Brilliant

VICTORIA Beckham was in the biggest girl group of all time but her son Cruz is taking inspiration from another brilliant British band for his debut album — The Beatles.

The budding musician’s close friend Luke Pritchard has unofficially helped guide the project thanks to years of experience in the industry, along with his ten UK Top Ten singles with his band The Kooks.

In an exclusive chat, Luke revealed Cruz was heavily influenced by the Fab Four’s ninth record, The White Album, which gave us iconic songs including Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da and Blackbird.

“He’s brilliant. He’s got all the right things,” Luke told me at the Iconic Images Gallery in London, where we were invited to celebrate a new exhibition of The Cure ahead of their headline slot at Isle of Wight Festival.

“I think he’s a rockstar, I really do.

“It’s got a kind of White Album psychedelia sound, with warm tones.

Read More on CRUZ BECKHAM

TAKING IT BECK

Mystery as Cruz Beckham DELETES video swipe at brother Brooklyn

got your beck

Cruz and Romeo Beckham’s girlfriends heap praise on Victoria amid feud

“I think he’s a great guitar player – it’s kind of what I want to hear in my head.”

In March, Cruz took to social media to tease a self-penned track inspired by his love for The Beatles.

In the short clip, he sang: “I wanna be John Lennon.”

Last week, as the showbiz world imploded thanks to his brother Brooklyn’s bombshell statement hammering his family, Cruz was locked away in a north London studio putting the finishing touches to the record.

As speculation about the family rift circulated the globe, Cruz took to Instagram to reshare a shot from the studio with the words “Loneliest Boy” along the top of a song sheet, leading some fans to wonder if it will be about his estranged brother.

Luke, who has released a new live version of The Kooks’s 2014 song See Me Now today, explained: “We were actually in the studio with him.

“His album sounds so good, so authentic. It’s really refreshing.

“You know, he’s recording everything completely authentically and trying to pick up that magic to some parts. I think that’s amazing.”

And he is determined to prove himself as an artist in his own right, breaking free from the nepo baby label.

Luke continued: “He’s the real deal. He wants to do things properly and he wants to gather his fan base the right way and he wants to go out and just play. It’s been a mad few days for him.”

Cruz has sold out his first headline show in London in March and has announced a UK tour with his band The Breakers which went on sale on Friday.

As well as their own tour this year, The Kooks are performing at Isle of Wight Festival alongside The Cure, Calvin Harris and Lewis Capaldi.

The film The Eagle Had Landed stars Michael Caine, Robert Duvall and Donald Sutherland, and is a hit with movie fans who praised it as ‘not your typical boring war movie’

A war film hailed by movie fans as ‘powerful’ and ‘wonderful’ is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.

The film The Eagle Had Landed stars Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland and Jean Marsh, and has become a huge hit with movie fans.

Based on the 1975 novel The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins, the movie follows a German intelligence officer Max Radl in 1943 as he plots to kidnap Winston Churchill during a visit to a small English village. Colonel Kurt Steiner leads a team of disguised paratroopers, aided by Irish agent Liam Devlin. The mission, initially successful, is jeopardised when a soldier’s uniform is revealed during a rescue act, bringing in American forces.

Released in 1977, the film might not have won over critics or earned any Academy Awards but it did earn the affection of fans who have praised it. The film ratings website Rotten Tomatoes is packed with positive reviews, all contributing to the film’s 71 percent rating.

One review said: “Its a brilliant lazy afternoon war film packed with actors you recognise and a wonderful performance from Larry Hagman.”

Another wrote: “Watched the film for the first time recently. It was better than I thought. Great cast and moves quickly.”

A third posted: “This is as much a thriller as a ‘war movie’. It has great characters, a wonderful soundtrack and has an authentic vibe throughout. Suspect negative reviews are from gamers. This film requires thought and attention to fully enjoy. The book is Higgins best and is a really enjoyable read.”

“A powerful beginning, great build-up, an interesting side-story to keep us interested and great finishing action sequences make for a World War II movie that is well worth seeing,” said a fourth.

A fifth added: “A neat little WWII spy thriller. Caine and Duvall are great, and Pleasence and Sutherland ham it up in an agreeable fashion.

“It’s not attempting to reinvent the genre, but it goes about its business with confidence (the steady hand of veteran director Sturges is felt in this regard), and it’s unique in that it presents the story (fairly exclusively) from the point-of-view of the ‘enemy.'”

Another highlighted the star cast as it said: “Michael Caine and Robert Duvall are two of my favorite actors of all time and yet somehow, Donald Sutherland totally steals the show. Awesome story out of the WW2 era. Not your typical boring war movie either.”

“Well made little war film based on the novel by Jack Higgins. Last film directed by Sturges is not as good as “The Great Escape” or “Magnificant Seven” but its not bad. Duval, Sutherland, Caine and Wiliams all do well while Hagman acts like he’s in a different movie entirely,” said another.

Another simply wrote: “One of the best action war movies.”

The Eagle Has Landed is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.