Devon Life September 2024

Following a devastating cancer diagnosis in September 2022, Adrian Sutton, composer of the music for War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and other National Theatre productions, made a conscious decision to change his focus, committing himself to working solely on music for the concert hall. This has led to a series of major new works, including his Violin Concerto which received its world première at the Southbank Centre in June 2023, played by Fenella Humphreys and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Adrian commented: ‘We all have limited time – and resources. How to make best use of them? In my situation, there’s only one answer: avoid egregious waste of both time and energy ruminating on things I can’t change. Instead, I can choose how I react to the facts – and I’m choosing not to be a victim.’ This new album of world-première record ings reflects the composer’s new focus. Of the album, Adrian Sutton says: ‘Here's the real musical me. My core musical DNA. The Violin Concerto in particular (being a violinist myself) is for me the main course on this disc, but the other works are a showcase for what I’ve always been about… ranging from the bracing and instrumentally challenging A Fist Full of Fives through to orchestral suites derived from my theatre works. I’m very proud of them all, and pleased to have had the opportunity to share them.’

Slade may have never truly caught on with global audiences (often narrow-mindedly deemed "too British-sounding"), but the group became a sensation in their homeland with their anthemic brand of glam rock in the early '70s, as they scored a staggering 11 Top Five hits in a four-year span from 1971 to 1974 (five of which topped the charts). Comprised of singer/guitarist Noddy Holder (born Neville Holder, June 15, 1946 in Walsall, West Midlands, England), guitarist Dave Hill (born April 4, 1946, in Fleet Castle, Devon, England), bassist Jimmy Lea (born June 14, 1949, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England), and drummer Don Powell (born September 10, 1946, Bilston, West Midlands, England), the group originally formed in the spring of 1966 under the name the In-Be-Tweens, playing out regularly with a mixture of soul and rock tracks.