Black Country Evening Mail from West Bromwich, West Midlands, England • 27

EVENING MAIL WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8 1 999 27 SOAPWATCII 5PORTSWATCH A THE BIG MATCH: MANCHESTER CORONATION STREET (Carlton 945pm) THE nation's favourite pro-aramma is ones aaain shamafuilv UNITED VALENCIA (Carlton 730pm) WILL the Reds' Japanese trip a last week catch ud with them after delayed until after the football with Fred Saturday's home game to Everton If they lose here they might have to kiss (John Savident) and Ashley (Steven Arnold) carryingon their usual double act this time over a Christmas marketing idea their Champions League trophy goodbye rygin They got TOTP2 SHANIA TWAIN SPECIAL (BBC2 6pm) By GRAHAM YOUNG The Mall's Mr Telly itiis episode is devoted to Shania Twain one of the rhythm Stomp Alexandra Theatre IF EVER a show was made for people with restless hands and feet this is fL Before seeing this unique stage production I wondered Just how this "art form" could be stretched beyond a near two minute TV commercial Well I needn't have worried Artist of the Year Award and recognition at the American Music Awards Shania also received the Country Music Association's Best International Artist award earlier this year as well as the event's top title Entertainer of the Year MODERN TIMES: STRICTLY BINGO (BBC2 9pm) IT doesn't seem to matter when bestselling female singers in the world Recorded at BBC Elstree Studios the BBC is promoting this as something of a world exclusive The specially invited audience get to hear Shania performing hits like That Don't Stomp which was bom in Brighton rou go past today's modern bingo lalls tne car parks are full in iwi ana nas since played to capacity audiences around the world is an amazing mix of movement and percussion with snatches of visual comedy thrown in tor gooa measure The eight-strong "cast" used an incredible array of basic every forever it just seems that I have a lot to say about it these days for some reason" This summer Shania's Come On Over album became the first by a country artist to top the chart for 22 years but she insists that she's not interested in sales figures "They are just gauges so you sort of get an idea of where you're at and that's it really" she says "It's to gauge a way to say OK we've reached this point we've reached that point but other than that and outside of that I am not a statistics junkie" After a busy year touring Shania is now looking forward to Christmas and New Year She adds: "111 be there with bells on! I've got my family coming from Canada they are going to join me for the Christmas holidays and they help me bring in the New Year so I am very excited about that" As well as three Grammy Awards the Billboard Female Impress Me Much I'm Outta Here Man! I Feel Like A Woman and The Woman In Me There's also an inter day items witn wtiich to create sound from sweeping brushes dustbin lids and packing cases to match boxes hollow tubes and empty plastic water containers -h view with Shania herself Maybe business will be hit tonight thanks to this documentary about the number callers ana a competition to find out who is the best in the country A typical caller apparently earns just £135 per week but the ambition to be the best drives many of them on The film follows Bernard a 25-year-old caller from Wigan He's up against Patrick from More-cambe a previous winner and Gary the 28-year-old reigning champion Then there's Ricky in his late 30s He has lost to Patrick in the past and doesnt want history to repeat itself The star who grew up in Canada started writing and They even managed to make hand-clapping into a rhythmic routine while the comedy highlights are provided by half filled performing her own music at the age of 10 She says of her recent material: I do tend to write most of my own music from a liberated woman's perspective these days "I dont know whether I will SHANIA TWAIN sinks and reading newspapers It can get pretty loud at times but you should certainly catch this show before its run ends on Saturday TONY COLLINS Tim's such a mover James NEC Arena Birmingham NOBODY dances quite like Tim Booth oldest children's hospital of its kind in the US On Friday at 830pm you can see how its equivalent in St Petersburg Russia operates FINEST HOUR (BBC1 930pm) MORE tear-jerking memo KRAMER vs KRAMER (Channel 6 8pm) ITS now 20 years old but this is just the sort of film which Channel 5 ought to show more of Dustin Hofiman and Meryl Streep star in a story of a marriage break-up and now advertising executive Ted begins to find his work is suffering as a Ovor 300 rolls The James front man moves like a on display puppet on string with St Vitus Dance It Is truly amazing to watch someone erk around so much And this Is only part of his stage show Keen to create the more Inti mate atmosphere of a smaller venue ries from the heroes and heroines of 1940 when Britain was having to defend herself like never before HOME FRONT (BBC2 THE last programme in the series has a definite international feel with Tessa Shaw revealing the secrets of the genuine loft look from New York Other ideas come from Mexico Morocco and Sweden KID IN THE CORNER (Channel 4 9pm) THE third and concluding episode of the powerful Tony Marchant drama about an angel-faced boy who is proving to be a nightmare forhis parents he clearly feels a need to get close to his fans result of trying to be both a mother and father RED IIEAT (BBC1 1020pm) WITH Arnie's comeback movie End Of Days due for release on Friday here's a reminder of his slam-bam action days at the end of the 80s This thriller is set in Russia and is in fact better than his new movie which I'll be reviewing in Friday's Evening MaiL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL PHILADELPHIA (BBCl8pm) THE first of two special editions of the fly-on-the-wall hospital series this week kicks off in the '1V So within 15 minutes of the nearly 1 1 "HIJ two hour set Tim went on a walkabout through the audience As if that wasnt enough he then took to tne skies on a flying trapeze and dangled above a Hup rift 1190 sqmtr delighted crowd And all this effort received rapturous applause from an audience who were dancing and clapping along by the time James had worked through their first two tracks Laid and Ring the Out of the DustlbSmi Bells There were plenty of new tracks rum Including the two latest singles Fred Attain and We're Going to Miss You eq nwiy but the largest applause were reserved for the favourite oldies Including Come Home She's A Star and an excellent performance of Tomorrow It was no surprise when the encore ANYBODY remember Ned's Atomic Dustbin? The Black Country band split after three albums hundreds of gigs and eight years together The group's vocalist John Penney has now re-emerged with some new pals calling themselves Groundswell They're playing their only UK gig at Wolverhampton's Little Civic on Wednesday December 15-and then they prepare for a US tour in February John says: "Whereas with Ned's we had five people pulling in different directions with Groundswell we immediately had a focus a very deliberate direction mat took the songs naturally to which ever conclusion worked best According to informed sources they're in lm inn was rounded off by the band's anthem "hard hitting rhythmically diverse and rifled through with a compelling mix of melody and mania Their live show is a kaleidoscopic raucous mix that somehow fits seamlessly together" Sounds like a gig not to be missed! IF you're seeing Cher's show at the NEC tonight it might be worth getting there early tc catch the support act It's former Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond who'll be showcasing some new solo material Sit Down despite Tim's claims tne band had never intended to play It James adapted really well to a venue mmm atae a rnmmm hn tim a is mm EXPRESS POLYTHENE the size of the NEC The band kept up the banter and clearly cared whether their fans had a good time And there wmmmm mm mmm 14 is little doubt tney aid DIANE rAMRES ST 11 0121711 2fi93.