Innholdsfortegnelse for 5/12/2025 i The Big Issue

Back in 1948 Frank Loesser wrote the pop standard On A Slow Boat To China, since performed by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul McCartney and Miss Piggy. Perhaps Big Issue can persuade one of the artists featured in our Summer of Music special to give us an update (On A Canal Boat To Westminster?) in honour of the boats that floated by the Houses of Parliament last week? The 30-strong fleet representing Fund Britain’s Waterways were making their presence felt in the capital to pressure the government to take action to help safeguard our canals and rivers. The protest began on 29 March, when six boats set off from Strawberry Island Boat Club, Doncaster, on a 278-mile journey to the capital which saw them negotiate 172 locks. They arrived at…

It has never been harder to run a festival in the UK. The run-up to 2024’s season was full of event organisers announcing they were cancelling or postponing their knees-ups, from Nozstock and NASS to Standon Calling and Bluedot. One count put the number of fallen festivals at 78. Ever-rising costs and Brexit are frequently blamed. “I think it is oversaturated with a lot of sort of landfill indie festivals that are doing the same thing that the same festivals are doing down the road,” says Simon Taffe, co-founder of End of the Road festival. “Or it’s like, I’ll just book a big name, and a bunch of bands underneath in the same world. That is evident from a lot of London festivals. There’s no thought that’s gone into it…

It was all the music’s fault. A gallingly beautiful April morning. The day after my dad, out of the blue, had died. He was 68, I was 31. On the drive back from the hospital – where my mum, my brother and I had arrived to find that he wasn’t so much dying as already dead – I’d stared into the car footwell and tried on this new reality for the first time. Gone. Pancreatitis, a disease I’d never heard of. Dad will never meet my partner, see how my life turns out. My dad was a classical and jazz guitarist. The guitar’s sound had been the wallpaper to my childhood: cascading classical arpeggios, noodling over jazz chord sequences he’d recorded onto blank cassettes. That morning, its absence was another…

POVERTY Almost two-thirds of Britons disapprove of Labour’s approach to tackling poverty, Big Issue polling has found By Liam Geraghty Big Issue Deputy Digital Editor Keir Starmer’s Labour government has been in power for 10 months – but its promise of change is not convincing voters when it comes to poverty. You-Gov’s exclusive poll for Big Issue has found that 72% of all Brits disapprove of Labour’s current approach to poverty in the UK. It’s a record that is breeding discontent. Public disapproval of the government’s approach to poverty has risen by 18% just over six months after YouGov last asked the public for their thoughts on the issue. Back in September 2024, only 54% of Brits felt the government wasn’t doing enough for people in poverty. That’s off the…

In the bustling world of festivals, it’s easy to assume that the bigger they are, the better they must be. But behind the colourful chaos of large-scale events, there’s a quieter truth: the world of independent festivals can be a lonely one. The fields may be filled with thousands of revellers, and the air buzzing with sound, but those brave enough to launch their own festivals often face an isolating journey, working tirelessly behind the scenes. The past few years have been challenging for those running independent events. As we moved into 2025, the UK has seen 221 fewer independent festivals compared to 2019. While there are numerous reasons for this decline, it’s not all doom and gloom. In fact, it’s the perfect moment to rethink what festivals can –…

“The painting and the phrase were inspired by a sculpture in Euston station when I was sitting there one afternoon,” says longtime regular Street Art contributor Sheehy. “So many people were moving around and I was thinking how lost everyone seemed, searching for something like love.” Sheehy first discovered his natural ability and enjoyment of painting in 1999, aged 50, as encouraged by Big Issue. He has gone on to be exhibited at prestigious galleries in the UK and abroad including Somerset House, The British Museum and The Royal Academy. His work was recently exhibited at St. John’s in Waterloo and the Swiss Church in Covent Garden, and will be on show at Home Kitchen in Primrose Hill in June. The work on this page is created by people who…

A few years ago, Niall Harbison owned a media business in Manchester. Tired of the rat race, he moved to Thailand in search of sunnier climes. But in 2021, he suffered a near-death experience. “I’d always been a functioning alcoholic, my whole life,” he says. “And I just went a bit mad when I got here because there was nobody to check on me or tell me to stop, so I ended up in hospital. I nearly drank myself to death. I was like, ‘Oh, wow, what a crappy life – you haven’t even done anything meaningful.’ It was a sliding doors moment: I was just like, ‘If I survive now, I’m going to do something with my life.’” During his months-long recovery, Harbison met a street dog, who he…

1 Knockengorroch Festival 22-25 May Galloway From £164.30 The hills are alive with the sounds of Knockengorroch, in southern Scotland. This year promises a line-up of fresh faces, as well as festival favourites and boundary-blurring acts. knockengorroch.org.uk 2 Mighty Hoopla 31 May-01 June Brockwell Park, London £149 Mighty Hoopla is refreshingly boasting an all-female headline setup, with newly solo Brit winner JADE, America’s sweetheart Ciara and pop singer-songwriter Kesha topping the bill across the weekend. Plus, there’s a variety of DJs, drag queens and singers squeezed into the two-day event, and even a performance from Wicked The Musical, just in case you hadn’t had enough singing for one day. mightyhoopla.com 3 Come Together 04-08 June Town Moor, Newcastle £82.50 Billing itself as ‘the north east’s biggest ever music festival’ ahead…

It’s a sunny Saturday in Centenary Square, the heart of Bradford city centre, and a hundred or so people are dancing to a brass band in a raucous parade that’s part carnival, part flash-mob and part protest. They’re a varied bunch. Older people on mobility scooters sway alongside beaming parents with excitable kids on their shoulders. The city has ground to a halt to watch. Children playing in the water fountain stare, and the Wetherspoons beer garden is a sea of smartphones capturing the action as the wacky parade passes. The Peace Artistes, a Bradford-based street band, lead the group in a blaze of red and gold from head to toe. The band leader is sporting a fez, while others opt for sparkly blazers, sunglasses and garish gold chains. Their…

Damiano David Winning Eurovision with Måneskin introduced him to the world, but his solo stuff is more influenced by musicals What was the defining event of your youth? Playing sports since a very young age shaped my idea of discipline and gave me the ability of putting the project before the single individual, which is one of my biggest beliefs still today. The best skill for a musician is not to let their ego overtake the music. What music was the biggest for you growing up? James Arthur. I performed with him on The X Factor here in Italy, which was pretty crazy. I discovered him at a young age and he has always been one of my favourites. A contemporary artist you are a big fan of? I think…

From the opening scene of Anora, where a row of strippers gyrate to Take That’s Greatest Day, you know this film hasn’t been made as Oscar bait. Despite the swearing, nudity and energetic shagging, the film won five Oscars this year, confirming its director Sean Baker as the top chronicler of the underdog who’s bruised by the system and pushed to the margins of society. Four statuettes were carried home by Baker – for Screenwriting, Editing, Direction and Best Picture. His modern Pygmalion tale follows Anora – or Ani – who gets swept up by the wayward heir of a Russian oligarch. It’s bittersweet, breathless, ballsy, unpredictable and funny. Mikey Madison is electric and heartbreaking as Ani, and won the film’s other Oscar. But another winner of this year’s ceremony…

Crossword CRYPTIC CLUES Across 5. Father to go back for a jumper (4)7. Wildly funny but violently emotional (10)8. Cunning way to enter? (4)9. Not very exciting and lacking drive apparently (10)12. A cheap sort of Native American (6)13. Article by little sister turned out to be an essay (6)14. Lying obliquely across, like the French books (6)16. Regretted that fifty are involved in making a decision (6)17. Sailor a cheat? Nonsense (10)20. Small administrative part (4)21. Not far off earth and an explosion (4,2,4)22. Stump or catch (4) Down 1. Broken off fragment of potato? (4) 2. Crippling dues not new (4) 3. Her wit could make one squirm (6) 4. Handwriting the words of the TV programme (6) 5. With a facecloth went ahead and flattered (10) 6.…