X Factor Homecoming Gig - December 2014

I know not everyone is a fan of the X Factor. To be honest, at times, the show absolutely frustrates me with choices of contestants who make it to the live shows and then the British public frustrates me because they vote for the wrong people! But I continue to watch because there has been some fantastic artists to come from the show, whether or not they won. I mean, just look at Ella Henderson, eliminated in a shock bottom 2, despite being favourite to win, waited two years before releasing material and her debut single was a massive hit as it was just so good! 

Croydon has seen many finalists over the years but it has never managed to be lucky enough to have one get to the final show! Last year, the semi finals with the talented Rough Copy. But this year, it finally happened, someone from Croydon finally got to the final. And that was Ben Haenow! And getting to final meant two things, he could possibly win this and that Croydon was getting a homecoming gig!!!!

So, yes, I went to it with Rachael! We waited 3 hours to see him, meaning we got a spot at the front! It was worth the wait and watching the crowds slowly increase in numbers to show their support for Ben! No one was impressed by being made to wait as Simon was running late, he actually got booed! But he arrived and he came on stage to introduce Ben. Despite everything that was said and despite the fact I still believe he favoured Fleur over Ben, you could tell he was supportive of Ben. 

The noise for Ben when he finally came out on stage was enormous! There was so much love and support for him! He was so overwhelmed by it all! But he managed to perform for the crowds, Jealous Guy and Come Together. He was fantastic! His time on stage may have been short and sweet but it was worth the wait to see him perform and to show him our support!

I was convinced by the day of the final that Fleur was going to win. Though, at last second I changed my mind and thought Ben may have done it. You see, when they come out for the announcement of the winner, there seems to be tell tale sign of who is going to win. I have noticed it on the X Factor and variety of other shows. One person will always look calm and the other will look nervous and sometimes terrified. And it is the latter person who always wins! Ben looked so nervous during the wait for the name of who had won that I realised he had done it. But it didn't stop me screaming so loud when his name was announced that I woke up my son!!!!

So CONGRATULATIONS BEN!!!! You so deserve this! The voting figures proved you did!

Cats - December 2014

When I was 6 years old, I appeared in my first dance show. I remember being a rabbit and being one of the many children of the Old Woman who lived in a Shoe. I also remember being freaked out BY the class dressed as Zombies to perform Michael Jackson's Thriller. But it was the medley of songs from the musical, Cats, that really stuck with me. The songs were just so catchy and written in a way that these amazing dances could be choreographed to them. My favourite one was Macavity, but perhaps that was because my aunt performed the role in the medley. 

Despite my memories of that medley, I had never seen Cats the Musical until this year's West End revival. I don't know why it took me so long, it just did. I knew with the press the UK tour was getting, that eventually it would find its way back to the West End. It really came as no surprise to me when it was announced. I booked my tickets on the day of release, fearing I would miss out if I didn't. Cheap tickets in the Upper Circle was fine by me as long as it meant I was seeing the show. Even more excitement was that Nicole Scherzinger was performing the coveted role of Grizabella, a role made famous by Elaine Page, to whom anyone who plays her is compared. 

One of the amazing things about this revival is that the original creative team were brought on board again. Direction by Trevor Nunn, who I was fortunate to meet after the show. Choreography by the talented Gillian Lynne, who I adore. Design was by John Napier. Despite the original creative team, the show was given a fresh lease of life with changes being made to modernize parts of the show. 

I was so excited about seeing the show, even if according to the website, Nicole was not scheduled to appear. Our seats were high up and yet gave us this spectacular view of the stage. The set came out into the audience and in front of the boxes, making the audience closer to the action. It truly is an incredible design and I will not be surprised if it picks up some awards in the new year.

Throughout the show, I was like a little at Christmas. I knew the majority of the music so well, thanks to my childhood and only now I was seeing it truly brought to life on stage. While the show is set around a book of poems by TS Eliot, it does have a basic storyline. To be honest paid attention to it, as I was astounded by the phenomenal talent on stage before me. The vocals were outstanding and on point. The dancing was the best choreography I have ever seen, with not one cast member struggling to sing at the same time. Imagine my excitement then, when Grizabella stepped out on stage for the first time and the realisation hit me that it WAS in fact Nicole performing the role that night. I could barely contain my excitement. 

Nicole Scherzinger has taken a lot of criticism for even being cast. Casting doubt on her ability to perform one of the most iconic songs in the musical theatre and being able to live up the standard expected by Elaine Page fans was quite honestly unfair. She had proven herself to be more than capable before even being cast, having performed songs from Phantom of the Opera and Evita. She is trained in musical theatre. Therefore, how could people be doubting the decision to cast her? Either way, she shut her critics up, proving to be perfect casting. Her performance of Memories was phenomenal, slowly building up until the last section where she just let go. It was emotional, bringing tears to many people's eyes. I was also impressed that at curtain call, despite being the biggest star on that stage, she did not allow herself to hog the limelight, wanting to share it with everyone on that stage! 

Cats is definitely one of the best revivals on the West End this year. Casting was phenomenal despite those who doubted the decisions made. But most of all I am so happy I finally saw this amazing show that I booked to see it again in January!

London Film and Comic Con Winter - October 2014

After the madness and the expense of LFCC in July, I really did not think I would be able to afford to attend the Winter one. But as always, guest after guest were announced that I wanted to meet, so I knew I had to find money to be able to attend. Obviously I did, as I would not be writing this blog. Sadly, because I have it so long to write this, I cannot remember everything from that day, so I will do my best!

This year I met: Mindy Sterling, Ariana Richards, Michael Trucco, Alan Ruck, Peter Duncan, Jerome Flynn, Ralph Macchio, MC Gainey, Catrin Stewart, Melody Perkins, and the wrestlers, Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hottie.

I had the pleasure of being able to meet Mindy Sterling, famous for her role in the Austin Powers franchise. She was absolutely bundle of energy, dancing during her photoshoot with the fans. Rachael was meant to come with me as she wanted to meet Mindy, as she has appeared in ANT Farm and ICarly. So I made sure I got the autograph signed for Rachael and Mindy asked me to say hello to Rachael for her when I got home. That made Rachael's day!

Another of my fave guests from the day was MC Gainey. I was scheduled to meet him in July but unfortunately he had to cancel. Luckily I was able to use my photoshoot ticket at LFCCW instead. He was an absolute pleasure to meet. I told him I actually liked his character from Lost and was sad when they killed him off. As I was trying to decide between two photos of his character to have signed, he ended up signing them both for me, at no extra cost to me.

The guest I was probably most excited for was Alan Ruck. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is one of my fave movies and Alan Ruck is outstanding as Cameron. I have to admit I could barely contain my excitement over meeting him and probably embarrassed myself in front of him when I got his autograph! Annoyingly, he was my last photo shoot of the day at 4pm, which was a bit of pain. Turns out it was for him too as he turned up to it with luggage as it appeared he had to be quick as he had a flight to catch!

An unexpected guest for me was Jerome Flynn. I had not intended to meet him as he was slightly more expensive to do so and I was more of a fan of his music than any of the TV shows he has done. But I bumped into a friend and we both decided why the hell not! He was an absolute gentleman and actually didn't mind that I love his album from the 90's (Yes, I am talking about Robson and Jerome). He even gave my friend a quick photo even though he was not to be doing them apart from his photoshoot. But there is always one guest who is prepared to bend the rules!

Despite the number of guests I met, it was actually quite quiet and I completed all my autographs within an hour and somehow managed to find ways to waste the time before my photoshoots. Now I need to save up for LFCC in July, which looks like it will be expensive just based on the first few guest announcements!!

The Big Reunion Boyband Tour - October 2014

Anyone who knows me, knows I love my boybands! So when the Big Reunion announced that this year's tour would comprise of the boybands from both series, I knew I had to go! I managed to get a seat in the presale, for the front middle block, six rows from the front at The O2 Arena, for what was a reasonable price in comparison to other shows I have seen there. For the price I paid, I got to see SEVEN boybands, who were amazing!

A1: My favourite boyband on the tour. I have love them ever since I saw them first perform at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party, when they were battling it out for Best New Tour Act with Westlife (they didn't win). Been very lucky to have been able to meet them a few times when I was a teenager. They had done the reunion without Paul and this tour was no difference. To be honest, I highly doubt we will ever see Paul back with A1. The boys opened the show with Take On Me and also performed throughout the night, Caught in the Middle, Same Old Brand New You and Everytime. I really want to say the perform another song, but my mind has gone blank and I cannot find the official setlist for the show! Either they gave a fantastic performance, being the only band to play their own instruments in the show and it was great to hear more of Christian's voice as well. However, my own question is how did Ben managed the show without splitting his extremely tight trousers???

5ive: So before the tour begun and barely after it had been announced, it was announced that Abz would be taking part in the tour. 5 had already become 4 and now they were 3, and will continue to be 3 (as I have just discovered while checking my facts). To be honest, I was quite concerned how this would work as they had lost both their rappers and I had no idea how they were to pull it off! But my fears were squashed as they pull it off brilliantly. Turns out Scott is not too bad a rapper! It did not matter that they had lost members because despite now being 3, they still pulled off a great performance as they had when they were 5 or even 4. They performed the same songs as they had the year before: We Will Rock You/Everybody Get Up medley, Keep On Movin, If Ya Getting Down and they also performed When the Lights Go Out (I remember that as it is my fave song of theirs.

Damage: Another band with a member down. But with their vocals and harmonies still on point. I was never a huge fan of Damage but was obsessed with Love II Love. After seeing in February and again on their tour, I don't think I could ever get tired of listening to them song as their harmonies are for me some of the best in the business! They perfomed: Ghetto Romance, Wonderful Tonight, Forever and Love II Love. Throughout the evening everyone had been doing the obligatory stage selfies, but Damage had to go the other way, posing for the fans. Started serious and then just got funny!


911: Another band from the first series with a guarantee to get the girls screaming during Bodyshakin. Also performed: More than a Woman and A Little Bit More. There was another song, I think Love Sensation. What is brilliant about 911 is that these guys are now in their 40's and they are still performing the original dance routines! However, Lee has handed over some of the lead vocals to Jimmy and it is great to be able to finally hear his voice.

5th Story: the boyband supergroup put together for the last series, formed of Gareth Gates, Dane Bowers, Kavana, Adam Rickett and Kenzie. Quite honestly this band should never have worked at the February gig but they did! I actually looked forward to seeing them perform again and I hope to see them to do some more gigs together! For their songs, they did their same setlist from February, performing one song from each band members' career. These were: I Breath Again (Adam), Freak Me (Dane), I Can Make You Feel Good (Kavana), Crossroads/Flip Reverse (Kenzie) and they closed the show with Spirit in the Sky (Gareth).


3T: The only American boyband on the tour and admittedly not my fave group. I do love Anything, their debut single back in the 90's. However, I will say that for a 3 piece, their harmonies are incredible. Also was very impressed that they continued to honour and remember their uncle, Michael Jackson, during their set.

Blue: Again another band with a member down, but all thanks to Simon to appearing on Strictly Come Dancing (he was present for all gigs that didn't clash with show nights). I love seeing these guys perform live but even I knew none of them were going to be rapping to replace Simon. But I did not see them inviting Bradley from S Club 7 to come and fill in for Simon! Great move boys! Bradley did a great job and fit right in with the boys! Even teased us about the S Club Reunion, which was announced barely days later!

Now The Big Reunion is done and dusted for 2014, we are left wondering is series 3 going to happen in 2015 and if so, who is going to appear?

Memphis - October 2014

Back in April, I booked tickets for some musicals with my birthday money. One of those shows was Memphis. I took a chance booking it as I did not know much about the show except for the fact it was a Tony winning show and that Beverley Knight would be the female lead. I also took a risk in booking for the second night of previews, knowing how much can go wrong in that period. But turned out, it was damn good chance I took and well worth the risk, because Memphis is now one of my most favourite musicals EVER!

The show originally opened on Broadway back in 2009 and won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, in 2010. The show is loosely based on the story of Radio DJ Dewey Philips, a Memphis DJ who was one of the first white DJs to play black music back in the 1950's. The story revolves around Huey and his rise to fame and his relationship with club singer, Felicia. It deals with powerful themes from 1950's, dealing with a relationship between a white man and black woman, something considered unacceptable at the time, and the consequences of their love. It is a beautiful story with the power to shock as at the end of act 1 (spoilers!), a gang of white men beat up Felicia. 

The music was written by Bon Jovi's David Bryan, with lyrics written by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro. It is definitely one of the best musical scores to be written in a long time, with the Broadway soundtrack currently available to buy at the theatre and the West End soundtrack has recently been recorded. My favourite track is Memphis Lives in Me, sung by Huey and Company towards the end of the show. I could quite honestly listen to that song on repeat for hours as it is such a great song, with beautiful lyrics and Killian Donnelly sings such a stunning vocal that really believe his loss but also of his love for Memphis. 

The cast is absolutely outstanding. I felt like they had been performing the show for years. It was hard to believe that they were only on the second night of previews! Beverley Knight was absolutely phenomenal in the role of Felicia. I knew she had an amazing voice, but her vocals that night absolutely blew me away. She is most definitely a much welcomed addition to the talented group of West End leading ladies. Killian Donnelly was also outstanding. I had heard many things about him and seen great reviews for him during his run in The Commitments. Killian produced such an amazing performance, that he made me really feel Huey, making me desperately want Huey to come out on top and get the girl! 

Every cast member makes that show what is, producing such phenomenal performances. But there is one more person I need to mention and that is, Tyrone Huntley. Throughout the entire first act he does not speak. Then the final scene after Felicia has been beaten, he just suddenly opens his mouth and sings. He absolutely stunned me with his beautiful performance of Say a Prayer, producing a great end to Act 1. He is definitely one to watch in the West End.

Memphis is definitely the best new musical to come to the West End this year. It has already gained the most nominations for a new musical at the What's On Stage Awards and I hope to see it do extremely well at the Oliviers in April. I am going back to see it in January, which is the quickest I have returned to see a show without a cast change. If you haven't seen the show, you must go and see it as it absolutely phenomenal and the best show on the West End! As they say in Memphis, "Hockadoo!"

The Saturdays - Greatest Hits Live Tour - September 2014

I had not originally planned to go and see The Saturdays on this tour, purely as I just could not afford a ticket. But about three days before the concert at Wembley, I spotted a friend's Facebook status stating she had been sent an email with a link to tickets on a reliable site offering ridiculously good tickets at a ridiculously good price! £20 for seats 11 rows from the front - who says no to that?!

I always forget that Wembley arena is much smaller than the O2 arena. And I completely forgot that whenever The Saturdays play Wembley they always have part of their stage that comes out into front middle block. Our seats were in the right hand-side front block and our row lined up with the front of where the stage came into the audience! Definitely worth the £20 I paid for my seat at the last minute!


I have to be honest I have not brought an album of theirs since the debut album, Chasing Lights, but absolutely love their music. So admittedly, some songs were new to me! But as always an amazing show, with so much love from the audience for the girls! And as always the show was fantastic. I constantly see people criticizing them as live act, but they are one of my fave bands to see live!

It truly was a greatest hits tour with them performing many of their singles from across the years (they released the first single back in 2008). They performed fan favourites such as Up and All Fired Up and newer tracks such as 30 Days and Gentleman. The concert was fun and energetic with a fantastic acoustic set as well.

What was fantastic to see was all their friends and family there to support and sat not too far from us! There was support from Frankie and Rochelle's former S Club Juniors band mates, with Aaron as one of back up dancers and Jay sat in audience. Former JLS members, Marvin (Rochelle's husband) and Aston were also there, who I met between the girls' set! Obviously my daughter is very jealous as she loves JLS!

As always the girls put on an amazing show and I got to go with someone I met through social networking sites, meeting Jenni finally for the first time!