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Rudimental announced for London’s South Facing Festival 2023

Rudimental have been announced for next summer’s South Facing Festival, where they will celebrate 10 years of their 2013 album ‘Home’.

• READ MORE: 5 things you didn’t know about South Facing festival

The collective will play an open-air show at the London festival on Saturday, August 5 2023. Also announced today, David Rodigan & Outlook Orchestra will return to London for a show on August 6, with special guests including Maxi Priest, Eek-a-Mouse, Sister Nancy, Eva Lazarus and more.

The festival is held at the capital’s Crystal Palace Bowl, and debuted in 2021 with a line-up including Supergrass, The Streets, Sleaford Mods and Max Richter. 2022’s programme then saw London Grammar, Jungle, Richard Ashcroft and more head south of the river.

Sam Smith on homophobic experiences: “I thought I’d become a pop star and never get a bad word said to me again”

Sam Smith has opened up about their experiences of homophobia.

• READ MORE: Sam Smith – ‘Love Goes’ review: pop balladeer leans even further into heartbreak than before

The pop star said in a new interview that once they found fame and success, they thought any abuse against their sexuality would stop.

But Smith says even now, they still encounter homophobic discrimination.

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“It’s still hard to be queer. There’s still backlash,” they said to Zane Lowe on his Apple Music show. “I still get things said to me on the street, even now. The weirdest thing is you can be famous, you can be a pop star and you still get it.”

Smith continued: “Because I thought I’d become a pop star and I’d never get a bad word said to me ever again. I’d never have homophobia. I’d never experience it if I became a star. And then it happens and it’s still there. It’s still there.”

The pop star went on to say they have since embraced their role of being a voice for the LGBTQ+ community.

Smith added: “You have to talk about it all. And I’ve stepped into that because I’ve now realised how powerful that is. And there’s kids out there that need this. They need us to talk about it.”

It comes after Smith and Kim Petras recently became the first openly non-binary and transgender artists, respectively, to top the Billboard Hot 100 with their collaborative single ‘Unholy’.

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The song is the second single from Smith’s fourth studio album ‘Gloria’, which is set for release in January of 2023, following on from April’s ‘Love Me More’.

The only other non-binary artist to have topped the Billboard chart previously is Halsey, who uses both they/them and she/her pronouns. However, both of their Number One singles – ‘Closer’ with The Chainsmokers in 2016, and ‘Without Me’ in 2018 – came before they publicly came out in 2021.

Meanwhile, Smith also recently shared details of a UK and European tour for next year. Any remaining tickets are available here.

They are also due to perform at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard 2022 alongside Coldplay and Lewis Capaldi next month.

Zayn Malik calls on Prime Minister to extend free school meals

Zayn Malik has called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to offer free school meals “to every child in poverty in England” amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Taking to Instagram last night (November 7), the former One Direction member shared a letter he’d written to the PM. “No child should have to suffer the trauma and stigma of hunger & poverty,” he captioned the post.

“We want every child to grow up healthy to lead productive lives.”

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The letter began: “I am writing to share my concern about the struggles children are living through because of the cost-of-living crisis and to ask for your help to ensure no child living in poverty misses out on a hot nutritious meal at school especially since that school may be the only hot meal they receive all day.”

“We are all aware that the difficulties facing families right now are profoundly serious. Four million children live in households who experienced food poverty in September 2022. In addition, 800,000 children in England miss out on a Free School Meal even though they are living in poverty.”

Malik continued: “These children are suffering from lack of concentration, some even resorting to stealing food from school canteens because they are so hungry but can’t afford to buy lunch. They are also feeling shame which is directly impacting their physical and mental health.”

The singer, who grew up in Bradford, West Yorkshire, went on to recall experiencing such shame “first-hand” as a youngster. “I relied on Free School Meals,” he wrote. “I personally experienced the stigma surrounding food insecurity.”

He added: “My hope is that in writing this letter we can all ensure that no child ever has to experience this hunger and stigma again as my experience is not unique; it is a struggle that many children in England are sadly going through right now.

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“As I see it, extending the current threshold and giving Free School Meals to children from families on Universal Credit would be the best way to reach those who need it most.”

Malik said that this approach would prevent children from “enduring the worst of the cost of living crisis which in turn only creates bigger divides between the richest and poorest” of society.

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“Free School Meals are such a big help for the poorest children in our society and they guarantee a reliably hot, nutritious lunch every day at school, so children can thrive rather than worrying about where their next meal comes from.

“I hope-the government does what’s right and makes the changes that are needed. Parents are already doing everything they can, but Government support is desperately needed. No parent should have to make impossible decisions like whether to buy food, turn on the heating, or go into debt.”

The letter continued: “Knowing that their children are getting a good lunch at school would be a huge relief to parents who are struggling. These pressures will only get worse as food and energy prices keep rising.

“As Prime Minister, you have the power to change this. Please act in good conscience and commit in your Budget on 17th November to giving all children living in poverty a Free School Meal. Children going hungry is not inevitable and should not come down to a political issue or ideology.”

According to the government, approximately 1.9million children in England are currently eligible to receive free school meals – which is 22.5 per cent of all pupils (via the BBC).

All infant pupils are eligible but children in Year 3 and above are required to live in a household receiving income-related benefits, with an annual income no higher than £7,400 (after tax, and not including welfare payments).

The government has said that during term time it “provides more than 1.6million free school meals, providing pupils from the lowest-income families with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal”.

Phoebe Bridgers and Paul Mescal are engaged

Phoebe Bridgers and Normal People star Paul Mescal are engaged, according to a new interview with the latter.

The pair first began interacting in the first 2020 lockdown, with Bridgers remarking in an NME cover feature that “the cute boy” from Normal People (Mescal) followed her on Instagram, saying: “I got a little pitter-patter in my heart when I saw.”

Mescal then interviewed Bridgers for a lockdown livestream, and went on to star in her video for ‘Savior Complex’.

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Now, in a new interview with Mescal in The Guardian about his upcoming film Aftersun, the pair’s engagement was confirmed.

New film Aftersun sees Mescal play young father Calum and his relationship with his 11-year-old daughter. It comes to UK cinemas from November 18.

A synopsis reads: “Twenty years after their last holiday at a fading vacation resort, Sophie reflects on the rare time spent with her loving and idealistic father Calum. At 11-years-old, as the world of adolescence creeps into Sophie’s view, Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood.

“Sophie’s recollections become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t.”

Bridgers, meanwhile, is set to appear at two screenings of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas with live musical accompaniment at London’s OVO Arena Wembley in December, in which she will provide the voice of Sally.

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In addition to Bridgers, Danny Elfman – who composed the music, lyrics and score for the 1993 film, and voiced protagonist Jack Skellington – will voice Skellington once again for the screenings. Original cast member Ken Page, who voiced Oogie Boogie in the film, will also reprise his role.

The singer also recently teamed up with Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford for a new track called ‘Stonecatcher’. The song features on Mumford’s debut solo album, ‘(self-titled)’.

Harry Styles cancels further Los Angeles gigs due to flu

Harry Styles has postponed more gigs on his Los Angeles residency due to contracting the flu.

• READ MORE: Harry Styles live in London: a powerful, inclusive and celebratory pop carnival

The former One Direction singer is currently midway through a 15-night residency at The Kia Forum stadium in Inglewood, California as part of his 2022 North American ‘Love On Tour’.

Earlier this week, he cancelled Friday night’s (November 4) show due to illness, and rescheduled it for tonight (November 6). Then, the singer has announced the cancellation of Saturday night’s (November 5) show, as well as the rescheduled Sunday gig and another on Monday.

BTS’ Jin reportedly applies to cancel postponement of military enlistment

According to a new report out of South Korea, BTS member Jin is looking to revoke a previous request to postpone his enlistment into the military.

• READ MORE: BTS star Jin’s ‘The Astronaut’ is a galaxy-gazing Coldplay collab full of wide-eyed romanticism

In South Korea, all able-bodied men over the age of 18 are required to serve for up to two years. Last month, Big Hit Music announced that all members of BTS would eventually accept their military duties, with Jin – who turns 30 later this year – being the first. 

At the end of the month, the singer noted that his original plans for enlistment were delayed to accomodate for BTS’ one-off ‘Yet To Come’ concert in Busan (which took place on Saturday October 15); in a livestream celebrating the release of his solo single ‘The Astronaut’, Jin revealed that he initially planned to enlist himself back in June.

Taylor Swift beats The Beatles to score UK chart double for second week

Taylor Swift has beaten The Beatles to the top of the UK charts, scoring the chart double for a second week in a row.

• READ MORE: Taylor Swift – ‘Midnights’ review: a shimmering return to pure pop

The US artist held off the challenge of Arctic Monkeys last Friday (October 28) to reach the top spot, with new album ‘Midnights’ becoming the fastest-selling album of the year so far in the UK. In the US meanwhile, she became the first act in history to land 10 tracks in Billboard‘s Hot 100 song chart.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Swift would be challenged by The Beatles’ reissue of their classic album ‘Revolver’ for the top spot, but she has held on to remain at Number One on the album charts, with the song ‘Anti-Hero’ also scoring a second week at the top of the singles chart.

Jack White to appear in Martin Scorsese’s new film ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’

Jack White is reportedly set to appear in Martin Scorsese‘s new film Killers Of The Flower Moon.

• READ MORE: Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’: release date, plot details, cast and everything we know so far

Killers of the Flower Moon, which stars Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, is based on a book of the same name. The western – Scorsese’s first – will investigate the murders of the native Osage people in 1920s Oklahoma, where oil deposits were discovered.

The film has a reported budget of over $200million (£141,840), making it Scorsese’s most expensive project to date. Despite previous speculation that the film would find a home on Netflix, Killers Of The Flower Moon is set to be released by Apple TV+.

New non-profit aims to reduce fentanyl-related overdoses at US music festivals

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 150 people in the US die from fentanyl-related overdoses every day.

This Must Be The Place, a non-profit that distributes free Naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses opioid overdose, is working to reduce fentanyl-related deaths at music festivals. The organisation, which started earlier this year is built on the idea that drug treatment, not punishment and judgement, is the way forward.

Co-founders Ingela Travers-Hayward and William Perry spoke with NME about the importance of Naloxone in treating overdoses, why they started their non-profit, and how they hope to continue breaking the stigmas around drug use and treatment.

• READ MORE: Why drugs testing at festivals is an excellent – and well overdue – idea

This Must Be The Place decided to distribute Narcan (a brand of Naloxone) kits at music festivals because they wanted to get them into the hands of people who may not even realize they needed them. So, this year, they started setting up booths at events where attendees could pick up kits and receive free training on how to use the product. For the non-profit founders, their desire to help festival attendees comes from their personal experience.

Travers-Hayward got to know music festival culture as a journalist for MTV News Canada. Perry, however, had a more “nefarious” experience with music festivals, recalling how he and his friends would sneak into events and see where the day and drugs would take them from there. “We would party really hard going to this festival, that festival, that was our lifestyle,” Perry told NME. “Doing that led me into a whole lot of substance use problems.”

As a denizen of the Midwestern US, known for its carceral, punitive policies towards drug use, Perry’s substance use also led to a decade in prison. While there, he would hear stories about friends he used to go to festivals with dying of fentanyl overdoses. Now, as a sober recovery counsellor, he wanted to do what the government at large wasn’t: provide education, resources, and in some cases treatment for those affected by drug abuse.

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Taylor Swift adds extra dates to US ‘The Eras Tour’

Taylor Swift has added eight extra shows to her recently announced ‘The Eras Tour’ – see the new dates below and buy tickets here.

• READ MORE: Taylor Swift – ‘Midnights’ review: a shimmering return to pure pop

Last week, the singer, who released new album ‘Midnights’ last month (October 21), announced US dates for ‘The Eras Tour’, which will run throughout next summer and feature a host of special guests including Paramore, beabadoobee, Phoebe Bridgers, girl in red, MUNA, Haim, Gayle, Gracie Abrams and Owenn.

Ahead of tickets going on sale, she has now added extra gigs in Seattle, New Jersey, Florida, Philadephia and more.

Taylor Swift fans joke about cancelling their weddings to attend 2023 tour

Taylor Swift fans joking about cancelling their weddings to attend her 2023 tour have gone viral on TikTok.

• READ MORE: Taylor Swift – ‘Midnights’ review: a shimmering return to pure pop

Last week, the singer, who released new album ‘Midnights’ last month (October 21), announced US dates for ‘The Eras Tour’, which will run throughout next summer and feature a host of special guests including Paramore, beabadoobee, Phoebe Bridgers, girl in red, MUNA, Haim, Gayle, Gracie Abrams and Owenn.

In the wake of the announcement, Swifties on TikTok have joked about cancelling their weddings if Swift’s tour travels through their city on that evening.

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava/Laminated Denim/Changes

Bastille share video for ‘Hope For The Future’

Bastille have shared the video for their single ‘Hope For The Future’.

The track, which appears on the expanded edition of their recent album ‘Give Me The Future’, was written for the end credits of Orlando Van Einsiedel’s upcoming climate emergency documentary From Devil’s Breath. 

Van Einsiedel also directed the music video for ‘Hope For The Future’, which was filmed in Bastille frontman Dan Smith’s London home and interlaced with shots from the documentary itself.

Elon Musk reveals how much blue tick will cost in radical shake up to verified system

Elon Musk has confirmed that Twitter will charge $8 (£7) per month for paid verification.

It comes after it emerged earlier this week that the new owner of the social media platform was planning to charge $19.99 for a new Twitter Blue subscription.

Now, the CEO has taken to Twitter to confirm the subscription plans – at a lower price.

After A Successful Acting Career, Kelly Monrow Enters Her Second Life As A Singer-Songwriter With New Album  Scars of Venus

After a successful acting career, Kelly Monrow enters her second life as a singer-songwriter by releasing her new album Scars Of Venus. She shares her journey of healing, moving forward and ultimately finding herself throughout this collection of 12 songs, meticulously curated, with each song perfectly placed for a flowing and intense listening experience. 

The stellar artist excels at reinventing styles by fusing a few genres into her music, from Americana to 90’s alternative pop-rock, dark-pop, country and southern rock. Scars Of Venus includes songs stemming from her collaboration with Nashville producer Sinclair, like “Mama Said,” an homage to 90’s pop-rock, but also “Down Your Spine” and “Pain Turns to Love.”

Since the launch of her album a month ago, Kelly Monrow released the music video for the lead single “The Woman,”. On-screen, the video reflects the inspiring journey of a fiercely determined woman, fully embracing her feminine mystique, and using it as her sharpest weapon against the world around her. 

The Austin native had her first big success as an actress under the screen name Kelly Dowdle, landing prominent roles in hit shows like Billions, Lucifer, and American Crime Story. 

Scars Of Venus’ power lies in the rich contrast it offers, with each song tackling different emotions and narratives, almost all rooted in Kelly’s most intimate personal experiences. 
Musically influenced by Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, Pink, and Bonnie Raitt, Kelly Monrow follows-in the footsteps of her idols, and has already come a long way in a very short period of time, racking millions of streams since the release of her debut single “Mama Said” in 2021. Rumors say that she is about to unveil a second music video for the single “Ain’t Mine” this week, so stay tuned!

Natalie Imbruglia discusses “shocking” media treatment in the late ’90s: “I was called difficult”

Natalie Imbruglia has opened up about her treatment by mainstream media in the late ’90s, describing it in a new interview as “shocking”.

• READ MORE: Soundtrack Of My Life: Natalie Imbruglia

Speaking with The Forty Five to promote the 25th anniversary of her debut album ‘Left Of The Middle’, Imbruglia fielded a question pertaining to TFI Friday presenter Chris Evans. The radio and television personality once lambasted Imbruglia on air for the fact that her hit single ‘Torn’ was not written by her; the song was originally written and performed by American band Ednaswap in 1995. Imbruglia explained that he had done this because she turned him down when asking her out on a dinner date.

“I saw him in a pub and I went up to him and got in his face and was like, ‘You owe me an apology,'” she recalled. “He looked terrified and I was like, ‘Do you realise what you did?’ So he gave the most genuine, look-me-in-the-eye apology, and then got me on the show and tried to correct that.” The Australian-born singer went on to note that her treatment from Evans was symptomatic of a larger issue within the mainstream media.

Hear Turnstile’s ‘Holiday’ soundtracking a new Taco Bell commercial

Turnstile have furthered their push into the mainstream in a rather unexpected way, soundtracking a new Taco Bell commercial with their 2021 single ‘Holiday’.

• READ MORE: Turnstile live at Brooklyn Mirage — 12 powerful photos from their rain-drenched set

The song’s synth-percussion intro and belting lead riff can be heard throughout the 30-second promo, which follows two young women dashing through a Taco Bell drive-thru in pursuit of nacho fries. A shortened version of the ad debuted earlier this month on TikTok, while the full clip made it to national television in the US, airing on NBC during last week’s Sunday Night Football.

Have a look at the latter version of the ad below:

Watch Red Hot Chili Peppers cover Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

Red Hot Chili Peppers have covered Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit‘ – watch footage below.

• READ MORE: Red Hot Chili Peppers – ‘Return Of The Dream Canteen’ review: an overwhelming feast

The band played a benefit concert for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music on Saturday  (October 29) and covered the grunge classic for the first time during their set.

Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis sang the first verse with his shirt pulled over his face, before guitarist John Frusciante took on singing the song’s iconic chorus.

The incredible story of Misty In Roots and their “progressive protest music”

Britt Lower descends into madness in Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ new ‘Wolf’ video

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have shared a new video for ‘Wolf’ starring Severance‘s Britt Lower – check it out below.

• READ MORE: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – ‘Cool It Down’ review: a triumphant, rewarding return

The band – comprising Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase – returned after nine years this month with their new album ‘Cool It Down’, from which ‘Wolf’ is the latest single.

Of the Allie Avital-directed video, which sees Lower star as a woman who enters the woods and descends further and further into madness, Karen O said in a statement: “It was our great fortune to collaborate with the powerhouses Allie and Brit on this video for ‘Wolf’.

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“Allie casts a spell with the gorgeous world she weaves- always with teeth that bite, and Britt embodies all the contradictions in the themes of ‘Wolf,’ so enamoured with her performance that’s got as much heaven as it does hell.”

She added: “We were beside ourselves with excitement when Allie cast Brit as the lead in the video, YYYs are serious nerds for Severance, what luck when the stars align.”

Watch the video exclusively on Facebook here.

Recently, for the encore at their LA show, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs welcomed out The Linda Lindas and Japanese Breakfast – both of whom opened the show – to perform a cover of Kim Wilde’s 1981 hit ‘Kids In America’.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are currently touring in support of their recent fifth album, ‘Cool It Down’. The LA gig – one of two special shows announced back in May – took place at the 17,500-capacity Hollywood Bowl, and opened with the band inviting Perfume Genius out to perform their joint single ‘Spitting Off The Edge Of The World’ (the new album’s lead single).

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‘Kids In America’ was the first of two songs performed in Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ encore, rounded out by ‘Date With The Night’ (the lead single from their 2003 debut ‘Fever To Tell’). Elsewhere in the show, the band performed five other songs from ‘Cool It Down’ and three more from ‘Fever To Tell’, as well as three from 2009’s ‘It’s Blitz!’ album, two from 2006’s ‘Show Your Bones’, and only one from 2013’s ‘Mosquito’.

‘Cool It Down’ arrived on September 30 via Secretly Canadian. The album earned four stars from NME, with the review calling it “a creative testament to how refreshing it can be for bands to look forward instead of backwards”.

D.H. Peligro, drummer for Dead Kennedys and Red Hot Chili Peppers, dies aged 63

D.H. Peligro, drummer for Dead Kennedys and briefly Red Hot Chili Peppers, has died at the age of 63.

In a statement announcing the news, Dead Kennedys revealed that the drummer died “from trauma to the head caused by an accidental fall” at his home in Los Angeles.

They wrote: “Dead Kennedys’ drummer D.H. Peligro passed away in his Los Angeles home yesterday, October 28th. Police on the scene stated that he died from trauma to the head caused by an accidental fall.

“Arrangements are pending and will be announced in the coming days. We ask that you respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time. Thank you for your thoughts and words of comfort.”

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Born Darren Henley in St. Louis, Missouri in 1959, Peligro joined Dead Kennedys in 1981, replacing founding drummer Ted (real name Bruce Slesinger).

After the band broke up in 1986, Peligro briefly joined Red Hot Chili Peppers as replacement for Jack Irons, though was fired less than a year later due to drug and alcohol-related issues.

The drummer then took part in the Dead Kennedys reunion of 2001, and carried on drumming for them up until his death, bar a one-year break from 2008-2009. He also had a brief solo career.

Among those to pay tribute to Peligro was Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, who tweeted: “DH Peligro forever and ever. The funnest, kindest and the rockingest. My dear brother I’m so grateful for our time I love you forever.”

In an extended Instagram post, Flea added: “My dear friend, my brother I miss you so much. I’m devastated today, a river of tears, but all my life I will treasure every second. The first time I saw you play with the DK’s in ‘81 you blew my mind. The power, the soul, the recklessness. You became my beloved friend, so many times of every kind.

“We had so much fun, so much joy, having each other’s backs. I love you with all my heart. You are the truest rocker, and a crucial part of rhcp history. D H P in the place to be, you live forever in our hearts, you wild man, you bringer of joy, you giant hearted man. I will always honor you. Rest In Peace and freedom from all that restrained you.”

DH Peligro forever and ever. The funnest, kindest and the rockingest. My dear brother I’m so grateful for our time I love you forever.

— Flea (@flea333) October 29, 2022

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Listen to Bruce Springsteen’s new version of ‘Don’t Play That Song’

Bruce Springsteen has shared his new cover of ‘Don’t Play That Song’ – you can listen to his rendition of the song below.

The track forms part of Springsteen’s 21st studio album ‘Only The Strong Survive’, billed as a collection of “15 soul music greats” which is set for release on November 11 via Columbia Records.

• READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen – ‘Letter To You’ review: a powerful synthesis of past and present

Springsteen’s take on ‘Don’t Play That Song’ – which was originally written by Ahmet Ertegun and Betty Nelson, and notably recorded by Ben E. King in 1962 and Aretha Franklin in 1970 – has been accompanied by a Thom Zimny-directed video.

Dry Cleaning Stumpwork

Pink Floyd Animals (2018 Remix)

Rage Against The Machine’s Zack de la Rocha teams up with Algiers for new single

Algiers have announced details of their new album, as well as sharing the record’s latest single, a collaboration with Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha.

• READ MORE: Algiers are the vital, indefinable rock band asking “what’s it like to be a human being at the end of the world?”

The new album will feature a host of big name assists, including Future Islands singer Samuel T. Herring and Boy Harsher‘s Jae Matthews.

Speaking on ‘Irreversible Damage’, the band’s new single, Algiers frontman Franklin James Fisher said: “The end of that song is the sound of joy. That’s what hope sounds like in 2022 when everything’s falling apart.” The song follows the release of previous single ‘Bite Back’, featuring billy woods and Backxwash.

Madonna shares video of her dancing to Cardi B song after pair reconcile over ‘WAP’ comments

Madonna has posted a video of herself dancing to Cardi B‘s ‘Tomorrow 2’ after the pair reconciled over comments the pop icon made about ‘WAP’.

• READ MORE: Madonna’s 10 best singles ever – ranked!

The singer took to her Instagram Stories yesterday (October 24) to share a video of herself dancing and lip-syncing along to Cardi B’s 2022 GloRilla collaboration. She captioned the clip with “❤️ u @iamcardib”.

Madonna followed up the video with love given to Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian, whom she also mentioned while reflecting on her book, Sex, which was published 30 years ago.

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In her original post over the weekend, Madonna claimed that her 1992 ‘Erotica’ book companion, which courted controversy at the time for its explicit content, paved the way for artists including Cardi B to celebrate female sexuality more openly in pop culture.

She wrote on her Instagram Stories on Saturday (October 22): “30 years ago I published a book called S.E.X. In addition to photos of me naked there were photos of Men kissing Men, Woman kissing Woman and Me kissing everyone. I also wrote about my sexual fantasies and shared my point of view about sexuality in an ironic way.

“I spent the next few years being interviewed by narrow minded people who tried to shame me for empowering myself as a Woman,” Madonna continued in her note. “I was called a whore, a witch, a heretic and the devil.”

“Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP. Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball. You’re welcome bitches…….?”

Cardi B later responded to the post, writing: “I literally payed [sic] this woman homage so many times cause I grew up listening to her…she can make her point without putting clown emojis and getting slick out the mouth.”

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She continued: “These icons really become disappointments once u make it in the industry. That’s why I keep myself to myself.”

The next day (October 23), Cardi confirmed that she’d spoken to Madonna, saying she had a “beautiful” conversation with the pop icon.

I talked to Madonna …It was beautiful ?….Have a great day and drive safely yallll?

— Cardi B (@iamcardib) October 23, 2022

Madonna tweeted “I love you @iamcardib…always have and always will.”

Alongside her first post, Madonna shared a 1992 interview clip from 60 Minutes Australia in which she is seen defending her choice to publish naked photos of herself.

Sex was released during the promotion for Madonna’s fifth album, ‘Erotica’.

Madonna’s comments about Sex follow her suggesting in a TikTok video posted earlier this month that she is gay.

Sampa The Great shares ethereal video for ‘Let Me Be Great’ featuring Angélique Kidjo

Sampa The Great has shared a music video for the Angélique Kidjo-featuring ‘Let Me Be Great’, which appeared on her recent album ‘As Above, So Below’.

• READ MORE: Sampa The Great: “Music is the one thing that is supposed to be the truth”

Directed by Pussy Krew, the clip first situates Sampa in an otherworldly desert setting, as trippy animations of golden snakes and her own pixelated flesh flash into view. The Zambian singer later opts for a costume change after linking hands with Kidjo in front of an oscillating snake visual.

Elsewhere in the video, Sampa dances aside chromatic tendrils and dons a regal golden headpiece. Watch it below:

Florence + The Machine remixed by “one of her favourite bands” IDLES

IDLES have returned with their fourth remix for the year, putting a tense and smoky spin on Florence + The Machine’s ‘Dance Fever’ cut ‘Heaven Is Here’.

• READ MORE: Florence + The Machine live in London: an electrifying show of unity and dance

It was helmed by the Bristol punks’ lead guitarist Mark Bowen, who said of his vision of the club-ready reimagining: “‘Dance Fever’ is quite a cathartic album for me, speaking a lot to the yearning for the release of performing but also introspecting on the need itself. It lives on the line of tension between the need for release and getting it (is that not the best bit?) no more is this encapsulated on ‘Heaven is Here’.

“I wanted to sit with that tension but then also lavish in the release on this remix.”

Bono says he wants to release an AC/DC inspired album

U2‘s Bono has said he wants to release an AC/DC inspired album in the near future.

• READ MORE: U2’s top 10 best albums – ranked

Speaking to The New York Times, Bono said the album would come before ‘Songs Of Ascent’ – a new album the band have been teasing since 2009.

Bono told the publication that ‘Songs Of Ascent’ is nearly complete but on hold for now because the band want to release “a noisy, uncompromising, unreasonable guitar album”.

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Reflecting on the songs the band had made in recent years with what they want to make in the future, Bono explained: “We all make mistakes. The progressive-rock virus gets in, and we needed a vaccine. The discipline of our songwriting, the thing that made U2 — top-line melody, clear thoughts — had gone.

“With the band, I was like, this is not what we do, and we can only do that experimental stuff if we have the songwriting chops. So we went to songwriting school, and we’re back and we’re good! Over those two albums, ‘Songs Of Innocence and Experience’, our songwriting returned. Now we need to put the firepower of rock ‘n’ roll back.

“I don’t know who is going to make our fuck-off rock ‘n’ roll album. You almost want an AC/DC, you want Mutt Lange. The approach. The discipline. The songwriting discipline. That’s what we want.”

Bono also recently addressed the 2014 controversy where U2 arranged for their album ‘Songs Of Innocence‘ to be automatically downloaded onto the devices of 500million iTunes users.

The U2 singer took full responsibility for the marketing ploy, which caused significant backlash for users receiving a free copy of the band’s 10th album unsolicited.

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In an extract from his new memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story published in The Guardian, the singer writes that “critics might accuse me of overreach” before admitting that “it is”.

Bono continued: “At first I thought this was just an internet squall. We were Santa Claus and we’d knocked a few bricks out as we went down the chimney with our bag of songs,” he wrote.

“But quite quickly we realised we’d bumped into a serious discussion about the access of big tech to our lives. The part of me that will always be punk rock thought this was exactly what The Clash would do. Subversive. But subversive is hard to claim when you’re working with a company that’s about to be the biggest on Earth.

“We’d learned a lesson, but we’d have to be careful where we would tread for some time. It was not just a banana skin. It was a landmine.”

Elsewhere in his memoir Bono opens up about the alleged death threats he’s received.

Hayley Williams shares heartfelt letter before Paramore headlines When We Were Young

In the lead-up to Paramore’s second headline set at the inaugural When We Were Young festival, frontwoman Hayley Williams shared a heartfelt letter with her fans and supporters.

• READ MORE: Paramore’s ‘This Is Why’ is a snarling, defiant middle finger to the haters

The hotly anticipated festival – co-headlined by My Chemical Romance and described as “an epic line-up of emo and rock bands from the past two decades” – debuted in Las Vegas yesterday (October 22). The first event was initially set to go down on Friday (October 21), but was cancelled an hour before gates opened due to weather warnings.

For all three of its dates, Paramore are closing out the festival’s Pink Stage, performing an hourlong set at 9:40pm. Reflecting on the band’s journey to this point, Williams opened up about the significance of Paramore’s billing in a handwritten letter shared to her Instagram Story. “To grow up in this scene was not a simple thing,” she wrote. “To be celebrating it (and to be celebrated by it) is not a simple thing. Nothing about this life – for you, me, or anyone – is simple.

Madonna reflects on ‘Sex’ book reaction 30 years on: “Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP”

Madonna has reflected on the reaction to her coffee table book Sex, which courted controversy at the time for its explicit content.

• READ MORE: The ages of Madonna – the evolution of an icon

The pop icon, who released the book with her fifth album ‘Erotica’ 30 years ago in October 1992, has this week contemplated its impact on modern pop culture as well reflected on how it was viewed as scandalous by many at the time of its publication.

Madonna wrote on her Instagram Stories yesterday (October 22): “30 years ago I published a book called S.E.X. In addition to photos of me naked there were photos of Men kissing Men, Woman kissing Woman and Me kissing everyone. I also wrote about my sexual fantasies and shared my point of view about sexuality in an ironic way.

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“I spent the next few years being interviewed by narrow minded people who tried to shame me for empowering myself as a Woman,” Madonna continued in her note. “I was called a whore, a witch, a heretic and the devil.”

“Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP. Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball. You’re welcome bitches …….?”

Madonna then shared a 1992 interview clip from 60 Minutes Australia in which she is seen defending her choice to publish naked photos of herself.

“What did you get out of it?” Madonna asked the host when he asked if there was a message in the book. “I got afraid,” he admitted.

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“Why?” she asked, to which he replied, “I’d never seen the likes of it.”

“You have so,” she went on to suggest. “You’ve never read Playboy magazine, or Penthouse, or anything like that?”

“Yes,” the host answered, “but it was different with you. The picture of you astride the mirror, masturbating – I thought that was horrible. It just strikes me as horrible.”

“I think people’s reaction to specific situations in the book was much more a reflection of that person than me,” Madonna added.

Madonna’s comments follow her suggesting in a TikTok video posted earlier this month that she is gay.

The singer participated in a current trend on the platform that sees users state that they’re gay depending on whether they’re able to successfully make a shot into a goal or not.

In a post shared on October 9, Madonna is seen holding up a pink piece of underwear. “If I miss, I’m Gay!” an on-screen caption reads.

The singer then scrunches up the knickers and throws them in the direction of a bin. But the star misses the shot, and dramatically throws up her hand and walks away.

Many fans are now speculating over whether Madonna has come out or was instead just taking part in a popular online craze.

Madonna’s 14th and latest studio album, ‘Madame X’, was released in 2019.

Last December she teased that new music could be released in 2022, sharing a photo of herself recording vocals in a studio. “So great to be back in the studio making Music again,” she captioned a post on social media, promising “suprises [sic] in the New Year”.

Björk and Greta Thunberg in conversation: “We have to take turns in holding the torch”

Björk and Greta Thunberg have appeared in conversation on New Statesman’s World Review podcast – listen below.

• READ MORE: Björk on the cover: “First you create a universe with sound, then you move into it”

Moderated by writer Kate Mossman, the latest episode of the podcast features a discussion between the artist and the activist, in which they speak about climate change, greenwashing, politics and more.

The pair had never met in person before, but they previously collaborated together on the environmental manifesto speech that played during Björk’s 2019 ‘Cornucopia tour’.

Listen to Benefits’ “relentless” and gritty new single, ‘Thump’

Benefits have shared a new single called ‘Thump’ – you can listen to it below.

Written in August, the Teesside punk outfit’s gritty latest offering is built around “a relentless electro drone thud” created by synth player Robbie Major, frontman Kingsley Hall told NME.

• READ MORE: Benefits: an instant punk battlecry against flag-shaggers (and Chris Martin)

“The lyrics try to tie together all the loose ends of a difficult summer, from both a political and personal perspective. It’s about having your confidence knocked and anxieties triggered in a time of turmoil,” he added.

“Putting the current horror show of UK politics to one side, from a personal point of view, summer was just awful. My dad died unexpectedly and to be honest I’m still struggling to get my head around it.

“The Queen died around the same time and in a way, it felt like my grief was stalled by this odd, colossal, national mourning. My own feelings and heartbreak felt insignificant. I was overwhelmed by guilt for not being able to feel the way I should have been feeling.”

Hall continued: “Everything around me, every shop front, every black tied news reporter, every sugar-coated boring melancholy song on the radio, all these respectful hushed tones, all the enforced remorse, it all seemed like an attack. I was completely numb. I can’t really describe it, it was – and still is – just properly, properly rubbish.”

Hall went on to say that his “frustrations with the state of the country” and reflections on personal matters are all “mixed into the second half” of ‘Thump’: “The fear of getting old and jealousy of youth; the anxiety of feeling out of my depth; imposter syndrome.”

As for the first half, the frontman said it is made up of “pure political anger [and] fury at these demonic leaders” at the top of government.

“Rage at the sound of nothingness from the mainstream, this tedious wistful romanticism, endlessly harking back, where’s the anger in our entertainment?”

Hall told NME: “We tried to juxtapose all of that with a feeling of hope for the future, sonically and lyrically. My dad was always hopeful. But then, at the very end, we abruptly cut the recording and kill off the hope.”

‘Thump’ arrives with an intense official video by Eddy Maynard, which was shot in the land surrounding Holme House Prison in Stockton-on-Tees.  You can watch the clip above.

Benefits are set to embark on a UK headline tour next month – see the full itinerary below.

Kalush Orchestra team up with The Rasmus on ‘In The Shadows Of Ukraine’

Kalush Orchestra have collaborated with The Rasmus on a new version of the latter’s hit single ‘In The Shadows’.

• READ MORE: Kalush Orchestra: “It’s amazing that we can perform our music at Glastonbury”

‘In The Shadows Of Ukraine’ marks Kalush Orchestra’s first release since their their Eurovision 2022-winning song ‘Stefania’.

The collaboration sees the outfit combine the sound of the Telenka (a Ukrainian wind instrument), a powerful chorus, and Oleg Psiuk’s fast-paced rap with The Rasmus’ classic rock style.

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Per a press release, The Rasmus’ original 2003 track struck a chord in Ukraine upon its initial release. The band, who represented Finland at this year’s Eurovision, met Kalush Orchestra in Turin, Italy this year where they soon began a creative relationship.

While both acts were in the city for the competition, they joined forces for an impromptu performance in the town square.

“We immediately loved the original sound of Kalush Orchestra – Ukrainian folk, singing, flute, rap,” explained Lauri Ylönen, co-founder and frontman of The Rasmus, in a statement.

“It was inspiring to hear how this song can be reborn like that! And the lyrics are unfortunately even more relevant to what is happening now, in Ukraine and around the world.”

The song contains the line: “They say that I must learn to kill before I can feel safe/ But I’d rather kill myself than turn into their slave.”

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Psiuk said: “Probably all Ukrainians of my age and a little older remember this track by The Rasmus really well. I was 17 years old when I heard it for the first time and had it in on repeat. I could never have imagined that I would not only meet The Rasmus in person, but collaborate on a new version of this iconic song.

“We were glad to reunite with The Rasmus and work together with these cool musicians. We appreciate their music and their support of Ukraine. And they are such sincere and open people.”

He continued: “We decided straight away that we wanted to make a video for the song, so people could not only hear, but also see everything that we want to convey to the world with our new work.”

The black-and-white visuals in question, directed by Leonid Kolosovsky, reference the history of Ukraine and the experience of the country in the modern day. It was created by a mostly Ukrainian creative team.

Recalling the shoot, Ylönen said: “There was a feeling that everyone wanted to make a maximum effort for a common goal.

“Our mission is to let as many people as possible know about this war and the courage of the Ukrainian people. That’s why we decided to shoot a video for this song.”

Over the summer Kalush Orchestra marked Ukrainian Independence Day by sharing a message of hope and making a fresh appeal for donations.

The group raised $900,000 (£739k) by auctioning off their Eurovision trophy after winning the contest in May. An additional $370,000 (£301k) was generated by raffling off the pink bucket hat that frontman Psiuk wore during their victorious performance.

Kalush Orchestra are currently out on a North American headline tour. A portion of the funds raised from tickets will be donated to Ukrainian relief efforts via the charities Gate To Ukraine and Help Heroes Of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Kalush Orchestra have said they are “pleased” that Liverpool will be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on behalf of Ukraine.

Psiuk added: “I would also like to remind everyone that it is our mission to make sure that the next Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place in Kyiv.”

BLACKPINK to headline BST Hyde Park London in 2023

BLACKPINK have announced a headline BST Hyde Park London show for 2023.

• READ MORE: BLACKPINK live in Seoul – K-pop superstars bring power and playfulness as their massive ‘Born Pink’ world tour lifts off

The K-pop band will make their UK festival debut with the British Summer Time festival concert held on July 2, 2023. Tickets go on general sale from Thursday (October 27) at 10am BST here.

American Express cardmembers get first access to tickets with the Amex pre-sale, which opens today (October 21) at 10am BST. See more information about additional pre-sales here.

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Last month Billy Joel was announced as another headliner of BST Hyde Park 2023 (July 7). The summer series of gigs will return to Hyde Park in central London in July 2023, with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band announced previously for July 6 and July 8.

Meanwhile, BLACKPINK kicked off their world tour recently in Seoul, where bandmember Jennie treated fans to a performance of an unreleased solo song.

The tour, which is in promotion of their second album ‘Born Pink’, opened last Saturday (October 15) at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in South Korea.

BLACKPINK played their 23-song set, which included much from their new album as well as some of the bandmembers’ solo work, to fans who were able to hear some live debuts. These included ‘Born Pink’ tracks ‘Typa Girl’ and ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’ as well as Rosé’s solo song ‘Hard To Love’.

Additionally, Jennie played unreleased solo track ‘Moonlight’. You can see footage of that performance alongside other clips here.

Joe Strummer Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years

You Me At Six tell us about new album ‘Truth Decay’: “No one can do it like us”

You Me At Six have confirmed details of their eighth studio album ‘Truth Decay’ and shared new single ‘Mixed Emotions (I Didn’t Know How To Tell You What I Was Going Through)’. Check it all out below alongside with our interview with frontman Josh Franceschi.

Described by Franceschi as “quintessential you Me At Six with a twist”, ‘Truth Decay’ is due for release on January 27.

“At the start of the process, the whole band sat down and spoke about who we thought You Me At Six were, what others thought of us and who we’d like to be,” he said.

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The record comes previewed by the single ‘Mixed Emotions (I Didn’t Know How To Tell You What I Was Going Through)’ – which the frontman said “represents ‘Truth Decay’ the best,” and started life as a poem Franceschi had written.

“It’s about the five of us in the band and how I wish we could have been better to our younger selves, both collectively and individually,” he said. 

“We’d have been able to get through stuff a lot better if we knew how to communicate our feelings, but up until recently that conversation really wasn’t encouraged. Back in 2009, if you felt so low you didn’t want to get out of your bunk, you were told to just get on with it.”

He added: “The song is about challenging the stigma of mental health in men, but it’s also about being accountable. I hope young men hear it and think about treating their mates a little better by cutting out the toxic masculinity.”

 

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Last year’s ‘SUCKAPUNCH’ saw the band “try a lot of different things and unlocked a few different doors for us,” said Franceschi, adding that “the goal with ‘Truth Decay’ was to create something that was more in line with when we felt like we really knew who we were.”

He continued: “The biggest stadium rock band in the country is Muse. The biggest indie band in the country is Foals. The biggest metalcore band is Architects. All those bands have their flag in the ground and their own identity. I want us to be the emo band.”

The singer also explained how previous single ‘Deep Cuts’ was the first track written for the record, and set the lyrical course for ‘Truth Decay’. “If I’d written another song about a breakup or a boy/girl relationship from my point of view, the whole record would have been very different,” Franceschi said. “But ‘Deep Cuts’ was written about the people I love who aren’t loving or valuing themselves the way I believe they should be loved and valued. It gave me a whole different space to write from.”

He went on: “Because of everything we’ve been through over the past few years, it is an emotionally complex record. It was important for me to be genuine about what I was seeing around me. I was compelled to write about things that felt visceral.”

Feeling “a duty of care to be as vulnerable as possible” and the “need to say it as straight up as you can”,  the singer hoped that “someone showing that willingness to be open and empathetic” would “create beautiful things.”

With the previously released ‘Deep Cuts’ and ‘No Future? Yeah Right’ – featuring Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari – Franceschi said the reaction to this new era has been “really exciting”.

“Across the board, people have been saying they’ve got their favourite band back and people really get what we’re trying to do, which is sound like classic You Me At Six but better,” he said.

“We did sit on this record, wondering if we’d done the right thing. Our biggest thing has always been not wanting to bore our fanbase. We’ve never been one of those bands that has 15 albums that all sound the same. I’m not saying we’ve reinvented the wheel on any of our records, but we’ve had a fair crack at trying to move ourselves into different spaces, to try and keep things interesting.”

So why now for this return to their emo roots?

“There’s nothing better than healthy competition,” said Franceschi. “There’s a very obvious revival of the scene that has become really poignant and I just saw a lot of other people doing it and thought, they can’t do it like us. They woke up a sleeping giant.”

He continued: “I’ve really enjoyed seeing what other people have done with this emo sound, but there is a reason we were known as the British band that did it. We did it best back then, and I want to prove that we can still do it the best now.”

Franceschi argued that he believes pop punk, emo and alternative music is making a comeback because “people are pissed off”.

“You’ve got a whole generation of kids feeling misrepresented, misunderstood and nothing they’re saying is being taken seriously by those in charge,” he said. “It’s exactly the same shit that was happening when I was younger; the rich making the rich richer and marginalising the voiceless even more. Any music that empowers those young people is going to be important.

“Yungblud has done a brilliant job of rejuvenating that punk spirit, celebrating differences and showing how colourful society should be. Now more than ever, you need that solidarity.”

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A post shared by You Me At Six (@youmeatsixofficial)

However, Franceschi went on to say that ‘Truth Decay’ isn’t a political album. “Just because I’ve lost complete and utter faith in the system, doesn’t mean I’ve lost faith in people,” he insisted. “‘Truth Decay’ is a record which is defiant in its love for people. It’s about self-worth self-love and acceptance, rather than doom, gloom and self-sabotage.”

Having gone into the creation of ‘SUCKAPUNCH’ thinking it would be the final You Me At Six album, Franceschi said that he was now hungry for all that’s still to come.

“Because it was released during the pandemic, ‘SUCKAPUNCH’ became a crutch for people,” he concluded. “On this one though, we’re blazing a glorious trail. This is the band we’re meant to be. It was good to reclaim our sound.

“What happens next is an open-ended question but I’ve spoken about headlining Reading Festival since I first went when I was 17-years-old. There have been moments where it’s felt close, and other moments where that dream has felt really far away. Right now, it feels closer than it has in a long while.”

The ‘Truth Decay’ tracklist is:

1. ‘DEEP CUTS
2. ‘Mixed Emotions (I Didn’t Know How to Tell You What I Was Going Through)’
3. ‘God Bless The 90s Kids’
4. ‘After Love In The After Hours’
5. ‘No Future? Yeah Right’ (feat. Rou Reynolds)
6. ‘heartLESS’
7. ‘Who Needs Revenge When I’ve Got Ellen Rae’
8. ‘Breakdown’
9. ‘Traumatic Iconic’
10. ‘:mydopamine:’
11. ‘A Smile To Make You Weak(er) At The Knees’
12. ‘Ultraviolence’
13. ‘A Love Letter to Those Who Feel Lost’ (feat. Cody Frost)

The band are currently on a sold-out tour of the US, with UK dates coming in 2023. See full dates below and visit here for ticket details.

February 2023

1 – Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
3 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
4 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
6 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
7 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
9 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
10 – International Arena, Cardiff
11 – Alexandra Palace, London

Liam Gallagher says there’ll be no Oasis songs in ‘Knebworth 22’ because “angry squirt” Noel Gallagher “blocked them”

Liam Gallagher has claimed that there will be no Oasis songs in his upcoming Knebworth 22 documentary because Noel Gallagher “blocked them”.

Announced earlier this week, Knebworth 22 will document Liam’s return earlier this summer to Knebworth, where he performed 26 years on from Oasis’ pair of 1996 shows at the Hertfordshire site.

• READ MORE: Liam Gallagher live in Knebworth: rock’n’roll star takes a leap of faith – and somehow pulls it off

Asked by a fan on Twitter earlier this morning (October 19) whether Knebworth 22 will feature any Oasis songs, Liam claimed that his “angry squirt” brother Noel had blocked him from using them in the film.

Babymetal announced as guests on Sabaton’s UK and European tour

Babymetal have been confirmed as the support for Sabaton‘s upcoming 2023 tour – see dates below and find tickets here.

• READ MORE: Babymetal interview: ‘Metal Galaxy’ is the first step to the future of metal…”

The news comes as the Japanese duo announced details of a new album called ‘The Other One’ earlier this month, bringing their hiatus to an end.

Babymetal will join Finnish metal band Lordi on the UK and European leg of Sabaton’s ‘Tour To End All Tours’. The 2023 dates kick off in Leeds in April, finishing up in Kuopio in Finland on May 20.

Elon Musk deletes tweet hinting at collaboration with Kanye West

Elon Musk has deleted a tweet hinting at a possible business collaboration with Kanye West.

• READ MORE: With his “White Lives Matter” stunt, has Kanye West finally hit the point of no return?

It comes after the Tesla billionaire shared an image playing on the Dragon Ball anime series, where two characters can fuse together into a more powerful being by touching fingers.

Musk edited his face on to one character, along with a Twitter logo, while West’s face was superimposed onto another, with the logo of Parler, the right-wing social network the rapper reportedly recently purchased.

Liam Gallagher announces new ‘Knebworth 22’ documentary

Liam Gallagher has announced a new documentary based around his huge Knebworth shows this summer.

• READ MORE: Liam Gallagher live in Knebworth: rock’n’roll star takes a leap of faith – and somehow pulls it off

Knebworth 22 is a feature-length film documenting the Oasis singer’s return to Knebworth Park, 26 years after his band’s iconic gigs at the Hertfordshire venue.

The film will come to select UK cinemas for a limited time from November 17, with a full streaming release on Paramount+ later this year.

PinkPantheress joins Paramore for ‘Misery Business’ at Austin City Limits

Paramore played their second Austin City Limits show this weekend, and were joined by PinkPantheress to perform ‘Misery Business’ – check out footage below.

• READ MORE: Paramore’s ‘This Is Why’ is a snarling, defiant middle finger to the haters

The band, who returned with new single ‘This Is Why’ last month and shared details of a sixth album of the same name due in January 2023, recently began a comeback tour of intimate venues across North America.

During the run, they played both weekends of Austin City Limits, and were joined at the second show on Sunday (October 16) by the TikTok star.

EXO’s Kai, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon among K-pop artists missing KAMP LA over visa issues

Nearly half of the KAMP LA festival lineup on October 15 and 16 were unable to attend the event due to problems with their visas.

• READ MORE: BLACKPINK live in Seoul: K-pop superstars bring power and playfulness as their massive ‘Born Pink’ world tour lifts off

On the evening of October 14 local time, the concert organisers released a statement sharing that several artists — namely BamBam, Jeon Somi, EXO’s Kai, LAPILLUS, Taeyeon and Zion.T — would not be present at the festival due to “unforseen US work visa issues and circumstances outside of the artists’ and promoters’ control”. Most of these artists were scheduled to perform on the first day of the festival on October 15.

A statement from KAMP Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/BTeaIx8dHa

— KAMP GLOBAL (@kampfestivals) October 15, 2022

Watch Judas Priest perform ‘Genocide’ for first time in 40 years

Judas Priest surprised fans by playing ‘Genocide’ live this week (October 13) for the first time in 40 years.

• READ MORE: Judas Priest’s Rob Halford: “I tried to throw a TV out of a hotel window once. It was like Mr Bean does Spinal Tap”

The band launched the latest US leg of their ’50 Heavy Metal Years Tour’ in Wallingford, Connecticut earlier this week (October 13th) and performed ‘Genocide’ to the surprise of many fans in attendance.

The set list featured fan-favourites as well as other rarities together with songs from the band’s acclaimed 1982 album ‘Screaming For Vengeance’, which turns 40 this year.

Megan Thee Stallion to “take a break” after home broken into: “I’m so tired, physically and emotionally”

Megan Thee Stallion has told fans that after her appearance on this week’s Saturday Night Live, she’ll be winding down her output as a public figure.

• READ MORE: Megan Thee Stallion live at Reading Festival 2022: A joyful dose of ‘real hot girl shit’

It comes after the rapper had her Los Angeles home broken into earlier this week. As reported by TMZ, a pair of burglars targeted Megan’s house on Thursday night (October 13), breaking in after they smashed through a glass door. They reportedly stole somewhere up to $400,000 (£358,000) worth of goods including cash, jewellery and electronics.

It’s said that Megan was not home at the time of the robbery, though footage of it was captured by her home surveillance system; at the time of writing, police have not arrested any suspects. 

Brian Eno ForeverAndEverNoMore

Listen to Bruce Springsteen’s new cover of Commodores’ ‘Nightshift’

Bruce Springsteen has released ‘Nightshift’, a cover of the Commodores original, lifted from the singer’s forthcoming album.

• READ MORE: Every single Bruce Springsteen album ranked in order of greatness

‘Nightshift’ first appeared on the tracklist of Commodores’ titular 1985 album, and was written as a tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson (both of whom died the year prior). For his part, Springsteen stays true to the original, carrying the soulful tune atop a supporting band of brass, strings and backing vocalists.

The track is accompanied by a music video directed by longtime Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny. The director previously helmed visuals for the tracks ‘We Take Care Of Our Own’ and ‘Radio Nowhere’, and this time places Springsteen centre-stage. The singer performs under the glow of a spotlight, interspersed with clips of interpretive dancers. Watch that below.

Watch Tove Lo cover Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’

Tove Lo has paid tribute to another Swedish pop star, covering Robyn‘s ‘Dancing On My Own’ while appearing on Australian radio station triple j’s Like a Version segment.

• READ MORE: Tove Lo on new album ‘Dirt Femme’, ‘True Romance’ and getting candid about love

Tove is accompanied solely by a pianist for her stripped-back rendition of the song, foregrounding her soaring vocals and bringing out all the emotion and power of Robyn’s 2010 heartbreak classic.

“I think it’s just the most perfect pop song,” Tove said of her decision to cover the song in a post-performance interview. “Lyrically, it’s so simple, so clear. You can really see it in front of you. I don’t know, it’s just stayed with me all these years, and still is just such a good song, and makes me want to cry and dance at the same time, which is my favourite thing to do.”

Lizzo says she was bullied at school for being “different” and listening to Radiohead

Lizzo has recalled in a new interview how she was bullied at school for being “different” and listening to Radiohead.

The artist has spoken about her experiences in a new profile with Vanity Fair, which explores her upbringing in both Detroit and Houston.

• READ MORE: Lizzo – ‘Special’ review: joyful superstar uplifts with self-assured, self-empowering bops

Recalling how she always felt “different” (“although she isn’t sure if it was ‘good different’ or ‘bad different'”, the profile notes), Lizzo said that while her fellow students were getting into rap music (“which she loved, especially Houston rap”) she was also listening to the likes of Radiohead.

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“It was a Black school, mostly Black and brown, Caribbean, I had Nigerian friends,” Lizzo said. “They were all listening to what was on the radio — Usher, Destiny’s Child, Ludacris —  and I was into Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’. I kept it hidden, even when I was in a rock band, because I didn’t want to be made fun of by my peers — they’d yell, ‘White girl!’”

Lizzo continued: “Also, I was wearing these flared bell-bottoms with embroidery down it — and they’d say, ‘You look like a white girl, why do you want to look like a hippie?’ I wanted to be accepted so bad; not fitting in really hurt.

“My defence mechanism was humour. I became the class clown, that’s a kind of perceived confidence. And I have the type of social anxiety where I get louder and funnier the more stressed I am.”

Lizzo will head out on a UK and European tour in February 2023 – you can see her upcoming tour dates below and find any remaining tickets here.

February 2023
17 – Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
18 – Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark
20 – Barclays Arena, Hamburg, Germany
23 – Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands
24 – Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium
27 – Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany
28 – Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin, Germany

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March 2023
2 – Mediolanum Forum, Milan, Italy
3 – Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland
5 – Accor Arena, Paris, France
8 – OVO Hydro Arena, Glasgow
9 – Utilitia Arena, Birmingham
11 – AO Arena, Manchester
13 – 3Arena, Dublin
15 – The O2, London

First look: Róisín Murphy’s acting debut in Netflix fantasy ‘The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself’

Róisín Murphy is set to make her acting debut as Mercury, a powerful witch in Netflix’s forthcoming series The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself, set to premiere on October 28.

The fantasy drama series, based on Sally Green’s acclaimed 2014 young adult novel Half Bad, is set in a world in which factions of witches are in conflict and follows the story of Nathan Byrn, the son of a dangerous Blood Witch called Marcus Edge.

“It’s about this young feller who wants to find himself,” Murphy explained to NME. “Doesn’t know his father. His father turns out to be a bit of a bad mandem. My character collects powerful blood. Blood’s a sort of currency in this world – you need certain blood to transcend into being whatever kind of witch you’re going to be at 18. It’s a parable of growing up.”

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Murphy, who first became known in the ’90s as one half of the pop duo Moloko, hadn’t considered acting before she was approached by a director on the series. “I think that the director was a fan,” she said. “He must have had something planned for something or other along the way and then this witch came up and it was obvious it was made for me. They just offered me the part. I was a bit surprised to be honest and I didn’t believe I could do it, but I gave it a go at home on the phone, just reading the script, and everybody loved it. So out of curiosity, I took the job.”

Murphy enjoyed playing such an evil role first time out. “It was a good part to get to start. She’s glamorous, she’s two-faced, she’s a good part in that Betty Davis type way. I got CGI’d when I turned into this horrible witch at the end, running down the hallway. My children said ‘oh, there’s the real mama’.”

Expressing an interest in film, Murphy said that “I will probably make more forays” into acting. Meanwhile she’s readying her sixth solo album for release, on which she’s collaborated with German DJ and producer DJ Koze.

“It’s bloody brilliant,” she claims, “it’s just going to be a really fun time putting out this record because it is an extremely fun record. It’s more than the two of us together, more than the sum of its parts. So that’s good, because the two parts are pretty good too.”

Lydia Night shares new statement on sexual misconduct allegations against ex-SWMRS drummer Joey Armstrong

Lydia Night has shared a video responding to SWMRS‘ recent statement on the allegations of sexual misconduct made against the band’s former drummer, Joey Armstrong.

In a statement shared on Instagram back in July 2020, Night – singer of LA band The Regrettes – detailed her experiences with Armstrong (son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong) during a one-year relationship that began in mid-2017.

Night said in the original message that the relationship began when she was 16, and ended “right before my 18th birthday”. Armstrong was 22-years-old during that period.

Kacey Musgraves takes aim at Ted Cruz during ACL show

Kacey Musgraves called out Ted Cruz during a recent appearance at a music festival. Check out footage below.

• READ MORE: The Big Read – Kacey Musgraves: “I really have seen a few UFOs…”

During her set at Austin City Limits Music Festival in Texas while performing her hit song ‘High Horse’, Musgraves took aim at Senator Ted Cruz mid-song. She sang: “‘Cause everyone knows someone who kills the buzz/ Every time they open up their mouth,” before pausing to say, “Ted Cruz… I said what I said.”

Fans were quick to agree with Musgraves’ actions, with one taking to Twitter to share a clip of the moment with the caption “you can tell @KaceyMusgraves is a real Texan by the volume of her hair and how much she hates Ted Cruz.”

you can tell @KaceyMusgraves is a real Texan by the volume of her hair and how much she hates Ted Cruz ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HNXbN0xjo3

— Cat Cardenas (@catrcardenas) October 10, 2022

SWMRS respond to sexual misconduct allegations against Joey Armstrong

SWMRS have issued a statement regarding the accusations of sexual misconduct levied against their former drummer Joey Armstrong.

In a statement shared on Instagram in July 2020, Lydia Night – singer of LA band The Regrettes – detailed her experiences with Armstrong (son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong) during a one-year relationship that began in mid-2017.

Night said in the message that the relationship began when she was 16, and ended “right before my 18th birthday”. Armstrong was 22-years-old during that period.

“Every time we took a step sexually it was because he wanted to and made it clear by either putting my hand on his crotch, shaming me for saying I wasn’t comfortable, gaslighting me or ignoring me when I didn’t my consent,” part of Night’s post read.

She explained that she’d taken the decision to make the claims publicly after SWMRS “released an unbelievably hypocritical statement on social media”, adding: “This band’s delusional positioning of themselves as woke feminists is not only triggering for me as a victim, but is complete bullshit and needs to be called out.”

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A post shared by lyd (@lydianight)

Elsewhere in Night’s statement, she wrote that it has taken her “years to finally understand that I am a victim of abuse”. She also accused Armstrong of using his “position of power” as a musician of a headline tour band with which to exert his control. “That professional power dynamic had made its way into all aspects of our relationship,” she said.

Night added that she spoke to Armstrong before sharing the statement online whereby he “seemed very empathetic” but that when she received a handwritten note written by him and delivered by his bandmate, Cole Becker, Armstrong “didn’t address any of the abuse, my age, his position of power, or anything sexual at all” within the letter.

Later, Armstrong responded to the claims in his own statement that he shared on SWMRS’ official Instagram account.

“While I don’t agree with some of the things she said about me, it’s important that she be allowed to say them and that she be supported for speaking out. I respect her immensely and fully accept that I failed her as a partner,” it read.

“I was selfish and I didn’t treat her the way she deserves to have been treated both during our relationship and in the two years since we broke up.”

Armstrong added: “I have apologised to her privately and I hope she can forgive me, if and when she is ready to do so. I own my mistakes and will work hard to regain the trust that I lost.”

SWMRS’ Cole Becker and Max Becker have now posted a video message in which the former read out “an open letter to our fans”. Cole revealed that the pair were “going to keep the band going”, and confirmed that both Armstrong and Seb Mueller had departed.

“First of all, sorry this has taken so long,” Cole began. “It’s just been hard to find the right words to say. The last time we were really in touch is over two years ago. The world around you and me had shut down.”

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A post shared by SWMRS (@swmrs)

The frontman went on to talk about his bandmate and brother’s 2019 car crash and subsequent period of recovery. “It’s against that backdrop that my life changed once again,” he continued.

“In July 2020, my friend and the drummer of SWMRS, Joey Armstrong, was accused of emotional abuse and sexual coercion by somebody that he had dated years before. They were not the same age when they dated; he was 22, she was 17. But nonetheless, the accusations came as a shock to me.

“Lydia was somebody who we considered a friend. When I first heard that she was going to call Joey out, I immediately called her. I remember that Joey and her had met up months before to discuss their relationship after the fact, and I believed that it had gone well. So I wanted to figure out what had changed.”

Cole continued: “We talked twice and it was going well until she made light of my brother’s car wreck, and suggested that we could post about The Regrettes on our Instagram story to prevent her from going public with her accusations. At which point I had to step away from the situation.

“When she published her statement, I immediately saw that certain details were embellished to to make it appear worse than it was. I was there. I remember their brief relationship. I remember when he spent Mother’s Day with her family.”

The singer then disputed Night’s claim that Armstrong had forced her to keep their relationship a secret. “Everyone involved in both of their lives knew about it,” he said.

“I was also confused because they never had sex, and yet many people began to refer to him as a rapist. And to us as rape apologists.”

He added: “There was no accusation of sexual assault, and yet the statement was written to make it appear that Joey was a sexual predator. Maybe he wasn’t a good boyfriend, but he is not a sexual predator. Maybe they shouldn’t have dated, but they did.”

Later, Cole said it “felt wrong” to get involved with the situation: “Ultimately, it isn’t my story to tell and I really didn’t wanna discredit her story. But the discrepancies were too glaring for me to take her side over his.

“I wasn’t going to condemn my friend. Because we refused to condemn him, we got cancelled. We started getting death threats. Private information about our lives was being passed around casually by people who felt betrayed by us. People were finding every creative way to tell us that we sucked and they hated us.”

Cole continued: “If you were one of these people, I get it. You had believed that we stood for something, and yet here we were seemingly contradicting ourselves by standing by our friend amid these allegations. People that I had considered friends began posting statements condemning our band.

“I recalled in horror how I had participated in this frenzy several times before from the other side. I thought that I had been using our platform for a good thing. But in the end, I was participating in a culture that rewards cruel behaviour in the name of justice. And I only learned this because of how cruel people were being to us. We were being media flogged.”

As for the future of the band, Cole said: “SWMRS is not breaking up, but a chapter of our lives has emphatically closed. Joey and Seb have both stepped away from the band to grow their personal lives. Max and I are going to keep the band going.

“After everything we’ve been through, it feels stupid to quit. He has worked relentlessly on his recovery since the accident with this sole intention of being able to play rock music on a stage again. Our band means a lot to us, and I think it means a lot to a lot of you as well.”

Cole then explained that he’d been “scared to say anything” as he was aware that his thoughts on the situation were “controversial”.

“It doesn’t fit neatly into the cultural binary of good versus bad. And I was scared because I don’t want to fight anyone – that’s the last thing I want to do. But as this continues to interfere with our ability to do our job, I have no other choice. The time has come for us to set the record straight.”

Anticipating SWMRS fans’ reaction to the statement, Cole said: “Some of you will hear this and it won’t be enough. If that’s the case, you don’t have to listen to our music. I’m only trying to tell you the truth. I’ve not always done the right thing.

“But anyone who really knows me knows that I always try to treat people with respect, and to work from a place of love. No matter how this letter finds you, we’re sending you love, respect and gratitude. It’s always been an honour to share our music with you.”

You can watch the statement in full in the video above. NME has contacted Lydia Night’s representatives for comment.

Dreamcatcher make a call to arms on anthemic new single ‘Vision’

K-pop girl group Dreamcatcher have released their latest mini-album, ‘Apocalypse: Follow us’, alongside a stunning music video for its lead single ‘Vision’.

• READ MORE: Every Dreamcatcher song ranked in order of greatness

On October 11 at 6PM KST, the seven-member act returned with their ‘Apocalypse: Follow us’ mini-album, led by the single ‘Vision’. The track was notably co-composed by June-one of South Korean indie band Glen Check, and longtime Dreamcatcher collaborators Ollounder and LEEZ.

The new visual sees the members of Dreamcatcher in a futuristic post-apocalyptic wasteland. Wielding powers that allow them to control lightning, girl group rally support for an uprising, presumably against those who have destroyed the earth.

Uncut December 2022

Blur’s Graham Coxon says he’d be happy to get Oasis back together: “I’d have a chat with them”

Blur‘s Graham Coxon says he’d be up for trying to get Oasis back together.

• READ MORE: Graham Coxon tells us about his sci-fi new album ‘Superstate’ and Blur’s next move

Speaking in a new interview in The Evening Standard, the guitarist was asked about a potential reunion with his own band and a tour next year.

He said: “No, I don’t know what’s going on with Blur, we haven’t really talked about anything. I don’t really know what it is. It’s actually quite important that I say nothing about it for personal reasons.”

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But when pressed about a reunion, he added: “I hope so. We always get round to it sooner or later.”

And Coxon then added that he was excited about the prospect of Pulp getting back together and he’d be happy to see Oasis reunite. “That would be fun [seeing Pulp return]. Just need Oasis to do it. Knock those brothers’ heads together,” he said.

When asked if he’d be happy to be the one that gets the band back together, he added: “Yes any day. I’d do that. I’d have a chat with them.”

Oasis and Blur were famously involved in a Britpop chart battle during the ’90s, but Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn have since become friends.

They collaborated most recently in 2017 on ‘We Got The Power’, which appears on Gorillaz’s ‘Humanz’ and also features Savages singer Jehnny Beth.

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Meanwhile, Coxon spoke about Blur’s various reunions since their initial 2003 split earlier this year, and said that the band will “always be capable” of reforming.

He added: “I actually think that Blur will always be capable of that, and when the time comes around and the stars are aligned, we’ll always be capable of doing something interesting.”

Dermot Kennedy shares new single ‘Innocence and Sadness’ and announces 2023 UK tour dates

As well as treating fans to a new single, Dermot Kennedy has also announced the dates for his 2023 UK and European tour.

‘Innocence and Sadness’ is a powerful, piano-led offering that will feature on his second studio album, ‘Sonder’ – due for release on November 4. The release of the track has also been accompanied by an acoustic performance shot live from Mission Sound Studios in Brooklyn, New York.

“It’s impossible for me to express how much this song means to me,” Dermot said of the single. “I wrote this song on the piano in my parents’ house. ‘Innocence and sadness in the same night’ means I cling to my childlike sense of wonder while learning how to face all the challenges of life. All in search of steady rhythm joy. Reliable and true joy.”

Listen to SAULT’s surprise new single ‘Angel’

Elusive London-based collective SAULT have finally returned with a brand new single dubbed ‘Angel’. Check it out below.

Clocking in at just over 10 minutes in length, ‘Angel’ is produced by SAULT frontman Inflo –  who begins by delivering an upbeat sound before slowing things down just before the halfway mark. The song also features vocals from Jamaican artist Chronixx.

‘Angel’ arrives days after SAULT seemingly teased their forthcoming album ‘Ten’ on Instagram, simply posting a photo of matchsticks in an ‘X’ shape alongside the text ‘Ten’ in the caption.

Kanye West’s anti-Semitic posts condemned by celebrities, politicians and organisations

Kanye West has stirred controversy over the past few days by sharing anti-Semitic sentiments on Twitter and Instagram.

In response, the rapper has been condemned by many figures in the entertainment world, as well as several political figures and organisations that represent Jewish communities.

• READ MORE: With his “White Lives Matter” stunt, has Kanye West finally hit the point of no return?

Yesterday (October 9), Twitter locked the rapper’s account after he tweeted: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

In a follow-up tweet – which is still available to view at the time of writing – West posted: “Who you think created cancel culture?” A spokesperson for Twitter confirmed that West had been banned from the platform “due to a violation of Twitter’s policies”.

It followed his booting from Instagram on Friday (October 7), when a representative for Meta – the company that owns the platform – said West was restricted from posting, and had content removed by a moderator, after violating community guidelines; it was not specified exactly what posts were removed, but one reportedly saw West share an anti-Semitic comment in the form of a threat.

The post in question came after Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs responded to West’s recent gaffe at this year’s Paris Fashion Week – where he wore a shirt emblazoned with the phrase “White Lives Matter”, a slogan tied to white supremacist movements – and West shared screenshots of a text exchange between the two rappers to Instagram.

In one of those texts, West wrote to Diddy: “I’ma use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”

Several key figures in the entertainment industry have now shared their disapproval of West’s anti-Semitic comments. Among them is Jewish actress and comedian Sarah Silverman, who tweeted: “Kanye threatened the Jews yesterday on twitter and it’s not even trending. Why do mostly only Jews speak up against Jewish hate? The silence is so loud.”

Kanye threatened the Jews yesterday on twitter and it’s not even trending. Why do mostly only Jews speak up against Jewish hate? The silence is so loud

— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) October 9, 2022

Jamie Lee Curtis pointed out that Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the year in traditional Judaism – was celebrated last week (from sunset on Tuesday October 4 to nightfall on Wednesday October 5), noting that “a threat to Jewish people ended once in a genocide”. Pleading with the rapper, she continued: “Your words hurt and incite violence. You are a father. Please stop.”

The holiest day in Judaism was last week. Words matter. A threat to Jewish people ended once in a genocide. Your words hurt and incite violence. You are a father. Please stop. pic.twitter.com/8iFuKwwspw

— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) October 9, 2022

Diane Warren also spoke out, writing: “Using the word[s] death and Jews in the same sentence when 6,000,000 Jews were murdered, [two] out of [three] European Jews, is vile, abhorrent and irresponsible [and you should] be banned for life everywhere.”

Also a little reminder Kanye, using the word death and Jews in the same sentence when 6,000,000 Jews were murdered,2 out of 3 European Jews, is vile abhorrent and irresponsible+ U shoukd be banned for life everywhere

— Diane Warren (@Diane_Warren) October 9, 2022

Meanwhile, Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff simply dubbed West “a little bitch”, and legendary voice actor John DiMaggio succinctly wrote: “Fuck Kanye. That’s it. Carry on.”

kanye a little bitch

— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) October 10, 2022

Fuck Kanye. That’s it. Carry on.

— John DiMaggio (@TheJohnDiMaggio) October 9, 2022

A handful of political figures – mostly those representing left-wing ideologies – have also weighed in to criticise West. In a tweet of her own, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote: “There is absolutely no room in this country or world for antisemitism.

“It is important to see how harmful [and] dangerous Kanye’s words are – not only to our Jewish brothers, sisters, [and] siblings, but also to our collective society at large. We must reject this [trash] wherever we see it.”

There is absolutely no room in this country or world for antisemitism. It is important to see how harmful + dangerous Kanye’s words are – not only to our Jewish brothers, sisters, & siblings, but also to our collective society at large.

We must reject this ? wherever we see it.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 10, 2022

In a statement shared overnight, the Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance called the rapper’s posts “hurtful, offensive, and wrong”, noting that such comments “perpetuate stereotypes that have been the basis for discrimination and violence against Jews for thousands of years”.

Their statement continued: “Words like this tear at the fabric of the Black-Jewish relationship. The Black and Jewish communities must stand together through incidents like this to make clear that trafficking in hateful stereotypes is unacceptable – and that the words of one entertainer do not reflect the views of an entire community.”

Ye’s recent statements about the Jewish community are hurtful, offensive, and wrong. They perpetuate stereotypes that have been the basis for discrimination and violence against Jews for thousands of years. Words like this tear at the fabric of the Black-Jewish relationship. pic.twitter.com/1H5R0iEDJ0

— Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance (@BJEAlliance) October 9, 2022

West was also condemned by the Anti-Defamation League, who found his recent movements to be “deeply troubling, dangerous, and antisemitic, period”. Their statement continued: “There is no excuse for his propagating of white supremacist slogans and classic [anti-Semitism] about Jewish power, especially with the platform he has.

“Power. Disloyalty. Greed. Deicide. Blood. Denial. Anti-Zionism. All of these are antisemitic tropes that we break down in our [‘Antisemitism Uncovered’ guide]. Many of these myths have influenced [West’s] comments recently, and it’s dangerous.”

Power. Disloyalty. Greed. Deicide. Blood. Denial. Anti-Zionism. All of these are antisemitic tropes that we break down in our #AntisemitismUncovered Guide at https://t.co/1D3LOM8xXQ. Many of these myths have influenced @KanyeWest's comments recently, and it's dangerous. https://t.co/fKQLPFkDR2

— ADL (@ADL) October 9, 2022

Another organisation speaking out against West is the Creative Community For Peace, who wrote that “in the past week, Ye has spread some of the most vile and age-old stereotypes about Jews to his hundreds of millions of followers”.

They continued: “There should be no place for this kind of hate in our public discourse. We support every entertainer’s right to free speech, but no one has a free pass to target and demonize a minority group with such malice. We are gravely concerned about the impact of Ye’s statements – and how they will affect his fans, particularly young people.

“At the same time, we hope this can be a moment that ultimately creates better awareness about the dangers of antisemitism for [West], his fans, and other entertainers. We remain open to dialogue with him about how harmful and fallacious his comments are.

In the past week, Ye has spread some of the most vile and age-old stereotypes about Jews to his hundreds of millions of followers. There should be no place for this kind of hate in our public discourse. pic.twitter.com/6tC9H5NsPT

— Creative Community for Peace (@CCFPeace) October 9, 2022

See more reactions to West’s anti-Semitism below:

is kanye west mentally ill? yes

does mental illness generally lead people to threaten violence against women and jews? no

i’m sorry for what he’s going through, but it’s not an excuse for his behavior — and to pretend otherwise is an insult to anyone with mental illness

— matt (@mattxiv) October 9, 2022

Kanye West is a mentally ill anti-semite. Tommy Tuberville is a racist. Herschel Walker is a moronic liar. Donald Trump is a Fascist Criminal. Welcome to today’s Republican Party.

— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) October 10, 2022

Kanye West has more than 3 million followers. He threatened to go "death con 3" on Jewish people. I don't hear his GOP supporters coming out to condemn this. Instead, Jewish people are being told to get over it because he isn't serious.

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) October 9, 2022

I wish all kanye fans a very “break the cycle you’re better than this & frankly we’ve been enabling him”

— nat “cops break laws to terrorize/intimidate” puff (@LeftAtLondon) October 10, 2022

I'm a Jew. I hear I can replace people. I'd like to replace Tucker Carlson, Jim Jordan and Kanye for starters. Who do I call?

— Randi Mayem Singer (@rmayemsinger) October 9, 2022

Last week everyone came for Kanye’s throat when he criticized Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, as they should have, but now he’s threatening an entire religious/ethnic group and those same people are dead silent??? Right on https://t.co/yzTTkOIP6j

— brooke (@ladyefron) October 9, 2022

Stop telling Jewish people to get over what Kanye said and that he’s mentally ill and not serious. Stop telling Black people his t-shirt was a joke. Antisemitism is real. Anti-Blackness is real. Words matter. Words are what start unwarranted hate towards people.

— Malynda Hale (@MalyndaHale) October 9, 2022

If you are defending or trying to rationalize in any way Kanye West anti-Semitic comments you can F right off and stop following me immediately.

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) October 10, 2022

Between SNL's trash take on the Try Guys and Kanye's blatant antisemitism, yesterday was a nutso day to be online

— Hughie Stone Fish (@Hughiestonefish) October 9, 2022

Kanye, an artist who I used to love, is an anti-Semitic conservative piece of shit who desperately needs mental health treatment. But his typo Death Con 3 is a great name for a 90s Image comic.

— Jordan Blum (@BlumJordan) October 9, 2022

Last week, West faced more controversy after he wore a shirt emblazoned with the slogan ‘White Lives Matter’ at Paris Fashion Week.

Despite a huge backlash to the moment, West later doubled down on his views, writing on his Instagram Stories that the Black Lives Matter movement “was a scam”, adding: “Now it’s over…you’re welcome”. He later issued another defiant response insisting: “They do”.

Artists such as Jaden Smith and Boosie responded to West’s controversial attire while the family of Ahmaud Arbery – a 25-year-old Black man who was murdered by three white neighbours in the United States in 2020 in a racially motivated hate crime – said Kanye West’s “White Lives Matter” shirt helped “legitimise extremist behaviour”.

NME has reached out to representatives of West for comment.

Dua Lipa shares support for women in Iran following protests

Dua Lipa has shared her support for women in Iran following a number of recent protests in the country.

The musician posted on Instagram yesterday (October 8) to share a post about the recent deaths of young women in Iran as protests continue following the death of Masha Amini, 22.

Amini died in Tehran earlier last month (September 16) after being arrested for not wearing her hijab in accordance with government standards. Police claimed she suffered heart failure at the station, although witnesses have claimed Amini was severely beaten by the authorities.

Lipa shared a number of photos of women who have also since died on Instagram. She  wrote: “Sarina Esmailzadeh, 16, beaten to death by Iranian security forces for protesting for women’s rights in Iran. Nika Shakarami, 16, killed after burning her headscarf in protest. Hadis Najafi, 23, shot multiple times during demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest by the country’s morality police.”

She continued: “Just four young women out of more than 100 protestors to pay with their lives,” Lipa continued in her post. “An estimated 1,200 more are in police custody. Please don’t turn away, keep the world watching. Every one of us can lend our platform and together we can make some fkn noise. I stand with the women of Iran.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DUA LIPA (@dualipa)

In September, Lipa also voiced her support to the women on Twitter. “The images of women protesting in the streets by cutting their hair and burning their hijabs is one of the most powerful and inspiring things I’ve seen for many years,” she said at the time.
“To any listeners in Iran or from Iran, we see you, we hear you, and we stand in solidarity with you.”

Lipa is one of several musicians who have voiced their support for the women of Iran. Others have included Halsey, Bebe Rexha, Pearl Jam, Justin Bieber, Ricky Martin and Yungblud.

“I’m so fucking angry right now and every time something in the world happens like this, I ask myself if I’m gonna fucking talk about it or not,” Yungblud said while on stage recently, addressing the protests.

“But there are thousands of you out there and there are thousands watching at home. So today I have no fucking choice. Last week in the country of Iran, a young girl called Mahsa Amini was murdered for wearing her hair outside of her hijab.”

He continued: “I am not gonna stand here and question someone’s religion, but I am gonna fucking fight for expression. I am gonna fight for freedom and I am gonna fight for the women of fucking Iran right now.

“The right to express yourself is your right and your right alone. Since last week in the country of Iran, the internet has been disabled in some places meaning they cannot communicate with the rest of the fucking world. So it is up to us to talk for them.”

Watch Willow deliver a punishing two-song set on ‘SNL’

WILLOW made her solo Saturday Night Live debut last night (October 8) and delivered a punishing two-song set – watch ‘Curious/Furious’ and ‘Ur A Stranger’ below.

• READ MORE: Five things we learned from our In Conversation video chat with WILLOW

Fresh from releasing fifth album ‘COPINGMECHANISM’, WILLOW appeared on Saturday Night Live for a guitar-heavy performance.

First track ‘Curious/Furious’ blended her soulful vocals with jangly indie melodies while ‘Ur A Stranger’ was a full-blown metal assault, complete with powerful screams and a broken TV.

Megan Thee Stallion performs with ‘Halo”s Master Chief at TwitchCon

Megan Thee Stallion was joined by Halo‘s Master Chief during her TwitchCon set this weekend – see footage below.

• READ MORE: Megan Thee Stallion live at Reading Festival 2022: A joyful dose of ‘real hot girl shit’

The fictional character and protagonist of the Halo series emerged on stage during the San Diego performance on Saturday night (October 8) to dance alongside Megan as she played ‘Freak Nasty’.

TwitchCon has come to San Diego for 2022 and allows players able to meet streamers and take part in “legendary cosplay contests, rivals tournaments, meet and greets, rare loot, panels, artist alley” and witness an “epic” musical performance.

Ed Sheeran performs surprise gig outside Ipswich Town Hall

On Friday (October 7), Ed Sheeran performed a surprise hometown gig on the steps of Ipswich Town Hall – see footage and reaction below.

Fans in the Suffolk city were surprised to see Sheeran, who sponsors the town’s football club, rock up in the centre of town to perform his debut album track ‘The A Team’.

“I’ve played so many shows here and have such love for this place,” he told the large crowd who had gathered. “I’m so happy to be back here.”

Maya Hawke turned father Ethan into a Taylor Swift fan: “It made me feel so confident”

Stranger Things star and singer-songwriter Maya Hawke has remembered turning her actor father Ethan into a Taylor Swift fan.

Hawke, who released second studio album ‘Moss’ last month, was talking to The Line Of Best Fit for their ‘Nine Songs’ feature, about formative tracks in musicians’ lives.

• READ MORE: Maya Hawke: “I’m enjoying becoming more myself, less afraid”

Choosing Taylor Swift’s 2010 track ‘Ours’, Hawke explained: “I remember that song very distinctly. My dad was such a powerful creative influence on me musically, he showed me so many songs and artists that I still listen to, and love and care about. It took me a long while to be able to show him something he didn’t already know about.

Check out this AI-generated video for Soundgarden’s ‘Black Hole Sun’

An AI has created a music video for Soundgarden‘s legendary 1994 hit ‘Black Hole Sun’ – check it out below.

The new video was created by  Midjourney, which describes itself as an “independent research lab exploring new mediums of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species”.

Ahead of the Soundgarden video, the same bot was used last year for an equally stunning AI-generated video for Metallica hit ‘Enter Sandman’.

Yungblud announces short film, ‘Mars’

Yungblud has announced details of his upcoming short film ‘Mars’, sharing the official poster on his social media – see below.

• READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Yungblud: “This album is about reclaiming my name and humanising the caricature”

The film is based on Yungblud’s song of the same name, with the artist explaining on Instagram: “This all came from the idea that we could facilitate bringing characters to life by assembling a team of cast and crew that fully represent the communities who’s stories we wanted to tell.

“We set out to bring talented creatives together, some experienced, some whose star was already rising and some who’d never been on a film set before. giving people a platform to tell their stories with truth and integrity means so much to me and i feel that’s what we’ve achieved with this film.”

Right Said Fred label Beyoncé “arrogant” for using ‘I’m Too Sexy’ without permission

Right Said Fred have reportedly called Beyoncé “arrogant” for using part of their song ‘I’m Too Sexy’ in her ‘Renaissance‘ track ‘Alien Superstar’.

• READ MORE: Beyoncé – ‘Renaissance’ review: a celebration of love and Black joy

Speaking to the Sun at the 2022 Broadcast Music Inc Awards in London, Fred and Richard Fairbrass said that Beyoncé used elements of their song without seeking permission first.

“Normally the artist approaches us,” they said, “but Beyoncé didn’t because she is such an arrogant person she just had probably thought ‘come and get me’ so we heard about it after the fact when you did. But everyone else, Drake and Taylor Swift, they came to us.”

Elton John, Prince Harry and others sue Daily Mail publisher for alleged “breaches of privacy”

Elton John and Prince Harry are among those who have launched legal proceedings against Daily Mail publishers Associated Newspapers for what they describe as “gross breaches of privacy”. Associated Newspapers has denied the allegations.

The group also includes John’s husband – filmmaker David Furnish – along with actresses Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence. Law firm Hamlins are representing Harry and Frost, with gunnercooke representing John, Furnish, Hurley and Lawrence.

In a statement shared by the BBC, Hamlins allege that those they were representing had been victims of “abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy”. Specifically, they accused the publisher of “the hiring of private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside people’s cars and homes”, as well as “the commissioning of individuals to surreptitiously listen into and record people’s live, private telephone calls”.

The Cure Wish (Reissue, 1992)

Serj Tankian shares new visualiser, announces LA concert with choir and orchestra

System Of A Down‘s Serj Tankian has shared a new visualiser video for his song ‘The Race’ – watch it below.

• READ MORE: Serj Tankian: “I think the whole world felt some relief that Trump was gone”

The song is featured as an additional bonus track on his upcoming five-track LP ‘Perplex Cities’, which was announced last month.

‘Perplex Cities’ will be out on streaming services on October 21 through Tankian’s Serjical Strike label and follows his 2021 EP ‘Elasticity’.

Glorilla performs at BET Awards, announces debut EP ‘Anyways Life’s Great’

Memphis rapper Glorilla has announced her debut EP, ‘Anyways Life’s Great’ which is set to arrive November 11 via Interscope. The EP will include her track, ‘Tomorrow 2’ a collaboration with Cardi B and her previously released single, ‘Blessed’.

Glorilla picked up Best Breakthrough Artist at the 2022 BET Hip-hop Awards which aired last night (October 4). She performed her Hitkidd collab, ‘F.N.F. (Let’s Go)’ as well as her track, ‘Tomorrow’ during the ceremony. Watch footage of the performance below.

The rapper was also nominated in the Song of The Year category, for ‘F.N.F. (Let’s Go)’. ‘Tomorrow 2’ debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-hop Songs chart, and No. 9 on the Billboard Hote 100, making it Glorillaz first top 10 hit. The single’s success also marks Cardi’s 11th Hot 100 hit.

Benefit concerts marking 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s ‘Chronic Town’ announced

Two concerts celebrating 40 years of R.E.M.’s debut EP ‘Chronic Town’ have been announced by The Black Crowes‘ Rich Robinson.

• READ MORE: R.E.M.: every single album ranked and rated

Set to take place on December 14 and 15 in Georgia, the two concerts will double as benefit shows with proceeds going towards Planned Parenthood. The first event will be at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, while the following night’s concert will head to the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta.

On both nights, Robinson will feature in the house band, which also includes the Black Crowes bassist Sven Pipien and drummer Barrett Martin, and comedian David Cross will host.

Iron Maiden announce 2023 UK and European dates for ‘The Future Past Tour’

Iron Maiden have announced the first UK, Ireland and European dates of ‘The Future Past Tour’ 2023.

The English metal band will kick off their six-date UK run of shows in Glasgow (June 26), stopping off in Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Birmingham, before finishing up at London’s O2 on July 7.

READ MORE: Iron Maiden – ‘Senjutsu’ review: an imaginative instant classic

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The band has also announced five European shows, starting in Krakow, Poland on June 13, with stops in Zurich, Amsterdam and Antwerp, rounding up in Italy on July 15.

The tour will feature previously unperformed songs from their most recent studio album ‘Senjutsu’, along with tracks from 1986’s ‘Somewhere In Time’ and other fan favourites.

Pre-sale tickets can be purchased here from 9am BST until 8am October 14, while the general sale starts at 9am October 14.

Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris said in a statement: “Following the release of our latest album, ‘Senjutsu’, we updated the current ‘Legacy of the Beast Tour’ a little by opening the show with the first 3 songs from it, with the Japanese Palace stage set. As it doesn’t make a lot of sense to repeat this for a ‘Senjutsu’ album tour, we thought about other options and we’ve decided to revisit ‘Somewhere In Time’ as that tour didn’t feature in the various retrospective history tours we’ve played over the years.

“They were based on our 80’s concert videos and sadly we did not film that tour (blame the manager!!). We have had lots of requests from fans over the years for many tracks on it so we are now going to play them, plus of course a few others we know you will like! It will also be particularly satisfying to finally get to play some of the more epic tracks on ‘Senjutsu’, it’s been a long wait! 2023 is going to be an exciting time and we’re really looking forward to seeing everyone again in the UK, Ireland and around Europe.”

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The band’s manager, Rod Smallwood, added: “This combination of the two albums we feel is very exciting. We know fans want to hear those epic cuts on ‘Senjutsu’ for the first time live and we think that by combining it with an iconic album like ‘Somewhere In Time’ it will make for another really special tour for fans old and new!

“Of course, for a new album tour in Europe and the UK we will go back largely to the relative intimacy of arenas and we know fans will be very happy about that too!”

Find the full European, UK and Ireland tour schedule below, with further dates to be announced in the future.

2023

JUNE

13 – Krakow, Poland, Tauron Arena
19 – Zurich, Switzerland, Hallenstadion
24 – Dublin, Ireland, 3 Arena
26 – Glasgow, Scotland, OVO Hydro
28 – Leeds, UK, First Direct Arena
30 – Manchester, UK, AO Arena

JULY

3 – Nottingham, UK, Motorpoint Arena
4 – Birmingham, UK, Utilita Arena
7 – London, UK, O2 Arena
11 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Ziggo Dome
13 – Antwerp, Belgium, Sportpaleis
15 – Milan, Italy, The Return of the Gods Festival

The band are currently in the final stages of their North American ‘Legacy Of The Beast World Tour’, which saw numerous rescheduled dates due to COVID-19.

In a four-star review of ‘Senjutsu’, NME wrote that the album was an “instant classic in Iron Maiden’s 41-year journey”.

“The powerhouse metal sound that’s earned them a religious following in every far-flung corner of the globe remains firm. But here, they take things further; ultimately letting imaginations run wild in an album that’s more confident and idea-packed than ever before.”

South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to make decision on BTS’ military service by December

South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) has announced that it will make a decision on the possibility of BTS‘ exemption from military service by December.

• READ MORE: BTS’ new single ‘Yet To Come’ offers poignant reflection and an optimistic invitation into the future

The announcement was made during tourism minister Park Bo-kyun’s attendance of the South Korean National Assembly’s parliamentary inspection of the administration yesterday (October 5), per Ten Asia. Park shared a timeline for the decision after People Power Party member Lee Yong-ho requested for him to “actively review the issue of BTS’s military service”, as translated by Soompi.

“Member Jin’s enlistment is set to be sorted out by December, but the MCST will finalise our stance as soon as possible before then,” Park said in response. Under current South Korean law, BTS’ oldest member Jin, who turns 30 this December, will soon be required to fulfil the country’s military service mandate once he hits the age limit for conscription.

Carly Rae Jepsen to release new single with Rufus Wainwright this week

Carly Rae Jepsen is set to release a new collaborative single featuring Rufus Wainwright this week.

Wainwright will appear on the title track from Jepsen’s fifth studio album ‘The Loneliest Time’, which is due out on October 21 via 604/Schoolboy/Interscope (pre-order here).

• READ MORE: Carly Rae Jepsen: “My relationship with ‘Call Me Maybe’ was a rollercoaster”

On Monday (October 3), the Canadian pop star teased on social media that she’d be sharing “one more song before the album drops”.

Pearl Jam, Wet Leg, David Byrne and more to feature on abortion rights benefit album

Pearl Jam, Wet Leg, David Byrne, R.E.M. and many more are set to feature on an abortion rights benefit album this week.

• READ MORE: Taylor Swift, Pearl Jam and more react as Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

The compilation LP – ‘Good Music To Ensure Safe Abortion Access To All’ – which comes out this Friday (October 27) and will be available for just 24 hours only, will also feature further contributions from Death Cab For Cutie, Animal Collective, My Morning Jacket, Fleet Foxes, King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, Mac DeMarco, Ty Segall, Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell.

It will feature unreleased recordings including never-before-heard new songs, covers, remixes, live versions, and unreleased demos along with exclusive tracks from Sleater-Kinney, Tegan And Sara, Soccer Mommy, Wet Leg and Cat Power. You can view the full list of artists on the artwork below.

Craig David says ‘Bo’ Selecta!’ impression was “bullying”: “There was no real accountability”

Craig David has spoken about how he felt “bullied” by Leigh Francis’ impersonation of him on Bo’ Selecta!.

Francis, who’s best known as Keith Lemon, starred in the cult Channel 4 show between 2002 and 2009. The comedian caricatured David as well as the likes of Mel B, Michael Jackson and Elton John in a range of bizarre sketches.

• READ MORE: Craig David – ’22’ album review: a silky R&B revival record

His portrayal of David – whose catchphrase inspired the series’ title – was often said to have contributed to the ‘7 Days’ singer’s dip in popularity in the mid-2000s.

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“When the Bo’ Selecta! show was out, that period of time was hard processing for me,” David said during an interview with BBC Breakfast today (October 4).

“I didn’t know why a song like ‘Rewind’ – which was a cultural song that broke the ice for so many artists to come through – was now being ridiculed.”

He continued: “That was one thing, that I placed it as a music thing. But actually what [Francis] was doing was slowly bullying not only myself but Mel B [and] Trisha, and I felt there was no real accountability at that time.

“And I was young, between a rock and a hard place. [I was like], ‘Do we lean in [to it]’ …defence mechanism. ‘Let’s laugh it off – come on, let’s do a show together’. It didn’t work. Or, ‘[Should we] play the victim, and go there’.”

David added: “It’s just [about] having accountability. I have no grudge with Leigh, genuinely. It’s more the fact of: you need to be accountable.”

'I was talking on behalf of so many people who'd been bullied and experienced that'
Singer Craig David told #BBCBreakfast he initially struggled with how to deal with being bullied on the TV show 'Bo' Selecta!'https://t.co/ha1mvdDVKV pic.twitter.com/FQbRK8sfKI

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) October 4, 2022

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The artist went on to question the sincerity of Francis’ previous apology. In 2020, the comedian said he was “deeply sorry” for his “offensive” portayals of Black celebrities including Michael Jackson and TV presenter Trisha Goddard.

David continued: “It just feels a bit of a coincidence that it happened to come at a time when George Floyd has been killed in broad daylight in America. To then have the Black Lives Matter movement… protests around the world.

“And then [Francis’ apology] comes as a reaction to something that really should never have gone there, in terms of ever putting a rubber mask on that’s blackface, which it was.

“And it’s just being accountable for that. I think that, ultimately, I never really spoke about that. And the coincidence of it just felt too timely. I feel emotional speaking about it, because I just felt like I was talking on behalf of so many people who’ve been bullied and experienced that.”

David said it was an “empowering” and “healing” experience to open up about the issue in his forthcoming book, What’s Your Vibe?.

In June 2020, Francis said in a video message: “I just want to say sorry for any upset I caused, whether I was Michael Jackson, Craig David, Trisha Goddard, all people that I’m a big fan of. I guess we’re all on a learning journey.

“Back then, I didn’t think anything about it, people didn’t say anything. I’m not going to blame it on other people. I’ve been talking to some people and I didn’t realise how offensive it was back then and I just want to apologise.”

The clip was captioned with a nod to Black Lives Matter: “Following recent events, I’ve done a lot of talking and learning […] I’m on a constant journey of knowledge and just wanted to say I’m deeply sorry. #blacklivesmatter.”

Trisha Goddard later said she’d received “vile abuse” following Francis’ apology.

Back in 2016, David spoke about reconciling with Francis two years prior. “It actually wasn’t [Bo’ Selecta!] itself which was the lowest point for me,” he recalled. “It was not being able to put music out in the way I always wanted to.”

Craig David released his new album ’22’ last Friday – you can read NME‘s four-star review here.

Ed Sheeran announces North American ‘Mathematics’ tour for 2023

Ed Sheeran has shared details of a North American tour for 2023 – see dates below including how to buy tickets.

• READ MORE: 50 things you didn’t know about Ed Sheeran

The pop star will bring his ongoing ‘Mathematics’ world tour to the US and Canada next year, with support from Khalid, Dylan, Rosa Linn, Cat Burns, Maisie Peters and Russ on differing dates. It’s in support of his latest album, 2021’s ‘=‘ and will also hear him play songs from his back catalogue.

Tickets go on general sale here next Friday (October 14) at 10am PT (6pm BST).

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Fans can register for early access tickets here (registration closes this Sunday, October 9 at 10pm ET / 3am BST, Monday, October 10). Those with American Express cards can also get early access here from next Wednesday (October 12) at 12pm local time through to next Thursday (October 13) at 10pm local time.

Ed Sheeran ‘Mathematics’ North American tour dates 2023:

MAY
06 – AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas, US *
13 – NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas, US *
20 – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida, US *
27 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, US *

JUNE
03 – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US *
10 – MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US *
17 – Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ^
24 – FedExField, Landover, Maryland, US ^

JULY
01 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, US ^
08 – Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US ^
15 – Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan, US ^
22 – Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee, US @
29 – Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, US @

AUGUST
05 – GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, US @
12 – U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US @
19 – Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado, US @
26 – Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington, US #

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SEPTEMBER
02 – BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada #
09 – Allegiant Stadium Russ, Las Vegas, Nevada, US +
16 – Levi’s® Stadium, Santa Clara, California, US +
23 – SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California, US +

* = w/ Khalid and Dylan
^ = w/ Khalid and Rosa Linn
@ = w/ Khalid and Cat Burns
# = Khalid and Maisie Peters
+ = w/ Russ and Maisie Peters

In other news, Sheeran will enter his third set of court proceedings over his songwriting, with the musician set to face a jury trial following a suit from a stakeholder in the estate of Marvin Gaye‘s co-writer.

The ruling came last month (September 29) from Judge Louis Stanton, a senior district judge for the Southern District of New York. Per Billboard, the case will determine whether Sheeran’s hit single ‘Thinking Out Loud’ is in breach of copyright due to its similarities with Gaye’s 1973 single ‘Let’s Get It On’.

The suit came from Structured Asset Sales, a company that owns a stake in the copyrights of the estate of Ed Townsend – a co-writer on ‘Let’s Get It On’. It was originally filed back in 2016, with a decision regarding jury involvement coming in 2019.

NME Australia cover stars Parkway Drive on ‘Stranger Things’, the grim influences on ‘Darker Still’ and more

Parkway Drive are the latest band to feature on the cover of NME Australia, talking about their seventh album, ‘Darker Still’, their near-breakup, male mental health and much more.

For the story, we caught up with three members of the Aussie metal band – frontman Winston McCall, lead guitarist Jeff Ling and drummer Ben Gordon – to discuss the turbulent creation of the album, how group therapy helped them become their strongest selves, and the band’s uncertain future.

• READ MORE: On The Cover – Parkway Drive: “It felt like a sledgehammer had been taken to all of our worlds”

In unpacking the minutiae of their story, we spent more than five hours with the band, riffing on everything from Metallica’s moment in Stranger Things, to running their own label in Australia (Parkway Records), to their UK tour kicking off at London’s Alexandra Palace today. But with only so many pages in an issue of NME Australia – the new issue of which can be ordered here – there was a lot we simply couldn’t squeeze into our cover story.

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Check out the cover story here and read on for five bits we think are too good to stay on the cutting room floor…

‘Darker Still’s grim, real-world inspirations

Winston McCall: “The writing process started when Australia was on fire, and ended when it was underwater – and in the middle of that was the closest we’ve come to a plague in our lifetime. I guess Parkway’s work gets darker because [the world] gets darker – the concept of ‘Darker Still’, even just as a phrase in itself, very much mirrors what is actually happening in the world.

“We’re born into a state of ignorance, and all we know is love and protection. But the more that we’re exposed to the world – the more we’re taught about consequence, pain and loss – the more the darker aspects of reality start to creep in. So the more you go on, the more you start to try and live in a state of denial. You start to throw yourself back to when things were better – back to before you knew the truth, to a time that had less consequence. And that’s not the way that reality works. It grows darker.

“We’re going through a world that continues to get darker, because no-one has a solution to any of this shit. There is no solution to the human nature of greed and selfishness, which is what lies at the core of all of this. When you make a very black-and-white thing of it, it’s a group of people who are obsessed with power, and a group of people who suffer at their hand. The ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ drift further and further apart, to the point where you have people seeking immortality and designing space rockets, while half the world is starving.”

The band’s plans for their own label, Parkway Records

Ben Gordon: “We’ve been DIY from the very start, and we’re still completely self-managed, which is pretty incredible – Luke [Kilpatrick, rhythm guitar] does a really good job with all of that. We parted ways with Resist Records [in Australia; in the rest of the world, the band are still on Epitaph Records] before we started making ‘Darker Still’, and instead of going out and shopping for a major label, because of the technology and the fact that we’re already quite established, we just thought it would suit us better to retain that level of control, and keep our music in our own hands.

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“We’ve definitely discussed [releasing other bands’ music through Parkway Records]. But I think the bigger question is what the music industry is going to turn into as a whole – especially with streaming and NFTs and the metaverse and all of that. With technology changing so much, are record labels even going to be necessary? They’re certainly becoming less in-demand than they were, because it’s so easy to self-release your own music nowadays. But it would be cool, for sure. If we got to a point where we could sign bands that we thought had potential and release their records, I’d love that.”

The importance of not overthinking things

Jeff Ling: “I’ve played shows before where I didn’t feel good and I was in a different frame of mind – I’d be thinking about everything I had to do onstage and become really paranoid, and it’s almost driven me to the point of [having a] panic attack. And that’s what happens in sport, too – if you’re a footballer and you start thinking like that, you get the yips, you misjudge your kicks, you second-guess things, and then everything goes pear-shaped. And it’s so relatable to what we’re doing – particularly live, but even in the studio. Every single studio experience we’ve had, there’s some kind of major lesson that someone in the band learns.

“One of the most memorable lessons [came] when we were recording ‘Deep Blue’ with Joe Barresi, and I was tracking the lead parts for ‘Karma’. There’s a middle part in that song where I’m playing this noodly, jingle-y lead thing, and I was stressing so hard over it. I was like, ‘Ah, God, this has got to be perfect! I can really picture this song being something special live!’

“I had this idea in my mind, but I was all tight, I was out of time, and it just sounded like shit. And so [Joe] pressed ‘stop’ and he was like, ‘OK, no. Go over there, put your guitar down, go for a walk.’ He was talking to me after that and he was like, ‘You’re overthinking it, you’re in the wrong part of your brain. Don’t think about it, feel it… And then play it!’ And ever since then, that’s basically been my motto with all of my guitar work, from writing to playing.”

Stranger Things reigniting a mainstream love for metal

Winston McCall: “It takes gateway moments like that to validate how big this shit actually is. Metallica is one of the biggest bands in existence, but Stranger Things is a gateway for everyone that didn’t get onboard with them when they were making it huge to now get into that – and it’s the biggest gateway there is right now. It validates the fact that so many people actually connect with metal, and that it’s a real art form that has so much value. It takes these moments to break those perceptions – the stigmas and psyches – that people have towards metal, and allows people back in just for the enjoyment of it, to reconnect with it.

“And the amazing thing for us is that, right now, I don’t see how [Parkway Drive] can become any bigger without it being straight-up mainstream. But then right before this album comes out, Metallica and Stranger Things had this moment, and I was literally watching it going, ‘Fucking yes!’ Like, ‘Thank you for doing this, Netflix, for every metalhead out there.’ I’m very aware of what that moment means for every single metal band on the planet.”

Why communication is key to keeping a band intact

Jeff Ling: “When we were touring around midway through our career – when we’d just started making traction and getting bigger, no-one was jaded yet and it was still all new and exciting… We’d see all these bigger, older bands – much bigger bands than us, you know, ‘household name’ kind of bands – and we’d see how they would interact with each other. And they’d be completely segregated – no-one was talking to each other, everyone was on their screens, travelling in different buses… All these extreme measures they were taking, and I’d always take note of that and be like, ‘Jeez, that’s strange – it’s a shame they don’t have a great relationship like we do!’

“It’s funny, because when I look up how old they were, and what part of their career they were in when they started falling out with each other, it’s really close to where we’re at now: 20 years into their career, and around the age of 40. We’ve been a band for 20 years, and most of our members are around 40. And yeah, I understand now why these bands grow apart and have all these issues. It all stems from being completely incapable of communicating, and not being able to express their emotions in the way they need to be expressed.”

Read NME Australia’s cover story with Parkway Drive here and get your copy of the September 2022 issue here. Parkway Drive kick off their UK tour today – find more info and remaining tickets here

Stormzy urges music industry to “not just use diversity as a buzzword”

Stormzy urged the music industry to “not just use diversity as a buzzword” during his acceptance speech at the AIM Awards last night (September 28).

The Croydon MC was named Diversity Champion at the event, owing to his efforts to “level the playing field” through his Merky Foundation and publishing imprint, #Merky Books.

• READ MORE: Stormzy live at Reading Festival 2021: festival return is another rockstar moment

Bruce Springsteen announces new album ‘Only The Strong Survive’

Bruce Springsteen has announced his new album, ‘Only The Strong Survive’ – listen to his cover of Frank Wilson’s ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)’ below.

After teasing the announcement yesterday (September 28), Springsteen has now confirmed that his next record, billed as a collection of “15 soul music greats”, will be released on November 11 via Columbia (pre-order here).

• READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen – ‘Letter To You’ review: a powerful synthesis of past and present

In an announcement video shared this afternoon (September 29) that you can watch below, Springsteen told his fans that the record will celebrate an array of soul music classics from such catalogues as Motown, Gamble and Huff and Stax.

Bruce Springsteen teases release of new music tomorrow

Bruce Springsteen is set to release new music tomorrow (September 29), according to a new teaser posted to social media.

• READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen – ‘Letter To You’ review: a powerful synthesis of past and present

The Boss took to Twitter today (September 28) to share a video of a radio tuning to different stations. At each stop, a recording of a Springsteen cover of an old soul classic plays, before the radio is tuned once again.

Among the covers performed by the singer are Tyrone Davis’ ‘If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time’ and The Commodores‘ ‘Night Shift’.

Slipknot’s Jim Root says message of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing In The Name’ “seems backwards to me”

Slipknot guitarist Jim Root has criticised the “backwards” message of Rage Against The Machine‘s classic protest song ‘Killing In The Name’.

The explicit, politically-charged single was released back in 1992, and features on RATM’s self-titled debut album. It was written about the abuses of power and issues within US society.

• READ MORE: Slipknot: “I’m just going to tell you the facts: ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ is a masterpiece”

Back in 2020, guitarist Tom Morello said that the track’s “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” chant remains a “universal sentiment” despite its simplicity. He also responded to the line being shouted at police in Portland in the wake of George Floyd’s death. “Well that’s what it’s for!” Morello tweeted.

Olivia Rodrigo honours Alanis Morissette as “most incredible human being” at Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame

Olivia Rodrigo hailed Alanis Morissette as the “most incredible human being” at the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame at the weekend.

• READ MORE: Olivia Rodrigo live at Glastonbury 2022: a career and festival defining moment

The 19-year-old pop star took to the stage at Massey Hall in Toronto on Saturday (September 24) to induct Morissette.

Referring to how the latter’s 1995 album ‘Jagged Little Pill’ changed Rodrigo’s life at 13, the former said (via ET Canada): “My life was completely changed. Alanis’ songwriting was unlike anything I’d ever heard before and I haven’t heard anything quite like it since. And that voice – fierce and tender and sometimes funny and playful. I became hooked for life.”

Four Tet announces two immersive light shows at London’s Alexandra Palace in 2023

Four Tet has announced two immersive shows at London’s Alexandra Palace in 2023.

The producer and DJ – aka Kieran Hebden – will be performing at the venue on May 24 and 25 for a show which boasts “42,000+ immersive hanging lights and full exemplary surround sound for an experience like no other”, courtesy of Squidsoup.

Limited tickets for the shows can be registered through Ticketmaster Request here now until midnight this Sunday (October 2).

Primavera Sound on bringing the festival from Barcelona to Los Angeles: “The cities might be different but the vibes are shared”

Alfonso Lanza, co-director of Primavera Sound, has spoken with NME about bringing the Barcelona music festival stateside, the biggest challenges they faced coordinating the event in the US, and what he’s most excited about for Primavera’s first Los Angeles edition.

• READ MORE: Primavera Sound Los Angeles 2022 – phenomenal photos from the festival’s California debut

Primavera first announced they’d be bringing the festival from Spain to the US back in 2019. However, both the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to coronavirus-enforced restrictions. Finally, last weekend (September 16 – 18), the festival made its Los Angeles debut, with Arctic Monkeys, Nine Inch Nails, and Lorde topping the bill.

“Los Angeles opens the doors to a whole new season abroad,” Lanza told NME. “We’re really looking forward to a special year.”

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Though this is the first time the Mediterranean festival has made its way to the states, the team behind Primavera have continued to expand the festival since its start in Barcelona back in 2001. Following more than a decade of success, the festival expanded to Porto in 2012 and has continued to launch new editions in Santiago, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires.

When asked why he wanted to replicate the festival in Los Angeles instead of other mainstay music festival locations like Chicago, New York, and even Texas, Lanza said that Los Angeles was “the heart of the music industry.”

“Although we had other possible cities in the US to locate Primavera Sound, there is something about LA that makes us think it has a similar vibe to Barcelona,” he said. “The proximity to the sea, the character of the people, the passion for music, this is also what we’ve always believed about Porto.”

Lanza added: “The cities might be different, but the vibes are shared. This may be a first edition and a way smaller one, but our main goal is to keep the same vibe anywhere we go.”

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Earlier this year, Primavera celebrated its 20-year anniversary in Barcelona with sets from The Strokes, Megan Thee Stallion, Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more spread across two weekends. Unfortunately, the festival’s first day saw a trove of safety issues and multiple complaints from fans who said they struggled with access to water, overcrowding, and waiting in bar lines for more than an hour.

Although Lanza told us “there were already three points along [festival venue] Parc del Fòrum,” for fans to access water, the overcrowding, stage organization, and staff shortages made it difficult for attendees to stay hydrated.

The festival shared an apology after the first day, however, following that acknowledgement by adding three more water stations and rearranging the bar staff to serve the most crowded areas of the festival grounds.

As a result, Lanza didn’t cite festival-goers’ safety as one of the main challenges in bringing Primavera to the US. Instead, he said they were focused on, “making the teams grow in a sustainable and efficient way, coordinating the expertise of the Barcelona headquarters with the local know-how and experience of our partners, learning and knowing how to delegate, and sharing responsibilities.”

Although many festivals in the US have moved away from mask mandates and proof of vaccination for attendees, the co-director told us the “pandemic [still] presented important challenges.”

“Some bands have dissolved, they have cancelled their agendas, or [they] have changed status [in the past two years],” Lanza said. “We have had to adapt to the context at all times, but even due to this we feel that we have achieved a festival level as good as it was intended since the beginning. The pandemic has affected us all, but the final result is that we have done the festival that we wanted to do.”

In 2019, Primavera made an effort to achieve a gender-balanced lineup, and they continued to work toward that goal in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The festival’s press materials mention a “non-negotiable commitment for Primavera Sound in its search for a fairer music industry” and Lanza told us the festival is committed to focusing on the goal of gender-equity each year, something that is reflected in the diversity of the recent festival line-ups.

Primavera also wants to incorporate sustainability practices into the festival. In 2019, they began their partnership with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals Action Campaign. The festival’s website lists a “plastic-free Primavera” as the golden standard, featuring initiatives such as public transport, festival infrastructures made with reusable materials, and a stage that’s powered by renewable energy.

Primavera has become a household name since the festival’s inception more than two decades ago and Lanza wants the same fate for its Los Angeles counterpart. “We hope that Primavera Sound Los Angeles will become a reference festival in the US as the one in Barcelona is in Europe.”

The festival director also told us his goal this year was “to connect with the audience that hasn’t been able to come to Barcelona yet, so they can know firsthand the Primavera experience.”

It’s expected that Primavera Sound Los Angeles will occur on an annual basis, but for now, they’re focused on the success of their first edition. Meanwhile, the California festival is already making headlines.

Last week, Lorde teased her next album during her Primavera festival set. The singer is currently wrapping up the second North American leg of her 2022 world tour behind her third album ‘Solar Power’, stopping for sets earlier this month at Primavera Sound Los Angeles and Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful.

“Who knows what will come next…” she told the crowd, before adding: “Well, I know. And you’ll know sometime soon.”

Robert Trujillo names surprising track as best Metallica introductory song

Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo has revealed the song he believes is the best to introduce to prospective new fans of the metal icons.

Across a 40-year career and 10 studio albums, the band have shared hundreds of songs, and Trujillo picked a somewhat off-the-wall choice for what he believes is the best one to play to listeners you hope to convert.

“For me that’s pretty easy,” Trujillo told Revolver when being asked the question as part of the publication’s ‘Point Of Entry’ series, which asks bands which song of theirs they would use to introduce the band to a new listener.

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After picking ‘Master Of Puppets’ track ‘Disposable Heroes’, he explained: “The reason is because it’s really in a lot of ways – especially in metal – the perfect balance of what I call ‘power groove’.”

“I liked that song before I even joined the band,” he added. “I used to go running in the hills in the Santa Monica mountains to prepare for Suicidal Tendencies tours. I had three or four cassettes that motivated me: one of them was ‘Master Of Puppets’, and then, like, [Slayer‘s] ‘Reign In Blood’ and [Metallica’s] ‘Ride The Lightning’ were in there, too. That’s how I really, really dissected and discovered ‘Master Of Puppets’.”

Going on to explain about his choice further, Trujillo said: “‘Disposable Heroes‘ has that groove that leans more in that sort of headbanging kind of funky zone… Slayer has that, too, with certain songs. And then at the same time it shifts gears, and you get the speed in there.

“It’s very well-crafted and has a little bit of everything, well, not even a little bit, it’s got a lot of everything. It’s always one of my go-to classic Metallica songs. Now, I know some people call it a deep cut … but ‘Disposable Heroes‘ would be my go-for-broke Metallica classic song right there, ’cause it has everything.”

The somewhat unexpected track is also the favourite Metallica song of Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, who said earlier this year: “I flipped the [‘Master Of Puppets’] tape and that first song is fucking ‘Disposable Heroes’ and all of a sudden I just had my head ripped off.

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“I was just like, ‘This is the greatest fucking song.’ That riff is so stupid rad. I can’t even fucking explain it. The song just kept building and building and building… yeah, to this day it’s my favourite fucking Metallica song. It’s so rad.”

Elsewhere, last weekend (September 24) saw Metallica joined by country singer Mickey Guyton at a New York performance for a powerful rendition of ‘Nothing Else Matters’.

Guyton joined the band’s headlining set at Global Citizen Festival, which took place at New York City’s Central Park. “Finally a real singer!” James Hetfield remarked on Guyton’s appearance, before the singer belted through the song’s verses and delivered a riveting duet with Hetfield on the track’s chorus.

Mel C: “Margaret Thatcher was not the original Spice Girl”

Mel C has given her view on comments made by her bandmate Geri Halliwell in 1996 in which she dubbed Margaret Thatcher “the first Spice Girl”.

Halliwell told the Spectator 26 years ago: “We Spice Girls are true Thatcherites. Thatcher was the first Spice Girl, the pioneer of our ideology – Girl Power.”

• READ MORE: Melanie C – ‘Melanie C’ review: a celebration of self-acceptance from one of the queens of girl power

However, Mel C has now denied that the whole band felt the same way as Halliwell about the divisive figure. “Abbbbbsolutely not!” Sporty Spice told the Independent. “Geri, in the past, was very vocal about her support for Margaret Thatcher. I’m from Liverpool. It was a name that was not celebrated in that region.”

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She added: “They were never the thoughts or feelings that I shared. People knowing me, from the things I do, are quite aware of what kind of person I am. I don’t think people think I’m a raging Tory!”

The star continued to say that because the interview made it seem like the whole group shared Halliwell’s position, she had been worried about returning to her hometown at the time. “There have been a couple of times in my career when I’ve been nervous about going home,” she said. “And that was one of them.”

Last week (September 22), Mel C gave an update on another potential Spice Girls reunion tour. The group – minus Victoria Beckham – hit the road for the first time in 11 years back in 2019, playing a run of stadium concerts across the UK and Ireland.

In 2020, it was reported that the band were set to embark on a world tour to mark their 25th anniversary. However, the singer said no tour dates would be announced imminently. “I wish I could say there were shows coming,” she said. “But I can’t, sadly. We do want to do shows, they’re just not arranged yet.

“We’re constantly talking trying to work it out and make it work for everybody. But that yeah, that’s my number one wish.”

The Murder Capital debut new songs as they start their “new chapter” at London’s Lafayette

Last night (September 22), The Murder Capital took to London’s Lafayette to play their first headline show in over a year and launch their “new chapter”. Check out footage from the gig, its setlist and more below.

• READ MORE: The Murder Capital on new album ‘Gigi’s Recovery’: “We had to find our sound”

After a string of festival appearances over the summer as well as a support slot with Pearl Jam at Hyde Park, the Irish five-piece announced their second album ‘Gigi’s Recovery’ yesterday, a few hours before the gig at the central London venue. The follow-up to 2019’s powerful ‘When I Have Fears’ is, according to vocalist James McGovern, a “loose concept record” about “returning to a place of strength” and is out January 20, 2023.

The band took to the stage of London’s Lafayette and, without saying a word, launched straight into the brand new single ‘A Thousand Lives’. Driven by arpeggio synths, the lush track was a far gentler introduction to the set than The Murder Capital’s usual opener of ‘For Everything’, but vocalist James McGovern still invited the crowd to “move” before a snarling instrumental breakdown.

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“Welcome, welcome, welcome,” he said afterwards. “We’re very fucking happy to see you all here. It’s a special day for us. I’m sure you’ve seen all the announcements, our record is coming early 2023, and we can’t fucking wait. Seriously, thank you so much for joining us, we’re glad you could be with us. It’s the beginning of a new chapter for us, so forget the boys you used to know.”

The Murder Capital just doing Murder Capital things.

What a show. They are well and truly BACK!! @MurderCapital_ pic.twitter.com/Jv24n6HCO3

— JACK SAUNDERS (@jackxsaunders) September 22, 2022

The once-swaying audience quickly morphed into a swirling mosh-pit for ‘More Is Less’, with McGovern telling the audience “don’t be afraid to fucking move” and inviting them to “come closer” before he crouched down to scream the lyrics into the faces of the front row. The brooding ‘Green And Blue’ quickly followed ahead of the band giving new song ‘We Had To Disappear’ its live debut.

A twitching, joyful track that blended together the emotional weight of Joy Division with the funk-fuelled urgency of Queens Of The Stone Age, the song allowed McGovern’s vocals to take the spotlight ahead of a huge, guitar-led breakdown. “Some people have said they’ve been waiting a long time for new music – I don’t think it’s been that long at all,” quipped McGovern before the ambitious noise rock of ‘Slowdance I’ and Slowdance II’. Halfway through the track, he hopped offstage and into the swirling crowd.

“Our second single came out today, but before that, we released one in July called ‘Only Good Things’,” he explained. “Whether or not that’s tongue-in-cheek, we’ll leave to you,” he added as the band launched into the giddy, longing track.

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“A lot of familiar faces in this room. Some we don’t see enough anymore, but that’s about to change,” McGovern said afterwards, telling the crowd that his mother was also at the show. After acknowledging some diehard fans down the front, he introduced the emotional ‘On Twisted Ground’ by saying, “back down we go”.

The crowd were deathly silent thanks to a couple of well-placed ‘ssshs’ from other fans as The Murder Capital played the emotionally raw song. Another new song called ‘The Stars Will Leave Their Stage’ picked the mood back up shortly afterwards with a hectic blend of jaunty, angular synths before a hammering run of debut album classics.

A boisterous ‘For Everything’ reignited the mosh pits and had the crowd bellowing the refrain. “That’s the energy we’re looking for,” said McGovern as the band kicked into ‘Feelings Fades’. “You better be ready to catch me,” he told the crowd, then dove off the stage. A celebratory ‘Don’t Cling To Life’ saw the chaotic energy continue.

“We lost our fucking minds writing this new record, not going to lie,” said McGovern once he’d got his breath back. “We might have had our minds in Dublin, we might have still had them in Donegal, [but] once we went to Wexford, we fucking lost them. Strangely enough, we might have got them back in London.”

After the crowd booed the news that they only had one song left of their set, McGovern offered: “I’m sure there’s some late-night schmoozing to be done.” One very loud “fuck yeah” rang out from the balcony, with the frontman instructing in response: “Buy that man a drink.”

“Seriously though, we took our time because we felt like we owed it to ourselves and owed it to the fans to make a record that mattered to us, and we believe we’ve achieved that,” McGovern added as the set came to a close. “On that note, we’ll say goodnight. This is my favourite song on the record.” The Murder Capital then launched into their finale ‘Ethel’, a brooding, cinematic track that soon exploded into a swaggering communal anthem with a real lust for life.

The Murder Capital played:

‘A Thousand Lives’
‘More Is Less’
‘Green & Blue’
‘We Had To Disappear’
‘Slowdance I’
‘Slowdance II’
‘Only Good Things’
‘On Twisted ground’
‘The Stars Will Leave Their Stage’
‘For Everything’
‘Feelings Fades’
‘Don’t Cling To Life’
‘Ethel’

The Murder Capital have just announced details of a UK and Europe headline tour for early next year. Dates are below while tickets go on general sale at 9am on Wednesday September 28 and will be available here.

FEBRUARY 2023

4 – Antwerp, Trix Club
5 – Cologne, Luxor
6 – Hamburg, Molotow Musikclub 
8 – Berlin, Lido 
9 – Munich, Hansa 39
11 – Strasbourg, Laiterie Club
13 – Paris, Le Trabendo
14 – Amsterdam, Paradiso
16 – Manchester, Albert Hall
17 – Newcastle, Northumbria Student’s Union
18 – Glasgow, SWG3 TV Studio
20 – Leeds, Stylus 
21 – Birmingham, The Mill 
23 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town 
24 – Bristol, The Marble Factory 
26 – Dublin, Vicar Street 

The tour features the biggest venues The Murder Capital have ever headlined, with McGovern telling NME he “cannot wait to get into those rooms”. “The stages were constantly getting bigger when we were touring the last album and it always felt natural,” he explained. “I always felt like the sound of the band and the theatre of the show belongs on a bigger stage.”

He continued: “I just saw Nick Cave for the first time at Rock En Seine a couple of weeks ago, and I now understand where the bar is for a live show. I don’t think there is a room too big for The Murder Capital, though.”

ENHYPEN to perform at the Grammy Museum next month

ENHYPEN are set to hold a live performance at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles next month.

• READ MORE: ENHYPEN on their musical duality: “If there is light, there’s got to be a shadow”

Yesterday (September 22), the Grammy Museum announced that ENHYPEN are the next stars of their ‘Global Spin Live’ series, the live event extension of their ‘Global Spin’ web series.

Finding out that @ENHYPEN is coming to the #GRAMMYMuseum for a special conversation and live #GlobalSpin performance is giving us a FEVER. ?#ENGENE's, you ready? ? Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Sept. 22 at 10:30 AM PDT: https://t.co/bvhFNFAzrO pic.twitter.com/cwBgzul3N6

— GRAMMY Museum (@GRAMMYMuseum) September 22, 2022

Beth Orton Weather Alive

Makaya McCraven In These Times

Inside the V&A museum’s new Korean culture exhibition, ‘Hallyu! The Korean Wave’

A new exhibition exploring popular culture in South Korea and its global impact on creative industries including music, cinema, beauty and fashion will open at London’s V&A Museum on Saturday (September 24).

• READ MORE: The best K-pop songs of 2022 – so far

Hallyu! The Korean Wave will feature around 200 objects from outfits worn by K-pop groups ATEEZ and aespa to a recreation of the bathroom from Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning movie Parasite. Digital displays and interactive installations will also take visitors deeper into the scenes the exhibition explores.

Curator Rosalie Kim began pitching the exhibition to the Victoria & Albert museum in 2019 after noticing that younger visitors coming to the museum’s Korean Gallery and comparing items to ones they had seen in K-dramas and films. “A lot of exhibitions on Korea across the world focus on the Joseon Dynasty or the Goryeo Dynasty, but not necessarily popular culture,” Kim told NME. “I thought that, with the V&A being a museum of art, design and performance, we would be in the best position to stage an exhibition.”

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At the time, interest in Korean culture was growing but still “under the radar”. “If you were in the know, you knew, but if you weren’t, you didn’t necessarily know what Hallyu [a Korean word referring to the global popularity of the country’s culture] meant or what it involved,” Kim said. But, as Korean arts continued to make big strides internationally with the success of Parasite, BTS, and BLACKPINK, and with the recent addition of 26 Korean words to the Oxford English Dictionary, the curator felt the exhibition “was coming at the right time”.

The new display is split into four sections – one each dedicated to K-drama/movies, K-pop and beauty/fashion. The opening section, ‘From Rubble To Smartphones’, takes visitors into South Korea’s history, charting its rapid growth from a country decimated by war in the 1950s to the cultural and technological powerhouse of the modern day.

“I think a lot of visitors are wondering how all this started and why Korea,” Kim said of the decision to begin with this background information before the exhibition dives into its other strands. “Korea is where it is today because it’s gone through all of these phases – a colonial period, territorial division after which you have the Korean War, then under the trusteeship of the Americans. So the spheres of influence that Korea was under was quite an important one during the formation years of Korean history and culture in particular.”

The aim of the opening section is to “pull out trends that people might not necessarily know, but make bigger sense in the context of Korean history and society”, such as chaebols – or family-owned conglomerates, like Samsung and LG. “This exhibition is about Hallyu, but it’s also a way for us to have a better understanding of Korean society and the mechanics behind it,” Kim explained.

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Before you get to that first section then, the very first thing you will see in the exhibition is a group of screens showcasing one of the biggest K-pop songs of all-time – PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’. The main music video, which swiftly went viral upon release in 2012, will be shown on one screen, while parodies and cover versions play simultaneously on smaller screens surrounding it. Among them are clips of everyone from grannies to prisoners, students to NASA astronauts in space re-enacting PSY’s infamous dance moves.

“We wanted to have them all playing at the same time because we wanted to show how quickly the song went viral around the world and affected all corners, even beyond Earth,” Kim told NME. “It was a way for us to showcase that the song that started in Korea just ballooned, and how this built a community and put Korea on a global map of popular culture. The effect was more spectacular by having all these visuals submerge you because that was the effect of the song – it really wrapped around everybody at the time.”

• READ MORE: PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ at 10: how the viral hit pushed K-pop forward in the west

In the ‘Global Groove’ section, the music of Korea will be showcased via music videos, listening stations, and an interactive dance installation. The latter will give visitors the chance to learn moves from a K-pop choreography, highlighting the growing fandom around the dance side of the scene evident in dance challenges and random play dance – online and in-person events where fans get together and perform choreography from an array of K-pop songs.

Outside of the visual aspect of K-pop, the importance of lyrics will be explored, showing the impact of top artists’ songs beyond their fandoms. Kim pointed to Girls’ Generation’s 2007 single ‘Into The New World’, which saw a resurgence after the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye in 2017, and first-generation idol Seo Taiji’s ‘Regret Of The Times’, which changed censorship laws in South Korea.

“We knew that some of these lyrics had more power than just affecting fandoms – they actually also had an effect on the legal system. There were also other lyrics that talk about mental health, for example, and so these were subjects that would talk to many generations and people.”

Music in Korea doesn’t just centre around K-pop, though – something Hallyu! The Korean Wave also showcases through a listening station where visitors can sample other styles, from hip-hop to R&B, trot (a genre popular in the ’60s and ’70s, but has recently made a comeback) to traditional sounds. “We are showcasing the link [between modern and traditional],” Kim said.

“So we have ‘Daechwita’ [by Agust D, aka BTS’ Suga], for example, and we are looking at what the military march from the Joseon Dynasty were using as instruments and what it meant. So we have this instrument on display in the exhibition as well, and we’re giving the opportunity to hear what the original one sounds like and how it sounds in ‘Daechwita’.”

One of the challenges of putting together the exhibition was, Kim said, making it accessible for those who aren’t experts on Korean culture while making it interesting for fans “who sometimes know better than anybody else”. The solution, the team decided, was to “use Hallyu as a lens to dive into traditional cultural values that are not necessarily better known or to talk about contemporary issues in society in Korea today”. The results give fans a different perspective on their favourite culture, while giving newcomers a full introduction to the phenomenon.

As well as the in-person exhibition, which will run at the V&A for nine months, Hallyu! The Korean Wave will also be complemented by a programme of online events, including workshops, talks, and activities suitable for children and families. More details on those events will be announced in due course.

For Kim, who is Korean but was born in Belgium, curating the exhibition has allowed her to showcase “part of my culture” that hasn’t always been widely accepted. “I still have a hard time understanding that I’m actually putting a show about Korea [on],” she said.

“When I was growing up, nobody had heard about Korea. You had these clichés of kids making fun of you for bringing sushi rolls to school for lunch and, now, kimbap [Korean rice rolls that look similar to sushi] and these foods are becoming quite fashionable. Korean language is something that is now becoming more common. It’s incredible to see that evolution in a short period of time, so it’s nice to be able to showcase my history.”

Hallyu! The Korean Wave will open at the V&A Museum in London on Saturday (September 24). Entry costs £20. For more information, visit the V&A website.

Stormzy returns with epic new single ‘Mel Made Me Do It’, cameo-packed video

Stormzy has returned with his first solo outing in almost three years: an epic, seven-minute declaration of his legend status – featuring a guest verse from Stylo G and a striking monologue by Wretch 32 (narrated by actress Michaela Coel) – titled ‘Mel Made Me Do It’.

• READ MORE: Stormzy live at Reading Festival 2021: festival return is another rockstar moment

The track stands out with its minimalistic, progressive instrumental, buzzing along with sharp 808 beats and modulated string-work while Stormzy’s vicious flow keeps in the spotlight. Wretch 32’s monologue adds an emotional weight to the track, as Coel intones with a poignant gravitas: “Today, we speak about foundation. Many great Black influential giants have touched people, from soul to soul, throughout many generations. 

“It’s often ‘greatness’ comes to mind, but footballing legends like make Ian Wright greatness come to sight. Our DNA empowers us. We can make a song and dance out of everything. Our genes are enriched – it seems there is not a seam out of place in our fabric…”

Watch Florence + The Machine receive a fake severed hand on-stage during show

Florence + The Machine frontwoman Florence Welch received a unique gift during a recent show, with a fan throwing a fake severed hand on-stage.

• READ MORE: The most awe-inspiring moments from Florence + The Machine’s set at Mad Cool 2022

The humourous incident took place while the band was performing at Madison Square Garden in New York City, as part of their ongoing ‘Dance Fever’ world tour. In a video posted to the band’s TikTok account, Welch is seen remarking at the gift – which has seemingly been thrown up alongside a bouquet of flowers.

“It’s a beautiful bloody severed hand,” Welch says in the video, before joking: “How did you know?” She then jokes with the audience that she will “eat this later”, leaving the fake hand on a piece of staging behind her.

Watch Big Joanie’s vibrant video for synth-driven new single ‘Confident Man’

Big Joanie have shared an animated video for their new single ‘Confident Man’, taken from their upcoming second album ‘Back Home‘.

• READ MORE: Big Joanie on how gigs can be made safer for women

The Black feminist punk rockers veer into synth territory for the third single from their new album, which is released on November 4, and have accompanied the release with a vibrant video made by Rachel Amy Winton.

In the clip, Big Joanie’s family photos appear alongside archive footage of the Caribbean in the ’50s, images of the ackee fruit tree, and live footage shot at Third Man Records London.

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Guitarist Stephanie Philips said about the making of ‘Confident Man’: “This song came from a rare Big Joanie jam session when we were messing about with the synths in Margo’s [Broom – producer] studio. The song was inspired by Jia Tolentino’s book Trick Mirror and an essay in it about scam culture and how everyone’s obsessed with con men and their stories.

“As the impact of capitalist culture becomes harder to avoid, it feels like many people would rather give in and admire those who work within the system and become the epitome of privileged, confident, white male arrogance. When you’re in that mindset, no one considers rebelling against that and tearing down everything the confident white male represents.”

Filmmaker Winton added: “After hearing from the band about the themes that led them to create this track, I became interested in the idea of positive representations of masculinity, both young and old. Trawling through a bunch of archival footage, including old home videos and photos from the ’50s ’til the present, I enjoyed catching little glimpses of sincerity, playfulness and kindness that showed men and boys engaging in a non-arrogant form of manliness. I like the way this stands in contrast to the conmen and scam culture that the song so powerfully tears down.

“I was also interested in the themes that sit across the bands new album: a homeland, feelings of nostalgia, family and the weaving together of cultures. When the band sent over some visual references, included in the mix was the quilt-work of American textile artist, Rosie Lee Tomkins. This inspired me to make the craft like animation style and patchwork/mural piece that the video draws symbols and motifs from (it can be seen in full at the end). The flowers, fruit and foliage of a different place stood out to me as well the capacity for animation to really highlight the changing rhythms and tempo on this synth-heavy track.”

The release follows July’s ‘In My Arms’ and June’s ‘Happier Still’. All songs will appear on the London trio’s follow-up to 2018’s ‘Sistahs’, which is released via Daydream Library Series, and Kill Rock Stars outside the UK and Europe. You can pre-order it here.

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Meanwhile, Big Joanie will head out on a UK tour next year to promote the album. See dates including upcoming 2022 ones below and find any remaining tickets here.

NOVEMBER 2022
Friday 11 – Albert Hall (supporting Courtney Barnett)
Saturday 12 – The Dome, Brighton (supporting Courtney Barnett)

JANUARY 2023
Friday 06 – Bristol, Strange Brew
Sunday 08 – Southampton, Joiners
Tuesday 10 – Oxford, Bullingdon
Wednesday 11 – London, Garage
Thursday 12 – Birmingham, Hare And Hounds
Friday 13 – Leeds, Belgrave Music Hall
Saturday 14 – Glasgow, Mono
Sunday 15 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, Cluny
Tuesday 17 – Manchester, Deaf Institute

System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian is releasing a new EP through an augmented reality app

System Of A Down‘s Serj Tankian has announced a new EP, which he is releasing through an augmented reality app.

• READ MORE: Serj Tankian: “I think the whole world felt some relief that Trump was gone”

‘Perplex Cities’ is the follow-up to the 2021 EP ‘Elasticity’ and a track will be released through the Arloopa app each week starting today (September 19) along with Tankian “appearing in the same space as the listener-viewer to explain the music and listen along.”

“I’m always trying to create new and interesting ways to connect with people via my music,” Tankian said in a statement via Rolling Stone. “We made some amazing videos for the last EP ‘Elasticity’, so I wanted to try something different for ‘Perplex Cities’. I love the idea of appearing in the room with someone listening to my music. It’s intimate, fun, and different.”

Sandra Oh and ‘Peep Show’ star Sophie Winkleman among celebrities at the Queen’s funeral

Killing Eve actress Sandra Oh and Peep Show star Sophie Winkleman were among the celebrities who attended Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral today (September 19).

• READ MORE: Entertainment world reacts to the death of Queen Elizabeth II

The former was at the service held at Westminster Abbey as part of the Canadian delegation as a member of the Order of Canada while Winkleman, who famously played Big Suze on the long-running sitcom, is actually a member of the Royal family because she’s married to Lord Frederick Windsor, making her title Lady Frederick Windsor.

Her husband is the son of the Queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent, who is 53rd in line to the British throne. She also attended the Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier in the summer.

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A post shared by Sandra Oh (@iamsandraohinsta)

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TV presenter and adventurer Bear Grylls also attended the service and was there to represent the Scouts.

“Chief Scout, @BearGrylls, will represent Scouts at State Funeral today and pay final respects to our Patron, HM The Queen. Our thoughts are with the Royal Family,” the Scouts tweeted.

Chief Scout, @BearGrylls, will represent Scouts at State Funeral today and pay final respects to our Patron, HM The Queen.
 
Our thoughts are with the Royal Family. pic.twitter.com/YaFATqis2r

— Scouts (@scouts) September 19, 2022

Meanwhile, Black Sabbath‘s Geezer Butler, Victoria Beckham and Barack Obama also paid their respects to the Queen, who died aged 96 earlier this month.

Amazing send off for the Queen. Nobody does it like Britain. End of an era. Love the quote 'grief is what you pay for love'.

— Geezer Butler (@geezerbutler) September 19, 2022

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Butler drew particular attention to a quote the monarch once said following the 9/11 attacks. “Amazing send off for the Queen. Nobody does it like Britain. End of an era. Love the quote ‘grief is what you pay for love’,” he wrote.

Michelle and I were lucky enough to know Her Majesty The Queen. Back when we were just beginning to navigate life as President and First Lady, she welcomed us to the world stage with extraordinary generosity. Our thoughts are with the Royal Family and those mourning her passing. pic.twitter.com/pHzpUJwgYb

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 19, 2022

Obama meanwhile said: “Michelle and I were lucky enough to know Her Majesty The Queen. Back when we were just beginning to navigate life as President and First Lady, she welcomed us to the world stage with extraordinary generosity. Our thoughts are with the Royal Family and those mourning her passing.”

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A post shared by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham)

Beckham also hailed the Queen as a “powerful source of inspiration”, calling her the “ultimate icon” who was “never without her signature lipstick”.

She wrote: “I’ve spent the last week reflecting on the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and how she was a powerful source of inspiration not just for me, but for so many around the world.

“The ultimate icon in every way and the epitome of elegance, she will live on in our hearts and minds forever. I offer my deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family at this time, and we join them in mourning the loss of our beloved Sovereign.”

Following the state funeral, a committal ceremony was held at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle, where the Queen’s coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault, with a private burial service taking place later this evening.

Dua Lipa says she feels more in “control” on her forthcoming third album

Dua Lipa has admitted that she feels more in “control” on her forthcoming new album than ever before.

The singer’s follow-up to her 2020 smash ‘Future Nostalgia’ was first teased back in January, when Lipa said she had “done a big chunk of writing” for the new record.

In March, she then revealed that the album was “50 per cent done” and is “starting to take shape”.

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Now, she has spoken further of the new record, telling Vogue Australia: “As I’m writing my new album, I feel even more liberated in a completely different way. And even more in control than I thought.”

Asked what liberation means to her, she added: “Freedom, especially as a woman, means to be able to take things into your own hands, to have control over the things that you believe in. To really have a voice.”

Her comments echo similar remarks she made to Vogue, earlier this year.

“I’ve definitely grown up. Overall, whether it’s sonically or in terms of the themes, I’ve matured,” she said at the time.

“It’s like I’m coming into my power and not afraid to talk about things,” she added of the third album. “It’s about understanding what I want.”

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Earlier this month, lawyers for the singer asked for a copyright infringement lawsuit surrounding the track ‘Levitating’ to be dismissed.

It came after songwriting duo L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer alleged that Lipa “duplicated” the “signature” opening melody for her 2020 single from their 1979 song ‘Wiggle And A Giggle All Night’ and 1980 song ‘Don Diablo’.

The plantiff’s complaint argued that Lipa had previously said she “deliberately emulated prior eras” to create a “retro” sound. The pair’s attorneys wrote: “In seeking nostalgic inspiration, defendants copied plaintiffs’ creation without attribution.”

Snoop Dogg-themed Funko store to open in Los Angeles

Funko has announced Tha Dogg House, a new collaboration with Snoop Dogg, which will include a brick-and-mortar store in Inglewood, California.

As reported by AllHipHop, Tha Dogg House will feature a mural of the rapper as well as life-sized Funko Pop! figures.

The Funko store will be located next to Snoop Dogg’s clothing store near SoFi Stadium and will offer exclusive collectibles along with other Funko products.