Music News

Paul Weller wanted to make a positive record because the world is "so depressing".
The 56-year-old rocker is gearing up for the release of his new album, 'Saturn's Pattern' later this month, and said he wanted to make an LP filled with "joyfulness" because the world is miserable enough.
When asked if he set out to make a positive album, he said: "I don't know if it was deliberate - I think those things come from the subconscious. I did want to make a record that had a joyfulness to it because the world is so f***ed and so depressing."
The former The Jam musician - who has recently been confirmed to play at Glastonbury Festival next month - also explained the name of the collection, admitting he made up the phrase, but later discovered 'Saturn's Pattern' is a real thing.
Speaking about where he got the record's name from, he told Shortlist magazine: "As far as I know - unless there's a subconscious thing or something - I just made it up: I was writing one night, just aimlessly, and the title just rolled off the tongue. But I did find out afterward that there is an actual Saturn's pattern, and it has its own website. And then there's Saturn's Return as well - I've only learnt this from journos. But Saturn's pattern is in the same place only twice in your life from when you were born, at the age of 28 and 56. Which, at the time I wrote the tune last year, was the exact ages of me and my missus."

Brandon Flowers says The Killers will make another album because their last offering "wasn't good enough".
The frontman - who is set to release his solo album 'The Desired Effect' on May 18 - is keen for the 'Mr Brightside' hitmakers to make a new record as he believes they let themselves down with 'Battle Born' which was released in September 2012.
He said: "Once [the band] all get on the same page, it'll work. I need to persuade them to like the same things as I do."
The 33-year-old singer also went on to deny claims he had called his bandmates Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr "lazy".
He told NME: "Did I say lazy? I tell you, recently Dave has really shown a new interest in being the guitar player for The Killers. I don't know if he saw [the quote]. I hope I didn't upset him."
However, The Killers' drummer Ronnie isn't sure another album is in the pipeline for the BRIT Award winners.
He said: "I don't fear the end of The Killers - if it's over, it's over. We scratch those [creative] itches [with side-projects]. I get a good feeling knowing Brandon is out there doing that too.
"I hope the other two do it. It gets weird sometimes when we starting talking about our s**t with the other two."

Beverley Knight and Nile Rodgers have led tributes to Hot Chocolate frontman Errol Brown.
The 'Shoulda Woulda Coulda' hitmaker was among the first celebrities to share her sorrow on Twitter shortly after learning of the 71-year-old singer's death at his home in the Bahamas on Wednesday (06.05.15) after a long battle with liver cancer.
She tweeted: "I am so gutted. Errol Brown was such a charismatic performer."
Former Suede member Bernard Butler wrote: "Ah goodbye Errol Brown. Always reminds me of the congas thru the wahwah under the desk, Mickie Most and @RAK_Studios @nigelgod (sic)"
Chic singer Nile also took to the social media site to remember the late star, who had a string of hits with his band throughout the 1970s and '80s, with tracks such as 'You Sexy Thing', 'Every 1's a Winner' and 'So You Win Again' charting in over 50 countries.
The 62-year-old performer tweeted: "We had some good times back in the day. #ErrolBrown RIP"
Drummer Jon Atkinson, who toured with the singer more than 10 years ago, wrote: "Really sad to hear of the passing of Errol Brown. I toured with him in 2003/4..he was an absolute star.A really lovely guy and amazing voice (sic)."
Chris Evans revealed he is planning to dedicate a portion of his radio show to Errol later today (07.05.15), while choreographer Arlene Phillips fondly remembered the singer's unique voice, writing: "RIP Errol Brown, such a lovely and talented man with a voice of velvet."
The musician's manager Phil Dale confirmed his death in a statement, adding: "Errol was a gentle man and was a personal friend of mine who will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him. His greatest legacy is that his music will live on."
The singer, who is survived by his wife Ginette and two daughters Colette and Leonie, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to popular music for the United Kingdom in 2003, and later went on to receive an Ivor Novello Award for outstanding contributions to British music the following year.

Joss Stone has announced she is releasing a new album.
The 28-year-old singer's seventh studio album 'Water For Your Soul' is ready to go and Joss has claimed it is a departure from the sound of her last LP 'The Soul Sessions Vol.2', and will have more of a reggae vibe, having worked with Damian Marley in Sir Mick Jagger's super-group 'Superheavy'.
Joss said: "(The new album) is really a combination of all the things I like. I've always loved reggae and Damian gave me the confidence to go through that door."
The first single to be taken from the album is 'The Answer', which was co-written with Dennis Bovell, who the 'Super Duper Love' hitmaker described as "a great person to work with".
Speaking about the reggae musician's qualities and influence on the record, Joss said: "He's like a reggae encyclopaedia. And he can really sing. His pitch and range is massive. He's funny too, a great person to work with."
Joss went on to confess that the theme of the album is about moving on with life, and "shaking off all the crap".
She said: "If there is a theme to the album, it springs out of conversations, arguments, ideas about ways of living in the world. It's about shaking off all the crap and getting up and realising that hey you're alive today, so move on."
'Water For Your Soul' will be released on July 17.

Mumford & Sons play "football a lot" while on tour.
The folk rock band - compromised of Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane - are gearing up for their 'Gentleman of the Road' tour and revealed they'll be taking a ball with them because playing the sport keeps them sane in-between performances.
Speaking about their preparation for the string of dates, Ted said: "The last six weeks have been great, because we've got a few new guys [in the tour crew], and they're wicked and they all like football a lot, which is a relief, because we like to play football quite a lot."
Marcus, 28, insisted they have been focusing on preparing for their tour and not just having a kick about though, explaining they dedicated six weeks to rehearsals to work with the crew to create the best possible show.
He said: "We've spent the last six weeks rehearsing. We bring out instruments and amplifiers and then the guys who help us on stage, our crew, basically have to learn what we want and what we want to hear and then have to reproduce that sound every night we go on tour. It's a massive job. The crew are family, they work unbelievably hard, but we spend every day of our lives with these people."
And while a football is an essential item for the road, Marcus added he will be taking a copy of the new Vaccines album, 'English Graffiti' as well because he thinks it's "massive".
Talking to Absolute Radio's Pete Donaldson, he gushed: "It's amazing. I had it in my car over the weekend, because I begged them for a copy. I listened to it non-stop. It's massive. I'm excited about The Maccabees record as well."
Hear the full interview tonight from 9-10pm. Visit www.absoluteradio.co.uk for more.

Noel Gallagher has blamed his brother Liam for fuelling rumours of an Oasis reunion.
The 'Wonderwall' singer claims the band have never considered reuniting since he sensationally quit the band in 2009, and has slammed his younger brother and former bandmate for giving people hope of a reunion.
He ranted: "There was a rumour last week that we've had a gentleman's agreement [to reform the band], but that rumour's come from his people. It's a 'source close to him,' and I'll tell you how close it is: She probably wakes up with him every morning. It's always left to me in an interview to let the kids down. People say, 'You're breaking these kids' hearts.' Well, what the f**k, man?"
The 47-year-old rocker also denied recent reports the former Beady Eye frontman, Liam, attended one of his shows in March - after he posted a photo online with a backstage pass - saying the 42-year-old musician would have acted "like a f***in' gobs***e" if he had been there.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "Well, it wasn't his pass. He wasn't there. It was my other brother's pass. If he'd had been at one of my gigs, you would've known about it because he'd have made his way onstage and started acting like a f***in' gobs***e. He's being a bit disingenuous to Oasis fans in the sense that he always gets their hopes up."
However, Liam has since denied the accusations made against him in the interview, comparing his sibling to the controversial TV personality Katie Hopkins and mocking his music.
He wrote on Twitter: "I see Noel Katie Hopkins Gallagher is talking out of his slack a**e again go and polish your SAXAPHONE Ha ha LGx. (sic)"

Ciara was "so inspired" to make music after childbirth.
The 29-year-old musician gave birth to her son, Future Zahir Wilburn - named after the tot's father, Ciara's ex-fiancé, rapper Future - last May, and was keen to head back into the studio after he was born because the experience made her feel so creative.
She said: "There is something clearly very special about the time. But in addition to being able to have a child, musically it was one of the most special times in my life and I really think that inspired me. It made the process even more unique."
And the 'I Bet' singer - whose sixth studio album 'Jackie' is out now - added the period before she gave birth also had a positive impact on the record because her pregnancy made her "very expressive".
She told Factmag.com: "I started three months before he was born because the music was flowing so good and I was really, like, very, very expressive and very connected to everything I said. Everything I was saying was coming from my feet up. You feel it from it from the ground. You feel planted on your feet. You're very sure of what you're saying. That's the feeling that I had. I wouldn't let off until I could find it.
"There's literally probably only two to three songs that I recorded that didn't make my album. That's how great the energy was."

Noel Gallagher has slammed the team behind Tidal.
Jay Z and a host of other A-list musicians including Coldplay's Chris Martin, Madonna, Rihanna and Kanye West launched the new streaming platform in March, but the former Oasis singer has criticised the team of stars for thinking "they're the f***in' Avengers".
Speaking about his views on Tidal, he said: "I thought that the people on the stage might want to be a little bit aware that they don't look like Jay Z's minions. Madonna was pretty cool the way she cocked her leg up on that desk and signed the [declaration]. I think ultimately with the spiel they came out with, it was like, 'Do these people think they're the f***in' Avengers? They're going to save the f***in' [world].'"
The 'Ballad of the Mighty I' singer explained he even approached Chris Martin to ask what he expected to gain from investing in the streaming service, adding the supporters should make a good song before finding a fair way for people to listen to it.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "I was speaking to Chris [Martin] the day after, and I said, 'Are you after a Nobel Peace Prize? Is that what you're after?' They were like, 'We're going to f***in' save the music business.' And I'm just sitting there, thinking [imitates smoking marijuana] you might want to write a decent chorus for a f***in' start. Never mind f***in' royalties and the 'power of music'. Write a tune. F***in' start with that."

The Saturdays' Vanessa White, Mollie King and Una Foden are releasing solo material.
The girls - who have been part of the group, along with Rochelle Humes and Frankie Bridge for eight years - will stay signed to Polydor records as a band but have also decided to launch their own solo careers, with each going for a different sound.
Una, 33, is hoping to release records with a country music and acoustic feel, while Vanessa, 25, is hoping to release an R & B track inspired by 'Rude Boy' hitmaker Rihanna.
Mollie, 27, is said to be planning to stick the closest to her Saturdays roots and release pop tracks with a disco and 80s vibe.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Una, Mollie and Vanessa are all really excited and a bit nervous about releasing their solo material, but it's been a long time in the pipeline.
"The girls are still a band, but they're all happy to work on their own solo projects. It means there's no animosity or frustration between them - it's a set-up which works really well."
It is thought Rochelle, 26, and Frankie, 26, aren't planning to release solo material any time soon as Rochelle focusses on her TV career and Frankie awaits the birth of her second child with her husband, footballer Wayne Bridge.