The ’’Unite of the Stars‘’ Gala Banquet, which started off as a corporate entertainment evening and fundraising for hunger, has evolved into the most celebrated event on the South African business and events calendar. In addition to hosting a variety of International and South African entertainers, this prestigious gala banquet which is also the perfect year end office function aims to bring people of all backgrounds together, united as a nation with a common goal of bettering the future of less fortunate people. It will be presented in South Africa by Algoa FM, East Coast Radio, 94.7 Highveld Stereo, KFM 94.5 and OFM. Jane Seymour will host the show, British and Irish Super Stars Will Young and Ronan Keating will light up the stage at this years ‘’Unite of the Stars’’ countrywide series. Joining them on stage at the “Unite of the Stars“ dinner in Jozi will be 80’s Pop sensation Bananarama, the Italian crooner Patrizio Buanne, young Jazz sensation Renee Olstead, the Mexican-American heartthrob Marcos Hernandez, the Manchester born X Factor 2005 winner Shayne Ward and last but definitely not least is our very own South African super group Mango Groove. These events will give the general public a chance to experience and be part of an event that has been celebrated in Johannesburg for the past 4 years. These concerts will not only have a star-studded line up but will be in support of charity, giving the general public a chance to give back to the community. Previous Unite of the Stars saw the likes of divas Christina Aguilera, Diana Ross, Deborah Cox and Lucia Micarelli. As well as UK boy band Westlife, Rights Said Fred and Danny Minogue topping the bill. This year’s event promises to be even bigger and better, with some of the world’s greatest performers on their way to South Africa. Who's who? Ronan Keating Ronan is an Ambassador of the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. At 29 Ronan Keating is something of an elder statesman of pop, with a lifetime of impressive professional memories; duetting with Elton John at Madison Square Garden, interviewing David Bowie on the web, hosting everything from Miss World and the Eurovision Song Contest to the MTV Awards, recording with Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), writing an autobiography, travelling the world, guiding Westlife to stardom, winning a prestigious BMI European Song Writing Award, being appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador and too many hits, gigs and awards to keep a count of. In 2004 Guinness World Records presented Ronan with the world record for Longest Complete Run Of Top 10 Singles (30 in total) beating the likes of Madonna and Elvis. Will Young Multi platinum selling and multiple Brit award winner Will Young has developed into one of the UK's most successful and creative solo artists. In less than four years he's won two Brits, had four Number One singles, sold over 3.5 million albums and been added to the Guinness Book of Records for his first single which is the fastest selling chart debut by a male artist. Will Young was also voted the UK's favourite artist of all time in a poll conducted by commercial radio, beating the likes of Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney and the Spice Girls. Aged 26, the boy from Berkshire is sharper, funnier, more confident, and all grown-up. He's got a bit of perspective and, he knows how TV celebrity culture and the pop sausage factory work. But all of that is necessarily two-dimensional. Will Young isn't. Jane Seymour Multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jane Seymour has showcased her talents across the board in the performance genre, including the Broadway stage, motion pictures and television. Blazing a trail for family-friendly programming, her role as Dr. Michaela Quinn on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman made history. She has added to those talents by capitalizing on her talent as a painter in watercolours and oils, and has just made her grand debut into the fashion world with her Signature Collection. She’s Dr. Quinn, the western doctor with the right prescription and a movie career To Die For, Wedding Crashers, etc. As the queen of the miniseries, Jane Seymour has taken us East of Eden and taught us of War and Remembrance. She also recently appeared in the hit television series Smallville. This Bond girl, earth-mother and painter has packed in a lot of living. Maybe it's because she's always been something of an overachiever, multi-tasking long before that word was part of the vernacular. Apart from her busy life of acting, producing, mothering and painting, Jane Seymour is also a dedicated activist for a number of charities... seeking to improve the desperate lot of many of the world's children. Shayne Ward When Shayne Ward appeared on The X Factor, everyone knew he was different. He has an extraordinary voice as well as that elusive X factor. He’s more than just a great singer. He’s a proper pop star. Shayne was born into a very large close-knit Irish family. He spent the first half of his life in Hattersley, just outside Manchester. The Ward families are no strangers to the stage. Two of his uncles played the circuit as singers and it soon became clear that Shayne had inherited their falsetto range. Shayne left school as soon as he could and did stints in factories making everything from chocolate to clothes and cardboard boxes. At 16, he joined a band called Destiny and together they auditioned for the first X Factor series, but got nowhere. A year later, Shayne decided to try alone. After winning the show, his debut single ‘That’s My Goal’ was pretty much a number one with the first-day sales being the third biggest ever recorded for a single in the UK: some 313,000 copies. It went on to sell well more than 1.3 million. With some of pop’s sharpest producers and writers, Shayne put together a timeless, ballad-led set that showcases his vocal and emotional range to the full. ‘That’s My Goal’ is there, of course, and the achingly beautiful second single ‘No Promises’. Marcos Hernandez There are very few artists that can demonstrate versatility in both their musical range and vocal abilities. However, 23-year-old Marcos Hernandez has the talent and training to do both, and it happens to come naturally. The handsome vocalist can easily switch music genres to cater to the mood of his audience whether it’s invigorating Pop, the rhythmic sounds of R & B or serenading ballads. Born in Phoenix and raised in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, Marcos made the conscious decision to go pro in his adolescent years. He developed his own personal style by listening to a variety of artists and music genres. Marcos soon caught the attention of seasoned manager, Tommy Quon (Vanilla Ice), which eventually led Marcos to signing with independent powerhouse TVT Records. The first single from C About Me, “If You Were Mine” produced by Eliot Sloan, Robi Menace and Wayne Stalling is currently climbing the Pop charts. Renee Olstead Small wonder Renee Olstead turns heads and wins hearts whenever and wherever she steps in front of a microphone. But what may start as sheer surprise that a voice so resonant and revealing could come from an artist so young, quickly turns to utter delight at the stylish sensibility and consummate craftsmanship of this Texas-born prodigy. Fourteen year-old Renee has already compiled an impressive entertainment resume. Born in Houston, Renee grew up in a diverse musical atmosphere. With no formal musical training, the youngster was constantly singing along to the radio, adding her own spunky spin and soon found herself appearing in local musical theater productions and talent showcases. A natural actor, Renee has appeared in pictures such as The Insider, End Of Days and 13 Going On 30. This young entertainer’s television credits also include a co-starring role in the comedy Still Standing. After relocating to Los Angeles, Renee started performing with a local jazz and swing band. When it became clear that her commitments were conflicting she decided to make a CD to commemorate her stint with the group. The result eventually found its way to the desk of David Foster, the multi-Grammy winning artist, producer and talent scout. Patrizio Buanne Tall, dark and handsome, perfectly groomed and impeccably dressed, the clean-cut Italian with the rich baritone voice is an enigma. Inspired by the singers of yesteryear, Patrizio harks back to a time when a man would not dream of singing onstage in anything less than a suit, shoes polished, clean-shaven and hair neatly brushed. Dean Martin, Paul Anka, Tom Jones, along with the traditional Italian singers – these are the men he idolizes. Patrizio’s won countless talent shows, played Elvis onstage and sung for the Pope in Poland in front of 85 000 people. Raised in Naples, he moved to Vienna at the age of six. From the age of four, Patrizio would sing along to the Neapolitan songs. When he was 8 his parents bought him a guitar and at 11 years old Patrizio made his first public performance at a talent contest for schools. In 1999 Patrizio returned to Italy and found himself being offered a job as a TV entertainer. In 2003 Patrizio was introduced to music producer Christian Seitz. They both shared the same passion and vision for music so, bravely quitting his TV career, they went to work on the album. 18 months later the result is ‘L’Italiano’ (‘The Italian’). With the smooth sounds of the Fifties and Sixties coming back into fashion it seems that Patrizio is in the right place at the right time. Bananarama It’s tempting to say that Bananarama rewrote the pop rulebook. The truth is that they never even read it in the first place, but for over twenty years their name has been synonymous with bright, sophisticated and authentically brilliant pop music. The achievements speak for themselves: more hits than the Spice Girls, more albums sold than Atomic Kitten, more Band Aid appearances than the Sugababes, an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest girl group since The Supremes. But it’s not just what Bananarama have done – it’s the way that they’ve done it. In 2005 Bananarama created thrilling pop moments with the release their album ‘Drama’. The girls have achieved two no 1 Dance smashes and their return to the Top Twenty with their hit “Move In My Direction”. Bananarama’s story is one of a self-created, anarchic, and decidedly modern pop group with a fuck-you attitude that makes Courtney Love look like Karen Carpenter. New tracks like ‘Move In My Direction’ and ‘Don’t Step On My Groove’ represent Bananarama’s best work in over fifteen years, but they still fit in perfectly with the rest of the band’s oeuvre, and there’s plenty more where those new songs came from. Mango Groove Mango Groove exploded onto the South African cultural landscape with their eponymous 1st album in December 1989. The album was the culmination of several years of false starts and the sorts of experiences so typically associated with a multi-generational, non-racial band trying to make its way through South Africa in the ‘80’s. With the release of the first album, everything changed. Sales of the first album alone rocketed to over 250 000, with 3 multi-platinum albums following, and for the following few years Mango took on the country in a series of spectacular shows and tours that continue to hold SA records today. Globally, the Mango Groove sound ignited crowds everywhere, with tours of France, Germany, the UK, Australia and the Far East. Highlights included playing to over 200 000 people at the SOS Racism concert in Paris, performing at the official handover of Hong Kong to China, receiving 3 encores at the Montreux Jazz Festival and headlining the African component of the Freddy Mercury Tribute concert, broadcast to over a billion people. Mango Groove has just released a magical new compilation entitled ‘Moments Away: Love Songs and Lullabies 1990-2006’, the CD is a glorious collection of hits and memories, which also features some brand new tracks, the first from Mango Groove in several years.