Eternal released their debut album, Always and Forever in November 1993, and it reached number two in the UK Album Charts. The album sold over one million copies in the United Kingdom, and was confirmed as four times platinum, making it one of 1994’s biggest selling albums and the year’s biggest-selling debut album.

The 48-year-old singer has decided to withdraw from the planned reunion tour after allegations arose that the other members declined to perform due to their concerns about the transgender community’s impact on the gay community. Louise has since clarified her departure from the tour by sharing the Progress Pride Flag on her Social media platforms, along with the heartfelt message: ‘Always and forever’.

pic.twitter.com/0WuhMlGxmB

— Louise Redknapp (@LouiseRedknapp) September 24, 2023

Although prior to her announcement on exiting from the Eternal reunion, Redknapp posted her excitement for the reunion on Instagram, and commented, ” Stay is such a timeless song Easther absolutely KILLING that opening note as she does and I’m so proud this was where it all started for us! I’m so lucky I got to record this song myself for my Greatest Hits this year and girls I hope I did you proud.”

Amidst this post a Fan thanked Louise for her support, they commented “So much love for you supporting the LGBTQI+ community.” Louise’s publicist, Simon Jones, confirmed the development in a statement to Sky News. Simon Jones said, “A message was sent to the team putting together the Eternal reunion stating that if it was to go ahead, neither Vernie nor Easther would perform at Pride shows or LGBTQ+ festivals. This was because the duo felt that the gay community was being hijacked by the trans community and they do not support this.”

He added, “Louise is a huge supporter and ally of the LGBTQ+ community and both herself and Kelle told the duo they would not work with anyone who held these views, and as such the reunion as a four would not be going ahead. The team behind the proposed Eternal reunion are gay – including management, PR and tour promoter – and neither myself nor any of the team would work with artists who held such views about the trans community.” #

No official statements have been released by either Vernie or Easther Bennett; however, Vernie posted on her social media account with this message. “I am ‘Eternally’ grateful for the family, friends & amazing fans who have and continue to support our incredible journey & artistry. I’ve been blessed to connect with so many diverse & wonderful people from all walks of life during my career. You all have a piece of my heart. Though it is impossible & counterproductive to respond to the overwhelming number of statements & allegations made online recently; I place this moment in God’s hands. I truly appreciate all who continue to express love & support for my family & Eternal.” xoxo – Vernie.”

At present, there have been no additional tour dates disclosed, and no further correspondence has been provided regarding the potential resolution and continuation of the reunion among the four original members as initially intended.

In an interview with BBC News, Ryder said he used an “old-fashioned mailing list situation,” and “sent out an email saying ‘hey do you wanna come and sing with us?” Fans could sign up via a link to get an invite to join Sam and his team. “A bunch of people came down,” he said “we just sang the song over and over again. I think I sang it about 50 times today.”

His two singles are the first released from his upcoming album There’s Nothing But Space, Man! which is set to be released on 14th October. ‘Somebody‘ is co-written by Sam with Jon Green and Max Wolfgang who also co-wrote Sam’s Eurovision 2022 entry. “I didn’t really know that I was making the album,” he told NME, “Last year, I wrote about 100 songs, and not all of them are good, it’s just the nature of writing songs.” “Some of my favourites we’ve put together for an album. It’s done, you’re just curating the thing. You’ve got this collection of work and you’re putting it together now, and then making the final touches and then listening back to ones and going, ‘God, that line’s a shocker, I’ll have to change that next week’.”

Sam’s success at Eurovision means the UK is set to host the 2023 edition of the contest. “It’s really exciting that it’s on home soil,” he told the BBC, “but it’s also really important to remember why it’s being held here and the responsibility that we have to throw the best party that shows off and celebrates all of the beauty and rich history of Ukrainian culture.”

The 25-year-old artist posted an emotive statement concerning his decision.

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During his career, Octavian has released one EP, various mixtapes and multiple singles. The rapper began to gain traction within the industry and became a critical success. The artist’s first mixtape, 22, was released in 2016 under the stage name Octavian OG. In 2017 the first EP Essie World was released and 13 singles followed, one particular single became the catalyst to his rising success. “Party Here” was released in 2017 and sired great attention. In January 2018 Drake posted an Instagram video featuring a sing along to the single, the post went viral and brought Octavian to the spotlight. In August 2018 the artist was signed with the major label Sony/ATV Records.

The former BRIT School student has collaborated with some of music’s most popular artists. On 2019 single “Bet”, the rapper teamed up with Michael Phantom and hitmaker Skepta. Octavian and Skepta worked together again the following year on the single “Pap Chulo”, the track reached number 37 within the UK singles charts.

In 2019 Octavian released the single “Lit” which featured American rapper, ASAP Ferg. The single was taken from the artist’s second mixtape, Endorphins, released on 13th June 2019 via Black Butter Limited. Octavian has also lent his talent to other artists, his most notable collaboration has been with Gorillaz. In 2020, the rapper featured on the group’s single “Friday 13th” taken from the band’s seventh studio album.

The buzz surrounding the artist paid off and the London based rapper won the BBC Sound of 2019 award. Octavian was presented with the prestigious accolade for new artists in January 2019 and was described as a maverick. The winner is decided by a panel made up of 136 industry professionals, each member is asked to nominate three promising acts. In 2019 the panel included prior nominees Ellie Goulding and Stormzy. The title has previously been won by Adele, Haim, Sam Smith and Sigrid. Octavian was the first rapper to win the award since 2003, 16 years prior 50 Cent was awarded the prize. Speaking on his win over two years ago the rapper stated, “That’s lit, I don’t even know how to feel right now… Mum, I made it!“.

Born as Octavian Oliver Godji, the artist faced some controversies during the end of his career. Last year the artist’s ex-girlfriend accused him of abuse, subsequently, the reports led to his debut album being pulled and his relationship with Black Butter ended. Octavian denied all allegations and provided the following statement to the BBC. “I wholly deny Hana’s allegations, which are only one – grossly distorted – side of a troubled relationship. Much of what she has said, and has been reported, has been manipulated or is simply untrue. I will not go on trial by media, but I will repeat that I have not been violent or coercive towards Hana, and I am not a misogynist.”

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) claims it acquired US court documents which allegedly confirm the 8-page lawsuit filed by Integral Images on 6th July 2021. Within them, it states that Lipa allegedly shared a photo on a social media platform which depicted the singer at the airport wearing a big hat with her ticket and passport in hand in February of 2019, Lipa was surrounded by her fans in the photo. Lipa allegedly shared the photo to the social media site on 7th February 2019 with the caption “I’ll be living under big fluffy hats until further notice“, any potential social share of this image has since been deleted

A potential amount of money could be asked to cover the legal costs and attorney costs that could potentially occur. Integral Images’ legal team are also allegedly looking for a jury trial and an order to stop the singer from performing alleged other acts of infringement. The court documents claim the singer profited alleging as the singer’s Instagram is “monetised in that it contains content designed to accumulate followers who are directed to, via link and/or advertisement, consume and purchase [her] content“. The Grammy award singer has been contacted for a statement from the BBC, NME and other representatives of the press but the singer is yet to comment on the alleged claims.

Lipa is not the only star to stumble into claimed copyright infringement trouble, many artists have also been sued by photographers and their representatives. American superstar Jennifer Lopez was sued in sued in 2019 by Splashy news and its picture agency after the singer shared a picture to Instagram. The companies claiming the dispute later dropped the complaint, the photo in question was of herself with Alex Rodriguez, her boyfriend at the time.

In other news from Lipa’s camp, the singer has now turned her attention to acting. The ‘We’re Good’ number one singer will be staring in the new spy film ‘Argylle’. The singer will make her acting debut alongside Henry Cavill, Catherine O’Hara, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L Jackson, John Cena, Bryan Cranston and Bryce Dallas Howard. The new film which is being directed by Matthew Vaughn will also feature Lipa’s music, the singer will be penning the film’s soundtrack and score.

O’Connor was initially on the show to discuss her new memoir ‘Rememberings’, published on 1st June 2021, but the interview then took a turn in which angered the ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ singer. Within the interview, the host referenced a quote from an article within the newspaper The Telegraph. In the article music critic Neil McCormick had called the singer ‘The crazy lady in pop’s attic’.

The quote was brought up during a conversation regarding the singer’s public struggle with mental health issues, O’Connor took offensive to the discussion and appeared to deem it invasive. She also likened the comparison with the character Bertha Mason taken from the 1847 novel by Charlotte Bronte ‘Jane Eyre’. The singer responded to the quote stating “I think it’s a bit extreme to make the Jane Eyre comparison, I don’t think I’ve ever been perceived as ‘the crazy lady in pop’s attic’ as represented in Jane Eyre. It’s not like I’m trying to attack people with knives or trying to strangle people while I’m walking around in my nightdress.”

The singer then took to Twitter after the interview to voice her outrage.

Actually found the interview with @Emmabarnett extremely offensive and even misogynistic. One abusive and invalidating question or statement after another: “madwoman in the attic” At that point I should have ended it. I will absolutely never do Women’s hour again.

— Sinead O’Connor (Shuhada Sadaqat) (@MagdaDavitt77) June 1, 2021

The singer has recently changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat after converting to Islam in 2018 but has kept Sinead O’Connor has her stage name and continues to record under it. She rose to fame within the late 1980s and early 1990’s when she released her famous cover of the classic Prince song ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’. The single was released on 8th January 1990 when the singer was in her early 20’s, the song debuted at number one and became hugely successful.

The 54-year-old artist then caused controversy during a performance on Saturday Night Live on 3rd October 1992. O’Connor took to the stage and performed an a cappella rendition of ‘War’ by Bob Marley, the cover was to be in protest against the alleged sexual abuse claims within the Catholic church. The singer then presented a picture of Pope John Paul ii and proceeded to tear the picture whilst singing to the camera.

The incident has remained synonymous with controversy and has followed O’Connor throughout her career and life. The singer has recently announced that she will be releasing her first album in eight years. The album entitled ‘No Veterans Die Alone‘, is set to be released in 2022.

Since the interview O’Connor also posted on Twitter to apologise for a comment she made in which she compared herself to Jamaican men. The singer had spoken about how she has four children with four different men, during this comment the singer made the comparison in question.

Also, apologies if I accidentally offended Jamaican men. I was referring to specific friends of mine in the music business. Jamaican people are my favourite people on this earth and Jamaican male musicians my biggest inspiration. https://t.co/4S9cT9X1An — Sinead O’Connor (Shuhada Sadaqat) (@MagdaDavitt77) June 1, 2021

The host of Woman’s hour Barnett has yet to comment on O’Connor’s disgust expressed over the interview. However, a spokesperson from the BBC has provided a statement to Radiotimes concerning the disagreement. “During an interview about her new book, Sinead O’Connor was talking about her mental health and was asked what she made of a comment by a music critic reviewing her book in recent days.”

Click here to listen to the show on BBC Radio 4.

Click here to order ‘Rememberings’.

Introducing all 33 of Radio 1’s new Christmas Presenters Class of 2020!

Congratulations to all of you!

Thank you to everyone who submitted a demo, we again had 1,100 entries. I’m sorry if this year wasn’t yours but let’s see what 2021 brings! https://t.co/XWtbtajS2X

— Aled Haydn Jones (@ahj) December 3, 2020

Will Kirk, who works in marketing from Sheffield, is amongst the lucky 33 to be chosen for this exciting opportunity. Will, 22 has a profound hearing loss in both ears and wears hearing aids. He will be fronting the Radio 1 Drum and bass show and will be radio 1’s first hard-of-hearing DJ. He told BBC News, “I got my first hearing aid at 11 months old. It’s something I’ve always known, that’s always been a part of me. I like to make a good joke because I can’t change it so I might as well make people laugh about it.”

Will intends to inspire others with hearing difficulties to follow in his footsteps. He talks to BBC News about his hobby and encourages other’s to do the same by saying, “To come up and have DJing as a hobby when you are deaf just seems like a ridiculous combination – but just go for it. I’m sure anybody that’s disabled will say you can find a way to get things done and don’t let anything pull you down – including yourself. Don’t pull yourself down about anything, just go out there and do it.” 

Jevanni Letford, a previous lawyer from East London, moved into a career in radio and music and is now the official tour DJ for KSI . She will cover Rickie, Melvin and Charlie’s show.  Danny Diston from Cornwall, works as a teaching assistant in a school for special educational needs and will front Radio 1’s life hacks. Metro reported Nels Hylton, who will be the first black presenter to host Radio 1’s Rock Show to of said, “It’s really humbling to be selected as part of Radio 1’s Christmas line-up, even more so to be the first Black broadcaster to present the Radio 1 Rock Show. I can’t wait to host the show and prove that rock music is for everybody.”

The presenters that have been chose from the student and community radio include DJ and YouTuber Shay Sade, from no signal radio Dean McCullough and previous volunteer for Wandsworth radio, Bolton FM and Gaydio, Ellen Macleod. Ellen is currently at the University of Salford and has mobility difficulties. She manages the student radio and co-hosts a podcast with two friends. There are sure to be many tuning in to the emerging talent, who will be entertaining us with their talent over the festive period.

List of presenters 

Alex West, 22, from Reading, and Numi Gildert, 26, from Macclesfield (The Official Chart on Radio 1)
Cal Carthy, 25, from Hertfordshire (Radio 1 Dance)
Connor Coates, 27, from Belfast (Radio 1’s Dance Anthems)
Dan Alani, 29, from Birmingham (Radio 1’s Future Sounds)
Danni Diston, 23, from Cornwall, and Sam MacGregor, 22, from Maidenhead (Radio 1’s Life Hacks)
Darcy Kelly, 20, from Jersey (Radio 1 Anthems)
Dave Treacy, 39, from Dublin (Danny Howard)
Dean McCullough, 28, from Belfast (Radio 1 Anthems)
DJ Davda, 21, from London (Radio 1’s Soundsystem)
DJ Nate, 31, from Ealing (Boxing Day afternoon on 1Xtra)
Ellen Macleod, 20, from Bolton (The Happy Hour from Radio 1)
Emily Pilbeam, 23, from Leeds (BBC Introducing on Radio 1)
James Cusack, 33, from Manchester (Radio 1 Anthems)
Jess Iszatt, 29, from Hertfordshire (Radio 1’s Chillest Show)
Jevanni Letford, 31, from London (Rickie, Melvin and Charlie)
Kerrie Cosh, 29, from Northamptonshire (Radio 1 Anthems)
Laurie Charlesworth, 27, from Leicester (Radio 1’s Drum & Bass Show)
Mo Ayoub, 26, from London (Benji B)
Nels Hylton, 24, from London (Radio 1’s Rock Show)
Nikki Tesla, 26, from Birmingham (Annie Nightingale)
Rakeem Omar, 28, from Birmingham (Radio 1 Anthems)
Rebekah Walker, 26, from London (Radio 1 Anthems)
Robyn Richford, 28, from Glasgow (Radio 1 Anthems)
Sarah Gosling, 27, from Devon (Radio 1’s Future Artists)
Sarah Story, 31, from Carlisle (Radio 1’s Dance Party)
Shay Sade, 26, from Kingston (Radio 1’s Future Sounds)
Shivani Dave, 25, from Swindon (Radio 1 Anthems)
Spin-Milz, 20, from Chingford (The 1Xtra Takeover)
Vicky Hawkesworth, 24, from Bolton (Radio 1 Anthems)
Victoria Jane, 22, from Manchester (The 1Xtra Takeover)
Will Kirk, 22, from Sheffield (Guest mix for Radio 1’s Drum & Bass Show)