News

Ray Davies has announced a 14 date UK tour, to coincide with the release of The Kinks At The BBC box set. Along with already announced dates at Millennium Forum, Derry on June 24 and Hop Farm on June 29, Davies and his band play: Sunday, September 30: The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury Monday, October 1: Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Tuesday, October 2: The Sage, Gateshead Thursday, October 4: Royal Albert Hall, London Friday, October 5: Cliffs Pavilion, Southend Saturday, October 6: Guildhall, Southampton Monday, October 8: Barbican, York

A new trailer has been released for Neil Young and Jonathan Demme's forthcoming documentary, Neil Young Journeys. This is the third collaboration between Young and The Silence Of The Lambs director Demme, following 2006's Heart Of Gold and 2009's Trunk Show. Neil Young Journeys premiered in January this year at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The film mixes live film of Young playing at Toronto's Massey Hall in May, 2011, with footage of Neil returning to the town of Omemee in northern Ontario, where he was raised.

Black Sabbath have announced that they will be releasing a new 'Best Of' album next month. The compilation, which is titled Iron Man: The Best Of Black Sabbath, will be released on June 4 and contains a total of 14 tracks. The album contains a selection of tracks from across the metal legends' back catalogue, including "Iron Man", "War Pigs", "Changes", "Paranoid" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath".

Sinead O'Connor has explained the reasons why she cancelled all her planned tour dates for 2012 after citing health reasons. The singer posted a lengthy message on her fan website describing her ongoing battle with bipolar disorder and the split with her manager, Fachtna O'Ceallaigh.

Bjork has pulled her headline appearances at the Primavera festivals in Barcelona in Spain and Porto in Portugal next month because of an inflamed nodule in her throat. The Icelandic singer was set to appear at the events in Barcelona on June 2 and in Porto on June 9, but has now cancelled the shows. Last month she cancelled two shows upon discovering the nodule. She had been playing her eighth studio album 'Biophilia' in residence at the Buenos Aires Centro de Exposiciones in Argentina but shelved the final shows of the run after the diagnosis.

Country music legend Willie Nelson has turned down Roseanne Barr’s offer to be her Presidential running mate. Earlier this year, Barr – who found fame with her 1990's sitcom Roseanne – filed the official documents needed to become the Green Party's nominee for President. On her Twitter account, Twitter.com/therealroseanne, she recently stated: "My Vice President will be announced at the debate in San Francisco this Saturday. I want Willie Nelson as Vice President."

Aretha Franklin is set to be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame later this year. The soul singer is one of six acts to receive the honour this year and will join the ranks of previously inducted Hall of Famers Dolly Parton and Elvis at a ceremony on August 14 in Hendersonville, Tennessee, reports AP via the NY Daily News.

Alabama Shakes have given their views on where new bands are going wrong in their approach to songwriting. Speaking in this week's issue of NME, which is on UK newsstands and available digitally now, the band's singer Brittany Howard has said that she and her bandmates have focused on sincerity, rather than trying to be "original" or "different".

Occupation Records, the record label founded and run by members of the Occupy London movement, has announced it will release its debut compilation next month. The compilation, which is titled Folk The Banks, will be released on June 4 and will feature 18 tracks in total. Among the artists set to feature on the album are Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello, Martha Wainwright, The King Blues and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

Beastie Boys were hit with a lawsuit over alleged undeclared samples the day before Adam Yauch passed away, it has been revealed. Yauch, who was also known as MCA, was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and succumbed to the disease on Friday [May 4], aged 47. US record label Tuf America had submitted a lawsuit against the band the day before (May 3) which alleges that they illegally sampled 1980s outfit Trouble Funk's "Say What" and "Drop The Bomb" on four of their early tunes.