My Bloody Valentine's tortured rise, fall and rise again is the stuff of rock legend, says John Robb.
It's 1991, New York, and My Bloody Valentine are screeching their way into rock'n'roll legend. A band at the height of their powers with a new album, Loveless, that tops every critic's list, they're bludgeoning the assembled mass of music-industry types with an ear-splitting, 25-minute onslaught of pure white noise. The guitar howl is hitting a painful threshold. People have their fingers in their ears and lesser mortals leave the room. Your author is one of the few who are blown away by the sheer audacity of the motionless band making such a huge sound.
It's a brilliant pop art moment. When the song, You Made Me Realise, finally kicks back to its indestructible garage band riff, it's one of the greatest releases in a rock'n'roll song ever. This was My Bloody Valentine doing what they did best: beating fans into submission with a revelatory blend of come-to-bed melodies and chainsaw guitars. But shortly after, with the music world at their feet, they disappeared into the studio and never re-emerged. Until now. After 17 years in the wilderness My Bloody Valentine have returned - much to the excitement of the music press and their adoring fans alike. Cue cyberspace frenzy, sold-out gigs and top billing on the summer's major festivals.
But what makes MBV so special? And why is it that their name is still invoked with hushed reverence by scores of today's indie stars? Certainly, their strangely sensual songs drenched in feedback-ridden soundscapes have provided the template for a host of groups: their use of distortion, vibrato, and digital reverb reinvented the notion of what a guitar can do. But there's more. Some groups arrive fully formed, while some have to struggle to find their sound. MBV were definitely the latter, and knowing the path that lead them to greatness is essential to understanding their sound and their enduring appeal.
The first incarnation of the band formed in 1983, but five years later - and three before their legendary New York showcase - MBV were still just another bit-part underground band. Coming out of Dublin they had trekked round Amsterdam and Berlin, working their way through the bohemian squat scene and absorbing its dark aesthetic and wheezing sound. When the initial line-up collapsed, the guitarist Kevin Shields, the drummer Colm O'Ciosiog and the bassist Debbie Googe were at a loose end. Finding it hard to recruit new members, they drafted Shields's then girlfriend Bilinda Butcher into the line-up and, at a stroke, stumbled into their classic sound.
Gone was the garage-punk favoured by their former frontman. Butchers' dreamy, barely-audible vocals fused with their squatland wall of sound guitars to make music that was both hypnotic and life affirming. Catching them several times live at that period I saw a band that somehow managed to combine bone-crunching power, coy sensuality and a punk rock no-compromise spirit. There was nothing else like them.
The band went into the studio and produced two albums, the second of which was the ground-breaking Loveless. Its recording was a torturous undertaking that pushed the band and its label to the limits. Shields's endless reworkings nearly bankrupted Creation Records and though the album was widely acclaimed as a masterpiece, it failed to deliver commercially. Soon after their triumphant New York showcase MBV and Creation parted ways and the band signed to Island Records.
The pressure to create an album that could surpass Loveless was immense, so with their advance from Island, Shields built himself a studio and threw himself into the task. Speaking to him during that period I saw a man who was lost in a fug of creativity, every single drum loop was analysised over and over as the relentless search for perfection engulfed him. As the weeks turned to months, and then to years, the "work in progress" became a running joke in the music business. Throughout the Nineties group members left because there was simply nothing for them to do. And so it was that one of the greatest indie band of all time - certainly the loudest - went out with a whimper rather than the bang we all expected.
Until now. Which begs the question - with all those sold-out shows, the long-awaited album pencilled in for later this year (do we believe them?) and Shields declaring it will sound like MBV always did - will they have stood the test of time? In a music world of X Factor and American Idol, vocal correction software and band stylists I for one, think their bitter sweet anarchy is more relevant than ever.
John Robb is a journalist, musician and author of Punk Rock - An Oral History.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPECS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
SUCCESSION%20SEASON%204%20EPISODE%201
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Jawan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAtlee%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Nayanthara%2C%20Vijay%20Sethupathi%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
