Music News

Wilko Johnson has no intention of dying on stage.
The Dr Feelgood guitarist has been gigging as much as he can since he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2012.
Although he realises many people would consider it to be the ultimate rock 'n' roll death to pass away whilst performing, Wilko intends to hang up his guitar when he feels too unwell to play to the best of his ability.
When quizzed on whether he would like to go out on stage, Wiko told BANG Showbiz: "My dear friend (The Deviants singer) Mick Farren did that last year; no I don't think I would like to do that. I've decided I'm going to carry on playing while I'm still fit to do it. Once I start getting sick, I'm not going to do anymore. I don't want people to see me like that."
Instead of worrying about his disease, Wilko's diagnosis has given his career a new chapter and he was overjoyed to get the chance to work with his friend and idol Roger Daltrey on their album 'Going Back Home' - which features re-recorded versions of Wilko's songs with The Who singer on vocals.
However, one side-effect of his tumour is that it is hindering his guitar playing on stage.
Wilko - who performed at 'An Evening with Suggs' last week to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK - explained: "Since I got diagnosed, it's certainly raised my profile. It's been a bit baffling for me I was supposed to be dead in October, I'm not dead, I'm still going and so far I haven't suffered any ill-effects. I've got this big lump which sticks out. When I'm on stage my guitar kind of rocks on it, and I've spent years with it resting on my hips. I've just got back from a tour of Japan with Roger, it's all sold out. I love Japan and it's just great to be doing gigs, especially when I think I shouldn't even be here at all."
'Going Back Hom' is out now.

Bush have been recording their new album at Dave Grohl's studio.
The band, fronted by Gavin Rossdale, are busy working on tracks for an upcoming LP and have been using the Foo Fighters singer's Studio 606 in Northridge, California, to get their parts down.
The rockers are collaborating with producer Nick Raskulinecz - who is best known for producing songs for the Foo Fighters and Alice In Chains - and other than letting Bush use his studio, Grohl is not involved in the project.
In a post on his personal Twitter account, Rossdale - who also uploaded a photo of him playing guitar in the studio - revealed: "The news is out!!! we're in the thick of it with nick r, 5 more songs to sing. getting closer to the finish line. so happy to share!! (sic)"
The 48-year-old musician - who is married to Gwen Stefani - also hinted Bush will hit the road to tour the album.
He tweeted: "I think we'll tour with the record but what do i know? (sic)"
The as-yet untitled album will be Bush's first release since 'The Sea of Memories' which came out in 2011.
At the time that album had been the band's first studio album for 10 years with previous LP 'Golden State' coming out in 2001.

John Martin believes working with Swedish House Mafia has changed his life forever.
The 33-year-old singer, known for his vocals on the trio's hits 'Don't You Worry Child' and 'Save the World', admits collaborating with the now defunct group gave his career an enormous boost.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, he said: "Working with them has changed everything, I'm just really thankful for everything that happened with the collaboration with Swedish House Mafia and them producing the songs.
"It has just made my life so much more interesting than it was before."
The success of their collaborations came as a surprise to John and even though he predicted 'Don't You Worry Child' would be a massive hit, he couldn't believe the extent of its success following its release at the end of 2012.
He explained: "I wasn't expecting to be that big, to me 'Don't You Worry Child' was a hit because I love that song and I had a good feeling every time I was listening to it ... but I could never expect that song to become that big and to see five million copies all over the world."
John will also never forget the memories he made with the band - consisting of Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello - while touring with them on what turned out to be their final run of shows.
He said: "Touring with them a year ago, when we did the last shows in Miami, that is probably what I will remember for the rest of my life because everyone was there and it was the last shows that they did so people were very emotional and there was a great celebration going on."
John's new single 'Anywhere For You' is set for release on March 30.

Kate Bush's London residency has sold out in less than 15 minutes.
Tickets for the 'Wuthering Heights' singer's upcoming 22 concerts at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith were snapped up in record-breaking time as fans fought for a chance to see the star on stage for the first time in 35 years.
Kate said this morning (28.03.14): "I'm completely overwhelmed by the response to the shows. Thank you so much to everyone. Looking forward to seeing you all later this year."
The tickets for her 'Before The Dawn' concerts went on sale at 9.30am this morning and are now completely sold out.
The gigs are kicking off on August 26, with seven new dates at the end of September and in October added just last night due to massive pre-sale demand.
Kate's announcement comes 35 years after her 'The Tour of Life' shows in 1979, which had until now been the only concert tour of her career.
The six-week tour took her around Britain and mainland Europe and ended at the Hammersmith Odeon - now called the Hammersmith or Eventim Apollo - the venue she has chosen to return to.

Robbie Williams has until May to commit to Take That.
The 40-year-old singer, who has 19-month-old daughter Theodora with his wife Ayda, has been given a deadline to decide whether he'll return to the band or not.
Bandmate Gary Barlow, 43, said: "We need to know what we are doing by the end of May.
"The thing is with Robbie is that he is a family man, so whether he will be in the final line-up I'm not sure."
Gary initially gave Robbie until January to make his final decision, but the band - also consisting of Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Mark Owen - have only just begun work on their new album, so the cut-off date has been extended.
Gary explained: "We're one month into the writing process, with the new record hopefully at Christmas and a tour next year. We think we have some good material already but no album title just yet."
However, regardless of Robbie's decision, the 'Face to Face' hitmaker insists the hunk will still write with the band on their new album, and the group will also help out with Robbie's next release.
Speaking on 'Alan Carr: Chatty Man' tonight (28.03.14), he explained: "If he's not back in the band, he'll write on the record and we will work with him on his next record."
'Alan Carr: Chatty Man' airs at 10pm on Channel 4.

Fleetwood Mac have announced their first tour with Christine McVie in 16 years.
The band will be reuniting with the 70-year-old singer, who walked out on the group in 1998, for their North American 34-date tour, which kicks off at the end of September.
The rock band - consisting of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham - have also confirmed they will be recording a new album with Christine and they will be heading to the studio together next month, according to NME magazine.
Fleetwood Mac confirmed at the beginning of the year that Christine had rejoined the band, but remained tight-lipped on whether a tour was in the pipeline.
Meanwhile, Christine expressed an interest in reuniting with the group after she performed with her former bandmates at their Fleetwood Mac Live London shows last year.
She said in November: "I like being with the band, the whole idea of playing music with them. I miss them all."
The blonde beauty - who was married to bassist John until they divorced in 1976 - played with Fleetwood Mac for 28 years, and wrote some of their most famous songs, including; 'Say You Love Me', 'Don't Stop' and 'Little Lies'.

Amy Winehouse could perform a posthumous tour - as a hologram.
Billionaire Alki David is plotting a world tour for the tragic 'Back to Black' singer using 3D computer technology and a backing orchestra.
The entrepreneur will utilise the same advanced technology used to resurrect late rapper Tupac Shakur - who was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in 1996 - for Coachella festival two years ago.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "The plan is that Amy will finally tour the world after failing to do so when she was alive.
"With an orchestra and her hologram, she can take to the stage and fans can see her perform her legendary hits. The idea is in its early stages but it's hoped that Amy's dad Mitch will maybe join her and do the introductions."
Thankfully for Alki, Mitch has previously endorsed such an effort to keep his daughter's "memory alive" and is open to a hologram of Amy, who was 27 at the time of her tragic death in 2011, performing her big hits.
He previously said: "The most important thing to Amy was the music and I'm sure a lot of people would like to hear her sing again.
"It depends on what Amy's fans want as a way to keep her memory alive. If it's a book, an album or a hologram, then so be it."

Kodaline want to work with Rick Rubin and Pharrell Williams.
The Irish rock band - made up of Steve Garrigan, Jason Boland, Vincent May and Mark Prendergrast - are writing and recording their second album and are looking for a producer to work with.
Guitairst Mark told BANG Showbiz: "Rick Rubin would be amazing! Pharrell would be a lot of fun, he's untouchable, he's king of the world right now.
"It's starting to get serious now [for the band] ... We're in a good place at the moment.
"There are about 15 songs that are there, we're probably going to write and record about another 15 and then pick our favourite 10 or 11 and go into the studio."
Mark insists the band won't be veering away too much from their original sound on 'In a Perfect World' when it comes to their new album but say the recording process will be a lot different.
He explained: "It's obviously going to sound similar. But on our first album, Jay, our bass player, didn't have a lot to do with writing because he wasn't around, we didn't have him yet.
"He's writing some great songs now. So it's the whole influence of having somebody else involved and he'll have a huge impact on the second album. It's probably a lot better."
Meanwhile, the band will release a cover of the Paul McCartney's 'Coming Up' on 7" vinyl for this year's Record Store Day on April 19.
They will also perform at Benicassim in Spain in July and V Festival, along with shows in London, Leeds and Liverpool in coming months.

Victoria Beckham has given the Spice Girls "her blessing" to reunite without her.
The British fashion designer's former bandmate Mel C says the group, which also includes Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Mel B, may consider getting back together as a four-piece in the near future.
She told the MailOnline website: "We've talked about it. Victoria doesn't want to, which we completely understand. We are so proud of her and her incredible foray into fashion, it's incredible what she's achieved as a designer."
She added: "The four of us could consider it maybe. We have Victoria's blessing to do that."
Victoria previously insisted that she would never get back together with the girls after they reunited for a sell-out 2008 world tour, 'The Return of the Spice Girls' and then again to perform at 2012 Olympics in London.
Meanwhile, Mel is preparing to release her upcoming single, 'Cool As You,' and hopes to continue performing either alone or with the Spice Girls for the rest of her life.
She said: "My number one love is performing and I want to be doing this forever. My current priorities are my spring/summer tour with Jules Holland and working on my own album."
The brunette beauty is a single-mother to daughter Scarlett, five, and admitted it can be "exhausting."
She explained: "Scarlett is going through the phase of waking up a lot in the night but she is so wonderful and great company."