Music News

Lulu thinks her new album is "outrageous".
The 66-year-old singer's latest record, entitled 'Making Life Rhyme', is the first in which she's been involved in all aspects of writing and production, and Lulu admits she was a little daunted to have taken complete ownership of her work at such a late stage of her career.
Reflecting on her strikingly honest new album, Lulu said: "It's nuts, to think I'm doing this, at this age! It's a first for me, at 66. It's kind of outrageous. It's scary, in fact, if I think of it like that. I should have started writing when I was young, that was a big mistake, but it feels like it fits so well now.
"I've found a way to deal with the things that have driven me. I've always tried not to be vulnerable and this is allowing me to open up, in a way. I feel like I've grown up. And yet, the opposite is true, I feel like I'm just beginning."
What's more, Lulu refuses to accept that her new album has a gloomy tone and instead says it's "about living in the solution".
She told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper: "I can go down. I've got that dark Celtic angst.
"But I don't want to write songs crying about how tough things are. My songs are really about going beyond the problems. They're about living in the solution."

Kelly Clarkson wanted to tour when she was pregnant.
The 'Heartbeat Song' hitmaker has admitted she wished she could have taken to the stage whilst expecting nine-month-old River Rose because she felt it would have "distracted" her from the pain.
She said: "I had a rough pregnancy and I wish I could have worked for the mere distraction so I am loving being back out there."
And the 32-year-old singer has found a "roadie" in the little girl - who she has with husband Brandon Blackstock - and insists touring schedules fit well with having a young baby to look after.
She added: "When we have those 4am or 5am mornings, by the time I am done with hair and make up, she is waking up and she gets fed on the way to my first thing. She's our little roadie, our little team mascot."
The blonde beauty feels as though music has taken on a different meaning for her since giving birth.
She shared: "It has more meaning, it's more exciting because you relive sounds as she experiences them for the first time, hearing a guitar played."
Whilst singers branch into other industries - such as creating their own perfume or makeup range, - Kelly has swore herself away from the fragrance idea.
Speaking about her new project, she told news.com.au: "I love music more than most people I have never been more excited than I am about this new project because my little girl inspired me to do it.
"It's not acting. It's not perfume - can you see me coming out with Smelly Kelly? - it's not the generic thing that famous people do."

John Legend doesn't always write good songs.
The 'All Of Me' singer may have a number of hit tracks but he insisted he doesn't always write potentially chart-topping music.
Issuing advice to budding singer/songwriters, he said: "You've got to write all the time. Just spend as much time as you can writing, because some days you're going to write great songs, some days you're not, but the more you push yourself, the more you set aside time for creativity, the more prolific you are, and the better chance that you're going to write something great in that collection of stuff that you're putting out."
The 'Glory' hitmaker - who is married to Chrissy Teigen - also advised upcoming musicians to collaborate with other artists wherever they can.
He added to Fast Company: "I think a lot of times, especially when you're new, you're like, 'I'm just going to do this on my own. I could play the guitar, I'll record it, I'll write it, do everything on my own.' That's cool and it's a good story, but I think sometimes it's good to have other people contribute.
"Not only do they contribute their creativity, but it also is good to have somebody else that has a stake in your success. If they write something with you, then they want that song to do well, just as much as you want it to do well.
"When you have all those people out there that have a stake in your career, then it actually broadens your reach and broadens the group of people that's fighting for you."

Nick Jonas credits golf for keeping him "sane".
The 'Jealous' hitmaker is a big fan of the outdoor game and always looks for the nearest course wherever he is in the world.
He said: "I'm a huge fan of golf. It's my favourite pastime. It's the thing i would do every day if I could. It's a great game and it helps me stay sane.
"When I'm on tour and there's a great course nearby, the first thing I will do when I have a spare moment is try to find it."
The 22-year-old singer was born in Texas and raised in New Jersey but now count Los Angeles as home after moving there for the sake of his career.
Asked where he regards as home, he said: "Now it's Los Angeles, then Texas. Family is back in Texas so I go to see them.
"However, I was in New York for two years up to last January and I miss it very much but I had to move to LA for the acting and recording."
Though Nick visits his family in Texas, he insists he has no plans for a musical reunion with his brothers and former Jonas Brothers bandmates Joe and Kevin.
He told GQ magazine: "I still talk to my brothers a few times a week but that chapter of our lives is closed. Now it's all about reinventing myself."

U2's Adam Clayton felt like a "Rolling Stone" when he got his first proper bass guitar.
The 'One' rocker can vividly recall asking his father Brian Clayton to purchase his dream instrument during a business trip to New York City because they were so much cheaper there than in his native Ireland.
He said: "In 1976 I hadn't mastered the bass but I had identified that I needed a better instrument and my father - a practical man, not affected by music or art - was essential to this plan.
"He flew regularly to New York and second-hand instruments were much cheaper at Manny's on 48th Street.
"I gave him money and the magic words 'Fender Precision Bass' and waited.
"When it arrived, it had a sunburst finish and I felt like a Rolling Stone."
Despite his years of musicianship, 55-year-old Adam still feels the same sense of excitement when he gets a new guitar.
He told new book 'Sons and Fathers': "I often have this same feeling when touching a new instrument for the first time.
"I doubt my father has the same recall but I often think of what it was like for him to enter that music shop."

Keith Richards wants to record a new Rolling Stones album.
The 71-year-old guitarist is keen for the band to return to the recording studio for the first time since they made 'A Bigger Bang' in 2005 but admitted there are no "definite" plans to do so.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "We're talking about doing some recording after this tour, but there's nothing definite. We just threw out the idea. I'd like to get the boys back in the studio again, yeah. Anything can happen.
Keith has also been working on his third solo album and admitted he is likely to go on the road alone to promote the record.
He said: "I think that's coming out in September. We're looking for the right time slot to bring it out. The Stones have been working so much lately that I've been holding off until we could find a reasonable time. I think it's September, but I don't know for sure."
Asked if he will tour the album, he added to Rolling Stone magazine: "That's being kicked around. At the moment, I'm just getting my head into the Stones and I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do afterwards. But usually if I put a record out, I do some road work. So, it's possible"
Keith's comments come a few days after his bandmate, Sir Mick Jagger, revealed he had written new songs for a Rolling Stones album.
He said: "It would be very nice and I've got a lot of new songs and songs I've written over the last couple of years. I've done really good demos for all of them, which I would love to record. So, let's hope so."
And asked if he's thought about making another solo album, the rock icon said: "I haven't, really. I'd love to record a Stones album. If that doesn't happen, then yes. That's a truthful answer.
"I've got songs that would be great for the Stones, and I've got songs that wouldn't be perfect for the Stones."

Gavin DeGraw has described Harry Styles as an "absolutely talented person" with "awesome hair" after working with him on a new song.
The American songwriter has spoken out about working with the One Direction star on their "beautiful" song 'Not Our Fault', which they produced last summer with Ed Sheeran's writing partner Jake Gosling.
Gavin was really impressed with Harry's musical talent but also found himself fawning over the pop hunk's floppy locks.
Gavin said: "(He's an) absolutely talented person; awesome hairdo, right? ... I'd only heard good things about Harry from other people that I knew ... I think it's important to diversify if you can ... We got in the studio and he was really respectful, he was nice. I played for a second; I sang an opening line and he immediately followed it up with another line. A few hours later we had the majority of a song completed - it's beautiful."
The 'I Don't Want to Be' singer also revealed the pair's track is about a failed relationship, but is adamant it isn't about any of Harry's past conquests - who include Taylor Swift, Caroline Flack and Kendall Jenner - but more about the musical duo's lifestyles.
Speaking to Access Hollywood, Gavin said: "It's about if it doesn't work out sometimes you can't necessarily just blame it on yourself. "Sometimes it's what's going on around you and other things that have nothing to do with the two people involved; it touches on that subject. It's a story for people who do a lot of travelling and have the lifestyles that we have."

Mike Rutherford says a headline slot at Glastonbury wouldn't be enough to tempt Genesis to reform.
The 64-year-old musician insists he and the other members of the band - Phil Collins, Tony Banks and original singer Peter Gabriel - have no plans to reunite and even if Michael Eavis called them to offer them the top spot at his festival it wouldn't be a big enough "carrot".
Rutherford told BANG Showbiz: "We wouldn't be tempted back together just to do Glastonbury. I don't think so, no ... There's no carrot that can be waved at us to make us do it."
The bassist-and-guitarist insists festivals were never a big deal to Genesis because they played their own huge outdoor shows but accepts Glastonbury has become a big part of the music calendar now.
He added: "The weird thing was is that we never did festivals. Our own shows were like a festival. Genesis would play Knebworth with support bands in front of, like, 100,000 people. We didn't play festivals because we could do our own festival-sized gigs. Festivals have become very popular now though, for sure."
Rutherford - who is currently on tour with his band Mike + The Mechanics - thinks it's unlikely Genesis will ever reform unless they are presented with a project so exciting they can't turn it down.
However, the 'Over My Shoulder' hitmaker insists all the band members are still friends and in contact with one another.
He said: "I don't think it'll ever happen (Genesis reforming), but whoever knows what's round the corner. It depends on what project might appear that makes you think, 'Oh, that could be good.' If something special ever came along then we might think about it, but there's no plans ... People often forget we've been doing this since 71, you know what I mean? We all get on well though; there's no dramas, we've all remained friends."
Mike + The Mechanics - featuring Rutherford and vocalists Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar - are currently on tour in the UK performing a career-spanning set which includes hits such as 'The Living Years', 'All I Need Is A Miracle' and 'Silent Running' and Genesis songs.
Go to http://mikeandthemechanics.com/live/ for tickets and information.

Shaun Ryder would "drop dead" without testosterone injections.
Despite looking forward to the "energy" boost he gets from his quarterly injections, the Happy Mondays frontman has revealed he would be dead if he didn't get the injection every three months which he needs because he has no thyroid gland.
He told NME: "I get a testosterone injection once every three months and it makes me feel like I'm 21 again. I'm serious!
"I've got no thyroid. I have to take 150 micrograms of a thyroid replacement drug daily and the testosterone injections or I'll drop dead."
Shaun revealed the news ahead of the Black Grape reunion, a fundraising gig at Granada Studios in their hometown, Manchester on Saturday April 11.
The band will also celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album 'It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah', without
dancer Bez who has decided not to share the stage with his former bandmates in order to concentrate on his political campaigning.