The unlikely lads

Unlike Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool or Glasgow, Newcastle has never had a recognisable sound or boasted bands with a coherent identity, similar vision or shared set of values; there is no "Newcastle sound" in the way that there could be said to be a "Manchester sound". But there is no denying the huge number of acclaimed bands or performers who were either born there or have become identifiable as Newcastle artists.Some of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll history have connections to the city. Jimi Hendrix, for example, spent a lot of time busking in the city in the mid-1960s before being discovered and managed by Chas Chandler of Newcastle beat-boom icons the Animals, fronted by British blues-wailer Eric Burdon. Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry was originally from nearby Washington, in Tyne and Wear, but studied Fine Art at the University of Newcastle and so became one of the city's adopted sons, as did a certain Gordon "Sting" Sumner, a former schoolteacher and milkman's son from Wallsend, a town in North Tyneside.










In fact, from Bruce Welch of the Shadows in the 60s, Dire Straits in the 70s, Prefab Sprout in the 80s to Dubstar in the 90s and Maximo Park today, Newcastle may not have produced an era-defining act, but each decade since the advent of rock 'n' roll they've bequeathed several fine groups whose music has defied easy categorisation. Newcastle has always had a predilection for rough, raw rock 'n' roll: metalheads the Quireboys, black-metal pioneers Venom, latterday punk rockers 3 Colours Red, Brian Johnson of AC/DC, the Wildhearts - they're all "Newkey" boys.Lindisfarne, too, put the idea of Newcastle as the home of no-nonsense, good-time rock'n'roll on the map with their early-1970s hit single Fog On the Tyne (best not to mention the 1990 cover by quintessential Geordie lad Paul Gascoigne). But probably the only time there was anything remotely resembling a "Newcastle style of music" was in the mid-1980s, when local label Kitchenware was in its pomp. Prefab Sprout, the Kane Gang, Martin Stephenson and the Daintees, Hurrah! and, a bit later, Fatima Mansions all had what could be described as a sophisticated, literate, melodic approach to pop; the label almost singlehandedly rescued the region's reputation, previously considered a breeding ground for the sort of Neanderthals spoofed in Viz, the satirical comic founded in Newcastle in 1979.Indie gloom merchants Editors, Kitchenware's best-known act today, are hardly bovver boys themselves, while Duran Duran (whose guitarist Andy Taylor is from Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear) are the primping, preening antithesis of the Geordie bootboy stereotype. Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys, no slouch himself when it comes to witty, literate pop, was schooled in Newcastle, as was the none-more-erudite Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, who was partly raised in South Shields, a coastal town in Tyne and Wear.More recently, Maximo Park, named after Maximo Gomez Park, a Havana meeting place for Cuban revolutionaries, are fronted by Paul Smith, Newcastle's own bookish, cerebral Morrissey/Jarvis Cocker figure, whose tendency towards standing at his microphone clasping a literary text as though his life depended on it has further given the lie to the outdated misconception that the city only produces Kappa tracksuit-wearing louts. The same goes for the Futureheads, responsible for brainiac, herky-jerky neo-postpunk, and Field Music, purveyors of electronic-based mosaic pop from Newcastle's neighbouring Sunderland. These days, the list of atypical Geordie musicians ranges from folksy singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams to smooth soul boys the Lighthouse Family, but with thriving progressive house, drum'n'bass and post-rock scenes, Newcastle is one of the hardest music cities to pin down.· The O2 Wireless Weekender is taking in five cities across the country over the month of May, kicking off tonight (Friday, May 2), with Dan Le Sac vs Scroobious Pip at Newcastle Academy 2, Sam Sparro and Jack McManus at the Other Rooms and the Rascals at the End Bar. After this weekend, the event moves on to Glasgow (May 9-11), Manchester (May 16-18), Birmingham (May 23-25) and Bristol (May 30-31). For full details of the rest of the lineup, click here. The O2 Wireless Weekender is sponsored by Guardian/Music.

Emmerdale star fighting mystery illness

Emmerdale star fighting mystery illness

'Emmerdale' star Clive Hornby is to take a break in from the show amid fears all over his health.
According to The Mirror paper, the 63-year-old is combat an unnamed unwellness.
Hornby is 'Emmerdale's longest-serving

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon married

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon married

Mariah Carey is married to Chip Cannon, a source fill up to the couple has said.
The source tells Latina magazine that the geminate get married yesterday in a small ceremony on an island and it was “really impulsive”.
The wedding party was attended by a few shut friends of the couple, including Da Brat.
Supposition that the two were an item began last month when Mariah, 38, was seen sporting a dazzling diamond annulus on her left pack finger at the NYC premiere of her upcoming photographic film TN.