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- News updates for 7 July 2017
- New Music Friday with Coldplay, Haim, Liam Payne, Public Service Broadcasting and more
- Adele fans will now get booking fee refund for cancelled Wembley Stadium gigs
- Arcade Fire cover New Order & Joy Division at Manchester International Festival
- Warning: Third party content, may contain ads
Live Updates
By Kev Geoghegan & Paul Glynn
All times stated are UK
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Peace and love everybody
Have a great weekend, whatever you do.
Scroll down for new music from Coldplay, Liam P, PSB and more...
Plus news from Hyde Park's BST and Manchester's MIF.
As well as some tricky news for Jay-Z (we've gone initial crazy today).
See you all on Monday.
We'll leave you today with an earlier message from birthday boy Ringo Starr. He's released new track Give More Love today, to mark his 77th birthday (on 7/7/17 - spooky!).
We've missed the noon deadline for his peace sign but I think he'll let us off.
It's bound to be noon somewhere - Washington DC maybe?
Frightened Rabbit: 'Important' for bands to use their voice
Kev Geoghegan
Music News LIVE reporter
Scots band Frightened Rabbit have called on more bands to use their voice to engage politically.
Last month, they shared a new song Fields of Wheat, in reference to Prime Minister Theresa May's confession that the naughtiest thing she ever did as a child was "run through fields of wheat".
Speaking ahead of their set at British Summer Time in Hyde Park, where they supported Kings of Leon, singer Scott Hutchison admitted: "I think we do a political song about once every five years, so we'll probbaly go back to heartbreak again."
The singer said the band were in South Texas writing their new record during the UK election in June.
"We had the news on and and it felt like this is what I can do. You're reading Twitter and there's a clamour of voices and I didn't really want to add a few sentences.
"I was like, 'OK, we write songs, that’s what our contribution can be, to reflect the feeling hopefully.
5 Things We've Learned This Week
Okay then pop pickers, it's that time of the week again...
*Let's re-learn some of what we've learned together over the last seven days.
Because music knowledge is power (as Richard Ashcroft nearly once sang).
1) The names of Beyonce and Jay-Z's new twins (we think)
The US pop/hip hop power couple registered two - unusual, let's say - new names with the US trademark authorities this week.
According the US publication TMZ, the couple, who also saw Jay's new album 4:44 go platinum this week within five days of release, registered the names Rumi Carter and Sir Carter.
Five-year-old daughter Blue Ivy is bound to be well jel' - initially at least... but that will soon turn into love.
Some fans online were definitely loving the apparent new names. Others not so much. While Amanda (below) simply couldn't care less.
Each to their own eh?
Read more.
2) The Maccabies are no more.
They are an ex-indie band. They have ceased to be.
The Londoners played an emotionally-charged gig to a sold-out Alexandra Palace on Saturday night bringing their farewell tour to a close.
Last year, their fourth record Marks To Prove it went to number one in the album charts but the lads have since decided to go their own separate ways.
Last week, guitarist Felix White told Radio 1's Annie Mac that he thought there would be tears on the night and we're guessing that it turned out to be the case. There was certainly explosive confetti.
Check out some fan shot footage of them performing Pelican below.
To mark the occasion, the band brought out special guests including Jamie T, Jack Penate and Mystery Jets (essentially a noughties indie kid's teenage dream).
Read more.
3) There aren't enough female acts on at major festivals
We suspected it from a cursory glance at most major lineups this summer but now Ellie Goulding has confirmed it.
The singer waded into the debate criticising the lack of women performing at music festivals in general.
In a series of tweets, the singer says she doesn't see many females on line-ups and is proud to be a headliner.
She wrote: "Need to give myself credit sometimes as I've been doing this non stop for over seven years. I don't see many females at these festivals."
A BBC study of 14 events across 660 headline appearances suggests music festivals have been dominated by all-male acts for the past 10 years.
Read more.
4) Skepta rejected an MBE
That's what he claims at least on his new track Hypocrisy.
We can't share it here because the language is a little bit grimy for a BBC News service but in the track, Skepta says: "Just came back from the Ivors / And look at what we collected / The MBE got rejected / I'm not trying to be accepted."
Skepta won best songwriter and best contemporary song at the Ivor Novellos earlier this year.
Perhaps he's holding out for a knighthood. Sir Skepta...we like the sound of that.
Read more.
5) Liam Gallagher does not know the quickest way to Chinatown
Over twenty years living in London the former Oasis frontman still makes a right meal of getting to his destination in the video for his second solo single.
At least he will have worked up an appetite on arrival.
Check it below.
Read more.
*There may well be a test on all of the above in Monday's MNL.
Sigrid shares new video of young people just having fun
Norwegian wunderkind Sigrid has shared the video for her new track Plot Twist which was shot in Bergen in her homeland.
There is no plot per se but instead features the 20-year-old singer and her mates just being young and carefree.
What better on a sunny Friday afternoon?
How have Kings of Leon stayed together so long?...
Money.
Their words not ours, We're pretty sure they're joking. We grabbed a word with Jared and Nathan from the band ahead of the British Summer Time headline gig (scroll down for a review).
The band took a year off in 2011 following a massive bust up but have since released two albums.
The band famously consist of three brothers and a cousin and they reckon that's the key to staying together.
Watch above.
Adele fans WILL get booking fee refund
BBC Newsbeat
Eventim UK, the firm which issued tickets for Adele's Wembey gigs, has said it will now refund booking fees for the cancelled dates.
It follows huge criticism from fans who had complained at losing £5.50 per ticket booked.
The company says it will give people their money back due to the "short notice" cancellation of the gigs.
We love a happy(ish) ending.
Read more.
The Verve to re-issue special 20th anniversary Urban Hymns
NME
Well 1997 really was a good year for music, wasn't it?
Just weeks after Radiohead's 20 year OK Computer re-issue arrived with new old bonus tracks, Wigan's finest shoegaze rockers The Verve are about to do their same with their seminal Britpop album Urban Hymns.
The release will come in four different formats and feature all of the accompanying B-sides plus three hours of previously unreleased live material.
So if you were one of 35,000 fans at the band's homecoming gig at Haigh Hall in 1998 then listen out, you might well hear yourself.
Read more.
Dua Lipa lays down the law
Two weeks after her triumphant Glastonbury set, Dua Lipa has released a video to New Rules, one of the stand-out tracks on her self-titled debut album.
The track is "about keeping your distance from someone who's bad for you," she told us, with the lyrics setting out four rules "so I won't go back to that person."
"These are the kind of rules you tell to your friends when they've split up with someone, and they would tell them to you," the singer tells us.
"in the video, I wanted to show unity between women and girls, how we look after one other.
"We’re doing that through different forms of choreography, and I think it really tells the story of women looking out for each other."
Have a look below.
Kesha is back and Grimmy wants to 'hook her up'
BBC Radio 1
Kesha dropped the video for her new single Praying a day early yesterday.
Today she was on the Radio 1 breakfast show with Nick Grimshaw who was winding her up about her apparent crush on a certain One Directioner.
Sorry Liam - but it's not you.
Watch below.
Noel G is ready to support U2. Are you, too?
U2 are gearing up for an entire weekend residency at Twickenham Stadium.
Joining the Irish band at the home of English rugby both nights will be Irish/English Noel Gallagher.
He seems more excited about the food backstage then the gigs themselves.
The former Oasis guitarist has posted a picture on Instagram (below) of him rehearsing with his ever-evolving High Flying Birds alongside the following caption.
Is that a dig at brother Liam at the bottom there? We think so...
Noel wrote: "We are pretty much ready. The tunes have been given a good polish. Everyone has been reacquainted. We have new members!
"We are very much looking forward to seeing old friends and maybe making some new ones but what we are most excited about is sampling the delights of The U2 Catering Experience... widely regarded as THE MOST superior catering experience anywhere in the music business..see you out front.
"AS YOU WEREN'T..KISS-KISS.. NG."
Noel v Liam, round 307...ding ding.
Lucy Rose 'lost confidence in music' before album three
Jimmy Blake
BBC Newsbeat
Despite having two top 20 albums to her name, Lucy Rose says she "lost confidence in music" before making her new record Something's Changing - which is out today.
"I questioned whether anyone wanted to hear any of my songs, I felt dissatisfied with who I was."
To help fix that, Lucy travelled to Latin America for two months to stay with fans in eight different countries.
She played 33 intimate fan-organised shows in that time, which inspired her to make "the album I wanted to make".
However, her new-found enthusiasm left her with some tough decisions to make.
"Everyone was saying, 'You're completely crazy doing this.' But when I came back I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
"They were really kind and knew that was the route I needed to pursue and they let me go.
"I walked away from a record label, from a manager and from booking agents.
"Suddenly I was managing myself with no label and was completely alone. Almost everything I had worked towards was gone. But I knew it was the right decision."
Read more and check out Floral Dresses from her new album below.
LCD Soundsystem’s Gavin Russom comes out as transgender
Pitchfork
Gavin Russom from New York electro-indie band LCD Soundsystem has come out as a transgender woman.
In an interview with US publication Pitchfork, the band’s resident synth player and technician since 2010 said: "Over the last year and a half, I went from my trans identity being something I was in touch with and worked through in one way or another, to suddenly this shift where it’s on the front burner.
"Now it's time to become a whole person."
The 43-year-old said she had tried to make her trans identity known at various points in her life, but it wasn't until after the band's comeback tour last year that she found the time to focus on self-care.
Read more.
Critics have Something To Tell Haim about new album
You know the summer has officially arrived when Haim release an album.
Something To Tell You, the follow up to 2013's debut Days Are Gone, arrived today, fresh off the back of the three sisters "bringing the Californian sun" to Glastonbury.
Or so they told our reporter Mark Savage. The certainly smashed it at Worthy Farm anyway.
While the album is generally being well-received too, it's fair to say there are some cynics in the ranks.
The Guardian gave it three stars, saying: "Haim return with another album of polished sun-soaked rock and pop perfection, which they want you to know they wrote all by themselves."
The Telegraph gave the same score, but with reservations. They say: "Sunshine sisters lose their lustre."
Four stars from the NME who declare that: "The LA sisters stick resolutely to their roots on a slick, second retro album"
Someone at The Independent however, does not like the girls latest effort. Not a jot.
Judge for yourself now in all the usual spots.
The Killers announce UK arena tour
Las Vegas' finest will follow Kings of Leon (scroll down) in headlining the BST gig at London's Hyde Park tomorrow night.
Have fun if you're going but if not then look on the brightside... they've just announced a nationwide arena tour in support of forthcoming album Wonderful Wonderful.
The tour kicks off at Birmingham Genting Arena on 6 November and culminates with two shows at London’s O2 Arena on 27 and 28 November.
Check the full list of dates above, which includes gigs in Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Notts and Sheffield too.
Tupac blamed race in Madonna breakup letter
Tupac Shakur broke up with Madonna because she was white, an emotional letter attributed to the rapper suggests.
The latter, written in 1995, less than two years before his death, is going up for auction with a starting bid of $100,000 (£77,000).
Addressed to "M", the letter said being with a black man could only help her career, but that he might let down his fans.
Madonna confirmed they were in a relationship., though it is unclear how long it lasted.
The letter was written while Tupac was serving a prison sentence for sexual assault.
Read more.
Kings of Leon pay tribute to Pixies at Hyde Park show
Kev Geoghegan
Arts and entertainment reporter
Kings of Leon who headlined the British Summer Time gig in London on Thursday night shared the love by paying tribute to veteran alt-rockers Pixies who played ahead of their set.
"I have to say how crazy it is to be here this year on the stage with the Pixies," bearded frontman Caleb Followill told the 55,000 strong crowd.
"They were one of the biggest influences on this band. Last year we were here and we actually did a cover of a Pixies song.
"And to be back here and to see it live was really, really amazing."
After an afternoon spent frying in the 30 degree heated dustbowl of Hyde Park in central London, the (mainly-shirtless) guys and gals who had, earlier been treated to bands like Frightened Rabbit, The Cactus Blossoms and Deaf Havana, were due a boogie and KOL were happy to oblige.
They ran through hits old and new, kicking off with Over from new album Walls but dipping as far back as Trani from their debut album Youth and Young Manhood.
"I don’t have to work tomorrow, so I’m going to have a lot of fun tonight. I hope you guys join us," was the limit of the on-stage bants but the KOL have never been a band concerned with crowd-pleasing, preferring instead to concentrate on the music.
There were obligatory singalongs for fan favourites Use Somebody and Sex on Fire before the lads from Nashville closed the night with the more recent Waste A Moment.
Like seasoned poker players, Kings of Leon tend not to give much away on how they reckon a gig is going but with a long US tour coming up, they must have been at least a little bit happy to kick it off with a successful outdoor show in London.
Ray BLK covers DJ Khaled in 1Xtra Live Lounge
1Xtra
The BBC's Sound of 2017 winner Ray BLK popped by the 1Xtra studios on Thursday to play her newest single Doing Me in the 1Xtra Live Lounge.
She also did a cover of the current US number one album artist DJ Khaled's Wild Thoughts, which features Rihanna in the original.
Watch it above and listen out for a sneaky bit of Destiny's Child at the end too.
Public Service Broadcasting return with new album Every Valley
Now for something from the more high-brow end of the charts.
Public Service Broadcasting are back with their third album which, this time, tackles the topic of the mining industry in Wales, as well as Brexit and Donald Trump.
We believe this comes under the catergory of Infotainment: Dancing while learning.
Their previous records have put modern historical accounts of the US-Soviet space race to music, as well as the first expedition to Mount Everest, the invention of the colour tele and the creation of the Spitfire plane.
Check out They Gave Me a Lamp featuring Haiku Salut, from the new one below.
Stream-ripping is 'fastest growing' music piracy
Mark Savage
Music reporter
Stream-ripping is now the fastest-growing form of music piracy in the UK, new research has suggested.
And people in the youth bracket of 16-24s, (sorry, 25 year olds) are the biggest offenders
Several sites and apps allow users to turn Spotify songs, YouTube videos and other streaming content into permanent files to store on phones and computers.
Record labels claim "tens, or even hundreds of millions of tracks are illegally copied and distributed by stream-ripping services each month".
According to research by the Intellectual Property Office 15% of adults in the UK regularly use these services, with 33% of them coming from the 16-24 age bracket.
Read more.
Coldplay share new Brian Eno co-written track
Coldplay have worked with ambient electro-artist Brian Eno on their new track A L I E N S and have shared a new animated lyric video.
It's from their forthcoming Kaleidoscope EP which is out next week and is a companion piece to their 2015 album A Head Full of Dreams.
The clip shows four alien refugees escaping from warlike predators on their own world and traveling across the universe.
The proceeds from the track will go to Migrant Offshore Aid Station , which deploys search and rescue missions to help refugees from war-torn countries.
Liam Payne returns with new track Get Low
Yesterday we brought you Liam G's new one, now it's the turn of Liam P.
The One Directioner returns alongside Grammy-winning producer Zedd on new track Get Low.
Zedd said: “It was so much fun working with Liam Payne these past few months on Get Low. I think it's one of the catchiest songs I've ever written.
"It's the soundtrack to my summer!!!"
Will it be yours? Check out the colourful new video below.
It's the follow-up to Liam's debut solo effort Strip That Down featuring Quavo of Migos.
Anti-Defamation League 'concern' over Jay-Z lyrics
Rolling Stone magazine
The Anti-Defamation League, a US organisation committed to fighting anti-Semitism has expressed concern over lyrics on one of Jay-Z's new tracks.
The Story of O.J. from Jay's new album 4:44 features the lines: "You wanna know what's more important than throwin' away money at a strip club? Credit / You ever wonder why Jewish people own all the property in America? This how they did it."
"We do not believe it was Jay-Z's intent to promote anti-Semitism," the ADL told
"On the contrary, we know that Jay-Z is someone who has used his celebrity in the past to speak out responsibly and forcefully against the evils of racism and anti-Semitism.
Howver, the ADL said lyrics played "into deep-seated anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews and money. The idea that Jews 'own all the property' in this country and have used credit to financially get ahead are odious and false."
They added the track could "feed into preconceived notions about Jews and alleged Jewish 'control' of the banks and finance".
Madonna's manager Guy Oseary defended the rapper on social media, posting a picture of himself with Jay.
The Israeli-born manager said: "If you read the lyrics out of context I can understand why people are jumping to that conclusion.. But if you listen to the song in its entirety you will hear that the whole of the song is based on exaggerated stereotypes to make a point...There are African American stereotypes throughout the song..."
Read more .
Arcade Fire cover Joy Division & New Order at MIF gig
Well it was a ballsy move with New Order themselves playing just down the road but Canadian indie outfit Arcade Fire always like to do things a little differently.
They treated a Manchester International Festival crowd to a little bit of Love Will Tear Us Apart and Temptation last night.
Check out some fan-shot footage of the joyous Joy Division finale above.
For more from the festival head to the MIF live page.
Rain down the Payne
TGI Friday!
Morning all. We made it (well nearly...)
It's New Music Friday and we'll have new singles from that smartly-dressed man above Liam Payne and Zedd plus albums from Haim, Public Service Broadcasting and Lucy Rose.
Check out yesterday's MNL for new music from teachers pets Liam Gallagher, Wolf Alice and Kesha - who handed in their homework one whole day early.
They'll defintely be reading our 5 Things We've Learned This Week too.
It pays to be informed.