News of September
2003
13/09/03
Robbie Williams will release his first live cd in 29/09.. his title will "Live Summer 2003"
11/09/03
A leukaemia sufferer and campaigner who befriended pop star Robbie Williams is seriously ill in hospital in Australia. Johanna MacVicar, from Bishopton, Renfrewshire, suffered a collapsed lung from a chest infection while on a dream round-the-world trip. Miss MacVicar was first diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia at the age of 16 and underwent a bone marrow transplant, which failed. Despite her illness - during which her weight plummeted to six and a half stone - she vowed to live a normal life. She first met Robbie Williams at a concert in Glasgow in 2000 when he offered to help the charity for which she campaigns, the Anthony Nolan Trust - which keeps the world's only register of bone marrow donors. They formed a close friendship and the star helped launch a campaign at Loch Lomond in 2001 urging more donors to come forward. Her mother Angela has flown to Perth, Western Australia, to maintain a vigil by the 25-year-old's bedside. Doctors at Perth Royal Infirmary operated on Miss MacVicar after an attempt to inflate her damaged lung using a tube failed. Speaking from Australia, her mother said: "Johanna has suffered a collapsed lung after a bad chest infection. The leukaemia weakened her lungs and she is always getting chest infections and colds. "But she didn't realise she was so ill - she just thought she had a bad cough. Jo, being Jo, didn't complain. She just gets on with it." Hollywood star Dougray Scott is another who has expressed his admiration for Miss MacVicar. When the actor was researching the film Ripley's Game, in which he plays an English picture framer dying of leukaemia, Miss MacVicar advised him how to portray the character. Last December, she fulfilled a lifetime ambition to travel the world. She has already visited Thailand, New Zealand, Fiji and Australia, where she has been living in Sydney. Her mother added: "She had been in Perth for a few weeks but she was about to fly back to Sydney and thankfully, a routine medical check, picked up the infection. "Thank God she didn't get on that plane. She could have had serious problems."
09/09/03
Officials from Wellington's Westpac Stadium are once again denying that there are any inherent problems with the venue which make it unsuitable for rock concerts. It has been reported that the promoter of Robbie Williams' December concert in Auckland said he would not consider Wellington's Stadium because of earlier problems there. However, Stadium spokesman Steve Thompson says that is not true. He says other cities such as Christchurch and Brisbane have also missed out on Robbie as a result of a decision made by the Australasian promoters to cut back on the tour dates.
08/09/03
Robbie Williams has performed in front of just 60 people - when he sang at his personal assistant's wedding. Williams sang a medley of songs, including Angels, at Josie Cliff's big day. The singer's long-standing assistant married Lee Lodge on a clifftop overlooking the Pacific in Malibu, California. The Sun says when Williams is working in the US, Ms Cliff stays in the guest house of his Hollywood Hills mansion. Williams is said to have helped arrange the rental of the Malibu home which was used for the sunset ceremony. The groom, Lee Lodge, also works for Robbie Williams as the producer on his live shows.
02/09/03
That's how much money Tourism Sydney stands to make from the upcoming Robbie Williams/Duran Duran concert on December 13, at the expense of Sydney fans. More than a quarter of the 51,000 tickets for the Robbie Williams and Duran Duran concert at Aussie Stadium on December 13 have already been reserved and could go to inter-staters, according to Tourism Minister Sandra Nori. She said interstate fans were able to secure exclusive travel packages, starting from $495, which included return airfare, accommodation and a guaranteed concert ticket, before they're made available to Sydneysiders. Up to 15,000 tickets have been set aside for the package deals. Promoter Michael Chugg yesterday denied 15,000 tickets had been put aside exclusively for the packages. He said credit card bookings were being taken but fans who get in first with the package won't necessarily be getting better seats. But Qantas Holidays, who are selling the packages, said they had two types of tickets available - seating and general admission standing tickets, the same that will be made available to queuing Syd ney fans on September 19. Local diehard Robbie Williams and Duran Duran fans could possibly lose out on securing tickets as Tourism Sydney tries to lure more tourists to NSW. "The travel packages we are offering will be on sale two weeks before the box office opens, so it's a great way to increase visitation at the start of the summer period," Nori said in a statement. She said they were set to make at least $4 million from the concert, if package sales turned out to be as high as they expected.
