Huge Peaky Blinders star signs up to dating app in a bid to find love
HE played bad boy John Shelby in Peaky Blinders but now actor Joe Cole is showing his softer side in a bid to bag a girlfriend.
A pal of mine told me the British actor has signed up to celebrity dating app Raya after failing to find love, like most of us struggle to, in the real world.
Joe describes himself as “Marmite” on his profile and includes acting shots, like the half-naked snap of him as a boxer in his film Prayer Before Dawn, along with candid snaps with his mates on the app.
As well as his photos, Joe has shared a mixtape on his profile with Joe’s Ride Wit You as his lead tune, with Kano’s A Roadman’s Hymn as his profile song.
I’m sure it won’t be long until Joe bags himself a new woman as his career is on the up.
He has a starring role in new BBC drama Nightsleeper which is slated to air later this year and Joe admitted it was refreshing to play someone who was less bloody minded.
Joe said: “I play a lot of serious, moody characters. But I read this role and went: ‘This is close to me as a person.’
“I could be free and use my life experience, everything I have been through.
“I try to have fun in life and bring it to the parts I play.
“I haven’t always been able to do it, because I am usually killing people or stabbing them.”
That’s definitely not the best chat-up line.
Ri red-dy to party
One of the best gifts you can give to your mum on Mother’s Day is a bit of peace and quiet.
And Rihanna’s boyfriend ASAP Rocky made sure she got just that as he took her for a fancy night out at the Roxy Bar in Tribeca as America celebrated the day.
Ri-Ri looked amazing in a bright red dress from Comme Des Garcons and even Rocky made an effort in smart trousers and blue cardi.
She gave birth to their second son Riot last year, 15 months after the birth of their first RZA.
Since she became a mum, Rihanna has played the Super Bowl, made millions from her clothing campaign and has been working on her next album.
Naturally, it’s made easier for Ri because she’s a squillionaire and can buy in help to stop her looking frazzled.
But like all my mum mates, she’s still mastering the juggle.
Rihanna said: “The balance is almost impossible, because no matter how you look at it, work is always something that’s gonna rob you of time with your child.
“That’s the currency now.
“That’s where it goes.
“The magnitude of how much it weighs.
“When you make decisions on what you’re gonna say yes to, it has to be worth it.”
Lulu has more shows to shout about.
Her Champagne For Lulu farewell tour was so successful there will be more dates – just as I said there would.
Fans thought they had seen the last of the Scot, left, with her gig at the London Palladium in April.
The new ten-date run will take her up and down the country, kicking off at Torquay’s Princess Theatre in Devon on November 3 and ending at Southend Cliffs Pavilion, Essex, on November 18.
DJ Craig knows the truth
DJ Craig Charles has given his idea why Glastonbury has renamed Shangri-La’s Truth Stage for this year.
The stages in the area regularly get switched but when festival boss Emily Eavis announced and explained the changes no reason was given for the Truth Stage becoming the Peace Stage.
Craig, who will be playing a slot there next month, told me: “I think it’s because there are so many wars going on at the moment. So now it’s the Peace Stage at Shangri-La.”
It makes sense.
Away from DJing, Craig is also eyeing up a move back into TV. But sadly for Robot Wars fans . . . it isn’t that.
Chatting backstage at radio’s Aria Awards in London, Craig told me: “I am talking about doing another of those UFO conspiracy documentaries that I did for Sky History.
“I did this series and I said I’ve got an open mind and the more I learned about it the more I was like, ’bloody hell’.
“If you speak to any mathematician it’s mathematically impossible for there not to be any other life in the universe.
“We think we have [seen UFOs] but then again I was a bit stoned at the time.
“It could have been anyone flying over.”
I’m sure UFO mega-fan Robbie Williams will be all over this.
Paloma glowing it alone
I bow down to Paloma Faith for wearing what was definitely this sweaty outfit on a very hot day.
The Sweatpants singer was at the Barbican in York, where she played a gig on her new summer tour in the PVC top, shirt and boots.
Paloma dropped her latest album, The Glorification Of Sadness.
She is due back on stage tonight in Oxford and will hopefully need a little less talc now it’s set to hammer it down.
Eagles land in top 100
Some of my favourite albums have made Apple Music’s inaugural 100 Best Albums list.
The streaming platform is releasing their ten picks across the next ten days to celebrate some of the greatest records of all time.
Apple Music called upon stars including Charli XCX and Pharrell Williams to help cut down the list to the best 100, along with a number of songwriters and producers.
Making the first ten released are The Eagles’ Hotel California – which comes in at 99 – Rage Against The Machine’s debut self-titled record and the absolute classic Confessions by Usher.
I’ll be listening to that on repeat all day.
Apple Music 1 DJ Zane Lowe said: “Putting this list together was a true labour of love, both in that it was incredibly difficult to do and in that we are all so passionate about it.
“We were tasked with selecting the 100 best — that’s practically mission impossible.
“But as music fans, it was also amazing to really take a minute and sit and think about the music and albums and artists that we love so much in this context.
“If this list sparks more debate among fans outside of Apple Music and gets people talking passionately about the music they love, then we’ve done what we set out to do.”
Animal Malik is for Zayn
Zayn Malik is giving Old McDonald a run for his money after explaining he has a menagerie on his farm.
The ex-One Direction star, whose new album Room Under The Stairs is out on Friday, said he prefers the company of his four- and two-legged friends in Philadelphia to humans – something I can totally get behind.
Zayn said: “I’ve got three dogs, four cats, three turtles and ten chickens.
“I’ll just turn my phone off for two or three days and not use it at all. They [the animals] just have that down.
“They’re very present in their being.
“They’re just in the moment there with you and that helps me to be there with them too, that’s why I enjoy animals.
“There’s no hinge point, there’s no catch, they don’t want anything from you except love.
“They don’t judge you, they just love you.”
Sure. Especially when it’s dinner time.
Joel Corry has confirmed our tale that he’s been working with Kylie Minogue on some new tunes.
At the Bafta TV Awards, Joel said: “I’ve just been in the studio with Kylie recently in LA – the Queen. I’ve got some bangers on the way. They say that I defrost for summer and the freezer has opened.”