Spaghetti Western Orchestra

Spaghetti Western Orchestra made a triumphant return to London’s South Bank last week with their hilarious celebration of the iconic collaborations between Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone. This highly theatrical show features classic themes from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, For A Few Dollars More and Once Upon a Time in the West as well as ingenious recreations of the saloons, spittoons and shotgun-slinging ambience of the  ‘Wild Wild West’. Now Spaghetti Western Orchestra embark on a debut tour of the UK and Ireland throughout February and March 2012.

Dressed in period attire against a dramatic scorched sun backdrop, five brilliant musician performers play over 100 ‘instruments’ which range from the conventional to an incredible array of everyday objects including playing cards, coat hangers and a packet of cornflakes. The musical arrangements are accomplished and endlessly inventive, summoning the power of an entire orchestra and using foley (sound effects) artistry to recreate the punch-ups, gun-shots and jangling spurs evoking the glorious movies that made Clint Eastwood a star.

Spaghetti Western Orchestra burst on to the international scene at The Montreal Jazz Festival in 2007 and has garnered critical acclaim and energetic fans whenever it has played at International Festivals throughout the world.  Two previous visits to the Southbank Centre in 2009 and 2010 were sold out, the show featured on the achingly cool Later With Jools Holland in 2009 and also on the BBC Proms in August 2011.

Spaghetti Western Orchestra UK & Ireland Tour

February 2012
7th BRIGHTON  Theatre Royal
8th OXFORD New Theatre
9th BRISTOL St George’s
10th LLANDUDNO Venue Cymru
12th CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange
13th WIMBLEDON New Wimbledon Theatre
15th YORK Grand Opera House
17th SALFORD QUAYS The Lowry
18thb LEEDS  Town Hall
19th SUNDERLAND Empire Theatre
22nd KILLARNEY INEC Theatre
23rd DUBLIN The Helix
24th GALWAY The Black Box Theatre
25th  CORK  Opera House
2th BELFAST The Ulster Hall
29th BASINGSTOKE The Anvil

March 2012
1st  COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre
2nd NOTTINGHAM  Royal Concert Hall
3rd STOKE ON TRENT Victoria Hall
4th CARDIFF Wales Millenium Centre
6th LIVERPOOL Empire Theatre
7th LEICESTER De Montfort Hall 7.30pm
9th GRIMSBY Auditorium
10th FOLKESTONE Leas Cliff Hall
11th RICHMOND Theatre
12th GLASGOW City Halls
13th EDINBURGH Festival Theatre
14th ABERDEEN Music Hall
16th BIRMINGHAM Town Hall
17th INVERNESS Eden Court Theatre
18th BRADFORD St George’s Hall

Leona Lewis to play ‘Angels In Concert’ show

Leona Lewis has just confirmed that she will be performing with Natasha Bedingfield and Friends at the exclusive ‘Angels In Concert’ show on December 2nd.

Leona Lewis, multi-million selling platinum artist and three time Grammy Award nominee, has now topped charts in over 30 countries across the world. Her debut album  ‘Spirit’ made her the first British solo artist to go straight to the top the Billboard 200 with a debut album while her debut single “A Moment Like This” broke a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times in 30 minutes. She has since had seven Top 5 UK hits and sold over 10 million albums. Her third album ‘Glassheart’ is scheduled for release early next year.

The ‘Angels In Concert’ show is part of a major celebratory charity evening on behalf of Global Angels. It follows straight on from the inaugural Global Angels Awards and dinner at the Four Star Park Plaza Hotel, 200 Westminster Bridge Rd, SE1 7UT.

Among others also appearing with Natasha Bedingfield are the Grammy nominated musician John Forte  and DJ Oisin Lunny. As an added bonus Daniel Bedingfield will be playing an acoustic set earlier in the evening.

Commenting on Leona’s addition to the bill Natasha Bedingfield said   “I’m thrilled to announce that Leona and Joss have agreed to join me for this amazing evening – it’s going to be such a fun night! I can’t think of anything better than live music on stage with my friends who are exceptional performers, loved all over the world for their vocal brilliance. I love what Global Angels is about and the incredible effect the organisation has on people’s lives. I’m really looking forward to this event and I’m so grateful for the support that Leona and Joss bring to Daniel, John Forte and I by being involved in it.”

Tickets for the two and a half hour concert are available now priced £55 and £70 from angelevents@globalangels.org or by phone on 0207 484 5408. A small number of VIP tickets are also available. Tickets can also be purchased from www.seetickets.com subject to booking fee.

Doors open at 8.30pm, concert starts at 9pm. Dress code: Elegant with a touch of gold. Entrance is by Plaza Suite to Westminster Ballroom.

Global Angels is the 100% charity that helps disadvantaged children and communities across the world. It is an international charity that work in partnerships resourcing best-practice-projects empowering children, young people and communities – their ‘100% Projects’. Every penny received from public donations goes directly to the ‘100% Projects’ providing water, food, education, homes, medical care and resources to transform lives.

Skepta, aka ‘The New King Of Grime’

Skepta, aka ‘The New King Of Grime’, returns this Autumn with his new single ‘Hold On’, the first offering to be taken from his forthcoming album due to be released in Spring 2012.

2011 so far has seen Skepta release his third studio album ‘Doin’ It Again’ and the DJ Whoo Kid hosted mixtape ‘Community Payback’, complete a nationwide headline UK tour, play a number of European festivals over the summer including Glastonbury, be nominated for his 2nd BET Award for ‘Best International Artist’, and perform with P Diddy at his recent Wembley Arena show.

Otherwise known as Joseph Junior Adenuga, the Tottenham born and raised DJ producer and MC, Skepta has played a key role in the elevation of grime to the mainstream masses. With a string of club anthems (such as ‘Duppy’ and ‘Too Many Men’) alongside chart hits  (such as ‘Rescue Me’ and ‘So Alive’) to his name, in addition to a staggering YouTube presence, Skepta’s ability to crossover and provide material for both the underground and more commercial audiences is clear.

Still maintaining a key role in the collective Boy Better Know that includes his brother JME, Skepta has not just continued to produce mixtapes and albums on the scene but further helped to create tracks and provide lyrics for fellow peers such as Tinchy Stryder, N-Dubz and most recently Chipmunk, when featuring on the track ‘Decorations on my Body’ taken from Chipmunk’s recently released mixtape ‘Spazzz.com’.

Combining an infectious chorus with Skepta’s signature lyrical prowess over a dirty bass line, ‘Hold On’ is not only a dynamic club track with huge anthemic potential, but is arguably his most radio-friendly release to date. The video to ‘Hold On’ favours an Olympic theme showing Skepta in preparation for the 2012 Olympics and featuring cameos from Olympic medallist Darren Campbell and UK actor Richie Campbell, (Anuvahood).

‘Hold On’ will be released on 28th November 2011 by 3 Beat/ All Around The World. In the run up to the release, Skepta is set to embark ‘The Wedding Bells Tour’ – his second headline nationwide UK tour this year. Dates as follows:

Skepta UK Tour Dates

Fri 7th OCT: GLASGOW ABC
Sat 8th OCT: NEWCASTLE ACADEMY
Mon 10th OCT: LEEDS STYLUS
Tues 11th OCT: MANCHESTER ACADEMY
Thurs 13th OCT: SHEFFIELD ACADEMY
Fri 14th OCT: LEICESTER ACADEMY
Sat 15th OCT: NORWICH WATERFRONT
Sun 16th OCT: BRIGHTON CONCORDE
Mon 17th OCT: BIRMINGHAM INSTITUTE
Tues 18th OCT: LIVERPOOL ACADEMY
Wed 19th OCT: BRISTOL THEKLA
Thurs 20th OCT: LONDON ISLINGTON ACADEMY

Skepta schedules new single, Hold On for release on 28th November 2011 by 3 Beat/ All Around The World.

Prince Live at the Hop Farm, Kent photo: Stewart Rogers (Crawford Technologies)

As you may know, I normally write blog articles on business and management issues, mixed with music, but I simply could not resist this short post on the Hop Farm and Prince’s superb concert there on Sunday night, just for the music. There are not enough superlatives that can describe his performance, which spanned songs such as Let’s Go Crazy, 1999, Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, U Got The Look, Controversy and Play That Funky Music amongst many others over a two and a quarter hour set that put all other performances into the shade.

As well as a truly fantastic performance, we were ‘taught’ many other things by Prince with transferable value to business and personal life. Here’s a few of them:

Prince on differentiation – Without being pompous, Prince pointed out that his band offered ‘real music’ by ‘real musicians’ – quite a contrast to some of the other x-factor hopefuls and so on. At 53 years old, he proved he could still do the do, making others half his age look like quivering geriatrics.

Prince on playfulness – When he announced ‘Nothin’ Compares 2 U’ he said “I didn’t write that song. That’s Sinead O’Connor’s song” Later on he pointed out “I bought a house with that song” to the great enjoyment of the crowd. Playfulness is a vital ingredient if you are to encourage creativity in yourself and others.

Prince on emotional intelligence – There had been quite a few sound problems with other acts during the day. So, instead of coming on and belting out a big hit to start with, Prince came on and played a funk workouk to set the sound levels and get things right for the rest of the show – calling off the different musicians to come in and out of the performance to get a perfect mix. This is a big risk to take – effectively starting your show with a jam rather than a crowd pleaser.

So a big thank you to Vince Power and the people at the Hop Farm. I never thought I’d get to see Prince on my doorstep but, last night, dreams came true.

Peter Cook is the Rock’n’Roll Business Guru, delivering exceptional corporate events and keynote speeches that blend business and music.

Underage Music Festival

The fifth Underage Festival will be held on Friday 5th August at Victoria Park in London.

The line-up includes Bombay Bicycle Club, Miles Kane, Dutch Uncles, Rizzle Kicks, Wolf Gang, Baio (Vampire Weekend), The Midnight Beast, Janelle Monae, Brother and Roll Deep.

Underage Festival is aimed at young teenagers between 13 & 17 years old. Tickets on now on sale at a pocket money friendly £31.50.

Having already announced a host of breathtaking talent, some of the globes most impressive young artists have joined the bill and the Underage Festival continues to be the number one annual destination for music loving teens.  To celebrate its fifth birthday Underage  has decided to go a year younger and is now open to 13 year olds for the first time cementing its reputation as the worlds most credible event for teenagers.

Miles Kane has signed up to perform at the Bombay Bicycle Club headlined show. Co frontman of The Last Shadow Puppets, Miles releases his debut solo album ‘ Colour Of The Trap’ in May, a record which features collaborations with Alex Turner, Noel Gallagher and Gruff Rhys.  His retro indebted rock n’ roll has won him many admirers and the gritty garage rock and soft pschyadelic pop tones of his album makes for a radio friendly racket.

Scarily young upstarts, Dutch Uncles are the latest in a long line of classic Manchester bands and release their debut album, Cadenza, in May.  These cerebral pop-proggers have released a glut of cool indie singles and are a firm favourite with the nations youth.

Wolf Gang is 23 year old Max McElligt whose delightfully curious pop singles have marked him out as one to watch in 2011.  His live show has received rave reviews and he has recently supported Florence and the Machine.

New kids on the block, Rizzle Kicks mixture of pop and hip hop incorporates the fun elements of the old skool hip hop era crica 1998 – 1992 and there is a rare chance to get up close and personal with Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio, who will be performing one of his infamous DJ sets.

Tribes have already amassed a large cult following after a series of euphoric live show and their twisted gorgeous pop songs look set to take Lo-fi all the way to popstardom

Three piece band Encore’s unpredictable pop is steeped in sharp song writing, superlative vocals and brilliant, genre bending compositions while The Knocks are NYC’s hottest pop production unit and their effervescent bright and breezy pop is sure to be a highlight of the day.  Pegasus Bridge, fresh from plasticising in the school caretakers hut now perform for the teen masses at Underage.

“We are delighted to be in our 5th year and wanted to celebrate this by opening it up to a younger audience, after gathering feedback from past festival goers whose younger friends have been disappointed they can’t get tickets, we welcome 13 year olds for the first time at this year’s Underage Festival. It’s a great opportunity for those that love music to come and experience their first ever festival”  Tom Baker – Eat Your Own Ears

With many more acts to be announced, Underage continues to provide a platform for the most ground breaking artists to perform in front of a rapturous teen audience.

Topman CTRL @ the Underage Festival

Topman CTRL Stage @ Underage Festival

Topman CTRL is once again heading to the Underage Festival on Friday August 5th in London’s Victoria Park. What’s more, one lucky festival goer will be given the chance to take CTRL of www.topmanctrl.com in the run up to and during the event. Past Controllers have included Mystery Jets, We Are Scientists, Phoenix, The Futureheads and Radio 1’s Huw Stephens who have all put their stamp on Topman CTRL.

The winning Controller will be given exclusive access to the Topman CTRL blog to share their thoughts and experiences, as well as put together an online scrapbook of all their favourite things. To be in with a chance of winning this unique prize, head to www.topmanctrl.com.

Topman will take CTRL of their very own stage with a line up of some of the hottest new music around, featuring exclusive performances from the likes of Brother, Crystal Fighters, Wolf Gang, Johnny Flynn, Alex Winston, Yaaks, Florrie, CocknBullKid and Dog is Dead.

Jam-packed full of Underage Festival swag, www.topmanctrl.com will be holding ticket competitions and the chance to win your very own market stall at the festival. Youth Market will give you the chance to showcase your innovative ideas, creativity and diversity and here’s your chance to show what you’ve got at one of London’s best loved festivals. Keep your eyes on the site to be in it to win it! For more details on Youth Market head to www.youth-market.com.

If that’s not enough, acts from the festival line up will be hitting the decks at Topman Oxford Circus for an early festival fix. On July 16th Eastbourne’s finest Yaaks step up with a selection of their favourite tunes to spin from 1pm – 3pm, then it’s the turn of CocknBullKid on July 23rd from 4pm – 6pm.

For more information and a full-line-up visit www.underagefestivals.com.

Scissor Sisters live at Sandown Park Racecourse in aid of The Children's Trust

If you enjoy horse racing, good food, pop music and great entertainment, then you won’t want to miss this spectacular charity event, with Scissor Sisters live in concert, at Sandown Park Racecourse on Wednesday, 20th July 2011.

The race evening, in aid of The Children’s Trust, Tadworth, will commence at 5 pm with a champagne reception, followed by a three-course meal in the Gold Cup Suite. The first of the evening’s horse racing will start at 6.15 pm, with a live performance from Scissor Sisters at 9 pm.

Tickets are available at just £90 each or £900 for a table of ten, and can be purchased online. For further information, please telephone Zoe on 01737 365016.

The Children’s Trust, Tadworth, a national charity, which provides care, education and therapy for children with multiple disabilities and complex health needs, and rehabilitation to children with an acquired brain injury.

Snoop Dogg headlining the 'I Want my MTV' in Ibiza

Following the recent announcement that MTV are hosting a series of exclusive live Ibiza music events throughout the summer, today it has been confirmed that hip hop superstar Snoop Dogg will be headlining the ‘I Want my MTV’ opening party on Friday 1st July at Amnesia, Ibiza, with Primal Scream closing the Summer parties on Fri 2nd September.

Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg’s ongoing appeal to his legions of fans means he continues to occupy the throne as the world’s most famous rapper.  His timeless and groundbreaking debut album Doggystyle, was an instant classic, selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release and quickly becoming quadruple platinum, spawning several classic hit singles, including What’s My Name and Gin & Juice.  Snoop’s recent studio album, Doggumentary boasts the sort of unpredictable collaborations that have made him a pop culture phenomenon, featuring the likes of Gorillaz, Kanye West and of course the recent remix version of Sweat by David Guetta.

Primal Scream
Primal Scream will be performing their legendary album Screamadelica, originally produced in 1991 by DJ Andrew Weatherall. Their set, which will close the festivities on 2nd September @ Amnesia will be full of club classics from the Screamdelica album, such as; Loaded and Come Together. Despite this being the first time the band have performed live in Ibiza,

‘Come Together’ is probably one of the Islands most played tracks of the last 20 years, a classic in every DJ’s record box and enjoyed by thousands in the clubs at sunrise and on the beaches at sunset. Primal Scream presents Screamadelica will be making their Spanish debut this Summer at Benicassim Festival 14th – 17th July.

Robyn
Also joining the Summer line up is world renowned Swedish singer/ songwriter Robyn, adding to the truly International flavor of the events. Robyn has achieved global success, with nominations this year for her latest album ‘Body Talk’, which features a duet with Snoop Dogg. Nominations include ‘Best International Album’ at The Brits, and ‘Best Commercial Dance Track’ at The International Dance Music Awards, for ‘Dancing On My Own’ which she performed live last year with Deadmau5 at the MTV Music Video Awards.

‘I Want My MTV Ibiza’ will be announcing a further 3 major acts, later this month to add to the current Summer line up, which also includes; exclusive live headline sets from Duran Duran, 2ManyDJ’s, Richie Hawtin and Mark Ronson all performing their first ever Ibiza live shows.

Mark Ronson, Marco Carola, Felix Da Housecat, Tiga, Erol Alkan, Magda, M.A.N.D.Y., Riva Starr, James Holden, Audiofly and Alfredo, will also be joining residents Layo & Bushwacka!

Tickets priced at 50 euros for each event are on sale now on www.MTVibiza.com or via www.ticketmaster.co.uk

The headline sets will be aired in the form of 2 x 1 hour specials called‘I Want My MTV Ibiza’ on Saturday 6th August at 9pm and Saturday 9th September at 9pm on music channels MTV Music & MTV Dance.

‘I Want My MTV Ibiza’ 2011
Fri July 1st – Fri 2nd September @ Amnesia, Ibiza

Opening Night:
Week One (Friday July 1)
MTV Live Room
Snoop Dogg (Live – Ibiza Exclusive)
Felix Da Housecat

Shake It! Ibiza Presents
Magda
Layo & Bushwacka!
Mar-T

Tickets priced at 50 euros for each event are on sale now on www.MTVibiza.com.

Four hundred fans were originally picked from the 2,000 hopefuls who applied on Facebook to what was billed as a ‘live video performance, but what began as an intimate performance for 400 fans was transformed in a matter of seconds into the most exclusive concert that Tinie Tempah has ever played.

It was the surprise of a lifetime for 21 year old fan Katie Hobbs from Southampton when 399 fans cleared the floor in a ‘flash exit’, leaving her to enjoy a completely dedicated, one-on-one performance of Wonderman, Tinie’s latest single.

Katie Hobbs said: “This has been the most amazing day of my life. Getting an exclusive gig from Tinie was simply incredible. I had absolutely no idea what was happening and before I knew it I was getting a solo performance from my favourite act. It doesn’t get any better than that!”

Commenting on his most unusual gig to date, Brit award winner Tinie Tempah said: “I owe my success to my fans, and being able to interact with them when I play live is the greatest feeling. I’ve played all sorts of gigs in all sorts of venues but never one like this before. It’s definitely my tiniest gig ever, but it’s also one of my best.”

The Tinie tie-up was created as part of O2’s Thinking of You campaign, aimed at showing how O2 values its customers. The campaign also follows a long history of O2’s support for live music in the UK with its high profile sponsorship of The O2 and O2 Academy venues.

This is how the event unfolded:

right said fred

Right Said Fred are back with a flurry of activity, announcing the release of a new single and album both entitled Stop The World, as well as a UK tour and Live DVD.

The brothers Richard and Fred Fairbrass are also popping up all over the place on TV this month having featured on both ITV’s Daybreak and Vanessa Feltz tv show. They will also be making an appearance on this Thursday’s edition of Celebrity Juice.

The band who back in 1992 were the first act since the Beatles to reach No.1 in the USA with a debut single, have decided to take a break from their usual European stadium circuit in order to get back to their roots and connect with their fans on a more intimate basis.

To this end the brothers will be enjoying a Q & A with their audience as well as performing some of their greatest hits, and some newer, more poignant, lovelorn ditties (firmly allaying themselves with English bedfellows like Madness and the Kinks), on the following dates:

April 25th Birmingham O2 Academy3

April 27th London Islington O2 Academy2

April 28th Sheffield O2 Academy2

April 29th Liverpool Guild Of Students, Stanley Theatre

April 30th York Fibbers

May 6th Stockton On Tees The Arc

May 7th Cleethorpes Pleasure Island

May 13th  Huddersfield The Warehouse

May 14th Hull The Piper Club

The boys will be releasing a new DVD and album (both distributed by Universal) as part of a double-pack on April 11th 2011. The DVD, Night Of The Living Fred (An Evening With Right Said Fred), was recently filmed before a packed audience at the Leicester Square Theatre and features the Freds letting their hair down and spilling the beans on sibling rivalry, debauchery at the home of one of the world’s greatest porn-stars and what really happened to that Toblerone bar in the American Hotel in Amsterdam.

The new album Stop The World features twelve new tracks including Stop The World, Trouble With Love, Julianne, Waiting For A Train, Two White Boys, Obvious, Happily Ever After, I Ain’t Your Guy, Feels Like Love, We’re All Criminals, Come Dancing, Raining In England.

Check out the Right Said Fred website to obtain a free copy of Stop The World as well as access to exclusive copies of the Night Of The Living Fred DVD.

Subscribers to the website will be able to enter into a uniquely interactive relationship with Richard and Fred themselves, a process that involves genuine meet and greets as well as exclusive access to the brother’s exclusive photo archive. Richard comments: “We love being connected with our fans and this new website will bring that connection even closer. We plan to use the site to become even more intimately involved than we are at present, both of us will be online and directly in contact with our audience.” Fred adds: “The thing that this enables us to do is keep in touch with fans wherever they are and wherever we are in the world, all the time. We are lucky to be able to perform all over the world, but we can only be in one country at a time. Now we can do a show in Germany and share the experience with the USA, Japan and back home…it’s really exciting.”

The new album Stop The World and DVD Night of the Living Fred are available now, while the single is set for release om May 9th.

The bands debut Happiness entered the UK album charts at number 4 with over 25,000 sales making Hurts the UK’s fastest selling new band of 2010. They have now sold over 500,000 albums worldwide and in the UK, the album has been officially certified Gold.

Throughout Europe, Hurts also earned 14 top 10 iTunes positions including number one’s in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Finland and Luxembourg, and the album is now gold in the UK, Germany Russia, and Switzerland and Platinum in Poland.

Better Than Love was released as the bands first major single in May last year and has fast become a live favourite. Stated by Hurts as “dance music for depression”, Better Than Love is an upbeat yet dark single which will be released as a Double A Side alongside Illuminated. In stark contrast to Better Than Love, Illuminated is a slow and soft song that leads into a dramatic, emotive chorus.

Hurts – Better Than Love

Their single Wonderful Life has already had over 14 million online plays and in Europe has had great success with a number 1 airplay record in 5 countries to date including Germany, where the single has now sold over 400,000 copies and is certified Gold. Their success has also been matched in Poland where ‘Wonderful Life’ is also a Gold selling single.

Hurts ended 2010 with a bang after winning awards both in the UK and internationally. In Germany, they scooped the prestigious award for ‘Best International Newcomer’ at the Bambi’s (the German BAFTAs) and in the UK, The Sun awarded them the award for ‘Best Bizarre Session of 2010’. They also recently won the award for ‘Best New Band’ at the NME Awards and are nominated for Best International Newcomer at the Echo Awards in Germany next week.

Hurts are currently on a sell-out European tour following their sold out shows in the UK in February. They will be performing their first ever US show at Coachella next month followed by tour dates across Asia, before heading home for a busy summer of festival performances including V Festival, Isle of Wight, T in the Park, Oxegen and Dot To Dot.

The double A side single Illuminated/ Better Than Love is released by Hurts on May 2nd