Butlins PWL Weekend - Hit Factory live!

Butlins announce partnership with Pete Waterman for brand new ‘Hit Factory’ Live Music Weekend

Jason Donovan

There was a time when our radios were filled with acts managed by Pete Waterman. Now, to celebrate 25 years of the PWL record label, Butlins Bognor Regis will be reuniting those very same acts when the pop impresario brings his stable of stars to the first-ever Ultimate 80s: Hit Factory Live weekend.

Rick Astley

Headlining the 6,500-capacity Bognor Regis resort will be 80s heart-throbs Jason Donovan and Rick Astley who will be joined by Sinitta, Sonia, Brother Beyond, Hazell Dean and other PWL stars. Resident DJs will also be providing daytime entertainment leading into the evening.

Sinitta

Mike Godolphin, Head of Entertainments for Butlins Live Music Weekends, says “Pete Waterman and the Hit Factory were the most successful music stable in the 1980's. It feels natural and exciting to have them as part of our amazing Live Music Weekends offer.”

Sonia

Guests can enjoy three nights of live music across four venues, all included in one price. Adding to the electric atmosphere of this brand new weekend are a silent disco and a pool party in the Splash Waterworld complex, as well as the opportunity to explore 10 bars and restaurants around the resort.

Nathan Moore (Brother Beyond)

Prices for Ultimate 80s: Hit Factory Live start at just £129pp for 3 days, including accommodation for the weekend based on four adults* sharing a Silver apartment, access to all of the available resort facilities and all live entertainment.  To book a Butlins Live Music Weekend or for more information call 0845 070 4734 

or visit www.bigweekends.com.

Hazel Dean

*Live Music Weekends are available for guests aged 18 or over.

Dynamo announces Leeds First Direct Arena Show

Dynamo brings his live tour to the first direct arena in December 2015

Dynamo fans will have the opportunity to see his magic skills up close and personal in what promises to be a spectacular and unique live stage production as Dynamo finishes his smash hit tour back in his home county of Yorkshire as he plays the first direct arena in Leeds in December 2015. 

Dynamo, whose real name is Steven Frayne, hit our screens just three years ago with his 
first series of Magician Impossible, in that short time he has quickly established himself as one of the world’s most known and most loved magicians, with his series airing in over 180 countries worldwide reaching over 250 million cumulative viewers across the world. He was recently awarded the highest accolade by the magic circle with his promotion to Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star, a position only held by 300 magicians worldwide.

Dynamo said of his new venture, “After four series of Magician Impossible I was ready for a new challenge and for a long time I have wanted to take my show to the stage. I am hoping that like I did for magic on TV, I can reinvent the live magic show and produce something fans have never seen before. This is something I have been working towards for the last 20 years and I can’t wait to amaze audiences what I have in store for them”. 
Tony Watson, Director of Sales and Marketing for the first direct arena commented, "the 
arena has always aimed to attract the biggest names in entertainment to Leeds and in the world of magic, it doesn't come bigger than Dynamo. I'm sure his home county will take this opportunity to marvel at one of the worlds greatest illusionists." 

Dynamo will be visiting the first direct arena from December 16 to 20 2015 and tickets 
are priced from £32.50 and can be purchased from www.firstdirectarena.com, by 
phone on 0844 248 1585, or book your tickets from the first direct arena box office, 
now located at the venue, from 9am on Friday 31st October 2014. 

Review: Bjork - Biophilla - hypnotic

Bjork's fans will adore this film, which captures the last night of her Biophilia world tour with remarkable artistry and an attention to detail. Those who don't know her work might find it somewhat hard-going. Bjork's music is thematically deep and aurally complex, but the songs are often atonal. None are very easy to hum along with. Still, the creative filmmaking offers some ideas for future concert documentaries.

In September 2013 at Alexandra Palace in North London, Bjork gave the final live performance of her Biophilia song cycle about the elements and nature. So it's only natural that the film is introduced with narration from David Attenborough. On-stage, Bjork interacts with musicians Manu Delago and Matt Robertson, as well as a large choir of women from Iceland walking barefoot around her as they sing in eerie harmony. Filmmakers Nick Fenton and Peter Strickland then take the imagery from her video screens and layer it onto the movie. So for much of the film it looks like Bjork is performing on a stage floating in outer space, alongside a gigantic squid or erupting volcano. Then eventually the crowd resolves around her, participating in this celebration of the natural world.

With that Attenborough opening and Bjork's cheeky expressions, there's a nicely witty undercurrent to the whole film. And the cameras capture the performance from askance angles that reveal unexpected things about the amazing instruments Bjork has created with her musicians. Not only do they sound beautiful, but they are just as fascinating to explore with our eyes as the outrageous plasticky onion-white dress she's wearing. Accompanying this is an unusually sharp audio mix that lets us hear every sound. Although this only makes us wish we could understand the lyrics of the songs, which are often strange and moody and hardly seem like songs at all.


This is performance art, not a pop concert. So fans of Bjork's hits with the Sugarcubes may be disappointed. On the other hand, her fierce genius comes through in her dedication to this project. And even if we're never quite sure what she's singing, the images and certain audible words that help us understand the nature of the concept (song titles include Moon, Thunderbolt, Virus, Solstice and Crystalline). There's also no denying the raw power of Bjork's magnificent voice and the emotional feelings it conveys. This is such a skilfully assembled event and film that it has a hypnotic quality even for non-fans. But for Bjork's faithful followers, it's pretty close to heaven. 

BBC: The Syndicate Gets Third Series - this time in Scarborough

Anthony Andrews, Lenny Henry and Elizabeth Berrington head the cast for third series of Kay Mellor's The Syndicate.

Filming has begun in Yorkshire on the third series of the critically acclaimed, hugely popular BBC One drama The Syndicate, from the pen of BAFTA Award-winning writer Kay Mellor OBE, creator of Band Of Gold, Fat Friends, A Passionate Woman and In The Club.
It's 2015 and the once impressive Hazelwood Manor, which overlooks all of Scarborough and is the family home of the Hazelwoods, has now fallen into disrepair. Lord Hazelwood (Anthony Andrews, The King's Speech, Birdsong, Brideshead Revisited) is fading fast, but Lady Hazelwood (Alice Krige, Thor: The Dark World, Spooks), his second wife, seems more concerned with maintaining the lifestyle she's become accustomed to whilst his stepson Spencer (Sam Phillips, In The Flesh, Pete Versus Life) seems intent on spending his inheritance as quickly as possible. What is left of the estate is rapidly disappearing on fast cars, fancy yachts and living the high life despite rising debts... all behind the back of the ailing Lord Hazelwood.

Meanwhile 'downstairs' they have had to seriously reduce their staff; now there are only five left: housekeeper Sarah (Cara Theobold, Downton Abbey, Scrotal Recall, Call The Midwife), cleaner Dawn (Elizabeth Berrington, Stella, Trying Again, Crimson Petal And The White), cook Julie (Melanie Hill, Cilla, Brassed Off, Auf Wiedersehen Pet), groomsman/odd-job man Sean (Richard Rankin, The Crimson Field, Silent Witness, Black Watch) and gardener Godfrey (Lenny Henry, The Magicians, Harry & Paul, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban).

Godfrey formed the lottery syndicate with his colleagues years ago as he was convinced he could work out how to win it mathematically. He is a high functioning person with Asperger's syndrome and as the series opens he is certain he's finally cracked the system. He gives cleaner Dawn a list of this week's 'winning lottery numbers' according to his statistics. A series of mishaps ensues and all seems lost - but then it hits them: seemingly against all the odds, they have won £14 million! Everyone is ecstatic. Dawn, pregnant with an unplanned third child, can't wait to tell her husband Andy (Kieran O'Brien, The Look Of Love, The Last Enemy), son Noah (newcomer Bradley Johnson) and beautiful daughter Amy (Daisy Head, Fallen, When The Heart Calls, Endeavour) who is reluctantly helping her out at Hazelwood Manor but has ambitions to become the next Cara Delevingne. And then, on the night of the win, Amy suddenly goes missing...

As we relish the joy of our syndicate's journey from downstairs to upstairs, the search for Amy becomes increasingly urgent. The police investigation uncovers clues and raises myriad suspicions. Secrets and backstories are revealed as we try to find out who has taken the young girl... and just how well do our syndicate really know each other?

We caught up with Kay Mellor who told us in a wind swept Scarborough: “The Syndicate 3 is a completely new series, with a fresh new world and brand-new characters, the staff of a crumbling stately home: the Cook, House Manager, Gardener, Cleaner and Game Keeper. It's about new money – ordinary people who win a life-changing amount of money on the lottery. I was excited by the idea of setting the syndicate winners amongst the old money of a crumbling stately home, where Lord and Lady Hazelwood's inherited money is fast running out. It's a delicious premise which enables me to look at class and social politics within the framework of a drama – 'downstairs' becoming instantly wealthier than 'upstairs'. I'm able to explore how the lack of money and greed have a devastating effect and how a sudden change in fortune can bring about its own problems.”

Also on location today was Lenny Henry, he told us: “I'm delighted to be filming series 3 of The Syndicate – I've been a big fan of Kay Mellor's since Band Of Gold and Playing The Field, so to actually be on set with her as writer/director is just lovely.”

Jamie T - Carry On The Grudge Review

'Carry On The Grudge' is the long awaited third studio album from Jamie T and marks a more downbeat sound for the 28-year-old, who seems to have written the album from where he was at that point of his life. Giving you tracks such as single 'Don't You Find' with its very downbeat, melodic sound which can only be described as beautiful; you can imagine Jamie T in a smoke filled room, a glass of whiskey just spilling out his soul, a side of this young man that we have not yet seen until now. Now that we have, it does send shivers down your spine, especially when the backing singers kick in. The track is truly what the doctor ordered on his return as the first single to promote the album.

Do not worry, though, if you are a hardened fan that loved the 'earlier stuff' - there are still glimpses of this here and there. The second single 'Zombie' is ironically upbeat; singing about zombies shouldn't work as a rule, but, as with all Jamie T songs, it does, and the music video to go with it is wicked. Two big thumbs up for both singles, the return of Mr T (Jamie T) is looking like it will be a successful one.

Sometimes the best ideas are the simplistic ones. 'Turn On The Lights' is plain and simple, with Jamie T's spiralling, clever lyrics accompanied by a repetitive beat and a nice guitar hook to finish the job. Keeping on the theme of simplicity, 'The Prophet' feels like Jamie has picked up a guitar and has had a bit of a rant in a jamming session; a bad thing this is not, 'Columbia' from Oasis' 'Definitely Maybe' was created the same way and that is an awesome tune.

There are pick-me-ups on the album that spring into action with the likes of fun song 'Trouble', although the lyrics are telling you "to hold on to what you got, you can lose it", the music remains happy, slightly crazy, in an Arcade Fire style. 'Rabbit Hole' is another example of the quick witty lyrics spouted out by the man himself and this is the track that will have you singing like an idiot in the car while you are bounding down the motorway.
Old or new from Jamie T, it is all good and with 'Carry On The Grudge' Jamie T has managed to find the perfect balance which, with the choice of 150 songs plus, in itself was a tricky task. On a positive, this could mean more music on the way rather than another five year absence.

If you are a fan of this guy, you will not be disappointed. Some songs may need a couple of listens for full absorption, but you will be happy nonetheless, and if you like his stuff on record, get off your backside and go and see him live.

Music: Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga - Cheek to Cheek review

One of the biggest trends in music today is that new rhythms, beats and backing vocals are sounding more and more like the old ones. Vintage and retro have defined some of the big hits of the last few years, from Pharrell's 'Get Lucky' and 'Happy' to Meaghan Trainor's 'All About That Bass'. Most of these sounds only call back to the 1970s and maybe the 50s and 60s for their funk and their groove, and for some people that's just not enough. So leave it to Lady Gaga, never one to go halfway on anything, to team up with good old-fashioned showman Tony Bennett to deliver us all the way back to the Roaring 20s and the era of swing with their collaboration album titled 'Cheek To Cheek'.

If you've come into this album thinking that this will be a blend of Lady Gaga's pioneering pop methods and Tony Bennett's timeless style, I regret to inform you that it has missed the opportunity to feature Tony Bennett's cover of 'Bad Romance'. 'Cheek To Cheek' plays it straight, with Lady Gaga ditching her usual brand in favor of a 20s crooner. This is all Bennett's wheelhouse, and she really fits right in. Lady Gaga fits effortlessly into the role of the saucy dame, best seen in 'Goody Goody' where she cops her native New York accent to complain that she is no "goody goody", adopting a sly attitude as Bennett tries to romance her in all the wrong (yet right) ways.

Bennett and Gaga are both at their best in the call-and-reply songs, employing fitting referential metaphors in 'They All Laughed', convincingly affectionate back-and-forth in 'Cheek To Cheek' and, what must be one of the most comical lines, fitting the words "silly gigolos" into the album opener 'Anything Goes'. Gaga and Bennett also deliver two solos each, although Bennett's 'Sophisticated Lady' and Gaga's 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye' and 'Lush Life' sound a bit too similar as slow-paced piano ballads in comparison to Bennett's string-dominated 'Don't Wait Too Long'. Other songs pack more instrumental flair, with the manic energy of 'Firefly' and the jazzy overtones of 'I Can't Give You Anything' conjuring images of smoke-filled old boys clubs. And, of course, the duo's rendition of 'It Don't Mean a Thing' closes the album with a bang.

There's little to criticise about the album. The album's songs have a tendency to sound a bit like each other, and while the short length of most of the songs keeps that tendency from getting in the way of the music, it also leads to songs ending right as a listener is getting into them. As a whole, though, the thing that is most striking about this album is its authenticity. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett have great chemistry as performers and both clearly have a passion for the genre and its legacy in popular music. They successfully bring to life an entire style of music that hasn't entered, let alone dominated, the public perception in decades. If you're a big band fan or if you just have an open mind, 'Cheek To Cheek' has that swing you may not have even known you were looking for.

Walking Dead: Season 6 Green Light and More On The Spin Off

AMC has unsurprisingly renewed The Walking Dead for a sixth season. The news comes just days before the fifth season premiere of the zombie show hits U.S. screens. 

"We could not be more excited for October 12th as we share new episodes of 'The Walking Dead' with fans around the globe," said AMC president Charlie Collier.


"In advance of Sunday's season five premiere, AMC proudly confirms a sixth season order of this extraordinary series. Thank you to Robert Kirkman, Scott Gimple, the terrific executive producers, and the entire team who brings this compelling world and these rich characters to life. There's plenty more Dead ahead thanks to their impressive, collective effort."

The show remains the number one show on television in the adults 18-49 demographic and is now the highest-rated cable show of all time. Season six will see the return of Scott M. Gimple, along with producers Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotera and Tom Luse.


Though the show almost certainly has a couple more seasons left in the bag, there are indications that AMC may be thinking ahead for possible alternatives to its prize-asset. The cable channel is moving forward with its Walking Dead companion series, featuring new characters in a different location. 

Of the spin off, Kirkman had this to say: "It definitely won’t be set in Georgia—I can at least say that. It’s important to us that this show exists on its own. The spinoff has to be a show worthy of existing, or else we’ve all sold out. So that’s something we’re all working hard towards doing, and I think we can pull it off. I think that the ideal situation is, when you’re watching the spinoff, you’re like, ‘Wow, this is a really awesome show.'"

"There are many corners of 'The Walking Dead' universe that remain unseen in the shadows. Being given the opportunity to shine a light into those corners and see what lurks out there is an absolute thrill," Kirkman said. "I know the fans are anxious to hear what Dave and I have been cooking up for this new universe of 'The Walking Dead,' and I'm happy to be one step closer to sharing it with them."

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on October 12 at 9pm so on your favourite torrent sites an hour later. No UK air dates yet.