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| DutchMark arrived in the UK on the day of the show. The plane was a couple of hours late but
luckily we had allowed for a few hold-ups! This was the day we
had been eagerly awaiting since our invitation some weeks
earlier. We weren't going to miss this!
We headed for London and the BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane, where a crowd was
already gathering.
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We found the lady in charge of the
guest list, gave our names and gratefully took charge of our tickets. A few minutes later, a small group of us were led through security, into the main building and on to 'the Green room'. On the way to the Green room, we were surprised to see Jonathan Ross about to cross in front of us. He stopped and said 'after you…' and gave way to our group saying something about not being able to do the show without us!
When we reached the Green room there was a group of about 30 people enjoying a complimentary drink and buffet. They had obviously been there a while as there wasn't much food left! We had time for a quick drink before everyone was escorted off to the recording studio.
We were quite surprised to find much of the audience already seated but that didn't matter when our group was directed to sit in the front three rows. We had a great view of the set. The studio looked completely different to how it appears on TV - much larger - and the audience was bigger than we had expected.
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At around 19:30 a 'warm-up' comedian came on to set the mood for the main show. We learnt very quickly not to put our hands up when he asked a question. Those who did became the subject of his next joke!
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After the warm-up, Jonathan Ross came onto the set and introduced himself and talked for a while about how the recording of the show would take shape. One of the more interesting points is that they deliberately over-record the running time so they have scope to edit it down for the TV broadcast.
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The show started in the usual way with Jonathan announcing the guests and cracking some jokes about current news and events. He also introduced his regular 'house band' called 'four poofs and a piano'!
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Then, the moment that we had been waiting for, Jonathan introduced Charlotte as the first guest. We won't retell the whole interview here - you can view the videos and captures for
that!
Charlotte came across very natural and happy - even more so in fact than
is captured on the TV show. The close shots portrayed by the TV cameras give a very different view of someone than when you see
them in the context of a TV studio. Whilst her facial expressions are obviously easier to see on TV, you do miss out on the presence of being in the same room and the atmosphere of sharing this with an
audience as well as some of the chemistry between guest and host.
The interview left us very
much reassured that Charlotte still has her feet firmly on the
ground and she has not been affected by fame.
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After Charlotte left the sofa, Marilyn Manson joined Jonathan. What a contrast, or at least you might have thought. Actually Marilyn didn't come across as the
character that we had pictured in our minds but maybe this was again due to seeing him 'for real'. We expect much of his image is just that - an image. Jonathan's interview technique brought out more of the real person behind the stage persona. At the end of his interview we were promised a special performance of his current single - more about that later!
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Jonathan's last guest of the evening was Simon Cowell. It was certainly an entertaining interview. Simon and Jonathan poked fun at each other throughout, mostly about each other's clothing. They also showed a clip from 'American Idol' for which Simon is famous as the outspoken critic of the pop
wannabies.
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While we were waiting for Marilyn's band to get ready for their live performance, Jonathan recorded a couple of brief adverts for the show - to be aired during Friday evening in between other programmes. He also gave the producer a hard time, by telling the audience an amusing story when he should have been wrapping up the show.
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As promised, the show closed with Marilyn Manson and band performing their single
'mOBSCENE'. This was certainly an experience!
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We had a great evening and judging by the buzz coming from the rest of the audience as we shuffled out, so did everyone else.
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| This was the
first reunion of Team Europe since Charlotte's 'Enchantment
Tour' in 2001. On Friday, UKMark played host and gave
DutchMark a tour of Cambridge, which is known of course for
it's famous University life. In the evening we set the recording
equipment running and sat down to enjoy the show again. We were
really pleased to see how the show turned out and, as we
indicated earlier, it is interesting just how different the live
experience is to watching it on TV. |
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Team Europe hope to join forces again within a few days to attend the London Première of I'll Be There.
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