Latest news with #Donaghy
Irish Times
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Sugababes in Dublin review: A steamroller of peerless pop and sisterhood
Sugababes 3Arena, Dublin ★★★★☆ Like a cross between Destiny's Child and the cast of Grange Hill, Sugababes ' streak of early 21st-century hits applied a gritty British teenage twist to classic girl group pop. The only missing ingredient was the ability to get along. From the start, their quicksilver pop was clouded by melodrama and the occasional backstage bust-up. But a quarter of a century later, the band's founding members – Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy – have tied a ribbon around their tumultuous history and replaced conflict with collective joy. Rolling into Dublin 3Arena for the latest leg of a greatest hits tour, they delightfully blend nostalgia with the message that even in the cut-throat music industry, time heals all. There was a lot of healing to do. Donaghy left Sugababes in acrimony after just one album in the middle of a run of dates in Japan. Three years later, in March 2004, a concert in Dublin was cancelled ten minutes after it was due to start amid rumours of a dressingroom face-off between Buchanan and Donaghy's replacement, Heidi Range. READ MORE If ever a comeback was destined to be bumpy, then it was surely that of Sugababes, who are back in Ireland and the scene of the most notorious flashpoint (it was later reported that the cause of the Buchanan-Range dust-up was the perpetually controversial subject of Britney Spears's Toxic). The Sugababes in Dublin: delightfully blending nostalgia with the message that time heals all. Photograph: Alice Backham The twist is that instead of tears and tension, the original Sugababes have returned wiser and more appreciative of their audience. To that end, their Easter Sunday concert at 3Arena is a treat as delicious as an artisanal chocolate egg. It helps that, unlike some of their contemporaries (cough, Spice Girls, cough), their music has held up. That point is demonstrated as they kick off with the doomy, slo-mo stomp of their September 2000 debut single Overload, performed on stools that are revealed as a giant curtain falls to the ground. The atmosphere is half early 2000s pop revival and half heavenly school disco. Backed by a no-frills video display and a pub rock-y band, they rip through Red Dress and Ugly, a one-two that doubles as post-girl power feminist anthemia ('unzip your bias', declares the video screen during the former). Sadly, the mid portion of the set lags by comparison. The problem is that Sugababes don't have quite enough hits to deliver end-to-end bangers. A medley of their early recordings is, for instance, received with polite applause rather than any great enthusiasm. But they get things back on track with an epic new tune, Weeds, a trip-hop thumper that suggests a cross between Girls Aloud and Radiohead. From there, it's into top gear with Round Round: the sort of effortlessly effervescent pop many of their early 2000s contemporaries attempted but could never pull off. The encore is even better as they rip through their Tubeway Army-sampling cover of Adina Howard's Freak Like Me and the bittersweet barnstormer About You Now. The latter is a heartfelt chugger, which the trio, having changed into tracksuits, turns into a divine singalong. With old tensions smoothed over, Sugababes' Easter return to Dublin is a steamroller of peerless pop and sisterhood rekindled. Sugababes at 3Arena. Photograph: Alice Backham
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Broncos make swift return to Brisbane
Broncos chief executive officer Dave Donaghy has confirmed the safe overnight arrival in Brisbane of the club's players and coaching staff following Thursday night's 50-14 demolition of the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium. Desperate to get home as soon as possible due to the impending Cyclone Alfred, the Broncos contingent boarded a chartered flight out of Sydney following the match and arrived at Toowoomba's Wellcamp Airport about 11.30pm (Queensland time). From there, the players and staff were put on a bus, which arrived in Brisbane at 1.30am on Friday. It's good to be back 😌 — Brisbane Broncos (@brisbanebroncos) March 6, 2025 'We are extremely grateful to the team at Wellcamp for opening up their gateway to Brisbane for us to allow us to get the team and staff back to their families,' Donaghy said. 'We would also like to sincerely thank the NRL, broadcasters and the Roosters for working with us to ensure we could leave the stadium as quickly as possible after the game. 'The safety and wellbeing of our people has always been our priority. 'We are thinking of all of our members, fans and the wider communities in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast and hope everyone stays safe today and into the weekend while we see how Cyclone Alfred pans out.' Following the NRL first-round match, Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds said it was the 'unknown' that was causing concern among the team. 'I don't think too many people have been through a cyclone, so for us it's about getting home as soon as possible to be with our loved ones and making sure that we're all OK,' Reynolds said. 'We are thinking of everyone that's going to be affected through the cyclone. 'It's not something we want to go through, but it's important to bunker down and make sure everyone is OK and just check in on each other. 'We had a job to do (against the Roosters) for 80 minutes, and now we can turn our attention to getting back home and being with our families.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Washington lawmakers may tap brakes on specialty license plates
A mockup of the proposed Mount St. Helens license plate. (Courtesy of the Mount St. Helens Institute) Some Washington state lawmakers want to slow down on specialty license plates once they steer several more across the finish line this session. An omnibus bill approving seven new plates, including ones showcasing pickleball, Mount St. Helens and Smokey Bear, will receive a hearing Thursday in the state House Transportation Committee. In the same meeting, the panel will discuss legislation to stop new plates while a task force reviews the program — from how applications are handled and plates are chosen to the state's ability to recoup costs from less popular plates. The ban would run through June 2029. 'For those who have done the work, we should approve them,' said Rep. Brandy Donaghy, D-Mill Creek, a sponsor of both bills. 'Then we put a pause on special plates for four years to get better metrics.' All the plates proposed in House Bill 1368 and its companion bill sitting in the Senate Transportation Committee have been debated before. In each of the last two sessions, the state Senate voted overwhelmingly to put Mount St. Helens on a specialty license plate but the bills lapsed in the House. Proceeds from sales would go to Mount St. Helens Institute, a private nonprofit organization, to support youth education, land stewardship and science at the state's most active volcano, which is located in the southwest corner of the state. In 2023, the Senate authorized a plate recognizing pickleball, the official state sport, but it too got parked by the House. The money would go to the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association to build a pickleball facility capable of hosting regional and national tournaments and to construct dedicated pickleball courts throughout Washington. Donaghy helped pass a bill last session to put Smokey Bear on plates to boost public education focused on wildfire prevention. The programs would be administered by the state Department of Natural Resources and the plate was first championed by Hilary Franz, the former commissioner of public lands. The LeMay classic car museum in Tacoma is seeking a black and white 'throwback plate' to generate funds for education and job training related to automobiles. And sales of a proposed working forests plate would support the Washington Tree Farm Program. That program helps certify small landowners who practice sustainable forestry. Also proposed in the omnibus bill is a nautical northwest plate to celebrate Whidbey Island's maritime communities. Monies raised would go to Whidbey Island Maritime Heritage Foundation and Historic Whidbey. A 'Keep Washington Evergreen' plate would help fund installation of electric charging stations in the state. The Department of Licensing would be directed to design this plate to have green lettering on a white background in a style similar to license plates Washington issued in the 1970s. Washington now offers nearly 70 different special license plates recognizing the military, sports teams, colleges, parks, firefighters, farmers, elk, orcas, lighthouses, the state flower, square dancers and wine. Fees for specialty plates vary, with the money generally going to support causes that are tied to each plate's theme. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
