Radiohead ‘will be making an album’

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien claims the band were misquoted when it was reported back in August that they had given up on making albums.

O’Brien, speaking to NME, said: “We were misquoted. We will be making an album!”

Thom Yorke had told Beliver magazine that “None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again.” However, the magazine elected to not print Yorke’s justification of that quote, adding “Not straight off.”

Yorke went on to say: “It worked with In Rainbows because we had a fixed idea about where we were going. But we’ve all said that we can’t possibly dive into that again. It’ll kill us.”

But O’Brien says Radiohead will be heading into the studio soon, with a release next year expected. He said: “We’re going into the studio in winter. It’s always miserable! Are we at the whim of the seasons? We are! When you’re in a studio in the countryside, the music you make is definitely affected by what season it is.”

This article was written for TMM.

Liam confirms ‘Oasis is no longer’

Liam Gallagher has confirmed that Oasis will not continue as a band following his brother Noel’s departure.

He told the Times: “We’ve always had a lot of fun. That’s why it was never hard work for me. It was a joy and it was always a bit of a bummer when the tour ended. You know, it was great. Obviously you’ve got to get back and see the missus and the kids and all that. Nothing lasts for ever. But it was never, ‘Uh, fuck, I need to get off the tour because my head’s up my arse’.” (A reference to Noel? Most probably.)

“Oasis is no longer. I think we all know that. So that’s done. It’s a shame but that’s life. We had a good run at it. The thing about Oasis is, no one … we ended Oasis. No one ended it for us. Which was pretty, kind of … cool. I’m thinking of what the next step is musically, which is all my mind’s on.”

Whether Liam’s future includes an Ian Brown style solo career or forming a new band is not clear, but it is obvious that in his mind, he has already moved on from Oasis. Whatever happens next, it will be fascinating to compare the futures of Noel and Liam; always inextricably linked through Oasis, and now thrown apart to find their own way.

This article was written for TMM.

Cornerstone will be next Monkeys single

Arctic Monkeys have announced that the second single to be lifted from their Number One album Humbug will be Cornerstone.

It will be released on November 16, and again the band will collaborate with Oxfam for the method of release.

Cornerstone was the obvious choice for the band, as lyrically it is the most recognisably Monkeys track on Humbug, their third studio release. It tells the tale of singer and main lyricist Alex Turner’s attempts to rid himself of his obsessional mooching over an ex-girlfriend by trying to get off with similar looking ladies, and joins Riot Van and Mardy Bum as one of their best ’story’ songs.

The band head out on a UK arena tour in November.

This article was written for The Music Magazine.

Thom Yorke puts new band together, announces L.A. shows

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has announced a pair of shows in Los Angeles and has completed the line-up of his band for the gigs.

Yorke has enlisted the services of Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, R.E.M. collaborator Joey Waronker and multi-instrumentalist Mauro Refosco as well as long-term Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.

“In the past couple of weeks I’ve been getting a band together for fun to play ‘The Eraser’ stuff live and the new songs etc, to see if it could work!” the singer wrote on Radiohead’s Dead Air Space blog. The post was accompanied by a picture of the five musicians, all sporting a worrying amount of facial hair.

He added: “We don’t really have a name and the set will not be very long cuz… well… we haven’t got that much material yet! But come and check it out if you are in the area.”

The band, who are expected to play new compositions that may end up as Radiohead songs, will play the Orpheum Theatre on October 4 and 5. It is not yet known whether they will play any gigs in the UK.

This article was written for TMM.

Lily Allen to quit music?

Lily Allen has threatened to quit music.

In news that will please anyone forced to listen to Radio One all day, the pop princess says that she has “no plans to make another album” when her contract with EMI comes to an end. Both of the singer’s albums so far have gone to Number One.

On a blog post that has now been taken down, Allen added: “I don’t (at this point) stand to profit from legislation. Except future purchases of previously recorded material (which wont be much).”

A spokesperson confirmed that the blog post was written by Allen, but denied that she will quit music. They said: “She is not quitting pop music.” Which seems pretty emphatic to us.

Allen has found herself in the news lately over her controversial views on the filesharing debate, with many condemning her for her opinion, but with others coming out in defence of her.

It remains to be seen whether Allen’s UK tour at the end of the year will be her swansong as a musician, but it is thought that she wants to go into acting, following her father, Keith.

This article was written for TMM.

Paterson out for three months

Martin Paterson has torn the cartilege in his knee, meaning he will miss three months of action.

The striker twisted his knee off the ball in Tuesday night's defeat at Barnsley, and may now not be available until the new year.

An operation on the knee last night confirmed the damage.

"We were hoping he had just nicked it, which would have been two to four weeks, but it's the worst-case scenario and coming on the back of the news of young Chris McCann it's a body blow for both the players, first and foremost," manager Owen Coyle told Sky Sports News.

"That's my concern. It's not great news when your young players, who I believe are top players, get injuries and our thoughts are with the players.

"It will be hard for them to take, but we will make sure they get the best rehabilitation and support system in place and I do know they will both come back bigger and stronger and better players for the football club.

"They are both young players who have been terrific since I have been at the club and both of them have got a big role to play when they come back."

Paterson and McCann will now both be absent from first team duties for at least two months each, leaving Burnley with a big hole in their squad. However, their absence will give players such as Steven Thompson, Jay Rodriguez, Joey Gudjonsson and Kevin McDonald a chance to taste Premier League action.

The dead leg suffered by Brian Jensen at Bransley is not expected to keep him out long-term, and the giant goalkeeper may even be available for Saturday's trip to Spurs.

This article was written for FansOnline Burnley.

Paterson to undergo knee op

Burnley FC's medical team have been quick to react to Martin Paterson's knee injury in last night's Carling Cup exit at Barnsley, with the striker set to undergo an exploratory operation tonight to assess the extent of the damage.

Another long-term injury, after Chris McCann was ruled out for two months with media ligament damage, would be a huge blow to the Clarets after a promising start that has seen them win three of their opening six matches in the Premier League.

However, David Nugent's double in Saturday's win over Sunderland would cushion the blow if Paterson was to be ruled out for any lengthy period of time, and Jay Rodriguez and Steven Thompson, who was absent from the Barnsley match with a bug, are both also waiting in the wings for their first chances of the season to impress.

Meanwhile, it is thought that the dead leg suffered by Brian Jensen at Oakwell is not serious, and manager Owen Coyle is hopeful his goalkeeper will be available for Saturday's trip to Spurs.

He told the official club website:"As we thought, Brian suffered a dead leg and I am hopeful he could be fit for the weekend.

"But the news on Martin Paterson is a little worse. He has tweaked a cartilage and will undergo an operation tonight (Wednesday), at which point we will know further how long he will be sidelined for."

This article was written for FansOnline Burnley.

Big Pink to ‘out-Muse Muse’

The Big Pink say they play to ‘out-Muse Muse’ when they support the Devon trio on their November arena tour.

The London duo, whose debut album A Brief History Of Love we thoroughly enjoyed, will play six giant gigs with the current album chart-toppers.

“I remember seeing Muse when I was way, way younger and I’m pretty sure Coldplay were supporting and look what happened to them,” Milo Cordell told NME.COM.

“We have never played somewhere so big in our lives, we are pretty freaked out by it. It’s a long way from playing what we’re used to, but we are psyched and are going to try to out-Muse Muse.”

Tickets are sold out for the gigs, but you can catch the Big Pink on their own headline tour next month.

This article was written for TMM.

Dizzee Rascal: ‘Shakespeare is violent’

The always entertaining Dizzee Rascal has given an interview to BBC Radio 5 Live in which he lambasts people who criticise rap music over its apparently violent undertones.

The 2003 Mercury Music Prize winner said: “I’ve seen Macbeth and it’s about killing and witches and all that. Shakespeare is in the curriculum and it’s violent! You can talk about rappers being responsible but at the end of the day they are trying to entertain. It’s about the artistry that rap is about.”

Dizzee, real name Dylan Mills, also defended himself over the infamous interview on BBC’s Newsnight programme (see video below). He said: “I was happy with it. Some other people were not happy with it, but I was all right with it.”

Mills also spoke of the resentment he feels others have of his success, claiming: “I know my roots but I fly, I’m not a tree by the way, so, I don’t have to stay planted in the ground. I do what I want. The whole thing about the grime scene and me selling out, well, OK, I don’t make music that sounds like it did seven years ago but kids today do and a lot of them are doing what I was doing six years ago so haven’t I left something positive behind?”

Dizzee Rascal’s fourth album Tongue N’ Cheek, containing the smash hit singles Dance Wiv Me, Bonkers and Holiday, is out now.

This article was written for TMM.

Who should write the England 2010 World Cup song?

So, the other week, Fabio Capello and his men completed qualifying for next summer’s football World Cup in South Africa with a simple win over Croatia. And now the uninteresting bit (qualifying for the thing) is out of the way, we can look forward to the World Cup Finals, the best part of which, of course, are the football songs.

Embrace did the last official offering with the turgid World At Your Feet, and the Enemy are the first band to throw their hat into the ring, with lead singer Tom Clarke telling the Sun: “I’d like to get Peter Crouch to rap. We’d let him to his robot dance too. I reckon Wayne Rooney could be an angry rapper. We’d do it just so we could say, ‘We’ve recorded the official England song’.”

Valiant reasons indeed from the Coventry band…

Obviously a Three Lions re-re-re-re-release is inevitable and Keef Allen might be persuaded to reform Fat Les with Alex James of Blur, but who else might be in contention? Noel Gallagher might see it as an ideal opportunity to launch his solo career. Or Liam might get his remaining bandmates together and release something new as Oasis. Elbow know their way around a big chorus and could be tempted to give it a go.

Or there could be someone less obvious. Morrissey could put the murmurings of him being a racist to bed at last by becoming a figurehead for English football fans. Radiohead could do something typically uplifting and perfect for terrace-chanting. Girls Aloud could team up with Xenomania to record a pop opus that would blast away the opposition.

What would you like to see become England’s official World Cup song? Let us know below.

This article was written for The Music Magazine.

McCann out until Christmas

Burnley fans feared the worst when Chris McCann limped off following a challenge from Sunderland defender Michael Turner in Saturday's 3-1 victory over the Black Cats, and scans have shown that they were correct to be worried.

McCann has damaged the medial ligaments in his knee, meaning it will be at least two months before he can play again, with him unlikely to be available until Christmas.

The news is a blow to Owen Coyle, who has built his midfield around the young Irishman since his arrival at the club two years ago.

Coyle told the club's official website: "It's fair to say that Chris has suffered a bad injury and I would expect a minimum of two to three months.

"He has damaged his medial ligament and it will certainly be a couple of months before he is back. It's very unfortunate and a body blow for Chris. That's where my thoughts are because whenever he has been available he has been in my team.

"I think the world of him, both as a player and a lad and the good thing is he is at such a young age that he will come back better and stronger for it."

McCann's injury opens the door for Joey Gudjonsson and Kevin McDonald to stake their claims for regular first team football, and they may both be given their chance to shine in tomorrow night's third round Carling Cup clash with Roses rivals Barnsley at Oakwell.

This article was written for FansOnline Burnley.

Beatlemania usurped by Vera Lynn

And so it turned out to be one of the biggest anticlimaxes of the year. The Beatles’ back catalogue, released, re-mastered and with new stickers on the front, was expected to dominate this week’s album charts. But it wasn’t to be, as another blast from the past outshone them.

Although a quartet of records by the Fab Four broke into the top ten, the top spot went to Forces’ Sweetheart Vera Lynn, with her latest Best Of collection, named after her most famous song, We’ll Meet Again.

The Beatles didn’t even get the highest new entry, which went to Jamie T’s sophomore release Kings & Queens, entering the chart at 2. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the highest selling Beatles album, followed by Abbey Road, Revolver and Rubber Soul.

The new Cribs album Ignore the Ignorant acted as the meat in the Beatles’ sandwich, and David Guetta and Arctic Monkeys made up the top ten, charting at 3 and 4 respectively, in both albums’ third week of release.

Turns out masses of free advertising from the BBC didn’t make that much difference after all.

This article was written for TMM.

Doves, Florence and Dizzee head first Electric Proms announcements

This year’s BBC Electric Proms will feature headline performances from Dizzee Rascal and Doves.

The October series of shows kicks off with London rapper Rascal performing with a live band and a 16-piece orchestra at the Camden Roundhouse venue on October 21.

The following night sees Manchester rock band Doves play with London’s Bulgarian Choir, and American soul artists Smokey Robinson completes the initial announcements, performing at the venue on October 24.

A new initiative called BBC’s New Music Shorts will invite filmmakers to submit ideas to accompany performances by Metronomy and Florence and the Machine.

Tickets for the shows go on sale at 8am tomorrow morning (Wednesday 16 September).

This article was written for TMM.

Futureheads to headline new North East festival

Sunderland’s finest indie-rock heroes the Futureheads will perform alongside a string of other North East bands at a new festival to be launched in Sunderland next month.

Split festival will take place at Ashbrooke Sports Club in Sunderland on Sunday October 4.

As well as the Futureheads, Field Muse and B>E>A>K will perform at the bash, with Frankie And The Heartstrings, Penetration and Sea Of Glass as further support.

As if that’s not enough, the PR bumf informs us that there will also be “a cornucopia of other festival treats including magicians, stilt walkers, fire eaters, comedians, face painters and fireworks”. Wowzers. Sounds great!

Richard Amundsen of B>E>A>K helped to organise the festival. He said: “Nothing really happens in Sunderland like this and it’s the time of the year where people often look for something different to do.”

Tickets are £19.50 (with under 8s admitted for nowt, so take the kids) and are available from a variety of North East venues including Ashbrooke Sports Club, Hot Rats Records, SUN FM, Sunderland Echo, RPM Newcastle and also from here.

More details on the event can be found at its website.

This article was written for TMM.

Offset festival completes line-up

Clinic, Metronomy and Wild Beasts have been added to the line-up for this weekend’s Offset festival, in Hainault Forest, just outside that London town.

Wild Beasts will headline the Clash stage on Sunday night, while Clinic will perform before headliners the Horrors on the same evening. Metronomy headline the second stage on Saturday night.

Tickets are still available for the artrock event, from See, at a bargainous £55 for the weekend, with camping included.

Other bands on the bill include the Futureheads, the Slits, Future of the Left, the Chapman Family, The XX and Bombay Bicycle Club.

This piece was written for TMM.

Nugent could be final piece of puzzle

I think I can speak for many Clarets when I say how surprised I was at the sudden announcement of the signing of David Nugent, on loan from Portsmouth for six months, with a view to a permanent deal.

All the talk was of Daniel Cousin of Hull joining Burnley, a tall, combative striker that would hassle and harry defenders. A bigger Martin Paterson, if you will.

But instead Owen Coyle surprised us all by pulling Nugent out of the hat. The striker is well known to Clarets having been Preston North End's star player for two or three years, and always seemed to bring out his best in games against us.

The move to Portsmouth probably came at the wrong time for him. £5m looked like a lot of money when the transfer happened, but PNE always get top buck for their players and Nugent was no exception.

He was unlucky in some respects with the managerial merry-go-round at Fratton Park, as well as Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe forming a lethal partnership together, that he didn't get a fair crack of the whip. Many of his appearances in Portsmouth blue came from the flank, and even more from the bench.

At only 24 his best years should be ahead of him, although it's probably not too harsh to suggest this could be his last chance to show hiw quality in the top flight. If he fails at Burnley, he will almost certainly play out his career in the Football League.

How he fits into Owen Coyle's plans remains to be seen. I see Nugent as a similar player to Robbie Blake. He's diminutive but can hold the ball, uses it intelligently, and is capable of magical strikes at goal. Whether he turns out to be the long-term replacement for the little magician is unlikely, but he certainly adds something extra to our striking options.

Where this leaves Jay Rodriguez is something Owen Coyle will have to consider closely. Rodriguez scored five from the bench last season and had we not been promoted would have played a major part this season. With Fletcher and now Nugent coming in, he finds himself down the pecking order, and unable to make the matchday squad of 18. A loan spell could do him the world of good, as it did for Kyle Lafferty, who found his scoring boots at Darlington.

But the move suits all parties. Portsmouth get another player off their wage bill, we get another attacking option, a low-risk one at that, and Nugent gets another shot at the big time, at a similar club to Preston, where he was so successful.

And if anyone can get the best of him, it's the man who rejuvenated the careers of Brian Jensen, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell and Robbie Blake to name but a few - Owen Coyle.

This article was written for FansOnline.

Noel Gallagher quits Oasis.

Noel Gallagher has quit Oasis.

The lead guitarist has walked, citing rows with his brother Liam, the band’s singer, as the reason.

Noel announced his decision via the band’s website. He wrote. in a brief statement that will devastate fans: “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.

“Apologies to all the people who bought tickets for the shows in Paris, Konstanz and Milan.”

The band were due to headline a show in Paris after pulling out of V festival, reportedly due to Liam’s throat problems, but after another row between the pair, Noel decided to leave the band.

Of course Liam and Noel have had their rows before, with both brothers threatening to quit, but this latest step is the furthest they have ever gone.

Just two days ago we wrote that Oasis would ‘go on forever’ after Liam’s sister-in-law Natalie Appleton backed up a band statement saying the band were not set to call it a day.

But it seems that the pressure of working with his famously volatile younger brother has finally become too much for Noel, who may now turn his attentions to a long-rumoured solo album.

Critics will point to the statement as a publicity stunt, citing previous examples of Liam and Noel’s rows almost destroying the band. But there’s a finality about Noel’s words that suggests this time, it really is over.

We thought they’d live forever, but despite Liam’s pleas to Noel for him to stand by me and don’t go away, Noel has decided to be where there’s life and considered that to keep the dream alive and to find the meaning of soul, he must go let it out all around the world and become a rock ‘n’ roll star half the world away.

(Sorry.)

This article was written for TMM.

Friendly Fires to play Notting Hill carnival

Friendly Fires, one of our favourite bands here at TMM, will perform live at Monday’s Notting Hill carnival in that London town.

The band are special guests of the Rhythm of the City carnival float. The drum troup have appeared live with the band before and appear on new single Kiss of Life.

Friendly Fires will perform live sporadically along the carnival’s route, starting at Ladbroke Grove at 11am, alone with the 25 strong drum troup, and 50 other dancers in fancy dress.

More information about the carnival’s route can be found here.

This article was written for TMM.

Oasis will go on ‘forever’

Oasis’ late cancellation of their V festival headlining slot led to rumours that the band were set to call it a day.

But the band have released a statement to the contrary, after Liam Gallagher appeared to suggest via his Twitter page that the band would not play live in the UK again.

He later Tweeted, about his throat problems: “The voice may of [sic] disappeared but I’m still here.1st things first V I’m gutted your gutted,I’m sorry what can I say fuck all at the moment.”

Keane, Snow Patrol and MGMT all played Oasis covers at Chelmsford in tribute to the Manchester band and Gallagher was big enough to thank them. He wrote: “Respect to those bands who covered Oasis last night, even though I might of given some of you shit in the past.”

A band statement then appeared at Oasisinet.com denying a split.

“V Festival was always scheduled as the last UK gig for this Dig Out Your Soul world tour,” they explained. “Oasis will complete the rest of the world tour in Europe and then take some well-earned time off before they begin to think about the next album and tour.”

And Liam’s sister-in-law Natalie Appleton added to the denial, saying the band were devastated about having to pull the show. She said: “Oasis will die before they split up… they’re going to go on forever until they are old men. The rumours are absolute rubbish. Even in his sick bed Liam was vowing to get back on stage.”

This article was written for TMM.

Manchester Orchestra to support Biffy Clyro

American indie-rockers Manchester Orchestra (neither an orchestra or from Manchester – why do bands lie to us?) have been announced as the main support band for Biffy Clyro’s upcoming UK tour.

The band are promoting their second album proper, titled Mean Everything To Nothing, which is streaming on Spotify now, is released on September 7, and was reviewed by us here.

The band also play Leeds and Reading festivals this weekend, appearing on the NME/Radio 1 stage on Friday in Reading and Sunday at Leeds.

The Biffy dates in full:

OCTOBER
28 Belfast, St George?s Market
29 Dublin, Olympia

NOVEMBER
1 Dundee, Caird Hall
2 Glasgow, Barrowlands
3 Glasgow, Barrowlands
4 Newcastle, Academy
6 Leeds, Academy
7 Manchester, Apollo
8 Nottingham, Rock City
9 Birmingham, Academy
11 Norwich, UEA
12 London, Brixton Academy
15 Cardiff, University
16 Southampton, Guildhall

The tour should be a revelation, with the two bands complementing each other nicely as they both strive for new levels of epicness in rock music.

This article was written for TMM.