Thursday 31st January


You do tend to forget how quickly these Thursday nights come around. Must be my age! So here we are again with the all new Captain Jacks Tracks. As last week took so long to put together, this week has led to me living by my own rules of Preparation, Preparation, Preparation, which has of course meant browsing through page after page of hot chicks to decide who gets picked on the hot list! I must admit this new blog is a bit of a chore now, but someone has to do it, you know the hours spent flicking through page after page of semi-clad babes takes it out of a normal person, but my constitution is strong, and I will, for the good of the blog, continue to indulge you with my findings!
And you will be pleased to here that my Celebrity chum Ronnie Wood, was so pleased that I brought to the world his fantastic picture of Mick Jagger, he has very kindly agreed to send me his artistic impressions of the Celebrity Bull-Plop story’s of the week. It is a great honour to have these pictures being brought to this Blog from one of the Rock World’s great artists, both with a guitar and a paintbrush. His artistic flair over the next few weeks and months, I’m sure will bring a smile to our face’s and a leap in our hearts, as our celebrity chums are put onto canvas for the ages!
So on we go then. Yet again it was rather a quiet night tonight. Shaun was suffering a bit, and he only managed 16 pints before collapsing into a heap on the floor. The P.D.C Darts Premier League kicked off again this week, meaning we spent most of the night nipping into the bar to keep an eager eye on darts maestro Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, who after three years going unbeaten in the tournament finally lost a match! Oh well all good things come to and end, just ask Steve McClaren! So with all that other excitement we almost didn’t have time for any singing…………………………who am I trying to kid. Another four songs to add to the ever growing list, and for as different as night I to day, but more of that later. Here we go with my Classic Track for this week.


Captain Jacks Classic Track #2



Mott The Hoople - Roll Away The Stone 1973


Roll Away The Stone was the bands second most well known song, only just being pipped by All The Young Dudes, although I think this shows just how good the band were as a ‘Glam Rock’ band, with the emphasis being a lot more on the rock. The early 70’s was renowned for its throw away acts, but little pockets of Supergroups formed. Mott The Hoople lined up as Mick Ralphs, Ian Hunter, Verden Allen, Pete Watts and Dale Griffin. As the Glam era took a firm hold, artists such as David Bowie, looked upon these bands and all helped the Glam Rock club rule the charts for almost a decade.
This song reached number 8 in December 1973, and spent a total of 12 weeks in the Top 40. Although a Top 10 hit for the band in 1973, it actually was on the bands album ‘The Hoople’ released the following year in April 1974, where it reached number 7 in the U.K. album charts, spending a total of 11 weeks on the chart.
As the competition from other bands got greater the band decided to split in late 1971, and on hearing the rumour, long time fan, David Bowie pleaded for them to reconsider, and offered the band ’Suffragette City’ from his forthcoming ‘Ziggy Stardust’ album. The band kindly refused the offer, but Bowie persisted, and he wrote the bands biggest hit ‘All The Young Dudes’ As this hit propelled them upwards, they went on to record the other big hits they had, ‘All The Way From Memphis’ and ‘Roll Away The Stone’ but after the big up came the swift down as the original line up split in 1974, with Hunter and Ralphs both leaving, Hunter as a solo artist, and Ralphs forming Bad Company, which left the remaining band to continue on as just simply ‘Mott’.
No Mott the Hoople reunion has ever occurred, though negotiations for one were attempted in 1985. All of the original line up have shown some interest at various times in the idea over the last 25 years or so, though recently Hunter has ruled out a full Mott reunion. A full reunion currently seems unlikely, although in 2002 and 2004, Mick Ralphs toured with Ian Hunter, as part of Hunter's backing band. Hunter's memoir of the road, Dairy Of A Rock & Roll Star , detailing the 1972 U.S. tour with Mott the Hoople is considered one of most important rock road diaries to date and is said to be a big inspiration behind the ‘Spinal Tap’ movie in 1984
.

You see this new format is beginning to gel itself together, and guess what, more to come for you all this week. But first is what can only be descibed as Steve McClaren's reign as England Manager.

Captain Jacks Joke Of The Week

Thor, the Viking God of Thunder, and Odin, King Of The Gods are enjoying a flagon of mead in Valhalla, the Norse heaven. Suddenly, Thor turns to Odin. “You know, my Lord” he says, thoughtfully thumbing his huge mystical hammer. “Being a god is brilliant, but it’s been a millennium since I had any sex.” Odin nodded and pondered for a while. Raising his mighty head, he took pity on his melon-sacked subordinate. “Go to Earth, O Thor,” he replied. “Find thyself there what they call a ‘lady of the night’. Treat her to your manly pleasures.”
Bowing gracefully, Thor retired and followed Odin’s advice, before returning the next night. “My Lord,” he said, grinning from ear to ear, “You were right – it was wonderful. We had passionate sex 37 times!” “37 times?” exclaimed Odin. “That poor woman!! Mere mortals cannot endure such treatment. You must go and apologize!” Humbled, Thor went back down to earth and found the aforementioned prostitute. “I’m sorry about last night,” he apologized. “But you see, I’m Thor.” “You’re Thor?” shouted the girl, “What about me? I can’t even pith.”

Another beauty for you to giggle at. So after another fine joke of the week, lets get on with another little new feature, now I know there was lots to see last week, and lets be fair, if entertaining was easy then Steve McClaren should have no problems getting a new job as a clown at Children’s party’s, I mean lets face it, he is over qualified for the job. No entertaining you all is no easy feat you know. I spend many an hour scouring the Net for new items every week, and most of them I have found have had there funny five minutes of fame on here, but as I am only here to entertain, and bring entertainment to you all, I thought you could all benefit from my vast knowledge of films, music, television and books. As you may not know, I spend a lot of time on the old Sky Plus, recording loads of things to watch on the old box, and when not watching, I will never be far away from a bit of tune listening, and failing that I do like a good read before bedtime.
So as I have got so much to recommend to you, I have decided to put it to good use in Captain Jack Recommends. But I must warn you, my memory is not what it used to be and I may need help in some of the titles.


Captain Jack Recommends

So I was watching this film on Saturday night, bloody brilliant it was. It was about this guy who was a down on his luck boxer, and anyway this big shot world champion wanted to redeem his failing reputation by fighting a bit of a no hoper, who would be seen as a man of the people, and give him his dignity back, now what was it called?
So anyway this boxer gets this fight and runs up some steps and waves his arms around a lot, then one of his mates introduces him to his sister, who to be fair was a big of a dog, which was luck for her as she worked in a pet shop, I think she used to be a bloke as she was named Hadrian or something. Anyway this boxer fancies the pants off her as he has been hit around the head a few times, and he has an old trainer who used to be the penguin in the Batman tv show, who teaches him the values of working hard and training hard, and that even the little guy deserves a shot at the title. Now what was it called.
So anyway the fight comes around and this Italian Horse Bloke nick named Ricky or something like that has to fight the world champ who was named Apollo 15 I think, and they beat the crap out of each other, both fall over a couple of times, but the fight ends up a draw, so the champ keeps his title and the little guys earns stacks of cash and loads of respect, great film but what the hell was it called, no wait a minute, no it’s gone again. No I’ve got it……………………………Pretty Woman!

So no confusion there then! And I know this next section is bound to be of interest to you all, and with my new celebrity artist pal Ronnie Wood on board, it's sure to be a winner.

Captain Jacks Celebrity Bull-Plop Story Of The Week #2
“They tried to make me go to Rehab and I said Yes, Yes, Yes!” You know there is a song in there somewhere I’m sure of it, anyway back to the story. Troubled singer Amy Winehouse has been admitted to a Celebrity Rehab facility in London after suffering ‘dangerous level’s’ of dehydration following her battle to kick her drink and drugs habit under a false name, probably something like H. Eroin or C. O’Caine or Double Vodka Red Bull maybe.
A source said she was looking ‘very pale and thin’ No sh1t if you fill yourself with booze and drugs what do you expect stupid! She looked ‘ropey’ and ‘exhausted’, no change there then, and we all hope she hasn’t taken a turn for the worse.
Winehouse’s father Mitch confirmed his daughter was in the clinic, saying “She is OK. She is making progress but expect her to be in Re-Hab for a long time” Well just long enough for her to see her fella get released from jail for beating the crap out of somebody, probably getting her some drugs>
Friend to the stars Ronnie Wood visited her inside the clinic to paint her at this critical time in her rehabilitation, so she could see how far she had slipped off reality. How kind of him, although Amy was said to be less than receptive to our artistic chum.

You can see where this is going to go every week now can't you! Now not every blog offers this service, but here it you mid reading break with our next feature.


Captain Jacks Five Minute Scive








So after you have had time to catch your breath, its back lads. The part you have all been waiting for........


Billie Piper was born on 22 September 1982 in London. She began her long (Laugh out loud NOW) and successful musical career in 1998, when she mysteriously went straight to number one in the charts with her debut single ‘Because We Want To’ and then again with her second single ‘Girlfriend’. Her debut album, ’Honey To The B’, also went straight into the Number 1 spot, astounding all the music industry as it was, to say the least pant’s. In fact Billie herself said the only singing she had done before was at her local Karaoke, and she was as surprised as anyone that this drivel even charted.

She was nominated for two Brit’s in 1999 (Best Classical Act and Best International Newcomer as all the other categories involved real artists). Unfortunately she missed out on those awards, narrowly pipped at the post by Pavarotti and Natalie Imbruglia, she finally won an award at the highly rated Smash Hits awards, you know the ones where the snot nose teenagers get their say, where she won Best Female artist, just pipping Kate Bush, Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Maria Carey, all of whom were relatively unknown in the UK, well to most teenagers anyway.
In 2001 she met and flirted with well known ‘ginger’ Chris Evans, and after a swift whirlwind romance she married him sixth months later in Las Vegas. Billie claimed not too of known that Chris was a multi millionaire (Yeah right!). From the start of the relationship, the pair suffered constant abuse, mainly due to the large age gap, the huge amounts of cash Evans spent on her, and the fact a fit bird married a ginger. After finding out Evans had contributed to her pop career by buying every copy of all her singles and albums, which had taken them to the top of the charts in 1999 (May not of mentioned that earlier) She came to her sense’s and dumped the ‘Ginge’ in 2006, and finally divorced him in 2007. As she wanted none of his multi-million pound empire (Yeah Right!) She accepted the garage full of her single as part of the divorce settlement, and set her brother up selling them on car boot sales around London.
Her next break came when she followed her dream of acting, and she landed the role of Rose Tyler in the new BBC adaptation of Doctor Who. She played her new role alongside the new Doctor ’Christopher Ecclestone’. Many thought that her work on the show was brilliant, but not Ecclestone, who quit after only one series, after stating “She constantly broke out into singing her hits all over the set, and it was very, very annoying” She ended up as Most Popular Actress in 2005, and 2006 for her work on the show, alongside new Doctor ’David Tennant’ who didn’t mind the singing due to the fact he was deaf!

Phew, another top bit of totty for you to look at. This is fast becoming my favourite part of the blog, and I'm sure most of you may be thinking the same, well Shaun will anyway! So as we swiftly move on with this week's blog, it's back to the music with this weeks....

Captain Jacks Live Is Best





Linkin Park - What I've Done

Donnington 9th June 2007

So lets crack on with the music with my songs for this week. Another quietish week ended up in me getting to sin another four songs this week, again old, new and most of all classic. This week I sang 1.Heat Of The Moment by Asia 2.I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues by Elton John 3.Won't Go Home Without You by Maroon 5 and 4. Angie by The Rolling Stones.

Heat Of The Moment by Asia

Highest UK Chart Position: No 46 July 1982

Heat Of The Moment was the first and biggest hit by UK prog rockers Asia, and with it’s summery feel too it, you know the great guitar riffs as you drive your convertible with the hood down listening to a great rock track as you drive along a sun soaked road alongside a glistening shoreline, or if you live in England, driving along Blackpool/Rhyl/Skegness/Southport prom with the windows up to stop the rain getting in!
The band were formed in 1981 and were labelled a super group, as they included former members of Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King Crimson and Uriah Heap, all big in the prog rock genre. Although the band had such illustrious musicians including John Wetton from King Crimson, Geoff Downes and Steve Howe from Yes and Carl Palmer from believe or not Emerson, Lake and Palmer. The band was formed and the music industry got very excited as it was rumoured Rick Wakeman was also to be in the band, but Wakeman pulled out at the last minute shortly before a massive deal with Geffen records was signed. But the fans and the buzz around the music industry almost guaranteed that there first single would be a massive hit, but even though the hype was high, it only reached number 46 in the UK charts, and the debut album was heavily criticised by the music press.
Despite the limited success in UK charts, the single proved to be a massive US hit, reaching Number 1 in the Mainstream Rock Chart, and Number 4 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. A sell out US tour followed, starting in theatres, but due to demand moving out onto the arena circuit, and the debut album hit the top spot in the US charts. This was all due to the new baby in America at the time MTV, and Asia benefited from having their debut video on rotation five times a day, a first for MTV back in the 80’s.
However they never really hit it big after their first album and single, and after the American love of prog rock bands waned, the band finally split in 1985. But the name went on and as members who left were replaced, the band continued on and with original members getting back together in 1992, they went on a European tour in 1993 too sell out crowds.
The band split again in the late nineties to pursue separate careers, but the original four got back together in 2006 to reform and go on another sell out US tour, and in 2007 they began recording together again, for the original members first new material since 1983. The new album Phoenix is due for release in April 2008, and a massive world tour has already been announced starting in March





I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues By Elton John

Highest UK Chart Position: No 5 April 1985

From unknown to well known. This is one of my favourites to sing, as with the vocal being in the mid range its not to taxing on the old vocal chords, and with it being an Elton John song, its also a bit of a crowd pleaser. The song took Elton to Number 5 in April of 1983, and features his good friend Stevie Wonder on harmonica.
It was co-written as usual by Elton and his long time lyricist Bernie Taupin, who has been with Elton from the start. The pair met via a wanted ad in a music trade magazine, and they hit it off from the start, and went on to form one of the best song writing partnerships in British musical history, with Taupin providing the soulful and sometimes heartfelt lyrics, and Elton providing the brilliant music.
This track was taken from Elton’s Too Low For Zero, which also had his other big hit at the time, I’m Still Standing, another Top Ten hit for Elton.
The video was recorded at the Rivoli Ballroom in London, and features the story of a young 50’s couple, who are just starting a relationship. It shows them dancing at a Rock And Roll Night, which featured Elton in a very fetching sparkly suit on piano. The pair are seen falling for each other, but the time comes for the guy to be sent away to do his National Service, where he has to shave his once fashionable haircut off, and suffer at the hands of a very angry looking sergeant. His time is spent dreaming of the girl he left behind, and is left wishing of the time he could be spending with her.
The Rivoli has quite a history in British Culture itself.It started life as the Crofton Park Picture Palace in July 1913 and was converted into a ballroom in 1957, reopening in 1959 with a large sprung maple dance floor. It is currently in private hands. Famous for its original decor and interior fittings featuring red velvet, flock wallpaper, chandeliers and glitter balls, it is often used as a film location and plays host to many dance and musical events. It has found favour with pop video producers and style shoots - rock band Oasis, singer Charlotte Church, fashion model Kate Moss are but three of many glitterati to make use of the venue for shoots. Live music plays a part at the Rivoli regularly. Indie rock band The White Stripes played a gig there in 2007 although it's more usual to find jive, rock and roll and swing bands making use of the ballroom.
The building has been granted grade two Listed Building by English Heritage in response to items in the press concerning its possible sale, which might have led to its closure and demolition.





Won’t Go Home Without You by Maroon 5

Highest UK Chart Position: No 44 November 2007

Now I never thought I would actually like a Maroon 5 song but I actually like this Maroon 5 song! This is the third track to be released from the bands second album It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. Adam Levine, lead singer and main songwriter, said the song ‘is about desperately trying to impress a girl and doing everything you can to make her listen to you, but failing’ a theme acted out in the video of the single.
The song itself has a very familiar guitar undertone running through the track. The song is based on the bass line from The Police track ‘Every Breath You Take’. Levine, who admits to being a huge Police fan said ‘It is one of my favourite songs, and an inspiration too my song writing. I always wanted to write a song like it, there is no way it wasn’t a direct influence on the track. The rest of the band felt it was a strange Beach Boys meets The Strokes mix, because of how the guitar arrangement sounded, but after a few re-records we got it how we wanted it to sound, as a homage to one of our favourite bands.’
When Maroon 5 were asked to support The Police in their comeback tour they jumped at the chance, but they never performed this track, because of its obvious debt to ‘Every Breath You Take’ Levine said ‘I’m sure we would of recorded it differently if we had known the Police were going to reform. They were never going to get back together as we all thought, so at the time it was a great tribute to them, but a week after we released the album, they announced they were getting back and here we are on tour with our biggest influence, so it would have been silly for us to play it’
Although wanting to be known as a rock band, they have their roots firmly in the pop rock genre. Their first album ’Songs About Jane’ received huge critical acclaim and produced four top ten UK singles, including She Will Be Loved, Sunday Morning, This Love and Harder To Breath, which hit the headlines for its misogynistic lyrics and This Love for it’s sexually explicit video, as the band tried to dispense of their nice boy image. Five years after the release of their first album came the second It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, which saw the band return with the hits Makes Me Wonder, Wake Up Call and this one.





Angie by The Rolling Stones

Highest UK Chart Position: No 5 September 1973

Well its always nice to end with a classic, and this is well up on the all time classics list, by (I am a little biased here) probably the greatest band in the world ever. Recorded during November and December in 1972, and was taken from the bands album Goats Head Soup. The song was written in the main by Keith Richards, one half of the legendary partner ship that has made the Stones what they are. In a style change for the rockers, Angie is an acoustically driven ballad which tells the story of the end of a romance.
The song is regarded as one of the bands best, with poignant lyrics about lost love and the grieving process you have to go through. Mick Jagger gives a heartfelt and wrenching performance that’s sends a shiver down your spine if you take the time to listen to the pure emotion he conveys in his vocals on the song. Stones long time regular Nicky Hopkins plays the songs distinctive piano section, and Nicky Harrison arranged and played the strings on the track.
Despite having a downbeat feel to the track, and the fact that up until this point the band had been unknown for their ballads, Angie went straight in at Number 1 in the US charts.
The songs origins have been a major talking point, but as usual the band keep the fans guessing as to its real origins. The favourite for the songs origins is that Angie was actually David Bowie’s wife Angela, after it was reported that Jagger had been involved with her before the couple divorced, but Jagger denies this. Keith Richards has stated the song has its origins in a more modest surrounding. He claims the song was written about his recently born daughter named Angela. He states the chord sequences were in his head and being written while his partner was pregnant with his daughter, and as she was born and named Angela, the title just fitted for the song.
The song is one of the bands most popular live tracks, and has appeared on every Stones tour since the 1981 American tour, where recordings of the song were used and placed on the Stripped and Live Licks albums.
After singing almost 25 Stones tracks on the Karaoke last year, this is the first I have done this year. And while most of the time, despite being some of the best known British Rock Tracks of the past 40 odd years, not many people claimed to know the legendary songs. Well for the uninitiated you will be pleased to know that this year I do plan on singing them all over again this year, for those who missed out on them last time!




There you go folks another four great songs to add to the ever growing list. And now onto the final furlong.So as it appears to of taken on a life of its own, and with the appearance on my fellow blogger Shaun’s almost as good as mine blog, the latest Fifa 08 scores are here for you. Now some dispute over a lower division draw in the first round of games, a blustery Sunday night was made more entertaining by another eight games by our duelling PS3 rivals.
Now for the record, only seven of the games went through to completion, as one game was called off due to floodlight failure, well actually the game froze but it sounds better if you say match abandoned. But as the game was over 80 minutes gone, as in real football, the result at the time stands, so I was 2-0 up and about to make it 3-0 after a red card and penalty was conceded when a late and quite frankly leg breaking tackle was made by one of Shaun’s less skilful players!
Despite the rematch being won by a spectacular 25 yard volley in the dying seconds of the match, I then picked myself up to win two on the trot, where I managed hefty wins against lower class opposition, well Liverpool and Italy anyway. So here are the latest results and ‘fully complete’ league table.

Man United 0 - 1 Chelsea
AC Milan 2 - 2 Chelsea
Real Madrid 0 - 0 Chelsea
Portsmouth 1 - 2 Blackburn
Sparta Prague 2 - 0 VFB Stuttgart
Sparta Prague 1 - 2 VFB Stuttgart
Everton 3 - 1 Liverpool
England 4 - 1 Italy


Another week draws firmly to a close, and I'm sure by next week, me old mucker Shaun will of disputed every result. With the new era firmly in place now I must retreat back to my little private sanctuary to start on next weeks extravaganza. Oh well at least it brings happiness to so many people, and how else do I get a chance to check out hot babes without the wife complaining! See you all next week...

" Indy Why Does The Floor Move? Gimme Your Torch {He Throws The Torch Into The Darkness} Snakes......Why'd It Have To Be Snakes? Asps - Very Dangerous.... You Go First!"

Thursday 24th January 2008

Well its good to be back folks. Here is the first of the brand spanking new Captain Jacks Tracks. All the new features promised in the first Blog of the year will be making their debut appearances for you to enjoy, and in the next few weeks I will be adding one or two special features, but they are, for the moment at least, being kept under tight wraps!!!!

So, after a brief spell away, Thursday night has returned with a bang. Well more of a splutter really! As is always the case in January, most punters are suffering the post Xmas depression, and not really up for a night out on the Karaoke, so of course that gives us plenty of time to throw in new songs from the Guitar Hero III soundtrack, well me really, as Shaun is never one to attempt 'Rock Classics', but I do feel I am slowly weaning him into the true Rocker mode. I'm sure the first gig of the year we go to see, Linkin Park at the Sheffield Hallam Arena, will tempt him ever closer to the dark side. Apart from that not really much happened tonight to be fair, but as I said earlier, the first few nights of the year are always a bit empty, as most people were paid before Christmas, and don't get paid until the end of January. The bloody liberties these employers take, I tell you!
So lets get down to the new features. First up this week is going to be my choice for this weeks classic track. After much deliberation I felt a good old fashioned rock track should open the feature up so here it is.

Captain Jacks Classic Track #1




Whitesnake - Here I Go Again 1987

Here I Go Again is one of the classic Whitesnake anthems. Originally recorded in 1982 for the 'Saints And Sinners' album, it only had a mediocre reception. But when re-recorded for the 1987 'Whitesnake' album it took om a life of its own, reaching number 9 in the U.K. charts in October 1987, and reaching number one on the U.S. Billboard charts the same month. The music video for the song was directed by Marty Callner, who directed most of Whitesnake's videos in the 1980's. It became memorable due to actress Tawny Kitaen's appearance wearing white lingerie. In the video she is seen prancing on the hood of Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale's Jaguar and massaging him while he is trying in vain to concentrate on driving. Kitaen would later become Coverdale's wife for a couple of years. The video actually didn't feature any of the band, apart from Coverdale, that had recorded the album, as he fired them all shortly before the album was released, but it does feature the bands new line up. Whitesnake enjoyed a brief stint at the top of the rock world after the release of the album, as if rocketed them in the states, mainly due to the MTV revolution. This spell at the top included a headline slot at 'Monsters of Rock' at Donnington in 1990. They are still together as a band, although believe it or not the line up has changed again! But Coverdale is still the frontman, and in 2008 they announced a double headline tour of Europe alongside Def Leppard, with the U.K. gigs in June.

The first in a long line of many that I am sure you will enjoy. So after your dose of nostalgia how about a little laugh to help you along the way. Now don't blame me if it's not funny now, just try it after a few beers and you will see the funny side honest.


Captain Jacks Joke Of The Week


"A Welsh Farmer is walking through his fields when he sees a man drinking one handed from a stream. Thinking he was a local he shouts in Welsh to stop drinking as that's where the cows have a sh[1]t in the stream. The man looks up and says "I'm from England mate, can you tell me what you just said in English" The Farmer replies to him "Use two hands mate you'll get more water that way"

Not quite sure that is the best, but be sure that more will come, and for god's sake they will get better. So now whats next then. Do I make you wait a bit longer Shaun or hit you with it now! No you can wait!
Now as you know being a celebrity myself I am first in with all the hot gossip, and my next new feature will bring some of my more exclusive celebrity stories to you from my endless source of Bull-Sh1t, Hayley's gossip mags! So here is my first in a long line of stories.


Captain Jacks Celebrity Bull-Plop Story Of The Week #1


Wrinkly rocker turned artist Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones is to paint celebrity nut-case Russell Brand ~ in the buff! Russell, famous for calling his manhood "dinkle" asked Ronnie if he could be a nude model for his next canvas, and pal Ronnie said yes. A source said " Russell is not shy about getting his kit off and he would to be painted by a Rolling Stone. He's a massive fan" He will join a long line of celebs who have posed for Ronnie including Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and bond member Mick Jagger, pictured below.

An excellent piece of artwork I'm sure you will agree. So commence salivating boys. Here is the newest, and sure to be the most popular new feature.......

First to make the list is an English rose. Michelle Ryan. Michelle was born on 22nd April 1984, and shot to fame as 'Zoe Slater' on a small unknown t.v. show called Eastenders. After a torrid affair with 'dirty dennis' she was stitched up after being banged up, and then banged him on the head till he died, with the aid of Sam Mitchell, Chrissy Watts and a statue of Queen Victoria! They then buried him in the cellar, mixed three tonnes of concrete and did a bang up job of the floor in less than a few hours, before anyone noticed. Who says East End builders are rubbish. The guilt of such shoddy workmanship, and on hearing she was next to have an affair with Ian Beale, Michelle promptly quit, in 2005, to follow her dreams elsewhere.
In 2006 she auditioned to take over from Billie Piper as Doctor Who's assistant, but after reading the scripts she found they were ever so slightly far fetched, and with wanting to take on more serious roles, she appeared in an episode of ITV's Miss Marple, you know the one about the old bird who solves murders the police can't by sticking her hooter in where it's not wanted!
But Michelle's big break was to come, and in 2007 she landed the starring role in the re-make of 70's classic 'The Bionic Woman' In this she takes on the role of Jaime Sommers. In the updated version Sommers has bionic ears, eyes, legs and a bionic arm. It is not known if the customary bionic jumping sounds will be used in the show when she uses her bionic powers, or if they will be shown in slow motion for that added effect of realism! Well I'm sure you will agree she is quite the 'Hot Chick'
After all that its now time to call down with, yes you've guessed it, yet another new feature. This one is a little more simple to get your head around. For those of you who read this at work in your lunch break, or even when you can't be arsed to do something the boss has asked you to do. Or for those who read it at home and just want an extra five minutes away from er' indoors, then I have the answer to all your problems here with.........

Captain Jacks Five Minute Fag Break Game





So after searching the net, I will try to bring you the best free online games to play to whittle away the hours and minutes of your spare time. Here is the first for you to try....


Table Tennis Tournement

Now as your playing along at becoming the worlds greatest Table Tennis player at work, how about getting back to the music for the last of the new features. This one is entirely about the music. As those of you who are regular readers will probably know, I am a bit of a music fan, and in my opinion there is nothing that beats a live concert. So with the aid of all the beautiful punters who spend their hard earned cash to buy tickets all over the world, and then film for the pleasure of the rest of us the gig, and then post it up on YouTube, it is with great pleasure that I bring to you some of the greatest live acts performing some of their greatest hits in some of the best stadiums, arenas, and theatres of the world, starting with the biggest and best of them all in.......



Captain Jacks Live Is Best





Rolling Stones ~ Sympathy For The Devil

Budapest 14/07/2007



Well that's all the new features folks, some you'll no doubt hate, but this is my bloody blog and I'll put in what I like! Only joking. This is the new all action Captain Jacks Tracks, and its still ten months until I have to start the X-Factor report again. But along the way in 2008 there will be more to add onto the blog in all shapes and forms, so some features may be dropped, some may be added too and some may be given shorts breaks, but just to ease your fears, the Hot Chick feature is most definitely staying put!

So onto what this blog was originally about, the Thursday Karaoke. So as I said earlier those long January nights have been their usual quiet selves, giving us the chance to sing a few more songs. So this week I got around to singing four songs, and keeping up the tradition of 2007, four new songs I have never sang live before. They were 1. She Sell's Sanctuary by The Cult 2. Rock & Roll All Night by Kiss 3. You Wear It Well By Rod Stewart and 4. Shadow Of The Day by Linkin Park.


She Sell's Sanctuary by The Cult

Highest UK Chart Position: No 15 May 1985 & No 15 January 1993


This song is one of the Cults best known tracks. It was taken from the bands 'Love' album in 1985, but was re-released in 1993 to coincide with the bands Greatest Hits album, and ironically reached exactly the same chart position. The band were formed by Ian Astbury in the early 80's in Bradford, but only really hit the big time when he teamed up with guitarist Billy Duffy. The pair went on to become the band's songwriters, and in time they penned some of the bands anthemic rock classic's, such as L'il Devil (1987), Fire Woman (1989) and Edie (Ciao Baby) (1989). They have had limited chart success in the UK, with their highest chart position being number 11 with L'il Devil, but they are much more renowned for their quality albums, of which they have now released eight, the latest being in 2007.
After a disastrous tour of South America in 1995, Astbury called it a day and split the band up, but the feeling of unfinished business meant the band reformed in 1999, and had a sell out tour in the states. The brief second spell in the big time ended when the European Tour had to be cancelled in 2001, amid fears after the 9/11 tragedy, and the band split again in 2002 to work on other projects.
But the 'can't keep a good band down' attitude resulted in a second reunion in 2005 for the sell out Return To The Wild tour. In 2007 the band went on a European Tour supporting The Who, and in October 2007 they released their eighth studio album 'Born To This'. For added publicity the band also opened at the massive Led Zeppelin reformation gig late 2007 at the O2 arena.
The band are due to announce a full UK tour in 2008, and also a US and Canadian tour, where they still have a huge cult (excuse the pun) following.



Rock & Roll All Night by Kiss


Never Released In UK
Highest US Chart Position: No 57 April 1975 and No 12 October 1975

Kiss. What can you say about one of the greatest Rock bands in the world. Their music is just old fashioned get up and dance rock music. The band have been one of the most recognisable since they were formed in New York in 1973, and are easily identified with their black and white face paint, outlandish stage gear and their elaborate stage performances, which in the past have featured spitting blood, fire breathing, smoking guitars and pyrotechnics.
Six consecutive top ten hits shot them to prominence in the States, but they had very little chart success in the UK until 'Crazy Crazy Nights' which reached number 4 in 1987.
Rock & Roll All Night has taken it's place in Kiss history as their best known song, and they still use it to end their shows with now.
The song was written by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons while Kiss was still in Los Angeles, as part of their Hotter Than Hell tour. The tour ended early, when Casablanca Records founder and president Neil Bogart ordered Kiss to return to the studio to record a follow up to Hotter Than Hell, which had stalled on the charts and failed to meet Casablanca's sales expectations. One of Bogart's instructions to the band was to compose an anthem, something he felt the band needed. The song itself was inspired by the Slade song Cum on Feel the Noize, and is often referred to as the Rock And Roll National Anthem. Paul Stanley stated during the Kiss performance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards that "there's only one nation, that's Kiss Nation, there's only one Rock & Roll national anthem: Rock And Roll All Nite, party everyday!"
Stanley wrote the chorus, and Simmons wrote the
verses, borrowing parts of a song he had previously written, entitled Drive Me Wild.
The main reason for me singing this one tonight is that the track features on the PS3 Guitar Hero III game, and as I have played the game to death since Christmas it has stuck in my head and I just had to give it a go on the old Karaoke.




You Wear It Well by Rod Stewart


Highest UK Chart Position: No 1 August 1972

This song was Rod Stewarts second solo number one in the UK, and was taken from his second solo album 'Never A Dull Moment', which was released also in 1972 and included Rod singing several covers of some of his favourite artists, including Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Sam Cooke. The song went to number one all over Europe and also in the States. The song was co-written by Stewart and classical guitarist Martin Quittentton.
As Rod's solo career started to take off, it coincided with the decline and subsequent splitting up of The Faces in 1975, when Stewart went on to pursue his solo venture full time, and Ronnie Wood left to join the Rolling Stones. With his career in its fifth decade, Stewart has achieved numerous hit singles worldwide, most notably in the UK, where he has achieved six consecutive number one albums and his tally of 62 hit singles includes 24 that went Top 10, of which six went to number one. It has been estimated that Stewart's album and single sales total more than 250 million.





Shadow Of The Day by Linkin Park

Highest UK Chart Position: No 46 November 2007


This is the bands third single of the number one album 'Minutes To Midnight'. The band experimented with several different versions of the keyboard loop, before deciding on the one used in the final version. Chester explained that they used over 60 different beats for this song until they found the suitable one. They also used different types of instruments like banjos at first, just experimenting on different styles until they came up with something that could fit the track. Like some of their other songs, such as Breaking the Habit and Faint, this song uses samples of live string ensemble recordings.
The samples come in before the second verse starts. Distorted guitar elements are only played after the second chorus. The lead is an 8-bar phrase which is later raised an octave. The song is written in the key of B Major, the first major key the band has ever used. The end of the album version of the song, which is an instrumental piece, leads into the start of What I've Done.
It is the second-longest track on the album, and features no vocals from Mike Shinoda. Many fans and critics have noted the similarities between the song's tempo and beat, and U2's With or Without You, although the band deny it was an influence.
The video shows Chester Bennington waking up. His alarm clock reads 11:55, the current Doomsday Clock time, referencing the album title Minutes to Midnight and the song which is the 5th song on the album. The video is over four minutes long, meaning that the time at the end would be 11:59 PM, or one minute to midnight.
Chester then watches the news, washes up, gets dressed, and goes outside. We then see that the video takes place in a war-torn world, where mass chaos is ensuing on the streets of the city. There is a lot of violence going on with many police and gunshots. Near the end of the video, a car is set on fire and bursts into flames as several people taking place in the riot throw molotov cocktails at police resulting in the Police Riot Control and SWAT teams opening fire and advancing while the mob of people retreat. Chester then stands in front of the burning car, while looking hopelessly at the carnage that surrounds him. He then turns towards the flames, and the video fades to black.
There is also an alternate ending to the video, which shows Chester begin to walk away from the flames. The police open fire, and the video ends with a shot of Chester's bag falling to the ground. What actually happens to Chester is not revealed, but it can be assumed that either he was shot and killed or he threw his bag away and joined the riot.
This is the only video so far with only Chester appearing, as Brad, Rob, Mike, Joe and Phoenix are absent in it. The video isn't completely dubbed by the song, meaning sound effects taking place in the video can be heard. It is also interesting to note when the music video was released on the Internet, during the scene where a person sets a car on fire, the sound effects of the glass bottle he threw shattering on the car and igniting on fire is out of sync with the video.
The video has similarities to From the Inside, another riot-based video by the band. There is also a painting of a whale in the video and this is seen to be a reference to the In the End music video.
When asked about the track, Mike Shinoda called it one of the most important tracks on the record, saying "There's always songs that stand out, and you kind of know those songs especially. You know they're going to make the record. And this song 'Shadow of The Day' was one of them" Linkin Park are currently on the UK leg of their European Minutes To Midnight Tour, and in 2007 they headlined the Donnington Monsters Of Rock Festival for the second time.





Just a couple of things to end with this week. As you will know a bitter tussle for supremacy has broken out between myself and fellow blogger/PS3 buddy Shaun in the old FIFA 08 online battles. Due to the fact we were going to see Linkin Park the next day at Sheffield, and after consuming a few shandy's in the pub, a four match battle broke out over the ether. Four games played, two more wins for me, Shaun got his first win, but I was drunk, and one draw, although the resulting penalty shoot out gave Shaun another shock win, but as I am running this thing, Shoot-Outs don't count as only results over 90 mins are being counted, so the score ended 2-2 (I did check Shaun and it was 2-2) So here below are the current league standings and as you can see, young upstart Shaun is bringing up the rear, and Captain Jack is firmly at number one.


So there you go folks, the first of this years all new Captain Jacks Tracks. All new and improved, and raring to go for a new year. All the new challenges of putting together a worthwhile read on a weekly basis is a challenge that I accept, and let me tell you I have as much fun bringing all this to your computer screens as you have reading it. But wait......there's more. Instead of good old Homer leaving us with his words of wisdom, 2008 dawns a new era in the ending of the blog, and as a bit of a film fanatic, this year each week will end with a classic line from a classic film, and lets face it there have been thousands, so another endless supply of rubbish to put on the end each week. Hope you like the first one. Until next time readers............

".......Surely you can't be serious ? I am serious.......And don't call me Shirley"

First Blog Of 2008 - Captain Jacks Tracks Whats In Store For 2008


Hello and welcome to 2008 folks. New year, new font, new ideas and many many new features to tempt you into reading my little weekly contribution to the blogging world. I know it has been an inspiration to so many to write their blogs and fill them with light hearted witticism's and that is Ok, but I shall remain here to inform and entertain you for the rest of 2008 with the original and the best Captain Jacks Tracks.
So what can you expect from the blog this year. Well to start off with my non blogging time has been spent doing some heavy researching into what makes a good blog...... well good. And after much soul searching and loads of plodding through page after page of crap on the Internet I have come up with several new features I'm sure will be a hit.
First up will be Captain Jacks Classic Track. This will do exactly what it says on the tin. It will be a chance to eduficate the non believer's into just what makes a classic track. Not all will be my favourites, some will be suggestions from other's, or maybe even guest choices from the readers. Each snippet will include the video of the classic track, and a brief summary of the song, the band, the album, the video itself, the impact it may or may not of had in the annuls of time you know my usual gubbins. All in all I'm sure it will prove a lot of fun.
Next up will be a weekly dose of mirth with Captain Jacks Joke Of The Week Yet again this one speaks for itself. I get loads of jokes either sent via text or through mates on a Friday night booze up, so as I am every the sharing type I will put one up for you all to laugh at. WARNING as some of you may know my jokes are usually better heard after beer, so if you don't find them funny first time you read them, save them until your blathered!
Now this one is strictly for the blokes (and the rug munchers if you read this) Its Captain Jacks Hot Chicks. Again it will do exactly what it says on the tin. A picture of a hot "Celeb" for you to peruse on those long sea voyages and a snippet of her most exciting points!
My next new feature, me being a star and all, will be Captain Jacks Celebrity Bull-Plop Story Of The Week. This one will be for all you news hungry readers after your fix of our famous cousins making arses of themselves. Thankfully Pete Doherty is not in jail yet so he should provide me with weeks of material.
Finally, and this will be a big wrench for some of you, the Homer quote of the week has run it's course and is going to be replaced by my all brand spanking new blog ending Film Quote Of The Week. A never ending supply of classic film lines from all manner of films will be coming your way to end the blog each week, and for those of you that miss Homer, well they have released the Simpson's Movie so there may be the odd visit from the man himself D'oh!


So what does 2008 hold instore for us then. Well I have compiled a list of what may be the biggest list of what we can expect to see in 2008 that will make this a damn fine and entertaining year for us to look forward too in Film, T.V., Games and Music.

Films

So lets start off with this years big film releases for us to enjoy. Lets start off with the rumour mill. According to a lot of sources on the Internet, two more 80's T.V. classics are to be updated. First we have The A-Team, rumoured to have Owen Wilson already signed up to play Howling Mad Murdoch, and Mr T to make a cameo appearance. The Magnum P.I. rumours won't go away, with George Clooney top of the wanted list to take on the Tom Selleck role, and Ricky Gervais top of the wanted list to play 'Higgins'. And after George Romero's success in the Day/Dawn of the Dead remakes, Sam Raimi is in talks to update and re-gorify 'The Evil Dead' films with Bruce Campbell almost certain to make an appearance.

But away from the films not yet made on to the year's releases. January will see Aliens Vs Predator:Requiem, the sequel to the 2004 film, and the continuation of the Alien and Predator franchises that have been so successful. Also out is Rambo, which will see Sylvester Stallone reprise his role as John Rambo, as he did with Rocky last year. It is rumoured to be the best of the series so far, and the clips look very good...see for yourself.




February sees the next in the George Romero zombie films with Diary Of The Dead, which will probably be as gory as all the others but with no story at all. Also a new sc-fi film Jumper is out which looks very good, and star's Samuel L. Jackson and Hayden Christensen, who of course last worked together in the Star Wars franchise. Also out is Cloverfield, a good old fashioned monster movie, which has been getting rave reviews everywhere. Here's the trailer.....




Not a lot then until May, but what a month this promises to be. To start we have the next comic book hero to take to the big screen from the Marvel franchise, with Robert Downey Jnr taking on the role as Iron Man. Eddie Murphy attempts to re-ignite his comedy career with the long awaited Starship Dave. But the biggest release of the year so far goes to the return of one of the best loved movie franchisees ever, with the release of Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Great website as well with lots of Indy goodies for you to download. The film sees the return of Indy set 19 years after we last saw him in the Last Crusade. Returning will be Harrison Ford as Indy and from the first film Indy's love interest Marion Ravenwood will be reprised by Karen Allen. Ray Winston also stars as Indy's friend and rival Mac, and Jim Broadbent as a fellow academic colleague at Indy's university, brought in to replace the role of Indy's fried 'Marcus Brody' played by Denholm Ellliot, who sadly died in 1992. This should be a stonker of a film.
In June we have the next in the Incredible Hulk franchise, with Edward Norton taking over from Eric Bana as the angry green man. Also out is Will Smith's new comedy Super Hero flick Hancock, which in true Will Smith style look very funny. Also out will be the next in the Narnia series, with The Chronicle's Of Narnia:Prince Caspian to hit the screens.

Again with the Super Hero films in July, with the next installment of the Batman franchise The Dark Knight, with Christian Bale returning as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and Michael Caine as Alfred, and also Heath Ledger as Batman's ultimate foe The Joker. Also in July the next Pixar film hits the screens with WALL-E.

The summer film battle continues with another franchise return. This time it is The Mummy:Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, with Brendan Fraser back in his role as Rick O'Connell. Next up Is Hellboy 2:The Golden Army, with Ron Perlman back as Hellboy. Next up is Valkyrie, with Tom Cruise in a complete change of direction in this World War 2 war film about the German plot to assassinate Hitler.

September again brings us another sequel with Sin City 2:A Dame To Kill For. This is the sequel to Frank Millers hugely successful 2005 Sin City and sees Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen and Brittany Murphy all returning to reprise their roles, but no return for Bruce Willis.......yet. Also out this month is the remake of Deathrace starring super-hard Brit Jason Statham, who appears to of found his niche in these ultra violent action films, a sort of British Jean Claude Van Damme, but shorter. Simon Pegg also returns to our screens with the very funny looking How To Lose Friends And Alienate People.

On to November, as the only film that may be out in October worth looking at is the possibility of The X-Files 2 movie, which as yet is due for release in October even though none of the cast has even signed up for it yet! But November does provide a couple of biggies to look forward to. The next installment of the Harry Potter films will be out. Daniel Radcliffe returns as the wizard in the sixth film of the series Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince. But the really really big one out this month is Bond 22. As yet untitled Daniel Craig returns for his second stint as the ultimate British spy. The film is set to follow on from Casino Royale, and sees Bond in a vengeful mood after the death of his love interest Vesper Lynd. It promises to be as gritty as Craig's first outing, but this time we are promised that Bond will have a few gadgets thrown in. Dame Judi Dench will return as M, and a bevvy of beauties have already been added to the cast list destined to be Bond's next nudge nudge conquests, including Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton, both of which are very likely to make Captain Jacks Top Chicks list!

Rounding the year off in December we have even more sequels to look forward too. Madagascar:The Crate Escape brings the animated animals from Dreamworks back to our screens with David Schwimmer and Chris Rock returning to voice the characters from the first film. Angels & Demons will see Tom Hanks return as Robert Langdon in the film based on Dan Browns novel, but the story is actually set before the better known Da Vinci Code. Finally, on December 26th probably one of the most anticipated films of the year comes out, Star Trek XI. Taking on the roles of some of the most well known sc-fi characters are Chris Pine (Just My Luck/Smoking Aces) as Kirk, Zachary Quinto (24/Heroes) as Spock, Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz/ Shaun Of The Dead) as Scotty, Karl Urban (Lord Of The Rings/Bourne Supremacy) as Bones, Anton Yelchin (Alpha Dog) as Chekov, John Cho (American Pie 1&2/Ugly Betty)as Sulu, and Zoe Saldana (Pirates Of The Caribbean:Curse Of The Black Pearl) as Uhura. Also making appearences in the film will be Eric Bana as the film's baddie Nero, Winona Ryder as Spock's mother and a special appearance by Leonard Nimoy as Spock himself. William Shatner and George Takei who played the original Kirk and Sulu respectively have also been lined up for cameo's in the film.

T.V.

So what is in line for us on the old soap box this year. Some old favorites are being resurrected, and if the writers strike ever ends some of our faves will be back on the small screen.
First up is the re working of an old favourite The Bionic Woman, starring ex Eastender Michelle Ryan as Jamie Sommers. Next up is another re working of an old classic with Flash Gordon returning to our screens in an updated version of the comic book classic. We have the return of Nip/Tuck now set in Los Angeles, 24 now set in Washington and Lost now set in who knows where!
New to our screens is Terminator:The Sarah Connor Chronicles and a brand new version of Knight Rider.
Well that's enough from the other side of the pond, but what about from good old blighty. Coming soon in 2008 is the second series of Skins on E4 and for the first time on Channel Four.Brand new from the BBC is a new police drama called Kiss Of Death starring Danny Dyer. It is a new outake on the police show with each episode being shown from the perspective of each individual character, flipping in time before and after the events of the show including the investigating officers, the victims and the killer. Next up is the brand new series of Torchwood, the spin off from Doctor Who starring John Barrowman as Captain Jack (Bloody Copycats!). The shown is now going mainstream for a 9pm slot on BBC 2 rather than BBC 3 where the first series was shown, and will feature lots of guest's including James Marsters (Spike from Buffy). But the one we've all been waiting for is about to begin on BBC One. Ashes To Ashes see's the return of Gene Hunt played by Phillp Glenister, along with sidekicks DS Ray Carling (Dean Andrews) and DC Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster). This time there is no Sam Tyler, and no Manchester. Its set in the 80's intead of the 70's, and Gene Hunt has now moved down south to the Met and his inimitable style of policing will take on the southern nancy criminal scum. Replacing John Simm as Sam Tyler is Keeley Hawes (Spooks) as Alex Drake. Here Alex comes face to face with some familiar characters, not just from her own life-time, but also from the reports logged by none other than Sam Tyler, which Alex has spent months pouring over. It looks great and Gene Hunt is bound to be back at his best. Take a look at the preview below.




Games

On now to the PS3 market, which this year looks to have some great titles over the next 12 months. It may have it's faults, but lets face it, the fact you have such a huge back catologue of games from the PS1 and PS2 to play on it really does give it the edge over the X-Box. Good old Sony, yet again proving that they are truly the masters of the console world. So here is a run down and quick synopsis of what will be new in 2008.
Devil May Cry 4: Action fighting game continuing the Capcom series.
Destroy All Humans - The Path Of Furon: Third in the series following the adventure of Crypto complete with Anal Probes and Death Rays. This time it's set in the 70's and will include a great soundtrack from the era.
Everybodys Golf 5: The fifth in the successfull golf series makes it's debut on the PS3.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six - Vegas 2: Follow up to the 2006 firsit game the tactical shoot em up will feature the seedier side of Las Vegas with all new weapons and missions.
Gran Tourismo 5: Fifth game in one of the most successfull driving game series on the PS format. First outing on the PS3 for the game and it will feature the Blue Ray capabilitys of the console. It has been stuck in development hell for ages but is due for release in April with loads of new features, both on and off line.
Time Crisis 4: The first person shooter game makes its debut on the PS3 along with the new GunCon3. Namco promise that this is the closest to really shooting a gun you can get, with the new GunCon the most realist ever.
Fifa Street 3: EA have the upper hand in the football game stakes in my opinion, and the two previous Fifa Street games have been great, if not a little tricky. The PS3 version promises to be more arcade like, meaning better gameplay. EA have promised loads of online features and loads of mini games as well. And with the Fifa licence at least you get to play with Lampard and Rooney intead of Lumperd and Rainey!
Motorstorm 2: Next installment of the Motorstorm series promises loads more tracks and vehicles, and promises another great soundtrack.
Rock Band: Rock Band allows players to perform in virtual "bands" by providing up to four players with the ability to play three different peripherals modeled after music instruments (a guitar peripheral for lead guitar and bass guitar gameplay, a drum peripheral, and a microphone). These peripherals are used to simulate the playing of rock music by hitting scrolling notes on-screen. Players can interact through both online and offline multiplayer capabilities. In addition to the songs shipping on the game disc, hundreds of new tracks will be made available as downloadable content. 58 tracks are on the first bundle, and 51 of the 58 are original recordings due to the fact that game designers Harmonix just happen to be tied into MTV. There will be many more tracks available to download in the coming months, with whole albums available as well as single tracks. The multi-player mode online allows you to create a band, and go on a World Tour, with real venues from around the world included, such as Madison Square Gardens in New York.
Grand Theft Auto IV: The ninth outing for the GTA series promises to be the best, and we've had to wait a bloody long time for this one due to development hell. New character Nico Bellic has come over from Russia to follow the american dream in Liberty City. It has been reported that the city in the game is so big it would take an hour in real time to walk from one side to the other. Missions will now take place over several days, allowing you to start other mission while you wait for instructions on previous missions. Stealing cars has now become an artform in the game, with you having to sneak up, smash the window and hot wire the cars. The usual Liberty City Radio will blast out its usual great soundtrack as you drive around the city, and a whole new range of weapons is promised to be included. And for the first time a milti-player mode has been included for online play, allowing you time to visit the entire city, and aimlesly kill loads of innocent bystanders......heaven.
Also due out is Star Wars:Feel The Force, Resident Evil 5, Ghostbusters, Silent Hill 5, Tom Clancy's Air Combat and Indiana Jones, all of which look worth dipping into the money box for.

Music

So what does 2008 hold in store for us to listen too this year. New albums are expected from U2, Coldplay and Keane. The Fratelli's are busy in the studio, as are Biffy Clyro, hoping for successfull follow ups to their last albums.
On the tour front, Foo Fighters will play Wembley in two sell out shows in the summer. Bon Jovi are again to do a summer UK tour. Def Leppard have announced they are to tour a headline UK tour with Whitesnake. 30 Seconds To Mars have promised a full UK tour this year, as have The Enemy and Biffy Clyro, who are currently touring with Linkin Park. As of yet most of the summer festivals have not been announced, so no news on Download 2008 or Hyde Park Calling. No news either on Reading or Leeds, although Carling has been dropped from the sponsorship, probably because it tastes like p**S. As soon as I have the line ups I will let you know, as last year's season of tours provided me with some great moments, and I hope 2008 will be even better.
As for my hot tips for 2008, well a couple of bands have caught my ears, who I think may be a lot bigger in twelve months time. First up is Stone Gods. This is the remenents of The Darkness, who split when Justin Hawkins left. First release by them is called 'Burn The Witch' and is a lot heavier than The Darkness, but still with that old style rock vibe, very much in the vein of Thin Lizzy.





Next up is a band I predict big things for in 2008, One Night Only. Five lands from Yorkshire with a great melodic sound and a new single getting a lot of airplay at the moment. The single Just For Tonight is reminiscent of early U2 and in this live video they show they can play a bit as well.



Finally another rock band Paramore. US fourpiece who have been backed by Jo Wiley from Radio 1 to do big things in 2008. Very catchy vocals from lead singer Hayley, and thier first album Riot has already done well both in the US and Uk charts. Take a listen to their latest single 'Misery Buisness'





So there we have it folks. Just a few little thing's to be going on with and to look forward to this year, and to top it off Karaoke is back on Thursday's at the hotel.
Just as a final little ending to the blog, my new convert to the PS3 Shaun has mentioned his unlucky streak of results on our Fifa 08 online gaming. Two games and two defeats for the plucky new boy, and only one goal scored has left him wondering if his goalscoring talent has deserted him. Anyway, I think it only fair to record the results in true football fashion. Until next time folks!