Saturday, July 31, 2004
| ***TV Alert*** Simon Show on UK TV |
Television: Sunday, August 1
Times Online
LIQUID ASSETS
BBC Three, 8pm/1am
Alex Wells trawls through the past of the multimillionaire Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell to find out how he made his fortune and how he spends it -- and, no, it's not all on high-waisted trousers.
| Mr. Nasty Gets Rival |
July 31, 2004
By Fiona Cummins for The Mirror
TV'S Mr Nasty Simon Cowell is facing competition - from brother Tony.
The writer, 53 - who calls himself Mr Sarcastic - will present Between the Covers, a TV show about publishing already nicknamed Book Idol.
And he says he will outshine Simon, 44, who made his name presenting music show Pop Idol.
He said: "I'll be better than Simon, no question. Everything he has, I taught him. I'm not nasty, but I'm funnier than he is."
Tony will talk to writers on the ITV London show. Amateurs will submit work. The winner gets a publishing contract.
| Surreal-ity TV |
July 31 2004
By Jenny Rees for ICWales
First up we have the strange anomaly that is Nicholas Cowell. Yep, you guessed it, Simon's brother. I happened to come across this peculiar creature at the launch party for the show [The Block] and didn't quite know what to make of it.
On the one hand if you squint they seem to look identical -- he has the identikit outfit down to a tee and even sounds the same. Exactly the same. But then you start looking a little closer and begin to question whether in fact it's all just a trick of the eye and the fella has just borrowed his brother's clothes and readjusted the waistband.
| First off the Block |
July 31, 2004
By Sally Brockway for The Sun
Although he's never worked on TV before, Nicholas Cowell seems very familiar.
Maybe it's because his looks, voice and mannerisms are so like those of his big brother -- infamous Pop Idol judge, Simon Cowell.
Property developer Nicholas acts as the resident expert on new reality series The Block.
And there is one big difference between him and Simon -- you won't catch him wearing high-waisted trousers.
"Somebody asked if I'd checked my waistband before I went on camera," laughs Nicholas, 43. "I'm more stylish than Simon. Also, he's very envious of my looks. But he'd never admit it publicly!"
In the series, presented by Lisa Rogers, four couples transform a new development in Brighton.
Nicholas will judge the couples' efforts as they go.
So, will he be as 'honest' as his elder brother?
"I tell the truth," he admits. "But I don't think I'm as caustic as Simon."
Friday, July 30, 2004
| He's Mr. Nasty, Jr. |
July 29, 2004
By Staff Writers for the Daily Star
Simon Cowell's little brother Nicholas will become the latest telly villain to hit our screens next week.
The tough-talking property developer is a judge on new reality makeover show The Block.
And like, Pop Idol's Mr Nasty, Nicholas doesn't mince his words delivering damning verdicts on the competitors' decorating skills.
His cutting comments have already seen him dubbed "The new Nasty Nick" and "Nick the Prick" from the show's contestants and crew.
But the 41-year-old property guru said: "I don't care what I'm called because all I'm doing is telling the truth and telling it like it is.
"I know people are going to compare me to Simon but I'm younger and better looking than him."
In the ITV1 show, hosted by sexy Lisa Rogers, four couples are given identical homes and GBP 25,000 to do them up.
At the end of the eight-week run the newly refurbished home will be put up for a live auction.
And the couple whose home attracts the highest bid will walk off with a GBP 50,000 prize jackpot.
Nick says he has received one piece of brotherly advice from Simon: "Wear your trousers below the waistline!"
| Claudia's Cleanmobile |
July 29, 2004
By Staff Writers for British Vogue
Only the best for Claudia Schiffer. The German supermodel, who is expecting her second child in November, pays GBP 120 [approx. $220] every two weeks to have her GBP 70,000 Range Rover thoroughly cleaned, inside and out. The Evening Standard revealed last night that
Schiffer, who is thought to be worth in the region of GBP 40 million, pays Lellers Car Valet Service twice monthly to steam-clean the engine, treat the windows to "restore optical quality", clean and soften the interior leather upholstery with a glycerine-based cleaner, vacuum and shampoo carpets and upholstery, repair scratches to the paintwork and remove tar, buff chrome fixtures, paint the tyres black and use an air freshener.
"Claudia is a regular client," a source at the company, which also looks after cars owned by the Beckhams, Rod Stewart, Chris Eubank, Simon Cowell and Kylie Minogue, told the paper. "Her secretary will book in the car the day before she arrives in town for an external wash and internal valet. We cater for the top end of the market. Agreed, our prices are high, but the service is second to none."
But that's all they're saying... "We have a policy of complete discretion and that's why celebrities know they can use us," the source goes on.
"But we make some pretty interesting discoveries in the cars of the rich and famous."
Thursday, July 29, 2004
| Wicked Whispers re X Factor |
July 27, 2004
By Staff Writers for the Daily Mail
New ITV pop wannabe show The X Factor is not all it seems. Budding singers taking part in regional auditions are fuming that they are seen and given the thumbs up or down by producers rather than celebrity judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne.
Says one hopeful: "One girl was picked simply because she looked like Sharon Osbourne's daughter Kelly.
"It had nothing to do with singing talent - just what would make good TV."
| Be Pop Idle, Simon |
July 29 2004
By Staff Writers for the Daily Record and Ananova
Simon Cowell should quit Pop Idol, according to his brother.
Millionaire property expert Nicholas Cowell, 42, yesterday insisted the ITV talent show had run its course.
He said: "It's been done and he should leave it at that. We've seen the best and heard the worst." He also said he was amazed at how famous his brother had become.
He said: "He was a weedy kid and a bit lippy."
Music mogul Simon's future as a judge on the show is already in doubt. He won't do another series without hosts Ant and Dec -- and they are considering quitting the UK for America.
Nicholas is a judge on new ITV renovation show The Block.
I've read recently where Ant & Dec have definitely decided to do Pop Idol again, so I don't know why this article says they're considering quitting.
And click here for an article on how Simon's already agreed to return, so I don't know why it says his future's in doubt.
{{{sigh}}}
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
| Pop Idol In-Fighting |
I found the article I was looking for from The Mirror, but it didn't have any additional information. Here's another that does.
July 27, 2004
By Staff Writers for Launch -- UK Yahoo
Major label BMG has issued a claim against Simon Fuller's management company over the right to sign future "Pop Idol" winners.
Fuller's company, 19 Management, attempted to end the record company's rights to sign future series' contestants, having discussed deals for recent US winners with Universal.
BMG are demanding an injunction against 19 Management claiming the company -- which owns the "Pop Idol" formats -- has revoked their rights to upcoming series in the UK, America, Belgium, France, Germany, Canada, Singapore, Australia, South Africa and Poland.
19 Management had earlier accused BMG of being in breach of contract of the agreement.
A spokesperson for Fuller's company told Music Week: "We are aware that there is an issue between lawyers which is in the process of being talked through. We have no more comment to make."
Both parties are currently continuing work on upcoming "Pop Idol" projects but a legal battle could delay future series. If a settlement cannot be reached the case be heard in the High Court in the autumn.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
| Simon Cowell in Court Battle with Simon Fuller |
July 27, 2004
By Staff Writers for Ananova
Pop promoter Simon Fuller is reportedly heading for a court showdown with bosses at former business partner Simon Cowell's record company BMG.
The Mirror says the record company is trying to stop Fuller's company 19 signing a deal with Universal for American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino and runner-up Diana DeGarmo.
BMG owns the rights to distribute singles and albums from winners of the Pop Idol show.
BMG has issued a writ ordering 19 to give it access to the artists.
It is also seeking an injunction preventing Fuller from offering rights to the singers to anyone else.
A BMG spokesperson told industry bible MusicWeek: "We are in dispute with 19, but we are confident we will resolve this minor dispute."
If I thought I was confused before, now I'm really confused!
BTW, I can't find the original Mirror article either on their site or in Lexis-Nexis. Maybe it will be available later today. I'll let you know.
| The fiX Factor |
July 27, 2004
By Victoria Newton for The Sun
A new reality pop show sounds suspiciously like a fix to me.
I've discovered that Matt Johnson from One True Voice has been fast-tracked through to the finals of The X Factor -- the new Pop Idol-style programme -- before it even hits our TV screens on ITV1 this autumn.
The news will devastate thousands of people who turned up for "open" auditions around the country this year.
The singer has been guaranteed a place in the final 40 for the show masterminded by Simon Cowell.
In case you've forgotten, Matt was one of the winners of Popstars: The Rivals in 2002.
He was chosen to be in boy band One True Voice who went head-to-head with Girls Aloud.
One True Voice were looked after by Pete Waterman but were dropped a year ago after little chart success.
And guess what?
The other judge on Popstars, Louis Walsh, was so impressed by Matt he managed to get him a solo deal with Jive Records after the band split up.
And who do you suppose is one of the judges on The X Factor?
Step forward the one and only Louis Walsh.
It turns out that Cowell, also a judge on the new show, is a bigwig at Jive/BMG, where Matt has a deal.
I can't help feeling there's some serious string-pulling behind the scenes.
A source told me: "Matt is definitely through to the finals but it's supposed to be a big secret.
"He turned up at one audition in the Midlands -- even though he's from the North West. Presumably he had to be seen to audition with everyone else.
"And surprise, surprise, he's made it through to the next stage. Eventually he will face the public vote. But he's certainly been given preferential treatment."
The third judge on The X Factor is Sharon Osbourne.
In the new show the wannabe stars will audition to find three winners: A solo act under the age of 26, a solo act over 26 and a band of any age.
Then Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne will each manage one of the winners.
ITV1 pop shows have been controversial before. First Darius Danesh suddenly appeared in the finals of Pop Idol -- after failing to make the grade on the original Popstars.
Then Johnny Shentall got into Hear'Say in suspicious circumstances. He won the audition to replace Kym Marsh, who walked out. But it turned out that he already knew the band.
It's no wonder that so many wannabes are crying into their microphones.
Monday, July 26, 2004
| This is Your Westlife |
7/26/2004
Bt Victoria Newton for The Sun
Westlife are holding their own version of telly's Pop Idol to find an unknown to appear on their next album. How desperate is that? The foursome are looking for a girl singer to record a track in a scheme cooked up by their old boss and the TV show's judge, Simon Cowell.
The competition winner will also get to perform the song live on a Westlife TV special.
The competition is undoubtedly a great chance for someone to get their big break. But I can't help feeling it is a sign that Westlife are faltering.
In their five-year career the band have released five multi-platinum albums, selling more than 32 million records. They have never needed help getting to No. 1 in the past. Now it seems they are having to resort to publicity stunts to keep their dream alive.
It has certainly been a tough year for the band. Their most charismatic member, Bryan McFadden, quit and a planned album of duets was scrapped -- presumably because not enough big stars would collaborate with them.
Which brings us to the open auditions idea. Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan and Mark Feehily, are launching a hotline number -- 0905 998 8888 -- for wannabes today. Anyone can call to leave their details and sing a favourite song, at a cost of 50p a minute.
Westlife will listen to the entries and choose a shortlist of candidates before auditions in London and Manchester on August 24 and 25.
The winner will be announced on the TV special, called You're The One, later this year.
The CD, out at Christmas, will feature covers of songs by Hollywood's famed "Rat Pack" of Fifties crooners Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.
Simon Cowell, who will release it on his S Records label, said: "This is the ultimate search for a star. The winner gets to sing with Westlife on national television. It may be the launchpad for a successful career."
Nicky added: "It's a great opportunity to bond with our fans and to give someone the amazing opportunity that we were given."
My only question is who will benefit more -- the winner or Westlife?
Sunday, July 25, 2004
| Simon Says ... Give Me My Rightful Share of Pop Idol, Simon |
July 25, 2004
By James Robinson for The Observer
Pop entrepreneurs Simon Fuller and Simon Cowell have fallen out over Pop Idol, the hit TV series created by Fuller in which Cowell stars. Fuller, who made his first fortune managing the Spice Girls, is suing BMG, the German music company where Cowell is an executive, in the High Court.
Ronagold was set up in 2000 as a joint venture company between Cowell and BMG to put out records by their original Pop Idol stars Will Young and Gareth Gates. BMG has since bought Cowell out. Ronagold splits the profits from the recorded music rights with 19 Entertainment, Fuller's company, and this arrangement is at the heart of the dispute.
Although BMG distributes the records, Fuller is thought to take 50 per cent of the profits - an unusually high percentage. Fuller maintains that 19 Entertainment earns the cut because Pop Idol is central to the success of artists like Young and Gates.
The row centres on future revenues in a number of countries, according to sources close to BMG. Cowell is crucial to the success of the show, which has been exported to 18 countries, including the USA. American Idol has been a huge commercial success, largely due to Cowell's acerbic performances as a judge.
A BMG spokesman said: 'We are confident that ongoing conversations will resolve this minor dispute.'
I've always thought that Cowell/BMG had 100% of the music rights and Fuller/19 had 100% of the TV rights. (Simon's always maintained that the music rights are worth more than the TV rights; that's why he made the deal and is not listed as the co-creator of the series.) This article says BMG & 19 split the music profits 50/50. I'm confused.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
| Single-Minded Simon: Affairs of the Chart |
June 20, 2004
By Staff Writers for the Daily Star and The Mirror
SEXY senorita Rebecca Loos will tread all over Posh again - this time in the pop charts rather than the bedroom.
Backed by Pop Idol judge and music supremo Simon Cowell, Becks' former personal assistant hopes to "get one over Posh" in the charts this summer.
Just as Posh releases her new single Mine For Real, Rebecca aims to put out a track she's been working on.
And by doing so she'll be able to stick the knife into Posh for the SECOND time in a year.
The curvy Spaniard first upset Posh with her claims that she enjoyed a six-month fling with Becks while working as his PA in Madrid.
The revelations, which Becks has described as "ludicrous" but never denied, left Posh devastated.
Now Rebecca's agent Max Clifford has confirmed she definitely IS to launch an assault on the charts.
She's been having secret talks with Pop Idol judge Cowell over her plan to set the charts alight, and the pop music svengali will produce her debut single.
PR guru Clifford, who represents both Loos and Cowell, said: "Simon likes the look of Rebecca and definitely thinks she has great potential. She should earn more than Victoria Beckham this year.
"As to whether she can sing or not, Simon's had a lot of success in that area.
"It's clear that Rebecca is a natural in front of the cameras and that the public have believed what she has had to say about Beckham."
Canny Cowell believes bisexual stunner Rebecca, 26, can achieve chart success.
The Dutch-born babe plans to release her tune in the same July week as ex-Spice Girl Victoria, 30.
An industry insider said: "What bigger kick in the teeth would it be for Posh if Rebecca were to beat her in the charts.
"She'd be absolutely gutted - but it may make her realise she ought to stop pretending she can be a solo success." Cutting Cowell, 44, also has a message for Victoria. "I would say, 'Don't put another record out', " he said.
As well as winning a recording contract Rebecca has made at least GBP 1 million from her Becks revelations.
Clifford said the soccer star's former personal assistant is set to rake in over GBP 5 million before the end of the year from lingerie modelling deals, a part in a Ken Russell-directed film and TV appearances.
A source close to her Madrid-based family said: "Rebecca knows her time is now and if she handles this correctly she will never have to work again."
Hmmm. We're not sure whether the Loos woman can do a Sophie EllisBextor on Posh, but given her expertise on the mobile phone, who'd bet against her making a dent in the ringtone charts?
Friday, July 23, 2004
| Now It's Music Mogul Idol: Cowell to Appear in 'Apprentice'-Style Show |
July 21 and July 22, 2004
Cobbled together from articles by Sherna Noah, Showbusiness Correspondent, PA News for The Scotsman, by Neil Wilkes for Digital Spy, by Staff Writers for the The BBC, by Emily Smith for The Sun, and by Staff Writers for the Media Bulletin
The Scotsman article found by MaritimeSimonFan
Acid-tongued Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell is launching a new show in which young tycoons try to make it as a music industry bigwig. He's set to star in the show which will put music industry apprentices through their paces.
The show will be a twist on the US series The Apprentice, the highest-rated new series of last year, in which sixteen hopeful contestants competed for a $250,000-a-year (GBP 135,000) position of president at one of property magnate Donald Trump's companies. Cowell's version would see a number of contestants trying to land a lucrative job in the record business; they'll all compete to get a job working for Simon.
Cowell said his programme would be called Mogul, and that he would play the tycoon.
Amstrad boss Sir Alan Sugar is fronting a version of The Apprentice, which sees one aspiring employee get the sack each week, on BBC2 next year. Cowell's new show would follow a similar format. But it will be set in the music industry and air - perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly - on the FOX network in the States.
Speaking to Broadcast, Cowell said that the show was in the "first stages of development."
The 44-year-old, who has set up his own independent TV company following the success of Pop Idol, told Broadcast magazine: "I want to have hits. Hit shows that people talk about."
He also says he has an "absolutely genius" idea for a game show up his sleeve, but is keeping details under wraps for fear of getting the idea stolen.
His latest show, X-Factor, an alternative to Pop Idol, features rocker's wife Sharon Osbourne as a judge and has even seen a 250-strong male voice choir at the auditions.
Cowell, who is worth a reported GBP 45 million, admits that TV viewers will soon tire of Mr Nasty, saying: "My shelf life is limited.
"I think people are going to be sick of me soon. I'm expecting that day in the not too distant future.
"It's a bit like going out with a girl - you know when it's over."
Thursday, July 22, 2004
| Simon Tidbits |
Cowell Stunned by Woeful Lack of Talent
July 20, 2004
By Staff Writers for the Daily Mail, and
July 21, 2004
By Staff Writers for the Ireland Online
Found by MaritimeSimonFan
PUT the paramedics on standby: Simon Cowell says he's 'in a state of shock' after auditions for his new reality show, The X Factor.
Cowell has been stunned by the quality of contestants who've auditioned for his new talent show X-Factor because they are unbelievably bad. The sharp-tongued music mogul - who is joined on the judging panel by music manager Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh on the ITV programme - fears the show could be a disaster, if the talent exhibited by the hopefuls is anything to go by.
Cowell fumes: "It's unbelievable. Only a handful of people are anywhere near decent. You can't imagine who we've had through our doors - 89-year-old men, old ladies with Zimmer frames...the lot. It's a serious worry.'
********************
Virgin Scoop
July 13, 2004
By Staff Writers for the The Evening Standard
PR supremo Max Clifford [Simon's publicist -- Ed.] is to write his autobiography for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group for around GPB 500,000. "We have always had a great respect for Max's undoubted talents," says Sir Richard, "and are delighted to be publishing the compelling story of the man who has been involved in some way in virtually every scoop and scandal over the past decade."
Among Max's scoops was correspondence obtained from Benjie the Binman between Branson and Sir Elton John's manager, John Reid, over a tribute album to Diana, Princess of Wales. "Please can you allow Candle in the Wind to be on the album?" Branson asked. Reid replied: "I have been asked by Elton to tell you to f*** off." Max placed the story with The Daily Mirror.
I look forward to reading the full account in his memoirs. "I will be revealing the mystery person who links Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Bill Clinton and Simon Cowell," Max tells me. Could it be Max Clifford?
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
| Rat's a Great Idea |
July 21 2004
By Staff Writers for The Mirror
Westlife are releasing a "Rat Pack" album at Christmas, we can reveal.
Our favourite four Irish boys will cover classics made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.
Kian, Shane, Mark and Nicky have also just signed a deal to host a show on ITV on December 18, where they'll perform songs from the new album.
There'll be a celebrity audience and we're told some big name surprise guests will join in the singing on stage.
"It's all Simon Cowell's idea. He reckons the album will be a huge hit. All those songs like Strangers In The Night, The Lady Is A Tramp, I've Got You Under My Skin and My Way are such classics that they just can't fail," says our source.
"The TV show has just been sorted out. It'll appeal to their fans of all age groups. The boys have just finished their tour and couldn't wait to get their teeth sunk into something new."
The boys went to see the Rat Pack musical at the Strand Theatre in London on Monday night to prepare themselves for the show tunes album.
They then went partying to Tantra until 4.30am to - er - discuss the new album. And of course have a few bevvies.
Looks like Christmas for the boys will be a bit of a cracker!
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
| More Simon Tidbits |
Creative Business Diary
July 20, 2004
By Staff Writers for the Financial Times
- Upstagings. Darling, we've done our share. So Diary sympathises with the poor Edinburgh TV festival organisers [see "More on Simon's Upcoming Interview in Edinburgh" from 5/12/2004 in the May archives], who had their thunder somewhat muffled by the fact that their launch fell on the same day as the BBC's annual report PR blitz. Time for an Edinburgh session on the dangers of cross-scheduling, perhaps?
As if that wasn't bad enough, Edinburgh's star turn - Simon Cowell - was then a victim of another upstaging. By his brother. "He's younger and better-looking. AND he's married!" a TV flak tells us of Cowell frere, soon to be on ITV [see "Show for Cowell's Brother" from 5/16/2004 in the May archives].
********************
Simon Nets a Cash Boost
July 2, 2004
By Mark Jeffries for the Daily Star
ITV will pump an extra GBP 5 million into drama and Simon Cowell's new talent show this year after losing Premiership football highlights to the Beeb.
From next season, the Beeb will bring back Match of the Day on Saturday nights.
And they hope the show will help attract viewers back to the BBC on Saturday nights.
But the loss to ITV, which will help cut their 2005 sports budget by GBP 35m, means that they have more cash to plough into other shows.
They've begun work on a fourth I'm A Celebrity, which is pencilled in for November.
Michael Parkinson's chat show which starts in September, will have money thrown at it.
And Cowell's new Pop Idol style search for a star called The X-Factor will also benefit to help make it a hit with viewers.
Sunday, July 18, 2004
| Simon Tidbits |
Pop News: Simon Cowell
July 16, 2004
By Claire Birch for the Birmingham Evening Mail
Simon Cowell is taking a break from television to start managing the world's first Operatic Boyband. The "popera" band are called Il Devo and they're currently recording with highly acclaimed Steve Mac in Westlife's old studios in London.
********************
Marriage Guidance
July 16, 2004
By Richard Kay for the Daily Mail
Not even his family are spared the vicious barbs of Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell.The music mogul - who remains unmarried - recently unleashed his acid wit with a critique of... his brother's wedding. Remarkably, property investor Nicholas, 42, and interior designer Katie Aylwin had two wedding ceremonies - first in Brighton and then on Ibiza.
The second ceremony - attended by Simon, food critic Michael Winner, and Nicholas and Katie's five-month-old daughter, Georgia - had more than a hint of rock'n'roll kitsch.
A guest tells me: "The audience had a singalong to Barry Manilow's cheesy song Can't Smile Without [You]. [During] the service, Nicholas dramatically lifted baby Georgia above his head accompanied by a powerful overture from the Robert De Niro film The Mission."
This last gesture stirred Simon's ire. "What about that awful Lion King moment in the church when you lifted Georgia up?" he said at the reception in a restaurant, referring to a scene in the Walt Disney cartoon. "What the hell were you thinking?"
| Prince Harry, the Pop Star |
July 16 2004
By Staff Writers for the Sun-Sentinel
Music mogul Simon Cowell wants to turn British royal Prince Harry into a pop idol.
The American Idol and Pop Idol judge is convinced the 19-year-old heir could make millions as a chart heart-throb - and it doesn't even matter if he can sing.
Cowell has in the past said the same of Harry's brother William, but he claims the younger Prince is far more marketable.
He says, "Both of them would make millions, absolutely millions. But I'd sign Harry over William. I think he's far more attractive and more of a party boy.
"At the moment there's much more attention on William but I think that's going to change. They're moving in different directions and people will soon become more interested in Harry.
I don't know if he can sing or not but that's not always a problem."
Friday, July 16, 2004
| I'm Spending Simon's Millions ...He Can Trust Me!, Part 2 |
March 28, 2004
By Graham Norwood for the Mail on Sunday
This was despite the fact that the brothers' father, Eric, who died recently, had himself been an estate agent who went on to become head of property at music giant EMI. He was responsible for finding and managing the company's offices and studios around the world.
Today, Nicholas admits there are pros and cons to being recognised as the property brains behind the investments of TV's Mr Nasty. 'The disadvantage is some people think we're loaded and going to pay ridiculous money for their property. We're not. The advantage is that Simon is more interesting to deal with than most investors and raises the profile of our business.' Nicholas had his own intimate connections with showbusiness long before Simon made millions with a bizarre range of artists including Robson and Jerome, The Teletubbies, Westlife and 5ive.
Their mother Julie, now nearly 80, was a dancer in West End musicals and had many famous friends on the stage. In the Sixties, when the brothers were children, the family bought what Nicholas calls 'a vast, huge house' with four acres of land at Elstree in North London.
Their next-door neighbour and close friend was Gerry Blatner, head of Warner Brothers in the UK, who brought a string of Hollywood stars working at his Elstree studios to glamorous social gatherings in the Cowell household.
'The family used to hold mad parties-We had the likes of Gregory Peck, Richard Burton and Liz Taylor in our house, and we're big family friends with Michael Winner,' Nicholas says.
'Those were great days, very relaxed, although as kids Simon and I didn't really understand who these people were. But we loved the events.' Nicholas caught the property bug from his father and after he left school in the late Seventies - 'I wasn't gifted and I didn't like it' - he worked as an office junior in a central London estate agency run by David Garrard, now millionaire chairman of the Minerva property group.
But the Cowells have a habit of not being content with working for others.
Just as Simon rose from a job in the post room at EMI to become Britain's premier pop impresario, so Nicholas graduated to become an estate agent at a now-defunct Regent's Park office, selling some of London's first Pounds 1million homes. Then, at the age of 22, he formed his own business in partnership with fellow property speculator Adrian Levy. Their empire survived the 1991 property crash, 'but it was touch and go, we nearly went bankrupt along with the rest of the industry'.
Today they run two of London's most respected investment firms, The Estate Office and Abbey Road Estates.
But while the companies have boomed over the past decade, Nicholas has continued with his celebrity links. In the late Nineties he was living in a large house in St John's Wood when he was made an offer he couldn't refuse by Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher and his then wife Patsy Kensit.
'Liam was refusing to go on tour to the United States until he'd got a place to live in London. His manager offered me an obscene amount of money so I moved out a few days later and rented the house to Liam and Patsy for a year. 'They were model tenants, although the 40 or so paparazzi that were usually hanging around outside raised a few eyebrows with the neighbours,' he admits.
Now Nicholas's companies own and rent out 80 shops and homes in London; they also buy properties which are then rapidly sold on to developers for full-scale refurbishment. His biggest deal to date has been buying a Pounds 120million office block for a client.
Nicholas enjoys the trappings of success. He lives in a glamorous Pounds 1.25million apartment high in the Montevetro building, a glass edifice designed by Lord Richard Rogers of Riverside overlooking the Thames, close to Battersea Heliport.
As he views the capital he gets calls on his two mobile telephones, makes notes in an electronic diary and checks his laptop.
In the car park below is his Mercedes - the same type as the one used as the pace car in Formula 1 races he thinks - and on the apartment walls are pictures of his collection of bikes in action.
But these all play second fiddle to Georgia, his eight-week-old daughter, and to his fiance Katie Aylwin. 'We'll probably look for a house to buy if we have a second child, which I'd love,' he says.
Yet despite the professional property background, Nicholas does not parrot the mantra of most consultants keen to seduce people into bricks and mortar whatever the state of the market.
'Actually I'm very worried by the amount of buy-to-let today. People are buying into lavish new developments with cheap money on interest-only mortgages but these places cost so much they don't give a decent rental yield in return.
'People need to be much more careful and choose more modest properties in less expensive areas,' he warns.
And we may all be able to benefit from his advice soon, even if we don't have millions to spend.
After resisting several offers to follow his brother down the road to TV stardom, Nicholas is now talking with a production company about becoming a resident expert in a series on property investment.
Like Simon, Nicholas is swarthy, favours a similar style of Armani suit and even speaks with the same slight lisp.
However he says that he is not into withering putdowns and if he did appear on TV he would be more of a Mr Nice than a Mr Nasty.
'I'm very sensible about property - but I want to have some fun too.'
| I'm Spending Simon's Millions ...He Can Trust Me!, Part 1 |
March 28, 2004
By Graham Norwood for the Mail on Sunday
He may be a fair judge of the pop world - if a little too forthright for some. But how will Simon Cowell, the scourge of Pop Idol wannabes, score when he casts his eye over property?
Cowell is being paid Pounds 5.4million for the latest series of American Idol, and reputedly has a Pounds 40million fortune to play with, so he's looking to invest some of it in bricks and mortar.
And help is on hand - not far from home - in the shape of his brother, Nicholas Cowell, who has been a property investment guru for 20 years. He is joining Simon on a Pounds 25million shopping expedition for flats, houses and shops in London.
'Simon's investment will be Pounds 5million or Pounds 6 million and we'll borrow the rest,' says Nicholas, who runs two property investment firms in St John's Wood, North London.
But despite the brothers' wealthy lifestyle - Nicholas himself is a selfmade millionaire from property - there will be little glamour to this particular Cowell family enterprise.
'It's going to be a mixed bag of places that I buy for Simon,' says his brother. 'There's no point getting bluechip properties or lavish central London apartments because they won't bring in the rent to justify their high purchase costs.
'If we can find a parade of shops with flats above them in a suburb of Greater London, we could refurbish them and let them out and get a good rent in relation to their capital value. Or we could sell them straight on to a developer.' Nicholas, who at 42 is two years younger than Simon, will be in charge of this deal. He will shortlist batches of properties in areas such as Queen's Park in bundles valued at between Pounds 2million and Pounds 5million.
'I'm not going to drag Simon around the hundreds of places we'll be considering,' he says, 'but I'll tell him what's happening when something's imminent. He trusts me.' Although Pop Idol was meant to create new, young singing heroes, the real star of the series - and its American spin-off - has been Simon the acerbic judge, who is now a household name on both sides of the Atlantic.
But Simon, who lives with Californian model Terri Seymour - they're pictured on our cover - has a hidden history of dabbling in property, too.
Apart from recently buying a Pounds 7million Victorian townhouse near Elton John's home in Holland Park, he also owns two buy-to-let apartments in London that are managed by his brother.
For much of the time, Simon lives in the lap of luxury in a five-bedroom villa in the middle of Beverly Hills which he rents for a reported Pounds 13,000 a month. With most of his TV and business interests now in the US, he is looking for a permanent home nearby. All this is a long way from his first property experience when, for a few months back in the early Eighties, he was an estate agent in London while he reassessed his music career. He was envious of Nicholas, who by that time was earning Pounds 250 a week while Simon was almost penniless.
But selling houses wasn't for him: 'My boss was a snotty, unhappy man. He hated me, I hated him,' Simon recalls.
To be continued...
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
| More Simon Tidbits |
Cowell Blasts BB Pop Careers
July 13, 2004
By Staff Writers for This Is London
Acid-tongued music mogul Simon Cowell has poured scorn on any Big Brother housemates' singing dreams -- because he'd never sign them to his record label.
Evicted housemate Emma has already made clear she wants a pop career by performing at a record industry showcase in Manchester, and Geordie Michelle unsuccessfully auditioned for Pop Idol in the last series.
However, Simon has rubbished their chances of making it in the pop world.
Speaking to Heat magazine, Simon says, "I wouldn't sign any of them in a million years.
"I'm not interested because they're all a bunch of wannabes and I don't think they've got any talent.
"You can tell them to stay away from my label -- I wouldn't give them tuppence."
********************
Mr. Nasty Hunts for Stars with X Appeal
July 7, 2004
By Jenny McQuaile and Emma Brennan for The Mirror
Pop's Mr. Nasty Simon Cowell jetted into Ireland yesterday and went straight on the hunt for new talent.
Cowell, Westlife manager Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne are touring the British Isles in search of acts for their reality TV show X Factor.
But Cowell, famous for his scathing comments, warned 800 young hopefuls who queued in Dublin: "Only a handful of you will get through."
However, he admitted to the Irish Mirror: "The talent in Ireland is on par with what we are seeing in the UK.
"I will say the Irish people will be well represented in the UK show but we will only take about 10 acts or so - the competition is stiff."
********************
Sharon's Search for Stars
July 8, 2004
By Staff Writers for the Birmingham Evening Mail
Sharon Osbourne will join Pop Idol's Simon Cowell and the man behind Boyzone and Westlife, Louis Walsh, at the NEC to judge the Birmingham auditions of new TV talent show The X-Factor. More than 200 budding entertainers have been invited to audition for the show, hosted by Kate Thornton, on ITV every Saturday from September to mid-December. At the end of the auditions there will be 120 finalists in three categories - '16-25 solo', '25+ solo' and 'groups'. The winner offered a development deal with Simon Cowell's company, Syco. ???
| Bits and Pieces on Simon |
Fantasy Men Poll
July 14, 2004
By Staff Writers for The Sun
Women's top fantasy date has been revealed - Wayne Rooney.
The 18-year-old soccer sensation was said to be "sexy" and "huggable" by girls who love his boy-next-door image.
He was No. 1 in Now magazine's list of Top 20 fantasy men - beating Prince Charles, President Bush and Pop Idol's Simon Cowell.
Rocker Prince was runner-up in the poll of 1,000 women - followed by chef Gordon Ramsay and pop star Daniel Bedingfield.
********************
Signing Will Young
July 14, 2004
By Staff Writers for Sky News
Mouthy Simon Cowell has revealed that he would not have signed up Will Young.
Will, of course, went on to sell millions of records, unlike the one Simon backed - Gareth Gates.
Simon, who appears clueless about real talent, said: "Will was not a choice for me - and I still don't really get it now."
Unlike Jordan, who Simon's now planning to sign up, eh?
********************
Wicked Whispers
July 14, 2004
By Staff Writers for the Daily Mail
* A Simon Cowell lookalike blocked a lane of traffic in Sloane Square the other day after parking his Bentley four feet from the kerb and
popping into a nearby shop. As the doppelganger re-emerged, a passer-by lightly tapped on the driver's window and called him a 't***er'.
The driver retorted with 't**t', swiftly executed a U-turn and followed the pedestrian along the pavement displaying a knowledge of bawdy
language surely beyond the capability of the Pop Idol judge. Get in touch, Simon, and I'll pass on the car registration number.
********************
More from Gloria Estefan on Simon
July 11, 2004
By Dave Mason for the Ventura County Star
"I don't judge; I said so (on the telecast). I do not believe in judging," Estefan said. "Who am I to tell them? I'm not going to tell them, 'You sounded terrible.' That's the job for Simon (Cowell). There's no way I'm going to discourage anyone when they're doing what they love."
But she said she doesn't see Cowell as mean.
"No, he's honest. I think the thing we love about him is he's saying what we're all thinking."
Cowell, a BMG Records executive, is preparing the singers for dealing with the music industry, she noted. But she teased him on the show for causing an increase in therapy bills.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
| Simon Ranks in MediaGuardian 100 |
Monday July 12, 2004
From The Guardian
Summary:
The MediaGuardian 100 list is the definitive guide to the most powerful movers and shakers in one of the UK's most vibrant industries. Who are this year's most influential players in the business and how have they achieved success? There have been some spectacular career crashes, while others have seized the moment - turbulent times reflected in our latest list of movers and shakers. John Plunkett watched our panel of experts make their choices
The highest-ranking on-screen talent is Simon Cowell. A new entry at number 17, the former Pop Idol judge has his own production company and is a hugely influential producer/ presenter in the US. One panellist told us that Cowell is the key to the next year for ITV - controller Nigel Pickard, one place above him at 16, will be banking on him to win the channel's key Saturday night slots in the autumn. Another three ITV names - Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly and Tonight frontman Martin Bashir - dropped out. Ant and Dec are off to try to crack the US market. Bashir, who signed a big-money deal with ABC, has already cracked it.
Detail:
Simon Cowell
#17 in overall Top 100
# 8 in Television
Job: TV presenter, producer
Industry: broadcasting
Worth: GBP 45m
2003 ranking: new entry
Unlike the wannabes on Pop Idol, Simon Cowell is among that rare breed of TV talent who is virtually guaranteed success just by turning up.
ITV controller Nigel Pickard demonstrated Cowell's value to the channel this year by signing him on a two-year golden handcuffs deal at a time when such contracts are going out of fashion, a privilege accorded to only two other ITV stars - Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.
Ant and Dec are still to crack America, but Cowell has been there, done that and bought the black v-neck jumper. In the process he is reported to have amassed a fortune estimated at GBP 45m.
In the US Cowell signed a three-year deal with Fox, earning him nearly GBP 100,000 an episode for American Idol, the stateside equivalent of Pop Idol. The last series of Pop Idol in the UK didn't quite work, but Cowell won't mind.
He has a stream of new ITV shows in the pipeline, including a Pop Stars-style talent contest called The X-factor, which will air later this year. He has also been reserved ITV's key primetime Saturday night slot in the all-important autumn season.
Cowell, who has his own production company, Simcow, has also signed a deal with Fox for a drama based around a fictional Los Angeles talent show.
But Cowell's inclusion in this year's top 100 list didn't impress everyone on the panel, with one judge suggesting his fellow panellists had "taken leave of their senses". But the industry thinks otherwise, and Cowell will give the Richard Dunn Memorial Lecture at this year's MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. In the words of a fellow judge, "It is absolutely his time."
Monday, July 12, 2004
| Cowell Rap for Band's Gun Stunt |
Jul 11 2004
From The People
POP tycoon Simon Cowell has been slated by ad watchdogs for glorifying the use of guns.
A poster for his rap band Outkast showed one artist brandishing a pink, smoking gun.
The Advertising Standards Authority agreed with a complainant that it was "irresponsible".
Cowell, Pop Idol's Mr Nasty, is director of the band's label BMG UK & Ireland, which put out the poster.
Watchdogs said the ad suggested the gun had been recently fired.
The record label argued that many film posters featured much more explicit images of guns and violence.
They said they believed those who saw it would realise it was a joke because the gun was pink.
Another complainant to the Advertising Standards Authority said the poster promoted racial stereotypes, but watchdogs disagreed.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
| Bits and Pieces on Simon |
Is the BBC Doing a Documentary on Simon?
Saturday 29th May 2004
By Paul Welsh for the Borehamwood and Elstree Times
The BBC rang the other day and said could they interview me walking around Elstree Studios for a documentary they are doing on that TV Pop Idol nasty Simon Cowell...
I strolled around Elstree with an attractive young lady interviewer recalling the days when Simon broke into showbiz as a runner on The Return Of The Saint at the Studios in 1977.
Apparently Simon's parents used to own a house in Barnet Lane that was bought from them by the late Stanley Kubrick so presumably Simon grew up in this area.
His job as a runner at Elstree earned him GBP 15 a week but provided that first step on the road which would lead to fame and a multi-million pound fortune on both sides of the Atlantic.
********************
Chaka Khan on Simon
July 12th, 2004
By Tim Ingham for Metro Cafe
I take it you're not a big fan of Pop Idol?
I wouldn't know, because as soon as I saw that crap in the US, I decided I wasn't going to watch it any more. It's empty, racist and unfair. I am available if they want to ask me to be a judge one day but, trust me, they don't want that. It's hell enough for those kids with Simon Cowell, without me coming in on top of him.
********************
Wicked Whispers
July 6, 2004
From the Daily Mail
* Simon Cowell mercifully left his cutting edge Pop Idol tongue at home for his brother Nicholas's wedding to Katie Aylwin at Rottingdean, near Brighton, the other day. Good as gold Simon remained tight-lipped after the singing of Puccini's O Mio Babbino Caro -- so much so that vicar Martin Morgan joked: 'It's a relief to hear a song in the presence of Simon Cowell without having to hear any of his nasty comments afterwards.'
Saturday, July 10, 2004
| Maniac TV Pop Reject |
July 2, 2004, Friday
By Paul Martin for The Mirror
A furious pop reject tried to mow down Louis Walsh after the music manager booted him off a TV talent show.
The Popstars judge was stunned when the crazed contestant drove at speed towards him up the steps of Wembley Conference Centre.
His car only came to a halt when it was badly damaged - just 10 feet from the entrance.
Louis revealed: "The man was crazy. He was furious he hadn't been selected to go further in the auditions.
"Everyone heard the car's engine revving and turned to see it coming up the steps. It was unbelievable.
"I was stunned to say the least. It was only later when the security guys told us he was a contestant who had been rejected from the show we realised who he was."
The Westlife manager had been judging the show with Simon Cowell and reality TV star Sharon Osbourne just minutes before the incident occurred. He was about to leave the centre when the chaos unfolded.
Last night a Wembley spokeswoman said: "The man was arrested at the scene and he did more damage to his car than to anyone else.
"He drove across a grass verge and his car came to a halt on the steps because of how badly it was damaged."
Louis added: "It's amazing what some people will do when they get rejected. You can never tell what kind of reaction they will have.
"Thankfully nobody was hurt."
The X Factor finalists will battle for a place in bands managed by Louis, Simon and Sharon in a live TV series later this year. The judges are currently touring the UK and Ireland to audition wannabees.
Louis said: "Sharon has been lovely. I was worried that she would hate me because I said nasty things about her daughter Kelly in the past.
"I even heard she had put a curse on me but when I met her she was lovely. We have been getting on fantastically.
"She is very funny and extremely sweet. I don't have a bad thing to say about her."
Louis said that his band will almost certainly have an Irish member: "We have received over 800 applications for an audition.
"We are going to see them all in action in Dublin next week and hopefully we will be able to put few a through to the final.
"I would be very surprised if one of the members from my group isn't Irish."
Friday, July 09, 2004
| Bits and Pieces on Simon |
Fun with Figures
Filed: 06/07/2004
By Craig Brown for The Telegraph
In his recent autobiography...the Romanian tennis player Ilie Nastase devotes a paragraph to totting up his sexual conquests, most of them from his heyday in the 1970s.
"I think I've slept with about 2,500 women," he writes, adding, "sex in those days was like taking a daily shower - you take one, it feels nice, then you forget it."
His boast knocks spots off the records set by our...English casanovas. Last year, the waspish television personality Simon Cowell claimed in the Mail on Sunday that: "I've had between 70 and 100 women, if I were to hazard a guess."
********************
Wicked Whispers
July 1, 2004
From the Daily Mail
Simon Cowell and Cilla Black are getting cosy . . . professionally speaking.
The viper-tongued high-waisted bitch - that's Simon, not Cilla - flew the former Blind Date presenter to Los Angeles as his guest for a recording of American Idol, prompting speculation that, at best, Simon is to relaunch Cilla's career or, at worst, having her as a judge on September's Pop Idol clone, The X Factor, as a counterbalance to sarky Sharon Osbourne.
********************
Ooh, He Was Awful
July 3, 2004
By Lester Middlehurst
From the Daily Mail
Eliza Emery was four years old when she met her father for the first time. She says it was like meeting a stranger. Yet the man who told her to call him Dad was already a household name and adored by millions of people.
His name was Dick Emery, the comedian famous for such creations as Mandy, with the 'Ooh, you are awful' catchphrase; Clarence, the outrageous gay, and Hettie, the frustrated spinster.
His TV shows were watched by more than 20 million people every Saturday night in the 1970s, and he was famous the world over.
Since she left school, [Eliza] has been an accomplished singersongwriter, but has never really hit the big time. Now she feels the time is right for her to make it happen. She truly has a fantastic voice - in the mould of Celine Dion - as regulars at Le Quecumbar, a London jazz venue, and the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone, where she appears, have witnessed - but now she wants to widen her audience. She recently acquired a fan in Pop Idol's Mr Nasty, Simon Cowell, who says, 'Eliza has a world-class voice and deserves to be a massive star,' and Simon's brother, Tony, is now masterminding her career. She is about to launch It's Been A Long Time, a song she wrote and dedicated to her father, on the 21st anniversary of his death.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
| Outrageous TV Prank Makes Simon Howl, Part 2 |
13-19 December, 2003
By Jennifer Rodger for Hot Stars
Behold Simon's smart three-story town house in west London's desirable Holland Park neighbourhood. All it needs now is a huge silver appendage plonked on the side...
He's baaack. After his holiday, Simon looks tanned and refreshed. Dressed in his trademark jeans and t-shirt, the briefcase suggests he's already primed for business. Little does our lord of the manor suspect what lies in store...
Catching sight of the enormous new addition to his home, the normally quick-witted Mr. Cowell can only manage an incredulous "What the hell is that metal thing?"...three times!
The fake workman -- trusty prankster Ed Sayer -- calmly explains that the shiny silver eyesore is, in fact, the air conditioning system he ordered. Clearly unimpressed, Si ventures a tentative observation: "So it just sits there?"
Perhaps the record company boss would prefer his appliances to carry a tune as well? Ed helpfully points out that it's not just any old unit -- this is the type used by the Hilton hotel chain.
At this point, Simon calls in reinforcements on his mobile. He almost seems to be enjoying himself, but this is a favourite fear tactic he employs on talentless wannabes -- lull them into a false sense of security before unleashing a poisonous barb!
As expected, the smile soon fades. "It'll have to go," he snarls, finally seizing control of the situation. The builder insists that it stays, but his protestations are briskly swept aside. "I cannot care less," snaps Simon.
By now, TV's Mr. Nasty is really into his stride. It's time to bring out the biggest gun in his arsenal -- withering sarcasm. "I love it. I want one the other side," he quips. Be careful what you wish for, Si!
Uh-oh, that's done it. Simon squares up to the impertinent chap. "You think I'm being arsey?" "Yeah," comes the reply. "I couldn't give a toss," Si spits, in full hissy-fit mode. "You can stop. I'm paying for the work and you can stop it."
The final straw comes when the builder recognises Simon as the bloke off Pop Idol and cheekily asks if he might audition his girlfriend "who is quite pretty." Cowell can only roll his eyes, admit defeat, and sit dejectedly on his front steps.
Hang on...Simon finally twigs that he's been stitched-up good and proper as the culprits finally reveal themselves.
Game over! Simon's own family rush forward, holding video cameras to catch the moment when Simon Cowell, the King of Cruel, finally lost his cool...on national TV!
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
| Outrageous TV Prank Makes Simon Howl |
13-19 December, 2003
By Jennifer Rodger for Hot Stars
They say what goes around comes around. So by that reckoning, it was time Simon Cowell got his comeuppance.
The surly Pop Idol judge has reduced thousands of fame-hungry hopefuls to gibbering wrecks with his cruel comments and made a mint out of their misery.
So by the laws of karma, the high-flying, multi-millionaire music industry mogul was just about due a fall. And that's exactly what he got, thanks to Sky One's new hidden camera show, Celebrity Snatch, a cheeky British version of the popular US programme Punk'd.
Returning from LA to his west London home, Simon discovered that a huge air conditioning unit had been installed in his absence. Seeing the enormous metallic monstrosity perched imposingly on the side of his house, Si soon lost his customary cool.
It's a moment we've all been waiting for, but the question is, who set Simon up? There are plenty of culprits to choose from. It could have been one of the countless Pop Idol rejects out for revenge, or cheeky Geordie hosts, Ant and Dec, who never miss an opportunity to tease tetchy Si.
Then there's his fellow judge and long-time associate Pete Waterman, who received hundreds of crank calls after Simon gave out his mobile phone number live on air. It was in retaliation for Pete's stunt the week before, when he revealed his colleague's home address, but even Si had to admit he went too far. "I've had to apologise. It was a joke but it went wrong. I think I overstepped the mark and Pete's not very happy with me."
Or perhaps it was his girlfriend Terri Seymour, who was spotted on holiday in Barbados reading her man's autobiography, I Don't Mean To Be Rude, But... in which he describes her as "a bit gangly" and their relationship as "interesting."
Hot Stars can exclusively reveal who fitted him up in the following pages. We take our hat off to them, and we have to say Si, it couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke!
Come back tomorrow for the details of the practical joke that was played on Simon!
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
| The Search for X Appeal |
July 1, 2004
By Lee-Anne Fullerton for the Daily Mail
It's the latest reality TV show that promises to make you a star, but X-Factor is looking for talent with a difference.
Simon Cowell's latest project is hunting for the next big thing but this time age doesn't matter.
Grannies and grandads have been invited to audition alongside young pop hopefuls to find the best new performers in Britain and compete for the chance to win a lucrative record deal.
Billed as the biggest talent search so far, X-Factor received more than 50,000 applications from all over the UK, compared to Pop Idol's 16,000.
The only Scottish auditions began on Monday with hundreds of hopefuls queuing up at Glasgow's Radisson SAS hotel eager for the chance to perform in front of the music industry's nastiest executive, Simon Cowell.
Pensioners, fortysomethings, mums and dads joined the usual young wannabes to wait for their 15-minutes of glory.
And Simon's famous put-downs didn't seem to have put anyone off as they waited in the hope of the tiniest compliment from the judges...
Ben Shephard, who will be presenting the ITV 2 coverage of the X-Factor, said the Scots weren't taking any nasty comments lying down.
He said: 'Everyone is very feisty up here, they are not taking the criticisms easily and they have been answering back quite a bit. There have been a few who the judges felt really shined.
'The London auditions really set the standard, but with Michelle winning Pop Idol last year the Scots have realised they are in with a chance.
'The competition between the judges has really hotted up. They will be competing against each other and they are all getting a bit paranoid. There's a nice rivalry, but they each think there is a conspiracy against them, it is all a bit Big Brother-esque.'
And Ben claimed the older contestants have the lead in the competition.
He said: 'Simon told me that he's seen quite a few who will give the youngsters a run for their money. It all depends on how they are styled, but he said he has found someone who would even have won the US Pop Idol. It'll be a show with a difference.'
- The X-Factor hits TV screens in September on ITV.
Monday, July 05, 2004
| X Team Cross Swords |
June 27, 2004
By Rav Singh & Polly Graham for The News of the World
Pop's Mr Nasty Simon Cowell keeps having bust-ups with Sharon Osbourne on new TV talent show The X Factor.
They are both judges in the hunt to find a Cliff Richard-style crooner and have clashed daily since filming began earlier this month.
A TV insider said: "You don't want to be around them when they kick off."
| TV Judge Tells Tony - 'Dress Your Age' |
July 2, 2004
From This is Bradford
Singer Tony Green has bowed out in the third stage of a TV talent contest - due to his dress sense.
Tony 42 of Quarry Street Keighley was told by judge Simon Cowell that he had a great voice but didn't dress as a 40-year-old should.
He sang a rendition of Queen's "Somebody to Love" in front of judges Simon Cowell Westlife manager Louis Walsh Sharon Osbourne and television cameras at the Metropole Hotel in Leeds.
He was one of over 2 000 who initially sang at the hotel a month ago as part of "The X-Factor" programme with around 30 of then getting the nod to return last week.
Said Tony: "I didn't impress them. They said it was to do with my dress sense. I wore identical stuff to the first audition - faded jeans and a black vest. To be honest I don't think much to his dress sense - so he can talk!"
But Tony is refusing to change his image.
During the 1980s Tony was lead singer with Keighley rock band Krakatoa and was regarded as one of the best singers on the
local music scene. He is still a familiar face around the Keighley pub and club circuit where he performs with fiancee Louise Row.
Sunday, July 04, 2004
| Pop Idol: I'd Make Her #1 Again |
June 27, 2004, Sunday
By Ben Todd and Jessica Huie for the Sunday Mirror
With her new single Mine For Real out next month, Victoria Beckham is hoping to reignite her career. Here music guru and Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell -- who met Posh when she was in America recently -- gives the only ex-Spice Girl not to have a solo No1 his five-point plan on how she can become a top-selling star again...
1. MOVE TO AMERICA
Well, firstly Victoria would need to move to the States -- Los Angeles or New York would be best. She'd have to be there for a minimum of six months a year. It will be impossible to have a successful pop career based in Spain.
2. STAR IN A REALITY SHOW
Victoria should do what Jessica Simpson has done. Jessica is a US star whose sales were going down. Then she went on a reality TV show called The Newly Weds and acted dim. She became known for thinking a brand of tuna called Chicken Of The Sea was actually chicken. I think the whole thing was scripted, but she became known as the new dizzy blonde, the new Marilyn Monroe and now has a multi-million-selling album and is one of the biggest stars in the US.
That one show literally gave her two million sales. Or Victoria should do a show with me -- like Pop Idol or X-Factor. Us two on a show would be hilarious. I didn't ask her to judge on the X-Factor but I did say: "We should do something together." After doing a show like that, her career could turn around in a millisecond. The public would become more endeared to her. In fact, I'm amazed that she hasn't already put herself in that situation.
3. BE MORE NATURAL
Victoria needs to introduce her personality to the public. I met Victoria when she was in Los Angeles. I got to know more about her in three minutes than from all the Press coverage she's had in the last three years -- and I liked her. I thought Victoria was self-effacing, laughed at herself and didn't take herself too seriously. The public should get to know the real Victoria Beckham -- and I'm sure they'd like her. My opinion of her changed and now she's someone I would hang out with. We spent a great evening together.
4. STICK TO POP MUSIC
Victoria should definitely not be working with hip-hop producers. Her and hip-hop go together like chocolate ice-cream and an onion -- it just doesn't work. I think she let Damon Dash, who like a lot of the guys in this area are very smooth talkers, lead her astray and I think she was probably quite taken in by his personality.
I think now she looks back on it as a mistake, which she's happy to admit. She is on the right track already because she worked with Cathy Dennis on her new single -- Cathy wrote Britney's Toxic and Can't Get You Out Of My Head for Kylie. The problem with all the artists in this area -- Victoria, Kylie, Britney -- is that they're reliant on people writing good songs for them.
5. DUMP THOSE SHADES
Victoria needs to let down her guard. She's known from paparazzi shots as someone with dark glasses and a pout. But she is one of the nicest celebrities I've met. She looked me up and down and said: "I tell you what, I'll do you a deal -- I'll take you clothes shopping if you get me singing lessons." A lot of artists when you meet them only want to talk about themselves which is really boring. She was the opposite.
Saturday, July 03, 2004
| Westlife Do It their Own Way |
June 27, 2004
By Tina Calder for The People
I'M starting to feel sorry for the lads of Westlife these days.
There's a campaign in London to get them off the market and out of the industry. All together now - aaahhh.
One record company source told me this week that the big cheeses believed if Westlife weren't taken off the market soon, they could damage boybands for ever.
He said: "They are starting to become a cult figure and we have to stop that as soon as possible before nothing can compare to them."
According to insiders in the Westlife camp, the foursome are considering a permanent split if the next single doesn't do well, and - even worse - Simon Cowell is supposedly trawling for a Frank Sinatra song for them to cover next.
I swear, if you murder a Sinatra song boys I'll hunt you down myself. that's like me trying to rewrite Shakespeare.
| For Simon Lovers.......................... |
Gadget May Help Sleepers Choose Dreams
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
USA Today
TOKYO - Ever wished you could decide what to dream at night?
A Japanese toymaker says it has a new gadget that can help you do just that.
Tokyo-based Takara Co. says its "Dream Workshop" stand -- shaped like an oversized cellular phone dock and about 14 inches tall -- can be programmed to help sleepers choose what to dream.
While preparing for bed, the user mounts a photograph on the device of who should appear in the dream, selects music appropriate to the mood -- fantasy, comedy, romantic story, nostalgia -- and records key word prompts, such as the name of a romantic crush.
Placed near the bedside, the dream-maker emits a special white light, relaxing music and a fragrance to help the person nod off.
Several hours later, it plays back the recorded word prompts, timed to coincide with the part of the sleep cycle when dreams most often occur. It then helps coax the sleeper gently out of sleep with more light and music so that the dreams are not forgotten.
The device, which will sell for $136 in Japan starting late August, targets sleep-deprived businessmen, a company official said.
"There are many businessmen today who they say don't sleep because they are too busy. This gadget can be used to help them dream a good dream," said Takara spokeswoman Mayuko Hasumi.
In a study conducted on a group of men and women between the ages of 20-40, the device had a success rate of 22 percent in inducing dreams in which one of the prompt words appeared, said the Yomiuri Shimbun, a major daily.
Friday, July 02, 2004
| Mr Nasty Laps up the Girls |
14th December 2003
By Adam Helliker for the Daily Mail
The rumours questioning Simon Cowell's sexual leanings -- there have been whisperings about his alleged liaison with a Virgin Atlantic steward -- will suffer a setback with the news that the pop pundit has his very own legion of adoring female fans at the Covent Garden table-dancing club Stringfellows.
Bachelor Cowell, 44, has become such a regular patron of the louche haunt (where nubile girls writhe naked for Pounds 20 a time) that he can now be revealed as the bidder who paid Pounds 10,000 at The Rainbow Trust ball in return for a dinner for ten at the club with limitless dancing.
'I'm delighted it's him,' chuckles proprietor Peter Stringfellow. 'He's become a regular at the club and certainly seems to appreciate the attractions on offer.
He's very generous with the girls and while he may be Mr Nasty outside, they consider him to be Mr Wonderful.'
| Big Brother Host Likes Simon |
June 14, 2004
By Loma-Ann Bonner for the Daily Star
One of the best things about Big Brother is the chance to catch hunky Dermot O'Leary on the telly every day.
The gorgeous host of spin-off show Big Brother's Little Brother keeps us up to date with all the housemates' antics and gossip -- and he's certainly got his work cut out this year.
But one reason the show is so popular is that dishy Dermot is just as cheeky and interesting as the telly wannabes.
He's going out with behind-the-scenes TV girl Deborah Koppang -- although he's quick to quash rumours that he recently proposed.
But he does admit to a secret passion for another TV reality star. Dermot reckons that if he was a girl, he'd fancy Pop Idol's "Mr Nasty" Simon Cowell.
"He's confident. That's sexy," he says. "I've met him and I don't think he's rude, just honest."
That admission will only fuel false gossip that Dermot's gay, but it's obvious the 31-year-old doesn't give a monkey's.
He even says he enjoys being chatted up by fellas.
"It's great fun because I don't feel I'm doing anything wrong," he says.
"If a girl chats me up it's different, because I've got a girlfriend and I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea. But when a gay man chats me up, I feel like I can just talk to them. I think, 'Well, I'm not gay and there's not much they can do to make me gay'."
Thursday, July 01, 2004
| Who'll Be Top of the Pups? |
09:30 - 01 July 2004
By D. Taylor for This is Hull and East Riding
More on Pup Idol
Pop top dog Simon Cowell is using puppy love to help raise thousands of pounds for an East Yorkshire pet rescue group.
The celebrity music mogul is famous for barking out biting comments to quivering wannabes on the popular Pop Idol television talent show.
Now he has shown the caring side of his character by spearheading a national dog photograph competition run by Bridlington and District RSPCA.
Organisers hope Mr Cowell will help them to win country-wide publicity for their "Pup Idol" Competition, open to dogs of all ages. The money will go towards the branch's GBP 500,000 Buy A Brick appeal to buy its own dog and pet rescue centre.
Mr Cowell said: "I am a big dog lover, so when I heard, through friends, what they are trying to do at Bridlington, I was keen to support them.
"I have received a copy of the 'Pup Idol' poster they are using to publicise the competition, which I like very much."
At the moment, the branch has to pay for rescued pets and animals to be housed in privately owned kennels and catteries throughout the region.
Fundraising team member Sheila Jowett, of Bridlington, said: "The appeal has already raised GBP 120,000, but we felt it now needed a boost.
"Simon is a big celebrity and we hope his support will make a difference to the appeal."
The top prize is a watercolour portrait of the winning dog by Bridlington artist Liz Sweet, signed by Mr Cowell.
Entry costs GBP 2.
Cheques should be made payable to "Pup Idol" and sent (with SAE) to the RSPCA Charity Shop, 42 Quay Road, Bridlington YO15 2AP.
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