Cruise News

All news and announcements regarding publication of 'The Singer's Singer'
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Michele Monro
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Cruise News

Post by Michele Monro » Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:18 am

Last year I applied to a company called Sixth Star Entertainment to be considered as a British Interest Speaker on board the various cruise lines around the world. It was quite a gruelling process but I am delighted to have heard that I have been accepted into their fold so to speak. It will mean that I will be doing various presentations on the ship and as well as talking about dad and the book, I have several different topics that I have to come up with. The rule of thumb is that one does a presentation each day the ship is at sea and it is a wonderful opportunity of educating people about the music of Matt Monro and trying to gather a new fan base (and selling a few books as well).

Amazingly I have been offered 3 different cruises in the last two days and......... I can't do any of them. Well that is not strictly true, one is the Christmas cruise on the Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas but it would mean Max losing out on his time at home when he breaks from University and if Justine does go to a different university I know he would want to spend most of his time with her so I thought it best to decline. One was a three week Mediterranean cruise but hat would have meant a minimum of 8 topics to present and I don't think I could have got all the scripts/audios/visuals done within the time (leaving on 28 November). It will probably mean that I don't do one until I get back next June but I think it will be brilliant as I can go away while Max is not here and spend time with him when he is back.

I can have two talks about dad but the rest have to have a broader appeal and focus on entertainment. This is what I have come up with so far, let me know what you think and maybe you could also give me your thoughts on what you would sort of thing you would like to attend if you were on the high seas.

The Singer’s Singer -
follows Matt Monro’s life from his poverty-stricken upbringing in war-torn Britain to his day job as a London bus driver to the steady rise to fame that saw the singer battling the highs and lows of the entertainment industry to become one of the world’s most iconic singers. This is the man behind the image, the man who rubbed shoulders with some of the most famous names in the business, who recorded the very first James Bond theme song, represented Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest, appeared in a Royal Command performance and recorded the international hits ‘Born Free’, ‘Walk Away’, ‘Portrait of My Love’ and ‘From Russia with Love’. But his life had its share of tragedy, and Matt Monro had his own personal demons to battle, even at the height of his fame.

Who Are You? -
Life as the child of one of the world’s best loved entertainers. What was Matt Monro really like as a father? The feeling of lost birthdays and missed special events, living with a nanny and waiting for those all important phone calls. Life on the road and living out of a suitcase. The highs of attending a recording session, watching him live for the very first time, appearing on ‘This is Your Life’ and the subterfuge needed to bring it off. The lows of living with an alcoholic, the madness of the obsessive fan and the illness that brought about his early death.

The Tragedy of Success
The stress of show business and living under a microscope. The sad loss of my friend Michael Jackson as well as the recent demise of Amy Winehouse, now a member of the 27 Club, the title of an epitomic group of influential musicians who have all died at the age of 27. Why does addiction and hard partying life styles govern so many stars? It is often said that laughter is the best medicine, if that is true then it is ironic that so many great comedians have died so young. Being funny has cost the lives of such greats as John Belushi, Tommy Cooper, Sid James, Tony Hancock, Leonard Rossiter – is there a cure?

The Secrets of Live Radio and Television
What is it really like to be a guest on shows such as BBC Breakfast, This is Your Life, QVC, The One Show, BBC London, Friday Night is Music Night. Why you can’t wear stripes or shouldn’t wear black. Why you shouldn’t wear a blue tie or dress completely in white. Why are pin stripes and polka dots out and neutral is in? Why does television add pounds and why you should ask what the set colour will be? What really happens backstage from mechanical breakdowns to electrical failure.

Oops I Did It Again
Hollywood is big business, they spend millions of pounds producing top notch blockbuster films paying huge salaries to stars in a bid to get us through the door and part with our money. Despite their best efforts they often get it wrong. Here is a collection of the best and worst outtakes, movie goofs and bloopers in film and television.

Silly Billy
The history of popular music is littered with laughable linguistic efforts. Do you remember Gillygillyossenfefferkatzenellenbogen-by-the-sea or what about Perry Como’s number Hot Diggity, which opened, 'Hot diggity, dog diggity, boom, what you do to me.' Even Max Bygraves succumbed with a a song entitled, 'You're a pink toothbrush, I'm a blue toothbrush.' I consider Neil Diamond to be foremost among modern tunesmiths; he has composed some timeless melodies but even I have occasional problems with his lyrics: 'Song sung blue, every garden grows one.' 'No one heard at all, not even the chair.' Neil also wrote a catchy up-tempo tune he called, Beautiful Noise, a song extolling the rhythms, musicality and relevance of street traffic noise. Traffic noise? The startling thing about the foregoing quotes is that they all relate to hit songs – do you remember them? This would be a mix of talk and audience participation

The History of Eurovision
A brief outline on the origins of the contest, how it has grown and dad's part in it. What goes on behind the scenes of one of the biggest song contests in the world. The British entries of the last 50 years and the politics involved . The countries that have received nil points and fun trivia. This will include a visual/audio quiz.
Last edited by Michele Monro on Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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karl
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Re: Cruise News

Post by karl » Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:26 am

MY neighbours were at the Alahambra theatre in Dunfernline last week Michele for 'An Evening With Sir Alex Ferguson ' kind of thing, they really enjoyed it and it was humorous too and there were special guests like Gordon Brown!

The cruise expects a lot from you so maybe it's a good thing you can't do it but maybe in the future a short cruise might work better?

Perhaps if you show a part of Matt's concert and just talk about his life, as well as selling the book would you be able to sell any cd's? I was thinking of either The Singles or The Singers Singer - I'd be happy to accompany you if even to carry and sell the cd's!!!!! :)

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mariana44
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Re: Cruise News

Post by mariana44 » Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:01 pm

I think they all sound really interesting-I would be happy to attend any--perhaps the one least appealing to me personally would be "the tragedy of success".
Mariana

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maureen & harry
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Re: Cruise News

Post by maureen & harry » Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:47 pm

We have attended quite a few presentations on different Cruise ships and we can honestly say Michele that you have such a fantastic story to tell that your audience will be captivated.

You also have the advantage of having audio/visual aids to illustrate the story you are telling.

You seem to have covered a variety of different topics all of which we feel sure will be of interest to your audience and we know that audience participation always goes down well.


:D :D

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Rob H
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Re: Cruise News

Post by Rob H » Fri Aug 19, 2011 12:07 pm

I remember when working on 'The Crystal Harmony' (Crystal Cruises) in California, Whoopi Goldberg and Patrick Swayze came on-board and promoted their film' GHOST', when we were in LA! Wolfgang Puch (Celebrity Chef in LA) came on and gave a cooking course. I also spent a whole cruise socialising with a member of the rock band Van Halen and his family....sadly he left his guitar at home so, I was unable to get a personal playing of their hit Jump. The cruiseships are a wonderful place to exchange your life experiences with a captive and interested audience . You will have a great time...enjoy!
Rob H

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Marian
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Re: Cruise News

Post by Marian » Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:31 pm

It sounds a very challenging project Michele, but I know you are not the kind of gal to shy away from hard work, and you must be enthusiastic and excited to have applied in the first place.
I've never actually been on a cruise, but friends of mine went on the maiden voyage of Independence of the Seas, and although they enjoyed it, they said they wouldn't go on such a massive cruise liner again, because of its sheer size and the number of people on board.
All your topics sound interesting and with most of them you would be speaking from personal experience. I just wondered how long each presentation would have to be?
I know how much you love a cruise, so maybe a topic of your own personal experiences of some of the cruises you have been on, your very first cruise etc. and maybe amusing or otherwise, memories that made cruising so special for you.
Good luck and Bon Voyage when you do go! :D

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Michele Monro
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Re: Cruise News

Post by Michele Monro » Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:43 pm

Good idea Marian, each talk has to be one hour but they like to leave 10/15 minutes of it for questions and answers so the talk will be about 40/45 minutes long. The worst offence on a ship is to make people miss their bingo session because you ran late!

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Marian
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Re: Cruise News

Post by Marian » Fri Aug 19, 2011 4:39 pm

Talking from experience Michele?!! :wink:

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Michele Monro
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Re: Cruise News

Post by Michele Monro » Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:05 pm

Absolutely, once those balls start I need to be there.

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karl
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Re: Cruise News

Post by karl » Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:30 pm

Yes but when Michele wins instead of shouting "House" she shouts "Bungalow" :lol:

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Michele Monro
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Re: Cruise News

Post by Michele Monro » Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:41 pm

Actually Karl I shout - Monro Mansions!

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karl
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Re: Cruise News

Post by karl » Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:11 pm

:lol:
But remember to add 'and estate'

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paul jh
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Re: Cruise News

Post by paul jh » Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:36 pm

I think all the talks sound very interesting. Silly Billy would interest me the least.

Of course, you wouldn't want to do the Eurovision presentation for an American cruise line, as no one will know what you're talking about. So save Eurovision for P & O, Cunard, MSC, Fred. Olsen, Costa, or Saga.

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Michele Monro
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Re: Cruise News

Post by Michele Monro » Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:41 am

Normally I would agree Paul but this is Royal Caribbean operating out of England so I am presuming 70% will be British!

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Marian
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Re: Cruise News

Post by Marian » Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:29 pm

I wouldn't bet on it Michele!!! :wink:

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