Ron Arad

I had the pleasure of being treated to the Ron Arad exhibit at the Barbican yesterday and was stunned at the beauty of his work. He gave me a little glimpse into his world when I was a teenager, dedicating a whole project to him (which got super top marks for me). Since then I’be been a bit obsessed with his work, and a little jealous that I could never afford one of his pieces. Still, what’s on at the Barbican is really good- and you get a chance to play with some of his furniture, which is so cool if you like chairs!

Just back from Eurovision: Your Country Needs You

I’ve just arrived back from the BBC TV Centre in White City (London) where the UK national selection for Eurovision was hosted live on TV. We were queing from 2pm and filming wrapped at 10pm! Pete Waterman composed the song, so all we had to do was pick a singer. They were all way too young I think (one girl forgot her lines half way through the song but she did have an amazing voice). Anyway, here’s the winner:

Live: Corinne Bailey Rae at Shepherds Bush Empire

Last time I saw Corinne Bailey Rae live was around 5 years ago at the same venue, when she released her first album. It was fresh, fun, light and summery. This time round, she’s back with a deeper, darker sound that’s sombre with sorrow.

She shed a few tears when playing her older stuff, and I did feel a bit younger listening to them. I’m only 25 and Im starting to feel old! Darn! Her set went on for about an hour and a half, and it was pretty much amazingly nice to experience. The stage was a lot more static than last time- giving it a more grown-up feeling.

Standout performances have to be ‘Feels Like The First Time’, ‘Love’s On It’s Way’ and her versions of ‘Que Sera Sera’ and ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’.

Live: Erik Hassle, Ellie Goulding, Tinashe at Relentless Garage

I saw these guys at The Relentless Garage (it’s a venue in London that isn’t a garage nor is it relentless in any way) for HMV’s Next Big Thing festival. I am a bit obsessed with Erik Hassle, the ginger big haired skinny Swede with a really good voice and even better music. His album is out on Monday and you should really get it because it’s amazing and I haven’t stopped listening to it for the last few months. His first single here kind of tanked though:

Ellie Goulding was really good too, although she can’t shake her hips to save her life- how can someone with banging beats be so bad at dancing?

Tinashe was OK, his songs all sounded the same but he was friendly to look at.