Category Archives: Music

‘I can’t believe it’: diehard Taylor Swift fan gifted Eras ticket at pub trivia night in Victoria

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Quiz organisers were taken by 15-year-old Emily’s enthusiasm and when she didn’t win they decided to reward her anyway

Andrew Caldwell was the same age as his daughter is now when he saw his favourite band. He was 15, it was 1989, and Metallica was touring Australia for the first time.

His daughter Emily’s tastes are a bit different. She’s a diehard Swiftie and Caldwell spent countless hours trying to secure a ticket to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour for Emily so she could have the same formative experience seeing her favourite band at 15.

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Long-lost bass guitar returned to Paul McCartney after more than 50 years

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Violin-shaped Höfner vanished around the time the Beatles split up but has now resurfaced after a global appeal

A Höfner bass guitar bought by Paul McCartney for £30 in 1961 has been returned to the former Beatle after a global search to find the stolen instrument.

The distinctively shaped guitar, bought by McCartney before his rise to stardom and reportedly his favourite, was last seen around the time the Beatles were recording their final album to be released, Let It Be.

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Israel can compete at 2024 Eurovision song contest, say organisers

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European Broadcasting Union’s decision follows calls for country to be excluded over Gaza war

Israel can compete in this year’s Eurovision song contest, organisers have said, despite calls for it to be excluded over the Gaza war as Russia was after invading Ukraine.

Petitions have been circulating calling for Israel to be kicked out of the event, which is being held in Malmö, Sweden, in May.

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Usher and longtime partner married in Las Vegas after Super Bowl half-time show

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R&B superstar married Jenn Goicoechea, his partner since 2019, at Vegas Weddings hours after half-time headline appearance

Usher and his longtime partner Jenn Goicoechea married in Las Vegas just hours after the R&B superstar’s headline appearance at the Super Bowl half-time show, according to officials and documents.

The officiant who wed the pair is known to dress as an Elvis Presley impersonator.

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Printworks London may reopen by 2026 after developers submit plans

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British Land and AustraliaSuper want to create cultural venue that will include offices and shops

Printworks London, the 6,000-capacity post-industrial superclub, could reopen by 2026 after property developers that own the site filed their plans to Southwark council.

British Land and its partner AustralianSuper, one of the country’s largest pension funds, submitted a detailed proposal to the council on Monday to redevelop the site in Rotherhithe into a permanent cultural venue just over a year after the cavernous club shut its doors.

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Baker’s version: UK woman creates lifesize Taylor Swift cake for Super Bowl

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Cake depicts Swift wearing a sweatshirt of the Kansas City Chiefs – her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s team

A baker who has created a lifesize Taylor Swift cake for Sunday’s Super Bowl said it was the “perfect opportunity” to finally get around to making it.

The cake sculpture by Lara Mason, from Walsall in the West Midlands, has racked up more than 3m views on TikTok.

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Jamiroquai bassist Derrick McIntyre dies in car crash

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Tributes paid to 66-year-old musician after Hertfordshire police confirmed he died in collision last week

The bassist Derrick McIntyre, who was part of the band Jamiroquai and lent his strings to songs by Emeli Sandé, Will Young and Beverly Knight, has died in a car crash aged 66.

Tributes have been paid to the musician after Hertfordshire police confirmed that McIntyre died in a collision involving five cars on 2 February. Police said McIntyre died at the scene and that two people were taken to hospital.

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Ozzy Osbourne criticises Kanye West for using sample: ‘He is an antisemite’

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Rock star said he wants ‘no association’ with artist after he claims a sample of a Black Sabbath song was used without permission

Ozzy Osbourne has called out Kanye West for using a sample of his music without permission.

In a post on X, Osbourne claims he denied a request for a portion of a 1983 live version of the Black Sabbath song War Pigs to be used on West’s new album but heard it was used anyway during a listening party this week.

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‘Profane’ or ‘innocent’? Row over Canterbury Cathedral silent disco

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Critics say dance event sends message that ‘Christians do not take their faith or their holy places seriously’

From south London’s Ministry of Sound to Ibiza’s legendary superclub Pacha, everyone has a favourite venue for dancing the night away. And now a rave in the nave may be about to join that illustrious list.

More than 3,000 people were expected to take to the floor across four sessions of Canterbury Cathedral’s 90s silent disco to dance to the likes of the Spice Girls, Vengaboys and Eminem, in an event that officials hope will serve to attract a new generation of worshippers to the building’s hallowed cloisters.

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Henry Fambrough, last original member of R&B group the Spinners, dies aged 85

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Group known for hits like It’s a Shame and Could It Be I’m Falling in Love were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023

Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member of the iconic R&B group the Spinners, whose hits included It’s a Shame, Could It Be I’m Falling in Love and The Rubberband Man, died on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the group said. He was 85.

Fambrough died peacefully of natural causes in his northern Virginia home, the spokesperson, Tanisha Jackson, said in a statement.

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Mobo awards 2024: Central Cee tops winners thanks to megahit Sprinter

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London MC wins best male and song of the year, while Potter Payper beats stiff competition to win album of the year

Central Cee has topped the winners at the 2024 Mobo awards, winning best male for the second year in a row, and best song for Sprinter, his collaborative track with Dave, that dominated the summer months with a 10-week run at No 1.

Elsewhere the awards, which celebrate black musical artistry in the UK and globally, spread the garlands across a diverse range of music, with no one artist dominating.

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Feminists attack Spain’s ‘sexist’ Eurovision entry as PM defends singers

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Public opinion divided over lyrics to Zorra, usually used to mean ‘bitch’, by electropop duo Nebulossa

It has been criticised by some as insulting to women, but hailed by the prime minister as provocative – in a good way.

Days after Spain selected its entry for this year’s Eurovision song contest, the electropop tune Zorra has rocketed to the top of the country’s music charts and divided public opinion.

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‘Diabolical actions’: Snoop Dogg and Master P sue Walmart in breakfast cereal spat

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Rappers entered breakfast market with Snoop Cereal in 2023, and allege conspiracy between manufacturer Post Consumer Brands and supermarket chain Walmart to ‘choke’ startup brand

Rappers Snoop Dogg and Master P are suing US supermarket chain Walmart and food manufacturer Post Consumer Brands, claiming that the two companies conspired to sabotage the success of the pair’s new breakfast cereal enterprise.

Snoop Cereal launched last summer, with Master P hailing parent company Broadus Foods as the first Black-owned cereal company in the US: “This has been going on for over 100 years, that we’ve been consumers and never owners, so we’re changing that game.” The rappers partnered with Post to produce the cereal itself.

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Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, bassist with Bob Marley and the Wailers, dies aged 77

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Influential musician also co-produced group’s albums and mentored many Jamaican artists

Aston “Family Man” Barrett, bassist for Bob Marley and the Wailers, has died aged 77.

The news was confirmed on Saturday by Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister for culture, who wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I share with you my deep regret at the passing of Aston Francis Barrett, popularly known as ‘Family Man’ or ‘Fams’ … He died at the University of Miami Hospital in Florida in the United States early this morning.”

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‘We’re going to blame the women, not our sexism’: bias holding back top female pianists

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Discrimination and misogyny in classical music are denying women opportunities at festivals, venues and in recordings, research finds

A discordant chord over sexism in the classical music world has sounded again. The head of one of the most prestigious competitions is calling for the industry to confront an apparent bias that is holding back female pianists from pursuing concert careers, however brilliant their talent.

Fiona Sinclair, chief executive of the Leeds International Piano Com­petition, told the Observer that female pianists are failing to reach the top of their profession despite an equal number of men and women now training at conservatoires.

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Wayne Kramer, co-founder of rock band MC5, dies aged 75

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Guitarist helped to give Detroit band their powerful, politically charged sound and continued their legacy into the 21st century

Wayne Kramer, the guitarist who co-created MC5 – one of the rawest, most influential and politically engaged bands in US history – has died aged 75. His Instagram page announced the news: “Wayne S Kramer. Peace be with you. April 30 1948 – February 2 2024.”

Born and raised in Detroit, Kramer teamed with teenage friend and fellow guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith, each of them influenced as much by free jazz as they were by R&B and rock’n’roll. Along with the frontman Rob Tyner, they made MC5 into an incendiary force in their city’s music scene, alongside peers such as the Stooges.

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You need to calm down: Taylor Swift can fly from Tokyo to Super Bowl in time, says Japan embassy

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Singer should be able to see boyfriend Travis Kelce in person despite 17-hour time change and 12-hour flight, embassy says

Japan’s embassy in Washington has assured an angsty public that Taylor Swift should make it to the Super Bowl in time to see her boyfriend Travis Kelce play in the big game – as long as her post-concert flight from Tokyo leaves on time.

The embassy’s Friday statement answered a question weighing on the minds of the pop star’s multitude of fans, who wondered if it was even logistically possible for her to be in position to cheer on Kelce in person as he seeks a third NFL championship with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Laurie Anderson ends German professorship after criticism of Palestine support

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Essen’s Folkwang University took issue with the American artist’s support of a ‘letter against apartheid’ by Palestinian artists

The artist, musician and film director Laurie Anderson has withdrawn from a guest professorship at a university in Germany after officials took issue with her support for a 2021 statement by Palestinian artists titled Letter Against Apartheid.

The decision, announced days before Anderson is due to receive a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Grammys, adds to the wave of cultural events that have been scrapped in Germany after artists expressed views deemed by officials to be anti-Israel.

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Cher denied temporary conservatorship over 47-year-old son Elijah Blue Allman

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The singer argued that receiving payments from the trust of his late father, Gregg Allman, put him in danger due to his substance abuse

A judge has rejected Cher’s request that her adult son be put into an emergency court conservatorship controlling his money.

The Oscar- and Grammy-winning singer and actor had argued in a petition that 47-year-old Elijah Blue Allman’s large payments from the trust of his late father, rocker Gregg Allman, are putting him in danger because of his struggles with mental health and substance abuse.

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