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Last Updated: 20/08/2008 15:37:16
Steve Rudd has been writing for thisisUll.com
for some time and has proved himself to be one of our most talented writers.
Steve's contributions are listed below..
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Single Reviews - Kate Aumonier - Much Like Yesterday (Sanctuary) By Steve Rudd
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Things are looking bright for this pretty young thing, and surely to goodness this fresh-faced singer-songwriter will wind up remembering this year fondly, given the potential fame and fortune that could very well edge her way on the back of this superb release.
Much Like Yesterday (which, interestingly, was co-composed by
Jez Ashurst - the cheeky front man of pop-rockers Farrah)
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Single Reviews - Hal - Play The Hits (Rough Trade) By Steve Rudd
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Following up their chirpy What A Lovely Dance hit, Play The Hits' is quite frankly a
fabulous tune from this refreshing Irish four-piece. These fellows go all out to hit upon
classic melodies and harmonies that burrow their way into the hearts and minds of their
listeners - and that Brian Wilson would die for.
This song has been written by band front man David Allen
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Single Reviews - Hood - The Negatives (Domino) By Steve Rudd
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Well, there's nothing quite like being positive - even if they're Hood and they're playing
The Negatives. For starters, this band's music is certainly intriguing and thoroughly fascinating, not least because they refuse to conform when it comes to writing conventionally structured songs.
The two b-sides that are tagged on the back of this single release, just
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Single Reviews - Bodyrockers - I Like The Way (Mercury) By Steve Rudd
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The type of tune that you either love or loathe, this latest anthem from this
troupe of Dance-dazed musicians is taking the nation by storm regardless, and
the Top 40 really cannot resist a tune of this calibre.
This release heaves with some epic remixes of the song, but rarely do remixes
compare
Read more...
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Single Reviews - Wherewithal - Sixth Form Poetry (Foolproof) By Steve Rudd
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This fem-fronted quintet sure isn't taking any prisoners, ballsily bursting out of the
Farnborough area with gusto. Stacy Hart is the singer, and what a singer she is.
Holding the rest of the band in check with her fantastic vocal musings, Stacy
possesses a strong and distinctive voice that dominates the music, with such
music
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Single Reviews - Ryan Adams - Let it Ride (Lost Highway) By Steve Rudd
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American Country-rocker Ryan is back on the scene, and is being backed by a
new band of friends called The Cardinals.
Let It Ride is their new single, and - true to form for Ryan - lush elements
of both Country music and rock 'n' roll are fashionably entwined
in the most sublime manner.
Read more...
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Places to Visit - Up North By Steve Rudd
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So, you look forward all week - at work - to your one or two days off... right? And what do you do on such days off? Housework, no doubt. Do you ever think you should do something more worthwhile with your sacred time off? Like travel, for instance.
County Durham isn't that far a trip from East Yorkshire, and if
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Single Reviews - Razorlight - Somewhere Else (Vertigo) By Steve Rudd
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Face it - Razorlight front man Johnny Borrell is a total
star in his own right, even without the other three lads that make up this
tantalisingly talented band... especially when he's armed and potentially
infamous with his trusted acoustic guitar.
Still, the full band sound is hard to beat, and this tune
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Reviews, Books - Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink by Tom Miller Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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I have long longed to visit the South-Western states of the USA, and the beautifully majestic Arizona in particular.
In this fascinating and factual book, Tom - who himself lives in Tucson, Arizona - recounts
all sorts of weird and wonderful tales from the region, and also presents tall tales from
California
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CD Reviews - Miss Machete - EP - Wanted For Murder By Steve Rudd
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For a good old all-round intense and wholly invigorating rock experience, then you ought to make
friends with Little Miss Machete, because when they cut you with their music, it doesn't so
much hurt as it simply stuns.
This fresh and frantic quartet is a fast-rising phenomenon in the Yorkshire
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Places to Visit - Down South By Steve Rudd
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Brighton has always been one hell of a popular place, but until one freezing cold
day in February of this year I had never before spent anytime whatsoever there
in my twenty-four years in this forever-overwhelming world.
I thought it was high time I paid the place a visit, and seeing as though
I was down in London anyway - and a return National Express coach ticket
down
Read more...
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Music Reviews -
Midge Ure at Pocklington Arts Centre - Wednesday 13th April 05 By Steve Rudd
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Let me first just say that the Pocklington Arts Centre is a truly fantastic venue, and it's
quite amazing that such a quality venue graces a town that is so small.
Nestling perfectly to one side of the town's charming Market Square, this venue
is a theatre, concert hall and
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Reviews, Books -One For New York by John A Williams Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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A remarkable novel in every respect, this is a classic piece of literature from an
incredibly gifted writer who expressed exactly how it felt to be a black man
growing up in the United States early on in the last Century.
This book focuses on his
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Music, Album Reviews - Lola Ray - I Don't Know Why (DC Flag) By Steve Rudd
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Signed to the same label as Good Charlotte, this quartet is hitting the
world's airwaves hard with their sun-kissed brand of highly melodic and
supremely fashionable rock music for the masses, with John Balicanta chairing
proceedings
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Reviews, Books - Dr. Sax by Jack Kerouac Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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Even hardcore fans of this legendary author might be in two minds about how much they
like this novel of his.
Jack is best-known for his travel-trained adventures back and forth across the
USA (in On The Road, Big Sur and The Dharma Bums for example), and further
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - Strange Angels by Andy Bull Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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Books come no more riveting than this mini-masterpiece that reads both as an eye-opening
travelogue and close analysis of the lives - and deaths - of four all-American icons.
Marilyn Monroe. Elvis Presley. James Dean. JFK.
Read more...
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Single Reviews - The Departure - Lump In My Throat (Parlophone) By Steve Rudd
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These Northampton boys can't do no wrong since past singles All Mapped Out and
Be My Enemy both
crashed into the Top 40.
Likewise, this single couldn't be cooler and boasts a mesmerising chorus (I've got a bag
with no air-holes, a chair with no seat...)
Read more...
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People - Interview with John Robb By Steve Rudd
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John Robb: is a legendary figure in punk-rock circles, having been at the forefront of making
some fantastic music since the age of sixteen, when he co-founded The Membranes in Blackpool.
Since then John has been involved in allsorts of interesting projects
Read more...
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Fiction - Kat Out of the Bag Chapter Nine By Steve Rudd
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Life is a race against time, didn't you know? Sometimes I'm worn out by my own energy, but as we four
walked first towards Langtang, right on through the cosy cluster of weather-beaten buildings and
then so far past the village that even the strangely surreal
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Places to Visit - To Hampstead Heath and Beyond ... By Steve Rudd
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So, you live in London and wish to escape the hustle and bustle of the inner city scene.
Where can you turn to? Why, the plethora of beautiful parks of course - and there are few
places nicer than Hampstead Heath, in North London, for some quality peace and quiet.
Read more...
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Single Reviews - The Others - William (Mercury) Release Date: 4th April By Steve Rudd
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These guys have been nothing but a huge inspiration to hordes of people over the past year,
not least because of the band's willingness to stage impromptu guerrilla gigs - wherever
and whenever they please.
Hell, they've even produced a short film
Read more...
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Album Reviews - The Kaiser Chiefs - Employment (B-Unique) By Steve Rudd
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This Leeds outfit has become very, very famous in what seems like a very, very short period of time.
The scale of hype around these guys has come to rival the hype that has surrounded
Franz Ferdinand over the past year.
In a coincidental parallel
Read more...
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Album Reviews - Idlewild - Warnings/Promised (Emi) By Steve Rudd
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It might be somewhat incredible to comprehend, but these guys have been around now
for an entire decade, having got together as a band back in Edinburgh circa 1995.
Ten years down the line, and this is Idlewild:'s astonishing fifth album, packed
with twelve stunning tunes.
Read more...
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Album Reviews - Scarlet Soho - Divisions of Decency (Human Recordings) By Steve Rudd
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I'm genuinely glad that Scarlet Soho: have released of album of such breathtaking grandeur.
For the past few years, this Hampshire-based band has built up something of a cult
underground following following on from their UK-roving gigs
Read more...
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Single Reviews - Cherry Falls - Winter/Winter (Island) By Steve Rudd
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This album has to be one of the most stunning debut albums ever released by a band.
There is not one dull moment or dud note, and every last snatch of melody sets the spirits soaring.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Cherry Falls,
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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After the bare requisites to living and reproducing, man wants most to leave some
record of himself, a proof, perhaps, that he has really existed.
He leaves his proof on wood, on stone or on the lives of other people.
This deep desire exists in everyone, from the boy
Read more...
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Single Reviews - Five O'Clock Heroes - Run To Her (Glaze) By Steve Rudd
Release Date: 21st March 05
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This is the second single from the band's Bend To The Breaks debut album, and
by the sound of it this quartet is certainly one to watch out for.
Two of the members are British and the other two are native New Yorkers, so there
is an exhilarating melting
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Fiction - Kat Out of the Bag Chapter Eight By Steve Rudd
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As I was led back towards the village, my mind frantically raced with thoughts and feelings,
snapshots of murky memories and monstrous fears of what might now transpire.
A foreigner amongst strangers, I guess I was more vulnerable than even I dared
Read more...
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Music News - London's Marquee Club - Wednesday 16th February 05 By Steve Rudd
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Never does a night go by down in the capital when there isn't at least one quality
gig on, and now there is no excuse for music lovers not to catch a gig or two if
they are right in the heart of London's West End since the legendary
Marquee Club has
Read more...
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Articles - Shall We Dance? UK Movie Premiere, Wednesday Feb 16th 2005, Leicester Square, London By Steve Rudd
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The weather might have been bitterly cold, but still the most entertaining Square in all of
London was relatively packed for the UK movie premiere of Shall We Dance?,
which was in aid of charity - and the Asia Tsunami appeal in particular.
Shall We Dance? is the latest movie
Read more...
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Reviews, Theatre - 15th February 05 - The Woman in White at the Palace Theatre, London By Steve Rudd
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The Woman in White is the latest box-office-busting musical extravaganza from
Andrew Lloyd Webber,
based on the famous Victorian novel of the same name that was published way, way back in
1860 by the distinguished and understandably
Read more...
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Single Reviews - The Kaiser Chiefs - Oh My God (B-Unique) By Steve Rudd
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If you think you've heard this tune somewhere before, don't despair...you'll probably be right.
Yes, this was actually released last Spring as the band's debut single, but since then a lot
has happened and the lads decided it would be worth reworking the
Read more...
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Single Reviews - Ambulance LTD - Stay Where You Are (TVT) By Steve Rudd
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This fame-finding New York outfit could cure all ills, and already they are very well known
over the Atlantic - in the States - where they have appeared on both the Jay Leno
and David Letterman TV shows amongst others.
Slowly but surely the band's profile
Read more...
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Places to Visit - On the Moors By Steve Rudd
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So much for me confiding to people that I thought we were collectively out of the woods
and that Spring was just around the corner.
Clearly I spoke too soon and paid for such a misdemeanour yesterday
(13th February 2005) when I ventured up onto the
Read more...
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People - An Evening with Michael Palin at The Institute of Education in London By Steve Rudd
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To say that Michael Palin is one of my all-time heroes is one hell of a serious understatement.
Ever since I saw his epic TV travels in the form of Around The World in 80 Days and Pole To Pole
I have been totally captivated by everything he does and says.
Read more...
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Reviews, Theatre - GO WEST, to the South of the Thames and see National Anthems! By Steve Rudd
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The West End of London city centre is a magical place, packed with cinemas and theatres.
There are always some amazing shows to be seen in such theatres, whether they are full-blown
musicals or pure drama-driven plays, and I guess the most frustrating thing about taking
a trip to
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Music Reviews -
The Black Velvets at Brighton Audio - 18th February 05 By Steve Rudd, Photo Gallery by Darren Rogers - Sweet n Sour at The Welly Club, Hull - 9th December 04
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What's one to do when they are bored with Brighton's infamous Pier amusements,
and has then had their fill of the plethora of fashion and food-orientated
establishments that are packed into Brighton's cosmopolitan city centre?
Aside from any shows that might be playing in the few theatres in the
Read more...
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Music Reviews - 23rd January 05 - Jesse Malin at Fibbers, York By Steve Rudd
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Young Jesse Malin, trading New York for Olde York for one night only! I could hardly contain myself
at the prospect, for Jesse is one of the most exciting singer-songwriters to have emerged from
New York City in the past few years since the release of his beautiful debut album,
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - The Butterfly Effect by Pernille Rygg Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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Death is nothing to young girls, except as part of the adventure, an exciting secret
whispered by a dark lover, not something you meet one evening when you're going home to your movie or father.
Such a notion is all about to change
Read more...
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People - An Interview With Torso Horse By Steve Rudd
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Torso Horse, for those people who don't know, are a Goth-Metal band
from Bridlington.
They have been plying their trade for about five years now, and in the past
couple of years in particular they have become very well known indeed: both in
and around
Read more...
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Album Reviews - Rexford - Date With Destiny (9-track album) By Steve Rudd
(Updated 15/02/2005) |
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One of the most extraordinary and surprisingly thrilling albums I've heard in years,
this 9-track wonder comes from a man known as Rexford.
Every song tells its own story, and all the stories behind all the songs have
been inspired by Rexford's fascinating life.
Read more...
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Single Reviews - The Ga-Ga's - Sex (Sanctuary) By Steve Rudd
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If you're fed up with second-rate rock bands that don't know a decent riff if it's injected into
their veins at birth, make a beeline for the exhilarating music of The Ga-Gas: quick-sharp.
Quite simply, it rocks like a geologist body-surfing
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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It was in America that horses first roamed.
A million years before the birth of man, they grazed the vast plains of wiry grass
and crossed to other continents over bridges of rock soon severed by retreating ice.
They first knew man as the hunted knows the hunter
Read more...
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Poetry - Roadside Angels By Steve Rudd
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Once you've heard one story, you'll want to hear more
That's the beauty of American folklore,
Entranced by the people emerging from the South,
Telling stories in the morning, living mouth to hand to mouth.
Read more...
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Single Reviews - Athlete - Wires (Parlophone) By Steve Rudd
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Athlete are back, and with a bang. This tune couldn't be any more beautiful or majestic,
as the Athlete lads return to the forefront of the UK's indie-pop-rock scene in graceful style.
Athlete's music, in its greatest moments as
Read more...
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Album/CD Reviews Jimmy Chamberlin Complex - Life Begins Again (11-track album/ Sanctuary) By Steve Rudd
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Now then, here's one hell of an album to write home about, being one of the first
masterpiece albums - somewhere alongside Athlete's fantastic Tourist beauty - to arise in 2005
The JC Complex (for short) is something of a super group
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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I realise that by deciding not to do things, I've lost millions of threads of chance
and opportunity to have new experiences, to meet new people - to be alive, really.
So now I'm going to start doing things I'm bad at again. Heck, I'm going to do things
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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The one way to be happy is to love, to love self-denyingly, to love everybody and everything.
If you fancy a nice little slab of classic literature, then this beauty of a story might be for you.
Set on the harsh Russian Steppes back in the nineteenth century, this simple-living
Read more...
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People - An Interview With Steve Hamilton By Steve Rudd
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If you like reading novels that are packed with an exhilarating sense of action, adventure and intrigue,
then you might already have heard of Steve Hamilton. Steve is a hugely respected and genuinely
talented author who has
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - Pink by Gus Van Sant Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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Famed Hollywood-based director Gus, like actor Ethan Hawke, is now making his name as an author too.
This is his debut novel, and a bizarrely tripped-out one at that, putting the reader in the mind of
Douglas Coupland
Read more...
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Album Reviews -
Confuzion - Extinguished (album sampler/ Criteria Records) By Steve Rudd
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Energetically benefiting from the refreshing and super-smooth vocal talents of Ashley Stone, this Reading-based band produces seriously poppy music of a hugely anthemic nature.
These three songs provide the first evidence of
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - Ice Run by Steve Hamilton Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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This is Steve's sixth action-thriller novel, and it is arguably his most exciting and accomplished so far.
Michigan-born Steve sets all his work in such a perpetually snowbound state
(or so it would seem from reading his work),
Read more...
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Single Reviews - Bastion 4 - The Tale of Gideon Strange (Single Marshco) By Steve Rudd
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Delivering bold and beautiful tunes in true style, this Portsmouth-based quartet sound set to take the country by storm with their supremely tuneful brand of indie-rock music.
Here, presenting a tune from their second album (Modus Operandi)
Read more...
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