E3 Group

Twitter is a social networking phenomenon that has dominated the technology headlines for some months now. Initially, like most people I think, I was sceptical of the benefits that Twitter could bring and also quietly thinking that it was a flash-in-the-pan fad, here today gone tomorrow. I feel no embarrassment at accepting how wrong I was and also will now openly admit how much I enjoy using this remarkable little site. What has struck me recently though is the level of engagement the celebrity community contributes to Twitter. Fans feel connected to their favourite actors, singers and performers in a way rarely seen on the cluttered pages of Myspace and Facebook. Many of the celebrities we book here at E3 Artists are on Twitter, Jamie Oliver, Alan Carr, Russell Brand and Derren Brown are a few names of note, posting regular updates about where they are, what they are doing and anything that may have caught their eye that day.

There is a rather predictable dark side to this celebrity engagement; the fakers. Ordinary members of the public are impersonating well known celebrities, and something that fans consider even worse, celebrities are hiring “ghost twitterers” to post updates for them. This has become such a concern for Twitter fans that many feeds have sprung up dedicated to exposing the fakes and applauding the genuine. It seems to us here at E3 that getting someone else to tweet for you without explicitly explaining that this is what is happening doesn’t seem to serve any purpose. Eventually, you will be found out, as in the case of 50 cent, so if you don’t want to engage with your fans through this medium, why pretend? I doubt celebrities would hire tribute acts or impersonators to do their public appearances for them so ultimately, ghost twitterers risk hurting their celebrities reputation. There are so many celebrities engaging in the fantastic and lively community on Twitter, like those above, it seems impossible to compete as a faker. Follow the Authentic E3 Group Twitter feed here.

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href=”http://wefollow.com” rel=”nofollow”>http://wefollow.com twitter directory under: #entertainment #business #british #

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As west end musicals continue to defy the recession, one style in particular has gone from strength to strength, surpassing traditional musicals in terms of box office and audience numbers. The mighty tribute musical is capturing the attention of the musical going public and critics alike. The Buddy Holly Musical, staring E3 tribute act Dean Elliot, We Will Rock You and Mamma Mia! have enjoyed huge and continued success. Tribute shows continue to prove very popular with private and corporate event organisers. Particularly popular booking options are Rat Pack style tribute bands.

Here at E3 Artists, we work closely with some of the UK’s most sophisticated and popular Rat Pack style entertainers and acts. We’ve organised themed nights for many of our clients featuring uncanny appearances from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis look & sound-a-likes. We always recommend a full backing band and depending upon the size of your event we can even provide an orchestra! Some of the acts we work with on a regular basis and who prove very popular with our clients include Robert Scott, Dean Ager, Mark Inscoe and Simon King. Simon proved very popular recently when our client, Bentalls Department Store, booked him for a “ladies only” big band theme night. Swing and Rat pack tributes are a consistent hit as they evoke not only a particular singer, but a whole era of music. Corporate clients see Rat Pack tributes as the ideal blend of entertainment and formality. The Rat Pack tribute sound lends itself well to black-tie gala dinners and almost any business event that requires entertainment.

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• Sammy Davis, Jr. – “What Kind of Fool Am I?” and other treats (musicmavenry.blogspot.com)
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The British Academy Television Awards nominations were announced late last night peaking public interest with some surprising and long overdue nods to British television actors, entertainers and performers. The fantastic Peter Serafinowicz Show, Charlie Brooker’s Dead Set and the cringe-worthy Peep Show all received surprising, but thoroughly deserved recognition for their services to comedy and entertainment. Less shocking but possibly equally deserved were the nominations of the Jonathon Ross Show and Rob Brydon’s hilarious turn on Gavin and Stacey. The real turn up for the books was the nomination of June Brown for the celebrated and hugely influential role of Dot Cotton on Eastenders.

What has surprised the E3 team is the fact that a soap star has been nominated for the first time since Coronation Street’s Jean Alexander, who played Hilda Ogden, was named in the category in 1987. Yet there has been story after story highlighting Jonathon Ross’ nomination and how controversial it is considering the Andrew Sachs debacle. If Ross picks up the gong, it will be his fourth win at the awards, probably deserved, but hardly remarkable. In contrast, June’s nomination has received only a passing mention despite what appears to be a landmark recognition of British soap’s contribution to entertainment. E3 Artists’ clients often look to hire soap stars for their own corporate awards ceremonies and as an alternative to hiring a more traditional actor. Soap stars are viewed as popular with staff and perhaps as a less “serious” option. Hopefully June’s nomination will go someway to dispelling this idea which is clearly a myth considering the influence and impact characters like Dot Cotton have on the public at large. Last week, Eastenders enjoyed viewing figures in excess of 9 million people, proving just how watched and loved the British soap opera really is and how beneficial it can be to book a soap actor to represent both your brand and your staff.

See the full list of British Academy Television Awards nominees here.

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As the UK dipped further into the recession at the start of this year, many analysts pointed to music festivals as an area of the events industry that would suffer excessively from the negative climate. There have been a few casualties so far, notably Reading’s Heavenly Planet festival. Much has been made of the decision to cancel this festival but when you consider that it was being organised by Reading Borough Council, it becomes more apparent why the event was under pressure to reduce spending. This festival was also being launched in direct competition to one of the UK’s largest and well known festival brands, the Reading and Leeds festival. It is now becoming apparent that festival organisers are ramping up the spend with interest in live music events defying the recession.

The NME reported last week that music buyers in the UK are much happier spending their money on live performances, rather than recorded music, and with recent ticket sales for Take That and more prominently, Michael Jackson, reaching seven figures in a matter of minutes, it is clear to see that live music events are still extremely viable for organisers. With news that Bestival and the mighty Glastonbury have maintained spending rather than cutting the budget in this time speaks volumes. Here at E3 Group we have been facilitating requests for numerous live music events with clients looking to hire a band for both festival style events and one off performance. The cost to book a famous band in the current climate is obviously more negotiable than it has ever been while savvy organisers are aware that ticket sales and public interest for live music events are maintaining pre-recession levels.

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• rumours circulating that Andrew LLoyd Webber is planning to launch musical version of the Wizard of Oz! http://tinyurl.com/degjtv #
• Anyone fancy a degree in Butlinsology? http://tinyurl.com/bkvojp #
• Come check out our YouTube channel. its been made all E3 Like. http://tinyurl.com/d254mc #
• E3GroupBBC faces painful cuts to stay within budget. Entertainers salaries on the chopping board http://tinyurl.com/cndlrq #
• Due to popular demand, the Saturdays are piling on the gigs for their first headlining tour. http://tinyurl.com/cmnu3w #
• Westside story becomes a bilingual musical with the addition of new Spanish language songs http://tinyurl.com/d5zuz6 #
• RT @thestage: #news Broadway dims lights for Richardson http://tinyurl.com/c68vt4 #
• Danny Dyer rumoured to be joining the cast of Eastenders. An authentic addition it would seem! http://tinyurl.com/dxkto4 #
• Are plans to allow alcohol consumption in theatre seats bad news for performers? http://tinyurl.com/c7w5yy #
• The Stone Roses have quashed rumours that they will reform in the summer. Our collective hearts sink a little! http://tinyurl.com/czo8vt #
• Rogue talent agents under the microscope for charging illegal fees to entertainers http://tinyurl.com/cz76lq #
• Rouge talent agents under the microscope for charging illegal fees to entertainers. http://tinyurl.com/cz76lq #
• The Stage Newspaper has launched a brand new theatre podcast. Get listening! http://tinyurl.com/cam5av #
• BBC launches new online dragons den with two new dragons ! http://tinyurl.com/co7gwv #
• Will Young to appear in Horne & Corden’s new comedy series . Also Kylie set for end or series appearance http://tinyurl.com/ddj5au #
• E3 Entertainment Agent Ryan Curtis just met Ray Quinn . We wish him good luck with Dancing on Ice this Sunday! #
• Sad News for UK Musicians as Government cuts funding to career launching programme ‘New Deal’ http://tinyurl.com/d7wlyw #
• BBC staff will strike on the 23 May, 31 May & 1 June over plans to cut 3,780 jobs and privatise part of the corporation http://bit.ly/Bu6Xr #
• Was it the real Michael Jackson who gave the press conference announcing his 02 gigs? doubts have started to emerge http://bit.ly/xL5fS #
• Auditions for the Dirty Dancing Musical are being held at DAnce Works Oxford Street Right now.! Press and CAmeras everywhere! #

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Reports are emerging that previous, gloomy predictions of the economic downturn’s impact on the travel trade may have been exaggerated. In the last month, tour operating giant Thomas Cook has seen bookings for European destinations skyrocket. Initially, experts had predicted a surge in holiday makers substituting foreign destinations for domestic holidays. It seems that vacationers have actually been holding off on booking overseas holidays to try and get the best deals available. Manny Fontenla-Novoa, Thomas Cook CEO, has noticed that package holidays, though falling out of favour in recent years, have had a surge in popularity with customers looking for only the most competitive deals.

It seems that, more than ever, people need an overseas holiday to escape from all the doom and gloom at home and with continental Europe and non-eurozone destination bookings gaining huge momentum, E3 Group’s entertainers are gearing up for a busy season. Initial fears of low turnouts appear to have been quashed with an unprecedented 12 per cent rise in bookings on the same period last year. Of course, trading for the tour operating giants will still be difficult in these turbulent times, but hopefully E3 Group’s exceptional new production shows will keep their current customers entertained and encourage repeat business for 2010!

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Celebrity chefs have come under fire this week for the amount of saturated fat contained in a number of their recipes. Some dishes were identified as containing as much as 216 per cent of an average person’s daily allowance of saturated fat. Some chefs were singled out as being more health conscious when it comes to their recipes. Unsurprisingly, Jamie Oliver was commended for his balanced view towards healthy eating and Lesley Waters, a recent edition to E3 Artists’ roster, was applauded for her use of ‘good fats’, such as olive oil, in her cooking. Concerns were raised due to the increasing trend of people choosing to cook at home to avoid expensive restaurant bills.

I think that celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver have increasingly tried to make people aware of the fat content in their food and exactly what foods we need to avoid or eat less of. If you see a recipe chocked full of butter, sugar and cream, it’s hardly surprising to find that it exceeds your daily fat allowance. When E3 Group clients hire a celebrity chef for their event, their waistlines aren’t exactly a big concern. What’s more important is the knowledge that they will be eating truly exceptional food and that the chef they book provides a real treat for their attendees. There are thousands of healthy eating cook books on the market these days, often written by celebrity chefs themselves and ultimately, we are all entitled to a treat sometimes aren’t we?

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News today that George Michael now commands £1.6 million per one hour performance seems to have caused outrage in some quarters of the press. The Daily Mail, breaking the news earlier today, go as far as listing the singer’s medical costs and phone bills in their analysis of his income and expenses.

Extravagant booking fees for celebrities rarely surprise us here at E3 Artists. Earlier this month we posted the first in a series of monthly price guides aimed as a resource for those looking to hire a celebrity, or simply those who are curious about the kind of fees celebrities can command for private and corporate events. There’s no doubt that Mr. Michael is in the “super-league” when you compare him to some of the artists we have booked in the past.

E3 Production has had an eventful time this week getting things in place for the imminent holiday season. The new Majorca office has officially opened allowing the team to take a more hands on approach to our new Hi! Hotels contract. We have just finished working with Peter Dixon to produce a voice over ident package for our Thomas Cook entertainment programme. Peter is the voice of the X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Family Fortunes and E4 and has added his own unique vocal styling to E3 Production’s entertainment shows. We have also just finished an exciting project with none other than the legendary DJ Pat Sharp. Pat has helped us produce a parody version of Let’s Get Loud for the new Thomas Cook club dance.

E3 Careers have been extremely busy in the past month, travelling the length and breadth of Europe to train E3 Group’s incoming entertainment staff. From Sweden to Spain, the team have been working round the clock to ensure delegates receive only the best entertainment training on offer. After Pat Sharp’s contribution to this years programme, sales of the E3 Let’s Get Loud Entertainment Team Sweatshirt have gone through the roof with over eighty percent of the training course delegates wearing this must-have fashion item. Preparations are well underway for the first E3 Group Training Course Prom night. This glamorous evening will take place next Tuesday in Palma as a Celebration of the season ahead and the end of the first Thomas Cook training course. The prom will feature live local entertainment, surprise performances from some of our consultants, an awards ceremony for the training course stars and prize giveaways for all the future E3 Entertainers. Keep up to date with all the news from E3 Production and E3 Careers by following us on Twitter.

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