News

Madness have announced plans for their second annual House of Fun Weekender. The event will take place at Butlins Minehead from November 23-26 and will see the iconic ska-pop band playing two live sets over the weekend, on both the Friday and Sunday nights. The Friday night set will be themed. Madness will also release their brand new album, the follow up to The Liberty Of Norton Folgate, later this year. The band will be playing songs from the as-yet-untitled LP at the weekender.

Paul Simon has scooped this year's Polar Music Prize. The award is given yearly to both a pop and classical artist. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has won the classical portion of the prize. Both artists will be given their prizes of one million kronor (£91,000) at the ceremony in Stockholm on August 28, reports BBC News. Patti Smith and Kronos Quartet won the prize last year, and other previous Polar Prize winners include Elton John, Paul McCartney, Bjork and Bob Dylan. The award was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, former manager of ABBA.

Legendary New York punk club CBGB could be set to reopen in a new location in the city. The nightspot, which closed in 2006, has been bought by a group of investors who are planning to set up a new annual festival and have also been eyeing up potential new sites, reports the New York Times. The four-day festival is due to kick off on July 5 and take place at around 30 venues across the city, showcasing 300 bands.

Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Jack Sherman has hit out at his former bandmates after he was not invited to attend the band's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last month. The band were inducted along with the Faces/Small Faces, Guns N' Roses and Beastie Boys at a ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio last month, and Sherman has criticised his former bandmates for not allowing him and Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro to not attend the ceremony.

Gaz Coombes – former frontman of Supergrass – has said that he currently has "no interest" in a Supergrass reunion, but added: "Who knows what I'll say in five years?" The musician has also spoken out about the inspiration for his debut solo album, Here Come The Bombs, which is set for release on May 21. The album was co-produced by Sam Williams, who previously worked with Coombes when producing Supergrass's 1995 debut album, I Should Coco.

Richard Hawley says his new album Standing At The Sky's Edge is a metaphor for the state of modern Britain. Speaking about the album title, he tells NME: "Sky's Edge is a place in Sheffield…But I used it as a metaphor more than anything, for being on the edge and how we have to decide what side of the line we’re on. The Government are using the recession to force through politics that will put us back 125 years of history".

In case you missed them yesterday, I’ve embedded the two new Animal Collective tracks after the jump. Back into relative focus after the “Transverse Temporal Gyrus” thing, and with Avey Tare seemingly to the the fore; he almost seems to be rapping at the start of “Honeycomb”.

The Stone Roses have apparently been rehearsing for their comeback gigs without drummer Reni aka Alan Wren, according to Matthew Priest of Dodgy.

Blur frontman Damon Albarn has revealed that he is working on a new solo album. The singer, who recently denied that he is finished with both Blur and Gorillaz, told BBC Radio 4's Front Row that he is working on a new record "under his own name".

Mike D of the Beastie Boys has spoken about the death of his bandmate, Adam Yauch. Yauch, who was also known as MCA, was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and succumbed to the disease on Friday [May 4], aged 47. Writing on the band's Facebook page, Mike Diamond said how much he missed his bandmate: "I know, we should have tweeted and instagrammed every sad, happy and inspired thought, smile or tear by now. But honestly the last few days have just been a blur of deep emotions for our closest friend, band mate and really brother. I miss Adam so much.