Latest news with #TheBoysAreBackinTown
Daily Mirror
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Newcastle Utd hero joins Sam Fender on stage in front of 50,000 fans
Fender told the crowd that his three-night run at St James' Park, seen by 150,000 fans, had been the 'best weekend of his life' Geordie superstar Sam Fender was joined on stage by his hero 'Big Dan Burn' for the last hometown gig of his world tour. Fender told the crowd that his three-night run at St James' Park, seen by 150,000 fans, had been the 'best weekend of his life'. For his final night, he had some special guests, including the Newcastle United and England star Dan Burn. The giant defender arrived with the Carabao Cup in his hands to a hero's welcome from the 50,000-strong crowd. He was a hero on Tyneside after scoring the Toon's opening goal in the 2-1 victory over Liverpool in March. Fender gave Burn, 33, a hug before the pair raised the trophy to cheers from the fans. Burn left the stage but then came back to say: "Thank you mum and dad" before he departed once more. There were then a number of special guests, including Fender's elder brother Liam on keyboards. The singer's former guitar teacher Phil Martin also made a guest appearance, and a random 17-year-old fan plucked from the audience. There was a montage of childhood photos of the band on the giant stage screen to mark Father's Day, including a snap of Fender with his dad Alan, an electrician turned music teacher who was a huge influence on his career. The North Shields born singer and Martin stood side by side for a cover of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town". Easington Colliery Brass Band then appeared for 'Remember My Name' from the People Watching album, dedicated to the star's grandparents. At the end of the show, with a finale of fireworks and flames shooting through the night sky, Fender asked the crowd to donate to the charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres). The singer is supporting their work in Gaza, describing their medics as 'real life heroes'. He told the crowd that he could not believe it was his fifth show at St James, the home of Newcastle United. "I never thought that I would say that," he added. "I want to just to take that in. "Thank you for the best weekend of my life." His two shows in June, 2023, attracted around 100,000 fans and were credited with boosting the local economy by around £15m. Dan Burn made his Wembley cup final appearance and then had another dream come true when he was called up for England after getting some tips from the son of Jack Charlton. The People Watching Tour is moving to Silverstone on July 3, then the US, Canada and Australia. *
Edinburgh Live
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Sam Fender joined on stage by music icon and special guest no one expected
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info After much anticipation, Sam Fender's 2025 gigs at St James' Park have now come to an end. However, fans were treated to a spectacular night on Sunday, marking the end of a memorable weekend. Two years after his highly acclaimed gigs at SJP, Sam and his band returned to the stage at Newcastle United's famous ground this week. They delivered three outstanding shows, with the last one attracting another 50,000 fans. This brought the total number of attendees over the past few days to around 150,000. Prior to the third and final concert on Sunday, there was speculation about a surprise guest appearance. This was largely due to the fact that in June 2023, Sam welcomed AC/DC rocker and Newcastle's own Brian Johnson to the SJP stage. On both Thursday and Saturday, there were significantly more people on stage than just Sam and his bandmates. His brother Liam performed a duet on the opening night, while Sam's former guitar teacher Phil Martin made his first of three consecutive appearances to cover Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back in Town, reports Chronicle Live. The Easington Colliery Brass Band also began their series of back-to-back star turns, joining Sam for the very moving Remember My Name. There were also unexpected moments in the spotlight for three musicians who got to play The Borders with Sam, but there were high hopes that someone like a Brian Johnson would be the biggest surprise of the weekend. However, while there might not have been a music legend on stage by the end of Sam's run at SJP, there was a football icon on it, with United defender Dan Burn, who had been in a box to watch Thursday's gig, going one better three days later, by walking on stage with the Carabao Cup, to the delight of the Geordie faithful. Sam looked thrilled to have him be part of the last show, with Dan also soaking in the moment. His cameo went down a storm with the crowd and there was an added treat for them in the closing moments when an 'extra' song was added to the setlist. Something Heavy from Sam's third number 1 album People Watching did make an appearance on Thursday, with Liam Fender joining Sam to sing it, before it was then replaced by Olivia Dean duet Rein Me In on Saturday. However it was back as the second to last track on Sunday night's setlists, sandwiched between The Dying Light and the firework drenched Hypersonic Missiles, as Sam invited much enjoyed support act CMAT to sing it with him.
Time Magazine
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Owen Wilson's Stick Sounds Like a Ted Lasso Ripoff. Actually, It's Better
The third episode of the new Apple TV+ golf comedy Stick is called 'Daddy Issues,' but that might as well be the title of the show. Created by Ford v. Ferrari writer Jason Keller, it stars Owen Wilson as a former top golfer, Pryce Cahill, who publicly flamed out 20 years ago. He's been mired in the past ever since, from his job at a sporting goods store to his refusal to finalize the divorce initiated by his long-suffering wife (Judy Greer), move out of their old house, and accept that he's no longer a husband, a father, or a pro athlete. When he spots a surly teen at a driving range, Santi (Peter Dager), who has the makings of a major talent, Pryce sees in this potential protégé a shot at redemption. But Santi, whose now-estranged dad used to push him too hard on the golf course, doesn't exactly relish the prospect of having a new father figure to satisfy. It sounds hackneyed and heartstring-yanking—another comedy that uses sports as a cover to talk about men's feelings and relationships from the platform that brought us Ted Lasso. There are indeed elements of Stick, which premieres on June 4, that come off as pandering; as if a dad-rock soundtrack ('Baba O'Riley,' 'The Boys Are Back in Town') weren't enough, it even rips off Lasso 's earnest folk theme song. While it's a relief that Greer isn't forced to play a harpy, the show can be cringily conspicuous in its efforts to model empathy for women. A self-described 'genderqueer, anticapitalist, postcolonial feminist' character named Zero (Lilli Kay) initially reads as an assemblage of lazy Gen Z clichés that exist mostly in the imaginations of boomers. Yet within the limitations of its formula, Stick works. A trite setup gives way to a looser road-trip vibe after Pryce convinces Santi and his savvy mom (Mariana Treviño) to pile into a RV with him and his cranky ex-caddie (an effectively typecast Marc Maron) for a summer of amateur tournaments. Everyone is low-key lonely, with familial baggage that keeps them from connecting with others. Thankfully, Keller's scripts aren't as twee or didactic about this stuff as Lasso and Shrinking creator Bill Lawrence's tend to be. Nor are his characters cartoons like Ted; most, including Zero, quickly become multifaceted people, courtesy of a cast blessed with unshowy charisma. A game changer it isn't, but Stick still comes out a few strokes ahead of par.
