Sweet pop, hip-hop and just plain strange pop - 26.05.03

By Michal Palti

The same music, the same political voting, but next year, Eurovision will be
bigger and longer. Are we ready?

The Eurovision contest on Saturday night in Riga was the last in the format
that has been familiar for the past 48 years. On Saturday Sarah Yoan, a
representative of the European Broadcasting Union, which will organize the
contest from now on, announced that beginning next year the Eurovision will
be held over two consecutive days (Friday and Saturday) and representatives
of 40 countries will be able to participate.

In the first stage, countries that did not make it into a high place in the
current contest will compete, and in the second stage, the 24 countries that
won the highest scores in the first stage will compete. In any case, the
places of Spain, Britain, France and Germany in the second stage are assured
because they fund the European Broadcasting Union.

Another innovation: On November 15, a Eurovision for children will be held
in Denmark, moderated by Ronan Keating (formerly of Boyzone) and with the
participation of Robbie Williams and Britney Spears. The contest will be
limited, at least in its first year, to 11 competitors aged 8 to 16. The
winner will release a single with EMI.

These two initiatives testify mainly to the recognition of the economic and
marketing power of the Eurovision, which is watched annually by about 300
million viewers. At the European Broadcasting Union, they have granted the
request of countries that are unable to participate in the contest, mainly
because they received low scores and were bumped from the competition.

There are those who relate cynically to the contest and there are others who
love it and there are some people who are a combination of the two. In any
case, the viewer rate is high. It is still considered, not always justly, a
way to advance the careers of beginning singers, who receive high exposure.
The winning song is assured sales of several million copies. In years when
the music industry suffers a slowdown, this is a significant factor that
attracts vocalists.

O2 in the park - 22.05.03

Girls Aloud to heline O2 in the Park...

There has been much speculation of the line-up for this summer's O2 in the
Park concert but we can finally tell you that Girls Aloud will head up the
gig.

Everyone from Westlife to Ronan Keating has been rumoured to be heading up
this year's O2 in the Park concert. But today we learned that Popstars The
Rivals winners Girls Aloud will head up the gig.

Louis Walsh's latest band featuring Derry girl, Nadine Coyle, are the first
of 30 International and Irish acts who will play Ireland’s biggest free
concert on July 5 in the Phoenix Park.

Also lined up for the giog are Eurovision hopeful, Mickey Joe Harte joined
by You're a Star rival, Simon Casey, setting the stage for a host of Irish
acts including SIX and new boy band, Mankind.

For information on tickets, transport and line-up, log onto: www.o2.ie or
www.2fm.ie.

Boyzone 'to hold TV contest' for Keating replacement - 20.05.03

10:30 BST, Sunday 18th May 2003 -- by Neil Wilkes

Boyzone are set to make a comeback three years after they split, according
to The People today.

The Irish boyband will be without former frontman Ronan Keating, however,
who recently said he would never rejoin the group.

The newspaper reports that the four remaining members -- Mikey Graham,
Stephen Gateley, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch -- will hold a Pop Idol style
hunt to find a replacement for Keating.

"They know the business inside out and are very confident they'll be
successful again," said a source. "A search for a replacement on live TV is
just one of their ideas but the lads think it has huge potential."
 

'POP IDOL' HUNT FOR NEW BOYZONE STAR - 20.05.03

BOYZONE are to hold a Pop Idol-style contest to find a replacement for
singer Ronan Keating.

Superstar Ronan, 26, has said he will NEVER rejoin the band following his
solo career.

But the four other members are ready to sign up a lucky pop wannabe in a TV
talent search.

The lads - Mikey Graham, Stephen Gately, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch - are
convinced they can recapture the amazing success they enjoyed before
splitting up at the height of their fame three years ago.

A source close to the lads said: "They know the business inside out and are
very confident.

"A search for a replacement on live TV is just one of their ideas but the
lads think it has huge potential."
 

RONAN SETS OFF ON CHARITY WALK - 18/05/03

Story Filed: Saturday 17 May 2003 1:19pm

Pop star Ronan Keating called on his fans to come out and support him as he began his marathon charity walk around Ireland. The former Boyzone singer, who set off on his journey from the Giant's
Causeway on the Co Antrim coast, is aiming to complete the 420-mile journey and arrive at his destination, Kinsale in Co Cork, by June 8.

Before setting off he signed autographs for a crowd of fans who had turned up to wish him well. During his walk he will be accompanied by a team of volunteers who will collect money on behalf of the Marie Keating Foundation and Action Cancer.

Father-of-two Ronan and his family set up the foundation five years ago in memory of his mother, Marie, who died from breast cancer. As he began his walk accompanied by his wife, former model Yvonne, the singer said he hoped people would cheer him on and donate to the
charity. "We've had a great response so far, so I'm really hoping we get the support we need as we pass through each town," he said.

"Volunteers will be out shaking their collecting tins, so I would urge everyone to come out and donate for this worthy cause." To prepare for the 20-mile a day hike, Ronan has trained regularly for a month and said he was ready for the challenge.

"I feel fitter than ever, but it's a very tough challenge and I hope I make it," he said. "I'll be walking up to 20 miles a day but it's important to me to do this."

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd 2003, All Rights Reserved.

Ronan in Belfast Telegraph - 17/05/03

Ronan Keating: hitting the road for charity POP heart-throb Ronan Keating today told why his "crazy idea" to walk the length of Ireland was something he felt he had to do. The singer, who has just finished a UK tour, will kick off the marathon trek at the Giant's Causeway tomorrow morning.And he hopes to finish the gruelling challenge in three weeks time at Kinsale in Co Cork.

The 420-mile walk - which will take him through Ballymena Belfast, Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin and Kildare - is to raise money for the Marie Keating Foundation, the charity he set up in memory of his mother who died five years ago. Dozens of volunteers will accompany Ronan on different legs of his fund-raising walk, collecting money along the way. Proceeds raised will also go to Action Cancer in Northern Ireland to help raise awareness of the disease.

Taking a break from training to speak to the Belfast Telegraph, Ronan said: "I had this crazy idea one night to do something different from the usual gala balls to raise money for the Foundation. "I know it's going to be a difficult challenge but obviously the Foundation is very important to me and my family."If, through cancer awareness, we can help save one life in honour of my mum it will be wonderful."If we can help save a lot of lives, it will be an incredible achievement."

To prepare for the long trek, Ronan has been training intensively since the beginning of April, walking up to 15 miles a day."I'm feeling good at the moment, quite fit," he said, "but I'm also a bit apprehensive about the whole thing."You just never know what's going to happen and how the body will hold up, but I've been given the all-clear by the doctor and I'm ready to go. "Some days I'll be walking up to 20 miles, so I reckon my feet are really going to feel it. I just hope I don't pull too many muscles or get too many blisters."

Ronan's wife Yvonne will join him on the first day of the walk, and at some stage, his two children Jack and Marie will come out to cheer him on."I really hope people come out to support us," he said. "We've had a great response so far and hopefully the walk will not only raise money for the Foundation and Action Cancer, but raise
awareness of cancer as well."
 

MAN ALIVE - 17/05/03

Macca and Lisa bare all (well, nearly!)
THE Yeovil Express is backing Cancer Research UK in its bid to raise £300,000 nationally over the next month for research into the various cancers that can affect men.

The charity's Man Alive campaign - which began this week and runs until June 15 - is also hoping to raise awareness among men and encourage them to be more open about health issues.

Each year almost 130,000 men are diagnosed with cancer in the UK. The most common cancer in men is lung cancer followed by prostate, bowel and testicular cancer.

The local launch of Man Alive took place on Friday at Yeovil Town Football Club where the charity's community fundraiser Claire Hawkings met the players who were more than pleased to support the campaign.

Claire said: "Due to their recent success, the Glovers have become local heroes in Yeovil, so the club will be heading our Man Alive campaign
locally."

Players Michael McIndoe and Adam Stansfield posed for photographs dressed in just their boxer shorts to help highlight testicular cancer - a disease which sees almost 2,000 new cases reported in the UK every year.

Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson said: "We were more than pleased to help Cancer Research in this worthwhile campaign."

Now the Express is backing the appeal and is hoping readers will come up trumps by donating money.

Editor-in-Chief of the Express, Ken Bird, said: "I know it isn't long since we closed our FAST (Fund A Scanner Today) Appeal for Yeovil District
Hospital and we don't want to keep on asking our readers for cash, but we really do feel that the Man Alive campaign is something we should all try to help.

"It doesn't matter how much you can afford because every penny will help Cancer Research towards its £300,000 target. The statistics about cancer in men are quite frightening - so we feel we must lend our support."

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said: "There are so many ways you can get involved in Man Alive 2003 to help raise funds for research.

"Our work is providing vital leads for new ways to prevent and treat cancers that affect 130,000 men each year. Please help us to continue this
life-saving work."

The Man Alive campaign has a long list of celebrity supporters including actors Sir Ian Holm and Timothy West, comedians Graham Norton and Harry Hill, television presenters Dermot O'Leary and Michael Aspel, pop stars Sir Cliff Richard and Ronan Keating, and Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ale’s well for Ronan’s run - 15/05/03

Ronan Keating has been preparing for his amazing walk the length of Ireland
in a rather curious way. You might think that the star would have been going
to the gym every day and building up his stamina with hours on a tread mill.
But the singer, 26, has other ideas. He said, “I think the key to lasting
the distance is a pint of Guinness every day. It will give me a good iron
boost and help me to get through the pain barrier. I’m also going to need a
really good pair of trainers.” Sounds like the drinks are on Ronan!

(The Daily Mirror - 14/5/03)
 

Singer brings special wedding joy - 05/05/03

By The Evening Chronicle

Former Boyzone star Ronan Keating was guest of honour at the wedding of one
of the North East's richest men.

The Irish star was hired to sing live to the bride of Graham Wylie, the
founder of computer giant Sage, who is worth more than £100 million.

Mr Wylie, 42, booked Keating to sing When You Say Nothing At All, the theme
song to hit movie Notting Hill, to his new wife Andrea.

Held at Slaley Hall, near Hexham, on Saturday evening, the event has been
described as the North East wedding of the decade.

There were gasps of surprise as a curtain wall at one end of a marquee was
drawn back to reveal a band and Ronan Keating.

The song was chosen as Notting Hill was the film that the couple saw on
their first date together in 1999.

Mr Wylie's wedding was arranged by Andrew Chance - who organised David and
Victoria Beckham's World Cup party.

Mr Chance said: "It was one of the best, if not the best, wedding I have
ever organised. It went smoothly from start to finish and it was certainly
one of the happiest."

Guests were treated to a 10-minute firework display and sipped champagne
from flutes designed by Jasper Conran. The wedding cake was made up of 150
individual lemon cakes covered in white chocolate.

Chat with Ronan Keating - 03.05.02

Ronan's new single 'The Long Goodbye' was released on Monday and
the midweek charts had it at No.3. He joined Lorraine and Paul to
chat about his recent tour and to perform his new single.

The Solo Story...

This new single is taken from the triple platinum selling album
'Destination' which was released last year. The single was written
by Ronan and Irish songwriter Paul Brady and has already enjoyed
chart success in the US last year. The track was covered by
country duo Brooks and Dunn and went to No.1 in the Country chart.
"We wrote the song over two years ago now and I thought it was
about time I recorded it myself. Paul's a fantastic songwriter,
really good guy and a great friend."

Ronan's album was released in May 2002 and went straight to No.1.
It contains the singles 'If Tomorrow Never Comes', 'Lovin' Each Day',
'I Love It When We Do' and 'We've Got Tonight'. The album has sold
over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

On Tour...

Ronan has just completed a whirlwind UK tour and has played to
sell-out audiences. This was the final leg of a world tour which
started in the UK about this time last year. The tour took him
to all five continents and was a fantastic success."Touring for me is
the probably the best part. It's when you've got the most amount of
freedom and the most amount of control."

The 'Hope' CD...

His children, Ronan admits, are the reason he agreed to get involved
in the Hope album, which is being launched with the aim of raising
money for the children of Iraq. He has done a cover of Elvis's hit
'In The Ghetto' for the album. "I know it's a cliche but since I've
become a Dad, I've become so horrified by the suffering of other
children. My kids are too young to know what this war has been about
but my little nephew who is eight was round the other day and I was
horrified by how much he has picked up. He was running round playing
war. It was all 'you be bin Laden, I'll be Saddam' stuff. Terrifying."

Ronan also played at the 'One Big No' anti-war gig in March,
performing an accoustic set alongside the likes of Chris Martin, Fran
Healey, Faithless, Beth Orton and Paul Weller.

Rear Of The Year...

Ronan was named Rear Of The Year last month alongside Natasha
Hamilton. "It came out of the blue and I had no idea that I was even
in the running. It's certainly a bit different than the awards you
normally pick up in the pop business.I'm not sure who decided I had
the best bum - I will get loads of stick for this from all my mates."

Ronan's 'rear' was analysed by Sam Amos. To find out more details
about Sam, visit her official website - www.trevorbate.com/sam 
 

Tour's Fizzy Finish - 01.05.03

A select gathering of family and friends held a private bash at
Precious nightclub last weekend to celebrate the end of Ronan's
current tour.

After spraying his tour manager with champagn, the singer opted for
an early night after an exhausting night at the Odyssey which saw
him lose his voice during the performance.

Ronan, who was suffering from a sore throat, was disappointed with
the way things went but he needn't have worried as his fans loved
every second of the concert.

After calling it a night, Ronan and wife Yvonne headed for home,
leaving the rest of the party animals in Precious.

Belfast artist and close pal of the Dublin singer, Terry Bradley,
was there with wife Ashleigh, accompanied by hairdressing's golden
couple Paul Stafford and Leisa Meli.
 

Stars help charity's fundraising effort - 01.05.03

TWO Suffolk star spotters keen to raise a massive £1million for charity have
enlisted the help of around 600 celebrity friends to make their quest come
true.

And the duo, from Bury St Edmunds, are appealing for public support to help
them transform what once was a hobby into a charity goldmine.

For 27-year-old Simon Fuller and Paul Revens, 26, have pledged to raise over
£1million for Cancer Research UK after personal experiences of the illness -
and say they will not stop until they reach their goal.

And the pair, who have been collecting autographs for around two years as a
hobby, now hope the 600 items they have accumulated can help them on their
way, raising much-needed cash during an online celebrity auction.

Items going under the virtual hammer on May 4 include a pair of TV chef
Nigella Lawson's designer shoes, Essex boy Jamie Oliver's oven gloves and
Chinese cook supreme Ken Hom's chef's hat.

Scripts from hit comedy series The Office and top ITV soap opera Coronation
Street, are also expected to attract fierce bidding as fans fight for a
slice of limited edition memorabilia.

Autographs from Bedford athlete Paula Radcliffe, Brummie comedian Frank
Skinner and Anthony Worrall Thompson, who is currently slumming it in the
Australian rainforest in ITV series I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

And the glasses which helped Irish crooner and ex-boy band singer Ronan
Keating to a Spectacle Wearer of the Year title will also be up for grabs.

"I've always wanted to do something for charity, to help out in some way or
to raise money," said Paul.

"I've seen a few people go through the horrors and ordeals of cancer, and
their bravery really inspired me. After seeing how they dealt with the
disease and kept battling, raising money for this great charity is the least
I can do."

Around ten items each week will be added to the auction, giving possible
buyers the chance to view their favourite item before placing a bid.

And the determined duo have pledged the selling will continue - and plan to
add around 10 new items to the auction every week until they reach their
£1million target.

"Cancer has always been something I have been aware of, having had close
family members suffer with it," said Simon. "Consequently, there was only
one choice for me when thinking of a charity to help.

"It seemed a good idea to raise some money for Cancer Research UK, as I feel
that cancer is a disease that seems to affect so many people, sometimes with
devastating effect.

"I feel that there should be a lot more money made available for the
research into a cure for this disease.

"One in three people could at sometime in their lives be affected with it,
which is the big reason why I want to raise money for Cancer Research UK."

Nicki Stapleton, community fundraiser for Cancer Research UK, welcomed the
fundraising effort.

"Cancer Research UK is working hard to find treatments, causes and
ultimately a cure for cancer," she said.

"Our work is almost entirely funded by voluntary donations, so we are
extremely grateful to Simon and Paul as well as all the celebrities who are
supporting this brilliant venture."

For details of how to bid, or to view the items up for sale, go to
www.celebritystuff.org



RONAN KEATING
Another fantastic donation from a great musician. Ronan Keating a world
famous performer both in Boyzone and now a Solo artist has donated the very
spectacles that he wore to win the title 'Spectacle Wearer of the Year 1998.
Ronan Keating's mother Marie passed away from Cancer and we value the
support of someone so famous who see's our fundraising as a positive thing
for them to support.


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