Music News

The Libertines are hoping to secure a new record deal after their reunion gig at London's Hyde Park.
The 'Can't Stand Me Now' band - made up of Pete Doherty, Carl Barat, Gary Powell and John Hassall - are hoping a new contract will help boost their comeback.
The indie band have confirmed they will reunite for Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park on July 5, supported by Pogues, Spiritualized, Maximo Park and The Enemy, and have hinted that they would like to record new material and work on unfinished songs after the gig.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "They are touting themselves around labels to sign a deal on the back of the show."
The Libertines formed in 1997 and were originally signed to Rough Trade before they split in 2004, after their success was often eclipsed by singer Pete's addictions to crack cocaine and heroin.
The band later reformed in 2010 for massive reunion shows at Leeds and Reading Festivals and four years later they look set for another big comeback.
Co-frontman Carl admits the reunion isn't without risks, telling NME magazine: "For me, the right reasons are, can we do it? Do people want to do it? Would it be a good thing to do? And I don't f***ing know. I'm not saying for a second that it's without a colossal risk, doing this."
Meanwhile, Carl has also formed a new band, The Jackals, and plans to continue work with the group as well as focusing on The Libertines, while sources say Pete has also been working on a new solo album.
The Libertines have announced they will be playing at Glasgow Barrowland on Sunday, June 29 as a warm-up for their show at Hyde Park and The Benicassim Festival in Spain on July 19.

Katy Perry shared a beer with a fan at her concert in London last night (27.05.14).
The pop princess enjoyed a pint which came up through the stage with her acoustic guitar during her 'Prismatic World Tour' show at The O2 arena, but after taking a few gulps and repeatedly burping, Katy found a guy in the crowd to give it to along with her "cooties".
Before performing 'The One That Got Away', she said: "I was just expecting my guitar but I have a pint of beer ... I've got to stop (drinking it) otherwise I'll be burping through this song. Someone help me out with this beer. I'm looking for a specific person, the guy who was dragged here by his girlfriend. You sir have this and have my cooties forever."
Earlier, Katy opened her incredible show with 'Roar' wearing a flashing neon dress and backed by spear-wielding soldiers dabbed in luminous paint.
The concert was split into four sections and after the Prism part, the singer played an Egyptian-themed set during which she rode a huge horse while dressed as Cleopatra for 'Dark Horse'.
She then performed a rock version of "oldie but goodie" 'I Kissed A Girl' which saw her two guitarists fly through the air as sparks streamed from their instruments.
Her Cat-Oure section featured a version of 'Hot n Cold' seemingly inspired by the musical 'Cats' with Katy spinning round the impressive prism-shaped stage in a jewel-encrusted pink pussy bodysuit backed by her feline dancers followed up with a rendition of 'International Smile' which merged into a brief cover of Madonna's 'Vogue'.
The 29-year-old star exposed her emotional side during her Acoustic set and alluded to her split from ex-husband Russell Brand as she introduced a moving performance of 'By The Grace of God'.
She told her fans: "This next song I was a little bit nervous about writing it, because I'm a pop star and pop stars are supposed to be invincible. But I wanted to write it for anyone who thinks they're going through something on they're own. Like, 'He's tweeting and he's not texting me back.' You hear this song and you're not so alone. Remember when you can't get out if bed because things are so hard, just remember Katy Perry - the girl with many hair colours - put one foot forward and got out of bed."
Her final tracks - dubbed her Hyper Neon section - proved Katy is the queen of bubblegum pop as she had the sell-out crowd on their feet screaming for 'Teenage Dream', 'California Gurls' and latest single 'Birthday' - during which she brought one lucky birthday girl named Hayley on stage to sit on a throne and take a selfie with her idol before the singer then floated off around the arena clutching a bunch of balloons.
Katy - who closed her stunning set with 'Firework' - will play three more shows at The O2 this week; tonight (28.05.14), Friday (30.05.14) and Saturday (31.05.14).

Katy Perry 'Prismatic World Tour' set list:

Prismatic:
'Roar'
'Part of Me'
'Wide Awake'
'This Moment'/ 'Love Me'

Egyptian:
'Dark Horse'
'E.T.'
'Legendary Lovers'
'I Kissed A Girl'

Cat-Oure:
'Hot n Cold'
'International Smile' / 'Vogue'

Acoustic:
'By The Grace of God'
'The One That Got Away'
'Double Rainbow' / 'Ghost'
'Unconditionally'

Throw Back:
'Megamix Dance Party'
'Walking On Air'
'It Takes 2'
'This Is How We Do' / 'Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)'

Hyper Neon:
'Teenage Dream'
'California Gurls'
'Birthday'

Encore:
'Firework'

Sir Mick Jagger is pleased Metallica are headlining this year's Glastonbury Festival.
The Rolling Stones frontman, who has resumed the band's '14 On Fire Tour' after the death of his girlfriend, fashion designer L'Wren Scott, thinks the controversial decision to book Metallica as the first heavy metal band to play Glastonbury will pay off.
Sir Mick told The Sun newspaper: "I've seen them live and they're going to be great."
The singer, who headlined the festival at Worthy Farm in 2013 with band mates Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts, also claimed he had a "great time" at the event and their success has seen the group sign up for more festivals this summer.
Metallica will close the line-up on Saturday, June 28, with headline acts Kasabian and Arcade Fire also on the bill.
Drummer Lars Ulrich said: "To be honest with you, we didn't sit around and have a big conversation when the call came.
"In Metallica we have a saying called a 'no-brainer'. Headlining Glastonbury is a no-brainer. We didn't need to sit around thinking about the pros and cons."
The group are the first metal band to ever headline the festival in its 44-year history and admit fans have had mixed reactions to the announcement.
Meanwhile, Sir Mick and his band mates performed their first gig on Monday night (26.05.14) since L'Wren's suicide two months ago.
They took to the stage at Oslo's Telenor Arena in Norway and played to a sold-out crowd of more than 23,000 people.

Jamie Lynn Spears is "proud" of her sister Britney Spears' achievements but is ready to show what a great artist she can be.
The 23-year-old star has released her debut EP, 'The Journey', this week and although she is happy to be associated with her older pop star sister she feels ready to "prove" herself as a country musician.
Speaking about Britney, 32, to Billboard, Jamie Lynn said: "I'm proud of my sister. She's worked hard to become extremely successful. It makes me proud, but it also gives me an outlet to prove who I am as a person and what I love ... For the past few years, I've been writing, working with different people, demoing songs, and really trying to figure out what the exact sound I wanted to put out there. My fans have been so supportive, and have been so patient for me to get the music to them ... I just want to connect with them, and them to get a grasp of who I am as an artist."
The budding singer insists her love of country songs is deep rooted in her childhood when she was growing up in Louisiana.
Jamie Lynn - who has a five-year-old daughter Maddie, from her relationship with Casey Aldridge - says she inherited her appreciation of the genre from her dad James.
The 'How Could I Want More' singer - who is married to Jamie Watson - said: "My first musical memories would have to be with my daddy at the dirt bike track. He loved Merle Haggard and all the greats. I love Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty - especially the duets they had together. I am a big Patsy Cline fan, but I also love Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson. What you grow up on will always have a special place in your heart."

Kings of Leon want to quit before they get too old.
The 'Use Somebody' rockers have no intention of still making music when they're grey and wrinkly and intend to put the rock 'n' roll lifestyle firmly behind them so they can reap its rewards.
Quizzed whether they'd like to have the same longevity as The Rolling Stones, lead singer Caleb Followill laughed: "I hope not! Maybe if you're playing a gig here and there, but I don't see us going on a big tour at that age."
Nathan Followill quipped: "We would be very lucky to last that long. That would be awesome if we could. We would much rather be on a yacht somewhere!"
The band, who were forced to take a year out in 2011 due to exhaustion, are hoping for an early retirement and a relaxing lifestyle after the excess of their youth.
Discussing his top priority for the future, Nathan enthused: "Sleeping."
However, they have some big hurdles to cross before they can relax since main songwriter Caleb is constantly seeking to compete with the success of other bands, as well as their own triumphs.
During an interview on UK station BBC Radio 1, he added: "I don't think we've written our masterpiece yet. I still strive for something that we haven't achieved yet. Every time I see a band come out and release and album I think, 'Man, I should have done that.'
"You always want your next album to be better than your last. It sucks when your last record was the biggest one you've done, it makes it tougher. We're very competitive, not only with ourselves, but with other bands. We're like, 'Loved your record, now we're going to try and beat that.' "

Taylor Swift has cancelled her upcoming concert in Thailand due to the political unrest in the country.
The 'I Knew You Were Trouble' singer was due to perform in Bangkok on June 9 but has decided to pull the plug on the show now the Far East nation is under military rule following the army's coup last week.
Taylor, 24, took to Twitter to express her regret over the cancelled concert, tweeting: "I'm sending my love to the fans in Thailand. I'm so sad about the concert being cancelled."
Concert promoter BEC-Tero posted a statement on its website confirming that Taylor would not be appearing in Bangkok.
The statement revealed that "due to recent events in Thailand" the musician would not be coming to Bangkok but it was "a difficult decision for all parties".
The next stop on Taylor's 'Red Tour' is the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, on May 30.

Idris Elba has directed a new short film for a track produced by Dutch DJ R3hab.
The actor chose to work on the promo for the song 'Unstoppable', featuring Eva Simons, which will be included on the Pepsi Max 'Beats of the Beautiful Game' album to celebrate the World Cup this year, because he loved the idea of being unstoppable.
Idris, who has also achieved success as a DJ, said: "When I first heard the song I really loved the idea of being unstoppable ... it's self belief, its someone that just says, 'Guess what? I can do anything I want to do'."
The six-minute video is set in the 1970s and features a group of teenagers on a school bus, outlining 'the nerd', 'the lads' and the popular girls, who are all in different social circles.
The promo tackles bullying and eventually shows the school nerd throwing away his glasses, standing up for himself and showing off his skills in a game of football as the girls watch one.
Idris said: "I like the whole '70s era, the haircuts and the style, and I chose a character that is stereotypically a nerd, isn't sporty looking ... but [it] turns out that he really is good at [football], and he is unstoppable when he starts to let himself go."
Talking about the track, R3hab told BANG Showbiz: "For me, when we were making this song, we wanted to really look at the message and it was to do with winning and emotions and being unstoppable.
"You can be unstoppable in sports, in school, in business or even in a relationship. It can mean so much. We kept working on the idea and wanted it to relate to everybody. It took a fair amount of time but it was important."
R3hab, who has also remixed songs or the likes of Rihanna, Rita Ora and Calvin Harris, claims he feels unstoppable when he's on stage and performing at festivals.
He said: "When I'm performing [I feel unstoppable]. I've come a long way from playing festivals for free drinks. Now I'm playing in New York, Las Vegas, it's absolutely insane and hard to realise sometimes. I also have Creamfields [festival] coming up.
"I get a lot of feedback from the artists when I remix their tracks. I've also remixed for Tiesto and now he's remixing my records, which is pretty cool."
To watch the video directed by Idris Elba, search 'R3hab ft Eva Simons' and 'Pespi' on YouTube, or visit www.pepsi.com for more information about 'Beats of the Beautiful Game'.

Sam Smith has been told to curb his partying ways and concentrate on promoting his debut album.
The 'Lay Me Down' singer, who won the BRITs Critics' Choice Award this year, has been making the most of his new found fame by partying with celebrity friends, including model Daisy Lowe, but his management want him to calm down and focus on his music.
A source told The Daily Mirror newspaper: "Sam's been catapulted into success and he's only 22, so who wouldn't want to take advantage of all the free bars and cool parties? But he's also at a crucial point in his music career and is about to release his first solo album [In The Lonely Hour].
"So his team want people talking about that, not what he got up to in a nightclub the night before."
Sam's album, featuring hits 'Money On My Mind' and 'Latch', was released yesterday (26.05.14) and already music bosses want him to be looking ahead at writing material for the follow-up.
The source added: "Sam's such a great talent the people around him don't want him to get caught up in that hard partying scene, which is why they've been insistent that he gets back to the studio to carry on working on his music.
"Plus, it has the added bonus of keeping him away from any bad influences that may distract him."
Despite his new found fame and busy social life, Sam, who celebrated his birthday last week, previously claimed his record is about being a lonely 21 year old, and thanked fans for changing his life over the past few years.
He said: "I truly hope you love this album. I hope it is the soundtrack to all of those lonely moments. It helped me through mine."

Kasabian's Tom Meighan has slammed the possible tour of a Michael Jackson hologram, after the pop icon was 'resurrected' at this year's Billboard Music Awards.
The frontman is less than impressed by plans for the holographic image to visit arenas for Michael's fans to watch it perform a full show of hits.
Tom told The Daily Star newspaper: "I blame money. Holograms are not real. You've gotta be mental mate, it's ridiculous."
Guitarist Serge Pizzorno was also disgusted by the plans, despite Michael's family being overwhelmed by the hologram show, and claims tour promoters are going too far.
He said: "It's disgusting, they should leave the guy alone man, it's awful, it's done, let it be.
"They could bring John Lennon back next week. He's dead. Let's bring Elvis back, let's put Elvis on tour around arenas."
Despite their opinions on the Prince of Pop's hologram, the band - also made up of Chris Edwards and Ian Matthews - claim they are fans of the 'Thriller' hitmaker and were inspired by his moves.
Tom said: "I've been studying his stage act since I was three years old, and what we want is to give off that same power.
"But no-one can be Michael Jackson, he's too incredible."
Meanwhile, the band are also concerned about the state of the indie music scene in Britain and claim there a lot of "liars" and "fake bands and fake people."
Serge explained: "Rock music is about the realness, that's what sets it apart and that's what's disappeared."
Tom added: "The fact for me is that there are no big songs anymore. We unite people and give them what they really want and they're out friends and they get to escape.
"That's rock 'n' roll music and people believe it and that's great."
Kasabian's new single Eez-eh is released next week, taken from their next album '48: 13'.