THE BBC Asian Network Summer Mela tour rolls into the Midlands and beyond this month and we caught up with Asian Network stars Tommy Sandhu and Noreen Khan for a quick lowdown...
NOREEN KHANDrive Time Presenter 3pm - 6pm
Which Mela are you most looking forward to?
Every Mela is special and exciting in its own way but I'm particularly looking forward to the big one- London Mela on Sunday 8th August! I've been hosting at the London Mela for the past 3 years and every year it just gets bigger and better.
What has been your best memory of attending/presenting at Mela's?
I did a live broadcast from London Mela last year and was lucky enough to interview the likes of Outlandish, Amar and the entire Rishi Rish camp. I also managed to have a quick chat with Peter Andre on stage too! There was an amazing vibe with a huge turnout so that was definitely a stand out Mela for me.
Which Mela’s will we be seeing you at?
This year I'll be across quite a few Mela’s again including London Mela, Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham so come along and say hi!
Which artists are you most looking forward to seeing?
I love watching artists perform who come armed with a full live band so I'm hoping we'll get to see plenty of live action this year. Imran Khan would be great to see - he’d rock the stage and I wonder whether he'll bring his snake along too!
TOMMY SANDHUBreakfast Show Presenter 7am - 10am
You recently presented your show live form Bradford to coincide with the Bradford Mela. How was this for you?
Firstly, I have got to say how historic and grand some of the buildings are in Bradford! They were like something out of a film! What made the live broadcast from Bradford special, were the people I met at the market, the great places in the city and the amazing restaurants!
It was also my first EVER live broadcast taking my show on to the road and may there be many more in numerous cities to come! But I’ll never forget the fact that my first time doing a show on the road was in Bradford!
Will you be doing more live programming for other Mela’s?
We're in Leicester for the Mela on Sunday 18th July so our show will be live on Monday from our BBC studios there. There will be some very special guests... you'll have to tune in to find out who!
What has been your best memory of attending/presenting at Mela's?
It’s hard to say what’s been the best. Every Mela involves live music, lots of food, masses of people and a fun, family atmosphere - what makes it special is how noisy the crowds are! I love the feeling of getting everybody charged up and excited about the guest performances! Jaz Dhami and JK in Glasgow were great, Mumzy, Preeya Kalidas and Sukshinder Shinda were Bradford highlights for me and the size of the crowd at the Baishakhi Mela in Banglatown, East London was enough to rival a football match! There's something great about each one!
So which Mela’s will we be seeing you at?
I'll be at Leicester as I mentioned on the 18th July and then the big finale in London on the 8th August. The nice thing is that even if you haven’t been able to come to a live Mela, the highlights of the entire summer will be on the interactive red button programme in August and there are photo galleries at www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork. All the best bits, performances and even me in a KILT in Glasgow!
Noreen and Tommy were speaking to Zeenat Moosa