Music News

Mumford & Sons are to headline at this year's Reading and Leeds Festivals.
The British rock band - which previously appeared at the events in 2010 when it performed on the NME/BBC Radio 1 Stage - will take to the Main Stage alongside already announced act Metallica between August 28 and August 30, 2015.
Melvin Benn, festival boss, said: "I'm delighted to have secured Mumford & Sons for Main Stage headliners this summer."
The festivals will be Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane's first UK performance as a group in over two years following a brief hiatus.
Melvin added: "I can't wait to see them return to the festivals for their first UK performance in over two years. With today's announcement of a further eight great acts joining the bill, the Reading & Leeds line-up is already shaping up to be one of the best ever and I'm looking forward to revealing the third headliner and even more great artists soon."
Other acts set to grace the festivals this year include Bastille, Royal Blood, Rebel Sound ft. Chase & Status, Rage, David Rodigan and Shy FX, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Wolf Alice, Years & Years, Pretty Viscious and Hannah Wants.
Tickets for Reading and Leeds 2015 are on sale now.

Kasabian rocker Serge Pizzorno can't understand why Ed Sheeran is so popular, admitting he finds his success "scary".
The guitarist misses the music scene of the 1990s, which was dominated by Britpop and rock acts, and thinks the charts nowadays are "too pop" and "middle England".
Serge has cited acoustic songsmith Ed - who is up for several Grammy Awards and BRITs - as a prime example of what's wrong with modern pop.
Speaking in the new issue of Loaded magazine, he said: "I do miss the Britpop era. The loonies took over for a bit, which was great. It's so pop right now. Too pop. It was great with Blur and Oasis. Those days were so exciting to watch and I'm not sure if we're ever going to get that back. Ed Sheeran is killing it. It's middle England. We are so middle England, it's scary."
Despite enjoying a phenomenally successful 2014 - which included a headline set at the Glastonbury Festival - Kasabian have not been nominated for any prizes at the upcoming BRIT Awards.
Although they have been snubbed from the ceremony, singer Tom Meighan is hopeful the event will still open people's eyes to different genres of music.
He said: "What's good about the BRIT Awards is rock music - if you can call it that. It allows the music to reach out to people who usually watch 'The X Factor' or some s**t. It's about turning them on to alternative music which can only be a good thing."
The 250th celebratory issue of Loaded - which has Kasabian on the cover - is available to buy in both print and digital formats now.

Steve Forrest has left Placebo.
The drummer - who joined the 'Pure Morning' group in 2008 - has "amicably" departed the band to focus on his own music, and singer Brian Molko and bassist Stefan Oldsal will now be joined on the road by former Colour of Fire drummer Matt Lunn.
A group statement said: "The split is very amicable and Steve was keen to pursue his own musical ambitions, and has been writing and recording his own material over the last few years.
"Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal would like to thank Steve for all his work with the band and wish him all the very best in his future career."
Fans will get their first glimpse of Matt when the group embark on their huge UK and Ireland tour later this month, on which they will be supported by The Mirror Trap.
The 20-date tour begins at the Olympia in Dublin on 25 February and ends with two nights at London's Hammersmith Apollo on 24 and 25 March.
Some fans may already be familiar with the new touring drummer as his former group previously supported Placebo when they toured in 2004.
Matt is the band's fourth drummer, with original sticksman Robert Schultzberg replaced by Steve Hewitt in 1996.
Steve left in 2007 due to "personal and musical differences".

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has backed Pharrell's Live Earth campaign.
The 'Happy' hitmaker recently announced a series of seven concerts to all take place on June 18 2015 to gather public support for action against climate change, with the 70-year-old leader pledging his support to what has been dubbed "the largest global campaign in history" in the lead up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris this December.
In a message targeted at world leaders, he declared: "The year 2015 must be a time for global action, unsustainable development and climate change. In Paris this December, all governments must come to a meaningful, universal agreement on climate''.
The series of performances - which have been collectively named Live Earth 'Road to Paris' - will be broadcast worldwide through international television networks, and are also being supported by campaigner Kevin Wall and former vice president and climate change activist Al Gore.
Ban Ki-Moon continued: "We must join hands to mobilise finance, global markets and encourage bold action from world leaders. Live Earth 'Road to Paris' will bring us together, and amplify our voices.
"It will help us cease the opportunity of a low carbon future. We all have a role to play in building a more peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world for ourselves and for our children."
More than 100 artists have been promised to perform, in New York, Paris, Beijing, South Africa, Brazil and Antarctica, although no acts have yet been announced.
The global event follows the 2007 Live Earth concerts which featured more than 150 musical acts in 11 locations, including Madonna, Foo Fighters, Metallica, The Black Eyed Peas and Shakira.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will headline Calling Festival.
The one-day event will take place on Clapham Common in London on Saturday July 4 with Ryan Adams, The Hives and Echo and the Bunnymen also confirmed to perform.
Speaking about the booking, Live Nation's Vice President of Promotions Toby Leighton-Pope said: "We're so pleased with the Calling Festival 2015 bill. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will be incredible and we're so happy to welcome the fantastic Ryan Adams, The Hives and Echo and the Bunnymen. This year is going to be huge and we look forward to seeing the crowds back in Clapham this summer."
The band will perform their first outdoor headline set at the multi-stage festival four months after the release of their eagerly anticipated second album, 'Chasing Yesterday', which will be available from March 2.
In October, the 47-year-old performer sold out his six-date spring tour - which will see him visit Belfast, Dublin, Nottingham, Glasgow, and Manchester before end in London on March 10 - in just 10 minutes.
Previous headliners of the annual event include The Who, Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi and The Killers, with more than 80,000 music-lovers flocking to the festival in south west London last year to witness performances from Stevie Wonder and Aerosmith.
Tickets for Calling Festival go on sale at 9am on Friday 6 February and are priced at £57.50 plus booking fee.

Texas took a tree named Robert Plant on tour.
The Scottish rockers' frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri has admitted the band have had some wild touring experiences during their 25-year career, and once received a huge bill after trashing a hotel lobby and stealing a tree.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, she recalled: "One night in Switzerland we played a gig and we came back to the hotel and it ended up with Rick [Richard Hynd] - who was our original drummer - he was in the fountain pond in the foyer of the hotel, swimming in about 10 inches of water, just like lying in it.
"He was so p***ed that he dragged a potted plant onto the lift and it fell over, and all the stones in the pot went into the lift door so it wouldn't shut. It wouldn't work and it caused chaos. We got a bill which frightened us so much."
The 'I Don't Want A Lover' hitmaker said the evening's antics escalated further when her bandmates decided to steal the tree for their tour bus - which they were travelling around Europe in - and agreed to name it after the 66-year-old Led Zeppelin frontman.
She continued: "They stole the plant and they had it on the bus, and it was then called Robert Plant and they called it that for the rest of the tour. It was like a big tree, like a proper fake tree that they'd stolen it. I don't know how they got it out of the hell in the tour bus."
The band will release their new album 'Texas 25' on February 16, featuring new and classic songs recorded in collaboration with Truth & Soul.

Rita Ora doesn't care about her ex-boyfriends enough to write a song about them.
The 24-year-old singer - who has dated DJ Calvin Harris, reality TV star Rob Kardashian and rapper Ricky Hil in the past, says, unlike fellow popstar Taylor Swift, she isn't bothered enough by her failed romances to feature them in her tracks.
She explained: "I don't think I care enough about them to write a song about them.
"I will be unleashed but I know my limits."
The blonde beauty famously split from 'Under Control' hitmaker Calvin, 31, last year and was subsequently banned from singing any of the tracks he had produced for her upcoming album.
During a recent acoustic performance of the former couple's hit 'I Will Never Let You Down', Rita noticeably changed the lyrics to 'I Might Have Let You Down', which she claims was to show people she isn't "ashamed" of her failed relationship.
She told The Sunday Times newspaper's Style magazine: "I interpreted it like that because I wanted people to see I wasn't ashamed. It's normal for a 23-year-old to have a failed relationship, but the difference is, there are a lot of people watching. You know, it's life."

Kylie Minogue and Kaiser Chiefs will perform at English racecourses.
The global superstar and the indie rockers have been announced as the headliners for a series of 'An Evening at the Races' events, presented by music promoter Jockey Club Live.
Speaking about her excitement for the shows, the 'All the Lovers' hitmaker said: "I'm so excited to be performing at 'An Evening At The Races'. I have an amazing band and fabulous dancers and we can't wait to share my hits with you in a beautiful Summer outdoor show. Being from a horse racing city like Melbourne, I'll be sure to have a flutter on the horses myself!"
The 46-year-old singer - who has racked up 44 UK Top 40 hits during her career - will perform at 'Newmarket Nights' at Newmarket Racecourse in Suffolk on June 19, and at 'Haydock Nights' at Haydock Park Racecourse in Merseyside the following evening.
Joining the multi-million selling star will be the Kaiser Chiefs - fronted by 'The Voice UK' coach Ricky Wilson - who promise to perform their hit singles including 'I Predict a Riot', 'Oh My God' and 'Ruby' during the events.
The five-piece band - which also features Andrew White, Simon Rix, Nick Baines and Vijay Mistry - will headline the same racecourses later in the summer, playing at Newmarket Racecourse on July 31 and Haydock Park Racecourse on August 7, as well as Sandown Park Racecourse in Surrey on August 6.
Tickets for the events - which start at £25 - will be on sale at 9am on February 6 on www.thejockeyclublive.co.uk, with further events also being held at Market Rasen, Carlisle and Epsom Downs racecourses.

Bono's face "nearly melted" when Noel Gallagher told him he'd produced his own album.
The 47-year-old singer left the U2 frontman shocked when he revealed he had taken matters into his own hands on his second Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds studio album, 'Chasing Yesterday', and he doesn't think the 54-year-old star's group would ever dream of doing something similar.
He said: "I told Bono this one afternoon, and his face nearly melted. Cos U2 take five years and six producers before they work out what their album even means."
Noel took the reins of his album when producer Dave Sardy was unavailable and the former Oasis star - who regularly clashed with his brother Liam Gallagher during his times in the indie group - enjoyed having creative control of the record.
He added to Q magazine: "I refused to over-think it. I understand making records by committee when there's five lads in a band.
"But I'm a solo artist on my own record label.
"So I said, 'I won't take any discussion about this. We will go in and record the album and then let the people decide whether it's good enough.' "