A Dickens Of a Time

TODAY MARKS THE 200TH year since writer Charles Dickens was born and celebrations are being held around the world including in Sydney.

The Centenniel Park Dickens statue

The NSW Dickens Society will be gathering at the base of the recently restored statue of Charles on the corner of Dickens Drive and Loch Avenue South, Centennial Park.

According to the society there will be speeches, readings from Dicken's books and 'entertainment pieces'.

Charles Dickens, born in Portsea in 1812 became a popular writer during his lifetime and sold many of his stories via instalments and serials, a sales method that he was basically the first to develop successfully.

Dickens early life was relatively peaceful in the country but when his family moved to Camden Town in 1822 his father's finances dramatically changerd their lives.  John Dickens lived beyond his means and was eventually imprisoned in the Marshalea Debtor's Prison in Southwick. Soon his entire family joined him there except for Charles who was sent to stay with a family friend. A series of strenuous jobs with long hours to pay for board gave Dickens plenty of inspiration for his books, most of which are a commentary on the harshness of British life at the time, but with kind hearted heroines and heroes to save the day. Dickens' books are a far more accurate account of life in England during the 19th century than many history book

Miriam Margoyles

At the Glen Street Theatre in Belrose Harry Potter star Miriam Margoyles is presenting  Dickens Women until Feb 13th.

Jeremy Hunt

Dickens two sons Alfred and Edward were encouraged by their father to emigrate to Austraia at the advent of free settlers and both prospered.

Edward married the daugher of a stock and station agent and managed the business and was elected to a seat in the State Legislative Council for 5 years. Alfred, successful businessman died during a trip to the USA.

When Dickens wrote his books they were so popular he was responibe for bringing to the notice of the great public some of the more shocking conditions others lived in and thus was the inspiration for change,

British Parliamentarian Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is planning to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Dickens by giving every one of his Cabinet colleagues a copy of one of the great author's works. Each book - carefully chosen to encapsulate something about the recipient - will be presented at Cabinet today.

Let's hope they don't mistake them for government  policy discussion papers. Plenty of  Hunt's Tory partners on the right would gladly return to Dickensian times,
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  Australia's X-Factor winner 18 year old Reece Mastin has been touring non-stop since his win and has released a best selling album and a top i-tunes seller.


 Now he has become a gay pin-up after this picture of a topless Reece appeared on a gay music website.
It's spread all over the net.

A Christmas Tale

Alex Day

The Shuttle spent Christmas Day in the company of good friends at a lavish lunch, eating turkey and quaffing Bollinger ( as one should).

One guest at the table was a well known music industry lawyer who regaled us with tales of court room battles between artists and their record companies. He described his first job as a green barrister sent to London to handle a case against a hugely popular Australian band who were suing  EMI over the band's claim that the record giant had failed to promote their latest album which languished at the bottom of the charts.

In the course of his investigations for the record company, he was introduced in great secrecy to the 'hit-picker' employed by the company to assess whether the Aussie band's release would be a hit. The hit picker, an ageing musician who had seen better days had assessed, after several bottles of wine and many tokes on a hash pipe that the record was doomed to failure.

COLDPLAY

Overall the legal costs were in the millions of dollars. It would have been cheaper just to promote the album but anyone who has been unfortunate enough to deal with record companies  will know how an artist's fate can rest on the the late night worries of an executive fearful of making the wrong choice, picking a dud, losing his job and being stuck with a mortgage.

One young singer/songwriter Alex Day has just broken the mould and is currently at No 4 in the British music charts having sold 52,881 copies of his composition Forever Yours in the last week, pushing COLDPLAY into fifth place with just 50,000 sales.

Alex has no record deal. He promotes himself on YouTube.

Official Charts Company MD Martin Talbot has said that "Forever Yours is certainly one of the most successful self-released tracks we have ever seen, the Official Charts are based on sales, and sales alone, so Alex’s achievements this week are a genuine reflection of the passion of his army of fans, and of course, the power of social media."

Contrast Alex Day's success with the hullabaloo over shows like X-Factor with their millions of viewers around the world and rewards heaped upon the winners by the music giant Sony.

Local X-Factor winner Recce Mastin sold 70,000 copies of Good Night while Australia's Got Talent winner Jack Vidgen sold a similar amount. Both had the entire Sony network behind them plus a reputed million dollar budget and nightly TV adverts promoting them.

Alex Day did have help from a hit maker from way back-Jonathan King who describes here how he and Alex beavered away to beat the music industry at it's own game.

Forever Yours:

Reece Mastin Update

The Shuttle loves Sydney Confidential and the whole team who put it together. However it happens to the best of us, as in this slip-up in a tale about controversial Melbourne medico Dr Geoffrey Edelsten who has scored a part in British director Simon West's film Dust and Glory. We think they mean acting career !

Reece Mastin's Victory

When the Shuttle encountered X-Factor contestant Reece Mastin 5 weeks ago at Sony's Wharf4Ward charity fundraiser at the Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo we asked him if he was going to win. "No" was the answer.

Britain's biggest selling tabloid agrees with the Shuttle

But just as with young Jack Vidgen who won Australia's Got Talent, we already knew what Reece did not, and what a handful within a tight circle did. Sony Music was so convinced that the ex-Scunthorpe lad would pick up the gong, plans were already in place to set Reece's career into high gear the day after the contest ended.

And so it came to pass. Sony are banking on the 17 year old (his birthday is today) to become a major world-wide rock star and they are pulling out all the stops. As of today, his first release Good Night is the number one itunes download. His album will be released on Dec 9th. Listen below to Good Night:

X Factor Update

Seeing 16 year old Reece Mastin, the X Factor finalist from Adelaide (via Scunthorpe in the UK) in the flesh, it's difficult to imagine what an amazing talent he is. His performance last night, singing while accompanied by a solo violinist again demonstrated that a major star is about to be launched upon the world:

Reece is pictured here in our exclusive snap from last Thursday's Sony's Wharf4Ward charity event with fellow contestants Johnny Ruffo and Declan Sykes, 2 other terrific performers. Here is his performance from Monday night :

Australia's Got Talent winner Jack Vidgen has been telling his Facebook friends :
"My album 'Yes i Am' is now available on the American Itunes for all u guys in the US. The reaction from Brazil which I was so surprised about has been massive as well so it will be released in Brazil very soon.
A couple more days till I leave to LA. Am getting excited. I'm gonna look like such a tourist when I go site seeing hahaha".
Jack will be appearing at Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas . He's only 14 years old!

On The Waterfront

Cam McGlinchey & Natalie Bassingthwaighte

Dennis Lillee

Nikki Phillips

To one of our favourite spots-The Finger Wharf in Woolloomoolloo for Sony's Wharf4Ward.

Odds-on favourite to win X Factor-16 year old Reece Mastin at the Finger Wharf

Wharf4Ward is a music business charity raising funds to build cancer wards for kids across Australia and with a turn out of 800 at 10 top restaurants today nearly half a million dollars was added to the kitty.

Melissa Doyle &Sony's Denis Handlin

It was also a chance to check out the current X Factor finalists who all attended .Entertainment was provided by Sony Music artists, including platinum-selling Kate Miller-Heidke,  Guy Sebastian, 2009 Australian Idol's Stan Walker and 2010 Australia’s Got Talent winners Justice Crew.

Jo Casamento & Ronan Keating

Jodi Gordon &Braith Anasta

Amongst the guests- Ricky and Rianna Ponting, Geoff Huegill, Eamon Sullivan, Natalie Gruzlewski, Richard Wilkins, Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Angela Bishop, Melissa Doyle, David Koch, Natarsha Belling, Samantha Armytage and Larry Emdur. Plus teen sailor  Jessica Watson and cricket great Dennis Lillee. 



Every one can also get involved with Sony's You Can campaign without donating a single dollar. There are over 20 million old mobile phones lying in bottom drawers across the country - the You Can campaign calls on all Australians to recycle these. Sony Foundation has partnered with an international recycling company to swap old mobile phones for cash.

X Factor's Mitchell Callaway &Andrew Wishart

Every wharf should have one-the Champagne Bar

Every person should have one-a new Bentley

Here's a message from Alice Cooper, Meatloaf and others: