Friday is finally here and we are so ready to forget about work and laze about on the sofa until Monday.
We’ve somehow managed to spend way too much money this month so we’ll be hibernating in front of the telly all weekend long.
Luckily, tonight’s Graham Norton Show has one of the strongest lineups of all time so we’ll be pleasantly entertained for the night.
The Corkman will be joined by none other than the legendary Bruce Springsteen. That’s right, the Born In The USA singer will chat to Graham about his iconic career and his new documentary Western Stars.
Legendary actor Robert De Niro also joins Graham to talk about his role in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman.
The hilarious Paul Rudd will also be on the show to chat about his new TV series Living With Yourself, which also stars Aisling Bea.
Actor Sienna Miller will be promoting family drama American Woman.
Gavin James is known for his love of Whelan's, his stunning voice which produces banger after banger, and his ability to make friends with pretty much anyone.
The singer-songwriter, who has achieved massive chart success at home and abroad with tunes such as Always, Glow and Nervous, from his breakthrough album Bitter Pill back in 2015.
We sat down for a chat with the man himself, who is the new ambassador for the Cadbury Secret Santa campaign, to chat to him about his "f*cking hilarious" father, his home away from home and his favourite celebrities, among other (random) things.
James has been known for his love and support for charities, especially Down's Syndrome Ireland, so it's not surprising that he's choosing a generous movement like CadburySecret Santa to represent this Christmas.
A Dairy Milk gift can be sent anywhere in Ireland for free, either anonymously or personalised, to someone you love. Frankly, that's adorable. After posting the very first Secret Santa gift of the campaign, Gavin speaks about what drew him to Cadbury.
"I have always loved the Secret Santa ritual; the excitement of sending a gift in secret and the anticipation of receiving a gift anonymously – it’s so much fun! My dad is also essentially Santa." After pointing his dad out to me, I had to agree. He was merry with a white beard.
The artist brings his family and friends with him to gigs any chance he gets: “Its good to be able to bring them away with me. Every time I have a gig in Ireland my entire family goes, I brought my dad to a photoshoot today, which is f*cking hilarious.”
Asking him about his early days of gigging in tiny pubs, and dedicated to his then-rock band, he describes why he transitioned into acoustic songwriting, despite still having an intense love for his electric guitar.
"I started off with my mates in Temple Bar, my hair was huge. I was also trying to sing high but I couldn’t sing falsetto when I was younger, I had a raspy voice back then and couldn’t pronounce the letter 's'.I never try to transition, genres just kind of come on their own, I think."
We're glad he found his niche, his musical talent started for him at a very young age, surrounded by musical talent within his own family. His latest album, Only Ticket Home, hit number one in Ireland and has already surpassed a million streams.
He describes his latest offering as a dedication to the art of "simplicity", with most of the songs only having four chords.
"They're not trying to be smart. There was one song that didn’t make the album because I tried to record it and it just didn’t turn out right. It was the best song I’ve written in a long time, but it sounded too far away from the right sound of the album. I have it in my back pocket for next year though. I found loads of songs in the cloud, I was chuffed."
"There was like 40 but 33 of them were shit. I usually have 100 ideas but one works. The first idea is always the best song. It’s like a buffet, the first thing you look at is always what you want.”
James has toured with some absolutely huge names in music, among them are Ed Sheeran, Niall Horan, Sam Smith and Kodaline, to name a few. With all this talent around him, we have to ask which artists have impressed him the most.
"Bands like Vulfpeckare absolutely insane, they’re so good at playing stuff that I absolutely cannot understand. It’s insane, like Stevie Wonder-esque.”
“Foy Vance sang songs next to me, and his voice starts low and aggressively builds up and I don’t even know how he exists. He’s insane.”“When it comes to Secret Santa gifts, Gavin's already done his bit for fellow musicians… and their skin, apparently. "Sam Smith. I gave him aloe vera before, he loved that. He’s a really nice guy.”
We're sure Sam would say the same about Gavin, but is there anyone in the industry who he has been disillusioned by, who maybe brushed him off? It's a notoriously tough industry, which requires a thick skin for survival. IT seems James has a level-headed approach to the whole 'fame' thing.
"There are people I don’t want to meet purely because it would ruin how I feel about them, people I totally idolise, sometimes they’re just not in the mood and you don't want to annoy them. Everybody I’ve ever met has been really friendly to me though, but if someone isn’t being nice to me, I’ll tell them. I don’t mind saying that to people. It’s easier to be nice."
"I couldn't meet Ryan Adams because I love him so much, and Bruce Springsteen. He’s meant to be the nicest man in the world. I’d love to meet him but I’d be bricking it. I’d probably just say “thank you, Bruce, for all of these songs.”
"When it comes to growing Irish talent, I love David Keenan. He’s class. His lyrics are amazing. He has a song called Laurence of Arcadia with lyrics like;
“You're looking at the last know bar stool prophet to retire early from the trade, I'm going fishing for pearls of wisdom. I'll be dancing through the pissing rain. You're welcome to join me you annoyance, for I find you quite amusing all the same." It's amazing."
Irish artists have repeatedly found success abroad, yet the UK and US markets are infamously hard to break into. Why have some Irish artists such as U2, The Script, Hozier and now Dermot Kennedy made it big over there, and some slip through the cracks?
“The UK is a tough market. It’s a weird one, like the Netherlands kicked off for me because they love a sad song, and I'm good at those. I brought out a Live at Whelans track, and was told it would reach top of the Dutch charts by Christmas. I didn't believe it, because it was a live recording. Then it went number one in the Netherlands, but no one would think of a live recording doing that.”
His second album, Only Ticket Home, is still distinctly within the style of his debut, and James makes sure that his roots can come across in his lyrics. When he's in Dublin, he loves chilling with his friends in the pub, living out a normal life despite his new-found fame.
Where are his favourite parts of Dublin, and if he had to move, where would he find himself?
“Whelan’s, but I spend most of my time in Temple Bar, even though it’s seven euros a pint.” *shivers*
"Where Doran’s used to be, my mate Robbie owns a little snug next to it, an Irish pub. I always go there because it seems like a little secret spot where I’d just have a pint with my mates.”
“I’ve never been to Coppers. I tried to get in years ago, I think they were closing up. They must have a quota of guys named Gavin or gingers, so I couldn’t get in.” (Can you BELIEVE this Dubliner hasn't stepped foot in the notorious nightclub? We are shook)
“I went on one night out to Nashville to see Ron Pope, and ended up staying there a week.”
“I’d definitely move to Nashville. Very random, it’s musical but it reminds me of Dublin in a lot of ways. I have a lot of friends there, I made a lot of friends there very quickly. It’s cheap too, it’s not f*cking mad, it’s not like Los Angeles. I’m not into L.A. How the hell do people get around there?”
Sounds like this lad has his head screwed on right, that's for sure.
We got two hugs out of him and a Cadbury Secret Santa letter, so we are officially his number one fans.
Only Ticket Home is out now, grab your tickets to see him live in 2019 here.
Don't forget to become a Cadbury Secret Santa and give a little something extra this Christmas- visit www.cadbury.ie/secretsanta and follow all the action on the Cadbury Ireland Facebook and Twitter pages.
Being invited on-stage by a musical icon would reduce most of us to an awkward mess. (We mean, remember when Prince had to kick Kim Kardashian off-stage for impersonating a statue?)
So, if you manage to find your way on stage, jam with your hero and actually impress the hell out of them, you may consider yourself one very lucky little blighter.
And in footage which is currently doing the rounds on social media, one Australian teen did just that.
After catching the attention of The Boss at a gig in Brisbane, a kid called Nathan was invited on-stage to play Growin Up with the man himself.
And ladies, he absolutely killed it.
Unlike the rest of us who would struggle to remember our own names in the same situation, Nathan grabbed a aguitar, shared a mike with Bruce and belted out the classic hit – much to the delight of the audience.
For the guts of six minutes, Nathan and Bruce slayed together, and we don't know about you, but we're pretty emotional right now.
For the first time in almost 30 years, TheLate Late Show will be leaving Ireland to meet a special guest.
Ryan Tubridy has revealed that this week’s show will feature an exclusive Irish interview with legendary singer-songwriter Bruce Springteen.
Speaking of the decision to film in London, the 43-year-old presenter said: “For one night only, The Late Late Show is making a small detour to London for a very special guest.”
As if we needed another reason to LOVE Bruce Springsteen…
Michael Fenerty, 8, recently attended a meet-and-greet with The Boss and had to miss a day of school as a result.
Normally if a kid misses school, the parent must write a note explaining the absence.
WELL, Michael took his letter letter f absence to another level, and it is probably worth THOUSANDS.
The fifth-grader asked Bruce to sign his absence note, and explain why he missed a day of school.
“Please excuse Michael Fenerty for being late or absent from school today. He came to the Free Library of Philadelphia to meet me and to get a copy of my book,” reads the note.
Apparently after Michael and his dad left their one-on-one with Brucey, they headed back to school, and handed over a PHOTOCOPY of the letter (fair).
After much speculation this week, it seems Bruce Springsteen will indeed be coming to Ireland this summer.
The Boss will play a massive gig at Croke Park on Friday May 27, as part of his River tour, and tickets will go on sale next Thursday February 11 at 9am.
And according to the Irish Independent this morning, a second date will be added for May 28, with the possibility of a third date down the line.
This will be Bruce's first time playing at Croker, though he has had a number of sell-out gigs in Ireland before.
Croke Park's concert schedule has been the subject of some controversy in recent years, with all five of Garth Brooks' 2014 gigs cancelled after the venue's three-gig policy was exceeded.
Bruce's gigs will reportedly mean that some GAA games have to be rescheduled.
She might have grown up touring the world with her dad, but 22-year old Jessica Springsteen (yes, THAT Springsteen) is paving her own path – in the world of fashion.
Jessica has just been announced as the face of Gucci’s new Equestrian collection, with an entire range of clothing featuring her initials – pretty cool, we think!
Speaking about growing up in the spotlight as the daughter of Bruce Springsteen and Patty Scialfa, Jessica said it always just seemed normal. “When we were little, my brothers and I were always on tour,” she said. “We’d have to wear those big headphones the entire concert and go backstage halfway through the show to take naps.”
The photo shoot, which took place in the Springsteen's back garden – well, their 300-acre horse farm, to be precise – shows that Jessica isn’t the only one with star quality in her family.
It seems like the young Miss Springsteen was the perfect choice for the new Gucci collection, as she has been an award-winning show jumper since the age of four. She even made an appearance with her dad at the Dublin Horse Show this year!
