Music News

Sir Paul McCartney, Metallica and Florence + the Machine will headline Lollapalooza. The Beatles star will perform on the opening night of the festival in Chicago's Grant Park, with the 'Enter Sandman' musicians headlining the Saturday evening before ...

Years & Years' songs are inspired by a string of "dysfunctional relationships".
The trio's frontman Olly Alexander has revealed he has been "addicted to rejection" in the past, with the failed relationships inspiring tracks including 'Memo' and 'Desire'.
He explained: "That comes from experience, you know. I just have had a lot of dysfunctional relationships.
"I've really gone from one to another to another. I've been stuck in a cycle of being addicted to rejection in some f***ed up way and always choosing someone who is going to reject me. But, I'm in a less dysfunctional relationship now. I'd say it's relatively functional."
Although the 24-year-old singer - who is in the band with pals Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Turkmen - is now settled, he admitted he does still draw on his previous dating experiences when writing music, which is something he was inspired to do after listening to other honest singer/songwriters.
He continued: "I'm definitely writing from that perspective. There's a choice when you write a song with how you talk about someone else. I watched Joni Mitchell do this interview where she said songwriting became easier when she started writing about 'you and me.'"
Despite opening up about his relationship issues in tracks such as their chart-topping single 'King' - which will feature on their debut album 'Communion', which will be released in June - he finds it strange people feel the need to find out whether he is gay.
When asked if he is planning to come out in a "big interview," he told The Downtowner newspaper: "This has only been a thing recently. I've done a few interviews and been like 'I'm gay and I'm singing about my boyfriends.' I guess for a lot of people you need to say something before they're really accepting of it."

Jake Roche wrote a love song for Jesy Nelson.
The Rixton frontman reduced his Little Mix star girlfriend to tears after serenading her with a romantic track he wrote for her over the festive season to make up for the fact he couldn't afford to buy her a present.
He shared: "No one knows this, but I wrote her a song for Christmas and made a video to go with it - simply because I have no money."
The 22-year-old star - who is the son of 'Loose Women' panellist Coleen Nolan and 'EastEnders' actor Shane Richie - revealed he looked to one of his favourite Christmas films for inspiration for the video.
He added to The Sun newspaper: "The video was like the film 'Love Actually', when that guy holds up all the cards, but I had the lyrics written on cards.
"I filmed it all over America, with me standing in front of iconic places like Times Square and the White House.
"She cried her eyes out when she saw it, bless her."
Jake and Jesy, 23, first got together last summer when they were spotted enjoying a number of romantic dates in London and Jake's mum Coleen has been giving him advice on how to keep his girlfriend happy.
Jake said previously: "My mum and Jesy are very close friends and Jesy loves to pop round to our house for a cup of tea. She says we're well suited.
"Mum has stressed how important it is to be faithful. She always told me to make a woman feel incredible."

Muse's new album is a "modern metaphor" for "lost empathy".
The 'Plug in Baby' group will release 'Drones' - the follow-up to 2012's 'The 2nd Law' - in June and frontman Matt Bellamy has explained the record is inspired by the "horrific" actions of warfare that technology has enabled.
He said: "[The record is] a modern metaphor for what it is to lose empathy.
"I think that through modern technology, and obviously through drone warfare in particular, it's possible to actually do quite horrific things by remote control, at a great distance, without actually feeling any of the consequences, or even feeling responsible in some way.
"The next step in drones is gonna be autonomous drones, which actually make 'kill' decisions themselves, where no humans are involved."
During their recent brief intimate UK tour, Matt found the crowds responded particularly well to new track 'Psycho' and he thinks that is because it is based around a "cheap riff".
Speaking to BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, he said: "It's just one of those cheap house riffs. Ours sounds like a cross between a donkey and a mule, whatever it is.
"It's just one of those cheap riffs that everybody gets straight away and it's really cool."

Emma Bunton has suggested the Spice Girls could be about to reunite.
The iconic girl group - which featured Mel B, Mel C, Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell and Emma - will celebrate 20 years since the release of their breakthrough hit 'Wannabe' in 2016, and Emma says scheduling is the only thing stopping them from reuniting to mark the occasion.
The 39-year-old singer - who was known as Baby Spice - said: "I was with Geri and Mel B just recently, we love each other and we love performing together.
"It's just when the timing is right because we all have our own careers now and we have families, it's just about getting five schedules together and that's all it is."
Emma also admitted she was aware of suggestions that never-heard-before Spice Girls material would soon be made officially available.
She told the Daily Star newspaper: "I have heard about that, yes, but I can't really talk about those."
She did, however, confess that the popular girl group had recorded "lots" material that the public has yet to hear.
The Spice Girls last performed together at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Lady Gaga has hinted she is working on a follow-up to her 2010 single 'Telephone'.
The 28-year-old singer suggested the song's sequel in two posts on her Instagram account, in which she quoted lyrics to the chart-topping track before revealing she is writing new music.
Alongside a picture of a pair of shoes, she wrote: "These are my leave me alone heels. My Telephone heels. Stop callin', I don't wanna think anymore. (sic)."
In a second post, she added: "Love you monsters, writing songs. Miss u all the time (sic)."
The track - on which she collaborated with Beyonce - hit number one in the UK in 2010 and has since sold more than 7 million copies around the world.
When originally released, the star teased there would be a continuation of the track by writing, "To be continued..." at the end of the video, although no subsequent song has emerged.
Lady Gaga - who got engaged to long-term boyfriend Taylor Kinney last month - revealed in December she is working on music for her next album, with producers RedOne and Giorgio Moroder reportedly involved in the project.
She said: "I want the fans to be surprised, but I will just tell you that it's a wonderful, soul-searching experience.
"... and it's very unlike the last album in that way. I made that album on the road. 'ARTPOP' was, you know, the acid-making record. And this record is like -- my old self as a cadaver. And I'm just, I'm operating on my old self."

Justin Bieber will headline Fusion Festival with Vimto 2015.
The 'Boyfriend' singer will perform on the opening evening of the three-day music event in Birmingham alongside 'Pass Out' hitmaker Tinie Tempah, boy band Rixton, DJ Fresh and Fuse ODG.
Speaking about the announcement, he said: "I love the UK and I'm really excited to be playing at Fusion this year. There are some great artists on the line up so to be headlining the Friday night, is a real honor. (sic)"
The 21-year-old star will headline the Friday night of the festival - which runs from August 28 - 30 - at the city's Cofton Park, and is expected to play tracks from his back catalogue as well as his eagerly anticipated fourth studio album.
The announcement of his slot at the festival - which will be a UK exclusive - comes just hours after he hinted at a return to live music on his Twitter account.
He wrote: "I miss performing. Time to get back to that 🙂 (sic)."
Other acts set to perform at the other two days of the event - which is in association with Capital FM, and is supporting youth charity The Prince's Trust - include McBusted, Rudimental, Ella Henderson, Clean Bandit, Labrinth and The Vamps.
Tickets are available online at www.thefusionfestival.co.uk.

David Crosby has hit a man with his car.
The 73-year-old singer-songwriter knocked over while driving in California on Sunday (22.03.15) with the man being airlifted to a hospital in Santa Barbara following the incident.
California Highway Patrol Spokesman Don Clotworthy said the rocker had been recorded as driving at 50mph, 5mph under the speed limit, when the accident occurred, and noted the man had been running on the wrong side of the road.
The spokesman also explained the musician insists he knocked the man over by accident and hadn't been able to see the runner as the sun had been so bright.
Speaking to CNN, he said: "Mr. Crosby was cooperative with authorities and he was not impaired or intoxicated in any way. Mr. Crosby did not see the jogger because of the sun."
The jogger suffered multiple fractures in the accident - which happened near to the musician's home in Santa Ynez in California - but his injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
David - who founded The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash - released 'Croz', his fourth solo studio album, and his first in 20 years, last year.

Years & Years and Catfish and the Bottlemen have been added to the line-up for Radio 1's Big Weekend. The Welsh rockers and the 'King' hitmaking trio have been announced as the next two performers confirmed for Europe's largest free ticketed music...