Wishing Susan Boyle well...

I'm sad to hear the news that Susan Boyle has been admitted to The Priory clinic amid fears over her health following Britain's Got Talent Final on Saturday.

Britain's Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle has been taken to the Priory clinic after the Saturday night TV show final left her 'exhausted and emotionally drained'.

'She has been seen by her private GP who supports her decision to take a few days out for rest and recovery,' said a statement from programme-makers Talkback Thames.

In my blogging about her.... I've always thought she's a bit of an 'oddball'. The mind is a very fragile thing... and the line between being doolally and 'normal' is very fine... and in any case... what IS normal? Remember the Jack Nicholson film 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'? That film said it all!

The turn of events during the last day or so are sad for Susan but she's in the right place and I hope they give her the care she needs and help pull her back on track after the huge pressure and change in her life recently.

I wish her well and hope for a speedy recovery!

You can watch the video of her great performance on BGT Final on Saturday here. Can't post it here as 'embedding' has been disabled by YouTube for some reason.

Susan Boyle not quite 'on the mark' on Britain's Got Talent semi final

Last night on Britain's Got Talent (BGT), my fears for Susan Boyle, which have arisen over the last couple of weeks, following her spectacular performance on her stunning BGT debut, were sadly realised!

Two weeks ago, Susan stunned the world with her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from the musical Les Miserables. She was simply fantastic... and the whole world agreed.

Since then, she has appeared on 'Larry King Live', on 'the Oprah Show'... and over 100 million people across the world have watched her videos on YouTube.

I don't know about you, but during the last two weeks, I have felt the expectations building up in a way that must have put huge pressure on her. As Simon Cowell says on the video below:

"The whole world is watching Susan Boyle perform tonight. I wouldn't want to be standing where she is right now!"

Well, in the event, sadly, last night... that pressure showed!

In the BGT semi-final last night, Susan Boyle was clearly very nervous. Right from the first note of 'Memory', the 'Cats musical classic', Susan's voice cracked and she missed the note. Her breathing seemed to me laboured... and she knew it. You can see her in the video... clutching her tummy following that note. As a result, the combination of the pressure on her and the knowledge that she had missed that important first note also affected her timing... and it all came close to falling apart for her.

To her credit.... she kept on and she did manage to pick herself up about halfway through the song... but again at the end... I'm afraid she had difficulty maintaining that very difficult high note... her voice quavering badly!

What do you think? If you missed her performance last night, you can judge for yourself. Here's Susan Boyle singing 'Memory', from the classic musical 'Cats' on Britain's Got Talent semi-final last night:



On her debut, there is no question Susan 'nailed' 'I Dreamed A Dream'. Last night... she didn't 'nail' 'Memory', arguably, a much more difficult song. The nerves and the pressure... sadly beat her!

Nevertheless, it was still a 'goodish' performance, and there's no doubting her obvious talent... she has a remarkable voice and can sing... no question about that! She also has a capturing personality... if slightly 'oddball'!

If she's going to win this year's BGT, Susan needs to get hold of herself, calm down and dominate her totally understandable nerves. She'll need to show us her 'real stuff' next time round... and once more 'nail' whatever song she chooses. She will also need to be careful with that choice!

I like her a lot. I love the joy she clearly feels when she sings for us. It's an intrinsic part of the charm we all recognise in her. I also like her personality with that hip swivelling stuff when she's excited... though some disagree. One comment I saw says "it was cute once... maybe... but it's time to move on". Trouble is... it wouldn't be her then would it? I like her as she is, that's part of her 'oddball' charm... and her 'man of the moment'... Piers Morgan, thinks so too!

Here's a funny excerpt of the goings on backstage last night from Piers Morgan's blog:

"I'm also never going to forget what happened to me at 10:32pm last night.

Because that was the moment when Susan Boyle ran down a flight of stairs at the Fountain Studios in Wembley, North London, flung herself into my arms, and planted a five-second 'smacker' right bang on my lips!

It wasn't entirely unexpected.

A few minutes earlier, Susan had declared her feelings towards me in a rather more public way by dancing a little jig of joy on stage after winning last night's first Britain's Got Talent semi-final, and shouting: 'THIS IS FOR YOU, PIERSY BABY!'

But that was positively restrained compared to what happened backstage.

To say Susan was pleased at getting through to the final is probably the understatement of the century. You have to remember that until a month ago nobody had ever heard of her, but now she is the most downloaded, and talked about, woman on the planet. The pressure that comes with all that attention is absolutely huge, and I could tell she was incredibly nervous when I spotted her standing on her own in a corner backstage before the show started.

Then she came out and missed her very first note on Memory, and I think everyone watching feared it had finally got to her.

But Susan quickly recovered, got into her stride, and ended up delivering an absolutely stunning version of the Cats musical classic that brought house down, and thrilled the world all over again just as she did in her original audition.

If you thought she looked thrilled on stage, you should have seen her off it. She was absolutely exploding with excitement, relief and pure, unrestrained joy.

'You did it!' I said to her, as I spied her heading up the stairs near the judges' dressing room area.

'Oh Piersy!' she shouted, then skipped down the stairs, jumped on me and kissed me full on the lips for quite some time.

'I've been kissed now!' she laughed, then she danced another jig, and ran off again.

I'll be dining out on that for the rest of my life!

If you agree with my comment and thought Susan Boyle looked nervous when she stepped on stage to sing Memory, you'd be right. That's because during rehearsals, Susan nearly fell over as she walked toward her microphone, on the stage.

More evidence of her obvious nerves can be found on Susan's BGT blog, when she said, "I got a bit of shock during rehearsals... I nearly fell flat on my face"!

Following this close call, to keep accidents at bay, the soles of Susan's shoes were apparently scored so they gripped better and Susan breathed a sigh of relief when she made it across the stage.

The Lothian lady enjoyed her time backstage preparing... although the pampering made her a little perplexed.

She told us, "Every few minutes, someone comes up to me and asks me to back to make-up".

"I've been in there three times already - but I keep going back again.

It's all going to be very thick by the time we get to show time.

It's a job that's never finished... like painting the Forth Bridge!"

Well... one thing those horrid people can't make any more stupid comments about are her eyebrows. (as they have done). These have clearly been worked on... and she looked very good and still very much herself. As I say, she does have an 'oddball' sense of humour and capturing personality.

I very much hope she does a little better for the Britain's Got Talent Final... and hope she wins... but lots to do... and she hasn't got this in the bag... yet!

Parky sets record straight about Jade Goody comments

Veteran broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson, in an article and video for the Daily Telegraph, says his comments made about Big Brother star Jade Goody in the Radio Times just after she died were directed against the society and the television show that created her rather than the star herself.



Sir Michael's setting the record straight' follows his attack on Jade Goody mourners last week, when he claimed the death of Jade Goody, the reality TV star's death, was exploited by people who 'pretended to be sad.

Higgins looking like the Champ... as Willie continues to be a pain and thorn in my ears

After over 30 years watching BBC Snooker... I find it very sad that I am forced to watch the
Snooker World Championship Final on Eurosport!! :(

This is solely because of the BBC Snooker producers' insistence to select Willie Thorne as commentator... despite his widespread unpopularity. Unbelievable!

Thorne's 'machine-gun' like 'motor mouth' commentary, with continual inanities... constantly predicting the outcome of shots wrongly... and speaking through important shots... (well every shot!) is just exasperating!!

In complete contrast, Joe Johnston's commentary on Eurosport UK is much easier on the ear... and blood pressure!!

Having had my little rant... things are looking distinctly bleak for Shaun Murphy having just lost the afternoon session 1-3. At the break, John Higgins is 14 - 6 up. Barring an amazing comeback by Murphy, a feat never seen in a Snooker World Championship Final at the Crucible... Higgins is looking like a Champ! On the balance of play... he well deserves it!

Update - 21:05

Congratulations to John Higgins on achieving the inevitable... and becoming for his 3rd time... the World Snooker Champion!

Not one of the 'classic' finals... but nevertheless well deserved!

Great Snooker Championship... but will someone please tell Willie to shut up!

The Snooker World Championships from Sheffield's Crucible Theatre has this year, once more excited me and surpassed all my expectations!

BBC Sport has once again produced a great spectacle... which I have thoroughly enjoyed... with a couple of exceptions.

I've been watching televised Snooker since the early 70's. Like many of you, I'm sure, I have some wonderful memories and great affection for this tournament. For me, April has always been about the FA Cup Semi's, the Boat Race, the Grand National... and last but by no means least, the World Snooker Championship!

I remember many wonderful moments over the years... of this great staple of BBC sport. In particular, I remember moments like the time we all stayed up till the early hours to watch the amazing 1984 'Black Final', won by Dennis Taylor against Steve 'The Nugget' Davis. Another memorable moment for me was the first televised 147 maximum break by Chris Thorburn, which I watched live as it happened. The only thing better would have been, if I'd actually been there!

This 2009 World Championship, to-date, has been exceptionally good and of a very high standard by any yardstick. Already it has broken the all time record of 'centuries' scored, and we still have the Semi's and the Final to come!

Yesterday's encounter between Higgins and Selby was awesome. In the much used cliche... it's a pity there had to be a loser. What an exciting match that was. Unfortunately for me, (and here comes my first excpetion I mentioned earlier) the match was marred and my enjoyment was spoilt by Willie Thorne!

Willie Thorne's 'machine-gun' like 'motor mouth' commentary, with continual inanities... speaking through important shots, was exasperating... and not for the first time!

The BBC coverage of the Snooker World Championships... for me... has always been greatly enhanced by the great commentators, and in the past great presenters too!

I love the characters, the old timers such as my favourite, John Virgo, who can be hilariously funny, very poignant (showing great humanity at times) or just well balanced. He and the likes of Dennis Taylor (another favourite), Clive Everton, (the serious master) and Terry Griffiths, are terrific... with their balanced and intelligent... AND timely commentary. None of whom ever talk through important shots... or 'motor mouth' their way through any pauses. They just give us an informed view of what we are seeing but at the right pace. So... here's a plea to the BBC producers and all of Willie Thorne's colleagues... will someone please tell him... to SHUT THE F--- UP!!

I mentioned two exceptions. I'm afraid the other problem I have with this year's coverage is... the lack of an authoritative presenter for the show.

Ray Stubbs is just... well, banal... and the squeaky teen lookalike Rishi Persad (bless), is so unsuitable to present this programme... it's beyond words! He knows it himself. He clearly feels out of place and uncomfortable in the role he's been asked to play!

Oh for the days of the likes of David Vine (RIP)... there was a authoritative, personable and well versed presenter!

Anyhow... I suppose we have to grin and bear some things... though last night, watchng the Higgins v Selby match... I did come very close to throwing something at the television... driven to near insanity by the idiotic, bald-headed coot, Thorne!

On a more positive note, I cannot write a blog post about this year's Snooker, without mentioning the delectable Michaela Tabb!

What a delight she is. I've thoroughly enjoyed all the matches she has refeered, not just for the added 'fragrance' she brings to these matches, (even her voice is sexy), but in the way she has conducted them, with great authority and humour.. excellent!

It was no surprise therefore, when I read with great satisfaction, that she has been given the task of refeering the World Snooker Championship Final this year... the first time ever, that a woman will have done so! Well done Michaela... I can't wait to watch it!!

Today though, I'm looking forward to the Semi Finals... bald headed coots notwithstanding!

Based on the performances we've already seen from the participants during the past days we should be in for a couple of great matches from four very 'in form' players. May the best men win!

BBC Coverage

You can follow all the latest information and coverage of the World Snooker Championship at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield on the BBC SPORT > Snooker website.

'Auntie Beeb' has lost all sense of decorum!

Sheeesh! Is nothing sacred anymore?

On BBC1 just now... in between the ending of Traffic Cops and the 10 o'clock news, the duty presenter said:

"Now... on BBC2... a couple of reasons to join Graham Norton... Katie Price!"

Funny maybe... I do have a sense of humour... and I don't mind a bit of... well ok, maybe even a lot of political incorrectness... I do enough of it myself... but.... come on... do we want it from presenters on the BBC? Where's all the decorum gone at 'Auntie Beeb'? Oh... which reminds me... wasn't it the BBC who censored Carol Thatcher for remarking about 'golliwogs'!!

In any case... I'm afraid... Jordan just doesn't do it for me. I like my 'couple of things' to come with another thing... a brain up top! Oh... and as I understand it... they're false anyway aren't they? What do I know about such things!


Read more about Jordan (Katie Price) @ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scottish newspaper reveals Susan Boyle's first ever recording

I'm still completely bowled over by Susan Boyle... and today even more so!

I just came across this 'exclusive' from the Scottish Daily Record revealing Susan's first ever recording, made back in 1999, when she sang that famous old blues ballad 'Cry Me A River' for a charity CD... and as you can hear... it's quite simply... brilliant!



Quite remarkable! I don't honestly think I've ever heard this song sang better... ever!

Only 1000 copies of the disc were ever produced, but as you can see, the Daily Record got hold of this long-forgotten recording and it’s now on YouTube.

A showbiz insider said: “This is a real coup for the Record. The whole world would have wanted to find this.

“People will be scrambling to get their hands on this CD. They will be like gold dust soon.”

It's already all over eBay... with loads of obvious recordings of this bit of audio on this video... available for only 99p... to the full CD currently being bid for at £280... clearly this is going to become a collector's piece... oh and there are hundreds of 'I love Susan Boyle' t-shirts too!!

What a phenomenon Susan Boyle is. 'Overnight sensation' doesn't begin to describe the sensation Susan has become... worldwide... in just a week. By this weekend, clips of her singing on Britain's Got Talent had notched up almost 50 million views on YouTube!

I think the explanation is in this article on the BBC's Entertainment page 'How Susan Boyle won over the world'. Here, Lisa Schwarzbaum, a writer for US celebrity magazine Entertainment Weekly said "the performance was a powerful reality check". She wrote:

"In our pop-minded culture so slavishly obsessed with packaging - the right face, the right clothes, the right attitudes, the right Facebook posts - the unpackaged artistic power of the unstyled, un-hip, un-kissed Ms Boyle let me feel, for the duration of one blazing showstopping ballad, the meaning of human grace.

She pierced my defences. She reordered the measure of beauty. And I had no idea until tears sprang how desperately I need that corrective."

Yep... I think she's hit the nail on the head. That is precisely what is going on here!

Ms Schwarzbaum's post was followed by comments from scores of readers (they're still posting today) saying they watched the clip repeatedly, with the same emotional response... in fact, if you read my original post... you'll see my reaction was also pretty much the same:

"Susan Boyle creates one of those moments... when the hair on the back of your neck tingles... and for no apparent reason... one stupidly feels like crying.... well those of us who have a heart that is!"

Susan Boyle... already the peoples' winner

Susan Boyle has become an overnight success on the internet!

With over a staggering 8 million views now on her YouTube videos, she's already the people's winner!

Clearly... she's also a winner with Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden, as you can see from this video!

Can't wait for this week's show... Britain's Got Talent!

I take my hat off to... Susan Boyle... who Wowed us on Britain's Got Talent

I like to watch Britain's Got Talent now and then during the initial stages, mainly because I can't get enough of the delicious Amanda Holden!

To be fair, most of the acts one sees at this stage are pretty much... forgettable.

Now and then though... the programme throws up some amazing gems... which leaves us 'drop jawed' and stunned... amazed in the realisation... that there ARE some fantastic hidden talents out there in Britain! Remember Paul Potts or Connie Talbot?

Saturday threw up such a moment... and brought us Susan Boyle, truly a gem from West Lothian!!

Susan Boyle's story is very ordinary... her looks are... it has to be said, with all due respect to her... very ordinary too. But boy... when she started to sing, her powerful rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables (or Les Mis as it's popularly known), it really made everyone sit up!

Susan Boyle's beautiful voice, in perfect pitch, surprised everyone... especially the panel members who's stunned look was hilarious.... judge for yourself:



Note: Unfortunately... for reasons best known to YouTube, the embedding of this video has been "disabled by request"!! (Whose request I wonder... the programme makers??) Anyway... there's loads of Susan Boyle videos available on YouTube... click here!

Amazing right? They say... 'never judge a book by its cover'... but of course, we all did... but, this was yet another moment that brings home to us how true this phrase is in relation to people too!

Susan Boyle creates one of those moments... when the hair on the back of your neck tingles... and for no apparent reason... one stupidly feels like crying.... well those of us who have a heart that is!

Amanda Holden said it was a "complete privilege listening to that"... and I'm pretty sure you agree right? I hope you too thoroughly enjoyed Susan Boyle's first moment of stardom. I'm betting it won't be her last!

Good on yer Susan... I take my hat off to you!!

Update - Wednesday 15th April 2009 : Tonight... the sensation Susan Boyle has created... with nearly 8 million views of her various videos on YouTube... has propelled Susan to even make it on BBC 1's Evening News at 6 o'clock!