Horror hits Colchester Zoo

Many spectators were left traumatised this weekend at a popular Essex zoo when a barn owl was eaten by a lion.

A demonstration had begun at Colchester Zoo when the bird flew into the lion enclosure. A female lion pawed on the owl before a fellow male pounced and ate the bird. 

The owl, named Ash, was left helpless as the zoo keepers had little to do, except from move away the area of people who were left in shock and horror at the events that uncovered before them. 

Children were left crying and women screaming as Ash was killed, very much interrupting a demonstration that was intended to entertain many at one of the county's top tourist attractions.

Marketing director of the zoo, Alex Downing said: 'We are very sad to report that our little barn owl, Ash, sadly died at the weekend'.

McFly Battle of the Bands

From November, McFly have been running a once-in-a-lifetime competition for unsigned and upcoming bands. Their 'Battle of the Bands' competition, open to any unsigned bands, gives under the radar talent an opportunity to support the chart-topping bands on their nationwide tour.

Running from the 7th March to the 21st April, the McFly tour will be visiting all major cities across the country on 26 dates; however, the band are currently lacking in a support act for each night. Bands across the country have been entering videos of themselves to the McFly website, where the public can then choose which band they would like to support.

By hitting the 'Like' button on a specific band's page on the site, this counts as a vote for the chosen band. With 26 bands required to fulfil the support-act slot, Tom, Dougie, Danny and Essex's very own Harry Judd, make up McFly, who will pick the final 26 from the top 50 placing bands.

With voting having ended on 12th January, the boys will currently be deciding which acts they would like to join them on their tour. The chosen bands will be finding out if they have made the cut within the next week.

My fingers are well and truly crossed for Fuze, a four-piece band coming from Essex, who placed at 21 in the competition. Ed Alston, lead vocalist and guitarist, George Kirchner, lead guitarist, Jack Goldsmith, bass guitarist, & Keir Adamson, drummer, make up the band that were crowned Chelmsford's YFest winners in August 2011. Having spent most of the competition in the Top 10, it seems that the band are a popular choice and deserve to win a spot supporting McFly on tour.

For more information about Fuze, please visit their YouTube page: FuzeBandTV - YouTube

Or follow @FuzeBand on Twitter

V Festival Line-Up...

Apologies for any excitement that this may have caused if you thought that the full line-up would be given here! However, what Essex In The Media can tell you is that the official announcement will be made on Thursday 23rd February at 10pm.

Many rumours have been circulating across the web, with some websites suggesting Coldplay and Muse as possible headliners. Other artists mentioned to potentially appear in the line up include Stone Roses, Florence & The Machine and Professor Green.

In the past, the V Festival website has often given a glimpse into some of the artists performing through the advertisements that appear in the header and footer of their page. In recent years especially last year, I've seen Arctic Monkeys, Dizzee Rascal and Chase & Status appear in these adverts - all three performed at the festival.

If this pattern were to follow, we could be in with a real treat at the festival that runs for two days at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in Staffordshire. Advertisements this year have included the rumoured Coldplay, as well as Snow Patrol, Swedish House Mafia, Example, Maverick Sabre and Rebecca Ferguson.

Could this potentially mean that Snow Patrol and Coldplay will be our headliners on the V Stage on August 18th and 19th? We'll have to wait to February 23rd to find out!

Tickets will go on sale on 3rd March. For those who are on the Virgin Media phone network, you can register for Early-Bird tickets from the 6th February until the 19th, with tickets being sold on the 27th.

The BRIT Awards 2012 - Perfomers Update!

After the announcement of the nominees at the BRITs Launch Party two weeks ago, all 9 performers have now been announced. A star-studded night of awards and celebrities will be joined by performances from some of the country's biggest musical artists, alongside some of the biggest acts from across the pond.

Rihanna
The BRITS 2012 will complete Rihanna's hat-trick of performances at the awards ceremony, after performing 'Umbrella' as a duet with The Klaxons in 2008 and in 2011, treating the awards show with a medley of hits from her Loud album. After a hugely successful 2011 with her #1 album 'Talk That Talk', Rihanna also became the artist to hold the UK #1 Single spot for the most weeks in 2011, with an astonishing 7 weeks. Any performance from Rihanna will always be a spectacle and this BRITs performance is likely to be no exception.

Bruno Mars
After writing hit song 'Forget You' for Cee Lo Green, last year's BRITs winner in the International Male category, as well as many other chart hits for artists such as Alexandra Burke, Flo Rida and Travie McCoy, Mars has now stepped in front of the mic to become a chart success himself. With four UK #1's under his belt, including 2011 hit 'The Lazy Song', Bruno Mars definitely deserves his spot performing to thousands at the awards ceremony at the O2 Arena.

Adele
Following on from Adele's mesmerizing performance of 'Someone Like You' at last year's BRIT Awards, this songstress has become a global phenomenon. With 3 UK #1's from her MasterCard British Album of the Year nominated album '21', this year has been hugely successful for Adele. It's going to be difficult to do, but I'm sure Adele's BRITs performance this year is going to be even bigger and better than last year's!

Coldplay
Having performed at the BRITs four times, most recently in 2009 when they performed 'Viva La Vida', as well as having six of the awards to their name, Coldplay are BRITs veterans. Nominated for Mastercard British Album for 'Mylo Xyloto' and British Group, the band have a chance of making six awards become eight.

Noel Gallagher
Having collected the Outstanding Contribution to Music prize in 2007 with brother Liam as Oasis, Noel returns as a solo act this year. 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' as his act is now known, is sure to produce a fantastic performance, complete with excitement and talent as the Gallagher brothers have always managed to do in the past.

Florence & The Machine
This indie pop singer-songwriter is no stranger to the BRITs, having performed a duet with Dizzee Rascal in 2009, when the pair collaborated to create 'You've Got the Dirtee Love'. Her album 'Ceremonials' went to #1 in four countries, with three songs being released from the album in the UK. Florence Welch never fails to give a spectacular performance with her uplifting voice.

Ed Sheeran
What a year Ed Sheeran has had. With his 3 singles reaching the Top 5 in the UK Singles chart, a #1 album and FOUR BRIT nominations, February 21st is set to be a tremendous night for this 20-year-old from West Yorkshire. After a fantastic performance already at the BRITs launch party, there are high hopes for Sheeran's performance at the awards ceremony and he will not disappoint.

Olly Murs
2011 has been a huge year for this Essex boy. With two #1 singles and a #1 album, a spot presenting hit TV show 'The Xtra Factor' alongside Caroline Flack, plus a 20+ date arena tour across the country, Murs knows everything there is to know about live performances, with his BRITs performance set to be the highlight of them all.

Outstanding Contribution - Blur
Blur are this year's winners of the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award. The last time the cult Brit-Pop band performed at the BRITs was in 1995. After disbanding in 2009, Blur are back to receive their award and to make a very special appearance performing at the awards ceremony at The O2.

Be sure to tune into the BRIT Awards on February 21st on ITV.

Bringing the X Factor back to Essex

This week saw the announcement of an exciting gig coming to Essex in the summer!

Organised by the Heart Essex radio station, June 16th will see many stars coming to Hylands Park in Chelmsford for a special summer concert.

Following on from the success of 2011's summer concerts in Hylands Park, Heart have invited Olly Murs back to his home county to headline the show. 2011 saw JLS headlining the two-night concert, with Olly, Alexis Jordan and upcoming boyband The Kixx also performing.

After a hugely successful end to 2011 and fantastic start to 2012, Murs was the perfect choice to headline the shows. Other acts and guests are still set to be announced, with fellow Essex star, Pixie Lott, being rumoured to appear. Duo Rizzle Kicks, who are featured on Olly's #1 hit single 'Heart Skips A Beat', are another name who have been discussed to be in with a chance of performing.

Olly Murs, who shot to fame after placing second in the 2009 series of The X Factor, will not necessarily be the only act from the show performing. Another act rumoured to appear at the event are Little Mix, current holders of The X Factor title. Jesy Nelson, ¼ of Little Mix, a former barmaid from Romford, would be more than thrilled to take part in her first gig in her home county.

Tickets were released yesterday (Friday 27th January) at 10am, with many more tickets still available.

Watch this space for more news and announcements about the June 16th concert!

Olly at the Heart Essex summer concert last year

Olly previously performed at Hylands in July 2011 supporting JLS

House's haircut makeover making headlines!

A Chelmsford house has been making the headlines in national papers for its extravagant makeover.

Covered in ivy, the previous owner had left the leaves untouched, allowing it to grow for over 20 years. Even the windows had been totally covered up, with the house appearing as just one, large, green mass, with just the chimney to show. The house, on Lynmouth Avenue, attracted a lot of attention from passers-by, with people even stopping and pulling over to take pictures.

New owner, Neil Utley, says that it took a team of workmen around two weeks to strip and shred all of the ivy from the house.

The prominent, and possibly notorious house, should have been sold for around £350,000 if it were to be compared to the other houses on the street. However, due to the sheer volume of the evergreen plant that had grown in bulk over the house, estate agents were asking for just £120,000. Although the ivy is not particularly dangerous, many neighbours had described it as an 'eye-sore', taking away from the 3-bedroom property's value.

Renovation has now begun on the property to convert it into a comfortable home for a member of the new owner's family.

So long: The mop of green ivy is a sight of the past, after taking over a week to be cleared.

The BRIT Awards 2012 - Nominations are released!

It's that time of year again when our favourite award show rears its exciting head around the corner!

On Tuesday February 21st, the annual BRIT Awards will be taking place, live on ITV1 from The O2 Arena in London.

This afternoon at the BRIT Awards Launch Party, hosted by Radio 1 DJ Greg James, the nominees for the esteemed awards were released:

British Male: Ed Sheeran, James Blake, James Morrison, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Professor Green

Some critics may have been surprised at the absence of Example and Olly Murs - two artists potentially tipped for the accolade. Ed Sheeran is currently bookies favourite.

British Female: Adele, Florence & The Machine, Jessie J, Kate Bush, Laura Marling

With last year's winner, Laura Marling, in the category, as well as four other very strong contenders, this is a very tough category to be in. With the huge success following her emotional performance of Someone Like You at last year's BRITs, Adele is likely to be tipped for the top.

British Breakthrough Act: Anna Calvi, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Jessie J, The Vaccines

Jessie J, 2011's Critic's Choice winner, and 2012's winner Emeli Sande each pose difficult competition in this category. However, could Ed Sheeran is also very much in the running due to his rise to fame throughout 2011, as agreed by bookies who put him as 6/5 favourite.

British Group: Arctic Monkeys, Chase & Status, Coldplay, Elbow, Kasabian

Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and Kasabian were always clear choices for the Best Group category, so it seems as if one of these three could be in the title race. Headlining festivals across the country throughout 2011, each of these groups deserve their place as one of the nominees. Coldplay take the bookies favourite.

British Album: Adele - 21, Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto, Ed Sheeran - +, Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials, PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

Five huge albums from the year of 2011 in music. PJ Harvey, winner of the Mercury Music Prize, immediately springs to mind; however, Adele, Coldplay, Ed and Florence have each had huge successes from these albums - a very open race.

British Single: Adele - Someone Like You, Ed Sheeran - The A Team, Example - Changed The Way You Kissed Me, Jessie J - Price Tag, JLS - She Makes Me Wanna, Military Wives - Wherever You Are, Olly Murs ft. Rizzle Kicks - Heart Skips A Beat, One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful, Pixie Lott - All About Tonight, The Wanted - Glad You Came

Tradition normally finds that on the night of February 21st, these 10 nominees will have become 5. If the bookies are to go by, this will be One Direction, JLS, The Wanted, Adele and Jessie J. Having crashed the BRITs website when voting went live, my tip for the top would be One Direction and their huge flock of fans.

International Male: Aloe Blacc, Bon Iver, Bruno Mars, David Guetta, Ryan Adams

Again, five very strong contenders. Bruno Mars and David Guetta have had repeat successes in the British Chart, but will this help them to take the award? Bon Iver is currently bookies favourite.

International Female: Beyonce, Bjork, Feist, Lady Gaga, Rihanna

Possibly the toughest category of them all. Three of the world's biggest chart-toppers battle out for the Best Female award, but after an immensely successful year, my thoughts go with Rihanna.

International Group: Fleet Foxes, Foo Fighters, Jay Z/Kanye West, Lady Antebellum, Maroon 5

With five very different groups in this category, the award could really go to anybody. Each having huge selling albums throughout 2011, the category is wide open. If an International Single category existed, I'm pretty sure it would go to nominees Maroon 5, for the catchiest song of the year in Moves Like Jagger.

International Breakthrough Act: Aloe Blacc, Bon Iver, Foster The People, Lana del Rey, Nicki Minaj

In the eyes of the bookies, Bon Iver are tipped for the top again. However, after a hugely successful year in the US, as well as in the UK with hit song Superbass, Nicki Minaj poises strong competition. 

Stay tuned to the Essex in the Media blog to find out more about the BRIT Awards 2012, including performers, as well as the winners from the awards show on February 21st, hosted by James Corden.