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On the road with Rend

On the road with Rend

Sorted’s editor Steve Legg caught up with Rend Collective frontman Gareth Gilkeson and asked him about the band, their new album and life on the road.

Gareth, thanks for joining us. Tell us about how the band was formed.

The band was formed actually, first of all in a community. We started in 2002 as a gathering called Rend, which I pastored, and Chris [Llewellyn] led worship at. It was very much focused on community, authenticity, just trying to create a space for people in their 20s and 30s, who we had noticed were leaving church and we wanted to have a place where they could experience God in a way that made sense to them. That’s where Rend came out of. We actually didn’t write any of our own songs for seven years, and then after about seven years we started writing our own stuff, which is kind of crazy but kind of fun to think that. Our focus was on the community and the kingdom of God before it was art. I think, in the Church, ministry and art need to go hand in hand and it’...

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Keep on keepin on

Keep on keepin on

Pharrell Williams may be a man of many contradictions, but through his music and humanitarian work, not to mention the examples he sets every day in his personal life, he has shown us that just by following your  heart you can inspire a generation.

He’s a music mogul, hip-hop legend, film producer, devoted dad and philanthropist, but if Pharrell Williams can teach us anything it’s that in a world of fragile egos and frail successes, sometimes sticking to your truth and values can be the biggest weapon in your armoury. Having blazed an unprecedented trail of success through the last two decades, he has remained gracious, hardworking and true. Well, perhaps with just a touch of that hip-hop swagger, but who could begrudge him that?

Still, despite his giddying highs, Williams’ career has not been without its low points. There was a period between his solo album In My Mind and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky when he wasn’t just irrelevant, he was nonexistent, and it is through sheer ...

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Growing up with God

Growing up with God

Life in the spotlight hasn’t always been easy for Nick Jonas. While the music industry is tough and unrelenting, and the acting world makes every participant fair game for discussion and critique, it’s arguably been the pressures of playing the impeccably behaved Christian kid that have weighed heaviest.

But with a new album due and gradual big screen acclaim coming his way, the charming 25-year-old has proven that with hard work, conscience and a little faith, it is possible to live your truth in the public eye.

He isis not the first former Disney alumnus to shirk off his innocent mouse ears and take on a sexy, provocative persona, and he certainly won’t be the last, but the transformation of Nick Jonas from dimple-cheeked boy-bander to muscle-bound leading man is more staggering than most. And the American’s coming of age is particularly noticeable given that the handsome 25-year-old has achieved the ultimate goal of balancing a chart-topping career with a bubbling Tinseltown p...

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Not on our watch

Not on our watch

They gather in a dimly lit basement. Some of the men are in suits, others in overalls, young men and old, black, white, Asian and Hispanic. They stand in a circle as a clean-shaven, blond-haired man welcomes them and explains why they have assembled.

It is nearly 20 years old now and Brad Pitt has a few more wrinkles on his face but Fight Club is still one of the most challenging films I have ever seen. It wrestles with male identity in a way that few other films have managed. It depicts the internal fight that many 21st-century men feel as they work out what it means to live in a culture dominated mainly by conscription to consumerism, careerism and competitive sport.

I share the dissatisfaction Brad Pitt’s character, Tyler, has with shallow, empty ideas of manhood. But I cannot share his longing for war. I have seen first-hand the terrible impact of war on the streets of Kosovo and the refugee camps of Lebanon. I still feel my mother’s pain of growing up with a Military Cross m...

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Not on my watch

Not on my watch

Let me start this by taking you back in time, it’s 1999, almost 2000, and I am in a blue Ford Escort 1.2L with four of my mates. We are on a mission, the summer night air is feeding into an electric atmosphere in the car as we motor towards our promised land. The designated driver is doing his job, looking cool and cruising us to our venue for an amazing night out.

The soundman in front is keeping a heady mix of pumping tunes going from the tape player and occasionally dropping the volume so one of us can share our unrealistic expectations for the night; oh, it was so good.

We cruised into Chelmsford in Essex, and boy, did we look the business, like five absolute bosses. The smell of Cool Water mixed with Joop must have been noxious to anyone who walked past us, but we didn’t care, this night was made for us. I had gone for my usually combination, smart jeans, Ellesse Boots (with the tag) and a check Ben Sherman shirt (tea towel design.) A few guys were sporting the Timberland®s ...

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They think it's all over...

They think it's all over...

One Saturday in July 1966, Geoff Hurst put the ball in the net three times and people still ask him about it. OK, it was the World Cup Final and Hurst’s three goals helped England win the World Cup for the one and only time. The moment has been immortalised in Kenneth Wolstenholme’s commentary as Hurst scored for the third time, “Some people are on the pitch. They think it’s all over [Hurst scores]. It is now.”

Fifty-two years on, I wondered if Hurst found it strange that he was still remembered for that one game of football: “The short answer is yes,” he replied. “As I said to someone the other day, ‘It’s a weird kind of fame that you’re known for something that happened 50 years ago.’ I am still pleasantly surprised that from time to time people stop me in the street, want to talk to me or shake [my] hand. Or have a selfie with [me] – the modern way, not autographs anymore. I find it amusing and entertaining that people still want to talk to me.”

While winning the World Cup was...

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Car S.O.S

Car S.O.S

Premiering on National Geographic with a special guest appearance in the opening episode from actor James Nesbitt (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Cold Feet), this new season of Car S.O.S is not to be missed.

Featuring some of the most difficult car makeovers Fuzz and Tim have ever encountered and heartbreaking real-life stories that devastate the entire crew, including the sad death of a contributor at the time of filming their episode, the sixth instalment of this much-loved series is a heart-warming, inspirational roller coaster ride of emotions.

Presenters Tim and Fuzz travel to Ballygowan in Northern Ireland to take on what turns out to be the worst car they have ever encountered. The 1959 MGA Roadster, left rusting for more than 40 years, belongs to former engineer Billy. His family life was turned upside down when his son John and daughter-in-law Lynette were tragically killed in South Africa on their honeymoon in 2014. The story made headline news around the world and it was Billy ...

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