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Sad news from Liverpool of the demise of an iconic recording studio.   Falling into the hands of property developers in the 2008 European City of Culture are the studios on the 'pool's Parr Street, described by the Independent as "an unprepossesing 19th century converted warehouse...(which) has long been the unlikely source of some of Britain's most memorable musical creations".   And Simply Red have recorded there, too. Seriously, though, the likes of Doves, Badly Drawn Boy, New Order and Coldp

Sad news from Liverpool of the demise of an iconic recording studio.   Falling into the hands of property developers in the 2008 European City of Culture are the studios on the 'pool's Parr Street, described by the Independent as "an unprepossesing 19th century converted warehouse...(which) has long been the unlikely source of some of Britain's most memorable musical creations".   And Simply Red have recorded there, too. Seriously, though, the likes of Doves, Badly Drawn Boy, New Order and Coldp

Friday the 13th was not unlucky for the 2,000 fans who smiled their way into Avalon last night to see Coldplay. Avalon owner Patrick Lyons said he had more ticket requests to this than for any other show in his history there -- and that includes past dates by a few folks named Prince, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan.   The British band has sold 16 million albums and won four Grammys in the last five years. And recently, its new single, ''Speed of Sound," entered Billboard's Hot 100 at No. 8 -- the f

While being interviewed in Spain, where she's currently filming an ad for a wine company, Gwyneth Paltrow has talked about her family's plans for this year's Christmas:   "I don't know where we're gonna be [at Christmas], I don't want to travel that much. I believe we'll stay in Europe or we'll go to New York, where my mother lives. This year's the first time my daughter Apple will know that Christmas is, and I want to do something nice and relaxed with few people for her."   When asked if her k

Gwyneth Paltrow is planning on having an underwater birth. The actress, 33, and husband Coldplay singer Chris Martin, 28, have already paid for birthing pools to be delivered to their homes in London and New York.   Their second child is due in May. Paltrow wanted an underwater birth for Apple, 20 months, but backed out at the last minute. A friend said: "It's something Gwyneth really wanted to do for her first birth but she didn't feel confident enough. This time she's more than ready for an u

THEY may have been making music together for almost 20 years – but 80s pop heroes A-ha are far from best pals.   When we caught up with the Norwegian wonders for an exclusive webchat, they REFUSED to be interviewed together and described their relationship as an 'unusual marriage'.   Speaking separately to The Sun Online, Morten Harket and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy revealed they didn’t speak to each other for most of the 1990s and that they wrote much of their new album Analogue separately.   Despite

THEY may have been making music together for almost 20 years – but 80s pop heroes A-ha are far from best pals.   When we caught up with the Norwegian wonders for an exclusive webchat, they REFUSED to be interviewed together and described their relationship as an 'unusual marriage'.   Speaking separately to The Sun Online, Morten Harket and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy revealed they didn’t speak to each other for most of the 1990s and that they wrote much of their new album Analogue separately.   Despite

Legendary The Beatles recording studio Abbey Road has been granted a new licence to host live music despite complaints from disgruntled neighbours.   The London studio came under fire in February after holding an "illegal" Coldplay show which was later broadcast on BBC radio. As a result, the world-famous Abbey Road location was told to apply for a live performance licence which would allow it permission for gigs, as well as the sale of alcohol from 10am to midnight.   The proposal infuriated lo

Legendary The Beatles recording studio Abbey Road could be refused permission to host live gigs after complaints from disgruntled neighbours.   The venue came under fire in February after holding an "illegal" Coldplay show which was later broadcast on BBC radio. As a result, the London studio was told to apply for a live performance licence which would allow it permission for gigs, as well as the sale of alcohol, from 10am to midnight.   But the proposal has infuriated local residents who have f

Music group EMI has said it is not considering selling London's Abbey Road studios, according to various media outlets today. EMI released a statement saying the studios, made famous by a Beatles album, should stay under its ownership. EMI, which counts Robbie Williams and Coldplay among its artists, posted a £1.75bn loss for the year to March 2009 in accounts earlier this month.   EMI had been courting bidders for the property in St John's Wood, which it bought in 1929 for £100,000 and turned

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

Coldplay won't be in front of the TV watching Jools Holland on New Years' Eve, they'll be pocketing £1million for their slot at the Volvo Ocean Race venue in Abu Dhabi, writes The Sun this morning. Read on for their story... [Full discussion on Coldplay's New Year's Eve concert in Abu Dhabi is at the Coldplay Live forum now (thanks Skuze23, Mimixxx & _Tash)]   The Sun continued: They were persuaded to play there by the Emirate's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Zayed. Platinum table tickets for th

Like a game of sheikh poker, The Mirror have matched The Sun's Coldplay Abu Dhabi payday estimate of £1m and raised them another £1m as the latest figure banded about for Coldplay to play twelve songs at the New Year's gig in UAE is now £2million. (Think that's a lot? It's only about half of what Jay-Z and Kanye West got for performing at a birthday party for Sheikh Mansour in Dubai recently!)   The Mirror continued: Gwyneth Paltrow would be forgiven for giving Chris Martin the Cold shoulder aft

Could Juliana Down pull off at the last minute what they haven’t in a month? While the likelihood of them opening the act for the much-anticipated Coldplay concert in the capital this Saturday looks as minuscule as the eye of a needle, the Abu Dhabi-based band hasn’t lost hope.   “Anything can happen at the last minute. We are still hoping,” said Juliana Down’s 23-year-old vocalist Hassan Dia. The four-member band launched a massive month-long campaign to convince Coldplay to let a local band o

A national campaign to convince Coldplay to let a local band open for them has been running for a month with no sign of letting up - Coldplay are yet to respond according to Juliana Down, via PRNewswire.   When Juliana Down, an independent rock band in the UAE, contacted the promoter's for Coldplay's Abu Dhabi show to take place on the 28th of March, they were under the impression that a local support act slot would naturally be created for home grown talent. They were sadly mistaken. Upon conta

Coldplay's rain-soaked 2009 performance at Emirates Palace has become part of modern UAE folklore, with drenched Chris Martin crooning Singing in the Rain remaining a lasting image, writes The National in a review of Coldplay's New Year's Eve concert in Abu Dhabi at the weekend. [Full discussion on Coldplay's New Year's Eve concert in Abu Dhabi is at the Coldplay Live forum now (thanks to all who have contributed to the thread so far!)]   This time, however, the group returned to the capital to

Despite serpentine queues, heavy traffic and a long wait for those who had chosen to arrive at the venue early, the launch event of Abu Dhabi hosting the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race — and the capital's main New Year's Eve party — was a resounding success, writes Glf News in another review of last weekend's Coldplay's New Year's Eve concert in Abu Dhabi. [Full discussion on this show is at the Coldplay Live forum and more reviews can be found at WikiColdplay now (thanks to all who have contributed

On paper, the weekend was a triumph before it had even started - two of the world’s biggest acts playing back-to-back in the UAE capital, attracting thousands of fans from across the Emirates.   No language difficulties with Coldplay, whose eager-to-please front man Chris Martin must have swallowed a local dictionary. Once again, the elements voiced their disapproval in spectacular fashion – the primordial stew that had been brewing throughout Saturday finally giving way to a vast and furious el

A funny blog review of last night's outdoor concert is online, courtesy of Peter Vegas at Blogspot. (discuss!) Here it is:   Top performance by Cold Play in the grounds of the 7 star Emirates Palace last night. Dug the surreal lightening display that went on throughout the gig. Guess it was Gods way of saying, ‘Stuff Earth Hour I don’t turn my lights off for no one.’   Unfortunately with the lightening came rain. I don’t mind rain at an outdoor gig especially in the Middle East because it’s warm

Abu Dhabi: The atmosphere was electric, alright. With thousand-volt lightning streaking across the sombre skies, a group of four took to the stage in their marching band outfits to sing about Violet Hill, with Eugene Delacroix’s symbolist painting: Liberty Leading the People, unfolding in the background, reports Xpress.   The heavy skies soon opened up pouring rain over the 15,000 fans who had come to see Coldplay in their first concert in the UAE on Saturday [March 28] at the Emirates Palace in

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was charmingly apologetic, as if the rain was his fault. “I know this is extremely terrible weather,” he bellowed from the Emirates Palace stage on Saturday night.   But in fact, the rain never mattered. The British foursome bounced on stage with sparklers, opening their storming Middle Eastern debut with the instrumental Life in Technicolor from their last album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, followed by Violet Hill from the same album. From the happy

Coldplay made their Middle East debut in Abu Dhabi Saturday night in a carbon-neutral concert that coincided with Earth Hour and earned them a reported £1.4 million ($2 million), report Al Arabiya.   Lead singer Chris Martin, who is married to Hollywood heartthrob Gwyneth Paltrow, did not let the unseasonable rain dampen his enthusiasm and sang impromptu renditions of Singin’ in the Rain and Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head to a delighted crowd.   In the last performance of their worldwide tour

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these fans from the swift completion of their appointed concert. The scene outside of Saturday’s Coldplay concert at Emirates Palace is perhaps best described by reference to a ritual that, thanks to the creeping global expansion of American teen comedies, is known (and, increasingly, practised) across much of the world: prom.   The Coldplay show, like a typical prom, was long anticipated (prom comes but once a year; international pop stars

Coldplay made their Middle East debut last night in a musical performance to a capacity crowd of 15,000 on the Emirates Palace hotel grounds, and began their set with Violet Hill, followed by hits including Yellow and Clocks. Chris Martin, the lead singer, greeted fans in Arabic and laughed off several downpours with impromptu renditions of Singin’ in the Rain and Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.   “Even this torrential weather couldn’t stop us having a great time with you,” he told the crowd,

An attempt by the band Juliana Down, an alternative rock band from the United Arab Emirates, to open for Coldplay at a local show appears to have failed, ahead of this Saturday's highly-anticipated concert at the Emirates Palace Hotel.   When Juliana Down contacted the promoters for a Coldplay show to take place in Abu Dhabi, they were told by Coldplay's manager, "It would be my preference to support local and regional bands but in the end it is not [the local promoter] who dictates if a band wi