Weekly News Round-Up: Blur, The Raconteurs and more

You’re in the right place if you’ve missed any of the week’s top news stories – here Live4ever’s Weekly News Round-Up presents a recap of the biggest headlines we featured during the last seven days.

Graham Coxon performing solo (Photo: Andy Crossland for Live4ever)

Damon Albarn was in London last weekend performing with his Africa Express project, but it was his Blur bandmates who stole the show when an unannounced reunion took place.

Performing together for the first time since their Magic Whip campaign wrapped up in 2015, the quartet brought out Tender, Song 2 and Parklife track Clover Over Dover – a track they’d never played live before.

Doves made their major live comeback for Teenage Cancer Trust a couple of Fridays ago.

Having dusted off any cobwebs at the Warrington Parr Hall the previous night, the band began a new spell of touring in London with a greatest hits set which was rounded off by their magnum opus There Goes The Fear.

The Rolling Stones have been forced to postpone their tour of North America which had been due to start later this month.

While no specific details were originally given, the decision was put down to health problems being suffered by Mick Jagger. “Unfortunately today the Rolling Stones have had to announce the postponement of their upcoming US / Canada tour dates.”

The new Liam Gallagher documentary As It Was, which is to tell the story of the Oasis frontman’s renaissance since the release of 2017’s debut solo album As You Were, will be released to cinemas on June 7th.

Going further, the film’s synopsis promises it will ‘tell the honest and emotional story of how one of the most electrifying rock’n’roll frontmen went from the dizzying heights of his champagne supernova years in Oasis to living on the edge’.

Steven Sebring

Six months on from when it was first teased, The Raconteurs have confirmed the details of their new studio album Help Us Stranger.

It’s the band’s first since Consolers Of The Lonely of 2008 and comprises those two songs – Sunday Driver and Now That You’re Gone – which first got the new material flowing late last year.

The Twilight Sad have unveiled their video for Shooting Dennis Hopper Shooting and two more live dates.

The latest video from this year’s It Won/t Be Like This All The Time album was co-directed by Brendan Jay Smith, who says: “I found an old leather bag at the back of my Grandfather’s cupboard with a collection of super 8 film reels from the late 60’s.”

Foals will be the main attraction when Transgressive celebrates its 15th anniversary at The Great Escape next month.

The London-based indie company is to hold the bash at Brighton’s Concorde 2 venue on Friday May 10th, and co-founder Toby L is unsurprisingly delighted to have secured Foals.

The National have shared their I Am Easy To Find album track Light Years with its release all set for May 17th.

The album is an ambitious one for The National, led by a shared desire on the part of director Mike Mills and Matt Berninger for an exciting new project.