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I know I'm going to like Christian O'Connell. "You don't have to sit in with us," he says to the PR man at Virgin Radio's headquarters in Soho (I immediately warm to anyone who doesn't need the security of a publicist). "I promise I won't say anything bad."   "Yeah, get out," I say, emboldened by O'Connell's jokey banter. He does.   O'Connell, Virgin's new breakfast show presenter, is the man being talked about in radio circles as the new Chris Evans. Yesterday it was announced that since he le

The world's third-largest music company EMI could raise its offer for smaller rival Warner Music to $30 per share after the U.S. firm rejected its $28.50 offer earlier this month, the Observer newspaper said.   But Warner could still hold out for a higher bid of about $33 per share, the newspaper said. EMI, home to artists such as Coldplay and Robbie Williams, offered $4.2 billion at the start of May and said it believed the acquisition would be a good deal for both comapnies' shareholders. Warn

Death Cab For Cutie just finished making a new video, and it's premiering now at Yahoo! Music.   The video is for the song "I Will Follow You Into The Dark," off Death Cab For Cutie's latest album, "Plans." The clip was directed by Jamie Thraves, who also directed Radiohead's "Just" and Coldplay's "The Scientist" videos.   To check out Death Cab For Cutie's new video for "I Will Follow You Into The Dark," click here

Aftershow pictures featuring Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z are here   Whilst industry heads have been ringing all of their contacts, eBay auctions have been inundated with bids, RWD had what they were all after, tickets to the UK music event of the year. And we ain’t talking MOBOs. Fast forward one week and the same historic venue hosted the biggest name in hip hop as he brought the UK leg of his world tour to a dynamic close.   Jay-Z was to be the firs

Shares in EMI soared this morning after the music group revealed that it was in takeover discussions again.   The firm, which has Lily Allen, Coldplay and Robbie Williams on its books, confirmed this morning that it had received "a number of preliminary indications of interest to acquire the company".   The announcement followed reports that a private equity group was prepared to pay £3bn for the company. One Equity, the private equity firm affiliated to American bank JPMorgan, sent EMI a letter

Is it theft, borrowing, unconscious plagiarism or sheer coincidence? Coldplay is being taken to court over allegations it pinched a tune by US guitarist Joe Satriani. Satriani claims Coldplay's song Viva la Vida is a direct rip-off of his melody If I Could Fly and he wants any and all profits from the Coldplay hit.   The two songs have been overlayed on the video sharing website YouTube just to prove the point. Coldplay says any similarity is entirely coincidental and that Satriani did not write

On a particularly humid evening, Coldplay touched down at the Rogers Centre for an energetic, uplifting and momentarily off kilter set. Working off of their vast catalogue of current and past hits, the British four-piece launched into "Life In Technicolour," the lead instrumental off of their latest offering Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, writes Exclaim.   After a strong rendition of "Violet Hill," lead singer Chris Martin took a moment to stare out into the sea of writhing bodies an

02.12.07 VH1 All Access: 20 Cutest Celebrity Babies. Starts at 6pm EST.   No doubt about it: Babies are cute. But some are cuter than others. Get ready to count down the babies that make the whole world go gaga: The 20 cutest lil’ A-listers ever.

Yes, the halftime show has grown to the point of having critics.   “From giant puppets to rousing tributes to Sept. 11, from Phil Collins to Paul McCartney, the halftime show remains as stodgy as an episode of ‘The Price is Right,’” says Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor and past president of the International Popular Culture Association. “Even Janet Jackson’s performance, though it caused much hand wringing, was just another pop star trotted onto the field.”   Maybe, but hundreds

Keane are back with their hotly anticipated follow up to 2004's huge selling Hopes and Fears, and Gareth Iacobucci gives the album its first major run-through for Sound Generator.   "Under The Iron Sea" is not as immediate as its predecessor and has a noticeably darker tone throughout, he writes. However, there are still enough great tunes to suggest that it will be one of the biggest albums of the year.   So what's it all about?1. Atlantic An eerie lingering piano hook and trippy drums recall

Did you know that Tim Rice-Oxley, Keane's keyboard player and songwriter, is a college friend of Chris Martin, and was once asked to join Coldplay? Rice-Oxley said no.   Normally, this would lead to years of bitter regret and swearing at the radio every time Yellow came on. Instead, Keane are now in the same position as Coldplay were when they released their second album, A Rush of Blood To The Head, the one that took Martin and co from headline tours to stadium tours.   Maybe Keane were taking

There isn't a whole lot of Coldplay news to report tonight, but I read some things related to the upcoming Glastonbury Festival that made me want to post.   First off, one of the festival's main acts, The White Stripes, are talking about breaking up due to becoming too popular? It's amazing to think about how much of an effect popularity has on up-and-coming bands. It certainly affected Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder in the early 90s, and it looks like it is now taking its toll on one of the bands

It’s one thing for a band to explode from nowhere with a classic debut album. Following it up is a far greater challenge.   The second album, traditionally, is a band’s opportunity to transcend their original fanbase, infiltrate the mainstream. A great sophomore effort can catapult a band into the superleague – take Coldplay’s A Rush Of Blood To The Head. Equally, it can kill the buzz stone dead. Remember how the lustre of unassailable cool surrounding The Strokes evaporated in the wake of Room

If there was a book called, Critiquing Music for Dummies, somewhere inside would be a passage about how you must hate Coldplay and anything they put out. In fact, giving Coldplay poor reviews has been a growing trend over the years. The band's latest LP Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends changed that quite a bit. While it was far from their Joshua Tree, Viva La Vida was a solid album that had the band heading in the right direction.   Only 5 short months later, the most legally downloade

It was a rare alchemy that made last night's concert at the mammoth Rogers Centre a ticket to good to pass up as Elbow, the Mercury Prize-winning British critical darlings, and Coldplay, the Grammy-winning heir to the title of "world biggest band" joined forces in Toronto, writes The National Post.   Before the big bands, the night was begun by the young British rockabilly trio Kitty Daisy & Lewis, who were hand selected by Coldplay's Chris Martin for the tour. Playing on the massive stage,

Three mashups including two with the same piece of Bloc Party [pictured], drawn from their last album mixed respectively with Gwen Stefani and Coldplay, with a third where the Bloc Party are found in front of a mirror.   Three mashups with two of them featuring the same song from Bloc Party’s latest album, Hunting for Witches, against Gwen Stefani first, then Coldplay, more has third one involving Bloc Party against themselves.   Click here to download them [thanks kamichi]   The Hunting for Wit

The British rockers, Muse have revealed their latest single from their upcoming album, 'Drones', which is due for release on 8th June. 'Mercy' is the newest song to be showcased from said album. Frontman, Matt Bellamy, explained the meaning of 'Mercy' on muse.mu   The opening line of ‘Mercy' - Help me I’ve fallen on the inside - is a reference to the protagonist knowing and recognizing that they have lost something, they have lost themselves. This is where they realize they’re being overcome

The work is hardly finished in the wake of hurricane Katrina.   New Orleans is just beginning the rebuild process and when everyone has moved on to current events, Michael Stipe teams up with Chris Martin (Coldplay) to splash cold water in our faces to drive us back to reality.   Stipe decided to cover the anthemic ballad "In The Sun" as his premiere awareness method. When it came time to recruit talent to work with him, Chris Martin was first in line on a celebrity filled roster.   "In The Sun"

Orson are officially the best new band of 2006.   Their recipe for success simple – positivity, funk and fun. They describe their sound as "two-guitar power-pop"or equally "rock 'n' roll that girls can dance to".   Again, simple. Their first single – 'No Tomorrow' - was the most downloaded Single Of The Week in the entire history of iTunes beating heavyweights like Coldplay, U2 and Madonna. People are so desperate to hear more that preview copies of their debut album 'Bright Idea' – out on the

Jimi Hendrix died soon after playing the Isle of Wight in 1970, The Doors hardly played again, and the event itself disappeared for 31 years. Now it's different, says James McNair   However confused its imagery, Sandi Thom's "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (with Flowers in My Hair)" taps into the nostalgia many feel for the halcyon days of rock. Symbolically, so too does the Isle of Wight Festival.   At its peak, Britain's oldest rock gathering could boast slots from The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Leonard C

The new series of Extras stars this week - and Chris Martin and David Bowie are among those who’ll be humiliating themselves in it.   For those of you who still wake up screaming at the nightmarish vision of Les Dennis, naked as the day he was cuckolded, cupping his nadgers and baring his arse, brace yourselves. Extras - the superstar-sniping sarco-series that leapt sneering from the hot brain of Ricky Gervais after The Office - is back.   And this time the weekly guest stars lining up to prove

Sir Bob Geldof has launched a bitter attack on this summer’s ‘Live Earth’ gigs, calling them “just an enormous pop concert”.   The head of Live Aid has criticised the multi-national concerts organised by climate campaigner Al Gore for failing to secure any tangible solution to the issue. He rants, ”I hope they're a success. But why is he actually organizing them? To make us aware of the greenhouse effect? Everybody's known about that problem for years. We are all fucking conscious of global warm

That Chris Martin, he’s a dark horse. Actually, what are we saying? No he isn’t. He’s a man who usually screams up for what he believes in and uses the back of his hands like portable billboards for worthy causes.   But apparently, he was capable of keeping one little secret – the band’s crush on Take That, and their desire to be the Manchester four piece’s warm up act. “We were in the dressing room yesterday and, for whatever reason, we started singing Back For Good,” Chris told Coldplay.com la

With the music industry losing loads of cash and smaller acts getting more attention, many people think the era of huge record sales and big stadium shows is over. One problem with that theory: Coldplay, writes Metro News (Canada).   It seems that no one told the British foursome, which is arguably the biggest band in the world right now, that the days of epic, over-the-top concerts are a thing of the past. The band has been traversing the world playing for thousands of fans in both packed arena

Washington, Feb 6 (ANI): Oscar winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has returned to acting, to become a more interesting mother to her kids and will now be seen opposite Robert Downey Jr in the film 'Iron Man'.   The 'Shakespeare in Love' actress, who took a break from acting after the birth of her second child Moses last year, has said that she initially wanted to commit to being home and that she decided to return to films, for she thought that she must pursue a 'passion for something besides her f