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Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I went to Elvis Evolution to see if it's as bad as everyone's been saying'
Since opening at London Excel last Friday, Layered Reality's Elvis Experience show has been torn to shreds by punters, who have complained about the visual effects and the cost of tickets "It makes me feel sick." Not the most glowing of reviews from Ann, a pensioner who opted to leave the Elvis Evolution experience as soon as the mind-bending, sound-warping, completely Elvis-free first half had finished. Since opening at London Excel last Friday, the show has been torn to shreds by punters like Ann, who had been expecting to see a hologram of the King, only to settle for a selfie with a cardboard cutout. One pensioner was so irate at the steep ticket price he was dragged from the venue after shouting 'b****cks' over the live finale. A tough opening week then for Layered Reality, a London-based events company that combines "the latest in performance technology with live actors and feature quality sets" to produce "the future of entertainment", or so its website says at least. When I visited Elvis Evolution on the grey Wednesday afternoon after its opening, I was taken on a "unique immersive" ride into the world of Elvis. It was just more the parts when he was stuck in a Las Vegas penthouse suite, blasting his mind apart with a diet of nightly shows, hamburgers and Quaaludes, than the bit when he was hot and good at performing. It begins in a 50s-style diner-come-holding pen, where guests are invited to arrive early to enjoy a £10 King and Tonic or a Paramount Pretzel. "They've run out of ice cream, so the Pepsi Floats are off," Cambridge man Carl told me. He'd had to schlep over the Thames on the IFS Cloud Cable Car from Greenwich after discovering the official car park was closed. Having had a good moan about the prices as we queued for the first of about ten times that afternoon, we shuffled into the first scene - a recreation of Elvis's dressing room - and then around it for about 20 minutes. A generous timeslot, given the room was about as faithful a creation of the 50s as the (admittedly incredible) OK Diner on the A1. And then the lights dim and the conceit begins. A washed-up Elvis is refusing to leave his dressing room and hit the stage for his iconic 1968 NBC Comeback Special. A distressed show manager tells us not to worry, the King will be out soon, and that security guards are on site both for our and the staff's safety. A little on the nose, given the pensioner dragging that took place just days ago. Shockingly, the stage manager is wrong. Elvis doesn't actually appear for the entire duration of the show, aside from in short projected clips of old performances, briefly recreated as an uncanny AI figurine and, at one weird point, as a comic book superhero. After tempting punters with a hologram Presley just like ABBA Voyage down the road, Layered Reality made the 'creative decision not to mimic Elvis's performances' with the tech. Or hire one of the tens of thousands of impersonators who would've probably done a great job. Elvis has not just left the building, he was never in it. Instead, we get a supporting cast of four actors who whisk us out of the NBC studio to Elvis' childhood and then on a whirlwind tour back to the moment the King reclaimed his crown. "I couldn't hear a bloody thing," one man told me before following after Ann at halftime and making for the DLR. The sound is admittedly warped and poorly mixed, with the head mics dropping in and out, making the story very hard to follow. "What the hell is going on!?" Catherine, Carl's wife, asked me as she slurps on a Blue Suede cocktail. As someone who has served as an elf in the early years of Lapland UK, I know how difficult it is to keep grinning while guiding ripped-off feeling families to the right Father Christmas' cabin. Or in this case, performing for a visibly bored crowd of pensioners, some of whom have spent up to £300 on VIP passes that get you three "free" drinks and a seat in the finale performance. The actors gave it their all and were the best thing about the show. But they were fighting a losing battle. The script is bad, the effects are weird, and the sound is not quite ear-splitting enough to mask their Mississippi via London accents. We are likely to get more and more of this kind of thing as the film industry continues its contraction and immersive events take over. According to Gensler Research Institute's 2025 Immersive Entertainment & Culture Industry Report, the global market for immersive entertainment was valued at £98bn - and it's projected to reach £351bn by 2030. Elvis Evolution has been likened to the catastrophic Wonka and Bridgerton experiences, but that's a little unfair. Layered Reality has certainly thrown some cash, time and expertise at the event, it's just not enough. The show comes to a climax in a small auditorium where groups of elderly people (who clearly have trouble keeping on their feet but only paid £75 for the cheapest tickets) are ushered into the standing pen, while the VIPs enjoy cinema seats at the back. As has been widely reported elsewhere, Elvis does not appear here as expected. He is beamed onto a flat screen behind a live band, who are pretending to play. It's a limp way to finish things off, yet it gets people dancing, clapping and smiling for the first time. It always seemed to me that Elvis was great in spite of his corny origin story, the cringeworthy PR ops he was pressured into and his vast back catalog of sickly sweet love songs. He was great because of his incredible musical talent, which stayed with him until the very end, when he was still able to summon choirs of angels from his broken, slug-like body. Layered Reality probably should've realised this, cut out most of the bells and whistles, and actually hired an Elvis to sing a few of his tunes. A spokesperson for the company said: 'Elvis Evolution has been praised by Elvis fans and newcomers alike — but it's not a traditional concert or hologram show. From the outset of development, we made a deliberate decision to explore the most powerful and authentic ways to tell Elvis' story. "This major scale production brings together a cast of 28 performers and over 300 skilled professionals across design, production, and visual effects. "Elvis Evolution is a multisensory experience, where technology plays a powerful supporting role — but the show doesn't attempt to recreate Elvis' performances. Instead, it joyfully celebrates the ones he gave us. We're incredibly proud of what's been created, and of how it's reconnecting people with Elvis in new and meaningful ways.'
Scottish Sun
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Bay City Rollers star reveals ‘harrowing' sex abuse by band's ‘bully, predator' manager who ‘plied stars with drugs'
Stuart has opened up about the abuse for the first time 50 YEARS OF PAIN Bay City Rollers star reveals 'harrowing' sex abuse by band's 'bully, predator' manager who 'plied stars with drugs' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) STUART 'Woody' Wood told how he hid the trauma of his abuse by paedo manager Tam Paton for 50 years, saying: 'I chose not to let it shape my life.' The Bay City Rollers icon, 68, said he was determined not to let the sicko 'win' as he opened up for the first time about how he too was a victim of the beast. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Stuart 'Woody' Wood opened up about the abuse for the first time Credit: Andrew Barr 4 He was one of the members of The Bay City Rollers who had No1 hits, including Saturday Night Credit: Getty 4 His autobiography Mania is being released on Thursday 4 Tam Paton managed the band during the height of their 70s fame Credit: John Kirkby Burly Paton bossed the band during the height of their 70s fame, when they had No1 hits including Saturday Night, Bye Bye Baby and Shang-A-Lang. He was later fired by the group before being jailed for three years in 1982 for gross indecency with teenage boys. In his autobiography Mania, released on Thursday, former pop-pin up Stuart brands the late fiend a 'true monster' and explains why he kept his own suffering a secret for five decades. Stuart wrote: 'I met Tam when I was 16 years old. He was intimidating and a bully, and all the disgusting things said about him are accurate. 'He was a predator. He abused me as he did others. 'It was a horrific and harrowing time. The drugs he plied us with were part of that control. I met Tam when I was 16 years old. He was intimidating and a bully, and all the disgusting things said about him are accurate 'My take is that to have a healthy mind, you have to let some things go, as much as it might pain you to do so. 'So, when Tam's squalid little life came to an end in 2009, I stopped thinking about him. 'He was a terrible human being, but the way I see it, he doesn't get to define me. 'Tam f******g Paton doesn't get to win.' Original lead singer of The Bay City Rollers returns 50 years after fall out In 2003, Paton was accused of attempting to rape Rollers guitarist Pat McGlynn in a hotel room in 1977. Police investigated but concluded there was insufficient evidence to take it to court. Depraved Paton claimed he was being targeted because he was gay. After the flabby perv's death from a heart attack in 2019 singer Les McKeown claimed the former manager had also raped him while on tour in America after drugging him. Les — who died at 65 in 2021 — said: 'I was given Quaaludes, a drug for lowering your inhibitions and making you horny. 'Afterwards I felt really used and abused. I never told anybody about it, not even the other guys in the band, because I was ashamed.' He was a terrible human being, but the way I see it, he doesn't get to define me. Tam f******g Paton doesn't get to win Original Rollers singer Nobby Clarke has also claimed the boys were encouraged by Paton to sleep with radio DJ Chris Denning, who jailed for child sex abuse in 2016. Meanwhile, founder Alan Longmuir revealed in 2018 how Paton had 'friends in low places' and warned 'his depravity ran deeper than we know.' However, Stuart maintains he did not talk about Paton's abuse with either Les or Alan, even when they reformed the Rollers together 10 years ago. Speaking from his home in Edinburgh, the songwriter, guitarist and producer said: 'We never discussed it - any of us - it just happened. 'We were all survivors, but with Les it felt like it hit him harder. 'It's not like I locked all those experiences away, stuffed down the bad memories, pretending they didn't happen. BAND'S TROUBLED PAST 1974: Stuart 'Woody' Wood joins group to form classic line-up with Alan and Derek Longmuir, Eric Faulkner and Les McKeown. 1975: Bye, Bye, Baby reaches No1. 1978: Les quits soon after being booted off stage by Woody during a gig in Tokyo. 1979: Manager Tam Paton is fired before Rollers split. 1982: Paton is jailed for three years for sexually abusing ten boys over three years. 2003: Cops decide there is not enough evidence to prosecute Paton over accusations he tried to rape former Rollers guitarist Pat McGlynn. 2004: The sicko is fined £200,000 for drug dealing after cannabis stash find at home. 2007: Ex-band members sue Arista Records over claims they are owed millions of pounds in unpaid royalties. 2009: Paton dies after a heart attack on the same night £1.5million in drugs and cash are stolen from his Edinburgh pad. 2016: Les McKeown says he was raped by Paton. 2016: Woody sensationally quits the group after a bust-up at T in the Park. 2018: Alan Longmuir passes away aged 70. 2021: Les dies of heart attack at 65. 2023: TV documentary details how Paton controlled and abused band. 2025: Woody releases tell-all autobiography Mania. 'I just choose to not let them shape my life.' Stuart is now the last member of the 'classic' Rollers line-up still performing, with a new single Rollers Forever released next month. A musical of the same name opens at Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre in August. However, the star describes his relationship with Paton as 'complicated' as he even invited his abuser to his wedding to artist Denise in 1997. He added: 'There's an old expression, 'Keep your enemies close'. "I think that was the case with Tam. There was another side of Tam that was funny. 'He could be a lovable rogue.'
Boston Globe
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Elio:' Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind
Advertisement Considering that both satellites were launched in 1977, the aliens will be woefully behind the times if they find it. I can imagine those creatures showing up here looking for bell bottoms, Quaaludes, and disco. 'What is this zorznit ?!' they'll ask as they look around. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up When Lord Grigon (voice of Brad Garrett), a fierce alien warlord who rules the planet Hylurg, vows to enact his wrath on the Ambassadors of the Communiverse who humiliated him—it's up to Elio (voice of Yonas Kibreab) to stop him. Pixar Like 7-year old me, Elio is obsessed with Voyager and intrigued by the possibility of life elsewhere. But most importantly, Elio wants to be abducted by those aliens, and that's where our similarities end. It's clear that he didn't read Whitley Streiber's 'Communion,' nor has he seen any of the horror movies that depict how bad an idea it is to be kidnapped by aliens. Elio tells Olga that, of the hundreds of thousands of planets out there, one of them would be happy to take him. He is friendless, and awkward around people, so he thinks he'll fare better with extraterrestrials. Elio is also intrigued about getting probed, but to Advertisement Elio is a space fanatic with an active imagination who finds himself on a cosmic misadventure. Pixar On the beach, Elio makes crop circles in the sand, dons a metal colander on his head, turns on his ham radio, and lays in a drawn target surrounded by the words 'ABDUCT ME!' His futile attempts are accompanied by a rather clever needle drop, 'Once in a Lifetime' by Talking Heads. Meanwhile, at the military base where Olga and her team monitor space debris, the satellites pick up what appears to be a response to Voyager's golden record. We see Voyager captured by a spaceship in the opening scene, so we know this is a legitimate call from space. Olga disregards it—she's too busy chastising Elio—but Elio overhears it and responds. The next thing we know, Elio's being beamed into a gigantic spaceship, courtesy of a conglomerate of ambassadors from all points in the universe. It's called the Communiverse. Their leader, Ambassador Questa (Jameela Jamil from ' The ambassador invites Elio to earn admittance for Earth into the federation, but he'll have to wait. stand in line. The meeting is interrupted by another wannabe candidate, a warlord named Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett). He demands entry for his planet, but is denied because he's a loose cannon who lives for destruction. Grigon threatens war if he's not placated. Watching this, I couldn't help but notice how much it resembled the recent G-7 Summit. Advertisement Elio joins forces with Glordon, the son of a warlord. Pixar Somewhere in this plot, the filmmakers realized they were making a movie that needed to cater to kids. So, we're given Glordan (Remy Edgerly), a slug-like creature who's probably Elio's age in alien years. Glordan is Grigon's only son; his bond with Elio will help them navigate a universal crisis and make Elio the hero he's always wanted to be. Edgerly and Kibreab create a convincing friendship that's sweet and funny. 'Elio' is a collaboration between filmmakers who worked on ' But 'Elio' may be the first Pixar/Disney product that doesn't really have anything for kids in it. Outside of the beauty of seeing a little brown kid earning self-worth and saving the universe (representation matters), I couldn't find a single story element that would cater to children. What kid nowadays would know what a ham radio is, or Voyager? What youngster would be interested in a political crisis? In Disney and Pixar's 'Elio,' 11-year-old Elio and his Aunt Olga struggle to connect sometimes—his passion for all things space can make him hard to reach. Olga, a brilliant major in the Air Force, is delighted when her nephew suddenly perks up—she can't quite figure out what's behind the change. Featuring the voices of Yonas Kibreab and Zoe Saldaña as Elio and Aunt Olga, respectively, Disney and Pixar's 'Elio' releases in theaters June 20, 2025. (Pixar) Pixar Plus, Disney is back on its parent-killing jones again. Elio's parents died in some mysterious circumstance, which is why he's in his aunt's care. Elio overhears one kid describing him as 'the kid whose parents died.' I've seen enough Disney products to expect this trope, but for some reason, I found it preternaturally cruel this time around. Advertisement While I enjoyed 'Elio,' and I appreciated the animation and Rob Simonsen's lovely orchestral score, I felt that this film was more tailor-made for adult sci-fi fans rather than their young kids. To be clear, I'm not saying you should leave your kids at home—there's nothing objectionable here. I'm just saying they might be as bored as you usually are at some of these movies. ★★★ ELIO Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina. Written by Julia Cho, Mike Jones, Mark Hammer. Starring Zoe Saldaña, Yonas Kibreab, Remy Edgerly, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil. At AMC Boston Common, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, AMC Causeway, suburbs. 99 min. PG (cartoon violence) Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.
