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Huge American rock band will perform at Champions League final half-time show
As well as playing at the Champions League final and across the US and Europe next year, they'll play Wembley Stadium on June 28
LINKIN PARK made their sensational comeback in 2024 with new album From Zero.
And as part of their huge world tour, which kicks off again at the end of this month, I am told the US rockers have been booked to play the half-time show at the Champions League Final.
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The match is taking place in Germany at the Munich Football Arena on May 31, and the band will be putting on a show to remember.
A well-placed insider told me: “Linkin Park have signed the deal and they’ll be playing at the Champions League half-time show.
“It’s a really exciting gig for them and they will be doing some of their biggest hits like One Step Closer and Papercut, as well as new songs.
“Last year Lenny Kravitz was the performer, so they are following in some pretty big footsteps.
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“The show will come during a break from their world tour — so they will have time to relax on either side of the concert.
“It’s going to be a bumper year for the band, and getting booked to play this half-time show is like the cherry on the cake.”
I first revealed Lenny was due to play last year’s final back in February 2024, three months before it was officially announced, so I would expect the official confirmation for Linkin Park’s involvement won’t be made public for a while yet.
As a big fan of the American group, I was in the crowd for their only UK show, at London’s O2 Arena last September, and they were excellent.
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Going absolutely nuts
New frontwoman Emily Armstrong blew me away with her vocals and proved she was the perfect fit for the band following the sad death of Chester Bennington in 2017.
As well as playing at the Champions League final and across the US and Europe next year, Linkin Park will play Wembley Stadium on June 28.
Noughties rock band set for first UK tour as they pay tribute to their dead superstar frontman
Nearly every seat has sold for the one-off show, which will see them performing to almost 90,000 people.
I’ll be in the crowd going absolutely nuts. I can’t wait.
Sultry star is looking so Zen
Zendaya looks a little trippy in images from Louis Vuitton’s new campaign – dotted with psychedelic cartoons by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
The Dune actress wore a bandage top and miniskirt with buckles up the front as she posed for the fashion label’s latest advert.
Colourful characters and flowers with smiley faces frame the stunning snaps.
Takashi and Vuitton first launched a collection together 20 years ago and the new edit features re-designed outfits from the original link-up.
Items will be released over two drops, in January and March, including silk scarves, trainers and sunglasses that sadly I’ll never be able to afford.
Window shopping it is, then.
Heidi spotted on snowy break
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Heidi Klum is feline toasty as she takes a stroll in the snow wearing an enormous parka with leopard spots.
The supermodel was out in celebrity ski resort Aspen, Colorado, with her Tokio Hotel guitarist husband Tom Kaulitz, right, who was only wearing a light jacket and looked positively freezing next to his wife.
The pair saw in the New Year in the resort, where Mariah Carey is also on holiday with rumoured boyfriend Anderson .Paak.
Onlookers saw them holding hands after a cosy dinner and said they looked very much like a couple.
Ozzy: I once sank 224 pints for Xmas
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There is one person who very happy to ring in the New Year last night: Ozzy Osbourne.
The Black Sabbath rocker said he hates Christmas so much he once drank 28 gallons – that’s 224 pints – of ale to get through it.
Ozzy said: “I f***ing hate Christmas. It gets right up my a***hole.
“When I used to do booze and get f****d up, I bought a barrel with 28 gallons of booze for me. I drunk it before it was Christmas f***ing Eve.”
Sounds like my kind of holiday.
Leo has his Say-er on cash
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Leo Sayer wants to help fight for a new generation of artists after claiming he was “ripped” off by some of his managers during his career.
The You Make Me Feel Like Dancing singer was allegedly scammed out of millions by industry bosses and says he is horrified that things like that are still happening 50 years later.
He is now working on a docu about his career, which he hopes will shine a light on issues in the music business and help stop others suffering a similar fate.
In an exclusive interview, Leo said: “I suppose, at the end of the day, I’m not as wealthy as I should be.
“You know, others pocketed that very nicely for me.”
The veteran star said he was impressed by Taylor Swift when she re-recorded her old albums, after the rights to her back catalogue were sold off without her permission.
Speaking about the upcoming documentary, Leo continued: “We’re going to be saying, ‘How can we make this industry safer and better and eradicate all those things so that a new artist like Taylor doesn’t have to go and re-record all of her stuff?’”
DJ Johnnie Walker was one of the nicest men in radio so I was sad to hear of his death.
He retired last October from The Rock Show on Radio 2, which was brilliant and introduced me to musicians who I now absolutely adore.
As Johnnie’s wife Tiggy put it: “What a day to go. He’ll be celebrating New Year’s Eve with a stash of great musicians in heaven.”
A bravo for Billie
It’s that horrendous time of year when everyone starts eating salad for lunch and wittering on about the fact it’s “New Year, new me”.
So before you pour your last bottle of wine down the sink, remember these words from Billie Eilish – who said her last mad health kick left her miserable.
Appearing on the Fresh Air podcast, Billie said: “A couple of years back... I had been on this really intense kind of health journey and lost a lot of weight. I was thinner than I’d ever been, and stronger than ever.
“But separately, I was extremely unhappy and unaware of how unhappy I was. It’s not a fun way to live.” Definitely not, Billie.
Next Step for S Club
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They were pop rivals in the late Nineties and now S Club are hoping to follow in the, ahem, footsteps of Steps by creating their own musical.
Steps got rave reviews for their show Here & Now when it launched in Birmingham in November ahead of a UK-wide tour from August, and now S Club, below, want to follow suit.
Asked if it was possible, the group’s Tina Barrett told me: “Absolutely, I think all S Club songs are so musical theatre.
Reach is musical theatre. Don’t Stop Movin’ is musical theatre. Bring It All Back is musical theatre... It’s all there.
“We’re very musical theatre too in the way we are so positive and old school. I want it to happen, so we’ll see.”
Quizzed on whether a musical is something the group have spoken about, she confirmed: “It is. Reach: The Musical has got a ring to it. I could see that up in lights. But Steps always do it first.”
I have to admit, I like the sound of it – especially as they had 11 Top Ten hits including four No1s, so there will be plenty of tunes to choose from.
And in more good news for fans, the group will be continuing to work together this year, following their 2023 reunion.
Tina teased: “There are a few things planned. I can’t say what, but it’s very exciting. S Club’s not over, let me put it that way.”
Rob rocks Oz
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Robbie Williams made sure to get 2025 off to the white start by headlining ABC TV’s New Year’s Eve party in Australia.
The Rock DJ singer took to the stage in Sydney, dressed all in white, and belted out his biggest hits to celebrate the release of biopic Better Man.
Robbie said: “I’ve always had a soft spot for Australia. Ever since I first arrived here on my solo tour in 2003, Australia accepts me for who I am and that’s the best feeling.
"So it was truly an honour to entertain the nation in front of the iconic Sydney Harbour counting down to New Year’s Eve.”
Spoony is op and about
We’re sending loads of love to Radio 2’s DJ Spoony after he underwent an emergency brain operation.
Spoony told fans he had a subdural haematoma, where blood pools between the skull and the surface of the brain.
Luckily, the surgery went well and he is now on the mend.
Spoony said he had worked through crippling headaches before going to hospital.
He added: “The visits, support, calls, messages. Very humbling.
“There was however some sadness waking up near to some people that didn’t know where they were, that would’ve spent a large part, if not all, of the day without loved ones.
“I think about them all every day and hope they are making progress.”
Fifty Cent’s new Las Vegas show has been savaged by critics.
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His In Da Club six-concert residency has been branded the “worst show” that’s ever been seen in Sin City.
Onlookers said the sound, staging and performance was all off, leaving the rapper rather red-faced.
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