Music News

Larry Mullen Jr. thinks U2 need to get smaller.
The 53-year-old rocker thinks it would be "so cool" if the group took time off to play cover versions for "fun" and then shunned their usual stadium shows in favour of intimate club gigs - though he also admits it could lead to the end of the band.
He said: "When this tour is over, we should set off on a trip where we learn how to play other people's songs for fun and then go back and record an album with what we've learned.
"Just as an experiment. Go back to clubs you were really s***e in and be good in there.
"We actually need to go backwards. Benjamin Button is where we're at. I mean, it could be the end of the band but it would be so cool."
And frontman Bono hinted the new direction could be a realistic possibility for the band.
He told Q magazine: "People say, 'You love Neil Young and Radiohead and their intimacies, so why can't you just be privately rather than publicly ambitious? And we'll have to look at it. I am asking a few fundamental questions.
"We've been playing stadiums now for about 30 years. Bit mad.
"This is like being in Arsenal in 1985 and you're still going for the Champions League now. With the same team! But then you get a hint from the universe saying there's a cost."

Meat Loaf's new LP is "completely different' from anything he's released before.
The 'Bat Out of Hell' hitmaker believes that as soon as fans hear the forthcoming record 'Braver Than We Are', their mouths are "gonna hang happen" right from the first song.
He said: "Anything else that's out there right now. There are a couple of normal rock pieces but, for the most part, it's completely different.
"When you hear the opening track, your mouth's gonna hang open. You're either gonna take the CD and throw it against the wall, or you're going to go, 'I gotta see what's coming next.'"
The 67-year-old musician also shared more details about the tracks, admitting most are quite "long" and his belief that the opening song is "pretty wild".
He told Billboard magazine: "The first song people will either love or despise, which is the way I like it. The opening number is pretty wild. It's not long; the second song is long, and the third song is really long, and the fourth song is kind of long, and then the fifth song goes into a 'down and out kind of guy,' and ... what's the sixth song? I can't remember past that."

Sam Smith is "definitely not" singing the Bond theme for 'Spectre'.
The four-time Grammy Award winner was hotly tipped to be the next 007 hitmaker on the upcoming movie's title track but has flat out denied any involvement with the project, admitting "that's not me".
Asked on BBC Radio 2 whether he's currently working on the 007 music, he said: "That's not me. That's definitely not me. I've still got loads to do, I've got an Australia tour, but I kind of finish in December which is great, it gives me a chance to be in London, be in my home and go out with my friends."
And even though Adele's 'Skyfall' won the James Bond franchise its first ever Oscar, Sam, 23, said he's been too busy shedding the pounds and buying a house to think about it.
He added: "I had the Grammys in February which was unreal. I've done two American tours, one throat operation on the vocal cords. I bought a house, which is amazing. I lost weight, that's probably a good thing. I was really fat before. Trust me, I was fat."
However, the Stay With Me' crooner is making time to work on his next album - which was delayed due to his vocal chord surgery in May - but revealed he won't collaborate with other artists.
He said: "I always play with this idea in my head. I adore Adele records and if you go back to Etta James records and Nina Samone and Sarah Vaughan, I love how their album is just them. I think that's important.
"I like to collaborate, I think it's an amazing thing, but I kind of like to do it outside of the album. I feel like that the album is my voice, I should tell a story. So I don't think so. But I will collaborate."

Peter Gabriel used to argue with Tony Banks over dressing up like a "sexually transmitted disease".
The original Genesis singer presented the Prog God award to his former bandmate at the 2015 Progressive Music Awards in London last night (03.09.15) and before handing over the gong Peter admitted they used to fight over his unusual stage outfits, their image as a band and Tony's long keyboard solos.
Speaking at the awards ceremony at the Underglobe below Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, Peter said: "We always argued about how we present ourselves and I remember trying to dress up like a flower and a sexually transmitted disease. Tony would be very bold and would move from one pastel shade to another with his sweater. But what we shared was a passion for music."
The 65-year-old singer described his relationship with the Prog God winner as a "best friend and worst enemy all wrapped up in one" and admitted that he used to annoy the keyboard player by singing vocals over his lengthy solos which ended up "scuppering his beautiful masterpieces".
He added: "We've always had a different approach to a lot of things. Tony has been best friend and worst enemy all wrapped up in one, normal band politics at their best. One of the things we argued about was the length of the keyboard solos. I started in prehistoric times and moved swiftly into the future. How long can a singer be expected to wiggle his bum and shake a tambourine, there is suffering involved, so every time I could I'd interject little bits of vocal over which we argued frequently as I was scuppering up his beautiful masterpieces."

Tony Banks would "love" a Genesis reunion.
The keyboard player insists he will "never say never" to getting back together with his bandmates, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and potentially original singer Peter Gabriel, but the only thing stopping them is Phil is "not quite able" to play the drums like "he did in the past".
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz on Thursday night (03.09.15) at the Progressive Music Awards 2015 at the Underglobe below Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, Tony said: "I'd love to say that we are, but I know nothing of it.
"It's never a problem for me really. Mike and I see each other a lot and we are always up for anything really. The problem really is Phil is not quite able to do what he did in the past, but we never say never."
The 65-year-old musician - who was honoured at the ceremony with the Prog God title - thinks it would be great to play the same set they did in 2007 on the 'Turn It On Again' tour.
Tony is adamant just because they are "getting a bit older" a reunion is still a possibility because they "all get on" still.
He explained: "Despite what you might read sometimes we all get on. I'd love to do the tour we did before in 2007 with Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson. We are all getting a bit older, but we are all still alive."

Disclosure write songs the "old fashioned" way.
The electronic duo - made up of brothers Guy 24, and Howard, 21 - rose to prominence with electronic hits such as 'White Noise' and 'Latch', which featured with Sam Smith, from their debut LP 'Settle' but confessed they are actually prefer the traditional approach to making music and always start their songs on a piano.
Guy explained: "We write in a very old-fashioned way with Howard and Jimmy (Napes, their songwriting partner) around a piano, which is a relatively quick process. It's the post-production that takes longer. That's the bit where I really concentrate and take a long time on the detail."
And the pair have taken even more of an instrumental approach to their second studio album 'Caracal'.
Guy added in an interview with The Sun newspaper: "We've approached this album like a band - writing the songs and using vocalists, not samples."
Since the success of 'Settle' the brothers have got to meet a host of music legends and superstar pop peers but they never get star-struck.
Howard said: "After the Grammys we had a party in the Hollywood Hills and Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran were there and it was fine.
"Once you meet them, you realize they are just normal people. "Before I met Sting, I was like, 'Oh my God, it's Sting!' And then I met him and it was like, 'Oh, he's just a nice guy.' "

Keith Richards has slammed Metallica, Black Sabbath and rap music.
The Rolling Stones rocker branded heavy metal bands Metallica and Black Sabbath "jokes" and quipped that rap music only appeals to "tone-deaf people".
Speaking to the New York Daily News, he said: "Millions are in love with Metallica and Black Sabbath. I just thought they were great jokes.
"And rap - so many words, so little said. What rap did that was impressive was to show there are so many tone-deaf people out there.
"All they need is a drum beat and somebody yelling over it and they're happy. There's an enormous market for people who can't tell one note from another."
Keith also hit out at Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, expanding on comments he made in his autobiography 'Life' where he called him a "snob".
He said: "I'll reinforce that. His daughter, Georgia Mae, was sitting around in my room and she said, 'oh, you know what dad's like. He's such a snob.' He can come off that way even to me and the rest of the band. He comes on the plane and doesn't say, 'Hey mate.'
"He's preoccupied with something really boring. He's a control freak. He likes to know everything that's going on. He lost himself a bit in the details.
"But he's a hell of a frontman and I still love him dearly. Your friends don't have to be perfect."

Iggy Azalea recorded her collaboration with Demi Lovato without listening to the song.
The 25-year-old rap star appears with Demi on the track 'Kingdom' - which features on the singer's upcoming album 'Confident' - and Demi has revealed the unusual backstory to their collaboration.
Demi explained: "When we finally made the decision of which songs were making the album I said 'OK I want her on this one.' So I called her and was like, 'Hey will you do a song?'
"And she's like, 'Yeah sure I'll go into the studio tonight.'"
Demi admitted to being surprised by Iggy's unusual approach, which helped to solidify her respect for the Australian artist.
Demi told MTV: "I was like, 'Do you want to hear it first?' She's like 'No it's cool.'"
"I'm like you're an amazing friend and I love you."
She also claimed Iggy's rap was the perfect fit for the song.
Demi shared: "I was a fan of her before we were friends, so I feel like I knew what it would sound like.
"And I was just excited to hear it back, it was so much more than I even expected."

Public Service Broadcasting, Genesis' Tony Banks and Roy Wood were among the winners at the Progressive Music Awards tonight (03.09.15). The annual ceremony - which was hosted by broadcaster Matthew Wright - saw PSB pick up the Anthem award for their ...