gave

More than any other artist in the 20th century, David Hockney defined Los Angeles in the public imagination. When he first arrived in January 1964, age 26, his mental image of the city had been forged not by art but by Hollywood movies, which he had watched as a young boy in Yorkshire, England. In later life, he often recollected the sharp-edged shadows cast by the Californian sunlight in movies such as Laurel and Hardy’s “Big Business.

Before he ever went to L.A., Hockney — who died Thursday at 88 — knew that he would love it. Writing about his first descent into the city, he recalled how “as I flew over San Bernardino and looked down — and saw the swimming pools and the houses and everything and the sun, I was more thrilled than I’ve ever been arriving at any other city, including New York.” By this time, the glamour of Hollywood had been compounded by other influences, including the homoerotic magazines that an American friend had given him at the Royal College of Art in London. Titles such as Physique Pictorial, published in L.A. by the pioneering “beefcake” photographer Bob Mizer, held out a promise of California as a paradise of rippling men and permanent sunshine. A darker, no less thrilling image of the city had arisen from Hockney’s reading of “City of Night,” the 1963 novel by John Rechy that tells the story of a hustler in the gay underworld of downtown L.A.

Los Angeles itself felt young to Hockney. He loved the light, the architecture, the sense of space and the sense of possibility — not least the possibility of greater sexual freedom. West Hollywood boasted a large gay bar, the Red Raven on Melrose Avenue, that was unlike anything he had found in London or New York. There was also the lure of the beach, with its pageant of sculpted physiques. Venice Beach struck him as a more body-beautiful version of London’s Portobello Road.

Before long, his work shifted from generic fantasies of the city (a young man showering in Beverly Hills, for instance) to vivid portrayals of its real-life pools, palm trees, architecture and people. American artists such as Edward Ruscha and Edward Kienholz were producing their own canonical images of L.A. in these years, but for Hockney, there were no artistic precedents — “no ghosts,” as he later put it — to live up to. “People then didn’t even know what it looked like,” he once said. “And when I was there, they were still finishing up some of the big freeways.… I suddenly thought: ‘My God, this place needs its Piranesi, Los Angeles could have a Piranesi, so here I am!’ ”

He was true to his word, even if his luminous, serene images of the city were a far cry from Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s feverish visions of Baroque Rome. “Beverly Hills Housewife” (1966), a portrait of a pink-dressed collector in her modernist home, marked the onset of a realist style that would define Hockney’s work for the next decade. This era gave rise to paintings that became icons of their time and place. Among them were “A Bigger Splash” (1967), which was based on a magazine cover that he came across on a newsstand, and “Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy” (1968, sold last year at Christie’s New York for $44.3 million). Inspired by Hans Holbein, this portrait of the English novelist and his artist partner was one of the first celebratory portrayals of a gay couple. Hockney would later recount how Isherwood proclaimed: “Oh David, we’ve so much in common; we love California, we love American boys, and we’re both from the north of England.” Hockney’s beloved American boy at this time was Peter Schlesinger, a young artist he had met while teaching at UCLA in the summer 1966 — and a recurring presence in the early L.A. pictures.

According to Norman Rosenthal, who curated a major survey of Hockney’s art at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris last year: “It is astonishing that a boy from a poor family in Bradford became the person — partly because of his gayness, but also his talent — who defined what everybody now thinks of as California. L.A. had no real image in the world before then, unlike New York.”

Despite his enchantment with Los Angeles, Hockney didn’t settle there until 1978, after a decade of bouncing between America and Europe. In the summer of 1979 he moved into a house in the Hollywood Hills, and soon adorned its pool with swishing strokes of blue paint. In the early 1980s, he converted the paddle tennis court into a studio. The meandering routes and Mediterranean scenery of the Hills were a fresh source of amazement, giving rise to monumental depictions of Mulholland Drive and Nichols Canyon in a newly abstract style.

By this time, the city was deeply familiar — a second home — and he had a close circle of friends around him who included the patron Betty Freeman (subject of “Beverly Hills Housewife”), the designer Gregory Evans, the gallery owner Nicholas Wilder and the film producer Joe Simon. “L.A. had represented a whole new world for him,” says Simon, who remained in regular contact with the artist until his final days. “He just loved the light. He was like a kid in a candy store when he first came. But David was all about the work. Everything came back to that.”

In recent decades, Hockney’s name had become synonymous with the landscapes of his native Yorkshire, which he began painting prolifically in the early 2000s. But Los Angeles never lost its newness and promise. His house in the Hills remained a sanctuary until his final years, when he was too frail to travel. L.A. was where he had come of age, and it remained an indelible part of his life and psyche — not least in terms of its egalitarian spirit and its tendency toward the horizontal. “The great thing about Hockney was that he spoke to everybody,” says Rosenthal. “Few artists of his world and his generation could do that.”

James Cahill, a novelist and an art critic, is the author of, among other books, “David Hockney” and the forthcoming “The Beverly Hills Housewife: Hockney’s Californian Muse and the World Beyond the Pool.”

CONVICTED murderer Mackenzie Shirilla showed tell-tale signs she was trying to force emotion during her arrest and in her bombshell Netflix interview, a body language expert has claimed.

Shirilla, 21, has been languishing behind bars in Ohio after being found guilty of murdering her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their friend, Davion Flanagan.

Her case has sent true crime fans into a tailspin after the success of the Netflix documentary, The Crash, in which she broke her silence and maintained her innocence.

Shirilla’s TikToks and Instagram posts have resurfaced, showing her regularly posing in the mirror, showing off designer clothing, and even smoking weed in her car.

Text messages revealed by police showed her toxic relationship with Dominic, her boyfriend of four years, whose family claims had tried more than once to break up with her.

She reportedly threatened to harm him during arguments before purposefully plowing into a brick wall while driving her Toyota Camry on July 31, 2022.

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Renowned body language expert Logan Portenier, host and creator of the popular YouTube channel Observe, spent hours breaking down her movements in dozens of social media clips and footage.

Here he gives The U.S. Sun his biggest takeaways from the case.

TikTok star

Shirilla was a social media-obsessed teen before the crash and shared daily posts on TikTok of her and Dom, both at home and out and about, as she was often the center of attention.

Reviewing one clip of them in the car together, Logan said, “He doesn’t seem to be as stoked for this video that she’s filming as she does.

“It didn’t seem as though they were quite on the same page emotionally.

“She’s doing her different poses and expressions for the sake of the video and for his side of things, he seems much more reserved and subdued.

“Because he’s not performing as much for the camera as she is, we’re seeing a fair bit of synchronization across the upper half of his face and the lower half of his face, which lets us know that anything that we’re kind of seeing on that is probably going to be forced. It’s performative.

“And he does, a little lackluster kind of asymmetrical smile on the bottom half of his face.”

Uncomfortable posing

In another clip from Shirilla’s TikTok, the couple is at home, and she is trying to get him to pose in a full-length mirror as he is seen hiding behind her.

“Mackenzie is doing a lot of the posing,” Logan said. “She’s hitting her different looks that she wants to do during this.

“In the background, you could see initially Dom’s nonverbal communication.

“He’s doing a self hug. You can see him holding both of his arms there.

“That is misconstrued in a lot of areas as exclusively defensive,” but Logan feels this is more about comfort.

“What I do find more interesting is that he does shift later on to holding both hands in front.

“So both of those clusters there, he has one in front and then he has his hands clasped in front like that. Both of those signal a level of discomfort.”

Logan added, “We’re seeing again this dichotomy between the two of them.

“He’s kind of there and he’s being present, albeit uncomfortable, reserved, and needing to do a little bit of self-soothing to be able to make it through.”

Distracted driving

Shirilla, who made no secret of being image-conscious before her arrest, frequently posed for TikTok videos — even when she should have been concentrating on the road.

In hindsight, clips showing her filming herself while driving are especially unsettling, given that two young men would later lose their lives in a crash while riding in a car with her behind the wheel.

“It’s very focused on the phone and what she appears like on it, hitting her specific facial expressions as well,” Logan said.

“And on those facial expressions, this helps us understand how she will behave and appear when she’s performing.

“There might be some of that lip pursing that we kind of see in there.

“There are some head tilts in there as well as she’s trying to be perceived in a very specific way, so that performative non-verbal communication comes in handy in future situations, because then you can keep an eye out for some of those patterns that may or may not show up in the future.”

Cuffed and anxious

Shirilla survived the crash and police launched an investigation, as evidence slowly proved it was not an accident and she recovered from multiple surgeries.

Fast-forward to November 2022, and Shirilla’s life blows up in smoke as she’s finally arrested and later charged with murder.

“I don’t know that she’s aware that there’s a camera pointed at her, that she’s going to be perceived in this area, and so what we’re going to be able to see is more of her unfiltered nonverbal communication,” Logan pointed out.

“And with this, she is feeling what would be considered in that vein of the universal emotion of sadness.

“There’s grief, there’s panic, and stress, everything that can go into that.

“What really gives it away is the action in her forehead area.

“What we’re seeing predominantly is unit one activation, which is the middle portion of your eyebrows when they go upward during genuine sadness and grief.

“You can see that happening symmetrically, but if it’s more performed, a lot of people will end up having light asymmetrical activation because it’s not genuine.”

Frozen with fear

In further footage of Shirilla in the back of a police car after her arrest, Logan said she appears frozen with fear despite not shedding a tear as she heads to the station.

“She has fairly relaxed eye positioning in general when she’s not panicked,” he said.

“And so this widening of her eyes, it indicates, genuinely, that she’s feeling anxious. This would be considered fear.”

Logan added that while Shirilla “might not be terrified, it would at least trigger as fear to the anxiety levels” as she rides in the police car.

“So we’re seeing both the combination of the grief across the upper half of her forehead and her eyes are showing the fear as well,” Logan said.

“Then when we get down to the rest of her face, some things that show more physiology rather than just physical movements, is a lot of the inflammation around her nose and upper lip,” which Logan claims “[lets] us know that this is coming from an authentic place.”

Putting on an act

Logan explained that emotional states have a profile, and things can usually shift after around four and a half seconds.

During the journey, Shirilla seems to relax, despite the situation that she’s in, and is seen rolling her head back and looking bored.

But as they approach the station, Logan feels she starts to perform as she realizes she should be more upset than she is if she’s not guilty of murder.

“When you’re watching somebody who’s performing, you’ll see a lot of crashes in between,” he told The U.S. Sun.

“So they’ll be emoting a specific way and then it’s almost like they remember like, ‘Oh, I should be sad right now.’ And then they’ll crash into sadness, something like that.

“You can see it start to kind of creep through the cracks of her rather reserved expression beforehand.”

This is where Logan returns to Shirilla’s “eyebrow activation.”

He claims Shirilla’s outer and inner eyebrows are working together at this point to show sadness, stress and anxiety.

Again, the corners of her nose are also activated, not in disgust, but trying to show she is upset, something he says he doesn’t often see.

Oscar-worthy performance

She is later seen sobbing during her trial before being locked up for 15 years to life on murder charges.

Shirilla starts to mix with people from different walks of life, and it’s years later when we see her sit down with film producers for her bombshell interview.

She is seen walking into the frame and sitting down at a table wearing her prison scrubs, her hair tied up in a large bun.

“The fact that she’s sitting down, crossing her arms, immediately lets us know that she’s probably feeling uncomfortable about what’s about to happen there and needs to block off and self-soothing a little bit,” Logan said.

Shirilla then activated her glabella – the smooth area of skin on her forehead located directly between the eyebrows and just above the bridge of her nose, Logan said.

He claims this was to give the impression she is empathetic, but instead of it being symmetrical, she delivered asymmetrical activation.

“Her right eyebrow does not have the same activation as her left eyebrow.

“Her left eyebrow is doing the exact same expression that we saw in the cruiser. Her right eyebrow is not.

“It’s an asymmetrical expression which lets us know this isn’t authentic empathy.

“This isn’t authentic pain or fear or grief that she’s feeling here. It’s forced.”

Logan said this was also visible further down the vein on the bottom half of her face.

She also began pursing her lips – something she would do in her performative TikTok videos, where she wanted to control how she was being perceived.

He said she is trying to convince the audience she is upset about the situation she is in, and victims’ deaths, but “her body is betraying her.”

“And then when we get to this specific interview she’s talking at a lower register, she has a little bit more husky to her voice,” he said.

“Some of the verbal tics that she uses as well have shifted. And my immediate thought was, this has to be something about the performance that she’s obviously performing.

“She wants people to feel a certain way. And so she shifted her tone, her speaking differently as well to perhaps support that.”

He feels not only her voice will have changed in prison, but her body language as she mixes with other inmates.

“I have no doubt in my mind that she’ll be adjusting her overall nonverbal behavior as well to better fit in and get to where she wants to be in that social circle as well,” he said.

To see the full interview with Logan, and other exclusive videos on Mackenzie Shirilla, visit our YouTube channel.

TOMMY Fury raced to be by Molly-Mae’s side for the birth of their second child as he chartered a private jet from boxing training camp to make it in time.

Fans were concerned history would repeat itself and Tommy wouldn’t be around during the beginning stages of their baby’s life, due to his scheduled fight against World’s Strongest Man, Eddie Hall, on June 13.

But, the Netflix star has certainly put those rumours to bed as he stopped at nothing to put Molly at ease.

The 27-year-old flew on a private jet from his training camp in Manchester down to London earlier this week.

The loved-up couple announced the birth of their baby on Instagram today with a sweet snap at the hospital.

A source said: “The whole family is over the moon. Tommy flew down on private jet to be at the birth.

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MINI MOL

Molly-Mae Hague gives birth as star welcomes second child with boxer Tommy Fury

“Mollie went into labour yesterday, she had been in London for the past week while Tommy continued his training camp in Manchester ahead of his Eddie Hall fight.”

“Tommy flew straight down last night to be by her side as soon as she told him labour had started. They went to hospital this afternoon and the baby was born a few hours later,” the source continued.

“The baby is absolutely perfect. Molly is exhausted but doing well. She’s so glad Tommy made it down for the birth as she was so worried he might not get there in time.”

But despite it all being a race against the clock, Molly’s boxer beau still managed to get there in time bearing gifts.

The source added: “Tommy rushed down with flowers, her favourite chocolates Ferrero Rocher and the blanket she wanted to wrap the baby in for the first pictures, as she’d forgotten it at home.”

In the first snap of their new babe, Tommy, Molly and Bambi all gathered around the hospital bed as they lay sleeping.

The picture appeared to be taken soon after the birth as stunning Molly was still in her hospital gown.

She looked utterly overjoyed as she beamed down at their new arrival.

The smitten couple captioned the announcement post: “…and then there were 4.”

There celebrity pals and fans went wild over the news and flooded their comments with congratulations.

Before the birth, Maebe creator Molly told fans over on her YouTube that she would be giving birth to her second bundle of joy at London’s Portland Hospital.

She explained how she would be having the same midwife that was present when she gave birth to her daughter Bambi, three.

Molly and Tommy are yet to reveal the baby’s gender or name.

In her latest video, Molly confessed she could announce the name by putting it on Tommy’s fight shorts as she normally take the lead on designing them.

Perhaps all could be revealed next week.

After Arsenal‘s first league title for more than two decades was confirmed, tens of thousands of supporters rushed to Emirates Stadium to celebrate.

“I knew we were a sleeping giant that we needed to awaken in some way.” Kroenke said.

“We haven’t had a team, a squad like this in the social media age. Social media evolved and the Twittersphere and everything else around it.

“The instantaneous information, the ‘Banter Era’ – I’m aware of all this. I turned 46 last week.

“I’ve grown up around this and I’ve seen it all from my own perspective. I think that’s what I’m so proud to see. There was almost a time when you were a closeted Arsenal fan.”

But this success does not mean the end of the journey for Kroenke and his vision for the club, with the Gunners playing Paris-St Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday.

“I think I can think back and say that our stated goal was winning the Premier League, because if you can put yourself in contention for the Premier League, you’re in contention for everything else.” Kroenke said.

“Should we get a great result on Saturday, it’s not going to change or affect who we are. When you win something, the sun’s still going to come up the next day.

“You’ve got to get back to work and there are many teams trying to gain on you, including some historically great ones around the Premier League.

“So, we’re going to look to strengthen because we know that teams around us are going to get better. If you’re not trying to continually evolve and improve, you’re standing still.”

The Rich House, Poor House mum had to turn down a job that would change her life

A single mum living on £98 a week was forced to turn down a life-changing opportunity.

Steph recently appeared on Rich House, Poor House and was offered a job but she had no choice but to refuse the offer due to a family issue and unable to take on the long commute.

Alongside her mother Gail and her daughters – 12-year-old Amelia and seven-year-old Darcey, they swapped lives with wealthy Mr Whippy owner Joe Sealey on the Channel 5 series and their worlds couldn’t be more different.

At the time, Joe traded his six-bedroom estate – complete with cinema room, gym and indoor pool – for seven days in Steph’s three bedroom council house with a damaged ground floor and mould spreading through Amelia’s room.

Despite working six days a week from home in telesales, Steph struggles to cover essential costs. Once fundamental household expenses are paid, they’re left with just £98 per week for all other needs.

At the end of the swap, she was given a life-changing opportunity as Joe offered her a position on his sales team with a starting salary of £60,000 a year.

However Steph has revealed that she’s had to make the heartbreaking decision and turn down the job offer after the office moved to a different location.

Giving viewers an update, she took to her TikTok and explained that the relocation means she would have had to do a four hour round commute, which she says wouldn’t work due to being a single mum and her mum’s health deteriorating.

She said: “In relation to the job, I agree with all of you that it’s an amazing opportunity. Sadly due to the main office relocation it would mean a four hour round trip commuting for me, to be able to go there and take that job offer up.”

During the swap, Steph had no choice but to send her mum home after she became too unwell to continue with the programme and it seems her health is still a concern for Steph.

Steph explained: “As you all know I’m a single mum, I’ve got two beautiful girls. My amazing mum, whose health is not great, it’s not massively improved since the show, so it’s not viable for me to be able to travel a four hour round trip.

“I need to be closer to my girls and my mum but again it was an amazing opportunity that was put forward. Sadly the location did change in between and it’s just not viable for me to do that

“But I just again wanted to say a huge thank you to Joe, my production team, Channel 5 and most importantly every single one of you. It’s not easy to put yourself out there.”

Following a successful business meeting on the show, Steth was promised £20,000 from the initial sales proceeds but unfortunately the sale still hasn’t gone thorough.

Steph added: “Since filming last year, Joe has been tirelessly working with Kaspas trying to get the deal across the line, that obviously you would have seen me go and do the sales pitch for. At the moment, that hasn’t been completed but I know Joe is still working in the background trying to get that over the line for us.”

You can stream Rich House, Poor Holiday on Channel 5

SHE rose to fame singing about her curves. But when singer Meghan Trainor lost 60lb for the sake of her health, cruel online trolls turned on her – branding her “a walking nose.”

But the All About That Bass hitmaker found support in reality show ‘momager’ Kris Jenner, who helped her navigate the horrific online abuse following her weight loss.

Meghan opened up about her recent struggles while sitting down with Biz on Sunday’s Emily following the release of her seventh studio album Toy With Me which dropped on Friday.

The American singer wrote the 14-track album while expecting her third child, daughter Mikey Moon, who was born via surrogate in January.

But while Meghan was excited to welcome her first girl, she said it had never felt tougher to be a female performer.

Meghan said: “I was getting a lot of hate online and it was all about my appearance and my looks and I was like: ‘Man, being a woman in this industry, it’ll never end.’”

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Of seeking advice, Meghan said: “Kris Jenner helped me with the hate online. I went to her and I was like: ‘Everyone’s mad at me.’

“Kris was like: ‘Of course, because you’re successful. You’re on the internet and it’s a terrible place but it can also be a great place.

“She said: ‘Are you happy? Are you thriving in your life?’

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing pretty well, that’s why I’m confused.’

“She said: ‘That’s all that matters. You’re doing great.’”

Meghan added: “Kris was really nice about it and I was like: ‘I can’t imagine what you guys [the Kardashians] are going through.’

“She was like, ‘You don’t want to know, it’s a lot.’

“Kris sends me the biggest flowers. It’s like a competition between her and her daughter Khloe Kardashian, who can send me the biggest.”

Meghan rose to fame with her 2014 hit All About That Bass in which she sang: “Yeah, it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size two.”

But after she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes while pregnant with her eldest son Riley in 2020, Meghan overhauled her lifestyle — with the help of weight-loss medication Mounjaro.

She said: “I’m finally taking care of myself, I’m finally listening to my body first instead of career first and destroying my health.”

But with her slimmer frame came a huge wave of online hate.

Of the comments, Meghan said: “They were like, ‘She’s just a walking nose.’

“‘She’s just so unlikeable now’. ‘I miss the old Meghan’, or ‘Hey, ‘zempy queen’ suggesting she had used Ozempic to lose the pounds.

“It made me just crumble and feel like I never wanted to go outside again.”

Meghan, who also has another son, Barry, with actor hubby Daryl Sabara, said she consulted her doctor following exhaustion from social media.

And earlier this week, Meghan said she needed to put her family first and cancelled her 33-date Get In Girl tour across North America.

She said: “We tested my blood and everything and they were like: ‘You’re on track to get an autoimmune disease.

“It was all the noise from social media destroying me and getting to me mentally.”

She added: “This all happened while having a daughter and I was like: ‘I’m so worried when she gets here.’

Of the album, Meghan said: “I wanted to make a lot of self-love anthems as I know she [Mikey] will need them growing up in this world too.”

Quickfire questions with Meghan

FIRST CONCERT? NSYNC.

WORST HABIT? I peel my skin off until it bleeds.

COMFORT TV SERIES? A weird one but the medical drama series ER.

DRINK ORDER? Shirley Temple.

COMMON MISCONCEPTION? That I don’t put out music any more but I am still out here grinding.

ULTIMATE TREAT? A gluten-free brownie from Gwyneth Paltrow’s brand Goop.

SNOG? Disney+ thriller series Paradise, starring Sterling K. Brown has me totally hooked.

MARRY? Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly in the brilliant Disney+ series Love Story.

AVOID? After my recent negative experiences I will be keeping well clear of media trolls.

Liam’s ex ready to love again

LIAM PAYNE’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy has revealed she feels ready to meet someone again, 18 months after the singer’s passing.

The American influencer, who dated the One Direction star for two years, until he died aged 31, opened up on social media.

She said: “I am ready to start dating again. It has been a year and a half since Liam passed away.

“I think that love after loss is a big chapter within your grief journey and I don’t know how that is going to feel.

“But I do know that I loved being in love. I want to have kids one day, I want to have a family and I know Liam would want that for me and if the roles were reversed I would want him to be happy and fall in love again.”

She continued: “I will always love Liam and that will never change no matter who I meet and who comes into my life.

“I am going to think about Liam on my wedding day, I am going to think about him every day for the rest of my life and that goes without saying.”

It’s in the Stars, Maura

EXCITING news for Maura Higgins as she has been confirmed for Dancing With The Stars.

I can reveal the reality star – who was snapped in New York in a stylish white dress with a long train – turned down Strictly in favour of the US show as she hopes to avoid further scandal.

Strictly is already linked to her exes Pete Wicks and pro dancer Giovanni Pernice, and last year she kissed married McFly star Danny Jones at a Brit Awards party.

A pal said: “She’s heading towards big things in LA, and Strictly is full of drama, she wants to keep her nose clean.”

It’s three love for celebs

CELEBS Go Dating’s relationship expert Anna Williamson has welcomed throuples on the Channel 4 dating show.

It comes after a married couple attended one of the reality show’s mixer events to see if any celebrities wanted to try a non-monogamous relationship.

Anna said: “It’s 2026, we’re moving with the times. Polyamory is something that is very much emerging from the shadows as a relationship construct.

“It’s not for everybody and I don’t believe it’s for the faint-hearted at all.”

Boxer David Haye and his long-term girlfriend Sian Osborne enjoy a rumoured open relationship.

They were most famously in a “throuple” with The Saturdays singer Una Healy, who denied she had a romantic relationship with Sian.

Anna said: “There is no right or wrong way to date.

“So we thought: ‘Well why not?’ It was lovely to throw that different relationship dynamic into the mix.”

Mick gets tongues wagging

THE ROLLING STONES rolled out posters across the UK yesterday promoting their upcoming album Foreign Tongues.

The billboard shows the title of the record –out July 10 in Danish.

Earlier this month I revealed that Paul McCartney will also feature on a track after a cameo on the Stones’ 2023 album Hackney Diamonds.

An insider said: “Details of the Stones’ new album have been kept secret but it’s true that Paul features on a new track on the upcoming album. It’s going to be a real treat for fans.”

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood also dropped a single called Rough & Twisted under the pseudonym The Cockroaches earlier this month.

Millie’s Liv-ing it up

MILLIE MACKINTOSH has sat down with Olivia Attwood for an intimate chat following her high-profile split from Hugo Taylor.

The former Made In Chelsea star – who wore this revealing black gown to The Devil Wears Prada 2 premiere in London this week – will appear on an upcoming episode of Olivia’s House podcast.

The pair will have had a lot to discuss as the Love Islander ended her ten-year relationship with footballer Bradley Dack in January.

A source said: “It wasn’t a tell-all chat, that’s not Millie’s style, but she does touch on what she’s been going through.

“The women clearly bonded over a shared experience in the public eye.

“Olivia is bagging great guests for her podcast.”
I’m sure they had plenty to discuss off camera too . . . 

HELENA BONHAM CARTER has left season four of HBO hit The White Lotus.

The Crown actress was set to appear in the next installment of the drama, which has begun filming on the French Riviera.

But an HBO spokesman said the character, created by filmmaker Mike White for Helena did not work on set.

In a statement to Deadline, they said: “With filming just under way it had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set.

“The role is being rewritten and will be recast. HBO and Mike are saddened that they won’t get to work with her, but remain ardent fans.”

Sounds like this is an even bigger plot twist than writers had anticipated.

Meryl: Anne’s saintly

MOVIE sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2 plugs weight-loss drug Ozempic.

The film, starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, hits cinemas this Friday, and a source said: “There are many big brands in the film and it seems the makers of Ozempic will be pleased.”

It comes after Anne, who plays the film’s Andy Sachs, spoke to producers about casting models for the film.

After noticing models at last year’s Milan Fashion Week, were “alarmingly thin”, her co-star Meryl, told Harper’s Bazaar: “Anne made a beeline for producers about it, securing promises the models for our film wouldn’t be so skeletal.

“She’s a stand-up girl.”

AFTER the whirlwind success of No1 hit Stick Season, Noah Kahan didn’t rush back into the studio.

In fact, he stopped completely. Facing writer’s block and still processing everything that had happened, he stepped away for six months, forced to rethink not just the music, but what success meant.

His 2022 album Stick Season — rooted in Vermont and exploring mental health, identity and small-town life — transformed the singer from a cult folk artist into a global name.

Topping the charts in the UK, the record was also certified multi-platinum in the US, where it sold over four million copies and had billions of global streams.

Kahan was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist and the emotionally raw, nostalgic and deeply personal record was widely seen as one of the defining albums of the decade.

“I just couldn’t write for a while,” he confesses. “When I first got off the road, I didn’t make any music in a long time.

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“I spent months not doing anything and it was painful because I like to be busy.

“It took so much strength for me to push that feeling away.

“I’m aware of how rare the moment was, how big the moment was and how lucky and fortunate I was, but my whole life I was trying to prove to people that I had a place here. So when the huge moment was happening, instead of being like, ‘Yeah, I made it’, I was like, ‘Oh my god, how am I going to stay here?’.”

That pressure quickly took its toll. Kahan said: “Writer’s block is such a lonely feeling — it makes you feel like your value’s been taken away. I felt completely unable to open up about it, but I ended up reaching out to friends.

“Marcus Mumford really helped. He understood what it’s like to be under a lot of pressure and afraid of failing and gave me great advice.”

Kahan also had to redefine success. It was not chasing numbers — just being able to make music was enough.

He says: “I learned the hard way about burnout. Success is a double-edged sword. I’ve always said if I had any, or if my tour sells out, I’d be happy. But the second it sells out, you’re looking at the next thing to achieve.

“Starting off this new album was really scary. I had to realise I didn’t need to be the biggest artist in the world or where Stick Season took me. I didn’t need to be successful to be loved.”

Kahan is in London for a few days to promote The Great Divide, his fourth studio album, which is out next Friday.

Taking time off to reset both mentally and emotionally was essential to writing again.

“I’ve struggled with my mental health,” he says candidly.

“But I was struggling more than anybody knew. I’ve struggled with anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia, but it was the OCD that I hadn’t figured out.

“I was diagnosed with OCD last year. It’s not about washing my hands a thousand times — it’s obsessive thinking. I was struggling with a lot of self-esteem and confidence issues, but I’d never dealt with anything so acutely like OCD. I’m supposed to be the singer who’s open about his mental health, but I felt so much shame.

“I needed medical intervention and therapy, and I didn’t want to be open about that because I was afraid. It was frightening as I’d been stripped of

this thing I loved.

“I couldn’t express myself through music any more, and so I didn’t tell anybody and it came to a breaking point.”
Through help and time, Kahan started to recognise his disorder in ways he hadn’t before.

“Now I wake up knowing my day is not going to be decided by what I see on my phone,” he says when discussing how therapy has helped him.

“Before, I’d have 700 brilliant words of praise, but it would be the one negative word that would shatter me. For a long time, I thought I was crazy.”

In August 2025, Kahan married his longtime partner Brenna Nolan, bringing a new sense of stability to his life.

The singer has also made a Netflix documentary — Noah Kahan: Out Of Body. It captures this difficult period, which he sees as part of his healing.

He says: “Making the film was a strange but amazing process. Having people follow you around took time to get used to, but they captured a really honest moment for me. Watching it back with my family was emotional. It showed how we really are.

“It was hard seeing how unhappy I was then, but in the end, it told a beautiful story.”

He adds: “My family are on the new record. I love the song American Cars. It’s about my sister.

“Whenever things were tough at home, she’d drive up from New York in a rental car, sunglasses on, just a total badass.

“She’s a surgeon, she just gets things done. She’d come back and help us through it, and the song came from that. Like, you need to come home and help fix this.”

The Great Divide is an album about friendship, miscommunication, regret and personal growth, and the title track became the guiding, emotional “north star” of the record.

He says: “Yeah, The Great Divide is really about a friendship that didn’t work out — one where I wasn’t able to express myself.

“And then there’s a song, Dan, which is about the opposite — being open, telling each other how much you care, facing hard truths. It ends in a way that really encapsulates the whole record. It’s probably my favourite song we made.

“There are a lot of stories,” he adds.

“It’s very emblematic of my childhood and a lot of people’s, young men in particular. Talking about feelings or asking difficult questions can feel like more discomfort than it’s worth, but the consequence is you don’t really know someone as well as you think you do.”

It’s an expansive album with 17 tracks, including the gorgeous We Go Way Back, Willing And Able, Haircut and Porch Light.

He adds: “I can’t wait to see crowds singing back Willing And Able, and Haircut started from that idea of someone coming back to town changed — like they’ve outgrown it. I felt like I’d become that person, only going home for inspiration instead of really being there.

“The song is almost someone singing to me, saying, I’m glad you’ve figured things out, but at least I’m still here and still real. You’ll leave again, and we’ll still be here. That’s what it’s about.

“Then, Porch Light is really about my biggest fear — how I’ve changed.

“I worry about going home and feeling like people see me differently, like I’ve become this ‘Hollywood’ version of myself, too big for where I’m from. That my relationship with Vermont has been changed by success and leaving Vermont for Nashville.

“But my family has always kept me grounded. They’re so happy for me. I wanted to write about that fear you have in your head before you even pick up the phone.

“You’re always anticipating what people might think. But there’s a silver lining in Porch Light. It’s about people saying, ‘We still care about you, we’ll still be here — but you need to figure things out first’.”

And that sense of place runs throughout the album.

“Yeah, the first and last songs really frame the album — I wanted them to feel like an intro and an outro,” Kahan says.

“The first track, End Of August, is this big, building track about that time of year in Vermont . . . It’s that moment when the tourists leave and the people who live there can finally come out of hibernation — like, ‘They’re gone’.”

He’s been working with Stick Season collaborator Gabe Simon, The National’s Aaron Dessner — best known for his work with Taylor Swift, Bon Iver and, more recently, Gracie Abrams — plus Ed Sheeran and Mumford & Sons.

Kahan says: “Gabe and I are really close — we went through a lot making Stick Season, so on this album we leaned on each other. He’s like a brother and the perfect person to go through this with.”

Aaron Dessner brought calm, structure and creative balance to the process.

“Aaron came in early on, but I was intimidated at first,” admits Kahan. “I looked him up on Wikipedia and was terrified of his success. This guy’s a legend.

“This was where Taylor Swift writes and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), who works with Aaron, is my hero. Aaron has a magic to his music — a real understanding of what an artist is trying to say. But he’s a sweet, calm man who lives a very humble life in upstate New York on a farm.

“I needed him to stabilise me creatively. He is regimented in how he makes music and I need a routine. He is an amazing producer and this album sounds so f*****g cool because of what Aaron did.”

The sound on the new album is more expansive than Kahan’s earlier music and includes horns, guitar and richer production.

He says: “Honing on a sound and a theme started the process. Aaron’s place had dirt bikes, fishing rods and skeet shooting — all the things that I grew up doing.

“We couldn’t make the music in Vermont this time and the setting was really important, feeling connected to nature and beauty.

“It’s hard for me to make music in a city. Whenever I’m in a city, all I write is, ‘Get me out of the city’ songs.”

He adds: “We were also still in the middle of touring and I was over the Stick Season songs.

“There’s a lot of electric guitar on the new record, and bouzouki and mandocello, instruments we haven’t really used before. It’s a new confidence, but having spent three years on the road, I just want to make music that’s exciting to play live.”

It’s the connection with his audience that remains key.

He says: “I love it when I see fans singing back my songs as it means they’re feeling it.

“I’m always honoured when someone says my music has helped them to reach out for help. Though it can be overwhelming when people tell me they’re struggling with difficult thoughts.

“I don’t always feel equipped to handle that and I worry I’m not helping in the way they need. It’s hard when you feel you’re letting someone down.”

Now, his attention is focused on bringing the album to the stage.

He says: “I’m looking forward to playing these new songs. This record tells a story, so we’re working on the stage design, setlist and lighting to tell that story. We’re playing stadiums now, but I want fans to still have an intimate experience.”

Kahan returns to historic Boston baseball stadium Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, for four nights this July.

He will also be back in the UK, including three nights at London’s O2 in November.

He says: “I’m excited about those dates, but my dream is to play Stamford Bridge.

“It’s my favourite sport and I love Chelsea FC. But I was told you can’t play there. I’ve achieved so much already, but that is my ultimate dream.”

• The Great Divide album is out next Friday, April 24.

NOAH KAHAN – The Great Divide

★★★★★