SevenStreets http://www.sevenstreets.com Liverpool: We Know Where You Live Wed, 26 Aug 2015 14:05:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Run out of Juice? http://www.sevenstreets.com/27816/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/27816/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2015 13:18:36 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27816 How can a local radio station survive and stay truly local? This in the light of the news that Juice FM owner UTV Media has sold the station to Capital owner Global Radio for £10m.

The deal follows UTV’s decision to sell off its portfolio of local stations. What will happen to 107.6? It’s more than likely that it’ll become another Capital FM station, like Capital Wirral, with nation-wide programming for some of the day. And that’s a real shame if it happens.

Unknown-2We frowned when Juice FM replaced Crash FM – Janice Long’s brilliant, bonkers and totally on-the-money celebration of alternative and new music from here and far. It lasted all of six months – and we were gutted to see it go.

But fair play to Juice – they’ve carved out a healthy listenership, enjoyed great engagement in the city, and could genuinely claim a roster of really rather excellent talent: listening to Leanne Campbell’s rise from morning traffic and travel girl to full-throttle, confident, born-to-do-it breakfast jock has been nothing short of joyous. And who doesn’t love a bit of Anton Powers?

The Capital network has 7 million listeners around the UK, and is the main rival to Heart network with a total of nearly 9 million.

UTV said in a statement: “The strategic review of UTV’s remaining UK independent local radio stations is on-going and further announcements will be made in due course, as appropriate.”

Yes, Juice FM was criticised for not playing enough ‘Liverpool’ music, but that was never its remit. And, frankly, when they tried it, the audience didn’t follow. But, at the very least, they played what their Liverpool audience wanted to hear.

Whatever, it’s a sad day for real, made-in-Liverpool radio. Welcome the playlisted-in-London armageddon. Ed Sheeran, the world is yours for the taking.

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Look out for the first issue of ‘it’s liverpool’ magazine http://www.sevenstreets.com/sevenstreets-presents-the-first-issue-of-its-liverpool-magazine/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/sevenstreets-presents-the-first-issue-of-its-liverpool-magazine/#comments Tue, 12 May 2015 15:39:35 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27794 We’ve been quiet. For good reason. Tomorrow, there’s a new magazine in the city, one that in many ways picks up where the Almanac left off: it’s liverpool. We’ve produced it for Marketing Liverpool, in association with Liverpool ONE, City Central BID and ACC Liverpool, and it’s heading out across Liverpool, Cheshire, Wirral and Manchester tomorrow.

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Aimed at those who chose to spend their free time amongst us – from day trippers to weekend breakers, cruise passengers to business types, the magazine showcases the amazing things happening, right here, right about now. Which, of course, means its packed with stuff we think visitors to the city ought to tick off before they head home. The sort of stuff that’s making Liverpool one of the world’s greatest tourist cities, and is bringing visitors to our home in greater numbers than ever before.

About time they had something decent to read, eh?

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Produced to sit nicely alongside the it’s liverpool app, and website, this first magazine features interviews with ex-Human League founder, Martin Ware: he’s launching a unique sound installation, The Crossing, at Liverpool ONE this Friday, to coincide with the citywide One Magnificent City celebrations, as well as Wayne Hemingway – who’s curating a rather large 4th of July party down at the waterfront, Transatlantic 175.

We’ll also feature the best gigs, places to eat, events, attractions, stories and just great stuff – every season.

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So, if you’re out and about for another great Light Night this Friday, do look out for a copy – in Liverpool ONE’s Welcome Centre, and the sort of places you’re already grabbing your copy of Bitten Magazine.

And do let us know what you think.

it’s liverpool magazine
Free across the city centre
Out May 13

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Record Store Day: Let’s Keep Record Shops Scary http://www.sevenstreets.com/record-store-day-lets-keep-record-shops-scary/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/record-store-day-lets-keep-record-shops-scary/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2015 08:31:18 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27769 “If people come in here wanting to buy Rumours on vinyl, I won’t sell it to them. If they’ve not got it by now, they don’t deserve it.” John Weaver, Birkenhead’s Skeleton Record’s indefatigable gatekeeper is unapologetic. “If they ask for Tusk, well, maybe I’ll think about it…”
yes-tales_from_topographic_oceansIf they ask for Yes, or Wishbone Ash, or Big Star you’re probably going to get half-shares in the company. But it’s got to be Yes pre Buggles, obviously.
And that’s the rule with record shops. Always has been. You’re not going in to buy an einsturzende neubauten 12 inch. You’re a downy feathered fledgling on some red in tooth-and-claw nature documentary. A rite of passage drama that pits you, hands clammy with some XTC John Peel Session acetate, puffing your chest out, running the gauntlet of chin-stroking taste-makers, idly thumbing through racks of remaindered Randy Newman soundtracks, ruminating on the merits of arcane German record label A, over arcane German record label B. Casting an eye over your haul, glancing at each other silently, and shaking their heads ever so slightly.
As it was when I gingerly handed over a Blancmange album to Pete Burns in Probe and he, in turn, with the tip of index finger and thumb, passed it on to someone else and, without dropping a beat, continued to ignore me beautifully. Like I’d scooped up my dogshit in a jiffy bag and handed it over for its disposal.
Next time, though? ‘Oh, hello Blancmange boy,’ he said, when I handed over something slightly less shit.
I practically floated home.
As it was when I asked for Shine by the Space Brothers in 3Beat, and they suggested, drolly, I ‘tried HMV’, and proceeded to play another remix of the Lisa Marie Experience in the hope that, by osmosis, a musical education would ensue.
Of course it never has. And of course I’ll continue to be ever so slightly embarrassed asking for Haim from Probe’s inscrutable Bob. And I hope that never changes. Because, today, feeling anything in a shop is a wonderful, life affirming thing. And flicking through those racks, finding a cover that does something to some random neurone in your head, taking it home and discovering your new favourite thing in the world ever, that’s worth every single walk of shame. Actually, scratch that, even the walks of shame are great. Because you know you’re right.
Yes, vinyl’s going through a ‘thing’. Yes, it’s now got its own ‘chart’. But vinyl’s much, much too important to care about HuffPost bollocks like this. When in doubt, ask yourself: would John Weaver give a shit?

Let’s keep record shops scary. Support you local record shop tomorrow, Record Store Day.

Skeleton Records, 11 Oxton Road, Birkenhead
Dig Vinyl, Bold Street, Liverpool
Probe Records, Bluecoat Lane, Liverpool
The Musical Box, 457 West Derby Road, Liverpool
3B Records, Slater Street, Liverpool

Record Store Day @ Constellations
Bill Brewster, one of the sharpest vinyl collectors in the UK, will be digging through his vaults for an eclectic, electrifying four hour set at Constellations, til 3am.

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Lime Street: Two ‘independent’ reviews are in… http://www.sevenstreets.com/lime-street-two-independent-reviews-are-in/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/lime-street-two-independent-reviews-are-in/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2015 14:12:47 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27752 The responses to Neptune/Malyan’s proposed Lime Street Gateway scheme are still coming in. And, perhaps surprisingly, an independent design review panel has supported the scheme.

When big-ticket projects like this are put before the public, it’s often a way for the planners to submit the masterplans to an independent body, to appraise the scheme.

In the architects’ magazine, BD Online, it’s been reported that design review panel, Places Matter has supported the scheme.

And who is Chair at Places Matter? None other than Matt Brook. And who’s Matt Brook? Why, he’s the architect at Broadway Malyan, the practice that designed the Lime Street scheme.

This is not the first time Neptune/Malyan have used this tactic. Only a few years ago for a the Shot Tower scheme in Chester which was followed by the TV series The Planners, after withdrawing the application at committee, they returned with a glowing report from Places Matter, with Matt and the panel’s independence being questioned during the meeting.

privateeyeSo what about another independent view (apart from our own)? Well, you could look to Private Eye’s Nooks and Corners architecture and planning column. “A couple of years ago, Joe Anderson announced ‘Lime Street is an area that’s been forgotten for too long, I’m committed to transforming this into a gateway our world class city deserves'” the column says, before concluding that the new ‘world class’ Lime Street is to be ‘repetitive facades of brick…a vision of quite remarkable banality.”

The scheme, it says, shouldn’t be reviewed, but, as We Make Places and ourselves suggested, should be completely abandoned.

Watch that space.

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Got a social change idea? Talk to the Soup Dragons http://www.sevenstreets.com/got-a-social-change-idea-talk-to-the-soup-dragons/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/got-a-social-change-idea-talk-to-the-soup-dragons/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2015 10:32:26 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27745 Pioneered by the team at Social Enterprise Network, Liverpool SOUP is a new crowdfunding initiative to launch ideas for social change in the Liverpool City Region, says Christina Bodenes, from the Social Enterprise Network…

The concept is simple. Anyone can attend the monthly SOUP gatherings, and for a £10 entrance fee on the door, each attendee is entitled to soup, bread and most importantly, a vote. Four entrepreneurs then pitch their brightest business idea to the crowd, with an encouraged focus on tackling social and community issues. After a chance to ask questions and consider, each audience member casts their vote for the best pitch, and the winner walks away with the ticket profits from the evening, and the knowledge that complete strangers have just given them a vote of confidence. They then return three months later, to report on their progress, and for the possibility of further investment.

So what’s the big idea?

Whilst Liverpool has a unique economic and social landscape, there is no denying that there are two elements which make it ideal for the SOUP concept. It is home to both a thriving scene of independent and creative talent, and an abundance of social issues exacerbated by ongoing austerity measures. The SOUP format stirs these elements together, and lets the voting determine which of the ideas holds the most promise for the local community. Not a panel of experts, but the same people who have donated their time and money to come and listen. So it’s about seed funding, but possibly more importantly, it’s about grassroots democracy. Unlike other sources of funding, there’s no panel of experts, no financial forecasts and definitely no Powerpoint. The money goes to the entrepreneur whose idea resonates with that crowd, in that room, on that particular night. There’s an element of trust to this format which makes the SOUP process about co-operation and community in a way that just might launch a new way of funding good ideas in our region.

Key Details

The first Liverpool SOUP will take place on Wednesday 13th May 2015, 18.00-20.30, at the Hilton Hotel Liverpool. Food will be kindly provided by local social enterprise Can Cook. If you are interested in pitching at the first event, the application process is very simple; just email info@sen.org.uk requesting an application form. SENTogether welcomes applications from all types of entrepreneurs. If you would like to attend, tickets can be reserved on Eventbrite by clicking this link. There will be a small number of tickets available on the door, but booking in advance is strongly advised.

Christina Bodenes
Social Enterprise Network

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Bay TV’s four month appraisal: SevenStreets’ verdict http://www.sevenstreets.com/bay-tv-liverpool-the-guide-appraisal/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/bay-tv-liverpool-the-guide-appraisal/#comments Sun, 05 Apr 2015 15:15:59 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27715 We were cautiously optimistic when Bay TV won the license for Liverpool’s own telly channel. Previously an online channel, they’d built up a steady stream of watchable uploads, and proven they actually cared about what was going on in the city. With a huge cull in local content by ITV and the BBC, it was up to whoever snapped up this license (their closest rival was Phil Redmond’s Our-TV) to fill a much-needed gap. The Broadcast Licensing committee thought Bay TV was the strongest proposition, saying they had “the greatest understanding of the needs of the local area”. But has it lived up to its promise since its launch in December?

Actually, yes. We’ve been keeping an eye on the station over the past few months and, after a shaky start (as in, our TV couldn’t even find the bloody channel), it’s doing a really great job in its own way.

One thing we quickly noticed is that Bay TV’s pace is rather interesting. In an age when viewing a three minute YouTube video is seen as a heavy commitment, and the mainstream channels are constantly jostling for your attention with bright colours and loud noises – Bay TV can afford the space to give fifteen minutes to an open mic songwriter, a lesser-known community project, or the lovely Liam Fogerty chatting to a charity fundraiser. It’s an altogether slower proposition than anything else on Freeview and, weirdly, it really does holds your attention.

Bay’s arts coverage is better than we’d have hoped and takes up the majority of BayTV’s schedule – music is woven heavily into their programming, and one of the first things we stumbled across was ArtsAlive: Acoustic, a half-hour show giving unsigned songwriters and performers a couple of songs to show what they can do. These are artists most would probably talk over at the back of the Zanzibar, but given an entirely new and larger platform on Bay.

baytv-liverpool-the-guideThe Guide, Bay’s flagship ‘what’s on’ programme, is helmed by the relentlessly likeable Jay and Ellie, and is admirably varied: last week saw a Threshold festival special, there was a panto special over Christmas, we’ve seen interviews with the likes of the Michael Causer Foundation, Millie Dollar (main pic) and Bill Ryder-Jones in recent weeks talking about their latest projects. There seems like a real effort to cover all bases, and the show’s all the more watchable for it. (There’s a bunch of recent ones up on their YouTube channel).

Of course, much of Bay is endearingly shoddy and totally mad, as any local TV channel should be. Alongside the hypnotic and surreal yoga lessons each morning (don’t watch it after a big night out), ArtsAlive’s strand of various shows, peppered across each week, give screen time to eccentric local theatre producers and artists talking about their work. It’s a really healthy balance, where a special needs theatre group is given equal time to whatever’s on at the Everyman, and where one woman’s collection of Elvis memorabillia takes pride of place alongside a digital arts festival. Anything goes on BayTV – it’s refreshing, open, and funny.

It’s also pretty bang on the money – this week’s Arts Alive: Art focused on LOOK photography fest and Peter Blake’s dazzle ferry, for example (below), and featured the likes of The Royal Standard recently. It feels like a useful primer for people who may want to delve into parts of the city’s arts scene outside of the Tate. Who needs pesky culture blogs, eh?

Most weekends Bay also screens microbudget, independent films from across the country. Like any platform for independent film, there’s been some proper shit that looks like it’s been filmed through a potato, but also some amazing undiscovered gems – and these are pieces of work that would never, ever get the chance to be screened on TV were it not for channels like Bay existing. They’re films you might catch on at FACT once in a blue moon, but it’s much more interesting to try out these indie shorts than vegetating in front of whatever blockbuster C4’s screening that weekend.

In amongst the specially produced content, there’s a bunch of fairly generic syndicated shows – extreme and outdoor sports, tellyshopping, wrestling, that fill the gaps. It’s a necessary evil for a tiny channel like this. But for the sheer amount of content produced every week, completely tailored to what’s going on around the city region, Bay TV’s doing a brilliant job of flinging the city onto your TV screen. And it’s important we all support it, warts and all. Long may it linger on our EPG.

Bay TV
Freeview channel 8
Archived content is also on YouTube

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Win tickets for Cream/Freeze This Weekend http://www.sevenstreets.com/win-tickets-for-creamfreeze-this-weekend/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/win-tickets-for-creamfreeze-this-weekend/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2015 11:03:03 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27704 We’ve got a pair of tickets to giveaway to the highly anticipated event ‘The Asylum’ this coming Easter weekend, Saturday 4th April – as Cream teams up with Freeze for one cracking Easter party.

The all day/all night event which kicks off for Part 1 at 2pm (finishes at 10.30) at the stunning old Newsham Park hospital, and will be headlined by techno titan Marco Carola. Keep your powder dry, though, as Part 2 continues over at Nation from 10pm (until 5am) featuring Dan Ghenacia, Deetron, Michael Mayer, Maribou State & more.

It’s the north west’s biggest outdoor techno event, and we’ve got a pair of tickets to win. To enter, simply retweet our tweet. And give yourselves an easter treat way better than a Home Bargains stash of Bob The Builder Easter eggs.


The Asylum
Saturday 4 April
Cream/Newsham Park Hospital

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Five Alive: Happy Birthday Bold Street Coffee http://www.sevenstreets.com/five-alive-happy-birthday-bold-street-coffee/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/five-alive-happy-birthday-bold-street-coffee/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2015 09:46:34 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27695 Bold Street Coffee is five years old. Question: how did we cope without it? From the get go, coffee evangelist Sam Tawil was on a caffeinated quest. Delivering us from the evil goldfish bowls of frothy milk served downtown. From our standpoint, he did that with the very first cup of flat white we tasted. It was like we were an alien, introduced to a strange, intoxicating brew. Who are you, and what have you done with the Vente Lattes, we wondered, awe struck.

SAMPROFILE_grande_largeSo, half a decade later, we get coffee. There have been others in their wake, of course. Some great. Some Natasha Hamilton. But Bold Street is still where the buzz is at. Which is appropriate, really, as the joint has played no small part in giving not just its punters, but the top end of Bold Street itself a much-needed, single-estate, fair-trade, responsibly sourced kick up the arse.

“Yeah, there’s definitely been an improvement up here,” Tawil muses, polishing his steam wand to an impressive sheen. “More quality shops have opened and, more importantly, they seem to be staying open!”

“I chose Bold Street because I’d previously worked in the Coffee Union that we took over with Bold Street Coffee. I liked the cross section of people on the street and I knew it had potential, even though the shop wasn’t very well run at the time.”

When Coffee Union ground its last arabica bean, Tawil went to work, sourcing beans direct from the growers, opening BSC five years ago this week. Now we survey a street which, in the last 21 months has welcomed a poetically proportioned 21 new businesses.

“It’s great,” Tawil says. “There are a lot of businesses being opened by likeminded, similar aged people who want to offer a better quality service and product. Consumers expect a bit more and are willing to either spend a bit more, look for something a bit different or support independent businesses,” he adds.

So what next? How does Tawil want the remainder of his first decade to pan out?

“I want to see the Council improve the aesthetics of the street. They say its a conservation area, and they come down on you like a ton of bricks if you try and make any changes to the look of your building. But there are no guidelines on what they actually want. I don’t think even they know…”

In line with our discussion the other week, Tawil thinks pedestrianisation – handled sensitively – could be a bonus. But with a caveat: “I’d rather it was left as it is unless they were committed to really make a nice job of it and invest an appropriate amount of money in it. My fear is whether they would actually do this.”

Ultimately, though, Tawil’s sure of one thing: “It should, and can, stay a chain free zone. Most of the units are too small for chains, I think, and as long as the current business keep paying their rent it should be fine. I’m sure if the council wanted to secure Bold Street’s character this they could work with landlords and the businesses to make this happen.”

If our current overlords want proof that there is another way to jolt this city back to life than identikit developments and supermarket-led regeneration schemes, they should really suck in what’s bubbling up on Bold Street.

Bold Street Coffee will be holding an all-day festival, to celebrate their 5th birthday, on 9 May.

Bold Street Coffee
89 Bold Street
Liverpool

Sam Tawil pic: Has Bean Coffee

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Liverpool International Music Festival announces rather good first acts for 2015 http://www.sevenstreets.com/liverpool-international-music-festival-announces-rather-good-first-acts-for-2015/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/liverpool-international-music-festival-announces-rather-good-first-acts-for-2015/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2015 09:49:14 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27680 Under the watchful eye of curator Yaw Owusu, LIMF has announced its first slew of artists for this year’s Sefton Park-based festival. And it’s pretty damn good.

Headlining the free event are UK dance legends Basement Jaxx, with the likes of Laura Mvula, Katy B, Labrinth, Rae Morris, Echo and the Bunnymen (with the Philharmonic Orchestra – sounds lush), Scouse funk veterans The Real Thing, local upstarts Hooton Tennis Club and more all set to appear across the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Like last year, there’s also some one-off ticketed commissions (we did one last year, remember?). Roots Jukebox sees local snapper, and SevenStreets collaborator, Mark McNulty team up with legendary producer Steve Levine and Radio 2’s Janice Long to explore the influential blues and soul records that passed through our port in the 50s, having an impact on Liverpool (and the world’s) music forever. Mos Def, Aswad and Craig Charles are also set to appear at a unique tribute to the late poet and activist Gil Scott Heron, hosted at St George’s Hall, and featuring an appearance by Nelson Mandela’s grandson. You wouldn’t get that at Creamfields, would you.

Like last year, the programme’s set to be fleshed out even more over the coming months, but it’s a strong start for the event – which has, rather swiftly, become a summer must-do. Remember the Mathew Street Festival? Nope, us neither.

Liverpool International Music Festival
28 – 31 August 2015
Various venues across the city

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Lern Yerself Scouse on BBC Radio 4 http://www.sevenstreets.com/lern-yerself-scouse-on-bbc-radio-4/ http://www.sevenstreets.com/lern-yerself-scouse-on-bbc-radio-4/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2015 13:52:58 +0000 http://www.sevenstreets.com/?p=27675 Don’t be put off by the title – this little hour-long programme on ‘the 4’ sees writer/poet Paul Fleming explore the actually-fairly-complex Scouse accent in a fascinating, fun way. And not a Stan Boardman in sight. Hopefully.

Over a pot of Liverpool’s finest stew, Farley delves into the accent’s origins and usage via archive recordings and interviews, as well as exploring the various modern mutations of it. He’s joined by special guests Willy Russell, Roger McGough, broadcaster Gillian Reynolds and Michael Angelis, which might be the Scousest dinner party this side of your nan’s kitchen.

It’s good every now and again to go back to the roots of our workings – even though many of us assume we know the hows and whys of our accent, it’s interesting to hear it played out and explained by people who really do know their stuff. Recommended.

Saturday 28 March
BBC Radio 4
8 – 9pm

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