'One of the most kick-ass live bands around' - The Observer Music Monthly Bellowhead is the newly appointed Band in Residence at Southbank Centre, and their residency kicks off on 18 December 2007 with Bellowhead's Christmas Revels, a characteristically joyous evening of musical mayhem.
Centered around The Ballroom of the Royal Festival Hall, early arrivers will get the chance to take part in workshops with the band before, together with DJs and a host of guest musicians they take to the stage. In a nod to ancient Winter traditions, a cast of 'mummers' dressed as 'heroes', 'fools', 'princesses' and 'quack doctors' will disrupt proceedings as they see fit. The 'mummers' (who perform in silence dressed in outlandish disguises) will be played by other Southbank Centre Artists in Residence.
Mixing folk, rock, jazz and world music influences with more than a hint of English Music Hall, and a dash of cabaret, Bellowhead are Arcade Fire, Lotte Lenya and Tom Waits, all rolled into one. Between them, the 11 musicians play more than 20 instruments. Six of them sing. The horn section includes a sousaphone, reeds and a bass clarinet. There's a frying pan amidst the percussion, and a cello in the strings. Add to that the John Spiers' melodeon and Jon Boden's fiddle (one of four) and you have a heady brew that defies easy categorisation.
In the past 18 months, Bellowhead has released a critically acclaimed debut album Burlesque (Westpark), appeared on BBC TV's 'Later with Jools', performed during the Royal Festival Hall's re-opening weekend 'The Overture', and captured the hearts of festival audiences all over the country. The band now has high-profile fans the world-over, ranging from California's Red Hot Chili Peppers to the Black Country's Frank Skinner.
Tuesday 18 December, The Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, 7.30pm, Tickets £17.50
2008 sees Bellowhead follow in the footsteps of Saint Etienne when they become Band in Residence at London's Southbank Centre and in between touring the UK, they will be releasing their first ever DVD and a new album – not to mention innumerable solo projects. -- www.southbankcentre.co.uk
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