Mr Brendan Murdock, founder of Murdock London, was an obvious choice as a male grooming expert on The Apprentice this week as semi-finalists Ricky and Tom created their male grooming brand Modern Gentleman. Here Mr Murdock tells us what he looks for in an Apprentice. (You can watch the episode on iPlayer.)

I and the other experts were asked to turn up on Day 1 as a ‘mystery shopper’ at the contestants’ concept store, attempting to blend into the crowd casually.  On Day 2 we were asked to return more formally dressed to attend presentations by the two groups of contestants and then engage in a brief Q&A held by Sir Alan, to share our views on the candidates’ efforts, helping him to reach a decision on his final two. One of the teams concept was a new male grooming line, which is why I was called in as one of the business experts.

What would you be looking for in your ideal apprentice?

My ideal apprentice would have to be ADAPTABLE,  immersing themselves in a brand and market they may not necessarily already know well. That requires flexible, quick, lateral thinking. In general, I like my own team at Murdock London to be passionate about the brand, have a genuine belief in what we’re doing, and to feel a kind of ownership in the brand they are helping to create. In this Apprentice task, the contestants needed to demonstrate a clear understanding of the market they would be operating in — the highly competitive men’s grooming market.

Do you believe experience or qualifications are more important in the workplace?

This is a difficult one, and I don’t think its necessarily an either/or  choice — a combination of both is ideal.  But if you pressed me, I think I would choose experience. Through experience, a person  develops as an individual in interesting ways and they are often much more aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and they understand some of the difficulties in problem solving and in pushing projects forward. I admire a strong intellectual ability which can often be demonstrated by qualifications, but the quality that strikes me most is curiosity, which can’t really be taught. You’re either a curious person, up for new things, or you’re not.

Did you meet Alan Sugar or his aides Karen and Nick behind the scenes? What were they like?

Yes I met Lord Sugar, Karen and Nick.  All three were particularly friendly.  I chatted at length to Nick who shared his experiences of having a traditional wet shave in Cuba, which i don’t think was a particularly pleasurable experience.  So I was encouraging him to visit our Liberty branch to experience our vastly differerent version of the wet shave! Karen shared how her husband enjoys being groomed, and likes to indulge in products. Lord Sugar has ‘designer stubble’ and was interested in the return of the beard on men, so we talked about that trend.

If you could give the apprentices one bit of advice, what would it be?

I was concerned when one of the contestants started to give me a facial when he had a qualified barber next to him.  It wasn’t the best of experiences for me, which might have shown on my face!  My advice would be: know your strenghts and don’t attempt to do everything yourself. Do what you know you can do well — delegate to others who have greater expertise when that’s wise — and always be in a position where you can learn new things. (That’s three pieces of advice, not one!)  During the task, I’d have felt more like this was a ‘real’ men’s grooming shop if I had been left in the capable hands of the trained barber!

How do you think you would fare being a candidate on the show?

I like to think I’d do really well, but don’t we all! I think there’s a fine line between what makes good television and what makes a truly good apprentice, but usually, Lord Sugar seems to get it just about right.

If you could say ‘you’re fired’ to one candidate, who would it be? 

I’m going to cop out and say ‘don’t know’. Unlike Lord Sugar, Karen and Nick, I didn’t really get to know the candidates well enough individually, which is an important part of the process. All seemed pretty articulate on the day, understanding their brands and what they were up to. As it’s the semi-final round, they’re all impressive in different ways.

If you could say ‘you’re hired’ to one candidate, who would it be? 

That’s perhaps an easier one, and on the day if I was to hire someone I think it would have been Ricky or Jade.  I liked Jade’s enthusiasm (though I’m not sure her sweets brand captured the brief of ‘luxury’).  Ricky demonstrated a real determination and pluck that I admired — he’s on the right side of brassy.

Last week the Royal Academy of Arts opened the doors to the 244th Summer Exhibition, the world’s largest open submission art show. Combining works in all media including painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, architecture and film, unknown artists are placed alongside established names.

This year, over 11 000 entries were received with an eventual 1,500 being chose by Royal Academician Tess Jaray, this year’s curator. Running until 12 August, it would be a rather brilliant cultural choice by any visiting Olympic tourists to see a show that has a such a long standing place in British art history, whilst showcasing the best of British contemporary art.

Royal Academy of Arts,

Burlington House

Piccadilly,

London

W1J OBD

Minocin

What with Father’s Day coming up on Sunday, it’s made me all emotional to think about the man that taught me what being a man is all about and the special bond we share father to son. Then that got me thinking about some of the most poignant moments between father and son on film. And now my keyboard is flooded.

Warning: Man tears will weep….

The Bicycle Thieves

In post-war Italy when a man has his bicycle stolen, he is unable to do his job and can’t provide for his family. Every young boy sees their father as being all powerful so the moment when he realises that he’s not is heartbreaking. Quite simply, this neo-realist classic is one of the finest films ever made.

Field of Dreams

You can’t really get more American than this. It’s got baseball, the Midwest, Kevin Costner, and bucket loads of sentiment but it lands just on the right side of saccharine. It’s also got two oft-quoted lines, the Wayne’s World spoofed ‘If you build it, he will come.’ And the blub-inducing ‘Hey dad, wanna have a catch?’

The Godfather

Should a son follow in his father’s footsteps if he’s a murderous gangster? Yes, definitely. Wouldn’t have been such a good film if he didn’t.

Life Is Beautiful

Guido Orefice, a Jwewish Italian (played by writer and director Roberto Benigni) tries to shelter his son (played by the cutest little boy in the world) from the full horrors of a Nazi concentration camp by pretending it’s all a game. A simultaneously horrendous and uplifting picture of humanity.

The Son’s Room

Nanni Moretti (this year’s Jury President at Cannes) wrote, directed and starred as the father in this heartbreaking film about an Italian family attempting to come to terms with the death of their son. It won Moretti the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2001 and the Guardian named it as the 6th best film of the Noughties.

The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Similarly to the Godfather, a son is torn about whether to follow his gangster father’s line of work or a less violent line of work (in this case, a  far, far less violent career as a concert pianist). Roman Duris, one of the finest actors of his generation gives a sterling performance as the son to Niels Arestrup’s father in Jacques Audiard’s brilliant film.

Finding Nemo

Yeah it’s an animation but a brilliant one with a great story about a safety mad single dad risking his life and travelling across the world to find his only son.

Kramer vs Kramer

Hoffman is forced to learn to love and care for his young son when his wife leaves him. The scene when he runs and carries him through New York streets to get to hospital shows what a bond has grown between them. A film that shows the full tragic effect that divorce has on children.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

A very funny portrayal from two Hollywood superstars of an irritable adult father and son relationship.

Beginners

The father/son relationship may just be one half of the plot of the most recent film on this list but Christopher Plummer deservedly won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a father who comes out to his adult son after his wife dies.

The MurdockMan attended the opening of artist Dave White’s new show at the Hospital Club last night, just round the corner from Murdock Covent Garden.  Through watercolours and oil paintings, Natural Selection explores the vulnerable power and beauty of endangered species.

Natural Selection is on display at The Hospital Club from 22 June to 7 July

 Mr Sam Hickey – Morrissey fan with Morrissey quiff

Young gent Sam Hickey is learning the noble profession of barbering whilst being an apprentice at Murdock Shoreditch under the tutelage of Head Barber Vincent Vincent. To bring him into the Murdock community we asked him to provide this week’s Top 5 Playlist.

Child by The Maccabees

That’s Entertainment by Morrissey

Telling Lies by Evans The Death

54-46 Was My Number by Toots & The Maytals

Before I Move Off by Mount Kimbie

With festival season now in full flow, we just wanted to point out to all you gentleman revellers that no matter how much cider gets thrown over you, no matter how much mud you fall in, and no matter how askew sleeping in a tent makes your hair, you can still look your dapper best whilst spending a weekend partying in a field.

What you need are hair products that won’t overload greasy hair that hasn’t been washed for the best part of a week and combs that will easily fit into your pockets. And remember, even if the sun is hiding behind grey clouds brimming with rain, it can still get ya. So keep your skin protected.  Festival fan and Murdock Covent Garden Barber Matthew Hughes picks some festival essentials to keep you looking your best.

When you haven’t washed your hair for a few days, a beer (or worse) flung by some over-zealous, less considerate than you reveller has landed on your head and you’ve passed out in the mud, your hair’s not going to be in the best of states. So you won’t want to overload it with an oily hair product. Which is why Matt suggests Murdock Hair Play to give you a light way of giving your hair strong hold. 

When your hair has already got a (tent) bed head look, the light  Sachajuan Ocean Mist Hair Spray will give you that bit of styling to turn it into that just got out of the sea look. You know, for when you’re in the middle of a field in the English countryside.

A handy comb by your side is always a good friend on any type of travels. So the Kent Folding Comb or….

… Slim Jim Comb will fit handily into a pocket.

You always need to keep your teeth clean. Whether it’s for your own personal hygiene, or for any new companions you may meet… So keep it handily travelled sized with Marvis Aquatic Mint Travel Toothpaste.

Don’t let the British summer full you. The sun’s still there behind those grey clouds and being outside for a whole weekend means you still need to protect your skin. Matt recommends Ultrasun Clear Gel SPF 20 as being the best in the business as it lasts, isn’t greasy and is easy to apply.

If you do catch a little too much sun though, you’ll be needing Ultrasun Aftersun.

Finally, let’s forget about the grooming and remember why exactly you are there. To have fun and be merry. So alongside a comb, a Whisky Flask  will make an excellent addition to your pocket. A filled whisky flask of course.

*NB. All whisky flask purchases from murdocklondon.com will receive a free complimentary sample bottle of Auchentoshan Three Wood scotch whisky.

 

‘We were asked to do Nelson’s hat because we actually made a hat for Nelson about two hundred years ago which now presides on his effigy in Westminster Abbey. So I think Nelson was a great choice as we have such a library of enigmatic and varied customers who have come through Locks over the many years that its fantastic to be able to celebrate them in really quite a novel new way. The idea behind the design was to pay homage to the hat we originally made for him but with a large nod to the Olympics and make it a bit light hearted, as it is an enormous hat of course.’

 

Stephen Jones on George IV

 

‘The hat was designed by our head milliner Sylvia Fletcher and is made from very special light reflecting fabric and it actually pulls over Nelson’s original hat. The brocade is also made from an actual Olympic torch and there’s thick rope which light reflecting thread was wound around to make sure it completely visible at night.’

 

Noel Stewart on Beau Brummell

 

‘It took a few weeks to make as the original hat had to be laser measured then an actual size model of Nelson’s head was made which we fit the hat for, after that various strange and wonderful things had to be done such as the hat being sent to be tested in a wind tunnel, the lightening rod atop Nelson being extended and the whole thing tested to make sure it is completely fire proof, just in case the whole thing gets hit by lightning!’

 

Piers Atkinson on Francis Duke of Bedford 

The statues will wear their hats until Friday when they will be removed and sold at auction to raise money for the Mayor’s Fund for good causes.

Valtrex

Gore Vidal 1925 -2012

Gore Vidal, the American writer and commentator has died aged 86.  Smart as a whip and often sharp tongued against those of whom he was critical (most notably Regan and the Republican party) many a memorable quote. Here are some of our favourites.

Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so.

As the age of television progresses the Reagans will be the rule, not the exception. To be perfect for television is all a President has to be these days.

Democracy is supposed to give you the feeling of choice, like Painkiller X and Painkiller Y. But they’re both just aspirin.

Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.

I never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television.

In America, the race goes to the loud, the solemn, the hustler. If you think you’re a great writer, you must say that you are.

It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.

Many writers who choose to be active in the world lose not virtue but time, and that stillness without which literature cannot be made.

Never have children, only grandchildren.

Sex is. There is nothing more to be done about it. Sex builds no roads, writes no novels and sex certainly gives no meaning to anything in life but itself.

Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.

There is no such thing as a homosexual or a heterosexual person. There are only homo- or heterosexual acts. Most people are a mixture of impulses if not practices.

Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.

Until the rise of American advertising, it never occurred to anyone anywhere in the world that the teenager was a captive in a hostile world of adults.

What other culture could have produced someone like Hemmingway and not seen the joke?

Write something, even if it’s just a suicide note.

Every ten years since 1952, the BFI’s magazine Sight and Sound has asked the world’s most prestigious directors and film critics for what they think are the greatest films ever made. The first winner was the neo-realist classic The Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio de Sica (which was also listed in our Top 10 Father and Son films list). Then the depth of field wonders of Citizen Kane won every time until last week when this decade’s list was released and Hitchcock’s Vertigo was named as the Greatest Film of All Time.

Forget that though! Here’s what the DEFINITIVE list of the Most MurdockMan Films Of All Time Ever. (Until the next DEFINITIVE list of the Most MurdockMan Films Of All Time Ever featuring all the films we’ve forgotten about here.) The films with male protagonists who we think most strongly display the MurdockMan qualities of confidence, strength, style, intelligence and artistic flair.

Le Quai des Brumes (1938)

Written by the brilliant Jacques Prévert and directed by the masterful Marcel Carné, Le Quai des Brumes (Port of Shadows in the English language) is a prime example of the rugged masculinity of French cinema’s biggest pre-war star, Monsieur Jean Gabin.

8 1/2 (1963)

The Fellini classic stars one of  film’s great style icons, Signor Marcello Mastroianni. One of the most handsomest men in all of cinemadom Mastroianni basically plays Fellini in a film that is basically about Fellini except he’s literally called Guido. A fed up, creatively blocked film director, juggling a wife and mistresses he retreats into memories and fantasies as he struggles to find a story to tell and the true desire to make his next film and is commonly held up by filmmakers and critics alike as one of the greatest films ever made. But forget all that. This film is purely in here because Mastroianni as Guido looks so damn cool.

The 400 Blows (1959)

Perhaps as Francois Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel character (closely based on the director himself – especially in this first film) grows in the later films in the series of his life, the adult Doinel may not be a MurdockMan. Yet in this French classic, often regarded as the first film of the Nouvelle Vague , the young Doinel is a little scamp desperately trying to free himself from the confines of his parents, his school, his family’s tiny Parisian flat, a police holding cell and then juvenile detention center in which he’s taken to. That innate sense of searching for liberation, we salute.

La Dolce Vita (1960)

Why? Because it’s got our man Mastroianni in again that’s why. And Anita Ekberg. They don’t make film stars like they used to.

 French playing Americans (but speaking French) in Italy

Americans (and a Brit) playing Americans (and speaking English) in Italy

En Plein Soleil (1960)/ The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)

These two films are both based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ but the French got there first and played it as the American characters in the book, yet they were all French. That’s a little odd but what there’s no question about is the style in both of these films. It’s hard to ever think of a novel as being in itself  ’stylish’, dealing as it does with words, and to be honest, having never read Highsmith’s book myself I’m in no position to say whether the source material is or isn’t. But judging by these films, two of the most stylish films ever in terms of menswear, then I’m going to guess that at some point early on there’s a line that says ‘And everyone looked really, really great.’  So this film is in the list mainly because of the clothes, Italian scenery and (SPOILER ALERT!) blagging skills but not (EVEN BIGGER SPOILER ALERT!) capacity to commit murder.

Dr No (1962)

Bond = MurdockMan. Connery = Best Bond. Dr No = Best Connery Bond Film. Dr No = MurdockMan film. (An unarguable equation we’re sure you’ll agree.)

Whisky? Check. Tweed? Check.  Beard? Check.  A happy, film-watching MurdockMan? Check. 

Whisky Galore (1949)

Made the list because the Ealing Comedies are so very British and so very marvellous. And also because there’s loads of whisky in it. And we like whisky.

North by North West (1959)

Forget Vertigo, this is Hitchcock’s greatest (ok, at least his most MurdockMan) film. Cary Grant is the leading man to end all leading men. Firstly, he’s an Mad Men style 50s Manhattan ad exec – already a winner here – but then gets mistaken for a certain Mr George Kaplan, and is chased across the States and has to deal with all manner of dangerous spy-style shenanigans. Of course, he does it with aplomb, wit, style and self-assuredness, and without the swaggering arrogance of Bond.

A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

A wartime love story that crosses the heavens and fills us with warm feelings about the human race. Men and women can be good people indeed. Plus, it’s got some cracking moustaches and beards.

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO SEE ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS AT THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET

The National Theatre’s award-winning production is a glorious celebration of British comedy. Richard Bean’s play is a unique, laugh-out-loud mix of satire, songs, slapstick and glittering one-liners.

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe. But Roscoe is really Rachel, posing as her own dead brother – who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a job with one Stanley Stubbers – but to prevent discovery, he must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

We have four pairs of tickets to give away to four lucky individuals. To win, simply click on the link below and enter your details:

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS

5 STARS: Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, The Times, Sunday Times, The Sun

‘Of all the feel good shows in London, this is the funniest.’ Sunday Times, March 2012

‘Comic perfection. What are you waiting for? Book now!’ Daily Telegraph, March 2012

‘The most glorious comedy on the planet.’ Daily Mail, March 2012

One Man Two, Guvnors Website 

One Man, Two Guvnors Facebook

One Man, Two Guvnors Twitter

Terms and Conditions

Competition closes 30^th September 2012. Valid Monday – Thursday performances until 31^st October 2012. Subject to availability. Four winners will be picked at random. 

 Incredible acting gentleman Mr Tom Hardy with Murdock Razor

The girls over at Blag magazine are gearing up for the release of their extra special 20th anniversary issue next month and as such we’re very excited. We’re extra especially excited however, because the issue features a shoot with the incredible London acting gentleman Mr Tom Hardy ‘shaving’ the mighty fine beard he sported a few months back with our very own Murdock products!

Now you too can get all excited for Blag’s 20th by watching the  the trailer to the anniversary issue here. It’s got  the aforementioned incredible London acting gentleman and Swedish actress Noomi Rapace interviewing each other while smoking in a bath. (Fully clothed unfortunately.)

Mr David Niven’s French villa 

Now summer is officially over and everyone nestles into their Autumn coats as they return to work, we have a little look at what Team Murdock got up to on their hols.

The gentleman behind it all, Mr Brendan Murdock holidayed on the Côte d’Azur in Cap Ferrat, where he visited La Fleur du Cap, the former French home of actor Mr David Niven (star of one of the Most Murdock Man Films Of All Time Ever – ‘A Matter of Life and Death’). With one of the most elegant men in the history of film as the host, his Italianate villa with its own harbour was a prime focus of the glamorous party scene of the French Riviera that orbited around Princess Grace Kelly during the 50s and 60s, and which had begun a few decades earlier with the American writers of Fitzgerald, Hemmingway and co.  The essence of which is the inspiration behind Murdock’s Avalon scent.

 Mr David Niven

Laura Madewell of Murdock HQ, took this picture from her villa in the coastal Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo.

This Murdock Man blogger travelled to the Marche region of Italy and visited one of the country’s most famous cafés – Caffè Meletti in Ascoli Picena. Here I had one of the most marvellous iced coffees to ever cool my mouth and keep my heart pumping through the southern Italian summer heat. A lemony dollop of cream on top of a and bitter coffee. Perfect balance. A Starbuck’s Frappuccino it certainly wasn’t. Never mind the high quality of their low temperature caffeinated drinks though, I was most taken by the turquoise table and chairs on their outside seating area.

I also browsed through a tiny percentage of the hundreds and hundreds of stalls at Europe’s biggest flea market, the annual Braderie de Lille (which unsurprisingly takes place in Lille, France. )

 Braderie de Lille

Alongside the rather fetching embroidered picture of a pipe-smoking elderly fisherman that I bargained for with a grumpy French Monsieur, I noticed a lot of barber shop bits and bobs such as Belmont barber chairs and this beautiful porcelain barbershop quartet. (For some reason I didn’t feel the need to part with my Euros for this one.)

I also came across this box of old strops and nasty looking razors.

And while we’re on barbershop based odds and ends found at markets, I also found this advert for Pears’ Shaving Cream in the back of an old Penguin book when browsing the fine second hand wares of Goldsmith Row Bookmarket in Hackney last weekend.

Mr Matthew Jessop

Barber Matthew Jessop of Murdock at Liberty, took his two young chaps to Wareham Forest on Dorset coast to do man stuff like hiking and sailing boats. Hemmingway would be proud. (Hemmingway also had great hair and a beard at various points of his life. So we like Hemmingway at Murdock.)

As well as attending the Olympic Torch Party in Hyde Park, Mr Luke Barkley-Young, Murdock’s Operations Manager spent a week of debauchery in Las Vegas to match the exploits of a certain ginger prince.

Head Barber of Murdock at Liberty, Mr Alex Glover, took in some of the capital’s cultural highlights that were taking place parallel to the games such as the BMW art car collection in Shoreditch. He was also lucky enough to attend the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games.

The hardy Murdock festival goers of Murdock Shoreditch’s Josh Mihan and Murdock at Liberty’s Mr Gavin Sharp didn’t let some of the most welly-swallowing mud the world has ever seen stop them from having fun at boutique festival Secret Garden Party. While Aussie Josh, all excited about the exploring the many of isles of Britain, also took himself off to last weekend’s Bestival on the Isle of Wight.

 Bestival 2012

And being an Australian fresh to London in the summer, Mr Mihan, of course, had to go and support Aussie tennis players at Wimbledon.

And finally, Mr David Sturgeon, Head Barber at Murdock Covent Garden was lucky enough to have tickets to the Olympic Stadium on the night that Mr Usain Bolt cruised home to be crowned the 200m Olympic champion for the second time.

Silvia Prada’s striking new illustrative book The New Modern Hair: A Styling Chart pairs black and white illustrated portraits with takes on geometric shapes from art movements like Bauhas and De Stijl that ‘highlight the emphasis on the shape for each hairstyle and command a manifesto for the references that each portrait points to.’ It’s the artist’s take on the style charts that were found in American barbershops in the 50s and 60s (such as the one titled ‘Official Hair Styles For Men And Boys’ featured in this Ivy League hair article).

You can shop the New Modern Hair at cultureEdit’s store.

 Mr Zavier Ellis. Gentleman curator of the arts.  The one on the right with the beard. 

We’re very excited to announce that we have teamed up with Shoreditch gallery CHARLIE SMITH london and its director Zavier Ellis to present the work of two of their artists in unique exhibitions in Murdock London stores.

The work of brother’s Sam and Luke Jackson – the first brothers in history to graduate from the Royal Academy together – will be hanging in Murdock stores from Wednesday 3rd October until Sunday 11th November. Luke Jackson’s predominantly black paintings create an oppressive atmosphere for the isolated figures which reside within them. Inspired by works of literature and cinema such as Kafka, Ballard and Chris Marker’s  film ‘La jetée’, his art questions the impact of civilisation’s structures on the free will of the individual.

‘Micro-Nations’ by Luke Jackson. 

 Charlie Smith gallery. 

Luke’s brother Sam will be showing a selection of paintings from his The Fearful Joy show which exhibited in CHARLIE SMITH london in the spring of last year. His series of melancholic and expressive portraits of men, young and old.

On Tuesday 2nd October, Murdock Covent Garden will be hosting a launch party to celebrate our collaboration with CHARLIE SMITH london and the brothers Jackson’s exhibition. The event will take place at 18 Monmouth St, 7-9pm with British Craft lager provided by Saint. If you would like to attend, please RSVP moustaches@murdocklondon.com. 

‘Pubescent Dream’ by Sam Jackson. 

 Charlie Smith gallery. 

Following the Jackson brothers will be Hugh Mendes and his series of painted recreations of newspaper obituaries. More on which before the exhibition starts in November.

Obituary Merce Cunningham by Hugh Mendes. 

Having curated exhibitions and represented artists since 2006, CHARLIE SMITH london established its gallery space opposite Hoxton Square in Old Street near our Shoreditch store in October 2009 with the objective of running an exceptional exhibition programme of dedicated one person exhibitions and dynamic curated group shows. The gallery’s approach is collaborative and curatorial with an emphasis on work that challenges, seduces, confronts and consoles. Beauty, death, horror, sexuality, the historical and mythological are common interests. Director Zavier Ellis is also co-founder of THE FUTURE CAN WAIT and has curated exhibitions in Berlin, Helsinki, Klaipeda, London, Los Angeles, Naples, New York and Rome; and continues to place work in world class private collections globally.

Charlie Smith gallery. 

We’ll be featuring more on the Murdock x CHARLIE SMITH london artists and exhibitions over the following weeks, so keep checking The MurdockMan.

Those fine ladies and gents over at Reiss understand that though clothes do not maketh the gentleman, the gentleman’s clothes reflect the gentleman’s personality. And as the careful crafting of a tailored suit makes it a uniquely personal item of clothing, a tailored suit is unquestionably clothing fit for a gentleman. This is the thinking behind Reiss Personal Tailoring  – a manageable seventeen stage process that explores every detail on the path to creating your perfect suit. Such customisation allows you, the suit desiring chap, to become the suit designer by choosing every detail from fabric, styling, linking and trims, creating a defined and confident investment.

(Oh, and it’s manners that maketh the gentleman. But if you had to ask, you clearly aren’t a gentleman.)

Stage Three. Jacket Style. 

Stage Six. Cuff Buttons. 

To celebrate its new Personal Tailoring fabrics and designs, Reiss are giving MurdockMen the chance to look uniquely dapper by winning a Reiss Personally Tailored suit of their very own.

We have one Reiss Personal Tailoring Suit to give away. To enter the competition, simply click on the link below and enter your details.

WIN YOUR VERY OWN SUIT FROM REISS PERSONAL TAILORING.

Stage Fourteen. Undercollar Melton.  

Find out more about Reiss Personal Tailoring here.

Competition Terms and Conditions

Competition closes midnight 13^th October 2012. One winner will be picked at random. Only the winning entry will be contacted by email. All entrants data will be shared with Reiss and Murdock London. 

If you’ve been on the tube at all in last couple of months then we’re sure that you’ve seen posters for Our Boys,  Jonathan Lewis’ play about injured veterans of the Falklands and Northern Ireland conflicts in  a military hospital in 1984. Based on the author’s own experiences, this searingly honest and explosively funny play has a stellar cast that includes Laurence Fox (Hathaway in Lewis), Arthur Darvill (Rory in Doctor Who) and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films.)

Six young soldiers are killing nothing but time as they recover from injuries incurred in the line of duty. Suddenly, their daily routine of TV, lonely hearts ads and banter is shattered by the arrival of a young officer. The camaraderie of this unlikely band of brothers is soon jeopardised by a dangerous incident and an act of betrayal.

We have one pair of top price tickets to give away. To enter simply click on the link below. (Competition closes midnight 28th October.)

Win a pair of Top Price tickets to see Our Boys!

The producers have also been good enough to create a special Murdock offer of Top Price tickets to Our Boys for £32.50.

To book call 0844 482 9672 and quote Murdock or visit www.ourboystheplay.com and enter Murdock promo code when prompted. Valid on performances from 15-27th October. 

Our Boys

Duchess Theatre

Catherine Street

26 September – 15 December 2012

Box Office: 0844 412 4659

www.ourboystheplay.com

Competition terms and conditions apply. Tickets are valid on all Monday-Friday performances until 6 December 2012. Subject to availability. Prize is as stated and cannot be transferred or exchanged. No cash alternative will be offered. Producers reserve the right to restrict prizewinner tickets to specific performances during busy periods. Competition closes midnight 28th October.

Offer terms and conditions. £32.50 ticket offer valid on all performances between 15-27 October 2012. Subject to availability. Cannot be used retrospectively or in conjunction with any other offer. Booking fees may apply.

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Fist pumping, shout along rock ‘n’ roll. It’s just hitting exactly the right nerve as the nights get longer and darker and we try to stay vibrant and alive. And warm from all that fist pumping. Can’t stop listening to this debut single by this raucous Lambeth quartet.Developers This is enabling to are a installed jailbreak untethered http://unlockiphone3ging.com and and else junk only frees iPhones unlock instructions To app

Alongside David Zwirner and Michael Werner, Pace is one of a host New York galleries who have recently entered the London art market. Currently renting space from the Royal Academy, their inaugural show is a pairing of some very mainly black and grey, late period Rothko paintings with some equally dark seascape photos by the Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. Is the greyness of this exhibition a little joke by those Americans at the colour of London skies?

I went on my lunchtime and I can tell you for nothing lunch eating London dwellers, that it was far, far better than any sandwich.

Sugimoto. 

Rothko.

Rothko/Sugimoto is at Pace London until 17th November

Zavier Ellis is first and foremost the director of the Charlie Smith Gallery (just down the road from Murdock Shoreditch) and co-founder of The Future Can Wait – a grand art show for emerging artists. He’s also a Murdock Man.

Zavier kindly stopped by for a chat after his haircut and beard trim to discuss his working instincts, current involvement with Murdock London and plans for the near future.

As an artist yourself, what turned your attention to the curating side of the industry?

I did come at it from being an artist when I was younger, but I decided at that age that I didn’t only want to be an artist. I’m talking about 17, 18, 19, when you’re making those career and study decisions. I was already decided I didn’t just want to be an artist, but also I was really interested in organising things. Even at that age. I curated my first show when I was 18, literally with me and a bunch of friends. I decided that I didn’t want to go and do Fine Art then; I wanted to go and study History of Art. So I did my degree in History of Art and then later on an MA in Fine Art. I just had something in me that I was very interested in the organisation side of things.

Do you enjoy not being solely focused on creating pieces, but rather being able to use your creativity through other means by discussing art in galleries & lectures etc.?

I do very much so. In terms of the lectures themselves – I’m big on education. I think it’s essential and it’s the way that I’ve learnt to do whatever I might do. I think it’s very, very important so I’m happy to lend my hand to that. I think personality wise it’s important to me to have a vent, so I can switch from being a curator and gallerist to being an artist. It enables me to keep things fresh. Also, they really feed into each other and doing an MA in Fine Art was the best thing that I could have done to become a better gallerist and curator. A great part of what I do is having the relationship and interaction with the artists. I have close personal relationships with the artists that I work with, so that’s something that’s very important to me and a benefit from curating and gallery running.

Do you feel that galleries such as yours fill a certain void of chance/opportunity for young people to display their art?

Yes they do, definitely. I’m interested in talent spotting so I like to go and spot artists, give them an opportunity and then hopefully they can go on to make some sort of career from it. The artist’s that I represent are beyond this stage in their career, but I go to all the BA and MA shows in London every year. In actual fact I’m curating a show in January called Young Gods which is by a selection of painters who have just recently graduated. I’m very interested. I don’t know if it relates to the education side of things.

Current Exhibition – The ID, the Ego and the Superego

Your gallery features ‘work that challenges, seduces, confronts and consoles’ – what criteria do you look for in new art that accomplishes these traits?

It’s a very instinctive response. Technique is important to me, but technique isn’t enough by itself. This is when these big human, emotive, psychological, philosophical subjects come to me and interest me. In a way I’m programmed to respond to that sort of work, so it’s important that my programme is quite cohesive and you’ll see that running through a lot of it. I think if you looked at the historical academic definition of romanticism, then that’s pretty much what we deal with. I think most people would be afraid to use the word and a lot of people would mistake the word, but that’s what I look for and that’s what I respond to.

Do you distinctly look into graduating artists to exhibit, or are there alternative methods that young artists can grab your attention with?

They have to be the right artists. In a way it’s a little bit ironic that even though we’re looking for artists, we’re telling people not to send material through to the gallery. It’s only really because we get so much of it though. First of all an artist really needs to research what we do. If they actually give me a call and say “look, can I show my work to you?” then I will try my best to look at an email of images. If I’m just getting unsolicited material then I just don’t have the time. Really though, I would say the best way is to apply for prize shows. Having launched a prize show myself called Anthology two years ago, I know that I’m forced – along with my committee who are high end critics and collectors – to look at several hundred applicants’ pieces out of respect to them. That has without doubt opened up opportunities for artists that might not even make it into the prize show. I also know that some of our committee members have wanted to curate or collect certain pieces. If I hadn’t put them in Anthology then I might have alternatively put them in The Future Can Wait and other shows. My prize show is called Anthology, so I will ultimately look if someone’s applied to it.

Tell us a little bit about ‘The Future Can Wait’ and what’s been achieved through the initiative so far.

That started out as a project between me and Simon Rumley, who’s an independent film maker, curator and collector. We basically wanted to put on the biggest show in London – the biggest curated show for emerging artists during Frieze Week. So far we’ve focused on London-educated and based artists but within that it’s still very international. There are so many international artists who come and study in London.  The idea was to do something big and spectacular alongside Frieze Art Fair as a satellite event. We were invited to go into collaboration with Saatchi’s New Sensations two years ago, and we’ve had this incredible 22,000 square foot space in Bloomsbury Square since. They show just recent graduates and we show emerging to mid-career artists. The focus is on spectacular, high quality art. It’s hopefully the best survey show for London-centric artists.

Sam Jackson – The Dirty Boy, The Future Can Wait 2012

How do you think stores such as Murdock that are embracing young artists can benefit from displaying contemporary pieces? Do both shops and artists benefit from each other?

I would hope that they benefit from each other. With Murdock in particular it’s a case of branding. I’ve done shows at restaurants and bars before and they haven’t really achieved much. With Murdock, I looked at the branding and I thought actually, this is something that I feel could be a good parallel. We’re yet to find out what it does for the artists, but I’m pleased that it’s adding to the premises for one thing. I’m happy to get a haircut and beard trim every now and again too, and without a doubt the paintings are getting exposure. What that leads to we don’t know, but we can only try.

Your current exhibition – The ID, the Ego and the Superego runs through until November 17. What’s in store for you in the close run up to Christmas and the approaching New Year?

With the run up to Christmas I’m doing a one person show for Dominic Shepherd. He’d be a good Murdock Man actually, he’s bearded! Dominic is a painter who draws folk art containing myth and magic and ritual and the hallucinogenic. It’s really interesting work. We’ve got Sam and Luke Jackson at Murdock right now and after Christmas I’m curating this Young Gods show. I will put a selection in my gallery, but also the main focus will be a show for Winsor and Newton. That’s next on the agenda.

Zavier post-treatment at Murdock Covent Garden

Later this afternoon, a very special broadcast is being put out via every BBC station to mark 90 years of radio.

‘Radio Reunited’ is set to be a monumental event that’s been curated by Blur’s Damon Albarn as an audio collage.

At three minutes long, the broadcast will feature contributions from people across the world regarding the theme of ‘the future’.

Each of the BBC’s 60 stations will then pick a specific contribution to be set to a track composed by the Blur frontman.

Albarn has confirmed that a few of the sound snippets include a skylark, Bertrand Russell in Morse Code, and a scary Cold War Spy Station. Based on this weird and wonderful concoction, we can’t wait to hear the rest!

‘Radio Reunited’ will be aired later at 5.33pm, marking exactly 90 years since the BBC’s first radio broadcast. Be sure to tune in and be a part of these historic few moments.

You can download the piece and find out more about the 90th anniversary HERE.