
Sugababes ‘honoured' to share same stage as Mariah Carey after headlining Pride
After taking to the stage, they said 'last night headlining was Mariah' before adding: 'It's a complete honour to be on the same stage.'
Just like Carey on Saturday, the group told the audience that the LGBT+ community has always been the 'core' of their fanbase.
Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy had the whole crowd bouncing as they closed the show with About You Now, despite some microphone issues.
Buena seemed to struggle as she sang the introduction, with her vocals fading out, but the trio recovered well, bringing the curtain down on this year's Preston Park performances.
The group referenced their 'long journey', having started when they were around 12 years old in 1998 before splitting and then regaining the name Sugababes in 2019.
Images of each of them as kids flickered up on screen accompanied by a voiceover describing their story so far. 'We found our way back to each other,' Buchanan said.
They almost forgot to sing their 2025 single Shook, starting the intro for the next song before doubling back, admitting they are 'not used' to having it in the set.
According to the BBC, roughly 300,000 people were in Brighton over the weekend.
Many of the acts across the weekend have made sure to remind their audience that Pride started as protest, with some making reference to Gaza and also transgender rights being rolled back in the UK.
Drag queen Tayris Mongardi, who performed at Brighton Pride this weekend, told the PA news agency that Pride is about being 'present and vocal' while also having a 'good bloody time'.
She said that while living and working in the UK is 'privileged' compared to other countries, it is still important to remember 'what we're fighting for'.
The performer said: 'Look, we're so blessed in so many ways to have the privileges we do here versus other countries and whatnot but really like it is a protest and you do have to remember not only its roots and where it's come from but what we're fighting for.
'Yes I might be queer and of colour but I have so many trans brothers and sisters, siblings and we're watching their rights actually being taken away – it's about being present, being vocal.'
Ms Mongardi has performed at every Brighton Pride since 2017, excluding the pandemic year, and now feels like she is 'part of the furniture' at the event, and said that Pride is about community.
She added: 'Protect trans lives, protect black lives, and have a good bloody time you know, we're all fighting, we're all trying to get through the place but have a good time while you're doing it right?'

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Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Mystery of ancient tradition makes it special, says Scots town's Burryman
Each year, Andrew Taylor dons a stifling costume covered head-to-toe in plant burrs and walks a nine-mile route around South Queensferry as part of the town's fair week. Along the way, he will stop around 20 times to receive a dram of whisky or collect a cash donation which goes to local charities. The Burryman is assisted in his journey by men on either side who hold up his arms on poles, while a bell-ringer announces 'hip, hip hooray, it's the Burryman's day!' The Burryman is helped by two assistants (Jane Barlow/PA) On Friday, Mr Taylor, who lives in the town near Edinburgh, will become the Burryman for the 14th time in his life. The 43-year-old's predecessor as Burryman interviewed him to make sure he had the right attitude to take on the local tradition. Thought to date back around 400 years, there are a number of theories around the origin of the Burryman character, including a celebration of the changing of the seasons. Mr Taylor, who works as an environmental warden for Edinburgh council, said he had been taught that the Burryman represented a scapegoat for the town who would take away bad luck. The Burryman drinks whisky as he walks around the town (Jane Barlow/PA) He told the PA News agency that an overcast day tends to make the walk easier, saying: 'Over the 13 years I've been doing it, we've encountered every bit of weather you can imagine. 'The weather's never defeated us, put it that way.' Fortunately, Mr Taylor likes whisky, though he is careful to pace himself as he will be taking about 20 drams throughout the day. The feeling of community spirit is what motivates him and his team. He said: 'It brings everybody out, you sense the good community spirit while you're doing it. 'I think it's very important to keep going.' Mr Taylor said he is happy to continue being the Burryman for years to come, saying it is one of very few similar local traditions associated with Scottish towns or villages. He said: 'The most amazing thing about it is, I don't think anybody can say for certain why the Burryman started, we've all have our different stories. 'It's got that lovely mystery about it, I really think that's what makes it what it is.'


New Statesman
an hour ago
- New Statesman
Dua Lipa, the people's critic
I don't think it's too much of a reach for me to assume that, if you're reading this, your preferred method of consuming literary criticism is in the pages of an esteemed 122-year-old magazine, perhaps alongside the weekend newspaper supplements. That's not to say you don't do other media. Perhaps you were a fan of Radio 4's Open Book before the BBC shuttered it at the end of last year. You might never miss an episode of the much-loved Backlisted podcast. It's likely you get to the Hay or Cheltenham festivals when you can. But the foremost champion of books right now, you might be surprised to hear, is a pop star. Dua Lipa's Service95 Book Club, for which the global pop powerhouse interviews acclaimed authors, has been a regular fixture on YouTube since 2023. In that time, Lipa has spoken to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Hernán Díaz, the Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk and the novelist-turned-public intellectual Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Clearly, Lipa has taste. The singer's love of books extends beyond this platform: she often posts pouty Instagram portraits where she holds up a recommended title, and has for several years been associated with the Booker Prize, speaking movingly at its 2022 ceremony about how reading the works of the novelist Ismail Kadare as a teenager helped her connect with her family's Kosovan-Albanian heritage. 'I often wonder if authors realise just how many gifts they give us,' she said then. Now, Service95 Book Club is available in podcast form. It delivers, for all intents and purposes, a classic author interview format: Lipa introduces a writer, and together they discuss the major themes of one of their books. She asks about the origin of the tale, as well as their linguistic and formal choices. Across 40-45 minutes, the episode becomes a thorough exploration of the text in question. Lipa's podcast isn't revolutionary. It doesn't imagine a new critical form altogether in the way BookTok did five or so years ago. But it nonetheless marks a significant shift in the landscape of mainstream literary media. As many publications' literary pages have steadily decreased in number and readership, book coverage on the radio has thinned and decent literary programming on TV remains a fantasy, a new approach has emerged: here is a glamorous, 29-year-old chart-topper taking a break from headlining stadiums around the world to lead the charge for books. The book snobs won't want to hear it, but for the most part Lipa is a satisfying interviewer. She chooses quality texts, not just the obvious latest bestsellers. In recent months her guests have included Max Porter, the author of Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, and Guadalupe Nettel, the Mexican writer whose novel Still Born has found acclaim in English translation. Lipa selects books published by independent presses as well as the 'Big Five', is unafraid of tackling weighty political themes, and isn't confined by the publishing cycle, often choosing titles that appeared years ago. Like any good critic, she thinks deeply about each of the texts she discusses. Her recent episode with Vincent Delecroix, the French author of the International Booker-shortlisted novel Small Boat – a story of 27 migrants who die while crossing the Channel, told from the perspective of an onshore operator who refuses to provide help – is a showcase in close reading and moral clarity. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Admittedly, not all of the episodes are stellar: Lipa's chat with the American novelist Ocean Vuong gets a little soppy and self-congratulatory, and I have once too often heard her perform a real bugbear of mine: answering her own question in the question, therefore assuming a response rather than leaving it open for the author. But there is no doubt she is championing literary culture among a generation – hell, a population – for whom reading has become passé compared to screen addiction. Last year the National Literacy Trust found that only 35 per cent of children over the age of eight enjoy reading in their spare time, the lowest figure ever recorded, while more recent polling by YouGov has found that 40 per cent of Britons have not read or listened to a book in the past year. Lipa's podcast alone is never going to solve the calamitous demise of reading for pleasure. But even if a sliver of her listenership buy or borrow a book they otherwise wouldn't have, it's unquestionably a worthwhile project – for her, for those readers, and for all of us who love literature. Ellen Peirson-Hagger covers education as senior writer at 'Tes', and music and books as a freelance writer [See also: Long live the solar power revolution] Related This article appears in the 07 Aug 2025 issue of the New Statesman, Summer Special 2025


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ozzy Osbourne leans on wife Sharon in one of their last photos together as part of first glimpse at moving new documentary
One of the last images of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne together has been released in a first look at an upcoming documentary on the singer's life. The Black Sabbath singer, famously known as the Prince of Darkness, died last month at the age of 76 - just weeks after performing his final concert. In the photo, the couple are seen smiling together on the couch in their home as part of the upcoming BBC One show Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home. Ozzy is dressed in a black T-shirt and sunglasses in the snap while a gold cross hangs around his neck. Sharon, donning a black long-sleeved top, breams at the camera while cradling the couple's Pomeranians. The BBC's upcoming documentary follows the Osbournes after they left Los Angeles to return home to England three years ago. Clare Sillery, BBC head of commissioning, documentaries, said: 'We are honoured to have had the opportunity to film with Ozzy and his family. 'The film captures an intimate glimpse into their journey as they prepare to return to the UK. 'It features family moments, humour, reflection and shows the enduring spirit that made Ozzy a global icon. 'We hope it brings comfort and joy to Ozzy's fans and viewers as they rememberand celebrate his extraordinary life.' It comes after Sharon revealed her husband's heartwarming final words about his fans after he said farewell to them with his last Black Sabbath concert. In an interview which took place just five days before his death, Sharon gushed about the concert, admitting it was a 'huge success'. She told Pollstar: 'It was the first time, I think, that anybody's gone into retirement and done it, where the show is streamed and it goes to charity. 'So it's the first time anybody has said goodnight like that, it's the perfect way, when you've had such a long career, to end it - I never wanted Ozzy to just disappear without some big event. The wife of the music legend also revealed how Ozzy was blown away by the support at the concert. She explained: 'He [Ozzy] turned around and he said to me that night, he said, 'I had no idea that so many people liked me'.' Ozzy took to the stage for his farewell concert at Villa Park stadium in his native Birmingham less than three weeks before his death - reuniting with his original Black Sabbath bandmates for the first time since 2005. The concert was to raise money for three charities: Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Acorns Children's Hospice. More than 42,000 fans packed into the venue for the Back To The Beginning show, during which he told the crowd in his final speech: 'You've no idea how I feel - thank you from the bottom of my heart.' A message on screen then read: 'Thank you for everything, you guys are f***ing amazing. Birmingham Forever,' before the sky lit up with fireworks. Ozzy had told of it being his last performance due to his health, having opened up about his battle with Parkinson's in 2020. The musician had undergone seven surgeries in the past five years, including a fourth spinal operation in 2023, and had been battling Parkinson's disease since 2003. Before his final show, Ozzy said he hoped to continue recording music after retiring from live performing, but he heartbreakingly died before he was able to do so. Ozzy's last solo album, 2022's Patient Number 9, featured a long list of guest artists, including hid Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Zakk Wylde, and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, among others. Last month, huge crowds descended on Birmingham to pay tribute to the beloved Prince of Darkness at his funeral procession. The funeral cortege was led by a live brass band, Bostin' Brass, who performed versions of Black Sabbath songs such as Iron Man, as thousands of tearful devotees lined the streets and sang along in Ozzy's memory. The hearse carrying the singer's coffin - adorned with purple flowers spelling out 'Ozzy' - passed the star's childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, shortly after midday. Flowers had been placed outside the terraced property, close to Villa Park, while the owners of the house put up a picture of Osbourne in the front bay window. Sharon led the procession with her children Jack, Aimee and Kelly and Ozzy's son Louis from his first marriage as they comforted each other amid their devastating grief. Thousands of people were pictured taking their places not only on Black Sabbath Bridge but along the city centre route along which his cortege travelled towards the Black Sabbath Bridge bench. Fans clapped and cheered chanting 'Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy' as the rock legend's hearse passed through the streets of Birmingham as Sharon watched on and brushed away tears. Describing Ozzy as a 'working class hero' who loved his city, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham said: 'I got to know him in the last few weeks when we gave him the freedom of the city and he was just so humble, so down to earth. He was a working class hero. 'I couldn't tell he was a rock star, he was just an ordinary guy, so caring. He had working class roots and his loved his fans, he loved his city, he always promoted Birmingham wherever he went, he was proud to have been born in Aston. 'His slogan was 'Birmingham Forever' and that makes me such a proud citizen. It was a last hurrah for him today.' Ozzy and his Black Sabbath bandmates - Terence 'Geezer' Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward - were recently given the freedom of the city of Birmingham, which recognises people's exceptional service to the city. Ozzy is survived by his wife Sharon and his five children Jessica, Louis, Aimee, Kelly and Jack. In a statement shared by Ozzy's family at the time, it said he died 'surrounded by love', adding: 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.'