Subscribe
Home Blog Page 111

The Rolling Stones pay tribute to Charlie Watts in secret London club show

Daniel Seah
-
0
The Rolling Stones pay tribute to Charlie Watts in secret London club show
The Rolling Stones paid tribute to late drummer Charlie Watts on Monday (6 December) in an intimate show held in Ronnie Scott’s in London’s Soho. ORDER NOW: Paul Weller is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: How Charlie Watts turned the Rollin’ Stones into The Rolling...

The Rolling Stones paid tribute to late drummer Charlie Watts on Monday (6 December) in an intimate show held in Ronnie Scott’s in London’s Soho.

Frontman Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, as well as former bassist Bill Wyman were in attendance at the gig, along with friends and family members of Watts.

Jools Holland led a house band consisting of Ben Waters, Axel Zwingenberger and Dave Green, one of Watts’ childhood friends whom often played with him in jazz groups.

Rolling Stones touring musicians also played that evening, with saxophonist Tim Ries performing a composition titled “Blues For Charlie” and singer Lisa Fischer performing “Trouble On My Mind” before being joined by Bernard Fowler on the gospel tune “Up Above My Head”.

The Stones closed the evening with two blues standards, “Shame Shame Shame” and “Down The Road Apiece”.

Charlie Watts passed away in August 2021 at the age of 80, right before the band embarked on a 13-date tour of the US. Drummer Steve Jordan sat in on those shows as a replacement for the legendary skin man.

Robbie Shakespeare has died, aged 68

Jackson Langford
-
0
Robbie Shakespeare has died, aged 68
Robbie Shakespeare has died. He was 68 years old. It's been reported by The Jamaica Gleaner that Shakespeare had recently undergone surgery related to his kidneys. The Jamaican artist was hospitalised in Florida. ORDER NOW: Paul Weller is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut Shakes...

Robbie Shakespeare has died. He was 68 years old.

It’s been reported by The Jamaica Gleaner that Shakespeare had recently undergone surgery related to his kidneys. The Jamaican artist was hospitalised in Florida.

Shakespeare, an iconic bassist, formed Sly and Robbie with drummer Sly Dunbar in the mid-70s after having both worked separately in other bands. After bonding over an affinity for reggae production, they went to work producing for other artists, with their breakout credit being Mighty Diamonds‘ 1976 album Right Time.

Their production work led them to work with a myriad of acts throughout the decades, including multiple albums for Bob Dylan and Grace Jones. They also helped produce and remix tracks by Bob Marley, Madonna, Britney Spears and Mick Jagger, while also helming production on No Doubt‘s 2001 smash hit “Hey Baby”.

Sly & Robbie alongside Keith Richards
Sly & Robbie alongside Keith Richards. CREDIT: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

Throughout their career, Sly and Robbie also went on to release several albums of their own, the last of which was 2019’s The Final Battle: Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics which was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 2019 Grammys.

Sending his condolences, Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness tweeted, “The legendary bassist Robbie Shakespeare played a significant role in recording and producing albums for various Reggae artists including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, U Roy, Culture, Burning Spear among other big names.

“When it comes to Reggae bass playing, no one comes close to having the influence of Robbie Shakespeare. He will be remembered for his sterling contribution to the music industry and Jamaica’s culture. May his soul Rest In Peace.”

Jamaica’s minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, Olivia Grange, released a statement with her condolences, saying “I am in shock and sorrow after just receiving the news that my friend and brother, the legendary bassist Robbie Shakespeare has died.”

“[Sly & Robbie] took bass playing and drumming to the highest level as they made music for themselves as a group, and for many other artists locally and internationally,” Grange continued.

“Robbie’s loss will be felt by the industry at home and abroad. He will be sorely missed.”

View more tributes from artists and other industry professionals below.

 

View this post on Instagram

George Harrison – Deluxe Ultimate Music Guide

Uncut
-
0
George Harrison – Deluxe Ultimate Music Guide
As All Things Must Pass receives a deluxe anniversary release, The Ultimate Music Guide to one of the world’s best-loved musicians. Never mind “the quiet one”. Meet the other George Harrisons: Sonic innovator! Spiritual adventurer! Film producer! Buy a copy here!...

As All Things Must Pass receives a deluxe anniversary release, The Ultimate Music Guide to one of the world’s best-loved musicians. Never mind “the quiet one”. Meet the other George Harrisons: Sonic innovator! Spiritual adventurer! Film producer!

Buy a copy here!

Introducing the Deluxe Ultimate Music Guide to George Harrison

John Robinson
-
0
Introducing the Deluxe Ultimate Music Guide to George Harrison
BUY THE GEORGE HARRISON ULTIMATE MUSIC GUIDE HERE When I last talked to anyone who knew George Harrison, it was about how he played the guitar. In the early 1960s, Brian Griffiths (“Griff”) along with his pals John Gustafson (“Gus”) and John Hutchinson (“Hutch”) was a member of The Bi...

BUY THE GEORGE HARRISON ULTIMATE MUSIC GUIDE HERE

When I last talked to anyone who knew George Harrison, it was about how he played the guitar. In the early 1960s, Brian Griffiths (“Griff”) along with his pals John Gustafson (“Gus”) and John Hutchinson (“Hutch”) was a member of The Big Three. Favourites at the Cavern, (where they recorded their debut EP) and in Hamburg, the band knew the Beatles before there was much screaming.

Gus told me about how he once met a sheepish George in Liverpool, shortly after his having been deported from Hamburg. George told Gus that Stuart Sutcliffe had recently left the band, and if he wanted to have a go, the Beatles were looking for a bass player. Griff, meanwhile, remembered George as someone eager to learn.

Aware of the spikier nature of his own tone, he asked the other guitarist for some advice on achieving a slicker and more accomplished kind of sound. Griff remembered George as a “very English” guitarist and also his enquiry: “How do you make the notes flow…?”

When you’re introducing a magazine dedicated to a musician like George Harrison, it’s a pretty helpful choice of words, illuminating aspects of some Georges we think we already know. There’s George the recessive Beatle, happy to try and sink into the shadow of popular music’s most powerful spotlight by smoothing out his sound. There’s George the seeker after spiritual enlightenment, looking to pass easefully but meaningfully from one state to the next.

Really, though, it reveals more about George simply as self-critical individual, an important part of the man and his music that you’ll find emerging constantly throughout the career covered in depth in this deluxe 148 page edition. As important as was the output he made while attempting to transcend the material world – his abiding friendship with Ravi Shankar and affinity for the music of India – much of his most characterful work comes from his interrogation of life and its problems. He wrote “Wah Wah” from his classic, recently remastered, All Things Must Pass after his walk-out on the Beatles during the Get Back sessions.

If Apple was a political vehicle for John, a crucible for new talent for Paul and a place with green carpets for Ringo, for George it was a place to take stock. “Getting back” was a McCartney phrase, but it’s a George sentiment. As leery as he may have been in the limelight and the consequences of being a worldwide celebrity, he knew as much as anyone that playing rock music again would be a possible way down from the studio-based experiments of Pepper. To read him talking about working with Jackie Lomax, or Elvis, or Little Richard is someone telling it like it is, even if no-one was giving him their full attention.

Musically, George wore his heart on his sleeve. It didn’t always reap huge rewards: “Only A Northern Song”, his thinly-veiled gripe about songwriting and its royalties was said to have made George Martin shudder. But this inability to conceal his feelings also brought us the outpouring of All Things Must Pass, the compassion behind the concert for Bangla Desh, the wit of “Taxman” – even the rock ‘n’ roll revivalism of the Traveling Wilburys. George had many guises, but his essential nature always remained intact.

Perhaps he was an English guitarist. But George was also an artist scanning round the world, and the worlds beyond.

Buy a copy of the magazine here. Missed one in the series? Bundles are available at the same location…

Watch Damon Albarn air new solo material and Blur classics on UK tour

Damian Jones
-
0
Watch Damon Albarn air new solo material and Blur classics on UK tour
Damon Albarn showcased a host of new tracks from his solo album alongside Blur classics in Coventry Tuesday night (December 7) during his UK tour. ORDER NOW: Paul Weller is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Damon Albarn: “Change is necessary” The frontman performed...

Damon Albarn showcased a host of new tracks from his solo album alongside Blur classics in Coventry Tuesday night (December 7) during his UK tour.

The frontman performed a selection of cuts from The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows at the HMV Empire including the title track, “The Cormorant” and “Royal Morning Blue”, footage of which you can view below.

He then went on to play a host of Blur classics such as “Beetlebum”, “For Tomorrow”, “Tender” and “Girls & Boys” before wrapping up with “The Universal”. You can view a host of those performances below too.

His tour will call at London’s Union Chapel on December 14, the Barbican on December 21 before wrapping up in Dublin on Christmas Eve (December 24).

Damon Albarn played:

“The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows”
“The Cormorant”
“Royal Morning Blue”
“Daft Wader”
“Darkness To Light”
“The Tower Of Montevideo”
“Polaris”
“Particles”
“Beetlebum”
“Under The Westway”
“My Terracotta Heart”
“For Tomorrow”
“Tender”
“Girls & Boys”
“The Universal”

David Bowie 75th birthday livestream concert announced

Damian Jones
-
0
David Bowie 75th birthday livestream concert announced
A livestream concert to mark what would have been David Bowie's 75th birthday has been announced. ORDER NOW: Paul Weller is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: David Bowie’s contemporaries on lost album Toy: “We always felt that they were great songs” The event, wh...

A livestream concert to mark what would have been David Bowie’s 75th birthday has been announced.

The event, which will be held on January 8, will feature long term members of the late icon’s band along with appearances from Gary Oldman, Ricky Gervais, Evan Rachel Wood, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon and John Taylor, Def Leppard, Living Colour, Walk The Moon and Jake Welsley Rogers.

“It’s an honour to be able to continue to share David Bowie’s music with the world,” Bowie’s longtime keyboardist Mike Garson told Rolling Stone.

“I’m excited for everyone to be able to experience this very special show we’ve got in store in celebration of what would have been David’s 75th birthday with the bandmates he recorded and performed with, plus a great group of guest artists who he was such an influence to.”

Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman is set to make an appearance at the concert Image: Alamy / Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

Tickets to the event are on sale now and are available via RollingLiveStudios here.

The first celebration came together one year after Bowie died when Garson and several members of Bowie’s Reality Tour band played a series of shows around the world.

The following year, they staged an extensive world tour.

Meanwhile, a previously unseen video of David Bowie performing early single “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” was recently released.

Originally released in 1965, “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” was the first single Bowie released after changing his name from David Jones. Bowie performed the track during the 90s as he set to work on Toy, an album of re-recorded songs from his early days that was eventually scrapped due to a disagreement with his label.

Supergrass announce first hometown Oxford show in 12 years

Arusa Qureshi
-
0
Supergrass announce first hometown Oxford show in 12 years
Supergrass have announced that they will be playing a hometown show at the O2 Academy2 Oxford later this month. ORDER NOW: Paul Weller is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Supergrass – The Strange Ones: 1994-2008 review The recently reunited band announced in Septemb...

Supergrass have announced that they will be playing a hometown show at the O2 Academy2 Oxford later this month.

The recently reunited band announced in September that they would be playing a huge London show at O2 Academy Brixton on December 20. The band’s reunion dates were all set to take place in 2020, before being postponed due to COVID.

Speaking to BBC News, bassist Mick Quinn commented the upcoming gig could be their last in Oxford as a band on December 18. He said: “You can never say never but it’s definitely on the cards in some way. It’s unlikely [there’ll be another] as far as I can see unless something amazing turns up.

“All reunions have a shelf life. You can play hit after hit and keep going for that, but eventually people want something more and we’ve been pretty firm about not recording new stuff.”

The upcoming Oxford date has been described as a “small low key gig”, with Quinn noting: “There’s a lot less pressure on us as a band to play a show like that… so for anyone who actually makes that gig, it’ll be very memorable.”

Tickets are on sale on Friday (December 10) at 10am and can be purchased here.

Lenny Kaye: “Music exists in the present tense”

Sam Richards
-
0
Lenny Kaye: “Music exists in the present tense”
“It’s a house full of rabbit holes,” grins Lenny Kaye, rummaging around in his basement to show off his latest purchases: four crates of Detroit techno 12”s bought at auction and a boxset of obscure Philly soul. Surrounded by books and records, not to mention a 1965 Ludwig drumkit and a vint...

“It’s a house full of rabbit holes,” grins Lenny Kaye, rummaging around in his basement to show off his latest purchases: four crates of Detroit techno 12”s bought at auction and a boxset of obscure Philly soul. Surrounded by books and records, not to mention a 1965 Ludwig drumkit and a vintage sheet music collection – “even though I don’t read music!” – Kaye admits that it’s not a bad place to be locked down.

Still, he describes his recent return to the stage with Patti Smith at the Royal Albert Hall as an “ecstatic” moment. “I love playing live, I love the excitement in the air and the way the audience sends it back to you. Music exists in the present tense.”

This year marked the 50th anniversary of Kaye and Smith’s first tentative steps towards poetic rock’n’roll sublimation, breathlessly recounted as part of the chapter on New York’s punk awakening in his new book Lightning Striking, which documents the explosion of 10 epochal music scenes from Memphis in 1954 to Seattle in 1991. It confirms Kaye as that rare creature in rock: both instigator and chronicler, an instinctive guitarist as well as a compelling storyteller. “A great sentence has rhythm and melody, and a guitar solo has a narrative arc,” he suggests. “When those things fold in together, that’s who I like to be.”

Did you become a writer because you were a frustrated musician, or did you become a musician because you were a frustrated writer?

– Nick McCain, Scarborough

I was never frustrated! My parallel lines as a musician and writer have moved forward together. Sometimes one gets ahead of the other, but the way they interact within me makes me a whole personality. I started writing around the same time I started playing music. At college I had a band that played weekends at mixers and fraternity parties; at the same time I was writing for the college newspaper, and each medium seemed to inform the other. Patti came to me because she’d read something I wrote in Jazz & Pop magazine about the afterglow of doo-wop, so she met me as a writer. She also knew I played a little guitar. So we embarked on this thing that has a lot of literary influences but is very musical. As a writer I can be very analytical, but my gift as a musician is that I’m not analytical at all. When I play, I feel the music – I’m a pretty good dancer, I must say!

What are your own favourite books about music?

– Jack Walters, via email

I love Paul Morley’s Words And Music, I think that’s a totally genius book. I love all of Nick Tosches’ writings: Hellfire, his Jerry Lee Lewis biography, and Dino, are capturings of the way music and musicians should be written about. I love Bob Stanley’s Yeah Yeah Yeah. And I’m reading Bobby Gillespie’s book now. A lot of memoirs are more self-serving than they need to be, but Bobby’s is highly psychedelic! He understands the feelings that music brings out in you.

Rare interviews with The Beatles up for auction as NFTs

Tom Skinner
-
0
Rare interviews with The Beatles up for auction as NFTs
Rare interviews with each member of The Beatles have been made into NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and are now up for auction. The online auction for The Beatles Collection began Monday (December 6) through the Voices Of Classic Rock Archive, which hosts 650 historic interviews and radio shows featur...

Rare interviews with each member of The Beatles have been made into NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and are now up for auction.

The online auction for The Beatles Collection began Monday (December 6) through the Voices Of Classic Rock Archive, which hosts 650 historic interviews and radio shows featuring major rock artists recorded between 1964 and 2008.

Four separate snippets from conversations with Paul McCartney (on Chaos And Creation In The Backyard), John Lennon (on A Day In The Life), George Harrison (on Abbey Road) and Ringo Starr (on His Lost Medallion) are available on the site.

The Beatles interview sale marks the first time VOCR has entered the NFT market. Each clip comes as a .WAV file along with a unique portrait of the Fab Four member in question – you can make a bid here.

Jonathan Firstenberg, managing director of the VOCR, said of the auction: “The extensive variety of Beatles interviews that we have in our collection are, perhaps, our most comprehensive and valuable assets – that is why we wanted to launch with John, Paul, George, and Ringo – the ultimate Classic Rock Stars!

The Beatles: Get Back
‘The Beatles: Get Back’. Image: Disney+

“The owners of VOCR acquired this remarkable archive from its creator, Kathleen Wittbold, because they understood that there would always be future growth in the value of audio content for all things related to classic rock music.”

He added: “All of the interviews contained with VOCR are unique, and, like any other important and unique object or artwork, they will continue to grow in rarity and value over time.”

Meanwhile, the family of Mal Evans – The Beatles’ longtime roadie, manager and general acquaintance, who features prominently in Peter Jackson’s docuseries Get Back – have announced the publication of an authorised biography set to cover his life and career.

Elvis Costello And The Imposters announce 2022 UK tour

Charlotte Krol
-
0
Elvis Costello And The Imposters announce 2022 UK tour
Elvis Costello And The Imposters have shared details of a UK tour for next year. The Boy Named If tour, which is in support of the band's recently announced album of the same name, kicks off at the Brighton Dome on June 5, 2022 before wrapping up at London’s Hammersmith Eventim Apollo on June ...

Elvis Costello And The Imposters have shared details of a UK tour for next year.

The Boy Named If tour, which is in support of the band’s recently announced album of the same name, kicks off at the Brighton Dome on June 5, 2022 before wrapping up at London’s Hammersmith Eventim Apollo on June 23.

The Imposters are comprised of Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums), Davey Faragher (bass/backing vocals). Charlie Sexton is also joining Costello and the band on the 13-date tour.

Support comes from Ian Prowse, who will be performing songs from his upcoming album One Hand On The Starry Plough.

Tickets go on sale this Friday (December 10) at 10am GMT here.

Elvis Costello And The Imposters’ The Boy Named If UK tour 2022:

JUNE
Sunday 05 – Brighton Dome
Tuesday 07 – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Wednesday 08 – Newcastle O2 City Hall
Friday 10 – Liverpool Philharmonic
Saturday 11 – Manchester Opera House
Monday 13 – Birmingham Symphony Hall
Tuesday 14 – Leicester De Montfort Hall
Thursday 16 – Oxford New Theatre
Friday 17 – Bath The Forum
Sunday 19 – Portsmouth Guildhall
Monday 20 – Swansea Arena
Wednesday 22 – Ipswich Regent Theatre
Thursday 23 – London Eventim Apollo

The Boy Named If (full title: The Boy Named If [And Other Children’s Stories]) is released on January 14, 2022. You can pre-order/pre-save it here.

“‘IF’ is a nickname for your imaginary friend; your secret self, the one who knows everything you deny, the one you blame for the shattered crockery and the hearts you break, even your own,” Costello said about the album’s title in a press release.

Produced by Sebastian Krys and Costello and released on EMI, The Boy Named If will arrive via CD, vinyl, cassette, download, streaming, and a numbered and signed, 88-page “Hardback Storybook Edition”.

It’s Costello’s fourth album with The Imposters and his 32nd studio album overall.

Denis O’Brien dies aged 80

Tom Skinner
-
0
Denis O’Brien dies aged 80
Denis O’Brien, the former manager of George Harrison, has died aged 80. O'Brien's daughter, Kristen O'Brien, told The Associated Press (via Billboard) that her father passed away at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon last Friday (December 3). ORDER NOW: Paul Weller is on the cover in t...

Denis O’Brien, the former manager of George Harrison, has died aged 80.

O’Brien’s daughter, Kristen O’Brien, told The Associated Press (via Billboard) that her father passed away at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon last Friday (December 3).

He had been admitted for severe abdominal pains although an exact cause of death has not yet been determined.

Kristen said that Denis was essentially retired over the past 20 years and had been “enjoying life with his wife, Phyllida O’Brien”, who died in 2019. He was married four times.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, O’Brien relocated to Europe after receiving a law degree from Washington University.

He served as Harrison’s manager for much of the late Beatle’s solo career. In 1978 the pair founded the production and distribution company HandMade Films. Their first project was Monty Python’s Life Of Brian (1979) which they financed after EMI Films dropped out.

The company went on to produce titles such as Monty Python Live At The Hollywood Bowl (1982), Mona Lisa (1986), Withnail And I (1987) and Nuns On The Run (1990). HandMade Films went out of business in 1991, with Harrison and O’Brien’s partnership ending in court.

In 1996, O’Brien was ordered by a judge to pay Harrison damages of $11million (£8.3million) for alleged mismanagement of HandMade’s finances. Then in August 2001, three months before Harrison’s death, a judge rejected the musician’s effort to stop O’Brien from declaring bankruptcy.

Last week saw Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr pay tribute to Harrison on the 20th anniversary of his death. Harrison died of lung cancer on November 29, 2001. He was 58 years old.

“Hard to believe that we lost George 20 years ago,” McCartney wrote above a black-and-white image of the pair. “I miss my friend so much. Love Paul.”

Paul Weller, 2022 Preview, Eagles and more in the new Uncut

Michael Bonner
-
0
Paul Weller, 2022 Preview, Eagles and more in the new Uncut
Welcome to the final issue of 2021. It’s a particularly good one to end the year, I'm pleased to say. You’ll find our first Paul Weller cover story for six years – where Pete Paphides witnesses firsthand the Guv’nor’s return to the stage after an absence of two years. Pete goes behind the ...

Welcome to the final issue of 2021. It’s a particularly good one to end the year, I’m pleased to say. You’ll find our first Paul Weller cover story for six years – where Pete Paphides witnesses firsthand the Guv’nor’s return to the stage after an absence of two years. Pete goes behind the scenes at tour rehearsals at Black Barn, production run-throughs in Wimbledon and, finally, catches Weller in full flight at one of the first shows on his recent tour. It’s full of great, fly-on-the-wall observations – and Pete even finds time to track the source of Weller’s most recent critical renaissance. There’s also our giant preview featuring some of the coming year’s essential albums, the return of Big Thief, the arrival of Margo Cilker, the birth of the Eagles and a rare audience with Elvis Costello, who has a lot to say about everything. What else? New chats with Ray Davies, Cat Power, Lenny Kaye, Cluster, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Robert Fripp, William Bell, Nicole Atkins and many more. For the time of year, this feels like a conspicuously busy issue Uncut. Please enjoy responsibly.

What can I tell you about next year, then? No spoilers, of course, but I hope you’ll be pleased to know that we’re already deep into our plans for 2022. Next month, for instance, print subscribers should look out for something extra with their issue. After the roaring success of our 5-track Weather Station CD sampler earlier this year, we’re gifting you a 5-track Hurray For The Riff Raff CD sampler. You’ll find a sneak peek of what to expect on page 13. It’s a modest token of our appreciation for your continued support for Uncut. We’re grateful and humbled that so many of you have either joined us in the last year or have renewed subscriptions.

I should also thank John, Marc, Tom, Sam, Mick, Michael, Mike, Phil, Johnny and Lora for their dedication and incredible work. I can never imagine working with a better team of people. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Have a great Christmas and New Year, folks.

See you next year.

Uncut – February 2022

Uncut
-
0
Uncut – February 2022
HAVE A COPY SENT STRAIGHT TO YOUR HOME Paul Weller, Eagles, Elvis Costello, Big Thief, Margo Cilker, William Bell, Cluster, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Robert Fripp, and Lenny Kaye all feature in the new Uncut, dated February 2022 and in UK shops from December 9 or available to buy online now. As always...

HAVE A COPY SENT STRAIGHT TO YOUR HOME

Paul Weller, Eagles, Elvis Costello, Big Thief, Margo Cilker, William Bell, Cluster, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Robert Fripp, and Lenny Kaye all feature in the new Uncut, dated February 2022 and in UK shops from December 9 or available to buy online now. As always, the issue comes with a free CD, comprising 15 tracks of the month’s best new music.

PAUL WELLER: As Paul Weller plays his first live shows in over two years, Uncut visits the guv’nor and his band during tour rehearsals in South London, for fish and chip suppers at the storied Black Barn studios and, finally, as he makes his triumphant return to the stage. Along the way, Pete Paphides digs deep to locate the source of Weller’s current seam of inspiration. “When you go out, you go out with nothing,” we learn. “We’re not the fucking pharaohs. You don’t get buried with your gold, and even if you did… what good did it do them? The most important things you hand down aren’t material things…”

OUR FREE CD! HIT PARADE: 15 of the month’s best music, including songs by Cat Power, Garcia Peoples, The Soundcarriers, Eels, Tim Hecker, Imarhan, Rob Aldridge & the Proponents and more.

This issue of Uncut is available to buy by clicking here – with FREE delivery to the UK and reduced delivery charges for the rest of the world.

Inside the issue, you’ll find:

ALBUMS PREVIEW 2022: Our essential guide to some of the forthcoming year’s key albums, with news of Neil Young, Jack White, The Weather Station, Stephen Stills and many more.

BIG THIEF: Always seeking their next adventure, Big Thief roamed across America in the midst of the pandemic to create their stunning new double album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You – already a strong contender for 2022’s Best Of lists. Sam Richards hears the story of four disparate musical travellers who’ve sacrificed their egos for the benefit of the collective. “Tending to the fibre of our relationships is more important than the music we make,” says frontwoman Adrianne Lenker. “That’s the hardest thing, and the music just comes out of that.”

ELVIS COSTELLO: Elvis Costello has a brilliant new album to talk about, but as Michael Bonner soon discovers, his candour covers all bases. To be discussed: climate crisis, genre exercises, distorted truths, imaginary friends and the joys of beating up Sting. Every night. Oh, and the human race? “Everybody’s guilty!”

EAGLES: Fifty years ago, in the frozen depths of a British winter, the Eagles recorded their debut album, in doing so defining their signature blend of laid-back country rock. But what took this ambitious group of self-confessed “control freaks” from the sun-baked climes of California to a cavernous and draughty studio in Barnes, in pursuit of success? “The shop ladies would call you ‘dearie’,” learns Nick Hasted.

MARGO CILKER: With its vivid songs of fortitude and determination, Margo Cilker’s debut Pohorylle introduces a powerful new voice to country rock. Rob Hughes charts her long, strange trip from church choirs in Silicon Valley to Americana roots-rock free-for-alls in Bilbao, via Leytonstone’s Ex-Servicemen’s Club and a winter retreat near the Columbia River Gorge. Her philosophy for this peripatetic lifestyle? “There’s a lot of reckoning with the self,” she explains.

LENNY KAYE: The Patti Smith guitarist, Nuggets compiler and venerable rock scholar talks techno, Tom Verlaine and his own ‘lightning striking’ moment.

WILLIAM BELL: The making of “You Don’t Miss Your Water”.

CLUSTER: Album by album with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius.

JAKE XERXES FUSSELL: Timeless tales of loss and redemption fuel folk informed Southern songwriter’s stirring return.

CLICK TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR

In our expansive reviews section, we take a look at new records from Cat Power, The Soundcarriers, Rob Aldrige & the Proponents, Imarhan, Black Flower, Jana Horn, and more, and archival releases from Robert Fripp, Kelley Stoltz, Mary Wilson, Carambolage, The Chieftains and others. We catch Bob Dylan and a tribute to Tony Allen live; among the films, DVDs and TV programmes reviewed are Titane, Memoria, Encounter and Peter Jackson’s Get Back; while in books there’s Lee Scratch Perry, Mark Lanegan and John Prine.

Our front section, meanwhile, features Janis Joplin, Ray Davies, Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets and Eve Adams, while, at the end of the magazine, Nicole Atkins reveals the records that have soundtracked her life.

You can pick up a copy of Uncut in the usual places, where open. But otherwise, readers all over the world can order a copy from here.

CLICK TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR

The Cure announce UK and European tour for 2022

Charlotte Krol
-
0
The Cure announce UK and European tour for 2022
The Cure have shared details of a 44-date UK and European tour next year, including five arena shows in the UK. Check out full dates and ticket details below. ORDER NOW: Bruce Springsteen and the review of 2021 feature in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: The Cure: “It was us against...

The Cure have shared details of a 44-date UK and European tour next year, including five arena shows in the UK. Check out full dates and ticket details below.

The band will kick the shows off in Riga, Latvia at the city’s arena on October 6, 2022 before wrapping things up at London’s SSE Arena on December 11.

Fans will be treated to a 135 minute show, with mention in a press release of a “67 minute” new album that is yet to be announced. The Cure’s last album was 2008’s 4:13 Dream.

In a tweet to fans, Robert Smith also confirmed that shows in the rest of the world were being “finalised” and would “announced in due course” – as well as promising to air material from the new album.

The Cure have also confirmed that the line-up for the tour will feature bassist Simon Gallup, who said back in August that he had left the band “with a slightly heavy heart,” writing that he’s “fed up of betrayal,” before appearing to confirm in October that he had re-joined the band.

Tickets for the upcoming tour go on sale this Friday (December 10) at 10am and will be available from venues’ online box offices, selected ticket agents and via Bookings Direct. Head to The Cure’s website for further details.

Support for all shows comes from The Twilight Sad.

The Cure’s 2022 UK/European tour dates are:

OCTOBER
06 – ARENA, Riga, Latvia
08 – HARTWALL ARENA, Helsinki, Finland
10 – AVICII ARENA, Stockholm, Sweden
12 – SPEKTRUM, Oslo, Norway
13 – SCANDINAVIUM, Gothenburg, Sweden
14 – ROYAL ARENA, Copenhagen, Denmark
16 – BARCLAYCARD ARENA, Hamburg, Germany
17 – QUARTERBACK IMMOBILIEN ARENA, Leipzig, Germany
18 – MERCEDES-BENZ ARENA, Berlin, Germany
20 – TAURON ARENA, Krakow, Poland
21 – ATLAS ARENA, Lodz, Poland
23 – MARX HALLE, Vienna, Austria
24 – O2 ARENA, Prague 9, Czech Republic
26 – ARENA, Budapest, Hungary
27 – ARENA, Zagreb, Croatia
29 – OLYMPIAHALLE, Munich, Germany
31 – UNIPOL ARENA, Bologna, Italy

NOVEMBER
01 – MANDELA FORUM, Florence, Italy
03 – KIOENE ARENA, Padova, Italy
04 – FORUM, Milan, Italy
06 – ARENA, Geneva, Switzerland
07 – HALLE TONY GARNIER, Lyon, France
08 – SUD DE FRANCE ARENA, Montpellier, France
10 – PALAU SANT JORDI, Barcelona, Spain
11 – WIZINK CENTER, Madrid, Spain
13 – ZENITH, Toulouse, France
14 – ARKEA ARENA, Bordeaux, France
15 – ZENITH, Nantes, France
17 – FESTHALLE, Frankfurt, Germany
18 – ZENITH, Strasbourg, France
19 – ST JAKOBSHALLE, Basel, Switzerland
21 – HANS-MARTIN-SCHLEYER-HALLE, Stuttggart, Germany
22 – LANXESS ARENA, Cologne, Germany
23 – SPORTPALEIS, Antwerp, Belgium
25 – ZIGGO DOME, Amsterdam, Netherlands
27 – STADE, Lievin, France
28 – ACCOR ARENA, Paris, France

DECEMBER
01 – 3ARENA, Dublin, Ireland
02 – SSE, Belfast, Northern Ireland
04 – OVO HYDRO, Glasgow, Scotland
06 – FIRST DIRECT ARENA, Leeds, England
07 – UTILITA ARENA, Birmingham, England
08 – MOTORPOINT ARENA, Cardiff, Wales
11 – THE SSE ARENA, Wembley, London, England

Happy Mondays announce 2022 UK tour including Manchester homecoming shows

Charlotte Krol
-
0
Happy Mondays announce 2022 UK tour including Manchester homecoming shows
Happy Mondays have announced their first tour in three years – see dates for October and November 2022 shows below. ORDER NOW: Bruce Springsteen and the review of 2021 feature in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Happy Mondays on “Step On”: “It was dead easy!” The Manchester...

Happy Mondays have announced their first tour in three years – see dates for October and November 2022 shows below.

The Manchester band will start the tour at Cambridge’s Corn Exchange on October 7 and conclude it at Glasgow’s Barrowlands on November 27.

Frontman Shaun Ryder will be joined by vocalist Rowetta, Paul Ryder (bass), Mark Day (guitar), Gary Whelan (drums), Dan Broad (guitar/keys) and the band’s celebrated percussionist and dancer Mark “Bez” Berry for the shows.

Tickets go on general sale this Friday (December 10) at 10am. They will be available from Alt Tickets and the band’s website.

Happy Mondays UK tour 2022:

OCTOBER
07 – CAMBRIDGE, CORN EXCHANGE
08 – NOTTINGHAM, ROCK CITY
09 – HULL, SU ASYLUM
13 – NORTHAMPTON, ROADMENDER
14 – LIVERPOOL, MOUNTFORD HALL
15 – LONDON, O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY
21 – NEWCASTLE, O2 CITY HALL
22 – BIRMINGHAM, O2 ACADEMY
27 – BRIGHTON, DOME
28 – GUILDFORD, GLIVE
29 – SHEFFIELD, O2 ACADEMY

NOVEMBER
03 – MANCHESTER, ACADEMY
04 – MANCHESTER, ACADEMY
05 – LEEDS, O2 ACADEMY
12 – BRISTOL, O2 ACADEMY
13 – BLACKBURN, KINGS GEORGE’S HALL
18 – NORWICH, THE NICK RAYNS LCR
19 – BOURNEMOUTH, O2 ACADEMY
20 – OXFORD, O2 ACADEMY
24 – DUNFERMLINE, ALHAMBRA THEATRE
25 – DUNDEE, FAT SAMS
26 – GLASGOW, BARROWLANDS
27 – GLASGOW, BARROWLANDS

Joining the Happy Mondays as the tour’s special guests will be Liverpool indie rockers Cast.

Joni Mitchell: “I’m hobbling along but I’m doing all right”

Damian Jones
-
0
Joni Mitchell: “I’m hobbling along but I’m doing all right”
Joni Mitchell addressed her ongoing health issues in a rare speech at the 2021 Kennedy Center Honors Sunday night (December 5). ORDER NOW: Bruce Springsteen and the review of 2021 feature in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Joni Mitchell – The Joni Mitchell Archives Vol 2: The Reprise...

Joni Mitchell addressed her ongoing health issues in a rare speech at the 2021 Kennedy Center Honors Sunday night (December 5).

The singer-songwriter suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015 that left her temporarily unable to walk or talk. Later that year she was said to be “making good progress”.

And last year she spoke out again about the incident in a rare interview saying at the time: “I got my speech back quickly, but the walking I’m still struggling with”.

Now, the singer has addressed her health issues at the 44th Kennedy Center Honors after picking up a lifetime achievement award at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell. Image: John Atashian/Getty Images

“I always think that polio was a rehearsal for the rest of my life,” she said, referring to the disease she suffered aged nine. “I’ve had to come back several times from things. And this last one was a real whopper. But, you know, I’m hobbling along but I’m doing all right!”

Others honoured at the ceremony included Bette Midler, Motown founder Berry Gordy, and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels.

Mitchell hasn’t released a studio album since 2007’s Shine but has released two volumes of an ongoing archival project in recent years.

Earlier this summer she was named as MusiCares’ 2022 ‘Person Of The Year’.

Mitchell will be at the centre of a tribute concert held by MusiCares, the charity arm of The Recording Academy which hosts the annual Grammy awards, on January 29, 2022 during Grammy week in Los Angeles.

Veteran rockers Aerosmith were recipients of last year’s MusiCares award while country legend Dolly Parton took the crown in 2019.

Duran Duran announce summer 2022 live shows alongside immersive three-day Ibiza events

Charlotte Krol
-
0
Duran Duran announce summer 2022 live shows alongside immersive three-day Ibiza events
Duran Duran have shared details of headline shows next summer as well as a three-day Touch the Sunrise immersive experience in Ibiza. ORDER NOW: Bruce Springsteen and the review of 2021 feature in the latest issue of Uncut The pop legends have announced two new outdoor headline shows at Yo...

Duran Duran have shared details of headline shows next summer as well as a three-day Touch the Sunrise immersive experience in Ibiza.

The pop legends have announced two new outdoor headline shows at Yorkshire’s Castle Howard and Inverness’ Caledonian Stadium alongside a programme of events in Ibiza that will see the band perform on the Spanish island for the first time since 1987.

It’s all part of the group’s continued 40th anniversary celebrations, which were kickstarted by the release of their latest album FUTURE/PAST in October.

Duran Duran: Touch The Sunrise will take place over the May bank holiday weekend in 2022 from April 29-May 2 during the Ibiza Music Summit.

The programme, which has been specially curated by the band, will start with Taste the Summer: Night Versions on April 29, and will see fans take over legendary Ibiza institution Pacha for DJ sets from Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor and DJ/producer Erol Alkan. Close friend Alkan produced the group’s new album.

Day two, called Come Undone, will offer a series of activities including an outdoor screening of an unseen documentary. The last day of Touch The Sunrise will see Duran Duran perform a “dancefloor-heavy” set at the open air venue Ushuaïa.

Pete Tong will also perform for two hours before the band’s closing set at Ushuaïa.

A variety of packages and VIP ticket options for the Ibiza experience are available here.

Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran
Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon Image: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Global Citizen

Speaking about the event, singer Simon Le Bon said: “Touch The Sunrise is going to be an extraordinary experience – and something we’ve never done before! Everyone in the band has a tremendous love for the island and over the years I have personally spent many summers there with friends and family – so it’s become somewhat of a home away from home for us.

“People often think of Ibiza as just a party island – which of course it can be – but there’s a side to it that we really hope our fans get to explore while they are there, that’s about the natural beauty of the place, the incredible food and the warmth of the people who live there year-round.

“Ushuaïa, where we’re playing on the Sunday night, is one of the best open air venues in the world with a massive stage, right on the water. Our set is going to be dancefloor-heavy – and after what we’ve all been through these past two years, we just can’t wait!”

Later in the summer the band will head to Yorkshire’s Castle Howard on June 17 (tickets available here on general sale from 10am on December 10) and Inverness’ Caledonian Stadium on July 2 (tickets available here on general sale from 10am on December 10).

The Fan Community pre-sale for Caledonian Stadium begins at 9am this Friday (December 10). The the pre-sale for Castle Howard begins at 10am this Wednesday (December 8). Paid members should login and visit the pre-sale page for more information.

The new dates follow previously announced live shows including BST Hyde Park on July 10.

See all of Duran Duran’s live shows in 2022 below:

MAY
02 – Ushuaïa, Ibiza, Spain (as part of Duran Duran: Touch the Sunrise experience)

JUNE
12 – St Anne’s Park, Dublin, Ireland
17 – Castle Howard, York, England
25 – Rock in Rio Lisboa 2022, Lisbon, Portugal

JULY
01 – Lytham Festival, Lytham Saint Anne’s, England
02 – Caledonian Stadium, Inverness, Scotland
10 – BST Hyde Park, London, England

The 10th Uncut New Music Playlist Of 2021

Sam Richards
-
0
The 10th Uncut New Music Playlist Of 2021
2021 is almost done, but the great music keeps coming – largely in the form of early sighters for some of next year’s most-anticipated albums, combined with a few intriguing curiosities and seasonal one-offs. Here at Uncut, we aim to offer a respite from the unsolicited aural schmaltz that ge...

2021 is almost done, but the great music keeps coming – largely in the form of early sighters for some of next year’s most-anticipated albums, combined with a few intriguing curiosities and seasonal one-offs.

Here at Uncut, we aim to offer a respite from the unsolicited aural schmaltz that gets shovelled your way at this time of year. But that doesn’t mean you won’t find a few discerning winter warmers in the playlist below. Scroll down for treats from Jake Xerxes Fussell, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Saint Etienne, Robin Guthrie, Black Country, New Road and Modern Studies. Plus! The surprise return of proto-shoegazers Loop and a visit to the recycling centre with Hen Ogledd…

JAKE XERXES FUSSELL
“Breast Of Glass”
(Paradise Of Bachelors)

BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD
“Concorde”
(Ninja Tune)

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF
“Jupiter’s Dance”
(Nonesuch)

EVE ADAMS
“Metal Bird”
(Basin Rock)

MODERN STUDIES
“Wild Ocean”
(Fire)

ROBIN GUTHRIE
“Starfish Prime”
(Soleil Après Minuit)

QUINQUIS
“Adkrog”
(Mute)

BINKER & MOSES
“Feed Infinite”
(Gearbox)

LOOP
“Halo”
(Cooking Vinyl)

HEN OGLEDD
“Tip Trip (Trip To The Tip)”
(Domino)

BAND OF HORSES
“In Need Of Repair”
(BMG)

LEYLA McCALLA
“Fort Dimanche”
(Anti-)

JEFF PARKER
“Four Folks”
(International Anthem)

CAROLINE
“IWR”
(Rough Trade)

DUNCAN MARQUISS
“Drivenhalle”
(Basin Rock)

PARK JIHA
“Light Way”
(Tak:Til)

DEBIT
“2nd Day”
(Modern Love)

ALEX SOMERS & ASKA MATSUMIYA
“Light Past Blue Pt 1”
(Self-released)

SAINT ETIENNE
“Her Winter Coat”
(Heavenly)

Watch Manic Street Preachers cover The Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary” at Wembley

Andrew Trendell
-
0
Watch Manic Street Preachers cover The Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary” at Wembley
Manic Street Preachers played their final show of 2021 at Wembley Arena last Friday (December 3), where they played a cover of The Cult's classic "She Sells Sanctuary". ORDER NOW: Bruce Springsteen and the review of 2021 feature in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Manic Street Preachers...

Manic Street Preachers played their final show of 2021 at Wembley Arena last Friday (December 3), where they played a cover of The Cult’s classic “She Sells Sanctuary”.

With a setlist heavy on their 2021 14th studio album The Ultra Vivid Lament – which scored the band their first Number One album in 23 years back in September – the Welsh rock icons also took the time to air a rendition of The Cult’s iconic single from 1985.

Introducing the track following a brief acoustic interlude in the set, frontman James Dean Bradfield dedicated their cover to the late, great record producer Steve Brown, who died back in January aged 65. Among his lauded work, he produced the band’s 1992 debut album Generation Terrorists.

“This next song is dedicated to a man who produced Wham!, he produced The Boomtown Rats, he produced [1992 single] ‘Motorcycle Empti-fucking-ness’,” said Bradfield. “He passed away this year – a dear, dear friend of ours and an amazing producer, Mr Steve Brown. He also produced this fucking song.”

Manics fans are now eagerly awaiting news of the band’s long-mooted 20th anniversary reissue of their divisive 2001 album Know Your Enemy, as well as bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire’s “jazz-meets-C86” solo album.

In terms of other activity in the Manic Street Preachers’ camp, Wire also revealed more about his new “modern, electronic, soothsaying” solo album.

Manic Street Preachers, 2021. Credit: Alex Lake
Manic Street Preachers, 2021. Image: Alex Lake

Earlier this week, they shared the digital album I Live Through These Moments Again And Again, collecting their long run of duets throughout their career.

The Manics will return to the road in 2022 with a run of festival shows, as well as supporting The Killers as select UK stadium dates.

Tom Petty to receive posthumous music PhD from Florida university

Will Lavin
-
0
Tom Petty to receive posthumous music PhD from Florida university
Tom Petty will receive a posthumous PhD in music from the University Of Florida, after its board of trustees voted unanimously in favour of honouring the late rocker. ORDER NOW: Bruce Springsteen and the review of 2021 feature in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Tom Petty – Wildflow...

Tom Petty will receive a posthumous PhD in music from the University Of Florida, after its board of trustees voted unanimously in favour of honouring the late rocker.

The Heartbreakers frontman was born and raised in Gainesville, where the school is located. He didn’t actually attend the school, but according to the Associated Press, he worked as a groundskeeper there prior to achieving fame.

Petty’s earlier band Mudcrutch also frequently played the Gainesville area in the early ’70s, before relocating to Los Angeles and morphing into the Heartbreakers.

No further information has been revealed on when the doctoral degree will be issued or whether there will be a ceremony.

Following Petty’s death from an accidental overdose in October 2017, the University Of Florida paid tribute to its hometown hero by playing his song “I Won’t Back Down” during its American Football team the Florida Gators’ next home game.

The tribute has since turned into a stadium-wide singalong tradition. Four years after Petty’s death, Gators fans continue to sing “I Won’t Back Down” at every home game, including a celebratory singalong during the team’s first pandemic-era game against Alabama Crimson Tide. You can see clips below.

Last month, a new documentary was released on the making of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers’ 1994 album Wildflowers.

Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free – The Making Of Wildflowers is framed around a collection of 16mm archives that weren’t discovered until last year.

It follows the late icon from 1993 to 1995 during the making of his landmark album, which was produced by Rick Rubin and features new interviews with Heartbreakers guitarist and album co-producer Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench and more.

1...110111112...1,272Page 111 of 1,272

SHOP UNCUT