July, 2009

The Fab 4 drive the girls crazy in this 1965 classic!

Arctic Monkeys previewed five new songs on a live internet web cast last night, giving fans a taste of material from new album ‘Humbug‘. As ever, the band were in a quiet mood, quickly rattling through a set which also included a cover of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds track ‘Red Right Hand’ which will appear as a bonus track on Japanese editions of the album. The short set consisted of ‘Pretty Visitors’, new single ‘Crying Lightning’, ‘Potion Approaching’, ‘Red Right Hand‘ and ‘Secret Door’.

Meanwhile, two men involved in the production of the record, Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and James Ford, have given their thoughts on the album.

Speaking to GQ magazine, Homme praised the lyrical prowess of singer Alex Turner: “I was sucked in at first by the lyrics. Alex sounded like a rare poet playing music – he has a special gift for the gab,” said Homme. He also praised the drumming abilities of Matt Helders, labelling him as “one of the best drummers in rock ‘n’ roll”.

James Ford, who is a member of remixing duo Simian Mobile Disco, and has produced records for the likes of  Klaxons and Florence & The Machine, said he feels people will be shocked by the album. “It’s a really great record. A lot slower, deeper and desert like. Really great lyrics and melodies, I think anyone who only liked the first album might be a bit shocked,” he told Gigwise. “They’re trying to be an interesting and creative band and move things forward and they’re a talented enough band to achieve that.”

The new album is released on August 24th.

Paul McCartney is ready to quit touring, nearly 50 years since first hitting the road with The Beatles, The Sun is reporting.

According to the paper, he will hit the road next year for one final world tour. A ‘source’ said:  “Paul wants to go out with a bang. He’s played countless stadiums over his 50-year career and is on the hunt for the most unusual locations he can find. He realises that the older he gets, the less his body will be able to cope with the demands of extended periods on the road. He might play the odd benefit gig if the likes of President Obama gives him a bell – but other than that he’ll be putting his feet up and enjoying retirement. The tour in 2010 is likely to last well over a year, by which time he will be almost 70. He’s making enquiries about a number of special locations and he’s keen to play in China and at Checkpoint Charlie.”

Silly Love Songs, Paul McCartney and the Wings

McCartney has been on the road for most of his adult life since embarking on his first major jaunt with The Beatles – their now imfamous residency in Hamburg, Germany. After the break up of The Beatles he continued to play live with his new band The Wings and then as a solo performer. His live tours have only grown in popularity over the years, providing generations of new fans the opportunity to hear classic tracks from his long career. It now seems 2010 may be the last chance to see one of the all time greats in action.

Peter Doherty has once again hinted a Libertines reunion could be close after revealing he and fellow ex-bandmate Carl Barat discussed the idea after a gig together in May.

Speaking to The Times newspaper, Doherty said: “Basically we had a good couple of hours. We were up all night together. Yeah, it was amazing really. I think we’re gonna make a record, and tour. Get the Libertines to take it to the next step, next stage. Next year.”

He also discussed his feelings after the band carried on for a short while without him, telling him he could return to the band only when his drug problems were under control. “My heart caved in. I was destroyed, he said. “Not by the fall-out, but by seeing him on Top of the Pops doing Don’t Look Back Into the Sun without me. The very idea of them doing a gig without me was just, like…whatever happened, whatever he did, I would never, ever do a gig without him and call myself the Libertines.”

Doherty has recently released his first solo record, and revealed he already has plans in place for a follow up: “I just see ‘Grace/Wastelands 2′,” he said. “I think I’ve got a ‘Harvest’ in there. I keep getting flashes of it, even if it’s just for a couple of minutes.”

Doherty will be performing at this year’s V Festival, which takes place on the weekend of 22nd and 23rd of August.

Billboard reports that Co-headliners Billy Joel and Elton John got top honours in the Hot Tours ranking with totals from two venues on their 2009 “Face2Face” tour.

The pair mostly hit the arenas but had a couple of stadiums on there schedule this summer as well. Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass on July 18 with more than 52,000 fans for a sold out performance grossed over $6.2 million and a sellout at Columbus, Ohio’s Nationwide Arena rounds out the duo’s reported take.

Shows in Buffalo were postponed due to Joel being ill with the flu, but the pair hopes to resume, and conclude, the current leg of the tour with their other stadium stop, Philadelphia’s Citizen’s Bank Ballpark on July 30 and August 1.

I was very sceptical of Johnny Marr joining a band that I had only fairly recently grown to love. Not that I am questioning the talent and musical prowess of the legendary Smiths guitarist, I just wondered whether there would be any chemistry between him and the Cribs, on a musical level at least.

On their new single, Cheat On Me, its evident it was in fact a good idea to get Marr on board. His influence is quite noticeable, particularly during the verses where his unique guitar playing style is given room to breathe, whereas the chorus echoes the Cribs sound we are more familiar with accompanied by a screeching sing-along.

Cheat on Me performed live at St George’s Hall, Bradford UK

The Cribs are one of the best bands in the country at the moment and seem to be going from strength to strength on each album they release. Based on the strength of this new track I can’t see them breaking that momentum now.

As far as lead singles go, it’s a bit subtler than what we’re used to from them, perhaps even a bit more mature, but it’s by no means a disappointment. “It’s a grower” is a phrase used far too often by some too polite to put down a song, but in this case it’s genuinely a fitting description, it’ll get you on the third spin.

Matt Humphrey

Back in June Manchester’s heroes Oasis stopped by at Heaton Park to play 3 home coming concerts. The 70’000 boozy fans in attendance for the first of the three nights saw the plug pulled on their Brit Rock darling’s sound system after only one and a half songs. Apparently a generator which juiced the massive sound system had exploded in a plume of black smoke back stage.

A visibly agitated Liam Gallagher showed up after over half an hour of down time and declared that the show was free now and vowed that fans would get their money back. Although the fault was rectified, and the band went on to perform an impressive set, approx 20’000 fans as it turned out took the bands offer. A refund form and statement appeared on the official band site of Oasis which promised ticket holders who sent their valid ticket stub back their full ticket price refunded.

This week this official deadline will have come and gone and many fans are flooding fan sites and forums such as StopCryingYourHeartOut and *The Oasis Newsroom (*published by Live4ever) with the question “Where is my refund ?”

Although most fans have received their “Bank of Burnage Cheques” (pictured above)  it seems as though many have given up on any hope in receiving their cash back. It’s a hot topic on the Oasis message boards as many supporters don’t believe fans in attendance should have asked for their money back in the first place as the show went on and everyone there seemed to enjoy the sights and sounds of Manchester’s finest.

A statement from Oasis’ Ignition management team was sent to fan site scyho today claiming: ” We are looking into it ”

Generator problems spoil Oasis’ home coming concert at Heaton Park , Manchester.  Noel Gallagher speaks out.

Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke has said Bloc Party may never make another record after 2008′s ‘Intimacy’.

Speaking on Australia’s Triple J radio station, Okereke said: “We don’t know what the future holds. It’s weird, we’re out of contract now so…we might take a year off, we might take three years off, we might never make a record again or we might head straight back in and do a record. We’ll see how we feel come the end of this touring cycle.”

The comments are not the first from the band to imply a sense of disillusionment with the music industry. Okereke has often expressed his disdain for many of the aspects of life in a band, such as interviews and press intrusion. “Why is it important to know what I had for breakfast,” he once said in an interview early in the group’s career. “Or who I went to bed with? Or what sneakers I am wearing? If it’s relevant to understanding my music, then so be it. But if it’s purely to satisfy the media’s obsession with celebrity, then no thanks. I don’t want to play that game.”

The band hit the road in October for a UK tour, dubbed ‘Bloctober’. The 23 date jaunt will see them visit cities including Liverpool, Nottingham and Leeds, while one confirmed new release is the non-album single ‘One More Chance’, out on 10th August.

Listen to Intimacy free :

Veteran Liverpudlian band Echo & The Bunnymen have announced details of their new album, the first since 2005′s  ‘Siberia’. ‘The Fountain’ will be released on October 12th and will be preceded by a single, ‘I Think It Too’ on September 28th.

The band were formed in Liverpool in 1978 by Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and Les Pattison, who were joined two years later by Pete de Freitas on drums. After releasing two critically-acclaimed albums, the band found commercial success with 1983 hit ‘The Cutter’. After the release of their eponymous 1987 album, singer Ian McCulloch left the band with the intention of pursuing a solo career, and in 1989 de Freitas was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident. The remaining two members continued on, recruiting new members including front man Noel Burke, but split in 1993 after the album ‘Reverberation’. In 1997, the surviving three original members reformed the group, and found new success with 1997 hit single ‘Nothing Ever Lasts Forever’ from the album ‘Evergreen’. They have since released a further three records.

Echo and the Bunnymen perform The Cutter at Royal Albert Hall , 1983

The band have also announced four live dates to coincide with the release of the new album, starting in Wolverhampton on October 12th, they then visit Manchester, Glasgow and London before finishing in Oxford on December 12th.

The commercial arm of UK broadcaster the BBC , BBC Worldwide Music, has unveiled that it will be making two major new U2 shows available for sale to international broadcasters.

The programming features the Irish band’s roof-top performance on top of BBC Broadcasting House in London in February 2009.

“U2=BBC: The History” and “U2=BBC”will include exclusive material from the BBC archive and a series of extensive interviews with the band members.

5,000 people lined the nearby streets to watch the Irish superstars’ performance, captured by aerial and rooftop camera shots, which will feature on both shows but form the basis of “U2=BBC.” This show will be available as a 30-minute or 50-minute production – and also will feature their live set for BBC Radio 1′s Live Lounge, hosted by Jo Whiley as well as behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with U2.

The second program “U2=BBC: The History” follows the band’s career from their earliest days live in Belfast in 1981 to the Broadcasting House set in 2009. It spans nearly 30 years of BBC live performances, including “Whistle Test” and “Top of the Pops” .

Head of content development at BBC World Wide music , Jon Mansfield said: “We’re very excited to be able to bring together a collection of some genuinely unique BBC performances from the biggest band on the planet. It has been a brilliant opportunity to work with U2 and Universal Music to utilise the strengths of the BBC Worldwide multi-platform infrastructure and reach global audiences with their best BBC performances. This continues BBC Worldwide’s music content strategy, building an impressive portfolio of exclusive and unique performances from many of the world’s biggest artists.”

BBC Worldwide music just recently made available specials on Oasis and Pet Shop Boys from the BBC archive.

Here’s a live performance of Bad from  Wide awake in America , 1985 :