2013 Events & Tickets
Full listings of events in this year's festival
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Past Festivals
Browse the festival archive of unique Meltdown moments
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Since 1993, some of the world's most distinguished musicians including Nick Cave, John Peel, Laurie Anderson, Patti Smith, David Bowie and, most recently, Ray Davies, have directed Meltdown, hand-picking their ideal festival by inviting their favourite artists to play, perform and exhibit their work at Southbank Centre.
Meltdown 2012 sees Antony create a line-up of twelve days of music, debate and performance that reflects his interests, influences and passions.
Having begun his career in the New York underground scene, Antony emerged with Antony and the Johnsons in 1998 and shot to prominence with the Mercury Prize-winning album I am a Bird Now. Since then critical acclaim has followed each of his projects including the albums The Crying Light and Swanlights. His performances have ranged from collaborations with symphony orchestras and performance artists to last summer's The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, directed by Robert Wilson.
Most recently Antony and the Johnsons performed Swanlights commissioned by The Museum of Modern Art to a sold out crowd at Radio City Music Hall, which the New York Times described as 'gorgeously appointed cries from the heart, crashing like waves'.
Antony has collaborated with a wide-ranging group of artists and musicians including Björk, Yoko Ono, Devendra Banhart, Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson, CocoRosie and Lou Reed.
Antony's Meltdown takes place from 1 - 12 August 2012
Photo credit: Mark Seliger
Past events
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12 August 2012
William Basinski: The Disintegration Loops with the London Contemporary Orchestra
The story of William Basinski's acclaimed album The Disintegration Loops is as harrowing as it is poignant. The record consists of ambien...
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12 August 2012
Hal Willner: Freedom Rides
The maverick music producer Hal Willner brings his singular genius for curating multi-artist concept shows to the music of the civil righ...
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12 August 2012
Lynette Wallworth, Coral: ReKindling Venus
Coral: ReKindling Venus is a groundbreaking immersive film for digital planetariums. It is the latest work by the extraordinary Australia...
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11 August 2012
TURNING (Film Premiere): Charles Atlas + Antony & The Johnsons
Join groundbreaking film director and video artist Charles Atlas and Meltdown director Antony for the UK premiere screening of TURNING. E...
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11 August 2012
Kembra Pfahler: Availabism and Anti-Naturalism + A Conversation with Claywoman
Kembra Pfahler is an artist and musician. Her work explores a number of themes, including sexuality, image, punk, feminism, anti-naturali...
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10 August 2012
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black + Tenderloin
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black is the brainchild of artist and performer Kembra Pfahler and lead guitarist SAMOA, whose do-it-yours...
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10 August 2012
Lou Reed: From VU to Lulu
Hot off his critically acclaimed June 2012 European tour, Lou Reed brings his 'From VU to LULU' concert to Meltdown.This show sees Lou an...
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9 August 2012
Marc Almond performs Marc and the Mambas' Torment and Toreros
Having sold over 30 million records worldwide since the early 1980s, Marc Almond's influence continues to resonate today. He scored a hug...
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8 August 2012
Joey Arias
Performance artist and cabaret singer Joey Arias is an icon of the underground New York scene. His career has comprised film appearances ...
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8 August 2012
Boy George: In Conversation and Performance
In this special event Antony interviews Boy George, someone whom Antony cites as the one who first inspired him to pursue singing. The tw...
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7 August 2012
Buffy Sainte-Marie in concert
Canadian born singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie has been performing since the early 1960s at the peak of the hippie and beatnik era, t...
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6 August 2012
Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life
This talk sees Canadian born singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie discuss her life, career and the inspiration behind the song 'Universal...
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6 August 2012 - 7 August 2012
Elizabeth Fraser
Her utterly beautiful voice and distinctive singing style played a huge role in making the Cocteau Twins one of the most pioneering and c...
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6 August 2012
Hercules & Love Affair featuring Antony and John Grant
A disco inferno starring Hercules & Love Affair and featuring guest vocalists John Grant and Antony. Also the UK premiere of Louisiana bo...
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6 August 2012
Matmos
Matmos duo Martin Schmidt and Drew Daniel's music takes field recordings and varied elements of glitch, techno and electronica morphing t...
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5 August 2012
Antony and the Ohnos: A Celebration of Yoshito and Kazuo Ohno
A dance and concert event featuring Yoshito Ohno, Antony and the Johnsons, Johanna Constantine, film and tape loops by William Basinski, ...
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5 August 2012
Marina Abramovic: The Lecture for Women Only
Please note that this is a women-only event.Ex-Yugoslavian performance artist Marina Abramovic's 40-year career includes a recent retrosp...
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5 August 2012
Tea with Janet Suzman, Kim Cattrall and Jude Kelly
To coincide with the publication of Janet Suzman's 'Not Hamlet - Meditation on the Frail Position of Women in Drama' and in advance of th...
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4 August 2012
CocoRosie
The sibling duo of Sierra and Bianca Cassidy form CocoRosie - a name taken from joining the respective nicknames given to them by their M...
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4 August 2012
Cyclobe + Myrninerest + Derek Jarman Films
ALBION - HYPNAGOGUE - GHOST Hallucinatory Queer British Paganism Cyclobe present their first ever UK performance, and only their second ...
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3 August 2012
Laurie Anderson: Dirtday!
Hugely influential electronic music producer and performer Laurie Anderson, presents her new show Dirtday!Anderson's pioneering and peren...
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3 August 2012
Joan As Police Woman + Julia Kent + Matteah Baim
Maine-born Joan Wasser (aka Joan As Police Woman) has spent over 20 years performing and recording alongside acts such as Lou Reed, Elton...
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3 August 2012
Diamanda Galás Schrei 27
In 2011 Diamanda Galás and Davide Pepe gave the world premiere of their film 'Schrei 27', the subject of which is the torture of an indi...
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2 August 2012
Selda
Legendary Anatolian folk singer Selda Bagcan makes a very rare appearance in the UK as part of Antony's Meltdown. Born in 1948, Bagcan sh...
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1 August 2012
Diamanda Galás
Hailed as one of the most important singers of our time, Diamanda Galás has earned international acclaim for her highly original and pol...
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1 August 2012
Planningtorock and Light Asylum
Born in Bolton, and now residing in Berlin, Janine Rostron (aka Planningtorock) scored an underground hit last year with one of the year'...
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19 June 2012
Meltdown Insight Talk
Join us for a glass of wine as Southbank Centre's Head of Contemporary Music Jane Beese discusses this year's Meltdown festival with The ...