Must see: Glass Animals
Glass Animals became international superstars almost overnight in 2022 thanks to TikTok, fan fiction and the video game Fifa. The Oxford guitar band’s single Heat Waves became the first British song to be number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks since the Spice Girls’ Wannabe in 1995. Now on a world tour, they’re at The O2 tonight — not to be missed. November 7
Art Fix: Picasso: printmaker
Almost the entirety of Picasso’s remarkable career is explored here, with the British Museum displaying prints ranging from his earliest work — including his first professional print, from 1904, depicting those in the circus — to the masterpieces of the Fifties and Sixties that cast his name in immortality. Until March 30
Hot table: Fran’s
London has a long history of Italian-British cafés. Sadly, many are closing. Francesca D’Agostino, who owns Hackney hotspot Wilton Way Deli & Wines, is fighting back with her new venture, Fran’s, an all-day café focusing on comfort food such as club sandwiches, jacket potatoes (so hot right now) and pasta. It’s a community space: local florist Sweet Pea will host a pop-up, and events will be held in the basement. @wiltonwaydeliandwines
Screen gems:
Paddington in Peru
Hugh Grant might not make this one, but the new Paddington remains worth watching, especially with the bleak nights that have settled in. This should be pure, heartwarming-as-hot-chocolate stuff, with the little duffle-coated bear headed back to see his Aunt Lucy, but in the end it turns out she’s a suspected serial killer. Only joking. Maybe. Out November 8
The Day of the Jackal
It is the Frederick Forsyth novel that just keeps giving: after the Seventies classic and Nineties car crash comes this big-budget adaptation. Eddie Redmayne is the eponymous assassin on the run from tenacious MI6 officer Lashana Lynch. Watch for a tense game of cat and mouse; and an unsettling examination of how easy it is to live a double life. Out November 7
The big read: Unfortunately, She Was A Nymphomaniac, by Joan Smith
Two thousand years later and still the battle rages: just what was going on in Ancient Rome? Joan Smith’s bracing new read is aimed explicitly at correcting the record on high-status Roman women, arguing that their portrayal as nymphomaniacs or murderers is a reflection of the corrosive sexism of those who have written about them. Out now
Listen: Come Ahead, Primal Scream
“Come Ahead” is a Glaswegian phrase, “fighting talk” apparently. Worth remembering for any trips up there. Anyway, Primal Scream are one of the world’s greatest bands due to the way they balance confrontational aggression with communal loved-up exhilaration. This latest album is personal for Bobby Gillespie, coming after his excellent autobiography Tenement Kid and the death of his father last year; Gillespie Sr is the cover star. Out November 8
Don’t miss: English Teacher
Undoubtedly the band of the moment, having stormed this year’s Mercury Prize and in doing so becoming the first non-London winners in 10 years, English Teacher are having the best 2024 in rock. They’re in town as part of a tour to support blinding debut album This Could Be Texas. Listen closely for Lily Fontaine’s lyrics; they’re wickedly funny. November 12
Book now: M is Not for Sale
Chelsea hero Didier Drogba is the guest of honour at this year’s M is Not for Sale black tie soirée, which raises funds to counteract modern day slavery and sex trafficking — two things, as recent headlines attest, that are still dangerously prevalent across the world. Drogba will give a speech, while M, on Threadneedle Street, will lay on a four-course supper with matched fine wines. All profits, donations and auction results go directly to Not for Sale. Tickets £300. November 13; mrestaurants.co.uk
