http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-N...200904215261482

 

 

Most Played Songs Chart Revealed

 

10:34am UK, Tuesday April 14, 2009

 

A Whiter Shade Of Pale, which spent six weeks at the top of the charts during the Summer of Love in 1967, has been confirmed as the most-played song in

public places over the last 75 years.

 

The single's huge popularity was revealed in a three-hour countdown programme The People's Chart presented by actor, comedian and broadcaster Rob Brydon.

 

The Procol Harum hit beat Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody into second place in the chart compiled by music licensing company PPL to mark its 75th anniversary.

 

The Everly Brothers' All I Have To Do Is Dream occupied the number three slot followed by Wet Wet Wet's version of Love Is All Around at number four and Bryan Adams' (Everything I Do) I Do It For You at number five.

 

Procol Harum front man Gary Brooker, who won a Court of Appeal battle over royalty rights to the hit last year, said the news that the single was at the top of the PPL-compiled chart was a "great and unsought honour".

 

He said: "It isn't something I could have remotely imagined when I wrote the song and then made that legendary recording with Procol Harum all those years

ago.

 

"Every musician and singer hopes to reach out and communicate to the audience, so it means a great deal that the record has such an indefinable popularity and

lasting appeal."

 

The chart also reveals two acts sharing the highest number of entries - the Beatles with Hello Goodbye at number 11, Get Back at number 13 and From Me To

You at number 51 and Robbie Williams with Angels at number six, Rock DJ at number 16 and Strong at number 56.

 

Three more hits by former Beatles also featured in the chart - George Harrison's My Sweet Lord at number 18, John Lennon's Imagine at number 32, and Paul McCartney with Wings' Mull of Kintyre at number 72.

 

The oldest song was Glenn Miller's In The Mood from 1939 and the most recent was Outkast's Hey Ya! from 2003.

 

Both Bing Crosby's Christmas songs - White Christmas at number 10 and Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town at number 30 - featured in the chart.

 

Other Christmas classics feature - Do They Know It's Christmas? at number 52, by Band Aid and Harry Belafonte's Mary's Boy Child at number 54.

 

Other artists with two entries include Elvis Presley, Elton John, the Everly Brothers and John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

 

The Top Ten are:

 

Artist TitleRelease date

 

1. Procol Harum A Whiter Shade Of Pale 08/06/1967

2. Queen Bohemian Rhapsody 29/11/1975

3. Everly Brothers All I Have To Do Is Dream 04/07/1958

4. Wet Wet Wet Love Is All Around 04/06/1994

5. Bryan Adams (Everything I Do) I Do It For You 13/07/1991

6. Robbie Williams Angels 01/12/1997

7. Elvis Presley All Shook Up 12/07/1957

8. Abba Dancing Queen 04/09/1976

9. Perry Como Magic Moments 28/02/1958

10.Bing Crosby White Christmas 01/01/1942

 

Great result all around for Robbie...3 tracks Eh !!!! how good is that ...

That Guardian article is a load of mince btw <_<

That Guardian article is a load of mince btw <_<

 

It's a hell of a lot better than a lot of em !!!..at least we did not get mentions this time of fat & pie eating & being lonely & I think they have come to terms with him not being gay ...( of course he still could be :P )...

 

Since there is no Robbie news at the minute I though I would post these here ...never seen them before ...

 

Spark use your Mod hat & move them if you want but we need some Robbie stuff... :cry: well it does say LIVE In YOUR LIVING ROOM :P

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 200916 yr by Scorpio

Post away Scorp. They can stay

Post away Scorp. They can stay

 

Aw !!! Thanks...nice to find something new :cheer:

:wub: we so need him back out there singing again!

:wub: we so need him back out there singing again!

 

& he will....it's on the way...Jools Holland is on tonight so i expect to see him appear there some time later in the year...a nice little warm up.... :)

Since there is no Robbie news at the minute I though I would post these here ...never seen them before ...

 

Spark use your Mod hat & move them if you want but we need some Robbie stuff... :cry: well it does say LIVE In YOUR LIVING ROOM :P

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 200916 yr by Scorpio

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/daily/Get-re...o-Ga.5171443.jp

 

 

Get ready to go Ga Ga over We Will Rock You

 

 

 

Published Date: 15 April 2009

Queen's lasting musical legacy has been turned into a slice of rock 'n' roll theatre – and its heading for Sunderland. We met some of the cast of We Will Rock You and found out why these are the days of their lives.

A slice of the Mercury Magic is coming to Wearside.

 

We Will Rock You, the musical smash hit dreamed up by Queen and Ben Elton, will hit the Empire Theatre stage in June.

 

Starring Jonathan Wilkes, former Corrie sweetheart Kevin Kennedy and X-Factor belter Brenda Edwards, the show is set to make a big impression.

 

And if the audiences are loving it, so are the cast. Kevin Kennedy went to see the show two years ago and now has a starring role. He said: "I wasn't a Queen fan when I went in but I was when I came out.

 

"I think Sunderland audiences will go wild for WWRY because it's great fun. I've never come across such a talented cast – it's sickening!"

 

Although he is best known for his time on Corrie as Curly Watts, Kevin also has a rock pedigree.

 

He grew up in Manchester alongside Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke and played bass for an early line up of what would become The Smiths.

 

After that he joined Irish show band The Border Line before touring the world with his own band, Kevin Kennedy and The Bunch of Thieves.

 

Kevin, who is still signed with Warner Bros, said: "We played anywhere where they served alcohol. Then in 2000 I was signed by Simon Cowell to BMG and released Bulldog Nation."

 

But he didn't stop there, and his album President Kennedy went gold.

 

Kevin said: "With the music and the acting and the theatre, I just wear a triangular hat so I can do them all.

 

"The variety of stuff I've done since Corrie has been quite brilliant."

 

He gets to work his vocal cords in WWRY but is pleased that, unlike the rest of the cast, he is not required to learn any quick steps. Kevin said: "I don't have to dance – I had enough of that in Chitty, doing the Old Bamboo. I dance like a dad."

 

Kevin has two daughters, five-year-old Katy May who was born when he was in Chicago, and three-year-old Grace who was born during his stint in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. While he has battled alcoholism, Kevin is now focusing on being the family man.

 

He said: "They've met Cinderella and they've flown in the Chitty car. I'm happy. I've done some pretty mad things in my life, some of them not so good. It's been a bumpy road but I think that's part of life's rich tapestry. I'm certainly no angel, but then I never said I was!"

 

Kevin worked with Jonathan Wilkes on The Rocky Horror Show and the pair are now reunited for WWRY.

 

Wilkes, now on his eighth musical, takes on the part of smooth scumbag Khashoggi. Fortunately, in real life, he's a lot nicer than his character.

 

Jonathan said: "This is the first time I've played a baddy – I don't have to smile as much. The show does everything I love about this business. It's got love, laughs and it's a good night out."

 

For a long time, Jonathan was pretty superstitious about going on stage, and never went without his lucky boxers. He said: "I had those lucky pants for three years but a dresser lost them – they were starting to stick to the wall. Now I just get freaked out by magpies instead."

 

In 2001, Jonathan released the single Just Another Day, but quickly became cheesed off with the whole job. He said: "Musicals were always my life. I was a crap pop star."

 

Now a dad to three-year-old Mickey and husband to Nicky, the 30-year-old seems to have found a balance in the world of showbiz.

 

He said: "It all boils down to complete and utter contentment. I look at my career and think 'Johnny, you're doing all right'.

 

"I'm from a working-class background so I'm not going to sit and moan about how tired I am. I'm having a ball."

 

After Brian May saw him in The Rocky Horror Show, Jonathan was invited to audition for WWRY.

 

He said: "I sang a song, read some of the script and on my way home they called my management and that was that.

 

"My favourite Queen songs are Fat Bottomed Girls and It's a Kind of Magic. I love it when there are six-year-olds in the audience who know all the words. What Queen did doesn't die. It still sounds as fresh and new today as it did then.

 

"Trust me. if you don't like the show, I'll give you your money back."

Jonathan is setting up the Wilkes Academy in Stoke, somewhere where talented young people can do a spot of training.

 

He said: "Stoke is a special place for me, of course, but we've lost touch with reality and fallen so far behind. We have no money and it's been voted the worst place to live twice but the people are lovely. I just want to try my best and give something back."

 

Jonathan believes that young people should pay their dues before hitting the big time.

 

He said: "I'm good friends with Ant and Dec. When we were all growing up we did our time.

 

"It took them years of graft and they've put the work in and now that's paid off.

 

"It doesn't take much to be nice. I was brought up to have manners and my mum and dad are always in my head threatening to give me a smack around the head.

 

"Robbie (Williams) is my best mate and he's a global superstar – he still talks to everyone so there's no excuse. He's recording and has an album out soon and I honestly think it's the best thing he's ever done. England is ready for him again.

 

"And he needs to get out and work again!"

 

Former X Factor contestant Brenda Edwards is embracing the bad girl as she steps into the shoes of the Killer Queen.

 

The 34-year-old said: "Once I get those shoulder pads and corsets on I'm her, I'm the Killer Queen. For the audition Ben told me to be like Queenie from Blackadder, nice as pie to crazy in a second.

 

"A taxi driver asked me if I'd had any hate mail yet but thankfully it hasn't got that far."

 

Brenda shot to fame in 2005 after getting to the final stages of X Factor. Though she missed the top prize, she has no regrets.

 

Brenda said: "Everything happens for a reason. I wouldn't have been in the West End if I'd won.

 

"I've always been a huge Queen fan.

 

For my X Factor audition I sang Don't Stop Me Now which I sing in the show – it's come full circle."

 

When her reality show ride ended, Brenda bagged a role in Chicago which gave her a taste for the musicals.

 

Brenda has a particular soft spot for Jonathan. She said: "We've built up a lot of trust, especially the part when we go up on a platform. I'm terrified of heights but Jonathan gets me through it."

 

Brenda, who is married to Patrick and has two children, Jamal and Tanisha, says she will never forget how her love of music began. When she was eight, she went to her local Pentecostal church with her

grandmother, who bought her up after her parents were tragically killed in a car crash.

 

In the church, Brenda found her voice, and still describes herself as a gospel singer. She said: "I'll never forget where I came from and the people who got me there. Friends and family – they're the most important thing."

 

http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/bild-english/...ange-image.html

 

Robbie Williams has parted ways with his publicists in a bid to change his image. The ‘Angels’ singer, who is currently in the studio working on his long-awaited eighth album, is desperate for his music to be taken seriously and has hired the people who represent Lily Allen to help turn his career around. A source said: “Robbie had nothing but good things to say about his previous firm but it’s time for a change. He is determined to be involved with a firm specialising in music not celebrity.” Robbie, who recently moved back to the UK from Los Angeles with girlfriend Ayda Field, has seen his career wane in recent years while his former Take That bandmates have enjoyed worldwide success. The 35-year-old star is said to be desperate to reconcile with Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Howard Donald. :rolleyes:

 

 

http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/bild-english/...ange-image.html

 

Robbie Williams has parted ways with his publicists in a bid to change his image. The ‘Angels’ singer, who is currently in the studio working on his long-awaited eighth album, is desperate for his music to be taken seriously and has hired the people who represent Lily Allen to help turn his career around. A source said: “Robbie had nothing but good things to say about his previous firm but it’s time for a change. He is determined to be involved with a firm specialising in music not celebrity.” Robbie, who recently moved back to the UK from Los Angeles with girlfriend Ayda Field, has seen his career wane in recent years while his former Take That bandmates have enjoyed worldwide success. The 35-year-old star is said to be desperate to reconcile with Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Howard Donald. :rolleyes:

 

Change of image will do him no harm at all .....

 

the rest .... boring <_<

 

& your career would wane a bit if you took a three year break but he's back this year :dance:

Ronan Keating on reforming with Boyzone and Take That's Robbie Williams

 

RONAN Keating's mates in Boyzone are prepared to wait for his return to their fold after the unexpected success of a surprise solo record.

 

But the Irish superstar supports the decision of another reunited British man band Take That to block Robbie Williams from joining their hugely successful comeback.

 

Keating, back in Australia for the release of his Songs For My Mother record, said justice had been done.

 

"I think its great,'' he told music editor Kathy McCabe.

 

"Who does he think he is? He slagged the guys off when he left and now he wants to come back?

 

I like Robbie, but Gary (Barlow from Take That) is a good pal of mine and the things (Williams) said were nasty.

 

"They are all pals again, they went to see Arsenal together, so who knows.

 

"They may let him get up and do a song or two at a show.''

 

Keating recorded his tribute to mum Marie, who died of cancer, with an orchestra to raise funds for cancer research.

 

It hit No.1 in the UK and Ireland.

 

Meanwhile, a jog past the Sydney Opera House this week has sparked an ambition - Songs For My Mother with the Sydney Symphony next year.

 

Source..The Guardian...

 

Erm !!! Ronan's solo career did not last too long before he crawled back to Boyzone... :rolleyes:

-_- exactly!

-_- exactly!

 

& included that other bx Louis Walsh cracking the :whip:

 

 

& to think I had Boyzone on myspace......they are going to be dumped right now :angry:

Ronan and Gary are a bit similar though, ain't they? Nice family men. In cardigans. :P

:lol: yep, and climbing mountains together

Ronan and Gary are a bit similar though, ain't they? Nice family men. In cardigans. :P

 

 

Well Ronan is going to get his ass kicked good & proper ...I only felt sorry for them & supported them because of the Irish conncetion but now. :arrr: & men on cardigans Yuk !!!!

 

 

:blink:

Landmark piracy case sees Swedish four jailed for a year

 

Four Swedish men were jailed for a year and fined nearly £2.5 million on Friday after they lost a landmark internet piracy court case against some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.

 

Their crime was to run a popular file-sharing website, The Pirate Bay, which advises people on the best ways to download the latest films, music and video games.

 

Major players including Sony, EMI and Warner Bros grew increasingly angry as films such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, video games like World of Warcraft and artists including Robbie Williams and Coldplay were illegally downloaded for free around the world.

 

 

Carla Bruni's model is the one to follow if you want to beat internet piracyAfter just five years, the site had an estimated 22 million users, with at least 800,000 in the UK and an international cult following.

 

It was this support which turned the trial of Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundstroem - accused of promoting copyright infringement - into a spectacle all of its own.

 

So popular were the seats to the Stockholm district court that tickets were being sold for up to £50 a day.

 

Supporters turned up waving black skull-and-crossbones flags outside court, while other dressed in elaborate costumes baked home-made "creative cookies" to serve to the crowds. :P

 

Numerous dedicated websites issued regular updates and blogs, while other spectators gave a running commentary on the social networking site Twitter.

 

The case has drawn comparisons with the frenzy surrounding Radio Caroline in the 1960s, which broadcast pirated music from a boat anchored in international waters off the coast of Suffolk. It was the inspiration for the current hit film, The Boat That Rocked.

 

Throughout their trial in Sweden, the Pirate Bay defendants were unrepentant - even when their guilty verdicts leaked out online before the formal judgement was handed down.

 

When sentenced and ordered to pay 30 million kronor (£2.4 million), their lawyers challenged the verdict.

 

Defence counsel Per Samuelsson said: "We are of course going to appeal. This is the first word, not the last. The last word will be ours."

 

Millionaire businessman Lundstrom, 48, helped finance the site while Neij, Svartholm and Sunde administered and ran it.

 

Sunde, 30, dismissed the conviction as "bizarre" and compared their treatment to that of the character in the popular 80s film The Karate Kid.

 

"In the beginning there are these bullies, that bully (the main character) Daniel," he said. "And then he gets beaten up and that's where we are at.

 

"As in all good movies, the heroes lose in the beginning but have an epic victory in the end. That's the only thing Hollywood ever taught us."

 

Insisting they were unable and unwilling to pay, he held up a hand-scribbled "I owe U" note to a video camera and added: "This is as close as you will get to having money from us."

 

In their defence, the defendants claimed they had done nothing wrong because none of the download files were stored on their servers.

 

Pirate Bay promotes the use of Bit Torrent technology, which allows people to download different parts of a music, film or video game file from several users, which speeds up the process.

 

The defendants argued that they could not be responsible for what people chose to download - legal or illegal.

 

Jonas Nilsson, for the defence, said: "The individual internet users who use Pirate Bay services must answer for the material they have in their possession or the files they might share with others."

 

The entertainment industry tried to claim £117 million kronor (£9.3 million) in damages for losses incurred from tens of millions of illegal downloads facilitated by the site.

 

Although the fine was a lot lower than they hoped, the convictions were warmly welcomed.

 

John Kennedy, head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, said it was good news for anyone "who is making a living or a business from creative activity and who needs to know their rights will be protected by law".

 

Geoff Taylor, the chief executive of the BPI, which represents the recording industry in the UK, added: "We hope that this decision will encourage British music fans to steer clear of these parasitic illegal download services and support the future of British music by downloading legally."

 

But music analyst Mark Mulligan from research firm Forrester was sceptical: "Every time you get rid of one, another bigger one pops up." -_-

 

The IFPI estimates that 95 per cent of the music downloaded in 2008 was illegal.

 

Pirate Bay, founded in 2003, was originally shut down in 2006 when Swedish police raided the company's offices and seized nearly 200 servers.

 

It took just three days for the site to resurface with servers based in different countries. For that very reason, Pirate Bay is expected to continue as before. :rolleyes:

 

 

Source...The Telegraph UK