Teasing ‘Skengman’ on his Instagram, the MC first posted a video of Stormzy accompanied by a short clip of the song with the caption “CONFLICT OF INTEREST : STORMZY. STAY TUNED.” He has been hinting at the album title since 10th January, and confirmed just yesterday, 14th January, as the new single was released.

Although pairing up to rap the chorus of ‘Skengman’, each artist puts their own spin on the verses. Verse two, performed by Stormzy, contains the title lyric multiple times, such as here: “If—if snitches then man’s cold / Them mans start hittin’ up, skengman mode.” According to Genius Lyrics, “‘Skeng’ is a British slang term for a weapon, most specifically a knife or a gun. Therefore, a ‘skengman’ is a person who owns such a weapon.”

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Other songs included on the album are ‘IC3′, a collaboration with Skepta, as well as ‘Proud Family’ and ‘Mozambique’ featuring Jaykae and Moonchild Sanelly. In the music video for ‘Proud Family’, released last month, Ghetts revealed the album track-list to have 16 songs total. Despite the titles being crossed out, fans were able to uncover the names of most, if not all of the tracks. Although no date has been announced for the album’s release, Ghetts did say while promoting the single that ‘Conflict Of Interest’ is “coming soon”, so fans should be ready for more information.

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In December 2020 Celeste told her followers that ‘Not Your Muse’ was the “beginning of finding (her) voice”, saying that it’s empowering for her. She continued, “Each song that has been written can pin point a very specific moment in my life, so I look forward to you all hearing those stories.. I hope you like it.”

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So far from the album’s track-list three songs have been released. First, over a year ago on 9th January 2020 came ‘Stop This Flame’, a fast-paced track with a show-stopping chorus. This was followed by ‘A Little Love’ in November despite the songwriter sharing a number of other songs which are not featured on the album. The song was written for the John Lewis Christmas advert and was perfectly heart-warming for the winter time.

Finally, Celeste shared her latest release on 31st December, ‘Love Is Back’, a subtle love song about falling in love with someone new after a rocky romance history. It was previously performed at various live shows, but never released officially until recently. Upon its debut, Celeste played the song on Jools Holland’s New Year’s Eve Hootenanny.

Check out the full track-list for ‘Not Your Muse’ below.

1. ‘Ideal Woman’
2. ‘Strange (Edit)’
3. ‘Tonight Tonight’
4. ‘Stop This Flame’
5. ‘Tell Me Something I Don’t Know’
6. ‘Not Your Muse’
7. ‘Beloved’
8. ‘Love is Back’
9. ‘A Kiss’
10. ‘The Promise’
11. ‘A Little Love’
12. ‘Some Goodbyes Come with Hellos’

The event will include a Q&A with band members Josh Franceshci (vocals), Max Helyer (guitar), Chris Miller (lead guitar), Matt Barnes (bass), and Dan Flint (drums). Furthermore, viewers will be treated to exclusive footage from their 2019 Live From Gunnersville show at Gunnersbury Park in London.

After the release of the ‘Live From Gunnersville’ EP bundles – available only from the official website – sold out, the virtual evening with You Me At Six was arranged as a “thank you” to their fans who bought it. Now that the EP bundles have all sold out, which the band said they “didn’t really think would happen”, anyone who pre-orders the new album ‘SUCKAPUNCH’ by 4pm GMT on Saturday 16th January will also gain free access.

Along with both the live footage and chat with the band, attendees will be able to watch 20-minute documentary ‘Made In Thailand’ about the process of creating the new album, shot by Amazon Music. They posted all the information to Twitter today, while Max Helyer wrote, “Thanks to everyone so far who’s pre ordered the record!! Hope you guys enjoy it as much as we had making it and can’t wait for you all to hear it finally!”

SIXERS. The Live From Gunnersville EP bundles have all sold out. Which we didn’t really think would happen! So as a thank you, we’ve decided to make A Virtual Evening with… available to anyone who orders SUCKAPUNCH from our store, before 4pm GMT on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/72mQKfreAp

— You Me At Six (@youmeatsix) January 13, 2021

As well as the live-stream, the band are holding a lock-in on Instagram tomorrow, 14th January, so that they can chat to fans as the album drops. To watch, fans must follow by 5pm GMT tomorrow as their Instagram account will be made private and sharing a sneak peak of each track from the album every half and hour until the full release at midnight. Find more details on the band’s Instagram below.

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Yungblud played a cover of Bowie’s 1971 song ‘Life On Mars’ in a suave performance. Sharing the video on Twitter, he commented, “It’s rare in this life that you meet someone who shaped your whole existence. I felt like I was on a different planet last night. He was there and I was with him.”

it’s rare in this life that you meet someone who shaped your whole existence. i felt like i was on a different planet last night. he was there and i was with him. it was truly one of the the greatest moments of my fookin life. thankyou for everything starman. @DavidBowieReal pic.twitter.com/GhwePF1dAg

— YUNGBLUD’s on mars (@yungblud) January 10, 2021

Duran Duran covered ‘Five Years’, while Culture Club’s Boy George sand ‘Lady Grinning Soul’. Others including  Adam Lambert, Anna Calvi, Gary Barlow and Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan sang their own renditions of songs such as ‘Starman‘ and ‘Space Oddity’.

US bands also participated in memory of the legend; Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails played two covers, firstly, ‘Fantastic Voyage’ and secondly ‘Fashion’. Taylor Momsen from The Pretty Reckless played ‘Quicksand’, while Corey Taylor of Slipknot and so many more shared their love for Bowie, who no doubt inspired their music creation, whether consciously or not. £2 of every ticket sale for the event was donated to Save the Children, an organisation which Bowie is said to have felt strongly about.

The full line-up can be found below.

To mark the anniversary of his death and what would have been his 74th birthday, two of his covers were released on vinyl and on streaming platforms. The first song was Bowie’s cover of ‘Tryin’ To Get To Heaven’ by Bob Dylan, which was followed by John Lennon’s ‘Mother’.

While Minogue recently released an album titled ‘Disco’ and Williams shared a Christmas album in December 2020, the latter is already working on another new LP. He commented, “As I look down the list of my new songs from my new album, that I don’t know when it’s coming out.” He did, however, reveal further information: that the work has a very disco feel.

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The two singers last worked together in 2000 for the single ‘Kids’, which reached Number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, Williams co-wrote ‘Your Disco Needs You’ which Minogue performed in 2001 on her ‘Light Years’ album, from which he is said to have taken inspiration for the new unnamed track.

‘Disco’ came out in full on 6th November 2020 to a strong critical and commercial reception, debuting at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart in the UK. Its singles ‘I Love It’, ‘Magic’ and ‘Say Something’ came out prior to the album, while Dua Lipa collaboration ‘Real Groove’ followed.

 

 

 

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The band posted the full dates on Twitter today with the caption, “We’re gagging for a gig. Get it in the diary. It’s gunna be mega!” The dates will include gigs in Manchester, Bristol, London, and more, kicking off in mid-November 2021 and running through to early December.

Live & uncut across the UK & Ireland this November & December. Tour goes on sale 10am Fri 15 Jan. Anyone who’s pre-ordered Spare Ribs from our shop by midnight Tuesday gets early ticket access. We’re gagging for a gig. Get it in the diary. It’s gunna be mega! pic.twitter.com/XZTAfAC1p2

— Sleaford Mods (@sleafordmods) January 8, 2021

‘Spare Ribs’ is Sleaford Mods’ sixth LP and follows 2020 release ‘All That Glue’. The upcoming album features thirteen tracks including the only singles so far, ‘Shortcummings’ and ‘Mork n Mindy’. According to Contact Music, the album “once again highlights Sleaford Mods ability to draw on themes lifted from popular culture.”

Along with the tour announcement, the band are preparing for their live-stream gig tomorrow, coming to fans from London’s Village Underground venue. It is titled ‘The Demise of Planet X’ and is set to be an exciting take on their usual live shows.

Check out the full tour dates below.

17/11/2020 – Academy – Manchester
18/11 – Barrowland – Glasgow
21/11 – Olympia – Dublin
24/11 – O2 Academy – Newcastle
25/11 – O2 Academy – Liverpool
26/11 – O2 Academy – Oxford
27/11 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
30/11 – Tramshed – Cardiff
01/12 – O2 Academy – Bristol
02/12 – Printworks – London
03/12 – Dome – Brighton

Tracklist:
1. The New Brick (Unreleased)
2. Shortcummings
3. Nudge It (Unreleased)
4. Elocution (Unreleased)
5. Out There (Unreleased)
6. Glimpses (Unreleased)
7. Top Room (Unreleased)
8. Mork n Mindy
9. Spare Ribs (Unreleased)
10. All Day Ticket (Unreleased)
11. Thick Ear (Unreleased)
12. I Don’t Rate You(Unreleased)
13. Fishcakes (Unreleased)

The statement reads, “After thoughtful conversations with health experts, our host and artists scheduled to appear, we are rescheduling the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards^® to be broadcast Sunday, March 14, 2021.” They continue to explain that the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected LA, where the ceremony is held, as new guidance from the government has recently been shared to support safety. All of this led the organisers to the conclusion that postponing the show “was the right thing to do.”

The letter concluded by thanking the artists and crew for their patience. The nominees were announced in November via live-stream, including Dua Lipa with a total of 6 nominations, Coldplay, Jacob Collier, Harry Styles with his first Grammy nomination, and more.

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The ceremony will be presented by comedian and presenter Trevor Noah, who commented, “Despite the fact that I am extremely disappointed that the Grammys have refused to have me sing or be nominated for best pop album, I am thrilled to be hosting this auspicious event.” Despite the pandemic currently preventing large gatherings, the awards will be live-streamed on the official website at 8pm GMT on 14th March, with performances from some amazing acts who are  yet to be announced.

The hearing will begin at 10am and stream live on parliamentlive.tv, with Parklife co-founder Sacha Lord and Boomtown Communications and Strategy Director Anna Wade appearing to speak along with CEO of UK Music Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, CEO of the AIF Paul Reed and the General Secretary of the AFO Steve Heap.

According to a press release, they will explore the requirements “for UK-based music festivals to survive the impact of Covid-19 and the health and financial barriers to planning festivals in 2021.” Many other festivals and venues have been attempting to find strategies to manage the virus and still hold events, including Glastonbury and Primavera.

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Usually held in South Downs National Park in August, Boomtown posted to their Instagram last week to celebrate the new year, writing, “The dawn of 2021 is a chance to allow real and tangible change to take place; towards a better planet and care for all living things.” This year’s five-day event will run from 11th-15th August. In Parklife’s last Instagram post on 7th December 2020, they explained that they have moved their weekend dates to 11th and 12th September, to allow them time to plan. They assured fans that “a huge lineup is almost ready, that we can’t wait to show you in January. Trust us when we say it’s going to be worth the wait.”

 

 

 

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Kicking things off was TRAAMS with ‘Intercontinental Radio Waves’, their first release in four years. This was followed by Sports Team’s ‘Going Soft’ from their debut album ‘Deep Down Happy’ and ‘Fell In Love With The City‘ by Another Sky, which has over 700,000 streams.

A number of other artists appeared, including Arlo Parks, who was featured  twice – first on her Glass Animals collaboration ‘Tangerine’ which has been one of the most popular songs from the band’s new album, gaining 21 million streams. Parks’ second feature was on her own song ‘Cola’, for which Radio 1 chose a performance from the BME sessions in March.

Throughout the show, acts such as Black Country, New Road, Porridge Radio, Franky Wah and TSHA were played. BBC Radio 1 took to Twitter to announce some of the artists prior to the show.

All this goodness tonight with @empilbeam on the @bbcintroducing show! Featuring @lau_ra_lau_ra @arloparks @porridgeradio @Conniecountach @orchardslive @modelmanmusic and many more! Get it on now! pic.twitter.com/h37TPHE87b

— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) December 27, 2020

BBC Introducing is a Radio platform which gives a voice to unsigned or undiscovered UK artists. It has supported many artists in their career, which often leads to interest from record labels and other connections. In the past, the likes of Jorja Smith, Declan McKenna, and Tom Grennan have worked with Introducing.

The description included on the official website reads, “The #ILoveLive memorabilia prize draws were arranged to support the unsung heroes of the live music industry – the people behind the scenes that make the magic happen, the crew and the technicians. Most of these people are self employed and no shows means no income. Although Government support has helped, there are still many that have slipped through the cracks and need our support.”

Artists who donated prizes for fans to win via donation include Sam Smith, Radiohead, Robbie Williams, Melanie C, FKA Twigs, Foals, The Cure’s Robert Smith and many more. Prizes were incredible memorabilia such as Smith’s Schecter ‘Fibonacci Sequence’ UltraCure guitar, hand-painted lyrics by Florence and the Machine, Melanie C’s jacket worn on the Spice World Tour in 2019, and even FKA Twigs’ Commedia dell’Arte masks.

Friday I’m in love … https://t.co/RaA2vjgl84

— Stagehand (@StagehandFund) December 12, 2020

The founder of Stagehand Andy Lenthall told NME, “There are people who have been able to get alternative work, and there are people can survive on self-employment income support, and there are people who have been furloughed – but we’ve lost  lot of people due to redundancies and 20% of our self-employed crew have fallen through the cracks and had nothing.” As well as the money raised, GiftAid gave an additional £10,882 (estimated), bringing the total up to £546,722.