Back From Edinburgh

Edinburgh 2005 was an incredible experience for us. It really started back in June when we started learning more songs in a few weeks than we've learnt in the last two years. Then in July we went into intensive rehearsals with a director, a writer and a choreographer. The result was Magnetude: a fantasised version of our history that required us to act and dance, as well as sing in ways we have never imagined before.

Anyone who saw the show (thank you all!) will know how different Magnetude was to our previous 'concert' style performances. Now we hope this show will become the first hour of a Magnets touring extravaganza that will tour major cities around the world. We've already had an offer from a major company that has toured shows such as Tap Dogs and Gumboots, exactly what we were looking for. We meet them next week, so hopefully discussions will move forward speedily.

As always in Edinburgh the wait for a first review is the most nervious time. We were therefore delighted to get full marks from the Scotsman (the major festival paper) within the first week. I've published the review in the post below. What it doesn't say is that Colin completely dried on his opening speech on that night, so thanks must go to the reviewer for being so sympathetic. The words "errrr, ummmm and it's all based on the bible" will be an indelible memory from this year's festival for all of us, and one that he will never live down.

It was a shame we didn't get reviewed in the London based press. Apparently the Guardian came in twice, but never bothered to publish a review. I guess they see us as not 'arty' enough to warrant serious attention from the quality press. But they reviewed our friend Nicholas Parson's who is hardly cutting edge these days, so how about us? Grumble, grumble.

Living in Edinburgh for a month has much to recommend it, particularly when one has all day to watch England winning test matches against Australia. We also had the wonderful Teuchers Pub to go to round the corner from our venue after each show. Colin and I even played for the pub cricket team (thanks to grumpy Rich), with Colin demonstrating some serious skills in a man of the match performance.

The most lovely thing about being in one place for a month is that you get to make friends amongst the other acts and venue staff. Our thanks go out to the party animals in Balagan and the Ashton Brothers, Rebecca Carrington, Boothby Graffoe, Antonio Forcione and his fantastic quintet, Ingrid, all the ushers, box office and promotional staff and backstage crew at the Assembly Rooms, and all the groups that came to see us including fellow a cappella groups Out of the Blue, In The Pink, Fitz Barbershop, the Swingles and Naked Voices.

Our Edinburgh prize for getting with the spirit of the fringe must go to our Producer Matthew Mitchell, who had managed to completely reverse his body clock by the end of the festival, such was his dedication to the cause. In second place was our director Laurie Samson, who came back not once but twice, so little could he bear to be apart from The Magnets. A real three pint hero, who has enriched our lives hugely in the creation of Magnetude.

Our 5 Star Scotsman Review!

The Magnets- Magnetude JAN FAIRLEY
THE SANCTUARY, ASSEMBLY@ST GEORGE'S WEST (VENUE 157)
A BOY band to outwit all other boy bands, The Magnets are dazzling. Following the path of The Flying Pickets and Cuba's Vocal Sampling, this six-man a capella group doesn't just stick to inventive harmony singing.
Defining themselves wittily as a V'n'B (vocals and beats) group, two of them are vocal percussionists layering in backing instruments. Colin provides the very cool bass, while Andy uses lips and throat to create the sound of beatbox, scratching and ultimately a full drumkit with high hat and cymbals.
The joy of this show is the way the singing is inserted into a tongue-in-cheek pastiche documentary with cinematic overtones. In pre-recorded epic voice-overs, actors Jacqueline Pearce and Ian McKellen describe The Magnets' sharp-suited existence from the time of Biblical oracles.
We learn how, as "chosen ones", they abandoned aspiring careers to become Magnets - one gave up being a Tom Cruise look-alike pilot (cue Take My Breath Away); another eschewed double-glazing sales to become a vocal percussionist.
Not that any song given the Magnet treatment is sung straight. More re-creations than covers, each piece is as brilliantly choreographed vocally as it is physically. The storyline allows them to dip freely into eclectic grooves, from classics like Rocking the Boat (from Guys and Dolls) to Michael Jackson's Billy Jean.
Their sense of timing is breathtaking, their musical arrangements subversive. The sound engineer who facilitates the split-second vocal effects deserves an award. Both Toby Davies' script and Laurie Samson's production include an abundance of ironic and witty pop culture references.
A breathtaking, sexy and postmodern show.