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The album’s surprising mix of covers reflects the band’s wide array of influences and the members’ personal musical tastes. It includes a dreamy rendition of Mario’s R&B hit ‘Let Me Love You’, which features soft guitars and delicate harmonies that give the track a gentle and romantic vibe. The Real Thing’s classic ‘You Are Everything To Me’ is beautifully stripped back and transformed into a heartfelt little indie ballad, emphasising its emotional core. Blossoms even tackle pop legend Lady Gaga’s club classic ‘Telephone’, offering a gentle, soulful reimagining that underscores the band’s ability to find emotional depth in unexpected places. Each cover remains recognisable but is infused with the band’s indie spin, making the songs feel fresh, deeply intimate, and uniquely their own. 

The cover album serves as a companion piece to Blossoms’ original album Gary, which was released earlier this September and reached number one on the Official Album Charts. This album blends their signature indie-pop sound with an energetic, synth-driven approaches, delivering tracks that are both polished and infectious. The title track, ‘Gary’, is a standout example of their knack for crafting memorable melodies, while ‘Nightclub’ brings an upbeat rhythm and vibrant energy to the album. Meanwhile, ‘Why Do I Give You The Worst Of Me’ is rich with emotional depth, exploring themes of self-sabotage, vulnerability, and the struggle to maintain a healthy relationship, all set against a backdrop of dynamic and high-energy instrumentation. The original Gary album not only showcases the band’s evolution but also maintains the charm and charisma that have made Blossoms a household name in the indie music scene.

In support of both albums, the band wrapped up their 2024 tour in November, performing a mix of well-known tracks alongside new songs from Gary. Blossoms have long been praised for their engaging live shows, with fans highlighting the vibrant atmosphere and personal connection the band creates during their performances. Their ability to make every gig feel special has cemented their reputation as one of the most exciting live acts on the indie circuit. 

With Gary’s Covers, Blossoms have crafted a love letter to the music that inspires them while continuing to showcase their own artistry. The album’s carefully curated tracklist offers something for everyone, whether you’re a long-time fan or a newcomer to their work. By taking listeners on a journey through different styles and decades, the album unites the band’s minimalist approach with their commitment to creating an intimate listening experience. Each track has been thoughtfully crafted to focus on melodies and lyrics, allowing the raw beauty of the original songs to shine through. This cover album stands as yet another example of Blossoms’ ability to delight and connect with fans in new and surprising ways. 

Last night (the 27th of February), 600 fans were treated to one heck of a show indeed.

The Coverups, who are a cover band, are comprised of Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and touring guitarist Jason White, plus Bill Schneider and Chris Dugan on bass and drums, respectively – played a hit-packed 24-song set in north London, having only announced the show just last week.

As if that wasn’t enough of a treat, they were joined on stage midway through the show by Courtney Love — who said she’d been “living in a cave in Birmingham for about nine years”.

Lead singer of ‘Hole’ and a legend in her own right, Love joined the Coverups on stage and lent her signature vocals to covers of Cheap Trick’s He’s A Whore and Tom Petty’s Even The Losers, before she came back out again for another Cheap Trick cover, Surrender.

In an eventful night, The Coverups took on a number of hits from The Ramones to Nirvana and threw in a bonus performance of Love Is For Losers by another of Billie Joe’s projects, The Longshot.

Courtney Love made a surprise appearance at The Garage in London last night with Billie Joe Armstrong’s side-project The Coverups, performing songs by Cheap Trick and Tom Petty. https://t.co/1YqfbcBCz4 pic.twitter.com/fEi1svdooq

— Kerrang! (@KerrangMagazine) February 28, 2024

The Coverups will be playing again at the 100 club on Friday night, and who knows, fans might just be in for another treat.

The setlist in full:

1. A Million Miles Away (The Plimsouls)
   2. I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones)
   3. Ready Steady Go (Generation X)
   4. I Think We’re Alone Now (Tommy James & the Shondells)
   5. Message of Love (Pretenders)
   6. Summer of ’69 (Bryan Adams)
   7. Walking Out On Love (Paul Collins Beat)
   8. I Fought The Law (The Crickets)
   9. Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve) (Buzzcocks)
   10. I’m So Bored With the U.S.A. (The Clash)
   11. Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)
   12. Dancing With Myself (Generation X)
   13. He’s A Whore (Cheap Trick) – with Courtney Love
   14. Even The Losers (Tom Petty) – with Courtney Love
   15. Neat Neat Neat (The Damned)
   16. Drain You (Nirvana)
   17. Last Nite (The Strokes)
   18. American Girl (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
   19. Love Is For Losers (The Longshot)
   20. Fox On The Run (Sweet)
   21. Rockaway Beach (Ramones)
   22. Should I Stay Or Should I Go (The Clash)
   23. Surrender (Cheap Trick) – with Courtney Love

Encore:

24. Where Eagles Dare (Misfits)

Green Day themselves will be back in the UK this summer as part of the ‘Saviors’ tour, where they will be playing ‘American Idiot’ and ‘Dookie’ in full.

Tickets can be found here.

Beginning Monday, October 2nd, BBC Radio 1 hosts Rickie, Melvin and Charlie will air a new Live Lounge every Monday to Thursday throughout the month. Each performance will take place at 12pm. The Radio 1 trio announced the details of the new live lounge month, along with the line-up on air during their morning show on September 5.

Rickie, Melvin and Charlie are the new hosts of Radio 1’s iconic Live Lounge (Monday – Thursday, 10.30am – 1pm)!

Big up @RickieHW @Melvinodoom & @charliehedges. We know you’ll smash it! pic.twitter.com/0xze7rtyHW

— BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra & Asian Network Press Office (@BBCRadio1PR) April 20, 2021

  Yungblud shared a post on Twitter. He said “just wait you see what we got planned”

just wait till you see what we got planned@bbcradio1 #liveloungemonth pic.twitter.com/NlAjB3cNuv

— YUNGBLUD is a lowlife (@yungblud) September 5, 2023

Radio 1’s Live Lounge will be graced with the presence of some of the world’s most popular artists, performing both their own musical pieces as well as unexpected covers. We will have the pleasure of Olivia Dean’s performance, whose album Messy has been nominated for a Mercury Prize Award 2023.

Listeners of Radio 1 and BBC Sounds can tune in live to all performances from Live Lounge Month. They will also be able to view the performances on-demand on Radio 1’s BBC iPlayer and YouTube channels.

Olivia Rodrigo, whose new album GUTS  launches September 8, visited London and popped into the Radio 1 studio with host Melvin Odoom to make a very hot announcement. Melvin spoke to Olivia and said, “We are so excited to have you here today, because the real reason you’re in the studio right now is because you have a massive announcement, right?”

Olivia made here live lounge performance official and told the Radio 1 listeners in retort to Melvin “I’m so excited to announce, “I’m going to be kicking off Radio 1’s live lounge month 2023 and it’s going to be October. I’m very excited, I’m filming it in LA, and it’s going to be a ball.”

BBC Radio 1, invites listeners to test their expertise, in what they say is their “Ultimate Live Lounge Quiz.” Preparing listeners for an extravaganza of bejewelled performances for this coming October.

Below you can see the full line-up list for the Live Lounge Month 2023.

Artist Performance Date’s

Olivia Rodrigo –  Mon 2nd October
Troye Sivan  – Tues 3rd October
Jorja Smith  – Weds 4th October
Madison Beer  – Thurs 5th October
Declan McKenna –  Mon 9th October
Leigh-Anne –  Tues 10th October
Royal Blood –  Weds 11th October
Dominic Fike – Thurs 12th October
Holly Humberstone – Tues 17th October
YUNGBLUD – Weds 18th October
Becky Hill – Thurs 19th October
Usher – Mon 23rd October
Jax Jones – Weds 25th October
Doja Cat – Thurs 26th October

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Originally birthed in Pakistan, Coke Studio was set up in 2008 to provide an international platform for both emerging and established artists. Now on its fourteenth season, the studio recorded sessions have included a myriad of musical genres whilst promoting multiculturalism. To expand the programme to a global scale, Coca-Cola has partnered with Universal Music to broaden and develop the studio’s programme to help emerging talent.

Richard Yaffa, EVP, Global Brands of Universal Music Group has spoken on the new partnership, “Collaborating with these incredible artists and the Coca-Cola team on both the music and creative vision for this launch was magic, Our companies are aligned in our deep commitment to showcasing phenomenal talent, to partnering with artists from all over the globe and to supporting them in sharing their music while creating opportunities to expand their fanbase.”

All seven covers of the classic rock track will be featured in a new documentary entitled The Conductor, which will also include behind the scenes footage and further musical content. The new documentary and recorded covers are available now and can be accessed via Coke Studio’s Youtube channel. The powerful short pays homage to the legacy of Queen’s 1986 single and aims to showcase themes associated with Real Magic, Coca-Cola’s new brand that expresses philosophical ideas of creativity and unison.

The Coca-Cola Company’s Head of Global Music Culture Marketing Joshua Burke has given the following statement, “We set out to do something different with Coke Studio. Coca-Cola has always had a strong connection with music, working with stand-out emerging talent in different communities in all corners of the world, as well as a strong heritage in connecting people across borders and cultures. Coke Studio brings these two things together in a way that’s powerful and future-facing, supporting the development of talent in the music industry, while also connecting new audiences to new music – and to each other.”

Burke continued to discuss the new documentary short “We see ‘The Conductor’ as both a homage to the legendary Queen and an opportunity to refresh and reinterpret one of their greatest tracks in different ways across cultures and musical genres, for a new generation. There’s magic in that too.”

Click here for Coke Studio’s Youtube hub.

After a straight-set of classic hits by NIN, featuring such songs as; “Every Day Is Exactly the Same”, “The Frail” and “Closer”. The band wowed fans by chucking in two Bowie tracks to make this the gig of a lifetime. The first instance was a barnstorming rendition of “I’m Afraid Of Americans”, which Reznor co-produced back in 1997. Take a look at the fan-captured footage below:

To follow, NIN went into a spine-chilling cover of the 1980s staple “Fashion”. Whilst this was the first time the band played this song together. Reznor had previously performed the song for a live-streamed gig in tribute to the star man himself in 2021. See “Fashion” as played by Nine Inch Nails below:

Glorious cover versions aside, the setlist of last night’s gig was something to behold in its own right. The full menu is detailed beneath;

”Somewhat Damaged”
“The Day The World Went Away”
“The Frail”
“The Wretched”
“March Of The Pigs”
“1,000,000”
“Survivalism”
“Piggy”
“Closer”
“The Perfect Drug”
“The Becoming”
“This Isn’t The Place”
“Every Day Is Exactly the Same”
“I’m Afraid Of Americans” (David Bowie cover)
“Fashion” (David Bowie cover)
“Only”
“The Hand That Feeds”
“Head Like A Hole”
“Reptile”
“And All That Could Have Been”
“Hurt”

The honour of opening this event was given to electronic technomancers Boy Harsher. With Yves Tumor, 100 Gecs, Nitzer Ebb and Ministry set to support the remaining tour dates (including stops at the O2 Academy Glasgow, the O2 Apollo Manchester and the O2 Academy Brixton and 2 nights at the Eden Project, Cornwall). Information and tickets can be found here.

In a touching interview last year, Trent Reznor discussed the mark left on him by the late great David Bowie. Saying; “I still think about that dude all the time, and I still listen to him constantly. And I’m grateful that our lives intersected, and I’m grateful for, whether he knew it or not, how much he helped me in those dark times before I chose to get my shit together. And I can hear his voice. He penetrated through the layers of bulls**t that I’d built around myself. I’m grateful for that.”

The West Yorkshire Indie rockers’ offering to the new series is a cover of ‘Finger- Nailed For You’, originally released by influential indie-pop outfit Comet Gain. The cover will feature on the compilation album entitled ‘Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars)’, the collection is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the historically significant record label Kill Rock Stars. The collection is already on sale with the current track listing of covers and buyers will be notified when new songs will be available to add to their collection.

The group took to their Instagram page to announce their excitement to be involved within the project, whilst citing Kill Rock Stars as their favourite label.

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The Independent label Kill Rock Stars was started in 1991 within the states of Washington and Oregon and was founded by musicians Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson. The label initially started as a project between the two so that they could release their friend’s music, the type of music in which the two friends wanted to hear. No particular genre has been assigned as the label’s focus but over the years the label became known for its release of punk music. The label began by releasing compilation albums showcasing the underground music from Olympia in Washington, one particular album featured the highly influential riot grrrl group Bikini Kill.

Comet Gain became an act which the label released, most notably their 7-inch ‘Mailorder Freaks Singles Club’, which was released by the label in September 1998. The band also featured on the label’s 2-disc compilation album ‘Fields and Streams’, with their single ‘Look At You Now, You’re Crying’, released in 2002. Before being represented by Kill Rock Stars, the group started in 1992 formed by singer and guitarist David Feck. The band took inspiration from many different genres but most notably took influence from northern soul and post-punk. The band has featured many different line-ups over the years but has continued to grow since its inception in the early 90s, with the most recent album ‘Fireraisers Forever!’ released in 2019.

Listening to Comet Gain’s material it is evident that the Cribs were inspired by the group, and in the following statement they describe the connection they felt to the band. The band’s statement also talks about the group’s link to Kill Rock Stars in the early days of their career. Within the statement provided the group also speak on their choice to cover their musical predecessors. “Comet Gain are one of the bands who have meant the most to us throughout our lives. From listening to them on cassette Walkman on rainy bus journeys to college as teens, all the way through to becoming a full-time touring band, their music has been a consistent companion for us and has somehow always provided the perfect soundtrack to every place and situation we found ourselves in, no matter how disparate. For years they made us believe that Croydon was the promised land, such was the power of their poetry. They just make you BELIEVE full stop. Incidentally, the primary motivation behind the first-ever Cribs recording back in 2001 was to make a demo for KRS as a submission for the ‘Fields and Streams’ compilation… but we got too nervous and never sent it in. So this is a 20-year dream come true.”

The Cribs recently announced their new UK tour dates, In March of this year the announcement confirmed their rescheduled dates for 2022. The tour will see the boys perform in support of their album ‘Night Network’ which was released on 20th November 2020. The band’s newest studio album was an independent project for the members as it was their first self-produced album and was also released under the band’s own record label, Sonic Blew.

20/08/2021 – Crystal Palace Bowl – London
20/08 – South Facing Festival 2021 – London
03/09 – The Piece Hall – Halifax
01/03/2022 – O2 Institute – Birmingham
02/03 – The Waterfront – Norwich
04/03 – o2 Academy Sheffield – Sheffield
05/03 – SWX – Bristol
06/03 – Manchester Academy – Manchester
08/03 – Boiler Shop – Newcastle Upon Tyne
09/03 – SWG3 – Glasgow
11/03 – Roundhouse – London
12/03 – Chalk – Brighton
02/06 – Temple Newsam – Leeds

In a statement on Black Midi’s social media announcement of the releases, they stated that they,  recorded a couple of covers of our favourite Christmas tunes at our rehearsal room and then added some bells an whistles at home. The London rockers go on to explain their special relationship to the venue, saying they would usually do some fun one off covers shows at the Windmill around this time of year so hopefully this goes some way to fill the gap. The covers are the bands way of continuing their ongoing Christmas cover tradition, however remotely.

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The covers were released today and are only available for streaming on Black Midi’s Bandcamp, available to listen here. The band also pleaded for fans to go directly to The Windmill Venue’s fundraising site, saying that if fans were available pay what you want on @windmillbrixton bandcamp, link in bio
all donations go to the save the windmill brixton fundraiser. The crowdfunding site for The Windmill Venue has so far acquired £50,677 with a 70k goal, thanks in large part to Black Midi fans.

The Windmill Venue stated We’re one of 30 venues identified by Music Venue Trust as being at risk of permanent closure inside 6 months. We want the music to continue. In the MVT’s ranking, The Windmill is currently in the Red category, meaning that if it closes then it will be very soon and it is likely never to open again. The Windmill Venue’s crowdfunding site is available for charitable donations here. 

The Windmill will be hosting a Christmas themed livestream for their stage, the venue said on Instagram that it’s truly humbling and amazing what people are doing to #savewindmillbrixton. The next big thing is this superstream. The livestream will be held on December 29th, 2020 and tickets are going for 10GBP, available to order now. Black Midi will feature as one of the bands to perform this special concert.

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Among the line-up are Fontaines D.C., with a slow, melancholic cover of The Beach Boys’ ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’. The Beach Boys sometimes have that effect where in completely the right mood they’re perfect – otherwise they’re kind of sickening. Not this cover. The last four lines, which tend to just fade into outro in the original, are haunting. You can catch a clip of it here:

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We recorded a version of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys for @deezer “Inversions”. Listen exclusively on Deezer.

A post shared by Fontaines D.C. (@fontainesband) on Oct 6, 2020 at 2:48am PDT

This is what they had to say about it: “Covering a Beach Boys song has always been a scary thing considering the genius arrangements, their playing, their harmonies, everything about it … So ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ we saw this kind of naive perspective towards love and marriage in the lyrics, and we were quite curious to see what would happen when you contrasted that approach with a darker musical palette. So we kind of slowed down the tempo and created a draggier tune for those lyrics to sit on top of.” 

A cover is an art form, there’s no doubt about that, and it’s always struck me as a great way to really get to know a band. What Fontaines D.C. say above, for example, shows just how much they understand their industry, and their craft. Perhaps Deezer picked the line-up for InVersions for exactly this reason.

InVersions also presents Arlo Parks’ first song in French: ‘Ta Reine’ by Angèle. Parks explains why this is so special: “I picked ‘Ta Reine’ by Angèle because I find her voice completely mesmerising and soft, and I feel like the topic the song discusses is very important. I’ve always wanted to sing in French since my mum is French and I’m generally just enthralled by this song and her delivery. I hope I can do it justice.” 

Really there is nothing to distinguish one moment from another – all of these covers are spectacular. For me, other honourable mentions go towards Alfie Templeman’s ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’, which retains the feel of the original while simultaneously softening everything. It perfectly suits the style that Templeman is really making his own.

Likewise, Orla Gartland’s ‘Nothing Compares to You’ is ambitious – intriguingly, her powerful voice seems to be set against a Radiohead-inspired, subtly electronic take on the melody. When the music falls away for the final refrain, Gartland shows nothing but pure talent.

Robyn we frikin love u @robynkonichiwa & this gem of a song so we made our own version of dancing on my own for @deezer listen here : https://t.co/esJwBHkW6b pic.twitter.com/rh80Xt84P4

— Dream Wife (@DreamWifeMusic) October 6, 2020

But, for me, Dream Wife’s ‘Dancing On My Own’ steals the show. It has all the chills of the first time you heard it. It absolutely puts a spotlight on why we all unexpectedly fell in love with Robyn in 2010. This is not because it’s a carbon copy, though; Dream Wife retain all of the best of Robyn’s original, while giving it a spin of their own. If you listen closely, you catch an endearing whisper of “in a galaxy far far far away” just before the bridge.

InVersions could not be more exciting as a music project, but it also feels like a positive force in these bleak times for the music industry. Nigel Harding, who is Deezer’s VP of Global Artist Marketing, explained the thinking behind InVersions. “We all know the music community has been hit hard by the pandemic, especially Indie artists who rely on live gigs. During this tough time, we wanted to do our part and offer support to Indie and Alternative artists with our new Inversions album … I’d love for music fans from all over the world to discover some new favourites on our InVersions album.”

You can stream it here.

i chose a bunch of my favourite songs and made a tasty little covers album during lockdown and boy am i thrilled for you all to hear it. listen to Realiti and preorder the record at https://t.co/YghwWtKCIk (1/2) pic.twitter.com/gFxplRph69

— Marika Hackman (@MarikaHackman) September 15, 2020

Covers follows 2019’s Any Human Friend, which was widely received as some of Hackman’s best, most honest and self-proclaimed “unifying and sexy” work. Covers will likely allow Hackman to experiment musically and to pour herself into an album while at the same time taking a step back from the light that she shone on herself and her own experiences throughout Any Human Friend.

In addition to the announcement, Hackman shared one of the ten covers: a version of Grimes’ critically acclaimed ‘Realiti’. If this is a sign of what’s to come on Covers, then we should all be getting quite excited! You can listen to it below.

Hackman’s ‘Realiti’ is completely stripped back. The video that she shared sets her vocals against the visual of a car driving along a motorway at night, which produces the most distinctive feeling. Where Grimes’ original makes its mark with layers of electronic beats and synths, the power of Hackman’s version is all in her melodic, melancholic voice.

In addition to an album announcement and a song preview, Hackman has promised a live stream with her entire band on the release date. She will perform in an empty swimming pool. Tickets are available with an album pre-order, all of which can be found here. Alongside your ticket and album, Hackman instructs you to “bring your armbands.”

Speaking about the concept of the album, Hackman said, “when it comes to covers I like to pick songs which I have been listening to obsessively for a while. It gives me a natural understanding of the music, and lets me be more innovative with how I transform it.” An album dedicated to covers is a great place to really play with music and style, and it seems like this is exactly Hackman’s goal.

She has chosen to take on some major and distinctive artists, but I think we can expect to hear Beyonce like we’ve never heard her before in Hackman’s newest venture. Likewise, there are few other places that you might hear Grimes and Elliott Smith compliment one another – all in all, it points to a carefully thought out tracklist. It might be two months until anyone can get their hands on it, but already this project feels special.

Tracklist:

1. You Never Wash Up After Yourself (Radiohead)
2. Phantom Limb (The Shins)
3. Playground Love (Air)
4. Realiti (Grimes)
5. Jupiter 4 (Sharon van Etten)
6. Pink Light (MUNA)
7. Between The Bars (Elliott Smith)
8. Temporary Loan (Edith Frost)
9. In Undertow (Alvvays)
10. All Night (Beyonce)