Posts Tagged ‘Arts’

BoyaBase raises the roof

Monday, July 20th, 2009

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Saturday evening, myself and a couple of the Crawley Happy Times crew popped down the Half Moon for a few drinks and to see The Analysir mix it up on the decks.  As the night went on, The Analysir belted out some great tunes, some old, some new.  There were some old faces there too and we enjoyed a great night of toe tapping, body-grooving beats.

The Crew

The Analysir, AKA Merv Thorne, has been DJ-ing for over twenty years and does a lot of work with the youth of today in Crawley, helping them find their path in the music industry.  Merv’s ambition would be to get a little place in Crawley town centre where he can hold ‘Open DJ’ nights, which I think would be a great asset to the town: the community will be able to share others’ knowledge and have a great night at the same time!HalfMoon5

Merv explained to me that his friend, local lad Chris (Lil Chris), would be mixing it up later on in the evening, with some light house and garage tunes.  Well, let me tell you, Lil Chris was well worth the wait!

My knowledge of DJs may not be completely universal, but I would definitely say Lil Chris has a brilliant future in the world of music and DJing.  I guess he has had a great tutor in The Analysir (who he promptly ‘bigs up’ in his interview).  Great set Lil Chris!

If you missed Saturday night, then I would suggest keeping an eye out on Facebook or on here for the next event featuring The Analysir.

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We spoke to the bar staff at The Half Moon (Toni Green and Chloe Riche) who told us they loved working behind the bar and enjoyed the atmosphere, specially when The Analysir was in the house!
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The Half Moon has a nice atmosphere and reasonable costs for drinks.  I can personally recommend their BBQ Chicken Pizza.

The End Of An Era

Friday, June 26th, 2009

The Man, The Music, The Legend: The End Of An Era.

Everyone here at The Crawley Happy Times was saddened to hear of the death of Michael Jackson, but today we’d like to celebrate his life.

The Legacy

Michael (August 29, 1958 – June 25th, 2009) debuted on the music scene as a member of the of the Jackson 5 (band together 1966-1990) who sang and danced their way to the top of the charts with ‘ABC’, ‘I Want You Back’, ‘The Love You Save’ and ‘I’ll Be There’.

The Jackson 5 went down in music history as the first music act to top the American charts with all four of their first major singles.

Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael further found success with Top 5 hits like ‘Mama’s Pearl’, ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ and ‘Dancing Machine’.

Michael began his solo career in 1971 whilst still a member of the Jackson 5. Now recognised as the ‘King of Pop’, Michael’s legacy is a testament to his musical genius.

Jackson (affectionately known as MJ) has many accolades to his name, most notably the fact that four of his solo albums (‘Off The Wall‘, ‘Bad‘, ‘Dangerous‘ & ‘HIStory’) are best-selling albums. His 1982 album, ‘Thriller‘, is the best-selling record of all time!

MJ revolutionised the music industry with his compelling music videos, exhibiting an artist without peer.

The End Of An Era

Until June 25th, 2009, few of us fully appreciated how his music touched us and provided a soundtrack to our lives. Whilst younger readers may only know of the controversy surrounding him in more recent times, everyone here at The Crawley Happy Times hope that the news of his death and the subsequent radio airplay of his massive back catalogue will bring more awareness of his genius, and influence the next generation of singers, songwriters and dancers for many years to come.

What are your memories of MJ’s music? Do you associate a specific time or place with a favourite song or album? For this writer, 2001′s ‘You Rock My World‘ (No. 2 in the UK Charts) elicits nostalgia for the first flush of love.

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