The End of Oasis as Noel Gallagher quits band

Noel Gallagher has announced that he is unable to work with his brother, Liam, any longer and therefore this indicates the end of the British Rock Legends, after 18 years.

Noel, the group's lead guitarist, BBC News reports, made the statement on the band's website. He said a series of rows with his brother led to the decision.

The guitarist said: "It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight.

"People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer."

"Apologies to all the people who bought tickets for the shows in Paris, Konstanz and Milan," he added.

But really where does this place the band? In 2008, the band signed a three album deal with Sony BMG and since then they have released 'Dig Out Your Soul'... but what next? And what about the remainder of their tour? It's all well and nice to say that you apologise, but what about those let down fans? And in actual fact, we have always known the brothers had an icy relationship, in the 90's, they never left headlines about their wild ways and the ways they had hurt each other. But with this announcment, there seems an air of finality according to Hamish McBain, from music magazine New Musical Express.

What do all the Oasis fans think? They swarmed to Twitter to leave messages like 'Gutted about Oasis. Live Forever!' (joelbeighton), 'Oasis spilt up, can't quiet believe it yet! So amazing to see live and to meet in person...' (TheLives) and 'oasis have split how sad :(' (lucyjade123).

At the end of the day, eight albums later, we have learnt a lot about them and from them, they were the band who were there since the beginning of BritPop and they gave us anthems many would never forget like 'Wonderwall'.

New Doctor actor is youngest ever

Matt Smith has been named as the actor who will take over from David Tennant in Doctor Who - making him the youngest actor to take on the role.

At 26, Smith is three years younger than Peter Davison when he signed up to play the fifth Doctor in 1981.

Smith will first appear on TV screens as the 11th Doctor in 2010.

He was cast over Christmas and will begin filming for the fifth series of Doctor Who in the summer. Tennant is filming four specials in 2009.

Smith was named as Tennant's replacement in Saturday's edition of Doctor Who Confidential on BBC One.

He said: "I feel proud and honoured to have been given this opportunity to join a team of people that has worked so tirelessly to make the show so thrilling.

"David Tennant has made the role his own, brilliantly, with grace, talent and persistent dedication. I hope to learn from the standards set by him.

"The challenge for me is to do justice to the show's illustrious past, my predecessors, and most importantly, to those who watch it. I really cannot wait."

Piers Wenger, head of drama at BBC Wales, said that as soon as he had seen Smith's audition he "knew he was the one".

The 11 Doctors 1. William Hartnell (1963-1966) 2. Patrick Troughton (1966-1969) 3. Jon Pertwee (1970-1974) 4. Tom Baker (1974-1981) 5. Peter Davison - pictured (1982-1984) 6. Colin Baker (1984-1986) 7. Sylvester McCoy (1987-1996) 8. Paul McGann (1996) 9. Christopher Eccleston (2005) 10. David Tennant (2005-2010) 11. Matt Smith (2010 - ?)

"It was abundantly clear that he had that 'Doctor-ness' about him," he said. "You are either the Doctor or you are not. It's just the beginning of the journey for Matt.

"With Steven Moffat's scripts and the expertise of the production team in Cardiff behind him, there is no one more perfect to be taking the Tardis to exciting new futures when the series returns in 2010."

Wenger said a broad range of people had been auditioned, but they had not set out to cast the youngest Doctor.

Smith's TV debut was in the 2006 adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke, which starred former Doctor Who companion Billie Piper as Sally Lockhart.

He has also acted opposite Piper in the follow-up, The Shadow in the North, and in ITV2's Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

In 2007, he had a leading role in BBC Two's political drama Party Animals, in which he played a parliamentary researcher.

Smith's stage work has included stints with theatre companies such as the Royal Court and National Theatre. His West End debut was in Swimming With Sharks opposite Christian Slater.

He was born in Northampton in 1982 and studied drama and creative writing at the University of East Anglia.

Creative team

Tennant said in October that he would stand down from the show after filming four special episodes in 2009.

Tennant is recovering from back surgery ahead of filming in 2009

The star is due to begin shooting the first special this month, just weeks after surgery on his back forced him to pull out of a London run of Hamlet.

The last of these special episodes is expected to run in early 2010.

With a new creative team in place for the 2010 series led by executive producers Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger, the casting of the Doctor was the first job to be completed before scripts could be finalised.

Doctor Who began in 1963, and seven actors played the Doctor before the show was dropped in 1989.

After a TV movie in 1996 - starring Paul McGann - the TV series returned in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston in the lead role. Tennant took over the same year.

Source: BBC NEWS

THE GREAT CIRCUS STAND-OFF, TAKE THAT VS BRITNEY SPEARS

Head-to-head: Take That and Britney

Both artists have announced major tours for summer 2009

By Mark Savage Entertainment reporter, BBC News

It's either a huge mistake or a brilliantly contrived piece of PR, but Britney Spears and Take That are both releasing an album called Circus (or The Circus) on the same day.

There won't be a Blur vs Oasis-style chart battle - Take That's album has already broken pre-order records, ensuring that it will go to number one by the end of the week.

But, as any chart historian knows, securing the top spot is no guarantee of quality - just ask Elvis, whose Suspicious Minds was robbed of chart glory by Rolf Harris's Two Little Boys.

So, who has constructed a better big top - Take That or Britney Spears?

TAKE THAT The UK's most popular boy band present the second album since their hugely successful reunion.	BRITNEY SPEARS Britney's sixth studio record follows a tempestuous year for the former mouseketeer.
PREVIOUS FORM
Take That's last album, Beautiful World, sold 2.5 million in the UK.	Britney Spears' last album, Blackout, sold 250,000 in the UK.
HOW WILL I RECOGNISE THE NEW ALBUM IN A SHOP?
NUMBER OF WRITERS
Nine	37 (yes, 37)
BALLAD RATIO
Eight out of 13 tracks - 62%	Three out of 14 tracks - 21%
OPENING TRACK
The Garden: A typically rousing Take That ballad, set against the unlikely backdrop of a major ecological disaster ("the scent of burning oil was in the air")	Womanizer: Britney's latest hit single is a flawless piece of 21st Century robo-pop with a tongue-twister chorus. Also contains sirens.
DOES IT INCLUDE A SONG CALLED THE CIRCUS?
Yes. It's practically a Gary Barlow solo track, with a sparse piano-vocal arrangement. Lyrically, it's the tale of a lover spurned, with Gary cast as the circus clown for loving a lady who has abandoned him. A thousand hearts will break.	Yes. In it, Britney claims to be the "ringleader" (we think she means ringmaster) of a circus which may or may not be a metaphor for the music industry. Key lyric: "When I crack that whip, everybody's gonna trip, just like a circus"
DOES THE ARTIST PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF GENUINE CIRCUS SKILLS?
Yes	Yes
BEST SONG
Throwaway bonus track She Said is a delightful hula shuffle which promises to be a highlight of the group's sold out stadium tour.	Nothing quite matches the magnificent Womanizer, but the stuttering groove of Mannequin and the flirty Radar come close.
WORST SONG
Mark Owen's tale of domestic bliss, Hello. Set to a rolling music hall piano, it aims to match the towering grandeur of Shine, but ends up sounding a little bit like When I'm Cleaning Windows.	Every Britney album has a tedious song about getting naked or being a "freak" in the bedroom. Here it is the slap bass-powered Lace And Leather. Even Britney sounds bored.
BEST LYRIC
"I met this girl last night and she said 'why won't you marry me?' Well, I'm too young for that, too dumb for that, too broke for that, too tired for that... But would you like to come back to my flat?" (Up All Night) A brilliant moment of comic misdirection from Mark Owen.	"Can't remember what I did last night. Everything is still a blur. Can you calmly hand me all my things? I think I need an aspirin." (Blur) A woozy recollection of the morning after the night before, and the only allusion to Britney's "lost year" on the album.
WORST LYRIC
"Just the other day somebody said to me, 'hey maybe you're oh-so-slightly OCD'... I said, 'yes, that's partly true but it's just my way of compartmentalising all the things I see.'" (How Did It Come To This) Jason Orange lets us into his latest psychotherapy session.	"Say what you want about me, but all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to If You Seek Amy." (If You Seek Amy) It looks like nonsense, but in Britney's southern drawl those last four words sound incredibly smutty. A desperate attempt to shock.
LYRIC DISPLAYING MOST AWARENESS OF CURRENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLIMATE
"Looks like the cost of houses are falling, but I don't notice." (Hello)	"All we had is shattered like broken glass" (Shattered Glass)
DURATION (ACTUAL)
50mins 58secs	50mins 10secs
DURATION (PERCEIVED)
A cozy sixty minutes reading the Sunday papers beside a roaring fire with a stack of hot, buttered toast and a mug of cocoa.	Half-an-hour of wild abandon in a sweaty nightclub, followed by three days reflecting on your inexcusable behaviour.
STRANGEST ARTWORK MOMENT
Gary Barlow looks terribly uncomfortable swinging on a trapeze.	While dressed as Heidi, Britney is served a cake by a circus performer.
BEST THANK YOU OR INLAY CREDIT
"Take That performed all their own stunts throughout the making of The Circus."	"Thank you, Brett Miller AKA Snowflake - for getting my ass out of bed."
NUMBER OF INTERNET "FRIENDS"
Myspace: 56,947 Facebook: 58,228 Bebo: 34,456 Total: 149,631	Myspace: 462,732 Facebook: 356,956 Bebo: 2,117 Total: 824,544
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL EVENT
Fans have been invited to wave the group off as they catch the Eurostar to Paris on Monday. Four of them will win tickets to join them on the train. If they've remembered their passports.	MTV and Sky One will broadcast a warts-and-all documentary, Britney: For The Record, detailing the troubled last 12 months in the singer's life. Contains such insights as "I'm a smart person".
THE CRITICS SAY
"Gary Barlow can't spot a cliche like without stepping eagerly into it." The Independent "They bring a fallible human quality to an album which is all about gilding their strong bond with their original fans." Daily Mirror	"Spears, never the most emotive vocalist, frequently sounds disconnected, even a bit bored" The Guardian "She confronts issues of fame, broken relationships and motherhood against a masterfully engineered soundscape." The Sun
WE SAY
A confident, accomplished record that's precision-targeted at their fanbase. The lush orchestration gives a cinematic sweep to ballads like Greatest Day and The Garden, but it also disguises the occasional weak vocal.	There are some classic Britney tracks here but sonically and lyrically she is treading water. It's a shame that the Princess of Pop hasn't been able to channel the turmoil of the last 12 months into her music.
OUR MUM SAYS
"I like the single. It's very sing-along-ish. I'm looking forward to seeing them in June."	"She looks really well compared to what she looked like last year. Do you think that's her real hair?"
FINAL SCORES
7.5/10	6/10
Read the BBC Music album review	Read the BBC Music album review

Source: BBC NEWS

Brits accolade for Pet Shop Boys

The Pet Shop Boys have sold 50 million records since 1985

Pioneering dance duo the Pet Shop Boys will be presented with an outstanding contribution to music award at next year's Brits, it has been announced.

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, known for such hits as West End Girls and It's a Sin, will collect their honour at Earls Court in London on 18 February.

Ged Doherty, the chairman of the Brits committee, called them "one of the most influential groups of the modern era."

Previous recipients include U2, David Bowie, the Eurythmics and Sting.

Last year's award went to former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.

'Fantastic'

With 54-year-old Tennant on lead vocals and Lowe, 49, on keyboards, the Pet Shop Boys have had four number one singles and 22 Top 10 hits.

Their first number one, West End Girls, topped charts all over the world in 1986 and won them the Brit Award for best British single.

Their second Brit came in 1988 when they picked up the Best British Group award.

"Since their first Brit Award over 20 years ago, Neil and Chris have produced a fantastic body of work with songs that truly were the soundtrack to a whole generation's lives," said Doherty.

The nominations for the 2009 awards will be announced on 20 January.

Source: BBC News

Criminal Justice, A Debate to Far?

'We've the best criminal justice system, in the world,' the immortal words spoken by the father of Ben Coulter, the protagonist of BBC's newest drama, Criminal Justice.

With the recent recession for good quality legal drama, the US produced Damages, every action and every thought were bought into question, trust no one. The BBC are back with another hard hitting drama which is playing out over a week. After last years, 'Five Days', which saw the story of a police investigation into the disappearance of a young mother and her two children, the BBC have done it again, never for one second letting common knowledge be left, this sees the justice system in it's boldest yet, constantly questioning the facts.

The story revolves around Ben Coulter (Whishaw) and one night out, spent with a mysterious girl. One minute their doing vodka shots and being lead to the bedroom and the next, Ben wakes up with blood on his hands and a dead body upstairs. What happened in between these events? Criminal Justice works though the labyrinth of law to find out.

With all the twists and turns along the ways, this show begs all the questions that the public wants the answers to. Everyday, we open our newspapers and see articles about criminals, the mistakes within our government and treatment of prisoners. Without leaving any gritty detail, CJ aims to present an argument to it's audience and oblivious to gender, race or nationality, former barrister, Peter Moffat writes a beautifully constructed, relevant piece of drama which leaves it's audience wanting more.

At the end of day two we are left with questions about the story and about our justice system. Does this represent the reality that is hidden away from us? No longer are being told to mind our own business but instead develop an emotional connection with those on the other side. The violence, the betrayal and the system at it's best and worst are all shown in this five part drama starring some amazing British talent.

Ben Whishaw, performs to the highest standards and after his performance in the box office smash, Perfume, why not? The emotional rollarcoaster we are taken on as a man unsure of his innocence tries to fill in the gaps without being bought down by the system, not only leaves the audience wanting more for the story, the drama and the construction but leaves the audience with a thought, a taste in their mouths. What can be done? Is this the truth? Can a dramatic construction of the justice system bring us closer to solving the problem that lays behind bars?

Direction by Otto Bathurst and Luke Watson, the former having credits with last years 'Five Days' and the popular 'Hustle' we are taken somewhere other law shows have not dared to tread. A bit of law, some prison drama, a man's own mental state being bought into question, Criminal Justice, certainly has gripped and with another three episodes to go, it looks like very soon we shall be having answers.

Ollie///Beauty is laughter on the radio

The voice of Charlotte Green, the BBC Radio 4 is well known, her voice carries confidence and strictness which makes someone want to listen. You know where you are when she is reading the news but two months ago, it seems that a filler article may have changed Ms Green's image as a hard hitting news reader. Listen below and tell me that you did not laugh along with her!



Well, thank fully the BBC did not read too far into this outburst and that sometimes when someone wants to laugh... it just happens and it was not only her, you can hear the producer having a titer in the background as well.
Well done Ms Green for showing that there is still a sense of humour back there and I am sure, making a large part of London laugh!

Ollie///Beauty is the actors feelings...

A show where the end appears to be the beginning...

Over the recent weeks I have been watching Damages on BBC1, a new legal drama from FX. It started all the way back in July last year, and a second and third season have been commissioned, just as soon as the WGA strike is over. The on-going plot line surrounds the court case against Arthur Frobisher, in a situation similar to that of Enron, Frobisher is accused of insider trading and lying to his workers about the status of his company even as he sold of his stock.

This is where Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) comes in, a big shot lawyer with a big shot firm, and her only option is to win. Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), a newly minted lawyer is offered a job at Hewes & Associates, what she does not know is that although her new employer is one of the best in the industry, Patty's workings are usually unethical.

From the opening 30 seconds of the pilot, we are shown a half naked Ellen, running from an apartment, she is arrested but won't talk without a lawyer, this is when we are taken several months back to her being hired by Hewes.



One of my music recommendations for the month is The VLA- When I Am Through With You, the theme to Damages. This song, perfectly mirrors the deception and the darker side of litigation, as seen in the show. With the drum beats in time to flashes of NYC, the theme not only gives the audience a sense of whats to come but also, a little bit of audience expectation. What they don't know is that all their expectations are not only going to be ignored, they are going to be surpassed.

Glenn Close, heads the cast of Damages and what a fine job she does. Not appearing on out small screens since her season four appearance in the FX police show, The Wire (currently in it's sixth season), she manages to captivate all the show sets out to do. What I love about Close's fine skills as an actress is the way that she looks even more beautiful when she is playing a character. She puts all her effort into making sure that we, as the audience, understand how she if feeling and if her character wants to betray on screen, we, too off screen will feel betrayed.

Her face mimics the feelings of the character as we view her emotions. Over the years, Close has had many different roles, from being the bunny boiler in Fatal Attraction to the dog hating, clothes loving Cruella de Ville in 101/102 Dalmations. Yet, she can perfectly take a role, however small or large and make sure that she is noticed. Now, that is not a negative criticism, she is not an attention seeker, she does not want her character to over outshine another, but through her facial expressions, her posture and her gestures, she manages to clasp onto our attention and manipulate all expectations we have of her, either the dramatic Close or the comedic Close, we forget her past and see her as the character she plays now.

As Patty Hewes, Close's vision of a Machiavellian type of character contrasts beautifully with Byrne's bright and sharp graduate. Adding this strong cast is Ted Danson as Frobisher, a charismatic self-made billionaire, Noah Bean as Ellen's fiancee, David Connor, Tate Donovan as Patty's advisor, Shayes and Željko Ivanek as Frobisher's manipulative attorney, Ray Fiske.

Comprising of themes, not just to do with law but also family and safety, Damages is not one to be missed.