Amelia’s Magazine | London 2012 Olympic Games Team Opening and Closing Ceremonies Illustrated

Jessie J By Laura Hickman
Jessie J by Laura Hickman.

Can it really be a week since the Olympics ended? Here’s my final blog post inspired by the visual drama of the ceremonies that opened and closed London 2012.

Antonia-Parker-London-2012-Olympic-Opening-Ceremony
Olympic Opening Ceremony London 2012 by Antonia Parker.

Opening Ceromony by Lizzie Mary Cullen
Opening Ceromony by Lizzie Mary Cullen.

I watched the Opening Ceremony from a small cottage in Wales, where we marvelled at Danny Boyle‘s very British spectacle and wondered what on earth other nations would think about the pastoral scenes, the ironic exploding industrial landscape, the skydiving Queen, the swing dancing NHS nurses, the children’s choirs, the awesome Dizzee Rascal, the brilliant volunteer disco dancers and, erm, Emeli Sandé (can anyone explain the fuss?) It was a fantastically oddball celebration of real everyday Britain, a two fingers up at the hugely expensive perfection of the Beijing Olympics.

London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony Industrial Revolution by Helen Beeston
London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony Industrial Revolution by Helen Beeston.

After two weeks of mind boggling physical feats it was a shame that the Closing Ceremony did not wow in quite the same way – instead it resembled a badly put together festival, including as it did mainstream bores such as Elbow, Muse, Kaiser Cheifs and Liam Gallagher (singing out of tune!) two appearances too many from the apparent reigning queen of British pop Emeli Sandé, Jessie J in a series of crystal encrusted flesh bodysuits and no shows from the legendarily (and shy) Kate Bush and David Bowie. Don’t even get me started on the truck bed catwalks – as one commentator pointed out, clothes horses suddenly look very untalented set against the athletic prowess of Olympic medalists. And Victoria Beckham mentioned in the same breath as Burberry and Alexander McQueen? The price paid for a reunited Spice Girls, perhaps? Mind you, call it a guilty pleasure but that was one performance I did enjoy.

Olympics Closing Ceremony Newspaper Cars by Olivia Cook
Olympics Closing Ceremony Newspaper Cars by Olivia Cook.

London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony The Spice Girls by Helen Beeston
London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony The Spice Girls by Helen Beeston.

And so now onto the Paralympics. Last night I watched the brilliant BBC drama The Best of Men, which follows it’s creation in the 1940s at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where the remarkable refugee Dr. Guttmann took a radical new approach to the rehabilitation of soldiers with spine injuries. It’s still available to view for a few more days and I highly recommend you do catch it before the Paralympics start. I for one am really looking forward to the ‘Lympics round two.

Russell Brand by Victoria Elizabeth James
Russell Brand by Victoria Elizabeth James.

Olympic Ceremony by Helen Dodsworth
Olympic Ceremony by Helen Dodsworth.

Don’t forget to check in with our previous illustrated Olympics blog posts here and here. And find out more about the true cost of the Games here, outlined in a series of thought provoking illustrated blogposts by designer and theoretician Jody Boehnert.

Categories ,2012, ,Alexander McQueen, ,Antonia Parker, ,beijing, ,Closing ceremony, ,Danny Boyle, ,David Bowie, ,dizzee rascal, ,Elbow, ,Emeli Sandé, ,Helen Beeston, ,Helen Dodsworth, ,illustration, ,Jessie J, ,Jody Boehnert, ,Kaiser Cheifs, ,Kate Bush, ,Laura Hickman, ,Liam Gallagher, ,Lizzie Mary Cullen, ,Muse, ,NHS, ,Olivia Cook, ,Olympics, ,Opening ceremony, ,Paralympics, ,review, ,The Best of Men, ,Victoria Beckham, ,Victoria Elizabeth James

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Amelia’s Magazine | Desperate Journalist at Power Lunches: Live Review

Desperate Journalist by Matilde Sazio

Desperate Journalist by Matilde Sazio

In amongst a cluster of kebab shops on Kingsland Road, just before it gives way to the disparate delights of Dalston Junction, sits Power Lunches. A modest frontage conceals a small upstairs cafe (cans of Red Stripe the house speciality), whilst down below in the basement is the venue area, which also doubles as a rehearsal space. In the couple of years that it’s been in existence, Power Lunches has put on an eclectic array of events, and the tiny basement usually finds itself packed to the rafters.

Desperate Journalist by Julie J Seo

Desperate Journalist by Julie J Seo

Desperate Journalist have only been going for a short while, but they’ve already racked up a sizeable amount of column inches in the independent music press, as well as a couple of radio spots to go with their two singles and an EP. Named after an old Cure song (inspired by Robert Smith taking particular umbrage at one review), they follow a similar post-punk path to the likes of PINS and, most notably, Savages. Whilst not as intense as Savages, Desperate Journalist do share that echoey Siouxsie & The Banshees inspired guitar sound, and singer Jo Bevan’s voice is not entirely dissimilar to the majestic tones of Siouxsie Sioux (interestingly, Bevan also moonlights as “Simone Le Bon” in all-female Duran Duran concept band Joanne Joanne – about as unlikely a pair of references as you could expect!).

Desperate Journalist by Helen Beeston

Desperate Journalist by Helen Beeston

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The basement was already pretty warm from the two support bands before Desperate Journalist took to the tiny stage, the room in absolute darkness and only illuminated by the lights situated above Jo Bevan’s head. There were a few familiar faces in the crowd and some jokey requests to “play some Fleetwood Mac!”, to which bassist Simon Drowner gallantly responded with a snippet of The Chain (otherwise known as That BBC Grand Prix Theme). They powered through a tight set, covering old favourites such as Cristina, Mistakes and the new single Happening. With Caz Hellbent pounding away on drums and guitarist Rob Hardy chipping away at chords, Bevan was a captivating presence centre stage, one minute swooping low and the next staring transfixed into the distance.

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The set closed with a rousing version of Organ before the band jumped off stage and headed to the bar, leaving their instruments to carry on in feedback. With a debut album pencilled in for later in the year and a spot on the upcoming Camden Crawl, it looks like Desperate Journalist can expect a lot more glowing reviews, unlike the one that inspired their name!

Categories ,Camden Crawl, ,Caz Hellbent, ,Desperate Journalist, ,Duran Duran, ,fleetwood mac, ,Helen Beeston, ,Jo Bevan, ,Joanne Joanne, ,Julie J Seo, ,Matilde Sazio, ,PINS, ,Power Lunches, ,Rob Hardy, ,Robert Smith, ,Savages, ,Simon Drowner, ,Siouxsie & The Banshees, ,Siouxsie Sioux, ,the cure

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