
Hothouse Flowers 'privileged' to play at new Torquay music venue
The Irish rockers emphasised the significance of live music venues, especially as many are closing down, citing the recent closure of Sheffield's Leadmill."The welcome we were given here was like as if we could lie on the hands and just float," said Ó Maonlaí. "With your tribe, you can fill a room. It's up to you then to refill that room."Bandmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin said: "We need our live music venues more than ever, because live music is so important."
Steve Garratt, co-director of Arena, believes that offering a mix of events was crucial for sustainability. "If we just offered music, as much as we love it, we might be closed within a year," he said. The venue, with a capacity of 1,200 standing, aims to cater to diverse interests.Grassroots bands like 3 Days of Wonder are hopeful that Arena will help build a local music scene. "We want to explore new places, play to different crowds, and build our local scene," said Luke Notman from the band.
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BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Olly Murs to switch on Blackpool Illuminations
Singer Olly Murs is to switch on this year's Blackpool 41, said he was "buzzing" to be the headline performer for the Illuminations Switch-On event on the evening of Friday 29 will also be joined by X-Factor winner Louisa Johnson for the free show where people enter a ballot for the 24,000 tickets for the event on the promenade near Blackpool will follow in the footsteps of a Canberra Bomber, the Grand National-winning racehorse Red Rum, and muppet Kermit The Frog. "I haven't performed there since 2011, so it's about time. It'll be an incredible night," Murs leader Lynne Williams added: "The Switch-On event is one of the highlights of Blackpool's calendar, it's an event of celebration for our residents and brings together our local community and visitors from far and wide." Last year's Illuminations were switched by Spice Girl Mel Illuminations started in 1879 with eight carbon arc lamps, but grew into six miles (9.5km) of immersive light and art displays, "blending tradition and modern technology".Switch-on ceremonies date back to 1934, when the 17th Earl of Derby did the honours. Among people who have switched them on are the US and Soviet ambassadors jointly in the 1950s, gothic horror director Tim Burton in 2015, and "Coronavirus heroes" from the NHS in 2020. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.


BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Armoy road races 2025 live on BBC Sport NI
The Armoy road race has become a staple part of the Irish motorcycling calendar since its inception in 2009 and this weekend's event looks set to produce more thrilling racing for the thousands of spectators who an exciting new venture for the event, as a pilot, Saturday's racing will be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and worldwide on the BBC Sport website for the first time, allowing fans from across the globe to enjoy the high-speed action from the three-mile public roads circuit in the county Antrim of the main day of racing, culminating in the feature 'Race of Legends', will begin at 09:30 the meeting prepares to rev into life with qualifying and two scheduled races on Friday, BBC Sport brings you the lowdown on the popular Irish road race. History of Armoy road races In comparison to other road races with a long history in Northern Ireland, the Armoy event is a relatively recent addition to the calendar, having first taken place in meeting is centred on the village of Armoy and staged around a course which is triangular in shape and ridden in an anti-clockwise main feature race is called 'The Race of Legends' in recognition of the Armoy Armada quartet of riders who competed at road racing events from the mid to late Armada was established in 1977 and comprised the late Joey Dunlop, Mervyn Robinson and Frank Kennedy, plus Joey's brother current races are held on the roads that these riders used to test their machines in 'unofficial' practice sessions on open roads prior to race 2018 version of the event saw racing cancelled on the main Saturday race day because of persistent heavy rain, while the 2020 meeting fell victim to the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2021 staging was subject to spectator restrictions because of the coronavirus. Top riders who have competed at Armoy The Armoy races have traditionally attracted a strong field of riders from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and the big names who have competed are record 33-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop, his late brother William, Ryan Farquhar, Jeremy McWilliams, late Manxman Dan Kneen, Dean Harrison, Guy Martin and Davey Dunlop and Yorkshireman Todd have been the dominant forces in recent years, although neither have entered this year's won five races in both 2021 and 2023 and his overall career tally of victories at the event stands at CV include 10 successes in the 'Race of Legends', including nine successive triumphs between 2011 and 2021 and a further win in 2023. The 35-year-old has won 18 Superbike races in made one of his first road race appearances at Armoy back in 2017 and has since excelled by racking up a four-timer in 2022 and a treble in four riders - Michael Dunlop, Todd, Martin and Farquhar - have won 'big bike' races in the history of the event. What of the 2025 races? This year's meeting is being held on Friday 25 July and Saturday 26 July, with roads closing at 10:00 BST on Friday and 09:00 on and qualifying sessions for all classes will take place on Friday, followed by two scheduled races, the first Supertwin and Supersport further races are scheduled for Saturday, including the Open race, further Supersport and Supertwin events, Moto3/125cc, Classic Superbike and the feature 'Race of Legends'.Also on the card are a Supermono class within the Supertwins race, Junior and Senior Support races, Junior and Senior classic races, Supersport 300 and Lightweight SupersportA high quality entry includes Burrows Engineering/RK Racing rider Conor Cummins, KTS Steadplan Racing's Jamie Coward, who was named man-of-the-meeting in 2024, and Northern Ireland's Paul Jordan, who rides for Jackson notable riders are Republic of Ireland challengers Mike Browne, Michael Sweeney and Derek McGee, plus customary English visitors Phil Crowe and Dominic Herbertson, Manx duo Joe Yeardsley and Marcus Simpson and Finland's Erno Kostamo, a regular at the North West 200 and Isle of Man GP rider and North West 200 race winner Jeremy McWilliams returns to compete in the Supersport, Lightweight Supersport and Classic Superbike the list of newcomers are double Southern 100 Supertwins winner Rob Hodson, Republic of Ireland riders Brian McCormack and Kevin Keyes, and former British Superbike and National Superstock competitor Franco Bourne. Lap records and most wins Most wins - Michael Dunlop 29, Barry Davidson 16, Ryan Farquhar 12, William Dunlop 11, Davey Todd 7, Richard Ford 7, Jamie Coward 4, Derek McGee 4, Christian Elkin 4, Robert McCrum 4, Guy Martin 3, Neil Kernohan 3, Dean Harrison 2Lap records - Superbike and absolute course record - Davey Todd (BMW) 109.325mph (2024)Supersport - Michael Dunlop (Yamaha) 105.179 (Yamaha) 2023Supertwin - Jamie Coward (Kawasaki) 100.536 (Kawasaki) 2024Moto3 - Mike Browne (Honda) 90.755mph (2023)Classic Superbike - Jamie Coward 97.410mph (2022) 2024 results Race of Legends - 1 Davey Todd; 2 Phil Crowe; 3 Dominic Herbertson; 4 Jamie CowardOpen race - 1 Davey Todd; 2 Phil Crowe; 3 Jamie Coward; 4 Dominic HerbertsonSupersport one - 1 Mike Browne; 2 Davey Todd; 3 Paul JordanSupersport two - 1 Davey Todd; 2 Mike Browne; 3 Jamie CowardSupertwins one - 1 Jamie Coward; 2 Mike Browne; 3 Michael SweeneySupertwins two - 1 Jamie Coward; 2 Mike Browne; 3 Paul Jordan


BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Blind and visually impaired chess tournament held in Bournemouth
A chess tournament for blind and visually impaired people that has been running for three decades has attracted players from around the event organised by the Braille Chess Association is taking place in Bournemouth, Abi Baker said: "I wanted to find something to do which meant I could be relatively good at it without a huge amount of sighted help."Taking place in the Marsham Court Hotel until Saturday, Ms Baker is taking on players from as far afield as Austria and the United States. "If I make a really bad move, it's a product of my own mind - the wind didn't put the piece there," she said. As opposed to sighted chess, which is played on a single board, each player in the tournament has their own announce their moves to each other and replicate their opponent's move on their own allows them to keep track of the board by feel - without having to reach over and touch their opponent's boards are also adapted for visually impaired people, with raised tiles and tactile pieces. One participant, Marilyn Bland, travelled to the event from Texas in the United States."I'm enjoying meeting all the people I've been speaking with on Skype over the years," she said."I've lost my first game because of an oversight on my part, but I've drawn all my other games, so I'm happy so far." John Jenkins has organised four of the tournaments so far."I've been playing chess for 70 years now - probably getting slowly worse," he said."No game is ever the same - I'd recommend it to anybody, particularly for children, because it teaches them so much about concentration and problem solving."All of these people are here are blind - but they're resilient. They just want to get on with it, and they enjoy playing chess." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.