‘I’ve always had big dreams, but I’ve been blessed beyond my expectations,’ says Terry Pheto, actress, role model, face of L’Oréal and … storyteller?
‘My grandmother was an amazing storyteller and, because we didn’t have TV at home, she would tell stories every night. I would recite them to my friends the next day and I think that’s where my love and passion for storytelling started,’ recounts Terry.
Humans are the ultimate animals – the most successful species on the planet. From the frozen Arctic to steamy rainforests, from tiny islands in vast oceans to parched deserts, people have found remarkable ways to adapt and survive in the harshest environments imaginable.
These stories of survival are the focus of ‘Human Planet’, an eight-part BBC Earth series following in the footsteps of ‘Planet Earth’ and ‘Life’, that celebrates the challenging relationship between humankind and nature.
“There is nothing more liberating than a blank piece of paper,” reckon Audi. “It’s the chance to create something original.”
The A7 may not be quite as groundbreaking as the marketers will have you believe. Cynics may (incorrectly) dismiss it as little more than a bigger A5 Sportback. And visually it harks back to the company’s 100 Coupé from the ’70s. But the stylish, sophisticated five-door coupe certainly sees the German manufacturer entering new territory.
“I don’t want to go home,” admits a clearly elated Bono as U2’s Cape Town show draws to an end. The feeling — echoed by the capacity crowd — is completely understandable: it’s been a shared evening of rock ‘n roll showmanship, political soapboxing, and surprising intimacy.
For all the size of the show — six days to set up; 204 shipping crates of equipment; 32 000 fasteners for the video screen alone — it’s ultimately about the four men at the middle of the 360-degree stage. This spectacle has soul.
Kanye West is the Angelina Jolie of hip-hop — his personal life overpowers his career. But unlike the actress — who tries to ignore the whole Brad-Pitt-plus-six-kids thing by playing secret agent, assassin, or 1920s housewife — the rapper actively brings his public persona to work.
Clearly the creation of the man behind such tweets as “If baroque and mod had a car crash… what would that ambulance look like?” and “I love me”, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ amounts to West jumping up and down on a table, shouting: “Yes, I’m a crazy douchebag. But I’ve got feelings too.”
Watershed frontman Craig Hinds takes a break from rehearsing for the band’s upcoming summer shows to talk road trips, getting nervous before shows, Jock of the Bushveld, and reimagining ‘Indigo Girl’.
The warning signs were there.
“We realised it doesn’t matter what the songs sound like — if it comes from us, it’s Linkin Park,” singer Chester Bennington told Rolling Stone back in August.
Then the winning entry in the remix-the-album’s-first-single competition sounded better than the original song.
In the video for his debut solo single, an increasingly battered Brandon Flowers is rescued time and again by an ass-kicking Charlize Theron. But his increasingly sheepish look every time she blasts through the door is even more telling.
It’s your first clue the 29-year-old singer has some issues with going it alone. Your second? His admission to feeling “a little bit naked” without the other members of the band he fronted to fame.
Pieter-Dirk Uys doesn’t get nervous before his performances. He gets excited. It’s a subtle difference, perhaps, but one that highlights his approach to life.
‘I am a terminal optimist,’ he confirms. ‘My definition of optimism is: expect the worst, hoping it will never be as bad as you imagine. And I have never been disappointed.’
His choice of words is ironic. The man who’d gone to university to become a teacher only to fall in love with the theatre instead doesn’t actually believe in disappointment.
Simon Le Bon vividly remembers Duran Duran’s last visit to South Africa in 1993.
“We arrived on the day that Chris Hani was shot in his own driveway so it was quite dramatic and very sad,” he says on the line from London. “There was a lot going on. I remember there were big protests and marches all through the streets of Cape Town when we were down there.
Nils van der Linden