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Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Oasis on special edition Big Issue covers ahead of reunion
The special edition covers, each featuring either Liam or Noel Gallagher, will be on sale from Monday, June 30. The magazines will include a complete retrospective on the history of Oasis, with interviews and contributions from those who have photographed, promoted and created sleeve art for the band over the years. Plus, there is a collection of Liam and Noel's best Big Issue interviews. A View, From a Bridge is the social media sensation where strangers reveal all on an old, red phone — Big Issue (@BigIssue) June 29, 2025 Oasis to feature on two special editions of The Big Issue The Big Issue has spoken to photographer Kevin Cummins, who captured the big moments, including both cover images, as the band blazed a trail through the 1990s. Commenting on an early session, Cummins said: 'That's a particular favourite really. If I was their mum, I'd love that session. I'd say: 'Oh, that's a really lovely picture of you two.' 'Plus they look like they like each other. Which of course, they do, but you know… you spend too long with your brother… I can understand all that really easily.' A limited run of 10 collector's copies, signed by Kevin Cummins, will be available from the Big Issue Shop, with proceeds supporting Big Issue's work to end poverty in the UK. The long-awaited Oasis Live '25 tour kicks off in Cardiff on July 4 before a run of shows in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin. Recommended Reading Paul McNamee, UK Editor of the Big Issue, said: 'These covers are a celebration of a band that defined a generation. Over the years Big Issue has been with them, as a band and solo. Our interviews provide incredible insights to the Oasis story. 'The Gallagher rivalry is part of the story, but the music is key. That said, we're keen to see which side Big Issue readers pick. 'Don't miss out – choose your side. Or go for both! The Big Issue will always be here showing to spotlight cultural forces.'

The National
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Why you won't hear about child poverty improving in Scotland
A study carried out by The Big Issue magazine reports that the incidence of child poverty in Scotland has dropped by 12% since the Scottish Government introduced reduction targets into law in 2017. This is equivalent to 21,000 children who are no longer living in poverty. However, over the same time period, the incidence of child poverty in England and in Labour-run Wales increased by 15%. The magazine writes that England and Wales must follow the lead of Scotland and set legal targets to reduce child poverty. READ MORE: Nato chief calls Donald Trump 'Daddy' during press conference An analysis of UK child poverty statistics which was conducted alongside the publication of a new Big Issue report, highlights the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, which introduced statutory targets for reducing child poverty, as marking a divergence in the trajectories of the issue of child poverty in the various nations of the UK. Since the passing of the Act in Scotland, there has been a 27% divergence in the incidence of child poverty between Scotland on the one hand and England and Wales on the other. The Scottish government's landmark act, which received royal assent and passed into law in December 2017, was the cause of the start of a significant divergence in child poverty levels between the home nations. Before 2018, Scotland had seen similar rises in relative child poverty to England and Wales. Child poverty in Scotland rose by 19% between 2015 and 2018, only marginally slower than England and Wales at 23%. The Big Issue is calling on the UK Government to introduce similar statutory targets for reducing child poverty in England and Wales, citing Scotland as an example of how significant progress can be made. (Image: PA) The rise of poverty in the UK over recent decades is a shameful story of government failure and the capitulation of the British government to the interests of the wealthy. Currently in the UK, 3.8 million people are living in destitution, the most extreme form of poverty. This is defined as when people struggle to keep themselves warm, clean, fed, and clothed. Shockingly, this number is rising markedly; destitution has more than doubled in the UK over the last 7 years. Meanwhile, income inequality has grown more rapidly in the UK than in other developed economies. The UK is now the ninth most unequal economy out of the 38 OECD countries. Wealth inequality in the UK is far worse than income inequality, figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the top fifth of the population take 36% of the UK's income and hold 63% of its wealth, while the bottom fifth of the population have only 8% of the income and a mere 0.5% of the wealth. It is categorically not that there is no money to tackle poverty, it's that the rich are jealously hoarding it like a dragon curled up on a pile of gold and jewels, and governments are full of politicians who are in effect clients of the dragons, bought and paid for with political donations. (Image: PA) Scotland's government lacks the full powers of an independent state, but even with the limited economic levers at its disposal, the Scottish Government has achieved a remarkable success in reducing the incidence of child poverty in Scotland. As part of the UK, Scotland is subject to the economic constraints imposed upon it by the government in Westminster, but has still managed to reduce child poverty in Scotland. What this proves is that the rise in child poverty in the rest of the UK is a political choice, a damning political choice which tells us that Westminster is morally bankrupt. A report on the findings of the latest British Social Attitudes survey has laid bare the disconnection between the Labour government, the main British political parties and what people actually want. This disconnection is starkest when it comes to the issue of Brexit. A large majority of people in the UK, 63%, would support rejoining the EU if the issue was put to them in a referendum. This figure is even higher in Scotland where some polls have put the figure at 70%. Most of those who voted Labour in last year's Westminster general election supported rejoining the EU. Yet despite this Labour doggedly doubles down on Theresa May's red lines and refuses to countenance even rejoining the European single market and customs union. Meanwhile, new polling from YouGov finds that voters who have deserted Labour since last year's general election are much more likely to vote Green or Lib Dems, than Reform. Green and Lib Dem defectors are also much more likely to consider switching back to Labour than Reform voters who overwhelmingly say they're committed to Farage's party. But Starmer continues in his quixotic and damaging pursuit of Reform UK, adopting policies which ramp up the performative cruelty against migrants and asylum seekers and throwing the LGBT community under the bus. Today, Labour government figures are still insisting that they intend to follow through on their deeply damaging cuts to benefits payments to the disabled, some of the most vulnerable in society, in the face of a growing rebellion amongst its own backbenchers. Yesterday 108 Labour MPs had signed an amendment to the government's bill, which would effectively kill it. In response, the government reportedly called Labour MPs to tell them that the vote would effectively be a vote of confidence in Keir Starmer, whereupon the number of Labour MPs who signed the amendment rose to 120. It is believed senior cabinet ministers, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, called MPs who had signed the amendment to try to convince them to vote with the government, with very little success. Never mind being a government that is disconnected from its voters, Starmer's government is disconnected from its own MPs. Pressure is also growing on Anas Sarwar, who had expressed his support for the cuts, after a tenth Labour MP representing a Scottish constituency signed the amendment opposing the cuts. Glasgow North East MP Maureen Burke added her name to the amendment yesterday, joining fellow Labour MPs Patricia Ferguson, Brian Leishman, Tracy Gilbert, Scott Arthur, Richard Baker, Lilian Jones, Elaine Stewart, Kirsteen Sullivan, and Euan Stainbank.


Perth Now
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Kim Wilde locked out of hotel room naked
Kim Wilde got locked out of her hotel room naked following a boozy "knees-up". The veteran pop star, 64, has been sober for a decade but she used to enjoy alcohol-soaked nights out following her shows at the height of her career in the 1980s and she's revealed one night ended in humiliation after she found herself trapped in a hotel corridor without any clothes on and she had to walk down to reception in the nude to ask for help. She told The Times newspaper: "I haven't drunk alcohol for a decade, so post-show hedonism levels won't be at Eighties or Nineties levels. I once ended up naked in a hotel corridor after a big knees-up: I snuck out of my room in the night and the door shut behind me. "I had to slink down to the lobby to ask for a spare key, which was mortifying." The confession comes after Kim revealed late Motorhead frontman Lemmy once tried to get her drunk on vodka in his dressing room. Kim met the late heavy metal legend - who died from prostate cancer along with cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure at the age of 70 in 2015 - at the start of her career and notorious boozer kept topping up her cup in a bid to get her tipsy before Kim's chaperone dragged her away. Kim - who launched her pop career in 1981 at the age of 20 following the release of 'Kids in America' - explained to The Big Issue magazine: "I was very lucky. "Both of the record companies that I worked for at the time got me travelling. "When I was travelling, that's when I needed looking after. And they were always there. So, I was, sort of, chaperoned, I would say, very wisely and with a lot of fun. "There was one time where I was in a dressing room with Lemmy from Motörhead, oh God. And he was trying to get me drunk on vodka. He poured it into a plastic cup so you couldn't see how much was in there. "My chaperone, or the lady that works at the record company, Moira, she dragged me out. She wouldn't let me. But he was an absolute sweetheart really." Kim insists the support of the team that was around her throughout her career put her in a "really good" place in terms of finances. The ''Never Trust a Stranger' hitmaker explained: "I'd tell my younger self you need to surround yourself as much as possible with people who you can trust. "I would say, always trust your instincts about people who you're working with, and ask lots of questions. "I was very fortunate in that I've always worked with people who I trust implicitly, and that has made a huge difference to the quality of my life, not just personally, but, you know, financially. It's given me a lot of security. "I would say that on the whole, I've had a really positive experience, and it's put me in a really good place."


Perth Now
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Motorhead's Lemmy tried to get Kim Wilde drunk on vodka
Motorhead frontman Lemmy once tried to get Kim Wilde drunk on vodka in his dressing room. Kim, 64, met the late heavy metal legend - who died from prostate cancer along with cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure at the age of 70 in 2015 - at the start of her career and notorious boozer kept topping up her cup in a bid to get her tipsy. However, Kim's chaperone dragged her away, although the pop icon considers Lemmy to have been an "absolute sweetheart". Kim - who launched her pop career in 1981 at the age of 20 following the release of 'Kids in America' - explained to The Big Issue magazine: "I was very lucky. Both of the record companies that I worked for at the time got me travelling. "When I was travelling, that's when I needed looking after. And they were always there. So, I was, sort of, chaperoned, I would say, very wisely and with a lot of fun. "There was one time where I was in a dressing room with Lemmy from Motörhead, oh God. And he was trying to get me drunk on vodka. He poured it into a plastic cup so you couldn't see how much was in there. "My chaperone, or the lady that works at the record company, Moira, she dragged me out. "She wouldn't let me. But he was an absolute sweetheart really." Kim insists the support of the team that was around her throughout her career has put her in a "really good" place in terms of finances. The ''Never Trust a Stranger' hitmaker explained: "I'd tell my younger self you need to surround yourself as much as possible with people who you can trust. "I would say, always trust your instincts about people who you're working with, and ask lots of questions. "I was very fortunate in that I've always worked with people who I trust implicitly, and that has made a huge difference to the quality of my life, not just personally, but, you know, financially. It's given me a lot of security. "I would say that on the whole, I've had a really positive experience, and it's put me in a really good place." However, Kim - whose dad is the 50s and 60s pop legend Marty Wilde, 86 - had to deal with the "roller coaster effect" of her career, with the ups and downs causing her mental health to take a "battering" and her confidence to be "absolutely crushed". The 1983 BRIT Award-winner for British Female Solo Artist admitted: "It's been a roller coaster of a career. When things are going really well, it's really great fun, and everyone's vibing and, yeah, you get to share that. "And then, of course, as soon as that dips down, you can have some really tough times. "I really had to get used to the roller coaster effect of my career. "My mental health took a bit of a battering. Sometimes my confidence got absolutely crushed on many occasions. I really had to dig deep to rise above that and get on with life and figure out what was important for me." And Kim believes the "negative aspects" of her music career were a "great gift". She continued: "So all the chat about the negative aspects of my career now I realise was a great gift that I learned valuable lessons from."


Edinburgh Live
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Strictly star talks 'real challenge' after Claudia Winkleman 'forced' daunting big move
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis says her new role in Doctor Who is all down to Claudia Winkleman. Joining Ncuti Gatwa (the doctor) and Varada Sethu (who plays Belinda Chandra), the 30-year-old plays the base's cook Aliss Fenly. Addressing how she got the role, Rose said Claudia, 53, persuaded her to talk to Russell T Davies, the show's screenwriter, at an awards ceremony. She explained: "Doctor Who was on my bucket list. I really wanted to be on it. "I saw Russell T Davies at an awards ceremony and Claudia Winkleman forced me to speak to him. So it's thanks to Claudia that I got the job!". Rose went on to say the character had to be rewritten to make her character deaf, though added to The Big Issue: "I don't want every character to be defined by their deafness." The actress, who has also starred in EastEnders, said joining the show had been "a real acting challenge". Explaining why, she added: "I had to work my imagination because a lot was CGI, but I'm comfortable with being uncomfortable now." Rose showed fans that it's not just acting she's good at when she joined the cast of Strictly in 2021. With her professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice, she triumphed to the top and won the Glitterball trophy. At the time, she said of her journey: 'There are a lot of ups and downs and some dances are harder than others. "But Giovanni is such a good teacher, and he's really adapted to the way I learn, rather than making me learn it in his way.' Gushing over their friendship, she went on to describe the 34-year-old as "incredible". "He really supports every single step – and I mean every single step, even when I'm doing stuff on my own he, off-camera, is giving me timing," she added to The Guardian. The professional dancer has since left the show following a fall out with his 2023 dance partner Amanda Abbington, which led to an internal investigation into allegations about him. The BBC "upheld some, but not all" complaints about his alleged behaviour. He has always denied any wrongdoing and has since joined the Italian version of the show. As for Rose, she is thriving in her acting career, also starring in ITV's new drama Code of Silence. In the series, she takes on the role of Alison Woods, a deaf caterer, who works to support her mother, as well as herself. With extraordinary lip-reading skills, she is asked to join the police to help uncover conversations involving dangerous criminals. However as she starts to fall for one of the suspect, she risks everything. Code of Silence is available to watch on ITV and ITVX. Doctor Who is also available on BBC iPlayer.