Look To The Stars News: Keane

Pete Townshend To Headline Charity Rock Gala

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:45:00 +0000

Rock legend Pete Townshend will be joined by a plethora of acts at a very special celebrity charity concert in London next month.

The Prince’s Trust Rock Gala 2011 will feature the legendary The Who guitarist in a lineup that also includes YolanDa Brown, Kenney Jones, Mark King, Julian Lennon, Cerys Matthews, Imelda May, comedian and musician Tim Minchin, Charlie Siem and Midge Ure. More acts are yet to be announced.

Damien Hirst Puts The Squeeze On Charity

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:00:00 +0000

An exclusive set of instruments customized by Damien Hirst and created especially for British band Squeeze, will take centre stage when the band perform at Concerts for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall on 22 March 2011.

Squeeze will be joined by a 30 piece orchestra and long-time friends and collaborators The Feeling, on the second night of Teenage Cancer Trust’s 2011 series of fundraising concerts at the iconic venue. 

 The Damien Hirst collection features two ‘Spot Guitars’, a Fender Telecaster and a Fender Stratocaster, as well as a Yamaha ‘Spot Drum Kit’. All the instruments are hand painted by Hirst with his iconic spot design and signed by the artist himself.

Tom Jones To Make A Little Noise For Charity

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

To celebrate their 5th birthday, Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions have enlisted superstar Tom Jones, multi-platinum selling Paolo Nutini and band of the moment Hurts to perform at the legendary series of acoustic gigs taking place from 15th – 20th November at Islington’s Union Chapel.

Curated by Mencap Ambassador Jo Whiley, once again Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions will bring some of the hottest names in music, over six very special nights, to perform acoustically in the exquisite surroundings of the Union Chapel. The stripped back music mixed with the intimate venue gives the audience the chance to see something truly unique each night.

Kicking off Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions birthday celebrations in style on Monday 15th November is Welsh legend Tom Jones who will be performing a special set from his latest album Praise & Blame, enlisting support on the night from some special guests! The night will be opened by hot, new, soul songstress, Lauren Pritchard.

Keane Drummer Visits Death Row Inmate

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0000

The drummer of British band Keane traveled to the US state of Georgia last week to visit a prisoner on Death Row.

Drummer Richard Hughes claims the case against Troy Davis is a “terrifying illustration” of why the death penalty should be banned.

“I am going to Georgia with Amnesty International to meet this remarkable man and his family; to show my support for him and to try to shine a little light on his case and the terrible effects of continuing to execute people in the name of justice,” said Hughes. “Troy is innocent, yet he has been on the brink of execution, only last-minute judgements keeping him alive. He continues to fight for the chance to prove his innocence.”

British Bands To Play For Youth Music Charity

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0000

British band The Enemy and singing sensation Little Boots are to play gigs as part of a forthcoming exhibition project by photographer Rankin for children’s music charity Youth Music.

Youth Music is the UK’s largest children’s music charity, set up in 1999 to promote and support music making opportunities and to provide advice to children from birth – 18 with the least access, including some of the UK’s most disadvantaged young people. Youth Music works alongside the formal and community-based sectors to support music-making and training.

The acts are set to play at London’s Phillips de Pury Gallery on November 12 and 13, and are part of a week-long series of music and art events.

Celebrities Do Whatever It Takes For Charity

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:30:00 +0000

A huge selection of celebrity-designed bags and T-shirts are currently available at the UK’s premiere celebrity charity auction website, Buy Once Give Twice.

The auction site is hosting the auction for Whatever It Takes, a unique charity artwork project which inspires hope by gathering artworks from leaders in all fields; royalty, film, music, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, sports, literature etc. The artworks are used to ethically produce Whatever It Takes products which are then sold to raise funds for charitable causes chosen by each contributing leader.

Going under the hammer in the auction are T-shirts featuring designs by The Killers, Pink, Snoop Dogg, Nicole Kidman, Hilary Duff, Lucy Liu, Toni Collette, Coldplay, Minnie Driver, Keane, Whoopi Goldberg, Green Day, Barry Manilow, Penelope Cruz, Melanie C, Annie Lennox, and the Kaiser Chiefs. There are also bags and purses designed by Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Lucy Liu, Kanye West, Slash, David Bowie, Ozzy Osbourne, and Stella McCartney.

The Killers Play Surprise Charity Gig

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:30:00 +0000

The Killers played an unannounced acoustic set at the first of Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions in London on Saturday night.

The British rockers made their surprise appearance at a show that also featured Glasvegas, White Lies and Cage The Elephant. They played 3 songs, including Human, Smile Like You Mean It, and an inspired performance of Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

Surprise acoustic performances are a traditional part of Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions. Last year, Bono and The Edge from U2 took to the stage unannounced and played four acoustic songs.

British Rockers To Go Acoustic For Mencap

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Kasabian, Stereophonics, Keane, and Razorlight have all signed up to perform at this year’s Mencap Little Noise Sessions which take place across eleven days in November.

The acoustic shows will take place at Islington’s Union Chapel to raise money for the charity, which works with people who suffer from learning disabilities.

“We are really looking forward to playing the show for the Little Noise Sessions on behalf of Mencap,” said Kelly Jones from the Stereophonics. “To be able to do an acoustic show in such an intimate venue and be able to support such a worthy cause will be a really special thing to do and something we rarely get the chance to do. It will be beautiful.”

Girls Aloud Show Their Humanitarian Side

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:30:00 +0000

A special auction on eBay last week helped raise more than $18,000 for children’s charity War Child.

A host of celebrities, including Girls Aloud and Keane, donated items for a special celebrity auction for the charity, which raises money to support children acutely affected by conflict in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones.

A number of items at the auction gained special attention, including a pair of signed Spin paintings by Damien Hirst that sold for around $8,000 each. A pair of shoes donated by Keane vocalist Tom Chaplin sold for $900, and a painting by Girls Aloud went out for $160.

Stars Sign Up For Mandela's Birthday Bash

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:21:30 +0000

The list of artists signing up for the June 27th 46664 concert in honor of Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday just keeps growing. 45,000 tickets are available for the one-day event, which will feature acts such as Eminem, Queen, Annie Lennox, Razorlight, Keane, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Mandela says of the event, “London wants to celebrate my birthday and I said I would go if they would raise funds for our charities. So, we have a bargain – I am going to London and they there will host a concert in Hyde Park, which will raise awareness of our continuing work and much needed funds.”

The list of expected performers, as of yesterday, includes

U2 Plays Surprise Charity Gig

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:00:52 +0000

Over 250 people were glad they braved the freezing London weather last week to attend one of the Mencap Little Noise Sessions charity concerts. Those who traipsed through the drizzle on Friday, November 23, were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime show when two members of U2 played unannounced as a warm up act at the gig.

Bono and The Edge played a set of four songs when they surprised concert-goers at the Union Chapel in North London, including “Stay (Faraway So Close)”, “Desire”, “Angel of Harlem”, and “Wave of Sorrow”, a song originally written in 1987 for the Joshua Tree album, but never released or played live before.

“Don’t tell Larry (Mullen Jr) and Adam (Clayton) we’ve done this,” joked Bono, referring to his absent band mates.