Dominic Harrison was born in Doncaster in South Yorkshire in 1997, having made brief TV acting appearances in shows like Emmerdale, before launching his music career under the moniker Yungblud in 2017. On his journey, he’s had to overcome allegations of being a music industry plant owing to his meteoric rise from nowhere as a solo rock artist. After debut album ‘21st Century Liability’ in 2018 and breakout EP ‘The Underrated Youth’ in 2019, his last 4 major releases have all been number ones on the Official UK Album Chart, starting with ‘Weird’ in 2020, and ‘Yungblud’ in 2022. Last year saw him release the first chapter of ‘Idols’, as well as hitting the top spot with legendary US rock band Aerosmith on their ‘One More Time’ collaboration EP.

At last year’s “Back To The Beginning” Black Sabbath farewell concert, he at least temporarily stole the show with a stunning performance of Sabbath’s hit ‘Changes’ alongside Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, Sleep Token drummer II, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello, and former Ozzy Osbourne keyboard player Adam Wakeman. On the 1st of February this year, they were recognised with the Grammy award for Best Rock Performance.

‘Idols’ was announced as a double album before the first part’s release in June 2025, following several single releases. Opening track ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’ dropped as the first single, a bold move considering its 9 minute runtime. However it proved to be an engaging promo for the album – an ever-shifting theatrical piece of rock and roll opera in the same vein as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and certainly more ambitious than the average teen-heartthrob singer would dream of. Later single ‘Zombie’ also made waves with its strained emotional sound and moving NHS-inspired music video starring Oscar-nominated actress Florence Pugh.

Build-up for the second half of ‘Idols’ began with the January release of a new take on ‘Zombie’, recorded with The Smashing Pumpkins. Following a chance encounter backstage at “Back To The Beginning”, their frontman Billy Corgan agreed to work on the single. Earlier this afternoon, Yungblud took to social media to announce that the album would be arriving far sooner than anyone anticipated – in two days time. In the post as well as announcing its release date on Friday the 20th of February, he also showed off the physical presses and the full track list for the complete ‘Idols’ compilation. In addition to the new version of ‘Zombie’, there are six new singles to round the package off. The full track-listing is:

Hello Heaven, Hello
Idols Pt. 1
Lovesick Lullaby
Zombie
The Greatest Parade
Change
Monday Murder
Ghosts
Fire
War
Idols Pt. 2
Supermoon

I Need You (To Make The World Seem Fine)
The Postman
Zombie (feat. The Smashing Pumpkins)
Time
War Pt. II
Blueberry Hill
Suburban Requiem

‘Idols II’ is available to pre-save and pre-order through this link. His “Yungblud Idols World Tour” in support of it starts in the UK this April, stopping in Sheffield, Liverpool, Belfast, Dublin, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Birmingham, London and Manchester. Dates and tickets are available here.

Bring Me The Horizon have announced a new concert film with a worldwide cinema release. Titled ‘L.I.V.E. In São Paolo (Live Immersive Visual Experiment)’, it is a recording of their biggest headline show to date, performed in 2024 in front of 50,000 people at the Allianz Parque Stadium in São Paolo, Brazil.

Bring Me The Horizon (BMTH) formed in Sheffield in 2004, when their members were all teenagers. Now 22 years into their existence as a band, vocalist Oli Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, and drummer Matt Nicholls are at the peaks of their careers. They began as a deathcore band, an extremely harsh offshoot of heavy metal, before changing trajectory with their fourth album ‘Sempiternal’ in 2013, which led them into more mainstream, and yet more experimental territory. In 2024 they had become so well regarded that they won that year’s BRIT Award for Best Rock/Alternative Act.

By 2020, they had become invested in a world of science-fiction and horror storytelling, crafting the lore for their “Post Human” campaign. The first part was sizeable EP ‘Post Human: Surival Horror’ in 2020, followed by LP ‘Post Human: Nex Gen’ in 2024. Both albums used alternate reality games and interactive elements in their social media promotions, which evolved into the conceptual live experience of their current tours.

A band always renowned for their pedigree as a live act, BMTH have made their shows into a truly unique experience. Frontman Oli Sykes’ playful interactions with the crowd, paired with their robotic companion “EVE” building a narrative on the screens throughout the show, has turned their appearances into something akin to a pantomime. It goes without saying that the music backs this up, with album-quality sound at every show, acoustic interludes and track lists spanning most of their catalogue.

Their Post Human touring cycles have brought them to many of the world’s biggest arenas and festival stages. For a band of their youth, it was a big surprise when they headlined Download Festival’s 20th anniversary in 2023, and they have so far headlined Reading and Leeds in 2022 and 2025.

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Of all their performances, the sold-out São Paolo one must be the most significant. Brazil is well-known for an incredibly enthusiastic fan culture and warm welcomes to travelling acts. The blurb on Bring Me The Horizon’s website says “Hailed by the band as their best show yet, the film expands the visual universe of Post Human, blending cinematic production, fan perspectives, and character cameos” (referring to their animated narrators).

‘L.I.V.E. In São Paolo’ is described as featuring footage from multiple cameras, drones, and fans in the crowd, designed to give the true experience of being there on the night. The setlist, which can be found here, spans their albums from ‘Sempiternal’ to ‘Post Human: Nex Gen’, with live favourites such as ‘Can You Feel My Heart’ and ‘Kingslayer’ included.

The release for the film begins with the international cinema run, falling on the 25th and 28th of March. It will then launch for home audiences on the 10th of April, and is currently available for preorder as a DVD or CD on Bring Me The Horizon’s merchandise website.

Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Anne Sulley, the three band members of The Human League excitedly made the announcement, futher fueling the anticipation and buzz surrounding the tour. Fans from all over the world expressed their excitement and eagerness to witness this disco party firsthand. With one fan commenting, “Cannot wait another years for this!! Love Sophie! See you in Manchester!!”

Cannot wait another year for this!! Love Sophie! See you in Manchester!!

— Lisa (@stockportgirly) November 10, 2023

Sophie Ellis-Bextor who is known for her early noughties pop hits such as “Murder of the Dance Floor” and “Groovejet“, will bring her infectious energy and captivating vocals to the tour. Additionally, T’Pau, led by the talented Carol Decker, will grace the stage with their powerful performances. With a number one album Bridge of Spies, T’Pau has left a memorable mark on the music industry. Their inclusion on the tour promises to bring their unique sound and unforgettable hits to the stage, such as the single “Heart and Soul“.

Kicking off in Cardiff in December 2024, The Human League will embark on a journey that will take them to various cities across the United Kingdom. Fans in Manchester, Birmingham, Brighton, Bournemouth, Glasgow, Leeds, and London will all have the opportunity to witness this spectacular event.

The tour is expected to be a celebration of the band’s iconic discography. Hailing from Sheffield, England, the synth-pop band The Human League was formed in 1977 as an experimental electronic group. Two years later, they signed with Virgin Records and went on to win the Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 1982. The Band have produced esteemed hits that have stood the test of time such as ” Don’t you want Me” and “Mirror Man”.

Back in October of this year in an interview about how the band as maintained popularity, Phillip Oakley said “I don’t know why we deserve to have the luck that we have had, seeing as we’re not especially talented or wonderful or anything. But somehow, I think we just got in the right teams at the right time and managed to keep it going.” He continued, “I think that if there is one thing that we have done, it’s we’ve been persistent. Times when a lot of people might have given up, we didn’t give up. And we stuck it out and when any one of us was finding it a bit hard, the other two kept it going, and that’s why we’re still here I think.”

With the promise of a disco party and fun for everyone attending, The Human League’s 2024 tour is shaping up to be an unforgettable experience. Tickets for the “Generations” tour can be purchased here.

The Human League Tour dates 2024

05/12/2024 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
06/12 – Manchester AO Arena – Manchester
07/12 – Utilita Arena Birmingham – Birmingham
09/12 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
10/12 – BIC Windsor Hall – Bournemouth
12/12 – OVO Hydro Arena – Glasgow
13/12 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
14/12 – Wembley OVO Arena – London

Last week, the Music Venue Trust revealed that 67 venues had closed so far in 2023 and the trust estimates that 100 venues will be closed by the end of the year, constituting for 10 per cent of the independent venues in the country.

The Music Venue Trust have been pushing big music industry players like major record labels and the country’s arena venues to pump more money into the independent music venue industry.

With this open letter, the Music Venue Trust has doubled down on this push by asking the UK Government to extend business relief for its members.

MVT CEO Mark Davyd told NME “Between us finishing our report at Friday at 5pm and coming back at 10am on Monday morning, two more venues closed,”. The venues reference were Jimmy’s in Liverpool and The Brass in Hastings, two venues which closed across the weekend.

Davyd continued, saying: “Our report shows that we’ve gone from 960 venues in October of last year to 835 that are actually operating. That’s 125 less and a 15.7 per cent decline. Venues haven’t just closed down, but some of them have also given up putting on live music. The only way that they could afford to survive was to stop putting on live music and start selling pizzas.”

“On top of that, there is the current relief of 75 per cent off business rates. That’s due to end on March 31, which means that venues will go back to paying the business rates they were paying in 2018. Without a doubt, that will see the sector collapse because there is no way that they can afford to pay it. That’s £15million in extra costs.”

Davyd is also pushing for the wider music industry, especially in the live music scene, to have a “major intervention” regarding the extreme issues independent music venues are facing. About this he said: “There’s going to have to be movement from the industry itself too. They can’t just sit around making oceans of money and declaring this to be the greatest year ever for live music, all while venues are closing down every day.”

“There have been 120 emergency response cases so far this year, and there are 60 live cases today from venues that are at risk of closing down. I don’t think people have really understood. When this happens, the impact rolls out everywhere. If there are 20 per cent less venues to play in next year, then that will mean that some tours just can’t happen.”

“These venues are all over the UK, and everything is in complete free-fall. It’s as dire as it can be. It’s not possible to exaggerate it at this point.”

The venue was closed for several months following a stampede outside the venue on the night of an Asake concert last December, in which two people died and major questions were asked of the security of the venue as it became known that the security had previously let those without tickets into the venue.

The decision to reinstate the venues license was made at a review hearing at Lambeth Town Hall on September 11^th and 12^th. The decision was made on the premise that 77 new conditions had to be met to ensure the safety of the venue.

Lambeth Councillor Dr Mahamed Hashi released a statement saying: “Stronger doors, new crowd management systems, more detailed risk assessments, a new ticketing system, a new centralised control and command centre as well as new security and management at the venue, were among the measures proposed by AMG at the hearing to support their aim of regaining the venue’s licence so it can reopen, and making sure we never see a tragedy again like the one there in December 2022.

AMG will now need to put in place the agreed measures to enable the reopening of this much-loved local venue, which is a key part of Brixton’s cultural heritage and has been enjoyed by millions. We’ll be working to closely monitor all licensing conditions to ensure that safety is at the forefront of the venue’s future operations.”

A timeline for the venue’s reopening has yet to be announced as well as the nature of the test events that will test the venue’s new procedures and systems.

AMG (Academy Music Group), the company that runs the venue released a statement saying: “Over the past nine months the venue’s importance to the local community and the live music scene in the UK has been made clear through first-hand professional testimony, campaigns, and petitions as well as economic assessments demonstrating the financial impact to the surrounding area caused by the closure,”

“Academy Music Group is determined to learn all appropriate lessons from the night of December 15, 2022. Working at a senior level with experts across all disciplines, AMG presented a comprehensive, multi-faceted response for the licensing authorities to support their case for the safe and secure reopening of the venue. We appreciate having had the opportunity to present these detailed proposals and revised licence conditions at the hearing and we are very grateful they met with the approval of the Licensing Sub-Committee.”

Many will be happy to hear that the historic venue is reopening, as evidenced by a petition that was launched last April called #SaveBrixtonAcademy, in which over 116,000 people signed the petition including big names like The Prodigy.

The show was packed with special guests and a very excited crowd as Eilish herself had to stop the show four times and ask the crowd to calm down.

Amongst the guests was London-based rapper, singer and producer Labrinth who came out to perform their collaborative track, ‘Never Felt So Alone’ from Labrinth’s album Ends & Begins, released earlier this year.

Eilish wasn’t done with special guest appearances however as super group Boygenius took to the stage after wowing audiences at Gunnersbury Park just over a week ago (August 20) to perform ‘When the Party’s Over’, a single from Eilish’s first album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

Another angle of boygenius performing When The Party’s Over with Billie Eilish at her show tonight!! pic.twitter.com/v3vO7CLSd3

— phoebe on tour (@bridgersontour) August 29, 2023

Her set comprised of huge fan-favourite singles such as ‘Bad Guy’ and ‘Happier Than Ever’ but she also performed rarities for the crowd such as ‘My Boy’ and ‘Wish You Were Gay’.

It wasn’t such a straight forward show however, as three songs into her set she stopped mid-performance during ‘Therefore I Am’ two times in order to encourage the crowd to check on the crowd amid crowd crushing, urging security to give out water to the crowd. “Can we get some water for these folks? Like where is security? Am I security now?” she frustratingly exclaimed to the audience.

The show was marred with crowd and security concerns from Eilish as she repeatedly addressed her frustration to the crowd by saying: “I haven’t played a small venue in literally six years. I’ve forgotten how to do this… I’m having an anxiety attack right now,” later following this up by adding “This felt like a good idea… Once. You guys look like you’re gonna die, take a step back.”

Her frustrations with security did not stop there as later on in the set she was still not happy as she addressed the crowd once more: “No one is answering me,”. She later had a break in the set to allow security to give out water and to provide a break for the excitable crowd, saying to the crowd: “Who needs an inhaler? I feel like I’m babysitting. Do you feel ok for me to keep going?”.

The intimate show was a surprise one that was only announced 3 days prior, in between her headlining sets at Reading and Leeds festival. Unsurprisingly, tickets for the show sold out instantly and fans were clearly fanatic about seeing a megastar such Billie Eilish at such a small venue.

The set was confirmed by the festival on Thursday but still took some festival goers by surprise, even though the indie legends had previously hinted at a possible return to Reading and Leeds last month on Twitter (X).

If only there was a way we could play this on stage @OfficialRandL this year let’s work something out https://t.co/RGHxqQTqzA

— Bombay Bicycle Club (@BombayBicycle) July 21, 2023

The North London based indie heavyweights blasted their way through an eight track setlist, incorporating well-known classics like “Always Like This“, “Luna” and “Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)” with material from their upcoming album, My Big Day, set to be released later this year on October 20th via Island Records, including the lead and title track from said album, “My Big Day“.

Frontman Jack Steadman, perhaps referencing their previous Reading and Leeds set back in 2014 when they played to an empty tent, admitted part way in the set, “We weren’t sure anyone was going to show up”. This time, however, the gates were well and truly open and the indie legends filled the dance tent with ease, with Steadman offering his thanks for making this a reality, saying, “This is wonderful. Thank you, guys. It’s good to see you”.  Watch footage of Bombay Bicycle Club’s opening set below:  

@officialrandl Welcome back @Bombay Bicycle Club ❤️ #randl23 #readingfestival #festival ♬ original sound – Reading & Leeds Festival

The full setlist can be found below:

“Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)”
“Shuffle”
“My Big Day”
“Lights Out, Words Gone”
“Evening / Morning”
“Luna”
“Carry Me”
“Always Like This”

Earlier this week on Wednesday Bombay Bicycle Club also released a brand new single, “I Want To Be Your Only Pet“, another track, the third released to date after “My Big Day” and “Diving“, a Holly Humberstone collaboration, that will feature on the band’s upcoming sixth studio album.

The indie rock group, consisting of Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Ed Nash (bass), and Suren de Saram (drums), formed in 2005. After releasing demos of songs on Myspace, the band entered the music scene for good after winning Virgin Mobile’s “Road to V” competition in the summer of 2006, enabling them to perform at the 2006 V Festival with the opening slot. And now here they are opening Reading and Leeds to a set of adoring fans, the very definition of full circle.

The Met Office have issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms across the North-east of England stretching from Newcastle to the Leeds and Bradford area.

Met Office metrologist Jonathan Vautrey says “There’s a reasonable chance that some showers will pass over Leeds and Reading over the course of the day. Particularly for Leeds, they are within the yellow warning area that we currently have out just because winds are going to be lightest across that north-eastern area of England today. That will mean those showers are slower moving at times, so rainfall is likely to accumulate in specific locations a bit more.”

When talking about both festival sites he also exclaimed that both Reading and Leeds “do have the potential for seeing some lightning and thunder” during the Saturday.

My Vautrey also warns of the possibility of some flooding across Leeds which could cause logistical issues in and out of the festival.

Yorkshire is expected to get he worst of the conditions in particular, with the yellow thunderstorm warning expected to take effect until 8pm.

Yellow weather warning issued

Thunderstorms across eastern parts of England
Saturday 1100 – 2000

Latest info https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs

Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/fxmGDJePa5

— Met Office (@metoffice) August 26, 2023

Attendees at Leeds will be hoping to avoid any thunder and lightning as Sam Fender and Foals are both expected to headline the Saturday night as Reading festival will be headlined by The Killers and The 1975.

For Leeds, the threat of thunder and lightning will only last the Saturday, although the festival is still expected to be exposed to the threat of torrential rain across the entirety of the Sunday with quick heavy downpours expected to merge alongside longer spells of rain.

The Killers and The 1975 headline Leeds festival on the Sunday whilst Billie Eilish and Imagine Dragons headline Reading festival.

Reading is expected to be less at risk for rain on the Sunday, however after some expected sunny spells in the morning, there is some possibility of showers as the day progresses into the evening time.

Temperatures for both Reading and Leeds will fluctuate between 19 degrees during the afternoon and around 11/10 degrees later at night across the entirety of the festival.

Both Reading and Leeds are expected to have sunny conditions as many festival goers exit the respective festivals on the Monday, hopefully ensuring for safe conditions and minimal disruption as thousands depart the festival sites.

blur presents The Ballad of Darren live at @EventimApollo London on 25th July. The only full album live performance. Plus global livestream.

Pre-order the album via the blur official shop for access to the ticket sale on 18th July. Livestream on sale now.https://t.co/wBEARrfq3g pic.twitter.com/kaCVrRaXK7

— blur (@blurofficial) July 11, 2023

The unique show will see the English Britpop icons perform the highly-anticipated The Ballad Of Darren, in its entirety, for the first and only time. The event will also be live-streamed via specialists Driift, allowing fans worldwide the chance to witness and experience the new album live along with those who can make it to the live event in London.

Listen to “The Narcissist” below:

Additionally, the livestream will rebroadcasted three times, allowing fans of differing timezones the opportunity to witness Blur in their live glory, and the show will also be available on demand for a further two days.

The timings for the broadcasts are as follows:

Live: Tuesday, July 25th 9.00pm BST
Rebroadcast #1: Tuesday, July 25th 8.00pm EDT
Rebroadcast #2: Tuesday, July 25th 8.00pm PDT
Rebroadcast #3: Wednesday, July 26th 8.00pm AEST
On Demand: Wednesday, July 26th at 1.00pm BST – Friday, July  28th at 1.00pm BST

Blur will go into the live album performance on the back of a truly wondrous weekend that saw them perform two consecutive dates in front of a combined 150,000 fans at Wembley. The weekend at Wembley, combined with a preceding run of English and European dates along with the announcing of a brand new album with a live performance of it in its entirety to boot, has well and truly seen Blur come storming back into the limelight of the UK music scene and their productivity since their reunion back in November has, no doubt, left fans of the Britpop legends in dumbstruck awe.

Watch the music video for “Song 2” below:

Formed in 1988, Blur have released eight studio albums in total, with The Ballad Of Darren set to be their ninth. Six of these albums have reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart, cementing Blur’s status as a pioneering band of the Britpop sound and as one of the UK’s most successful and formidable groups of the last 30 years.

Tickets for the live show are will be available from 10am on Tuesday 18th July to those who pre-order the album.

You can pre-order The Ballad Of Darren here.

Tickets for the live show will be available here.

Tickets for the livestream are available to purchase here.

Image: Raymond Flotat