Established 1961 20 T Sunday, December 16, 2018 L i f e s t y l e G o s s i p Michael Buble had no choice to take break ichael Buble had “no choice” in putting his career on hold that’s really happy that, that I’m a famous person because my wife is so when his son was diagnosed with cancer. The 43-year-old beautiful. “I know that if I wasn’t and I would walk into rooms with her singer and his wife Luisana Lopilato - who have children that they would just assume that I was really wealthy.” The Canadian M Noah, five, Elias, two, and Vida, five months, together - were crooner recently admitted his son’s cancer battle had put his worries left devastated when they were told their eldest child had liver cancer in into perspective and now he no longer cares how his records fare. He 2016 and instantly put all their other commitments on hold, though the said: “I don’t care if things sell one or 10 million, I don’t care where I ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ hitmaker doesn’t think they made a play, if it is at a club or a stadium. My kids are good, that’s all I care “conscious decision” to do that. Speaking to Tracy Smith for an upcom- about. Making music is this bonus, the bonus of the happiness of life. I ing interview on ‘CBS Sunday Morning’, he said: “There was no choice. couldn’t even think about it. “I don’t read anything, don’t have social No family has that choice. There is no choice. It was take care of busi- media anymore and my poor manager cannot tell me what the chart ness-and there was never any conscious decision ever. There was just, positions are because he knows I will cut the call. “I don’t need to know you know, come together as a family, put your head down, you know, that. I don’t have control over that. “Every second I get to promise pray lots and just survive.” But though Michael wasn’t performing in myself to be the nicest, kindest person I can be. Everything else has public, it didn’t mean he turned his back on music altogether during his gone out of the window - I can’t control them.” hiatus. He said: “I never stopped singing, ever. Ever.” Elsewhere in the interview, the ‘Feeling Good’ hitmaker joked he met his 31-year-old wife at exactly the right time in his career. He quipped: “There’s a part of me Van Morrison performs with The Blossoms close tour with Pretty Things scintillating sold-out show he Pretty Things were joined on stage by Van lossoms concluded their tour with a scintillat- Morrison and Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour on ing sold-out show at London’s O2 Brixton T Thursday evening. After 55 years of rocking B Academy on Thursday night. The indie five- the world with their raw and rebellious music, piece - made up of Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, the group are hanging up their electric guitars and were Josh Dewhurst, Joe Donovan and Myles Kellock - wowed enable to ensure their last-ever show at indigo at The O2 the crowd with a selection of hits from their first two in London ended on a high thanks to having their old albums, and geared up for Christmas in style by leading friends share the spotlight with them. The concert was the near 5,000-strong audience in a rendition of divided into three parts - the first and last consisting Slash: Rock Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’. The band achieved a lifelong mainly of their raucous R&B songs while the middle part dream by playing at the Academy - which has previously was mainly devoted to their more psychedelic period staged gigs from the likes of Prince and Madonna - and including their album ‘SF Sorrow’, during which Gilmour lead singer Tom thanked fans for their huge support on got boring the night. He said: “We’ve wanted to headline this venue weaved and spun out mesmerizing notes on his spellbind- ing guitar. The final part brought Van Morrison, who for a long time, so thanks for being a part of it.” Blossoms had the crowd bouncing with their opener, ‘I Can’t Stand Pretty Things lead singer Phil May introduced as a good lash thinks rock music has been “dull and bor- friend and one of the greatest singers of all time. It showed It’, and were in full flow as they made their way through ing” for the last decade. The Guns n’ Roses favorites ‘Unfaithful’, ‘Honey Sweet’, ‘Cool Like You’, and how much respect the Pretty Things have among fellow guitarist believes commercial forces had a neg- musicians that they could summon up such big names for S ‘Blow’ before stepping things up a notch with ‘How Long ative impact on the genre as bands were pres- Will This Last?’. The Stockport stars wound back the their last encore. The Pretty Things began at the same time sured into making their songs radio friendly rather than as the band who were their closest rivals in the early six- year to 2016 as they played a selection of tunes from doing something new and exciting, prompting fans to find their self-titled debut album, including ‘Getaway’ and ‘My ties, The Rolling Stones, but while The Stones have what they’re looking for in other genres such as rap and become the biggest band in the world, the Pretty Things Favorite Room’, and later launched into a mini medley of hip-hop. He told Billboard Radio China: “When Velvet crowd-pleasing covers. Tom began the mixture by have eked out a living playing small clubs and festivals in Revolver came out, there was definitely a movement that far flung corners of the world. Part of this is due to the singing the chorus to Babybird’s ‘You’re Gorgeous’, started in the early to mid-’90s that held up all the way which really got the audience fired up, before moving mayhem and wildness that has always been at the center through the end of that decade and went into the millenni- of their lives, which has resulted in their career going hay- into ‘Last Christmas’ and then a double treat of Oasis in um. And so we came out and there was tons of new rock the shape of ‘Half the World Away’ and ‘Don’t Look Back wire at many points. It is therefore all the remarkable that and roll bands. And they weren’t ‘nu metal’ and they despite all this, they have managed to carry on for 55 in Anger’. Blossoms revved things up again on the return weren’t indie bands, but there was definitely this kind of from their encore with ‘At Most a Kiss’ before one of the years - unlike The Stones who have royally reaped the indie-esque feel to them. “And I think one of the reasons riches and luxuries that the rock world can offer. The surprises of the night when they launched into a pulsat- that Velvet Revolver was as successful as it was had a lot ing performance of The Smiths’ 1986 hit ‘Bigmouth Pretty Things put their all into this show - despite 72- to do with [singer] Scott Weiland, because he was still a year-old May suffering from emphysema and their brilliant Strikes Again’. Saving the best until last, they stunned holdover from that kind of thing, with Stone Temple Pilots, supporters with ‘There’s a Reason Why (I Never lead guitarist Dick Taylor looking rather fragile at 75 years that came from the ‘90s and blah blah blah. Anyway, but it of age. Stand out songs included early hits ‘Rosalyn’ and Returned Your Calls)’ - from their second studio album was all cool. “And then, as we got down the line, it seemed ‘Cool Like You’ - and concluded their capital carnage ‘Don’t Bring me Down’, a selection of songs from their that rock sort of got... More than anything, the commercial concept album ‘SF Sorrow’ including Trust and a homage with mega tune ‘Charlemagne’. The group will return to approach to rock and roll that the industry forces on London on June 30th for a gig at Finsbury Park, and will to R&B icon Bo Diddley, which featured ‘Mona’, ‘Pretty bands, or forces people to think that this is how they have Thing’, ‘You Can’t Judge A Book’ and ‘Roadrunner’. also perform at the Reading and Leeds Festival over the to go about it to succeed, and it just turns into this gener- summer, as well as Edgeley Park in Stockport. ic mishmosh that manages to get on the radio but doesn’t really turn anybody on, and it’s just dull and boring and people start looking elsewhere.” However, the 53-year- old rocker thinks things are starting to change and he’s excited to see how some new “hungry, young” bands fare in the coming years. He added: “And I think that was, real- Jonas Blue wants to ly, what happened to the industry, as far as rock and roll is and the concerned, after 2006 up until just recently. But it seems Marina to be turning over a new leaf right now. So I’m really make unique music interested to see where it goes over the next few years, Diamonds to onas Blue wants to make “unique” music.