Alternative Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

HAIM have teased that they might have been working with Jai Paul on new music.The Los Angeles-trio – made up of sister Alana, Danielle and Este Haim – performed their massive London headline show at All Points East on Monday (August 28) and spoke to Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 6 about new music during their stop in the UK.Along with discussing the 10th anniversary of their debut album ‘Days Are Gone‘, they were also asked about plans for the future.The sisters shared that they “been working with some cool people”. “We played Jai Paul earlier; we might’ve been in the studio with him,” they teased.

Finneas performed his debut UK headline show at Electric Ballroom in London last night (August 30) and performed a brand new track. Check out the full setlist, videos and pictures below.The artist’s ‘one night only’ gig at the 1500-capacity Camden venue came just one day after he performed alongside sister Billie Eilish at her own intimate gig, who surprised fans with guest appearances from Labrinth and Boygenius.Finneas also performed with his pop sensation sibling a few days prior for her massive headline performances at Reading and Leeds Festivals 2023.Minutes before Finneas’ turn yesterday, Billie emerged on the upstairs balcony overlooking the stage and was met by screams as she waved to fans.

Talking Heads has said that the re-release of their film Stop Making Sense acted as somewhat of a “healing experience” for the band.The musician reflected on the 1983, Jonathan Demme-directed concert film in a new interview on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast, and explained how re-releasing the film has helped the members grow closer.The band are reissuing the film to celebrate 40 years since it was first released, and the moment also will see members Harrison, David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz come together for their first public reunion in over two decades.According to Harrison, although the band underwent a tumultuous break-up, revisiting the film – which has been restored to 4K and distributed by A24 – has helped the members settle their differences, and played a significant role in bringing them back together.“We own the film together, [so we had] to work together to make a decision,” he told the host. “‘Is A24 the right distributor for us, the right partner for us?’ We had to have conversations about that, and this is something we did together.

Slowdive have released new single ‘alife’ and announced a UK and European tour for 2024 – find all the details below and purchase tickets for the UK shows here.The hazy new song is the final preview of the shoegaze band’s new album ‘Everything Is Alive’, which is out Friday (September 1) via Dead Oceans.Alongside the single announcement, Slowdive have announced a new string of UK and European dates for January 2024, which will see them kick off the run at Paradiso in Amsterdam on January 16, 2024.From there, they’ll perform shows in Paris, Oslo, Berlin, Munich and more, before starting their UK run at Dome, Brighton on February 14. Following stops in cities including Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow and more – along with a show at London’s Eventim Apollo on February 17 – they’ll wrap up at Manchester’s Academy on February 27.We are also very pleased to announce our UK and European tour in 2024.

King Krule has shared a new live film, comprised of footage from his recent run of intimate live shows.

Billie Eilish played an intimate live show in London and paused the set multiple times to help fans who were struggling in the crowd.The last-minute surprise gig was held at the Electric Ballroom venue in Camden last night (August 29) and saw the pop star play to a packed audience, tease rarities and bring out special guests.Eilish announced details of the show on Saturday (August 26) — the day after she headlined the opening night of Leeds Festival, and just before she closed Reading 2023. Unsurprisingly, tickets sold out almost instantly, and some fans even camped outside the venue the night before.However, those lucky enough to snatch tickets soon clamoured to get as close to the artist as possible, resulting in the set being brought to a halt multiple times.The first instance came during the third track of her 20-song setlist, ‘Therefore I Am’, when Eilish paused twice mid-performance, to check on members of the crowd and urge members of security to pass out water.“Can we get some water for these folks?” she asked, looking around for members of staff to help the eager audience.

Billie Eilish has played an intimate London gig, with guest appearances from Labrinth and Boygenius. Check out footage and the full setlist below.The show took place tonight (August 29) in the Electric Ballroom venue in Camden, and saw the singer and Finneas perform fan favourites including ‘Bad Guy’ and ‘Therefore I Am’, as well as bring out some special guests.Eilish announced the surprise show on Saturday (August 26) — the day after she headlined the opening night of Leeds Festival.

Easy Life‘s Murray Matravers has reflected on the band’s rapid rise so far and their definitions of success.Speaking to NME at Reading Festival 2023 this weekend, the frontman looked back on what the band have achieved in recent years – including performances on much bigger stages and a rapidly growing fan base – and said they’ve been asking themselves what success looks like.“If you had of asked me two or three years ago, I would have said, ‘Huge gigs and international critical acclaim and being famous’. But I think, now, it’s definitely not that, and I don’t want that.”He added that “if you’re happy in what you do, then you’ve smashed it”, and that “if you’re enjoying it, and you’re healthy, and you’re healthy in your mind as well, that for me is success.

Phoebe Bridgers made another onstage appearance with Christian Lee Hutson at Connect Festival today (August 27), after the pair performed together at an Øya festival spin-off show earlier this month.Performing at the Edinburgh festival at Royal Highland Showground today, where Boygenius – Bridgers’ band with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus – are due to headline, she came out to sing ‘Lose This Number’, ‘Chesapeake’ and ‘Rubberneckers‘ with the US singer-songwriter.Their performance follows Bridgers’ surprise appearance at Oslo’s Vulkan Arena concert hall earlier this month – where Hutson headlined the venue as part of his ongoing tour.Check out footage of this weekend’s performance below.“Phoebe and I were in this band called Better Oblivion Community Center,” Hutson said before they performed ‘Chesapeake’. “And we’re gonna do this song from that,” he said, joking that they “might abort it” part way through.She previously teamed up with Hutson on stage at last year’s The Ally Coalition benefit gig and during a television appearance on CBS Mornings.

Ashnikko has shared what it was like working with Ethel Cain on their track ‘Dying Star’, calling it “quite magical”.The two singers teamed up on the final track featured on Ashnikko’s debut album ‘WEEDKILLER‘. The song wraps up the entire LP which was based on a short story Ashnikko wrote about about a race of AI robots who destroy a fae forest.Speaking to NME as the latest star of The Cover, they shared the process of creating ‘Dying Star’ saying :“I wrote the first verse of the song in a session, and I didn’t know what to do with it and was sitting on it for a while.”They continued:“Then I played it to Ethel, and ‘Dying Star’ came out.

Björk has won the award for Best Live Performer at the 2023 Association of Independent Music Awards (AIM). Check out the final nominations below.Announced today (August 24), the Icelandic singer was announced the winner of the publicly-voted award for her ongoing ‘Cornucopia’ tour.She also fought off close competition from Beabadoobee and MUNA, as well as Japanese kawaii-metal girl group Babymetal.The award also comes in light of her 10th and latest studio album, ‘Fossora’, which arrived last September.

OMD have announced their return with news of a new album ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ – their first new LP in six years. Check out the title track below.The upcoming album marks the band’s first announcement since they celebrated their 40th anniversary last year, and the first new music since their critically acclaimed 13th studio album ‘The Punishment of Luxury’, which arrived in 2017.Predominantly written, recorded, and mixed by both members – McCluskey and Paul Humphreys – the forthcoming LP is expected to be Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s most explicitly political record to date.

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have announced details of a new live album, created from their three performances at the Sydney Opera House last year.Titled ‘Australian Carnage’, the collection features audio taken from the pair’s performances in the Australian city, held as part of their 16-stop tour in the country at the end of 2022. The tour celebrated the release of the 2021 lockdown album, ‘Carnage’, which saw Cave and longtime Bad Seeds member Ellis come together for a new introspective side project.The live album will be released in two different formats: an 18-track digital version, which will be released this Friday (August 25), and an eight-track vinyl edition, which will arrive on December 1 via Goliath – pre-order here.To celebrate the announcement, Cave and Ellis have also shared the live version of ‘Balcony Man’, taken from the forthcoming album.

Jai Paul has announced a string of extra headline tour dates for 2023 – find all the details below.The British musician will perform two nights at the The Mayan Theater in LA on September 26 and 27, followed by San Francisco’s The Regency Ballroom on September 29 and the city’s Portola Music Festival on September 30.The artist will then head to Paris to perform at the Élysée Montmartre on November 27 and Berlin’s Huxley’s the next day (28). The final extra dates will see Paul perform two dates at Melbourne’s 170 Russell on December 4 and 5.Tickets will be available exclusively via ballot on Paul’s website.

DEVO have confirmed that their current world tour will be the band’s last.The Ohio new wave group – who announced a farewell tour for 2023 earlier this year – confirmed in a new interview that the current run of shows will indeed be their last after 50 years together.Speaking to The Guardian, the band’s lead singer, Mark Mothersbaugh, explained why the band had decided to wrap up the live portion of their career.“Are you married?” he asked. “Imagine you had four wives and you worked together.

The Killers have teased a big announcement with an ambiguous new video.Taking to social media this evening (August 21), the Las Vegas band posted a five-second black and white video of a dancer dressed in carnival-style attire in the desert.It’s accompanied by a dramatic piece of percussive music, but no caption or further detailed were shared alongside it.Check it out below.pic.twitter.com/8L6Cs62ROr— The Killers (@thekillers) August 21, 2023Fans have quickly started speculating about what the cryptic video could mean, with ideas ranging from a Super Bowl halftime show announcement – with the band having recently been named as the bookies’ favourite – to a new single.If it is teasing the imminent arrival of a song, that would mark the first new material from The Killers since their one-off 2022 single ‘Boy’.Speaking to NME about the new track at Mad Cool festival in Madrid last year, frontman Brandon Flowers said it was “the song that took me back home” and was “sort of the impetus for writing [2021 album] ‘Pressure Machine’.”He went on: “What’s interesting is that it just didn’t make it onto the record – but its absence is not a reflection of the quality of the song. It was an aesthetic decision to keep it off the record.”Drummer Ronnie Vannucci added that it was “a different complexion”, while Flowers said there was “an optimism to it”.

David Bowie for a Saturday Night Live sketch.The actor and comedian reflected on a skit he wrote for an episode in November 1991, which was hosted by Macaulay Culkin and featured Bowie and Tin Machine as the musical guest.Speaking on a recent episode of the Fly on the Wall podcast, which Spade co-hosts with Dana Carvey, he remembered casting himself in a sketch as the receptionist that “stops you because he thinks they’re better than you”, with Bowie cast to play himself.As Bowie wasn’t in the pitch meeting, Spade received a request to call the music icon at his hotel.“I called him and he answers and it’s fucking Bowie,” he said. “And he’s like, ‘This [sketch] is so fucking funny.

Hozier has shared that he would consider striking over the threat that artificial intelligence (AI) poses to the music industry.In a preview of tonight’s episode of Newsnight (August 17), Hozier – real name Andrew Hozier-Byrne – explained to presenter Victoria Derbyshire: “Whether [AI is] art or not, I think, is nearly a philosophical debate.“It can’t create something based on a human experience. So I don’t know if it meets the definition of art.”He continued: “Actors at the moment… there’s huge strikes on at the moment.

Death Cab For Cutie have released new single ‘An Arrow In The Wall’ along with a B-side remix from Chvrches.The new track, produced by John Congleton, is available to listen to now or order on a two-side, 12-inch single vinyl from here.“‘An Arrow In the Wall’ is about the warning signs all around us in the 21st century that society-at-large is in decay,” said vocalist and guitarist Ben Gibbard in a press statement. “The arrow lodged in the wall might have missed this time, but it would be naive to assume the next one won’t also.”He added of the synthy remix from the Scottish trio: “We have been good friends with Chvrches since touring together in 2019.

The Cult’s Billy Duffy has joined Johnny Marr on stage to play tracks by The Smiths and Depeche Mode. Check out footage of the moment below.The gig took place at the Cheese and Grain venue in Frome last night (August 16) as part of Johnny Marr’s latest run of solo gigs, and featured a number of tracks from across his discography, including solo tracks and classics by The Smiths.Fans at last night’s show, however, were left surprised after the singer-songwriter and guitarist brought out The Cult’s Billy Duffy as a surprise guest for the evening.The on-stage appearance is the latest of the multiple times the two musicians have joined forces, as they both have a long history of playing music together – stemming back to their adolescent years.Meeting in Manchester during their childhood, Duffy was in an early incarnation of The Smiths with Morrissey and had also played guitar with Marr when the latter was just 12 years old.

Primavera Sound has announced that it will debut in Peru this year, marking the festival’s latest expansion.The festival, which also hosts editions in Barcelona, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Bogotá and more, will debut in its newest South America territory in November.Primavera Sound in Lima will take place on November 22 and December 2, 7 and 8, where The Cure, Bad Gyal, Pet Shop Boys and Bad Religion will headline.

Sufjan Stevens has announced his new album ‘Javelin’ and shared lead single ‘So You Are Tired’ – listen to it below.‘Javelin’ is due out on October 6 via Asthmatic Kitty Records, and is available to pre-save/ pre-order here. The LP marks the artist’s first solo album since 2020’s ‘The Ascension‘, and his first back in “full singer-songwriter mode” since ‘Carrie & Lowell‘, according to a press release.It also follows his April release ‘Reflections’, a studio recording of his score for the ballet by choreographer Justin Peck.Lead single ‘So You Are Tired’ is a gentle piano number that gradually swells to introduce guitars, percussion and a choir of powerful vocals. “So you are tired of us / So rest your head,” Stevens sings.Listen to it below.The forthcoming 10-track album sees “the entire experience of Stevens’ 25-year career brought to bear in four-minute bursts of choral, orchestral, and electric wonder”, as per the release.The musician worked with a close circle of collaborators on the new LP, including adrienne maree brown, Hannah Cohen, Pauline Delassus, Megan Lui, Nedelle Torrisi and Bryce Dessner.

Mac DeMarco has opened up about his changing musical direction as well as touring and past antics, sharing that “maybe finally I’m growing up”.While chatting with NME in the latest instalment of the In Conversation series, DeMarco explained the mellow route he is on in terms of the current music he’s been creating.“With these last couple of releases, I’ve probably freed myself in most regards. I almost feel like there was a long time where I was pretending to be something that I wasn’t and trying to do things musically that maybe… I feel like all the records I’ve put out are very much me, but in regards to the more ambient or of video gamey-sounding stuff, I love it,” he said.He continued: “There are stipulations I have now for making my music where it needs to feel natural. I don’t want to force anything.

Arctic Monkeys, Kings Of Leon and The Killers. However, the future of the venue came under threat, after the owners of the building were issued an eviction notice.Following the announcement, various campaigns were launched in a bid to save the historic spot, and support came from the likes of Jarvis Cocker, as well as Arctic Monkeys and Bring Me The Horizon frontman Oli Sykes.We're delighted to announce a very special one-off show from alt-pop rulebreaker ZAND this August, presented by former…Posted by The Leadmill on Monday, July 31, 2023Now, the upcoming gig with Zand and Corbyn follows news of the new ‘Battle For The Soul Of Sheffield’ initiative which launched last week, fighting against the eviction.Announcing the event, Corbyn said (via The Corbyn Project): “Exciting new artists like ZAND are just part of the reason the government must do more to protect venues like The Leadmill.

NME have teamed up with new entertainment platform Ladbrokes LIVE to launch the return of the iconic Club NME, which is set to kick off in London next month.Since its initial event back in 2004 and subsequent launch the following year, Club NME offered fans the opportunity to see their favourite artists in intimate settings – supporting local grassroots venues along the way.Now, Club NME is making a comeback for 2023 with a series of unmissable live events across the UK, starting in London this September and covering various genres across the series, along with plenty of surprises and special guests for the free-ticketed events.A club night with a twist – each instalment will feature top-class DJs as well as a live music performance, and over 2,500 tickets will be up for grabs over the course of the first four events.The return of Club NME is also created in partnership with Ladbrokes LIVE – a new digital hub devoted to giving fans the chance to win access to thousands of tickets to massive live events across the UK.

Ashnikko has released ‘Cheerleader’, the latest single from her upcoming album. Check it out below.The new single is the latest to be taken from the American singer, rapper and songwriter’s upcoming studio album, ‘WEEDKILLER’, which is set for release next month.

Sinead O’Connor’s brutal message to Piers Morgan has resurfaced after the TV host paid tribute to the late Irish singer on social media.The iconic Irish singer and activist died on Wednesday (July 26) after being found unresponsive at her home in London. The news was announced by her family and her death is not being treated as suspicious.Since word of her passing, countless musicians and other faces from the entertainment world have taken to social media to pay their respects to O’Connor.Among the names include television host and former Good Morning Britain presenter, Piers Morgan. Taking to Twitter, the 58-year-old broadcaster shared an image of him and the singer in the ITV studio.“RIP Sinead.

Tori Amos has performed two covers of Sinead O’Connor’s tracks, in tribute to the late singer. Check out footage of the moment below.Announced by her family, the acclaimed Irish singer and activist died this week (July 26) at the age of 56.

Nation Of Language have shared ‘Too Much, Enough’ – the latest single to be taken from their upcoming album ‘Strange Disciple’. Check out the star-studded music video below.The single is the fourth track to be shared from their upcoming album, and sees the members highlight the negative consequences of becoming immersed in the endless “angering, addictive and anxiety-inducing TV news cycles”.It also sees the trio – comprised of Ian Devaney, Aidan Noell and Alex MacKay – satirise what they see as “outrageous” television broadcasts, developing a video starring Emmy-nominated actor Jimmi Simpson (Westworld, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), as well as fellow musicians Reggie Watts, Kevin Morby, Tomberlin, Moldy Peaches’ Adam Green, and LVL UP’s Greg Rutkin.Various family members and friends also star in the visual accompaniment, with the band playing their synth-driven uplifting melodies over the top.

Squid have teamed up with Tim Key to record the audio of Paul Ewen’s story Lessons, which is available to listen to now.The story was first featured on a pamphlet inside vinyl copies of the band’s new album ‘O Monolith’, which came out last month, while Squid guitarist Anton Pearson has written accompanying music for the audio read by UK poet, screenwriter and comedian Key, which is free to listen to on Bandcamp and YouTube.“We’ve loved working with these two people we really admire,” Pearson said of the release in a press statement.You can listen to the new audio recording below.Elaborating on the collaboration, Pearson said: “John Fahey’s story insert to his 1967 album ‘The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death’, inspired the project, and after reading and listening to Paul Ewen’s amazing work (London Pub Reviews, How to be a Public Author) and talking to him, we found he had a great understanding of our work and exciting ideas for the project.“He said he wanted to write a story about an out of touch geography teacher and it doesn’t get much more exciting than THAT! Similarly, Tim seems to have an amazing grasp of Paul’s humour and his delivery takes it to another level, as is the case on the pub reviews series.”A post shared by Squid (@squidbanduk)Pearson continued: “I went to see Tim on his Mulberry tour and loved it so was very excited to have him involved. It was fun writing some music for the audiobook, I used stems from the album for some of it and built other bits from scratch.

Explosions In The Sky have announced their first album in seven years and a world tour kicking off later this year.‘End’ is set for release on September 15 via Bella Union, and the announcement arrives with first single ‘Ten Billion People’. You can pre-order/pre-save the new record here.Alongside new music, the Texas band have also announced ‘The End Tour’, which will see them tour the US in September before visiting 26 cities across the UK and Europe from November.The tour kicks off in Houston on September 25, visiting cities including Nashville, Chicago, Philadelphia and more, before finishing up in New York on October 5.

Gengahr have announced new dates on their upcoming UK and European tour headline tour later this year – find the dates below.Back in April the band announced their new album ‘Red Sun Titans’ – which came out June 9 – and 2023 UK tour with dates scheduled for cities including Birmingham, Manchester, London and more.The 2023 tour will kick off at Leicester’s O2 Academy on September 25 and finishes with a show at London’s Electric Ballroom on October 6 – you can purchase tickets here.Gengahr have now expanded the autumn tour into Europe, with new dates in Porto on October 12, Prague (14), Berlin (15), Amsterdam (16) and Paris (19).

Cillian Murphy‘s wardrobe in Oppenheimer was partly inspired by David Bowie during his Thin White Duke era.The actor – who plays “father of the atomic bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer in the new Christopher Nolan-directed epic – explained that the music icon provided inspiration for the clothing style worn by his character in the film, which came out Friday (July 21).“We worked very closely with our costume designer to design the clothes,” Murphy told MTV Movies.

Keanu Reeves‘ band Dogstar have announced a tour, their first album in 23 years, and have shared the lead single ‘Everything Turns Around’.The 90s alt-rock band – consisting of guitarist and vocalist Bret Domrose, drummer Rob Mailhouse, and bassist Keanu Reeves – have returned to the music scene with their latest track ‘Everything Turns Around’ as well as their forthcoming LP ‘Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees’.“We are so excited to re-introduce Dogstar with our new single ‘Everything Turns Around,’” the band said in a press release.They continued: “It feels like a fun summer song to us. It has an uplifting message and a positive vibe that hopefully makes your day a little bit lighter.

The Cure have broken records with their latest tour, despite frontman Robert Smith’s fight to lower the price of tickets.The records were broken with the band’s latest Shows Of A Lost World live shows in the US and Canada earlier this spring, which soon became their highest-grossing tour, and their best attendance in the region.As reported by Billboard, the tour – which consisted of 35 dates and kicked off in May – grossed $37.5million (£29million) and sold over 547,000 tickets. The final date took place in Miami, Florida earlier this month.It also reported that the most attended and highest-earning shows on the North American leg was the band’s three-night residency at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

Richard Ashcroft has recreated the music video for The Verve’s ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ for Sky Sports. Check out the clip below.The singer recreated the visual accompaniment to the 1997 hit for a Sky Sports promotion of Formula One, and filmed the clips a couple of days before last week’s British Grand Prix 2023 kicked off.Instead of walking the streets of London as in the original video, Ashcroft is seen performing the track around the UK’s Silverstone Circuit, which hosted the first British Grand Prix in 1948.