Music UK

Social distancing will be required as the country enters phase 4 of a five-stage reopening plan.

Audiences who adhere to social distancing can return to indoor theaters, music and performance venues beginning Aug. 1, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday (July 17). The policy represents the fourth phase in the country’s five-stage reopening plan for live events.

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When Keiron Marshall was 15, he found his way out of a desperate situation with help from an unexpected source: Eric Clapton. The guitar great was host at the first gig Marshall ever went to, and he was joined on stage by Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, The Who’s Pete Townshend and Beatle Ringo Starr.

Since then, London’s music scene has been a liferaft for Marshall, a musician who now runs a group of small concert venues with his wife. Growing up in south London, he’d endured racial slurs and regular beatings because of his Pakistani heritage. His uncle was killed in a racially motivated attack; his mother was a heroin addict.

But the music scene they know and love may soon be unrecognizable because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has plunged the U.K. economy into its worst recession on record.

“The truth is that actually only 11% of venues will be able to open in a financially viable manner,” said Mark Davyd, founder and CEO of the Music Venue Trust.

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The Avalanches are ready to blast off with album No. 3.
The Australian electronic-leaning outfit have a new LP in the can, entitled We Will Always Love You.
According to its creators, now the Melbourne duo of Tony Di Blasi and Robbie Chater, it’s an “exploration of the vibrational relationship between light, sound and spirit.” But there’s no launch date, yet.

We Will Always Love You promises to be an interstellar affair. The artwork, designed by Jonathan Zawada, features Ann Druyan whose “cosmic love story inspired the music.”

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Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood called up Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM Show Andy Cohen Live to discuss the viral TikTok video where skateboarder Nathan Apodaca glides down the street while chugging Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice and singing along to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”

“A lot of my kids are young and connected and it just seemed so apropos,” said the drummer, who joined TikTok so he could recreate the video himself.

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After nearly three-and-a-half years out of the public eye, Adele will return to the spotlight by serving as host — but not musical guest — on the October 24th episode of Saturday Night Live.

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Ellie Goulding calls for transparency and questions what constitutes “worthiness” when it comes to awards recognition in the music industry in her essay “The Start of a Conversation…“, which was published on Wednesday via Medium.

While the singer did not specifically mention the Grammys or the Recording Academy, her piece follows backlash stemming from this year’s nominations from fellow artists, including Halsey and the Weeknd. Goulding’s double-sided LP, Brightest Blue released over the summer, was shut-out of the nominations, as was The Weeknd’s After Hours and Halsey’s Manic alongside songs from their respective albums. The Weeknd tweeted of his snubbing, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…”, while Halsey called the Grammys process “elusive” and said that “it can often be about behind the scenes private performances, knowing the right people, campaigning through the grapevine, with the right handshakes and ‘bribes.'”

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“All I Want” reaches the summit in its 104th week. According to the Official Charts Company, no other song in history has spent as many weeks in the U.K. Top 40 before eventually reaching No. 1.

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Gerry Marsden, frontman of the British band Gerry and the Pacemakers and singer on hits like “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “Ferry Cross the Mersey” and “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” has died at the age of 78.

“It is with such great sadness that we hear of Gerry Marsden’s passing,” Liverpool FC tweeted Sunday. “Gerry’s words will live on forever with us. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Gerry’s voice accompanied our biggest nights. His anthem bonded players, staff and fans around the world, helping create something truly special

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Elvis Costello told Apple Music's Zane Lowe in an interview Monday (Jan. 25) that he just wanted to be remembered after the iconic Saturday Night Live stunt that got him banned from the late-night show.

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"I was going to do some merch but I didn't want to market the day. Just wanted it to be a celebration for us! So you'll have to wait for new merch!" he added. When someone pointed out that many celebrities might have turned the anniversary into "a cash grab," Tomlinson commented, "Too many greedy f---ers out there!"
One fan asked, "A year after walls' release, do you think you could have done something differently?"
"Don't think so," wrote Tomlinson. "All part of the process. Still really proud of it."

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