The one-off concert was held on July 10 last year, and was the final show of Cypress Hill’s We Legalised It tour, and was their only UK show in 2024. Their tour took them to 24 cities, and concluded at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, where they played their seminal album, ‘Black Sunday’ in full, as well as tracks such as ‘Cuban Necktie’, and the previously released single, ‘Illusions’.

The rap-classical fusion was led by conductor, musician, and producer Troy Miller. Miller has a diverse background that spans genres, starting out his career touring with the late Roy Ayers before becoming part of Amy Winehouse’s band. More recently, he has worked with Rag’n’Bone Man, and with Diana Ross on her Grammy-nominated album ‘THANK YOU’. Reflecting on the undertaking, Miller said “We made something truly unique and mesmerising. What a sublime collaboration.”

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A concert film of the show was screened in US cinemas between 30 March and 2 April, which earned positive reviews, with one Rotten Tomatoes fan reviewer saying “What an absolute treat! Two genres of music together in an historic hall.” Music videos for both singles feature footage from the performances too, and fan footage can be found on YouTube.

 

 

 

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Speaking during press for the concert film, one half of Cypress Hill’s rap duo, B-Real, gave his own reflections on the project. “It’s a trip to see that hip hop can be done in this form—and at a venue as prestigious as the Royal Albert Hall,” said the 54-year-old. “It was truly an honour and a privilege, and now that experience can be shared.”

Despite ‘Black Sunday’ spending two weeks atop the US charts and going platinum in the UK, Cypress Hill never broke into the UK Top 10 singles chart (though they did have 13 Top 40 hits). Despite this lack of chart-topping in the UK, the Royal Albert Hall show proves they have a keen underground following, willing to watch them take on this genre-blending challenge.

The concert/collaboration has its roots in a throwaway gag from a 1996 episode of the Simpsons, Homerpalooza. In the episode, the band are booked to play with the LSO, and after a back-and-forth social media exchange in 2019, the two parties agreed to make it a reality. “We salute The Simpsons,” said B-Real. “If they had not written that episode, we probably wouldn’t be doing this.”

The LSO has a history of collaboration on projects outside of classical music, such as their work with Frank Zappa in 1983, or 2021’s ‘Promises’, which saw them work with Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders, and was consistently ranked among the best albums of 2021. Still, their work with Cypress Hill may just be their most bizarre project, and the fruits of that partnership will be available for all to hear when the album is released on 6 June.

Although the nightclub is not there in its physical form, it lives on, through the people and it’s music.

Northern Soul emerged in the economically disadvantaged regions of Northern England during the late 1960s. From Manchester and Sheffield, including Newcastle, Blackpool, and various parts of Southern Scotland, such as Glasgow and Edinburgh. Previously renowned for its significant contributions to the Industrial Revolution during the 19th century, these areas had transformed into a hub of widespread joblessness, menial labor in factories and mines; however, Northern soul music dramatically changed the culture in these areas, bringing a music that was outspoken about racism, ecology, war, and drug abuse, among other topics. Motown mixed with R&B, and dance vibes was introduced in nightclubs by DJ’s, it saw songs from Marvin Gaye “This love starved Heart“, Frankie Valli “You’re Ready Now” and the renowned song “Out on the Floor” by Dobie Gray. The music genre become popular among the younger generation and gave a voice to the working class.

The weekend kicked off with Craig’s special edition of his regular Saturday night Funk and Soul show, dedicated to Northern Soul, his introduction to the all-nighter began at 6pm and concluded at 9pm. The show showcased a ten-piece soul house band known as The Signatures, alongside esteemed guests such as Richard Searling, a renowned figure from the iconic Wigan Casino, and the talented all-female R&B group, The Flirtations.

Additionally, Craig was set to embark on a quest to locate the most elusive Northern Soul record, which was recently sold for an astounding £100k. Then from 9pm, Stuart Maconie joined the festivities and collaborated with Craig to present a broadcast of the Northern Soul Prom.

This extraordinary event was conceived by Stuart and featured a captivating performance by the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Richard Searling recalls, “As soon as those doors opened, there’d be a flood of people. Once inside, they went upstairs, paid the entry fee, passed through a set of double doors and entered the dance hall. There, the wall of sound would hit you. The club’s cocktail of aromas would also hit you. “That smell of condensation, of Brut, of sweat… It was absolutely amazing.”

The all-nighter playlists continued with Golden Torch, Wigan Casino, Twisted Wheel and The 100 Club. The Northern Soul’s morning after mix, saw a Northern Soul Special from 4am unitl 7am and Lights On With Stuart Maconie 7am until 8am.

The amazing weekend was recorded by BBC Radio 6 and is available on BBC iplayer, click here.

The new version was released to mark the 10 year anniversary of their single “Pompeii,” taken from their debut album, Bad Blood. The track reached Number 2 in the UK Charts back in 2013 and is currently included in the Top 50 most streamed songs of all time in the UK.

The orchestral rendition of the track is titled “Pompeii MMXXIII.” Listen below.

Speaking on the collaboration with Hans Zimmer, Bastille frontman Dan Smith said, “Having the opportunity to work with the living legend that is Hans Zimmer, and his brilliant team, has been an absolute dream. Working with them on this new version of ‘Pompeii’ has been incredible and has put the biggest smiles on our faces throughout the whole wonderfully surreal experience.”

Smith had already been working with Hans Zimmer on other projects, with this being how this alternative version of “Pompeii” came to be created.

Hans Zimmer shared his thoughts on the track, saying, “It’s been proven time and time again that a beautiful, crafted song by a great band can have many lives and ‘Pompeii’ is a shining example of this.”

Zimmer continued, “Working hand in hand with Bastille and my team at Bleeding Fingers has been an exhilarating experience and an honour to be part of this remarkable journey. I’m so excited to share this rendition with you all!”

BASTILLE and HANS ZIMMER – POMPEII MMXXIII – OUT NOWhttps://t.co/roMzTG4JGR@HansZimmer pic.twitter.com/dtrmTVBgj5

— BASTILLE (@bastille) September 1, 2023

Bastille are currently touring the US to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Bad Blood. Their UK tour dates ended in July, with a commemorative double album version of Bad Blood also being released in July too.

The special edition reissue includes previously unheard demos, covers and live performances. The reissue is titled Bad Blood X (10th Anniversary Edition) and is available for purchase here.

In a press statement, frontman Dan Smith said, “When I started working on the songs that became ‘Bad Blood’ 10 years ago at a laptop in my bedroom, I never imagined that they’d be heard by so many people and then take us all over the world – it’s really mad to think about.”

He continued, “Ten years on, we wanted to put something special together to celebrate the album, whilst not messing with it too much. We had so much fun digging back through old artwork, photos and videos from that time to make a totally new package of artworks. My Dad even found an old CD-R of some of demos in the attic (that somehow people managed to pry out of my hands for a new 7” vinyl as part of this release – trust me… I didn’t think those versions would ever get heard).”

Speaking on the reissue, Smith concluded, “Putting all this together was such a nice way to step back into that world for a moment, and we really hope our fans feel the same way.”

Stream Bad Blood X (10th Anniversary Edition) here.