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11/23/03

For US fans: Happy Thanksgiving...and enjoy the long holiday =)

Westlife slated for 12th UK #1

Busted have censored their new album - so parents will allow their kids to buy it. James Bourne said: "We didn’t want a parental advisory sticker on A Present For Everyone. If there’s a word we didn’t want anyone to hear, there’s a ‘boink’ noise."

Their second album is just ahead of Michael Jackson’s Number Ones in the midweek charts. Meanwhile, Westlife are romping ahead in the singles chart with their cover of Mandy. Another cover is at No2 - Girls Aloud's Jump. Fame Academy winner Alex Park’s Maybe That’s What It takes is at No3.

Tidbit

Bryan went shopping crazy when he started earning serious money. The He admitted: “I bought a catsuit. A black catsuit. I looked like the lead singer from The Darkness.” Er, maybe two lead singers from The Darkness, Bryan.

Westlife's first visit to India

MUMBAI: MTV Immies are all set to heat up the music scene with some international sensations. Latest news is that the youth channel has roped in Westlife, Safari Duo, Outlandish, Rishi Rich and Panjabi MC for the international acts.

The first ever music awards from the Viacom's Indian music arm, establish to coincide with 100 years of recording music.

One of the popular boy bands of the international music scene, Westlife have sold 18 million albums and seven million singles The five member team is set to woo MTV viewers at their first ever performance in India when they perform at the Indian Music Excellence Awards - MTV IMMIES presented by AirTel, on 12 December, 2003, says a company release.

Besides Westlife, the Immies boasts of international acts comprising percussion pop duo Safri Duo, the popular Danish group - Outlandish, Asian music sensation - Rishi Rich and international king of Bhangra - Panjabi MC.

While the channel has unveiled its international acts, the local acts are still kept under the wraps but the release hints that the Immies will bring together a galaxy of international and local acts sprinkled liberally with performances from Bollywood.

The stars of the evening Nicky, Shane, Bryan, Kian and Mark have sold over 250,000 units of their albums in India alone. The popular Irish boy band is creating waves across the globe with 'Mandy' and 'Hey Whatever' from their forthcoming album 'Turnaround'.

The Safri Duo comprising Morten Friis and Uffe Savery are said to be poised to get the crowd in action with performance. The bongo banging duo has won a pile of awards and was the first ever Danish act to win an MTV Award. Next in the line is the 'not regular hip-hop band' Outlandish. With their recent release Aicha making rounds of the music channels, the dynamic trio is raring to deliver a superb performance for the first time in India, says the release.

While Rishi Rich, whose claim to fame is not just Asian fusion tracks, but pure hip-hop beats for the likes of Fallacy and Estelle is amongst the star line line up for the d-day. Currently, Rishi Rich is working on productions for Britney Spears, Ricky Martin and Mary J Blige.

Last in the line is the International king of Bhangra, Panjabi MC. Having established himself as a household name on the UK and international Bhangra scene, Panjabi MC has gaining huge recognition and popularity with his hip hop and real 'desi' mix in India too.

Charity in Need concert

More than £400,000 has been raised by Northern Ireland in aid of the BBC Children In Need appeal, latest totals showed today. When the phone lines closed at 2am, the local total raised was £441,342.

The UK-wide total stood at £15,305,212 this morning - the highest total on the night since the appeal began and £1,805,212 more than at the same time last year.

The Ulster total was slightly down on the same period last year, when local donors had contributed £476,903 by the end of the evening.

Thousands of people crammed into Belfast's Odyssey Arena last night to see Westlife, Girls Aloud and Simply Red perform live on stage. Malachi Cush, Katie Melua, Joanne Birchall and the seven finalists from BBC Northern Ireland's Country Cool all appeared on the area stage during the night.

BBC Radio Ulster presenter George Jones raised an amazing £52,115 in his annual on-air radio auction. And while the entertainment was being broadcast last night, dedicated Westlife fans were camping out in freezing conditions to secure tickets for their forthcoming concerts which went on sale this morning.

Meanwhile, Children in Need organisers predicted that the UK-wide total to be collected over the coming months from fund-raising events will top last year's total of more than £26m. Entertainment during the 24th annual telethon last night included a remake of The Wizard of Oz with the cast of EastEnders, Holby City, Casualty and Merseybeat. Shane Richie, who plays Alfie Moon in Eastenders, opened the show with a cover of the Queen hit, We Will Rock you. He will also release this year's Children In Need single, I'm Your Man, a cover of the Wham hit.

Race on to buy signed Westlife cars

An English woman who splashed out £15,000 for a car signed by Westlife today said she could not wait to meet the band in Belfast.

Jean Madge, from Taunton, near Birmingham, bought the autographed Smart car during Terry Wogan's on-air auction on his Radio 2 programme yesterday. The money will go towards Children In Need.

Earlier this year Mark, Kian, Nicky, Shane and Bryan signed their names on the car, which then sat in the Odyssey Pavilion. The car was put up for auction yesterday and Jean was determined to get her hands on it for her teenage twin daughters Esther and Sophie.

The trio were being flown into Belfast today to attend tonight's Children In need concert at the Odyssey. It is also expected that they will meet Westlife before the show. Jean said: "My mother died earlier this year and left me some money and I wanted to donate some of it to Children in Need.

"When I heard about the car I just decided to go for it on impulse. I am a fan of Westlife and have bought a few of their records. The girls like them, too, so I thought it would be a nice way to spend the money. Apart from that the car will come in handy."

Another bidder was giving Jean a run for her money, but she ended up forking out £15,000 to ensure the car was hers.

"We were contacted by Mary-Rose Gilroy from the Odyssey who said we'd be flown over to Belfast for the gig," she said. "We've never been to Belfast before and are really excited about the trip. Getting to meet the band will also be a once-in-a-life-time opportunity."

The band hoping for their 12th number one this weekend, have also signed five replica miniatures car which were being sold off this week in George Jones on-air radio auction.

Westlife in Leith for signing

Westlife are to sign copies of their new album at Ocean Terminal in Leith this week. The Irish heart-throbs will make a special appearance at the Ocean Kitchen stage area next Monday morning.

Five hundred fans will get the chance to meet the band when they sign copies of their album and new single, Mandy, which was originally a hit for Barry Manilow in 1975. It is the second single to be taken from the band’s new album, Turnaround, which is released on the same day.

The event is one of only three being staged across the country. It is free, but only 500 wristband holders will get to meet the boys and get their CD signed. Wristbands will only be available from HMV at Ocean Terminal from 8am on Monday with a purchase of the album.

Hiding in the cupboards

Deranged fans it is. Westlife were left "stunned and shaken" after being ambushed by two besotted admirers on Monday. The incident happened during the fans' conference in London's 10 Rooms.

A couple of girls decided they wanted to see more of their idols so they hid in a cupboard hoping to snare the lads later on. But the plan backfired. The girls jumped out hours later but before they could get to the band they were spotted by bouncers who showed them the door.

An insider tells us: "The boys are stunned - they can't believe the lengths some of their fans will go to. All sorts could have happened - they could have even suffocated in there. Apparently, because the girls had heard Westlife would be popping back that evening for a drink, they decided to stow themselves away. It was a ridiculous thing to do and the lads were really shaken up by it."

Bryan and Mark, both 23, were far more relaxed when we caught up with them in Leicester Square's Yates's Wine Lodge earlier in the evening. As the pair celebrated their chart success with a few vodka and diet cokes, hunky Bry revealed that he's now an Atkins Diet addict.

"It's the best thing ever - I've lost a stone in two weeks," he beamed. "I can have a big fry-up with loads of sausages and rashers of bacon in the morning and a Burger King in the evenings - just without the bread. It's great."

Tour dates (again)

April 6 - Nottingham Arena
April 9 - Brighton Centre
April 12 - Cardiff Arena
April 16 and 17 - Glasgow SECC
April 23 - Newcastle Arena
April 29 - Sheffield Arena
May 3 - Manchester Evening News Arena
May 7 - Wembley Arena
May 11, 12 and 13 - The Point, Dublin
May 23 - Birmingham NEC.

11/09/03

Westlife Announce 3 Dublin Shows...

Chart toppers Westlife were at home in Dublin over the weekend to attend the IFTAs but the lads had another reason to be in the capital - to announce three upcoming shows in May.

Westlife fans are going to go nuts with excitement at the news that the handsome lads are going to play three concerts in Dublin's Point Theatre on the 5, 6, and 7 of May.

And ShowBiz Ireland's sources have hinted that there may be more dates added if the fivesome's shows sellout as quickly as they have in previous years.

The Irish Film and Television Awards...

There were some doubters in the Irish media to whether the Irish Film and Television Awards would be a success but with a massive celebrity turn out the night was a blast...

Both homegrown and international stars of the big and small screen descended on Dublin over the weekend to attend the first ever Irish Film and Television Awards. And it was Irish films Veronica Guerin and Intermission which won the major awards with Colin Farrell winning Best Actor - all voted for by the public.

Acclaimed Film director Neil Jordan was also given a lifetime achievement award for his work on such movies as A Company of Wolves, The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, The Butcher Boy, and many more.

The major theme amongst winner's speeches on the night was the impending budget - it is rumoured that the tax incentives that attract movie-makers here will be abolished. The only real disappointment on the night was the absence of Dubliner Colin Farrell, but he had a very good excuse - he is on set in Morocco filming Alexander The great and is seeing his newly born son James for the first time this weekend.

After the awards show many of the stars went on to The Clarence Hotel but the younger celebrities including Westlife and Samantha Mumba went to Renards nightclub.

Exclusive airplay

Heal and Lost in You will receive exclusive radio airplay in the UK on November 17 on Simon Mayo's Album Chart Radio 2 Show between 7pm and 8pm GMT.

Bryan and Kerry cheer on Blue at Odyssey gig

Blue got a little help from their friends last night as they took to the stage at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. Bryan and Kerry drove from Dublin to wish the band the best of luck as they undertook their 2003 tour.

It was Blue's second time in the city in a year. Thousands of screaming fans welcomed the boys on stage as they belted out hit after hit, including All Rise, Too Close, One Love and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.

After the show, Duncan, Anthony, Simon and Lee met Bryan and Kerry, who gave the gig the thumbs up. Bryan and Lee also took to the decks in Bar 7, entertaining the post-concert revellers with some tunes.

Westlife are back in Belfast on Friday, November 21, to headline the BBC's Children In Need concert. Blue, who are good friends with Shane, Bryan, Kian, Mark and Nicky, had hoped to join them on the same night, but are playing a gig in Sheffield.

Pavarotti and Westlife top Royal Variety bill

Luciano Pavarotti and Westlife will top the bill at this year's Royal Variety Performance. The event at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre is expected to be attended by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh and will be the 75th Royal Variety Performance.

The show, presented by Cat Deeley, will be filmed for ITV1 and will be shown later this month. Other stars expected to join Pavarotti, who will perform a selection of his favourite songs, include Busted, Daniel Bedingfield, New Zealand singer Hayley Westenra, jazz star Jamie Cullum, Gloria Estefan and Donny Osmond. From London's West End the cast of the award-winning hit musical Thoroughly Modern Millie will create a special performance starring Amanda Holden and Maureen Lipman.

Granada's head of music programming and executive producer of the show, Jeff Thacker, said: "The world's greatest artistes in entertainment have always supported The Royal Variety Performance. This year, its diamond anniversary, is no exception.

"We are honoured to have such prestigious guests gather for this special event. There is something for everyone - a true Royal Variety Performance." Laurie Mansfield, life president of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, the beneficiaries of the Royal Variety Performance, added: "This is a Royal Variety Show in the true sense of the word variety, with all areas of the entertainment business being represented. We hope to give Edinburgh a night to remember."

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