OHMYGOSSIP — Blues and rock legend John Mayall has died aged 90.
The musician passed away “peacefully” on July 22, after battling “health issues” that prevented him from touring.
A statement on his Facebook page read: “It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home yesterday, July 22, 2024, surrounded by loving family. Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors. John Mayall gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain.”
Mayall had only just been confirmed for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the ceremony set for October 19 in Cleveland, Ohio.
In 2005, Mayall was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Honours List.
Noting his accomplishment during a storied career, the statement by his family added: “An appointed OBE (Officer of the British Empire), 2x Grammy-nominated artist and recent inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, John is survived by his 6 children, Gaz, Jason, Red, Ben, Zak and Samson, 7 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. He is also surrounded with love by his previous wives, Pamela and Maggie, his devoted secretary, Jane, and his close friends. We, the Mayall family, cannot thank his fans and long-list of bandmembers enough for the support and love we were blessed to experience secondhand over the last six decades.”
In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, members of which included Cream’s Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, of Fleetwood Mac fame, plus legendary drummer Aynsley Dunbar and Mick Taylor (formerly of The Rolling Stones).
There was friction along the way and Clapton failed to mention to Mayall that he had formed Cream with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce,
The prolific star released countless records, his most recent being 2022’s ‘The Sun Is Shining Down’.
Tributes have already started to flood in.
Mayall’s Bluesbreakers bandmate Walter Trout penned on Facebook: “He is and will always be my musical mentor, my greatest supporter, and an incredible talent. We just lost a giant. I loved him like a father, and I always will.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Ryan Tedder has insisted all musicians are “stealing from each other”.
The OneRepublic frontman pointed out that with “only 12 notes in a scale”, songwriters have a “limited” capacity for total creative freedom, which is why he didn’t mind when ‘I Don’t Want To Wait’ collaborator David Guetta admitted he uses his chord progressions in his own songs.
Speaking to the Metro newspaper’s ’60 Seconds’ column, Ryan said: “I’ve known him for 10 to 15 years and any time I’ve run into him, he reminds me he likes to use my chord progressions in his songs.
“It’s flattering but the truth of it is, we’re all stealing from each other! There’s only 12 notes in a scale so it’s kind of limited.
“But he’s an endless wellspring of energy. He’s more than a decade older than me but can go harder, doing shows at 5am and then playing the after-party.”
The 45-year-old singer – whose band just dropped their sixth album ‘Artificial Paradise’, the final release on their 2007 record deal – admitted their track is “too obvious” but he loves it.
He explained: “Sometimes you catch a hit with a really cool record you feel represents you.
“We’ve had a few of those but every now and again, you have these overtly blunt pop records… but within the confines of my band I usually try to avoid those because it’s a bit cheesy and too obvious.
“This was one exception where we were like, you know what, this is too obvious but f*** it! It’s been a lot of fun hearing that record everywhere that summer.”
Ryan is incredibly grateful for ‘I Ain’t Worried’, which featured on the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ soundtrack in 2022 and gave them a “massive worldwide” hit 17 years into their career.
However, 2013 chart topping single ‘Counting Stars’ is one that will always hold a special place in his heart, and he can still remember the band finding out the news “outside a pub near the Corinthia hotel in London” when Bruno Mars and his group walked past.
Ryan recalled: “He was like, ‘Hey Ryan, congrats on the number one, man! I love that record, that’s huge.’ And I remember thinking, that’s really cool.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — The Weeknd has given fans a two-minute preview of new music.
Ahead of a one-off concert in São Paulo, Brazil, where the 34-year-old singer is set to debut a brand-new production that will differ from his ‘After Hours Til Dawn Tour’ of 2022 and 2023, the ‘Die For You’ singer has posted a cinematic trailer.
Quoting German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, he captioned the clip – which comes with an epilepsy warning due to flashing imagery – on Instagram: “When you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you…”
The gig takes place on September 7, at the Estádio MorumBIS soccer stadium.
Ticket prices include a $1 donation to The Weeknd’s XO Humanitarian Fund, which provides food and support to those in poverty, in partnership with the United Nations.
The ‘Popular’ hitmaker – whose real name is Abel Tesfaye – has been cryptically teasing the third album in his ‘After Hours’/’Dawn FM’ trilogy, which will mark his sixth studio album.
Among the posts were pictures of his silhouettes with the words: “Pain, regret, rebirth.”
Last June, the ‘Blinding Lights’ hitmaker teased that the title would be unveiled “soon”.
The ‘Double Fantasy’ star told Variety: “I’m finishing the third part of this saga, of this trilogy. The name of it will come out soon, but it’s not called what some fans think it’s called… what they think it’s called is actually a song on the album, but that’s not what the actual album is called. [It’s unclear which speculative title he’s referring to.] So I’m just gonna say that.”
The ‘Take My Breath’ hitmaker loved how intimate the shows on his tour felt.
He said: “The performances are mostly in the daytime, so I get to see the audience. It’s easier to connect with their eyes and feels a bit more intimate, so instead of a performance, it feels like more of a conversation with them. Every night I’m changing up the set — I never do that, it’s usually very formulaic — so I’m spicing it up and going into deep, deep, deep cuts and older songs. I’ll rehearse it the day-of, and if the band is down, we’ll just throw a mini-set in there.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Rita Ora has teased her next album will be “a bit darker” and “a bit more spicy”.
The 38-year-old pop star has declared she is entering her “uncomfortable era” with her follow-up to 2023’s ‘You and I’.
In an interview with Billboard, she said: “This album is something I’m actually really excited about.
“I’m spending the rest of the year making it. I’m feeling super, super inspired creatively, just having that essence of feeling a bit like not everything is perfect, which was kind of my motive with this. Everything’s just a bit left like that. Sonically, feeling a bit darker, a bit more spicy, a bit more aggressive, just getting in my like, uncomfortable era.”
So far, fans have heard the single ‘Ask and You Shall Receive’.
Meanwhile, Rita has promised she is “definitely touring” in 2025.
The ‘I Will Never Let You Down’ hitmaker will drop her album sometime next year and is counting down the days until she is back out on the road, dubbing it her “favourite part” of her music career.
Rita told a US outlet, via The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “I’m definitely touring with this new record that I’m going to put out next year. I wanted to change it up. All the festivals I’ve been doing this summer have been so much fun.
“Getting to perform live is my favourite part. I hate the studio. I love seeing the crowd and I really connect with the energy. The tour is the only reason I put music out.”
Last month, Rita admitted she is taking the record “one song at a time”.
She told Bizarre: “The album is going really well. I’m taking it just one song at a time to be honest.
“I’m not sure it will be ready for this year though. But the great thing about my label [BMG] is that I have the time and they are really chill like that.”
‘You And I’ was heavily inspired by her relationship with Hollywood star Taika Waititi and their 2022 wedding.
However, she wanted to move on from that as her source of inspiration, and instead find a different spark for her music.
She explained: “I’m a bit bored of that now [as inspiration].
“I want my music to move on, have fun and do what makes me feel good.
“If it doesn’t make me feel good, I’m not doing it, and I’ve found that very liberating.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Eminem is the latest artist to receive the BRIT Billion Award.
The 51-year-old rap icon has reached a whopping seven billion streams in the UK, as recorded by the Official Charts Company.
The ‘Lose Yourself’ hitmaker is the current holder of the record for the most consecutive Number 1s on the Official Albums Chart with 10 studio albums consecutively topping the Official Albums Chart
June’s ‘Houdini’ marked Eminem’s 11th UK Number 1, and his 12th studio album, ‘The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)’ is Shady’s 11th No.1 Album in the UK (including the greatest hits compilation ‘Curtain Call’).
More than 60 of Eminem’s songs have been BRIT Certified, including 15 certified Multi-Platinum.
His top three hits on streaming services are ‘Without Me’, ‘Lose Yourself’ and ‘Love The Way You Lie’ featuring Rihanna – having gained 770 million streams in the UK alone.
The likes of Green Day, The Rolling Stones, Queen, ABBA, and Whitney Houston have BRIT Billion Awards.
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed Eminem is being tipped to headline Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in 2025.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “It’s been a long time coming but finally, after years of trying, Emily Eavis could be about to get her wish.
“It’s by no means a done deal but with a successful comeback in motion a huge headline slot next year makes sense.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Blossoms’ new tune, ‘Perfect Me’, is a “subconscious nod to “ABBA, Bruce Springsteen and The Killers”.
Tom Ogden and co have shared the latest single from their upcoming album, ‘Gary’.
The vintage-sounding pop rock tune follows the album’s title track and ‘What Can I Say After I’m Sorry?’.
Announcing the track, the group wrote on X: “Perfect Me” is out now! It’s a subconscious nod to ABBA, Springsteen, and The Killers. “While I wanted the lyrics to reflect a pursuit of perfection, which doesn’t exist.
“Can’t wait for you to hear the rest of the album! Tom, Joe, Myles, Chaz and Josh X.”
Turns out, the group almost shelved the song.
Drummer Joe Donovan told BBC Radio 1: “It nearly didn’t make the album, and now full circle – it’s a single.”
Frontman Tom added: “You do that sometimes – you write a lot of songs for a record, and you kind of put some on the back burner; you come back with [a] fresh perspective. And this one rose to the top like bubbles.”
‘Gary’ is due for release on September 20 and is produced by the band’s regular collaborator James Skelly of The Coral, alongside Jungle’s Josh-Lloyd Watson, who produced ‘What Can I Say After I’m Sorry?’ and ‘Nightclub’.
Singer CMAT (Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) has also co-written two tracks on the album – ‘I Like Your Look’ and ‘Why Do I Give You the Worst of Me?’
Tom said: “The heart of this record is about the five of us recording live in a room together for the first time in years.
“We wanted to capture the energy of what it’s like when five friends decide to start a band and make music together.
“We collaborated more than we ever have on this record too, and alongside working with long-time collaborator James Skelly, we brought in Josh and CMAT.
“We hired an Airbnb on the seafront in Anglesey and locked ourselves away for the writing session with Ciara and it was one of the most inspiring few days we’ve had as a band.
“During the writing process, we were listening to a lot of Bowie, Blondie, and Hall and Oates.”
Other standout tracks on the album include ‘Big Star’ and ‘Mothers’, with Tom noting how they were also inspired by true stories: “The album tracks themselves are based on different stories, mostly from personal experience.
“On ‘Big Star’ after seeing a well-known music journalist in the Chateau Marmont, I debate going over and introducing myself but then shyness gets the better of me and I don’t.
“‘I Like Your Look’ is a tipping of the hat to Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ and a wink to Joan Baez ‘Time Rag’, and lyrically it explores a tongue-in-cheek approach to high fashion.
“‘Mothers’ is an ode to my and (bandmate) Joe (Donovan)’s friendship and it references the fact that our mothers were friends back in the ’80s.”
Blossoms are supporting Tom Grennan, 28, at Gunnersbury Park on August 10, and are set to play festivals including Isle of Wight and TRSNMT, before the band’s biggest headline gig to date at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester on August 25.
Since forming in 2013, Blossoms have enjoyed widespread success and acclaim.
Their 2016 debut LP topped the album charts for two consecutive weeks and went on to earn the band BRIT Award and Mercury Prize nominations, while 2018’s ‘Cool Like You’ charted at No.4 in the UK album chart.
Their fourth album, 2023’s ‘Ribbon Around the Bomb’, reached No.1

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OHMYGOSSIP — Foo Fighters were forced to cut their Queens stadium show short due to “dangerous weather”.
Dave Grohl and co were left “so disappointed” to have to end their 20-song set after just 13 tracks at The Citi Field in New York, amid a torrential downpour and thunderstorm.
In a social media statement afterward, they said: “We are so disappointed that we were unable to play our full set for tonight’s fantastic crowd at Citi Field. But the safety of our fans, the crew and everyone working in the stadium comes first, so when it was determined that there was no safe way to continue the show in this dangerous weather, we had no choice but to call it a night.
“We’re grateful for every second we were able to play for you and looking forward to seeing you again – maybe as soon as Friday!”
The ‘Everlong’ group will play the venue again this Friday (19.07.24).
Meanwhile, Geezer Butler was a surprise guest at their final UK show of their ‘Everything Or Nothing At All Tour’.
The ‘Monkey Wrench’ hitmakers performed at Villa Park in Aston, Birmingham – the home of Premier League football team Aston Villa, who Geezer is a huge fan of – last month to see out the last leg of their UK run of gigs, and the 75-year-old Black Sabbath bassist joined the rockers for a special performance.
Dave teased fans about a special guest “who grew up three streets away from here”, and he told the crowd the mystery star had “never played” at the football stadium of his beloved Villa.
He then said: “Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath is going to come out!”
The Foos and Geezer launched into a version of Black Sabbath hit ‘Paranoid’, which saw Dave perform Ozzy Osbourne’s vocals.
Geezer didn’t interact with the crowd, preferring to let his bass do the talking.
Earlier in the show, Dave quipped that Birmingham is the “most beautiful city” in England after a rainbow broke out over Villa Park.
He said: “What is this, Hawaii? Birmingham is the most beautiful city in this entire country!
“I feel like I’m on vacation.”
Earlier that week, Foo Fighters performed at West Ham United’s London Stadium, and Dave, 55, ended the rock group’s pair of gigs there by throwing open the doors to his very own Duke of York boozer inside the dressing rooms.
Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney, 82, and U2 frontman Bono, 64, were all invited.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Dave knows how to party and loves a drink-up. He opened his own pub for his VIPs – and they stayed up until 6am going at it.
“They drank the bar dry after their last show and it was light by the time everyone started getting cars home.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — The Weeknd has announced a one-off concert in São Paulo, Brazil.
The 34-year-old singer – who is one of the biggest-selling stars on the planet – is set to debut a brand-new production that will differ from his ‘After Hours Til Dawn Tour’ of 2022 and 2023.
The gig takes place on September 7, at the Estádio MorumBIS soccer stadium.
Ticket prices will include a $1 donation to The Weeknd’s XO Humanitarian Fund, which provides food and support to those in poverty, in partnership with the United Nations.
The ‘Popular’ hitmaker – whose real name is Abel Tesfaye – has been cryptically teasing the third album in his ‘After Hours’/’Dawn FM’ trilogy, which will mark his sixth studio album.
Among the posts was pictures of his silhouettes with the words: “Pain, regret, rebirth.”
Last June, the ‘Blinding Lights’ hitmaker teased that the title would be unveiled “soon”.
The ‘Double Fantasy’ star told Variety: “I’m finishing the third part of this saga, of this trilogy. The name of it will come out soon, but it’s not called what some fans think it’s called… what they think it’s called is actually a song on the album, but that’s not what the actual album is called. [It’s unclear which speculative title he’s referring to.] So I’m just gonna say that.”
The ‘Take My Breath’ hitmaker loved how intimate the shows on his tour felt.
He said “The performances are mostly in the daytime, so I get to see the audience. It’s easier to connect with their eyes and feels a bit more intimate, so instead of a performance, it feels like more of a conversation with them. Every night I’m changing up the set — I never do that, it’s usually very formulaic — so I’m spicing it up and going into deep, deep, deep cuts and older songs. I’ll rehearse it the day-of, and if the band is down, we’ll just throw a mini-set in there.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Charli XCX has revealed it was Lorde’s idea for her to feature on her remix of ‘Girl, so confusing’.
The ‘Boom Clap’ hitmaker, 31, recently revealed the hit is about the New Zealand pop star, 27, and admitted she had felt “jealous” about her success with her 2013 debut single ‘Royals’.
Then, fans were surprised to see the pair team up on ‘Girl, so confusing’, from her viral LP ‘Brat’, on which Charli opened up about being compared to the ‘Green Light’ singer.
Turns out, it was Lorde who suggested she should be on the track since she inspired it.
Charli told Billboard: “I had to go through the process of telling her that this song is about her and her being OK with that first.
“I was trying to meet up with her for almost a year, and we kept having this weird, like, we were [going to], then we wouldn’t. It spoke to the narrative of the song itself. In the end, it didn’t work out. Then the day before the record came out, I left her a voice note. [Lorde] replied straight away and was like, ‘Oh, my God, I had no idea you felt this way. I’m so sorry.’ And then was like, ‘You know, maybe I should be on a version of the song.’ I didn’t even ask her. She brought it up.
“So much of this rollout was planned, but sometimes it was not.
“Lorde’s remix of ‘Girl, so confusing’ is a perfect example. That wasn’t planned. It took three days total.”
Charli sings over a pulsating beat: “People say we’re alike/ They say we’ve got the same hair.”
Another line goes: “Yeah, I don’t know if you like me/Sometimes I think you might hate me/Sometimes I think I might hate you/Maybe you just wanna be me.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone UK, Charli confessed she compared her music and fashion style to that of the Kiwi star – whose real name is Ella Yelich-O’Connor – and was envious that she was having huge success, whilst she felt “insecure” about her own music.

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OHMYGOSSIP — The Prodigy are seemingly planning to bring out an alcoholic beverage line in their name.
The rave dance-rock group have filed papers with the Intellectual Property Office, The Sun reports.
The range includes brandy, ciders, cocktails, wine, vodka, spirits, liqueurs, and soft drinks.
The ‘Firestarter’ group’s founding member, Keith Flint, tragically died in 2019, aged 49, and his bandmates Liam Howlett, 52, and Maxim, 57, have continued the group.
The ‘Warrior’s Dance’ band have just announced a reissue of ‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned’ to mark its 20th anniversary.
However, the chart-topping 2004 LP is the sole work of Liam with no contributions from the late Keith or Maxim.
It will be available as a double vinyl on August 23.
Liam previously vowed Keith’s energy “will be felt in the music and through us on stage.”
He told NME of the first tour without their beloved bandmate, who had a unique energy to his dancing and performing: “We really felt the crowd were there to support us and give us the energy back and we are eternally grateful for that.
“It was highly emotional and very special. Flinty will never leave us; he is embedded deep in the soul of this band and his energy will be felt in the music and through us onstage. That’s what I know and feel.”
Vowing not to go anywhere, Liam said: “As for the future, The Prodigy is bigger than just the band: it stands for something, the people know this, we know this …. even more after playing live again. I’m energised by that and we are back in the studio writing new tunes. The prodigy will continue to ignite, uplift and destroy just as we always did.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Sam Smith turned down a collaboration with Major Lazer on the song ‘Cold Water’.
The 32-year-old singer/songwriter was approached by the trio – record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums – about working on the 2016 track but Sam rejected the offer and it went to Justin Bieber instead.
Speaking on BBC Sounds’ ‘Sidetracked’ with Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac, Sam said: “The only time I got sent a song that I heard and then became a well-known song was ‘Cold Water’ by Major Lazer with Justin Bieber. They sent me that to sing and at the time I was so busy and couldn’t do it and we passed on it – but I’m happy I passed on it because Justin Bieber did it way better than what I would have done. It was made for him.”
Meanwhile, Sam has collaborated with Calvin Harris on two tracks ‘Promises’ and ‘Desire’ and loved working with the DJ.
They said: “I didn’t know what to expect with Calvin because I was like, is this, you know, what does he do? Because some people in the studio, it’s like ‘oh, you don’t play an instrument’. Like you don’t actually make the music. You’re more of a taste maker, which is fab. But he does everything himself. And I was immediately just enamoured by his talent. We just had so much fun making ‘Promises’. It was the funnest day. I think you can hear that in the writing.
“He’s an amazing man, and he’s come to my aid and supported me and built me up at times when I really needed him.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Joe Jonas is releasing his first solo album in 13 years.
The 34-year-old pop star has confirmed his new record ‘Music for People Who Believe in Love’ will land in the autumn marking his first solo release since 2011’s ‘Fastlife’ and his first major musical project since splitting from his actress wife Sophie Turner in 2023.
Joe announced the news in a statement calling the record a “celebration of gratitude, hope, and love”. He wrote: “I am thrilled to share my new solo album with you – ‘Music for People Who Believe in Love’.
“This album is a celebration of gratitude, hope, and love. These songs reflect on my life from a bird’s-eye view acknowledging the many blessings around me …
“This album speaks to the experiences of being a father, being a friend to oneself and others, and the happiness I’ve found in doing what I love for a living. I feel incredibly fortunate to travel the world and connect with people through my music, as well as having had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented musicians, songwriters, and producers on this project.”
Joe released the first single from the album – ‘Work It Out’ – on Friday (19.07.24) and the record will follow on October 18.
He previously opened up about his new music during an appearance on the ‘Therapuss’ podcast, explaining: “[This album has] music that’s all over the place …
“There’s some real beautiful ballads, there’s songs about being a dad, there’s songs about love, there’s songs about being better to yourself, kinda everything.”
Joe rose to fame in boyband the Jonas Brothers before releasing his debut solo album ‘Fastlife’ in 2011. He also worked with his own band DNCE and released their self-titled record in 2016.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Deep Purple and Yes have no hard feelings – 53 years after the former group’s original guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore, delayed the latter’s headline slot by setting fire to amplifiers at a festival.
The two legendary rock groups are reuniting for a series of US shows this summer, and despite the ruckus at the Jazz and Blues Festival in 1971, there is no bad blood between them.
Bassist Roger Glover, 78, recalled in an interview with Billboard: “We worked with them [Yes] years ago in the ’70s.
“We did some festivals together – one in particular called the Plumpton Jazz and Blues Festival in ’71. Ian Gillan and I had only been in the band a couple of months at that point. There was an argument about who’d be closing the show, and they won the argument and were closing the show. Ritchie (Blackmore, Purple’s original guitarist) set fire to his amplifiers and made them explode on stage. So they were delayed a lot and weren’t very happy with that.”
However, they didn’t hold a grudge, and the groups are set to hit the road again in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the classic rock staple ‘Smoke On The Water’.
Roger added: “We’ve met them since. They’re a great band. We saw (Yes guitarist) Steve Howe a couple years ago. We got on, no hard feelings. I don’t know which state they’re in now, which combination of musicians they have, so I’ll be happily surprised.”
The jaunt kicks off on August 14 at Hard Rock Live Hollywood, in Florida, and wraps on September 8 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Despite being in his late 70s, Roger is still rock’n’roll and recalled injuring his thumb after a night on the tequila, which delayed their work on their tune ‘Show Me’, which is the opening track on their new album ‘=1′, which is out now.
He spilled: “We were all invited to Alice Cooper’s 75th birthday party with (Ezrin).
“We finished early, and Simon and Don (Airey) and I went to a bar and hit the tequila a bit too much and I fell over and really hurt my thumb. The next morning was the last day of writing sessions, and my thumb was swollen all up and I couldn’t play anything. So I said, ‘Excuse me, lads, I have to get it checked out in a hospital or something,’ which I did. In the meantime, the idea of ‘Show Me’ had started, but it was later on when we worked it out. I couldn’t imagine what Ian would sing over that until I was in Portugal with him, and he just attacked it and found the right tune and everything, and we had the song.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — James Bay had his “first taste of true musical freedom” working on his upcoming album, ‘Changes All The Time’.
The ‘Hold Back The River’ hitmaker recently released the track ‘Up All Night’ featuring Noah Kahan and Lumineers, and now he’s confirmed his follow-up to 2022’s ‘Leap’ will arrive on September 20.
In a message to fans on his mailing list, James said: “I’m very happy to announce that my fourth album ‘Changes All The Time’ will be out on 20th September!
Making this album felt like my first taste of true musical freedom. With the help of Gabe (Simon, my co producer), I found the courage to make what I wanted to make in ways I never have before. That’s a very hard place to get to sometimes, I’m really excited to release this music.”
In 2023, James released the tracks ‘All My Broken Pieces’ and ‘Goodbye Never Felt So Bad’.
James revealed at the start of last year that he was in the early stages of his next album and planned to showcase more of his guitar playing.
The ‘Wild Love’ hitmaker was going back to his roots after enjoying a rawer approach to playing his acoustic guitar as he did on open-mic nights when he was starting out.
He explained: “With all my heroes, a lot of my favourite work of theirs was recorded in the first or second take. It had that sort of carefree [nature], ‘Let’s just do it. Emote and move on to the next thing.’ I’m trying to do that at the moment.”
He continued in an interview with Guitar.com: “[Recording an album] piece by piece by piece? I’ve done that a lot. I totally respect it, it really worked for me in the past. But lately, I’ve been standing in front of a microphone with my acoustic guitar, like I used to do on an open-mic night. I’m just singing the song in. No click. Nothing. Just a performance. And it’s fun! It’s sort of freeing to not have to sort of stress over all the minute details.”
James insisted the lyrics and the song itself are still important to him, but he really wants to hone in on his guitar skills.
He added: “I do see myself moving towards showcasing more guitar playing in my songs. So maybe [fans’ perceptions] will change as time goes by … but it depends on what the songs dictate.
“The songs are still the most important thing to me, what the melody is doing, what the lyrics are saying, the performance and the delivery of the song. But I will always stand up on stage with a guitar in my hand, so I think, in the studio, I’m gonna give myself a little bit more to do with the guitar.”
The musician is also embarking on the ‘Up All Night Tour’ next year.
James will hit up Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin and London, where he’ll his first-ever headline arena show in the UK, at the OVO Arena Wembley on February 13.
Tickets go on general sale at 10am on July 26.

‘Changes All The Time’ tracklist:
‘Up All Night’ (With The Lumineers and Noah Kahan)
‘Everburn’
‘Hope’
‘Easy Distraction’
‘Speed Limit’
‘Talk’
‘Hopeless Heart’
‘Some People’
‘Go On’
‘Crystal Clear’
‘Dogfight’

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OHMYGOSSIP — Jade Thirlwall struggled to feel “relevant” after stepping back from the “pressure machine” that was Little Mix.
The 31-year-old singer – who shot to fame in the ‘X Factor’ girl group in 2011 and uses the solo moniker JADE – has released her debut solo single, ‘Angel Of My Dreams’, which features a sample of Sandie Shaw’s Eurovision-winning tune ‘Puppet On A String’, and admitted it took her a while to find her place in music.
She told British Vogue: “Little Mix was such a machine and there was so much pressure to be ‘huge’. I had been programmed to feel like I had to constantly be in the public eye for 11 years, and so I’ve struggled with feeling ‘relevant’ since taking a step back and having people around me be like, ‘It’s okay to not go to the opening of an envelope!’”
Speaking of her music video for ‘Angel Of My Dreams’, she admitted: “It’s a reflection of the industry I’m addicted to despite hating what it so often stands for.
“It’s the kind of thing you have to watch back for it to make sense.”
It was suggested that the lyric “sold my soul to a psycho” was a dig at ‘X Factor’ boss Simon Cowell, who ran the now-defunct Syco Music, but Jade clarified in an interview with Beat magazine: “It’s not specifically about that.
“But I wanted the song to be my journey, from entering the music business to now, and what that’s felt like. That’s why the song feels so chaotic.
“The opening is like the music to that montage bit on The X Factor after you’ve won, and you’re just catapulted into the industry.”
She added: “I don’t want to sit here and bash the last 13 years of my life. I’m very happy and content. But like with any job, there are highs and lows. That’s just life, and it’s my reality, but it’s about writing it in a way that’s not woe is me.”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Blur’s Graham Coxon “smiled at all the grumpy faces” at their Coachella gig.
The Britpop legends’ set at the California music festival bombed as the younger audience were less than impressed, but the guitarist just made the most of having fun with his bandmates onstage instead of getting irate.
He told GQ magazine: “I like making albums. I’m perfectly happy on stage, but sometimes, like at Coachella or something, it’s taken you 14 hours to get there, and then you’re playing to people who don’t give a s***. They’re looking at you like ‘who’s this old git?’
“I love an audience that are smiling their heads off and having a great time, because you’re doing it for them. And if I see audiences of people that are bored, like maybe Coachella, I just do it for myself.
“I just enjoy what I’m doing. I smile at the grumpy faces a couple of times just to see if I can change their expression, then I just get on with what I wanna do. Pull faces at Dave. Laugh at Damon when he’s getting things wrong or whatever, just have a laugh. What else can you do? You’ve gone all that way, there’s no point in having a miserable time.”
At the time, frontman Damon Albarn suggested Blur were “probably” playing their “last gig”.
The ‘Parklife’ group – completed by bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree – took to the main stage at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in April, for their second performance at the music event.
And as they prepared to play ‘Tender’, the final song of the set, the vocalist told the crowd: “In the spirit of clarity and truth, this is probably our last gig.”
Blur reunited in 2023 to release new album ‘The Ballad of Darren’ – their first studio LP in eight years – and perform two huge shows at Wembley Stadium in London.
Meanwhile, a new documentary, ‘Blur: To The End’, which hits cinemas today (19.07.24), sees Damon throw open the doors to his rural Devon pad and share his heartbreak and get candid about reuniting with his bandmates and pondering the fragility of life and sharing how he uses music as therapy.

Source: IconInsider.com