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Welcome to this week’s blog from the Hollyoaks music department.

This week’s musical highlights on Hollyoaks include:

‘Brick By Brick’ by Arctic Monkeys –

Arctic Monkeys have returned recently with this and the excellently-titled and equally heavy “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cos I’ve Moved Your Chair.” Both display some of the Queens of the Stone Age influence present on previous album ‘Humbug’ but also demonstrate a keen sense of humour and fun that was possibly missing from that collection. 'Brick By Brick' is straight-up, entertaining, rock n’ roll and the lyrics “I wanna build you up, I wanna break you down “ were particular appropriate as we saw Brendan contemplating his Machiavellian destruction of Noah.

‘Kids’ by Sleigh Bells – We’ve featured noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells a few times on the ‘Oaks now, and this was another case where it worked a treat.  The pictures with this use were cleverly edited to match the glitchy nature of the track’s intro and skilfully enhanced the impression of Ste’s growing paranoia over Noah and Brendan’s blossoming relationship. 

On Our Stereo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5xSa27GI3w

‘Cramm’ by These Trapped Tigers –  We were lucky enough to see this band perform at last week’s Liverpool Sound City event, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Live, their musicianship really shone, particularly the drumming, which was intricate, heavy, original and delicate all at the same time. Enjoy!

More musical goodies await on next week’s episodes of Hollyoaks so until then…

James & Kate

...and if you're a spotify user, why not check out our playlist, for more great tracks from this week's show: 

http://open.spotify.com/user/hollyoaksfacebook

It's Friday, which can only mean one thing... IT'S GIVEAWAY FRIDAY!

Ok, so we've never celebrated a Friday in such a way before (and let's be honest, we probably won't again), but today's different because we've got wind of the following: Abi Phillips who plays Liberty Savage is offering you guys a free download of one of her songs.

Yep, the starlet, who got a part in Hollyoaks after penning a song about Steph's battle with cancer, has launched a pop career and she's letting you sample her awesome voice with a free download of 'Somebody Without You', a song that's set to feature in Hollyoaks in late June.

Viewers of the 'Oaks will already have heard Abi belting out a beautiful rendition of Adele's ‘Make You Feel My Love’. If you liked that you're going to love 'Somebody Without You'. Check t'out!

You know what music is right? And you know what Hollyoaks is? Well, what happens when you put those two things together? Let us tell you – you get the Hollyoaks Music Show with Matalan.co.uk!

Loads of bang-tidy popstars performing in the Hollyoaks Village, with a gaggle of Hollyoaks cast-members thrown in. Couldn’t get any better. Right? Think again. Imagine what happens when you add two shining beacons of past Hollyoaks glory into that mix. Magic, that’s what! We’re talking about Matt Littler (aka Max Cunningham) and Darren Jeffries (aka OB) of course.

This is by no means Matt and Darren’s first presenting job. Since they left Hollyoaks, those likely lads have barely been off the telly! They tackled some of the world’s toughest sports in Red Bull Rivals, plus, early risers will have seen Matt and Darren presenting their own breakfast music show – Freshly Squeezed. We can’t wait to have them right back where they belong though!

Filming for the Hollyoaks Music Show with Matalan.co.uk commences this weekend and the first show of the series will air at 9:30am on T4 on Saturday 11 June! Keep your peepers peeled for more news soon…

From Hollywood to Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks welcomes another hunky addition to the cast this summer with the arrival of Father Francis.  The role will be played by critically acclaimed dancer and Hollywood hottie Richard Winsor!

Carmel McQueen (Gemma Merna) can’t quite believe her eyes when Father Francis makes an appearance in Hollyoaks village.  Sexy, rugged and religious, Father Francis is everything Carmel yearns for.  However, never one to miss a trick, she strongly believes that he has been sent to test her faith.  She remains determined not to fail, but sin has never been so attractive.  Will Carmel take a bite from the apple off the tree?

Richard Windsor comments on settling in to life at Hollyoaks:

    “I didn’t know what to expect but I turned up on my first day to a very warm welcome. The entire cast and crew are so friendly and supportive.  Father Francis is in safe hands...!”

The British actor rose to stardom last summer playing ‘Tomas’ in the hit British film Streetdance 3D.  The movie star has also made his mark on Broadway working closely with award winning choreographer Matthew Bourne.  Richard has starred in a number of Bourne’s productions including travelling the world as ‘Edward’ in Bourne’s hugely successful Edward Scissorhands.  His most recent role saw Richard perform as ‘the Swan’ in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake.   If that isn’t enough to tickle your tastebuds, Elle magazine voted Richard ‘sexiest dancer in the world’ last year!

Richard can be seen on screen at the beginning of July when Father Francis makes his first impression on Carmel McQueen. His first episode will air on Channel 4 on Monday 4th July, 6:30pm. Put it in your planners, people!

 

Welcome to this week’s blog from the Hollyoaks music department.

Well, firstly it’s our 50th blog. So balloons and streamers rain down, it’s time for a party. We don’t see 50 as middle age; we see it as half-way to victory. Thanks for sticking with us through the heady highs and the occasional lows of our weekly ramblings. Here’s to another 50.

This week’s musical highlights on Hollyoaks include:

‘The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade’ by Joy Formidable –
Hollyoaks music department faves The Joy Formidable are really starting to hit the big time after years of hard work touring the UK and re-recording albums. After a tip on Dave Grohl’s twitter recently they are starting to break ground in America and as this ferocious appearance on influential US chat show “Tonight with Conan O’Brien” shows, they are a phenomenal live act. This has got to be one of the most explosive endings to a song ever pulled off on mainstream American TV. Well done them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDpFWofwwBo

We heard the instrumental version of ‘Greatest Light...’  as Jacqui and Rhys squabble over their future, Rhys hi-jacking Jacqui’s taxi to take her somewhere special. It wasn’t the most obvious track to use, but the fact that it worked well adding to the emotion of the scene was all the more rewarding.


‘Lost’ by The Pigeon Detectives – The Pigeon Detectives are back, with a batch of typically catchy indie hits up their feathery sleeves as well. The lyrics to this track from their recent album “Up Guards and at ‘em!” fitted particularly well as we saw first Rhys thinking of Jacqui, then Will and Theresa wrestling with their un-requited feelings for each other.

On Our Stereo:

‘There’s nothing in the water’ by Cloud Control –

Australian Band Cloud Control recently won the Australian equivalent of the Mercury Music prize and they release their debut UK album “Bliss Release” this month. This choice cut from the album showcases the band’s winning way with melody and male/female harmonies and comes accompanied with a hypnotic video and a chorus as catchy as the common cold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X7Rkd4B_MQ

More musical goodies await on next week’s episodes of Hollyoaks so until then…

James & Kate

...and if you're a spotify user, why not check out our playlist, for more great tracks from this week's show: 

http://open.spotify.com/user/hollyoaksfa...

“Father and Son”

The Brady Bunch are set to be expanded soon, with the arrival on-screen of Brendan’s son Declan. What’s more, we can confirm that Dec will be played by Jay Duffy, son of Keith (‘Keet’) Duffy – one of the hunky members of Irish pop sensation ‘Boyzone’!

Duffy snr of course now plays Ciaran the bar-tender in (that other) long-running drama - Coronation Street. Obviously, his son has better taste in soap – you could say he moves to a 'different beat'…you could say that…if you were inclined to make bad puns on titles of Boyzone hits, that is. Ahem.

Soooo, what do we reckon Brendan will make of his son turning up? Will he have to hide his feelings for Ste? Moreover, will Declan stand for his dad’s antics, or will he want to scarper ‘when the going gets tough’ (there we go again with those bad puns)?

Either way, we’ll find out soon. Jay met the rest of the cast on Saturday at the British Soap Awards and his first day on set scheduled for tomorrow. We await his on-screen arrival with baited breath…  

 

Get ready for the night when the brightest stars sparkle! The TV Choice Awards 2011 will take place on Tuesday 13th September. The fifteenth annual event will be held at The Savoy. The 1.3m readers of Britain's best-selling magazine, TV Choice, will pick their top stars and shows by voting online or via the forms printed in the magazine.

Long-list nominations are as follows:

Best Soap Actor: Kieron Richardson (Ste Hay) Emmett J Scanlan (Brendan Brady) Anthony Quinlan (Gilly Roach)

Best Soap Actress: Victoria Atkin (Jason Costello) Jorgie Porter (Theresa McQueen) Claire Cooper (Jacqui McQueen)

Best Newcomer: Emmett J Scanlan (Brendan Brady) Rachel Shenton (Mitzeee) Craig Vye (Ethan)

Best Soap Storyline: Transgender The Rape Trial Brendan and Ste's Affair and Domestic Abuse

Best Soap: Hollyoaks

Viewers have until 10 June to cast their first round votes by post or at www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk. Shortlist nominations will be announced in July, when voting will reopen. Get voting people!

Congratulations to Emmett Scanlan, who won double honours at the British Soap Awards on Saturday! Emmett, who plays Brendan Brady, won the Award for Best Soap Villain and Best Newcomer!

He celebrates (above) with a little cocktail he's put together. This one's called the 'Slippery Nipple'...

...the photo is taken from a recent shoot with The Sun's Buzz Magazine. You can, of course, see more in the magazine itself...

In the meantime, we caught up with Emmett to gauge his reaction to his success at the awards. Check out what he had to say...

How does it feel to be villain of the year?

It’s nice to get paid for it this time – as opposed to being a villain off-screen and not getting paid for it.

No, it’s an absolute honour. The fact that Brendan Brady has struck a chord with the public out there is amazing.

What’s your message to the fans?

I have so much thanks for people for taking a moment out of their time to vote and to make it a very special night for me.

Thanks to everyone who voted, in both categories, regardless of the outcome – that doesn’t matter – I’m just delighted that this character’s meant something to people. The fact that I got nominated was a shock. The fact I won was a shock. It’s humbling – I bow to the fans out there.

Is this the highlight of your time on the show?

The great reward for me is coming into work every day and doing what I love. What I love to do is act and it’s the only thing I’ve ever been good at, relatively. For me, it’s just about coming in and working with this great family of people, who give me the freedom to create and express myself.

How much of the character is you?

My parents jokingly tell me that it’s just like watching me on tv sometimes. Being on this show has given me the freedom to add my own little quirks to the character too. That’s a result of the freedom that I’ve been given from everyone else though, which, again, is a testament to the show.

What would you like to see Brendan get up to next year?

My aim was to make Brendan Brady the most hated man in England and, funnily enough, the more wacky I make him, the more people love him. That in itself is a testament to how well written a character he is. I’d just like to see more from him, I’d like to keep exploring and see what else is lurking in there.

Welcome to this week’s blog from the Hollyoaks music department.

This week’s musical highlights on Hollyoaks include:

‘Nail in my Coffin’ by The Kills – the Kills feature again this week as we see Mitzeee plotting against Warren in a misguided attempt to get more information about it, but little does she realise the can of worms she is about to open.


‘Silver or Lead’ by Ivan Ink N Isa – an instrumental of this moody track underscored the scene where Warren confronts Ethan about his underhand tactics which have pushed Mitzeee into trying to set Warren up. The moodiness of the track is perhaps not too surprising when you discover that one half of the Ivan Ink ‘n’ Isa partnership is in fact Isabella Summers of Florence & the Machine fame. Much of the dark current which runs throughout the Florence catalogue can be felt in this new project, with a new dimension added in the form of the softer and yet still gravely vocal stylings (when we’re not using the instrumental) of Oliver Briggs.


‘Youth Knows No Pain’ by Lykke Li – this may not be an obvious fit at first for a scene with strong comedic elements, but the quirkiness of this Lykke Li track seemed to sit perfectly on the scene where we Cindy rousing the troops ready to hunt out the deadly snake on the loose.

On Our Stereo:

‘Make Some Noise’ by Beastie Boys – ok so we usually like to point you in the direction of a track that you may not necessarily of come across in this section and this track is absolutely everywhere at the mo, bot that’s not without good reason as far as we are concerned. It’s great to hear the Beastie Boys on such good form, especially after Adam Yauch has dealt with serious illness recently. The video is definitely not to be missed & we’ll be mightily impressed if you manage to spot all the cameo’s first time round. We defy you to watch it and then when you’re next listening to the track not have an image of Will Ferrell on top of the limo when the cowbell kicks in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evA-R9OS-Vo&feature=relmfu  

More musical goodies await on next week’s episodes of Hollyoaks so until then…

Kate & James

There are just over 24 hours left to cast your votes for the British Soap Awards! If you have any sense of justice then go to http://www.britishsoapawards.tv/ and vote Hollyoaks for the win!

We’ve been harping on (carping on? What’s the difference?) about the BSA’s now for the past month, so you may already be familiar with the list of nominees. Nevertheless, we’ll give you a quick re-cap, just in case…

VIEWER-VOTE NOMINATIONS:

Best Actor – Emmett J. Scanlan (aka Brendan Brady, aka Double B, aka B-squared)

Best Soap Villain – Emmett J. Scanlan* see above.

Best Actress – Claire Cooper (aka Jacqui McQueen)

Sexiest Female – Jennifer Metcalfe (aka Mercedes Fisher)

Best Soap - Hollyoaks

PANEL NOMINATIONS:

Best Comedy Performance – Alex Carter (aka Lee Hunter)

Best Dramatic Performance – Claire Cooper

Best Newcomer – Emmettt J. Scanlan

Best on Screen Partnership - Emmettt J. Scanlan and Kieron Richardson (aka Brendan Brady and Ste Hay/Stendan)

Best Exit – Carley Stenson (aka Steph Roach)

Best Young Performance – Ellis Hollins (aka Tom Cunningham)

All our cast-members involved have been chuffed to bits at being nominated. Emmett thanks the fans (above) and says he was ‘floored’ by his public nomination.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, Claire Cooper says:  “Thank you to everyone backing hollyoaks, not long now so make your vote count- big shout out to you all much love Coops. Xx”

Jenny Metcalfe says:
“Lovin all the msgs…of support for us at soap awards... Last few days o votin.. Keep em cumin!!! :-) xxx”

Don’t live to regret it – keep those votes coming in! Here’s that link again: http://www.britishsoapawards.tv/

Welcome to this week’s blog from the Hollyoaks music department.

This week’s musical highlights on Hollyoaks include:

‘Wonderman’ by Tinie Tempah feat. Ellie Goulding – while there is no denying Lee cuts a dashing form in his beret, but the question begs, just what is he up to this time?

‘Satellite’ by The Kills – it’s amazing how powerful a word can be, especially when that word is someone’s name. A name can carry very strong associations with it. For Riley, the name Rocco immediately brings a sense of unease, whereas for Mandy the word Cindy brings the possibility of wealth & for Theresa the name Will brings the possibility of romance.    

‘Open Your Eyes’ by Alex Metric and Steve Angelo feat. Ian Brown – Riley battles with his conscience, can he really steal his Dad’s most prized possession. Meanwhile, Jamil is battling to keep his mind focussed on the task at hand and poor deluded Duncan battles to keep his mind in the real world as the vision of Mandy walks towards him & he pouts his lips ready for the kiss he is sure she is going to plant on him.

On Our Stereo:

Crazy in the Deep (Adele vs Gnarls Barkley) by Divide & Kreate – like pretty much the rest of the world it seems, we were already big fans of the Adele track ‘Rolling in the Deep’, then this bright spark comes along and has the frankly genius idea of putting it together with the equally brilliant Gnarls Barkley track ‘Crazy’ and the result really is a joy to behold:

http://www.divideandkreate.com/

Spotify playlist

Plus, if you heard a tune on the show this week and liked it, listen again (and again) with our spotify playlist:

http://open.spotify.com/user/hollyoaksfa...

More musical goodies await on next week’s episodes of Hollyoaks, so until then…

Kate & James

We were delighted last month when the British Soap Awards published their nominees short-list, naming Hollyoaks in five different categories: Jennifer Metcalfe (Sexiest Female), Claire Cooper (Best Actress), Emmett J. Scanlan (Best Actor, Best Soap Villain), Hollyoaks (Best Soap). Our chests were veritably bursting with pride when we realised our guys and gals had been nominated for such great accolades. Thank you for everyone who has voted so far and let’s keep it going! No slacking now! To vote, go to: http://www.britishsoapawards.tv/.

Plus, further to all of that, the British Soap Awards panel nominations have been released today and, yep, we got a few more shouts from the peeps at BSA. Gag-wielder Alex Carter (Lee Hunter) has been nominated for 'Best Comedy Performance'. His shot-gun wedding day shambles earlier this year made us laugh until the pee dribbled and also saw him re-united with old-time side-kick Bombhead.

Claire Cooper has been named in the category for ‘Best Dramatic Performance’. Claire was, of course, involved in one of the most dramatic stories of the year when her character Jacqui McQueen came head to head with Gilly Roach, whom she accused of rape. Breaking new frontiers for soap, we invited members of the public to come along and act as a jury in the case of Jacqui vs Gilly. The result found Gilly innocent on the grounds that there was not enough evidence to convict. This was obviously a very difficult story to convey and Claire should be commended for handling the subject and all its many complexities with such delicacy, tact and authenticity. For more information on that trial story, plus help and support, visit out Trial page.

Emmett J. Scanlan is another name that keeps cropping up. He has been nominated by the panel for ‘Best Newcomer’ Award. Emmett swaggered onto our screens last year as Brendan, a new edition to the Brady bunch. Unlike those American tv name-sakes, Brendan is anything but warm and cuddly. Can anyone remember how we survived so long without him? He is also nominated alongside fellow thesp Kieron Richardson (Ste Hay), in the category for ‘Best On-Screen Partnership’. They’re hardly Kate and Wills, but the nation have taken Stendan to their hearts regardless, at times screaming at the telly for Brendan to stop abusing Ste, while at other times willing them together.

And finally, Carley Stenson (Steph Roach) is nominated for ‘Best Exit’, whilst the ever-green Ellis Hollins (Tom Cunningham) gets a nomination for ‘Best Young Performance’. Steph left the show in dramatic circumstances during last year’s Fire Week (pictured above), whilst wee Tom has been moving viewers to tears again in his scenes alongside Gilly Roach, during the aftermath of Steph’s death and also in Gilly’s court-case. Voting for the British Soap Awards closes on May 13th at 5pm. Don’t forget to do your bit! http://www.britishsoapawards.tv/.