Well doesn't Monday just come round far too quickly. After discovering we had four numbers on this week's lottery though I am in quite a good mood so didn't mind coming back to work. I thought today I would do a post on some of the rising stars who live in my neighbourhood – I'm sure there are a lot more than the few below, but these are the ones who happened to be the most interesting/creative/inspiring…

The Actor:

I first happened upon the acting talents of 23 year old Jeremy Williams when he played Claire in a production of The Maids in Stratford Upon Avon. Jeremy and his partner in the Maids, John Harby, did an amazing job in such a powerful play. Jeremy's ability to play two different characters almost simultaneously (Claire & The Madam) showed a young man with a considerable talent for breathing individuality and life into the roles. He imbued each part with personality, soul and vigour yet clearly differentiated between the two. Not an easy task...

So I was delighted to find out that he is a fellow Brummie lad and runs a great myspace site which he keeps updated with warm funny and personalised blog entries. You may have even heard him on New Style Radio this week playing Alistair Devlin in radio drama Kinky Hair... hopefully lots of good things are coming up for Jeremy. As i've said before on this blog, I neglected the creative side of my life for too long and getting back to it has been a real joy. Seeing people like Jeremy, Simon Curtis and Justin Lanning follow their artistic passions has been a real inspiration to me. Plus I think Jeremy would make an excellent Fiyero in new musical Wicked - once Adam Garcia is done with the role, I will be more than happy for Jeremy to step into his shoes ;0

The Band:


I work in Coventry and although it has got its (limited) appeal, there is a reason I choose to commute to work and live in Birmingham instead. It’s a town that is not blessed with culture or attractive landscapes (though it does have quite a nice cathedral) so it's easy to imagine a group of disillusioned young men writing about how crappy life can be sometimes. And oh! They are! The Enemy are three young lads, led by 18 year old singer Tom Clarke. They will clearly appeal to fans of the Arctic Monkeys et al, but the lyrics contain some brilliant commentary on modern life and the impact of your surroundings on your life, and the music has a certain intensity that draws you in and refuses to let go. Check out the song Had Enough on their myspace page – a growling rock stomper that proves you need to have this Enemy in your life…

The Author:

Well ok, this one is a bit of a cheat because he is not a local lad, but his language is so universal and it's my blog so I'll cheat if I want to ;) After all Boy Meets Boy was one of the quirkiest reads of 2004. Writer David Levithan created a new queer teen experience and made the world seem like some super gaytopia where discovering you're gay in high school doesn't have to be a time of deep dark and painful denial. Now his latest book "Wide Awake" sees the election of a gay Jewish president through the eyes of a 16 year old gay jewish boy. And after taking over the White house, he's writing about a gay teen and his straight female best friend and what happens when they fall out. It will be like Will and Grace – only funny ;) Escapism at it's most fun and informative…

Hot Links:

There are several good new singles out today with new b-sides. If b-sides even exist in this day and age of iTunes and it's computer knackering new software. Anyway, while Lily Allen hasn't been particularly inventive with her b-sides to LDN (surely everyone has Nan You're A Window Shopper and Naïve by now?), at least she has thrown in a few remixes. Paolo Nutini has a nice live version of unreleased trackJanuary and those lovely Pipette girls have been kind enough to furnish us with a acoustic version of Judy. Hurrah.

MP3: Lily Allen - LDN live and acoustic
MP3: The Pipettes – Judy (acoustic)
MP3: Paulo Nutini – January

If you are in the market for this sort of thing, JC Chasez has a fairly decent first single over at AOL first listen. It's better than Not Sleeping Alone but not a scratch on All Day Long I Dream About Sex. Boo!

James Carrington (who I previously posted about here) has a similarly gorgeous new track on his myspace site called Reach. If you were as taken as me with Only For You, then you have to check this beautiful quality pop tune out...

Now i've had a better chance to listen to them, i can say i'm quite happy with the singles from Good Charlotte, Magic Numbers and Ordinary boys - that i reviewed here, I can now say that I am more than happy with the OB single – punky enough to break out of their new Big Brother fanbase, but ska influenced enough to be a winner with their loyal fans. It also occurs to me that if you play The Loungs single back to back with the great new thrusting Good Charlotte track, you get a great call and response type situation. But it's the Magic Numbers who have won my heart with Take A Chance. Simply glorious…

Coming tomorrow: Kicking it Big Willie Style – a review of William Young's Keep On tour… (which i just got back from and was visually stunning!)