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Sarah Jane Griffiths and Kev Geoghegan

All times stated are UK

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  1. Toodle pip

    That's your lot for today folks, scroll back down for new music from Twin Atlantic, the return of The Cool Kids and Lorde plus watch fans react to their own private gig from Craig David and Jess Glynne.

    We'll be back tomorrow with the best New Music Friday has to offer.

    Until then... 

  2. Good news: your rubbish music taste isn't your fault

    The Cheeky Girls

    That is according to a new piece of research in the scientific journal Nature.

    If you have ever wondered why you get more excited about that potential Cheeky Girls reunion than the latest Chance the Rapper mixtape or the next Christine and the Queens gig, it turns out it could be the fault of your upbringing.

    According to the new report, musical preferences seem to be mainly shaped by a person’s cultural upbringing and experiences rather than biological factors.

    Doesn't explain why we love Ice Ice Baby so much though. 

  3. Lorde makes some 'breakthroughs' on her next album

    Lorde

    Lorde fans are eagerly awaiting the follow up to her 2013 acclaimed debut Pure Heroine, and now the singer has teased the world with news she's made some "exciting breakthroughs" on the new record. 

    The New Zealand singer - who also featured on Disclosure's album Caracal and performed a Bowie tribute at this year's Brits - revealed she spent three days alone songwriting. 

    Rather excitingly, she went "to the wilderness" and travelled by helicopter... which beats getting the bus to the office hands down.

    View more on twitter
  4. UK artists join forces against ticket touts

    Little Mix

    Artists including Arctic Monkeys, Iron Maiden, Ed Sheeran, Noel Gallagher and Little Mix have launched a new campaign against ticket touts.

    Dubbed the FanFair Alliance, it is calling on the government to take tougher action against websites which resell concert tickets.

    Arctic Monkeys' manager Ian McAndrew has accused the sites of "rampant profiteering".

    He said the goal was to "make it easier for fans to buy tickets" at face value.

    At the campaign launch in London this morning, Little Mix manager Harry Magee added: "Parents write letters and fans write letters because they feel they’ve been ripped off. 

    "You can’t answer every letter – but sometimes it’s so extreme you have to do something about it."

    Read more

  5. Writing a score for the end of the world was a 'dream come true'

    BBC Radio 3

    British composer Jessica Curry has been talking about the challenges of writing music for video games.

    She won a Bafta for the post apocalyptic game Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and told In Tune presenter Suzy Klein how she got started in the gaming world.

    Video content

    Video caption: The BAFTA-winning composer explains why classical music lovers should get into gaming.
  6. Craig David, Jess Glynne and The Vamps treat fans to private gigs

    Craig David

    What would you do if you came face-to-face with your idol and they were performing a private gig just for you? 

    That's exactly what happened to fans of Craig David, The Vamps and Jess Glynne, when they were filmed for a new iPlayer series. 

    The fans were lured to the Shard in London under the pretence of taking part in a 'focus group' - only to be surprised by an intimate performance as they stepped out of the lift. 

    There are some classic reactions, which you can watch over on iPlayer now - but here's a taster of what happened with The Vamps and Jess Glynne.

    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
  7. The Cool Kids announce decision to reform after five years

    The Cool Kids

    Chicagoan rappers Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks aka The Cool Kids have announced they are to reform after a hiatus of five years.

    They released just one album, When Fish Ride Bicycles, in 2011 and the acclaimed EP The Bake Sale in 2008.

    In a series of tweets, Inglish - aka Evan Ingersoll - announced their return. 

    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
  8. Twin Atlantic share No Sleep video

    Scots rock band Twin Atlantic have release the new video for their single No Sleep ahead of their forthcoming album GLA - due out in September.

    Singer Sam McTrusty said: "It’s a simple video of us in our element. The textures projected behind and onto us were inspired by the album art we made for GLA. 

    "This is us. This is our music."

    Their UK tour kicks off in Newcastle in October.

    Warning: Third party content, may contain ads.

    View more on youtube
  9. Ellie Goulding cancels European festival dates

    Ellie Goulding

    Ellie Goulding has pulled out of festivals in Latvia and Finland this weekend, due to "ill health". 

    She told fans on Twitter that she'd been advised not to travel or perform, but did not go into details about her illness, before adding that she would "bounce back". 

    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
  10. Musicians and actors take part in hard-hitting protest video

    Musicians including Beyonce, Rihanna, Alicia Keys and Bono have participated in a new video highlighting the killing of black men by police officers in the US.

    Following the recent shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the celebrities list "23 Ways You Could Be Killed If You Are Black in America".

    Each statement is followed by the face and name of someone who has been killed. 

    Warning: third party content, may contain ads.

    View more on youtube
  11. Justice return with new single Safe and Sound

    BBC Radio 1

    French dance duo Justice have returned with their first new single since 2011, debuting Safe and Sound on Annie Mac's show last night. 

    The Parisian pair - best known for hits D.A.N.C.E. and We Are You Friends - had previously teased fans new music coming, thanks to an Instagram picture of them signing paperwork with Ed Banger records, touting "new adventures". 

    Gaspard and Xavier told Annie they were currently "putting the last touches" to their new album, but added they were "impatient" to get the new track out during the summer as it was "very summerish" so "it would be a shame not to give it to the world". 

    Listen to the track and the interview below: 

    You can also download the track for free on the band’s website. It's fair to say most tweeters seem very happy to have them back...

    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
  12. Beastie Boys Mike D to host radio show on Beats 1

    Rolling Stone magazine

    Mike D

    Beastie Boys member Mike D, aka Mike Diamond, is to host a new show on Apple Music's Beats 1 called The Echo Chamber.

    No word on what kind of music he will play, but he told Rolling Stone he is still "fascinated with and stay rooted in current music". 

    The rapper and producer said "it's a little bit like a fantasy that I've had since basically I started buying records as a 13-year-old. I'm still the same music fan."

    He added: "To actually be able to cut out the middle man and play records and have it be somehow part of a vocation is some weird wish fulfillment."

    Mike also told the magazine about his long-awaited Beastie Boys memoir, which he is co-writing with Adam Horowitz aka Ad Rock. 

    "It's getting there," he said. "It takes some work, as you know. We don't have a deadline, and books take so long to finish 'til when it comes out, but we're getting there."

    Read more

  13. M/A/R/R/S founder member Steve Young dies

    Colourbox

    Steve Young, the founding member of the influential acid-house band M/A/R/R/S and electro-pop group Colourbox, has died. 

    Record label 4AD confirmed the news on facebook, with a statement which called him "one of the label's true pioneers."

    The 1987 Pump Up the Volume, which sampled tracks by James Brown, Kool & the Gang and Public Enemy, was a number one in the UK and made it to number 13 in the US.

    Here is their chart topping song, just in case you can't remember it (but we're sure you can). 

    Warning: Third party content, may contain ads.

    View more on youtube
  14. David Bowie art collection revealed

    David Bowie

    The private art collection of David Bowie is to be revealed to the public for the first time ahead of its auction.

    The musician, a keen artist himself, collected almost 300 works by the likes of Damien Hirst, Henry Moore and Marcel Duchamp.

    They are set to go on display at Sotheby's in London, before being sold in November.

    The collection has an pre-sale estimate of more than £10m.

    Read more or watch the artist and writer Matthew Collings review David Bowie's collection below: 

    Video content

    Video caption: The artist and writer Matthew Collings reviews David Bowie's private art collection.
  15. Chance the Rapper leads emotional tribute to Muhammad Ali

    Chance the Rapper

    Chance the Rapper took the stage on Wednesday night at the ESPYS awards, which celebrate the biggest sporting achievements in the US, to honour late boxer Muhammad Ali in a special tribute. 

    He performed a new original song, accompanied by footage and photos of the legendary fighter, who died last month aged 74 following a 32-year fight with Parkinson's Disease. 

    You can watch the tribute, which the artist called "an honour", on the Pitchfork website

    Chance the Rapper performs Muhammad Ali tribute
    View more on twitter

    Justin Timberlake was also on hand to give out the evening's Icon Award, presented to retired sports stars Kobe Bryant, Abby Wambach and Peyton Manning.

  16. Calvin Harris confirms Taylor Swift's involvement on Rihanna track

    Calvin Harris

    In what seems to be the Twitter-sphere's favourite music news story of the morning, Calvin Harris has confirmed his single This Is What You Came For - which features the vocals of Rihanna - was in part written by ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift.

    Rumours had been circulating online that she wrote it (while they were together) using the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg, as she was worried their relationship would detract from the song. 

    Swift's representative confirmed the rumours to People magazine, which the DJ then retweeted from his official account.

    He first wrote: "Amazing lyric writer and she smashed it as usual."

    He then followed with a series of tweets, seemingly directed at Swift and her team:

    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter

    He also appeared to bring up Swift's notorious beef with Katy Perry... 

    View more on twitter

    ...before going on to urge Swift to focus on the positive and wish his fans "a beautiful day". 

    Perry's only comment since has been this: 

    View more on twitter

    You can see how others on Twitter rushed to get involved in Newsbeat's round-up

  17. Jack White addresses gender inequality

    Jack White

    White Stripes and Ranconteurs frontman Jack White has given a speech about sexism, after being named part of a new council in Nashville, Tennessee set up to address gender inequality.

    Mayor Megan Barry gave him a place on the new 45-member council, which will study gender equality in the Nashville area and report back on their findings, due to policies he has implemented on his Third Man Records label.

    View more on twitter

    White's policies include six-month paid maternity leave for women, health insurance for all employees and a $15 minimum wage.

    In a speech, which he has put on Facebook, the singer said:

    Quote Message: In my life in the arts, I have always considered it unfair when producing a record, for example, that a drummer would be paid less than a singer, simply because that singer had an agent or representative. They are both creating regardless of their instrument or even their experience. They should be paid the same. Now wouldn’t it be just as ridiculous to pay two fiddle players a different wage because one of them is male and one is female? I think so.

    He added: "All human beings on this planet, and in this society that we live in deserve to be treated the same." 

  18. Good morning

    Hello one and all... we've got heaps coming up for you today on Music News LIVE, from an exclusive look at David Bowie's personal art collection to a Calvin Harris Twitter-storm. 

    We'll also bring you news on the return of French dance duo Justice, Chance the Rapper's tribute to late boxer Muhammad Ali, and that's just for starters.

    If you missed yesterday's musical developments catch up now, with news from Spice Girl Mel B, Meat Loaf, Pixies and AlunaGeorge - plus find out which Ed Sheeran song is the world's favourite soundtrack to a wedding first dance.