Sue Catwoman (Sue Lucas), c.1977.Photographed by Ray Stevenson.Publicly circulated press image from the early London punk scene. Every generation breeds a handful of figures who seem to slip through the net of time - too wild for the archives, too vivid for mere memory. Sue Catwoman was one of those rare creatures: a woman who … Continue reading The Cat Who Hissed at the World: Sue Catwoman (1955 – 2025)
Tag: Music
The Kiss of Judee Sill: A Hymn to Love and Death
Some songs drift like smoke and some songs weigh like stone. Judee Sill’s The Kiss is the latter: not a melody you whistle while waiting for a bus, but a requiem whispered in the confessional, heavy with sorrow, radiant with a kind of bruised grace. Judee Sill herself was a paradox incarnate. Born in 1944, … Continue reading The Kiss of Judee Sill: A Hymn to Love and Death
Gaslight and Gossamer: Reflections on Iolanthe and the Art of British Satire
There’s something deliciously subversive about walking into a Victorian comic opera knowing full well that you are about to be lampooned, along with everyone else in the room. Iolanthe has always struck me as a peculiar miracle - one of those rare works of art that wears its mischief lightly, yet rests on a foundation … Continue reading Gaslight and Gossamer: Reflections on Iolanthe and the Art of British Satire
Through Darkness, Light: A Reflection on Helen Keller
I sometimes wonder how many of our modern idols would survive without their filters. Strip away the stage-managed profiles, the publicists, the polished platitudes - and what are we left with? Often, very little. But every now and then, we encounter a figure whose inner world shines even brighter than their public image. Helen Keller … Continue reading Through Darkness, Light: A Reflection on Helen Keller
Vivaldi’s Winter – A Reflection in Three Movements
It’s a while since I thought about a piece of music, so, let me remedy that. And it’s perhaps the wrong time of year for this piece, ah, but so what? I wrote this piece years ago after a freezing cold winter’s day at work. So, here we go. There’s something altogether mad about Winter. … Continue reading Vivaldi’s Winter – A Reflection in Three Movements
Wording 