Two Big Egos in a Small Car

Send us Fan Mail Graham recounts his adventures in Portugal after a trip to Lisbon : taking the temperature of the music scene in Europe's oldest and hottest city as he celebrates his 20th wedding anniversary. Charles reviews Alan Ayckbourn’s latest play in Scarborough, Constant Companions , his 89th, as he foresees human-android  relationships of the near future, and John Godber’s touring pr...

Send us Fan Mail Charles turns all autumnal, reflecting on music just right for the month of September and confesses he enjoyed a brass band recital at Burnby Hall Gardens in Pocklington. Graham delves into poet John Cooper Clarke's 2021 autobiography I Wanna Be Yours and wonders what makes a classic memoir? Charles reports on seeing Dexys in theatrical mode at York Barbican as they tour thei...

Send us Fan Mail For their 150th episode, Charles and Graham enjoy a rare night out together at the Old Woollen, Farsley , as bassist Martin McAloon switches to guitar and vocals to execute his own versions of Prefab Sprout hits, album gems and B-sides. Did this gig, played by only a single member of the sublime north eastern band, make Two Big Egos 'Swoon' or not? Surviving the middle d...

Send us Fan Mail Graham discusses Christopher Nolan's epic movie Oppenheimer and how it sheds light on American politics as much as  the race for the atom bomb - and hopefully leads a revival of film-making rooted in this world's realities, not comic book fantasy. Still with Graham, former snooker world champion Steve Davis stole the Deer Shed Festival at Topcliffe - until The Comet Is C...

Send us Fan Mail Charles and Graham give their verdict on this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival and discuss some of the other events they attended too. Undoubtedly, the star attraction was the tram system! Keep in touch with Two Big Egos in a Small Car: X @2big_egos Facebook @twobigegos

Send us Fan Mail Ahead of their annual visit to Edinburgh, Charles and Graham wonder if the revived Edinburgh International Film Festival can revive the magic in its 76th year. How big is the real audience for this year's crop of new albums and this year's Mercury Prize nominees?  Graham gives his thoughts on what two of the most successful British novels of the last 30 years (Ian McEwan...

Send us Fan Mail Graham and Charles begin by looking at two of this summer’s blockbusters: Mission Impossible -Dead Reckoning Part One - the seventh film in the franchise - and then Barbie, which has now become part of a double-header moment in the revival of mass cinema attendance, alongside Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, with some audiences choosing to see both. The arrival of Blur’s second co...

Send us Fan Mail Having seen Alison Goldrapp at Manchester International Festival over the weekend at new venue Factory International. Graham gives his verdict on the £200m that it cost to prepare for his arrival as well the gig for solo Alison. Charles and Graham discuss how new albums are making a comeback this year or was it all the fault of HMV's stocking policy in the first place? Graham...

Send us Fan Mail Charles and Graham discuss Glastonbury and its headliners, including the allegedly last UK appearance of Sir Elton John. Charles reports on the decision by Curzon Group to close its cinema at Ripon and the duo discuss the health of independent cinema.  Graham gives his verdict on Wes Anderson's latest, Asteroid City and the launches into the local comedy scene in Harrogate an...

Send us Fan Mail Edinburgh International FIlm Festival is saved! This year's programme has been published with a new generation of film fans at the helm, Graham looks at what this means for its future existence and then reports on his meeting with Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Charles has dried off and lived to tell the tell of seeing the revitalised Pulp live at Scarborough Open Air Theat...

Send us Fan Mail Graham reports on a Beatles event with Beatles historian, Mark Lewisohn and then presents part two of the book,  A History of India in 50 Lives.  Charles discusses the Ultimate Punk Celebration - an event at Crystal Palace this July. Graham recounts his meeting with artist Martin Creed. Keep in touch with Two Big Egos in a Small Car: X @2big_egos Facebook @twobigegos

Send us Fan Mail Graham introduces a new book, Incarnations - A History of India in 50 Lives by Sunil Khilnani and what it says about India and Britain. Graham’s stint as an MC and DJ at BedFest  - the all day music event in the baking sun of Knaresborough. Charles looks back at a solo gig he saw this week by US musician Steve Earle. Keep in touch with Two Big Egos in a Small Car: X @2big_egos Fac...

Send us Fan Mail Charles and Graham interview Kate Bramley, artistic director of York-based rural touring theatre company, Badapple Theatre On Your Doorstep, who are celebrating 25 years. Keep in touch with Two Big Egos in a Small Car: X @2big_egos Facebook @twobigegos

Send us Fan Mail Graham discusses Paul Simon's new magnum opus, Seven Psalms, versus Ed Sheeran's Subtract, and ponders Simon then and now. Charles wonders how Simon's veteran work stands up against Bob Dylan’s latest recordings. Charles catches Little Richard: I Am Everything at City Screen Picturehouse, York, wherein documentary maker Lisa Cortes states his case to be the true Kin...

Send us Fan Mail Graham and Charles discuss the history of suits in rock music - triggered by seeing Interpol live in Leeds last week - which revives memories of famous suit sporting artists. Graham wonders if new award-winning Italian film The Eight Mountains really hits the heights or not? Royal Blood’s latest appearance as part of R1’s Big Weekend in Dundee provokes a discussion about Rock vers...

Send us Fan Mail Charles finally gets to report on his experience at the Martin Creed exhibition at the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate. Graham shares an update on his return to his Vinyl Sessions music talks in a fundraiser for the  Harrogate Hospital charity and lays bare his theories about the end of The Beatles in 1969/70. He also reports on a sublime gig by the David Brewis Orchestra in Leeds per...

Send us Fan Mail Graham and Charles discuss whether 2023 has  been a bad year for movies so far but conclude that perhaps  hope is on its way from the Cannes festival. Hope for sure with the new films by Martin Scorsese and Ken Loach.  Should we look forward to the world of AI-generated films? Charles takes up the discussion about bad audience behaviour at musical theatre: could Shakespeare be nex...

Send us Fan Mail Graham  and Charles look at the impact of the copyright court case against Ed Sheeran and the trend for confessional albums as Sheeran releases his latest, Subtract . Non-pilgrim Charles reflects on his frustrating encounter with the new film based on Rachel Joyce's novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry and Graham ponders what makes British films  work - or not. Graham...

Send us Fan Mail Sympathy for the Sheeran: Why Ed deserves to beat Marvin Gaye in the current copyright court case. And why Status Quo's Francis Rossi has a point. Does the downgrading of old skool indie DJs Mark Riley and Gideon Coe mean the beginning of the end for BBC 6 Music? Brassed Off and The Full Monty have a lot to answer for: what the latest sentimental Brit comedy starring Jim Broa...

Send us Fan Mail Graham and Charles focus on art this week. Graham looks at three high quality contemporary art exhibitions on at the same time in three different galleries in Harrogate and Charles enthuses about York Open Studios, especially some of the artists opening up their studios for the first time. Charles raves about the riches of York Open Studios Keep in touch with Two Big Egos in a Sma...

Send us Fan Mail Graham reveals the decline in the Harrogate music scene. Charles reports back on Ryan Adams live in York. In the court of the Crimson King - Graham gets a little proggy and reflects on Ai Wei Wei’s memoir A Thousand Years of Joys and Sorrows and looks at what his new exhibition - Monet in Lego - alongside his move from Cambridge to Lisbon.  Charles and Graham get glum about the mi...

Send us Fan Mail Charles catches up with U2's new album, Songs of Surrender . Graham reflects on the remarkable revival of Suede and why their gig in Leeds was one of the best he's ever seen. Graham reports on John Godber's new 'agit-prop' play Living On Fresh Air at Harrogate Theatre and why it makes all the right points but offers little hope. Charles is greatly impresse...

Send us Fan Mail Charles and Graham eat humble pie after their Oscar predictions and reflect on the results of this year's Academy Awards. Graham looks ahead to Francis Rossi of Status Quo's spoken word event at Harrogate Theatre and how the man behind "going down down deeper and down..." is now happy to talk intelligently about his life and times. Graham reports on the impact...

Send us Fan Mail Graham reports on Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei's new memoir and on an encounter with classical pianist Martin Roscoe in John Ruskin's Lake District abode. Is King Charles III's Coronation Spotify list opening a window to the soul of the monarch? As U2 release new and stripped-back reinterpretations of their back catalogue on Songs Of Surrender, Charles and Graham ponde...

Send us Fan Mail In a whistle-stop tour of everything cultural, Charles reports on David Hockney's  Yorkshire Wolds   exhibition at Salt's Mill; Graham gives an update on where things are at for the Edinburgh International Film Festival and both Graham and Charles give their verdict on the key films at the Oscars ceremony. Graham provides further thoughts on Quentin Tarantino's exce...