Tell Me It's Taboo
Lyn begins the New Year as she ended the old one - starring in panto as Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. A review in the Daily Telegraph on 3rd January doesn't do the panto justice but an article in The Independent later in the year more than makes up for it:
"My children's Christmas was greatly enriched by Lyn Paul, formerly of the New Seekers, and her interpretation of Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. As was mine, if I'm honest, especially when she sang I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing." (Independent, 2nd May 2002)
Lyn Paul (back row, third from right)
pictured with the cast of Dick Whittington.
 
In January a new series of In Deep, begins on BBC1. Lyn appears in an episode screened on Monday, 28th January. She plays the part of Amanda, a lesbian who arranges a date on the internet.
At the end of March Lyn returns to Blood Brothers for four weeks. Having been persuaded by producer Bill Kenwright to reprise her role as Mrs. Johnstone just one last time, Lyn insists that this time it really will be the last. She begins with a week at the Phoenix Theatre (25th - 30th March), allowing the current Mrs. Johnstone, Linda Nolan, to take a short break. This is followed by a week in Malvern (1st - 6th April), where Lyn is praised in the local press for her "stylish singing" and a "memorable performance" (Malvern Gazette, 5th April 2002). Finally, it's on to Liverpool for a fortnight at the Empire Theatre (8th - 20th April).
In an interview for the Liverpool Echo Lyn says that returning to a familiar role isn't as easy as it might seem.
"I'm one of those people who walks out the stage door after the run of a show and that's it. Finished... When I got back into rehearsal for the Liverpool trip there was a point when I had to turn to Paul Crosby, who plays scally twin Mickey, and ask: Whose line is it now?" (Liverpool Echo, 5th April 2002, page 6)
Whilst she is performing at the Empire Theatre, Lyn agrees to become the Patron of the Wythenshawe Youth Theatre. Ian Rowan from the Youth Theatre says:
"There is no kudos in being our patron. We are a very small unknown theatre group from a very deprived area of Manchester but Lyn has agreed to be our patron and as such not only shows to our children what they can aspire to if they wish, but that someone cares about them - and someone famous at that."
From Liverpool and the familiar role of Mrs. Johnstone Lyn goes straight into rehearsals for Boy George's musical Taboo. Lyn replaces Gemma Craven, taking over the role of Josie, a down-trodden mum who eventually leaves her husband and follows her son Billy to London. Joining the cast at the same time as Lyn is Boy George himself, who makes his West End début playing the part of Leigh Bowery. Rehearsals begin on 22nd April with previews at The Venue on 3rd and 4th May. Lyn's mum and dad attend the official opening night on 6th May, along with her sister Nikki. Also in the audience that night are Boy George's brother and Andy Bell from Erasure.
Newspaper and internet reviews give the new cast a thumbs up. Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph applauds the "strong acting and fine singing," while other reviews describe Lyn's performance as "great" (The Scotsman, 23rd May) and "gutsy and gritty" (Sunday Express, 29th September). What's On Stage congratulates Lyn for bringing a "real grit and a gutsy brassiness to the role" and for giving "a clichéd character a wounded but tough sensitivity."
A Taboo fan.
Cardboard fans were handed out
to members of the audience
at The Venue
to keep them cool during performances of Taboo.
29th April sees the release of a CD titled Puppets On A String. Featuring Sandie Shaw's Eurovision winner Puppet On A String and a collection of Eurovision also-rans, the CD is of particular interest to Lyn Paul fans as it includes Lyn's 1977 Song For Europe entry If Everybody Loved The Same As You. This is the first time that one of Lyn's solo recordings has been released on CD
On 3rd June the Woman's Hour programme (BBC Radio 4) broadcasts a discussion about the Jubilee Report, which asserts that life for women now begins at 50. Lyn Paul and novelist Rosie Thomas are guests on the show, alongside one of the report's authors, Kate Fox. Lyn talks openly about turning 50:
"50 started to loom ahead. I thought 'My God, something's got to change' and that was my career, which was going into acting rather than singing... Life didn't begin at 50 for me at all. Let me get one thing straight, I don't want to be 50 ... I'd give anything to go back to being 35, knowing what I know now and being as I am now. But please, take a few years back!"
Lyn talks about wanting to look good - "I don't think you should ever stop trying... When I get up in the morning I automatically want to look as good as I possibly can." - but she says she turned down an offer of plastic surgery:
"I went to see the consultant and when he told me what he was going to cut and what he wasn't going to cut I almost fainted on the spot and I'm afraid I'm not very brave... Maybe when I'm 60!"
Lyn also talks about taking HRT.
"I take HRT and I have done for a number of years because I had a prolapse of the womb, which automatically sent me early on into the stages of menopause... I wouldn't stop taking it."
On Sunday, 7th July Lyn joins Culture Club on stage for their 20th anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Boy George introduces her by saying: "I'd like to introduce you to someone who hasn't recorded for 18 years and hasn't stood on this stage for 30 years." He gives the crowd a clue as to who the "someone" is by getting everyone to sing along to I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing. He then asks the audience to "Give it up for Miss Lyn Paul!" Lyn tells the audience "This is one hell of a dream come true, I can tell you." She then sings Talk Amongst Yourselves, one of her solos from Taboo, which is chosen for release as a CD single. Advance pressings of the single are distributed to radio stations in the UK but the anticipated CD never makes it into the shops.
On 16th July Lyn is a guest on Simon Mayo's afternoon show (BBC Radio 5 Live). Although Lyn is there to promote Taboo, the conversation covers a variety of topics, including the TV watershed and reading books (Lyn reveals that one of her favourite authors is James Patterson). Predictably enough, that old topic of the New Seekers gets raised. Asked which of their recordings is her favourite, Lyn picks out Circles.
During August Lyn takes some time off for a family holiday in Crete. She returns to Taboo on 2nd September. A week later Julian Clary joins the cast, taking over the role of Leigh Bowery from Boy George.
In October the Taboo soundtrack is released. The CD includes Lyn's solo Talk Amongst Yourselves but, disappointingly, her second solo from the show, Independent Woman, is performed by the original Josie, Gemma Craven. Lyn continues in Taboo until 16th November.
On 2nd December, proving that the last time may not always be the last time, Lyn returns to the West End production of Blood Brothers for a week, allowing Linda Nolan to take a short pre-Christmas break.
On Christmas Day at 11.15am BBC1 television broadcasts a repeat of The Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show from 1973, featuring Lyn Paul and the New Seekers singing You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me.
Incidentally...
The film Freddy Got Fingered, which featured I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing by the New Seekers on its soundtrack, wins five Razzies at the 22nd Golden Raspberry Awards, including the Razzies for worst picture, worst actor (Tom Green) and worst director (Tom Green). The soundtrack wasn't nominated for an award!
On 21st July I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing makes a brief return to the UK singles chart, a minor hit this time around for youngster Demi Holborn. Winner of GMTV's Tot Stars competition, Demi is congratulated on air by Marty Kristian, who telephones the TV show on his birthday (27th May) to wish her well.
In the Autumn the New Seekers' song You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me is featured on the soundtrack of the television drama White Teeth, Channel 4's adaptation of Zadie Smith's acclaimed first novel (4 Recordings, Catalogue number: C4M00242).
In December Lyn Paul's sister Nikki Belsher appears in Sweet Charity at the Sheffield Crucible. Writing in the Daily Mail, critic Kenneth Speirs gives the show a good review: "It's a great play with great songs: If My Friends Could See Me Now and the superb I'm A Brass Band. Sultry Nikki Belsher leads the dancing girls. This show has an unstoppable verve and superb design. Bliss." (Daily Mail, 20th December, page 54)
| In the News - 2002 |
| |
|
| Jan |
On New Year's Day 12 of the countries in the European Union start using a new currency - the Euro.
Australia's "black Christmas" continues into the New Year. Thousands of people are evacuated from their homes as bush fires, many of them started by arsonists, rage out of control in New South Wales. The fires, which started on 24th December 2001 continue to burn until 7th January.
Jennifer Brown, the 10-day-old daughter of UK Chancellor Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah, dies of a brain haemorrhage on 7th January.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Starlight Express closes on 12th January after an 18-year run in London's West End.
Peggy Lee dies of a heart attack on 21st January, aged 81.
|
| Feb |
On 8th February former Europe Minister, Keith Vaz, is found guilty of serious misconduct and is banned from the House of Commons for a month.
Princess Margaret ("the smoker's and drinker's Princess") dies on 9th February, aged 71.
On the same day 8.7 million television viewers take part in the UK's biggest ever phone vote to choose the winner of ITV's Pop Idol contest. Will Young emerges as the winner, beating fellow finalist Gareth Gates by 500,000 votes.
On 12th February the trial of Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes begins in The Hague.
Country singer Waylon Jennings dies on 13th February, aged 64.
Mick Tucker, drummer of Sweet, dies of leukaemia on 14th February, aged 54.
John Thaw, best known for his roles in The Sweeney and Inspector Moose, dies on 21st February, aged 60.
Comedian Spike Milligan dies on 27th February, aged 83.
|
| Mar |
Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story closes on 3rd March after 5,140 performances in London's West End. The show had opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre on 12th October 1989 before moving to the Strand Theatre (now the Novello Theatre) in October 1995.
Irish voters narrowly reject a proposal to amend the Constitution of Ireland in a referendum held on 6th March. The amendment would have removed the threat of suicide as legitimate grounds for an abortion.
On 15th March Yoko Ono unveils a bronze statue of her late husband at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Following an election in Zimbabwe, described by the opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai as "the biggest electoral fraud I have ever witnessed", Robert Mugabe begins a third term as the country's President. Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth on 19th March.
On 22nd March a woman paralysed from the neck down, Miss B, wins the legal right to die by having her treatment withdrawn.
A Beautiful Mind wins the Oscar for Best Picture at the 74th Academy Awards ceremony on 24th March.
Dudley Moore, who had been suffering from a degenerative disease (progressive supranuclear palsy) for three years, dies on 27th March, aged 66.
On the same day 30 people are killed and 140 injured when a Palestinian suicide bomber attacks the Park Hotel in Netanya, Israel. In response, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launch Operation Defensive Shield. which begins on 29th March (Good Friday) with a large-scale military incursion into Ramallah, placing the PLO leader Yasser Arafat under siege in his Ramallah compound.
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, dies on 30th March (Easter Saturday), aged 101.
|
| Apr |
Israeli troops occupy Tulkarm and Qalqilya on 1st April, Bethlehem on 2nd April, and Jenin and Nablus on 3rd April. Fighting in the Jenin refugee camp continues until 11th April. International observers are allowed into the camp on 16th April. Two days later Israeli troops begin their withdrawal and on 21st April the IDF announces the official end of Operation Defensive Shield.
On Tuesday, 9th April up to 1 million people turn out for the funeral of the Queen Mother.
On 11th April a truck bombing near a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba kills 14 Germans, five Tunisians and a Frenchman.
The Dutch government resigns on 16th April, following the publication of a report which blamed it for failing to prevent the slaughter of 7,000 people at Srebrennica in 1995, despite the presence of Dutch UN peace-keeping troops.
On the same day millions of Italian workers join a General Strike in protest at proposed labour reforms.
Protesters take to the streets of Paris and other French towns, following the success of the right-wing candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first round of the Presidential elections held on 21st April.
On 26th April a 19-year-old former pupil who was expelled from his school in Erfurt kills 17 people at the school before killing himself.
|
| May |
Jacques Chirac defeats Jean-Marie Le Pen in the second round of the French Presidential elections held on 5th May.
The Dutch far-right politician, Pim Fortuyn, is shot dead by an animal rights protester on 6th May.
The leader of the Burmese National League for Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house arrest on the same day.
On 10th May seven people are killed in a train crash, caused by a points failure outside Potters Bar station.
After a record-breaking run of 21 years in London's West End (and a total of 8,949 performances), the musical Cats closes on 11th May.
On the same day Patrick Fyffe (the alter ego of Dame Hilda Bracket) dies of cancer, aged 60. So too does Diane Pretty, the motor neurone sufferer, who in March had lost her legal battle to allow her husband Michael to help her die.
We Will Rock You, a musical based on the songs of Queen, opens at the Dominion Theatre, London on 14th May.
On the same day three terrorists attack a bus and an army camp in Indian Kashmir, killing 31 people, among them 10 children.
On 25th May Marie N wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Latvia with the song I Wanna. The UK entry, Come Back by Jessica Garlick, finishes in third place.
On the same day a China Airlines Boeing 747 (Flight 611 to Hong Kong) crashes into the sea near the Taiwanese island of Penghu, killing all 225 people on board.
The UK Transport Secretary, Stephen Byers, resigns on 28th May.
|
| June |
On 3rd and 4th June celebrations are held in the UK to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Glenn Colvin), bass guitarist with The Ramones, dies of a heroin overdose at his Hollywood apartment on 5th June, aged 49.
On 7th June UK citizens are advised to leave India and Pakistan as tension mounts between the two countries on the borders of Kashmir: "Instead of advising British nationals in those countries to 'consider' leaving, the Foreign Office is now advising them that they 'should' leave."
The Queen's Birthday Honours List, published in the London Gazette of Friday, 14th June, includes a Knighthood for Mick Jagger.
On Saturday, 15th June the asteroid 2002 MN misses the Earth by 120,000 kilometers; according to NASA it was the second closest 'near miss' in recorded history.
On 23rd June the Israeli government authorises a plan to build a wall around Palestine in an attempt to combat the continuing threat from Palestinian suicide bombers.
On 27th June (the eve of The Who's US tour), the band's bass player John Entwistle dies from a heart attack brought on by taking cocaine.
|
| July |
71 lives are lost in a mid-air collision over southern Germany on 1st July between a DHL International cargo plane (DHL Flight 611) and a Russian passenger airliner (Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937).
On 2nd July American adventurer Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly a hot-air balloon solo around the world.
On 8th July eBay, the world’s online marketplace, announces that it is buying the global payments platform Paypal for $1.5bn.
On 10th July Sir Peter Paul Ruben's Massacre of the Innocents is sold at Sotheby's in London for £45,000,000.
French President Jacques Chirac survives an assassination attempt at the Bastille Day review of French troops on 14th July.
Australian actor Leo McKern, famous for his role in the TV drama Rumpole of the Bailey, dies on 23rd July, aged 82.
On 23rd July Queen Elizabeth II opens London's new City Hall.
Dr. Rowan Williams is elected the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury on the same day. He is officially confirmed in the post at a ceremony in St. Paul's Cathedral in London on 2nd December.
An Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 crashes into a crowd of spectators during an aerobatics display at the Sknyliv air show on 27th July, killing 77 people.
|
| Aug |
The report of the United Nations Secretary-General into the events in Jenin and and other Palestinian cities is published on 1st August. It states: "497 Palestinians were killed and 1,447 wounded in the course of the IDF re-occupation of Palestinian areas from 1 March through 7 May 2002." It put the death toll in the Jenin refugee camp at 52 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers.
Carmen Silvera, star of the TV comedy 'Allo 'Allo, dies on 3rd August, aged 80.
Floods in central Europe cause widespread damage in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Worst hit are the cities of Prague and Dresden.
The musical Hairspray, based on the 1988 John Waters' film, opens on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre on 15th August.
Two ten-year-old girls from Soham in Cambridgeshire, Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells, go missing. Their dead bodies are found on 17th August.
On 26th August Spanish MPs vote by 295-10 to outlaw the Basque separatist party Batasuna for supporting terrorism.
|
| Sep |
On 3rd September The Rolling Stones set off on their last world tour, performing the first of 97 dates in Boston.
Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan, survives an assassination attempt on 6th September.
Erma Franklin, whose recording of (Take A Little) Piece Of My Heart had been a hit in the USA in 1967 (though not a hit in the UK until 1992 after it had been featured in a Levi's jeans commercial), dies on 7th September, aged 64.
On 11th September ceremonies are held at Ground Zero in New York and elsewhere around the world to commemorate the lives lost in the terrorist attacks on the USA the previous year. In Karachi, on the same day, one of men who was claimed to have planned the September 11th attacks, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, is arrested after a gun battle with Pakistani police.
After a closely contested election on 22nd September the "red-green" governing coalition led by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder wins a second term in office.
On 30th September the former Tory Minister and MP Edwina Currie reveals that she had a four-year affair with former Prime Minister John Major..
|
| Oct |
Police investigating alleged IRA spying raid Sinn Féin offices in Belfast on 4th October. The Northern Ireland Assembly is suspended.
On the same day, standing trial in Boston, Richard Reid pleads guilty to the eight counts against him, admitting that in December 2001 he had tried to blow up an American Airlines plane with a bomb hidden in his shoe
On 12th October 202 people are killed and a further 209 injured when a car bomb explodes outside a crowded nightclub in Kuta, Bali.
The UK Education Secretary Estelle Morris resigns on 23rd October, writing in her letter of resignation that "with some of the recent situations I have been involved in, I have not felt I have been as effective as I should be, or as effective as you need me to be."
On 24th October police track down and arrest John Muhammad and Lee Malvo,
who had killed 10 people and injured 3 others during the previous three weeks in a series of sniper attacks in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The two men are discovered sleeping in their car, a blue Chevrolet, at the I-70 rest stop, near Myersville, Maryland.
On 26th October Russian Special Forces use poison gas to end a siege at a Moscow theatre, where the audience was being held hostage by Chechen gunmen.
Actor Richard Harris, who had a Top 5 hit in 1968 with McArthur Park, dies on 25th October, aged 72.
|
| Nov |
On Friday, 1st November Paul Burrell, former Butler to Diana, Princess of Wales, is cleared of the charges against him of stealing items belonging to the late Princess.
Amid speculation that the band members had disliked each other for years and wanted to sever all ties, personal and professional, The Seekers catalogue is offered for sale to the highest bidder, with tenders due by close of business on Monday, 2nd December.
On 3rd November, whilst touring the UK, skiffle star Lonnie Donegan dies, aged 71.
UK firefighters begin a 48-hour strike on 13th November in pursuit of a 40% pay claim. Emergency cover is provided by the army using vintage green goddess tenders.
Murderer Myra Hindley dies on 15th November, aged 60.
The oil tanker Prestige splits in two and sinks off the coast of Spain on 19th November, polluting the coastline between La Coruna and Finisterre.
On 28th November two missiles are fired at an Israeli passenger aircraft as it is taking off from Mombasa's Moi International Airport, each narrowly missing their target. Minutes later 15 people are killed when suicide bombers attack the Israeli-owned Hotel Paradise from which the airline passengers had recently departed.
|
| Dec |
During the first week of December UK newspapers preoccupy themselves with stories about the Prime Minister's wife, Cherie Blair, and a convicted fraudster, Peter Foster, who had helped her with the purchase of two flats in Bristol, where the Blair's eldest son Euan was at university. The Number 10 press office had denied any connection between the pair but the publication on 5th December of e-mails between Mrs. Blair and Mr. Foster elicits a statement of regret and, on 10th December, an emotional explanation and apology from Mrs. Blair: "My immediate instinct, when faced with the questions from the Mail on Sunday, 10 days ago, was to protect my family's privacy, and particularly my son, in his first term at university... I am sorry if I have embarrassed anyone, but the people who know me well, know that I would never want to harm anyone, least of all Tony or the children or the Labour Government."
On 6th December a bomb explodes in a McDonalds restaurant in Mumbai, injuring 23 people.
A fire caused by a spark from a malfunctioning fuse box breaks out in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh on Saturday, 7th December, destroying a large part of Edinburgh's Old Town.
On Friday, 13th December, at a summit in Copenhagen, EU leaders agree to admit another 10 countries to the European Union - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic; Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus. Turkey is told it will have to wait for a review in December 2004.
Joe Strummer of The Clash dies on 22nd December, aged 50.
Presidential and Parliamentary elections held in Kenya on 27th December bring to an end to 24 years of rule by President Daniel Arap Moi and the Kanu party. Mwai Kibaki takes over as President as the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) sweeps into power with an overwhelming share of the popular vote.
The fashion and celebrity photographer Herb Ritts dies in Los Angeles on 26th December, aged 50.
|
|
| In the Charts |
| |
UK Chart débuts |
|
- Alizée
- Busted
- The Coral
- Darius
- Jessica Garlic
- Gareth Gates
- Girls Aloud
- Darren Hayes
- Avril Lavigne
- One True Voice
- S Club Juniors
- Shakira
- Holly Valance
- Will Young
|
| UK Best-selling Singles |
|
- A1
Caught In The Middle
- Alizée
Moi... Lolita
- Atomic Kitten
Last Goodbye / Be With You
- Atomic Kitten
The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)
- Daniel Bedingfield
If You're Not The One
- Blue
Fly By II
- Blue
featuring
Elton John
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
- David Bowie
Everyone Says Hi
- Busted
What I Go To School For
- Coldplay
In My Place
- Coldplay
The Scientist
- Darius
Colourblind
- Celine Dion
A New Day Has Come
- Flip & Fill
Shooting Star
- Jessica Garlic
Come Back
[Eurovision Song Contest: UK entry]
- Gareth Gates
Any One Of Us (Stupid Mistake)
- Gareth Gates
Unchained Melody
- Girls Aloud
Sound Of The Underground
- George Harrison
My Sweet Lord
- Darren Hayes
Insatiable
- Enrique Iglesias
Escape
- Enrique Iglesias
Hero
- Ronan Keating
If Tomorrow Never Comes
- Lasgo
Something
- Avril Lavigne
Complicated
- Liberty X
Just A Little
- Madonna
Die Another Day
- Kylie Minogue
In Your Eyes
- Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland
Dilemma
- No Doubt
Hey Baby
- Oasis
The Hindu Times
- One True Voice
Sacred Trust
- Pink
Get The Party Started
- Pink
Just Like A Pill
- Elvis Presley vs JXL
A Little Less Conversation
- S Club Juniors
One Step Closer
- Scooter
The Logical Song
- Shakira
Whenever Wherever
- Shaggy and Ali G
Me Julie
- Britney Spears
I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman
- Sugababes
Freak Like Me
- Sugababes
Round Round
- Shania Twain
I'm Gonna Getcha Good!
- Holly Valance
Kiss Kiss
- Westlife
Unbreakable
- Robbie Williams
Feel
- X-Press 2 featuring David Byrne
Lazy
- Will Young
Evergreen / Anything Is Possible
- Will Young
Light My Fire / Ain't No Sunshine
- Will Young and Gareth Gates
The Long and Winding Road
|
|
| One Hit Wonders |
| |
- Las Ketchup
The Ketchup Song
|
| Hit Albums |
|
- ABBA
Gold [10th anniversary edition]
- Badly Drawn Boy
About A Boy
[Film Soundtrack]
- Boy George
U Can Never B2 Straight
- Coldplay
A Rush Of Blood To The Head
- Sheryl Crow
C'mon, C'mon
- Bryan Ferry
Frantic
- David Gray
A New Day At Midnight
- Gordon Haskell
Harry's Bar
- Chris Isaak
Always Got Tonight
- Norah Jones
Come Away With Me
- Raul Malo
Today
- Allison Moorer
Miss Fortune
- Beth Nielsen Chapman
Deeper Still
- Pet Shop Boys
Release
- Bruce Springsteen
The Rising
- Linda Thompson
Fashionably Late
- Shania Twain
Up!
- Robbie Williams
Escapology
|
|
|
| At the Movies |
| |
| |
- About A Boy
- Ali
- Ali G Indahouse
- Anita And Me
- Austin Powers In Goldmember
- Bend It Like Beckham
- Blade II
- Closet
- Die Another Day
- Gosford Park
- Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
- Hollywood Ending
(Woody Allen)
- Ice Age
- The Importance Of Being Earnest
- In The Bedroom
- Iris
- Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
- Men In Black II
- Monsters, Inc.
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding
- Ocean's Eleven
- The Royal Tenenbaums
- Scooby-Doo
- Signs
- Spider-Man
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones
- 24 Hour Party People
- Vanilla Sky
|
|
| On Stage |
| |
Tony Award for Best Musical:
Thoroughly Modern Millie
|
|
| On Television |
| |
| |
- Ant And Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (Series 1)
- Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
- Being April
- Big Brother 3
- The Chair
- Fame Academy
- Faking It
- Flog It!
- Footballers' Wives
- Foyle's War
- I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! (Series 1)
- In Deep (Series 2)
- In It To Win It
- Inside Out
- Jamie's Kitchen
- Nice Guy Eddie
- The Office
- The Osbournes
- Popstars - The Rivals
- River City
- Six Feet Under
- Spooks (Series 1)
- Top Gear (Series 1)
- V Graham Norton
- The West Wing
- White Teeth
- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (Series 11 and 12)
|
|
|
| Sporting Heroes |
| |
BBC Sport
BBC
Sports Personality
of the Year:
Paula Radcliffe
|
Darts: Phil Taylor wins the PDC World Championship for the 8th year in a row. He beats Peter Manley in the final, 7-0.
Tony David wins the British Darts Organisation (BDO) World Darts Championship.
Tennis: Jennifer Capriati retains her Australian Open women's singles title, beating Martina Hingis in the final for the second year in a row (4-6, 7-6, 6-2). Hingis wins the Women's Doubles title with Anna Kournikova.
Thomas Johansson wins the men's singles title, beating Marat Safin in four sets (3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6).
At the end of February Venus Williams becomes the No.1 woman player in the world. In June she loses to her sister Serena Williams in the women's singles final at the French Open (7-5, 6-3). In July she loses to her sister again in the Wimbledon women's singles final (7-6, 6-3) and so surrenders her No. 1 ranking.
In September Serena makes it three Grand Slams in a row, beating Venus yet again in the women's singles final at the US Open (6-4, 6-3).
Albert Costa defeats his compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in the men's singles final at the French Open (6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3).
Lleyton Hewitt wins the Wimbledon men's singles final, easily beating David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
Pete Sampras wins a record 14th Grand Slam Singles title, defeating his old rival Andre Agassi in the men's final of the US Open (6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4).
Winter Olympics, Figure Skating: the International Skating Union investigates the decision to award the gold medal in the Ice Skating Pairs to the Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. Following the investigation the Canadian world champions, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, who had originally been awarded the silver medal, also get a gold.
Speed Skating: much to his own surprise Australian speed skater Steven Bradbury wins the gold medal in the 1,000 metres event when the front four skaters take a tumble on the ice.
Curling: Britain wins a gold medal in the Winter Olympics for the first time in 18 years with a 4:3 victory for the women's team in the final of the curling competition.
Skiing: Janica Kostelic from Croatia becomes the first Alpine skier to win four medals at the Winter Olympics - three golds and one silver.
Rugby Union: France win the Six Nations Championship.
England top the world rankings after victories over New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Rowing: the University of Oxford crew wins the 148th Boat Race.
Horse Racing: Best Mate wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Bindaree wins the Grand National.
Tony McCoy records the 1,700th win of his career at Uttoxeter to break Richard Dunwoody's all-time British record of 1,699 wins over jumps.
Rock of Gibraltar makes it seven in a row with victory in the Prix du Moulin and so beats Mill Reef's record of six consecutive Group One victories.
Snooker: Peter Ebdon defeats Stephen Hendry 18-17 in the final of the World Snooker Championship.
Mark Williams beats Ken Doherty 10-9 in the final of the UK Championship.
Golf: Tiger Woods wins the US Masters for the third time and follows it up with a win at the US Open.
Ernie Els wins the Open Championship at Muirfield.
R Beem wins the US PGA Championship.
Europe wins the Ryder Cup, beating the USA at the Belfry by three points.
Football: Sir Alex Ferguson abandons his plans to retire and signs a three-year contract to continue as Manager of Manchester United.
Following a clumsy tackle by Pedro Duscher, David Beckham is stretchered off the field during Manchester United's European Cup quarter final against Deportivo La Coruna. Beckham's injury, a broken bone in his foot, sidelines him for the rest of the Season.
Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0 in the FA Cup final. The following week Arsenal beat Manchester United 1-0 to secure the Premiership title as well.
World Cup: Defending Champions France lose the opening match of the World Cup to Senegal 1-0. Brazil beat Germany in the final, 2-0.
Cycling: Lance Armstrong wins the Tour de France for the fourth year running (subsequently disqualified).
Athletics: In March Paula Radcliffe wins the world cross-country title in Dublin. In April she wins the London Marathon on her début in the women's race, setting the second fastest time on record (2:18:56).
Khalid Khannouchi breaks his own world record in the men's race, setting a new fastest time of 2:05:38.
In October, running in the Marathon in Chicago, Radcliffe breaks the women's world record in a time of 2:17:17.
Boxing: Lennox Lewis knocks out Mike Tyson in the 8th round to retain his WBC and IBF Heavyweight titles.
Commonwealth Games: Paula Radcliffe follows up her win in the London Marathon with her first major track title - a victory in the women's 5,000m.
Jonathan Edwards wins the Triple Jump, adding Commonwealth gold (the only title he did not have) to his collection of Olympic, World and European titles.
Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe wins six gold medals and one silver.
European Championships: Paula Radcliffe wins the women's 10,000 metres.
Cricket: Australia win The Ashes for the 8th time in succession.
Motor Racing: Ferrari and their two drivers, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, are fined $1 million for a breach of protocol on the podium at the Austrian Grand Prix on 12th May. Barrichello led the race into the final turn but was instructed by the Ferrari team to allow Schumacher to overtake him and so steal an undeserved victory. Faced by a booing crowd, Schumacher pushed Barrichello to the top of the rostrum and handed him the winner's trophy. Despite the controversy Schumacher goes on to win the World Drivers' Championship for the fifth time with 11 wins, 5 second places and 1 third place. It is the first time in the history of the sport that a driver has finished on the podium in every race of the season.
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Man Booker Prize
Winner:
Yann Martel
The Life Of Pi
Rohinton Mistry
Family Matters
Carol Shields
Unless
William Trevor
The Story Of Lucy Gault
Sarah Waters
Fingersmith
Tim Winton
Dirt Music
Orange Prize
for Fiction
Winner:
Ann Patchett
Bel Canto
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