Celebcity: Frankie Cocozza’s new thrill
Frankie Cocozza’s new thrill, Rizzle Kicks, digital entrepreneurs descend & Ed Prosek is one to watch
Brighton born national TV star Frankie Cocozza, who was brought into the spotlight in 2011 due to his somewhat controversial appearance on The X Factor, has caused a stir again across the UK, but this time for very different reasons. Frankie acquired a party boy reputation and was eventually axed from the hit show after publicly bragging about his cocaine use. Unfortunately this was just the first of his scandals and the tabloids loved following him down his slippery slope on his amply tattooed famous behind.
While he hasn’t exactly put addiction behind him, Frankie’s latest poison is a little more family friendly: bingo! Frankie is said to have ditched his partying days after meeting who he describes as his true love Leah Hudson. Now the couple can allegedly be seen together playing bingo among the OAPs of Brighton, sometimes up to twice a day causing all the staff to know their names. According to Frankie, he no longer feels the need to get high as the thrill of the game has left him with a natural buzz. Frankie has claimed that bingo is the wildest it gets for him these days and… sorry, we dropped off there for a second. Um, we wish him all the luck in the world down at Gala. Rock and roll…?!
Future stars
Dragons’ Den is back on our screens and, not to be left behind, Brighton has launched its own take on the successful TV show! On Tuesday 17 September some of the most famous names in the gaming, internet and marketing industry will sit on a Dragons’ Den-style panel to judge budding entrepreneurs. Called ‘Live Pitch’ – brought to you by Brighton Japan – the Brighton Digital Festival event wants digital thinkers to pitch their ideas to real investors for the chance to gain investment and development advice. Ian Livingstone (of Fighting Fantasy, Lara Croft and Games Workshop fame) and Bill Liao (successful investor in Xing and Twitter) will be taking the place of the likes of Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones, sitting on the judging table with their keen eye on the lookout for the next Mario and Luigi!
Fred Hasson, director of Games Capital and creator of ‘Live Pitch’ commented: “Japanese investment and anime culture is at the heart of the global gaming industry, and so to include ‘Live Pitch’ in the Brighton Japan festival was an excellent opportunity. Brighton is already one of the most important hubs for the rapidly evolving games and digital industries, and we want to be at the forefront of this, encouraging more enterprise in the city.”
For more information on the fantastic event and to get involved visit www.livepitch.co.uk.
No cheese
Up-and-coming Brighton-based music star Ed Prosek serenaded his fans at the Brighton Big Screen under the iconic Wheel last week. The Californian songwriter who studied at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music has proven very popular with the ladies and has already accumulated a fan base of nearly 33,000 followers on Twitter. Ed has been gaining popularity since his cover of Paul Simon’s ‘Homeward Bound’ was used on an ad campaign for Cathedral City cheese (insert cheese based pun here!). From everyone here at JBPR we wish him the very best of luck for the future!
Drive-time duo
Last Wednesday Rizzle Kicks took a break from their jetsetting lives and headed back home to Brighton to co-host Juice Drive with Guy Lloyd at Juice 107.2. The duet chatted away about their upcoming album Roaring 20s, which is set to be released on 2 September. Jordan and Harley spoke of their excitement of having the likes of Fatboy Slim, Dominic West and Jamie Cullum all involved in their much anticipated – if notoriously tricky – second album. Most importantly though the boys couldn’t contain their enthusiasm about headlining Shakedown Festival in front of their hometown on 28 September along with artists such as Labrinth.
Those tuning in to the radio show would have also heard a very special travel announcement from the boys themselves as they read out their very own (and very unique) rendition of the travel report. Their arrival home caused a bit of a stir among the young ladies of Brighton with some girls taking to Twitter to disclose their experience of stalking them through the centre. Poor boys…
