Music News

Tommy Ramone has died aged 62.
The drummer - who was the last surviving original member of iconic punk band The Ramones - was undergoing treatment for bile duct cancer at a hospice when he passed away at his home in the Ridgewood area of Queens, New York yesterday (11.07.14).
The group's official Facebook and Twitter accounts revealed the sad news and paid tribute to the late rocker - whose real name was Tommy Erdelyi.
Their statement said: "We are saddened to announce the passing of Ramones founding drummer Tommy (Erdelyi) Ramone. #RIPTommyRamone"
Tommy founded the 'Blitzkrieg Bop' band in 1974, having originally been their manager before being asked to play drums.
Four years later - having co-produced their first three albums 'Ramones', 'Leave Home' and 'Rocket to Russia' - he left the line-up, instead focusing on management and production.
He co-produced their fourth record - 'Road to Ruin' - before reprising that role again on their eighth LP 'Too Tough to Die' in 1984.
Fans and fellow stars have started to pay tribute to the influential musician, including former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way.
He tweeted: "R.I.P. Tommy Ramone"

Gerard Way's solo album feels "British".
The former My Chemical Romance frontman has promised fans his forthcoming LP will be very different to his work with the band because he has been influenced by a host of UK acts such as Supergrass, Blur, and Gang of Four.
He said: "The sound of it is rooted in a lot in shoegaze, also Britpop -- the whole thing largely feels like a British album.
"I was going for a lot of things that were completely new to me. Even the way we attacked the vocals and tried to make them sound was very different from ways that I had ever been recorded."
Gerard is particularly pleased with the lack of "compression" on his vocals on the new album, especially when compared with his work in the band.
He added to NME magazine: "My vocals over the years have been so used to being triple tracked and quadruple harmonized and compressed to s**t.
"But we didn't do that. A lot of the time it's a single vocal, which is cool."
The 'Teenagers' rocker will debut his new material at the Reading and Leeds festivals in August and thinks it was right to make his first live solo appearance in the UK because audiences there have always been supportive.
He explained: "This was the first place to get us, to fully understand My Chemical Romance, and I feel like it's going to be the same situation here.
"I think in the States, it's going to be a bit of a fight -- I think it's going to be a bit of a fight here too, for different reasons, because it always should be a fight. But I think just the influences alone, because they're so rooted here, it needed to be set off here."

Dave Grohl wanted to "reinvent the process" with Foo Fighters' new album.
The group are making a documentary series which will see them record one song in each of eight cities they will visit, joined in the studio by local legends.
And before recording, Dave will interview musicians tied to a particular city, including Dolly Parton, Chuck D and Gary Clark Jr., and is saving writing lyrics for the tracks until after the conversations, in the hope they will trigger inspiration.
He said: "We could just go make another record in the studio, hit the road and sell a bunch of T-shirts. It's all about reinventing the process."
The 'Monkey Wrench' rockers will record in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington, D.C., with each location chosen because of its connection to the band.
Dave - who is also directing the accompanying series - added to Billboard: "These recording studios are hallowed ground; they're churches and monuments to me. History has been made in (dives) all over the country."
The 'Walk' singer recently promised the resulting album will surprise people.
He said: "As we were coming down from the success of the last record, I thought, 'Now we have license to get weird'.
"If we wanted, we could make some crazy, bleak Radiohead record and freak everyone out. Then I thought, 'F**k that.'
"[The goal is to make stadium anthems that startle. Instead of just] banging out these big choruses, because that's what we do, we're banging them out in the middle of instrumental sections that will take you by surprise. The music is a progression or an evolution, for sure, but it's a Foo Fighters record."

La Roux's Elly Jackson "wanted to run away" after touring in 2009.
The 'In For The Kill' hitmaker admits she struggled to deal with her overnight fame four years ago and needed to take herself on a long vacation once the tour of North America had wrapped up.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, she explained: "I wanted to run away. I didn't want it to start again and I did run away for a bit -- I went on holiday. A very long holiday. The pressure was too much. I'm not very good at being this shiny, showy person. I see music and performing as an art form but only when I want it to be an art form. The rest of the time I want to be left alone."
The 26-year-old star also began to suffer from panic attacks at the height of her success, which often affected her vocals when she was on stage.
She said: "It was a problem for about three years, it stopped me doing things in 2011. But after that I tried to work through it. I'd breathe and meditate and sometimes I'd take medication. I'd have therapy too."
La Roux - which initially included producer Ben Langmaid until recently - is preparing to release her new album 'Trouble in Paradise' later this month and she insists she's come a long way in the last five years.
She explained: "I've really grown up and learned about myself. I know when to say no and when I need a break.
"And getting to that point has helped shape this album."
'Trouble in Paradise' is set for release on July 21.

Ed Sheeran doesn't like watching other people perform.
The 'Lego House' hitmaker admits he doesn't enjoy attending festivals unless he's part of the line-up because he gets jealous of other acts up on stage.
He explained in a video interview with German news agency DPA: "I don't enjoy watching other acts perform because I just think 'Oh man, I want to be up there.' That's why I don't enjoy festivals anymore.
"I didn't stop going because I started getting recognised, but because I just know what it's like to be the one on stage now, and that's just more fun. These live shows just aren't for me anymore - it sucks."
The 23-year-old singer recently topped the charts with his second studio album 'x', and is now planning to work on music for the biggest boyband in the world - One Direction.
He said previously: "I'm seeing [their record label boss] Simon Cowell soon. I'm going to his house and playing him some songs. I like that they've moved into a more acoustic zone and I have an idea that I think would work for them, so we'll see."
Meanwhile, despite his experience in the music industry, Ed admits he still gets nervous around other artists and even had an embarrassing moment when he performed his new single 'Sing' in front of the song's producer Pharrell Williams.
He said recently: "I was trying to show off in the studio in front of Pharrell. He gets amazing singers all the time, so I was like, 'I'm going to show him I can do this.' But now I have to play it live every day."

Nicole Scherzinger is inspired by Sam Smith's album.
The 36-year-old singer has revealed listening to the 'Stay With Me' hitmaker stimulated her to get emotionally raw on her upcoming album because she was incredibly moved by his heartbreaking lyrics and emotive voice on his hit record 'In the Lonely Hour'.
She said: "He did a spectacular job of cutting straight to the heartstrings. I had many dates with the album on and a glass of wine. There's this unbelievable cry but strength at the same time. That's what I'm aiming for."
The 'Your Love' singer's new album will feature plenty of songs about love and heartbreak, which she thinks her female fans will find relatable.
She explained: "This album is about the women I am, the women I'm not and the woman I want to be. There's a lot of stuff on my album girls can relate to. You gotta be in the slums and have a broken heart, that's when music transports you and heals."
But Nicole insists her songs about heartbreak aren't a reflection on her relationship with Lewis Hamilton.
She told the Daily Star newspaper: "I'm an artist, he doesn't come into it. I'm sure if he heard some of the music he would be able to relate to it as anybody would."

The Vamps hope Demi Lovato will help them to crack America.
The 21-year-old star features on the British boy band's new track 'Somebody To You' and Bradley Simpson has confessed he and his bandmates are hoping her contribution may win them more fans stateside.
He said: "I think it definitely helped us. To have such a superstar on the track is amazing. I think it'll help us hopefully in America as well to reach new audiences."
The 19-year-old singer also revealed that he hopes he and the rest of The Vamps - Connor Ball, Tristan Evans and Connor McVey - will be able to return the favour to the 'Skyscraper' hitmaker.
Speaking to MTV News, he added: "And hopefully, in some kind of way, we've helped her as well to open her up to our fans, who probably will have heard of her, but will now get to experience the amazing Demi Lovato."
The foursome also revealed how the collaboration came about with Connor joking that she "appeared out of the blue".
He added: "Nah, we were just working with the same producers as her and she came in and did her parts the week after we recorded which was very lovely of her."
Simpson continued: "We always knew we wanted a feature on that song and Demi nailed it."

A Keith Urban hologram has been unveiled in Sydney.
The computer-generated likeness of the singer performed in the city's Pitt Street Mall today (10.07.14), and fans were able to interact with it and even have their own jam session with the 46-year-old star.
The hologram - which was created using the same technology that saw a virtual Michael Jackson perform at the Grammy awards earlier this year - kicked off the day by addressing the crowd.
Virtual Keith said: "Thank you, thank you. Alright I'm going to play for you first, and then a little bit later we'll try something very cool.
" ... Alright this first one is called 'Somewhere In My Car'."
He then performed his new single, before fans were given the chance to "chill or rock" with him, with the audience given a choice of instruments including guitar, harmonica, tambourine or drums.
Sammy Vincent, 33, from Hurstville, was one of the first to perform with the hologram.
He told Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper: "It's always exciting, it was nerve-racking. It's a great way to interact.
"I'm a massive fan of him."
Sammy - who could only see the hologram on screens - said it was a "weird and wacky way" to interact with the 'American Idol' judge.
He added: "But its most enjoyable really."
The Keith Urban experience was part of a partnership between the musician and ANZ bank to promote their latest app Grow by ANZ.

The Libertines will release a new album next year.
The 'I Get Along' rockers insist there must be more to their reunion than performing gigs as they worry that will result in arguments, but need to find the time to write new music.
Carl Barat told NME magazine: "Next year. It has to be. I don't wanna just go on the road because then you'll get cabin fever and have an epic fallout.
"So yeah, I want to keep something fresh coming in. We just need to find the time [to write and record]. But yeah, it's always been the plan."
Co-frontman Pete Doherty hopes he and Carl can retreat to Europe in a similar manner to how they worked on ideas for their second self-titled album in 2004.
He said: "For some reason in my head, I'm thinking October, November time. That's what will have to happen.
"Basically it'll have to be like Paris, but in Hamburg and for a bit longer. I'm well up for it."
The band briefly reunited in 2010 for a handful of shows, but Carl felt there was more "pressure" and too many people around that time to really feel settled.
He said: "The thing with 2010 was that we had a f***ing film crew there - everything had to be done for a purpose.
"When it was the two of us [Pete and I] in Barcelona, we could literally walk and talk, take in the sights and be calm.
"And suddenly we remembered where it all came from and what it was about. We tapped back into the same place.
"We didn't to that so much last time. There was more pressure, people playing up to the cameras, but this time it was really important. I wanted to make an effort to go and see Peter."