Blues legend Etta James was finally laid to rest last Saturday, surrounded by hundreds of mourners and fellow celebrities who had come to pay their respects to the singer who had helped to inspire and shape their own careers.

R&B and Blues singer Etta James was diagnosed with leukaemia earlier in the year and finally passed away on the 20^th January 2012 at the age of 73, much to the sadness of her fans and friends everywhere. James was hailed by many as ‘the greatest of all modern blues singers’ and despite having a somewhat troubled life that was plagued with bouts of drug dependency, enjoyed a musical career that spanned almost six decades – a triumphant feat for a female R&B star.

After her death, scores of celebrities and like-minded divas choose to pay tribute to the ‘At Last’ singer, with celebrities such as Beyoncé and Adele opening up within days of her death to talk of how the sultry singer had influenced their own careers.

Speaking on her blog, Beyoncé told of how ‘Playing Etta James taught me so much about myself, and singing her music inspired me to be a stronger artist.’

Superstar Adele also took to her blog to write ‘What a lady Etta James was. She was the ultimate original.’

Several stars including Christina Aguilera and Stevie Wonder attended the singer’s funeral, which was conducted at Los Angeles’s City of Refuge church. During the service a rendition of the much-loved classic ‘At Last’ was sung by an emotional Christina Aguilera.

The service was finished poignantly with cries from Reverend Sharp of ‘Etta, you made it, you’re going home. At last! At last! At last!’

New kid on the block Lana Del Ray has become an overnight star, but with the recent revelations concerning her ‘plain Jane’ past the singer has come under fire from fans and music critics who have branded the star a ‘fake’. So who is Lana Del Ray? And what happened to failed singer Lizzy Grant, the conventional pop singer before the dramatic name change and online success?

Initially, when singer Lana Del Ray first burst onto the music scene with her sultry tones and unusual styling as a ‘gangster Nancy Sinatra’, audiences everywhere instantly warmed to her haunting voice and bee stung lips, convinced that an underground artist with an authentic sound had staggered out into the light of mainstream music. This was largely the result of online hit ‘Video Games’ which went viral, receiving over 20 million hits on YouTube and attracting the attention of music fans worldwide.

So what went wrong? Throughout the course of recent weeks Lana Del Ray has since experienced a backlash of large proportions from the public, who since hearing of the songstress’s past have expressed feelings of betrayal.

With Del Ray’s portrayal as a ‘struggling’ singer being revealed as nothing more than a carefully contrived image set up by the singer’s management team, along with her name, which is in fact Lizzy Grant and not the more glamorous Lana Del Ray, fans seem to have spectacularly turned on the singer and branded her a ‘fake’.

Regardless of whether her name is Lizzy or Lana, one thing that music critics have been unable to criticise is her undeniably amazing voice! To decide how you feel about Lana Del Ray, why not listen to her debut album ‘Born To Die’?

Having first hit the music scene in 1998, Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy are rumoured to be reforming the original Sugababes in order to release a comeback album.

The girl group first shot to fame in the 90s with their debut album ‘One Touch’ which was released in 2000 and brought the girls to the attention of the music industry. However after only one album, red headed Siobhan decided to quit the group amidst talk of bullying at the hands of her fellow band mates.

After Siobhan’s swift exit from the group, the other girls then also gradually disappeared one by one from the group, being rapidly replaced by a new girl band member which has resulted in the current line-up which consists of the gorgeous Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen.

However, rumours that the original Sugababes threesome are to reunite have recently surfaced, fuelled by comments from singer and songwriter Emeli Sande. The ‘Heaven’ chart topper recently confirmed some of the rumours that the band were to reform.

When asked if she was helping to write new material for the group, Sande responded with ‘Yes, that is true. I’ve written for the original line-up of the Sugababes, which I’m very happy about because I just loved them when they first came out.’

The three Sugababes originals are now reportedly working hard on a collection of tracks for their debut album as a new group, which sources claim have a more soulful feel in comparison to the pop orientated tunes that are being released by the current Sugababes line up.

We loved them the first time, but will the older and hopefully now wiser three girls be as much of a hit the second time around? Only time will tell.

The superstar singer and song-writer Adele, has been forced to rely on a voice-generating application on her smartphone in order to communicate with other people.

The ‘someone like you’ star has resorted to this extreme and unusual action, as a result of her recent surgery for the removal of a benign polyp in her throat. The poorly singer uses the device in a style similar to Dr Stephen Hawking’s in order to communicate when out and about, as she has been given strict instructions from the doctor to rest her voice, in order to help it heal fully.

Thankfully, the singer who has recently endured a string of throat problems, was able to happily announce on her blog that her voice was ‘on the mend’, but went on to say ‘I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice forever.’

A large number of fans from the UK and USA were devastated to learn that the singer’s recent health problems meant that she had to cancel all of her remaining live dates for the year, including a number of gigs in the UK and several in North America. However, support for the star has been continually pouring in, as both fans and celebrities urge the star to rest and make a speedy recovery.

Adele has recently enjoyed phenomenal success with her album ‘21’ which was inspired by the painful breakdown of a past relationship, and contains heart-breaking tunes that have seemingly struck a chord with audiences everywhere. As a result, everyone is eager to see the star take her incredible voice back on stage and wow audiences once again.

Get well soon Adele!

Global superstars, and all-round rock legends – the band ‘Muse’ have found themselves over the past couple of days shrouded under a cloak of rumours and confusing speculation over whether they will be continuing to make music together.

Terror recently began to spread amongst Muse fans across the globe, as malicious rumours surfaced of the band’s impending split. Luckily for the concerned fans, the band has dismissed these latest rumours as being categorically false, and have revealed that the gossip was the result of a cruel hoax that went too far.

News of the band’s ‘split’ first came to light a few days ago, when a fake ‘NME.com’ page was sent out across Twitter, spreading the news that the band was sadly no more. The hoaxers even made a false post on the band’s official message board, which claimed that the band had decided to break-up as the result of an argument, causing panic amongst Muse fans everywhere.

Thankfully, the band’s current situation couldn’t be any further from what the rumours had suggested. The trio from Devon are currently enjoying working on their sixth studio album, which will be released in 2012 as a follow-up to their previous success with hit album ‘The Resistance’.

Despite the scare caused by the recent rumours, the band have continued to ride the wave of their success from the past couple of years, and even headlined at this year’s Leeds and Reading festival, with earth-shattering performances that made them look set to enjoy even further victories in the New Year!

The usually sombre Janet Devlin finally seemed to have something to smile about last weekend – after being voted out of the hit TV show, the X factor!

Much to the surprise of everyone, the usually timid 16 year old seemed incredibly chirpy after the news broke that she was to leave the popular singing contest. Janet, who famously caught the attention of the public with her awe-inspiring rendition of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’, appeared more relieved than devastated after the judges decided that she would be the next contestant to leave the show. Her departure took place after she found herself in the bottom two of the results, and was forced to battle the fierce Misha B in a tense sing-off.

Shockingly, after the two girls had sung for survival, Kelly Rowland (who was mentor to both girls) chose to not vote for which girl should stay, ultimately resulting in Janet being booted out of the competition. However, the shy red-head seemed to display no hard feelings towards her mentor for her seeming betrayal, and instead openly smiled with relief at her chance to leave the show.

When asked about her departure from the competition, Janet spoke of her reluctance towards the show in her final weeks, saying ‘I don’t have THAT kind of X factor’, before adding ‘I would have felt guilty if I had won the show. I was like ‘I cannot win this show, because if I win people are going to expect something they won’t get.’

Now that Janet has seemed to escape the ‘conventional’ pop-star making machine that is the X Factor, we only hope that the young star can use her unique talent to make music that will keep that new smile on her face!

Jennifer Lopez wowed audiences at the latest American Music Awards, with her sexually-charged performance alongside rapper Pitbull. The 42-year-old mother danced across the stage in a flesh coloured cat suit that was encrusted with sequins, and pulled off seductive moves that would have challenged somebody half her age.

The Latino star performed with an energy and fieriness that pulled the house down – and it was reported that long after the star had left the stage, it was her performance that was still the main talking point of the evening.

However, J-Lo wasn’t the only female celeb to enjoy success that night, as the night definitely became one for the ladies! A whole host of other fierce females were recognized for their outstanding talents, with artists such as Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé winning awards for their recent achievements. Adele, who has recently suffered from an unfortunate vocal injury that has left her unable to sing, finally had something to smile about as the night left her with three trophies.

Unfortunately, for the usually very talented Christina Aguilera the night wasn’t as much of a success. The ‘Dirty’ star came under fire on the night for her shabby performance, and there couldn’t have been a bigger contrast between her and the considerably more energetic J-Lo. Aguilera sported an unflattering white dress that didn’t do much to silence her critics, who have recently branded the star as looking ‘cheap’ and ‘trashy’.

J-Lo on the other hand seemed to enjoy every minute of the awards, and even appeared to well-up as she went to collect her award for ‘Favourite Latin Artist’. It’s ok J-Lo, if we were wearing a cat suit that tight, we’d probably be welling up too!

One Direction has announced that they are backing X Factor’s Little Mix, and are keen to see the ‘hot’ girl band take the winning title.

The heart-throb boy band recently met the young girl group when they were asked to perform at the popular ITV1 Sunday result’s show, and it was after their brief meeting that the boys were said to have become smitten with the group.

Little Mix has recently overcome the X Factor’s ‘curse of the girl groups’, having fought their way through to the final five acts. The feisty band members, who include Jesey Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwalk, have won over audiences with their refreshingly down-to-earth attitudes and stunning performances – and last week blew the judges away with their latest performance of the hit single ‘Don’t Let Go’.

However, One Direction has now come forward as the girl group’s biggest fans, and has spoken publically about their support for the band. One of the band members, Harry Styles, said of the girls ‘You can just tell they’re completely themselves – they’re the kind of girls you’d go to school with I guess.’ Before a very eager Zayne added ‘They are really hot too!’

The two groups were seen getting on so well, that it has already been suggested that a possible new romance between certain members of the groups could be on the cards.

So could this be the start of something beautiful between two of the UK’s hottest groups?

Fans of the indie band ‘The Mystery Jets’ have been breathing a sigh of relief at the recent news of their return to the UK! The band, who have reportedly spent the entire summer in Texas writing and recording new album material, have returned to home soil for the upcoming release of their fourth album and hugely anticipated live show!

The band’s show, which is said to be headlining at the O2 Academy Brixton, is going to be their largest ever gig to date – causing much anticipation and excitement amongst fans everywhere. The UK show will be taking place in the May 2012, to coincide with the band’s equally anticipated new album, which happens to be their fourth.

Lead singer Blaine Harrison spoke out to fans, in a message which clearly demonstrated the lead singer’s own excitement about the band’s upcoming musical releases. Harrison spoke of the band’s latest songs, writing ‘dam me if they aren’t some of our favourite yet!’ He also sent a message out to his home fans, writing ‘It’s been a long old while London and I for one cannot wait.’

The five piece band from Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, have shot to fame over recent years with successful albums such as ‘Twenty One’ and ‘Serotonin’, and have become one of the UK’s most popular indie bands. As a result, the band’s recently announced show is set to become an instant sell-out!

So if you are a massive fan of the Jets, be prepared for the show’s ticket release on Friday 25^th November to ensure that you don’t miss out!

Are you a huge fan of Rock music? If so, there’s no better way to express your passion than in the rock ’n’ roll way of wearing a cool T-shirt. If you truly are the number one fan of Queen, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones or any other legendary artist, then buying a Band T-Shirt, is the definitive tribute to them.

Band T-shirts don’t need to be expensive, in fact you can get hold of a funky T-shirt for as little as £14.99! They come in various sizes – including small, medium, large and xl – ensuring music lovers are able to buy their favourite design in a comfortable size. If you’re unsure which size is best, you’ll usually find a size guide to assist you.

Are you the ultimate groupie? Do you love wearing loose fitted clothes like T-shirts and Hoodies when you’re at home, doing sports or even at work? If so, why not get a Band T-shirt? The quality of the print will ensure you can wear your t-shirt again and again as well as washing it, without it fading.

For family members and friends that are avid fans of Bon Jovi, The Beatles, AC/DC, The Who or any other artist, Classic Rock T-shirts make for the perfect gift. With such a wide selection of designs, you can be sure to get them a present they’ll never forget.

If you enjoy shopping around for a bargain, you’ll find that many online retailers offer great deals, be it reduced prices or a free T-shirt with your purchase. So what are you waiting for? Complete your rock memorabilia collection today with the best of the best in band T-shirts.

After the death of Michael Jackson, in June 2009, there are still many question left unanswered. Jackson’s family members and children, have has to under-go many tales, unable to know the truth of what happened on the day of Michael Jackson’s death.

The trial, which is currently taking place, has seen many witnesses who were present in Michael Jackson’s home at the time of his death, in order to discover what really happened to him.

Conrad Murray, who is presently under-going trial for Michael Jackson’s death, has pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter but faces up to four years imprisonment if found responsible for the pop star’s death.

Prosecutors claim Murray not only caused Jackson’s death by giving him the powerful anaesthetic Propofol as a sleep aid, but that the doctor was also neglectful in the services of care that were offered.

As the trial unfolds, evidence has been exposed that Jackson’s own children – Paris and Prince – saw their father’s lifeless body as Doctor Conrad Murray attempted to resuscitate him. The court heard how the children cried in horror as their father’s life slipped away following a lethal overdose.

Witnesses including Jackson’s bodyguard, Faheem Muhammad told the court how he realised Paris and Prince Jackson had observed their motionless father lying in bed. Jackson’s ex-chief of security, additionally testified that Dr Conrad Murray acted very nervously during the course of the chaotic scene, whilst also describing his attempt at CPR as “a futile effort.”

At the age of 85, Tony Bennett has had huge success with his new album ‘Duets II’ featuring collaborations with Lady Gaga as well as the late Amy Winehouse. The success of his record, have meant Bennett has become the oldest living performer to top the US charts.

The impressive album has sold 179,000 copies in its 1st week, taking it to the highest spot, the record is also his first American number one hit throughout his career, which spans sixty years.

Tony Bennett, the multiple Grammy award winner, has previously reached number three in the US charts with sales of 202,000 for his original ‘Duets’ album in 2006.

Prior to Bennett, the previous oldest performer to top the chart was Bob Dylan with ‘Together Through Life’ in 2009 aged 67 years old.

The ‘Duets II’ album, which is currently available to purchase both online and in stores features his duet of ‘The Lady Is a Tramp’ with Lady Gaga. This song was initially featured in the Rodgers and Hart musical ‘Babes in Arms’. This song is an old-time classic, having been released by iconic artists including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr and Shirley Bassey.

Arctic Monkeys’ singer Alex Turner has spoken out on London’s recent looting by saying ‘Why has this country produced mindless thugs?’

The singer who was out of the country when the London riots broke out, stated there needs to be further investigation to find out why the riots happened.

Having returned from his time spent in the states, he told UK reporters “They certainly didn’t seem to have a focus in the way I am told the riots of the early 1980s did, I mean I wasn’t born then, but they say they were much more about politics and not just blokes out on the rob.”

The Artic Monkey’s frontman continued in saying: “The thing is that, even if you buy what the papers are saying and assume everyone involved is just some mindless thug or whatever they’re calling them, I think we still need to ask why this country has produced so many mindless thugs.”

He went on: I mean you can’t just treat this thing as if it was entirely unrelated to anything else. If all these kids are hooligans and thieves, then why are they all hooligans and thieves?

There’s particular reason for Turner’s disappointment – the London warehouse destroyed in the riots held substantial quantities of stock for the UK’s top independent record labels – the stock included Artic Monkeys’ records, of which are large number were ruined.

 Tweets from Rihanna and Calvin Harris confirm that the rumours are true – the pair really will be teaming up to create a single! If you’d previously heard that superstar Rihanna, and world-wide producer Calvin Harris are collaborating to create a new club banger, your source couldn’t be more correct. The two are set to be making a track together, as Rihanna tweeted on Twitter.

The singer also announced that Mr Harris will be touring with her for a total of three months later on during this autumn. “Calvin is the perfect fit for the Loud tour” Rihanna recently said on the Australian leg of her loud tour this summer, also saying he is going to bring something unique and fun for the fans. While Calvin recently Tweeted: “Yes, I’m touring with Rihanna for next three months starting next week!!”

Rihanna has recently announced that she is releasing a new album this autumn, and the release will come exactly a year after her last record ‘Loud’ which was released in November 2010. Apart from the year 2008, the singer has released a new album each year since her first ever record, ‘Music of the Sun’ – 2005.

The singer is supposedly going to be performing throughout the UK during her next tour, performing in London’s 02 Arena. So London, watch out for Rihanna and Calvin Harris! This tour is certainly not something to be missed.

The rumours about Mr Michael McIntyre leaving the Britain’s Got Talent panel of judges are true. While the nation is very sad, Michael’s fans will be happy to know that Michael is doing a 100-date tour next year and will be channelling all his energy into that.

Michael has allegedly been weighing up options, saying he will miss being on the panel as he thoroughly enjoyed it. Michael told a source: “I really loved being a judge on the show but I’ve been itching to get back on stage myself.” ITV boss Peter Fincham is said to have been fighting to keep McIntyre on board. However, there was little fighting be done once the comedian had made up his mind about what he wanted to do.

Since Simon’s Departure, we’ve seen Piers, McIntyre and the Hoff bid farewell to the show. The Sun recently told how bosses had decided to replace 59 year old judge and previous Baywatch star, David Hasslehoff. According to them the show “lacked sparkle”.  Although Hasslehoff was a fun judge, he’s been axed due to him having little connection with the acts, according to an inside source.

Now, pregnant Amanda Holden is the remaining judge and sole survivor. The nation’s viewings slipped last year, from 12.17 to its lesser amount of 11.6 million viewers when it returned last April. With such a dramatic slip, bosses are said to be trying to find new judges which will bring back the sparkle to the show, and hopefully this will show in the successful contestants.

After previously being forced to cancel her tour due to a chest infection, Adele returned to Hammersmith Apollo at her very best, belting out some of the world’s favourite anthems and making what could only be described as a triumph performance.

Adele walked on stage and expressed to her fans that she’d been ‘s****ing herself all day’ and thanking them for their attendance.

Whilst Adele tugged on the heart strings of all her fans, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Adele performed hits from her hit album ‘21’, including ‘Don’t You Remember’, ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ and ‘Turning Tables’. While the singer belted her beautiful ballads in front of an image of London’s skyline, goose bumps were felt by every individual with fans and reviewers describing the performance as ‘incredible’ and ‘amazing’.

The singer was shocked when one of her overwhelmed fans fainted during her performance. The kind-hearted singer stood at the front of the stage looking concerned while waiting for paramedics to arrive, asking other fans to stand aside so that paramedics could easily get to the poorly fan.

Adele continued powering her way through some of our favourites of her singles, including ‘Chasing Pavements’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’ which she dedicated to her inspiration, Amy Winehouse. She returned to the stage without her shoes to perform her encore, which included smash hit ‘Someone Like You’.

The ending of the tour was magical, said many. She stood and belted anthem ‘Rolling In The Deep’, with glitter falling from the ceiling onto the stage. The singer never fails to leave fans stunned by her breath-taking talent, well done Adele, and thanks for a wonderful performance!

Kasabian have high hopes for their new album ‘Velociraptor’, due to be released on September 20^th.

During an interview with the Daily Star Kasabian stated that they hope their new album ‘Velociraptor’ can acquire comparable global victory to Adele’s recent album release, ’21′.

Guitarist Serge Pizzorno told the Daily Mail that he’s an immense fan of London singer ‘Adele’ and of what she has achieved on both sides of the Atlantic. He said “Adele shows that people can still sell records in a time where no-one buys records anymore – good on her”.

“She comes across as a real sweetheart. I tip my hat to her. Adele is so refreshing as she’s cool and not the archetypal character – she’s not like Jennifer Lopez or Christina Aguilera”.

“We’re blowing up around the world and this album could be the one to take us to new places.”

So… we’ll just to wait till September 20^th in order to discover whether Kasabian manage to go straight into the Album Charts at Number One!

Cheryl Cole who is currently visiting the war zone in Afghanistan as part of the Pride of Britain Awards, blew up a dummy of Simon Cowell, organised by army explosive experts as a humorous stunt.

Before hitting the detonator, Cheryl – who was sacked from the USA X Factor by Mr Cowell – joked “His head needed to be a lot bigger and the trousers could have done with being a lot higher.”

After this stunt took place, the Fight For This Love singer observed whilst troops demolished home-made bombs detained from the Taliban, whilst shaking her head in disbelief.

The Girls Aloud stunner stated: “I was astonished at the way they put their lives on their line. They are literally lying in the dirt using their hands to feel for bombs. They really are the bravest of the brave.”

Task Force Helmand spokesman Lt Col Tim Purbrick told The Mirror: “Cheryl has been fantastic. Nothing is too much trouble for her. It feels like she has met practically everyone on the base.”

During Cheryl’s time at Camp Bastion, she has taken part in a simulated gun battle and was even photographed grasping a SA80 rifle.

Being the hopeless romantic that he is, Sir Paul McCartney denied the offer of a pre-nup from his new love, Nancy Shevell, New York socialite.

Former Beatle, Paul McCartney hasn’t had the easiest of love-lives. His first wife, Linda McCartney passed away after a struggle with breast cancer in 1998. His second wife Heather Mills claimed a multi-million pay-out of £24.3 million when their marriage ended bitterly. Luckily, he has now found love with the elegant Nancy Shevell.

Mr McCartney is due to wed Nancy within the next few months. The pair appeared hand in hand to display a notification of the wedding at Marylebone Register Office, London – where Paul married his adored first wife Linda.

The 69-year-old pop legend began dating Shevell four years ago and in May an announcement was made that they were to get married.

The news hints that the wedding will be a low-key, small family affair, similar to the Beatle’s first marriage and completely dissimilar to his second marriage, lavish 2002 Irish wedding ceremony to former model Heather Mills.

The popular and iconic band ‘Muse’ have topped the poll for best performance at both Reading and Leeds Festival 2011. The band, originally from Devon headlined both Festivals with fantastic performances with bands ‘My Chemical Romance’ and ‘The Midnight Beast’.

‘Muse’, the triumphant trio, who’s scintillating set featured their 2^nd album ‘Origin of Symmetry’ from beginning to end, notched an average score of 7.87 in the poll. The overall poll saw as many as 800,000 votes cast.

‘My Chemical Romance’ came in at 2^nd position with their own momentous set, recording an average of 7.75. ‘The Midnight Beast’ followed closely behind, resulting in 3^rd place with their average score being 7.49.

Following in 4^th place were ’30 Seconds To Mars’ with 6.69, while ‘The Strokes’ finished 5^th with 6.47. Respectively ‘Two Door Cinema Club’ and ‘Cage The Elephant’ followed in 6^th and 7^th with 6.29 and 6.12, whereas ‘Panic! At The Disco’ resulted in the score 6.09, landing themselves in 8th place.

Finishing in 9^th place was ‘Pulp’ who scored 5.98 and ‘The Vaccines’ polished off the top ten nicely with a respectable 5.83. Other acts included in the poll included ‘Bombay Bicycle Club’, ‘Elbow’, ‘The Horrors’ and ‘Friendly Fires’ of whom each scarcely missed out featuring within the top ten.

Mercury Award Winner 2011 was announced September 6^th at the Grosvenor Hotel in London. PJ Harvey was announced the winner with her album ‘Let England Shake’, she accepted her award as well as a £20,000 cash prize with a composed and direct speech. In her speech she stated “First of all I’d like to say thank you very much for this award, and the recognition of my work on this album”.

PJ Harvey, the 1^st two-time winner of the award, made reference to her former win, which notably took place on September 11, 2001. This was of course outshined by the terrorist attacks in New York. She explained “It’s nice to actually be here. I was in in Washington DC watching The Pentagon burning from my hotel window, so it’s good to be here. So much has happened since then. This album took me a long time write. It was very important to me, I wanted to make something that was meaningful not just for myself but for other people, hopefully to make something that would last”.

Harvey went on to thank “the people that have supported her throughout her career,” her manager, her record company Island, agents and “those who helped me make ‘Let England Shake’”. The ceremony was broadcast on BBC Two and was hosted by Jools Holland.

For the 1^st time in the competition’s past, the nominated artists were booked to perform at the ceremony itself, although Adele did not attend due to illness. The full list of nominees included: Anna Calvi, Elbow, James Blake, Katy B, Metronomy, Tinie Tempah, PJ Harvey, Gwilym Simcock, Everything Everything, Ghostpoet, King Creosote & Jon Hopkins and Adele.

Freddie Mercury’s 65^th birthday took place on September 5^th, where former Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor celebrated at a charity event in London’s Savoy Palace.  Other celebs that also joined in the auction for The Mercury Phoenix Trust included Ben Elton, Fearne Cotton, Chris Evans, Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas and Nicola Roberts.

Freddie Mercury died of AIDS-related pneumonia on November 24 1991. The Mercury Phoenix Trust raises money to help the world-wide battle against HIV and AIDS.

Brian May paid tribute to his dear friend Freddie on an especially created Google blog. He wrote: Freddie would have been 65 this year, and even though physically he is not here, his presence seems more potent than ever. Freddie made the last person at the back of the furthest stand in a stadium feel that he was connected. He lived life to the full. He devoured life. He celebrated every minute. And, like a great comet, he left a luminous trail which will sparkle for many a generation to come. Happy birthday Freddie!

May wrote kind words of his former band-mate, saying that “Freddie was fully focused, never allowing anything or anyone to get in the way of his vision for the future. He was truly a free spirit. There are not many of these in the world. To achieve this, you have to be, like Freddie, fearless, unafraid of upsetting anyone’s apple cart”.

May wrote warm-hearted words of his former bandmate’s attitude and approach to song-writing, calling him a “free spirit”. He also said that “to create with Freddie was always stimulating to the max. He was daring, always sensing a way to get outside the box”.

This year’s “Children in Need” single is to be performed by X Factor judges Gary Barlow and Tulisa Contostavlos. Barlow, lead singer of Take That, explains he’s provided the annual charity track a “credible makeover”, by introducing urban current chart acts.

Wretch 32 the current chart headliner with “Don’t Go”, Tinchy Stryder and Chipmunk, all make appearances on the cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop, a real change from the usual characters chosen to perform the track. It will be introduced to the public just before the BBC TV broadcast on 18^th November.

By tradition, the charity single often has a comedy element, but this year they have broken away from the old restraints, and gone for a more meaningful song. Gary Barlow stated he wanted to create interest for  a widely ranged audience, including the youth culture. He felt by introducing grime and commercial music artists that this year’s entry will benefit.

Massive Attack’s version of Teardrops, the original, has been sampled and the song lyrics recreated by Wretch 32 and others so that they’re more current.

Fellow X Factor judge and member of N Dubz, Tulisa, told DJ Fearne Cotton, who presents on Radio 1, that it was fun to work with old faces she already knew. She provided the statement: “It’s nice to be back with the grime crew, the urban family.” Tulisa added “The Track itself is really but current and I think it’s going to work.”

X-factor star Olly Murs and Pop Idol’s Will Young, are out to control the charts this weekend with them both on course to have number ones. Pop Idol Winner of 2001, Young, is set to dominate the number one album spot with his dance release Echoes.

Murs, X Factor 2009 finalist and runner-up to Joe McElderry, is going for his second number one single “Heart Skips A Beat”. The Essex singer, originally from Maldon, is now a presenter on the “Xtra Factor”, an ITV2 spin-off accompanying the popular reality TV shows “The X Factor”.

Whilst Olly Murs and Will Young are competing for the top spot, X Factor 2009 winner, Joe McElderry, is proposed to enter the album chart at number two this weekend.

After recently winning ITV1 show “Popstar to Operastar”, McElderry has felt a revitalised sense of achievement, which has obviously contributed to his confidence and overall success, at which people are sure to notice in his new album “Classic”.

Sir Elton John informed the BBC that now is the ideal time to bring back music TV allowing the British Public to view the UK’s Top 40. Top of the Pops (TOTPs), was the last music show featured on the BBC, it’s final show took place on July 30^th 2006. TOTPs was first aired in 1964 and was a weekly compilation of the UK’s public most listened to songs, played live on TV.

Sir Elton believes music TV, such as TOTP would be a “great help for new artists” for the prospects of launching their career. As he recalls it helped him massively. After the cancellation of TOTPs, music shows were deemed old hat, however, with the sudden rise of interest within music throughout the youth groups, maybe a music show would no longer go amiss.

Sir Elton expressed his interest in reviving TOTP whilst being interviewed by BBC Radio 2’s presenter Bob Harris, as the BBC celebrated the 40^th anniversary of “The Old Grey Whistle Test”.

V Festival took place over the weekend in Chelmsford’s Hylands Park and Staffordshire’s Weston Park. Essex star Olly Murs said his appearance at Hylands Park in Chelmsford was one of the best days of his life. He said seeing his friends and family in the audience had been a great moment. When asked to sum up his day, Olly responded “I’ve had the most brilliant day and I’ve got it all recorded on DVD, so I’m going to watch it when I get home!”

Other acts that performed at V Festival included Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Katy B, Kaiserchiefs, Hard-Fi, Kids in Glass Houses, Lost Prophets, Bruno Mars, Jessie J, Chase and Status, Plan B, Dizzee Rascal as well as many others. Headliners included the legendary Eminem and sensational Rihanna.

More than 80,000 fans attended V festival each day. There were hundreds of police officers on duty, patrolling the festival due to the large crowds. Huge festivals, such as V unfortunately attract a lot of crime as well as many injuries. At V this year there were in excess of one hundred arrests, mainly due to drug possession by festival goers; additionally first-aiders treated eight hundred injuries.

V Festival is a substantial festival that grows in size every year, this year having been bigger than ever before. Preparations are already taking place for next year’s 2012 Festival.

If you missed the first showing of The X Factor, then I recommend watching a repeat, as the programme was filled with entertainment and emotion. One particular event that stood out amongst the show’s performances was when X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos was verbally abused by contestant George Gerasimou. Following George’s initial audition in 2009 as part of a trio, the detestable and talentless George explained to X Factor panellists, consisting also of Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Louis Walsh as well as the British Public, that he had come back to clear his name. He explained that at the time of his first audition, he had “a lot of anger”, but he had now matured. However, the judges, audience and viewers at home watched in disbelief as George caused chaos when he was once again, rejected.

X Factor judge revealed that she expected to get a hard time from contestants over her new position on the panel. The N-Dubz star – who has taken over from Cheryl Cole judging the talent show – told ITV’s Lorraine: “I think it was inevitable, I actually expected to get slack off someone. “I know there was a lot of controversy around the fact that I was taking the role as a judge. And you know, I just kind of expected it at some point, someone’s going to challenge me. So it wasn’t so bad when it came along… I gave as good as got I like to think.” George verbally criticised the judges, and called Tulisa the “scum from the block” before security forced him off the stage. Backstage, he received a firm telling-off from Dermot O’Leary who told him to “watch your mouth” when making a series of disparaging remarks about Tulisa.

Hayley Williams recently revealed that her band, Paramore, have written four brand new and brilliant tracks for their new album. The singer explained: “We have written four new songs and they are quite diverse. There are some heavier songs, but there’s also one that we plan to play live soon that is called ‘In the Morning Mess’.”

Having spoken to Spanish website, Rockzone, Hayley told them on the subject of ‘Monster’: “I can’t really say that ‘Monster’ is an indication of what to expect on the next Paramore album. We, as a band, will always try to evolve and try new things. It will be different for sure, but it will still keep Paramore’s essence.”

Hayley also confirmed that Paramore would persist as herself, bassist Jeremy Davis and guitarist Taylor York for the conceivable future and that they were not looking for replacements for the Farro brothers, who left the band last year in December. She said: “We are not in the process of looking out for new members right now. The band is Jeremy, Taylor and I. We don’t spend too much time thinking about how Paramore will be in the future. It’s hard when you go through a period of changing members so what we want to do right now is play great songs.”

For three days every September, the Brown family invite you to Brownstock Music Festival, held within their farm grounds. Brownstock festival has grown enormously over the last six years. There are more bands and bigger crowds each year. The festival is completely family run, yet there are still big names performing. The music festival offers unique little touches that the Brown family have dreamed up and put into action, these include; the silent disco, which runs all night, as well as The Doodle Lounge to chill in and Busker’s corner.

Music Areas to Choose From Include:

Brownstock main stage; acts such as Athlete, The Milk, Darwyn, New Town Kings, Handshake, Stealing Signs will be performing this year. It opens at 7pm on Friday 2nd September with some special acts, reserved for the campers. Then at midday on Saturday 3rd September a variety of up and coming unsigned bands representing every genre of alternative music will take to the stage, rounded off with some local talent and two awesome headliners.

The Good Shed; hosted by Black Sheep is dedicated to bass lovers! This year the formula is just right for all you crazy bass heads. Good Shed acts include; Pendulum DJ set, Ms Dynamite, Zinc, Shy FX, Killa Kela, Format, Twiggy Garcia, Youngman, NimbleFingerz, Drawbacks and more.

Round the Clock Silent Disco; 2010′s popular Round the Clock Silent Disco returns to help you dance the day and night away. Expect music from The Beatles to Benga or from Prince to Pendulum, and everything in between.

The PianoDJ Bar; home to acoustic music sets. To join in, bring your guitar or any other talent and step up to the open mic. Otherwise, take the opportunity to play the grand piano. Just be sure to put your name down in the bar as soon as you arrive in order to play a few tunes.

For earlybird prices, book soon! An adult weekend camping ticket can currently be purchased for £58, once these have sold out, prices will go up £75 at full price or gate prices are £90. Youths get further reductions on their ticket, plus children under 10 go free.

For more information go to: www.brownstock.co.uk

Amy Winehouse’s dead body was tragically found in her Camden home on the afternoon of Saturday July 23^rd. The U.K. singer was just 27 years old. Reports have suggested that Amy was on a 36 hour drink and drug binge, ultimately leading to her tragic death.

Amy cancelled her latest European tour last month due to struggling with her long term drug addiction and alcoholism. A close friend of the highly talented 27 year old has come forward saying that she always thought Amy would become a member of the 27 Club, whose members comprise of famous musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, also dying at the age of 27.

Amy wanted to leave a legacy, and despite only releasing two albums, her second album, Back to Black, was a huge success, winning her 5 Grammy awards. Despite her huge musical talent and fame, her personal life seemed to attract just as much interest as her career, constantly featured in tabloids looking worse for wear due to her public drug habits. The singer made several attempts to get clean, repeatedly checking herself into rehabilitation facilities. Her last stint in rehab reportedly took place in May of 2011. In a previous interview with Amy, she was asked if she had any unfulfilled ambitions and replied: ‘If I died tomorrow I’d be a happy girl.’

Upon finding Amy’s body, the Metropolitan police issued a statement insisting that they were treating Amy’s death as ‘unexplained’ and no drugs or suicide note are thought to have been found in her house. They are now awaiting following test results, due to her autopsy not establishing the cause of death.

Amy Jade Winehouse, born September 14 1983, released her first album Frank in 2003, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. After a string of impressive festival gigs and an Ivor Novello song writing award, she began work on the album that made her an international star: Back to Black, released in 2007.

It’s come to the attention of many that former N Dubz band member Tulisa Contostavlos is joining the panel of X Factor judges in 2011. A source said that Tulisa is very excited about joining the panel, and has said that there’s a lot of talent already and for that reason she cannot wait to find out what category she’ll be mentoring this year.

Tulisa’s style caught Simon Cowell’s eye, and after undergoing a make-over that he’d demanded, Tulisa is looking sleek and styled and ready to take on the role, judging alongside big names like Kelly Rowland – the former Destiny’s Child singer and solo artist, Gary Barlow – former songwriter and frontman of the smash hit band Take That, and music man and judge Louis Walsh. Of course Tulisa will be filling the spot of former judge Cheryl Cole, and will no doubt have big boots to fill, yet many are adamant she’ll fill them, including The Wanted.

The Wanted are said to be very excited about Tulisa joining the X Factor panel and were more than happy to sing Tulisa’s praises, saying “she’s got feistiness” and “will speak her mind”. Max from The Wanted said: “I think she’ll be great – she’s got a great personality and I think she speaks her mind which is what’s needed. Rather than just sitting there being pretty or whatever, she’s actually got something to her.”

When asked about which category she’d rather have she responded saying “it’s all about where the talent lies”. We’re all keen to see how Tulisa will perform, and with her solo career taking flight, there isn’t a shortage of pressure.

The La’s, Liverpool rock band, have announced a revolutionary London show, which will take place on July 21^st (Thursday). Band front-man Lee Mavers, head vocalist and guitarist, is said to be excited about their surprise gig.

Their debut album, The La’s, was released in 1990 and yet no follow up material ever emerged from the band. The influential group released classic songs, including; “Way Out” (1987), “Timeless Melody” (1990) and their most famous hit single “There She Goes” (1988). Although making a come-back in 2005, it was short-lived. Despite this, The La’s are due to appear this summer at a number of festivals, including Rock En Seine in Paris and Bestival.

All the way back in 2006, fellow band member John Power, backing vocals and bassist of the La’s, was indefinite about the reality of any additional record. He said that Mavers was “Still tinkering with something that’s majestic”, when asked about any possible release date, he replied “I can’t tell you where and when… because whatever he does, whether it’s in this lifetime or the next, it can’t be rushed.”

The Mercury Prize Line-up was revealed in London on 19th July 2011. The 12 album short-list is always a nail biting event, but you’d imagine this being its 20th year, that the music industry would be well prepared for what’s in store. Head of the 12 membered judging panel, Simon Frith, said the process was “always difficult”. He continued to state “This year there were a couple of obvious records, like PJ Harvey, but then there were masses of records that could have been on the list, so in that sense it was difficult,” he said. “The final list is an amazingly good balance… it has been a good year and again British music is in a very healthy place.”

Lauren Laverne (DJ) was the lucky lady chosen to broadcast the shortlist. She went on to explain the combined-genre music that occurs nowadays. “These days everybody likes two songs of every genre and that’s a post-internet way of consuming music,” she told Music Week. “You no longer have to get the 12-inch of every band. That makes everybody’s tastes loosen up and makes music less tribal”.

The front-runner of this year’s Barclaycard Mercury Prize will be broadcasted live on BBC Two and 6 Music on September 6^th (Tuesday). Lauren Laverne will host the TV show, whilst music star Jools Holland will be presenting the awards event.

Adele, the startlingly soulful singer, released her album ‘21’ in January this year. The singer’s album was primarily at number one in the albums charts for 11 weeks and has now re-claimed her pole position at the top spot, knocking Beyoncé’s album ‘4’ to second place. The ‘Make You Feel My Love’ singer hasn’t fallen lower than number two in the UK album charts since entering the charts 25 weeks ago.

With Adele’s first album ‘19’ sitting pretty at number 3, she has achieved an amazing accomplishment to have both her first and second album within the top three of the albums chart. Lady Gaga’s album ‘Born This Way’ is sitting at number 4, followed by The Horrors at number 5, with ‘Skying’.

Focusing on the singles chart for this week; popular boy-band The Wanted receive their 2nd number one with ‘Glad You Came’. DJ Fresh ‘Louder’ comes in at number two while Ed Sheeran’s ‘The A Team’ is at number three.

WARNING! THIS ARTICLE INCLUDES LANGUAGE THAT YOU MAY FIND OFFENSIVE!

If you’re a fan of the Foo Fighters, you may well think of Dave Grohl as your hero. However, if you’d attended their most recent gig at North London’s Roundhouse for a free iTunes gig on July 12^th, you would have seen Dave Grohl putting on his most heroic performance ever. He stopped his show temporarily to throw out a troublesome fan that began fighting in the mosh-pit. Dave clearly explained that the fighting guy’s behaviour would not be tolerated!

Dave Grohl approached the disturbance as admirably as possible, the language used was rather graphic, yet effective; “Hey mothaf*cker! Stop, stop. No No No No! You don’t f*cking fight at my show, you asshole. Let me see him, who’s fighting right now? It’s that guy in the striped shirt.”

Having spotted the man Grohl continued “Hey motherf*cker look at me, get the f*ck out of my show right now.” He concluded, “I don’t put up with that bullsh*t, you people came here to have a good time and that guy can f*ck off.” The announcement was met with an enthusiastic ovation.

Within the crowds, were other music legends including Seasick Steve, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Metallica.

Rihanna has now taken charge as being the most popular female star on Facebook via the ‘likes’ option. Both Rihanna and Lady Gaga stars were neck and neck at 40.5 million fans. Rihanna overtook Lady Gaga this week becoming the most popular female artist on Facebook. Rihanna now continues to pull ahead, with her Facebook fan base growing by around 100,000 per day. There is only one person to beat now, as Eminem sits in the pole position at 43 million fans.

The question is now can Rihanna make it all the way to the top? Eminem is currently 3 million ‘likes’ ahead on Facebook, but Rihanna continues to be the rapidest growing star in the world on ‘YouTube’, which is down to her provocative video ‘Man Down’ which has now racked up more than 40 million views. In the meantime Rihanna’s fame continues to develop as she stated earlier this week she is to become the new face of ‘Emporio Armani’ lingerie.

This year has been a remarkable one for Rihanna, who has seen her social media fame escalate dramatically following the release of her album ‘Loud’ last year. This February, Rihanna became the fourth artist in history to achieve 1 billion ‘YouTube’ views and is now the third most viewed star on ‘YouTube’ with almost 1.4 billion views. Additionally, Rihanna became the 13th person in history to achieve 6 million twitter followers just last week.

If you fancy a change in festivals this year, why not try out a festival abroad?  Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (FIB Festival) takes place this weekend and could be the perfect solution for your holiday blues. It’s simply a case of purchasing your ticket, booking a flight and a hotel. FIB Festival 2011 takes place in Benicàssim, Spain and is a four day music festival on the east coast of Spain between Valencia and Barcelona. It offers an all-star line-up of globally recognised bands.

All attendees with a weekend pass have the right to camp in any of the free of charge camping areas. Besides the camping areas, there are also other accommodation possibilities that include hotels, B&Bs as well as guest houses.

The bands performing at Spain’s number one music festival this year, are as follows; Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Elbow, Friendly Fires, Tinie Tempah, Primal Scream, The Streets, Plan B, Pendulum, Paolo Nutini, Chase & Status, Brandon Flowers, Mumford & Sons and many more!

The FIB Festival has been taking place in Benicàssim since 1995 and has hosted hundreds of astonishing acts ever since. Benicàssim is an admired tourist destination and has been for over a hundred years. Its fine sand, softly slanted beaches, crystal clean waters and accessible amenities continue to bring tourists back year after year.

Latitude Festival takes place this weekend Thursday 14th-Sunday 17th July at Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk.

There are just a few hours to wait till the utmost ethnic event of the summer begins! If you are lucky enough to have tickets to camp at this years’ Latitude Festival, then ideally you’ll be leaving work early today, in order to pitch your tent in the perfect place and begin the celebrations! At Latitude Festival there will be so much to see and do. Not only will there be some brilliant acts performing over the three days, including: The National, Paloma Faith, KT Tunstall, Paolo Nutini, The Cribs, Rumer and Suede.

There will be a number of stages to choose, each offering a fantastic array of performances ranging from amazing theatre performances, poetry readings, film screenings, live music and stunning visual displays on the lake. The stages are as follows; Obelisk Arena, The Word Arena, Sunrise Arena, The Lake Stage, Comedy Arena, Caberet Arena, Theatre Arena, Outdoor Theatre, The Waterfront Stage, Film & Music Arena, Poetry Arena, Literary Arena, Literary Salon, Pandora’s Playground, The Faraway Forest, In the Woods as well as stages for the younger audiences; Children’s Arena and The Inbetweeners Teen Area.

If this still isn’t enough for you, you will have a special opportunity to enter the realms of Narnia! You will be led to the magical Narnia wardrobe directed via arrows on the trees. Amongst the forest, will be the Ice Queen lurking then you’ll be able to follow a snow trail leading to large wardrobe doors leading to a snowy wood lit by a lamp-post. Once you’ve arrived in Narnia, you can have a great time dressing up from a selection of Jewellery, Hair pieces and crowns with Princess Lucy and get your picture taken with the Lion.

V Festival is the best festival in Essex undoubtedly. V Festival is well known for its wide array of musical talent ranging from pop to hard-core drum’n'bass. You really are spoilt for choice and are guaranteed a weekend of pure, energized dedication to your ultimate artists. With the festival taking place on the 3^rd weekend of August, you are pretty much guaranteed that the sun will have it’s hat on! Many festival goers will be seen basking in the heat with a hot dog and a beer, however the toilets are something less of desirable, but hey, that’s to be expected at any festival. V Festival has been running since 1996, so there is no reason to refer to it as less experienced, they offer all the plus points of any other well-known festival such as Download or Reading.

Of course, not only is V Festival taking place at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, but also at Weston Park in South Staffordshire as it has every year, since 1999. The event is held at the two parks simultaneously where bands and solo artists’ alternate days to ensure all ticket holders regardless of their location are offered the same, amazing musical experience. Basically artists perform at one location on Saturday then swap on Sunday. This way fans in both the North and South have the chance to see their favourite bands.

2011 Annual V Festival is taking place on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August. This year’s headliners for Saturday at Hylands Park include artists such as; Arctic Monkeys, Plan B, Kaiserchiefs, Tinie Tempah, Chase & Status, Jessie J and Dizzee Rascal and headliners for Sunday include; Eminem, Rihanna, The Script, Manic Street Preachers, Pendulum, N Dubz and Ellie Goulding. Of Course, Weston Park will have the same artists perform, yet the days will be swapped around.

Arctic Monkeys’ six years of amazing musical victory showed on Thursday night, during their phenomenal performance. Now, with the band promoting their 4^th album, it is clear to see that the arctic monkeys have grown in confidence but also as musicians.

Last night’s moderately small gig was part of the iTunes Festival and went down a treat. The Roundhouse truly was the perfect location for the Arctic Monkey’s gig as it provided mosh-pit heaven where every dance move had a connection to the music being performed.

Their second album, 2007’s ‘Favourite Worst Nightmares’, deservedly had a fair share of the set, with ever popular ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ virtually raising the circular roof.

Well-known but timeworn tunes such as ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ were expecting less recognition as their music has come so far since 2006, but the audience jumped in to shake it back to life! The emotive pinnacle arose when the crowd grasped ‘When the Sun Goes Down’ and sang it with wholehearted supremacy and excitement, leaving the band to play accompaniment.

The Arctic Monkeys recently released their fourth album ‘Suck It and See’, which bragged no less than eight tunes from the twenty strong set and each gaining instantaneous affection from the fans.

On a humid night in London’s busy streets, the packed house showed the fan’s devotion with word-perfect vocals, passionate moshing and lots of perspiration. A great end as the jam-packed Roundhouse trailed into London’s heated atmosphere, gloomy it was over but a skip in their step.

Every summer, London Hyde Park is host to the Wireless Festival. When it was first started it was questioned by the majority if it would become a success or not – especially as it did not have an identity amongst the popular UK festivals. The Wireless festival runs for three days with different ticket options available and targets the R & B and dance music scene with artists who are present in the UK charts. There were some great artists performing including Pulp, Black Eyed Peas, Plan B, Tinie Tempah, Bruno Mars, Example, Chemical Brothers and Grace Jones, plus more. As if music isn’t enough there are always great attractions scattered around the festival sponsored by some top brands.

Written for UK TOP 40 at www.uktop40.com