DN 34

dndegrees north #34 apr/may 2009

The new ExecALSO INSIDE: RAG picture special - Utopia FM - Scroobius Pip Varsity picture special - Advice - Music, film and game reviews

PLUSEdit DN next year!

p4

Coming in July!

master_doc34.indd 1 26/04/2009 12:04:56

www.sunderlandsu.co.uk 03

degrees northo

April/May 2009 Issue 3405 Editorial

Editor Jamie Smith’s welcome to DN 34.06 Columnists

Chappers and Briggsy rant about the Hillsborough disaster and American TV.

08 Election resultsWe reveal the results of this year’s

Students’ Union elections and introduce you to the new Executive Committee.

10 How do I... save moneyWe’re sure you’re bored of hearing about the credit crunch, but here are

some handy hints to saving cash. 11 Horoscopes

Mystic Adam casts his eye over your stars for the next few weeks.

12 RecipesDN kitchen queen Kat Baggott has some

scrummy spring recipes for you.13 International

Your guide to the upcoming international trips run by the Students’ Union.

14 AdviceA new feature for this issue, with some

handy advice about looking for accommodation and a job.

17 Utopia FMSunderland University’s own radio station goes full-time in September.

18 RAG pic specialA guide to the recent RAG festivities.

20 Red Light CompanyScott Goodacre meets the band.

22 Football ManagerWe all have our vices. Fags, booze, hard-core pornography. But one computer

game can rule lives: Football Manager. 23 Twitter

Oh yes, DN is jumping firmly on the bandwagon. Here’s all you need to know about the latest time-wasting device on

that there interweb.24 Music reviews

DN review U2 and Brakes.

26 Scroobius PipYou might remember Scroobius Pip as the voice (and beard) behind last year’s

uber hit Thou Shalt Always Kill.28 Films

Reviews of Brian Clough film The Damned United and Duplicity.

29 GamesMike Carter takes a look at the brand new addition to the family of handheld video game machines and Mark Timlin

reviews Resident Evil 5.30 What’s On

Here’s your handy guide to what’s com-ing up in the NE in coming weeks.

30-31 Local musicLucy Duffield introduces you to two more new bands from up here: Gullich

and Detroit Social Club.32 Varsity pic special

We lost, but it was a valiant effort. David Allison rounds up the action for you.

8 - Election results

20 - Scott Goodacre meets rockers Red Light Company 32 - DN’s review of this year’s Tees-Wear Varsity

26 - Stephen Milnes compares beards with Scroobius Pip

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Opinion DN

Jamie


DNDegrees North magazine

* USSU, Edinburgh Building, City Campus, Chester Road, Sunderland,

SR1 3SD

8 [email protected]

(0191 515 2957

EditorJamie Smith

Deputy EditorAdam Chapman

Features EditorLucy Duffield

Entertainment EditorStephen Milnes

Sports EditorDavid Allison

Picture EditorHal Ridge

Web EditorScott Goodacre

ContributorsKat Baggott, Matthew Briggs, Mike

Carter, Adam Clery, Charlotte Foster, Laura Pejovic, Scott Oliver, Monica Stoffel, Mark Timlin.

Design and ProductionScott Goodacre, Stephen Milnes,

Jamie Smith, Monica Stoffel.

Thanks...Allen, Sue, Steve and all the staff at

the Students’ Union and Potts printers. You’re all too good to us!

The views expressed in DN are of individual contributors and do not reflect the opinions of the

University of Sunderland Students’ Union.

The Union’s official views and policies can be found at www.sunderlandsu.co.uk.

Content is not permitted to be reproduced without consent of DN magazine.

Welcome to Issue 34 of Degrees North.

Jamie Smith, Editor

Degrees North IS NOW RECRUITING!Looking to get some work published? Want to bulk up your CV? Just think you can do better

than us? We’re willing to give you that chance. Drop us a line at [email protected] and we’ll take it from there.

You can also come along to one of the weekly DN meetings in the Ivy House on Wednesdays to meet us in person and buy us beer and stuff. We’re normally in there from

8pm-ish and there’s a quiz after. What are you waiting for?

Hello again! Unfortunately, all great things come to an end.

And so it is with this year of Degrees North. We’ve brought you fun, frolics and frivolity, but this will be the last printed edition of 08/09.

I know, it’s sad news. But fear not, because I bring tidings of great joy. Yes, there will be another Degrees North this year!

It’ll be online only though, something we’ve wanted to do for a while. So keep an eye on the DN website around June for it. It’ll have a top notch festival season preview and will be well worth you leaving

Facebook for five minutes at least.

Anyway, enough looking ahead. In your mitts is a shiny copy that bucks the trend of past DNs. For this issue, we introduce you to the newly-elected Executive Commitee at the Students’ Union for the next academic year, 2009/10. Voting was busy and the tension palpable in the air at the vote count at Bonded Warehouse, and I was there to speak to the winners as they found out how they’d be spending the next twelve months of their lives. Read all about it on page 8.

We also bring you up to speed with the events of RAG week on the centre spread of this issue. It was a fantastic effort from all involved with loads of cash raised for five worthy causes.

And while we’re talking about picture specials, skip to the end to find out how we got on against Teesside in the annual Varsity showdown.

Also this issue we have interviews with local bands Gullich and Detroit Social Club, as well as Britrap superstar Scroobius Pip, who relegates Adam Chapman and Stephen Milnes from the DN editorial team down to second and third most impressive facial hair for this issue.

We’ll also tell you why you should care about Utopia FM’s return to the airwaves (page 17), as well as giving you the lowdown on my own personal new favourite website Twitter (page 23).

But for now, it’s au revoir. The pleasure has been all mine.

Cheers,

Display rack: We used to have one. Now we just use the windowsill instead. Hardcore.

Want your name on this door?I can safely say that my year as Editor of Degrees North has been nothing if not eventful.

There have been great times and stressful times, but it’s never ever been dull.

I’ve interviewed some of my favourite bands and been able to write about some of my favourite subjects. Plus, the head rush from all the power is immense!

But now it could be your chance. My contract has run out and I will be off to pastures new, meaning the Editor’s job will be vacant once more.

To do the job you need a raft of skills: you need to hit your deadlines every time, you need to not panic when under pressure, you need to be organised, ambitious, headstrong, personable... the list goes on. But, more than anything you have to have the desire and drive to succeed.

Exact details of the post and how to apply are on the right, but I’ll be around until the end of the academic year if you want to ask me any questions about the job. You can reach me on the usual e-mail address, [email protected].

If you’re interested in magazines, editing DN will give you a priceless insight into how things work behind the scenes. You’ll meet with management at the Students’ Union and you’ll have the opportunity to make a difference to peoples’ lives through your editorial decisions. It sounds corny, but you will.

I highly recommend you at least think about applying. This year has been great fun and I can’t think what I would have done with my time without Degrees North this year.

Cheers,

Salary: £157 a week. 20 hours a week (to fit with print deadlines)

Applications open in MayContract runs 1 July to end of April ‘10

You need:-To be in your second year or later-To have experience of Apple Macs-Working knowledge of InDesign and Photoshop-Relevant journalistic or editorial experience-Experience of web design or online magazine

layout (preferable)

Contact Marian Alderson (0191 515 3585, [email protected]) for an application pack or for an informal chat about the position.

Interviews scheduled for June ‘09.Jamie

Mac-tastic: Yep, that is Facebook I have open. Working hard.

DN News

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BriggsyChappersI’ve been sitting here, mulling over what to write for my final column for some time now and it’s harder than you may think.

Here at DN, these articles are written way, way in advance (as I type the Berlin Wall has just fallen. Who’da thunk it) due to the fact they’re designed and stapled together by blind Slovakian orphans, so these columns are littered with guess work.

Anything we actually have gotten right has been through blind luck, rather than any foreboding knowledge of the near future.

By the time this goes to print, this column could be irrelevant. The show I’m about to wax lyrical about could be the next big thing by the time you read this or it could’ve sank like a stone.

It’s more than likely, though, that this fantas-tic US programme is still conspicuous by it’s absence in your weekly issue of the Radio Times.

Yes, I did say US and not only that it’s a comedy. I know what you’re immediately thinking, but bear with me here. While the likes of E4 bring us every moderately successful, but ultimately unfunny, pre-wa-tershed sitcoms that makes a splash over there, our Yankee brethren do actually have a decent sense of humour.

Anyway, the UK seems to have turned re-cently and, rather than produce gut achingly good shows like The Office and Phoenix Nights, we’ve ended up with the fat one from Gavin and Stacey taking his top off. Hilarious, I’m sure you’ll all agree.

The programme in question is It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, FX’s very successful attempt at making a cheap and nasty com-edy. Described by it’s creators as “Seinfeld on crack”, a more apt description I have yet to find.

If the name sounds familiar, then don’t worry, you probably heard it mentioned in hushed tones when Virgin 1 was launched as it was one of their flagship shows. Unfor-tunately, after some fairly shoddy ratings it got pushed further and further back, until it

reached the graveyard slot.

After a few more episodes, it was dropped altogether in favour of late night reruns of those old favourites Takeshi’s Castle and The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. This means that we probably won’t be seeing it adorn-ing our television screens any time soon.

A brief look at the synopsis and you could be forgiven for thinking it’s just like every other US comedy - four friends who own a bar get themselves into some hilarious scrapes week after week. Sounds boring, doesn’t it?

Well, thankfully, it’s far from it. Out goes the typical canned laughter and sitcom-by-num-bers storylines that you’ll find everywhere else and in comes the obnoxious, down-right offensive, and Danny DeVito.

Creator Rob McElhenney and the other writers aren’t afraid to broach subjects that would usually be slightly beyond the realms of your regular sitcom. Racism, cancer, pae-dophilia, drug addiction and mental illness are all looked at through wry eyes.

Obviously the issues in themselves aren’t funny, but the complete lack of a moral compass shown by the characters means that you’ll be helplessly guffawing all the way through episode after episode. And

you’ll probably feel a little bad for doing so too.

Far from being simply a vehicle to shock you into submission, it’s more than capable of producing some surprisingly smart satiri-cal observations.

For example, in the episode The Gang Goes Jihad, in which a Jewish businessman buys the land their bar is on, is an absolutely brilliant examination of the Israeli-Palestine conflict proving that, behind the swearing and the childish bickering, there is a brain at work.

The actors are given carte blanche when it comes to ad-libbing and it shows. Some of the more lyrical rants and inventive insults have came straight from the minds of the five main protagonists and haven’t been scripted.

Okay, it’s no Curb Your Enthusiasm when it comes to sheer off the top of the head inventiveness, but it works well. They’ve also managed to maintain that DIY feel despite having a banner name like Danny DeVito and that may have something to do with the budget, which is low for a net-work show. It proves that you don’t need to throw money at writers and stars (I’m looking at you, Friends) to produce a de-cent laugh per minute quota.

After my rambling kudos you’re probably wondering where you can watch it. Well, if you’re a dab hand with Google I’m sure you’ll be able to find all the episodes on-line somewhere. If not, then your best bet is buying the first three series on DVD off Amazon or Play. One problem with that though is they’ve only been released in America and only work on region 1 or re-gion 0 players, so, unless you’re privy to a PC capable of playing DVDs or an unlocked player, then you’re stuck.

However, if you do get your mitts on them and you are capable of watching them, then be quick about it and get yourself up to date, as the next series is pencilled in to start over the other side of the pond this summer. You’ll certainly not regret it - it’s the best show not on TV.

Matthew Briggs has a US telly recommendation for you. And it’s not the bloody Wire.

IASIP: Briggsy reckons it’s the best thing not on TV.

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Opinion DNDN Opinion

Most of you reading this will be somewhere around the age of 20, give or take.

Most of you will have a family member, be it a dad, an uncle, a mam or an auntie, who follow one football club or another.

But for a simple twist of fate, those family members could have been taken away from you before you even really knew them, all because they had the temerity to attend a football match.

On April 15 1989, Liverpool met Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-finals at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium. Thou-sands of fans attended the match in typically eager fashion.

Ninety six of them didn’t come back.

With thousands of Liverpool supporters still outside the Leppings Lane End, and kick-off time fast approaching, South Yorkshire police (still beloved of travelling fans everywhere) decided, in the infinite wisdom of the time, that this problem could be solved not by delaying the kick-off time (as is the norm nowadays), but by opening another gate, a gate intended for fans exiting the stadium. This allowed thousands of confused scous-ers to spill into the stand; a stand that was already full way over capacity.

Fans at the front became crushed against the barbaric wire fencing, commonplace in the dark days of hooliganism. Meanwhile, fans at the back continued to pour in, with no polic-ing or stewarding to tell them otherwise.

Supporters at the front were so tightly packed that many of them died standing up, desperately gasping for air.

Other fans began scaling the fencing in an at-tempt to escape, making makeshift stretchers from advertising hoardings to ferry the injured to safety.

Meanwhile, the police were more concerned about forming a cordon in front of the Forest fans, ensuring the Reds didn’t suddenly decide they’d rather have a scrap than save their dying friends.

Forty four ambulances arrived. One was allowed in. Fans trying to stretcher the injured to safety were forcibly turned back. Many victims were under 18. The youngest was just 10.

The subsequent Taylor report into the disaster confirmed this version of events, with Lord Justice Taylor dismissing accusations that drunken fans were to blame, stating most were: “not drunk or even worse for drink.”

However, why believe the law courts when you can believe the Sun?

Four days after the tragedy, everyone’s favourite tabloid ran a front-page story, em-blazoned with the headline ‘THE TRUTH’, in which they alleged that the real events of the day included supporters urinating on police as they attempted to resuscitate victims, and others pick-pocketing the dead.

All utterly false. All fed to them by a Conser-vative MP with a vendetta against Liverpool, one of the few remaining bastions of the left in the Thatcherite 80s.

An understandable Merseyside boycott en-sued. Sun owner Rupert Murdoch demanded Kelvin McKenzie print an apology, after the editor’s initial refusal, but in most scousers’ eyes, the damage was done. McKenzie has since said he only printed the apology at his boss’s insistence (it is estimated that the boycott, which continues today, has cost Murdoch around £55m, sadly a drop in the ocean to the billionaire curmudgeon).

Of similar insult is that nobody from South Yorkshire police has ever been brought to justice for their incompetence on that fateful day.

When the Sun printed that story, they didn’t just defecate all over the memories of the dead, on Liverpool Football Club, nor the City of Liverpool, but on football fans and the working classes as a whole.

All of us. I support Sunderland, and know that if the Lads were in the semis that year that my father, my uncle, my late grandfather, and perhaps even my Leeds-supporting mother (a bemused tagalong at the 1985 Milk Cup final) could have been fighting for their lives in the Leppings Lane that day, while I sat at home: a babbling child just past his first birthday, and a frantic grandmother desperately scanning Grandstand for news.

In choosing to print, and in McKenzie’s case stand by, that story, the Sun perpetuated a myth about scousers that still unfairly haunts Liverpool today (looking at you, Boris), and helped to propagate Thatcher’s war on football fans at a time when legislation was being considered that would make us all carry ID cards to matches. At Stamford Bridge, the aforementioned perimeter fencing even came with the added fun of an electric shock, until the London authorities came to their senses.

The fans that died that day could have been from any club. Such was the medieval treat-ment of football fans that it could have hap-pened at any time. Alarm bells had already been sounded at many similar near-miss incidents, a notable incident injuring 38 fans in the same stand during the 1981 semi, as supporters were herded around like cattle to nullify the effects of the determinedly thuggish minority.

Whatever you think of the sanitisation of the top flight in the 20 years since, at least we can be thankful that the changes in the running of the English game mean that nothing like this can ever happen again.

We should never forget the sacrifice the 96 made, and their families should never walk alone in their quest for justice.

It’s 20 years since the Hillsborough disaster. Adam Chapman explains why we should never forget.

Hillsborough: Ninety-six people died.

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News DNDN News

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Voting: Even the editor had his say

James Kelly: The new Students’ Union Vice President campaigning at St. Peter’s Campus

Elections: The new Students’

Union Executive Committee with members of this

year’s Exec on the right, and below, Students’ Union staff counting

those all-important votes at Bonded

Warehouse.

There can be no doubt that this year has been a good one for the Students’ Union here at the University of Sunderland. President Greg du Bois and his team have ensured this academic year will live long in the

memory, but that just means it will be an ever bigger task than usual to be on the Executive Committee next year. Jamie Smith talks you through the results of last month’s elections.

The votes have been counted and verified.

The winners are....The results in full. Figures shown represent candidates’ votes at final stage.

EDUCATION AND WELFARE OFFICERPATRICIA CARBERY 500 VotesRON (Re-open nominations) 35 VotesPATRICIA CARBERY ELECTED AS EDUCATION AND WELFARE OFFICER

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE TO BOARD OF GOVERNORSDAVID OWENS 483 VotesRON 27 VotesDAVID OWENS ELECTED AS REPRESENTATIVE TO BOARD OF GOVERNORS

LGB OFFICERMATTHEW GRANT 466 VotesRON 32 VotesMATTHEW GRANT ELECTED AS LGB OFFICER

ENTERTAINMENTS AND MEDIA OFFICERCHRISTINE WILSON 282 VotesDEBBIE SYKES-WALLER 293 VotesRON 9 VotesDEBBIE SYKES-WALLER ELECTED AS ENTS AND MEDIA OFFICER

STUDENT SUPPORT OFFICERSCOTT PHIPPS 258 VotesSHEONA HAGELBURG 241 VotesRON 16 VotesSCOTT PHIPPS ELECTED AS STUDENT SUPPORT OFFICER

VICE PRESIDENTJAMES KELLY 329 VotesLOUIS RUTHERFORD 271 VotesRON 7 VotesJAMES KELLY ELECTED AS VICE PRESIDENT

SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES OFFICERDAVID PEPPER 309 VotesCHARLES TOWERS 267 VotesJANE BESTER 119 VotesCHELL BREWSTER 166 VotesRON 2 VotesDAVID PEPPER ELECTED AS SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES OFFICER

PRESIDENTDANIELLE REED 275 VotesLUCY WEST 292 VotesRON 13 VotesLUCY WEST ELECTED AS PRESIDENT

Students voted in their droves to select the chosen few that will shape their student experience next year. Voting numbers were up on the previous two years, with more candidates meaning more choice for students.

A female President was a certainty, with two female candidates stand-ing and the victory went to a shocked Lucy West who beat Danielle Reed by just a handful of votes.

An emotional Lucy said: “I want everyone to have the experience I had. I can’t wait to get started, I just need to finish my dissertation, then I can think about this! I want people to think: ‘Lucy put the effort in to make their experience extra special’”

A strength of the new group is that they all already know each other from various Students’ Union projects this year, from the Freshers Welcome Team implemented back in September to the recent RAG week, as well as through sports clubs and societies.

Media Production student James Kelly will be Lucy’s number two, after

winning the Vice President post. “I know transport’s a big issue, so that’ll be a thing I’m looking to sort out.” James pointed to his involve-ment in the aforementioned FWT as well as taking an active part during RAG week as the reason for his victory.

He said: “This year has been the best year of my life, because I’ve been involved in the Union. I just want to get as many people involved as possible.”

A new position this year is the Entertainment and Media Officer. The role combines the previously part-time role of Entertainment Officer with the communications aspect of the Vice President job. Again, two female candidates slugged it out, and in the tightest result of the elec-tion, Debbie Sykes-Waller came through by just eleven votes.

Debbie will be a recognisable face to anyone who frequents Students’ Union nightclub Campus; she’s the one that takes the pictures and sells keyrings inside the venue. She said: “I thought I had a good chance before campaigning, but, during campaigning I thought I’d lost. I can’t wait to get started. It’s not really sunk in!”

The new Education and Welfare Officer will be Patricia Carbery, after she stood unopposed and collected a round 500 votes to win the post. But the final full-time position was a tighter affair, with four candidates, two male and two female, for the role of Sports and Activities Officer.

Jane Bester and Chell Brewster missed out before the final round of voting, which saw Charles Towers face up against David Pepper. A final count confirmed that David had won the vote by close to fifty votes. David suffers from a heart condition, as we revealed back in DN 32, and the kickboxer was in hospital on the night between the two days of voting after suffering chest pains.

But he discharged himself to continue campaigning for a second day and the work eventually paid off with the victory. He said: “With the new CitySpace being built, there will be the chance to give students what they want.”

David also spoke of his desire to put Sunderland on the map in terms of University sport, particularly hoping to enter more sports teams into competition to give more people the chance to compete.

He said: “I’m going to make sport more accessible. We’ll enter more leagues, Saturday leagues. It’s good to represent the University. There will be teething problems with the new CitySpace development and I want to be the guy that gets the ball rolling.”

The part-time members of the new Exec will be Matthew Grant (LGB Officer) and Scott Phipps (Student Support Officer).

After Easter there will be an election for two non-sabbatical roles, International Officer and Student Representation Officer. An open day will be held on April 28, in Room 7 of the Gateway from 12-2.

Contact Marian Alderson (0191 515 3585, [email protected]) for more information.

Pictures by Jamie Smith

Pict

ures

by

Hal

Rid

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1. Learn to cook. This should be a no-brainer, but many of us never pay attention to how much money we spend on eating out, ready meals and snacks. This stuff is OK sometimes, but it does add up and can quickly eat your entire food budget. This type of food often tastes good, because it is loaded with salt and fat, so if this is how you eat most days, it’s time to get your cholesterol checked.

The only secret to cooking is to start off by making simple meals that you know you like—once you have mastered those, you can then move onto slightly more complicated dishes.

I once knew this idiot who never cooked a meal in his life, then suddenly decided to whip up a three course French effort, complete with dessert. Of course, it failed miserably, left a big mess in the kitchen and he was forever put off cooking by the amount of work that went into making one meal.

Moral of the story for our virgin chef: start off by making maca-roni and cheese or a hamburger and then move onto something like spaghetti bolognese—because it uses the two main items you already know how to make.

Preparing your own meals not only saves you money, it is a nec-essary life skill, like brushing your teeth or bathing. You’re not seriously going to let your mam, your partner or McDonald’s cook your meals for the rest of your life, are you?

2. If you smoke, pack it in. Smoking is probably the most expensive of all the minor vices, especially if you’re part of the pack-a-day crowd. If someone asked you to explain why you like paying through the nose to breathe dirty air, could you do it?

You may already know that this habit could shave an easy 12 to 15 years off your life in the long run, and that some of a ciga-rette’s 4,000 chemicals are also found in rat and insect poison, wood varnish and nail polish remover.

Smoking not only damages your internal organs, it also makes it harder for you to fight infections, which means you’re probably sick a lot more often than you should be. Smoking also sharply decreases your senses of taste and smell, which means your food tastes blander than it really is, and because you can’t smell yourself, you probably have no idea that a non-smoker has to hold their breath when you talk or stand at a generous distance.

If you really want to quit, you can do it. Some of my closest friends and family members have laid their chimney imperson-ation to rest using all sorts of methods, like nicotine chewing gum and lozenges, hypnosis and even loud music.

3. Distinguish between wants and needs. We all need things we don’t want to buy, which cuts into our ability to buy the things we want. For example, you may be out shopping for a top to wear to an interview you have coming up and spot a

great dress you could wear out on your friend’s 21st.

You only have money for one, so do you: a) buy the dress and wear something less appropriate to the interview, b) leave the dress on the rack and continue shopping for formal gear, or c) buy the dress with your credit card and continue shopping for something to wear to your interview?

Unfortunately, the best answer was ‘b’ in this situation. If you set out to purchase an item that is going to help set an impres-sion of who you are to a possible employer and you come home with something that you could only wear out clubbing, what do you suppose that says about you?

If you’re not used to asking yourself why you want something and whether or not you need it this very minute, the time to start is now. This is part of being an adult, so if you have managed to take for granted all those freeloading years of childhood, you have my sympathy.

4. Shop around to get the deals. Can you get the same item cheaper somewhere else? Is it worth your time or transport costs to find out? Not always.

It is often suggested that you will save on groceries if you make a list of what you need and stick to it. This is true if you are piling up on impulse buys every time you hit the shops, but you may also be passing up some decent offers on things you often


Feature DNDN Feature

Money Shot: Notes can be fun without having to spend them. See what sort of madness you and your friends can come up with that costs you nothing.

use anyway. Be a little flexible and keep your eyes open for special offers, especially on items with a longer shelf life.

5. Organise a swap or look for freebies. Websites like Freecycle allow members to give away stuff they no longer want, free of charge. The site is a registered charity and is run completely by volunteers. Users sign up under their regional group and browse the listings for free stuff in their area or post what they want to give away.

If you see something you like, you need to contact the member to ask for it. The person giving away the item decides who recieves it, then it is up to the asker to collect the item. Previous freebies have included pianos, a karaoke machine, an air raid shelter and a horse costume. http://uk.freecycle.org

6. Pace yourself on a night out. Go out with a certain amount of money and leave your cards at home, so you can’t get more—no cheating! Then when it’s gone, come home. It’s not as bad as it sounds and you can still have a great night. Not to mention, you’re likely to feel slightly less like death warmed up the next day. If this seems too lame by your standards, fine. Be poor and put yourself in even more debt.

7. If you have long hair, cut it short. This will help you save money on future haircuts, shampoo and styling products. It will also put more focus on your beautiful face, making you irresistible to the opposite sex.

8. Look down when you walk. Looking down when you’re out and about increases your chances of finding money. The best time to seize this opportunity is in the town on an early Sunday morning, after the punters have been out the night before. Try it sometime, you might be surprised at what you find…

9. Keep your car in shape. Tyres low on air, driving during rush hour and hauling around unnecessary items in your car all add to higher fuel consumption. Likewise, you’ll want to make sure you check all fluids and filters on a regular basis to keep your car running smoothly and to avoid preventable repair costs.

Insider tip: Don’t buy petrol or diesel when you see a tanker truck on the forecourt, because this probably means that the reserve tanks have just been refilled. The refilling process loosens up the sediment in the bottom of the tank, which is likely to make its way into your vehicle. Wait a few hours for it to settle before filling up or drive to another petrol station.

10. Don’t pay the minimum monthly payment on your credit card. It is always better to pay off all of your credit card debt before the interest accrues. If you do not have the means to do this, pay as much on your bill as you can each month, until it is all paid off. This could mean several months of lonely nights in front of the telly while your friends are all out having a swell time, but let me put it this way:

Say you owe £3,000 on your credit card that has an interest rate of 18% and you only pay the minimum monthly payment of £25. It would take 11 years to pay off your debt, during which you would have paid nearly £2,500 in interest charges alone. The more debt you have and the higher the interest rate—paid over a longer period of time—means that you will be paying more in interest. So the £3,000 you spent in goods and services will actually cost you nearly £5,500 in the end.

Have you noticed your personal finances dwindling since the latest economic fallout? Have you got ne money? Read on, because Monica Stoffel suggests

10 in-your-face tips to help you grapple with the credit crunch.

Capricorn: Shoe buying could serve you well today as a potential relationship sparks up in a shoe shop. Specifically, you’ll be looking at shoes. Your potential partner may be looking at gloves.

Aquarius: 7. For no reason, I’m just going to throw the number 7 at you. Chunks of meat will plague you today...or give you the plague. The mystics are being terribly vague on this one. Seven.

Pisces: Love is in the air this week. Sadly, it’s just over the north of Cardiff, so you may miss out. However, wind directions can vary as much as the accuracy of these horoscopes, so don’t panic yet!

Aries: Try not to get the wrong end of the stick to-day, especially the pointy end. In fact, avoid anything which might be classed as a “sticky” situation. Not only will this save your immortal soul, but you’re washing bills will be slashed.

Taurus: As the fella once said, ain’t that a kick in the head. Not that you’ll be kicked in the head. Wait, maybe you *will* be kicked in the head.

Gemini: Your favourite source of protein is in danger of drying up this week, so eat lots of eggs. RIGHT NOW! I find that Gemini is always the easiest to write for, if that *IS* your real name.

Cancer: Hats have always looked good on you. Yes, today is definitely a hat day. Go Hats! Your only problem today will be angles. Especially 90 degree angles. Boy – they’re the worst.

Leo: When your lover starts wearing more clothes to bed than to work, it’s a good guess that your happiness is close to being over. This week will see the start of such bizarre occurrences.

Virgo: The light is coming closer and soon you will see exactly what the future holds for you. It’s coming at some speed as well. I’ve discussed it with other astrologers and it’s either a light or a brick.

Libra: This week looks like it’s going to be a great one. Full of vigorous situations, sweaty encounters and dry, sweet smelling stop-overs in arctic bunkers. Sadly, this horoscope may not apply to all of you.

Scorpio: Some good luck may come your way this week...and if it doesn’t, then you can console your-self with the fact that you haven’t made a complete fool out of yourself. That happens next week. Enjoy!

Sagittarius: Monsters plague your every move today and will soon be there to eat your flesh. Speaking as a robotic horoscope monster, I can only wish you the best of luck when the revolution comes.

dn horoscopesWe’re not the greatest psychics in the world at DN. We can see the future, but we generally have to wait until we can refer to it as “the present”.

Adam Clery on the other hand is known to his mates as Mystic Adam, for reasons which will become obvious, as you check below for your stars.

How do I save money?

master_doc34.indd 10-11 26/04/2009 12:05:38

Colourful Creamy Cupcakes. SERVES: 12INGREDIENTSFor the Cupcakes• 175gcastersugar• 175gunsaltedbutter• Thezestofonelemon,grated.• 3largeeggs• 175gself-raisingflour,sifted.

METHOD1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4.2. Beat together in a bowl, the sugar, butter and lemon zest until it is fluffy.3. Add one egg at a time with a spoonful of flour. Mix in the remaining flour. Spoon the cake mixture into12 muffin cases.4. Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the cakes have risen and are slightly golden.

5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. While the cakes are cooling, you can make the icing.6. Beat together the butter and icing sugar, until it is light and creamy. If you want to make the icing a richer colour, use a few drops of red or blue food colouring. 7. Once the cakes are cold, you can either spread or pipe the icing on top. Then decorate with some Easter mini eggs!

DN RecipesDN Feature


And not a Supernoodle in sight...

The majority of people find it difficult to have a good time without a good splash of alcohol. It’s not uncommon to go overboard and find yourself waking up in an unfamiliar environment, with the looming sensation that you’ve done something terribly, terribly wrong... And to top it all off, you’ve got a dry, painful hangover. Jesus. We all have to sober up sometime and to ease the pain Charlotte Foster brings you some hangover cures.

1. Prevention before cure: it never fails! Think about it this way: Alco-hol is a poison and you’re killing yourself. I’m not entirely convinced this will sink in, so I’m willing to offer some alternative tips.2. Eat before going out. Fatty meals are a good choice, since fat is digested slowly over a long period of time, which acts to protect the stomach from the nasty effects of alcohol. A glass of milk is a well-known substitute that slows down the absorption of alcohol. 3. Avoid drinks containing congeners. Congeners are toxic chemicals

found in some drinks that are responsible for bad hangovers. They’re mainly found in dark drinks, so the clearer your drink the less problems you’ll have.4. Don’t mix your drinks. Mixing your drinks makes it more difficult for your body to process and neutralize congeners, because you’re swilling a variety of them. Sickening, literally.5. Hydrate yourself. Alcohol dehydrates and the best way to beat the hangover is to drink water between boozy beverages. This will prob-ably make you drink less and, as a result, you will be more in control and you will undoubtedly look more attractive. You handsome brute.6. The Hangover Fix. The smoothie shop, Pura, on Fawcett Street has concocted a velvety ‘Hangover Fix’ which provides you with all the nu-trients your body needs the morning after. Students get 20% discount and it is recommended.7. Hair of the dog. A lot of people swear by it and it does actually work- it’s scientifically proven, so it must be true. The best option is a Bloody Mary (complete with celery stick), since it provides you with the vitamins your body is craving. 8. Avoid coffee. It just makes it worse.

Happy Hangovers!

Hangover cures

Can you believe we’re already three quarters of the way through this student year? I can’t! It’s absolutely flown by. However, we are beginning to get into my absolute favourite seasons of spring and summer. As a student, there is nothing better than relaxing after a hard day at University, in a beer garden on a blazing afternoon, with all of your mates. Plus there is the endless supply of beach trips, BBQ’s and beer! Super. So, I thought it would be better to supply you with some more in season recipes and I hope you enjoy!

With kitchen queen Kat Baggott

DIY Pasta Salad. SERVES: 4INGREDIENTS •350gTescofusillibrownpasta•2tbspsextravirginoliveoil•Anyingredientsofyourchoice,Ihaveused:cucumber,cherrytomatoes, carrots, mozzarella cheese and salami cut into pieces. •Saltandfreshlygroundpepper.METHOD1. Begin by cooking the pasta, according to the time given on the packet. Drain, then place under cool running water for about 3 minutes, until the pasta has cooled down. Then drain it well.2. Transfer the pasta to a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Give it a good stir, then cover it for about 10 minutes whilst you prepare your ingredients.3. Add your chopped up ingredients, give it a good stir, and enjoy!Top Tip!If you prepare the pasta the night before and chill it in the fridge, you save time and you can ensure it’s nice and cool.

For the Icing• 200gunsaltedbutter• 400gicingsugar,sifted• Foodcolouring,optional• Cakedecorations:e.g.MiniEggs.

Following the successful trips already this academic year to Edinburgh, York, Man-chester, and most recently, Glasgow. The Students’ Union will be running two more trips for international students, before the end of the academic year.

The first of these pair will be to the bustling Yorkshire city of Leeds on May 9. Leeds is excellent for a shopping day out, so this is a perfect chance to pick up some bargains. The Royal Armouries is well within reach of Leeds and well worth a look, if military history is your thing.

And finally this year the SU will take you to Liverpool, last year’s European Capital of Culture. Explore the stunning water-front developments at Albert Dock or go on the Beatles tour or simply soak up the atmosphere in one of the friendliest cities in the country. The Liverpool trip will be on Saturday June 13th.

INTERNATIONAL TRIPS

Old Trafford: Students visited Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium during the recent trip to Manchester.

News DN

Liverpool: Students will visit Liverpool on Saturday June 13th.

master_doc34.indd 12-13 26/04/2009 12:05:47


DN Feature Feature DN

It’s getting to that time of year again! Your latest installment of student loan is dwindling away, you seem to have got a balance of go-ing out until 3 am and still getting to your 9am lecture and you’ve got about five minutes left to find a house for your second year. You’re both excited, yet terrified. You’ll hear horror stories about mushrooms growing out of walls, and unsupportive landlords. Luckily not all landlords are like this. Here’s what to do with time running out.

Stage 1: finding the house and the housemates

Recommendations are underestimated. The best advisors are in fact second and third year students and there are plenty of places to ask them. If you’re worried about face to face conversations, why not create a facebook group? Make sure the name explains what you want to find out. For example “Advice about housing in Sunderland, help please.” You’ll be surprised how many responses you get and how helpful these can be.

Don’t be late to your viewings! You want your landlord to like you, right? Nothing says “I am a responsible tenant” like turning up for viewings on time.

If you feel that you have bad house habits that you can’t let go of, or just want a bit of solitude, there’s nothing wrong with living on your own. Some would say it’s actually an advantage, as you can get as much peace and quiet as you want and you won‘t be nagged to go out, when you really need to work.

Some landlords who don’t specialise in student accommodation could help you find houses sharing with professionals, which will be far more peaceful than a student house. If you do go down this route, be respectful to your housemates who have 9-5 jobs. They won’t appreciate you coming back in the middle of night, struggling and banging up the stairs. Try websites like flatmateclick.co.uk or gumtree.com who have advertisements for empty rooms in Sunderland.

If you prefer a livelier house, have a look around campus. Sometimes there are flyers for empty rooms, sharing with 4 or 5 people. Take note of the number and arrange a viewing. If you do go for a viewing, try to make it early evening, as this is the time when everyone in the house is coming back from university and you’ll get a chance to meet your potential new housemates.

Most students tend to live with the people they lived with in halls. There is a big advan-

tage to this. You’ve already lived together for a year relatively peacefully and you enjoy living together. BUT know their financial history before signing anything. If they were late pay-ing their rent in halls, they’ll most likely do the same in a flat or house and some landlords aren’t so flexible.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You’re not the first student that doesn’t know the first thing about renting. We’ve all been there! Ask about as much as you need to know. Furniture, housemates, neighbours, bills, anything you think you need to know about. Even the nearest bus stop, if you use public transport, it’s all relevant. So you’ve found your house. Its over the road from the offy and the takeaway, you’re within walking distance of town and you can wake up at 8 and still make it to first lecture on time (just). The next stage can be “do or die”.

Stage 2: the pre moving in

You may think it’s stating the obvious but READ YOUR CONTRACT! It sounds stupid but the number of people that sign contracts without reading them is unbelievable. If your contract is too wordy or confusing, ask Resedential Services at University to help you. Remember you’re not obliged to sign anything yet, so your landlord can be patient for a day or two while you make sure you know what you’re signing.

Everyone assumes that flats and houses only come with joint tenancy agreements. There are actually two types: Joint tenancy and single room tenancy. Most student accommodation will have a joint tenancy contract. This means that your group will sign a contract together,

and your group will be liable for any damages, unpaid rent etc. The only danger with a joint contract is whatever outstanding rent needs to be paid at the end of the contract is to be paid by ALL in the joint contract, whether you’ve paid up to date or not. If rent is unpaid, your landlord has every right to take you to court. You will probably get a letter as a warning. Don’t let this letter scare you. Yes, it’s supposed to, but it’s also used to prompt payment.

If you prefer single room contracts, ask your agent if the contracts can be altered. If your dream house is only subject to joint tenancy, don’t let it put you off. Just be sure to have honest conversations with your housemates about money and rent. Freedom Lettings in Ashbrooke are trying to target students want-ing single contracts.

When you pay your deposit, get a receipt and a form with your contract, telling you what

your deposit does. If you don’t, your landlord is breaking the law and you could claim compensation for three times your original deposit.

Your landlord will also need a council tax exempt form from you. These can be printed off from www.sunderland.gov.uk/Public/Edit-able/Themes/Online/eForm/form10.pdf, and handed back into Council Services at Civic Centre, just behind Park Lane Interchange.

Remember to leave your room in halls tidy, otherwise you could be fined for cleaning.

Stage 3: Moving in.

Try not to go OTT when you get your room. You want to put your stamp on it, but

The Advice PagesAccommodation

Still not got anywhere to live next year? Panic not. Laura Pejovic is here with some great last minute advice to settle those nerves.

With the economic downturn affecting employ-ment opportunities, this year’s graduate is facing more competition in the job market than in previ-ous years.

The University’s Careers and Employability Service offers students a supportive environment and expertise to help you overcome barriers to nab that dream job.

The beginning of 2009 witnessed universities voic-ing concern about their students’ career prospects, amidst a financial meltdown which has ascended into panic across the board.

Careers advisor, Melanie Tyson, sheds some light on the subject: “The employers that were less certain of being able to recruit were big city firms, particularly in the financial sector”.

Sunderland University harbours ambitious students that are capable of walking through the doors of big firms, but the majority of graduates choose to stay within the region.

This does not mean to say that they are in a comfortable position however. A candid Melanie explains, “We’re still getting vacancies, but there’s no doubt that it will be competitive”.

The University’s Careers and Employability Service has recently relocated to the first floor of the Murray Library and student traffic has increased dramatically over the past few years.

The team is professionally trained and poised to provide students with resources, advice, guidance and confidence.

As well as providing individual help with CVs and applications, they also have a Graduate Vacancy Database that gives students access to specific va-cancies, but Melanie points out, “for some sectors like media, public relations and performing arts, you won’t find so many advertised vacancies, because some employers expect you to contact them”. The service has a directory of employer contacts to enable students to do this.

To maximise student success, a new service has been introduced to enhance students’ interview skills; Melanie tells me all about it, “the interview coach will help you practise answers to the types of questions you might expect at your job or place-ment interview”. She asserted that, “The people we’ve had so far have really found it valuable”.

Besides graduate opportunities, the service also advertises vacancies in casual work and volunteer-ing. “I’d encourage people to get as much work ex-perience as possible, whether it’s general or specific to their career choice. That’s what will make an application standout” explained Melanie.

The Careers and Employability Service have unprecedented expertise that your lecturers may not have.

Melanie explains, “We will definitely have things that we can add with our understanding of the job market, the range of careers available to graduates, how employers recruit and what they look for in graduates”.

The service will undoubtedly maximise your chances of getting employment and is open for all students up to 3 years after graduation. Take advantage of it.

Graduating this summer? Terrified of not getting a job? Panic not. Charlotte Foster is here with some great advice to settle those nerves.

Careers

1. Start planning at level 2 at the latest, so you’re think-ing about what you’d like to do after you finish your course.

2. Get as much work expe-rience as you can- general work experience and also relevant experience.

3. Start applying for jobs or further courses in your final year ,so that you’re in a good position to meet deadlines.

4. Review your CV and application form. If not with us, then with someone you feel has some expertise in that area.

5. Prepare for interviews and take up opportunities to practise.

6. In a competitive job mar-ket persistence and flexibility are important. If applying for advertised jobs proves unsuccessful, make specula-tive applications; if you’re only applying within the region, consider relocating.

7. Believe in yourself. You have a lot to offer employ-ers and self-confidence is an essential part of successful job search.

Tyson’s Tips

landlord rules are usually the same as halls. If you feel like you can’t stand the sight of magnolia walls, then check with your landlord first. They may allow you to decorate, but will want the walls back to normal before you go.

If there are any problems with your flat or house, contact your landlord immediately. If it’s not an emergency, be patient. They do have other flats and houses to check up on as well.

If you do get a letter about rent, don’t bury your head in the sand. It can soon get out

of hand. Have an honest meeting as a group about who owes what. You can get things sorted a lot quicker once you know the problem. Then contact the landlord and explain the situation.

If you need help financially, talk to the University (The Students’ Union can help with this too). They have advisors who will explain your options, an access fund if your landlord is demanding rent money and can also advise you. If you are fully up to date and a housemate isn’t, don’t make them out to be a villain.

The law states that, in order for a house to be habitable, it must have heating. If you have a heating problem, give a maximum of 48 hours for the landlord to respond. If you get no response, go to the University or Citi-zens Advice Bureau about what to do next.

Finally, don’t let this feature terrify you. These points aren’t inevitabilities, just unfortunate scenarios. It is very unlikely that all of these will happen in your second or third year. If you are still worried, contact the University who have a list of letting agents approved by them.

Panns Bank: River views are nice but you might not want to stay in halls.

master_doc34.indd 14-15 26/04/2009 12:05:49


News DN

E N D S L E I G H

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You could save on your insurance with Endsleigh.

Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. This can be checked on the FSA Register by visiting its website at www.fsa.gov.uk

CarPossessionsTravelGap YearBikeStudying AbroadHome

If you are a fresher, you may remember Utopia FM from the first two weeks of your stay here at Sunderland in September. If you are a continuing student you may already be familiar with the station and what it provides for the students. Now, Utopia has a full-time licence, it is back and bigger than ever.

Utopia has been around for over ten years, under a Restricted Service Licence (RSL), which means that it was only able to broadcast twice a year, once in Sep-tember as you will already be familiar with and again in May, just before the holidays. The next service in May will be the last RSL before the full-time licence kicks in. This is just long enough to give you a taste of what’s to come.

Listeners can expect to hear absolutely anything that takes their fancy from Utopia; as their aim “is to provide something new and exciting to the city of Sunderland”, says Rory Auskerry, programme control-ler for Utopia. They have shows playing everything from Motown to dance, hip-hop to rock, indie to drum and bass. There will also be a range of community, news, sport and international programmes too, so there is something for everyone.

The station is always in need of contribu-tion, whether you want to produce a show or just be around to help out. If you are interested or know somebody that would be interested, feel free to email: [email protected]

Rory Auskerry is programme controller, producer and presenter for Utopia. You will hear him presenting the station’s flag-ship show Community Drive, which starts broadcasting at 5pm every weekday,.This programme is designed to bring you lucky listeners “national and local news, discus-sion and great music”, Rory tells DN,.As one of the key broadcasts of Utopia you can expect topical conversations and in-teresting debate to keep you entertained during your journey home.

The role of programme controller is quite a demanding one, Rory explains: “I collect all the demos together and sort out a schedule for the station, train presenters and help to produce shows on air. I also have an overall role in helping to run the station.” Alongside this, Rory is also a third year student at the University, which shows that absolutely anyone with some free time can get involved with Utopia.

Rory would love to hear your views and comments via email and text, so do get in touch when you’re listening to Commu-nity Drive and get your opinions heard.

Amy Musgrove and Jen Owen tell DN they have both “produced and presented shows since being involved with the station since their first year of Univer-sity.” They also say that “not only is this great experience for their TV and Radio degrees, but it is also a lot of fun!” So, if you think this is something you would

enjoy, give it a try. You don’t have to present and there are many “behind the scenes” roles to try.

Finally, a little bit of Degrees North trivia for you: this fine publication’s Editor Jamie Smith will be returning to Utopia FM to co-present sports chat show Sporting Heads in May.

Also to come on Utopia is an interview with local band the Futureheads, plus much, much more, I would be ruin-ing the surprise if I was to tell you. So, all I can say is tune in and find out. Utopia also has a group on DN’s favourite website Facebook and you can find out everything you need to know on the Utopia FM website.

So there you go. Utopia FM made for the students, by the students. Now they’re

branching out: made for the community, by the community. All that remains to tell you now is where to hear the broadcasts - they begin at Monday May 18 and you can listen at 87.7 FM or online at www.utopiafm.net.

After all the hard work the team have put in, I’m sure that you will have a great time listening to the shows they have put together for you. Enjoy!

UTOPIA FM is back

Matt Raisbeck: Sporting Heads presenter hard at work.

Lucy Duffield met up with part of the Utopia team to investigate the difference the upcoming full-time licence will make

to students and the local community.

master_doc34.indd 16-17 26/04/2009 12:05:54

Feature DN


DN Feature

Going bananas: Education and Welfare Officer Ciara Murphy and next year’s President Lucy West.

pictures by Debbie sykes-wallerMonkey Mayhem: Volunteers scoffed as many bananas as possible to raise money for RAG.

RAG picture special

Bananalicious: The bananas were donated to the event by FairTrade.

Hitting the streets: Volunteers roamed the streets of Sunderland trying to persuade people to part with their cash. Above, a hospital bed push provided one of the most striking events.

Last month, the Students’ Union relaunched RAG (Raise and Give) Week. These pictures document some of the fund-raising events. Jamie Smith brings you the details.

The first RAG Week to be held at the University of Sunderland for some years has raised thousands of pounds for charity.

Ciara Murphy, the Students’ Union Education and Welfare Officer, had set a target of £5,000 to be raised from the event, and is still hopeful of reaching the original target.

She said: “We’re still chasing people up for the money, but at the moment we estimate the final total to be around £4,000.”

One of the featured events in the festivities was a banana-eating competition outside the Students’ Union offices, in the Edinburgh Building, on City Campus.

RAG took place from Monday February 23rd through to Saturday March 7th and all the money raised will be split equally between five charities: Breast Cancer Campaign, Everyman, Right to Play, Marine Conservation Society and COCO.

All 14 of the planned events ran according to plan, with one of the most successful being SU President Greg du Bois’ 24 hour sponsored silence. Greg raised around £800 by keeping quiet for a day, so well done to him!

A hospital bed push and accompanying RAG Raid (pictured above) raised around £350 and a jumble sale with items donated by Stu-dents’ Union staff made £200.

master_doc34.indd 18-19 26/04/2009 12:06:10


Entertainment DNDN Entertainment

London rock band Red Light Company have been hyped by the NME this year and recently released their debut album Fine Fascination. Scott Goodacre met the band to chat about their impending stardom.

Red Light Company aren’t your normal band. Sure, they’ve got five members and fill all the boxes as far as your regular instruments are concerned, but they aren’t a “band” in the traditional sense. Songwriting duties aren’t shared out between the group, and the songs on their debut album didn’t come together as a result of years of touring and hard work.

Instead, lead singer Richard Frenneaux started everything with the help of Wyoming resident and bassist Shawn Day. The pair met online, when Frenneaux put out an advertisement for someone “serious about music.” Day duly got in touch.

Its beginning is summed up simply by Frenneaux as “I gave a list of influences and Shawn saw it”. Day flew over im-mediately, however the band’s formation was delayed a few hours as he was detained at customs for not having the money to suggest a long-term stay in the UK. “He flew back to Wyoming and then back here once he got the money together, so it was a bit of a weird start. It was that level of commitment which was very important to me when trying to find musicians.”

Formed from this encounter, the pair then relocated to a flat in London and began writing the band’s debut album, Fine Fascination, but where did the rest of the band come from?

“They’re kind of friends of friends. I worked with James [Griffiths, drums] for a while in a band in Cardiff, so he came from there. Chris [Edmonds, keyboard] we met when we were going to the Sony offices, we had a publishing deal at that point, and he had an acoustic guitar on his back as he was wanting to audition for us. We weren’t looking for a guitarist at the time and he had never played keys, so we decided that he should learn. He learnt in about two or three weeks, and when he came in was able to play pretty much everything. Paul [Mellow, guitar] was just another friend of a friend.”

Watching them live, you wouldn’t believe that they’ve come to-gether in such a fortuitous fashion. What was even more lucky was that the band were willing to take part in Frenneaux’s “project” – so is it fair to call the remaining three members a backing band?

“It’s one of those situations where you’ve got a vision of what you want from a project, and people either buy into it or they don’t. They were just really excited about the music and the opportunity to be playing it.

Even more unusual however, was that they also managed to get signed to a major label - Sony – without even having to lift a finger live.

“I didn’t want to be one of those bands that is courted by labels and then has to turn a record round in three to six months. I didn’t want that. We did loads of showcases at the start of 2007 and got signed off the back of that, which was really good for us ... it was a bit of a weird way of doing it but I wanted control and enough time to make the record that I wanted to make.”

Frenneaux wears his position as lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter with pride, leading the band at the front of tonight’s performance. Having been manager of the band from those early beginnings, he dispels any notion that the presence of a major label could sway their sound.

“We wanted the biggest opportunity to reach as many people as we could and wanted to be on a label that could support that. It’s nice to have a team of people you can bat ideas back and forward with but still have control over what you’re doing. You want to be working with people who can help you reach other people.”

There’s no sign of them slowing down either. Whilst Frenneaux admits that the band may be involved in writing the second album “to some extent”, he skirts round the subject.

“The majority of the excitement of being in a band is actually being creative and writing,” said Frenneaux. “It’s always fun going off on tour, but I like being creative. If I haven’t got that outlet I feel a bit suffocated.”

Despite their album being watermarked, it was leaked ahead of release, he remains surprisingly upbeat : “If it gets bums on seats as far as the live shows go, and if it makes people listen to it who wouldn’t normally get into that kind of music then I’m happy about it.”

It’s this frank assessment of the current downloading culture which spells the end of our time together. A major label comes with a few pressures – one of which is getting people to shows and selling tickets. They manage to do it for the resulting gig, filling Newcastle’s Cluny and prompting mass sing-a-longs of their recent singles. It’s debatable whether they’ll have a long-term future in the music industry. Their album failed to crack the top 40 and it remains to be seen how this will affect the label, but Frenneaux seems happy enough to just be making music, and that must count for something.

Standing in the company of giants

Lean on me: Two of Red Light Company take the chance for a mid-set snooze.

RLC pictures by Ian Stafford

master_doc34.indd 20-21 26/04/2009 12:06:19

It cares not for your girlfriend, displays a blatant disregard for your academic aspira-tions and pays no tribute to your health or your job. It laughs in the face of the social calendar, it’s the other woman or the 12-inch meat feast pizza, it’s the first thing you think of in the morning and the last at night. The mind is overrun with fictional dilemmas forged from a digital cauldron of expectant fans and a short sighted board-room. It’s the drug they never warned you about: it’s Football Manager.

The greatest job on Earth sets us free from mediocrity and elevates us from armchair to dugout. Here we gain complete control over our idols and, providing follow-ers with 5,000 teams over 50 playable countries is it little surprise it turns men’s interest from women to temperamental superstars? It wraps you in a time destroy-ing blanket laced with just enough disaster and sheer elation to justify malnutrition.

I feel like I’m 10 again, excitement and trepidation washing over me in equal measure.

Unfortunately, the latter came to fruition. It was somewhere in between the scintil-lating burning sensation of a discontented spouse’s eyes, coupled with brash state-ments of disillusionment, lamenting how anyone could entertain themselves with such a visually lacking and statistical pursuit, that I conceded defeat.

“Football is not a matter of life and death... it’s much more

important than that”- Bill Shankly

Sure I had promised a night out and pos-sibly a meal. But It’s not my fault that by night out, I meant night in and by meal I meant Football Manager.

Now, at the moment, we find ourselves in the most important phase of academia in our lifes. At present, we are supposed to be sharpening the tools of our trade, before embarking on our journey.

Why then, in amongst the countless essays and articles due, do I find myself trying to convince Trevor Sinclair and David Unsworth that there’s a job to be done at lowly Hartlepool, before calling time on their illustrious careers? Time spent not proof reading monotonous theory essays. Instead, I’m concerned with unearthing worthy lower league center backs and a young - preferably free - English version of Claude Makelele to form the backbone of my new 4-1-2-3 formation, which will surely secure a play-off berth.

The hours will tend to blur, I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I’ve sat down around the reasonable time of 6pm and then for it to be the late-night game shows telling me it’s the wrong side of 2am. What hap-pened there then? I’ll tell you what hap-pened: you sat down with the most honest intentions of kicking off pre-season, only

to find yourself knee-deep in relegation, a chairman looking for answers and you playing game after game, wondering why your team seem to enjoy the fact they can’t convert pervert amounts of possession into goals. Sound familiar?

Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I think sacrificing the latest MAC 201 essay was a fair price to pay on that night, to stop the slide into the warfare at the foot of the table, which in my opinion I had no business being part of.

And this is where the women in our lives could take note: if were putting off degrees to taste play-off glory, what hope do you have of grabbing our attention? And that’s when you know it’s got you. The essays you could put off, but when your girlfriend’s occupying the same room and you’re receiving transfer requests instead of fallacio, need anything more be said?

It’s all worth it though, isn’t it? The missed deadlines, the strain on the relationships, the lack of sunlight: it’s all worth it. For we choose to flirt with this most fickle of mistresses and we get burned all too often, yes, but one taste of success is more than enough to start it... all... over... again.

Scott Oliver

The life and times of a Football Manager

Dot to dot: What do you mean you can’t make out what’s happening?


Unless you’ve been hiding under the bed this year, with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears, you’ve probably at least heard of the website: Twitter.

Twitter is everywhere at the minute and lat-est estimates rank it as the world’s third most popular social networking site. Facebook being the first and the increasingly unpopular MySpace second. The Guardian even ran an April Fool’s story about moving all its content to the site.

The main attraction to it seems to be how different to the other two it is. At first glance, you could be forgiven for seeing it as a stream of Facebook status updates gone awry or simply a way for celebrities to con-firm their feelings of self worth. And, well… it is. But don’t let that put you off.

It’s what’s know as a “Micro-blogging” site. You write down whatever’s going on in your life in 140 characters – which keeps it to the point and, like most things, it’s available on your computer, mobile, iThingy, pacemaker and so on.

Essentially you “Tweet” to your hearts’ content and the people who have decided you’re interesting enough to follow will get to read it all. Likewise, you only receive infor-mation on the people that you’ve chosen to follow, who are most likely to be comedians, politicians, actors and the like.

So what is the appeal? Well, It feels a bit more… high-brow, I suppose. A bit more up market. Social networking for the more discerning blogger. You do get a feeling, when using it, that you’re not totally wasting your life on the internet.

Because, let’s face it, your friends, old school mates and somebody’s cool uncle don’t exactly make for the most gripping of reads. Yes, it’s fun to stalk people you fancy so you can pretend to like the same things (I’ve heard), but, if we’re all being honest, Facebook might be getting out of hand.

In the beginning, all was well. We all had a few dozen friends scattered across various universities, we got to see what old chums were up to and share photos from nights out. The world seemed a sunnier place.

And now what have we got. Facebook is now awkward to use and full of adverts and MySpace is flooded with spam and people trying to convince you how good their band is.

So I’m left with Twitter. Which, at times feels like a holiday compared to the other two. That’s a holiday in the sense of not having to hear about how sad the ending of “Marley and Me” is. Not in the sense of actually going on holiday. I can’t afford that.

For example, the two most followed “Twitter-ers” (I think that’s what you call them) are Barack Obama and Stephen Fry. One being the elected moral and spiritual leader of the free world. The other being the American President.

The Israeli government even held an open-to-all press conference on Twitter, in the aftermath of the Gaza conflict. Beat that “Tom”.

So, essentially, the difference is the content. There’s no groups, no events, nothing like that. No photo albums, no tagging, no “invite twenty friends” applications.

You’re not hassled by an endless stream of quizzes that determine which character from Scrubs you’re most likely to be trapped in a lift with, or what song your toes sing while you’re asleep and such.

Ground breaking trivia, all of it, but who re-ally cares? Show me somebody who actually finds this stuff interesting and I’ll ask you why you’re friends with a shallow 12-year-old.

About two years ago now, I abandoned MySpace and, in my own words, “left it to the kids”. Every one of those little bulletins was seemingly a bad collection of song lyrics or someone I hardly knew’s life story.

And I feel that that’s the level Facebook is sinking to. I find myself skimming over everything and not being remotely interested by about 95% of it. Reading it and trying to instantly forget it. Squeezing it out of my brain like a giant social turd between two pasty cheeks of apathy.

For example, this week on Twitter, Mike Skinner supplied us with some footage from the recording of The Streets new album. Pe-ter Serafinowicz asked everybody to “Tweet” him musician/food play on words for comic relief (The Notorious V.E.G being the win-ner) and Charlie Brooker had an ear-splitting rant at Jack Straw.

This week on Facebook my friend Catherine told us she loved her Dirty Dancing DVD more than life itself, I was invited to do a quiz which would tell me what Pokemon I’m most like and 8 of my friends joined the group: “I love cuddles in bed”.

I’m not saying all my friends are dull. Some of them are genuinely interesting. But I can’t shake the feeling that the people I really want to read about are either too busy saving the world to update their status or are just get-ting lost in the sea of pointless drivel.

By this point, you may well be screaming at me to delete people on Facebook that I don’t want to hear from or, better yet, not add them in the first place. And you’re right. I probably should.

But my problem isn’t really with the state it’s currently in. It’s with how fresh and exciting it once was and how bland and uninteresting it feels like it’s going to be soon.

Maybe Twitter’s a bit gimmicky. Maybe it’s just another fad. Maybe it doesn’t mat-ter anyway. Time will tell, but the fact that Facebook’s latest re-design has made it unde-niably Twitter-esque might well suggest that it’s here to stay. Oh, and I was a Bulbasaur, in case you were wondering. Adam Clery

Feature DN

Some people worth following: @dnmagazine, @adamclery, @jambothejourno, @tmusicmagazine, @stephenmilnes, @misterwallace, @schofe, @arusbridger, @alexlockwood, @huwstephens, @utopiafm,

@skinnermike, @popjustice, @charltonbrooker. @jimmycarr, @injournalism, @wossy, @glinner

Twitter-tasticDN Feature

In the history of rubbish excuses for not doing homework, there have been some classics.

My dog ate it. I was abducted by aliens. I died. But the real reason for procrastination lies closer to home for control freak football fans.

It’s Football Manager.

master_doc34.indd 22-23 26/04/2009 12:06:21



MetricFantasiesMetricReleased: 27th April 2009

BrakesTouchdownFatcatReleased: 21st April 2009

The sharp eyes and discerning ears of the DN staff cast their collective critical ear over a selection of the notable albums and live perfomances since the last outing. Taking in the weird, wonderful and woeful of this segment of the arts world, this issue looks at offerings from Irish reverb-loving charity-eulogists, Canadian indie stars and pretentious young bucks.

Fantasies opens with the intriguingly titled Help I’m Alive. Vocalist Emily Haines sings “my heart is beating like a hammer”, her dulcet tones drawing the listener in, as the bass drum thumps like a panicked heartbeat.

There’s a range of influences present. The typical 70’s punk that inspires so much of the North American indie, a touch of house maybe in the curtain raiser and later track Gold Guns Girls and even a hint of industrial metal. Plenty of scope for a good remix or two.

A lot of the tracks sound pretty run of the mill to begin with, there’s little to make them stand out and grab attention, but with each passing second and each listen they become something grander and more interesting. Tracks like Sick Muse plod along merrily enough but an upbeat chorus lifts a pretty average song into the realms of the summer anthem.

Satellite Mind has a bass line that sounds like something from the Power Tab software, a computer program used to writing and learning music, it’s clunky, jagged and makes for uncomfortable listening. However, there’s a hint of the 90’s in the Hole and Garbage-esque delivery of the lyrics and a guitar line reminiscent of Foo Fighters, which helps to rescue the song from its worrying beginnings.

The aforementioned Gold Guns Girls is a pacey number, indicative of the fast living nature of the song’s subject matter. Emily Haines desperately asking, “Is it ever gonna be enough?” and sarcastically demanding “more and more”, perhaps commenting on the need to consume, the greed in society. Gold, Guns and Girls may be an allegory for the human urges for wealth, power, sex, the song criticising

individualism. A great song that can make you dance and make you think. It’s placed alongside a rather tame track reminiscent of Duran Duran, in the shape of Gimme Sympathy, and sandwiched by two damp squibs, Twilight Galaxy and Collect Call, both of which promise much in the way of a mid-album relaxing tune to take the listener off on a tangent, but deliver little more than boredom.

The album really picks up towards the end, Front Row is a grimy, fuzzed up piece of grunge inspired indie with the lyrics, “Stars they shine so bright”, floating over space age guitar effects, giving it an ethereal quality, while penultimate track, Blindness shows Metric can produce quality down-tempo pieces, briefly bursting into life half way through and would be a good album closer itself, leaving a more-ish sadness and a sense of calm after the storm.

As it is, the album finishes with the cacophonous Stadium Love. A stomping piece of indie-rock revalry. Slightly dark synth and basslines juxtaposed by the euphoric chorus, a bright flash of happiness hit like a baseball from the centre of the head.

A bit of a mixed bag and a grower, Fantasies starts and finishes strongly. No track is unlistenable, but neither do many demand to be played again and again.SM

This is Brakes’ third album. The band were formed in 2002, after Eamon Hamilton left British Sea Power and the influence of his previous band is tangible in the album opener, Two Shocks, as it rings with the arty indie cool of British Sea Power’s debut album the Decline of British Sea Power.

Second track Don’t Take Me to Space (Man) has a Who-esque classic rock edge to it, and it’s a theme that runs through the rest of the album, to DN’s great delight. There’s nothing that really comes close to a straight up rock out. No pretention, just simple pounding drums and a head banging riff.

Said pounding drums continue into the next track, Red Rag, a 90 second ditty, the kind of which has become Brakes’ trademark over the years. The minute and a half filled with an anger and desperation not dissimilar to Nirvana’s Territorial Pissings.

U2No Line On The HorizonMercury RecordsReleased: 2nd March 2009

There are few things in this world more loathed than a new U2 album. Taxes are up there. The Daily Mail ranks pretty highly (or not, depending on your point of view). In this instance though, I’d rather pledge all of my money to Alistair Darling and lick the ink from the right-wing literature than have to go through this aural torture again.

Did you hear about how Guantanamo Bay were told off for subjecting prisoners to banal music? It was actually far more sinister than that: instead of death metal and Nancy Sinatra, it’s rumoured that some of the more interesting confessions have come from the administration of No Line on the Horizon at barely audible levels.

The sound of Bono declaring “my ego isn’t the problem” halfway through the album is said to have derailed even

the most hardened criminal mind, and combining the band’s seven-minute Moment Of Surrender with recent single Get on Your Boots is said to be a sure-fire way of extracting the most painful of information.

The fact that every single U2 album in the past ten years has ventured down this route – save for one or two of the more interesting singles; Vertigo, Beautiful Day, Elevation – doesn’t seem to deter critics and fans though. Lauded as “experimental”, the awful rapping on the aforementioned Get on Your Boots, combined with the cringe-inducing chanting on Unknown Caller – whilst Bono muses over the universe, like some kind of omnipresent Bob Geldof – make for a truly unpleasant sensation.

Like a doomed reality show contestant, U2 continue to scrape and scrounge through the dustbins of credibility, looking for that one last morsel of fame. That their pathetic attempts at claiming this to be “the best thing we’ve ever done” even caused a tremor of interest from the press is laughable, and they’re one of a growing number of bands seemingly intent on trying to repeat their success of the 80s and 90s. All we need now is for Spandau Ballet to reform. SG

Brakes show their diversity straight afterward with the bright, upbeat Worry About It Later, which is sure to break a smile across the most turgid of faces.

If there is one criticism to level at Brakes, it is that some of their songs are all too brief. Worry About it Later, Eternal Return, Do You Feel the Same, Ancient Mysteries and Hey Hey all clock in at less than two and a half minutes, give or take a couple of seconds, and, frankly, it’s just over far too quickly. There’s much more distance in those ideas and it’s disappointing not to get more from then.

However, that can also work the other way. The brevity of the songs means the album is played again, and again, and again… in order to squeeze every drop of enjoyment from these fleeting moments of rock fun.

Oh! Forever has the shoegaze tinted swagger of the Stone Roses at their best on their eponymous debut and is followed by the aforementioned Hey Hey and penultimate track Why Tell Me the Truth, which is another time to throw all sense of embarrassment out of the window, pick up your air guitar or air drum sticks and get down to some serious rocking out.

The album closes with the soothing Leaving England which weaves, bobs and flutters along, as if it were a chair made of clouds, flying you through the blue skies over England’s green countryside. For a country bumpkin like myself, it’s a song that stirs up a longing for the wide open spaces, friends and marathon walks in the fields.

Tagged on the end, rather curiously, is a “hidden” track. Quite why it didn’t feature on the album proper is a bit of a mystery. It’d probably make more sense in the middle of the record, as it puts a bit of a damper on what is otherwise a perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable album.

But for that, this record is a must. SM

Howling Bells, Future of the Left and the Joy Formidable.The ClunyNewcastle, 10th March 2009

In times when it seems like anybody with more than seven ‘friends’ on Myspace is afforded a headlining UK tour, it’s becoming more and more of a rarity to come across a gig where you’re at least interested in the support acts.

Imagine our happiness then, when the looming shadow of corporatism for once worked for the forces of good, and the nice people at Jack Daniels provided us with three of our favourite bands; the Joy Formidable, Future of the Left and Howling Bells, on the same bill, at one of our favourite venues, the Cluny.

First up are dreamy noise-pop trio the Joy Formidable, an undoubted one to watch in 2009. Boyfriend and girlfriend combo Ritzy Bryan and Rhydian Dafydd channel their intimacy, a la the White Stripes and the Kills, in between Bryan smashing her guitar around the place like a woman possessed - her face a glazed, glacial expression somewhere near Joe Strummer’s mixture of sardonicism and fervour.

Opening with the synth loops of The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade, the band lull some of the audience into a false sense of security with it’s poppier elements, before launching through much of debut album A Balloon Called Moaning with all of its glorious, hook-laden noise intact.

Next, Welsh punks Future of the Left

crank things up another notch, their off-the-wall riot-rock not received as well as it should be, a fact not lost on frontman Andy Falkous, who suggests the crowd are worried by the presence of myriad television cameras for the gig’s Channel Four broadcast.

Nevertheless, the set is excellent, featuring the mainstays of 2007’s Curses album as well as new single The Hope That House Built, with exuberant bassist Kelson Mathias ending their performance on the gantry reserved for the aforementioned cameras - a good 15 yards from his position on stage.

The quieter elements of the crowd were most likely there for the headliners, Australian indie-rockers Howling Bells, who released their second album Radio Wars to mixed reviews in February.

After the critical acclaim lauded upon their self-titled debut, it’s hard not to see the follow-up as a step backwards. That appears underscored tonight by the fact that the standout tracks in an admittedly polished set are the favourites from the first record. Easy-on-the-eye vocalist Juanita Stein is her usual amiable self and the band are as confident as ever, but it’s all a little too Radio Two; especially after the breakneck balls-to-the-wall offerings of the previous two acts.

Overall though, tonight was a brilliant evening, which was at the very least enjoyable from start to finish. DN is back at the Cluny a day later, again to see three acts worthy of our attention. Hopefully this is going to become a recurring theme…

AC

Howling Bells: This is not at the Cluny. Just so you know.

Tagged on the end, rather curiously, is a

“hidden” track. Quite why it didn’t feature on the album proper is a

bit of a mystery.

master_doc34.indd 24-25 26/04/2009 12:06:23



few years, hip-hop record sales have been on the slide. Jay-Z headlining Glastonbury last year may have been a commercial high point, but is the heart of it failing?I really think hip-hop is as healthy as it has ever been. It just happens to be at a point where the more opulent hip-hop is in the limelight and the mainstream. There are still amazing acts around like Sage Francis, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, B Dolan, Saul Williams, Eyedea....the fact that I have to stop there to avoid making this too long an answer illustrates how strong hip-hop still is. Hip-hop seems to go in cycles. Back at the start, Busy Bee and people like the Sugarhill Gang were doing

great hip-hop, but it wasn’t really about anything. It was a lot of bragging and good hooks. Then acts like Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul came along with content and meaning and that became the mainstream of hip-hop. Right now, we are back round to the bragging hip-hop that’s all about catchy hooks. Conscious hip-hop will have its day again.

You’ve been over in America touring with Dan Le Sac in the last few months. How was that? Get to see much of the country or meet many of the people?We did 24 gigs in 25 days. And, on the day off, we did some TV! So, yeah, it was great fun, amazing reactions and very, very tiring! It was great to cover so much of America and see how different it all is.

You two also recently worked with De La Soul’s Posdnous on a new version of TSAK. How was that? How did it come about? It was a dream come true! Basically, the label had wanted to re-release TSAK, but we weren’t keen. Then they said that De La Soul were up for working with us on a remix, so we obviously jumped at the chance! It was insane to hear Posdnous doing his own version of something I had written in my bedroom.

TSAK has a wonderful message and spirit, but just how closely do, or can, you follow it? You said “Thou shalt not read NME”, then did an interview (or some form of feature at least, I remember seeing it on your Myspace page) with them not long after. I still buy Coca-Cola. Is it more aspirational than realistic, or is it a bit more tongue-in-cheek than we realise?A lot of it is very tongue in cheek. I was careful to write several commandments

that contradict each other, so that no one can listen to it and just blindly agree with it all! The point of the track is to make people think and then make up their own minds. With the NME thing they were really good about it! They approached us for an interview or feature and we said that we would only do it if they would let me write a load of commandments as to why people shouldn’t read NME and have them printed in there. They went for it, so I can’t say fairer than that!

Finally, for people just getting into poetry and spoken word, who would you recommend listening to or reading and why?The UK scene is amazing at the moment. I would recommend that people get out there and see as much live as they can. Festival season is perfect for that, as more and more festivals are booking spoken word. I am curating and hosting a spoken word tent at Camp Bestival for the second time this year. I also do a weekly spoken word slot on Colin Murray’s Radio One show (every Thursday), on which I get different poets on each week to do a piece.

Anything you want to add?Not really! Was good to chat! I’m gonna go have some lunch now. Oh and.... “with great beard, comes great responsibility”.

Pip’s poetry segment is on the Colin Murray show, BBC Radio 1, Thursdays, 10pm-12am.

So how and at what age did you get into poetry? It’s not your typical teenage pastime. Did the music come along before or after the spoken word?The music came first, in that I have been passionate about music as far back as I can remember. Well into my music loving years, I started to listen to hip-hop and kind of got into poetry from that angle. Working from Sage Francis and Saul Williams to KRS One and Rakim to Gil Scott Heron and Ginsberg. The reason I decided to start writing poetry myself was because you don’t have to rely on

anyone else. If you are a spoken word artist, you don’t have to rely on your drummer or guitarist or bassist or keyboard player or backing dancers! It was something I felt that, as long as I was motivated, then if I failed I would only have myself to blame!

Do you see music and poetry as good bedfellows?They can be! But they aren’t always. It is a hard balancing act. A lot of poets seem to think that adding a band or DJ will simply make their stuff better or more accessible. I don’t feel it is as simple as that. They need to really fit together and compliment each other. Otherwise it’s just a noise getting in the way of the words.

What’s your favourite poem?I think it is probably Cooper Chimbonda by Musa Okwonga. I lost out in a poetry slam to Musa the first time I heard this and it pretty much made me forget that I was even in a competition. An amazing, moving piece.

On to the music now, hip-hop. Do you feel it has possibly lost touch with itself? It’s the most popular type of music in the world, largely thanks to NWA (in particular Dr. Dre, his protégés and his polished production) and the subsequent rise of gangsta rap and folks rapping about their opulence, a long way from 1970’s New York. For the last

Hello Mr. Pip. How are you? Is Mr. Pip ok, how do we address you?

Mr Pip is fine. I come from a long line of fictional Mr Pips littered throughout literature over the years.

Scroobius Pip is a wonderful alias. Presumably it’s taken from the Edward Lear poem, The Scroobious Pip, that he never completed. The poem talks of a mysterious creature, the Scroobious Pip, and of the other animals’ attempts to classify it. Is that how you want your material (both songs and poems) to be interpreted, free of classification?Yes definitely. I started using the name Scroobius Pip when I was doing a lot of street along with poetry, photography and DJ’ing. It worked well, as it was definitely

hard to specify what my job title would be! And it translates well into what Dan and I do. Although we never set out to make non-definable music, it seems to go that way. Across the album, there is a huge range of influences, styles, subjects and sounds.

How did you and Dan start working together? You’re both from the same town, right? Have you known each other since then or just a coincidence?It’s a bit of both. I still don’t think I have ever actually been face to face with Dan in Stanford-le- hope. But we went to the same college and had some mutual friends. We then worked together in a record shop and that is where we met properly. Then we met again over Myspace a few years later.

Hi, my name is...

Entertainment editor Stephen Milnes catches up with bearded poet and rapper Scroobius Pip for a chat about the state of hip-hop, the burgeoning UK poetry scene, Radio 1 and, most importantly, lunch.

All the time in the world: No wonder Pip had a few minutes to chat

“Back at the start Busy Bee and Sugarhill Gang were doing great hip-

hop but it wasn’t really about anything”

Education: Scroobius Pip was a speaker at outdoor GCSE science rallies. “Come on Wembley! Can you feel the electricity?”

“I decided to start writing poetry myself,

because, if I failed, I’d only have myself to

blame”

master_doc34.indd 26-27 26/04/2009 12:06:23

The Damned United (15)Starring: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney.Director: Tom Hooper

Duplicity (12A)Starring: Julia Roberts and Clive OwenDirector: Tony Gilroy

Hot on the heels of his impressive portrayal of David Frost in Frost/Nixon, Michael Sheen has taken on the challenge of playing probably the most fondly remembered figure in British football history. True to form, he hasn’t disappointed.

Sheen’s Brian Clough is as close to the real ‘Old Big ‘Ead’ as could’ve been hoped. The cocky confidence and brash style of the man is perfectly conveyed, but also the moments of desperation he had in building up Derby County and his horrendous, ill-conceived 44-day spell at Leeds United are handled with sensitivity.

The film flips between the late 60s and those initial days at Leeds, showing us how brilliantly he and assistant Peter Taylor, superbly played by Timothy Spall, were able to mould teams in their image and how without Taylor, Clough found it impossible to change the habits of a talented but robust United side who were First Division champions at the time of his arrival.

At its centre, The Damned United shows how two sons of Middlesbrough in Clough and arch-nemesis Don Revie (Colm Meaney) came to despise each other, with Clough devoting the early part of his managerial career to matching and then bettering the achievements of the man he became so obsessed with.

Anyone hoping for a wholly faithful dramatisation of David Peace’s novel will be disappointed. From the outset it’s clear that this is much more of an appraisal of Clough rather than choosing to focus on the negativity which was the subject of much of the book.

The film’s strength is that thankfully there is very little football action, and the footage used, which consists of several out of shape actors with comedy 70s haircuts, is used sparingly. This makes it much more accessible, rather than boring those who aren’t necessarily interested in the game with an over-reliance on grainy, old Match of the Day clips.

It’s through the relationships between Clough and Taylor (and to a certain extent Revie), that we get a sense of just how passionate Brian Howard Clough was in his desire to reach the top of his profession, and equally how much he despised everything Leeds stood for. DA

Duplicity is a film. That’s an easily established fact. However, it’s not clear if it knows what kind of film it wants to be.

Is it a romantic comedy, the kind leading lady Julia Roberts has become renowned for, or a thriller, the kind leading man Clive Owen recently appeared in (The International)? Is it a spy film trying to lure in female viewers with the connotations of a Julia Roberts appearance and the enviably handsome Clive Owen, or a rom com that’s OK for ‘blokes’ to watch because it’s got spies in?

Well, it’s neither. The romance is over cooked, hammy and tough to believe and there are no car chases, no fights, no spy gadgets. It just floats about in the middle ground, like somebody who’s drowning, but is far too lazy to do anything about it.

The romance falls down when neither Roberts nor Owen seem able to show

Julia Roberts: Spends much of the film posing and preening, but not acting.

DN takes a look at some of the most talked about films and games to come out this spring.

Is Watchmen all it is cracked up to be? Is Duplicity just another Julia Roberts identikit RomCom?

Is there a point to the new DSi? Are we bored of killing zombies yet?

Read on for the all answers...

any sort of believable emotion. Both have stony expressions throughout and that makes it incredibly hard to empathise with either of their characters.

It also seems like Owen and the script writers are treating Duplicity as an audition for James Bond. There’s the corny chat up lines in the opening scene, the front of omnipotence he carries around on his smug, half-smiling face, his implied womanising and cheap one-liners.

As with all half-baked American films there is also some laughable racial stereotyping, particularly misguided with regards to we Brits in this film. In a stylistic feature they may possibly have nicked from 24, the establishing shots for many scenes in new locations are split three or four ways on one screen.

When Owen’s character arrives in London, we are presented with Big Ben in the first of these split screen shots.

Ok that’s fine. Great even, one of the most identifiable landmarks in the world, we’re in London, we get it. But, wait, there’s more. In slide some black cabs (thanks for that) and the pièce de résistance, a chap in a bowler hat and black suit standing in front of some red phone boxes, just in case somebody thought it was London, Ohio.

A fight scene in slow motion on an airport taxiway between two characters who we meet later on, hinting at what is to come in the film, is a useful guide but it smacks of a Guy Ritchie rip off.

Similarly, the story is told through flashbacks, which keep any enigmas going along until the end, where it all neatly reveals itself to anybody who doesn’t manage to work it out 45 minutes beforehand. However, when the reveal finally arrives, it’s less of a twist and more of a light, lengthy bend in the road.

You get the feeling that Duplicity is trying to be the Bourne trilogy for women and, in some respects, it achieves that, certainly the film and Matthew Bourne suffer from an identity crisis, but it largely falls flat thanks to wooden acting, flashbacks confusing a simple plot and a sickening level of romantic blubbering in the last 15 minutes. SM

When the reveal arrives, it’s less of a twist and more of a

light, lengthy bend in the road.

www.sunderlandsu.co.uk 28 www.sunderlandsu.co.uk 29

DN Entertainment Entertainment DN

The hype that followed Resident Evil 5’s announcement was overwhelming.

With its predecessor widely regarded as not just the best games of the series, but one of the best games of all time, however, how exactly were Capcom, without the

help of mastermind Shinji Mikami, going to top RE4?

Well, they haven’t. But they’ve done a fantastic job with number five, making it a worthy addi-tion to any horror or Resident Evil fan.

Set just over 10 years after the original game, the pharmaceutical enterprise Umbrella are now finished, and their Biological Weapons (BOW’s) have been sold on the black market. Under-developed countries have started to suffer from such weapons, so the newly con-structed Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), and Chris Redfield from the

original Resident Evil game are sent to a small part of Africa, to investigate BOW. activity only to find a greater horror awaiting them.

For the mission, Chris is partnered with Sheva Alomar. A first for the main series,

the game features co-op play – Sheva can either be controlled via the game or be con-trolled by a friend, offline or online. Despite it causing some upset among fans, Capcom have put a lot of thought and effort into the co-op and it works really well.

If you’re going in alone, the AI controlled Sheva is remarkably clever. She can assist

you with health situations straight away, while still being able to hold

her own in a fight. There are times when she can be an inconvenience, but these times are very infrequent.

What also sets this game apart from its prede-cessors is that it’s played in the daytime – all of the others, bar the beginning of RE4, have been at night. How does that work? Well, believe it or not, quite well. In fact, half of the time when it’s set in the day you’re actually in a dark build-ing. The daytime setting does not reduce the intensity, and only makes you fear the day as well as night.

In terms of gameplay it’s almost exactly like RE4, with some alterations. RE5, however, is more about action than horror. The item screen doesn’t pause the game, so you can still be attacked while sorting your weapons, which will put people off.

There’s a limited amount of space too, so it makes the game more strategic. You can only move your items to different slots once you complete a chapter or after you die. The upgrade system from RE4 is still intact, just without the merchant. There is less treasure, and the gold you find from boxes and enemies is substantially less than RE4, so upgrading all your weapons (and there’s a lot of them) may take a while.

In many aspects this is just RE4 with shinier graphics. It’s not as good but it’s still a fantastic game, from the heart pounding action to the brilliant Mercenaries mode. The co-op mode may put off old fans, but every franchise needs to try something new in order to survive. Cap-com have tried something different and it’s paid off in a remarkable way. Buy it, play it, love it.

Resident Evil 5Systems: PS3, XBox 360 - Out: Now - Price: £39.99 Review by Mark Timlin

DS: The next generationThe Nintendo DSi is here! Let the unfavourable comparisons to the iPod begin!

That may be a little more cynical than Nintendo would like us to be, but its hard to deny that some of the upgrades on the third generation of the company’s touchscreen hit are more than just a coincidence.

For starters, we have the music player capabilities. The DSi only plays AAC files - no MP3s like iPods There’s some built-in software allowing you to twiddle with the sound a little, but otherwise it is your standard (if slightly more chunky) music player.

There are two cameras added to the system, one on the front and one on the inside. A Photo Channel allows you to morph and distort the photos however it amuses you.

At a measly 0.3 megapixels each, some may wonder what the point is, as most phone cameras are more

powerful these days. But Nintendo have stated that they are far more interested in seeing what develop-ers can do with the cameras, which is hopefully a lot.

Outside the technical details, there are also some aesthetic tweaks. The matte finish of the console is much less of a fingerprint magnet than the Lite was, and the screens are now 0.25 inches bigger. And yes, it is noticeable.

The slightly slimmer proportions mean the GameBoy Advance port has had the chop, but in its place is an SD Card slot which will take advantage of the downloadable DS Ware titles coming soon.

It’s a mixed bag, with a hefty £150 price tag, but could very well secure Nintendo’s place as handheld games king for anoth-er few years. Makes you wonder how Sony will reply with the PSP... MC

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About eighteen months ago, David Burn started to write a few songs heavily taken from his musical heroes. Little did he know, he would become the frontman of a band that are about to take the country by storm.

As I followed tour manager Dave Glover into KU bar, their venue for this evening; I was greeted with a warm smile, handshake and a kiss on the cheek by the charismatic singer of Detroit Social Club.

David Burn then went on to apologise for being an hour late: “I’m right sorry pet, traffic was a nightmare!” he says in a warm Geordie accent.

Good thing it wasn’t a Friday. We wander over to a seated area with pine and mahogany tables and he asks me “are you a pine girl or a mahogany girl?” “Pine” I respond. “You’re my kinda girl!” he smiles and we take a seat. I can tell this is going to be one of my more interesting interviews before it has even started!

What can we expect from Detroit Social Club? Bluesy riffs and music you can fully immerse yourself in. Those one off moments where you and the music are one; whether this is a live music opportunity or just listening in your own time, it doesn’t make any difference.

When writing and again when performing, DSC are inspired, not influenced, something David is very keen to point out. “When you’re influenced by a band, you want to become that band, whereas if you’re inspired, you take that type of music into account when you make your own, I’m aware this is a very fine line!”

Their inspirations stem from bands like Primal Scream, The Velvet Underground and others, like Oasis who “made me pick up a guitar” says Burn thoughtfully, “I wouldn’t call them my biggest inspi-ration, but they definitely started the process.”

Another moment of inspiration is taken from: “the lyric that defines you” says the band’s MySpace page. When asked about this, Burn responds with “there are so many, I couldn’t pick just one. It’s

those songs where you dance with your mates on the dance floor and you know for the next three and a half minutes, nothing else matters”.

KU Bar have said this performance is “going to be one of their last intimate gigs” Burn thinks this is “one of those daft promotion type things that venues say to make it sound better, we’ve got at least another year or so of these sort of tours left before it all begins”

The idea of continuing these tours is to build up a fan base who have a more personal relationship with Detroit Social Club, as though they are “their band”.

“I hate talking about management strategies, but what they’re after is the creation of a strong fan base, gathered together through word of mouth and playing low key tours until we release our album next year.

“People have said that 2009 is our year, but they seem to think we’re bringing the album out in the summer, in fact; that’s when we’re recording it. So hopefully 2010 will be our year!”

This “below the radar phase” is some-thing they are advocating as a band, because this way, they are able to do things the way they want and develop more songs to go on the album: “if we were to record earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to put any of the songs in that I’ve recently written that I would have wanted to go onto the album” says Burn.

Perhaps this clever strategy could become a catch 22 for DSC? Maybe, they will get stuck just under the surface waiting for that moment? I doubt it.

DSC are at the point where if they feel they’ve played a bad gig they have others who disagree. “It’s great,” says Dave, “a definite confidence boost”, which can only be a positive especially with their extensive touring.

In the summer you can see DSC at Evolution Festival in Newcastle, alongside bands such as The Chapman Family (no relation to our Deputy Editor), Twisted Wheel and Human League.

Hopefully, this management ploy will work to the band’s advantage and we will be seeing a lot more of them in the future.

DN Entertainment Entertainment DN

This summer sees some of the biggest bands in the country coming to the North East. Look out for dates in Sunderland with Oasis and Take That, while, in Newcastle, Girls Aloud will be coming to town and the Evolution Weekender returns.

McFly will be at Newcastle City Hall on 26th April.

Doves return with a new album this year and will be played Newcastle as part of the supporting tour. Catch them at the O2 Academy on 27th April.

American punks NOFX will play the same venue on 28th April, Doors 7pm.

Pub Landlord Al Murray will be at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena on May 1st. Doors 8pm.

Girls Aloud will be playing two dates at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle on the 5th and 6th May. They’ll be back a month later (5th and 6th June) for a further two dates. Doors 7pm.Punk superstars Gallows will be at the

O2 Academy, Newcastle on 9th May. Doors 6:30pm.

Local favourites Maximo Park will play a couple of nights at the Newcastle O2 Academy on 13th & 14th May.

Cage The Elephant are over from the US for a tour in May, playing Newcastle University 19th May.

Beyonce visits the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, on 22nd May for what is sure to be a spectactular show.

May Bank Holiday weekend sees the return of the Evolution Weekender festival. Featuring performances by the likes of headliner Dizzee Rascal, The View, Mystery Jets, Friendly Fires, The Maccabees, White Lies and Kissy Sell Out.

The event takes place on the 24th and 25th of May at Spillers Wharf, Newcastle and Baltic Square, Gateshead. Check www.evolutionfestival.co.uk for more information.

Girl-kissing sensation Katy Perry arrives

in Newcastle to play at the O2 Academy on the 3rd June.

Camp as owt boy band come reasonably well respected man band, Take That, come to Sunderland on the 5th and 6th of June. They’ll be taking to the hallowed turf of the Stadium of Light. Doors 2pm.

Boyzone’s comeback hasn’t been quite as successful but they’ll be playing at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, on 9th and 10th June.

The Gallagher brothers and co will swagger into Sunderland this summer as part of their nationwide tour. This is one of the most hotly anticipated gigs the city of Sunderland will have seen. Oasis will play to a packed Stadium Of Light on the 10th June. Doors 12pm because of the number of support bands.

Mock the Week star Russell Howard will bring his newly extended Dingleberries tour to Newcastle City Hall on the19th June 2009. Doors 8pm.

Compiled by Stephen Milnes.

What’s on in the North East?All dates and times correct at time of going to press but subject to change by venues and promoters. Doors at 7:30pm for all shows unless otherwise stated.

Gullich are a three piece math-rock band hailing from the North East. Lucy Duffield met up with the

band to discuss their upcoming mini album.

Jamie Wilkinson, Simon Whelan and Graham Thompson are the trio that make up Gullich. Jamie and Simon met through being in bands together previously and enlisted Graham’s help on vocals. Dartz guitarist and Pay for the Piano Recordings owner Henry Carden then gave Gullich the opportunity to record their self titled

mini album. The record is available now from iTunes and payforthepiano.co.uk.

They all have varied musical influences and believe that this is more of a help than a hindrance, as there are “more opportunities for us to experiment if we’re into different things” says Simon. Something they proved at a recent gig at Uncle Albert’s in Middlesbrough, supporting Dartz, with crowd pleasing songs and catchy tunes like Where the Ducks Sleep.

They’ve only been together since June 2008 but their cohesive performance could dupe listeners into thinking they’d been playing together for much longer.

They all have extensive experience in the music industry, through being sound engineers and members of other bands, such as The New Lev Yashin, Alsation, Kubichek! and Helios.

To add to this, they’ve played countless gigs across the country, in places like Newcastle, Liverpool and Bolton, to name a few.

Graham’s worst gig was one of his first, “I played a solo acoustic gig when I was a teenager, in a mental home. Not the best place to perform!”

Speaking of gigs, Gullich have a national tour coming up, “We really would love to get to the position where people want us to play at their venues, as opposed to asking them if we can play there,” said Simon. So keep your eyes open for information popping up on www.gullich.co.uk and on their Myspace.

The band all agree that there is “no illusion” to the band and they don’t see becoming rich, “like Bono” as Jamie described it, as a goal. Right now they’re just three friends in a band, having a good time.

The sky is the limit

Gullich: The Boro band just want to get out and play gigs


The next Futureheads?Lucy Duffield met up with David Burn of Detroit Social Club to discuss

the upcoming rise to the fickle mistress that is fame, management strategies and performing at a certain North East festival in the summer...

Detroit Social Club: Possibly the next breakthrough band from a burgeoning North East scene.

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Sport DNDN Sport

This year’s Varsity event between the Universities of Sunderland and Teesside was intensely fought as usual, but, unfortunately for the Wearsiders, they were unable to retain the crown which was won on home soil in 2008.

On Wednesday 11 March, over 700 competitors met in Middles-brough to take part in 14 sports, with the Teessiders claiming the coveted prize by thirteen and a half points to Sunderland’s nine and a half.

Natalie Broom, Student Activities Officer at Teesside Students’ Union was in buoyant mood, following the win. “I have been involved in five Varsities in my time and I can honestly say this was the best,” she said.

“It was a fantastic day, with a brilliant atmosphere throughout, despite fierce competition. All of our sports teams did us proud.

“I’d also like to commend the University of Sunderland on the spirit in which they played and dealt with the defeat.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have the Tees-Wear Varsity trophy back on Teesside!”

Despite the defeat, Sunderland dominated in a number of sports, most notably in the five football matches played. Although the First and Second men’s teams were only able to manage draws, 1-1 and 2-2 respectively, the Third and Fourth sides both recorded wins in a pair of tightly contested games.

The hotly-anticipated Women’s football match provided one of the most entertaining and intriguing events of the Varsity meet.

Both sides are currently in the upper echelons of this year’s BUCS (British Universi-ties and College Sports) Women’s football league and, after going 1-0 down early on, Sunderland roared back with a brilliant 2nd half dis-

play to claim bragging rights for this year with a 3-2 victory.

The standout performance came from Sunderland goalkeeper Lucy Walsh, who was called on to keep her side within touching distance of their opponents during the first period.

The 21-year-old Media Production student said: “We always knew we were a better side than them and, even when we went into half-time after not playing too well, we always knew we could come back.

“They are a good side, third in the BUCS league, but we were confident we could come back against them. Our coach wasn’t there at the start of the game, but, once half-time came, he was

Teesside: Made full use of their home advantage with a four-point win over Sunderland at Varsity 2009.

there and shouting at us, because we knew we could play better and win the game.”

More success has followed for the Women’s team, with their 4-0 demolition of bottom side Sheffield Hallam on March 26, meaning they are the winners of the BUCS league for 2008/2009.

Lucy said: “It went down to the last day of competing and with us beating Sheffield it made it impossible for Newcastle to overtake us from second place. It’s a brilliant feeling to win the league.”

Teesside were firm favourites in both Men’s and Women’s rugby and there were no surprises as the home side dominated their op-ponents in the two games.

The Men’s side were able to get on the score sheet, but managed only 5 points to Teesside’s 36. Sunderland’s Women’s side fared even worse, receiving a crushing 35-0 defeat.

Sunderland though, excelled in the two hockey events on the day. The Men’s team just edged their game 1-0, but it was the Women who were the stars, utterly dominant in their 4-0 win over their Teesside opponents.

There was less success, however, for those of our students compet-ing in the Badminton events. With the Men’s 1st’s being beaten 7-1, and the 2nd’s going down 6-2, there was pressure on the Women’s

Lucy Walsh: Player of the Match in the Women’s Football, a match Sunderland came back to win 3-2.

Rugby: Heavy defeats in both Men’s and Women’s games for Sunderland.

varsity 2009Report by David Allison

Continued overleaf...

Women’s Football: A highly-anticipated match didn’t let anyone down.

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www.sunderlandsu.co.uk34

DN Sport

Barry Clements: Defeat in the badminton, which Teesside won overall.

Crowd: A healthy turnout for the basketball matches.

Basketball: Cheer up lads, there’s always next year.

team to regain some pride in the competition.

But it wasn’t to be, as they were soundly dispatched 6-2, to complete a comprehensive Teesside win in the sport.

Barry Clements, 21, was particularly disappointed with the outcome, the result being Sunderland’s first defeat in badminton in the last 10 years. Speaking after Varsity,

Barry said: “It was really disappoint-ing, to be honest. For us, that was the tenth year of competition in the sport and for it to be the University’s first defeat isn’t great. We had a good night out though anyway!

“I played two games, lost the first 21-15, 21-17 and the second 21-17, 21-19. It was obviously quite close in my game, but, overall, it wasn’t even close, which is disappointing.”

It was in the other late afternoon events of basketball and netball that Teesside were able to clinch victory and take back the Varsity crown.

In the Men’s first’s and second’s basketbal,l the Teessiders recorded convincing wins, whilst in the two netball matches played, Sunderland were unable to stem the tide in the home side’s favour, the first and second teams losing 44-32 and 43-12, respectively.

Added to the points Teesside won through the fantastic cheerleading competition win and also the previ-ous evening’s snow sports victory, which was held at Silksworth Ski Slope in Sunderland, the side with home advantage this year were able to stretch their lead to four points and take back the Varsity trophy.

With next year’s event back on home soil, Sunderland students will be once again looking to regain the trophy on Wearside, after being edged out by their competitors on this occasion.

Continued from overleaf...

Varsity pictures by Hal Ridge

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