Sultry singer Amy Winehouse and the man who illustrated Damon Albarn's cartoon band Gorillaz will be hoping to bring harmony to the Brighton Fringe Festival.
The line-up for this summer's Brighton Fringe promises performances by Brighton rockers The Electric Soft Parade, New York glam band Scissors Sisters and comic poet Murray Lachlan Young.
An argument between the fringe and the mainstream Brighton Festival last year threatened to remove the spotlight from the performers and artists.
It was prompted by the decision of Brighton Festival organisers to change the name of their alternative showcase to the Festival Fringe.
This upset the people behind Brighton Fringe, the grass-roots arts company which has been running its own festival since 1996.
Performers and audiences were confused by the appearance of two festivals under the "fringe" banner but after months of negotiations a peace deal has been signed.
The new arrangement means Brighton Fringe will concentrate on nurturing and promoting the city's undiscovered artistic talent all year round from its base at Argus Lofts in Kensington Street, Brighton.
The line-up for the May 1 to 31 festival, which will be advertised alongside the Festival Fringe programme, intends to be a showcase for the acts working with Brighton Fringe in the past 12 months.
The urban art trail promises a rare opportunity to see work from some of Brighton and Hove's best artists away from the formal atmosphere of a gallery. About 80 shops and businesses will display work and the brochure contains an easy-to-follow route around the city to take them in.
The trail ends with the Pop! Exhibition in the basement of the Brighton Fringe headquarters.
Mysterious graffiti artist Banksie, Tank Girl creator and Gorillaz animator Jamie Hewlett, former KLF frontman James Cauty and many other artists have donated work towards the exhibition.
Power Up is a mini-music festival featuring promising indie, rock, dance and acoustic talent. As well as Ms Winehouse's first concert in Brighton, there will be a rare homecoming gig by Mercury Music Prize nominees Electric Soft Parade and a second visit from Scissor Sisters. Eclectic Electric will be an evening of home-grown bands, beats and live DJs, introduced in association with City College, Brighton and Hove.
Film buffs will be offered the best of Gallic cinema. French film week at the Duke of York includes films unreleased in the UK, special advance previews, new prints of classic reissues, short films and film-maker question and answer sessions. The award-winning Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey is also being screened. Produced by Brighton-based percussionists Stomp, the film is a musical journey from Brazil to Japan. Junk TV returns with a selection of irreverent videos.
Highlights of the live performance section should include The Radio Show, a play aiming to revive the golden age of Fifties' radio shows such as The Goons. Jonathan Harvey, who penned BBC sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, contributes a play called Hushabye Mountain, an exploration of love and friendship touched by HIV and Aids.
Spoken word shows include the return of The Festival Slam, in which poets and MCs compete to win an audience's affections, and a performance of satirical cautionary tales by Murray Lachlan Young.
For full details, see www. brightonfringe.net
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