International Diana Ross Website

Diana Ross tour leads way in event safety

Europe - TAO Misc (part of the TAO Group) and Major Tom have joined forces to deliver a new level of health and safety for the touring industry, pioneered on Diana Ross' European I Love You tour.

Highlighting the lack of awareness of responsibility for health and safety issues on tour, and seeking to eliminate the 'fingers crossed' approach to this important issue, TAO's Andy Cotton, who lecturers for the UK Home Office on event safety, and Major Tom's Chris Marsh, Diana Ross sound engineer / production manager have developed the approach to ensure all legal requirements and safety measures are met, proving it can be done in a cost effective manner on a medium size tour.

For the recent Diana Ross tour, TAO produced all health and safety documentation and risk assessments (including fire under the new Regulatory Reform Act), event guidance documentation, produced crew tour welfare books listing nearest amenities and basic principals of safe working, and signed off rigging, staging, lighting and sound systems.

They liaised with American crew and suppliers, monitored crowd movement and reaction during the show, oversaw traffic and pedestrian management, addressed changes during the tour and handled all nitty gritty specifics concerning health, safety, welfare and security. "Our role and focus was to look around site, highlight H&S issues, and not only report the problem, but provide the solution," explained Cotton."

"Having fully researched current health and safety regulations and legislations I found it scary to see how many things you thought were just practice or venue related ideas that were possibly an obstruction to your every day work, are actually a legal requirement," continued Marsh, "and as production manager the buck stops with you. I'd worked with Andy Cotton before and respected his approach. The health and safety of your crew and audience shouldn't be swept under the carpet and we both strongly felt shows like this need someone to oversee this whole area. As experts, TAO developed a complete strategy, providing total peace of mind and enabling the crew and myself to get on with our jobs."

Diana Ross' tour manager, Mike Droke agreed, "It's a great guard against litigious action, so things where normally we've said that's fine and deemed safe, we're taking a second look at. I've seen a bit of this in Australia, but the States isn't all over it yet. On this tour every sheet and curtain is fire retardant, every cable is taped properly, and we know no-one is going to sue the sound engineer because the sound is too high."

"We think it's important that industry starts to implement this practice on every tour," stresses Marsh. "Our biggest fear is people will only wake up to this when something goes really, really wrong. I'l continue to work with TAO to take this to every tour I am involved with. I'd rather be one of the first test cases of introducing this health and safety practice rather than one of the first in court defending my name."

(Jim Evans)

L&Si Online (press release) - Eastbourne,UK
 

Meyer Sound M'elodie with Diana Ross on Elba

When high-tech giant Motorola decided to host a special event to cement relationships with several hundred VIP clients, the firm’s European division pulled out all the stops and regaled its guests with a fete fit for an emperor. This was particularly appropriate, given that the chosen setting was Villa San Martino on the island of Elba, off the coast of Italy, best known as Napoleon’s "summer residence" during his exile from France nearly 200 years ago. In addition to stunning views and sumptuous Italian cuisine, Motorola’s favored few also enjoyed live entertainment from legendary pop diva Diana Ross who was heard through a powerful, yet discreet, system of Meyer Sound M’elodie compact curvilinear array loudspeakers...........

The stage for Ross and her 10-piece backing band was erected on a broad, shallow terrace behind the villa. (A cutout in the stage accommodated a sapling that had supposedly sprung from roots of “Napoleon’s tree.”) Two M’elodie arrays of eight cabinets each covered the wide audience area directly in front of the stage, while two UPA-1P compact wide coverage loudspeakers at center stage took care of a few front tables and pulled the image down

Source from Billboard Magazine - Online -

ALL YOU NEED IS 'LOVE': Seven months after her last new entry on The Billboard 200 Diana Ross has her highest-charting album in over 22 years. "I Love You" (Manhattan) glides onto the survey at No. 32, the best position for Ross since "Swept Away" peaked at No. 26 in November 1984.
Just counting her post-Supremes career, Ross now has an album chart span of 36 years, six months and three weeks, harking back to the July 1970 debut of the eponymously-titled LP that included "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."
Including her Supremes' years, Ross' album chart span expands to 42 years, four months and two weeks, dating back to the debut of "Where Did Our Love Go" in September 1964. On the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, "I Love You" debuts at No. 16, Ross' best showing since the No. 7 peak of "Swept Away."

DIANA ROSS KIDS LEND SUPPORT TO LATIFAH
SMITH, PIERCE, ROSS KIDS LEND ‘SUPPORT’ TO LATIFAH: Actors added to the cast of HBO’s ‘Life Support. June 13, 2006

Queen Latifah will be joined by Anna Deavere Smith from NBC's "The West Wing" and actor Wendell Pierce of HBO's "The Wire" in the cast of HBO’s original movie "Life Support," which is being executive produced by Latifah and Oscar
winner Jamie Foxx.

Also new to the film are Tony Rock of the UPN sitcom "All of Us" and Diana Ross’ kids Evan Ross and Tracee Ellis Ross. Newcomer Rachel Nicks rounds out the cast. Based on a true story, "Life Support" centers on Ana Willis (Latifah), an HIV-positive former addict who beats her drug dependency to become a wife and mother committed to educating people in the black community on how to protect themselves from becoming infected. Pierce will play Willis' husband, Smith will play her mother, and Nicks will play her daughter.

Evan Ross, fresh from his starring role in "ATL" and soon to appear in the upcoming "P.D.R.," will play Trace, a gay teenager and childhood friend of Willis' daughter who was born HIV-positive and ends up on the street, selling his AIDS drugs for money.

Evan’s half-sister, Tracee Ellis Ross, landed the role of his older sister in the movie. Rock will play a friend of Trace. As previously reported, "Life Support" was written by Nelson George (who based the script on his sister) along with Elizabeth Hunter and Jim McKay & Hannah Weyer. George will also direct the movie, slated to begin production this week in New York.
 

"I have my standards,and I expect those standards to be met,"

DIANA ROSS has had a reputation - justified or not - as being "difficult" with the peoplewho work for her. But she has always been a doll to her fans, and she proved it again recently prior to her one-night-only stint in Westbury.

The great star arrived at the stage door sans makeup and found more than a dozen hard-core fans waiting with cameras and memorabilia. She said, "OK, kids, I'll sign whatever you want, but please no pictures now, I haven't got my face on." She then autographed every photo, album, poster and CD- one guy had 20 old vinyl Supremes records!

She even commented nicely about one pic that showed her with Mary Wilson, an original Supreme with whom Diana has had some testy moments - "She's always been a great girl," said Diana. Then she said, "Why don't you all come in and watch the sound check and rehearsal?"

And so they did, and were witness to Ross kidding around, camping it up and generally being very undiva-like. ("Why can't I ever remember the lyrics to 'Love Child'?" she giggled at one point.) And, true to her promise, later that night, in full war paint and glam regalia, she let these special fans - and several hundred others - photograph her until everyone was all flashed out.

Just call me a sucker for a sweet item. I've always liked Diana, anyway, and always remember what she told Barbara Walters years ago when questioned on certain gossiped-about behavior. "I have my standards, and I expect those standards to be met," said Diana, in a dignified manner, "just as you do."

as i mentioned on the front site this is nothing new , just thought i share it here
for those of you who have not seen it before .

(found that article on the Net and thought i share it with you its nothing new)
 

Diana Ross -INVITES SAILORS INTO STUDIO

Soul queen DIANA ROSS thrilled a group of sailors who were visiting New York City by giving them a sneak preview of her new album BLUE. The BABY LOVE star had just left Broadway recording studio Deep Diner Music when she spotted the uniform-clad men. After posing for photographs and signing autographs, she was driven off in her limousine, only to order the driver to turn back, calling out, "Guys, want to hear my new album?" She took them all upstairs to check out her hotly-anticipated new work and meet her backing singers, writes PageSix.com.
NOTE :
Allan and Bob have been busy recording 7 CDs over the last 12 mos. Bob arranging and co producing with Steve Tyrell, Allan drumming an coordinating the projects. The album projects were: 2 for Rod Stewart, working closely with Clive Davis, 5 Songs with Diana Ross on her upcoming CD
 

Diana Ross was a passenger on my flight from Los Angeles to Tucson....
She was an absolute gracious and charming lady. She talked to me as if she were an old friend. She touched my arm and held my hand and asked me questions about being a flight attendant.

She shared information to me about her career, her travels and her children. She had no makeup on so she did not want photos taken but she did give me a wonderful autograph which I now have framed in my bedroom. Ms. Ross did not want anything to drink durning the flight...she had brought her own water bottle....but she did accept and eat the snack mix we served.

She spoke with a few of the passengers in her seating area and signed a Billie Holiday book a woman just happened to be reading. When she deplaned in Tucson, she hugged me and thanked me for "being so sweet". She also told me to keep smiling because I had "a beautiful smile". With that comment, I began to melt! She left her water bottle on the floor when she left but I didn't care.....

she's Diana Ross! The BOSS!
a nice Story ..i thought i share that with you ...