A family has paid tribute to a Suffolk journalist who passed away over the Christmas period.

Alan Crumpton, 74, will be remembered as a larger than life character who championed his love of jazz music and cherished his role as a voice of the community.

His body was discovered in his kitchen on Christmas Day by his daughter and granddaughter who became concerned after he failed get in contact about coming over for lunch.

Leanne Lockton, 49, who along with her brother Paul, 47, were his only children, said: “He was someone who was very passionate about his music.

“When mum died the jazz really took off for him as it gave him something to do and he tried to help youngsters and get them on the radio.

“He could be very kind and loving. He was just a character.”

The grandfather of four and great-grandfather to six was born in Morley, Yorkshire, and had lived in Glenside, Great Cornard, near Sudbury, for the past 40 years.

He had a high-flying career in journalism starting on the Yorkshire Evening News before progressing to writing for the Daily Mirror.

He became the Felixstowe reporter for the East Anglian Daily Times and later went on to write a column about jazz music. His career also took in time working for the Suffolk Free Press, Diss Express and most reccently a regular jazz column in the Grapevine.

Upon his retirement in 2000 Mr Crumpton became an active committee member of the Bures Music Festival, helping expand its popularity.

Mrs Lockton, of Oxford Close, Great Cornard, said of him as a father: “He was lovely - you could not have asked for more.

“You could go anywhere in the country and end up meeting someone he knew.”

It is believed he died of a heart attack after suffering deteriorating health in recent years as a result of his diabetes and asthma.

A one minute silence was held at Bury Town FC's ground, Ram Meadow, in his memory before their Boxing Day fixture with AFC Sudbury, of whom Mr Crumpton was an avid supporter.

His funeral will take place at West Suffolk Crematorium in Bury St Edmunds at 12.45pm on Monday, January 11. The family are requesting people do not wear black and turn out to “celebrate his life and love of music”. Any donations to Diabetes UK can be made courtesy of the East of England Co-Operative Funeral Service in Cornard Road, Sudbury on 01787 372736.

3 Sets to win!

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Q: What was Harry Hill's former profession?

E-mail your answer to lovemusic24competitions@archant.co.uk with your name, contact telephone number and e-mail address.

Closing date for entries is Wednesday 6th January 2010

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On a night cold enough to bring tears to even the Arctic Monkeys’ eyes, it was good to be part of an eager crowd at the St Nicholas Centre in Ipswich to witness and indeed participate in, a gig by Glenn Tilbrook, performing as a solo artist.

There are only a few weeks left until Live and Unsigned - the UK's biggest original music competition for unsigned bands and acts begins!

Auditions begin in January 2010 with the Ipswich regional auditions on Saturday 13th February 2010 at the Ipswich regent.

With lots of prizes to win along the way and the chance to play at the Live and Unsigned Festival at the O2 in London, the competition attracts thousands of acts every year and auditions spots are limited.

Lovemusic24 are partnering with Live and Unsigned this year and together can offer you FREE ENTRY into the auditions held in Ipswich.  If you would like to take this offer up then e-mail jenny.lock@archant.co.uk with your contact name, band/act name, mobile number and e-mail address and an entry form will be sent to you for FREE ENTRY.

Each act will be asked to audition live in front of a judging panel - there are no demos or recordings.  All genres are encouraged to enter the competition including: pop, RnB, punk, rock, acoustic and electronic.  Those who make it through the audition stage will get to perform to industry judges, A&R associates and celebrity guests in some of the UK's most prestigious venues.  And those who make it to the grand final will get to share the stage with some of the Uk's best musicians at the Live and Unsigned Festival.

The competition's aim is to find potential recording artists, with the overall winner being offered a two year management and recording contract with the potential to release their single and tour the country.  Live and Unsigned has seen over 30,000 contestants grace its audition rooms over the last three years, and this year it could be you!

For more information visit www.LiveandUnsigned.uk.com

Thousands of fans are set to turn out in a massive show of support for Essex boy and X Factor finalist Olly Murs when he comes to Colchester tomorrow night.

The 25-year-old from Witham announced a one-off show at Colchester's Charter Hall and fans rushed out to snap-up the 1,200 free tickets within four hours.

Many more people are expected to turn-up just to catch a glimpse of the man that judge Simon Cowell has dubbed the “boy next-door”.

He may be the bookmakers' outsider for this weekend's grand final, but he is a sure-fire favourite with the fans and the chances of him bringing home the title to Essex cannot be ruled out.

A spectacular red carpet extravaganza is being lined-up with a fireworks display set to mark the event.

But with traffic chaos expected in the area around Cowdray Avenue the event's organisers have urged people to leave their cars at home and use public transport.

Sharon Carter, marketing and communications officer for Charter Hall, praised Olly as a “great representative” for the county.

She said: “Parking is going to be extremely, extremely restricted on the night, so we are really trying to discourage people coming by car.

“We would like people to come on foot or by public transport because car parking is going to be limited.”

One of the most iconic music venues in the town has fallen silent again with the collapse of The Staff Club in the old St Matthew’s Baths building.

When members of the committee turned up to open the building at the weekend, they found it had been boarded up and a solicitor’s letter said it had been repossessed.

In a statement posted on the club’s website the committee said: “It is with much regret that we have to inform you that the Suffolk Public Sector Sports and Social Club (Staff Club) was closed down on Friday, November 27.

“As a committee we did not have any idea of what was going to happen until we turned up to the club on Friday and found that it had been boarded up and a solicitors notice in place on the building.

“The committee are in the process of talks with The Manor Social Club on Bolton Lane regarding transferring memberships.”

The sudden closure caused problems for organisations that had booked the club like the Ipswich Rhythm and Blues Club (IRBC) which had booked a gig there on Saturday night.

Linda Hart from the IRBC said: “We have had problems with the staff club over the months because the committee there seems to change all the time and the new people don’t know what discussions we’d had with their predecessors.

“Only last week we found they’d double-booked our gig on December 12. We got that sorted out and then on Friday we discovered that the club had closed.

“I had to spend all of Friday and Saturday ringing people up to tell them it was cancelled and then try to make arrangements for another venue for our next gigs.”

The club has now booked the Golden Hind in Nacton Road for its gigs.

Manor Club secretary Des Hindle said he was having talks with committee members from the staff club – and hoped most of its members would transfer across.

“These are tough times for social clubs. We are lucky because we have the ballroom – but we rely on the weekends these days,” he said.

History

• The Staff Club was set up in 2005 after the county council moved to Endeavour House and the old social club in Rope Walk was handed over to Suffolk College.
• It was set up in the old St Matthew’s Baths building – from the 1950s to the early 1970s that was a regular venue for top music acts.
• The biggest name to appear there was probably Led Zeppelin who appeared at the Baths’ Hall in November 1971.
• Before the Staff Club moved in the building had been used as open-plan offices.

Songstress Louisa Gaylard serenaded patients at Ipswich Hospital when she performed tracks from her new album.

Inpatients at the Heath Road hospital were treated to the exclusive show by the singer on Mark Keable’s Sunday evening show.

During the hour-long programme, Mr Keable said the talented singer songwriter talked about how she started writing and singing her own songs.

As well as performing songs from her recently released album New Day, Louisa also previewed a newly written track exclusively for listeners on the station.

Inspired by artists such as Jack Johnson, Nick Drake and KT Tunstall, Louisa was inspired to start gigging at the age of 14.

She is now a student at Guildford studying music at the Academy of Contemporary Music.

To find out more about Louisa’s album visit www.louisagaylard.co.uk.

Hospital Radio Ipswich, broadcasts 24-hours-a-day to patients and staff of Ipswich Hospital. To make a request, or volunteer to help the station, telephone 01473 740666 or visit www.hospitalradio.org.uk.

Award winning rock band Keane will be coming to Suffolk this summer for a special woodland per-formance, it has been announced.

The top selling group – who have had three consecutive number one albums – are performing at Thetford Forest, near Brandon, on Thursday, June 10.

The gig has been announced as part of the Forestry Commission Live Music series which is becoming a popular annual event in the county.

Also on the bill this year is Simply Red, who will be playing the day after on Friday, June 11.

Keane have had three number one albums - Hopes and Fears, Under The Iron Sea and Perfect Symmetry - selling an impressive ten million copies.

Their string of hits, including Is It Any Wonder, Crystal Ball and Somewhere Only We Know, has led to sold out arena tours and a number of honours such as Brits, Grammy’s and Ivor Novello awards.

Money generated by Forestry Commission Live Music ticket sales is spent directly on the nation’s woodlands, benefiting everything from butterflies to mountain bikers.

Tickets, which cost £32 (subject to booking fee), go on sale at 9am on Friday 4th December and are available from 01842 814612, www.forestry.gov.uk/music or www.keanemusic.com.

Full event details - click here.

When on stage he bobs and weaves like a boxer and last night Ian Brown received a champion's reception from an adoring crowd at the Ipswich Regent.

Swaggering into the spotlight to a rapturous round of applause, the ex-Stone Roses frontman began the evening with an unexpected gag about hospitals before launching into a 90 minute set of tracks all taken from his six studio albums, with one notable exception.

Of course, the slick encore performance of Fools Gold - the only song of the night originally performed by his former band - was the obvious highlight for the majority in the theatre.

Brown has inspired a legion of imitators and wannabes but this was the real thing, making his first appearance in Ipswich and turning back time for the many thirty-something men in the crowd who cheered on the hero of their teenage years.

After opening with Love Like a Fountain, Golden Gaze and All Ablaze, his impressive five-piece band continued to provided deep baselines, mariachi trumpets and nimble percussion alongside stirring string samples that helped bring out the best of his limited vocal range.

On this showing he would hardly warrant a minute of the X Factor judges' time, but it was never his voice that has made Brown such a magnetic performer.

His lyrics aren't much better, often making little sense, but by including a trio of energetic dancers in his onstage line-up and simply letting go and enjoying himself, somehow it all works.

When he gets it all right, such as with F.E.A.R. or Stellify, from his latest album My Way, even now, 20 years after the glory days of Madchester, he is worthy of the iconic status bestowed upon him.

Click here for more photos

Pop sensations N-Dubz will thrill fans when they star at the Regent Theatre, in April.

The MOBO-winning band, from Camden, who burst onto the British music scene last year with their hit single Ouch, will perform tracks from their new album, Against All Odds, on April 1.

Over the last three years, N-Dubz have had an unprecedented impact on modern British youth culture.

They are, in fact, nothing short of a phenomenon, selling over 500,000 albums, completing a critically acclaimed sell out debut UK tour, picking up three MOBO awards and scoring a number one single along the way.

The band has spent the past six months writing and producing the new album almost entirely themselves, with a selection of the UK's hottest talent adding the finishing touches, including Kanye West protégé Mr Hudson, Chipmunk, Wiley and, perhaps unexpectedly pop legend Gary Barlow.

The album follows the release of “I Need You”, the record's first single, out now.

The past 12 months have been a breakthrough year for N-Dubz.

The video for Ouch received over nine million views on YouTube, the song burst from the underground to become the soundtrack to millions of teenagers' lives.

Three further hit singles followed, as well as a platinum debut album which has sold over 500,000 copies to date.

Performances from the final - filmed at the Circle Lounge, Ipswich Regent.

Playing with Fire

This Boy Wonders

Winners: Fagan

Echoes Fall

This Sudden Injury

 To subsribe to all our videos - visit our YouTube channel

With more than 25 million records sold and a clutch of Brit Awards in her pocket, Alison Moyet’s got much to be happy about as she celebrates her silver anniversary as a solo performer.

Steven Russell finds the edginess of the 1980s has faded and the Ipswich-bound singer is more chilled these days

There was a time in the 1980s when, despite being worshipped as the Queen of electro-pop and a sorceress with a powerful bluesy voice, Alison Moyet was a bit . . . well . . . spiky.

Twenty-five years on, things have certainly changed. Blimey, she’s just sung live on Woman’s Hour, on BBC Radio 4. The publicists have also secured appearances on Paul O’Grady’s programme and The Alan Titchmarsh Show to bang the drum about her new “best of” albums and 26-date tour that kicks off at the Ipswich Regent. All this, plus a round or two of media interviews like this one . . . Sounds like she’s more comfortable nowadays with the PR circus.

“I am, yeah. When you’re younger, you always suspected larceny! Now you’re in a place where you realise why you’re doing this stuff. We’re just all doing a job together, and you can either make it difficult or just get on with it, you know.”

Britain’s biggest-selling female solo star – between 1984 and 1987 – was young when fame arrived unexpectedly, like a battering-ram. Sorry, that sounds condescending . . .

“No, no, but it’s true. I was young, and it’s a shocking world to move into. I was always a bit of a black sheep and was left to my own devices, and suddenly having somebody interested in you  . . . god,” she half-laughs.

Here’s the story for anyone who missed the poptastic eighties.

Born in the summer of 1961, Genevieve Alison Jane Moyet was the daughter of a French printer (a patriarch who spoke poor English) and his English wife (who taught French), and grew up in Basildon.

“I was playing in a couple of bands, but never imagined I’d be doing that full-time. It was always going to be a semi-professional thing as far as I was concerned.”

She knew Vince Clarke “because I was in a class with a couple of the Depeche Mode boys at college. Vince’s best mate was a guitar player in my punk band, and when Vince left Depeche and was looking for a singer, I came to mind because I was a little face on the local scene.

“He called me up and asked me to demo Only You with him, and then he said ‘The record company have heard it and want you to stay on the record.’ The label were really happy and said we should do an album together.

“Within a couple of months I went from having been at college studying restoration to having a single out, made an album and suddenly we were massive pop stars.”

Oh yes; it all went ballistic in 1981 and 1982.

Alison and Vince, as the synth-pop duo Yazoo, got to number-two in the charts with the ballad Only You, while Don’t Go peaked at three. And then, like a Roman candle, it was over almost before it had begun. Yazoo broke up after 18 months.

A solo career, which followed in 1984, proved even more triumphal, however. Debut offering Alf (her nickname from punk days) topped the album charts and produced three hit singles, including All Cried Out, which got to number eight.

Along the way, Alison had son Joe and combined single-parenthood with the life of a somewhat reluctant pop star, rarely socialising with anyone in the industry.

Fame had been like the birth of the universe: a big bang from a standing start.

“Absolutely. I’d never even had ambitions to have a solo career. It was all unexpected and all of my achievements outdid my ambition, which is really strange.”

Was her aggression, in those days, a shield to protect a slightly vulnerable core?

“I think it’s that, and then it’s also about how you learn to communicate. You learn that in your family, and I come from a very combustible family. It was loving and it was loyal, but you did what you were told to do the minute you were told to do it – at volume.”

Has that upbringing moulded her as a mum? (Apart from Joe, 24, who recently graduated from Cambridge), there’s 21-year-old daughter Alex (at Cambridge herself) and Caitlin. 13.)

“Yeah, I think it does. I think that when I was younger I was certainly very quick to ignite and it was something I always found unpleasant as a kid, and has been one of the biggest things I’ve worked on.”

Here’s another condescending query. The singer’s recently talked about issues from the past such as agoraphobia and depression, which seems brave considering her appreciation of privacy. She’s also had to field continued questions about weight, including recent weight loss. Twenty-five years ago, dealing with such prying would have been hard, wouldn’t it?

“When it comes to weight, I feel no shame about my various forms, but I have got to a point in my life where I think ‘Do you know what? I’m a middle-aged woman now – I’m 48 – and since I was eight years old I’ve had people commenting on my body. Enough!’ Which doesn’t mean to say I’m rebuffing the question – I’m happy to have the question asked of me – but my answer now would be that the only person with any business about the shape of my body is the person I’m sleeping with! As I’m not looking for new contenders, it shouldn’t matter to anyone!”

Wild horses won’t drag from her the secret of shedding the kilos.

“Let them (sections of the media) speculate what I did – just like they did when they said I ate all the pies. My career has not been about my body, and I don’t intend it to be about my body. I’m no cleverer than I was; I’m no more talented than I was; and I want more than anything for it to be inconsequential. Like I say, I’m middle-aged; it shouldn’t matter. I’m not about to do a fitness DVD or diet pages!”

Her Revisited tour, marking the singer’s silver anniversary as a solo performer, is complemented by two albums – a 20-track The Best Of: 25 Years Revisited CD and an 11-song version featuring new interpretations of Alison’s favourite songs from her back catalogue.

In ye olde days, she described herself variously as an oddball, fiery and argumentative. How about today?

“I’m in a pretty good place now. I like who I am. I think I’ve got a lot of compassion, and I’m reasonable and I’m loving. That’s where I got in the end, and I got there through a lot of reflection.”

Alison Moyet is at Ipswich Regent on Wednesday, November 11th

Moyet moments

• Sang at the Live Aid concert in 1985
• Was married to hairdresser Malcolm Lee and had a relationship with tour manager Kim McCarthy
• Has now been married to David Ballard for well over a decade
• He’s credited with curing Alison’s agoraphobia by taking her to football matches at Southend!
• The singer lives in Hertfordshire
• Made stage debut in the West End production of Chicago in 2001, playing Matron “Mama” Morton
• Alison’s Labrador, Tilly, is named after Steve Tilson, a former Southend player and now the club’s manager
• The singer reunited with Yazoo colleague Vince Clarke last year for some live dates

Comedian Ed Byrne puts the success of his new show down to his personal happiness. He tells James Rampton why.

Lovable stand-up Ed Byrne is in the form of his life.

Don’t just take my word for it though. The critics have been queuing up to praise his dazzling new show, Different Class.

One enthused that “his wit won deafening cheers and feet stomping,” another said that “tickets for his shows are like gold dust”.

He’s been called “masterful” and “at the top of his game”. It’s enough to swell a comic’s head.

The good news for us in Suffolk is that Ed Byrne is bringing Different Class to the Ipswich Regent on November 10.

And having spent an hour in his company I can testify that Ed is just as charming off the stage as he is on it. He possesses a genuine magnetism which he exudes like one of those force fields in an old episode of Star Trek. It is a real pleasure to spend time with him. It’s like being treated to a command performance to an audience of one. 

Ed, who hails from Swords in Dublin, starts our interview by assessing why his Different Class is striking such a chord with audiences.

He thinks they are lapping it up because he reveals so much about himself in his act. What is appealing is how candidly the comic discusses everything from his recent wedding to his frustration at only thinking up the appropriate bon mot long after the moment has passed.      

“The best comedy comes from a personal angle,” declares 36-year-old Ed, who has shone on numerous TV shows including Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and 8 out of 10 Cats.

“Sometimes you hear a comedian on stage saying, ‘I’m single,’ and you think, ‘no, you’re not, you’re married with kids!’ I think it makes a great difference if as a comic you can take your own life and tell the truth about it. If it’s real, it makes it so much better. It gives it much more authenticity and has far greater punch.”

The Irishman, who married in 2008, continues that, “you could be accused of self-indulgence, but my experience has been that audiences really like it when you reveal something of yourself on stage. It’s not funny unless they believe it.

“For instance, one section of Different Class that goes down very well is where I talk about my status. I discuss the difficulty of neither being massively famous nor totally obscure and how strange it is simply to be known as ‘that bloke’. The audience really enjoy the feeling of getting to know me better.”

One of the many outstanding sections of the show, which completely sold out during its month-long run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival, concerns Ed’s recent wedding.

He extracts loads of laughs from highlighting the numerous rip-offs in the wedding industry. He jokes, for example, that, “the best thing is that since I’ve been married, I haven’t had to plan a wedding!”

He also wants to congratulate the man who invented the tradition that the groom should never see his bride’s dress before The Big Day: “I want to shake his hand for getting us out of that particular shopping expedition. ‘Honey, nothing would give me greater pleasure than watching you try on infinity wedding dresses!’”

Ed reflects that in this part of the show, “I’m not slagging off my wife; I’m slagging off the wedding industry. Everyone can relate to the minor frustrations that any wedding involves, such as arguing about stuff that you don’t really care about!”

In this show, the comic also proffers some very strong material on that perennial obsession: the class system. Ed comes up with some great lines about it. “Pheasant is posh,” he muses at one point, “even if you eat it with Alphabetti Spaghetti!”

He observes that, “we’re all fascinated by the subject of class, and there’s a lot of comic mileage in it. It’s a leitmotif that runs through the show. The funny thing is, when I asked the audience in at the Riverside in London, ‘who would call themselves middle class?’, only one brave soul usually puts his hand up. I can’t believe that in an affluent West London there is only one middle-class person!” 

Ed is delighted that Different Class is quite rightly receiving so much acclaim. He tries to appraise quite why it has chimed with audiences to such a degree. “I’ve been reliably informed that this is my best show yet,” he smiles. “It’s partly down to experience.

More than anything, though, as mushy as it sounds, it’s down to the love of a good woman. That really helps my comedy because it means I’m freer to focus on it.

“In 2004, a lot of my show was centred on my bitterness about a previous girlfriend. It was cathartic, but at the same time it wasn’t very fair, as she wasn’t there to stand up for herself. That style didn’t suit me. I think what I’m doing now suits me much better.”

The stand-up adds: “I’m now leading a life that lends itself much better to comedy. I’m doing lovely things like getting married and reporting on that and audiences seem to warm to it.”
Never more than a minute or two away from the next joke, Ed concludes with a mischievous grin that, “of course, if my wife ever left me, I’d end up doing the divorce show, and it’s quite possible that that wouldn’t go down very well at all! People prefer me when I’m happy.”

Ed Byrne will be at Ipswich Regent on Tuesday November 10 to perform his live show, Different Class, the DVD of which is released on November 23.

Early reviews of Alesha Dixon’s current tour painted a picture of a strictly professional, glitzy but slightly short show.

Her opening night clocked in at little more than an hour and apparently lacked a bit of heart.

Whatever The Alesha Show had been, it certainly wasn’t soulless at Ipswich.

There was a long delay before we saw the star – a couple of serviceable support acts had to do until 9pm.

When she got to the stage, it was worth the wait: she sure can dance, as her 2007 Strictly Come Dancing victory showed.

And she can sing, too, although some styles suit her better than others.

Most of Alesha’s songs were drawn from her current album. A new single, To Love Again, was co-composed with Gary Barlow; Don't

Ever Let Me Go got everyone on their feet and Breathe Slow was suitably emotional.

The show began with Ms Dixon on a swing, in spangly silver shorts, a black hat perched on her head and a cane in her hand.

The opening quarter of an hour set a high standard for energy and material, which was mostly funk, right down to a segue into James Brown’s Get Up.

Dixon was accompanied by two dancers, who would gradually reveal themselves to be rather well-muscled. They began the night in some well choreographed routines with the star, both in top hat and tails, rather like some moonwalking Artful Dodgers

Costumes could have come from the wardrobe of Strictly, and routines were suitably intricate, including some dazzling work with the top hat and cane.

A revealing segment midway through, the “Mis-teeq Zone”, showed us the more urban material to which her voice seems better suited and she looked more at home in that genre.

The biggest song – and the best routine – was saved for the encore: a spirited romp through The Boy Does Nothing.

It summed up her appeal as the all-round middle-of-the-road family entertainer that she’s become over the past couple of years.

There’s a big market for Dixon’s kind of talent and the fans appeared to love it.

Mark Crossley

Evening Star - 10.11.09

A large majority of the Regent’s audience would have probably been more familiar with watching Simon Amstell interview pop stars on T4’s Popworld, or hosting the popular comedy quiz show, Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

However on Friday night, it was his chance to shine as a solo comic performing stand-up, and I don’t know if he actually had the audience with him all the way.

The show focused on his loneliness, insecurities, and hapless encounters in his search for his perfect man-which is ‘young, skinny and vulnerable’.

His intelligent, confessional humour, was weaved superbly into his stories, which revealed that Amstell, like many comedians, is an incredibly self-deprecating and introspective character. Much of what he observes are situations that most people could relate to, like not living in the moment (as he ran down the Champs

Elysees thinking ‘this will make a good memory’), and putting up with going to the same nightclub in Romford, Essex, for three years,  not realising how close London was.

Despite many laughs, it did not feel that he was really connecting with the audience, and vice versa.

Perhaps it was his pre-conceived ideas about Ipswich that did not make us fall in love with him.  When a joke about the BNP did not get a massive laugh, Amstell then began implying we were ‘his’ (Nick Griffin’s) followers. Not the best way to get everyone on board.

Or maybe it was the fact that he was slightly out of his comfort zone, and is yet to find his feet as a big-name comedian, coping with large crowds like Ricky Gervais.

Whatever the reason, there is certainly plenty to look forward to from Amstell as he is incredibly talented and can only improve with experience.

A special mention must go out to his support act, Arnab Chanda, who was one of the best warm-up comedians I have ever seen. So enjoyable was his set that you almost forgot Amstell was due on. Definitely one to watch out for.

Naomi Gornall

Evening Star  - 09.11.09

Okay, so it’s a real guilty pleasure – but there really is nothing like Steve Steinman’s concoction of classic rock numbers, over-the-top costumes, and frankly crude humour to reduce middle-aged rockers and their teenage kids to the same level!

Every year the show comes back and it’s tweaked a bit to make it more interesting – but every year there’s enough of the same to satisfy the punters who know what they want and want it loud!

This year we were introduced to Bosley the janitor who makes old man Steptoe look like a cultural icon!

The mix of songs was also re-jigged slightly with a heavy emphasis this year on AC/DC numbers – but then that band has been enjoying something of a revival over the last few months.

From the opening bars of Thunderstruck through to the last encore of Knocking of Heaven’s Door this was a night that rocked the Regent to its rafters and delighted the capacity audience.

Emily Clark once again provided the glamour and showed how to belt out Bonnie Tyler hits almost as good as Bonnie herself.

But the real star of the show was once again Toyah Wilcox who returned as the Devil Queen and stopped the show with every number.

She may be an eighties icon, but as the noughties come to an end she proved she can still deliver the big numbers – even if they aren’t her own!

With a fine band to back them up and the kind of go-go dancers that you really should disapprove of, as I say this show is a real guilty pleasure – but it’s something I wouldn’t miss for the world at this time of the year!

Next year Steinman is bringing something new to the Regent – he’s touring with an Australian musical in the spring, Bad Boy Johnny & The Prophets of Doom.

Ipswich is one of only a handful of regional theatres that will be used at test-beds for this show. Few in this weekend’s audience will delay long before buying their tickets!

Paul Geater

Evening Star (09.11.09)

Let the battle begin.

After four weeks of voting, the finalists of the LoveMusic24.co.uk Battle of the Bands contest can today be named as This Boy Wonders, Playing With Fire, Fagan, Echoes Fall and This Sudden Injury.

Hundreds of people either voted online or by text for their favourites who uploaded their songs on to the lovemusic24 website.

The five acts, all from Suffolk and Essex, will now go head to head in the final on November 14 at the Circle Lounge of the Ipswich Regent theatre.

A panel of judges will pick a winner, who will receive a weekend of recording at Punch Studios, free membership for a year at Punch Academy and album artwork by Outsauce.

They will also get to support hotly-tipped indie rockers Prego when they play in Ipswich on the night of the final.

Stuart Bridges, 23, from Felixstowe, is the bassist for heavy metal group Echoes Fall. He said: “I’m really chuffed. It’s going to be a great opportunity just to show ourselves off because we want to bring ourselves into the public eye and show people that metal still exists.”

Folk/indie rockers This Boy Wonders are based in Boxford and rehearse at the White Hart in the village, where singer and guitarist Chris Athorne is also the bar manager.

Chris, 24, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic news – it’s really put a smile on my face. We had no idea we’d get through – it’s been a bit of a blur. We were really behind and I’m surprised we got there.”

Four 16-year-old St Albans School pupils - Alex Bloomfield, Joseph Ashby, Paul Buckley and Francis Pitcher –make up Playing With Fire.
Alex, who plays the drums for the soft metal group, said: “Being at school we are lucky we know a lot of people who can get a lot of votes for us. It’s a great opportunity.”

Fagan are one of the more established acts on the line-up, even supporting indie band The Holloways at Essex University this weekend, but 21-year-old singer/guitarist Liam Fitzgerald said they would be preparing something special for the final.

He said: “We haven’t really played in Ipswich before. We’ve got quite a lot of our own songs and have been together for about two years now and are just starting to get a bit of recognition.”

The final band on the bill are This Sudden Injury, a five-piece pop-punk act from Ipswich, only formed a few months ago.

Drummer Peter Callaghan said: “I’m delighted. It will be good for us because we are so new. We were asking people to vote and they didn’t know who we were – to get in the last five is just amazing.”

GET YOUR TICKETS

Now the bands have been announced its time to get your tickets to see them all perform at the grand final on Saturday November 14.
Tickets cost £5 and are available online at www.lovemusic24.co.uk/tickets or from the Evening Star and East Anglian Daily Times offices in Lower Brook Street, Ipswich.

IN 1964, The Beatles were the biggest pop group on the planet and when they came to the Gaumont that year it was one of the biggest days ever for their fans, the theatre and for Ipswich.

Jenny Underwood (nee Evans) from Sudbury has good reason to remember it:

“I remember the Beatles coming to the Ipswich Gaumont very well. I was 13 years old at the time.

“When the tickets went on sale, two friends and myself started queuing early in the morning and were second in the queue.

“That night, my mother and a friend of hers took over as they weren't happy about us being out all night. In the morning we took over again and were interviewed by the BBC and Anglia News and the Evening Star.

“We are the three girls wearing white Beatle T-shirts. I am the one with the dark hair.

“The picture has been used quite often when the Beatles show is mentioned.

“We managed to get front row seats and had a wonderful time. My sister Liz and her friend came along just to make sure we behaved ourselves.

“What great memories.”

Links

See more pictures from the Beatles visit to Ipswich.

Ipswich Town's Super Blues are going pop crazy with Pink, it can be revealed today.

For the singing superstar is to usher in a new concert era on the hallowed turf of Ipswich Town - in one of only six arena performances across the UK next year as part of the performer's Funhouse Carnival Tour.

The superstar will visit Ipswich in June in a show which is certain to attract thousands of fans from around London and the East.

Up to 25,000 fans will pack the stadium to see the multimillion record selling bad girl of pop.

Portman Road last hosted a concert in the summer of 2007 when the Red Hot Chilli Peppers came to town. In previous years, Elton John, Neil Diamond and REM have all graced the stage.

The show will again test the expertise of head groundsman Alan Ferguson - plastic matting will protect the turf which itself will be put into a chemical deep-sleep until it re-surfaces.

The 30-year-old rock chick has in the past been on the road with Lenny Kravitz, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, but this will be her fifth solo tour.

In that time she has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and stunned millions of fans with her unique brand of scintillating live performance.

Currently completing the last few legs of her record-breaking worldwide Funhouse Tour, Pink announced via Twitter that she would be returning in 2010 and that Portman Road would be a venue for her Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour.

Fans can expect to see the ground transformed into a carnival-style set with what promoters promise will be visually stunning new production, with special support acts still to be announced.

Pink's cross-country tour will kick-off on Saturday June 12 at Bolton's Reebok Stadium, before visiting Swansea, Coventry, Glasgow, Alton Towers and culminating with a spectacular finale in Ipswich on Tuesday, June 29.

Tickets for Pink's Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour will go on sale at 10am on Monday and are available for £45 from these 24 hour credit card hotlines: 0844 847 2450, 0871 230 1080, 0844 338 8000

See the Gigs/Events section for further details.

You can also get tickets online at the following websites: ticketmaster.co.uk, seetickets.com, theticketfactory.com

Tickets are not available from Portman Road.

Fast Facts:

Pink has sold more than 30 million records worldwide, topping the album and singles charts here and in her home country. She has even appeared in several Hollywood movies including Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.

- Real name: Alecia Beth Moore

- Born: September 8, 1979, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania

- Honours: Five MTV Video Music Awards, two Grammies, one Brit Award for Best International Female

The band Simply Red has announced it will playing in Thetford Forest next year as part of a live music season run by the Forestry Commission.

The group, fronted by Mick Hucknall, has had a string of hits during the past 25 years.

Simply Red will be on stage at Thetford Forest, near Brandon, on June 11.

Mr Hucknall said: “As we had such fun performing a solo forest show at Westonbirt Arboretum this year, we decided it would be great to play all the forest concert venues around the country in 2010.

“It is a fantastic experience for a band to play in these unique settings".

Forestry Commission Live Music pays for itself and any profit generated goes back into improving woodlands for both wildlife and the public to enjoy.

Tickets cost £38.00 and will go on sale at 9.00am Friday. Contact the ticket hotline on 01842 814612 or buy online at www.forestry.gov.uk/music.

Click here for event details.