... Jammin', jammin', jammin' in the name of the Arts Council ALTHOUGH IT is unlikely to lead to the sight of Sir William Rees-Mogg skanking in a club near Railton Road, the Arts Council has taken its first tentative steps into the soul and reggae business. The funding body has given three black groups £2,000 apiece towards the cost of producing one 12-inch single each. And the bands. Abacush, ...

... Charisse flies in to present UK's 'grandest' dance awards By ANN NUGENT CYD CHARISSE flew in from Los Angeles last week to present the first Digital Equipment Company Dance Awards. The ceremony took place at the Hyde Park Hotel, at a luncheon attended by nearly 200 people from all sections of the British dance world the largest and grandest occasion ever given by a sponsor to people involved ...

... No Berkoff RED FACED Royal Court staff were forced to apologise to director Steven Berkoff after they entered his name for a charity appeal without telling him first. It was only when a surprised Berkoff read that he was supposed to be taking part in the fundraising event on behalf of the ruined Bush and Tricycle theatres that the organisers realised their mistake. It was all an accident. We ...

... Swamping it the Frisco way r SAN FRANCISCO band LeRue, playing a brand of music which has been dubbed Psycho Cajun, appear at the Pied Bull, Liverpool Road, Nl on July 8. This is one of the music venues now booked by Steve Beggs of the Coastin' organisation, the others being the Dublin Castle, Parkway, NW1, the Royal Albert, Deptford and the Lewisham Labour Club. Beggs also manages the popular ...

... Menzies goes for production first WHEN JEFFREY ARCHER'S, first play, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, opens in the West End on September 22 it will be welcome to a new producer. Lee Menzies, 39-year-old former member of the Stigwood Organisation, is presenting the £250,000 drama which marks the start of Lee Menzies Ltd as a producing management. The show, which will star Frank Finlay, Wendy Craig, and ...

... Harrogate's lucky number HARROGATE'S cultural event of the year--its prestigious International Festival--is to defy ancient superstition by running for 13 days. The 22nd Festival, costing over £150,000 and featuring two major sym phony orchestras among its performers, will be staged at six different venues in the spa town from July 31 to August 12. Over a third of the cost will come from box ...

... Pirates taped up at the Old Bailey 'There is a widespread cancer in the industry and the public are being elaborately cheated' By YASMINE KARTAL A MASSIVE pirate pop cassettering, which produced thousands of rip-off copies of tapes and lost the music industry and its performers millions of pounds, has been smashed after appearing at the Old Bailey on Friday last week. Michael Oliver, 39, of ...

... Thai the knot with dance and music THE FIRST ever festival of Thai dance and music to be held outside Thailand will take place in London this Autumn in the hope of promoting goodwill and understanding between the two countries. The festival, which will be held in October, will mark the 60th birthday of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the first time that Sadlers Wells and the Barbican ...

... KICKING OUT THE OLD Not content with designer leotards, the dance world is going in for designer legs too. On August 27, the Hippodrome in London will host the first United Kingdom Dance Design Championships which will be a tribute to the late Fred Astaire. Appropriately entitled Dance Design, it will give amateur and professional dancers the opportunity to expand beyond the boundaries of ...

... Sooty magic SUZANNE DANDO and Sooty and Sweep have been announced as top names for the second pantomime at the Harlequin, Redhill, Aladdin, run ning from December 10 to January 9. ...

... Animal ban slapped on Blackpool circus By ROBIN DUKE ANIMAL acts are to be pulled out of Blackpool Tower Circus after the dramatic intervention of First Leisure chief Lord Delfont. The remarkable move signals a vic tory for animal welfare protestors and appears to be a major rebuff to impre sario Peter Jay who took over the operation of the world famous Tower circus three years ago and has ...

... TOP AND THE BOTTOM OF IT Under King Rat Danny La Rue, the Grand Order of the Water Rats descended in force on the Marlowe, Canterbury last Sunday for an all-star show in aid of their own charities devised and produced by Davy Kaye, George Elrick and Len Lowe. This was the third show presented at the Marlowe during the past four years by the Water Rats. Taking part, apart from Danny La Rue, ...