Latest news with #BirminghamCityUniversity
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I'm an Alton Towers rollercoaster expert and people always make one mistake on rides'
John Burton is an attraction whizz who has enjoyed a glittering career that has seen him create immersive experiences including Nemesis Reborn, Toxicator, The Curse at Alton Manor and many others The mastermind behind Alton Towers Resort attractions including Nemesis Reborn and Toxicator has shared the one mistake that could ruin your theme park experience. Few people better understand how to get the very best out of a theme park than John Burton. The attraction whizz has enjoyed a glittering career that has seen him create immersive experiences including Nemesis Reborn, Toxicator, The Curse at Alton Manor and many other of the best known rides at the park. As the school summer holidays get underway, John has shared some tips for those planning a theme park trip. 'The one thing you should never do is close your eyes. By doing that you're missing half the experience - all the incredible theming, the storytelling, and the artistry that is built into every ride," he said. 'People think it helps calm their nerves, but it actually makes the whole experience worse. You lose all visual context, your brain can't process what's coming, which amplifies the fear.' John, whose official title is senior creative lead at Merlin Magic Making, was recently crowned Alumnus of the Year by Birmingham City University for his contribution to thrillseeking. He is the brains behind Alton Tower's latest attraction for 2025 - Toxicator. The only topspin ride of its kind in the UK, its extreme spin patterns exert centrifugal forces on those brave enough to ride it. He says there's a science - and an art - to getting the best thrills. And he credits his success with his focus on storytelling. He explained: 'The rides at Alton Towers are a magical combination of engineering and storytelling to create truly immersive worlds. So look up. Look around. Let yourself feel it. Rides and rollercoasters are about surrendering to the moment - and the more you engage, the more thrilling it gets.' John, who recalls being too scared to ride rollercoasters as a child, says there is one key hack to avoid the queues at Alton Towers Resort - which is offering families an extra day of fun for free this summer. The deal includes an overnight stay at the resort, full entry to the theme park, plus a completely free second day of thrills, giving guests the chance to double the adventure and make twice the memories. He explained: 'It's the classic mistake. Everyone piles into the first big-name coaster near the entrance. Go to the rides at the back of the park first - you'll beat the queues and get more rides in.' And he says fighter pilots can teach all of us a lesson on how to get the best out of a rollercoaster. 'On high-G rides like Nemesis Reborn, to prevent light-headedness, try tensing your calves and core like a fighter pilot to reduce blackout sensations - and remember to keep breathing," John added. 'On coasters like Wicker Man, sit at the back for stronger airtime and a more intense pull over the hills. For cinematic rides like Nemesis Reborn, go front row to get the full view and immersive story.' John's top five Alton Towers ride hacks Nemesis Reborn: Head for the front row: With no seats in front of you - you will be face to face with the incredible visuals. Smiler: Keep your eyes open: With 14 loops in total keeping your eyes open helps your body stay oriented. Wicker Man: Head for the back row: You'll be pulled over drops faster for maximum airtime. Toxicator: Choose wisely: If you want more backwards flips - sit on the side facing Nemesis Sub-Terra - but if you want more forward flips - face Galactica. Oblivion: Choose wisely: The back row gives you more airtime and the feeling of tipping over. The front row is a straight dive down into the black hole.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
I built some of the UK's most popular roller coasters - here's the biggest mistake people make on rides
As millions of Brits flock to the nation's top theme parks over the summer, Britain's 'Rollercoaster King' has revealed the top mistake parkgoers make on rides. John Burton, Senior Creative Lead at Merlin Magic Making, is the award-winning designer behind some of the UK's most popular rides, including Alton Tower's Nemesis Reborn and Toxicator, along with Alton Manor's The Curse. The mastermind was recently crowned Alumnus of the Year by Birmingham City University for his phenomenal contribution to thrill-seeking. Now, the creative force has shared his expert insights to help thrill seekers maximise their visit to amusement parks - while warning of the one mistake that could ruin a visitor's experience. John's golden rule for any rider, whether they're an adrenaline junkie or more prone to nerves, is to keep their eyes open at all times. He said: 'The one thing you should never do is close your eyes. By doing that you're missing half the experience - all the incredible theming, the storytelling, and the artistry that is built into every ride. 'People think it helps calm their nerves, but it actually makes the whole experience worse. You lose all visual context, your brain can't process what's coming, which amplifies the fear.' In terms of nerves, John advised: 'On high-G rides like Nemesis Reborn, to prevent light-headedness, try tensing your calves and core like a fighter pilot to reduce blackout sensations - and remember to keep breathing.' According to John, there is a science and art to getting the best thrills at theme parks, and of the core elements is storytelling. He explained: 'The rides at Alton Towers are a magical combination of engineering and storytelling to create truly immersive worlds. 'So look up. Look around. Let yourself feel it. Rides and roller coasters are about surrendering to the moment - and the more you engage, the more thrilling it gets.' John also revealed that where people sit on rides can significantly impact their experience. On roller coasters such as Wicker Man, he advised sitting at the back for stronger airtime and a more intense pull as it glides over the hills, and on cinematic rides like Nemesis Reborn, he urged riders to sit in the front row to get the full, immersive view. In addition, John shared a key hack to avoid long queues at Alton Towers over the summer break. He urges parkgoers to head to the rides at the back of the park first, as most visitors tend to pile onto the first prominent rollercoaster near the entrance. Alton Towers is currently offering a deal that will guarantee families an extra day of fun for free this summer, which includes an overnight stay at the resort and full entry to the park on both days - giving guests the chance to double the adventure. Meanwhile, Blackpool Pleasure Beach has unveiled footage of its newest ride - which promises to be the 'tallest of its kind' in the UK and transform the resort's famous coastline. The park has released the first CGI video of Aviktas, a brand-new £8.72m pendulum ride set to open in 2026. Riders will fly on the towering 138ft gyro swing, alongside the popular Big One roller coaster and parallel to the coast, which is displayed in new footage created by the park's creative team. The ride will be the 'tallest of its kind' in the UK, surpassing the current leader, Drayton Manor's Maelstrom, which reaches approximately 74 feet in height.
Malaysian Reserve
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Malaysian Reserve
Oasis: from clash to cash
LONDON – Fifteen years after their explosive split, British music legends Liam and Noel Gallagher are reuniting for an Oasis tour that promises not only Britpop nostalgia but also a staggering payday. While Liam has insisted that money is 'way down the list' of reasons for the feuding brothers' reunion, British press reports have suggested that each sibling could pocket around £50 million ($67 million). Matt Grimes, a music industry expert at Birmingham City University, offered a slightly more conservative estimate of around £40 million per Gallagher for the 17 UK dates alone. Oasis, whose hits include 'Wonderwall', 'Don't Look Back in Anger' and 'Champagne Supernova', kick off the reunion tour Friday in Cardiff before playing several dates in their home city of Manchester next week. Almost 1.4 million tickets have been sold for the UK shows, generating an estimated £240 million, according to Barclays bank. And that's just the beginning. Merchandise sales, from T-shirts and puzzles to baby clothes and tableware, plus six pop-up shops across the UK and Ireland could push total revenue to around £400 million, Grimes said. The 24 concerts outside the UK, including in Buenos Aires, Chicago, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto, will drive revenues even higher. Still, the money from the return of Oasis is dwarfed by Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour, which grossed $2.2 billion from ticket sales alone across 149 shows worldwide. It was 'a much bigger logistical event or sets of events than Oasis are proposing', Grimes said. There was a chaotic scramble for prized Oasis tickets when they went on sale in August last year. But fans were left outraged by exorbitant ticket costs that saw sudden price hikes — known as dynamic pricing — based on overwhelming demand, in some cases from £150 to £350. Ticketmaster, one of the official sales websites, said the pricing decision was made by the 'tour organiser'. Oasis pointed the finger at their promoter. The Gallagher brothers' promotional plan, however, was minimal: two posts on social media — one to tease, the other to confirm. 'The fact that they announced a reunion after many, many years of 'Will they, won't they' is enough to make the press interested,' Chris Anderton, professor of cultural economics at the University of Southampton, told AFP. For Oasis there's no new album to promote, just classics to revive. 'In the 1970s, even maybe the 1980s, you went on tour to sell albums,' Anderton said. 'Now you go on tour to make money and the album is something on the side — if you make one at all.' 'Definitely Maybe', released 30 years ago, climbed back to the top of UK sales charts on the back of the reunion tour announcement. Each Oasis concertgoer will spend an average of £766 on tickets and outgoings such as transport and accommodation, according to Barclays. That is set to inject £1 billion into the British economy. Two key shifts help explain the rise of mega-tours, said Cecile Rap-Veber, managing director at the French artists' rights group Sacem. On one hand, streaming 'doesn't bring in as much money as the CD era', prompting artists to look at how to make money elsewhere, she said. On the other, 'the public's appetite for live shows' surged after the lockdown years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those factors make fans more willing to spend big. Grimes sums up the choice: 'Do I go to… Spain or maybe the south of France for a week's holiday that's going to cost me £600? Or do I go and see my favourite band?' –AFP FIVE best-loved classics from the bad boys of 1990s Britpop Oasis, who make their long-awaited comeback with a reunion tour kicking off in Cardiff on Friday: 'Supersonic' (1994): The first Oasis single released was from their inaugural album 'Definitely Maybe' and penned, as with most of their songs, by Noel Gallagher. It features brother Liam's distinctive singing style: holding and drawing out a syllable, with a touch of his Manchester accent coming through. In a Vogue interview in 2019, Liam named 'Supersonic' the song he liked best from the band's repertoire and it contained his all-time favourite lyrics: 'I need to be myself/I can't be no one else/I'm feeling supersonic, give me gin and tonic'. 'Live Forever' (1994): The Manchester band's breakthrough hit came with their third single, which was their first to reach the top 10 in the UK charts. The single cover was a photo of Beatles legend John Lennon's childhood home — the band Oasis often compared themselves to and to whom they would be compared. 'It was the tune that changed everything,' Noel recalled in an interview in 2009. The upbeat track, with lyrics such as 'I just wanna fly' and 'I don't wanna die', were written partly in reaction to the negative message of grunge. In particular Nirvana's song 'I Hate Myself and Want to Die' irked the young songwriter Noel. 'Kids don't need to hear that nonsense,' he later said. Cigarettes & Alcohol' (1994): But life-affirming optimism was not exactly a running Oasis theme, already clear from their next single and now one of their all-time classics. In their concerts it is the most performed of all their songs, featuring 645 times, according to the programmes of 837 concerts published by analysed by AFP. The track captured the band's image as bad boys, a reputation that would solidify over the next decade till their break-up in 2009. It included lines such as: 'You could wait for a lifetime/To spend your days in the sunshine/You might as well do the white line.' Questioned about the example the song might be setting for young fans, the brothers said it was not about glorifying bad behaviour. 'It's a feeling you get when you are on the dole and you've got no money, maybe to escape from your surroundings, that all you have is cigarettes and alcohol,' Noel said on 'The O Zone' in 1994. 'Wonderwall' (1995): 'And after all/You're my wonderwall' — the refrain is so familiar even non-fans are likely able to belt it out. The song was taken from their second of seven studio albums, and by far the band's most successful: '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' shifted over 20 million copies globally. A 1960s film with the same title, and featuring music by Beatle George Harrison, had been an inspiration for the contemplative song, which includes prominent mellotron that sounds like a cello. Looking back, the Gallaghers struggled to understand the huge success of the track. 'Every time I have to sing it I want to gag,' Liam told MTV in 2008, according to The Guardian. But in 2012 he did reprise it for the Olympics closing ceremony in London, performing without Noel. 'Don't Look Back in Anger' (1996): One of the rare tracks with Noel on lead vocals, this pensive song is the second most featured in 837 concerts. It came out towards the end of Oasis's heady mid-1990s when they were at the peak of their fame. As a mark of their status in British culture extending well beyond the music scene, when recently elected Prime Minister Tony Blair entered Downing Street in 1997, the fresh-faced leader invited the band for celebratory drinks and Noel was captured in a now-famous image with Blair, both sipping a glass of wine. 'I was 30, off me head on drugs, and everyone telling me we were the greatest band since who knows,' Noel said to Spin magazine in 2008 about that time. The place of 'Don't Look Back in Anger' in the public imagination was clear decades after its release, in 2017, following a bombing at a Manchester pop concert that killed 22 people. A grieving crowd spontaneously sang the song's now-poignant lyrics after a minute's silence in the city centre for the victims, days after the attack. –AFP
Time of India
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Oasis: From clash to cash
Fifteen years after their explosive split, British music legends Liam and Noel Gallagher are reuniting for an Oasis tour that promises not only Britpop nostalgia but also a staggering payday. While Liam has insisted that money is "way down the list" of reasons for the euding brothers' reunion, British press reports have suggested that each sibling could pocket around £50 million ($67 million). Matt Grimes, a music industry expert at Birmingham City University, offered a slightly more conservative estimate of around £40 million per Gallagher for the 17 UK dates alone. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Join new Free to Play WWII MMO War Thunder War Thunder Play Now Undo Oasis, whose hits include "Wonderwall", "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Champagne Supernova", kick off the reunion tour Friday in Cardiff before playing several dates in their home city of Manchester next week. Almost 1.4 million tickets have been sold for the UK shows, generating an estimated £240 million, according to Barclays bank. Live Events And that's just the beginning. Merchandise sales, from T-shirts and puzzles to baby clothes and tableware, plus six pop-up shops across the UK and Ireland could push total revenue to around £400 million, Grimes said. The 24 concerts outside the UK, including in Buenos Aires, Chicago, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto, will drive revenues even higher. Comeback tour Still, the money from the return of Oasis is dwarfed by Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour, which grossed $2.2 billion from ticket sales alone across 149 shows worldwide. It was "a much bigger logistical event or sets of events than Oasis are proposing", Grimes said. There was a chaotic scramble for prized Oasis tickets when they went on sale in August last year. But fans were left outraged by exorbitant ticket costs that saw sudden price hikes -- known as dynamic pricing -- based on overwhelming demand, in some cases from £150 to £350. Ticketmaster, one of the official sales websites, said the pricing decision was made by the "tour organiser". Oasis pointed the finger at their promoter. The Gallagher brothers' promotional plan, however, was minimal: two posts on social media -- one to tease, the other to confirm. "The fact that they announced a reunion after many, many years of 'Will they, won't they' is enough to make the press interested," Chris Anderton, professor of cultural economics at the University of Southampton, told AFP. £1 bn economic boost For Oasis there's no new album to promote, just classics to revive. "In the 1970s, even maybe the 1980s, you went on tour to sell albums," Anderton said. "Now you go on tour to make money and the album is something on the side -- if you make one at all." "Definitely Maybe", released 30 years ago, climbed back to the top of UK sales charts on the back of the reunion tour announcement. Each Oasis concertgoer will spend an average of £766 on tickets and outgoings such as transport and accommodation, according to Barclays. That is set to inject £1 billion into the British economy. Two key shifts help explain the rise of mega-tours, said Cecile Rap-Veber, managing director at the French artists' rights group Sacem. On one hand, streaming "doesn't bring in as much money as the CD era", prompting artists to look at how to make money elsewhere, she said. On the other, "the public's appetite for live shows" surged after the lockdown years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those factors make fans more willing to spend big. Grimes sums up the choice: "Do I go to... Spain or maybe the south of France for a week's holiday that's going to cost me £600? Or do I go and see my favourite band?"
Rhyl Journal
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
What is Oasis stars Liam and Noel Gallagher's net worth?
Fans have already had a teaser of what to expect following rehearsals in Cardiff, as Cigarettes and Alcohol echoed around the venue during sound check. But as Oasis Live 25 begins after more than a decade since the band split, you might be wondering what Liam and Noel's net worth is – let's find out. It's been reported that Noel's net worth is in the region of £53 million, according to MoneyWeek and other sources. Meanwhile, his brother Liam is thought to have a net worth of around £4.6 million, as he allegedly doesn't receive as much money in royalties as Noel. But how much money could the pair be making from their Live 25 tour? Based on the original dates announced (with more added later due to demand), it was estimated that the first 14 alone could bring in £400 million in ticket sales and other add-ons, according to Birmingham City University, in figures shared by The Guardian. They added that Liam and Noel are reportedly both in line to earn £50 million each. The highly anticipated Oasis tour will start on Friday, July 4, as the brothers take over Principality Stadium in Cardiff. They will also perform for a second night in the Welsh capital on Saturday, July 5, as fans watch the duo back in action after 16 years. The rest of the UK dates for the Oasis Live 2025 tour are as follows: Liam and Noel will then head off to the likes of Japan and Australia to continue their comeback tour. Following rumoured tensions between the brothers, Oasis officially announced their split back in August 2009, as reported by Radio X. It came after Liam and Noel cancelled their scheduled appearance at the Rock En Seine festival in Paris. Recommended reading: How much Liam and Noel Gallagher are set to earn from the Oasis Live 25 UK tour Oasis heard performing 'epic' soundcheck for first time in 15 years Oasis appear on two special edition magazines ahead of reunion tour Soon after, Noel released a statement which said: 'It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. 'People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.' Are you going to see Oasis live on tour? Let us know where you will be seeing them perform across the UK (or further afield) in the comments below.
