Tag Archives: bognor

02.20.21
by

Simon Dinwiddy – City Of Hope

Regular readers of Sonic Breakfast will know how much I love going to festivals. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to party in a field by the end of this year though I admit the prospects look gloomy right now. Rockaway Beach at the Butlins in Bognor was the last festival I was able to get along to before the pandemic hit. I reviewed it for e-Festivals here. January 2020 seems an age ago. 

Festivals are my ‘City Of Hope’. Some of the larger ones (I’m thinking Glastonbury and Boomtown) are the actual size of cities but even the smaller ‘towns and villages’ help me in my escape. They are my amusement arcade; the place where I can go to forget about the 9 to 5 drudgery. I can eat popcorn and candyfloss at a festival if I want to. I simply cannot wait for their return. 

Simon Dinwiddy gets my longing. His recent tune ‘City Of Hope’ is all about dreams and romance, lust and escapism. With an indie crash and a punky, Britpop splash, Simon takes us all to the seaside for a swagger through the streets. With a nod to The Libertines and to Blur, this is a fun-time tune. How crazy that the video is filmed in Bognor, the scene of my last ‘City Of Hope’.

“I’m in Littlehampton, I thought it would be ironic to do it in Bognor.“, says Simon when I ask him about his choice of location. When you see the cheesy tat on offer, the irony is not lost though I wouldn’t dismiss the hope that comes out of a place that hosts a festival of Rockaway Beach’s quality. 

‘Get on a plane and fly to Spain’, sings Simon a couple of times in the song. Now, there’s an idea if we only could. It’s two weeks since I flew out of Alicante. My enforced isolation is done and I’d hop on that plane back tomorrow. That’s a true city of hope. 

01.07.20
by

Sonic Breakfast Top Ten 2019 – Number Four – Sasha Siem – Fitzrovia Chapel

There aren’t so many gigs on in London this week. Perhaps that’ll give me time to complete this top ten of 2019 countdown by the weekend? I’m off to my first festival of 2020 then – the rather ace looking Rockaway Beach at Butlins in Bognor and I’ll need my head fully clear so that I can focus upon my eFestivals review of that. 

In at number four is the night I spent at the glorious Fitzrovia chapel with Sasha Siem back in February. It was a beautiful, exquisite night and I was still bright-eyed about all that London had to offer. Readers can remind themselves about that gig here. 

Sasha is part Norwegian and this gig was the first show of the year that I saw part-promoted by the fab team at Propeller records, the label specialising in Norwegian releases. I’ve seen some absolutely cracking shows put on by Norwegian acts in 2019 – and one of those shows features higher still in this top ten. 

In the second half of 2019, Sasha found higher profile by releasing a series of cover versions of ‘classics’. It’s a bold move to tackle such established numbers but one that marks a sense of Sasha’s growing confidence. Apparently, Elton John fully endorses her cover of ‘Your Song’. 

Sasha has a new album coming out later in January. I’ll be listening in to see what direction this intelligent talent takes next. I’m sure it won’t be an obvious route.