Professor Green and Example hitting Midlands stages

If you're not buying into the whole '90s revival chic' then fear not because two of pop's coolest – and most current – names are also taking to a stage in the Midlands this week.

Hackney's finest, Professor Green – Stephen Paul Manderson to his mother – comes to Wolverhampton on Sunday night for a sell-out date at the city's Civic Hall, while Example is also back on stage this week, arriving at Birmingham's NIA on Tuesday.

London-born rapper Professor Green has enjoyed an incredible two years since the release of his debut single I Need You Tonight in April 2010, quickly followed by his debut album Alive 'Til I'm Dead that summer.

The annoyingly catchy single sampled INXS's Need You Tonight.

Professor Green firmly established himself as one of the UK's most exciting new talents when his album entered the charts at the No. 2 spot.

Follow-up singles Just Be Good To Green (featuring Lily Allen), Monster and Jungle amassed over 500,000 sales and gained The Prof 1.4 million Facebook friends.

His second album At Your Inconvenience entered the charts at number three and spawned the chart-topping single Read All About It which featured fellow rising Brit star Emeli Sande.

He's no stranger to the small screen either, having starred in his own reality TV show last year and more recently – and somewhat bizarrely – the rough-edged rapper has started cropping up in E4's posh-umentary Made In Chelsea, having begun dating show 'star' Millie Mackintosh at the start of this year.

Speaking about his current tour, the 28-year-old said: "I'm very excited. You get to see the effect the music you've made has on people and that's cool.

"From doing songs like Oh My God, where everyone is practically in the mosh pit, to Astronaut, where everyone is still and taking it all in. It's wicked to take everyone on that journey."

Sunday night's show is sold out., see www.wolvescivic.co.uk for more details.

Fellow British rapper Example is also back on stage this week. The Fulham-born star – who last year broke records for the number of festivals he played – has been enduring a punishing tour schedule for pretty much the last two years solid with shows everywhere from Staffordshire to Sydney.

But now he's upping his game with his first ever arena tour and he arrives at Birmingham's NIA on Tuesday.

The avid Tweeter has this week been speaking about how firms try to abuse his online presence but he's determined to keep it real.

"People were trying to pay me to say I use a certain TV, and said they'd give me a whole entertainment system, as well as pay me," said the 29-year-old.

"All they wanted was a Tweet, saying: 'Look at my new home entertainment system.' I said no as I don't believe in that sort of stuff."

Limited tickets are still available for Tuesday's gig, priced at £23.50, on 0844 338 8000 or via www.theticketfactory.com

Support on the night comes from Wretch 32.

By Amy Burns