Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Tickets
Tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are available from Sunday 22nd November 2009 to Sunday 29th November 2009 at the O2 Arena starting from £19.50.
This is your chance to see legends like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and British star and World No 4, Andy Murray locked in a battle to be crowned ATP World Tour Champion with the best eight singles and best eight doubles teams playing for the first time in the O2 Arena in London.
Play takes place on a hard court within the unique round-robin format whereby eight players/teams are divided into two groups of four players/teams each, with eight seeds determined by the South African Airways ATP Rankings and 209 ATP Doubles Team Rankings. The format is thereafter an elimination competition. All singles matches will be the best of three tie-break sets and doubles will be two sets and match-tie break. Tickets are available for afternoon and evening sessions starting from 12.30pm, 2.15pm, 7pm and 8.45pm with the doors into the O2 Arena scheduled to open 75 minutes before the start of play.
With prize money notching up to $5 million, this is guaranteed to be the ultimate competitive showdown. Great seats are still available so get your Barclays ATP World Finals Tickets now and make sure it’s game, set and match to you.
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Varekai is a show from the popular Cirque du Soleil
The avant garde circus and dance troupe, Cirque du Soleil are performing Varekai at the Royal Albert Hall in Westminster, London from 6th January 2010 with tickets ranging in price from £30 to £180.
The Cirque du Soleil translated as Circus of the Sun was founded by Guy Laliberté in 1982 and reflected a new or experimental concept in the arts.
With incredibly successful resident shows in cities like New York, Orlando and Las Vegas including the hugely popular celebration of the musical legacy of the Beatles in LOVE, plus touring performances across the world’s major cities, Cirque du Soleil swiftly became a global phenomenon.
The performance of Varekai – a word that means “wherever” in the language of Romany gypsies – involves acrobatics, exciting dance and stunning visual effects as we follow the story of a solitary young man who has been parachuted into a shadowy and magical forest inhabited by fantastic creatures. As he sets off on an adventure encountering the absurd and extraordinary on the way, the hero ultimately rediscovers life. With eccentric and unbelievably colourful characters including The Skywatcher, Icarus and The Betrothed, the show offers a zany an and breathtaking immersion into a surreal world.
Choreographed by Bill Shannon and directed by Dominic Champagne and Andrew Watson, the music, composed and arranged by musical director Violaine Corradi combines sounds of Hawaiian ritual, songs of troubadours from 11th-century France, traditional Armenian melodies and gospel arrangements. The CD of the soundtrack is available to buy from Amazon or the official Cirque du Soleil website and costs £15.
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a-ha
Back in the eighties, a-ha brought a whiff of fresh air straight from the Norwegian ffords to the London music scene and held a unique place in the hearts of many. Now they’re back on top form and raring to go with a series of concerts scheduled across the country. Fresh from the success of their headlining spot at iTunes Live festival, a-ha’s latest album, Foot of the Mountain has gone straight to the German no 1 and no 5 in the UK charts, demonstrating that the band still has a huge following worldwide.
Mortan Harket (singer), Magne Furuholmen (keyboard player) and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitarist and songwriter), shot to fame after leaving the land of trolls to seek their fortune in the recording studios of London. Less troll-like individuals would be hard to find – Mortan Harket, of the finely chiselled good looks and soaring vocals, had a voice that was instantly recognisable and the band offered a welcome change from the besuited, callow youths who dominated the music industry at the time, with a style that was unashamedly upbeat and passionate.
They gained their biggest success with their debut album, Hunting High and Low, which spawned the singles; Take on Me and The Sun Always Shines on TV; a UK no 1 achieving massive international success in Europe and America. Later albums like Scoundrel Days were less successful as synth pop began to fall out of favour but the band still had notable successes with the single The Living Daylights from the album Stay on These Roads that was used as the title track theme song to a James Bond Film – something the band is proud of to this day. Another hit, Summer Moved On went to no 1 in 17 countries and was notable for securing Morten Harket the world record for the longest held note in a UK hit song, coming in at 20 seconds.
Since the band’s appearance at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2000, a-ha have been on the up and up with a return to the synth-based styles of the initial albums. Morten Harket describes Foot of the Mountain as an album “that incorporates the key elements that first defined the band: soaring vocals, synth hooks, yearning lyrics and melodic melancholia.”
Prepare to be shaken and stirred by a-ha’s music for passionate pop people everywhere.
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Deep Purple
Deep Purple rank as the pioneers of heavy metal rock around since the very beginning of the progressive rock era and once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s loudest band. They’re now performing a tour across continental Europe and various venues in the UK.
The band has gone through many incarnations and line-ups, but the present one of Ian Gillan of the screaming vocals, Ian Paice, Roger Glover, Steve Morse and Don Airey has been described as earth-shattering. Still able to command huge audiences drawn from the older generation of rockers, many of whom have seen Deep Purple perform over and over again, Deep Purple has also captured a new base of younger fans seduced by iconic classics like Smoke on the Water, Fireball and Speed King.
Guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore, arguably Deep Purple’s most famous member left the band in 1975 but since then, remaining band members have successfully reinvented themselves and continue to provide spine-tingling, powerful rock with a new funkiness brought by replacement Steve Morse.
Following a punishing schedule of tours, the band launched a new album in 2005; the fourth since the departure of Blackmore. Rapture of the Deep that marks a new era and has been described as Deep Purple’s best album ever surpassing even Machine Head, full of dark melancholia, melodies that move and riff-driven rock.
As a celebration of Deep Purple’s past and the band present these concerts can’t be missed – get ready for the ‘Rapture.’
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Katherine Jenkins
Tickets are now on release for concerts showcasing one of the best-selling artists of the decade.
With global sales of more than 3 million, the celebrated mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins has more or less conquered the world at the age of 29. Not only content with being as sweet as a kitten, she’s also talented, beautiful and brilliant.
So how do you become an international star, the fastest selling mezzo-soprano of all time and 13th richest young person in music in Britain? It all sounds so easy on paper. Having won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music at the University of London, at the age of 17, Katherine also studied Italian, German, French and Russian (as you do) and graduated with honours. A spell working as a freelance teacher and model for hair and make-up followed before she was made The Face of Wales in 2000. And as if that wasn’t enough, she then proceeded to land an album deal with Universal Classics & Jazz worth a reputed £1million.
Since then she has brought a new meaning to classical and pop crossover, performing at the Rugby World Cup in 2003 in her Sydney Opera house debut and achieving 8 weeks at the top of the classical charts with her 2004 debut album Première, repeated by her follow-up album, Second Nature. As a result, she broke all records as the first British classical artist to have two number one albums in the same year.
Katherine is proud of her Welsh antecedents and is now the official mascot for the Wales rugby union team. She’s has plenty of pluck too. In 2005 when she headed off to entertain troops in Iraq at the suggestion of Vera Lynne, the helicopter was targeted by a missile attack and had to be flown back to the base.
Her songs range from arias, popular songs, hymns and a mix of vibrant classical and surprising pop, with the 2007 album, Rejoice containing two songs written by Take That’s Gary Barlow. Her voice excels in her most requested song by Puccini – O mio babbino caro and her Italian version of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You which went to numbers 1,2 and 3 in the classical music charts, is full of vocal acrobatics.
A concert with Katherine Jenkins will always be a riveting experience with a stunning repertoire that’s as varied and interesting as it is beautiful. So make sure you get your tickets well in advance and there’ll be something to look forward to in 2010.
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Maximo Park Gig Tickets
Fresh from appearances at Reading and Leeds Festival and following a successful tour of the US and Canada, Maximo Park have only been around since 2000 yet in that time have released three studio albums, A Certain Trigger, Our Earthly Pleasures and Quicken the Heart, two of which went double platinum and one was nominated for a Mercury Prize.
Formed in Tyne and Wear, the band got their name from Maximo Gomez Park in Cuba. Front man, Paul Smith is noted for his supreme command of the stage and blisteringly energetic performance with some nifty footwork, as much as for his perfectionism, while Lukas Wooller on keyboard and guitarist Duncan Lloyd add to the general excitement without missing a note.
Maximo’s sets are never superfluous and there won’t be a dull moment. Watch out for singalong songs like Nosebleed, the exuberant Apply Some Pressure and sheer onslaught of Graffiti. And the new songs are just as good as the old.
Maximo Park have had pretty much blanket sell-out gigs in the past so tickets need to be reserved now.
Jonas Brothers
Teen idols, the Jonas Brothers will be setting hearts alight in a series of concerts taking place across Birmingham, Newcastle, London and Manchester. The UK dates are intertwined with a further hectic schedule of international performances taking in France, Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Ireland.
Winning over audiences of all ages, but proving to be especially appealing to young girls and their mothers, the US pop trio, Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas gained a huge following after their appearances on the Disney Channel children’s network and have now have sold an amazing eight million albums worldwide.
The youngest member of the band, Nick Jonas began performing on Broadway at the tender age of 7 and recruited his brothers to the band after they started composing songs together and began to excel in writing and performing catchy or romantic pop-rock and sing-along anthems.
When their album, It’s About Time in August 2006 was limited to a release of 50,000 copies, it subsequently commanded prices of up to $200-$300 on eBay. Performances at the White Hall followed with a set at the American Music Awards and frequent appearances on shows on the Disney Channel like Hannah Montana and Me and Mr Jonas and Mr Jonas and Mr Jonas. In 2008 the brothers were given starring roles in the Disney Channel Movie, Camp Rock when the soundtrack reached number 3 on the Billboard charts. Four album releases later, they were nominated for the Best New Artist award at the Grammys.
Known for their clean living and wholesome family image, the brothers have pledged to remain virgins until they get married which made them the butt (literally!) of some rather more unwholesome jokes by Russell Brand when he introduced the MTV Video Music Awards in 2008, for which he later had to apologise.
Tickets are hot and the concerts are guaranteed to be a sell-out so it would be advisable to buy as soon as possible and get ready to scream your heart out at a high energy, top-quality show.
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Andrea Bocelli
One of the most exciting voices in the world of opera today, don’t miss the chance to see Andrea Bocelli perform his unique mix of classical and pop ballads as he appears in concerts in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow.
Often described as “the fourth tenor”, the singer who became completely blind at the age of 12, was influenced by Luciano Pavarotti and Zucchero Fornaciari and has recorded duets with Celine Dion and Sarah Brightman. Al Jarreau, who performed with him at the Albert Hall in a Proms concert, said that Bocelli had the “most beautiful voice in the world.” Having sold 60 million albums worldwide, it would seem that many people would agree with him.
Bocelli was raised in rural Tuscany. After he was rendered blind by glaucoma, his mother said that music was the only thing that could console him. His breakthrough came in 1992 when he was successful in an audition arranged by Zucchero Fornaciari, to record a demo version of Miserere which he had co-written with U2’s Bono. When the resulting recording was sent to Pavrotti, after thanking Zucchero for writing such a wonderful song, the tenor commented; “Let Andrea sing Miserere with you, for there is no one finer.”
Bocelli recorded the song with Pavarotti and performed at the Pavarotti International Festival in 1994. After embarking on a solo career, Bocelli combined famous arias and traditional songs with recordings of contemporary romantic songs and ballads, winning a Golden Globe Award for his album Sogno released in 1999 which features a duet with Celine Dion on The Prayer. He later recorded a collection of romantic cover songs for his album Incanto. In 2009 he sang Il Gladiatore from the Gladiator soundtrack at the opening of the UEFA Champions League Final.
With a voice full of passion and stirring emotion, you won’t fail to be moved at a concert by Bocelli. Don’t miss a chance to see this legendary singer in a performance near you – it’ll be one you can tell your grandchildren about in years to come.
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Newton Faulkner
The soulful, bluesy performer, Newton Faulkner is embarking on a tour of various venues in the UK and tickets can be obtained now.
The 23-year- old performer has had a meteoric rise to fame, with his first EP Full Fat soaring to the top of the singles charts in 2006 without any of the usual hype generated by record labels – in fact without any promotion at all.
Since then Newton Faulkner has become an unstoppable tour de force. With his handmade, acoustic guitar, his own dextrous technique of percussive playing, or “tapping”as he calls it, combined with a husky voice that makes your spine tingle and sporting the most impressive dreadlocks since James the Just, he can tame a restless audience with one flick of his wrist. Opening for Paulo Nutini during the World Cup, his cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop stole the show, mesmerizing the crowd in their seats.
Out on tour, appearing at festivals like Glastonbury, the Cambridge Folk Festival and Secret Garden, Newton was getting massive audience and standing ovations, so much so that when his album, Hand Built By Robots was released, it went on to sell over 500,000 copies and spent two weeks at the number one slot in the album charts. The single Dream Catch Me co-written with Crispin Hunt, rose to number seven and secured him a nomination for Best Male Artist at the Brits.
Newton has said that he is at his most comfortable in front of an audience and he is a relaxed and entertaining performer with storytelling forming a compelling part of his sets, but it’s the songs themselves that will reach out and suck you in; one man and one guitar, singing from his heart it’s electrifying stuff!
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Marc Almond
A series of concerts from Marc Almond is something of a special treat, especially since the prolific artist’s almost-fatal motorbike accident in 2004, so tickets are bound to be at a premium.
Thankfully the star is back on top form now and is playing in support of his new album Orpheus in Exile. With a career that spans over 30 years in the industry, Marc Almond’s musical origins as one half of the electronic duo, Soft Cell, are well known. At the forefront of the music scene, the avant-garde pair occupied a unique slot in musical history with their immediately identifiable singles like Tainted Love, Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye providing theatrical commentary mixed with sleazy undertones and electronic beats.
After the demise of Soft Cell in 1984, Almond began a successful and highly creative solo career releasing 12 studio albums with many live recordings, influenced by diverse performers and styles, including artists like Jacques Brel, underground musicians and Russian folk. A reunion of Soft Cell in 2001 with the release of Cruelty Without Beauty prompted a series of comeback shows gaining many new fans as well as delighting the old guard. In 1999, Almond wrote his autobiography, Tainted Life for which he received many critical accolades.
He combines his singing and songwriting career with DJing gigs. In 2005, he went on tour with Jools Holland, when he gave a stunning performance of Say Hello, Wave Goodbye and Tainted Love, rearranged by Holland. A new album of cover songs, Stardom Road was released in 2007.
With a talent for reinventing himself and his material, Almond’s concerts are not to be taken lightly. Full of emotion, passion and intensity, you can’t fail to be moved by his unique style of performance peppered, as it is, with high drama, elegance and poignancy.
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