cultural life
A person of note tells us what they’re watching, listening to and more...
The first woman to win the coveted Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1995, Jenny Eclair is a stand-up comic, novelist and actress. She has also published five critically acclaimed novels, including the Sunday Times bestseller Older and Wider – ASurvivor’s Guide to the Menopause. In 2018, her stand-up show How to be a Middle-Aged Woman (Without Going Insane) sold out across the UK and Australia. Her new stand-up tour Sixty PLUS! (FFS!) XXL Show runs until 27 October. jennyeclair.com.
The first album I loved was The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (6). Discovering Bowie marked my transition from teeny bopper to serious music aficionado (who still watched Top of the Pops religiously).
I’m musically a heathen – I’m 63 and still don’t really like classical music. That said, I pay huge attention to the pre-show music played to my audiences when I’m on tour. I like a mix of lippy lady singers and glam rock, with a bit of The Rolling Stones thrown in. Sometimes I Shazam tunes from adverts!
The book that influenced me the most as a young woman was anything by Jilly Cooper and Fay Weldon – two writers I felt really understood women – and Lynne Reid Banks’ The L-Shaped Room (1).
I’m currently reading the Scottish novelist John Niven’s emotional non-fiction account of his brother’s suicide, O Brother (7). Next up is Ordinary Human Failings by Irish wunderkind Megan Nolan.
My favourite film is whatever black and white crime caper [like The Asphalt Jungle (5) ] is on Talking Pictures this week. I’m a sucker for a diamond heist. I like films featuring basement night clubs, beautiful women and b
