Lifestyle

The relationship between Oscar Wilde and Australia is often a conflicted one. Much like the relationship between the celebrated playwright and his 'new' play, Constance, showing at north London's King's Head Theatre.

It was the story that painted South Australia as the serial killer capital of Australia and made a small country town a tourist attraction for all the wrong reasons. The “bodies in the barrels” case was seemingly made to be portrayed as a Saw style horror film yet director Justin...

When Sydney boy Lachie Chapman moved to London six years ago, little did he know the drastic direction his life would soon take. Now a member of the hugely successful singing group The Overtones, the booming baritone told TIM MARTIN just what it’s like to be a UK hit.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND | Is it true!? Is Madonna coming to Oz? And what about the ARIAs. Who is going to win? Oh, and Ministry of Sound gets lucky. We've got all the Aussie music goss.

This week top Claridge’s chef Chris Ark shares some pointers and techniques on making bread plus his top three bread recipes.

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is not known for speaking. What he is known for is having “the voice of a higher being” according to music legend, Sting, and London felt the full force of it last week at the Barbican Centre in all it's glory.

There is a bar in Soho that is the perfect place to go to for a dose of British charm. It isn’t much like any other that Australians frequent in London, but there is a particular appeal that this bar can offer.

Australia’s longest running TV drama will decamp for Port Douglas as Neighbours puts Tropical North Queensland streets ahead.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND | Aussie legends band together for a Wiggles tribute album; Angry Anderson wants to be a poli and Aussies in Afghanistan.

Australian Times favourite Sarah Blasko is one busy musician and is about to get a heck of a lot busier when she kicks off her UK acoustic tour this weekend.

REVIEW | New Zealand singer-songwriter Brooke Fraser is beginning to make waves in Europe. Nathan Motton tells why her endearing blend of pop/rock is striking all the right chords.

Check out which acts and musicians have been announced for the Big Day Out 2012. This is the lineup so far, with many more to come.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND | What do you get when you mix country music and guns? Steve Lee! Plus we have all the Big Day Out latest news and the low down on the Deadly Awards.

REVIEW | Seeing Mat. McHugh step onto the London stage without a band behind him was an exciting prospect and The Beautiful Girls frontman quickly introduced the crowd to his solo repertoire.

The Beautiful Girls frontman, Mat. McHugh, is finally ready to introduce himself to the world.

Tim Martin chats to Michael Hohnen ahead of his European tour with Australian musical genius, Gurrumul, and finds out just who is the man that lives in Gurrumul’s shadow.

The newly unveiled singer of INXS says he could never hope to fill the gap left by the late, great Michael Hutchence.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND | Aussie musicians living below the poverty line, INXS heading in a new direction and calling all amateur directors.

Ahead of this week's AFL grand final, we take a look at the best speccies, greatest kicks and biggest hits that YouTube has to offer. Here's our top 5.

The hymn-like quality of Gurrumul's latest album, Rrakala, makes it perfect for a lazy Sunday morning, with songs of family and home, ancestors and intimacy with the earth a reminder of what Australians often miss when abroad.

REVIEW | Watching Peter Knight and Dung Nguyen’s Way Out West Sextet at the Pizza Express Club in Soho and it is clear that this Aussie group are taking International jazz to the next plateau.

REVIEW | In the moments before The Jezabels took the stage at XOYO in Shoreditch, suspense and anticipation were sky high.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND: We join in honouring Aussie legend Cave, tell you about the 'most' exorbitant festival ticket ever and get a little bit excited about Mr Slim Shady.

REVIEW | Darren Hanlon has played many of London's “strangely shaped rooms” over the years, and the iconic 100 Club — a small venue on Oxford St which has boasted the likes of The Rolling Stones and The Clash — provided the perfect, intimate setting to conclude his UK tour.

Australian singer songwriter Pete Murray has announced two London shows at Bush Hall this November.

REVIEW | When the Spooky Men’s Chorale took to the stage at the Union Chapel, what followed was a masterclass in music, interspersed with dad jokes and sight gags.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND: Could Melbourne be the next Austin, Texas? Are Hunters and Collectors coming back for good? And just who is Danielle de Niese?

REVIEW: Literally quite a few of London’s hippest kids jammed into the 02 Academy Islington for the rare honour of witnessing S.mouse, live.

In recent years, manliness has found itself under assault by make-up companies, diet gurus and even breweries. But there are a group of Aussie men who are bringing the fight to the UK. Men, manly men!

REVIEW | We sat there staring into the storyteller’s shaded, deep set eyes as he spun uncomplicated yet incredibly moving yarns through his impressive song writing, all the while backing it up with a voice that is as solid, seemingly unchanging and Australian as Uluru.

INTERVIEW | “I think people are influenced by what’s gone before. When I learnt how to play songs, you fall in love with other people’s songs and you learn them and you start to write your own." Paul Kelly, September, 2011.

REVIEW: Despite being filled with some of Paul Kelly’s lesser known songs, the “dark, weird and difficult night three” as described by Kelly himself was not without highlights.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND | Stafford Brothers named hottest act in Aussie dance and Legacy goes new-age. Plus, guess who's hitting the UK this autumn?

REVIEW: The letter ‘F’ was where we started the night with Paul accompanied by nephew Dan Kelly a famous musician in his own right.

REVIEW | Paul Kelly is a walking, talking manual for how to live. And, yep well I better come out and say it; 'an Australian bloke's way to live.

Multi-award winning Australian actor/writer/director Chris Lilley will be performing in the UK for the very first time on Wednesday 7 September, at the O2 Academy Islington, London.

Paul Kelly's been entertaining audiences for three decades and the ever popular Australian musician is still in huge demand around the world, as evidenced by his four sold-out shows in London this week.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND: Triple J launching a new radio station, remembering Nirvana in Oz and packing Kylie up for the archives.

Celebrity Big Brother contestant, Australian Darryn Lyons, stuns viewers with his fake abs.

Australian expertise will be called on to help host the 2012 Edinburgh Festival as local know-how is drained by the coinciding Olympic Games, a London newspaper reports.

Australian punk paparazzi king-pin Darryn Lyons enters the new UK Celebrity Big Brother house, but no Charlie Sheen.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND | Acca Dacca vino hits the shelves, young Aussie rockers are signed by FIFA while Spicks & Specks hits the road to wave goodbye.

“With all the terrible stuff that’s been happening in London and around the world, isn’t it great we can get together and enjoy some good food, drink and music in this environment?” Can’t argue with that, Jayson.

A new Aussie play is about to split London down the middle. Conor McGlone got down to the Etcetera Theatre in Camden for a sneak preview to see what the fuss was all about.

The rain threatened all day but in true Southern Hemisphere style it didn’t fall or dampen the spirits of a crowd that came to chill, dance and listen to some of the best tunes our Aussie and New Zealand homelands have to offer.

Before he takes to the Homelanz stage on Saturday, London based Kiwi musician Jayson Norris lets Australian Times know just how excited he is to be playing one of the biggest gigs of his life.

COUNTING DOWN TO HOMELANZ: The first ever Homelanz festival, featuring at Boston Manor Park this Saturday, is set to be one of the biggest Antipodean festivals to hit London. But it's more than just the music.

Headlining one of the biggest Antipodean line-ups to ever grace the fields of London, Sneaky Sound System know they have their work cut out for them at Homelanz this weekend.

MUSIC FROM THE MOTHERLAND: The Aussie answer to Justin Bieber; the Middle East mystery and what's with our festivals at the moment?

COUNTDOWN TO HOMELANZ: There’s just a week and a half to go until London’s Homelanz festival and we’re celebrating the fact with an awesome little interview with one of the stars, Kiwi hip hop sensation Ladi6.