Music News

Boy George is "devastated" Culture Club have postponed their tour.
The 'Karma Chameleon' group axed a string of comeback shows in both the US and UK after the singer was diagnosed with a throat problem that would have meant irreparable damage if he had continued to sing, and though he didn't want to take the "risk", George admits he is still upset to have had to put the gigs on hold.
He said: "I've got a polyp on my vocal chords. The doctor tells me singing would cause irreparable damage, and that's not a risk I am prepared to take.
"He put a camera down my throat, and it transpired that I have an enlarged polyp which has haemorrhaged.
"So everything is on hold until it gets better. I don't know how long that will take, and to say I am devastated barely touches how I feel."
The 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' singer had been experiencing problems with his throat for some time but initially dismissed the pain as due to tiredness.
He admitted to the Daily Mail newspaper: "I'd been having trouble with my voice for some months, but in true British fashion I ignored it, thinking the problem might just be tiredness, hoping it would go away."

Ray and Dave Davies have been recording together.
The Kinks disbanded in 1996 partly due to creative tension between the pair, and though guitarist Dave has said he is concerned a reunion show would only focus on his singer brother, Ray "doesn't understand" his worries.
He said: "I don't understand what that's about. If we do a Kinks show, we're the Kinks. Ray stands on the right of the stage and Dave stands on the left.
"Look, my brother is very intelligent. He's a good writer. We actually put down a few demos last Christmas. He came to see me, and he played me a couple of new songs."
Asked if there is any chance of a tour, the 'Waterloo Sunset' singer admitted it might be difficult because he is working with the group's former drummer Mick Avory, who also doesn't get along with Ray.
Asked if there will be a tour, he told Rolling Stone magazine: "I can't think that far forward. Over the years, I've been doing a few new tracks with Mick, our original drummer. You know about the war between Dave and Mick.
"I don't work for the United Nations. I'm just a musician. I had a drink with Mick last week, and I asked, 'What happened to you guys?'
"They shared a house in the 1960s. I think some things went on there that created a rivalry."

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Angus Young has grown closer to his brother Malcolm since he was diagnosed with dementia.
The 61-year-old rocker was forced to leave their group AC/DC earlier this year after being gripped by the condition - which causes memory loss and confusion - but his younger sibling and bandmate was "surprised" at how much he wanted to plan for the 'Back in Black' star before he was unable to continue.
Angus, 59, said: "His symptoms started around the 'Black Ice Tour' [during 2008-2010] but he said he wanted to continue. I kept asking him if he wanted to go on and he did.
"Then when he'd seen a few different people and was diagnosed, he said he would go on with the band for as long as he could play. He did very well."
Did it make us closer? Yes for sure. Even when he was ill. When touring he didn't have great days. So I'd sit with him and we'd talk.
"He'd surprise me, by talking about things such as how we should do some open-air shows. But then he's always been our leader and it was just good to have that feedback."
Though Malcolm - who is now in a full-time nursing home in Sydney, Australia - gave his blessing for the band to continue and has been replaced on rhythm guitar by his nephew Stevie Young, the group found it "hard" recording new album 'Rock or Bust' without him.
Guitarist Angus told The Sun newspaper: "We missed Malcolm from the very start. Especially when we've got tough decisions to make.
"But I'm pleased he got to hear the album. One of my other nephews in Australia took the record in for him to hear. And he loved it.
"My nephew said Malcolm was happy and had a big smile on his face. That was very moving to hear."

will.i.am thinks current music sounds too dated.
The Black Eyed Peas star is worried that records hitting the charts sound too much like the material that was being released over 10 years ago.
He said: "Everything around music right now is so 2000s, like 2003."
And the 'I Gotta Feeling' hitmaker was unimpressed by the performances at the recent American Music Awards (AMAs), which included Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Jessie J and his own bandmate Fergie.
However, he thinks it is difficult for such televised shows to engage with audiences nowadays because gadgets such as smart phones and tablets are more suited to a short attention span.
He told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: "Nothing was like, 'Oh my!'.
"It's like, I don't know how you compete with 'refresh. "Everyone is 'refreshing' their phones, and songs just always seem to be in the background. You're competing with my thumb flipping channels."
The 39-year-old producer recently admitted he is planning to "energise" and has no desire to retire.
Quizzed on whether he was planning to leave the music industry behind, he said: "You know what rhymes with retire? Expire. We ain't expiring, we ain't retiring. If it rhymes with something bad you don't want it ... [I'll just] energise the batteries. Lithium. Lithium pop."

Adele has turned to Damon Albarn for help with her new album.
The 'Skyfall' hitmaker met with the Blur frontman at his west London recording studio earlier this week in the hope he will collaborate with her on her much-anticipated comeback record - which was expected to be released this month - as she isn't happy with the material she has so far.
A source said: "Damon and Adele had a chat about her new album and they could work together in future.
"He has produced and written brilliant pop songs for Gorillaz and slower material for acts such as Bobby Womack. He has advice to give from 25 years in the business.
It seems Damon isn't the only person Adele is planning to work with.
The source added to The Sun newspaper: "Adele's exploring loads of different avenues for the music and isn't rushing anything but the album will be released next year."
The 26-year-old star - who has son Angelo, two, with boyfriend Simon Konecki - tweeted earlier this year that the album, the follow-up to 2011's '21', would be released later in 2014, but it is now expected to hit stores in spring 2015.
She has already worked with a number of songwriters and producers, including Ryan Tedder, Diane Warren, James Ford and Paul Epworth.
'In the Air Tonight' hitmaker Phil Collins recently revealed he had also worked on the album but was later told his contribution had been dropped.

Jack Steadman wishes Bombay Bicycle Club had a different name.
The four-piece band formed under the name The Canals when Jack was just 15, but soon adopted their current name which the frontman now thinks is "silly."
When asked if he wishes they had chosen a different moniker for the group, he said: "Every day. It's a silly name. Everyone does silly things when they're 15, but not many people have to deal with it for the rest of their lives."
The 'Carry Me' singers released their fourth studio album, 'So Long, See You Tomorrow' in February, which was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize - an award which is given to the act deemed to have created the best British album.
The band was one of 12 acts shortlisted for the award alongside FKA twigs and Damon Albarn, but lost out to Scottish trio Young Fathers who scooped the prize for their debut studio album, 'Dead'.
Discussing the prize - which has previously been won by PJ Harvey, James Blake and Alt-J - the 24-year-old singer admitted while he was thrilled to have been nominated, he wasn't bothered about being beaten by the 'Get Up' hitmakers.
When asked if he was disappointed, he told Shortlist magazine: "Not really. At the time I was having an incredible evening. I hadn't really heard of the other bands, embarrassingly. I got to sit there for three hours watching them all perform and I found it really inspiring."
Jack - who is in the indie group with bandmates Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram and Ed Nash - continued to say he is skeptical about what benefits the prize would have because they are not a new act.
He added: "For a band like us, who are quite established with four albums... I don't really know what the Mercury would have done. I was happy for it to go to an up and coming band. That's where an award like that should go."

Wilko Johnson has found it "tricky" readjusting to life after beating cancer.
The Dr Feelgood guitarist was told he had just months left to live when he was diagnosed with the deadly disease in January 2013, but since being given the all-clear a few weeks ago he admits it has been difficult coming to terms with the fact his end isn't imminent.
He said: "After a year of believing my fate was settled, coming back is kind of tricky. I'm still trying to adjust to the idea things aren't going to end. I've got to bloody carry on, man!"
Following an operation in April which removed the 7lb 11oz cancerous tumour, which was "the size of a baby", the 67-year-old musician has started worrying about his future again, as it wasn't something he had to think about when he was ill.
He told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: "When you think you're going to be dead by Christmas, it gets a whole lot of botheration out of the way. You don't have to worry about the future because you haven't got a future. And that's been given back to me."
Wilko - who has starred in four episodes of HBO fantasy series 'Game of Thrones' as mute executioner, Ilyn Payne - is now anxious the stress of life may plunge him into depression, which is something he has suffered with in the past.
He explained: "It's like waking up from a strange dream and being a little bit baffled. I'm hoping that I will mentally engage with the world again. I'm a miserable so-and-so really, and I have been all my life."
Now that he is on the mend from his scrape with death, the star is hoping to return to the stage, but confessed he is too weak at the moment as he recovers from the surgery that saved him.
He added: "I don't know if I've got the stamina for a whole gig. I could certainly play two or three numbers and then I might fall over and never get up again!"