Neal

Lola Young “going away for a while” after collapsing on stage: “It pains me to say I have to cancel everything for the foreseeable future”

Lola Young has today (September 30) said that she is “going away” for a while after collapsing on stage last week in New York City. READ MORE: Lola Young – ‘I’m Only Fucking Myself’ review: interesting and surprising spins on pop The musician appeared to fall ill while performing ‘Conceited’ at All Things Go in New York City on Saturday (September 27), and was carried off stage by a medical team. It came after Young spoke briefly about how she “had a tricky couple of days” earlier in the set. “Sometimes life can really make you feel like you can’t continue,” she said. “But you know what, today I woke up and I made the decision to come here, and I wanted to be cool…and sometimes life can throw you lemons, and you just gotta make lemonade.” After the incident, Young took to Instagram on Monday (September 28) to reassure fans that she was “doing okay”, but the musician was also then forced to pull out of her Washington DC set at All Things Go a day after the incident. Now, Young has shared a new statement on social media detailing how she is taking a break from her commitments… Read More →

30SEPHit Singles

Listen to a previously unheard T.Rex song, “I’m Dazed”

To commemorate what would have been Marc Bolan’s 78th birthday, English Heritage have today unveiled a blue plaque at Bolan’s former home at 31 Clarendon Gardens, Maida Vale, London. The occasion has also been marked by the release of “I’m Dazed”, a completely unheard T. Rex song recorded in 1975, and recently discovered on studio tapes from the period. Advertisement The track was first laid down at Château d’Hérouville studios near Paris in March 1975, and T. Rex recorded a second version on April 22 at Musicland Studios in Munich. Produced by Bolan and engineered by Reinhold Mack, it features the classic mid-‘70s T. Rex lineup of Bolan, Steve Currie, Gloria Jones, Davey Lutton and Dino Dines. Listen below: Martin Barden, consultant to Demon Music, who discovered the tracks, says: “While cataloguing some old T. Rex tapes, I spotted tracks I’d never heard before. When we played the reel and Marc’s voice came through, it was magical. To unearth this completely unheard track, ‘I’m Dazed’, after 50 years, feels like finding hidden treasure and is a true gift for fans. This song was recorded when Marc was living an itinerant life, hopping across borders and continents – and producing some… Read More →

30SEPNews

Hayley Williams explains why Paramore’s music has reappeared in Israel after joining ‘No Music For Genocide’ boycott

Hayley Williams has explained why Paramore‘s music has reappeared on streaming platforms in Israel despite the band joining the ‘No Music For Genocide’ boycott. READ MORE: Hayley Williams’ surprise 17-song release is a bold choose-your-own-adventure through hope and heartache Last week, Paramore and Williams shared that they would be removing their music from streaming platforms in Israel as part of the ‘No Music for Genocide’ movement. The campaign is a cultural boycott initiative encouraging artists and rights-holders to pull their music from streaming platforms in Israel in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Advertisement Shortly after the band’s and Williams’ solo catalogue were added to the campaign’s official website, their music was pulled from streaming services in Israel. It is worth noting that the band had not publicly commented on the initiative. However, fans noticed that a few days later, Paramore’s and Williams’ music was once again available in the country, leading to fans taking to social media to voice their disappointment. One fan shared a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter), slamming Paramore for their silence on the matter. The poster wrote: “A public statement exclusive to Instagram Stories would’ve already gone a long way, even just to state your inability to… Read More →

29SEPHit Singles

The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs: “It was a publicity stunt and it worked”

Back in 1999, the idea of writing 69 love songs didn’t seem such a monumental task. “My labour was very cheap at the time,” says The Magnetic Fields’ mainman Stephin Merritt. “So devoting a year of full-time labour to one project didn’t seem all that unreasonable.” Advertisement For the past two years, Merritt has been touring his resultant three-hour masterpiece 69 Love Songs around the world to celebrate its 25th anniversary, playing the entire album over two consecutive nights, with upcoming shows at London’s Union Chapel as well as in Brighton and Bristol (tickets here). [embedded content] Last performed in the UK in 2001, when Peter Gabriel joined the band for the record’s cornerstone heartbreaker “The Book Of Love” at the Lyric Hammersmith, 69 Love Songs has evolved over the past quarter-century. An instant critical smash for its vast revue-style variety of stylistic experiment and superlative songwriting, the album fell between end-of-decade critic lists owing to being listed for pre-sale in 1999 but largely unavailable until 2000. “It seems appropriate,” argues Merritt. “Falling between gaps, genres and categories seems to be more or less the whole idea of 69 Love Songs. Why not fall in between centuries as well?” Over… Read More →

29SEPNews

Doja Cat announces massive ‘Tour Ma Vie’ 2026 world tour of UK, Europe, North America and Latin America

Doja Cat has announced the huge ‘Tour Ma Vie’ 2026 world tour, which includes stops in the UK, Europe, North America and Latin America. Check out the details below. The new tour dates will be the Grammy-winning singer’s biggest run of live shows yet, and come in celebration of her long-awaited album ‘Vie’, which arrived last Friday (September 26). Advertisement It also follows on from her previously announced shows for 2025, which will see her perform across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia throughout the remainder of this year. The new run of dates kick off in São Paulo, Brazil, on February 5, and continue throughout the month with stops in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico. From there, she heads over to the UK and Ireland in May for five shows. These include stops in Glasgow, Manchester, and Birmingham arenas, as well as a gig at The O2 in London. June will see Doja Cat head on the European leg of the tour, with stops in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland, before wrapping up the run with a huge number of North American dates. The latter kicks off in Detroit on October 1, and continues with performances in Chicago,… Read More →

29SEPHit Singles

Super Furry Animals announce 30th anniversary tour

Super Furry Animals are back! The Welsh wizards have today announced that they’ll play six live shows in May to mark the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Fuzzy Logic. See the dates for the Supacabra tour below: Wed 6 May 2026: Dublin, 3Olympia TheatreFri 8 May 2026: Glasgow, The BarrowlandsThu 14 May 2026: Llandudno, Venue CymruSat 16 May 2026: Cardiff, Utilita ArenaThu 21 May 2026: Manchester, O2 ApolloFri 22 May 2026: London, O2 Brixton Academy The Super Furries will be supported by Getdown Services (all dates except London), Melin Melyn (Cardiff only) and Honeyglaze (London only). Tickets go on general sale on October 3 at 10am – sign up here for pre-sale access. In addition, Super Furry Animals will reissue their 2005 album Love Kraft in remastered form on October 24, including 22 bonus tracks. Pre-order / pre-save here.

29SEPNews

Watch Laufey duet ‘Gabriela’ with KATSEYE at Los Angeles gig

Laufey has performed a stripped down duet of ‘Gabriela’ with KATSEYE at her recent Los Angeles concert – check out footage of the performance below. READ MORE: “There are so many more layers to my emotion”: how Laufey defied expectations on her third album ‘A Matter Of Time’ On Saturday (September 27), Laufey performed the second of her two sold-out shows at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, where she surprised audiences by bringing out global pop girl group KATSEYE for an acoustic duet. Advertisement After introducing the group – minus member Manon – joining former NME Cover star Laufey onstage, the two acts dove into a stripped down version of ‘Gabriela’. The duet saw Laufey sing alongside the KATSEYE members across several verses and choruses. Watch the moment below. [embedded content] Following the performance, Laufey said to the audience and the girl group: “I’m a KATSEYE OG fan, I hope everyone knows.” She then proceeded to hand a crown to each member of the group and exchanged hugs with them before they left the stage. READ MORE: KATSEYE: “If you don’t get it, then it’s not for you – and that’s OK” ‘Gabriela’ is taken off KATSEYE’s latest mini-album ‘Beautiful Chaos’,… Read More →

28SEPNews

Labi Siffre issues cease-and-desist order to Tommy Robinson over use of ‘(Something Inside) So Strong’

Labi Siffre has issued a cease-and-desist order to Tommy Robinson over his use of ‘(Something Inside) So Strong’ at a recent rally. The song featured prominently at the “unite the kingdom” rally in central London on September 13, which was organised by the far-right activist Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. The track has also been used by Robinson in posts on social media. Advertisement In an interview with The Guardian, Siffre, 80, has said that Robinson is “breaking all sorts of copyrights”, adding: “Even in an era when theft is easier than it ever was, it’s still theft.” The 1987 song was written by Siffre as a response to a television documentary about apartheid in South Africa in which white soldiers were shown shooting at black civilians in the street. It won an Ivor Novello Award, has been used in Amnesty International campaigns and was thought to be one of Nelson Mandela’s favourite songs. [embedded content] Explaining his objection to the song’s use by Robinson, Siffre added: “Anybody who knows me and knows my work since 1970 will know the joke of them using the work of a positive atheist, homosexual black artist as apparently representative of their movement.”… Read More →

28SEPHit Singles

Edwyn Collins reviewed: emotional final hometown concert capped by an Orange Juice reunion

“Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?” The buzz of expectant chatter in the auditorium turns to cheers as the room fills with the magnificent racket of The Mekons’ 1978 single, “Where Were You”, clattering out as intro music, and as a reminder of what was in the air back when all this started. Behind the stage, letters apparently stolen from the set of Elvis’s 1968 comeback special spell out E D W Y N. And now Edwyn Collins himself appears from the wings, walks slowly and determinedly to take the chair he will occupy for most, but not all, of the evening, and leans toward the mic. “The Orange Juice days,” he says. “Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?” Advertisement And with that, with his sterling five-piece band l,ocking instantly into the circling, tumbling riff of “Falling And Laughing” and with emotions already running high, we’re off. One last time. When, as it must, Hollywood gets around to making the big screen Edwyn Collins biopic, the scriptwriters will surely take poetic licence, tweak the pesky facts, and rewrite reality so that this Glasgow show becomes the final gig of this final tour. Edwyn belongs to Glasgow Sure, Edwyn… Read More →

27SEPNews

The Futureheads announce new Christmas album and tour

The Futureheads have announced details of a new festive album ‘Christmas’ and an accompanying UK tour. The Sunderland indie band will release their first ever holidays-themed album on November 21. It will be comprised largely of reinterpretations of yuletide classics, as well as two original compositions, and you can pre-order it here. Advertisement A brand new song ‘The Coldest Winter In 100 Years’ will appear on the record, as will the band’s 2010 release ‘Christmas Was Better In The 80s’, the first festive song the band ever released. ‘Christmas’ has been arranged, recorded and produced by the band themselves and also includes covers of favourites such as ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’, Pretenders‘ ‘2000 Miles’, Jona Lewie’s ‘Stop The Cavalry’ and Paul McCartney‘s ‘Wonderful Christmastime’. [embedded content] To coincide with the album’s release, the band will also play four exclusive shows in December, including two hometown shows at Sunderland’s The Fire Station, and shows in Glasgow and EartH in London. Tickets for the shows go on sale on Monday (September 29) at 10am and you will be able to find yours here. The Futureheads will play: Recommended DECEMBER 20258 – Glasgow, Oran Mor19 – Sunderland, The Fire Station20 –… Read More →

27SEPNews

Investigation launched after sheriff’s deputy appears to pepper spray Turnstile fan in Richmond

An investigation has been launched after a sheriff’s deputy appeared to pepper spray a Turnstile fan during a show in Richmond. The Baltimore band played at the Virginia city’s Brown’s Island venue on Wednesday (September 24), and as is customary at their shows, they encouraged fans onto the stage to join them during their performance of ‘Birds’. Advertisement In a fan video, a member of security situated at the front of the stage is seen attempting to intercept members of the audience at the same time that the band are inviting them on stage. In one instance, the official appears to brandish a can of pepper spray and fire it directly into the face of one fan. Bassist Franz Lyons, who is stood nearby, is seen to recoil and cover his eyes. Watch the video here: [embedded content] Richmond Sheriff Antoinette Irving told CBS 6 News that the incident is now under investigation. One fan who was in attendance told the same outlet: “I smelled the air getting a little spicy, and then my eyes are watering. I was like, ‘Oh crap, it’s pepper spray’. People were pouring water in people’s eyes to rinse the eyes out. I just kind… Read More →

26SEPNews

Björk joins No Music For Genocide campaign and removes catalogue from streaming in Israel

Björk has joined the ‘No Music For Genocide’ campaign, making her back catalogue unavailable on streaming services in Israel. The new campaign is a cultural boycott initiative encouraging artists and rights-holders to pull their music from streaming platforms in Israel in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Advertisement To join the coalition, the artists involved have edited their own release territories or sent geo-block requests to their distributor or label. They are encouraging major label groups Sony, UMG, and Warner to follow suit, particularly as they blocked their entire catalogues from and closed operations in Russia a month into their invasion of Ukraine. Massive Attack, Fontaines D.C., Amyl & The Sniffers, and Kneecap were among the leading names to join the initiative last week, as well as Paramore, Rina Sawayama, MIKE, Primal Scream, Faye Webster, Japanese Breakfast, Yaeji, King Krule, MJ Lenderman, Mannequin Pussy, Wednesday, Soccer Mommy and MØ. Now, it appears that the Icelandic singer-songwriter has become the latest big name to join the campaign. The Times Of Israel reported on Sunday (September 21) that her music was unavailable to people living in Israel on Spotify and Apple Music. Björk has been outspoken in her advocacy for the Palestinian people in the past, posting on Instagram in November 2023 a series of maps of the Israel-Palestine region… Read More →

26SEPNews

Watch Sleep Token cover Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing In The Dark’

Sleep Token played a haunted version of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing In The Dark’ in Philadelphia this week – watch footage below. The London masked metallers are currently midway through a US arena tour and they stopped off at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday (September 24). Advertisement During the show, frontman Vessel took the centre stage and performed a tender, heartfelt rendition of the Boss’ classic single, which was originally released on 1984’s ‘Born In The USA’. Watch fan-captured footage of the cover here: [embedded content] Sleep Token’s current tour kicked off in Duluth, Georgia on September 16, where they gave live debuts to a number of tracks from their new album ‘Even In Arcadia’, including ‘Provider’ and ‘Infinite Baths’. will include dates in Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and Lincoln before the end of the month. It eventually wraps in Los Angeles on October 11 – find all the dates here and any remaining tickets for the tour here. Recommended The band released their fourth studio album ‘Even In Arcadia’ in May, which earned a glowing five-star review from NME. “‘Even In Arcadia’ shatters any pressure of expectation into oblivion, building on the bravery of its predecessor, sonically, while its lyrics… Read More →

26SEPHit Singles

Nashville treasure – celebrating 100 years of country music institution, the Grand Ole Opry

When James Brown came to Nashville in 1979 to record vocals for “It’s Too Funky In Here”, he received an unexpected invitation. Country star Porter Waggoner asked him to stop by the Grand Ole Opry – not as an audience member, but as a performer. Backed by the fiddlers and pickers in Waggoner’s band, The Godfather Of Soul tore through Hank Williams’ “Your Cheatin’ Heart” as well as his own “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag”. A few Opry members clutched their pearls, but the audience went wild. “It wasn’t meant to be a big media event, just a gesture of goodwill,” says Nashville historian Craig Shelburne, who writes about the performance in his new book 100 Years Of Grand Ole Opry. “It was an Opry artist saying to James Brown that his music mattered. But it also showed how unpredictable the Opry is. Anything is liable to happen on live radio.” Advertisement The venerated institution – which started as a small radio show and has grown into a symbol of the country music tradition – is celebrating its centennial in 2025, with a new boxset of live performances, a TV special, an exhibition at the Country Music Hall Of… Read More →

26SEPHit Singles

Jeff Tweedy’s Twilight Override reviewed: Wilco frontman’s triple album is a gentle salve in stormy times

A 30-song triple album of mostly mellow consolation It was novelist and critic John Berger who first posited that “calm is a form of resistance”. Who knows if Jeff Tweedy was channelling that sentiment while creating the gentle behemoth that is Twilight Override, but he has certainly responded to the maelstrom of paranoia and inhumanity unleashed by the second Trump term – what the Wilco frontman has dubbed “a bottomless basket of rock bottom” – with a disarming composure, and a big batch of tunes for his fifth solo outing. Twilight Override is a 30-song triple album of mostly mellow consolation, insightfulrather than intimidating. In the studio performance video for “Feel Free” – one of four tracks released in advance of the album – there is a glimpse of a sign on the wall of Wilco’s Chicago studio, The Loft, saying ‘It Could Be Worse’. The song itself is a seven-minute invitation to shut out the white noise and slow down, to lay down anger and concerns, “to fall in love with the people you know and fall harder for the people you don’t”. Advertisement Tweedy is not in this alone. The album bears his name, but it is an… Read More →

26SEPHit Singles

Spain’s Josh Haden: “The entire band was smoking weed every day!”

Though Spain are known for their lethargic pace, this wasn’t always Josh Haden’s style. He’d previously been singer and bassist for Treacherous Jaywalkers, a punk act signed in the late ’80s to SST that he now describes as “boundlessly energetic, in a negative way.” Nonetheless, a constant staple of his teenage years was John Lee Hooker’s 1966 LP, It Serves You Right To Suffer, which provided the inspiration for his next band. “It was completely opposite to all the other music I was listening to, but, as I got older, I felt like I could, or should, be open to writing differently.” Fuelled by his newfound independence and habits – “I’m out of my parents’ house,” he laughs, “and I can finally wake up and smoke a bongload before breakfast” – he began writing new songs and, six years later, released The Blue Moods Of Spain to universal acclaim – a 30th Anniversary 2xLP reissue is released on October 3. “Looking back,” he grins, “I can’t believe the reaction. We were selling out shows and every major label wanted to steal us. Rick Rubin was picking me up in his Rolls Royce, Madonna wanted to sign us, and there were… Read More →

25SEPHit Singles

Mulatu Astatke – Mulatu Plays Mulatu

His journey was meteoric Somewhere around the close of the 1950s, a 16-year-old Ethiopian boy arrived at Lindisfarne College, a boarding school in the Wrexham countryside. The young Mulutu Astatke had come to North Wales to earn a qualification in aeronautical engineering. But around his more formal studies, he picked up a trumpet and, encouraged by Lindisfarne’s headmaster, learned to play. His journey from there was meteoric – from rural Wales to London’s prestigious Trinity College of Music, and then into the city’s flourishing jazz underground, where he graced the stages of Ronnie Scott’s and Soho’s Metro Club, rubbing shoulders with other musicians from Africa and the Caribbean. Arriving in America in 1963, Astatke became the first African musician to enrol at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where he studied vibraphone and percussion. But Astatke wasn’t ready to leave his homeland behind. Relocating to New York, he found himself in a fusion mindset, mixing Ethiopian musical scales with European jazz, American funk and Latin music to create an intoxicating new sound he called “Ethio-jazz”. In 1969, he returned to Addis Ababa, landing in the midst of a vibrant nightlife scene that became known as “Swinging Addis”. Alongside other figures like… Read More →

25SEPNews

Dutch independent radio stations announce 15-hour broadcast in to raise money for Palestine

Ten independent Dutch radio stations are joining forces for a special 15-hour broadcast to raise money for Palestine. Find all the details below. The live-stream, dubbed ‘Transmission For Palestine’, is set to air between 10am local time on Sunday (September 28) and 1am on Monday (29). Advertisement Listeners will be able to tune into special programming on Radio Radio, Echobox, Folder FM, Pip Radio, Future Intel, Operator, Maxi Radio, Radio Hinter, Open Source Radio and Relate Radio. Organisers said fans can attend an in-person “community event” over the 15 hours, where they can enjoy music, drinks and food. “You might even get a prize in our raffle!” they added. “You can get lucky with club tickets, gift cards, merch, records, and much more.” The event is open to the public on a donation basis, with all proceeds going directly to Dutch charity Plant een Olijfboom. Per the listing, the organisation “supports Palestinian people with essentials like blankets, clothes, water, food and medicine, while also working to raise awareness in the Netherlands about the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land by Israel and the reality of living in Palestine”. Recommended Those who are unable to attend in person can make a… Read More →

25SEPHit Singles

Robert Plant & Saving Grace reviewed: a new fellowship and a new quest for the Zeppelin frontman

The only thing to do is to come home From West Midlands clubs to cavernous American stadiums, from the wasted land of the Sahara to the glitz of Nashville – not to mention the darkest depths of Mordor and over the hills where the spirits fly – Robert Plant has been on quite the journey. When globe-trotting gets old, though, the only thing to do is to come home. Plant’s new album, his first with his current group Saving Grace, is a return to the promised land, located somewhere around Kidderminster and the Wyre Forest. It’s a reconnection for Plant with the musicians of the region, and a rediscovery of some of the songs of his youth. It also revitalises his craft, if that were needed. Advertisement Saving Grace’s start was inauspicious, probably just how the low-key Plant would like it: he met stringed-instrument master Matt Worley in a pub, where the pair bonded over The Incredible String Band, Dave Swarbrick and Sandy Denny, before Worley introduced the singer to guitarist Tony Kelsey. The rest of the group, mostly local players, soon slotted into place. Plant would rather his name wasn’t even on the album cover Over the last 20… Read More →

25SEPNews

Bruce Springsteen calls for Donald Trump’s impeachment, saying he should be “consigned to the trash heap of history”

Bruce Springsteen has called for Donald Trump to be impeached, saying that he should be “consigned to the trash heap of history”. During a new cover interview with TIME, the legendary singer-songwriter was asked about his ongoing beef with the US president. READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen live in London: the heartland hero remains firmly at his majestic peak Advertisement Trump called The Boss “highly overrated” earlier this year, after the artist hit out at his administration’s “corruption” and “incompetence” during a show in Manchester. The POTUS also shared a meme depicting him hitting Springsteen with a golf ball (see the clip below). According to TIME, The Boss laughed when the interviewer brought up the video during their conversation. “I absolutely couldn’t care less what he thinks about me,” he told the publication. However, Springsteen noted the state of the US under Trump and said the President was “the living personification of what the 25th Amendment and impeachment were for”. He added: “If Congress had any guts, he’d be consigned to the trash heap of history.” The musician went on to say that he was unsure about the Democrats, too. “We’re desperately in need of an effective alternative party, or for the… Read More →

25SEPHit Singles

Graham Nash On His 10 Greatest Songs

“I’m not going anywhere!” “It’s going to be a really good evening of songs and stories,” says Graham Nash of his current live show, which hits the UK on October 4. “I’ve got three people with me that are half my age, so I have to bring my A-game every night. There’s Todd Caldwell, who’s the organ player for the CSN band, on all keyboards. Adam Minkoff, who plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, bass and sings – sometimes at the same time. And Zach Djanikian, who plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, bass, mandolin and tenor sax. They’re kicking me in the ass every single night. And both Adam and Zach sing like angels. It might be the last time that people will get to hear a lot of these CSN songs that they love. I mean, I’m not going anywhere, but I am 83.” Of his old band, Nash also reveals that there’s a new CSN documentary in the works: “It’ll be out in about a year and it’s being made by Bob Zemeckis, who did Forrest Gump. Right now it’s three hours long. And my friend Joel Bernstein – who is not only a great photographer, but… Read More →