Congratulations to the following writers who have been selected for the 2020 Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. I am delighted to have made the shortlist of the Alpine Fellowship, out of over 2,000 entries from across the world Winners WINNER – Nick Clark RUNNER UP – Maya Catherine Popa RUNNER UP – Emma Venables Shortlisted Writers Continue Reading
My Favourite Things: The Pogues & Red Roses for Me
Published in Hotpress on 8 June BY: WILL RUSSELL “In the rosy parks of England / We’ll sit and have a drink / Of VP wine and cider ’till we can hardly think / And we’ll go where the spirits take us / To heaven or to hell / And kick up bloody murder in the Continue Reading
I Dreamed We Would Be Swiss Family Robinson But We Are Lord of the Flies
Published in MuddyUm on 31 May Naked and smeared in mud, we need rescuing Approaching Day 50 of lock-down, I am forced to admit that my Utopian vision of how our family would conduct ourselves during the pandemic is in ribbons. At the beginning, our aspirations for what we would achieve were lofty, indeed in Continue Reading
I Could Be In Love With a Martian
Published in PS I Love You on 1 June Lie under a blue sunset and look down on Earth to see it as the Martian does — blue, green and perfect. I get it. Humans prefer Humans. But I prefer the Martian to the Human. For Mars I feel is a more preferable planet than Continue Reading
My Favourite Things: Primal Scream & Screamadelica
Published in Hotpress on 11 May, 2020 BY: WILL RUSSELL Away baby, let’s go! No matter what befell revelers of the Second Summer of Love, wherever and whenever you partook in it, we’ll always have Screamadelica. Like the Stones’ Exile on Main St. it is a record to get lost in, a record where you can almost hear Continue Reading
What Your Favorite Music During Lockdown Says About You
Published on Slackjaw on 8 May Coldplay: You have built a treehouse in which you will live for the duration. The Eagles: Keeping your fridge stocked with beer has become your life purpose. Bob Marley: Keeping your fridge stocked with peanut butter and bananas has become your life purpose. Shania Twain: You miss your hairdresser the most. Guns N’ Continue Reading
My Favourite Things: Gram Parsons & Grievous Angel
Published in Hotpress on 23.04.20 BY: WILL RUSSELL As part of our ongoing ‘My Favourite Things’ series, Will Russell reflects on Gram Parsons’ iconic second solo album, Grievous Angel. My dog is called Gram Parsons. On the sunny day that I got married, I smoked a morning Cohiba at Gram’s grave in a remote part of New Continue Reading
My Favourite Things: Lee Scratch Perry and Super Ape
BY: WILL RUSSELL Published in Hotpress on 06.04.20 Master of the Upsetter. I was supposed to be meeting up with Lee Scratch Perry this week on his UK Tour. He had responded to a piece that I sent him. We exchanged a few words and had arranged to meet after his show at the Brudenell Social Continue Reading
My Favourite Things: Withnail & I
BY: WILL RUSSELL – PUBLISHED IN HOTPRESS ON 27 MARCH, 2020 Warning: Watching this movie is highly addictive. It was a good one, the summer of 1995. A summer of great weather, festivals, endless parties and fine wines all played out to a soundtrack of Oasis’ What’s the Story Morning Glory?, Pulp’s Different Class, Radiohead’s The Bends, Leftfield’s Leftism, Goldie’s Timeless and Continue Reading
The Great Depression and Music: From Woody Guthrie To Coronavirus
Published in Hotpress on 24 March, 2020 Overnight, it seems that the music industry has been transformed, with the shut-down of all live gigs and festivals. But this isn’t the first time that a major societal collapse has rocked the industry of human happiness. Here, we look at the great disruptions that have seen the Continue Reading