1
Jack White played his first solo UK show earlier in the week (April 23), headlining London’s HMV Forum the day his debut solo album ‘Blunderbuss’ was released. The former White Stripes man was watched by stars including The Mighty Boosh duo Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, plus Alabama Shakes, who are set to support him on his US tour dates, and BBC Radio One’s Fearne Cotton.
2
Rumours that The Smiths were set to reunite have been put to bed by the band’s former guitarist Johnny Marr and drummer Mike Joyce. A story on Music-news.co.uk suggested Marr and frontman Morrissey had been in talks with a “well-known” promoter about reuniting. However, a short post on his official Facebook page, Marr commented: “The rumour of The Smiths reunion is untrue. It’s not happening.”
3
A hologram of Michael Jackson could be set to tour alongside his brothers in the Jackson 5. Jackie Jackson told The Sun, when asked if he could see the late singer being brought to life as a hologram, : “It could have been Michael — absolutely. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? As a matter of fact, we had that idea two years ago for Michael’s Cirque du Soleil show.”
4
Damon Albarn has denied that he is finished with both Blur and Gorillaz. However, speaking to the Metro, Albarn denied this. Asked if Hyde Park would be Blur’s last show, Albarn said: “No. That comes from an article which was an interesting take on a very long conversation. I don’t know how we’ll feel when we play Hyde Park. Some days I feel one way and other days I feel the other.”
5
Footage of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain duetting with his wife, Hole’s Courtney Love, on an unreleased track titled ‘Stinking Of You’ has surfaced online. The clip is taken from the new rock documentary Hit So Hard: The Life And Near Death Story Of Patty Schemel, and features Love strumming on an acoustic guitar and sings the track, before Cobain joins in on vocals.
6
Cheryl Cole has debuted her new single ‘Call My Name’. The song, which is taken from the Girls Aloud star’s forthcoming new album ‘A Million Lights’, was written and produced by Calvin Harris and will be released on June 10. The video for the track, meanwhile, will be debuted next week (May 2).
7
Florence And The Machine have recorded a new track ‘Breath Of Life’ for the soundtrack to the forthcoming Hollywood blockbuster Snow White And The Huntsman. The track, which features a large orchestra, was recorded in Los Angeles and, according to singer Florence Welch is inspired by the film’s character of the evil Queen Ravenna, played by Charlize Theron.
8
Sinead O’Connor has cancelled all her planned tour dates for the remainder of 2012 after revealing that she is “very unwell”.
O’Connor, who suffers from bipolar disorder, posted a message via fan website Sinead-Oconnor.com which said that she had suffered a “very serious breakdown” between December 2011 and March of this year and would not be touring for the rest of 2012.
9
The Cribs have explained the near three-year wait for their new album ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’ claiming they were waiting for a generation of ‘corporate indie’ bands to “sink”. Gary Jarman said: “We were just waiting for the [corporate indie] ship to sink,” he said. “There was a period of time where there were so many bands, it was difficult for us to keep out of the regular channels.”
10
Metallica’s Lars Ulrich has admitted the band would love to headline Glastonbury. Asked if they’d like to headline Glastonbury, Ulrich said: “We’ve never played Glastonbury. I don’t know if Michael would ever invite a harder rock band to play. It’s something I would love to do at some point.”
11
The boffins behind the Tupac hologram have revealed they’re looking at bringing a whole range of iconic musicians back. Head of Music at Musion Technology Ltd Sanj Surati said that seeing Elvis onstage with Justin Bieber “would be a cool thing”. Asked who else was on his radar for holographic resurrections, he replied: “Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, oh and Michael Jackson would be the ultimate one.”
12
Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Gotta Feeling’ has been revealed to be the most played song at weddings in the UK. The track, which is also a far-too-common feature at football matches and high-street pubs, topped a poll carried out by Spotify, which analysed the choices on 78,000 playlists which had been specially created for weddings.
13
Nicki Minaj has insisted that she will never be poor again and is determined to enjoy fame and fortune. Contactmusic reports that the rapper said: “In the business you have to be used to really having all the doors closed,” she said. “So when you have a childhood where you are used to being told ‘no’ you are accustomed to not always getting what you want. I never want to go back to being poor.”
14
Pure Love, the new band featuring former Gallows frontman Frank Carter, have debuted their first track ‘Bury My Bones’ online. The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s as yet untitled debut album, which they are currently working on with Pixies producer Gil Norton.They are set to release the record later this summer and have relocated to Brooklyn to complete work on the album.
15
The Enemy’s Tom Clarke has revealed he plans to sell his house in the country so that he can be closer to a Greggs bakery. He said: “I want a Greggs within walking distance so I can go and buy a sausage roll when I want one.”
16
Butch Vig, who produced Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’, has picked George Martin as his favourite producer. Vig said The Beatles’ producer “broke so many boundaries” in his work, commenting: “I would have to say George Martin just because The Beatles records he did really broke so may boundaries, they completely changed the way records were produced, especially for rock bands.”
17
Tenacious D’s Jack Black has given Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie some sex tips by telling them that their relationship will spice up once they’ve tied the knot. Black said: “I think the sex actually improves once you’ve sealed the deal, it gets better. Maybe not for everyone, but for me, once we sealed the deal we said, ‘No, this is it. We’re in it for life,’ then we really let loose.”
18
Mystery Jets are streaming their new album ‘Radlands’ online a week ahead of its official release (April 30) – go to NME.COM to listen to the album in full. The album, the band’s fourth, was produced by Dan Carey and will be released via Rough Trade Records. It was mostly recorded in Austin, Texas last summer before being completed earlier this year in south London.
19
The Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb has woken from a coma and has begun to show signs of recovery. The 62-year-old fell into a coma last week after contracting pneumonia due to complications arising from his battle with colon and liver cancer. However, earlier this week his spokesman confirmed that he had woken and was able to communicate with his family, who have been at his bedside at a London hospital.