THE KOOKS will kick off their 16-date US tour tomorrow before heading back here for gigs to celebrate new album Never/Know.
But talk within the band has already turned to next year, which will mark the 20th anniversary of their debut record Inside In/Inside Out.
The album, which soundtracked my teenage years, contains hits including Naive, Ooh La and She Moves In Her Own Way – and singer Luke Pritchard says he and his bandmate Hugh Harris want to do something special.
“I think it’s a huge moment to circle back too,” Luke said.
“It’s still gathering new fans, young fans on TikTok and social media.
“Being around 20 years later and going through a lot of amazing times and a lot of really bad times, it’s going to be a really big celebration.
“That’s of the band in its entirety, not just one album.
“For us, we’ll be going through some archive that hasn’t come out yet and, of course, we’ll celebrate it.
“It would be rude not to.
“And to celebrate Naive – how that song changed our lives.
“It’s a crazy thing.
“To have one song like that, you’ve got to be absolutely blown away that it’s still doing it’s thing.”
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Cowboy Bey’s in top gear
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WE’RE on the ten-day countdown to Beyonce‘s arrival in London, where she will play the first night of her Cowboy Carter tour in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 5.
And I’m told the Texas Hold ’Em singer, who did an Elvis lip curl impression, will have a new wardrobe of outfits to wear on stage.
Bey showed off fresh looks including a huge coat with an eagle on the back when started her five-night residency at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
She does have a helping hand when it comes to making time for fittings, though.
My insiders told me she worked with designer Robert Wun for her Cowboy Carter outfits.
He has a body stand-in for the superstar to make sure everything is perfectly tailored to her.
The source said: “Beyonce does the final fittings but there is also a model with the same measurements who is there for the in-between stuff. It’s the same for hats, so her hair will be styled like Beyonce’s.
They can make sure the hats fit like a glove when it comes to the real thing.”
Faye Steps into role as dancer
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FAYE TOZER is still turning up the sex appeal as she approached her 50th birthday – with a role in racy new show Diamonds And Dust opposite Dita Von Teese.
My exclusive photos show the Steps singer in character as Wild West gambler and dancer Miss Kitty LeRoy, who she will play when the production opens in London’s at the Emerald Theatre on June 16.
Burlesque dancer and model Dita is also a producer on the show and will star as Lady Luck for select performances.
The theatrical spectacle will follow Faye as the notorious 19th century card dealer.
Faye, who performed on Britain’s Got Talent at the weekend to promote Steps’ own musical Here & Now’s UK tour, is now a go-to star in the theatre.
Last year she had rave reviews for her turn as Cruella De Vil in a touring production of 101 Dalmatians.
And it sounds like she has yet another hit on her hands.
182 Mark: My regret over not kissing Cure’s Robert
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BLINK 182 rocker Mark Hoppus says he was gutted at turning down a kiss with The Cure’s Robert Smith on stage at Wembley Stadium in 2004.
Robert, whose albums include Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, joined the band at the show to sing All Of This and Boys Don’t Cry.
Recalling being joined by his music idol on stage, Mark said: “It was so surreal, such a rad moment.
“I went to give him a hug and he leaned in and said, ‘Give me a kiss’. I wish I had done it. It would’ve made such a better story than it almost happened.”
In an chat to promote autobiography Fahrenheit-182, Mark said the group weren’t as rock ’n’ roll as their fans thought.
He said: “People weren’t getting hammered all the time, and there weren’t chicks backstage.
“People would literally come back, take a look around and be like, ‘This is f***ing boring’.”
Olly vow to keep touring
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I WAS gutted to see Olly Murs have to cancel three gigs after getting ill last week.
He was down in the dumps after a respiratory infection, which caused issues with his voice while touring.
So it put a smile on my face to see a snap of the Troublemaker singer outside London’s O2 while I was scrolling through Instagram yesterday.
He stood excitedly alongside a promo poster of himself, and told his fans: “It’s. Not. Over. Yet!”
He was forced off stage just six songs into a performance at Glasgow’s Ovo Hydro arena last Thursday. Olly said afterwards: “What happened last night has never happened to me before and I’m truly gutted and upset.”
He then had to scrap shows in Manchester and Birmingham so he could rest his vocal chords for 48 hours.
ED SHEERAN’s top-secret appearance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend was kept on a need-to-know basis – with the singer given the alias John Smith to keep his performance a surprise.
Insiders said only ten people knew Ed, below, was on site in Liverpool, including Breakfast Show host Greg James. He said after Ed’s slot on Saturday: “I was sworn to secrecy. He wanted to do it as a surprise. He wanted to build that excitement.
“I saw him an hour before in his dressing room and he said, ‘I’m worried because no one knows I’m here, no one’s going to turn up and the tent’s going to be empty’.
“I said, ‘You’re Ed Sheehan mate, the tent’s not going to be empty’. Big Weekend throws up those surprises. The tent was full, people got turned away.”
Holly: I’ll go for Callum
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THERE is much chatter about a new film telling the story of Holly Johnson’s life.
But the Frankie Goes To Hollywood singer says he’s keen to see It’s A Sin actor Callum Scott Howells take on his part, if they can get it off the ground.
“I thought that was a great idea,” Holly, below, said. “I think he’s a good actor. I did meet him when he was doing Cabaret.
“His agent asked me not to talk about it because he keeps getting involved in it but I don’t care. There might be a documentary, there might be a film. They can never make up their minds or get funding.
“I have an option to make a film from my book. They keep sending me scripts every year or so, and I don’t know if it’s ever going to happen.
“They had the option, it might have lapsed now. I don’t want to ring up my lawyer because it will cost me a thousand quid to find out.”
LIAM GALLAGHER confirmed my tale that Joey Waronker is on drums for Oasis’ reunion tour.
Replying on X to a fan who asked about Joey joining them, he wrote: “It’s a different thing but he’s the right man right now.”
The band will kick off their mammoth run of sold-out shows on July 4.
The week in Bizness
MONDAY: JENNIFER LOPEZ hosts the American Music Awards in Las Vegas where Benson Boone and Janet Jackson, who will get the Icon Award, are among the performers.
TUESDAY: ABBA Voyage will celebrate its third anniversary at the ABBA Arena in East London, with a party attended by a series of celebrities and maybe even a member or two of the group.
WEDNESDAY: Karate Kid: Legends, starring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, hits cinemas as a sequel to the TV series Cobra Kai. It is the sixth movie in the franchise, 41 years after the original film.
SATURDAY: The capital’s biggest pop festival, Mighty Hoopla, will kick off in South London’s Brockwell Park with Ciara, Jade and Una Healy, followed by Kesha, Loreen and Heidi Montag on Sunday.
