Music News

The Rolling Stones were paid £2 million to play a private gig for former Hewlett-Packard chairman Ralph Whitworth.
The 'Satisfaction' hitmakers were invited to perform a secret concert on Wednesday (26.05.15) in Solana Beach, California, for the HP tycoon.
The legendary band blitzed through a 15-song set list, including a rare performance of 'Crazy Mama', which hasn't been played live by the band since 1999.
A source revealed the group - Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts - found it a "tremendous honour" to play for Ralph, 60, who once hired former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney to execute a private function, for which he donated £700,000 to his charity in exchange for performing.
The source added to The Daily Mirror newspaper:"The Stones were asked to do it by Ralph for a big party he was throwing. They just love performing so when they are asked to do it for private gigs they will do it. The boys will most likely donate their fee to charity."
The 60-year-old multi-millionaire was treated to most of their hits including, 1981's 'Start Me Up', 'Paint It Black' from 1966's 'Aftermath' LP and they ended with one of their biggest hits, 'Satisfaction'.
The next Rolling Stones concert on their US tour will be on May 30 in Columbus, Ohio.

Emily Eavis will stand by "amazing force" Kanye West headlining Glastonbury despite receiving death threats for her choice of headliner.
The festival's co-organiser has been subjected to multiple threatening messages after it was announced the rap superstar would headline the legendary music festival.
As soon as it was revealed the 'All Day' rapper would lead the line-up, many angry festival goers took to the internet in protest, with 133,000 signing a petition to stop Kanye - who is married to Kim Kardashian - from being allowed to perform.
Emily, who organises the event with her father Michael Eavis, who founded the festival - told The Times newspaper: "I had death threats and stuff. It was just horrible. It was just crazy. It was getting out of control. We had Time magazine, all the American news channels saying they were going to come down. This incredible onslaught worldwide."
Emily has found the whole backlash very troubling, and insists all she and her dad Michael want to do is book the best acts in the world to play at their festival.
She added: "It was quite upsetting because we were talking about something that was so exciting and interesting and fresh and brilliant for the festival. Kanye West is making the most exciting music at the moment. He is an amazing force as a performer. For us, getting the biggest star in the world was an amazing coup."

Bono thinks B.B. King was a "guitar genius".
The 55-year-old U2 star has paid a glowing tribute to the late blues singer-songwriter, who passed away earlier this month, and also revealed B.B. and his band-mate The Edge used to love playing poker together while on tour.
He told The Sun newspaper: "B.B. had a volcano of a voice as well as being a guitar genius. He was one hell of a singer.
"He came on the road with us for a while on the Lovetown tour in 1988-89 and he was a great gambler.
"The Edge used to play poker a lot with B.B., they would even bet on which elevator would arrive first. In my eyes B.B. was one of the three Memphis kings alongside Elvis and Martin Luther King."
Meanwhile, The Edge praised the late singer for the "inspiring" way he dealt with discrimination.
He said: "The hardships he had to endure growing up on a cotton farm.
"He had some really difficult times with discrimination and came through it all with the most unbelievable grace which was so inspiring."
B.B. died on May 14, aged 89, with authorities in the US currently investigating claims he was poisoned.

Alfie Boe was "thrilled" to be asked to re-record the classic The Who album 'Quadrophenia'.
The 41-year-old was approached by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend to reimagine the band's sixth album, originally released in 1973, and said he was "couldn't believe" it when he got the call.
He told BANG Showbiz: "I was thrilled, absolutely thrilled, I was beside myself, I couldn't believe he'd asked me to be a part of it."
The English tenor admitted he had to seek advice from both Pete and lead singer Sir Roger Daltrey when singing on the album, 'Classic Quadrophenia', because he wanted to do the original LP justice.
Speaking about Pete's advice, he explained: "He wrote the piece so I needed advice, I needed to know what he wanted from it, what sort of approach he thought I should bring to it, but the biggest advice he could give to me was to make it my own, just use my ability to sing and adapt it to the music."
And although he was excited to be part of such a collection, he confessed he is now taking a break from making albums for the foreseeable future, having released eight albums in eight years.
He said: "I'm going to hold off for a little bit I think. I'm being approached quite often about coming up with concepts for albums, but I think it's time to just sit back and just enjoy being back on stage.
"I feel like I've rushed albums out in the past, it's been one every year, so it'll be nice to slow down, sit back, and take stock of an album, and make sure the songs that are on it, whether they're covers or originals, are done in the right way and presented in the right way."
'Classic Quadrophenia' will be released on Deutsche Grammophon on 8 June 2015. The world premiere performance takes place at The Royal Albert Hall in London on 5 July 2015. For more information, visit www.classicquadrophenia.com

Stereo Kicks' Jake Sims says talking about One Direction's Zayn Malik is a "touchy" subject for most of the band.
The 'Love Me So' singer thinks it's a "massive" loss that Zayn left 1D but that people should "respect" his decision.
When asked how they felt about Zayn's departure Jake told BANG Showbiz: "It is a touchy subject for quite a lot of people. It's his choice and everyone's got to respect that. It's a massive loss to One Direction because they were amazing as a five. But good luck to them as a four, I am sure they will carry on smashing everything."
Stereo Kicks - who came fourth on the 'X Factor' in 2014 - have said they are focusing on their music and don't pay much attention gossip and everything else going on in the world of pop.
They did however, wish Zayn luck with his solo career, which they think is "amazing".
Jake added: "Good luck to Zayn doing his solo career, It's amazing he is doing that and I am sure he will do well. But we haven't been focused on that we've been focused on our launch for the single."
Stereo Kicks will play a launch party for their single 'Love Me So' on 21 June at London's Shepherds Bush Empire and their debut single 'Love Me So' is out on June 21.

Faith No More's bassist Billy Gould initially thought the band reunited because "someone needs money".
The heavy metal band were adamant they didn't want to reform for years, but after frontman Mike Patton and drummer Mike Bordin attended keyboard player Roddy Botum's wedding, they suddenly changed their minds.
Remembering what he initially thought when he was first told of the plans, the 52-year-old rocker told Metal Hammer magazine: "The first thing that comes to mind with something like that is, 'Someone needs money.' I had a very negative gut feeling about it. But when you're apart you remember the bad things - when you're together, you remember the good things. I found out they were all hanging out, and I thought that was a little weird."
When the band met in 2009 for the first time since 1999, despite his earlier negativity about the idea of a reunion, Billy admitted meeting up with his colleagues over lunch was a "pleasant" experience, something he wasn't expecting.
Talking about their first meeting in years, he said: "I just thought, 'I've got nothing to lose.' It was the first time we'd all been in the same room since 1999. It was much more pleasant than I thought it would be. Being in the room and laughing and telling stories and stuff - it was nice reconnecting."
The band have since released new LP 'Sol Invictus' this month and are set to play at Download music festival in the UK in June.

Paul Weller has threatened to break Noel Gallagher's legs if he reforms Oasis.
Noel previously revealed his close pal told him their friendship would be over and he'd probably "put his windows through" if he reunites the super-group with his brother Liam Gallagher following their split in August 2009.
Weller, 57, has now admitted he told Noel in no uncertain terms what he thought about the rumoured plans and what he'd do to him if it went ahead.
He told The Daily Beast: "I know it went around that I said I'd break Noel Gallagher's legs or whatever if he even considered reforming Oasis, but it's true. It's unseemly. I have no interest in it and I honestly have no idea why anyone would. For me it's always about moving forward."
The musician is also adamant his revered former group The Jam will never get back together.
When quizzed whether he'd ever perform with his ex-bandmates Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton again, Weller replied: "Not a chance, mate."
Weller also discussed his musical future following the recent release of his 12th solo LP, the critically acclaimed 'Saturns Pattern', and insists he wants to keep experimenting and changing his sound.
He said: "I don't know where I'm going to go. I never really know where I'm going to go or where my music will take me, really. But I'm always trying to find different ways of doing things, just to keep it interesting. I think the really important thing is just to keep an open mind about all of it. There isn't any set way to making music or writing. It's just whatever's in the air at the time.
He added: "The older you get, the more important it is to stay open-minded, I think, and not look at it as a fixed way of doing things. It's whatever works, man. But I love doing it."

Taylor Swift "reached out" to Kendrick Lamar for their 'Bad Blood' collaboration and he had no hesitation in saying yes because he's always been a "fan" of her music.
The American rapper appears on the single version of Taylor's latest track and he agreed to add some lyrics to the song after the 23-year-old pop star contacted him personally.
Talking on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', Kendrick said: "She reached out. I've always been a fan of hers, and she was a fan of my music and she reached out and we got it done."
The track is the fourth single taken from the 'Shake It Off' hitmaker's '1989' album and the elaborate video, which features models of the moment Karlie Kloss, Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge and Cara Delevingne, managed to break Vevo records in the first 24 hours with over 20 million views and shot straight to the top of Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The promo also features cameo appearances from Cindy Crawford, Selena Gomez, Jessica Alba, Ellen Pompeo, Lena Dunham and Mariska Hargitay, while Kendrick also appears in several scenes.
During his appearance on Ellen's show, Kendrick performed 'These Walls' from his current album 'To Pimp A Butterfly'.
The 27-year-old hip hop star was also asked by host Ellen about what it meant to him to be a positive role model for his fans.
He said: "It means everything to me because I know there's a lot of kids in my neighbourhood that are watching TV and saying, 'You know what? I want to be a positive influence just like Kendrick Lamar,' or whoever is out there doing something for the good."

Happy Mondays have recorded their first song in 20 years with a rainforest tribe in Central America.
While on a trip to Panama to film reality TV series 'Singing In The Rainforest', the 'Step On' hitmakers - Shaun Ryder, Bez and former 'X Factor' star Rowetta - were asked if they'd record a new track by Watch and as they felt inspired by their jungle surroundings they decided to do it.
Now they have they have found their muse the group intend record a new album.
An insider told The Sun newspaper: "Appearing on the reality show has helped bring Shaun, his brother Paul, Bez, Rowetta and the rest of the Happy Mondays closer together. This is the first new song they've recorded as a band in two decades so it wasn't easy but now they have a taste for more. They've started planning a full album partly inspired by the experience."
The original band members - who reformed in 2012 and have toured ever since - put their differences aside to work on the new material, which was inspired by the culture and deep history of the indigenous Embera Drua people of the Upper Chagres River.
This is not the first time the band - who originally split up in 1993 -have explored a new culture to make music.
In their heyday in the 1990s, the band headed to Barbados to make the LP 'Yes Please!' but the sessions, which took place at Eddy Grant's home studio, descended into chaos with Shaun and his brother getting hooked on crack cocaine, Bez injuring himself in a car accident and no vocal parts being recorded because singer Shaun didn't write any lyrics.