New year

Sorry again the blog has been neglected, so better start with the end of last year.

I saw Blue, who were really, really good. Even though any respect I may have had about Lee has completely gone due to Celebrity Big Brother. I went with my sister who hadn't been able to see them back in the day as they split before the tour. She enjoyed herself which was all that matter, and the Roulette album is actually pretty good.

I saw 5ive in Bournemouth, who were amazing! Again well worth the wait. They played all the hits and only a few rows from the front it was great. Up close I felt like I was 15 again, which doesn't happen very often now a days. I am glad I got to see them, and shut that door.

Then in December I went to the O2 for the last gig of the year.... The Big Reunion Christmas party, so I have never seen 5ive and then saw them three times in one year perfect. 
The Christmas party had a great vibe and atmosphere, I love Christmas anyway and this felt like a massive party. The bands did a similar set to the gig at the Hammersmith and then Christmas songs, as far as gigs go it was so much fun and I would love bands to do more Christmas party gigs.

Can't think about much else at the end of last year. Been doing a lot of fun stuff for work. Most of it can be found www.etcmag.net

So 2014....a lot of musicals - Wicked, Singin' in the Rain, Warhorse. Gigs wise I have Foals and McBusted (I know don't judge).

But running is taking a step forward this year next month I am doing the Brighton half marathon, I am very nervous, feel the jump from 10 miles to 13 miles is a leap. And with Christmas the training has been difficult so bit nervous but hoping I, at least, enjoy the experience.

In March I am doing a 10k Race for Rowan, and in October I am doing the 5k Speed of Light in Bournemouth which I am really looking forward to.

And the Great South Run again, I said never again but I want to see if I can beat my time, and it is the 25th anniversary. A lot of running,  and all for charity Macmillan and Rowans Hospice.

Very exciting and hopefully I'll keep the blog posts going this year.

To donate to my charities - http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runcharlierun

McFly, Portsmouth Guildhall, Memory Lane tour - 14 May 2013

Fifth time is a charm for McFly, although every time I have seen them they have been amazing.

The band is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, scary when you think about it as even though they have been doing other things the band has been touring pretty  much every year since they started.

The chemistry of the guys on stage is electric, you can almost imagine them playing in a spare room somewhere and having as much fun as they are performing in front of their fans. I also love with McFly that they haven't really, over the past few years, played big arenas but preferred to stay with the smaller venues which is great for fans.

I think this is probably the second greatest hits/memory lane tour I have been to but then you know the songs and you know what you are getting and can dance your heart out.

They are still my guilty pleasure and I do love them. I hope these boys are still going in another 10 years.

I was near the front for the first time which was great, and Harry threw his drumstick into the crowd which landed very close to me.

Great songs, great atmosphere and a fantastic band.

Set list: 
- Memory Lane
- That Girl
- Star Girl
- Transylvania
- 5 Colours in her hair
- Falling in Love
- Room on the Third Floor
- Obviously
- Corrupted
- Nowhere Left to Run
- Lies
- I'll be Ok
- Bubblewrap
- Smile
- It's Alright/ YMCA/ Don't Worry, Be Happy
- Shine a Light
- One for the Radio
- Memory Lane

Encore
- Love is Easy
- It's All About You
- The Heart Never Lies

The stage with Tom in the corner - 

2013 - unlucky for some ?

Sorry for the lack of posts, work has been hectic.

So 2013 got some gigs planned and a lot of musicals.

Going to see The Courteeners, Pink, and McFly.

Going to Priscilla Queen of the Desert, 9 to 5 which I cannot wait to see and Ghost. All coming to the Mayflower in Southampton I can't wait.

Also Jamaica this year and I am now a bridesmaid! I cannot wait, so honored to be asked and can't wait to go dress shopping on the weekend.

And I am crazy enough to be doing the Great South Run again! I know! I am running for Mind again but got one of their charity spaces so got a minimum amount I have to raise.

So this blog will be full of wedding comments, running moans and gig and musical reviews.

Roll on 2013 I think it is going to be my year!

McFly, Portsmouth Guildhall, Wednesday March 7

Last week I saw the amazing band McFly at Portsmouth Guildhall.

This was the fourth time I had seen the band, Portsmouth Guildhall, Bournemouth International Centre and Southampton Guildhall, each time the gig was just fantastic.

 

 

I will admit I'm not a massive fan of the band but I do like them. I'm not signed up to their Super City fan site but if they are playing locally I will go with my sister, who has liked them since they burst onto the scene in 2004, and have a really, really good time.

 

 

A lot of the fans were probably about 12/13 when they came out but are now in their early twenties reverting back to that simple time when they could scream throughout the gig and not get throat ache. I was surprised by how many young fans there were, many of which probably weren't born or were just babies when the boys released their first album.

 

 

The band played a load of their hits Five Colours in her Hair, Obviously, Lies and Shine a Light. They also added some new songs to the 'Keep Calm and Play Louder' set list, a Bruce Springsteen sounding number called Touch the Rain and a very rocky, very cool, Red, which was just amazing. The taster of the new songs makes me excited about the new material coming up for the band.

 

 

Danny also treated the crowd to a little mega mix mid song including Living on a Pray, You don't know you're beautiful - One Direction, Dance with Somebody, and  Somebody I used to know, just amazing how he can turn his voice to anything so expertly.

Danny, Dougie, Tom and Harry all have a comfortable ease when on stage and make sure they have a joke and interact with each other and the crowd.

This included Danny playing conductor on All About You, stopping and starting the crowd singing the long 'youuuu' at the end of the song, many times over much to the amusement of Tom.

This band are my guilty pleasure and I love them live. Great mix of guitars, four good looking guys, catchy lyrics and a fantastic crowd atmosphere.

I think McFly are one band who will continue to get better and will also continue to make songs together.  This showed after three members in the last year or so have dabbled in Reality shows (Danny - Pop star to Opera Star, Harry - Strictly Come Dancing and Dougie - I'm a celebrity get me out of here) however, they  come back together to do what they know best and obviously still love doing.

If you can see them do, even if you aren't a fan you will have a good time.

I don't think this will be the last time I see this band live.

Gigs - past, present and future

As 2011 comes to an end I am reflecting back on one of my great loves, live music.

2011 was a pretty good year - Beady Eye, Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Wild Beasts, Warpaint, Miles Kane (twice), Glee, Take That with Robbie and Kasabian.

Each very different and brilliant, Katy Perry smelt of strawberries, Kylie Minogue had a water fountain, Glee was OTT, Take That with Robbie was a childhood dream and Kasabian was amazing!

2010 was an amazing year! Gaga, Rihanna, Britney and Beyonce! And those were just the major ones.

So far 2012 is looking promising.

Only two gigs booked in one in February and one in March.

In February at Alexandra Palace in London I will be seeing The Black Eyes. I am beyond excited the album is immense and I have no doubt they will be amazing live.
As support they have Band of Horses, who should also be fantastic.

And in March I will be seeing McFly at Portsmouth Guildhall. This will be my fourth time seeing the band, and they are pretty good live. Always a good atmosphere and just good.

Hopefully I will be adding to this list, especially Lady Gaga, really want to see her again so fingers-crossed!

No-one else I don't think I want to see, but time will tell.

Teenage Crushes Never Die

After seeing Take That I remembered a piece I wrote about teenage crushes, I wrote it while on work experience at the Chichester Observer, it was printed on August 5 2010:

With the recent shock marriage of Robbie Williams to his girlfriend Ayda Field, I knew that around the country whole hosts of 20 and 30-somethings inner teenager's hearts were breaking.

This got me thinking about how our teenage crushes never seem to leave us.

When Take That reformed, the girls screaming uncontrollably and making a spectacle of themselves were not teenagers but women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, recapturing a simpler time before jobs, kids and mortgages, when the most challenging decision was whether to buy Smash Hits or Top of the Pops magazine.

When I was younger I was convinced I was going to marry either Robbie Williams or Jason Donovan.

It didn't matter to me that there were about 20 years older than I was, nor did it cross my mind I would probably never meet either of them. It took me until I was an older teen to realise this would never happen.

It seems women's belief in seeing the good in their crushes never falters.

Whenin the past couple of months it came out that pop's good boys Ronan Keating and Mark Owen had had extra martial relations, it took a while for people to believe it; you could see the heartbreak in seemingly-grown women's eyes.

Not only were some kicking themselvesit could have been them, but the image that both presented was one of the wholesome family man.

Pre-Ayda you could believe it is Robbie (the former womaniser) had kiss and tells revealed, but not Mark Owen, the baby-faced, innocent member of the band.

I can only imagine now that the girls lusting over Justin Bieber or McFly will in years to face the news they have got married, had kids, or had affairs in a composed unfazed manner, only to shed a tear in private.

Especially if they always lived in hope they would one day marry into the band. Never fear we have all been there.



I realise now as well that poor old McFly fans will face this sooner as Tom proposed to his girlfriend the other month and she said yes.

Twit Chat

I think I am becoming addicted to Twitter. I don't spend every waking moment thinking about it, but when I'm online I cannot stop checking the updates seeing who has posted what and when. And I will admit I can go days without posting anything but as soon as I get on there I post so much... all my 'witty' comments pop into my head when I'm on there and I seem to post something every few seconds, sad but true.

It is a place where you can get an insight into a celebrities world and know what they are doing or what they are thinking at any given moment. In our celeb-crazed world I am often surprised that a lot of celebs are willing to share everything with the public, but then I suppose they do it on their own terms when they want not when the press forces them to.

I have noticed how increasingly papers and the press are using social networks such as Twitter for stories, especially when it comes to famous people. When Philip Schofield and Fearne Cotton posted updates on Holly Willoughby going into labour the papers were filled with both sets of updates being used as the source of stories. Tom Fletcher from McFly recently announced he had proposed to his girlfriend and she said yes, and over the next couple of days it was on news stories and in websites.

Papers have been known to put out messages asking for stories from people on Twitter. It is a easy way to connect with the community and people.


I am surprised that also with the Imogen Jones story in which she has had an affair with a Premier league footballer, an injunction has been placed on any papers naming him. However, within a couple of days Twitter was alive with people saying who it apparently was and everyone was very willing to comment on it.

Twitter is a funny beast, the defamation defences have been changed to accommodate what people say on it. Courtney Love famously was sued by a designer as she was not too pleasant about her designs on Twitter. But it seems people can get away with a lot more on twitter as it is a very personal device almost as if someone is looking into exactly what you are thinking.


I just get enthralled by what people publish, the news is posted here pretty much first. It is also unlike Facebook, which is a place where you are linked to friends from your past and present, you get updates from those who you used to know mostly. Twitter lets us enter a world that we were once barred from.