 Guns N’ Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1985. With vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. Today, Axl Rose is the only remaining original member
In 1987 and one year after its release, Guns N’ Roses’ debut album Appetite for Destruction No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with the hit “Sweet Child o’ Mine. This album has sold more than 28 million copies worldwide, of which 18 million units sold in the United States, making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S
In 1993, the cover album “The Spaghetti Incident” was the band’s last studio album to feature Slash and McKagan.
In 2008, after more than a decade of work and many lineup changes, Guns N’ Roses released the long-awaited album Chinese Democracy which, at an estimated 14 million dollars in production costs, made it the most expensive album to ever be produced in music history.
Guns N’ Roses have been credited with reviving the mainstream popularity of rock ‘n’ roll, at a time when popular music was dominated by dance music and pop metal. Their late 1980s and early 1990s years have been described as the period in which they brought forth a “hedonistic rebelliousness” reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones.
Nice Boys- the official tribute of Guns N’ Roses- will be playing The Irish Village on Thursday 17th May. Ticket AED 100, available at the doors. Show starts at 9.00 p.m.
 The Story of the Rose of Tralee:
Mary O’Connor lived in the middle of Tralee town in a thatched cabin with her parents and siblings. Her father was a broguemaker, and her mother worked as a dairymaid. Mary was very beautiful with dark long hair and soft shining eyes.
Being the daughter of a broguemaker and dairymaid meant that she was destined for work as a maid or house-help. When she was 17 she started working as a kitchen maid for the Mulchinock household in Tralee.
The Mulchinock’s son William was a dreamer. In the eyes of his family he was good-for-nothing, and even worse: a poet.
When he met Mary, he was transfixed by her eyes, her grace, her long dark hair and delicate skin.
Mary and William began to meet each other every day. One night beneath the pale, silvery moon William asked Mary to marry him. However, William’s family disapproved of him seeing Mary; she knew that their union could never be, as it would force him to turn his back on his family and he would begin to regret the day he’d ever met her. She declined his offer of marriage.
William refused to give up. He wrote a song for Mary (the Famous Rose of Tralee song) to convince her otherwise. But Mary still refused to marry him.One night there was a fight in the village and William was accused of killing. He had to flee and so made his way to India where he worked as a war correspondent.
But in 1849, some six years after leaving Tralee, his name was cleared and he could return to Tralee. He stopped off at The Kings Arms in Rock Street for a drink before planning to visit Mary in nearby Brogue Lane. There he saw a funeral coming down the street. When asking who it might be, William was told it was for a local girl from Brogue Lane, a lovely and fair young woman named Mary O’Connor – the Rose of Tralee.
William was devastated and his heart broken. There was nothing left for him but to visit Mary’s grave on the outskirts of town. He never got over Mary’s death, and despite marrying and having children with an old flame he refused to forget her.
William moved with his family to New York in 1849 but returned alone six years later to Tralee and lived the rest of his life in Ashe Street. He died in 1864 at the age of 44 and at his request was buried at the graveyard in Clogherbrien next to his true love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.
Mary O’Connor’s grave can be visited at the graveyard in Clogherbrien by taking the Fenit road out of Tralee and then on the right hand side.
 ”Don’t go to work early”… It sounds like a joke but Jack Daniel’s real story about that day he arrived to work early doesn’t have a happy ending, thus the advice:
It’s told that one morning, Mr. Daniel arrived very early to his office, in Lynchburg Tennessee -home of the whiskey-. He tried to open the safe but couldn’t recall the combination and no one was yet around to help him out.
In his frustration he gave the safe a hard kick which resulted in breaking his toe and leading to the blood poisoning that made him sick and eventually took his life in 1911.
So moral of the story: “Don’t go early to the office!”
 The Symbol of the Shamrock
In ancient Ireland the Shamrock was thought to have magical powers and the number 3 was considered a powerful number. Legends say the leaves will stand upright when a storm approaches and that no snake will be found among them.
When St. Patrick came to Ireland he used the Shamrock to symbolize the meaning of the church’s teaching on the Trinity.
Shamrocks will be exported by millions early next month, from Ireland to the rest of the world, to be worn on St Patrick’s Day -17th March also Ireland National Day!
The word Shamrock comes from the old Irish word “seamrog” which means “summer plant.”
 Bob Geldof to perform in Dubai on 15th March
Bob Geldof was the charismatic leader of the Boomtown Rats, the Rock group shot to international fame with the release of “I don’t like Mondays”. This live concert is a part of his tour to promote his recent album “Great Songs of Indifference – The Anthology 1986 – 2001”.
He will be performing with his band, songs like ”Love or Something”, “Life Is The Hardest Thing”, “This Is The World Calling” and “I don’t like Mondays” from his wild rocker days as the front man of the Boomtown rats as well as songs like “Great Song of Indifference”, “Hotel 75” and “Out of Order”, from his solo albums.
About Bob Geldof
Geldof formed the punk group Boomtown Rats in 1975. Ever since Bob Geldof came on the music scene his music has always been controversial. Right from the pure energy and aggression of hits like “Looking After No. 1″ to the more sophisticated, but still provocative, “I Don’t Like Mondays” (its title derived from the answer given by a San Diego schoolgirl when asked why she’d killed her classmates). His music commanded an almost cult like following in UK in the 70’s and the 80’s.
In the fall of 1984, Geldof watched a BBC documentary on Ethiopian poverty and was inspired to put together a charity single in aid of Africa, Geldof organized 40 British pop musicians (including Sting, Bono and Paul McCartney) to record the tune “Do They Know It’s Christmas” under the name Band Aid; the goal was to raise money for victims of starvation in Africa. The song was a tremendous hit and led to the mammoth twin charity concerts known as Live Aid, held in London and Philadelphia on 13 July 1985.
He went solo and launched a series of highly successful solo albums like ‘Deep in the Heart of Nowhere’ (1986), the internationally successful ‘The vegetarians of Love’ (1990), and ‘The Happy Club’ (1992) which fared very well in the UK, and the highly acclaimed ‘Sex Age and Death’ album (2001) which has been cited as his best work ever.
Geldof was given an honorary knighthood in 1986 and nominated six times for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2005 he conceptualised and produced the mega-concerts, Live 8, urging leaders of the G8 nations to forgive African debt and increase aid to the continent. Live 8, with concerts in 10 cities around the world, was held on 2 July 2005.
 Billy Ocean is the biggest black recording star Britain has ever produced, one who has sold over 30 million records in his lifetime.
He has collected a pile of Gold and Platinum records across the world and hit the number one spot worldwide on pop charts including the USA, Australia, Germany, Holland, and the UK. Billy has achieved extraordinary success as both an artist and a songwriter.
Born in Trinidad, Billy settled in London’s East End when he was just 7 years old. The calypso crazy kid soon got turned on to soul singers like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, as well as pop groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, leading him to spend much of his study time in the music room.
Billy got his first break when he signed to GTO records, for whom his second single was the Motown-ish Love Really Hurts Without You, which reached No. 2 in the UK charts and No. 12 in the US.
Two top 20 singles followed; Love on Delivery and Stop Me, then Red Light Spells Danger became a smash in both the UK and the US.
Billy changed record labels and his move to Jive Records provided instant success, with the million selling American number one single Caribbean Queen (for which Billy won a Grammy for best R&B Vocal), followed by Loverboy, and Suddenly, which became the first of Billy’s killer ballads. The Album from which these singles came from spent a year in the US Charts selling double platinum (triple in Canada). Billy also performed on the American half of Live Aid, making 1985 a truly incredible year for him.
1986 wasn’t bad either, opening with When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going), the theme song to the Michael Douglas/ Kathleen Turner/ Danny Devito movie Jewel of the Nile. Billy then launched the Love Zone album, which went straight to No. 2 in the UK charts, staying in the top 40 for six months. In the US, there was a No. 1 single with There’ll be Sad Songs (to make you cry).
More hits were to follow with the now classic Get Outta my Dreams; Get Into My Car, giving Billy yet another US No. 1 hit.
More hits followed as Billy also proved himself to be one of the most hardworking artists on the live stage, touring the world to ever growing enthusiastic audiences.
After huge worldwide success and with a young family at home, Billy decided to take a break to spend some well- earned time with them. In 2007, with the kids all grown up, Billy went back out to perform his hits again, this time with his daughter Cherie on backing vocals, with live dates in the UK and Europe, USA, Canada, and the Caribbean. The tour was a great success and culminated in him getting the bug once more for writing and recording. 2008 saw Billy back in the studio for the first time in 15 years, recording his brand new album ‘Because I Love You.’
Billy tours round the world constantly and also collaborates with many famous artists proving his life- long dedication and commitment to music and entertaining.
Event Details
Date: Friday, February 3rd 2012
Venue: The Aviation Club, The Irish Village, Dubai
Tickets: 120 AED available from www.timeouttickets.com and from the venue or call 04 223344- 21+ only.
Doors Open: 7.00 pm
Brought to you by: Coast 103.2 FM, JUMP Media, OSN and The Irish Village
 Boy George’s real name is George O’Dowd. He was born in Eltham, Kent in 1961. During the early 80′s he became a regular in London on the “New Romantic” club scene. His flamboyant cross-dressing style and his appearances at clubs in London were regularly featured in magazines.
From 1979 he worked as a DJ alongside Jeremy Healy until he joined forces with DJ Michael Craig and drummer Jon Moss in 1982 to form the 80′s super group Culture Club. Over the next four years, the group made history with their music including the huge hits “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”. The group dissolved in 1986.
Boy George struggled through a heroin addiction during some rough years before he came clean in 1987 and re-emerged as a solo singer with “Everything I Own”, which gave him his first solo #1 hit.
In 1989 he formed his own record label, More Protein, and fronted a new band called Jesus Loves You. His autobiography, Take It Like A Man, recalling his extraordinary life, was published in 1995. Culture Club briefly reformed in 1999 for a tour and a new album.
Today Boy George is recognized foremost as a leading dance music DJ, a solo artist and for his Broadway musical Taboo.
Culture Club and Boy George “reunited” for a concert at The Dubai Tennis Stadium on December 29. Tickets on sale now
 Legendary Irish musician Sharon Shannon is renowned for embracing all musical genres and collaborating with many different artistes including U2, Sinead O Connor, Willie Nelson, Steve Earle Jackson Browne, Nigel Kennedy, Christy Moore to name a few.
She is the only traditional Irish musician to cross-over into mainstream pop/rock and have number one singles, albums and DVDs in the Irish pop charts. Her version of the Steve Earle penned The Galway Girl with Mundy on vocals was the biggest downloaded single in 2008 and 2009. She is a multi-platinum selling artist and is the recipient of several Meteor Awards including being the youngest ever recipient of the Meteor Lifetime Achievement Award. Her music has been featured in several Hollywood movies, TV series and the award-winning Irish Bulmer’s TV commercial campaign.
She is currently finishing off a new album of original material recorded with the RTE Concert Orchestra and due for release in the New Year. In March 2012, she takes her big Band to all the major festivals in Australia and New Zealand including the Volvo Ocean Race leg on St Patrick’s Day in Auckland.
Sharon Shannon recently played at the inauguration of the ninth President of Ireland Mr. Michael D. Higgins in Dublin Castle. This was her second presidential performance in less than six months having also performed at College Green, Dublin for President Obama in May 2011.
Sharon Shannon and friends brings her show to the Irish Village, Dubai on December 8th so get your dancing shoes on a traditional Christmas shindig!!
Tickets are 159aed – available from The Irish Village and TimeOutTickets www.timeouttickets.com
 Aslan, who took their name from the heroic lion in C.S. Lewis’s series of books chronicling the fictional land of Narnia, (Aslan is the Turkish for ‘Lion’), emerged from the working class areas of Finglas and Ballymun in Dublin’s Northside, in the mid 1980s. They released a demo single, ‘This Is’, in the Spring of 1986, which was a huge hit and became the longest ever play-listed single on Ireland’s pop radio station, RTÉ 2fm.
In 1988 they recorded their debut album, ‘Feel No Shame’ which shot straight in to the No.1 spot of the Irish charts and remained there for weeks. Within a couple of months it was certified Gold. Then in August 1988, just as the option for their 2nd album had been picked up, Aslan infamously imploded, torn apart by overindulgence of all kinds.
Five years and a day to the last time they gigged together ( July 1993) they played what was supposed to be a one off charity gig in Finglas; the spark was reignited and Aslan landed a new record deal with BMG. The first fruit of the deal, their single “Crazy World“, entered the charts at No 4 and stayed in the charts for 3 months, becoming one of the most played songs on Irish Radio for the year. “Crazy World” also won the “Single of The Year” in 1993′s Hot Press Awards. A few months later the follow-up single “Where’s The Sun” reached No.3 on the chart.
The latter part of 1994 was spent touring consistently in Ireland and recording their album, ‘Goodbye Charlie Moonhead‘, which was released in Ireland at the end of 1994 and charted at number one, going on to be certified Gold weeks later. Aslan went into the studio and began recording a new album, ‘Here Comes Lucy Jones’ in April 1996. Released in October 1997, the album went into the Irish chart at 14 and Aslan were nominated in seven categories of the 1997 Hot Press readers poll.
‘Shame About Lucy Moonhead’, a compilation of the best of Aslan’s recorded work on EMI, was released in July 1998, shot into the Irish albums charts at No.1 and has since turned double platinum.
In March 1999 Aslan played 5 sellout shows in Ireland’s most prestigious intimate venue, Vicar St,which shot to No 1 in its 1st week of release.
In the Spring of 2001 Aslan recorded a single, “She’s So Beautiful”, (featuring Sinead O ‘Connor on backing vocals,) which entered the Irish singles charts at number 9. The band released the follow-up “Different Man” which charted at number 7.
In September 2001, the band’s most recent studio album, “Waiting For This Madness To End” went straight into the Irish Album charts at number 1, out selling the number 2 album four times over. The following week it remained at number 1 and kept Kylie Minogue off the top spot! “Waiting For This Madness To End” hit the platinum sales mark after only four weeks.
In 2002 Aslan were nominated for eight categories of the Hot Press readers poll, demonstrating the immense following the band have in their homeland.
October 2005 and the band release a 48 track CD, simply called The Platinum Collection. The album chronicles the singles, b-sides and rarities of their long career. 2007 saw the release of “For Some Strange Reason” which was produced by Ger McDonnell. It went straight into the top 10 album charts at number 7.
In February 2008, Tony McGuiness left the band and moved to Australia. He was replaced by Rod O’Brien and in 2009, the band released a covers album ”Aslan UNCASE’d” which went straight into the charts at number 2. It was kept off the number 1 spot by Eminem. The single from the album, John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” was playlisted on every station in Ireland and has become an Aslan favourite at their live gigs.
2010 saw the band undertake an extensive Australian tour which was a great success with a lot of the gigs sold out!
2011 sees the band working on a new studio album and as they’re 30 years together next year, they’re in the process of making a documentary on the story of Aslan from 1982, up to present day.
Posted in Concerts
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Tagged Aslan, aslan-uncased, concert-Irish-Village, Crazy-world, Different-man, EMI, Feel-no-shame, Goodbye-Charlie-Moonhead, Here-comes-lucy-jones, Irish-band, Irish-Radio-charts, jealous-guy, She's-so-beautiful, The-platinum-collection, Vicar-street, waiting-for-this-madness-to-end
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 Halloween has always been considered a folkloric feast inherited from the pagan times of The Roman empire, when people used to celebrate their deceased family and friends through the festival of the dead – Parentalia. But Halloween is more typically linked to the festival of Samhain (original spelling Samuin) that takes its roots from the Gaels and Celts dialects in the British Isles and that is derived from Old irish and means “Summer’s end”.
And because the Halloween Holiday comes just right after the Summer apple harvest, candy apples or taffy apples are common Halloween treats. They are also used in one of Halloween’s favourite games: Apple Bobbing.
As for the carved lanterns, Irish people used to carve turnips turning them into lanterns that were lit in remembrance of the souls of the dead on that day. But immigrants to North America had to replace them with the native pumpkin that was easily available and bigger in size which made easier carving and nicer lanterns!
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