2018 will see the 18th birthday of the gig series, with next year events running from March 19th-25th. The Courteeners will be performing their 2008 debut ‘St Jude’ in full on March 23rd and Kasabian will play the day after on March 24th.

The Courteeners front man Liam Fay said about the opportunity “It’s a great honour and privilege to perform for such a brilliant charity at such a legendary venue. This will be the first and last time we’ll ever perform our debut album ‘St Jude’ in full in London and we’re really pleased to be doing it for a such a great cause.”

The Courteeners will also be playing ‘St Jude’ in full at Manchester Arena on April 7th as well as releasing a newly recorded version of the debut album named ‘St Jude Re:Wired’. 

Courteeners mark 10 years of debut album St. Jude with 2 special live shows @RoyalAlbertHall for @TeenageCancer & @ManchesterArena + a newly recorded version of the album St. Jude Re:Wired out 6.4.18. Pre-order now for exclusive Manchester pre-sale access https://t.co/eBXHTbc5Ip pic.twitter.com/hXJ32mNHhr

— Courteeners (@thecourteeners) December 11, 2017

Tom Meighan, Kasabian singer said of the news “We love playing the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust.  It is a show we have come back to throughout our career for the special atmosphere and the amazing cause. Our fans love it and we do too, it will be a highlight of 2018 for us.”

Meanwhile, Roger Daltrey of The Who, the honorary patron of Teenager Cancer Trust stated “I’m really pleased to announce the first shows for The Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall next March. This will the 18th year of these concerts for the charity. Courteeners will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of their seminal album St Jude by performing the album in full. They are doing one show in Manchester and we can’t thank them enough for choosing Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall as their London show. It’s going to be a very special night. It’s great to be welcoming back Kasabian, they have been fantastic supporters of this charity since they first headlined for us back in 2007.”

When asked, Sheeran told the BBC what he and Prince Charles were chatting about. “He was asking me if I was still selling lots of records and I told him I’ve got a concert in New York tomorrow, and he was quite surprised I was flying after this.” He also spoke about his late grandfather Bill, who was apparently a huge royalist. “Do you know what I love, my grandfather was a massive royalist, he had all the commemorative plates and stuff, and he died on this day four years ago, so it’s actually quite a nice full circle thing, I guess he’d be pretty proud.”

Meanwhile, Sheeran was recently announced as Spotifys most streamed artist in 2017 with 6.3 billion streams worldwide, with his album Divide being the most streamed album and his hit single ‘Shape of You’ being the most streamed song.

Stefan Blom, Spotifys chief content officer stated “There is no doubt that 2017 was The Year of Ed Sheeran, and we are thrilled that so many millions of music fans have discovered, listened to, and shared his music on Spotify. Congratulations to Ed on an amazing achievement.”

Ed also recently reacted to his lack of Grammy Awards nominations, only being nominated for 2. Appearing on the Ellen Degeneres show, Ellen exclaimed how she was “outraged” that he wasn’t in the running for more, in which Sheeran replied “My outlook on it is some years you have your year and some years you don’t have your year. Maybe this year isn’t my year.” You can watch the interview below.

Laeticia Hallyday, the superstar’s wife said in a statement “Johnny Hallyday has left us. I write these words without believing them. But yet, it’s true. My man is no longer with us. He left us tonight as he lived his whole life, with courage and dignity.” Johnny had been suffering from lung cancer.

The French presidency also released a statement that read “There is something of Johnny in all of us.”

On a tous en nous quelque chose de Johnny. https://t.co/1z35AuH4bJ

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 6, 2017

Hallyday is survived by his wife and two daughters.

So sad to say that my mother passed away this morning. I only saw her last Monday and I am in shock. Travel safe Mum. Thank you for everything. I will miss you so much.

Love, Elton pic.twitter.com/dQKXRbpGRy

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) December 4, 2017

The pair had only recently rekindled their relationship after falling out for 7 years due to a family rift. The relationship was repaired after Farebrother hired an Elton John tribute act for her 90th birthday and the iconic singer sent his mother some white orchids and they got back in touch. However, Elton John told Rolling Stone how she did not thank him for the bouquet and gave the impression that their relationship was still strained, saying “To be honest with you, I don’t miss her,” he said. “I look after her, but I don’t want her in my life.”

Meanwhile, Elton John and Beyonce have been rumoured to be working on reworked songs for the live action remake of The Lion King, where singer superstar Beyonce plays Nala.

The New York Daily News reported that they are working on tracks such as ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ and ‘Circle Of Life’. Hans Zimmer also contributed extensively towards The Lion King’s soundtrack alongside John and has apparently signed a contract allowing his original songs to be reimagined.

A source told the daily news that “The songs will be thread into the storyline, It is unthinkable when you have Beyoncé involved not to have her sing some of those iconic hits — and that means huge sales to a new generation. The deal is a huge one and will earn [Elton John] millions at many stages. Obviously, he will get a one-off licensing deal followed by a cut in royalties from all aspects of the work.”

Joining the band as they travel around the country celebrating their latest release ‘Concrete and Gold’ will be a mixture of Wolf Alice, Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes, The Kills, Slaves, Starcrawler and The Cribs.

Speaking of Wolf Alice, during an interview with NME magazine, Dave Grohl recalled a time where he believed Wolf Alice were scared of the band whilst reflecting on the bands ‘open door’ policy whilst recording. “Do we seem like some super-elitist rock snobs? We have an open-door policy with this band. It’s that open-door policy that has seen a number of surprising guests feature on ‘Concrete And Gold’, from Justin Timberlake (“The guy’s an incredible singer”) to Shawn Stockman from Boyz II Men and basically anybody who happened to be passing through LA’s star-studded EastWest studios at the time they were making the record.  He continued with “when you’re in a studio like that and Rufus Wainwright is down the hall and the guy from Deep Purple is in the other room and Lady Gaga is wandering around and Wolf Alice were there for a week…I was just doing all this crazy barbecuing and talking to everyone. Gaga would come in and listen to the record. Wolf Alice were scared of us though, I think.”

Meanwhile, Foo Fighters are also in the running for two Grammy awards. Their track ‘Run’ has been nominated for best rock song, and best rock performance.

You can see the full Foo Fighters 2018 UK tour dates with supports below:

19/06/2018: Manchester, Ethihad Stadium with Wolf Alice and The Cribs

22/06/2018: London, London Stadium with Wolf Alice and Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes

23/06/2018: London, London Stadium with The Kills, Slaves and Starcrawler.

Speaking to comedian Adam Buxton for his Podcast, Homme explained that the incident happened whilst ar Burbank Airport, California after a party at his house the night before. Describing the incident, he stated “I told them that I thought there were certain things they could improve, but that was on the way out. But also my friend Jesse Hughes, for my birthday the night before, had a party at my house, and I was traveling early the next morning. What’s funny is he was on tour so he was going to be there, and he gave me a collapsable wand as a gift, which is a weapon, a baton. He put it in my overnight bag right by the door, which I had packed, so I just went to the airport, because I packed my bag, and I said, ‘That was a gift. That seems weird, right? Does that seem like a weird thing? Actually look at my license. See how I smell like booze? And clearly I haven’t slept, and also both of those things ain’t illegal, and here’s my license, which says oh my god, I turned a year older. So you can see where the misunderstanding is, in fact, it’s yours, from one guy to another.’ Then I ended up going to jail.”

Homme then added: “So then I said, ‘I’d like you to hear the following things since we’re going to jail.’ So I explained all of this stuff in my own language, which apparently was no good. Took a few kicks in the ribs.”

Meanwhile, QOTSA recently released their new record ‘Villians’ and have been on a tour of the UK, including a stop off at Manchester Arena where there was some controversy due to Homme lighting a cigarette on stage during the show. A spokesman for the arena told Manchester Evening News that “It is very disappointing and regrettable that the artist chose to smoke on stage during their performance in Manchester, this was an individual decision taken by the artist, despite us making it very clear to their management that it is illegal to smoke in any area of the arena.” The venue also contacted QOTSA’s management and complained.

The band has also recently announced a huge summer show in Londons Finsbury Park for June 2018 with Iggy Pop and Run The Jewels as supports. Tickets go on sale at 9 am December first and are priced at £52.50.

The Grammys are set to return in January. President of The Recording Academy and Grammy Chief said in a statement about the nominations “I’m inspired by this year’s nominees and the incredible talent each possesses,” said Neil Portnow, President of the Recording Academy. “Their recordings are a true testament to how creatively alive and meaningful our music industry has become. Each nominee uses their craft to inspire, uplift, and tell stories of our world through their artistry. They provide a vibrant soundtrack that represents the highest level of excellence and continues to impact and reflect our culture.” He continued with “The beauty of our process begins and ends with the participation of music professionals,” said Bill Freimuth, Recording Academy Senior Vice President of Awards. “Our nominations reflect the expertise and passion of Recording Academy voting members.”

You can see the list of the main Grammy Award nominations below:

Record Of The Year:

Redbone — Childish Gambino

The Story Of O.J.’— JAY-Z

HUMBLE. — Kendrick Lamar

The17-year-old boy who cannot be named due to his age was arrested on June 30th, hours before the concert began. According to The Guardian, the boy had researched the level of security that would surround a Bieber concert and wrote a “martyrdom letter” which read “I am a soldier of the Islamic State. I have attacked Cardiff today because your government keeps on bombing targets in Syria and Iraq. There will be more attacks in the future.”

Police raided the boys South Wales home and found a claw hammer and a gutting knife in his school rucksack.

Birmingham Crown Court jurors were also told that the boy had written a note that had points such as “run down the non-believers with a car” and “strike the infidels who oppose Allah in the neck”, However, the defendant claimed that he was only interested in gore, and did not intend on carrying out the terrorist attack. He insisted that it was sheer curiosity, stating “I wanted to see how easy it was for people who had an interest in terrorism to go online and get information because the police and the government are trying to crack down on terrorism and radicalisation. I wanted to see if it was possible, not for me but from someone else’s point of view.”

However, investigations into the boys’ internet history painted a different light, with the police finding that the defendants interest in ISIS began a year before in June 2016, where it was found he was searching for details about ISIS fighter names JIhadi John, alongside looking up the attacks that took place in London, France, and Germany. By June of this year, the boy was posting images encouraging a terrorist attack in Cardiff, via Instagram.

Although the boy pleads innocence and says his actions were down to curiosity, Sue Hemming, from the Crown Prosecution Service says “this teenager’s behavior over many months leaves no doubt that he intended to kill and maim as many people as possible in an attack reminiscent of the incident on Westminster Bridge. The CPS presented overwhelming evidence that he was prepared to die for an extremist worldview and he will now rightly face the prospect of a substantial prison sentence.”

The boy will remain in custody until a hearing on January 18th, 2018.

PopFront, a blog about culture and politics published a post, titled “Swifty to the alt-right. Taylor subtly gets the lower case kkk in formation” in September, dissecting Taylors hit ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ song lyrics and music video.

Meghan Herning, editor of the blog, wrote “Taylor’s lyrics in ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ seem to play to the same subtle, quiet white support of a racial hierarchy. Many on the alt-right see the song as part of a “re-awakening,” in line with Trump’s rise. At one point in the accompanying music video, Taylor lords over an army of models from a podium, akin to what Hitler had in Nazis Germany. The similarities are uncanny and unsettling.”

“Her lyrics are like an affirmation for everything the alt-right has been feeling for years: oppressed, afraid to come out, and made to look like a fool. And now that they feel empowered, it befits the movement to have a white, blonde, conservative pop star that has no doubt been ‘bullied’ by people of colour in the media, singing their feelings out loud.”

Following this post, Herning has received a letter from Swift’s legal team, demanding that PopFront issue a retraction of their story and remove the story from all sources.

“The story is replete with demonstrable and offensive falsehoods which bear no relation to reality or the truth about Ms. Swift. It appears to be a malicious attack against Ms. Swift that goes to great lengths to portray Ms. Swift as some sort of white supremacist figurehead, which is a baseless fiction masquerading as fact and completely misrepresents Ms. Swift. As further shown below, PopFront is substantially liable to Ms. Swift for defamation”

The non profit organisation, American Civil Liberties Union has responded on behalf of Herning and PopFront, stating “Ms. Herning and PopFront will not in any way accede to your attempt to suppress their constitutionally protected speech. The blog post is a mix of core political speech and critical commentary; it discusses current politics in this country, the recent rise of white supremacy, and the fact that some white supremacists have apparently embraced Ms. Swift, along with a critical interpretation of some of Ms. Swift’s music, lyrics, and videos.”

Meghan Herning herself has said about the issue “The press should not be bullied by high-paid lawyers or frightened into submission by legal jargon. These scare tactics may have worked for Taylor in the past, but I am not backing down.”

Details of an exclusive presale have been announced. Fans will be given an exclusive pre-sale link if they purchase Morrissey’s new album, ‘Low In High School’ before midnight on October 29th.

UK TOUR ANNOUNCED. Pre-order Low In High School on @amazonmusic now through Sunday to get access to presale tickets https://t.co/6xgPMXNbPr pic.twitter.com/580x8eL83m

— Morrissey (@officialmoz) October 27, 2017

Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine over email, about his new album, when asked to explain the album title, Morrissey said “My concern wanders to anyone feeling academically or spiritually low in high school… directionless or hopeless. Can young people ever be carefree again? It’s a question.” He continued to explain how this album will be different from his 2014 release, ‘World Peace is None of Your Business’ “It’s certainly louder, and although people have been trained to not expect very much from modern music, there is, I find, always so much to say and play, and here it is.”

Tickets for Morrissey’s 2018 tour will go on general sale on Friday, November 3rd at 10 am. You can see tour dates below:

16/02/2018: BGHE Arena, Aberdeen

17/02/2018: The SSE Hydro, Glasgow

20/02/2018: 3Arena, Dublin

23/02/2018: Metro Arena, Newcastle

24/02/2018: First Direct Arena, Leeds

27th/02/2018: Genting Arena, Birmingham.

03/03/2018: Brighton Centre, Brighton

07/03/2018: Royal Albert Hall, London

09/03/2018: Alexandra Palace, London.

Morrissey recently released his new music video for single ‘Spent The Day In Bed’ starring footballer Joey Barton. ‘Spent The Day In Bed’ was filmed at the 142-year-old Peckham Liberal Club and shows Barton pushing Morrissey around in a wheelchair.

Meanwhile, Morrissey has also announced that he will be holding special pop up shops for fans in London and LA, to mark the release of his album. The pop-up shops will apparently offer exclusive merchandise and media.

The first pop up shop will be open on Friday 17th November until Sunday 19th, at Provender Building, Camden Market, NW1 8AH in London. There will also be a pop up shop opened for fans in LA, at 8250 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90048.