Sharon Cowan, Kirsty Brecknell, Harvey Jevons and Jennine Jevons are raising money for Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice

A south Birmingham family and friends will be celebrating the lives of loved ones when they step out at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s Moonlight Memories sponsored walk.

The charity’s annual ladies only summer night-time walk, formerly known as Starlight Stroll, has been given an exciting face-lift and opened up to all the family, with men now being invited to take part.

Michelle Devine, Jennine Jevons, Charlotte Devine, Sharon Cowan, Harvey Jevons and Kirsty Brecknell will be walking in memory of their mum, nan and friend Theresa Pemberton at the event which starts and finishes at Edgbaston High School on Saturday, July 13.

Jennine, who has set up a JustGiving page for the team, whose ages range from 10 to 45, said the event meant a lot to the family following the loss of Theresa in September last year.

“The Hospice’s community team, along with the palliative care team at the QE, managed to get mum home after a three-month stay in hospital. This was so important to mum, as it was her choice to be at home with her family,” she said.

Jennine added: “The Hospice also helped my dad, son and niece to come to terms with the loss of his wife and their precious nan. The charity cared about the whole family – they really helped my dad with what was going to happen and still cared afterwards.”

The family of walkers have already raised over £1,000 for the Birmingham hospice

It is the first time the family will be taking part in the Hospice’s summer night-time walk. Nevertheless, they have so far managed to raise nearly £1,000 towards future care at the Selly Park-based charity.

Jennine said: “Mum really liked a laugh and I am pretty sure there will be lots of them at this event. The sense of achievement at the end will be great and knowing that we have done something to help the Hospice gives us great peace of mind. It’s a nice way to say thank you.”

In addition to Theresa, the family will also be remembering Theresa’s cousins Wendy McKnight, Mary Watson and Theresa Pomeroy, whom they lost recently.

The eight-mile walk begins at Edgbaston High School will pass the Hospice along the way. Registration costs £10 per person or £30 for a family of four.

Over the years, the charity’s summer night-time walk has funded thousands of hours of care for terminally ill people and their families across Birmingham and Sandwell.

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People interested in joining Teasy’s Girls (www.justgiving.com/Teasys-Girls) at Moonlight Memories are invited to visit www.bsmh.org.uk or go to the Moonlight Memories event page at facebook.com/birminghamstmaryshospice

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The new Aston Villa team kit for 2013/14 will be launched with a special music festival

The new Aston Villa team kit is set to be launched amidst the fanfare of a special music festival organised by one of the city’s biggest online music magazines.

Following on from the success of last year’s event, Aston Villa Football Club has once again joined forces with events partner Counteract Magazine to curate a free family festival to mark the launch of the team’s 2013/14 home and away kit.

Due to be held throughout Father’s Day weekend in June, the free festival at Villa Park will showcase the best in up-and-coming local talent on the magazine’s own music stage while giving ardent fans the chance to purchase the new Macron home kit, which will be on sale from 9am on June 15.

Band Tempting Rosie are to perform at the Aston Villa Kit Launch Music Festival

Accompanying the live music, the Kit Launch Festival will also feature children’s fairground rides, inflatable games, mini stadium tours, a food court and various other activities to give the festival wider family appeal.

Headlining the music stage on will be local band Jaws. Riding the recent wave of acts to hail from the UK’s second city, Jaws have cemented their place in the ‘b-town’ music scene with their unique brand of melodic bliss, following the likes of Peace and Swim Deep who have taken the country by storm.

Birmingham band Jaws will be headlining the Aston Villa Kit Launch Music Festival

Joining them is a generous helping of the region’s best new musical talent including The Bombergs, Prisms, Shatter Effect, Laced, The Artois, Hoopla Blue, FOES, Gary Nock (the man behind the popular Villa anthem ‘Oh To Be A Villan’), George Barnett, Two Fathoms, Lovats, Eat Y’Self Pretty, Friday Club, Leopard and Brum septet Tempting Rosie, who will showcase their up-tempo hybrid brand of ska, reggae and pop as they close the festivities.

Handpicking the bands for the music stage is local online music magazine Counteract, Aston Villa’s official provider of local music for the past two years.

Richard Franks, editor of Aston Villa Kit Launch partner Counteract magazine

Richard Franks, editor of Counteract magazine, said: “After the success of last year’s event, it’s a real honour to be able to work with Aston Villa again for the 2013/14 kit launch.

“On a personal level, I’m a massive Aston Villa fan, so if you’d have told me a few years ago that I’d be curating a festival at Villa Park, I’d have told you where to go! But for the bands this is just fantastic.

“Some of them are only just starting out. For them to be able to say they’ve played at Villa Park and have their band printed in the programme and up on the big screens, that’s something money can’t buy.

“It also gives fans something a little different to look forward to – a huge free event at Villa Park with live music, fairground rides, inflatables and so much more. I can’t wait.”

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The Aston Villa FC Kit Launch Festival will be held on 15 and 16 June, 2013.  For more information, visit avfc.co.uk and counteract-magazine.com.

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Alton Towers has unveiled its record breaking 14-loop rollercoaster, The Smiler

Alton Towers Resort has unveiled the world’s first 14 loop rollercoaster, The Smiler.

The official Guinness World Record for the most loops in a coaster has officially been broken by the Staffordshire theme park, smashing the previous record of 10.

The Smiler, which is Alton Towers Resort’s biggest ever investment at £18m, took over eight months to build and the secret world first element has been kept under wraps since construction began back in September.

Not for the faint hearted, the marmalising rollercoaster features a series of twisted psychological effects including optical illusions, blinding lights and jabbing needles designed to mess with your mind.

The Smiler’s 14 epic inversions have smashed the record of its nearest rival halfway across the world, and by only four loops.

To mark the announcement, The Smiler’s heart-stopping 14 loops were revealed today with a spectacular display of lights, which brought the coaster to ‘life’. The sheer size of The Smiler, which is the equivalent of ten football pitches of ride-track, dominates the X-Sector area of the Resort.

Tom Ibison from Guinness World Records commented: “Alton Towers Resort has smashed the record with The Smiler’s 14 epic inversions – four more than their nearest rival located halfway around the world. We’ve seen a number of extreme rollercoasters open, but it’s so exciting to see such a world class attraction opening here in the UK.”

Alton Towers brand new rollercoaster ride The Smiler opens to the public on 23rd May

Katherine Duckworth from Alton Towers Resort commented: “We have been saying that The Smiler will ‘marmalise’ your mind for a long time and today we can officially reveal that it is set to do the same to your body. The combination of 14 loops with a variety of elements such as optical illusions, designed to mess with your mind make The Smiler a truly unique rollercoaster.

“This is by far the most exciting rollercoaster for Alton Towers Resort to date. It is twice as big as Nemesis and our biggest ever investment. There has been a lot of anticipation for this launch, and we can’t wait to see what the public think on 23rd May.

The Smiler features a series of twisted psychological effects including optical illusions, blinding lights and jabbing needles; all designed to mess with your mind.

John Wardley, a ride consultant on The Smiler, commented: “The amount of time, money and energy that has been poured into creating this world first attraction is huge. I’ve been working in the industry for over 35 years and this rollercoaster really does push the boundaries. Who knows what we will have to do to top this one!”

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Visitors can experience The Smiler’s 14 record-breaking loops and all its twisted psychological effects from Thursday 23rd May. For more information, visit www.the-smiler.com.

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Huge and incredibly lifelike dinosaurs, including this T-Rex, took to the stage at the NIA Birmingham.

We headed out to the NIA in Birmingham to catch  the “arena spectacular” Walking with Dinosaurs.  That’s a huge claim, but then we are dealing with huge animals, and I’d heard really good things. 

We were greeted with a Palaeontologist who acted at the narrator for the show, introducing the individual dinosaurs through easy-to-digest information or sometimes comical interaction. 

Not knowing what to expect, I felt that the show would either be aimed at an audience looking to learn more about the creatures, or be a bit light-hearted and rather dumbed down for the kids. In reality, I feel it kind of sat between the two.  This was also reflected in the audience, which was expectedly be a child-heavy mix of all ages, but surprisingly included its fair share of adults without kids in tow.

A combination of animatronics, puppetry and special effects brings the dinosaurs to life.

The visuals are impressive, the Palaeontologist played an important roll not only in keeping us informed, but as he was ‘walking with dinosaurs’, he really helped give the creatures a sense of scale.  That may seem a strange thing to say given they’re right in front of you and pretty close, but the added narrative does really work.  

The dinosaurs are quite real in their movements (based on our interpretation through movie screens of course), and the whole set execution is a superb piece of theatre.  As the show turns on the education switch and lightly touches on prehistoric continents and cretaceous  jurassic and triassic period changes for the non-historian or scientists among us; the lighting, sound and set itself evolves in front of your eyes.

The antics of this mother and baby T-Rex kept audiences on the edge of their seats.

For instance, we learn about the mid-cretaceous period where the introduction of insects cause flowers to evolve and bloom giving us a more colourful world. These are accentuated by confetti canons that effectively give us a visual of fluttering butterflies, or there’s the rumbling bass that shakes the seats and erratic lighting creating movement in the tectonic plates, or the similar effect in strobes creating a lighting storm; it really is engaging in that respect.

I’d imagine, as a child, the whole thing would be pretty mind-blowing. It’s hard not to be impressed as an adult, just by its visual execution alone, along with questioning how the dinosaurs operate in what is sometimes a tight crowded space (given their size).  In fact during the intermission, the children of the audience, who remained in the arena, stomped around roaring as if it had really captured their imagination.

Walking With Dinosaurs Live seems to be a firm favourite with both children and adults alike.

I do think certain elements could have been stepped up a little further, for example the dinosaurs who come to the edge of the floor space and try to engage directly with the audience never really reach over into it the actual audience. I was kind of hoping we’d have some creatures flying overhead too but maybe that has more to do with the NIA’s seating plan and arena space.  The show itself relies on a few action sequences and face-offs between dinosaurs, but of course they can do little in terms of displaying an actual fight given the younger audience and the animatronics involved.

It’s at these times it feels a bit slow and relies too heavily on them roaming the floor space, not really doing much. I fear it loses the audience’s interest sometimes. It could possibly benefit from some more in-depth facts for the older gneration to keep these pieces engaging, or just some additional running commentary that was similarly present in other scenes.  Having said that, I was excited for it for one main reason and that’s the visuals, and they were incredible. That and the humour in the T-Rex scene… a nice touch.
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Walking with Dinosaurs continues its run at the Birmingham NIA between 10-14 April, 2013. Tickets are available at The Ticket Factory: www.theticketfactory.com or 0844 338 8000. Find out more at www.thenia.co.uk.

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Russ Tierney
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Charlie Pidcock will be performing at intimate live music venue Cafe Blend in Birmingham.

A young acoustic singer-songwriter from Derby, who has amongst his fans the likes of McFly, Zebrahead, Bowling for Soup and classical award-winning composer Conor Mitchell, is to perform in central Birmingham this week to help raise funds for city’s Children’s Hospital.

Midlands-based musician Charlie Pidcock – who already has three EPs to his name – will host a special evening of chilled-out acoustic sounds at the city’s unique urban bohemian hideaway, Cafe Blend, in Birmingham’s Navigation Street.

Only 21 years of age, Charlie’s journey from teenage ‘YouTuber’ and former band member to becoming one of the most promising and aspiring newcomers on the online music scene has seen him travel the country for inspiration; while also being trained in London by the mentors behind music heavyweights Amy Winehouse, Busted and Lemar.

Having been praised for his song-writing and performing ability by McFly’s Harry Judd, rock bands Zebrahead and Bowling for Soup, Charlie most recently released his third EP ‘Glow’, following his successful debut ‘Meet Me Halfway’ and highly praised follow-up ‘Keep The Faith’.

“Whenever someone buys my EPs on iTunes or physically, it means a lot to me,” Charlie explained.

“One of my best songs ‘Boxes’ was actually inspired by two of my YouTube subscribers who said they wanted to me to write a song about someone in their family who had recently passed away; and then someone else challenged me to include ‘Cardboard boxes’ in the song, and thus, ‘Boxes’ was born.”

The increase of his fanbase has seen him perform at gatherings across the UK while also gracing the stage at VidCon in Los Angeles and performing at the 24-hour Unicef fundraiser StickAID alongside Charlie McDonnell and Alex Day.

Birmingham-based folk singer Alisha Kadir will be joining Charlie Pidcock for the special evening.

Currently working on new material before heading back to the studio, Charlie Pidcock is taking out time to perform an exclusive show in Birmingham during the Easter half-term break.

“Birmingham holds a lot of memories for me, when I was in my old band we used to go and watch bands like Zebrahead and Fleeing from Finales, I vividly remember walking the streets searching for a chippy after gigs refuel for the journey home. Birmingham seems to have a brimming music scene which I’d love to get into a bit more.”

The evening of intimate performances will include special musical numbers from local support artists Daniel Dobbs, from Nottingham, and Alisha Kadir, from Birmingham.

Musician Daniel Dobbs, from Nottingham, will be bringing his soft rock melodies to the acoustic evening.

Alisha, who describes her folk inspired music as observational and inspirational pieces, said:

“I adore Birmingham and all we have to offer, we are a plethora of cultures, an abundance of empowerment and most importantly a buzzing hive of sound. Our music scene is both the Home of Metal, with so many rock greats continuing their legacy and inspiring new generations of musicians, and the platform of Asian music in Britain, with such diverse influences we are creating such beautiful sounds in genres from across the board.”

“The music scene in Birmingham really is a great opportunity from any musician that passes through.”

The event, organised by Punk Zebra, is expected to raise money for the city’s Birmingham Children’s Hospital through tickets sales.

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‘An Acoustic Evening with Charlie Pidcock’ takes place at Cafe Blend in Navigation Street, Birmingham B5, on Friday 12^th April between 6pm-9pm. Tickets are available from www.theticketsellers.co.uk for £6 or can be purchased on the door for £8.

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Internationally renown Elvis Presley tribute artist Lee ‘Memphis’ King is heading to Birmingham

There are Elvis Presley tribute artists and then there’s Lee Memphis King.

“When I closed my eyes I could feel Elvis” were the words used by Elvis Presley’s long-term friend Joe Esposito to describe Lee’s amazing performance and now he’s bringing it to Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre.

In this brand new show for 2013, Europe’s most successful Elvis Presley tribute artist – Lee Memphis King, presents the ultimate tribute to The King – celebrating the entire career of the musical legend.

This spectacular show begins with an authentic recreation of the 1950’s rock’n’roll years, progressing through the movie years to Elvis’s return to performing in his’68 comeback special. The second half culminates in a rousing expo of Elvis’s years performing in Vegas. Lee brings the majesty of the voice and the electrifying power of Elvis’s performance back to life.

Accompanied throughout by his world class band and backing singers that breath the life into the music of a legend. The show also features large screen projection, making it the biggest Elvis show to tour UK theatres.

Over the last 10 years as Lee has toured his One Night of Elvis he has picked up many accolades including ‘Best professional Elvis tribute in the world’ at the 2005 Collingwood Festival and World’s Greatest Elvis’ finalist and has headlined and sold out some of the most prestigious venues across the UK and Europe.

To any fan of Elvis this show is the only way to enjoy the music of the greatest, most celebrated artist the world has known. Prepare to be enthralled by this amazing musical journey and spend one night with Elvis.

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We’ve teamed up with Lee ‘Memphis’ King and have a pair of tickets to give away to his show at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre. To be in with a chance to win, simply answer the following:

In which US state was iconic music star Elvis Presley born?

Email your answers to us at iambirmingham[at]hotmail.co.uk – or by clicking here.

Please include your full name, address, email and a contact number. Winners will be notified by email/phone. Tickets are for the 19/04/13 – 7.30pm show at the Alexandra Theatre. Closing date for all entries: 15/04/13.

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Remember, you can still enjoy the amazing show at the Alexandra Theatre on Friday 19th April. Book your tickets to see One Night of Elvis: Lee ‘Memphis’ King here.

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Alfie Boe performs to a sold out venue at The NIA in Birmingham. (Photograph: Jack Kirby)

Braving the cold and snow last night was no easy challenge for the fans of Alfie Boe, who kicked off his Storyteller tour with a sold out show at the Birmingham NIA last night, but with the queue stretching around the building, there was no denying the eagerness to watch the Les Misérables star in action.

The Storyteller tour will be his first UK arena tour, however with three platinum albums under his belt, a score of shows and the fact that he has sang for the Queen herself, Alfie is no small fish.

The extraordinary British tenor conveyed his feelings about performing in the city on Twitter, stating: “It’s finally here, first day of my #storytellertour I’m playing the Birmingham NIA tonight, totally sold out. #excited A x”

The show began with a support singer, known as Emilia Mitiku, a Swedish pop and soul singer. With a small but well-tuned backing band, she provided a fun and lively start to the evening with some amazing vocals, great atmosphere.

Swedish soul singer Emilia Mitiku supported Alfie Boe in Birmingham. (Photograph: Jack Kirby)

Following Mikitu, the stage blacked out and entering to a drum solo and billowing smoke, Alfie Boe powered on stage. With the biggest smile on his face, he was accompanied by his backing band of brass, strings and his backing singers all trailing behind him.

Drawing straight from his new Storyteller album, Alfie gave the crowd a great show, with a variety of well known tracks, including some Elvis, and of course with Boe reprieving his most well known role as Valjean from Les Misérables with Bring Him Home.

An amazing start to what I’m sure will be a storybook-esque tour for Alfie Boe. With the applause and the love from the sold-out venue, he can rest assured he put on one amazing show.

Jack Kirby

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A fire broke out in Clydesdale Tower, in the centre of Birmingham. (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

An elderly woman has been taken to hospital following a fire at a residential tower block in Birmingham yesterday evening (Friday).

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to Clydesdale Tower in Holloway Head at approximately 9.40pm.

An ambulance, together with a paramedic officer and the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) attended the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Crews arrives to find smoke rising from the fourth to the tenth floor.

Smoke from the fire rose from the fourth to the tenth floor. A woman in her late seventies was treated for smoke inhalation. (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

“Working with firefighters at the scene, Crews quickly determined that no occupants were in the residence where the fire originally started. However, a neighbour in her late seventies was treated for smoke inhalation.

“She was taken to the City Hospital for further treatment and assessment.”

A spokesperson from Optima Community Association, who manage the building, stated:

“There was a fire at Clydesdale Tower yesterday evening. One woman was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. We hope she’s recovering well.”
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>>‘FIRE AT BIRMINGHAM CITY CENTRE BLOCK’ | MORE PHOTOS HERE<<

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Inspiral Carpets perform at the Birmingham O2 Academy. (Photo by Jake Mackinnon)

Alternative rock band Inspiral Carpets housed the fifth night of their Back To Life UK tour at the O2 Academy 2 in Birmingham.

The band’s main aspirations for this of the tour were to play their first studio album Life back to front along with selected hits from other albums. Despite Life being released in 1990, there was a very diverse range of ages amongst the audience; with fans as young as sixteen in attendance.

The Mancunian mods came out thundering through there opening song The Real Thing and, despite being in their fifties and fourties, they showed that they really are still the real deal, as they jumped around the stage like a band of eighteen year olds.

However, the band were let down by poor mixing as the vocals were too quiet and the drums were too loud and distorted. But that didn’t mean the packed room and eager crowd didn’t get to enjoy the powerful Paul Weller- esque vocals of Stephen Holt, who only re-joined the band in 2011 after originally leaving in 1989.

They rolled back the years as they bounced around in floral shirts, while their brand of mod-rock resonated throughout the building as they played classic hits like Saturn 5.

Inspiral Carpets truly showed their great showman ship as they did equally as much dancing as the crowd, if not more. At any other gig the fairly static lighting would have been a downisde to the performance but it seemed to compliment an intimate feel on this occasion, creating the ambience of an energetic performance night in a local pub or club.

I think I can safely say that this has been a very successful comeback from the 80′s band, as they succeded where many bands fail. Most aged bands, when they attempt to make a comeback, aren’t as good at being in-tune and in-time during live performances, but the ‘Carpets’ didn’t drop a single note all night and put on a great show.

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Inspiral Carpets carry on there UK Back To Life tour with dates in Nottingham, Wrexham and Manchester.

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Jake Mackinnon
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