It’s 40 years this summer since Queen’s final tour, and to mark the occasion, the band have announced the reissue of Queen Budapest, the film of their show in the Hungarian capital that summer.

The original footage has been restored by Peter Jackson (who’s fast becoming the go-to guy for this sort of project). It’ll be getting a limited cinema and IMAX release on 7 October, before editions on all formats – DVD, Blu-Ray, digital, LP and CD – become available from 30 October.

The show was one of the first by a Western act behind the then-Iron Curtain – though not the first, as Sony’s publicity material is insisting, as good ol’ Cliff Richard toured the Soviet Union in the mid 70s. Nevertheless, it was a big deal at the time. The tour film was shown in Poland, East Germany, China and Czechoslovakia, and after Queen came a deluge of rock stars playing the Communist bloc, including Bowie, Springsteen, Big Country and Billy Joel.

For Queen, though it was the end of the road. Or almost. The original four-piece only played five more gigs, and their final date on the Live Magic tour, at Knebworth in August 1986, would be the last time Freddie Mercury would be seen on stage with them.

Brian May has said of the Budapest show: “For years, fans behind the Iron Curtain had been able to listen to Queen music only on illegal cassettes. It was a forbidden thing to listen to rock bands like us, so to see them play in a live show would have been unthinkable. This concert, when they could finally come and see us live in person and interact with us, was a huge emotional moment for them and also for us. Perhaps the most memorable highlight of all was performing that beautiful Hungarian folk song, which Freddie and I had learned for the occasion. Not a dry eye!”

Roger Taylor adds: “I know Freddie tried to learn this folk song, but he had the words written phonetically on the back of his hand. When the audience just started singing, we realised, wow, music really can be a great cause.”

Fans who want to see it in the cinemas are being encouraged to sign up at the Queen Budapest website to be alerted to all the relevant information as to when pre-sale tickets are available.

“Peter Jackson’s team have done a magnificent job of restoring the original film footage, at the highest resolution ever," says May. "It's pristine and the quality is breathtaking. I think people will get lost in it and even forget they're watching a film.”

Noah Kahan has joked that Congress should introduce laws to enforce diapers at concerts, amid a troubling increase in reports of concert-goers defecating in the crowd.

At a recent show in Washington DC, Kahan pretended to call up Congress with the request, saying "Oh, Congress? Yeah people have been pooping all over the floor at my shows. You heard Congress, fucking put some diapers on next time, y’all.”

The Vermont-born musician later took to X to write: "If you have to poop at a show please dear god just go to the bathroom lmao I’ve pooped my pants as much as the next 29 year old but you guys gotta understand there’s a venue worker out there with a 1000 yard stare after dealing with that (sic)."

This is a growing issue amongst performers. Last month, pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo revealed that she had noticed the intense – and somewhat concerning – commitment of fans to getting the best view possible. "People wear diapers so that they can be front row," she said. "That's been an experience as a performer that I have smelled."

Ultimately, this trend – also highlighted elsewhere by a fan of US country star Morgan Wallen, who was urinated on by another concertgoer – is the result of a growing obsession amongst pop fans for being in the front row for their favourite artist, at all costs.

In the view of The Guardian's Kate Solomon, the pandemic made fans intensely hungry for one-of-a-kind concert experiences, and spots at the barrier have become increasingly coveted. "The cost of VIP pit tickets has rocketed, stan culture has grown ever more feral, and the social media value of scoring clear gig footage is at a premium," she says.

How much clout a fan can get from a show in which they've noticeably soiled or wet themselves is another question entirely. But unfortunately, it seems as though this is a trend that's growing.

Football fans around the world have been reacting to the first ever World Cup Final Halftime show last night, and seem to have given the thumbs down to the Chris Martin-curated extravaganza.

The Coldplay singer put together the 11-minute farrago, which was opened by Madonna singing a mash up of Disco Inferno and her 2000 hit, Music, whilst speeding into the arena on a vehicle driven by Brazilian football legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

That gave way to a ‘performance’ of the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army by The Muppets. Then we had BTS running through Dynamite, followed by Shakira and Burna Boy playing a section of their hit Dai Dai.

Then we had Justin Bieber playing a ballad on his acoustic guitar, followed by Coldplay performing a new song with a children’s choir, the lyrics of which instructed us that ‘everything is possible’ if we ‘believe in love’.

One of the BBC TVpundits, ex-England star Wayne Rooney wasn’t impressed. When asked by anchor Gabby Logan what his highlight of the show was, he said: “I’ll be honest, mine was when it finished... I thought it was crap.”

Rooney wasn’t alone.

The actor Tom Holland backed-up the ex Man United man, saying: “Wayne speaking for the nation”. Meanwhile Liam Gallagher tweeted: “This is like a bad trip.”

Liam was quite restrained compared to the Norwegian commentator Aleksander Schau, who remarked that he would “rather watch my dad wipe his ass than this.”

Justin Bieber was picked out for special criticism for his choice of the ballad Everything Hallelujah. “Why would Justin Bieber do that sleepy ass song for the World Cup?” asked one fan, with another suggesting: “Justin Bieber picking the 86th most famous song in his catalogue with a negative tempo for the halftime show was… a choice.”

Another fan posted on X/ Twitter simply: “Are we all miserable or do Americans think this shit is stupid too?”

Yesterday’s show was the first for a World Cup final and saw the half time extended to a full half an hour for the first time. It appears to have been the idea of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who ahead of the Final described it as a “groundbreaking spectacle” that will “celebrate football, music and our shared values, ensuring a legacy that transcends the final whistle.” Infantino looks to have secured the FIFA presidency for the fourth term so the bad news for Rooney, Gallagher and others is that it’s a ‘spectacle’ that looks likely to be repeated in 2030.

Oh and unless you’ve been hiding under a rock since yesterday, Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time.

The Cure are keeping it in the family. The band have announced that whilst long-serving bassist Simon Gallup is ill, his son Eden will be temporarily taking his place in the band.

Robert Smith and co are currently on tour in Europe and played the first of a three-night run in Berlin last Friday (July 10). However, fans noticed that Gallup was absent, even before Smith dedicated Lullaby to him. After the show, Smith posted on Instagram - all in caps for some reason - about the bassist’s illness.

“Shortly before the first of our three Berlin Wuhlheide concerts yesterday, Simon was taken ill,” Smith wrote. “His son Eden shifted sideways to save the show.

"Unfortunately, Simon is still not well enough to play, so Eden will be filling the bass breach again tonight. Hope you will join us in wishing Simon the speediest of recoveries. And Eden – thanks.”

The nature of Gallup’s illness has not been revealed. The 66-year-old bassist, though, is almost as near to a permanent fixture in The Cure as Smith himself. He first joined the band in 1979 and aside from an eighteen-month period between 1982 and 1984 when he fell out with the frontman has been with them ever since. He’s played on every Cure album since 1985’s The Head On The Door.

Anyway, the band’s tour of Europe’s festivals continues until August 30 when they play Rock En Seine in Paris. Then at some point the band will doubtless release the follow-up to 2024’s Songs Of A Lost World, which Robert Smith confirmed last month is “done”.

Justin Bieber will co-headline the first-ever World Cup halftime show at the tournament final on Sunday, 19 July.

He'll join other huge global names like Madonna, Shakira, BTS, and Burna Boy in an 11-minute performance during the halftime break of the world's biggest sporting event.

Bieber said: “The FIFA World Cup brings the world together in a way nothing else can. I’m grateful to be part of this halftime show, and even more grateful knowing it’s already helping expand access to education for children around the world." (Music News)

His last comment refers to the fact that the show, curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin, will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is raising $100 million to help children access education and soccer.

FIFA's decision to introduce a halftime show to the World Cup final for the first time ever - taking inspiration from the lavish, highly monetised interval performances seen in US sporting showpieces like the Super Bowl - has been roundly criticised by global football fans.

In response to FIFA's X post unveiling Bieber on the lineup, user Sportzz1 said: "The game is gone smh... this should be a one-off please, this is not the superball."

Meanwhile, @ehvsinner commented: "You should bother about football and not destroy it. We don't care about that show, because football is the show. The 15 minutes break is for pissing and grabbing a beer."

Fan concerns are unlikely to bother Bieber and co., whose performances at the New York New Jersey Stadium will be broadcast globally to hundreds of millions of viewers. Regardless of how the interval plays out, the backlash from supporters suggests that FIFA will be under real pressure to scrap its World Cup halftime show ahead of the next tournament.

50 years on from its release, the Ramones' self-titled debut album will be commemorated with a special Los Angeles show featuring a host of rock music legends, including Billie Joe Armstrong and former band member CJ Ramone.

Taking place on August 30th, 2026, at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, The Official Ramones Anniversary Tribute will see Cretin Family — a supergroup featuring Tim Armstrong (Rancid), Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day), Travis Barker (Blink-182) and CJ Ramone (Ramones), plus special guests — perform a set of Ramones tracks live.

The concert will be accompanied by a DJ set from artist-activist Shepard Fairey and multiple screenings, including a showcase of John Travolta's new film Propeller One-Way Night Coach (Travolta is also scheduled to host the event).

"From the moment I first heard the Ramones, music was never the same," said Tim Armstrong. "They are my favourite band of all time! I can't wait to play those great and perfect Ramones songs with my friends CJ, Travis and Billie."

Billie Joe Armstrong added: "The spirit of the Ramones is alive in every backyard punk show, punk club and festival.

"Generation after generation of cretins and weirdos become Ramones lovers. Kids are influenced by the Ramones and they don't even know it yet."

The iconic punk band formed in New York in 1974 and helped establish punk music in the United States, creating a fuzzy, energetic sound that provided huge inspiration to British groups like The Clash and Sex Pistols.

While they went on to release 14 studio albums and toured constantly before disbanding in 1996, the Ramones' debut is still widely considered their greatest achievement.

The record was recently ranked Number One in Rolling Stone's list of the Greatest Punk Albums of All Time, a testament to its enduring legacy.

Ahead of August's show, a limited edition, first-time picture disc pressing of Ramones will be released (July 17th). Half a century on from their seminal eponymous album, they continue to have a huge influence on global music culture.

"The Ramones are the blueprint," said Travis Barker. "Punk rock wouldn't be what it is today without them."

This week sees the release of Confessions II, Madonna’s new album and a spiritual sequel to Confessions on a Dance Floor, the 2005 long-player that she made with producer Stuart Price.

Price is back this time, too, and has been talking to The Times about his working relationship with Madonna, which began when he ended up joining her touring band in 2001 as keyboard player and musical director on the Drowned tour

This might not have happened, though; Price says that he was initially intimidated by the “incredible musicians with an array of gear” that he encountered when all he had was a monosynth that “only makes one sound at a time”.

In fact, such was the level of Price’s imposter syndrome that he raised doubts about his suitability for the role.

“I’m from dance music – there’s nothing wrong with staying on one note for six minutes as long as it’s a really good note,” he argues. “So I said to her: ‘I don’t think I’m the right person to do this.’

Rather than accept that he was a bad fit, though, Madonna supported Price’s musical vision. “She reconfigured the whole setup on the basis of that comment. Instead of going back to my parents’ house in Reading, I ended up staying and she made me musical director of the Drowned world tour. So our relationship is ultimately based on honesty.”

It sounds like this high level of trust helps when the pair are in the studio together, too. “You always tackle a problem with a solution,” is Price’s diplomatic answer when asked if he and Madonna ever disagree. “When you have faith in your writing partner, the whole thing becomes pleasant.”

So pleasant, in fact, that Price describes their sessions “like being in a school band,” with both parties feeling able to be themselves. “Madonna will say, ‘I think I have something,’ and what comes out is not calculated, it’s just unquestionably her.”

The biggest hit from the original Confessions on a Dance Floor, of course, was the ABBA-sampling Hung Up, and Price previously spoke about the origins of that record to Music Week.

“Madonna was doing a movie at the time with Luc Besson, that didn’t materialise, which was going to feature music from different generations – a punk rock era, a ’20s era, and a disco era. So she asked, “Do you have anything that is like ABBA at Studio 54?” Originally, I said no.

“However, six months beforehand, I had a DJing residency at a club in Liverpool called The Masque, at the Chibuku Shake Shake night. One night, I was coming back from Chibuku, it was 5am on the M1, I was falling asleep – I wasn’t driving! – and Radio 2 was on. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! started playing, and in that dream state I thought, ‘Wow, that would be a really good sample for a song.’

“So just before I went up to play Chibuku again, I quickly hacked the sample into a track that I could play in my DJ set. It was immediate – the whole room felt pretty special. I played it for the next couple of months, but like most DJs, I wore out my records and moved on. So when Madonna mentioned ABBA, I suddenly went, ‘Well, there is one thing…’

“I played her the track, she listened intently, then she just opened her mouth and sang: ‘Every little thing that you say or do, I’m hung up, I’m hung up on you…’ It really happened that quickly. We were in the studio, which was in the attic of my flat in Maida Vale, so I recorded her. Subsequently, the production took some work, but the whole thing about making Confessions On A Dance Floor was that it was such fun. Hung Up really set the tone for that album. In her brilliantly instinctive way, Madonna just pivoted, and instead of doing the movie with loads of sections, she went, ‘We’re going to make a dance record!’”

Confessions II is released on Friday, 3 July.

The B-52s have hit out at a French promoter who cancelled their festival set with just minutes to go, despite allegedly knowing a violent storm was on its way.

The veteran pop band were due to appear at the C Trop festival but just minutes before they were set to step onstage, the entire final day of the event was cancelled.

“It is with great regret that we are forced to cancel the final day of the 2026 edition of the festival, scheduled for Sunday, June 28, due to a tornado that occurred late last night and destroyed all public reception facilities,” the organisers announced on Facebook, citing “the exceptional weather conditions and their consequences on the site”.

However, the B-52s were far from happy. Posting on Facebook, the band’s singer Fred Schneider described the situation as a “total disaster”.

“The promoter knew the dangerous storm that was brewing and on its way to The C Trop Music Festival,” he wrote. “First, there was lightning, but the promoter still had the crew set up the stage and told the band to get ready to perform.”

Schneider praised his tour manager who advised the band to wait 10 minutes. A wise move, it turned out. “Then it was like a world wind hurricane force and heavy rain. Most of our crew was caught and had to duck under where they could for shelter. The festival was evacuated. We could not even leave because it was too dangerous to drive. The power went out several times backstage.”

“We felt terrible for the fans that have waited in the heat all day for us to perform,” he continued. “And then get very little warning to no warning from the promoter that it wasn’t safe to stay out and make our way to the stage, there was lightning striking the band before our set.”

“We could’ve been stuck on stage if we didn’t hold for those 10 minutes. Our sound man Frank feared for his life. It was that dangerous. We were worried about the crew the entire time.”

“Scaffolding even fell from the stage and destroyed our equipment. Keyboards, mic stands, laptops, sound equipment. All destroyed.”

The promoter has yet to respond to the band’s post.

France, like most of Western Europe, had been suffering extreme temperatures of over 40 degrees. Often heatwaves are brought to a conclusion by violent thunderstorms and. going forward, preparation for these sorts of occurrences should really be among the contingency plans for festival promoters across Europe...

For festival goers, the Glastonbury-shaped hole in this year’s calendar might not be such a bad thing.

A UK heatwave means that temperatures down on Worthy Farm would have been pretty unbearable, and the good news is that, rather than getting sunburnt, you can relive Glastonburys past from your own home or – better still – an air-conditioned cinema.

In the latter case, that’s because Glastonbury The Movie: 30th Anniversary Cut is hitting the big screen in selected UK cinemas today. Originally released in 1996, this documents the 1993 version of the festival, which came in the days when there was no wall-to-wall BBC TV coverage and the only decent footage came from the young filmmakers who rocked up with their Panavision CinemaScope cameras.

This 30th anniversary cut has been rebuilt in 4K from the original 35mm footage and features new scenes and a 5.1 Dolby Audio mix. It showcases a ‘90s time capsule of bands – The Verve, Spiritualized, The Orb and Lemonheads, for example – and gives those who have only experienced ‘modern’ Glastonbury a taste of what it was like back in the day.

“Appetite for the 90s is at a cultural high,” says the press blurb, correctly. “The ones who were there want to go back. The ones who weren't want to understand what the fuss was about.”

That said, if you don’t want to see what all the fuss was about and your tastes are rather more current, the BBC iPlayer is your friend; for a limited time, a whole load of more recent Glastonbury content has been placed there for your entertainment.

You can watch headline sets from the likes of Coldplay (2024), Olivia Rodrigo (2025) and Billie Eilish (2022), or go back to the ‘90s again and peer at Radiohead’s Pyramid Stage performance from 1997.

Either way, you should hopefully have easy access to a clean toilet and cool refreshments, which sounds like a massive bonus from where we’re sitting.

Spare a thought for the more, shall we say, experienced members of the rock community as temperatures soar this summer. Rod Stewart, who turned 81 earlier this year, had to use an oxygen tank to get through a gig in Utah last week.

The show was at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater in West Valley City last Friday and in social media clips from the gig, Stewart can be visibly struggling during Young Turks. He can be seen propping himself up against his keyboard player and then against a microphone stand. At other times he leans over, as if he is short of breath. To his credit, he doesn’t miss a note.

Before the end of the number, Stewart can be seen beckoning a stagehand who brings on an oxygen tank. Rod takes a few gulps and steadies himself, before addressing the crowd: “The show must go on. I nearly f***in’ fainted up there, I’m telling you. Trying to do a little step and a dance, I nearly f***in’ fainted,” he rambled, before asking the crowd: “Would you mind if I sat down for this one?”

It should be said that West Valley City is around 4,300 feet above sea level, which could account for Stewart’s breathlessness. Heat and altitude – as a football fan, Rod will undoubtedly know how difficult it is to acclimatise to those sort of conditions.

Talking of which, the singer has come in for a fair bit of criticism from fans for cancelling a show in California due to ill health last week before turning up in Boston to see the Scotland v Haiti match the following day. To make matters worse, Stewart even posted a sprightly-looking pic of himself and his sons on a plane, to social media, captioned by: “Me and the boys off to Boston to see our Scotland in the World Cup! No Scotland no party.”

One fan posted: “This feels rather disingenuous, especially after your cancellation last night. Too ill to perform but okay to fly across the country for soccer?”

Meanwhile another wrote: “I understand that shows sometimes have to be canceled, and if there was a legitimate reason, most fans would have accepted it. What's hard to accept is seeing you apparently celebrating on a plane with friends less than 24 hours after thousands of people were sent home disappointed in San Diego.”

Well, yes. We all know Rod loves his football and Scotland haven’t qualified for the World Cup for 28 years, but surely his booking agent could have rearranged his schedule accordingly, instead of leaving it all to the last minute and pissing off fans…?

StubHub has been ordered to refund more than 50,000 of its customers after they were shown to be underhand regarding hidden fees.

It comes after an investigation by the Competition And Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK which found that the ticketing platform was guilty of ‘drip pricing ’, where consumers are told about fees and charges on top of the initial price. The practice was banned in the UK last year.

The CMA found that between April and December last year many customers buying tickets for gigs and sports events via StubHub were required to pay mandatory costs such as delivery and service fees – ie unavoidable costs, but, crucially, only added at the final checkout stage.

In a statement, Emma Cochrane, Executive Director of Consumer Protection at the CMA said: "Hitting customers with hidden fees is illegal. It's not fair to draw people in with what looks like a good deal, only for them to find the real price is higher when they get to the checkout due to extra charges that can't be avoided.”

StubHub has also been fined, but because they admitted breaking the law, they have received a 40% reduction to their penalty, meaning that they will have to cough up just £900,000. Their customers are liable to receive, on average, a £10 refund – enough for a pint and a packet of crisps, then.

The platform has said it has taken steps to end the conduct, and said in a statement: "Our UK platform is designed to display all fees upfront," adding it had "identified and corrected the issue promptly, and all affected customers will receive an automatic refund".

The CMA have a number of organisations in their sight regarding the practice of drip pricing, including BSM Driving School, Appliances Direct and one of StubHub’s rivals: Viagogo. The CMA has said that its investigation into Viagogo over its fees was ongoing and that an update was due “later this summer”.

Meanwhile, Cochrane added that: "Going to a live gig or sports game is an event many people save for – and our action today means thousands of fans will get back money taken unfairly through hidden fees”.

"Our message to businesses is simple: be transparent on costs or risk CMA action."

It’s clearly going to be Harry Styles’ summer. In addition to that record-breaking run of shows at Wembley he’s playing, he’s also currently revelling in the role of taste-maker, by curating this year’s Meltdown Festival.

Meltdown is an annual event at the Southbank Centre in London where over a week a ‘culturally-significant’ artist puts together a programme to reflect their personality. Being asked to curate it is some honour, one bestowed previously on the likes of David Bowie, Patti Smith, Scott Walker and Nick Cave. Cultural heavyweights, in other words.

Anyway, we’re nearly a week into Styles' Meltdown and last night saw the singer team up with the Jules Buckley Orchestra and the Gospel House Choir for a special gig that saw Styles re-interpret his solo back catalogue. Styles himself played the piano and guitar.

“I’ve always been a lover of orchestral music, classical music, and it’s quite an intimidating field to step into as someone who doesn’t - cannot - read music,” Styles told the crowd. "I met Jules and we worked together and I’ve never felt so welcomed into the space. He never made me feel like I didn’t belong there in any way, and it’s been beautiful collaborating with him.”

The setlist drew upon all four of his solo albums, including the recently released Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. And the singer rounded the thirteen-song set with a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters. You suspect more than a few tears were shed...

The festival still has another five days to run, and among the diverse attractions to come are ‘For Vini: A Tribute To The Durutti Column’ which celebrates groundbreaking guitarist Vini Reilly, there’s ‘the father of Ethio-jazz’ Mulatu Astatke and the composer Beverley Glen Copeland. As well as those there’s also Dev Hynes (of Blood Orange fame), a DJ set from LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Belgian shapeshifters Soulwax.

Tickets for all those will be limited, but there are a number of free events too as part of Meltdown – for further information head over to the website at southbankcentre.co.uk

And Styles himself? Well, he’s clearly multitasking at the moment. He’s already played two shows of that run of twelve at Wembley Stadium. The third is tonight.

We’re only a week into Rush’s Fifty Something reunion tour and already the superlatives are stacking up. Fans and contemporaries have hailed the comeback – and Anika Nilles’ performance in place of the late Neil Peart - as a triumph.

Now the band have reacted to the outpouring of affection the shows have produced and put a statement on social media. “Thank you for making this week so effin’ amazing!” the band wrote in their message. “For embracing Anika, Loren so profoundly. Aimee Mann for joining us on Time Stand Still in tribute to Neil. To you, our fans, your steadfast support is what has made this a reality. Forever grateful!”

The reviews of the first few shows of the tour have been rapturous. Mojo have called it “an epic comeback”, whilst Rolling Stone described as “one of the most emotional Rush concerts ever” and praising the performances of all three members of the trio.

Anika Nilles, of course, was under the most scrutiny, and by all accounts did a superlative job behind the kit. Writing on Instagram last week, prog drumming legend Mike Portnoy was unstinting in his praise: “Anika absolutely KILLED IT in the best way imaginable... She really is the perfect choice for this!”

What the Oasis tour was last year to the Britpop crowd, Rush’s reunion is to the prog community. They’re touring through to April next year, but if you’re still wavering about getting a ticket you’re advised to move fast.

Rick Beato has sat down with Anika Nilles and found out a bit more about her preparation in the run-up to her big gig last weekend – the opening night of Rush’s Fifty Something reunion tour.

The first show in LA on Sunday was a triumph for Rush – and Nilles personally – with fans and contemporaries of the band such as Mike Portnoy queuing up to praise her performance.

Nilles started off by talking about the new Bubinga kit she’s using for the tour. “A Maple kit is more of an all-round kit so you have all the frequencies there which is really in balance, but with the Bubinga you have that bottom end, it’s more phat and depending on the tuning you can still really have that super punchy tone. It’s what I played on the Jeff Beck tour.

"For huge stages and big venues, the Bubinga works really good. It’s not my go-to choice when I play in smaller venues, because it’s too boomy. But for this kind of stage, it’s the perfect wood.”

Asked how she learned Rush’s extensive back catalogue, she admitted: “I have no idea. Sometimes I was sitting there and thought, 'I have no idea how I'm learning that,' but somehow it's working because I learned those songs in a completely different way. My preparation was so different to how I prepare myself usually.“

"Usually I just listen, then I make a quick chart for myself to have it visually in front of my eyes and then I just listen, read and play. And I figured with this, it doesn't work right. So sometimes you cannot really write it out because a lot of it is also kind of a feeling."

Writing it out would have just taken too much time, she said. “And I thought, I don't have that time. I just have to listen, make chunks for myself and just learn it step by step and then this is how I did it. But just memorizing all the parts is one thing and then learning the feeling is a different thing.”

Nilles got the gig via Geddy Lee’s bass tech John ‘Skully’ McIntosh, who also worked with Jeff Beck. Once she signed up to joining the band it was a matter of deep research. “I was diving directly into the Rush rabbit hole and just listened to everything I could catch – music, videos, live shows – everything you could find online, just to get to know the songs a bit better, because I just knew a bunch.”

She explained that in a way they were learning or re-learning together. After all, Lee and Lifeson hadn’t played as Rush for over a decade. “We all kind of started a little bit together from scratch,” she said. “I mean, they didn't really start from scratch, but as a trio, we had to find a way to come together.

"And it's one thing when you come into a band and everyone knows everything and it's just like playing, it’s smooth because they're doing it every day onstage and you're the newbie (who) has to adjust and learn all this. It didn't feel like that. So (that) definitely took the pressure a little bit off my shoulders.”

It’s remembered as one of the greatest electronic music performances in history – and the one that 'broke' EDM in the US – but Daft Punk’s legendary 2006 set at Coachella was no walk in the park for its protagonists.

This marked the debut of the band’s now iconic LED pyramid stage, which the duo the duo – Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo – went on to use on their Alive tour.

The only problem, Bangalter now tells The Times, is that the performance took place in the intense heat of the desert, which meant that performing in their trademark robot helmets and leather jackets was uncomfortable, to say the least. So, knowing that conditions were going to be difficult, Bangalter came up with an unconventional way of preparing when they had their final rehearsal.

“I said to Guy-Man, ‘Let’s wear ski jackets – if we get through that anything will be easy,’” he remembers. “And that’s what we did – it was the worst ever.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Bangalter reflects on Daft Punk’s legacy, and says that there was never any grand plan.

“We accidentally worked on these structures that ended up becoming retro-futuristic electronic pop music,” he confirms.

Bangalter also touches on how he feels now that Daft Punk are over – “I was one of the robots, but now I’m just a human without any superpowers" – and says that he made a conscious effort to move away from electronic music after he and Homem-Christo called time on the band in 2021.

“After Daft Punk, I almost took the resolution of saying, ‘I don’t want to program things.’ It’s a very tedious [means of] construction,” he says.

Sure enough, Bangalter’s first post-Daft Punk project was a 90-minute orchestral score for a new ballet, Mythologies, but he did return to the DJ booth alongside Fred Again in 2025, their set featured plenty of his former band’s songs.

Bangalter is quick to shut down any talk of a reunion, though. “Most of the Daft Punk songs were played by Fred,” he points out, before suggesting that he wouldn’t want to risk damaging the band’s legacy by going back to it.

“I’m really happy that throughout our long run we were able to not screw it up,” says Bangalter. “There are other things to explore.”

Mike Portnoy has given an unequivocal thumbs-up to Anika Nilles after the first show of Rush’s Fifty Something tour on Sunday night.

Nilles, of course, is stepping into some big, big shoes – Neil Peart’s no less. But the opening gig of the prog legends’ reunion tour at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum went without a hitch, and fellow drummer Portnoy was fulsome in his praise of her.

Writing on Instagram, Portnoy said: "What can I say that hasn't been written already by everybody online today…? It was magical! The setlist was absolutely PERFECT!! (and to think they still have around three other variations up their sleeves to come…) Anika absolutely KILLED IT in the best way imaginable. I was so happy for her…nailing all of the big Neil moments with a giant smile on her face the whole time! She really is the perfect choice for this!”

“The tributes to Neil throughout the show were so tasteful and emotional. (Yes I'll admit I cried at a few points) The production was absolutely INSANE... And most importantly of all, I am so happy for Geddy and Alex to be able to do this again! Seeing this tour come to life, it very obvious this needed to happen. As not only a proper tribute to Neil, but most importantly to honour the legacy of this band. Geddy and Alex deserve it. And the fans deserve it as well…"

Like countless other Rush fans around the globe, Portnoy caught the show via Youtube. "I'm still trying to figure out which show I will be able to attend (likely NYC or Philly),” he continued. “But I will be counting the days until I can witness this in person and soak up every single moment… Welcome back Rush!”

There had been rumours that the Dream Theater man might be the one to replace the late Peart, but in an interview with the Brazilian podcaster Regis Tadeu, Portnoy said that he had never been approached. “I'd be lying if I denied that, of course, playing with those guys would be a dream come true. Of course. And I love and respect not only Rush's music, but Neil Peart as a person and as a drummer.”

“But in a way I'm kind of relieved they didn't ask me, because that's a very tough role to walk into. I think for Anika, she's gonna have a lot of people making inevitable comparisons. There's no way around it. So that's gonna be a very tough gig to have.”

Tough gig or not, Nilles appears to have passed her biggest test with flying colours.

Olivia Rodrigo is officially in her Robert Smith era. First, she namechecked one of his songs, Just Like Heaven, in her comeback single, Drop Dead, and then its follow-up turned out to be called The Cure (although she later clarified that this has "nothing to do with the band, The Cure")

Now, ahead of the release of her third album, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love, she’s not only confirmed that it contains a duet with Smith, What's Wrong With Me, but also debuted it during her surprise set at this weekend’s Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona.

Introducing the song, Rodrigo noted that this is the first time she’s had a featured artist on any of her studio albums, and that she’s over the moon to have Smith involved. “I just can’t believe that this song exists with the person that it exists with,” she said.

The star then sang the first verse and chorus of What's Wrong With Me – a sweet but anguished tale of longing, by the sounds of it – before introducing Smith so that he could sing his verse. The pair then harmonised on more choruses and a bridge.

Writing on Instagram after the performance, Rodrigo said: “I am still in disbelief that Robert who is in my eyes one of the most brilliant, legendary, wonderful people to ever exist is on this record with me. I had the most memorable evening singing it with him at primavera tonight and I cannot wait for this song and record to be yours.”

While Smith’s involvement on You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love had not previously been confirmed, it doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. After joining Rodrigo on stage at Glastonbury last year to sing two Cure songs with her, he later said that they’d stayed in touch and “enjoyed a couple of memorable nights in the studio together.”

“I bought Sour, and then Guts (both on CD!),” Smith told British Vogue. “Although most of the songs on those two albums are not really ‘aimed at my demographic’(!), they are all so good that it is hard not to fall in love with them.”

Rodrigo’s Primavera set also gave her the opportunity to give a live audience debut to The Cure, though she did previously record a version of it for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge.

Having heard two singles – Drop Dead and The Cure – we already know what a portion of Olivia Rodrigo’s third album is going to sound like, but she may just have given us another hint of where her musical head is right with the revelation that her current listening is focused on just one band and album.

“Weezer is like my favourite band at the moment,” she reveals in an interview with Dazed. “I’m super into Pinkerton – it’s the only album I listen to these days.”

Though now regarded as one of Weezer's finest hours, the band’s frontman, Rivers Cuomo, recalled in a 2010 interview that the critical reaction to Pinkerton, the band’s second album, was anything but pretty. A rougher, more ragged record than their eponymous debut, it was self-produced by the band and designed to better reflect what they sounded like on stage.

"We put out Pinkerton, and it seemed like what I was hearing at that point was, 'What happened to our fun band?’” reflected Cuomo. “‘They're catchy and poppy and fun and energetic, and now they're...bizarre, grotesque, obscene, noisy...' And at the same time, it was such a personal record for me. I felt like I was saying, 'OK, world! Here's the truth. Here's what I'm really like.'

"I guess part of me assumed that it was going to be very successful, and I'd become like this superstar, because the record was so focused on me. And it came out and sold a tenth of the Blue Album...That was just crushing for me - all of that together - and it took a while to build up the confidence to even step back in the spotlight again."

Critics and fans have now reappraised Pinkerton, to the extent that it’s now considered a ‘90s classic. Rodrigo wasn’t even born when it came out, in 1996, but that hasn’t stopped her forming a deep relationship with both band and album. In fact, she invited members of Weezer to perform with her during a festival show in 2025.

“I was so lucky to get to perform with them at Lollapalooza last year,” she says now. “It was so, so special and those songs are just so well made and brilliant. I just love them and they inspire me to be weirder and more myself.”

Speaking of festivals, Rodrigo also reflected again on her performance at Glastonbury last year. “I think it truly was the best weekend I’ve ever had in my 23 years,” she says. “All the people that I love, my whole family and all my friends, came over.”

Much as she enjoyed it, though, the fact that she got to perform with another of her musical inspirations meant that one particular member of her family may have cherished the experience even more.

“I got to sing two songs with Robert Smith from The Cure, who is one of my heroes,” she says. “I think it was the happiest that I’ve ever seen my dad, too. His screensaver is still a picture of him and Robert Smith.”

With the release of her new album just a week away (it comes out on 12 June), Rodrigo also discussed her own music-making, and one instrument that‘s of particular importance to her.

“Piano is the first instrument that I learned how to play – I was, like, nine when I started,” she says. “I’m no maestro by any means, but it’s so much fun for me to play and I love writing songs on piano. I wrote a few of the songs on You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love on piano, and one of them is my favourite song on the record I think – it always changes.

“But good old faithful piano – always there for me when I need it.”

Barry Manilow says that he’s unsure that his voice will ever return to what it was after undergoing surgery for lung cancer.

The 82-year-old MOR star has been battling cancer for some time and last December had to have a tumour removed from his lung, forcing him to cancel a number of shows as well as his Las Vegas residency.

Now in a new interview with Good Morning America, the singer admitted: “My voice, I don’t know whether it’s coming back.”

“I did my first sound check about a month ago, and I didn’t sound like me at all. I just couldn’t believe that it’s over.” He added that the discovery is “really upsetting because I don’t want to stop.”

“I looked at my band, and they were all looking at the floor,” he continued. “So that was the first hint that something was not right. I’ve always taken my voice for granted. I don’t take it seriously. Now I do, because it doesn’t seem to be there the way it always was.”

Hmmm. He had better locate it soon, for the sake of his UK fans, at the very least – Manilow starts a short British tour next week in Glasgow, what are being billed as ‘The Last Last Concerts’.

Except that they really aren’t. At the end of this month, he starts a two-month US tour, followed by the rest of that Las Vegas residency.

Other than the little matter of not being able to sing, the singer/songwriter behind such standards as Could It Be Magic and Mandy told the TV show that: “I’m doing good. It took longer than I thought it was going to take to get past this lung cancer.”

He admitted that when he was first diagnosed, he “paid no attention to it. It was just too heavy for me.” Doctors suggested that he have the surgery rather than go through chemotherapy, but then he had a setback when he contracted pneumonia. “I was in the ICU for seven days, because they couldn’t grasp this pneumonia that was just about killing me.”

But he insists he’s right as rain now, aside from the little matter of his pipes: “I’m in great shape, I’m ready to go. I just hope my voice is there. If I sound good, that would be just great!”

In the tinder box that is the United States in mid-2026, it seems the smallest of gestures can start a fire. And so it is that the Black Crowes – not a group who have ever really been known as political firebrands – have found themselves caught up in a controversy that ended with them getting booed at a gig on Sunday night in Tampa.

The band were playing a date on their Southern Hospitality tour when a visual on the big screens showed the band’s Black Crowe character dressed as Uncle Sam. At this, a section of the crowd started chanting ‘U-S-A! U-S-A!’

Frontman Chris Robinson responded to the crowd, saying: “Thanks for the geography lesson.” When they continued, the singer added: "I don't know what you have to be so proud of right now."

This, it quickly became clear, was a red rag to a bull and booing ensued, with many in the crowd choosing to leave the gig altogether.

This prompted Robinson to address the crowd, saying: “Some of us have real faith. AND for those of you f***ing booing us, some of us are not afraid and most assuredly are not f***ing ignorant.”

In a career that dates back almost 40 years, the Crowes have rarely addressed political issues in their music. Indeed in a Mojo interview from early this year, Chris Robinson said: "I'm not interested in politics.”

However, he did add: "(But) I know what’s right and wrong – and this sh*t going on right now is wrong. Look man, I’m almost 60, alright? I don’t tell anyone what to do, because I don’t like to be told what to do. But I know right and wrong. The world’s teetering on the edge with all this bulls**t, but if there’s a street fighting man out there, he’s got to be a young man, right? But these kids don’t seem to give a f***"

Anyway, the band have another 12 dates on their US tour to go, including a show tonight in St Augustine, Florida. It will be interesting if they receive a similar reaction...

They might be musically adventurous, but Radiohead have tended to favour wired instrument and mic setups over wireless solutions when they’re performing on stage.

That changed in 2025, though, when the band reunited and performed a run of European live shows. This time, they made use of the Sound Devices Astral Wireless technology, and Radiohead’s FOH mixer Simon Hodge has now been explaining what convinced them that it was time to make the switch.

“The technology always needed to catch up in a sonic sense,” he says. “The band doesn’t tend to change how they operate for the sake of changing; they only are interested in upgrades that will serve their musical goals.

“Although the band have used RF systems for guitars in the past, the opinion was always that it never sounded as good as a cable and would not be adopted,” he continues. “When we became aware of Sound Devices Astral, we realised that the team had gone to some effort to make sure it truly did sound like a jack and cable input with customizable capacitance and impedance. I remember thinking ‘We might finally have something interesting here.’”

The change wasn’t made without careful consideration, though. “After listening to it myself, we brought it into Jonny [Greenwood]’s studio and did some blind tests between Astral and their preferred cables,” Hodge says. “We all listened and even the most cynical guitar techs were impressed! The quality of the audio path was obvious, and it wasn’t changing the sound at all.”

In the end, Radiohead ended up using three Sound Devices Astral ARX32 Wireless Receivers, 42 Astral TX Digital Wireless Bodypack Transmitters, and six Astral HH Wireless Handheld Microphones for their stage show. There was also the Astral Guitar Cable, which appealed to the band because of its selectable input impedance and cable capacitance, which enabled them to match their cabled setups.

The wireless gear also helped with when band members switched guitars during the set. Together with Radiohead’s RF Tech Matt Hayes, Hodge designed a custom solution which fed the Astral ARX32 inputs into a Prodigy Audio Processor via Dante and, used custom Streamdeck controllers to provide easy accessibility to both the band and their respective guitar techs.

“The band travels with dozens of guitars, Ed O’Brien himself had 32 on this run,” Hodge reports. “This was the first time we could have all 32 at once accessible and easily switchable in the same interface, a choice that either the musician or tech can make as needed.

“The need for quick, seamless changes in a live show is incredibly important and often more challenging when done in an ‘in the round’ setup as we had,” he continues. “The ease of use in the Astral UI allowed us to manipulate the signal flow seamlessly, which worked really well for the logistics of the show and allowed us total control with no compromises.”

It sounds like the Astral Wireless gear is here to stay, then, having stood up to the challenges of live performance without detracting from the overall spectacle.

“The band is very invested in the experience being as real as possible without any ‘fixes’ or gimmicks,” says Hodge (there are no backing tracks or Auto-Tune in play). “There’s a lot of pressure for these shows to be amazing given the following that the band have. This is countered by the fact that the band are extremely reasonable people who are very invested in their output and their fans, so they enjoy the challenge to get the best results, rather than deferring to ‘easier’ solutions.”

Summarising what makes the Sound Devices kit different, Hodge says: “It was an excellent experience for both the band and the fans because the setup allowed it to be intimate while still giving us excellent control of all the sonic and visual details that are so important,” he says. “We are all very invested in that personal experience and anything added only makes the cut if it’s guaranteed to do that.”

“The Astral Guitar System ended up being a game changer for us, and the band have been quite happy with the results on stage.”

In what feels like it could have been a scene from the movie itself, a piano-playing audience member at an orchestral showing of the 2016 musical La La Land has just stepped in for the on-stage keyboard player after they fell ill during the interval.

The Hollywood-worthy incident took place in Sydney, Australia on Saturday at the ICC’s Darling Harbour theatre. The first half of the show had proceeded without incident, but as the scheduled interval stretched out to 40 minutes, audience members started to wonder what was going on.

It was at this point that Justin Hurwitz, the La La Land score composer who was conducting on the night, stepped out onto the stage and asked if there happened to be a pianist in the audience who was also a top-notch sight-reader. It turns out that no one else in the orchestra was capable of filling in, and attempts to recruit a replacement player who could get to the theatre quick enough had failed.

“I figured nobody’s as close as they say they are … so I just thought, well, we have 2,500 people in here,” Hurwitz told Guardian Australia. “Yes, it was a gamble.”

Enter the suitably heroically named Sterling Nasa, a 21-year-old politics and international studies student at the University of Sydney, who was attending the show with his friend.

Knowing his skills on the piano and organ – and indeed the bagpipes, it turns out – she encouraged Nasa to boldly go where no audience member had gone before and put his hand up.

After Hurwitz had asked a few follow-up questions – “Are you sure? Can you really sight-read? Can you play key signatures you’ve never played before?” – Nasa took his place on the stage. However, having seen La La Land before, he must have known that he was soon to be faced with one of the toughest challenges in the score – the synth solo that Ryan Gosling’s character plays (on a ROLI Seaboard, funnily enough) when he’s on stage with John Legend during the song Start A Fire.

“The synth solo is really technical, and I thought, even a really high-level professional sight-reader would probably not be able to do it,” says Hurwitz. “As it was coming up, I was thinking, ‘Oh no, how’s he going to be able to handle the solo?’”

Nasa was equally concerned – “I saw it on the score and I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sight-read that in one go,’” – so decided to do what most musicians have done from time to time during a performance: wing it.

“I took a little bit of a creative liberty and just decided to improvise, which I think ended up being a good choice,” said Nasa.

Hurwitz agrees: “To be able to play a really cool solo in the right key, in the right scale, on the fly with no rehearsal – it was remarkable,” he said.

Cue Nasa’s 15 minutes of well-deserved fame – he’s been doing the media rounds since his performance. However, having lived his La La Land dream, he will now return to his university studies.

To quote Mia, Emma Stone’s character from the film, though: "Here's to the fools who dream, crazy as they may seem."

Oh dear. The lineup of performers at the Trump administration’s ‘Great American State Fair’ has already been depleted, with a number of them dropping out as soon as they were announced.

The event is a ‘world’s fair’-type affair to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the United States. However, five acts have already said they want no part of it, the latest being ex-Poison singer Bret Michaels.

In an Instagram post, Michaels said that he originally thought the event would be a “celebration of our country through music” and a chance to honour “hardworking Americans from all walks of life.”

“Unfortunately,” he wrote. “What was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of.”

“I’ve spent my entire career bringing people together through music, positivity and good vibes. My shows have never been about politics.”

Alas neither will there be any good vibes from country singer Martina McBride, who has also dropped out. In her statement, she said she had been led to believe that the State Fair was going to be a “non-partisan event” but “things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”

She added: “I've spent my entire career singing songs about real people with real issues. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to be a voice for those who have felt like they didn’t have one. It greatly upsets me that any fan who has been moved by my music may now feel like I'm abandoning the meaning behind those songs. I assure you, that is not the case.”

Meanwhile the Commodores have now also said nope. “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party. We support the betterment of all Americans,” they said. They all join Young MC and Morris Day and The Time who had already pulled out a few days ago.

So who does that leave? Er… Flo Rida, C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli. Tickets are free but punters are encouraged to register for them upfront. Don’t all rush at once.

That rather threadbare bill stands in some contrast to the event which Tom Morello is putting together for October in Maryland. Already confirmed for the Power To The People Festival are Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Public Enemy, Joan Baez, Serj Tankian from System Of A Down, Cypress Hill and Killer Mike. According to Morello, it will be a "a celebration of peace, justice, solidarity, music, and community action."

If you’re in the public eye, having a social media presence is one of those things that are unpleasant but which you cannot really avoid in 2026, like filling in a tax return or dealing with the food waste.

And if it’s even more unpleasant if you’re female and not lucky enough to be endowed with a size 10 figure. The experience of CMAT after her appearance at the Radio 1 Big Weekend in Sunderland last week was sadly not unusual – the Irish singer-songwriter copped a load of online abuse, not because of something outrageous she said or an on-stage malfunction, but simply because of her weight.

But to her credit, the artist whose acronymic moniker is short for Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, has confronted the abuse head-on in a new Instagram post.

In a candid, but humorous missive, she said that “It is literally so boring for me, a gorgeous genius, to keep having to yap on about how horribly I am treated because of my body. I would love to stop but I cannot because it keeps happening, at an accelerating and worsening pace as I become more famous.”

“There is no relief from this - nobody can protect me or save me from this, and all that is demanded of me is more and more work as every environment I am placed in becomes more hostile.”

She pointed out that this wasn’t some sort of act of fist-waving defiance. “I am not choosing to look like this or weigh this much as some kind of punk rock act of liberty. I simply have a body, one that I would of course like to change in order to fit in and avoid all of this abuse, but I have had extreme difficulty in doing so."

“I don’t get a say in whether or not I want to be brave, I simply have to sit here and take it.”

The 30 year singer said she was self-aware enough to know that she is “very very happy and grateful” to have the job that she has, “but the success is increasingly becoming tarnished by the fact that I would be allowed to enjoy it so much more if I was thin.”

And if that last sentence doesn’t make you feel at least a little sad, then it really is time to check your pulse.

Thom Yorke made a surprise appearance with Flea last night in London, the first time the two Atoms For Peace bandmates have played live together for some time.

Flea was appearing at KOKO in Camden, the only UK date on his current Honora tour and brought out Yorke to play Traffic Lights, their recent collab on Flea’s solo album. Check out the footage below:

And they followed that with a 10 minute version of Marvin Gaye’s funk classic Got To Give It Up, with – as you’d expect - the Radiohead singer bringing the falsetto vocals.

It comes a week after Yorke was honoured at the Ivor Novello Awards with their Academy Fellowship Award. In time-honoured Thom Yorke-style, he used his acceptance speech to bemoan all those horrible music industry people, saying: “This industry will die and arseholes with it, if all you do is devalue the next generation of artists and their fans. Just remember: without us, you ain’t shit!”

Lovely.

At the Ivors, he also revealed that he’s putting together a new solo album. “It’s been a really fun process, and it’s pretty f***ing different for me.”

Yorke added: “I’m too close to it to know for certain. I get moments of going, ‘This is good, I like this’. That’s enough for me. What else can I say about it? There’s a song called Arse-Kissers.”

Positive community action is not something that thrash metal bands are generally known for – it’s usually seen as a bit fluffy and do-goodery for them. But Metallica have stuck their neck above that particular parapet – they’ve announced that they’re to team up with the Welsh Blood Service for their upcoming gig at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium to encourage fans to donate blood and plasma.

During the week leading up to the show on June 28 and after, dedicated blood donation sessions will run across Wales. The band have also said that they are looking to put in place similar agreements with England's NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service to coincide with their dates at Glasgow’s Hampden Park (June 25) and the London Stadium (July 3 and 5).

A spokesperson for the band explained about the idea: "Wherever we go on tour, we want to give something meaningful back to the communities that welcome us. Looking out for one another and supporting those who rely on donated blood every day is a simple act that can make a powerful difference."

"As we close out the European leg of the M72 World Tour in the UK, we're asking fans to step up and be part of something bigger."

This isn’t just UK-specific. For the band’s M72 world tour, Metallica put together a charitable foundation, All Within My Hands, which proactively encourages new and existing blood donors during the duration of the tour. One gig in Philadelphia saw fans donate 152 units of blood.

Alan Prosser, Director of the Welsh Blood Service, described the team up with Metallica as “a truly unique moment for blood donation across the UK.”

His colleague Alan Harris explained to the BBC: "We actually found out about this because of the success of a similar promotion in the United States and Australia. It's led to thousands of people donating blood, that may or may not think about donating, which is what's really important about this partnership."

And there is an ongoing need for blood, which only has a shelf life of 35 days. The NHS simply cannot do without it, for cancer patients, new mothers, those living with long-term conditions such as sickle cell, as well as in Accident and Emergency departments. "It's really important we keep a steady supply,” Prosser added.

Diplo has DJed all over the world and at some pretty high class events during his career, but his gig on Saturday (May 23) was the one he’s calling “the most exclusive party of the year” – his own son’s kindergarten graduation.

Yes, the 47-year-old producer, known to his own mum as Thomas Wesley Prentz, was behind the decks, spinning tunes for 6-year-old Pace and his friends, who, as you can see in the video, are seen leaping around and enjoying themselves.

“Adding my son’s kindergarten graduation to the list of most important sets of my career,” he captioned the clip on Instagram.

And being the always-on pro that he is, Diplo even managed to sneak his new single, titled Two Steppin’, into the video. “Are you ready to go crazy?” he asks the youngsters, waving his arms in the arm and hyping them up like any good kids entertainer worth their salt.

Social media seemed to love it – ‘lucky kids’, ‘this is the sweetest cutest thing ever!’ and ‘this is so great’ were some of the reactions. But whilst his classmates also seemed to be having fun, young Pace’s own reaction is not known. Is dad ‘sooo embarrassing’? Or does this 6-year-old now think he’s actually cool...?

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert came to an end last night (21 May) with a very special surprise guest – literally - switching off the lights: Paul McCartney.

Macca’s presence was significant since the show is, well, was filmed at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, famous, of course, for being the site of the Beatles record-breaking appearance on Sullivan’s TV show in February 1964, seen by a mind-boggling 73 million Americans.

The 83-year-old Beatle, who releases his The Boys Of Dungeon Lane album next week, spoke about his memories of that first US TV appearance: “We were a little bit nervous, but we’re young kids and we’re sort of full of ourselves. It was very exciting. America’s where all the music we loved came from - rock ‘n’ roll, the blues and the whole thing, even going back to Fred Astaire. The land of the free; the greatest democracy,” he recalled, before adding, perhaps pointedly: “That was what it was, and still is, hopefully.”

And it was McCartney who played the show out with The Beatles' Hello Goodbye, which featured another of the last show’s guests, Elvis Costello, Jon Batiste, Louis Cato and Colbert himself on backing vocals. At the song’s Hawaiian-style coda, other guests from the show came on stage, then crew members, before the scene cut to Colbert and McCartney in the theatre’s basement, debating who should be the one to cut the power on the show.

Earlier on, Colbert had got to fulfil a long-time wish by performing Jump Up, a somewhat obscure Elvis Costello song, with its composer.

Back in 2012, in an interview with NPR Live, he spoke about his admiration: “I love the song because it’s sort of a satirical song… I’ve always loved that line ‘it’s a two-horse race, and he changes bets like it was another brand of cigarettes.’ And back, long before I did political satire, I thought, yeah, isn’t that interesting.”

And so departs one of the mainstays of late night TV, for it’s not just Colbert that’s leaving but The Late Show itself – CBS announced it was cancelling it last year, with the network claiming the decision was financial and nothing at all to do with Colbert’s criticism of Trump.

Music has always been a key part of the show’s format and its termination means there’s one less nightly slot for live music on network TV. Whatever your shade of politics, that has to be a crying shame.

Live sound technology has come a long way over the past 60 years, but one microphone has stayed front and centre throughout: Shure’s SM58.

Still viewed as one of the most reliable and consistent dynamic mics in the world, the SM58 remains a staple on stages around the world. And you won’t just find it in pubs and clubs: despite its affordability, even some big-name popstars continue to swear by it – Olivia Dean, for example.

Dean is something of an outlier among many of her pop peers in that she prefers a wired mic to a wireless setup when she’s performing, and Shure’s bombproof classic is one of her go-to models.

“The SM58 has been a staple of my live show for years,” she says. “Having the right microphone is so important to me; I need something reliable and durable and the SM58 has that warm, crisp and classic sound that I love.”

That said, on her current tour, Dean isn’t using just any old SM58: “We ended up going with a chrome finish for The Art of Loving Tour, which fits perfectly with the show design,” she says.

As well as being famed for its sound, the SM58 is also favoured by live engineers because of its cardioid pickup pattern, which helps to minimise feedback and background noise.

And then there’s that durability: Swedish magazine Studio once tested an SM58 after using it as a hammer, dropping it, freezing it, submerging it in water and running over it with a car, and it still worked. In fact, it continued to do its duties even after it had then been buried in the ground and endured rain, snow and more freezing temperatures.

It’s not just live sound history that the SM58 has been part of, either – it’s also been used on a few famous recordings, sometimes in rather unusual environments.

Speaking in 2024, the Human League’s Phil Oakey revealed that it was Shure’s mic that he had in his hand when he sang on their hit Don’t You Want Me, and that the take was captured while he was standing in a Sheffield studio toilet.

Speaking in celebration of the SM58’s 60th birthday, Chris Schyvinck, President and CEO of Shure, said: “Very few products remain relevant for 60 years, let alone become the industry benchmark. The SM58 has been trusted across generations not because of trends, but because it works, night after night, show after show.”

As Sam Battle (AKA Look Mum No Computer) prepares to represent the UK in the final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the odds are certainly stacked against him.

For the benefit of those who don’t follow Eurovision, we should say that the United Kingdom’s scoring record in recent years has been pretty abysmal, with only a guitar-toting Sam Ryder, in 2022, managing to make an impression (he finished a very creditable second, just behind Ukraine).

What we can say for certain, though, is that Battle is staying true to his eccentric electronic music roots. We got our first look at his performance of his song, Eins, Zwei, Drei, during Thursday night’s second semi-final, and this has him leaning into the mad professor shtick that has become his trademark. And, in keeping with his DIY philosophy, he also plays his own self-built “mega-synthesizer”.

In fact, Battle was heavily involved in all the staging. Speaking to the Press Association this week, he revealed that there were certain things he couldn’t do because “the BBC didn’t trust my welding,” but apparently he did have a hand in the electronics and props.

Indeed, it was Battle who built the synth panels that you can see on stage with him. "Many holes were drilled," he told the BBC. "I drilled so many holes that my nipples chafed. True story.”

We don’t doubt it, but there could be more pain to come for Battle if he ends up with the dreaded ‘nil points’ in the public vote on Saturday night. He’s phlegmatic about that possibility, though: "I always say to expect nothing," he says. "Because if you expect nothing, you lose nothing.”

That’s probably as good a way of looking at it as any, and if Battle does fail to trouble the scorers, at least he’ll have a story to tell – and possibly a merch opportunity.

“That’s a really good T-shirt: Look Mum No Points,” he argues.

Best of luck, Sam – you’re probably going to need it.

In the ongoing smartphones at gigs debate, Billie Eilish has plonked herself firmly in the pro-phone camp.

In a new interview with NME to promote her James Cameron-directed 3D concert movie Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter described using a phone as habitual for her generation. “I just think that’s what it’s like. My generation, and the generations below, we love to film stuff. All I do is film and take pictures of stuff – all of the time.”

“I guess some people do it for clout or whatever, but who cares?” she continued. “It’s like you want to share what you experience. And for me, I mean, when I would go to concerts or festivals, I would film every single minute of it, and you know what I would do? I would watch every single video that I took over and over and over and over until I had this audio of the crowd memorised.”

“It’s an important part of the culture that we are all on our goddamn phones and it keeps us connected, you know? It does. It’s like yes, there are huge cons and social media is dark, but we get to share through the internet - and I wouldn’t have a career without the internet. I wouldn’t have fans. I wouldn’t have the connection that I do without the internet to them.”

Many artists have complained about the overuse of smartphones at gigs, the argument being that instead of being in the moment and enjoying the music, punters are invariably holding their phones up to record the footage (two thirds of which doesn’t ever get watched, apparently). The likes of Bob Dylan, Jack White, Mitski and Ghost have all banned smartphones from their gigs.

However, some have argued against such a proscriptive approach. In a 2024 interview with the BBC, Damon Albarn asked: “If you start banning things where does it end? I think you’ve just got to turn up and do your thing. People won’t want to be on their phone if you’re engaging with them correctly.”

In her NME interview, Eilish did confirm that she was currently working on a follow-up to 2024’s Hit Me Hard And Soft. “We are working on new music. It’s happening. It’ll be a second but we’re deep in album mode and it’s really fun."

“We’re having a really good time which maybe means it’ll be really s*** because (it’s rare that I have) a good time (while making an album)… But we’re right in the middle of it and it’s feeling really good.”

It can sometimes feel like anything goes at the Eurovision Song Contest, but the fact is that participating countries and contestants are required to stick to a pretty rigid set of rules.

One obvious example is that lead vocals must be performed live on stage. Instrument parts, on the other hand, have to be pre-recorded.

Or so everyone thought until it emerged this week that Linda Lampenius, who’s representing Finland alongside Pete Parkkonen, will be able to play her violin during their performance of their song, Liekinheitin.

So, why the exception? It seems that it all comes down to practicality: producers have just minutes between performances to clear the stage and get ready for the next act, so it would be pretty much impossible to get a live band or orchestra set up in the time available.

This year, though, it’s become clear that exceptions are possible when a specific request is made and the live instrumentation is deemed to be “artistically justified”.

We got our first look at Finland’s entry in this week’s first Eurovision semi-final, and when you witness Lampenius’s fiery shredding towards the end – the strings on her bow appeared to be disintegrating, such was its ferocity – it’s hard to deny that the decision to let her play for real was the right one.

Does this give the Finnish duo an unfair advantage, though? Not according to Eurovision Song Contest director Martin Green, who was asked by the Eurotrip podcast this week if other countries have asked for similar dispensation.

The interviewer was referring specifically to Luxemburg and Switzerland, whose performers – Eva Marija and Veronica Fusaro – are set to appear on stage with a violin and electric guitar respectively. Green confirmed that neither country’s broadcaster made an official request for their artist to play live, and also argued that it’s not a huge deal in any case.

“It doesn’t fundamentally affect anybody’s songs because the performances are so amazing anyway, right? So it’s very much a ‘nice to have’ and we’re happy to do it where we can.”

Having qualified earlier this week, we’ll get another chance to see Linda Lampenius’s blazing violin playing in Saturday’s final. Luxemburg and Switzerland, meanwhile, are among the countries vying to qualify from tonight’s second semi-final.

Paul McCartney has a lot of time for Bob Dylan, but even the ex-Beatle admits that seeing him live can sometimes be hard work.

Speaking to The Rest Is Entertainment, McCartney reflected on Dylan’s habit of either ‘reinterpreting’ his older material or ignoring it completely, and gently suggested that he might like to consider giving a little more thought to his audience.

“I've been to see a couple of shows of Bob's and I couldn't tell what the song was that he was doing,” says Sir Paul. “Now, that's a bit much because, I mean, I know his stuff and, you know, I get it if he doesn't want to do Mr Tambourine Man, you know, maybe he's fed up with that, but I would like to hear it. And I've paid.”

McCartney has previously admitted that he sometimes wishes he could be a bit more like Dylan – “He’s legendary… and doesn’t give a shit!” he told Uncut in 2020 – but in reality, he says that he remains happy to perform in the service of the people who pay the money and come to his shows.

“What is it you're trying to achieve?” he ponders. “If you're going out to do a show, I know who's in my audience most of the time. And it's kind of families. So it can be granddads [who are] sort of my age or it can be their kids. And then it could be their kids. So, it's quite a spread. I think, ‘well, we could do songs they don't know – I’ve a lot of black holes – but they've paid a lot of money.’”

McCartney returns to this theme of providing value to his fans later in the interview: “They've all paid to come in and they're not necessarily all rich,” he says. “So, I think, why wouldn't I give them what they want?”

Despite his reputation as a crowdpleaser, though, McCartney adds that he does still like to play both his new material – his latest album, The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, will be released on 29 May – but accepts that this is as much for him and his band as it is the paying public.

“We put in a few songs that they don't particularly like, but we enjoy playing those,” he explains. “The band are just looking at each other going, ‘Yeah, this one. Yeah, we love this one.’”

Inevitably, though, it’s still those Beatles classics that get bums off seats, hands in the air and vocal cords throbbing, and in today’s world, McCartney thinks that’s more important than ever.

“You do something like Hey Jude and you see this whole audience singing together, and in Trump's America, the Republicans and Democrats all at each other's throats, when we do that song they're not. They're all loving it and it's like, wow, this is pretty amazing that suddenly this room has forgotten all of that and it's not, you know, we’re not all going to argue with each other – we're all just going to sing together.”

For new bands and artists, Britain's grassroots venue scene has long been key. But the classic evolutionary model of playing first to a small crowd of locals, then playing increasingly larger capacity spaces until you’re eventually selling out the biggest venue in your city is a pathway that seems harder than ever to navigate.

There’s the fact that many grassroots venues continue to operate at a loss, with 44% unable to to turn a profit in 2024 rising to 53.8% in 2025. Employment in the financially fragile sector fell from 30,885 people in 2024 to 24,242 in 2025, with issues stemming from a lack of investment from the government following Covid, gentrification of previously nightlife-focussed areas and the knock-on fatal impact of noise complaints.

At this year’s new artist-focussed Great Escape festival in Brighton (UK), the myriad issues concerning grassroots venues were the primary topic of focus for the first day of conferences.

We attended a fascinating discussion with three women who have united the city’s small venue scene in tandem with the the Music Venue Trust’s Music Venues Alliance, to nurture and support each other.

As noted in the discussion, the fact that technically they're all in competition with each other is dwarfed by the need to collaborate to maintain the scene.

Speaking at the conference were Megan Thompson from venue Joy, Annie Dorrett of the band Clt Dry and venue The Prince Albert, as well as Sally Oakenfold from The Hope and Ruin. All of which work together to run the city’s Homegrown festival. The discussion was moderated by AudioActive’s Adam Joolia.

“I feel like the grassroots venues are kind of like the unsung heroes of A&R,” said Thompson. “Nobody gives them credit for it. Essentially we’re the first places that are putting on bands that then go on and probably sell out UK tours, We're working with them to help them at that development stage.”

Megan cited the success of local band Lambrini Girls as a key example; “I remember putting on their first ever headline show downstairs at the Rossi Bar, I think it's insane that that ever happened. But, you can see in the way that they talk about the music scene that they've come from how much gratitude they have. Bands will always remember where they put on their first gig.”

The three discussed how the levy on large venues, festivals and arenas pushed to be made compulsory by the MVT could be a lifeline for the ailing sector. However, many larger venues still aren’t signed up to the scheme (only 8.8% of arena and stadiums are signed up at time of writing).

“You put CMAT on on a Sunday night, and it's not even sold out,” recalled Sally Oakenfold. “Then a couple of years later, CMAT’s selling out the [5,000 capacity] Brighton Centre and doing amazing - which is brilliant. But maybe some money can come back down to the bottom, where we're doing the A&R for a lot of these big companies That that would help and also recognise grassroots music as a culture.

“Funding is a very, very new thing for grassroots music venues.” Oakenfold continued, “But let me tell you, it makes a huge difference to how we can put things together. We couldn't have put on Brighton’s Homegrown festival without some funding from the Arts Council. It made it easier - but that’s how it should be. Thet’s how it should be all the time."

With the value of the proposed levy still somewhat hypothetical at this stage, then, Annie cited the rising costs of drinks for both venue and customer as something that was a particular drain on the economics of the industry.

“People are drinking less and trying to be healthier - and we’re trying not to rely on booze to have a good time,” Annie said. “But, I also think they’re conscious that the [price of a pint] adds up to practically an hour of [their] wage, especially for the people that are coming out to like the grassroots venues. That's how we make our money. So I think if the prices were put down a little bit and it was a bit more accessible, I think it would make a massive difference. Even if you're buying a pint of Coca-Cola, that's still really important to keep the business going,”

After losing a series of venues from their scene due to just single noise complaints, the issue of gentrification remains a major bone of contention; the potentially devastating legal costs of fighting a formal noise complaint are often insurmountable.

“I mean, getting a noise complaint is essentially a death sentence for a grassroots venue. It can be a really tricky thing, and it can cause a lot of panic,” said Megan. “We’re so lucky that we have Music Venue Alliance Brighton, where we can have direct conversations and understand the process a bit better, but maybe not every venue has that access. Music Venues Trust are good for helping with that.”

“That's one of the things that we've been doing with both with MVT and amongst ourselves, so that when a noise complaint comes in, we know what to do. We know the right procedure,” said Oakenfold. “We know who to write to, who to contact, how to mount a campaign to fight that noise complaint and how to deal with it. We can't just put the letter in the bin and pretend it hasn't happened. You have to deal with it.”

It’s the same with licensing issues, “We've got a much better relationship now with lease licensing and licensing, because we've talked to them, we've had meetings where we can explain why we want to do things. So it's about just educating yourself, sharing that knowledge and supporting each other when something happens. We need to rally around and shout about it.”

In the three years it’s been open, virtually every A-list artist on the planet has been asked about or pondered the possibility of playing The Sphere in Las Vegas. Now Californian prog metallers Tool have said that they almost certainly will and - according to guitarist Adam Jones – should have been the first act to play the futuristic venue back in 2023.

In a new interview with Ohio radio station 99.7 The Blitz, Jones revealed that: “We were supposed to open that place. We were asked, and because of ‘Game of Thrones’ band politics, we just couldn’t make it work. And then they ended up using U2, which I think we probably would’ve gotten bumped for anyway.”

He added, “But they have been really enthusiastic about us playing there, so we’ve been talking to them since it opened about doing some kind of residency there. And there’s just a lot of production details and budgeting and money and timing. So it’s complicated. But I think we will do it at some point.”

It’s not the first time that members of the band have hinted heavily about a Sphere residency. Back in February, drummer Danny Carey said that Tool have been in talks about a stint at the venue. In an interview with the Spiral Out podcast Carey said: “We’re hoping when we release the new record, maybe do a stint at the Sphere ’cause I think we’re the perfect band for that. We’ve been talking to those guys.”

Carey did say that “the preparation” involved in a Sphere residency would be “pretty intense”, explaining: “It’s a very expensive endeavour, and it takes a while to get into the black. I think (you have to play) quite a few shows before you make any money.”

Almost three years on from its opening, just a handful of acts have played the Sphere. At the moment, No Doubt are a week into their residency of 18 shows. Come September, the Mexican singer-songwriter Carin Leon is confirmed for seven nights, and then October sees the start of Metallica’s 24-night run. As yet, nothing is confirmed for the venue beyond March 2027.

Stevie Nicks’ appearance on Beyonce’s rumoured ‘rock album’ might still be pure speculation at the moment, but we can say for sure that the Fleetwood Mac legend has just performed with another current pop luminary.

The moment came at last night’s Met Gala, and saw Nicks being joined by Sabrina Carpenter for a performance of Landslide, a song that Nicks wrote for Fleetwood Mac’s eponymous 1975 album. This was the first on which she and Lindsey Buckingham featured.

The song was given a new lease of life recently when it was included in the finale of Netflix show Stranger Things.

At the Met Gala, Nicks began the song alone, before Carpenter joined her midway through the first verse. The two then traded lines and harmonised during the choruses.

Prior to coming back onstage to sing Landslide, Carpenter performed her own mini set, singing her hits House Tour, Espresso and Please Please Please.

The performance comes just a couple of weeks after Carpenter duetted with another legend, Madonna, during her second weekend set at Coachella.

Hey! Are you an artist or part of a group playing soul, jazz, funk, hip hop or something in that ballpark? Would you fancy playing at the Montreux Jazz Festival?

Duh! Of course, you would. Well, Thomann is running a competition with a slot at the prestigious event as the top prize.

Now in its 60th year, the event in the Swiss resort has a wide and varied bill this year that includes Pink Pantheress, Sting, Moby, The Roots, Raye, and Loyle Carner. The first prize in the Thomann competition is an hour-long set on a bill with that lot, plus a €3,000 performance fee, all hotel and travel costs covered AND €7,000 worth of equipment from Shure. And, of course, with the exposure of having played a major international festival, an immediate boost to your career...

There are two runner-up prizes as well, of Shure equipment worth €5,000 and €3,000 each.

So what do you have to do? Well, artists and bands are being asked to submit an application between May 4 and 17 – not before and not after – using an online registration form. Thomann will shortlist ten applications, after which ‘a community vote’ will determine three winners. Those three will in turn be ranked by a jury of experts from the music industry who will select the overall winner.

In a statement, Thomann says: “The organisers are looking for acts with the right sound to play on the Super Bock Stage. The festival no longer focuses solely on Jazz music, so the field is open to all of the different genres that make up the festival’s widely varied palette of modern live music."

"The goal is not to narrow creativity, but to find an act that is the best fit for this particular stage and festival setting.”

And most importantly, you’d have to be available on July 5 this year, which is when your live performance would take place – the festival runs from July 3 to 18. So if you’re on tour elsewhere on that day, think carefully about whether this is logistically possible...

For more information head over to the competition page on the Thomann website here.

You may have wondering what the Music Venue Trust has been doing with all those £1s it's been saving up from the levy some arena and stadium artists have been placing on their shows.

Well, good as its word, it's announced that it'll be putting the money to good use. Yesterday (27 April) it launched a coordinated programme of infrastructure upgrades for small venues across the country.

The first of what it's promising will be a number of campaigns is the Raise The Standard project, which is focused on improving the essentials that every working venue needs: sound systems, lighting rigs, backline and microphones (ie, the things that actually make a gig work).

In a statement, Beverley Whitrick, Strategic Director of Music Venue Trust, said: “Grassroots music venues cannot keep being expected to survive on goodwill and admiration alone. If the UK music industry is serious about protecting the talent pipeline, then it has to get serious about the economics that underpin it.

“This funding and the initiatives we are delivering are about practical change, lowering costs, improving infrastructure, rebuilding touring and creating a sector that is more resilient, more investable and fit for the future. Our goal is clear; don’t just fund problems, fix them.”

Other initiatives, it says, are in the pipeline. There is Stay The Night, which is designed to make it easier for artists to tour by providing accommodation for them. Announcing this via social media, the MVT said: “ This is about fixing some basic problems. Hotel costs are rising. Touring margins are shrinking. Bands are playing less shows per tour. Too many artists are out there trying to make it work without proper rest or support.”

Meanwhile, there is the Off The Grid programme, which the MVT hopes will ease and ultimately eliminate the long-term energy costs that many small venues face. As well as all this there is the Emergency Response Hardship Fund which targets small venues that are in immediate financial distress.

Last year only 8.8% of arena and stadium shows were signed up to providing the levy, the main refusenik thus far being Live Nation, who as we know is the dominant commercial force in live music all over the world.

The UK government has so far waited for the music industry to do the right thing regarding the levy. With a new King’s Speech due next month, it will interesting to see if it feels the time is finally right to legislate to make it compulsory...

It’s the sort of thing you’re surprised doesn’t happen more often.

Solo violinist Elina Vähälä was performing with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in Finland, with Matthew Hall conducting. All was going well until suddenly, the British conductor raised his left arm a bit too far and sent Vähälä’s instrument – a £1 million Guadagnini – flying.

Oh dear oh dear. As you can see from the footage, the music stopped. Hall apologised. Vähälä, though, thought quickly, and was able to cushion the precious instrument’s plummet to the floor. "It was incredible that I managed to get my foot in the way,” she said later.

As you can see, she stooped, dusted the violin down and after a wee bit of tuning up, resumed the piece she and the orchestra were performing – Max Bruch’s violin concerto. The show went on.

Fortunately there was no lasting damage to the instrument, as Vähälä later explained: "My Guadagnini is perfectly fine! And therefore - so am I.”

"The violin was thoroughly examined by luthier Jarkko Niemi. There are no cracks or even scratches, nothing is broken. The top was slightly detached from the ribs, which is a safety measure in cases of sudden humidity or pressure changes, preventing cracking. It has been glued back in place.”

And she attached no blame to Hall. “Music making with Sinfonia Lahti and conductor Matthew Halls was a tremendous pleasure and inspiration,” she said. “Matthew is a musician of the finest calibre and I can’t wait to work with him again. The orchestra sounded gorgeous. I am happy that we managed to finish the concerto despite of the scary interruption. The audience was breathing every second with us with full attention! What an evening.”

It’s a rare treat when an artist accustomed to packing out arenas drops by for a surprise performance at a more, well, intimate venue.

And venues don’t get more intimate than Pete’s Candy Store, a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that’s been holding an open mic night in its oh-so cosy back room on a Sunday for two decades. Last night was just another Sunday – until Olivia Rodrigo sauntered in and played her new single, Drop Dead. Check out the footage below.

Her presence was a surprise to her fellow performers last night. Brooklyn-based artist Industry Monk shared a clip of his own performance, adding: “Me, unaware I was opening for Olivia Rodrigo.”

Drop Dead is the lead single from Rodrigo’s third album You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl In Love, which is set to land on June 12. In an interview with British Vogue recently, the singer described the album as “sad love songs”, adding: “I realised all my favourite romantic love songs were beautiful because they had a tinge of fear or yearning in them.”

“It was a creative challenge to write from a joyful place. When you’re experiencing that you’re connected to someone, or feeling really good, you’re not in your head thinking about bittersweet poems!”

Meanwhile, over on the west coast, an even bigger star – Madonna - made a surprise appearance at The Abbey club in West Hollywood on Saturday night.

The event was an invite-only affair called Club Confessions, and it was around 1 am when the Queen of Pop arrived in the DJ booth alongside Stuart Price (who, of course, produced her upcoming Confessions II album). Madonna apparently grabbed the mic and introduced herself thus: “Hello children, mutha is here to save you. Are you ready to dance for me? Come on, meet me on the dancefloor. Alright, let’s go gays, come on! Don’t let me down, gays. Gay for the gays!”

(You probably had to be there, in fairness.)

Price then span the lead single from Confessions II, I Feel So Free, as well as two new tracks – presumably from the album – one of which was entitled Freedom, as well as a new mix of Hung Up, the Abba-sampling classic which, incredibly, is now over 20 years old.

All good fun, of course. And Confessions II is set to be released on July 3.

Now here’s a curious tale. There is a scam promoter operating under a number of aliases in Glasgow who books events that never happen, hooking in dozens of young DJs.

Some digging by local news website The Glasgow Bell has uncovered the man's identity as Kieran Wells. Wells has attempted to put on a number of events in the city over the past few years, it seems. But a familiar pattern has emerged: DJs are recruited via social media, Wells adds them to line-ups and associated group chats and encourages the starry-eyed spinners to source venues, design artwork and in some cases cover upfront costs for venues or sound systems.

Then the events are suddenly cancelled, with the covering story often being a family emergency. And those chats and social media trails disappear into thin air.

It remains unclear what exactly Wells gains from this. None of the DJs, venues or managers The Bell spoke to said that they gave him any money. If Wells thought that by cancelling these events at short notice he’d keep the ticket money, he’s sadly mistaken, too – the ticketing platforms automatically refund punters.

But if no-one has actually lost money, it does affect the reputation of a lot of up and coming DJs as well as being waring emotionally. "It got my hopes up," said one DJ. "I don't know what he gets out of it."

One thing’s for sure: he has pissed off a lot of people in the Scottish dance scene. These are some of the epithets various people have used about him: “troublemaking prick”, a “tool”, a “fuckinging chocolate”, a “scumbag”, an “absolute joker”, “a blagger”, “a fuckin roaster”, a “clown”, a “whoppa”, a “sneaky snake”, a “bag a bawz”, a “fucking melt” and a “complete jakeball”.

Eventually, The Glasgow Bell caught up with Wells. He denied taking payments and said that ‘financial difficulties’ meant he often ended up having to cancel events. "I'm not a scammer," he protested. "It's just stupid… I've pissed off a lot of people." He said that doesn't plan to promote events in future.

Sounds like he needs a change of career...

It might have been Coachella’s second weekend that delivered the biggest guests – Madonna, for example – but there were plenty of cameos during weekend one, too.

One of these came from Vanessa Carlton, who was invited on stage by Teddy Swims during his set – which also featured David Lee Roth – to duet on her much-loved 2002 hit, A Thousand Miles.

We’re guessing that a decent percentage of the Coachella crowd wasn’t even born when the song came out, but its enduring appeal was confirmed by the huge roar that greeted the opening bars, which feature that iconic piano riff. Speaking to People, though, Carlton revealed that she feared that the performance was about to be derailed by the weather.

“Right before his set, [Teddy Swims’] manager came up to me and was like, ‘I just want you to know there's 35-mile winds right now,” she confirmed.

As Carlton points out, there was no risk of her piano being blown away – it was actually a Nord piano in an upright case – but she was wary of the wind creating another problem for her.

“I just remember thinking, ‘OK, but what direction is the wind blowing?’” she says. “Because my hair was down. I was like, ‘Is this going to be a Beyoncé moment or is this going to be the end?’ And of course, the wind is blowing in the wrong direction for me. So there are two ways that you cannot sing — if you're crying or if there's hair in your mouth.”

Carlton goes on to say that she warned Swims [real name Jaten Dimsdale] before the show that, if she yelled ‘Hair’, he should go behind her and hold her hair out of her face.

“I'm like, ‘That will look so bad.’ But Jaten was like, ‘Sure, I'm down.’ So the first 30 seconds of that performance, I was having a crisis about the wind, but then everything was fine.”

Indeed it was, and the audience loved it, but Carlton also told People that she hasn’t always had such a good relationship A Thousand Miles, almost certainly the song that she’ll be most closely associated with for the rest of her life.

"I went through a really bad period with it," she says. "Maybe it's interactions with certain people and how they would ask me to play. For a certain period there, it was like a burden to bear because it was my own burden that I created."

Explaining further, Carlton adds: “We live in this schadenfreude type of society where it's like, 'Oh, you're [at the top]. I'm going to take you down now.' So to a certain extent, it feels like a burden."

Happily, she’s now made peace with A Thousand Miles, appreciating the freedom that it’s given her to do whatever she wants.

"I'm like, 'This is the people's song,'” she says. “I just got lucky with this music. So that's how I look at it."

Carlton came up with A Thousand Miles’ piano riff in 1998, at her parents’ house. Despite her mother insisting that she had a hit on her hands, she couldn’t finish it, only making progress months later when a producer told her that the riff was so good that she had to persevere.

A Thousand Miles was originally called Interlude, but was changed at the insistence of producer Ron Fair, who argued that the word ‘interlude’ didn’t feature in the song and so using that as the title could put it at a disadvantage.

We’ll never know if changing the name made a difference, but what we can say for sure is that A Thousand Miles became a massive chart and radio hit and, by the end of 2025, had passed a billion streams on Spotify.

Vanessa Carlton released new new album, Veils, last week.

A new report suggests that young people are increasingly abandoning any ambitions to play music, partly because of the lack of small venues to play in.

The study – conducted by One Poll – surveyed 1,500 18– to 25-year-olds and found that 54% have wanted to play music, be that in a band, solo or as a DJ.

However, 28% of those say they have given up or scaled back those ambitions because there aren’t any suitable venues near where they live. In addition, 22% said that performing live “feels unrealistic” where they are.

And of course those figures don’t take into account those who aren’t put off in the first place because of the ever more remote prospect of scraping even a half-decent living out of music.

It comes as yet more proof that the loss of small venues and pubs is impacting the wider music and cultural industries in the UK. The study reports that Britain has lost 11,000 venues since 2019 – that’s between 4 and 5 per day. It’s on course to lose another 2,000 by 2030.

However, it seems that people still want to see live music in small venues – 63% said that they would go out more if pubs hosted live music, and 59% said that they preferred discovering new artists live as opposed to online.

The survey was published ahead of the Seed Sounds Weekender, which takes place from this Friday (April 24) to Sunday (April 26) across over 2,000 pubs and small so-called ‘seed’ venues in 20 UK towns and cities.

“Seed venues are where British music begins - in pubs, bars and back rooms,” says Michael Forster, Co-Founder and CEO of the live music booking platform GigPig who are behind the Seed Sounds festival. “If millions of people are living beyond the easy reach of live music, we are narrowing the next generation before they even start. These figures also show how much appetite there is for live music at a local level. At a time when Britain’s pubs, bars and wider hospitality sector is struggling, the public sentiment is overwhelmingly clear: live music will bring people through the door.”

Matty Healy of the 1975 has issued a statement about the findings, saying: “local venues aren’t just where bands cut their teeth, they’re the foundation of any real culture. Without them, you don’t get The Smiths, Amy Winehouse or The 1975. You get silence.”

“The erosion of funding for seed and grassroots spaces is part of a wider liberal tendency to strip away the socially democratic infrastructure that actually makes art possible. What’s left is a cultural economy where only the privileged can afford to create, and where only immediately profitable art survives.”

Indeed. So… support your local venue. Use it. Or lose it.

No Music For Genocide and the BDS Movement have issued an open letter calling on artists, broadcasters and fans to boycott this year’s Eurovision because of the continuing participation of Israel.

Back in December the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided that Israel would be allowed to participate in the 2026 event, despite the ongoing war in Gaza, which many have deemed a genocide.

This prompted a number of nations to pull out, including Spain, Iceland, The Netherlands, Slovenia and Ireland. However, the EBU has remained unmoved and the event will go ahead as planned in Vienna on May 16.

Signees of the letter include Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Paul Weller, Kneecap, Hot Chip, IDLES, Primal Scream, Young Fathers, Nadine Shah, David Holmes, Dry Cleaning, Peter Gabriel, Of Monsters And Men, Paloma Faith and Mogwai.

(Which is all well and good, but none of those artists - with the possible exception of Paloma Faith - would ever, in a month of Sundays, be selected to represent their respective nations at Eurovision. However, wouldn't it be a giggle if they were...?)

The letter calls on the EBU to apply the same rules as they did when they kicked Russia out of Eurovision after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It says the signees: “reject Eurovision being used to whitewash and normalise Israel’s genocide, siege and brutal military occupation against Palestinians.”

“We stand in solidarity with Palestinian calls for public broadcasters, performers, screening party organisers, crew, and fans to boycott Eurovision until the EBU bans complicit Israeli broadcaster KAN.”

No Music For Genocide is a cultural boycott initiative that was launched last year. It has over 1000 members who have all removed their music from all platforms in Israel. Its supporters include many of the artists listed above, as well as Lorde, Bjork, Hayley Williams, Wolf Alice, Clairo and Faye Webster.

Kneecap, who, as you know, got into legal trouble last year for their vociferous support of the Palestinian cause, have issued a statement to accompany the letter: "Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022.

"Israel has been murdering Palestinians for decades and is now committing genocide - and for the third year running, they're welcomed back onto the stage. That's not neutrality. That's a choice.”

“We stand with No Music for Genocide and every artist, fan and broadcaster who refuses to let the world's biggest music event be used to whitewash genocide. No stage for genocide. Free Palestine”.

Madonna is on the comeback trail, with a new album announced for July, a new single out now and a surprise appearance at Coachella over the weekend. But first she has to find her clothes…

This isn’t a joke, by the way. The 67-year-old queen of pop guested during Sabrina Carpenter’s set last Friday, wearing the same pair of boots, corset and jacket she wore during her appearance at Coachella exactly 20 years ago. But after the set, she discovered that all three items had disappeared.

Writing on social media afterwards, she posted: “This full circle moment hit different until I discovered that the vintage pieces that I wore went missing - my costume that was pulled from my personal archives - jacket, corset, dress and all other garments. These aren’t just clothes, they are a part of my history."

And she’s offering a reward if anyone can bring them back safely: “Other archival items from the same era went missing as well,” she continued. “I’m hoping and praying that some kind soul, will find these items and reach out to my team at: Infomaverick2026@gmail.com.”

Madonna didn’t just dig out the same outfit from two decades back on a whim. It’s all of a piece with her new album campaign. Confessions II is, as it title suggests, a successor to 2005’s Confessions On A Dancefloor. Like that album, it’s been produced by Stuart Price and sees her return to the club-influenced sound of that acclaimed record.

At Coachella on Friday, she debuted a new track from the record, Bring Your Love, as well as old favourites Vogue, Get Together and Like A Prayer. “I have a few things I wanna get off my chest,” she said onstage. “Twenty years ago today, I performed at Coachella. I was in the dance tent, and it was the first time I performed Confessions On A Dancefloor part one, in America. So, it’s like a full circle moment, very meaningful for me.”

Confessions II lands on July 3. The first single I Feel So Free is out now. As for further live plans, nothing is confirmed as yet. Interviewed by Variety last week, her manager said: “Of course she will tour again. She wants to share her music with her fans. Not sure yet (about) the plans. Stay Tuned.”

If there were any concerns that the second weekend of Coachella was going to be a little bit ‘After the Lord Mayor’s Show’, they were allayed on Friday night when Madonna made an unannounced – though previously rumoured – appearance during Sabrina Carpenter’s headline set on the main stage.

The Queen of Pop appeared at the moment in her show when Carpenter usually performs her ‘Juno pose’ (we’ll leave you to Google that one for yourself if you don’t know what it is). Instead of getting that, the two stars duetted on an abridged version of Madonna’s iconic 1990 hit, Vogue, before giving a live debut to Bring Your Love, a song from Madonna’s upcoming Confessions II album that has Carpenter as a featured artist.

Madonna then gave a fairly lengthy speech – both a call for unity and an explanation of astrology – before the energy was raised once again with a spirited version of 1989 hit Like A Prayer.

“It’s like… what do you do after that?,” Carpenter asked the crowd after Madonna had departed. “I need a drink.”

Although no one else could quite top that – Madonna is one of the biggest-selling artists in history, let’s not forget – this proved to be just the first of many big-name Coachella cameos over the weekend.

On Saturday, Olivia Rodrigo kickstarted her You Look Pretty Sad for a Girl So In Love era with a performance of new single Drop Dead alongside Addison Rae, and long-time Justin Bieber fan Billie Eilish later joined her hero on stage in hysterical fashion as he serenaded her with a version of 2009 song One Less Lonely Girl. SZA and, as last week, Dijon, were also on at Justin Time.

Other setcrashers over the weekend included Zara Larsson, who appeared during PinkPantheress’s set to sing a new PinkPantheress remix version of her hit Midnight Sun – PP was also joined by Janelle Monae, Blood Orange and Ninjairachi – and Billy Idol and Steve Stevens, who were invited on stage by Sombr for a version of Eyes Without A Face.

It might be more than a decade since David Lee Roth played his last gig with Van Halen, but it seems that the singer is still keen to remind everyone just how big his creative role in the band actually was.

Speaking to Rolling Stone after a surprise appearance at Coachella last weekend – he joined Teddy Swims during his set to sing (what else?) Jump – Roth was seemingly in vibrant form, and quickly turned to the subject of his former band. Specifically, he wanted to talk about the depth and quality of Van Halen’s back catalogue.

“Our stuff is like West Side Story,” he began. “You can play it on a ukulele. You can play it in an orchestra. You can play it alone on a harmonica. And each variegated rendition reveals a different kind of emotional content to it.”

Explaining how the Coachella collaboration came about, Roth went on to say that Swims is a “a longtime fan” of his and, finding themselves in the same rehearsal space prior to the festival, asked if he could come and sit in as Roth put his current band through their paces.

“He asked, as soon as he found out that I was in there, can he come over and watch the rehearsal?” says Roth. “We got along like pirates.”

It certainly helped that, according to Roth, Swims “knows every word of my classic Van Halen songbook” – ‘my’ being the operative word here.

“As a vocalist, every word I sing in the Van Halen songbook, I wrote,” Roth says. “I wrote every word. I wrote every line, every melody, every harmony stack, organised everything that the vocals do. For better or worse, if you’re singing it — Roth was bringing it.”

This isn’t the first time that Roth has reminded everyone of his importance to Van Halen’s development. In an interview with Missouri radio station KSHE 95 in 2019, he was asked if he would be seeking his former bandmates’ blessing to sing the songs that they made together at his upcoming Las Vegas residency, and was quick to explain why that wasn’t necessary.

“No, because I wrote the songs,” he argued. “I wrote every word you heard, every syllable, every melody,” before adding that “even the guitar solos on that first album,” were structured out by him.

Recalling his early days with Van Halen, he went on to say, "I designed the backgrounds on the stage. I came up with the album covers. I thought of the stripes on the guitar. I’m the one who said, ‘Call it Van Halen.’”

Thanks to the huge success of The Art Of Loving and its multiple hit singles – Man I Need being the biggest of them – Olivia Dean is now a bonafide global star. But as she prepares to set off on her world tour, she’s revealed that she takes inspiration from an undisputed music legend.

In an interview with Hits Radio, it was put to Dean that her relaxed yet joyful performance style has similarities to that of Diana Ross, and she was happy to accept the comparison.

“I think that she is someone that I've always looked to for style inspiration,” says Dean. “And I think as a performer, she just brought so much joy, and was just so carefree, feminine and powerful. And I think, yeah, that's how I'm trying to be.”

Dean also discussed her victory lap performance of Man I Need at this year’s Brits, where she took home four awards, noting that, unlike in her regular shows, she was using a wireless mic. However, she also revealed that the song might not have become the hit that it has.

“Man I Need wasn't supposed to be a single,” she confirms. “I wasn't sure about it. I thought it was a little bit different. And then we started playing it in rehearsals, and some of my band were like, ‘This one's good you know.’”

Even with this validation, though, Dean suggests that she still had to be convinced. “I knew I really liked it, but I didn't know if it was representative of the whole album and the story,” she says, “but I'm glad I followed through with that one.”

You’re not kidding – Man I Need has become one of the biggest songs of the past six months, propelling Dean to superstardom on both sides of the Atlantic. As such, tickets for her upcoming shows have been in high demand, although it sounds like fans might have to prepare themselves to go on a bit of a rollercoaster.

“I think we're gonna go on a bit of an emotional journey,” says Dean. “But I think the feeling that I want you to feel is just warmth and togetherness. I want people to feel like they can come and sing along. Do you know what I mean – come along and dance, but maybe also cry, just get it all out.”

The Billie Eilish concert film shot in Manchester last year has a trailer that is now up on YouTube.

And it’s not just any old concert film. James Cameron is in the director’s chair and it’s shot in 3D. You may recall that Eilish briefly talked about it at one of her shows at the Co-Op Arena last summer, when she said: “So, you may have noticed there’s more cameras than usual up here.

"Basically, I can’t say much about it, but what I can say is I’m working on something very, very special with somebody named James Cameron.”

The trailer shows Cameron and Eilish talking about the logistics of the show and the singer crouching down inside a crate, from which she emerges on stage in trademark baseball cap, specs and sweatshirt. She also shows scars on her hands that are a result of her glad-handing the fans during the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ElURjcuWLQ

Much of it isn’t that outlandish for a modern arena show, but then Eilish throws a curveball: “Tours are so brutal and taxing, and I like to have a puppy room for the guys to go chill in.” Yes, you read that correctly – Billie Eilish has a room full of puppies at every show she performs. The pooches are apparently brought in by a local rescue organisation in each respective city she plays.

“Everyone needs some dog love,” she concludes. Make of that what you will.

Anyway, dogs n’ all, the film, entitled Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) is out in cinemas on Friday 8 May. You can book tickets from this Thursday (April 16).

Every Coachella there seems to be a talking point that gets social media a-jumping. In 2023 it was Frank Ocean’s late, truncated and altogether disappointing performance. The following year it was Damon Albarn’s strop about fans not singing along. In 2026 it seems it’s the contrast between Justin Bieber and Sabrina Carpenter’s respective headlining sets.

So... in summary: Carpenter pulled out all the stops on Friday night – we’re talking Hollywood/Sabrinawood-themed staging, with dancers, costume changes, fireworks, celebrity cameos from Susan Sarandon, Sam Elliott and Will Ferrell. The whole shebang.

A day later, Bieber shuffled on stage in baggy jeans and a vest and performed a set that drew heavily from last year’s Swag album and also featured old YouTube clips of himself, which he proceeded to sing along to (though he did also have guests in the shape of The Kid Laroi, Dijon, Tems and, on guitar, Mk.gee).

Vive la difference, then? Well, not according to many on social media who found Bieber’s performance lacklustre and contrasted the pay packets that each artist received (it's believed that Bieber was paid significantly more).

One wrote on Twitter/ X: “Female artists give full effort : flying, high notes, fireworks, outfits. meanwhile justin bieber, the most expensive coachella performer, just sits in a plain tee, plays youtube, no makeup, and still gets a pass? switch the roles and a woman would get dragged immediately.”

Content creator Wigconic, meanwhile, has spliced together excerpts from the two artists’ shows, apparently to display the relative amount of effort that went into each of them.

Swedish star Zara Larsson was another to give her take on Bieber's performance, posting a TikTok of her watching it, seemingly slightly bemused. She captioned the video "It's giving let's smoke and watch YouTube," which some interpreted as a diss, but she's since clarified that she wasn't "hating", but "vibing hardddddddddddddd.”

Her thought's on Carpenter's performance will have to wait, though: "I’m trying to not look at online because I wanna be wowed when I see it next week in person," she told a fan.

It's also worth saying that Bieber's performance has received support as well as criticism, with one fan saying: “A lot of people are calling it low energy or underwhelming. But for me it felt like the healthiest kind of comeback for Justino. He did not force a high-production machine that could burn him out again. Instead he sat with his past, scrolling through old YouTube videos, duetting with his younger self, and mixing nostalgia with new chapters.”

Another agreed: “Justin’s performance at Coachella was so much more than just music it was a full circle moment of healing. Watching him embrace his past and acknowledge that he finally has everything he ever wished for moved me to tears. I am so incredibly proud of his journey and the person.”

It perhaps comes down to the places they are at in their respective careers. Bieber is the senior artist and has sucked years more of the dizzying oxygen that is fame than Carpenter has. He perhaps feels he needs to present an image that is more grounded and ‘real’ (whatever that phrase means to him).

Carpenter, meanwhile, is still trying to prove that she has what it takes to remain an A-list artist long term, in what is undeniably a very crowded field. At this stage at least, she has to bring the wow factor like her career depends on it. Because, you know, perhaps it does.