robmacca Spice Girls Radio Interviews

Yesterday was one of those crazy days as the Spice Girls finally announced their comeback for one last tour to say "Goodbye" to the fans and reunite as a five piece group. I'd been contacted the day before by the BBC who wanted to do an interview for BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.

I was interviewed by Liz Kershaw on the Breakfast Show and it's available to download HERE. I recorded it from my laptop to mobile so it's not that loud! Then as the Spice Girls were doing the press conference, I had another call from the BBC and they wanted to interview me on another show for the station, this time it was Jane Vickers Drive Time Show. It was a fun interview and also available to download HERE (I liked this one more!).

The funniest part of the day was having to turn down the BBC World Service for an interview on their "Have Your Say" programme because it clashed with the other BBC interview. For one day only I felt like a Z list celeb, which is about as high as robmacca needs to get in this world!

Those lovely Spice Girls yesterday!

Spice Girls Tour Dates

These are the first official pictures of the Spice Girls as they met the worlds press to announce their World Tour dates.

SPICE GIRLS TOUR 2007/08:

Los Angeles - 7 December
Las Vegas - 8 December
New York - 11 December
London - 15 December
Cologne - 20 December
Madrid - 23 December
Beijing - 10 January
Hong Kong - 12 January
Sydney - 17 January
Cape Town - 20 January
Buenos Aires - 24 January

You can register for tickets on the official Spice Girls website : The Spice Girls Official Website

There are a collection of NEW Spice Girls pictures taken before the press conference over on robmaccaEXTRA , just click that link to view them.

The Spice Girls Are Back!

Melanie Brown arriving into London yesterday with her trademark leopard skin

It's time to dust your platform shoes and get the karaoke machine out once again because the Spice Girls are back! After years of speculation and rumours, all 5 girls are expected to appear at a press conference at the 02 Millennium Dome, noon UK time. It will be the first time they have all appeared in public together for a number of years and will finally answer many of the questions circulating in the media this week. Will there be a Spice Girls TV documentary like Take That? Where will the tour be taking place? When will the "Greatest Hits" album be out?

Melanie Brown arrived back in London yesterday, bringing with her the traditional "Scary Spice" brand in the form of leopard skin outfit, boots and even baby pram. This promises to be a press meeting that will get a snowball rolling for the rest of the year. Simon Fuller and Nicky Cambell are driving the Spice bus once again and one time stow away passenger, Geri Halliwell is back on board with her old band mates. Even reluctant Melanie C has climbed aboard for what is set to be a return like no other.

The Spice Girls are back!

Love them or loathe them, there can be no denying that these five ordinary girls from Great Britain shaped the music scene of the 90's like no other band. Nothing has even come close to matching the hype and hysteria that was created when they burst onto the scene in 1996 with "Wannabe". They were the only ones since The Beatles to have such a global impact and conquer America as they did. With record sales of almost 50 million and merchandise that covered everything from cards to crackers, the Spice Girls were everywhere and everyone had an opinion on them.

This time around we might not have Emma Bunton in pony tails or Victoria Beckham in a black PVC suit (well, actually we might!) but if the reunion is managed well and 19 Management with the support of the press, hype the Spice Girls - we may just be in for a real treat.

Victoria Beckham and Nas - "Full Stop" Track

Victoria Beckham is back with a new track "Full Stop", which features US rapper Nas and you can hear it here on "robmacca's entertainment news". The leaked track has come just days before the Spice Girls press conference (tomorrow), where some important details will be released about an expected "World Tour".

Victoria (Posh) had previously abandoned her music career after the press seemed to write off everything she did. But could Nas provide the needed street cred to get Mrs Beckham back up that musical ladder - time will tell.

Have a listen and leave a comment................

The Enemy - Birmingham Virgin Megastore Signing

The Enemy performed at Virgin Megastore to hundreds of fans in Birmingham today as part of their UK promotion for their new single "Had Enough", which is released this week. Although the security and organisation was not quite as good as other places, they were very polite - as were the band. Tom Clarke had been able to wander about in Birmingham city centre without getting mobbed, but those days are limited as The Enemy continue to grow and grow in popularity.

After performing "It's Not OK", "Away From Here" and their new single "Had Enough" the band got to work signing copies of the single for the fans. Even having enough time to talk with us as they signed the 7" copies and CD singles. I asked Tom if he enjoyed Glastonbury, which he did very much so.

"How was it with all that mud?" I enquired.

To which Tom replied, "you really noticed it within five minutes".

Andy has a laugh with the crowds. Tom tries not to laugh!
Andy,Tom and Liam in full flow.........
Andy signs his name away.

Andy chats while Tom and Liam sign more copies.
Tom and the photographer havin' a laugh!
Smile lads - your on camera!
The Enemy in action @ Virgin Megastore, Birmingham.

It was another great day following The Enemy, adding some more signed records to the collection and seeing the lads perform once again. While I was over in Birmingham, I got my hands on 4 tickets for the gig on Saturday 20th October at the Carling Academy, before they sell out.

Watch the videos of the 3 songs they performed at Virgin:

"Had Enough"


"Away From Here"


"It's Not OK"

robmacca Video Blog - The Enemy Virgin Birmingham Signing

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The robmacca Video Blog - The "Before and After" Comments.

Cheryl Cole Pictures - Holiday in Barbados

Here are a selection of pictures featuring Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole, taken as she is on holiday in Barbados, looking very brown and sexy in her bikini. A girl can not live without her mobile phone these days.......

Click the pictures to see them larger:

* pictures taken by splashnewsonline.com

Brit Awards 2008: The Enemy

With half a year to go before the official nominations are announced for the Brit Awards 2008, we can exclusively predict that The Enemy will be short listed in the "British Breakthrough Act" award. The Coventry band have been rising to stardom as they continually tour the UK and celebrate their debut album "We'll Live And Die In These Towns"on July 9th.

Last year Radio 1 listeners chose the Fratellis to win the Award - ahead of Corinne Bailey Rae, James Morrison, Kooks and Lily Allen. In January 2008 the nominations will be revealed, but you can be pretty sure The Enemy are going to be in that nomination list. The lads returned from Glastonbury yesterday to set off on the road around Britain to sign copies of their new single "Had Enough", which will chart on Sunday.

Glastonbury: The Enemy

The Enemy braved the rain at Glastonbury today as reported by NME.com :

The Enemy woke up Glastonbury on final day (June 23) of this year's festival.

The three-piece emerged onto the Other Stage to fellow Coventarian's The Specials 'Too Much Too Young' before launching into their set which showcased forthcoming album 'We'll Live And Die In These Towns'.

"Fair play to yous lots getting out of your tents and coming here," frontman Tom Clarke told the crowd. "You're the real people."The trio then shook the festival awake with track 'Technodancophobic' with their singer telling the fans who endured the heavy rain: to "Get some caffeine down yer, fuck it, get some lager! Let's make some noise! This is Glastonbury let's have it!"

The band then ended their first ever Glastonbury set with 'You're Not Alone' with Clarke praising the crowds."This is for ever fucker brave enough to stand in the rain at Glastonbury," he declared. "Whatever band, whatever stage, fair play to yers."

The Enemy played:

40 Days And 40 Nights

Away From Here

Don't Shed A Tear

Pressure

Technodancophobic

Aggro

It's Not OK

You're Not Alone

Had Enough

The Enemy "Had Enough" Video and Lyrics

Here is the video and lyrics to The Enemy "Had Enough" (out June 25th)

Had Enough

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gimme a, good enough, reason why i should not cut you down
you bin taking too much, ever since u started hangin round,
this crowd
and ive had enough, had enough
yes you've let me down, let me down
now im givin up, givin up
yes ill see you round, see you round
naaa naaa naaa naa

heeey heeey, whats the matter with your face, face
when you have it your way, way
wont you gimme some time to understand your mind
(ohhhh its alright, ohhh its alright)

let me say what i want
dont you know, it was unlegiable my tone
if you opened your eyes
took a look outside, wou would see
your wrong
and ive had enough, had enough
yes you let me down, let me down
now im givin up, givin up
yes ill see you round, see you round
naa naa naa naa

heeey heeey, whats the matter with your face, face
when you have it your way, way
wont you gimme some time to understand your mind
had enough, had enough
had enough, had enough
had enough, had enough, let me down
had enough, had enough, see you round
had enough, had enough, let me down
had enough, had enough, ill see you around

heeey heeey, whats the matter with your face, face
when you have it your way, way
wont you gimme some time to understand your mind

- lyrics from ALLYRICS.NET

The Rrrs "Look Good, Feel Great" EP Launch

nino and robmacca wearing underwear for The Rrrs stage show.

The occasion for getting drunk and having a wild night out at The Colosseum was The Rrrs "Look Good, Feel Great" EP launch and what an entertaining night it was! The music was pumping out as soon as we walked into the venue with Half of Nothing (previous Band of the Week) up on stage. The lads were as friendly as ever with Alex on vocals, Rob and James playing and backing him up and Phil could be spotted playing drums in his frantic energetic way - which is always a pleasure to watch.

Half of Nothing get the show on the road

A belly dancer provides something different

The belly dancer was a first for me and gave something different to the night, but quite fitting for larger than life The Rrrs. Another surprise was the following band, who's name I didn't catch but they sounded quite good anyway. Another energetic drummer, with his wet hair showering droplets of sweat into the beams from the spotlights.

An extra band play at the Colosseum during the EP launch night

Leamington lads The Carter Manoeuvre (current Band of the Week) had a full weekend cramming in 3 different gigs and gave an all out performance with their indie/experimental/rock sound that kept you on your toes. It is one thing to hear a tune on someones MySpace but to hear it live is another matter and James Ellis provided us with a vocal menu worthy of seconds. James Turrell kept the energy up with his bass playing throughout and still had a smile at the end. It's true that Tom Grundy can indeed play just about everything and he kept himself busy doing just that. Stuart Knight on drums had me quite fixated because he looked like he was sitting an exam paper with his concentrated look while playing.

The Carter Manoeuvre perform on dryer land

Finally it was time for The Rrrs to make their Colosseum debut - this is the reason why many were here, for their "Look Good Feel Great" EP launch. I'd got my red t-shirt earlier in the foyer and a badge and now it was time to get to the front and show some support (and also I wanted to party!). The Rrrs took centre stage and soon unleashed their brand of indie/new wave pop tunes. Knickers were being waved in the air during "Is that your underwear on the floor" and the stage now resembled a Tom Jones gig.

The Rrrs in full flow at their "Look Good Feel Great" EP launch

Sharliza was on top form, as seen in the picture above and could be seen sticking her foot in Les Woods crotch and having bum on bum nudging with backing vocalist Babs Jorge. The set list was so upbeat and lifting that it could help break any UN deadlock and bring people from opposite sides together. Steve K from Jaffa Rose provided drums again and did an excellent job and Rowan Gifted's lead guitar made the night one worthy of being remembered long into the future.......

*top picture by nino - thanks!

What's New On "robmaccaEXTRA"

-On the tube with robmacca

If you haven't had a chance to checkout "robmaccaEXTRA" lately, then your missing out on all the stories that couldn't be squeezed into "robmacca's entertainment news" blog.

So far this month on robmaccaEXTRA :

1. A drunken rowdy night out in London to see The Enemy with a funny drunk video.
- The Enemy My Drunken Astoria Gig Story

2. Jaguar and Land Rover to be sold off and robmacca has his say.
- Goodbye Jaguar, Goodbye Land Rover

3. Videos of The Enemy crowd in Birmingham during and after the gig.
- The Enemy Crowds In Birmingham

4. New robmacca haircut pictures in black and white.
- robmacca Haircut Pictures

5. Extra pictures of The Late Starters, Half of Nothing and The Cougars performing.
- Kapow! Coventry EXTRA Pictures

6. Melanie C black and white pictures from her Mean Fiddler gig.
- Melanie C Mean Fiddler Pictures

7. Melanie C gig videos from the gig.
- Melanie C Mean Fiddler Videos

Plenty of stuff over there on "robmaccaEXTRA" and more EXTRA stories, pictures and videos to come in the coming days. Right time to get ready for another drunken fun night out watching some local bands.

Spice Girls World Tour

The Spice Girls are set to announce their "Goodbye" Worldwide Tour on Thursday (28th June) at a special press conference. The media world has long speculated about the return of the Spice Girls and fans have waited since 2000 for any kind of announcement, but now there is a real buzz about the Spice Girls once again. Could it be hip to mention the Spice Girls and not be laughted at?

It is expected that the dates for the World Tour will be announced on Thurday but will be a means of saying "goodbye" properly to the fans rather than a full scale "Take That" type of comeback. A "Greatest Hits" album will be released later in the year and there is now a strong possibility we may get some new final material from the girls that shaped a generation across the globe.

Melanie C had always been the one who was quite happy to leave her Spice Girls in the vaults of history, but in recent times had mellowed out on her views as continuing speculation began to mount. A busy solo career in Europe had kept the one time "Sporty Spice" busy and in no need of a reunion, but a few days ago she announced on her website that she had cancelled all her Spanish media promo dates for next week as she was working on something special. We now know it is the Spice Girls reunion and Melanie is fully on board.


Emma Bunton was snapped by the press this week in London, looking as glamourous as ever - even though she is about to have her first child in a few weeks time. Emma has always been the most enthusiastic for a Spice Girls reunion and has been constantly positive about the whole Spice Girl era. The rest of the Spice Girls will have to put getting pregnant on hold for a while as they spend the rest of 2007 bringing back "girl power" around the globe.

Finally in this round up of Spice Girls related news, the DNA results are back from the lab and it will come as no surprise that Eddie Murphy IS the father of Melanie Brown's two month old daughter, Angel Iris. Melanie has always maintained that Eddie was the father after he sensationally dumped her on Dutch national TV and then claimed that he might not be the father, casting a slur on the Scary one. So far Eddie Murphy has failed to even see his new baby daughter as things turned sour at the end of 2006. It looks like the next chapter in this story will be strung out in a court somewhere in America............

The Enemy: Astoria, London.

The Enemy were on top form again, this time at the Astoria, London. A lively set and vocal crowd may have taken a few by surprise in what felt like "posh" London. Not as much beer throwing or crowd moshing as in Birmingham, yet it was still a memorable night.

My highlight of the evening was when Andy just put his bass guitar down and jumped into the crowd for a spot of crowd surfing, while Tom carried on belting out the lyrics to "It's Not OK". Liam gave it 100% all night on the drums as they did Coventry proud once again.

This could be the final gig many of those inside the Astoria will see at this venue as it is set to knocked down to make way for a re-development in the area. It won't be the last we see of The Enemy - they are going and growing to bigger and better things. This weekend they will be playing at Glastonbury, not once but TWICE! The new single "Had Enough"is out 25th June and the debut album "We'll Live And Die In These Towns" hits the shops on July 9th. Both songs were captured on video and can be seen at the end of this topic.

Next time the lads play in London it will be at the Brixton Academy during their next UK tour in Sept/Oct and looks like being their third sell out tour this year.

• 27 Sep 2007 OXFORD - ZODIAC
• 28 Sep 2007 LEEDS - REFECTORY
• 29 Sep 2007 CAMBRIDGE - JUNCTION
• 30 Sep 2007 CARDIFF - GREAT HALL
• 1 Oct 2007 NEWCASTLE - ACADEMY
• 3 Oct 2007 INVERNESS - IRONWORKS
• 4 Oct 2007 ABERDEEN - MUSIC HALL
• 5 Oct 2007 GLASGOW - BARROWLANDS
• 6 Oct 2007 DUNDEE - FAT SAM'S
• 8 Oct 2007 MIDDLESBOROUGH - TOWN HALL
• 9 Oct 2007 NOTTINGHAM - ROCK CITY
• 10 Oct 2007 MANCHESTER - ACADEMY
• 11 Oct 2007 NORWICH - UEA
• 13 Oct 2007 STOKE - KEELE UNIVERSITY
• 14 Oct 2007 WOLVERHAMPTON - CIVIC HALL
• 15 Oct 2007 SOUTHAMPTON - GUILD HALL
• 17 Oct 2007 LONDON - BRIXTON ACADEMY
• 20 Oct 2007 BIRMINGHAM CARLING ACADEMY
  

Here are the videos from my mobile phone taken during the Astoria performance - and yes I was drunk! (Remember to turn the sound down low so you can hear it better.)


"It's Not OK" (Andy does some crowd surfing!) in black and white.


The new single "Had Enough" filmed in colour.


"Away From Here" filmed in b&w at the Astoria, London - crowds loved it!


First song of the evening "40 Days and 40 Nights".


"Shed a Tear"


"Techno"


"Fear Killed The Youth Of The Nation"


Encore song and my final one - "We'll Live And Die In These Towns", filmed in colour.


You can read more about how I got drunk and loud - Click >>>HERE<<<

Band of the Week: The Carter Manoeuvre

Band of the Week:
The Carter Manoeuvre

Intoduction:

The Carter Manoeuvre are a band of four lads in their early 20’s who are about to celebrate the end of their exams in style, playing live music and getting drunk. Then it is more celebrations as they play their 50th gig at the Coventry Godiva Festival. Even flooding hasn’t stopped them from bringing us experimental rock tunes based on everyday life.

Based at Warwick Uni, The Carter Manoeuvre are made up of James Ellis (Reading/Warwick Uni) who is main vocals, guitar and anything else he can get his hands on, Tom Grundy (Leamington Spa) plays guitar,backing vocals, squeezebox, Hammond Synth with an ability to learn quickly. Stuart Knight (Leamington Spa) bashes his drums passionately while James Turrell plays bass, does a spot of vocals when he’s not hiding inside cupboards!

This Saturday (23rd June) The Carter Manoeuvre will be taking the stage at Coventry’s Colosseum as part of The Rrrs “Look Good, Feel Great! EP launch” (also featuring Half of Nothing).

The Carter Manoeuvre

The BOTW15 Question Interview:

1. When did The Carter Manoeuvre form?

The four of us came together in July 2006, started gigging in August and just kept going.

2. Which artists have influenced your lives?

I suppose the three bands that changed the way we thought about music are Radiohead, Broken Social Scene and The Dismemberment Plan.

3. What’s all this talk about your basement getting flooded?

All as it sounds really, torrential rain hit Leamington while we were out, when we got back we found all our stuff ankle-deep in water! We had an all-night rescue operation, involving one of us throwing out countless buckets of rainwater into the street wearing nothing but pants. We've lost quite a lot of our gear...

4. Name your favourite albums of all time?

Well anything by the three bands we mentioned earlier ranks highest, but aside from that some other favourites include Biffy Clyro's "The Vertigo of Bliss", Bloc Party's "Silent Alarm" and Death Cab For Cutie's "Transatlanticism".

5. What do you think about the Coventry/Leamington music scene at the moment?

Leamington has promise for the future with The Assembly being built, there's talk of an incredibly big name band to christen it but we'll keep schtum about that. If that supports local acts then suddenly bands in the area will have a platform to get some experience alongside touring bands, which is pretty valuable. Some of us are also involved with Superconnected, a monthly showcase night in Leamington, which we dare say is the best night of live music around at the moment..! We actually avoided Coventry for over a year because every time we'd played there or gone to watch a band the venues were empty, there seemed to be virtually no interest in live music from anyone who wasn't in a band. Fortunately things seem to be healthier now, perhaps because of a couple of bands have received national press, or maybe because it's the summer and everyone's feeling optimistic. Music scenes tend to wax and wane fairly regularly, and Coventry's is moving towards a high point at the moment.

6. What has been your favourite gig venue?

Locally it would be The Colosseum or The Jug and Jester. The best thing about the Colly is that they're not afraid to crank the sound system for local acts, so everyone there ends up sounding gut wrenchingly loud, which of course is better.

7. Did you see Cov's "Kombat Breakers" on TV's "Britain's Got Talent" - if so, have they got talent?

We don't actually have a TV in the house, but we'd guess that the title of the show is meant to be ironic?

8. There has been talk of a Hollywood style "Stars of Coventry" in Priory Place - What one person would you put there first?

Philip Larkin. This guy was a champion cynic: "Man hands on misery to man / It deepens like a coastal shelf / Get out as early as you can". Deep-seated pessimism is what drives us on, or at least what drives us violently into the ground.

9. Who would you duet with, if you had the opportunity?

Leslie Feist, no question. She's got the most powerful and expressive voice we've ever heard, she could elevate anything she sang on.

10. What’s the craziest thing that has happened in the band?

In our history we've had monitors fall on drummers and cymbals severing guitar cables all in one night. However our favourite experience so far was a great gig we played in Oxford, where we ended up at a house party. One of us got kissed by a slightly crazy girl who'd just drank vinegar and eventually we had to make our escape headfirst through a window because they'd barricaded the door and wouldn't let us go. I think someone ended up getting thrown out of our car that night too. It was vulgar but strangely life-affirming.

11. Who's your favourite superhero?

It'd have to be Burnt Face Man. Google him... (I did and got distracted watching Episode 2! Visit: http://www.burntfaceman.com to see what is so funny!)

12. If you could turn back time, What one thing would you change?

We would go back four days and build a makeshift ark for all our equipment.

13. Where would you like to be in a years time?

A little farther? Over the years we've been in bands where the line up's changed and we've had to start from scratch, which is refreshing but ultimately a frustrating process. This summer will be the first time we've had the same four guys for over a year. Next year it'd be a good start if we can maintain the status quo and see what we can build on it, we'll take any other developments as they come.

14. Give us your ‘Tip of the Year’

There's a band called Godwits from Newbury, they play an energised, urgent breed of folk-tinged bittersweet songs about civil wars, heartbreak and death, wonderfully bleak lyrics too. They're our favourite band around at the moment, we're bringing them to Leamington for Superconnected on the 6th July, it's going to be incredible. Check them out at www.myspace.com/godwits - if we controlled national playlists we'd give everyone an hourly dose; they could and should be onto big things soon.

15. What plans lie ahead for the band?

Getting some fresh recordings down and pushing ourselves forward musically. We've written over fifty songs in the past year but finished very few of them as we're always trying to improve the music we've already got! We just invested in some colourful electronics that should form part of a new stage setup we dreamt up a few weeks ago. Every few months we try and change how the band works to keep things fresh; we're dabbling in some electronic beats, guitar loops and vocal layering at the moment. We'll see where that leads us, it's all sounding surprisingly poppy so far.

Coming Up:

JUNE

23rd - The Colosseum, COVENTRY

24th - Evolve, LEAMINGTON (retro set)

24th - Lockstock, LEAMINGTON (sexy set)

28th - Hope and Anchor, COVENTRY (acoustic)

JULY

5th - Walkabout, READING

6th - Superconnected, LEAMINGTON

9th - The Vic, DERBY 12th - The Cellar, OXFORD

13th - Godiva Festival, COVENTRY

Links:

MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/thecartermanoeuvre

Official Website - http://www.thecartermanoeuvre.com/

Face book - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2227645471

Email: thecartermanoeuvre@hotmail.co.uk

Sarah Harding - Ultimo Summer Underwear Pictures

Feast your eyes on the Sarah Harding Ultimo Summer Collection in this fantasic slide show for your viewing pleasure:

Kombat Breakers Arive Home In Coventry

Yeah, the "Kombat Breakers" arrived back about 15:30, fresh from their week long stint on ITV's "Britain's Got Talent". Saw some people from the local media and I think I saw some of the Kombat Breakers but I'd just been walking for 4hrs and 20mins and had a stonking headache so was in no mood for taking pictures, sorry!

Here's a picture of the lads from the ITV website:

Since losing out in the final last night, major job offers have already started pouring in for the city street dancers after they showcased their talents before millions of television viewers.

The lads publicly thanked all their friends, family and supporters in Coventry live on national television and said "The level of support from everyone has been amazing."

Like them, then add their MySpace Link.

Random robmacca fact: Toke'n used to come around my house cos he was mates with an old housemate of mine and was often topless! He's still on my MSN list........

Beckhams Boobs (again!)

Victoria Beckham was getting her boobs out again - well almost! This time she was launching her new DVB collection in New York. As reported here two weeks ago, it seems Victoria is getting more and more daring with the tops she wears.

Posh was posing for the cameras as she uncovered the new range of DVB jeans and sunglasses,
at exclusive department store, SAKS Fifth Avenue. It seems like no let up for this mother of three after she was recently voted "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Glamour magazine, she made three outfit changes for the day just to keep the press busy. Check the pictures out below, as seen in the Metro newspaper.

Yet nothing tops this controversial picture of Victoria Beckham.........