RBS Six Nations Championship
The 11th Annual Six Nations Championship sees rugby union teams of England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France and Italy locked in a battle to win the coveted Six Nations cup, with matches held in major stadiums in all six countries from 6th February to 20th March 2010.
This is a chance to support your team at home or abroad as the countries of the northern hemisphere will play some of the most competitive and exciting rugby matches ever throughout February and March. Tickets are available for matches in Croke Park Eire, Twickenham Stadium London, Murrayfield Stadium Edinburgh, Millennium Stadium Wales, Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France and Stadio Flaminio in Rome, Italy with prices ranging from £44.31 to £215, depending on location of seat.
Can Ireland win a Grand Slam title again in 2010 or will a rampant England hold on to the record for winning the most points and return to the glory days of 2003? Will Wales snatch victory back from the Irish or France return to their winning form or maybe Scotland and Italy will upset the odds and confound expectations? Crowds can expect more of the same suspense, trauma, indescribable triumphs, bitter defeats and surprises that were experienced at the 2009 championship.
As a cultural and social occasion, the matches offer a wonderful opportunity to see the sights of some of the greatest cities in the world with a host of entertainments, restaurants, cafes and bars on offer. All this and the chance to watch international rugby played to the highest standard too –what more could you possibly wish for?
Lovebox London Weekender
“You can’t beat London as the hippest place on the planet, the Lovebox Weekender is proof of that,” says DJ, Gilles Peterson.
In July this year, the newly expanded site hosted more than 50,000 people in mid July to view some of the best music on the scene from genres including indie, disco-punk, folk, world, rock, hip hop and electronic. Delivered from dramatic sets and stages, the performances were delivered by bands like festival founders, Groove Armada, Duran Duran, hip hop band N.E.R.D., Florence and the Machine, Friendly Fires and Ladyhawke.
Despite being set in the heart of the city the overall space adds to the whole experience of the festival with gourmet food and drink stalls, specially designed venues and buildings with hidden corners and leafy vantage points from which to view the stage.
And as winner of the Best Medium Sized Festival in the UK Festival Awards 2008 it isn’t surprising that Lovebox London Weekender is becoming one of the essential events on the London cultural calendar.
Set in Victoria Park bordering Bethnal Green, Hackney and Bow, the event has become synonymous with cool urban happenings and super-charged rock and roll and dance.
Isle of Wight Festival 2010 tickets on sale
Tickets are now on sale for The Isle of Wight Festival 2010 from Friday 4th December 2009. The 12th festival dates are from Friday 11th June to Sunday 13th June, 2010.
With a line-up that includes Jay-Z, The Strokes, P!nk, Blondie, Orbital and Squeeze, the largest human gathering in the world looks like being something a bit special this year.
Back in 1969, this now legendary event introduced the concept of back to nature open air festivals. Set on the beautiful Isle of Wight at Seaclose Park, Newport, past line-ups read like a tome of rock history. What festival other than the Isle of Wight could coax the music legend Bob Dylan out of retirement in 1969? Other famous sets include those delivered by Marc Bolan in 1968 and Emmerson, Lake and Palmer and Joan Baez in 1970. Tragically, Jimi Hendrix’s last major performance was at the festival when he delivered an electrifying performance – three weeks later the greatest guitar player in the world was dead. That festival in 1970 was described as one of the largest human gatherings in the world surpassing even Woodstock held the previous year.
The festival was revived in 2002 and continues with its reputation for history in the making featuring many notable artists. Stunning performances by Muse and The Rolling Stones at their first rock festival for decades, prompted its receipt of the Best Major Festival at the UK Festival Awards in 2007 and front man John Giddings, won an award for his outstanding contribution to UK Festivals.
With excellent camping facilities with showers and quiet areas there are festival shuttles to and from all departing ferry ports. All you have to do is jump on that ferry and get over there in June?
Bad Company - reunion concert
The iconic rock band Bad Company are reuniting for what promises to be a series of legendary performances from original members, Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke in eight shows across the UK in April 2010.
The exclusive UK concerts will take place at venues including Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Cardiff, Newcastle upon Tyne, Glasgow, Brighton and London, from 1st April to 11th April. This is the first time that the three have got together for over 30 years and the concerts also feature special guests, the Joe Perry Project.
Bad Company was originally formed in 1973 by members of the English rock band Free, still cited as one of the definitive bands of British Blues. Enjoying huge success throughout the 1970s, Bad Company was considered to be one of the first new breed of super-groups of the era. Disbanding in 1982, they were famous for their large stadium-filling live performances, although the first official live album wasn’t released until 2006.
Tickets start at £34.50 and go up to over £90 so make sure you get yours in good time if you want to hear all the old electrifying classics like Can’t Get Enough, Run with the Pack, Ready for Love and Feel Like Makin’. It’ll be goosebumps all over.
Download Festival 2010 dates announced
Early Bird tickets are now available for Download Festival to be held from Friday 11th June to Sunday 13th June 2010 in Donington Park, Leicestershire.
As the monster rock festival thunders into its eighth rip-roaring year, festival-goers eagerly await the line-up announcement. But the history of Donington and rock goes back even further to 1980 when the first Monsters of Rock Festival was held. Thirty years later Donington has hosted a lifetime of legendary performers and performances and to celebrate the anniversary, this year’s event is going to be phenomenal.
And it’s not just heavy rock and metal that’s being served up at Donington; there’ll be markets with a variety of international foods, clothes, jewellery, merchandise and the all-important tattoo parlours with cafe, bars, funfair rides, shops and a cinema continuing after the last band has left the stage and running until 2am. Shuttle buses run daily from Derby and East Midlands Parkway Stations.
Donington 2009 saw heavy metal missed with glam rock, nu-metal, dance and classic rock with bands like Faith No More, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot and Prodigy with old school giants, Whitesnake, ZZ Top and Def Leppard providing seminal performances on Sunday Classic Rock Day.
Don’t miss out on this year’s feast. Early bird weekend arena tickets are on sale until midnight on Christmas Eve with prices at £135 with camping and family camping tickets priced at £25 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Oxegen is Ireland's biggest festival
If you want to be first to get your hands on tickets for Oxegen, 2010 read on. Early Bird tickets are now on sale at 2007 prices from 9am Friday 4th December until Thursday 31st December, so grab your wellies and your Leprechaun hat and cloak and get on down to Ireland’s biggest festival.
Taking place from Friday 9th July to Sunday 11th July at Punchestown Racecourse, Naas, Co. Kildare, Eire, the festival is now officially Europe’s favourite rock’n’roll weekend. Winner of the Best Overseas Festival category in 2009 in the Festival Awards, the three-day event fought off competition from prestigious festivals all over the world, like Spain’s Benicassim and Coachella in the US.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, who sum up each Oxegen Festival in meteorological terms, year 2005 was “the sunny” one, 2006 was “the torrentially rainy one,”2 007 was “the muddy one” and 2008, “the so-so one” (obviously not in terms of performance with the likes of the Kings of Leon playing). What will 2010 bring we wonder?
But in the end, it doesn’t really matter because Oxegen is one of the best festivals you can go to, whatever the weather.
Receiving its inauguration in 2000 under the name of Witnness Festival, Oxegen has grown to epic proportions with five main stages and at least 80k visitors attending every day. Bands like Snow Patrol, Kings of Leon and Muse have headlined and eulogised about their experiences there. The Killers who headlined in 2007 and 2009 described Oxegen as the “highlight of our year” and REM member Michael Stipe stated it was his backstage visit to Oxegen in 2007 that made him want to go on tour again; “I saw all these great bands and the next day after the festival we went into the studio,” he said.
With three large areas for camping, there is a store located in each, a funfair including a Magic Carpet ride and roller coaster, a circus, silent disco and, best of all folks… the toilet facilities “have improved.”
The line-up hasn’t yet been announced but Early Bird ticket prices are as follow: 3 Day (Fri-Sun)/No camping: €179, 3 Day (Fri-Sun)/with camping: €199, 4 Day (Thurs-Sun)/Camping €219.50. Campervan must be purchased with 3 or 4 day ticket: €60.
Strictly Come Dancing is coming to a venue near you
Tickets are available for an arena tour of the hit BBC1 show Strictly Come Dancing Tickets on dates from 15th January to 21st February 2010 at various venues including the LG Arena Birmingham, the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, Sheffield Arena and MEN Arena in Manchester, Wembley Arena, the O2 Arena and in Newcastle, Belfast, Liverpool and Glasgow with prices starting from £42.50.
This five-week spectacular is one of the most glittering and exciting shows you’re likely to see. It follows the format of the TV show but this time you’ll get a chance to vote live yourself via a text message and make sure that the best couple wins. Kicking off from the Manchester Evening News Arena, the celebrities from the shows past and present will be joined by their professional partners to dazzle, entertain and enthral the audience with amazing dance moves and glamorous costumes.
Famous names taking part include Richard Dunwoody, Ali Bastian, Lynda Bellingham, Joe Calzaghe, Natalie Cassidy, Martina Hingis, Chris Hollins, Zoe Lucker, Ray Wilding, Jo Wood, Ricky Groves, Jade Johnson, Laila Rouass and Phil Tufnell who will perform in front of judges including Alesha Dixon, Craig Revel, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman in their bid to win the coveted Glitter Ball trophy.
For any fan of Strictly Come Dancing or of ballroom dancing in general, a chance to see the show with all the excitement, atmosphere and adrenalin of a packed arena and live audience simply can’t be missed. Get your ticket now so you can reserve the best seats to see one of the defining shows of the decade.
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Billy Connolly is appearing at the Hammersmith Apollo
He’s been described as the best stand-up comic in the UK and he’s appearing in a series of shows at the Hammersmith Apollo, London from 5th January to 24th January 2010, Billy Connolly is still one of the top-selling comedians around today and tickets are guaranteed to be in high demand.
This is your chance to catch the irrepressible Scot in the sort of intimate venue where he performs best. He may have come a long way from his first trade as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards but you can be sure that Billy Connolly hasn’t forgotten his roots in spite of being feted in the US, appearing in films such as Indecent Proposal and The Last Samurai and acting with Richard Burton in Absolution, as well as a starring alongside Judi Dench in the film Mrs Brown, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA.
Receiving his grounding at folk venues, Connolly first performed in a band called the Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty but his comedy routines between songs became the most important part of his act. His breakthrough came with a double album called Solo Concert and subsequent appearances on BBC’s Parkinson shows, when he told his memorable “bike” joke about a man who buried his wife bottom up so he’d have somewhere to park his bike, ensured his notoriety.
Despite his strong Glaswegian accent Connolly gained popularity in the US largely through the commercial success of the Amnesty show The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball in which his performance was one of the highlights and he even had his own short-lived sitcom, Billy.
Billy Connolly may have tamed his hill-billy beard and hair nowadays but the wild man of comedy still excels as a stand-up comedian with performances full of anecdotes, tangential storytelling and a laying bare of his past that endears him to all audiences. Get your tickets now for a rare chance to see this legendary performer in action.
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Lady Gaga has announced first-ever UK tour
The pop artiste, Lady Gaga is embarking on her first UK tour from 10th February to 10th March, showcasing her inimitable style of music at a host of venues across the UK including Brighton, Bournemouth, Aberdeen, Manchester, Belfast, Liverpool, London, Glasgow, Cardiff, Newcastle, Birmingham, Sheffield and Nottingham.
Following the phenomenal success of her debut album, The Fame, Lady Gaga’s driving pop has captured the imagination of the novelty satiated British public like no-one else this year. For an audience who thought they had seen it all, it’s only just begun – Lady Gaga has reinvented pop music and created an image that’s stylish, slick and sometimes downright scary.
With an arty and flamboyant performance influenced by the likes of David Bowie and Freddy Mercury (her stage name stems from the Queen song Radio Gaga), la Gaga’s formidable talents also include songwriting. She started her career writing for Akon who was responsible for persuading Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine to sign her for a joint deal with Akon’s Kon Live Distribution label.
Since that time, Lady Gaga’s electronic brand of music has topped the Billboard charts in the US with the singles, Just Dance and Poker Face becoming worldwide number one hits. She has now sold over 20 million singles and more than four million albums worldwide. Intensely fashionable, intelligent and controversial, this is the kind of concert that will go down in the annals of history and you should be there.
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Bon Jovi have been rocking stadiums since 1983
Bon Jovi are setting off on a worldwide tour in support of their 11th studio album, The Circle and will rock the O2 Arena in London with ten stomping gigs from 7th to 23rd June 2010.
The American band consisting of lead singer Jon Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, bassist Alec John Such and drummer Tico Torres have been around since 1983 and are world famous for their particular brand of uplifting rock and for filling stadiums for almost over two decades.
And let’s face it - if you’ve never leapt around the room singing your heart out to the band’s feelgood classics like Livin’ on a Prayer and It’s My Life, you’re probably not human.
Having produced a host of successful studio albums over the years, Bon Jovi’s latest offering, The Circle is to be released on 10th November 2009 in the US to coincide with the concert tour.
After exploring country music with their album Lost Highway in 2007, Bon Jovi have returned to the anthemic rock their fans love, mixed with more meditative tracks like Live Before You Die. The first single from the new album is We Weren’t Born to Follow – another guaranteed stadium rocker that will also become the soundtrack to the Wii game Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.
Another of Bon Jovi’s claims to fame is that they were the first band to be officially sanctioned by the Russian government to perform in Russia thus making their own contribution to glasnost. After performing in huge worldwide tours over the years, an inspirational acoustic performance on the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards received rave reviews and led to the subsequent popularity of the unplugged movement.
No doubt Bon Jovi will be firmly plugged in at the O2. It’s also highly probable that 23,000 people will be singing along to Livin’ on a Prayer and attempting to leap around a bit too. Why not join them?
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