AGGRO SANTOS, DONAE’O, SCORCHER, MZ BRATT, JODIE CONNOR, MAVERICK SABRE, RUFF DIAMONDZ & ANGEL JOIN SKEPTA TO COMPLETE AN  ELECTRIFYING LINE UP

A powerful line up of the hottest names on the UK underground has been added to the bill for the inaugural MOBO Tour which will hit six major cities around the UK this October. Headlined by Skepta, fans of Grime, British Hip Hop, UK Funky and Dancehall will be counting down the days to see him share the stage with buzz artists of the moment Aggro Santos, Scorcher, Donae’o, Mz Bratt, Jodie Connor, Maverick Sabre and freshly tipped newcomers The Ruff Diamondz and Angel.

MOBO founder, Kanya King said:- “As part of our 15th anniversary celebrations, we are delighted to reveal the full line-up of the inaugural MOBO Tour which will give fans across six UK cities the chance to discover some of the UK's hottest new acts. In partnership with PRS for Music Foundation, Urban Development and Arts Council England we’re proud to celebrate the amazing talent of these rising stars who reflect the unstoppable success of new black music.”

► Skepta’s reputation as the ‘King of Grime’ has recently been bolstered by chart success with records ‘Rescue Me’, ‘Bad Boy’ and ‘Sunglasses at Night’. He has been championed by Radio 1’s Tim Westwood and is part of the Roll Deep and Boy Better Know crews.

► Aggro Santos is a Brazilian born British rap artist and pop producer who scored a massive top 5 hit earlier this year with ‘Candy’ featuring Ex-Pussy Cat Doll – Kimberly Wyatt. He combines signature dance floor rhythms and fiesta party beats to his records.

► Scorcher is a recent recruit to the highly credible label Geffen. His slickly produced videos have received well over a million hits and he has collaborated with Wiley, Bashy and Devlin

► Like the name of his recent album, ‘Party Hard’, Donae’o makes sure his live performances get the party started. His record, ‘Watching Her Move’, was on the Radio1 Xtra playlist and he recently performed at Glastonbury and Radio One’s Big Weekender

► MZ Bratt is already an inspirational female figure to many in the world of UK Urban/ Dance music, having featured on remixes and records with artists including Wiley, Tinchy Stryder and Grammy nominated US star Jazmine Sullivan.

► Jodie Connor is a stunning singer with a powerful vocal range that has graced club tracks from the likes of Roll Deep, Devlin and most recently Tinchy Stryder’s, “In My System”.

The MOBO Tour with its partners Urban Development, PRS for Music Foundation and Arts Council England are committed to shining a light on new talent. So the tour will feature brilliant new breakthrough acts including:-

► Maverick Sabre’s name is ringing round the world right now and rightly so. Recently described by Huw Stephens as a male Amy Winehouse and with Music Week declaring him the highlight of SXSW 2010 his gritty yet soulful voice is drawing audiences in and leaving them hooked.

► Ruff Diamondz (RD) musical style is formed from their own distinctive sound, incorporating original UK Mc’ing with real RnB vocals. This exciting three-piece combine classic RnB influences like TLC, 702 and Total with inspiration taken from home grown talent such as N-Dubz, Chipmunk, Wiley & Ghetto.

► Angel - Singer/songwriter Sirach Charles, better known as Angel has just signed to Island Records and is quite possibly the UK Pop and R & B industry’s best-kept secret.

Tour Dates:-

► Tuesday, 12 October - Norwich Waterfront

► Thursday, 14 October - Birmingham O2 Academy 2

► Friday, 15 October - Manchester Moho Live

► Saturday, 16 October - Liverpool O2Academy 2

► Sunday, 17 October - Glasgow Garage

► Tuesday, 19 October - London O2 Academy Islington

**More names to be added to the line up in each city. Check Facebook and website for more info**

Tickets are £10 regional (£12 London) and are on sale now and are available at:- www.gigsandtours.com / 0844 811 0051

Heartbeat's David Lonsdale supports hospital fund raising

LOCAL actor and star of ITV's Heartbeat David Lonsdale lent his support to the medical/oncology day unit at Southport & Formby District General Hospital in their bid to raise £150,000 for a new garden room for patients. He came along to the unit's garden party on Friday, 6 August 2010, to draw the raffle, and was a great hit with the patients and friends who attended.

Sister Sarah Cox of the unit thanked David for coming at very short notice:- "I was talking to one of our patients the day before the garden party and she said she was a friend of David and before I knew it she was on the phone to him and he kindly agreed to come along to give us his support. The garden party raised £2,500, and I want to thank everyone who contributed to making it a great success; all our staff, our patients who brought in raffle prizes or cakes or gifts for the Tombola and of course everyone who came along and supported us. We want to raise the money to build a garden room for those patients who have to be with us for a long time, often most of the day, while they are receiving their treatment and waiting for results. We want to be able to provide them with more comfortable area and seating for them to relax in, as often they will only just have had an operation or are in the middle of chemotherapy or radiotherapy and sitting in an upright chair can be uncomfortable. Because we are a hospital we have much stricter regulations to comply with, which is why the room is costing so much. We have been promised some money by the hospital, and from local charities, but with the current climate that is not yet guaranteed, so we are trying to raise as much as we can ourselves. We have fortunately
been given money over the years and we have dipped into that so we have around £30,000 so far, but we have a long way to go."

The funds also received a boost at the garden party when the family and friends of one of the unit's patients, Jane Horner who had raised money through a Hollywood Party donated a cheque for £3,500. They also presented a cheque for the same amount to Trish Watkins, one of the hospital's breast cancer nurses, for the breast cancer charity Lift Up.

Those who attended the garden party were not only able to try their hand at the usual tombola, bottle stall and 'guess the weight of the cake' stalls, but were also entertained by Cecily Rudge and Bernice Winstone from the Aughton and Ormskirk U3A keyboard club. Bernice had just started to learn the piano when she got cancer and had to come to the unit for chemotherapy. "I found leaning to play was really therapeutic during that time, so when we heard about the garden party Cecily and I offered our services to provide a little light music."

If anyone would like to make a donation to the medical day unit to help with their fundraising they can contact Sister Sarah Cox or Sister Julie Marshall on:- 01704 704221.

The best way to travel to the match

WITH the football season now underway, Merseytravel’s congestion-busting Soccerbus service– the match-day direct bus link from Sandhills Station to Goodison Park and Anfield - is once again operating

The sport special bus service will run throughout the 2010/11 season, linking Merseyrail passengers from Sandhills Station, on a dedicated shuttle bus to Everton and Liverpool’s home Premier League, domestic and European Cup matches.

Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel and a lifelong Everton fan, said:- “In the past Soccerbus has proved to be a real winner with fans. Soccerbus is helping to make life a little easier for those residents living around the stadiums, as well as the fans going to the games. Fans are seeing it as one of the best options to get to the grounds and we want people to make full use of the service.”

The Soccerbus service runs for two hours before each Liverpool and Everton match up to 15 minutes before kick off and for 50 minutes after the final whistle.

A Soccerbus ticket costs £1 when booked in advance with a train ticket (ask for a return to Anfield or Goodison Park when booking tickets) or £1.50 single or return on the bus and is free with Merseytravel Trio, Solo and Saveaway tickets or for English national concessionary travel pass holders.

For more details visit:- merseytravel.gov.uk  or call Traveline:- 0870 200 22 33.