Music News

Pete Doherty is "haunted" by never finishing a song with Amy Winehouse.
The Libertines frontman used to try to write with his late friend, but she was "very, very critical" of him, and their addictions frequently got in the way of their creativity.
He said: "Invariable, whenever we got together to write, I was probably in no fit state either. But the way I remember it was she... I never really caught her at the right time.
"She was more interested in other things, not in actually getting any music done, which is strange because that's something people have accused me of as well.
"Whenever we used to get together to do music, she was always very, very critical of the new ideas I had. So we never ended up getting anything finished. I'm haunted by that."
Pete - whose is donating the profits from his latest single, 'Flags of the Old Regime', to the Amy Winehouse Foundation - believes Amy felt "trapped" by her success.
He explained to NME magazine: "She bought a brand new house in Camden Square, it was incredible, she had loads of great guitars in the basement and a huge music system. On her doorstep, she had all these horrible paparazzi. So she couldn't go anywhere.
"Blake [her husband] was in prison. She was just... She's got a lot time, she's been in a state of absolute despair. Fame had completely hemmed her in.
"I think her natural spirit was to be flying on melody and feeling. And yet she was caged. She was trapped...
"To make the money and get the wealth and power that comes with it, you have to sacrifice a lot of your personal liberties."

Björk felt "embarrassed" by the songs on her new album.
The 'It's Oh So Quiet' hitmaker released her latest LP, 'Vulnicura', online last month but admitted she initially found the collection awkward because the tracks came from a place of heartbreak following her split from partner of 14 years, Mathew Barney.
She confessed: "I did feel really embarrassed about these songs in the beginning."
However, the 49-year-old singer revealed she had a change of heart when she revisited the collection a year after writing it, and decided she would like to release the songs but wanted to ensure she protected her family, especially 12-year-old daughter Ísadóra who she had with her ex-partner.
She explained: "I was like, OK, it isn't as messy as I thought it was. It is messy, for sure, it's just that there are different types of mess. Some you're up for sharing and some not. And protecting my family was obviously the most important thing. That was priority number one, two and three. But then number four was maybe this sort of hunter in me, this other person who looks and evaluates."
But after listening through the tracks again, she soon decided it was important to retain the rawness which she wrote them with, because that was what made them so special.
She told The Guardian newspaper: "That person [in me] looked at it and said: 'No, if you cut out all the messy bits, it's not going to be a document of this grief journey, it's not going to be any use for anyone.' If I had taken out the messy bits, they would have been arid songs. They wouldn't even have been good songs."

Mariah Carey is back in the studio.
The 44-year-old singer has started recording new music for her 15th studio album - 25 years after she released her eponymous debut - just a day after it was revealed she has signed a new deal with Sony label, Epic Records.
Confirming she has already begun working on new tracks, her long-term collaborator Jermaine Dupri posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, "been in the studio all night with @MariahCarey. (sic)"
The 42-year-old record producer has worked with Mariah numerous times before, and previously masterminded her hit singles 'Always Be My Baby' and 'We Belong Together'.
Her recent deal with Epic Record will also see the star reunite with producer L.A. Reid, who worked on her 2005 record 'The Emancipation of Mimi'.
The album will follow 2014's 'Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse' released through Def Jam Recordings, which featured the singles '#Beautiful' and 'The Art of Letting Go'.
The record will also be her first since her highly-publicised split from husband Nick Cannon which came to light in August, six years after they married, and three years after the chart-topper gave birth to twins Monroe and Moroccan.

Kanye West was "getting fat" before he was inspired by Drake.
The 37-year-old musician revealed although the 'Hold On, We're Going Home' hitmaker is a musical competitor, he helped him to get back into the studio because he realised he needed to up his game after hearing Drake's new collection, 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late'.
He admitted: "I look at Drake as an amazing sparring partner.
"Someone who's like, 'Come on, man, get back up!' Bow! 'Get back up! What's up, bro? What you doing?'
"I was sitting there getting fat. Sitting back, just knocked everybody out. And then this guy hits the gym, he's just running around like, bow, 14 hits, same as Paul McCartney. I'm like, Whoa. OK. Let me go to the studio, then. Let's see what's happening. Let me get these lyrics up. Let me see what's happening. So, that's where we at right now, that's where you getting these records from."
However, the 'All Day' rapper - who is expected to release his new album 'So Help Me God' later this year - insisted he wouldn't describe his relationship with the 28-year-old star as a rivalry because they have mutual respect.
Speaking to French website Clique, he said: "I think healthy competition is better than rivalry.
"I think rivalry becomes a cancer; it becomes like termites in your health. I think healthy competition is something where you appreciate how hard this person goes."

Big Sean was "addicted" to Eminem.
The 26-year-old rapper found the Stan' hitmaker's music "exciting" and different when he was a youngster growing up in Detroit, and was thrilled to get the chance to collaborate with him on 'Detroit Vs. Everybody' years later.
He said: "I bought his first CD at Costco with my mom when I was 11. He was a new breed of rap - he had fresh storytelling lyrics, full of drugs and murder. It was exciting. It was addictive. His music itself was like a drug. "So you can just imagine what it's like to go from there to being in the studio with him, eating pizza and talking about which is better, 'South Park' or 'Family Guy'."
Sean - who is dating Ariana Grande - has always been confident in his own abilities and was confident he'd be a successful rapper from the age of just 12.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "I've always been a dreamer. Since I was 10 years old, I was always rapping in front of the TV in the living room, visualising it all.
"[Did I think I'd make it?] I actually did. I never even questioned it. From 12 on, I used to always be like, 'And when I'm a rapper...' I was living in that world where I was already a rapper. People would make fun of me a little bit, but they would just be playing, though. They bought my CDs at school."

Britney Spears insists recording an album is not a "full priority".
The 'Toxic' singer - who has sons Sean, nine, and Jayden, eight, from her marriage to Kevin Federline - has been working on the follow-up to 2013's 'Britney Jean' since September but admits it is a slow process because her children's needs come first.
She said: "I'm gonna do [a new album] slowly but surely.
"There's a lot going on with my kids and schools and, you know, adding new sports and stuff like that. I'm gonna try to do my best to do an amazing album, but it's not my full priority right now.
"Kids can drive you crazy."
Instead, Britney - who is in negotiations about extending her Las Vegas residency to 2017 - will focus on releasing singles as her manager Larry Rudolph doesn't believe albums are particularly important any more.
He told Billboard magazine: "Right now we're just concentrating on putting out a few great singles as they come.
"We're not really talking seriously about a new album yet. Albums just aren't as important in the digital age as they used to be. Britney will get to one eventually, but not right now."

Blur have announced a one-off live performance of their new album 'The Magic Whip'.
The 'Parklife' hitmakers - made up of vocalist Damon Albarn, guitarist and vocalist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree - will take to the stage for the first time to perform the tracks from their new record ahead of its release on Parlophone on 27th April.
The show will be free and take place at a small venue in West London on Friday 20th March.
The rock band first started working on the album - their first offering in 16 years - while they toured in Asia last year, but the group didn't decide for some time that it would become their eighth studio album.
Damon, 46, said: "We had some downtime, we had a cancellation when we were in Hong Kong, so we thought we'd put five or six days to good use.
"We just went in there and knocked about loads of ideas.
"Nothing happened after that. And I said, 'I really don't think anything's going to happen.'"
Graham, 45, added: "It was casual and just something we did off our own backs and I thought it would be great to let it ferment and go back and have a look."
The news followed the release of the album's cover online. The sleeve shows a neon ice cream cone between Chinese lettering which reads 'Blur' and 'The Magic Whip'.
Damon said of the artwork: "It's in simplified Chinese characters. On the left it says Blur and on the right it says 'The Magic Whip'."
He added that the rockers are looking forward to playing tracks from the new album, which will be out April, when they headline Hyde Park's British Summertime in London later this year.
The London-born singer said: "On this occasion we will have a whole new set of things to get excited about so we'll have even more music.
"I love it [playing in Hyde Park] because I can cycle to work!"

Visage's Steve Strange was laid to rest today (12.03.15).
Stars packed All Saints Church in Porthcawl, South Wales to pay tribute to the late musician, who tragically passed away whilst on holiday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt after suffering a heart attack last month.
Martin and Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet and Boy George carried the coffin, which was colourfully decorated with music notes, photographs and prints of the band's logo.
The coffin entered into the packed church to the sound of a marching jazz band before one of the band's biggest hits, 'Fade to Grey', was played.
Family, friends and fans listened as Boy George paid tribute to the "futuristic fashionista", "seminal pop star" and "wildcard". His speech was met by applause from those within the church and the crowds congregating outside.
Spandau Ballet's saxophone player Steve Norman recalled how the late pop star supported him and Martin Kemp during the 1970s.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that in the eulogy, he said: "We did not have any money back then, and Steve would always pay for our drinks and whatever we wanted. He was a generous and caring human being with a massive heart.
"A lot of great stuff has been said about Steve since his passing - about how he shaped the 1980s - and it is very much deserved. I just wish a few more people had told that to him when he was around... He was a sensitive soul who needed that affirmation from people."

Olly Murs is releasing a new book about life on the road.
The 30-year-old singer has announced he is compiling a new tome which will document his upcoming 2015 'Never Been Better Tour'.
The book will contain backstage photos and details of what Olly does to prepare for his concerts.
In a post on his Twitter account, the 'Wrapped Up' hitmaker revealed: "Excited to announce I'm doing a 2nd book! It'll be a fly on the wall BTS of my tour!! Out in Oct!! #OllyOnTheRoad (sic)"
Olly also posted a link to an Amazon page where fans can pre-order the book, entitled 'On The Road', which is out on October 8. The first 4,000 bought will be personally signed by the former 'X Factor' star.
A synopsis for the book on the shopping site read: "Go backstage with Olly Murs. This official, illustrated autobiography is filled with hundreds of exclusive pictures and tales from life on the road.
"This book will show a side to Olly that we have not seen before and provides an in-depth and intimate portrait of one of the UK's biggest stars. With exclusive access, we learn how Olly copes with being on tour, the preparation, how he deals with the pressure to perform, what it is like being away from his family and friends, how he manages his nerves and lots more.
"A must for all of Olly's fans, 'On The Road' is fly-on-the-wall look at his time on the road, and taking you closer to Olly than ever before."
Olly kicks off his tour on March 31 at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, England, and it wraps up on August 23 at Weston Park in Weston-under-Lizard in Staffordshire, England.