New Order have announced their first North American since 2005.
The band's seven-date tour begins in San Francisco before visiting Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.
Said singer Bernard Sumner said, “We’ve been having such a great time together this year, playing shows all over Europe, and we're all really excited to be playing America again. We have so many friends and fans there we can't wait to get back!"
New Order's last American show was at the Hammerstein Ballroom in May, 2005. Their last Canadian show was 11 years ago, in 2001.
The xx have announced a trio of intimate UK shows for September.
The London band will take to the stage at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on September 10 - the same day they release second album Coexist. They will follow this hometown show with gigs at The Coal Exchange in Cardiff on September 11 and Edinburgh's Usher Hall on September 12. The xx are also scheduled to perform at Bestival on the Isle of Wight on September 7.
Bruce Springsteen and E-Street Band member Steve Van Zandt made a surprise appearance last night [July 22] at a memorial concert in Norway to mark the anniversary of last year's terror attacks.
The event, held in Oslo's City Square, featured a number of local artists. Springsteen and Van Zandt appeared to play protest song, "We Shall Overcome" [watch below], telling the 60,000 strong audience:
"Steve and I are honored to be included here tonight. For all of us who love democracy and tolerance, it's an international tragedy."
Blur have launched their own interactive app for iPad and iPhone.
Blur: The App will be available to download free via iTunes from today (July 23). The software has been designed to serve as a companion for the band's upcoming 21-disc retrospective, Blur 21: The Box, which will be released on July 30.
Elbow have announced details of a UK tour.
Following the band's headline slots at Latitude, T In The Park and the Isle Of Wight festivals this year, they will embark on their first ever arena tour in November and December.
Kicking off at Nottingham's Capital FM Arena on November 26, the band will then head to Birmingham NIA on November 28 and then Liverpool's Echo Area on November 29, before heading to their Manchester home-town on December 1. They will finish up at London's The O2 on December 2.
Elbow will play:
Sir Richard Branson is considering buying back Virgin Records, the label he founded over 40 years ago.
The label's current owner Universal Music may sell the baled to appease competition authorities as they look to buy rival major label EMI for £1.2bn.
Sir Richard originally sold Virgin Records, the company he founded in 1970 aged 20, to Thorn EMI for £510m in 1992. In 1977, the label signed the Sex Pistols. Writing on his blog, the Virgin mogul wrote that he thinks the company is a "sleeping beauty":
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has said that he firmly believes whoever the next "Kurt Cobain or Courtney Love or Trent Reznor" is, they will not make it big in the same way as those artists.
The singer, whose band released their new studio album Oceania last month, has said that most alternative bands will never escape the scene they start in as that scene is now self-sufficient.
The Who fans who still possess a ticket for their cancelled 1979 gig in Providence, Rhode Island can still use the brief for the band's show in the city in 2013.
The legendary group were due to perform in the city on December 1979, but authorities prevented the gig from going ahead as 11 fans had been trampled to death at a previous show in Ohio.
Now, The Who have announced that fans who still have the rare ticket will be able to swap it for a new brief, which will entitle the holder entry into band's gig at the Dunkin' Donuts Centre on February 26 2013.
