There are two things you should know about Brianna Walker if you want to have a great conversation with her.

She's a huge sports fan, and she's a big music lover.

"I see tons of concerts," she adds. "I've seen Coldplay, Dave Matthews several times and David Gray recently. But Coldplay was by far the best concert I've ever seen. They were amazing live. A friend of mine told me Def Leppard is coming to Riverbend with Journey and I think it would be fun to see them."MUSIC

What new song or album can't you get enough of?

I really like "O Yeah" and "She's Love" by The End of Fashion. I've also

been listening to a lot of Snow Patrol and Interpol. Oh, and Coldplay, you

can never get enough Coldplay!

Read more here

How Does The Chart Work?

The chart has been compiled using a pro-rata points formula based on a No. 1 album receiving 100 points for each week at the top. Points for all other positions vary based on the size of the chart for a particular week. Bonus points are also given for each week an album is at number one. The chart compilation and points formula calculation are ©2004-2006

1. Queen - ‘Greatest Hits’

2. Meat Loaf - ‘Bat Out Of Hell’

3. Simon And Garfunkel - ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’

4. Fleetwood Mac - ‘Rumours’

5. Pink Floyd - ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’

6. Mike Oldfield - ‘Tubular Bells’

7. Abba - ‘Gold - Greatest Hits’

8. Dire Straits - ‘Brothers In Arms’

9. Simon And Garfunkel - ‘Simon And Garfunkel's Greatest Hits’

10. Bob Marley And The Wailers - ‘Legend - The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers’

...

77. Coldplay - ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’

78. Coldplay - ‘Parachutes’

Thanks Ondes Martenot

Tech Leaders Come Together to Fight Global AIDS and Extreme Poverty with ONE: the Campaign to Make Poverty History

The Campaign to Make Poverty History announced its new website today, continuing an unprecedented campaign to reach and engage millions of Americans in the fight against global AIDS and extreme poverty at one.org.

"For the first time in history, we have the ability to beat global AIDS and extreme poverty, all we need is the will to do it," said ONE CEO Paul Dioguardi. "These leaders are using their time and technology to reach millions of Americans with a call to do even more to save lives in Africa and the world's poorest countries."The new site was designed by a volunteer team of industry leaders from across the technology world. Volunteers from Microsoft and Adobe conceptualized and designed the new ONE.ORG website, and development was completed by Adobe and Metaliq in Adobe's Flash® and in HTML. Akamai also provided ONE with streaming technology that allowed for global on-demand capacity for its new ONE "Click Spot" video on the homepage.

The site collaboration came out 2004's TED Conference, where lead singer of U2 and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) co-founder Bono won the TED Prize and made one of the prize's "wishes" that technology leaders would step forward to help engage more than one million Americans in the fight against global AIDS and extreme poverty.

To date, over 2 million people have joined ONE by visiting ONE.ORG and the campaign has used the website to engage and mobilize visitors in successful efforts to call for life-saving global commitments for Africa and the world's poorest countries, including 100 percent debt cancellation, increased effective international assistance and universal access to education and HIV/AIDS medicines.

The ONE.ORG home page also features the new ONE "Click Spot" and stars some of the biggest names in music and Hollywood, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Gwen Stefani, Dave Matthews, Coldplay, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, 50 Cent and Bono. In the spot, each clicks their fingers to show that every three seconds, a child dies of AIDS and extreme poverty-and that millions of Americans have the power to come together as ONE and save lives in Africa and the world's poorest countries.

Today, over 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day, and every day in Africa, HIV/AIDS kills 6,600 people, 8,500 people are infected with the HIV virus and at least 1,400 newborn babies are infected during childbirth. ONE is helping Americans raise their voices as ONE against the emergency of AIDS and extreme poverty, joining together to ask leaders to do more to save millions of lives in the world's poorest countries.

ABOUT ONE: THE CAMPAIGN TO MAKE POVERTY HISTORY: ONE (www.one.org) is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans -- ONE by ONE -- to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is a coalition of 2 million people and over 70 of the nation's leading relief, humanitarian and advocacy organizations. For more information, please visit one.org

Source: commondreams.org

Snow Patrol release the first single from their new album on April 24th.

'You're All I Have' is taken from the bands fourth studio album 'Eyes Open' which is released on May 1st. A sensational introduction to the new album, 'You're All I Have' is classic Snow Patrol - guitars hook you straight away and the three part vocal which immediately transports you into a sparkling other world, all done with increased bigness and boldness from their last album, the 4x platinum 'Final Straw'.

Already confirmed as a single of the week on Zane Lowe and Colin and Edith's Radio 1 shows, the song launches without doubt the best album of the band's career to date. Recorded between England and Ireland with Garret Jacknife Lee, it's a record by a band who have upped their game - no question. The band have recently announced a number of UK dates, all of which sold out in record time. The first of the gigs, at London, Koko on April 12th, set a venue sell out records of 9 minutes - faster than either Madonna or Coldplay.

icScotland.co.uk has x1 pair tickets to give away to this Mondays Gig at Glasgows ABC. To enter, click here

More details have arrived about little Moses‘ birth! The firstborn son of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin was born in NYC at Mount Sinai Hospital — but there’s no official word on his method of egress (i.e. scalpel or pushing).

He weighed in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces on 4/8 (ooh… the numbers are the same!) — checking in at about 9:00 in the morning. For what it’s worth, big sister Apple was nearly a pound and a half bigger at birth: she weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces when she was born on May 14, 2004.

Source - celebritypregnancy.com

The Sundance Channel is currently featuring a really interesting documentary titled In The Sun, which was created to remind Americans about the ongoing struggles of the survivors from Hurricane Katrina. The film also takes a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the In The Sun EP, currently available on iTunes. All proceeds from the sale of the EP go to Mercy Corps, which is devoted to those still suffering in the wake of the hurricane.

The film was collaboration between Michael Stipe [pictured] and photographer & Grammy-nominated video director Danny Clinch. It includes the song “In The Sun”, which was written by singer/songwriter Joseph Arthur, as well as interviews with Arthur, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, former Smashing Pumpkins’ guitarist James Iha, Tulane University historian Douglas Brinkley and Katrina survivors. The Sundance Channel is showcasing the short film on its television network as well as online.

A longer version (41 minutes) is up, along with the 15 minute version, here

One feature of soppy, anthemic rock is the notion of redemption it seeks to nurture; a manly hug that says, 'We've all made mistakes but it's going to be OK.'

Soppy, anthemic rock appears able to redeem entire careers, too. Take Embrace. Around the time of their 1997 'All You Good Good People' single, they were pegged as the new Oasis. Eventually plummeting out of favour, they were rescued commercially in 2004 by a Coldplay song.

Snow Patrol started life 10 years ago as a likeable if ineffective indie outfit. After two largely unbought albums, singer Gary Lightbody became better known as the ringleader of the Reindeer Section, a Glasgow supergroup who made two mildly charming, if not quite chartbusting, albums. Around 2002, Snow Patrol decided they wanted to sell records. Final Straw, their third album, exchanged niche interests for soppy, anthemic rock. The calculation paid off. Within months they had a clutch of hit singles and were onstage at Live 8.

Read the full review here

The great thing about the Charlatans is they never became too big.

No doubt about it, they have some great tunes, but they have fired enough blanks to ensure the superstardom enjoyed by the likes of Oasis and Coldplay has never come their way. This has afforded them an offbeat, underdog feel that fans love. And it also lends itself perfectly to another of Xfm Manchester's Acess All April gigs at the Night and Day Café.

The five-piece barely fitted on stage - I had a better view than drummer Jon Brookes - but the sound and feel clicked with the venue. They went with their new material first up, with NYC (There’s no need to stop) followed by the ska-tinged For Your Entertainment lending a laid back feel to the proceedings.Tellin’ Stories, from the 1997 album of the same name, followed before a switch back to The Architect from new album Simpatico served as a reminder as to the Charlatans versatility and courage. Their musical experimentation doesn’t always work - the new material in the main received a less than rapturous reception - but at least they have the guts to try it.

The hi-octane Feel the Pressure and How High went down predictably well, as did Jesus Hairdo and You’re So Pretty, before Sproston Green brought matters to a rousing conclusion. If Brookes had been given the worst seat in the house tucked away at the back of the stage, he made sure everyone was aware of his presence with a manic finale.

Tim Burgess, not always the most reliable singer, was on good form too. And thankfully he kept banter to a minimum because he’s clueless on that front. Nine studio albums in and the Charlatans show little sign of flagging, or losing touch with their core values. They are now embarking on a tour that will take in the UK and US before a summer of festival appearances. Catch them if you can.

Source: manchesteronline.co.uk

If you could improve the life of a Colombian coffee farmer or a Ghanian cocoa grower by just changing brands, would you?

Millions of people worldwide have, simply by strolling into a supermarket in London or Berlin or Los Angeles or Sydney, and buying a Fair Trade product.

The blue-and-green Fair Trade mark appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal.

High-profile people promote the cause. Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, Fair Trade's international ambassador, scrawls the message "Make Trade Fair" on his hands before his concerts. Sydney chef and author Kylie Kwong is the Australian Fair Trade ambassador. And sales of products carrying the Fair Trade symbol have doubled every quarter since it was introduced in Australia a year ago.

Read the full article here

Are you a music fan? Do you fancy yourself as a budding journalist? Would you like the chance to meet and interview world-class artists? Then the Daily Mirror have the competition for you!

Mirror.co.uk has teamed up with Bacardi rum to celebrate the launch of Bacardi B-Live, a new musical concept taking the UK by storm. Bacardi B-Live pushes the boundaries of musical entertainment through collaborations of world-class DJ’s, musicians, live vocalists and percussionists. Performing together these artists, from various musical genres, create a new and unique vibe in the UK and all over the world. Mirror.co.uk are offering one lucky person the chance to be crowned Bacardi B-Live reporter, experiencing each Bacardi B-Live summer festival in style.

This ultimate festival package includes two VIP tickets to the legendary Nokia Isle of Wight Festival, with headline acts including Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Prodigy and Placebo.

More on this, and for details of how to enter, click here

Do you worry? You look like you do. Worrying is the way the responsible citizen of an advanced society demonstrates his virtue: He feels good by feeling bad.

"In all probability billions of people are going to die in the next few decades. Our poor, abused planet cannot take much more. ... If we decide to put the planet first, then we ourselves are the pathogen. So we should let as many people die as possible, so that other species may live, and accept the destruction of civilization and of everything we have achieved.

"Finally, we might decide that civilization itself is worth preserving. In that case we have to work out what to save and which people would be needed in a drastically reduced population -- weighing the value of scientists and musicians against that of politicians, for example."

Hmm. On the one hand, Dr. Sue Blackmore and the bloke from Coldplay. On the other, Dick Cheney. I think we can all agree which people would be "needed" -- Al Gore, the guy from The New Yorker, perhaps Scarlett Johansson in a fur-trimmed bikini paddling a dugout canoe through a waterlogged Manhattan, foraging for floating curly endives from once fashionable eateries.But what to worry about? Iranian nukes? Nah, that's just some racket cooked up by the Christian fundamentalist George W. Bush and his Zionist buddies to give Halliburton a pretext to take over the Persian carpet industry. Worrying about nukes is so Eighties. "They make me want to throw up.... They make me feel sick to my stomach," wrote the British novelist Martin Amis, who couldn't stop thinking about them 20 years ago. In the intro to a collection of short stories, he worried about the Big One and outlined his own plan for coping with a nuclear winter wonderland:

"Suppose I survive," he fretted. "Suppose my eyes aren't pouring down my face, suppose I am untouched by the hurricane of secondary missiles that all mortar, metal and glass has abruptly become: suppose all this. I shall be obliged (and it's the last thing I feel like doing) to retrace that long mile home, through the firestorm, the remains of the thousands-of-miles-an-hour winds, the warped atoms, the groveling dead. Then -- God willing, if I still have the strength, and, of course, if they are still alive -- I must find my wife and children and I must kill them."

But the Big One never fell. And instead of killing his wife Martin Amis had to make do with divorcing her. Back then it was just crazies like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher who had nukes, so you can understand why everyone was terrified. But now Kim Jong-Il and the Ayatollahs have them, so we're all sophisticated and relaxed about it, like the French hearing that their president's acquired a couple more mistresses. Martin Amis hasn't thrown up a word about the subject in years. To the best of my knowledge, he has no plans to kill the present Mrs Amis.

So what should we worry about? How about -- stop me if you've heard this one before -- "climate change"? That's the subject of Al Gore's new movie, "An Inconvenient Truth." Like the trailer says: "If you love your planet -- if you love your children -- you have to see this movie." Even if you were planning to kill your children because you don't want them to live in a nuclear wasteland, see this movie. The mullahs won't get a chance to nuke us because, thanks to rising sea levels, Tehran will be under water. The editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick, says the earth will "likely be an uninhabitable planet." The Archbishop of Canterbury, in a desperate attempt to cut the Anglican Communion a slice of the Gaia-worship self-flagellation action, demands government "coercion" on everything from reduced speed limits to ending cheap air travel "if we want the global economy not to collapse and millions, billions of people to die."

Environmentalism doesn't need the support of the church, it's a church in itself -- and furthermore one explicitly at odds with Christianity: God sent His son to Earth as a man, not as a three-toed tree sloth or an Antarctic krill. An environmentalist can believe man is no more than a co-equal planet dweller with millions of other species, and that he's taking up more than his fair share and needs to reduce both his profile and his numbers. But that's profoundly hostile to Christianity.

Here's an inconvenient truth for "An Inconvenient Truth": Remember what they used to call "climate change"? "Global warming." And what did they call it before that? "Global cooling." That was the big worry in the '70s: the forthcoming ice age. Back then, Lowell Ponte had a huge bestseller called "The Cooling: Has the new ice age already begun? Can we survive?"

The answer to the first question was: Yes, it had begun. From 1940 to 1970, there was very slight global cooling. That's why the doom-mongers decided the big bucks were in the new-ice-age blockbusters.

And yet, amazingly, we've survived. Why? Because in 1970 the planet stopped its very slight global cooling and began to undergo very slight global warming. So in the '80s, the doom-mongers cast off their thermal underwear, climbed into the leopardskin thongs, slathered themselves in sun cream and wired their publishers to change all references to "cooling" to "warming" for the paperback edition. That's why, if you notice, the global-warming crowd begin their scare statistics with "since 1970," an unlikely Year Zero that would not otherwise merit the significance the eco-crowd invests in it.

But then in 1998 the planet stopped its very slight global warming and began to resume very slight global cooling. And this time the doom-mongers said, "Look, do we really want to rewrite the bumper stickers every 30 years? Let's just call it 'climate change.' That pretty much covers it."

Why did the earth cool between 1940 and 1970?

Beats me. Hitler? Hiroshima? Maybe we need to nuke someone every couple of decades.

Meanwhile, Dr. Blackmore won't have to worry about whether to cull Jacques Chirac in order to save Sting. Given the plummeting birth rates in Europe, Russia, Japan, etc., a large chunk of the world has evidently decided to take pre-emptive action on climate change and opt for self-extinction. Pace The New Yorker, much of the planet will be uninhabited long before it's uninhabitable. The Belgian climate specialist will be on the endangered species list with the spotted owl. Blue-state eco-bores will be finding the international sustainable-development conferences a lot lonelier.

As for the merits of scientists and artists over politicians, those parts of the world still breeding are notable for their antipathy to music, haven't done much in the way of science for over a millennium, and politics-wise, incline mostly to mullahs, nuclear or otherwise. Scrap Scarlet Johansson's fur-trimmed bikini and stick her in a waterlogged burqa.

Source: washingtontimes.com

Ten years in the cold is enough. Time to warm up and rock out the stadiums. Scottish stadium rockers Simple Minds have turned out to be one of the comeback stories of the year, selling out arenas and winning new fans with its acclaimed album Black And White 050505.

Maybe Coldplay is the stadium standard these days for the super-size anthem.

But take nothing away from Simple Minds' frontman Jim Kerr who can still hit the mark with those emotive highs and of course, sidekick Charlie Burchill who remains the devil of the soaring guitar.For those wanting a slice of Simple Minds in the raw, the Glasgow-raised band is set to plug in a concert at Fort Canning Park in Singapore on April 30. Packed with potential crowd-pleasers, this tour sees classics from the New Gold Dream-era unleashed as well new cuts like Home and Sparkle in the Rain.

As one of the great bands of the past 30 years, you can’t forget the big hit – Don’t You (Forget about Me) still ringing in the hearts of long standing fans.

Ticket price is S$87 (RM200). Browse www.sistic.comor call 02-63485555.

Bookings in Kuala Lumpur can be made via Holiday Tours & Travel, Sentral Station in Kuala Lumpur (03-22732200).

Source: star-ecentral.com

For the first time since people started buying records, the charts are full of music mum and dad and even granny and grandad want to hear.

People in their 50s and 60s are buying more records than teenagers. Yes, mum rocks! And granny, too! But what hacks me off is that some punters think folk in their 50s only listen to Neil Diamond or Neil Sedaka.

Nothing wrong with that, I don't want to offend their fans. But my husband is in his 50s and wouldn't be seen dead with their albums. His iPod is more likely to have Dylan, Bowie and Marvin and Aretha on it. I'm not quite 50 yet but many people that age have quite cool taste in music. They're the ones buying Coldplay and Stereophonics along with Annie Lennox, James Blunt and KT Tunstall.

Easy listening with a good tune doesn't mean you're stuck in a timewarp and don't know good music from bad. I know Stevie Wonder will stand the test of time. Good, cool music isn't just the prerogative of teenagers - actually they seem to buy more easy listening than the rest of us when you look at the manufactured pop music out there.

Source: sundaymail.co.uk

Senior executives at EMI, the British record label, and its American rival Warner Music Group are preparing for preliminary talks that could lead to the creation of the world’s third-largest music company.

Sources close to both groups said the firms’ on-off discussions would resume in earnest within months, with advisers on both sides being briefed to prepare for merger talks.

EMI, which counts Coldplay among its top artists, is understood to have lined up Citigroup and UBS to assist it, while Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers are in the frame to advise Warner. If the long-awaited deal does take place, it would create a group that would number among its portfolio of artists such names as Madonna, Eric Clapton, Eminem and Scissor Sisters. A merged company would be a threat to the two global giants of the music business, Universal Music and Sony BMG.

Although no approach has yet been made by either company or its advisers, sources close to both said this weekend they were separately working through the potential structure of any transaction.

“This deal’s going to happen. The only question is timing,” said one adviser this weekend.

Attempts by the two companies to merge have failed twice before on regulatory grounds, but the changing nature of the music industry has led analysts to suggest that a deal would now be viewed more favourably by competition authorities.

The music industry is also awaiting another significant deal, with the German media company Bertelsmann preparing to sell its stake in SonyBMG.

Aside from Warner Music, industry observers believe that Apple, the computer giant that has scored a huge success with the iPod and iTunes, could be interested in a bid for EMI.

Recent rises in the EMI and Warner share prices have prompted speculation that the companies are already in merger talks, but sources close to both denied that this weekend.

Key issues that would need to be resolved include the proposed structure of a deal.

EMI has a market value of £2.2 billion, while Warner, quoted on the New York Stock Exchange since last May, is worth $3.6 billion (£2 billion) at Friday’s close.

Management issues will also be an important factor, with Eric Nicoli, the chairman of EMI, and Edgar Bronfman Jr, his opposite number at Warner, both understood to be keen to take senior roles.

Last week EMI reported its first real revenue growth in five years, announcing that stronger-than-expected sales by artists such as Coldplay and KT Tunstall should lift revenues by almost 4% this year.

The news reversed a long decline that the company blamed on piracy and the growth of digital downloads.

Despite that good news, EMI remains a minnow in America, the world’s largest music market.

Warner Music is EMI’s closest competitor in the United States and accounts for 18% of the market, compared with EMI’s 10%. Music giant Universal controls 31% and Sony BMG nearly 29%.

In 2004 Warner Music was bought from the media giant Time Warner by a consortium led by Bronfman, heir to the Seagram whisky fortune. The private-equity firms backing him, including Providence and Bain Capital, reaped huge returns when the group went public.

Warner’s sales have been driven by new acts, including Britain’s James Blunt, as well as established stars such as Madonna. Last week Warner had a record four albums in the American top 10, while EMI had none.

Warner said this weekend: “As a matter of policy we don’t comment on rumours.” EMI also declined to comment.

Source: timesonline.co.uk

To Turn Winston Churchill's famous comment about Clement Attlee on its head, Gary Lightbody is a modest man with a lot to be immodest about. Since the release of Last Straw in 2003, the unassuming Irishman and his band Snow Patrol have scaled the Olympian heights of rock music, selling more than two million records, touring with U2 and being widely hailed as the new Coldplay.

Yet the group's singer and main songwriter remains refreshingly free of pop star swagger, and seems to have checked his ego at the door when we meet to discuss the imminent release of the much-anticipated follow-up. Asked about the Coldplay comparisons, he politely refuses to be drawn.

Undeterred, I press the point from a different angle. So which Snow Patrol song made him realise that his band could rival Chris Martin and company as purveyors of emotional and literate melodic rock with a big heart, and even bigger tunes? I expect him to answer 'Run', the band's anthem of love and longing that gave them a top five hit and turned them into festival favourites around the world - but he's still not having it. "I don't want to battle with anyone," he insists. "I like Chris Martin, and Coldplay are a great band. Music's not a competition." Try telling that to Liam Gallagher.

A little later I ask him how Snow Patrol celebrated the band's first million sales. "We didn't really," he admits in a soft voice that betrays his Northern Ireland upbringing, although the band formed in Scotland a dozen years ago. "We kept being given different figures so we weren't exactly sure when it happened. And we spent 2004 touring, so we didn't have time to sit back and smell the roses."

Such quiet humility isn't exactly rock 'n'roll, and could be taken to indicate a lack of passion. Yet a listen to Snow Patrol's new album, Eyes Open, suggests otherwise. Like its multi-platinum predecessor, it's full of yearning tunes and poignant, confessional lyrics that foster an intense and highly personal sense of identification between the band and its fans.

At the same time, according to Lightbody, it's also subtly different from anything they've done before. Bigger, bolder and better. "There were a lot of chinks in Final Straw, which was recorded very quickly," he admits. "With Eyes Open we were determined to take more time and that's made it more experimental and elaborate, without losing the intimate core."

A year in the making, the album began life in early 2005, when the band convened in Dingle on the west coast of Ireland in a remote clifftop cottage once used by Kate Bush. Lightbody arrived with just three songs half-written and the rest of the album took shape "on the edge of a precipice" - quite literally, he explains, for the waves of the Atlantic could be heard crashing on the rocks below.

There were breaks while the band supported U2 on the Vertigo tour around Europe and played Live 8 both in London's Hyde Park and in Scotland. But otherwise, the writing and recording process was "monastic", says Lightbody. Snow Patrol's attitude to success is austere to say the least. "None of that stuff counts unless what you do next is exceptional," Lightbody reasons. "Don't look back admiringly at your own footprints. You could say we are hard on ourselves and self-critical. But that's what brings out the best in us."

THE SINGER HAS been accused by former colleagues of being a control freak - an accusation we shall come to. Yet if he is, then he's a particularly laid-back and affable one. At 28, and despite his success, he still exudes the air of a tousle-haired indie romantic, and his current unattached status makes him one of rock's most eligible bachelors.

He's also painfully anxious not to give offence, and you wonder if he's almost too nice for his own good. In conversation we discuss the power of music to get us through those dark nights of the soul. He suggests a great record is more reliable than human beings in such circumstances, for a song is always there and will never let you down. It's an unexceptional observation, but the following day I receive a concerned telephone call from the band's press officer. "Gary's been thinking about what he said and he's worried that if his friends read the interview, it might be misconstrued. He wants to make it clear that his friends have never let him down."

When I relate this story to someone who knows him well, I'm told this is typical. "Gary spends a lot of time on his own and he analyses everything," the friend notes. "And he gets mortified if he thinks anyone might be hurt by anything he says."

On the other hand, he has proved himself capable of ruthlessness. Last year Lightbody sacked the band's only other founder member, bassist Mark McClelland, with whom he formed the band when both were students at Dundee University in 1994. A shocked McClelland said he was taken completely by surprise and claimed Lightbody had ousted him because he wanted total dominion over the band. "Gary said to me, 'We're not getting on. I don't feel I can write music with you in the band and you're going to have to go'," he told NME at the time. "I wanted an explanation but there was none forthcoming."

A year on and there's still no real elaboration. Lightbody speaks of "unexpected pressures" that took their toll on working relationships. The parting of ways was "best for the band" he says, and the situation "had got to the stage that things couldn't go on as they were". But it was a sad end to a friendship and professional partnership that had endured for more than a decade, during which time the pair had steered Snow Patrol from indie hopefuls to rock aristocracy.

In 2003 they secured their major label deal with the Polydor imprint Fiction. The result was Final Straw, and suddenly Snow Patrol were struggling indie perennials no more, transformed into major league players. The single 'Run' debuted at number five in Britain and helped to break the band in America, with 28,000 plays on American radio in 2004 alone.

Further singles 'Chocolate' and 'Spitting Games' also charted and helped Final Straw to number three in the British charts. In America the album outsold Muse's Absolution and Coldplay's Parachutes. Friend and songwriting collaborator Iain Archer won a coveted Ivor Novello award for his contribution.

Eyes Open is cut from similar cloth, but with some smart new embroidery. The song Lightbody is most proud of is 'Set The Fire To The Third Bar' featuring the guest vocals of Martha Wainwright. "I wrote it as a love song to her voice. I'd never met her but she sounded like a dangerous angel," he says. "Then we called her and as fate would have it she was in Ireland, so we booked a studio and she sang on it. I think it's the best thing we've ever done."

Other stand-outs on an album he describes as "postcards from the cliff's edge" include first single 'You're All I Have', the electronica-laden closer 'Finish Line' and 'Chasing Cars', which he describes as "the most pure and open love song" he has ever written.

With Coldplay sidelined while Chris Martin is off on paternity leave again, Eyes Open promises to be one of the biggest British rock albums of the year, and 2006 is certain to be another hectic year for Snow Patrol, with an extensive American tour and festival dates already in the diary. Lightbody will be even busier: he has another album on the way with his side-project Reindeer Section, featuring moonlighting members of various other Scottish-based bands.

There isn't time to look back admiringly, however illustrious those footprints have become.

The single 'You're All I Have' is released tomorrow. Eyes Open is released on May 1, and Snow Patrol play the ABC, Glasgow, the same night

Source: http://living.scotsman.com

DISBELIEF greeted the revelation that Jonathan Ross gets £720,000 a year - for just three hours work a week. But Wossy's whopping wage seems like chickenfeed compared with the earnings of others in our Showbiz Rich List.

We can reveal that the top earner on TV is 46-year-old Simon Cowell.

He is joint ninth overall and the highest-placed non-musician in the Daily Mirror's Rich List of stars whose finances are based in Britain and Ireland.

Rock/pop Bands Annual income from records, tours etc

Coldplay £37m

U2 £35m

The Rolling Stones £28m

Queen £18m

Pink Floyd £15m

Oasis £9m

Depeche Mode £7m

Jamiroquai £4.5m

Westlife £4m

Bee Gees £2.5mBased on detailed research of the stars' earnings from the last 12 months, our findings make remarkable reading...

Who would have thought that those down-to-earth Geordie boys Ant and Dec are multimillionaires? Last year they pocketed £4million each from their hit TV shows, their own productions including All Star Golf and debut movie Alien Autopsy.

Unsurprisingly, pop queen Madonna tops our chart as the highest earning entertainer. Last year she made £35million, thanks to her best-selling album Confessions On A Dancefloor and sponsorship deals from Motorola.

Well, you need to keep the pennies rolling in when you spend £20,000 a time on diamond-encrusted false eyelashes.

By comparison, Sir Elton John lags behind with earnings of a paltry £30million. Elton - who is worth a total of £185million - kept his coffers overflowing with a sell-out world tour, writing the hit musical Billy Elliot, and earnings from his back catalogue.

And he certainly knows how to spend it. He owns a mansion in Berkshire, a villa on the French Riviera, a townhouse in London's Holland Park, a penthouse in Atlanta and a medieval home in Venice overlooking the entrance to the Grand Canal.

He spent £1.5million on a lavish reception following his wedding to David Furnish, and has also given £20million to charity.

Yet again, England captain David Beckham tops the list of rich soccer stars. He banked a striking £13.2million in 2005 with his contract at Real Madrid and sponsorship deals with Pepsi, Adidas, Police and Gillette. His wealth means that Goldenballs can afford to indulge his pricey pants habit - he spends £1,000 a month on Calvin Klein undies and never wears the same pair twice.

Becks is followed by Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand and 20-year-old Wayne Rooney, whose fiancee Coleen spends his fortune almost as fast as it comes in.

The new generation of British actresses are also in the money. Cashing in on winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for The Constant Gardener, Rachel Weisz can now command £3million a movie.

But that is small beans compared with Keira Knightley. She earned £10million from movies like Pride And Prejudice, is the face of Asprey, owns a £1.2million apartment in Mayfair. And she's still only 21.

Read the full list here

Back in 2002, the Crocodile had a perfect storm of a show, and not-yet-Seattlest was lucky enough to be in attendance for a bill whose lineup still gets followed to this day.

The earnest indie rock of Mellowdrone, followed by the Brit-rock-with-tender-voices of both South and Elbow prompted Seattlest to spend more on merch at that show than has been spent since.

As album release cycles go, they all still tend to hit Seattle on tour around the same time (Elbow two weeks ago, Mellowdrone soon), but it's doubtful that oh-so-perfect lineup will ever be replicated.Part of what separated South right from the gate from the glut of bands from across the pond at the time was their inclusion on James Lavelle's Mo' Wax label. Known mainly for their more beat-oriented output, South represented a departure into traditional pop territory, with a band composed of live instruments as opposed to racks of gear. The marriage worked however, with 2002's From Here On In incorporating the occasional electronic effect on top of their Stone Roses-inspired rock and drumming that would have fit on other Mo' Wax releases.

Since that release, South has parted ways with Mo' Wax, and with it has dropped most of the electronic flourishes. While From Here on In seemed to find the band still trying to develop their musical identity amid a sea of influences, With the Tides saw them put a few stakes in the ground. Songs became more atmospheric, more moody, and more emotionally effective, with songs evoking longing, loss, and desperation while never turning into one big mope-fest. While initially written off by many as Radiohead wannabes, this album garnered more positive comparisons to that same Radiohead, Coldplay, and Doves.

South has a lengthily-named new album entitled Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars that Seattlest has yet to give a listen. Said in some ways to be a compromise between the prior two albums, we're looking forward to hearing the bulk of it live. South is one of those bands where the jury is still out on whether the world at large will embrace them, so best to see them while you can, before they either break up from the frustration or become the next Coldplay. They're even doing a free in-store so you don't have to make a financial commitment to hear what they've got to offer.

Source: seattlest.com

The full results of the top 100 Greatest Albums Ever (as declared by Irish musicians) is found in the current issue of Hot Press - and each day we'll reveal a little more of the list on hotpress.com.

Take a look below to see how the list is shaping up, and keep checking back to find out how it progresses!

79. Coldplay - Parachutes

More on this here [thanks Ondes Martenot]

Embrace played their first major date before a home crowd on Monday - a long time coming, according to lead singer Danny McNamara.

The charismatic vocalist repeatedly thanked the 2,000 fans who packed the Victoria Theatre, Halifax, for their loyalty and support.

A tour through past and recent classics included songs from "Out of Nothing'', the superb "Gravity'', penned for the band by Coldplay's Chris Martin, and "Ashes'', an uplifting spirit-soarer that wouldn't be out of place as a World Cup anthem!Danny, who sowed the seeds for Embrace with brother Richard in a garden shed at the family's home in Bailiff Bridge, said their home town fans had kept them going through the good times and the bad.

"This line-up has been together since I was 17. I'm 35 now so this has been no overnight success.

"But with three number one albums now behind us we're doing OK.''

Danny thanked the band's huge Brighouse following for putting their single, "Nature's Law'' on top of the charts.

"It was number two everywhere else but the Brighouse Echo had it at number one. I think my dad had a hand in that as he went round the shops making sure they were stocked up.''

Dad Danny, along with rows of family and friends, was in the circle, joining in with every number.

They have much to be proud of. Their boys rank as one of the top bands in the country -- and they showed exactly why in a stunning set that lasted for almost two hours.

The place to be was down in the stalls where the seats had been removed to allow as many fans as possible to greet their homecoming heroes.

Tickets for the date had sold out in a few hours and the theatre could have been filled several times over.

The band aimed to give full value and even though the McNamara tonsils were stretched to breaking point they lasted through song after song -- half-a-dozen from the current album "This New Day'' and a string of favourites from the back catalogue.

Danny has an empathy with his audience that few of his contemporraies achieve or enjoy. He's happy to be there and it shows.

But this is a team game and Danny, while undoubtedly front of house, shares equal billing with brother Richard on lead guitar and vocals, Steve Firth on bass, Mickey Dale on keyboards and Mike Heaton on drums.

A fresh start is how "This New Day'' is billed and it is certainly Embrace's finest, illustrated by the hit single, what is likely to be a future hit single, "Target'' and "Celebrate''. A favourite with the fans, "Expoloding Machines'' shows what a class act this band is, a roller-coaster of a song that pitches in everything, including the kitchen sink!

That's the current challenge for the band as they prepare to debut their eagerly anticipated World Cup song designed to lift England to victory in Germany

The odds against that are 6/1; the odds against a number one single are considerably shorter on present form.

In the meantime the band can look forward to continued success through the summer during which a number of outdoor dates are planned. One to watch out for is on Sunday, June 26 at Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire, where they will be backed, as they were in Halifax, by an up-and-coming outfit, Morning Runner.

The chances of a return to home soil? Sooner rather than later if Danny McNamara has a say.

As the scion of a showbusiness legend, Kiera Chaplin has entertainment in her blood. At the tender age of 23, the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin and great-granddaughter of the Irish playwright Eugene O'Neill has already forged a successful career in film and fashion.

And this weekend, she will be named as one of the wealthiest young entertainers from the UK by The Sunday Times Rich List, which estimates her personal fortune at £30m.

The model and actress, who also has a 30 per cent stake in the Hollywood-based film company Limelight Productions, is ranked the second richest entertainer aged 30 and under, only narrowly beaten by the violinist Vanessa-Mae Nicholson, who is worth £32m.

Joint third in the list are Chris Martin and his fellow members of Coldplay, with £25m apiece, following the release of their 2005 album X&Y. The actors Orlando Bloom, Kate Winslet and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, and singers Will Young, Charlotte Church, Joss Stone and James Blunt also made it into the top 20 of wealthy young entertainers.

Read the full article here [thanks coldpatrix]

Gwyneth Paltrow makes her directorial debut with “Dealbreaker,” a short comedy about the little things that can kill a relationship. Fran (Arija Barekis) reflects on the many faux pas that ended all her previous relationships, like the dude who admitted to liking the Spin Doctors or the bizarre baby-talker. However, the killer event is the one that snuffs Fran’s current relationship—a Farrelly Brothers-style gross-out involving poor bathroom etiquette. The film’s little more than a Cosmo article come to life, and no wonder: it’s based on real stories from Glamour magazine readers.

Read more at coldplaying.com

The hoopla around the birth of Tom and Katie's brand new kitten (Suri!) may be the most watched celebrity nativity of our time: Tom's going to eat the placenta! She has to suck a pacifier! But they are hardly the first celebrities to have the birth of their child right smack in the center of the media spotlight.

6. Apple Blythe Alison Martin May 14, 2004

Hippy-dippy Gwyneth Paltrow planned to have baby Apple at home, but was advised against it by her midwife, so she and husband Chris Martin checked into St. John and St. Elizabeth Hospital in London. It was a long labor, but Gwynnie refused to take any medication according to a friend of the couple. Natural childbirth worked out for her. Gwyneth left the hospital the following day, and the couple took a very public well-photographed stroll with baby just two days after the labor.

The rest of the chart can be found here

A SWINDON band are hoping to take the music scene by storm.

Belarus have already been compared to Coldplay and the five members of the band, who are all in their mid to late 20s, are seeking national recognition after landing a deal with independent record label Precious Iota.

Richard admits they would love to replicate Coldplay's success but said they would never be as miserable as Chris Martin's band.

"It's great to be likened to them they've sold millions of albums and have global notoriety but they seem a bit miserable to be honest, I couldn't see us ever being like that," he added.The band members, who all live in Swindon, are originally from Faringdon.

They started out with vocalist Lee Alder and guitarist Matt Kilford and formed a group after meeting with Richard Voyce, bass, Martin Townsend, keyboards and Richard Millin on drums at Kempsters musical shop in Commercial Road, in Swindon.

Although they write together as a group, the majority of their lyrics are compiled by lead singer Lee.

Lee said: "We're similar to the Indie rock type, kind of Coldplay-like, but certainly not as depressing as the emotive tunes of Radiohead.

"I like to write abstract thoughts that are thought-provoking, but the main thing is that the lyrics are left open for interpretation to our listeners."

The band have played at many Swindon venues, including an appearance at The Furnace, in Commercial Road and on the opening night launch at the Victoria, in Victoria Road.

The band have also played venues in London and have received rave reviews in this month's edition of Q Magazine.

Full Story here

The Church’s Steve Kilby must really, really hate Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and not like the usual “God, I can’t stand that putz in Coldplay” sort of thing, either. Yeah, he gets to you and me, with his goofy haircut, his holier-than-thou super-hot wife and his constant string of boasting about writing the greatest albums of his generation. But he must really stick in Kilby’s craw: He’s one-upped The Church’s only claim to fame.

Things were going just great until a little band called Coldplay had to come along and mess everything up. Admittedly, The Church hadn’t been riding high since 1988, when “Under the Milky Way” propelled the Aussies into the charts, but once Martin and his warmed-over U2 thing got going, there really wasn’t much hope. The Church, the onetime masters of grandiose schlock, had been out-cheesed by a gang of Brits with a Bono fetish.For nearly 20 years, Kilby led The Church’s revolving-door lineup to aim to be the most easily accessible epic-rock outfit ever. With one part jangle, one part off-the-shelf arena rock, The Church rode out the ’80s and ’90s as the rock act that was edgy enough to slip into alternative radio every now and then, but still nice enough to be played, at a reasonable volume, of course, at the office. It’s nice, it’s expansive and it’s totally devoid of any distracting emotional content.

With Uninvited Like the Clouds, The Church is still licking its wounds. Making another effort to score with pseudo-epic guitar pop, The Church returns with its trademark shimmer as the outfit throws the notion of succinct songwriting to the winds. What’s left is little more than overreaching layers of guitar and pompous melodies held together with just enough “Milky Way” nostalgia to play on the glory days. The Church strikes out to be grand and epic on Uninvited Like the Clouds but end up leaving listeners to wander through bloated arrangements. “Block” opens the album with a six-and-a-half minute arrangement that features no less than 957 guitar parts tossed on top of each other for the bigger-is-better approach. “Pure Chance” also surpasses the six-minute mark, dropping a slowly unfolding ballad that could be a lullaby in the Coldplay household. Other tracks like “Overview” and “Day Five” tap studio extras like piano to stretch out the long-winded arrangements.

The Church seems to confuse length with epic qualities, however. For all its longer songs, Uninvited Like the Clouds is never epic, mostly because the band lets its song structures go to hell as its songs tip past the four-minute mark. There’s a lot in each track – but a lot that should have been vetted out and streamlined during pre-prodcution.

It’s tough for The Church. As hard as it tries to be the world’s leading inoffensive alt-rock band, Coldplay has it licked. While that’s great news if you’re looking to soundtrack a gum commercial and can’t afford Coldplay’s scale, it’s a heck of a bummer for anyone who wants music with a pulse.

coldplaying.com

Mission: To find some San Jose funk. Accomplished.

If there is one thing my experience reporting has made clear, it is that a story can be wheedled out of just about anyone, anything, anywhere. And my random adventure to The Record Shop is a case in point.

So, take Bus 22 into Downtown San Jose. Hop off somewhere in the middle of the main drag. Walk a few blocks, and you just may be fortunate enough to encounter a unique urban boutique. Crossing the store's threshold, a mini metropolis of CDs, collections of music-inspired attire and 12-inch vinyls glisten under an array of contemporary lighting.

On the right, a guide to the "Hundred Best Cocktails" rests on a mantel mounted to the brick walls of the small space. On the left, a listening station stands in the corner offering the likes of Coldplay and The Rolling Stones.A miniature red telephone booth sits proudly on the counter, eagerly awaiting a curious hand to reach inside and retrieve one of its many informational flyers.

A man dressed in all artsy-black leans over the backside of the counter, conversing on a curly-corded black telephone. He fairly emanates friendliness from his tall figure, and a warm smile indicates to me that he welcomes a chat about his business.

"This all started out as a dream," said Samuel Garcia, The Record Shop's purchasing manager.

He co-owns the establishment with his siblings, with whom he'd long dreamed of running a music store.

But it wasn't until their father developed a brain tumor and serious form of cancer that they made their dream into a reality.

After discovering his illness, the family came across a building for lease while driving on Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose back in 2003.

The empty edifice seemed perfect for the kind of business they had in mind. On that very day, Garcia's father told his children, "Do what you want to do." As in now, before it's too late.

"Before I knew it," said Garcia, "I was signing the lease to the space," even though he'd just quit his job and was planning to relocate to San Diego. "At first, we wondered, did we do the right thing?"

Now they can answer that with an unequivocal "yes."

And just over two years later, business is up and running in two locations: 76 S. 1st Street in Downtown San Jose and a clothing-only store in Burlingame called The Shop, located on Broadway.

"Our hearts are now in it," said Garcia. To prove it, he gave me a quick tour of the back room of the shop to show a picture of the man who inspired the dream: his dad.

The Record Shop's niche is dance and electronic music, celebrating "music as an art form and fashion." They are also one of the few retailers of vinyl records, an homage to the roots of urban music.

Music-related clothing is available for purchase, such as Authentic Hendrix and Caffeine, which are both music and clothing labels.

According to Garcia, the collection of Ben Sherman shirts, belts and even toiletry bags is no accident: "What makes us different from the department stores is that we try to keep collections together to cater to our usual consumer crowd of working professionals."

The shop also offers clothing labels Industry, Blue Marlin and Pony, and by the end of this month will sell Paul Frank and Modern Amusement merchandise, along with their new summer collection.

The business can be found online at www.therecordshopsj.com. The Record Shop is committed to the dance community and promoting up-and-coming underground artists in the local area.

The shop looks forward to expanding into Southern California within the next couple of years.

Walking out of The Record Shop, I felt like I'd gleaned a new understanding of San Jose's somewhat hard to find real urban culture: a lifestyle of up-beat music, trendy clothing and an unwavering enthusiasm for style.

Source: thesantaclara.com