Latest news with #Tragedy
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
90s pop icon admits they lost out on Glastonbury performance for sad reason
Steps star Ian 'H' Watkins has revealed that the group was asked to perform with the Bee Gees at Glastonbury on the Pyramid stage but was unable to arrange the logistics in time Steps star Ian 'H' Watkins is one of the most memorable stars of the legendary 90's pop group who took the world by storm with a plethora of hits across the world. But now, it has come to light that there was one part of his pop career that he still holds a level of regret over - and that was missing out on performing at Glastonbury Festival. The group's song Tragedy attracted the attention of the organisers of Glastonbury which led to an invitation to perform at the sought after Pyramid stage. At the time, the hit song sold more than 1.2million copies in the UK. Speaking to Metro, the pop star explained: "The Bee Gees asked us to join them on stage. But it was a really late request, and we literally couldn't get it all together in time." He added: "Of course, some of them have passed away now, so that will never happen again. But that's another little jewel in the Steps crown." But with the group's musical Here and Now, which is set to tour around the UK ending up at London's West End, it seems the prospect of appearing on the bill of the iconic festival is clearly still on the group's mind. Ian continued: "We're the only ones, really, from that era that have all the original members and are still going, so it feels like we've earned our stripes by now." At the time of the height of his career, Ian explained that his sex life was the subject of interest among the media and felt unable to come out as gay. Recalling the moment he followed in the media footsteps of Stephen Gately and Will Young, who were revealed as gay, Ian said he received a phone call he had been desperate to avoid while on holiday. He told the publication: "They knew where I was, who I was with, and why I was there – I had a boyfriend." He added: "Immediately, I flew back from holiday, told my loved ones, told my family, told my parents, and then the next day, they didn't run the story, because I didn't give them quotes. But they threatened me for many years, and I felt like my coming out story was taken from me; my power was taken away, so it was a really emotional, dark time for me." But Ian was not alone. Boyzone star Stephen Gately and N'SYNC's Lance Bass was also struggling with press attention over their sexuality. Ian added: "If the press knew you were gay, it was a really tricky thing to be seen together or to even admit that you were friends with another closeted gay person." He then decided to forge firm friendships with his bandmates and other stars including Britany Spears. Ian continued: "All of her dancers were gay anyway. People thought I was dating Brittany a long time ago, but that obviously wasn't the case – that was strange."
Metro
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
90s pop icons missed out on Glastonbury legends slot for devastating reason
The Glastonbury legends slot almost turned a deeper shade of blue, Ian 'H' Watkins has revealed. For almost 30 years, Ian has been affectionately known as 'H', an acronym for Hyperactive – his energetic character being an instrumental part of Steps' success when personalities in pop weren't just all the rage, they were essential. It's a moniker which is a lot to live up to, though, particularly when you're in a band as exposed as Steps were. If they weren't playing to a sell-out arena, they were rarely off television, almost on SM:TV as much as Ant and Dec. In 1997, 5,6,7,8 was unleashed on the world to moderate success in the charts, but ruled school discos. It was a steady rise to the top of the charts for Steps when their fourth single, a cover of The Bee Gees' hit Tragedy, and a B Side of ballad Heartbeat got to number one in such an extraordinary fashion. It's sold more than 1.2million copies in the UK alone, a remarkable feat for any pop act from the Smash Hits era, and almost got them a spot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury when it was saturated with nothing but guitar bands and 90s house DJs. 'The Bee Gees asked us to join them on stage,' Ian tells Metro. 'But it was a really late request, and we literally couldn't get it all together in time. Of course, some of them have passed away now, so that will never happen again. But that's another little jewel in the Steps crown.' With their own critically acclaimed musical, Here and Now, about to tour the UK and eventually make it to the West End, there are few things left on the Steps bucket list to tick off but they're not deterred from one day getting on that coveted Glastonbury bill, either in the Legends slot or the festival's first pop-friendly stage, Avalon. 'We're the only ones, really, from that era that have all the original members and are still going, so it feels like we've earned our stripes by now.' More than earning their stripes, Steps are still headlining festivals and breaking records. In 2022, they joined an exclusive club of bands to score a number one album across four decades. But now Watkins is on stage and topping charts as his true, authentic self. He has nothing to hide anymore – it's not the 90s when, if you were a good-looking male, the press was frothing to uncover secrets about your sex life. For Ian, there was always an underlying fear that they would discover he was gay when the press had a field day outing gay pop stars like Will Young and Stephen Gately. During one holiday with his then-boyfriend, Ian got the call he'd been dreading. 'They knew where I was, who I was with, and why I was there – I had a boyfriend. Immediately, I flew back from holiday, told my loved ones, told my family, told my parents, and then the next day, they didn't run the story, because I didn't give them quotes. 'But they threatened me for many years, and I felt like my coming out story was taken from me; my power was taken away, so it was a really emotional, dark time for me.' He wasn't alone, though. There were several pop stars gathered in the same closet, cautiously able to give solace to one another. Ian became particularly close with Lance Bass of N'SYNC and Boyzone's Gateley, but concedes: 'If the press knew you were gay, it was a really tricky thing to be seen together or to even admit that you were friends with another closeted gay person.' Instead, he clung to his closest straight women. His bandmate Lisa Scott-Lee, the girls from Liberty X and S Club… and Britney Spears. 'All of her dancers were gay anyway,' he says. 'People thought I was dating Brittany a long time ago, but that obviously wasn't the case – that was strange.' Ian is about to turn 50. Hyperactivity is no longer the personality he's defined by. His life is calmer, albeit busy with running his two children to school, walking the dogs, building a home, and organising his local annual Pride with his partner. 'Since having children, I've realised that education starts really early on, and it drowns out the bigotry,' he says. 'I go to all of the local schools and talk about how being different is something to be celebrated. My partner and I organise Cowbridge Pride, which is in its fifth year now. 'Cowbridge used to be the most conservative, laidback town, but now we have 2000 people marching every year, and we raise money for all of the schools to have LGBT resources in all of their libraries.' Ian is exactly where he's meant to be in life, and with Steps on a hiatus, he's finally managed to turn his passion project into a reality – a children's book, Pride and The Rainbow Warriors, educating children (and some parents) about LGBTQ+ history. All of the main characters represent a different colour in the original Pride flag, and all have traits corresponding to the original meaning. More importantly, Ian is finally cool to his children. 'Two of them are named after my kids – it's lush,' he grins. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video For those of us old enough to remember sneakily watching Queer As Folk with the volume turned down to one and one eye on the bedroom door in case anyone walked in, a children's book about LGBTQ+ was inconceivable. More Trending Now, with shows like Heartstopper becoming so hugely popular and a plethora of openly LGBTQ+ popstars ruling the charts, the world feels unrecognisable compared to just a few years ago. How children look at and look up to LGBTQ+ people is completely different today. 'It's something that I felt we needed, because there's a real lack of resources for children of all ages, also parents to be educated too,' he says. 'It's all about celebrating your superpower, and being different is an amazing thing. 'I was bullied terribly growing up because I was different, and I didn't know at that time what that different was. Luckily, I had an amazing art teacher, Mr. Owen, who is still one of my dear friends today, but if it wasn't for that man, who knows where I would have ended up.' Pride and The Rainbow Warriors is available in paperback now . Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: I went to Glastonbury and discovered it's just really overrated MORE: Heartbreaking reason Glastonbury nearly ended in the late 90s MORE: Glastonbury mystery performer 'gives away' appearance with arrival in the UK
Metro
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Steps narrowly missed out on Glastonbury legends slot for devastating reason
For almost 30 years, Ian Watkins has been affectionately known as 'H', an acronym for Hyperactive – his energetic character being an instrumental part of Steps' success when personalities in pop weren't just all the rage, they were essential. It's a moniker which is a lot to live up to, though, particularly when you're in a band as exposed as Steps were. If they weren't playing to a sell-out arena, they were rarely off television, almost on SM:TV as much as Ant and Dec. In 1997, 5,6,7,8 was unleashed on the world to moderate success in the charts, but ruled school discos. It was a steady rise to the top of the charts for Steps when their fourth single, a cover of The Bee Gees' hit Tragedy, and a B Side of ballad Heartbeat got to number one in such an extraordinary fashion. It's sold more than 1.2million copies in the UK alone, a remarkable feat for any pop act from the Smash Hits era, and almost got them a spot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury when it was saturated with nothing but guitar bands and 90s house DJs. 'The Bee Gees asked us to join them on stage,' Ian tells Metro. 'But it was a really late request, and we literally couldn't get it all together in time. Of course, some of them have passed away now, so that will never happen again. But that's another little jewel in the Steps crown.' With their own critically acclaimed musical, Here and Now, about to tour the UK and eventually make it to the West End, there are few things left on the Steps bucket list to tick off but they're not deterred from one day getting on that coveted Glastonbury bill, either in the Legends slot or the festival's first pop-friendly stage, Avalon. 'We're the only ones, really, from that era that have all the original members and are still going, so it feels like we've earned our stripes by now.' More than earning their stripes, Steps are still headlining festivals and breaking records. In 2022, they joined an exclusive club of bands to score a number one album across four decades. But now Watkins is on stage and topping charts as his true, authentic self. He has nothing to hide anymore – it's not the 90s when, if you were a good-looking male, the press was frothing to uncover secrets about your sex life. For Ian, there was always an underlying fear that they would discover he was gay when the press had a field day outing gay pop stars like Will Young and Stephen Gately. During one holiday with his then-boyfriend, Ian got the call he'd been dreading. 'They knew where I was, who I was with, and why I was there – I had a boyfriend. Immediately, I flew back from holiday, told my loved ones, told my family, told my parents, and then the next day, they didn't run the story, because I didn't give them quotes. 'But they threatened me for many years, and I felt like my coming out story was taken from me; my power was taken away, so it was a really emotional, dark time for me.' He wasn't alone, though. There were several pop stars gathered in the same closet, cautiously able to give solace to one another. Ian became particularly close with Lance Bass of N'SYNC and Boyzone's Gateley, but concedes: 'If the press knew you were gay, it was a really tricky thing to be seen together or to even admit that you were friends with another closeted gay person.' Instead, he clung to his closest straight women. His bandmate Lisa Scott-Lee, the girls from Liberty X and S Club… and Britney Spears. 'All of her dancers were gay anyway,' he says. 'People thought I was dating Brittany a long time ago, but that obviously wasn't the case – that was strange.' Ian is about to turn 50. Hyperactivity is no longer the personality he's defined by. His life is calmer, albeit busy with running his two children to school, walking the dogs, building a home, and organising his local annual Pride with his partner. 'Since having children, I've realised that education starts really early on, and it drowns out the bigotry,' he says. 'I go to all of the local schools and talk about how being different is something to be celebrated. My partner and I organise Cowbridge Pride, which is in its fifth year now. 'Cowbridge used to be the most conservative, laidback town, but now we have 2000 people marching every year, and we raise money for all of the schools to have LGBT resources in all of their libraries.' Ian is exactly where he's meant to be in life, and with Steps on a hiatus, he's finally managed to turn his passion project into a reality – a children's book, Pride and The Rainbow Warriors, educating children (and some parents) about LGBTQ+ history. All of the main characters represent a different colour in the original Pride flag, and all have traits corresponding to the original meaning. More importantly, Ian is finally cool to his children. 'Two of them are named after my kids – it's lush,' he grins. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video For those of us old enough to remember sneakily watching Queer As Folk with the volume turned down to one and one eye on the bedroom door in case anyone walked in, a children's book about LGBTQ+ was inconceivable. More Trending Now, with shows like Heartstopper becoming so hugely popular and a plethora of openly LGBTQ+ popstars ruling the charts, the world feels unrecognisable compared to just a few years ago. How children look at and look up to LGBTQ+ people is completely different today. 'It's something that I felt we needed, because there's a real lack of resources for children of all ages, also parents to be educated too,' he says. 'It's all about celebrating your superpower, and being different is an amazing thing. 'I was bullied terribly growing up because I was different, and I didn't know at that time what that different was. Luckily, I had an amazing art teacher, Mr. Owen, who is still one of my dear friends today, but if it wasn't for that man, who knows where I would have ended up.' Pride and The Rainbow Warriors is available in paperback now . Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: For the latest Glastonbury weather forecast you need to follow a guy called Gav MORE: Drug warning issued ahead of Glastonbury after high-strength MDMA found at Parklife MORE: Glastonbury boss confirms 'exciting plans' for Worthy Farm in 2026 despite fallow year
Arab News
31-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Body of Saudi boy who fell into river in Turkiye recovered
BEIRUT: Search and rescue teams in Turkiye recovered the body of a nine-year-old Saudi boy on Saturday morning, six days after he reportedly fell into Haldizen Creek in Uzungol region. The Saudi Embassy in Turkiye confirmed in a statement on X that the body of the boy was recovered following extensive searches by Turkish rescue teams over the past few days, and that the required procedures are underway in coordination with the family and the pertinent authorities. The boy, who media reports have identified as Faysal Ramzi Al-Sheikh, is believed to have been spending a holiday with his family in Trabzon province when he went missing. It was reported that he was beside one of the steep banks of the creek when he slipped into the river due to heavy rainfalls which had upped the level of the river water. In its statement on X, the Saudi Embassy said: 'May God have mercy on him … the embassy, in coordination with his family and the competent Turkish authorities, will complete the required procedures.' It expressed its deep condolences to the family, adding it 'sincerely thanks the Turkish authorities for their great efforts in searching for the deceased … and recovering his body.'
Washington Post
29-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Baylor mourns death of freshman lineman after he was shot in Mississippi
Baylor's football program mourned the loss Wednesday of Alex Foster, an 18-year-old defensive lineman who was set for his freshman season after taking a redshirt last year. According to multiple reports, Foster was killed by gunfire in his hometown of Greenville, Mississippi. Greenville police officers were called to the scene of a shooting just after midnight on Tuesday night, and discovered a man in a car who was suffering from gunshot wounds, a police spokesperson told the Associated Press. The man was said to have been transported to a hospital, where he died shortly thereafter. A local coroner's office confirmed to the AP and to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger that the man in question was Foster.
