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Arcade Fire’s live webcast to be directed by Terry Gilliam

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Arcade Fire have announced that the [url=http://www.nme.com/news/arcade-fire/52146]online stream of their show at New York's Madison Square Garden[/url] will be directed by Terry Gilliam. Former Monty Python member Gilliam has directed films including Brazil, 12 Monkeys and The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus. The gig will take place on August 5 at 10pm (EDT). Meanwhile, as well as being able to watch the Canadian group preview songs from [url=http://www.nme.com/news/arcade-fire/51573]their upcoming album 'The Suburbs'[/url], fans will be able to select multiple camera angles and even submit photos of their own "suburbs", which may be featured onstage during the band's performance, reports The Associated Press. For more information, visit YouTube.com. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Arcade Fire have announced that the [url=http://www.nme.com/news/arcade-fire/52146]online stream of their show at New York’s Madison Square Garden[/url] will be directed by Terry Gilliam.

Former Monty Python member Gilliam has directed films including Brazil, 12 Monkeys and The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus.

The gig will take place on August 5 at 10pm (EDT).

Meanwhile, as well as being able to watch the Canadian group preview songs from [url=http://www.nme.com/news/arcade-fire/51573]their upcoming album ‘The Suburbs'[/url], fans will be able to select multiple camera angles and even submit photos of their own “suburbs”, which may be featured onstage during the band’s performance, reports The Associated Press.

For more information, visit YouTube.com.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The Coral announce November UK tour and ticket details

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The Coral have announced details of a five-date UK tour for November. The Wirral band, who recently released new album 'Butterfly House', will kick off the tour in Leeds on November 14. The shows include a date at London's prestigous Royal Albert Hall on November 15. The Coral will play: O2 Academy Leeds (November 14) London Royal Albert Hall (15) O2 Academy Oxford (17) O2 ABC Glasgow (19) Liverpool University (20) Tickets go on sale at 9:30am (BST) on Friday (July 30). Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The Coral have announced details of a five-date UK tour for November.

The Wirral band, who recently released new album ‘Butterfly House’, will kick off the tour in Leeds on November 14.

The shows include a date at London‘s prestigous Royal Albert Hall on November 15.

The Coral will play:

O2 Academy Leeds (November 14)

London Royal Albert Hall (15)

O2 Academy Oxford (17)

O2 ABC Glasgow (19)

Liverpool University (20)

Tickets go on sale at 9:30am (BST) on Friday (July 30).

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Madness announce mammoth UK tour and ticket details

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Madness have announced plans for a mammoth UK tour in the winter. The ska veterans will hit the road for 16 dates, calling at Blackpool Empress Ballroom on November 26 and taking in a date at London Earls Court on December 17. The 'Do Not Adjust Your Nut' tour will see the band debut new material from their forthcoming as-yet-untitled studio LP, the follow-up to 2009's 'The Liberty Of Norton Folgate'. Madness will play the following dates: Blackpool Empress Ballroom (November 26) Glasgow O2 Academy (27) Newcastle O2 Academy (28) Manchester Apollo (30) Sheffield O2 Academy (December 1) Hull Arena (3) Leicester De Montfort Hall (4) Leeds O2 Academy (5) Nottingham Rock City (7) Bournemouth BIC (8) Reading Rivermead (10) Birmingham O2 Academy (11) Cardiff International Arena (13) Plymouth Pavilions (14) Brighton Centre (15) London Earls Court (17) Tickets go on sale on Friday (July 30) at 9.30am (BST). Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Madness have announced plans for a mammoth UK tour in the winter.

The ska veterans will hit the road for 16 dates, calling at Blackpool Empress Ballroom on November 26 and taking in a date at London Earls Court on December 17.

The ‘Do Not Adjust Your Nut’ tour will see the band debut new material from their forthcoming as-yet-untitled studio LP, the follow-up to 2009’s ‘The Liberty Of Norton Folgate’.

Madness will play the following dates:

Blackpool Empress Ballroom (November 26)

Glasgow O2 Academy (27)

Newcastle O2 Academy (28)

Manchester Apollo (30)

Sheffield O2 Academy (December 1)

Hull Arena (3)

Leicester De Montfort Hall (4)

Leeds O2 Academy (5)

Nottingham Rock City (7)

Bournemouth BIC (8)

Reading Rivermead (10)

Birmingham O2 Academy (11)

Cardiff International Arena (13)

Plymouth Pavilions (14)

Brighton Centre (15)

London Earls Court (17)

Tickets go on sale on Friday (July 30) at 9.30am (BST).

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

NEIL YOUNG LIFTS LID ON ARCHIVES VOL 2

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The second instalment of Neil Young’s Archives project is progressing well, with Archives Volume 2 promising “even more content” than 2009’s 10-disc Volume 1, according to Young’s official website, www.neilyoung.com. Volume 2 will cover Young’s mid 1970s-to-early-1980s period, and along with “many unreleased tracks”, four unreleased albums will be made officially available for the first time. Three of these albums are studio recordings – the legendary, long-bootlegged Chrome Dreams, 1975’s Homegrown and Oceanside-Country. The fourth is a document of Young’s 1976 tour, Odeon-Budokan. Although Archives Volume 1 was notable for its adoption of Blu-Ray technology, the four albums – issued as part of the NYA Special Release Series – will initially only be available on vinyl, mastered from analogue tapes. “They were originally created for that format,” adds Young. “So now is the time to get your new phonograph player.” More details as we get them!

The second instalment of Neil Young’s Archives project is progressing well, with Archives Volume 2 promising “even more content” than 2009’s 10-disc Volume 1, according to Young’s official website, www.neilyoung.com.

Volume 2 will cover Young’s mid 1970s-to-early-1980s period, and along with “many unreleased tracks”, four unreleased albums will be made officially available for the first time. Three of these albums are studio recordings – the legendary, long-bootlegged Chrome Dreams, 1975’s Homegrown and Oceanside-Country. The fourth is a document of Young’s 1976 tour, Odeon-Budokan.

Although Archives Volume 1 was notable for its adoption of Blu-Ray technology, the four albums – issued as part of the NYA Special Release Series – will initially only be available on vinyl, mastered from analogue tapes. “They were originally created for that format,” adds Young. “So now is the time to get your new phonograph player.”

More details as we get them!

Foreigner and Europe rock London Roundhouse at iTunes Festival

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Foreigner and Europe rocked London's Roundhouse last night (July 26), both bands playing a host of hits from their career-spanning backcatalogue at the iTunes Festival. Foreigner performed their hit singles 'I Want To Know What Love Is', 'Cold As Ice' and 'Waiting For A Girl Like You'. Band founder Mick Jones was the sole original member of the group in the line-up. The rocker performed alongside a six-piece band made up of players who have performed under the band name over the last six years. Setting their stall out early on, singer Kelly Hansen walked across the top of the stage barrier shaking fans' hands as the group performed 'Cold As Ice'. They played only one song ('When It Comes To Love') from their 2009 album 'Can't Slow Down', packing the majority of their set with songs from their first five albums. "It is really great to be back in England, it has been a long time," Jones said prior to launching into 'Feels Like The First Time'. He then commented on the Roundhouse's recent facelift: "This place has improved a lot since we last played here." As Foreigner brought their set to a close Hansen told the crowd: "This is a historical place so I want you to reach out and put your arm around the person next to you," before performing 1985 UK and US Number One 'I Want To Know What Love Is'. Earlier Swedish metal veterans Europe covered Bob Marley's 'No Woman No Cry' midway through their 1988 single 'Superstitious'. Frontman Joey Tempest spent much of the show swinging his mic stand around before jumping down to the front barrier to shake fans' hands during 'Rock The Night'. The band ended their show to huge cheers as they introduced their famous 1986 UK chart topper 'The Final Countdown'. Foreigner played: 'Double Vision' 'Head Games' 'Cold as Ice' 'Waiting For A Girl Like You' 'When It Comes To Love' 'Dirty White Boy' 'That Was Yesterday' 'Can't Slow Down' 'Starrider' 'Feels Like The First Time' 'Urgent' 'Juke Box Hero' 'I Want to Know What Love Is' 'Hot Blooded' Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Foreigner and Europe rocked London‘s Roundhouse last night (July 26), both bands playing a host of hits from their career-spanning backcatalogue at the iTunes Festival.

Foreigner performed their hit singles ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’, ‘Cold As Ice’ and ‘Waiting For A Girl Like You’.

Band founder Mick Jones was the sole original member of the group in the line-up. The rocker performed alongside a six-piece band made up of players who have performed under the band name over the last six years.

Setting their stall out early on, singer Kelly Hansen walked across the top of the stage barrier shaking fans’ hands as the group performed ‘Cold As Ice’. They played only one song (‘When It Comes To Love’) from their 2009 album ‘Can’t Slow Down’, packing the majority of their set with songs from their first five albums.

“It is really great to be back in England, it has been a long time,” Jones said prior to launching into ‘Feels Like The First Time’. He then commented on the Roundhouse‘s recent facelift: “This place has improved a lot since we last played here.”

As Foreigner brought their set to a close Hansen told the crowd: “This is a historical place so I want you to reach out and put your arm around the person next to you,” before performing 1985 UK and US Number One ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’.

Earlier Swedish metal veterans Europe covered Bob Marley‘s ‘No Woman No Cry’ midway through their 1988 single ‘Superstitious’. Frontman Joey Tempest spent much of the show swinging his mic stand around before jumping down to the front barrier to shake fans’ hands during ‘Rock The Night’.

The band ended their show to huge cheers as they introduced their famous 1986 UK chart topper ‘The Final Countdown’.

Foreigner played:

‘Double Vision’

‘Head Games’

‘Cold as Ice’

‘Waiting For A Girl Like You’

‘When It Comes To Love’

‘Dirty White Boy’

‘That Was Yesterday’

‘Can’t Slow Down’

‘Starrider’

‘Feels Like The First Time’

‘Urgent’

‘Juke Box Hero’

‘I Want to Know What Love Is’

‘Hot Blooded’

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Manic Street Preachers anounce new ‘Postcards…’ album tracklisting

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Manic Street Preachers have revealed the tracklisting of their new album 'Postcards From A Young Man' to Uncut's sister title NME. The Welsh trio will release the album on September 20, with the lead single from the record, '(It's Not War) – Just The End of Love', out a week earlier (September 23). The album is the band's 10th studio effort – with the band having describing it as "one last shot at mass communication". It was recorded with producer Dave Eringa in the band's home studio in Cardiff. Echo And The Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch guests on the track 'Some Kind of Nothingness', while former Guns N' Roses guitarist Duff MaKagen also contributed to the album. The tracklisting of 'Postcards From A Young Man' is: '(It's Not War) – Just The End of Love' 'Postcards From A Young Man' 'Some Kind of Nothingness' 'The Descent – (Pages 1 & 2)' 'Hazleton Avenue' 'Auto-Intoxication' 'Golden Platitudes' 'I Think I’ve Found It' 'A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun' 'All We Make Is Entertainment' 'The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever' 'Don’t Be Evil' Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Manic Street Preachers have revealed the tracklisting of their new album ‘Postcards From A Young Man’ to Uncut’s sister title NME.

The Welsh trio will release the album on September 20, with the lead single from the record, ‘(It’s Not War) – Just The End of Love’, out a week earlier (September 23).

The album is the band’s 10th studio effort – with the band having describing it as “one last shot at mass communication”. It was recorded with producer Dave Eringa in the band’s home studio in Cardiff.

Echo And The Bunnymen‘s Ian McCulloch guests on the track ‘Some Kind of Nothingness’, while former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Duff MaKagen also contributed to the album.

The tracklisting of ‘Postcards From A Young Man’ is:

‘(It’s Not War) – Just The End of Love’

‘Postcards From A Young Man’

‘Some Kind of Nothingness’

‘The Descent – (Pages 1 & 2)’

‘Hazleton Avenue’

‘Auto-Intoxication’

‘Golden Platitudes’

‘I Think I’ve Found It’

‘A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun’

‘All We Make Is Entertainment’

‘The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever’

‘Don’t Be Evil’

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Teenage Fanclub help Truck Festival celebrate its 13th birthday

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Teenage Fanclub closed the second and final day of the Truck Festival in Oxfordshire last night (July 25) with a 20-song set as the event marked its 13th birthday. Fucked Up, Pulled Apart By Horses and Blood Red Shoes also played at day two of the festival. Performing the event's main stage, the Glasgow band had played a career-spanning set, which featured six songs from their new album 'Shadows'. The headliners were clearly a popular choice, with fans in the crowd waving banners declaring T.F.C. I love you at the Glasgow band throughout their set. Teenage Fanclub played: 'Start Again' 'Sometimes I Don't Need To Believe In Anything' 'The Fall' 'It's All In My Mind' 'Don't Look Back' 'Baby Lee' 'Verisimilitude' 'Star Sign' 'I Don't Want Control Of You' 'About You' 'Sweet Days Waiting' 'Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From' 'The Concept' 'Ain't That Enough' 'When I Still Have Thee' 'Sparky's Dream' 'Can't Feel My Soul' 'I Need Direction' 'Today Never Ends' 'Everything Flows' Earlier in the day, Future Of The Left played in the event's Barn venue, performing crowd favourites including 'Manchasm' and 'The Hope That House Built'. Andy Falkous joked to the audience: "Hello Truck Festival on this Sunday. You should be ashamed of yourself - on the Lord's day!" Meanwhile, Blood Red Shoes were joined on the Truck Stage by Pulled Apart By Horses at the climax of their set, when both bands took apart the drumkit and dived into the crowd. Pulled Apart By Horses had earlier played their own set on the Barn Stage, with singer Tom Hudson telling the sweaty crowd: "It's great to be back! The smell of beautiful shit in the cow shed." Elsewhere duo Summer Camp played the Village Pub stage, opening with 'Ghost Train' after taking to the stage slightly later than planned. "Sorry about the wait, it's all to build tension," joked singer Elizabeth Sankey. Later she appealed to the audience for help: "We were at Secret Garden Party yesterday and I think our bassist and keyboardist need some tender loving care, so if anyone's a masseuse or has got a hangover cure, they need you!" The day beforehand (July 24), [url=http://www.nme.com/news/mew/52207]the opening day of Truck Festival had seen performances from the likes of Good Shoes, Ms Dynamite and Mew[/url]. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Teenage Fanclub closed the second and final day of the Truck Festival in Oxfordshire last night (July 25) with a 20-song set as the event marked its 13th birthday.

Fucked Up, Pulled Apart By Horses and Blood Red Shoes also played at day two of the festival.

Performing the event’s main stage, the Glasgow band had played a career-spanning set, which featured six songs from their new album ‘Shadows’.

The headliners were clearly a popular choice, with fans in the crowd waving banners declaring T.F.C. I love you at the Glasgow band throughout their set.

Teenage Fanclub played:

‘Start Again’

‘Sometimes I Don’t Need To Believe In Anything’

‘The Fall’

‘It’s All In My Mind’

‘Don’t Look Back’

‘Baby Lee’

‘Verisimilitude’

‘Star Sign’

‘I Don’t Want Control Of You’

‘About You’

‘Sweet Days Waiting’

‘Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From’

‘The Concept’

‘Ain’t That Enough’

‘When I Still Have Thee’

‘Sparky’s Dream’

‘Can’t Feel My Soul’

‘I Need Direction’

‘Today Never Ends’

‘Everything Flows’

Earlier in the day, Future Of The Left played in the event’s Barn venue, performing crowd favourites including ‘Manchasm’ and ‘The Hope That House Built’.

Andy Falkous joked to the audience: “Hello Truck Festival on this Sunday. You should be ashamed of yourself – on the Lord’s day!”

Meanwhile, Blood Red Shoes were joined on the Truck Stage by Pulled Apart By Horses at the climax of their set, when both bands took apart the drumkit and dived into the crowd. Pulled Apart By Horses had earlier played their own set on the Barn Stage, with singer Tom Hudson telling the sweaty crowd: “It’s great to be back! The smell of beautiful shit in the cow shed.”

Elsewhere duo Summer Camp played the Village Pub stage, opening with ‘Ghost Train’ after taking to the stage slightly later than planned. “Sorry about the wait, it’s all to build tension,” joked singer Elizabeth Sankey.

Later she appealed to the audience for help: “We were at Secret Garden Party yesterday and I think our bassist and keyboardist need some tender loving care, so if anyone’s a masseuse or has got a hangover cure, they need you!”

The day beforehand (July 24), [url=http://www.nme.com/news/mew/52207]the opening day of Truck Festival had seen performances from the likes of Good Shoes, Ms Dynamite and Mew[/url].

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

GAINSBOURG

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Directed by Joann Sfar Starring Eric Elmosnino, Laetitia Casta, Lucy Gordon In a nutshell: ugly French bloke, fired by self-belief and talent, manages to pull a string of implausibly beautiful women before drinking himself to death. Joann Sfar manages to tell the story in two hours, cramming in a...

Directed by Joann Sfar

Starring Eric Elmosnino, Laetitia Casta, Lucy Gordon

In a nutshell: ugly French bloke, fired by self-belief and talent, manages to pull a string of implausibly beautiful women before drinking himself to death.

Joann Sfar manages to tell the story in two hours, cramming in around two-dozen of Serge’s compositions to boot.

The USP of comic-book artist Sfar is to use magical realism. The film starts in Occupied Paris, where a young Gainsbourg (wearing a yellow Star of David) sees an anti-semitic Nazi propaganda poster. The Jewish caricature on the poster morphs into a jug-eared, hook-nosed caricature of Gainsbourg himself.

This golem-like alter-ego haunts him throughout, taunting him to drink, smoke, ditch jazz and painting, and sell out.

Sfar is a little too in love with his subject, so it’s just as well that Eric Elmosnino excels in the lead role. Not only does he look like Serge, but he carries himself with the impassive majesty of a silent movie star, compensating for any of the film’s failings.

John Lewis

TEARDROP EXPLODES – KILAMANJARO DELUX EDITION

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If one wanted a microcosm of the chaos of being in a band, one could do worse than look at the recording of Kilimanjaro, the debut album by The Teardrop Explodes. Julian Cope’s wonderfully bitchy memoir of that period, Head On, paints a tale of jealous rivalry (with Echo And The Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch), of startling paranoia (directed at mentor and label boss Bill Drummond) and pathological hatred (directed at Dave Balfe, who somehow multi-tasked as the band’s manager, keyboard player and co-label boss). The saga was perpetuated by the fractious and fragile nature of the band. Founder guitarist Mick Finkler, who helped write many of the songs over the previous two years, was sacked the day before their first American tour and replaced by Alan Gill, while Gill and Balfe both departed shortly afterwards. There were constant fistfights, onstage bust-ups and huge ingestions of drugs. During the two months he spent recording Kilimanjaro, the straight-edge Cope went "from Drug Puritan to Acid King”. Not only that: having started the project as a slightly nerdy student teacher from rural Staffordshire, he ended it as a fully fledged sex symbol, gracing the cover of every music magazine in the land. The finished album is something of a palimpsest – when Phonogram signed the band just after they’d recorded the original mix, many of Finkler’s guitar parts were overdubbed, while Cope decided to re-record most of his vocals while dressed as Lawrence Of Arabia. Additionally the singles “Treason” and “Reward” were given extra punch by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, the archetypal pop partnership behind Madness, Costello and Dexys. This 3CD set collates all of that material, with one CD of older material (b-sides, original single recordings) and another of Peel sessions. Amazingly, the whole thing hangs together as a cohesive statement. Liverpool bands often have a reputation of being apart from the rest of Britain – this is, after all, a maritime city state that returned an Irish Nationalist MP to parliament for half a century, a place where kids spent the 1980s wearing flares and listening to Pink Floyd. Kilimanjaro betrays many of the peculiarities that have defined the city’s music scene over the past three decades: the Scott Walker/Jim Morrison-style crooning, the air of triumphalism, the jangly guitars, the soothing balm of melody and the definite hint of psychedelia. A slightly paranoid Cope maintains that his band’s deployment of a horn section was copied by The Jam. The difference is that the Teardrops used horns very differently from contemporaries like Weller, The Specials, Dexys or Spandau Ballet. On “Ha Ha I’m Drowning”, “Sleeping Gas” and “Went Crazy”, trumpeters Ray Martinez and Hurricane Smith aren’t sassy and soulful, they are deliberately stiff and unfunky, like the martial fanfares leading an army into battle. Curiously, they chime with the whole Neolithic vibe that Cope would later explore, as do some of the other additional tracks on this package. The title track, which wasn’t actually on the original album, is a spooky tribal drum stomp. “Strange House In The Snow” – all modal piano, scraped violins and distorted guitar – conjurs up something primeval. “The Great Dominions”, later elaborated for the next album, Wilder, is here presented in its Peel Sessions incarnation as a duet for piano and vocals, complete with medieval harmonies and drones. There are also several earlier tracks which shed light on the finished album. The fantastic “Camera Camera” sees Cope doing his best Howard Devoto impression, while two other early b-sides, “All I Am Is Loving You” and “Kirby Workers Dream Fades” sound like unfinished Joy Division demos: the first a simple minor-key riff, repeated for two minutes, the second a two-chord dirge. Other songs on the album were, according to Cope, conscious attempts to copy The Pop Group, Patti Smith, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Seeds and assorted psych-rock obscurities. In the end, Cope and Balfe were disappointed that they didn’t sound like their role models. Yet Kilimanjaro stands as the most enduring Liverpool album of this era precisely because of its failings. Much as they try to be trippy and hypnotic and psychedelic, The Teardrop Explodes couldn’t help making perfect pop music that slotted in perfectly with the New Pop scene they so hated. John Lewis

If one wanted a microcosm of the chaos of being in a band, one could do worse than look at the recording of Kilimanjaro, the debut album by The Teardrop Explodes. Julian Cope’s wonderfully bitchy memoir of that period, Head On, paints a tale of jealous rivalry (with Echo And The Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch), of startling paranoia (directed at mentor and label boss Bill Drummond) and pathological hatred (directed at Dave Balfe, who somehow multi-tasked as the band’s manager, keyboard player and co-label boss).

The saga was perpetuated by the fractious and fragile nature of the band. Founder guitarist Mick Finkler, who helped write many of the songs over the previous two years, was sacked the day before their first American tour and replaced by Alan Gill, while Gill and Balfe both departed shortly afterwards. There were constant fistfights, onstage bust-ups and huge ingestions of drugs. During the two months he spent recording Kilimanjaro, the straight-edge Cope went “from Drug Puritan to Acid King”. Not only that: having started the project as a slightly nerdy student teacher from rural Staffordshire, he ended it as a fully fledged sex symbol, gracing the cover of every music magazine in the land.

The finished album is something of a palimpsest – when Phonogram signed the band just after they’d recorded the original mix, many of Finkler’s guitar parts were overdubbed, while Cope decided to re-record most of his vocals while dressed as Lawrence Of Arabia. Additionally the singles “Treason” and “Reward” were given extra punch by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, the archetypal pop partnership behind Madness, Costello and Dexys. This 3CD set collates all of that material, with one CD of older material (b-sides, original single recordings) and another of Peel sessions. Amazingly, the whole thing hangs together as a cohesive statement.

Liverpool bands often have a reputation of being apart from the rest of Britain – this is, after all, a maritime city state that returned an Irish Nationalist MP to parliament for half a century, a place where kids spent the 1980s wearing flares and listening to Pink Floyd. Kilimanjaro betrays many of the peculiarities that have defined the city’s music scene over the past three decades: the Scott Walker/Jim Morrison-style crooning, the air of triumphalism, the jangly guitars, the soothing balm of melody and the definite hint of psychedelia.

A slightly paranoid Cope maintains that his band’s deployment of a horn section was copied by The Jam. The difference is that the Teardrops used horns very differently from contemporaries like Weller, The Specials, Dexys or Spandau Ballet. On “Ha Ha I’m Drowning”, “Sleeping Gas” and “Went Crazy”, trumpeters Ray Martinez and Hurricane Smith aren’t sassy and soulful, they are deliberately stiff and unfunky, like the martial fanfares leading an army into battle.

Curiously, they chime with the whole Neolithic vibe that Cope would later explore, as do some of the other additional tracks on this package. The title track, which wasn’t actually on the original album, is a spooky tribal drum stomp. “Strange House In The Snow” – all modal piano, scraped violins and distorted guitar – conjurs up something primeval. “The Great Dominions”, later elaborated for the next album, Wilder, is here presented in its Peel Sessions incarnation as a duet for piano and vocals, complete with medieval harmonies and drones.

There are also several earlier tracks which shed light on the finished album. The fantastic “Camera Camera” sees Cope doing his best Howard Devoto impression, while two other early b-sides, “All I Am Is Loving You” and “Kirby Workers Dream Fades” sound like unfinished Joy Division demos: the first a simple minor-key riff, repeated for two minutes, the second a two-chord dirge. Other songs on the album were, according to Cope, conscious attempts to copy The Pop Group, Patti Smith, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Seeds and assorted psych-rock obscurities.

In the end, Cope and Balfe were disappointed that they didn’t sound like their role models. Yet Kilimanjaro stands as the most enduring Liverpool album of this era precisely because of its failings. Much as they try to be trippy and hypnotic and psychedelic, The Teardrop Explodes couldn’t help making perfect pop music that slotted in perfectly with the New Pop scene they so hated.

John Lewis

JOHN MAYALL – SO MANY ROADS: AN ANTHOLOGY 1964 – 1974

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“The Godfather of British Blues”. There must have been times when John Mayall wondered what his title amounted to, times when he rued that so many of his charges had so far eclipsed the bandleader who gave them their break. Consider, for starters, the trio of young axe gods Mayall blooded in his Bluesbreakers – Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor. Then consider the wealth of other talent to pass through the group: John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Jack Bruce, Keef Hartley, Henry Lowther, Jon Hiseman, Jon Mark, Johnny Almond, Harvey Mandel, Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris and more. Not all were unknowns when they joined Mayall (especially the American names), but it says much for his talents that all signed up for his blues academy, whether their rite of passage lasted years, months or, as in the case of Free’s Andy Fraser, mere weeks. While former charges have gone on to fame and fortune, Mayall has endured with the stoicism expected of a bluesman. At 77, he is currently touring his 57th album (appropriately titled Tough) with an OBE to his name. His extensive back catalogue remains in place, though the various live sessions, singles and oddities of his early years are scattered confusingly across assorted reissues and compilations. This well-annotated set goes some way to clearing up the muddle. Though it doesn’t claim to be comprehensive – that would mean quadrupling its 71 tracks – So Many Roads offers a clear account of Mayall’s ascent from blues circuit scuffler to blues-rock icon, thereafter to Laurel Canyon eminence and jazz-blues innovator. Mayall picked up the blues bug as a kid, learning from his guitarist father and his extensive record collection. He was always an individualist, set apart from the 1960s London R’n’B scene by a background that was Macclesfield rather than Maidstone, and, perhaps, by a three-year stint in the army that included a posting to Korea. By the time Mayall, a commercial artist, moved to London and made his first record – the unexceptional two minutes 16 seconds of “Crawling Up A Hill” – he was 28. Later, Mayall fostered an image as a blues purist, but the opening slew of tracks here, recorded live in London in 1964 for his first album, John Mayall Plays John Mayall, find him happy to mix it with commercial R’n’B, ploughing an organ groove on the likes of “Night Train”. Though the album bombed, Mayall was quick to refocus, knocking out a single for Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate label – “I’m Your Witchdoctor”, featuring his new guitarist, Eric Clapton, freshly departed from The Yardbirds for a less ‘commercial’ direction. Eric must have been bemused to find himself playing “On Top Of The World”, another Immediate single that sounds like an attempt to become The Small Faces. On the circuit, however, the Bluesbreakers steeped themselves in Chicago blues – a pair of live cuts from autumn 1965 (“Stormy Monday” and “Have You Ever Loved A Woman”) offer a vivid glimpse of the group’s emerging identity as blues hardliners. If recruiting Clapton was a masterstroke, so was Mayall’s decision to immerse him in the work of Chicago trailblazers like Freddie King and Otis Rush. Clapton recycled their dexterous style on a newly acquired Gibson Les Paul, which he teamed with a Marshall amplifier for a new sound – ferocious but fluid – that would prove hugely influential. The six tracks here from 1966’s Bluesbreakers still sound freakish, not least Mayall’s own “Double Crossing Time”. Producer Mike Vernon, who had long championed Mayall, conjured a murky atmosphere in which Clapton’s piercing guitar and Mayall’s eerie falsetto shone out. After this, no-one wondered whether Brits could play the blues; it was a fact of life. 1967’s A Hard Road is arguably a better album, with great Mayall originals like “Sitting In The Rain” and Clapton’s replacement, Peter Green, bringing a, more melodic approach that anticipated his Fleetwood Mac glories on “The Supernatural”. The Bluesbreakers’ lineup soon became a revolving door, with Mayall in the role of stern patriarch. His ability to attract talent was impressive, but as if to prove he needed no-one, he recorded The Blues Alone in a single day, playing all instruments (bar drums) himself. Mayall replaced Green with Mick Taylor, a less adventurous player but one whose rippling lines fitted Mayall’s plain vocal style, adding a horn section for 1967’s Crusade and its heftier sound. Mayall habitually presented himself as craggy defender of the 12-bar faith, but his response to the innovations of the late ’60s – psychedelia, songwriters – was more nuanced than he’s given credit for. Bare Wires and Blues From Lauren Canyon (both 1968) featured jazzy line-ups (with Dick Heckstall-Smith’s sax and Jon Hiseman’s drums) and some introspective, albeit patchy, songwriting. Perhaps sensing he couldn’t compete against the new world of arena rock, Mayall then went drumless and acoustic; tracks like “Room To Move” (from the hugely succesful live album, The Turning Point). “Counting The Days” (from 1970’s Empty Rooms) and “Nature’s Disappearing” (an eco-call from 1970’s Union USA) find Mayall thoughtful, tuneful, and working alongside high-class musicians like reedsman Mark Almond, Canned Heat guitarist Harvey Mandel and violinist Sugarcane Harris. The period marked Mayall’s commercial peak (in the US) and the limits of his artistic ambition. The final disc here shows him tumbling back into predictability – Jazz-Blues Fusion is a fanciful description of what’s served up on “Good Time Boogie”, and “Driving ’Til The Break Of Day” and “Gasoline Blues” are as dull as their titles suggest. Of the Back To The Roots LP (1971) that reconvened Green and Clapton there is no sign. So Many Roads may ultimately be the story of the journeyman as star – still, Mayall deserves his ‘Godfather’ title. A paradigm of what grit and savvy can achieve, his assorted Bluesbreakers lineups cast a lasting influence over British music, a fact perhaps obscured by his defection to the States. At his best, the thrill still hasn’t gone. Neil Spencer

“The Godfather of British Blues”. There must have been times when John Mayall wondered what his title amounted to, times when he rued that so many of his charges had so far eclipsed the bandleader who gave them their break.

Consider, for starters, the trio of young axe gods Mayall blooded in his Bluesbreakers – Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor. Then consider the wealth of other talent to pass through the group: John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Jack Bruce, Keef Hartley, Henry Lowther, Jon Hiseman, Jon Mark, Johnny Almond, Harvey Mandel, Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris and more.

Not all were unknowns when they joined Mayall (especially the American names), but it says much for his talents that all signed up for his blues academy, whether their rite of passage lasted years, months or, as in the case of Free’s Andy Fraser, mere weeks.

While former charges have gone on to fame and fortune, Mayall has endured with the stoicism expected of a bluesman. At 77, he is currently touring his 57th album (appropriately titled Tough) with an OBE to his name. His extensive back catalogue remains in place, though the various live sessions, singles and oddities of his early years are scattered confusingly across assorted reissues and compilations.

This well-annotated set goes some way to clearing up the muddle. Though it doesn’t claim to be comprehensive – that would mean quadrupling its 71 tracks – So Many Roads offers a clear account of Mayall’s ascent from blues circuit scuffler to blues-rock icon, thereafter to Laurel Canyon eminence and jazz-blues innovator. Mayall picked up the blues bug as a kid, learning from his guitarist father and his extensive record collection. He was always an individualist, set apart from the 1960s London R’n’B scene by a background that was Macclesfield rather than Maidstone, and, perhaps, by a three-year stint in the army that included a posting to Korea.

By the time Mayall, a commercial artist, moved to London and made his first record – the unexceptional two minutes 16 seconds of “Crawling Up A Hill” – he was 28. Later, Mayall fostered an image as a blues purist, but the opening slew of tracks here, recorded live in London in 1964 for his first album, John Mayall Plays John Mayall, find him happy to mix it with commercial R’n’B, ploughing an organ groove on the likes of “Night Train”.

Though the album bombed, Mayall was quick to refocus, knocking out a single for Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate label – “I’m Your Witchdoctor”, featuring his new guitarist, Eric Clapton, freshly departed from The Yardbirds for a less ‘commercial’ direction. Eric must have been bemused to find himself playing “On Top Of The World”, another Immediate single that sounds like an attempt to become The Small Faces. On the circuit, however, the Bluesbreakers steeped themselves in Chicago blues – a pair of live cuts from autumn 1965 (“Stormy Monday” and “Have You Ever Loved A Woman”) offer a vivid glimpse of the group’s emerging identity as blues hardliners.

If recruiting Clapton was a masterstroke, so was Mayall’s decision to immerse him in the work of Chicago trailblazers like Freddie King and Otis Rush. Clapton recycled their dexterous style on a newly acquired Gibson Les Paul, which he teamed with a Marshall amplifier for a new sound – ferocious but fluid – that would prove hugely influential.

The six tracks here from 1966’s Bluesbreakers still sound freakish, not least Mayall’s own “Double Crossing Time”. Producer Mike Vernon, who had long championed Mayall, conjured a murky atmosphere in which Clapton’s piercing guitar and Mayall’s eerie falsetto shone out. After this, no-one wondered whether Brits could play the blues; it was a fact of life. 1967’s A Hard Road is arguably a better album, with great Mayall originals like “Sitting In The Rain” and Clapton’s replacement, Peter Green, bringing a, more melodic approach that anticipated his Fleetwood Mac glories on “The Supernatural”.

The Bluesbreakers’ lineup soon became a revolving door, with Mayall in the role of stern patriarch. His ability to attract talent was impressive, but as if to prove he needed no-one, he recorded The Blues Alone in a single day, playing all instruments (bar drums) himself. Mayall replaced Green with Mick Taylor, a less adventurous player but one whose rippling lines fitted Mayall’s plain vocal style, adding a horn section for 1967’s Crusade and its heftier sound.

Mayall habitually presented himself as craggy defender of the 12-bar faith, but his response to the innovations of the late ’60s – psychedelia, songwriters – was more nuanced than he’s given credit for. Bare Wires and Blues From Lauren Canyon (both 1968) featured jazzy line-ups (with Dick Heckstall-Smith’s sax and Jon Hiseman’s drums) and some introspective, albeit patchy, songwriting.

Perhaps sensing he couldn’t compete against the new world of arena rock, Mayall then went drumless and acoustic; tracks like “Room To Move” (from the hugely succesful live album, The Turning Point). “Counting The Days” (from 1970’s Empty Rooms) and “Nature’s Disappearing” (an eco-call from 1970’s Union USA) find Mayall thoughtful, tuneful, and working alongside high-class musicians like reedsman Mark Almond, Canned Heat guitarist Harvey Mandel and violinist Sugarcane Harris.

The period marked Mayall’s commercial peak (in the US) and the limits of his artistic ambition. The final disc here shows him tumbling back into predictability – Jazz-Blues Fusion is a fanciful description of what’s served up on “Good Time Boogie”, and “Driving ’Til The Break Of Day” and “Gasoline Blues” are as dull as their titles suggest. Of the Back To The Roots LP (1971) that reconvened Green and Clapton there is no sign.

So Many Roads may ultimately be the story of the journeyman as star – still, Mayall deserves his ‘Godfather’ title. A paradigm of what grit and savvy can achieve, his assorted Bluesbreakers lineups cast a lasting influence over British music, a fact perhaps obscured by his defection to the States. At his best, the thrill still hasn’t gone.

Neil Spencer

‘Lost’ Leonard Cohen film to premiere at Green Man festival

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A Leonard Cohen documentary filmed in 1972 but never released to the public is finally set to be premiered – at the Green Man festival next month. 'Bird On A Wire' documents Cohen's European tour of that year, but due to artistic wrangling was never officially released. It will be screened at the Welsh event, which takes place on August 20-22 at Glanusk Park, Powys. The screening will be followed by a question and answer session with the film's director, Tony Palmer, and producer Steven Machat. The Flaming Lips, Beirut and Billy Bragg are among the acts set to play at the festival. at the event at Glanusk Park, Powys between August 20-22. See Greenmanfestival.co.uk for more information. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

A Leonard Cohen documentary filmed in 1972 but never released to the public is finally set to be premiered – at the Green Man festival next month.

‘Bird On A Wire’ documents Cohen‘s European tour of that year, but due to artistic wrangling was never officially released. It will be screened at the Welsh event, which takes place on August 20-22 at Glanusk Park, Powys.

The screening will be followed by a question and answer session with the film’s director, Tony Palmer, and producer Steven Machat.

The Flaming Lips, Beirut and Billy Bragg are among the acts set to play at the festival. at the event at Glanusk Park, Powys between August 20-22. See Greenmanfestival.co.uk for more information.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Manic Street Preachers’ Nicky Wire writing ‘Dr Who’ script

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Manic Street Preachers' Nicky Wire has revealed he is writing a script for Dr Who. The bassist, writing on his blog at the band's website, Manicstreetpreachers.com, explained that he had set himself the task of writing an episode named 'Do Not Go Gently' for fun. "The idea is centred around Dylan Thomas' last days in New York," he wrote. "Of course, it's going to have a massive fucking monster in it too." The BBC or the show's current head writer Stephen Moffat have yet to comment on whether they will accept Wire's effort when he completes it. Meanwhile, [url=http://www.nme.com/news/manic-street-preachers/51309]Manic Street Preachers are set to return with a new album, 'Postcards From A Young Man'[/url], in September. They are also inviting fans to win tickets to an intimate gig in London on August 5. For more information go to their official website manicstreetpreachers.com. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Manic Street PreachersNicky Wire has revealed he is writing a script for Dr Who.

The bassist, writing on his blog at the band’s website, Manicstreetpreachers.com, explained that he had set himself the task of writing an episode named ‘Do Not Go Gently’ for fun.

“The idea is centred around Dylan Thomas‘ last days in New York,” he wrote. “Of course, it’s going to have a massive fucking monster in it too.”

The BBC or the show’s current head writer Stephen Moffat have yet to comment on whether they will accept Wire‘s effort when he completes it.

Meanwhile, [url=http://www.nme.com/news/manic-street-preachers/51309]Manic Street Preachers are set to return with a new album, ‘Postcards From A Young Man'[/url], in September.

They are also inviting fans to win tickets to an intimate gig in London on August 5. For more information go to their official website manicstreetpreachers.com.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Beck, Snow Patrol, Devendra Banhart for John Martyn tribute album

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Beck, Snow Patrol and Devendra Banhart are among the acts who are will appear on an upcoming tribute album for the late John Marytn. The Cure's Robert Smith, who was confirmed for the compilation earlier this year, and other names on the tracklisting include Lisa Hannigan, Blackships' (featuring The Verve's Nick McCabe and Simon Jones), Vetiver and David Gray. The release date for the as-yet untitled LP is still to be announced and as Twenty Four Bit reports, other acts could well be included on the album. The tentative tracklisting for the John Marytn tribute album is as follows: 'Stormbringer' (Beck) 'May You Never' (Snow Patrol) 'Small Hours' (Robert Smith) 'Rope Soul'd or Sapphire' (Blackships) 'Go Down Easy' (Beth Orton) 'Let The Good Things Come' (David Gray) 'Couldn't Love You More' (Lisa Hannigan) 'I Don't Want to Know' (The Swell Season) 'One World' (Paolo Nutini) 'Sweet Little Mystery' (Devendra Banhart) 'Go Easy' (Vetiver) 'Head & Heart' (Vashti Bunyan) 'Solid Air' (Skye Edwards) 'Over The Hill' (Ted Barnes Featuring Gavin Clark) 'Glorious Fool' (The Blind Boys Of Alabama) 'Anna' (Brendan Campbell) 'Dancing' (Sonia Dada) 'Certain Surprise' (Sabrina Dinan) 'Oh My God' (John Wayne) 'Clutches' (Foley) 'Angeline' (Nicholas Barron) 'You Can Discover' (Cheryl Wilson) [url=http://www.nme.com/news/nme/42400]The British singer-songwriter died in 2009[/url]. [url=http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=121&p=5634&more=1&c=1]Blog - 5 Beautiful John Martyn Performances[/url] Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Beck, Snow Patrol and Devendra Banhart are among the acts who are will appear on an upcoming tribute album for the late John Marytn.

The Cure‘s Robert Smith, who was confirmed for the compilation earlier this year, and other names on the tracklisting include Lisa Hannigan, Blackships‘ (featuring The Verve‘s Nick McCabe and Simon Jones), Vetiver and David Gray.

The release date for the as-yet untitled LP is still to be announced and as Twenty Four Bit reports, other acts could well be included on the album.

The tentative tracklisting for the John Marytn tribute album is as follows:

‘Stormbringer’ (Beck)

‘May You Never’ (Snow Patrol)

‘Small Hours’ (Robert Smith)

‘Rope Soul’d or Sapphire’ (Blackships)

‘Go Down Easy’ (Beth Orton)

‘Let The Good Things Come’ (David Gray)

‘Couldn’t Love You More’ (Lisa Hannigan)

‘I Don’t Want to Know’ (The Swell Season)

‘One World’ (Paolo Nutini)

‘Sweet Little Mystery’ (Devendra Banhart)

‘Go Easy’ (Vetiver)

‘Head & Heart’ (Vashti Bunyan)

‘Solid Air’ (Skye Edwards)

‘Over The Hill’ (Ted Barnes Featuring Gavin Clark)

‘Glorious Fool’ (The Blind Boys Of Alabama)

‘Anna’ (Brendan Campbell)

‘Dancing’ (Sonia Dada)

‘Certain Surprise’ (Sabrina Dinan)

‘Oh My God’ (John Wayne)

‘Clutches’ (Foley)

‘Angeline’ (Nicholas Barron)

‘You Can Discover’ (Cheryl Wilson)

[url=http://www.nme.com/news/nme/42400]The British singer-songwriter died in 2009[/url].

[url=http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=121&p=5634&more=1&c=1]Blog – 5 Beautiful John Martyn Performances[/url]

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The Libertines to play Reading And Leeds Festivals warm-up gigs

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The Libertines are set to warm up for their performances at the Reading And Leeds Festivals next month by playing the HMV Forum in London. Co-frontman Carl Barat told BBC Newsbeat that the reunited band will headline the Kentish Town venue before playing Leeds Festival on August 27 and Reading Festival on August 28. The show will be The Libertines' first full gig as a four-piece since they split in 2004. Details of the gig are yet to be announced. Speaking of rehearsals for the festival performance, Barat said: "We've got a bit of time blocked out. As I say it's a bit last minute – it always is. Of course we'll be able to do it and we'll be able to do it with aplomb." [url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/the-libertines/7279]The Libertines played several of their most acclaimed gigs[/url] at the London venue, with live footage from the Forum featuring in the band's video for 'Can't Stand Me Now'. Guns N' Roses, Arcade Fire and Blink-182 are set to headline the Main Stage at the Reading And Leeds Festivals (August 27-29). Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The Libertines are set to warm up for their performances at the Reading And Leeds Festivals next month by playing the HMV Forum in London.

Co-frontman Carl Barat told BBC Newsbeat that the reunited band will headline the Kentish Town venue before playing Leeds Festival on August 27 and Reading Festival on August 28.

The show will be The Libertines‘ first full gig as a four-piece since they split in 2004. Details of the gig are yet to be announced.

Speaking of rehearsals for the festival performance, Barat said: “We’ve got a bit of time blocked out. As I say it’s a bit last minute – it always is. Of course we’ll be able to do it and we’ll be able to do it with aplomb.”

[url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/the-libertines/7279]The Libertines played several of their most acclaimed gigs[/url] at the London venue, with live footage from the Forum featuring in the band’s video for ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’.

Guns N’ Roses, Arcade Fire and Blink-182 are set to headline the Main Stage at the Reading And Leeds Festivals (August 27-29).

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The Beach Boys to reform for 50th anniversary show

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The Beach Boys are set to reform for a 50th anniversary show. As Rolling Stone reports, founding member and guitarist Al Jardine has revealed that the group will reunite to perform and that the gig will "probably be free". "We're definitely doing at least one show," Jardine said. "It's a big deal. I don't know where it will be yet, but it'll probably be free. Golden Gate Park was mentioned, as was the [National] Mall in Washington, DC, and the north shore of Chicago by the beach." Going on to confirm that the line-up for the show would include Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and possibly even early guitarist David Marks, the guitarist went on to explain that he wants the band to tour. "I want to see a hundred-date anniversary tour," he admitted. "I want to go all around the world, but if this is the way it has to be, then so be it." He added: "We're going to have to rehearse one hell of a show. My point is, if we're going to rehearse and make this such a wonderful show, we should take it on the road." Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The Beach Boys are set to reform for a 50th anniversary show.

As Rolling Stone reports, founding member and guitarist Al Jardine has revealed that the group will reunite to perform and that the gig will “probably be free”.

“We’re definitely doing at least one show,” Jardine said. “It’s a big deal. I don’t know where it will be yet, but it’ll probably be free. Golden Gate Park was mentioned, as was the [National] Mall in Washington, DC, and the north shore of Chicago by the beach.”

Going on to confirm that the line-up for the show would include Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and possibly even early guitarist David Marks, the guitarist went on to explain that he wants the band to tour.

“I want to see a hundred-date anniversary tour,” he admitted. “I want to go all around the world, but if this is the way it has to be, then so be it.”

He added: “We’re going to have to rehearse one hell of a show. My point is, if we’re going to rehearse and make this such a wonderful show, we should take it on the road.”

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Smashing Pumpkins to play benefit show for Madina Lake bassist

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The Smashing Pumpkins are to play a benefit concert to raise money for Madina Lake bassist Matthew Leone, who was recently [url=http://www.nme.com/news/madina-lake/51809]hospitalised after intervening in a domestic dispute up in Chicago[/url]. Leone suffered severe brain trauma after he intervened to stop a woman he passed on the street from being beaten by her husband. A third of the bassist's skull was removed to alleviate swelling after the incident, which saw the man turn on him after he had managed to stop the initial fight. The alleged assailant has been named as Justin Pivec and has been charged with aggravated battery causing serious bodily harm. He is out on bail pending a forthcoming hearing. Tickets for the July 27 gig, which also features Kill Hannah, will be raffled in order to raise money for Leone, who is currently without medical insurance. See Metrochicago.com and Throughthepain.org for more information. A separate fund raising money for Leone has also been set up at Sweetrelief.org. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The Smashing Pumpkins are to play a benefit concert to raise money for Madina Lake bassist Matthew Leone, who was recently [url=http://www.nme.com/news/madina-lake/51809]hospitalised after intervening in a domestic dispute up in Chicago[/url].

Leone suffered severe brain trauma after he intervened to stop a woman he passed on the street from being beaten by her husband. A third of the bassist’s skull was removed to alleviate swelling after the incident, which saw the man turn on him after he had managed to stop the initial fight.

The alleged assailant has been named as Justin Pivec and has been charged with aggravated battery causing serious bodily harm. He is out on bail pending a forthcoming hearing.

Tickets for the July 27 gig, which also features Kill Hannah, will be raffled in order to raise money for Leone, who is currently without medical insurance.

See Metrochicago.com and Throughthepain.org for more information.

A separate fund raising money for Leone has also been set up at Sweetrelief.org.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The 29th Uncut Playlist Of 2010

Another busy week; busy enough to put me off expending any energy on the ritual travesties of the Mercury Music Prize. Then again, I guess holding out hopes for a Voice Of The Seven Thunders nomination would’ve been more deranged than optimistic; and there have been worse shortlists. Fingers crossed for Wild Beasts, or, indeed, for “critics’ favourites” the XX. Finally playing These New Puritans, as I type… 1 No Age – Everything In Between (Sub Pop) 2 Islaja – Keraaminen Paa (Fonal) 3 Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore – Dear Companion (Sub Pop) 4 Salem – King Night (Iamsound) 5 Various Artists – Wah Wah Cowboys (hissgoldenmessenger.blogspot.com) 6 Shit Robot – From The Cradle To The Rave (DFA) 7 Imaad Wasif – The Voidist (Tee Pee) 8 Abdoulaye Traore – Abdoulaye Traore (Yaala Yaala) 9 Toba Seydou Traore - Toba Seydou Traore (Yaala Yaala) 10 Robert Plant – Band Of Joy (Rounder) 11 Magc Kids – Memphis (True Panther Sounds) 12 Darker My Love – Alive As You Are (Dangerbird) 13 Olof Arnalds – Innundir Skinni (One Little Indian) 14 Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart (Jagjaguwar) 15 These New Puritans – Hidden (Angular/Domino)

Another busy week; busy enough to put me off expending any energy on the ritual travesties of the Mercury Music Prize. Then again, I guess holding out hopes for a Voice Of The Seven Thunders nomination would’ve been more deranged than optimistic; and there have been worse shortlists. Fingers crossed for Wild Beasts, or, indeed, for “critics’ favourites” the XX. Finally playing These New Puritans, as I type…

Ask Santana!

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Carlos Santana will soon appear in Uncut as part of our regular “Audience With” feature. And he's ready to answer your questions. So, is there anything you've always wanted to ask the great guitarist? ** Any truth in the rumour that it’s him playing on Jefferson Airplane's “Pretty As You F...

Carlos Santana will soon appear in Uncut as part of our regular “Audience With” feature. And he’s ready to answer your questions.

So, is there anything you’ve always wanted to ask the great guitarist?

** Any truth in the rumour that it’s him playing on Jefferson Airplane’s “Pretty As You Feel”?

** Has he played the version of himself that appears in the Guitar Hero computer game?

** What would he recommend from the menu if you visited a branch of his Mexican restaurant chain, Maria Maria?

Send your questions to uncutaudiencewith@ipcmedia.com by noon on Monday, July 26.

Paul Weller, XX, Mumford & Sons, feature as 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Prize Shortlist is announced

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The shortlist for the 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Prize has been announced this morning (July 20). The names of the 12-strong list were revealed this morning at a press conference at London's Hospital Club. As widely predicted, The XX feature with their self-titled debut, while Wild Beasts, Mumford And Sons and Laura Marling have also been nominated by the prize's jury. This year's NME Awards Godlike Genius Paul Weller features on the shortlist for the first time with his album 'Wake Up The Nation', while Biffy Clyro, Foals and Corinne Bailey Rae have made the cut. Dublin's Villagers are perhaps the biggest surprise to feature on the list, with Manchester veterans I Am Kloot also nominated. The 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Prize shortlist is: Biffy Clyro – 'Only Revolutions' Corinne Bailey Rae – 'The Sea' Dizzee Rascal – 'Tongue N' Cheek' Kit Downes Trio – 'Golden' Foals – 'Total Life Forever' I Am Kloot – 'Sky At Night' Laura Marling – 'I Speak Because I Can' Mumford And Sons – 'Sigh No More' Paul Weller – 'Wake Up The Nation' Villagers – 'Becoming A Jackal' Wild Beasts – 'Two Dancers' The XX – 'XX' The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on September 7. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The shortlist for the 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Prize has been announced this morning (July 20).

The names of the 12-strong list were revealed this morning at a press conference at London‘s Hospital Club.

As widely predicted, The XX feature with their self-titled debut, while Wild Beasts, Mumford And Sons and Laura Marling have also been nominated by the prize’s jury.

This year’s NME Awards Godlike Genius Paul Weller features on the shortlist for the first time with his album ‘Wake Up The Nation’, while Biffy Clyro, Foals and Corinne Bailey Rae have made the cut.

Dublin‘s Villagers are perhaps the biggest surprise to feature on the list, with Manchester veterans I Am Kloot also nominated.

The 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Prize shortlist is:

Biffy Clyro – ‘Only Revolutions’

Corinne Bailey Rae – ‘The Sea’

Dizzee Rascal – ‘Tongue N’ Cheek’

Kit Downes Trio – ‘Golden’

Foals – ‘Total Life Forever’

I Am Kloot – ‘Sky At Night’

Laura Marling – ‘I Speak Because I Can’

Mumford And Sons – ‘Sigh No More’

Paul Weller – ‘Wake Up The Nation’

Villagers – ‘Becoming A Jackal’

Wild Beasts – ‘Two Dancers’

The XX – ‘XX’

The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on September 7.

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Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Florence And The Machine envious of Bat For Lashes’ Brett Easton Ellis cameo

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Florence And The Machine frontwoman Florence Welch has admitted she is hoping to convince author Brett Easton Ellis to write into one of his books. The singer admits she is envious Bat For Lashes got the treatment in his recent novel Imperial Bedrooms. The writer behind the likes of Glamorama and American Psycho often includes musical cameos in his novels, both in the form of songs his characters are listening to, and occasionally having rock stars appear as themselves. Imperial Bedrooms is a sequel to his debut Less Than Zero, and both titles were inspired by the names of Elvis Costello songs. In the new release, one of the characters listens to Bat For Lashes music in the course of the novel, and Welch told The Independent she hopes her band could feature one day too. "[We don't get a mention in the new book] but Bat For Lashes does, which is impressive," Welch declared at the London launch party for Imperial Bedrooms. "Maybe [I could feature in the next one]. I guess I'd better go and introduce myself!" Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Florence And The Machine frontwoman Florence Welch has admitted she is hoping to convince author Brett Easton Ellis to write into one of his books.

The singer admits she is envious Bat For Lashes got the treatment in his recent novel Imperial Bedrooms.

The writer behind the likes of Glamorama and American Psycho often includes musical cameos in his novels, both in the form of songs his characters are listening to, and occasionally having rock stars appear as themselves.

Imperial Bedrooms is a sequel to his debut Less Than Zero, and both titles were inspired by the names of Elvis Costello songs. In the new release, one of the characters listens to Bat For Lashes music in the course of the novel, and Welch told The Independent she hopes her band could feature one day too.

“[We don’t get a mention in the new book] but Bat For Lashes does, which is impressive,” Welch declared at the London launch party for Imperial Bedrooms. “Maybe [I could feature in the next one]. I guess I’d better go and introduce myself!”

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.