July 2005 became a landmark in music history when eight simultaneous concerts were hosted around the world on one day - July 2 - across U.K, France, Germany, Italy, U.S.A, Canada, Japan and South Africa. And then there was one humongous concert on July 6. The idea was to promote one goal - Make Poverty History. The biggest musical campaign in recent times was responded by the G8 in the form of a meeting on July 5, 2005, which promised the world that the aid for eradication of poverty in Africa would be increased by $50 million by 2010.

They call it the power of music. The concerts featured unforgettable names such as Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Madonna, Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey and many more across the concerts. The 4-DVD set (EMI, Rs. 1,469) featuring the videos of the performances of all the venues has just been released worldwide, and has already shot to the top of the bestsellers rack on all major music stores in India. The DVDs feature content from all the concerts, which means you get the best of both worlds. You can view the performances of Coldplay and Linkin Park, as well as Elton John and Bryan Adams.The names cover practically all the living musicians who are known across the world, including young artistes such as Dido, Shakira, Joss Stone, Jay Z and Snoop Dog. More than the video content of the concerts, it is the exhaustive range of artistes and performers, which makes it a definitive collection and deserving of your time and money. The first DVD features interesting mash-ups by Paul McCartney and U2, Elton John and Pete Doherty, alongside popular names such as UB 40, Bon Jovi, Green Day and Duran Duran. The second DVD features more popular and new age artistes such as Linkin Park, Destiny's Child and Will Smith. The third and fourth DVDs are an impressive mix of evergreen artistes such as Stevie Wonder and Robbie Williams.

Though a certain similarity in style and format can be found along all the concerts, each individual artist incorporates his or her unique style on stage. Hence, it becomes very difficult to judge one performance against another, but a broad viewing of all the DVDs makes us feel that Paul McCartney, Def Leppard and Pink Floyd stand out.

Source: http://www.hindu.com

Art Vinyl, which specialises in creating display cases for album covers, has compiled a list of the best album covers of 2005.

At number one on the list is Hard-Fi's Stars of CCTV, which features a black CCTV camera silhouetted against a bright yellow background. Also in the top five for album artwork are Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have it So Much Better, Gorillaz' Demon Days, Robbie Williams's Intensive Care and Madonna's Confessions on a Dancefloor.

Although CDs dominate the marketplace and music downloads are on the rise, Art Vinyl maintains there is still a place for the different media, believing that fans still buy albums to hang on their walls or play at parties at the same time as downloading music to their MP3 players. In 2005, it noted a trend of moving away from using photographs of bands on album covers, explaining that such images date bands quickly, and that when they are reduced down to CD format they look very small.

Andrew Heeps, managing director of Art Vinyl, describes the Hard-Fi cover as a "piece of marketing genius" that is clever for using an "image that you see every day." Another band that has chosen its own image is Gorillaz - the animated band created by Blur's Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, cartoonist and creator of comic book heroine Tank Girl. "It (Demon Days) reminds us of one of the Beatles' album covers, Let It Be", says Heeps. "It is going back to old imagery, but to have cartoon characters instead is great." Jamie Hewlett has also just been shortlisted for the prestigious Designer of the Year award for the cover. At number six, Coldplay's third album X&Y takes influence from New Order's Blue Monday and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, according to Heeps.

The Art Vinyl top ten is:

1 - Hard-Fi: Stars of CCTV

2 - Franz Ferdinand: You Could Have it So Much Better

3 - Gorillaz: Demon Days

4 - Robbie Williams: Intensive Care

5 - Madonna: Confessions on a Dance Floor

6 - Coldplay: X&Y

7 - Mylo: Destroy Rock & Roll

8 - Goldfrapp: Supernature

9 - Kaiser Chiefs: Employment

10 - Kanye West: Late Registration

With seven-inch single sales increasing by 80% in the second quarter of 2005, Heeps predicts they could be the next boom area for record sleeve artwork.

Sources: The Independent, Andrew Heeps, Art Vinyl and BBC Radio 6

Source: mirror.co.uk

The UK's biggest ceremony - the Brit Awards - is to be held in Earls Court Arena on 15th February 2006. The show goes out on ITV1 the following night.

Coldplay will not only perform at the event, but as reported earlier they have received 4 nominations. They are as follows:

Best British Group

Best British Album (X&Y);

Best British Single (Speed Of Sound);

Best Live Act

Two of the above are categories which are voted for by the public. You can vote for: Speed Of Sound via UK Commercial Radio Stations 17th - 29th January 2006 and British Live Act via Radio 2 20th - 29th January 2006.

For voting details, click here and click here for the official Brits site along with a full list of nominees.

Former Brit winners Coldplay have four nominations in this year's Brit Awards, for British Group, Album for X&Y, Live Act, and British Single (Speed of Sound).

James Blunt is up for British Male Solo Artist, Album, Pop Act, Breakthrough Act and British Single while the Kaiser Chiefs have been nominated for British Group, Album, Live Act, Rock Act and British Breakthrough Act. The band have enjoyed both critical acclaim and chart success with hits like I Predict A Riot and Oh My God.

KT Tunstall, who was largely unknown when her debut album Eye to the Telescope was released in December 2004, is in the running for three awards. The Scottish star is up for British Female Solo Artist, Breakthrough Act and British Live Act. She will battle it out for British Female with classical singer turned wild-child Charlotte Church, Kate Bush, Katie Melua, and Natasha Bedingfield. Bush also has a nomination for best Album for Aerial, her first album in 12 years.

Madonna and the band Arcade Fire dominate the international categories with three nominations each. The queen of pop is up for best Pop Act, International Female Solo Artist, and International Album, for Confessions on a Dancefloor while Arcade Fire are up for best International Group, Album and Breakthrough Act.

Former Blur star Damon Albarn's band Gorillaz have two nominations for British Group and Album, for Demon Days, and Franz Ferdinand, who won two awards last year, are up for three awards including British Live Act, Rock Act and Group.

The Magic Numbers, who famously stormed off Top of the Pops after presenter Richard Bacon made a joke about their weight, have a nomination for best Breakthrough Act. They are up against the Arctic Monkeys, who were rocketed to success with I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, for the award.

Rock newcomers Hard-Fi are nominated in the British Group and Rock Act categories while Oasis are up for British Live Act and Rock Act. Robbie Williams, who holds the record for the largest number of Brit wins, is up for British Male Solo Artist, with Mercury Prize winning Antony and the Johnsons, Ian Brown, Blunt, and former Pop Idol Will Young. U2 and Green Day also have two nominations each including International Group and Album.

Paul Weller, who will perform at the Brits on February 15, will be presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award.

Coldplay, James Blunt, Kaiser Chiefs, Kelly Clarkson, Kanye West and KT Tunstall will also perform at the event at London's Earl's Court.The shortlist for this year's Brit Awards, to be held in London on 15 February.

British male solo artist: Anthony and the Johnsons, Ian Brown, James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Will Young.

British female solo artist: Charlotte Church, Kate Bush, Katie Melua, KT Tunstall, Natasha Bedingfield.

British album: Coldplay - X&Y, Gorillaz - Demon Days, James Blunt - Back To Bedlam, Kaiser Chiefs - Employment, Kate Bush - Aerial.

British group: Kaiser Chiefs, Coldplay, Hard-Fi, Franz Ferdinand, Gorillaz

British rock act: Franz Ferdinand, Hard-Fi, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Oasis.

British urban act: Craig David, Dizzee Rascal, Kano, Lemar, Ms Dynamite.

Pop act: James Blunt, Katie Melua, Kelly Clarkson, Madonna, Westlife.

British breakthrough act: Arctic Monkeys, James Blunt, Kaiser Chiefs, KT Tunstall, Magic Numbers.

International breakthrough act: Arcade Fire, Black Eyed Peas, Green Day, U2, White Stripes.

British live act: Oasis, KT Tunstall, Kaiser Chiefs, Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand

British single: Coldplay - Speed of Sound, James Blunt - You're Beautiful, Shayne Ward - That's My Goal, Sugababes - Push The Button, Tony Christie - (Is This The Way To) Amarillo.

International male solo artist: Beck, Bruce Springsteen, Jack Johnson, John Legend, Kanye West.

International female solo artist: Bjork, Kelly Clarkson, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott.

International group: Arcade Fire, Black Eyed Peas, Green Day, U2, White Stripes.

International album: Arcade Fire - Funeral, Green Day - American Idiot, Kanye - Late Registration, Madonna - Confessions On A Dancefloor, U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Oustanding contribution to music: Paul Weller

A band who have been touring stadiums across the country supporting rock giants Coldplay will bring their music to the more intimate surroundings of Coventry's Colosseum nightclub next month.

Morning Runner, signed to Parlophone, will play at the Primrose Hill Street venue on Monday, February 6. The Reading-based band have received plaudits from the NME and the Guardian, as well as Radio One DJs like Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley. And they have also recently supported bands like Snow Patrol, Athlete, The Pogues, Bloc Party, The Music and Ian Brown.

The Colosseum performance comes ahead of the release of their new single Burning Benches on February 20 and their debut album Wilderness is Paradise Now on March 6.

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

The first Coldplay song...

It seems that "Ode To Deodorant" saga, an intricate question about the song "Ode To Deodorant", the first song even written and performed by Coldplay, is close to the end. Soon the audio file of the song will be uploaded in Multimedia section on the forum.

After over 50 pages of speeches and hopes, eventually we will enjoy it.

More on this here

[Thanks Anonymous...]

Coldplay have been confirmed as performers at next month's Brit Awards 2006, but Oasis [pictured] are set to throw the proverbial toys out the pram and boycott the Brits after they weren’t nominated in the Best Album category according to reports.

Apparently the Gallagher brothers are fuming that their latest album ‘Don’t Believe The Truth’ didn’t make the final cut and will now stay away from the ceremony. They are expected to be nominated in the Best Live Act and Best Rock sections but seemingly this isn’t good enough for them, they consider them minor awards and only value the Best Album and Best Group gongs.

A source from the Brits told the Sun: “Noel and Liam have no intention of turning up on the night. They see it as a real snub to be overlooked for the category. It was a real kick in the teeth for Noel because he wanted to see Paul Weller pick up his Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Expected nominees for Best Album include Coldplay’s ‘X&Y’, ‘Demon Days’ by Gorillaz and possibly Goldfrapp for ‘Supernature’.

The voting has closed, the legitimate ballots have been counted and the victors have been decided. So, without further ado, here are the winners of Chart's 11th Annual Readers' Poll.

Apparently it doesn't matter that Simple Plan's MTV Hard Rock Live doesn't include new material, you still think that it was the best Canadian album of 2005. The live album captured 2,866 votes, far ahead of Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill Acoustic, which finished second with 825.

Green Day's American Idiot is the best international album with 2,078 votes. Coldplay's X&Y placed second with 708 and Fall Out Boy's From Under The Cork Tree ended up in third with 605.INXS' "Pretty Vegas" made a very impressive stretch run to win the best song race with 5,162 votes, far outdistancing Simple Plan's "Crazy," which wound up with 2,414.

We've got a hunch that most of INXS' support didn't come from Kirk Pengilly groupies. J.D. Fortune, the Australian band's new TV-crowned Canadian singer, earned the sexiest Canadian man title with 5,762 votes. Another reality show winner, Canadian Idol Kalan Porter, was sexier than everyone else except Fortune with 4,051.

There's not a sexier woman in Canada than Avril Lavigne, even if she's shacked up with Sum 41's Deryck Whibley in Los Angeles. Lavigne's total of 2,936 votes was 1,758 more than Shania Twain could muster.

Even if Porter isn't Canada's sexiest man, he has the best haircut. His 4,267 votes put his 'do far ahead of Simple Plan's David Desrosiers, who earned 1,485.

"Bananas," the catchphrase, was chosen as the stupidest trend with 1,040 votes. Its margin of victory over actors-turned-musicians was a scant 51 votes. The 77 of you who cast ballots for bear attacks have our eternal gratitude.

INXS' "Pretty Vegas" hit the jackpot in the best video category with a winning total of 5,018 votes. The Killers, who are actually from Vegas, drew 481 votes for "Mr. Brightside." Simple Plan's "Crazy" came up a bit short, landing in second with 2,343 votes.

INXS winning a Fortune received 5,293 votes, allowing it to claim the honour of being the sweetest thing to happen in music in 2005. Live 8 ranked second with 1,247 votes.

Nothing was able to catch immediate frontrunner Ashlee Simpson putting out another record to claim the dubious That Sucked Award. Avril and Deryck, super-couple, came closest to Simpson's 2,156 votes with 1,049.

If you don't believe us, you can check the final poll results for yourself here.

We eliminated all of the ballots that came in by auto-voter, but some of you thought that you could vote multiple times. Well, you can't do that either. Have a look at these rules, which were clearly outlined on the poll site:

5. No purchase is required to enter. Only one entry per CHART username and password will be accepted during the Contest Period. Entries will not be eligible if sent by any method not specified above or if not received during the Contest Period. Limit of one prize per household. Multiple entries of any kind by the same person will be disqualified, unless multiple entries are expressly permitted in paragraph 4.

Paragraph 4: To enter for a chance to win the Grand Prize visit the ChartAttack website at www.chartattack.com. Click on the "Year End Poll" Contest link on the website then click on the "Enter Now" button within the Contest microsite and follow the instructions. If you have registered for a CHART username and password on a previous occasion, you may enter the Contest by completing the online entry, using your CHART username and password. If you do not have a CHART username and password, sign up for one by filling out the online entry form with your first name, last name, email address, daytime telephone number (including area code), and date of birth.

Thanks to all of you who voted and stayed within the rules. The winners of the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious CD prize packs will be announced soon.

Source: http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2006/01/0920.cfm

Paul Weller doesn't think he'll be in very good company at this year's Brit Awards.

The Modfather's receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Music prize but doesn't rate any of the year's other big acts. Coldplay, Gorillaz and Madonna all fail to win his approval.

He also admits The Ordinary Boys Preston's gone down in his estimation after appearing on Celebrity Big Brother.

Source: http://www.citybeat.co.uk

Along the tradition of Ben Folds Five comes a band out of Athens, Ohio, that is gaining momentum, Longfellow.

To kick off 2006 the band played its first show of the year at Ruby Tuesday on the corner of Summit Street and 19th Avenue on Friday. Amid jokes of a stinky microphone, Longfellow engaged the audience with its unique style of indie pop, rock and amusing banter.

Longfellow played a majority of its songs from "Jangling Tea Trolley," the band's 2005 debut album, and threw in some new songs from its upcoming album for good measure.

Around the middle of the set they announced they were bored and decided to switch up the instruments. Drummer Grant Cambridge moved to the keyboard, keyboardist Matt Harvey grabbed the guitar and got behind the mic, guitarist Nick Long took over the bass and bassist Zach Quillen picked up the drumsticks. The result was a flawless performance of Coldplay's classic song "Yellow," which received heavy applause from the audience and emphasized the abilities of the group.

Read the full gig review here

Gwyneth Paltrow's young daughter Apple is huge fan of her mother's celebrity pal Madonna.

The 20-month-old tot, whose father is Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, prefers the Material Girl's number one hit Hung Up to her dad's rock sounds.

Paltrow says: "Apple loves to dance. She absolutely loves Hung Up by 'Dadonna' - that's how she pronounces Madonna. We have it on repeat in our house. She demands to hear it over and over and over."

Source: http://breakingnews.iol.ie

According to the man from the independent record label that discovered him, Coldplay's Chris Martin was little more than a "gibbering fool in a tank-top with Leo Sayer hair" when he first started out in the music business. Unfortunately for the label, Martin's global celebrity, his glamorous relationship with Gwyneth Paltrow and his nascent taste for macrobiotic food only blossomed after he had jumped ship and signed his band with industry giant EMI.

It is a leap made all too often by the hottest new acts to hit the charts in recent years, among them Keane, The Darkness, Snow Patrol and Kaiser Chiefs.

Read the full article here

Acts set to appear at this year's Brit Awards include Paul Weller and Coldplay, organisers have revealed.

Paul Weller, who is to receive an award for his outstanding contribution to music, will finish the show in his first ever Brits appearance. Other acts confirmed for the night are Coldplay, the Kaiser Chiefs, Kelly Clarkson, KT Tunstall and Kanye West. Organisers will reveal more at a later date.

They said veteran-rocker Weller's award is the highest honour in the UK record industry. A spokesman said: “It is reserved for those whose influence, longevity and creativity put them in the very top ranks of UK artists. Paul Weller is an artist who scores on every measure and typifies the range and quality of British music at its best.”

The ceremony will be hosted by Chris Evans for the second year running.

Source: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

LONDON - It was a bumper year for the UK music industry as downloads overtook single sales in the run up to the New Year. This is the first time that downloads have been able to put the more traditional singles sales in the shadow, underlining the changing taste of the consumer.

26.4 million tracks were downloaded in 2005 as against the 5.6 million tracks that were downloaded in 2004. This is a staggering increase of 350 percent! This trend continued into the New Year as the initial weeks saw over 1 million digital sales mainly boosted by the frenzied holiday buying.

Traditional single sales dipped by 19 percent to 21.4 million units last year, while the overall digital as well as the "physical single track songs" sales grew by 48 percent in 2005, according to the Official Chart Company, which compiled these figures for the British Phonographic Industry."The music industry's firm line on digital music piracy and its support for new digital music retailers has seen the digital music market grow by 350 per cent in 2005," said Peter Jamieson, chairman of the BPI.

But the UK album market dipped by 2.7 percent to 159 million units. However this was an acceptable performance when compared to the 7.2 percent drop across the Atlantic. Sales of albums by individual artists and bands grew by 1.4 percent, but there was a 15.7 percent drop in compilation sales, "The [earlier] rise of compilations and the Pop Idol phenomenon led some to suggest the days of the great artist album were numbered. On the contrary, strong investment in new talent means album sales are flourishing," Jamieson pointed out.

James Blunt was the top selling artist with his Back to Bedlam topping sales. Tony Christie's Amarillo was the best selling single in 2005. Coldplay's X&Y, Kaiser Chiefs' Employment and Robbie Williams' Intensive Care also sold substantially.

Source: http://www.abcmoney.co.uk

As reported earlier here, WXRT Radio in Chicago, hosted polls for both album and song of the year for 2005, including the best gigs of the year.

Voting is now finished - see if your favorites made the list here. Coldplay featured in the top lists with the following relevant results:

Album of the Year:

1. Coldplay - X&Y

Songs of the Year:

3. Fix You

4. Speed of Sound

53. Talk (tied)

99. White Shadows

Concerts of the year

7. Coldplay @ Metro, May 6, 2005

18. Coldplay @ Alpine Valley, August 13, 2005

[Thanks 66]

Their reunion after more than 20 years was widely regarded as one of the musical highlights of the past 12 months. But rock veterans Pink Floyd [pictured in concert] have been snubbed by this year's Brit Awards, with the band failing to make the shortlist for the year's best live acts.

Robbie Williams, who like Floyd performed at Live 8, has also been left out of the live nominations, which were announced yesterday. Pink Floyd re-formed, with bass player Roger Waters joining guitarist David Gilmour and the rest of the band for the first time since 1981 when they played the awareness-raising concert at Hyde Park in July 2005.

Most of the panel of judges who decided Brits live nominations recommended the band should go on the shortlist, with several also choosing Williams. But they were told they had to choose performers who had drawn a paying audience - both the acts played only at Live 8 last year, where tickets were free.

One judge said: "It is ridiculous. Pink Floyd's performance was clearly one of the biggest talking points of 2005 in the music world."

The shortlist is made up of Oasis, KT Tunstall, Kaiser Chiefs, Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand. The other categories' shortlists will be announced on Tuesday.

Daniel Kitson is a lo-fi romantic. He despises mass culture, drunkenness, X-Factor pop; he celebrates instead the fragile intimacy of fellow geeks who swap painstakingly compiled mix-tapes and dream of locking eyes with the sort of girl who also worries about the popularity of Coldplay.

Read the full article here

Chris Martin has admitted that he finds inspiration in his shower.

The Coldplay frontman now spends extra time in the bathroom and has even bought a waterproof tape recorder so that his creative moments are captured for later.

"It's good for the voice and singing in the shower is an age-old past time of mine," he told the Daily Star. "Where better to come up with melodies?"

A friend added, "Chris loves singing in the shower anyway, but it's particularly good for his voice as the steam helps his vocal cords relax. He'll often have a shower just before he goes on stage because it helps him hit the high notes.

"But over the past month he's hit a hot streak and got down the main parts to three or four new songs in the shower."

Source: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

The presale for the second Anaheim date (7th February) is now closed.

You can still get tickets in the general sale that starts on Saturday Jan 7th at 10am.

For more information click here

The Coldplay US concert tour has come to a close.

Over the course of two months and 33 Coldplay performances, 539 local Oxfam volunteers nationwide donned campaign t-shirts and grabbed clipboards to rally support for Make Trade Fair. With the help of Coldplay fans across the country, their quest was a tremendous success. The numbers tell the tale:

63,632 sign-ups to the Big Noise

14,311 postcards to deliver to the US Trade Representative

12 percent of total audience took action

539 local volunteers canvassed with us

Oxfam’s petition to Make Trade Fair, called the Big Noise, boasted 17.8 million signatures by the end of 2005. Signatures poured in from US venues as different as Coldplay concerts and Kansas church meetings. But poor people themselves, in countries like Zambia and Bangladesh, responded in the greatest numbers.Through grassroots events and high-level negotiating, Oxfam America campaigned to change the rules that prevent poor people from making a decent living. These included sponsoring a tour of farmers and agriculture experts from Mali and Senegal through US farming states, meetings with members of Congress and diplomats at the G8 Summit in Scotland, the UN meeting in New York, and the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong. Oxfam worked with representatives from five countries at a shareholders’ meeting of Newmont Mining Corporation in Colorado, where they spoke directly to company leaders about the social and environmental costs of mines.

At the World Coffee Congress in Brazil, farmers from Central America and Ethiopia asked the US and other International Coffee Organization members to address industry problems that affect farmers’ incomes. Oxfam’s supporters and activists held events and sent thousands of e-mails, letters, postcards, and petitions to corporations and elected officials, asking them to: reform agriculture policy, protect sacred indigenous people’s lands, and buy fair trade.

Source: http://www.oxfamamerica.org

The weeks after Christmas leading up to the slow thaw of March are traditionally the music industry's slowest: There are only a handful of major albums released, and many touring acts opt to wait until the spring before heading back out on the road.

This isn't to say that there aren't a number of great performances and promising new releases to look forward to in the winter months, or that there's even more incredible music already scheduled to drop later in 2006. Here, then, is a chronological Top 10 of my most eagerly anticipated concerts in the new year, and a brief look ahead at more of what's to come on album and onstage.

9. March 30-31: Coldplay at the United Center: Nothing will top the moody British rockers performing at Metro circa the release of their excellent third album, "X & Y." But Coldplay remains one of the most vital acts currently playing the arenas, with a catalog strong enough to hold 22,000 people firmly in their thrall. Former Verve leader and Chris Martin hero Richard Ashcroft opens, and tickets are $41.50-$81.50 through Ticketmaster.

Source: http://www.suntimes.com

The Deadly Knowledge Show (Entertainment)

Starting: 09:30 on Monday 9th January. Duration: 25 minutes

Showing on Channel 4.

Oasis vs. Coldplay (Entertainment)

Starting: 09:00 on Tuesday 10th January. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on VH2.

The Deadly Knowledge Show (Entertainment)

Starting: 09:30 on Tuesday 10th January. Duration: 25 minutes

Showing on Channel 4.

The Deadly Knowledge Show (Entertainment)

Starting: 09:30 on Wednesday 11th January. Duration: 25 minutes

Showing on Channel 4.

Coldplay Live (Music)

Starting: 23:00 on Wednesday 11th January. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on VH2

The Deadly Knowledge Show (Entertainment)

Starting: 09:30 on Thursday 12th January. Duration: 25 minutes

Showing on Channel 4.

40 Greatest 21st Century Anthems (Music)

Starting: 19:00 on Thursday 12th January. Duration: 4 hours

Showing on VH2.

The Deadly Knowledge Show (Entertainment)

Starting: 09:30 on Friday 13th January. Duration: 25 minutes

Showing on Channel 4.

The V Festival 2003 (Music)

Zoe Ball presents festival highlights from Chelmsford. Featured acts include Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Ash, the Hives, Mis-Teeq, Moloko and Kelly Osbourne.

Starting: 00:10 on Monday 16th January. Duration: 30 minutes

Showing on ITV1 Yorkshire

The V Festival 2003 (Music)

Starting: 00:10 on Monday 16th January. Duration: 30 minutes

Showing on ITV1 Central.

More on the schedule here [Thanks Nettie]

The Strokes have celebrated the US release of their third album 'First Impressions Of Earth' by playing an exclusive gig at Los Angeles Troubadour last night (January 6) for 500 fans and A-list stars.

Following in the tradition of Radiohead, who launched 'OK Computer' there in 1997, and Coldplay, who premiered 'X&Y' with a low-key gig at the legendary venue, The Strokes show drew massive queues around the block.

Hundreds of fans who won tickets through local radio station KROQ turned up hours early to secure places at the front of the stage, while still more arrived begging list holders to sell any spare tickets for upwards of $500 a piece.Inside, the band took the stage about forty five minutes late, with celebrity onlookers cheering them on including Matrix star Keanu Reeves as well as actresses Kirsten Dunst, Eva Mendes and Drew Barrymore.

The balcony was packed with stars from the music scene too including Beastie Boy Mike D, Jet's Chris Cester and man about town, Har Mar Superstar.

"Thanks to everyone inside," frontman Julian Casablancas told the sweaty patrons upon taking the stage. "Are you guys ready to go or what? This is one of the best days in the world. God Bless America."

The New York outfit opened with 'Juicebox', following it up with a thirteen song set that included new ones 'Razorblade' and 'Red Light' alongside classics 'Someday' and 'Hard to Explain'.

Midway through the band's seventy five minute set the crowd erupted as the band introduced 'Last Nite'. One fan was so moved she climbed the venue's scaffolding several feet above the crowd, where she swung around the metal pillar until security pulled her down. Another fan climbed on stage to dance alongside the band, who paid him no attention, until bouncers kicked him off.

The show ended with a three song encore beginning with 'New York City Cops' followed by 'Soma', before finishing with 'Take it or Leave It'.

'First Impressions Of Earth' is set to enter the UK albums chart at Number One tomorrow (January 8).

Source: NME

Some of 2005's blockbusters were knockoffs that traded expansive thoughts for petty ones. Coldplay, the English band that's openly eager to become "the next U2," came up with more of its grand, chiming, would-be anthems, only to ruin them with lyrics unworthy of the music's splendors.

Like a cheesy self-help guru, Coldplay inflates listeners' vague fears and insecurities, then offers itself as a panacea: "I will fix you," Chris Martin vowed.

Read the full article here

Stars rumoured to be appearing at the February 15th event include Coldplay, pop diva Madonna, reunited boy band and Take That.

Meanwhile, confirmed are Oasis, and brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher are reportedly locked in a bitter feud - over who will sing at the Awards.

The brothers have agreed to perform at the star-studded bash next month, but didn’t decide who would take lead vocals on the song they perform. A source told Daily Mirror newspaper: “It’s hilarious. They’re both really keen to perform but they’re at each others throats over who gets to sing.“Noel is insisting on singing whatever song they choose to perform and then Liam kicked off because he said he doesn’t want to stand at the back of the stage while Noel steals the limelight.”

However the rowing pair are said to have agreed to perform with musician Paul Weller at the awards ceremony. The source revealed: “Oasis are in discussions to play with Paul Weller. He’s receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Brits and the idea is they all jam together.”

Source: http://www.starpulse.com