WHAT HAVE ELTON JOHN, ROBERT PLANT AND NEIL DIAMOND GOT IN COMMON? ROUNDHOUSE ELECTRICS!

I’VE made my point on this page before but what has happened to the Electric Proms?
Firstly, it’s been rebranded BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms (Oct 28-30) – the organisers have made that very clear to all Press.

Secondly the headliners – Elton John, Robert Plant and Neil Diamond – are all only slightly one side or the other of claiming their pensions.

Thirdly, we all fought to save BBC 6 Music, they had their own section to the Proms last year but by Radio 2 taking over, we’ve lost that edge.
The greatest news about this year’s line-up, whose most likely highly varied followers would class as legends in their own special way, is that a restricted number of £5 tickets will be released in the weeks leading up to the festival.
Don’t bank on these but for those who do snap them up, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience...of sorts.
Now this is not an ageist page. In fact Robert Plant featured here a couple of weeks ago when he played Kentish Town’s Forum, and Led Zep remnants are always welcome here, but this is more about the lack of
new blood, and, at risk of sounding like a council flyer for youth services – diversity.
Radio 2 may be a part of the establishment but it does also feature good new music – just this weekend Dermot O’Leary played Villagers on his show. So why keep it so limited?
This year’s Proms will include a tiny sprinkling of younger pop acts – Plan B and Rumer will join Elton and Plant gets the London Oriana Choir (Oct 29).
But the Electric Proms tagline was always “creating new moments in music”.
There’s no doubt Elton, launching the show on Thursday (Oct 28) will put on a good show, and he’s a master at collaborations so there’ll definitely be some surprises but how is this going to work with Neil Diamond?

The greatest show I ever saw at the Proms was Africa Express. It had been a Proms staple but last year mysteriously dropped off the bill. 

Africa Express really defined the Electric Proms – a world away from the stuffy flag-waving crowd at the traditional Proms, it featured more than 100 artists of every discipline and background, crammed on Koko’s stage, jamming and experimenting like true musicians at the greatest party ever.
In 2008, it was Damon Albarn who brought it together and he’s been touring with various incarnations ever since.
It’s just a shame we don’t get it in Camden anymore.
This is not supposed to be a major moan about the Electric Proms.
Where else will you get the chance to see Elton at such close quarters for only £25?
He’ll be joining his idol Leon Russell to play tracks from new album The Union but the classics will be there too.
And how will Plant create his “new moments” with the choir?
Sure Neil Diamond will attract some older fans but also that irritating contingent who danced/drank/hooked up/staggered home to “I’m a Believer” and ”Sweet Caroline” at every university summer ball/formal etc. Sadly Neil, you’re responsible for too many bad memories.
As no other acts have been announced to join him, it would appear he will be making his new moments by himself. If none do materialise, it might be fair to say the concept’s becoming a myth.
He’s promising to play songs from his new album as well as old favourites so maybe he can redeem himself.
The good news is the whole thing will be broadcast on Radio 2 for those who miss it, presented by Bob Harris (any excuse to hear more of Harris’ voice is very welcome).
Performances will be broadcast on BBC 2 with the prefix A Night With...you fill in the gap.
• Tickets for the R2 Electric Proms, are £25 from www.bbc.co.uk/radio2.
• A restricted number of £5 tickets will be released in the weeks leading up to the festival.

ROBERT PLANT'S BAND OF JOY ON THE PROWL IN KENTISH TOWN

LOOK at that lion's mane.
How could anyone resist catching a glimpse of the all-powerful one when he's lurking so close by?
Lay out the red carpet, bow your heads and soak up the glory – Robert Plant, big cat of rock, is coming to Camden and bringing his Band of Joy along for the ride.

Plant, the one with the lungs from Led Zeppelin, plays a rare live show at HMV Forum in Kentish Town on September 2.
The gig precedes the release of Plant’s hotly anticipated 10th solo album Band Of Joy, recorded in Tennessee and co-produced by Nashville legend Buddy Miller.

It is his first album since the six times Grammy winning Raising Sand in 2007.
So tickets are a little pricey, up to £50, but these occasions are rare and it’s always wise to catch a legend while they’ve retained their flowing locks.
Of course it won’t be the original Band of Joy line-up, which included the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

Plant formed Band of Joy in 1967 with Bonham, later getting together with guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones to become The New Yardbirds, an early incarnation of Led Zeppelin – before they became great.
Years of explosive, guitar-driven, lung-busting, blues-rock followed as Led Zeppelin worked their way to becoming the biggest band in the world.

Guitarists across the world spent their waking hours trying to emulate Plant’s intricate riffs, to the point where Stairway to Heaven became a joke in the 1992 movie Wayne’s World – remember it being banned in
the guitar shop scene?
After the Led Zep era ended with Bonham’s death in 1980 neither Page nor Plant were ready to hang up their instruments and they went off to record with a wide range of artists, as well as performing as a duo and working on their own solo projects.

And then came Band of Joy.
Although rock is always present, Band of Joy seem to err on the folk side, reinterpreting old songs and not be solely focused on Plant as frontman.
He said: “I really wanted this record to be A Band of Joy – you hear voices all around my voice.”

And he’s got no qualms about any confusion caused by the resurrection of his old band name: “In the Band of Joy, when I was 17, I was playing everybody else’s stuff and moving it around, and it’s kind of…time to reinvoke that attitude and sentiment.”

Band of Joy is Darrell Scott (acoustic guitar, mandolin, octave mandolin, banjo, accordion, pedal steel and lap steel guitar), Byron House (bass), Marco Giovino (drums and percussion), and Buddy Miller (electric guitar, baritone, 6-string bass, mandoguitar).

Album Band of Joy is released on September 15.

KOKO'S SECRET STASH OF STRIPEY CARDIES, ROBERT PLANT'S GOLD TOUCH + THE RETURN OF MS DYNAMITE

NEXT time you’re racking your brains over where you left your favourite neon stripey cardigan after a night out, check the nearest British Heart Foundation charity shop. Turns out Koko donates all lost property there every two weeks so it’s sure to be a haven of cool-kid garb – just one fact I discovered in the smallprint of a press release about Koko being named London’s most environmentally friendly venue. Even the new roof terrace has been laid with rubber tiles from 6,600 reclaimed truck and car tyres. At least you won’t worry about getting struck by lightning.

• For some, Led Zeppelin can’t be touched and their memory must be preserved intact at all costs and left in peace. For others, anything associated with Led Zep is gilded in gold. If you’re of the latter view then Robert Plant and the latest incarnation of Band of Joy play a rare show at Kentish Town’s HMV Forum on September 2. It precedes the release of Plant’s 10th solo album Band Of Joy, recorded in Tennessee and co-produced by Nashville legend Buddy Miller. Here's a taste of what to expect:

• At The Good Ship, next Saturday (July 31), are Horseman Shakes and the Draymen. I just picked them out for their bemusing name.

• Camden revivalist Ms Dynamite joins Professor Green for the three-day Roundhouse Turning Point Festival, alongside Toddla T, Devlin and many more (September 17-19).