Music News

Peter Buck is glad R.E.M's split was amicable.
The 'Losing My Religion' guitarist is pleased they "walked away" from the group rather than it have ended bitterly and they spend the next years "bad-mouthing each other".
He said: "We got together, and Michael said, 'I think you guys will understand. I need to be away from this for a long time.' And I said, 'How about forever?' Michael looked at Mike, and Mike said, 'Sounds right to me.' That's how it was decided.
"We felt like we made a great last record [2011's 'Collapse Into Now']. The last two records we made - I'm really proud of them. [2008's] 'Accelerate' is in my top five. But we got to the point where we wanted to go our own ways. We didn't want to keep doing 20-year-old songs.
"I like the fact that we walked away from it, and we're not bad-mouthing each other. We're not suing each other. Technically, the band broke up. But we didn't really. We're just not making records or touring."
And the 59-year-old musician admits the chance of another album is unlikely as the group have released all their best songs.
He added to Rolling Stone magazine: "We don't have a lot of leftover studio songs that are finished. We could probably put out an album of stuff that we thought was too mediocre to be on the original records. Why would we do that?
"Michael generally didn't finish songs if he didn't like them. It wasn't like we had 20 songs to choose from for every album. We'd have 14, and 12 would make the record. The other two might be B-sides."

Gwen Stefani finds songwriting "traumatic".
The 46-year-old pop star has admitted that she completely lost her "confidence" after releasing poor-performing No Doubt's 2012 studio LP 'Push and Shove'.
She explained: "I think after doing 'Push and Shove' and having it not be successful, I lost a lot of confidence. Songwriting, for me, has always been traumatic, and I've always made all these excuses. But I've realised that you have to just accept that it was a gift: "I don't know where it came from, I don't know how I did it, but I did write all those songs, and I gotta do it again."
However, the 'Don't Speak' hitmaker, whose new solo record 'This Is What the Truth Feels Like' was written whilst her 14-year marriage to Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale was collapsing, says all that pain and heartache is worth it in the end when you write a really "great song".
She told NPR Radio: "Because when you write a great song, it just blows you away. When you write a song that connects with people around the world - I mean like it actually transcends language barriers - you see how it can affect people, and it's quite a tall order to follow up on. I think when I first started discovering I could write songs, I was so naive. And it was after I got broken up with and had my heart sliced up into a bunch of little pieces that I was like, 'I'm going to say this.'"

Selena Gomez had "so much to prove" with her latest album.
The 'Same Old Love' hitmaker says she was incredibly "motivated by the chaos" that was around her - namely her very public relationship with Justin Bieber - and used those feelings as inspiration for her tracks on 'Revival'.
She explained: "This is what I've always loved to do and I had so much to prove, I was in a point in my career where I was very motivated by the chaos that was around me.
"There was a lot of noise - the world had an opinion on my life and it was a little invasive. I wanted to use that as motivation to write this album and to create something that was authentic and was real and genuine and me. Now I am a little bit more open."
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old singer also opened up about some of the raunchier scenes in her latest video 'Hands To Myself', admitting it was all a little "awkward".
Speaking to Ronan Kemp on Capital FM, she explained: "I felt very creepy to be honest though, because I was a little bit of a stalker and then we had that awkward make out scene ...
"I'm not kidding it was pretty awkward and I kept trying to make inappropriate jokes. I don't think he got it, it was really weird."

Manic Street Preachers' Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield have written songs for a musical called 'Before I Leave'.
The Welsh duo have teamed up for the National Theatre Wales production, which has been penned by playwright Patrick Jones, Nicky's older brother, and is about a mixed gender choir living with the memory loss disorder dementia.
The show's listing on National Theatre Wales reads: "A big, brand new and memorable play with music, written by Tredegar-born poet and playwright Patrick Jones.
Collective memory battles with personal struggles as a choir of men and women living with dementia clash and bond over some of south Wales' defining stories - including the 1984 miners' strike. Can the choir provide hope, meaning and solidarity in a society facing food banks, social welfare cuts and inequality?
"A funny, moving and ultimately uplifting production featuring covers of well-known songs by artists ranging from Tom Jones to the Sex Pistols.
"With new music by Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers."
'Before I Leave' will see its debut at Cardiff's Sherman Theatre from May 27 and will be shown until June 11.
Meanwhile, the 'Empty Souls' rockers are to release a reissue of acclaimed 1996 LP 'Everything Must Go', which is an extra treat for their fans as they head out on their 20th anniversary dates this May.
The alternative outfit - which also includes drummer Sean Moore - are expected to play the record in full on the run of shows, which will culminate at Swansea's Liberty Stadium on May 28.
Talking about making the impact of the album, frontman Bradfield previously admitted it was a fantastic time but also "bittersweet" because guitarist Richey Edwards had gone missing in February 1995 never to be found.
He said: "The memories of the album are of this strange sensation of being a popular cult band, to suddenly going overground and having 20,000 people singing songs back to me for the very first time. It was a shock. A completely new experience. It was a bittersweet experience, of course, because there was the three of us, instead of four but it was affirmation that we could still rely on each other to be a different version of the Manics."


Manic Street Preachers 20th anniversary shows:

May 13, Liverpool, Echo Arena
May 14, Birmingham, Genting Arena
May 16 & May 17, London, Royal Albert Hall
May 20, Leeds, First Direct Arena
May 21, Glasgow, The SSE Hydro
May 28, Swansea, Liberty Stadium

Placebo have announced a '20 Years of Placebo' world tour.
The 'Nancy Boy' hitmakers will celebrate two decades as a band by playing an extensive 37 shows around the globe, which will mark the 20th anniversary of their platinum-selling debut self-titled LP, which was released in 1996.
Frontman Brian Molko, 43, has teased that the set will include tracks that he "sworn" he wouldn't perform again and the aim is to play their most commercially successful hits that the alternative duo - which also includes Stefan Olsdal - haven't played in a long time and which they may never play live again.
Brian said: "Let's just say there will be songs in the set that I've sworn never to play again. I think it's time that we purposefully acknowledged what a lot of Placebo fans really want to hear.
"They've been very patient with us since we rarely play our most commercially successful material. A 20-year anniversary tour seems like the right time to do so. That's our intention. This tour is very much for the fans and a chance for us to revisit a lot of our early material.
"So, if you want to see us play songs like 'Pure Morning' and 'Nancy Boy' which we haven't played in almost ten years and may not play again, then you'd better come along to these shows! We'll have some surprises in there too."
The tour will kick off in Denmark on October 13 and will end at London's Wembley Arena on December 15, and there will be further dates announced for next year.
Placebo - which previously included drummer Steve Forest - will be touring with new percussionist, former Colour of Fire rocker Matt Lunn.
Fans have access to a special 48-hour pre-sale to secure their tickets for the shows via Ticketmaster. The fan pre-sale will begin at 9am on Wednesday March 16, with the general sale tickets going live at 9am on March 18.
The full tour dates can be found at placeboworld.co.uk

Chris Stapleton played his first-ever UK show at the Country to Country festival at London's O2 Arena on Sunday (13.03.16).
The 37-year-old country music star - who hails from Kentucky, US - stormed the auditorium with a booming set on his first visit to the country, and was accompanied by his wife and backing singer Morgane Stapleton.
Chris - who donned his familiar cowboy hat, shaggy long beard and electric guitar - announced to the delighted crowd in his sexy southern drawl: "How's it going London? This is my first time in London and this is my first show in London so thank you for being here."
But the singer was made to feel right at home as fans screamed "we love you" and cheered him through his opener 'Nobody to Blame'.
Chris moved straight into his hit 'Might as Well Get Stoned' and then onto a thunderous performance of The SteelDrivers cover of 'If It Hadn't Been for Love'.
The singer - whose presence filled the arena - swapped guitars for his next track, a love song, 'Whiskey and You', which debates the difference between the love of booze and the love of a woman and why human touch wins every time.
The recital caused a thunderous stomping of feet and wolf whistles and screamns from the UK crowned, who were clearly hooked, and the reaction led Chris to respond: "Don't make me cry now."
The country star then stormed through hits 'Traveller', 'Fire Away' - which implores a lover to "show me what you got honey, I'm not afraid" - before he turned to his wife and gave her the floor.
Morgane embarked on a chilling rendition of 'You Are My Sunshine' and took her time to sound out the words and bring a truth and emotion to the lyrics rarely heard on the song.
The couple faced each other and looked into each other's eyes as they swapped roles and Chris sang backing vocals for Morgane.
The singer ended his thunderous set with 'Tennessee Whiskey', a song about hitting the bottle and being saved by a woman who is "sweet as strawberry pie".
Afterwards, English country duo The Shires - which consists of Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes - took to the stage to praise the singer to whoops and cheers from the delighted crowd, and Ben said he hoped he would be invited back to the sell out event next year.

Nathan Sykes hasn't released his solo album yet because didn't want to rush something out.
The 22-year-old singer is taking his time over his debut LP as he wants to make a record off his own back rather than trade off the "success" of his former band The Wanted.
Nathan insists it is important to reintroduce himself by releasing a plethora of singles so his fans can get "familiar" with him as solo singer.
On why he's not rushing the record, he told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I think as a new artist, it's very important to reintroduce myself to people, what I didn't want to do was put out any old thing and hope any fans of The Wanted would go and buy it.
"I really wanted something that was really special and really close to my heart. Something that I really hope would last a really long time.
"It would have been disrespectful to the fans but to the band as well if I tried to flog an album off the back of our success.
"I've really tried to go away and craft a sound that I really believe in. I think the amount of singles I've got going into the album, that's just part of the reintroduction and people getting familiar with not just me as an artist but with me being a solo artist, not just the young one from The Wanted."
The 'Kiss Me Quick' hitmaker - who is currently supporting Little Mix on their 'Get Weird' tour - previously promised that he intends on dropping several albums in the future.
He told BANG Showbiz: "I am very excited for my album.
"It's still my debut album, it's not even released yet. And there will be many more albums from me in the future."
Nathan debuted new single 'Give It Up' when he performed with Little Mix on the opening night of their 'Get Weird' tour in Cardiff, Wales, on Sunday night (13.03.16).

Charli XCX wants to sign "pop stars with a twist" to her new record label.
The 'Boom Clap' hitmaker launched Vroom Vroom Recordings last month and she has already signed alternative pop artists RIVRS and Cuckoolander, Charlie's already outlined her plans to "play with the boundaries of pop music" and create a roster of artists who really push the limits of music.
Talking about her new venture, she told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It's a pop label. I'm looking for pop stars. But pop stars with a twist. It's fun to play with the boundaries of pop music, to have fun with it and to push the mould. That's what I want to do with my artists."
Charli previously described the label as "experimental" and to expect stars who are "deadly" and will "leave their mark on pop music".
She said: "Vroom Vroom Recordings is my new, experimental pop label and it will combine my love for bubblegum pop with mystery and darkness. The artists coming up through it will be sharp, potent, deadly, and ultimately, will leave their mark on pop music."
Charli is currently in the middle of recording her new album and she has vowed to "change the sound of pop" with the LP, the follow-up to 2014's 'Sucker'.
The 23-year-old beauty - who gave fans a teaser of what to expect by releasing her 'Vroom Vroom' EP last month - said: "This album could change the sound of pop music. It's the album I've been trying to make forever. And now I've done it."

Stevie Wonder is to perform 'Songs In The Key of Life' in full at Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park.
The 'Superstition' hitmaker will take to the stage on July 10 to play his acclaimed 1976 LP in its entirety for the first time in the UK to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the LP.
Released in 1976 on the legendary label Motown Records, the record includes iconic hits such as 'Sir Duke', 'Isn't She Lovely' and 'I Wish', and it has been cited as a major influence of artists such as Sir Elton John, Prince, Michael Jackson, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams
It was crowned Grammy Album of the Year in 1977 and it followed an unsurpassed trio of albums from Stevie - 'Talking Book', 'Innervisions' and 'Fullfillingness' First Finale' - all released in the first four years of the 1970s.
Together, the albums made the 25-time Grammy winner the only artist to have ever received Album of the Year awards in three out of four consecutive years.
Elton loves the album so much that he takes a copy of it wherever he goes.
He said: "Let me put it this way: wherever I go in the world, I always take a copy of 'Songs In The Key of Life'. For me, it's the best album ever made and I'm always left in awe after I listen to it. When people in decades and centuries to come talk about the history of music, they will talk about Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder."
Speaking about the booking of Stevie for the festival, Daniel Mathieson - Head of Experiential and Partnership Marketing for Barclaycard - said: "The line-up for Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park just gets better and better. We're thrilled that music legend and multi-Grammy Award winner Stevie Wonder, who has been performing to worldwide audiences for more than 50 years, is joining the stellar list headlining on the 10 July."
Stevie, 65, joins previously announced BST at Hyde Park headliners Massive Attack, Florence + The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Take That and Carole King.
Tickets for Stevie's show go on general sale at www.bst-hydepark.com from Friday (18.03.16).
Barclaycard exclusive presale tickets are on sale now and the AEG/BST Hyde Park presale starts at 9am on Thursday (17.03.16).