Sir Ian McKellen launches fundraising appeal for backstage and front-of-house theatre workers with £40k donation

DEALSSpirit Music Group has acquired a big old stake in the recording royalties – including from those always fun neighbouring rights – of country musician Jason Aldean. “It’s cool that a company like Spirit, that’s been around so long, has taken on my music catalogue”, says Aldean. “It’s something really important to me, so I’m glad it’ll be looked after”.Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia has announced a partnership with Lateral Management’s publishing arm Vertical Rights.

It turns out that Jay-Z may as yet get millions of dollars in allegedly unpaid royalties from the perfume company he collaborated with back in 2013.That collaboration resulted in a lacklustre perfume product but some eventful and at times entertaining litigation. Fragrance firm Parlux sued Jay-Z in 2016 alleging that the rapper failed to fulfil his commitments to promote the Gold Jay-Z perfume brand, ultimately resulting in millions of dollars in losses.There were plenty of twists and turns in the resulting legal battle as the Jay-Z side tried to prevent Parlux’s lawyers from getting access to the rapper’s work diary, while also objecting to the recording of a deposition.

THE Dog House viewers were left reaching for the tissues after one owner was forced to give up their beloved border collie. During the heartbreaking instalment of the canine rehoming programme, the owner was left in tears after giving up their energetic pooch, Margot.

CELEBRITY BIG Brother star Chloe Goodman has welcomed her second child with fiancé Grant Hall. The Ex On The Beach alum announced that she's given birth to a son following a "few complications" during her labour.

Who were the most successful recording artists on a global basis in 2021? BTS of course. You all knew that already, obviously. But now we have confirmation from the good people at the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry who have done some maths.The trade body has handed the K-pop group its Global Recording Artist Of The Year Award which is, in case you wondered, awarded based on “an artist’s or group’s worldwide performance across digital and physical music formats during the year, from streams to vinyl, and covers their entire body of work”.IFPI actually does the maths to work out a top ten of the most successful recording artists each year, with whoever is in the number one spot getting the Global Recording Artist Of The Year Award.

Former Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato announced earlier this week that he will release his new solo album, ‘Mirrorcell’, this summer. Along with that news comes first single ‘Lowered’, featuring Reba Meyers of Code Orange.“When Reba came to the studio we had, like, zero vocals for that song”, he says of the new track.

TODAY'S episode of Lorraine was thrown into chaos as not one but TWO guests' interviews were derailed by errors. Firstly Busted's Matt Willis was forced to miss his studio slot after getting stuck in a traffic jam, before Jason Manford's WiFi went down as he was about to chat to host Lorraine Kelly.

“IT’S a relief,” Robert Pattinson said with a sigh as he appeared on the red carpet with co-star Zoe Kravitz for the premiere of The Batman. For while superhero fans can now enjoy the long-awaited three-hour movie, R-Patz had to endure three YEARS of chaotic filming to make it. At the London screening at Waterloo’s BFI IMAX cinema on Wednesday, he explained: “For (director) Matt Reeves, this is five years.

The Simpsons predicted the Russia/Ukraine crisis.The animated series is known to have spookily foreshadowed a number of real life events years before their inception - including 9/11, Donald Trump's presidency and the coronavirus pandemic.

Kanye West has released his ‘Donda 2’ album. Probably. I mean, he’s put out a sixteen track album which is called ‘Donda 2’.

Lovehoney has launched a huge flash sale, with up to 50% off a range of sex toys, daring lingerie and accessories - how good is that?Better news? Customers can save that little bit extra today (February 25) with any purchases over £60. All you have to do is load up your shopping bag with £60 or more worth of products, then use code: EXTRA20 at the checkout for an additional 20% off.So what will you choose?The sale is live until Monday (February 28), so pleasure seekers still have a bit of time to find a bargain on something they like.There's currently up to 50% off couple's sex toys in the offer, which has products likes the Lovehoney Perfect Date Couple's Sex Toy Bundle (5 Piece) for just £70, down from £134.95.Whether you’re just starting your sex toy collection, or your play box is bursting at the seams, this five-piece bundle is a must-have for couples.

Arsenal’s stoppage-time win over Wolves on Thursday.The Gunners had been behind for most of the Premier League clash after seeing Hwang-Hee Chan latch onto Gabriel’s backpass before finishing from a tight angle just 10 minutes in.Mikel Arteta’s men struggled to find a way past the visitors’ resolute a defence, before Nicolas Pepe’s errant shot beat Jose Sa with just eight minutes of normal time remaining. And with just seconds left Sa touched Alexandre Lacazette’s shot into his own net to gift Arsenal three points, which saw them move into fifth place in the top-flight.The win comes just a few weeks after the reverse fixture, which the Gunners also won, though Wolves star Neves blasted them for their celebrations following that game.“We saw the way they celebrated the win and that shows the level we are.

If she isn't already, Mimi Webb's on the cusp of becoming the UK's new Main Pop Girl. All the makings of a proper, bona fide super star are there. Viral TikTok hit? Check. Celebrity fans including actual Charli D'Amelio? Yep. Huge, Cirkut-produced hit song? You bet.

Aldi is most likely not the gym - but this one woman shared that she got a “free membership” from the supermarket giant.And no, the budget supermarket store is not branching out into the world of fitness.Gym enthusiast Becky decided to save forking out on a gym membership with a little help from Aldi - and their middle aisle.The 30-year-old shared in a TikTok clip that she has been visiting Aldi to work out by using the kettlebell weights that are being currently sold in the shop - without paying for it.In the video, Manchester based Becky can be seen standing in the middle of the aisle in her workout gear whilst lifting the weight with the label attached.She really got stuck into her routine as she started to perform some squats and lunges with the kettlebell in the store.To no surprise the gym hack has left many people impressed and has now racked up 2.3million views.Left in stitches at Becky’s mid-shop work out session, many people fled to the comments to praise her on the creative trick.One person commented: “Go on girl.”Another user giggled: “This is why my dad takes 4 hours going to Aldi for bread!!!”While a third person voiced: “I can see the progress I think I need to go to Aldi."Someone else chuckled: “And this is why I haven’t started the gym…Aldi here I come.”Meanwhile, a fifth user expressed: “I work for Aldi, hope you come to my store so I can join you.”Since going viral, clothing brand Ellesse reached out to Becky on TikTok and asked: “Need some free gym gear to go with?”Well, that is one way to work out without making your bank account sweat! Get all the biggest Lifestyle news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Daily Star Hot Topics newsletter

news.com.au.Becki wrote that she had “replaced it, moved on, whatever,” and added: “It was mysterious but it was gone.”But, she explained that 10 years after the event the phone had been recovered… from the toilet.Becki noted that she and her husband had started hearing a “banging sound” when they flushed the loo.She said: “Initially we blamed it on the toilet being old or the house construction being terrible.”Eventually, they got so wound up that her husband decided to “plunge the f**k out of it”.After a short while he ran upstairs to find Becki saying she “wouldn’t believe what he found in our toilet”.He’d managed to pull an old iPhone 12 from the toilet’s pipes. Get all the biggest Lifestyle news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Daily Star Hot Topics newsletter Becki showed a photo of the broken phone on social media and added: “This was so, so far from what I was expecting.”The post went viral with hundreds of people commenting on the story.One person wrote: “There’s no way it was stuck in your toilet for 10 years and never caused an issue until it started making a sound.”While another added: “Now how come my glass screen breaks when I even so much as look at it funny but you can literally sh*t on yours for years and it’s perfect?”

Lewis Hamilton by claiming race director Michael Masi did “nothing wrong” at last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.The Alpine driver insisted there was no foul play involved as Mercedes driver Hamilton controversially lost out on a record-extending eighth Formula One world championship due to sketchy decision-making by Masi.Alonso developed a bitter rivalry with a rookie Hamilton during their singular shared season at McLaren in 2007, where he claimed the Brit was given preferential treatment.And his latest comments are unlikely to earn him a place in Hamilton’s good books as he went against the general consensus in relation to the title-deciding final race of last season.Speaking at Alpine’s 2022 car launch, the Spaniard said: "On the whole theme of Abu Dhabi, maybe I have a different opinion, I don't think that there was anything wrong [with Masi's decision] there.

If you have not watched all 10 episodes of Love Is Blind season 2, bookmark this for later or proceed with caution. In one of thewedding-packed finale's biggest shockers, Natalie Lee and Shayne Jansen, who had seemed set to tie the knot, had an explosive off-camera fight the night before their nuptials. Little was said about the fight during the episode, with Natalie revealing she'd asked Shayne if he'd had too much to drink and he got «really, really angry» with her. She tearfully shared that her fiancé had told her he «hated» her and that she was «the worst thing» to happen to him. The fight led Natalie to say no at the altar after Shayne had already said «I do,» leading to another tense exchange between the pair outside of the venue. ET's Will Marfuggi spoke with Natalie via Zoom about the fight, asking for some details on what went down behind the scenes. «It wasn't just one thing,» Natalie tells ET of the fight. «It was an accumulation of a lot of different things.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' youngest son, Joaquin, just rang in his 19th birthday, and with every year he looks more and more like his dad.The teenager was celebrated by his big brother, Michael, 24, who shared a pair of snapshots on Instagram in which he, Joaquin and Mark posed for some birthday photos.MORE: Kelly Ripa shares heartwarming photo of son Joaquin - and she's so proudWith their brown hair, dark complexions and muscular physiques the threesome could easily pass for brothers.WATCH: Kelly Ripa is full of emotion as she details 'brutal' moment involving son JoaquinHe simply captioned the post: "Happy birthday to the King," and he was immediately inundated with fans commenting on their likeness and their dashing good looks. "3 of the handsomest [sic] men in the world," wrote one, while another added: "Three good looking men right there," and a third said: "Gorgeous pic..

coronavirus pandemic.However, with live performances still currently banned, it is not known exactly when the new production will open, but producers are hopeful it will be in ‘the forthcoming months’.Hamlet will be directed by Sean Mathias, who previously worked with Sir Ian on Waiting For Godot and No Man’s Land, and produced by Bill Kenwright.Sir Ian said: ‘I feel lucky to be working again, thanks to Bill Kenwright’s inspiring optimism and Sean Mathias’s invitation to re-examine Hamlet, 50 years on from my first go.Announcing our fabulous Hamlet & Cherry Orchard Creative Team!Directed By #SeanMathias Set Design @LeeNewbyDesign Lighting Design @JamiePlatt1 Costume Design @LorenElstein Sound Design/Composition #AdamCork Assistant Director

coronavirus pandemic.Put on by powerful producer Bill Kenwright, the age-defying Shakespeare show will begin performances at the Theatre Royal Windsor — steps from where Queen Elizabeth II is quarantined — on a date to be announced.“I feel lucky to be working again, thanks to Bill Kenwright’s inspiring optimism and [director] Sean Mathias’ invitation to re-examine ‘Hamlet,’ 50 years on from my first go,” McKellen said in a statement. “So now we will meet again.

Phillip Keene often celebrates Pride at the famed Los Angeles Pride parade. But with the COVID-19 pandemic everybody is doing their part to help flatten the curve by staying at home. HollywoodLife caught up EXCLUSIVELY with the acclaimed actor, best known as “Buzz Watson,” the tech savvy member of LAPD’s exclusive squad on TNT’s hit drama franchise The Closer and its spin-off Major Crimes. Phillip revealed how he’s honoring Pride while in quarantine and also who he views as the ultimate gay icon.