Music News

Berry Gordy insists Michael Jackson would still be alive if he hadn't left Motown.
The 86-year-old producer signed the late star's family group, The Jackson 5, to his label in 1969 and launched the King of Pop's solo career two years later, but they all, with the exception of Jermaine Jackson, left to sign with Epic Records in 1975, a decision the legendary songwriter insists was down to their father and manager, Joe Jackson's desire for "power and money".
Asked if Michael - who died of acute Propofol intoxication in 2009 while preparing for a 50-date London residency - would still be alive if he had remained with Motown, Berry said: "Of course, but it wasn't Michael who wanted to leave.
"It was his father. They wanted power and money.
"I always worried about Michael."
Berry - who has eight children from three marriages - and his family used to enjoy sports games with the Jacksons, and on one occasion the producer was very impressed by one particularly "amazing" player - but failed to realise the boy was his own stepson.
He recalled to Britain's GQ magazine: "Michael was the catcher for his family team.
"Every time Michael would miss the ball, this other kid would come over and scoop it up. He was amazing!
"I went up to this kid and said it was a family game. He said, 'Do you know Ray Singleton?' I said of course I know her, she was my wife from Detroit. And he said, 'Well, I'm her son.' And I said, 'Oh you're my son too!' "

Union J have vowed to still remain friends with George Shelley even though he is now out of the group.
George's bandmates Josh Cuthbert, J.J. Hamblett and Jaymi Hemsley decided to carry on as a three-piece without George as he apparently lacked commitment to the group since appearing on reality TV show 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' last year.
Josh gave him an "ultimatum" in an email to either commit to a future with the 'Carry You' hitmakers or go it alone with George choosing the latter.
Despite his departure, Jaymi has now gone on Twitter to wish George all the best in his future endeavours and assure fans the foursome will always remain friends.
Writing on his personal account on Friday (04.03.16), he tweeted: "I can certainly say this decision has not come from any bad feeling, jealousy or anything else of that nature. I will always support and be George's friend and so happy he is being amazing and slaying what he's doing! Just a very sad day that has been blown out of proportion! (sic)"
The 26-year-old star also revealed the remaining members "mutually agreed" to continue as a trio until they find a suitable replacement for George, who they are all very "proud" of.
Jaymi continued: "George has decided he could no longer continue in Union J because he is pursue individual projects! I wanted it to come from my hand that I am very proud of George, the person he is and everything he has so far and will continue to achieve. He will always be my brother! Of course I am utterly heartbroken that we are no longer a four and I am going to miss him beyond belief, but mutually we agreed that we would like to continue in Union J, which George totally supported, and it wouldn't be fair for all the band members not to have the same goal at the minute. (sic)"
Josh also made a post on his own personal Twitter handle to tell his followers that he is fully supportive of George and also promised that Union J will have new music coming soon.
He added to his Twitter account: "I'll always love him and see him as a friend ... Now it's time to get into the studio and give you some new music. (sic)"
Also tweeting on the situation, JJ wrote: "I want to wish George the best of luck on the future, and will miss him! Although George decided he no longer wanted to be a part of Union Js Journey, as a 3 we feel we are just getting started and Owe it to all you guys to continue and Want to Continue, I promise you of this!!
"We have got some very exciting things coming your way in the next few weeks which I am sure you will be delighted with ... Thanks for all your kind support and this is the reason you are The BEST FANS in the world. We love you guys (sic)"

James Morrison has slammed 'The X Factor' for ripping the "individuality" out of music.
The 'Broken Strings' singer has hit out at the talent show, claiming the format manufactures pop acts that all sound the same and says the show - headed up by music mogul Simon Cowell - doesn't reach out to artists with enough enthusiasm.
Speaking to Key 103's Mike and Brooke from the Breakfast show, he said: "They just all sound like everyone else ... they just strip the individuality from people ... I just think that's the thing that's wrong about it. If they embraced the artist and really, totally, fully embraced what they're about ... I mean the guys who are a bit overweight end up slim as hell by the end."
The 31-year-old singer/songwriter - who returned with his fourth studio album 'Higher Than Here' last October - thinks people are losing faith in pop music because of TV talent shows.
He said: "I don't think it's the right way to go about getting your music out there ... it's all about the winning of the competition. I don't think people are as impressed by music as they used to be because of programmes like that that strip away all the layers of what it takes to make a song or put music together."
And the hunky tunesmith thinks the world would be a better place without the entertainment programme.
He added: "It is a bit of a shortcut but at the same time ... if it doesn't come on again, it's not going to bother me ... I'm sure it wouldn't do the music industry any harm if it stopped showing on telly. I don't think it's the right platform but it's an entertainment show."

Metallica's Lars Ulrich cannot fathom how the band made 'Master of Puppets' in eight weeks.
The 52-year-old drummer has reflected on how quickly the heavy metallers produced their third studio LP and admitted these days, the band can barely get to their recording studio in that amount of time, let alone make a record.
He said: "There's a spark or spontaneity or impulsiveness that happens when you're in your twenties. We wrote 'Master of Puppets' in probably eight weeks over that summer. "Nowadays, it takes me eight weeks just to drive own to the studio. It's like, 'What the f**k did we do in the summer of '85 where we could just give birth to that from the first note to the last note in eight weeks?'"
Lars - who has been the band's sticksman since 1980 - explained how their most-recent efforts compared to previous records.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "'Death Magnetic' took us probably 18 months from when we started writing to when we started recording.
"On this current record, it probably took us about nine months. How the f**k do you write a record like 'Master of Puppets' in eight weeks?"

Kendrick Lamar has released a surprise album.
The 'Swimming Pools' hitmaker shocked fans when he dropped an eight-track EP, 'untitled unmastered', on iTunes without warning.
Each song is given the title 'untitled' followed by a date, ranging from 2013 through to 2016, which is thought to be the days he recorded the tracks on.
It is believed the music may be from his "chamber of [unreleased] material".
Of his unreleased music, he said at the time: "You see all these performances on these late night shows - I got a chamber of material from the album that I was in love where sample clearances or something as simple as a deadline kept it off the album. But I think probably close to ten songs that I'm in love with that I'll still play and still perform that didn't make the cut."
The release comes not long after the 28-year-old rapper revealed he already has an idea for his next album.
He said previously: "As far as content, what I want to get across, I have an idea. But even that's still premature. Once I get back in that studio, things evolve into other things.
"The [previous] album just had a deeper impact than I expected, because it touched so many homes, and not just in my own community. I guess I'm just speaking words that need to be heard in these times."

Macklemore faced an ultimatum of taking drugs or making music - and he chose to write songs.
The rapper - whose real name is Ben Haggerty - is back with his producer-partner Ryan Lewis with fresh LP 'This Unruly Mess I've Made' and the track 'Kevin', which features Leon Bridges, deals with his own battle with substance abuse, a fight which he is currently winning.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, he said: "It's a deeply personal album of self-scrutiny ... I will always be a drug addict and an alcoholic. I don't think anyone or anything can save me from that. And there was a time when I had to choose one or the other. Did I want to get high and escape or did I want to commit to my music and make an album? So I chose this album. And getting sober was what I needed to wake up."
In previous interviews Macklemore admitted he was burnt out following the non-stop touring he was committed to.
And with the pressure and the lack of sleep that comes with being on the road taking its toll, he started drinking and taking drugs.
He has been clean since a stint in rehab in 2008 and a brief relapse in 2011, which he describes in his song 'Starting Over'.
And now he's clear-headed and focused on what he wants in his life he says he's never going to change.
Macklemore - whose first album with Lewis, 'The Heist', became a hit all over the world - said: "After all the success, there were people who loved me and people who hated me. It was important to step back ... I had to remind myself of the values and principles that I stand for, and once I did know that I will never now change."

Drake's new album is almost finished.
The 'Hotline Bling' hitmaker has revealed his eagerly-anticipated fourth studio album 'Views From the 6' - his first record in three years - is in the final stages.
In a series of posts on his Instagram account, Drake has shared a picture of external hard drives, as well as, his longtime collaborator Noah "40" Shebib, stocking up on supplies including bedding wear, thought to be for their studio sessions, and alongside each photo is the caption "Home Stretch".
The first post was a picture of the rapper performing with grime outfit Section Boyz in London, which happened the same week as the BRIT Awards, at which he joined Rihanna on stage to perform their song 'Work'.
And the second picture was of several LaCie 2big Thunderbolt 2 external drives, which are used to store master copies on.
While the 29-year-old musician hasn't released a full album since 2013, he has worked on a number of different projects including a mix tape entitled 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late', his record with fellow rap maestro Future 'What A Time To Be Alive' and a few collaborations.
The Canadian rapper-and-singer has given fans a snippet of one of the songs featured on the new record with a six-second teaser of the untitled track.
Drake's next effort is the follow-up to 'Nothing was The Same' and he says he's been trying really hard to show he's not been slacking between albums.
He previously shared: "I'm trying really trying. It's not like I'm just sitting here, just f***in' shooting with my eyes closed. Like, I'm trying. I'm really trying to make music for your life."
'Views From the 6' is yet to be given a definite release date.

Jess Glynne admits her recovery from vocal surgery drove her "mad".
The 26-year-old singer underwent surgery on her damaged vocal cords in 2015, forcing her to miss out on a Glastonbury performance, and Jess has admitted the lengthy recovery process caused her lots of stress.
She recalled: "It was terrifying, really terrifying. It was a singer's worst nightmare. The whole process of recovery was, like, a good eight weeks. It was a good two months, yeah.
"I mean, it takes six weeks until you can even sing a note, like there was three weeks of no talking at all. And then you start to talk ... it is a really long process."
The 'Don't Be So Hard on Yourself' hitmaker admitted she found the recovery process especially tough because she loves to chat.
She told BBC Radio 4: "I love talking and it was very difficult. I kind of stayed away, though, from everyone and everything. I avoided everyone. I got my operation in Boston and I stayed in Boston for a couple of weeks with my mum, which was really nice, and my dad as well.
"Then, I came back for a week then I went back to Boston. Being around people when you can't talk is the most infuriating thing. It drove me mad."

Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy are forming a supergroup.
The Westlife singer and the Boyzone hunk are joining forces to create their own band Boyzlife, in a project backed and funded by hotel giant Hilton, as they take to the stage to belt out the lyrics to their former bands' 90s biggest hits.
Brian - who quit Westlife in 2004 - said: "We all had a chat, the lads. We said it would be amazing. Not even just performing together, but can you imagine the craic? Nine of us Irish lads on a tour bus together, going round the world together. It would be absolute carnage. We all get on so well so you never know. We would have so much fun on tour. We could end up adding more people to the next one. Right now this is about me and Keith but the door is always open."
The talented duo will kick off their two-piece show in London on October 16 before doing 11 more gigs nationwide.
And Keith, 41 - who left Boyzone when the band originally split in 2000 - is hoping the new venture will open more doors for them and may even lead to a TV documentary.
He told The Sun newspaper: "It might end up on TV and we'll record a documentary of it. We might end up writing some songs together. There's no limit to this. We're going out there with our ears and eyes open."