With his dry observations about the modern world during his Britpop heyday, we never had Jarvis Cocker down as an optimist.
But it seems we may have been wrong. While the economic doom and gloom continues to cast its shadow over the country, the former Pulp frontman insists their is a silver-lining. "Maybe a bit of a recession will do us some good," he told the Guardian r
ecently. "A lot of people have been living beyond their means. We've all done it, I've done it: you feel a bit depressed, you go and buy something. People might now actually talk to each other a bit more, make their own entertainment, all those other great northern clichés."
In the fickle world of the music business, it's always good to have a back-up plan.
Arctic Monkeys' drummer Matt Helders was rumoured to have bought The Bowery pub in Sheffield with ex-band member Andy Nicholson. The pub has, in fact, been bought by his friends, but it seems only a matter of time before Helders does fulfil his aspirations to be a publican.
"It will be called The Cautious Horse," he said. "I don't know where it'd be as in location, but I'd want it to be underground, so it didn't look like a pub really. It'd just be a door and you'd go downstairs, you'd probably have to know about it I'd say." And in this imaginary pub no one would be turned away. "When I was 16 and getting turned away it was the worst thing ever, especially if
your mates get in. I'd be welcoming fake moustaches though. If that happened, I'd just be like, 'Oh, I can't say no, you've made an effort'."
Breaking into magazines is notoriously difficult, but just occasionally a minnow manages to break through.
Six years ago, York student Cherie Federico set up a magazine from her shared flat, funded by her credit card, with the aim of publishing original writing.
Aesthetica now covers all aspects of the UK arts scene, has a national and international readership of 45,000, and Cherie, who
runs the magazine with her partner, Dale Donley, was this month honoured for her achievement – with a prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).
"It's an amazing feeling to have recognition from the arts establishment, and to see Aesthetica has become part of the national scene," says Cherie, originally from New York. "I would like to thank everyone on the Aesthetica team for all their hard work. It's a real group effort every step of the way."
David Hockney is many things. An internationally renowned painter, one of Bradford's most famous sons, a committed smoker, but rarely in his 71 years has he been heralded as a style icon. Until now. According to fashion bible Vogue Hommes, Hockney encapsulates this season's key look for men. Apparently more British men would do well to take a leaf out his book, mixing blazers with jeans and he is one of the few who can pull off pastels without looking like an ice cream salesman. What Hockney thought of being named a fashion icon isn't clear, but since the article others have come out of the woodwork in support of the artist. "It's hard to find a picture
of Hockney taken in the past 40 years in which he doesn't appear as cool as one of his swimming pools," said Guardian style
writer Alex Petridis. "Which, when you think about it, is as close to
the definition of style icon as you can get."
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