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Johnny Marr and Mike Joyce deny Smiths reunion reports

Michael Bonner
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0
Johnny Marr and Mike Joyce deny Smiths reunion reports

Rumours that The Smiths were set to reunite have been put to bed by the band's former guitarist Johnny Marr and drummer Mike Joyce. A story on Music-news.co.uk this morning [April 26] suggested Marr and frontman Morrissey had been in talks with a "well-known" promoter about reuniting. However, a highly-placed source in Britain's live music industry, along with others close to the band, denied the rumours when contacted by NME. Now in a short post on his official Facebook page, Facebook.com/officialjohnnymarr, Marr commented: "The rumour of The Smiths reunion is untrue. It's not happening." Drummer Mike Joyce has also denied the reports during his show on internet station Beatwolf Radio earlier today. According to the Daily Mirror, he said: "When I first heard about it I was… to say surprised and rather shocked was a bit of an understatement. Obviously I had to keep my emotions in check because there’s a lot of people in the office. He continued: “It’s not happening folks, as far as I know – which could be a good thing."

Rumours that The Smiths were set to reunite have been put to bed by the band’s former guitarist Johnny Marr and drummer Mike Joyce.

A story on Music-news.co.uk this morning [April 26] suggested Marr and frontman Morrissey had been in talks with a “well-known” promoter about reuniting. However, a highly-placed source in Britain’s live music industry, along with others close to the band, denied the rumours when contacted by NME.

Now in a short post on his official Facebook page, Facebook.com/officialjohnnymarr, Marr commented: “The rumour of The Smiths reunion is untrue. It’s not happening.”

Drummer Mike Joyce has also denied the reports during his show on internet station Beatwolf Radio earlier today. According to the Daily Mirror, he said: “When I first heard about it I was… to say surprised and rather shocked was a bit of an understatement. Obviously I had to keep my emotions in check because there’s a lot of people in the office.

He continued: “It’s not happening folks, as far as I know – which could be a good thing.”

Jack White set to hit No 1 on both sides of the Atlantic

Michael Bonner
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0
Jack White set to hit No 1 on both sides of the Atlantic
Jack White is set to score a US and UK chart-topping double next week with his debut solo album, Blunderbuss. The ex-White Stripes man is predicted to top the Billboard 200 in the US with around 100,000-120,000 copies of the album set to be shifted, according to chart experts. The chart is due to b...

Jack White is set to score a US and UK chart-topping double next week with his debut solo album, Blunderbuss.

The ex-White Stripes man is predicted to top the Billboard 200 in the US with around 100,000-120,000 copies of the album set to be shifted, according to chart experts. The chart is due to be unveiled next Wednesday [May 2].

Yesterday, it was revealed White is well on course to knock Adele‘s 21 from the top of the UK album chart this Sunday (April 29), with Rufus Wainwright and his new album Out Of The Game his main contender.

Although White has never topped the Billboard 200 in the US, The White Stripes scored two Number Ones in the UK, with 2003’s Elephant and 2007’s Icky Thump.

Earlier this week it was announced that White would write, produce and perform the soundtrack to the new Johnny Depp film, The Lone Ranger.

He also played his first solo UK show this week [April 23], headlining London’s HMV Forum the day Blunderbuss was released.

White returns in June for more UK gigs, including a set at Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend event in London on June 23.

Manchester’s Hacienda nightclub announces 30th anniversary celebration plans

Michael Bonner
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0
Manchester’s Hacienda nightclub announces 30th anniversary celebration plans

The Hacienda, the Manchester nightclub co-owned by New Order, has announced that it will be hosting three one-off events to celebrate the club's 30th anniversary. The events, which are named X1, X2 and X3, will take place in late May and early June. The first will take place in the car park of the Hacienda, which is now a block of apartments. The other events will happen in the city's Sankeys nightclub. X1 will take place on May 21 in the Hacienda's car park, X2 on June 2 in Sankeys with former Hacienda residents Laurent Garnier and Justin Martin among the line-up. Finally, X3 will happen on June 4, with a stellar cast that includes Peter Hook, Dave Haslam, Graeme Park and John Da Silva. As well as the three events, there will also be a new clothing collection named 'Label, Location, Legacy' launched to coincide with the anniversary and a photography exhibition. The line-up for the Hacienda's 30th anniversary celebrations is as follows: X1 – Haçienda 30 @ The Haçienda Apartments Car Park - May 21 Line-Up TBC X2 – Haçienda 30, Sankeys – June 2 Laurent Garnier, Justin Martin, Oli Furness and Special Guests X3 – Haçienda 30, Sankeys – June 4 Kevin Saunderson, Graeme Park. Allister Whitehead, Tom Wainwright, Jon Da Silva, 808 State DJ’s, Peter Hook, Mc Tunes, Dave Haslam, Dave Booth, Jason Boardman

The Hacienda, the Manchester nightclub co-owned by New Order, has announced that it will be hosting three one-off events to celebrate the club’s 30th anniversary.

The events, which are named X1, X2 and X3, will take place in late May and early June. The first will take place in the car park of the Hacienda, which is now a block of apartments. The other events will happen in the city’s Sankeys nightclub.

X1 will take place on May 21 in the Hacienda’s car park, X2 on June 2 in Sankeys with former Hacienda residents Laurent Garnier and Justin Martin among the line-up. Finally, X3 will happen on June 4, with a stellar cast that includes Peter Hook, Dave Haslam, Graeme Park and John Da Silva.

As well as the three events, there will also be a new clothing collection named ‘Label, Location, Legacy’ launched to coincide with the anniversary and a photography exhibition.

The line-up for the Hacienda’s 30th anniversary celebrations is as follows:

X1 – Haçienda 30 @ The Haçienda Apartments Car Park – May 21

Line-Up TBC

X2 – Haçienda 30, Sankeys – June 2

Laurent Garnier, Justin Martin, Oli Furness and Special Guests

X3 – Haçienda 30, Sankeys – June 4

Kevin Saunderson, Graeme Park. Allister Whitehead, Tom Wainwright, Jon Da Silva, 808 State DJ’s, Peter Hook, Mc Tunes, Dave Haslam, Dave Booth, Jason Boardman

Jerry Lee Lewis – A Whole Lotta Jerry Lee Lewis

Michael Bonner
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0
Jerry Lee Lewis – A Whole Lotta Jerry Lee Lewis

Four-disc monument to the Killer, containing no filler... What with one thing and another, it took the Grand Ole Opry a while to invite Jerry Lee Lewis to make his debut. Sixteen years, in fact, from his first hits (“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On”, “Great Balls Of Fire”) to finally ushering the Killer onto the stage of Nashville’s Ryman auditorium in January 1973. The high temple of the country music establishment had their reasons for hesitating. Lewis was not known for family-friendly behaviour, unless one counts as such already having three families by this point – one, to the detriment of his box office, with a cousin he’d wed when she was thirteen. But he’d grown up, surely. He was pushing 40. He’d married for a fourth time, to someone old enough to vote. And he was reinventing himself as a proper country singer – he’d had hits with versions of Kris Kristofferson’s “Me & Bobby McGee”, Jimmie Rodgers’ “Waiting For A Train” and Ray Griff’s “Who’s Gonna Play This Old Piano?”. The Opry prepared to formally welcome the black sheep to the fold. “Let me tell ya somethin’ about Jerry Lee Lewis, ladies and gentlemen,” the ostensibly repentant sinner introduced himself. “I am a rock’n’rollin’, country-and-western, rhythm’n’blues singin’ MOTHERFUCKER.” The failure to use this unimprovable assessment of Lewis as the title of this artefact is about the only mis-step its compilers made. The four discs contain 106 tracks, arranged chronologically – the first released by Sun records when Eisenhower was president and people thought this Elvis kid would be over by Christmas, the last a defiantly feral “Wild One”, from the soundtrack of 1989 biopic “Great Balls Of Fire” (Lewis has been little wearied by the two decades and change since – though 2010’s duets collection “Mean Old Man” was a treat). As a study of Lewis’s progress, it’s riveting, not least because it reminds that his move countrywards was not merely a foray in search of an audience that might forgive him his manifold trespasses – he was singing Hank Williams’ “You Win Again” like he meant it as early as 1957. It’s also a necessary lesson that Lewis’s legend is underpinned by prodigious talent – this is a study of sustained instrumental virtuosity, a reminder of how much of rock’n’roll still bucks and twitches to the beat set by Lewis’s left hand, pounding the lower keys like they’ve walked into the bar and asked for a drink with a paper umbrella in it. It’s also an expertly curated compendium of modern American song, although Lewis never really merely covered songs, or even did anything so mannerly as interpreted them. Time and again, he strips them down, soups them up, and turns them loose, unmistakable as anything but Jerry Lee Lewis numbers, breezily heedless of whether they were originally written as heartbreak laments (Hank Williams’ “Cold Cold Heart”) or portents of apocalypse (Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising”). Even at his tenderest (Ernest Tubb’s “Walking The Floor Over You”, say), Lewis never quite dispels the concern that he’s about to set fire to something or swat someone with his piano stool. Lewis called his (terrific) 2006 album Last Man Standing, an acknowledgement of his status as a surviving pioneer (this title was perhaps rather a snub to Chuck Berry, but it, uh, wouldn’t have been the first). This collection is both monument to an incalculably influential canon, and a chronicle of a life now barely imaginable, still less repeatable. Lewis, like all the few remaining rock’n’roll pathfinders, has something of the gnarled cachet of veterans of long-ago wars, occupying the unfathomable realm of those who have experienced things beyond the ken of subsequent generations. He haunts this compilation as he haunts rock’n’roll, a cackling, piano-kicking embodiment of the chaotic contradiction of its origins: the devil’s music played by the God-fearing. Extras: 70-page booklet, containing photos of Lewis at various stages op his career, complete details for each track, and a serviceable biographical essay. 8/10 Andrew Mueller

Four-disc monument to the Killer, containing no filler…

What with one thing and another, it took the Grand Ole Opry a while to invite Jerry Lee Lewis to make his debut. Sixteen years, in fact, from his first hits (“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On”, “Great Balls Of Fire”) to finally ushering the Killer onto the stage of Nashville’s Ryman auditorium in January 1973.

The high temple of the country music establishment had their reasons for hesitating. Lewis was not known for family-friendly behaviour, unless one counts as such already having three families by this point – one, to the detriment of his box office, with a cousin he’d wed when she was thirteen. But he’d grown up, surely. He was pushing 40. He’d married for a fourth time, to someone old enough to vote. And he was reinventing himself as a proper country singer – he’d had hits with versions of Kris Kristofferson’s “Me & Bobby McGee”, Jimmie Rodgers’ “Waiting For A Train” and Ray Griff’s “Who’s Gonna Play This Old Piano?”. The Opry prepared to formally welcome the black sheep to the fold.

“Let me tell ya somethin’ about Jerry Lee Lewis, ladies and gentlemen,” the ostensibly repentant sinner introduced himself. “I am a rock’n’rollin’, country-and-western, rhythm’n’blues singin’ MOTHERFUCKER.”

The failure to use this unimprovable assessment of Lewis as the title of this artefact is about the only mis-step its compilers made. The four discs contain 106 tracks, arranged chronologically – the first released by Sun records when Eisenhower was president and people thought this Elvis kid would be over by Christmas, the last a defiantly feral “Wild One”, from the soundtrack of 1989 biopic “Great Balls Of Fire” (Lewis has been little wearied by the two decades and change since – though 2010’s duets collection “Mean Old Man” was a treat).

As a study of Lewis’s progress, it’s riveting, not least because it reminds that his move countrywards was not merely a foray in search of an audience that might forgive him his manifold trespasses – he was singing Hank Williams’ “You Win Again” like he meant it as early as 1957. It’s also a necessary lesson that Lewis’s legend is underpinned by prodigious talent – this is a study of sustained instrumental virtuosity, a reminder of how much of rock’n’roll still bucks and twitches to the beat set by Lewis’s left hand, pounding the lower keys like they’ve walked into the bar and asked for a drink with a paper umbrella in it.

It’s also an expertly curated compendium of modern American song, although Lewis never really merely covered songs, or even did anything so mannerly as interpreted them. Time and again, he strips them down, soups them up, and turns them loose, unmistakable as anything but Jerry Lee Lewis numbers, breezily heedless of whether they were originally written as heartbreak laments (Hank Williams’ “Cold Cold Heart”) or portents of apocalypse (Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising”). Even at his tenderest (Ernest Tubb’s “Walking The Floor Over You”, say), Lewis never quite dispels the concern that he’s about to set fire to something or swat someone with his piano stool.

Lewis called his (terrific) 2006 album Last Man Standing, an acknowledgement of his status as a surviving pioneer (this title was perhaps rather a snub to Chuck Berry, but it, uh, wouldn’t have been the first). This collection is both monument to an incalculably influential canon, and a chronicle of a life now barely imaginable, still less repeatable. Lewis, like all the few remaining rock’n’roll pathfinders, has something of the gnarled cachet of veterans of long-ago wars, occupying the unfathomable realm of those who have experienced things beyond the ken of subsequent generations. He haunts this compilation as he haunts rock’n’roll, a cackling, piano-kicking embodiment of the chaotic contradiction of its origins: the devil’s music played by the God-fearing.

Extras: 70-page booklet, containing photos of Lewis at various stages op his career, complete details for each track, and a serviceable biographical essay. 8/10

Andrew Mueller

Beatles’ first American concert to be screened in cinemas

Michael Bonner
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0
Beatles’ first American concert to be screened in cinemas
The Beatles first concert in America is to screened as part of a new documentary, The Beatles: The Lost Concert. The band played at the Washington Coliseum on February, 11, 1964, two days after their historic TV appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Their twelve song, 30 minute set included "I Wanna ...

The Beatles first concert in America is to screened as part of a new documentary, The Beatles: The Lost Concert.

The band played at the Washington Coliseum on February, 11, 1964, two days after their historic TV appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Their twelve song, 30 minute set included “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, “She Loves You” and “Twist And Shout” and was shown in American cinemas in March that same year.

The footage was subsequently lost, but was recently rediscovered and remastered by Screenvision, who’ve produced the new documentary.

The film will be premiered at New York’s Ziegfield Theater on May 6, and will be screened in cinemas across America from May 17 and 22. There are no immediate plans for a UK release.

In other Beatles’ business, the band’s 1968 animated film, Yellow Submarine, has been digitally restored for DVD and Blu-ray release in the UK on May 28, and a day later in North America. The film’s soundtrack album will be reissued on CD on the same dates.

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood: “Big Moon Ritual”

John Mulvey
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0
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood: “Big Moon Ritual”

I’ve never been a particularly assiduous follower of Ryan Adams, but my favourite thing I’ve ever heard him do was a version, with The Cardinals, of “Goodnight Rose” on a Henry Rollins show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzSgQ891jY4 It’s not the song so much (you can find a shrunken version of it on “Easy Tiger”), more the jam which engulfs it: a testimony to Adams’ oft-cited, rarely-audible Dead love; a pretty neat showcase for Neal Casal’s spiralling, Cali-spacerock guitar. I’m sure plenty of Adams fans could point me in the direction of similar stuff, but one of the many things that have struck me about “Big Moon Ritual”, by the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, is that it seems to crystallise and fulfil that particular idea of what Cosmic American Music should sound like. Neal Casal is there in the ranks, though it transpires he wasn’t in the original lineup of this latest Robinson trip; his spot was first occupied by Jonathan Wilson, whose “Gentle Spirit” album from last year is another useful touchstone for where “Big Moon Ritual” is coming from. Since a low-key appearance on Devendra Banhart’s “Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon” – and not withstanding the odd potent Black Crowes reunion – Robinson has been stealthily realigning himself with what might loosely be described – and has been, ad nauseam – as a new canyon scene in LA. Banhart’s comrade Thom Monahan is behind the desk here, and there’s a nice passage in the press release that encapsulates the project’s spirit: “It’s not a psych band because you have a Prince Valiant haircut and wear Beatle boots,” says Robinson. “It’s psych because that’s where our heads are. We want to make music that blossoms. We want to make music that sounds cosmic.” Robinson goes on to cite a bunch of intriguing influences for the project: Neu!, Melanie, Flatt & Scruggs, Mel Tillis and Morton Subotnick. Mostly, though, these are hard to detect. “Big Moon Ritual” generally sounds exactly how you might expect: like the guy from The Black Crowes hooking up with some like-minded virtuosi for a clutch of laidback, intuitive explorations of a musical space occupied so fruitfully by The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers in the early ‘70s. The outstanding “Rosalee” even manages to squeeze a compressed “Drums/Space” jam into its bridge, though the song around it is a sprightly country-funk workout that Robinson would have turned into a stadium showstopper two decades ago. Not much wrong with that, you could argue, but the Brotherhood, liberated from certain hard rock obligations, can work it out with a leisurely euphoria that probably better complements Robinson’s cry of “Air getting thinner… Are we getting high?” There are seven tracks on “Big Moon Ritual”, none shorter than seven minutes, and most feel that they could roll on for a good deal longer than they do: it’d be interesting to hear from anyone who’s been lucky enough to see one of their live shows. Certainly, every time Casal steps up to solo – the one in the predominantly Allman-ish “Star Or Stone” is especially great – there’s a sense that he, and the rest of this terrifically fluid band, would happily pursue some concept of the infinite jam. Which is just fine. Robinson’s voice and musical character remains strong; so strong, perhaps, that those of you with suspicions of The Black Crowes might still struggle to get behind this one. The odd Moog solos that punctuate these Macon-via-Topanga ballads and boogies, often in lieu of pedal steel, will hardly change that. For the rest of us, though, “Big Moon Ritual” is a hermetically-sealed, tenderly-executed piece of work that shoots at being both earthy and transcendent, and pulls it off with a very suitable air of effortlessness. Out June 4, I believe, and there’s another album called “The Magic Door” promised for September. I’ll report back when I hear more. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

I’ve never been a particularly assiduous follower of Ryan Adams, but my favourite thing I’ve ever heard him do was a version, with The Cardinals, of “Goodnight Rose” on a Henry Rollins show.

It’s not the song so much (you can find a shrunken version of it on “Easy Tiger”), more the jam which engulfs it: a testimony to Adams’ oft-cited, rarely-audible Dead love; a pretty neat showcase for Neal Casal’s spiralling, Cali-spacerock guitar.

I’m sure plenty of Adams fans could point me in the direction of similar stuff, but one of the many things that have struck me about “Big Moon Ritual”, by the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, is that it seems to crystallise and fulfil that particular idea of what Cosmic American Music should sound like. Neal Casal is there in the ranks, though it transpires he wasn’t in the original lineup of this latest Robinson trip; his spot was first occupied by Jonathan Wilson, whose “Gentle Spirit” album from last year is another useful touchstone for where “Big Moon Ritual” is coming from.

Since a low-key appearance on Devendra Banhart’s “Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon” – and not withstanding the odd potent Black Crowes reunion – Robinson has been stealthily realigning himself with what might loosely be described – and has been, ad nauseam – as a new canyon scene in LA. Banhart’s comrade Thom Monahan is behind the desk here, and there’s a nice passage in the press release that encapsulates the project’s spirit: “It’s not a psych band because you have a Prince Valiant haircut and wear Beatle boots,” says Robinson. “It’s psych because that’s where our heads are. We want to make music that blossoms. We want to make music that sounds cosmic.”

Robinson goes on to cite a bunch of intriguing influences for the project: Neu!, Melanie, Flatt & Scruggs, Mel Tillis and Morton Subotnick. Mostly, though, these are hard to detect. “Big Moon Ritual” generally sounds exactly how you might expect: like the guy from The Black Crowes hooking up with some like-minded virtuosi for a clutch of laidback, intuitive explorations of a musical space occupied so fruitfully by The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers in the early ‘70s.

The outstanding “Rosalee” even manages to squeeze a compressed “Drums/Space” jam into its bridge, though the song around it is a sprightly country-funk workout that Robinson would have turned into a stadium showstopper two decades ago. Not much wrong with that, you could argue, but the Brotherhood, liberated from certain hard rock obligations, can work it out with a leisurely euphoria that probably better complements Robinson’s cry of “Air getting thinner… Are we getting high?”

There are seven tracks on “Big Moon Ritual”, none shorter than seven minutes, and most feel that they could roll on for a good deal longer than they do: it’d be interesting to hear from anyone who’s been lucky enough to see one of their live shows. Certainly, every time Casal steps up to solo – the one in the predominantly Allman-ish “Star Or Stone” is especially great – there’s a sense that he, and the rest of this terrifically fluid band, would happily pursue some concept of the infinite jam.

Which is just fine. Robinson’s voice and musical character remains strong; so strong, perhaps, that those of you with suspicions of The Black Crowes might still struggle to get behind this one. The odd Moog solos that punctuate these Macon-via-Topanga ballads and boogies, often in lieu of pedal steel, will hardly change that.

For the rest of us, though, “Big Moon Ritual” is a hermetically-sealed, tenderly-executed piece of work that shoots at being both earthy and transcendent, and pulls it off with a very suitable air of effortlessness. Out June 4, I believe, and there’s another album called “The Magic Door” promised for September. I’ll report back when I hear more.

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

Fans invited to pay their respects to Levon Helm at his Woodstock home

Michael Bonner
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0
Fans invited to pay their respects to Levon Helm at his Woodstock home

Fans of Levon Helm, who passed away last week at the age of 71, have been invited to his home and studio today [April 26] to pay their respects to the vocalist and drummer. A message posted on Helm’s website reads: "Levon's friends & fans are invited to pay their final respects on Thursday, April 26, 2012 between the hours of 10am. and 3pm. at his home/studio in Woodstock." It is here where Helm hosted his famous Midnight Ramble gigs. Helm passed away from throat cancer on April 19. Following his death a number of artists paid tribute to the musician. Bob Dylan wrote on his website: "He was my bosom buddy friend to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation. This is just so sad to talk about. I still can remember the first day I met him and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some trials together. I'm going to miss him, as I'm sure a whole lot of others will too." Helm's former bandmate Garth Hudson, wrote: Levon "I am so terribly sad. Thank you for 50 years of friendship and music. Memories that live on with us. No more sorrows, no more troubles, no more pain. He went peacefully to that beautiful marvellous place. Levon, I'm proud of you."

Fans of Levon Helm, who passed away last week at the age of 71, have been invited to his home and studio today [April 26] to pay their respects to the vocalist and drummer.

A message posted on Helm’s website reads: “Levon’s friends & fans are invited to pay their final respects on Thursday, April 26, 2012 between the hours of 10am. and 3pm. at his home/studio in Woodstock.”

It is here where Helm hosted his famous Midnight Ramble gigs.

Helm passed away from throat cancer on April 19. Following his death a number of artists paid tribute to the musician.

Bob Dylan wrote on his website:

“He was my bosom buddy friend to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation. This is just so sad to talk about. I still can remember the first day I met him and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some trials together. I’m going to miss him, as I’m sure a whole lot of others will too.”

Helm’s former bandmate Garth Hudson, wrote: Levon “I am so terribly sad. Thank you for 50 years of friendship and music. Memories that live on with us. No more sorrows, no more troubles, no more pain. He went peacefully to that beautiful marvellous place. Levon, I’m proud of you.”

This month in Uncut!

Tom Pinnock
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0
This month in Uncut!

The new issue of Uncut, which hits shelves this Thursday, April 26, features Dexys, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Tom Petty and more. Dexys’ Kevin Rowland is on the cover, recalling his band’s strange and gripping history, and looking forward to their imminent comeback album, One Day I’m Going To Soar. Elsewhere in the issue, Paul McCartney recalls the turmoil surrounding the making of his ‘lost classic’, 1971’s Ram, we preview Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s upcoming Americana album, and head to Tom Petty’s home to discuss the Heartbreakers, Dylan, and Jack Nicholson’s basketball tickets. In our reviews section, new albums from Damon Albarn, Beach House and Richard Hawley, and reissues from My Bloody Valentine, The Small Faces and Sandy Denny are put to the test – along with the latest DVDs and films. Our Instant Karma front section features John Lydon, Sharon Van Etten and the return of cosmic country heroes Beachwood Sparks. The new issue, dated June 2012, is out in shops on Thursday, April 26.

The new issue of Uncut, which hits shelves this Thursday, April 26, features Dexys, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Tom Petty and more.

Dexys’ Kevin Rowland is on the cover, recalling his band’s strange and gripping history, and looking forward to their imminent comeback album, One Day I’m Going To Soar.

Elsewhere in the issue, Paul McCartney recalls the turmoil surrounding the making of his ‘lost classic’, 1971’s Ram, we preview Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s upcoming Americana album, and head to Tom Petty’s home to discuss the Heartbreakers, Dylan, and Jack Nicholson’s basketball tickets.

In our reviews section, new albums from Damon Albarn, Beach House and Richard Hawley, and reissues from My Bloody Valentine, The Small Faces and Sandy Denny are put to the test – along with the latest DVDs and films.

Our Instant Karma front section features John Lydon, Sharon Van Etten and the return of cosmic country heroes Beachwood Sparks.

The new issue, dated June 2012, is out in shops on Thursday, April 26.

John Lydon: “The riots are going to lead to something far far worse”

Michael Bonner
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0
John Lydon: “The riots are going to lead to something far far worse”
Public Image Ltd.'s John Lydon has said he fears that last summer's riots are the precursor to "something far, far worse". Speaking in this week's issue of NME, which is on UK newsstands and available digitally now, Lydon has said he was "deeply ashamed" of how the government handled the situation...

Public Image Ltd.‘s John Lydon has said he fears that last summer’s riots are the precursor to “something far, far worse”.

Speaking in this week’s issue of NME, which is on UK newsstands and available digitally now, Lydon has said he was “deeply ashamed” of how the government handled the situation and that you can still “feel the tension” on the streets.

Asked for his take on last summer’s riots, Lydon replied: “I was very upset with it. People got killed. It was a great tragedy, a great tragedy caused by a government and a police force that’s completely indifferent to what young people have as a future. They’re given nothing now, even less than when I was young and that hurts me deeply.”

Then asked if he thought this was a sign of things to come, Lydon added: “It’s definitely going to lead to something far, far worse. It’s brewing. It’s palpable. You can feel the tension. It’s waiting to go off like an enormous bomb. It will be blamed on the kids on the street, and it isn’t their fault. I’m very deeply ashamed of a government that doesn’t have a clue what’s going on.”

Lydon is preparing to release his first album with PiL in 20 years, This Is PiL, on May 28.

Beach Boys confirm track listing for new album

Michael Bonner
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0
Beach Boys confirm track listing for new album
The Beach Boys have confirmed the track listing for their new album, That's Why God Made The Radio. Along with the title track, the album also features "Think About The Days", "Isn’t It Time", "Spring Vacation", "Private Life Of Bill And Sue", "Shelter", "Daybreak Over The Ocean", "Beaches In Min...

The Beach Boys have confirmed the track listing for their new album, That’s Why God Made The Radio.

Along with the title track, the album also features “Think About The Days”, “Isn’t It Time”, “Spring Vacation”, “Private Life Of Bill And Sue”, “Shelter”, “Daybreak Over The Ocean”, “Beaches In Mind”, “Strange World”, “My Life Suite”, and “Summer’s Gone”.

The album will be preceded by a single, “That’s Why God Made The Radio”, on April 30. The album itself will be released on June 4.

The Beach Boys are about to kick off their 50th anniversary celebrations with a world tour. That’s Why God Made The Radio is the band’s 29th studio album. It will be followed by a new hits collection and a career spanning box set planned for later this year.

John Cale announces tour dates

Michael Bonner
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0
John Cale announces tour dates
John Cale has announced dates in the UK and Ireland ahead of the release of his new album later this year. Cale is scheduled to play: The Button Factory, Dublin on Wednesday, October 3 HMV Picture House, Edinburgh on Friday, October 5 HMV Ritz, Manchester on Saturday October 6 Coal Exchange, Ca...

John Cale has announced dates in the UK and Ireland ahead of the release of his new album later this year.

Cale is scheduled to play:

The Button Factory, Dublin on Wednesday, October 3

HMV Picture House, Edinburgh on Friday, October 5

HMV Ritz, Manchester on Saturday October 6

Coal Exchange, Cardiff on Sunday October 7

The Junction, Cambridge on Wednesday October 10

HMV Royal Institute, Birmingham on Thursday October 11

Royal Festival Hall, London on Saturday October 13

You Me At Six offer fans a unique opportunity

Julian Curran
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Learn how to play their hit single 'Time Is Money'. Guitarist Chris Miller walks you through the song with easy to follow instructions on every part of the song from the introductory riff to the solo. You can check out the 'Time Is Money' tutorial below....

Learn how to play their hit single ‘Time Is Money’.

Guitarist Chris Miller walks you through the song with easy to follow instructions on every part of the song from the introductory riff to the solo.

You can check out the ‘Time Is Money’ tutorial below.

The 17th Uncut Playlist Of 2012

John Mulvey
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The 17th Uncut Playlist Of 2012

One of a bunch of interesting Record Store Day exclusives just turned up for this week’s playlist; a lovely EP from Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy that involves Jonathan Wilson in some capacity, and features covers of Leon Russell and Merle Haggard. A friend just emailed to say it had made him rethink his long-held antipathy towards Will Oldham, and wondered what he should play next. I sent him a long list of recommendations, and found myself inevitably turning to my favourite Oldham record, as you’ll see below. If you fancy helping him out, leave your suggestions in the Facebook comments box. As luck would have it, anyway, an unusually revealing interview with Will Oldham is one of the highlights of a very packed new issue of Uncut, out today or thereabouts in the UK. Dexys are on the cover, and it also features Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, John Lydon, Bob Seger, Peter Hook, Bruce Springsteen, Pulp, Kevin Shields, a great piece on “Nuggets”, Sharon Van Etten, Afghan Whigs, Beachwood Sparks and something by me on Damon Albarn’s “Dr Dee”. Let me know how it all reads, if you have a chance. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey 1 Ty Segall & White Fence – Hair (Drag City) 2 Birds Of Maya – Ready To Howl (Richie/Testoster Tunes) 3 Arnaldo Antunes/Edgard Scandurra/Toumani Diabaté – A Curva Da Cintura (Mais Um Discos) 4 Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Americana (Reprise) 5 Pat Murano & Tom Carter – Natch 4 (http://natchmusic.tumblr.com/) 6 Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse (In The Red) 7 The Silver Jews – Early Times 1990-91 (Drag City) 8 The Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Big Moon Ritual (Silver Arrow) 9 C Joynes – Congo (Bo'Weavil) 10 Andre Williams & The Sadies – Night And Day (Yep Roc) 11 Hot Chip – In Our Heads (Domino) 12 Bobby Womack – The Bravest Man In The Universe (XL) 13 Spacin’ – Deep Thuds (Testoster Tunes/Richie) 14 Can – The Lost Tapes (Mute) 15 Animal Collective – Transverse Temporal Gyrus (Domino) 16 Flaming Lips - The Flaming Lips & Heady Fwends (Warner Bros) 17 Hans-Joachim Roedelius – Wie Das Wispern Des Windes (Bureau B) 18 Bonnie Prince Billy – Hummingbird EP (Spiritual Pajamas) 19 Palace – West Palm Beach/Gulf Shores (Drag City) 20 Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls (Rough Trade)

One of a bunch of interesting Record Store Day exclusives just turned up for this week’s playlist; a lovely EP from Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy that involves Jonathan Wilson in some capacity, and features covers of Leon Russell and Merle Haggard.

A friend just emailed to say it had made him rethink his long-held antipathy towards Will Oldham, and wondered what he should play next. I sent him a long list of recommendations, and found myself inevitably turning to my favourite Oldham record, as you’ll see below. If you fancy helping him out, leave your suggestions in the Facebook comments box.

As luck would have it, anyway, an unusually revealing interview with Will Oldham is one of the highlights of a very packed new issue of Uncut, out today or thereabouts in the UK. Dexys are on the cover, and it also features Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, John Lydon, Bob Seger, Peter Hook, Bruce Springsteen, Pulp, Kevin Shields, a great piece on “Nuggets”, Sharon Van Etten, Afghan Whigs, Beachwood Sparks and something by me on Damon Albarn’s “Dr Dee”. Let me know how it all reads, if you have a chance.

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

1 Ty Segall & White Fence – Hair (Drag City)

2 Birds Of Maya – Ready To Howl (Richie/Testoster Tunes)

3 Arnaldo Antunes/Edgard Scandurra/Toumani Diabaté – A Curva Da Cintura (Mais Um Discos)

4 Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Americana (Reprise)

5 Pat Murano & Tom Carter – Natch 4 (http://natchmusic.tumblr.com/)

6 Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse (In The Red)

7 The Silver Jews – Early Times 1990-91 (Drag City)

8 The Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Big Moon Ritual (Silver Arrow)

9 C Joynes – Congo (Bo’Weavil)

10 Andre Williams & The Sadies – Night And Day (Yep Roc)

11 Hot Chip – In Our Heads (Domino)

12 Bobby Womack – The Bravest Man In The Universe (XL)

13 Spacin’ – Deep Thuds (Testoster Tunes/Richie)

14 Can – The Lost Tapes (Mute)

15 Animal Collective – Transverse Temporal Gyrus (Domino)

16 Flaming Lips – The Flaming Lips & Heady Fwends (Warner Bros)

17 Hans-Joachim Roedelius – Wie Das Wispern Des Windes (Bureau B)

18 Bonnie Prince Billy – Hummingbird EP (Spiritual Pajamas)

19 Palace – West Palm Beach/Gulf Shores (Drag City)

20 Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls (Rough Trade)

Damon Albarn: “Blur and Gorillaz aren’t finished”

Michael Bonner
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Damon Albarn: “Blur and Gorillaz aren’t finished”
Damon Albarn has denied that he is finished with both Blur and Gorillaz. The singer was recently quoted as saying that it is "unlikely" that there will be any more new material from Gorillaz and that Blur's Hyde Park gig on August 7 might be the band's final show. However, speaking to the Metro, A...

Damon Albarn has denied that he is finished with both Blur and Gorillaz.

The singer was recently quoted as saying that it is “unlikely” that there will be any more new material from Gorillaz and that Blur’s Hyde Park gig on August 7 might be the band’s final show.

However, speaking to the Metro, Albarn denied this and said that he and his bandmates had not discussed “the beginning or the end” of Blur.

Asked if Hyde Park would be Blur’s last show, Albarn said: “No. That comes from an article which was an interesting take on a very long conversation. I don’t know how we’ll feel when we play Hyde Park. Some days I feel one way and other days I feel the other. If you don’t see something as a career but as an important part of your life, you don’t know how you’re going to feel about it. We want to put on a great performance but nothing’s been said between us about the beginning or the end.”

Then asked if Gorillaz was finished as a project, Albarn also denied this, adding that when he and partner Jamie Hewlett reconciled after their recent fallout, they’d make another album.

He said of this: “When Jamie Hewlett and I have worked out our differences, I’m sure we’ll make another record. We’ve been through too much together for it to be that big of a mountain to climb. We’ve just fallen out like mates do sometimes. I’m not the only person to fall out with mates and then make up again – everyone does it.”

Albarn also said he was really looking forward to the band’s show at Hyde Park. He added: “Very much so. I love playing with Blur – it’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. At the same time, though, I don’t want to cock it all up by staying around too long and making a fool of myself. At 44, there’s a little trepidation about jumping around on stage but I love it.”

Blur are also embarking on a comprehensive reissue campaign this summer. All seven of the band’s studio albums will be re-released on July 30 in expanded Special Edition formats, each featuring a bonus disc of previously unreleased material, booklets, and more.

Ray Davies and The Waterboys for new festival

Michael Bonner
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Ray Davies and The Waterboys for new festival
Ray Davies, The Waterboys, Nick Lowe and Seasick Steve have been confirmed to play the new Westport Festival of Music and Performing Arts in County Mayo, Ireland. Running on Saturday, June 23 and Sunday June 24, the festival line-up also includes Lloyd Cole, Marc Almond and Hothouse Flowers. More ...

Ray Davies, The Waterboys, Nick Lowe and Seasick Steve have been confirmed to play the new Westport Festival of Music and Performing Arts in County Mayo, Ireland.

Running on Saturday, June 23 and Sunday June 24, the festival line-up also includes Lloyd Cole, Marc Almond and Hothouse Flowers.

More information about the Westport festival can be found at westportfestival.com.

Davies will also join Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Suede at this year’s Hop Farm festival, which takes place in Paddock Wood in Kent from June 29 – July 1.

For more information visit www.hopfarmfestival.com. More acts will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Beach Boys unveil clip of new single ‘That’s Why God Made the Radio’ – video

Tom Goodwyn
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Beach Boys unveil clip of new single ‘That’s Why God Made the Radio’ – video
The Beach Boys have unveiled a clip of "That's Why God Made the Radio", the first single from their new album, which is due in June. The band are soon to embark on a world tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary this summer with founding members Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine all involved....

The Beach Boys have unveiled a clip of “That’s Why God Made the Radio”, the first single from their new album, which is due in June.

The band are soon to embark on a world tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary this summer with founding members Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine all involved. Yesterday, Brian Johnston announced that the band would also release an album to coincide with the tour on June 5.

“It’s a sentimental thing for me,” says Brian Wilson in the clip which you can watch below. “We’ve been together 50 years – that’s a long time.” Mike Love adds: “Conceptually, the album is not going to be anything outlandish or silly, like ‘Smiley Smile’. It will be like the Beach Boys circa ’65. I’m trying to write lyrics that fit the music without making it sound like you’re writing from a hospice.”

Jack White to write sountrack for new Johnny Depp film

Michael Bonner
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Jack White to write sountrack for new Johnny Depp film
Jack White will write, produce and perform the soundtrack to the new adaptation of The Lone Ranger, the film's producer has said. The project will be White's first film soundtrack, following the release of his solo album Blunderbluss on Monday. "Jack's an amazing songwriter with a unique style," p...

Jack White will write, produce and perform the soundtrack to the new adaptation of The Lone Ranger, the film’s producer has said.

The project will be White’s first film soundtrack, following the release of his solo album Blunderbluss on Monday.

“Jack’s an amazing songwriter with a unique style,” producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Variety. “We’re all very excited to have him on board.”

Starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, The Lone Ranger tells the story of a masked crime-fighter (played by Hammer) and his sidekick Tonto (played by Depp). It is based on the popular television series from the 1950s.

Johnny Depp is said to be “thrilled” that White will write the soundtrack.

The former White Stripes frontman had a small role in the 2003 film Cold Mountain, penning several songs for the soundtrack and singing traditional American folk songs such as “Wayfaring Stranger”. He also co-wrote and performed the song ‘Another Way to Die’ with Alicia Keys for the James Bond film Quantum Of Solace.

Jack White played his first solo UK show this week [April 23].

White is set to return in June for more UK gigs, including a set at Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend event in London on June 23.

Tom Petty: ‘I’m a ridiculous control freak’

Tom Pinnock
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Tom Petty: ‘I’m a ridiculous control freak’

Tom Petty reveals a darker side to himself in the new issue of Uncut, out on Thursday, April 26. The singer-songwriter, who has been backed by the Heartbreakers for decades, looks back over his career in this all-new interview, and even compares himself to KFC’s Colonel Sanders. “I admit it. I’m a ridiculous control freak,” he reveals. “The hardest thing to control is myself, and I’m working on that.” Petty, who plays London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 18 and 20, and the Isle Of Wight Festival on June 22, also explains why he usually gets his own way in the Heartbreakers. “If we’re KFC, I’m the Colonel on the bucket. This whole thing has my name on it, and ultimately I’m responsible.” Read the full interview in the new issue of Uncut, which hits shops on Thursday, April 26.

Tom Petty reveals a darker side to himself in the new issue of Uncut, out on Thursday, April 26.

The singer-songwriter, who has been backed by the Heartbreakers for decades, looks back over his career in this all-new interview, and even compares himself to KFC’s Colonel Sanders.

“I admit it. I’m a ridiculous control freak,” he reveals. “The hardest thing to control is myself, and I’m working on that.”

Petty, who plays London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 18 and 20, and the Isle Of Wight Festival on June 22, also explains why he usually gets his own way in the Heartbreakers.

“If we’re KFC, I’m the Colonel on the bucket. This whole thing has my name on it, and ultimately I’m responsible.”

Read the full interview in the new issue of Uncut, which hits shops on Thursday, April 26.

“Very unwell” Sinead O’Connor cancels all touring plans for 2012

Michael Bonner
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“Very unwell” Sinead O’Connor cancels all touring plans for 2012
Sinead O'Connor has cancelled all her planned tour dates for the remainder of 2012 after revealing that she is "very unwell". O'Connor, who suffers from bipolar disorder, posted a message via fan website Sinead-Oconnor.com which said that she had suffered a "very serious breakdown" between December...

Sinead O’Connor has cancelled all her planned tour dates for the remainder of 2012 after revealing that she is “very unwell”.

O’Connor, who suffers from bipolar disorder, posted a message via fan website Sinead-Oconnor.com which said that she had suffered a “very serious breakdown” between December 2011 and March of this year and would not be touring for the rest of 2012.

She also said she was advised by her doctors not to tour in support of her new album How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?, but went ahead anyway, a decision she now regrets.

She wrote: “With enormous regret I must announce that I have to cancel all touring for the year as am very unwell due to bipolar disorder. As you all know I had a very serious breakdown between December and March and I had been advised by my doctor not to go on tour but didn’t want to ‘fail’ or let anyone down as the tour was already booked to coincide with album release.”

She continued: “So very stupidly I ignored his advice to my great detriment, attempting to be stronger than I actually am. I apologise sincerely for any difficulties this may cause. While touring will be cancelled I do hope and plan to appear at the Curtis Mayfield tribute in The Lincoln Centre in July.”

O’Connor has endured a difficult year, admitting in January that she took an overdose days before issuing her cry for help on Twitter.

‘How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?’ was released in February and is the ninth studio album of O’Connor’s career.

New Order, Primal Scream, Spiritualized to play Festival Number 6

Michael Bonner
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New Order, Primal Scream, Spiritualized to play Festival Number 6
New Order, Primal Scream and Spiritualized are all confirmed to play a new festival named Festival Number 6 in September. The event will take place in the town of Portmeirion in North West Wales from September 14 – 16. It takes its name from the 1960s TV series The Prisoner, which was filmed in t...

New Order, Primal Scream and Spiritualized are all confirmed to play a new festival named Festival Number 6 in September.

The event will take place in the town of Portmeirion in North West Wales from September 14 – 16. It takes its name from the 1960s TV series The Prisoner, which was filmed in the town from 1967 – 1968.

Festival Number 6 is a newly launched event and is being put on by the promoters of Beach Break Live, Snowbombing and Lounge On The Farm festival.

As well as performances from Primal Scream, New Order and Spiritualized, the event also promises to offer punters arts installations and “surreal street theatre”. For more information about the event, visit Festivalnumber6.com.

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