Culture: No Trace of Li8er Pickers at Big Chill

Disappointing news from the Big Chill, the music festival that prides itself on its environmentally-friendly philosophy.

The organisation’s motto is "Leave no trace", referring to the pristine state it always leaves its temporary home in the beautiful Deer Park at Eastnor, Hereford.

It seems that this year, the army of litter pickers, admitted in exchange for a free weekend ticket, failed to turn up for work on Sunday morning, by which time the site was rather the worse for wear after the rigours of Saturday night, leaving The Big Chill with a hefty clear-up bill instead.

Along with the toilet-emptiers, the litter pickers are the unsung heroes of a smooth-running festival, working behind the scenes to ensure that the environment is kept lovely.

After the mass non-turn-up, the festival is now rethinking its policy.

It may want to follow the lead of other events which charge workers for tickets and refund them the cost at the end of the weekend after they have clocked on to all their allotted shifts.

There’s an online feedback form at bigchill.net which allows festival attenders to submit feedback and suggest any ways in which the experience could be improved.

My highlight of the weekend was stumbling upon comedian Bill Bailey romping around the festival in a rubber chicken mask.

Black and Gold pop overnight sensation has just announced a gig at Wolverhampton’s Wulfrun Hall on September 25.

With a best-selling album under his belt that proves he’s no one- hit wonder, expect the sort of camp hysteria that stalks Mika and Scissor Sisters as Sam whips up a party.

We’ll have a posse there in glittery cowboy hats as we tipped Sam for the top weeks before he hit the charts.

We’ll be hoping that Mr Sparro fares better than his Mrst Birmingham gig last winter when he was forced to cancel after the P.A system proved unsuitable for the occasion.

Nitin Sawhney, the multi-culti vibes merchant, is never one to hold back.

Word reaches us that his new album, London Undersound, due October 13, once again tackles the big issues.

This time Nitin has concocted a song cycle that reKects upon how London has changed since 9/11.

Says the polymath: "I don’t recognize London as the same place it was ten years ago. The change has been quite subliminal and insidious.

But it is massively different. London has become polarised in a way that I Mnd uncomfortable and threatening, especially as an Asian person. I wanted to explore through my music the dynamic of a city which is going through a major transition."

Guests on the album include notorious chirpy cockney Paul McCartney and rising reggae songwriter Natty.

The lavishly-packed album comes draped in 16 specially contributed line drawings by acclaimed British Sculptor Antony Gormley.

Nitin’s politics of politeness have always irked me somewhat. His music is often too tasteful to appeal to the underground of the Asian music scene and remains the preserve of the middle class dinner party set.

Make up your own mind when he appears at Birmingham Town Hall on October 28.

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