By Mary Chang on Friday, 30th November 2012 at 5:00 pm
Yes, you are seeing double. We have two live gig videos for today because we were remiss in not posting them every day this week. This time, it’s Charlie Simpson, who has now entered the Guinness World Records for the World’s Coldest Concert after playing a very special Jagermeister Ice Cold Gig in the remote village of Oymyakon, Siberia.
In order to set the world record, Charlie had to play his set for a full 15 minutes, whilst only taking up to 30 second breaks between songs. What a trooper. Watch the video below.
By Mary Chang on Sunday, 11th March 2012 at 10:00 am
There seems to be a definite trend in animation across UK artist promo videos. Take, for example, this video for the new single from Charlie Simpson, for ‘Farmer and His Gun’ (out at the end of April).
As we reported last December, Simpson will be touring the UK in March and April, shortly after he makes an appearance stateside this week at SXSW.
By Mary Chang on Wednesday, 7th March 2012 at 11:00 am
So you’re a fan of Charlie Simpson – maybe of his Busted years. Or the years in Fightstar. Or his solo work. Or all of the above. Have we got a prize for you! Charlie is gearing up for a tour, starting on Wednesday the 21st of March at Ipswich Corn Exchange, and we’ve blagged tickets to give away for this show and three others – Liverpool Academy (Sunday 25th March), Newcastle Academy (Wednesday 28th March) and Cardiff Solus (Wednesday 3rd April).
Fill out the form below with the following information: your name and your email address (we’ll use this to contact you if you’ve won). Then answer this question correctly: What is Charlie Simpson’s birthday? Be sure to get your entries in by 12 noon on Sunday the 11th of March. We’ll choose our lucky winners from all the correct entries. Good luck!
More info on Charlie’s tour is here, in case you want to buy a ticket.
By Mary Chang on Monday, 12th December 2011 at 9:00 am
Charlie Simpson has announced a tour of the UK for March and April 2012. Tickets are available now.
John reviewed Charlie’s solo album ‘Young Pilgrim’ this past summer; you can read all about it here.
Wednesday 21st March 2012 – Ipswich Corn Exchange
Thursday 22nd March 2012 – London Koko
Saturday 24th March 2012 – Birmingham Academy 2
Sunday 25th March 2012 – Liverpool Academy
Tuesday 27th March 2012 – Sheffield Academy 2
Wednesday 28th March 2012 – Newcastle University
Friday 30th March 2012 – Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
Saturday 31st March 2012 – Dundee Fat Sams
Tuesday 2nd April 2012 – Portsmouth Pyramids Centre
Wednesday 3rd April 2012 – Cardiff Solus
Friday 5th April 2012 – Falmouth Princess Pavillion
Saturday 6th April 2012 – Exeter Phoenix
By John Fernandez on Monday, 8th August 2011 at 12:00 pm
First Charlie Simpson sold shed loads of records with Busted. Next he realised his dreams in post-hardcore outfit Fightstar. And now he has decided that the next step in his musical evolution is, surprise, surprise… a solo record. What everyone is doing it these days. Simpson will always be remembered for those days when he jumped around singing about the ‘Year 3000,’ the Air Hostess’ and of course the fact that he was the one with the dashingly bushy eyebrows. Yet it seems that Simpson will continue to attempt to erase his boy band heritage with yet another attempt at breaking the charts. I was a big fan of Fightstar but in all honesty, they were never going to be anything more than a Busted side project to casual observers.
‘Young Pilgrim’ is Charlie Simpson’s debut solo effort and while it has been lengthy in production, it does have its merits. While I expected it to follow the same template that Fightstar used (known for their less heavy songs), it has surprised me in its musical brilliance. Unfortunately, the lyrics are discernibly poor: I mean, “my heart grows to the size of an orchid”? Sorry Charlie, I’m not buying it.
The two singles released ‘Down Down Down’ may not have assaulted the charts as Simpson would have hoped, while the fate of ‘Parachutes’ (video below) will be found out soon. These two singles are the stand out tracks on the record. As said, they are lacking in lyrical creativity, but they are catchy and stick in your head, and that’s where this record finds its strengths. Each song, from the whimsical ‘All at Once’ to the morbid ‘Cemetery’, has the power to resonate inside your brain. This record falls down at the fact that it is too long. As an acoustic record, you begin to feel that when you are nearing the end of what would work in an EP length that ideas are being recycled. Seven songs would have been enough on this offering from Simpson, and the overbearing length could be the downfall of this piece.
While this first offering does have its merits, it’s nothing spectacular, it is an acoustic record that offers catchy songs with a few good choruses. However, the standard was set for acoustic records last year with Bombay Bicycle Club’s ‘Flaws’ (review here) and Simpson has a long way to go before he reaches that kind of level.
6.5/10
Charlie Simpson’s debut solo album, ‘Young Pilgrim’, will be released in a week (15 August) on PIAS. He goes on tour in the UK in October.
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