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IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE Send in your stories to theshowbizlion@gmail.com
Tuesday, 13 October 2020
SAY AWARD AND TIM BURGESS HOLD LISTENING PARTY AHEAD OF BIG NIGHT
Saturday, 10 October 2020
ANNIE LENNOX GETS SET FOR NOVEMBER RELEASE
Annie is releasing a digitally remastered version of her sixth solo album, A Christmas Cornucopia - a collection of inspired interpretations of traditional festive songs, rounded out by a Lennox composition, “Universal Child” on November 20.
The 2020 re-issue of A Christmas Cornucopia will be released via Island Records to mark its 10 year anniversary just in time for Christmas. It will feature a brand new, previously unreleased track, “Dido’s Lament”, a new tracklisting, and new artwork (across all formats – vinyl, CD and digital).
The showbizlion.com is particularly pleased to hear of Annie’s return as we have had the pleasure of hosting and supporting at The Circle charity events in Glasgow. The Circle is Annie Lennox’s Charity to help women in need and it does great things around the globe.
Annie said of the album: “I’m absolutely delighted to be releasing the 10th Anniversary of A Christmas Cornucopia. 2020 has been an unprecedented year around the world… The carols on this album represent continuum - harking back to a time before modern technology, climate emergency, global pandemics, pollution, forest destruction, species extinction and all the challenges our world must urgently deal with in terms of crisis in sustainability. I hope this recording will at least offer some comfort and nostalgia, but also an awareness that political leaders, religious leaders and everyone around the world must face up to the question of how many more Christmases we have left to spend on this blighted earth.” Min ;
“Dido’s Lament” - written by Henry Purcell in the 17th century and arranged by Annie Lennox and Mike Stevens - references the tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas as documented in Virgil’s legendary epic poem, The Aeneid, from the 1st century BC. It will be released as the lead single from the album on 10th November and will be accompanied by a music video (out 12th November).
All proceeds earned from Annie’s original composition on the album, “Universal Child”,will be paid to The Annie Lennox Foundation.The Annie Lennox Foundation raises money for various charitable projects, primarily those supporting and educating women and children in Africa and people with HIV/Hepatitis C in Scotland.
The music on A Christmas Cornucopia was mostly played by Lennox, in collaboration with co producer Mike Stevens, and originally recorded in his southwest London studio – at the bottom of his garden in 2010. But to achieve the resonance and vibrancy that were integral to Lennox’s ideas for these re-energized reboots, the pair also worked with a 30-piece orchestra at Pinewood Studios. And they travelled further afield too: to South Africa, to record with the African Children’s Choir, a remarkable organization with which impassioned campaigner and activist Lennox has long had a relationship.
A Christmas Cornucopia is far from a saccharine packaged selection box. As befits its title, it offers an abundant track listing drawn from British, French and German traditions covering the well-known alongside more untrodden ground. It’s broad spectrum encompasses a wide range of narratives and emotions – from joyful and celebratory thorough melancholic and haunting to poignant and timely. On “Lullay Lullay”, for example, Lennox draws direct links between the Nativity and the plight of Africa’s child soldiers.
Vibrant but vintage, classic and contemporary, glorious but with a polemical edge, Annie Lennox’s A Christmas Cornucopia is no ordinary collection of seasonal songs.
A Christmas Cornucopia 2020 re-issue - tracklisting
Vinyl:
A-Side
1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
2. The First Noel
3. Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant
4. See Amid the Winters Snow
5. Silent Night
6. Universal Child
B-Side
1. Angels From the Realms of Glory
2. The Holly and the Ivy
3. As Joseph Was a Walking
4. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
5. Lullay Lullay
6. In the Bleak Midwinter
7. Dido’s Lament
CD:
1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
2. The First Noel
3. Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant
4. See Amid the Winters Snow
5. Silent Night
6. Universal Child
7. Dido’s Lament
8. Angels From the Realms of Glory
9. The Holly and the Ivy
10. As Joseph Was a Walking
11. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
12. In the Bleak Midwinter
13. Lullay Lullay
Streaming:
1. Universal Child
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. Silent Night
4. Angels From The Realms of Glory
5. The First Noel
6. Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant
7. Dido’s Lament
8. The Holly and the Ivy
9. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
10. In The Bleak Midwinter
11. See Amid The Winter's Snow
12. Lullay Lullay
13. As Joseph Was A Walking
PRE-ORDER THE 10th ANNIVERSARY RE-ISSUE OF A CHRISTMAS CORNUCOPIA HERE:
https://AnnieLennox.lnk.to/ChristmasCornucopia
Thursday, 8 October 2020
HELEN SKELTON TEAMS UP WITH HIGHLAND SPRING FOR DOCUMENTARY
COUNTRYFILE presenter Helen Skelton has teamed up with Highland Spring to explore the fascinating but largely unknown world of natural source water from raindrops on a hillside protected by expertly trained ‘guardians’ to recyclable bottles on shop shelves.
In the documentary style video, released this month, Helen transports viewers to the stunning Ochil Hills, Scotland - 2,500 acres of protected, natural, untouched land that is home to Highland Spring’s natural water source. This protected land is where the magic happens.
Theshowbizlion.com agrees with Helen when she says it’s a breath of fresh air in the Scottish Highlands - and we’d love to take a dip by the waterfalls.
Helen Skelton said: “As a nation, we drink hundreds of millions of litres of natural source water every year, but there is so much more to this drink than many realise. What’s in the bottle; where does it come from; is it sustainable? These are questions we wanted to answer by travelling into the heart of the Ochil Hills in Scotland, home to Highland Spring’s natural water source.”
Up in the Ochil Hills, rain falls and hits nothing but the unspoiled grass, bush and heather of Highland Spring’s organic land, trickling into the natural filter of basalt rock below. Thanks to an impermeable layer of sandstone, only water that falls on high land gets as far as the layers of ancient basalt rock below.
Nature then works its wonders with an all-natural filtration process. The water spends an incredible 15-30 years passing through layer upon layer of rock before being brought gently to the surface where it is bottled at source.
“Here we see how the incredible journey starts with acres of untouched land filled with vibrant purple heather and lashings of wind and rain,” continues Helen. “Each raindrop filters through layers of basalt rock for 15-30 years, untouched by human hands right up until you take that first sip. It’s all pretty magical, right? But even then, this journey isn’t over yet. It’s just over to you. We want everyone to know that every Highland Spring bottle can and should be recycled to give it another life.”
The land itself is certified as organic by the Soil Association and protected by a specially trained team of hillside experts at Highland Spring known as ‘Guardians’ of the Source. It is this team of experts that ensure the land is kept free from any kind of pollution, pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers or habitation to ensure the water that is drawn is as pure as can be.
Alex Haken, Highland Spring’s Guardian of the Source, added: “We are on the hills 365 days a year fiercely protecting our land to ensure our water is as pure as it can be. The rain that falls on the Ochil Hills is exactly what ends up in our bottle and to ensure this is sustainable, we only bottle about 3% of the annual rainfall. It’s a journey of care that starts with the land, but it doesn’t end there.
“Whenever it comes to supporting the environment, we want to help. All our bottles are recyclable and thankfully 89% of us recycle today. Recycling is what helps us create environmentally sustainable products like our eco bottle, which is made from 100% recycled plastic* that’s 100% recyclable too, so remember to recycle your bottle after use.”
Tuesday, 6 October 2020
SCOTS BAND THE RONAINS HAVE SONG CENSORED FOR DRAGONSOOP AD
The Clydebank based pop rockers who regularly tour Stateside bagged a UK wide advertising deal with drinks brand Dragon Soop.
But their track ‘Who The F *** are The Ronains’ was beeped out by telly watchdogs before the ad for Dragon Soop ESQ was broadcast on Tuesday night pre-watershed on Channel 4.
Last night bass player Jim Reid, and bandmembers Debbi, Linzi and LP laughed off the snub saying: “It’s funny because the drink was quite edgy but clearly our song was edgier.“
He added: “We actually thought they’d use our new track Quarantine but you can’t go wrong with glam rock.”
The band performed in The Barrowlands for the advert which saw them play to an empty venue.
Jim said: “We are one of the few acts to have graced the stage there in lockdown. We had to mask up after the performance and keep our distance. We have played twice before but it was pretty eery because it was only the band onstage with a smoke machine.
“Barrowlands Ballroom provided the sound and light guys and it felt good to help some people in the music sector earn some money. The guys hadn’t been able to work since February.”
Jim said: “Lockdown has been a funny time for us. Around July we got talking to the Dragon Soop bosses and we reckon we are a marriage made in heaven. Their audience fits us. It’s young, it’s rock n roll, it’s colourful and it’s edgy.”
The band’s new track Quarantine was picked up by Radio 1 this week as Track of the week.
Debbi said: We are looking forward to playing it and other songs live when we can.
Monday, 28 September 2020
GERARD BUTLER HAS NUTS ENCOUNTER WITH SQUIRREL
GERARD Butler grinned away and called himself ‘the animal whisperer’ as a curious squirrel went looking for nuts on his body as he lay in bed.
Thursday, 24 September 2020
SCOTTISH LOVE ISLANDER BIGGS CHRIS TO MARRY REBECCA GORMLEY
LOVE Islander Biggs Chris looked loved up as he revealed he’d marry fellow Islander girlfriend Rebecca Gormley in a flash if she gets down on one knee to propose to him.
The Scottish hunk, a car repair specialist from Glasgow, who initially had his eye on twin Jess Gale when he entered Casa Amore, hooked up with Newcastle model Rebecca after leaving the hit show.
Biggs and Rebecca who hit the headlines last week after she was accused of blackfishing after wearing her hair in braids, visited Glasgow’s The Dhabba restaurant for a double date with Chris’s parents.
And Rebecca who had changed up her hair style following the controversy enjoyed lamb cutlets, chicken curries and wine with Chris’s family in a corner of the restaurant away from the glare of the public.
The couple later told theshowbizlion.com they enjoyed spending their isolation together and a loved up Biggs said: “I’m waiting for Rebecca to ask me to marry her. I’m waiting for the ring, she got down on one knee yesterday as a joke.”
Former Miss Newcastle Rebecca replied giggling: “You’ll be waiting for a long time cause I’m not getting down on one knee.
The couple were even given a Bentley to drive around in while they were in Scotland.
Rebecca added: "It’s been nice. We've been spending time here and then going back to Newcastle to spend time with my mam and my brother. We’re splitting it between the two houses. I’ve been trying lots of Scottish food.”
Later on the couple took to Instagram but as Biggs cosied up to Rebecca in bed he said she stunk of onions.
Rebecca said: “Our meal was so nice at the indian but I literally ate a full bowl of onions.”
Friday, 18 September 2020
HARRY POTTER AND CRACKER STAR ROBBIE COLTRANE HAS NEW ROLE
At seventy years old Harry Potter and Cracker star Robbie Coltrane is in a happier place than he has been for years - emerging out of the shadows to hit the screen and play one of his lifelong heroes.
And the new role sees Robbie who has now had long awaited surgery to remedy his painful knee, taking on the guise of Orson Welles, the man voted the greatest film director of all time in Urban Myths: Orson Welles in Norwich for Sky Arts.
It’s Robbie’s first on screen appearance in four years since Channel 4 drama National Treasure - unless you count his brief appearance on Universal’s 2019 theme park Hagrid’s Motorbike Ride voicing an animated figure.
The Rutherglen born actor who came into the world as Anthony Robert McMillan has had a preoccupation with Citizen Kane director, star of The Third Man and creator of War of The Worlds Welles since he was a young boy and has frequently talked about his admiration for the American talent who he first witnessed on screen when he was eleven years old.
His mother Jean Ross, a teacher and pianist, was a film fan and they would sit together and watch old movies on TV.
He saw The Third Man when he was 11 featuring the famous scene where Orson Welles as Harry Lime steps out of the shadows and the light from a window falls on his upturned face.
Robbie, whose father, Ian Baxter McMillan was a general surgeon who also worked for police pathology also gave young Robbie books to read on medicine and crime.
Robbies first foray onto the stage at the age of twelve was to deliver rants from Henry V - a favourite of Welles in Chimes At Midnight - at Glenalmond College, but he claims it was 1969 when he first realised the strength of Welles on screen persona.
He said in a recent interview with Radio Times: “They showed Citizen Kane at the film club and I just thought, Who is that guy? It’s been a lifelong thing since then.”
Indeed later on Robbie agreed to appear in the 2008 movie The Brothers Bloom because he’d been told the writer Rian Johnson was the new Orson Welles.
He revealed at the time: “Rian Johnson's a big hero of mine because of Brick. Although I hadn't seen it, everyone told me Brick was the best film made for about 10 years and he was the new Orson Welles, and if he sent me a script I'd have to do it for nothing if necessary. I got the script, and I just thought yes, I would do it for nothing."
Robbie also admitted he was flattered when one reviewer described him as a ‘low rent Orson Welles’ so it was a natural choice for him to be picked as leading man For the Sky Arts drama based on the incident called F For Fakenham. The story goes Orson was abducted by an armed gang in Norfolk after travelling there to make a series of mystery dramas with Anglia Television.
Robbie said: “Nobody knows if it‘s actually true.”
Robbie believes Welles greatest gift was storytelling and continued: “Listening to him was just like sitting with a pal and a whisky in front of a roaring fire and saying, ‘Let me tell you a story’ and you don’t care if it’s true. You just want to hear what happens next.’
Physically the two bear a portly resemblance and Robbie admitted: “I had no problem with his voice because we were the same kitchen. A Scotsman doing American is no stretch because a lot of the American accent did come from the Scots.”