Please be advised that the Luddites gig on May 19th has changed venue. Rick and his band will now be performing at:
‘The basement door’
The Vineyard Church
The Vineyard
Richmond
Surrey
TW10 6AQ
Tickets for the concert of the summer, Hit Factory Live in Hyde Park go on sale at 9am this morning.
Live Nation are excited to announce the Hit Factory Live, a once-in-a-lifetime spectacular taking place in London’s Hyde Park on 11 July 2012. For the first time ever, the classic artists from the PWL Hit Factory will perform together on one bill.
This unmissable show celebrates the legendary Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting and production team, the phenomenal success of Pete Waterman’s PWL label and, above all, the irresistible pop that came to define an era in British music history. Once called ‘The Sound of a Bright Young Britain’, it undoubtedly now stands as the soundtrack to a generation, with sales of over 500 million units worldwide.
Pete Waterman said: “I’ve been saying no for years to a Hit Factory concert but now, 25 years on, the timing feels right. It’s time to celebrate the hit single and we have a tremendous line-up of our classic artists confirmed to play Hit Factory Live in Hyde Park on July 11. More surprises will be announced over the coming months – it’s set to be the biggest and best ever celebration of SAW and PWL !”
Headlining this unique event are Steps. The multi-million selling group recently reformed and next month embark on a mammoth twenty-date UK arena tour. Steps achieved incredible success with hits including ‘One For Sorrow’, ‘Tragedy’, ’Deeper Shade of Blue’ and ‘Stomp’.
Rick Astley’s international success secures his place in the Hit Factory Live line-up. Rick holds the record as the first British male artist to have his first eight solo singles reach the UK Top 10 – including the global No. 1 ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, ‘Whenever You Need Somebody’ and ‘Together Forever’. Entertainment megastar Jason Donovan takes his place on the bill following massive success with SAW in the late 80s. His hits include the No. 1s ‘Too Many Broken Hearts’, ‘Sealed with A Kiss’ and the bestselling SAW single ever with UK sales of over a million – ‘Especially For You’, an unforgettable duet with Neighbours co-star Kylie Minogue which they last performed together in 1989.
With such classic hits such as ‘Venus’, ‘Love In the First Degree’ and ‘I Want You Back’, the UK’s most-charted girl group Bananarama are an essential addition to the Hit Factory Live bill. Dead Or Alive, fronted by the inimitable Pete Burns, also join the line-up, their timeless single ‘You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)’ was the first No. 1 for SAW in 1985.
Also appearing are Pepsi & Shirlie, Princess, Sinitta, Hazell Dean, Sonia, Sybil, 2 Unlimited, Lonnie Gordon and Brother Beyond. With such signature smash hits between them as ‘Heartache’, ‘Say I’m Your Number One’, ‘Toy Boy’, ‘Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)’, ‘You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You’, ‘The Love I Lost’, ‘No Limit’, ‘Happenin’ All Over Again’ and ‘The Harder I Try’, the Hit Factory Live line-up is set to make this a truly unmissable spectacular.
Stock Aitken Waterman scored an unrivalled run of global hits in the 80s and 90s and are now acknowledged as one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time. 2012 also marks the 25th anniversary of PWL Records, the legendary label originally set up as home for many Hit Factory artists.
A proportion of proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Cancer Research UK, there will also be a number of fundraising activities in the run up to, and on the day of, the show. As a cause that sits close to everyone’s hearts, Live Nation are proud supporters of Cancer Research UK and their life saving work.
Jools Tait, Director of Partnerships at Cancer Research UK, said: “We’re thrilled that this exciting concert will benefit Cancer Research UK. Our work to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer has already saved millions of lives, but there’s still more to do. The support of this Live Nation event will help us to raise funds to carry out our groundbreaking work.”
https://twitter.com/#!/pwlhitfactory
Ticketing Information:
Ticket £48.50 (plus booking fee)
To buy VIP Experiences and Hospitality please visit:
http://www.livenation.co.uk or call + 44 207 009 3484
Doors: 3:30 PM
Show Start: 5pm
Its one of those moments I dreamt of but never thought would happen! Ladies and Gentlemen, Stock Aitken & Waterman are having a reunion concert in Hyde Park, London on 11th July 2012! I kid you not. So far the acts confirmed, in no particular order, except Rick because he’s the best of course, are: Rick Astley, Steps, Jason Donovan, Bananarama, Dead or Alive, Pepsi & Shirlie, Princess, Sinitta, Hazell Dean, Sinitta, Sonia, Sybil, Ray & Anita from 2Unlimited, Lonnie Gordon and Brother Beyond. But that’s not all – apparently talks are on going with some of the other acts so there is hope of more names being added to the schedule. Tickets go on sale on Friday 23rd March at 9am available at www.livenation.co.uk. VIP Experiences are also available by visiting www.livenationexperience.co.uk or calling + 44 207 009 3484. Doors open 3.30pm with the show starting at 5pm.
Rick Astley will appear on British Television tonight talking about his first experience on Top of The Pops, his parents divorce and kicking the #@$% out of his luggage when he stayed in hotels! Tonight’s show is the final part of BBC2′s I’m A Popstar and focuses on the psyche of solo artists. It’s a well researched programme with some great narrative and clips from the BBC Archive.
I’m A Pop Star – BBC – Saturday 10th March 9pm
repeats Sunday 11th March at 6pm
Here’s a clip from the show:
Rick is included in an 80s line-up set to perform as the Henley Rewind Festival on 18th August. Also on the bill on the Saturday are The Bangles, Grandmaster Flash, Kool & The Gang, Soul II Soul, Five Star, Starship, Heather Small, Jimmy Somerville, Sinitta, Right Said Fred, and Doctor & The Medics.
Rick’s band, The Luddites will be playing a set at The Grey Horse in Kingston on May 17th.
Taken from The Grey Horse website:
80′s pop idol Rick Astley, winner of “Best Act Ever” at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2008, will be appearing with his new band The Luddites and performing a range of numbers from bands as varied as The Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, T Rex, The Killers, Greenday as well as his classic award-winning hit Never Gonna Give You Up.
‘Imagine a parallel universe in which 80’s crooner Rick Astley plays drums in a 3 piece rock band.Now you can experience this universe for yourself, as The Luddites, Rick’s ‘weekend hobby band’ bring their ‘ramshackle jukebox favourites’ to The Grey Horse. The Luddites play ‘a lively selection of garage-rock cover versions’. Rick and his two middle aged chums rock till they drop, which actually takes longer than you’d think. A fabulous night of completely unexpected fun and rock played by three talented musicians one of whom just happens to be able to sing like Luther Vandross, drum like Dave Grohl and axe like Justin Hawkins (ok maybe not but you know what I mean). Rick Rolling? Wait till you see Rick Rocking.
Rick features in the Here & Now line-up when the tour visits Lytham St Annes on 3rd August. Tickets go on sale tomorrow[Feb 9] at 9am and are priced from £24.50 for one week only, saving £5 off the normal price of £29.50.
They are available at www.lythamproms.co.uk or by calling 0844 888 9991, with lines open Mon–Fri 8.30am to 9pm and Sat and Sun 9am to 9pm.
Taken from Lytham St Annes Express:
A GLITTERING selection of iconic 1980s pop stars will headline the opening night of this summer’s Lytham Proms Festival Weekend.
It’s time to dust off the leg warmers, grab the shoulder pads and start rocking that perm as Rick Astley, Bananarama, The Real Thing, Belinda Carlisle, Toyah, Curiosity Killed the Cat and T’Pau come to town.
The show, on Friday, August 3, is entitled ‘Here and Now, The Very Best of the 80s’ and is being billed as the Fylde Coast’s biggest party ever.
It promises three hours of non-stop memorable super sounds as it features the stars performing back to back hits, accompanied by a live band.
A spokesperson for St Annes-based event organisers Cuffe and Taylor said: “The line-up is terrific and it promises to be a night of fun and dancing.
“The Friday night of the Proms is traditionally our Heritage night, so this fits in perfectly.
“We hope the audience come along in great spirits, ready to dance and sing the night away while sipping a cocktail or even glass of something fizzy from the event bars.”
The 80s stars coming to Lytham figured prominently in the pop charts during that decade.
Rick Astley, renowned as the office boy for producers Stock Aitken and Waterman who made good, followed a debut chart-topper with Never Gonna Give You Up by chalking up seven more top 10 hits.
American Belinda Carlisle hit No 1 with her solo debut Heaven Is A Place on Earth in 1987 and went on to enjoy five more top 10 successes up to the mid-1990s.
T’Pau, led by Carol Decker, produced one of the iconic chart-toppers of the decade with China In Your Hand, while the Real Thing’s first two hits reached No 1 and No 2 respectively in the mid-70s and again made the top 10 on re-release a decade later.
Bananarama, a trio back in the 80s and now a duo, had 10 top 10 hits between 1982 and 1989, while Toyah and Cuiosity Killed the Cat each enjoyed three top 10 successes.
