In the last few years it has hosted major international acts including the likes of blink-182, Rihanna, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, The Killers, Hey Ocean, Katy Perry and Paramore, as well as comedians as Frankie Boyle, Ricky Tomlinson and Peter Kay.
In addition to large musicals it is also a venue for comedians such as Frankie Boyle, Ricky Tomlinson and Lee Mack, as well as children's shows such as Winnie the Pooh Live.
Since then he has appeared in videos for two other Xmas singles - "Bo Selectas! Proper Crimbo" which reached No. 4 in 2003 and Ricky Tomlinson's "Xmas My A*se" which reached 25 in 2006.
Des Warren (10 October 1937 – 24 April 2004) was a British construction worker, trade union activist and – with Ricky Tomlinson – one of the 'Shrewsbury Two' imprisoned for 'conspiracy to intimidate' whilst picketing in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, during 1972.
In 2009, comedian Ricky Tomlinson announced that he would be teaching at the academy and serve as a patron for it.
The longest sentences were given to Ricky Tomlinson, a plasterer and TGWU strike leader, and Des Warren, a steel fixer and leading lay official of UCATT, who became known as the "Shrewsbury Two".
Ricky Martin | Ricky Gervais | Ricky Nelson | Ricky Skaggs | Ricky Hatton | Ricky Tomlinson | Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby | Ricky Ponting | Charles Tomlinson | The Ricky Gervais Show | Ricky Walden | Ricky Stuart | Ricky Williams | Ricky Van Shelton | Ricky Tognazzi | Ricky Ricardo | Ricky Marvin | Ricky Carmichael | Pretty Ricky | LaDainian Tomlinson | David Tomlinson | Ricky Warwick | Ricky May | Lawrence Tomlinson | John Tomlinson | Tomlinson | Thomas A. Tomlinson | Stuart Tomlinson | Robert Tomlinson | Ricky Vallen |
Playing a regular character in Brookside's heyday (alongside Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston, and working with writers such as Jimmy McGovern), he burned himself into the viewers' memories with his portrayal of a man beyond breaking point, which culminated with him ranting at neighbours and churning up their lawns, as he drove his car around in circles.
Her highest-profile television roles to date include Down to Earth (in which she played Emma Murphy, the wayward daughter of Ricky Tomlinson and Denise Welch), Holby City, Doctors, Mike Bassett: Manager and Family Affairs, in which she played Eve O'Brien.