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Pop's biggest stars sign up to rock in the park

From the archive, first published Monday 4th Aug 2003.

Pop acts Busted, Kym Marsh and Mark Owen are among the artists set to perform at a huge open-air music event in Oxford this month.

The stars are the first names to be announced as part of the line-up for this year's Fox FM Party in the Park, which takes place in Oxford's South Park on August 31.

Other stars joining the event are Lemar and Intenso Project.

The acts were due to be announced this morning on Steve and Ali's Breakfast show on Fox FM. Other names will be revealed by Fox FM and the Oxford Mail every Monday in the run-up to the event.

The event is the region's biggest free music concert, and last year attracted 80,000 people.

Chart-toppers Busted are one of the country's biggest pop acts and are expected to perform their debut single What I Go To School For and new release Sleeping With the Lights On.

Kym Marsh rose to prominence after appearing in ITV's Popstars, and joining Hear'Say, but is now carving out a career as a solo artist.

Her debut album Standing Tall has received rave reviews, but it is her live performances which have attracted an adoring fan base.

Another star whose rise to fame accompanied an appearance on a hit TV show, is Lemar, who was a graduate of BBC's Fame Academy.

His singing was described week by week as outstanding and he's now signed a five album deal with Sony.

His debut single Dance (With U) -- a song which Lemar describes as "a cross between Michael Jackson and Musiq Soulchild" -- is released on August 18.

Lemar's Party in the Park appearance follows duets with Lionel Richie and Beverly Knight.

As a member of Take That, Mark Owen lived in the media spotlight for around five years. By the time the band split in 1996, they had sold 15 million records. He seemed to disappear into pop history after brief solo success following the split, but burst back by winning Celebrity Big Brother. Now he has returned with a new album and single -- and is looking forward to his appearance at Party in the Park.

He said: "My life was stable for too long and now it's kind of up and down the country and here, there and everywhere. It's erratic, but inspiring."

Work on the stage at South Park will start five days before the event and £1m worth of video screens will be installed to make sure everyone gets a good view.

The event will start at 3pm and finish at 7pm.

Oxford Mail readers will be offered the chance to win sought-after pit passes, allowing access to the area at the front of the stage.

See next Monday's paper for more details.

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