Gornal News & Goings On

NEWS

All Rhodes lead to stardom for Mark ("Stop Press" - He's made the last ten! Well done Mark) Mark Rhodes click to enlarge It's not often that the Black Country is represented on prime time national television. So make sure that you tune in to Ant and Dec's Pop Idol on ITV this Saturday evening (11th October, 7.05pm), and vote for Mark Rhodes to make it through to the last ten talented vocalists aiming to take over Will Young's crown. Yampy blagged an invite last week to the Hollybush at Ebstree to see Mark, aged 22, perform a warm-up gig to a specially invited audience of mainly friends and relatives. We can assure our readers that your vote won't be wasted; Mark has all the qualities needed to blow the Pop Idol opposition away, not to mention Simon, Pete, Nikki and the Fox. Equally at home belting out Robbie Williams, U2, Frank Sinatra, or Tom Jones (during which one or two of the barmaids chucked their underwear at him, but we understand that this is Not Unusual), Mark sang his heart out for over two hours. He is a completely natural performer with an effortlessly tuned-in voice, and a sparkling yet self-deprecating personality. Our only concern was that he put so much into the evening that if he's hoarse on the night it will be our fault for insisting on all those encores! Mark is a great lad and has a marvellous, supportive family around him who will ensure his feet stay on the ground once stardom inevitably beckons. So make a note in your diaries and spam all your friends to get phoning the votes in on Saturday night - for the Black Country chap! Mark at a recent charity gig Raising funds for nephew Tom's new wheelchair.

Next: Councillor Caunt's charity challenge..