Our recap of the biggest and best headlines we featured during the past seven days includes some high profile covers from David Bowie and the prospects of a Glastonbury return next year.
David Bowie’s covers album Pin Ups, and its mixed results, are well known, but the two covers he recorded with Tony Visconti in 1998 which were ultimately never released are less so.
This will change on January 8th when, to mark what would’ve been Bowie’s 74th birthday, versions of John Lennon‘s Mother and Bob Dylan’s Tryin’ To Get To Heaven will be released on digital and 7″ vinyl formats.
The Missing People UK and Trussell Trust charities are both being supported by Manic Street Preachers via the Bandcamp release of a re-recording of their Spectators Of Suicide track.
As well as the charity work, this new version takes the Manics back to their formative days with Heavenly Recordings, the hugely influential UK label whose history is being remembered right now with Robin Turner’s book Believe In Magic.
slowthai has spent much of 2020 releasing new music, some which will feature on his next album, and some which won’t; Thoughts is another which won’t be found on TYRON when it follows Nothing Great About Britain on February 5th 2021.
Instead, this has been put out to mark Tyron Frampton’s 26th birthday, the song produced by JD. Reid.
The Pyramid Stage during Glastonbury 2019 (Richard Bowes for Live4ever)
Emily Eavis has admitted being able to officially rubber-stamp Glastonbury’s return next year is still ‘quite a long way’ off.
Whilst comments from Eavis during the weekend the event should have taken place this year – when she said they are ‘rolling two festivals together for 2021’ and hoping to re-book planned headliners such as Paul McCartney – showed preparations have been long in place, co-organiser Michael Eavis later admitted hosting the festival at Worthy Farm might not be possible until 2022, and speaking to the BBC Emily reiterated that nothing is certain.
The annual Nordoff Robbins Christmas concert was held virtually on Tuesday (December 15th), raising over £300,000 for the music therapy charity.
Stars such as Neil Young, Rod Stewart, Florence Welch, Roger Daltrey and Paul Weller all took part in the online event, which was hosted by Nile Rodgers.
Friends new and old have lent their time to the five-track Ringo Starr collection, including Dave Grohl, Finneas, Sheryl Crow, Corinne Bailey Rae and, of course, Paul McCartney.
Ringo has also collaborated with songwriter Diane Warren, and it’s those results which have been picked to lead off the announcement.