Broken Chanter - Catastrophe Hits 5/5 David MacGregor is on the money with the title of his newest album. It does feel as if catastrophe is hitting from all sides just now, environmental collapse, the side into unpayable debt, the sheer downright fuckery that is Brexit and its many toxic gifts, the rise in homophobia, racism, transphobia so what the fuck can we do about it? Well, we may take some solace in the fact that ‘Catastrophe Hits’ leans more towards hits rather than catastrophe. The second venture under the Broken Chanter name is a much more boisterous affair compared to the laid back melancholia of the previous album.  Edging closer to the bubbly indie pop of Scottish darlings Kid Canaveral but still sounding unique in itself, MacGregor has crafted an album of energetic existential dread. Always one to turn a finely crafted tune, David has not let us down, these ten songs are some of the best in his career. Upping the galic content this time around there’s two songs...

Pearl Mackie is notable for her work in television, theatre and film and is best known for her work in the long-running BBC series, Doctor Who, where she played the role of the Doctor’s companion, Bill Potts, opposite Peter Capaldi. Here she talks about her work on ITV new gripping four-part event drama, The Long Call.   Catch up with it now BritBox or ITV player Who is DS Jen Rafferty?   “Jen is a really interesting woman. She has so much drive, gumption and strength of character. She’s escaped a brutal marriage and come to North Devon with her two teenage children to make a fresh start. Essentially, she wants to give them a better life and show them that they deserve to exist without the constant threat of violence in the home. She’s an urban Londoner and, so, quite a fish out of water in rural Devon. But she’s also an adaptable person and a very intuitive detective. She lives for two things, her children and her work.”   In what way does her past influence the kin...

October Issue

Shanaze Reade takes part in the new series of Celebrity SAS:Who Dares Wins now on Channel 4 Sundays 9pm. Why did you sign up for this show? As soon as I saw the show was on the TV years ago, I was like, "That's a bit of me!” It's obviously mentally challenging, physically, and emotionally. I was like, "If I ever got the opportunity, I'd grab it with both hands because I want to be tested away from sport and arena, to step out of my comfort zone." It was just the perfect show to do. Did you do any preparation before going onto the course? I did maybe a week, but I didn't have any boots or anything like that. I liked that because I didn't want to go in fully primed. I wanted to go in and go for the unexpected, just to totally immerse myself within the show. How would you rate your mental strength? I think mentally I was probably in the best position I'd ever been in my life because when I retired I went down a dark path. Before I got onto the show I...