Music News

Lorde has hit out at "spineless" music critics.
The New Zealand singer has taken to her Tumblr account to post a blog slamming Complex magazine which gave rapper Iggy Azalea a poor review for her new album 'The New Classic', after featuring her on the cover.
Lorde posted: "Bugs me how publications like complex will profile interesting artists in order to sell copies/get clicks and then shit on their records. It happens to me all the time - [music website] Pitchfork and that ilk being like 'can we interview you?' after totally taking the p*ss out of me in a review. (sic)
"Have a stance on an artist and stick to it. Don't act like you respect them then throw them under the bus."
Iggy backed Lorde on Twitter, posting: "I agree @lordemusic media LOVE to flop about, But when you're completely spineless Im sure its hard to stick to even ur own opinion #GoGirl. (sic)"
Complex magazine later responded to Lorde's blog post, explained its reasoning behind the review in a comment piece from associate editor Insanul Ahmed.
He said: "No one should stick to their opinion when new facts (possibly in the form of new music) are made available that can alter your views. Art and artistry are fluid things.
"Celebrities seek attention and media coverage every time they do something great, why would the camera stop rolling when they do something not so great? And even if they do, it isn't meant to be disrespectful - it's meant to be critical."

One Direction fans were 'crushed' during the band's gig in Peru, leaving 47 young people needing medical attention.
The boyband - made up of Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne - stopped performing during the concert and warned the audience they would walk off stage if they didn't stop pushing each other.
Mario Cassareto from the Estadio Nacional stadium told a Peruvian radio station: "We treated 47 children with the first stages of asphyxia. Everything is under control. We have nothing to be ashamed of, we've handled the situation well.
"We put in place a second evacuation plan so that the younger fans were not affected."
He insists venue bosses are working with the police and security companies who were contracted for the show."
Mario added: "It's under control. We are still treating those with symptoms of asphyxia that we pulled from the back. The ministry of health has set up tents."
A video taken from inside the venue shows singer Niall Horan warning the crowd: "If you don't want anyone to take us off the stage, make sure you stay back."
Bandmate Liam Payne added: "Or we'll have to go - and we don't want to go."
It was only the group's second of 69 shows as part of their 'Where We Are' world tour.
The 'Little Things' hitmakers kicked off their tour at the El Campin Stadium in Bogota, Colombia, where 44,000 fans filled the stadium.

One Direction, Katy Perry and Kings of Leon will perform at Radio 1's Big Weekend.
The free music event, which takes place this year in Glasgow, Scotland, from May 23 to May 25, have managed to secure the boy band - made up of Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik - for the festival, despite them having another show on the same day in Dublin, Ireland.
The 'Little Things' hitmakers will also join Ed Sheeran, Kings of Leon, Coldplay, Tinie Tempah, John Newman, The Vamps and The 1975, who are all on the bill.
One Direction, who kicked off their 'Where We Are Tour' this month, which will see them play more than 60 dates across the world, will headline on the Friday night, with Coldplay topping the bill on Saturday and Kings Of Leon on Sunday.
In a statement, One Direction said: "We're so excited to perform at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Glasgow. Glasgow we are coming to get you. We're going to put on a great show and we can't wait to see you all there."
Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill also said: "We're so excited to play Radio 1's Big Weekend. We've heard great things, and we can't wait to experience them first-hand."
The 50,000 free tickets available for this year's event were snapped up in less than one hour and Ben Cooper, controller at Radio 1, described the line-up as "phenomenal", adding: "It's probably the best in the world this year, in one of the world's great music cities."

Lily Allen insists she was not "mocking" Beyoncé during her performance at London's G.A.Y.
The 'Hard Out Here' singer mimicked the 'Drunk In Love' hitmaker's Grammy performance during a gig at the club on Saturday night (26.03.14), donning a blonde wig and dancing in a revealing black outfit before having a bucket of water thrown over her on stage.
Lily was slammed by followers on Twitter who claim she was taking a swipe at Beyoncé, but she defended her performance, tweeting: "Only one person can tell you what my intentions are, and that would be me.
"Each time I play GAY I do a cover in drag. 1st time I did Dorothy, last time Britney, thus tone Queen Bey. Why do people jump to conclusions. (sic)."
The 28-year-old singer, who has just released her new album 'Sheezus', which features lyrics about Lady Gaga and Beyoncé in the record's title track, also claims she never "dissed" her fellow female pop stars on the record.
She explained: "I wasn't mocking Beyoncé , like I wasn't dissing anyone on #SHEEZUS , this is so f***ing boring. (sic)"
While many critics were quick to call out Lily for dressing up as the star, others praised her performance of Destiny's Child's 'Survivor', with one tweeting: "Lily u were absolutely perfect yesterday night. Don't care about what the others say, because you are a true artist!! I love u @lilyallen (sic)"

Gary Barlow sent music industry bosses topless photos to land a record deal.
The 43-year-old singer has admitted he was so desperate to become famous as a teenager he sent out shirtless snaps to managers in a bid to get signed - and his efforts did the trick as he was snapped up by Nigel Martin-Smith to join Take That in 1990.
The 'Let Me Go' star was confronted with his embarrassing pictures by Nigel in new BBC One documentary, 'When Corden Met Barlow', with actor James Corden, and Gary explained: "I sent out a tape and lots of photos to lots of managers. This is what came to the office. Look at that!"
Nigel added: "How could I refuse? It looks like Annie Lennox but I knew he could be hot property."
Meanwhile, the pop boss also revealed the band's line-up - which also consists of Mark Owen, Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Robbie William - could have looked significantly different as he originally intended Mark, 42, to be the frontman.
However, Gary won him over by proving his singing ability and songwriting skills.
Nigel said: "It was going to be a completely different band until Gary came along."

Kanye West is planning to release a spoken word album.
The 'Bound 2' hitmaker will reportedly make the three-hour recording available on vinyl, and it will feature everything from his views on the environment to life with fiancee Kim Kardashian and their 10-month-old daughter North.
A source said: "Kanye loves the sound of his own voice and this will be the ultimate in self-indulgence.
"He has very strong views on everything from music and art to politics and the environment. He's forever recording his opinions on tape.
"He says he's doing it for posterity and thought about turning them into a book or even donating them to a museum."
Kanye is said to be excited by the "groundbreaking" record and has set his sights on it winning awards.
The source told The Sun newspaper: "Kanye likes to push the boundaries and thinks this is very groundbreaking. He's hoping it'll win him a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album."
And for fans who are particularly enamoured by the project, there will be a special extended version of the album available for download.
The source said: "What's more, he's planning on making 24 hours of his speech recording available to download so fans can listen to his views round the clock."

Alex Turner insists success in the music industry does not come from winning awards.
The Arctic Monkeys frontman, who admitted the band's BRIT Awards this year for Best Group and Best Album for 'AM' didn't mean much to him, claims he was just being honest.
He said: "I don't step up to accept a trophy for a race I didn't know I was running and act as thought it's something I've been dreaming of since I was a little boy, because it's not the truth.
"If that is the truth for you, fine, but it's not ever been about that - I think any sort of victory in this trek comes with the conception of a song or an idea, not with a trophy or a pat on the back."
Alex's improvised acceptance speech at the BRITs, in which he claimed "rock 'n' roll will never die", was frowned upon by some critics but guitarist Jamie Cook claims attitude is all part of being in the industry but it can only take an artist so far.
Drummer Matt Helders explained: "People can have a rock 'n' roll attitude and never be in a band. You can dress like that."
Alex added: "It's easier to say what it isn't. A haircut or a belt buckle. It doesn't even occur to some people that there is a rock 'n' roll - so, me saying that might give someone an idea. It's a beacon in your peripheral vision. You can't draw someone a map to it."

Boy George feels "very secure" in his sobriety.
The singer has overcome serious addictions to heroin and cocaine in his life and has now been as been clean for six years.
George is adamant nothing would tempt him to go back to drugs or alcohol because he has worked too hard to turn his life around.
He told People magazine: "I feel very secure in my sobriety. I'd never sacrifice what I have now for a drink or a drug. Sobriety has allowed me to come back to my work with a gratitude and passion that I didn't know I had before."
The 52-year-old star is very happy that his new album, 'This Is What I Do' has put the focus back on his career rather than his private life.
The 'Karma Chameleon' hitmaker said: "In some ways it feels like I'm starting over, and that's exciting - like I'm getting the change to repaint the picture of myself. People think I've just been in a coma since 1984, except popping up on occasion to get into trouble!"
The singer is also looking forward to reuniting with Culture Club.
He said: "We're recording in May, and I'm very excited about what we've written. We're not the same as we were 30 years ago, but we were always pretty eclectic, so we can kind of be what we want now."

Ian Anderson plans to make "one or two" more albums before he stops recording.
The Jethro Tull frontman, whose new record 'Homo Erraticus' reached number 14 in the UK Album Charts, his highest charting solo record to date, still has plans to tour but might not want to record too many records in the future.
He said: "I'm heading off to various parts of the world on tour during the rest of this year and into 2015 again before I take a break to record something.
"There's maybe one or two more recordings in me before I decide I've done enough."
But as a performer, Ian, 66, claims he is lucky to still be able to tour and health is on his side, therefore he wants to make the most of it.
He explained: "I might find myself even going back to New Zealand and Australia. I can get on doing what I do for as long as I can, without fear of getting the sack or stopping on age related grounds," adding, "If you had my job, you wouldn't really think about retiring unless it's thrust upon you."
The singer's next record will be a "string quartet album" featuring music ideal for "funerals and weddings."
Ian told BANG Showbiz: "A lot of people do like those big moments in their lives to have a big piece of music mark the passage into life or death. I think it'd be quite nice to make a record that would consist of music which someone could say, 'We could play this at our daughter's wedding.' "
Ian is set to go out on tour from next week with dates across the UK, kicking off at the Brighton Dome on Monday April 28. He play tracks from his new album and a number of Jethro Tull classic. Tickets and information is available at Gigantic.com/artist/ian-anderson.

Ian Anderson tour dates:

April:
28 Brighton, Dome
29 Southampton, O2 Guildhall

May:
01 Salisbury, City Hall
02 Liverpool, Philharmonic
03 Birmingham, Symphony Hall
04 Oxford, New Theatre
06 Bristol, Colston Hall
07 High Wycombe, Swan Theatre
08 Guildford, G Live
09 Cambridge, Corn Exchange
10 Ipswich, Regent Theatre
11 Leicester, De Montfort Hall
14 Manchester, Palace Theatre
15 York, Royal Opera House
16 Gateshead, Sage Theatre
18 Edinburgh , Festival Theatre
19 Perth, Concert Hall
20 Aberdeen, Music Hall
21 Inverness, Eden Court
24 London, 02 Shepherds Bush Empire
25 London, 02 Shepherds Bush