MARC Almond has hit back at the haters who claim he 'murdered Bowie' after he performed two of the legend's songs at the BBC Proms. The Soft Cell singer who bumped into theshowbizlion.com at Rewind festival in Perthshire's Scone Palace just last weekend, defended himself after some claimed he sang out of tune and forgot his words on David Bowie's Starman and Life On Mars. He said: "Well if you're given two untouchable iconic classics to sing with totally new arrangements, you have to expect the flak. Stumbling over one word due to sound and nerves in LOM becomes forgetting all the words and singing COMPLETELY out of tune! Love Twitter." He added: "I'd rather listen to Musical experts than some musically ignorant obsessed Bowie Fan and people who just have a problem with me period." "Apparently I'm not a true Bowie fan and have no respect for him or his songs and let down the whole event. Oh please Give me strength. That's why Tony Visconti Bowies friend and Producer asks me to sing at his Bowie shows." The unusual versions of the songs he sang were arranged by Scottish Album of The Year winner Anna Meredith.
JUDY Murray was in her element as she put her best foot forward in a new spoof music video.
The world famous tennis coach and mum to champs Andy and Jamie took part in the cover of Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling for The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice.
Just got involved in the video thanks to Speirs Gumley’s ongoing support of her Tennis on the Road programme, designed to make tennis accessible to children of all backgrounds and encourage take-up of the sport.
She said: “What a fun and novel way to raise money for a such a deserving cause. Speirs Gumley has also supported my Tennis on the Road programme, which builds workforces in local communities across Scotland so that kids, teens and adults from all backgrounds can get involved in tennis. It’s great to see their innovative and light-hearted style applied to fund raising for the ”
The film features staff from the Glasgow Speirs Gumley office as well as the hospice get into the groove at well-known city landmarks, from the Hydro and Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum to Hampden, the Science Centre and Kelvingrove Bandstand.
It's hoped it will raise £10,000 for the hospice’s Brick by Brick Appeal to build a new home at Bellahouston Park.
The film was made to be shared on social media and drive donations to the hospice’s JustGiving page – www.justgiving.com/cantstopthefeeling. Donations of £5 can also be made simply by texting DANCE to 70660.
The hospice’s Brick by Brick Appeal is raising the £21m needed to build a new, purpose-built facility in the city’s Bellahouston Park.
The foundations go down this summer and patients are expected to move there in 2018. The aim is to bring 21st-century hospice care to the people of Glasgow, a major step forward in the provision of palliative care services, providing the flexibility to develop and improve services and lower the age limit of patients to 15 years and over.
The video was the brainchild of Lorraine MacDonald, owner of Speirs Gumley, who was soon inundated with volunteers who loved the idea and wanted to be involved.
Speirs Gumley is part of the hospice’s 50-10 Club: 50 companies who have agreed to raise at least £10,000 each for the new hospice. Speirs Gumley has already raised £4000 and decided to take an innovative and fun approach to raising the remaining £6000.
Lorraine said: “We have been long-term supporters of The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice and our team wanted to do something a little bit different to raise much-needed funds for the appeal. Thanks to a comedy night, we are nearly half-way to our target but wanted to do something a bit different to raise the remainder, and hopefully more.
“The team and I have had so much fun making this video. I hope it makes people smile, laugh and, most importantly, put their hands in their pockets for this fantastic charity that has touched the lives of so many people in Glasgow.”
IT'S the first new permanent product from IRN-BRU in 35 years and theshowbizlion.com got an exclusive taste.
Admittedly we weren't dressed for the occasion - having being pleasantly interrupted during daily bootcamp complete with mud face mask - and we were lucky enough to get can number six in the production line.
As a long time lover of Scotland's other national drink we couldn't wait to get a taste and for those who like some extra pinch without the sugar XTRA delivers.
In the making for over a year, it has been created using the distinctive BRU recipe known only to owner Mr Robin Barr himself, his daughter Julie and only one other employee.
It includes even more of the IRN-BRU taste that consumers love but leaves out the sugar for a new flavour experience.
Only the third permanent variant to be added to the range, IRN-BRU XTRA is set to take Scotland’s shelves by storm when it is released on August 22.
Adrian Troy, AG Barr Head of Marketing said: “It’s clear that the market is changing and consumers want more choice. We’ve listened to this and have worked incredibly hard to not only develop IRN-BRU XTRA, but to make it available to buy this summer.”
"As a brand, strength and resilience is at the heart of everything we do and IRN-BRU XTRA is a total knockout. With the IRN-BRU secret recipe at its core, it delivers extra taste and no sugar. We’re confident it will be just the tonic for those that are keen to try something new and enjoy the bold IRN-BRU taste they love, without any sugar.”
For regular updates from BRU, follow @irnbru.
HERE'S Rihanna looking confused and then delighted as her Glasgow fans gave her their famous concert chant.
The singer who performed at Hampden Park this week was thrilled to bits after Scots concert goers decided to give her a taste of home with their chant of "Here
We F***ing Go."
Work singer Rhi Rhi couldn't quite make out their lyrics but ended up congratulating them anyway.
She said: "That rocks. Y'all are awesome Glasgow. I love you guys man."
During her gig the Umbrella singer sashayed and shook her bootie like never before.
Despite brollies being banned from the stadium a few managed to smuggle them in for her big anthem.
The 50,000 capacity gig might not have been a sell out but the We Found Love star still managed to thrill her faithful followers for more than Four Five Seconds.
SHOPPERS in Edinburgh are about to get an extra helping of their favourite discount store when TK Maxx opens its doors in St Andrews Square.
We'll have all the info for you nearer the time but the labels-for-less retailer is one of theshowbizlion.com's favourite shops because there are so many brands and bargains under one roof.
We also love our grub and were thrilled to be invited to an amazing event at a pop up shop in Edinburgh called #DuvetDining to celebrate the launch of the store's Ridiculous Possibilities, a new campaign bringing to life the delightfully different yet brilliant opportunities made possible when shopping at TK Maxx.
As we relaxed and unwound amidst the luxurious duvet fort, complete with TK Maxx lush linens, heavenly eiderdowns, glowing lanterns and plush cushions, we feasted on an exclusive seven course menu created by renowned food guru Gizzi Erskine.
We all sat down on the duvets as we dined in style and drank some raspberry mojitos.
The menu was incredible with plenty of surprises, including tomato tea - from a teapot and with tiny little vegetable stars (a bit like a gazpacho consommé).
There was also meat fruit on sourdough which looked like a giant olive but turned out to be duck pate.
The egg Creme brûlée was a favourite, presented in an egg shell and even the jelly sweeties were made from beetroot and blood orange.
From the gourmet food to the exquisite décor, #DuvetDining turned our perceptions upside down and made us think out of the box.
We also made some lovely new friends.
The Edinburgh event was the last of a UK tour, appearing in London and Belfast previously to surprise and delight local food and fashion lovers.
Deborah Dolce, Group Brand and Marketing Director, at TK Maxx said: “In a world of shopping predictability, TK Maxx stands for something different: unbounded possibilities. We know that the thrill of the find in our stores and the element of the unexpected is a unique ingredient that draws people back in and this campaign captures that sentiment in the most wonderful and intriguing way.”
TK Maxx. Big labels. Small Prices. Ridiculous Possibilities.
SINGER Ben Haenow paid tribute to the late Donna Mortimer Ballantyne after he appeared at a fundraiser in her honour. The former X Factor winner was a special guest at the Thistle Hotel and helped raise a whopping £164,000 to help the Kilbryde Hospice in memory of the late Bothwell born businesswoman, who died aged 39 after being diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Donna raised funds to help the build of Kilbride hospice before her death, and her family, who own Lynnet Leisure, parent company of well-known Glasgow restaurants and clubs 29, Rogano and One Up, continue to work in her name. Ben, who performed for VIPs on the night including new Rangers manager Mark Warburton and some of Celtic's finest, said of Donna: "This lady did such a lot of amazing things for charity and helped with charities in the West of Scotland and she helped to raise money to build Kilbryde hospice and continues to do lots even after she sadly passed away.
He added: "My granddad passed away not too long ago and was in a hospice. It does happen and the importance of this thing is that it does touch somebody at some point in their lives. At some time we know someone who has been affected from it and it's a great thing to help with it and raise money for any kind of charity. "I've visited a few hospices, some purely for children which is quite a tough thing to see but to see the quality these hospices give people towards the end of their lives and the support they for to everyone around is a great thing and a really important network." Ben is due to appear at Hamilton racecourse this Thursday and admitted he loves visiting Scotland He said: "I've been in Glasgow many a times before and the crowds are cool. We were here for the X Factor tour for two days and we went out on one of the nights. But I can't give too much away about it. We're doing a lot of things just now and have a lot of gigs set up for the summer. I'm in talks about recording a new EP too."
CHVRCHES, Emma Pollock, Lau, Young Fathers and FFS are just some of the artists who have made the top ten for Scottish Album of The Year (SAY) The shortlist for Scotland's big music award was revealed last night at The BBC Quay Sessions during an exclusive live broadcast and the winner will be announced on Wednesday June 29 at a Paisley Town Hall ceremony to tie in with the Paisley bid for UK City of Culture 2021. Previous SAY nominees Fatherson performed alongside last year's award winner Kathryn Joseph before this year’s shortlisted albums were announced live on air by host Vic Galloway. Amongst the shortlist this year are a number international collaborations: Ghanaian and South African performers and producers, LA based glam/art rock icons Sparks (who teamed up with Franz Ferdinand) and a project with 70s disco ensemble Sister Sledge. Producer Graeme Clark also known as The Revenge, and ex Beta Band member Steve Mason all also made it onto the shortlist while FFS were the winner of the public vote. The overall winner will pick up a £20,000 first prize while nine shortlisted titles will receive £1,000 each. Run by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), previous SAY Award winners are Kathryn Joseph (2015), Young Fathers (2014), RM Hubbert (2013) and Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat (2012).
