Music News

Sir Van Morrison performed an intimate concert for just 400 people in London on Wednesday night (24.06.15) which helped raise close to £100,000 for charity.
One of the world's greatest singer/songwriters, Morrison took to the stage at Porchester Hall at the 'Life & Soul' event which was held in honour of rehabilitation expert Chip Somers to raise funds and awareness of his abstinence clinic Focus 12.
The soul and jazz icon - who just a few days ago was given a Knighthood as part of the Queen's birthday honours list - played such magical captivating music that after just three songs people left their comfortably plush £140 dinner seats and tables strewn with the finest wine and champagne to dance in front of the stage making it an evening that no one in attendance would ever forget.
Morrison delved into his unparalleled back catalogue to transport the audience into musical ecstasy with songs such as 'Brown Eyed Girl', 'Gloria', 'Baby Please Don't Go' and 'Wild Nights'.
The 69-year-old musician - dressed in a grey suit, porkpie hat and sunglasses - didn't say anything to the rapturous crowd but he didn't need to as his wondrous spiritual songs said it all.
Before he began his set, guests were treated to a three-course meal which was then followed by an auction of celebrity items which included a guitar donated by Ed Sheeran and another guitar signed by Van Morrison, Pete Townsend and Johnny Marr.
Madness frontman Suggs acted as compere for the sale and to accelerate the bidding on Ed's instrument, he cheekily said: "Come on, this is a wonderful opportunity to own something so precious that even if you don't have any musical talent just by strumming this guitar you will have a top 20 hit!"
When bids were slow coming in for the opportunity to stay at Suggs' own Italian villa, he said: "This is my beautiful house. It's so beautiful it's easy for me to rent it out for £6,000 a week. You will have the time of your life, but only if the price is right."
The guitar signed by the trio of music legends sold for £3,000 and many of the generous guests dug deep into their pockets to bring the final total raised to six figures, although the final total is still be counted.
One guest said: "I have bid £6,000 for various items tonight. My mum had a devastating addiction which eventually killed her. This is my way of helping other people who have the same problems and making sure their lives don't end in death but are turned around."
Russell Brand - who was helped by Chip to overcome his own substance abuse issues and has since personally sponsored dozens of individuals to go through the Focus 12 programme - attended the event and was quick to heckle Suggs when there was a technical problem with a video that should have shown a host of tributes to Chip, including one from the 'Get Him to the Greek' star.
The star jokingly shouted: "What should we do now? Suggs, do you want to sing 'Our House' while we are waiting? Or should I recite my list of ex-lovers!"
Other celebrities in attendance included Fifi Geldof and Noel Gallagher's ex-wife Meg Matthews.
Focus 12 - whose longest serving patron is Davina McCall - has a well-earned and significant reputation for successfully helping people and also addresses deeply ingrained family issues and rifts, mental health conditions, personality disorders, other addictions, unemployment, housing issues, re-offending and education.
Speaking about what the 'Life & Soul' event meant to him, Chip told BANG Showbiz: "This evening means so much to me. When you have personally experienced the devastating effects of addition you are in a much better place to help addicts. It's a horrific illness which ruins lives. I am so thrilled that Van Morrison agreed to perform for us tonight."

Mary J. Blige performed an intimate gig in London last night (24.06.15) for her "biggest fans".
Ahead of her performance at the Glastonbury Festival, the 44-year-old singer wowed the crowd of just 500 people at One Marylebone. Her setlist included her most famous hits 'No More Drama' and 'Family Affair', as well as Disclosure's 'F For You', which she features on.
After the concert, Mary said: "Performing tonight was an incredible experience - from the intimate crowd to the beautiful venue. I love performing in London, and it was great to be able to do something special for some of my biggest fans, and give them a flavour of the other exciting things to come this summer."
A host of celebrity fans were in attendance including Leona Lewis and The Wanted's Nathan Sykes.
Mary's performance was part of the MasterCard Priceless Surprises campaign, which saw the 'Be Without You' hitmaker surprise her life-long fan Rana Otemro by flying into London from New York for a personal performance. Other artists in the campaign include Usher, Kaiser Chiefs and Paloma Faith.
Shaun Springer, Head of Brand, Sponsorship and Music, for MasterCard UK & Ireland said: "Working with Mary J. Blige, a global superstar, has been incredible. Her intimate gig is the second of four in our summer series, and has been a truly Priceless experience for our cardholders."

Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre have reunited to work on new music.
The 'Drop it Like It's Hot' hitmaker took to Instagram yesterday (24.06.15) to post a photo of the pair in the studio together.
Snoop captioned the snap, "Guess who bAcc (sic)", alongside a host of emojis of fireworks, a gun, a microphone and a wad of cash, sparking a host of excited responses from fans.
Snoop, 43, was discovered by N.W.A star Dre in 1992 and after Snoop appeared on Dre's solo debut album 'The Chronic' the pair worked together on Snoop's first studio LP 'Doggystyle', which came out in 1993 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.
As well as reuniting with Snoop, Dr. Dre, 50, also recently spent time with his former protégé Slim The Mobster in the studio.
Snoop's most recent album 'Bush' was released in May and was produced by Pharrell Williams.
On the record, the rap legend also collaborated with Gwen Stefani, Stevie Wonder and Kendrick Lamar on the LP.
While making the record Snoop gave some advice to 27-year-old rapper Kendrick on how to have a long-lasting career in the music business.
Snoop previously revealed: "I told him to always challenge himself and be willing to listen. Always put yourself on a level where you're eye-to-eye with everybody. Never play bigger than anybody because you never know when it's gonna be over.
"He grew up watching his West Coast O.G.s, like Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Snoop Dogg. He had a pretty good blueprint to work with, and that's why he's doing it so well."

Tim Burgess has hinted The Charlatans are going to play a secret set at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman took to Twitter earlier this week and cryptically posted a photograph of a pair of wellington boots alongside the caption "special guessed yet?" before revealing a mysterious list of geographical coordinates followed by a wink. He made the post after a fan tweeted to claim they had spotted him at the festival site on Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, South West England.
Yesterday (24.06.15), the 48-year-old singer furthered speculation when he uploaded a snap of the band's stage gear from their storage facility - including pianos and amps - to Twitter and wrote: "Nearly packed and ready to go..."
Secret sets have become a tradition at the iconic music festival and some notable performances have come from Mumford & Sons who played a surprise gig in the Avalon Field last year and Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye who opened the festival in 2013 with a show that drew thousands of fans for the first performance of that's year's event.
It has also been rumoured that Foo Fighters may be playing an acoustic set after having to pull out of their headline slot due to frontman Dave Grohl breaking his leg during a concert in Sweden.
Speculation is rife that Foals and The Libertines could be making an appearance at this year's Glastonbury which kicks off on Friday (26.06.15).

Foo Fighters will reportedly headline Glastonbury in 2016.
The iconic rock band were scheduled to headline the world famous festival this year, but were forced to scrap the idea after lead singer Dave Grohl broke his leg on stage during a recent gig in Sweden.
However, festival boss Michael Eavis has already asked them to return next year, with a source telling The Sun newspaper: "Dave was beyond gutted about pulling out of Glastonbury, especially at such short notice.
"But Michael was quick to book him for next year as he's desperate for the Foos to headline. He knows they'll go down a storm at Glasto. Dave agreed within seconds."
Dave's leg injury also caused the band to cancel a number of other planned performances, including two gigs at Wembley Stadium in London.
Following the on-stage accident, Dave released a statement saying: "You know I hate to do it, but I'm afraid it's just not physically possible for me at the moment.
"We're doing our best right now to work out a plan, so bear with us. You know we're good for our word. But for now, I need to make sure we have years of gigs ahead of us."

Florence Welch had to be held back from "dive-bombing" Haim at Glastonbury.
The Florence + the Machine singer - who has stepped in to headline in the place of Foo Fighters this year - is a regular attendee at the music festival and admits she overindulged the last time she went as she didn't have to perform.
She said: "When I turned up on the Thursday last time, I wasn't even playing, this was the year I had off.
"I was like, 'I'll get there on the Thursday and all of a sudden it was Friday morning and my sister was trying to hold me back because I was trying to dive-bomb Haim in their interviews for the BBC.
"My sister was grabbing me by the legs and pulling me back, like, 'You are not even here to play! Get back!'"
And the 'Ship To Wreck' hitmaker's wild ways even saw her get lost as she tried to find the Pyramid Stage.
She told NME magazine: "Then I learned Arctic Monkeys were playing and we were trying to get onto the stage but we went through the wrong door and ended up in front of the crowd in the moshpit."

Gladys Knight will receive the Raymond Weil International Award at the 2015 O2 Silver Clef Awards.
The 71-year-old icon will be honoured with the prize at the 40th edition of the annual ceremony - which has raised more than £8.5 million for music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins over the years - at the event on July 3 at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.
On being announced as the winner of the prestigious award, she said: "I am thrilled and honoured to be awarded the Raymond Weil International Award by Nordoff Robbins, a charity which does such incredible work. This has been a great opportunity for me to hear about the many people Nordoff Robbins help through their music therapy work. I am really looking forward to collecting my award on 3 July."
The seven-time Grammy Award winner had a string of hits from the 1960s onwards as Gladys Knight and the Pips, including 'Every Beat of My Heart', 'Letter Full of Tears' and the smash hit 'Midnight Train to Georgia', and has recorded more than 38 albums during her career, spanning over five decades.
Gladys - who has collaborated with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick and Sir Elton John during her life - will be presented with the award alongside other already-announced winners Duran Duran, Kasabian, James Bay, Rita Ora, Jake Bugg, Primal Scream, Mark Ronson, Iron Maiden and Il Divo.

Skrillex thinks Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' is "awesome".
The 27-year-old electronic music producer has praised the star for collaborating with rapper Kendrick Lamar on the single because it shows how artists can "evolve", with Taylor previously being known as a country musician.
Speaking about the track, he said: "I think this is an awesome testament to how artists can evolve. A year ago, you never would have thought that Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift would make a song together. I think more things like that are happening, like Jack Ü and Justin Bieber. It's just a fun, catchy song."
The 'Bangarang' hitmaker - who is one half of Jack Ü along with Diplo - made the comments while discussing some of his favourite tracks of the year, also revealing Fetty Wap's infectious single 'Trap Queen' is his "anthem of the summer," and always plays it during his DJ sets.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "This is the anthem of the summer right now. I play this record in almost all of my sets -- I have a bunch of bootleg remixes that I've done, and weird mashups. When that song comes on and you're out, you can't help but sing along."

Missy Elliott will headline Bestival's Sunday night.
The 'Work It' hitmaker has been announced as the third headliner for the annual festival, which runs from September 10 - 13, and is "very excited" to perform in the UK, having not played a show here for nine years.
She said: "I can't wait to see all my fans I haven't seen in some time.
"New ones and my day one fans! We are gonna have a blast together! Bring your dancing outfits and kicks!"
The five-time Grammy Award winner is the final headliner to be announced for the festival, which will take place at Robin Hill Park on the Isle of Wight, after The Chemical Brothers and Duran Duran were also confirmed for performances.
And Bestival bosses are thrilled to have scored the 43-year-old hip hop star for the event, which is expected to draw a crowd of 55,000 music lovers.
Organiser Rob da Bank said: "I'm mighty proud to announce our Sunday headliner Missy Elliott. Needing no introduction Missy is the epitome of hip-hop royalty, the first lady of party-starting club bangers and a downright legend. I cannot wait to watch the most successful female rap artist ever to Work It at Bestival 2015!"
Other acts confirmed for the event include The Jacksons, Underworld, Mark Ronson, Rudimental, FKA twigs and Tame Impala.