S Club 7 To 'Bring It All Back'!

That's right, S Club 7 have announced today that they will be re-uniting for a tour this summer and if it is a success there is a possibility of a further two album releases.  For fans who've never had a dream come true, they certainly will have now!

It is reported that the pop group felt that now was the perfect time for a come back with the Queen's diamond jubilee and the Olympics coming up.  This is probably true, but they've most likely chosen this time to try and gain as much money as they can.  According to The Mirror, the group have been 'inundated' with offers over the past few years but have always rejected them.  It's surely no coincidence then that they decided to reform only months after seeing the success of Steps' comeback.  The Daily Record said that the group have signed a 7 figure deal to undergo their UK tour this summer, so it seems they're just looking to reunite to top up the cash and then part ways again.

S Club 7 pictured together in March 2011.

But whatever the reason, the reunion will no doubt be a roaring success and the arenas will be full of nostalgic fans in their teens and 20s reaching for the stars and bringing the house down.  When I was on a family day out to 'The Big Idea' in Irvine in 2002, we discovered that over the hill next to it was the Blue Peter Roadshow.  So as an excited 8 year old who regularly tuned in to watch Blue Peter, I was aware that S Club 7 were due to appear at the show.  With high hopes of seeing the group I was disappointed when out came a tribute band as S Club 7 themselves had cancelled.  Hopefully they'll be more reliable for their fans wanting to see them on their summer tour!

It has been 10 years since the group last played in Glasgow and they'll no doubt be stopping off this summer as a part of the tour, but expect a hefty price tag if you want to attend.  With tickets for Steps' comeback tour costing £40 a seat, S Club 7 tickets will most likely set you back around about the same if not more.  But they're ain't no party like and S Club party so maybe it'll be worth the investment!

Below is a video of the group performing 'Don't Stop Movin' in London in 2002 where you will find plenty of miming:

One Tree Hill Star Tyler Hilton To Play Glasgow

Yet another One Tree Hill star is set to play Glasgow this year after recent shows from Gavin Degraw and Wakey!Wakey! in the city.  Californian singer Tyler Hilton, or Chris Keller as you may know him from One Tree Hill, recently announced that he will be embarking on a European tour, including the UK, in June.  Of course he couldn't come to the UK without stopping in Scotland and will be playing at the O2 Academy in Glasgow as well as the HMV Picture House in Edinburgh as a support act for Boyce Avenue.

Tyler built up quite a bit of excitement for the tour as first he promised fans on Twitter that they would find out the release date of his new album once he reached 115,000 followers (a cheeky way of getting more followers if you ask me) and it wasn't long before this happened and the album release was announced.  He then posted that he had a surprise for UK fans and a few days later posted that he would be doing a 12 date UK tour and then shortly after announced that he was supporting Boyce Avenue.  As great as it is that he's coming over, I'm sure the UK was anticipating from his tweets that it was going to be a headline tour, but I'm sure he'll still be great even although his set time will be limited.

The tour will support his next album, 'Forget The Storm', which is set for worldwide release on April 3rd.  This is his first full length album release since 'The Tracks Of' in 2004 so it is an exciting time for fans not only across Europe but across the rest of the world as well.  So far he has already released two singles from the album, 'Loaded Gun' and 'Prince of Nothing Charming', and it is thought that the third single could be 'Kicking My Heels' as various live versions of the song have appeared on sites such as YouTube and he performed it on episode two of the final season of One Tree Hill.  Have a look at how Tyler spends his Thursday afternoon's in the video below.

Which One Tree Hill star will be next to play Glasgow?  With a number of singers from the show still left to play here - Bethany Joy Galeotti (Haley), Jana Kramer (Alex), Kate Voegele (Mia) and Bryan Greenberg (Jake) - it could be a while before they've all had a visit, but I'm hoping that next up is Kate or Bethany, but only time will tell.

Tickets for the Glasgow show are available here and for the Edinburgh show here.

Give A Big Scottish Welcome To... Gavin DeGraw!

For the first time ever, American singer songwriter Gavin DeGraw took a visit to Glasgow on his recent European tour.  It's no surprise that the gig at the O2 ABC was a sell out as not only is he incredibly talented, but he is a fantastic performer!  Since I follow Gavin on Twitter, I felt like I'd been following the tour from the beginning as he had been tweeting about the other dates which built up an excitement for the event as it got closer and closer.  I even flew into Sweden on the same day as he was flying in to play the first show of the tour there. Unfortunately we never crossed paths as we were flying to different airports.

But back to the Glasgow show, after a short acoustic set from the Spanish support Juan Zelada, Gavin took to the stage and had the crowd roaring from the moment they caught the first glimpse of him.  He opened the show with my personal favourite, 'Candy', and already his talent and character were evident as he saluted the audience and then soulfully sang and played piano accompanied by his band.  What I love about seeing artists and bands live is that they never sound the same as they do on the album and there is always improvisation and Gavin was no exception.

He then moved on to one of his most popular classics: the title track from his first album, 'Chariot'.  It without a doubt gained the best response from the audience as people danced and sang their hearts out and some people even pretended to play piano along with him.  The crowd banter was also very amusing as he joked around and at one point even invited a couple to come on stage to get engaged.

He played many other much loved classics from across all 4 of his albums as well as a cover of Maroon 5's 'Moves Like Jagger', combined with his attempt at Mick Jagger's moves, and then the band left the stage and he sang a few songs alone at his piano.  The atmosphere was incredible and he also explained the meaning behind the songs which is always great to hear from an artist themselves.

One of Gavin's most famous songs is 'I Don't Wanna Be' which is the theme tune to the popular American TV Drama 'One Tree Hill'.  Gavin also appeared on the show in the first series performing his song 'Chariot' in Karen's Cafe.  I took a recording of 'I Don't Wanna Be' at the show which you can see below:

After performing 'I Don't Wanna Be', he left the stage only to be called back for an encore by 1400 Scots who couldn't get enough.  He returned and performed another two songs: 'Radiation' and his most recent single 'Not Over You'.  This was followed by him climbing onto his piano and attempting to back flip off of it like a true rock star... even although it failed but I'll give him respect for attempting!  All in all it was a fantastic gig and I'd recommend that if he returns, which he promised he would, that you go along and see him for yourself.

Here is the full set list from the show:

1.   Candy
2.   Chariot
3.   Sweeter
4.   I Have You To Thank
5.   Soldier
6.   In Love With A Girl
7.   Where You Are
8.   Follow Through
9.   Chemical Party
10. Moves Like Jagger
11. More Than Anyone
12. You Know Where I'm At
13. Let's Get It On
14. Run Everytime
15. I Don't Wanna Be

Encore
16. Radiation

17. Not Over You

The Departure of 'The Dykeenies'

Much loved band The Dykeenies have announced at the end of January that unfortunately, they're calling it quits.  The split was announced on the bands own Facebook page and despite no explanation being given the post did hint that their was a conflict between the band members.  The post was signed 'John Dykeenie' who is really John Kerr, the drummer of the band and he said '...the decision was one that I personally was against'.  He also said 'we did give it our best shot and i only wish we coulda had one more last try but the band has decided otherwise'. 

The Indie Rock band from Cumbernauld have never gained a huge following since they formed in 2005 however their 2007 album, 'Nothing Means Everything' had all three single releases feature in the top 100 UK Singles Chart.  They released their second album 'Canyon of Echoes' in October last year but it was not as well received as the last and the single 'Awake' did not place at all in the UK Single Chart despite it being consistent with their typical sound.  It could be possible that the split resulted from the lack of response to their new content as it does seem odd that only 3 months after releasing an album they announce the split, but that is just speculation.

Fans took to the Facebook page to leave messages for the band in appreciation of their music and talent and emotional responses from the band were returned to these messages.  One fan left a very heartfelt message for the band:

'When I read that the people who give me the most faith in the world are splitting… well it crushed me. But maybe it’s all for the best. I wish all of you luck with whatever you do. ♥ You're music will still keep me going.'

The inspiration in people, and in particular young people, that comes from music is phenomonal and it is truly sad when this is taken away. Not only this but it is a sad loss for Glasgow's music scene as the band were truly talented and it is a shame that they never got their big break.  Below is the video for one of my personal favourites by the band, 'Sounds of the City'.

The band will say a final farewell by playing a gig at the QMU in Glasgow, one of the first venues they appeared in, on Saturday 19th May.  Tickets are available here.

Emeli Sandé Grace's Glasgow

Up and coming artist Emeli Sandé provided a treat for fans in Glasgow last week when she performed a free mini-set in HMV on Buchanan Street.  The performance took place to promote her debut album, 'Our Version of Events', which was released on the 13th February and saw around 400 fans queueing outside the store to hear her.  She sang four songs with the backing of a guitarist and her vocal ability was so powerful and graceful it could be compared to the likes of Beyoncé and the late Whitney Houston.  She was also kind enough to wait behind to allow fans who had queued for hours to meet her and have their copies of her album signed.  Her album is currently number 1 in the UK iTunes album chart and the single 'Next to Me' has the number 2 spot on the UK iTunes top 10 songs.  The album has already received the Critic's Choice at the Brit Awards and Emeli is also hoping to receive the award for Breakthrough Artist at the Brit Awards which are taking place tonight.

Emeli originally came from Alford in Aberdeenshire but later moved to Glasgow to study Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow.  Despite being a nerd who claims she revises her old uni work for fun, Emeli dropped out of uni and pursued her music career which evidently has been the right decision.

She said:

"I came to Glasgow when I was 17 and I loved it. It was the perfect city - great for being a student and I had a lot of fun here."

Here is a video of her performing 'Next to Me' live at the event:

You can catch Emeli Sandé performing live at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow on Tuesday 10th April 2012.  Tickets are available here.