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London based DJ Charlotte Devaney is about to release her forthcoming single Flip It Featuring Snoop Dogg: An up-tempo, insanely catchy dance track which is fun and original. When I spoke to her she was currently in the studio working on some new mixes and has just finished a track with Fat Man Scoop. This lady is busy with “music music and more music” and really loves to get the crowd going and entertaining people. “Music has always been where my heart is.” An all round performer with experience as an actor, dancer and model, music has always been her real passion. She tells me how it all began “ I've always been into music, I've always had decks... I started on the radio and then progressed into clubs about 6 and a half years ago.” Charlotte also has a good mentor in her boyfriend, former Radio 1 DJ Fabio. She has had lots of success on the Ibiza club scene with her own original remixes featuring Taylor Swift, Jay Sean and Nicole Scherzinger. For someone who originally started in the Rave and Hardcore scene listening to Grooverider, SS and Kenny Ken and Hip Hop she is very open to mixing all different types of music. “I'll mix it up and play anything...whatever gets the crowd hyped. It's very narrow to play one style of music especially these days. When I first stared it was very narrow, you had Hip Hop DJ's and Garage DJ's now you can mix it up and play everything in one set. People love it.” In a male dominated scene how does Charlotte see herself fitting in? Sometimes it's good because you stand out, but other times its harder because you don’t always get taken as seriously as the guys... you have to work harder.” Charlotte is certainly working hard to be up there with the guys, and she can certainly match them mix for mix and scratch for scratch. What really makes Charlotte stand out is her enthusiasm and energy. She clearly loves what she is doing and wants the crowd to have fun. With Flip It just being released on itunes and more tracks up her sleeve including one with up and coming London rapper Lady Lesha, Charlotte is confidant, positive and down to earth she seems happy to riding on the wave and see where it goes. But now she has worked with Snoop Dogg who else is on her list? “ I'd like to work with Buster Rhymes, Sean Paul, Little John, 50 cent... I'll see what happens, if those people come within my reach... I set my sights high, anything’s possible.”

Azadeh is a London based singer-songwriter with some great songs and something to say. Her lyrics are meaningful and from the heart and her melodies are sensitive and thoughtful. Far from being the new kid on the block, Azadeh has been writing songs since she was 15 and has already worked with some big named acts including writing and performing as part of a female vocal group opening for Jools Holland on tour. She also wrote an arrangement for one of his songs. She has recently stated that “being asked to arrange one of Jools' songs is definitely up there in the three golden moments of my life.” Azadeh has also had a great deal of exposure at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and played at the Union Chapel and the Secret Garden Party. She is currently supporting Deacon Blue as part of their 25 Anniversary tour and stepping out as part of her first ever solo tour. How does she feel about working with a with and supporting Deacon Blue? “ I feel very excited, scared and honoured at the same time, and I hope that I do them proud. I hope to be inspired by what I hear and and take it with me on my musical journey.” Her musical journey so far has been extensive. There is a maturity which surrounds her work which is reminiscent of those artists which she so fondly admires such as PJ Harvey and Nina Simone and basically “anyone who has something to say and does it well.” Born to Iranian parents, part of Azadehs musical education was listening to Persian music as a child. This gave her inspiration to want to tell stories and communicate through music she tells me “All of the stuff that I used to listen to when I was little, I thought, I wanna do that, I know exactly how that feels and I want to say it in my own way. I really did want to change my poetry into music and song. It was more like completely impulsive and something that just came out of me without me having any say.” She continues to tell me about her song writing influences, “ I went through a phase of only listening to the Beatles because I was sick of listening to all the commercial music and that helped me a lot with learning how to be a songwriter.” Her contagious enthusiasm for music imbues our conversation and it is clear that music is her life and soul, which in itself is inspirational. “When you hear somebody sing you really like, you feel you share a secret between yourself and the artist. When I hear a good song to this day it inspires me to get my guitar out to do something, to say something and feel something whether it's good or bad.” That impulse to say something propelled her to write Sons and Daughters, a haunting song about freedom, which is something close to her heart and from someone so young is quite sobering. She explains to me why she wrote that song. “It was very very intense and very exciting time in the Middle East because all the countries were getting involved in the Arab spring and it was having a domino effect in terms of revolution so I really I felt as if I was there...I also felt as if it could be me. I wanted to be there and I wanted to protest. I just wanted to speak up and say that people deserve freedom throughout the world.” Azadeh has a great gift of really making a song her own and letting her own voice come through in a song. She has recorded an amazingly heartfelt cover (or re imagining) of the Eurythmics classic Here Comes The Rain Again. (which I really hope appears on her album) “Last year I was sitting in my room I was thinking about this guy, it was raining I was feeling a bit nostalgic and feeling oh no I'm thinking about it again here it goes... the song was just staring me in the face, it was exactly how I feel and expressed exactly what I wanted to say.” “ I went through a phase of only listening to the Beatles... that helped me a lot with learning how to be a songwriter.” After working with Jools Holland collaboration is something that Azadeh would like to do more of in the future as well as writing for other artists. “Elbow are my favourite band in the world, it would be my dream to work with Guy Garvey.” Our mutual appreciation of Elbow prompts us to have an all too brief discussion of their songs! In-between her tour with Deacon Blue she is working on her début album, the title of which is being kept a secret for now. But which of her songs will feature on the final cut? “I haven't actually chosen the songs for the album yet, cos there's so many. I'm just hoping I make the right choice. They all cover different stories, so its either about the lyrical theme or the more stylistic musical theme, so we'll see what happens.” So with the album in the works and the tour occupying her for the time being, what are this very talented young songwriter's hopes for her future? “All I really want is to connect with as many people as possible around the world. I'd like to collaborate with a different array or artists to inspire and be inspired by people everywhere.” With such an exuberant personality coupled with great musicianship and truthful songs she has already started to inspire those that have heard her. And I am sure she will have great longevity because of this. Be sure to check out her songs and catch her supporting Deacon Blue, you will not be disappointed.

Hatfield House EJ and his magnificent band performed some of his well known hits (your song, rocket man to name a few). Along with some new material from his collaborative album The Union, with Leon Russell due out later in the year. The new song Hey Ahab gave fans something to talk about with its high octane and real rock feel, with sublime backing vocals from Lisa Stone gave it a feel to Pink Floyd's Dark side of the moon. His performance of Sorry always seems to be the hardest word was truly excellent and highly emotive, to the delight and appreciation of the audience, further enhanced by a duo of Croatian cellists (2cellos) who Elton discovered on You Tube! The whole band were absolutely amazing too, really tight. He still has his original excellent guitar player (Davey Johnstone)and drummer (Nigel Olsson), and the guys are still rockin! Elton himself still has an amazing voice but slightly lower these days which was apparent with Sacrifice giving his singing an even more raunchy sound. Loved it! Elton has lost none of his magic since I first saw him up close and personal at Watford's Top Rank in the seventies, and still every bit as brilliant. Long may he rock!

When Elliot Haslam AKA Shaodow went to China to learn Shaolin Kung Fu at the age of 18. It was not only a martial art that he learnt, but also a discipline and a mindset which he has carried with him ever since. He explains, “it was very informative in building who I am. The thing I love about martial arts is that the ethos and literal translation of Kung Fu is hard work. You have to put your head down and learn. There's no short cuts... So I apply Kung Fu to my music.” In a world where people are all too willing to take short cuts to success, by applying Kung Fu principals to his music Shaodow's hard work is paying off. After graduating with a law degree from Oxford, Shaodow made the brave decision to follow his heart and pursue his love of music as an independent rapper. To date he has sold 15,000 copies of his album and reached number 25 in the iTunes Hip Hop chart – and without any studio backing whatsoever that is pretty impressive. By travelling around the country and meeting people to showcase his music, Shaodow has become the best advert for his music. When I spoke to him he was on his way to Wales to try and build up his every growing fan base, The DIY Gang. The response he gets from sharing his talent with the people he meets has ensured that he is building up a loyal following wherever he goes. But does he not feel that signing with a record company would save him some of the leg work? “When I first started my career my thoughts were like any other artist, I'll do what I can and try get a label interested and get signed and everything would be cool from there. But the more I did by myself I started to realise that I don't need or want a record label to do anything for me. The amount of work I've put in myself, it didn't really make sense in my mind to go to a label and ask them to do what I can do for myself.” Whilst social media has played a part in creating Shaodow's exposure as an artist, he prefers to build his fan base via a “real world response.” He continues “ looking people in the eye and explaining my music to them is much better that if they've just heard a few tracks on line.” This method of self publicity and promotion may seem like something alien to us in the UK, but Shaodow tells me that although it's a different approach, in the US it's not uncommon for artists to sell their CD's from the boot of their cars to create a fan base. It's a huge jump from law and martial arts to rap and whilst he acknowledges that he's always loved music what inspired Shaodow to turn to rap? “I was into poetry in secondary school. I loved the way you could express yourself through words that rhyme. I started to listen to So Solid Crew, Busta Rhymes and Ludacris. I heard stuff I liked but I didn't hear a lot of what represented me. It was all about the lifestyle and the money, fast cars etc. and that wasn't stuff that interested me. So I started to write lyrics to express myself and found a large section of people that had a similar feeling.” With people all over the UK and Europe responding to his truthful and relevant lyrics, Shaodow's music is accessible no matter what your musical taste. He says that he wants “people who like music to like his music”, as a result he incorporates everything from rock, to dance to grime an hip hop and everything in-between. The enthusiasm and drive that Shaodow has for his music and the passion for wanting to share it with people is inspirational. “You only have one life to live and you may as well live and be happy. Although being a lawyer or solicitor is a perfectly respectable career, it didn't feel right to me.” With his ever growing success and an independent artist, it looks as if he made the right decision. #rap

Elizabeth McGoven, star of stage and screen is known to many a British household now as Lady Cora in Downton Abbey; but i bet you didn't know she was also a songwriter and musician. Elizabeth tells me she has always been a "secret guitar player" and about a decade ago she decided that she wanted to take her instrument to the next level. She instilled the help of guitarist Steve Nelson to help improve her technique. It soon became apparent that their weekly tutorial session became a forum for songwriting instead. "He (Steve) has a real passion for song writing and inspired me to start writing songs... Instead of having lessons we quickly started bashing song ideas out. " They would discuss style,chord progressions and what musically would best suite the lyrics. After about two years Steve thought that they had written some good songs and suggested taking them to his brother Simon Nelson who had an interest recording. As it happened Simon was also well connected in London's music scene invited some musicians who he thought would work well together along to play and Sadie and the Hotheads was born. It appears as if McGovern's move from actor to musician was a happy accident and a labour of love. Her organic and innocent approach to music and its industry is reflected in her new album How Not To Lose Things. All the songs on the album were written McGovern herself, who for a period after making the first album was "always thinking about song ideas...I wasn't trying to create a record. I don't know If I'd be able to do it if that was what I was supposed to do... I had the ideas and I had the time to indulge them...The record is a genuine reflection of a person who isn't trying to fit into any commercial mould." Her songs such as Cow Song and Superficial are witty, quirky and original andL.A Days is an autobiographical heart felt tale. It is a mixed bag that fights the limitations of a musicalgenre. "As a band we tried to take each song and give it the musical expression to bestilluminate the lyrics." Elizabeth tells me she takes great pride in her music and the process is very different for her than her day job. "There's less responsibility being an actress then there is in music...As an actress its my job to embody and inhabit somebody else's vision and bring somebody else's voice to life. With the music I'm giving myself a voice. It makes me take more responsibility." Whether she will swap her musical responsibility for the rock and roll life and let her onstage alter-ego 'Sadie' take over and start throwing televisions out of the windows or driving limos into pools remains to be seen. Elizabeth laughs and says "oh no, we're a very tame band... But we'll see how it goes." Sadie and the Hotheads will be touring around the UK next year. If you can't wait, their new album How Not To Lose Things is out now. #country

Canadian thrash metal legends, Annihilator have build up quite a cult following since Alison In Hell was released in 1989. Their longevity and status in the underground thrash scene is partly due to the dedication of the band's founder Jeff Waters. For him Annihilator is a labour of love, so much so, that he oversees all of the bands creative decisions including being the chief songwriter, engineer, producer and mixer. Taking on such a huge mantel for some would be a strain, but for Jeff the post-production stuff is part of the fun and he views it as a bit of a hobby. “ It's the most fun in the world to sit in a studio and work on your music. You get obsessed with it.” Jeff tells me about his recently upgraded studio, which he jokingly likens to the renovation a house! It can of course be hard to maintain perspective on the overall sound and quality of the album. “It can be a bad thing, when you’re sitting in the studio doing all these jobs and when the record is finally recorded you've kind of lost the sense of being able to step away and listen to know if it's good or bad or shitty or average.” So far Jeff has made some pretty good choices about his music, including Annihilator’s album Feast which has just been re-issued and contains a live DVD which Jeff also mixed. All Music's Eduardo Rivadavia refers to Annihilator as 'thinking man's thrash metal' which it certainly is. In many ways Annihilator are the precursors of symphonic metal. Jeff is a multi instrumentalist with a background in classical and jazz, which explains the technical and complex nature and of his music. Nobody can deny that Jeff certainly has a vision and runs with it when he makes an album. He explains to me that he records everything when he is writing in the studio, so he can use what he needs without having to re-do it for the album. He then shows the band what he wants by playing them the riffs, or the drums from the tapes and they get to work - although he admits he's still a bit possessive of one instrument. “I play the bass on all of the Annihilator records, except for one song on one album where I actually let a bass player play it.” He laughs. Lyrics, however he considers his weak spot (fan's would disagree) The lyrics for Deadlock were written by Dave Padden, who Jeff want to do more. He explains “he writes a couple of songs on every CD we do, he's been offered since day one to write the entire lyrics for the records, but he just won't do it. He can play rhythm guitar amazingly, he's got everything from a pop voice to a thrash voice, he's a talented guy and musician, he just doesn't have the motivation to write, so I've been stuck writing all the bloody lyrics! When he does write it puts a whole different spin on an Annihilator song...Every year I've been screaming at him to write some bloody lyrics. I'll start a Facebook page get Dave Padden to write lyrics!” He says in jest, but I can sense that it is hard for him to let go of his creations; which is no bad thing when you hear the horror stories of bands getting ripped off. “It's important to keep control, most bands have signed deals where the record company own the masters or recordings or the publishing writes maybe even merchandising. I licence them, I own them, the albums always come back to me, so I try and keep control of it.” Luckily for Jeff he is able to retain his autonomy and with the band selling well and having a following he doesn't have too much interference, which many bands face - this is something he is grateful for. “If it was all about selling records and making money it would change my writing style. I learnt so many decades ago that I really wouldn't be happy doing that. I've been lucky that I'm able to make that decision where I can stay at the top of the underground and still make a living and do what whatever the hell I want.” Having this creative freedom has allowed Jeff to build Annihilator's distinctive sound from successfully fusing together his influences. “The sound is how I combine all these genius riffs from other artists and influences together...it's hard not to do, but it's gonna creep in at some point.” He continues to give me an example of this. “You have to be careful when you have two guitars playing a melodic harmony riff, you have to put a different slant on it otherwise it IS Iron Maiden! Nobody's ever captured that in metal like they have. They'll all great... but Bruce Dickinson is one brilliant, unique, gifted, talented person...the guy's a genius.” Anybody who has ever listened to an Annihilator album would have told you that it is no surprise that the mighty Iron Maiden were an influence on Jeff, but he does manage to put his own unique spin on the dual guitars. I ask Jeff who else, apart from Maiden has helped to form the band's sound? “ I started listening to Elton John, Kiss, Sweet, AC/DC then it evolved from hard rock with electric guitar to Black Sabbath and the heavier stuff, Judas Priest, Maiden, Loudness, Van Halen was coming in. Then I get turned on to the thrash stuff, so then it was Razor, Exciter... Those first albums were a huge influence on metal bands.” He talks about how his friendship with Pantera's Dimebag Darrell started when they toured together in the 90s and how they often discussed their musical heroes. “We had the same influences so we connected that way. People say how original Dime was but he'd be the first one to turn around and say no, let's put it this way: the drums were Lars Ulrich, the guitar was Black Sabbath and James Hetfield, the solos were Van Halen and Randy Rhoads, and it's the same for me. It's just how you put it together.” Whilst Pantera may have broken out into the mainstream by focusing on minimal influences and putting it all together to create more traditional thrash albums, Jeff has continued to follow his passion for music rather than working within the constraints of a genre. If you listen to their first album, Alice In Hell, the opening track is a wonderful classical flamenco guitar piece called Crystal Ann. “I had lots of talks with Pantera in the early days and they more sat down and planned what they were doing and targeted those sort of areas, for me, I'm all over the place. One minute there's a love song, then I've got a punkish song, the next I've got thrash, then an AC/DC type song.” He continues, “ targeting and refining all that stuff would give me more records and a get us more famous or popular, I knew that in the early days, but I thought, I'm just going to do what I want to do. If the albums are all over the place, who cares!” Certainly not the band's fans, as Jeff says, it's how it's all put together that counts. When I ask him what the most rock n roll thing he's ever done is he tells me an amusing story of when Annihilator and Pantera were on the Judas Priest Tour and went to Yugoslavia in 1990. “We did the show and Dime and I did the same thing we always do and sit beside the guitar tech station where they had two chairs and a bucket full of beers in ice for us. We ended up drinking lots and watching the set. The catering people had put an after-show deli tray out for later on and when we were travelling on the bus, so, later on, that night we'd all have some good food to eat. So Dime and I went back to the dressing room, saw the deli tray and for some stupid, immature reason we decided to pee on it. Apparently one of the caterers had seen what we did and told every band member and crew member not to touch it and later watched as Dime and I tucked into the deli tray full of fruit and vegetables. The other guys watched and finally couldn't hold back their laughter and told us. We were like 'Oh my God....That's payback! We felt really bad for the catering people... I don't think I realised just how dumb that was until years later when I quit drinking.” He talks candidly about those around him succumbing to drug addictions, including former band members: For Jeff, it was too much alcohol. “I don't do drugs, it's not good to have a criminal record, but then I'd go and drink like 15 beers every night for 4 years! I kind of woke up after that in 1992 and said I've got a problem. You don't know you've got a problem until something happens, mine was watching the Oprah Winfrey show, he laughs. “There was this lady who didn't think she had a problem 'cause she only drank 10 beers a day. I could relate to that. I thought 'oh that’s not much I drink more than that!' The audience and Oprah reacted, the doctors came on and said you're going to die if you keep on doing this, and then it hit me. I was on the couch watching Oprah Winfrey going 'there's this woman on the show and they’re saying how horrible addiction and making all this fuss and I drink more!'” He cut down his drinking rapidly after that until finally giving up the booze on New Years Eve 1999. “As soon as I quit drinking my bank account started to grow, I started taking care of business and having more fun with things.” I'm guessing more fun included expanding his studio and continuing to enjoy mixing and engineering music including the re-issue of Feast. Having toured with the album last year and with the summer festival season not too far away are there any plans to return to the UK? “We try every year to play Bloodstock, but they offer barely enough to fly us there, but as a fan of the festival and as Annihilator I really want to play Bloodstock...But maybe next summer we'll get there.” Come on Bloodstock get these metal stalwarts back to our shores! Feast is out now. #metal

12 JULY 2012 Robert Plant Presents The Sensational Space Shifters tonight at London's HMV Forum is the second of three scheduled concerts for Robert Plants new creative project. And he is definitely one performer who has shifted musically over the years. Since leaving Led Zeppelin behind him, Plant has been on a continual search for musical fulfilment taking inspiration from every aspect of world music and blending it into his own unique style. These influences were certainly here tonight, with the Space Shifters fusion of blues, rock and world music - including a few Jimmy Page style licks from Cast guitarist Liam 'Skin' tyson. These days it is more about the music than the show. Plant is still the charismatic front man he ever was, but is a generous and humble performer frequently allowing his fellow band members to step up and take the lead where appropriate. The show started with the well received Fixin' To Die before launching into the Strange Sensation track Tin Pan Valley, which itself has altered musically from its earlier incarnation. American singer Patty Griffin (who also worked with Plant on his Band of Joy project) joined him on stage for several numbers including an characteristically rearranged version of the Led Zep classic Black Dog featuring brilliant African musician Juldeh Camara playing a ritti (one stringed African violin), before performing a few tracks alone. It is still as thrilling to watch Plant perform as it ever was and the music is just as exciting and the loyal audience responded to the fruits of this new venture. The three song encore concluded with a folk heavy Gallows Pole, which was probably quite appropriate for the 100 plus fans who wanted to string third party ticket agents up. These eager fans who had queued for hours in the rain for the sold out event, some travelling as far as New Zealand for the concert were in for a disappointment when they discovered that even though they had purchased tickets in good faith from online ticket agents namely Viagogo, Seat wave and Get Me In, the concert promoters were initially refusing entry for all third party tickets who should not have been selling on and transferring tickets for the event as the HMV Forum were the only authorised ticket seller. However, many of the audience who found themselves in this predicament were unaware of the stipulation made by the Forum Box Office and website. Basically the bottom line was that if your name wasn’t on the ticket and you hadn’t had prior authorisation from the person who originally purchased the tickets (for example if they were a present) you were not coming in. The sheer amount of people that this had happened to must have had the promoters wondering where it all went wrong, after all it wasn’t just a few people. This determined bunch were not going to take 'no' for an answer. After over an hour debating with members of staff and missing the fantastic support by soul singer Lianne La Havas, they were told to come back at 8.30 (the band were on at 9) to see what the decision was. To avoid a riot the promoters sensibly allowed the very fed up and wet audience in to enjoy the concert they had paid for.

28th September 2013 Elgiva Theatre Premier vocal group Tenors Un limited have been on what they describe as a "continual world tour for ten years". During this time they have entertained music fans across the globe with their unique cabaret style show and performed alongside some of the biggest names in music, Sting and Lionel Richie to name but two. These guys are not only hugely talented musicians with a wealth of experience in musical theatre and opera, they also know how to have fun. Many classical music shows do not reach out to a wider audience, thereby making classical music elitist and inaccessible. Dubbed the 'Rat Pack Of Opera', Tenors Un limited strive to make the evening an inclusive, humorous and enjoyable occasion for everyone. The group have played in some of the biggest venues around the world, but it was a pleasure to see them perform at the intimate surroundings of The Elgiva Theatre. Tonight they perform a variety of songs including the titular track from their latest album Viva la Vita along with favourites such as La Donna e Mobile, Nessun Dorma, Time to Say Goodbye and the beautiful Nella Fantasia, made famous by Sarah Brightman. Being so used to the original it was a surprise to hear an all male voice version of the song and it worked really well. They also perform some contemporary songs such as Take That's Rule The World and a spine tingling version of Come What May from Moulin Rouge. These gents even took the opportunity to serenade various members of the audience to Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You, which certainly earns some giggles from the crowd. Returning to their musical theatre roots, these stunning tenors each take a moment to shine by singing a solo from the hit musical Les Miserables. Baritone Paul Martin belts out a powerful rendition of Stars. Jem Sharples took on the epic Empty Chairs At Empty Tables and delivered one of the best versions I've heard. And Scott Ciscon gave an emotional performance of Bring Him Home. These three songs really gave the guys a chance to demonstrate their vocal abilities individually and they really do have suburb voices; but when you put this sound together you get a powerhouse wall of sound with a fantastic tonality and timbre. With just the right blend of humour, classical and modern music to keep their audience thoroughly entertained, Tenors Un Limited are one of the best classical crossover groups around. But don't just take my word for it, check out this great vocal group's new album Viva La Vita and see them live to get the full effect of their stunning harmonies, you won't be disappointed.

Hatfield House 17th July 2011 Oh dear, oh dear, where do I start. Magic Radio should hang their heads in shame at this symbolical attempt at an outdoor music concert. Thank goodness for the musicians who saved the day and were the only people who knew what they were doing. Firstly there was the parking. From the Old Hatfield entrance to the car park early in the day took over an hour. This seemed to be the norm throughout the day, even VIP so called fast track parking did not exist. People who had paid £95.00 a pop for VIP tickets which should have enabled nearer parking were not all catered for. Parking was a nightmare for everyone There were no designated disabled parking areas. I heard one very distressed lady who was pushing someone in a wheelchair complain how disgusted she was having had to trudge through grass for a considerable distance – no thought or consideration seemed to have been given to this and no one had any answers. This whole pantomime was repeated at the end of the day. I started to leave just before the last of Elton's songs fearing a repeat of the mornings fiasco and I was not disappointed. As soon as I got in my car total gridlock for an hour and a half. Apparently parking fields further along had flooded, or so I was told. This should have been pre-empted. The torrential rain we had hours earlier would have exacerbated the flooding situation of course, but maybe something could have been done in the intervening hours. But no. A fight broke out between two woman in cars behind me (where VIP now stood generally for Very Impatient people). It became very serious but, as you might have guessed by now, it took a good half hour before any intervention by stewards. Shocking. One lady was so traumatised she needed medical treatment. Upon leaving the site there were no signs at to what road you were being fed onto. This was disorientating for me and I'm sure many other people too. Moving on to what was laughably called catering for 20,000 plus people. The cues were abysmal with cues over two hours in the main arena at some times! The toilet cues were just as bad. In the VIP area it was little better. There was not enough choice all round, no where to shelter during the downpours (I remember the days when you could shelter in a beer tent but not on Sunday.) I heard people complain of the caterers running out of food and drink. People were banned from taking their own food or drink onto the site, and there was only one drinking fountain on the whole site! (I might add that this was not just a problem in the VIP area and main arena. The photographers, journalists and media people who were covering the event did not have time to cue for any refreshments due the the structure of the day and there was not even a can of coke between them. One photographer managed to smuggle a cereal bar onto the premises and was nearly mugged by fellow photographers. ) I have been attending music concerts, gigs and events for 35 years and this is by far the worse one I have ever been to in terms of organisation. Now to the good stuff The event, situated on a massive field on the estate headlined by no less than Sir Elton John. The two hour set kicked off with Saturday Night's all right for fighting and immediately slowed it down with Blue Jean Baby. The great bottle neck guitar playing on this song gave it a distinctly country flavour.Philadelphia Freedom followed. Elton then got the crowd singing along to the chorus of Yellow Brick Road and managed to lift the audiences spirits despite the adverse conditions. EJ and his magnificent band performed some of his well known hits (your song, rocket man to name a few). Along with some new material from his collaborative album The Union, with Leon Russell due out later in the year. The new songHey Ahab gave fans something to talk about with its high octane and real rock feel, with sublime backing vocals from Lisa Stone gave it a feel to Pink Floyd's Dark side of the moon. His performance of Sorry always seems to be the hardest word was truly excellent and highly emotive, to the delight and appreciation of the audience, further enhanced by a duo of Croatian cellists (2cellos) who Elton discovered on You Tube! The whole band were absolutely amazing too, really tight. He still has his original excellent guitar player (Davey Johnstone)and drummer (Nigel Olsson), and the guys are still rockin! Elton himself still has an amazing voice but slightly lower these days which was apparent withSacrifice giving his singing an even more raunchy sound. Loved it! Elton has lost none of his magic since I first saw him up close and personal at Watford's Top Rank in the seventies, and still every bit as brilliant. Long may he rock! Rumers live performance, was great just as good as on record, if not better. Although she does sound reminiscent of Karen Carpenter on CD but live, her voice had a wonderful soulful quality that reminded me of Dusty Springfield. She gave a good solid and heartfelt performance and although she has only been really in the public sphere a short time, with a voice this good I hope she achieves the longevity in the music business that she deserves. The Overtones particular brand of do wop, R&B, pop and 'Glee' had the crowd sing and dancing, not to mention a few hearts racing. These guys are every bit good live as you think they should be. Tight choreography and their harmonies refreshing in the modern climate of manufactured pop. I expect see great things from this very talented quintet. The girl group Wonderland formed by Louis Walsh and Westlife member Kian, (the latter was there to support his band) were the first act to perform in the event. After a nervous start, the talent of these girls shone through proving they can sing which is rare in this day for pop stars with Sharon and Jodi proving particularly strong vocally. The sister duo The Pierces were particularly good and gave their all despite the rain, although having recently played Glastonbury they may have felt at home. Lead vocalist Catherine gave an animated performance and showed influences on both Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks. Even the sun managed to come out during their performance of their hit song Glorious. Another highlight of the day was an amazing performance from the newly re-formed Lighthouse family, back together after an 8 year hiatus. Lead singer Tunde really looked happy to be back performing and relished being in front of a live audience. It didn’t take long to remember how good the Lighthouse Family actually are, even though they haven’t been on the scene for a while. I'd recommend to any music fans to catch these guys on tour. In-between the main stage acts, the West end stage gave us a flavour of such hit shows as Mamma Mia, Wicked, Jersey Boys and We will rock you performed by the stars of the shows, which the crowd seemed to really enjoy singing along to. It is very sad that what could have been a good memorable day was let so much down by the organisers Full Circle Live. At the time of writing this Magic have been forced by the many complaints to issue a statement apologising for “organisational difficulties”. These difficulties put such a damper on the day that I feel that even the thrill of seeing Sir Elton and the other truly professional performances left the audience feeling fed up. It was far from the magical event it should have been. I only hope that if they want to make this an annual event that next year the standards improve, although it may be too late, for some the magic has gone forever.

The Hipsters is the first studio album from the band in a decade, should we be excited? I think we should. This album is a return to form with some amazing songs, and it couldn't have come at a better time. It's the 25 anniversary since their début album Raintown was released. The album you may remember brought us some great songs like Dignity and Chocolate Girl, so it was good to learn that the band are back on tour and have been back in the studio after so long away. Dougie Vipond, the bands bass player says “the songs are some of the best Ricky's written for a long long time.” I'm inclined to agree, the lyrics are poetic and thought provoking and the music is equally passionate. It is indeed Ricky Ross at his best. The first track Here I am in London Town has a haunting string and piano opening and is a wonderful overture to the rest of the album. It is essentially about reflection, it's slightly sad, but has a glimmer of optimism by being given a second chance. Lead singer Ricky Ross says “ I was in a London studio belonging to Jamie Cullum and I was sitting at the piano thinking its a nice chance to play piano on my own and I started playing and thinking here I am in London town...And it was kind of funny to think of yourself being in London where you came to try and make your fortune you know. And all these years later you're doing it again.” The single and titular track from the album follows and drives you forward into the rest of the album with its strong string arrangement and catchy chorus. It is also ironic as the band never considered themselves to be 'hip', although I am sure their fans would disagree. I think they are 'hipper' than ever. This album largely has a very different Deacon Blue sound more akin to The Killers or Coldplay, putting them in the indie rock camp for this album. If you close your eyes you could imagine Brandon Flowers singing the brilliant rocky balladTurn which is raw and full of powerful, emotionally charged lyrics. Another stand out track is Stars with its punchy melancholic bridge: This cruel world seems full of unhappiness If our lives collide we may get out of this.... People can be easily destroyed I guess We're only just a word away from happiness. Before propelling you into a love story of space and time. It reminds me a little of Deacon Blue mixed with Snow Patrol which is probably why I like it. It really is an amazing song. How does Ricky (who has spent a great deal of time in the last decade writing for other artists) come up with these great songs? “writing is definitely a way of exploring your feelings. You can take yourself down imaginary roads, what would happen if this happened or that happened?...It's true if it's emotionally true. Sometimes going off on these flights of fancy and imagining the unthinkable is cathartic.” Ricky tells me about She'll Understand another songfrom the album which he says started off as a very real thing. “I was driving out to the airport and Lorraine was away on tour doing theatre and she'd gone away that morning. I was thinking she's away again, and so that became the first line of the song. And then it quickly became another song about a guy who loses the plot makes a fool of himself gets drunk gets into fights.” It really is fascinating to talk to him about his writing therapy. The proof of his genius is really shown on this album. The anthemic That's What We Can Do is old school Deacon Blue and is sure to become a fan favourite and will be amazing live. The song has a great sense of urgency and drive helped along by Lorraine's backing vocals and harmonies which once again help to add to that distinctive Deacon Blue feel. The album ends with a song co written by Lorraine and Ricky and is probably my favourite track. Is There No Way Back To You is a truly great love song with an addictive melody. With this album it really does feel that the band have found their way back to their audience, and hopefully will draw in some new fans too. The Hipsters is an album that grows on you the more you listen to it until it creeps under you skin and takes over your very being until you find yourself singing along to the songs and wondering how you learnt them all so quickly. Ricky, Lorraine, Dougie and James, it's good to have you back!

The Mavericks are best known for their massive worldwide hit Dance The Night Away, but they are far from a one hit wonder. The band have spent over a decade defying the constraints of the Country genre, after all, strict genre specific perimeters limit creativity. Their creativity has led to a unique blend of Tex-Mex, Cajun, Cuban, Regge, Dance and anything else they please. A string of albums and US chart successes have consistently shown that this is a band that continue to surprise their fans. Their motto is to do what they please: If they are having fun then the audience will too, and this is a band who certainly knows how to have fun. However, prior to the split they were touring constantly and as drummer Paul Deakin tells me "although it was wonderful, towards the end we were all burnt out and it took the joy out of it... it just stopped being fun." After they split up in 2004 they worked on various solo projects with lead singer Raul Malo releasing 6 albums and Paul focusing on his love for carpentry as well as music. It was only at the end of last year when they were approached to do a reunion tour that the old Maverick magic came together and in the space of just a few months they have a brand new album out and are embarking on a new tour. The new album In Time is getting rave reviews and Paul believes it could well be the best album they have ever recorded. "It exceeded all my expectations." He says " I had remembered the chemistry and the spark we had...although you remember it cerebrally when you experience it again its like WOAH YEAH! You have to experience it again, especially after having that break."When I asked him how the band managed to make their best album ever despite not having seeing each other for seven years? He quotes his friend Raul "probably because we hadn't seen each other for seven years!" The new album is fresh and full of fantastic songs such as Amsterdam Moon,Back In Your Arms and my personal favourite - Come Onto Me, which Paul enjoys playing live. "Raul had written a whole bunch of songs and the band decided to go into the studio to record this new material. There was no demo tape or pre production. We let everything happen organically, let it be magical or all fall apart." The band recorded 9 songs in 2 days, which is phenomenally fast. " We had a rush of creativity. We played better than we ever have." As the heartbeat of the band does he find that the rhythmic bass and drum synergy is hard to work at, especially after all this time? "It's very easy with this band, everybody is a rhythm section, it drives itself. He continues to tell how this current band line up is the best ever and "much more capable of doing different stuff, we might even do a disco record" he jokes "who knows." So does this mean that the band are going to stay around this time? " It started out as 20 shows and it's gonna turn into another 20 years. We've just started planning the next record. We are very mindful of what it is going to take for us to stay together." It looks as if The Mavericks are having fun again and whether it be Country, rock, blues, Latin or disco, the band take their music next, their fans are sure to be dancing the night away. #country

Union chapel 18th May 2012 When I told people I was going to see Albert Hammond they responded by saying 'oh yeah, I know him, didn’t he have a few hits back in the seventies?' Well yes he did most notably 'The Free Electric Band' and 'It Never Rains In Southern California', and very good hits they were too. But the talent of Albert Hammond goes way beyond what you may remember. You will at some point have found yourself humming one of his songs and not even known it. This guy is a song writing legend. At 68 (and looking damn good on it too) he has been writing for over 40 years and has penned songs for everyone from Johnny Cash to Radiohead. His songs have sold over 360 million records worldwide! I can honestly say it was a pleasure to see him perform some of his songbook at the intimate Union Chapel (recently voted London's best music venue in Time Out) He performed one memorable hit after another, it was like having your ipod on shuffle. The songs of Albert Hammond have great longevity, they are classics. He started his set with his first chart hit 'Little Arrows' recorded by Leapy Lee in the late sixties. Two more hits soon followed 'Good Looking Woman' and 'Make Me an Island' written for Irish balladeer Joe Dolan. His performance of 'I need to Be In Love' written for the Carpenters (and also Karen Carpenters favourite song she recorded) was just as heartfelt and sweet as Karen's rendition. 'I Don't wanna Lose You' (a hit for Tina Turner) The reggae influenced 'Don’t Turn Around' (Aswad and Ace of Base) and 'When I need You' (a Huge hit for Leo Sayer, written about being away from his family.) All the wonderful songs showed not only his ability as a performer, but also his versatility as a songwriter able to stand the test of time and write in different styles and genres. By the end of the evening, his powerful performances of 'One Moment In Time' (Whitney Houston) and Starships 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' had the audience cheering for more. He was accompanied by two fantastic Spanish musicians on bass guitar and keyboard. Albert says of his songwriting that he is almost a conduit for these words to come through, a musical receptor from a higher place. However these words and tunes come to him he is highly talented, an amazing word smith, poet, singer and a truly humble man. I was in absolute awe of him and his work. I couldn’t believe he hasn’t toured since 1973. I hope he decided to do another one soon, you really have to see him. He is the real deal. So very much more than a one or two hit wonder!