Suki Benjamin

Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish, Finneas and more added to Ukraine TV fundraiser line-up

Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish and Finneas are some of the acts added to a special TV programme that aims to raise awareness about and funds for Ukraine. READ MORE: Billie Eilish live at Glastonbury 2022 – headline set ushers in a new era for the festival NBC’s Ukraine: Answering he Call airs this Sunday (July 3) with appearances from a range of entertainment guests including Alicia Keys, Jon Batiste, Kristen Bell, Brandi Carlile and Julianne Moore. Sheryl Crow is another fresh addition. The show, which also airs on US channels MSNBC and CNBC, is an hour-long event that will give viewers the chance to help families by donating to the International Rescue Committee, an organisation that helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. Advertisement Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will address Americans during the special and will encourage them to use their voices to fight for peace. NBC News will share reports on the stories of real people all around the world who have been affected by the crisis in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky. CREDIT: Getty / Laurent Van Der Stockt Additionally, engagement platform Buzznog will offer a digital collectible created by a Ukrainian artist available… Read More →

30JUNNews

Beyoncé shares ‘RENAISSANCE’ statement and album artwork

Beyoncé has shared a statement about her forthcoming new album ‘RENAISSANCE (Act 1)’ on social media, along with what appears to be the record’s artwork. READ MORE: Beyoncé’s new song ‘Break My Soul’ is a confidence-oozing comeback that embraces nu-disco The pop icon announced earlier this month (June 16) that she would be releasing her seventh solo album – the follow-up to 2016’s acclaimed ‘Lemonade’ – on July 29. Now Bey has gone into detail about the creative process surrounding the album, which has so far been preceded by her Robin S and Big Freedia-sampling new single ‘Break My Soul’. Advertisement “Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world,” Beyoncé wrote on Instagram today (June 30). “It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. “My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration.” She added: “I hope you find joy in this music. I hope it inspires you to release the wiggle. Ha! And to feel… Read More →

30JUNNews

Watch exclusive footage of The National playing ‘I Should Live In Salt’ in Paris

Ahead of The National returning to London for a huge headline slot at All Points East in August, the band have shared exclusive footage of them performing fan favourite ‘I Should Live In Salt’ from their summer 2022 tour. See it first on NME above. The band will headline the festival in the capital’s Victoria Park once again on August 26. To get a taste of what to expect, you can see the band performing the opener of their acclaimed 2013 album ‘Trouble Will Find Me‘ live from their Paris show back in May above. Yesterday, the full line-up was revealed for The National’s English Festival exclusive show. Joining the bill will be special guests Parcels, Villagers, Tune-Yards, Valerie June, Balthazar, and Dehd. They join previously announced guests Fleet Foxes, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Kurt Vile, Perfume Genius, Low, Lucy Dacus, Rae Morris, Cassandra Jenkins and Bess Atwell. Advertisement For tickets and more information for The National performing at All Points East, visit here. The National’s Matt Berninger, performing live at Primavera Sound, Barcelona, June 3, 2022. Credit: Graham MacIndoe After kicking off their tour back in May, the band have been airing three brand new songs as… Read More →

30JUNNews

Watch Lorde and Marlon Williams perform Māori version of ‘Stoned At The Nail Salon’

Lorde brought out Marlon Williams to sing the Māori version of ‘Stoned At The Nail Salon’ at her headline show in London this week – check out the footage below. Early in her three-act, 22-song set at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday (June 28), the singer invited fellow Kiwi artist Williams to join her on-stage for the debut live airing of ‘Mata Kohoto’. READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Lorde: “I feel like I can see my world and myself a lot clearer now” The track appears on ‘Te Ao Mārama’, a companion EP to Lorde’s third album ‘Solar Power’ that sees five of its songs sung in Te Reo Māori – the indigenous language of the star’s birthplace Aotearoa, or New Zealand. Advertisement In fan-shot footage, Lorde and Williams are seen performing the stripped-back cut while perched on the front of the stage. Taking to Twitter following the concert, Williams shared the video alongside the message: “Circling the changing world forever [translated from Māori].” You can see the clip and tweet below. Taiāwhio ana i te ao hurihuri mō āke tonu e ? @lorde https://t.co/fBgjY7m7Sl — Marlon Williams (@MarlonWMusic) June 30, 2022 Last year saw Lorde and Williams cover… Read More →

30JUNNews

SXSW to make international debut in Sydney in October 2023

The annual South By Southwest festival – better known these days as SXSW – will expand to Australia next year, marking the first time in the event’s 36-year history that an international edition will be held. READ MORE: SXSW 2022: the most exciting artists we caught at the returning Austin festival Since its launch in 1987, SXSW has grown exponentially; this year’s edition, for example, ran for 10 days across March 11-20. It’s long called Austin, Texas home, but the team behind it have held spin-off events – like North By Northwest (NXNW) in Portland, North By Northeast (NXNE) in Toronto, and West By Southwest (WXSW) in Tucson – in years past. Australia’s iteration will be the first to bare the primary SXSW branding outside of the US. It’ll launch in Sydney next year, running across October 15-22. Venues, performers and speakers are yet to be announced, however APRA AMCOS – the music industry organisation spearheading SXSW’s Asia-Pacific expansion – revealed today (June 30) that SXSW Sydney will host more than 1,000 events. Advertisement Like the Austin festival has grown to in recent years, the Sydney iteration of SXSW will feature an eclectic mix of live music, film, gaming and… Read More →

29JUNNews

BBC reveals most-viewed Glastonbury 2022 sets

The BBC has revealed which of the sets at this year’s Glastonbury were the most-viewed on UK TV – see the results below. READ MORE: Glastonbury Festival 2022 – review: camping, killer tunes and catharsis on Worthy Farm After two years away, the festival made its return to Worthy Farm last week, with Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar headlining the Pyramid Stage across the course of the weekend. McCartney’s almost three-hour Saturday night (June 25) set, which NME called “history-making” in a five star review, averaged 2.7million viewers on BBC One and peaked at 3.9million, according to Broadcast. Advertisement While the 80-year-old Beatle’s figures were impressive, the artist with the biggest viewership average was Diana Ross, who performed in the revered legends slot on Sunday (June 26). The Motown icon and disco queen’s 75-minute set garnered an average audience of 3.1million, peaking at 3.8million. In a four-star review of Ross’ performance, NME said she had the “crowd in her hands” throughout the set. “In their own fluffed-up curly wigs, you can see audience members relinquish themselves to the musical powerhouse and even cry as they recite back Ross’ lyrics,” the review added. “Being in a crowd with so much love in… Read More →

29JUNNews

BBC Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts announces that she’s cancer-free

BBC Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts has revealed that she has been given the all-clear following eight months of treatment for bowel cancer. Roberts first shared the news of her diagnosis back in October, saying that the outlook was “positive”. She then returned to work hosting the Radio 1 Weekend Breakfast Show the following month, telling listeners that she “owed [the NHS] my life”. Advertisement Posting on Instagram on Monday (June 27), Roberts said that she has now been given the all-clear and hailed the moment as “the day I’ve been waiting for”. “Hearing the words ‘you’re free of cancer’ absolutely took my breath away,” she wrote. “I keep replaying it in my mind. It was the most beautiful sound I think I’ve ever heard. Even though I was praying Dr Khan would say that to me I don’t think my head let me believe it until I heard it. “Everything we’ve been through seems to be swirling around in my body and life feels a bit surreal at the moment… BUT I AM SO GRATEFUL! I am counting my blessings.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adele Roberts (@adeleroberts) Roberts continued by saying that she was also… Read More →

29JUNNews

The Big Pink share ‘Love Spins On Its Axis’, co-written with Jamie T and The Kills’ Jamie Hince

The Big Pink have shared their new single ‘Love Spins On Its Axis’, which has been co-written with Jamie T and The Kills’ Jamie Hince – you can listen to the track below. The song follows on from ‘No Angels’, which arrived in April and marked the trio’s first proper single in a decade. READ MORE: The Big Pink return after a decade with ‘No Angels’: “It’s true to what we stand for” The Big Pink have shared ‘Love Spins On Its Axis’ this morning (June 29), which also features the London-based two-piece Dust In The Sunlight. Advertisement “‘Love Spins On Its Axis’ is probably the most hopeful song I’ve ever written,” the band’s Robbie Furze said in a statement about the track, which you can hear below. “My life got pretty confusing and I started feeling like I was in a bizarre surreal war that I was never going to make it out of. “It was from the depths of that darkness that I had this moment of perfect clarity and calm. I started questioning, ‘What’s most important on this journey that I am on?’ It’s love. Pure and simple. It has always been love. “It’s about not getting… Read More →

29JUNNews

Man accused of murdering Nipsey Hussle reportedly assaulted in jail

The man who is accused of fatally shooting Nipsey Hussle in 2019 has reportedly been assaulted while in jail. READ MORE: Nipsey Hussle, 1985-2019 – a musician who gave a voice to the voiceless and changed the face of indie rap As Rolling Stone reports, the 32-year-old Eric Holder Jr. was unable to attend his trial regarding the case on Tuesday (June 28). This was supposedly due to injuries he sustained in custody, shortly after leaving a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday afternoon (June 27). It’s not clear where the altercation took place, as Holder is meant to be kept separate from other inmates when being transported to and from his court appearances. Advertisement Holder’s public defender, Aaron Jansen, told Rolling Stone that he had been “attacked by two inmates and beaten” during the assault. “He was cut with a razor in the back of his head and received three staples. His face is swollen and his eye is swollen.” Holder is accused of shooting Hussle outside his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles on March 31, 2019. According to prosecutors, Hussle was shot 10 times, with bullets striking him in his head and torso, and severing his spine. Holder was indicted on… Read More →

28JUNNews

Oli Sykes launches new alt night GREEBO at his Sheffield venue, Church

Oli Sykes has launched a new alt club night called ‘GREEBO’ at his Sheffield venue, Church, Temple of Fun. READ MORE: Bring Me The Horizon on stepping up for the scene: “Things are better when you’re not the only one” The night will launch on July 9 and will feature a line up curated by Sykes. A press release explained: “With a line up completely curated by him showcasing some amazing artists, you can expect a night full of live music and DJ sets, including himself and Mat Nicholls, returning to the decks following their night in Malta last month.” Sykes said of the night: “The first of many moshtastic ragers I plan to take around UK and the rest of the world. I managed to blag an absolutely sick line up too for the first ever one, plus you’ll be treated to mine and @mickypickles exquisite DJ skills- so it’s going to be iconic. Ya gonna want to say you was there.” Advertisement You can get tickets for the night here. Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon. Credit: Thomas Niedermueller/Redferns A statement on the meaning of the title of the night explained that a ‘Greebo’ is “a person who… Read More →

28JUNNews

Joy Crookes on Glastonbury 2022, new music and working with the England Lionesses

Joy Crookes caught up with NME backstage at Glastonbury 2022, where she gave us the lowdown on what it was like to make the jump to Pyramid Stage, as well working with England football squad, The Lionesses. READ MORE: The story of Glastonbury 2022 in glorious photos While upset that she was “still in a tent” while staying at the festival, the 23-year-old singer was proud to have made the jump to the main stage. “I played at the Pussy Parlour in 2019 before the pandemic and it’s mad I’m on the Pyramid stage this time,” she told NME.” When asked what it’s like to play on the world’s most important festival stage, she replied: “Funny, if you should put it like that. It was surreal, absolutely surreal. It was overwhelming in an amazing way. I ended up crying on stage because it was so overwhelming. It feels almost like meditating because it goes by so fast, but it feels like you’re doing so many things.” Advertisement She continued: “It’s really grounding because it’s so intimate in a sense that, even though I’m playing larger stages, for two years we’ve been away from intimacy. We’ve not been able to build those types… Read More →

28JUNNews

Selena Gomez says men “need to stand up” against Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion

Selena Gomez has addressed the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, calling on men to speak out against the ruling. On Tuesday (June 27), while appearing on the red carpet for the season two premiere of Only Murders in the Building, Gomez used her platform to criticise the decision, while addressing what Hollywood can do to protect American women’s constitutional right to have an abortion. Speaking to Variety, Gomez said: “It’s about getting men – men needing to stand up and also speak against this issue. It’s also the amount of women that are hurting. I’m just not happy and I hope that we can do everything in our power to do something to change that.” Advertisement The 28-year-old actress also drew attention to a recent Twitter thread of hers which included information on how to actively challenge the ruling. The thread began: “Watching a Constitutional right be stripped away is horrific. A woman should have the right to CHOOSE what she wants to do with her own body. End of story. “Please support Planned Parenthood Action – I am fearful of what will happen to those without the necessary means to have access to a safe,… Read More →

27JUNNews

Watch Yungblud debut new song ‘Tissues’ at Glastonbury

Yungblud debuted a new song during his Glastonbury set over the weekend – watch ‘Tissues’ below. READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Yungblud: “This album is about reclaiming my name and humanising the caricature” The Doncaster-born vocalist and guitarist (real name Dominic Harrison) took to the John Peel Stage on Sunday (June 26) to deliver an 11-song set. It was his first time playing at Worthy Farm. He opened with ‘Strawberry Lipstick’, later playing ‘The Funeral’ and ‘I Love You, Will You Marry Me’, before closing with ‘Loner’. Advertisement Harrison debuted tracks from his forthcoming self-titled third studio album (due September 3), including ‘Tissues’ – which samples The Cure’s ‘Close To Me’ – and the soaring pop-rock anthem ‘I Cry 2!’. Following his Glastonbury set, Harrison tweeted: “humbled, grateful, full of love. thank you @glastonbury! a dream come tru” Watch the full set on BBC iPlayer here. Yungblud tissus played for the first time live at Glastonbury ? it sounds amazing pic.twitter.com/3CymTZ2hWA — ava misses dom ? (@fleabagdom) June 25, 2022 Speaking to NME earlier this month about the record, the artist explained: “The name Yungblud, as it’s gotten bigger, has been twisted relentlessly as every single person has had an opinion on who I… Read More →

27JUNNews

Watch Chris Martin take over a family pub’s piano to play Coldplay’s ‘A Sky Full of Stars’

Coldplay’s Chris Martin was filmed taking over a family pub’s piano to play a rendition of ‘A Sky Full of Stars’. READ MORE: Check out our exclusive photo diary from Coldplay’s massive world tour Martin was filmed playing the 2014 hit at family pub The Stag Inn in Hinton Charterhouse, Bath, after a friendly chat with some patrons who seemed to be planning a wedding. While enjoying a pint at the pub, Martin appeared to have taken patrons’ request to play the song, smiling as he launched into its opening notes. “You never know who might pop in for a pint! What a lovely man he is,” the owners of the pub wrote in their post on June 26. Advertisement Watch Chris Martin play ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ below. You never know who might pop in for a pint! @coldplay what a lovely man he is. pic.twitter.com/V3INYbD0rB — The Stag inn (@StaginnHinton) June 27, 2022 Coldplay have just come off a string of North American concerts on their ‘Music of The Spheres’ world tour, and are set to resume their travels in Frankfurt, Germany this July 2. The North American leg of the tour saw Bruce Springsteen, Kylie Minogue, Lupe… Read More →

27JUNNews

fromis_9 celebrate the summer in dazzling ‘Stay This Way’ music video

K-pop girl group fromis_9 have made a comeback with their fifth mini-album ‘from our Memento Box’, led by the title track ‘Stay This Way’ READ MORE: LOONA – ‘Flip That’ review: an understated but subtly addictive return In the new tropical-themed visual, the members of fromis_9 enter a summer paradise, where they frolic on a scenic beach and hold a picnic. The group take pictures of one another, documenting their vacation together, and later watch the sunset by the ocean together. “Stay this way / We’re hot and bright / Let loose and dance / The moon tonight’s so beautiful,” they sing in the upbeat chorus of ‘Stay This Way’. Advertisement In addition to ‘Stay This Way’, the group’s new mini-album also includes four other tracks: ‘Up And’, ‘Blind Letter’, ‘Cheese’ and ‘Rewind’. With the new release, fromis_9 are also rejoined by youngest member Baek Ji-heon, who had gone on hiatus in February due to health concerns. ‘from our Memento Box’ is fromis_9’s second mini-album of 2022, arriving just five months after ‘Midnight Guest’, which was led by the title track ‘DM’. Last night (June 26), Pledis Entertainment shared that members Hayoung, Jiwon, Seoyeon, Chaeyoung and Ji-heon had been involved in… Read More →

27JUNNews

Years & Years on the magic of Kate Bush and playing ‘Night Call’ live at Glastonbury 2022

Years & Years spoke to NME backstage at Glastonbury 2022 and told us his dream collabs, what it’s like to play ‘Night Call’ live for fans, and what message he has for fans during this “difficult” time. READ MORE: The story of Glastonbury 2022 in glorious photos Olly Alexander talked to us right before performing on the Other Stage on Sunday (June 26). Today’s show marked his third time taking the stage at Worthy Farm, and his first time taking the stage solo as Years & Years. “It’s the best,” Alexander said when asked about playing new music live to fans after the pandemic. “It’s so good to be back out there because it’s such an exchange. When you have an audience and when you have people watching and listening you exchange something. It’s very precious and I’m just so happy to be doing it.” Advertisement Olly also talked about his ideal collaboration. After working with Elton John and Kylie Minogue, he told us his next dream collab would be Rihanna. “I just love Rihanna,” he said. “He wouldn’t want to do a collaboration with her?” The singer also told us about his appreciation for Kate Bush. “I’ve always loved Kate Bush so… Read More →

25JUNNews

Simon Pegg at Glastonbury 2022: “I’m now a 52-year-old BTS fan – all music is worth listening to”

Simon Pegg has spoken of his newfound love at BTS during a backstage interview with NME at Glastonbury 2022. Watch the clip here. READ MORE: The story of Glastonbury 2022 in glorious photos Pegg was attending the festival as an ambassador for Greenpeace, and also to enjoy the much-awaited return of the event. When asked his most controversial music opinion, the actor and comedian shared the story of how he became an avid BTS fan. “My controversial music opinion is that all music is worth listening to,” he said. “Find the stuff you like but don’t dismiss music you don’t like as being bad, just because you think it’s bad because someone else thinks that’s great. Advertisement “I didn’t like until my kid sat me down and said ‘Dad, listen to this song’ and I was like, ‘Oh my god, BTS are amazing’,” Pegg told us. “So here I am now, a 52-year-old ARMY, BTS fan.” @nme We found an unlikely @BTS fan – Simon Pegg #glastonbury #glastonbury2022 #NMEGlasto ♬ original sound – NME – NME The Greenpeace stage made its return to Glastonbury this year after a three-year hiatus. The stage’s line-up this year includes Rachel Chinouriri, Nova Twins,… Read More →

25JUNNews

Beabadoobee tells us about her new album ‘Beatopia’ at Glastonbury 2022

Beabadoobee has told NME about her upcoming second album ‘Beatopia’ during a backstage interview at Glastonbury 2022. The returning Dirty Hit-signed artist made her debut appearance at the Worthy Farm festival earlier today (June 25), playing on the John Peel Stage. READ MORE: The story of Glastonbury 2022 in glorious photos “It was much more of a physical thing when I was seven,” she explained of the “dream world” behind ‘Beatopia’, which she invented in 2007. “I thought I could literally be in this world – I think it was just a way of escaping everything that was happening in life at that time, and then I forgot about it because shit happened. Then I just realised that I could finally accept it now and I could make a whole album about it and find myself within it.” Advertisement The record, which will be released on July 15, is less about escapism, however, and more about “tackling things that you pushed under the rug for ages”. “It’s very liberating,” the musician commented on being able to process those life events in her songs. “When you write songs [about them] it’s a positive outcome, especially when you’re writing about something that wasn’t… Read More →

25JUNNews

Lizzo and Live Nation pledge $1million to abortion organisations following overturn of Roe v. Wade

Following the official overturning of Roe v. Wade yesterday (June 24), Lizzo has partnered with Live Nation – who are presenting her upcoming ‘Special’ tour – to donate $1million (£815,000) in funds to organisations offering safe access to abortions. READ MORE: The Big Read – Lizzo: “If I feel worthy, then everyone gonna want to eat my pussy” In early May, leaked documents showed that the US Supreme Court voted privately to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 case that made abortion legal on a federal level. That decision was officially ruled into place yesterday, meaning US states will be able to set their own laws regarding the legality of abortions. As Politico reports, 23 states are expected to make abortion illegal – at the time of writing, five already have, and a further 11 are in the process of finalising anti-abortion laws. Lizzo is the latest in a growing list of artists speaking out against the ruling. In a series of new posts made on social media, the singer declared she would be pledging $500,000 (£407,500) of proceeds earned from her upcoming North American tour – which is slated to kick off in September – to Planned Parenthood and… Read More →

24JUNNews

Inhaler at Glastonbury on Arctic Monkeys tour: “That’s a tick off the bucket list”

Inhaler have discussed their forthcoming tour with Arctic Monkeys, on the first main day of music at Glastonbury 2022 – their first time playing the festival. The Dublin-based band told NME about their support slot this summer with the Alex Turner-fronted act, take a look at the video above to watch. READ MORE: Inhaler: “You get into a band so you don’t have to grow up” Recalling the moment they were told about supporting Arctic Monkeys, bassist Robert Keating called the news “surreal”. Advertisement “We found out about that in November [2021] when we were in America, one of our managers was just like, ‘You’re going to support Arctic Monkeys in August’, and we were just like, ‘Yeah but we’re not, are we?’” Keating said. “We just didn’t really believe it because we grew up listening to them and loving their music and the fact we actually get to tick that off the bucket list is still kind of surreal. We’re not really believing that it’s actually going to happen.” Frontman Elijah Hewson added: “I don’t think we’ll know it happened until it’s over.” Inhaler also discussed their anticipation to play their biggest ever show as they return home to Dublin… Read More →

24JUNNews

Watch Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp cover The Beach Boys’ ‘Caroline, No’

Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck have shared a cover of The Beach Boys‘ ‘Caroline, No’ from their upcoming collaborative album, ’18’ – watch its music video below. READ MORE: Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! – Metallica’s Kirk Hammett The single, which is an instrumental version of The Beach Boys’ original, was accompanied by a music video of Beck and his band playing the song for an appreciative live audience, though Depp was understandably missing from the music video. The pair are set to release a collaborative album called ’18’ next month on July 15 after three years of recording. Depp made headlines on May 29 when made a surprise appearance at Beck’s show in Sheffield. He went on to join Beck on stage at a handful of other gigs despite awaiting the verdict in his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard at the time, leading to the announcement of the album at the beginning of this month. Advertisement Listen to Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck’s cover of The Beach Boys‘ ‘Caroline, No’ below. The pair also released a cover of Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus In Furs’ with the announcement of the album, along with a statement from the two artists. “When Johnny and… Read More →