Category Archives: History

‘Public, Private, Secret’: From Jackie to Marilyn – and Back Again

23 Sunday Jul 2023

Posted by in Books, History, Marilyn Monroe, Non-Fiction, Politics

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J. Randy Taraborrelli is a prolific celebrity biographer whose many bestsellers include The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (2009), later dramatised in a TV mini-series of the same name (see here.) And although she never met America’s First Lady, speculation about Marilyn’s association with the Kennedy brothers has recently generated headlines in media coverage of his latest book, Jackie: Private, Public, Secret. Continue reading →

Scandal ’63 Revisited: Symposium in Leicester

21 Tuesday Mar 2023

Posted by in Art and Photography, Film, History, Poetry, Politics, Profumo Affair

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A symposium for Scandal ’63 Revisited will be held at Leicester Gallery on Friday, April 14th, ahead of the exhibition’s last day on Saturday. Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance here. (The flyer image seen above shows an outtake from Christine Keeler’s iconic photo shoot with Lewis Morley, who later recreated her most famous pose with the Leicester-born playwright and provocateur, Joe Orton.)

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‘Scandal’ Revisited as New Exhibition Opens in Leicester

01 Wednesday Mar 2023

Posted by in Art and Photography, Film, History, Politics, Profumo Affair

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Scandal, the 1989 movie dramatising the Profumo Affair, is showing at the Phoenix Leicester at 7:30 pm this Friday, March 3rd, introduced by producer Stephen Woolley with an onstage Q&A. Whatever you may think of the narrative, Scandal boasts terrific performances by John Hurt as Stephen Ward and Joanne Whalley as Christine Keeler (seen above with Bridget Fonda); surprising cameo turns (Leslie Phillips as Lord Astor!); and a fabulous retro soundtrack topped by Dusty Springfield’s comeback hit, ‘Nothing Has Been Proved.’

The screening is in partnership with Leicester Gallery on the De Montfort University campus, where a new exhibition, Scandal ‘63 Revisited: Reframing the Profumo Affair via Art and Artefact, opens on Friday, following a private view from 6 pm – 8 pm on Thursday with Christine Keeler’s son, Seymour Platt. (If you plan to attend the preview, please RSVP to leicestergallery@dmu.ac.uk.) Continue reading →

2022: A Year in Books

28 Wednesday Dec 2022

Posted by in Books, Fiction, Film, History, Marilyn Monroe, Non-Fiction, Politics, Witchcraft

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I read Kate Atkinson’s first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, back in the late 1990s; and finally returned to her this year with Shrines of Gaiety, a Roaring Twenties romp loosely inspired by the rackety life of London’s ‘Queen of Nightclubs,’ Kate Meyrick. I was pleased to note that Atkinson’s dry wit remains intact. Continue reading →

‘I Told You I Was Trouble’: Amy Winehouse, 10 Years Gone

23 Friday Jul 2021

Posted by in Amy Winehouse, Anniversaries, Music

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This photo, taken by Roger Sargent, shows Amy Winehouse on Brighton Beach in July 2004, before that night’s show at Concorde 2. She was 20 years old, promoting her debut album, Frank, and wowing the locals. When she returned two years later, her ‘Rehab’ single was a runaway hit and her second album, Back to Black, would become one of the 21st century’s essential records. Continue reading →