Gatagordinha

I quote: "Being the adventure of a man whose principal interests are Queen... " Good grief, what an opening! You hardly had to read on to know what was coming, did you... A classic case of doesn't like and doesn't get Mika. Oh well, we're used to that, each to his own etc. He should have reviewed the concert more objectively though, and perhaps tried to understand WHY there was such crowd adulation. Poor journalism!

Kudos to them for that! Where? Are they doing the 'nostalgia tour'? I don't hate La Roux but I do prefer Little Boots, she's a bit more fun and a bit less scary and samey.

Sorry, I thought George was part Greek, as in Greek from Greece . My bad! And I'm not sure I'd say he was a lunatic. A bit odd yes definitely, but a lunatic? I think George and Mika have similar vocal range and a similar timbre to their voices sometimes, that's all I was saying when I compared them..but there is the creative control thing there too yes, and the songwriting talent.

First concert I ever went to was Culture Club in 1983, I loved Boy George (still do!)...but Mika like Boy George? Er, definitely not! I do see some George Michael in him though, or rather, I hear it in him. Maybe Prince George Michael would be a better description. That makes him sound like a member of the Greek Royal family though.

They were great, and often overlooked in the 80s pop scene when people look back on it now, don't you think? Adam was very talented, flamboyant, gorgeous etc etc..I'm often reminded of him with Mika .

I am now officially in love with Mr Neil McCormick So, Mika kickstarted the whole wonky pop /80s revival? Cool! Of course he did! And he has the talent to stick around when a lot of the chancers who will jump on this pop bandwagon will have long gone . Thanks for posting this great article .

I'm glad we find out next week, I am on holiday from the 15th till end of month, if by some miracle I get tickets I would want to book my B&B ASAP, as it's a busy busy weekend in Blackpool! Does anyone know, can you still go up the Tower??

I've applied yeah, so fingers crossed. Probably wouldn't go up unless I had tickets though..but not sure yet!

...and what has changed, exactly....??? Just joking

The Empress Ballroom looks beautiful, if a little strange in layout. Very Victorian glam. I last went to the Winter Gardens in 1984 . But I don't think it was the Empress Ballroom, although it is so far back in the mists of time that I wouldn't remember anyway .

He looks like he has tucked his napkin down the front of his top..then walked out of the restaurant with it still there . Hey..we've all done it. that's not really true is it.

T4P! Not liking that top! And the hair? He looks a bit frightful but, well, it's Mika . He's allowed.

There is a similarity in the chorus. I think it would be very naive to deny that. I personally DO hear a similar sound to the Belinda Carlisle song in that part of We Are Golden. It is not however similar enough to constitute plagiarism, and as the rest of the song is very different from HIAPOE, then an accusation of plagiarism holds no water at all. Many other contemporary songs have parts of them which sound like old songs. For example, I heard a song by Kasabian yesterday which I thought sounded very similar in parts to Massive Attack's Teardrop. However it wouldn't occur to me to post comments on Kasabian fansites or on videos on Youtube pointing this out. What is the point? I am sure it was not Kasabian's intention to plagiarise, any more than it is Mika's intention to do so. Western music consists of only 12 notes. Sometimes these notes are put together in a way which may sound similar to a way that has been done before. It's that simple!

Yes, I hear you that is probably spot on, and it's very logical. I still don't like it though . But what Mika wants Mika gets doesn't he so as soon as he made those whiny noises on Radio the other week about not wanting the title, I should have known it would definitely be changing . Has all this time as a fan taught me nothing?

I think this has brought the OCD out in me (or something like that). It was announced as We Are Golden, it is being promoted as We Are Golden, in my head it is We Are Golden and yet it now isn't going to be We Are Golden. That just messes with my head It's like telling all your family and friends you are going to call your new baby Jack, and then calling him Jack for a month and then going to the Registrar to register the birth and changing your mind and calling him Arthur. IT AINT RIGHT .

Am I the only lonely one who is annoyed that he is going to change the title now? *deafened by shouts of YEEEEEEEEEEESSS*

Alan Carr is turning on the Blackpool Crimbo lights, so I heard .

Precisely! To describe him as 'trashy' really is ridiculous and a very lazy criticism. However I am tending to see past the criticisms and focus on the subtext right now, and I do think that subtext is changing, subtly maybe, but then I never expected the British media to suddenly adore Mika. He really will have to earn their respect the hard way

I really think Mika will do a good job writing a musical score, his songwriting style suits the musical treatment, big tunes, memorable choruses and storytelling lyrics etc etc. Lyrically yes I do agree with Christine, he'd need to collaborate as he still isn't quite there yet even though he's improving all the time. Otherwise.. I look forward to it (whilst hoping it IS a few years away yet!). As for the dismissive tone of the writer of this article toward Mika.. may he eat his words with knobs on

Well part of it is nuance of the English language, yes I think so! But it's more to do with the fact that very very few British reviewers can stand to give Mika a deserved compliment without balancing it with a criticism. So you get: garish and trashy BUT talented. Or narcissistic and camp BUT a very good voice. You see the pattern.

Short, but positive (again) Mika Closed the iTunes Live Festival 3 August So finally after 31 packed shows the iTunes Live festival has ended it’s third year with Mika closing the show. The iTunes Live festival has become progressively bigger over the past three years with the first year being held at the ICA and last year’s festival being held at Camden’s Koko. This years event was by far the most ambitious and it will be interesting to see what iTunes pull off next year. Bigger is not necessarily better however Mika was the perfect choice to end the festival. Michael “Mika” Penniman who stormed the charts in 2007 with his camp hybrid of disco and pop came dressed looking like a character from Stanley Kubrick’s ” A Clockwork Orange”. OK he was missing the bowler hat and bass ball bat however other than that there was an uncanny resemblance. This was the first time that I had seen Mika live and I was suitably impressed with his musical skill and on stage theatrics. The roundhouse normally is quite a somber and gloomy venue to photograph however Mika had turned the stage into an over the top pantomime with tinsel cannons and decorative photo brollies. Set wise there was an even split of songs from his debut album, “Life in Cartoon Motion” as well as from his as yet to be released second album “We are Golden”. Mika is garish and trashy however he pulls it off incredibly well with songs which are so catchy they will inadvertently rattle around in your head for days. Written by John Rahim http://www.rahimlive.com/2009/08/03/mika-closed-the-itunes-live-festival/

I know exactly what you mean, but at least it's a bit of progress from some of the totally dismissive or just downright abusive reviews he had in 2007 .

Good question, and not an easy one to answer! In a funny kind of way I am glad they do come to the gigs with few expectations, or negative preconceptions. It makes it even more satisfying then when they are forced to give a good review and recognise Mika's star quality.

Why? What happened on Friday night (apart from the obvious )? Unfortunately unless I win tickets I probably won't come up (family stuff). Unless I could convince the family too (illuminations etc..).

I went on that when I was two months pregnant with my daughter. Suffice to say, I didn't know I was pregnant at the time!!! It was terrifying.