Tag Archives: music

Spilling the beans

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Do you remember the Swinging Sixties? Maybe not – but perhaps you’re still a fan of Sixties music?

Either way, the name Frank Ifield is sure to strike a chord – the first UK-based pop star to have three consecutive number one hits, beginning with I Remember You in July 1962 which was also the first disc to sell a million copies in the UK alone…

This weekend, ex-showbiz journalist Graham Keal returns to Girls Around Town to explain why and how he made it his mission to bring one of his own 60s idols to Newark on Tuesday 22 May.

“As a pop-mad 12-year old back then, Frank was a huge star to me,” says Graham. “And he still was when I interviewed him 20 years later during my time as TV editor of the Northants Evening Telegraph.

“When I saw on his website that his 2018 UK tour didn’t include any dates in the East Midlands, I contacted his agent and agreed to organise a Frank Ifields Spills The Beans dinner if a suitable venue could be found.”

Graham will be in the studio on Sunday to describe how he set the search in motion and just what’s in store for the 40 diners at Carriages Café, where Frank will be ‘spilling the beans’ about lots of behind-the-scenes stories from the Swinging Sixties.

Tune in to 107.8FM or DAB digital radio or listen online between 10am and 12 noon – with a little bit of luck, June might even be able to persuade him to drop one or two hints about some of the tales Frank has to tell!

Sing as if no one is listening!

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sing as if no one is listening

Do you shy away from singing in public because someone once told you to ‘shut up and stop spoiling it for everyone else’?

Would you like to unleash your inner songbird somewhere other than under the shower just once in a while?

Well now you can, with a little encouragement from this week’s guest Nikki Whittaker!

Regular listeners to the show will have heard the Girls Around Town talking about the recent launch of Newark’s Tuneless Choir. Tina and Sue both went to its first meeting back in September – take a look at the video and you’ll be able to spot them singing (and swinging!) along to Delilah…

Tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon on Sunday, when Nikki will be joining June and Sue in the studio to explain what prompted her to set up the Newark choir.

And how, even if you think your voice is a bit more Kermit than Kylie, there’s a place in its ranks for you and you could soon be singing and swinging along too!

Unity through music

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rastarella 2

It’s all about music and multiculturalism when Leanda ‘Rastarella’ Falade joins the Girls Around Town on tomorrow’s show.

Herself a host/compere and radio deejay on Kemet FM, Rastarella is Nottingham’s only independent female live music promoter who also specialises in curating events that support unity and multiculturalism under the banner Cultural Vibrations (Unity Through Music).

Born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, Rastarella migrated to the UK in the late 1980s. The eldest of four sisters, she completed her junior and secondary education in Newark and has been living in Nottingham for the past 16 years.

On Sunday’s show, she’ll be talking to Tina and June about her music and her active involvement in the creative and cultural communities of Nottingham.

She’ll also be discussing her work as a volunteer for OCD-UK and her participation in the nationwide campaign Time To Change, raising awareness of mental health issues within the Black, Asian, Minority (BAME) Communities.

Tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon to find out why Rastarella’s motto is ‘Unity is easy when you look within, not at the skin‘…