Alan Parry

Tommy Tiernan riding the craziest of crazy horses into his beloved city of Liverpool for one night only saw him on top form. The Derry Girls star produced a show that was both silly and serious, which featured all of the rantings and ravings that one would expect from the man they call The TT.
Perhaps to be expected, given that at the time of performance a rather important EU summit was taking place, Tiernan began with the subject of Brexit. From the outside, looking on, he is revelling in ou...

Hailing from Germany, but settled in Liverpool. Alan Parry listens to Micayl’s soulful sounds on his debut single.
Introducing you to Micayl, a German, Liverpool based songwriter and his debut single Monochrome.
Man, is this chilled! It couldn’t be any cooler if it were to be heard pumping out of a pop-up chill out Lounge Bar on the shore of Lake Baikal. It’s just that cool! So, relax, kick off your trabs, settle down and take it all in.
There is a lot going on here, Monochrome as a title is ...

The Scene
Music
Celebrating four decades of skanking, Alan Parry catches The Specials for a night filled with dancing and overt political messages.
Four decades ago, The Specials arrived as a fully formed mouthpiece for an ill-treated and rebellious youth on the back of punk, although the music in this writer’s opinion at least, was an improvement on much of the punk scene while the spirit remained.
1979 was a big year in the UK as this is when Thatcher came to power and The Specials’ message...

With the comedy legend coming to the Liverpool Empire in November, Alan Parry takes a look at Eddie Izzard’s incredible career.
On November 7 2019, the incomparable Eddie Izzard will hit the Liverpool Empire for one night only. The gig is part of the gargantuan world tour Wunderbar, his first for five years.
In the meantime, Izzard has been a very busy bee, getting involved in just about everything else possible, including a bid to be elected to the Labour Party NEC, the running of 27 maratho...

As Steve Coogan returns to our screens as the insufferable Alan Partridge, Alan Parry looks back fondly at one of his less remembered characters, Tommy Saxondale.
Steve Coogan is returning to the BBC this month in a brand-new, highly-anticipated Alan Partridge series, and we are more than excited by the news. However, we wanted to have a closer look at another of his projects.
Coogan, of course, has portrayed a whole host of other personas in his time, each of which is brilliantly funny in it...

So, who remembers cassette tapes?
Back in the old days, that is to say the late 80s and early 90s, my old man had a whole bunch of them spilling out of the glove compartment of his gold Ford Capri. Some were shop bought, a few were mix-tapes, but most were taped CDs.
There was one with Zappa‘s Sheik Yerbouti on the one side, and Dylan‘s Desire on the other; another was a recording of a compilation called Three Minute Heroes, which incidentally is now one of my favourite Spotify play lists.
Bu...

After impressing us with their debut single Curio, Good Problems take Alan Parry to the next level with their follow up.

With Glastonbury reactions highlighting the debate over elite and popular art, Alan Parry ponders the purpose of contemporary pop music.
There is an age old debate which rages over elite and popular art.
If we look back through history, its apparent that much of what is deemed ‘high’ or ‘elite’ has been presided over by a very small minority who believe that they better understand, and/or appreciate art than the grubby masses.
But why do they get to tell us what we should or should not like?
...

Created by Dawn French, and written by a formidable writing team of twin sisters, Alan Parry remembers a largely forgotten sitcom that should be ranked as one of the finest of the 21st century.
Do you remember Roger and Val Have Just Got In? Have you even heard of it? If not, why not?
I would go as far as saying that this was one of the finest sitcoms of the last decade, and next month its five years since the last episode aired. But, for some reason it appears to have almost disappeared into...

Not knowing what to expect from the Roxy Music legend, Alan Parry discovers what grown up pop sounds like.
I should probably confess that I’m not overly familiar with Ferry’s solo back catalogue, and following a recent conversation with my old man, I was unsure what to expect from the former Roxy Music man.
I had been advised me that he no longer played his ‘best stuff’, and that he has a habit of pulling out some of the more obscure tracks from his cannon of work.
Sorry, Dad. You couldn’t ha...

Break out the pomagne! Its twenty years since The Royle Family hit our screens.

Greg Davies brought his You Magnificent Beast tour to Liverpool Comedy Festival, and Alan Parry found a man with the energy of a man half his age.
When I grow old, I think I just may wear purple. But, more than this, I hope I manage to cling onto a youthfulness in much the same way that Greg Davies has managed.
The Taskmaster star may well be carrying around half a century’s worth of bodily abuse with him, something which his Mother regularly points out keenly, “Go and lift up your shirt and ...

Alan Parry quizzes comedian Paul Foot on his wacky inspiration, ties, politics, piglets and more ahead of his live show at Liverpool’s Slaughter House.
Paul Foot brings his extraordinary brand of comedy to Liverpool on Thursday 9th November.
The show, ‘Tis a Pity She’s a Piglet had moderate success at last year’s Edinburgh Festival, but a prolonged worldwide tour has provided Foot with the opportunity to hone the material and this year’s reception was far kinder. In this interview, I ask abou...

In the perfect surroundings of the Laughterhouse, Alan Parry finds Paul Foot reminiscent of Robin Williams in his pomp.
I’m not sure that there is a better venue in the country to watch stand-up comedy in than Liverpool’s Laughterhouse. If there is, I don’t know of it. There are even seats on the stage, either side of the small area in which the artist has at their disposal.
It’s a grungy, intimate, cave of a club with a very low ceiling, which I have often heard helps to create the optimum a...

So, this is what grown ups do on a night out!
Squeeze were supported by veteran blues outfit Nine Below Zero and together they gave a thoroughly enjoyable performance to a packed out Philharmonic Hall.
It is important to mention the special guests, for not only did they add to the experience, but the line-ups were interchangeable all night long.
Squeeze‘s star man Glenn Tilbrook even joined his friends and recent collaborators on stage to perform Chat Line Larry, a number composed by him and ...