The Big Reunion when all is said and done

Last week was the last of the current series of The Big Reunion and it ended with the concert I went to at the end of February.

It didn't show the whole concert but it was still good to relive it all, so much so that I have now pre-ordered the concert DVD and will be going to the Christmas party gig at the O2 in December.  

Watching the concert I was a little relieved (and disappointed) that I didn't make the cut. My friend's friends were in one shot though. Well I knew I was there.

I thought I would use a post to talk about the Big Reunion. I have seen many of these shows - Take That and Spice Girls, where they re-interview old bands who reflect on the good ol' days. Only to reveal that they were not that great and they were plagued by self-doubt, drugs and lots of sex with older fans. The Take That one broke my six-year-old fan heart that the guys were less than perfect. 

I was relieved that watching the Spice Girls one that they were friends with each other, well we all knew Mel B and Geri were at each others throats, but I suppose the most telling thing is that Victoria is never really with other girls anymore. I suppose if I had a multi-million pound global fashion house I wouldn't want to be associated with the 'Posh' Spice label still.

Also the Steps one which was upsetting as they really didn't like each other, so when I saw them on tour all I kept thinking was 'they hate each other really'.

So I was little apprehensive when I saw this show was going to be on. It featured all the bands that I loved when I was a child in the nineties, I saw some as well at radio roadshows. For a re-cap the show featured Honeyz, B*Witched, 5ive, 911, Liberty X, Atomic Kitten and later one Blue, who didn't really split up recently but ah well.

It was a really interesting show revealing what it was like to be in a band during those years. Record labels pushing them to the edge of their sanity if they knew they were on to a good thing. All the bands left on quite good terms, Atomic Kitten always seemed to be fighting, very fiery. 5ive as well were quite interesting proper bad boys.

I loved 5ive and fell more in love with them after the show. They are and were fantastic.

But at the end of the day it was interesting and good to see the bands gelling quite well after all these years.

It does make you wonder after the success of this show who will be in the next series - Cleopatra? Busted? Hear'say? S Club 7? Who knows?

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.

Take That, Wembley Stadium, 2nd July 2011

So last Saturday I fulfilled one of my childhood dreams and actually saw all five members of the greatest boy band ever to grace the world....Take That.

I had seen Take That the four of them when they did the come back tour and saw Robbie on his solo tour in the same year so it was similar to seeing all five, although nothing could compare to actually seeing all five performing together.

The way the show worked was the four lads came out and sung a few songs, the crowd were luke warm, they enjoyed it but as soon as Robbie came out to Let Me Entertain You the place erupted! It was the moment everyone had been waiting for. Take That have done a few tours over the past few years but when you think Robbie's tour was nearly 6 years ago, many fans probably thought they would never see him in concert again. He was on top form, and showed/reminded everyone of the true entertainer he is and he did not disappoint.

After this set Take That reformed the famous five and started with the Flood, with an actual flood on the huge wall with dancers on rope going up and down. All five together was just magical! I knew they would be good but they were better than I expected.

Everything about it was a show, the stage was huge and had a 60ft man who came out and stood up. It was just phenomenal! These boys know how to put on a show.

They also pulled out some of the old dance moves, singing Take That and Party and doing the running man. I was over the moon when Robbie sung Everything Changes and me and my friends sung our hearts out to the classics into Take That branded glow sticks.

There were over 80,000 people there and the atmosphere was just electric! Anyone who is a fan of Take That will just fall in love with the band again.

The band were note perfect and as much as he tried Gary Barlow was still crap at dancing, ala the nineties!

There was a fifteen year wait for this tour and it was worth everyday. I think I appreciated it more now than I would have when I was 10, I did love Take That in their heyday but my first big band were Spice Girls. Saying that Take That were just great!

However, I do have one criticism... ending with Eight Letters... Why? At the end of a concert the audience should be dancing out of the aisles but instead they walked back to the stage shaking people's hands, it was ok but it can't beat ending with Never Forget. Great guys but please don't break with tradition end with Never Forget!

They are off to Milan after Wembley so you will need to go over to Europe. I do love them together but I hope they don't milk the cash cow for too long so we all get fed up with them. But in the mean time... 'come on, come on, come on TAKE THAT AND PARTY!!'

Set List:
Rule The World

Greatest Day
Hold Up A Light
Patience
Shine
Let Me Entertain You
Rock DJ
Come Undone
Feel
Angels
The Flood
SOS
Underground
Machine
Kidz
Pretty Things
Million Love Songs
Babe
Everything Changes
Back For Good
Pray
Love Love
Never Forget
No Regrets
Relight My Fire
Eight Letters

Miss Kylie Minogue

I have been writing this blog for well over a year and I am very surprised that I have never written a post on my idol. I mentioned her in the idol post briefly but nothing just about my idol, who is..... Miss Kylie Minogue.


I have liked Kylie for as long as I can remember. My mum has always watched Neighbours so even as a small child in the 80s I can remember seeing her as Charlene with the gorgeous Scott. As much as I was obsessed with Kylie I was convinced I would marry Jason Donovan. I remember taking his cassette (yes I'm that old) to school just so I could look at his picture sa but true, but then I was only five. I can remember going to my cousin's house in Kidderminster and we would watch her Kylie video and my Jason one.


I will admit I dropped out of my Kylie phase a little in the 90s, during her impossible princess stage when I was being a Pop Princess. I fell in love with Take That and the Spice Girls. Then nearing the millennium Kylie released the pop hit Spinning Around and I was hooked.


That was it really, I do love Kylie Minogue I'm not obsessed, but I think she is amazing. I love the X album and Confide in Me and Love at First Sight are my all time favourite songs.


In all my years of Kylie mania I never had the opportunity to see her live. During her Showgirl tour over five years ago I hinted so much for tickets but no one picked up the hint. Then she was diagnosed with cancer.


I was thrilled when I got to go to the V&A and see all her costumes and clothes over the years: seeing in the flesh the iconic symbols that have made Kylie who she is today.




I watched the White Diamond documentary with a tear in my eye, bought the books and was mildly shocked when she parted ways with her visionary ill Baker (they are ok now though).


Finally in 2008 I got tickets to see Kylie's X tour, to say I was overjoyed is putting it lightly I was ecstatic. Finally after all these years I would see her concerts in the flesh rather than on my TV. When I saw a competition in a magazine to win tickets to see Kylie, I thought I would enter, who knows if I don't win then I'm already going if I do I can go twice.


Now, I was at work and I received a load of missed calls from an unknown number. When I finally picked up I was told I had won a competition. I had no idea what they meant. So when the woman then told me what I had won I went into, what I can only describe as shock. She said: "You have won a night stay in a five star hotel in London, travel to and from London, a new mobile phone, a spa treatment at the hotel, tickets for the gig and a meet and greet with Kylie before the gig. Are you free to do this?" I just muttered yes, not quite knowing what the hell was going on.


As soon as I hung up the phone I'll admit it, I burst into tears. The five year old in me running about like a crazy person. Then I rung everyone I could think of and asked my manager for the day off.


I saw the first gig on the Sunday, which was amazing. Then a couple of days later I was back at the O2 after having an amazing back massage, all ready and scared that meeting my idol was not going to happen. When we sat down in the room full of a load of Kylie fans I could not keep my eyes off the door. And then it happened, Miss Minogue walked through and I had to hold back the tears.


To be honest it was a bit of a blur, she was stood in front of me, the complexion of a china doll, tiny frame and loads of stage make up. I talked to her about the concert and not much else but it was really good.


We had our photo taken with her, Kylie was amazing saying how to pose, with a pout and a smile.It was the best thing ever to happen to me. Afterwards I was jumping around singing "I've met Kylie Minogue!" As you can tell from the photo I am just a little bit happy at being stood so close to my idol.




I have tickets for the Les Follies tour, I am so excited, seen a little bit and it looks amazing! Look out for a gig review in April.


Here is the proof by the way....