News

The Strokes have begun work on the follow-up to 'Angles', NME can confirm. The band, who were last in the UK to headline last summer's Reading And Leeds Festivals, were reported to have been working on new material at the famous Electric Lady Studios in their home city of New York earlier this month, but this was quickly denied by their management and record label.

Radiohead have teamed up with Jude Law to produce a campaign film for Greenpeace. The film tells the story of a polar bear forced out of her Arctic habitat due to climate change and features the Radiohead track "Everything In Its Right Place" from the band's 2000 album Kid A. Speaking of the film, Thom Yorke said: "We have to stop the oil giants pushing into the Arctic. An oil spill in the Arctic would devastate this region of breathtaking beauty, while burning that oil will only add to the biggest problem we all face, climate change."

Metronomy, Savages and Coda have been added to the bill for this year's Green Man Festival. The festival, which will be headlined by Mogwai, Feist and Van Morrison, takes place in Wales' Brecon Beacons from August 17-19. Also newly added to the line-up are Loney Dear, Tom Williams & The Boat, Dizraeli & The Small Gods, Polaroid 85, Laid Blak and Heymoonshaker. They join a bill that already includes Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Walkmen, Jonathan Richman, The Felice Brothers, Tune-Yards, Of Montreal, King Creosote & Jon Hopkins, Michael Kiwanuka and over 30 other acts.

ZZ Top mainman Billy Gibbons has revealed that he and bandmate Dusty Hill once turned down an offer of $1 million (£638,000) to shave off their beards. The singer, who has sported a very lengthy beard since the late '70s, told Brave Worlds that he and Hill were approached by Gillette, who offered them the staggering amount of money to shave. Though still a hefty wedge by today's standards, the offer came in 1984, meaning it would be worth $2.25 million (£1.44 million) in 2012.

Shane Meadows' documentary on The Stone Roses could be ready in time for Christmas. Speaking to the BBC ahead of the band's three comeback gigs last weekend in Manchester's Heaton park, the film's producer Mark Herbert (This Is England), said of the as yet untitled project: "I was hoping to get it out by Christmas. But over this weekend alone we were going to shoot 180 to 200 hours of footage. We've got 35 cameras out there – I feel like I'm making the Titanic at the moment. I want to get it out by Christmas. That's the dream."

Patti Smith has been added to the bill for this summer's End Of The Road festival.

Blur's Alex James has spoken out about the band's release of two new tracks, 'The Puritan' and 'Under The Westway', both of which debuted last night (July 2) via a live rooftop video streamed performance.

The number of albums sold in the UK fell by almost seven million from the same period in 2011, according to figures published today (July 3) by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The Flaming Lips have broken the world record for playing the most live shows in 24 hours. BBC News reports that the Oklahoma band performed eight times across the Mississippi Delta as part of MTV's O Music Awards, beating the previous record set by Jay-Z. The rapper played seven gigs from Atlanta to Los Angeles in 2006, but Wayne Coyne and co went one better after starting their run of shows in Memphis, Tennessee and finishing in New Orleans, Louisiana, with 20 minutes to spare before the deadline.

The Rolling Stones have debuted an updated version of their famous lips and tongue logo, in honour of their 50th anniversary. The original logo was designed in 1971 by John Pasche, a student the Royal College of Art in London. It made its debut on the sleeve for the band's Sticky Fingers album. The updated version was designed by Shepard Fairey, best known for his work in the 2008 American presidential election campaign, for which he designed the Barack Obama "Hope" poster.