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Madison Beer on Billie Eilish: “the topics she touches on in her music are so prolific”

Madison Beer recently spoke to NME about the difficulties she’s faced as a young woman in the music industry, standing up for herself and her work, and why she’s inspired by Billie Eilish. Watch our full interview with Beer below. READ MORE: Madison Beer on the cover: “I have a voice and it deserves to be heard” The singer-songwriter had previously spoken out about speaking out after not receiving co-production credit for her work on the music video for her track ‘Baby’. “Even if I still have to shout to be heard, I am heard and that’s enough,” she said. “I know what I deserve, I know what I worked for, what credit I should be given. I think that’s also another topic of misogyny in the industry.” Advertisement Beer added: “I think that women get discredited a lot and undermined for their intelligence and their ability to do things the same way men can. I definitely always want to fight for the producing credit or the directing credit or whatever I did on tour because I think it’s important for people to see a woman’s name in those titles, so they can know you indeed can do the same thing.”… Read More →

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Mercury Prize 2022 ceremony postponed following death of Queen Elizabeth II

This year’s Mercury Prize ceremony has been postponed following the announcement that Queen Elizabeth II died this afternoon (September 8). READ MORE: Mercury Prize 2022: why each nominee deserves to win The red carpet for the event had previously been cancelled after Buckingham Palace issued a statement earlier today, which said that “doctors [were] concerned for Her Majesty’s health” and had “recommended she remain under medical supervision”. The 2022 Mercury Prize ceremony was to be hosted by Lauren Laverne and broadcast on BBC Four from 9pm-10.15pm BST and on BBC Radio 6 Music from 7pm-midnight. “In light of the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, we are so sorry to announce that we will not be proceeding with this evening’s event as planned,” Mercury Prize shared in a statement. “Mercury Prize will be communicating with guests and audience members over the coming days,” they added. “We thank you for your understanding at this difficult and sad time.” Self Esteem, Sam Fender and Nova Twins. CREDIT: Getty 12 albums had been shortlisted for this year’s Album Of The Year award including Harry Styles’ ‘Harry’s House’, Little Simz’s ‘Sometimes I Might be Introvert’, Sam Fender’s ‘Seventeen Going Under’, Wet Leg’s self-titled album… Read More →

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Stewart Copeland says he “started crying” when he saw Taylor Hawkins’ son Shane drum ‘My Hero’

Stewart Copeland has said that he “started crying” when he saw Taylor Hawkins’ son Shane drum ‘My Hero’. READ MORE: Taylor Hawkins, 1972 – 2022: Foo Fighters drummer who always stole the show The 16-year-old got behind the drums with the Foo Fighters to perform the 1997 hit, which he previously performed in tribute to his late father in July, at Wembley Stadium last weekend. The former Police drummer, who performed a cover of ‘Next To You’ and ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ with Dave Grohl and co at the tribute concert, said he was overcome with emotion when he saw Shane get behind the drums before the concert. Advertisement Copeland told CBS This Morning: “It is very emotional to be here and perhaps the most emotional moment of this whole thing, because we’re all staying in one big hotel together and laughing it up, talking about Taylor and enjoying the brief time he was with us, all too brief. “But the most emotional moment for me was at sound check a couple of days ago here and to see young Shane Hawkins on the drums. I started crying. He’s got it. He’s got such power, enthusiasm. He’s got… Read More →

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The Libertines pay tribute to “much loved” early drummer Paul Dufour, who has died

The Libertines have paid tribute to their “much loved” former drummer, Paul Dufour, who has died. READ MORE: The Roots Of… The Libertines Dufour played in the early days of the band before Gary Powell replaced him. “Paul Dufour, our much loved drummer from the early days, passed away last night. We are all in great shock and sadness. Sending love and thoughts to Paul’s friends and family. It was honour to play with you Mr Razzcocks. Forever in our hearts x,” read a message posted on The Libertines’ Instagram account alongside an archive photo of the band. Dufour’s cause of death has not yet been revealed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Libertines (@thelibertines) One fan wrote on Twitter with a picture of him posing with Dufour by a drum kit: “Had the pleasure of meeting him earlier this year. Was a really nice bloke that spoke very highly of his time in the band. Spoke to him for ages about it all.” Other fans sent their condolences to the London four-piece after learning of the news. Had the pleasure of meeting him earlier this year. Was a really nice bloke that spoke very highly… Read More →

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Roger Waters asks Ukrainian First Lady to help “persuade our leaders to stop the slaughter” in open letter

Roger Waters has penned an open letter to Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, suggesting she persuade her husband to work toward a ceasefire with Russia and “stop the slaughter”. The letter from the former Pink Floyd member comes by way of response to Zelenska’s interview on the BBC program Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, which aired on Sunday (September 4.) In it, Zelenska was asked what message she had for British people regarding the rise in energy bills that has come in part due to the current war between Ukraine and Russia. Advertisement Zelenska said: “People must understand [rising energy costs] are not coming through the West’s support to Ukraine. The prices are going up in Ukraine as well. But in addition, our people get killed. So when you start counting pennies on your bank account or in your pocket, we do the same and count our casualties.” Zelenska said “If the support [from the West] is strong, this period will be shorter”, which Waters took issue with. Posting to Facebook yesterday (September 6), Waters addressed Zelenska. He begins by saying his “heart bleeds for you and all the Ukrainian and Russian families, devastated by the terrible war in Ukraine”. Waters… Read More →

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Vince Staples to lead Netflix comedy series loosely based on his life

Vince Staples and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris are set to collaborate on a comedy series for Netflix. The rapper will executive produce and star in The Vince Staples Show, a scripted comedy series loosely based on his life. READ MORE: Vince Staples: “It’s important for me to tell the truth about my experiences” Set in his hometown of Long Beach, California, Staples will produce the series alongside Barris, Ian Edelman, Maurice Williams, Corey Smyth and Calmatic, who is set to direct the first two episodes. Edelman and Williams will serve as co-showrunners on the project. Advertisement “I am excited to partner with Netflix and Kenya Barris on The Vince Staples Show,” Staples said. “This has been something I have been developing for some time and I am happy it’s coming to fruition.” The Vince Staples Show — a scripted comedy series loosely inspired by the rapper’s life, starring the critically acclaimed artist and produced by Kenya Barris — is headed to Netflix! pic.twitter.com/pGYkMyoftS — Netflix (@netflix) September 6, 2022 Tracey Pakosta, head of comedy at Netflix, said: “It’s our mission to work with the best artists in the world. Vince has already established himself as one of the most talented young… Read More →

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Dionne Warwick is “confused” by Yung Gravy’s stage name

Dionne Warwick has said that she’s confused by Yung Gravy‘s choice of stage name. READ MORE: What makes an old song go viral on TikTok? The legendary soul singer, who kicks off a US and UK tour later this month, took to her Twitter account recently to ask about the rapper’s (real name Matt Hauri) moniker. “Young Gravy? Like the food??????” she asked her followers. Later, she wrote: “I have just learned that it is ‘Yung’ and not ‘Young’. I am still confused about the gravy. Okay.” Advertisement In response, Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter wrote: “I guess it’s better than Old Gravy??” to which Dionne replied: “You have a point.” I have just learned that it is “Yung” and not “Young”. I am still confused about the gravy. Okay. — Dionne Warwick (@dionnewarwick) August 29, 2022 It’s not the first time that Warwick – who is relatively new to social media – has queried a rapper’s stage name. In December 2020 she was perplexed by Chance the Rapper’s. Meanwhile, Yung Gravy has made headlines in recent months following the viral success of his single ‘Betty’ as well as for stepping out at the 2022 MTV VMAs last month with singer… Read More →

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The Snuts share rousing new single ‘Knuckles’ ahead of upcoming album ‘Burn The Empire’

The Snuts have shared their rousing new single ‘Knuckles’, which is taken from their forthcoming album ‘Burn The Empire’. READ MORE: The Snuts: “Our debut album says there is a place for guitar music” The track is the fifth cut from the record that’s due out on October 7 via Parlophone Records. It follows the singles ‘The Rodeo’, ‘End Of The Road’, ‘Zuckerpunch’ and the album’s title track. “We wanted to create something feel good and carefree. A song close to our hearts, but wide open for interpretation, it’s a new age indie tune designed for letting loose,” lead singer Jack Cochrane said of ‘Knuckles’, which you can listen to below. Advertisement “Lyrically the track is inspired by the notion of the strong female spirit I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by throughout life. It’s about resilience and strength.” Meanwhile, The Snuts have urged their fans to “bombard” the band’s record label in order to their forthcoming new album released a week early so that they can hear it before their UK tour kicks off at Bristol O2 Academy on October 2. They wrote on Twitter: “Growing up watching bands we always wished we could hear their new album before… Read More →

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Listen to Ozzy Osbourne’s new song ‘Nothing Feels Right’ with Zakk Wylde

Ahead of new album ‘Patient Number 9’ arriving this Friday (September 9), Ozzy Osbourne has shared one more preview of the record: a cut called ‘Nothing Feels Right’ that features Zakk Wylde on guitar. READ MORE: Ozzy Osbourne: “This album saved my life” Wylde has regularly toured with Ozzy and played guitar for several of his solo albums, such as 1988’s ‘No Rest for the Wicked’, 1991’s ‘No More Tears’, 1995’s ‘Ozzmosis’, 2001’s ‘Down to Earth’ and multiple live records. However, ‘Nothing Feels Right’ marks the first time the Black Label Society frontman has appeared on an Osbourne album since 2007’s Black Rain’ – he was absent from both 2010’s ‘Scream’ and 2020’s ‘Ordinary Man’. He rejoined Osbourne’s live band in 2017. Listen below: Advertisement ‘Nothing Feels Right’ is the third single Osbourne has released from ‘Patient Number 9’ ahead of its arrival this Friday. He announced the forthcoming album in June alongside its Jeff Beck-featuring title track, and reunited with Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi on ‘Degradation Rules’ in July. Produced by Andrew Watt, the album is also set to feature appearances from Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready along with Eric Clapton on guitar, plus Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo, Guns N’ Roses‘… Read More →

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Two Door Cinema Club cancel European tour as Kevin Baird battles “incurable autoimmune disease”

Two Door Cinema Club have cancelled their upcoming European headline tour due to the health of bassist Kevin Baird. READ MORE: Two Door Cinema Club at Reading Festival 2021: heady anthems from indie survivors The band shared the news on social media via a message from Baird which explained that he had been receiving treatment for an “incurable autoimmune disease”. “I’ve loved every second of playing shows again this summer, especially after such a long time away but the harsh reality is that it’s been really hard on my body,” the message read. Advertisement “I’ve been experiencing a lot of ups and downs in managing this bastard of a disease and after a lot of long chats with my doctor we’ve decided that the next step is surgery to remove the affected organ after which it should be much more manageable.” He added that he was “scheduled to have the operation in a few weeks”, which means the band will no longer be able to play their September and October dates in Europe. As for shows later in the year, he said: “As it stands the medical advice I’ve been given is that we’ll have to wait and see how the… Read More →

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1Xtra Live 2022 cancelled due to scheduling issues and rising “financial costs”

The BBC has cancelled this year’s edition of 1Xtra Live due to artists’ changing schedules and “increasing financial costs”. Announced last month, the 2022 instalment of the annual event – which celebrates the best of Black music – had been set to take place at the OVO Arena Wembley in London on Saturday, October 15. READ MORE: Happy birthday, BBC Radio 1Xtra – still so important to Black British culture 20 years on It would’ve further marked BBC Radio 1Xtra’s 20th anniversary. “We’re going to bring new and emerging talent together with the hottest UK artists and best international acts for the biggest Birthday bash of the year,” said Faron McKenzie, Head Of 1Xtra, previously. Advertisement Today (September 5), organisers have announced that 1Xtra Live 2022 will no longer be taking place as planned. “Due to some significant changes over the past few weeks, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s 1Xtra Live, which was due to be held on 15th October in London,” the official update read. “A combination of changes to artists’ schedules and increasing financial costs means that we are not able to put on the event to the standard we expect from ourselves… Read More →

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Justin Hawkins explains taking mic from AC/DC’s Brian Johnson at Taylor Hawkins tribute show

Justin Hawkins has dismissed some fans’ suggestion that he took the microphone away from Brian Johnson during a joint performance at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert on Saturday (September 3). READ MORE: Taylor Hawkins, 1972 – 2022: Foo Fighters drummer who always stole the show The Darkness‘ frontman appeared onstage with Johnson and Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich to perform AC/DC‘s classic single ‘Back In Black’ at the special Wembley Stadium event. Hawkins was seen taking the mic from Johnson, before swapping lines with the singer. Some viewers subsequently accused Hawkins of “stealing the mic” from the AC/DC frontman, a claim the former has since denied on social media. Advertisement One Twitter user defended Hawkins, writing: “Brian called him onto the stage!” In response, the musician said: “Yeah, 10 seconds before the AC DC section Brian told me to get up for the second verse of BIB. “I didn’t want to do it, never sung that before but [Dave Grohl] said ‘if Brian tells you to do something, you fucking do it.’ Haha.” Brian Johnson and Justin Hawkins fighting over the mic during Back In Black. #taylorhawkinsconcert — Jim Gellatly (@JimGellatly) September 3, 2022 What was Justin Hawkins doing ? not sure Brian Johnson… Read More →

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South Korean government cancels plans to hold public poll on BTS’ military exemption

The South Korean government has announced that it will no longer be holding a public poll regarding BTS’ potential military exemption. READ MORE: J-hope live at Lollapalooza 2022: BTS rapper arrives as true solo great in history-making headline set South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence has followed-up on minister Lee Jong-sup’s previous comments regarding a potential public poll on BTS’ military exemption, announcing that it will not be going forward with the poll. During an August 31 parliamentary hearing, defence minister Lee Jong-sup told lawmakers of plans to implement a national survey to gauge public opinions on exempting the boyband from mandatory military service. The ministry later clarified that officials were only examining the need of such a survey at the time. Advertisement As of September 1 however, it confirmed that it will not be conducting a poll on BTS’ enlistment. “The Ministry of National Defence will not arrange a public poll on the matter, nor making decisions on the issue of BTS’ military service solely based on the result of the poll,” it shared through an official statement, as reported by SBS News. All able-bodied male citizens of South Korea are to enlist in the military by the age… Read More →

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Joe Walsh leads reunited James Gang at Taylor Hawkins tribute concert

Joe Walsh led a reunited James Gang at last night’s Taylor Hawkins tribute concert, marking the group’s first performance in 16 years. The special event in honour of the late Foo Fighters drummer took place on Saturday (September 3) at London’s Wembley Stadium, and was simulcast all on the web, television and streaming platforms. Featuring a star-studded line-up, tribute performances came from the likes of Mark Ronson, Queens Of The Stone Age‘s Josh Homme, Supergrass, Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, AC/DC‘s Brian Johnson, Kesha, Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich and more. Advertisement Introducing James Gang, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl said: “If you’ve ever seen a picture of Taylor Hawkins, most likely he was wearing a fucking hat that said James Gang on it.” Led by Walsh – who had tweeted about the band’s set at the concert the day prior (September 2) – James Gang stepped onto the stage at 7pm BST, where the trio gave a performance of ‘Walk Away’, from their 1971 album ‘Thirds’, before playing a medley of ‘The Bomber: Closet Queen/Bolero/Cast Your Fate to the Wind’. The group – rounded out by bassist Dale Peters and drummer Jimmy Fox – ended their brief appearance… Read More →

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Matty Healy denies that The 1975 will feature on Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’

Matty Healy has confirmed that a “leaked” tracklisting for Taylor Swift’s upcoming ‘Midnights’ album is fake, after The 1975 were listed as a featured artist on it. READ MORE: Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well’ short film highlights the emotional power of her storytelling The fake leak generated buzz when it circulated on social media yesterday (September 3), with the album’s cover art – which currently has its 13 songs listed as ‘Track One’, ‘Track Two’, ‘Track Three’ and so on – photoshopped to include actual song names. Among them were three songs with featured artists: ‘In My Dreams’ with The 1975, ‘Good In The Dark’ with Lana Del Ray, and ‘Halle’ with Stevie Nicks. Taking to his own social media, The 1975’s frontman shot the “leak” down, writing: “I would love that! But unfortunately FAKE NEWS.” I would love that! But unfortunately FAKE NEWS ? https://t.co/WGDlv9jgfF — Matty (@MatthewTHealy) September 3, 2022 Advertisement Fans of Swift and The 1975 had a mixed reaction to the news, with most replies either imploring Healy to “make it happen” or declaring him to be lying. At the time of writing, none of the tracks on ‘Midnights’ have been publicly revealed. Swift showed off… Read More →

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Eliza Rose becomes first female DJ to top the Official Singles Chart in 20 years

Eliza Rose has become the first female DJ to top the Official Singles Chart in more than 20 years with her dance hit ‘B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)’. READ MORE: Eliza Rose: the DJ behind this summer’s most empowering dance anthem The last female DJ to top the Official Singles Chart was Sonique with the single ‘It Feels So Good’ in 2002. The club anthem entered the UK Singles Chart three weeks ago and jumped to the top today overtaking Beyoncé’s ‘Break My Soul’, David Guetta’s ‘What Love Can Do’, and Central Cee’s ‘Doja’. “I just got Number One for ‘Baddest Of Them All’ thank you to everybody who streamed, downloaded, and listened,” Rose said in reaction to taking the top spot. “It’s the people’s rhythm and I feel like we came together to get it to Number One.” Advertisement The track was an underground hit in London’s club scene, before breaking out at the Glastonbury Festival and crossing into the mainstream. “When I found out it had been played a few times at Glasto, I was like, ‘I’ve made it!’” Rose told NME during a feature interview last month. “On the last day at the Stone Circle, somebody came over to… Read More →

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Halsey says Bring Me The Horizon taught her to “scream on a record”

Halsey has revealed that Bring Me The Horizon taught her to “scream on a record”. READ MORE: Halsey: “No amount of experience makes you invincible to trends” Both acts headlined Reading & Leeds 2022 last weekend and have previously worked together on a number of occasions, including on the Birds Of Prey soundtrack. Speaking to NME about how BMTH taught her to scream, Halsey said: “They coached me through my first time screaming on a record which was really fun. You can’t ask for a better person to coach you through that. Now I do it in the show, live every night, which is awesome.” Advertisement The NME Innovation Award winner added: “They’re such great guys. We spent a couple of days in the studio together and we made a couple of songs, and you just wouldn’t believe the range of music we were making. We were in the studio and Jordan [Fish, keys] was coaching me through doing these Justin Timberlake harmonies on a record, and I was like, ‘Dude what?’ And he was like ‘I love music like this’. “They were having a lot of fun with me I think, as we were getting to write stuff together that Oli [Sykes,… Read More →

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Former NU’EST singer Baekho drops ‘Savior’, the latest addition to the ‘Good Job’ soundtrack

Former NU’EST member Baekho has unveiled his latest single ‘Savior’ as his contribution to the official soundtrack to K-drama Good Job. READ MORE: TWICE – ‘Between 1&2’ review: A self-assured showcase of how far the K-pop group have come The new song dropped on September 1 along with an accompanying video, which features snippets from the mystery-romance series interspersed with footage of Baekho recording the track in the studio. “Everyday you’ll grow brighter / In the dark of night / Get me out of here, yeah / Oh, I want to be in front of you,” he belts in the chorus. Advertisement Good Job, which began airing on August 24 via South Korean streaming platform ENA, stars Bossam: Steal The Fate co-stars Yuri of Girls’ Generation and Jung Il-woo as the show’s leads. The series follows Eun Seon-woo (Jung), a chaebol who leads a secret double life as a detective by night. He crosses paths with Don Se-ra (Yuri), a woman with hyperacuity who uses her ability to secretly help those around her. New episodes of Good Job air on the streaming service every Wednesday and Thursday at 9pm KST. They are also available to stream on OTT platforms Olleh TV and Seezn. Meanwhile, Pledis Entertainment confirmed that Baekho… Read More →

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Taylor Swift reveals collectable editions of ‘Midnights’ on CD and vinyl

Taylor Swift has announced three new collectable editions of her forthcoming 10th studio album, ‘Midnights’, all of which will boast unique features and will only be available to purchase for a limited time. READ MORE: Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well’ short film highlights the emotional power of her storytelling The three different variants are a ‘Jade Green’ edition, a ‘Blood Moon’ edition and a ‘Mahogany’ edition. Each is named for the colour it represents – for example, the ‘Jade Green’ edition has the title and tracklisting on the album’s front cover (as well as the left-side bar of the CD version’s jewel case) printed in a muted gradient of deep greens, while the original version is laid out in blue. Similarly, the ‘Blood Moon’ edition of ‘Midnights’ features a gradient of deep red to orange, and the ‘Mahogany’ edition comes with brown and gold accents. The text on each version will be accompanied by a unique photo of Swift in a different retro-inspired outfit and setting. Advertisement As for the vinyl release, each version will be pressed in a unique colourway: the ‘Jade Green’ edition comes in a marbling of jade, turquoise and deep blue, the ‘Blood Moon’ edition comes… Read More →

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Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ to be released as CD single

Kate Bush‘s hit song, ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ is set to be reissued as a CD single. READ MORE: Kate Bush’s best on-screen syncs – from ‘Stranger Things’ to ‘Being Human’ This will be the first time the ‘Hounds of Love’ track will be released in the format and is set to release on September 2 via Rhino. Pre-orders are available here. Earlier today, both Harry Styles and Bush were named as the leading acts on Spotify‘s new Top Songs Of Summer 2022 steaming report. Advertisement According to the official post, Styles’ hit ‘As It Was’ has registered over 610 million streams on the platform over the past three months alone. The lead single from the star’s third solo album ‘Harry’s House’ is the most listened-to song globally, and claimed the top spot in 24 countries. Bush’s classic ’Running Up That Hill’ came in at second place on the global run-down, but took the top position above Styles as the most-streamed song of summer in the US. There’s been a huge renewed interest in ‘Running Up That Hill’ after it featured prominently in the fourth season of Stranger Things, which was released on Netflix as two volumes in May and July. Earlier… Read More →

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Interpol respond to claim Peter Hook once applied to become their bassist

Daniel Kessler has responded to Peter Hook‘s past claim that he applied to become Interpol‘s new bassist following the departure of Carlos Dengler. Dengler departed the NYC indie outfit back in 2010, having been a member since the group’s formation in 1997. Interpol continued as a trio, though their live shows feature additional touring musicians. READ MORE: Interpol: “We were rejected by every record label – including the one we’re signed to” Shortly after Dengler quit, former New Order bassist Hook told LA Weekly that he’d “applied” to replace the ex-member but claimed he “didn’t get picked”. The musician added: “I applied as Peter Hook, and they turned me down.” Advertisement Hook told the outlet at the time that Interpol had released “an internet application form to be a bass player”. The comments came after the interviewer noted that the New Yorkers had a “Joy Division-sounding” style. Responding to the comparison, Hook said: “I don’t mind it, it has to be taken as a compliment.” Speaking to NME for the latest edition of our ‘Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?!’ quiz, guitarist Kessler said he wasn’t aware that Hook had put himself forward for the role some 12 years ago. “I… Read More →