Music News

Ronnie Wood has a "completely different focus" since ditching drink and drugs.
The Rolling Stones rocker got sober in 2010 after well-publicised struggles with substance abuse, but believes having a clear mind means he has become a much better performer.
When asked if he agreed with fans, who say he is playing better than ever before while on tour, he said: "Yeah. I'm five years clean and serene this year, so that's made a big difference. I have a completely different focus. It's great for me to revisit albums I wasn't even on - I can see 'Sticky Fingers' in a completely different light, and clearer."
The 68-year-old star - who has four children - joined the band 40 years ago, and admitted his wild lifestyle as a youngster was excessive.
He revealed: "Those were the days of experimenting with scotch and Coke and brandy and things, and perhaps not knowing the limits. There are some entries [in my diary] where it says, 'Great night last night. Sick twice.' But in those days it used to bounce off us - that and all the travel we did in the van. We'd grin and bear it. If I had to do it now, I probably wouldn't last a week."
However, the guitarist now finds it "easy" to stay away from alcohol while on tour as his previous addictions are no longer "triggered" during difficult times.
When asked about staying off alcohol, he told Rolling Stone magazine: "Well, now I find it easy, thank God. I think it does get easier. The first white-knuckle months when I first cleaned up, it was a bit of a challenge, and I thought, "Oh God, how am I ever going to get through this?" But now I can go through most situations and not get triggered."

Tony Bennett was forced to cancel his concert at London's Royal Albert Hall last night (09.06.15) after catching a flu virus.
The legendary jazz singer was set to perform alongside Lady Gaga - with whom he collaborated on the album 'Cheek to Cheek' - at the sold-out gig but had to pull out after falling ill.
Dismissing rumours he'd suffered a heart attack, Tony wrote on Twitter: "Sorry to not be singing in London tonight. I love my fans in the UK and appreciate all the well wishes to get over this flu quickly."
Lady Gaga, 29 - who, along with Bennett, met Prince Harry before performing at the first of their two scheduled charity concerts earlier this week - also took to social media to apologise for the cancellation.
She said: "Hey everybody! Don't worry about Tony, he's ok! That's just showbiz sometimes. We'll catch u next time, we got you! (sic)"
The reason for the cancellation was also confirmed by Bennett's spokeswoman.
She said: "Live Nation has confirmed that the performance by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga previously scheduled for this evening at the Royal Albert Hall is not taking place.
"Unfortunately, Tony Bennett has come down with a flu virus which has prevented him from performing the second of two sold-out shows in London.
"Ticket holders are instructed to retain their tickets to this event pending more information.
"Fans who have purchased tickets online will be notified via the ticket outlets as soon as additional information is available."
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga and Bennett will reportedly serenade Hillary Clinton - whom the 'Poker Face' hitmaker is a long-standing supporter of - at a fundraiser for the presidential candidate at New York's Plaza Hotel later this month.
Tickets for the event - which is set to take place on June 27 - are being sold for $2,700 each with a limited number of $1,000 tickets.
A source told the New York Post newspaper's PageSix: "They're not sure if it'll be a seated affair or if people will be standing - it's a pricey night to be standing."

Miley Cyrus' label has warned her against making a "weird" album.
The 22-year-old musician is currently working on the follow-up to her chart-topping third studio album, 'Bangerz', and has revealed her record label are concerned she might make an "avant-garde" LP which sounds like experimental singer Björk.
She said: "They're like, 'Don't make it too weird, don't make it avant-garde; you can't go from Miley to Björk!'"
The 'Wrecking Ball' singer - who recently split up with model Patrick Schwarzenegger - admitted she has decided to record her next collection in a different way to her 2013 album though, choosing to use her garage as a home studio in order to work in solitude.
She explained: "I don't have to have writers, I don't have to have f**kin' producers in there."
And although the zany pop star has made the conscious decision to remain alone while creating her new music, she revealed she has been working with 26-year-old producer Mike Will Made It on the collection, after he produced several tracks on 'Bangerz' including the hit single 'We Can't Stop'.
In her cover feature for Paper magazine, she added: "Mike Will will text me a beat, and I'll go in my studio and work on it by myself."

Alice Cooper thinks modern rock 'n' roll is "limp".
The 'Schools Out' singer has aired his views on the state of the rock industry and admitted he doesn't think there is any other band out there "killing it" like Mötley Crüe.
Speaking at 'The Last Ever European Press Conference' at The Law Society in London today (09.06.15), he said: "Our generation of bands wrote songs which will appeal to kids aged 16, 30 years from now, who will still go, 'Oh yeah, that's me'. The state of rock and roll right now is so limp. There's not a lot of rock and roll bands out there, so that's why you see bands like Mötley Crüe still killing it."
The 67-year-old rocker has been invited to support legendary 'Girls Girls Girls' hitmakers Mötley Crüe on their last ever European tour, and said he enjoys it because they make the audience "exhausted".
Asked what it felt like to be invited on their last tour, he said: "We've known Mötley for years and never played with them. So when they said do you want to send us off, I said, absolutely. We are two bands that really bring it every night. It's good for the audience because there is not a lot of rock 'n' roll around anymore: Not real rock or hard rock. With these two bands we want these kids to be exhausted by the end of the show. "
While the end is insight for Mötley Crüe - who will split up after a show in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve (31.12.15) - the 'Poison' hitmaker joked: "We are booked in for the next century."
Alice Cooper is only playing selected dates. Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday, June 19.
Their final European dates are as follows:
November 2 - Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, England
November 3 - Manchester Arena, England
November 4 - Birmingham Genting Arena, England
November 6 - London SSE Arena, England
November 8 - Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
November 9 - Basel St. Jakobshalle, Switzerland
November 10 - Milan Mediolanum Forum, Italy
November 12 - Monte Carlo, Monaco Sporting Club, Monaco
November 13 - Munich Zenith, Germany
November 14 - Dusseldorf ISS Dome, Germany
November 16 - Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden
November 18 - Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland
November 20 - Abu Dhabi Du Arena, United Arab Emirates

Pitbull always stays "single, bilingual and ready to mingle".
The 'I Know You Want Me' rapper - who can speak English and Spanish - has revealed he never wants to be tied down with a relationship because he prefers to have fun with his life, and even has a catchphrase to match his life choice.
When told about how his fellow Miami musician Jason Derulo is now single, he said: "Good for him, congratulations! I stay single, bilingual and ready to mingle!"
The 34-year-old musician insisted he doesn't consider himself to be a "player" who treats women badly though, and said he's just having a good time so people can say he had a "fun" life when he dies.
Shortly before his performance at Capital's Summertime Ball with Vodafone on Saturday (06.06.15), he told Capital FM: "I'm not a player, I'm just enjoying life. My funeral is not even going to be a funeral, it's going to be a fun-eral. Alright, and at the fun-eral everyone's going to go up and go, 'That guy enjoyed life, that guy had fun'."
And while chatting on the show about which act on the event's line-up he would most like to marry, he admitted he liked the idea of tying the knot with five-piece girlband Fifth Harmony.
When questioned on how he would be able to keep all five members happy, he joked: "Well that's the beauty of it, I was raised by women so I'm kind of used to it."

Iggy Azalea has apologised for homophobic comments she made "as a young person".
The 'Fancy' rapper has decided to pull out of a scheduled performance at Pittsburgh Pride concert on 13 June following criticism of her booking, due to her previous homophobic comments on Twitter, admitting she "deeply regrets" the things she has "carelessly" said in the past.
She wrote: "I am truly disappointed I have to share this news, but I will no longer be performing at Pittsburgh Pride on June 13th. This has been a difficult decision as I truly support the event and LGBTIQA communities, however I feel my participation at this point would only serve to further distract from the true purpose of the event (sic)."
The 25-year-old musician went on to declare she is a "firm" believer of "equality" and would never use the comments as an "adult".
She continued: "I am a firm believer in equality. Unfortunately in the past as a young person, I used words I should not have. The last thing I want is for something so carelessly said to be interpreted as reflective of my character. I meant no harm and I deeply regret ever uttering those words. As an adult I would never used them because I understand they play a detrimental role in the fight for issues I do truly believe in.
"I am sorry to anyone I have offended or disappointed & I wish all my fans and family participating in Pride the best of luck (sic)."

Ella Henderson is feeling "devastated" after her dad was charged with fraud.
The 'Ghost' singer's 49-year-old father Sean, who also manages her career, was charged on Monday (08.06.15) following allegations of fraud, theft and money laundering, two years after he and his wife Michelle, 51, were questioned.
A pal of the family said: "Ella is close to her family and devastated about the charges."
The 19-year-old musician's mother has now been released, although three other people have reportedly been charged in association with the case, with a fifth person to be charged at a later date.
Although officers refused to name the other people involved, Humberside police said: "A 49-year-old man from Tetney has been charged with seven offences relating to fraud, theft and money laundering.
"He has been released on bail to appear at Sheffield magistrates' court on July 8."
However, the former 'X Factor' contestant, who released her debut album 'Chapter One' last year, previously said they are a "very strong family" and it takes a lot to "break" their spirit.
She said: "We're a very strong family.
"It takes a lot for me to break down or cry. Someone would have to be terminally ill for that to happen."

Ariana Grande has written a new song about a boy she went on a date with.
The 'Problem' hitmaker - who recently spoke out about her issue with being referred to as the ex-girlfriend of her former boyfriends - has now revealed going on a date with "this boy" is the inspiration behind one of the tracks on her new album 'Moonlight'.
She said: "It's about this very cute night we had together. I have a playlist of 12 songs already."
The 21-year-old star - who split from the rapper Big Sean earlier this year and is rumoured to be dating One Direction heartthrob Niall Horan - claims her upcoming record will reveal more about her than any of her previous music.
She told The Sun newspaper: "I plan on writing a lot more as soon I get home. It's the most personal music I've ever written."
Ariana - who is currently on the UK leg of her self-titled world tour - also admits she's getting more and more confident each time she takes to the stage.
The brunette beauty added: "The more I experience life, the more music I make, the more performances I do, the more stable I am."

Nathan Sykes has shut down rumours of a The Wanted reunion.
The 22-year-old singer admitted he has his doubts about whether he will ever reunite with his former bandmates Siva Kaneswaran, Max George, Jay McGuiness and Tom Parker, after the group decided to go on hiatus in January 2014, because all of his former bandmates are "happy doing their own thing".
When asked about the prospect of a comeback for the group, he told BANG Showbiz: "I don't know. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, let alone in five or 10 years time. But everyone's really happy doing their own thing at the moment."
The 'Glad You Came' hitmakers released three albums during their time together, all of which charted in the UK top 10, and while Nathan is now enjoying forging his own solo career he said "you never know" what will happen with the band in the future.
Speaking at Capital's Summertime Ball with Vodafone, he continued: "You know it's really funny, like, when we were together, everyone was just like, 'When are you guys going to split up or take a break?' and then we did, and everyone's like, 'When are you getting back together?' So you can't win. But you never know what's going to happen."
And after years of performing with his bandmates, the 'Kiss Me Quick' singer is adjusting to the task of singing on his own, despite the fact it adds extra pressure.
He explained: "I'm having so much fun, but it is different.
"I think, you can't make a mistake and hope that people didn't see it. When you look up and there's those massive screens, especially at Wembley Stadium, the screens are huge, you kind of go, yep, I just messed up."