Candy Girl

I have to profess that Hard Candy is my favourite Madonna album since Ray of Light (1998)! That said, she's pretty much guest starring on cool cuts produced by Timbaland, Neptunes and friends! At times Madonna sounds like Timbaland muse Nelly Furtado and one-time rival Paula Abdul on Candy Shop!

Hard Candy is more a sequel to Justin Timberlake's awesome Future Sex / Love Sounds, which, in my view, is a good thing, even if it doesn't push the envelope and Madonna is a trend follower in this instance!

Is Hard Candy as good as Mariah Carey's blockbuster E=MC²? I'd suggest not!

“On The Verge Of Something Wonderful”

DARREN HAYES *THIS DELICATE THING WE’VE MADE

25 Tracks of Epic Music Telling Tales of Hayes’ Journey in Life, Love and other Mysteries

Superstar and critically-acclaimed artist Darren Hayes has put together a collection of 25 bold and intriguing Pop songs that are being compared in scope to the work of musical icons such as Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel and David Bowie. Hayes co-produced with the likes of Justin Shave (Etherfox, [Love] Tattoo) and Robert Conley (Hayes’ Tension and The Spark) and mixing with the great Ash Howes (Nelly Furtado, Dido, Kylie Minogue).

Hayes, best known by the world as the voice of multi-platinum pop duo SAVAGE GARDEN, has made himself a solo artist to reckon with. While this album’s brace of potential hit singles will sit perfectly next to Natasha Bedingfield and Maroon 5 on the radio, they come replete with a sense of danger not often heard within the genre-led pop field. They are built from truthful sentiment and a sense of their own individuality.

Inspiration for this record is multi-faceted, from icons in music and Victorian Science Fiction. Hayes has managed to craft an album of intricate narratives and personal confessions that simultaneously document his arrival at peace within himself. Freedom has never tasted so good to Hayes, having this in his personal, professional and creative life for the first time in 10 years. This masterpiece is a daring, theatrical, wise, wounded and wonderful epiphany that represents his true maturation as an artist. At 35 years old, Darren Hayes had turned into just the pop star he always wanted to be, himself.

Darren Hayes is no stranger to success with over 25 million records sold and five #1 singles. Now back with a new double-disc album, Darren has just stepped off of a sold out tour, and will be appearing in Entertainment Weekly, In Touch Weekly, People Magazine, and on Extra! among others. The fun, up-tempo first single, “On The Verge Of Something Wonderful” also stars icon Janice Dickinson in the accompanying video.

* This Delicate Thing We’ve Made will hit shelves August 21st.

For additional information please log onto www.darrenhayes.com or www.myspace.com/darrenhayes.

Stayed tuned for a very exciting competition to mark the release of Darren Hayes' new double-disc album, which I will be announcing soon!

Sinclair User

A long time ago... I was a Sinclair User!

Hard to believe that today marks the 25th anniversary of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum! It only seems like yesterday that school friends and me wrestled for control of the Kempston Competition Pro Joystick, as we competed against each other in Daley Thompson's Decathlon or Konami's Hyper Sports!

The Spectrum was the first mainstream audience home computer in the UK, similar in significance to the Commodore 64 in the USA; the C64 was the main rival to the Spectrum in the UK market during the early 1980s.

My top ten video games for the platform (in no particular order):

*Knight Lore
*Atic Atac
*Sabre Wulf
*Underwurlde
*Dun Darach
*Tir Na Nog
*Avalon The 3D Adventure Movie
*Dragontorc
*Ant Attack
*Cauldron

Ultimately I would succumb to the "breadbox" charms of C64 and its Sound Interface Device (SID). Celebrated music producer Timbaland most recently used a SID sample for Nelly Furtado's song Do It! However, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum marked the beginning of my home computing saga... And paved the way for my status as a Mac User today.

Sleigh Ride

Part two of my Review of the Year.

*Album - Future Sex / Love Sounds. Justin Timberlake (aided and abetted by Timbaland) finally puts to rest any doubts as to the identity of the new King of Pop! Runners up: The Sound Of Girls Aloud: Greatest Hits (Girls Aloud) and Loose (Nelly Furtado).

*Single - Promiscuous. Nelly Furtado's stellar follow-up to Maneater needs no introduction! Runners up: Fergalicious (Fergie) and Rock Steady (All Saints).

*Movie - Adrift. An unrelenting study of fair-weather friendship set against the backdrop of the ocean. Runners up: Superman Returns and Pirates Of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest.

*DVD - Dungeons & Dragons. Runners up: Doctor Who - The Complete Series 2 Box Set and Lost - The Complete Second Series.

*Television Drama - Battlestar Galactica. Last year's winner recaptures the number one spot with the coolness of a Cylon agent! Runners up: Bones and Lost.

*Television Sci-Fi - Doctor Who. No change. Runners up: Battlestar Galactica and Torchwood.

*Merchandise - Doctor Who - Tardis Electronic Playset. Character Options continues to produce products worthy of everyone's favourite Time Lord! Runners up: Marvel Legends and Star Wars Transformers.

Playtime postponed? (not on your Nelly Furtado)

This morning's SCEE Press Office announcement regarding the delayed launch of PS3 came as no shock!

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Announces New March 2007 date for European Launch of PLAYSTATION 3

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Announces New March 2007 date for European Launch of PLAYSTATION 3 No change in launch date for Japan and North America

London, Wednesday 6 September 2006 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that it would revise the launch date of its PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in the PAL territories of Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa and Australasia from 17th November 2006, as previously announced to March 2007.

Launch dates for Japan and North America will remain the same, which are November 11th and November 17th respectively.

The revision of the launch date in the SCEE territories is caused by the delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode within the Sony Group, thus affecting the timely procurement of key components to be utilised in PLAYSTATION 3.

The previously announced PLAYSTATION 3 shipment forecast of 6 million units globally within the fiscal year ending 2007 is not changed.

Given the above, both Microsoft and Nintendo will certainly capitalize on this weakness during the lucrative holiday season! The Wii is far more compelling and can viewed as the 'wild card' in the next generation console pack!