Archives for August 2008

The comeback trail for Wigan's finest is almost complete as The Verve are set to release their new Single 'Love Is Noise'. After completing their tour and doing every festival possible, the band somehow found time to record an album together which is imaginatively named 'Fourth'

Looking back at The Thaw sessions, it seemed as if the guys had reclaimed their youth and were back in the mind set of when they released 'A Storm In Heaven' and 'A Northern Soul' leaving the majority of The Verve faithful wanting more and waiting in anticipation for the new material to make it's way into record stores. 'Love Is Noise' is the first "real" release since 'Sonnet' and really it has to be said that this tune is a bit of mixed bag really.

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At the age of 19, Rachel became a member of the successful pop group S Club 7, with the band going on to have 12 Top 10 hits, as well as a TV series and movie.In 2003, when the group disbanded, she embarked on a solo career.But she admitted the prospect of dancing on the hit TV show was "scary".

She said: "Just because you've been on stage doesn't mean you can dance. For the first time ever, I'm doing something completely on my own and it's scary. I've always had other band members or dancers around me before.

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Impressed by Beijing Olympics, London, host of the 2012 Games, will woo Chinese firms for investment in the British capital's massive expansion plans. 

Think London, a investment agency for the city, is ready to kick off a road show in 11 cities across China, to encourage Chinese enterprises to bid for business opportunities in the run-up to the London Olympics, a senior official from the company said. 

"We want to learn from what Beijing has done, and also from the Chinese companies who successfully supported the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games," Michael Charlton, chief executive of Think London, said. 

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From an unreliable bullpen to an injury to a key starting pitcher, the Mets have had their share of worries of late, but Mike Pelfrey has not been one of them. The Mets have learned that they can count on Pelfrey, right now among the most reliable weapons they have. And Pelfrey, a big right-hander, gave the Mets more of the same Monday night at Shea Stadium.

Pelfrey was outstanding in pitching his second consecutive complete game, and Carlos Delgado provided most of the offense with two three-run homers, as the Mets defeated Houston, 9-1. With the win, the Mets clung to a half-game lead over Philadelphia in the National League East. The Phillies beat the Dodgers, 5-0, on Monday night.

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China will heighten scrutiny of overseas trips by government officials to curb worsening abuse of public funds by high-flying cadres as China's international exchanges grow, state media reported on Friday.

The amount of expenses available for business trips will be restricted and officials will face audits even before travelling, the China Daily said.

"With the country widening international exchanges in recent years, some officials have taken advantage of overseas trips in order to pocket public funds," it said.The paper cited the case of a high-ranking law enforcement official who forged an invitation to visit Finland in 2006 so he could travel there at public expense.

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Tuesday morning, and forgive us here at Mirror.co.uk’s Showbiz Towers if we still have a dreamy, faraway look in our eyes and smiles on our faces.

It’s because we’re still in reveries from the divine Rachel Unthank And The Winterset gig at the Camden Jazz Café last night.This truly tremendous outfit from Northumbria sing spine-tingling, traditional acapella songs about booze and sex that might just make folk truly fashionable again in the 21st Century.

Having seen them live, it leaves us all the more surprised that while there’s been bafflement about who dubstepper Burial is, rolling of eyes that Radiohead have been nominated yet again and puzzlement over what The Portico Quartet even do in the press, no-one’s really talked about this breathtakingly marvellous band yet who are also up for this year Mercury Music Prize.

A fresh young four-piece with a punk attitude containing three beautiful brunettes and an equally bonny blond at the grand piano, they’re in-between song banter is hilarious and they even make clog-dancing look cool. Oh yes!

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Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, today announced his resignation after robustly defending his record.

Expectations that the former army chief and firm US ally would go had been mounting since the coalition government, led by the party of the assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said this month it planned to impeach him.

In a televised address to the nation, he defended his decision to impose emergency rule late last year, claiming his political opponents would have made matters worse for Pakistan.He said Pakistan had always been his priority, and that he had imposed emergency rule in order to save the country from crisis.

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Like anyone else, business travelers are pinching their pennies these days. They're searching for the least expensive flight and hotel room during their stay, said Kim Bair, travel manager at Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Manchester Township, York County.

Airlines appear to be working to entice the leisure traveler more than the business traveler, Bair said. She mainly arranges travel for business clients at Carlson, which deals with about 40 percent corporate travelers and 60 percent leisure travelers.

"A lot of the air fares require a Saturday night stay to get the cheapest price," Bair said. "Business travelers usually don't travel over the weekend."Travelers also must purchase their tickets between 14 and 21 days in advance to lock in the cheapest air fare, which hinders business travelers who might do a lot of last-minute flying, she said.

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Could this be the season America’s Next Top Model scores a Cover Girl contract for a trans woman? On the heels of the judges declaring the first plus size model a winner last season comes news this season will introduce the show’s first transgender contestant.

According to Us Weekly, one of the 11th season’s 14 contestants was born male, and the decision to include her in the program is garnering praise from gay rights organizations including the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

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Will "Titanic" ever lose its berth as the biggest movie of all time? "The Dark Knight" is racing up the ranks, but the Batman sequel will stall at No. 2 with about $510 million to $520 million, Warner Bros. Pictures predicts.

That's far from the $601 million haul of "Titanic," which set sail in December 1997. (Adjusted for inflation, both movies are dwarfed by the $1.4 billion haul for 1939's "Gone with the Wind").

The buoyancy of "Titanic" is traceable to teenage girls from Toledo to Tokyo to Timbuktu. They lined up over and over again to shed tears for Leonardo DiCaprio's heroic character, and helped writer/director James Cameron's maritime epic make $1.8 billion worldwide.

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