The Bonus Track: Bronski Beat, Zoë Kravitz and Jake Bugg

A sideways look at the world of music

Small world boy

It’s every street performer’s dream. There you are, strumming away, when up pops the original singer of the song you’re playing to join in. Is it a set up? Who cares? Watch what happened when Jimmy Somerville walked past a Berlin busker playing Bronski Beat’s 1984 hit “Smalltown Boy”

The daughter also rises

For every Enrique and Miley, there’s a Julian and Ziggy … Children of pop stars – many have tried, not all have succeeded. Which makes Zoë Kravitz all the more unusual. Because not only did she attempt to keep her identity under wraps when launching her band Lolawolf (she failed) but she also views music as just a fun thing to do with her mates in between acting jobs (as you do, if you happen to be the child of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet). The surprise is that her debut EP is rather lovely. Watch the video for “Wanna Have Fun” here

You saw them where?

Sticky floors, that seven-footer in front of you, the noise from the bar louder than the singer… gigs in traditional venues can be frustrating. So we can only applaud the efforts being made to promote live music in unusual places. First came Get it Loud in Libraries (see getitloudinlibraries.com), then singer-songwriter Melissa James launched her Gig in a Gallery project (see melissa-james.com) and now there are gigs to be enjoyed without leaving your sofa (see Josh Record’s “House Shows” and Richard ­Buckner’s “Living Room Tour”). To ­celebrate this refreshing innovation, watch the Civil Wars cover Portishead at Lancaster Library here

Next week’s biggie…

Jake Bugg goes electric. No one shouts “Judas”. But what will Kevin Harley make of the singer-songwriter’s second album  Shangri-La? Watch the Shane Meadows-directed video for “Slumville Sunrise” below