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Topman CTRL is hitting the road...

...First stop Newcastle. The Topman CTRL Student Tour is on its way to sunny Newcastle upon Tyne for what promises to be an awesome free gig for the city's students.

Matt Edmondson, a presenter well known for his slot on ‘Big Brother’s Big Mouth’ and of course his love of music has taken CTRL for the first leg of the Tour and has picked a killer line up.

 
 
The Futureheads
These guys have established themselves as firm favourites with the great British public over almost the last ten years. Their catchy brand of post punk has produced hit after hit over the years with their new LP, ‘The Chaos’ being no exception, it’s is an absolute corker. The boys will doubtless play a mixture of the new album peppered with some old favourites, and they’ll almost be on home turf (they’re from Sunderland).

 
So what were they like as students? We threw some quickfire questions at them to find out...

TM - When you were students what was you favourite TV show?
FH - We enjoyed watching Neighbours a lot. I'm amazed to see how Toady's gone from being a little dumpy toerag to a little dumpy lawyer!
TM - What was your best hangover cure?
FH - I've been tee-total for nearly ten years, so I only drank during my first year but Barry tells me that you can't beat a scotch egg as a hangover cure.
TM - What was your biggest fashion faux-pas?
FH - I was into my skater pants when I was at Uni,  that American slacker thing. Never got caught wearing a baseball hat, though...
TM - And finally what was you fave Pot Noodle Flavour?
FH – Bombay Bad Boy. Stinks the house out, though!

We Have Band
Supporting the aussie soap watchers is We Have Band. The disco-punk three piece are currently making a big splash with their self-titled debut album, they also rocked the house at CTRL Live in Bournemouth earlier this year.

 
So what were they like as students...?

TM - When you were students, what were your favourite crisps?
WHB - Roast chicken flavoured, so wrong and so right.
TM - What was you favourite TV show?
WHB - Ready Steady Cook.
TM - Favourite sweets?
WHB - Fizzy cola bottles
TM - What album reminds you of your student days?
WHB - Exile on Main Street by the Stones
TM - And of course your Pot Noodle flavour of choice?
WHB - Chicken curry!

Looks like it's going to be a great night. If you didn't manage to get tickets, never fear. Look out for the CTRL Van we'll be rolling up to the hotspots around town to give away exclusive CTRL prizes plus the last tickets to the gig.

Keep your eyes on Twitter and Facebook and catch up with the Topman team from 1pm. We'll be starting off in the centre of town so come say hi!

Check out www.topmanctrl.com for all the info on the Topman CTRL Student Tour.

Matt Edmondson presents

The Futureheads
We Have Band
Let's Buy Happiness

@The Other Rooms, Newcastle 15th May. Doors at 7.30pm

Celebrate 10 years of Tate Modern at a FREE arts festival!

Help celebrate 10 years of the Tate Modern in London with a FREE arts festival for all...explore exhibitions in the Tate including 'No Soul for Sale' and 'Quicksilver' both open until midnight this coming Friday and Saturday! Get involved and check out their website for full details by clicking here!

Rock Your Shades for Teenage Cancer Trust...

Got any cool shots of you and your mates wearing shades? Send them into contribute@topman.com and we'll pop them onto a special 'Rock Your Shades' gallery! And why would you do such a thing? Let us explain...

Tomorrow, Friday May 14th, Teenage Cancer Trust is asking you to 'Rock Your Shades' and donate £1 in support of their ongoing charity work. Teenage Cancer Trust is a UK charity dedicated to helping the lives of young people with cancer and has a strong rock heritage.

To celebrate the launch of 'Rock Your Shades', Teenage Cancer Trust is offering you the exclusive opportunity to get hold of a pair of Gio Goi or Ray Ban sunglasses, signed by some of the stars who performed at the this year's Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.

And the charity is not without its rock star supporters...

Noel Gallagher said “I’ve been honoured to support this amazing charity.  The patients I meet at the Royal Albert hall concerts are an inspiration.”

 

Roger Daltry CBE, The Who, patron of Teenage Cancer Trust said, “We all know that without teenagers, without their energy and their passion for music, we wouldn’t have rock and roll as we know it.  Being a teenager should be all about music, hanging out with your mates, leaving home, getting your first rubbish job and starting out in life.  But for six young people, a cancer diagnosis puts it all on hold.  Dealing with cancer is frightening but thanks to Teenage Cancer Trust, Britain leads the world in its treatment of teenagers with cancer.  When I talk to the young people I meet through Teenage Cancer Trust, it’s great to see that music continues to play such an important role in their lives.“

 

To get involved with this amazing charity, simply 'Rock Your Shades', donate £1 over at www.teenagecancertrust.org/rockyourshades and spread the word...simple! 

 

 

Behind the scenes on our latest trend shoot...

Afternoon bloggers! We've just arrived back from our latest trend photo shoot and got so excited about the initial shots that we had to share some with you. This is just a sneak peek...you can see the full shoot next Friday, only at Topman.com!

Want to start shopping? For now, check out our current latest trend 'Pleasure Beach' available to shop now at Topman.com - click here to check it out!

Love it or hate it? Brand new Marmite tee available NOW!

We've just had this tee delivered to our warehouse and it kicked off the age old Marmite argument...love it or hate it? In the office its 50/50...let us know what you think in the comments section, and if you love it, click here to buy it!

Ben Sherman: New Season now available on Topman.com!

Get the latest Ben Sherman collection, available now on Topman.com! Click here to see the latest from Ben Sherman...

 

Be a reporter at a CTRL Student Tour gig

Got aspirations of becoming a music reporter? Well, here's your chance!

In a few weeks, we’re hitting Newcastle, Leeds, Exeter, London and Nottingham (in that order) with a series of free gigs for students.  We got Channel 4 involved (the CTRL Tour is coming to TV!), and five of their top presenters have selected the crème de la crème of bands for you; bringing together a great mix of established and local talent.

Here’s the run down:



Ticket registration has now closed, but we have one very special place up for grabs for each city… for our CTRL Reporter!  You can apply to be Topman’s eyes and ears at your local CTRL gig by sending an email to contribute@topman.com and telling us:

• What CTRL city you are based in
• Why you should be CTRL Reporter for your city
• What would be the choice bits of content you’d like to capture at the gig
• Send us a link or attach a photo or video you took that shows off your skills

You’ll need to bring:

• A digital camera (with a night flash!)
• Your best mate

We’ll work with you afterwards to produce a creative snapshot of your work we can show off online!

p.s. if you missed out on registering for the CTRL Tour, you can apply to win tickets at www.topmanctrl.com
p.p.s. check out Topman CTRL on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr to stay up to date with all the highlights as they unfold