News Round-Up: Johnny Marr, The Charlatans


Photo of Johnny Marr live at the Electric Ballroom, London (Alessandro Gianferrara for Live4ever)

Johnny Marr live at the Electric Ballroom, London (Alessandro Gianferrara for Live4ever)




A joint gig for Johnny Marr and The Charlatans is among the biggest headlines we featured during the past week.

Johnny Marr and The Charlatans have announced a co-headlining date at Piece Hall in Halifax this summer.

“Yorkshire crowds have always been among our warmest and loudest supporters and we cannot wait to play for them again alongside our good friend Johnny Marr,” Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess said.

“I’ve played some truly memorable gigs in Yorkshire and I can’t wait for another unforgettable night in Halifax on August 26,” Marr added.


Sigur Rós, Django Django, Warpaint, Let’s Eat Grandma, Bat For Lashes and Serpentwithfeet are some of the artists who’ve been invited by Christine And The Queens to perform at this year’s Meltdown Festival on London’s Southbank.

“Art to save the city! Ten nights that are ours. Southbank Centre filled with beloved artists, some I discovered recently, some I know are amazing performers and poets,” the curator said.

“Dance. Theatre. Words and music. Friends and future friends. Raving, hopefully. Art to save the city! To free its contours and enliven the soul – it’s the why we do what we do. I can’t effing wait.”


Nova Twins, Architects and Biffy Clyro are among the nominees for the 2023 edition of the Heavy Music Awards.

Nova Twins are up for Best Album thanks to Supernova – one of our top picks of 2022 – and are also up for Best UK Artist and Best UK Live Artist, where they’ll compete with Biffy Clyro.

The awards’ Andy Pritchard has said: “Once again the HMA finalists showcase the spectacular breadth of talent across the rock and metal scene.”

Glastonbury 2022 (Photo: Richard Bowes)

Glastonbury Festival in 2022 (Photo: Richard Bowes)

Kelis, Loyle Carner and Rudimental have been revealed as the West Holts Stage headliners at Glastonbury Festival 2023.

Also a part of the festival’s first area announcement for this year are the likes of Young Fathers, Gabriels and Black Country, New Road.

“West Holts looks set to deliver another cornucopia of globally sourced grooves for our 2023 edition,” the stage’s programmer Steve Symons said. “Reggae legends Third World and Barrington Levy will appear alongside cutting edge R&B from Sudan Archives and Yaya Bey.”


Freddie Cowan has announced his departure from The Vaccines ‘for the foreseeable future’, the band he has been lead guitarist with since their big breakthrough over a decade ago.

“It hasn’t been easy to come to this decision, but in my heart I know it’s time to step down from my position in The Vaccines for the foreseeable future,” a statement reads.

“We loved and fought and cried and cared deeply for each other. I would say like brothers but actually I feel like it’s often the chosen family that really matter to us in our lives. The band will always be my family. We are bonded forever through the experiences we shared. I also hope we have another chapter together when the time is right.”


It’s arguably the greatest concert film of all time, and now Jonathan Demme’s legendary Talking Heads live album Stop Making Sense is set to return to cinemas later this year in a newly restored 4k presentation.

The deluxe 2LP version, meanwhile, is to come with a 28-page booklet and two previously unreleased live tracks – Cities and Big Business / I Zimbra.

“We had done a live album before this, but coupled with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a whole new audience,” David Byrne has remembered.


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