Walking Back Home and Short Stories Volume 2

Never one to shy from telling stories, Deacon Blue's Ricky Ross is now telling his own life story in a new book. But there's also more music too. He says: ‘For all these years I’ve told stories. Sometimes these days I also tell them on the radio. I’ve met some amazing people and their stories need told too."

His memoir, ‘Walking Back Home’, has recently been published. He writes: "In the book I write about growing up in Dundee, my first forays into music and my life with Deacon Blue. I also discuss my relationships with faith, politics, and the ever-changing challenges of being a musician."

His latest album Short Stories Vol2. is also out now: "I’ve always been interested in telling stories. Most of the stories have become songs but some stories take a little longer. A couple of years ago I started to write down some longer memories which didn’t fit as snugly into verses or choruses. I hope people might enjoy the stories as much as I have enjoyed writing them down."

Read his interview with Lorraine Wilson here.

I'm looking forward to seeing Ricky Ross at Emmanuel Billericay on the Short Stories Vol2 tour. Read a review of his performance at Emmanuel on the first Short Stories tour, a gig which I also saw.  

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Ricky Ross - Bethlehem's Gate.

Lent Course: The Confessions of St Augustine

I was obliged to study and it did me good’ (Augustine Confessions 1/12)

Although Augustine in his childhood was not so keen on studying, at St Martin-in-the-Fields we’re excited to be reading his Confessions for our Lent Course. The course runs for six weeks on Wednesday evenings, from 13 March - 17 April, starting with a service in church at 6:30pm.

For further information, see the flyer here: https://goo.gl/nPwjSM

The Confessions of St Augustine is one of the greatest spiritual autobiographies written, and has had a significant impact on the church. It is “a canticle to God, full of psychological insights, which tells the story of a soul, and also the story of God, and how he is constantly at work seeking us.” 

For the 2019 Lent Course, we will be guided through the text, with a fresh translation by Benignus O’Rourke OSA, which sheds new light on Augustine’s spiritual journey. Each evening will follow the pattern below, with a community Eucharist at 6.30pm, where the different chapters of Confessions are introduced, followed by a simple shared supper and then listening groups. The cost of the whole Lent Programme is £15 which includes a copy of the book and study guide. The study guide will include selected quotations from the Confessions, points to wonder over, and a prayer. The book and guide will be available from Ash Wednesday on 6th March from the Verger’s office, and at the service at 6:30pm in the church. 

Services on Ash Wednesday are: an 8.30am Eucharist, a Choral Eucharist at 1.00pm and Bread for the World at 6.30pm. All these services will include the Imposition of Ashes.

The Lent Programme: 

• 6.30pm: we begin in Church with Bread for the World- an informal Eucharist, during which the theme for the week will be introduced and reflected upon. 
• 7.30pm: we share a simple Lenten Supper of bread and soup (during this time the church will remain open for silent reflection). 
• 8.00-8.45 pm: we join Listening Groups to reflect upon the theme for the week. 
• The Church will be open until 9.00pm for Silent Prayer. 

Week One 13 March Book I and II 

Week Two 20 March Book III 

Week Three 27 March Book IV 

Week Four 3 April Book V 

Week Five 10 April Book VI and VII 

Week Six 17 April Book VIII and IX

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Jon Foreman - White As Snow.

Unity Spencer: Lucky to be an Artist

The Fine Art Society is staging the first West End survey of work by Unity Spencer. The exhibition marks the publication of Unity's candid autobiography Lucky to be an Artist.

The exhibition consists of fifty oils by Unity of all periods, together with etchings. The gallery will also show paintings by her father Stanley Spencer, her mother Hilda Carline, her uncles Gilbert Spencer and Richard Carline, and her grandfather George Carline. It will be an opportunity to appreciate Unity's work within the context of this unique family heritage.

Clare Armitstead writes that:

'Life has been an emotional rollercoaster for Unity, the second of two daughters born to Stanley and Hilda Spencer. This may explain why it is only at the age of 84 that she is having her first major exhibition. The show will briefly reunite this stormily accomplished artist with paintings that have been rolled up in cupboards for more than half a century. Everything is for sale, alongside “11 Stanleys” owned by the family, and a scattering of pictures by Hilda, a talented artist in her own right, who became subsumed into her husband’s celebrity.'

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The La's - There She Goes.

David Ritz: Divided Souls and Messengers

I've just finished Sinner's Creed, the excellent collaborative biography of Scott Stapp written by David Ritz. In 1986 I reviewed Ritz's biography of Marvin Gaye, Divided Soul, for Strait, the Greenbelt newspaper, noting that 'While Ritz sticks with his original premise or image the sheer volume of contrasts which he draws out of Gaye's personality reveal someone rather more complex than a simple black/white division of personality would suggest.' Something similar could be said of Sinner's Creed which also revolves around the conceit of a divided soul.

Interestingly, between the writing of the two books Ritz himself became a Christian:

'David Ritz recently embraced Christianity, and Messengers is a tribute to the people who awakened his personal faith and to others, both famous and unknown, whose words—sometimes set to music—have inspired millions of believers. The gifted photographer Nicola Goode contributes glowing portraits of each of them.

There are stories and reflections from Bishop Noel Jones (brother of Grace); Harlem’s own Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts; Rev. Peter J. Gomes of Harvard; gospel mega-stars Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin, Marvin Winans, Smokey Norful, and Candi Staton; Christian life coach Dr. Arlene Churn; Dr. Mable John, a Los Angeles evangelist and former backup vocalist for Ray Charles; Chris Burge, a former Wall Street executive salesman who is saving souls in New York City and is also now a well known author; and a Washington, D.C., pastor who also runs a window-washing business. In voices joyful, clear, and strong, these mighty men and women of God convey messages of faith, love, and hope addressed directly to the heart.'

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Candi Staton - His Hands.

Peter Howson: Redemption in life's struggles

Peter Howson is one of 14 artists whose work is profiled in the final chapter - 'A Vibrant Contemporary Scene' - of Richard Harries' The Image of Christ in Modern Art. Howson's is one of the briefer profiles in this chapter, with Harries finding his depiction of Christ in Ecce Homo "troubled and troubling" and suggesting that Legion has a "disturbing effect" because "it reflects something of Howson's own fragility and torment." Throughout his career Howson has "concentrated on tough, working-class figures and those on the edge of society;" an approach, which when combined with his own "long battle against abuse and addiction," enables him to see aspects of the Gospel stories "that most of us prefer to gloss over."

The accuracy of these perceptions can be assessed currently as Flowers Cork Street has a survey exhibition of Howson's work which presents "a visual journey of Howson’s altogether fascinating life, with works that are both extraordinary and intriguing."

Titled A Life, this exhibition and the descriptions of it from the Flowers Gallery highlight the extent to which Howson has become an artist whose work is no longer viewed independently of his life. For much art, and for many artists, an attempt is made to view the artwork as an object in its own right with a life that is independent of the artist who made it. No such attempt is made here. The Gallery state that the "exhibition offers the opportunity to become a direct witness to a diverse range of varying incidents and torments he [Howson] has endured and encapsulated." The works shown can be described in terms of the chronology of his life: the dossers, boxers and misfits from the streets of Glasgow where he was raised, his battle with various addictions and personal demons, his work as a war artist, and his conversion to Christian faith.

The press notice concludes by again bringing life and work together:

"The theme of life’s struggles permeates the exhibition, as indeed it does Howson’s life, yet there’s a heroic strength in the works that lead one to admire not only him as a person, but his ability to capture this through a medium that arrests and inspires you."
 

Clearly, the drama and angst of Howson's life lends itself to this approach in a way that may not be the case with other artists. As in this respect, Howson's approach to his work takes issue with many of the central assumptions of the mainstream art world of which he is part. His is an essentially redemptive art which looks to convey instant messages and finds beauty in ugliness.  

 

What does it do though to his specifically religious images? On the one hand there is an element of personal testimony, as in the series of paintings inspired by the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. The first of these is included in this exhibition and this image of a central figure lurching on carrying a rowdy band of figures on his back while striding on in a field of bottles and debris mirrors Howson’s own struggle and ultimate determination to continue as an artist.

 

In scenes from the life of Christ, Howson thrillingly depicts a vigorous, decisive Jesus in settings of external and internal struggle such as the stilling of the storm and his prayer at Gethsemene. At times, however, as in Alpha and Omega, Howson seems to depict a Christ who is, as Harries states, "troubled and troubling." In this instance, where Howson is depicting the Christ seen in St John's vision on Patmos, he seems to have transposed the fear felt by John at this vision onto the wild features of the Christ he sees in the vision.

Howson's faith, however, isn't simply expressed in his imagery but also in his painting process and the balance of idea, message and technique that he aims to achieve in his work. As he explains in a recent interview for Studio International this is based on the Trinity theory. Howson is, therefore, a significant example of a Christian artist using traditional Christian iconography and enjoying mainstream success while acting in opposition to several of the central assumptions found in the contemporary art scene.
 

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The Relatives - Let Your Light Shine.