Summer Pops 2009: As exciting as a Q back issue

James M emails with news of next year's Summer Pops festival in Liverpool. He's not that thrilled:

So much for Liverpool moving on from its culture of nostalgia, Simon. "Beatle Day" looks set to be an annual orgy of reminiscing. Charities may well benefit, but that misses the point.

Last year's Capital of Culture was a largely wasted opportunity; local, unsigned bands were, contrary to all the official noises, treated as an afterthought as both "Beatle Day" & the Matthew Street festival wallowed in nostalgia for a band which split up 40 years ago.

The acts so far lined up for the Summer Pops also make a mockery of the Echo's
headline.

The Echo headline in question is:

Summer Pops 2009 set to be Liverpool's biggest and best yet

Bearing in mind that in previous years' pops have pulled in stars from Steely Dan, The Sugababes, Diana Ross and James 'not to everyone's tastes but unarguably a strong booking' Morrison, this year's must be quite something, right?

To get the ball rolling he has announced a list of perennial Liverpool favourites, The Australian Pink Floyd, Jools Holland, Simply Red and Deacon Blue.

The Australian Pink Floyd? Cancel the plane tickets, I'm summering on Merseyside...

James, you'd have to agree, has a point.

Winehouse's hospital looks a little like a bar

People who were turned away from Liverpool's Summer Pops date for Amy Winehouse came away under the impression she was in hospital. That has since been officially downgraded to "exhaustion".

Oddly, though, there are photos of her propping up a London bar in the middle of Wednesday evening in today's Sun. Even Victoria Newton can do the math here:

For somebody so exhausted, Amy made the 240 miles from Merseyside to north London in double quick time.

Amy claims it was late in the afternoon that she was told by a doctor in her Liverpool hotel she was unfit to perform.

Thousands who queued in the rain for the gig were told she wouldn’t be appearing shortly before 7pm.

But Amy managed to get herself to Camden well before 9pm decked out in her finest threads for a couple of sherries with pals.

Winehouse in sickhouse

Amy Winehouse has pulled her gig at Liverpool's Summer Pops tonight. Gigwise is reporting that they've heard she's in hospital, although her hospitalisation wasn't soon enough to stop people turning up at Aintree this evening.

There are plans to rearrange for July 21st.

Pops off - or are they?

Liverpool's fantastically cash-hungry summer pops have been axed for this year, in the midst of the City's run-up to be Cultural capital of Europe. Although, being Liverpool, the scrapping of the event isn't that neat: "Town Hall sources" reckon three companies are apparently keen to pick up the min-fest, insisting they can run it without the need for the huge subsidies the songs-in-a-tent.

But then again, are they?

Cream had originally asked for an uncapped contribution from the council, but deny they're prepared to run it without ratepayers footing the bill:

Cream boss James Barton today denied he had offered to run the Pops for free, but said he wanted to discuss with the council how the event might be staged.

He said: “We believe the Pops should take place and we would be prepared to sit down with the council to find a way it could take place this year.”

You'll note the suggestion that running the event on the basis of a commercial event, making a profit, has magically transmogrified into running the event "for free."