This week was no different and after recently signing him up to Spark TV’s “Will She, Won’t She”; a dating show, we felt Richie needs a little bit of practice with his lady skills.

Richie had never been on a blind date before, well that was until this week! Find out how he got on below!

‘The Zombie Room’ produced by Contrapunto an upcoming film production group based in Tyne and Wear, was based on a book by Newcastle author R.D Ronald.

Richards latest book is a thriller based around drugs and sex trafficking to name two of its dark themes. The book itself is due out in July.

The competition had 11,000 entries from the United States and other countries at it’s 33rd annual Telly Awards which was founded in 1979.

Book trailers have becoming increasingly popular in America and the Sunderland students were commissioned to produce one for Zombie in November last year.

The Telly Awards annually showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, and corporate video departments in the world.

Simply Text 60300 and start the message with ‘Spark’, tell Richie why you should get your tea for free and then listen out from 4pm today!

Richie Lee’s Tea for Free with La Dolce Vita Pezzeria and 107 Spark FM!

Much like its older brother, the show’s story is very much ‘by the book’ – boy meets girl, they inevitably fall in love, some other characters meddle on, they think their love is over, then boom, everybody is happy again –  and like Dreamboats the story is only really there to differentiate this show from being a concert performance of 60′s music. Making full use of the Dreamboats formula, it’s very much a case of ‘how many songs can we possibly shoehorn in to 2 and a half hours’ and unfortunately this can have an affect on the depth of the story. However that being said, Save The Last Dance invests much more of its time into its characters and plot than Dreamboats does. And while the story isn’t exactly groundbreaking it provides a nice package for the songs to sit in, even if some of them have literally been rammed into the storyline with a crowbar.

Overall the performances on stage were excellent. Not to mention the show (like Dreamboats) makes excellent use of Actor Musicians playing the music live on stage in character which provides a nice crossover and context for the musical performances. Jason Denton as love struck airman Curtis was strong and demonstrated some impressive vocal prowess, even if his accent dropped slightly at times (something which I am very particular about – sorry I can’t help it) and Megan Jones was perfectly cast opposite him as conscientious teen love interest Marie. Dreamboats veteran A J Dean provided perfect support and effortless vocals which really did justice to his demanding songs and Graham Weaver’s ‘italian’ ice cream man from Wolverhampton was particularly amusing, even more so for his brummie accent. Ample support from the talented ensemble and on stage band meant that songs were powerful and well executed, with the highlights of the night being the obligatory acapella numbers which were in a word, stunning. Although the vocals were a tad quiet at the beginning making it difficult to hear the cast properly, this was soon rectified and is something I can only put down to ‘first night in a new venue’ wobbles.

With no less than 37 songs, an exceptionally talented cast and fantastic band, Save The Last Dance is well executed trip down memory lane that unlike its older brother actually finds time for a funny and engaging story. With tickets starting at just £12 you’re guaranteed of a good night out.

Save The Last Dance For Me comes to the Sunderland Empire from: 

Monday 14 – Saturday 19 May.

For tickets call 0844 871 3022* or book online at www.ATGtickets.com/Sunderland *

*Booking fees apply

]]> http://www.sparksunderland.com/magazine/magazine-ents/2012/05/review-save-the-last-dance-sunderland-empire/feed/ 0 http://www.sparksunderland.com/shows/daytime/tuesdaychew/2012/05/do-it-yourself-and-save-money-yay/ http://www.sparksunderland.com/shows/daytime/tuesdaychew/2012/05/do-it-yourself-and-save-money-yay/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 15:06:48 +0000 The Tuesday Chew http://www.sparksunderland.com/?p=32387

Did you know…

Millions of Brits are throwing away thousands of pounds every year by paying blokes  to do jobs they could do themselves. That’s a lot of cash to be spending!

The Facts:
35% of people say they avoid DIY because they’re worried about making mistakes.
17% of people say they find it too complicated.
43% of people say they would be more willing to give it a go if they felt they knew what  they were doing.
41% of people say if DIY was easier they would get stuck in.

Do you want to be the king or Queen of your own castle by doing it yourself?

Well if so, we had Julia Kendell (TV’s DIY S.O.S show) on the show to give us tips on how to get in to DIY and save yourself loads of cash. Good stuff!!!

Check it out on demand!

OOOOOH SANDWICH!!

It’s British sandwich week, so we were wondering what random toppings do you use?

We talked shopping, men do you buy your own clothes? Or do you leave it to your partner?

We had Julia Kendell (TV’s DIY S.O.S show) on the show to give us tips on how to get in to DIY and save yourself loads of cash. Good stuff!!!

Tuesday Chew on 107 Spark FM – 15/5/2012 by Tuesday Chew – Spark Fm on Mixcloud

We played Who Am I?

I am a fictional main character in an animated television series
Originated from America
I am overweight
Male
My favourite food is a donut
I like to say ‘D’oh’
I’ve got 3 kids
My job is a safety inspector
I’ve only got 2 strands of hair
Devoted to my family

Well, who do you think?

We also played, When was that then Hen…

3 stories all from one year, but what is the year?

The Nintendo Entertainment System was released.

Madonna began her very first tour .

Plus, Keira Knightley, Leona Lewis, and Lily Allen were born.

Plus, we have great music from Carley Ray Jepsen and Twin Atlantic to name but two of our top tunes. Didn’t catch us on Tuesday? Catch up Ondemand whenever you want!

Let us host your dissertation/final projects/any films you make on our YouTube channels and get your work known, take advantage of our social media marketing  (over 2,700 followers and 4,750 Facebook likes) and cross-promotion on air.

Like the sound of that? Simply fill in the form below with full production details, and we’ll tell you how to get your content to us.

Clue #1 – Stringy Hair
Clue #2 – Beaches of Paradise
Clue #3 – Black, Yellow and Green are the colours of this countries flag

Mystery Clue: The Hometown of Reggae

If you know where he is contact us on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sparksunderland or at our page www.facebook.com/jamesandchris
Twitter: @SparkSunderland
Email: studio@sparksunderland.com
Text: Start your message with ‘Spark’ followed by your answer to 60300
Or if you want the easy life just comment below.

It’s been just over a month since I took over the Tuesday and Thursday Drive show and what a month it’s been! I can honestly say that I’ve never worked so hard in my life and had so much fun at the same time. I even get to give one lucky listener a show their tea for free!

I’ll be honest though, fun aside; It’s also been an eye opener and a big learning curve. You see although I can talk for England on the radio and I come across pretty confident, I’ve never really been a ‘people person’. In fact sometimes I find it hard to find common ground and connect with people. I guess I’m the type of guy who knows what I want and although I’ve never purposely set out to offend anyone, it has occasionally happened.

Before Drive, I presented a slot on a Tuesday afternoon between 2 – 4. I had full control of the show and could run with what I wanted. Getting things perfect was also a must!

Now that has all changed. You see, although 70% of the time you’ll only ever really hear me on the show, in the background off mic there are a team of people working their bums off to keep me sounding fresh and the show on air.

Producer John looks after the overall running of the shows. Producer Rachel is in charge of the running of Thursday’s Show and is fantastic at making ideas work, such as finding things for me to talk about and making sure I’m not saying anything naughty.

Producer Chris is the quiet one on the team. He comes up with a lot of the artist information and looks after any calls and texts that the show receives. Karlo is from Hungary and you’ll probably hear him feature a lot on Drive. He helps the team get any jobs finished and in return the team and lovely listeners of Sunderland help him with his English.

Working on the new Drive Show has really helped me to connect and engage with these people. I’m overall more relaxed, but most importantly I  understand that everyone has a part to play and should be valued and treat with respect, regardless of who they are or where they are at in life.

Radio is all about people… But why should that start with the listener?