Following the release of their eighth studio album Encore, last year to critical acclaim, the band comprising Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Horace Panter, hit the road again.The genius of the Specials is that they are observers, not commentators and they know that pop music is influential, important and exhilarating. They are a band embedded in this country's DNA, and especially in the DNA of Coventry, City of Culture 2021.

It is impossible to envisage the musical landscape without them, from the startling, angular Gangsters in 1979, to their swan song, the epoch-making Ghost Town in 1981. They infuse ska with punk and homegrown political anxiety with wider issues.

The skill of re-contextualising what has gone before and writing new songs that fuse this heritage with all that is current. Throughout the decades the Special's influence has never gone away. And we need it."I'm aware our work has been out there for forty years and I'm so grateful for what we've done, I pinch myself sometimes," says Lynval.

"I can pat myself on the back now, and say 'Well done,' because that what my father says to me. As a band, making this record, it was the closest we'd ever been.""That's the thing with the Specials," says Horace.

"We are three very different people, but you put us together and we become the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world, as far as I'm concerned. Something remarkable happens."

Something remarkable will happen at the Ricoh Arena in 2021, when The Specials walk out onto the stage at the Ricoh Indoor Arena, Coventry on September 11th.

Some of the biggest names in music are performing at a special McDonald's festival this weekend.

With Craig David, Lewis Capaldi, Olly Murs and Stormzy announced to take part in I'm Lovin' it Live music fans can attend the virtual festival via the McDonald's app throughout the weekend.

If the line-up wasn't enough to excite you, McDonald's are also helping music fans get into the festival spirit with their own limited edition clothing.

Not only that, you can get the Lovin’ it Live’ hoodies, bucket hats and golden wellies for free.

Unfortunately, there isn't enough products for everyone so McDonald's are running a competition where you could win some of the limited edition products.

The competition is being run on McDonald's official Facebook page, and you must be at least 16-years-old and living in England, Scotland and Wales to take part.

McDonald's I'm Lovin' it Live is a virtual three-day event featuring some of the biggest names in music.

Former The X Factor runner-up Olly Murs was named as one of the top names to take part and his features alongside the biggest names in the music industry, including rapper Stormzy and R&B legend Craig David.

The virtual performances can be accessed by downloading the My McDonald's app.

Once downloaded, you have to set up and register an account before you get access to the video footage. After you have registered, click on the link at the scheduled performance time to gain access to I'm Lovin' it Live.

Other stars who are set to perform over the weekend include; Stormzy, Becky Hill, Jess Glynne, Kaiser Chiefs and Lewis Capaldi.

Comedian and actor John Sessions has died.

Best known as a panellist on 1980s and 90s improvisation TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and for Stella Street, Spitting Image and QI, with acting credits included TV dramas Porterhouse Blue and Victoria, and Kenneth Branagh's 1989 film of Henry V, comedian Ronni Ancona described him as "a genius", while Helen Lederer remembered him as "such an original force of clever wit and talent". Rory Bremner said Sessions was "just the best, he'd blow everyone away on Whose Line with his speed of thought & breadth of reference". He added: "A flash of brilliance just went out."

During his career, he provided voices on Spitting Image in the 1980s - the only person to both provide impressions and be featured as a puppet on the satirical show.

The programme was among the trailblazers of alternative comedy, he told BBC Radio Scotland in September. "You really felt you were at the cutting edge of comedy," he said.

His impressions were also at the heart of Stella Street, a spoof soap opera about megastars like Keith Richards, Joe Pesci and Roger Moore who lived on the same suburban road, which launched in 1997.

Sessions recalled meeting Richards and the other members of the Rolling Stones. "They watched the show," he told Radio Scotland. "Keith said he really enjoys it and he's thinking of getting a little corner shop."

Paying tribute, comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar said Sessions was "always warm and fun company and amazing improv ability". Meera Syal remembered himbeing "always the funniest and kindest man in the room", while Jack Dee described him as "a delightful, funny, generous and hugely gifted man" and Sally Phillips said he was "unpredictable, dangerous, adorable".

Sessions appeared on the first ever episode of QI, and the team behind the panel show said: "His incredible wit and encyclopaedic knowledge played a huge part in the show's history and everyone at QI is deeply saddened to learn of his passing."

Broadcaster Danny Baker remembered him as "terrific company always and a true talent", and Michael Spicer described him as "a character actor with such extraordinary range and so very, very funny".

Sessions was born John Marshall in Largs, Scotland, in 1953, and moved to Bedfordshire with his family when he was three. He was accepted by Rada at the age of 26 in 1979. Eight years later, his one-man theatre show The Life of Napoleon transferred to the West End. "He is like nobody else," The Times' critic wrote. "He uses language like a poet; he can jump from the raft at Tilsit to Huck Finn on the Mississippi and make the metaphor work."

Soon after, he made his acting breakthrough on screen in Channel 4's Porterhouse Blue, before showing his surreal and cerebral comic energy on Whose Line Is It Anyway?

"When I left Rada, my plan was to try and do two careers at once - to be a comedian and an actor," he told The Guardian in 2014. "For some years, I managed to juggle the two, but I never felt I joined either club." He went on to star in a string of his own BBC TV shows, such as a self-titled solo improvisation series in the late 1980s, followed by John Sessions's Tall Tales and John Sessions's Likely Stories. But he never quite achieved the stardom of his friends Branagh and Stephen Fry. He said he "ran out of steam" when he turned 40. "As I was getting older, I wasn't getting more confident, I was getting less confident," he told The Guardian. "I lost my way."

His other TV credits included Victoria, The Loch, Just William, Tom Jones, and Gormenghast; and he had film roles in The Good Shepherd, The Merchant of Venice and The Bounty.

His knack for impersonating politicians was put to use in dramas too - playing former prime minister Edward Heath in the 2011 film The Iron Lady; another ex-premier, Harold Wilson, in 2010's Made in Dagenham; and former chancellor Geoffrey Howe in the 2009 Thatcher biopic Margaret. But he told The Telegraph in 2013: "I don't think I was very good at managing my career. You need to carve your own path and not just bob along."

Recently, he had narrated a 10-part radio adaptation of children's book series The Adventures of Captain Bobo.

In a statement, his agent Alex Irwin said: "It is with great sadness we can confirm that on Monday 2nd November, the actor John Sessions died at his home in South London. He will be hugely missed."

The Ayrshire-born star died from a heart condition, his agent said.

He was 67.

Following the sold-out performances of ‘Lazuli Sky’, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Birmingham Repertory Theatre have announced a specially adapted production of the classic Christmas fairytale ‘The Nutcracker’, which will run at The REP from 14 – 22 December 2020.

This new adaptation of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s much-loved production will bring the family favourite to The REP for the very first time. In a COVID-safe environment including socially distanced seating allocated to household or bubble groups only, they are able to tell The Nutcracker story in a way that is equally safe for the performers and production crew, on and off stage.

This Christmas, the full-length production will be shortened to an 80-minute magical experience that will retain all of the most enchanting moments and characters from the classic full-length show. 

‘The Nutcracker’at The REP will whisk audiences from the heartwarming Christmas Eve party where Fritz and Clara meet the magician Drosselmeyer, to the rousing battle between King Rat and the toy soldiers, through a flurry of Snowflakes and onto a journey to the Kingdom of Sweets where Clara meets the Sugar Plum Fairy and her prince - all accompanied by the cherished Tchaikovsky score performed live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. This special series of shows will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s original Birmingham Hippodrome production being created as a gift for the City in 1990.

The Nutcracker will also be performed the Royal Albert Hall this Christmas (30 Dec 2020 - 2 Jan 2021).

Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta said: “Following the fantastic experience of staging our first shows since lockdown at The REP, we are so happy to continue our collaboration with this very special version of The Nutcracker so that audiences in Birmingham and the West Midlands can have something to look forward to this Christmas.

“The Nutcracker is an essential part of our annual season and we can’t wait to welcome audiences back to The REP in December for this celebration.”

The REP’s Artistic Director, Sean Foley added; “It was wonderful to collaborate with Carlos Acosta and Birmingham Royal Ballet for the World Premiere performances of Will Tuckett’s Lazuli Sky - and a particular thrill to welcome audiences safely back to The REP for the first time in seven months. We are just as excited to reveal the next stage in our ongoing creative partnership as we bring a special version of The Nutcracker to The REP for the very first time. A visit to theatre is an on-going Christmas tradition, and we can’t wait to share this magical experience with our audiences this festive season.”

This enchanting version of a Christmas favourite will be a fitting tribute to the company’s 30-year history, and one that looks to the future with hope and celebration. It is the quintessential Christmas treat for all the family.

Over $110,000 (£85,000) was raised in support of an unwitting star of Sacha Baron Cohen's new mockumentary, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

Jeanise Jones, 62, was recruited for the film that sees Kazakh journalist Borat playing pranks on US citizens. She features in several scenes after being asked to babysit the fictional daughter of Cohen's infamous character. Following the film's release last week, her church pastor set up a crowdfunding page for fans "to say thank you".

Pastor Derrick Scobey said Ms Jones, who was hired from the congregation of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, had recently lost her job of 32 years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On the crowdfunding page, Mr Scobey said the movie's producers had asked for a "black grandmother for a small role in a documentary". During filming, Ms Jones was tasked with looking after Borat's daughter, Tutar, who was played by actress Maria Bakalova.

In a number of scenes, Ms Jones deflects misogynistic comments made by Mr Cohen's character, encourages Tutar to "be happy" and tells her to "use your brain, because your daddy is a liar".

"This was not scripted for Jeanise. It all came from the heart," said Mr Scobey. "She is one of the most authentic people I've ever met."

In an interview with the New York Post, Ms Jones said of her appearance in the film that she was "trying to give the best advice I know".

"In that kind of situation, you can't help but have patience because you're trying to help somebody - at least, that's what I thought," she said. She further that said she was yet to watch the film. She was paid $3,600 for her role in the movie, which drew millions of viewers during its opening weekend on Amazon Prime.

Ms Jones said that, since filming, she had been concerned about Tutar's welfare. But after a friend showed her a trailer for the movie earlier this month, she has looked back on the experience with good humour.

"I'm glad to know that Ms Bakalova's not really in that situation," she said. "Mr Cohen, I don't know.

“It wasn't real, so I would shake his hand and say, 'You got me.'"

Kazakhstan's tourism board has adopted the Borat catchphrase "very nice" in its new advertising campaign. The phrase is used by the film character Borat, a fictional journalist from Kazakhstan.

The first Borat film caused outrage in the country, and authorities threatened to sue creator Sacha Baron Cohen. But the country's tourism board has now embraced Borat as a perfect marketing tool - particularly as a second Borat film has just been released.

It has released a number of short advertisements that highlight the country's scenery and culture. The people in the video then use Borat's catchphrase "very nice".

"Kazakhstan's nature is very nice. Its food is very nice. And its people, despite Borat's jokes to the contrary, are some of the nicest in the world," Kairat Sadvakassov, deputy chairman of Kazakh Tourism, said in a statement.

The tourism board were persuaded to use the catchphrase by American Dennis Keen and his friend Yermek Utemissov. They pitched the idea and produced the advertisements, according to the New York Times.

The response from social media users has been positive with many saying the advertisements capitalise on the film and send a positive message. One said: "Well done. Great way to take the publicity created by a comedian and turn it to a positive message." The second film itself has had a mixed reception. The Kazakh American Association has slammed the film for promoting "racism, cultural appropriation and xenophobia".

In a letter sent to Amazon, which has distribution rights to the film, the group asked: "Why is our small nation fair game for public ridicule?" In Kazakhstan, more than 100,000 people signed an online petition demanding a cancellation of the film after a trailer was released.

"They completely desecrate and humiliate Kazakhstan and the dignity of the Kazakh nation," the petition said. Others on social media branded the film as a "stupid American comedy".

When the first Borat film was released in 2006, authorities banned the film and release of it on DVD and people were blocked from visiting its website. Officials felt the movie portrayed Kazakhstan as a racist, sexist and primitive country.

In the film Borat bragged about incest and rape. He also joked that the former Soviet nation had the cleanest prostitutes in the world. The film also caused outrage in Romania where an entire village said they were "humiliated" by the film.

The village was used as the backdrop for Borat's house. Residents said they were told the film was going to be a documentary, but instead were portrayed as backward people and criminals. Years later, however, the Kazakhstan government thanked Sacha Baron Cohen for boosting tourism in the country.

In 2012, the foreign minister at the time, Yerzhan Kazykhanov, said he was "grateful" to Borat for "helping attract tourists" to the country, adding that 10 times more people were applying for visas to go there.