Music news

• 'We are here to party': Abba reunite – in a Stockholm restaurant

  20-01-2016 23:41
  
  The band once offered $1bn to reform were photographed in the same room for the first time since 2008 – to open an Abba-themed restaurantMamma mia! The four members of Swedish pop phenomenon Abba were reunited in Stockholm on Wednesday – but, sadly for fans, only for the opening of a new entertainment venture: Mamma Mia! The Party.Questioned by reporters, Benny Andersson insisted that he didn’t think the four of them would be getting back together on stage. Continue reading...
  
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• Celebrity Big Brother 2016: Most Of The Housemates Are Up For Eviction After Face-To-Face Nominations

  20-01-2016 22:56
  
  Who goes? You decide.
  
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• R Kelly says that Bill Cosby assault accusations are 'just strange'

  20-01-2016 19:46
  
  In an interview with GQ, the singer discusses the Cosby case as well as allegations of sexual assault that have repeatedly been made against himR Kelly finds it “strange” that some of the dozens of women who have recently stepped forward to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault waited so long to speak, the R&B superstar said in a wide-ranging interview in GQ magazine.“When I look on TV and I see the 70-, 80-, 90-year-old ladies talking about what happened when they were 17, 1
  
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• 27 Amazing Minecraft Builds That Will Inspire You For Life

  20-01-2016 18:52
  
  Forget IRL, these are where we want to live.
  
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• Rapper formerly known as Mos Def announces his retirement from music and film

  20-01-2016 18:51
  
  Yasiin Bey protests in the wake of his detention in Cape Town due to an expired tourist visa and the use of a ‘world passport’
  Yasiin Bey, who was detained last week for attempting to leave South Africa with an unrecognised passport, has announced that his retirement from the music and film industries is “effective immediately” after the release of his final album later this year. Related: Yasiin Bey arrested for 'immigration violation' at South African airportContinue re
  
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• Petition to stop Kanye West recording Bowie tribute album passes 10,000: See the best Bowie petitions

  20-01-2016 18:43
  
  From a stamp collection to an ambitious plea to God to resurrect the late singer, here are the best Bowie petitions.
  
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• Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique CD review - a handsome tribute

  20-01-2016 18:42
  
  York/Doufexis/Berlin PO/Abbado
  (Berliner Philharmoniker – two CDs and Blu-ray)Claudio Abbado died on 20 January 2014. He had given his last concerts in Lucerne, Switzerland, the previous August, a programme of unfinished symphonies by Schubert and Bruckner with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, which Deutsche Grammophon recorded and released a few months after his death. Three months earlier, Abbado had made what were his final appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, to which he returned a
  
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• Transvision Vamp's Wendy James: 'We did to Warhol what he did to bananas'

  20-01-2016 18:41
  
  This week, it is Wendy James’s 50th birthday. To celebrate, Rock’s Backpages brings you an interview (or ‘scratch feature’) from Melody Maker in April 1988, in which she and the band talk about sex, drugs, rock’n’roll, movies and pop art “Wolves, serpents, lizards, gizzards, bad bladders, typhoons, tarantulas, whipsnakes, bad karma, Rio Bravo, Sister Morphine, go fuck yourself.” (Sam Shepard and Patti Smith: Cowboy Mouth, 1971.) Continue reading...
  
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• Yorkston/Thorne/Khan review – freewheeling cross-cultural fun at Celtic Connections

  20-01-2016 18:38
  
  Tron theatre, Glasgow
  Jokes and intriguing sonic mashups arise from the teaming of Scots folk musician James Yorkston, Lamb bassist Jon Thorne and Indian sarangist Suhail Yusuf KhanSleepy seaside Fife and subtropical Delhi have more in common than you’d imagine. James Yorkston tells of hosting Suhail Yusuf Khan at his house in Anstruther ahead of this Celtic Connections festival date, and while washing the dishes, absent-mindedly scalding his hand and cursing in the local parlance: “
  
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• The chamber orchestra: why small is beautiful

  20-01-2016 18:15
  
  Mozart, Brahms and Schumann all worked with, and wrote for, chamber orchestras, whose compact size is a huge advantage to composers and audiences alike. Why do we neglect them today? A wise man once said, “There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn’t give a damn what goes on in between.” As a German pianist and conductor who has recently become music director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia in Gateshead, it would seem to mak
  
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• Opera North: Andrea Chénier review – great singing and impeccably judged conducting

  20-01-2016 18:11
  
  Grand theatre, Leeds
  Rafael Rojas, Annemarie Kremer and Robert Hayward give riveting performances in Annabel Arden’s thoughtful new production of Giordano’s French revolution-set tragedyNot so long ago, Andrea Chénier was chiefly remembered for its soprano showpiece, La mamma morta, to which Tom Hanks performed a morbid pas-de-deux with his hospital drip in the movie Philadelphia. Yet two major UK productions in 12 months seems to indicate that Umberto Giordano’s opera,
  
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• Why petitions against Kanye West are pointless

  20-01-2016 17:28
  
  The latest online crusade against the hip-hop star aims to stop him making a David Bowie tribute album. Do the people who signed it really think they’re changing anything?
  Right now, someone is sitting at a keyboard starting an online petition. Chances are, it will pop up on your Facebook or Twitter feed any minute, shared by a waggish or misguided friend or colleague. And if it doesn’t feature Donald Trump, David Cameron or the BBC being too leftwing/too rightwing as its focus, it w
  
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• Sam Smith’s Twitter Rant Against Racism Has Actually Annoyed Quite A Few People

  20-01-2016 17:27
  
  He's being accused of 'whitesplaining'.
  
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• You mourned David Bowie, but you mock Glenn Frey. Why?

  20-01-2016 17:19
  
  Anyone who was defensive over the mass mourning of Bowie but laughed at the death of the Eagles member is a hypocriteI am not an Eagles fan.I know little of their output beyond the omnipresent Hotel California, Take It Easy, One of These Nights, Tequila Sunrise, and so forth. Their delivery is too laidback for me, too easygoing. Give me Neil Young any day. I do not deny their popularity, however – the album Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) alone has sold more than 42m copies – nor the
  
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• Teen Mom OG Star Maci Bookout Is Engaged To Taylor McKinney After The Cutest Proposal Ever

  20-01-2016 17:18
  
  Cuties, the both of them.
  
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• Spotify Rival Deezer Just Raised $109 Million. But Is That Enough?

  20-01-2016 17:15
  
  Spotify rival Deezer has just announced a $109 million funding round, just a few months after it postponed an initial public offering.
  According to reports, funds will be used to redouble efforts to partner with telecom operators to offer bundled access to Deezer.  That is part of an ongoing effort to blend charges into monthly cellphone contracts, in addition to signing up subscribers directly.  The round comes from existing investors — including Access Industrie
  
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• Adele to perform at 2016 Grammys

  20-01-2016 17:06
  (Reuters) - Adele, whose album "25" swiftly became the biggest seller of 2015, is to perform at the 2016 Grammy Awards in February, organizers said on Wednesday. The British singer has not been nominated this year because her comeback album "25" was released in November, outside the eligibility period for Grammy consideration. Adele, who won six Grammys for her 2011 hit album "21," broke opening week sales records in the United States when she returned to recording after a four-year absence with
  
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• Bruce Springsteen review – a full immersion in The River

  20-01-2016 16:56
  
  United Center, Chicago
  Playing his 1980 double album in full, and adding a tribute to Glenn Frey, Springsteen’s stamina, exuberance and ability to connect remain unrivalledBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band take a full two hours to lead a Chicago audience through The River, the double album they released in 1980 and are commemorating on this anniversary tour, which started last weekend and continues through March.The effort itself is a feat: containing a Top 10 single (Hungry Heart) a
  
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• What $200 Million Lawsuit? Spotify Acquires Soundwave And Cord Project

  20-01-2016 16:42
  
  Despite being slapped with a $200 million legal action, Spotify has just acquired two start-ups in a bid to grow its music platform.
  The start-ups include the Dublin-based music discovery company Soundwave and the New York-based Cord Project.  Terms of the acquisitions are yet to be disclosed.
  Soundwave, launched in 2013, is an app that logs your listening in real-time, and allows you to follow others and form groups with like-minded fans.  Soundwave never became a mainstream hit
  
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• Nasaan Drops Remix Of Tory Lanez ‘B.L.O.W’

  20-01-2016 16:41
  Detroit-born wordsmith Nasaan puts his own spin on Tory Lanez huge track ‘B.L.O.W’
  
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• Kylie Jenner's 11 Best Makeup Hacks That You Can Use Too

  20-01-2016 16:27
  
  The secret to contouring and perfecting winged eyeliner included.
  
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• 7 Reasons Why Reggie ‘N’ Bollie Are The New One Direction Now That They’ve Been Signed To Syco

  20-01-2016 16:15
  
  SERIOUSLY.
  
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• Arctic Monkeys – 10 of the best

  20-01-2016 16:13
  
  It’s 10 years since their first album told tales of seedy nightlife and ‘trackie bottoms tucked in socks’. Here’s our pick of the band’s top moments“Don’t believe the hype.” Those are the words muttered by Alex Turner after introducing his band in the video to their single I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, their debut on Domino. That was the moment Arctic Monkeys’ hype skyrocketed from fans filesharing the group’s early music on we
  
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• Celebrity Big Brother 2016: Jeremy McConnell Tells Stephanie Davis He's In Love With Her, Not Just Horny

  20-01-2016 15:57
  
  OH, glad that's cleared up.
  
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• Cheatahs review – dreamy psych-rock with stadium ambitions

  20-01-2016 15:53
  
  XOYO, London
  With their majestic melodies, tight harmonies and driving rhythms, this global band leave the nu-gaze label far behindWith the release of their eponymous 2013 debut, Cheatahs found themselves compared to 90s luminaries Dinosaur Jr and the Boo Radleys and associated with the emergent nu-gaze scene. But last year’s Sunne EP gave the first hints that the quartet might have struck on a new, otherworldly sound and the title track provides a salient start to their 60-minute set.Jang
  
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• Music streamer Deezer raises 100M euros after abandoned IPO

  20-01-2016 15:32
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — France-based music streaming service Deezer says it has raised 100 million euros ($109 million) from its two largest shareholders to fuel its expansion after abandoning plans for an initial public offering of stock last year.
  
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• UK Rap Rundown: feat Kano, Calibars, Wretch 32, Avelino

  20-01-2016 15:29
  
  The new year has started with a showcase of longevity. Some of the old guard’s finest have resurfaced for some nostalgic collaborations, character reincarnations and most importantly, new projects.
  
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• War Child Presents Passport To BRITs Week Returns With Florence + The Machine, Bloc Party & Professor Green

  20-01-2016 13:57
  
  It's going to be amazing, and all for a great cause.
  
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• Celebrity Big Brother 2016: Scotty T Gets A Rub Down From Megan McKenna As He Romantically Mimes The Art Of Teabagging

  20-01-2016 13:57
  
  She was applying his fake tan you animals!
  
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• Gary Barlow 45th birthday: Take That singer has always been true frontman of beloved man-band

  20-01-2016 13:41
  Gary Barlow, one of the UK's most acclaimed singers and songwriters, is celebrating his 45th birthday today (20 January 2016). The Take That star is undeniably a force to be reckoned with in the recording studio, and while he may sometimes be overlooked as the frontman of the boy band turned man band, history has proved Barlow to be the real leader of Take That. Cheshire-born Barlow has been in the British music scene since 1992 when Take That – then consisting of Barlow, Robbie Williams,
  
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• Music, fashion and poetry events to mark First World War centenary

  20-01-2016 13:39
  Music with Damon Albarn, fashion from Vivienne Westwood and poems by Simon Armitage form a new programme of events marking the First World War centenary.
  
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• Exploding Kittens Is The New iPhone Game You Need In Your Life Right Now

  20-01-2016 13:35
  
  You'll have to wait until tomorrow though…
  
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• Jamie Foxx Rescued A Man From A Car Which Burst Into Flames Five Seconds Later

  20-01-2016 13:24
  
  THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
  
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• The New Suicide Squad Trailer Is Absolute Chaos In The Greatest Way Possible

  20-01-2016 13:05
  
  Margot Robbie is bae.
  
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• Meet The Instagram Makeup Artist Who Creates Looks Inspired By Your Favourite Snacks

  20-01-2016 12:50
  
  This will probably make you quite hungry.
  
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• Publicist resigns following allegation of sexual harassment by Dirty Projectors' Amber Coffman

  20-01-2016 12:46
  
  Heathcliff Berru, the founder of a PR company that represented Odd Future and Killer Mike, apologises for ‘crossing the line of decency’Heathcliff Berru, a US publicist and the founder and CEO of Life or Death PR and Management, has been forced to resign after details emerged of his sexual conduct with women. He was accused of sexual harassment by Dirty Projectors’ singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber Coffman on Twitter on 19 January. After she made her claims, several other
  
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• Jamie Lawson review – bafflingly boring journeyman talent

  20-01-2016 12:39
  
  Forum, London
  Fronting a functional band with a grin welded to his face, this Ed Sheeran protege demonstrates none of his mentor’s wit in sentimental, dull songsJamie Lawson is living proof of the power of an Ed Sheeran endorsement. This Devon-born singer-songwriter had put out three albums over a decade-long career to almost blanket indifference, before Sheeran last year made him the debut signing to his new Gingerbread Man record label.Sheeran released Lawson’s fourth, self-titled
  
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• Singer Dolores O'Riordan to be sentenced after 'air rage' incident

  20-01-2016 12:19
  Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan will be sentenced next month for head-butting and spitting on a police officer following an alleged air rage incident, a court has heard.
  
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• Mos Def: Yasiin Bey freestyles on Kanye West website about his detention in South Africa then retires from music

  20-01-2016 12:00
  
  US rapper Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, has made his first public statement following his arrest and detainment in South Africa. The hip hop star was taken into custody in Cape Town after reportedly attempting to leave the country using a "world passport" and has now pleaded for his freedom in a message posted on Kanye West's website. Bey, 42, was reportedly trying to fly out to Ethiopia for a concert when he was detained at the airport.
  
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• Jake T. Austin Speaks Out After News He’s Dating A Superfan Goes Viral (Because Life Really Is A Fanfiction)

  20-01-2016 11:33
  
  HARRY STYLES ARE YOU READING THIS?
  
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• Kim Kardashian Admits She's In #BeastMode As She Embarks On Weight Loss Plan

  20-01-2016 11:27
  
  We're a little scared.
  
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• Happy Birthday Evan Peters! Here's 29 Pictures That Prove He's Hot In Every Situation

  20-01-2016 11:11
  
  Scientific proof...
  
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• Meet SG Lewis, The "Weird Kid" Who Ended Up Signed Alongside Disclosure & Jessie Ware

  20-01-2016 10:44
  
  The next Brand New For 2016 nominee we're throwing the spotlight on gives us the shivers...in a good way...
  
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• Syrian orchestra reassembles with Damon Albarn for London concert

  20-01-2016 10:06
  
  Damascus-based group was scattered around the world by the country’s civil war, but is reuniting for what is intended to be the first of several eventsThe civil war in Syria scattered its members around the world as they fled their homeland, but now the Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music (SNOAM) is to be reunited for a rare concert in London. On 25 June, the orchestra – led by conductor Issam Rafea – will perform at the Southbank Centre, presented by Africa Express, and
  
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• Mötorhead's Lemmy died of prostate cancer, says death certificate

  20-01-2016 09:47
  
  Congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia also contributed to much-loved metal frontman’s death on 28 DecemberMötoheard frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister died of prostate cancer, according to his official death certificate. Congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia were also listed as causes, according to the document obtained by TMZ. When Kilmister died last month, news reports attributed it to “extremely aggressive cancer” but the details were not kn
  
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• A reverential rave-in with the Pink Floyd: archive, 20 Jan 1969

  20-01-2016 06:30
  
  20 January 1969: Getting into the Roundhouse turned out to be the slowest queue in London When your young married daughter turns up with her young husband on a Saturday afternoon and says, “Are you coming to the Pink Floyd at the Round House?” it takes a little while for the full significance of the invitation to sink in. The offer of an escort and safe conduct for the Saturday night rave-in at the Round House is not often given to middle-aged man from the other side of the generatio
  
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• How David Bowie turned down Coldplay: 'It's not a very good song, is it?'

  20-01-2016 04:10
  
  Drummer Will Champion says the music giant refused invitation to collaborate on a track – ‘He was very discerning … I’ll give him credit for that!’David Bowie’s list of collaborators reads like a cavalcade of pop-culture power brokers: Brian Eno, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, John Lennon and Queen. He also recorded with Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy.Missing from that list? Fellow British act Coldplay, who once contacted Bowie in
  
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• Apple, Samsung, Sony Accused of Exploiting Child Labor In Africa

  20-01-2016 02:29
  
  Amnesty International has announced that tech giants Apple, Samsung, and Sony have been using minerals mined by African children as young as 7 in their products.
  In the report, the human rights organization found young children in mines extracting cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The children are mining for cobalt, a vital component of the lithium ion batteries found inside smartphones and other devices.
  According to reports, Congo produces at least half of the world&r
  
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• Is the Future of Music Fan-Supported? Patreon Raises $30 Million

  20-01-2016 00:28
  
  Patreon, a San Francisco-based patronage platform that supports artists, has now raised $30 million in Series B funding. T hrive Capital led the round with participation from Allen and Company, Charles River Ventures, Index Ventures, Accomplice and Freestyle Capital.
  Patreon was founded in 2013 by Sam Yam and currently features 17,000 creators in 15 categories including photography, animation, and crafts.  Patreon not only enables fans and sponsors to support artists and creators
  
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