Coldplay, who are soon to be releasing their latest album ‘Mylo Xyloto‘ have confessed to not caring if they are considered relevant or not anymore!
The band’s frontman Chris Martin, whilst speaking to Rolling Stone magazine said that while they don’t take their past successes for granted, they are at their happiest continuing to make the music that they enjoy.
He said:
“You can’t take anything for granted anymore. It doesn’t matter if you used to be big or used to be famous; you’ve got to prove yourself all over again.
“We don’t have any immediate touring plans. We’ve just got to wait and see if anyone is interested in listening to the album.
“I don’t really care anymore about being relevant. I’m just happy to be with that group of people.”
He went on to say: “We’re very fired up and we’re very focussed and the people who want to enjoy our music, we love them and we welcome them. In terms of where we fit in? I don’t care.”
34-year-old Martin and the rest of the band will release ‘Mylo Xylotoon’ October 24th in the UK anf 25th in the US. The single ‘Paradise’ is available to buy now.
Coldplay also have three UK arena tour dates lined up, starting at Glasgows SECC on December 3rd, followed by the MEN in Manchester on December 4th and climaxing at London’s O2 Arena on December 9th. Enjoy!
Happy Mondays and Black Grape frontman Shaun Ryder has admitted that he has no recollection of what actually happened to him between the years of 1990 and 2006!
Ryder, who has just released his autobiography ‘Twisting My Melon’ has told The Daily Star that 16 years of his life are more than a little hazy…
He revealed that drugs and living the star lifestyle have taken their toll on his memory and he’s had to fill in the gaps by reading ageing newspaper clippings and old copies of NME.
He said:
“The memories stop in 1990 and restart in 2006. Writing it did take a lot of time but we got it all right in the end. Of course I never wrote a diary on the road so I had to look at old copies of the NME and newspapers and sort out what was what.
“I was out of it, so had to talk to a lot of my mates who were with me at the time and ask what they remember. But the book is very truthful.”
The book is on general release now and Shaun has bigged it up by saying that the book “takes no prisoners” and that he included “as much as I could without the lawyers taking it out.”
Well! Should make for an interesting read…shame half of it won’t be straight from the horse’s mouth as it were!
Legendary rock band R.E.M. have decided to ‘call it a day’ after a massive 31 years in the business.
The decision was announced today (Wednesday 21st September) on the group’s website REMhq.com.
The four-some; once dubbed “America’s Best Rock & Roll Band” by Rolling Stone magazine, issued the following joint statement:
“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band.
“We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening,”
The hit combo of singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry started out formed in 1980 and have released 15 hit albums in the more than 30 years they have spent in the limelight. The most recent being ‘Collapse into Now’ which was released earlier this year.
Further into the statement, Stipe said:
“A wise man once said: ‘The skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave. We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk away from it. I hope our fans realize this wasn’t an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way. We have to thank all the people who helped us be REM for these 31 years; our deepest gratitude to those who allowed us to do this thing. It’s been amazing.”
Peter Buck, guitarist went on to add:
“One of the things that was always so great about being in REM was the fact that the records and the songs we wrote meant as much to our fans as they did to us. It was, and still is, important to us to do right by you. Being a part of your lives has been an unbelievable gift. Thank you.
“Mike, Michael, Bill and Bertis [Downs, manager] and I walk away as great friends. I know I will be seeing them in the future, just as you know I will be seeing everyone who has followed us and supported us through the years. Even if it’s only in the vinyl aisle of your local record store, or standing at the back of the club; watching a group of 19 year olds trying to change the world.”
The guys certainly had a few things to say! Drummer Bill Berry sadly left the band in 1997 after suffering a brain aneurysm two years previously, but bass player Mike Mills concluded the statement by saying:
“During our last tour, and while making ‘Collapse Into Now’ and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves, ‘what next?’ Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realised that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together.
“We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word. Brothers who truly love, and respect, each other. We feel kind of like pioneers in this – there’s no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring off. We’ve made this decision together, amicably and with each other’s best interests at heart. The time just feels right.”
Over the years R.E.M. have surely become a household name to fans and non-fans alike and will be missed! Good luck to them…
Amy Winehouse, who tragically died at the age of 27 earlier this year, left behind a fortune of more than 2 million pounds.
The singer, who appeared in the Sunday Time’s Rich List with an estimated fortune of over £10,000,000 in 2008 squandered most of her wealth on drink and drugs while her businesses suffered, but still left a very respectable sum which can hopefully be used to raise awareness of the dangers of substance abuse.
It is thought that she had £ 2,004,963 in her company – Cherry Westfield in November last year – 20k less than it was at the same point in 2009. And her touring company – CW Touring had dropped massively from £142,012 to £8, 032 in less than a year.
An associate of Winehouse told the Daily Mirror:
“Even though Amy spent thousands on drink, drugs and hangers-on, she was still a rich young woman.”
And went on to add;
“Had she beaten her issues with drink, she would almost certainly have lived a worry-free and comfortable life. It is sad that having beaten drugs, she never got a chance to enjoy the money she worked so hard to produce.”
In a shocking twist to the tale, it had been reported by an un-named source that Amy’s ex-husband Blake Fielder Civil would charge her £150 to kiss him.
She said;
“He’d charge her £150 just to kiss him and get near him. They’d be sitting, having a couple of drinks and she’d be trying to snuggle up to him. She’d say, ‘Give me a kiss, sailor.”
“He’d go, ‘F*** off, Give me some money then’ — and she’d go, ‘Blake, Blake’. He liked her but he didn’t love her.”
Earlier today it was reported that Mark Ronson paid tribute to Amy Winehouse at his wedding to Josephine De La Baume, most likely one of many personal tributes to come.
Singer Adele has cancelled her expected performance at the Mercury Music Prize Awards which was due to take place this evening (Tuesday 6th September).
Adele, who was nominated for the for the ‘Album of the Year’ award for her album ‘21’ has withdrawn from the show after bronchitis prevented her from performing at two UK dates last week.
It would have heralded the first time in the history of the awards that all nominated acts had been brought together to perform for the occasion.
Organisers of the event have, however, told NME that Adele will actually still be well enough to attend the award ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, where she could receive a prize of £20,000 if the voting goes her way.
The other nominees for the award are:
Anna Calvi – ‘Anna Calvi’
Elbow – ‘Build A Rocket Boys!’
James Blake – ‘James Blake’
Katy B – ‘On A Mission’
Metronomy – ‘The English Riviera’
Tinie Tempah – ‘Disc-Overy’
PJ Harvey – ‘Let England Shake’
Gwilym Simcock – ‘Good Days At Schloss Elmau’
Everything Everything – ‘Man Alive’
Ghostpoet – ‘Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam’
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – ‘Diamond Mine’
Also in Adele news; the soul singing star has admitted to suffering from extreme stage-fright and regularly vomiting before going on stage! She said:
“I puke quite a lot before going on stage. Though never actually on stage. But then, I sh*t myself before everything…The bigger the freak-out, the more I enjoy the show!”
While speaking to Vogue magazine on the subject of body-image, she also stated:
“I’ve seen people where it rules their lives, who want to be thinner or have bigger boobs, and how it wears them down, and I don’t want that in my life… I have [body] insecurities, of course, but I don’t hang out with anyone who points them out to me.”
Very wise!
Spice Girl Melanie Brown (Mel B aka Scary Spice) gave birth to a baby girl last Thursday (1st September).
The 36-year-old singer who is now married to film producer Stephen Belafonte, already has two daughters from her former marriage to dancer Jimmy Gulzar and a relationship with actor Eddie Murphy ; 12-year-old Phoenix and Angel, aged just 4. Her husband has 6-year-old Giselle, also from a past relationship.
On Wednesday Scary Spice had tweeted : “The baby will come when it’s good and ready, so for now (I’m) working as usual to keep my mind off being overdue!”
Only to be followed in the early hours of Friday with news of the new arrival, she said on Twitter:
“Finally our baby arrives! Stephen nearly passed out, Phoenix screamed; I laughed so hard the baby popped out!”
“She is just sooo amazing!”
A spokesperson for Mel has said “both mom and baby are happy, healthy and doing well.”
In August this year, Brown had an unconventional baby shower at her home in California with celebrity guests such as Kim Kardashian and Denise Richards and celebrated the forthcoming addition to the family in a “laid-back, party atmosphere,”
The baby girl is the third addition to the Spice Girls’ family to come this year, following the births of Emma Bunton’s second child with fiancé Jade Jones in May and Victoria Beckham’s fourth child with David in July.
Today (Monday 5th September) would have been ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson’s 53rd birthday were it not for his untimely death in June 2009. Although the megastar is unable to attend the festivities, his birthday is still being celebrated by fans the world over.
Hundreds of fans flocked to Jackson’s hometown of Gary, Indiana for a four-day bash which took place over the weekend, centred around the small house on Jackson Street where he grew up. The event which was attended on Saturday by Jackson’s family, including 13-year-old daughter, Paris, sons, 14-year-old Prince and 9-year-old Blanket and Michael’s father Joe, included various live music performances and a circus. According to TMZ, his mum Katherine joined the festivities on Sunday.
The partying did not end there, however; the many fans who couldn’t make it to Gary found plenty of other ways to mark the occasion!
A huge flash mob descended on San Francisco dancing to ‘Thriller’! The impromptu performance made its way from Ferry Plaza to Union Square, onto the Mission Districts Delores Park before ending the show in the Castro District of the city.
Rapper Q-Tip, formerly of Tribe Called Quest, and self-confessed admirer of Jackson’s work, performed a tribute to the star at his concert in New York City on Saturday. He told the press;
“Michael Jackson was a huge influence on my music and was an inspiration to me and so many others; I want to bring people together to celebrate the man, his music and his legacy that will undoubtedly live on forever!”
Among others, Chris Brown made his own tribute today (Monday 5th September) by writing on his Twitter page “Happy birthday Michael Jackson!!!! You’re the greatest!”
Watch out for the Michael Jackson tribute concert “Michael Forever” which is still scheduled to take place at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on October the 8th.
Organisers of the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium have announced that the rest of the event will be cancelled after the freak storms yesterday (Thursday August 18th) which have left five people dead and a further eight in critical condition.
Hilde Claes, mayor of the Belgian city of Hasselt reported to Belgian television that a another 65 festival-goers were being treated for minor injuries.
According to the BBC, the huge storm uprooted nearby trees and brought down The Chateau stage, caused major damage to The Shelter stage and whipped away many tents where revellers were seeking refuge.
Organisers have issued a statement which reads:
“Pukkelpop is in deep mourning. We truly sympathise with the families and friends of the victims. Words are not enough. We have struggled with the decision to continue the festival. Therefore we have decided to cancel Pukkelpop 2011. What has happened is very exceptional and could not have been predicted. We are deeply moved by all the spontaneous support the festivalgoers and the organisation have received. We call on all Pukkelpoppers to return home calmly. Extra buses and trains have been organised to bring everybody home. We ask everyone to understand that this decision was extremely difficult to make.”
Just a few hours before the storm struck, British indie folk band Noah and the Whale performed. Frontman Charlie Fink told NME:
“We were in our bus when [the storm] happened. The weather got mad, I’ve never seen anything like it, it was almost apocalyptic. It was pitch black like night but was only 5 o’clock. The freakiest part was that it went dead silent and for a festival that isn’t something that usually happens. Then people were just running away. A tree had fallen in the backstage area and a branch had gone straight through one of the tents, it was madness.”
Other acts scheduled to perform at the three-day-long event include Eminem, The Foo Fighters and Offspring.
The tragedy comes just five days after five people were killed when heavy winds caused a stage to collapse at the Indiana State Fair in the US.
Liam Gallagher, Beady Man frontman and former Oasis member is suing his brother Noel over comments made by the latter about the demise of the chart-topping band.
The high court action was based on 44-year-old Noel Gallagher’s reasons for pulling out of the 2009 concert.
Liam stated:
“I have taken legal action against Noel Gallagher for statements he made during the Electric Cinema press conference on July 6 during which he claimed Oasis pulled out of the 2009 V Festival Chelmsford gig because I had a hangover.”
He went on to say:
That is a lie and I want Oasis fans and others who were at V to know the truth.”
The co-star of Oasis, who had their hay day in 1990’s went on to say that the real reason he had to pull out of the gig was severe laryngitis as diagnosed by his doctor and explained to Noel at the time. He claimed to be ‘gutted’ by the cancellation and said:
“Noel also falsely stated that the demise of Oasis followed a massive row in which he claimed I demanded to advertise my clothing range Pretty Green in the Oasis tour program,
“The truth is there was no such discussion or row between us. There are many reasons why Oasis split. But it had nothing to do with my clothing range.”
Noel has yet to comment on the law suit. Liam claims it is not about the money and all he wants is an apology from Noel. The news comes just days after the media revelations that Noel ‘regrets’ leaving the band.
Read Liam’s full statement below…
“I have taken legal action against Noel Gallagher for statements he made claiming Oasis pulled out of the 2009 V Festival Chelmsford gig because I had a hangover. That is a lie and I want Oasis fans and others who were at V to know the truth. I was gutted when I couldn’t play the gig because I didn’t want to let the fans down.
“But the truth is I had laryngitis, which Noel was made fully aware of that morning, diagnosed by a doctor. Noel also falsely stated the demise of Oasis followed a massive row in which he claimed I demanded to advertise my clothing range Pretty Green in the Oasis tour programme. The truth is there was no such discussion or row between us.
“I am used to being called all sorts of things by Noel and I have in the past said things about him. But what Noel has alleged this time went way beyond rock-and-roll banter and questioned my professionalism. I tried to resolve this amicably but have been left with no choice but legal action. All I want is an apology.”
Will Smith – now most well known as a blockbusting actor, is set to return to music says record producer La Mar ‘Mars’ Edwards.
According to XXL, Edwards had been talking about Snoop Dog, The Game and Wiz Khalifa when he dropped into the conversation that Will Smith was “On the other line right now” before adding “We’re working on Will Smith, bringing him back.”
Smith began his career as a rapper back in 1997 when he joined forces with DJ Jazzy Jeff and over the next eight years produced five albums including his debut LP ‘Big Willie Style’ in ’97 which was a massive success going double platinum in the UK and nine times platinum in the US! His later albums ‘Born to Reign’ (2002 – a bit of a flop!) and ‘lost and found’ (2005) were rather less popular and the Fresh Prince of Bel-air star rightly went on to focus on his acting career.
Smith’s 10-year-old daughter Willow is already following her in her father’s footsteps and released her single ‘Whip My Hair’ last year. She is currently working on her debut album.
Hopefully he will be able to return to his roots and not take himself too seriously!
Watch this space…
