Radio City Live review @ Liverpool's Echo Arena

Radio City Live christmas bash review at Liverpool's Echo Arena

Surrounded by twinkling fairy wings, various flashing multi coloured bands, necklaces and doodle boppers and a whole lot of squealing girls, you know it's that time of year again. No, not the tinsel drinkers on their obligatory once a year night out but Radio City 96.7's musical extravaganza at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, and it has to be said that this year looked like it was going to blow the rest away. With every act on stage having had at least one number one hit single in the last year. 

The night kicked off with Jason Derulo, with full band and backing dancers on stage to give a slick polished, extremely energetic and at times Michael Jacksonesque performance, complete with many crotch grabbing moments, either that or his leather pants were chaffing, but that didn't stop the crowd from cheering and dancing along to his hits, including "Whatcha Say" and "Fight for You".

Following on was Tinchy Stryder but I have to say as an overall performance, he seemed to be lacking in energy and his DJ had more stage presence during the first track. His pal Dappy, joined him on stage and the two of them bounced around the stage pretty happily although vocally, it could have been stronger.

Pixie Lott and Ed Sheeran though provided some of the best vocal performances of the night for me, with Pixie performing an acoustic set, she cheekily and playfully made her way through a few of her most known number including, "Mama Do" and "All About Tonight" and even the 3 bored young teenage lads in front of me who had spent most of the night playing on games or BBM their friends sat up and took notice, whether that was to do with her performance or just her, we'll never know . I have to admit that Pixie Lott has one hell of a voice and a fantastic vocal range and as for Ed Sheerin, I've always been swayed away from listening to him as he is yet another Radio One prodigy but I can say with all honesty, I am now a fan and can see why he got the biggest cheers, screams and whoops of the night, and yes even more than JLS!! With his mellow vocals, witty banter to the crowd and who can't love the fact he's named his guitar "Cyril". Ed swapped from mellow vocals to a performance Beardyman would have been proud of with "You Need Me, I Don't Need You" and only stopped when Cyril broke two strings and had to be replaced by "Nigel". He finished his set with, "A Team" but I think the crowd could have listened to him all night, and I wouldn't have minded either.

Wretch 3-2 followed with and energetic set and Matt Cardle showed how to keep a crowd happy by just singing alone on stage then followed by  The Wanted, who to be very very honest sucked massively. Vocals off key from a lot of them and their new song, "War Zone" is horrendously drab and depressing and I fear it may be around at Christmas!! I 'm definitely putting ear plugs on my Xmas list of it is as I don't think my ears drums can go through that again.

The night came to one spectacular close with JLS taking to the stage and showed all boy groups, (The Wanted take note) how it should be done. With polished dance routines, harmonious vocals and Aston's cheekiness shining through, to many girls delight judging by the squeals from some of them, they performed "Eyes Wide Shut" "Everybody In Love" and "Take a Chance" an upbeat ballad style song, which is from their new album "Jukebox". JLS also showcased their brand new single, a Christmassy little number called "Do You Feel What I Feel" complete with falling snow ended the night with "She Makes Me Wanna" which saw the entire arena covered in glitter and streamers.

So once again thanks to Radio City 96.7 for bringing us another pop fuelled night at the Echo Arena and lets hope we can all wait till 22nd July 2012 for the next one. Admittedly though this one will be hard to top. 

Review by Alison Goggin

The next Radio City Live returns on Saturday 22nd July 2012 at the Liverpool Echo Arena with another fantastic lineup!

Pre-order your tickets online NOW or from the Box Office for a limited time only.  Visit www.radiocity.co.uk or call the Box Office on 0844 8000 400 (from 9am on Saturday 3rd December) and quote promo code CITY.

Tickets start at £25 plus booking free.

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Radio City 96.7 Live 2011 Review @ Echo Arena Liverpool

 

Well it's that time of year again for Radio City 96.7 to take over Liverpool's Echo Arena for another music fest. This year they have brought us, Scouting For Girls, Example, Ne Yo and Tinchey Stryder to name but a few, well the most well known anyway.

This year it was hosted by Rossie, from the Breakfast Show, who introduced the dance troupe, who crunked away to Beyonce's "Crazy In Love", which went down a storm with the audience.

Opening the music tonight was Scouting For Girls, last years closing act, who didn't seem as full as energy during the first track, This Ain't A Love Song, but soon came back to the great entertainers we know by second track, "Heartbeat". Maybe it had something to do with lead singer, Roy Stride, shouting "The louder you sing, the better we sing" as it definitely worked as the arena was filled with vocals from the crowd as well, with new track, "Love How It Hurts" and "She's so Lovely" Scouting for Girls clawed it back and finished their set to well deserved massive applause.

Next up came Parade, yep, yet another girl group, who came strutting onto stage to a bass so loud you couldn't hear them sing, still not sure if this was good thing, but they're apparently supporting the Black Eyed Peas so their management must be doing something right anyway. Still don't understand why they were dressed like a female Village People though. Their music style is basically The Saturdays with a harder dance beat and more choreography.

Then came Mike Posner, who had to have the strangest singing voice ever. Imagine someone who inhaled helium a minute before going on stage and you get the general idea. The biggest scream for him came when he took his jacket off on stage to reveal................a plain black t-shirt!!! With another dance beat to his songs, I can see which way Radio City are going with there night.

This was followed by Liverpool's very own Chelsea Grimes, who I first saw on stage supporting Kof and I have to admit, the girl has talent, fantastic voice and stage presence for someone so young, it's just a shame they only let her perform one song, "On TV".

Next up came Example. I have to admit I've only heard one song of his but he was amazing. With "Kick Start" as the opener the crowd were bouncing along to his set from the get go. With fantastic crowd interaction and a sleek set, Example certainly knows how to please the crowd, especially with, "Changed the Way You Kiss Me", an 80's influenced track with bass so loud, the hair on my arms vibrated and with the entire audience bouncing as one you could actually feel the arena shake. Got to admit, he was definitely the best act of the night for me.

Flame haired Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud fame, performed her solo material and her new single, “Beat Of My Drum,” was well received by the capacity crowd.

American Electro hip-hop group LMFAO were on in the second half with Dry Ice covering everywhere and even giving away hundreds of luminous light sticks to the crowd in order for them to wave them about frantically.

And Ne-Yo. the Grammy award winner, closed the show with his chart topping hits including Beautiful Monster and Closer. 

All in all it was a fairly good night, especially if your 14 and love R&B/pop, but a word to the wise, there are different genres of music out there and I personally believe they should be recognised as well, maybe that was why Scouting For Girls looked slightly uncomfortable at the very beginning, they knew they were out of place in the line up. It would be nice to see a more rounded line up next time instead of just catering for one particular genre, go on Radio City break out the box and get some rock on there as well!!!

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Radio City Live announce another trio of artists coming to Liverpool

Radio City have today announced another top trio of artists who will join the bill at Liverpool’s hottest concert this summer. Nicola Roberts, Wonderland and Liverpool’s own Chelcee Grimes will be joining a star studded line up of artists who all be performing their best hits at Radio City Live on 10^th June 2011. Part of the most successful girl band of our generation, and with over 20 million record sales behind her, Nicola Roberts will be coming home to Liverpool for her first exclusive solo performance, including her new single ‘Beat of my Drum’. Wonderland, who were voted ‘Best Band’ at this year’s Glamour Women of the Year Awards, will also be performing their latest hits on the Echo Arena’s stage, having previously toured with the likes of Westlife, Boyzone and Olly Murs. And this year, the station will be showing support for a local up and coming artist. Chelcee Grimes has been highlighted as UK’s brightest emerging talent and as a local Liverpool girl, Radio City Live is proud to announce she’ll be joining the bill. These pop princesses will all be joining NE-YO, LMFAO, Tinchy Stryder, Scouting for Girls, Mike Posner and Example, who were announced as part of the line-up last month. Radio City’s Station Director Richard Maddock thinks it will be their biggest concert yet: “This year’s line up is absolutely incredible and we can't wait to bring all these artists together for one night of the best pop hits from the past year. Adding these ladies to the bill has been the icing on top of a very big cake and we’re sure it’s going to be an unforgettable evening for Liverpool.” Tickets are on sale now from just £25 plus booking fee from the Liverpool Echo Arena Box Office, online at  radiocity.co.uk or by calling 0844 8000 400.

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Radio City Live @ The Echo Arena Liverpool

Radio City 96.7 took over Liverpool's Echo Arena on Sunday night for their Radio City Live pop extravaganza. Playing to a 10,000 strong very excited audience who filled the arena with cheers and squeals as the acts where advertised on the big screens surrounding the stage before it had even started.

Kicking off the event we're special guests McFly who now have a more mature look and definitely rocked the arena, with “Star Girl” and “Five Colours In Her Hair” and brought their the usual energy laden exuberance to their set that we have all grown to love about this cheeky lot.

Following McFly were Dane Bowers and Gabriella Cilmi who performed her new track, “Defender” and looked like butter wouldn't melt during, “Nothing Sweet About Me”. Hot on their heels was Alesha Dixon, who showcased her dance talents from her stint on Strictly Come Dancing during, “The Boy Does Nothing” and new single “Drummer Boy”. With great crowd interaction and a massive bubbly personality, Alesha Dixon was definitely one of the favourites of the night.

Diana Vickers, who is basically another blonde pop princess who seemed a bit more bothered about facial expressions and hand movements, making you feel it was more of an audition for an amature dramatics society than a musical performance and then came The Wanted, a can of manufactured boy band who do exactly what it says on the tin, send pre pubescent girls and middle aged mum's into a squealing frenzy.

The first half closed with The Hoosiers, whose new material which has a more rock edge to it, thankfully sounds better than their old happy retro induced pop. New track, “Unlikely Hero” especially went down well with the crowd.

Opening the second half came Tinchy Stryder, who I have to admit having no idea to who he was before hand, but was definitely surprised at his talents. He not only had a great energy and vocal talents but had a great rapport with the crowd, who were on their feet, dancing and cheering along and joining in with the chorus to each song, especially during, “Number One”. Next up we had Professor Green, minus Lily Allen, but with two backing singers instead gave an extended version of, Just Be Good To Me” and new single “Monster”.

The Saturday's treated us to a superb acoustic set including “Missing You” and “Ego”, as only three of them could make it due to illness. It was one of the best performances of the night in my opinion and definitely allowed the girls to showcase their vocal talents instead of, “the usual prancing about we normally do on stage!” They were followed by The Script, who during “Falling To Pieces” saw lead singer, Danny O'Donoghue jump from the stage to get up close and personal with the crowd.

Next up came X Factor winner, Alexandra Burke, who turned slightly Tina Turneresque during, “All Night Long”. New single, “Start Without Me” is a fantastic pop number which is big on bass and beats and is likely to be an instant hit.

Finally came Scouting For Girls, who closed the show and Radio City could not have chosen a better act to end it on. Of all the acts that played tonight, Scouting For Girls had to be the ones who seemed to enjoy it the most. As soon as they came onto the stage, lead singer, Roy Stride, was there to enjoy himself and ensured the crowd did as well. At one point, the crowd got so noisy joining in the chorus's that he was drowned out. It may have been a short set for them but they played the most famous tracks, “She's So Lovely” and brand new track, “Famous” which saw the band and audience bounce all over the place.

Words: Alison Goggin

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Radio City Live Line Up Change

Due to unforeseen circumstances, N-Dubz and Lee Ryan will no longer be appearing at Radio City Live.Insteadm the wonderful band The Script have been added to the line up

So line-up now includes The Script, Scouting For Girls, Alexandra Burke, McFly, The Saturdays, Tinchy Stryder, Professor Green, The Hoosiers, Dane Bowers, The Wanted, Diana Vickers, Gabriella Cilmi and Alesha Dixon.

Under 14's must be accompanied by an adult. Line-up subject to change.

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Liverpool's 1st Pride Festival 2010

This Saturday finally saw Liverpool Pride's Rainbow Circus come to the City Centre. Starting off from St George's plateaux, onlookers saw the brightly coloured parade, with samba dancers, stilt walkers, drag artist's and a wide array of people dressed in the colours of the rainbow, weave through the city centre lead by Michael Causer's family holding the Liverpool Pride's banner. This just reiterated one of the many important reason's for this event and recognition of Liverpool's gay quarter has certainly been long overdue. The parade finally ended at the main stage on Dale Street, where Dave Whelan, from 106.7 Juice Fm was on stage to start the events of the day.

The acts on all three stages varied and there was something for everyone, where ever you chose to spend your time. The main stage attracted the largest crowd of all, with a line up including, Natasha Hamilton, who gave a fine performance, with “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Whole Again”, Rowetta, from The Happy Monday's who was joined on stage by her 72 year old mum for a dance to “Mother Love, Rozalla, whose belted out hits like, “Are You Ready To Fly” and “Everybody's Free” with her powerful voice and husky tones and finally Adam Rickett, who was greeted by several screaming girls, who were so young, I’m surprised they knew who he was. Maybe they've just heard of his famous ab's instead. He was joined on stage by Robin S for a remix version of his most famous hit, “Breathe Again”.

The cabaret stage saw Britain's number one burlesque queen, Millie Dollar grace the stage for her routine, and yes feathers were definitely included and Liverpool's very own Alan Cross, whose 1950's style voice treated us to “Mac The Knife” and “Jump In The Line”, which ended up with the crowd doing an impromptu conga around Exchange Flags.

The Acoustic stage was unfortunately overlooked on comparison to the other two stages, maybe as it was tucked neatly away down North John Street, but those who made it there were treated to Cocabelle, clad in a lace all in one and Liverpool legend, Ian McNabb, whose impressive back catalogue speaks for itself.

All in all this was an excellent day, with a fantastic atmosphere throughout the gay quarter of Liverpool and everyone, from the crowd to the people involved in it enjoyed themselves immensely and from what I can gather, people will be eagerly awaiting it's return next year.

Words: Alison Goggin

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Radio City LIVE 2010

‘Radio City LIVE’ - Liverpool’s biggest gig of the year!

Professor Green and Tinchy Stryder are the latest big names to join the star-packed line-up for ‘Radio City LIVE’.

With two number 1 singles already under his belt, Tinchy will be sharing the stage with 13 other acts who will help create the biggest live music event of the year in Merseyside.

Radio City LIVE takes place on August 15 at the Liverpool Echo Arena and already includes the likes of The Saturdays, Gabrielle Cilmi, Diana Vickers, Scouting for Girls, N-Dubz, Alesha Dixon and The Hoosiers to name but a few. Between them, the acts announced so far have clocked up over 50 hit singles and sold millions of albums.

Latest addition Professor Green started out in music as a rap artist at the age of 18 and has just confirmed that he will feature on a remix of The Saturdays' new single 'Missing You'- also a confirmed act for Radio City LIVE.

Vanessa from The Saturdays’ spoke to Radio City about how much the band is looking forward to returning to the city: “We love performing in Liverpool – the people are lovely. We are so excited to be coming to see you guys again”

Having just celebrated having her first number 1 single and album, North West X-Factor sensation Diana Vickers also revealed her excitement about the event: “I can not wait to perform at Radio City LIVE. It’s going to be a great gig and I’m really looking forward to coming back to Liverpool”

‘Radio City LIVE’ at the Liverpool Echo Arena will see at least 2 more big music stars added to the already fantastic line-up. Tickets for ‘Radio City LIVE’ are on sale now priced £25 plus booking fee from www.radiocity.co.uk or by calling 0844 8000 400 during office hours, with profitable proceeds after all costs going to the Radio City’s Cash For Kids charity.

Full line-up so far:

N-Dubz; Alesha Dixon; The Saturdays; Gabriella Cilmi; Diana Vickers; The Hoosiers; Scouting For Girls; Tinchy Styder; Professor Green; Lee Ryan; Dane Bowers and The Wanted.


More Information can be found at
http://www.radiocity.co.uk/Article.asp?id=1801067&spid=20276
where you can also see a small video we have devised on some the artists who will be performing. We have another 3 acts to announce, including our headline act, however we have confirmed and released 12 artists to date.

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