Mark Ball: Last News

Grace Jones-curated Meltdown festival 2022 is just around the corner, and NME has tickets to select gigs to be won. See below for your chance to win.With a line-up hand-picked by the iconic Grace Jones, this year’s bill features the likes of John Grant, Sky Ferreira, Peaches, Hot Chip, Greentea Peng, Blancmange, Skunk Anansie, Nova Twins, Honey Dijon and many more – as well as two performances from Jones herself.Jones follows in the footsteps of the likes of David Bowie, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, David Byrne, John Peel and Ray Davies in being asked to curate Meltdown at London’s Southbank Centre.“In the face of adversity, there is no pandemic in the world that will stop me from curating the Meltdown festival,” said Jones of the upcoming run of shows.

The Southbank Centre in London has announced a celebration of the 50th anniversary of David Bowie’s ‘Aladdin Sane’ album, with talks, performances and a two month exhibition exploring the record’s iconic artwork.“We’re honoured to pay tribute to David Bowie, who made his Southbank Centre debut in 1969”, says the venue’s Artistic Director Mark Ball. “The ‘Aladdin Sane’ album cover portrait is considered to be one of the most influential pop culture images of the past half century, and the music remains fresh and contemporary, so we wanted to recognise this major anniversary and reflect on the album and its artwork’s enduring legacy”.“It’s a work that continues to inspire today’s contemporary artists and the gender fluidity of the images still resonate deeply in queer culture in the UK and across the world”, he adds.The artwork exhibition will run from 6 Apr to 28 May, and has been curated by Chris Duffy, son of the photographer who took the distinctive lightning flash portrait, Brian Duffy.

Anna Calvi and Jake Shears lead the line-up for the Southbank Centre’s 50th anniversary celebrations of David Bowie‘s ‘Aladdin Sane’.The iconic 1973 album celebrates its big birthday this year, and the London venue will play host to a two-month exhibition and a series of events celebrating 50 years of the LP, which is being reissued in April.From April 6 to May 28, Geoffrey Marsh and Chris Duffy – whose father Brian worked with Bowie on the album’s iconic lightning strike concept for its cover art – will present a line-up of talks, live music and more based around ‘Aladdin Sane’.Discussing the legacy of ‘Aladdin Sane’, Duffy said: “My father’s image of Bowie is often called the Mona Lisa of Pop. It’s important to remember it was the result of a short studio shoot using film, which then had to be sent out for commercial processing.“There were no instant digital images or photoshop then.

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Dry Cleaning and Greentea Peng are among a final wave of additions to the line-up for 2022’s Grace Jones-curated edition of Meltdown Festival.The festival is set to take place between June 10-19 at London’s Southbank Centre. Jones was initially due to curate the show back in 2020 but that and last year’s event were both cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.The existing, previously announced line-up for the festival included Peaches, Skunk Anansie, and a special tribute to Lee ‘Scratch Perry’ by Adrian Sherwood.

Grace Jones has unveiled a series of new acts for this year’s Meltdown festival.Newly confirmed acts for this year’s festival, which Jones is curating, include Angelique Kidjo, John Grant, Sky Ferreira, Hot Chip and the Kasai Allstars, Desire Marea and Honey Dijon.They will join the existing, previously announced line-up of Peaches, Skunk Anansie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Oumou Sangaré, The Love Unlimited Synth Orchestra, Lee Fields, Baaba Maal and a special tribute to Lee ‘Scratch Perry’ by Adrian Sherwood.Jones will now also open and close the festival, which takes place between June 10-19. She was initially due to curate the show back in 2020 but that and last year’s event were both cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.In her new opening performance, Jones will be backed by an orchestra.