By Ron Tennant, Belgium. ON Friday and Saturday evening, September 28 and 29, the brilliant show Welcome To The 60s was at the Swan Theatre,Worcester. It was a show to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the giant life-changing choir from Worcester, called Voices Unlimited. For these two shows, an 86-piece Voices Unlimited vocal group appeared and […]
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By Martin Hutchinson BEATLEMANIA lives on, and the tribute band that grew out of the show of the same name continues to delight audiences around the world with their accurate portrayal of The Fab Four. Originally an American production, ‘Beatlemania!’ came to London’s West End and toured the country to great acclaim. However, when the […]
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By Jane Quinn Share a Cuppa Tea with John Otway as he speaks of the meaning of life, comics, bullies et al. If Bob Dylan was a gymnastic punk rocker, his name would be John Otway. Mr Otway is a singer-songwriter, wordsmith, author, an awkward wit, Pete Townshend’s gifted protégé, and a poetic non-driving tea drinker. You saw him […]
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By Mike Berry Chas Hodges was probably the most ‘gifted’ musician I ever had the pleasure and good fortune to meet and work with! I met Charles Nicholas Hodges when he was 17 and I was 18. And not long after we started working together, I remember calling him a ‘genius’ in a music paper […]
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By John Firminger THE AMOUNT of publicity in the media announcing the passing of Chas Hodges on September 22 shows how much he was admired and loved by both fans and fellow musicians. Despite receiving successful treatment for oesophageal cancer recently, Chas suffered organ failure and passed away peacefully in his sleep. It goes without […]
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By Jane Quinn Share a Cuppa Tea with Pete Best and Roag Aspinall Best. The Best Brothers discuss things like Lester Pigott, Museums, and Smiles. NOT MANY people can say they used to be a Beatle. Pete Best is one who actually was an original Beatle during the formative years, the Hamburg years, the black […]
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Tommy, the rock ‘n’ roller who became Britain’s premier song and dance man By Pat Murphy When Tommy Steele steps onto the stage of the London Coliseum this July, it’ll be almost 60 years since he debuted there in a lavish production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. And it isn’t fanciful to regard that long […]
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Editors Beat with David Parker THE ‘Brighton Music Walk of Fame has been set up by Walk of Fame Media and the owners of Brighton Palace Pier. The permanent ‘free to view’ cultural attraction pays tribute to the many musicians, artists, composers and DJs closely associated with the city and Sussex from the early sixties […]
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BILL MUMY as he talks Zorro, cornfields, and Nikola Tesla Boy star to master multi-musician Do you remember a vintage television series called The Twilight Zone? If you said “yes” you will no doubt remember the episode about a six-year-old red- haired, freckle-faced little boy who had the very bizarre power to read minds. Even […]
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Billie Davis is in Spain for the week of Sunday, April 30 to May 7, but returns for her new stage touring show at the Gordon Craig in Stevenage on May 11. During the show, Alan Warner, and Iain ‘Hound-dog’ Terry perform tributes, playing Nivram. (Marvyn backwards, according to Billie.) On drums is John Tuck of The...
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You have probably seen the TV ad for ‘THE BEATLES VINYL COLLECTION’, a new 23 ‘partwork’ series of every original Beatles album on 180 vinyl, plus all of the Anthology, Live At The BBC, Past Masters and other significant compilations of the bands material. With a magazine detailing either the recording sessions of the accompanying...
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Gillingham Festival returns with a line-up that includes poet and witty observer Pam Ayres, rock composer Rick Wakeman, folk singer Cara Dillon, guitar maestro Gary Ryan and Paul Jones with the Manfreds. The festival, based for 2017 mainly at Gillingham School and the Methodist church, in the Dorset town, runs from June 30 to July...
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By Martin Hutchinson Once Osmondmania had run its course, the various brothers embarked upon solo careers. After Alan and Wayne, Merrill was the middle of the five original performing brothers. Jay was born two years after Merrill, and Donny came two years after that, and thet were heavily influenced by country music. As well as...
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Purple Rain a live celebration of the music, life and legacy of Prince, begins a tour of the UK starting in Cambridge, taking in Guildford, Salisbury, York, Leeds, Newcastle, Leicester Glasgow and Edinburgh, then to Ireland. Later in the year the band performs in Hastings, Exeter, Birmingham, Blackpool, Ipswich, Worthing,...
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Foundations singer Clem Curtis has died aged 76. The original lead singer of the British band The Foundations, Clem was the lead on the band’s 1967 No.1 hit Baby, Now That I’ve Found You. The song is claimed to be the first chart-topper by a British multi-racial band. Clem lived in Olney, Buckinghamshire. He left the...
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……..Sir Tim Rice Born in an historic English country house near Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, Sir Timothy Miles Bindon, ‘Tim’ Rice, is an English author and Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award, and Grammy Award-winning lyricist. After studying for a year in Paris at the Sorbonne, Rice joined...
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After the success of last years’ tour, The Andy Williams Christmas Extravaganza is returning to the UK this month. The show has been a staple at The Moon River Theatre in Missouri for many years, but with the passing of Andy Williams, The Osmonds wanted to carry on the tradition and continue Andy’s legacy. The season ends early in...
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There’s a show doing the rounds starring DJ and broadcasting legend ‘Diddy’ David Hamilton. The Fab 50s and Swinging 60s show is hosted by David and he brings on the amazing live band The Fugitives and sensational singers, Ash Denver and the Tiffany Girls This fabulous show will make you smile, laugh, and most definitely...
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The Merseybeats had the best name for any pop group of the early Sixties. Bill Harry, copyright owner of the newspaper Mersey beat, had given his blessing and approval to the band to use the name. With their compelling tunes, their numerous appearances at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, and Brian Epstein as manager; they appeared to...
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