Ben Elton

Matthew Norman: The Fry affair was Twitter's first JFK moment

The Independent (Free subscription) | yesterday

Which of us will ever forget where we were when we heard that Stephen Fry had resigned from Twitter?

Book Review: Meltdown

News Scotsman (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009

Ben EltonBantam Press, £18.99BEN Elton should be buried in the Blue Peter garden. I don't mean that the comic turned novelist should be interred next to George the Tortoise and all those other pets, but that the collected novels of Ben Elton should be stuck under ground, after being suitably vacuum-wrapped, in a nice, safe time capsule for children to prise open in 2059. Why? Because Elton's...

Meltdown by Ben Elton

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009

Distance might lend more weight to Ben Elton's riffs Topical fiction is incredibly difficult to do. Although lead times aren't what they were, newspapers and magazines traditionally cover the now, with the job of books being to clarify what on earth happened after the dust had settled. With notable exceptions such as Bonfire of the Vanities and Neuromancer – both books which ended up shaping...

Where will the next generation get its political anthems from?

Labourlist (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009

The Paul Richards column Last Thursday in the Times Phil Collins offered the view "with the exception of Billy Bragg, and even he will be remembered for the love songs, nobody seems to be able to do political songs anymore". If it had been Phil Collins as in the Cadbury gorilla it might have been a bigger story ("Genesis drummer says modern pop is rubbish"). But the Phil Collins...

Elton's writing career has gone into Meltdown

Metro.co.uk (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009

Books: Ben Elton's latest satirical blockbuster tackles the recession, but it's let down by banal treatment of the issues, unlikeable characters and bad dialogue.

Queen stars to join star-studded cast for opening of musical We will rock you

News Scotsman (Free subscription) | 10/31/2009

THEY formed half of one of the biggest bands in the world and now they are back together in Edinburgh – for one night only.

• Queen stars to join star-studded cast for opening of musical We will rock you - Edinburgh Evening News

I think they had a good time...

Mulled Whines (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009

I think they had a good time... Apparently Ben Elton and Shane Richie were in the audience, so there were at least four of them there. Which I think is an improvement on the last time Sis saw the Nolans. Lisa described it to me as “a bit like a Chippendales show” . And frankly she should know. On the downside, Sis expressed her slight disappointment that the Nolans barely sang any Nolans...

Meltdown does the opposite

SlackBelly: A City Snitch (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009

You'll recall my fixation with Meltdown - the pisspoor financial novel penned by Martin Horlick (ne Baker). In August I reported that publisher Macmillan had axed plans for a sequel, despite originally signing the author - hubbie of Madoff victim Nicola Horlick - on a three book deal. Bad news for the embattled Horlicks, for sure, but it seems that the concept (if not Martin's literary career) has...

The Boys in the Photograph

Dr Roy's Thoughts (Free subscription) | 10/25/2009

I went to see the Mirvish production of The Boys in the Photograph. It is a collaboration between Ben Elton and Lord Andrew Lloyd Weber. It is an updated version of the musical The Beautiful Game. I went to a pre play chat that explained the story of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It also explained the meeting between Ben Elton and Lord Lloyd Webber that resulted in the musical. The Musical is the...

Lord Lloyd-Webber : Lord Lloyd Webber set to launch Phantom of the Opera sequel

Entertainment and Showbiz! (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009

Music composer Lord Lloyd-Webber is set to launch the sequel to his hit musical ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ which first opened in London in 1986. Co-written by Ben Elton, the tale is set on New York’s Coney Island in 1907, 10 years after the Phantom fled Paris. The plot will be centred on the mysterious Phantom, known [...] Related posts: Andrew Lloyd Webber : Andrew Lloyd Webber to audition...

Queen exhibition sure to rock you

Edinburgh Evening News (Free subscription) | 10/15/2009

AS ROCK icons of the 70s and 80s, they were among the most photographed bands of their era.

• Queen exhibition sure to rock you - News Scotsman

Love Never Dies Launch Let Down

Show and Stay (Free subscription) | 10/13/2009

Frankly, the Love Never Dies launch was one of the biggest let downs of my musical theatre-loving career – right up there with the fact that Austentatious STILL hasn’t got a transfer, the monstrosity that was Will Baker’s Rent: Remixed, and the entirety of 9 to 5. First there was a video montage that made me [...]

Lloyd Webber Launches Phantom, Part Deux

ArtsJournal (Free subscription) | 10/12/2009

Set on New York's Coney Island in 1907, 10 years after the Phantom fled Paris, it is co-written by Ben Elton and has taken more than two years to complete....

Lloyd Webber unveils "Phantom of the Opera" sequel

Reuters UK (Free subscription) | 10/10/2009

LONDON (Reuters) - Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber Thursday unveiled his latest musical "Love Never Dies," a sequel to hit show "The Phantom of the Opera" which has played to more than 100 million people around the world.

Lloyd Webber unveils "Phantom of the Opera" sequel

Reuters (Free subscription) | 10/08/2009

LONDON (Reuters) - British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber Thursday unveiled his latest musical "Love Never Dies," a sequel to hit show "The Phantom of the Opera" which has played to more than 100 million people around the world.