Heavy Organizer, as the organiser of the second nostalgia-filled “Dek Tape” concert last Saturday calls himself, had a big smile on his face. There were all sorts of things going on around him, but what delighted him most was that all 10 of the acts on the bill managed to get the whole audience at Bangkok’s JJ Mall singing along to their hits from the 1980s and ’90s.

The big air-conditioned shopping complex in Chatuchak district was reverberating all day long, well-remembered lines sung out at the tops of many, many voices.

The hall exterior was decorated with an arty installation of compact cassettes and old cassette players, presenting great pre-show photo opportunities for the fans who would mostly have been adolescents 20-odd years ago.

Some turned up in retro fashion evoking the popular bands of the day and even further back, all the way to the Beatles. The good old times were still around.

Imp opened the stage proceedings with a set of well-known songs, such as “Plae Jai”, “Roo Suk Rak” and “Hai Kham Sanya”, and the singalong started. Proud kept the enthusiasm burning with their outstanding British pop sound.

Pause got audience members packing in closer to the stage with such memorable songs as “Yue”, “Khor Khwam” and their biggest hit of all, “Thi Wang”, with charismatic Praphap “Faint” Tancharoen doing a fine job on vocals a full 16 years after the death of original singer Amarin “Jo” Luangboriboon.

Most of the day’s sets lasted just 40 minutes. Siam Secret Service made the most of their time onstage with a string of pop-rock tunes leading up to the latest, “Sanya”. Sepia as always could be counted on for social commentary, addressing the poaching of the endangered panther and the Tham Luang Cave rescue.

Rock band Smile Buffalo got the crowd jumping with “Dee Kern Pai”, “Mai Rak Ther” and “Khor Hai Chokdee” and Blackhead kept the fans in kinetic motion with “Thon”, “Yuenyan”, “Phieng Krasib” and “Chan Yoo Tong Nee”.

Billy Ogan did the same, pounding through “La Oak” and “Sopa Sathaporn” and getting the mob singing along to “Yak Takon” and “Fang Wai Nai Phuendin”.

After a 20-minute intermission for beer replenishment, Tik Shiro stormed the stage in a white suit accompanied by male dancers for “Manut Khangkhao”, “Ror Rub Dai Loey”, “Oak Ma Ten”, “Ma Join Kan” and “Rak Mai Yom Plien Plang”. He also humbly asked permission to do his new song, “Sad Man”. Permission granted.

The concert ended with Thanapon “Suea” Intharit, who unfortunately couldn’t sing his biggest hits because someone else owns the copyright now and he can’t afford the performance fees.

Instead, he had his other tunes to offer, including “Chong Wang Nai Huajai”, “Doo Ngo Ngo”, “Fah Kap Haew”, “Ronghai Kap Chan”, “Mai Tong Siajai” and “Rak Diew Jai Diew”. No one had a problem singing along with them either, or with his surprise covers of the Scorpions’ “Always Somewhere” and Linkin Park’s “New Divide”.

Radwimps has been described as a “New Invention”, and the lads display a high level of musicianship as they flawlessly cross over various genres. Soon after their debut around the age of 20, they became one of the most popular four-piece rock bands on the Japanese music scene.

Formed in 2001 by Yojiro Noda on vocals and guitar, Akira Kuwahara on guitar, Yusuke Takeda on bass and Satoshi Yamaguchi on drums, in 2003, Radwimps released their self-titled indie album then made their debut on a major label in 2005 with the single “25 Kome No Senshokutai”.

After the release of their seventh studio album “Batsu To Maru To Tsumi To” in 2013, the band went on the road and in 2015 celebrated their 10th anniversary with the label with their first European tour and the second Asian tour.

Radwimps composed and played the entire soundtrack for the critically acclaimed, award- winning anime movie “Your Name”.

Radwimps released their latest album “Human Bloom” in 2016 and went on the road to support it with a nationwide arena tour in Japan titled “Human Bloom Tour 2017” visiting 12 cities with 17 shows. The band also toured successfully Asia in 2017, including their first show in mainland China at Mercedes Benz Arena.

Tickets cost Bt2,500 and Bt3,500 and Bt2,500 at Thai Ticket Major. Visit http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

High Court Judge Anthony Mann said the BBC had infringed Richard’s rights in a “serious” and “somewhat sensationalist way” and awarded him at least £210,000 ($274,000, 236,000 euros) in damages.

The 77-year-old singer, who was never charged with any offence, was applauded by fans as he left court, and they sang his hit song “Congratulations”.

Britain’s first home-grown pop star later said senior managers at the BBC “have to carry the can”.

“If heads roll then maybe it’s because it was deserved,” he told ITV News. “It’s too big a decision to be made badly. It was nonsense.”

The BBC said it would consider an appeal, saying the ruling “represents a dramatic shift against press freedom and the long-standing ability of journalists to report on police investigations”.

Richard’s home was raided in 2014 as part of an investigation into an allegation of sexual assault involving a young boy dating back to the 1980s.

The BBC’s live coverage, including a helicopter, was picked up around the world, but the singer was never arrested or charged and was told in 2016 there was insufficient evidence against him.

“My life was effectively turned upside down and my reputation, worldwide, was unnecessarily damaged,” Richard said at the start of the case.

‘Sorry for the distress’

The BBC heard about the investigation by South Yorkshire Police and cut a deal in which they agreed to delay breaking the story in return for a tip-off about the raid on Richard’s home.

The judge awarded £190,000 in general damages plus another £20,000 “aggravated damages” because the BBC nominated the story for a “Scoop of the Year” award, which it did not win.

Richard is also entitled to further sums for the financial impact of the case, which will be decided another time.

The police force has already agreed to pay Richard £400,000 after settling a claim.

In a statement, the BBC said it was “sorry for the distress Sir Cliff has been through”.

It admitted there were “things we would have done differently, however the judge has ruled that the very naming of Sir Cliff was unlawful”.

“So even had the BBC not used helicopter shots or ran the story with less prominence, the judge would still have found that the story was unlawful; despite ruling that what we broadcast about the search was accurate,” it said.

The ruling “will make it harder to scrutinise the conduct of the police and we fear it will undermine the wider principle of the public’s right to know”, it said.

‘Shockingly bad’

“We don’t believe this is compatible with liberty and press freedoms,” the statement said, adding that it was “looking at an appeal”.

Tony Gallagher, the editor in chief of Britain’s best-selling The Sun tabloid, also railed against the “shockingly bad” ruling.

“Victory for (alleged) criminals and money-grabbing lawyers. Terrible for media,” he tweeted.

In the House of Commons, an MP suggested formally changing the law to make it illegal for the media to name suspects until they are charged.

But Prime Minister Theresa May, who looked into the issue in her previous job as interior minister, expressed scepticism.

She noted “there may well be cases where the publication of a name enables other victims to come forward and therefore, to strengthen the case against an individual”.

She said it was an “issue for careful judgement” in which both police and media must recognise their responsibilities.

Richard, who burst onto the pop scene in the late 1950s, is the third biggest-selling artist in British singles chart history, behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley.

His hits include “The Young Ones”, “Living Doll”, “Summer Holiday”, “Mistletoe And Wine” and “The Millennium Prayer”.

There has been a wave of accusations of historical sex abuse against prominent figures in Britain since 2012, when the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile was revealed to be a serial paedophile.

The versatile trumpeter will join conductor Dariusz Mikulski in blurring the lines between classical and jazz, playing his own works as well as performing Brahms’ “Symphony No 4, Op 98” and Thai traditional music.

A dynamic performer, composer and educator, Rapa was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and started studying the trumpet at 11, playing professionally at age 13 and playing lead trumpet in many of the big bands at Berklee College of Music by 15. A regular at jazz festivals and on the Boston and New York club scenes, he was a featured guest artist at both the 2007 and  2008 National Trumpet Competitions in Washington DC and the 2008 International Trumpet Guild conference in Banff, Canada.

Rapa has shared the stage and recorded with Grammy Award winners Nicholas Payton & Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, Doc Severinsen, Mnozil Brass, Soulive, The New Life Jazz Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon, Eric Reed, Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Cyrus Chestnut, Academy Award winning composer AR Rahman. He also spent seven years starring in the Tony & Emmy Award winning Broadway show, “Blast!” performing over 2000 shows across the US, the UK and Japan.

Tickets cost from Bt400 to Bt1,500 at Thai Ticket Major counters and online at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

“Let’s be real — I’m from New York,” the 69-year-old engine of pop favorites, donning a baseball cap, told a news conference ahead of his 100th performance at the Midtown Manhattan arena.

“This is my venue. Fortunately for me, Madison Square Garden is a world venue. You can play almost any other arena in the country and nobody else in the world is going to know about it,” he said.

“So I’m very fortunate just because of where I’m from — not to take the shine off of it.”

More than two million people have seen Joel at Madison Square Garden, according to the iconic venue. He has cruised past Elton John after surpassing the English legend’s record when Joel performed his 65th show in 2015.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a professed fan and friend of Joel who in 2015 officiated the singer’s fourth wedding, issued a proclamation declaring July 18 “Billy Joel Day.”

Cuomo called Joel a “quintessential New Yorker” who embodied the values of the city’s middle class.

“Forty years in this town, which is one of the toughest audiences on the globe, and after 40 years, the same tough, hometown crowd loves him,” Cuomo told the news conference.

“Why? Because there is an authenticity about Billy and his music. You can’t fool New Yorkers for 40 years,” he said.

With a stream of hits from “Uptown Girl” to “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Joel has sold more than 150 million records around the world, according to his representatives.

Talented Russian pianist Ivan Sharapov will start a 10-hour-long marathon concert at 10am. Throughout the day, he will play music written by His Majesty’s father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, classic music pieces composed by great Russian and foreign composers including Sergei Rachmaninoff, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Frederic Chopin and Johannes Brahms as well as famous international pop-music standards. He will change his repertoire every hour.

Sharapov is a gifted musician, composer and opera singer. He graduated from Moscow State Conservatory and Moscow State University of Culture and Art. He is currently working in Thailand as a concert pianist and piano instructor and has participated in numerous cultural, educational and charitable events. His first musical marathon dedicated to the first anniversary of the passing away of HM King Bhumibol in October last year lasted nine hours.

This project is a musical birthday present to His Majesty from all Russians residing and working in Thailand. The concert will wrap at 8pm.

Thai fans get the chance to witness the band’s powerful live performance on October 6 at Impact Exhibition Hall 1, Muang Thong Thani.

The Life Tour is the five-member band’s 10th world tour. The tour kicked off with a bang by setting attendance records, with 200,000 people turning out for Mayday’s r shows at Beijing Bird’s Nest Stadium; a further 200,000 attending their four shows in Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 250,000 at 10 shows in Hong Kong. By the time the tour hits Australia and New Zealand in September the band will have set all manner of new records and will have performed to more than four million fans on the tour!

This will be the band’s first concert in Thailand, however Mayday have fond memories of the kingdom since their Mayday NOWA 3D album’s post-production was done here, and the music video of their mega-hit “Step by Step” was partly shot in Thailand. The band loved shooting the music video in Thailand back in 2013 and are said to be delighted to be coming back.

“We’re very excited and we hope to learn some basic Thai words so that we can communicate with Thai fans. We will also translate our lyrics into Thai. We’re ready to welcome Thai fans to the concert and hope to see you all there!” read a recent statement by the band.

For the production of this latest tour, Mayday have worked with creative director LeRoy Bennett and his Seven Design Works team who have collaborated with such superstars Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars and Big Bang, and also directed the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Tickets start at Bt1,800 and are available from Sunday (July 22) at all ThaiTicketMajor outlets and on http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

Almost six years after her last concert in August 2012, Siriwimon “Mai” Charoenpura was back on stage last weekend, performing back-to-back shows to celebrate a career in the music business that has spanned 30 years.

Known for what fans call her “charmingly hoarse” voice, Mai mesmerised the audience with her ballads and excited them with her dance numbers, keeping their attention throughout and never disappointing her legions of fans.

Performing to a capacity house at Royal Paragon Hall, she kicked off the concert with three of her best-known hits – “Mai Mee Panha” (“No Problem”), “The Rak Kuen Pai” (“Throwing Back Your Love”) and “Jing Jai Wai Kon” (“Sincerity Is the Policy”). For reasons that weren’t clear, the stage was designed to resemble ancient Egypt complete with a large pyramid-shaped structure and dancers dressed to match the theme.

The concert, titled “I Am Mai: A Celebration of 30 Years”, took place at Royal Paragon Hall last Saturday and Sunday, with the Sunday night show lasting more than three-and-a-half hours. Music backup was provided by Extra Band and the dancers were from the D Dance troupe.

Mai performed about 35 songs, many of them hits, and gave as much vocal power to the slow ballads as the fast-paced dance numbers. The audience was happy to sing along, many of them standing up and dancing.

Cheers greeted Mai’s first guest, rocker Anchalee “Pu” Chongkhadikij, as she emerged from the wings to belt out her all-time hit “Nueng Diew Kon Nee” (“This One Only”).

The veteran rocker played the guitar as Mai sang “Oh Rer” (“Really?”) and joined her on the vocals of “Nak Kern Pai Laew” (“It’s Already Too Much”). Pu wrapped out her set with “Duey Kwam Kid Thueng” (“Thinking of You”).

After a short break, Mai was back on stage, dedicating, with tears in her eyes, three songs to the three most important persons in her life – her estranged parents and her late mentor. “Proh Khao Kon Diew” (“Because of Him Alone”) was a tribute to her deceased father, actor Ruj Ronnapop (whose real name was Surin Charoenpura); “Ya Ao Namta Klub Ban” (“Don’t Come Home with Tears”), was dedicated to her mother Winee Sonthikul, who Mai said had given her “power since my birth” and proved it by coming along to the show to cheer her daughter on. Mai dedicated the third song, “Thanon Sai Nee” (“This Road”), to her late mentor, singer and music executive Rewat “Ter” Buddhinan who, she explained, had always believed in her as a singer even though she came from an acting background.

That background has paid off over the years, helping Mai effortlessly entertain her audience. And Ter was right – her hoarse voice is a perfect match for her powerful vocals.

For the next set, Mai went luk thung (country folk), covering hits “Sao Na Sang Fan” (“Farm Girl’s Requests”) and “Puchai Nai Fun” (“Dream Man”) by the late luk thung queen Pumpuang Duangchan that she’s included on her albums over the years. Heartthrob actor Nadech Kugimiya came out on stage during the second song, his presence raising the decibel level of the screams considerably.

The actor sang “Sam Sib Yung Jaew” (“Still Shining at 30”) and drew even more shrieks from the mostly female fans when he revealed his six-pack. Mai and Nadech sang a few more songs together, dancing energetically and taking on sexy poses that drew loud cheers from their fans. Nadech wiped off sweat from Mai’s upper chest with a handkerchief and she kissed him on the cheek.

After another brief break, Mai shifted into higher gear singing “Sia Jai Dai Yin Mai” (“Sorry is the Word”) and “Yak Ja Ronghai” (“I Want to Cry”) before being joined on stage by singer Boy Peacemaker, the third and last guest of the night. Boy entertained the audience with his hit numbers “Ther Plian Pai” (“You Have Changed”) and “Nua Khu” (“Soulmate”) as excited fans danced along.

Backed by about 20 dancers, Mai returned to the stage for the final show, performing dance hits “Kwak Huajai” (“Prove with Your Heart”), “Klub Duek” (“Going Home Late”) and “Sud Rit Sud Det” (“Extremely in Love”), the latter raising the excitement in the hall to its peak.

Mai, who has certainly not relinquished her crown as the queen of pop rock, bade farewell to her fans with “Mai Yak Hai Ther Roo” (“I Don’t Want You to Know It”), sending them happily on their way.

Passionate guitar-based rock meets indie artfulness with a pop sensibility in the music of this group formed in 2012 by singer Conor Mason, guitarists Joe Langridge-Brown and Dominic Craik, bassist Philip Blake and drummer James Price.

They grabbed early attention with the EPs “If You Don’t Believe, It Can’t Hurt You” and “Graveyard Whistling”. Their self-titled 2015 debut album had the singles “Itch”, “Hanging” and “Trip Switch”, the last reaching No 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.

Jaonaay hits the road

Jinjett “Jaonaay” Wattanasin, a son of dance idol Jetrin Wattanasin, embarks on his national Jaonaay Aeb Bok Rak Tour in Chiang Mai on July 15, the same day a music video of his new single is launched. He’ll be at Central Plaza Nakhon Ratchasima on July 21, Central Plaza Surat Thani on July 27, Central Plaza Khon Kaen on August 13 and Central Plaza Westgate in Bangkok on August 18.

Have a look at the JaymidiChannel on YouTube.

Boyd is back ‘Simplified’

Boyd Kosiyabong is following up on his last successful outing, “Rhythm & Boyd”, with another double concert marking his 50th birthday, “Simplified” at Impact Exhibition Hall 1 on August 4 and 5.

The tunes will come mainly from his 1996 sophomore album “Simplified”, which looked at the dark side of love. The singers from that disc will be onstage reprising their hits – Nop Pornchamni, Pod Moderndog, Piya Sastrawaha, Narongrit Supannapesat, Visaruttep Subarnabhesuj and others crooning the likes of “Khor Khob Phra Khun”, “Hang Klai Luea Kern” and “Yak Ja Khor”.

Seats cost Bt1,500 to Bt4,500 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456.

Linkin Park’s Shinoda coming

Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda is bringing his “Post-traumatic Tour” to Bangkok’s GMM Live House at CentralWorld on August 9. The songwriter-rapper-producer helped drive Linkin Park’s success for 22 years, which included two Grammies, five American Music awards, 10 MTV Europe Music awards and 55 million albums sold.

“Post Traumatic”, his first solo album under his real name, is about healing from the death of bandmate Chester Bennington. Seats cost Bt1,600 and Bt2,800 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456.

Early-bird tickets – the first 500 tickets sold for each zone – cost Bt2,300 and Bt3,200, then the prices rise to Bt2,500 and Bt3,500. Go to http://www.Ticketmelon.com/godzillionaire/whydontweliveinbangkok.

Hailing from various states, Jonah Marais Roth Frantzich, Corbyn Matthew Besson, Daniel James Seavey, Jack Robert Avery and Zachary Dean Herron all previously recorded as solo artists.

“Invitation” – their fourth EP in a year – is available now from all digital music retailers and streaming services. It topped the iTunes Store’s pop chart in six countries, including the US. The quintet has surpassed over 65 million streams globally on Spotify.

“Invitation” arrived on the boys’ first anniversary as a group, a milestone celebrated at a party live-streamed on their popular YouTube channel.

Seavey was a contestant on “American Idol” and the rest were social media idols, singing and making live videos for their fans. Who will soon forget the quintet’s YouTube documentary “Our First Day as a Band”?

Other singles include “Taking You”, “Nobody Gotta Know”, “Something Different”, “These Girls” and “Trust Fund Baby”, the last primarily written by British star Ed Sheeran.