Music News

Drake has released a surprise mixtape. The 28-year-old rapper has shocked fans by making the 17-track album 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late' available to purchase through iTunes without any prior warning. As well as featuring rapper Lil' Wayne ...

Boy George has been left "heartbroken" by Steve Strange's death.
The Culture Club frontman has paid tribute to his friend following his sudden death from a heart attack aged 55 yesterday (12.02.15).
George - who, prior to finding fame, worked in the cloakroom of Steve's infamous Blitz nightclub - tweeted: "Heartbroken about the death of my friend Steve Strange. So bloody sad. Such a big part of my life!"
Fellow New Romantics Spandau Ballet - who got their big break performing at Blitz - were left "in tears" by the news and dedicated their appearance at the Sanremo festival in Italy to the Visage frontman.
Guitarist Gary Kemp tweeted: "Spandau in tears tonight. We dedicated our performance to Steve Strange. Without him we would never have been here. A maverick to the end."
His brother and bandmate Martin Kemp added: "RIPsteve strange goodbye my dear friend. I will miss you! (sic)"
Singer Kim Wilde is another star saddened by the 'Fade to Grey' hitmaker's death and remembered him as a "family man".
She said in a statement: "I'm so grateful that life brought Steve and I together, he was funny, great company and completely bonkers in the most adorable way.
"He would often call up for a long chat, and always asked after my husband Hal, and our children Harry and Rose.
"Steve was a family man first and often spoke of his beloved family in Wales.
"Steve will be remembered as the most elegant and beautiful of the New Romantics at the beginning of the 80s, and 'Fade To Grey' one of the very best and most influential records of the decade.
"I shall remember him for his humour and generous spirit; he really was a very lovely man."
A number of other 80s icons have also paid tribute to the late star.
Duran Duran frontman, Simon Le Bon, tweeted: "I'm very sad to announce that our friend Steve Strange has died in Egypt today. He was the leading edge of New Romantic. God Bless him."
Billy Idol added: "Very sad to hear of my friend Steve Strange @Stevevisstrange passing, RIP mate.....(sic)."
Steve's band Visage formed in 1979 and became prominent after they released their record 'Fade to Grey' a year later.

Sam Smith wants to inspire gay children "in 400 years" time.
The 'Stay With Me' hitmaker is openly gay and hopes his debut album 'In the Lonely Hour' - which he wrote about the unrequited love he experienced when he fell for a straight man - will comfort people for years to come because it is such a common experience.
He explained: "I'm just trying to make music that stands the test of time. So that, in 400 years, when a little kid who's gay listens to In the Lonely Hour, or my next record, he will be inspired."
As part of his desire to be as honest as possible when it comes to his music, he has also vowed to be a "different type of popstar" who is completely the same in his personal life as he is in the spotlight.
Speaking to Evening Standards magazine, he continued: "I want to be a different type of pop star. I want to be a pop star who's not Photoshopped, who's straight-on human ... Honesty is timeless."
The 22-year-old singer's promise comes days after his debut record was recognised at the Grammy Awards, with the young Brit picking up four awards at the prestigious ceremony, causing sales of the already 5 times platinum album to triple on amazon.co.uk.

Visage's Steve Strange has died aged 55.
The frontman of the 1980s pop band tragically passed away today (12.02.15) in hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt after he suffered a heart attack in his sleep, his record label has confirmed.
August Day Recordings manager, Marc Green, said in a statement: "We are extremely saddened to announce that Steve Strange died at 11.15 local time on Thursday, February 12 in Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital, Egypt. Steve died in his sleep of heart failure.
"Steve's family, band members and friends are all distraught at this sudden news of his untimely death.Steve's family request privacy at this extremely difficult time."
Steve's agent, Pete Bassett, described the singer as a "hard-working, very amusing and lovable individual who always was at the forefront of fashion trends".
He added: "Up until last year he was putting together a book of fashion styles based on the New Romantic movement and it comes as a great shock. We understood that he had certain health problems but nothing we knew was life-threatening."
After the heartbreaking news broke this evening, a number of music icons took to Twitter to share their anguish over the death of Steve, whose real name is Steven Harrington.
Duran Duran frontman, Simon Le Bon, tweeted: "I'm very sad to announce that our friend Steve Strange has died in Egypt today. He was the leading edge of New Romantic. God Bless him."
Billy Idol added: "Very sad to hear of my friend Steve Strange @Stevevisstrange passing, RIP mate.....(sic)."
Steve's band Visage formed in 1979 and became prominent after they released their record 'Fade to Grey' a year later.

The Chemical Brothers, The Jacksons and Duran Duran are among acts confirmed for Bestival.
The annual music festival which takes place on the Isle of Wight, just off the coast of southern England, will also host performances from Tame Impala, Flying Lotus, Gorgon City and Future Islands.
Chemical Brothers will headline the Saturday night of the event, while Underworld will perform a UK festival exclusive when they headline the Big Top on Thursday night.
Duran Duran have also been confirmed as a UK festival exclusive and will be bringing their new stage show to the festival, playing tracks from their new album which is set to feature Mr. Hudson, Mark Ronson and Nile Rodgers.
Speaking about the announcement, frontman Simon Le Bon said: "This year sees the beginning of a new Duran Duran live show. I couldn't imagine starting it with more of a bang than an appearance at Bestival."
Elsewhere, The Jacksons - featuring Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon - will play their only UK festival performance of 2015 at the event which runs from September 10-13 2015 at Robin Hill Country Park on the island.
Other confirmed artists include Annie Mac, Jurrasic 5, Little Dragon, Roisin Murphy, Duke Dumont, Jamie XX, Kate Tempest, Hannah Wants, Todd Terje and Four Tet, amongst others.
Tickets to the 'Summer of Love' themed festival - which is celebrating its 12th year - are on sale now, available from: www.ticketline.co.uk/bestival-tickets

Will Smith is considering a return to music.
The 46-year-old actor entered the studio with 'Bound 2' rapper Kanye West in 2013 and is now contemplating ending his 10-year hiatus after seeing his children Jaden, 16, and Willow, 14, forge music careers of their own.
Speaking at a London screening of his new film 'Focus' last night (11.02.15), he said: "I went into the studio with Kanye. I'm thinking about it. I'm exploring."
The father-of-three released his fourth solo studio record 'Lost and Found' in 2005 and although he has been apprehensive about returning to the industry, the famous actor said he is "exploring" the possibility.
He explained: "I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet but I'm exploring."
However, the 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It' hitmaker - who also had hits with 'Summertime', 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air', and 'Men in Black' - revealed his time away from music has been due to a creative block, which Jaden has advised him to "write out".
He said: "I'm in a creative ceiling. My son tells me I have to write out the things I don't like. I can't write and stop, I have to keep going and going and write them out. I've never worked like that before but I think I might give that a shot."

Adele is working with Emile Haynie.
The 26-year-old chart-topper has added another name to the list of people she has enlisted to work on her third studio album, with Bruno Mars' 'Locked Out of Heaven' producer confirming he worked with the "super cool" 'Rolling in the Deep' hitmaker.
He said: "She's super cool. You can tell the second somebody walks in, no matter how massive a star they are, if they're just chill and cool you get that energy right away."
The 34-year-old musician has previously produced for Kanye West, Eminem, Tinie Tempah, Emeli Sande and Lana Del Rey, and also counts Charli XCX, Grimes and Lily Allen among his fans.
Adele's long-awaited third studio album was rumoured to be released last year after she posted a cryptic message on her Twitter account on the eve of her 26th birthday, although sources have since revealed it may still be a while before the follow-up to 2011's '21' is released.
The mother-of-one's frequent producer Paul Epworth previously said the album "will come when it's ready," while a source "close to" the singer's team reportedly told Music Business Worldwide, "The album will be released when it's ready - [we] hope that will be at some stage in 2015. That's all I can tell you right now".
As well as Emile, Adele is also rumoured to have worked with producers Ryan Tedder and Greg Kurstin, British musicians Damon Albarn and Phil Collins, and US rapper Wiz Khalifa on the LP.

Google Play has been announced as the official download and music streaming partner for the BRIT Awards.
Music fans will be able to stream live and download performances from Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Madonna and other stars exclusively through the platform as part of the partnership with the ceremony, which will take place on February 25 at London's O2 Arena.
Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI and BRIT Awards Limited said: "We're delighted that the BRIT Awards are partnering with Google Play to offer fans the chance to download or stream unique BRITs performances while raising money for War Child and our music education charity The BRIT Trust. We want music fans to be able to experience the BRITs across every digital channel, and this partnership is an important pillar of that strategy."
As part of the collaboration, the platform will also share the official media partner status for the British Single award with Capital FM, with Calvin Harris' 'Summer', Ella Henderson's 'Ghost', Clean Bandit's 'Rather Be' and Mark Ronson's 'Uptown Funk' being among the nominees.
MasterCard is also offering cardholders a chance to instantly win a ticket package to the BRITs or enjoy Google Play Music free for three months. For more information visit www.pricelessurprises.co.uk

Kanye West is up for working with Beck.
The outspoken rapper unleashed a rant against the singer backstage at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (08.02.15) after he picked up the Album of the Year Award for his 12th LP 'Morning Phase', but admitted he would be prepared to work with the 44-year-old musician despite stating he "needs to respect artistry".
He said: "If I can be involved in giving people any type of energy, advice in the studio, whether you're Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Jay Z, Beck, whoever, and they can be reciprocal with that, I'd like to be involved with that."
In the surprising conversation, the 'Bound 2' rapper also confessed he is planning on working with 'Blank Space' hitmaker Taylor Swift, even though the 37-year-old musician stormed the stage at the same awards in 2009 to slam the singer for being awarded the Album of the Year prize because he believed it should have been won by Beyonce.
After reconciling at the ceremony on Sunday, six years after the embarrassing incident, Kanye - who has 19-month-old daughter North with his wife Kim Kardashian West - added he doesn't "discriminate" when it comes to deciding who to work with, as he just wants to make music with people who have "an amazing point of view".
He told On Air with Ryan Seacrest: "Yeah, she wants to get in the studio and we're definitely gonna go in.
"Any artist with an amazing point of view, perspective, fan base, I'm down to get into the studio and work. I don't discriminate."