My end of year list of amazing things 2013

1. ALBUM THAT SURPASSED ALL OTHERS

Candle Thieves – All’s Well That Ends Well.

I love this band and I love this album. There is something really special about these two guys, Scott and Glock. I fell in love with the album at the emotional farewell show in Chorlton in May and it didn’t disappoint upon release in September.

  

‘Try again’ is my most played song that was released in 2013 by any band, it’s melody is thw most beautiful thing.

“It’s ok, say what you want to say, nothing good comes easy, something has to change and we can try again… if we had a make-up song, it would sound like this”

‘Ocean of storms’ makes me cry.

"We were warned that a storm was gonna come, to cover over all the things that we’ve done. If we try we can build ourselves a ship, we can run, we can run, we can run. All aboard said the captain of the boat, if we work together can keep ourselves afloat. Set sail on the ocean of storms, we are lost, we are lost, we are lost. When you’ve given up and you’ve lost the will to fight, only love, only love, only love can see you right"

I LOVE ‘little engine that could’. Classic candle thieves sound. Reminds me of the dark times at school and reminds me to keep fighting now.

“crying the corridor I guess I’m not the coolest kid, but when I grow up I’ll build myself a dream and I will live in it…I’m counting down the minutes until I can hear the home time bell, and I’m counting down the years ‘til I tell everyone to go to hell”

RELATE.

I played the album to my mum at Christmas and she loved it.

Can I give an honourable mention to one half of The Candle Thieves side project – Glock’s new band Sharks and Bears? Go grab a copy of the EP ‘OK, Who Cares, Oh Well, Whatever’. LOVELY guy and so talented. This EP just spoke to me. ‘Worth something more’ just moves me. ‘Wrong/sorry’ is so brave. I have time for people who admit their undoings. Glock’s a good bloke people, and honest too.

“if I’m doomed to feel this way forever, ok who cares, oh well, whatever”.

2. ALBUM THAT MADE ME SMILE

Boyzone – BZ20.

I went to the show in Nottingham without owning this album. I’m not the biggest boyzone fan and many of their old songs I wouldn’t know. The new songs don’t stick out like a sore thumb, they could have been hits 15 years ago. It really is the boys at their best since the mid 90s. Just such a shame Steo isn’t here to share it with us.

You know that moment when you listen to an album a few times, need it to bed in, and then WHAM! You’re singing your heart out, fighting back the tears because it just moves you? That is BZ20. I adore it. It makes me happy.

It’s all about ‘Everything I own’, ‘nobody knows’, ‘light up the night’, and ‘Rise’. 

"I would give anything I own / Give up my life, my heart, my home / I would give everything I own / Just to have you back again"

“Nights are lonely, days so sad / I just keep thinking about the love that we had / Now I'm missing you / Nobody knows it but me”

"We light up the night / We’re forever young / You know two stars shine brighter than one / We light up the night"

"We give, we take / We bend, we break / We win, we lose, we try / We climb, we fall / We bruise, we bleed, we fight / Then we rise"

3. MAN I'D LIKE TO BE BEST FRIENDS WITH

Mark Sheehan of The Script. 

The man is just so effortlessly cool. I’d love to go and get drunk with him. He’s a talented artist, all round good guy and hilariously funny.

“how is everyone at the back? Everyone alright? nothing I can do about it if your uncomfortable apart from send you soup”

“last night we had our first lock-in in England, (we were actually in Cardiff LOL) *crowd starting booing* Mark shouts: I fucking Know you’re welsh.

And a special shout out for a drunk mark literally skipping over to the gate to us in Cardiff, running down the seafront high-fiving Anna in Bridlington, And the AMAZING banter in Thetford.

Love that man.

4. THING YOU'RE MOST SICK OF

The Condems government. 

I can’t even begin to explain my hatred for them. I said the day they got elected they would fuck us up, and they have.

 5. THING I MOST DESIRED BUT DIDN'T GET

To see The Killers play Dubai. Beautiful place I wanna see one day.

 

6. ALBUM THAT MOST STIRRED MY SOUL

The feeling – Boy Cried Wolf.

It’s how break up albums should be written. Please take note, Newton Faulkner.

I just love this album. It moves me. Connects to me. Definitely their finest moment since their debut and I didn’t think anything could touch twelve stops and home.

It’s all about ‘A Lost Home’, ‘Blue Murder’ , ‘Fall Like Rain’,  ‘Empty Restaurant’ and ‘You'll See’.

“I won't go back / Please, don't look at me like that / I won't go back / I'm alright, I'm not alone / I'm just longing for a lost home”

“Everybody knows I was in love with you / What's the point in saying, baby? / Can't change the truth / And I don't need to tell the world that I'm disgraced / We've heard it all before, my love, and We will again”

“Will you be a doll? / Check the plugs and change the oil / Sure, it's been a long, hard night / But I'm with you, I'll be alright / You fall like rain and make me new / Fall like rain 'til the grass comes through / Sing for me and I'll sing for you”

“Nobody walks into an empty restaurant  / It's hazardous / It's poisonous /Falling in love had me on my knees / It's dangerous / Ominous /For anyone trusting as me to be happy /Nobody walks into an empty restaurant / Don’t take a genius to understand me”

“God knows that I was kind / And so will you when / Somebody treats you like You treated me  /
That's when you'll understand / That's when you'll see / When someone treats you like / You did me”

I just love Empty restaurant. It’s so clever. I love its view point. Empty restaurant, poisonous ex, same difference.

Gloves are off was also a rather great moment live on tour. Love this band.

7. MOST STYLISH MAN

Darren Hayes. From the T-shirts of the day, to the nice suits. Effortlessly flawless.

8. FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO

The Script  -  If You Could See Me Now. 

I adore this video. Such an emotional song about Mark missing his parents and Danny missing his dad. The video is beautiful. It’s snippets of their career, looking back on what they would show their parents.

9. FAVOURITE TELEVISION SHOW

24 hours in A and E.

Makes me smile.

Makes me cry.

Makes me appreciate what I have and how lucky I am.

10. FAVOURITE CHARACTER SINCE E.T

Mike” Wazowski from monsters inc. 

Monsters university was worth the 12 year wait.

“Technically, I caught the pig”

11. COOLEST ROCK STAR

 Danny O’Donoghue. 

Great frontman. Great Personality. Funny. Sings his ass off. Looks good.
The End.

12. BEST PROTEST SIGN

“Putin can’t handle my fabulousity”

13. THE THING THE HUMAN RACE WILL BE ASHAMED OF IN 30 YEARS

The fight for equal human rights.

Russia’s ban of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors”. I.E. anti-gay laws. What message does that send out to young LGBT people in Russia, who are gay, or are struggling with who they are?

And don’t start me on India’s Supreme Court re-criminalising gay sex. WRONG.

LOVE IS LOVE.

14. COOLEST STYLE AND DESIGN ICON

Robbie Williams. 

Coolest outfits. Most amazing set design. (OK so he had help from the AMAZING Willie Williams).

15. BEST GIG of 2013.

This is so hard. I have to go with the gig that made me happiest. And that’s The Script - #3 Tour in Aberdeen.

Queuing in the rain and snow, centre front row, Danny O’donoghue singing to me. Amazing. And we got ‘no words’ after we heard them sound check it and tweeted them begging for it to be in the set. A world tour and that was the only night it was played. I liked to think it was because they took pity on us in the snow.

16. FAVOURITE PICTURE(s) YOU TOOK THIS YEAR.

So many so here’s just a quick selection of nature ones, be here all night if i did gig ones lol.

17. FAVOURITE SINGLE OF 2013.

Taylor Swift Feat Gary Lightbody – The Last Time.

 

I forgot how much I ADORE gary’s voice.

Honourable mention to The Killers 'Shot at the Night’ (and ‘Just Another Girl’).

18. BEST NEW BAND OF 2013.

The 1975.

‘Chocolate’. ‘The City’. ‘Sex’.

I love them.

Indie Rock band with a great vibe. It’s all about the bass guitar. Makes me wanna go out to an indie rock night, in a dive of a bar somewhere, and just dance to it all night. They need to play Nottingham.

19. FAVOURITE FILM OF 2013.

I wanna pick a Rom-Com and for that, it would have to be ‘The Big Wedding’. So cute. So funny.

20. FAVOURITE INDIE ARTIST OF THE YEAR.

Ben Montague.

The truth EP made me go see Ben play in a tiny upstairs room in the Rescue Rooms in Nottingham. Just ben and a guitar. So crazily talented. Made me revisit ‘tales of flying and falling’. That whole album is just soooo good. RELATE. Makes me smile. The whole 13 songs on the album are in my 25 most played songs this year.

21. THING(S) YOU ACCOMPLISHED THIS YEAR.

Erm…..

Holding a baby for the first time.

and the second time.

 

22. A LESSON YOU LEARNED THIS YEAR.

The measure of the person you are isn’t that bad things don’t happen to good people, it’s how many people stand beside you when things get bad.

23. MOST EXCITING DISCOVERY THIS YEAR.

Discovering PlayStation 1 games on the PlayStation 3 store. SPYRO!! CRASH BANDICOOT!!

 

24. FAVOURITE MOMENTS OF 2013.

In no particular order:

~ Afternoon tea with my girlies.

~ The entire script tour. SO MUCH FUN, especially St paddy’s day in Manchester.

~ The guy at the Kings of Leon gig in Birmingham that got fully naked for ‘sex on fire’ and stood on his mates shoulders.

~ Meeting Brian and Howie from the backstreet boys.

~ Scouting for girls farewell tour.

~ Meeting my friend Hilary’s beautiful boy at his christening.

~ The killers at Wembley stadium, especially tiffany’s I think we’re alone now.

~ Singing my ass off in the rain in a field in Leeds to Diana Vickers and scouting for girls.

~ Robbie Williams at Etihad stadium

~ The feeling’s tour – great shows, good friends, good food and board games in the pub.

~ My birthday in Ireland – one of my favourite days this year.

~ Duncan from blue singing a few lines to me at their Nottingham show.

~ Bill bailey’s qualm-peddler tour

~ Reconnecting and meeting up with an old friend I haven’t seen in years.

~ Bristol times with Loulou – Zoo, Clifton suspension bridge, the gromit unleashed trail and Bristol balloon fiesta.

~ Seeing Brandon flowers feather jacket at the hard rock cafe in Manchester.

~ Tayto milk chocolate with cheese and onion crisps in.

~ Finding a coca cola bottle with my name on.

~ Watching sunset from the airplane. And the train.

~ The killers singing U2’s pride (in the name of love) in Dublin.

~ Bumping into Dave from The Killers at Dublin airport but failing to find the courage to say hello.

~ The epic weekend of The Script in Thetford and Bridlington. Forgetting to sun cream my nose, and checking into a town called ‘Brandon’. *giggles*

~ A cancelled script show that turned into the most amazing meal with friends.

~ The big reunion tour – seeing five! And bewitched!

~ Legging it to Stamford to see Sharks and Bears debut gig, bumping into Scott from The Candle Thieves.

~ Hilarity with Danny O'Donoghue's massive sony headphones posters on the london underground. 

~ Winter Wonderland with some of my girlies.

~ Xmas with my family.

25. THING YOU ARE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2014.

Hello?! Darren Hayes One Man Show.

Going to the US of A.