Ray hinted at a full Kinks comeback in 2018 with this never coming to fruition. Ray shared, “Well, it got shelved because of… other issues. But there’s still material there. When I get time.” Speaking on his inspiration for new tracks, Ray said the songs are stemming from “home demos” that he has been recording for around thirty years.

He shared, “We’ve got loads of songs there in pieces. There are about two or three songs I want to finish, and when they’re finished, I’ll put the whole thing together.”

Ray also delved into the feud between the original band members, speaking on the artistic differences between himself, his brother Dave Davies and drummer Mick Avory. He shared, “We’re just different animals. We found ourselves at a very young age being in each other’s faces. And we had to work with it somehow.”

Speaking on his brother Dave, Ray shared that he would need to “persuade [him] to come on too” if a full reunion were to happen. He continued, “You’ve gotta be careful because he’ll run off in one direction and I’ll [run] in mine… He’s like that. He stays in control.”

Ultimately, The Kinks reuniting hinges on the band being able to put together “a show that gives us the credit we deserve,” according to Ray.

In the absence of new music, The Kinks have recently released a new anthology series to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their formation. The anthology, titled The Journey, is a two-part compilation of their favourite moments from their catalogue. In a press release for The Journey, Ray Davies said, “Ask yourself the question, is this journey really necessary? …Yes!”

Dave Davies also shared his excitement, saying “I’m delighted with what I think is an inspiring selection of timeless and magical Kinks music.”

‘The Journey – Part 2′ is OUT NOW The band have handpicked a selection of songs, celebrating 60 years of The Kinks, one of the most influential rock bands ever! Dig into these iconic tracks and take yourself on a journey https://t.co/M6XuedWlXe pic.twitter.com/ixnXuop12g

— The Kinks (@TheKinks) November 17, 2023

Has ‘The Journey – Part 2′ had you dancing around all weekend like Ray and Mick? https://t.co/M6XuedWTMM pic.twitter.com/leHczMqAeR

— The Kinks (@TheKinks) November 20, 2023

Purchase The Journey here.

The show saw Damon Albarn dust off a wealth of old gems as well as some rarer songs making some surprising entries, playing “Pirate Jet” for the first time since 2010 and giving the D-Sides track “Rockit” it’s premier live debut. But the show’s Coup de Grâce was no doubt when a scratchy saw-toothed synth announced the arrival of “Cracker Island”. Check out the fan captured footage below;

The second track to get its first outing for the lucky crowd was “Silent Running” which combines the band’s distinctive electronic harmonies with their penchant for an unforgettable bass riff. Take a look for yourself in the video below;

To get a sense of just how impressive and varied Gorrilaz’s catalogue truly is, take a look at the setlist they laid out;

“M1 A1”
“Strange Timez”
“Last Living Souls”
“Tranz”
“Aries”
“Tomorrow Comes Today”
“Rhinestone Eyes”
“19-2000”
“Glitter Freeze” (First time live since 2017)
“Cracker Island” (with Thundercat) (World premiere)
“O Green World” (First time live since 2017)
“On Melancholy Hill”
“Pirate Jet” (First time live since 2010)
“El Mañana”
“Silent Running” (World premiere)
“Interlude: Elevator Going Up”
“Andromeda”
“Rockit” (Live debut)
“Dirty Harry” (with Bootie Brown)
“Superfast Jellyfish” (with Pos)
“Feel Good Inc.” (with Pos)
“Momentary Bliss”
“Plastic Beach”

In a typically cryptic Gorillaz brand of messaging, the aforementioned visuals saw the listless channel flipping of a giant television set, before arriving on “The Static Channel”, which may signify a new phase of the band’s creative output following their most recent Song Machine releases.

Gorillaz will be returning to the UK later in the summer and will headline the All Points East festival, alongside the likes of IDLES, Self Esteem, Yves Tumor, Femi Kuti, Turnstile, Remi Wolf, Ibeyi, Nia Archives, Willow Kane, Obongjayar, New Dad and Gabriels. The festival is located in London’s Victoria Park and takes place on Friday the 19^th of August 2022. You can find tickets here.

In recent news, Albarn popped up at both legs of Coachella 2022 and performed alongside Billie Eilish, performing her song “Getting Older” and his smash hit “Feel Good Inc.”. You can see their performance of “Feel Good Inc.” ft. De La Soul in the video below;

The “Shout Out To My Ex” singers took to their Instagram to announce the news to their fans.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Little Mix (@littlemix)

Between Us marks the group’s first album release since the departure of former member Jesy Nelson, the band’s fourth member announced that she would be leaving the group last year. The recently made trio consisting of members Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards, celebrated the 10th anniversary of their formation with the announcement of their new seventh studio album. The new release is not just a greatest hits album but will also feature five new unreleased tracks. Other material included within the album will further celebrate the group’s history, video footage from the group’s initial formation and musical birth within the televised talent show X Factor in 2011 will be also featured on the new album.

Within a press release, Edwards has provided the following statement concerning the upcoming release. “We can’t believe it has been 10 years. Time has flown, and when you look back we have done so much that we’re super proud of.” Thirlwall also commented on the band’s storied musical past. “It’s going to be great to have all our big hits as a band on one album for the first time, celebrating 10 massive years of Little Mix. The tracks also show how much we have grown as artists, from ‘Wings’ to ‘Heartbreak Anthem’.” Pinnock provided her own statement expressing her excitement concerning the release’s new material. “We’re also really excited to release five brand new Little Mix songs that we’ve been creating. We can’t wait for our fans to hear the new tracks we’ve been working on. We hope they love them as much as we do!”

Little Mix rose to fame as contestants within the X-Factor, the then quartet stole the show with their winning song “Cannonball”. Before their formation the four singers originally auditioned as solo artists but were brought together and became one of the biggest girl groups in the millennium. Since their emergence the group has released six studio albums, their most recent album Confetti was released on 6th November 2020 via RCA Records. The album reached number two within the UK Album charts and sired four singles. The album’s third single “Sweet Melody” reached the top of the UK singles charts and has been certified platinum within the UK. The last single “Confetti” was released on 4th November 2020 and marked the first-ever release without Nelson, the single was later released again as a remix with American rapper Saweetie on 30th April 2021.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @jesynelson

Ex-band member Nelson left the group after nine years of performing alongside her bandmates and cited her mental health due to the reason for her departure. Nelson has also announced the news of her new release, the singer has teased news for her debut solo single. The now solo artist has posted on Instagram alluding to the name of the new single, “Boyz” alongside a previous post stating this is a new chapter for the artist.

To mark the 40th birthday of the group’s 16th studio album, the band will release an anniversary version on 22nd October 2021. The album includes one of the band’s best-known songs “Start Me Up“, the anniversary edition will include all 11 of the original release’s tracks. Also included is unreleased material reimagined and boosted by newly recorded vocals from the group.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Rolling Stones (@therollingstones)

The new edition features unreleased tracks which were made during the original album’s recording and producing process. The newly embellished and unreleased tracks will be included on a special disc, Lost & Found: Rarities. The special disc’s tracklist includes “Living In the Heart Of Love”, a reworked cover of the Jimmy Reed song “Shame, Shame, Shame”, “Drift Away” originally sung by soul singer Dobie Gray and a reggae-infused version of “Start Me Up”.

The group’s anniversary release will also include a live album featuring a track listing of 26 songs. The new release’s companion entitled Still Life: Wembley Stadium 1982 further celebrates the 40th birthday of the group’s release for Tattoo You and documents a London concert held in June in support of the band’s Tattoo You tour. The live album features a wide variety of material, live recordings of the album’s tracks include “Neighbours” and “Hand Fire” and various covers of celebrated songs. Included within the covers is “Just My Imagination” originally performed by The Temptations and the catchy Miracles song “Going To A Go-Go”.

The anniversary edition will be available to purchase in multiple formats, including the standard CD package which features the deluxe double CD and a booklet of 20 pages which includes an essay by author Kevin Howlett and Jeff Slade. Fans will also be able to purchase a 4CD Super Deluxe Boxset which comes with 4 CDs, the reworked album, unreleased tracks over two CDs, Wembley Stadium live album and a Picture Disc featuring the group’s legendary guitarist Keith Richards. Also included within this option is a book full of rare photographs taken at the recording sessions and tour plus interviews with the album’s associate producer Chris Kimsey and many more.

The special release will also be available on wax, the anniversary edition will be released on Black Vinyl, 2LP Deluxe Black Vinyl, 2LP Deluxe Clear Vinyl (Exclusive to the Rolling Stones Store) and as a 5LP Super Deluxe Boxset which features the remastered album, live album as well as a hardback book with over 124 pages with the album’s associate producer’s interview and over 200 photos as well as other special features.

The original album’s release was on 24th August 1981 via Rolling Stones Records, the record label founded and run by the band and was actively involved within the music and recording industry until 1992 when the band signed to Virgin Records. The album comprises mostly of outtakes and unused studio recordings, due to the personal issues and a hectic touring schedule in which the group were undertaking.

The internal turmoil led to difficulties in booking studio times to rehearse and record, thus much of the album’s material is somewhat fragmented. Despite the hurdles faced when recording and producing the album, Tattoo Me received both commercial and critical success and remains one of the group’s underrated albums and reached number two within the UK Album charts and number one within the US Billboard 200.

The legendary group are set to hit the road this year on their ‘No Filer’ tour, the band will be performing in the US over 13 venue dates.

Click here to pre-order the anniversary release.

The album will consist of 15-tracks and a series of live performances of the hit songs Rudie Can’t Fail and I Fought The Law. These performances were from Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros live show at London’s Brixton Academy in 2001.

Yalla Yalla and Johnny Appleseed are among the famed tracks that will feature on Assembly, alongside three previously unreleased mixes of songs by The Clash. Notably, Joe Strummer’s cover of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song will be included in the album, as well as a song that has never been released in any form Junco Partner Acoustic by The Clash.

In 2020 it was announced that Dark Horse Records would be releasing music by Joe Strummer on its platform that year, Dhani Harrison (George Harrison’s son and now owner of Dark Horse Records), stated “It is with great pleasure and excitement that I can finally announce a new chapter for Dark Horse Records in the music industry alongside our friends at BMG. The label started by my father in 1974 has been a family business my whole life (and is indeed even the reason that my parents met.)

That same year Dark Horse released the Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros’ albums Rock Art and The X-Ray Style, Global A Go-Go, and Streetcore. Dhani Harrison continued explaining the new era that included Strummer saying that “From the Indian classical Ragas of Ravi Shankar to the Rock and Roll of ‘Attitudes’ I look forward to reintroducing, to a new audience, all of those artists that my father loved so much. We will also be expanding the Dark Horse family with new artists and classic catalogues in the coming years to include a rich and varied roster of incredible musicians whom we love. Please watch this space! With love, Dhani Harrison.”

Assembly Track List:

01 ‘Coma Girl’, ‘Johnny Appleseed’, ‘I Fought The Law’ (Live at Brixton Academy, London, 24 November 2001)
02 ‘Tony Adams’
03 ‘Sleepwalk’
04 ‘Love Kills’
05 ‘Get Down Moses’
06 ‘X-Ray Style’
07 ‘Mondo Bongo’
08 ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’ (Live at Brixton Academy, London, 24 November 2001)
09 ‘At The Border, Guy’
10 ‘Long Shadow’
11 ‘Forbidden City’
12 ‘Yalla Yalla’
13 ‘Redemption Song’
14 ‘Junco Partner’ (Acoustic)

The short series is called, ‘Songs I Wrote A Decade Ago’ and features four songs, ‘Life With Strangers’, ‘Timezones’, ‘Cave In’ and ‘No One Should Play God’. Josh thought he had lost them all and with very little memory has shared them one by one with details on how each song was created and what inspired them.

View this post on Instagram

Back when I was 18/19 I recorded some songs with @mattyjogrady which until very recently I had assumed had disappeared for good. He hit me up recently when clearing out some old hard drives and said he’d found a bunch of tunes we’d done & didn’t think he should just bin them. So that’s exactly what they are, songs that we haven’t just chucked in the bin. Shout out to @nathancottenham for putting some art together for it. I figured some people may wanna hear them, so its for you. I’ll be posting these tunes at 6pm tonight. Josh x

A post shared by Josh Franceschi (@joshfranceschivi) on Jul 2, 2020 at 1:55am PDT

Here’s a little explanation the man himself wrote: 

“Back when I was 18/19 I recorded some songs with Matt O’Grady which until very recently I had assumed had disappeared for good. He hit me up recently when clearing out some old hard drives and said he’d found a bunch of tunes we’d done & didn’t think he should just bin them. So that’s exactly what they are, songs that we haven’t just chucked in the bin.” 

So, without further ado, let’s check out ‘Songs I Wrote A Decade Ago’. 

LIFE WITH STRANGERS 

“So, I’m pretty sure we did this around about June 2009. This is the first song that Matt and I recorded that wasn’t a Ymas song. Like all of the songs I’m posting tonight, this has been untouched since we tracked it then.” 

View this post on Instagram

So I’m pretty sure we did this around about June 2009. This is the first song that @mattyjogrady and I recorded that wasn’t a Ymas song. Like all of the songs I’m posting tonight, this has been untouched since we tracked it then. Here’s the first one off ‘Songs I wrote a decade ago’. Josh x Produced by @mattyjogrady Artwork by @nathancottenham

A post shared by Josh Franceschi (@joshfranceschivi) on Jul 2, 2020 at 9:58am PDT

TIMEZONES 

“I vaguely remember recording this after we put out ‘Hold Me Down’. To be honest, if we’d done like a deluxe edition of the album, I would’ve showed the lads this one as I felt an acoustic song on HMD could’ve been cool. Anyways, we didn’t and again this one has been uncovered from the deep abyss that is Matt’s studio hard drive.” 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I vaguely remember recording this after we put out ‘Hold Me Down’. To be honest, if we’d done like a deluxe edition of the album, I would’ve showed the lads this one as I felt an acoustic song on HMD could’ve been cool. Anyways, we didn’t and again this one has been uncovered from the deep abyss that is @mattyjogrady ‘s studio hard drive. Second song from this collection. Produced by @mattyjogrady Artwork by @nathancottenham A post shared by Josh Franceschi (@joshfranceschivi) on Jul 2, 2020 at 10:15am PDT

CAVE IN 

“Ok, when it comes to this one I had genuinely forgotten it existed. I don’t remember writing it, I don’t recall recording it. If Matt says we did & got it on tape so to speak, then it must be true.”

View this post on Instagram

Ok, when it comes to this one I had genuinely forgotten it existed. I don’t remember writing it, I don’t recall recording it. If @mattyjogrady says we did & got it on tape so to speak, then it must be true Produced by @mattyjogrady Artwork by @nathancottenham

A post shared by Josh Franceschi (@joshfranceschivi) on Jul 2, 2020 at 10:59am PDT

NO ONE SHOULD PLAY GOD

“During these weird times, I’d actually been working on a new song, not sure what I was going to do with it. Turns out it was the same as this. Same guitar parts but different lyrics & melodies. Was weird when Matt sent me this tbh. Spun my head out. Anyway, this is how it is & how it’ll remain.” 

View this post on Instagram

During these weird times I’d actually been working on a new song, not sure what I was going to do with it. Turns out it was the same as this. Same guitar parts but different lyrics & melodies. Was weird when @mattyjogrady sent me this tbh. Spun my head out. Anyway, this is how it is & how it’ll remain. Last one of the four lost songs from a decade ago. X Produced by @mattyjogrady Artwork by @nathancottenham

A post shared by Josh Franceschi (@joshfranceschivi) on Jul 2, 2020 at 11:32am PDT

You can listen to all these songs here.