Music News

Charli XCX wanted to be an ice skater as a child.
The 'Doing It' hitmaker has revealed she would have loved to have been a figure skater if she wasn't a popular musician, even though she didn't seriously consider any other professions other than music as a youngster.
When asked what she would be doing if she wasn't a singer, she revealed: "I don't know because I never really thought about anything that seriously, other than making music, but I really like ice skating."
The singer explained her interest in ice skating began as a young child when she became "fascinated" by the hobby, and dreamt about owning the costumes she saw figure skaters wearing.
She elaborated: "When I was younger I was very fascinated with figure skaters, I thought their outfits were great, I thought they were always very beautiful, so to be an ice skater would be cool."
The 22-year-old star - who recently released her second studio album 'Sucker' - admitted a career move is unlikely however because she is not skilled at the winter sport, and while she can do some tricks including skating backwards, she needs a helping hand to get her going.
She told 4Music: "I can go backwards a little bit, but someone has to push me a little bit."

Mick Fleetwood says it will be "a couple of years" before Fleetwood Mac release a new album.
The band's drummer has revealed their hectic touring schedule means the band - also featuring John and Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks - have had to put their album plans on hold, meaning it is unlikely it will be released in the near future.
He confessed: "This whole touring stuff is getting sort of totally, in a good way, out of control.
"We're going all over the world now, so we don't quite know how we're gonna finish this [album] out."
However, the 67-year-old musician admitted they are gradually working on new material which is sounding "wonderful".
He said: "We're building up this whole sort of dossier of material, a glut of stuff.
"[Lindsey Buckingham] has a great chunk of wonderful songs, [most of which are] pretty flushed out and finished.
"[I have] been in the studio with Christine in months gone by [and that] worked out amazingly well."
And although Stevie Nicks has not yet confirmed whether she will stay with the band for another album when their current reunion tour ends, Mick is feeling positive they will release another LP at some point in the future, which would be their first record with their current line-up since the multi-platinum 1987 effort, 'Tango in the Night'.
He told ABC Radio: "I hope it happens.
"My inclination is, the music will not be wasted. It will come out one way or another. And I truly hope, and I quietly believe it will be Fleetwood Mac, and Stevie will do some lovely stuff and within the next couple of years we will get that done."

Mumford & Sons' new album was inspired by Led Zeppelin and Radiohead.
The 'I Will Wait' hitmakers have revealed their latest LP 'Wilder Mind' takes notes of other artists' use of "space" in their tracks.
Marcus said: "I think all our favourite bands have albums that are really urgent, but they have so much space in them. You listen to an Old Crow album, and there's not a huge amount of space there.
"But you listen to a Led Zeppelin album and suddenly you actually hear the space because it's more defined by less of the noise going on. All our favourite bands, from Dire Straits and Fleetwood Mac to Radiohead, all go about it in interesting ways, and especially with a very lyrical band like ours, you have to be even more intentional about space."
The 28-year-old singer also insisted the new album was a much more "collaborative" project between him, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall, Ted Dwane and the writers and producers they worked with.
He added to Rolling Stone magazine: "Everyone was writing what we thought were great lyrics. We've always said that it's a competition between songs rather than writers, so it's like, whoever writes it, if it's a good song, it's in.
"And so the boys kept coming up with a bunch of amazing lyrics that I found really fun to sing, and that was quite a liberating experience too - really enjoying, relishing singing someone else's lyrics.
"We're all so close now that it feels like it's much easier to empathise with each other than it's ever been, and because we know each other so well, you don't have to ask the awkward questions about what a lyric means."

Nathan Sykes has announced an intimate UK tour.
The 21-year-old singer - and former member of The Wanted - is set to perform at six venues across the United Kingdom, in a show which promises the unveiling of some of his highly-anticipated solo material.
He will kick off the tour in Glasgow, Scotland on April 8 before travelling to Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Brighton and ending with a show at the iconic Bush Hall in London on April 15.
Writing on Twitter, he revealed the exciting news to his 1.6 million followers.
He said: "I couldn't wait to share some tracks off my debut album with you and there isn't a better way of doing that than LIVE!!! (sic)"
The announcement comes just days after Nathan treated his fans to a glimpse of what is to come with the unveiling of his first solo track, 'More Than You'll Ever Know'.
The song, which is taken from his forthcoming album, has racked up an impressive response from excited fans with over 90,000 plays on SoundCloud.
Tickets for Nathan's solo tour will go on sale on Friday (13.03.15) at 9am and are available from seetickets.com.

Full list of dates for Nathan Sykes UK tour:
April 8 - Glasgow, O2 ABC2
April 9 - Newcastle, O2 Academy 2
April 11 - Birmingham, Temple
April 12 - Manchester, Ruby Lounge
April 14 - Brighton, Komedia
April 15 - London, Bush Hall

Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke have been ordered to pay Marvin Gaye's family $7.3 million for copyright infringement.
A jury in Los Angeles ruled today (10.03.15) that the 41-year-old producer and the 38-year-old singer's 2013 hit 'Blurred Lines' plagiarised the late Motown legend's 1977 hit 'Got To Give It Up'.
But rapper T.I. - who also performs on the song - was deemed not to be responsible for the infringement, according to Variety.com.
Marvin's children, Frankie and Nona, filed a lawsuit against the trio after the song was released, claiming it sounded very similar to their father's track.
During the week-long trial, Pharrell insisted their hit was inspired by Miley Cyrus, saying: "I had Earl Sweatshirt in one room and Miley Cyrus in the other. I was doing a bunch of country-sounding music with Miley.
"It was like blending this country sound with this up-tempo groove."
The 'Happy' hitmaker, who co-wrote the song in mid-2012, also insisted the Marvin Gaye single did not enter his mind during the songwriting process.
He added: "I must have been channelling that feeling, that late '70s feeling. Sometimes when you look back on your past work, you see echoes of people. But that doesn't mean that's what you were doing.
"[Marvin Gaye] is one of the ones we look up to so much. This is the last place I want to be right now. The last thing you want to do as a creator is take something of someone else's when you love him."
The Gaye family hired a musicologist to analyse 'Blurred Lines' after they instantly recognised the striking similarities and were originally seeking $25 million in damages.

Mark Knopfler wore a head band on stage so he wasn't blinded by sweat.
The Dire Straits frontman became renowned for his headgear during his career with the band, and revealed it became clear it was vital during their early shows when he couldn't see because he was perspiring so much.
He recalled: "I used to sweat so much on stage in those days, it came off me in sheets. That's how the headband started. I literally couldn't see - the sweat would sting my eyes and I used to not be able to see my chords through my tears."
As a result of his profuse sweating, one gig-goer called for the rocker to mop up his moisture, which is when he decided he would have to wear the loop of fabric around his forehead while on stage.
He continued: "I remember one night at the Marquee [London music venue], there were sheets of sweat going out into the crowd, and this little fella stuck a note up, and I read it. It said, 'More liquid gumption, please.'"
The 65-year-old musician - who will release his ninth studio album on March 16 - added it was the group's difficult formative years which helped him to have such a successful career, as it made him realise what he wanted to achieve.
He explained to The Sunday Times newspaper: "I used to hitchhike then, climbing up into lorry cabs with bags and guitars. There was snow everywhere, and I got put off in the middle of the country somewhere - in the Midlands, I think - on a slip road off the motorway. I'm standing up there, and there;s nobody. I can see 360 degrees for miles all around, and there's nothing moving, just the sun shining down on all this snow. And I remember getting a very clear idea of what I'd decided I was going to do with my life."

Meghan Trainor would never date a friend's ex-boyfriend without their permission.
The 'All About That Bass' hitmaker claims that if she ever found herself attracted to one of her pal's former flames, she would definitely ask them if they were ok with dating him before making her move.
Quizzed on whether she'd flirt with her best pal's ex, she said: "First of all, I would ask her if she was OK with it, and if she wasn't OK with it then I'd say move along!"
The 21-year-old star admits she's too shy when it comes to approaching men and would rather wait around for them to ask her out.
Explaining that she thinks it's fine for a girl to ask a boy out if they're too shy, she told Top of the Pops magazine: "But when this actually happened to me, I was so shy, I waited until he said something."
Meghan also claimed that if she was really nervous on a first date she would attempt to "break the ice" by confessing she had butterflies in her stomach.
Asked if she's good at faking confidence, she added: "I would just be totally honest and say, 'I'm nervous and I don't know what to say!' And hope that breaks the ice!"

Sophie Ellis-Bextor thinks her next album will sound "like tequila".
The 'Murder on the Dancefloor' hitmaker recently started work on her sixth solo studio album and believes although it is in its early stages, the finished product will sound like the spirit because her songwriting has been inspired by South America where the liquor is popular.
She told BANG Showbiz: "I've been working on the album with Ed Harcourt who I worked on 'Wanderlust' with, and I think it's going to be quite different again.
"I've just got back from a trip to Mexico and Ed has been in Cuba recently so I think the record will sound quite South American. 'Wanderlust' was inspired by Eastern Europe, so if it were spirits, that was vodka, and this will be an album sounding like tequila."
However, the 35-year-old singer admitted fans may be disappointed if they expect new music soon, as she is planning on spending the rest of the year building up material for the collection.
She explained: "We've written about four songs so far, so it's still early days. With 'Wanderlust' it was very concise, and the songs we wrote were the ones on the album, but with this one I want to take my time a bit more and make it a bit more expansive. I want to be able to spend the rest of the year on this album and write lots more songs to make sure it's really good."
Sophie Ellis-Bextor is spearheading the latest campaign from Wrigley, 'The Chew O'clock Challenge', promoting the oral care benefits of chewing sugar-free gum, and encouraging parents to get their family chewing gum at 4pm after post-school snacks, when teeth are at risk from lingering foods.

Noel Gallagher once had to hide from Courtney Love.
The 'Ballad of the Mighty I' hitmaker admits he sneaked out of a recording studio when he heard she was in the building because he thinks the Hole singer is too "rowdy" for him.
He said: "I read an interview with her once where she said, 'I can't f***ing believe this, I know everyone in London but I haven't met Noel, is he hiding from me?' And the answer is - yes.
"I was in a recording studio in LA and we were in the back recording 'Don't Believe The Truth'.
"And reception called up and said, 'Just to warn you, Courtney Love just came in'.
"I could hear her shouting, 'Where's Noel? I gotta meet Noel.' So I grabbed a cig, exited out of the back door and went back to the motel and locked the door."
"I was like, 'I can't be dealing with her rowdiness, f***ing hell, no way.'
But I applaud her."
Noel didn't feel too bad about making a quick getaway because he thought she would get on well with his brother and former Oasis bandmate Liam Gallagher.
He added to NME magazine: "I knew Liam was running around in reception and I thought, 'Brilliant, that's a meeting of the minds right there.' "