Lily Allen, The Flaming Lips and The Beta Band: Music News Round-Up

Lily Allen by Charlie Denis

Chart success for Lily Allen and a festival booking for The Flaming Lips and The Beta Band brought some of Live4ever’s trending music news last week.

Lily Allen topped the UK Record Store Chart following the release of her new album West End Girl.

Cast, Kula Shaker, Only The Poets and The Molotovs completed the Top 5, while Geese were back at #11 with Getting Killed.

Elsewhere, Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving was a non-mover at #14 and Joyce Manor debuted at #20 with I Used To Go To This Bar.

Creation veterans Swervedriver have announced a one-off gig at the Village Underground in London on October 24th to mark the 35th anniversary of their debut album for the label, Raise.

“The thing about Raise is it has a really good flow,” Adam Franklin has reflected.

“The way the tracks are sequenced, it works perfectly as a live set. It comes in strong with ‘Sci-Flyer’, then you’ve got ‘Son Of Mustang Ford’ and ‘Deep Seat’ in there early on and it’s all over in forty minutes!”

Charlie Puth, Shaggy and Audrey Nuna are among the new additions to the line-up for Rock In Rio Lisbon 2026 which is due to take place in June.

“We brought together artists from different styles, all of them hugely successful with pop audiences and with a cross-generational appeal to the whole family, because we truly believe that diversity is the strength of our festival,” the event’s VC Roberta Medina has responded.

“The musical universes of Charlie Puth, ALOK, Audrey Nuna, Nena and Maninho intersect in a line-up carefully designed to translate what Rock in Rio Lisboa represents.”

The Beta Band by Neil Thomson

The Flaming Lips and The Beta Band are the latest artists to be confirmed for Dreamland Margate and will play the concert series on Saturday, July 18th.

The latter have been making their live comeback and Live4ever caught the show in Bristol back in October last year – a gig which was like, ‘being let back into that secret club that never should have closed’:

Tickets went on general sale last Friday, February 13th.

The BBC Radio 6 Music Festival will be held across various independent music venues in Greater Manchester for 2026 and has the likes of Bloc Party, Courtney Barnett and The Horrors confirmed on the line-up.

“Independent grassroot venues are vital to the UK’s music ecosystem and at 6 Music, we’re proud to support what they do,” 6 Music head Samantha Moy has responded.

“So, it makes sense for the next evolution of the 6 Music Festival to take place in these special spaces, collaborating with new partners and celebrating Manchester’s incredible music legacy, as well as the next generation of artists.”

The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands and AURORA have joined forces as TOMORA and confirmed the details of their debut album Come Closer.

“This is our album Come Closer, it is everything we dreamt of. We made it without obligation or expectation, just a joy in creation. It’s the sound where we meet, the landing zone of our musical escape pods. It is a special place to us. We hope you dig it as much as we do.”

The duo will play Manchester’s New Century Hall and EartH in London next month and are also at the twin weekends of Coachella.