TALK OF THE TOWN: and finally...

Dr Solomon Eagle reflects upon the tides of our artistic times

T he activities of young people have never ceased to alarm my aged sensibility, and yet in the newfound celebrity of messrs FRANZ FERDINAND (a certainty for your "Brit Awards" I am assured) there is a crumb of comfort. Such an encomium to a lamented royal personage is not only seemly and respectful, it acknowledges a little remembered talent. Those of us - I was one in distant days - who heard the Archduke perform upon the banjo, occasionally putting down that mellifluous instrument to pick up a pair of spoons, will not easily forget the vigour of his performance. There were others, equally proficient - KAISER WILHELM with his comb and paper, the PRINCESS VICTORIA, the old Queen's daughter, and her tambourine. They too deserve what I believe to be vulgarly known as "tribute bands".