Ed Sheeran to headline first Radio 1 Big Weekend since 2019

Tributes have poured in overnight for Tom Parker, who died yesterday aged just 33 following a long battle with a brain tumour. 

he died on Wednesday surrounded by his family and bandmates, a statement released by the boyband said. Tom disclosed in October 2020 that he had been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma and had begun radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Tom achieved great success as a member of one of the UK’s chart-topping boy bands, later going on to triumph on stage and television.

Naman Ramachandran Concert for Ukraine, the fundraising event for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal on Tuesday, saw £13.4 million ($17.6 million) raised from sponsorship, ad revenue, ticket sales and public donations. The two-hour event, which was live from the Resorts World Arena Birmingham, and broadcast exclusively on ITV and STV, featured performances from Anne-Marie, Becky Hill, Camila Cabello, Nile Rogers & Chic, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sandé, Gregory Porter, Jamala, The Kingdom Choir, Manic Street Preachers, Nicola Benedetti, Snow Patrol and Tom Odell.A highpoint of the evening was a violin performance, which saw the recent viral video of young violinist Illia Bondarenko playing the Ukrainian folk song “Verbovaya Doschechka” from a basement shelter along with 94 violinists from around the world, joined up with a live performance in the room by Nicola Benedetti.

Announced last week, the two-hour benefit show will air March 29 on ITV in aid of the Disasters Emergency Committee‘s (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.After hearing of the concert’s announcement, the members of Antytila – who are currently fighting the Russians in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv – sent a video message to Ed Sheeran via Facebook to ask to play the concert remotely from their home country.The ‘Bad Habits’ hitmaker responded by telling the band: “I just watched your video this morning, thank you so much for sending it. Firstly I just wanted to say to all Ukrainians, I love you, I stand with you and I’m so proud to be playing this fundraising event next week.”However, Antytila have now been told they will not be permitted to perform as part of the benefit, with organisers explaining that the event must avoid association with the military.“Because we are standing with guns and helmets, we are soldiers, and this concert is not for soldiers but for helping civilian people,” singer Taras Topolya said in a video posted to social media.The singer said the band accepted the stance taken by the concert: “First of all we are musicians, helmets and body armour are temporary, but we understand the answer and we accept it.”He added: “The main thing is the people of the United Kingdom must stand with Ukraine.”@antytila_offic’s response “First of all, we’re musicians.

It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday — especially when it’s New Music Friday! We’re breaking down this week’s best new tracks to keep on your radar.

Matt Goss is feeling ambitious. 

An 11-day trial over the copyright of Ed Sheeran's hit song “Shape of You" concluded in London on Tuesday, with the judge saying he would take some time to consider his ruling.The British pop star and his co-writers, Snow Patrol’s John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, deny accusations that the 2017 song copies part of a 2015 song called “Oh Why” by Sami Chokri, who performs under the name Sami Switch.Lawyer Andrew Sutcliffe, representing the “Oh Why” co-writers, argued there was an “indisputable similarity between the works” and suggested the chances of two songs that “correlate” appearing within months of each other was “minutely small."The lawyer claimed that Sheeran had “Oh Why” “consciously or unconsciously in his head" when “Shape of You” was written in 2016. He also alleged that Sheeran, who attended the hearing throughout, was dishonest and evasive in giving evidence to the trial.Sheeran and his co-writers say they have disclosed material to the trial and do not remember hearing “Oh Why” before the court case.Justice Antony Zacaroli said Tuesday he would deliver his judgment “as soon as I can.”“Shape of You” was the biggest selling song in the U.K.

Ed Sheeran has finally revealed the exciting new releases he has up his sleeve.According to the English singer, an unexpected meet-up with J Balvin led to his latest project, even learning Spanish to fully immerse himself into the musical experience. So I want to share something with you that I’ve been working on. I met @JBALVIN in a gym in New York last year.It was just me and him very early in the morning.

Ed Sheeran, The Chemical Brothers and more have donated to a series of exclusive prize draws for the DEC's Ukraine appeal. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is holding a number of draws with prizes ranging from special meet and greets to VIP concert tickets to benefit the organisation's Ukraine humanitarian aid appeal.

Rex Orange County has scored his first UK Number One album with new LP ‘Who Cares?’.The Hampshire-born singer-songwriter (real name Alexander James O’Connor) beat off stiff competition from Swedish rockers Ghost, whose new LP ‘IMPERA’ landed at Number Two, to take the top spot.Rex Orange County’s fourth album follows on from the independently released ‘BCos U Will Never B Free’ (2015) and ‘Apricot Princess’ (2017), and the RCA released ‘Pony’ which landed at Number Five when it was released back in 2019.“Thank you to everyone who listened to ‘Who Cares?'” Rex Orange County said upon receiving the news about the album’s achievement. “I’m so happy to have an Official Number One album in the UK, where I’m from.

Ed Sheeran has announced the Australia and New Zealand leg of his ‘+ – = ÷ x Tour’ – find tickets here.The singer-songwriter will embark on the run of dates in February 2023 in support of his most recent studio album, ‘=’, which came out last October. It’ll mark his first trip Down Under since the record-breaking ‘÷’ tour in 2018.Sheeran will kick off the stadium stint in Wellington, NZ on February 2 before making stop-offs in Auckland (February 10), Brisbane (17), Sydney (24), Melbourne (March 2), Adelaide (7) and Perth (12).Tickets go on general sale next Wednesday (March 23), with a pre-sale due to go live on Monday (March 21).

Starlight by Dave becomes the British rapper’s first Number 1 on the Official Irish Singles Chart.

World renowned singer Ed Sheeran has been relying on the support of his wife Cherry Seaborn amid his "disturbing and stressful" court case, which has seen him accused of copying music from other artists, a source has revealed. Ross O' Donoghue and Sami Chokri (who goes by the grime artist name Sami Switch) have alleged that Ed's 2017 'Shape of You' from his bestselling album ÷ ("Divide") used snippets from their own song 'Oh Why', and filed an official legal complaint back in 2018.

Ed Sheeran has denied claims that he “borrowed” parts of his hit 2017 track Shape Of You from other lesser-known artists. Shape Of You was at number one in the UK for 14 weeks at the time of its release. Songwriters Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue have alleged that the track uses snippets from their song Oh Why, and filed a legal complaint in 2018.The duo claim the “Oh I” hook is “strikingly similar” to that in their original track, which was released in 2015.

Ed Sheeran said in the high court yesterday that – while he is influenced by other songs when writing his own music – he is not a “magpie” that routinely lifts elements of those existing songs without permission. And where one of his songs does arguably share a musical element with an existing work, he goes out of his way to clear and credit the original.Meanwhile, he settled an earlier song-theft lawsuit over his song ‘Photograph’ out of court not because he thought he was liable for copyright infringement, but because he was advised it was the easiest way to move beyond that particular dispute.All of this was said as the musician gave testimony as part of the song-theft legal battle in the UK courts over his song ‘Shape Of You’.

Ed Sheeran is a musical “genius” but also a musical “magpie” who borrows from other people’s work when he’s writing his pop songs. Sometimes he borrows from the work of superstars, who get their credits.

Sam Fender has announced an outdoor headline show in Yorkshire – find all the details below.The ‘Seventeen Going Under’ artist will perform at the Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Friday, May 27 as part of his 2022 tour, which kicks off in Nottingham later this month (March 20).Fender will play in front of an audience of 8,000 fans at the North Yorkshire seaside gig. Tickets go on general sale at 9am GMT this Friday (March 11) – you can purchase yours from here.Fans can also sign up to access a pre-sale, which will take place at 9am GMT this Wednesday (March 9).

Camila Cabello has released her new collaboration with Ed Sheeran – you can listen to ‘Bam Bam’ below.First announced last month, the singer/songwriter then shared a snippet of the track earlier this week (February 28).Cabello has now released ‘Bam Bam’, which was produced by Ricky Reed, Edgar Barrera and Cheche Alara and written by Cabello, Sheeran and Reed.The track is Cabello’s first new music release of 2022 and is the latest preview of her forthcoming new album ‘Familia’, which is set for release on April 8.The video for ‘Bam Bam’ has also been released this afternoon (March 4), which was directed by Mia Barnes in collaboration with Dave Meyers – you can watch the colourful clip below.Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe this week, Cabello said of ‘Bam Bam’: “I wanted to make a song that had English words, but gives me that same feeling that a lot of these Latin songs give us. And so basically, we had this version of the song.“By the time that Ed [Sheeran] had heard it and been on board to do it, I was in a different place in my life.