What's On

Birmingham-born Mark Billingham had already worked as an actor, stand-up comic and television writer before penning the first Tom Thorne book, Sleepyhead. Published almost 20 years ago, the crime novel became an instant bestseller in the UK, marking the beginning of a two-decade long series of Thorne titles, the latest of which comes out this month...

“Did you see Bohemian Rhapsody?” Kathy Sledge asks me from New York. “Oh my gosh, I think Rami Malek was just amazing.” What you learn from that film, says the youngest member of the original Sister Sledge, is that Freddie Mercury was unapologetic about his talent. She was different, feeling “almost guilty” as a lead singer...

“Are we disturbing you?” Claire Dale asks somebody sat nearby, in light of their reactions to the interview I’m conducting with her and Patricia Peyton, at Oxford