THE ECSTATIC OUM KALTHOUM – The Vampire's Wife

I’ve been watching this classic piece of footage of the great Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum improvising in front of an ecstatic audience. It’s full of mad energy and deep yearning, wild lyrical excursions and weird rhythms, with the audience going along for the ride! Possibly the greatest singer of them all. I love the full force of this gorgeous performance. Love Susie. x

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eavlX3fkHco

THE CARNIVAL IS OVER

I have just a simple song for you all from 1967, all the way from Australia (where my husband is), by The Seekers. I love this song, melancholy but so stirring, and Judith Durham, dressed in what looks like something from the archives of The Vampire’s Wife, is so touching. It is a song full of tears about the end of things and love’s enduring presence. We adore this song here at The Vampire’s Wife.

TIME AFTER TIME, LITTLE JIMMY SCOTT

Look at this heart-breaking piece of film of Little Jimmy Scott singing Time After Time and giving his thoughts on what a song is meant to be. He is a vast talent and a beautiful man; we met him at my husband’s Meltdown Festival in London in 1999.

TO DIE BY YOUR SIDE

I heard this wonderful version of The Smiths classic song "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" by the brilliantly ebullient Dum Dum Girls on the DJ Lonny’s amazing Cover to Cover on Radio Lewes this week. What a great show! What a superb song! What a joyful cover! ‘To die by your side is pleasure and a privilege’ indeed!