Music News

Sir Elton John thinks The Rolling Stones are no longer "relevant on the radio".
The 'Rocket Man' hitmaker believes the legendary rock band - which is comprised of Sir Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards - need to forget about trying to write new music that could get airplay and record a "great blues record".
According to the Mirror Online, Elton told an unnamed US radio station: "I think Mick [Jagger] wants to still be relevant on the radio - well they are not. What I think the Rolling Stones should do is a great blues record, and go back to what they used to do and do things like 'Come On' - the Chuck Berry song like they did in their early career. That is what they should do. I think Mick wants to still be relevant on the radio - well they are not. And I think Keith would love to do a record like that. And that is what they should be doing."
Elton - who has just released his 32nd album 'Wonderful Crazy Night' - insists he has a lot of admiration for The Rolling Stones for writing new songs rather than just existing as the huge live attraction that they undoubtedly are.
He added: "People like Billy Joel, who is a great songwriter and one of America's finest, say there is no point (writing new material) because people don't want to hear them.
"And I kind of get that as well, but it is very frustrating that you play new songs that people don't want to hear but I can't not try and have a go. Usually when you play a new song people hurtle towards to the toilets quickly, but you have to play new songs."

Rihanna has reportedly been warned not to swear at the BRIT Awards.
The 27-year-old singer and her team have been informed by bosses at ITV - the UK channel that broadcasts the glitzy event from London's The O2 on February 24 - to leave out the expletives when she takes the stage to perform at the ceremony.
The warning has been issued as ITV wants to avoid a repeat of last year's rule breaking set by Kanye West, when his performance of 'All Day' was almost entirely bleeped out and received more than 100 complaints from viewers.
Rihanna's latest single 'Work' includes the 'N-word' during a rap by Drake and ITV are desperate to ensure it does not feature in the broadcast.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "The show airs as live but with a 20-second delay to cover mishaps. We make it clear to people that the Brits start pre-water-shed and attracts a wide audience. All the artists are warned about this but obviously when a song contains offensive lyrics extra care has to be taken to ensure that they aren't broadcast, so additional warnings are issued."
As well as Rihanna
Other stars performing at the BRIT Awards 2016 with MasterCard include Justin Bieber, Adele and Coldplay.

David Gilmour, New Order and Simply Red are among the headliners for this year's Teenage Cancer Trust shows.
The trio of legendary artists are joined on the bill, which runs at The Royal Albert Hall in London for a week in April, by The Vaccines and Bring Me The Horizon, while John Bishop will headline the comedy night.
The event - now its 16th year - is organised by The Who's Roger Daltrey to raise money to improve the treatment of 13 to 24 year olds fighting cancer and the rocker is very excited to have Pink Floyd legend Gilmour performing at the event.
Announcing this year's acts, Daltrey, 71, said: "Its hard to believe this is our 16th year at the Royal Albert Hall for Teenage Cancer Trust, and I'm very happy to be announcing such a varied line-up ... This year David Gilmour returns to the Royal Albert Hall to play for us. His show is so spectacular that at one point even the band has to wear sunglasses on stage, so it is certainly one not to be missed. I'm also very proud to welcome New Order to the Teenage Cancer Trust fold and this will be their first time at the Royal Albert Hall since 1986. Bring Me The Horizon come to us fresh from reaching number two in both the UK and US album charts with their latest 'That's The Spirit', they're without doubt one of the most exciting 'heavy' bands around and we're very happy they accepted our invite, the same with The Vaccines who are one of the best British bands out there. Simply Red are simply one of the most successful British acts of the past 30 years with over 60 million album sold and I know that Mick Hucknall and co will put on a truly fantastic show that will be ideally suited to the Royal Albert Hall.
"We're had so many incredible musical moments at these shows over the years but these moments are made even more special by the wonderful young people I have met. They shouldn't have to stop being teenagers just because they have cancer. They are young people first - cancer patients second. With their incredible vigour and positivity as inspiration, we aim to keep Teenage Cancer Trust leading the world in cancer care for this age group."
Since the shows began in 2000 over 200 artists have performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust, including icons such as Sir Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Robert Plant and regular supporters like Noel Gallagher, Kasabian, Liam Gallagher and Stereophonics.
Tickets for the Teenage Cancer Trust shows - which are sponsored by Domino's Pizza Group, Sky Betting and Gaming, Tangle Teezer, and American Airlines and supported by Absolute Radio, Metro and NME - go on sale from 9am on Friday (19.02.16).

Teenage Cancer Trust 2016 dates:
Tuesday 19th April - comedy night with John Bishop
Wednesday 20th April - The Vaccines with Everything Everything
Thursday 21st April - Simply Red plus very special guests
Friday 22nd April - Bring Me The Horizon plus very special guests
Saturday 23rd April - New Order plus very special guests
Sunday 24th April - David Gilmour

Tickets available from:
www.gigsandtours.com
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
www.royalalberthall.com
www.teenagecancertrust.org

Kanye West has vowed to boycott the Grammy Awards if he doesn't win Album of the Year - but he isn't nominated for the prize.
The 'All Day' hitmaker has been practicing his acceptance speech ahead of the ceremony today (15.02.16), but he's unlikely to need it as his new LP 'Life of Pablo' isn't eligible to win this year and isn't on the shortlist alongside 'Sound & Color' by Alabama Shakes, 'To Pimp a Butterfly' by Kendrick Lamar, Chris Stapleton's 'Traveller', '1989' by Taylor Swift and
The Weeknd's 'Beauty Behind the Madness'.
He tweeted: "I'm practicing my Grammy Speech. I'm not going to the Grammys unless they promise me the Album of the Year!!!(sic)"
However, though his own record isn't nominated, Kanye does have a producer credit on one track on The Weeknd's album, alongside four others.
The 38-year-old rapper has already scooped 21 Grammy awards over the years, including Best Rap Album in 2012, which saw his 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' LP scoop the accolade ahead of his 'Watch the Throne' collaboration with Jay Z.
But it seems that haul isn't enough for Kanye as he wants to win at least 100 of the statuettes over the duration of his career.
He added: "I made Dark Fantasy and Watch the Throne in one year and wasn't nominated for either ... "I will have over 100 Grammys before I die."
And the outspoken star went on to proclaim himself the "best of 2 generations" who is more interested in being great than liked.
He added: "I am the Jordan and Steph Curry of music, meaning I'm the best of 2 generations.
"All y'all so worried about being likable but only a few are concerned about being great!!!"

Beyonce and Mariah Carey have reportedly held talks over making a duet together. The award-winning duo recently attended a fundraising event in Los Angeles for the HeartView Global Foundation and during the course of the evening, the women discussed t...

Boy George was helped thorough his personal struggles by a conversation he had with Britain's Princess Diana.
The 54-year-old singer disappeared from public view after finding fame in the 1980s as he battled heroin and cocaine problems, but he's revealed how the royal helped him to get his life back on track.
He shared: "I met Princess Diana and she said to me, 'Do you know what? You're a survivor'.
"I said I didn't know how to take that and she assured me it was a compliment. It was such a sweet thing to say, she was like 'You're like me, you're a survivor'."
George said he is now looking forward to the rest of his life, having overcome his personal struggles.
He told the Daily Star Sunday newspaper: "I have reached a point in my life where that's not something I aspire to be. I want to thrive.
"I want to be on top of things and I feel like I am now. Some people grow into themselves and I think I have done that. I feel comfortable with who I am now.
"I feel like I have this ability now to really have fun, whatever I am doing or wherever I go. So when I hear people moaning, I just think 'Really?'. As I have got older I've learned to invest in happiness a bit more."

Hurts brought romance to London's O2 Academy Brixton on Saturday night (13.02.16).
The synth-pop duo - comprised of singer Theo Hutchraft and synthesist Adam Anderson - delighted an auditorium that was packed with couples and lovers on Valentines weekend as they opened the show with 'Some Kind of Heaven' from their latest LP 'Surrender', which goes "My heart screams Hallelujah when I hear your battle cry, I know we're so young but I swear you're the one for me" and followed it up swiftly with their sexy and provocative track 'Miracle'.
Couples were joined by Theo clones dressed in black, stunning Romanian models who had journeyed from the mother-land, middle-aged women pining for 1980s power-pop and a few screaming teens for good measure.
The peddlers of melodramatic pop continued the set with a mixture of hits from their 2013 LP 'Exile' and breakout 2010 album 'Happiness'.
They cranked up the emotion with their 2013 hit 'Somebody to Die For but gave the crowd some emotional relief when they sang darker tracks 'Sandman' and Surrender's 'Lights'.
A crescendo of uplifting songs followed including 'Wonderful Life' from their 2010 LP 'Happiness' as well as 'Wings' and 'Nothing Will Be Bigger Than Us' from their latest offering.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz about the record - which was written in Ibiza, Los Angeles, New York last year - Theo previously revealed: "We wanted to make a big pop album. You know? A big bold statement of an album.
"When we made it, it was just us enjoying ourselves. We set out with this plan of not wanting to make music in the rain in Manchester. So we said, 'What would happen, if we went to the sunshine, had a great time and just let the music come out?' We make music with aspirations. But the weirdest thing about it is that we're normal. We're not weird, we're fun. And those places brought it out in us."
However, the singer notably ended on fan favourite track 'Stay', a heartbreak song that leaves you yearning for lost love, as it goes "Say goodbye in the pouring rain, and I break down as you walk away."
Hurts were supported by indie-rock four-piece Spector, who treated the crowd to their hit 'All The Sad Young Men' during their opening set.
The duo now head to Europe to embark on a 21-date tour of mainland Europe which kicks off in Luxembourgh on February 15 and ends in Wiesbaden in Germany on March 16.

Johnny Depp is excited to perform a "weird spectacle" at the Grammy Awards.
The Hollywood Vampires - which the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actress is a part of alongside the likes of Alice Cooper, Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan - are set to take to the stage at the annual awards ceremony and Johnny has joked it will make people's heads "explode".
He told USA Today: "If I saw these guys coming out with myself, I too would think, 'This is kind of a weird spectacle', initially. There will be some people saying, 'Let's see this Hollywood-guy, actor-guy play guitar'.
"But hopefully, what will happen is that the song will kick in and people are going to feel their wigs starting to split. People's heads are going to go like that (explode)."
Meanwhile, Alice previously revealed the band, who will perform their original song 'As Bad As I Am', will pay tribute to their late friend Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister, who passed away recently after an "aggressive" battle with cancer.
He shared: "Lemmy was one of those salt-of-the-earth guys. Find me somebody who didn't love Lemmy. He's just one of those guys that's impossible not to like."
The 58th Grammy Awards will take place on Monday, February 15, 2016 and will be broadcast live on CBS.

Cheryl Fernandez-Versini is channelling her heartbreak into her music.
The 'Only Human' singer is determined not to become "bitter" over the breakdown of her second marriage, to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, and is finding writing her thoughts and feelings down to be "very therapeutic".
A source said: "She has been writing some tracks, which has been very therapeutic.
"Her music is where she can really sort her head out because she's vowed not to become bitter.
"She's said she'll turn this split into the best thing that's ever happened to her."
And the 33-year-old star is trying to embrace the "positives" about her situation and just feels grateful she gave her relationship with JB a "try".
The source added to LOOK magazine: "Everyone seems to think Cheryl is this frail little thing who's suffered endless setbacks and all kinds of heartache.
"But Cheryl doesn't see it that way. She's got a lot of positive things in her life right now and she counts her blessings every day.
"She sees JB as in her past, not her future, but she doesn't see the marriage as a mistake - she feels she took a chance on love and even though it didn't work out she's happy she gave it a try.
"Instead of being angry with him, she's thankful they shared some great times together."