Recently by Ed James

So Blue are the latest band to follow take that, Duran Duran et al on the comeback trail and Anthony Costa joined us on Heart Breakfast the other day. I've met him quite a few times and he, like the other blue boys is a really nice fella. What I like most about him though is his complete honesty! We asked him who was the rudest member of the band and he told us a brilliant no holes barred story! A few years ago, at the height of their fame they were invited to perform for the sultan of Brunai - one of the worlds richest men. The gig went well and they then found themselves sitting down to a sumptous feast where their fellow diners included other stars, royalty and VIP's. The first course was soup which Lee Ryan especially was loudly slurping away at with gusto! He enjoyed it so much that when eventually his bowl was empty, he wiped his chin, grabbed another piece of bread and dunked it into the full bowl opposite - muttering 'ere bruv, you done with that?' This, of course, would have been quite a major foody faux pas anyway, but was made even worse by the fact that the bowl belonged to the Sultan of Brunai's son!!
Anthony said the rest of the boys didn't know where to look!
Let's home his table manners have improved since the last time they were famous!

What a bizarre few days? A week ago everyone was getting excited about the long awaited comeback gigs of Michael Jackson....and now we're still trying to come to terms with the fact that just 50, the king of pop is no more. Friday's Heart breakfast show was a weird one. Because the news broke so late on Thursday night, Friday morning was when most people were finding about it. We were inundated with texts, mainly from people saying they couldn't believe it. There have been 4 really big 'where were you' moments over recent times, Elvis, John Lennon, Diana and now Michael Jackson. I only really remember the last two and I guess my kids will feel the same as I do about Elvis. I know and love his music but don't remember a world with him in it. When the news broke I was having a meal with my partner Den in the Mailbox in Birmingham. It was a really weird feeling because as people received texts, checked status updates and looked on twitter, you could see the realisation slowly start to spread. The first reaction was one of disbelief, so much so that complete strangers were coming up to us asking if we'd heard and if we thought it was true, so unbelievable was the news. Then people started to crave information, in a matter of minutes there was a huge crowd around the tv screens in the Mailbox as we wanted to know the important questions, when, where and most importantly HOW it happened.

It still seems a little unreal somehow, especially when we look at the pictures of how he looked just hours before his death, fit, happy and all set to deliver a fantastic series of gigs! What we are left with though is some superb music, which I honestly believe will stand the test of time. The music was so diverse and ahead of it's time I think we'll be enjoying it for many years to come. And by the look of the big top 40 show last sunday which had a stack of Michael Jackson entries and Man in the Mirror at number one, it seems the public feels the same.

I'd love to know where you were when you heard the news. Also did you ever see him in concert? Or even meet the great man? I'd love to read your comments!

Emma Bunton was on the show this morning! It was a very highly charged moment for me as I've always had a bit of a thing for her. She was also the inspiration behind the choice of name for my cat, baby! I didn't tell her that, thought it might freak her out a little!! She was on to plug her new show starting next Saturday on Heart but she was loads of fun and let slip some good goss!

It turns out her passion is cars, even though she's never put the wrong fuel in - like I did last week, long story! She also let slip she's pretty happy with her body but would like a smaller bottom! Why do girls always think their bum is too big, it's always lovely! We also asked her about the brilliant things she's got for free! We love asking pop stars this, for my money this is one of the best things about being famous. In addition to being very nicely paid, you get given loads of stuff for free, even though you clearly have enough cash to buy the items yourself!

It turns out the best things she's ever received for free is Jimmy Choo shoes! She loves them so much she often wanders around the house wearing them, stopping every now and again to admire herself in the mirror! To be honest that's the reason I'd like to get really famous, because stuff you like and buy anyway gets sent to you for free! In every interview I'd be talking about things I loved in the hope that the manufacturers would send me stuff. It is my firm belief that sometime in the future, when I'm in a successful Boyband, each week a huge box will be delivered full of cake, Ginsters pasties and Angel Delight!

It seems not a day goes by without another Michael Jackson story appearing! Last week we were told the Jackson 5 could be reforming! They have been offered big bucks to do it...$3 million for Michael, $2 million for Janet and £50 quid and a night at the trevelodge for the others!

The latest rumour is that Michael could well be appearing on the X Factor as a mentor!!! Now remember, even when Cowell at al pulled off the spectacular coup of getting Britney Spears on the show last series by all accounts she flew in, sang, then flew straight out again! No hanging around and certainly no interaction at all with the finalists...so to get MJ to do it would be amazing! At the moment it's no more than the Cowell PR machine working overtime as he's only put in a request, but I'm hopeful that he'll do it! Call me naive if you want to but I really think he'll come out of the back this year once again wearing his crown as the king of pop! I know lots of people think he'll be rubbish and leave a lot of fans disappointed but I just can't see it. Blind faith? heart ruling head? Only time will tell. Either way, him going on the x factor is a no brainer, cue sad music, intro Dermot, 'This is Michael, he's come on quite a journey.....'

Hello there...

Michael Parkinson and Lenny Henry on the show soon so if you miss Heart breakfast keep checking back here for more goss from them!! Today though, Is it just me or is Hugh Jackman just the perfect man? He's currently top of the box office with 'Wolverine' which I'm told is brilliant! He is the man that genuinely has everything, girls swoon over him, guys want to be him, he's funny, clever, talented and also (and remember this is coming from happily attcahed father of 3) pretty darn gorgeous! Well news that will make you love him even more......he's also well up for taking the mickey out of himself!
He was in a Kareoke bar in japan recently belting out a song (probably really well if you saw him host this years Oscars!!) when the owner comes over with a box saying 'in Japan, this is how we do it'! Hugh looked into the box to find lots of dressing up clothes! That might scare lesser men, not Hugh though, he popped out to get changed and reemerged dressed as a Japanese schoolgirl! He then took the stage once again to continue his set! He said he loved it. I bet he looked great too! Legend!

We're in the middle of awards season at the moment....it was the BAFTA's on Sunday night and the next biggie in the TV calendar is the Soap awards! This is where the people we have in our front rooms every night all get together and collectively let their hair down. But which soap would you say party's the hardest? Eastenders? Corry? Apparently it's none other than the stars of Midlands based soap Doctors! According to Donnaleigh Bailey who plays Nurse Corrigan in the BBC1 soap they were the last to leave the bar last year, they even outlasted Hollyoaks, which is no mean feat! She also rekons they like to hang out with the Eastenders cast the most.....but most of them are tucked up in bed quite early!
Voting is still open for best soap and it would be great to get a Midlands soap as the winner. Vote now.....www.britishsoapawards.tv

The boys are back in town.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you'll know that Spandau Ballet are touring again! They said it would never happen but they have reformed and getting on great. Nice to see they still have their sense of humour too, we had Tony Hadley on the show the other week who suggested that former Eastenders and now advert star Martin Kemp will get them a great deal on some sofas for their dressing rooms! See the boys on Saturday 24th October at the LG arena.

The big saturday night juggernaut that is BGT is back! Most of the talk is about Susan Boyle at the moment but do you remember Julian Smith?? He was the guy who played the saxophone so well it brought Amanda Holden to tears...mind you that doesn't take much!! Well... he was spotted in a pub in Bartley Green last week. A fellow drinker recognised him and asked if he thought he'd be able to make a career out of it. He replied 'put it this way, I've quit my job and moved to London'! The power of Simon Cowell, it seems we'll be seeing more of him!

Gok Wan was also spotted in the Midlands this week, having a crafty fag outside the Radisson SAS hotel in Birmingham. Upon been spotted he smiled, waved and shouted 'Hi girlfriend' across the street!

If you ever see anyone famous in and around the midlands - let me know and I'll tell everyone else! ed.james@heartfm.co.uk!!