Music News LIVE: Stone Roses play first night at Etihad

Earlier this month, a very rare thing happened in Stockholm Sweden, when all four members of Abba reunited on stage at a private party celebrating the 50th anniversary of the day Bjorn and Benny met for the first time. 

Towards the end of the evening, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad took to the stage to perform the 1980 hit Me and I. 

Now we can watch it happen:

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Gloria Estefan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Idina Menzel and Carole King are among the Broadway stars past and present who are collaborating on a new charity single in support of victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. 

They're recording a new version of  What the World Needs Now Is Love, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, inspired by the We are the World benefit for Africa in 1985.

The digital download, available from Monday, will cost $1.99 (£1.40), with proceeds going to the LGBT Center of Central Florida.

"Everyone wanted to do something as quickly as possible," said instigator Seth Rudetsky, a musical director.

Matthew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell and Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda are also among the company of around 60 performers taking part in New York, Los Angeles and Miami.

"Our community of artists has banded together as we always do, to show we can end this cycle of violence and intolerance," said Rudetsky.

Read more

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The resounding impression is that The Stone Roses killed it at the first of their live shows at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester last night.

However, there was a glaring omission from their set list - their latest track Beautiful Thing, which was played out over the PA but not by the band...

However, there was at least one very, very happy fan in the crowd, especially when he had a song dedicated to him by Manchester United fan Ian Brown...

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Phil Collins has revealed his new memoir - called Not Dead Yet - will be "embarrassingly honest" about his ups and downs. 

The no-holds-barred book, due in October, will chronicle his career and personal life - including his "three failed marriages, his alcoholism and his ill health," according to a statement. 

"There have been lots of highs, and more than a few lows. I'm being completely honest about all of them, embarrassingly so in some cases," said Phil.

The singer and former Genesis star said the decision to write the book was sparked by things in his personal life which caused him to "take stock". 

Quote Message: In many respects I've had a dream life. It's certainly a life worth writing about. I've been incredibly lucky, but I've also worked extremely hard. I've collaborated with some of my heroes, written songs that people have liked, and wildly surpassed my initial hope to make a living as a drummer.

In many respects I've had a dream life. It's certainly a life worth writing about. I've been incredibly lucky, but I've also worked extremely hard. I've collaborated with some of my heroes, written songs that people have liked, and wildly surpassed my initial hope to make a living as a drummer.

APCopyright: AP

The UK has the Mercury Music Prize, but in Canada it's the job of the Polaris Music Prize to decide the best albums of the year and organisers have just announced 2016's long list, giving Drake his fourth nomination for Views.

Several other Canadian stars gone global are on the list, such as Justin Bieber's Purpose and The Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness, as well Carly Rae Jepsen, Peaches, Grimes and Kaytranada. 

With 21 first-time nominees there are also artists just starting to make waves abroad, like Foxtrott and Nap Eyes who played Canada's showcase at The Great Escape festival in Brighton last month.

The short list will be announced in Toronto on 14 July, with the prize set to be handed out on 19 September.

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Actor, writer, comedian and impressionist Alistair McGowan is about to take his lifelong obsession with French composer Erik Satie to another level, by headlining a 24-hour Satie piano marathon at Cheltenham Music Festival. 

Having "hero-worshipped" the composer for years and presented a Radio 4 documentary about him, McGowan will lead a rare performance of Satie's Vexations as the centrepiece of the festival's celebration of his 150th Anniversary.

Premiered in 1963 by 12 pianists including John Cale and John Cage with Andy Warhol in the audience, Satie's Vexations "comprises one sheet of music lasting approximately 90 seconds, which is repeated 840 times in succession, very slowly."  

Satie composed it in 1893 after the break-up of his first and only-known relationship with a woman. 

McGowan will share the stage at St Paul’s Church with pianists and composers Lucy Parham, Anne Lovett, Christina McMaster, Alex Wilson and Mary Dullea as well as other Satie enthusiasts. 

The 24-hour relay kicks off at midday on Friday 15 July.

Beyonce had the perfect reaction to part of her moving set breaking down at a gig in Detroit earlier in the week.

As she reached her hand above her head during an intro to Crazy In Love, the box in which she was standing slowly began to collapse on her.

At the same gig she also dedicated her performance of Halo to the victims of the attack at the Pulse nightclub in Florida and their families.

On Sunday night Queen, featuring Adam Lambert on vocals, dedicated their headline performance of the song Who Wants to Live Forever to the victims of the Orlando shootings.

You can now watch the performance online:

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So picture yourself playing a track you've written and produced to Pharrell Williams.

And it finishes and he turns to you and says one word... "wow".

That actually happened to a student called Maggie Rogers who studies at the Clive Davis Institute of Music in New York.

"I have zero notes for that and I'll tell you why," says a clearly dumbstruck Pharrell. "You're doing your own thing. It's singular."

"I've never heard anyone like you before and I've never heard anything that sounds like that. That's a drug for me."

In Pharrell's words own words, '"Wow".

Now Maggie Rogers has uploaded the track onto SoundCloud. 

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Lil Wayne either has the recuperative powers of a shire horse or he is living life dangerously, having performed just two days after suffering a seizure. 

The 33-year-old Grammy-winning rapper was on a private plane when he fell ill on Monday.

According to TMZ, the flight had to make an emergency landing.

But he's now performed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo as skateboarders did tricks behind him on a half-pipe stage. 

After his performance, he appeared on a live stream to promote his mobile skateboarding game.

He did not mention his health during the appearances, telling fans to "enjoy your life" and of course "make sure you download my game".  

The new Aladdin musical began its West End run last night and composer Alan Menken stopped by Radio 3's In Tune studio first to discuss his career and perform a medley of tunes from the show. 

He told presenter Suzy Klein that the Aladdin musical includes several songs that didn't make the cut for the original Disney movie, composed with late playwright and lyricist Howard Ashman. 

"We had this treasure trove of songs we wrote for the movie that didn't make it... my main desire was to see if we could get those lost songs in," said Menken. 

Listen to the clip below:

You can also hear Henken discuss his career during the full In Tune programme or find out what critics made of the show in the reviews round-up.

Last week we told you Axl Rose had revealed he'd been working on some new Guns N'Roses material - and it had got the thumbs up from bandmembers Slash and Duff.

Well now you can watch his full hour-long interview with businessman Sir David Tang which has been published online. 

The wide-ranging chat, featuring questions from the audience, saw him talking about his favourite music, politics and what will happen with the newly-reunited GNR in the future.

"I've got a lot of stuff together, and I played some stuff for Slash and Duff, and they liked it," he said.

"They might be on [the recordings]. We don't know."

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Some great news for aficionados of early nineties Scottish alternative rock as band Arab Strap have announced they are reuniting.Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton formed in Falkirk in 1995 and released six studio albums before disbanding in 2006.

Talking to Steve Lamacq on 6 Music, Middleton (pictured above) said: "I think the day we went to the pub and split up, we made a joke about Arab Strap getting back together in 10 years' time to celebrate." 

"So that's basically what this is: a chance to enjoy the music we made once more."Moffat added: "We wanted to celebrate it while we're still relatively young and don't look too embarrassing on the stage."

Listen to the interview below: 

Musicians can occasionally leave us feeling a little bit like underachievers... Take LeAnn Rimes for example - she's just celebrated 20 years since the start of her music career, at the age of just 33.  

Since releasing first single Blue at 13, she's recorded, oh, 16 albums.

LeAnn shared the stats with Chris Evans on Radio 2 this morning, as she's the latest act to be announced for the station's Festival in a Day event in September:

Tickets for the event in Hyde Park - headlined by Elton John - go on sale tomorrow, when the final act is also announced.  

XLCopyright: XL

Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood has told BBC 6 Music it's "a very happy time" for the band, in an exclusive interview about their new album, A Moon Shaped Pool.

The band are currently touring the album, which has been praised by critics and fans, and have kept crowds guessing with a different set list every night. 

Greenwood (pictured second from left) says the tracks are ultimately decided just before they play, but explains how they went about narrowing it down: 

"We started with 120 [songs]. It's crazy. I mean, it's just every song we've done. 

"And then we gave up and realised that was stupid and got it down to about 60 or 70, and we played 24 songs a night. So there's a lot to choose from."

Greenwood - who has composed film scores including There Will Be Blood and We Need To Talk About Kevin - also claims being in Radiohead can be just as frustrating as a day at the office:

Quote Message: It's by turns really exciting - and there's usually Thom [Yorke] in the middle of it getting very excited and motivating everyone and getting worked up about how well it's going - and then there's periods when nothing's happening and it's just not working and it's frustrating.

It's by turns really exciting - and there's usually Thom [Yorke] in the middle of it getting very excited and motivating everyone and getting worked up about how well it's going - and then there's periods when nothing's happening and it's just not working and it's frustrating.

Quote Message: But it's like that for everyone with work. When it's going well it's such an exciting and 'up' and happy time that gets you through anything, really. It's only torturous looking back.

But it's like that for everyone with work. When it's going well it's such an exciting and 'up' and happy time that gets you through anything, really. It's only torturous looking back.

Talk also turned to the band's rejected James Bond theme for Spectre (producers chose Sam Smith's). 

Jonny admits it was "just too dark" for the film, but adds "We're really, really proud of it."

Read more or listen to his interview with Matt Everitt on The First Time with Jonny Greenwoodat 13:00 BST on Sunday, 19 June on BBC 6 Music.

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Swedish super producer Max Martin is to accept the hugely prestigious Polar Music Prize in Stockholm later.

Since 1999, he has written and co-written 22 US number-one hits including Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl and Taylor Swift's We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Shake It Off and Blank Space.

He is the third most successful writer behind Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

And his celeb friends include the Backstreet Boys, who are in Sweden for the ceremony...

On Wednesday night, he gave a masterclass which was tweeted about by the organisers:

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Take Me To Church singer Hozier has teased a new track Better Love, from the soundtrack of upcoming film The Legend of Tarzan. 

The Irish singer-songwriter announced the news on his Twitter and Facebook accounts along with an 11-second clip.

"Very happy to announce my new song Better Love will be released as part of the Legend Of Tarzan film soundtrack starring Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, and Samuel L Jackson," he wrote, adding: “Stay tuned for more soon!”

The film's due out in July.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page has denied stealing the riff to Stairway to Heaven, as he took the stand at the band's copyright trial in the US.

The band are being accused of lifting the opening guitar line from a 1967 track called Taurus by the band Spirit - with whom they had shared a bill with several times.

But Page testified he had never heard the song until people started posting comparisons online a few years ago.

"I knew I had never heard that before," he said. "It was totally alien to me."

He added: "When it started, I was confused by the comparison… [I thought] 'What's this got to do with Stairway?'"

Under questioning, Page conceded that he did own a copy of the band's self-titled debut, on which the track appears, but could not recall how it came to be part of his collection - which amounts to 4,329 albums and 5,882 CDs.

The musician arrived carrying a guitar case, raising the prospect that he might play the riff in question, but that did not happen.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Led Zeppelin are said to have made more than $562m (£334m) from Stairway To Heaven in the last 45 years  

They are being sued by the estate of Spirit's late guitarist, Randy Wolfe (who performed under the name Randy California). 

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With kick-off just a few hours away, either Wales or England could take a huge step towards the knockout stages of Euro 2016 later. 

Will we see Gareth Bale bury Roy Hodgson's boys or will Harry Kane send Chis Coleman's lads back to the Valleys with their tails between their legs?

Right, that's got the football chat out of the way - back to the music. This summer's Wales anthem was supplied by the mighty Manic Street Preachers.

Nicky Wire from the band explained to the BBC's Nick Robinson that they only agreed to it on the basis that they could write something that was "good enough to make a Manics album".