Music News

James Last has died aged 86.
The German-born big band leader passed away "peacefully and in the presence of his family" at his home in Florida yesterday (09.06.15), his manager has confirmed.
Selling millions of albums with his trademark "happy music", the much-loved star was a regular on British television, after releasing his first album in 1964.
The star - who is survived by wife Christine and children Ronald and Caterina - revealed last September he was suffering a "life-threatening" illness, announcing his final string of tour dates because, "a man full of plans, needs to not just slow down but give up his life on tour altogether".
After performing two farewell concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London in March and April, his final show was held in Cologne, Germany on April 26.
Announcing the concerts in February, he said: "The main thing is that my fans have the best concerts of their lives and we will make this our 'happiest' concert yet."
James released hundreds of records during his career - at one point putting out two LPs each month - although his final album, 'Music Is My World' was released in 2011.

Slipknot's Corey Taylor has slammed "Taylor S**t" and "One Erection" for letting their music be used commercially.
The 'Wait and Bleed' rocker insists he wouldn't get behind streaming services like Tidal or the newly-announced Apple Music and would walk away from his career if he ever found himself allowing his work to be used in an advertisement.
Asked if he would back Tidal or Apple Music, he said: "Of course not, because they can't use our music to sell anything.
"That's fine with me, you know, I don't give a s**t, let the f***ing Taylor S**ts and One Erections sell their f***ing sodas and edible panties, I don't give a s**t about any of that.
"The second that I'm writing music written specifically to sell somebody a f***ing motorcycle boot, that's it for me, I'm done, I'm f***ing out."
And the rocker insisted he had no idea about the existence of Apple Music and admitted he is finding it difficult to keep up with advances in music technology.
He added to NME magazine: "I thought the big thing was between Tidal and Spotify, I never even realised that there's now a f***ing third player on the f***ing rack. It's so hard to keep up with the way technology's f***ing going anymore. I'm surprised people haven't just dropped their tools and been like, 'F**k it, I'm out.'"

Ronnie Wood has a "completely different focus" since ditching drink and drugs.
The Rolling Stones rocker got sober in 2010 after well-publicised struggles with substance abuse, but believes having a clear mind means he has become a much better performer.
When asked if he agreed with fans, who say he is playing better than ever before while on tour, he said: "Yeah. I'm five years clean and serene this year, so that's made a big difference. I have a completely different focus. It's great for me to revisit albums I wasn't even on - I can see 'Sticky Fingers' in a completely different light, and clearer."
The 68-year-old star - who has four children - joined the band 40 years ago, and admitted his wild lifestyle as a youngster was excessive.
He revealed: "Those were the days of experimenting with scotch and Coke and brandy and things, and perhaps not knowing the limits. There are some entries [in my diary] where it says, 'Great night last night. Sick twice.' But in those days it used to bounce off us - that and all the travel we did in the van. We'd grin and bear it. If I had to do it now, I probably wouldn't last a week."
However, the guitarist now finds it "easy" to stay away from alcohol while on tour as his previous addictions are no longer "triggered" during difficult times.
When asked about staying off alcohol, he told Rolling Stone magazine: "Well, now I find it easy, thank God. I think it does get easier. The first white-knuckle months when I first cleaned up, it was a bit of a challenge, and I thought, "Oh God, how am I ever going to get through this?" But now I can go through most situations and not get triggered."

Tony Bennett was forced to cancel his concert at London's Royal Albert Hall last night (09.06.15) after catching a flu virus.
The legendary jazz singer was set to perform alongside Lady Gaga - with whom he collaborated on the album 'Cheek to Cheek' - at the sold-out gig but had to pull out after falling ill.
Dismissing rumours he'd suffered a heart attack, Tony wrote on Twitter: "Sorry to not be singing in London tonight. I love my fans in the UK and appreciate all the well wishes to get over this flu quickly."
Lady Gaga, 29 - who, along with Bennett, met Prince Harry before performing at the first of their two scheduled charity concerts earlier this week - also took to social media to apologise for the cancellation.
She said: "Hey everybody! Don't worry about Tony, he's ok! That's just showbiz sometimes. We'll catch u next time, we got you! (sic)"
The reason for the cancellation was also confirmed by Bennett's spokeswoman.
She said: "Live Nation has confirmed that the performance by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga previously scheduled for this evening at the Royal Albert Hall is not taking place.
"Unfortunately, Tony Bennett has come down with a flu virus which has prevented him from performing the second of two sold-out shows in London.
"Ticket holders are instructed to retain their tickets to this event pending more information.
"Fans who have purchased tickets online will be notified via the ticket outlets as soon as additional information is available."
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga and Bennett will reportedly serenade Hillary Clinton - whom the 'Poker Face' hitmaker is a long-standing supporter of - at a fundraiser for the presidential candidate at New York's Plaza Hotel later this month.
Tickets for the event - which is set to take place on June 27 - are being sold for $2,700 each with a limited number of $1,000 tickets.
A source told the New York Post newspaper's PageSix: "They're not sure if it'll be a seated affair or if people will be standing - it's a pricey night to be standing."

Miley Cyrus' label has warned her against making a "weird" album.
The 22-year-old musician is currently working on the follow-up to her chart-topping third studio album, 'Bangerz', and has revealed her record label are concerned she might make an "avant-garde" LP which sounds like experimental singer Björk.
She said: "They're like, 'Don't make it too weird, don't make it avant-garde; you can't go from Miley to Björk!'"
The 'Wrecking Ball' singer - who recently split up with model Patrick Schwarzenegger - admitted she has decided to record her next collection in a different way to her 2013 album though, choosing to use her garage as a home studio in order to work in solitude.
She explained: "I don't have to have writers, I don't have to have f**kin' producers in there."
And although the zany pop star has made the conscious decision to remain alone while creating her new music, she revealed she has been working with 26-year-old producer Mike Will Made It on the collection, after he produced several tracks on 'Bangerz' including the hit single 'We Can't Stop'.
In her cover feature for Paper magazine, she added: "Mike Will will text me a beat, and I'll go in my studio and work on it by myself."

Alice Cooper thinks modern rock 'n' roll is "limp".
The 'Schools Out' singer has aired his views on the state of the rock industry and admitted he doesn't think there is any other band out there "killing it" like Mötley Crüe.
Speaking at 'The Last Ever European Press Conference' at The Law Society in London today (09.06.15), he said: "Our generation of bands wrote songs which will appeal to kids aged 16, 30 years from now, who will still go, 'Oh yeah, that's me'. The state of rock and roll right now is so limp. There's not a lot of rock and roll bands out there, so that's why you see bands like Mötley Crüe still killing it."
The 67-year-old rocker has been invited to support legendary 'Girls Girls Girls' hitmakers Mötley Crüe on their last ever European tour, and said he enjoys it because they make the audience "exhausted".
Asked what it felt like to be invited on their last tour, he said: "We've known Mötley for years and never played with them. So when they said do you want to send us off, I said, absolutely. We are two bands that really bring it every night. It's good for the audience because there is not a lot of rock 'n' roll around anymore: Not real rock or hard rock. With these two bands we want these kids to be exhausted by the end of the show. "
While the end is insight for Mötley Crüe - who will split up after a show in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve (31.12.15) - the 'Poison' hitmaker joked: "We are booked in for the next century."
Alice Cooper is only playing selected dates. Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday, June 19.
Their final European dates are as follows:
November 2 - Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, England
November 3 - Manchester Arena, England
November 4 - Birmingham Genting Arena, England
November 6 - London SSE Arena, England
November 8 - Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
November 9 - Basel St. Jakobshalle, Switzerland
November 10 - Milan Mediolanum Forum, Italy
November 12 - Monte Carlo, Monaco Sporting Club, Monaco
November 13 - Munich Zenith, Germany
November 14 - Dusseldorf ISS Dome, Germany
November 16 - Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden
November 18 - Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland
November 20 - Abu Dhabi Du Arena, United Arab Emirates

Pitbull always stays "single, bilingual and ready to mingle".
The 'I Know You Want Me' rapper - who can speak English and Spanish - has revealed he never wants to be tied down with a relationship because he prefers to have fun with his life, and even has a catchphrase to match his life choice.
When told about how his fellow Miami musician Jason Derulo is now single, he said: "Good for him, congratulations! I stay single, bilingual and ready to mingle!"
The 34-year-old musician insisted he doesn't consider himself to be a "player" who treats women badly though, and said he's just having a good time so people can say he had a "fun" life when he dies.
Shortly before his performance at Capital's Summertime Ball with Vodafone on Saturday (06.06.15), he told Capital FM: "I'm not a player, I'm just enjoying life. My funeral is not even going to be a funeral, it's going to be a fun-eral. Alright, and at the fun-eral everyone's going to go up and go, 'That guy enjoyed life, that guy had fun'."
And while chatting on the show about which act on the event's line-up he would most like to marry, he admitted he liked the idea of tying the knot with five-piece girlband Fifth Harmony.
When questioned on how he would be able to keep all five members happy, he joked: "Well that's the beauty of it, I was raised by women so I'm kind of used to it."

Iggy Azalea has apologised for homophobic comments she made "as a young person".
The 'Fancy' rapper has decided to pull out of a scheduled performance at Pittsburgh Pride concert on 13 June following criticism of her booking, due to her previous homophobic comments on Twitter, admitting she "deeply regrets" the things she has "carelessly" said in the past.
She wrote: "I am truly disappointed I have to share this news, but I will no longer be performing at Pittsburgh Pride on June 13th. This has been a difficult decision as I truly support the event and LGBTIQA communities, however I feel my participation at this point would only serve to further distract from the true purpose of the event (sic)."
The 25-year-old musician went on to declare she is a "firm" believer of "equality" and would never use the comments as an "adult".
She continued: "I am a firm believer in equality. Unfortunately in the past as a young person, I used words I should not have. The last thing I want is for something so carelessly said to be interpreted as reflective of my character. I meant no harm and I deeply regret ever uttering those words. As an adult I would never used them because I understand they play a detrimental role in the fight for issues I do truly believe in.
"I am sorry to anyone I have offended or disappointed & I wish all my fans and family participating in Pride the best of luck (sic)."

Ella Henderson is feeling "devastated" after her dad was charged with fraud.
The 'Ghost' singer's 49-year-old father Sean, who also manages her career, was charged on Monday (08.06.15) following allegations of fraud, theft and money laundering, two years after he and his wife Michelle, 51, were questioned.
A pal of the family said: "Ella is close to her family and devastated about the charges."
The 19-year-old musician's mother has now been released, although three other people have reportedly been charged in association with the case, with a fifth person to be charged at a later date.
Although officers refused to name the other people involved, Humberside police said: "A 49-year-old man from Tetney has been charged with seven offences relating to fraud, theft and money laundering.
"He has been released on bail to appear at Sheffield magistrates' court on July 8."
However, the former 'X Factor' contestant, who released her debut album 'Chapter One' last year, previously said they are a "very strong family" and it takes a lot to "break" their spirit.
She said: "We're a very strong family.
"It takes a lot for me to break down or cry. Someone would have to be terminally ill for that to happen."