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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Michael Buble is performing in a series of concerts
The Canadian artist Michael Bublé has had a meteoric rise to fame since his acclaimed self-titled album in 2003 and is to perform in a series of concerts across the UK in May 2010.
He’s sold more than 20 million albums worldwide. Having earned two Grammy nominations and reached a multi-platinum status with his 2005 album It’s Time, he has made smooth swing and big band sounds trendy once more. With his third album Call Me Irresponsible being released in May 2009, Bublé is at the pinnacle of his career.
It’s a success that’s well deserved for the first seven years of his career saw Bublé struggling to take on every gig imaginable – even working as a singing Santa Claus. After Michael McSweeney saw Bublé perform at a business party, he introduced the singer to David Foster, a record executive and producer who, despite being not too sure “how to market this kind of music,” managed to release a debut album that went straight into the top 10 in Canada, the UK and South Africa and reached number one in Australia. Although he’s famed for his reworked Sinatra-ish songs, Bublé’s new album contains two self-penned tracks which have been described as some of his best work yet with the song “Haven’t met you yet” causing hearts to flutter everywhere.
Concerts are to take place in Sheffield, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham and London. You may think May is a long way off but we reckon tickets for these will be like gold dust before too long.
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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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Athlete
This concert is going to be a sell-out so get your tickets while they’re still available.
The indie rock band from Deptford, London earned a Mercury Music Prize nomination for their first album Vehicles and Animals and sold over 250,000 copies.
A second album Tourist, which reached the number one spot in the album charts, contained the emotive single, Wires which was a massive hit and secured them the Ivor Novello Award for best contemporary song. Inspired when lead singer, Joel Pott’s baby was born prematurely and rushed into intensive care, Wires was one of the major songs of 2005.
This tour is in support of their 4th studio album, Black Swan with Fiction Records and release of the first single Superhuman Touch which is also to be released in America.
Concerts are guaranteed to go down a storm. Pott’s voice has a gritty edge that compliments the sensitivity of many of the tracks. Singalong anthems and great lyrics will mix with catchy indie rock and electronic music with integrated organic sounds.
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Gary Numan
Calling all Numanoids – the “godfather of electronic music”, Gary Numan is back to perform in a mini tour in cities including Edinburgh, Norwich, Cardiff, Brighton and Manchester.
Gary Numan’s songs like Cars and Are Friends Electric are still as fresh today as they were in the late 70s and 80s but the king of electro-pop is still evolving as an artist and songwriter, writing new tracks that combine industrial and electronic with rock guitar.
Numan has always inspired strong loyalties in his followers who supported him through a hiatus in the 80s and 90s and called themselves Numanoids, reflecting Numan’s own slightly alien and otherworldly persona created by his flamboyant sense of style and make-up. Now, however Numan is back on planet earth with a host of bands and artists like Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn and Matt Sharp, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson and Noel Fielding queuing up to cite him as a major influence in contemporary music.
Composing songs from the age of 15, Numan rose to prominence with Tubeway Army. New wave oriented tracks included Down in the Park which didn’t reach the charts but became one of his most frequently covered songs, featuring in moves like Times Square. In 1979, the single, Are Friends Electric? climbed to number one after seven weeks in the charts and an album, Replicas followed suit. When Cars also peaked at number on in the UK and in the US, Numan set off on a schedule of sell-out tours.
Recent chart successes with Rip and Crazier mean that he is back in vogue and back on tour. But he is also an evolving performer who is not content to ride of the back of nostalgia. Recent projects like the highly successful Replica and Telekon tours have seen him performing classic albums in their entirety thus celebrating the works themselves rather than trotting out hit singles. In doing so he’s gone a long way to shedding the 80s pop star label and has established himself as Gary Numan, musician and performer.
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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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JLS
The runners up of X Factor 2008 (many think they were robbed), are performing their first headlining series of concerts at iconic venues throughout the UK including London Apollo, Cardiff International Arena and SECC Glasgow.
The dynamic boy-band have already proved their mettle on a tour with R&B singer Lemar when they were so popular it was decided that they should have their own starring role.
Performing a stunning live act the guys have gained a reputation for putting on a polished, professional show with a superb dancing and songs that range from RnB to funky. Cheryl Cole described them as; “The best band we’ve had on the X Factor by far.”
JLS (short for Jack the Lad Swing), features four members; Oritsé, the founder of the band who has been singing and dancing since the age of 14, Marvin, who polished his spurs in episodes of Holby City and Grange Hill, JB and Aston. They made X Factor history by surpassing all boy band predecessors in making the final two and after being snapped up by Epic records, their catchy single Beat Again went straight to the number one spot, selling 100,000 copies in the first week.
With a huge fan base the likeable quartet are set to make hearts beat a little bit faster with a vibrant show, sex appeal in abundance and top-notch music. Tickets will be in high demand so make sure you get yours early.
Miley Cyrus
Fans of Miley Ray Cyrus are in for a treat as the diminutive superstar of Hannah Montana fame gets ready to perform in a series of shows across the UK taking in the O2 in London and Dublin, LG Arena Birmingham and MEN Arena Manchester.
Born Destiny Hope Cyrus in 1992 and so-named because her parents believed she would accomplish great things, the teenage icon has gone on to do just that, achieving almost overnight success when she got the part of Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel series. Although at first she was deemed too small for the role, she was called back to audition again because of her vitality and vibrancy. Disney Channel Executive President Gary Marsh described her as a person “who loves every minute of life.” She does exactly that; in fact her nickname, Miley came about because of her cheerful and “smiley” nature.
Miley is of Cherokee descent. Her father is Billy Ray Cyrus of Achy Breaky Heart fame; the country and western influenced song that achieved chart success in 1992 and in 2008 Miley asked that her name be changed officially to Miley Ray Cyrus to reflect his.
Miley’s musical career began with the release of a soundtrack CD of songs from the Hannah Montana show. When her debut album, Meet Miley Cyrus was released in 2007 the single See You Again reached the top ten. Both this album and a later album called Breakout in 2008 went straight to number one in the Billboard charts.
All songs on the album apart from two were co-written by Miley. Her single, The Climb from the Hannah Montana: The Movie Soudtrack went to number six and a track I Thought I Lost You, written for the soundtrack of the movie Bolt, earned a Golden Globe nomination.
Support will be provided at the concerts by Miley’s older brother Trace Cyrus and his band Metro Station. Prepare to be energised by the irrepressible superstar at a show that will leave you gasping for breath.
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Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are back in town!
America’s most famous boy band is heading across the pond to perform a series of concerts in cities including Glasgow, Birmingham, London, Liverpool and Newcastle.
The band, comprising Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littress and AJ McLean, first got together in 1993 since when they’ve had 13 top 40 hits on the Billboard charts and sold over 100 million albums, probably making them the hottest boy band of all time.
After a musical break of three years, the band returned in 2005 with a new style of music, combining former dance styles with a guitar driven pop-rock sound and instruments.
Originally recruited by the boy band impresario Lou Pearlman, the boys first performed in schools and shopping malls before attaining international success in Europe. In 1999 the famous Millennium album containing the runaway hit I Want It That Away entered the Billboard charts at number 1 where it remained for 10 weeks. It sold over 12 million copies. A second album Black and Blue released in 2000 achieved platinum status in over 30 different countries with much of its material being co-written by members of the group.
The Backstreet Boys have reached a new maturity with a new album due for release in October 2009, working with the likes of Lady Gaga, OneRepublic and Akon to name only a few. Expect a dynamite show with spectacular and stunning effects.
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