Music news

• Drake: More Life review – new 'playlist' sets the sound of summer agenda

  19-03-2017 18:05
  
  Is it a mixtape? Is it a compilation? Regardless, the rapper’s latest project features the road rap of Giggs and nods to the South African house sceneDrake may be an international pop star able to sell albums at will, but often his best work appears outside of official avenues on mixtapes, one-offs and collaborations. Earlier in his career, his OVO blogspot page offered up between-album tracks that hinted at potential new musical directions. In 2015 his summer anthem 0-100/The Catch Up arr
  
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• Zayn Malik Opens Up About The Eating Disorder That Haunted Him During One Direction Career

  19-03-2017 16:52
  
  The singer struggled while living in the spotlight
  
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• Chuck Berry obituary: 'A lively, perfect fit of street-talk to music'

  19-03-2017 16:35
  
  Rock’n’roll pioneer whose songs, including Johnny B Goode and Maybellene, inspired generations of musiciansChuck Berry, who has died aged 90, was rock’n’roll’s first guitar hero and poet. Never wild, but always savvy, Berry helped define the music. His material fused insistent tunes with highly distinctive lyrics that celebrated with deft wit and loving detail the glories of 1950s US teen consumerism.His first single, Maybellene, began life as “country music&r
  
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• Joey Essex And Celebs Go Dating Receptionist Tom Might Be Getting Their Own Love Show Spin Off

  19-03-2017 16:34
  
  The bromance could continue in a TV show that the boys will front
  
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• Vicky Pattison Makes Jaws Drop In Eye Popping Bikini Selfie

  19-03-2017 16:13
  
  The Geordie lass is looking gorgeous ahead of a holiday to Dubai
  
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• The Jump Star Amy Willerton Has A Secret BFF... Kim Kardashian!

  19-03-2017 14:34
  
  The reality babe gets to borrow Kimmy K's clothes
  
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• Spencer Matthews Won £68K On The Jump Because He Placed A Bet On HIMSELF To Win

  19-03-2017 14:24
  
  The Made In Chelsea star really is winning
  
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• Tove Lo review – pop's queen of candour bares more than just her soul

  19-03-2017 14:12
  
  Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
  The Swedish singer sets herself apart from the Scandipop rank and file with a set of hazy hedonism and brooding minor-chordsTove Lo is winding up her show when a red bra, launched from a few rows back, lands on the stage. Depositing it on the drum platform, she tersely addresses the fan who lobbed it: “I don’t wear bras.” That much we already knew: 15 minutes earlier, during the boisterous singalong Talking Body, the song’s explicit ca
  
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• Katy Perry Rumoured To Be Gearing Up For Hollywood Acting Career

  19-03-2017 13:58
  
  The star has been meeting with top producers
  
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• Rock'n'roll pioneer Chuck Berry dies aged 90 – video obituary

  19-03-2017 13:40
  
  Legendary guitarist Chuck Berry has passed away aged 90 on Saturday in Missouri. Berry merged blues and swing to create some of the most famous rock’n’roll songs such as Johnny B Goode and Roll Over Beethoven. His style influenced generations of musicians, most notably the Rolling Stones and the BeatlesChuck Berry, pioneer rock’n’roll guitarist, dies at age of 90
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• Blac Chyna And Rob Kardashian Are Still "Fighting For Each Other"

  19-03-2017 13:35
  
  Romance isn't dead after all?
  
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• Igor Levit review – moments of beauty on wayward journey through Beethoven

  19-03-2017 13:30
  
  Wigmore Hall, London
  The latest in an eight-concert series of piano sonatas suggests a performer whose approach is being radically rethoughtIgor Levit has adopted a pick-and-mix approach to programming much of his eight-concert journey through Beethoven’s piano sonatas at the Wigmore Hall this season. But he has reserved the last six sonatas for the final pair of recitals; he’ll play the final trilogy in June, while this concert included Opp 90, 101 and the Hammerklavier, Op 106.Thre
  
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• Chloe Ferry Has Set Her Sights To Star On Another HUGE Reality Show

  19-03-2017 13:07
  
  She has assured fans she will still be on Geordie Shore
  
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• Royal Northern Sinfonia/Vogt review – astonishing Beethoven two-for-one

  19-03-2017 12:56
  
  Sage, Gateshead
  Pianist Lars Vogt conducted and performed two Beethoven concertos with ease, unleashing something beautiful and dangerousNot many pianists would happily commit to performing two Beethoven concertos on the same evening – and even fewer who would be prepared to conduct them at the same time. But Lars Vogt’s recording cycle of the five piano concertos with the Royal Northern Sinfonia has gained such momentum that the sold-out concerts have become beg-for-a-ticket occasio
  
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• Charlotte Crosby And Stephen Bear Romantic Holiday Gatecrashed By Hotel Staff While Bear Is Totally Naked

  19-03-2017 12:39
  
  The duo had a romantic moment spoiled at a hilarious moment
  
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• Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales: Room 29 review – pretzels and despair

  19-03-2017 10:00
  
  (Deutsche Grammophon)
  The ex-Pulp frontman and pianist check in at Hollywood’s infamous Chateau Marmont for this beautifully bittersweet song cycleHearing Jarvis Cocker’s lascivious Sheffield mutter can still produce a contact high, particularly in those who came of age with Pulp. Within a few seconds of the title track of this 16-episode song cycle, we find Cocker settling into LA’s showbizzy Chateau Marmont and contemplating the room’s piano – the glamorous assign
  
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• Chuck Berry tributes pour in: 'Greatest rock‘n’roll writer who ever lived'

  19-03-2017 09:22
  
  Some of the most famous names in music have paid their respects to the 90-year-old, who was seen as a pioneer of rock‘n’roll50s legend found dead aged 90 Figures from all walks of life have paid tribute to rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Chuck Berry after the announcement that he had died at a home in Missouri.Berry’s hits were covered by the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Beach Boys and many more, and members of all those bands posted messages on Twitter expressing their s
  
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• Zara Larsson: So Good review – passion and personality shine through

  19-03-2017 09:00
  
  (Epic/Record Company TEN)As a pop star, 19-year-old Swede Zara Larsson is a refreshing proposition – a politically engaged feminist unafraid to upset the status quo. There are flashes of that big personality on second album So Good – the blunt, Rihanna-esque ode to sexual fulfilment, Only You; Make That Money Girl’s heartfelt celebration of female success – but a handful of its 15 tracks feel like an exercise in Spotify-friendly box-ticking. Sundown adds to pop’s cu
  
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• Two of a Mind: Then and Now review – classic sax partnership rebooted

  19-03-2017 09:00
  
  (Trio)Two saxophonists, Chris Biscoe and Allison Neale, revisit the music of Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond. The baritone-and-alto interplay of this classic late 50s-early 60s partnership had the rare distinction of being both clever and tuneful, with touches of wit. The trouble was, they only made two albums together. Now, with perfect rapport, and a positively uncanny grasp of this elusive idiom, Biscoe and Neale have come up with more, including two Biscoe originals. The playing is
  
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• Rick Ross: Rather You Than Me review – sounding like a real rap boss

  19-03-2017 09:00
  
  Finally talking it like he walks it, the rapper hits a powerful stride on his ferociously articulate ninth albumYou’d be forgiven for thinking that, his best days behind him, chubby, coke-obsessed plastic gangster Ross was finally lost in a celebrity netherworld – flirting with septuagenarian millionaire Martha Stewart (who’s had more jail time than he has) on TV and Twitter; summoning Chris Rock for pointless, prehistoric skits. Instead, here Rozay sounds like the rap boss he&
  
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• Laura Marling review – the female gaze laid bare

  19-03-2017 09:00
  
  The Dome, Brighton
  The singer-songwriter drops her guard and conjures warm, tender truths on womanhoodOn stage in Brighton, Laura Marling looks as she appears in the popular imagination. Acoustic guitar in hand, she wears the type of flowing white nightie in which folk heroines have always flounced. Ferns creep around the band’s equipment, completing the earthy effect. But what ensues is a deconstruction of the tropes that Marling has both indulged and eschewed since she arrived a decade a
  
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• Jeb Loy Nicols: Country Hustle review – a captivating, low-key set

  19-03-2017 09:00
  
  (City Country City)Raised in Missouri, Jeb Loy Nichols has spent most of his career in Britain, where his CV includes several albums of country soul as well as blue-eyed reggae, novel writing and a smart line in artwork. The deep southern epicentre of Country Hustle is triangulated by the swamp rock of Tony Joe White, the New Orleans funk of Dr John and the husky drawl of JJ Cale, though beats and dub are skilfully woven in. There are confessionals such as Regret, and tart social comment like Lo
  
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• Depeche Mode: Spirit review – angry after all these years

  19-03-2017 09:00
  
  (Columbia)Depeche Mode’s 14th album may not be a direct rebuttal to the white US nationalist Richard Spencer’s WTF assertion that Depeche were “the official band of the alt-right” – but it’s as good as. By the time cosseted arena bands reach their 37th year, their need to engage with the real world is moot, but here’s Martin Gore – DepMo’s chief songwriter – lambasting greedy corporations (Poorman), asking where the revolution is coming
  
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• Conor Oberst: Salutations review – sprawling companion to Ruminations

  19-03-2017 09:00
  
  (Nonesuch)Last October’s Ruminations comprised intimate solo versions of 10 songs Conor Oberst had initially planned to record with a full band. Five months on, and those fleshed-out versions – recorded with the Felice Brothers and drummer Jim Keitner, and boosted by a further seven tracks – now follow. In some instances, the fuller arrangements have a transformative effect: in particular, Counting Sheep’s newfound warmth offsets much of its lyrical bleakness. Elsewhere,
  
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• Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; The Dream of Gerontius review – a muddle and a masterpiece

  19-03-2017 08:30
  
  Royal Opera House, London; Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
  Musical excellence wins out as Kasper Holten bids farewell to Covent Garden on a distractingly grand scale. And Mark Elder and the Hallé soarA myriad of concertina folds, fluted facades and slatted wood, the set for the Royal Opera’s new Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, stole the show or rather, nearly killed it. Had musical standards, under the supreme baton of Antonio Pappano and starring the bass baritone Bryn Terfel as
  
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• Fauré and Saint-Saëns: Works for Cello and Piano CD review – unerring elan

  19-03-2017 08:25
  
  Brian O’Kane (cello), Michael McHale (piano)(Champs Hill)This album celebrates two composers of some of the finest of all French cello music. Saint-Saëns and Fauré, not obvious bedfellows and 10 years apart in age, first met when the former taught the latter piano and composition in Paris in the 1860s. Teacher was 25 years old, pupil 15. The Irish cellist Brian O’Kane has paired their music – predominantly the first sonata by Saint-Saëns and the two by Faur&eac
  
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• Bach: Goldberg Variations CD review – a wholly individual account

  19-03-2017 08:20
  
  Beatrice Rana (piano)
  (Warner Classics)Yet another recording of Bach’s masterpiece – at present the go-to piece for both aspiring pianists and harpsichordists – needs to be something very special. Beatrice Rana’s live performances have divided opinion, but this recording creates a wholly individual, inward mood. She cultivates an extremely wide range of sound, in some variations as hard-hitting as Glenn Gould, at others dreamy and serene. She is quirky at times, drawing o
  
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• Borodin Piano Quintet, String Quartet No 2 CD review – elegant, fluent playing

  19-03-2017 08:15
  
  Goldner String Quartet, Piers Lane (piano)(Hyperion)Poor Borodin. It’s impossible to listen to his 1881 String Quartet No 2 in D major without hearing the ghastly musical Kismet. In 1953, Robert Wright and George Forrest shamelessly plundered the Scherzo for Baubles, Bangles and Beads, and the Notturno for And This Is My Beloved, staining these lovely melodies indelibly into the minds of millions of radio listeners, and discarding the rest of the finely crafted quartet, elegantly play
  
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• The morning I spent in a broom cupboard with Mick Jagger

  19-03-2017 06:59
  
  It’s 1963, the Grand Hotel in Sheffield, and a scruffy young singer walks in on a 21-year-old telephone switchboard operatorWhen I think about it now, I suppose there are a lot of women who would pay good money to spend 10 minutes in a broom-cupboard with Mick Jagger. They probably wouldn’t have told him, like I did, that he looked in need of a bath. But I was younger back then. I was an impertinent little thing, I suppose.I was 15 when I started working at the Grand Hotel in Sh
  
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• Rufus Does Judy review – Rufus Wainwright’s divas rage against the dying of the limelight

  19-03-2017 02:58
  
  Festival theatre, Adelaide festival
  Double bill with Prima Donna, Wainwright’s venture into opera, is a mishmash of ideas carried by his talentRufus Wainwright bounds out, post-intermission, this time decked out in a red sequin tailcoat with matching belt and slippers.“And now for something completely different,” he grins. “Yes, you’re all on acid.” Continue reading...
  
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• Chuck Berry's life and career in pictures

  19-03-2017 01:19
  
  A look back over the life and career of the legendary rock’n’roll musician following his death at the age of 90 Continue reading...
  
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• Chuck Berry, pioneering rock'n'roll great, dies at age of 90

  19-03-2017 00:54
  
  Police in St Louis confirm musician’s death after being found at a home on Saturday afternoonAppreciation: Rock’n’roller who wrote the soundtrack for teen rebellionTributes pour in for ‘greatest rock‘n’roll writer who ever lived’The legendary guitarist Chuck Berry, who merged blues and swing into the phenomenon of early rock’n’roll and in the process influenced generations of musicians, died on Saturday aged 90, according to Missouri police.S
  
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• Chuck Berry: the rock'n'roller who wrote the soundtrack for teen rebellion

  19-03-2017 00:15
  
  Berry’s style permeated rock music so completely that you could hear his influence in everyone who picked up a guitar for decades afterwardsWhen Chuck Berry wrote School Day (Ring Ring Goes the Bell), his detailed evocation of a day in the life of an American teenager in the Eisenhower era, he created an anthem for a generation: “As soon as three o’clock rolls around, you finally lay your burden down / Close up your books, get out of your seat / Down the hall and into the stree
  
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