News

Paul McCartney is working on a new project with the makers of the Halo video game series. The Beatle announced he is composing music with developers Bungie on his Twitter page. He wrote: I'm really excited to be working on writing music with Bungie, the studio that made Halo. Although, it is unclear what he will be composing music for at this stage, it is unlikely to be on the next Halo game because Bungie concluded its work on the series in 2010 with 'Halo's Reach'. 'Halo 4', which is currently in development, is being made by 343 Industries.

Ringo Starr celebrated his 72nd birthday in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday night (7 July) by holding a "peace and love" moment at midday. Hundreds of fans joined Starr at Hard Rock Café, holding two fingers in the air and shouting "peace and love". The Beatles drummer also asked people around the world to do the same thing at 12 o'clock in their own time zones. He told his fans:

Johnny Marr will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Salford, at a ceremony at The Lowry on July 19. The Smiths guitarist, who has been a visiting professor in popular music at the university since 2007, said: "I'm very pleased to be given an honorary degree by Salford University. I've enjoyed working with the students in my capacity as visiting professor and hopefully we can find some more opportunities for creative work in the future." He also quipped on Twitter:

Brian May of Queen has turned his estate in Surrey into a wildlife refuge. The guitarist told The Sunday Times: "When I'm gone, people will no doubt remember me for Queen, but I would much rather be remembered for attempting to change the way we treat our fellow creatures."

Damian Marley is to headline the Respect Jamaica 50th festival in London later this month (July). Also known as 'Junior Gong', the youngest son of reggae legend Bob Marley, will take to the stage at London's IndigO2 on July 26. It will be his first UK live appearance since his 'Distant Relative' shows with Nas in 2011. The Jamaica 50th festival is billed as "a celebration of Jamaican culture to mark 50 years of independence". Special guests at the event will include Damian's half-brothers Stephen Marley and Julian Marley.

Stephen Stills has revealed that Crosby, Stills And Nash won't make a new studio album. In an interview with www.musicradar.com, Stills explained that despite lengthy sessions with producer Rick Rubin for a proposed covers album, CSN won't record another studio album. A live DVD/CD, CSN 2012 is scheduled for release in America on July 17. Stills said: "Well, there's the DVD, right, a live set. The thing's done, it's ready to go. But an album? We won't make another album, we won't finish one."

John Lydon has called for drugs to be legalised - so long as there is sufficient information to vet them properly. Watch his comments below. During a largely uneventful appearance on Question Time last night (July 6), the PiL frontman advocated a laissez-faire approach towards the recreational use of drugs. Lydon, known for his affiliation with Country Life butter, compared banned chemical substances to table salt.

New Order closed the first night of Open'er Festival in Gdansk, Poland last night (July 4) with a 90-minute greatest hits set, culminating in an encore of Joy Division classics. The appearance marked the Factory records legends' first ever appearance in Poland and had particular poignancy as Joy Division were initially named after Polish capital city, Warsaw.

The Stone Roses are set to re-enter the UK Top 10 this weekend after their triumphant homecoming gigs at Heaton Park. The reunited band's compilation The Very Best Of The Stone Roses is set to reach Number Eight on Sunday (July 8), while their classic debut self-titled LP is set to take the Number 32 slot. Chris Brown, meanwhile, is set to take the top spot in the album chart with his new record Fortune, with last week's Number One Linkin Park down to Number Three with Living Things and Maroon 5 at Number Two with Overexposed, reports the Official Charts Company.

Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee has posted a Facebook rant at fans who ask him for a picture. In the post the drummer says people can’t even imagine "what kinda crazy has happened" when fans ask him to pose for photos when he is trying to have private time.