Speaking to Dermot O'Leary on stage during Monday's show at the Palladium, he added: "It's been a hell of a summer. I'm glad to be rid of the appendix - it was a pesky little bugger." He said he would not curtail his touring schedule. "I've played 92 countries, and I want to play 100," he said. "That's just the way I'm programmed."
X Factor - Comedian Harry Hill has said his forthcoming X Factor musical is not just for fans of the ITV talent show. Speaking at the launch of I Can't Sing!, Hill told the BBC there was "something for the likers and something for the haters" in the musical which pokes fun at the programme. X Factor boss Simon Cowell added he had no problem being "completely ripped apart" in the production. "I'm used to it. If it bothered me I wouldn't have done the show," he said. "I didn't want to do a musical we took too seriously - it's a fun show. The big thing for me was if the songs were good or not, but I get it in the neck throughout." The show will open at the London Palladium on 26 March with previews from 27 February.
Something New - Lady Gaga opened the iTunes festival in London, playing a set of entirely new material. The 60-minute show marked The pop star's comeback, after a broken hip caused her to cut short her Born This Way Ball tour earlier this year. "To say that I've missed you, it's a bit of an understatement," she told her fans on stage at London's Roundhouse.
Precious Metal - Classic Beatles albums including Revolver have finally gone platinum after the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) changed its sales award rules. Gold or platinum status has become synonymous with record success but the system has only been in place since 1973, after the Beatles broke up. Until last month, the BPI relied on a record company to request an award. Under the new system, sales figures are automatically recognised as soon as a record passes the relevant threshold. This means that 13 Beatles albums will now be recognised for the first time, although the number of sales can only be counted from 1994, when the Official Charts Company began keeping records.
That means that Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is now a triple-platinum album, having sold more than 900,000 copies since 1994. In total, the album is estimated to have sold 5.1m units in the UK since its 1967 release. Classic albums from Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys and Marvin Gaye will also receive awards.
Charity Notes - A bent spoon given to Uri Geller by Michael Jackson has sold for £500 at auction. The late singer gave the spoon when he acted as best man at mystic Geller's ceremony to renew his wedding vows at his home in Sonning, Berkshire. The item was one of many celebrities living in Berkshire and Oxfordshire donated to a charity auction in aid of Windsor's Thames Hospicecare.
(Jim Evans)
