Zombie Walk volunteers Jack Kirby and Hannah Deathridge join event founder Jamie Chapman (centre) to recreate the classic Shaun of the Dead poster image (Photograph: Kris Askey)

Birmingham’s sixth annual Zombie Walk has been announced for Saturday 13th September, with over two thousand of the ‘walking dead’ expected to descend on the city.

Following a successful march through the city last year in aid of the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, thousands of fundraisers will once again don Zombie make-up and attire and take to the streets in “search of brains”.

With an emphasis on putting the ‘fun’ in fundraising, the increasingly popular event is the brainchild of born-and-bred Brummie and seasoned Flashmob organiser Jamie Chapman; who this year won the Birmingham Inspire Young Fundraiser of the Year award.

“It’s been awesome watching the Zombie Walk grow since it first started back in 2009, when less than 100 people turned up. It’s crazy to think that the event now attracts thousands, all wanting to have fun and raise money for a good cause,” explains the 23-year-old from Sutton Coldfield.

Photographer Kris Askey managing a photoshoot to promote last year’s Zombie Walk (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

Birmingham Zombies founder Jamie Chapman poses with a poster bearing his face, in 2012 (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

The walk, this year supported by Free Radio, is set to take place in central Birmingham with registered participants donating money to have professional ghoulish make-up and litres of fake blood applied.

This will be followed by a mass Zombie Walk around the city centre – complete with eerie groans and slow walking – taking in popular city landmarks.

“It’s great to see the reaction of the public when a hoard of zombies stumble through the city centre. It’s not something you see everyday! We can’t wait to announce the brand new route and all the other awesome things we have planned. People wanting to get involved can register their interest at http://www.birminghamzombies.com for all the latest updates.

Thousands of blood-covered  ‘zombies’ converge on the city every year (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

The zombie horde take to the city streets outside the Birmingham Bullring (Photograph: Kris Askey)

“We’re hoping to have more zombies than we’ve ever had before, all registering to get involved. The support of individuals, local businesses and the community has been overwhelming. We have people of all ages, including families who bring along their children, taking part in the fun,” says organiser Jamie.

“This year is the sixth Zombie Walk in Birmingham and we’re hoping to raise a huge amount for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. It’s become an event that people look forward to and an essential part of the city’s social calendar.”

Birmingham Children’s Hospital patient Rafe Walker speaks to the fundraisers last year (Photograph: Kris Askey)

Speaking at the event will be 14-year-old Children’s Hospital patient Rafe Walker, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour when he was just 8-years-old. He will be attending with his mum Liz and starting the walk on the day.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital Events Manager, Lucie O’Reilly, said:

“We have been overwhelmed by the support of the Zombie Walk team who have raised almost £15,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital since the event began in 2009. Due to the organisers’ hard work and dedication, this event has grown in popularity each year attracting thousands of ‘zombies’ at last year’s event. We can’t wait to see what this year’s event holds and want to say a massive thank you to the Zombie team for their continued support and friendship.”

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To register for the Zombie Walk 2014, visit: www.birminghamzombies.com

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Hollywood star Tom Hardy plays a Birmingham construction foreman in new film Locke

Birmingham-born film director Steven Knight’s new film Locke, stars Hollywood heavyweight Tom Hardy as a Brummie tradesman and is set on the M1 motorway around the city.

Speaking to Empire magazine about his inspiration for the film, the 54-year-old filmmaker – and creator of TV series Peaky Blinders – explained, “The first time I thought of doing this movie was on the way back from Birmingham. Being driven, I was half asleep, and waking up to see the M1 in the rain. It looked beautiful. I realise full well that I might be a nutcase.”

Director Steven Knight was inspired to make film Locke on his way back from Birmingham

Steven Knight’s Locke is a thriller largely filmed on the M1 motorway

The thriller stars Hardy as Ivan Locke, a man who puts his career on the line by deciding to drive across the country making a series of phone calls that may ttransform his life when he reaches his destination.

Construction foreman Locke abruptly leaves an important job in Birmingham before driving down to London. Along the way, he tries to settle stressful personal and professional problems on his mobile phone while having imaginary conversations with his long deceased father.

The film’s 90-minute running time is largely dominated by shots of Tom Hardy in a car, but also features the voices of actors Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson and Andrew Scott.

Birmingham-born director and screenwriter Steven Knight is also behind hit TV series Peaky Blinders, based on the city’s Small Heath area, as well as the forthcoming Ridley Scott and BBC collaboration, Taboo

Actor Hardy, who played Batman’s arch nemesis Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, is expected to continue his collaboration with director and screenwriter Steven Knight by appearing in the second series of Birmingham-based Peaky Blinders and in Knight’s new BBC drama Taboo, on which they are collaborating with Ridley Scott.

Discussing his favourite bit of motorway in relation to Locke, Knight said: “I like going back to Brum, so when I get to the very unglamorous Chelmsley Wood housing estate on the M6, my heart skips a beat.”

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Locke is out in cinemas on Friday 18th April.

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Musician Ben Harper will be performing at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham in April. (Photo: Jay Blakesberg)

Musician, artist, and activist Ben Harper will be heading to Birmingham Symphony Hall next month.

Ben recently picked up his third Grammy Award at this year’s ceremony for the album Get Up! – a duet with blues legend Charlie Musselwhite.

To date, he has released ten studio albums since 1994, as well as three live albums, and his spring UK dates will give fans the chance to see the songwriter and producer perform his stunning live show.

Whether it’s through the soul of southern Gospel, 70s funk, blues, reggae, or straightforward rock and roll, Ben and his trademark Weissenborn guitar have been stunning audiences with incendiary live performances and timeless songwriting.

Artist and activist Ben Harper performing on The Queen Latifah Show (Photo: Sony Pictures Studios)

Harper continues to innovate his craft as a songwriter, performer, and producer. He has released 10 acclaimed studio albums since 1994 – including Give Till It’s Gone, which debuted at No. 15 on The Billboard 200 in 2011 and was hailed by Rolling Stone as “his most searingly personal album” – and three live records. These releases combined with an unceasing commitment to international touring have helped Harper grow a fan base that now spans several continents.

A collaborator by nature, Harper has recorded and performed with a long list of artists including Ringo Starr, Pearl Jam, Jackson Browne, Tom Morello, Rickie Lee Jones, Taj Mahal, Jack Johnson, Vanessa Da Mata and most recently Charlie Musselwhite. His album with the Blind Boys of Alabama, There Will Be A Light, earned two Grammy awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album.

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Ben Harper is only playing three shows in the UK as part of his spring tour, and you can WIN a chance to experience his amazing performance in the city. We’ve teamed up with the the Symphony Hall to offer a pair of tickets to Ben’s show!  To be in a chance to win, all you have to do is answer the following question:

In which Los Angeles city was Ben Harper born?

Email your answers to us at iambirmingham[at]hotmail.co.uk – or by clicking here.

Please include your full name, address, email and a contact number. Winners will be notified by email/phone. Tickets are for the 7.30pm, Tuesday 29th April show at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham. Closing date for all entries: 28/04/14.

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Ben Harper performs at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham, on Tuesday 29th April. For tickets: http://www.thsh.co.uk/event/ben-harper/

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Birmingham youngsters Keiran Fuller and Nicky Millward perform hit Disney track ‘Love is an Open Door’ from hit animation Frozen, while commuting in a car. (Photo: Keikei06/YouTube)

A video of two Birmingham youngsters singing a hit song from Disney’s hugely successful winter film Frozen, has amassed hundreds of views online.

The young friends from the Sutton Coldfield area, were driving together when they spontaneously burst into a lip-sync cover of Love is an Open Door, originally performed by Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana in the animated film.

The Frozen lip-syncing musical performance by the travelling Sutton Coldfield duo has already proved a hit on Facebook. (Photo: Keikei06/YouTube)

Despite being in a vehicle and on the road, performers Keiran Fuller and Nicky Millward managed to sync their performances with the track, and with each other, as they timed their words and gestures with perfect precision. They uploaded the video to Facebook where it began receiving hundreds of ‘likes’ and comments; and have now featured the sequence on YouTube.

The performance was inspired by the original Disney song in the animated film Frozen

Twenty-three-year-old Keiran, who enjoys filmmaking and recording songs, wrote explaining their inspiration had come from seeing numerous Frozen cover versions and sing-along videos online, including a clip entitled “Good Looking Parents Sing Disney’s Frozen (Love Is an Open Door)” which has been viewed over 10 million times.

“We loved the viral video and love this song from Frozen by Disney. We had fun playing with this,” he explained.

The hit film, released last year, was widely praised for its soundtrack which also included the Oscar-winning song ‘Let It Go’ by Idina Menzel.

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You can watch the video below:

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Already a huge success in the West End, musical 20th Century Boy comes to Birmingham

West End and Musical theatre star Warren Sollars will lead the cast of the musical, 20th Century Boy, playing the Glam Rock legend Marc Bolan. He will be joined by TV stars Sue Jenkins and Luke Bailey.

Inspired by the life of rock legend Marc Bolan, explodes onto the stage nearly four decades after the iconic star’s tragic death. 

Completing the cast are Jade Albertson, Matthew Ashcroft, Lakesha Cammock, Andy Coxon, Llandyl Gove, Nathan Graham, Donna Hines, Christopher Hunt, Peter Manchester, Chris Milford, Katia Sartini, Steve Simmonds, Lucy Sinclair and Naomi Slights.

20th Century Boy is directed and choreographed by Gary Lloyd (Thriller Live, Fame), written by Peter Rowe in association with Gary Lloyd, with music and lyrics by original glam rocker Marc Bolan.

Featuring some of the greatest pop songs ever written, 20th Century Boy tells the story of Marc Bolan and his band T.Rex, exposing some of the myths and taking the audience on a tearful, yet joyful journey through Marc’s fascinating life. Rocker, poet, electric warrior, king of glam and godfather of punk, Bolan was arguably the biggest rock star the UK had ever seen. ‘Bigger than the Beatles’ the media said.

Before his tragic death in his youth, Bolan lived life at breakneck speed, creating a series of iconic images, a string of number one hits and an army of obsessive fans.

20th Century Boy is based on the wild life of glam rocker Marc Bolan

20th Century Boy is the culmination of five years’ development and is based on an original idea by Brian Dunham, Colin Giffin and Nicky Graham. The original production had highly successful and critically acclaimed runs at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich in September 2011 and the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in September 2012. This new production will tour throughout the UK from April 2014 and showcases 24 of Marc Bolan and T.Rex’s best-known iconic hits including Ride A White Swan, I Love To Boogie and Get It On.

Gary Lloyd said “After working on this very special project for over five years, I am extremely excited to take Marc Bolan’s classic catalogue of songs out on the road in the UK. Marc is still very loved by a whole generation of fans and I really hope this piece will open up some of his greatest hits to a whole new generation. With a remarkable new cast, including Sue Jenkins, Luke Bailey and Warren Sollars, we are celebrating with this number one national tour. I hope the UK are ready to don their feather boas, rock out in their 70′s heels and Get It On!”

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The show has delighted audiences around the country, and now you can WIN a chance to experience the iconic music of the glam rock legend. We’ve teamed up with the the Alexandra Theatre team to offer a pair of tickets to the spectacular show!  To be in a chance to win, all you have to do is answer the following question:

How old was glam rock star Marc Bolan when he died?

Email your answers to us at iambirmingham[at]hotmail.co.uk – or by clicking here.

Please include your full name, address, email and a contact number. Winners will be notified by email/phone. Tickets are for the Monday 28th April show at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham. Closing date for all entries: 27/04/14.

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20th Century Boy is on at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, between 28th April – 3rd May. Box Office: 0844 871 3011. www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-alexandra-theatre-birmingham

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The Kooks finished off their UK tour with a night in Birmingham

The cheeky Kooks boys were back in Birmingham Friday night, to finish their UK mini-tour with a bang!

The HMV Institute, Digbeth sold out completely for the gig on the 9^th of May, where fans flocked to see the British indie-pop group and get a glimpse of their new material accompanying old favorites.

Opening with their new single ‘Down’ and playing classics such as ‘Sofa Song’ and ‘Seaside’ The Kooks created a playful and energetic vibe, among real rock and acoustic sounds.

The Institute was packed to see the boys in action. (Photo: Jamie Chapman)

After an hour of pure crowd amazement, the boys made a quick exit off stage, leaving behind a rowdy room; stomping feet and fist punches into the air. Fans waited with baited breath as they called for a fantastic encore, which consisted of new song, ‘Junk of the heart (Happy)’ and classic pop-hit ‘Naive’

Kicking off in Glasgow, then hitting Manchester and Camden, before their last gig in Birmingham, The Kooks four-day UK tour promoted new single ‘Down’ and gave fans a taste of their new album, before they perform at Radio 1’s Big Weekend later this month.

Drummer Alexis Nunez, revealed that he ‘could have happily kept on touring the UK as it’s always great fun.’

With their first album, ‘Inside out, Inside in’being hugely successful in 2006, the band have created a new bouncy-percussion and synth sound for their upcoming album.

Produced by lead singer, Luke Pritchard and young pioneer, Inflo, ‘Listen’ will be released in September.

The Kooks high-energy performance along with Luke’s unique vocals made the night unforgettable and a great start to anyone’s weekend. I think it’s fair to say that Birmingham is a fan of The Kooks.

Hannah Deathridge.

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Panic! At The Disco blew Wolverhampton away Saturday. (Photo: Jack Kirby)

Panic! At The Disco graced the Wolverhampton Civic Hall Saturday night as part of their UK Tour.

With support from MT (Many Things) and King Charles, the Las Vegas based Rock band played to a packed out venue in support of their new album, ‘Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!’

First on stage to start the night was London based four-some MT. With an interesting mix of keyboard, bass, vocals and drums, the band strapped themselves into a series of pads, synth controls and other devices to deliver a fantastic and very unique sounding experience, with the lead singer Michael Tomlinson interacting with the crowd and getting them warmed up for the night ahead.

The second support lined up was King Charles, another London-based singer. With a 4 piece band in support of him, the singer stormed the stage with his wild guitar riffs and hypnotic dance moves. With the crowd thoroughly warmed, the stage was ready for the headlining act.

Panic! treated fans to a wide set list of songs, from all albums. (Photo: Jack Kirby)

As the stage grew dark a familiar song blasted over the PA system, ‘We Will Rock You’, by Queen. The entire floor began to rumble as the fans began to chant along and stomp in time, and like clockwork as the song ended, the stage lit up as Panic! At The Disco blew onto stage, erupting into ‘Vegas Lights’ from their latest album.

With huge LED screens behind them, and smoke cannons around the stage, the set continued with a mixture of songs from the bands beginnings up to their newest material came from the speakers, with the lead singer Brendon Urie hitting every note.

As the night grew to an end, the band came back to a deafening round of applause for their encore, with Urie receiving an enormous amount of screams for arriving onstage topless. The band finished the night with ‘Girls/Girls/Boys’ and before closing the set on what is their arguably most famous song ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’, they gave the crowd a taste of Brendon’s Metal-esc vocals, with ‘Positive Hardcore Saturday’.

With a packed out venue and a huge fan base, the PATD boys seemed to love every moment on stage in the West Midlands and seem to be touring in style, moving on into Ireland to finish the UK leg of the tour.

Jack Kirby

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Our Panic! At The Disco image gallery can be found here.

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Jake Bugg arrives at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall this year.

Jake Bugg announces a new UK tour with an October date at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

This autumn Jake Bugg will be embarking on some of the biggest dates of his career. In the UK he will be performing across the country in some of the biggest and most prestigious venues around, including London’s Alexandra Palace.

Jake will also be appearing at Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds Festivals this summer. In the US Jake will be supporting The Black Keys on their arena tour from late October and into November.

One of the most exciting and unique artists to emerge out of the UK in a long time, in under three years Jake Bugg has gone from first on in pubs to selling out the Royal Albert Hall and playing to an astonishing ten thousand people at Nottingham Arena, his hometown.

Jake picked up the Best New Act Award at the prestigious Q Awards in 2013, and has been nominated for an array of other awards, including two Brit Awards in consecutive years. His debut album has sold over one million copies worldwide, whilst the follow up “Shangri La” was produced by the legendary Rick Rubin at his studios in Malibu.

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Tickets for Jake Bugg at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on the 7th of October go on sale on the 16th of May.

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Prince thrilled audiences at the LG Arena in Birmingham to kick of his UK tour.  Photograph: Kevin Doody

Prince and 3rd Eye Girl arrived on stage to a noisy and excited Birmingham crowd as they kicked off their grand UK tour.

The 45 minute delay to the show was insignificant as they had waited 19 years for his return. The generation who had first heard his music in the 80s were wearing purple, whether it was a paisley shirt, a floral tie, 6 inch high heels or glitter on their faces, they were here to pay homage to their hero.

Dressed in a hippy tunic top with white flares and his trademark afro, “Hello Birming…ham” were his opening lines in his distinct Upper Midwest American accent. The enthusiastic crowd screamed, cheered and set their bodies free to the non- stop funky music, with lots of strut funk guitar twangs from his new sound, as well as the classic 80’s and 90’s tracks. The crowd was buzzing.

Prince is being supported by all-female group 3rd Eye Girl.  Photograph: Kevin Doody

There were two memorable new tracks, Funknroll and Guitar, and they did exactly what they said on the tin. Lots of funk and lots of stretched, screaming, swirling riffs.

There’s nothing better than to feed the frenzy of the crowd, this was obliged with the classics of his back catalogue , Lets Go Crazy, Raspberry Beret, You Got The Look, 1999, Little Red Corvette, Kiss, Something In The Water and When Doves Cry all eminating a vibe of danceable, rhythmic disco soul into the arena and making fans jump out of their seats, hurling their arms to the tempo. This party was hot.

The concert was Prince’s first in Birmingham for 19 years.  Photograph: Kevin Doody

Artist Prince had a setlist of 34 songs including new material and old classics.  Photograph: Kevin Doody

Prince draws you in, the singing, the astounding piano playing and the guitar slashing is a master class in wooing an audience. The trio of Donna Grantis, Ida Nelson, and drummer Hannah Ford – who form 3rd Eye Girl – have attitude, talent and are phenomenal and add to create the whole memorable experience that was displayed through Prince’s incredible 34-song set.

The 55-year-old Minnesota native is still capable of putting on a good show, despite his age.  Photograph: Kevin Doody

This may have been a long wait but definitely one of the best parties in the last 19 years, well worth the long wait! His youthful energy and unique charistmatic stage presence suggest he may still have it in him to pay “Birmingh…ham” another visit sometime very soon.

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Vimal Korpal

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Johnny Marr announces a 17th of October show at the Civic

Johnny Marr’s shows in support of his critically acclaimed Top 10 debut solo album ‘The Messenger’ inspired a rapturous reception – as the review quotes both demonstrate – for his ability to combine the best of his new material with select highlights from The Smiths’ plus others from his extensive back catalogue.

With the release of his second solo album coming this autumn, Johnny Marr can now confirm the following UK tour. In addition to his largest London solo show to date at the O2 Brixton Academy, he’ll also play a homecoming show at the O2 Apollo in Manchester.

He comes to the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on the 17th of October for one night only.

Since the release of ‘The Messenger’, Johnny Marr has toured extensively with highlights including three sold-out shows in Manchester; major London dates at The Roundhouse and the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire; as well as festival appearances including Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds and T in the Park.

His highest profile performance of the year to date came when he performed at the New York premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. His contributions to the film’s soundtrack (scored by Hans Zimmer) included ‘Here’, a collaboration with Pharrell Williams, while he also performed the closing credits theme song ‘It’s On Again’ with Alicia Keys and Kendrick Lamar on Jimmy Fallon.

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Tickets go on sale 9am Friday here.

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The Klaxons play the O2 Academy on the 1st of November

As Klaxons prepare to release their third album ‘Love Frequency’ (Akashic Rekords / Sony Red) on Monday 16th June, they’ve announced a string of dates across the UK.

Kicking off in late October the tour takes in 9 dates across the country including Glasgow’s O2 ABC, Leeds’ Cockpit, Manchester’s Academy 3 and Brighton’s Concorde 2 before culminating at London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on November 4th. A band consistently looking to innovate and push boundaries, the tour will be the world’s first 3D printed tour, with all the instruments, lights and production supplied using a 3D printer.

The London based boys play the O2 Academy 2 on the 1st of November.

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Tickets can be found here from Friday the 13th of June onwards.

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Counting Crows come back to the O2 Academy on the 1st of November

Counting Crows announced today that they will set out on the European leg of their worldwide Somewhere Under Wonderland tour this Autumn.

Known as one of the most dynamic live bands performing today, their European tour will begin with a UK run of dates will start in Birmingham on November 1 and travel through seven UK cities, culminating with a show at London’s Roundhouse

“Probably the coolest thing about a career like ours is the chance to really see the world. I’ll never forget when we landed in London to start our first European tour, or what it was like to go for a walk in the middle of the night after a show and end up at the Eiffel Tower,” said lead vocalist Adam Duritz. “European tours are magic. I cannot wait.”

The tour will feature songs from the band’s forthcoming studio album, Somewhere Under Wonderland, their first original material in seven years, along with the band’s extensive catalogue of hit songs. Slated for a September release, Somewhere Under Wonderland is Counting Crow’s seventh studio album, and their first original recording since Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings in 2008.

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Tickets go on sale on Friday the 13th of June here.

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Zombie fans Jack Kirby, Jamie Chapman and Hannah Deathridge dress up as characters from film Shaun of the Dead, to help promote the Birmingham Zombie Walk (Photo: Kris Askey)

Over 50 fans dressed up as Simon Pegg’s character from film Shaun of the Dead will converge on the Birmingham Mailbox to mark the 10^th anniversary of the cult Brit zombie flick.

Released in 2004, the Edgar Wright comedy starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Kate Ashfield became a huge international hit.

The photocall will celebrate 10 years since the film’s release and promote this year’s Birmingham Zombie Walk, which takes place on 13^th September, in aid of Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

The bright red Mailbox was chosen as a local landmark tribute to the popular phrase “You’ve got red on you”, which features as a running joke throughout the hit film.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in cult zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead (Photo: Universal Pictures)

All of the participants will be dressed in Shaun’s trademark white sleeveless shirt and red tie, his famous ‘Foree Electrics’ badge, fake blood stains and the optional cricket bat or Cornetto; the latter being a nod to the Edgar Wright ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ which included Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End.

“We’re getting together to kick start months of activities celebrating the 10^th anniversary of Shaun of the Dead and zombies in the build up to the Birmingham Zombie Walk in September. We’re hoping to raise a lot of money for a good cause in the process and would like everyone to join in,” explained Birmingham Zombies founder Jamie Chapman.

Fundraiser Laura Fleming joins in the Birmingham Zombie Walk last year (Photo: Kris Askey)

Everyone is welcome to join with the charity flashmob, regardless of age, gender or background. All they have to do is turn up at the Mailbox for 3pm on Thursday 19^th June, dressed as character Shaun. Donations to Birmingham Children’s Hospital are optional.

You can join the Birmingham Shaun of the Dead flashmob on Facebook here.

You can register for the Birmingham Zombie Walk here.

Thousands flocked to Donnington (Credit: Andrew Whitton – DOWNLOAD 2014)

The legendary Download Festival located in Donnington Park kick started it’s 12th year on Friday, hosting a plethora of bands across the five stages. Our team took to the campsite this weekend to bring you the news from each day and interviews with some of the hundreds of artists there.

Kicking off the Main Stage on Friday, the American metalcore band Miss May I, started the weekend off with a heart pounding and crowd jumping set, before finishing it off with the first crowd singing moment of the main stage to ‘Hey Mister’. The 2007 band seemed more than honored to be there, thanking the crowd for their support as they left the stage.

Crossfaith returned with a bang (Credit: Derek Bremner – DOWNLOAD 2014)

Both Crossfaith, the Japanese 5 piece, and Tesla, the classic rock group from the US, kicked off at 1.50, on the Main stage and Second stage respectively. Hot off a tour, and coming back to the UK after being a part of the Kerrang tour (which you can read up on here) the band showed Donnington just why they were announced as the band NOT to miss by Kerrang themselves at Download. With their own hit ‘Jagerbomb’  and a cover of The Prodigy’s ‘Omen’, their 6 song set rocked the main stage. Elsewhere Tesla showed why they are still touring and performing now and why they will continue to, as they followed after Tax The Heat on the Encore stage, giving a variety of tracks and providing the crowd with a great buzz.

Skindred pleased the crowd (Credit: Justine Trickett – DOWNLOAD 2014)

After the show, Crossfaith joined us backstage, where we caught up with the Bassist Hiroki Ikegawa. Our interview can be found here, but it wouldn’t be the last time we saw the boys, as we left to go watch Skindred. No strangers to Download, the Welsh band blasted on stage, reliving past memories from Download 2011, by encouraging the Newport Helicopter as always as well as creating the first ever Heavy Metal Harlem Shake. As the set came to a close, Benji, the lead singer, invited the lead singer of Crossfaith, Tatsuya, to help him finish with Skindreds ‘Warning’. The crowd were off their feet and jumping from front to back as the set closed.

Beer in hand, just like the crowd (Credit: Tom Martin – DOWNLOAD 2014)

After some time backstage talking to Blake from Huntress and Jonny from Nothing More, our team rejoined the crowd for Rob Zombie on the main stage and Flogging Molly on the second. With it being Friday the 13th, Zombie seemed to enjoy the crowd and gave a might performance, despite it being a lot lighter than his usual shows. Whilst Zombie gave his unique brand of shock metal to the main stage, Flogging Molly kicked into gear on the Zippo stage with their folk Irish rock brand of music. The band, after playing Download in 2005, had the crowd on their side in seconds, after walking onstage with a beer in one hand and their instruments in the other. After a fantastic set by both, the sun began to set as the two stages began to prepare for their final acts.

With a longer set up time, the main stage began working on the build up for its headliner, whereas the Zippo stage was greeted by the LA based band Bad Religion, who came out to the crowd giving thanks to Flogging Molly for the warm up, and telling the audience that they were as excited for Offspring as them. With their unique blend of Punk and Rock, the band played a set of hits, before finishing on American Jesus and Sorrow.

The Offspring rocked Smash (Credit: Tom Martin – DOWNLOAD 2014)

Starting a little later than the main stage, the Zippo stage headliners The Offspring burst into their set. Fulfilling the promise of playing their entire 1994 album ‘Smash’, the show started with the spoken audio track before kicking into ‘Nitro (Youth Energy)’. As the album progressed, it was obvious that the bands fans had flocked there as the crowd began to sing every lyric for the songs. By the time the band finished on ‘Self Esteem’, the crowd were un-stoppable, with fans crowd surfing and bouncing to the beat. As the band came back onto stage, they revealed a new setup, tearing down the banner with the album cover to reveal the band logo and more lighting. They continued to play more songs, giving the audience some greatest hits before coming to an end on ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’. The Offspring may have returned to headline a smaller stage than previously, but they certainly showed why they deserved to be at Download.

A7X rocked the main stage Friday (Credit: Danny North – DOWNLOAD 2014)

Whilst they started before Offspring, the Friday night headliners Avenged Sevenfold were still rocking the Stephen Sutton page when they had finished. The somewhat un-predicted headliners came to the UK on this hallowed ground, and like many before them, bought an amazingly theatrical setup alongside them, with a huge throne placed centre stage and a set filled to the brim with pyrotechnics. As AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’ faded out, A7X erupted into ‘Shepherd of Fire’, giving the crowd a promised ‘change-up of a setlist’. This continued onwards with Shadows mentioning that the following song ‘Burn It Down’ had not been played on the continent for eight years. As the rain began to come down onto the thousands watching, the band slayed through popular songs including ‘Buried Alive’, ‘Nightmare’ and ‘This Means War’, and threw in a Guitar Solo bridging with the English National Anthem for good measure. As the night grew on, the band finished ‘Beast and the Harlot’ and left the stage. However the crowd wanted more and two more encores proceeded, with the night climaxing with ‘Unholy Confessions’. After previously been caught on record saying they were ‘worried’ about playing, and many stating that it was a risk for Andy Copping to give them a headline slot, Avenged showed not only themselves or their fans, but everyone, just why they were right to be there, and why they should be one of the bands who will do it again.

Jack Kirby

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Read up on Saturday and Sunday, as well as all our interviews from Download 2014.

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Fans turned up for Hybrid Theory (Credit: Andrew Whitton – DOWNLOAD 2014)

After the blistering heat of Friday, the overcast clouds of Saturday were a pleasant wake up call for our team as they woke up. With the Main stage kicking off at 11am and with Linkin Park to look forward to, the day started quickly.

With the social media campaign of #whynotdyingfetus behind them, Dying Fetus were first onstage to open up the Stephen Sutton stage on Saturday. The American death metal band joked with the crowd slightly and got a very hefty crowd for the time of day. Following them, Fozzy, the hard rock quartet lead by WWE wrestler Chris Jericho hit the stage, to a welcome response after their 2012 performance. Starting with ‘Do You Want to Start a War’, fists were pumping from front to back as the natural-born front man riled the crowd.

Fozzy on the Main Stage (Credit: Gobinder Jhitta – DOWNLOAD 2014)

As the day rolled on, we caught up with various bands backstage, including Zoax, who played the Pepsi Max stage to a packed tent, Mia Klose who seemed to enjoy her performance the previous night and Whitfield Crane, the Ugly Kid Joe frontman who performed a fantastic show on the Jagermeister acoustic stage as part of his Richards/Crane double act.

When t

Bowling for Soup back in the UK (Credit: Tom Martin – DOWNLOAD 2014)

he clock struck 3, Bowling For Soup strutted onto the Download main stage, equipped with their ever loved giant inflatable sheep. After their Farewell UK Tour last year, (Which was only in regards to touring the UK), many people turned up to see the band play, as it was now a rare show to watch. Reminding the crowd as to why they were there however, was not a difficult task. With plenty of classic tracks and joking back and forth, the ‘Girl All the Bad Guys Want’ boys had a fantastic set. As they played however Skid Row, the classic rock band from New Jersey, burst into their set on the Zippo stage. Regarding to the audience that it was great to be back in the UK, they marked the start of the ‘Classic Rock’ second stage run.

Following up Skid Row, and keeping in check with the genre, Orange Goblin played an half hour set, reminiscent of their 2007 set. Talking about Download and Donnington, the band seemed to click with the crowd and perform with plenty of gusto. As the light level grew low around 5pm, Monster Magnet came on stage and began their set with ‘Superjudge’. Frontman Dave Wyndorf spoke about their 10 year gap between their last (and first) Download and seemed touched about the amount of people there. Finishing with Space Lord, the crowd seemed warmed up to go into the last three bands on the second stage.

Twisted Sister on the Zippo (Credit: Tom Martin – DOWNLOAD 2014)

Both Ginger and CJ Wildheart love Donnington, and as they came on with the rest of The Wildhearts, it soon became apparent why. After opening with ‘Vanilla Radio’ Ginger seemed to pause and take it all in before they carried on their set list. With a hit packed set, including ‘Caffeine Bomb’ and ‘I Wanna Go Where the People Go’, it showed why they were so far up the billing. After a half hour gap, the smell of hair spray and tight spandex wafted through the grass as Twisted Sister returned to Download after 2011. The lights flew up and the crowd cheered as they opened up their stage with ‘Stay Hungry’. After a full set and closing with ‘I Wanna Rock’ (which could be heard across the campsite) and a cover of Motorheads’ ‘Born to Raise Hell’, everyone was ready for Status Quo.

Although it was a very short set, with just a little over an hour, the London based boys returned to Donnington after 32 years in style. With the typical classics of ‘Caroline’, ‘Down Down’ and ‘Whatever You Want’, the crowd loved the returning pioneers of classic rock, with plenty of air guitaring and singing along.

Killswitch Engage on the Main Stage (Credit: Derek Bremner – DOWNLOAD 2014)

Elsewhere on the main stage the remaining bands included a set from Killswitch Engage, who were returning to Download once more and gave a good mixture of songs from their older and newer material, and Fall Out Boy, which some may have said were a strange choice. However the young group gave Donnington plenty to sing and scream about, with a hefty 17 song setlist, including the majority of their hits and their well renowned cover of Micheal Jackson’s ‘Beat It’. Between the two sets, we also found time to go catch Nothing More, a new upcoming band who we chatted with on the Friday. With a sound that can only be put alongside such giants as Placebo and Deftones, the Texas based boys blew the roof off the Red Bull stage with their energy and fantastic music. Definitely one to keep your eye on in the upcoming years.

Linkin Park headlined (Credit: Andrew Whitton – DOWNLOAD 2014)

However the show of the day came in the form of Linkin Park. The band came onstage after a short documentary video about the album everyone was there to see, ‘Hybrid Theory’. Fans old and new, ranging from 16-year-old fan girls, to 45-year-old grown men, began to shout out the lyrics as Chester and the boys ran through the album. Pausing only once to compliment the crowd, the sound and staging were perfect, with plenty of lights and cool camera effects. Following the first half of their set, the band launched into other well-known favourites that kept the crowd going and entertained, before finally closing the stage off with an extended ‘Bleed It Out’. With the biggest crowd of the weekend, LP performed an amazing show.

Jack Kirby

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Read up on Friday and Sunday, as well as all our interviews from Download 2014.

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The last show of 2014 kicked off (Credit: Andrew Whitton – DOWNLOAD 2014)

As heads peaked out of tents and groans were heard across the campsites regarding the cloudy and drizzly weather, the last day of music at Download Festival 2014 began. However a little bit of rain wasn’t stopping anyone.

As the clock struck 11, both the main stage and the second stage sprung to life, with Red Dragon Cartel, fronted by Jake E Lee (Our very own Ozzy Osbourne’s Ex-Guitarist) on the former and the Swedish metal band Avatar on the latter. With their classic rock riffs blasting across the main field, RDC riled up the crowd and pumped the atmosphere with energy, playing an entertaining set including Jake E Lee’s very own Ozzy hit ‘Bark at the Moon’.

Winger rocked onto stage (Credit: Justine Trickett – DOWNLOAD 2014)

Carrying on the classic rock vibe, 80′s band Winger took to the stage. Complimenting RDC for warming the crowd up, it became quite clear that it wasn’t necessary, as the band received a very warm welcome from the Donnington audience. Opening up with ‘Pull Me Under’ and trucking through their 7 song set, the band finished with ‘Madalaine’ and bought on Liam Wilson from The Dillinger Escape Plan to help out.

As our team headed backstage to interview Rod from Winger, the lads from Seether, The Treatment and a few more, the day didn’t pause, as Buckcherry rocked out the main stage, followed by Richie Sambora whilst Skillet and We Came as Romans gave the Zippo stage something to cheer to.

Sepultura on Stage (Credit: Andrew Whitton – DOWNLOAD 2014)

Our team headed across the arena to just make it to the start of the Sepultura and Sabaton double bill, and we certainly weren’t the only ones, as the crowd that showed up packed the space avaliable. Opening with Vatican, Sepultura returned to the second stage after their initial appearance at the first ever Download in 2003. Commenting that it was good to be back, a roar from a group of fans close to us commenting that they should have been there more sparked general agreement with everyone else. As Sabaton hit the stage, the weather cleared slightly and the sun shone out, and they burst into ‘Ghost Division’. Being their first appearance at Donnington, the band put on a set that made us hope it won’t be their last.

Mystery band Black Stone Cherry (Credit: Andrew Whitton – DOWNLOAD 2014)

Halfway through the Sabaton setlist the crowd began to shift down to the 3rd stage, also known as the Pepsi Max Stage, as rumors of a secret band echoed. Would it be Alice Cooper as he’d just toured with Aerosmith? Would it be Metallica, here to fix their feud with Winger? Was it just Andy Copping dancing to hits from the 60′s? All jokes aside, the excitement grew higher as finally none other than Black Stone Cherry walked onto the stage. The crowd screamed and the tent was overflowing with fans as the quite well known band blasted through their secret set.

Steel Panther rocking backstage (Credit: Danny North – DOWNLOAD 2014)

Having enjoyed every second of Downloads well kept secret, we progressed down to our last 4 bands of the night, starting it with none other than the kings of Glam Hair Metal, Steel Panther. Looking through the crowd, it was not a surprise to see hordes of female fans shredding clothing and hair longer than torsos protruding from the heads of many of the male fans. As the band hit the stage the screams became deafening and it wasn’t long at all before underwear found its way on stage and the boys rocked out the ever waiting crowd.

Jon Gomm enjoyed the crowd (Credit: Danny North – DOWNLOAD 2014)

As the set finished, we made our way over to a very unknown guitarist known as Jon Gomm on the Jagermeister acoustic stage. With a very unique style of playing, involving using a single acoustic guitar equipped with a variety of pickups, the talented singer would replicate a full drum kit, bass guitar and lead guitar, whilst also singing. With some very beautiful music work, which reminded myself of Pink Floyd mixed into a single person, and an extraordinary cover of ‘Ain’t Nobody’ by Chaka Khan, the guitarist showed why he was so worthy of a sub headline slot on the stage for his first ever Download festival.

Alter Bridge kicking off (Credit: Tom Martin – DOWNLOAD 2014)

As we walked back to the main stage, Alter Bridge’s Miles Kennedy could be heard across the sky as the band were in full swing of their set. It became quite clear why they were before Aerosmith as the entire crowd were off their feet and clapping along to the beat of the drums, as the arena touring foursome blasted out ‘Metalingus’ (The theme song used by The Edge on WWE). They finished off with an acoustic ‘Watch Over You’ from Miles’ solo work and their well known ‘Rise Today’.

Aerosmith return as headliners (Credit: Andrew Whitton – DOWNLOAD 2014)

After an extended wait after the sub headliners, the crowd cheered as a live backstage feed appeared of Aerosmith beginning to make their way onstage. Suddenly the music exploded into ‘Train Kept A-Rollin’ and the classic rock legends reappeared onstage once more at Donnington after 2010. After continuing with ‘Eat the Rich’ and ‘Love In an Elevator’ Tyler greeted the crowd and let them all know that the show was to be filmed. With more screams the band followed through their setlist, with their unique style of extended guitar solos live, and giving the crowd much wanted hits including ‘Janie’s Got a Gun’, ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’ and even a cover of The Beatles ‘Come Together’. As they left the stage after ‘Walk This Way’, the crowd waited for their encore, and Aerosmith delievered, blasting ‘Dream On’ and ‘Walk This Way’. Thanking the crowd, Donnington and his band members, Tyler commented that it was nearing curfew (Which was 11.00, the time being 10.58), however began to whip the crowd up into a frenzy by chanting ‘F*** Curfew’. It appeared to work as the band flew into ‘Mama Kin’ and when finished were quickly carted offstage, but it didn’t stop Joe Perry playing over ‘Bad to the Bone’ from the PA system and Tyler mouthing into the camera as it followed offstage. Many may still doubt them, but Aerosmith rocked Donnington in the only way they know how, straight to its core.

Jack Kirby

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Read up on Friday and Saturday, as well as all our interviews from Download 2014.

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Supergroup McBusted played their third date at the LG Arena in Birmingham (Photograph: Hannah Deathridge)

“We love your sexy accents, Birmingham,” supergroup McBusted told fans, as they rocked the LG Arena this weekend.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see two of your favourite bands play together live on stage? Fans of ‘noughties’ pop sensation Busted, and chart-topping band McFly were not disappointed, as the LG Arena bought them the ultimate English pop-rock super-group.

Boyband McFly, who supported Busted way back in 2004 not long after the band came into being, announced that McBusted were forming last year, ahead of their tenth anniversary. The only member of Busted to not be part of the group is Charlie Simpson, who quit the band in 2005.

Saturday 8th May was another night ticked off the list, for their 34 day UK tour. Completely packed out, the added-date gig was another sell-out for the boys.

As lights went out, and screams echoed the building, a short promotional video played to the arena, in tribute to the film, Back to the future. The film featured Matt Willis and James Bourne, from Busted in a DeLorean styled time machine, choosing to go ‘back to the future’ and turn Mcfly’s tour into McBusted’s tour.

Mcfly and Busted joined forces to tour together, bringing together a huge fanbase (Photograph: Hannah Deathridge)

Smashing onto the stage, with bursts of pyrotechnics, neon spot-lighting, and a time machine, McBusted became a reality. Starting with a real hit of nostalgia, the boys played three well remembered Busted songs, ‘Air Hostess’, ‘You said no’ and ‘Britney.’ Before performing McFly songs, ‘Five colours in her hair’ ‘Obviously’ and ‘Shine a light.’ There was a huge buzz from the crowd as each band member showed their sheer energy on stage. Running, jumping, even gambolling – the band were full of beans and very entertaining. Even new dad and lead singer, Tom Fletcher, showed fans that night feeds hadn’t took away his energy just yet!

The group delivered an electronic performance, and hit after hit the audience were singing along, clapping and cheering. Between huge inflatable sports balls in the crowd and a gigantic ‘triple breast’ decoration, the set up was more than impressive; a UFO stage descended mid-show, Dougie Poynter covered Celine Deon, and Matt Willis even wore a wedding dress, for the iconic song ‘Crashed the wedding.’ One very memorable moment consisted of James taking the lead, with his acoustic guitar for a rendition of ‘Sleeping with the light on.’ The audience created a sea of light with torches that lit up the arena.

McFly’s Tom Fletcher joins the six-piece pop rock supergroup (Photograph: Hannah Deathridge)

Not only did the boys show that vocally and performance –wise, they complement each other greatly, they also showed that they get on well as band mates. There was a lot of on-stage banter, particularly between Dougie and Matt, who almost kissed each other in front of a screaming crowd. Matt announced to Brummie fans that he contemplated moving to Birmingham, as it’s his wife’s (Emma Willis) hometown.

To close the show, two classic songs, McFly’s ‘It’s all about you’ and Busted favourite ‘Year 3000,’ both crowd pleasers that left the audience with huge smiles on their faces. Taking fans truly back in time, the super-group’s high-energy performance was particularly out of this world.

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Hannah Deathridge

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McBusted return to the LG Arena for their last Birmingham date, as part of their current tour, on 27th May 2014.

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School pupil Ben, age 5, reads out his message taking on Education Secretary Michael Gove (Photograph: BrumSpark)

A young Birmingham schoolboy has sent Education Secretary Michael Gove a stern message about demonising schools in the city.

Five-year-old Ben Jackson – from the Sparkhill area of the city – addressed a crowd of over 900 at a public meeting yesterday about the recent ‘Trojan Horse’ affair.

Ben was joined by his little sister Alice and their mum Helen Salmon as he stood on a chair to speak at the ‘Putting Birmingham School Kids First’ meeting, held in the Bordesley Centre on Thursday.

In an audience-rousing speech, which he penned himself, the inner city pupil explained:

“Some people don’t have a religion and some people do in my school, and some people come here from different countries to this country, and that’s okay. Whatever they want to eat, whatever they want to wear and whether they want to play or not, that’s okay as well. But it’s not okay for mean governments to stop them from doing all that stuff.”

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WATCH THE VIDEO OF YOUNG BEN TAKING ON MICHAEL GOVE BELOW:

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Video: BrumSpark

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Y Not Festival starts 1st of August (Credit: Big Dave Photography – YNot Fest 2013)

It may be drawing to the end of the ‘Festival Period’ but don’t you take off those wellies and pack your tent away yet! Y Not Festival kicks off on the 1st of August with three huge names headlining.

The Derby based Festival surrounded by green fields and countryside will be starting off with White Lies on the Friday, Dizzee Rascal on the Saturday and Frank Turner on the Sunday night, with a line-up of various other big names.

Located near the Peak District, the beauty surrounds Y Not (Credit: YNot Fest 2013)

The festival, after being formed by a group of sixth form students in 2006, is now approaching its ninth appearance. With 4 stages and over 100 bands playing across them, the 3 days are jammed packed with music, including 4 bands playing on the Thursday for those who arrive early.

Not only is there a killer line-up (including Razorlight, The Fratellis and De La Soul), the festival has also won a variety of awards, including Best Small Festival in 2012 and one they should be more proud of, Best Toilets 2011.

Festival goers enjoying the dodgems. (Credit: Big Dave Photography – YNot Fest 2013)

On top of all that the site is packed with things to do, including 7 bars scattered around stocked with local ales and ciders (The Dollhouse), a variety of cocktails (Mussel Beach) and some good old fashioned whiskey (The Allotment Bar)

Keep your eye out for our coverage during the weekend and post-festival as we’ll be bringing you galleries of each day and reviews. And if you want to join the masses at one of the UK’s best small festivals, tickets are on sale for less than you’d expect.  So yeah, Y Not?

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Tickets for Y Not Festival can be bought here.

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A bolt of lightning strikes not far from the Rotunda building, lighting up the city. (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

There’s been some stunning lightning strikes over Birmingham for the last two nights (and some during the day), with more expected tomorrow afternoon.

Here’s a few pictures from this evening’s display. Share yours with us by emailing them to: iambirmingham@hotmail.co.uk. We’ll include the best below.

A fading signature of a lightning strike is seen touching the horizon. (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

Lightning behind the city’s iconic BT Tower gives the skyline an eerie appeal. (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

The quick disappearance of a large lightning bolt leaves a faint single thread of light. (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

Lightning during Friday night’s thunderstorm over Handsworth in Birmingham. (Photograph: Mohammed Ali Mir)

More photographs will be added shortly.

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