Richard Ashcroft announces London show for South Facing Festival

British Airways has dramatically increased the price of flights from Manchester to London over the Easter school holidays. This may be an attempt to discourage people from booking while the aviation industry struggles with a number of issues.

Bloc Party played an intimate show at The Garage in London last night (March 30), where they debuted some of their new material – watch below.The show was announced earlier this month, with a press release stating that the London gig would provide “a special, intimate chance to hear the band’s new material” for the first time. The gig also marked the band’s first live show since 2019.Bloc Party’s sixth studio album ‘Alpha Games’ is out on April 29.

David Bowie has been unveiled at Madame Tussauds in London as part of the attraction’s ‘Music Festival’ experience.Created in partnership with Bowie’s estate, the figure depicts the late musician during his iconic Ziggy Stardust era. It was made using information from the star’s 1983 sitting, and marks the second Bowie waxwork to feature at the museum.The addition of Ziggy completes Madame Tussauds London’s revamped ‘Music Festival’ zone, which also features models of Jimi Hendrix, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé, Amy Winehouse and Little Mix.Tim Waters, General Manager at Madame Tussauds London, said: “David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust transcends generations and music genres, making him the ultimate headliner to launch our new Music Festival zone.There’s a Starman waiting in…our new music zone! @DavidBowieReal lands tomorrow ⭐️☄️ pic.twitter.com/dDMIU6OHC9— Madame Tussauds London (@MadameTussauds) March 31, 2022“We were honoured to work with his estate in what would have been his 75th year and play our small part in keeping his inimitable legacy alive for generations to come.”As for the newly-updated festival area, Waters continued: “With our new Music Festival experience, we’ve captured the magic of live music, with legends you literally could not see perform together anywhere else, in a way that only Madame Tussauds London could.“There’s also the added bonus of no muddy fields or main-stage clashes to contend with.”Madame Tussauds London’s Music Festival experience opens tomorrow (April 1) – you can find ticket information here.

Nearly all of the cast members from Fantastic Beasts: The Secret of Dumbledore were in attendance for the world premiere.

Interpol and Spoon have announced a co-headlined coast-to-coast North American tour,  ‘Lights, Camera, Factions’. Tickets will be available hereThe tour kicks off on August 25 in Asbury Park at The Stone Pony Summer Stage and ends with a two-night stint at Portland, OR’s Pioneer Square on September 17 and 18.

Genesis bid farewell last night (March 26) with their final gig together as a group – see footage below.The band – comprised of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, along with touring musicians Daryl Stuermer, Nic Collins, Daniel Pearce and Patrick Smyth – bowed out with a sold-out show at London’s O2 Arena.Formed at Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey, in 1967, last night’s show marks the end of an illustrious 55-year career that sees them remembered as one of music’s most successful acts, selling over 100million albums worldwide.The 1970s line-up featuring Collins on drums, singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett is regarded one of progressive rock’s most pioneering groups.Playing 23 tracks in total, Genesis ran through a long list of their biggest hits including ‘I Can’t Dance’, ‘Mama’, ‘Turn It On Again’, ‘No Son Of Mine’ and ‘Invisible Touch’.Before playing ‘Land Of Confusion’, Collins addressed the crowd and announced that it would be Genesis’ final show. As the crowd applauded the band, Collins sat looking pensive, seemingly taking in the fact that it was the last hoorah.

Incubus have announced a UK headline tour set to take place at arenas across the country this autumn – find ticket information below.Kicking off at Birmingham’s O2 Academy on September 28, the four-date tour includes two performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall, with the other shows taking place in Manchester and Birmingham.The announcement comes a little under two weeks since the band revealed their plans for a US headline tour, beginning this July with Sublime With Rome and The Aquadolls in support.Incubus will commence that stretch on July 24 in West Palm Beach, Florida, undertaking an additional 24 shows across the country that wraps up on September 28 in Cula Vista, California.Tickets for the UK tour go on sale at 9:00am GMT on March 30 – get tickets here.BIRMINGHAM, LONDON, MANCHESTER see you in October ⚡️⚡️⚡️https://t.co/Mm8nVDN10b pic.twitter.com/YgfwjqtrSB— Incubus (@IncubusBand) March 25, 2022SEPTEMBER 2020 Wednesday 28 – Birmingham, O2 Academy Thursday 29 – London, Royal Albert Hall Friday 30 – London, Royal Albert HallOCTOBER 2020 Sunday 2 – Manchester, O2 ApolloLast year, Brandon Boyd and co. celebrated the 20th anniversary of their seminal fourth studio album ‘Morning View’, marking the occasion by returning to the Malibu beach house where it was written and recorded for a livestream concert of the record performed in its entirety.Incubus’ most recent release was 2020’s ‘Trust Fall (Side B)’ EP, a follow-up to 2017’s ‘8’.

Harry Styles has announced his third solo album, ‘Harry’s House’ – check out the official trailer and artwork below.Following on from the star’s 2017 self-titled debut and 2019’s ‘Fine Line’, the new 13-track record will arrive globally on May 20. You can pre-save/pre-add it here.Styles confirmed the news today (March 23) after teasing the project with a series of cryptic posts across various unknown social media platforms that the singer had followed, including an Instagram account called ‘You Are Home’.Elsewhere, mysterious adverts began appearing in newspapers around the world earlier this month while a ‘You Are Home’ website was also launched (via fan Twitter page HSDaily).The ‘Harry’s House’ trailer sees Styles take to the stage in an empty theatre as a yellow house set design is hoisted up behind him.

Simon Rattle was getting ready to leave Europe for the first time since the start of the pandemic and head to California with the London Symphony Orchestra for a residency with students at Santa Barbara’s Music Academy of the West.“It’s kind of a miracle that it’s happening,” he said.A U.S. tour started Saturday in Palo Alto, continued on to Berkeley and Costa Mesa before three concerts in Santa Barbara this week.The symphony launched its partnership with the academy in 2018 when five section principals spent 10 days teaching and picked a dozen students as fellows to work with the orchestra in London the following January.

Richard Ashcroft has announced two new major headline shows for this autumn.The former The Verve frontman will play Manchester’s AO Arena on October 14 and Brighton’s The Brighton Centre on October 15. Tickets go on sale this Friday (March 25) at 9.30am –  purchase yours here.The gigs will follow other previously announced summer headline shows.

Måneskin have announced a landmark headline show in London, set to take place next year. 

Rosamund Pike was among a group protesting Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine outside the Russian Embassy in London on Sunday, March 20.

Glastonbury has announced the 90 acts on their longlist for this year’s Emerging Talent Competition.The annual contest sees rising talent submitting their music in the hopes of winning a slot on one of the Worthy Farm festival’s main stages.Supported by PRS For Music and the PRS Foundation, the 2022 Emerging Talent Competition longlist has been selected by a panel of 30 music writers, with that group now set to be whittled down to a shortlist of eight by judges including members of the Glastonbury team.The winners will then be decided at a forthcoming live event in Pilton, the Somerset town where the festival is based. They’ll be awarded a £5,000 PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development prize, with two runners-up also receiving a £2,500 PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development prize.All of the 90 acts who are part of this year’s Emerging Talent Competition have been compiled into a single playlist, which you can listen to below.The last Emerging Talent Competition took place in 2020, with R.A.E being announced as the winner.

Franz Ferdinand have announced a North American tour following the release of their greatest hits compilation, ‘Hits To The Head’ – buy tickets here.The US leg runs from August to September with stops in Atlanta, New York, Washington DC, and Los Angeles and will mark the Scottish band’s first tour of the country since 2018. General on-sale for the tour kicks off Friday (March 18) at 10am local time.

Manori Ravindran International EditorAmazon Studios has rounded out the cast of forthcoming drama “Anansi Boys” with the additions of Fiona Shaw, CCH Pounder and Jason Watkins.The series is an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name, and is currently shooting in Edinburgh, Scotland.“Anansi Boys” follows Charlie Nancy (Malachi Kirby), sometimes known as Fat Charlie (it was his father’s nickname for him), a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father. But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that his father was Anansi, the trickster god of stories (played by Delroy Lindo), and that he has a brother. Now that brother, Spider (also played by Kirby), is entering Charlie’s life, determined to make it more interesting — but making it a lot more dangerous instead.

Matt Hancock has been accused of using the UK's refugee scheme to improve his personal image by taking in a Ukrainian family.