Music News

Neneh Cherry quit music because she lost her "balls".
The 'Man Child' hitmaker is releasing a new album, 'Blank Project', following an 18 year hiatus and says she stepped out of the spotlight because she didn't want to become a music industry "puppet".
She said: "I got to a place where I was thinking about things before I did them and questioning how they should be.
"It got bad. I lost my balls and my fun for a minute.
"I thought I either become a puppet or I leave."
Neneh, 50, says it took a family tragedy to bring her back to music.
She explained: "I lost my mother four years ago and I went numb. The only way out for me was through writing. Stuff was happening to me that I couldn't explain in words and music has it's own language."
And the singer is delighted with the resulting album.
She told Britain's Grazia magazine: "We recorded all the tracks live. I feel like I've found something I needed to find again."

Guy Garvey has to use a teleprompter at Elbow's concerts.
The 'Dead in the Boot' singer struggles to recall all the words to the group's extensive back catalogue of tracks and has had to start using an autocue on stage which displays the lyrics.
Guy is finding it particularly tough to memorise the songs on the band's new album 'The Take Off and Landing of Everything'.
In an interview on the Geoff Lloyd Hometime Show on Absolute Radio, he said: "There are still plenty of mistakes. I've still not learnt all my lyrics yet, I've got a teleprompt. It has become a little bit of a habit; I used to mock older front men for having them. But now if I haven't got the teleprompter, I start panicking and I forget my words. Two and a half thousand words the last album was."
It seems Guy, 40, might have a bad memory in general as he has admitted he struggled to recognise Beyoncé and her husband Jay Z when he met her at the Glastonbury Festival in 2011 after her headline performance, despite her being one of the most famous women in the world.
The musician told ShortList magazine: "There are gaping holes in my pop culture knowledge it's ridiculous. I was talking to Jay Z and Beyoncé for half an hour before I knew who they were. Everyone knows what Beyoncé looks like, but I thought [in real life] she'd be 7ft tall, statuesque like Tina Turner. Now I'm even doubting that Tina's 7ft tall. I just remember thinking, 'God, these two are good looking.' "

Madonna says her recording sessions with Avicii have produced "so many great songs".
The pop superstar has been busy in the studio with the Swedish DJ-and-producer and so far she is very happy with the results of their collaboration
In a post on her Twitter account - accompanied by an Instagram photo of her and Avicii - Madonna revealed: "The End of a long week with Viking Leader AKA DJ Virgo AKA Avicii! So many great songs! #icantwait #revolution (sic)"
She made another post on Twitter and Instagram - which showed her playing the guitar with Avicii and a group of people - which read: "My Viking Harem! Great Music Great Vibes! We were grinding on that. Wood! #rebelheart (sic)"
Madonna revealed she has started work on a new studio LP - her first since 2012's 'MDNA' - in February, but at the time she refused to reveal she was working with Avicii on the project.
When asked if she was making a new record, the 55-year-old singer said: "Yes, plans are in the works already. Don't ask me with who - it's a secret. Top secret."
Avicii - real name Tim Bergling - has worked with many artists for their releases and his own album 'True', with previous collaborators including Leona Lewis, David Guetta, Aloe Blacc, Adam Lambert and Nile Rodgers.

Led Zeppelin are set to release new material.
The band have scoured their archives for dozens of previously unheard studio and live recordings, which have been compiled and released as separate companion discs to accompany each of their re-mastered albums 'Led Zeppelin', 'Led Zeppelin II', and 'Led Zeppelin III', when they're released on June 3.
Guitarist Jimmy Page said: "The material on the companion discs presents a portal to the time of the recording of Led Zeppelin. It is a selection of work in progress with rough mixes, backing tracks, alternate versions, and new material recorded at the time."
The band - also comprised of bassist John Paul Jones and singer Robert Plant - have launched an extensive reissue program of all nine of their studio albums in chronological order, each remastered by Jimmy.
Highlights will include previously unknown track 'La La', which was recorded during the sessions for 'Led Zeppelin II', the band's iconic 1969 album.
The group, who have sold 300 million albums, have also recently agreed to add their music to the Spotify streaming service.
The news has sparked hope that the 'Whole Lotta Love' hitmakers might hit the road again for the first time since their 2007 reunion gig at The O2 arena - which saw Jason Bonham replace his late father John Bonham on drums.

Lady Gaga was vomited on during her performance at the South by Southwest festival.
The 27-year-old pop superstar took to the Doritos #BoldStage at SXSW in Austin, Texas, on Thursday night (14.03.14) and during her rendition of 'Swine' Gaga invited 'vomit painter' Millie Brown on stage.
Brown drank a bottle of green liquid and then pushed her fingers down her throat so she could puke the substance onto the singer as she played drums.
Gaga opened the show by roasting herself like a pig on a spit as her backing dancers stroked her with barbecue brushes.
The musician and another woman then straddled a mechanical pig which had a keyboard for Gaga to play, and after she finished performing on the pig performance artist Brown then began painting Gaga with black liquid.
The concert was held to celebrate her Born This Way Foundation with fans only earning entry by completing a Doritos Bold Mission.
Gaga took time out from her eccentric and extravagant performance to address her fans with some words of inspiration.
Before playing 'Dope', she said: "It's so much easier to be yourself than it is to be somebody else. Because then you have to pretend to be someone else and like things that you don't like and do stuff that you don't want to do."
Gaga is set to give the SXSW festival and conference's keynote speech this morning (14.03.14).
The year's event has been marred by tragedy after a car was driven into a group of revellers at approximately 12:30am on Thursday morning near the Mohawk club on Austin's Red River Street leaving two dead and 23 injured.
A spokeswoman for the Austin Police Department has revealed
Rashad Charjuan Owens - a 21-year-old man from Killeen, Texas - was being held in connection with the incident and is set to face two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault.

John Legend worries that people think all of his lyrics relate to his personal life.
The 'All of Me' singer - who is married to Sports Illustrated model Chrissy Teigen - has admitted that because the majority of his songs are about love and relationships, people presume that they are all based on his own personal experiences.
He said: "If I write about relationships gone bad in the future, I worry that people will think my marriage has gone bad.
"Everyone is so focused on my relationship with my wife after writing a really romantic album, and it's interesting to see if people will read things into everything I write."
The 35-year-old star married the brunette beauty last year and claims that although some of his music is influenced by his personal life, it can't all be because he thinks his fans would find it boring.
He told the Daily Star newspaper: "I got known for writing about men who cheat on my first album Get Lifted in 2004 - and my fans won't always want me to be so lovey-dovey in every song."
Meanwhile, John is working on securing some big names for future collaborations and has his eye on 'Someone Like You' hitmaker, Adele.
He added: "I've put the message out to Adele that I think she'd be great to work with.
"I think that'll happen - it's just a matter of time."

Dexters have been getting advice from Liam Gallagher on how to survive in the music business.
The new band - made up of Tom Rowlett, Chris Heggie, Ben Debo and Vincent Dignan - have been given a few tips from the former Oasis frontman as they prepare to release their debut album 'Shimmer Gold' on Monday (17.03.14).
Frontman Tom told BANG Showbiz: "I went to watch Beady Eye play in King's Cross and then got invited back to a hotel across the road. I was sitting at this table with Liam and other cool people, drinking beers, I thought, 'This is life, I could do this all the time'.
"He was giving us advice saying, 'Don't f***ing listen to anyone else, just do what you wanna do'. How you thought he would be ... he was."
Tom, who formed Dexters two years ago, was a big fan of Oasis growing up and was inspired by their music.
He's now written the tracks for his band's debut album and is looking forward to their tour in coming months.
Tom continued: "It's our first album and they say you have your whole life to write it but I doubt there's one song on the album that we were playing in our first year, most of them were written over the past couple of months.
"[The album is] a retrospective of sh*t I've done and things I want to do and I'm really looking forward to the tour, this is going to be a step up, we're doing loads of festivals over the summer and then hitting Germany."
Tom insists Dexters are out to make their own mark in the industry and doesn't like people comparing them to other indie rock acts.
He said: "One time we got compared to Pigeon Detectives and I went 'F**k off, I'm not f***ing having that'. I get it, we're lively on stage, but we don't wear leather jackets and our songs are about something, not just nonsense.
"I was like, 'Listen [to our music], before you start chatting that b***ks."
Dexters have also released their new single 'Recover' from their debut record.

The Temptations singer Otis Williams thinks Beyoncé's performance at the Grammys was too sexual.
The 72-year-old Motown legend is a big fan of the former Destiny's Child star but he is unimpressed with the erotic new direction she has gone in on her latest album 'Beyonce'.
Otis was particularly unimpressed by her performance of 'Drunk In Love' with her husband Jay Z at the awards show in January - which saw her wear a black thong bodysuit as she grinded against a chair, twerked on stage and suggestively danced against the rapper who at one point clasped her butt and kissed her.
Otis - who is the last original surviving member of the soul group - told BANG Showbiz: "I watched Beyoncé at the Grammys, and I have to say I'm a huge Beyoncé fan, but what she did with Jay Z I thought, 'No you ain't girlfriend!'
"But I guess she feels she's at the point in her life and her career where she can test things out and do whatever she wants, so I'm not mad at her for that."
The 'My Girl' singer also thinks Rihanna's videos and lyrics are too sexually explicit and he believes many modern artists are too eager to push boundaries just to make money.
Otis - who is on tour in the UK with The Temptations and The Four Tops - added: "I love Rihanna but I'm shocked by her and a few others that are coming out with very explicit things but it's very reflective of us as a people. When we started out, if we said 'damn' straight away we'd be told, 'Temps you can't say that' ... When I listen to some of the stuff that's being played on the radio I am appalled, and I'm an artist and I don't try to rain on anyone's parade but some of the stuff I hear today ... it's pathetic. I think to myself, 'Have we really lost our morality for the bottom line of money?'
"Music is simple, a great song will always stand the test of time. Great songs with great melodies, people can easily understand and relate to it."
The Temptations and The Four Tops - featuring Duke Fakir, the band's last surviving original member - are playing a series of concerts of across Britain in March and April.
The two legendary Motown groups will be joined by special guests The Platters and Freda Payne and tickets are available from Ticketline.co.uk

The Temptations and The Four Tops UK tour dates:

March:
Fri 21 - LIVERPOOL, ECHO ARENA
Sat 22 - BOURNEMOUTH, BIC
Sun 23 - BIRMINGHAM, NIA
Wed 26 - GLASGOW, CLYDE AUDITORIUM
Thurs 27 - NEWCASTLE, METRO RADIO ARENA
Fri 28 - NOTTINGHAM, CAPITAL FM ARENA
Sun 30 - CARDIFF, MOTORPOINT ARENA

April:
Tues 1 - LEEDS ARENA
Wed 2 - MANCHESTER ARENA
Thur 3 - LONDON, The O2 ARENA

Mel C thinks Little Mix are the new Spice Girls.
The 40-year-old singer recently teamed up with the 'Move' hitmakers for a Sport Relief video for their single 'Word Up' and praised the band who are following in the footsteps of her and band mates Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton.
She told BANG Showbiz: "It was great filming with them, they are such fun girls ... I think they're the closest thing to the Spice Girls."
The 'I Turn To You' singer has also teamed up with up-and-coming artist Peter Aristone to record the track 'Cool As You' and jumped on stage with the singer at the trendy Queen of Hoxton pub in east London last night (12.03.14) to perform the song live for the first time at a free gig.
Peter introduced Mel C as "the sexiest woman in the world" and gushed about playing her lover in their new video.
He said: "It's quite a simple scenario, I'm driving to her house and she's sat on her bed singing 'Cool As You'.
"At the end of the video we meet up, we don't kiss, " he jokingly added: "But she kisses me all the time anyway. She's very supportive and we would like to do more together and play live shows."
Meanwhile, Mel C laughed off the idea of the Spice Girls having a Las Vegas residency, after band mate Emma said it would take more than Britney Spears' rumoured £195,000-per-show to make the girl band reunite again.
'Cool As You' will feature on Peter's forthcoming album '19 Days in Tetbury' and will be released on March 31 with the album coming out in the Autumn.