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Neil Young, Jack White, Bruce Springsteen honor Bob Dylan at gala tribute; read setlist + watch footage

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Neil Young, Jack White, Bruce Springsteen honor Bob Dylan at gala tribute; read setlist + watch footage

Plus Dylan gives 30 minute acceptance speech... Bob Dylan delivered a 30 minute acceptance speech at MusiCares Person Of The Year 2015 Gala on Friday night (February 6) that saw him thank Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez and many others for supporting his music, Rolling Stone reports. Although Dylan did not perform any music at the event, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Jack White and Beck were among the musicians to take to the stage. Scroll down for the full set list. "We can't forget Jimi Hendrix," said Dylan. "I actually saw Jimi perform when he was with a band called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. Something like that. And Jimi didn't even sing. He was just the guitar player. He took some small songs of mine that nobody paid any attention to and brought them up into the outer limits of the stratosphere, turned them all into classics. I have to thank Jimi, too. I wish he was here. "Johnny Cash recorded some of my songs early on, too," Dylan continued. "I met him about '63, when he was all skin and bones. He travelled long, he traveled hard, but he was a hero of mine. I heard many of his songs growing up. I knew them better than I knew my own. 'Big River', 'I Walk the Line'. 'How High's the Water, Mama?' I wrote 'It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)' with that song reverberating inside my head." The MusiCares Person of the Year is presented annually as a part of Grammy Week to honour musicians for their achievement in the music industry and dedication to philanthropy. You can read the full transcript of Dylan's speech here. MusiCares Person Of The Year 2015 setlist: Beck – 'Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat' Aaron Neville – 'Shooting Star' Alanis Morissette – 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' Los Lobo – 'On A Night Like This' Willie Nelson – 'Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)' Jackson Browne – 'Blind Willie McTell' John Mellencamp – 'Highway 61 Revisited' Jack White – 'One More Cup Of Coffee' Tom Jones – 'What Good Am I?' Norah Jones – 'I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight' Dereck Trucks And Susan Tedeschi – 'Million Miles' John Doe – 'Pressing On' Crosby, Stills & Nash – 'Girl From The North County' Bonnie Raitt – 'Standing In The Doorway' Sheryl Crow – 'Boots Of Spanish Leather' Bruce Springsteen – 'Knockin' On Heaven’s Door' Neil Young – 'Blowin' In The Wind' Uncut is now available as a digital edition! Download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.

Plus Dylan gives 30 minute acceptance speech…

Bob Dylan delivered a 30 minute acceptance speech at MusiCares Person Of The Year 2015 Gala on Friday night (February 6) that saw him thank Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez and many others for supporting his music, Rolling Stone reports.

Although Dylan did not perform any music at the event, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Jack White and Beck were among the musicians to take to the stage. Scroll down for the full set list.

“We can’t forget Jimi Hendrix,” said Dylan. “I actually saw Jimi perform when he was with a band called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. Something like that. And Jimi didn’t even sing. He was just the guitar player. He took some small songs of mine that nobody paid any attention to and brought them up into the outer limits of the stratosphere, turned them all into classics. I have to thank Jimi, too. I wish he was here.

“Johnny Cash recorded some of my songs early on, too,” Dylan continued. “I met him about ’63, when he was all skin and bones. He travelled long, he traveled hard, but he was a hero of mine. I heard many of his songs growing up. I knew them better than I knew my own. ‘Big River’, ‘I Walk the Line’. ‘How High’s the Water, Mama?’ I wrote ‘It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’ with that song reverberating inside my head.”

The MusiCares Person of the Year is presented annually as a part of Grammy Week to honour musicians for their achievement in the music industry and dedication to philanthropy.

You can read the full transcript of Dylan’s speech here.

MusiCares Person Of The Year 2015 setlist:

Beck – ‘Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat’

Aaron Neville – ‘Shooting Star’

Alanis Morissette – ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’

Los Lobo – ‘On A Night Like This’

Willie Nelson – ‘Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)’

Jackson Browne – ‘Blind Willie McTell’

John Mellencamp – ‘Highway 61 Revisited’

Jack White – ‘One More Cup Of Coffee’

Tom Jones – ‘What Good Am I?’

Norah Jones – ‘I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight’

Dereck Trucks And Susan Tedeschi – ‘Million Miles’

John Doe – ‘Pressing On’

Crosby, Stills & Nash – ‘Girl From The North County’

Bonnie Raitt – ‘Standing In The Doorway’

Sheryl Crow – ‘Boots Of Spanish Leather’

Bruce Springsteen – ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’

Neil Young – ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’

Uncut is now available as a digital edition! Download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.

Jack White’s tour rider leaked…

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Jack White’s tour rider leaked…
Jack White's management have issued a statement after the artist's tour rider was leaked online by the University of Oklahoma school paper, leading to booking agency to blacklist the university. William Morris Endeavor Entertainment vowed to keep their clients, who in addition to White include Foo ...

Jack White‘s management have issued a statement after the artist’s tour rider was leaked online by the University of Oklahoma school paper, leading to booking agency to blacklist the university.

William Morris Endeavor Entertainment vowed to keep their clients, who in addition to White include Foo Fighters and Pharrell, away from the University in future after details of White’s rider were published in a student newspaper.

Among White’s requests when he played the venue earlier this month (February) were his own personal chunky guacamole recipe as well as four bottles of fresh juice smoothies, one pound of “freshly sliced, high-quality prosciutto and aged salami with a sharp knife.” and a New York strip steak, cooked medium. Notably, bananas are banned from the entire tour. (“This is a no bananas tour”).

In printing this information, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment blacklisted the campus from hiring any of its clients with a spokesperson telling The Oklahoma Daily that this ban would remain until its “policy is modified not to disseminate private information.”

Furthermore, Jack White’s management Monotone Inc. responded to a request for comment from Pitchfork and clarified that the rider was not solely for their client’s consumption and explained that the tour crew all need to be fed on the night of the performance.

“Contrary to what some believe, Jack doesn’t write the rider nor make demands about his favorite snacks that must be in his dressing room,” a section of the statement reads. “We’re not even sure he likes guacamole but we do know that the folks who work hard to put on the show do enjoy it.”

Jac White is currently touring his 2014 album Lazaretto around America.

Uncut is now available as a digital edition! Download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.

Pond – Man It Feels Like Space Again

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Pond – Man It Feels Like Space Again

Less guitar, more synth, on ever-evolving psych rockers playful sixth... Over the last decade much has been written about the music industry denying bands the chance to experiment and grow. That may be true on major labels, but on the fringes there are still groups churning out great records in fits of creativity, following whatever crazy ideas appear in their heads at that moment. Nowhere is this truer than in the current Australian scene, where bands like Total Control, Eastlink and, especially, Pond are doing just that. Led by frontman Nick Allbrook, a touring member of Tame Impala until 2013 (all are, or have been, involved with Kevin Parker's project), each of Pond's five records so far have pushed the boundaries of the band’s sound. Many of their albums have been recorded quickly, capturing the group’s eccentricities (psychedelic flute solos are a speciality), with 2012 breakthrough Beard, Wives, Denim cut in just one week. Their last album, 2013’s Hobo Rocket, was their heaviest yet, a maelstrom of acid rock guitar riffing, bizarre synth interludes and excellent, if oblique, song structures.Man It Feels Like Space Again is the polar counterpart to Hobo Rocket. Instead of “man rock”, as drummer Jay Watson described their sound on KEXP recently, the tracks here, written over the same period, are much more accessible and subdued. In contrast to their usual speedy studio style, the band spent time sculpting the sounds and production, even agonising over mixes with Impala’s Kevin Parker – hence 2014 being the first year without a Pond album release since they formed. Where Hobo’s opener came on like Rage Against The Machine jamming with Cluster – exciting but very, very awkward – the first track on Man…, the splendid “Waiting Around For Grace”, is a silver-toned, synth-led stomper, jammed with so many euphoric moments that it might have been created for a hook-writing competition. The drums are crisp and processed, the synths buzz beautifully and the guitars are brittle with chorus effects, yet the group have lost none of their sense of free-ranging melody present since their 2009 debut, Psychedelic Mango. “Don't it make you wonder how God found the time?” deadpans Allbrook in the Mercury Rev-esque introduction. Lead-off track “Elvis’ Flaming Star” is the most immediate moment on the album, another lysergic glam gallop. One major touchstone here, and throughout this playful album, is Supergrass, especially Life On Other Planets, their underrated 2002 album which explored '70s synth tones and glam rhythms. Coincidentally, or not, it even featured a track, “See The Light”, which referred to Elvis. Man… is, according to Allbrook, the first time the band have gone minimalist, paring back tracks until each song shines. This turns out especially well on slower pieces such as the psychedelic soul of “Holding Out For You”, which sounds like The Flaming Lips covering the Abbey Road medley (and not making a hash of it a la With A Little Help From My Fwends). The least immediate, but perhaps most rewarding song here is the closing title track, which, across eight and a half minutes, spans prog, funk, kosmiche and folk. What's more, it doesn't feel stitched together as a laugh like some of their earlier work, but properly mapped out, branching sideways to woozy, Beatles-esque climes but always returning to the same cleansing, crystalline guitar and synth melody. At times, the elfin Allbrook sounds almost identical to MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden, his lyrics reaching a similar peak of impressive, non-sensical profundity; though it's hard to distinguish many of the Gnomic lines under all those space echo repeats. For all the plaudits that Tame Impala receive, then, Pond have proved that they're possibly the braver band, willing to squeeze out ideas as soon as they have them, with playful abandon. Their influences are clear, but they combine them in a unique, joyful way, as they endlessly evolve their sound. Here, the extra care and attention to production and arrangements has paid off, making Man… as consistently enjoyably as their older albums were unevenly thrilling. The question is, though, where do Pond go from here? We have no idea and, gloriously, Pond probably don't either. The well is not yet dry – stay tuned. Tom Pinnock Credit: Matthew Saville Uncut is now available as a digital edition! Download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.

Less guitar, more synth, on ever-evolving psych rockers playful sixth…

Over the last decade much has been written about the music industry denying bands the chance to experiment and grow. That may be true on major labels, but on the fringes there are still groups churning out great records in fits of creativity, following whatever crazy ideas appear in their heads at that moment. Nowhere is this truer than in the current Australian scene, where bands like Total Control, Eastlink and, especially, Pond are doing just that.

Led by frontman Nick Allbrook, a touring member of Tame Impala until 2013 (all are, or have been, involved with Kevin Parker’s project), each of Pond’s five records so far have pushed the boundaries of the band’s sound. Many of their albums have been recorded quickly, capturing the group’s eccentricities (psychedelic flute solos are a speciality), with 2012 breakthrough Beard, Wives, Denim cut in just one week.

Their last album, 2013’s Hobo Rocket, was their heaviest yet, a maelstrom of acid rock guitar riffing, bizarre synth interludes and excellent, if oblique, song structures.Man It Feels Like Space Again is the polar counterpart to Hobo Rocket. Instead of “man rock”, as drummer Jay Watson described their sound on KEXP recently, the tracks here, written over the same period, are much more accessible and subdued. In contrast to their usual speedy studio style, the band spent time sculpting the sounds and production, even agonising over mixes with Impala’s Kevin Parker – hence 2014 being the first year without a Pond album release since they formed.

Where Hobo’s opener came on like Rage Against The Machine jamming with Cluster – exciting but very, very awkward – the first track on Man…, the splendid “Waiting Around For Grace”, is a silver-toned, synth-led stomper, jammed with so many euphoric moments that it might have been created for a hook-writing competition. The drums are crisp and processed, the synths buzz beautifully and the guitars are brittle with chorus effects, yet the group have lost none of their sense of free-ranging melody present since their 2009 debut, Psychedelic Mango. “Don’t it make you wonder how God found the time?” deadpans Allbrook in the Mercury Rev-esque introduction.

Lead-off track “Elvis’ Flaming Star” is the most immediate moment on the album, another lysergic glam gallop. One major touchstone here, and throughout this playful album, is Supergrass, especially Life On Other Planets, their underrated 2002 album which explored ’70s synth tones and glam rhythms. Coincidentally, or not, it even featured a track, “See The Light”, which referred to Elvis.

Man… is, according to Allbrook, the first time the band have gone minimalist, paring back tracks until each song shines. This turns out especially well on slower pieces such as the psychedelic soul of “Holding Out For You”, which sounds like The Flaming Lips covering the Abbey Road medley (and not making a hash of it a la With A Little Help From My Fwends).

The least immediate, but perhaps most rewarding song here is the closing title track, which, across eight and a half minutes, spans prog, funk, kosmiche and folk. What’s more, it doesn’t feel stitched together as a laugh like some of their earlier work, but properly mapped out, branching sideways to woozy, Beatles-esque climes but always returning to the same cleansing, crystalline guitar and synth melody. At times, the elfin Allbrook sounds almost identical to MGMT‘s Andrew VanWyngarden, his lyrics reaching a similar peak of impressive, non-sensical profundity; though it’s hard to distinguish many of the Gnomic lines under all those space echo repeats.

For all the plaudits that Tame Impala receive, then, Pond have proved that they’re possibly the braver band, willing to squeeze out ideas as soon as they have them, with playful abandon. Their influences are clear, but they combine them in a unique, joyful way, as they endlessly evolve their sound. Here, the extra care and attention to production and arrangements has paid off, making Man… as consistently enjoyably as their older albums were unevenly thrilling.

The question is, though, where do Pond go from here? We have no idea and, gloriously, Pond probably don’t either. The well is not yet dry – stay tuned.

Tom Pinnock

Credit: Matthew Saville

Uncut is now available as a digital edition! Download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.

Rachel Unthank on her favourite albums

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Rachel Unthank on her favourite albums
As The Unthanks return with their new album, Mount The Air, we delve back into the archives to unearth this piece from Uncut’s February 2010 issue (Take 153). From Morris dancing to moshing, here are Rachel Unthank’s most treasured tunes… Interview: Sharon O’Connell ________________________...

As The Unthanks return with their new album, Mount The Air, we delve back into the archives to unearth this piece from Uncut’s February 2010 issue (Take 153). From Morris dancing to moshing, here are Rachel Unthank’s most treasured tunes… Interview: Sharon O’Connell

____________________________

The record that turned me on to dancing

Various Artists – Morris On (1972)

“We’re from the North East, which is more in the tradition of rapper dancing, which comes out of the mining industry, but this is Morris dancing. From the age of about four, me and my brother absolutely loved this record and insisted that my parents put it on, first thing of a weekend morning. They’d go back for a lie-in and we’d run around the living room. Some tracks got faster and faster, so we would, too.”

The album that matured my musical taste

Joni Mitchell – Ladies Of The Canyon (1970)

“This was in my parents’ collection, so it’s the first Joni Mitchell record I ever heard and the one I have the strongest bond with. I was about 13 and hungry for something more stimulating than ’80s pop. I was totally blown away by her amazing voice and lyrics like, ‘He took his contradictions out and splashed them on my brow’. They made everything she sang about seem sophisticated.”

The vocal album that really wows me

The Voice Squad – Many’s The Foolish Youth (1987)

“We grew up listening to a lot of English harmony groups like The Wilsons, who were five big, hairy brothers and one sister from Teeside, The Watersons and The Silly Sisters, and they all had a big influence on me. ThenThe Voice Squad came along; they’re from Ireland and sing three-part, unaccompanied harmony, but have come together from the solo singing tradition. This is so beautiful and powerful.”

The record I rebelled with

Faith No More – The Real Thing (1989)

“When I was 15, grunge came into fashion and I loved Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Metallica, and I thought Mike Patton was so sexy. His vocals were dark and threatening and for a teenager ready for a bit of non-folk rebellion, this was perfect! It’s stayed with me, and if we’ve been playing a lot of folk festivals, me and my husband [The Unthanks’ Adrian McNally] might put this on in the car and have a little rock-out.”

The record that proves humour has its place

Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom (1974)

“I came late to him, really, because that’s not my musical background and it was Adrian who introduced me. He’d play a track here and there, just to dip my toe in the water and see how I’d react. Of course, I loved it and this really opened my ears and mind to a whole new world of experimentation. I loved Wyatt’s playfulness, his humility and his honesty, and the way he seems to follow his imagination. It’s just magical.”

The record that taught me how to harmonise

The Keelers – On The North Sea Ground (1998)

“They’re from the north-east and sing unaccompanied harmony – my dad [George Unthank] is one of them. They’ve obviously been a massive influence on me and my sister [Becky], and we learnt to harmonise by listening to them. They sing a lot of sea shanties and they pick real corkers. You might think as a woman I’d be influenced by people like June Tabor and Maddy Prior –and I was – but more so by big, loud, robust men.”

The record that sums up good times in Glasgow

Various Artists – I Was Born In Glasgow (1991)

“In my second year at Glasgow University, I moved into this flat where someone had left a record player and a load of vinyl. Along with Madonna and Wham! there was this record by a load of Scottish folk musicians like Hamish Imlach, who sang “A Cod Liver Oil & Orange Juice”. There’s a song about sitting on the toilet called “Doon In The Wee Room”. This reminds me of pub crawls, parties and singalongs.”

The album I love more than any other

Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005)

“This is probably my favourite album ever – it’s so exhilarating and exciting. I’m usually very focused on words, but here I forget to listen to them because he takes you to places in your head and leads you into musical stories, as well as telling you an actual story. That storytelling obviously appeals to me, as does the fact that he plays all the instruments and has clearly spent so much time and energy lovingly making this perfect piece of music.”

The best new folk record I’ve heard in years

Jonny Kearney & Lucy Farrell – The North Farm Sessions (2009)

“These are two young singers/musicians who came to Newcastle to be on the folk degree course, and they supported us on our last tour. They made this EP in our house, so I was there at its birth. I really admire their music; Jonny’s songwriting is full of truth, but also humour and unexpectedness – he’s one of the best I’ve ever heard. Lucy’s voice is beautiful. I’ve fallen in love with them.”

The record that feeds my spirit

Antony And The Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now (2005)

“This is like nourishment for the soul; listening to it is almost a spiritual experience. It’s so beautiful and it feels like it’s pure – almost as if he’s a magical being or some sort of . . . creature. There’s an amazing sense of space and suspension, too, which we’re always trying to achieve. His arrangements are really clever – sparse and simple – and I really admire how it’s ambitious and yet full of humility.”

Uncut is now available as a digital edition! Download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.

Owner of “cannibalistic” Icelandic venue says Morrissey never asked them to go meat-free

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Owner of “cannibalistic” Icelandic venue says Morrissey never asked them to go meat-free

Singer claimed Rekyjavik venue has a "flesh-eating bloodlust"; venue owner says a show was never formally scheduled... Morrissey's claims that he scrapped a gig in Iceland due to the venue's refusal to go meat-free have been dismissed by the manager of the venue in question and the promoter of the gig. Earlier this week, Morrissey stated that he would not play the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik after they failed to agree to banish meat from on-site catering outlets for the night. "I love Iceland and I have waited a long time to return, but I shall leave the Harpa Concert Hall to their cannibalistic flesh-eating bloodlust," he said in a statement published by online fanzine True To You. Commenting on the controversy, Halldór Guðmundsson from the Harpa Concert Hall said that he was never asked about the issue of serving meat during negotiations with the gig promoter – and that a date for the show had not even been confirmed. "We were never asked about anything," Guðmundsson said. "I was never asked to speak to the restaurants here about whether they would serve meat on the night of the gig. There was no contract or anything. The date mentioned to us was towards the end of March. It's totally his decision, but it was strange for us to read about it on the internet before we were asked about it." Lisa Hanson, general manager and co-owner of the concert's promoters, RR, backed up Guðmundsson's claim that a date was not agreed and that no discussions about food had taken place. "We were just starting to look at venues for him and we thought this one [Harpa Concert Hall] would be good," she said. The restaurant there is three floors up on the other side of the venue, it's not like they sell hamburgers right outside. He said he didn't want to play there and we said 'fine'. It was never a date. It was never booked." This is not the first time Morrissey has axed a gig for a venue's refusal to stop selling meat. In 2013 the Staples Center in Los Angeles closed down branches of McDonalds on their premises for the evening on which he played live. In 2009 he walked offstage during his Coachella set after smelling meat being cooked nearby. Morrissey tours the UK next month. The short outing begins at Nottingham's Capital FM Arena on March 13, taking in dates in Bournemouth, Cardiff, Leeds and Glasgow before wrapping up at Birmingham's Barclaycard Arena on March 27. Morrissey's 2014 tour – which the singer described as "what I may risk calling our best tour ever" – included just one UK date, at London's O2 Arena. The performer listed the London date as his favourite gig of the year in an end-of-tour message. However, a European tour last year was met with a number of setbacks including the singer cancelling dates in Greece and Turkey. A gig in Germany was ended shortly after a stage invasion and he walked off stage during his Poland show after being heckled by a fan. Earlier in the year, Morrissey cancelled a number of dates due to a "flu outbreak" among his crew. This came after a string of US dates were scrapped, with the singer revealing that he had been treated for cancer. Morrissey will play: Nottingham Capital FM Arena (March 13) Bournemouth International Centre (14) Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (18) Leeds First Direct Arena (20) Glasgow SSE Hydro (21) Birmingham Barclaycard Arena (27)

Singer claimed Rekyjavik venue has a “flesh-eating bloodlust”; venue owner says a show was never formally scheduled…

Morrissey‘s claims that he scrapped a gig in Iceland due to the venue’s refusal to go meat-free have been dismissed by the manager of the venue in question and the promoter of the gig.

Earlier this week, Morrissey stated that he would not play the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik after they failed to agree to banish meat from on-site catering outlets for the night. “I love Iceland and I have waited a long time to return, but I shall leave the Harpa Concert Hall to their cannibalistic flesh-eating bloodlust,” he said in a statement published by online fanzine True To You.

Commenting on the controversy, Halldór Guðmundsson from the Harpa Concert Hall said that he was never asked about the issue of serving meat during negotiations with the gig promoter – and that a date for the show had not even been confirmed.

“We were never asked about anything,” Guðmundsson said. “I was never asked to speak to the restaurants here about whether they would serve meat on the night of the gig. There was no contract or anything. The date mentioned to us was towards the end of March. It’s totally his decision, but it was strange for us to read about it on the internet before we were asked about it.”

Lisa Hanson, general manager and co-owner of the concert’s promoters, RR, backed up Guðmundsson’s claim that a date was not agreed and that no discussions about food had taken place.

“We were just starting to look at venues for him and we thought this one [Harpa Concert Hall] would be good,” she said. The restaurant there is three floors up on the other side of the venue, it’s not like they sell hamburgers right outside. He said he didn’t want to play there and we said ‘fine’. It was never a date. It was never booked.”

This is not the first time Morrissey has axed a gig for a venue’s refusal to stop selling meat. In 2013 the Staples Center in Los Angeles closed down branches of McDonalds on their premises for the evening on which he played live. In 2009 he walked offstage during his Coachella set after smelling meat being cooked nearby.

Morrissey tours the UK next month. The short outing begins at Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena on March 13, taking in dates in Bournemouth, Cardiff, Leeds and Glasgow before wrapping up at Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena on March 27.

Morrissey’s 2014 tour – which the singer described as “what I may risk calling our best tour ever” – included just one UK date, at London’s O2 Arena. The performer listed the London date as his favourite gig of the year in an end-of-tour message.

However, a European tour last year was met with a number of setbacks including the singer cancelling dates in Greece and Turkey. A gig in Germany was ended shortly after a stage invasion and he walked off stage during his Poland show after being heckled by a fan.

Earlier in the year, Morrissey cancelled a number of dates due to a “flu outbreak” among his crew. This came after a string of US dates were scrapped, with the singer revealing that he had been treated for cancer.

Morrissey will play:

Nottingham Capital FM Arena (March 13)

Bournemouth International Centre (14)

Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (18)

Leeds First Direct Arena (20)

Glasgow SSE Hydro (21)

Birmingham Barclaycard Arena (27)

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd’s court appearance delayed until April

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AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd’s court appearance delayed until April

The New Zealand resident is changing lawyers, according to reports... AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd's appearance in court has been adjourned because of a change in lawyers. Rudd was due to appear in the Tauranga District Court on February 10 – two days after AC/DC play the Grammy Awards – for a review of the charges brought against him in 2014. He was held on charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis – all of which he denies. According to New Zealand's Stuff, his next appearance has been adjourned because of a change in lawyers. Paul Mabey, QC, says he has withdrawn as Rudd's counsel and has been replaced by Craig Tuck. "It's just a professional decision that we have made," Mabey said. Rudd was originally charged with attempting to procure the murder of two men, but the charge was dropped due to a lack of evidence. After the alleged threats were made, police raided Rudd's home on November 6 where they found 130g (4.6 ounces) of marijuana and 0.7g of methamphetamine. In December, He told New Zealand's One News: "I'm going back to work with AC/DC and I don't care who likes it or who doesn't. I want my job back and I want my reputation back." Meanwhile, AC/DC have reportedly recruited former drummer Chris Slade to play with them at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (February 8). Slade was a member of AC/DC between 1989-1994 and played on the album The Razor's Edge. He was replaced by returning drummer Rudd.

The New Zealand resident is changing lawyers, according to reports…

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd‘s appearance in court has been adjourned because of a change in lawyers.

Rudd was due to appear in the Tauranga District Court on February 10 – two days after AC/DC play the Grammy Awards – for a review of the charges brought against him in 2014. He was held on charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis – all of which he denies.

According to New Zealand’s Stuff, his next appearance has been adjourned because of a change in lawyers. Paul Mabey, QC, says he has withdrawn as Rudd’s counsel and has been replaced by Craig Tuck. “It’s just a professional decision that we have made,” Mabey said.

Rudd was originally charged with attempting to procure the murder of two men, but the charge was dropped due to a lack of evidence. After the alleged threats were made, police raided Rudd’s home on November 6 where they found 130g (4.6 ounces) of marijuana and 0.7g of methamphetamine.

In December, He told New Zealand’s One News: “I’m going back to work with AC/DC and I don’t care who likes it or who doesn’t. I want my job back and I want my reputation back.”

Meanwhile, AC/DC have reportedly recruited former drummer Chris Slade to play with them at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (February 8). Slade was a member of AC/DC between 1989-1994 and played on the album The Razor’s Edge. He was replaced by returning drummer Rudd.

Listen to Jack White’s Madison Square Garden concert

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Listen to Jack White’s Madison Square Garden concert

White played the venue on Friday, January 30... Jack White has shared an audio recording of his Madison Square Garden concert in New York. The show was White's first at the venue since he performed there with The White Stripes in 2007. White played a 23-song set that included work from his two solo records, as well as songs from The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. During the encore, White invited A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip to the stage for a performance of "That Black Bat Licorice", taken from his latest album Lazaretto. The pair then played a rendition of A Tribe Called Quest's track "Excursions". In addition, Run The Jewels' opening set was marked with a guest appearance from Zack de la Rocha. The Rage Against The Machine singer contributed vocals to "Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)" on the "RTJ2" LP, and performed the track alongside the pair. Jack White's concert was streamed live on the Pandora website, and a full recording is available here. Pandora has also shared a video interview with White by The Daily Show's Jordan Klepper, which took place before the Madison Square Garden show. You can watch the full interview below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNY0hL3R7S0 Jack White played: 'Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground' 'High Ball Stepper' 'Lazaretto' 'Hotel Yorba' 'Temporary Ground' 'Cannon' 'Broken Boy Soldier' 'Love Interruption' 'We’re Going To Be Friends' 'Three Women' 'Top Yourself' 'Ball And Biscuit' 'That Black Bat Licorice' 'Excursions' 'Sixteen Saltines' 'Astro' 'Steady, As She Goes' 'Would You Fight for My Love?' 'Just One Drink' 'Blunderbuss' 'Seven Nation Army'

White played the venue on Friday, January 30…

Jack White has shared an audio recording of his Madison Square Garden concert in New York.

The show was White’s first at the venue since he performed there with The White Stripes in 2007. White played a 23-song set that included work from his two solo records, as well as songs from The White Stripes and The Raconteurs.

During the encore, White invited A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip to the stage for a performance of “That Black Bat Licorice”, taken from his latest album Lazaretto. The pair then played a rendition of A Tribe Called Quest’s track “Excursions”.

In addition, Run The Jewels’ opening set was marked with a guest appearance from Zack de la Rocha. The Rage Against The Machine singer contributed vocals to “Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)” on the “RTJ2” LP, and performed the track alongside the pair.

Jack White’s concert was streamed live on the Pandora website, and a full recording is available here.

Pandora has also shared a video interview with White by The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper, which took place before the Madison Square Garden show. You can watch the full interview below.

Jack White played:

‘Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground’

‘High Ball Stepper’

‘Lazaretto’

‘Hotel Yorba’

‘Temporary Ground’

‘Cannon’

‘Broken Boy Soldier’

‘Love Interruption’

‘We’re Going To Be Friends’

‘Three Women’

‘Top Yourself’

‘Ball And Biscuit’

‘That Black Bat Licorice’

‘Excursions’

‘Sixteen Saltines’

‘Astro’

‘Steady, As She Goes’

‘Would You Fight for My Love?’

‘Just One Drink’

‘Blunderbuss’

‘Seven Nation Army’

The Go-Betweens – G Stands For Go-Betweens: Volume 1 1978-1984

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The Go-Betweens – G Stands For Go-Betweens: Volume 1 1978-1984

The first three albums, the first five singles, outtakes, demos, radio sessions and a live show... In the 1980s, Australia’s Go-Betweens were the dark horse among all those sharp-edged, sweet-and-sour guitar bands with literary pretensions. For those who found the cult of Morrissey too messianic and Lloyd Cole too self-satisfied, here was a connoisseurs’ choice: a band who name-checked Jean Genet while blending Sixties pop nous, 80s indie elegance, the brittle intensity of post-punk and the wayward non-conformity of The Modern Lovers. A vehicle for the songs and voices of Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, the Go-Betweens formed in December 1977 in Brisbane and ended their first act in 1989. Six years into a fruitful post-Millennial reunion, they finally ceased trading in 2006 following McLennan’s sudden death from a heart attack. Forster has been plotting this gargantuan eight-disc slab of cultural excavation since shortly after that unhappy event; the first of three planned anthologies, it’s a beautifully conceived exploration of the band’s origins and early evolution. Included are the first three Go-Betweens albums, Send Me A Lullaby (1982), Before Hollywood (1983), and Spring Hill Fair (1984), as well as all ten sides of their first five 45s, collected here on a new stand-alone LP titled The First Five Singles. Running parallel to these four vinyl albums are four CDs, arranged chronologically, consisting of outtakes, hard-to-find and unreleased demos, radio sessions and a complete (and excellent) live concert, recorded at the Mosman Hotel, Sydney, on April 23, 1982. There are over 100 tracks in all. Meeting as fellow arts students at the University of Queensland, Forster and McLennan named their band after L.P. Hartley’s 1953 novel, and throughout its lifespan the group’s music was characterised by a darting intellectual curiosity. Debut single “Lee Remick” is a faux-naif piece of fan mail directed at the actress (“She was in The Omen / with Gregory Peck / She got killed / what the heck”), but its dumbness is studied and self-aware; on the B-side, “Karen”, a song clearly in thrall to Patti Smith’s “Gloria”, they’re already name-checking Brecht, Joyce and Chandler. By 1980, and third single “I Need Two Heads”, the music had started to catch up with the words. Released on Postcard Records following trips to London and Glasgow, the song is an assured blend of The Cure and The Gang Of Four, giving the Go-Betweens their first Top 10 indie hit in the UK. Orange Juice drummer Steven Daly guested on the track, but by the time they started recording Send Me A Lullaby Lindy Morrison had joined on drums. As a settled three piece, the Go-Betweens’ house sound began to emerge: brittle and sharp, with lots of air between Forster’s guitar, McLennan’s bass and Morrison’s idiosyncratic rhythm. “Careless” has the compulsive twitch of early Orange Juice, and the urgent jangle of “Hold Your Horses” has shades of REM’s Chronic Town, but any sweetness is balanced by a sour twist. The vivid psycho-sexual drama of “Eight Pictures” creeps and crawls, the waspish digs at some thespian love-rival (“Same publicity shots for six years”) barely lightening the mood, while “It Could Be Anyone” recalls the neurotic funk of Talking Heads. Released the following year, Before Hollywood marks a leap forward in both composition and execution, excising any lingering hints of ramshackle amateurishness. Robert Vickers joined as bassist, McLennan moved to guitar, and piano became a more prominent texture, notably on the lovely “Dusty In Here”. The album includes the masterful “Cattle And Cane”, a taut, minimal, bittersweet reflection on McLennan’s Cairns childhood, written on Nick Cave’s guitar. A slightly reconfigured version of the song features on the fourth CD of rarities. On Spring Hill Fair, the Go-Betweens’ sound shuffles towards something lusher, more pop-savvy. A serrated edge remains on “Five Words” and the lowering “River Of Money”, but by now the band were lining up against the great song stylists of the mid-80s. Washed with synthesisers, “Bachelor Kisses” is animated by the same restrained romanticism as Prefab Sprout’s “When Love Breaks Down” (if anything, the demo is even more swoonsome), while “Part Company” – from its quivering emotional urgency down to its intricate, concentric weave of bass, vocal and fluid guitar lines – is a kissing cousin to The Smiths’ “Reel Around The Fountain”. Parts of Spring Hill Fair point towards the glossier, more measured elegance of the Go-Betweens next phase, bookended by 1986’s Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express and 1988’s 16 Lovers Lane. But that’s another story, for another anthology. For now, Volume One of G Stands For Go-Betweens is a giddy treat, marking the spot where the headlong rush of new beginnings meets the steadying hand of accomplishment. Graeme Thomson Q&A ROBERT FORSTER How hands-on were you on this project? It turned into my Lord Of The Rings! I was really hands-on because I thought it was a great opportunity to represent, and re-present, the Go-Betweens, whose reputation on a broader scale is not necessarily secure. I wanted to get involved to help secure it. A lot of love and attention has gone into it. It’s a wonderful treasure box from another time and another place. What did you learn? We were better than I thought! Grant and I were always quite dismissive of our first album, but going back into it, and listening to the live record from 1982 and the demos, I can hear that we are powerful. The songwriting might not be where I’d like it to be, but the band is good: tight, like elastic, on a knife edge. There’s nothing lazy about it, it’s very visceral and intense. You hear three people throwing everything they’ve got at it. And I’m very proud of The First Five Singles album, which was put together especially for this. I think it can really join our other nine albums. What is your favourite album from this period? I really like Before Hollywood. It was a huge jump and I’m not sure we ever made a jump again as big as that. There were only a few months between making the first two albums, but it was a huge step forward sonically and in terms of songwriting. Was there much hidden treasure? Some tapes were found, demo sessions for Send Me A Lullaby which I never knew about. There were a couple of songs by Grant on there that I wish were on that album. I was struck by the fact that you’re songwriting partnership with Grant should, by rights, still be ongoing. Yes, it should be, but the Go-Betweens made nine albums, which is a substantial amount of work. I don’t mean this in terms of Grant’s passing, but at least there’s a fair amount of work there. The fact that we can do something like an anthology over three volumes I find very satisfying. INTERVIEW: GRAEME THOMSON

The first three albums, the first five singles, outtakes, demos, radio sessions and a live show…

In the 1980s, Australia’s Go-Betweens were the dark horse among all those sharp-edged, sweet-and-sour guitar bands with literary pretensions. For those who found the cult of Morrissey too messianic and Lloyd Cole too self-satisfied, here was a connoisseurs’ choice: a band who name-checked Jean Genet while blending Sixties pop nous, 80s indie elegance, the brittle intensity of post-punk and the wayward non-conformity of The Modern Lovers.

A vehicle for the songs and voices of Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, the Go-Betweens formed in December 1977 in Brisbane and ended their first act in 1989. Six years into a fruitful post-Millennial reunion, they finally ceased trading in 2006 following McLennan’s sudden death from a heart attack. Forster has been plotting this gargantuan eight-disc slab of cultural excavation since shortly after that unhappy event; the first of three planned anthologies, it’s a beautifully conceived exploration of the band’s origins and early evolution.

Included are the first three Go-Betweens albums, Send Me A Lullaby (1982), Before Hollywood (1983), and Spring Hill Fair (1984), as well as all ten sides of their first five 45s, collected here on a new stand-alone LP titled The First Five Singles. Running parallel to these four vinyl albums are four CDs, arranged chronologically, consisting of outtakes, hard-to-find and unreleased demos, radio sessions and a complete (and excellent) live concert, recorded at the Mosman Hotel, Sydney, on April 23, 1982. There are over 100 tracks in all.

Meeting as fellow arts students at the University of Queensland, Forster and McLennan named their band after L.P. Hartley’s 1953 novel, and throughout its lifespan the group’s music was characterised by a darting intellectual curiosity. Debut single “Lee Remick” is a faux-naif piece of fan mail directed at the actress (“She was in The Omen / with Gregory Peck / She got killed / what the heck”), but its dumbness is studied and self-aware; on the B-side, “Karen”, a song clearly in thrall to Patti Smith’s “Gloria”, they’re already name-checking Brecht, Joyce and Chandler.

By 1980, and third single “I Need Two Heads”, the music had started to catch up with the words. Released on Postcard Records following trips to London and Glasgow, the song is an assured blend of The Cure and The Gang Of Four, giving the Go-Betweens their first Top 10 indie hit in the UK. Orange Juice drummer Steven Daly guested on the track, but by the time they started recording Send Me A Lullaby Lindy Morrison had joined on drums. As a settled three piece, the Go-Betweens’ house sound began to emerge: brittle and sharp, with lots of air between Forster’s guitar, McLennan’s bass and Morrison’s idiosyncratic rhythm. “Careless” has the compulsive twitch of early Orange Juice, and the urgent jangle of “Hold Your Horses” has shades of REM’s Chronic Town, but any sweetness is balanced by a sour twist. The vivid psycho-sexual drama of “Eight Pictures” creeps and crawls, the waspish digs at some thespian love-rival (“Same publicity shots for six years”) barely lightening the mood, while “It Could Be Anyone” recalls the neurotic funk of Talking Heads.

Released the following year, Before Hollywood marks a leap forward in both composition and execution, excising any lingering hints of ramshackle amateurishness. Robert Vickers joined as bassist, McLennan moved to guitar, and piano became a more prominent texture, notably on the lovely “Dusty In Here”. The album includes the masterful “Cattle And Cane”, a taut, minimal, bittersweet reflection on McLennan’s Cairns childhood, written on Nick Cave’s guitar. A slightly reconfigured version of the song features on the fourth CD of rarities.

On Spring Hill Fair, the Go-Betweens’ sound shuffles towards something lusher, more pop-savvy. A serrated edge remains on “Five Words” and the lowering “River Of Money”, but by now the band were lining up against the great song stylists of the mid-80s. Washed with synthesisers, “Bachelor Kisses” is animated by the same restrained romanticism as Prefab Sprout’s “When Love Breaks Down” (if anything, the demo is even more swoonsome), while “Part Company” – from its quivering emotional urgency down to its intricate, concentric weave of bass, vocal and fluid guitar lines – is a kissing cousin to The Smiths’ “Reel Around The Fountain”.

Parts of Spring Hill Fair point towards the glossier, more measured elegance of the Go-Betweens next phase, bookended by 1986’s Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express and 1988’s 16 Lovers Lane. But that’s another story, for another anthology. For now, Volume One of G Stands For Go-Betweens is a giddy treat, marking the spot where the headlong rush of new beginnings meets the steadying hand of accomplishment.

Graeme Thomson

Q&A

ROBERT FORSTER

How hands-on were you on this project?

It turned into my Lord Of The Rings! I was really hands-on because I thought it was a great opportunity to represent, and re-present, the Go-Betweens, whose reputation on a broader scale is not necessarily secure. I wanted to get involved to help secure it. A lot of love and attention has gone into it. It’s a wonderful treasure box from another time and another place.

What did you learn?

We were better than I thought! Grant and I were always quite dismissive of our first album, but going back into it, and listening to the live record from 1982 and the demos, I can hear that we are powerful. The songwriting might not be where I’d like it to be, but the band is good: tight, like elastic, on a knife edge. There’s nothing lazy about it, it’s very visceral and intense. You hear three people throwing everything they’ve got at it. And I’m very proud of The First Five Singles album, which was put together especially for this. I think it can really join our other nine albums.

What is your favourite album from this period?

I really like Before Hollywood. It was a huge jump and I’m not sure we ever made a jump again as big as that. There were only a few months between making the first two albums, but it was a huge step forward sonically and in terms of songwriting.

Was there much hidden treasure?

Some tapes were found, demo sessions for Send Me A Lullaby which I never knew about. There were a couple of songs by Grant on there that I wish were on that album.

I was struck by the fact that you’re songwriting partnership with Grant should, by rights, still be ongoing.

Yes, it should be, but the Go-Betweens made nine albums, which is a substantial amount of work. I don’t mean this in terms of Grant’s passing, but at least there’s a fair amount of work there. The fact that we can do something like an anthology over three volumes I find very satisfying.

INTERVIEW: GRAEME THOMSON

Brian May considering running as MP in 2015 general election

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Brian May considering running as MP in 2015 general election

Guitarist may run for office under his Common Decency project... Brian May is considering standing as an independent MP at the general election, a spokesman for the musician has said. Agent Phil Symes said that May, 67, is thinking about standing over "frustration at a system that he sees as failing the electorate", the Mirror reports. Symes added that May, who is currently touring Europe with Queen, could run under his Common Decency project - which aims "to re-establish common decency in our lives, work and Parliament". Though the guitarist owns a wildlife sanctuary at Bere Regis in Dorset, it was said that he had "no plans" to stand in a particular constituency. Outlining the Common Decency project's ethos, May previously said it would push to "get rid of the current government" and the MPs who were in Parliament for reasons other than "representing our interests". "I believe there are good people currently in Parliament, of all political colours, MPs that deserve to be returned in the next election," he wrote on his website. "But there [are] also many people in there dedicated to hanging on to old unfairnesses, powered by selfishness and vested interests, and this element is what needs to be thrown out with the dirty washing. "We need an assembly of altruistic, morally decent, non-career-minded individuals who will not be influenced by personal gain or the colour of their tie as they approach the ballot box." May is a staunch animal rights campaigner, having protested against the badger cull, as well as the Tories' attempts to bring back fox hunting. Bookies are giving the guitarist better odds at becoming an MP (25/1) than comedian Al Murray (33/1), who is campaigning in South Thanet under his "Pub Landlord" character.

Guitarist may run for office under his Common Decency project…

Brian May is considering standing as an independent MP at the general election, a spokesman for the musician has said.

Agent Phil Symes said that May, 67, is thinking about standing over “frustration at a system that he sees as failing the electorate”, the Mirror reports. Symes added that May, who is currently touring Europe with Queen, could run under his Common Decency project – which aims “to re-establish common decency in our lives, work and Parliament”.

Though the guitarist owns a wildlife sanctuary at Bere Regis in Dorset, it was said that he had “no plans” to stand in a particular constituency.

Outlining the Common Decency project’s ethos, May previously said it would push to “get rid of the current government” and the MPs who were in Parliament for reasons other than “representing our interests”.

“I believe there are good people currently in Parliament, of all political colours, MPs that deserve to be returned in the next election,” he wrote on his website. “But there [are] also many people in there dedicated to hanging on to old unfairnesses, powered by selfishness and vested interests, and this element is what needs to be thrown out with the dirty washing.

“We need an assembly of altruistic, morally decent, non-career-minded individuals who will not be influenced by personal gain or the colour of their tie as they approach the ballot box.”

May is a staunch animal rights campaigner, having protested against the badger cull, as well as the Tories’ attempts to bring back fox hunting.

Bookies are giving the guitarist better odds at becoming an MP (25/1) than comedian Al Murray (33/1), who is campaigning in South Thanet under his “Pub Landlord” character.

Iggy Pop rescued injured stray cat on movie set

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Iggy Pop rescued injured stray cat on movie set

The film's director Toby Tobias says Pop was a 'consummate professional' on set... Iggy Pop was a "consummate professional" while shooting his new movie Blood Orange - and even rescued an injured stray cat during his time on set. Pop has a lead role in the Ibiza-set film, playing a rock 'n' roll legend with a beautiful young wife whose idyllic Mediterranean lifestyle is interrupted when her vengeful ex-boyfriend arrives on the island. Discussing the forthcoming film with Metro, director Toby Tobias hailed Pop's performance as "a revelation", explaining: "The film really hinges on his character. He's the man with the plan and his combination of deep cool and natural charisma really shines through on camera." Tobias continued: "[Iggy] was such a gentleman and a consummate professional with a deadly sense of humour. He had a huge amount to take on board, both physically and mentally, and yet he always had time for every member of the crew. He even found time to rescue an injured stray cat!" Blood Orange, which also stars Divergent actor Ben Lamb and The Inbetweeners' Kacey Barnfield, will be released later this year. Iggy Pop's previous acting credits include supporting roles in the films Dead Man and Cry-Baby, as well as TV appearances on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and American Dad!.

The film’s director Toby Tobias says Pop was a ‘consummate professional’ on set…

Iggy Pop was a “consummate professional” while shooting his new movie Blood Orange – and even rescued an injured stray cat during his time on set.

Pop has a lead role in the Ibiza-set film, playing a rock ‘n’ roll legend with a beautiful young wife whose idyllic Mediterranean lifestyle is interrupted when her vengeful ex-boyfriend arrives on the island.

Discussing the forthcoming film with Metro, director Toby Tobias hailed Pop’s performance as “a revelation”, explaining: “The film really hinges on his character. He’s the man with the plan and his combination of deep cool and natural charisma really shines through on camera.”

Tobias continued: “[Iggy] was such a gentleman and a consummate professional with a deadly sense of humour. He had a huge amount to take on board, both physically and mentally, and yet he always had time for every member of the crew. He even found time to rescue an injured stray cat!”

Blood Orange, which also stars Divergent actor Ben Lamb and The Inbetweeners’ Kacey Barnfield, will be released later this year. Iggy Pop’s previous acting credits include supporting roles in the films Dead Man and Cry-Baby, as well as TV appearances on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and American Dad!.

Bob Dylan heading for eighth Number One album

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Bob Dylan heading for eighth Number One album

Shadows In The Night outselling Ed Sheeran and Meghan Trainor... Bob Dylan is on course to be Number One on the Official UK Album Chart for the eighth time in his career this week. Official Chart Company data shows Dylan's new album Shadows In The Night, is ahead of nearest rivals Ed Sheeran and Meghan Trainor. This week's highest new entry so far comes from Dire Straits who re-enter the chart with their 1985 album Brothers In Arms. Other new entries in this week's Official Album Chart at today's midweek stage include Kid Ink (6), Indiana (12), Diana Krall (16), Joey Bada$$ (21) and John Carpenter (32). You can read Uncut's review of Shadows In The Night here.

Shadows In The Night outselling Ed Sheeran and Meghan Trainor…

Bob Dylan is on course to be Number One on the Official UK Album Chart for the eighth time in his career this week.

Official Chart Company data shows Dylan’s new album Shadows In The Night, is ahead of nearest rivals Ed Sheeran and Meghan Trainor.

This week’s highest new entry so far comes from Dire Straits who re-enter the chart with their 1985 album Brothers In Arms. Other new entries in this week’s Official Album Chart at today’s midweek stage include Kid Ink (6), Indiana (12), Diana Krall (16), Joey Bada$$ (21) and John Carpenter (32).

You can read Uncut’s review of Shadows In The Night here.

New Radiohead album: progress report…

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New Radiohead album: progress report…

The band will reenter the studio next month to continue work on the follow-up to 2011's The King Of Limbs... Philip Selway has discussed the progress of the new Radiohead album, saying that the LP is "coming along nicely" but that it might not be released this year. Speaking to Drowned In Sound, the band's drummer commented: "It's all coming along nicely... We worked throughout the autumn up to just before Christmas, and now we're just taking some time away for other projects." He went on to say that they will restart the process next month. "We'll get back to it in March and we'll make an assessment of where we are then, but we've been excited about what we've been doing so far. It's by no means finished yet, so we've got a way to go. It's been a productive time though." When asked about a possible release date, Selway explained: "I wouldn't want to start to predict that kind of thing in a Radiohead schedule because you can find yourself six months down the line saying “I wish I hadn't have said that actually!" In November 2014, Jonny Greenwood gave an update on the progress of the album, stating that they were trying a number of different approaches. "I’m late, they’ve all gone there now," he said. "We're currently playing and recording and it’s fun to see everyone again, it's been a long time coming, we've been waiting all of us for a long time." Uncut's Radiohead: The Ultimate Music Guide is in shops now

The band will reenter the studio next month to continue work on the follow-up to 2011’s The King Of Limbs…

Philip Selway has discussed the progress of the new Radiohead album, saying that the LP is “coming along nicely” but that it might not be released this year.

Speaking to Drowned In Sound, the band’s drummer commented: “It’s all coming along nicely… We worked throughout the autumn up to just before Christmas, and now we’re just taking some time away for other projects.”

He went on to say that they will restart the process next month. “We’ll get back to it in March and we’ll make an assessment of where we are then, but we’ve been excited about what we’ve been doing so far. It’s by no means finished yet, so we’ve got a way to go. It’s been a productive time though.”

When asked about a possible release date, Selway explained: “I wouldn’t want to start to predict that kind of thing in a Radiohead schedule because you can find yourself six months down the line saying “I wish I hadn’t have said that actually!”

In November 2014, Jonny Greenwood gave an update on the progress of the album, stating that they were trying a number of different approaches. “I’m late, they’ve all gone there now,” he said. “We’re currently playing and recording and it’s fun to see everyone again, it’s been a long time coming, we’ve been waiting all of us for a long time.”

Uncut’s Radiohead: The Ultimate Music Guide is in shops now

Jimmy Page confirms he’s “getting match fit” for live plans

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Jimmy Page confirms he’s “getting match fit” for live plans
Jimmy Page has revealed more details of his plans to return to live work with a new band. The guitarist was hosting a listening playback for his remastered ‘companion disc’ to Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti at Olympic Studios in London yesterday (February 3) when he fielded questions on u...

Jimmy Page has revealed more details of his plans to return to live work with a new band.

The guitarist was hosting a listening playback for his remastered ‘companion disc’ to Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti at Olympic Studios in London yesterday (February 3) when he fielded questions on upcoming tour plans.

“I’m in the process of getting match fit,” Page explained, when asked how his preparations were going. “[Live shows] would more or less be closer to the end of the year rather than next month. But you know, I’m definitely warming up on the touchlines, let’s put it that way.”

However, he denied suggestions that he could go out with a guest singer doing Led Zeppelin stuff, in the manner of the reformed Queen and Adam Lambert, saying: “I’m going to do a project on my own. Something quite different – hopefully that you wouldn’t expect from me.”

The Physical Graffiti re-release, out February 23, follows similar reissues last year of the band’s first three albums, as well as Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy.

The bonus disc features the following tracklisting:

‘Brandy & Coke’ (Trampled Under Foot – Initial Rough Mix)

‘Sick Again’ (Early Version)

‘In My Time Of Dying’ (Initial Rough Mix)

‘Houses Of The Holy’ (Rough Mix With Overdubs)

‘Everybody Makes It Through’ (In The Light Early Version/In Transit)

‘Boogie With Stu’ (Sunset Sound Mix)

‘Driving Through Kashmir’ (Kashmir Rough Orchestra Mix)

Photo: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

Björk exhibition details revealed

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Björk exhibition details revealed

The installation will run from March until June of this year... New York's Museum Of Modern Art has announced further details of its upcoming Bjork exhibition. Simply titled Björk, the retrospective dedicated to her career will include Black Lake, "an immersive 10-minute music and film experience" by director Andrew Thomas Huang which runs alongside the song of the same name on her new album Vulnicura. A statement from the museum says the exhibition will use "sound, film, visuals, instruments, objects, costumes, and performance" to detail Bjork's career. "The installation will present a narrative, both biographical and imaginatively fictitious, cowritten by Björk and the acclaimed Icelandic writer Sjón," continues the press release. The exhibition will run from March 8 to June 7 and begin at the same time as the artist's series of live dates in New York. Vulnicura was released in January, two months early, as it had been unofficially leaked. The singer will perform two shows at New York's Carnegie Hall and a further four at the City Center venue between March 7 and April 4 this year. In addition to the new album and exhibition, the singer will also release a career retrospective book in March titled Björk: Archives. The book, which features contributions from directors Chris Cunningham and Spike Jonze, will chart the singer's career through a mixture of poetry, academic analysis, philosophical texts and photographs. Björk will play: New York, Carnegie Hall (March 3, 14) New York, City Center (March 25, 28, April 1, 4)

The installation will run from March until June of this year…

New York’s Museum Of Modern Art has announced further details of its upcoming Bjork exhibition.

Simply titled Björk, the retrospective dedicated to her career will include Black Lake, “an immersive 10-minute music and film experience” by director Andrew Thomas Huang which runs alongside the song of the same name on her new album Vulnicura. A statement from the museum says the exhibition will use “sound, film, visuals, instruments, objects, costumes, and performance” to detail Bjork’s career.

“The installation will present a narrative, both biographical and imaginatively fictitious, cowritten by Björk and the acclaimed Icelandic writer Sjón,” continues the press release. The exhibition will run from March 8 to June 7 and begin at the same time as the artist’s series of live dates in New York. Vulnicura was released in January, two months early, as it had been unofficially leaked.

The singer will perform two shows at New York’s Carnegie Hall and a further four at the City Center venue between March 7 and April 4 this year.

In addition to the new album and exhibition, the singer will also release a career retrospective book in March titled Björk: Archives. The book, which features contributions from directors Chris Cunningham and Spike Jonze, will chart the singer’s career through a mixture of poetry, academic analysis, philosophical texts and photographs.

Björk will play:

New York, Carnegie Hall (March 3, 14)

New York, City Center (March 25, 28, April 1, 4)

Neil Young: vinyl revival is “a fashion statement”

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Neil Young: vinyl revival is “a fashion statement”

Musician said all new products on vinyl "are actually CD masters"... Neil Young has spoken about the revival of vinyl in recent years, calling it "nothing but a fashion statement." Young, who recently launched his own Pono digital music player, said there was no legitimate reason for music lovers to buy vinyl. "A lot of people that buy vinyl today don’t realise that they’re listening to CD masters on vinyl and that’s because the record companies have figured out that people want vinyl," Young said in an interview with Californian radio show Frame. "And they're only making CD masters in digital, so all the new products that come out on vinyl are actually CDs on vinyl, which is really nothing but a fashion statement." Vinyl sales in the UK passed the one million mark last year for the first time since 1997. In the US, the format saw a 49 per cent year-on-year rise, with almost eight million sales. Young added that he did have an appreciation for the resurgence, stating that "it's a great niche and it's a wonderful thing and I hope people continue to enjoy vinyl and it continues to grow because it's a good thing," but maintained that "this is a convenience-oriented society and vinyl is not a convenient thing." Young’s interview was to promote Pono, which offers high-quality audio and is capable of storing up to 2,000 high resolution songs. "I'm saying that it’s a high-resolution digital player,” Young said. “It doesn’t create an analog sound; it creates the best digital sound. It’s capable of creating the best sounds that people can create in the digital realm in the recording studios."

Musician said all new products on vinyl “are actually CD masters”…

Neil Young has spoken about the revival of vinyl in recent years, calling it “nothing but a fashion statement.”

Young, who recently launched his own Pono digital music player, said there was no legitimate reason for music lovers to buy vinyl.

“A lot of people that buy vinyl today don’t realise that they’re listening to CD masters on vinyl and that’s because the record companies have figured out that people want vinyl,” Young said in an interview with Californian radio show Frame. “And they’re only making CD masters in digital, so all the new products that come out on vinyl are actually CDs on vinyl, which is really nothing but a fashion statement.”

Vinyl sales in the UK passed the one million mark last year for the first time since 1997. In the US, the format saw a 49 per cent year-on-year rise, with almost eight million sales. Young added that he did have an appreciation for the resurgence, stating that “it’s a great niche and it’s a wonderful thing and I hope people continue to enjoy vinyl and it continues to grow because it’s a good thing,” but maintained that “this is a convenience-oriented society and vinyl is not a convenient thing.”

Young’s interview was to promote Pono, which offers high-quality audio and is capable of storing up to 2,000 high resolution songs. “I’m saying that it’s a high-resolution digital player,” Young said. “It doesn’t create an analog sound; it creates the best digital sound. It’s capable of creating the best sounds that people can create in the digital realm in the recording studios.”

The Replacements announce first UK show in 24 years

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The Replacements announce first UK show in 24 years
The Replacements have announced their first UK show in 24 years. The band will play London's Roundhouse on June 2. Tickets cost £33.50 and £39.50 and go on sale at 9:00am on Friday, February 6. You can find more details at the Roundhouse's website. The band, led by Paul Westerberg and Tommy St...

The Replacements have announced their first UK show in 24 years.

The band will play London’s Roundhouse on June 2.

Tickets cost £33.50 and £39.50 and go on sale at 9:00am on Friday, February 6.

You can find more details at the Roundhouse’s website.

The band, led by Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson. reunited in 2012 and played their first live shows in over two decades the following year. The band’s line-up has been augmented by guitarist Dave Minehan and drummer Josh Freese.

The Replacements last played the UK on April 16, 1991 at London’s Marquee Club. Scroll down to watch footage partly recorded at the show.

Aside from the Roundhouse show, the band have announced two other European shows.

The Replacements will play:

28 May – Barcelona – Primavera Sound

30 May – Amsterdam – Paradiso

02 June – London – Roundhouse

Photo credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Belle And Sebastian – Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance

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Belle And Sebastian – Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance

Stuart Murdoch returns in mature style on eclectic ninth... The opening song of Belle And Sebastian’s ninth album proper is about the darkest time in Stuart Murdoch’s life. Towards the end of the 1980s, as his teens turned to student twenties, the singer, songwriter, guitarist and, more recently, screenwriter and director, was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. For seven years, Murdoch was isolated and suicidal, consoling himself with ‘60s pop and heavy metal, dreaming of being able to go out with girls, pondering the existence of God. It’s a pit of youthful despair he writes about, for the first time, in “Nobody’s Empire”, crediting '”my father” and an unnamed female best friend for saving his life and allowing him to “leave that vision of Hell to the dying.” Murdoch has spoken in public about the CFS years many times. But its significant that only now, 18 years after he formed Belle And Sebastian over cups of tea in a Glasgow café, has he chosen to write a song so nakedly autobiographical. In the four years since the mediocre Belle and Sebastian Write About Love, the band have parted company from Rough Trade and signed for their third label, the perennially hip American imprint Matador, while Murdoch published a collection of his online diaries, The Celestial Café, and, wrote, produced and directed his first film, God Help The Girl. The band’s leader is now a 46-year-old husband and father with a portfolio career and a band who, with the crucial part they played in Murdoch’s recovery to rude health, perfectly dramatise the healing power of making music. Girls In Peacetime Wants To Dance feels like a creative rebirth for a band who were beginning to feel like nothing more than the day job. A plaintive couplet from “Nobody’s Empire” stands out and sets the tone for an album that feels horrified by the modern world yet simultaneously convinced that creativity is solace, solution and hiding place: “If we live by books/And we live by hope/Does that make us targets for gunfire?” The themes that Murdoch himself suggests define the album are “the power of music and how much we need it. But also how the individual is affected by politics and media and the pressure that comes from the 24-hour news cycle.” In that context, the “bombs in the middle east” and “knives in the city streets” of the soft-rocking “Allie” and the “grubby little red MP/Yellow flapping hopelessly” while the Tory remains “The Cat With The Cream” over an ominous, unlikely fusion of Abba and The Velvets, are juxtaposed with the sheer wonder of making art celebrated in “The Everlasting Muse”, whereby hints of Getz/Gilberto are employed to sum up Murdoch’s career-long insistence that everything good about the world is inevitably feminine. “Enter Sylvia Plath” and “Play For Today” are bookish, smart and elegantly British over a disco beat, and you wonder why you never saw the B&S/Pet Shop Boys comparison before. Meanwhile, fellow B&S members compliment Murdoch’s strong material with some of their finest contributions to date. Stevie Jackson’s “Perfect Couples” is resonant observation over kitsch lounge-funk, as our hero watches role model couples collapse and loses faith in everlasting love. But the album’s major earworm is Sarah Martin’s “The Power Of Three”, which has a synth and strings hook that breaks your heart while fine-tuning B&S’s uncanny knack for conjuring fantasies of swinging ‘60s girl-beat while sounding entirely like state-of-the-art pop. New producer Ben H. Allen III does a sterling job of making Belle And Sebastian most stylistically eclectic record into something coherent and crunchily satisfying. Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance is one of those records which sees the artists going back to the past – even if it means revisiting bad memories – in order to remind themselves why they bother, and move forward. It’s the collective’s best since Dear Catastrophe Waitress, and sees off the potential chronic fatigue syndrome of being Belle & Sebastian for just a little too long. Garry Mulholland Q&A Stuart Murdoch Where does the album title come from? “It’s a line from a poem… kind of a spare song title we had lying around. It felt like the right title to put with the images for the album cover, which came to me in a dream. The weird robot girl.” “The Everlasting Muse” sounds like an attempt to sum up all your many songs about wanting to understand and worship women… “Well, if it does, it wasn’t intentional. It was the first song that came along. I was in Switzerland at the end of a tour with the band, on a bicycle thinking, ‘God… I have to write! I have no idea where these songs are gonna come from.’ And I felt like appealing to ‘the muse’. Its not far away from the sentiment of an Abba song: you know, “Thank You For The Music”. I’m doing my best to flirt with the spirit of music.” You took time off from B&S to make your debut as a screenwriter and director. Now God Help The Girl is out in the world, how did you find the process? “In some regards, I found that I fit much more into the film world than the music world. With movie people you can talk about the whole gamut of life and emotion. But I do feel quite battered and bruised by launching something that I thought was so precious and guiding it through a commercial release without having the support of a record or film company. That could be quite dispiriting. So I’m happy to be back in the fold.” INTERVIEW: GARRY MULHOLLAND

Stuart Murdoch returns in mature style on eclectic ninth…

The opening song of Belle And Sebastian’s ninth album proper is about the darkest time in Stuart Murdoch’s life. Towards the end of the 1980s, as his teens turned to student twenties, the singer, songwriter, guitarist and, more recently, screenwriter and director, was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. For seven years, Murdoch was isolated and suicidal, consoling himself with ‘60s pop and heavy metal, dreaming of being able to go out with girls, pondering the existence of God. It’s a pit of youthful despair he writes about, for the first time, in “Nobody’s Empire”, crediting ‘”my father” and an unnamed female best friend for saving his life and allowing him to “leave that vision of Hell to the dying.”

Murdoch has spoken in public about the CFS years many times. But its significant that only now, 18 years after he formed Belle And Sebastian over cups of tea in a Glasgow café, has he chosen to write a song so nakedly autobiographical. In the four years since the mediocre Belle and Sebastian Write About Love, the band have parted company from Rough Trade and signed for their third label, the perennially hip American imprint Matador, while Murdoch published a collection of his online diaries, The Celestial Café, and, wrote, produced and directed his first film, God Help The Girl. The band’s leader is now a 46-year-old husband and father with a portfolio career and a band who, with the crucial part they played in Murdoch’s recovery to rude health, perfectly dramatise the healing power of making music. Girls In Peacetime Wants To Dance feels like a creative rebirth for a band who were beginning to feel like nothing more than the day job.

A plaintive couplet from “Nobody’s Empire” stands out and sets the tone for an album that feels horrified by the modern world yet simultaneously convinced that creativity is solace, solution and hiding place: “If we live by books/And we live by hope/Does that make us targets for gunfire?”

The themes that Murdoch himself suggests define the album are “the power of music and how much we need it. But also how the individual is affected by politics and media and the pressure that comes from the 24-hour news cycle.” In that context, the “bombs in the middle east” and “knives in the city streets” of the soft-rocking “Allie” and the “grubby little red MP/Yellow flapping hopelessly” while the Tory remains “The Cat With The Cream” over an ominous, unlikely fusion of Abba and The Velvets, are juxtaposed with the sheer wonder of making art celebrated in “The Everlasting Muse”, whereby hints of Getz/Gilberto are employed to sum up Murdoch’s career-long insistence that everything good about the world is inevitably feminine. “Enter Sylvia Plath” and “Play For Today” are bookish, smart and elegantly British over a disco beat, and you wonder why you never saw the B&S/Pet Shop Boys comparison before.

Meanwhile, fellow B&S members compliment Murdoch’s strong material with some of their finest contributions to date. Stevie Jackson’s “Perfect Couples” is resonant observation over kitsch lounge-funk, as our hero watches role model couples collapse and loses faith in everlasting love. But the album’s major earworm is Sarah Martin’s “The Power Of Three”, which has a synth and strings hook that breaks your heart while fine-tuning B&S’s uncanny knack for conjuring fantasies of swinging ‘60s girl-beat while sounding entirely like state-of-the-art pop.

New producer Ben H. Allen III does a sterling job of making Belle And Sebastian most stylistically eclectic record into something coherent and crunchily satisfying. Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance is one of those records which sees the artists going back to the past – even if it means revisiting bad memories – in order to remind themselves why they bother, and move forward. It’s the collective’s best since Dear Catastrophe Waitress, and sees off the potential chronic fatigue syndrome of being Belle & Sebastian for just a little too long.

Garry Mulholland

Q&A

Stuart Murdoch

Where does the album title come from?

“It’s a line from a poem… kind of a spare song title we had lying around. It felt like the right title to put with the images for the album cover, which came to me in a dream. The weird robot girl.”

“The Everlasting Muse” sounds like an attempt to sum up all your many songs about wanting to understand and worship women…

“Well, if it does, it wasn’t intentional. It was the first song that came along. I was in Switzerland at the end of a tour with the band, on a bicycle thinking, ‘God… I have to write! I have no idea where these songs are gonna come from.’ And I felt like appealing to ‘the muse’. Its not far away from the sentiment of an Abba song: you know, “Thank You For The Music”. I’m doing my best to flirt with the spirit of music.”

You took time off from B&S to make your debut as a screenwriter and director. Now God Help The Girl is out in the world, how did you find the process?

“In some regards, I found that I fit much more into the film world than the music world. With movie people you can talk about the whole gamut of life and emotion. But I do feel quite battered and bruised by launching something that I thought was so precious and guiding it through a commercial release without having the support of a record or film company. That could be quite dispiriting. So I’m happy to be back in the fold.”

INTERVIEW: GARRY MULHOLLAND

Chic to release first new LP in over 20 years

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Chic to release first new LP in over 20 years

Album due out this June... Chic are to release their first new album since 1992's Chic-Ism. Spin reports that the group have signed to Warner Bros Records and plan to put out a new single on March 20, with an album coming in June. Chic were founded in the mid-seventies by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards, who passed away in 1996. Recently, Rodgers co-wrote and performed on three songs off Daft Punk's 2013 album Random Access Memories, including the single "Get Lucky". "Nile has never stopped moving forward, so I am thrilled to welcome him into the WBR family as he begins a dynamic new chapter of his extraordinary career," said Warner Bros Records Chairman and CEO Cameron Strang upon the announcement.

Album due out this June…

Chic are to release their first new album since 1992’s Chic-Ism.

Spin reports that the group have signed to Warner Bros Records and plan to put out a new single on March 20, with an album coming in June.

Chic were founded in the mid-seventies by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards, who passed away in 1996. Recently, Rodgers co-wrote and performed on three songs off Daft Punk’s 2013 album Random Access Memories, including the single “Get Lucky“.

“Nile has never stopped moving forward, so I am thrilled to welcome him into the WBR family as he begins a dynamic new chapter of his extraordinary career,” said Warner Bros Records Chairman and CEO Cameron Strang upon the announcement.

Recently discovered photographs of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones go on sale via eBay

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Recently discovered photographs of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones go on sale via eBay

A recently uncovered collection of rare and intimate images of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones has been made available to purchase via eBay. The photographs were taken by Bob Bonis, who served as US tour manager for both bands from 1964 to 1966. Included in the archive are shots from a never-before-seen Rolling Stones recording session at Chess Records Studio in Chicago, plus what are said to be the only close up photos of The Beatles taken during their 1965 stadium performance in Minnesota. The photographs will be made available to purchase over the next two years in limited edition prints beginning at $175 (£116). Once an edition sells out, it will never be reprinted. "eBay connects shoppers to the things they love, and The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are unequivocally two of the most revered rock bands of all time," said Gene Cook, General Manager of Emerging Verticals for eBay Marketplaces. "Bringing the Bob Bonis Archives to eBay makes this incredible inventory available to our global community of 155 million buyers. These images offer a remarkable backstage pass to truly amazing, very human moments." Just last November, unused photos from The Beatles' Abbey Road photo shoot were sold for £180,000 at Bloomsbury Auctions in London. The shots were taken on August 8, 1969 by photographer Iain Macmillan, who had only 10 minutes to complete the entire shoot. Six photos were taken in all, including the photo that eventually made the final cut, as well as a scenery shot of the Abbey Road sign.

A recently uncovered collection of rare and intimate images of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones has been made available to purchase via eBay.

The photographs were taken by Bob Bonis, who served as US tour manager for both bands from 1964 to 1966. Included in the archive are shots from a never-before-seen Rolling Stones recording session at Chess Records Studio in Chicago, plus what are said to be the only close up photos of The Beatles taken during their 1965 stadium performance in Minnesota.

The photographs will be made available to purchase over the next two years in limited edition prints beginning at $175 (£116). Once an edition sells out, it will never be reprinted.

“eBay connects shoppers to the things they love, and The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are unequivocally two of the most revered rock bands of all time,” said Gene Cook, General Manager of Emerging Verticals for eBay Marketplaces. “Bringing the Bob Bonis Archives to eBay makes this incredible inventory available to our global community of 155 million buyers. These images offer a remarkable backstage pass to truly amazing, very human moments.”

Just last November, unused photos from The Beatles’ Abbey Road photo shoot were sold for £180,000 at Bloomsbury Auctions in London. The shots were taken on August 8, 1969 by photographer Iain Macmillan, who had only 10 minutes to complete the entire shoot. Six photos were taken in all, including the photo that eventually made the final cut, as well as a scenery shot of the Abbey Road sign.

Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra and other pressing business…

Michael Bonner
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Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra and other pressing business…
It’s an auspicious week in the Uncut offices. As I'm sure many of you already know, Bob Dylan’s new album Shadows In The Night is now on sale. I’ve written about the album at length here, a collection of standards from the Great American Songbook popularised by Frank Sinatra. Among its many p...

It’s an auspicious week in the Uncut offices. As I’m sure many of you already know, Bob Dylan’s new album Shadows In The Night is now on sale.

I’ve written about the album at length here, a collection of standards from the Great American Songbook popularised by Frank Sinatra. Among its many positive attributes, Shadows In The Night reveals the scale of Dylan’s affection for Sinatra.

It’s tempting to speculate how Sinatra himself would have responded to the album. Although by all accounts, the two men had a cordial relationship, Sinatra wasn’t especially well disposed towards rock’n’roll; at least in its earliest days. Indeed, writing in October, 1957 for French magazine Western World, Frank Sinatra made his views abundantly clear. “My only deep sorrow,” he said, “is the unrelenting insistence of recording and motion picture companies upon purveying the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression it has been my displeasure to hear – naturally I refer to the bulk of rock ‘n’ roll.” He continued in this vein before concluding, “It manages to be the martial music of every sideburned delinquent on the face of the earth.”

As a representative of a more conservative generation, Sinatra’s reaction to rock’n’roll was perhaps understandable. In a busy period of shifting musical tastes, Tin Pan Alley and the old-style Broadway traditional that had supplied Sinatra with his repertoire were being swept away. All the same, by 1960, Sinatra appeared to have reviewed his position. In May that year, he hosted a TV special to welcome home Elvis Presley after serving out his military service in Germany; the two singers even duetted together on “Love Me Tender” and “Witchcraft”.

Sinatra further engaged with other members of the rock’n’roll fraternity – “cretinous goons”, as he’d described them in the Western World article – including The Beatles. He covered both “Yesterday” and “Something” (the latter he described as “one of the best love songs to be written in the past 50 or 100 years”). But while Sinatra rejected a Paul McCartney composition called “Suicide”, Ringo appeared to enjoy better luck: he approached Sinatra to record a special birthday message for his wife, who responded with “Maureen Is A Champ”, a reworking of “The Lady Is A Tramp” with the lines, “She married Ringo and she could have had Paul / That’s why the lady is a champ”. George Harrison even visited the studio while Sinatra was working on his 1968 album, Cycles (which included a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “From Both Sides, Now”).

John Lennon and McCartney, meanwhile, attended Sinatra’s February, 1977 show at the Royal Albert Hall, where in among the usual standards, Sinatra covered Elton John’s “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word”. Lennon admitted he wished Sinatra would record the Walls And Bridges song, “Nobody Loves You (When You’re Down At Out)”, telling Playboy in 1980, “He would do a perfect job with it.” Later, commenting after Lennon’s assassination, Sinatra was moved to admit, “Lennon was a most talented man and above all, a gentle soul. John and his colleagues set a high standard by which contemporary music continues to be measured.”

In 1960, Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, Reprise, ostensibly to allow himself greater artistic freedom. In 1963, he sold Reprise to Warner Bros, and soon found himself sharing a label with Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Neil Young among others; in 1976, Warners deactivated Reprise, bringing across all of its artists except Sinatra and Young, who remained as the label’s only two signings. Young remained loyal to Sinatra, who he described as “one of the greatest legends ever in the history of music”.

As he grew older, Sinatra’s trenchant views on rock music appeared to mellow. He returned to the studio after a ten-year hiatus to record 1993’s Duets album, which featured Sinatra in company of a number of younger artists, who were all invited to record their parts remotely. Among the artists participating were Bono, Aretha Franklin and Carly Simon. Sinatra repeated the procedure the following year for Duets II, this time featuring Chrissie Hynde, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder and Linda Ronstadt. He would also cover songs by Paul Simon, John Denver and Billy Joel.

Interviewed by New Jersey Monthly in 2011, Sinatra’s widow, Barbara, recalled hosting a dinner party for her husband attended by Bob Dylan and Sinatra’s fellow New Jerseyite, Bruce Springsteen. “They had long conversations at that party,” she disclosed. “There was a kinship there.” Certainly, by the time it came to Sinatra’s 80th birthday celebrations in 1995, Springsteen and Dylan were both very much in the tent. Springsteen opened the show with “Angel Eyes”, while Dylan closed the show with “Restless Farewell”, reportedly performed at Sinatra’s request. Interviewed by Newsweek in 1997, Dylan revealed he had even contemplated working with Sinatra. “The tone of his voice,” he explained, “it’s like a cello. Me and Don Was wanted to record him doing Hank Williams songs.”

Meanwhile, Dylan and Springsteen were among the mourners at Sinatra’s funeral, there to pay their respects alongside old school A listers including Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas.

And with that, I should probably mention a few other things that have been exciting us in the Uncut office. With the gloomy realisation that we’re drawing ever closer to the end of Parks And Recreation, the hunt is on to find a suitable replacement. John’s opted for 30 Rock – a fine choice, admittedly, but I’m working my way through the first series of Community, which is terrific so far. I’d also like to recommend a couple of books. There’s Mick Houghton’s excellent Sandy Denny biography, I’ve Always Kept A Unicorn, which is due out on March 5, and also Kim Gordon‘s excellent autobiography, Girl In A Band, which is published in the UK on February 24. I’ll try and blog about Kim’s book later this week.

Anyway, all it leaves me to do is gently remind you that the current issue of Uncut is in shops now – and you can also pick up a digital edition by clicking here. In the issue itself, you’ll find pieces on The Smiths, Kraftwerk, The War On Drugs, Tim Buckley, Steve Cropper, Ennio Morricone, The Charlatans, Devo as well as our extensive reviews section. Meanwhile, our free CD, Fresh Meat, includes tracks from Phosphorescent, Father John Misty, Duke Garwood, Rhiannon Giddens, Dutch Uncles, The Unthanks and more.

We’d love know what you think about the current issue and also Shadows In The Night. So please drop us a line at uncut_feedback@timeinc.com.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

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