Aretha Franklin Honoured with a Pulitzer Prize

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 17 April 2019 > In the News Shine Bright Lycée

Soul singer Aretha Franklin has been posthumously honoured with a Pulitzer Prize. The 2019 winners list revealed on 15 April also included Richard Power’s extraordinary novel The Overstory and The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for their investigations on President Donald Trump. Aretha Franklin  (pictured) died in August 2018, at the age … Continue reading “Aretha Franklin Honoured with a Pulitzer Prize”

Dancing Nina Simone

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 11 April 2019 > What's On

Britain’s celebrated modern dance company, Rambert, is celebrating singer Nina Simone with a dance-theatre piece featuring musicians live on stage. Simone, who died in 2003, was one of the great, and unclassifiable, popular singers of the 20th century, and a strong proponent of Civil Rights. Simone was born in North Carolina in 1933. She had … Continue reading “Dancing Nina Simone”

Singing the Great Famine

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 27 March 2019 > What's On

One of Ireland’s most popular folk singer-songwriters, Declan O’Rourke, spent fifteen years writing a song cycle of stories about the Great Irish Famine. He’ll be presenting his award-winning songs at the Irish Cultural Centre on Thursday 4 April. Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine has been hailed as O’Rourke’s masterpiece, and he received the prestigious … Continue reading “Singing the Great Famine”

Musicals

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 21 December 2018 > Ready to Use

This A2 article about musicals and the tradition of high school performances in the USA should be of particular interest to those among your students who may have seen the exhibition in Paris, but also to any student with a taste for films or music. As usual, the document is but a starting point for … Continue reading “Musicals”

Michael Jackson: On the Wall

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 06 December 2018 > What's On

It’s become a cliché to describe a celebrity as an iconic figure but a new exhibition about Michael Jackson takes the word “iconic” in a more literal sense. Michael Jackson: On the Wall looks at how the visual artists depicted and idolised one of the biggest music stars of his, or any, time. Jackson was … Continue reading “Michael Jackson: On the Wall”

We Will Rock You

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 05 November 2018 > What's On

Queen is approaching its fiftieth anniversary, and has had one of the most successful careers in rock history. After a string of hits in the 70s and 80s, brought to a halt by the death of frontman Freddie Mercury, their jukebox musical We Will Rock You gave the band a second career. Now the remaining … Continue reading “We Will Rock You”

The Soul of Civil Rights

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 17 September 2018 > In the News

Aretha Franklin, dubbed “the Queen of Soul”, was one of the most influential musicians in the U.S. charts. She won 18 Grammy awards but also made a massive contribution to the civil rights movement: her songs would become their anthems. Aretha Franklin grew up in the 1950s in Detroit, where her father was a popular … Continue reading “The Soul of Civil Rights”

Here We Go Again!

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 27 July 2018 > What's On

Ten years after the smash-hit original film, Mamma Mia is back with a “prequel and sequel”. It’s the feel-good movie of the summer. Perfect for an open-air or drive-in showing, with a cocktail in hand, your dancing shoes on and singing voice ready. For a couple of hours, we can all be Dancing Queens (or … Continue reading “Here We Go Again!”

Taylor Swift: Reputation

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 17 November 2017 > Ready to Use

A new album by one of the most popular singer-songwriters in the world is big news. And the themes of Taylor Swift’s album Reputation is a great opportunity to discuss rumours, bullying and online security with your pupils. In this A2 article, some of your students will learn about Taylor Swift, while others will probably … Continue reading “Taylor Swift: Reputation”

Rocking to the Classics

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 07 September 2017 > Celebrate

The biggest music festival in the world isn’t Glastonbury or Lollopallooza, it’s a classical music festival: the two-month annual BBC Proms series in London. Started in 1895 with the specific aim of popularising classical music, the final night of the series, the Last Night of the Proms, is now an institution watched by millions around … Continue reading “Rocking to the Classics”