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Hit Singles

Bob Dylan’s first live show of 2025 is confirmed

Bob Dylan has announced his first live show of the year. Dylan, who appeared to finish his Rough & Rowdy Ways tour last November at the Royal Albert Hall, has now announced a new date for the tour. THE FEBRUARY 2025 ISSUE OF UNCUT, STARRING THE BAND, THE YARDBIRDS, SHARON VAN ETTEN, KEITH RICHARDS, THE VERVE, ASWAD AND MORE IS AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW Dylan will now perform at the Tulsa Theater on Tuesday, March 25. On the venue’s website, the show is branded with the Rough & Rowdy Ways tour logo. The “2021 – ’24” date stamp from previous tour literature has been removed, though, implying the tour is now an ongoing project. Tickets go on sale on January 25. It’s been a good start to the year for Dylan. The success of the A Complete Unknown biopic has given Dylan’s catalogue a healthy bump. According to Billboard, Dylan’s weekly streaming numbers have grown by roughly 150% since before the film was released in America in December.

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Stevie Wonder, The Black Crowes, Anderson. Paak and more complete FireAid benefit concert line-up

The complete performance line-up for the upcoming FireAid benefit concert has been revealed – check out the full line-up and venue splits below. READ MORE: LA music community tell us about “tragic” impact of wildfires: “This will be felt for years” The event was first announced earlier this month in support of the victims of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires and will take place on January 30 concurrently at the Intuit Dome and the KIA Forum – the first wave of names were confirmed for the shows last week. Among the biggest names first announced were Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Rod Stewart, Katy Perry, Joni Mitchell, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Gracie Abrams and Green Day. Then, No Doubt, Olivia Rodrigo and Peso Pluma were added to the bill. Now, AEG Presents and Live Nation have announced the complete performance line-up for the benefit concert, as well as the respective bills for each participating venue. Among the new additions are Stevie Wonder, The Black Crowes, Anderson .Paak and Alanis Morissette. Advertisement Tickets go on sale on today (January 22) – you can get yours via Ticketmaster and make donations here. It has also been confirmed that ticketing fees have been waived for all purchases so the entirety of the sums amassed can… Read More →

Hit Singles

City To City: Introducing Bad Touch

As they gather round the corner table in Norwich’s Gonzo’s restaurant, it would be hard to mistake the exotic ensemble of big hair, bold hats, flouncy shirts and leather trousers sported by the various members of Bad Touch as belonging to anything other than a rock’n’roll band. “We have always wanted to be a feelgood rock band,” says lead singer Stevie Westwood. “You can be a sexy, moody rock band, or you can be a feelgood rock band. We are definitely the second.” Advertisement THE FEBRUARY 2025 ISSUE OF UNCUT, STARRING THE BAND, THE YARDBIRDS, SHARON VAN ETTEN, KEITH RICHARDS, THE VERVE, ASWAD AND MORE IS AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW Formed in Norfolk by Westwood and guitarist Dan Seekings with bassist Michael Bailey, Bad Touch have recently taken on two new members – drummer Brad Newlands and guitarist Pete Lance. The band were inspired by a youthful love of hard rock acts like Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC, as well as the showmanship of local heroes The Darkness. The new lineup hits the road in March for an eight-date tour with The Dust Coda, which will see Bad Touch headline shows in Newcastle, Nottingham, Glasgow and their home city of… Read More →

Hit Singles

Sun Ra Arkestra – Lights On A Satellite

Alto saxophonist and bandleader Marshall Allen, member of avant-garde jazz ensemble Sun Ra Arkestra since 1957 and the group’s leader since 1995, turned 100 years old on May 25, 2024. Less than one month later, he entered the studio to record Lights On A Satellite with the full 24-member configuration. Pitched as a tribute to Allen and his remarkable tenure with the ensemble, the album is a fantastic ride along well-travelled spaceways, balancing Ra compositions with an eclectic mix of early 20th-century American music. THE FEBRUARY 2025 ISSUE OF UNCUT, STARRING THE BAND, THE YARDBIRDS, SHARON VAN ETTEN, KEITH RICHARDS, THE VERVE, ASWAD AND MORE IS AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW Advertisement The Arkestra was formed in the mid-1950s by pianist/keyboardist Sun Ra, who would make a name for himself as a seriously prolific composer, tightly disciplined bandleader, explorer of experimental music and philosophy, and pioneer of Afrofuturism. He claimed to be from Saturn and was equally captivated by ancient Egypt and the Space Age. Both of these elements were brought to life onstage, where the Arkestra dressed in elaborate, science fiction-esque costumes inspired by his fascinations. Ra led the Arkestra, an ensemble fluid in both name and lineup, until his… Read More →

Hit Singles

The Last Poets – Africanism

For more than 55 years, The Last Poets have been documenting a dystopian world. Formed in the cultural mayhem that followed Martin Luther King’s murder in 1968, they quickly became legendary for their incendiary verses – from “Wake Up Nigger” to “White Man’s Got A God Complex” – which are always cited as an early incarnation of hip-hop. They were filled with witty, shocking and provocative lines, but the presentation was often deliberately austere. If their early disciple Gil Scott Heron would leaven his political diatribes with some soothing baritone crooning, The Last Poets denied us such bourgeois deviation: not once did they even hint at singing, and for a long time the only instrumentation that backed them was stark sound of a conga or djembe drum. THE FEBRUARY 2025 ISSUE OF UNCUT, STARRING THE BAND, THE YARDBIRDS, SHARON VAN ETTEN, KEITH RICHARDS, THE VERVE, ASWAD AND MORE IS AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW Advertisement It fitted the rather joyless ideological zone they often inhabited. On their most famous poem, “When The Revolution Comes”, they describe a utopia where “guns and rifles will take the place of poetry and essays”; where “women will be women and men will be men”; where… Read More →

Hit Singles

The Band’s Garth Hudson has died, aged 87

Garth Hudson, the last surviving original member of The Band, has died aged 87. Advertisement THE FEBRUARY 2025 ISSUE OF UNCUT, STARRING THE BAND, THE YARDBIRDS, SHARON VAN ETTEN, KEITH RICHARDS, THE VERVE, ASWAD AND MORE IS AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW According to the Toronto Star, Hudson “passed away peacefully in his sleep this morning at a nursing home in Woodstock, New York”. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Hudson co-founded The Band in the mid-’60s, having previously played with Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Levon Helm in The Hawks. Advertisement Although he was best-known for playing the Lowrey organ, Hudson also played accordion, saxophone and range of other instruments. Hudson played on all 10 of The Band’s studio albums, their two albums with Bob Dylan (The Basement Tapes and Planet Waves) and their live albums, including Rock Of Ages and The Last Waltz. Speaking in this month’s Uncut, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers said, “I’m always trying to capture the magic of Garth’s Lowrey organ on my own Hammond… There’s a purity to [The Band’s] art, their vision, and you can’t overestimate the influence they’ve had on others.” Hudson also enjoyed a successful career outside The… Read More →

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Louis Walsh admits making up press stories in Boyzone doc trailer

Boyzone’s former manager, Louis Walsh, has admitted to fabricating stories about the band for press attention in a new trailer for the documentary Boyzone: No Matter What. In the clip for the show, beginning February 2 on Sky Documentaries, Walsh is described as “the master puppeteer of the press” before the man himself admits he would say whatever it took to get media coverage of the band. He revealed: “sometimes, the boys would read stories in the papers about themselves that weren’t true and they’d say ‘who told them that?’. I did! I told them”. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating elaborated: “He believed any story was a good story. He would make up stories constantly about the band, about relationships with girlfriends that were non-existent”. In one of the most extreme examples, Walsh recalled making up a story about the band being in a plane accident. “I had them in a plane crash once in Australia and I forgot to tell the families I made it up” he says, chuckling at the memory, before admitting: “There was no plane crash, but it got a good story”. Advertisement The manager, who would go on to find fame on reality show X-Factor, was… Read More →

Hit Singles

City To City: Catching up with Therapy?

In partnership with Marshall Advertisement As Andy Cairns stands outside the Limelight club in central Belfast, he recalls a Therapy? show at the venue many years before. Cairns had come straight from his day job at a tyre factory and was changing out of his work clothes in the car park opposite, when his car was surrounded by the RUC demanding to know what was going on. That was par for the course in Belfast during the Troubles, and although the city has changed a great deal over the past three decades, the Limelight is still standing and so are Therapy?. That instinct for survival informed the name of Therapy?’s most recent album, Hard Cold Fire. Released by Marshall Records and recorded at the label’s studio in Milton Keynes, the title came from Belfast poet Louis MacNeice. “He talks about people from the north of Ireland having a ‘hard cold fire’,” says Cairns. “It’s a reference to the basalt that is indigenous to the terrain, but we thought it represented our longevity. Like Belfast, we have been resilient and determined and we have weathered with time.” Therapy? were formed by Cairns and bassist Michael McKeegan in 1989. Drummer Neil Cooper joined… Read More →

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Jheńe Aiko sponsors massages for firefighters of LA wildfires

Jheńe Aiko has sponsored free massages for firefighters who worked on the frontlines while dealing with the Los Angeles wildfires – find out more below. READ MORE: LA music community tell us about “tragic” impact of wildfires: “This will be felt for years” Since the devastating wildfires began on January 7, over 180,000 residents of Los Angeles were forced to evacuate their homes. To date, 27 confirmed deaths have been reported, with over 20 people reported missing. Among the people who lost their homes to the fires was singer-songwriter Jheńe Aiko. Jhené Aiko. Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation. While Aiko and her two children were able to get to safety, all of their belongings and memories in the house were destroyed in the flames. She wrote at the time: “Me and my children’s home is gone. Burned to the ground with all our things inside. Lord have mercy. Thankful we still have each other. Starting from scratch. My heart is so heavy.” Advertisement Now, Jheńe Aiko and her wellness brand Jhenetics have paid thanks to the frontliners who put their lives on the line to stamp out the five raging, consecutive fires across Los Angeles. Aiko and Jhenetics sponsored… Read More →

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Guilty plea entered over “savage and senseless” Southport Taylor Swift dance party

A guilty plea has today (January 20) been entered by the teenager charged over the “savage and senseless” killings at a Taylor Swift dance party in Southport last summer. On July 29 last year, three children were killed in a knife attack that took place at a Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop on Hart Street in Southport. Six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar died following the attack. Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was charged with the murders of the three children and in December, had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf regarding the charges. Rudakubana, who is now 18, has today pleaded guilty to murdering the three young girls in what was described as a “meticulously planned rampage”. As his trial was set to begin at Liverpool Crown Court, Rudakubana unexpectedly entered guilty pleas to all charges, including murder, attempted murder as well as terror-related offences (as per the BBC). Rudakubana, who was from Banks in west Lancashire, also admitted producing the toxin ricin and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual. Prosecutors said Rudakubana had “shown no remorse” and before a jury could be sworn in today, Stan… Read More →

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Nicki Minaj names Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish as her “fave girls of all time”

Nicki Minaj has named some of her favourite “girls of all time” – check them out below. READ MORE: Nicki Minaj live in London: ever-polarising rap iconoclast comes back fighting This past weekend, Minaj shared a list of her “fave girls of all time” via a playlist curated for her channel on the streaming platform Stationhead. “Some of my fave girls of all time. Icons,” Minaj wrote on the live audio app per Complex before playing songs from Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift. The list was captured by fans and shared on social media. The songs included in the playlist were Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’, Billie Eilish’s ‘ocean eyes’, Rihanna’s ‘Kiss It Better’, Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Taste’ and ‘intro’ by Ariana Grande. Check out the post below. Nicki Minaj shows love to Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Rihanna on Stationhead: “Some of my fave girls of all time. Icons” pic.twitter.com/Ds9tq4UuE8 — Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) January 18, 2025 Advertisement It comes after the rapper announced the deluxe album ‘Pink Friday 2 – The Hiatus’, which was due for release on December 13. However, the album has yet to be released, and Nicki Minaj has yet to address… Read More →

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The 1975’s Matty Healy reportedly planning to write about Taylor Swift relationship on new album

Matty Healy is reportedly preparing to write about his relationship with Taylor Swift on the next album by The 1975. The two singers are widely speculated to have dated for a short period in the summer of 2023, following Swift’s split from actor Joe Alwyn and before the start of her relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce. Swifties were quick to pick up on what they assumed to be references about her time with Healy when she released her 2024 album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, although Swift herself has remained coy about the specific interpretations of the songs in question. Now, reports have emerged that Healy intends to return the favour on his band’s sixth album, with The Sun reporting that the record will include a track named ‘God Has Entered My Body’. The song will reportedly include the lyric, “Keep your head up Princess, your tiara is falling”. Advertisement Taylor Swift and Matty Healy seen leaving ‘The Electric Lady’ studio in Manhattan on May 16, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Kamau/GC Images) This comes just months after Healy said in an interview with Doomscroll that he has no intention to write any music inspired by his… Read More →

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SZA on managing fame: “I don’t know what the hell is going on”

SZA has spoken candidly about her rise to fame, admitting that she didn’t know what she was signing up for when she started her career. The R&B star and 2024 Glastonbury headliner appeared on Extra this week to promote her new film One Of Them Days, a female buddy comedy movie in which she co-stars with Keke Palmer. When asked about her relationship with the nature of fame, she said: “I don’t really know what is happening. I don’t know what the hell going on. I didn’t grow up famous, I grew up in the ‘burbs, I went to regular school, went to regular college, did regular odd jobs until everything popped off.” [embedded content] Advertisement “I’ve never been examined in this way,” SZA continued. “I get just a comfortability with letting my shoulders down and knowing that I’m not in danger just because I’m being perceived by people that I don’t know.” “They be like, ‘That’s what you signed up for,’ and then I’m like, ‘I didn’t even know what I was signing up for, actually,’” she shared. “I just made a couple songs and I was grateful that they were liked, and then I kept going.” SZA first… Read More →

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Snoop Dogg criticised for playing Donald Trump’s Crypto Ball: “A bridge too far”

Snoop Dogg has come under fire for performing at Donald Trump’s Crypto Ball just days ahead of the President Elect’s inauguration. The event took place on Friday (January 17) at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington D.C., with a VIP reception hosted by Trump’s crypto czar David Sacks. Among the performers on the night was Snoop, despite having been somewhat vocal in his opposition to the Republican in the past. His appearance has prompted several fans to criticise him online, with some saying that it was “a bridge too far”. Check out footage of his performance below, alongside some of the social media reaction. 🚨LANGUAGE WARNING🚨 Snoop Dogg takes the stage at the Crypto Ball! pic.twitter.com/vFyvGqGSMl — Rob Smith (@robsmithonline) January 18, 2025 Advertisement Goodbye, Snoop. Hosting Orange Man’s Crypto Ball is a bridge too far. You broke my heart pic.twitter.com/t8Ctf62l9G — ThePeteEffect (@Cats4Pete) January 17, 2025 A big fuck you to @SnoopDogg “the Crypto Ball, a sold-out affair on Friday night being put on by the cryptocurrency industry to celebrate what the invitation calls “the first crypto president.” Snoop Dogg is set to perform at the party,” NYT: pic.twitter.com/MJ3KLWykY9 — General Ripper (@mooklaw) January 16, 2025 Snoop Dogg… Read More →

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Leeds nightclub to give revellers lollipops to “keep them quiet”

Leeds nightclub Home and Carousel have announced they will be giving lollipops to clubbers as a way to “keep them quiet” and avoid noise complaints. According to Mixmag, The nightclub – which is located on Albion Street in the city centre – was recently granted approval to stay open an hour longer and will now be open until 4am Sunday through Thursday and 5am on Fridays and Saturdays. The new times come as a result from a licensing hearing which occurred on Tuesday (January 14). However, the newly extended time has raised concerns due to the potential noise and anti-social behaviour that can disrupt the nearby K2 Apartments. Advertisement Tony Whitfield, on behalf of K2 tenants, told BBC that there have been issues in the past with the venue under its past names and operations and explained that “Sound really does resonate through the building.” Operations Director David Nejrup shared that the nightclub will be offering complimentary lollipops to clubbers as they leave the establishment, which is something he has claimed helps keep the noise down in various clubs across the country. “As daft as it sounds, people tend to become quiet when they have something in their mouth,” he told… Read More →

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Renowned Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco reveals leukaemia diagnosis

James Ford – the acclaimed producer behind the major of the Arctic Monkeys‘ discography and half of Simian Mobile Disco – has revealed he has leukaemia. Ford took to his official Instagram to share a photo of a doctor holding a syringe connected to an IV. In the caption, the producer revealed that during Christmastime, he was feeling sickly and suspected that it was just a case of burnout leading up to the holiday. “On Xmas Eve things took a turn for the worse,” he wrote. “I had a scary few weeks where I was very ill and they didn’t know what was wrong with me, but finally I got a diagnosis.” He revealed that he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and explained that it came as a huge shock. “While it’s very clear in my mind how serious this is, it is curable, and as of today, I’m starting pretty aggressive chemo to treat it,” he shared. Advertisement “I’m in Barts Hospital, who are world leaders in leukaemia treatments, and I’ve had excellent care from our wonderful NHS, both initially in Canterbury Hospital before being moved here to Barts just last week. I’m very aware that it’s… Read More →

Hit Singles

Hear neil young and the chrome hearts’ debut single, “big change”

Neil Young has today unveiled the first single by his new band neil young and the chrome hearts, entitled “big change” (the accompanying press releases insists that “the band name and track title are in lower case”). Joining Neil Young in the chrome hearts are Spooner Oldham (Farfisa organ), Micah Nelson (guitar), Corey McCormick (bass) and Anthony LoGerfo (drums). The single has been co-produced by Young and Lou Adler. Hear it below: According to John Hanlon, Young’s long-term mixing engineer, “big change” is “in-your-face loud irreverent rock’n’roll paint splatter on the canvas in the vein of a Jackson Pollock painting.” No chrome hearts album or tour dates have been announced as yet, although the press releases also states that, “Once again, Neil Young is looking at all aspects of life in 2025, and working to find the way forward. Big changes are ahead. Go with him.”

Hit Singles

Tributes paid to David Lynch

The film director David Lynch has died aged 78. The creator of films including Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart and Mulholland Drive and, with Mark Frost, the TV series Twin Peaks, had recently revealed an emphysema diagnosis. THE FEBRUARY 2025 ISSUE OF UNCUT, STARRING THE BAND, THE YARDBIRDS, SHARON VAN ETTEN, KEITH RICHARDS, THE VERVE, ASWAD AND MORE IS AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW Advertisement Lynch’s fellow filmmakers have paid fulsome tribute. In a statement, Steven Spielberg wrote: “I loved David’s films. ‘Blue Velvet,’ ‘Mulholland Drive’ and ‘Elephant Man’ defined him as a singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade… The world is going to miss such an original and unique voice. His films have already stood the test of time and they always will.” On Twitter/X, Ron Howard wrote: Advertisement #RIPDavidLynch, a gracious man and fearless artist who followed his heart & soul and proved that radical experimentation could yield unforgettable cinema. Meanwhile, Nicolas Cage, who starred in Wild At Heart, told Deadline that he was “a singular genius in cinema, one of the greatest artists of this or any time.”. He continued: “He was brave, brilliant, and a maverick with a joyful sense of humor. I never had… Read More →

Hit Singles

David Lynch: Film By Film

From Uncut’s May 2007 issue (Take 120). We spoke to David Lynch for our Film By Film feature, covering his classic movies from Eraserhead and Wild At Heart through Twin Peaks on TV and his late classics, including Mulholland Dive. “They say that films are like children,” he told Stephen Troussé. “And I love all of my children, except for one child named Dune.” Does the director of Wild At Heart and Blue Velvet look back over the past three decades and see a pattern to his career? “It’s weird, I see it as a year to make a film, a year in between films. Something like that,” he chuckles. “So I’m surprised when people ask my age, because I feel I’m much younger. They say that films are like children. And I love all of my children, except for one child named Dune.” Here he is, then, one of cinema’s true greats… Advertisement ERASERHEAD Lynch’s first feature, shot over a period of five years, was he said, “My Philadelphia Story”. An instant hit on the midnight movie circuit, it marked the beginning of long working relationships with Jack Nance and Catherine Couslon. LYNCH: I kept running out of money… Read More →

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David Lynch reportedly died after being “forced to relocate from his house” due to LA wildfires

David Lynch‘s death came after he was “forced to relocate from his house” due to the Los Angeles wildfires, it has been reported. Yesterday (January 16), Lynch’s death was announced by his family on social media. His family did not share a date of his death. He was aged 78. Now, in a statement to Deadline, anonymous sources have revealed that his health took a turn for the worse after he was forced to evacuate from his home along Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. As of the time of writing, the details of his evacuation have remained private. ROME, ITALY – NOVEMBER 04: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been converted in black and white) David Lynch walks the red carpet during the 12th Rome Film Fest at Auditorium Parco Della Musica on November 4, 2017 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images) Advertisement The wildfires would have drastically affected Lynch’s health, as the director revealed his emphysema diagnosis last year, which was caused by smoking for most of his life. Emphysema, also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is where damage to the air sacs occurs as a result of smoking, pollution or workplace irritants (as per NHS). The… Read More →

Hit Singles

Introducing…The Ultimate Music Guide: The Police

We already know their ubiquitous singles, and their world-beating albums. As you’ll discover in this new magazine, in addition to their artistic achievements, The Police must also have been the world’s most self-aware band. Advertisement As they freely confess in the classic interviews we’ve picked from the archive for you here, this wasn’t a band to keep their cards close to their chest or their motivations to themselves. Forming to take advantage of punk. Ditching their original guitarist when he couldn’t keep up. Frankly discussing the economics of the trio format. For all their unanimity of image – three good-looking blonde lads, a strong Breton shirt/suit jacket game – very quickly, their distinct characters emerge in print. Stewart Copeland, a garrulous American whose glib and cynical wit is clearly a gift to anyone holding a tape recorder. Andy Summers, a laconic older statesman whose wisdom encourages him to keep his own counsel, wryly teasing those he meets. And then there’s Sting, who has simply never encountered a moment’s self-doubt about his ability to do anything. Interestingly, this miraculously doesn’t make him obnoxious. Instead, Sting maintains a refreshing candour. Yes, he is ambitious. Yes, he wants to make the most of… Read More →