Category Archives: Music

Neil Young says he may be barred from returning to US over Donald Trump criticism

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The US-Canadian dual citizen speculates he may be ‘barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor’ after his European tour, after years of speaking against Trump

Neil Young has shared his concerns of being barred from the US after his European tour later this year, thanks to his outspoken critiques of Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, on his website Neil Young Archives, the 79-year-old musician – who has dual Canadian-American citizenship – wrote of his fears after the recent spate of people being detained and deported upon entering the US. These incidents have been credited to vague or unspecified visa issues, but have frequently affected individuals who have criticised the Trump administration either publicly or in messages on their phone read by immigration officers.

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Rapper Young Scooter dead after jumping fence in Atlanta police chase

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Authorities say 39-year-old suffered an injury after jumping a fence when fleeing police and later died in the hospital

A rapper signed to fellow lyricists Future and Waka Flocka Flame died on his 39th birthday in his home town of Atlanta after injuring his leg while running from police and jumping fences, according to authorities as well as multiple media reports.

The death of 39-year-old Young Scooter, born Kenneth Edward Bailey, was confirmed by Atlanta’s Fulton county medical examiner’s office, as Variety first reported.

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Andy Peebles, former Radio 1 DJ and presenter, dies aged 76

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Host of Top of the Pops and My Top Twelve among other shows was one of last people to interview John Lennon

Andy Peebles, the former Radio 1 DJ and presenter who was one of the last people to interview John Lennon, has died aged 76, his family has confirmed.

Peebles began his radio career in Manchester in 1973 and joined Radio 1 in 1978, where he was a familiar voice for 14 years.

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The Sex Pistols rock London with first gig at 100 Club in 50 years

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Band members were joined on stage by former Gallows frontman Frank Carter as stars and fans welcomed their return

There was anticipation on Oxford Street in London as the Sex Pistols rocked the 100 Club for the first time in more than half a century, playing classic tunes for a crowd of creaking punks.

In a hot and sweaty venue, which harkened back to the band’s glory days, they darted on stage like squaddies on a march, to roars from the audience. They were celebrated by stars and superfans such as Noel Gallagher, Bobby Gillespie and the Jam frontman, Paul Weller.

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Semisonic denounces White House use of ‘Closing Time’ in deportation video

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Grammy-nominated band says Trump administration ‘missed the point’ and song is about ‘joy, possibilities, hope’

The band Semisonic has said the Donald Trump White House “missed the point” of its hit Closing Time “entirely” when the administration used the Emmy-nominated song in a social media post showing a shackled person being deported.

A statement from Semisonic also said the White House did not have permission to use the song in that manner.

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Leading Garifuna musician reportedly among 12 dead in Honduras air crash

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Aurelio Martínez believed killed after plane crashed while taking off from Roatán island in Caribbean

At least 12 people, including a prominent member of the Garifuna music scene have died after a small plane crashed into the sea while taking off from a Caribbean island off Honduras, officials said.

The Lanhsa airlines plane departed at nightfall on Monday from Roatán, one of the Central American country’s main tourist destinations, heading for the port of La Ceiba, on the mainland.

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‘Drake lost a rap battle’: Universal files motion to dismiss rapper’s ‘misguided’ lawsuit

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Drake’s attorneys accuse Universal of being ‘a greedy company’ that is ‘finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation’.

Universal Music Group have moved to dismiss Drake’s defamation suit, characterising it as “a misguided attempt” by the Canadian rapper to “salve his wounds” after he “lost a rap battle” with rival Kendrick Lamar.

In the motion, filed on Monday in the US district court for the southern district of New York, Universal Music Group (UMG), which represents both artists, claimed that Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated.

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Backlash in Brisbane as New Order gig gets go ahead in storm-damaged city

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Ticket holders for the Tuesday night concert at an outdoor riverside venue have complained about the decision to go ahead in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred

Live music promoters TEG Group and British band New Order are facing a public backlash after announcing they would go ahead with a scheduled concert in Brisbane as the city grapples with major flooding in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The concert, part of the Manchester synth-pop pioneers’ Australian tour, is set to take place Tuesday night at Riverstage, a 9,500-capacity outdoor venue located on Brisbane river, within the city’s Botanic Gardens.

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K-pop singer Wheesung found dead at home aged 43

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Tributes have been paid to singer who had a string of hits in South Korea including a cover of Craig David’s Insomnia

The South Korean singer Wheesung has died aged 43, with police reportedly planning to conduct an autopsy to determine his cause of death.

The singer, whose name was Choi Whee-sung, was found unconscious in his apartment on Monday night by emergency responders after his mother called for help, local media reported.

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Iranian singer Mehdi Yarrahi given 74 lashes over protest song

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Lashes were part of agreement to end criminal case against Yarrahi over song against Iran’s strict dress code for women

Mehdi Yarrahi, a well-known Iranian protest singer who spoke out against the country’s strict dress code for women, has been given 74 lashes as part of an agreement to end a criminal case against him.

Yarrahi was initially convicted in January 2024 of acting unlawfully by releasing a protest song in September 2023 entitled Your Headscarf (Roo Sarito) on the first anniversary of the “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising.

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Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years, dies at 82

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Singer, who met Dean when she was 18, says ‘words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years’

Carl Dean, devoted husband of Dolly Parton and also the inspiration behind Parton’s iconic hit Jolene, died on Monday. He was 82.

According to a statement provided to the Associated Press by Parton’s publicist, Dean died in Nashville, Tennessee, and will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending.

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Oscar winner’s shoutout for London music venue Cafe Oto stuns owner

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The Brutalist composer Daniel Blumberg mentioned the experimental music space in his acceptance speech

The co-owner of a cafe in east London that doubles up as a venue for creative new music in the evenings said he was stunned that an Oscar winner mentioned it during his acceptance speech.

Hamish Dunbar, of Cafe Oto in Dalston, woke up on Monday to find the 150-capacity venue had received the shoutout at the Oscars from Daniel Blumberg, the composer of The Brutalist score.

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British composer Daniel Blumberg wins best original score Oscar for The Brutalist

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Sole previous scoring credit on a full-length film for the singer, guitar player and visual artist is The World to Come

The young British composer Daniel Blumberg has won his first Oscar for his second-ever musical score for a feature film, for Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist.

Blumberg, 34, won the Bafta award last month for the score, which has met with considerable praise and which plays a prominent role in the film. The Brutalist is the story of a fictitious Hungarian architect, László Tóth, who moves to the US after surviving the Holocaust.

Anora takes home best picture Oscar

Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison win best acting prizes

Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win supporting awards

Anora’s Sean Baker wins for directing, editing and screenplay

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I love Italy, says Estonian Eurovision entry accused of insulting Italians

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Tommy Cash says he did not expect Espresso Macchiato to cause such offence with references to the mafia and coffee

Estonia’s entry for this year’s Eurovision song contest has said he never intended to offend Italy with his song that pokes fun at Italian stereotypes of coffee-drinking, spaghetti-eating mafiosi – and said he submitted the song after his grandmother cried over it.

There have been calls in Italy for Tommy Cash’s catchy song, Espresso Macchiato, to be banned from the competition, which takes place in Basel, Switzerland, in May.

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David Johansen, frontman of New York Dolls, dies aged 75

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Flamboyant singer helped point his city’s music scene towards punk, before a successful solo career and eye-catching acting roles

David Johansen, the swaggering, peacocking frontman with glam rock band New York Dolls, has died aged 75.

Last month he had announced he was living with cancer, and recently suffered a broken back. “David Johansen passed away peacefully at home, holding the hands of his wife Mara Hennessey and daughter Leah, in the sunlight surrounded by music and flowers,” reads a statement on a website created to raise funds for his medical care.

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Alarms raised over legitimacy of Fyre festival 2: ‘An event that does not exist’

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Tourism and local officials in Mexico deny any knowledge of proposed follow-up to disastrous 2017 event

When tickets to the second Fyre festival went on sale this week, there was just one concrete detail: it would take place on Isla Mujeres, a tropical island off Cancún, Mexico.

But the festival seems to be repeating its own history as an improvised disaster after the local government in Isla Mujeres denied knowing anything about it.

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‘There’s no better feeling’: TikTok star Go-Jo to represent Australia at Eurovision 2025

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Singer of viral hit Mrs Hollywood hopes his milkshakes bring everyone on board at Basel this year when he sings Milkshake Man, an ode to self-confidence

TikTok star Go-Jo will represent Australia at Eurovision in May, the 10th musical act to head represent his country since Australia joined the annual European song contest a decade ago.

Marty Zambotto, a 29-year-old Sydney-based singer-songwriter, went viral in 2023 after he uploaded a clip to TikTok of himself performing his song Mrs Hollywood while busking around Sydney. To date, the song has racked up more than 60m digital streams and 1bn views across all platforms.

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The 2025 Eurovision song contest runs 13 -17 May and will be broadcast on SBS in Australia

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UK pop stars fail to reach global Top 10 albums and singles chart for first time since 2003

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Global chart dominated by US acts including Benson Boone, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter, with K-pop bands also strong

British pop stars have failed to reach the worldwide annual charts of the year’s Top 10 biggest singles and albums for the first time in more than two decades.

In 2022, UK acts such as Harry Styles and Glass Animals made up seven of the 20 entries in the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) list. This year, the leading UK act was producer and singer Artemas, for I Like the Way You Kiss Me.

Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department

Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft

Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet

Enhypen – Romance: Untold

SZA – SOS

Seventeen – Spill the Feels

Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time

Seventeen – 17 Is Right Here

Noah Kahan – Stick Season

Stray Kids – ATE

Benson Boone – Beautiful Things

Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso

Teddy Swims – Lose Control

Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather

Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Hozier – Too Sweet

Post Malone – I Had Some Help ft Morgan Wallen

Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us

Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer

Noah Kahan – Stick Season

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Cult folk singer Bill Fay, who wrote The Healing Day, dies aged 81

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Songs by the reluctant performer have been covered by The War on Drugs, Wilco, Pavement and Marc Almond

The folk singer Bill Fay, known for songs such as The Healing Day and Thank You Lord, has died aged 81, his record label has announced with “great sadness”.

Fay began work on his latest album just a month before his death, and his label Dead Oceans said they hoped to “find a way to finish and release it”.

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British Library acquires torn-out drafts of Edward Elgar masterpiece

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Exclusive: sketches for Introduction and Allegro for Strings had been removed from sketchbook by composer in 1930

The British Library has acquired previously unknown sketches and drafts by Sir Edward Elgar for one of his best-known masterpieces, Introduction and Allegro for Strings.

Spanning 15 pages, they shed light on the creative process of Britain’s most revered composer. One bears the beginnings of an unknown organ piece on which he had started work.

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