Music News

Robert Plant "tore up" a deal worth over £500 million to reform Led Zeppelin.
The 66-year-old legend stunned promoters of a proposed tour that would have saw the group - who split in 1980 and reformed for a one-off gig in London in 2007 - perform 35 dates in three cities for the staggering paycheque by refusing the deal, even though bandmates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones had signed on, as had Jason Bonham, who replaced his late father John on drums for their previous reunion show.
A source said: "Jimmy, John and Jason signed up immediately.
"It was a no-brainer for them but Robert asked for 48 hours to think about it. When he said no and ripped up the paperwork he had been given, there was an enormous sense of shock.
"There is no way they can go ahead without him.
"They have tried to talk him round but there is no chance.
"His mind is made up and that's that."
Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson made the offer, which would have seen one of his Jumbo jets rebranded The Starship to carry the group for the tour and the back 20 rows would have been sold for £100,000-a-seat.
The source added to the Sunday Mirror newspaper: "Branson tried to pull out all of the stops. But even his money was not enough to get Plant to sign up. He is gutted."
An insider said while Jason would receive a wage, the three founder members would receive £250 million for 35 shows in London, Berlin and New Jersey and an additional £70 million in merchandise profits. There was also an option to do 45 more gigs in five venues.
The 'Stairway to Heaven' singer has previously insisted he isn't interested in getting back on stage with his bandmates again.
Speaking about the chances of a reunion happening, he said: "If I really wanted to be loved by the public, I know what I'd have to do, which I'm not going to do - so I have nothing to lose.
"Anyone who is famous is dealing with the same s**t. It's just a question of how you deal with it. Now I can see how ridiculous I am, or at least, was. Am I a pop singer, a rock singer, the guy from Led Zeppelin? Actually I'm just a bloke with the facility to get out all these emotions within the musical company I'm keeping. And I'm burning every bridge as I go."

James Blunt is not earnest.
The 40-year-old musician is in the midst of a career rival following the release of his fourth studio album, 'Moon Landing', earlier this year, and James concedes that the broad perception of him is markedly different from the reality.
Reflecting on his career, James said: "I probably suffered from over-play of over-emotional songs. I found in my writing that I could express emotions that as an everyday person I have no interest in expressing. These strange things that girls talk about called feelings."
Blunt - who was once a member of the British army - said fame has barely made an impression on his character.
He told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: "I'm a fairly unaffected human being. I'm easy to talk to, I hope. I'm not too bothered about the clothes I'm wearing. I've been misquoted in interviews as to appear earnest. Which I am not."
An upturn in James' recent popularity has been linked to his amusing messages on Twitter, which have helped to change the public's perception of him.
He said: "Twitter has given me my own voice. After I posted my first two tweets, the record label phoned me and asked me to stop. I said, 'I really can't because I've opened a Pandora's box and I'm enjoying it."

Redfoo thinks sending naked photos online is 'ridiculous' after revealing that he is on Tinder to "meet people".
The 39-year-old 'New Thang' singer claims that women will need to meet him in person to see him naked because he doesn't share nude photos of himself online.
Talking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, Redfoo said: "No, no. I've never sent nudes. I couldn't do that. That's ridiculous. If you gotta see me nude, it's gotta be in the flesh. So I just tease. But no, I wouldn't do that. Not my thing."
However, the singer - whose real name is Stefan Kendal Gordy - has admitted that he is open to finding a girlfriend on the dating app Tinder - as long as they don't minding fitting into his hectic lifestyle.
He explained: "I do like the girl-next-door. I like that. I think that it keeps my in touch with what's really going on. But at the same time, I don't really think about it, like, famous or not famous. It's interesting.
"It really comes down to like careers. If you're dating someone who a strong focus on their career, that's always challenging. They're busy, you're busy. Sometimes you meet someone and they're not that busy. Maybe they're on vacation or something and can afford to just hang out.
"You gotta be in the same world I think. I think Tinder says to everybody: 'I'm here to meet people.'"
The 'Sexy And I Know It' singer did note that he is "picky" when selecting a potential date on the social app as he added that he sometimes just uses it for the company while travelling.
Redfoo shared: "I'm pretty picky. I swipe left a lot. I can just tell. 'Nah, that person has attitude'. But I do read the bios.
"A lot of it is the chatting. You know, you can meet all these people without going to the club. You can sit back at home and talk to people, so sometimes it's a mini vacation. It's a relaxing thing."
Redfoo's new single 'New Thang' is out on December 15th.

Noel Gallagher's new album is a mixture of "space jazz" and "disco".
The 'AKA...What A Life!' hitmaker has been working on a "sister project" with electronic duo Amorphous Androgynous and claims he's incorporated their "space jazz" style into his own new album 'Chasing Yesterday'.
He said: "Space Jazz? I've gone there. There's more than a couple of sax solos on the record on the record. I could play you two of those tracks with saxophones and you'd go, 'Wow, it's like a f***ing space jazz record!'
"Then I could pick two other tracks that've got a disco feel, and you'd think it was that. But then there's rockers on there, and emotional songs that you would associate with me. It's very eclectic."
Noel, 47, has also reworked two of Amorphous Androgynous' tracks for his LP and claims they're unlike anything people will have heard from him before, especially his songs with Oasis.
He explained to Q magazine: "There's one called 'The Right Stuff', which is very out-there. When you hear it, you'll think, 'It's probably as far removed from 'Supersonic' as you could possibly get."

Ozzy Osbourne has "sold his soul to the Devil".
The 67-year-old Black Sabbath frontman believes that he will be going to hell when he dies because he has done so many things he shouldn't have.
When asked what he would sell his soul to the Devil for, he said: "I already have. Well, you sell your soul to the Devil when you do something yourself that you shouldn't, and I already have. I've f***ing lived my life to the fullest. If there's an afterlife, I've got a good f***ing spot in the furnace, you know?"
A lover of the dark arts, Ozzy even named his 1982 solo album, 'Speak Of The Devil' in homage to the supernatural entity and went out of his way to deliberately cause controversy.
Speaking about the album art - which showed the topless rocker with blood dripping from his mouth - he explained to Kerrang! magazine: "There was blood in my mouth - f***ing cranberry sauce. I said, 'Put something on the album that will get censored.' If you get censored, you'll sell more records."
He then revealed that he would love to spend his remaining days in darkness as he recalled his late-night drug binges during the 1970s.
He said: "Night-time forever - I'm the Prince of Darkness! I like night. In saying that, when I used to do all that powder, you tend to sleep in the day and you're awake all night. I'd wake up and see the sun, and I used to hate seeing the dawn. When I go on tour, I have to have blacked-out windows in the bedroom. I have them sealed."

Jay Z wants to sign Cara Delevingne to his record label.
The '99 Problems' hitmaker is reportedly "convinced" the British model - who has been in the recording studio with Pharrell Williams - has what it takes to be a musical superstar and thinks his Roc Nation label would be the perfect home for her.
A source said: "Jay is seriously pushing for her to sign to his label. Industry insiders are saying it would be an amazing fit.
"What's more, he and Pharrell have been in close conversation about their plans for her - they've worked together in the past and it's needless to say there's no one more suited than these two to launch Cara's music career.
"As far as Jay is concerned there isn't another woman around who could achieve the type of multifaceted stardom he believes Cara is set for. She has the same relentlessness and cool attitude as the likes of Rihanna or Beyonce, plus the added appeal of being a genuine international supermodel. He's convinced she can make a huge mark on the music industry over the next five years."
Cara has been working 15-hour days in the recording studios and consulting her pop star pals for advice as she is determined to be taken seriously when she launches her new career.
The source told LOOK magazine: "Rihanna has been offering her a lot of support, teaching her about the craft and how to put on a big production.
"She's also been speaking to Taylor Swift about songwriting. Cara wants her work to be as authentic as possible and that includes writing her own lyrics - something Taylor is obviously famous for."

Dave Grohl learnt to never worry about money because cash problems made his mother ill.
The Foo Fighters frontman has revealed he has a "funny relationship with money" following a tough upbringing during which his mother struggled financially, and her money woes eventually led to having a stroke.
He confessed: "She had a stroke, she had to stay in hospital for weeks."
The 'Best of You' singer's mother "worked as a high school teacher, and at Bloomingdale's department store, and at Serve Pro carpet cleaning" in order to make ends meet before she fell ill, when the rocker was just 12.
He explained: "We were in such a tight spot financially, because she was a public school teacher, raising two kids, and one night she was in the living room doing her taxes and the next thing I know she's in her bedroom, and we had to call an ambulance."
The 45-year-old - who has three children, Violet Maye, Harper Willow and Ophelia Saint with his wife Jordyn Blum - also recalled the moment he returned to his childhood home after his mother was admitted to hospital, where he realised that the family's financial situation had caused the illness.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, he said: "I remember coming back to the house that night, alone with my sister and looking at the piece of paper she was writing to the IRS on as she started to have her stroke. And it left this indelible mark on me, that was 'money will kill you', that people spend their lives dying inside because of money."
He added: "Before I had any f**king money, I didn't care about money, I didn't care about money. Once I got money, I didn't care about money."

Nicki Minaj says Enya has inspired her new album.
The 31-year-old rapper was a huge fan of the Irish musician as a youngster, and hopes she can influence as many women with her music as the 'Orinoco Flow' singer did.
She said "One of my biggest [musical influences] is Enya.
"There are two records early in the album where the airiness and the whimsicalness remind me of Enya, and I sort of crafted it thinking about her and the way her music makes me feel."
Her upcoming studio album 'The Pinkprint' will be released in December, and the 'Anaconda' hitmaker is hoping the LP and her outlook on life will a good example to her fans on how to live their life.
She explained: "I always feel it's important for me to show females that they can be in charge of their own situation,
"I came into the game creating my own brand. I was doing things very early on that set me apart from people who just took orders and allowed their brand to be created for them."
Nicki will co-host and perform at the MTV European Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday (09.11.14).

Wretch 32 tried to emulate Gary Barlow with his new single '6 Words'.
The rapper has revealed he attempted to develop an anthemic sound for his new track - taken from his upcoming third album 'Growing Over Life' - like that of the British bands Take That and Coldplay.
In an exclusive chat with BANG Showbiz, he said: "The inspiration behind it is listening to Coldplay records, listening to Gary Barlow records like 'Greatest Day', stuff like that, and just trying to put my spin on it.
"I wanted to put out my version of those big songs, one of those feel good records.
"You know like when you listen to 'Greatest Day' by Take That, when that chorus comes in, it just feels like you want to open your arms and sing, so it's just about making songs that connect with people on the biggest scale."
The 29-year-old musician - who rose to fame with his hit 'Traktor' in 2011 - will release '6 Words' on Sunday (09.11.14), and thinks that the 43-year-old Take That frontman will feel threatened when he eventually hears the song.
He added: "When Gary Barlow hears that song, he's going to know, 'That guy's a problem.'
"I might not be on his radar to write with. Chris Martin knows about me from my rap stuff, but when they hear that they'll be like, 'Ah this kid, he's done something!'"
Mentioning the personal message behind the song's lyrics, the father-of-two added: "It's about everything that I couldn't buy, that makes me feel special, so my children, my music, my career. Things like that."