CAMDEN CRAWL TWEETERS + POLY STYRENE SLEEPS + PALOMA FAITH, TIM BOOTH AND HUGH LAURIE

A QUICK reminder to anyone not heading for the Camden Crawl – though can’t imagine what else you want to do with the long weekend – you can still feel like part of the festivities by catching Graham Coxon, Marques Toliver and more at their Levi’s Crawl set at Proud Camden on Sunday for a separate £10 ticket. Entry free to Crawl wristband holders.


And in case you didn’t see my appeal in our final preview, remember to tweet any Crawl news, sightings, gossip or secret gig rumours to me @roisingadelrab, I’ll be reporting the whole weekend live on Twitter.



• Really sorry to hear about the death of X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene. Poly, whose real name is Marianne Elliot Said rejoined the band for a one-off show at Camden Roundhouse in 2008.

In a tribute this week, Jonathan Ross told how X-Ray Spex were the first live band he ever saw – at the Hope & Anchor in Islington.

• Coming up at the Union Chapel – Paloma Faith’s special charity show (May 5) to help raise funds for a friend who suffered brain damage in an accident. She will be joined by Noisettes, her X-Factor favourite Rebecca Ferguson, Michael Nyman, Claire Maguire, Rox, Alfie Boe, David Arnold & Ricky Wilson and the night will be hosted by Keith Lemon.

• Remember when James was great? Maybe Tim Booth can recreate some of their heyday magic when he headlines Koko on Tuesday – maybe he can fill us in.

• Former Record of the Week contenders and all-round new favourites Warehouse Republic play The Bowery on Wednesday – what else have you got do?

• Anyone got a golden ticket for Hugh Laurie’s Union Chapel show on Wednesday? Let me know, is he a better musician or actor?

HARAJUKU HITS PROUD CAMDEN

P!NK had two on her Carnival tour, while a troupe of them followed Gwen Stefani’s every step, before she transformed them into a range of perfume bottles – the Harajuku Girls have certainly permeated western culture.
Harajuku – named after the Japanese district where youngsters dress up in cult clothing – hits Proud Camden on August 24. 

Seven themed rooms will celebrate everything Japanese – geishas, comics, origami, karaoke, Manga and art – while a mix of live bands and JPOP provide the soundtrack. 

(Couldn't find an official video but you get the picture!)

Expect to find the venue packed with the edgiest young things competing to be the best-dressed character as Proud is filled with idols and looks adopted from Anime to Gothic Lolita.

And no cult Japanese night would be complete without the gamers, who will be battling it out in Proud’s Gaming Zone on a choice of PS3 and Wii games – they can even bring their own handheld consoles to play in their own private area.

Manga films will play all night, there’s a bring-your-own MP3 player listening party and the Karaoke Zone.
Acts include all-female darke indie band The Cut, 60s-inspired electro rock and hip-hop force Capelle, eight-piece experi mental combo Mataniu, indie pop band Iraq and London indie three-piece Fuzz Valentine.

• August 24, Proud Camden, Stables Market, NW1, 020 7482 3867

ELIZA DOOLITTLE'S DRINKS BLAG, BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB'S ACOUSTIC MAGIC + ROCK ART COLLECTORS HEAVEN AT PROUD CAMDEN

POVERTY-stricken singers take note – Eliza Doolitle told me of a trick she stumbled across when playing the Cuban Bar at this year’s Camden Crawl. She mentioned her love of their apple crumble cocktails during her set, jokingly asking if anyone wanted to buy her a drink, and the bar staff promptly made one for her. Now she’s wondering how many other bars she can try it on with. I doubt she’ll need to use it for long, as she’s going to be able to command anything she wants on her rider soon.

• One of the most memorable moments of last year’s Mencap Little Noise Sessions at Islington’s Union Chapel was hearing the vulnerable cracked vocals and stripped-down acoustics of Bombay Bicycle Club. They plugged back in soon after, but I’ve played that acoustic show back in my head over and over since. Now there’s a chance to repeat the experience. Their acoustic album was released on Monday and their tour of cinemas and churches comes to the Union Chapel on July 22 and 23. It will be stunning.
I couldn't find any acoustic footage of Magnet on Youtube so here's Ivy and Gold at the Union Chapel last year.

• The Kenwood concerts are well under way and so far the weather’s been impeccable. But the climes are wavering so let’s hope it holds out for Will Young on Saturday and Jamie Cullum (August 14).

• Rock art collectors head down to Proud Camden on Wednesday for a live and online Teenage Cancer Trust charity live and online auction of prints shot by six of the world’s leading music photographers. Captive subjects Dave Grohl, The Libertines, Muse and many more have signed the work. Live music and the official launch of the gallery’s biggest ever exhibition Six Shooters complete the night.

JARVIS COCKER IS GREYER THAN YOU THINK

IT'S been a lifelong (since I was 14) ambition to meet gangly Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker so my dreams were fulfilled last week when he kindly posed for a photo with me at Proud Camden’s second birthday celebrations. 

I’ll spare you the evidence but must note how attentive he was to troubadour Joseph Strouzer who serenaded him with The Ballad of the Big Beautiful Woman. Jarvis – greyer than I ever imagined – signalled his approval but warned Strouzer was unlikely to get any airtime. Later Amy Winehouse did some backing dancing for Professor Green but looked pretty vacant – I blame the stifling heat.

• I’m not quite sure what happens at a convention for The Who – do people turn up dressed as the Pinball Wizard? Will a row of scooters park outside Dingwalls on October 3, when the gathering rides into Camden Town? I can’t say but I’m sure gonna check.

• Rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures play a benefit gig at on July 5 at Brixton 02 Academy for Eagles of Death Metal bassist Brian O’Connor who has cancer and no medical insurance. No bland statements from O’Connor, thanking supporters he said: 

“I am excited for my full recovery and look forward to getting back to what I love most, melting face with my bass. I’m feeling great, after all, I am half unicorn.” Get down there if you can.

• Even if you find Devendra Banhart’s video for Foolin’ a bit too disturbing, he’ll be captivating live – see him at Koko (July 4).

• You can now stand under Koko’s legendary Hollywood-style illuminations every day as the roof terrace is officially unveiled tomorrow (Friday). It’s actually been open for a while and you may find yourself rubbing shoulders with the acts as they slip out on the terrace for a smoke – or fresh-air Camden style!

GENEROUS JARVIS COCKER, SERGE'S SOUNDTRACK, N-DUBZ' "SUCCESS" + WINO POPS UP IN CAMDEN SHOCK

PROUD Camden held an extravagant birthday party on Wednesday night – to mark their second year in Camden Market’s Horse Hospital. The Delays launched their new album but didn't play live in the end - apparently due to some sort of leg injury - you can still sing boys!

Jarvis Cocker did a fantastic job hosting, posed for a photograph with me and generously stopped to listen to troubadour Joseph Strouzer play the Ballad of the Big Beautiful Woman all the way through.
His verdict: "I like it, especially how it turned out in the end, of course you won't ever get any air-time."
Strouzer said afterwards: "I guess he was referring to the ever-so subtle sexual references woven into the lyrics."

Professor Green did a brilliant job of headlining, bringing some grime vibes to the gallery, while Amy Winehouse popped up, as she does, onstage, took a spot next to the backing singers and danced along for a whole song before running off to mingle. Mumford & Sons DJed but it felt like a waste of their talents. Great night though.

• The iTunes Festival begins on July 1 at Camden Roundhouse, a month of huge names, from Tony Bennett to Ozzy Osbourne, Scissor Sisters to N-Dubz. Eighties hair rock bands Europe and Foreigner this week confirmed they play on July 25.

• The beautiful Serge Pizzorno, yes Kasabian bandana man, is lending his talents to Mighty Boosh star Noel Fielding. Fielding’s summer art show, at London’s oldest cake shop Maison Bertaux, Greek Street, Soho (July 5), includes an installation with an original soundtrack by Pizzorno.

• Love Being N-Dubz – a six-part C4 documentary on Camden’s finest, with the second programme going out on Monday. Best quote so far from Dappy: “I’m a success, sir”, followed seconds later by “I’ve got an Oyster, I’m legit.”

• Juliette Lewis unveils her new album Terra Incognita – the album she’s always wanted to make – at London Borderline on June 30.

• Celebs are coming out in force to back a revival of the Finsbury Park Rise Festival, after Boris Johnson’s office pulled funding for it last year. Writer Meera Syal and Labour leadership contender Diane Abbott have joined Roots Manuva, Asian Dub Foundation, and Beardyman in their support for replacement festival UpRise: London United Against Racism (July 11). Info from www.uprise.org.uk

• Here’s an opportunity for genuine talent to impress industry giants EMI at Camden Roundhouse – 30/30, a groundbreaking youth music project for 16-25s. Over the course of September, 30/30 (30 days, 30 bands, 30 tracks) will offer 30 unsigned artists one free day’s recording time in the Round house’s EMI Live Music Studio, along with top guest producers to profes sionally record and mix their track for free.
Artists should visit www.roundhouse.org.uk/3030.

CAMDEN CRAWL HEADLINERS LET FRINGE ACTS DAZZLE AND BBC 6MUSIC CAUSE REACHES CRISIS LEVELS

THE Camden Crawl has announced the rest of its line-up – bar one SECRET SPECIAL GUEST (in caps of course), and any surprise unannounced gigs on the day.

The big names expected for the Roundhouse have not materialised. Lostprophets and We Are Scientists are not, in my humble opinion, a patch on last year’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kasabian, Idlewild and The Maccabees. As for the ever-changing, ever-falling-out Sugababes, who knows if they’ll even still have their name by then, judging by pending legal action from past members.

Bravo to the organisers, though, for doubling up Roundhouse shows and selling tickets upfront rather than making people waste precious hours on the day having to queue.

But personally I’m glad the Roundhouse isn’t such a huge draw, it leaves more time to focus on the smaller bands, what the Crawl is all about – discovering lesser-known gems.

• Bands scrabbled together, an emergency press release was sent out, and hundreds scrawled their names on the petition. The threat to BBC 6Music has taken on international crisis proportions and, as is fitting of these causes, Proud Camden took out its contacts book and pulled in the big names on Wednesday to do its bit. The Maccabees, The Holloways, Kitty, Daisy and Lewis and Master Shortie were among those on the line-up. Let’s hope the BBC Trust was listening.

• Here’s one for all you dreamy types. The Dig’s Spring Equinox celebrations of bohemian deviance are at Passing Clouds, Dalston, on March 18, featuring live installations, poetry, an erotic life-drawing class and cult film screenings. Live bands include The Bridport Dagger, Life In Film, Ay Ducane and Cruella Ribbons.