U2 sell out six Irish concerts, Elton John gets phone pranked, and hope for music fans as Crystal Swing may split up - here are TEN's top stories from the business of show this week
1. U2 sell out concerts in Dublin and Belfast
As expected, there was a scramble on Monday morning to buy tickets for U2's Irish concerts, with 40,000 tickets for the Dublin dates selling out in 35 minutes and 17,000 tickets for the Belfast dates snapped up within hours of going on sale. People started queuing outside Dublin's 3Arena on Sunday afternoon. Fans were later allowed to wait inside overnight. It is estimated that there were a couple of hundred fans queuing at the venue Monday morning.
2. Elton John punk'd in Putin call from Russian pranksters
Elton John's request to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Russia's record on LGBT rights seemed to take a step closer after the singer revealed he had spoken to Putin via telephone on Tuesday However, it soon emerged that Elt had been duped by a pair of Russian pranksters who specialise in hoax phone calls. With a lot of class, the singer responded to the hoodwinking by saying: "Pranks are funny. Homophobia, however is never funny. I love Russia and my offer to talk to president Putin about LGBT rights still stands. I will always stand up for those that are being degraded and discriminated against. He may never sing his 1986 hit Nikita again.
3. Luke Skywalker pulls pints in Portmagee
Luke Skywalker finally went over to the darkstuff (geddit!!!??) when he pulled pints in the Kerry village of Portmagee after filming scenes for Star Wars Episode VIII on Skellig Michael during the week. Actor Mark Hamill and some of the film crew dropped into The Bridge bar where he proved that the Force is indeed strong in him by jumping behind the bar and throwing on a few pints of the black stuff.
4. Anne Enright misses out on Booker shortlist
The shortlist for the 2015 Man Booker Prize was announced, but there was disappointment for Irish author Anne Enright and her new book, The Green Road. Enright, Ireland's Laureate for Fiction and the 2007 Booker winner, had been one of 13 authors on the longlist for the £50,000 prize. The six shortlisted authors, which include a US Pulitzer Prize-winner, are: Marlon James, Tom McCarthy, Chigozie Obioma, Sunjeev Sahota, Anne Tyler and Hanya Yanagihara.
5. Fair City car crash leaves viewers reeling
Not quite a plane falling on Emmerdale or a train flying off a bridge onto Weatherfield but Fair City's car crash during the week was one of those soap big events that got telly fans talking.
6. Hope for music fans as Crystal Swing may split
Crystal Swing's Mary Burke released a solo single during the week giving rise to speculation that the family band are on the verge of splitting up. The trio have been off the radar for the past while, what with Dearbhla getting married and Derek moonlighting with trad and rock band Flake the Gander. However Mary, the force behind the family band, is back on the music scene - but this time with a solo single called Fool For Loving You. She's even released a music video to accompany the country tune which was shot in Galbally, Limerick.
7. Tom Hardy shuts down questions about his sexuality
Tom Hardy showed a flash of the on-screen menace from his current movie Legend for real during a press conference after he shut down a reporter who asked questions about his sexuality. The whole exchange become very awkward after he was asked a question during a press conference for the movie at the Toronto Film Festival.
8. Spanish language film to be Irish Oscar entry
Viva, a Cuban-set Spanish-language film, which received high-praise at the Telluride Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, has been selected as Ireland’s official entry for the 2015 Foreign Language Film Oscar competition. While the subject matter, language and location of Viva are far from Irish, the film's director Paddy Breathnach and writer Mark O 'Halloran hail from this fair island, which under Academy rules, deems it eligible for entry by Ireland.
9. Hart to Hart set to be remade with gay couple
Hart to Hart, the er, classic TV eighties series which starred Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, is set to be remade with a gay couple as its heroes. US entertainment site Deadline, which broke the story, says that the "modern and sexy" retelling will follow attorney Jonathan Hart and investigator Dan Hartman as they try to balance work and their new life together. No word on who is playing Freeway.
10. US farmer makes corny but amaizing tribute to Taylor Swift
A farmer in the US State of Maryland has created a very unique tribute to singing superstar Taylor Swift after he created a maze of well, maize inspired by her face. The 12-acre corn maze at Summers Farm in Frederick, Maryland shows the singer’s likeness holding a microphone along with the words “dare to be different”. For anyone who ever wanted to get lost in her eyes, this is definitely your best chance.
