Published
2 minutes ago

It has gone down in history as one of the legendary gigs in British music history. But the Stone Roses' full performance at Spike Island in 1990 wasn't thought to have been captured on film.

However, a video recording of the entire concert, which took place in front of 28,000 fans in Cheshire, has now come to light - shot by a crew member who then stored the tape in a box for years.

Martin Cornell's three hours of footage - which also includes the preparations and soundcheck - is now set to be used in a documentary showing the event in all its glory for the first time.

It should also settle a long-running debate about whether the gig was the heady high point of a glorious musical era, or a disappointing night with dodgy sound.

The outdoor show, which took place on the site of a disused chemical plant, was supposed to have been filmed professionally - but that fell through at the last minute in a dispute over fees.

Mr Cornell was part of the crew who built the stage and wasn't working on the day of the gig, so decided to go along with his video camera.

His boss let him film from the scaffolding tower in the middle of the crowd. There had been health and safety concerns from local authorities, and his boss thought the footage could be useful to prove there were no problems.

"I didn't know that they’d pulled their cameras. I didn't know that they weren't videoing it," Mr Cornell told BBC News.

"I was just there as an independent, working for my boss, basically, on a health and safety tip on my day off, and I had a camera. Nobody else did."

He captured the seminal Manchester band in their heyday - albeit slightly out of focus at times.

"I watch it occasionally and go, 'Yeah, it's good'," Mr Cornell added. "I’m not proud of the focusing on several occasions. But it can be cleaned up, probably, quite nicely."

After the gig, he packed the tape away and forgot about it.

"I tucked it away with all my home videos and stuff like that. It went into a box. It got put away - not for future reference, it just got put away, as you do.

"I came across it again probably 10 years later and thought, oh that’s quite interesting. I’ll see if I can take this somewhere."

He mentioned the footage on Stone Roses message boards, but says he got dismissed by fans who didn't believe him.

"I was totally derided by the community. And that's when I kind of lost interest."

However, his brother David then gave fans the first taste of the footage when he put some short clips on YouTube, external about 15 years ago. The pair also offered it to the band, but says the group weren't interested in releasing it.

"We weren't in it for monetisation or to make a buck," Martin Cornell said. "We were doing it because it’s there. Let it out and let people see it. We couldn't do it ourselves."

Film-maker Shane Meadows included 10 minutes as a DVD extra with his 2013 documentary about the band, billing that as "the only remaining footage" of the gig.

However, there is much more.

Freelance journalist Matt Mead, who runs a social media account dedicated to Stone Roses drummer Reni, external, got in touch with Mr Cornell and is now helping to put together the documentary, using the footage alongside other material such as interviews, 300 unseen photos, and unheard audio of the band's pre-show press conference.

He couldn't get a ticket to the gig, and said he has spent the subsequent 34 years "trying to desperately relive that moment, even though it's gone and it will never happen again".

"I think with this footage, something incredible can happen and I think it will help people to relive that momentous day," he said.

"There was no band like them out there. They were one of a kind. That's what people want to experience again – they want to experience that incredible year of 1990 and the amazing band that the Stone Roses were."

Director and producer Paul Crompton is also on board. He did get a ticket for the gig.

"Everyone was talking about it before it happened, as well as everyone talking about it after it happened," he recalled.

"So everyone just felt like they had to be there. It was a really hot day and there was a big sea of people with Reni hats on. And there were so many people clambering over the fence.

"It was just a really good day. It sort of cemented the whole Manchester music thing. It was very symbolic, I think, in that respect."

No indie band had staged a gig on that scale, and the organisation didn't all go smoothly.

"I like the fact that it captured the spirit of Manchester more than just the spirit of the Stone Roses," Mr Crompton said.

"It captured the spirit of the whole Manchester period, you know? An element of chaos and being shambolic, but we're going to have a good time."

The documentary project is still unfunded and at an early stage, but Mr Crompton hopes to use new technology, like that used for recent Beatles series Get Back, to enhance the original footage.

"It's not professional 30mm film. It's not HD. Again, it captures the spirit of it.

"But he’s filmed all the key events – the whole gig, the soundcheck, the stage construction, the fans, all the queues and all that. He’s done a really good job of filming everything that you need to capture an event.

"There are things you can do now with AI and the latest tech that improve things in a really fascinating way. So that's what I want to do as soon as I can."

He also hopes to get the band on board, and has put out feelers.

A spokesperson for the band declined to comment to BBC News.

Meanwhile, the photos of the day will be published by Mr Mead and Dave Hewitson of 80s Casuals in a book titled Spike Island Unseen.

Published
58 minutes ago

Two far-right Israeli ministers have threatened to quit and collapse the governing coalition if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to a Gaza ceasefire proposal unveiled by US President Joe Biden on Friday.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said they were opposed to striking any deal before Hamas was destroyed.

But opposition leader Yair Lapid pledged to back the government if Mr Netanyahu supported the plan.

The prime minister himself insisted there would be no permanent truce until Hamas's military and governing capabilities were destroyed and all hostages released.

Mr Biden's three-part proposal would begin with a six-week ceasefire in which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza. The deal would eventually lead to the release of all hostages, a permanent "cessation of hostilities" and a major reconstruction plan for Gaza.

But in a post on social media on Saturday, Mr Smotrich said he told Mr Netanyahu he would "not be part of a government that agrees to the proposed outline and ends the war without destroying Hamas and bringing back all the hostages".

Echoing his words, Mr Ben-Gvir said "the deal.. means the end of the war and the abandonment of the goal to destroy Hamas. This is a reckless deal, which constitutes a victory for terrorism and a security threat to the State of Israel".

He vowed to "dissolve the government" rather than agree to the proposal.

Mr Netanyahu's right-wing coalition holds a slim majority in parliament, relying on a host of factions, including Mr Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party - who hold six seats - and Mr Smotrich's Religious Zionism party - who hold seven seats - to maintain power.

But Yair Lapid, one of Israel's most influential opposition politicians, was quick to offer his backing to the embattled prime minister. His Yesh Atid (There is a future) party hold 24 seats.

He said Mr Netanyahu "has our safety net for a hostage deal if Ben-Gvir and Smotrich leave the government".

The row came as tens of thousands of people rallied in Tel Aviv, calling on the Israeli government to accept Mr Biden's proposed plan. They also demanded Mr Netanyahu's resignation. Scuffles broke out between protesters and police, and some demonstrators were reportedly detained.

In a joint statement on Saturday, mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US urged both Israel and Hamas to "finalise" Mr Biden's proposed deal.

Officials said that "as mediators in the ongoing discussions to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees", they "call on both Hamas and Israel to finalise the agreement embodying the principles outlined by President Joe Biden".

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also offered his backing to the plan, telling reporters that his government could "flood Gaza with far more aid" if Hamas accepts the ceasefire plan.

Earlier, a senior Hamas politician told the BBC it "will go for this deal" if Israel does.

But in a statement on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu's office said Israel's "conditions for ending the war have not changed".

It listed these as "the destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel".

The statement added Israel would "continue to insist these conditions are met" before agreeing to a permanent ceasefire.

Elsewhere, fighting continued in Rafah on Saturday, with reports of Israeli air strikes on Gaza's southern city on Egypt's border.

Shelling and gunfire were also reported in Gaza City, in the north of the Palestinian territory.

More than 36,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 252 back to Gaza as hostages.

Published
1 hour ago

European retailers are rushing to place their Christmas orders early as soaring shipping costs and trade route disruption threaten holiday deliveries, experts say.

For the last few months, vessels belonging to Western firms have been attacked in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels backing Hamas in its war with Israel, driving shipping prices up.

Container prices, which peaked in January and briefly declined, have rebounded sharply in recent weeks.

One business told the BBC that increased costs were likely to feed through to the price of big-ticket items such as white goods.

Nick Glynn, boss of the Buy It Direct group, owns several online retailers including Appliances Direct and Laptops Direct, which are having to plan and book well in advance to make sure their shipments arrive on time.

Because they are planning ahead, he said he didn't think Black Friday and Christmas stock would be affected.

But he said: "It impacts cash and warehouse space as suddenly you have to store the goods for longer. You can't risk ordering later."

Mr Glynn explained that the spot rate - the current price for immediate delivery of goods - has dramatically increased in recent weeks from $4,500 to $7,500 (£3,500 to £5,900).

"This makes a massive impact on big bulky items, especially those that have low margins such as furniture, barbecues, and kitchen appliances," he said.

There was "no way" most online retailers could absorb those price increases on big-ticket items, he said.

"So unfortunately for consumers, the next few months will see significant rises on these big-ticket items," he added.

Disruptions caused by Yemen's Houthi movement have limited the global supply of shipping space and containers.

The Houthi rebels have already launched attacks on more than 50 ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Shipping costs have soared as a result. The average cost of shipping a 40ft container now exceeds $4,000, a 140% increase from 2023, according to freight market tracker Xeneta.

Peter Sand, Xeneta's chief analyst, said that importers have learned many lessons from the pandemic including that "the most straightforward way to protect supply chains is to ship as many of your goods as you can as quickly as possible".

"That is what we are seeing with some businesses telling us they are already shipping cargo for the Christmas period - in May," he said.

Typically, retailers start importing goods for the November Black Friday sales and Christmas shopping season between late summer and autumn.

Sue Terpilowski, from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, agreed, saying companies are realising that disruption to the Red Sea route caused by Houthi attacks could last until the autumn.

"To avoid headlines 'Christmas is cancelled, there's nothing in the shops', people are now actually bringing forward their shipments," she said. "So they'll be here in good time allowing any eventualities that might happen while they are at sea."

The attacks on ships have forced owners of vessels travelling between Asia and Europe to take a longer route around Africa, and so ships are starting their journeys earlier to allow for the extra time needed for the diversion.

"The effects of the diversions from the Red Sea that started last December are only now becoming apparent, with vessels on the Asia-Europe trade needing more than 100 days on a rotation by circumventing Africa," said Dominique Nadelhofer, from Kuehne + Nagel, a major sea logistics firm.

He added that the rotation of container equipment has also been disrupted, and said only around 50% of global container shipping is currently completed on time.

As well as concerns about potential future Houthi attacks, there are also growing fears that as naval forces focus on countering the Houthi rebels, the resulting reduction in maritime patrols elsewhere may provide Somali pirates with opportunities to increase their activities.

Published
1 hour ago

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of freezing out left-wingers and promoting his supporters, as Labour heads into the general election.

The party now has a full slate of candidates in place after scrambling to fill vacancies following the surprise announcement that the election is taking place on 4 July.

The process has been dominated by a bitter row over whether veteran MP Diane Abbott, an ally of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, will be allowed to stand.

At the same time, the party has been accused of "parachuting" Starmerite candidates into seats over the wishes of local Labour members.

The full list of candidates will now have to be endorsed at a meeting of the national executive committee (NEC), the party's ruling body, on Tuesday.

But has Sir Keir really banished the left - and what do the selections tell us about what the party would look like in Parliament if it wins power?

The Labour leader cannot hire and fire candidates at will – but he does have a lot of power over the kind of people that get chosen.

The vast majority of the party's election candidates were already in place before the election was called, selected by local branches from centrally-approved longlists.

But the short time before polling day on 4 July has reduced the role of local members, with the national party following an accelerated process to fill target seats, or where MPs are standing down or suspended.

In this case it is a panel of NEC members - a committee dominated by Starmer supporters - who review applications and choose the party's candidate.

The roll call of new faces contains potential clues as to what a Starmer government would look like if the Labour leader enters the doors of Downing Street in five weeks' time.

Candidates close to the Labour leadership include Heather Iqbal, a former adviser to Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Chris Ward, Sir Keir's former deputy chief of staff.

Mr Ward has been chosen to fight Brighton Kemptown, the seat which was held by Lloyd Russell-Moyle.

The left-winger says he has been made a "sacrificial lamb" after he was suspended by the party this week over a complaint about his behaviour, which he said was "vexatious and politically motivated".

In Chingford and Woodford Green another figure on the left of the party - Faiza Shaheen - was blocked from standing and replaced with a Starmer supporter.

Shama Tatler, a councillor in Brent, is co-chair of the Labour To Win group, which was launched to support Sir Keir's leadership after his election.

Perhaps the most politically on-brand selection is Georgia Gould, the leader of Sir Keir's local Camden council and daughter of Blair-era strategist Lord Philip Gould.

As head of the north London authority, she has championed the "mission-driven" approach to governing, with teams organised around broad long-term goals, which Sir Keir has put at the heart of his plan for power.

Policy experts from Starmer-friendly think tank Labour Together are also on the list.

These include Josh Simons, who resigned as a party policy adviser after seven months under Mr Corbyn's tenure and is now its candidate in the safe seat of Makerfield.

Long-regarded as a sounding board for the Starmerite wing of the party, Labour Together has donated staff to several shadow cabinet ministers and is expected to be influential in shaping the party's manifesto.

Another candidate from the think tank world is Torsten Bell, the director of the Resolution Foundation, which has a focus on low pay.

One other eye-catching feature of recent selections is those who have a military background, perhaps reflecting Sir Keir's focus on the importance of national security.

These include former Royal Marine Colonel Alistair Carns and RAF pilot Calvin Bailey.

The installation of pro-Starmer candidates - and the blocking of some left-wingers - has led to accusations of a last-minute "purge" before the election.

But the Starmification of the Labour machine has been going on under the radar for some time.

Elections to the NEC in 2020 were a key moment, with Sir Keir solidifying his grip on the committee through the election of candidates who stood on a pro-leadership platform.

Several of these NEC members have now been chosen to fight very winnable parliamentary seats.

Labour To Win activists Luke Akehurst and Gurinder Singh Josan, who have been vocal Starmer supporters, have been chosen as the candidates for North Durham and Smethwick, which both have healthy Labour majorities.

But while the left of the party has no doubt been weakened by the ousting of key figures like Mr Corbyn, it has not been obliterated altogether.

Sir Keir has now said Ms Abbott will be allowed to stand for Labour if she chooses to.

More than 25 members of the Socialist Campaign Group remain Labour candidates, including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Richard Burgon and Zarah Sultana.

If Labour wins power, the smaller its majority the more powerful this bloc will be as Sir Keir may have to rely on their votes to pass legislation.

A full list of candidates for all constituencies will be available on the BBC News website when nominations have closed.

Published
20 minutes ago

When Europeans vote in elections for the European Parliament this coming week, their choices will reflect the national mood in 27 different countries.

Right and far-right parties are set to make gains, but the picture is widely different across the continent. Here is a snapshot of what to expect from BBC correspondents ahead of the vote.

Hugh Schofield in Paris

The main point of suspense in France is how big will be the victory of the far right under its 28-year-old leader Jordan Bardella.

President Macron is certain to take a thumping. The question is whether his Renaissance party can limit the damage by at least retaining second place.

It is far from a given, with the Socialists under a strongly performing Raphaël Glucksmann snapping at the heels of Macron’s little-known champion Valérie Hayer. In the polls, they are each at about 15% or thereabouts, while other parties are hovering a little above the 5% cut-off, below which they will return no MEPs at all.

Meanwhile, Jordan Bardella and National Rally are consistently polling at 32% plus - more than double their nearest rivals.

The far right also won the last European elections in France in 2019, but by only a tiny lead over President Macron’s party.

This time it looks like being a crushing victory. Clearly many voters who want to give a kicking to the president think that the most effective way is to choose the far right. Any inhibitions that might have checked that vote in the past have all but vanished.

Bruno Boelpaep in Brussels

Most Belgians have no idea whether the election posters are after their vote at a European, federal or regional level. Because on 9 June, Belgians are electing MPs for seven different parliaments.

Only one vote has got the country talking. And it's not the European election but the federal vote, because the future of Belgium might well be at stake in Flanders, the Flemish north.

To be able to govern and choose a prime minister, Flemish and French-speaking parties will have to form a coalition at the federal level.

However, all the polls indicate that far-right party Vlaams Belang will come first. It wants the independence of Flanders and therefore the end of Belgium.

Until now, the traditional parties have kept a pact to keep it out of the ruling coalition. But as the prospect rises of Vlaams Belang coming first, so does the pressure on the other parties to let them have a seat at the table.

Adam Easton in Warsaw

Polling suggests Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine is the issue over the last decade that has most changed the way Poles see the future.

That may explain why Poland’s centrist, pro-EU prime minister Donald Tusk has made national security and Russia’s threat the number one issue in his election campaign.

He’s trying to break a run that’s seen the Eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party win the last nine elections, including October’s parliamentary and April’s local elections, although PiS’s lack of coalition partners saw it lose power in both.

Turnout is usually low, so both parties are keen to get their core voters out.

For PiS, that means playing on fears of abandoning the Polish zloty for the euro, rising energy prices and the impact of the EU’s climate policies on farmers.

Opinion polls put Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition and PiS way out in front, tied on around 30% each.

Rob Cameron in Prague

Slovaks vote next Saturday amid a strange, muted and at times tense atmosphere that has descended on their country since the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico.

The centre-right opposition immediately suspended campaigning after the 15 May shooting, when Mr Fico went to greet supporters in the town of Handlova. He has only recently left hospital.

His left-populist Smer party is now leading the opinion polls following the shooting, which authorities say was politically motivated.

Smer opposes sending weapons to Ukraine and instead styles itself as the “peace” party.

It has eclipsed the centre-right opposition Progressive Slovakia, whose leader Michal Simecka was previously a deputy chairman of the European Parliament.

Last year’s election campaign was marred by insults, threats and even a punch-up between ex-prime minister Igor Matovic and Mr Fico’s deputy Robert Kalinak, who is now de facto acting prime minister.

Politicians on all sides are now under pressure to keep the temperature lower.

Bethany Bell in Vienna

“Stop EU Chaos, Asylum Crisis, Climate Terror, War-mongering, Corona Chaos,” declares one poster for the far-right opposition Freedom Party (FPÖ), who lead the polls here.

Another image shows the head of the European Commission embracing the Ukrainian president. The governing conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) has condemned the image as Russian propaganda.

Political analyst Thomas Hofer says in the past the Eurosceptic FPÖ has had trouble mobilising its supporters for EU elections. But now 27% of Austrians say they will vote for the party, ahead of the People's Party and the opposition Social Democrats, who are each polling at 22%.

The Green Party is struggling, after questions arose about its lead candidate, Lena Schilling, a 23-year-old climate activist. She was accused of spreading damaging rumours and being disloyal to the Greens, which she denies.

With Austria's general election this autumn, this vote is being watched very carefully.

By Laura Gozzi

At the last European elections, Matteo Salvini’s League came out top with over 34% of the vote. Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy (FdI) hovered around 6%.

The situation is now about to be reversed. FdI is set to win 27% of the vote – largely at the expense of the League, which will tumble down to just over 8%.

It is a remarkable result for Ms Meloni, who in the space of five years has gone from being a noisy but relatively minor opposition figure to prime minister and leader of Italy’s ruling coalition – in which the League is a junior partner.

While Mr Salvini seems condemned to espousing increasingly radical positions in an attempt to stop haemorrhaging voters, Ms Meloni finds herself in the enviable position of being courted by French National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, both of whom want her support on the European stage.

Ms Meloni has already reshaped Italy. She might now get the chance to do the same to the EU.

Damien McGuinness in Berlin

Frieden, or peace, is the word most often cropping up on campaign posters here. For radical, left-wing parties that means a halt to arming Ukraine.

But for Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is presenting himself as “peace chancellor”, it’s about calming voters’ fears of escalation.

His government is the largest donor of military aid to Ukraine in Europe, but he has repeatedly set red lines on some weapons, tapping into his centre-left SPD party’s anti-war heritage.

“Warmonger” is the graffiti scrawled on his face on some posters. “Ditherer” is the accusation from some critics in parliament and the media.

The danger is that he may simply alienate both sides. His party, like all three governing coalition parties, is set to get fewer votes than last time.

The conservative opposition leads the polls, and the big question is whether the far-right AfD, despite a string of recent scandals, will beat Mr Scholz’s SPD into second place.

Nick Thorpe in Budapest

Hungarian leader Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party hoped to romp home with an easy victory, then help reshuffle Europe’s right wing.

Pushed out of the EU’s centre-right European Peoples Party, Fidesz wants a new group with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and France’s Marine Le Pen that would be “a force for Europe”.

Mr Orban’s plans have been dented but not destroyed by the emergence of former Fidesz insider Peter Magyar and his new TISZA party.

Peter Magyar has been touring the country, drawing large crowds and striking a deep chord with tirades against Fidesz corruption, the disastrous state of schools and hospitals, constant emigration, and growing numbers of migrant workers from Asia.

His aim is to squeeze the Fidesz vote now then defeat Mr Orban in the next national election in 2026. Fidesz is on 44% and falling; TISZA is on 26% and still rising.

The Hungarian PM says EU leaders and the US are warmongers over Ukraine – and 9 June is a simple vote between peace and war.

Guy Hedgecoe in Madrid

The conservative People’s Party (PP) looks likely to make the most gains, as it takes votes from the struggling Ciudadanos, which could lose all eight of its seats.

For PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, this is an opportunity to pile the pressure on Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose government he is seeking to portray as corrupt – because of a judicial investigation into his wife, Begoña Gómez – and in hock to Catalan nationalists.

Mr Sánchez hopes recent foreign policy set-pieces, such as the announcement of a large military package for Ukraine and his government’s recognition of a Palestinian state, will help ensure a reasonable result.

The far-right Vox tends to thrive on turmoil surrounding Spain’s territorial issue and with the government’s controversial amnesty for Catalan nationalists hogging the headlines recently, polls suggest it is going to make gains.

A new far-right party, Se Acabó la Fiesta (The Party’s Over) led by online agitator Alvise Pérez, could secure a seat.

Anna Holligan in The Hague

Billboards along canals and bike lanes display a patchwork of candidates. A record 20 parties are taking part, but many here are tired of politics and turnout is likely to be low.

The Netherlands is still reeling from the twists and turns in forming a new government after November's parliamentary elections.

The issues of that vote haven't gone away: immigration, a nationwide housing shortage, climate change and the future of farming.

Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party (PVV) won the 2023 election and has dropped a longstanding pledge to hold a “Nexit” vote, recognising there is limited appetite for a Dutch Brexit.

The polls suggest his party and the other three that are set to form the next Dutch government – the liberal conservative VVD, the centrist New Social Contact and the Farmer Citizen Movement (BBB)) – will almost half the 31 Dutch seats in the European Parliament.

In a politically polarised society, it's the Eurosceptic right and pro-EU left that are poised to make the greatest gains.

Adrienne Murray in Copenhagen

Across Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, posters of candidates are tied to lampposts and trees on just about every street in the city, as almost 170 them from 11 different parties, compete for 15 seats in the European Parliament.

This election may well end up being a litmus test for Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her centrist coalition government, which straddles the traditional left-right divide.

Her Social Democrats have fallen back in the polls since the 2022 general election, and her coalition partners, the Liberals and the Moderates, are also trailing.

But while Mette Frederiksen talks tough on migration policy and urges Europe’s left to tighten their stance, it's the climate crisis that ranks among the most important issues for voters here.

Farming is the new battleground that runs along Denmark’s urban-rural divide. There is heated debate over agriculture’s emissions footprint and a proposed carbon tax.

Defence is also a big issue, as are terror, crime and the future of Europe.

Published
2 hours ago

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Published
20 minutes ago

Back in September, global art experts were taken aback by the name topping a fresh list of the world's best-selling artists.

Aboudia, a graffiti-inspired artist from Ivory Coast, had beaten well-known names, like Damian Hirst and Banksy, to sell the most pieces at auction the previous year.

According to the Hiscox Artist Top 100, Aboudia, real name Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, had flogged 75 lots. One of these canvasses had gone for £504,000 (£640,000).

Leading online marketplace Artsy called Aboudia's triumph "striking", external, while The Guardian said market experts were "blindsided", external by the ranking.

Months later, sat in a London gallery plastered with his paintings, Aboudia tells me the survey results were "no surprise" to him.

“Because if you work hard, the success is going to come," he says, dressed entirely in black save for wristfulls of beaded bracelets.

"The first thing is your work... after, everything comes home.”

Aboudia's mellow disposition clashes with the art surrounding him - his vividly coloured, heavily layered canvases feature a cast of cartoon-like figures plucked from the streets of Abidjan, Ivory Coast's largest city.

Through a blend of oil sticks, acrylic paints and recycled materials like newspapers, Aboudia depicts the hardships of life in downtown Abidjan. He particularly focuses on the children who live and work on the city's streets.

His eyewitness portrayals of Ivory Coast's 2011 civil war are equally arresting. Figures gaze at the viewer with vacant eyes, while armed soldiers and skulls crank up the intensity.

Aboudia says that today, there's a misconception that his rise to the top "came quickly".

"No - I worked like 15 or 10 years for that."

Aboudia was born in 1983, in Abengourou, a small town around 200km (124 miles) from Abidjan. In a 2012 essay, external, the artist said he was kicked out of his home aged 15 after telling his father he wanted to paint for a living.

After being cast out, the young Aboudia pressed on and enrolled in art school. Due to a lack of financial support, he slept in his classroom after the other students went home for the day. These uncomfortable nights paid off - after graduating in 2003 the soon-to-be-star was accepted into Ivory Coast's leading art school, École des Beaux-Arts.

Abidjan's École des Beaux-Arts would expose Aboudia to the Ivorian art icons whose influence can be found in his current work. For instance, Aboudia's focus on his direct surroundings and his use of recycled materials can be traced back to Vohou Vohou, a modernist collective established in the 1970s by artists like Youssouf Bath, Yacouba Touré and Kra N'Guessan.

Aboudia began to veer away from traditional styles of art, instead using untamed brushstrokes and earthy colours to recreate graffiti produced by Abidjan's underprivileged children.

In Aboudia's words, these young, de facto street artists "draw their dreams on the world".

The children are his main influence, he says, and not the wildly famous, American graffiti artist-turned-painter that his work is often likened to.

"When I started working, I didn't know [Jean-Michel] Basquiat," Aboudia says.

"It wasn't like: 'There's a person called Basquiat, there's a person called Picasso' because there wasn't internet at the school and they didn't talk about those artists."

After establishing his core style, Aboudia would lug his paintings around the galleries of central Abidjan, hoping for a way in.

"It was very hard... they'd say: 'Are you crazy? What is this work? You better go to London, to United States or Paris, because this work... here it doesn't make sense'," Aboudia recalls.

The adversity did not end there. In 2010, Laurent Gbagbo, the then president of Ivory Coast, refused to step down after losing an election to rival Alassane Ouattara. A civil war broke out, killing 3,000 people and forcing another 500,000 from their homes.

Throughout the four-month conflict, Aboudia sought refuge in his basement studio, documenting the horrors he saw when venturing above ground.

The war ended with Mr Gbagbo's dramatic capture by UN and French-backed troops - and Aboudia emerged from his haven with 21 disconcerting paintings.

Art-lovers and journalists from Ivory Coast and beyond lauded his work and Aboudia's ascent to global success began.

He was championed by renowned art collectors Charles Saatchi and Jean Pigozzi - and went on to exhibit his work at prestigious venues like Christie's New York and the Venice Biennale.

Aboudia's first solo exhibition was at the setting for this interview, London's Larkin Durey (then named the Jack Bell gallery).

Owner Oliver Durey, who has now known Aboudia for over a decade, tells the BBC: "There is something we can all relate to in his paintings; hiding amidst the uncertainty and horror there are balanced moments of strength and beauty."

African art expert Henrika Amoafo says Aboudia's art "kind of fits the international idea of Africa representing war" and other forms of strife.

There are other reasons for his success though, like his "authenticity, the really raw emotional power that he's able to convey, the way that he speaks to urban life, the way that he speaks about conflict and its impact on children", says Ms Amoafo, an executive at ADA Contemporary Art Gallery in Ghana.

Aboudia's rise also coincides with that of the African art market. In 2021, art analysis firm ArtTactic reported that the auction sales value of contemporary and modern African art surged by 44% to a record high of $72.4m (£56.9m).

ArtTactic has also found that while the global art market declined by 18% last year, Africa's only shrunk by 8.4%.

In its 2024 assesment of the industry, Hiscox did not include a ranking of best-selling artists by the volume of all artworks sold, as it did in 2023.

However, it named Aboudia as the sixth most successful artist when it comes to pieces sold for less than $50,000 (£39,300).

Aboudia's rise has led to him splitting his time between his country of birth and New York. When he is back in Ivory Coast, he pours his efforts into the Aboudia Foundation, an organisation he launched to support the country's children and young artists.

This is yet another example of the star's drive - but when I ask him if he has any plans lined up for his career, he answers plainly: "No, I don't have that."

When I press him, he says he takes things one day at a time - perhaps a soothing antidote to over a decade of tenacity.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, external, on Facebook at BBC Africa, external or on Instagram at bbcafrica, external

Published
3 hours ago

We asked our readers to send in their best pictures on the theme of "ripples". Here is a selection of the photographs we received from around the world.

The next theme is "On top of the world" and the deadline for entries is 11 June 2024.

The pictures will be published later that week and you will be able to find them, along with other galleries, on the In Pictures section of the BBC News website.

You can upload your entries directly here or email them to yourpics@bbc.co.uk.

Terms and conditions apply.

Further details and themes are at: We set the theme, you take the pictures.

All photographs subject to copyright.

Published
1 hour ago

Hidden down a dark cellar in the bowels of a centuries-old castle is one of Northern Ireland’s best kept World War Two secrets.

For 80 years, its basement walls have been the canvas for hundreds of hand-written messages from American soldiers preparing for D-Day.

From December 1943 to February 1944, Killymoon Castle just outside Cookstown played a key role in the war effort.

It was the base for the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the US Army.

Until 1942, the British had been facing off against Nazi Germany without their greatest ally.

The bombing of Pearl Harbour changed all that and the first arrival of American troops to the British Isles began to gather haste between 1943 and 1944.

It is estimated that about 300,000 American military personnel were deployed to Northern Ireland by the end of the war.

More than 600 American army personnel were stationed at Killymoon Castle.

Many of them were part of an elite parachute unit that would play a key role in the war.

They spent three months at Killymoon Castle before being dispatched to England for the final preparations of the operation to land in France, that would forever be known as D-Day.

By the end of World War Two, 153 paratroopers who stayed at Killymoon had died.

But the American soldiers that stayed in the rural County Tyrone castle left their mark in more ways than one.

Clarke Hill is a local historian who has helped bring the story of the American GIs and Killymoon Castle to life.

"When people come to the castle and I tell them the history, they can’t believe it," he said.

"There are still lots of artefacts from their time here that can be found in the castle, including handbooks that the American soldiers had as a guide to Northern Ireland.

"There are, of course, many wonderful pictures from that time too, including the troops playing baseball on the front lawn of the castle."

Officers and senior US Army personnel stayed in the warmth of the castle and many of the rooms have now been restored to how they would have looked during this era.

The rest of the American troops stayed in makeshift huts that were erected on the castle grounds, the remnants of which can still be found today.

The cellars of the castle played host to a prison cell, a mess room and an armoury.

Killymoon's owners have left these rooms virtually untouched, allowing handwritten messages left by US troops to survive for eight decades.

Mr Hill added: "These walls are a hidden gem and the messages left really are an incredible part of history."

The cellar walls consist of hundreds of messages scrawled in pencil from the soldiers who called Killymoon their home during this era.

The handwritten messages include, names, dates of birth and regiment details as well as caricatures.

The wall even features a pencil drawing of Adolf Hitler.

One of the names on the wall reads: "P.T – Tony J. Vickery 505 Prcht. Inf, U.S. Army, Atlanta, GA".

The incredible story behind this name was unearthed by local World War Two enthusiast, Andy Glenfield.

"I have been to many World War Two connected sites in Northern Ireland, but I’ve never come across anywhere like Killymoon,” he said.

"When I went into that cellar basement and saw all those names, I was absolutely flabbergasted, I couldn’t believe they were all still there.

"The reason Tony Vickery’s name stood out for me is because he had given so much detail about himself, so that gave me a lot to go on in terms of researching his story."

Andy was able to find out that Tony Vickery had been part of the parachute regiment in the 82nd Airborne Division and was only 18 when he stayed at Killymoon.

He also uncovered documents showing that the men in his company had called him “the milk bar commando” because of his love of milkshakes.

The Georgia native had qualified as a fourth-grade technician and parachuted into Normandy on 6 June 1944.

Five days later he was providing cover while other soldiers in his group were sleeping and a group of Germans advanced to their position.

A firefight ensued and Tony Vickery was killed in action.

He was awarded the purple heart and is buried in the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy.

After pulling together the details of Tony Vickey’s story, Andy Glenfield decided to visit his grave in France.

He said: "When we were there, our guide had a little silver bucket with sand from Omaha Beach and he took the sand and wiped it into the white marble cross onto Tony’s name, and it made it stand out gold. It was wonderful.

"It was amazing to see his final resting place after learning so much about him, from Cookstown to Normandy, it was very emotional."

Andy then tracked down some of Tony Vickey’s relatives in America to let them know about the details he had uncovered.

BBC News NI spoke to his niece, Nancy McKendree, who is now 80 years old and lives in the US state of Georgia.

She said: "I was an infant when he was killed, but I know that my mother stayed upset about his death all her life.

"She would never watch a war picture, either on TV or at the movies, it was too difficult."

She added: "Until recently I didn’t know anything about his name in the castle.

"All I knew was that he was a war hero, and I was sad, of course, but I’m proud of him for what he did while he was over there."

Killymoon Castle has opened its doors to the public and local schools this weekend to commemorate D-Day with tours, an exhibition and displays of original World War Two memorabilia connected to the site.

Published
2 hours ago

Rosario Lonegro was only 20 years old when he entered a Catholic seminary in Sicily as an aspiring priest preparing to be ordained. But while he was there he fell in love with another man and his superiors demanded that he undergo conversion therapy intended to erase his sexual preferences if he wanted to continue on the path to the priesthood.

“It was the darkest period of my life," he told the BBC, recalling his seminary experience in 2017.

Haunted by guilt and fears of committing a sin in the eyes of the Catholic Church, Rosario said he "felt trapped with no choice but to suppress my true self”.

“The psychological pressure to be someone I was not was insurmountable. I could not change no matter how hard I tried.”

For more than a year, he was compelled to take part in spiritual gatherings outside the seminary, some over several days, where he was subjected to a series of distressing activities intended to strip him of his sexual proclivities.

These included being locked in a dark closet, being coerced to strip naked in front of fellow participants, and even being required to enact his own funeral.

During these rituals, he was tasked with committing to paper his perceived flaws, such as “homosexuality”, “abomination”, “falsehood” - and even more explicit terms, which he was then obliged to bury beneath a symbolic gravestone.

The World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 1990. Subsequent scientific research has largely concluded that attempts to change sexual orientation are not only ineffective but also harmful.

In France, Germany and predominantly Catholic Spain, conversion therapies have been officially banned, and efforts are under way both in England and Wales to outlaw such practices.

Today in Italy, it's nearly impossible to determine the precise extent of these practices, reported mostly by men, but some women too, and there is no standard legal definition of them.

In recent months, however, the BBC has conducted interviews with several young gay men across the country who have shared their experiences of being subjected to pseudoscientific group meetings or individual therapy sessions aimed at turning them into heterosexuals.

One 33-year-old man who attended this type of meeting for over two years expressed his initial motivation, saying: “I wanted to reconcile with myself. I didn’t want to be homosexual. I thought I needed to be cured.”

“I saw that as my sole path to acceptance,” said another. He was not trying to become a priest, but was simply seeking acceptance in his daily life.

Gay conversion therapy is not limited to one specific region of Italy - group meetings and individual therapy sessions run across the country, some even run by licensed psychotherapists. In some cases, these gatherings and therapy sessions are unofficial and covert, often promoted through discreet conversations and secret referrals.

Other courses are publicly advertised, with known figures within Italy’s conservative circles actively seeking followers online and on social media platforms to promote their ability to change sexual orientations.

In Sicily, Rosario Lonegro was primarily subjected to meetings organised by the Spanish group Verdad y Libertad (Truth and Freedom), under the leadership of Miguel Ángel Sánchez Cordón. This group has since disbanded, having incurred the disapproval of the Catholic Church.

However, the Italian priest who originally pushed Lonegro into these practices was given a senior position within the Church, while others continued to draw inspiration from Sánchez Cordón’s methods in Italy.

Many of the people the BBC spoke to were referred to Luca di Tolve, a “moral/spiritual trainer” who gained recognition through his book titled "I was gay once. In Medjugorie I found myself".

On his website, Di Tolve and his wife boast that they are a "contented couple" seeking to "aid anyone whose sexual identity is in turmoil, helping them to genuinely exercise their freedom in determining who they wish to be as a person”. When contacted by the BBC, Di Tolve did not respond.

Another active individual promoting ways to tackle perceived sexual orientation is Giorgio Ponte, a well-known writer in Italy’s ultra-conservative circles. He says he wants to help people overcome their homosexuality and be liberated, by telling his own story as a man with homosexual drives who is on his “potentially life-long” path to freedom.

"In my experience, homosexual attraction stems from an injury to one's identity that conceals needs unrelated to the sexual-erotic aspect but rather tied to a distorted perception of oneself, reflecting across all aspects of life," he told the BBC.

"I believe that a homosexual person should have the freedom to try [to become heterosexual], if they want, knowing, however, that it may not be possible for everyone," he added.

In recent years, dozens of young men and women have sought guidance from the likes of Di Tolve, Ponte and Sánchez Cordón. Among them is 36-year-old Massimiliano Felicetti, a gay man who grappled with attempts to change his sexual orientation for more than 15 years.

“I started to be uncomfortable with myself from a very early age, I felt I would never be accepted by my family, society, Church circles. I thought I was wrong, I just wanted to be loved, and these people offered me hope," he said.

Felicetti said he had tried different solutions, consulting psychologists and clergy members who offered to help him become heterosexual. However, about two years ago, he decided to stop. A friar who knew of his struggle encouraged him to start dating a woman, but it didn’t feel natural.

“When I kissed her for the first time, it felt unnatural. It was time to stop pretending,” Felicetti said.

Only a few months ago he came out as gay to his family. “It took years, but for the first time I am happy to be who I am.”

Despite attempts from previous governments to promote a bill to oppose conversion therapies, no progress has been made in Italy. Italy’s right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni has so far adopted a hostile stance toward LGBT rights, with the prime minister herself vowing to tackle the so-called “LGBT lobby” and “gender ideology”.

Such lack of progress comes as no surprise to Michele Di Bari, a researcher in comparative public law at the University of Padova, who says that Italy is structurally much slower to implement change compared with other countries in Western Europe.

“This is a very elusive phenomenon, given that it is a practice prohibited by Italy’s order of psychologists itself. Yet, in the Italian legal system, it is not deemed illegal. People carrying out such practices can’t be punished.”

Despite the complexity of the issue, experts believe that partly due to Italy’s strong Catholic influence, the country has been more hesitant to prohibit these controversial practices.

“This may be one of the elements that, along with a strongly patriarchal and male chauvinist culture, makes the broader understanding of homosexuality and LGBT rights more difficult,” said Valentina Gentile, a sociologist at Rome’s LUISS University.

“However, it is also fair to say that not all Catholicism is hostile to the inclusion of diversity and the Church itself is in a period of strong transformation in this regard,” she added.

Pope Francis has said that the Catholic Church is open to everyone, including the gay community, and that it has a duty to accompany them on a personal path of spirituality, but within the framework of its rules.

However, the Pope himself was reported to have used a highly derogatory term towards the LGBT community when he told a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops that gay people should not be allowed to become priests. The Vatican issued an official apology.

Rosario Lonegro has left Sicily behind and also lives in Milan. Following a nervous breakdown in 2018, he left both the seminary and the conversion therapy group.

While he still believes in God, he no longer wants to become a priest. He shares an apartment with his boyfriend, he studies philosophy and undertakes occasional freelance work to pay for university. However, the psychological wounds inflicted by such activities still run deep.

“During those meetings, one mantra haunted me and was repeated over and over: ‘God didn’t make me that way. God didn’t make me homosexual. It’s only a lie I tell myself,’ I thought I was evil,” he said.

“I will never forget that.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.