Welcome to our Rockaoke Blog! Follow our posts to stay up to date with gig announcements, press features, festival news and everything Rockaoke.
About us:
ROCKAOKE are the UKs original, BEST and only SPECIALIST live karaoke band, inviting their audience to “live the dream” by taking to the stage and singing with a live rock band…
“One of London’s finest WTF experiences!” – Timeout London
A “beloved institution” – Rolling Stone
Former Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles will be celebrating the end of an era by embarking on a UK tour in November. Following his stint as the longest serving presenter of BBC Radio 1’s breakfast show, Chris is heading out on the road with his cast of radio sidekicks and a full live band – ROCKAOKE.
Accompanied by the band, Chris and his friends will perform songs, interspersed with non-stop banter, fun and games, and a lot more. Audience participation will be encouraged, creating the perfect party atmosphere with an interactive element.
According to The Sun, a source said of Moyles’ plans for the tour: “It’s the first and last time Chris and his team will perform to a paying audience. They will be getting the audience really involved, be it singing with them or just playing games.”
Chris Moyles will play (see ROCKAOKE gigs page for more details):
wed november 14th – O2 Academy, Birmingham
thu november 15th – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
fri november 16th – O2 Academy, Bournemouth
sat november 17th – O2 Academy, Sheffield
sun november 18th – O2 Academy, Glasgow
tue november 20th – O2 Academy, Newcastle
wed november 21st – O2 Academy, Leeds
thu november 22nd – O2 Academy, Bristol
fri november 23rd – O2 Academy, Liverpool
sat november 24th – O2 Academy, Manchester
sun november 25th – O2 Academy, Leicester
mon november 26th – HMV Forum, London
See ROCKAOKE gigs page for more details
Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles has announced that he will be touring the country with a full live band later this year find out this here.
The DJ will broadcast his final show as the host of the Radio 1 Breakfast show on Friday (September 21) and will then head out on tour in October with his cast of radio sidekicks.
The shows are set to last 80 minutes and will feature a live band, games involving audience participation and a live question and answer session.
According to The Sun, a source said of Moyles’ plans for the tour: “It’s the first and last time Chris and his team will perform to a paying audience. They will be getting the audience really involved, be it singing with them or just playing games.”
The tour begins at Birmingham’s O2 Academy on October 14 and runs until October 24 when it finishes up at Manchester’s Academy. The run also includes stops in London, Sheffield, Newcastle, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Leeds and Bristol.
It was recently revealed that Moyles’ replacement Nick Grimshaw will play double the amount of music than he did when he takes over the Radio 1 breakfast show. ‘Grimmy’ will play eight to 10 songs an hour – compared with the four to five an hour played by Moyles when his show launches on September 24.
Chris Moyles will play:
O2 Academy Birmingham (October 14)
O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire (15)
O2 Academy Bournemouth (16)
O2 Academy Sheffield (17)
O2 Academy Newcastle (20)
O2 Academy Leeds (21)
O2 Academy Bristol (22)
O2 Academy Liverpool (23)
Manchester Academy (24)
Tickets go onsale on Friday (September 14) at 9am (BST). To check the availability of Chris Moyles tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.
The road to London 2012 started for ROCKAOKE in July 2011 when we played at the World Corporate Games at Loughborough University. Amongst the heavily fancy dressed crowd that night were a large group of Baywatch bikini clad partiers who sang loudest, danced longest and had so much fun that we thought we definitely wanted to play for them again. As it turns out, those crazy cats were from LOCOGand they were organising the Olympics!
Fast forward 12 months and a run around the houses that would have had Mo Farah gasping for air, we found ourselves in the gloriously lucky position of being invited to play for the athletes, in their village at both the Olympic and Paralympic games and subsequently being crowned the official Rockaoke band of London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
The gigs were brilliant, as we gave competing athletes the chance to let their hair down, in some cases the day before their events, and relax during what in many cases was the most important two weeks of their lives. We turned track stars into rockstars in many guises, with highlights including the improvised rap skills of the Dominican Republic 400 metre champion. There was also the Chinese Paralympian Bozun Yang who won 3 golds, 2 silvers and a bronze in the pool before taking home the Rockaoke top gong for his dominant displays of Bon Jovi classics.
Everyone, from the athletes to the venue staff, LOCOG crew and ourselves had a brilliant time and we were especially chuffed that the LOCOG staff asked us to come back and play at their own, internal closing ceremony.
The whole experience was extremely humbling and massively inspiring. We were honoured to be part of London 2012 and play our little (rock and) role in such a wonderful summer.
It’s always been a Rockaoke dream to give want to be rockstars the chance to shine on the biggest stages. The ultimate goal of course remains Wembley Stadium, but we continued on our noble quest this summer with a couple of sensational sets at Chris Evans’ SOLD OUT Carfest events.
In late August in Hampshire at Laverstoke Park and then a few weeks later in the glorious surrounds of Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire we played to our largest crowds to date. At each gig we opened for the likes of The Proclaimers, Razorlight, Paloma Faith and Texas and pulled festival goers out of the crowd to front their own band with over 10,000 people chanting their names.
Chris Evans was on hand to co-host, jolly the singers along and crack through a few numbers himself. In fact it was the words of the nation’s most successful broadcaster to the gathered masses that describe perfectly how awesome it was, “That is the best thing I have EVER seen!”. If you have read his autobiographies you will realise the enormity of the statement. He has seen a lot!
Here are some YouTube highlights from Carfest 2012
STARS came out for a night of celebration to mark Toon record goalscorer Alan Shearer’s latest milestone.
The great and the good from the worlds of sport and celebrity turned up at the ex-Newcastle United ace’s home for his 40th birthday bash.
They turned up for the glittering event at the former England skipper’s plush Northumberland mansion in Darras Hall on the outskirts of Ponteland.
Famous faces from sport and showbiz attended the bash last weekend.
Shearer was joined by former Magpies teammates including Shay Given now keeping goal at mega-rich Manchester City, Gary Speed, new manager at Sheffield United, whose side today take on Middlesbrough, and Lee Clark, the Huddersfield Town boss.
Other sporting guests were ex-United defender Steve Watson, who previously lived in a house round the corner from Shearer, and Steve Harper, currently the Toon’s Number 1.
Ex-Toon manager Kevin Keegan also turned up to wish Shearer a happy birthday, along with Iain Dowie, who was Shearer’s assistant manager during their brief reign at the helm of the Magpies.
Ant McPartlin, one half of Geordie duo Ant and Dec, was also in attendance along with his make-up artist wife Lisa Armstrong.
And, as he declared live on Match of the Day last Saturday night, Shearer’s co-host Alan Hansen also made the trip to the North East from his home on Merseyside.
Guests spent the afternoon drinking champagne, with some, including former Wallsend Boys Club player Watson, leaving at around 7.30pm.
Others stayed until the early hours of the morning to celebrate with him.
21:00 – 02:00 – entry is free !!!
Strap on your air guitar, select your favourite anthem….Rockaoke is here on the last Fri of every Month. Fresh from a string of amazing performances with us, The Star welcomes back Rockaoke for their monthly residency.
Fri 30 March
Fri 27 April
Fri 25 May
21:00 – 02:00 – admission is free !!!
click here – to see photo’s from february’s gig (photos by www.ruperthitchcox.co.uk)
Arrive early to guarantee a seat and singing spot. Booking is advisable via 020 7278 9708.
You know the score. They play the tunes. You sing them. Fame, fortune and the inevitable downfall await you…
Sign up to sing @ www.rockaokenights.com/starofkings
Christmas is always the busiest and best time of year for ROCKAOKE web link. The “rock band karaoke” concept was made for Christmas parties. 2011 was our best Christmas yet! And the sheer mindblowing awesomeness of a Rockaoke Christmas party has never been better encapsulated than at the Mercedes Brawn F1 Team Christmas Party of 2011…!!!
First, the guys were joined onstage by legendary F1 driver Nico Rosberg – they even learned his favourite U2 song on the night to help Nico fulfil his ambition of singing “Where The Streets Have No Name” with a live band. Next, Nico was joined by the brains and the brawn behind the team, Norbert Haug and Ross Brawn, and Norbert led from the front with a scintillating rendition of “Mustang Sally”.
But to top it all, and to put the tin hat on a stonking year for ROCKAOKE, the guys were joined for a grand finale of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by the great man himself – Michael Schumacher…!
What a night – check out the videos right here…
