Music News

Kasabian think "whirlwind" success would have "f**ked" them up.
The 'Eez-Eh' rockers - made up of Tom Meighan, Serge Pizzorno, Christopher Karloff and Chris Edwards - believe their careers would have ended in "disaster" if they had shot to worldwide fame too quickly after releasing their eponymous debut album in 2004.
Serge said: "If the ambition was just to sell millions of records, then we'd have made it a lot easier for ourselves. We wouldn't have pulled so many moves along the way. We'd have played the game but we never wanted to do that.
"It's happened this way for a reason. It could have easily ended up in a graveyard. And if it had been a whirlwind, it would've been a disaster. We wouldn't have known what to do with it."
A decade later, the group have had a triumphant year which saw them headline the famous Glastonbury festival and play a homecoming gig in Leicester to 60,000 fans, although they are still looking to bigger things and would love to take their music to London's Wembley stadium.
Serge told NME magazine: "In a stadium half the people aren't really in the mix because they're sitting down. I suppose there's some weird Britpop hangover ingrained in my soul that strives to make outsider music and take it to Wembley, it would be great to say you've done it and it would be a huge achievement."

Bjorn Ulvaeus says ABBA will never return to the stage.
The 69-year-old singer-songwriter was a member of the hit band - along with Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad - until their hiatus in 1982, and has repeated previous remarks confirming they will never reform.
He said: "We took a break in `82, and it was meant to be a break. It's still a break and will remain so,
"You'll never see us onstage again."
The 'Dancing Queen' hitmaker continued to say the group has no reason to reform because they are not strapped for cash, unlike other acts who decide to tour because they have been reckless with their money.
He continued: "We don't need the money, for one thing,
"Usually the reason bands have reunions is that one of them is destitute and the others want to help. Fortunately that has not happened to us."
The 'Mamma Mia' creator was speaking about the band following the release of 'ABBA: The Official Photo Book' which chronicles the Swedish group's decade-long career with more than 600 photographs, and admitted he enjoyed taking a look back through their history, despite not wanting to regroup.
He told Billboard magazine: "I'm not a nostalgic person, but looking at these pictures really took me back."

Hozier has been named as Spotify's Spotlight Breakout Star of 2014.
The 24-year-old performer piqued the interest of the streaming service in 2013 when he was featured in their list of Spotlight on 2014 artists, and has now been picked as their favourite emerging talent of the past 12 months.
On hearing the news, the singer said: "Spotify have shown their support for my music from very early on in my career.
"It's been a big part of the success of my music this past year and I'm very grateful to them for that support.''
Hozier was recently exposed to a worldwide audience when he performed his hit 'Take Me To Church' at London's Victoria's Secret Show alongside Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran, with the track since topping Spotify's global chart.
Alongside the announcement about the singer-songwriter, Spotify have revealed the acts they are tipping for success in the next year in their Spotlight on 2015 list.
Compiled by the service's in-house music experts using data from Spotify's Viral Charts, 'The Voice' alumnus Becky Hill and Brits' Critics Choice 2015 award winner James Bay are among musicians on the shortlist.
The remaining 10 promising acts include Juce, Coasts, Ibeyi, SOAK, All We Are, Raury, Laura Doggett, Nothing But Thieves, Lapsley and Seinabo Sey.
Previous Spotlight artists include Mercury Prize nominees Jungle and FKA Twigs as well as Banks and 'Riptide' hitmaker, Vance Joy.

Kanye West will receive the Visionary Award at the 2015 BET Honors.
The 'Stronger' rapper - who has 17-month-old daughter North with wife Kim Kardashian West - is being given the prize in recognition of being a "multifaceted trailblazer and pioneer".
The BET website said: "Kanye West will be honoured for his extraordinary contributions across the arts, including roles as a record producer, rapper, filmmaker and fashion designer. He's a multifaceted trailblazer and pioneer whose accomplishments are all marked by his unique and forward-thinking approach."
Kanye will be one of five people honoured at the annual event next month, with Usher also set to pick up a prize.
The 'OMG' hitmaker will receive the Musical Arts Award for his two-decade career at the ceremony in Washington on January 24.
Manwhile, Phylicia Rashad will receive the Theatrical Arts Award and Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art and former president of Spelman College, will receive the Education Award.
Microsoft Chairman John W. Thompson will receive the Technology and Business Award.
The BET Honors will be broadcast on US TV on February 23.

One Direction have been named Billboard's artist of the year 2014. The ranking takes into consideration the group's chart performance on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 album chart throughout the year from, December 7 last year to November 29...

Ed Sheeran and Ryan Tedder have collaborated on a new song.
The 'Don't' singer made the most of his appearance on 'The X Factor' in October after he revealed how he snuck into 'Bleeding Love' songwriter Ryan's dressing room to quickly write a new tune.
Talking to the radio station Capital FM, Ed explained: "It was really weird thing because I had heard that he just loves writing songs all the time.
"I'd never met him. He was in the dressing room next to me at 'X Factor' so I just popped my head around the corner and was like, 'Oh, do you want to write a song tonight?'"
Ryan - who is part of the band OneRepublic - has been behind some of the biggest tracks including, Beyonce's 'Halo' and Ella Henderson's 'Ghost'.
He has also worked as a producer for the likes of U2, Adele, Marron 5, Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande.
Ed has made chart history of his own, after he was placed at the top of the iTunes end of year chart for his second album 'x'.
The record was named the most downloaded in the UK for 2014, beating Sam Smith and Disney's 'Frozen' soundtrack to first place.

Coldplay want to collaborate with Sam Smith and London Grammar.
The band's bassist Guy Berryman has been eyeing up the emerging musicians, and named the 'Stay With Me' crooner and electronic pop trio as the top stars he hopes to work with.
The 36-year-old star said: "I love London Grammar, I think they're amazing, and Sam Smith's, he's amazing."
The musician went on to also suggest 'Latch' hitmakers Disclosure - who released their debut album 'Settle' in 2013 - as another act they wish to make music with at some point in the future.
He continued: "Disclosure, fantastic. There's a lot of great music around at the moment."
The 'Magic' hitmakers - who released their sixth studio album 'Ghost Stories' earlier this year - recently revealed they are already writing for their next record, 'A Head Full of Dreams', which frontman Chris Martin teased could be their "final" release, but Guy remained tight-lipped on further details.
Speaking to BBC Radio 2 about which artists, if any, they will actually be collaborating with on the LP, he said: "It's not really specifically answering your question. I think there's some really great bands at the moment, which is really encouraging."

Gwen Stefani wants to collaborate with Chris Martin.
The 'Baby Don't Lie' hitmaker is gearing up to release her third solo album, and is still hoping to record a track with the Coldplay frontman after fighting to work with him for a decade.
She said: "I would love to work with Chris Martin. I've tried to get him to work with me for 10 years, so maybe he'll do it this time."
Although the No Doubt star has not managed to secure a collaboration with the 37-year-old singer/songwriter, she revealed Sia - who has also worked on hits such as Rihanna's 'Diamonds' and David Guetta's 'Titanium' - has written a song titled 'Start A War' for her upcoming LP.
Speaking about the Sia, 38, Gwen said: "She's a genius and I love working with her. There's a song on the record called 'Start A War' that she wrote that I'm very grateful for. I think that girls are gonna love that one."
Elsewhere on the as-yet-untitled record, Gwen - who originally forged a solo career in 2004 with the album 'Love. Angel. Music. Baby.' - has worked with Calvin Harris and is still working on new music with Pharrell Williams, who famously wrote her hit single 'Hollaback Girl' and her latest track 'Spark The Fire'.
She explained: "I'm gonna definitely go back in with Pharrell, and I know that I want to work with Diplo. There's so many people!"
The 45-year-old mother-of-three also admitted she has never met 'Boom Clap' hitmaker Charli XCX, despite having a track co-written by the 22-year-old pop star.
She told Spin.com: "She wrote with Benny [Blanco] and then I wrote with Benny separately.
"I wrote her an email and was like, 'This is so weird that I haven't ever met you and now we have this song.' "

Bob Dylan says it was a "privilege" to cover Frank Sinatra on his new album.
The 73-year-old musician will release his 36th studio album, 'Shadows in the Night', next year, comprised of covers of songs once sung by the legendary late crooner but admitted it was a challenge to simplify the original big band arrangements.
He said: "It was a real privilege to make this album. I've wanted to do something like this for a long time but was never brave enough to approach 30-piece complicated arrangements and refine them down for a 5-piece band."
The LP will feature well-known tracks by Sinatra, including 'Stay With Me', as well as versions of 'Autumn Leaves', 'What'll I Do' and 'I'm A Fool To Want You'.
The 'Like a Rolling Stone' singer - who released his last album, 'Tempest', in 2012 - also stripped back the recording process for his new LP, because he believes a studio version of the tracks would not do them justice.
He explained: "That's the key to all these performances. We knew these songs extremely well. It was all done live. Maybe one or two takes. No overdubbing. No vocal booths. No headphones. No separate tracking, and, for the most part, mixed as it was recorded."
Due to the way in which the album has been recorded, Dylan - who unveiled the LP's first track, 'Full Moon and Empty Arms' earlier this year - has assured sceptics his versions of the tracks do not sound like the originals.
Dylan said: "I don't see myself as covering these songs in any way. They've been covered enough. Buried, as a matter a fact. What me and my band are basically doing is uncovering them. Lifting them out of the grave and bringing them into the light of day."
'Shadows in the Night' will be released through Columbia Records on February 3 2015.

The tracklist for the album is as follows:

1. 'I'm A Fool To Want You'
2. 'The Night We Called It A Day'
3. 'Stay With Me'
4. 'Autumn Leaves'
5. 'Why Try To Change Me Now'
6. 'Some Enchanted Evening'
7. 'Full Moon And Empty Arms'
8. 'Where Are You'
9. 'What'll I Do'
10. 'That Lucky Old Son'