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This collective call to action has been strategically timed to coincide with the UK-US tech pact and the second state visit of Donald Trump, with talks expected to brush over the thornier aspects of copyright protections. Joining Trump in his entourage are technology heavyweights from Nvidia’s Jensen Huang to OpenAI’s Sam Altman. With Labour’s AI Bill yet to be materialised, the UK has become reliant on voluntary codes and arbitrary advice from external bodies, inadvertently stoking a sense of fear due to the lack of available safeguards across the creative industries.

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In their letter, the artists warn that AI companies have been “harvesting songs, recordings, and lyrics to create synthetic outputs that compete with original works without credit, permission, or payments.” For veterans like McCartney, whose catalogue spans decades, and for independent musicians, this signals an existential crisis of originality and leaves artists to wage a losing battle against the rising capabilities of Generative AI models. Without safeguards, the fear is that a whole generation of songwriters could see their economic bases being eroded, just as they begin to establish themselves.

This is not the first time musicians have challenged the government over technology. The last decade was characterised by fights over streaming royalties, Spotify’s opaque algorithms, and the ever-persistent ticket resale scandals. The artist’s expectations of the Labour government are heightened, given Starmer’s past support for a £1 ticket levy, a proposal designed to reinvest in grassroots music venues. This prior stance on protecting the economic infrastructure of the industry suggests a precedent for his willingness to intervene on behalf of artists. Yet, the stakes are higher this time as Starmer finds himself at a crossroads: whether to position the UK as a global leader in AI innovation or bring the unpleasant side of regulation and copyrights to the table. To thread the needle, it will require more than platitudes as artists continue to demand legal clarity towards bringing in safeguards in a digital economy that has too often exploited them.

It is not just the UK that is facing this looming reckoning. In the US, Universal Music Group has sued the Amazon-backed AI company Anthopic over using copyrighted lyrics in training datasets. The UK’s AI-copyright conundrum debate is riddled with complexities, and its decisions in the coming months will create ripples far beyond its borders. For now, the artist’s chorus rings clear and lies on Starmer’s desk: Will the UK defend those who have shaped the country as a cultural powerhouse, or would it allow itself to be drowned out by machine-made echoes?

The Pink Phantom, also named Song Machine: Episode 7, is one of the 17 tracks that will feature on Song Machine: Season One. Ahead of its arrival on October 23rd, Gorillaz have dropped various gems from their upcoming instalment, namely Pac-Man featuring Schoolboy Q, Strange Timez with Robert Smith, and Friday 13th with Octavian. 

Naturally, Gorillaz dropped The Pink Phantoms’ video companion to YouTube today, the episode in question reaping over 444,000 views. After a brief opening of the Song Machine: Theme Song, the contemplative track begins. 

Gorillaz frontman 2D gave his thanks to Elton John saying: “Thank you for being so generous to us, Mr Elton Sir John, with your time and genius”

Episode 7 starts with 2D sitting at the piano, playing a low-tempo, solemn riff amongst huge pink fluorescent lights. The animated keyboardist croons the despondent lyrics: “You’ve more or less forgotten me this summer/I can’t hide my disappointment/I was on my way in the phantom five/The one you gave away”

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Song Machine Episode SevenThe Pink Phantom ft. @eltonjohn & @6LACK gorill.az/s1ep7 Song Machine Season OnePre-order now: gorillaz.com

A post shared by Gorillaz (@gorillaz) on Oct 1, 2020 at 9:35am PDT

6LACK spins across the animated screen coated in a bright orange hue, singing the heartbroken “Try to tell you that I love you but I’m choked up/You forgot and that makes me feel like no one”. As the lyrics flash across the screen, an animated Elton John plays his signature piano, fitted in a perfectly dashing pink suit. 

Elton John spoke on the killer collaboration, saying that “Damon reached out and asked me to do something and the way the song has turned out is just great. I was in the studio in London and he was at the other end in Devon, but even remotely it was such an engaging and creative process.”

Elton elaborated on his admiration for Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn, gushing “I’ve always loved Damon because he encompasses so many different sorts of music. He has his fingers in so many pies and although he’s achieved so much, he never sits still creatively.”

Albarn, who is about to release the seventh creation from his virtual band, is “constantly pushing forward and embracing the new, which is admirable and rare”, according to Elton, “He’s always working – he’s always doing something…I’ve always been a Gorillaz fan anyway, so when he asked me to do a Gorillaz track – it was a no brainer. I’m so very happy that that’s come about.”

Gorillaz will unveil Song Machine in full in a live stream performance with LiveNow on December 12th-13th. Airing across three times zones, more information regarding Gorillaz’ upcoming Livestream can be found here.

The virtual band is set to release their first hardback annual, The Gorillaz ALMANAC, also on October 23rd. The annual is a collaboration with Z2 comics and will feature over 120 pages of artwork, games, puzzles for those die-hard Gorillaz fans.

The Pink Phantom is out now.

Elton’s cult classic, Your Song, was in the setlist of the momentous performance at the world-famous Los Angeles club five decades ago. Elton shared the life-changing performance to his official YouTube channel, which can be watched below. This career-forming gig catapulted the singer into global superstardom, and the Rocketman has not come down since. 

Whilst only 300 people were in attendance that historic night at the Troubadour, Elton’s audience held some of the 1970s music scene’s paramount artists. The most notable audience members who witnessed the breathtaking performance were Peggy Lipton, Brian Wilson, Neil Diamond and none other than Quincy Jones. Robert Hilburn, chief music critic at the Los Angeles Times during 1970, also wrote a glowing review of the Crocodile Rocker.

In celebration of the special anniversary, a special deluxe gatefold double LP edition of Elton’s spectacular debut album will be released. The self-titled album will be a Record Store Day exclusive and will be available from the 29th of August.

The reissue of the groundbreaking Elton John playfully matches the eccentric artist, as it will be pressed with a translucent purple vinyl finish. The two-disc LP will feature a 2016 remaster of the classic LP, bonus tracks from the 2008 CD edition and unreleased demos of both Bad Side of The Moon and Border Song. To say that fans are in for a treat would be a gross understatement!

Elton John took to social media on the 25th of August to honour the performance that changed his life. In a post on Instagram, the Tiny Dancer hitmaker shared the special moment with his 3m followers.

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50 years ago today, I played in America for the first time at @theTroubadour. As I wrote in @britishgq last week, that show changed my life. When I walked on stage on August 25, 1970, I was just a little-known pop singer from England. It didn’t take me long to realise afterwards, though, that things would never be the same again.

 Swipe through to see original video from that show, plus the scene from @rocketmanmovie that captured the emotions from that night so beautifully.

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn) on Aug 25, 2020 at 9:58am PDT

Featuring a snap of the legendary performance and a short clip from the wonderful Rocketman biopic, John captioned the nostalgic post: “When I walked on the stage on August 25th, 1970, I was just a little known pop singer from England. It didn’t take me long to realise afterward, though, that things would never be the same again.”  The post was greeted with a joyous reception from the star’s gigantic fanbase, receiving a whopping 116,000 likes and views. 

The Elton John Tracklisting will go as follows:

LP1 / SIDE A
1. Your Song
2. I Need You To Turn To
3. Take Me To The Pilot
4. No Shoe Strings On Louise
5. First Episode At Hienton
LP1 / SIDE B
1. Sixty Years On
2. Border Song
3. The Greatest Discovery
4. The Cage
5. The King Must Die

LP2 / SIDE A
1. Your Song (Piano Demo)
2. I Need You To Turn To (Piano Demo)
3. Take Me To The Pilot (Piano Demo)
4. Sixty Years On (Piano Demo)
5. Border Song (Piano Demo)
6. Bad Side Of The Moon (Piano Demo)

LP2 / SIDE B
1. Thank You Mama (Piano Demo)
2. All The Way Down To El Paso (Piano Demo)
3. I’m Going Home (Piano Demo)
4. Bad Side Of The Moon
5. Grey Seal
6. Rock And Roll Madonna

Set up his non-profit organization, the Elton John Aids Foundation, it is currently open to applications. The fund seeks “solutions that have strong potential to address specific challenges that have arisen for people already living with or at severe risk of HIV/AIDS and who are now at heightened risk as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Elton made the announcement of the fund via Twitter. He said: “For almost 30 years my foundation has prioritised the most vulnerable people to HIV, to end the AIDS epidemic and we’re committed to this during the COVID-19 crisis too.”

Later, the ‘Rocketman’ vocalist said that the fans would “help frontline partners to prepare for and respond to the pandemic and its effects on HIV prevention and care for the most marginalised communities.”

He added: “We must keep up momentum or else the results could be disastrous for people living with HIV and other infectious diseases. We are with you, we are thinking of you, we will not leave anyone behind.”

Today, I’m proud to announce that my Foundation @EJAF is launching a $1million COVID-19 Emergency Fund to make sure that our frontline partners can respond to the effects of COVID-19 on HIV care for the most marginalised communities around the world. pic.twitter.com/g4wh9dnd3d

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) April 4, 2020

On March 29, Elton John hosted the iHeart Living Room Concert For America. The concert raised funds for support in the US against COVID-19. An hour-long programme aired across FOX and iHeartRadio stations.

The event saw performances from Billie Eilish and brother Finneas, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, The Foo Fighters Dave Grohl and Alicia Keys. Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes also performed. The Backstreet Boys went back in time with their 1999 hit, ‘I Want It That Way’.

So, to summarise it best, Elton John was hailed by Lady Gaga as “the host with the biggest heart”. Plus, Billie Joe Armstrong deemed it “an honour”, as he performed an acoustic version of ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’.

The concert will see performances from Mariah Carey, Billie Eilish, Joe Armstrong from Green Day and Alicia Keys. But, there’s set to be more. So, all those participating will perform their homes in a bid to continue social distancing.

Originally, the iHeart Living Room Concert was scheduled for the annual iHeart Music Award. Of course, this event has since been canceled. iHeartRadio tweeted: “tribute to the front line health professionals and local heroes who are helping to fight the spread of COVID-19”

Furthermore, the concert will urge viewers to donate to charities including Feeding America and First Responders Children’s Foundation. These organizations are key in the fight against the pandemic. Their aim is to help first responders and victims of Covid-19.

We’re paying tribute to the front line health professionals and local heroes who are helping to fight the spread of COVID-19 with our iHeartRadio Living Room Concert For America this Sunday on @foxtv.

More details: https://t.co/AagguA5Hox #iHeartConcertOnFox pic.twitter.com/aAVbdVYGyu

— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) March 25, 2020

Recently, Sam Fender and Elton John performed a duet during last year’s post-Oscar’s charity party. Sam was scheduled to perform at Elton John’s Academy Awards Viewing Party, which as a result, raised money for the Elton John Foundation. John performed ‘Will We Talk? with Fender, a single from his debut album, ‘Hypersonic Missiles’.

Earlier on, while speaking to Billboard, Fender said of the invitation to perform with Elton, “It’s ridiculous. I was like, ‘Are you sure? You can have anyone you want.’”

Elton’s personal setlist included classics, ‘Tiny Dancer’, ‘I’m Still Standing’ and ‘Rocketman’. He also played ‘Bennie and the Jets’ and ‘Daniel’.