Music News

Rod Stewart thinks Justin Bieber "tries too hard".
The 70-year-old rocker - who's among the best-selling artists of all time - has hit out at the 'Boyfriend' hitmaker, suggesting he strives too much to present a rebellious image of himself.
Rod reflected: "Harry Styles is a good lad, I like him. But there are some people in the music business that try so hard to be different and rebellious. Like Justin Bieber - he wants so much to be a bad, bad rock star. But you either are or you're not - you can't fake it. He tries too hard.
"The public have seen it all before and they're tired of rock stars behaving badly. It's passé. The Who and The Faces did it all before they were born."
Meanwhile, Rod also revealed he admired Madonna for amassing a huge personal fortune, despite having a "minimal voice".
He told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: "Good luck to Madonna. She's made a bloody fortune with a minimal voice. You can't knock it - any girl who can make that sort of dough has to be admired.
"But give me Adele any day. And we lost the best one of the lot - Amy Winehouse. What a voice that was."

Rod Stewart gets his "best ideas" when he's driving.
The 'Maggie May' hitmaker finds getting behind the wheel of one of his many vehicles clears his head and helps his creativity.
He said: "I love to drive. It clears my head and I get my best ideas then.
"The one thing I don't do any more is drive at night because I like to have a drink of wine every night."
Rod finds songwriting "wonderfully fulfilling" and thinks of his songs as being his "babies".
He explained: "I long for the next song to be written but, in says that, I wouldn't write unless I had to.
"It's wonderfully fulfilling, when it's right, and you go, 'Blimey, did I write that?' One minute your page is empty, later it's got some stuff on it.
"It gives me even more satisfaction, because my songs are like babies. You create them, you nurture them, and you bend them and twist them and then you put them out to the public and then you hear them on the radio and you go, 'That's amazing'. To hear it back."
And the 70-year-old star still gets excited when he hears his work on the radio.
He added to Uncut magazine: "That buzz hasn't left me after all these years, to hear it on the radio."

Little Mix "didn't hold back" with their new album.
The girl group - comprising of Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson - are gearing up to release their third LP 'Get Weird' in November and have teased fans can expect a "colourful" selection of songs on the album as a contrast to their second record which they thought was "quite dark" in comparison.
Asked how their recent single 'Black Magic' compares to the rest of the album, Leigh-Anne said: "It fits really well.
Perrie added: "It's a very good introduction to what the album is. The album is so pop, so colourful, very personality-driven. I think 'Salute' was quite dark and a bit R&B whereas this is just full on pop excitement, like, we just absolutely love this album. We didn't hold back at all, we just went for it."
The singers also explained they decided to name their third record 'Get Weird' because they consider themselves to be "absolutely nuts" so thought the title was appropriate.
Jesy joked to BANG Showbiz: "We're absolutely nuts ourselves and so are our fans and we want to spread that across the world."
However, 23-year-old Leigh-Anne explained the name has a deeper meaning as it's about embracing your quirks.
She added: "And it's just about literally being who you are, being yourself and loving who you are as well and not being afraid to show that."

Jim Diamond has died at the age of 64.
The Scottish singer-songwriter - who was best known for hits including 'I Won't Let You Down', 'I Should Have Known Better' and 'Hi Ho Silver' - passed away at his London home, leaving his family "deeply shocked by his sudden death".
A statement added: "He was a devoted family man who loved his wife Chrissy and his children Sara and Lawrence, and the music that he continued to make.
"He dedicated a lot of time over recent years to the Cash for Kids charity appeal in Scotland with his friend Sir Tom Hunter and was still active and well respected on the music scene.
"He'll be much missed by all who knew him and everyone who loved his music and his unique voice and style."
Jim's passing comes just a few weeks after the death of his mother.
He wrote on Facebook on September 28: "Sad to say I lost my mum Sarah last week people say they have the best mum in the world, I did.
"If you look up tonight and see a couple dancing on a cloud to the sound of the Count Basie big band that's my mum and dad. As always peace to you all Jx (sic)"

Florence Welch told Dave Grohl to eat broccoli to heal his broken leg.
The Florence + the Machine singer - who broke her foot jumping off stage at Coachella earlier this year - sought advice on calming her nerves ahead of headlining Glastonbury, a gig she was given after the Foo Fighters frontman's injury caused his group to pull out, and in return offered some health tips.
She wrote: "I'm so sorry you broke your leg. I know how that must feel. I broke my foot onstage too only a few weeks ago. What idiots we are!
"But let me recommend eating lots of broccoli as it aids the healing process. It's the iron.
"If you in turn could recommend something that would quell my outrageous nerves, that would be lovely."
In response, Dave wrote back and suggested Florence watch a performance of Freddie Mercury performing with Queen at Live Aid in 1985, insisting it was the right way to play on stage.
Florence noted: "So sweet. And so true! That really is how you do it."
The 'Spectrum' singer found one of the best ways she could prepare for the gig was to visualise it in her mind.
She admitted to Q magazine: "I played Imaginary Glastonbury about 17 hundred times. That helped.
"Rod [Ackroyd, guitarist] spent a lot of the time watching old Oasis at Glastonbury videos. Or maybe it was Blue. Always get those guys mixed up."

Ben Haenow wants to crack America.
The 'X Factor' winner is hoping to make it big in the USA and believes his new single 'Second Hand Heart' with Kelly Clarkson - released on Friday (16.10.15) - will help him to do so because she is so well known in the States.
Asked if he thinks he can break into the US market, he exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I'd like to think so. I think we've got a great start with Kelly being on board."
But the 30-year-old singer - whose eponymous debut album will be released on November 13 - confessed the track wasn't originally intended to be a duet and only turned into one when he returned to the UK after working on the track abroad.
He admitted: "It wasn't supposed to be a duet. We got back to the UK after recording it and Sonny, the head of the label, was kind of like, how do you feel about it being a duet?
"But I asked who he was thinking and he said Kelly Clarkson, so I toyed with the idea. But as soon as we got the track back with the vocals on it, for me that was it, it just sold it. It brought a new perspective to the song instead of it just being one."

Priscilla Presley has vowed never to "compromise" Elvis' voice.
The 70-year-old actress - who was married to the star from 1967 to 1973 - insists she would never take advantage of the late singer's legacy so doesn't think she should be criticised for backing a new album which features his vocals with backing from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
She said: "I hope people embrace it. I know there will probably be critics but I would never ever compromise his voice. Because, it was what it was and it was great.
"Don (Reedman) brought this idea to me in 2013 when I was here playing the mean queen in panto. It was music to my ears. I went, 'We have to do it.'"
Defending her choice to create 'If I Can Dream', she insisted the 'Jailhouse Rock' hitmaker would have loved the collection.
She explained: "Elvis loved bigness. This is the kind of thing he would have absolutely supported and would have done in a minute."
The record also features a duet between Elvis and Michael Buble, who Priscilla praised for doing justice to the track.
She gushed to The Sun newspaper: "The professionalism Michael showed on this is unbelievable. He is a perfectionist. I don't know how many times he rehearsed with Elvis but you feel they are in the same room.
"I can just see Elvis ... he had such a great sense of humour ... going, 'OK, you think that's good? Listen to this!' and Michael replying, 'Well, mmm, let me show you what I got!' It's really good and we are very proud of it."

Hurts' third LP 'Surrender' is inspired by "paradise".
The synth-pop duo - comprised of singer Theo Hutchraft and synthesist Adam Anderson - have spent the past year enjoying "fun" destinations which have influenced their most "bold" pop album to date.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz about the record, which is available from today (09.10.15), singer Theo revealed: "We wanted to make a big pop album. you know? A big bold statement of an album.
"When you go to LA and Ibiza, and to New York as well, it's just non-stop. And those places are fun. It's just life's great and I think it's an interesting food to put in your music ... 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."
But the peddlers of melodramatic pop stuck in a few darker tracks for good measure, including 'Police', and the 29-year-old 'Lights' singer insisted they haven't forgotten their Yorkshire roots.
He added: "Because of where we come from, I'm often drawn to people who've had tragedy, but a strong outlook. Where I grew up, it was difficult for people and it was hard to get out of that. So I like those stories and I like those stories, I like romanticising things."

Keith Richards has branded Led Zeppelin "hollow".
The Rolling Stones rocker has revealed he's never been a fan of the band and while he thinks Jimmy Page is a great guitarist he didn't like him performing with the other members of the band.
When an interviewer said he wasn't keen on Led Zeppelin, Jimmy agreed: "Me neither. I love Jimmy Page, but as a band, no, with John Bonham thundering down the highway in an uncontrolled 18-wheeler. He had cornered the market there. Jimmy is a brilliant player. But I always felt there was something a little hollow about it, you know?"
After bad-mouthing the 'Stairway To Heaven' hitmakers he decided to also lay in to The Who by writing Roger Daltrey off as "all flash" and describing the band as "crazy".
He explained: "I always thought [Roger] Daltrey was all flash. And I love Pete Townshend, but I always thought the Who were a crazy band, anyway. You would say to [Keith] Moon, if you were in a session with him, 'Just give me a swing,' and he [couldn't] ... He was an incredible drummer, but only with Pete Townshend."
While discussing other musicians though he praised Ed Sheeran and admitted he wishes Amy Winehouse had had the chance to reach her full potential before tragically dying from alcohol poisoning in 2011.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "What's interesting about him [Ed] is he's almost a one-man band, to start with, which is always very interesting. I don't know, I feel a very genuine feel from the music and what he's doing. And I love it when you meet people and you realize immediately that fame isn't the only thing on their mind. I mean sadly, now, Amy Winehouse could have been that. She already was, but she's sadly missed. To [think] what she could have done, what she would have done."