Gratuitous One Direction Photo

Did you just watch the Royal Variety Performance?.  Fact: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 of Australia (Great Britain and Her Dominions) cost British taxpayers roughly $99M yearly. The British Tourism Board estimates that the income derived from tourism because of the history of GB and the Royal Family is from $700M to $900M per year (in 2013 5.8 million tourists visited a royal palace).
You do the maths.  That's a long winded way of introducing our exclusive photo from the 2014 Royal Variety Performance of the Most Famous Pop Band That Ever Lived- One Direction !!

Those Aria Awards in Full

Another week, another set of awards. This time the Australian music industry gongs.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Lonerism, Tame Impala
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST RELEASE
Flume
BEST MALE ARTIST
Flume, Flume
BEST FEMALE ARTIST
To the End of the Earth, Jessica Mauboy
More winners when you keep reading.
BEST GROUP
Lonerism, Tame Impala
BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE
Push the Sky Away, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
BEST ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
Push the Sky Away, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
BEST BLUES AND ROOTS ALBUM
Sharkmouth, Russell Morris
BEST CHILDREN'S ALBUM
A Little Day Out with Justine Clarke, Justine Clarke
BEST COMEDY RELEASE
The Bits We're Least Ashamed Of, Tom & Alex
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
Wreck and Ruin, Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson
BEST DANCE RELEASE
Flume, Flume
BEST POP RELEASE
Armageddon, Guy Sebastian
BEST ROCK ALBUM
Lonerism, Tame Impala
BEST HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL ALBUM
Asymmetry, Karnivool
BEST URBAN ALBUM
Bring It Back, Illy
SONG OF THE YEAR
"Resolution," Matt Corby
BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT
One Direction
BEST AUSTRALIAN LIVE ACT
Guy Sebastian — Get Along Tour: Mar - Jun 2013
BEST VIDEO
Christopher Frey for "Firestarter" by Samantha Jade

As Big as One Direction

The Collective above are set to become as big as One Direction according to X-Factor judge Ronan Keating who knows a thing or two about successful boy bands.

Nathaniel Willemse

The lads were at Sony's Wharf4Ward the kid's cancer charity fundraiser where every restaurant along the strip on the Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo donates their services and profits raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.It's also a day when the finalists from X-Factor get to strut their stuff for the audience

Luke Jacobz & Natalie

Every TV network and film company and most of Australia's top PR companies along with banks take tables.
Oddly missing from this year's lunch were judges Mel B, Ronan Keating and Guy Sebastian with all sorts of rumours about their absence. Judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and compere Luke Jacobz  put in appearance. Below is a video of Justice Crew who performed during the day.

Nikki Phillips

Shiane Hawke & Bella Ferraro

Hot Chelle Rae

      

Token Daily One Direction Pic #2

Token Daily One Direction Pic

Tinkling The Ivories with One Direction

To the Cosmopolitan Cafe in deepest Double Bay for a special treat. Legendary pianist Chet Clark ( above) had flown in from his home in Santa Barbara to give a concert for invited guests. Clark was big in the 50s, and the 60s and 70s. He appeared on every major rock'n'roll show in Australia and the USA and accompanied legendary names of rock and pop, too many to mention.

(left : Jenny Main,John Foreman & Maria Venuti at the Cosmo)

Joining Chet at the piano was the musical director of some of television's and live theatre's top shows John Foreman who flew in from Melbourne for the night.
The night was put together by producer Jenny Main and hopefully will be the first of many musical evenings to come
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The Shuttle will be at the Ch 7 studios in Martin Place tomorrow morning for One Direction's appearance. Are we looking forward to it ?. Not as much as Tony Bennett's final show tomorrow night at the Sydney Opera House which we managed to score a rare ticket for.

There is one thing everyone must do in this life. And that is see Tony Bennett sing live.
There is a reason Frank Sinatra said Bennett had "the best tonsils in the business". His voice is like pure honey and washes over you with a purity never experienced before. In our lifetime we have not seen a live singer with such perfection and poetry in their voice. There is no man or woman on this planet that is better. Bennett's recordings do not do his voice justice, as wonderful as they are. This is the singer who thrives on live performances and at 85 years old, by all accounts he is as good today as he was 50 years ago.

Oh yes, Rihanna is in town and attended the premiere of Battleship last night and went shopping in Paddington during the day before boarding a luxury yacht for the obligatory Harbour cruise. Perhaps she waved to One Direction who were also on the Harbour.