Cheryl Cole - Rare And Unseen - Pretty Little Newsclips

Rare and Unseen – Pretty Little Newsclips is a new unofficial DVD release featuring a selection of clips culled mostly from press events and red carpet interviews and provides a delightfully candid look at the evolution of nation’s sweetheart Cheryl Cole. Cramming a fair amount into just 45 minutes, the highly condensed collage-of-clips format works surprisingly well to give a snapshot of Cheryl as the superstar she has become.

Kicking off with a lengthy interview from all the way back in 2003, we see Girls Aloud on the cusp of releasing Jump from the Love Actually soundtrack. It’s quite charming really to see the girls in their jeans and t-shirts, so far removed from the hyper-styling we always see them in these days. It serves as a reminder of just how far they’ve come from those humble beginnings. Unfortunately, the interview is marred by some rather forceful questions about Cheryl’s conviction regarding the night-club incident and it’s frustrating to see the interview continuously push down this avenue. Thankfully the other girls step in to give Cheryl a helping hand and there’s some touching ‘Chim’ moments as Kimberley sticks up for her best friend. Cheryl is asked of her wishes for the future and she answers simply ‘to be happy.’ It’s a touching moment and a sentiment we can all subscribe to.

Moving swiftly on, the DVD whips through a 2006 Top of the Pops Reloaded interview where we see a ginger Fearne Cotton chatting to a blonde Cheryl. Changing hair-do’s and hair-colour are definitely a recurring theme throughout the DVD. With the overall feel of these largely quite unedited clips being very much random odds and ends that have been uncovered, you never quite know what’s going to crop up next. There’s footage from the 2006 V Festival and various glamorous red carpet affairs including a great shot where Nadine sticks her tongue out at the camera as she walks behind Cheryl and Sarah being interviewed.

As we reach the beginnings of Cheryl’s solo career on X Factor in 2008 there’s a fantastic bit just immediately following Alexandra Burke’s win. It’s here we get some of the best moments of the DVD: ‘I want to duet with Girls Aloud!’ exclaims Alexandra, only for Cheryl to retort with ‘No! You’d upstage us!’. It’s so charming in its sweetness and the clearly happiness on both Cheryl and Alexandra’s faces at having won – neither of them can quite believe it. One of the reporters asks Alex if she’d like Cheryl to be her manager; Alex replies ‘Oh My God! She already is.’ Even better is when a Freudian slip gets the better of Cheryl and she says that she did a ‘victory dance around Simon’s bedroom’ when her and Alex won. I was in stitches.

A smattering of clips from 2009’s Kilimanjaro Climb Comic Relief press shoot, the launch of Cheryl’s waxwork at Madame Tussauds  and the 2010 National Television Awards red carpet finishes things off. Perhaps the most iconic clip has to be the charity fashion show in 2008, for it was here that, in many ways, Cheryl achieved her true transformation into the solo star and national icon she is today. Walking down that catwalk, the cameras flashing and her smile lighting up the room, we fall in love with her again and again.

The DVD can be ordered from Amazon here.

INTERVIEW - Twenty Twenty

Twenty Twenty are a passionate new pop-rock trio comprised of brothers Sam and Jack Halliday as well as drummer Sonny Watson-Lang.  Fresh from supporting acts like The Saturdays, Selena Gomez and JLS, they were recently signed to Geffen Records.

So guys, what did it feel like getting signed to a label after all the hard work you had put in?

It was great!  Obviously, for any band when they start up, getting signed is a dream come true.  We can’t wait to start releasing our music.  It’s almost like a new chapter for the band; a fresh start.  A lot of people think that as soon as you’re signed, that’s it - you’ve hit the big-time – but it’s not that simple.  There’s still a lot of hard work to do after that.

Sam and Jack! What is it like being two brothers working together in a band?

It’s alright actually!  We always say we wouldn’t have started the band if we didn’t want to do it together.  We’ve always got on really well together growing up and we both really shared that thirst for playing music.

No friction at all then?

Well there’s always going to be a bit of friction in a group, but not because we’re brothers; it’ll be from little creative differences.  And it’s good to have a mix of ideas like that.  I think that’s part of the reason we’ve done so well; because we’ve taken on everyone’s creative input and added it together.

For a boy-band, you’re a lot more ‘rock’ than anything else out there in that genre – is that the kind of music you’re influenced by?

We grew up listening to rock bands; stuff like My Chemical Romance and Funeral For A Friend. We’re a ‘boy-band’ in the sense that we’re three boys in a band, but we play all our own instruments and we write our own material.  We weren’t put together through auditions or anything, we grew organically and feel independent.  We’re still a pop band but we’ve toured loads in the process and feel very hands on with our music.

And when you get into the studio to record your tracks, what is it like? Relaxing? Quite intense?

A bit of both, I’d say!  It’s relaxing in the sense you’ve got those creative juices flowing, but it’s intense in the fact that you’ve got to make what you’re recording really good.  You’re under a lot of pressure and it’s hard work but the end result is definitely worth it.  It feels really rewarding.

You use social networks like Facebook and Twitter to keep in contact with fans.  Do you think that’s an important thing for fans to do these days?

We like to use them to get information out to the fans, to let them know what’s happening.  They’re also good to give free downloads away to people on; to get our music out there.  There’s the personal interaction aspect of social networks as well and we know we can just keep people really updated and in the know.

Of all the live dates you’ve played, do you have any particular highlights?  Certain cities that are your favourites?

Brighton was really good, the audience there were incredible.  We always get excited about going to cities we’ve never been to before; we went to Carlisle the other day and that was an amazing show too.  It’s been a really great experience for us.

Your album is coming out in April – what kind of stuff can we expect on it?

There’s something on there for everyone.  It’s been two years of work for us and it really captures a sense of what we’re about.   We think we’ve put across a sense of feelings everyone comes across when they’re growing up so people can really relate to the album.  There’s a few up-beat party tracks on there and a real slow track which is more emotional.

You get to meet a lot of fans on tour – what’s it like having all these screaming girls following you around?

It’s cool!  We’ve seen our fanbase really grow and they’re just so dedicated.  They’ll be waiting out in the cold just to say hi so we do our best to go out and see them.

Kerrang! named your song Get Down as their ‘video of the week’ – what’s it like getting all this acclaim from the rock music press?

It was amazing!  Our live DVD got to number 4 in the official charts too, just behind Michael Jackson and U2 – I think that was the biggest thing for us as a band.  It was great to be recognised nationally like that.

So what’s the filming experience like when you’re making a music video?

It’s just another piece of the whole puzzle.  When you’re in the recording studio it’s more of a mental experience – you’ve got to really concentrate.  But a music video is more of a physical thing – you’ve got to do twelve hours straight of recording and jumping around.  You can end up doing night shoots too, and they can be tiring – but it’s a good tired feeling.  When you see the final end-product it feels great.

And is there anything in particular you’d like to achieve by this time next year?

On this tour supporting The Saturdays it’s been amazing playing gigs at venues this big so we’ve always said we’d love to be able to headline a show at some of the places like this.  That’d just be the ultimate achievement for us.

Twenty Twenty release their new single Love To Life on the 3^rd April.