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Watch video for unreleased Can track

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Legendary German experimental band Can have released a video taken from their new 3 CD boxset of unreleased tracks Can - The Lost Tapes. The video, for the track "Messer, Scissors, Fork And Light", has been directed by Nick Cave collaborators, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. Can - The Lost Tapes is a three CD compilation of recently unearthed and catalogued archive material from 1968 - 1975. You can read Uncut's review when it goes live on www.uncut.co.uk tomorrow. Meawhile, enjoy the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUwBdGAbrMA

Legendary German experimental band Can have released a video taken from their new 3 CD boxset of unreleased tracks Can – The Lost Tapes.

The video, for the track “Messer, Scissors, Fork And Light“, has been directed by Nick Cave collaborators, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard.

Can – The Lost Tapes is a three CD compilation of recently unearthed and catalogued archive material from 1968 – 1975. You can read Uncut’s review when it goes live on www.uncut.co.uk tomorrow.

Meawhile, enjoy the video here:

Pearl Jam management executive charged with fraud

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The former chief financial officer for Pearl Jam's management company has been charged with 33 counts of theft. According to Associated Press, 54-year-old Rickey Charles Goodrich, of Navato, California, is alleged to have swindled $380,000 from 2006 until he was fired in September 2010. Prosecutors allege that Goodrich transferred the money from Curtis Management to fund personal use, including family holidays.

The former chief financial officer for Pearl Jam‘s management company has been charged with 33 counts of theft.

According to Associated Press, 54-year-old Rickey Charles Goodrich, of Navato, California, is alleged to have swindled $380,000 from 2006 until he was fired in September 2010.

Prosecutors allege that Goodrich transferred the money from Curtis Management to fund personal use, including family holidays.

Patti Smith – Banga

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Sweet music, heavy issues on first collection of original material since 2004... Patti Smith was the president of a fan club that had just one member,” wrote Luc Sante earlier this year, reminiscing about the artist’s nascent early 70s notoriety, “but a hundred idols.” Now in her 60s, releasing her eleventh studio album, this habit of passionate devotion clearly hasn’t deserted her. Reporting from the Banga launch party, Uncut’s Michael Bonner told of how while chatting to Patti, he quickly became aware of the “symmetries, references and associations that resonate through the album - among them, the lives and achievements of artists, explorers, A-list film stars, emperors and saints”. And so you won’t be surprised to find that the cast of Banga quite naturally includes Amerigo Vespucci, Amy Winehouse, Maria Schneider, Johnny Depp, Nikolai Gogol, Andrei Tarkovsky, Sun Ra, St Francis of Assisi and Neil Young. Not to mention Pontius Pilate’s dog. But the star of show is quite obviously Patti Lee Smith. Talking on a CBS breakfast chat show ahead of the release of “April Fool” she talked of how, when she first saw Jim Morrison as a teenager, her gut reaction, beyond rapture, bliss or lust was a mysterious, premonitory “yeah, I could do that”. It’s this casual chutzpah, the determination of the beanpole South Jersey schoolgirl to take the stage, carry the torch, quite naturally, undeferentially consider poets, painters and matinee idols, not just icons but conversational peers, that is still the most punk thing about her. The title track, and finest moment on the album, is a classic example of Smith’s radical democracy of reference. The song is named after Pontius Pilate’s dog as depicted in Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita (the novel that inspired “Sympathy For The Devil” as well as sundry lesser tracks by Pearl Jam and Franz Ferdinand). Smith finds in Banga a symbol of enduring faith, a dog who stayed loyal and loving to its notorious master through his long torment following the crucifixion. In a stroke of absurd genius she chooses to marry this tale to a pounding revamp of the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog”, and somehow alchemically transforms it from the anthem of scuzz-rock self-abasement into something heroically long-suffering and even noble. The trials of keeping the faith might be the key theme to the record. The album opens with “Amerigo”, a stately, string-swathed song told from the perspective of the first European voyagers to America. Commanded to baptise the heathens, they are instead impressed by the lovely liberty of the native Americans: “such a delight to watch them dance, free of sacrifice or romance”. It closes with a simple, plaintive take on “After The Goldrush”, Neil Young’s Silent-Running-style dream of elect spaceships fleeing the wasteland of the earth. With help from a schoolkid choir, Smith updates the coda to “look at Mother Nature on the run in the 21st century”. The betrayed promise of America and the despoiled Eden of the New World hang heavy over the album, and on many songs Smith casts her self as some oracle in reverse, attempting to justify the ways of man to God. Funnily enough this doesn’t stop it from being in many ways the sweetest album she’s ever recorded: “April Fool” is heavy with references to Gogol, but is rendered as light as a spring breeze by a shimmering, serpentine solo courtesey of long-time associate Tom Verlaine. “This Is The Girl”, the elegy for her fellow disciple of Ronnie Spector, Amy Winehouse, is a twinkling piece of 50s Lynch-pop drenched in blood and wine, making literal Brian Wilson’s ambition of composing “teenage symphonies to God”. By contrast the more ambitious numbers don’t always come off: “Tarkovsky” is an endearingly mad attempt to splice her poem “The Boy, The Beast and The Butterfly” to a riff from Sun Ra’s “The Second Stop Is Jupiter” which doesn’t quite fulfill its promise, while “Constantine’s Dream” is a dense meditation on the competing vocations of art and faith, via the lives of Francis of Assisi, Emperor Constantine, painter Piero della Francesca and Christopher Columbus that feels a little academic. These songs are too studious, feel too much the product of Smith’s evident scholarship, rather than her radical wildness. At her best, and across much of Banga, Patti Smith still dramatises the distance between South Jersey and the San Francesco basilica, the street tussle between the poet and the factory girl, the devotion of the mongrels of faith for the betrayers of salvation. Stephen Troussé

Sweet music, heavy issues on first collection of original material since 2004…

Patti Smith was the president of a fan club that had just one member,” wrote Luc Sante earlier this year, reminiscing about the artist’s nascent early 70s notoriety, “but a hundred idols.” Now in her 60s, releasing her eleventh studio album, this habit of passionate devotion clearly hasn’t deserted her. Reporting from the Banga launch party, Uncut’s Michael Bonner told of how while chatting to Patti, he quickly became aware of the “symmetries, references and associations that resonate through the album – among them, the lives and achievements of artists, explorers, A-list film stars, emperors and saints”. And so you won’t be surprised to find that the cast of Banga quite naturally includes Amerigo Vespucci, Amy Winehouse, Maria Schneider, Johnny Depp, Nikolai Gogol, Andrei Tarkovsky, Sun Ra, St Francis of Assisi and Neil Young. Not to mention Pontius Pilate’s dog.

But the star of show is quite obviously Patti Lee Smith. Talking on a CBS breakfast chat show ahead of the release of “April Fool” she talked of how, when she first saw Jim Morrison as a teenager, her gut reaction, beyond rapture, bliss or lust was a mysterious, premonitory “yeah, I could do that”. It’s this casual chutzpah, the determination of the beanpole South Jersey schoolgirl to take the stage, carry the torch, quite naturally, undeferentially consider poets, painters and matinee idols, not just icons but conversational peers, that is still the most punk thing about her.

The title track, and finest moment on the album, is a classic example of Smith’s radical democracy of reference. The song is named after Pontius Pilate’s dog as depicted in Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita (the novel that inspired “Sympathy For The Devil” as well as sundry lesser tracks by Pearl Jam and Franz Ferdinand). Smith finds in Banga a symbol of enduring faith, a dog who stayed loyal and loving to its notorious master through his long torment following the crucifixion. In a stroke of absurd genius she chooses to marry this tale to a pounding revamp of the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog”, and somehow alchemically transforms it from the anthem of scuzz-rock self-abasement into something heroically long-suffering and even noble.

The trials of keeping the faith might be the key theme to the record. The album opens with “Amerigo”, a stately, string-swathed song told from the perspective of the first European voyagers to America. Commanded to baptise the heathens, they are instead impressed by the lovely liberty of the native Americans: “such a delight to watch them dance, free of sacrifice or romance”. It closes with a simple, plaintive take on “After The Goldrush”, Neil Young’s Silent-Running-style dream of elect spaceships fleeing the wasteland of the earth. With help from a schoolkid choir, Smith updates the coda to “look at Mother Nature on the run in the 21st century”.

The betrayed promise of America and the despoiled Eden of the New World hang heavy over the album, and on many songs Smith casts her self as some oracle in reverse, attempting to justify the ways of man to God. Funnily enough this doesn’t stop it from being in many ways the sweetest album she’s ever recorded: “April Fool” is heavy with references to Gogol, but is rendered as light as a spring breeze by a shimmering, serpentine solo courtesey of long-time associate Tom Verlaine. “This Is The Girl”, the elegy for her fellow disciple of Ronnie Spector, Amy Winehouse, is a twinkling piece of 50s Lynch-pop drenched in blood and wine, making literal Brian Wilson’s ambition of composing “teenage symphonies to God”.

By contrast the more ambitious numbers don’t always come off: “Tarkovsky” is an endearingly mad attempt to splice her poem “The Boy, The Beast and The Butterfly” to a riff from Sun Ra’s “The Second Stop Is Jupiter” which doesn’t quite fulfill its promise, while “Constantine’s Dream” is a dense meditation on the competing vocations of art and faith, via the lives of Francis of Assisi, Emperor Constantine, painter Piero della Francesca and Christopher Columbus that feels a little academic. These songs are too studious, feel too much the product of Smith’s evident scholarship, rather than her radical wildness. At her best, and across much of Banga, Patti Smith still dramatises the distance between South Jersey and the San Francesco basilica, the street tussle between the poet and the factory girl, the devotion of the mongrels of faith for the betrayers of salvation.

Stephen Troussé

New exhibition featuring rare photos of The Beatles goes on display in New York

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A new exhibition featuring photos of The Beatles' first tour of America has opened in New York. The Liverpool legends' first journey to the US and the height of the Beatlemania craze in the early 1960s was photographed by Curt Gunther, and a retrospective of his work, Unseen Beatles, is currently taking place at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in Soho, New York. Speaking of how close he was to the band, Gunther's son told Rolling Stone magazine: "He was there on every plane ride and in every hotel room. I think there was real, genuine affection between The Beatles and my dad." The photos the photographer collected include not just the band playing live, but also of their downtime, with them riding horses and goofing around with manager Brian Epstein. Peter Blachley, co-founder of the Morrison Hotel Gallery, said: "You can see it in the photographs. There were no handlers. Just, 'Hang out, you're one of the band now'." Alongside Gunther's photos are pictures by another photographer close to the band, Robert Whitaker, who famously posed the band with a number of dismembered toy dolls and raw meat for the album cover of US release, Yesterday And Today. The Unseen Beatles exhibition of Robert Whitaker and Curt Gunther's work is on throughout the Summer. For more info visit morrisonhotelgallery.com.

A new exhibition featuring photos of The Beatles‘ first tour of America has opened in New York.

The Liverpool legends’ first journey to the US and the height of the Beatlemania craze in the early 1960s was photographed by Curt Gunther, and a retrospective of his work, Unseen Beatles, is currently taking place at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in Soho, New York.

Speaking of how close he was to the band, Gunther’s son told Rolling Stone magazine: “He was there on every plane ride and in every hotel room. I think there was real, genuine affection between The Beatles and my dad.”

The photos the photographer collected include not just the band playing live, but also of their downtime, with them riding horses and goofing around with manager Brian Epstein. Peter Blachley, co-founder of the Morrison Hotel Gallery, said: “You can see it in the photographs. There were no handlers. Just, ‘Hang out, you’re one of the band now’.”

Alongside Gunther’s photos are pictures by another photographer close to the band, Robert Whitaker, who famously posed the band with a number of dismembered toy dolls and raw meat for the album cover of US release, Yesterday And Today.

The Unseen Beatles exhibition of Robert Whitaker and Curt Gunther’s work is on throughout the Summer. For more info visit morrisonhotelgallery.com.

Bon Iver announce UK and Ireland arena tour

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Bon Iver have announced a UK and Ireland arena tour for later this year. The folk band, who are already confirmed to headline this summer's Latitude festival, will play five arena shows in November. The dates are part of a full European tour. The gigs kick off on November 8 at London's Wembley Ar...

Bon Iver have announced a UK and Ireland arena tour for later this year.

The folk band, who are already confirmed to headline this summer’s Latitude festival, will play five arena shows in November. The dates are part of a full European tour.

The gigs kick off on November 8 at London’s Wembley Arena and run until November 10 when the band headline Dublin’s O2 Arena. They will also play dates in Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast.

Bon Iver release a new EP today (June 19). The EP, which is simply titled ‘iTunes Session EP‘, contains a total of seven tracks, all of which were recorded live. Among the tracks scheduled for release is a cover of Bjork‘s ‘Who Is It?’ and the band’s recent single ‘Holocene’.

As well as this, the band announced yesterday (June 18) that they have helped to design a sneaker for ‘cruelty free’ footwear brand Keep.

The double Grammy-winning musician has joined forces with Los Angeles based company Keep to make a ‘salmon’ pink canvas shoe, which features “herringbone accents” and “a black fishbone detail across the toe”.

Bon Iver will play:

London Wembley Arena (November 8)

Manchester Arena (9)

Glasgow SECC (10)

Dublin O2 Arena (12)

Keith Richards confirms July meeting to discuss Rolling Stones’ anniversary bash

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Keith Richards has confirmed that the Rolling Stones will meet in London in July to discuss their 50th anniversary plans. "It's all very hush-hush," Richards is quoted in Rolling Stone. "I'm going over to London for a bit, so I'll find out more then." The guitarist confirmed that the band will als...

Keith Richards has confirmed that the Rolling Stones will meet in London in July to discuss their 50th anniversary plans.

“It’s all very hush-hush,” Richards is quoted in Rolling Stone. “I’m going over to London for a bit, so I’ll find out more then.”

The guitarist confirmed that the band will also discuss whether they will record any new material, their first since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. “We’re going to talk about that in July and see. I mean, I’d love to get some tracks down and see what songs we’ve got. And that goes along with part of getting the band back together and getting things moving. So I’d love to cut some tracks, yeah.”

Richards also revealed that he’d still like to tour in 2013. “I’d like to get a couple of shows down and see how it goes,” Richards said. “But I’d love it.”

The band reconvened in April in New York, where they inviting a film crew led by director Brett Morgen to shoot footage for a documentary celebrating the group’s anniversary, due for release in September.

“We played everything, really,” said Richards. “We’re just getting our chops together. It was like playing in the garage, a maintenance check, you know?”

Earlier this week the band denied tabloid reports they were to bow out with a headline slot at next year’s Glastonbury festival.

In a Twitter post the band said, “Every year the @RollingStones are asked to play this UK festival..but playing Glastonbury is not in our plans”.

Meanwhile, A new photography exhibition called The Rolling Stones: 50 is set to open at London’s Somerset House this summer.

The free exhibition will be held from July 13 – August 27 in the landmark venue’s East Wing Galleries and will coincide with the release of a book of the same time. The book will feature 700 shots and words from the band on their history, and will hit UK bookshops on July 12.

The exhibition will show a host of unseen and rare photographs, including more than 70 prints, with live shots, studio images and reportage pictures on display as well as contact sheets and negative strips.

The 25th Uncut Playlist Of 2012

A serene beginning this morning, with a new Terry Riley album, “Aleph”. Over on my 40 Favourites Of 2012 Thus Far blog, however, things became a little less genteel yesterday, as you can see in the comments thread at the bottom of the chart. Please join in; the general discussion about this year’s releases, that is, rather than the irate trolling. A mixed bag here in this week’s chart, but a few things worth explaining: the new Will Oldham is an EP of jauntily re-recorded old songs (including “I See A Darkness”) to coincide with Domino’s catalogue reissues. “Parsons’ Blues” is a single culled from the same sessions as Chasny’s forthcoming “Ascent”, with the reconstituted Comets On Fire on the team. Raajmahal is a really nice drifter, helmed by Pat Murano from NNCK that reminds me a little of a spacier Natural Snow Buildings. Some other entries, however, may be best left undiscussed… Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey 1 Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Now Here’s My Plan (Domino) 2 3 The Lumerians – Transmissions From The Telos Vol. IV (Permanent) 4 Frank Ocean – Pyramids (Def Jam) 5 Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra (http://frankocean.com/) 6 Peter Buck – 10 Million BC (https://www.uncut.co.uk/listen-to-rems-peter-buck-debut-solo-track-10-million-bc-news) 7 Patti Smith – Banga (Columbia) 8 Catherine Irwin – Little Heater (Thrill Jockey) 9 Raajmahal – Raajmahal (Kelippah) 10 Bailterspace – Strobosphere (Fire) 11 Gonzales – Solo Piano II (Gentle Threat) 12 Six Organs Of Admittance – Parsons’ Blues (Drag City) 13 Various Artists – Air Texture Volume II: Selected By Loscil And Rafael Anton Irisarri (Air Texture) 14 Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Americana (Reprise) 15 Haim – Forever (National Anthem) 16 Spector – Enjoy It While You Can (Fiction) 17 CFCF – Exercises (Dummy) 18 The White Stripes – Party Of Special Things To Do (Sub Pop) 19 David Byrne & St Vincent – Love This Giant (4AD) 20 Scott Kelly, Steve Von Till, Wino – The Songs Of Townes Van Zandt (My Proud Mountain) 21 Townes Van Zandt – Our Mother The Mountain (Tomato) 22 Nathan Fake – Iceni Strings (Border Community) 23 Terry Riley – Aleph (Tzadik)

A serene beginning this morning, with a new Terry Riley album, “Aleph”. Over on my 40 Favourites Of 2012 Thus Far blog, however, things became a little less genteel yesterday, as you can see in the comments thread at the bottom of the chart.

Please join in; the general discussion about this year’s releases, that is, rather than the irate trolling.

A mixed bag here in this week’s chart, but a few things worth explaining: the new Will Oldham is an EP of jauntily re-recorded old songs (including “I See A Darkness”) to coincide with Domino’s catalogue reissues. “Parsons’ Blues” is a single culled from the same sessions as Chasny’s forthcoming “Ascent”, with the reconstituted Comets On Fire on the team. Raajmahal is a really nice drifter, helmed by Pat Murano from NNCK that reminds me a little of a spacier Natural Snow Buildings. Some other entries, however, may be best left undiscussed…

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

1 Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Now Here’s My Plan (Domino)

2

3 The Lumerians – Transmissions From The Telos Vol. IV (Permanent)

4 Frank Ocean – Pyramids (Def Jam)

5 Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra (http://frankocean.com/)

6 Peter Buck – 10 Million BC (https://www.uncut.co.uk/listen-to-rems-peter-buck-debut-solo-track-10-million-bc-news)

7 Patti Smith – Banga (Columbia)

8 Catherine Irwin – Little Heater (Thrill Jockey)

9 Raajmahal – Raajmahal (Kelippah)

10 Bailterspace – Strobosphere (Fire)

11 Gonzales – Solo Piano II (Gentle Threat)

12 Six Organs Of Admittance – Parsons’ Blues (Drag City)

13 Various Artists – Air Texture Volume II: Selected By Loscil And Rafael Anton Irisarri (Air Texture)

14 Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Americana (Reprise)

15 Haim – Forever (National Anthem)

16 Spector – Enjoy It While You Can (Fiction)

17 CFCF – Exercises (Dummy)

18 The White Stripes – Party Of Special Things To Do (Sub Pop)

19 David Byrne & St Vincent – Love This Giant (4AD)

20 Scott Kelly, Steve Von Till, Wino – The Songs Of Townes Van Zandt (My Proud Mountain)

21 Townes Van Zandt – Our Mother The Mountain (Tomato)

22 Nathan Fake – Iceni Strings (Border Community)

23 Terry Riley – Aleph (Tzadik)

Graham Coxon, Alt-J, Patrick Watson added to End Of The Road festival

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Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, Alt-J and Patrick Watson are among the new additions to this summer's End Of The Road festival. The festival, which will take place in Larmer Tree Gardens in Wiltshire on August 31 – September 2, will be headlined by Grandaddy, Midlake and a co-headline effort from Grizzy Bear and Tindersticks. Also newly confirmed for the festival are Savages, Creature With The Atom Brain, Gravenhurst, Abi Wade, Big Wave, Olympians, Horse Thief, Hurray For The Riff Raff, King Charles, The Step Kids, Woods, and Zachary Cale. They join a line-up that also includes Anna Calvi, The Antlers, First Aid Kit, Beach House, Veronica Falls, The Low Anthem, Toy, Islet and many others. For more information, visit Endoftheroadfestival.com. The line-up for End Of The Road so far is as follows: Grandaddy Tindersticks Grizzly Bear The Antlers Delicate Steve Doug Paisley Driver Drive Faster First Aid Kit Frank Fairfield I Break Horses Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard Justin Townes Earle Moulettes Mountain Man Midlake The Low Anthem Alessi's Ark Cashier no 9 Dirty Three John Grant Graham Coxon Alt-J Patrick Watson Savages Creature with the Atom Brain Gravenhurst Abi Wade Big Wave Olympians Horse Thief Hurray For The Riff Raff King Charles The Step Kids Woods Zachary Cale Jonathan Wilson Lanterns On The Lake Roy Harper Veronica Falls Beach House The Antlers I Break Horses Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard Justin Townes Earle Moulettes Robyn Hitchcock Anna Calvi Villagers Abigail Washburn with Kai Welch Cold Specks Dark Dark Dark Francois & The Atlas Mountains Islet Toy Outfit

Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, Alt-J and Patrick Watson are among the new additions to this summer’s End Of The Road festival.

The festival, which will take place in Larmer Tree Gardens in Wiltshire on August 31 – September 2, will be headlined by Grandaddy, Midlake and a co-headline effort from Grizzy Bear and Tindersticks.

Also newly confirmed for the festival are Savages, Creature With The Atom Brain, Gravenhurst, Abi Wade, Big Wave, Olympians, Horse Thief, Hurray For The Riff Raff, King Charles, The Step Kids, Woods, and Zachary Cale.

They join a line-up that also includes Anna Calvi, The Antlers, First Aid Kit, Beach House, Veronica Falls, The Low Anthem, Toy, Islet and many others.

For more information, visit Endoftheroadfestival.com.

The line-up for End Of The Road so far is as follows:

Grandaddy

Tindersticks

Grizzly Bear

The Antlers

Delicate Steve

Doug Paisley

Driver Drive Faster

First Aid Kit

Frank Fairfield

I Break Horses

Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard

Justin Townes Earle

Moulettes

Mountain Man

Midlake

The Low Anthem

Alessi’s Ark

Cashier no 9

Dirty Three

John Grant

Graham Coxon

Alt-J

Patrick Watson

Savages

Creature with the Atom Brain

Gravenhurst

Abi Wade

Big Wave

Olympians

Horse Thief

Hurray For The Riff Raff

King Charles

The Step Kids

Woods

Zachary Cale

Jonathan Wilson

Lanterns On The Lake

Roy Harper

Veronica Falls

Beach House

The Antlers

I Break Horses

Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard

Justin Townes Earle

Moulettes

Robyn Hitchcock

Anna Calvi

Villagers

Abigail Washburn with Kai Welch

Cold Specks

Dark Dark Dark

Francois & The Atlas Mountains

Islet

Toy

Outfit

Morrissey announces North American tour dates

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Morrissey has announced an extensive tour of North America. The singer, who recently reissued his 1998 debut album Viva Hate, will play 33 dates beginning in Boston on October 5. The tour eventually closes in Atlantic City on December 8. Morrissey will play his only UK show of the year at Manchest...

Morrissey has announced an extensive tour of North America.

The singer, who recently reissued his 1998 debut album Viva Hate, will play 33 dates beginning in Boston on October 5. The tour eventually closes in Atlantic City on December 8.

Morrissey will play his only UK show of the year at Manchester Arena on July 28.

The North American tour dates are:

10/05 – Boston, Massachusetts – Wang Theatre

10/06 – Waterbury, Connecticut – Palace Theater

10/10 – New York, New York – Radio City Music Hall

10/15 – Portland, Maine – State Theatre

10/16 – Burlington, Vermont – Flynn Center for the Performing Arts

10/18 – Albany, New York – Palace Theatre

10/19 – Niagara Falls, New York – Rapids Theatre

10/23 – Pittsburgh, Pennysylvania – Heinz Hall

10/24 – Columbus, Ohio – LC Indoor Pavilion

10/26 – Flint, Michigan – James H Whiting Auditorium

10/27 – Chicago, Illinois – Chicago Theatre

10/29 – Minneapolis, Minnesota – Orpheum Theatre

10/30 – Clear Lake, Iowa – Surf Ballroom

11/01 – Lincoln, Nebraska – Rococo Theatre

11/03 – Denver, Colorado – Ellie Caulkins Opera House

11/04 – Salt Lake City, Utah – Kingsbury Hall at University of Utah

11/08 – Seattle, Washington – Moore Theatre

11/10 – Bellingham, Washington – Mount Baker Theatre

11/11 – Portland, Oregon – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

11/14 – Davis, California – Robert Mondavi Center at UC Davis

11/16 – San Francisco, California – Davies Symphony Hall

11/17 – Reno, Nevada – John Ascuaga’s Nugget – Rose Ballroom

11/21 – Tempe, Arizona – Marquee Theater

11/23 – Las Vegas, Nevada – The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas at The Chelsea Ballroom

11/24 – Los Angeles, California – Staples Center Arena

11/27 – El Paso, Texas – Tricky Falls

11/28 – Wichita Falls, Texas – Kay Yeager Coliseum

11/30 – Pharr, Texas – Pharr Entertainment Center

12/01 – Beaumont, Texas – Jefferson Theatre

12/03 – Atlanta, Georgia – Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

12/05 – Asheville, North Carolina – Orange Peel

12/07 – North Bethesda, Maryland – The Music Center at Strathmore

12/08 – Atlantic City, New Jersey – Showboat Resort and Casino – House of Blues

Beatles actor Victor Spinetti dies aged 82

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Victor Spinetti, the comic actor who appeared in three Beatles films, has died aged 82. The Welsh star appeared in a string of acclaimed movies as well as appearing on the West End and Broadway. He died in a hospice in Monmouth this morning after battling with pancreatic cancer, reports BBC. Once...

Victor Spinetti, the comic actor who appeared in three Beatles films, has died aged 82.

The Welsh star appeared in a string of acclaimed movies as well as appearing on the West End and Broadway. He died in a hospice in Monmouth this morning after battling with pancreatic cancer, reports BBC.

Once described by Paul McCartney as “the man who makes clouds disappear”, Spinetti was the only non-Beatle to appear in the films A Hard Day’s Night, Help! and Magical Mystery Tour.

Born Victorio G A Spinetti on 2 September 1929 south Wales, he attended Monmouth School before studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. He worked as a waiter and factory worker before his acting career took off.

Spinetti appeared in more than 30 films, including Zeffirelli’s The Taming Of The Shrew, The Return Of The Pink Panther, The Krays, and Under Milk Wood with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. He also appeared frequently on television and theatre as an actor and director.

George Harrison once told him: “You’ve got to be in all our films. If you’re not in them me mum won’t come and see them – because she fancies you.”

In 1968, he also worked with John Lennon to turn Lennon’s book, In His Own Write, into to a play which he then directed at the National Theatre – where Laurence Olivier was Artistic Director.

Victor Spinetti’s partner of 44 years, Graham Curnow, died in 1997.

Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images

Ex-Monkee Michael Nesmith to play first UK dates in over 30 years

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Michael Nesmith, the former Monkee and country rock pioneer, is to play the UK for the first time in over 30 years. Nesmith, who left the Monkees in 1970, went on to release three albums with The First National Band between 1970 and 1971, which were later hailed as country rock classics. “The sh...

Michael Nesmith, the former Monkee and country rock pioneer, is to play the UK for the first time in over 30 years.

Nesmith, who left the Monkees in 1970, went on to release three albums with The First National Band between 1970 and 1971, which were later hailed as country rock classics.

“The shows will take a complete look at the songs I’ve recorded over the years, starting back when I was just a solo folk singer,” says Nesmith of the forthcoming dates. “I have decades of music to draw from and I think I can put together something exciting, something that will make for a very full, dramatic and emotional evening.”

Speaking to Uncut in 2008, Nesmith recalled his last UK tour, playing “workingmen’s clubs for three or four months. The audiences were mostly morbidly curious: I was out of The Monkees, and they weren’t on for giving any deference to yesterday’s TV star.”

This time, Nesmith will play:

Friday, October 26:

Oran Moor, Glasgow

Sunday, October 28:

Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London

Monday, October 29:

RNCM, Manchester

American Music Club’s Tim Mooney: RIP

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One of the records I’ve been playing the absolute hell out of these last couple of weeks is The Graceless Age, the new album by John Murry, who Uncut regulars may remember from World Without End, a sensationally bleak 2006 collection of contemporary murder ballads he made with the Memphis singer-songwriter Bob Frank. The Graceless Age, like World Without End, produced by Tim Mooney, the former American Music Club drummer, at Closer Recording, the studio Tim owned in San Francisco, at 1441 Howard Street. The more I played it, the more The Graceless Age sounded like one of the best things Mooney had been involved in, as either producer or musician, a dark and festering masterpiece. Because I’m reviewing the album for Uncut, I was actually listening to it last week when I got an email from my friend Chris Metzler at Décor Records, home of AMC and the label that put out World Without End in the UK. Chris said he had been about to write to me with details of a new album by AMC’s Mark Eitzel, but instead had sad news for me. Tim Mooney - second from left in the picture above of AMC - had died suddenly, at the age of only 53, from a heart attack. Tim, who’d previously played with Bay Area punk bands like Negative Trend, The Sleepers and Toiling Midgets, joined AMC in 1992, just as it looked like they were finally going to make what’s usually called the big time after signing major label deals in America, with Reprise, and the UK, with Virgin, for whom they recorded two albums, Mercury and San Francisco. Neither sold, and the band split, reconvening almost a decade later for 2003’s Love Songs For Patriots, which Mooney played on and produced. In 2007, AMC split again, with Eitzel and guitarist Vudi relocating to Los Angeles. Mooney stayed in San Francisco, where during AMC’s 1994-2003 hiatus he had worked with Red House Painters’ Mark Kozelek. “I knew Tim Mooney for over 20 years,” Kozelek wrote on his blog last week. “As many Red House Painters fans may know, American Music Club was very helpful in giving Red House Painters our start. Later on, Tim played drums on my first solo album, Rock’N’Roll Slinger, and then on Sun Kil Moon’s Ghosts Of The Great Highway. We shared many long days and hours together. Tim was a peaceful, patient and incredibly talented person. The last time I saw Tim was in 2009, in Petaluma, he was having ice cream with his daughter. He was as happy and contented as ever. I’ve been overwhelmed with memories of Tim since learning of the news yesterday. My heart goes out to his family, his many friends, and to the members of AMC.” Mark Eitzel also remembered Mooney in a blog: “I haven’t seen Tim for a few years now but that still didn’t lessen the impact of his passing. He was the drummer of AMC for many years. He was absolutely instrumental in whatever sound we had. His style was absolutely unique and as an artist no one could match what he did. He was a good friend to so many people and will be missed. What an absolute loss. I wish all the best to his wife Jude and his daughter Dixie. I have spent all day in a fog thinking about him.” In a separate email that Chris Metzler has passed on to me, Eitzel added: "We were always surprised that Tim wanted to play with us. Before AMC he played in a band called the Toiling Midgets. (If you can find it check out their album 'Sea Of Unrest' - It's a masterpiece). He took all our disparate musical ideas and tied it them together with a style that just cut through. The collision of Tim's playing with Bruce's pedal steel and Vudi and Danny was something I had never heard before (and won't again). Tim was a good and sweet man and in music a true believer. I was lucky to play with him and have him in my life." Chris also forwarded me an email from Vudi, who wrote: "I was a fan of Tim Mooney some years before our friendship. Though just a kid, he was already rock’n' roll star while I was still finding my way. He had made his mark in some great music, with great style. To sense where things were at and WHEN they were at, and - if it was something good - there he was; a real force, right in the beating heart of it all. I'm talking about more than just music, friends. “Tim had a cat-like cat, hungry intelligence, was beautiful to behold, and an inspiring companion. Mooney had a rare gift: the first time he came to my flat for a social call (I was drummer-stealing), my flatmate thought 'lightning was gonna strike the house', and went out. His presence could have that effect. Tim could be the quiet man in the room, but every bright and beautiful thing knew that if he got up and left, the light would dim. Well,...." The next issue Uncut was already on its way to the printers when we heard about Tim’s death, but there’ll be more on him the following issue. Have a good week. Allan

One of the records I’ve been playing the absolute hell out of these last couple of weeks is The Graceless Age, the new album by John Murry, who Uncut regulars may remember from World Without End, a sensationally bleak 2006 collection of contemporary murder ballads he made with the Memphis singer-songwriter Bob Frank. The Graceless Age, like World Without End, produced by Tim Mooney, the former American Music Club drummer, at Closer Recording, the studio Tim owned in San Francisco, at 1441 Howard Street. The more I played it, the more The Graceless Age sounded like one of the best things Mooney had been involved in, as either producer or musician, a dark and festering masterpiece.

Because I’m reviewing the album for Uncut, I was actually listening to it last week when I got an email from my friend Chris Metzler at Décor Records, home of AMC and the label that put out World Without End in the UK. Chris said he had been about to write to me with details of a new album by AMC’s Mark Eitzel, but instead had sad news for me. Tim Mooney – second from left in the picture above of AMC – had died suddenly, at the age of only 53, from a heart attack.

Tim, who’d previously played with Bay Area punk bands like Negative Trend, The Sleepers and Toiling Midgets, joined AMC in 1992, just as it looked like they were finally going to make what’s usually called the big time after signing major label deals in America, with Reprise, and the UK, with Virgin, for whom they recorded two albums, Mercury and San Francisco. Neither sold, and the band split, reconvening almost a decade later for 2003’s Love Songs For Patriots, which Mooney played on and produced. In 2007, AMC split again, with Eitzel and guitarist Vudi relocating to Los Angeles. Mooney stayed in San Francisco, where during AMC’s 1994-2003 hiatus he had worked with Red House Painters’ Mark Kozelek.

“I knew Tim Mooney for over 20 years,” Kozelek wrote on his blog last week. “As many Red House Painters fans may know, American Music Club was very helpful in giving Red House Painters our start. Later on, Tim played drums on my first solo album, Rock’N’Roll Slinger, and then on Sun Kil Moon’s Ghosts Of The Great Highway. We shared many long days and hours together. Tim was a peaceful, patient and incredibly talented person. The last time I saw Tim was in 2009, in Petaluma, he was having ice cream with his daughter. He was as happy and contented as ever. I’ve been overwhelmed with memories of Tim since learning of the news yesterday. My heart goes out to his family, his many friends, and to the members of AMC.”

Mark Eitzel also remembered Mooney in a blog: “I haven’t seen Tim for a few years now but that still didn’t lessen the impact of his passing. He was the drummer of AMC for many years. He was absolutely instrumental in whatever sound we had. His style was absolutely unique and as an artist no one could match what he did. He was a good friend to so many people and will be missed. What an absolute loss. I wish all the best to his wife Jude and his daughter Dixie. I have spent all day in a fog thinking about him.”

In a separate email that Chris Metzler has passed on to me, Eitzel added: “We were always surprised that Tim wanted to play with us. Before AMC he played in a band called the Toiling Midgets. (If you can find it check out their album ‘Sea Of Unrest’ – It’s a masterpiece). He took all our disparate musical ideas and tied it them together with a style that just cut through. The collision of Tim’s playing with Bruce’s pedal steel and Vudi and Danny was something I had never heard before (and won’t again). Tim was a good and sweet man and in music a true believer. I was lucky to play with him and have him in my life.”

Chris also forwarded me an email from Vudi, who wrote: “I was a fan of Tim Mooney some years before our friendship. Though just a kid, he was already rock’n’ roll star while I was still finding my way. He had made his mark in some great music, with great style. To sense where things were at and WHEN they were at, and – if it was something good – there he was; a real force, right in the beating heart of it all. I’m talking about more than just music, friends.

“Tim had a cat-like cat, hungry intelligence, was beautiful to behold, and an inspiring companion. Mooney had a rare gift: the first time he came to my flat for a social call (I was drummer-stealing), my flatmate thought ‘lightning was gonna strike the house’, and went out. His presence could have that effect. Tim could be the quiet man in the room, but every bright and beautiful thing knew that if he got up and left, the light would dim. Well,….”

The next issue Uncut was already on its way to the printers when we heard about Tim’s death, but there’ll be more on him the following issue.

Have a good week.

Allan

Tom Petty: Royal Albert Hall, London, June 18

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Tom Petty is a man of many guitars, most of which seem to make an appearance on stage at some point in tonight’s proceedings. Here’s a red Fender, a blonde Rickenbacker, a white Gibson, back to the Fender, and on. It seems fitting, I suppose: Petty’s first show in the UK for 13 years is very m...

Tom Petty is a man of many guitars, most of which seem to make an appearance on stage at some point in tonight’s proceedings. Here’s a red Fender, a blonde Rickenbacker, a white Gibson, back to the Fender, and on. It seems fitting, I suppose: Petty’s first show in the UK for 13 years is very much about craft and musicianship.

Speaking to Uncut a few issues ago, Petty revealed that he and the Heartbreakers gave up soundchecks a long while ago. You could argue that, after over 30 years of playing together, they no longer need to trouble themselves with this kind of trivial business, such is the level at which they function. The Heartbreakers are a thoroughly doughty bunch of dudes – I’d imagine you could rely on them to water your plants while you’re on holiday. There isn’t a note out of place here, it’s a precision-engineered performance – the opposite, say, of the freewheeling jams you’d expect from a bunch like Crazy Horse. The Heartbreakers are quietly professional men, going about their business with the minimum of fuss. Keyboard player Benmont Tench and rhythm guitarist Scott Thurston, for instance, barely trouble the limelight, but their contribution here is both understated and formidable.

The band are decked out in casual suits, dark greys and blues. Guitarist Mike Campbell wears a black corduroy jacket, and with his hair in dreadlocks, he resembles a hip university lecturer; you could cast him as the Donald Sutherland character in a remake of Animal House, pontificating on the size of the universe while pulling on the end of a roach. Petty himself wears a three-piece grey pinstripe suit and Cuban heels. He reminds me a little of Keith Carradine in Deadwood. There’s something about his manner that appears almost formal – a remnant, you might think, of his Southern upbringing. He’ll take a stiff half bow after each song, as if he’s greeting royalty. And when he introduces “Here Comes My Girl” as “from our 1979 album, Damn The Torpedoes. It was track two on side one,” I half expect him to follow it up by telling us the catalogue number. Surprisingly, he sounds a lot like George Harrison when he sings. Probably because of his long association with Dylan, I expected him to sound more Bob-like. There’s a moment during the Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle With Care” where I wonder whether he’ll slip into Bob or George; as it is, Scott Thurston mans up with what appears to be an impressive Roy Orbison impression.

The hits are tremendous, particularly “Listen To Your Heart” with its hopped-up Byrds vibe. Mike Campbell regularly gets to show his chops, particularly a brilliant extended coda on “Don’t Come Around Here No More”, when the band finally cut loose, wind the clock back a couple of decades and throw themselves into the feedback Campbell coaxes out of his guitar. A few more moments like this would have been great. There’s fun, too, with a muscular version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”, where Petty trades one of his many guitars for maracas and Campbell cranks out the riffs. At the other end of the scale, “Learning To Fly” is nicely understated, as is a semi-acoustic “Free Fallin’”.

As Petty’s first gig in the UK since a mini-tour of Europe in 1999, this felt like a triumphant return to English soil. At one point, coincidentally or not, the lights hit Petty full on as he stood with his arms raised and outstretched; it causes the first of the night’s many ovations.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played:

Listen To Your Heart

You Wreck Me

I Won’t Back Down

Here Comes My Girl

Handle With Care

Good Enough

Oh Well

Something Big

Don’t Come Around Here No More

Free Fallin’

It’s Good To Be King

Something Good Coming

Learning To Fly

Yer So Bad

I Should Have Known It

Refugee

Runnin’ Down A Dream

Mary Jane’s Last Dance

American Girl

Photo credit: Rune Hellestad/Corbis

The Same Boy You’ve Always Known: A Jack White Interview

The way Jack White tells it – though historically, his relationship with the truth can be a little capricious – his solo career started by accident. For the past three years, White has been inviting musicians down to his Nashville studio to record 45s for his Third Man label; recent visitors hav...

The morning after Saturday Night Live, Jack White arrives in the hotel restaurant in his coat and hat, wheeling a suitcase behind him. In an hour or so, he will be returning to Nashville with his two bands for more rehearsals, a video shoot, and a debut gig at Third Man. Many of his band members had not appeared on television before, and he is consequently thrilled with how the show went – though one suspects White is not a man to admit any doubts he may have to a journalist. “I think,” he says, “it was perfect for me.”

He has, too, vague plans for another solo album. In between cutting various other Third Man 45s, the Blunderbuss sessions resulted in something like 25 songs being recorded, of which only 13 made the final tracklisting. “When I get back in town in a few weeks, I’m going to finish them off for the next album, whenever that’s going to be, while they’re still fresh in my head. The bands are going to be amped up. When you go out on the road with this many people, you can go home and go straight into the studio with them, and get some stuff on tape.”

Given how much the interview has hinged around questions of truth and authenticity, it seems a good idea to finish with a couple of straight questions that people have been wanting to know the answers to for years.

White laughs. “Why do you keep wanting me to make it so easy for you? Alright, but I want you to know that I think you have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder about me and Meg, and brother and sister and all that stuff, and you should let it roll off your back.”

Well, this is such a fascinating point in your career, where the past takes on a different perspective and is put into a different context. I know these questions seem to be annoying and tabloid-ish and kind of personal, but I’m interested in the way that you use an idea of truth, and an idea of authenticity in how you present yourself and your music, and the way that all these things interact. Does that make sense to you? After all, you’re the guy who mentioned a book called Faking It, about the myth of authenticity in popular music?

“It’s always made sense to me, and anything that’s confusing to people is their own concern, not mine. I could have always played it really simple for everyone.”

Look at the gimmick you pulled last night with the two bands. Maybe I’m getting it wrong, but if people are coming to this project thinking the curtains have been opened, the real Jack White is going to appear and there aren’t going to be any more ambiguities, then they’re going to be disappointed.

“Well, you’re getting to the point, for sure, because I’ve always been there. The quote-unquote ‘Real Jack White’ has always been there, only if the viewer, the listener, can get past all the stuff that shouldn’t bother them to begin with.”

But we have to bother with that stuff, because it seems to be such an integral part of what you do.

“That’s my test for them. That’s my ultimate test. Alright, let’s do it…”

What’s your real name? Is your real name John Gillis?

“Jack White is my real name.” He laughs.

Is Meg White your sister?

“Yes. In more ways than one…”

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

Watch video for new Richard Hawley single “Down In The Woods”

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Richard Hawley has unveiled the video for his new single, "Down In The Woods". Scroll down to watch it. The heavy, psychedelic single is the second to be taken from his latest album, following "Leave Your Body Behind You". The album, Standing At The Sky's Edge, is Hawley's seventh solo LP and it de...

Richard Hawley has unveiled the video for his new single, “Down In The Woods”. Scroll down to watch it.

The heavy, psychedelic single is the second to be taken from his latest album, following “Leave Your Body Behind You”. The album, Standing At The Sky’s Edge, is Hawley’s seventh solo LP and it debuted at Number Three in the Official UK Album Chart last month, his highest ever chart placing.

Richard Hawley recently said that his only ambition in his music career was to “avoid flipping burgers”. He told Shortlist magazine that he was happy to live in a separate “bubble” away from the mainstream. Asked about his chart success, he replied: “Well, the chart thing is fucking mental so I presume people are digging what I do. But I can’t really feel anything else yet. I live in a bubble anyway and that’s for a good reason. It keeps you real and keeps you sane.”

Hawley, who also said he’d “never, ever been interested in fashion or being fashionable”, added: “I would have been content just playing the music I loved in clubs and pubs. My only real ambition was to avoid flipping burgers or ending up in the steelworks.”

Hawley is set to embark on an extensive UK tour later this year.

Richard Hawley will play:

Holmfirth Picture House (September 16)

Norwich UEA (17)

Portsmouth Pyramids Centre (18)

Brighton Dome (19)

Bath Pavilion (21)

Birmingham HMV Institute (22)

Sheffield City Hall (23)

O2 Academy Leeds (25)

Manchester Academy (26)

O2 Academy Newcastle (27)

Glasgow Barrowlands (28)

Lincoln Engine Shed (30)

Derby Assembly Rooms (October 1)

O2 Academy Brixton (3)

Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth members collaborate on new Fleetwood Mac covers compilation

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Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis have collaborated on a cover of Peter Green's guitar instrumental "Albatross" for a new Fleetwood Mac covers compilation. To be released on August 14 via Hear Music/Concord, the compilation also features contributions from Marianne Faithful, Ant...

Sonic Youth‘s Lee Ranaldo and Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis have collaborated on a cover of Peter Green’s guitar instrumental “Albatross” for a new Fleetwood Mac covers compilation.

To be released on August 14 via Hear Music/Concord, the compilation also features contributions from Marianne Faithful, Antony Hegarty and MGMT.

The track listing for the compilation is:

Entrance Band – ‘Green Manalishi’

Crystal Ark – ‘Tusk’

Best Coast – ‘Rhiannon’

The New Pornographers – ‘Think About Me’

MGMT – ‘Future Games’

Marianne Faithful – ‘Angel’

Antony Hegarty – ‘Landslide’

Ranaldo and Mascis – ‘Albatross’

Trixie Whitley – ‘Before The Beginning’

Washed Out – ‘Straight Back’

Super Wolf – ‘Storms’

The Kills – ‘Dreams’

Gardens And Villa – ‘Gypsy’

Billy Gibbons – ‘Oh Well’

Lykke Li – ‘Silver Springs’

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon designs ‘cruelty free’ shoe

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Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon has helped to design a sneaker for 'cruelty free' footwear brand, Keep. The double Grammy winning musician has joined forces with Los Angeles based company Keep to make a 'salmon' pink canvas shoe, which features "herringbone accents" and "a black fishbone detail acr...

Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon has helped to design a sneaker for ‘cruelty free’ footwear brand, Keep.

The double Grammy winning musician has joined forces with Los Angeles based company Keep to make a ‘salmon’ pink canvas shoe, which features “herringbone accents” and “a black fishbone detail across the toe”.

The project is hoping to raise awareness for Best Friends Animal Society, which is described as “an animal advocacy group which operates the nation’s largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals. Both Vernon and Una Kim, Keep’s founder, are proud adopters of rescued pets, pictures of whom often make appearances on both the band and Keep’s blogs.”

Advance sales for the shoe are running until July 1 and there will be a limited global instore release of the sneaker in October. Last year, Animal Collective teamed up with Keep for a similar project.

Bon Iver release a new live EP, the ‘iTunes Session EP’, today (June 19), which will include a version of Bjork’s ‘Who Is It?’. The band will then go on to headline this summer’s Latitude festival. They are also set to play Glasgow’s SECC on November 10.

Red Hot Chili Peppers to release singles series

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The Red Hot Chili Peppers are planning to release 18 previously unheard songs from the sessions for their last album, I'm With You. According to Rolling Stone, the band will begin on August 14 with the release of "Strange Man" and "Long Progression", and on September 11 they will release a follow-...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are planning to release 18 previously unheard songs from the sessions for their last album, I’m With You.

According to Rolling Stone, the band will begin on August 14 with the release of “Strange Man” and “Long Progression”, and on September 11 they will release a follow-up, “Magpies” and “Victorian Machinery”.

“Some songs seem to have a lot more of an agenda than others,” said Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer in a statement. “Some songs play well with others and some songs need more attention and a little extra care. Here are some songs that seemed to want to pair up and take a later train. Keep your eye on them, they’re up to something . . .”

Each instalment will be available as a 7″ single and digitally.

Rolling Stones deny Glastonbury rumours

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The Rolling Stones have denied reports they will retire next year with a headline slot at Glastonbury. It was reported "sources" close to the band had indicated that their Glastonbury appearance will be their final date in a "handful" of shows in the UK and USA in 2012. It was also suggested that, ...

The Rolling Stones have denied reports they will retire next year with a headline slot at Glastonbury.

It was reported “sources” close to the band had indicated that their Glastonbury appearance will be their final date in a “handful” of shows in the UK and USA in 2012. It was also suggested that, as it is part of the group’s 50-year anniversary, it will be seen as a good time to call it a day on live performances.

Representatives for the band insisted there is no truth in the claim, which appeared in the Sunday Mirror yesterday (June 17) and they would not be playing at Worthy Farm next summer.

The veteran four-piece have never played Glastonbury before. A spokesman for the festival told The Guardian there have been no conversations as yet. He added: “Everybody in the year off thinks they’ve come up with the perfect Glastonbury lineup. But at the moment there isn’t anything to confirm or deny.”

In a Twitter post the band said, “Every year the @RollingStones are asked to play this UK festival..but playing Glastonbury is not in our plans”.

Hear new Damon Albarn song

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Damon Albarn unveiled a new track at a poetry festival in London earlier this week (June 14) – scroll down to the bottom of the page and click to watch. Consequence Of Sound reports that the singer, who was performing at the Poetry Olympics at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, included a brand new song ...

Damon Albarn unveiled a new track at a poetry festival in London earlier this week (June 14) – scroll down to the bottom of the page and click to watch.

Consequence Of Sound reports that the singer, who was performing at the Poetry Olympics at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, included a brand new song in his set which he told the crowd he had recorded “last week”.

Although initial reports claimed that the bouncing and melodic acoustic track constituted new material from Blur, there has been no confirmation if the song will be used by the Britpop legends or if it will be released in one of Albarn’s other musical projects.

Last month (May 23), producer William Orbit told NME that he had been in the studio with Blur working on new material, but that Albarn had decided to halt the recording sessions. “The new stuff sounded amazing,” he said. “Then it all stopped suddenly. It was all over with Damon, and the rest of the band were like, ‘Is this it?’.”

In April, however, Albarn denied he was finished with Blur after earlier suggesting that their huge Hyde Park reunion gig to coincide with the close of this summer’s Olympics in August would be their final show, while last week (June 9), guitarist Graham Coxon admitted that he and his bandmates felt “pressure” from fans to record new material.

The band are due to warm up for the show with a short tour taking in dates in Margate, Wolverhampton and Plymouth, along with headlining Sweden’s Way Out West in the same month.