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CROWE FLIES
Russell Crowe forced to flee as fight breaks out between his team and over zealous fans at his London gig
Russell has been touring the UK with his band, The Gentlemen Barbers, and was playing the Shepherd’s Bush Empire
HE played hard-as-nails Maximus in Ridley Scott’s epic Gladiator, but Russell Crowe didn’t show any fighting spirit when one of his entourage got into a scrap outside the star’s gig in West London.
Cops were called at around 11:30 pm on Wednesday after his tour promoter became embroiled in a row with fans and autograph hunters who had queued to meet the Hollywood star.
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Russell has been touring the UK with his band, The Gentlemen Barbers, and was playing the Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
An onlooker told me the Oscar-winner looked bemused at the unfolding brawl, then turned and legged it back inside through the stage door when things turned nasty.
A feat made all the more impressive because he was wearing flip-flops.
They said: “Russell came out to meet about 30 fans who had gathered outside the gig.
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“A man who we believed was the tour promoter was shouting at a few people for pushing, but out of nowhere it turned a bit nasty.
“This bloke started shouting and swearing and calling one of the fans a c***. He then saw he was being filmed and grabbed the guy’s phone then ran off down the street.
“The man who’d had his phone taken chased him down the road.
“They grappled and the promoter ended up on the ground.
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“Russell looked absolutely horrified at what was happening and made a quick U-turn back inside the venue.
“It was absolute chaos. Four police cars turned up and the coppers were talking to people about what happened.
Where Are They Now? The Gladiator Cast 23 Years Later
“The promoter seemed pretty badly winded but no one had much sympathy for him because he seemed to be acting a bit aggressively.
“Ultimately none of this would have happened if he’d kept his cool when he was asking people not to push.
“Russell never came back outside again.
“He must have been pretty embarrassed by the whole thing. It was a proper commotion.”
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Russell’s Indoor Garden Party tour, which also features Irish singer Lorraine O’Reilly, headed to Leeds last night.
The actor is due on stage in Inverness tonight for his final gig of the UK tour.
I hope he’s got his fighting trousers ready . . . just in case.
Cover girl Jade
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It’s good to see Jade Thirlwall supporting print media, even though she is using this mag to cover herself up rather than for reading.
She posed with just a copy of Polyester over her boobs as she opened up about life after Little Mix.
Speaking to the mag, which is out later this summer, she said: “From 18 until now, my whole life had been scheduled. Little Mix always had a year-long diary in place. To not have that any more was so scary. But once I got over that, I was like, this is really exciting.”
She is set to hit the top ten with debut solo single Angel Of My Dreams today and told Apple Music 1 about her mum Norma’s reaction to the track.
Jade said: “She went, ‘Oh, I don’t get it.’ And I thought, ‘Well, perfect. Hun, Norma, you’re not me demographic.’
“Now she’s listened to it a million times – she’s obsessed.”
Celine is Gaga for Olympics
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Celine Dion will make her live comeback during Friday’s Olympic Opening Ceremony in Paris.
The My Heart Will Go On singer is set to be joined by Lady Gaga for a special performance of classic 1947 Edith Piaf song La Vie En Rose.
Lady Gaga covered the song in 2018 in the remake of hit film A Star Is Born.
I first told last month how Celine, right, who will be dressed by legendary French fashion house Dior, had been formally asked to perform by Olympics bosses.
It will be her first live performance in four years after battling the crippling neurological condition stiff person syndrome, or SPS.
Celine has also been tipped to announce a Las Vegas residency, to kick off at the end of the year.
The UK will return to compete at Eurovision next year, despite yet another dismal result in Sweden in May.
Olly Alexander finished 18th out of 25 with his song Dizzy and faced criticism from some for not pulling out of the contest in protest over Israel’s participation.
But the BBC has insisted we will send an act when the event goes to Switzerland next year.
Fingers crossed we can break the top ten this time.
Jenn’s fun and games
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Fans of Jenni Falconer’s podcast RunPod are in for a treat, as she has launched a spin-off series to coincide with the Paris Olympics.
The radio presenter, above, will meet some of the country’s most highly decorated athletes, who will tell all about their experiences of the Games and lift the lid on what it is really like to win gold for your country.
Jenni’s RunPod got me through Couch To 5k two years back and I have been listening ever since. If you are going to be sitting down to catch some of the contests, RunPod: Going For Gold is well worth a listen when the events launch tomorrow.
It’s Billy vs. the sharks
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Sports commentator and former racing driver Billy Monger is used to challenging himself, but his next task will put him to the ultimate test – with the risk of being eaten by sharks.
The daredevil has announced he will attempt to break the record for the Ironman World Championship triathlon for a double-leg amputee and become the youngest ever to complete the course this October at Kailua-Kona in Hawaii.
It will include a 112-mile bike ride, 26.2-mile marathon, and 2.4-mile swim in the Pacific, which is home to all manner of critters, including sharks.
In an exclusive chat ahead of the challenge, in aid of Comic Relief, Billy said of the sharks: “Hopefully they take one look at me and think that if they are going to go for someone, there’s somebody else that’s a bit more juicy. But that is an element of this challenge.”
Billy, whose legs were amputated after an F4 car crash in 2017, has already been training for nine months and is being followed by cameras for a BBC documentary.
It follows his stint on BBC One show Celebrity Race Across The World last year, which he believes made him stronger for this challenge.
Billy – who you can support with donations at comicrelief.com/billy – said: “In a weird way it does translate to this sort of training because of the mental endurance needed for those long days where we were left to our own devices with no connection to the outside world.
“When I’m doing long training sessions I’m not listening to music because you’re not allowed to do that when you do the Ironman event.
“So I’m trying to use my training as a bit of a detox and escape from technology. Race Across The World was me stepping out of my comfort zone, and this is that – taken to the next level.”
They spent eight weeks at No.1 last summer with Miracle, and now Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding have teamed up again. Today they drop their new song Free, in which Ellie sings: “What do I say now? Don’t want to fall in love. I’m not afraid now.”
Aitch is also back with a D-Block Europe collaboration called Gold Mine, while Gwen Stefani and Anderson .Paak have teamed up for their Paris Olympics anthem Hello World.
Charli XCX hoping Brat lands votes
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Charli XCX’s Brat has become one of the most talked-about albums of the year, after a social media campaign which praised US presidential hopeful Kamala Harris for being “so Brat.”
Now the Brit singer-songwriter has another reason to smile because she leads the list of albums shortlisted for the prestigious Mercury Prize.
The full run-down of the 12 records up for the award, which aims to celebrate the most critically acclaimed British releases of the past 12 months, was announced yesterday.
It included records from The Last Dinner Party, Corinne Bailey Rae, Nia Archives, and Cat Burns.
Barry Can’t Swim, Berwyn, Beth Gibbons, Corto.Alto, Cmat, and English Teacher are also in the running.
Rapper Ghetts is the final nominee for his album On Purpose, With Purpose, three years after he was last shortlisted for the prize.
Asked in an exclusive chat whether it means more to him this time around, he said: “It means I want to win it more.”
And despite the record featuring acts including Kano and Sampha, he didn’t tell anyone about the nomination.
He admitted: “I kept it schtum. I didn’t even tell the missus until this morning.
“She asked me, ‘Where are you going so early?’”
But it was bad news for the Rolling Stones, Blur, and Dua Lipa, who were all snubbed for the prize which will be presented, along with a £25,000 award, in September.
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I’d say better luck next year, but I think it’ll be a while until any of them drop more music.
Michelle Keegan and Clara Amfo will speak to fans at Glamour mag’s Empowerment Summit in Manchester next Saturday. The pair are the stars of a variety of panels where they will talk about career highs and lows and the women and experiences that influenced them. If that isn’t enough to tempt you, everyone at the event at the Aviva Studios will get a Glamour goody bag worth £300 which is included in the cost of the £32 ticket. See eventbrite.co.uk.