Merky FC was inspired by the lack of leadership positions held by those with Black Heritage. The partnership currently “creates a multi-year career programme, and opportunities for those who do not currently have fair access and representation within the industry.”

Amidst the launch of their second season on the programme (beginning October 2023), Stormzy and Adidas have released a report that highlights the importance of allyship within the football industry.

In a recent report published by Merky FC, the partnership announced their expansion, as they increase the number of football industry positions they recruit for from 15 to 50. Both Stormzy and Adidas are calling on their allies to form part of a career programme, which will commence in January 2024.

#Merky FC is back, but this year, we’ve got to go bigger.

Share one of the 50 #MerkyFC roles with a friend now to change the game. https://t.co/pllMjqO5zv@adidasfootballpic.twitter.com/qXSodEy07V

— Stormzy (@stormzy) October 5, 2023

All roles will include placements with leading brands, that will offer work experience in an effort to change the game for Black and Black Heritage youth. The Merky FC partners offering placements in this season of the programme are:

Adidas
Arsenal FC
EA
Football Co (GOAL)
Fulham FC
Guild
Hill & Knowlton Strategies
Homeground
IMG
ITV
JOE
KSS
LADbible
Manchester United
#Merky FC
Scottish FA
SI Games
Sky Sports
Soccerbible
TEAM
The Midnight Club
Transferroom
Twelfth Man
Veo
Wasserman
Women In Football

According to the report, 56 per cent of young Black and mixed-Black heritage people aspire to work in the industry, yet only 6.7 per cent of senior roles in football are occupied by someone from this community, and this partnership aims to break through these barriers to entry and provide more representation within football.

A press release states “adidas and Stormzy understand that allyship alone cannot tackle the disparities within the industry, however by using the #Merky FC approach – referring candidates, mentorship programmes and establishing role models, believe this can be replicated across the industry to help boost representation. “

Those interested in registering their interest in the roles Merky FC are offering can do so by clicking here. The deadline for registering interest is October 19th.

Following analysis by the Official Charts Company – whose data additionally revealed that more than one billion of the singer-songwriter’s streams had been garnered in the last 12 months – Sheeran was presented with the prestigious award by Rizzle Kicks member Jordan Stephens on behalf of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The Suffolk superstar, who claimed his trophy in a record store, was quick to express gratitude to fans in an Instagram video, saying: “Thank you so much for all the streams. It’s a pleasure, I love being British.”

Later on, he added in a statement: “It’s wonderful to receive the first-ever BRIT Billion Award in the UK for 10 billion streams. I want say a big thank you to my fans. None of this is possible without you guys.”

Meanwhile, BPI Chief Executive Dr. Jo Twist applauded the singer for his new milestone:

“We congratulate Ed Sheeran and his team on this landmark achievement. Ed may represent the pinnacle of streaming success, but he is also among the thousands of artists who are being streamed in the tens and hundreds of millions in the UK each year and who are thriving thanks to streaming and label support. We look forward to honouring many more artists, including future talent, with a BRIT Billion award.”

Sheeran, who in June was named the UK’s most-played artist for the sixth time in eight years, has dominated the charts throughout most of his career – with all six of his studio albums peaking at number one. The seven-time Brit Award winner has made Official Charts history countless times, breaking records including becoming the first British solo artist to claim a full year at No.1.

Listen to Ed Sheeran’s most recent number one single, “Eyes Closed“, below:

He currently holds three of the 10 most-streamed songs of all time with “Shape Of You” in second place, “Perfect” at number three and “Bad Habits” claiming the ninth spot. As the recipient of the Gold BRIT Billion Award, Sheeran joins an exclusive club of similarly high-achieving acts including ABBA, Whitney Houston and most recently, Billie Eilish.

Last week, the songwriter released his latest studio effort, Autumn Variations, his second record this year following May’s chart-topping release Subtract. 

Listen to Autumn Variations here.

The singer said on Instagram that it was “a song that changed my life and i hope will change yours!! i remember finishing this song in stockholm and texting my friend ‘i have written the best song maybe ever’ and i was not wrong. i just love this song and i believe in its power for good and i can’t wait to scream it on tour and feel rooms and rooms of people round the world feeling and dealing and healing!!!!!!!” 

The Brighton singer even got invited onto The Tonight Show featuring Jimmy Fallon to perform her new song on the day of its release. Here is what she said on Instagram about the performance: “my first time on the tonight show i’m very honoured and very excited, the good witches late night debut!!!!! it feels correct.”

You can watch the performance here:

Maisie Peters’ began her music career uploading videos of her singing to Youtube. She independently released two singles before signing to Atlantic Records in 2018. With Atlantic records, she released two EP’s Dressed Too Nice for a Jacket and It’s Your Bed Babe, It’s Your Funeral. She has been a support act for many big names, including being a favourite of Ed Sheeran, whom signed her to his own record label Gingerbread Man Records in 2021. With them, she released her first album You Signed Up For This, which debuted at #2 on the UK top charts. The first single “Body Better” off the new album was released in January.

As well as playing a string of other festivals across the world this summer, Peters’ has been announced as one of the headliners of The Great Escape, which is set to begin on Friday 12th May and is in her hometown of Brighton. She is also headlining Sound City festival in Liverpool at the end of April, and playing at TRNSMT festival this summer alongside Sam Fender, Niall Horan and many more great artists.

Her second album The Good Witch will be released on June 16th 2023. After the release, Maisie Peters will be headlining the biggest show of her career at Wembley OVO Arena in November in London. She announced the show on Instagram, saying “i truly cannot believe i am saying this but … i am going to be playing ovo wembley arena on the 3rd november 2023.” She continued to say, “this is gonna be the most magical show yet, my biggest headline show ever + the album will be out + of course there will be fun surprises and perhaps even specials guests.”

Stream the new single here:  

Aside from festivals, Maisie Peters is also playing a short UK tour over April:

14/04/23 – Newcastle University Student Union – Newcastle

15/04 – Assembly Rooms – Edinburgh

18/04 – Leadmill – Sheffield

19/04 – 02 Academy Leicester – Leicester

21/04 – Norwich Nick Rayns LCR UEA – Norwich

22/04 – 02 Academy Oxford – Oxford

23/04 – Tramshead – Cardiff

27/04 – Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith – London

12/05 – Brighton Dome – Brighton

There is limited availability, but tickets for all shows can be purchased here.

The Scottish singer and songwriter wrote on social media: “Hope you’re all doing okay, here’s a wee update.” Attached to the Tweet were three screen shots, two of which explained the artists reasoning behind postponing his live shows. He wrote: “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been terrified about making my next album since the moment I finished ‘Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent.”

“Despite having all this extra time to write, all the COVID restrictions have made it harder to go and record stuff I’ve been working on or even be around all the people I loved working with on the first album.”

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A post shared by Lewis Calamari (@lewiscapaldi)

He continued: “I really want to make sure whatever I put out next is the absolute best it can be… I’ve made the difficult decision to reschedule this years shows and put all my effort into making the best album I can for you.”

Capaldi also said that he has written ‘” loads of tunes” and that he is looking forward to sharing them. He added: “I’m really sorry I wont be out there with you this year but I’ll be back in 2022 with new music and a s*** load of shows in as many places as I can possibly get across the world.”

Among the rescheduled dates is his performance at the London O2 Arena and his appearance at the Isle of White Festival. He has also pulled out of this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival.

Lewis is currently working on the follow-up to the number one album ‘Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent.’

The Scottish sensation first hit the UK music scene with his debut EP ‘Bloom,’ in October 2017. The following year, he was named as one of Vevo’s Artists to Watch, and he also won Best Acoustic at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards. Capaldi has gone on to win several high profile awards, including Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards for his breakthrough single ‘Someone You Loved.” Capaldi’s last album, ‘Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent’, passed one million in UK chart sales last September and held the Best Selling Album’s title in both 2019 and 2020.

Speaking with Clash about his first album, Capaldi said: “Everyone always tells you about how amazing recording their first album was and how they’ll always look back on the ‘process’ with fond memories. I will look back on it as an extremely stressful time that somehow also managed to be extremely boring.”

Lewis Capaldi’s rescheduled UK Tour will commence in Summer 2022, kicking off his return to live performing at the Isle of White Festival 2022.

UK Tour 2022 and Rescheduled Dates:

17/06/22 – Isle of Wight Festival
24/06 – Musgrave Park – Cork
25/06 – Malahide Castle – Dublin
26/06 – Ormeau Park – Belfast
29/06 – Lytham Festival – Lancashire
06/07 –  Castlefield Bowl – Manchester
07/07 –  Open Air Theatre – Scarborough
10/07 – TRNSMT Festival – Glasgow
22/07 – Latitude Festival – Suffolk
01/09 – The O2 Arena – London (Original date 14/10/21)
02/09 – The O2 Arena – London (Original date 15/10/21)

Details about ticket release and sales are yet to be confirmed.

Announcing the news on Instagram, Evan’s wrote: “Wellerman is a UK NUMBER 1! I still don’t believe it….Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of yous that bought the single and listened to it. This is just the start!! #WellermanForNumberOne.”

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A post shared by NathanEvanss (@nathanevanss.ig)

Evans initially released his version of the sea shanty last year via the platform TikTok, and it immediately became an internet sensation. Releasing a video on Instagram earlier this year, he expressed his astonishment having gone from a postman to signing a record deal with a major label in a matter of months.

The sea shanty track, remixed with 220 Kid and Billen Ted, has been in the top three for the past seven weeks, finally reaching the number one spot this week. Speaking to Officialcharts.com, 220 Kid, who remixed ‘Wellerman’ along with Billen Ted, said: “Official Number 1 single – I can’t believe it! It’s a dream come true. No matter how much goes wrong, or how many obstacles you reach, as long as you overcome them, you will eventually get there. The support on this record has been unbelievable. It’s really been magical. Thank you so much.”

Last week the sea shanty artist performed his rendition of ‘Wellerman’ on the hit TV show Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night takeaway. Closing the show, Ant and Dec joined Evan’s on stage, dressed in nautical outfits and also accompanied by legendary Queen guitarist Brian May. 

‘Wellerman,’ a 19th Century sea shanty originating from New Zealand, and is about a whaling crew waiting for ‘sugar, tea and rum’ to arrive from Australia. Sea shanty’s traditionally accompanied rhythmical labour aboard British and European large merchant ships. Speaking to Rolling Stone, the Scotsman expressed how sea shanties were influential when he was growing up.  

Born in Airdrie, Scotland, Evans started his TikToks covering songs by well-known UK artists such as Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran. Asking his followers for suggestions about which songs to cover, the sea shanty ‘what shall we do with the drunken sailor,’ was suggested. The cover version of ‘Wellerman’ took off and became a sensation, with others on the platform uploading their own renditions, including UK artist Gary Barlow. 

Announcing his debut tour last month, the ‘Wellerman’ star will be touring across the UK in late 2021 and in Europe in early 2022.  

Other songs in this week’s UK singles charts Top Five include: ‘Latest Trends’ by A1 & J1, ‘Patience’ by KSI featuring Yungblood & Polo G, ‘The Business’ by Tiesto, and ‘Friday’ by Riton/NightCrawlers/Mufasa. 

‘Wellerman is available to listen to on Spotify and Apple Music. You can also view the music video for Wellerman’ on Youtube: 

Fans are speculating that Dixie D’Amelio could be a possible feature on the new release because Apple Music credits her as a contributor under their search engine. However, this surprise has yet to be confirmed by Payne.

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A post shared by Liam Payne (@liampayne) on Oct 27, 2020 at 8:13am PDT

The release of Naughty List is set to drop this Friday, the day before Payne’s livestream concert ‘The Halloween Special’ is set to air. Tickets for the livestream event are on sale today and will be Act 3 of Payne’s YouTube series ‘The LP Show’.

In December of 2019 Payne released his first debut album as a solo-artist, LP1, which did not receive critical praise. However, off this album Payne released his first Christmas song called All I Want (For Christmas) which joined Strip That Down and Bedroom Floor as successful tracks amongst an unsuccessful album.

Following the release of LP1, Payne collaborated with Alesso on the 6 track EP Midnight, which did see critical acclaim for the 27-year-old artist in 2020. The title track Midnight was released with its accompanying music video in April and rose in the UK charts for the summer season.

 

 

 

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Thanks to everyone that has listened to #Midnight, 50 million plays on @spotify is really something. Special thanks to @alesso for inviting me onto this track with him

Payne’s short solo-career, follow the indefinite hiatus of One Direction back in 2016, saw peak success with the song Strip That Down which held the number 3 seat in the UK Charts in 2017. On this hit track Payne worked with Ed Sheeran who is credited as a cowriter. Sheeran is among big names such as Rita Ora, Zedd, Pharrell Williams and more who Payne has worked with during his solo-stint.

As well as being known as a renowned songwriter, having written over half the songs on the 3rd and 4th One Direction albums, he also works as a producer under the moniker Payno. Payne sits as a director for One Made Productions Limited which has most notably produced the alt-band 5 Seconds of Summer.

Payne has been unable to plan a tour for his first debut album due to safety concerns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, but as found success performing livestream events for The LP Show. Naughty List will be available this Friday, tickets are online for his upcoming livestream show ‘Halloween Special’ and his album LP1, as well as the EP Midnight, are available on all streaming platforms.