Joss Stone Peta ad - Photo credit Pal Hansen

R&B and soul singer Joss Stone joins the growing list of celebrities keen to get naked for a good cause, and it’s all in the best possible taste of course.

Cuddling a teddy bear to keep her warm and avoid any embarrassment Joss Stone makes a stand against the bearskin hats worn by the Queen’s Guards with the slogan, ‘Bear Hugs Not Bear Caps.’

The singer who came to prominence back in 2003 with her debut album The Soul Sessions says “Too many people at the Ministry of Defence are dragging their heels on this issue, and I feel like more needs to be done to stop the murder. It’s time for the Ministry of Defence to finally make the switch and go fur-free, and I hope that the ad I have created with PETA helps raise awareness and puts a stop to this unnecessary killing.”

It can take the entire hide of one bear to make just one bearskin cap. Many of the bears are shot several times, and some escape and die slowly from blood loss, gangrene, starvation or dehydration. When mother bears are killed, orphaned cubs are left behind to starve.

Stone joins many other celebrities – including Pamela Anderson, Lucy Davis, Morrissey, Julian Clary, Sadie Frost, Mary McCartney, Sir Roger Moore, Twiggy, Jilly Cooper, Hayley Mills, Kate Ford and Amanda Holden – who have condemned the slaughter of bears for The Queen’s Guards’ ceremonial cap.

To find out more about how you can help stop this barbaric practise visit PETA.

The charity event will raise funds and awareness for the Rays of Sunshine Childrens Charity which grants wishes for seriously ill children between the ages of 3 and 18.

Despite their huge success the boys of JLS are devoted supporterss of the Rays of Sunshine charity and are keen to help out further with the charity gig.

Rays of Sunshine ambassador, JB said:
“JLS loves supporting the work of Rays of Sunshine and has met around 150 children through the charity in the last 12 months. Every one of these children has inspired us with their bravery. ‘The Sunshine Concert’ will be a moving event for the performers and an amazing night of entertainment for music fans everywhere.”

All downstairs seating will be reserved for special guests of the charity from hospitals around the country, giving them the opportunity to put their illness on hold to enjoy a night of pure entertainment. Tickets for the upstairs start at £35 and are on sale now from The Troxy or Rays of Sunshine or 0871 620 4026

Hospitality packages can be organised by calling: 0208 782 1171

X Magazine

Frankie Sandford from the all girl pop group The Saturdays says that after spending two years living with her boyfriend Dougie Poynter, the bassist with McFly, the pair have become so close that they share everything – including cosmetics.

In an interview in this weeks X Magazine Frankie says; “I often catch him nicking my Dermalogica, and he always uses my hair products, like my L’Oréal wax and hairspray.”

But being a male of the species Dougie doesn’t come out unscathed and like most men never puts anything back where he found it;

“He always leaves my wax out without the lid on, so it totally dries out. It drives me mad so we’ve got one each now. The other day I was looking everywhere for my foundation and I couldn’t find it, then I came across it in Dougie’s toiletry bag. I was like, ‘Why have you got that?’ and he was like, ‘I just needed a bit of cover-up. For a start, it’s not cover-up, and secondly, it’s about ten shades too dark. Ridiculous!”

Ah bless!
The latest issue of X Magazine is available to buy in outlets nationwide from Wednesday, and this week it features interviews with Justin Timberlake, Kelly Rowland and Diana Vickers as well as the latest X Factor news.

X Magazine

Seventeen year old X Factor finalist Cher Lloyd reveals that she overcome her nerves in Saturday’s first live show by slipping into a pair of mentor Cheryl Cole’s shoes.

Having left the stage in tears during mid week rehearsals for the show, feeling particularly self conscious at having to wear a tight fitting top that she was supposed to wear in the live appearance on Saturday, Cher says in X Magazine;

“I had a bit of a meltdown earlier in the week, but I just couldn’t go onstage in something I felt uncomfortable in. So I styled myself. Well, actually, shhh, but these are Cheryl’s shoes. She lent them to me. It’s a good thing Louis isn’t my mentor as I’d have been wearing his shoes on TV!”

The 17-year-old’s fear of singing in front of the X Factor audience has been well documented, but a helping hand from mentor Cheryl set Cher on her way to beating the boos and being given amazing praise from all four judges.

“I’ve proved all the haters wrong. I’m so pleased,” she told X Magazine straight after her performance. “I was so, so nervous, but the moment I walked out, it was like a switch went click, and I was into it. Just like that.”

Issue 5 of X Magazine is available to buy from outlets nationwide from Wednesday and features interviews with Louis Walsh, Nicolo Festa and Katie Waissel. It also includes exclusive interviews with Robbie Williams and Charlotte Church

David Essex

Pop star David Essex has married his fiancee in a secret wedding ceremony at a small church near Bangor, North Wales.

Essex, 63, met Susan Hallam-Wright, 37, when the pair were working together in the musical ‘All The Fun Of The Fair’, where she played his daughter-in-law.

The couple chose a small village church where the brides grandfather previously acted as Deacon and married in front of a group of 30 of their close family and friends followed by a reception at a nearby hotel in Angelsey.

Cheryl Cole

Following their four-years of marriage, Ashley and Cheryl Cole have been granted a divorce today at the High Court on the grounds of the footballers unreasonable behaviour.

The couple met in 2004, became engaged in 2005 and married in 2006 but in 2008 their marriage was in trouble following reports of Ashley’s infidelity.

The couple must now wait for the decree absolute which will be issued in about six-weeks time for the final ending of their marriage following their separation in February of this year.

George Michael

George Michael has once again been charged with possession of cannabis and driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

The 47-year-old singer allegedly crashed into a photography shop in Hampstead, North London last month and will now face trial for the incident.

This is the seventh time that Michael has been under investigation, which was this time caught on CCTV, but insisted that he had not been drinking or taking drugs.

The singer was said to have been driving his Range Rover in the early hours of the morning on his way home from the Gay Pride parade when his vehicle was seen mounting the pavement and slamming into the front of the shop, causing damage, he was charged this morning with the offence.

Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart and his wife Penny are expecting a new addition to their family after announcing that a new baby is to arrive just before Mrs Stewart’s 40th birthday.

The couple have a 4-year-old son together Alastair and have been trying for a sibling for a while with both said to be thrilled with the news.

Rod, 65, and Penny have been together for 10-years and have just celebrated their third wedding anniversary in Italy where they learnt the good news.

The baby is due in the new year after and is to be the eighth child for the singer who has a daughter Sarah, 46, Kimberly, 30, Sean, 29, Ruby, 23, Renee, 18 and Liam 15.

Lily Allen

According to reports, Lily Allen and her boyfriend Sam Cooper are expecting their first child together and are said to be delighted and excited.

Ms. Allen made the announcement to a daily tabloid, confirming the news that she is three-months pregnant and that she will be continuing with professional commitments by performing at the Big Chill Festival this weekend.

The singer stated in an interview back in May that she was hoping to be pregnant by the end of the year after making no secret of the fact that she was keen to become a mother.

At the beginning of 2008, Lily was left devastated after suffering a miscarriage with her first pregnancy by her partner at the time Ed Simons from the Chemical Brothers.

Chelsea Clinton

This was obviously the most popular weekend for weddings after three celebrities tied-the-knot on Saturday, each in a different way.

Of course, the biggest wedding celebration took place at the stunning country estate in Rhinebeck, North of New York and was classed as the Americans equivalent of a Royal wedding.

Chelsea Clinton, daughter of the former president of America Bill Clinton and the current US Secretary Of State Hillary, married her childhood pal Marc Mezvinsky.

The pair exchanged vows under a white gazebo set-up at the Astor Cours Estate before and evening of eating, drinking and dancing took place.

The TV Presenter Kirsty Gallacher married her long-term partner the Rugby player Paul Sampson in a romantic ceremony in a small Spanish village.

The couple who have been together for the past nine years have two children together but didn’t feel that a British white wedding was right for them.

The third couple were the heavily pregnant Alicia Keys and her partner Swizz Beatz aka Kaseem Dean who have been together since 2008.

The musical pair married in Corsica where they had arrived several days earlier to prepare for their ceremony and to have time to relax before the event took place.

Alicia is due to give birth to her first child in November which will be the third child for her new husband who has recently divorced.