Posts Tagged ‘United Kingdom’
December 23rd, 2009
Original Article from PopCrunch
Prince William, The Pauper? British royal Prince William swapped the comfort of Buckingham Palace for the freezing streets of London last week sleeping rough for charity. The 27-year-old heir slept rough for the night after The Centrepoint Charity for The Homeless organized the opportunity for the Prince to experience a night sleeping on the streets.
Wiliam and Seyi Obakin, the chief executive of Centrepoint, spent a chilly night in an alley near the city’s Blackfriars Bridge last Tuesday. William has been the charity’s patron since 2005 and hopes his night as a homeless man will draw attention to the growing number of displaced Brits taking up residence on the streets of London.
“I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets,” the prince — who was almost run over by streetsweeper during his escapade.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
“I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London’s streets night after night,” William said Tuesday. “Poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependency and family breakdown cause people to become and then stay homeless.”
Even as second in line to the throne, William was exposed to some of the tough hardships found on the mean streets of the big city at a young age. The prince’s mother, Princess Diana, introduced both William and his younger brother Harry to volunteer work at homeless shelters in 1996. Diana was beloved for her charitable work and compassion and also served as Centrepoint’s patron until her death in 1997.
Read more articles from PopCrunch
December 22nd, 2009
Original Article from Rolling Stone
The proposed merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster took one giant step toward becoming a reality yesterday as the U.K. Competition Commission approved of the union, which would join the biggest ticketing and artist management company with the largest concert promotions company. The last obstacle to the proposed merger is approval from Canada and the United States, where the Department of Justice is reportedly in the final round of review before finally deciding whether to allow the massive venture.
According to Live Daily, the U.K. Competition Commission ruled “the merger will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in the market for live music ticket retailing or in any other market in the U.K., including live music promotion and live music venues.” The merger had previously been approved in both Norway and Turkey.
As Rolling Stone previously reported, when Live Nation launched their own ticketing service in January 2009, the move seemed designed to loosen Ticketmaster’s grip on the ticketing industry. The two companies then engaged in an arms race of sorts, as Ticketmaster paired with Front Line Management while Live Nation signed artists like Jay-Z and Madonna to powerful 360 deals. After only a few months, however, the two bulked-up companies decided to merge, which drew skepticism from many corners of the music industry.
“We are very pleased with the Competition Commission’s decision to clear the merger. Today’s clearance is an important milestone in the regulatory review process, and brings the companies a step closer to creating a new kind of live entertainment business,” managing director of Ticketmaster U.K. Chris Edmonds said in a statement. “During the course of this merger process, we have listened to our fans, artists and other parties. We have reassured them that by combining the resources of these two companies, we will deliver a better live music experience for the entire sector.”
As Rolling Stone previously reported, a wide variety of interested parties from members of Congress to Bruce Springsteen have questioned the proposed merger. Its opponents argue that Live Nation Ticketmaster would have a monopoly on the touring industry by controlling both a large share of the ticketing and major venues in the U.S.. Recently, the National Association of Ticket Brokers, the National Consumers League and several other antitrust and consumer groups teamed up to attack the merger with a new Website called TicketDisaster.org.
“As the Department of Justice reaches the final round of reviewing this merger, only one question must be answered: will the merger lead to increased prices, poorer service, or less innovation? In this case, the answer is all of the above, which is why this merger needs to be blocked,” reads a statement on TicketDisaster.
When rumors of the merger first emerged, Springsteen — whose fans faced a debacle when they were inadvertently redirected to Ticketmaster’s secondary market site TicketsNow and paid higher prices for E Street tix — wrote, “The one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing. If you, like us, oppose that idea, you should make it known to your representatives.”
Related Stories:
• Live Nation and Ticketmaster Announce Merger Agreement
• Politicians Demand Scrutiny of Live Nation-Ticketmaster Merger
• Report: Artists Marking Up Own Concert Tickets to Profit Off Secondary Market
Read more articles from Rolling Stone
November 30th, 2009
Original Article from Snarky Gossip
Don’t you just love this story? Shy spinster who had a lifelong dream of singing on stage sees that dream realized beyond anything she had ever thought of….yep, that’s pretty much how it happened with Susan Boyle, whose debut album titled “I Dreamed a Dream” has hit number one in the UK. Number one – amazing!
Here’s more about the statistics of this whole thing:
According to the Official Charts Company, which tracks music sales in Britain, the more than 410,000 copies of “I Dreamed a Dream” sold since its release Nov. 23 make it the fastest selling album so far this year, and are the largest first-week sales for a debut album in U.K. chart history.
If you haven’t seen her first performance on Britian’s Got Talent, here you go. You might want to get some Kleenex ready.
Post from: Snarky Gossip
Read more articles from Snarky Gossip
November 30th, 2009
Original Article from Rumors In Music
Alicia Keys has announced last night that she will be touring the U.K. in May.
Ms. Keys performed a medley of hits, such as “Empire State of Mind”, “Doesn’t Mean Anything”, and “No One” on “X Factor” last night. Afterward, she announced her plans to tour:
She’s one of the best singers of our lifetime and “Empire State of Mind”, “Doesn’t Mean Anything”, and “No One”.
So far, we haven’t received a list of her official tour dates for 2010, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground.
Image Credit: Bauer-Griffin
Post from: Rumors in Music
Read more articles from Rumors In Music
November 30th, 2009
Original Article from The Hollywood Gossip
Forget 15 minutes of fame.
Susan Boyle is well on her way to 15 years and counting!
With final numbers still being tallied in the States, the Britain’s Got Talent sensation broke the record for best-selling debut album by a singer in England last week.
Across the Atlantic, Boyle’s album, “I Dreamed a Dream,” moved 410,000 copies. It outsold new CDs from established artists such as Rihanna and Lady GaGa.
Said Simon Cowell, who produced the album and helped discover Boyle:
“I’m incredibly proud of Susan, as well as being delighted for her. The success could not not have happened to a lovelier person. She did it her way and made a dream come true… She’s amazing.”
She’s also primed to conquer the music world in America. Final sales figures should be released shortly, but preliminary reports indicate “I Dreamed a Dream” will compete with Eminem’s “Relapse” as the 2009 CD that sells the most copies in its first week of release.
That’s incredible for a 48-year old woman no one had heard of when the year began.
Read more articles from The Hollywood Gossip
November 11th, 2009
Original Article from The Insider
Read more articles from The Insider
November 6th, 2009
Original Article from The Hollywood Gossip
Reigning Miss England beauty pageant title holder Rachel Christie has given up her crown after being accused of getting into a bar fight, according to UK sources.
Pageant organizers say Christie, a 21-year-old heptathlete, has also withdrawn from next month’s Miss World finals in South Africa to focus on clearing her name.
This will also give her more time to train for the 2012 Olympics.
British newspapers reported Rachel Christie got into a dustup with another beauty queen – Miss Manchester Sara Beverley Jones – in a nightclub earlier this week.
Officers were called after Christie, who is dating Gladiator star Tornado – real name David McIntosh – allegedly punched Jones, in the face several times.
Miss England Rachel Christie decked Sara Beverley Jones and gave up her crown to “focus on clearing her name,” i.e. beat her bosses to the punch. No pun intended.
Christie is said to have attacked her after Jones showed her a “saucy” text message from the Sky One program star. Christine struck and Jones went down hard.
The incident happened during an “adult” themed costume night at the club im which Christie was dressed as an angel, and Jones was dressed as a cavegirl.
Greater Manchester Police said Friday that a 21-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assault after a melee at the city’s Mansion nightclub Monday.
UK police will not release the names of people accused of crimes until they are formally charged in court. She was released on bail pending further enquiries.
Shocking that more and more beauty queens seem to be less than well-adjusted individuals. We need to get this free-swinger in a cage with Carrie Prejean.
Read more articles from The Hollywood Gossip
September 16th, 2009
Original Article from The Insider
Read more articles from The Insider
July 28th, 2009
Original Article from The Hollywood Gossip
We have no idea if this will actually happen, or even if it’s a real rumor or just some magazine editor making it up for that matter. But even if the latter is the case, it’s a terrific indicator of Lindsay Lohan’s career trajectory.
The former movie star was once pretty big, and you don’t see big film stars appearing on reality shows like I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. No, no.
Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag? Perfect casting. Sanjaya Malakar? He was already sleeping outside, he might as well get paid for it. But Lindsay Lohan?
Eh, she just might fit the bill. Five years ago, this would have seemed absurd. But nowadays she stars in Labor Pains and Fornarina ads. Case rested.
Lindsay Lohan on reality TV? Not that big a stretch!
British celebrity news magazine New is claiming that TV bosses are hoping to sign the fiery crotched spray-tan entrepreneur up for I’m A Celebrity.
The biggest snag in signing the pants-less wonder? Lindsay Lohan’s fee, which is still considerable enough to potentially torpedo the series’ costs.
“If we sign her, we’ll have blown the budget. The other celebrities will have to go whistle,” the magazine reports, whatever that last part means.
We doubt this will come to fruition, but a celebrity gossip site can hope.
She’d be a great contestant, eschewing food anyway, and think of the hookup potential! On a desert island, even Lindsay Lohan might seem appealing.
Read more articles from The Hollywood Gossip
May 18th, 2009
Troubled, enigmatic music icon Michael Jackson is suffering from skin cancer after being diagnosed with the disease a few weeks ago, according to the Sun (UK).
The megastar attended Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles to hear the news last month, but is expected to make a full recovery for his London O2 dates in July.
The disease could be linked to Jacko’s skin-pigmentation disease vitiligo, although the government has warned of a link between skin bleaching and cancer.
Which is, of course, not in any way remotely suggesting that Michael Jackson’s albino-like complexion is anything other than naturally occurring. At all.
“Michael’s tests showed spots of skin cancer on his body, and cells which could turn to skin cancer on his face. He was at first very concerned, but says he has been assured by the doctors that they can treat this and he will recover,” says a source.
The plastic surgery hall of fame member has had so much work done in the past, it’s hard to imagine this is not at all related. But we hope he’s okay.
Michael is currently rehearsing for his string of sell-out dates in the UK and his business manager, Dr. Tomhe says he “couldn’t be in better shape.”
He must mean physically, and even that’s a stretch. As for reports that the singer has six months to live, Jackson’s handlers had no comment.