Music News

Ed Sheeran has led tributes to BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe.
The broadcaster will present his final weekday 7-9pm evening show on the station this evening (05.03.15) after 12 years as a DJ on the station, prompting an outpouring of support from acts who he has supported during his career, including the 'Thinking Out Loud' singer.
He tweeted: "Zane Lowe's last show on radio 1 today. I wouldn't be where I am without him and his support, good luck with everything man, and thank you x (sic)."
Other acts to praise the host include Plan B who called him "a true champion of British music" and BRIT Award nominees alt-J who called him "an early champion of our music and all round good bloke".
The 41-year-old DJ - who has sons Jackson and Lucius with his wife Kara Walters - is leaving the station to move to Los Angeles where he will take up a position within Apple, although acts have admitted they are disappointed he is emigrating because they will miss him.
Posting on his Instagram, rapper Professor Green wrote: "#thankszane Gonna miss @zanelowe mannnnnn one of my earliest supporters at @bbcr1 - even took me on tour back in 2006! Love bro xx (sic)."
Biffy Clyro added: "Big love to you brother.The airwaves will not be the same without you.You'll always be part of the Biffy family.#ThanksZane (sic)."
Zane - who has interviewed stars including Kanye West, Eminem and Jay Z on his show throughout the years - will be replaced by Annie Mac, who said she feels "excited and humbled" about the opportunity.

Danny O'Donoghue is set to work with Ella Henderson on her new music.
The Script frontman has previously penned hits for Britney Spears and David Guetta and is now planning on heading into the studio with the 'Ghost' hitmaker as she begins work on her second album.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, he revealed: "We're just recording with other acts at the moment. On the side of The Script we're all songwriters and producers.
"I've got a writing session with Ella Henderson next month as well so I'm really looking forward to that, she's an amazing vocalist."
The 'Hall of Fame' trio - who will release 'Man On A Wire' as their next single from their chart-topping album 'No Sound Without Silence' - are currently touring the UK and have been collaborating with artists as they travel, having brought a studio on the road with them.
And while they have no planned studio time with acts during their two day stint at London's O2 Arena on March 13 and 14, they are hoping some of their famous friends will drop by to write and record with them.
He explained: "One of the beauties of having a studio with us is we can take advantage of different artists. We'll play the O2 and there'll be a lot of famous people coming down to see us so any one of those could come back stage and throw a vocal on something or it could be your next collaboration and we could end up with our next 'Hall of Fame' or something."

David Gilmour is set to tour for the first time in nine years.
The iconic Pink Floyd singer and guitarist will tour the UK and Europe in September to celebrate his as-yet untitled fourth studio album, which is due to be released in the same month.
As well as dates in Croatia, Italy, France and Germany, the legendary musician will perform three nights at London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall to culminate the tour.
The 68-year-old rocker last played live shows in 2006 in conjunction with his third solo album 'On An Island', appearing in Europe, US and Canada, although his forthcoming tour is considerably smaller with only eight dates.
However, speculation around the tour suggests further shows may be announced as he said in October he is keen to perform at New York music venue Radio City Music Hall.
He said: "There haven't been many discussions about the tour. But places like Radio City Music Hall sound like the right sort of vibe for me."
The announcement comes just months after Pink Floyd's final album - and their first in 20 years - 'The Endless River', which was released in November, achieving platinum status around the world and becoming the fastest selling vinyl album of the year.
After releasing the record, the star revealed Pink Floyd will never tour again following the deaths of his bandmates Syd Barrett in 2006 and Richard Wright in 2008.
He confessed: "There will be no more Pink Floyd shows. Without Rick, that's obviously impossible."
Tickets for the shows will go on sale at 10am GMT on March 6.

David Gilmour's September 2015 tour dates:
September 12 - Arena Pula, Pula, Croatia
September 14 - Verona Arena, Verona, Italy
September 15 - Teatro Le Mulina, Florence, Italy
September 17 - Theatre Antique, Orange, France
September 19 - Konig-Pilsener-Arena, Oberhausen, Germany
September 23 - Royal Albert Hall, London, UK
September 24 - Royal Albert Hall, London, UK
September 25 - Royal Albert Hall, London, UK

Travis Barker has urged Tom DeLonge to "man up" and quit Blink-182.
The drummer and his bandmate Mark Hoppus are preparing for a gig without the guitarist in two weeks time and the rocker thinks his estranged bandmate - who will be replaced at the show in California by Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba - should make his indefinite hiatus permanent and walk away.
Speaking after Tom repeatedly denied Travis and Mark's claims he had left the band, the drummer said: "I think the right thing for him to do would [be to] just man up and quit the band instead of telling people he didn't quit and just be real with the fans. I think that would give him some closure too and really do what he's passionate about."
Travis believes Tom's heart is no longer in the band because he doesn't even like their type of music anymore.
He told Alternative Nation: "Even amongst all the other projects I do, I can always find a way to prioritise and still be passionate about Blink-182 when it comes around.
"I love playing, listening and everything about punk rock. It changed my life. I think for Tom, he doesn't like punk music and it was a phase for him."
And Travis claims it is the third time Mark has walked away from the band.
He added: "I think this is the third time he's quit without anyone knowing about it because we didn't announce the other times. But this is just the last straw.
"It's just not cool for the fans. He'd always agree to go on huge tours and record albums, but when it came down to going into the studio, he'd find some excuse not to. And we wouldn't even hear from him; it would be his management. It comes to a point where you decide you're not going to force anyone to do anything they don't want to do and it's time to move on."

Kelly Clarkson "had to cry" to get her music released.
The 32-year-old singer struggled to forge the career she wanted even after winning the first season of 'American Idol' in 2002 because her label wanted her to release soul music instead of pop when she started out.
She explained: "I wanted to do pop, because that means "popular", and anything that was soulful. But it was hard to get that across at first. With 'Miss Independent', I had to cry in my label's office to get it out [as a single]."
Despite having six successful solo albums, she found opposition towards her eagerness to be a pop singer difficult, although she soon managed to persuade her label to let her create the music she wanted to make.
She said: "They wanted me to sing like the Aretha songs I'd done on the show, and I was, like: 'I'm 20 years old, I can do big ballads, but I also love guitars.' They didn't want to do a lot of production with me. It was the same thing that would happen with Adele - she does ballads with a piano. I said: 'That's beautiful, but can I do other stuff?'"
However, the star - who has eight-month-old daughter River Rose with husband Brandon Blackstock - believes it was her drive and vision which has led to her having such a long and illustrious career.
She told The Guardian newspaper: "I don't know why I've lasted - you focus on the music, and sometimes the stars align and sometimes they don't. I think it helped that I knew what I wanted to do from the start."

Iggy Azalea thinks people "hate" her.
The 24-year-old rapper felt relieved when Eminem's 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2' won the Best Rap Album Grammy Award at the ceremony last month because if she had won it for 'The New Classic' she believes she would have received lots of abuse from people who dislike her.
She explained: "I did not want to win that award. My speech would have been like, 'F**k this. I don't want it, take it. Get it away from me'.
"People already hate me enough. I do not need to be hated any more."
However, the 'Fancy' hitmaker - who recently unveiled the video to her new single 'Trouble' featuring Jennifer Hudson - finds it "ironic" people were pleased to see the 42-year-old musician pick up the accolade, because he is also Caucasian.
She told LA radio station Power 106: "I found it to be kind of ironic. It was because I'm white, therefore I'm appropriating culture, but then Eminem won it - who's white and won it many times - and they didn't seem to say anything about that. I suspect it was just because they dislike me."
The honest comments come just months after fellow rapper Azealia Banks, who recently quit using social media, accused her of copying black artists, describing it as "cultural smudging".
The '212' singer said: "I don't want to see no more white people f***ing whipping people in no more movies. Because my black story is deeper than the boat ride over, do you know what I mean?
"So this little thing called hip-hop that I've created for myself, that I'm holding onto for my dear f***ing life. I feel like it's being snatched away from me or something.
"The blackness is gone."

Noel Gallagher thinks Kanye West is a "f***ing dumbass".
The 'Ballad of the Mighty I' singer was baffled when the rapper invaded the stage at the Grammy awards when Beck collected the Album of the Year accolade, subsequently admitting he felt Beyonce deserved the prize more, and can't understand why the 'Bound 2' hitmaker thinks he "runs the music business".
He said: "I read on the papers that he got on stage at the Grammys and said to Beck, 'You should respect artistry and give Beyonce that award.'
"That **** needs to look up the description of the word 'artistry'. If Beck, the player of 14 instruments is not an artist then f**k me.
"Kanye's a f***ing dumbass.
"His interview with Zane Lowe a couple of years ago was f***ing priceless, but he does have this thing where he thinks he runs the music business."
The former Oasis rocker - who kicked off his 'Chasing Yesterday' tour in Belfast on Tuesday (03.03.15) - insists Kanye wouldn't stand a chance if he tried to pull a similar stunt around him.
Speaking in this week's issue of NME magazine, he added: "Imagine if he'd got up at the Brits in the 90s, I'd have knocked him out."
Meanwhile, Noel also has a strong dislike of the Grammy awards' big winner this year, 'Stay with Me' singer Sam Smith.
He blasted: "Sam Smith just stands there like Boy George in a coma."

Little Mix's new music is inspired by the 1980s.
The four-piece girl band - featuring Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall - revealed their new music will be a throwback to the decade, counting 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' hitmaker Cyndi Lauper as their biggest influence on their third studio album.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper at their exclusive Bizarre Annual party in association with Ciroc and Bootea at Steam & Rye bar in London on Monday (02.03.15), Jesy said: "Our biggest inspiration is Cyndi Lauper. We want it to be music for everyone - but especially for girls."
However, the 61-year-old star isn't the only musician to have had an impact on their forthcoming release, as the 'Move' hitmakers are also huge fans of Prince.
Jesy added: "We love Prince too, he's an icon and definitely inspired the sound."
And while the group have never come into contact with the 'Little Red Corvette' singer, they are hoping to meet him through a beautician who works on his eyebrows.
Leigh-Anne explained: "He's just so cool. How can we meet him?
"The closest we've got is our eyebrow lady does Prince too. She was like, 'Right, I'm done with you, I'm off to Prince now.'"

Kanye West performed a surprise show with Big Sean and Raekwon in London on Wednesday morning (04.03.15). The 37-year-old rapper arrived on stage at KOKO in Camden, north London at 1am and was joined by a host of other musicians including British grim...