A new outdoor exhibition showcasing photographs taken over the last five decades has opened in Birmingham’s Centenary Square.

Organised by Legacy West Midlands in collaboration with Birmingham Museums Trust, Freedom 50 celebrates 50 years of Bangladeshi independence and will be on display until the end of August 2021. The Freedom 50 exhibition presents 40 evocative images of protest, self-determination and emigration.

It includes images taken during the 1971 war in Bangladesh, and the protest that followed within the UK. Iconic images from the legendary Bangladeshi photographer Naib Uddin Ahmed are featured, as well as striking images taken by other professional and emerging photographers. Visitors to the free exhibition will also be able to learn about Bangladesh’s recent history and the settlement of Bangladeshi people in the UK via accompanying display panels.

In January 2021, Legacy West Midlands held an international open call-out for photographs for this exhibition. A host of great photographs were submitted from professional and amateur photographers in the UK and Bangladesh with the final photos selected by a steering committee that included representatives from arts organisations in Birmingham.

Aftab Rahman, Director at Legacy West Midlands said: “The response to our international call-out for photographs that could tell the story of 50 years of Bangladeshi independence was incredible with so many evocative and vibrant images submitted from both the UK and Bangladesh.

“The Freedom 50 exhibition has been an emotional journey for me, because of my Bangladeshi heritage. Creating the exhibition has allowed me to learn and reflect on the birth of Bangladesh. 

“Using photography from the past and present has allowed us to appreciate the journey Bangladesh has had through the decades and the footprint of British Bangladeshi's in the UK exemplifies a migrant journey that has not always been smooth We are delighted that, in collaboration with Birmingham Museums Trust, we are now able to share these remarkable images and the story of a young nation via a free outdoor exhibition.”

Curatorial and Collections Manager at Birmingham Museums Trust, Rebecca Bridgman, said: “We are pleased to have collaborated with Legacy WM to bring this unique outdoor exhibition to one of Birmingham’s largest public squares.

“The Forward 50 exhibition shines a light on Bangladeshi history, people and landscapes in a series of powerful and evocative images.” This is the first exhibition by Birmingham Museums Trust using new solar powered outdoor exhibition equipment.

The Freedom 50 exhibition forms part of a wider national initiative, combining a wide range of events and exhibitions, showcasing Bangladeshi culture during this important year. During the Freedom 50 programme, key events leading up to Bangladeshi independence 1971 will be recognised, along with the role of British Bangladeshis at the time.

The programme includes 50 blogs called ‘Kee Khobor’, a national bike ride, a special version of the annual Nowka Bais boat race, arts and sporting events, a theatre production, a gala dinner and much more. The Freedom 50 exhibition is organised by Legacy WM in collaboration with Birmingham Museums Trust with support from Arts Council England’s Cultural Recovery Fund, Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Rep.

Following the release of her latest single ‘Your Power,’ and ahead of the July 30 release of her forthcoming album ‘Happier Than Ever,’ Darkroom/Interscope Records artist Billie Eilish has announced the first leg of her Happier Than Ever, The World Tour, set to commence in February 2022.
 
Starting February 3 in New Orleans, the 32-date North American arena run will be making stops across North America, before heading across the Atlantic for an 18-date arena tour across Europe and the United Kingdom, starting June 3. Remaining tickets will on-sale Friday, May 28, 12pm local in the U.S and Canada, and 10am local in the United Kingdom and Europe. To ensure tickets get in to the hands of fans, the tour has partnered with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform in North America. Fans can register now through Sunday, May 23 at 11:59pm for the Verified Fan presale. Registered fans who receive a code will have access to purchase tickets before the general public on Wednesday, May 26 at 12pm local time through 10pm local time.
 
The seven-time GRAMMY Award winning artist and songwriter has also confirmed she will be continuing her work with sustainability partner REVERB for her Happier Than Ever, The World Tour, with the fan-facing Billie Eilish Action Village at each show which will focus on climate action and climate justice, hosting and supporting BIPOC and women-led environmental organizations as well as a comprehensive program via REVERB’s forthcoming Music Climate Revolution campaign. In addition to reducing the tour’s environmental footprint, the initiative will support projects that directly and measurably eliminate greenhouse gases. These collective efforts will make the tour Climate Positive; eliminating significantly more emissions than the tour creates.
 
2021 has already been quite the year for 19-year-old Eilish whose latest single ‘Your Power’ debuted at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, logging more than 150 Million streams in the first two weeks of release. Earlier this year, she took home two additional GRAMMY Awards; Record of the Year for “everything i wanted,” and Best Song Written For Visual Media for her James Bond song “No Time To Die.” In February, her groundbreaking documentary film, ‘The World’s A Little Blurry’ -- directed by R.J. Cutler -- saw its Apple TV+ global release and received critical praise worldwide. Earlier this month, Billie Eilish made her book debut with Billie Eilish, a stunning visual narrative journey through her life. Published by Grand Central Publishing (GCP), the book features hundreds of never-before-seen photos, and captures the essence of Billie inside and out, offering readers personal glimpses into her childhood, her life on tour, and more. 

‘Happier Than Ever’ is out worldwide on July 30.

Z2 Comics is partnering with Universal Music Group and Mercury Songs Ltd for Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs, the first-ever graphic novel paying tribute to one of the greatest figures the music world has ever known.

A first in the comics format, Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs will be a journey through Freddie’s life; from his childhood in Zanzibar and India’, through his formative years in England, to becoming the rock star, known and loved by millions around the globe. The story is told in his own words, with each chapter giving a glimpse into the many facets of his life.

Written by Tres Dean (All Time Low Presents: Young Renegades), the graphic novel will give true insight into the many experiences that helped shape the young Farrokh Bulsara and his compelling existence, both on and off stage—that was the life of Freddie Mercury, Lover of Life, Singer of Songs.

Following up on the tremendous success of the Oscar-winning 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody, and inspired by the book Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words, compiled by Greg Brooks and Simon Lupton, this upcoming graphic novel will be another essential addition to the bookshelf or coffee table of fans new and old, sumptuously illustrated by Kyla Smith, Robin Richardson, Safiya Zerrougui, Tammy Wang, and Amy Liu, with accompanying cover painting by David Mack.

Freddie Mercury, universally recognised as one of the greatest performers in the history of rock music, lived up to his promise that he was going to become “a legend”. His action-packed life took in being an art student, triumphs as the lead vocalist and creative voice behind Queen and a spell as successful solo singer and songwriter in the 80s.

It was while studying at London’s Ealing Art School with a view to becoming a freelance artist that Freddie’s musical ambitions were realised. “The music thing just grew and grew. I realised it was the biggest thing in my life and I decided to try and make my living from it.” Meeting Brian May and Roger Taylor while performing with his band Wreckage, the three eventually decided to form a band together. John Deacon was enrolled into the band in early 1971 marking the beginnings of Queen as we have known them for close on 50 historic years.

Mercury persuaded fellow band members Roger Taylor and Brian May to change their name from Smile to Queen and remake the band as something ‘completely fresh’. “My concept of Queen was to be regal and majestic - no half measures.”

Queen’s 1973 debut album ‘Queen’ was hailed as one of the most exciting new developments in rock music of the time. While Queen rose rapidly through two albums and early hits, it was Freddie’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” that propelled the band into the super league. The immortal operatically styled single released in 1975 topped the UK charts for 9 weeks. A song that was nearly never released due to its length and unusual style remains one of the most recognised and lasting songs of the last half century. 

Freddie’s unique talents soon became clear, a voice with a remarkable range and a stage presence that gave Queen its colourful, unpredictable and flamboyant personality and through Freddie’s ability to project himself and the band’s music to the four corners of vast arenas they became known as the leaders of stadium rock.

While publicly recognised as the front man to one of the most progressive rock bands of the era, Freddie defied the stereotype.  Driven by an inherent excitement for venturing into new territories led Freddie to explore his interests in a wide spectrum of the arts, particularly in the areas of ballet, opera and theatre, even leading to a successful recording partnership with Spanish opera diva Montserrat Caballé.

Queen continued to release best-selling albums and make history but perhaps it was their Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium, on 13 July 1985 that cemented the legendary status of Freddie and the band, not only going down in history as the day’s show-stopping event, but one of the greatest live performances of all time. Faithfully recreated for the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” it helped elevate the film to become the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, a powerful testament to Freddie's spirit being every bit as central to the fabric of popular music today as it was during his unforgettable lifetime

Until a few years ago, Peter Bowditch, 70, a retired Royal Mail employee, didn't know what UK grime or drill music was.

When his granddaughter would tune his car radio into stations rap and grime broadcasts, Pete would turn it off. "She was messing with my car radio stations and I thought 'what the hell is going on here?' and I changed them back," he recalls.

But over time, Pete stopped reaching for the dial and began to enjoy what he was hearing. "Then I thought, 'This ain't too bad'," he says. Pete decided to ask his friend, Basil Bellgrave, now 73, if he'd ever considered rapping.

"I thought we'd have a bit of a go," Bas says. Even so, very few would have predicted that the two grandfathers would end up becoming major players in UK drill.

Pete and Bas are both south London born and bred.

Before embarking on a career in music, Pete worked for Royal Mail and Westminster Council. Bas's background is shrouded in mystery - and he likes to keep it that way. As a child, Bas says his father owned a bare-knuckle boxing ring. He has previously claimed to have worked as a lawyer and to have served in the army, while there are rumours he worked as a bouncer in the 1970s. During a previous interview with online channel Noisey Raps, Pete drove Bas around London, where he regularly exited the car to drop off packages.

Asked what he was up to, Bas declined to comment. He said that he worked as a helicopter engineer and a carpet seller.

Asked about the various stories and rumours circulating online about his background, Bas says: "These legends are a bit like Robin Hood aren't they? Some bits are true and some are not. We're a long way from Sherwood Forest though aren't we?"

One part of his story that remains consistent is that he taught piano - and that is how the pair met half a decade ago. Pete walked into a shop in south London "on a little bit of business" and heard the sound of a piano coming from a back room, where Bas was giving a lesson. Intrigued, Pete stuck around and introduced himself.

"We've been lifelong friends... for the last five years," Pete says. It was around this time that Pete, who is a huge fan of The Specials and Madness, was introduced to rap and grime through his granddaughter. He eventually persuaded Bas, a Frank Sinatra fiend, to give his newfound love a listen.

Bas also took a liking the menacing beats and street-smart storytelling of drill, and the pair started writing lyrics in 2017 - bouncing ideas of some of the younger members of the family.

"I talk to my grandkids and their friends and they just let us know the new idioms - what's going on now," says Pete.

"For example, we always thought we were good, then they say sick, they say fire, then they say you're cold, but it all means the same thing." Then Pete & Bas wrote their first song, Shut Your Mouth, which was released on new year's day in 2018.

Within days, it started racking up views on YouTube, while people sought to find out more about these two retired grandads and their blend of modern day and traditional cockney slang. Many thought the song was just a one-off gimmick, but Pete & Bas dropped more songs that year, including Do One and Dents In a Peugeot, as their popularity started to grow.

By 2019 they were releasing songs on major UK rap platforms GRM Daily and Pressplay Media. Both say it was around this time that they noticed a change in the way people were reacting to their music.

"When they first look at it they think, 'This is a laugh, it's a bit of comedy, it's a wind up'," Bas says. "Then they listen to it and they think: 'It's not just funny it's good. It's actually better than a lot of what we've heard'."

Their first live show consisted of around 20 people in a pub in London's Blackheath. By 2019 they were selling out shows across the UK (the tour bus consisted of Bas's campervan) and they even played a show in the party resort of Ayia Napa in Cyprus, where they were pulled over by police while driving mopeds.

"They got out of their car and put their bat under their belt and we thought, 'What the hell have we done now'?" Pete says. "They walked up to us and said, 'Can we have a selfie?'"

Then came 2020 and Covid-19. With both categorised as high risk, the pandemic has been a difficult period for the pair. Pete has lost friends to the virus.

But like many up-and-coming UK rappers, their popularity grew during lockdown. In December, they released Old Estate with M24 - one of the biggest names in UK drill. The genre polarises opinion. With its often provocative lyrics, it's been blamed by police for fuelling gang violence; and drill videos are increasingly being used as evidence in trials.

But its defenders say the genre gives a raw and unfiltered insight into the darker side of life on the country's inner-city estates, and can offer a way for young people to escape the situations they're describing. The image of UK drill rappers often portrayed in the media is a far cry from how Pete & Bas have found them.

"It's very unusual, you wouldn't expect them to be so friendly. They have been very supportive," Bas says. Last month, the stock of Pete & Bas grew even further with their appearance on Plugged In With Fumez The Engineer - one of the biggest platforms in UK drill.

Their performance is already one of the most viewed Plugged In freestyles ever - hitting 5 million views in a month. They now have growing fanbases across Europe, the US, Australia and Japan.

"It does make you wonder what they make of it in Japan, I can't figure it out. But if you want us in Japan we'll be there," Bas says. "We get stopped on the street now. Some of the older men and ladies stop us and say, 'My grandson reckons you're great', and ask for a selfie for their grandson," Pete says.

"It's for them really, innit?" Bas says. But opinion within their own families about their newfound fame is mixed. Pete says he's a "hero" in the family.

"Not quite so much in my family, to be truthful," Bas says. "It's a bit of an elephant in the room, I suppose. I think you're only here once and you've got to make some waves before you go. I think they're maybe thinking it's time he settled down and quietened down a bit."

With lockdown restrictions easing, Pete and Bas have big plans for the years ahead. They have a full UK tour in the works and are in talks with major artists for further collaborations.

"If I wasn't doing music I'd probably be up to no good," Pete says. "The music has changed everything."

"I'd be sitting in my armchair with my feet up the chimney waiting to die," Bas adds. "We're really living life to the full now."

A new 1,000-seat venue will be created on a derelict plot in Coventry for music, comedy and arts performances.

The Assembly Festival Garden, near the council house in the city centre, will also include a smaller 180-seat tent and an outdoor venue, said organisers. Event group Assembly Festival, involved with Edinburgh Festival Fringe for 40 years, will run the Coventry hub.

The space will be the centrepiece for events from July 1 to mid-October, said Coventry City of Culture Trust. Coventry's year as UK City of Culture officially launched with thousands of people tuning in to watch a short film posted on the festival website.

Its signature event Coventry Moves was originally due to coincide with the launch, but was moved to June 5 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Performances at the Assembly Festival Garden, on the site of the demolished former Civic Centre buildings, will take place in the Queen of Flanders double-decker Spiegeltent. Local food outlets and a box office will also be there.

Cabaret, circus events, comedy and children's shows will form part of the programme. The old buildings were demolished and the site cleared by owner Coventry University for development. It has handed over the space for free during the festival.

The culture trust said that trees and lighting will transform the space into one with a family-friendly festival vibe. Tickets are set to go on sale for the first major event at the end of May.

The site will eventually be home to Coventry University's new hub for academic and research facilities as well as public spaces for the wider community.

Gasoline & Matches became the first artists to perform live music to a live audience of invited guests in the new state-of-the-art performance space at Symphony Hall on Tue 18 May 2021.

Speaking moments before their set, the multi award-winning duo said: "We're very humbled, honoured and privileged to be here at the Symphony Hall today."

Music is at the heart of the redeveloped public spaces in Birmingham's internationally renowned concert hall. The new performance facilities, delivered with funds raised prior to the global pandemic, will offer local artists even more opportunities to make music as part of an exciting programme of free and affordable events and activities.

Nick Reed, Chief Executive for the music charity responsible for Town Hall and Symphony Hall said:

“Music will play a powerful role in reuniting communities after the isolation and hardship of the past year. We hope that Symphony Hall will be a beacon for that reconnection. We are immensely grateful to all the funding partners who have supported the project, and the thousands of individual donors who have put their faith in the power of music.” 

For the first time, Birmingham’s world-renowned concert hall now boasts a dedicated entrance from Centenary Square – which is itself undergoing major redevelopment to provide a high-quality public realm within the second city.

With their debut single ‘Fool’s Gold’ topping the UK iTunes Country Chart, a headlining performance at The Hard Rock Café London and a five date Californian tour in the bag, Birmingham-based duo Gasoline & Matches were quick to prove why they were named as Lyrics Magazine’s ‘Artists to Watch’ in 2018. Sally Rea Morris and Steve Marks deliver a unique blend of Fleetwood Mac-esque harmonies, Brad Paisley-infused guitar solos and energetic live performances.

The music charity responsible for Town Hall and Symphony Hall continued to bring music to the people of Birmingham and beyond through the last year. Digital broadcasts filmed at the iconic venues now amass over half a million views since they began in April, with a diverse range of artists having performed to online audiences, including Lady Sanity, Soweto Kinch, Tom Aspaul, Xhosa Cole, Lauren Zhang, Braimah Kanneh-Mason and Gasoline & Matches.