OHMYGOSSIP — Dua Lipa is convinced the public don’t want pop stars to be “smart” or “political”.
The 28-year-old singer insists she reads voraciously and has recently spoken out against Hamas’ bombardment of Israel, and has told how she thinks fans don’t want to see intellectual stars.
She said in a chat with Rolling Stone: “I don’t know if people believe that I like to read books, or people believe that these conversations are my own.
“I think it’s a thing of what people want from their pop stars.
“They don’t want you to be political. They don’t want you to be smart. Not that I’m trying to prove myself in that way, but there is so much more to me than just what I do.”
Dua has signed and supported a petition for a cease-fire to the Israel-Hamas war that has turned Gaza into a tragic battlefield and displaced millions of people.
She said: “My feelings on displaced people (are) very real and raw, and it is a difficult subject to speak about because it’s so divisive.
“But there is a world where you can feel for all lives that are being lost. And I have to say this: I don’t condone what Hamas is doing… every life is precious.”
Dua was born in London but moved with her family to Kosovo’s capital city of Pristina after the country declared independence in 2008.
Aged 15, she famously persuaded her family to let her leave Kosovo and moved back to London alone where she finished school, passed her A-levels, and began waiting tables and modelling while seeking out a label to get her music career off the ground – leading to her being signed before she turned 20.
Dua, who is now working on her third album, added about her stance on current affairs and global conflicts: “It’s probably easier to be apolitical. I think there’s no kind of deep discussion about war and oppression.
“It just is something that we’ve seen happen time and time again. I feel like just being a musician and posting about something doesn’t make enough of a difference, but hopefully, just showing solidarity, which is sometimes all you feel like you can do, is important.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Shaun Ryder’s biopic is still in the works – but its makers need new backers.
In 2019, it was revealed that ‘Skins’ actor Jack O’Connell, 33, was to star as the Happy Mondays and Black Grape frontman, 61, in the flick ‘Twisting My Melon’, but director Matt Greenhalgh got himself into a creative disagreement with the movie’s US funders and they now require more funding to get the project off the ground.
Shaun told Classic Pop magazine: “Matt Greenhalgh wrote the script and was gonna direct.
“So we got the money, half-English, half-American and Matt fell out with the Americans. They didn’t want to make the film that Matt wanted to make. They wanted to make a film like all those other biopics, so it had to have a certain bit of this and a certain bit of that. So the American money went and it all went (messed) up really.
Matt’s still working on getting it made, so that’s where he is now. He’s actually just done the Amy Winehouse film (‘Back to Black’, which he’s scripted, but is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson) and I think he’s done about three or four movies since we started getting this one made. So at the moment, he’s just looking for another lot of backers.”
Filming was due to commence in Shaun’s native Manchester in 2020.
The film will be based on his autobiography of the same name, which charts his life, his music, and his part in the Madchester scene.
Other names swirling around the film include Jason Isaacs, who would play his guitar-playing father, Derek, nicknamed ‘Horseman’.
Maxine Peake is in talks to play Linda, Shaun’s mother and Holliday Grainger is in discussions to play Shaun’s girlfriend.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Dua Lipa’s third album feels “a bit more raw” than her previous pop records.
The singer 28-year-old singer released the first single from the new project – ‘Houdini’ – in November and the album is expected to follow in the next few months and she has now opened up about her changing musical style which has been captured in her new tracks.
She told Rolling Stone: “This record feels a bit more raw. I want to capture the essence of youth and freedom and having fun and just letting things happen, whether it’s good or bad.
“You can’t change it. You just have to roll with the punches of whatever’s happening in your life.”
She explained the record is heavily influenced by acts including Primal Scream and Massive Attack, while Dua is also changing her aesthetic to embrace the spirit of 1990s Britpop.
The singer started work on her new music in 2021, and it’s been a long road to completion as she admits she would often go back and rewrite songs if they didn’t sound perfect.
She added: “I don’t think there’s a single song on this record that I didn’t go back and want to rewrite and perfect and change and work on it a bit more and dig a little deeper and see if we could go any further.”
Dua also confessed she really does care what both the critics and the fans think of her music, explaining: “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about what the critics thought … When you put your heart and soul into something, you want people collectively to be like: ‘Oh, it’s changed sonically, and it’s been something different’.”
It’s going to be a big year for Dua with the release of her currently untitled album as she’s also rumoured to be in talks to headline Glastonbury Festival in the summer while she’s also said to be plotting a huge stadium tour.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Dua is going to be everywhere in 2024 – ­currently her team are looking at ­pencilling in her first ever stadium shows next ­summer.
“Her 2022 Future Nostalgia tour had 12 arena shows in the UK so a couple of massive ­stadium gigs is definitely possible. Her star has only grown since then. “Right now no dates are confirmed and locked in but it’s on the cards.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Billy Joel has teased his first new original music in almost two decades.
The Piano Man recently posted a TikTok video from a concert where he revealed he had been in the studio cooking up “a little something”.
He said in the clip: “I have good news, I have bad news, I’ll give you the bad news first. We don’t have anything new to play for you. The good news is you don’t have to sit through something you have no idea what it is! Although … we got a little something we’re working on you might hear sometime.”
And the 74-year-old music legend has just had his Facebook header and his Canvas on Spotify swapped for the phrase: “Did I wait too long…..”
The ‘Uptown Girl’ hitmaker released the album ‘River of Dreams’ in 1993, before dropping the classical collection ‘Fantasies and Delusions’ in 2001.
His last original songs were 2007’s ‘All My Life’ and ‘Christmas In Fallujah’.
Meanwhile, the ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ hitmaker is hitting the road to play a series of shows across North America this year, and he will be co-headlining a number of the dates with Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks, 75, including stops in Arlington, Texas and Chicago, Illinois in March and June, respectively, while he’ll perform alongside Sting, 72, in Tampa, Florida in February as well as in San Diego, California in April and in St. Louis, Missouri in September.
Billy’s tour runs from January until September and includes a jaunt to the UK where Billy will perform in Cardiff, Wales on August 9, at the Principality Stadium, alongside special guest Chris Isaak.
The dates will run alongside his final shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden venue where he is winding up his long-running residency.
He is set to wrap up the record-breaking stint, which first began back in January 2014, on July 25, 2024.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Tate McRae is working on new music.
The ‘Greedy’ hitmaker has shared a series of snaps documenting her return to the studio.
She captioned the Instagram post: “back into the swing of things. (sic)”
The 20-year-old singer only released her second studio album ‘Think Later’ in December.
The collection was produced by studio wizard Ryan Tedder – who has worked on tracks for the likes of Adele, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran – and Tate explained how he was the “glue” she needed to make a more cohesive record.
She explained to Uproxx: “When Ryan Tedder became my executive producer, he emerged as the glue I really had been seeking for my sophomore album. I felt my first album felt very all over the place musically; for Think Later, I really wanted cohesion. Ryan was able to take a step back and help me create a body of work that I felt incorporated the many genres and styles that shape me while still existing in one consistent world. He’s also just a musical genius.”
Tate believes the LP benefited from her drawing from her own authentic experiences.
She said: “Honestly, writing for this album came a lot more naturally because I was pulling from real experiences I had gone through. Both the experiences that led to the confident, empowered tracks like ‘Greedy’ and the experiences that led to more contemplative, reflective, and nostalgic songs like ‘Calgary’. So many of my previous songs, especially those I wrote when I was first singing on YouTube, were from situations I imagined. The songs on this album are all so honest — no matter what the emotion was. I suppose, though, that writing sad songs has always felt easier because when I am sad, I find comfort in writing. Channelling my confident self needed to be a lot more intentional.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Coldplay could be set for another track with Swedish House Mafia.
The house supergroup remixed the Grammy-winning band’s 2011 track ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’ – which samples the 70s’ hit ‘I Go to Rio’ and reached the Top 10 in the UK – and they’ve already spoken to frontman Chris Martin about working on something else together.
DJ Steve Angello – who is joined by Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso in the Swedish trio – told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “We’ve spoken to Chris Martin about it.
“It would be cool to do something, so hopefully we can get it in the studio.
“That would be sick, because his vocals and the writing style would work really well with how we sound.”
Meanwhile, Nile Rodgers previously revealed he had been working on a top-secret project with Coldplay.
Speaking to the newspaper at the Nordoff Robbins Carol Service, Nile spilled: “Yesterday, I worked with Coldplay for the first day.
“We had a blast. What was great working with Coldplay is that we’re all in the room together and it’s sort of like a spiritual thing.
“It’s like they walk in and they say, ‘Do you want to join the circle or not?’. I’m an old hippie, you’re speaking my language.
“Let’s go.”
The ‘Yellow’ hitmakers are set to release the new album ‘Moon Music’ this year, the follow-up to 2021’s ‘Music of the Spheres’.
Chris previously admitted he would love to take his band into space for an exclusive live performance on the moon, although no one would be able to hear it because space is a vacuum with no sound.
He told ‘The Zach Sang Show’: “Not many people have done it, that’s true. But isn’t there an issue that if you play on the moon no one can actually hear? I am ­confused about the atmosphere.
“We would try anything twice. I don’t mind any ridicule as I just speak what feels true to me. That is what we all have to do.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Soul and funk legends Shalamar are embarking on ‘The Greatest Hits Tour’.
The ‘A Night to Remember’ group – comprising original lead singer Howard Hewett, singer and dancer Jeffrey Daniel and Carolyn Griffey, the daughter of the band’s original record company owner Dick Griffey who put the band together – are bringing the disco to venues across the UK this May and June to celebrate almost five decades in music.
Gig-goers can expect classics including ‘Take That to The Bank’, ‘Second Time Around’, ‘Make That Move’, ‘Dead Giveaway’, ‘Disappearing Act’, ‘Dancin’ In The Sheets’, ‘Over and Over’, ‘Friends’.
The run kicks off in Liverpool on May 19 and wraps in Edinburgh on June 29.
They will be joined by a very special guest, Gwen Dickey, the singer of Rose Royce, who had hits with ‘Car Wash’, ‘Wishing On A Star’, ‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore’, and ‘Is It Love You’re After’.
Shalamar sold more than 25 million records worldwide and are famous for helping to bring the street dance of “body-popping” across to the UK.
Original singer Jody Watley left by 1997, with Carolyn joining in 2001.
In 1982, Jeffrey appeared on ‘Top of the Pops’ and wowed viewers by performing what is now known as the moonwalk.
Howard later said: “We called it the backslide.”
It’s believed that the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, was inspired by Jeffrey and he actually ended up teaching the ‘Billie Jean’ hitmaker the iconic move that he popularised.
Head to www.shalamar.info/tickets to grab tickets.

‘The Greatest Hits Tour’ dates:
Sunday May 19 Liverpool – Arena
Thursday May 23 Amsterdam – Melkveg
Friday May 24 Bournemouth – Pavilion
Friday May 31 Stoke – Victoria Hall
Saturday June 1 Brighton – Centre
Sunday June 2 Manchester – Bridgewater Hall
Tuesday June 4 Halifax – Victoria Theatre
Thursday June 6 Cardiff – New Theatre
Friday June 7 Derby – Arena
Sunday June 9 London – Dominion Theatre
Wednesday June 12 Portsmouth – Kings Theatre
Thurs June 13 St Albans – The Alban Arena
Friday June 14 Birmingham – Symphony Hall
Saturday June 15 Bristol – Beacon
Sunday June 16 Southend – Cliffs Pavilion
Thursday June 27 Dartford – Orchard West
Saturday June 29 Edinburgh – Usher Hall

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OHMYGOSSIP — Kid Cudi forgave Kanye West after their feud back in 2022 because the rapper apologised.
Cudi and Kanye became embroiled in a public war of words back in 2022, after Kanye confirmed via Instagram that his fellow rapper would no longer be collaborating with him on the album ‘Donda 2’.
West wrote: “Just so everyone knows Cudi will not be on ‘Donda (2)’ because he’s friends with you know who,” a reference to his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s then-boyfriend Pete Davidson.
Cudi then branded Kanye as a “dinosaur” and suggested that he was telling lies about their feud.
He commented: “Too bad I don’t wanna be on ur album dinosaur hahaha. You’re whack for flipping the script and posting this lie just for a look on the internet. You ain’t no friend. BYE. (sic)”
However, Cudi has now revealed that the pair have buried the hatchet after Kanye said sorry.
Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music, he said: “The reason why we became cool again is because he apologised to me and it was sincere. I was just like, wow, Kanye does not apologise to anybody and say sorry to anyone. And that’s my brother, man. I know he loves me and there’s just nothing like Kanye and Cudi. We like the duo that everybody loves to see.
“When it was going down, I wanted to walk away. I wanted to give up, but in thinking about it the past couple years, it’s like this is someone who is my brother ultimately who came into my life and championed me and did things for me that nobody else did for me early on in my career.”
He also defended Kanye as a “good man” despite his antisemitism controversy.
He said: “He knows he made some mistakes. It’s like he knows he’s been on one hell of a ride and he knows he’s said some things that he might not be able to come back from in a lot of realms, in a lot of spaces from certain people. But we grow and I think I pray for him, and that’s my brother.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Ed Sheeran and Calum Scott have struck up a bromance on tour.
Calum. 35, is supporting Ed, 32, on his ‘Mathematics’ world tour, which includes stops in Japan, Thailand and Singapore, and Calum revealed the pair plan to try out new cuisines and play XBox together during their time on the road.
He told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Ed came to see me before the first show.
“We just sat chatting about normal stuff.
“We will have a lot more time on the tour and he is a big foodie like me, so we are going to try and get out for dinner at some point.
“I’ve brought my XBox too so we can shoot some bad guys on ‘Call Of Duty’.”
Meanwhile Passage West singer-songwriter Cian Ducrot recently revealed how Ed helped him to “chill” about his sudden rise to fame.
Speaking to virginradio.co.uk, Cian, who supported Ed on his last tour, said: “The biggest thing I learned from him is his ability to just be so chill.
“He can kind of manage to do anything up until the moment he’s going on stage.
“We would hang out up until like two minutes before he walked on stage, and I’ve never experienced [anything] like that before. Something I’ve definitely tried to immediately adapt is to be able to kind of, be wherever, do whatever, and you know, not be stressing too much before going on stage.
“A lot of people have rituals and all this stuff, and in the end, I feel like rituals tend to just stress you out. If you don’t do them, you’re like, ‘I haven’t done my rituals’.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Noel Gallagher is getting set to release a much-anticipated fully acoustic album this year.
The 56-year-old rocker has turned out a mix of rock and psychedelia-tinged tunes with his High Flying Birds band since he dramatically quit Oasis in 2009, but has now admitted he thinks his fans want a full album of him playing in a stripped-back style.
He told his friend Matt Morgan’s podcast: “I’m back in the studio – not rock, the acoustic stuff. I’m doing it for fans really.
“I’ve had to take all the electronic equipment out of the studio… because I’ve tried to make an acoustic album three times, and every time (I’ve used the electronics)… so it’s just acoustic instruments in the studio.”
Noel added he gets “bored of listening to acoustic songs” so has decided to add other “acoustic instruments” to his upcoming album.
He said: “I’ve come up with working just with acoustic instruments, so instead of a bass it’ll be a double bass.
“That way I can say, ‘I’ve made an acoustic album, but it’s used all acoustic instruments.’
“So it’ll not all be me strumming a guitar with the same four chords and singing about the weather.”
Despite his desire to add depth to his next record, Noel said it is very difficult to mess up acoustic sounds.
He said: “It is the essence of what every song is. There’s nothing you can do after that, you can’t (mess) it up.”
Turning to the track list for his forthcoming LP, Noel revealed: “I’ve got a CD with six (acoustic tracks) on it already.
“There’s a song called ‘God Help Us All’, which is an old song from another 2005, so when I was still in Oasis, but I never recorded it.
“But there is a demo of it when a load of EPs came out. Then there’s one that was bootlegged called ‘Just Let It Come Down Over Me, which is quite country.
“I’ll do that, but the rest of it is all new stuff.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of seeing it through… as long as the melody and lyrics are good, it’s good.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — UB40 are releasing their highly-anticipated 21st studio album ‘UB45’ – which will tackle “inequality and bigotry”.
Coming out on 19 April on SRG Records (Universal), the 14-track album from the world’s biggest-selling reggae group features new songs including forthcoming singles ‘Gimme Some Kinda Sign’ and ‘Home’, plus re-recordings of some of the band’s most beloved hits.
Singer Robin Campbell said: “We’re so proud of the new album. We wanted to record UB45 to celebrate 45 years of our music, and also to showcase Matt Doyle’s vocals on the tracks.
“He’s brought a new lease of life to our music, as has the addition of fellow Brummie, “permanent guest” MC Gilly G and my son, Matt Campbell on backing vocals.
“When you play songs over so many years, the arrangements and vocals evolve and change. These updated versions of our hits are still close to the originals, but now reflect how we perform them today and they sound better than ever.”
Over the course of 45 years, UB40 have sold more than 100 million albums, landed 50 UK Top 40 singles and 10 UK Top 10 records.
Their line-up now boasts all but one of the surviving founding members, now bolstered by the presence of vocalist Matt Doyle.
There are a total of seven fresh UB40 recordings on their upcoming LP, with the single ‘Gimme Some Kinda Sign’ a cover of Brenton Wood’s 1967 track ‘Gimme Little Sign’.
A press release for the record said: “The group added a special UB40 flavour to the legendary soul classic. It was chosen by Matt Doyle, who brought it to Robin Campbell, unaware that the song had been on the guitarist and vocalist’s wish list since the ‘Labour of Love (1983)’ days.”
It added: “‘UB45’ sees the band do what they do best, with songs that fearlessly address societal hot button issues and take a firm stand against the injustices of the world.
“This is apparent from the off on opening track ‘Home’, complete with trademark UB40 beats and the powerful themes of inequality and bigotry.”
Other new recording on the album include a rendition of Bill Withers’ 1971 track ‘Hope She’ll be Happier’, as well as ‘Fool Me Once’ and the single “Champion” which was the official anthem of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
UB40’s iconic tunes ‘Food for Thought’, ‘King’, ‘Tyler’, ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘Cherry Oh Baby’, ‘Sing our Own Song’ and ‘Kingston Town’ have all been given a fresh treatment for the record.
In addition to Matt’s vocals, Jamaican keyboard player Jahred Gordon has joined the band’s ranks.
The group’s long-time producing partner Jamie Travers, son of late founding member and legendary saxophonist Brian Travers, also plays keyboards.
Following the release of ‘UB45’, the band will embark on a massive headline arena tour of the UK with special guests Soul II Soul.
‘UB45’can be pre-ordered from 9am on 19 January and tickets for UB40’s UK arena tour, which kicks off in London on 1 November, are available now at www.ub40.global.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Beth Ditto says her band Gossip broke up to deal with their lives.
The singer and her bandmates Nathan Howdeshell and Hannah Billie have gone 11 years without releasing a record, but have now reformed for upcoming album ‘Real Power’, out 22 March.
Beth told NME when she was asked to detail the reasons the group split: “It got really hard to get people to care about it, people are going through their own things.
“It’s hard to change and become a person on your own. When you’re in a creative relationship like a band, bands do feel like marriages.
“Gossip is the longest relationship I’ve ever had and the longest job I’ve ever had. And it’s the reason why I’ve ever travelled, it was the only band I was ever in and everything.
“So it’s hard to let yourself grow and be independent and you really become co-dependent on people because everything that you do is based on other people. We needed space to deal with our shit.”
Gossip’s last record was 2012’s ‘A Joyful Noise’, and after the band split Nathan moved back to his and Beth’s home town on Arkansas.
During that time, he became a born-again Christian, Beth divorced her childhood friend and wife of five years Kristin Ogata and her dad died.
But in 2019, the band reunited for a 10th anniversary tour of their Rick Rubin-produced record ‘Music For Men’, and Beth started to make a solo record in the producer’s home studio in Kauai.
After Beth asked Nathan to play on the album, it began to feel more like a Gossip record and the group have now reformed.
Beth also told NME about her personal issues: “When you go through a divorce, and especially because she and I were friends for so long, we were best friends, and all of a sudden, that person is gone? That’s the saddest part of it. “That whole history is gone – if you’re on the terms that we are, we don’t speak. That sucks.”
She added about how her ups and downs led her back to Nathan: “You go through these cycles in life every few years where you start to really look at who your friends are and what trust really means to you and what you need out of a community or relationship.
“It made me realise how special Nathan and I were, even if other people don’t see it.
“We speak a language all our own, and it’s beautiful because we will not talk for months and we’ll just text each other stupid (stuff.)
“Nathan’s love language is jokes. You know he’s thinking about you when he just sends you the dumbest (stuff.) It’s great!
“People don’t always understand that about him, I think he’s a very, very weird person. A naturally weird person. I could talk to people, Nathan? I’ve seen him do the most hilarious (stuff.)”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Rita Ora has included old family footage in her latest music video as a birthday tribute to her mum.
The singer was born to psychiatrist Vera Bajraktari and her pub landlord dad Besnik Sahatçiu in the former Yugoslavia in 1990, and her new track ‘Shape of You’, featuring Keith Urban, comes with a promo filled with clips of the star in her youth which she created to mark her mother’s 60th.
She posted on X alongside a link to her new video: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM! We’ve been through everything together, you’ve always been such a beautiful inspiration in my life and in my music.
“I wanted to write a song about you for the longest time, so when ‘Shape of Me’ was written by me and the ‘You and I’ writing squad for my album and released I was finally able to share so much that I’ve been feeling about you.
“It really became clear how much love you’ve shown me and how much you’ve taught me over the years!!
“SO, what better way to say HBD then to share a new version of it with the AMAZING @KeithUrban.
“He helped me make it that much more special as this song is also showing appreciation to all the women in your life!
“So surprise mum this one is for you! Happy 60th!”
Rita also added the lyrics from the track to her post: “Yeah my mama got that heart, she said don’t let go of the parts that keep you younger… .”
Rita’s co-writer on the track Keith was also her fellow mentor on ‘The Voice Australia’.
The tune also sees Rita sing: “She said, don’t you worry, babe, You’ve got my blood in your veins, I’ll be here to catch you, When your world is just about to break.”
Due to conflict in Yugoslavia, Vera and Besnik relocated the family from what is now Kosovo shortly after Rita’s birth and moved to Notting Hill, London, where the singer’s dad went into the pub trade.
Rita would later use the pub as a platform to showcase her voice during open mic sessions, whilst her parents enrolled her into the Sylvia Young Theatre School to hone her performing talents.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Neville Staple has been forced to pull out of all upcoming gigs because of a “serious” heart defect.
The 68-year-old singer – who is best known for being a part of 2 Tone ska band the Specials – had been lined up for a series of performances throughout the coming year but after being hospitalised a total of three times in December, specialists have now advised him to pull the plug on all upcoming live shows.
A statement posted to X – previously known as Twitter – read: “At the beginning of December 2023, the legendary frontman Dr #NevilleStaple #FromTheSpecials was diagnosed with suffering from a serious heart defect.
“Neville has been treated at 3 different hospitals and specialists have prescribed treatments and medications to try to control his symptoms, and thankfully things do seem to have stabilised.
“However, specialists have decided that Neville needs to take a complete rest from live performing and touring.”
The ‘Ghost Town’ hitmaker – who is married to Christine Staple – is “devastated” to have to pull out of his gigs but knows that his fans will “understand” as he spends time recovering with his family.
The statement added: “Neville absolutely loves performing and is obviously devastated by this news. He had gigs and festivals lined up for 2024 and beyond, all of which will have to be cancelled.
“Neville knows that his fans and followers will understand the decision that has had to be made and he wants them to know that he is in the best possible hands with his medical team, wife and family. He thanks you all for your love and support over the years and hopes to see you soon..”
Despite cancelling all his live performances, Neville is “hopeful” that he will be well enough to attend personal appearances charitable events, and the like.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Gene Simmons is to play his first solo show since KISS retired from touring.
The 74-year-old rocker will take to the stage to headline Brazilian rock festival Summer Breeze on April 26 alongside acts including Mr. Big and Sebastian Bach marking his first solo performance away from KISS since the band hung up their platform boots following a final concert at Madison Square Garden in New York in December.
A post on the festival’s Instagram page read: “A few changes were needed to compose the final line-up of the second edition of the festival.
Introducing all of our new rides, additions and changes today.
“We’re happy to welcome Flotsam and Jetsam for the first time in Brazil, icon Gene Simmons and his solo band as Friday’s headliner, and closing the festival … on Sunday, metal legend Mercyful Fate.”
The Gene Simmons band will reportedly include Corey Taylor’s guitarist Zach Throne and Sebastian Bach’s axeman Brent Woods as well as session drummer Brian Tichy, who has played with acts such as Whitesnake, Billy Idol and Foreigner.
The rocker’s performance comes six years after he last toured as a solo act back in 2018.
KISS have stepped away from performing following the final show in the Big Apple, but they surprised fans by debuting digital versions of themselves created by the teams behind the lucrative ‘ABBA Voyage’ hologram show.
They declared the avatars signal the start of a “new era” and Gene has claimed millions of dollars are being pumped into the project.
Speaking during a Q+A at the Electric Lady Studios in New York, he told one fan: “There’s so much being planned, even beyond my comprehension. But they’re spending, oh, about 200 million [dollars] to take it to the next level.”
He said of ABBA’s first-of-its-kind show, he added: “You can’t tell if they’re there, right there, like that.”
In a video posted online after their final concert, Gene explained: “We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamt of before.
“The technology is going to make [rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist] Paul [Stanley] jump higher than he’s ever done before … If you think you are going to get rid of us then that’s not going to happen.”
The band has yet to confirm their exact plans for the avatars, but Paul said it’s a very exciting.
He explained: “I think we’ve transcended over the years being human beings and here we are becoming immortal and it’s very exciting for us … We can’t maintain this [band] indefinitely but you [avatar-makers] can.”

but they surprised fans at the end of the gig by debuting digital versions of themselves created by the teams behind the lucrative ‘Abba Voyage’ hologram show. They have now declared the avatars signal the start of a “new era” in a video posted online after their final concert. The clip was titled: “KISS: A new era begins” and in the video, bassist Gene Simmons declared: “We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamt of before. The technology is going to make Paul [Stanley] jump higher than he’s ever done before … If you think you are going to get rid of us then that’s not going to happen.” The band has yet to confirm their exact plans for the avatars, but Paul said it’s a very exciting project. He explained: “I think owe’ve transcended over the years being human beings and here we are becoming immortal and it’s very exciting for us … We can’t maintain this [band] indefinitely but you [avatar-makers] can.” The KISS avatars were made by George Lucas’ special effects company Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and financed by Swedish conglomerate Pophouse Entertainment – the organisations which put together ABBA’s digital stage show

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Green Day don’t like people using TikTok to discover new music.
The ‘American Dream Is Killing Me’ rockers – which include Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt – find it “lazy” when social media users rely on their previously-visited topics to be introduced to new artists because they think it means they are missing out on a broad spectrum.
Mike told The Sun newspaper: “Social media is great for kids but if you’re finding your music via algorithms then that’s just lazy.
“I like to organically find new things. All I can say is just clear your search history to find new [stuff].”
Billie Joe added: “I was told that ‘Brain Stew’ was a sudden popular thing on TikTok with a lot of hip-hop kids dancing to it. And that’s cool.
“But I don’t have the patience to use it. It’s just like, eurgh. It’s cool for other people but we’re old- school man.”
And the trio worry such algorithms are fuelling the rise of misinformation online.
Billie Joe said: “With all the algorithms that people live on, there’s so much false information, and there’s people diagnosing themselves with Asperger’s off TikTok. That’s absurd to me.”
Despite the group’s often political lyrics, the 51-year-old frontman isn’t interested in venting his opinions on social media.
He said: “My opinions are always in my songs. I don’t like to Tweet or Instagram about politics, because you’re contributing to insane people who are just arguing and taking sides. So I write about it in my songs.
“It’s funny as on New Year’s Eve, we played ‘American Idiot’ [on ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ show] and we changed ‘redneck agenda’ to MAGA agenda’
“Well, I woke up the next morning to people saying, ‘Blah blah I can’t believe he said it’ or ‘It’s so awesome’ which was crazy.
“And then it’s on Fox News and Elon Musk and Tom Morello are saying things about it.

Source: IconInsider.com