Win 2x Billy Ocean tickets

Would you like to see the great Billy Ocean perform live… free of charge!? Yes, we have two tickets for the man behind such classics as Caribbean Queen and When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going. All you have to do is select the right answer to the question ‘Which city was Billy Ocean born in?’ Click in…

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Diana Ross announces first album of original music in 22 years

Diana Ross is set to return with her first album of original music in 22 years. Thank You is scheduled for release in September 2021 and sees Ross working alongside a variety of contemporary songwriters and producers including Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde), Jimmy Napes (Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding), Tayla Parx (Ariana Grande) and Spike Stent…

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a-ha: The Movie director Thomas Robsahm interview

Since their formation 39 years ago a-ha have established themselves as the most famous and successful Norwegian pop band of all time. Now, their story is to be told in a major new documentary, a-ha: The Movie, which received its world premiere last week at the Tribeca Film Festival. In this interview, a-ha: the movie director Thomas Robsahm talks…

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The Most Poptastic Singles of 2019: Part 2

The countdown continues, from 5 to 2… 5. Mabel – Don’t Call Me Up Released: 18th JanuaryWriters: Kamille, Mabel, Steve MacTrivia: This song basically has the same concept as Telephone by Gaga and Beyoncé, which I (very rightly) chose as my no.1 most poptastic song of 2010. Let’s hope for more sassy call-rejecting anthems in the decade ahead.Best bits: 1….

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The Most Poptastic Singles of 2020: Part 1

After the bizarre year we’ve had, I feel like I should be writing about a strange year in music, but aside from the lack of gigs and a few albums pushed back, it’s actually turned out surprisingly normal. Compiling my top 10 this year, I found that it was made up of the same mix of superstars and up-and-comers,…

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The Most Poptastic Singles of 2020: Part 2

The countdown continues, from 5 to 2… 5. joan – want u back Released: 18th JuneWriters: Steven Rutherford, Alan Benjamin Thomas Trivia: It took me most of this music video to realise that there are only 2 members of joan, not 6, and they had used some visual trickery to turn themselves into triplets. All white guys look the same…

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Dausgaard’s Aptly Vicious Mandarin, Well Coupled

Review by: David Hurwitz Artistic Quality: 9 Sound Quality: 9 Complete recordings of Bartók’s alternately spooky and violent ballet The Miraculous Mandarin have become almost as common as those of its proximate inspiration, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. It’s no longer unusual to hear even “second tier” orchestras play the work splendidly, and aside from a certain lack of projection…

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Swan Hennessy’s Obscure Yet Worthy Piano Music

Review by: Jed Distler Artistic Quality: 9 Sound Quality: 8 Swan Hennessy (1866-1929) was born near Chicago, studied in Stuttgart as a teenager, and eventually made his way to Paris in 1903, where he lived for the rest of his life. His idiomatic and well-crafted piano music is hard to pigeonhole, although pianist Moritz Ernst’s excellent and informative annotations…

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