Early last month, a handful of British pop music acts performed at a Dubai beach club for a multi-act mini-festival of 1980s music. The event, titled Rewind, stretched from mid-afternoon to late evening and served up an intoxicating mix of nostalgia and fun for concertgoers. It was a hoot, in fact.
The formula for these retro events is both simple and effective. Each of the rolling cast of acts gets about half an hour on stage and plays the greatest hits of their back catalogue. By sticking to the familiar, pretty much every tune was a singalong for the crowd.
Tony Hadley, formerly of Spandau Ballet, topped the bill, belting out hit after hit as if it was, well, 1984 all over again, but the depth of what could loosely be called the undercard of seven support acts was impressive to anyone familiar with that era, including Altered Images, Go West and Heather Small.
The “heritage” circuit, as our music critic Saeed Saeed calls it, is in good health in the UAE, with many more established acts either visiting soon or having been through here already.
This weekend, Texas, who’ve released best-selling records in every decade since the 1980s, play in Dubai. Next week, the emirate hosts the Back to the 90s revival festival, similar in format to Rewind. The UK Pink Floyd Experience will appear at Dubai Opera later in May. Earlier this year, Sting brought his My Songs tour to Abu Dhabi. In June, Simply Red play in Dubai, while Guns N Roses will appear in Abu Dhabi.
Given the choice of millions of songs, many music-streaming service subscribers are going back to what they know already
The caravan rarely stops in a post-pandemic world hungry once more to hear live music. It might even be moving more quickly.
There was a time when the kind of roster of concerts detailed above may have suggested promoters were playing it safe by bringing in older or established acts to guarantee well-attended shows. But are the same impulses at play today?
It may not be quite as straightforward as that, particularly as the streaming era has fundamentally changed how we consume music and, more profoundly, who we listen to.
Given the choice of millions of songs, many music-streaming service subscribers are going back to what they know already. Younger listeners, meanwhile, are also tapping into decades-old songs at the expense of contemporary releases. Out with the new, in with the old, you might say.
Spotify data shows more so-called “catalogue” songs – those songs that are more than 18 months old – are appearing on its charts than ever before. One third of the tracks appearing in its top 200 global weekly chart in 2022 fits that category, up from 13 per cent in 2020. The same data found that almost 75 per cent of what the company terms “active streams” arise from catalogue listens. Active streams are defined as songs played from playlists, liked songs and artist profile pages.
Younger listeners, those under 25, are also listening to more older music than ever before, sometimes spurred by heritage acts appearing on the soundtracks for new films or TV series.
Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill is the standout example of that phenomenon, with the 1985 song experiencing a huge surge in popularity 37 years after its original release, propelling the artist to the top of the UK charts following its appearance in the Netflix series Stranger Things. Then 63 years old, Bush also became the oldest female artist to get to number one in the UK. The song has had about 1 billion listens on Spotify and several hundred million more views on YouTube.
Some argue that this is bad for the music business marketplace in general. A provocatively titled essay in The Atlantic asked whether old music was killing new music when it was published last year, noting that those catalogue songs now account for more than two thirds of the US music consumption. That essay also charted the rise in the old releases of storied artists being bought by investment funds to make hay with. The two factors could serve to squeeze the space for new music to gain traction, particularly as cash and resources may end up flowing towards catalogue artists rather than emerging talent.
Certainly, the nexus between the golden age of soundtrack-hungry TV that we now live in serving to raise the profiles of once-forgotten songs, the availability of pretty much every track ever released on demand combined with the algorithmic approach to music curation and, perhaps, a pandemic-induced wave of nostalgia, have served to turbocharge interest in older acts.
Will these mean we will see more heritage acts performing more of the time? I am not so sure.
Returning to the Rewind event last month, the vast majority of concertgoers were there, I’d imagine, because those artists provided some of the soundtrack to their 1980s youth. Younger listeners, particularly Gen Zers and millennials, may be seeking out older artists on streaming platforms, but for now, at least, they don’t necessarily want to see them play those songs live.
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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Available: Now
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Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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Iron Man
Reduced risk of dementia
Alcohol consumption could be an issue
Hulk
Cardiac disease, stroke and dementia from high heart rate
Spider-Man
Agility reduces risk of falls
Increased risk of obesity and mental health issues
Black Panther
Vegetarian diet reduces obesity
Unknown risks of potion drinking
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Thor
He's a god
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Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)
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Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
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- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
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- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
