Simon Cowell. Love him or hate him you have to admire him. He has taken over both the music industry and weekend television of this country completely. If it's not X Factor, it's Britain's Got Talent. He has a captive audience, parents with young children who no longer go out at the weekends. I am one of them. Week after week I watch. With his ruse this year to stagger the X Factor over Saturday and Sunday he has totally captured the audience he preys on.
I must admit I prefer the early part of the series when loads of wannabees are systematically dismantled. That old British tradition of eccentrics is alive and well and being nurtured by the Cowellmeister. Some say it's cruel, but I say these people know what they're getting into and they volunteer themselves to be put at his mercy. I do have a bit of an issue with the Susan Boyle character from Britain's Got Talent however as she does seem to be a little unstable. I'm not such a fan of this show, but that's more an issue of an intense dislike of Piers "Morgan" Moron.
So this Joe individual won this year's competition. He can sing, no doubt, but is such a personality vacuum he could easily be a piece of cardboard. Like the Leona Lewis person, you really cannot see them throwing TVs out of hotel windows, doing copious lines of coke and smashing guitars on stage. He will disappear without trace in 18 months max.
On the flip side, along with a regular reader of this blog I attended the Simple Minds and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Concert in Aberdeen on Saturday night.
Simple Minds were disappointing it has to be said. The music was too loud and drowned out Jim Kerr's admittedly failing vocals. Age seems to be catching up with a man, who at his pomp 25 years ago was the front man of the biggest band on the planet. However the 2nd half improved as the backing music was turned down a notch and they stormed through their back catalogue from their early to mid 80s pomp. They must be the only band in the world who don't play their only number 1 single live. I guess Belfast Child and it's political overtures don't cut it 20 years on.
The absolute stars of the night however were OMD. Massively under-rated because of the immenseness of their electronic pioneering peers (Kraftwerk and Joy Division), they blasted through a back catalogue of such quality that they put modern bands to shame. If you do not have their best of album, but it tonight. 90% of it still sounds as fresh as a daisy. Andy McClusky absolutely loved being back in front of a big crowd. They were note perfect. Come back soon on your own guys. Just a pity they didn't play my own personal favourite, If You Leave. But I'll leave you with a recommendation to listen to Maid of Orleans and Enola Gay. As good as anything New Order have released. Fashions are a terrible thing.
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