Best Of London - Jack Savoretti

Jack Savoretti: 50% English, 50% Italian, 100% Talent.
Jack’s wistfully romantic, often melancholic, songwriting has been compared to that of Simon & Garfunkel with some music industry insiders calling him the new Bob Dylan.

Being great friends with his sister Beatrice, I first met Jack when he was a scruffy 15-year-old poet… Since then, I have stood witness to his evolution into the husky, dreamy (and still pretty scruffy) acoustic singer/songwriter that he is today.

I love attending a Jack Savoretti gig – you cannot help but be totally charmed by his voice, music and bohemian cool. Need anymore convincing? Head to London’s Relentless Garage tomorrow night to see Jack perform - details below.

Currently living in West London with his beautiful wife Jemma and their one-month-old baby girl, Jack shares with us some of his London favourites…

My Pint – At The Cock and Bottle with a few good friends.

My Date Night – At home with my girls -The perfect night.

My Sunday Brunch – I like to go to The Crown, 30 minutes outside of London in the village of Bray, for the perfect Sunday Bloody Mary.

My Building – The house on Fosket Road where I grew up.

My Shop – I like to walk into Portobello Road’s Rough Trade and ask for really un-cool music and watch them all get worked up... They take being cool very seriously in there...

My London Extravagance – Daily life in general seems to knock the change out of my pockets in this town...

London's Best Kept Secret – A little Italian restaurant called Ida... Unlike most Italian restaurants outside of Italy, this one is the real deal.

My London Icon (Past or Present) – All the Black Cabbies that get you fired up before a night out, reassure you at the end of the night, and welcome you home after a long trip.

Below: Aloe Blacc's 'I Need A Dollar' performed by Jack Savoretti, We Were Evergreen and Sophie Delila who are all performing at London's Relentless Garage tomorrow night.

Click here for tickets for tomorrow’s gig - only a few left – Quickity Quick!!

www.jacksavoretti.com

'Thought Of You' - Animated short by Ryan Woodward (music by The Weepies)

"Everything that I said I'd do

Like make the world brand new

And take the time for you

I just got lost and slept right through the dawn

And the world spins madly on..."

This 2 minute little treasure of a short film, created by animator Ryan Woodward (‘Where The Wild Things Are’) came from his desire to unite several of his passions into one art piece; 2d animation, EFX animation, and contemporary dance. These three forms were combined to convey an intimate, complex relationship dancing along to The Weepies’ ‘World Spins Madly On’… The results are extremely powerful, evocative and affecting.

The meaning of the love story shown is open to each viewer’s interpretation...

I have a feeling that if there had been another sequence to this film we would have seen this girl standing up, dusting off her frock, and once again raising up her wings…
'You go Mama!' (I'm still trying to speak 'Kelly Rowland' - but not quiiiite pulling it off yet...)

Happy Birthday Jack Savoretti

Last night we celebrated singer songwriter Jack Savoretti’s birthday in the best possible way; a small, intimate gig filled with friends and family at Soho House.

With a 3 week old baby daughter newly on the scene, the rather sleep deprived Jack Savoretti proved to be a real rock’n’roll Daddy by still, effortlessly, providing his audience with an enthralling mixture of his older, emotive ballads followed by his latest, more bluesy, foot tappin’ songs.

Below: ‘Come Shine A Light On Me’ - One of my favourite songs by Jack and I love this montage video created by Maria Armengou. (Look out for Jack’s beautiful wife Jemma.)

Happy Birthday Papa Sav! xx

Musical Moment - Orlando Seale and The Swell ('These Streets')

For much the same reason that I love ‘Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros,’ I also love ‘Orlando Seale and The Swell’ – because alongside their great music, they all have the best fun together and you just want to get up and be a part of their gang.

Some have called Orlando Seale and The Swell’s music ‘Punk Folk’ and have likened them to ‘having the Arcade Fire in your bedroom.’ Handsome Orlando (right), always beautifully articulate, describes them as “ten friends playing music that swings wildly from the epic to the intimate, the melancholic to the euphoric.”

I love their song ‘These Streets’ (released next month) which you can listen to whilst watching this video Emma Seale, Orlando’s gorgeous wife, filmed recently in Paris. I am sure you will, like me, wish you’d been there to join in with all their “fun, fun, fun!”

“He’s a lucky little ape man, in his silk top hat,
He’s gonna bang his chest if you look at him like that…"

Orlando Seale and The Swell will be playing tonight at 9pm at The Lexington.
www.myspace.com/orlandoseale

Musical Moment - Lana Del Rey ('Blue Jeans')

I have previously written (here) about the perfectly pouty New York singer/songwriter Lana Del Rey (aka Lizzy Grant) and her sultry song ‘Video Games’ which I loved. This is the music video for her next song ‘Blue Jeans’ - once again, the look is eclectic and nostalgic with her voice sounding as arresting as ever.

"I will love you till the end of time....
Promise you'll remember that you're mine."

Both songs will be available to download on October 16th.

Musical Moment - Amy Winehouse and Tony Bennett ('Body and Soul')

Today, 'Body and Soul' - Amy Winehouse's duet with Tony Bennett - was released, on what would have been her 28th birthday.

Filmed in March at London’s Abbey Road Studios, Amy coyly twirls her hair and girlishly flutters her eyelashes as she sings with the legendary jazz crooner.

The proceeds from the single’s sales will go towards the Amy Winehouse Foundation. Founded by Amy’s parents, the charity will raise money to support organisations that help and care for young people – many of whom will be affected by addiction.

Musical Moment - Snow Patrol ('Called Out In The Dark') with Tara Summers

London born actress Tara Summers, who has previously held roles in shows including Dirt, Boston Legal, Damages and Private Practice has now taken to dancing in handcuffs... Calm yourselves now… Tara plays the despairing director in the new Snow Patrol music video for ‘Called Out In The Dark’ – with fellow Brit Jack Davenport also featuring - the results are hilarious.

(A heads up - These backing dancers can be held wholly responsible for the new beyond awesome moves I plan to unleash at my friend’s wedding this weekend...)

Rocking her new Jessica Rabbit flame red hair, striking beauty Tara Summers is currently filming CBS's new show Ringer (left) alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ioan Gruffudd, which will be shown on Living in the UK later this year.

Musical Moment - Slow Moving Millie ('Beasts')

Having played the piano, making up little stories to the music, from a very early age, beautiful actress Amelia Warner, 29, star of the movies ‘Quills’ and ‘Stoned,’ is now writing and singing under the name ‘Slow Moving Millie.’

Living in London and currently working on an album of British 80's covers and composing several film scores, you may have heard her ethereal, mischievous sounding, debut single, ‘Beasts,’ on the Virgin Media advert last year (shown below.)

The quirky lyrics of this song came to her whilst walking through Highgate Cemetery - she saw a gravestone that read 'Where Sleeping Beasts Lie...'

"This could be our fairytale,
We'll make them all disappear.
I could be the rabbit,
to your magic hat..."

X Factor Fashion

Its back! The 8th series of X Factor launched this weekend and 12.6 million of us tuned in to boo and to cheer this year’s hearty concoction of desperate, deluded bellowers and genuinely talented songbirds.

They have a brand new, super shiny line up of judges… and Louis (who I’m sure will still be telling contestants they “have the full package” on X Factor 2070, having outlived us all.)

But what of the newbie’s? Handsome, stubbly, no-nonsense Gary Barlow, will surely have become the nation’s biggest crush overnight, but as with every X-Factor series, it’s really all about the gals...

Kelly Rowland is awesome.

With 15 years experience in the industry, a flirtatious Southern drawl and a swaggersome, super slick style (outfits for the audition stages have included this figure hugging Versace dress and lots... and lots… of bare midriff (hey, if we could, we would!) She’s also promised to wear more Brit designers for the live shows – Top contenders include Stella McCartney, Victoria Beckham, McQueen and Bass & Brooks.

I also love that her responses always include the liberal scattering of words such as ‘boo,’ and ‘mama’ – terms of endearment I feel, having obviously tried them out immediately, only Kelly Rowland can pull off.

N-Dubz feisty singer Tulisa totally held her own on the panel and also won the audience’s sympathy when a gobby auditionee verbally attacked her.

After seeing the above promo shots of her looking all a bit too reminiscent of Our Cheryl (tight Hervé Leger and glossy biiiiiiiig hair) Tulisa’s outfits for the auditions have been a relief - I especially loved her DKNY jumpsuit covered in little lips (available at Selfridges) which along with red lips and a retro hairstyle, she is definitely set to make her own fashion stamp on the proceedings.

The best audition of the night? 16 year old Janet Deviln (watch audition here.) A little bit Ellie Goulding, a little bit cupcake – this shy, ethereal girl from Northern Ireland was adorable and definitely one to watch.

Musical Moment - Lana Del Rey ('Video Games')

I have fallen in love with this 24-year-old former jazz singer (real name Lizzie Grant) from New York. She is a self-styled "gangster Nancy Sinatra" and has the most memorising face (those lips!) and haunting voice. Her old-school glamour reminds me of a 1960’s Priscilla Presley. I can’t wait for her album.

"It's you, it's you, it's all for you
Everything I do
I tell you all the time
Heaven is a place on earth with you
Tell me all the things you want to do
I heard that you like the bad girls
Honey, is that true?
It's better than I ever even knew
They say that the world was built for two
Only worth living if somebody is loving you
Baby now you do"