Absurdly beautiful people... and real music

I just couldn’t let this week pass without a word in memory of Paul O’grady. I remember seeing him live when I was a student in London in the early 90s, as his alter ego Lily Savage. In those days audiences could be very harsh, and there was no such thing as political correctness. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone win over a crowd as quickly as he did, through sheer force of wit, intelligence and charisma. A brilliant performer, and by all accounts an even better human. RIP.

DAISY JONES & THE SIX

AMAZON PRIME VIDEO hhhh Increasingly there is a genre of shows that one might describe as ‘influencer TV’ – the kind of thing that spawns endless memes and viral clips on social media. Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega, was the most recent one, inspiring endless imitations of Wednesday Addams’s dance scene in episode four of the Netflix series (including from Kim Kardashian and Madonna). This is another one of those shows, and I confess I only started watching because my daughter insisted. Set in Los Angeles in the 1970s, it tells the story of a rock band’s rise and subsequent demise as they fall apart through drug and alcoholinduced dramas and infidelities.

Told in a faux documentary style, with flashbacks and interviews, it’s not especially original but it is incredibly watchable, not least because everyone in it is absurdly goodlooking and has ridiculously nice hair. It’s also got Suki Waterhouse in it, who my daughter informs me is almost as cool as Florence Pugh.

Young viewers will enjoy it for those reasons; we oldies might like it because it actually contains great music, of the old-fashioned kind with real instruments, real notes and people who can sing. Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, as Daisy and Sam Claflin as Billy, her co-lead singer/ love/nemesis (both left) have great chemistry, and the whole thing looks back on those rather simpler times with bittersweet longing. Stylish escapism.