Bloc Party have revealed their new album was inspired by both the July 7 terrorist attacks and a desire to not sound like Coldplay.

Singer Kele Okereke said the follow-up to last year's critically-acclaimed 'Silent Alarm' will be an angry record inspired in part by the media reaction to the July 7 bomb attacks in London.

He told Rolling Stone: "I was really disgusted by the reaction in the mainstream press. It seemed to become an anti-Muslim, xenophobic thing, and that started me thinking. That feeling of futility is one of the main themes of the record."He also feels the new record will be more focused, adding: "Everything (on 'Silent Alarm') is quite furious-sounding, and a lot of that was due to being 20 and having lots of questions, lots of energy and not really knowing how to focus it. "Now I'm at a very different stage with my life. There's still aggression, I guess, and intensity - but it's a very different kind."

Okereke also denied rumours the band were planning to adopt a more mainstream sound. "It's not quite so jerky," he added. "But it's not like Coldplay either. It's still us."

Source: http://musicnews.virgin.net

Great result for The Hardest Part Single in Israel. In only three days, the fourth single extract from the bestseller X&Y has obtained first place in the Israel Single Chart.

In Italy, The Hardest Part moves X&Y from 25th to 14th position in the Italy Album Chart. In Holland, Talk is still in the Single Top 20 (14th position).

In the end, Speed Of Sound is still in Top 40 Internet Sales, in 34th position.

More on this here [thanks coldpatrix]

Chris Martin to Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation fundraiser.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is going solo this month in the name of charity. On May 20th, Martin will perform live at "A Taste of Napa," to raise funds for UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation. The annual event takes place May 20th at the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, California.

Along with Chris Martin's performance, another highlight includes the presentation of the Gil Nickel Humanitarian Award to Alex Wallau, President of ABC Network Operations and Administration. The award honors Wallau for his continued efforts to make research a priority for the cure of cancer.

For further information on UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation and the 2006 fundraiser "A Taste of Napa," visit jccf.mednet.ucla.edu/napaevent.htm

Coldplay failed to pick up any awards at the MTV Asia Awards. Green Day picked up the award for Best Rock Act.

Read the full list of winners here [thanks coldpatrix]

Coldplay have launched an attack on music awards ceremonies, insisting they don't cater for fans.

The band, who have picked up a string of Brit Awards, Q Awards and Grammys in recent years, insist they do not like the events because they are just showcases for record companies.

Bass player Guy Berryman told the group's official website: "I hate them really - they are so chaotic and finish before you can blink. They are just showcases for record companies essentially. Our concerts are from us to the fans."

Berryman also said the group were hoping their forthcoming DVD would be regarded as a movie rather than a traditional concert recording. He added: "We're putting a lot of effort into it. It will have a lot of content and will hopefully be presented as a film, rather than a 'live' performance."

For those who have official email services, the latest ezine is now out.

More on this here [Thanks leeds113]

Singer Shery Crow has leaped to the defence of Coldplay following a critical backlash against the British band in the US.

The phenomenally successful Chris Martin-fronted four-piece have recently suffered at the hands of American music writers.

Crow says, "They've had some scathing reviews in the US. The New York Times just wrote a study in why to hate them. Unfair, I think."

More on this here [thanks Ondes Martenot]

Hello leave the show raise your miniskirt up to your back raise it up higher we're going to dance for the highest.

Look girl want a sip it doesn't matter if you're a rapper or a hippy if you're from Ballamon or Guaynabo City don't get sad with me

This is under get the trick this is easy it doesn't matter if you like Green Day

Doesn't matter if you like Coldplay this is direct without stopping oneway only

I swear that around here all the Boricuas know karate they cook with tomato sauce wet the rice with a bit of avocado to get 14 karat butts

Read more on this here [thanks anitafranc & victaniac]

Meet Zali [pictured]. Zali is Coldplaying's Sponsored Child, thanks to the $1.36 campaign of the past 7 days. So far you have raised over $220 for the Sponsor A Child project.

Your contribution to Save the Children will support all the work to help children in need, such as providing prenatal care and newborn training, supplying life-saving immunizations for young children, and building schools and training teachers so that even more children have a chance for a better future.

You can read more about Zali and the $1.36 campaign here [thanks lunar1126]

The CCC is well into its first charity project, and so far over $200 have been raised by Coldplaying members towards 'Sponsor A Child'.

The $1.36 campaign aims to testify that small actions can lead to big differences. All funds raised through this campaign will go to the Sponsor A Child program through which we will be in direct communication with an impoverished child who needs our help. Each month a minimum of $28.00 USD will need to be raised to support 'our child' as well as our child's community. We believe we can achieve and surpass this goal.

Read full details of the project, and how to contribute, here

Phoenix FM ran a number of top 20 shows in 2005 and broadcast the most popular ones on the internet. They are running more polls this year, with the most popular ones having another show on the station in the coming months.

As last year, some of the most popular polls will be counted down in a special radio broadcast, streamed live, by Phoenix FM in the summer of 2006. The Coldplay poll promises to be the biggest poll undertaken yet.

To select your 10 Coldplay songs, visit http://www.redpenguin.net/top10/coldplay.php

How to vote: Click the link above and scroll down the page and you'll see the voting form. We need you to choose your TOP TEN songs in order. The votes will then be added up (1st=10pts, 2nd=9pts etc) and a full chart will be shown on this page after the show - on which PhoenixFM be playing the top 20 as voted by YOU.

The poll closes on 14 June 2006.

You can see the interview of Chris Martin on the Charlie Rose Show, which aired on PBS last night. Click here [thanks Ondes Martenot]

In the meantime you can read quotes from the interview here [thanks KM]

Goldfrapp frontwoman Alison Goldfrapp has branded Coldplay star Chris Martin as "insane" after observing his starry behaviour on tour.

Goldfrapp, who supported "the Clocks rockers" last year (2005), was stunned to discover Martin would fly home between gigs in his private jet. She says, "We supported Coldplay and Chris Martin used to fly home on his jet, go home, write songs then fly to the next gig.

"I thought, 'What? Are you insane?'"

More on this here

And so it's farewell to the Venue.

The Edinburgh pop institution hosted early shows by Radiohead, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas, the Strokes, the Scissor Sisters and many others, as well as providing a valuable platform for countless Scottish bands.

But apparently this rich history means nothing to the building's new owners, BL Developments, who are going to close it down next month and turn it into a posh deli for yuppies. Typical Edinburgh! Who cares about culture when the residents of expensive flats need sushi? No wonder most successful Scottish bands form in Glasgow. Who would start a band in the capital? Soon there will be nowhere left to play.Typical Edinburgh? Typical chip-on-shoulder Edinburgh pop fan, more like. True, Glasgow has long been the epicentre of Scottish pop music, and Edinburgh has long been jealous. As has Dundee and Aberdeen (hence next week's Go North festival). Edinburgh just thinks it has a greater claim because it's Scotland's capital. If that inspires people to do something about it - and it often does, hence the emergence of enthusiastic local promoters like Guided and Baby Tiger - then splendid. But really, get over your inferiority complex. Besides, great pop bands don't emerge just because there are venues for them to play in. If you're thinking of a certain Franz Ferdinand, they played their first gigs in a flat and a disused warehouse, and would have prospered without the help of Glasgow's numerous small venues. The Fence Collective, one of Scotland's big musical success stories of recent years, have founded a whole cottage industry and a successful music festival from Anstruther. If you're confident and motivated you can start a band from anywhere.

So Edinburgh bands should find a disused warehouse to play in? That's a ridiculous argument, like claiming new theatre companies would flourish in the capital without any actual theatres - because they could just stage "site-specific" shows in houses or shops, like Grid Iron. Support networks are just as important as enterprising individuals. Edinburgh desperately needs mid-sized venues to develop its musical talent.

Does it? It's a valid question. Sometimes the most exciting music is made by people who are struggling the hardest. Then again, Edinburgh already has as vibrant a mix of live music nights as could be expected from a city of its size - Scottish Hobo Society, Goulag Beat, etc. If you're an emerging band the chances are you can find a gig at Cabaret Voltaire, the Bongo Club or at one of Baby Tiger's regular Saturday night shows. And what big pop success stories has the city produced? Idlewild (years ago), KT Tunstall (who isn't even from Edinburgh, although she lived there for a while) and Aberfeldy (much touted, and with a terrific debut album to their name, but not setting the charts alight).

And why is that? Because, if you have ambitions to be a successful Scottish pop band, you simply don't move to the country's capital. You move to Glasgow, or better still to London. Is this not a problem?

Only if you care where bands come from. For all that the Scottish press harps on about them, most of Franz Ferdinand aren't even Scottish. Neither are Snow Patrol. Maybe we should all stop being so parochial.

Source: http://living.scotsman.com

This week we've got the best money-can't-buy competition of the summer, report icnetwork.co.uk.

We've linked up with Virgin Radio to offer you a chance to go to the sold out Nokia Isle of Wight Festival at Seaclose Park, Newport on June 9 - 11, featuring some of the world's biggest and best bands. We'll even throw in a free tent and get you a return ferry trip out there.

This year's festival line up is a mixture of music legends and hot new bands playing the soundtrack to your summer. Megastars Coldplay and rock legends Foo Fighters are headlining a spectacular collection of the worlds biggest and best bands including, Richard Ashcroft, Lou Reed, The Kooks, Kubb and Primal Scream.One lucky winner will win a fantastic prize package to make the Isle of Wight Festival weekend including:

* A pair of weekend camping tickets to the completely sold-out festival

* A limited edition Virgin Radio tent.

* Ferry travel to and from the festival courtesy of Wightlink.

Virgin Radio will be broadcasting exclusive live sets from the main stage, as well as interviews with all the bands. Tune in to Virgin Radio live from the Nokia Isle of Wight Festival on Sunday June 11 from 6pm - Midnight 1215AM nationwide, on the web at www.virginradio.co.uk, Sky digital channel 0107, NTL channel 892 and DAB Digital Radio to catch all the action.

To be in with a chance with winning just answer the following question:

Q) Who is the host of Virgin Radio's breakfast show?

A) Christian O'Connell B) Vic Reeves C) Chris Moyles

To enter: Call 0901 380 2831 leaving your answer to the above question, your name, address and telephone number.

Text: LE247A followed by a space and then your answer, name, address and telephone number, sending your text to 84080 .

Terms and conditions: Calls will cost 25p at all times, although network charges may vary. Text messages are charged at 25p plus standard message rate, and this service is available to all networks. Number of entries per person is not limited. Usual competition rules apply.

The competition is not open to Liverpool ECHO employees and their families. Lines will be open from noon today and will close at midnight Wednesday.

All correct answers will be collated in a computer database and winners will be selected at random.

Source: http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk

Jo Whiley has decided to goahead and release a CD full of the best artists she's had appear on her "Live Lounge" show.

The CD is seeing release on May 29th, and is being distributed through BMG TV. Artists on the album include Coldplay, The Zutons, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Embrace, Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon & much more.

Read the full story here [thanks Ondes Martenot]

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin gets some time off diaper duty May 20, when he'll perform in honor of his friend Alex Wallau, president of ABC Network Operations, at a Beverly Hills event benefiting UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation.

Called A Taste of Napa, it's being chaired by Disney Chief Bob Iger, his wife, Willow Bay, and Bon Appetit's Barbara Fairchild. Wallau, a cancer survivor himself, is a passionate advocate for advancing cancer research. We can expect a huge ABC/Disney celeb contingent, natch, for the event. Confirmed already are Eva Longoria, Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo, Matthew Fox, Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Smits, Al Michaels, and Eduardo Xol.

No word yet on whether Mrs. Martin -- Gwyneth Paltrow -- will be attending or home with new baby Moses and sister Apple.

More on this here

As reported in the latest issue of Hello Magazine, Guy Berryman is expecting a child.

Read the full story here [thanks cpfan50]

From the official site:

COLDPLAY TWISTED LOGIC TOUR

LIMTED EXTRA TICKETS RELEASED

All Australian Coldplay fans will remember Monday 10 October 2005 – in just over 2 hours tickets to the band’s three east-coast concerts had sold out, second shows were announced, and Adelaide and Perth had been added to the itinerary. Third shows soon followed in Sydney and Melbourne, and by the time all ten shows on the Twisted Logic Tour had gone on sale, the total tickets sold was over 100,000.

With this sell-out result, no tickets have been available for purchase to any of the Australian Coldplay shows for over six months – until now. Promoter Michael Chugg has been working feverishly with his production manager and the venues on the show’s technical specifications to remedy the demand for additional tickets. And the result is great news for Australian fans! “We’ve been looking again at the stage set-up and the venue build and we’re able to open fantastic side-view seats to the right and left of the stage,” said Michael Chugg. “We will open as many seats as we can to meet the demand, but once these tickets go, that will be it.”

Promoter CHUGG Entertainment today confirmed that a limited number of seats across all ten shows would go on sale at 9am on Thursday 4th May. Fans should contact their local ticketing agencies for all new ticket availabilities:

SYDNEY – www.ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100

MELBOURNE, BRISBANE, ADELAIDE & PERTH – www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849

TICKETS GO ON SALE 9AM, THURSDAY 4th MAY. 2006 TWISTED LOGIC TOUR DATES ARE:

Brisbane - 23 & 24 June - Entertainment Centre

Sydney - 26, 27 & 28 June - Entertainment Centre

Melbourne - 01, 02 & 03 July - Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park

Adelaide - 05 July - Entertainment Centre

Perth - 07 July - Burswood Entertainment Complex

At Coldplay’s request, Australian band Youth Group are special guests.

Coldplay star Chris Martin has said he is considering becoming a classical music student when he is "too old" to be in a band.

"When I'm 40, too old to be a rock star, I plan to go back to college to study classical music," the 29-year-old told the New York Post. He spoke at a New York Philharmonic concert featuring music from the films of Steven Spielberg. The director is the godfather of Martin's wife, actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The couple attended the event three weeks after the birth of their baby Moses, a brother to 23-month-old daughter Apple.

Martin offered no further explanation as to his classical aspirations. Last week Coldplay received three nominations at the Ivor Novello songwriting awards, which honour British songwriters, composers and music publishers.

The group's song Speed of Sound was shortlisted for international hit of the year and most performed work, while Fix You - also taken from their current album X&Y - was listed in the best song category.

More on this story here

Phoenix FM ran a number of top 20 shows in 2005 and broadcast the most popular ones on the internet. They are running more polls this year, with the most popular ones having another show on the station in the coming months.

As last year, some of the most popular polls will be counted down in a special radio broadcast, streamed live, by Phoenix FM in the summer of 2006. The Coldplay poll promises to be the biggest poll undertaken yet.

To select your 10 Coldplay songs, visit http://www.redpenguin.net/top10/coldplay.php

How to vote: Click the link above and scroll down the page and you'll see the voting form. We need you to choose your TOP TEN songs in order. The votes will then be added up (1st=10pts, 2nd=9pts etc) and a full chart will be shown on this page after the show - on which PhoenixFM be playing the top 20 as voted by YOU.

The poll closes on 14 June 2006.

LOS ANGELES -- With barely one movie under its belt, Starbucks is moving aggressively toward expanding its involvement in the entertainment business, seeking movies and books to promote in the hope of duplicating the success it has had with music.

The retail coffee giant -- which used its stores to promote "Akeelah and the Bee," a Lionsgate movie that opened this weekend -- is to announce today that it has signed an agreement with the William Morris Agency to find more movie and book projects to market. The aim is to have one book in Starbucks stores this year, and at least two or three movies to promote and sell on DVD next year, with more projects in years to come.

In the meantime, the company's small entertainment staff will move from Seattle, where Starbucks is based, to Santa Monica, Calif., this year to be closer to the heart of the entertainment industry.

The company has already done this successfully with music, selling 3.5 million CDs in the 2005 fiscal year, promoting artists such as Coldplay and Bob Dylan and introducing the group Antigone Rising and the singer-songwriter Sonya Kitchell. (The company does not break out revenue figures for its CDs.)"Akeelah and the Bee" is an inspirational tale about an African American girl in Los Angeles who competes in a spelling bee. Starbucks is promoting the movie in places such as the sleeves of its coffee cups, and the "Akeelah" soundtrack is on sale at the stores. The DVD of the movie will be on sale at Starbucks this fall.

Howard Schultz, the company's chairman, said that after promoting "Akeelah" Starbucks was deluged with material from film distributors that hope to be its next film partner.

It became clear, he said, that the company needed more expertise in handling that work.

He said it was not Starbucks' goal to become an entertainment-business investor, although the company's promotion of "Akeelah" gave it an undisclosed equity stake in that film.

"We have no intention of financing movies, or being traditional investors in movie projects," he said.

Instead, Schultz said, it will selectively link the Starbucks brand with certain kinds of movies and books in the belief that Starbucks customers trust the company, in essence, to choose their entertainment for them.

"We're looking for quality, and substance," he said. "We want to see our name associated with the kind of music, literature and movies that people will say, 'I'm glad Starbucks brought this to the marketplace.' " He gave "Crash" as an example of the kind of movie that Starbucks might promote. The film, which was about racial tension and also was from Lionsgate, was a sleeper hit at the box office and went on to win an Oscar for best picture this year.

Starbucks had its biggest success with a Ray Charles album in 2004, "Genius Loves Company," which sold 775,000 copies and went on to win eight Grammys.

Hollywood can only hope for this kind of success at a time when new technology is encroaching on traditional film distribution models. While this year's box-office total has so far pulled ahead of last year's disastrous statistics, industry experts are still puzzling over how to adapt to changing consumer habits in a world of Internet, cell phone and iPod entertainment.

In this environment, Starbucks provides a potentially important new point of sale and could have the kind of impact on movies -- narrow, but profound -- that Oprah Winfrey has had on publishing with her book club.

In the case of "Akeelah and the Bee," the box-office revenue from opening weekend did not indicate that the Starbucks promotion, which also included whimsical vocabulary plastered across store windows, had immediately led to a hit.

The movie took in $6.25 million over the weekend at 2,195 theaters, an average of just $2,847 a screen, according to Exhibitor Relations, which tracks box-office sales. It was No. 8 among movies for the weekend, behind offerings such as the Robin Williams comedy "RV"; the teenage drama "Stick It"; and the harrowing Sept. 11 drama "United 93."

"This was an interesting experiment," said Paul Dergarabedian, the president of Exhibitor Relations. "The Starbucks tie-in didn't hurt, but with the movie opening at No. 8, I don't know if it really helped."

He noted that signs at Starbucks stores might have been too subtle in some cases for customers to associate them with the movie. And other industry analysts suggested that the boost from Starbucks could give the movie longer legs at the box office than most releases.

Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com

The last time Coldplay played Singapore was in July 2001. Back then, the band were relative newcomers as they shared a bill with Travis.

Right now, nobody really knows what has become of Travis’s career but Coldplay has turned into one of the biggest rock outfits in the world. The award-winning Brit quartet, led by the pope of mope Chris Martin, returns to Singapore on July 10 for a Twisted Logic concert stop at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. This time it headlines its own two-hour show.

The band is currently winding down its tour for the X&Y album that has seen singles like Speed of Sound, Fix You and Talk turning into bona fide stadium anthems. Apart from the big night in Singapore, the only other date for Coldplay outside this upcoming sold out Japan/ Australia trek is Hong Kong on July 13. Despite the fact that X&Y was a difficult album to make, it has been yet another leap forward from Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head. From emotional roller coasters to rocky and electro-tinged songs, the band has made this third album work in its favour.

Ticket details for the Singapore show will be announced soon.

More on this here

More on the story that Future Forests project has ground to a halt:

An environmental scheme endorsed by Coldplay has ground to a halt in the wake of Southern India's devastating drought.

Coldplay signed up with Future Forests, who have now changed their name to CarbonNeutral, in a bid to off-set ecological damage caused by the production of their 2002 album 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head'.

But despite encouraging fans to invest in the campaign to grow much-needed mango forests, the plan has crumbled as there is no water to nourish the plants.

And on top of the disastrous drought, CarbonNeutral, who have put Women for Sustainable Development in charge of the scheme, have been accused of failing to keep their promises to deliver water, fertiliser and other supplies. Coldplay spokesman Chris Latham says, "Coldplay signed up to the scheme in good faith with Future Forests and it's in their hands. There are loads of bands involved in this kind of thing. For a band on the road all the time, it would be difficult to monitor a forest."

More on this here

There is no Glastonbury this year but music revellers can still experience the UK's most popular music festival on film.

The film Glastonbury by Julien Temple was released in the UK last month, capturing the spirit of the event since it started in 1970. Described as a music documentary, the 138-minute movie charts the festival's evolution with a compilation of clips. Excerpts range from the Glastonbury Fayre film made by Nicolas Roeg in 1971 to amateur home videos by audience members.

As well as a glimpse of the weird and interesting activities some of the spectators have got up to over the years, the film features music legends who have performed at the festival. David Bowie, Faithless, Coldplay, Radiohead, The Velvet Underground, Prodigy, Primal Scream and Cyprus Hill are just a few of the artists highlighted.

Read the full article here