MKS. The Comeback Gig.

Last night, me and the guys went along to Scala in North London to see the comeback of Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan. Previously know as the original Sugababes, now know as MKS.

If you are unsure who they are, let me recap for you. Their arrived 12 years ago, but one by one left the band for various reasons, and were replaced by another female singer. At the end, Sugababes were a trio of girls who's sound couldn't have been further away from the original line up.

Fast forward to 2013, and MKS have officially reunited and headlining their first comeback gig at Scala, an intimate London venue.
It's taken 12 months since the groups announcement, but the buzz has been absolutely phenomenal leading up to this gig. Twitter has been ablaze, and tickets sold out in 14 minutes! People were desperate for tickets.

Once inside, the buzz built and built until the opening beats to their first single Overload started, the three of them stepped on stage, and it was honestly a gig like I haven't experienced before!

The group performed Overload exactly how they performed the single on Top of The Pops and CD:UK all those years ago. It was their opportunity to open the show with what they were, and take us through to who they are now.
Rolling through old time classics like 'Run For Cover' and 'Stronger' as well as new singles from their forthcoming album, it was as if they never disappeared.

Trust me, their new album needs to be at the top of your want list, the songs are that good!

The best thing about this gig was the incredible support the crowd had for these girls. There was a moment where Siobhan, who left the band first, sang the lines of her replacement and the crowd went mad with encouragement. It was deafening.
This is what every fan had been waiting for, to see these three reunited, picking up where they left it.

We were literally in awe not only at how the crowd reacted to MKS, but at how amazing the band sounded too! These days the artists never sound like the song when they sing it live, but MKS showcased their vocals to their full range.

After about an hour of being on stage, they said their thanks and we all screamed for more, as you do! They then came back out, and performed their new single 'Flatline' (which we all knew word for word!) before hugging on stage, thanking us all for coming, and ran backstage.

We all caught our breathe, finished our drinks, and went out into the London night humming along to their new song!

You can pre-order their new single here and check out their website too, they have more gigs coming up!

On the day where a current member of the Sugababes declared they were over, MKS came on stage and carried on the party they left 12 years ago.
It's come full circle, and definitely an exciting act to watch out for!

Friends Reunited

Friends. Noun: A person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.

The friends you make at university are the friends you keep for life, and never has this been so true regardless of the time you spend apart. I found some of my best friends at university and this weekend I was lucky to spend time with two of them.

[caption id="attachment_176" align="aligncenter" width="231" caption="Third year university."][/caption]

I haven't been in the same room with Lian and Gemma since the day we moved out of our student house at the end of third year, so this reunion was a little bit extra special. Sure, I have seen them since uni, but with us all living in three seperate cities across the country it has been hard to get together. But after 14 months, it felt like it was yesterday and we were back in our student house. That photo taken above was one of our memories from there.

What did we do exactly? Had we aged and left the party behind in our uni days... Of course not! This weekend was Shakedown festival in Brighton, which provided the perfect excuse for an alcohol-fueled catch up! With acts such as Example, Razorlight, Ed Sheeran and many more, it was a match made in heave for three friends.

[caption id="attachment_177" align="aligncenter" width="163" caption="I would later regret this..."][/caption]

With a strict rule of not taking alcohol into the festival, we pre drank what we could and slipped the small vodka bottles and hipflasks in our wellies, and made our way through. Festivals are always a little bit more pricey than your average pub, so you can imagine our joy when we got through with enough vodka to put the most strongest of drinkers in hospital.

[caption id="attachment_161" align="aligncenter" width="183" caption="Enjoying a bit of Zane Lowe"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_164" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="At the front of the Dance Stage"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_163" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Ed Sheeran"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_160" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Myself and my Ab Fab Patsy"][/caption]

The weather stayed sunny into the evening, and as Example came on the heavens opened. When your jumping up and down to 'Changed the way you kissed me' it doesn't make much difference, apart from thanking yourself for wearing the wellies and not the espadrilles as originally planned!

[caption id="attachment_165" align="aligncenter" width="237" caption="The girls falling off a Wheelie Bin"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_162" align="aligncenter" width="202" caption="New hat from another festivaler"][/caption]

The following day, with a slight headache and a empty stomach, we got up and headed into Brighton for some food and a browse through the Laines.

I also managed to take the girls to this amazing shop called Beyond Retro. They have so much retro clothing that you can spend hours trying on pieces, even Lian found a bargain! They have stores in London and Brighton and it is worth a visit in there!

[caption id="attachment_168" align="aligncenter" width="238" caption="Beyond Retro... Lians new jumper!"][/caption]

And then in true Brighton style, we ended up at the seafront with a portion of fish and chips, watching the sea and topping up our tans.

[caption id="attachment_169" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Fish and Chips at the sea front"][/caption]

Before the girls left for their home cities, I treated them to a drive to Plumpton Racecourse as it was ladies day. Neither of them had been horse racing before, so we quickly nipped into the bookmakers and placed our bets before we headed over to catch a couple of the races. We found the perfect spot overlooking the whole racecourse, and cheered on our horses. Sadly, we didnt win a penny but it was worth the excitement and they loved it.

[caption id="attachment_171" align="aligncenter" width="269" caption="Gemma and her betting slip.. Not a winner though!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_170" align="aligncenter" width="265" caption="Perched under my Ascot umbrella"][/caption]

As always though, good things have to come to an end and before we knew it we were back where we started, Hove train station. My two girls were leaving me after what was undoubtedly the best weekend in a long time. We said our final goodbyes, hugged and made sure we do it again next month, before I stood on the platform and waved them off on their separate trains... Until the next time.

[caption id="attachment_174" align="aligncenter" width="171" caption="Time to say goodbye..."][/caption]

As they say, you make your friends for life at university.

[caption id="attachment_166" align="aligncenter" width="211" caption="<3"][/caption]