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THE word “splat” has been on Ian Gillan’s mind for a few years now.

To him, it is a word to conjure with, one to fuel his wild flights of imagination.

To most of us, it summons visions of insects hitting windscreens or ripe tomatoes falling to the floor.

As you will discover, however, the Deep Purple singer and lyricist — he of the legendary full-throated holler — has given “splat” a much deeper meaning.

What if it represents the end of humanity as we know it?

Then, as he suggests with an “optimistic” spin on the notion, “What if we morph into something else that’s metaphysical?”

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When Gillan first considered Splat! as an album title, he thought it sounded “too terminal”.

He says: “I knew how the interviews would go — ‘So this is your last record, right?’ ”

It soon becomes clear from talking to the hard rock survivor that Deep Purple, the last band standing in a so-called “unholy trinity” alongside Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, are very much alive and kicking.

When it came to writing themed lyrics for Purple’s 24th studio LP, Splat! screamed out from the pages of the notebook Gillan keeps to record his ideas.

Now, in tall, spidery type, it adorns an album cover housing some of the band’s heaviest, most riff-driven, yet most concise music in years.

As Gillan attests, Splat! summons the devil-may-care spirit of iconic early albums Deep Purple In Rock and Machine Head — and songs like Child In Time, Smoke On The Water and Black Night.

“What I’m hearing now is the band as it was in ’69,” he says.

There’s no doubting that the current line-up of Gillan, founder member Ian Paice (drums), another stalwart in Roger Glover (bass), Don Airey (keyboard player since 2001) and recent recruit Simon McBride (guitar) has hit a purple patch.

“You can give all kinds of reasons, but, quite simply, I think it’s human chemistry,” says Gillan, who lives in Portugal and turned 80 last August.

“The songs are coming easy.

The band is cranking live.

When all the elements work well, they feed off each other.”

He salutes Northern Irish guitarist McBride, who replaced Steve Morse in time for previous album =1, for adding a dynamic gut-punch to proceedings.

He agrees with me that the songs on Splat! don’t “outstay their welcome”, crediting legendary Canadian producer Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Kiss) for “keeping the arrangements snappy”.

Gillan recalls how it used to be: “With the band having no leader — we never have really — it was often a case of sitting there and one of us would say, ‘Let’s make this bit longer, let’s put another section in there’.

“We might spend weeks arguing or debating an arrangement.

But Bob just comes in and says, ‘I’m not liking that’, and cuts it out.”

Gillan considers Purple to be “an instrumental band”, with the music always getting written first.

Then it’s time for him to step in with the lyrics and those still mighty vocals, delivered with all the theatricality you might expect from someone who took the part of Jesus on the original Jesus Christ Superstar album.

It’s fair to say that Splat!, also the name of the album’s emphatic closing track, represents one of Gillan’s most ambitious concepts, so let’s return to his thought process.

“For some time now, I’ve been trying to make an album sound as if all the songs belong,” he says.

“There’s one exception on this record and I’m not happy about it,” he announces by way of a slight digression.

When I suggest that the track in question might be Third Call, which seems more to do with sex than metaphysics, Gillan replies: “Oh, how did you guess?

It should have been called Sore Thumb.

“I’ve done my own little album on my computer, replacing it with a song destined to be a B-side or bonus track called Hoot ’n’ Slither, which does fit.”

So, let’s hear about his mind-boggling concept, so big that it almost hurts the brain.

“I’ll probably find myself in pseud’s corner again,” he mutters with a smile, before launching into his explanation.

“I’ve been fascinated by the word eternity since I was eight.

I couldn’t understand how things could go on forever.

As a child, it didn’t seem possible to me.

“One summer night, I started thinking about the end of the road, the end of the country, beaches, the sea, the sky, the stars.

“I started panicking, so I built a brick wall around my universe, as many kids have, I’m sure.

“That was it, I was safe.

And then, a horrible thought occurred to me: ‘What’s behind the bricks?’ ”

Gillan says that “later in life”, Edwin Abbott’s classic novella Flatland, a satirical study of a two- dimensional world written in 1884, got him thinking about other dimensions, the afterlife and spiritual worlds.

Then he considered that the population of Earth had “virtually tripled” during his lifetime.

He continues: “For some years, this explosion has seemed unsustainable to me and that the only way to escape is not by flying through the solar system in tin cans.

“It has to be metaphysical.

I’m hopeful.

Perhaps we might become some sort of intelligent energy.”

Gillan draws my attention to the song The Only Horse In Town, one of the last recorded for Splat! and driven by Airey’s fulsome keys and McBride’s shimmering riffs.

It was inspired by a real-life encounter with someone close to death near Noble Street Studios in Toronto where Purple were doing a recording session.

“The snow came down and we saw there were these vagrants living under a blue tarp,” he says.

“The place looked like a rubbish dump.

“We offered them some hot food when we went out to get our takeaway for lunch — and they didn’t want it.

They just wanted dollars for crack.

“I thought of this one guy who probably had days to live.

I imagined his final hit.

“Then (in my mind) I stepped into his shoes and started walking across America until I got to the high plains of New Mexico and found this derelict film set.

“Along with a clapped-out old horse, this guy finds solace, a haven.

It fits very nicely with the overall pattern of the album.”

Next, we take a dive into more of the Splat! songs, starting with the three-minute opening blast, Arrogant Boy, about a bloke called Billy.

“The attitude in the music screamed frustration to me,” says Gillan.

“I had this idea of an ordinary guy down the pub who doesn’t give a monkey’s toss about what goes on at the higher levels of society.

He’s sick of the political pendulum.

“Everyone knows that nothing’s happened in the last fifty, sixty years.

We’ve built nothing.

We’ve done nothing.

We’ve gone backwards in almost everything.

The great institutions are useless piles of rubble.

“So Billy is sticking his head up out of a hole and saying, ‘Get on with it!’”

This brings us to the wild Diablo, recorded in Nashville and featuring guitar solos from none other than country rock star Keith Urban, whose studio the band were occupying.

Here, Gillan truly lets his imagination run riot.

“Diablo is a place where young people go for their rite of passage.

It’s dangerous and many don’t come back,” he says.

“This is the story of Dra-ma.

She pickles her knuckles and has 20 fights before beating up Guts McKenzie in the final.

She celebrates with a bucket of wine and falls into the glitter pool.

It’s all a bit surreal.”

You may think Gillan’s gone off on one but this ceaselessly entertaining character is also partial to a bit of humour.

The Rider is not about someone on a horse, but more about the notorious demands of rock stars when they go on tour.

He says: “I’m not going to mention his name, but he’s a very famous musician in a very famous band.

I was sitting having a beer with him and he said, ‘Someone got a fear of flying so we hired a psychologist.

The next week, there were four psychologists on the plane, one for each member of the band.

Then someone got a bad back so we got a physiotherapist.

The next week, there were four of them.’’

So what about his band’s riders?

“Deep Purple have never been extravagant,” he answers.

“When I was with Black Sabbath, it was a slightly different story, more funny than extravagant.

“I remember Geezer [Butler] complaining that the ham was round and the bread was square, that his sandwich was an incongruous mess which didn’t look right.

“My rider has always been very simple.

It’s bread and cheese, some tea bags — it has to be PG Tips — and a kettle.”

Elsewhere on Splat!, Jessica’s Bra has got to be one of the most eye-catching song titles of the year.

It was supposed to be Bar but, as Gillan admits: “I can’t see too well and make loads of typos these days.

“It’s a sort of Irish pub song.

I grew up in pubs with a beer in one hand, a fag in the other, and in fantastic company.

“My pals were drinking pals — I didn’t smoke a joint until I was 38.

We were pub guys who got locked in, behaved outrageously, but it stayed within the walls.

No harm done.”

Guilt Trippin’, with its gorgeous piano intro and outro and screaming vocals, is about “God and Charlie Darwin having a pint”.

Gillan says: “God is saying, ‘We’ve got to get the numbers right next time,’ but Darwin just goes, ‘Humpty, humpty’.

He doesn’t want to interfere!”

The Lunatic, inspired by the plight of George Orwell’s 1984 protagonist Winston Smith, summons a bout of indignation from Gillan.

“I can’t believe the prescient nature of that book, which was published in 1949,” he says.

“More recently, the NHS proscribed the word lunatic.

I take great offence at that.

Most of my friends are lunatics and always have been — and I happily follow the moon around.”

Through the song Scriblin’ Gib’rish, Gillan vents his spleen at those online matrixes where you have to identify motorbikes or traffic lights, “proving that I am a human being to a f***ing robot”.

Of note here is that he’s heading to UK theatres next spring for his Talking Gib’rish spoken-word tour, a departure from the arena-sized norm.

It’s an opportunity for him to regale audiences with stories from more than six decades in the business.

On a personal level, it’s clear that Gillan is pressing on despite the rigours of live performance and, as he reports, “failing eyesight”.

“Over the past few days, I’ve been taking a deep breath and looking at the future,” he says.

“A few years ago I was doing a talk and the theme was positive ageing.

I realised that when people retire, they stop making long-term plans — even if it’s small things to do with the house or garden.

“But I keep thinking some years ahead with projects, and don’t worry whether I complete them.

“That’s a self-creating energy, like nuclear energy.

It’s incredible.

So, I’m making long-term plans and to hell with it!”

If that’s the template for his mind, what about his body?

Alluding to his younger self — that skinny figure in tight flared jeans with a shaggy mane — he says: “Obviously, I used to be quite athletic when I was young, but I can’t pole vault anymore!

“Well into my sixties, I used to run upstairs two at a time, and now I run down ten at a time.

“So, you’ve got to have a laugh.

Otherwise, you’d sit down and cry.”

One thing is for certain, Ian Gillan and Deep Purple are NOT about to go Splat!

DEEP PURPLE

Splat!

★★★★☆

Herb Alpert walks up a long driveway at his rambling Malibu estate, wincing slightly after having woken up around 3 a.m. with a cramp in his left calf.

“It’s still kind of seizing,” the trumpeter says as he leads me past a garden lush with moist-looking tropical plants.

This, Alpert accepts, is the reality of life at 91. Yet the only reason he’s out here racking up steps by the hundreds on a recent morning is because he was tooling around in his sculpture studio before I arrived. And the only reason the sculpture studio is so far from his music studio — there’s also a studio devoted to his painting — is because of his huge success over the last 60 or so years.

“So I can’t really complain,” he says.

A Los Angeles native who got his start writing songs like Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World,” Alpert has lived here in Malibu since 1972, a decade after he released “The Lonely Bull,” his debut album with the Tijuana Brass. The LP’s title track, inspired by a bullfight Alpert caught in Mexico, went to No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot 100; more than a dozen finger-snapping Top 40 hits followed, including “A Taste of Honey,” “Spanish Flea” (also heard as a theme song on TV’s “The Dating Game”) and “This Guy’s in Love With You,” which took a rare Alpert vocal turn all the way to No. 1.

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What’s more, these inescapable tunes came out on Alpert’s own label, A&M Records, which he “formed on a handshake,” as he puts it, in 1962 with his business partner Jerry Moss. The label quickly became one of the biggest independent record companies in music, with acts such as Carole King, the Carpenters, the Police, Peter Frampton and Janet Jackson, as well as a beloved recording studio complex on La Brea Avenue. (Moss, who with Alpert sold A&M in 1989 for a reported $500 million, died in 2023.)

After years working on his own and with his wife, the singer Lani Hall, Alpert revived the Tijuana Brass name in 2024 and launched a tour that will stop Sunday night at the Hollywood Bowl. We sat down in his gear-stuffed music studio to talk about it and much more.

I’m sure you heard that John Mayer and McG bought the former A&M Studios last year. I wondered what your emotional investment is in the place at this point.
I don’t have an emotional investment. Once I left the lot, I was out of there — I didn’t look back. I wanted to paint, I wanted to sculpt, I wanted to make music. I wasn’t thinking about the business.

What’s an A&M success story you took particular pride in?
Cat Stevens. I heard this kid — he was a kid at the time — at the Troubadour, just him and a guitar, and I got goosebumps. It was so beautiful and so honest.

What was Karen Carpenter like?
She was a doll. She didn’t know how great she was — didn’t think she was a great singer. One hell of a drummer too. Go onto YouTube and search Karen Carpenter’s solo on drums — it’ll knock your socks off. But she was innocent. She was lucky to have [her brother] Richard because Richard knew what to do with her in a very gentle way.

Even at the Carpenters’ smoothest, I hear deep sadness in Karen’s singing.
I think that’s a standard ingredient to great artists. Listen closely to Miles Davis and you’ll hear the same thing.

Karen struggled with her mental health, which her fame didn’t help. Did you ever feel responsible for what she went through?
I’ve gone over that question so many times in my head: If I hadn’t picked them out and signed them, would the same result have happened?

Where have you landed?
I don’t have an answer.

In a recent documentary about you, you’re talking about “Wonderful World” and you say that nobody knows what a hit record sounds like. That’s your feeling now based on years of experience. But did you think you knew when you were young?
I didn’t know then either. “Wonderful World” was a demo that Keen Records put on a shelf. When Sam started selling records on RCA Victor, they pulled it out as a lark, and it ended up one of the biggest-selling singles Sam ever had. I’ve told this story before, but at A&M a guy played a record for me — I said, “Man, this record stinks.” Well, I was turning down “Louie Louie.”

Why didn’t you understand “Louie Louie”?
It was out of tune. It was too long. I didn’t know what the hell they were saying.

That’s why it’s great.
Probably so. But did they have another hit record? Sam used to say, “Close your eyes when you listen to a new artist — don’t get swayed by whether they’re beautiful or they’re handsome or they can dance their ass off.”

OK, but you were like a heartthrob in the ’60s.
What am I now — chopped liver?

I don’t think you can say your success had nothing to do with your looks.
I don’t think it did. You know that sadness you were talking about? It’s in my horn.

I agree. But it didn’t hurt that you looked great.
It didn’t hurt once I had a hit record. It wouldn’t have given me a hit record.

Jerry Moss, left, and Herb Alpert in 1974.

(Michael Putland / Getty Images)

Let’s talk about your song “Rise.”
Got lucky with that.

In what way?
My nephew Randy, who’s one of my managers, he wanted me to take some of the Tijuana Brass records and do a little disco number with them. So we go into the studio with a bunch of great musicians, start playing “Taste of Honey” at 120 beats per minute. I got nauseous — I said, “Man, I ain’t doing this.”

Nauseous?
The record was big, and I didn’t want to tamper with it. But Randy had written this song called “Rise” with a friend of his. He wanted me to play that at 120 beats per minute too. I said, “Lookit, man — let’s slow this thing down and let people dance closer together.” We recorded it live in the studio. Julius Wechter was playing marimba — dear friend of mine. I said, “What do you think of this thing? Pretty cool, isn’t it?” He turns around and says, “I hate it. That beat — the four-on-the-floor is killing me.” I expected a different answer from him. But it didn’t matter.

What’d you make of the Notorious B.I.G.’s sampling “Rise” for his “Hypnotize”?
How could you not like that record? These guys that take your bass line and make a record by pressing a button — I think that’s cheating a bit. But there’s 70 zillion streams on that song. Can’t deny it.

“Rise” was also sampled by the rapper Nas for his song “Power, Paper & P—.”
I don’t know how to comment on that one.

A lot of musicians from your generation have been selling their catalogs lately. Have you considered it?
There’s no reason to — I don’t need the money.

I wrote about Frankie Valli a few years ago, and he and Bob Gaudio seemed eager to have this company Primary Wave out there finding ways to —
Monetize the catalog. I get it. But they don’t have to do that with us. I don’t know if you know what’s happening, but I’m in the heyday of my career right now.

Right now?
It wasn’t my idea to get the Tijuana Brass back together again. My nephew, he’s a social media guy, and he went around the world to see what songs of mine were selling the most. Turned out there were about 18 songs. I started listening to the 18, and at the end, I felt happy, I felt joyous, I felt a smile was on my face. I thought, Man, let’s try this — this might be interesting. We started doing it, and we’ve been sold out 50 concerts in a row.

It strikes me that without the Tijuana Brass, you weren’t playing the Hollywood Bowl.
Hell no, I wasn’t.

What’s that say to you?
That the music is touching people. The times we’re living in, there’s a lot of doubt with what’s going on, and I think people are getting some positive energy from it.

You’re a lifelong Angeleno. Lots of well-to-do folks say that L.A. has gone to hell in a handbasket. What’s your take?
I think it’s pretty much the same all over the country.

Which is?
Gone to hell in a handbasket. People are confused about where they’re going, whether they’re gonna be able to have enough food on the table, whether they can afford gasoline. I’m not saying it’s all bad — it’s just hard to make sense of a lot of it for a lot of people, including the guy you’re talking to.

Your music has pulled from any number of cultures. Do you think it speaks of your Jewish identity?
Most definitely. My father was born in a shtetl outside Kyiv — didn’t speak Russian, spoke Yiddish. He brought his mandolin with him when he was 16 years old on a boat by himself and landed at Ellis Island. He used to play songs for me on the mandolin. When his nostrils flared, I knew he was into it. That kind of got me.

Jewish meets Mexican feels very L.A. to me.
I think we’re all a product of our surroundings. In high school I used to go see Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, and I was touched by them. Of course, they were loaded.

What kind of guy was Chet Baker?
A troubled guy who was a brilliant musician. I gave him one of my horns, and he pawned it the next day. He was sweet but he didn’t have a hold on his emotions.

Not great for living, obviously. But good for music?
Well, you’re opening up a whole can of worms. I mean, why did so many great jazz musicians get hooked on drugs? Maybe guys that were hung up on being a human being, they found that getting stoned helped them through the struggle. I recorded Stan Getz the first time he ever recorded without drugs. It was at A&M — he was wearing this red silk shirt that had sweat stains under both arms. He had like 75 reeds on the ground because he couldn’t pick out the right one. He finally found the right reed, got over the anxiety and started playing — same Stan Getz you heard throughout his career. These guys were under the assumption that being stoned would change what they played. I don’t think that holds any water.

Was there a time you thought it might be true?
I did experiment with grass once. Turned on a recorder, took a puff, started playing some jazz. Took another puff, started playing some more jazz. I listened to that recording the next morning — it was terrible.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Can we do a little Herb Alpert trivia to finish?
Do I have a choice?

“A Taste of Honey” won record of the year at the Grammys in 1966.
You’re gonna ask why.

You beat the Beatles’ “Yesterday.”
No kidding?

The year after “Taste of Honey,” you were nominated for record of the year again with “What Now My Love.” That one you lost. Remember what you lost to?
Not “Louie, Louie.”

“Strangers in the Night.”
That’s a real pop song. Love the guy, but not my favorite by him.

What’s your favorite Sinatra song?
“Only the Lonely.”

“This Guy’s in Love With You” — great vocal performance. Why didn’t you do more?
I’m not a singer.

Sure you are.
I know it’s a great performance. But it was one take, man — I did that in one take.

This is what I’m saying.
Look, I had an interesting guy in the sound booth who did the arrangements named Burt Bacharach.

I read that you talked with Burt a few times a week until he died.
I did, and not about music. We talked about football, basketball, politics, you name it.

What’s your basketball team?
Lakers.

Hard to be a Lakers fan these days.
Easy to be a critic.

Popular lifestyle and fashion influencer Nara Smith spoke out about her daughter’s private health battle, revealing on Wednesday that the 2-year-old is battling cancer.

Smith, 24, said in an Instagram video that her daughter Whimsy was diagnosed late last year when she and husband model Lucky Blue Smith noticed “something suspicious” on the toddler’s body and sought immediate medical attention. The models first took their child to the emergency room and eventually to the pediatrician, who urged the parents to take their daughter to the nearest children’s hospital, she said.

“I just remember him going really quiet and calm, and my heart dropped in that moment,” Smith recalled of that pivotal visit with the pediatrician.

The content creator said her daughter underwent numerous X-rays, ultrasounds and a biopsy before the hospital team determined the cancer diagnosis. Smith did not specify the type of cancer, but said the illness had spread and Whimsy needed to begin chemotherapy. Smith, who went viral in late 2023 for her absurdly elaborate videos crafting processed snacks from scratch in fabulous outfits, said her daughter’s health battle is partially why she has taken a break from social media. She also spoke about finding comfort and community online via forums and social media and connecting with families who have loved ones also battling cancer.

“Processing this and navigating this as a family has been really hard,” she said. Smith added that in addition to Whimsy’s cancer battle, she found it challenging to balance caring for her other children, recovering from the fall 2025 birth of her youngest daughter and her social media work. “Some days are a little easier. Some days are really hard,” she said.

Nara and Lucky Blue Smith, 28, married in 2020 and share four children: eldest daughter Rumble Honey, son Slim Easy, Whimsy Lou and infant Fawnie Golden. Lucky Blue Smith also shares a daughter with his ex-girlfriend, social media star Stormi Bree.

Though Nara Smith kept most details about Whimsy’s cancer battle private, the thumbnail for Wednesday’s video appears to be her husband and a doctor next to an MRI machine. “Thankful for each and every nurse and doctor along our journey who helped us get through and out the other end,” she captioned the video.

IT’S everybody’s worst nightmare bumping into their ex-partner, let alone when they are with their new girlfriend – But we can reveal that Laura Hamilton is said to be bracing herself for just that.

Yesterday, The Sun told how her former husband had moved on with a stunning PR girl and now, insiders tell us how the A Place in the Sun presenter really feels about it  – and why their two worlds could collide. 

Laura, who split from Alex Goward in 2022 after 13 years together, is understood to be unhappy about his new romance with stunning PR guru Becky Knowles – a relationship we can reveal has actually been quietly underway for more than a year.

Alex, 45, and Becky, who bears a striking resemblance to his ex-wife, went public with their relationship this week.

However, Alex does in fact appear on Becky’s social media as far back as June last year, with the couple also enjoying a romantic holiday together last September.

The pair are said to have kept things low-key out of respect for Laura and the children she shares with Alex – Rocco, 12, and 11-year-old Tahlia – but felt that after a year together, it was the right time to make things public.

However, Laura is said to be worried about coming face-to-face with her ex’s new girlfriend as they move in similar showbiz circles.

She is also said to be uncomfortable with Becky’s high-profile friendship group, which includes Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts, Louise Redknapp and singer Cheryl.

“Becky has always moved in fabulous circles – even more so than Laura!” a source said.

“She has lots of showbiz friends and her sister Emma Lucy is a famous crystal healer who regularly appears on This Morning and is best friends with Holly Willoughby. Becky was also very close to Caroline Flack.

“One person not so happy about it all is Laura. She’s had a while to come to terms with it all privately, but now it’s out in the open; it’s opened old wounds – nobody wants to see their ex with someone younger and more beautiful, let alone so successful.

“Laura is also very worried about bumping into them because Becky moves in the same showbiz circles. She attends the premieres, celebrity launches and has lots of A-list friends, so she’s dreading bumping into her ex and Becky in public. It will be incredibly difficult and awkward for her.”

Becky and Alex went Instagram official this week, sharing snaps of the pair enjoying a date night together.

In one photo, he rested his hand on Becky’s leg as she, dressed in a short black skirt and heels, posed alongside him at a bar. A second image showed the couple holding drinks, with Becky kissing him on the cheek.

Stunning Becky uploaded the snaps with the caption: “Us” and a love heart emoji, before Alex reposted them to his story.

Friends say she is “smitten” and that it’s the happiest they’ve ever seen her.

One said: “We all knew this was very serious as soon as she posted him on her Instagram – everyone was like ‘omg who’s this guy’? Because Becky has been single for years and years and years!

“She’s very confident, outgoing, smart and has got extremely high standards. She’s also so incredibly beautiful. She has always had admirers, but she is far too driven and busy with work and her friends to be tied down to just anyone – so we knew that he must be the one.

“They’ve actually been together for over a year now, but kept things low-key out of respect for Laura and his children. It felt like the right time to go Instagram official this week – they are so in love and the happiest they’ve ever been.”

Laura has also been trying to move on following her split – but has found Alex’s news hard to take.

Our source said: “Laura wants her ex to be happy, but she can’t help feeling a bit irked by Becky and all this. The last thing she wants to see is him draped all over his beautiful new girlfriend in the press. That’s her world!”

In 2023, Laura opened up about her “tough” divorce from Alex, saying she had to stay strong for their children.

She said: “You say content, but I have moments when I feel this is tough, this is hard, this is not what I expected my life to be. But I’m a glass-half-full person, and I have to be positive. I have to be strong. Am I making the best of the situation as I can right now? Yes, 100 per cent.

“But I do get sad because things went the way they did. I might look like everything is fine all the time, and that’s how things come across on social media, but no, I’d be a robot if I didn’t have those emotions.

‘Do I let myself cry? Yes, all the time. And I encourage Rocco and Tahlia to always share their feelings. It is better to talk and let the emotions out than bottle up.”

Two years after their divorce, Laura was linked to married businessman James Pettigrew, who was said to also be going through a divorce at the time, and the pair were seen kissing in her car.

But she later refused to be drawn on the relationship.

She said at the time: “I’m dating. I’m having fun. No, I don’t have the apps. I’ve tried those in the past three years. I went on Raya and thought: ‘This is not for me.’ I like to meet people organically.

“People do look at me and say: ‘I know you from somewhere…’ and that starts a conversation.

“I did go out on a date with somebody, and the only thing he wanted to talk about was buying a property in the sun. I’m not here to be your property consultant!

“But it’s quite difficult for me to date when you look at my life and how busy I am. I’ve got two children and I’m abroad every other week.” 

But while dating has been difficult for Laura, it seems it’s not been quite so much of a struggle for her ex.

In an era hallmarked by what experts call a “sex recession,” Six Sex is a symbol of liberation.

The Argentine baddie fashions herself as a baby-voiced, bikini-clad fembot, beamed in from the clubs of Buenos Aires — and has become known for cheeky, instructive celebrations of desire. Her songs are designed to galvanize like-minded club rats into Dionysian revelry, or, in the case of the song “How to Make Your Ass Bigger,” squats.

To a certain subset of the Latine underground, she represents a pure-hearted hypersexuality. Yet, for the artist behind the persona, Francisca Agustina Cuello, this wasn’t always the intention.

“I don’t know if it was because I still had to keep my innocence or what, but I didn’t envision the project that way,” she said, calling from a hotel room in Barcelona. “That response sort of came about from the people, towards me. So, I said OK, I’m making it my own.”

In doing so, Cuello has churned out six thumping EPs as Six Sex, a campy character that she describes as a “fable” — a mix of “fantasía y hedonismo.”

That dynamic is taken to extremes on her debut album, “Ultra”, released June 6. It’s a dark and propulsive journey through decades of electronic dance music, best described by its own opening words portending “ultra terrorific fantasy.” (The phrase conjures up images of grandeur, but really, it evokes that “Blades of Glory” quote: “no one knows what it means, but it’s provocative.”)

“I feel like nothing I say is all that serious,” she said about her lyrics. “It’s a thing about my personality to be silly and goof around.”

“Ultra” centers Cuello’s winking, suggestive sense of humor. “Not Your Mom” features a conversation with a garbled, omnipotent voice akin to the parents in Charlie Brown; “FUchi!” features schoolyard taunts about “low dickie energy;” the album ends with “No More Porn,” a playful yet powerful subversion of sexual expectations.

“At the same time, for me, that acts as a filter,” she added with a laugh. “Weeding out the people who get scandalized by it, and identifying the people who get it and say: ‘Yas, yo también quiero tener cuatro novios.’”

Earlier this year, Cuello took the stage at Don Quixote, performing in front of a sold-out crowd for her Los Angeles debut. The smell of sweat permeated the air as she ripped through several of her hits — including collaborations with Reysha Rami and German producer MCR-T. Every single one of her signature ponytail flips sent the room into hysterics. The audience screamed every word at the top of their lungs; it was the loudest, most raucous show I’d been to in years.

Cuello took a breather in the middle of her world tour to chat with De Los over Zoom about all things Six Sex: her new record, her writing style and how it feels to connect with fans spun into febrile intensity.

This interview has been condensed for clarity and was translated from Spanish to English.

“[I’m] weeding out the people who get scandalized,” says Six Sex of her provocative music.

(Catalina Jacobo)

I was really taken by the “Ultra” album cover. You’re wearing a white bikini and in this “come to Jesus” pose. What was the goal?
[laughs] It was hard, because I wanted the cover to represent what the entire journey of the album meant to me. I was looking for something strong and heavy in visual terms, because with “Ultra”, this is the first time I’ve finished a long, heavy project and I see the start of something. It’s like something new was unlocked. I found a new way to convey feelings, and a new way to create as well. It’s not like I just finished, and it is what it is. Rather, it is the beginning of something bigger.

Is there an element of separation at all between the artistry and you as a person?
I think they’re pretty close. It’s as if Six Sex was sort of a fable, or like a hentai or comic [version of] my life. It’s also happened that things I wrote as a joke later became reality. But generally, I draw inspiration from things that actually happened to me.

Is it weird to put those intimate experiences on an album?
No, not for me. Because I’m not speaking so seriously, I don’t feel exposed. Even though my persona and my character are very close to one another, I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I’m not trying to make you believe in something. The songs stop being about me as soon as someone else listens to them. There are certain things we can all see ourselves represented in, and I think my music aims for that, too.

I want to ask about your performance style. I saw you live in Los Angeles and was really taken by the energy exchange between yourself and the crowd. How do you approach live performance?
Nowadays, I’m in a balance between performance and being a human being that connects with people and can pause to look in the eyes of the audience to register how they feel. I like being in a showgirl role, and at the same time, knowing when to step out of it.

Sometimes I go up there after having a crappy day, thinking that I’m gonna screw it up. And when I get up there and connect with the people, everything flows in a perfect way.

Does the music transform when it’s performed live, versus on a record? A lot of your music seems designed to be played in the club.
I think it’s very personal. For me, I’m a bit autistic; sometimes when I’m at a show, I get different sensations. It really depends on the person. I like seeing people’s reactions live when I start playing these songs for the first time. People were super hyped. They were enjoying them and jumping around a lot. It feels really fresh.

You reference ‘90s club classics all over “Ultra,” including by U.K. band the Prodigy on “Bitch Up.” How did these sounds come into your life?
These sounds evoke a special kind of nostalgia for me. Even though I hadn’t been listening to them lately, they sounded like something I wanted to bring back to the table — songs my uncle used to listen to when I was really young. Like a CD [of] pirated songs that somehow ended up at my house, and at the time I was like, “Wow, what is this music?”

There’s an element of Six Sex that gives “fembot,” like a female, sexy robot. I’m curious if you feel that playing out in your work.
[laughs] I didn’t know about the fembot thing. I don’t use Twitter. I [keep] a bubble… against some things that I don’t know. But I’ve always liked the idea that people have that perception of me, to some extent.

How do you feel about the rise of AI as a musician, especially considering your persona adopts that perception?
I mean… I don’t have a formed opinion on the matter. I do think that, I don’t know, it’s all very relative. For one thing, I obviously feel like it strips away the human value, but at the same time, it’s also a tool for humans. So it’s kind of contradictory. I feel weird about it…. I don’t know.

Zooming out, I’ve noticed Argentina has been having a musical moment over the last few years between yourself, Ca7riel y Paco Amoroso, Juana Rozas… How do you feel Argentina being represented or even challenged in your music?
I feel that culturally, Argentina is a very rich country. However, I do feel like, over generations, a paradigm was broken, and new sounds have been created that don’t necessarily abandon the roots of our music, but were created out of counterculture.

That same kind of counterculture is what makes Argentina be in such turmoil. It’s also the context of our country. Economic, political, social. The key Argentinian figures we refer to nowadays are constantly changing. And that allows you to listen to a variety of genres from Argentina, from people doing different things, and at the same time raising the flag and saying: “Yo soy argentino.” And we love that.

A-LIST celebrities have begun to arrive for Taylor Swift’s rumored rehearsal dinner on Thursday ahead of her lavish wedding.

Taylor and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are expected to tie the knot at Madison Square Garden on Friday in front of around 1,000 guests.

A few celebrities were spotted in New York ahead of the couple’s big day, where roughly 100 guests are expected to attend the rehearsal dinner on Thursday evening.

Beloved actor Adam Sandler was seen outside of Madison Square Garden with his family on Thursday afternoon in an exclusive video capture by The U.S. Sun.

The comedian was dressed in his signature casual style, wearing shorts, a baggy shirt and sneakers and appeared to be joined by his wife, Jackie, and their daughters, Sadie and Sunny.

Travis joined the big screen alongside Adam in the sequel to the classic film Happy Gilmore and invited the movie star to his podcast, New Heights, which he hosts with his brother Jason Kelce.

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On the podcast, Adam talked about taking his two daughters to the Eras Tour concert film premiere.

“What a girl … She means so much to our house,” Adam said of Taylor.

Selena Gomez shared a video on her Instagram story on Thursday of her in a floral lace black dress applying one of her Rare Beauty lip products, possibly on her way to the rehearsal dinner, although it has not yet been confirmed.

She paired the dress with a pair of Flicker earrings, featuring 1.92 carats of pear-cut diamonds totaling $29,000 and an $11,000 Flicker ring, according to Page Six.

Selena and Taylor met in 2008 and were first spotted together stepping out to dinner with Nick and Joe Jonas, whom they were respectively dating at the time.

In a 2020 interview with WSJ Magazine, the duo opened up about their friendship, which Taylor compared to “sisterhood.”

“I knew from when I met her I would always have her back. In my life, I have the ability to forgive people who have hurt me. But I don’t know if I can forgive someone who hurts her,” Taylor said of Selena.

Jack Antonoff, Taylor’s close friend and main musical collaborator who recently worked on The Tortured Poets Department, was also spotted in New York City, dressed in a white-collared shirt and dark blazer.

His sister Rachel was also spotted in New York City, dressed in a long pink frilly gown and a red purse.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and his wife Claire were spotted in New York City ahead of the wedding.

The fellow NFL player will apparently not be attending the rehearsal dinner, but will attend the wedding, which he told ExtraTV he plans to give Travis an old coin despite the couple saying “absolutely no gifts.”

Supermodel Gigi Hadid and actor Bradley Cooper were seen heading to the rehearsal dinner, with Bradley in a formal suit and vest, in photos obtained by Page Six.

The rehearsal dinner is reportedly scheduled to run from 6pm to 10:30pm, with fresh lobster possibly on the menu.

The main wedding ceremony is expected to take place on Friday, although it remains unclear if it will be a legal wedding or a lavish celebration as rumors circulate that the pair are already married.

Some others said to be attending the rehearsal dinner include Taylor’s childhood best friend Abigail Anderson, her publicist Tree Paine and Travis’ manager, Amanda Santa, per Page Six.

Travis’ longtime friend Reggie “Regrunt” King and his wife, Sarah, are also expected to attend in addition to several people in sports media, like sports commentator Charissa Thompson and sports reporter Erin Andrews along with her husband, former NHL player Jarret Stoll.

Celebrities close to Taylor have been spotted around New York City, including Suki Waterhouse, who opened for one of Taylor’s Eras Tour shows in London.

Suki told Variety in an interview published in May that she will be attending and hopes to gather inspiration for her wedding to her fiancé Robert Pattinson.

“I’m gonna go to Taylor’s wedding, and maybe I’ll get some inspiration It will be amazing,” she said.

Graham Norton, an Irish comedian and actor who made a cameo in Taylor’s music video for her song Opalite, touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport alongside his husband Jono McLeod.

Taylor’s pal, English actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge, was also seen in New York City with her family ahead of the celebration.

Taylor and Travis’ full guest list has not yet been revealed, but some eagle-eyed fans speculated singer Katy Perry may not be in attendance as she is set to perform in the UK on their rumored wedding day.

Some other famous faces are expected not to be attending, such as Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Charli XCX and Matty Healy following past fallouts.

Cut to a seedy alley behind a Chinese restaurant in Rome: A dozen mobsters menace a slight young man who suddenly pulls out a pair of nunchucks. He swings the traditional stick-and-chain weapons and makes quick work of his enemies, who fall one by one, groaning in pain.

The comedic, legendary action scene is from the 1972 film “The Way of the Dragon,” written, directed and starring Bruce Lee. The martial arts star was a trailblazer, allowing Asian Americans to see themselves represented in a strong, positive light on-screen.

And now he has secured a place in California history, becoming the first Chinese American in state history to have a day designated in his honor.

Lee was born in 1940 in San Francisco. His mother was of European descent and his father was a Cantonese opera star who was on tour in the city, affording his son birthright citizenship.

Lee grew up in Hong Kong, where he followed his father’s path as a performer, acting in more than a dozen films as a child and studying the close-quarters southern Chinese martial art Wing Chun.

On May 17, 1959, an 18-year-old Lee returned to San Francisco and eventually made his way to Hollywood. He went on to influence an industry that was at the time bereft of Asian American talent, and helped to popularize the genre of martial arts films and ignite Western interest in Hong Kong action cinema.

In recognition of his contributions, state Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill designating May 17 as “Bruce Lee Day” in California. The bill, signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, encourages schools and communities to honor Lee’s life and cultural impact.

Haney has described Lee as a “symbol of pride, resilience and possibility for generations who rarely saw themselves reflected with strength and dignity.”

Lee, who saw himself not only as an actor but also as a poet and philosopher, encountered repeated barriers. Up for the main role in the 1970s television series “Kung Fu,” for example, he was rejected in favor of white actor David Carradine.

In 2020, filmmaker Bao Nguyen sought to show how Lee dispelled anti-Asian sentiment and long-held stereotypes of emasculated Asian men in his ESPN documentary “Be Water.”

“The Asian male was the face of the enemy to many Americans,” Nguyen told The Times in 2020. “It was this vicious cycle of society reflecting media and culture, and media and culture reflecting society. There had to be some kind of intervention there and Bruce, in a way, was that intervention. He was the hero that we hadn’t seen before.”

Lee learned much about the systemic oppression that Black Americans faced from his first student, Jesse Glover, who had been a victim of police brutality.

And scholars have pointed out that, although his films had far-from-perfect politics, they touched on themes of fighting oppression. The 1971 movie “The Big Boss” showed Lee battling alongside laborers. “Fist of Fury” saw him opposing Japanese colonialism and discrimination.

Lee died young in 1973, at age 32 — before he was able to witness the full extent of his stardom. He died just one month before the release of “Enter the Dragon,” which was a box-office sensation and is considered a masterpiece of martial arts filmmaking.

THE White House has shared its own Taylor Swift-inspired post ahead of the popstar’s lavish wedding to Travis Kelce.

The official White House Instagram account shared a photo of “America’s Eras Tour” in the same style as Taylor’s iconic Eras Tour poster.

The image showed President Donald Trump in the middle with his fist raised, surrounded by ten photos depicting moments in American history.

The post included two additional photos of Trump in addition to Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

There were other images showing a hockey game, the moon landing, and a photo from the end of World War II showing a US Navy sailor kissing a woman in Times Square.

“It’s been a long time coming…” the caption read, a nod to Taylor’s lyrics.

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The timing of the post appeared to throw some shade toward Taylor, whose wedding extravaganza is taking place around the Fourth of July weekend and the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.

Trump and Taylor have had a longtime feud, where the president blasted the singer as “no longer hot” in a Truth Social post from 2025.

“Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I hate Taylor Swift,’ she’s no longer ‘hot?’” he wrote.

He also called out Taylor in his speech congratulating the Philadelphia Eagles on their Super Bowl win in 2025, noting how she was booed on the jumbotron at the Caesars Superdome as she cheered on Travis at the big game.

“The only one that had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift,” he wrote on Truth Social after making history as the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl.

Despite the comments, after Trump learned the news that the pair were engaged, he told reporters, “I wish them a lot of luck.”

“He’s a great player and she’s a terrific person.”

The White House’s post on Thursday came as around 100 guests are expected to be attending Taylor and Travis’ rehearsal dinner.

Several A-List celebrities were spotted in New York City ahead of the couple’s big day, including Adam Sandler and his family, who arrived outside of Madison Square Garden on Thursday afternoon.

Jack Antonoff, who recently worked with Taylor on The Tortured Poets Department album, was also spotted in formal attire alongside his sister.

Supermodel Gigi Hadid and actor Bradley Cooper were seen heading to the rehearsal dinner in photos obtained by Page Six.

The rehearsal dinner reportedly began around 6:30pm with fresh lobster possibly on the menu.

TAYLOR Swift and Travis Kelce may have already exchanged vows ahead of their elaborate wedding weekend.

The singer and NFL star are getting married in a three-day celebration this week at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

However, many fans are convinced that the couple have already said “I do” after spotting numerous clues.

Some Swifties believe that Taylor dropped a big hint that she and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end were already married during the Toy Story 5 premiere last month.

The pop star rocked a short white dress featuring two massive knots on the shoulders to the red-carpet event.

Chatter has circulated that the knot detail was a subtle indicator that she and Travis had secretly “tied the knot.”

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They also believed the floral embellishments on the dress represented “the garden,” as in Madison Square Garden, which is her wedding venue.

Fans also believe that Taylor’s favorite number, 13, has to be incorporated into her wedding date somehow, and they have some theories.

Since her official wedding date, July 3, has no connection to 13, it’s speculated that Taylor and Travis possibly got married a few days before the Toy Story 5 premiere, on June 6.

As Swifties know, Taylor is a big fan of numbers and after breaking down and adding up the digits, it eventually comes to the number 13.

While this may seem like a longshot, Taylor is known for keeping her fans guessing with little easter eggs, so the theory isn’t entirely farfetched.

OLLY Murs left talkSPORT hosts Andy Goldstein and Gabby Agbonlahor in stitches after impersonating Ross Kemp’s emotional reaction to England playing during the World Cup.

The singer was asked if he had seen the moment EastEnders star Ross went wild watching the Three Lions play DR Congo and whether he would be willing to replicate the moment.

The Heart Skips A Beat singer pulled out all the stops to deliver an equally passionate performance, as Andy asked: “Is there any way you could deliver us a Ross Kemp style rallying cry for England against Mexico?”

Scrunching up his face and changing his voice to sound more like Ross, Olly dived right into the task, yelling: “Come on England, we can do this.

“Stop doing this to me, stop it. I’m telling ya, we can do it. He’s coming home.”

Olly then dramatically walked out of frame, leaving Andy in stitches while asking where he had gone.

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EastEnders fans and celebs alike were cracking up after Ross’ reaction to England winning flooded the internet.

The 61-year-old – who recently returned to the BBC soap as Grant Mitchell – shared a video of himself online passionately praising Harry Kane.

Ross filmed himself wearing an England shirt in his living room, shouting at the camera: “Yes! Yes! Harry Kane! Harry Kane!

“That’s what we’re talking about. Great changes made – a massive difference. Come on, England! Close it down. Close it down!”

Punching the air in triumph, he went on: “Four minutes! Four minutes! Plus extra time!”

Looking out of breath, the actor added: “My God, why do you do this to me? Come on, England!”

He captioned the Instagram video, “Harry Kane,” with football and England flag emojis.

A slew of celebs flooded the comments with their amusement, with actor and presenter Adil Ray joking, “Watch the ticker Grant!!!!!” while presenter Rav Wilding posted, “Love you Ross!” and Sky Sports host Adam Smith commented: “Legend.”

Fans also shared their appreciation, with one asking: “Please can I come and watch the next match with you?”

“Grant Mitchell shouting down his phone has made me feel more patriotic than when I was watching the game,” someone else joked.

A third user suggested Ross should join the England coaching team, declaring: “Get him on the team as assistant manager.”

Harry scored two goals in nine minutes during Wednesday’s match, delivering England to a 2-1 win and sending the Three Lions to Mexico City.

You can listen to all FIFA World Cup 2026 matches for free on the talkSPORT app, with live commentaries via talkSPORT’s YouTube and TikTok.

It’s the 250th birthday of the United States of America and how better to celebrate than with a big-screen hagiography of America’s first president, George Washington? “Young Washington” arrives in theaters just in time for the Fourth of July with a chiseled, hot young actor in the lead role and the sheen of a prestige HBO drama, though the result isn’t really big-screen spectacle or appointment television. It feels more like something to be watched on the AV rig in a middle school social studies class. At least there won’t be a quiz at the end.

But there could be, because the plot of “Young Washington” plays out with all the thrill of a textbook chapter. It takes place mostly around 1753-55, at the advent of the French and Indian War. We open in medias res when the 23-year-old Col. Washington (William Franklyn-Miller) lurches from a dysentery-riddled nap directly into battle in the Pennsylvania woods, his battalion on the back foot, surrounded by gore and gunpowder. Another officer describes how dire the situation is while George ponders saving his men and asks, “What could be worth the risk?” Washington steels his gaze and we cut to black. You can almost hear the eagles scream, guitars riff and engines rev.

“Young Washington” is produced and distributed by Angel Studios, the faith-based movie studio that churns out films based on true stories that either feature freak accidents, strange illnesses or, more recently, unique stories from the past in which faith in God is a factor. Apparently, our nation’s founding also falls under this umbrella.

The film is directed by Jon Erwin, one of the in-house Angel Studios mainstays, who also helmed “Jesus Revolution,” “I Still Believe” and “I Can Only Imagine.” Erwin gives the whole project a kind of gritty, visceral approach — very “Game of Thrones” in red coats. It’s violent, muddy, the contrast is high and too many drone shots soar over the forest treetops.

Though it opens with a bang, this 1755 battle framing device gives way to the George origin story, starting with his father’s death 12 years earlier, when the 11-year-old George is bereft that he’ll have to sacrifice his education in order to become a tenant farmer and provide for his family including his mother, Mary (Mary-Louise Parker, doing a bizarre accent).

His older half-brother Lawrence (John Foss) takes him under his wing and teaches him, and the young George grows into a smart, bright, ambitious young man, whose dreams of becoming a British officer are dashed because he doesn’t have formal education, a fortuitous marriage or his own land. But he’s bootstrapped himself into intelligence and with savvy networking and know-how, he becomes indispensable to the British, volunteering as a major to survey land and negotiate treaties with the Native tribes and French army. It’s all a bunch of politicking and petty disputes until it escalates into all-out war thanks to an ill-advised ambush.

Sir Ben Kingsley, Kelsey Grammar (who starred in “Jesus Revolution”) and Andy Serkis play the British officers who begrudgingly, at times, believe in George and his capabilities, though a lot of the film is about a young man getting rebuffed by snobbish British officers.

He’s the kind of character who always makes the noble choice, does and says what’s right, and sees everyone as equals (including enslaved African men and Native American allies). He inspires his brother and others that the world can change and takes inspiration from his mother, who encourages him to continue his path and do it as God’s servant.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t make for a character that’s in any way complex or interesting at all. Franklyn-Miller is certainly pretty, serving as a fine face for this story, but the screenplay (by Erwin, Diederik Hoogstraten and Tom Provost) flattens his character into a basic cookie-cutter hero. Audiences, including the middle school social studies students, deserve better and more nuanced stories about this country and the values it was built upon.

“Young Washington” is propaganda in the form of a history lesson wrapped in a summer blockbuster. If only it were even slightly entertaining — maybe they’ll tackle that in the inevitable sequel.

On Sunday, Mexico will take on England at Mexico City’s famed Estadio Azteca for a round of 16 World Cup match in one of the most hotly anticipated contests of the tournament so far.

But days before anything goes down on the pitch, Mexico and England fans have already started bickering with each other online — from cheeky jabs to heated debates about which country does beans on toast better.

Joining in on the soccer smack talk are two of the biggest rock stars from the countries — Liam Gallagher of Oasis fame and Maná frontman Fher Olvera.

The beef kicked off Wednesday morning when Gallagher replied to a fan question on X about the possibility of England playing Mexico on their home turf before the Three Lions sealed their win against DR Congo.

“Liam how do you feel about England being crushed at the azteca,” the X user @angelchilddemo asked.

Gallagher answered by writing, “I think we’ll beat Mexico 5-0.”

The “Wonderwall” singer’s prediction was so audacious that Olvera took it upon himself to publicly respond with an Instagram video Wednesday evening.

“The singer of Oasis said that Mexico will lose to England 5-0,” Olvera said in Spanish with a giant grin on his face while draped in a Mexican flag. “No way! Check yourself dude! 5 to 0? Calm down! We’ll see you Sunday to see how it goes, dude. Don’t play with me.”

By Thursday morning Gallagher amended his prediction for the match.

“[L]et me just clear someting up I was obv kidding when I said England will beat Mexico 5-0,” the English rocker wrote in an X post. “I reckon it’ll be more like 3-0 to England.”

While Olvera and Gallagher will be at odds over the next few days, the two singers shared parallel experiences as Maná was one of the bestselling Mexican rock bands of the ‘90s and Oasis was the bestselling British rock group of the ‘90s.

Maná already made its mark on this year’s World Cup when it played its 1992 hit “Oye Mi Amor” at the tournament’s opening ceremony in Mexico City ahead of the Mexico-South Africa match on June 11.

Sunday’s contest between England and Mexico also marks the first time the English side will play at Estadio Azteca since the 1986 World Cup when they lost to eventual-champions Argentina in a quarterfinal game infamous for Diego Maradona‘s “Hand of God” goal.

The last time Mexico and England squared off in a World Cup setting was during the 1966 World Cup in England where the Three Lions beat El Tri 2-0 in a group stage match at Wembley Stadium.

NEW YORK — A skyscraper-scaling daredevil told police that he and his girlfriend climbed the Empire State Building’s antenna and unfurled a banner about love and peace because he wanted to “do something special” for their engagement, prosecutors said Thursday at the couple’s arraignment on felony reckless endangerment, burglary and other charges.

The couple, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, said little as they left court, though Beerkus responded to a journalist’s question about the stunt by saying, “We believe in love.”

Authorities said the two — who were the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story ” about their “rooftopping” exploits and budding romance — created not only a spectacle but also a danger by ascending the famed skyscraper’s broadcast antenna Wednesday.

After reaching the top, 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, the climbers displayed a black banner reading, “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” news helicopter video showed.

Then they collected the banner and descended to a slightly lower ledge, where an apparently successful marriage proposal unfolded. Nikolau posted images of the escapade on her social media accounts, including a photo that modeled an engagement-style ring above a bird’s-eye view of Manhattan.

Police waited about half an hour for the antenna to be powered down before Emergency Services Unit officers started ascending and eventually intercepted the climbers on their way down, according to the court complaint, which noted the danger to officers who climbed about 1,250 feet above the ground. The court document identified the two by their formal names, Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov.

“Skywalkers: A Love Story” follows Beerkus, now 32, and Nikolau, 33, as they make often unauthorized ascents of tall structures, sometimes posing as construction workers to sneak in.

The court complaint said police found a broken lock on a security door on the Empire State Building’s restricted-access 104th floor, which provides access to the antenna. The highest public floor is the 102nd, where there’s an observation deck. Going higher requires a key card, according to the court complaint.

The Empire State Building’s management has called the climb “unauthorized” but hasn’t answered questions about what interactions, if any, the daredevils had with security workers. Visitors to the skyscraper are screened and told not to bring large packages, sports equipment, costumes or masks, among other items.

Beerkus and Nikolau were released without bail, in accordance with New York laws that restrict when monetary bail can be set. Their attorney, Jason Krinsky, said outside court that once prosecutors provide evidence, he and his clients would assess it and determine next steps.

“What a way to propose — something you can only dream of,” Krinsky said. “So you’ve got to, you know, give him some credit for that.”

Other daredevils have climbed the antenna and other parts of the Empire State Building. Those ascents have largely been unauthorized, but actor and musician Jared Leto was allowed to climb up to the base of the antenna from the 86th floor in 2023 to promote a tour.

Peltz writes for the Associated Press.

SINGER Rita Ora has all hands on deck as she enjoys a holiday refresh with friends.

The 35-year-old wore a black bikini as she crawled on a boat in one snap, while in another she lounged on board in a silver bikini.

She was joined on her getaway to Greek island Mykonos by pals including hair salon owner Jade Rae Williams, with the pair posing for a selfie.

Rita posted on social media: “Needed a soul refresh — sun, bikinis and music.”

Recently Rita looked stunning as she soaked up the sun in Greece and flashed her bum on the high seas.

Her toned body and rock hard abs were on full display during her summer holiday which saw her sail onboard a luxury yacht.

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Rita and her crew visited the famous party island of Mykonos where she shared a traditional meal at restaurant Scorpios and also sailed on a luxury yacht.

She put on a cheeky display in a metallic bikini onboard the yacht and flashed her bum as she rode aboard a paddle board.

The singer was spotted enjoying the blue waters including diving and jumping off the yacht in beautiful style.

Her close friend and former Towie star Vas J Morgan holidayed with Rita and was close at hand to supervise her leap into the sea.

While on Mykonos, Rita also rocked a retro style leopard print halter bikini and which she accessorised with ruby coloured chandelier earrings and a black hair bandana.

The Black Widow singer showed off her impressive collection of swimsuits as she relaxed on a sailboat, feasted with friends and took in the sights.

The singer shared a video montage of her on the island of Hydra which included scaling down stone steps, admiring the island’s cats and sunbathing on the sailboat as they cruised over crystal blue waters.

Rita is one of many celebrities known for stripping down to their birthday suits in the hopes of avoiding tan lines.

Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson was in tears as cameras caught the moment she was given her twin daughters’ devastating SMA diagnosis

Jesy Nelson has candidly shared the devastating moment her twin girls were diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) sobbing: “I don’t know how I’m going to do this.”

The heartbreaking scenes were captured as she filmed for her upcoming documentary, Jesy Nelson: Life Changing. The Amazon Prime Video cameras were on hand to capture the former Little Mix star’s reaction to the awful news as she said she “can’t believe this is happening”.

Doctors revealed the tots’ tests had come back positive. According to the NHS, SMA is “a rare genetic condition that can cause muscle weakness”. The organisation says the condition gets worse over time.

She revealed her whole life has changed, and she was predicted to struggle with the diagnosis. And Jesy is seen with her head in her hands as she says: “I don’t know how I’m going to do this. I feel like I’m going to be heartbroken for the rest of my life.”

But she says she refuses to let anyone else feel her pain and is determined to change laws and regulations surrounding SMA testing. And she has continued to update her followers on her twins’ condition online as the documentary gets ready to air later this month.

In the caption for the trailer, Jesy wrote: “I’m really not sure where to start with this one…All I can say is that I urge everyone to watch this documentary. It’s the most heartbreaking series I’ve ever had to make, but it’s one that needed to be made if we’re ever going to see real change.

“This is only a small glimpse into what my girls have to go through every single day. It’s the reality that so many children born with SMA have to endure and this is only the beginning of their lives.

“I truly hope this helps people understand why the heel prick test and treatment from birth are so incredibly vital. Early diagnosis can change EVERYTHING. I’ll keep saying it until no family has to experience this again: no future babies born with SMA should have lives that look like this.”

She ended with a plea: “Please if you watch one thing, let it be this: “Jesy Nelson: Life Changing” on @primevideouk, streaming from July 17th.”

Last month, Jesy was in Parliament as MPs debated whether to test all newborns for spinal muscular atrophy. She joined forces with the Mirror to highlight her petition which was signed by over 150,000 people demanding all newborns are checked for spinal muscular atrophy.

Scotland introduced screening in March. However, a similar scheme for England will only have a limited roll-out. And Jesy expressed frustration after public health minister Sharon Hodgson defended the staggered launch.

Jesy said: “I cannot believe we are still debating this. You are basically telling me that if you live in a certain postcode, you’re not as important. It’s outrageous.”

The decision, though, was defended by the public health minister, who had said limited testing facilities were preventing a full roll-out of screening for SMA.

The singer highlighted how late diagnosis of her own one-year-old twins meant they began treatment too late after irreversible nerve damage was done. She has since been told they will never walk.

Jesy Nelson: Life Changing will be shown on Prime from July 17

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The BBC has confirmed that Winterwatch is coming to an end after 14 years on our screens, with the nature show set to be replaced by a new Naturewatch podcast

A beloved BBC programme has been replaced after 14 years on air.

Winterwatch, a spin-off from the massively popular Springwatch, is the latest show to face the axe after the broadcaster recently confirmed that 2,000 members of staff would be losing their jobs.

The series is set to be replaced by a weekly video podcast called Naturewatch, which will run all year round. Springwatch will continue as normal and is due back on our screens in May 2027.

Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual Jack Bootle said: “Nature never stops – and neither should we. Every week, Naturewatch will give Springwatch fans – and all wildlife lovers – a new way to stay connected to the natural world, whether that’s on TV, iPlayer or Sounds.

“The BBC is committed to celebrating British nature across all our platforms, and we hope this new series will encourage audiences to fall in love with the natural world around them.

“By expanding the Watches brand we are making the BBC’s brilliant Natural History content even more accessible.”

Winterwatch first aired in 2012 as a means of capturing the tenacity of British wildlife as creatures across the UK battled the harsh winter conditions, reports the Daily Star.

The announcement follows news that Escape to the Country’s Jules Hudson was recently forced to pull out of a work engagement due to a family crisis.

He took to social media to tell fans: “It’s with huge regret that owing to a sudden and serious family illness we’ve had to postpone my evening this Friday at the Blake Theatre in Monmouth.

“Your tickets can of course be refunded, but we have agreed a new date, Saturday the 12th September.. It’s hugely disappointing to have to change plans, but I hope you’ll understand on this occasion, and hopefully we can all get together in a few short months.

“With thanks, and apologies once again, Jules.”

After hearing news regarding the show’s cancellation, some viewers were not happy, with one writing: “Such a shame to lose Winterwatch. I hope Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams will still be involved with the new format. BBC confirms end of Winterwatch after 14 years as show to be replaced with new format.”