ThePensmith

Same. It's so much easier for me to get to, I know the area better, I literally get off my train in from Essex, hop on the Jubilee Line at Stratford and I'm there at North Greenwich in no time at all! Anyway looks as if the tickets aren't more than £60 or so for decent seats, which is what I'm aiming for!

Dates have now been announced. First five shows in UK and Ireland in February / March next year. On sale next week. Was kind of hoping it'd be The O2 and not Wembley for London just because it's a bast*rd to get to relatively speaking from where I am but I can live with it: @1660665314089000960

@1660317918389760002 Dates and cities coming tomorrow at 5pm! Mexico and South America dates are being finalised for next year also.

Every few months or so with almost timely frequency these sort of articles come along, usually from a chinstroker at The Guardian. Whilst I do agree to the principle of a Catalogue Chart for anything older than the last three years - which the OCC did actually do at one time. You look at any issues of Music Week from around the mid 00s and it was something they did - fundamentally, however people are choosing to consume an album, physically or digitally, for better or worse it's a good measure. It's essentially operating the same way the singles chart used to before streaming had a stranglehold on certainly the very top end of the chart and how much slower that moves now. This debate will run and run until there's some major shake up rules wise, but for many artists, especially the ones I love who still release new music regularly or semi regularly, but aren't considered to be current streaming wise or are considered - though I bloody loathe this term - "a heritage act", it forms a key cornerstone of their campaign and thus being able to tour with regularity and all the other things that come with that.

Acoustic version is out today:

Understandably, they've confirmed that Rachel has now pulled out: @1659157899568988169

First performance on the semi finals of The Voice last night in the States: TpymFyLqqbI Bloody brilliant. I need to see him on tour!

I have to get this off my chest so apologies in advance if any of this comes across a little coarse. I was so hoping that the wider reaction to this on socials etc was going to be a lot more supportive than it has broadly been. But this is where you see it's an impossible situation for them to go through, because whichever way they went, you're not pleasing everyone. But it's sad to think that three years on from Caroline Flack and #bekind, that there's still a load of entitled and unfeeling arseholes that shouldn't be allowed on the internet. Pardon my French Karen on Twitter, but bugger your refund for a second and read the room. This isn't a common or garden S Club 3 down your local student's union / bingo hall situation with one or two others not doing it. This is one of them no longer being on the same mortal plane, someone who was their bandmate and their brother from another who they grew up with and had a career with. It's still massively raw for them right now, you only need look at how Jon and Jo in that video in particular were barely able to end their sentences without getting emotional. The fact that the five of them are even finding the strength to go ahead with this when they could have easily - and understandably - cancelled the entire tour is bloody admirable in my eyes and shows such resolve and spirit. Of course Hannah won't now want to do it; of all of them, she was closest to Paul, and I admire her so much for doing what is best for her and her wellbeing. Quite frankly, when you're grieving the loss of anyone, there is no right or wrong way to feel or to handle it. The least thing people can do is respect their decision, whether certain members are now doing the tour or not. Until I saw that video yesterday, I was still on the fence about whether or not I'd still go. But I'm going because as emotionally bittersweet as this tour is now going to be, they got me through so much that I found difficult growing up and I now wanna do the same, and in a way say goodbye in my own way to Paul and remember the joy they bought to my life growing up and the memories of - pardon the pun - the good times.

Totally understandable that Hannah has backed out now. I cannot imagine that getting their heads around all of this whilst also grieving their bandmate and brother can have been easy at all, but they've absolutely made the right call as best as possible. And renaming it the Good Times Tour 😢 Beautiful way to remember him. I just really hope that they're kind to themselves through it all and take the time they need if it becomes too much.

I was gonna say we did get a version without the movie scenes on the Girls on Film DVD didn't we? Mind you given the soundtrack and film were both Universal releases I think the use of the clips is probably gonna be OK!

Yeah I just got the same email too. I did wonder whether it was gonna go ahead or not as planned. Totally understandable though. I just hope that the plans to get their back catalogue on streaming sorted that were just getting under way when Paul died don't get totally abandoned. If anything they've got more incentive than ever to keep his memory alive, regardless of what happens with the tour.

So on 16th June, three classic pop albums from 2003 will be re-released to mark their 20th anniversaries. Girls Aloud will re-release their debut album Sound of the Underground on a expanded 3CD set, green vinyl and picture disc. Dannii Minogue will also reissue a special picture disc and expanded CD sets for her bestselling solo album Neon Nights. And All Saints members Nicole and Natalie Appleton will release their album Everything's Eventual that they released under the name Appleton on white and purple coloured vinyls for the first time. I'll definitely be getting all of them, but which ones will you be getting - and which reissue do you think will rechart the highest?

First single is "After All" and has its first play with Zoe Ball on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show tomorrow morning;

I mean I should point out that the "Sweet Caroline" cover is in memory of Caroline Flack so that one kind of goes without saying (I saw a video of it on socials and it is really beautiful). But he has seven albums' worth now, surely he shouldn't be so reliant on covers to prop up a setlist?

It's long been deleted but after tour started on Friday, someone Tweeted him asking why the setlist didn't have more songs off the new album and... I mean. This happens every tour TBF (I made the mistake of asking him why "What A Buzz" wasn't on the Right Place Right Time Tour setlist back in the day, but that's a story for another time). But honestly?

This! Likewise with "Getaway", that was a top 10 as well!

Saw this crop up for pre-order earlier - presumably before it was meant to, as they posted a social media teaser video to announce it all next week yesterday. Not quite their full singles as all of the ones from "Careful What You Wish For" and most from "Red Book" are missing. But if it means another tour I'm here for that cause I love Sharleen Spiteri's voice and would give my eye teeth to see her live.

I think with hindsight, it was obvious that this was coming, but even so it didn't make it any less sad when it did happen. I think the announcement on stage was the right one; it was far more sensitively done hearing it from their mouths rather than through a press release or a Twitlonger(!) It's just so sad and so cruelly unfair that 20 years later, in the exact same month, they're a six piece again, but this time for more permanent reasons. It's why for a long time as well I've been suspicious of years ending in 3. JLS split up in 2013 and that was a hard year for me as well as a fan of theirs.

I think the whole way round this has been a very difficult album campaign. But fundamentally, for me, the music is the foundation of a good campaign, and I say this as a long standing fan of his... He can do so much better than what he's put out on this album. "Go Ghost" and "Dancing On Cars" are the two obvious standout singles and great tracks for me, but not much else is on this album, I'll be honest. And I was disappointed. This should really, after four years away, have been his moment to reaffirm that he was back and was still at the top of his game. What didn't help was when someone somewhere on his team at EMI decided "Die Of A Broken Heart" and "I Hate You When You're Drunk" were the singles. I'm still baffled they were the chosen ones. And they were the wrong choice anyway, because both got overshadowed by social media backlash (from certain people reading too much into it in the case of the latter, admittedly) that the tabloids then latched onto, which killed any momentum they might have had going for them.

Ah well, it was a nice idea anyway. It's had a very solid chart run anyway. Also nice - this version he did in the Live Lounge yesterday on Radio 1 (and a rather gorgeous cover of "Ceilings" by Lizzie McAlpine): HaXdF3LKUkQ STrWTV60Pho

The tour starts on Friday in Glasgow, and he's confirmed the final show in Manchester on May 5th will be livestreamed around the world. Tickets here: https://driift.live/shows/olly-murs

Very exciting! I wonder what it will sound like?

So someone who has been in the public eye for 11 years(?) and who surely knows how the media works and how they play against you as much as they play with you posts this video up? It's always been the nature of the beast, and unless her PR have said any questions about Little Mix were off limits, then really you're giving them an open goal. And even regardless of that, as Klaus has correctly pointed out, if you've been part of a successful pop group or cast member on a long running TV show, regardless of if you're actively part of it at any given point or not, rare is the time the line of questioning won't dwell on it in some form or another. Honestly, until she realises this for herself - which hopefully is sooner rather than later - she is better off being out of trying to push solo music altogether. She already did enough damage and burned a lot of bridges with the fire sale that was "Boyz". And this new one is hardly much better. She would be better advised to go work on herself, do some growing, taking ownership and making genuine amends for her behaviour that she's been rightly called out for and still hasn't addressed, and ultimately doing something else fulfilling with her life until such a time comes that she becomes part of the Little Mix fold again, whenever that may be.

My copies of the CD and 7" picture disc single were both dispatched late on Friday. So I'm assuming that this will this give "Heaven" one last boost before the focus switches to "Meltdown"?

Shayne Ward (who I'm seeing tomorrow night, coincidentally enough) is currently on tour. His cover of "Over The Rainbow" that he did on X Factor is in the setlist and he's dedicated it to both Paul and Paul O'Grady: