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DAMIEN RICE, LIONEL BLAIR, ACORN ANTIQUES

25-01-2007

Soulful Irish crooner Damien Rice has announced a Birmingham date on his forthcoming tour. Others coming to the city in the coming monthsinclude Simply Ballroom hoofer Lionel Blair and a musical by local lass Victoria Wood.

Rice recently released his second album 9, which has been well reviewed but it was his debut O that really marked his breakthrough selling more than 2 million copies worldwide - more than half of those in the UK.

“Cannonball” and “The Blowers Daughter were the stand out tracks - sensitive, poetic heartache with a shade more subtlety than Messrs Blunt and Morrison.

Dubliner Rice has been nominated for a Brit Award in the Best International Male category, and comes to the NIA on Tuesday 2 October. Tickets costing £23.50 (plus booking fee) go on sale on Friday at 9am. Call 0870 909 4144 or book online at www.necgroup.co.uk

Meanwhile the Hippodrome has a couple of noteworthy shows coming up. Lionel Blair hosts the dance spectacular Simply Ballroom between Monday 19 and Sunday 24 March. Expect OTT costumes and nimble footwork with choreography by TV dancing stars Erin Boag and Anton Du Beke. Tickets for this one range from £10-£28.50

Before then, the same venue has Acorns Antiques The Musical - Victoria Wood's hugely successful re-working of her classic TV comedy. The original production at the Theatre Royal in Haymarket sold out a 16 week run. This one costs between £12.50 and £30 and runs from Moday 26 february to Saturday 3 March.