29 January 2012
- The continuing saga of Ben Kane's 'The
Forgotten Legion' has been completed in audio format and
released. Like the first novel in the series, Michael
Praed narrated the final two titles 'The Silver Eagle'
and 'The Road to Rome'. They were released 3 November
2011 and 1 December 2011, respectively.
The lives of four characters are bound and interwoven in a
story in which Romulus, Brennus, and Tarquinius find themselves
press-ganged into fighting for Rome's enemies. Taquinius' twin sister Fabiola,
a slave in a notorious Roman brothel,
escapes to find her lover Brutus in Egypt. All roads lead
back to Rome, however. A conspiracy to
murder Julius Caesar is afoot and loyalties amongst the
surviving characters are tested.
'Spartacus the Gladiator' follows the rise of the
legendary leader
of a famous gladiator revolt against the might of Rome. An
experienced soldier, Spartacus is betrayed into
slavery to fight in the arena for the amusement of his former
foes. This is the first part of the story, released on 19 January, 2012.
You should be able to find it on various audio
download sources. Click here
for a link to our Merchandise page for assistance.
Thanks goes to
Michael Praed fan Tabitha Clark for bringing our attention to this
news.
Happy New Year!
1 January 2012
- I'd like to take this time to wish all of you the
brightest, happiest new year. May you find joy,
contentment and success in 2012. Bright blessings to all
of you.
Merry Christmas, Michael!
17 December, 2011
- Michael's gifts have been sent! In the end, we gave him the following:
Book titled 'Montreal, then and now'
Mulled wine gift box
iTunes gift certificate for £50
iTunes Apps gift certificate for £25
iBooks gift certificate for £50
The book reached his agent last week. The rest is scheduled to arrive the first part of this week.
Many thanks to those who contributed. Your name is on the card we sent.
4 December, 2011
- We are collecting donations from fans for
Michael's present and we are inviting you to donate what you
feel comfortable contributing for his gift. Since Michael may read this, we don't want to give
this away, but if you attend Fanfare chat, you will probably hear
what we plan to get Michael for his Christmas present! If
you miss chat, just email Celeste at one of the email addresses
below and ask. (No Michael, not you!)
We'd like to get the money
collected in time to give it to Michael for Christmas, so we are
setting a deadline of Friday, 16 December. This should give
us time to order the present and get it to him.
Records will be kept so we have
the names of contributors to give to Michael. Please join
us.
Michael's
2011 Christmas present
Michael back in 'The Sound of Music'
11
October 2011
- Michael is back onstage as the Captain opposite Verity Rushworth
as Maria in 'The Sound of Music' at the New Wimbledon Theatre in
Wimbledon. Michael is filling in for Jason Donovan from 11
to 22 October.
Maria, a vivacious novice in
Salzburg's Nonnberg Abbey, isn't fitting into somber convent life.
To give her an opportunity to get away from the abbey to
reconsider her future, the Mother Abbess sends her to the
aristocratic household of Captain Georg Von Trapp, a widower with seven
children. Maria is to be the governess to his emotionally
neglected children. As Maria reconciles her growing love for the
children's father with her desire to become a nun, the looming Nazi menace in nearby
Germany threatens to overwhelm them all.
Please contact the
New Wimbledon Theatre
directly for tickets.
Michael narrates another Ben Kane novel
6
October 2011
- Following the success of Michael's narration of Ben Kane's 'Hannibal: Enemy of Rome', Kane's 'The
Forgotten Legion' was released on the 6th of October for
download with Michael reading the unabridged novel. You should be able to find it on various audio
download sources. Click here
for a link to our Merchandise page.
The lives of four characters are bound and interwoven in a
story which begins in a Rome riddled by corruption, violence and political enmities,
but ends far away, where Romulus, Brennus, and Tarquinius find themselves fighting
against the Parthians and overwhelming odds.
Michael back in 'The Sound of Music'
8 August 2011
- Michael is back onstage as the Captain opposite Verity Rushworth
as Maria in 'The Sound of Music' at the Theatre Royal in
Norwich. Michael is filling in for Jason Donovan from August 9th
to the 20th.
Maria, a vivacious novice in
Salzburg's Nonnberg Abbey, isn't fitting into somber convent life.
To give her an opportunity to get away from the abbey to
reconsider her future, the Mother Abbess sends her to the
aristocratic household of Captain Georg Von Trapp, a widower with seven
children. Maria is to be the governess to his emotionally
neglected children. As Maria reconciles her growing love for the
children's father with her desire to become a nun, the looming Nazi menace in nearby
Germany threatens to overwhelm them all.
Please contact the
Theatre Royal directly
here for tickets.
New audiobook by Michael available
19 July 2011
- Michael has a new audio download available. The unabridged version
of Ben Kane's 'Hannibal: Enemy of Rome' was released June
2nd by
Audible.uk.co
and Audible.com.
You should also be able to find it on various audio download
sources. Click here
for a link to our Merchandise page.
The story follows the friendship of two young boys,
one Roman and one Carthaginian, as their rulers head for brutal conflict.
Michael to return briefly to 'The Sound of Music'
11 July 2011
- The producers have just confirmed that Michael
Praed will be briefly rejoining the tour of 'The Sound of Music'
at the Theatre Royal in Norwich from August 9th through the 20th.
Michael, who played Captain Von Trapp all of 2010, will be
filling in for Jason Donovan, who has another commitment.
Maria will be portrayed by Emmerdale Farm veteran Verity
Rushworth.
16
July 2011
- We have a rare opportunity to offer one of Ebe
Kastein's wonderful pieces for sale here at Fanfare! This
lovely study of Robin in green (evoking Robin deep in the
protection of the Greenwood) is for sale for $110. Payment
is to be money order through through Western Union.
For more of Ebe's artwork
and contact information, please visit her fan art page
here.
Introducing art by Bo Baird
27 May 2011
- Recently we've seen a lot of great new art pieces by a
number of people, some of whom are new to Fanfare. Among
them is artist Bo Baird, who, when not helping storm victims in
the American south file their insurance claims, can be found
creating drawing after drawing of Michael. We hope to have
a gallery up soon devoted to Bo's art, but in the meantime,
check out a couple of offerings on the
Singular Art page.
'Robin of Sherwood' on Blu-ray in the US
26 April 2011
- Last fall, Network DVD released the Michael Praed
episodes of the cult classic Robin of Sherwood
on Blu-ray in the UK. This June, Acorn Media will release
it in America. The series brought Michael to worldwide
attention for what many consider the definitive interpretation
of the Robin Hood legend. The series has been digitally
restored in High Definition from the best available film
elements and is presented at a quality level never before seen.
To pre-order, please visit
Amazon. There will probably be a link to order from
Acorn Media shortly. A link to the Blu-ray will be available on our Merchandise page. This is a limited edition, so get
this version while you can!
The Jason Connery
episodes will be coming at a later date.
26 April 2011
- In June of 2010, 'Dynasty Season 5' became
available in Europe, On July 5, 2011, the DVD will be released
in America.
Michael
Praed's character, Prince Michael of Moldavia, was introduced to the
viewers of world's most popular television series 'Dynasty' in 1985.
Capitalizing on interest in the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and
Princess Diana, Michael portrayed a royal who falls in love with a
commoner. A second cousin of the Prince of Wales, Catherine Oxenberg,
starred as Prince Michael's love interest Amanda Carrington. True to
the nature of soap operas everywhere, squabbling, jealousy, and
infidelity quickly ensued. Michael took part in seasons 5 (1985) and 6
(1986).
Watched
by 60 million people worldwide, glamorous and decadent 'Dynasty' was the
center of the world's fascinated attention. The deliberately campy
acting style and absurd plots ultimately cost viewers. The
disappointing dénouement of the bloody Royal Wedding in 1985 (the
"Moldavian Massacre") saw the series' ratings drop from first to
seventh. In the writers' scramble to find their way again, Michael's
character was abruptly cut from the storyline a year after he was
introduced. The drastic measure did not help. A year later 'Dynasty'
had dropped even further, to 24th position. After nine seasons,
'Dynasty' was canceled in 1989.
'Dynasty
Season 5' follows the action from Prince Michael's first entrance and
ends in the dramatic 'Royal Wedding', giving fans the chance to see one
of the most (in)famous cliffhangers in television history.
Check out the
Fanfare Merchandise
section for ordering information.
Michael's episode on 'The Gentle Touch' offered
26 April 2011
- Last year, Network DVD released 'The Gentle Touch -
Series 4 on DVD. Somehow, in the 50th birthday/chat
hoopla, we missed it at Fanfare! Although the baby-faced Michael Praed
only appeared briefly in one episode (the second episode of the
fourth series, 'Be Lucky Uncle') as a youthful cop, this is a
rare glimpse of Michael before Robin changed his life forever.
Note:
This DVD is currently available in
Region 2 only
,
and therefore may not be viewable outside Europe without a
multi-region DVD player. Check out the
Fanfare Merchandise
section for ordering information.
20 April 2011
- Here is the last
collaboration between Michael Praed fan Tanya Clegg and artist Ebe Kastein.
This monochromatic piece was done on commission by Ebe for Tanya in a in shades
of blue. It features a character created by Ebe for 'Lord of
the Rings' (Teniel) with a face inspired by Michael Praed.
It is a companion piece to an earlier work. Thanks go to both for providing the scans.
This will be the
last of Ebe's Michael-inspired artwork for a while... unless one
of you would like to commission Ebe to create something for
you! For more of Ebe's artwork
and contact information, please visit her fan art page
here.
Music of SAJV in limited release
8 April 2011
- On 8 April, Perseverance Records released a limited edition
double CD set of
Nick Glennie-Smith's music from the 2000 steampunk television show 'The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne'. Michael Praed
was among the regular cast members.
Nick Glennie-Smith,
a long-time Hans Zimmer associate who worked with him on various
'Pirates of the Caribbean' scores, is responsible for
composing the
music of 'The Rock', 'The Man in the Iron Mask', 'We Were Soldiers',
'Ella Enchanted', 'Angels and Demons', 'Children of Glory', and
'Secretariat', among others.
Working closely with the composer and the creator of the
series, Gavin Scott,
Perseverance presents nearly 140 minutes of music from this great show, priced at
$19.95.
CDs can be purchased at
The
Forty-Two Trading Company. Orders will ship the last week of April 2011.
This is a Limited Edition of 1200 units with the first 75 CDs are signed by the composer.
To read a brief interview regarding the compilation and hear samples of
the tracks, please see the Hans Zimmer official fan site
here.
Hopefully, this is the start
of SAJV releases and we'll eventually see DVDs of this
innovative series!
Thanks go to
Michael Praed fan Geraline James and SAJV fan Davros72 for bringing our attention to this
news.
Join our group on Facebook:
Contact 'Celeste
At Fanfare' and ask for 'Friend' status. She will give
you group membership once you connect.
For
access to older Club News, 
