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Live Updates

Kev Geoghegan and Mark Savage

All times stated are UK

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  1. Bye for today

    That's all for Monday - scroll down for news ranging from Bowie to Bastile, Kelis to Kasabian and U2 to... erm...Ud Sheeran?

    Anyway, join us again tomorrow for the best music news from the BBC and beyond.

  2. New Kasabian song leaks five days early

    NME

    Kasabian

    A new Kasabian track - which is destined for the Fifa football game - has apparently leaked five days early.

    Comeback Kid is the first new material from the Leicester band since their 2014 album 48:13

    It includes some of their deepest lyrics yet, with lines such as: "Sasquatch in a bin bag," and: "Nose bleed in a poundshop".

    Head over to NME to hear it. 

  3. Stream David Bowie's lost 1970s album The Gouster

    David Bowie in 1976

    David Bowie released three albums between 1974 and 1976 - Diamond Dogs, Young Americans and Station to Station - but, astonishingly, he had time to finish a fourth.

    Called The Gouster, it was recorded in Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, during a two-week break from touring. It laid the groundwork for Young Americans (four songs, including the title track, made their way onto that album later in the year) but takes a more ragged, unruly approach to Bowie's marriage of funk and art school pop.

    But he was unsatisfied with the result and jettisoned the recordings... until now. Producer Tony Visconti has unearthed and remixed the tracks for a 12-disc Bowie box set, Who Can I Be Now? (1974-76).

    The anthology appeared on Spotify this weekend, and you can listen to The Gouster in full via this link (starting at disc four).

  4. Bruce Springsteen's favourite Bruce Springsteen songs

    As part of the promotional trail for his new autobiography, Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen dropped by Stephen Colbert's US chat show on Friday.

    The host put The Boss on the spot by asking him to choose his five favourite songs from his back catalogue of more than 300 (!) released recordings.

    Amazingly, he didn't choose Froggie Went A-Courtin'.

    View more on youtube
  5. Jann Wenner sells 49% stake in Rolling Stone

    Bloomberg

    Jann Wenner

    For almost 50 years Jann Wenner has been the sole owner of Rolling Stone magazine, the US music bible that he founded in 1967 with critic Ralph J Gleason.

    But now Wenner - who funded the first issue by borrowing $7,500 from his family - has sold a 49% stake to BandLab, a startup digital music company.

    According to Bloomberg, BandLab will run a new office in Singapore, which will focus on developing live events and merchandising in Asia. 

    The deal also makes it clear that BandLab will have no say in editorial content.

    Wenner's son Gus, told Bloomberg "our growth in digital has been fantastic, but long-term, my dad and myself recognise that in order to truly grow and truly transform the business," they needed a partner in Asia.

    Read more

  6. Kanye makes surprise appearance at Chance The Rapper's festival

    Kanye and Chance The Rapper

    Chance The Rapper promised to bring out a few special guests at his inaugural Magnificent Coloring Day festival in Chicago this weekend - but after appearances from Lil' Wayne, Alicia Keys, 2 Chainz and John Legend, fans presumably thought they'd seen the best he had to offer.

    So, when Kanye West bounded onstage, unannounced, the audience quite simply went beserk.

    In the clip below, you can see people rushing the stage to get closer, leapfrogging over chairs, portaloos and anyone who happened to get in their way.

    View more on youtube

    Kanye hung around to perform a medley of hits, before duetting with Chance on Ultralight Beam. You can see that song in full via Tidal (but be wary, there's quite a lot of swearing).

  7. London mayor vows to protect iconic venues

    Evening Standard

    Sadiq Khan

    Following the closure of several iconic music venues in the UK's capital, the Mayor of London has stepped in to offer assistance.

    Sadiq Khan says he plans to introduce planning regulations which would require developers building flats near existing venues to pay for soundproofing measures.

    In many recent cases, the onus has fallen on the venues themselves - and some have closed rather than foot the bill.

    Khan's move comes after more than 25,000 people signed a petition to save Mayfair's historic Curzon cinema from being shut down over a soundproofing dispute. 

    Read more.

  8. Kraftwerk announce extensive UK tour

    Kraftwerk

    Man machines Kraftwerk have just announced their first UK tour in 13 years, with 12 dates planned for June next year.

    The band will perform their 3D concerts, which they premiered in 2012 at New York’s Museum Of Modern Art and have since performed at art galleries around the world, including London's Tate Modern.

    Starting in Belfast's Waterfront Hall, the tour also visits Edinburgh, Gateshead and Bristol, before ending with two dates in London's Royal Albert Hall.

    The final show takes place the day before Glastonbury - and has already prompted speculation that the band will make their debut at the festival next year.

    You can see the full list of tour dates on the band's website. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

  9. Your chance to walk in Ed Sheeran's shoes

    Ed Sheeran's shoes

    Have you got size 10 feet? Do you want to own a pair of Gucci sneakers that smell like Ed Sheeran? Then you're in luck!

    The dimunitive pop star has had a spring clean, and donated 13 bin bags of clothes to his local chairty, the St Elizabeth Hospice. 

    Amongst the goodies on offer are the aforementioned shoes, the shirt he wore for his cameo in Bridget Jones's Baby and the suits he took to the Brits and Grammys.

    Some of the items are available on eBay - but many more were put on sale at the charity's shop in Sheeran's hometown, Framlington, this weekend. 

    According to shop manager Rachail Pollard, fans started queuing outside the door at 8:30am on Saturday.

    "We sold an array of items, from shirts, and T-shirts, to trainers and hoodies, making £1,000 in the first 30 minutes!"

    "In total around £2,500 was raised from the sales in the shops alone on Saturday."

    The hospice provides specialist support to people living with a progressive illness across East Suffolk and Waveney. 

    Ed Sheeran fans hold up his clothes
  10. Bastille explain their album's "complete edition"

    Dan Smith

    We're all used to bands releasing a "deluxe edition" of their album - which usually means they've tacked a few B-sides onto the end, in the hope of fleecing their fans for an extra couple of quid.

    But Bastille's Wild World, which has been sitting at number one for the last fortnight, comes in two versions: A standard and a 19-track "complete" edition.

    We asked frontman Dan Smith what the difference was - and why, as a film buff, he hadn't called the longer version the "Director's Cut".

    "Dude, we talked about it a lot," he said. "Complete felt like the right word. Director’s Cut implies a level of indulgence.

    "I really wanted to emphasise that we see the 19 tracks as the whole thing. But also, we completely understand that some people don’t want to listen to that much music."

    Our full interview with Dan - in which he talks about Bastille's new documentary, and how he was inspired by Truman Capote - can be read here.

  11. Will Young dances to Bowie on Strictly debut

    Will Young opened his Strictly account at the weekend with a tango to David Bowie's Let's Dance.

    Other than the obvious literal translation of the song, we feel like this was a missed opportunity - hoping (as we were) that Will would be dressed a little more like Bowie in white slacks and a beige opened necked shirt. And, of course, white gloves.

    Why wasn't it set in a backwater truck stop cafe and why, oh, why isn't Karen Clifton wearing red shoes?

    We demand an explanation...

    Video content

    Video caption: Will Young and Karen Clifton dance the Tango to Let’s Dance.
  12. Alan Turing's computer music rediscovered

    Jack Copeland and Jason Long
    Image caption: The Turing recording was restored by Jack Copeland and Jason Long

    Alan Turing is best known for his work in cracking the Nazis' Enigma code during the Second World War - but he can also lay claim to being the father of the synthesizer.

    After the war ended, the scientist discovered that his computer could be used to make a loudspeaker emit a "hoot". 

    He used the sounds to follow what was going on inside the gigantic machine that filled much of the ground floor of Alan Turing's Computing Machine Laboratory. One note meant "job finished", another represented "digits overflowing in memory".

    But his colleagues realised it could also be programmed to play rudimentary tunes and, in 1951, the BBC visited his laboratory to capture three melodies played by this primeval computer. 

    The recording, made straight onto an acetate disc, had become distorted and corrupted over the years - but two scientists in New Zealand have worked to restore the audio - which you can hear below.

    View more on Soundcloud

    “Alan Turing’s pioneering work in the late 1940s on transforming the computer into a musical instrument has been largely overlooked,” said the researchers - professor Jack Copeland and composer Jason Long.

    Their blog post on the British Library website delves into the process of restoring the recording - and makes a fascinating read.

  13. Lil' Wayne officiated at a same-sex marriage in prison

    Lil Wayne

    Rapper Lil' Wayne is releasing a memoir detailing his eight-month stint in the Rikers Island jail complex, after pleading guilty to gun charges back in 2010.

    In the book - Gone Til November - he details how he continued to write new material, while watching episodes of American Idol to pass the time.

    But he also recounts the day he officiated at a wedding between two of his fellow inmates. After the ceremony, he says, they decorated the hall with toilet paper and toasted with 13 bottles of Gatorade (that's a US sports drink btw): 

    Gatorade is "liquid gold" in prison, he writes. "Imagine seeing grown-ass men in jail hanging tissue for wedding decorations. AND one of them is Lil Wayne. Crazy.”

    Later in the memoir, the rapper recounts how Drake visited him in prison to let him know he'd slept with his girlfriend. How chivalrous.

  14. Backstreet Boys announce Las Vegas residency

    They're not quite the Rolling Stones, but Backstreet Boys are nevertheless at the more mature end of the pop spectrum.

    Showing off a new grown-up look, the US boyband have announced they are following in the footsteps of Britney, Maraih and Sir Elton with a Las Vegas residency.

    Their Larger Than Life show (named after their 1999 hit) will debut at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino's on 1 March, running until 1 July.

    "We’re going to call the show Larger Than Life, and we're taking that theme and we’re going to run with it," said bandmember Kevin Richardson, "It's gonna be an amazing, energetic, fun party show."

    Party on Backstreet Boys, party on.

    View more on twitter
  15. U2 address Donald Trump in first US show of 2016

    Bono

    To many fans' amazement, rock band U2 endorsed Donald Trump during a gig in Las Vegas this weekend.

    Oh alright, of course they didn't. In fact, Bono used the gig to lambast the presidential nominee, sampling clips of his speeches and mocking his message.

    The protest came during a performance of Desire - a song which references the false promises made in election campaigns.

    "Are you ready to gamble your car?" asked Bono, before playing the Trump soundbite, "What do you have to lose?" 

    The singer then asked the crowd, "Are you ready to gamble the American Dream," which was followed by video of Trump's assertion that "the American Dream is dead."

    "The American Dream is alive," Bono then shouted to the crowd before returning to the song.

    Watch the clip below.

    View more on twitter
  16. Kelis 'slowly' working on new album

    R&B star Kelis was the guest on yesterday's edition of The First Time on BBC 6 Music, looking back at her life in music - from her early, pivotal relationship with The Neptunes to the astonishing, year-long battle she had over the song Milkshake.

    "People hated it. They would not play it. DJs didn't get it," she said. "We fought like hell for that record. It finally hit and it was like 'b-boom'."

    The singer, who has taken a detour into cooking and catering in recent years, also spoke about her plans for the future.

    "I would love to [open a restaurant]," she told Matt Everitt. "For me, being in a kitchen is my happy place. It's where I want to be right now

    "But I am very, very slowly - like sloth slowly - putting together a new record."

    Watch this space. Just not anytime soon.

  17. Bon Iver criticises Beyonce's sponsorship deals

    Bon Iver and Beyonce

    In a rare interview to promote his new album - 22, A Million - Bon Iver's Justin Vernon spoke to The Guardian about the panic attacks and depression that derailed him during the last four years.

    A large part of his anxiety stemmed from being thrust into the spotlight, and the treadmill of releasing and promoting new albums. In the future, he said, he wants to break the cycle, and only play "special" shows so it's "not just a money-grabbing exercise".

    So far, so good... But then he took an un-prompted side-swipe at Beyonce.

    Quote Message: You can never be self-righteous, but it’s okay to be a little righteous. You have to believe in something. Like, I’d prefer Beyonce didn't do a Pepsi tour. Do not take two million dollars from Pepsi and be a role model for young girls. Do not do that. That stuff does anger me. And I feel like I am not afraid to talk about that stuff. from Bon Iver
    Bon Iver

    The comments prompted a rebuke from Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold, who noted that Vernon had previously licensed his music to Bushmills whiskey.

    "Is a Pepsi and Bushmills a drink?" he commented on Instagram, under a picture from The Emperor's New Clothes. (The post has since been deleted).

    Globe-straddling pop megalith Beyonce has yet to comment on this online spat between two cult indie artists.

  18. The end of the album?

    Video content

    Video caption: Research shows curated playlists are taking up more listening time.

    On Friday, we brought you news that playlists had overtaken albums as a listening format for music fans.

    The report prompted a discussion on 5 Live over the weekend, where analyst Mark Mulligan said: “This has been going on ever since the internet broke its way into the music business, it lets listeners unpick the album.”

    "Artists love putting out albums; to them it’s their novel and they want fans to listen to every track – but we have seen a role reversal in the industry where ‘live’ is dragging the record business behind it,” he added.

    Listen to the interview above.

  19. Morrissey covers The Ramones in New York

    A teenage Morrissey may have once called them a "bumptious band of degenerate no-talents" (a criticism which, in fairness, he has since taken back) but that didn't stop him from launching into a breakneck cover of one of The Ramones' seminal songs Judy Is A Punk during the encore of his show in Brooklyn, New York at the weekend.

    "Three days after writing that Ramones piece, I realised that my love for the Ramones would out-live time itself," he wrote just a few years ago.

    Check out his performance below. 

    View more on youtube
  20. Artists announced for Barack Obama's South by South Lawn festival

    The Lumineers

    The Lumineers (pictured above), Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (picture below) and DJ Beverly Bond are among the first artists announced for a festival happening on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington DC.

    More names are expected to be announced soon.

    Sharon Jones

    The festival, titled South By South Lawn, is to be co-produced by the organisers of South By Southwest, the annual music festival in Austin Texas.

    The event will also see the US President in conversation with Leonardo DiCaprio who is premiering his new documentary on climate change; while the cast of Stranger Things, the hit Netflix show, will deliver a film workshop.