I only wish I could say I found this amusing.

But it’s a prime example of why we’re in such a state as a country and nation.

Russell Brand and Johnathan Ross leave lewd messages for a has-been actor. Nothing threatening or violent, but quite a lot in bad taste you have to say. Shouldn’t have been broadcast? I agree. Someone should be held responsible? I suppose.

Two Radio 2 controllers lost their jobs - or jumped before they were pushed - over the whole saga, and Ross had his TV show pulled and docked what amounts to £1.5 Million in pay. Brand gave up his Radio show and seemingly fled the country.

Less than half a dozen people complained about the bad language involved in the programme within the day after it was broadcast, and yet once it made the newspapers, some 40,000 people who’d probably never even heard it go out on air had complained! All a bit OTT.

And yet - an innocent 17 month old baby is battered and abused beyond belief by his own mother and her boyfriend and left to die, whilst the social workers, council members and police were all informed that such abuse was going on and took no real action.

Calls have been made for heads to roll - and yet amazingly, government officials have LEAPT to their defence and seemingly accepted and swallowed their half-hearted apologies.

Am I going MAD? Two entertainers broadcasting an obscene phone call VS. The negligence leading to the death of a BABY. And which causes the bigger social outcry and gets the biggest response?

God help us.

Hardly seems a year since I last agreed to keep this online written hell-hole open for another 12 months.

Can’t say I’ve updated with the most frequency ever but it’s still been great fun and I’ve enjoyed working with the new design we got in the summer.

I’ve just paid up to keep My Perspectiva.Com going for another two years - so you’re stuck with me I’m afraid!

BRYAN ADAMS
Can’t Stop This Thing We Started

Couldn’t really not be Bryan Adams for the latest Track of the Month given his excellent performance at the LG earlier this month - I’ve had this number floating around my head for weeks since. Excellent stuff.

Apologies again for the god awful visual - Universal were kind enough to disable embedding on clips on YouTube and this was the best I could find. So listen, but don’t watch!

PIC Copyright Steve Bulley 2008

BRYAN ADAMS
2 November 2008
LG Arena, Birmingham

IF it was with some trepidation that I initially booked a pair of tickets some months ago to see Canadian soft-rock legend Bryan Adams perform on Sunday evening, I surely left Birmingham’s LG Arena feeling a mite foolish.

I’m sure I’m not the only guy who bought the tickets as a present – for the want of a better phrase – for the much better half. But if I was the only such man to make my way home having had arguably a better time than the young lady for whom they were intended, I certainly won’t mind.

Adams, 48, served up a master-class of more than two-hours live entertainment in front of a sold-out crowd in the Midlands, and clearly loved every moment. From his entrance through the 10,000 strong contingent to a small stage near the back of the arena where he performed Can’t Stop This Thing We Started and Please Forgive Me – to his closing number All for Love, Adams began and started the night with acoustic sounds that wowed his clearly adoring public.

Ably supported by a lively ensemble, including the likes of the clearly talented Keith Scott on guitar, Adams belted out hit after hit, showcasing just some of the works that have established him as one of music’s all-time greats during his incredible career spanning nearly three decades and 11 albums.

The tracks from his upcoming and aptly-titled album ‘11’ slotted in effortlessly into the evening alongside perennial crowd favourites Summer of 69, Run to You and Heaven – but it was with the opening bars of arguably one of biggest ever numbers – Everything I Do – that the really wowed  the crowd. Appearing surprisingly early in the set, the song that reached Number One in eleven different countries, drew an audible gasp from those in attendance – as if in agreement that they were about to hear something special. I was among them; suddenly becoming aware that this worldwide smash was being performed live in front of me by an icon deserving of his success.

Throughout the night you found yourself surprised at just how many of his hits you count among your all-time favourite songs, the seated crowd only too pleased to rise to its feet to join in – adding to a special atmosphere to a venue clearly special to the performer.

During the show Adams made reference to the fact that he’d first performed there in 1985, filming the video for the fantastic ‘It’s Only Love’ with Tina Turner.  

After dispatching of his band to close the night with more intimate efforts, Adams rested his guitar at the foot of his mic stand before departing the stage and leaving his public thoroughly satisfied.

Attempt to draw comparisons with some of today’s successful – in relative terms – artists like Shayne Ward and you’ll realise the true measure of the Canadian. Selling out a venue and thrilling a crowd with an evening that flies by some 23 years after first performing there is hardly a feat likely to be repeated by the likes of the one time X Factor winner.

If a true endorsement of a performer like Adams after seeing him live for the first time is whether or not you’d consider a repeat trip, then he can truly consider the night a success. I’ll now be among those clamouring for a Bryan Adams UK Tour in 2009.