like a person can, it can be helpful in answering various travel-related questions. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Travel planning just got easier in the <a href="https://twitter.com/Expedia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Expedia</a> app, thanks to the iOS beta launch of a new experience powered by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChatGPT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChatGPT</a>. See how Expedia members can start an open-ended conversation to get inspired for their next trip: <a href="https://t.co/qpMiaYxi9d">https://t.co/qpMiaYxi9d</a> <a href="https://t.co/ddDzUgCigc">pic.twitter.com/ddDzUgCigc</a> — Expedia Group (@ExpediaGroup) <a href="https://twitter.com/ExpediaGroup/status/1643240991342592000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote> These questions include information on things such as weather inquiries, public transport advice, the cheapest time to travel and what you should pack. It is advanced software and can provide detailed options and explanations for holidaymakers. To give an example, <a href="http://news.com.au/">news.com.au</a> asked “what to pack to visit Auckland, New Zealand” and the chatbot suggested eight things to pack and why, even advising comfortable shoes for exploring as “Auckland is a walkable city”. “Remember to pack light and only bring what you need to avoid excess baggage fees and make your trip more comfortable,” the bot said. When asked how to best see the Great Barrier Reef, ChatGPT provided four options to suit different preferences, for example, if you’re happy to get wet and what your budget might look like. “It’s important to choose a reputable tour operator that follows sustainable tourism practices to help protect the reef,” it continued. OpenAI launched ChatGPT in December 2022 and it has received a lot of praise as well as serious criticism. The criticisms are mainly concerns about safety and accuracy. Image credits: Getty/Twitter

International Travel

"Giant of the nation": Indigenous leader Yunupingu dies

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this article contains images of deceased persons. Indigenous leader Yunupingu has passed away at the age of 74. Yunupingu, a Yolngu man and the Gumatj clan leader, was known for his longtime advocacy work, campaigning for land rights for Indigenous Australians. The influential leader was one of the architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, as well as the upcoming Voice to parliament vote. He was named Australian of the Year in 1978, made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1985, and was later made an honourary Doctor of Laws by Melbourne University in 2015. Yunupingu became the first chairman of the Northern Land Council in 1977, and was re-elected to the position in 1983, which he held until his retirement in 2004. Tributes have flown for the influential First Nations leader, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling him a "great Australian". <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Yunupingu walked in two worlds with authority, power and grace, and he worked to make them whole — together. He was a leader, a statesman, a great Yolngu man and a great Australian. He now walks in another place, but he has left such great footsteps for us to follow in this one. <a href="https://t.co/aOgZMU6UTJ">pic.twitter.com/aOgZMU6UTJ</a> — Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1642660247516086273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2023</a></blockquote> Yunupingu's family broke the news of his passing as they issued an emotional statement, saying they mourned his death "with deep love and great sadness". "The loss to our family and community is profound. We are hurting, but we honour him and remember with love everything he has done for us," daughter Binmila Yunupingu said. "We remember him for his fierce leadership, and total strength for Yolngu and for Aboriginal people throughout Australia. He lived by our laws always. The family said Yunupingu would be returned to his land and will be honoured in ceremonies to be announced in due course. "There will never be another like him," Binmila said. Yunupingu's family have given permission for the use of his surname and image to be used in media articles. Image credits: Getty Images

News

"RIP Pop": Michael Clarke reveals further heartbreak

Former Aussie cricket captain Michael Clarke is mourning the loss of his “best mate”. Clarke revealed the extent of his heartache on social media after his grandfather Ray Fox passed away. In a touching post uploaded to Instagram, Clarke can be seen with one hand on the coffin as he walked away from the podium after delivering a eulogy at his grandfather’s funeral. “Never gets any easier,” Clarke wrote. “In losing my Grandfather, I lost a best mate. I feel blessed to be surrounded by so much love on an extremely tough day. “RIP Pop.” <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CqSAtDtJ9OZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CqSAtDtJ9OZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Michael Clarke AO (@michaelclarkeofficial)</a> </div> </blockquote> Friends and family were quick to pass on their condolences and support during this tumultuous time for Clarke. “Sorry to hear that news, mate,” Channel 7’s Larry Emdur commented. “Wishing you and the family all the best.” Businesswoman Erina Peters wrote, “I’m so sorry Michael! He truly loved you so much. “I have so many funny memories with him over the years and he was never short of a cheeky comeback.” Clarke previously said his grandfather was his inspiration behind playing cricket and the hardest part of retiring from the sport was telling Ray. “Definitely telling my grandfather was perhaps the hardest part and he was very emotional,” he said in 2015. “Pop’s made it clear to me over the past 10 years that watching me play cricket is a big part of what keeps him going.” Image credit: Instagram

Caring

Streaming service giant pays woman 5 figures to watch content

If you think you spend too much time on Amazon Prime, think again as one lucky lady has snatched up her “dream” job with the streaming service. The woman, Alex Bain, 36, has been dubbed Prime Video’s “Buff”, and her job entails reviewing content for Amazon Prime, which came after the platform searched nationwide to fill the role of watching new content. Here’s the real kicker, the 36-year-old will be paid $40,000 for three months of viewing new content and sharing her opinions. She is not new to the scene of content review as she frequently posts to her Instagram, TikTok and Youtube reviewing various TV shows and movies. Upon seeing the advertisement from Amazon Prime, one of Bain’s friends encouraged her to apply. “Everything on it, it was like seeing a list of what would be my ideal job,” Ms Bain told NCA NewsWire. “I’m 36, so I want to do something I’m passionate about, so I decided to just go for it. “I got a phone call from Amazon saying I’d been short-listed, and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’” She said the time between applying for the role and being told she was successful went “so quickly”. Not long after, she received the news she was the lucky one chosen to fill the role. Image credit: Instagram

Reward offered after "senseless vandalism" of giant statue

An act of vandalism that is being treated as suspicious by local police has seen a beloved art installation destroyed in Mandurah, south of Perth. Described as "thoughtless and selfish" by WA Premier Mark McGowan, the brazen act has caused a flood of disbelief and anger, with police offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction. The fire – which took place on Friday night – caused irreparable damage to Vivi Cirklestone, one of five wooden sculptures created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo and hidden throughout bushland in Mandurah, with a sixth installed in the Perth suburb of Subiaco. Mourners gathered to leave flowers on the charred wreck of the popular sculpture, which is one of a handful of “protectors of the environment” built in the region as part of a cultural tourism project. <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FwaIncidentsalerts%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0j7E3Ssk4YC2sd7b6FhGyvRAWnhB4qKQs1EVZ2uYPbFkmn7Ratwee2bmEVAzzbPxVl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="792" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> “The circumstances surrounding the cause of the fire are being treated as suspicious,” WA Police said in a statement. Mandurah Detectives and the Arson Squad are now working to find what sparked the fire that razed the installation. Police also stated that an image doing the rounds on social media that showed the sculpture on fire had been accounted for and was not what it first appeared to many. “The photograph that’s been distributed on social media actually was taken by the person who reported the fire to DFES and the person in the footage is one of his mates,” acting inspector Tom Tristram said. The Giants of Mandurah took Danish artist Thomas Dambo hundreds of hours to complete and were launched in November as a free Australian-first exhibition. “Me and my crew are obviously super sad to hear this news,” Dambo said. “I feel it is probably done by a troubled person and is not the feeling of the general population”. Premier Mark McGowan also weighed in on the incident, saying that he “hopes whoever is behind this thoughtless and selfish behaviour at some point reflects on the sadness they have caused, especially so close to Christmas." “The sculptures aren’t just works of art, they are meant to be positive and fun attractions for families not just in Mandurah but across Perth and beyond. This is senseless vandalism. That’s all it is. And the victim isn’t just the artist but the community as well.“ Images: Facebook / Courtesy of Visit Mandurah

Legal

Strawberry and yoghurt pops

For a healthy and delicious treat, try these super-simple yoghurt pops. The grandkids will love them! Makes: Eight Preparation time: 10 minutes Setting time: Eight hours Ingredients: <ul> <li>2 punnets of strawberries, tops removed, chopped</li> <li>1 cup vanilla yoghurt</li> </ul> Method: 1. Place strawberries in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. 2. Add vanilla yoghurt and gently fold until mixture is just combined. Spoon the strawberry mixture evenly among eight 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity ice-block moulds. 3. Place in the freezer for 8 hours or until firm. NOTE: You can replace strawberries for any other fruit - mangos work really well too! Image: Getty

Food & Wine

Meat Loaf – a complicated musical giant

Ridiculed by critics and custodians of cool, Meat Loaf’s bombastic performances were loved by millions, providing the soundtrack to the lives of various generations. The man born Marvin Lee Aday was something of an unreliable narrator. He offered contradictory accounts in interviews of such basic details as his date of birth, real name, or why and how he came to be known as Meat Loaf. According to <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/to-hell-and-back/david-dalton/meat-loaf/9780753504437">his autobiography</a>, an inheritance from his mother allowed him, as a disturbed and distressed teenager, to leave the house of a violent alcoholic father to live, first in Dallas, and subsequently California. He was cast in the original Los Angeles productions of both Hair and The Rocky Horror Show, also appearing in the 1975 film adaptation of the latter. On auditioning for budding playwright/songwriter <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/meat-loaf-remembers-jim-steinman-1160041/">Jim Steinman’s</a> More Than You Deserve musical – the title track of which would later pop up on the Dead Ringer album – Steinman identified his ideal leading man for the Bat out of Hell project. Record executives were less convinced. They thought that the pairing of a large sweaty singer with unorthodox musical arrangements, pitched somewhere between Phil Spector and Wagner, was a complete anomaly in the age of punk and disco. The odd pair were eventually signed by independent label Cleveland after getting Todd Rundgren onboard as a producer. The Texan-born singer and actor outlived his chief collaborator by less than a year. Their signing with Cleveland would be the start to a career full of hits and as many highs as there were lows. <h2>Difficult success</h2> Bat Out of Hell – one of the top five selling records of all-time – was released in 1977. Almost all the songs originated from a university project of Steinman’s based on Peter Pan. Unable to clear the rights with JM Barrie’s estate, Steinman recycled the material into Bat Out of Hell instead. Jukebox musicals typically rely on a pre-existing songbook but Bat out of Hell is best characterised as a cast album that had its first outing in the charts before the stage. Given that three of the album’s seven songs exceed eight minutes, remarkably not a moment is wasted. Epics such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C11MzbEcHlw&ab_channel=MeatLoafVEVO">Paradise by the Dashboard Light</a> and Bat out of Hell (designed to top the 1960s hit <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTjQgkHzbTk&ab_channel=John1948Ten">Tell Laura I Love Her</a> as the ultimate motorcycle crash song) are more than guilty pleasures. They encapsulate the sensations if not perhaps the realities of being a hormonal teenager in thrall to sex, death and rock‘n’roll. The album sold over 10 million copies in the US, and spent over ten years on the UK charts. Meat Loaf was not, however, mentally or physically prepared for the pressures of success or large-scale touring. After losing his voice on the Bat Out of Hell tour in 1978, he had multiple nervous breakdowns and attempted suicide. Steinman lost patience, and a planned sequel to Bat was put on the backburner. There were occasional hits in the 1980s without Steinman (for instance <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCHWD9HeRKY&ab_channel=PeterSchulz">Modern Girl</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5TvUFX8blX7LAw4nMtYji4?highlight=spotify:track:0UeoAe8yipWeSNr3zfCPfx">Midnight at the Lost and Found</a>) but Meat Loaf’s star was on the wane. Despite recording one of the most successful albums of rock’s golden age, by 1983 the singer was facing the prospect of bankruptcy. Yet by playing smaller venues and adopting more sophisticated vocal techniques, a constant touring schedule through the latter part of the 1980s transformed Meat Loaf into one of world’s most accomplished live performers. A nearly three-hour 1988 concert recording <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0gkNPhmn-0">from Edinburgh</a> shows why this period is considered his live peak by hardcore fans. It also ensured he was better prepared to reap the rewards when he and Steinman staged one of rock’s most unlikely comebacks with Bat out of Hell II in 1993, with lead-single I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t do That) topping the charts in 28 countries. The 1990s marked Meat Loaf’s imperial phase, selling out arenas and enjoying celebrity, appearing in films such as Fight Club (1997) and Spice World (1999). Yet unlike Peter Pan, Meat Loaf wasn’t forever young, often appearing lost in the new millennium. After collapsing on stage in Newcastle in 2007, he said he wouldn’t perform in concert again. In reality, he continued touring for another decade, the musical equivalent of a veteran boxer not knowing when to hang up the gloves. Steinman also launched a legal action when the singer sought to go it alone with <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/meat-loaf-bat-out-of-hell-iii/">Bat Out of Hell III</a> (2006). An out of court settlement effectively gave the songwriter free rein to develop a stage version of Bat out of Hell. Despite their differences, Meat Loaf took on promotional duties as Steinman’s health prevented him from undertaking for the 2017 premiere of <a href="https://www.batoutofhellmusical.com/">Bat Out of Hell the Musical</a>. Now that so many of rock’s founding fathers have died, my current research into rock musicals such as this and David Bowie’s Lazarus sees them as repositioning one of the major forms of cultural expression from the second half of the last century. Blessed with one of rock’s most distinctive voices (admirers include Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain), quality control was never Meat’s forte. At his best, however, the Loaf was a heavyweight contender, able to hold his own alongside the world’s finest performers irrespective of genre. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/meat-loaf-a-complicated-musical-giant-175552" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

Pop legend unrecognisable after bee sting

Irish pop legend Brian McFadden has been left with a swollen face after being stung by a bee, and has joked about how it looks like he received free botox and fillers. The former Australian Idol judge shared a series of posts to his Instagram showing how badly swollen his face became after a bee sting. The 42-year-old’s first post was a video of himself singing I’m Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO while laying in a hospital bed. “Stung by a bee and got an allergic reaction!! Owning that look! Free Botox and fillers!!!!!” his caption read as he laughed. In his next post, he shared photos from different angles showing massive lips and a swollen eye. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChFoNnkjRYU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChFoNnkjRYU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by brianmcfadden (@brianmcfadden123)</a> </div> </blockquote> He explained that the reaction from the bee sting was ongoing. Finally, his third post showed a selfie after his face had finally calmed down from the unfortunate incident. “My face is calming down again. Thanks for all your lovely messages,” he wrote. Allergies to venoms caused by a stinging insect such as a bee, ant or wasp is known to cause an anaphylactic reaction. The most common symptoms include an all over rash, swelling of tongue or throat, trouble breathing, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and a drop in blood pressure (shock). What to do if you are stung by a bee <ol> <li dir="ltr"> Remove the sting by sliding or scraping your fingernail across it, rather than pulling at it. </li> <li dir="ltr"> Wash the area and apply ice to reduce the swelling. </li> <li dir="ltr"> If the person goes into anaphylactic shock the only treatment is an injection of adrenaline. </li> <li dir="ltr"> Immobilise the person, apply pressure to the bite and seek immediate medical help. </li> </ol> Images: Instagram

Body

Manu Feildel and Kyle Sandilands pop off in tense exchange

Kyle Sandilands and Manu Feildel went head-to-head in a tense exchange about new My Kitchen Rules judge, Nigella Lawson. The shock jock questioned Manu as to why Nigella wouldn’t agree to doing an interview with him and help promote the show. “What’s her problem? Apparently I hear, correct me if I’m wrong producers, the network is upset because Nigella’s said ‘no way, you’re not going on that filthy show’. Our show. How does that happen?” Kyle asked. A confused Manu was shocked to hear the claims and told Kyle he was not sure as to why Nigella would not agree to an interview, explaining this is the first time he’s heard of it. “I have no idea, that’s news to me buddy. I will make sure she talks to you next time,” he responded. But that was not a good enough excuse for Kyle who continued his rampage against the wrong person. “How am I meant to support you when the woman besides you loathes the thought of me?” he asked. “I think she’s amazing, she’s the queen but when you find out someone doesn’t like you, you can’t help but not like someone back.” Manu’s voice changed and he made it clear that he was uncomfortable about the subject, requesting that they speak about My Kitchen Rules. “I think you’re just being upset for no reason. Let’s not get upset guys.” “I think he’s embarrassed that his co-worker let him down,” Kyle told Jackie O. Jackie O did not want anything to do with the conversation and said “maybe he [Manu] was sick of talking about it [Nigella]”. “Who gives a s**t what he's sick and tired of talking about!” Kyle shot back. “I like Manu, I like the show, he can come on but I am very shocked about the Nigella thing. That’s a real slap to the face.” Kyle then asked Manu to “sort out” Nigella’s management before the conversation slowly ended. My Kitchen Rules airs on Channel 7 on Sunday August 7 at 7pm. Images: Instagram

Prince Charles, Duran Duran and a giant bull: All the highlights of the Comm Games Opening Ceremony

The 2022 Commonwealth Games are officially underway, after the impressive opening ceremony kicked off on Thursday evening. The extravagant ceremony captivated the attention of local and international fans, with TV viewers around the word tuning in to the Birmingham event. Prince Charles arrived at the Alexander Stadium in style, driving the same Aston Martin the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge famously left Buckingham Palace in on their wedding day. The Prince of Wales drove his luxury, vintage car out onto the arena before a display where several motor vehicles combined to form a perfect Union Jack on the arena surface. The ceremony celebrated aspects of the rich history and culture of Birmingham, with a 10 metre tall mechanical "Raging Bull" being waltzed into the stadium. The Bull Ring is a major shopping district in the city, which also features a sculpture of a bull, while the mascot for these Commonwealth Games is Perry the Bull. Female chain makers dragged the bull into the stadium, representing the chains used during the slave trade. The bull then broke free of those chains — symbolising the abolition of the slave trade and the 1910 wage strike that paved the way for women to break free from poverty. Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai addressed the audience early in the ceremony, sharing a heartfelt message about how Birmingham became her home and welcomed her family. Musical act Duran Duran, who began their career in Birmingham, closed the ceremony as they belted out fan favourite tracks such as Save A Prayer, Planet Earth and Ordinary World. The Commonwealth Games will run until August 8th, with 72 countries competing in 19 sports over the 11-day event. Image credits: Getty Images

International Travel

The real reason you want your ears to pop on a plane

An airline pilot has revealed one of the most common questions she gets asked and it has to do with ear popping. It is a commonly known fact that there is nothing more annoying than having to deal with painful ears on a flight. Blocked ears occur when the plane takes off or starts to descend as the air pressure changes rapidly. It may not be as bad for some but others will find their Eustachian tube – the narrow passage connected to the middle ear - often can’t react fast enough, which causes the symptoms of aeroplane ear. US-based Boeing 737 co-pilot Morgan, who is known for her flight-related content on TikTok, shared a clip explaining why you want your ears to pop on a plane. *embed tweet “Trust me when I say you want your ears to pop,” she began the clip. The aviation TikTok star who has over 12 million likes on her videos, said if the pressure is building up and you’re getting one big painful pop, there are a couple of things you can do to pop your ears a little bit sooner. <blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@almostcaptainmorgan/video/7111430582608989482" data-video-id="7111430582608989482"> <section><a title="@almostcaptainmorgan" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@almostcaptainmorgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@almostcaptainmorgan</a> Reply to @ladyhawkuk Tips and tricks from an airline pilot if your ears pop when you fly! <a title="airlinepilot" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/airlinepilot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#airlinepilot</a> <a title="traveltiktok" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/traveltiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#traveltiktok</a> <a title="flyingtips" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/flyingtips" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#flyingtips</a> <a title="traveltips" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/traveltips" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#traveltips</a> <a title="♬ original sound - Morgan" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7111430549822294830" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound - Morgan</a></section> </blockquote> “Yawning, talking, eating, chewing gum, swallowing, really anything that’s going to move your jaw is going to help activate your Eustachian tube and pop your ears,” she said. “If none of those work, you can do something called a Valsalva manoeuvre, which is where you pinch your nose and blow.” She said don’t blow harder if your ears don’t clear as “this can lead to bigger issues”. Morgan shares if you’re ever in a situation where the pressure is really building up and your ears just aren’t popping, “always travel with some Afrin nasal spray”. The alternative in Australia is Drixine, although she wants passengers to use it sparingly and only as a last resort. Images: TikTok

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