Monthly Archives: October 2009

Paul Potts @ Plymouth Pavilions

The Big Stage,

paulpottsFollowing the huge success last year of his debut No.1 album ‘One Chance’ (July 2007) and a sell out performance at Plymouth Pavilions back in February, Paul Potts returns to the city on Thursday 22 October 2009.

The rich, powerful and mesmerising voice of rising star Paul Potts has touched the hearts of millions since his win on  TV’s hot new talent show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. Watched by 13.5 million in the finals, his hauntingly beautiful rendition  of Puccini’s ‘Nessun Dorma’ stunned the show’s judges and audiences alike, leaving many moved to tears.

Since then Paul has been very busy, wowing audiences not only in Europe but across in America appearing on several high profile chat shows. In fact in under 2 years Paul has performed with José Carreras, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, received a discography plaque from Prime Minister Gordon Brown for having sold over 2million copies of his debut album (December 2007) and more recently performed a 97 date tour, in 85 cities across 23 countries (November 2008).

Marketing Officer at Plymouth Pavilions, Robert Maltby said: “Paul Potts has really had world domination over the last 2 years, his reality days are already way behind him now and he is respected in the industry as one of the best. Paul Potts received rave reviews at his Plymouth debut back in February, he has won the hearts of us all in the South West, it’s a welcome return for the Opera king!”
Tickets cost: £27.50
(Tickets may be subject to a processing fee)

Colin Fry @ Plymouth Pavilions

The Big Stage,

colinfryColin Fry returns to Plymouth Pavilions on Sunday 13 September 2009 with a show that once again demonstrates his extraordinary psychic abilities and communication with the two worlds.

Colin has been conducting private sittings and performing at public demonstrations since he was 17 years old. He is a trained bereavement counsellor and the head of International College of Spiritual Science and Healing in Sweden where he regularly teaches on many subjects from psychic skills to positive thinking. Colin believes his vocation is to comfort those who need to hear or understand that a friend or loved one still exists. This he does with breathtaking accuracy.

With 140 episodes now produced, ‘6ixth Sense with Colin Fry’ was Colin’s first TV show which has been seen by millions of viewers Worldwide. Colin believes that ‘for those who believe, no evidence is necessary and for those who don’t believe, no evidence is ever enough’. Colin has often been contacted by police forces who need his psychic abilities to help them locate bodies or to determine whether a missing person is alive or dead. This has led to two series’ of  ‘Psychic

Private Eyes’. The second series is currently broadcast on the Zone Reality Sky Channel 146. Colin continues to  demonstrate his Mediumship internationally, ‘The Happy Medium’, tour in New Zealand was turned into a TV series which airs primetime on New Zealand’s main channel and has had a very successful New Zealand tour back in January 2008.

Colin’s passion is to teach others not only to use their gift but to live life without regrets and has developed Positive Thinking seminars launched in 2007 to accommodate this need. He feels that it’s important to stay close to the people who need him and to help them get the most out of their time on this earth.

Tickets cost: £19.50
(Tickets may be subject to a processing fee)

Bloc Party @ Plymouth Pavilions

The Big Stage,

blocpartyBloc Party who just completed their latest UK tour with two sold out shows at Wolverhampton Civic Hall over the weekend, announce their biggest UK tour to date.

The month long BLOCTOBER tour will see the band play 23 shows around the UK including a return visit to Plymouth Pavilions on Friday 23 October 2009.

The band are about to embark on the sold out European leg of their Intimacy world tour which has already seen them visit South America, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. Meanwhile all 25,000 tickets for the band’s two London Olympia shows in April are now completely sold out.

Tickets cost: £22.50
(Tickets may be subject to a processing fee)

Shooting For Thrills

Local Music,

shootingOn a hot Saturday evening this energetic band take to the stage to promote a collection of new songs. The band have  created a positive hype in the short time they have been active on the South Devon music scene.

The band comprise of Kris Barras – guitarist & vocalist – who also plays with Who’s in the room with Norman, Joe Sansome – drummer – previously with Morph, Ben Perchard on bass guitar and Lewis Simmons – on rhythm guitar.

These guys certainly look the part and one of the most positive things that I liked the most is the energy and style of playing.

Top producer Joe Gibb recorded the EP and he has worked with some of the biggest rock and metal artists in the world.

For All Our Sins EP contains a good mixture of songs, Hear I Am, Last Man Standing, Forgive and Forget, Come Home, What If I Don’t, All in Time. The music is very well played and the band gave the comfortable feeling that they have been around for a while. The songs are strong but also different in their own right. I predict good things for these guys and they can cut it live as well.

I can best describe the music as pop metal, as always this kind of music is a very tough market to crack but from what I heard this band has more of a chance than the average band. I can see this band progressing on to a major tour as a   support artist, playing to open the show for Def Leppard or a big band in that genre. I also believe the American market could be quicker than the UK. Country’s like Germany and Belgium are mad for this kind of music and bands generally progress quicker over there than the UK, none the less, I said the same about a small local band from Teignmouth who are now one of the biggest bands in the world.

It is long over due that we had another big band to come out of the South West, fingers crossed these guys could be it!

Interview: Midge Ure

Interviews & Exclusives, The Big Stage, ,

Midge Ure is playing at the Phoenix in Exeter on 12th December.  We caught up with Midge and here is an exclusive interview

midge

Is your new album Move Me very different from your last album Breathe?

I’ve put a lot more of me into this record than I did the previous one.  I mean it’s a lot more guitar-oriented.  I’ve gone back and grabbed my synthesisers with great gay abandon again and I’ve started making all those lovely noise and atmospheres.  It’s very different to Breathe but it’s still very much a Midge Ure record.

The lyrics to this album seem very personal – is there a common theme throughout the album?

I still write about things that affect me – you know things that go on in my life, things that affect me from books, from watching television, from seeing the news.  You know there’s a real wide range of subjects on the record.

It’s a series of my thoughts and feelings over…it’s like documenting what I’ve been through over the last 5 years.  The good and the bad. It’s the highs and lows of life.  That’s what I write about.

What about “Vienna” – what are your thoughts on that song today?

I could never think of “Vienna” as anything but what is was.  It was an interesting piece of music that became immensely successful commercially, and I’ve got to thank it for that, cause I don’t think I’d be here doing this today if it wasn’t for that.  Because it turned Ultravox from a small kind of college, hardly known electronic pop band/rock band into this huge world wide known act, and that is just amazing.

Is there any advice you’d like to give young artists starting out today?

Not really, you learn from your mistakes.  The thing that’s worrying right now about the state of the industry I think is a lot of the bands aren’t actually bands, they’re not real. They haven’t gone out and played all the sleazy clubs with all the graffiti on the walls and no toilet backstage and all of that stuff. You’ve got to go out and do that because that’s how you learn how it works.

Are you looking forward to being on the road again?

Yeah definitely.  We have been looking at dates in Europe, and possibly doing some proper dates in the UK, which I haven’t done for a long time, you know maybe start out with four or five up and down the country just to show the new band in action. So we’re looking to coming to Germany, I think it’s in November, a few weeks after the release of the new album.

To Book Tickets at The Phoenix contact BOX OFFICE 01392 667080

Dave Spikey – The Best Medicone Tour – Repeat Prescription

Princess Theatre Torquay, ,

daveDave Spikey, returns to the stand up arena this Autumn with a continuation of his critically acclaimed Best Medicine – Repeat Prescription tour.  The double British Comedy Award Winner, who warmed the nation’s hearts as cabaret star Jerry St Clair in Phoenix Nights, is without doubt a man on a mission!  Working on the premise that laughter is the best medicine,

Dave began his Best Medicine stand up tour in 2008, but due to overwhelming demand for his side-splitting comedy prescription, has been delivering his ‘Repeat Prescription’ since the beginning of 2009.  With 29 dates already completed The Best Medicine Tour – Repeat Prescription continues this Autumn with a further 34 shows.  Kicking off on 28 August at Blackpool’s North Pier Dave will be touring right through November when he will play his final show of the year at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre.

And just to make sure that he brightens everyone’s spirits during the darker months Dave’s first book He Took My Kidney Then Broke My Heart will be published by Michael O’Mara Books in October, followed by The Best Medicine Tour – Live DVD on 9 November on Lace DVD – just in time for Christmas.  He Took My Kidney, Then Broke My Heart takes a side-splitting sideways look at the local and national news and  includes 100% genuine news stories including: ‘FUN WITH FERRETS AT THE YMCA’ (Halifax Courier), ‘LLAMA DRAMA DING DONG’ (Lancashire Evening Post) and ‘GNOMES BANNED FROM GRAVEYARD’ (Weston and Somerset Mercury), with Dave’s hysterical commentary throughout. The Best Medicine Tour – Live DVD, includes more than 90 minutes of comedy that will certainly brighten the dullest spirit and leave you gasping for more.

After co-writing and co-starring in Phoenix Nights, Dave turned his attention to Dead Man Weds and Magnolia followed, along with a 4 series stint as Team Captain on Channel 4’s immensely popular      8 out of 10 Cats and a revival of the classic ‘darts’ based television game show Bullseye, which he hosted on Challenge with the full approval of comedy legend and original host Jim Bowen. Additionally, Dave has released two stand up DVDs – Overnight Success which was awarded a Gold Disc and Living the Dream.

You can catch Dave at The Princess Theatre, Torquay on Saturday 31st October – Box Office: 0844 847 2315  Website www.livenation.co.uk/torquay

Too Hot

Local Music, ,

tohotSka is well and truly alive!

Over the last decade or so the highly acclaimed local band Too Hot are still packing venues all over the South West. With a mix of vibrant music and a group of passionate musicians, the vibe has never dried up but has continued to grow into one of the most respected bands around today.

Too Hot were established around 1992 after evolving from various musical collaborations. The band’s current line up today comprises of Helen T (Lead Singer) Mickey Byrne (Backing vocals/Percussion) Spud (Guitar/ Backing Vocals) Dave (The Lloyd! Bass guitar) Doc Savage (Keys) Steve Uncle Fester! (Trumpet)
Dubzee (Saxophone) Big Kev! Greep (Drums). Many of the band members have been together for a long time and this can clearly be seen in the stage performance and the showmanship.

Last week I had the time to catch up with Spud and Steve and the vibe at the moment is possibly the best the band have enjoyed. In music general persistence and years of dedication has now come to fruition. With the line up now solid and with 3 great albums in the bag and more original songs in the pipeline the future is looking brighter than ever before.

The quality of the recorded material is some of the best original Ska music I have ever come across and as with many people who grew up in the early 80s I have always been a fan and admired the music from a very young age. I have known these guys for a long time and they are nice genuine people who are passionate about music. They are all in it for the right reasons and their soul goal is to make everyone dance and have a brilliant night. I can’t think of a better band in Europe keeping the Ska movement alive

Over the years the band have worked alongside some great names in music such as The Selector, The Beat, Bad Manners, The Buzzcocks, The Skatelites, Desmond Decker, Laurel Aitkin, The Ethiopians and Specials Guitarist Mr Roddy Radiation. These are some of the biggest names in the Ska movement and the world of live music and is a big achievement to be proud of! Their original material is also featured on compilation albums all round the world.

The band are actively looking for more venues up and down the country to play in. Believe me when I say the reaction of the crowd and audiences has always been great, but now the band have found a stable platform to take the show and music forward to possibly new heights than ever before!

For information on the band including how to book them and get the music, which incidentally is essential for anyone’s collection visit,

www.toohotska.co.uk and the myspace is http://www.myspace.com/toohotska
you can email the band on [email protected]

Live Dates

Oct 9th Wheelers Pub Torpoint. Cornwall

Oct 10th Lansdowne Dawlish

Oct 29th The Spinning Wheel Paignton

Oct 30th Skallowe’en: Havana Bar Exeter

Oct 31st Keyham Vaults Devonport

Nov 7th The Bolton Brixham

Dec 9th Spinning Wheel Paignton

Dec 20th Jolly Farmer

Dec 31st The Plough, Buckland, Newton Abbot

Chris Dinnis (Heart FM Presenter)

Local Radio,

chrisI’m Chris Dinnis and I try to light up your lunchtime and afternoon every weekday here on Heart across most of Devon and beyond. I start the show as you peer into your tupperwear lunch box at one and I take you through to kid collection time at four.

People often say to me how many stations have you worked for.  Its seven, four railway three petrol !  Seriously, i’m a lucky boy, as a child I always wanted to be a radio DJ and look here I am !  I snuck onto the air many years ago as a contributor to a dance music show on the now deceased Devonair Radio and once I got my foot in the door there was no stopping me. I have been on the radio all over the South West from Plymouth to Taunton through the years but now I have well and truly settled here at Heart and I love helping your workday along with a good combination of cracking music and plenty of cheeky chat featuring all the local bits, the topical stuff and my slightly unusual look at life.  You can see how ugly I am, plus you can ping me heartan email via heart.co.uk.

Outside of radio I have a few other passions.  Football, my family, travel, great food and black music.  I play the drums, own a couple of nightclubs and occasionally I grab my black music record collection and play live in the clubs, look out for me !  In the meantime check out the radio show, you never know you might like it.

Michael McIntyre @ Plymouth Pavilions

The Big Stage,

michaelWith performances selling out for Thursday 10 and Friday 11, Michael will now perform for a third date on Wednesday 9 September 2009.

3 dates in Plymouth and a brand new BBC Saturday night show, Michael McIntyre is one of the hottest comedians around at the moment.

Michael’s brilliantly engaging delivery and effortless rapport with the audience have led to him to be hailed, by audiences and critics alike, as the best new stand up to emerge in a decade. He took the comedy world by storm last year selling out shows around the UK including an impressive five nights at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. His hugely successful debut DVD release, Michael McIntyre Live & Laughing, became the fastest-selling debut stand-up DVD of all time selling nearly 600,000 copies todate and rising. Live & Laughing reached the number one spot in the comedy DVD chart the week of release and was overall the second best-selling comedy DVD of the year.

Michael also had the privilege of being nominated in the Best Live Stand-Up category at the British Comedy Awards plus Best  Comedy/Comedian at the South Bank Show Awards.

A DVD of Michael’s 2009 Arena show will be released by Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd on Monday 16 November 2009.

Tickets cost: £27.50
(Tickets may be subject to a
processing fee)