#thedwreview

One of my pro wrestling heroes as a kid was Hulk Hogan.  Every fan in the world of a certain would've felt the same and I was certainly no different.   My entry in wrestling fandom began in either October or November 1991, when I opened an Argos catalogue and discovered these action figures, one of which was this bronzed adonis dressed in red and yellow.  And at multiple times the Hulkster held the top heavyweight championship in either the World Wrestling Federation (today's WWE), their rival competitior World Championship Wrestling and the lesser-known American Wrestling Association which ran between the 60s until the early 90s. Hogan did have his moments where wasn't world champion, and those occasions were strange as he appeared almost naked without a title belt.  When they happened it gave another wrestler to have a run as title holder - the company figurehead, the man who effectively drew ticket sales to the shows.   After he lost his first WWF ...

The recent playing on a local radio station of Fatboy Slim's "Praise You" from 1999 bright back a flood of memories, as past tunes tend to do.  In a year of anticipation towards the new millennium dawning, every popular act of the day was trying to get noticed - as they should - by mixing old tricks (Steps covering the Bee Gees' "Tragedy") with new (Len's "Steal My Sunshine" pre-dating the Black Eyed Peas' mainstream success).  A healthy mix of fresh stars were mixed with returning veterans to both singles and album charts - so while The Vengaboys, Eiffel 65, Sugar Ray and a young starlet named Britney Spears dominated Radio 1's airways, the backbone of Blondie's "Maria", George Michael's "As" (with Mary J Blige) and the obvious re-release of Prince's "1999" bore new audiences to different generations. Norman Cook, a 35-year old DJ from Bromley and one-time husband of broadcasting royalty Zoe B...

Where to start with 'The Room' is tough, and that's putting it politely. Tommy Wiseau - the lead actor/writer/director/producer - appears to channel his inner Ed Wood Jr by attempting to be a Jack of all trades putting the film together, yet resulting in an output riddled with extreme confusion. A lovestruck bank worker, Johnny (Wiseau), seems happy enough living with his fiancee Lisa.  With their wedding on the horizon, life seems blissful if odd, as demonstrated by the appearance of their neighbour Denny, who acts as their creepy surrogate son.  Not everything is all sunshine and roses (literally) as Lisa turns out to be cheating on Johnny with him his best friend Mark. What follows can only be described as the journey of plot points between A, B and C, up until the inevitable discovery of Lisa's treachery.  A level of depth is observed on Lisa's interactions with Johnny, her mum, Mark, her best friend Michelle but is inconsistent at best in terms of emotions bein...

Set in mid-90s Ireland, 'How To Cheat..' is an independent heist film bent on "taking on the system", which in this case is the department of education.  The movie sees central character Fionn on the verge of being kicked out of school following a decline in his own academic performance, as well as his friend Cian committing suicide after being caught cheating in his leaving certificate exams.  Assembling an ensemble team, masterminded by a journalist styling himself as a private detective, a plot is set in motion for Fionn to score top marks in the country then reveal how he went about it. This picture boasts a unique look to contemporary features of the time.  Filmed in black and white with an oft-offbeat editing style, writer/director/producer Graham Jones uses a youth movement within an otherwise mature plotline boasting a fresh edge.  Camera work is subtly innovative making even transitional scenes feel important.   Whilst at times sounding more like f...

I watched a documentary on iPlayer the other night which inspired me with today's write-up.  The singer/pianist born Reginald Kenneth Dwight had celebrated half a century in the business at the time of filming and was also promoting an autobiography, via an interview excellently conducted by Graham Norton.   During the film the obvious hits were referred to, however my mind was cast back to other works which either weren't as popular or, in one case, may not even be as well-known that he even played on it.  This list that I refer to today touches on such numbers: He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother - The Hollies (1969) Clearly not an Elton tune but listen to that piano: that's our man on the keys as the session musician.  A top three hit upon initial release, it was released nearly 20 years later following its inclusion in a beer advert.  One cannot feel that emotional pieces of this nature did not influence the songwriter's later output with his own heartw...

Barry Windham was a second-generation prodigy of pro wrestling and, at one time, top caliber singles performer destined for greatness as a champion.  Born in to wrestling royalty, his father Blackjack Mulligan was an icon in the 70s, whilst his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda - the future Irwin R Schyster (IRS) - becoming a multi-time tag champ and later behind-the-scenes producer for WWE, and his nephew is one of the industry's top stars today: "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. Windham would begin a rivarly with the legendary Ric Flair over the then-prestigious NWA/WCW world heavyweight championship in the mid 1980s.  Signs pointed to an eventual title switch however, in spite of a number of acclaimed challenges for the belt, it wasn't to be.  Following a brief alliance with prototypical muscle man Lex Luger, Windham would turn heel (become a bad guy) and join the "Nature Boy"'s Four Horsemen faction as an on-off member until Flair's controversially lef...

Round about mid '97, not long after I left primary school and had the summer to anticipate what high school would bring, there was a music video that captured my attention: it comprised a mix of Irish traditional and pop; vocals were all in harmony; the singers were a trio of Irish sisters in their twenties (accompanied by their brother in the background); and I was in love! The family group of Jim, Sharon, Caroline and Andrea Corr became household names off the back of their second album Talk On Corners, a collection of radio-friendly pop numbers with an Irish folk influence. Their cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'Dreams' would be remixed by DJ Todd Terry - notable for his treatment of Everything But The Girl's 'Missing' - and they were off to the races. Prior to that, their first LP Forgiven Not Forgotten showed both depth and skill musically. With a number of traditional instrumentals with the violin taking the melodies, a sure-fire hit was their first sin...

A lot has been said over the last week about the 25th anniversary about the iconic second album of Manchester indie heroes Oasis.  I was reluctant to jump on the bandwagon in my humble blogging capacity but the truth is, when searching for some writing inspiration combining it with the milestone's timing, it's only natural that I feel to comment. Morning Glory was one of the first two albums I had - the other being the music of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, both of which I was gifted for my 11th birthday, along with a CD player.  Around about this time, Britpop was in its prime: the country had reasons to feel proud and optimistic; something that had arguably been missing for a long time.  Against the backdrop of England setting their sights on Euro '96, New Labour aiming for Number 10 and The Spice Girls taking baby steps (see what I did there?) towards world domination, the brothers Gallagher were leading the charge in the alternative music scene. Emergi...