I heartily suggest you watch this on a reasonable sized screen with some lovely headphones / speakers and the volume turned up to 9. My producer, Mr Daniel Denholm, has done a beautiful job with the audio, and the wondrous Tee Ken Ng has made a film unlike anything you have seen.
(UPDATE: You can now watch The Making of Leaving LAon YouTube or below).
Tim’s releasing his long-awaited debut album later this year, through BMG.
He’s signed an exclusive global label deal with BMG and ‘Leaving LA’, the first single from the album, will be released on March 13th.
Tim said: “I’ve been writing songs for 35 years, and have never released a studio album. Too many distractions. Signing with BMG has given me focus, and the confidence to aim for a record that isn’t defined by anyone else’s expectations. I’m loving the freedom, loving the process, and loving the team at BMG. They’re cool and nice”. (more…)
As many of you know, in 2019 our BACK tour generated over three quarters of a million dollars for charities in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The beneficiaries included family & adoption services, mental health support, domestic violence shelters, music programs for underprivileged kids, and refugee support organisations.
For the 2020 encore tour, I’ve decided to donate exclusively to independent theatres. Yay. Ongoing cuts to the arts sector by our incumbent conservative federal government have hit small-to-medium arts organisations hard. I feel strongly that independent theatre is vital to the cultural health of our country. Not only because these groups produce fantastic work in their own right, but because independent theatre is the breeding ground of future mainstream artists. The huge cultural and economic impact of a big commercial show like Matilda the Musical (to choose just one close-to-home example) would not exist without the independent theatres that let Dennis Kelly and I get our hands dirty in the early days.
Below is a list of the fantastic companies we are supporting.
All of this is possible because of my generous audience members who buy the highly inflated “VIP charity seats” we sell for each show. We are also supported in our mission by Live Nation, Ticketek, APRA and the venues we play in, who all have agreed again to waive their fees on the charity tickets.
For the rest of you reading this: go see a play at an independent theatre near you! There’s so much great stuff out there, and it’s often really affordable!
Love.
T
Hobart
Tasmania Performs
Tasmania Performs maximises opportunities for artists, ensuring their diverse voices and stories are shared across the world. With a recent focus on supporting the careers of the island’s palalwa artists.
Donations from the Hobart concerts have helped leverage a significant investment from both the State and Federal governments for a new First Nations children’s work that will tour Australia in 2021.
At each of his concerts Tim shares a portion of the profits with a local not-for-profit organisation. This year he’s donating to independent theatre companies. As the Adelaide Festival’s 60th anniversary concert is a free event, Tim’s offering a special limited edition Tim Minchin/PATCH Tote Bag. You can pick one up from the merchandise tent and take it to the supermarket…help rid the world of plastic… you know how it goes.
The bags are $20 each with all proceeds going to Patch Theatre Company and their reimagined style of design rich theatrical experiences that put children and their curiosity first.
This Tote Bag will ONLY be available for sale on Saturday between 5pm (when doors open) and 10pm (the end of concert).
Patch’s latest performance – The Lighthouse –“part installation, part scientific quest, part rave.” is on at the Queen’s Theatre, Adelaide, 25th February – 7th March 2020 and is suitable for all ages.
Tim wrote ‘Carry You’ for the television series UPRIGHT. Co-written and starring Tim, UPRIGHT follows two misfits thrown together by chance in the middle of the Australian desert, as they forge an unlikely bond in their quest to get a precious piano from one side of the country to the other. Tim asked Missy Higgins to record the song, in her distinctive style, for the closing credits. UPRIGHT is available in Australia on FOXTEL, on NOW TV in the UK and on Super Channel Fuse for viewers in Canada. More details and a teaser here.
Tim has been honoured with the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the performing arts, and to the community, on the 2020 Australia Day Honours list.
Quoted in The Standard, Tim said: “I found it a genuinely – though the word makes me squirm – humbling experience.” Speaking of the “quiet achievers”, the people whose names are not well known, he added: “People from different backgrounds working in different fields being acknowledged for doing extraordinary things. It’s truly an honour to be amongst them,”
The full list of Australia Day Honours 2020 recipients can be found here.
#honours2020
UPDATE 03/02/20: ABC News have just released this video of Tim talking about being recognised in the Australia Day Honours:
Here, finally, is the promised release of Carry You. It is the version from the credits of the final episode of UPRIGHT, performed by the completely frickin wonderful Missy Higgins. Man, I love her voice. (Actually, I love her in general). It’s produced by Sarah and Richie Belkner. Other credits and details below. Hope you like it as much as I do. Xx
Stream/download: MissyHiggins.lnk.to/CarryYou
On sale 12am January 24th (local time) in each territory worldwide.
UPDATE (04/02/20): For those who’ve been asking; ‘Carry You’ is now available everywhere. Links to Apple Music, iTunes & Amazon Music have been added and it can be found for download on Amazon too.
‘Carry You’ – Music & Lyrics by Tim Minchin
Vocals – Missy Higgins
Piano/Rhodes/Synths – Sarah Belkner
Drums – Evan Mannell
Flugelhorn – Dane Laboyrie
Produced by: Sarah Belkner & Richard Belkner
Recorded by: Richard Belkner at Free Energy Device Studios, Sydney & Richard Stolz at Woodstock Studios, Melbourne
Mixed By: Richard Belkner
Mastered By: Michael Lynch
This will be of interest to a fairly niche (but incredibly tasteful and intelligent) audience of theatre nerds.
Hal Leonard have published a pretty damn comprehensive Groundhog Day songbook, which you can buy here.
At the front of the book is a bit of an essay I wrote reflecting on the musical and existential themes in the score, and I thought I’d publish it here for you to read! It’s kind of rambling (in a charming way, I hope), and I think it might be meaningful to those of you who loved the musical, and to anyone interested in the craft of musical story-telling. There’s also a second little essay about the unenviable job of transcribing my work, by the brilliant Laurie Perkins. I’ll pop that down the bottom.
By the way, I think the physical book is a thing of beauty and a lovely souvenir, even if you’re not a player. (Note: there are chords for lazy buggers like me who can’t read dots!)
Enjoy.
xTim
FOREWORD
Writing this musical with Danny Rubin, Matthew Warchus and Chris Nightingale was a joyous, existential adventure. There was so much that made my brain fizz when I first started to think about how we might put Groundhog Day on a stage.
First, I was inspired by the simple, poetic idea of a life being reflected in a day. Our musical leans on this metaphor, opening in the pre-dawn with a song which itself starts with a birth. The idea of being born at “sunrise on a sunless day” suggests a dark day, a portent of the struggle we’re about to witness. But in that opening song, there is already an answer for Phil Connors, had he the wisdom to listen. The lyrics, like the town itself, are simple and pretty and folksy, but remind us that human happiness requires a level of acquiescence, an understanding that we are not all-powerful, and that despite our desire to “will the clouds away,” only time will reveal the sun. (more…)
Tim wrote an essay for the book “reflecting on the musical and existential themes in the score.” You can read Tim’s foreword here.
15 songs from Tim’s award winning musical are featured in the selection:
Overture
There Will Be Sun
Small Town USA [Day One]
Punxsutawney Phil
Rita’s Diary
Small Town USA [Day Two]
Stuck
Nobody Cares
One Day
Playing Nancy
Hope
Everything About You
If I Had My Time Again
Night Will Come
Seeing You
This coming Sunday, 8th December, Tim’ll be seated behind the desk on The Project on Channel 10.
The show airs at 6:30pm, and he’ll be joining hosts and regular panellists Tommy Little, Hamish MacDonald, Lisa Wilkinson and Susie Youssef as they dissect and give their unique take on the day’s news.
If you’re unable to watch live at the allotted time, fear not, the show will be available afterwards on The Project’s webpage.
Hey! All November, December and January proceeds from Tim’s sentimental Christmas song White Wine In The Sun will be going to Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) again this year, a charity that supports Australian children and adults on the spectrum.
If you already have the song, you might like to gift it via iTunes or donate directly here.
Tim’s 2017 performance of the song, on The Late Late Show with James Corden, has a beautiful strings arrangement by Iain Grandage and a great many twinkly candles:
Tim joined Lorraine yesterday morning to talk about his brand new comedy drama UPRIGHT and more. Here are the edited highlights of the interview:
Then on Friday he went on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, on Virgin Radio to reveal a little more about UPRIGHT.
You can listen to him on The Best of the Chris Evans Breakfast Show Podcast here on Acast or on Apple Podcasts. Tim’s interview segment starts at 28:10.
Chris Evans, Ben Miller, Tom Walker, Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Tim
The Verb on BBC Radio 3 this evening, 8th November, at 10pm.
Tim joins presenter Ian McMillan and fellow guests Kit De Waal, Elif Shafak and Geoff Dyer to talk about novels that have inspired them. Tim will be discussing Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut and he’ll perform an unreleased song.
If you’re not able to catch it live, the programme will be available shortly after it airs on BBC Sounds.
So, if you’re not able to make it to a show this time or you missed the merch’ stand at a venue (prioritising beer or a glass of red or a wee instead…) or maybe you only considered the possibility that you might like a tour souvenir afterwards, you’re all set.
There are 16 items including: Tim’s mug on a Mug, T-Shirts (check out skull-Tim), Hoodies, a Beanie, Posters, tour Programme and of course Canvas Bags (if you want to do something drastic…)! The only thing missing is a plushie Tim – maybe next tour.
If you live outside Europe you’ll find that International Shipping has been made available for Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, following some charming requests from fans not in the ‘local area’.
As a gift to the city, to mark the Adelaide Festival’s 60th anniversary, they are welcoming Tim and his band to the Elder Park stage for a fabulous open-air-open-to-all show!
There’s no registration for the event. All you need to know about the free opening concert can be found on the 2020 Adelaide Festival website FAQ, so you can plan your meet-ups and ensure you get there in good time to secure a prime patch of Torrens-side grass for your picnic and concert viewing.
UPDATE (06/02/20): Adelaide Festival: “The Adelaide Festival shares in the outpouring of grief and compassion for those impacted by the recent bushfires, the loss of native fauna and the impact on the environment. The Festival will join the many community organisations, companies and individuals who are raising funds to support the communities on Kangaroo Island and in the Adelaide Hills. The Festival will run a fund-raising appeal at its 60th Birthday Concert featuring Tim Minchin as well as donating profits from the Compagnie Carabosse installation Fire Gardens to the Lobethal Bushfire Recovery Fund, the KI Mayoral Relief & Recovery Bushfire Fund and the RSPCA KI Wildlife Appeal.” More details here.
Leave a Comment