Get Back - Sir Paul McCartney has resumed his concert tour after being forced to take nearly two months off due to a virus that left him in hospital. The 72-year-old played an arena in Albany, New York, on Saturday night as part of his Out There tour. "It's great to be back," he told the crowd during a three-hour set which took in nearly 40 tracks - a mix of solo hits, Wings songs and Beatles classics. Sir Paul has 19 performances scheduled for the US, including Candlestick Park in San Francisco, where the Beatles played their final full concert in 1966.
On The Record - Pink Floyd will release a new album later this year, the band's first in 20 years. Polly Samson, the wife of guitarist David Gilmour tweeted, "Btw Pink Floyd album out in October is called The Endless River.Based on 1994 sessions is Rick Wright's swansong and very beautiful." Wright, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, died in 2008 from cancer. No tour plans have been mentioned.
Cat Rap - The hit musical Cats looks set to include a rapping feline when it returns to London's West End this year. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber said the character of Rum Tum Tugger would become "a street cat" in the show. "I've come to the conclusion having re-read Eliot, that maybe Eliot was the inventor of rap," Lord Lloyd-Webber said. The composer was speaking at a launch event at the London Palladium on Monday, where Cats will run for 12 weeks from 6 December. The musical has been seen by more than 50m people in more than 30 countries since it premiered in 1981. It ran for 21 years in London and 18 years on Broadway. It is currently on a UK tour.
On The Waterfront - A £10m redevelopment project by Newcastle's Live Theatre - which will include a new outdoor performance space - has been given the go-ahead by its local council. Called LiveWorks, the project has been given planning permission to begin the construction of an outdoor stage, a public park, a children and young people's creative writing centre and a new office block, all of which will be next to the theatre itself on the city's quayside. The project will be an extension of Live Theatre's learning and participation programme, and the outdoor stage will be used by the theatre's youth theatre, as well as to screen films. Live Theatre finalised the purchase of the land in February, and also received a £6m loan from Newcastle City Council.
Shorter Skirts - A sequel to musical Dreamboats and Petticoats, called Dreamboats and Miniskirts, will open at the Theatre Royal in Windsor this summer. Produced by Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield, the musical is written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who penned Goodnight Sweetheart and Birds of a Feather, and who also wrote the original musical.
Diary Date - A new musical based on Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ will receive its world premiere at Curve in Leicester, following a workshop last year. The musical is written by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary and will begin previewing from 7 March 7, 2015. It will be directed by Luke Sheppard.
(Jim Evans)
