Subscribe
Home Blog Page 144

Hear Bruce Springsteen and The Killers’ long-awaited collaboration, “Dustland”

David James Young
-
0
Hear Bruce Springsteen and The Killers’ long-awaited collaboration, “Dustland”
The Killers have unveiled their collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, entitled “Dustland”. ORDER NOW: The August 2021 issue of Uncut The single, released today (June 16) after several teases and previews, is a re-recording of the Las Vegas band’s song “A Dustland Fairytale”, which...

The Killers have unveiled their collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, entitled “Dustland”.

The single, released today (June 16) after several teases and previews, is a re-recording of the Las Vegas band’s song “A Dustland Fairytale”, which first appeared on their 2008 album Day & Age and served as the record’s fourth and final single.

The new version sees lead vocalist Brandon Flowers trading verses with Springsteen, before the two of them sing in unison.

Listen to “Dustland” below:

According to a statement from Flowers, Springsteen originally reached out to him in February 2020 and suggested they record the song together.

“Watching Glastonbury,” the text from Springsteen reportedly read. “You guys have become one hellacious live band, my brother. Love the gold suit. We gotta do Dustland one day. – Bruce.”

Upon receiving the text, Flowers was suspicious that a prank was being played on him. “I google the area code,” he explains. “It’s from Freehold, New Jersey, and I’m still not convinced. I text Evan (Bruce and Patti’s son who has become a buddy of mine) and get verification that the number really is coming from his old man.”

Although COVID ultimately put plans for the two to work together on ice, it was later made possible towards the end of 2020. Both The Killers and Springsteen released new albums in the interim – Imploding the Mirage and Letter to You, respectively.

Flowers went on to reflect on the initial writing of “A Dustland Fairytale”, which was an ode to his parents Jeannie and Terry Flowers.

“’Dustland’ was written in the middle of [Jeannie’s] battle with cancer,” he said.

“It was an attempt to better understand my dad, who is sometimes a mystery to me. To grieve for my mother. To acknowledge their sacrifices, and maybe even catch a glimpse of just how strong love needs to be to make it in this world. It was my therapy. It was cathartic.”

Flowers praised Springsteen for writing “a lot about people like my parents,” as well as finding “a whole lot of beauty in otherwise invisible people’s hopes and dreams.”

“I’m grateful to him for opening this door for me,” said Flowers of Springsteen. “I’m grateful to my parents for their example to me.”

The Killers and Springsteen are scheduled to appear alongside one another for the first time on TODAY on NBC. They will be interviewed together and also perform the song live.

Roger Waters rejects Facebook’s request to use “Another Brick In The Wall” in new ad: “I will not be a party to this”

Jackson Langford
-
0
Roger Waters rejects Facebook’s request to use “Another Brick In The Wall” in new ad: “I will not be a party to this”
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters gave a firmly negative response to Facebook’s request to use “Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2” in an upcoming ad for Instagram. ORDER NOW: The August 2021 issue of Uncut Speaking at a forum in support of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, as reported ...

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters gave a firmly negative response to Facebook’s request to use “Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2” in an upcoming ad for Instagram.

Speaking at a forum in support of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, as reported by Rolling Stone, Waters read out an email he claimed to have received from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg requesting the right to use the song.

“It’s a request for the rights to use my song, ‘Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2’ in the making of a film to promote Instagram,” Waters said.

The letter allegedly said that the team at Facebook “feel that the core sentiment of this song is still so prevalent and so necessary today, which speaks to how timeless the work is”.

“So it’s a missive from Mark Zuckerberg to me,” Waters continued, “[which] arrived this morning, with an offer of a huge, huge amount of money, and the answer is, ‘Fuck you! No fucking way!’

“And I only mention that because it’s [their] insidious movement to take over absolutely everything.”

“So those of us who do have any power,” he continued, “and I do have a little bit – in terms of control of the publishing of my songs I do anyway. So I will not be a party to this bullshit, Zuckerberg.”

Waters has recently found himself in dispute with ex-bandmate David Gilmour regarding Pink Floyd’s 1977 album Animals.

Waters claimed that Gilmour wanted the liner notes of the remastered album to be kept a secret so that Gilmour could allegedly “claim more credit […] than is his due”.

Unsurprisingly, Gilmour has also recently poured cold water on rumours of a reunion of the band, saying in March, “It has run its course, we are done.”

Lucy Dacus announces 2022 UK and European tour

Sam Moore
-
0
Lucy Dacus announces 2022 UK and European tour
Lucy Dacus has announced details of her 2022 UK and European tour. ORDER NOW: The August 2021 issue of Uncut Next year's live dates will be in support of the artist's upcoming third studio album Home Video, which is set for release on June 25 via Matador. Dacus' 2022 UK and Ireland tour ...

Lucy Dacus has announced details of her 2022 UK and European tour.

Next year’s live dates will be in support of the artist’s upcoming third studio album Home Video, which is set for release on June 25 via Matador.

Dacus’ 2022 UK and Ireland tour will kick off at The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on March 18 before stops in Glasgow, Dublin, Manchester and Bristol. The run concludes with a gig at the Kentish Town Forum in London on March 25, 2022.

Dacus will then head to Europe for gigs in Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Austria and more. You can check out her 2022 tour schedule below.

March 2022

18 – Leeds Brudenell Social Club
20 – Glasgow St Lukes
21 – Dublin The Button Factory
23 – Manchester Gorilla
24 – Bristol SWX
25 – London Kentish Town Forum
29 – Brussels Botanique, Belgium
30 – Amsterdam Paradiso Noord, Netherlands
31 – Cologne Artheater, Germany

April 2022

2 – Hamburg Molotow, Germany
3 – Copenhagen Loppen, Denmark
4 – Aarhus Atlas, Denmark
6 – Oslo Parkteatret, Norway
7 – Stockholm Nalen Klubb, Sweden
9 – Berlin Lido, Germany
10 – Jena Trafo, Germany
12 – Vienna Chelsea, Austria
13 – Munich Milla, Germany
14 – Zürich Bogen F, Switzerland
15 – Paris La Maroquinerie, France

Tickets for Dacus’ 2022 UK and Ireland shows will go on pre-sale tomorrow (June 16) at 10am BST for those who pre-order Home Video via the Matador webstore here. All of Dacus’ tour tickets will then go on general sale on Friday (June 18) at 10am BST.

Dacus previewed Home Video last week by sharing the single “Brando”.

British neo-soul collective Sault tease new album in cryptic Instagram post

Nick Reilly
-
0
British neo-soul collective Sault tease new album in cryptic Instagram post
Sault have teased their next release, after dropping a series of acclaimed albums throughout last year. ORDER NOW: The August 2021 issue of Uncut The British music collective remain steeped in mystery, but won praise for Untitled (Black Is), which was followed by Untitled (Rise). Now, th...

Sault have teased their next release, after dropping a series of acclaimed albums throughout last year.

The British music collective remain steeped in mystery, but won praise for Untitled (Black Is), which was followed by Untitled (Rise).

Now, they’ve teased further material in a cryptic post shared on Instagram. The group wrote “Nine” against a plain black background, but shared no other information about what fans can expect from their latest offering.

See the post below:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SAULT (@saultglobal)

Sault’s Untitled (Black Is) album took 17th place in Uncut’s 50 best new albums of 2020 list. We said: “Having released two intriguing albums in 2019, the anonymous neo-soul collective – believed to include Michael Kiwanuka collaborator Dean “Inflo” Josiah, plus vocalists Cleo Sol and Melissa “Kid Sister” Young – really seized the day with this urgent 20-track opus, written in response to the killing of George Floyd and released just three weeks later on the Juneteenth holiday.

“A multifaceted work of elegant defiance, they followed it up in September with the equally essential Untitled (Rise).”

Nirvana, Sly Stone, Amy Winehouse, Paul McCartney: inside the new Uncut

Michael Bonner
-
0
Nirvana, Sly Stone, Amy Winehouse, Paul McCartney: inside the new Uncut
These days – inevitably, perhaps – many of our perceptions about Nirvana are filtered through the death of Kurt Cobain. An industry has gathered around his memory, truffling for clues in old interviews or in the hiss and howl of In Utero, that has essentially detracted from happier times in the ...

These days – inevitably, perhaps – many of our perceptions about Nirvana are filtered through the death of Kurt Cobain. An industry has gathered around his memory, truffling for clues in old interviews or in the hiss and howl of In Utero, that has essentially detracted from happier times in the band’s existence. Specifically, the thrill of Nirvana’s ascent with Nevermind. Everything seemed to move incredibly fast during autumn 1991 – there was an exhilarating mix of trepidation and excitement at their shows that year, a shared joy at the speed and scale of Nirvana’s success. The Word, Top Of The Pops, the stage at Kilburn National Ballroom and more were theirs for the taking.

All this is recalled with warmth and intimacy by Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Butch Vig in this month’s cover story. There’s also an oral history of the band’s 1991 UK shows that provides compelling evidence for the chaos and brilliance of that tour – and happy memories if, like me, you were fortunate to see them live during that period.

These were fun times for Nirvana, full of optimism and the ethos of self-determination familiar from American bands of that period. We hear about poorly heated rehearsal spaces in Tacoma, a 1,000-mile drive from Seattle to Los Angeles, an unexpected admiration for the Bay City Rollers and how, 30 years on, Dave and Krist view the madness around their inexorable rise. The scale of their ambitions, we can reveal, was to earn enough money to buy an apartment each…

Elsewhere, it’s another hugely eclectic issue: Sly Stone, Laura Nyro, Amy Winehouse, Grateful Dead, Rodney Crowell, Angélique Kidjo, Sparks, Alice Coltrane, The Jam, Roy Harper, Altın Gün, Rodrigo Amarante, Will Sergeant, Arooj Aftab, PJ Harvey, Gruff Rhys and some bloke called Paul McCartney.

You can find some of those artists on this month’s free CD, which showcases 15 tracks drawn from the month’s best music. There’s further stand outs from Yola, Dot Allison, Lump, Mega Bog and The Grid featuring Robert Fripp.

Hope you enjoy the issue, the CD and (while it lasts) the sunshine.

CLICK TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR

Radiohead are raffling off an ultra-rare Kid A test pressing

Patrick Clarke
-
0
Radiohead are raffling off an ultra-rare Kid A test pressing
Radiohead are raffling off a vinyl test pressing of their 2000 classic Kid A as part of a fundraiser for the charity Gig Buddies. ORDER NOW: The August 2021 issue of Uncut The band announced the prize on social media, along with a photo of the extremely rare collector’s item. Gig Buddi...

Radiohead are raffling off a vinyl test pressing of their 2000 classic Kid A as part of a fundraiser for the charity Gig Buddies.

The band announced the prize on social media, along with a photo of the extremely rare collector’s item.

Gig Buddies is a charity and initiative that sees people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people paired with a music fan of similar interests with whom they can attend shows. You can get tickets for the raffle here.

The raffle is being organised by IDLES’ Adam ‘Dev’ Devonshire, with other prizes including tickets, signed records, merch and gear from the likes of his own band, Slowdive, Mogwai, Frank Turner, Florence And The Machine, Sharon Van Etten and Fontaines DC.

Also up for grabs is a guitar which has been signed by all of the performers who took part in a recent livestreamed charity show, also organised by Devonshire in aid of Gig Buddies.

The show was headlined by Welsh post-hardcore outfit Mclusky, as well as Willie J Healey, TV Priest, Fenne Lily, Dogeyed and Wilderman.

Stewart Lee topped a comedy bill that also featured Seann Walsh and Josh Weller. The show was streamed live from The Exchange in Bristol.

Last month, meanwhile, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead revealed their new side-project The Smile, a trio completed by Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner.

The new group played as part of Glastonbury‘s Live At Worthy Farm livestream event, which was filmed at various spots across the iconic festival site.

Uncut – August 2021

Uncut
-
0
Uncut – August 2021
CLICK TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR Nirvana, Paul McCartney, Amy Winehouse, Altın Gün, Sly Stone, Grateful Dead, The Jam, Will Sergeant, Rodney Crowell, Sparks, Rodrigo Amarante, Lump, Jakob Dylan and PJ Harvey all feature in the new Uncut, dated August 2021 and in UK shops from J...

CLICK TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR

Nirvana, Paul McCartney, Amy Winehouse, Altın Gün, Sly Stone, Grateful Dead, The Jam, Will Sergeant, Rodney Crowell, Sparks, Rodrigo Amarante, Lump, Jakob Dylan and PJ Harvey all feature in the new Uncut, dated August 2021 and in UK shops from June 17 or available to buy online now. As always, the issue comes with a free CD, this time comprising 15 tracks of the month’s best new music.

NIRVANA: Thirty years after Nevermind transformed Nirvana from adolescent punks to global superstars, Uncut revisits this era-defining classic in the company of its surviving creators. In brand new interviews, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic trace the album’s remarkable journey from a rented barn in Tacoma to the stage of Seattle’s Paramount Theatre and beyond, while producer Butch Vig reveals the secrets of the band’s working practices. There are cameos from Neil Young’s producer, aspiring cast members of Annie – The Musical and an ill-fated blue Datsun B210. And what of Kurt Cobain, you might ask? “He was vastly underrated as a comedian.”

OUR FREE CD! ENTERTAIN US: 15 fantastic tracks from the cream of the month’s releases, including songs by Mega Bog, Rodney Crowell, Juni Habel, The Grid / Fripp, Charlie Parr, The Black Angels, Dot Allison, Los Lobos 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:

PAUL MCCARTNEY: Photographer Harry Benson was nonplussed when he received a commission to cover The Beatles in 1964. All the same, travelling from London to Paris and New York during this breakthrough year, he struck up a rapport with the band – and McCartney in particular – that endured through several decades. With a new collection of his images due for publication, Benson shows us McCartney at work and at play – backstage, in hotel rooms and on private jets.

ALTIN GÜN: From their base in a former Cold War nuclear bunker, the psych warriors are busy reinventing the deep and mystical sounds of Anatolian rock. Their tools? Fuzz pedals, electronics, and ancient instruments once used in shamanic rituals. But their message, they tell Uncut, is universal: “Songs about love, hate, tragedy, death,  war… it’s all basic human emotions…”

SLY STONE: It is 1969 and the singer is on the brink of superstardom. Ensconced in his Bel Air mansion, he has begun work on a new album. But surrounded by dealers, groupies and gangsters, it takes over two years to finish the record – during which time the life-affirming utopianism of his music is replaced by darkness, drugs and isolation. Fifty years on, band members recall the turbulent making of a masterpiece: There’s A Riot Goin’ On. “Fame attracts wonderful people,” hears Michaelangelo Matos. “But fame also attracts guns and dogs.”

SPARKS: Fifty years after releasing their first album as Halfnelson, Sparks are finally ready for their close-up. A new documentary, The Sparks Brothers, directed by Edgar Wright, pays tribute to the indomitable, pioneering spirit of music’s oddest couple. “People expect us to try to alienate them from time to time…”

GRATEFUL DEAD: Dead freaks unite! 1971 was a momentous year for the Californian band – involving landmark shows, bizarre ESP experiments, French Acid Tests, hypnosis, new faces and emotional farewells. Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and other eyewitnesses share tales from this momentous journey with Uncut: “We were just coming alive.”

THE JAM: Previously unseen photos of the English mod band show Weller and co’s impatient evolution.

RODNEY CROWELL: The Americana star on wild times with Guy and Townes, the generosity of Johnny Cash and the sex life of the Tennessee cicadas.

AMY WINEHOUSE: The making of “Back To Black”.

ANGELIQUE KIDJO: Album by album with the Afro-fusion artist.

RODRIGO AMARANTE: On new album Drama, the Brazilian songwriter crafts an exquisite sonic world marked by global rhythms, cinematic textures and playful takes on tradition.

CLICK TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR

In our expansive reviews section, we take a look at new records from Lump, John Murry, The Flatlanders, Kings Of Convenience, Sleater-Kinney, Yola, John Frances Flynn, and more, and archival releases from Alice Coltrane, Laura Nyro, PJ Harvey, The Shins, Michael Small, Chris Barber, Aretha Franklin and others. We catch Songlines Encounters Festival and Gruff Rhys live; among the films, DVDs and TV programmes reviewed are Martin Eden, Punk the Capital: Building A Sound Movement and Rockumentary: Evolution Of Indian Rock; while in books there’s Sinéad O’Connor and Nico.

Our front section, meanwhile, features The Jam, Will Sergeant, Ellen Folley, Roy Harper and Arooj Aftab while, at the end of the magazine, Jakob Dylan reveals the records that have soundtracked his 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

Belle & Sebastian announce 2022 UK and European tour dates

Sam Moore
-
0
Belle & Sebastian announce 2022 UK and European tour dates
Belle & Sebastian have announced a UK and European tour for 2022. ORDER NOW: The August 2021 issue of Uncut The gigs will be the band’s first live shows since 2019, with the tour set to kick off in Aberdeen on January 31 next year. Belle & Sebastian will make stops in Leicester...

Belle & Sebastian have announced a UK and European tour for 2022.

The gigs will be the band’s first live shows since 2019, with the tour set to kick off in Aberdeen on January 31 next year.

Belle & Sebastian will make stops in Leicester, Cardiff, Brighton, Cambridge and more during their 2022 UK tour, which also includes a pair of dates at the Roundhouse in London.

Following the conclusion of the UK tour on February 21 in Motherwell, Belle & Sebastian will then head to the continent for a European tour which begins in Munich, Germany on April 11.

Belle & Sebastian UK tour 2022
Belle & Sebastian UK tour 2022

The band’s European tour will include visits in April 2022 to Italy, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Scandinavia, before concluding in Brussels on April 29.

You can see Belle & Sebastian’s upcoming UK and European tour dates below.

January 2022

31 – Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen

February 2022

1 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
3 – University Union Asylum, Hull
4 – De Montfort Hall, Leicester
6 – Great Hall, Cardiff
7 – Academy, Manchester
9 – Olympia, Liverpool
10 – O2 Guildhall, Southampton
11 – The Dome, Brighton
13 – Corn Exchange, Cambridge
14 – Roundhouse, London
15 – Roundhouse, London
17 – O2 Academy, Birmingham
18 – O2 Academy, Sheffield
19 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
21 – Concert Hall, Motherwell

April 2022

11 – Tonhalle, Munich, Germany
12 – Fabrique, Milan, Italy
13 – Co-op de Mai, Clermont-Ferrand, France
14 – X-tra Limmathaus, Zurich, Switzerland
16 – Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany
17 – Laeiszhalle, Hamburg, Germany
20 – Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway
21 – Tradgarn, Gothenburg, Sweden
23 – Filadelfia, Stockholm, Sweden
24 – Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark
26 – Tivoli Grote Zaal, Utrecht, Holland
27 – Casino de Paris, Paris, France
29 – Les Nuits Botanique, Brussels, Belgium

Tickets for Belle & Sebastian’s upcoming UK and European tours go on general sale on Friday (June 18) at 10am BST / 11am CET, while a fan pre-sale for the UK shows begins on Wednesday (June 16) at 10am BST / 11am CET. Tickets will be available here.

Belle & Sebastian’s last release, the live album What to Look for in Summer, came out in December.

Noel Gallagher says he is considering selling the rights to his back catalogue

Sam Moore
-
0
Noel Gallagher says he is considering selling the rights to his back catalogue
Noel Gallagher has said that he is contemplating selling the rights to his back catalogue in 2025. ORDER NOW: The August 2021 issue of Uncut A number of major artists have sold the rights to their music, either in part or in full, in recent times, including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Neil Y...

Noel Gallagher has said that he is contemplating selling the rights to his back catalogue in 2025.

A number of major artists have sold the rights to their music, either in part or in full, in recent times, including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Neil Young.

Gallagher was asked in a new interview with Apple Music Hits’ Matt Wilkinson – where he was promoting Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 – 2011-2021, a ‘Best Of’ album by his High Flying Birds project – if he would ever consider selling the rights to his own back catalogue.

“Well, I get mine [the rights to his catalogue] back, all of it, in 2025, because I’ve been knocking years off the deal as opposed to taking money advances,” Gallagher said. “I was like, ‘I don’t need it anymore’.

“The way that I look at it is I’ll be approaching 60, and it’s like, do I want to leave it to my kids, who’ll probably swap it for a fucking PlayStation game? Or do I get rid of it now and set everybody up for life? Because I’ve always wanted to buy a fucking 88 super yacht, and call it… You know, you see them in the sea, and it’s like Ocean Breeze. I want to call mine Mega Mega White Thing. Like the biggest fucking super yacht of all time.”

Gallagher continued by saying that he’ll “see how I feel in 2025” in terms of a possible sale.

“But my idea now is to kind of sell it,” he added. “But then you walk that tight rope of, ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger‘ could be in a shampoo advert. You’ve got to kind of take that into consideration.

“And they, whoever buys it, can do what they want with it. So there’s a long, long, long conversation to be had.”

Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner: “I try not to think a lot about past work”

Tom Pinnock
-
0
Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner: “I try not to think a lot about past work”
It’s been a while since Kurt Wagner picked up a guitar and, after such a lengthy period of inactivity, he’s having trouble getting used to it again. To prove his point, he brings his antique Gibson acoustic – “an LG-something” – up from the basement and rests it on his lap. “It’s fun...

It’s been a while since Kurt Wagner picked up a guitar and, after such a lengthy period of inactivity, he’s having trouble getting used to it again. To prove his point, he brings his antique Gibson acoustic – “an LG-something” – up from the basement and rests it on his lap. “It’s funny,” he says. “Part of my life was practising and preparing for performance. But when that went away, so did my interaction with this thing.”

A guitar might seem like a step backwards for Wagner, who these days works primarily on his laptop, carving blocks of digital information like a sculptor might do with marble.

“There was a time when I was a typewriter guy,” he explains. “Then when I got a word processor, it really changed how I went about writing. I would move words and phrases around. Getting a laptop changed things because suddenly I was able to do things with music that had only been possible in a studio. I always liked that notion of the power you have as an editor, shaping information you’ve gathered… that’s always been magic for me.”

Lambchop’s new album Showtunes continues Wagner’s ongoing creative negotiations between their country-soul of old and this brave new world. While it is possibly their most technologically advanced yet – a warm, drifting record made on headphones and best experienced that way – it has a lightness of touch that makes it feel more organic than 2016’s FLOTUS and 2019’s This (Is What I Wanted To Tell You). Though the original ideas emerged from the basement of the south Nashville house in which Wagner has lived with his wife for a quarter of a century, most of the work took place in his office room – or out on the porch where the music can mingle with the birds, traffic and trains. “This is where all the magic happens, for sure,” confirms Wagner. “It’s nice to think of the studio experience as more than just being stuck in a little room. It’s a different perspective to watching the little waveforms going up and down.

“I live a quarter of a mile from a major train crossing and they go off all the time,” he adds, while a typically American train horn is heard across our video call. “When I’m talking to
folks in Europe, they really love the train thing. I kinda do too.”

“I was truly intrigued when I heard Showtunes,” says Christof Ellinghaus, founder of City Slang, the label that’s released all of Lambchop’s music in Europe. “On repeated listens, it revealed extraordinary depth and complexity. I think time will show that this album is not just another departure but also a point of arrival. And in the context of his entire body of work, it will prove to be one of his finest moments.”

“Essentially, it was only me on the record – and that was enough,” says Wagner. “But there were things I knew could be enhanced, so that led to what you end up hearing now. I knew this was a sound, even a flavour of writing, that I hadn’t been able to accomplish before. That’s exciting after 30 years of making music.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN UNCUT JULY 2021

Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament announces new solo album I Should Be Outside

Matthew Neale
-
0
Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament announces new solo album I Should Be Outside
Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament has announced a fourth solo album under his own name, titled I Should Be Outside. ORDER NOW: The July 2021 issue of Uncut The album is due on August 10 via Monkeywrench, and follows his surprise-released American Death Squad EP last year. In a statement share...

Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament has announced a fourth solo album under his own name, titled I Should Be Outside.

The album is due on August 10 via Monkeywrench, and follows his surprise-released American Death Squad EP last year.

In a statement shared through Pearl Jam’s Ten Club newsletter on Thursday (June 10), Ament went into more detail about how the new record came together – you can read it below.

Last year’s EP, consisting of five short songs, was also composed during lockdown after Pearl Jam’s planned 2020 tour dates were postponed due to the coronavirus.

“In the days following the postponement of our tour, I found it necessary to find an outlet for the energy we had created going into the tour,” Ament said in a statement at the time. “Pivot was the word of March. So, every morning, I retreated to the studio with the goal of writing a song every day, no matter how shite.

“Days of isolating and watching the news of the destruction courtesy the virus (and the ineptitude of our leadership or as named here, the American Death Squad) made for vivid dreams and a helplessness. These were some of the first songs out of the gate. Raw and succinct.”

You can pre-order the vinyl for the first two songs from I Should Be Outside – “I Hear Ya” and “Bandwidth” – here.

Robert Smith says The Cure’s next album will be their last: “I definitely can’t do this again”

Will Lavin
-
0
Robert Smith says The Cure’s next album will be their last: “I definitely can’t do this again”
The Cure's Robert Smith has said he thinks the band's next album will be the last one they do. ORDER NOW: The July 2021 issue of Uncut Earlier this month, Smith teamed up with Chvrches on a new single called "How Not To Drown", the second preview from the Scottish trio's upcoming fourth alb...

The Cure’s Robert Smith has said he thinks the band’s next album will be the last one they do.

Earlier this month, Smith teamed up with Chvrches on a new single called “How Not To Drown“, the second preview from the Scottish trio’s upcoming fourth album, Screen Violence.

Speaking in a new interview alongside Chvrches lead singer Lauren Mayberry, Smith shared a few more details about the long-awaited new album from The Cure.

“The new Cure stuff is very emotional,” Smith told The Sunday Times. “It’s 10 years of life distilled into a couple of hours of intense stuff.”

He then added: “And I can’t think we’ll ever do anything else. I definitely can’t do this again.”

Smith revealed towards the end of 2020 that he had spent the year working on both The Cure’s new album – set to be their first since 2008’s 4:13 Dream – as well as his own solo album.

In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, Smith reaffirmed the two albums, mentioning that one record is notably darker than the other.

Smith also told Lowe that he will have more updates soon. “Probably in about six weeks’ time I’ll be able to say when everything’s coming out and what we’re doing next year and everything…We were doing two albums and one of them’s very, very doom and gloom and the other one isn’t,” he said.

“And they’re both very close to being done. I just have to decide who’s going to mix them. That’s really all I’ve got left to do.”

Hear a preview of the Bruce Springsteen and The Killers collaborative track, “Dustland”

Rhian Daly
-
0
Hear a preview of the Bruce Springsteen and The Killers collaborative track, “Dustland”
The Killers have shared a preview of their upcoming Bruce Springsteen collaboration and announced the release date for the track. ORDER NOW: The July 2021 issue of Uncut As previously confirmed, the two acts will team up on a release called "Dustland", which Springsteen revealed during an a...

The Killers have shared a preview of their upcoming Bruce Springsteen collaboration and announced the release date for the track.

As previously confirmed, the two acts will team up on a release called “Dustland“, which Springsteen revealed during an appearance on Sirius XM’s E Street Radio. The Vegas band had also previously teased a “killer collab” with a mystery artist.

Now, The Killers have posted a short clip of the collaboration to their social media accounts. “Dustland” appears to be a new version of the band’s 2008 track “A Dustland Fairytale“, which featured on the album Day & Age.

The visuals also reveal that “Dustland” will be released this coming Wednesday (June 16).

Watch Jeff and Spencer Tweedy cover Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen’s new single, “Like I Used To”

Will Richards
-
0
Watch Jeff and Spencer Tweedy cover Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen’s new single, “Like I Used To”
Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer have covered Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen's new collaborative single – watch the performance below. ORDER NOW: The July 2021 issue of Uncut BUY NOW: Wilcovered 2LP – 17 Wilco covers by the band’s artists and friends The pair shared the s...

Wilco‘s Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer have covered Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen’s new collaborative single – watch the performance below.

The pair shared the single “Like I Used To” last month, complete with its own video and subsequent late-night TV performance.

Jeff and Spencer‘s performance of the song came as part of the duo’s long-running livestream show The Tweedy Show.

“That’s the best I can do with not knowing the lyrics perfectly yet,” Jeff says after the performance. Watch it below at the 2:30 mark.

Speaking about their collaboration last month, Van Etten remarked: “Even though we weren’t super close, I always felt supported by Angel and considered her a peer in this weird world of touring. We highway high-fived many times along the way…”

Olsen added: “I’ve met with Sharon here and there throughout the years and have always felt too shy to ask her what she’s been up to or working on.

“The song reminded me immediately of getting back to where I started, before music was expected of me, or much was expected of me, a time that remains pure and real in my heart.”

Dorothea Paas – Anything Can’t Happen

Erin Osmon
-
0
Dorothea Paas – Anything Can’t Happen
With Anything Can’t Happen, Canadian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dorothea Paas has crafted one of the most stirring and emotionally resonant break-up albums of recent years, a candid retelling of heartache that doesn’t weaponise pain but instead embraces such darkness as a neces...

With Anything Can’t Happen, Canadian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dorothea Paas has crafted one of the most stirring and emotionally resonant break-up albums of recent years, a candid retelling of heartache that doesn’t weaponise pain but instead embraces such darkness as a necessary pairing with light.

A veteran of the Canadian DIY and experimental music scenes, Paas has worked with artists such as US Girls, Jennifer Castle and Badge Époque Ensemble. But this album marks her own studio debut proper, a decade into her career as a self-releasing live performer. Its maturity is unmistakable, demonstrating an evident consideration of instrumental texture, vocal delivery and narrative flow that is restrained and compelling on both micro and macro levels. It’s satisfying to zoom in on each note, to drink in the weight of her feeling as Paas sustains one word over three or four beats, like a condor riding a wind current. But pulling back reveals an equally satisfying connection, where unvarnished emotion melds with aural textures to form a beautiful, devastating and empowering journey.

“I’m not lonely now/Doing all the things I want and working on my mind,” she offers during One, the 30-second album opener sung over spare electric guitar. This vignette portends her journey through the album’s nine songs, a suite of tender ruminations on love, trust, self-doubt and broken relationships that culminates in a reclamation of self. It’s a stunning portrait of a woman deep in those throes, who navigates a long path to healing and acceptance, to the idea that she controls her destiny. “Sorting through old thoughts/
I go through them/One…” she concludes, embracing her singular self as a statement of purpose, less a confession than a revelation, a realisation that being alone is better than being with agony.

The album wades through matters of the heart with an intense focus, a lyrical theme that echoes Joni Mitchell’s Blue and Hejira-era portraits, and Elliott Smith’s trenchant reflections, emotionally weighty but easy to take in. And like the later work of those artists, the music of Anything Can’t Happen signals an evolution from a simple folk music foundation to fleshed-out textural arrangements with a cast of accomplished players.

Paas recruited friends from the Canadian experimental scene, and the instrumentation throughout seems like a natural collaboration and extension of long-forged relationships and mutual appreciation. Paas’ diaphanous voice is easily compared to Mitchell’s but she often infuses her singing with a subtle vibrato more redolent of Mimi Parker of Low, alternately warm and chilling.

The magnetic title track is propelled by a slinking groove that meets flickering electric guitar and jazz-infused percussion as Paas sings, three times, “It’s so hard to trust again/When you don’t even trust yourself.” The repetition underscores the intended emphasis of this self-doubt, while doubling as an act of emotional processing, thinking the same thought over and over until it becomes a real, present truth. It’s a device Paas uses throughout the album to powerful effect, conveying her most urgent observations, conclusions and feelings via repeated words.

“Oh I know, I know, I know/ You’re calling out for love/But your behaviour is driving me away,” she sings with an arresting soprano on Waves Rising, a folk-rock standout in which her feather-light vibrato ripples the end of each line, like waves of consciousness unfolding amid an impossible situation. This feeling is crystallised on Frozen Window, a snapshot of love slipping away, sung over mesmeric electric guitar, Paas’ voice here projecting a necessary detachment as she declares, “Our memories are useless now.” But then she surprises the listener with a hard-won moment of hope.

“But against all odds/I will open to love again/Like a plant searches for light through a frozen window,” she sings, relaying the road to reconciliation as her voice meets guitar, piano and bass in a freeform dance, a ray of sun piercing a shadow. If love is tantamount to madness, then Anything Can’t Happen is its imperturbable biographer. The album relays past events with clear-eyed wisdom, conveying ups and downs through a well-hewn vision of collaborative beauty. It does not succumb to the tests that love sets but rather plumbs the depths of its paths to reveal the transfiguration of devastation into self-assurance. In a still-uncertain climate, its emotional honesty and crystalline truths are a gift.

Rogér Fakhr – Fine Anyway

Andrew Mueller
-
0
Rogér Fakhr – Fine Anyway
Before Beirut was wrecked by the civil war fought in its streets between 1975 and 1990, it was called “the Paris of the East”. It was a city of bars and boulevards, philosophers and poets – and, it could readily be imagined, wry and reflective singer-songwriters of the calibre of Rogér Fakhr,...

Before Beirut was wrecked by the civil war fought in its streets between 1975 and 1990, it was called “the Paris of the East”. It was a city of bars and boulevards, philosophers and poets – and, it could readily be imagined, wry and reflective singer-songwriters of the calibre of Rogér Fakhr, crooning in some cool café amid mists of arak fumes and Gauloises smoke.

The tracks on Fine Anyway were recorded in Beirut in 1977 and Paris in 1978. Fakhr was, by then, living between the two, busking on the Metro in the latter: balancing, like many Lebanese of the time, the danger of home against the loneliness of exile. It’s unclear just how much this melancholy disorientation directly informed his material, but these songs do not want for a sense of melancholy disorientation. Reference points, contemporary and subsequent, include John Prine, Gordon Lightfoot, Lee Hazlewood, Elliott Smith and Gene Clark. Crucially, Fakhr would not be out of place in their company.

The greatest of these songs are extraordinary. Fakhr created this music against rather considerable odds, which may go some way towards explaining why it has barely been heard. Some of these recordings were originally circulated on cassettes among a mere handful of cognoscenti (and they have the background hiss to prove it), some of them have never been released at all.

Fakhr’s own modesty has also been an obstacle. But after he agreed to contribute to a Habibi funk compilation in aid of Beirut following last year’s explosion in the city’s port, he agreed to this.

It’s difficult, on listening to Fine Anyway, to altogether suppress outrage that this fine material has been so long unavailable. The more straightforwardly singer-songwriter cuts set Fakhr’s husky, plaintive voice to intricately picked acoustic guitar, occasionally augmented by flute, piano or tambourine. Some, such as Lady Rain and My Baby, She Is As Down As I Am, are exquisitely mournful. Others, like Insomnia Blue and Everything You Want, are more upbeat, gently essaying a slight country-rock swagger (there’s a parallel universe in which either or both of these were covered by Emmylou Harris and made Fakhr wealthy beyond imagining). With a band in tow, Fakhr gets funkier: “Had To Come Back Wet” includes busy bass that buoys a surging electric piano; The Wizard sounds like something left in error off an early-’70s Byrds album.

Little ties these recordings explicitly to the Lebanon of its time, give or take the coda of gunfire and air raid sirens on Keep Going. Fakhr seems to have been too ambitious to be
a mere protest singer or a chronicler of events. He did not see why Lebanon’s circumstances should confine him – and, on the evidence of these wonderful songs, they didn’t.

50th anniversary of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass celebrated with new special editions

Cillian Breathnach
-
0
50th anniversary of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass celebrated with new special editions
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass this year, a suite of new editions of the album has been announced, including a massive 5CD/8LP Uber Deluxe set. ORDER NOW: The July 2021 issue of Uncut READ MORE: Klaus Voormann on George Harrison: “The Qu...

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass this year, a suite of new editions of the album has been announced, including a massive 5CD/8LP Uber Deluxe set.

The anniversary editions – all of which feature outtakes and other extras – have been executive-produced by Harrison’s son Dhani, and feature a new mix of the album by the Grammy-winning Paul Hicks. The releases, ranging from the Uber Deluxe to a standard 2CD version, will arrive on August 6, 2021.

Dhani Harrison said of the origins of the expanded releases: “Since the 50th-anniversary stereo mix release of the title track to my father’s legendary All Things Must Pass album in 2020, my dear pal Paul Hicks and I have continued to dig through mountains of tapes to restore and present the rest of this newly remixed and expanded edition of the album you now see and hear before you.”

 

The most expansive collection is the Uber Deluxe Edition, which includes a total of 70 tracks, housed on five CDs and eight LPs, as well as a Blu-Ray with a 5.2 mix of the original album.

Alongside the music itself comes an expanded 96-page version of the album’s scrapbook, a second 44-page book chronicling the making of All Things Must Pass, a wooden bookmark made from a felled Oak in Friar Park, a limited-edition illustration by Klaus Voormann, a copy of Paramahansa Yogananda’s Light From The Great Ones, Rudraksha beads contained in individual custom-made boxes, a replica of the original album poster and 1/6th-scale replica figurines of Harrison and the garden gnomes featured on the cover art.

See the album’s trailer and the Uber Deluxe tracklisting below, and find out more at georgeharrison.com.

Disc 1 (Main Album) (LP tracklist is the same as CD tracklist, split across more discs)

1. I’d Have You Anytime
2. My Sweet Lord
3. Wah-Wah
4. Isn’t It A Pity (Version One)
5. What Is Life
6. If Not For You
7. Behind That Locked Door
8. Let It Down
9. Run Of The Mill

Disc 2 (Main Album)

1. Beware Of Darkness
2. Apple Scruffs
3. Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
4. Awaiting On You All
5. All Things Must Pass
6. I Dig Love
7. Art Of Dying
8. Isn’t It A Pity (Version Two)
9. Hear Me Lord
10. Out Of The Blue *
11. It’s Johnny’s Birthday *
12. Plug Me In *
13. I Remember Jeep *
14. Thanks For The Pepperoni *

* Newly Remastered/Original Mix

Disc 3 (Day 1 Demos – Tuesday May 26, 1970)

1. All Things Must Pass (Take 1) †
2. Behind That Locked Door (Take 2)
3. I Live For You (Take 1)
4. Apple Scruffs (Take 1)
5. What Is Life (Take 3)
6. Awaiting On You All (Take 1) †
7. Isn’t It A Pity (Take 2)
8. I’d Have You Anytime (Take 1)
9. I Dig Love (Take 1)
10. Going Down To Golders Green (Take 1)
11. Dehra Dun (Take 2)
12. Om Hare Om (Gopala Krishna) (Take 1)
13. Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) (Take 2)
14. My Sweet Lord (Take 1) †
15. Sour Milk Sea (Take 1)

Disc 4 (Day 2 Demos – Wednesday May 27, 1970)

1. Run Of The Mill (Take 1) †
2. Art Of Dying (Take 1)
3. Everybody/Nobody (Take 1)
4. Wah-Wah (Take 1)
5. Window Window (Take 1)
6. Beautiful Girl (Take 1)
7. Beware Of Darkness (Take 1)
8. Let It Down (Take 1)
9. Tell Me What Has Happened To You (Take 1)
10. Hear Me Lord (Take 1)
11. Nowhere To Go (Take 1)
12. Cosmic Empire (Take 1)
13. Mother Divine (Take 1)
14. I Don’t Want To Do It (Take 1)
15. If Not For You (Take 1)

† Previously Released

Disc 5 (Session Outtakes and Jams)

1. Isn’t It A Pity (Take 14)
2. Wah-Wah (Take 1)
3. I’d Have You Anytime (Take 5)
4. Art Of Dying (Take 1)
5. Isn’t It A Pity (Take 27)
6. If Not For You (Take 2)
7. Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine) (Take 1)
8. What Is Life (Take 1)
9. Beware Of Darkness (Take 8)
10. Hear Me Lord (Take 5)
11. Let It Down (Take 1)
12. Run Of The Mill (Take 36)
13. Down To the River (Rocking Chair Jam) (Take 1)
14. Get Back (Take 1)
15. Almost 12 Bar Honky Tonk (Take 1)
16. It’s Johnny’s Birthday (Take 1)
17. Woman Don’t You Cry For Me (Take 5)

Blu-ray Audio Disc (Main Album Only; Surround, Atmos, Hi-Res)

1. I’d Have You Anytime
2. My Sweet Lord
3. Wah-Wah
4. Isn’t It A Pity (Version One)
5. What Is Life
6. If Not For You
7. Behind That Locked Door
8. Let It Down
9. Run Of The Mill
10. Beware Of Darkness
11. Apple Scruffs
12. Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
13. Awaiting On You All
14. All Things Must Pass
15. I Dig Love
16. Art Of Dying
17. Isn’t It A Pity (Version Two)
18. Hear Me Lord
19. Out Of The Blue
20. It’s Johnny’s Birthday
21. Plug Me In
22. I Remember Jeep
23. Thanks For The Pepperoni

Tom Petty’s She’s The One reimagined as Angel Dream for 25th anniversary

Will Lavin
-
0
Tom Petty’s She’s The One reimagined as Angel Dream for 25th anniversary
A reimagined version of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 1996 album She’s The One has been announced to celebrate its 25th anniversary. ORDER NOW: The July 2021 issue of Uncut Entitled Angel Dream, the updated album is a remixed, remastered and reimagined version of the group's Songs...

A reimagined version of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 1996 album She’s The One has been announced to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Entitled Angel Dream, the updated album is a remixed, remastered and reimagined version of the group’s Songs And Music From The Motion Picture “She’s The One”, set for release on July 2.

Ahead of its official release date, the reissue will be released on limited-edition cobalt blue vinyl this Saturday (June 12) for Record Store Day. You can find out more info about the RSD release here.

The album’s new title is a nod to its opening track, “Angel Dream No.2”, which you can listen to below.

“She’s The One was originally a great way to include some of the songs that didn’t make it on to Wildflowers, but it has its own thing to it, its own charm, and putting it out now in a restructured form makes for a sweet little treat,” Heartbreaker Benmont Tench said of Angel Dream in an interview on SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio yesterday (June 10).

“At the time in the studio, it was fun working as a band to improvise the scoring cues for the movie rather than playing to pre-set click tracks and a written score. And it was interesting to try to cut covers of others’ songs for a record, instead of learning covers just for live shows.

“We got a nice vibey version of Beck’s song and I’ve always loved Lucinda’s song ‘Change The Locks‘, so I was more than happy to cut it with our band.  Oh, and this album has Angel Dream on it, one of the loveliest songs Tom ever wrote.”

Petty‘s long-term engineer and co-producer Ryan Ulyate remixed the audio for the reissue and worked with the late musician on the mixes before his passing. The song selection was designed to work as a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album rather than a film soundtrack.

Four unreleased tracks have been added: “One Of Life’s Little Mysteries“, written by Petty; “Thirteen Days“, a JJ Cale cover; “105 Degrees“, another Petty original; and “French Disconnection“, an instrumental in the same vein as those on the original album. An extended version of “Supernatural Radio” has also been included.

Tom Petty
Tom Petty. CREDIT: Getty Images

Petty‘s widow Dana Petty said of the album: “These songs are extremely special. I am grateful this record is getting the recognition it deserves. The remix Ryan Ulyate did sounds amazing, and the unreleased gems are a lovely bonus. Annakim, Adria, and I took a lot of time finding artwork that reflects the mood of the album. I think we finally achieved that with Alia Penner’s work. It is surreal and beautiful, just like life during that time.”

Angel Dream (Songs And Music From The Motion Picture She’s The One) is available for pre-order here. You can see the track listing below.

Side 1:

Angel Dream (No. 2)
Grew Up Fast
Change The Locks
Zero From Outer Space
Asshole

Side 2:

One of Life’s Little Mysteries
Walls (No. 3)
Thirteen Days
105 Degrees
Climb That Hill
Supernatural Radio (Extended Version)
French Disconnection

The original 1996 album included several songs that were left off the final Wildflowers tracklist but were featured on last year’s critically acclaimed Wildflowers & All The Rest collection.

Richard Ashcroft announces two new autumn acoustic shows

Sam Moore
-
0
Richard Ashcroft announces two new autumn acoustic shows
Richard Ashcroft has announced two new acoustic shows for the autumn. ORDER NOW: The July 2021 issue of Uncut The former Verve frontman has expanded his upcoming tour, which already includes two sold-out dates at the London Palladium on October 16-17. Ashcroft will perform two more “ac...

Richard Ashcroft has announced two new acoustic shows for the autumn.

The former Verve frontman has expanded his upcoming tour, which already includes two sold-out dates at the London Palladium on October 16-17.

Ashcroft will perform two more “acoustic evenings of his classic songs” in Liverpool and London following those Palladium shows later this year.

He’ll head to the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on October 29, before playing at the Royal Albert Hall on November 1.

The four gigs will serve as “a special celebration of [Ashcroft’s] repertoire of songs, which will feature new interpretations of many of his classic solo and The Verve compositions,” according to a press release.

Tickets for the newly announced Ashcroft shows in Liverpool and London will go on sale at 9:30am tomorrow (June 11) from here.

Ashcroft is already set to perform at Nottingham’s Splendour Festival and Sheffield’s Tramlines Festival in July, before another date at Victorious Festival in Portsmouth in August.

Ashcroft’s last release, a cover of John Lennon’s 1973 protest song “Bring On The Lucie (Freda Peeple)”, arrived back in February.

Elton John says UK will lose “generation of talent” due to post-Brexit touring rules

Nick Reilly
-
0
Elton John says UK will lose “generation of talent” due to post-Brexit touring rules
Elton John has warned that the UK is in danger of losing “a generation of talent” after the UK government failed to secure a touring breakthrough with the EU. ORDER NOW: The July 2021 issue of Uncut The government’s failure to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits fo...

Elton John has warned that the UK is in danger of losing “a generation of talent” after the UK government failed to secure a touring breakthrough with the EU.

The government’s failure to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for musicians and crew in Lord Frost’s Brexit deal has long been a topic of discussion.

It has sparked fears that artists will face huge costs to take part in live music tours off the continent which could create a glass ceiling that prevents rising and developing artists from being able to afford to do so.

John shared the post to his Instagram, revealing that he – alongside his partner and Rocket Entertainment CEO David Furnish, promoter Craig Stanley and Lord Paul Strasberger – met with Lord Frost “to spell out the damage the trade agreement he negotiated with Europe is doing to the UK’s music industry”.

“Despite this looming catastrophe, the government seems unable or unwilling to fix this gaping hole in their trade deal and defaults to blaming the EU rather than finding ways out of this mess,” he said.

John described touring as “an essential part” of education for artists, but said it risked becoming prohibitive for artists under the current arrangement.

“The situation is already critical and touring musicians, crews and support staff are already losing their livelihood,” he said.

John went on to explain that he was not concerned with the risk for artists on a similar level to himself, who frequent arenas and stadiums.

“We are lucky enough to have the support staff, finance and infrastructure to cut through the red tape that Lord Frost’s no deal has created,” he said.

Elton added: “During our meeting Lord Frost said trying to solve this issue is a long process.”

“Unfortunately, our industry doesn’t have time. It is dying now. The government have broken the promise they outlined in 2020 to protect musicians and other creative industries from the impact of Brexit on tours to Europe.”

Concluding his statement, Elton said the government risked ruining a “window of opportunity” that had been presented by the way in which the pandemic has halted touring.

“I call on the government to sort this mess out or we risk losing future generations of world-beating talent,” he said.

“This is about whether one of the UK’s most successful industries, worth £111bn a year, is allowed to prosper and contribute hugely to both our cultural and economic wealth, or crash and burn.”

Last weekend, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden was also criticised when he boasted that trade deals with Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein would allow seamless touring – with musicians pointing out that all three countries make up a small proportion of the continent.

Elsewhere, European festival promoters have said that they could be likely to book fewer UK acts as a result of Brexit, while figures from the UK music industry have expressed concern that the impact of the deal on musicians who might not be able to tour Europe could also potentially prevent them from acquiring a visa to play in the United States.

The government was also previously accused of treating the sector like “an afterthought” in Brexit negotiations compared to the £1.2billion fishing industry.

1...143144145...1,270Page 144 of 1,270

SHOP UNCUT