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Morrissey announces special reissue of Bona Drag for HMV’s 100th anniversary series

Sam Moore
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Morrissey announces special reissue of Bona Drag for HMV’s 100th anniversary series

Morrissey has announced a special reissue of his 1990 compilation Bona Drag.

The release comes as part of HMV’s 100th anniversary celebrations, with the music and entertainment high street chain reissuing a number of records on vinyl for their 1921 Centenary Edition series.

Bona Drag, which was originally released on the HMV label in October 1990, featured a number of solo singles that were released by Morrissey following his 1988 solo debut album Viva Hate.

Limited to just 750 copies, HMV’s reissue of Bona Drag will be pressed on transparent green vinyl for their 1921 Centenary Edition series. Each record also comes with a poster, as well as photographs that were taken by Linder Sterling in London’s Hoxton Square.

HMV’s special reissue of Bona Drag will go on sale, along with a number of other records, exclusively in HMV stores on July 24, while an online sale will also commence on the same day at 4pm.

Records by the likes of Kate Bush, The National, Lou Reed, Pixies, The Libertines, The xx and The Prodigy are also set to be reissued by HMV as part of their 1921 Centenary Edition series. You can find the full range here.

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien leads reactions to government streaming report: “It’s a great start”

Will Lavin
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Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien leads reactions to government streaming report: “It’s a great start”

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien is one of many musicians sharing their reactions to a new government report that has stated the current model for streaming needs a “complete reset”.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Commons Select Committee has been examining the business model since last year and whether or not the model is fair to songwriters and performers.

Findings released yesterday (July 15) saw MPs setting out a “complete reset of streaming” that “enshrines in law [artists’] rights to a fair share of the earnings”.

O’Brien, who was one of the artists who gave evidence during the ‘Economics of music streaming’ inquiry, took to Facebook this afternoon to share his reaction. “It has finally been officially recognised that Artists have not been remunerated fairly,” he said.

“This new digital era that we are in is based on an old and deeply unfair 20th century model. This report recognised that there needs to be a fundamental reset for Artists, their rights and the way they are paid.”

He added: “What we need are true partnerships between Artists and the labels .. and transparency in the murky world of streaming.”

The DCMS report into Streaming which I contributed to was released yesterday.. it has finally been officially recognised…

Posted by Ed O'Brien on Thursday, July 15, 2021

The Radiohead guitarist then thanked everyone involved in helping with the inquiry, including Tom Gray of Gomez, who is responsible for the #BrokenRecord campaign which is calling for better streaming revenues for artists, and “the MPs who took the time to understand this deeply dysfunctional business”.

“BUT it’s only a start,” he added. “Now this needs to be legislated… however it’s a great start .. it’s official .. we build on this so that all Artists, in particular those who are starting out and those on the margins simply have a fair and equitable deal… It is all about fairness and transparency.” You can see O’Brien’s post above.

Tom Gray shared his thoughts also, writing: “The @CommonsDCMS report is DAMNING. It brilliantly takes each issue in turn and arrives at a conclusion on the balance of evidence. In every single instance it reflects an industry that is pocketing a fortune while failing UK performers and songwriters.”

Singer-songwriter Nadine Shah, who is an advocate for The FAC (Featured Artists Coalition), a UK trade body representing the specific rights and interests of music artists, responded to the news by sharing Gray’s tweet.

“The @CommonsDCMS report on music streaming is in,” she tweeted. “It’s a great result for music creators and hopefully will ignite change to make this a fairer industry. Thank you to everyone who’s been supporting us.”

Back in April, over 150 artists – including Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Damon Albarn, Chris Martin, Noel Gallagher and Wolf Alice – signed an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking to help reform the streaming economy.

Meanwhile, a YouGov poll of music fans last year found that 77 per cent of respondents believe that artists deserve a greater share of revenue from streaming services.

Listen to Iron Maiden’s first track in six years, “The Writing On The Wall”

Tom Skinner
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Listen to Iron Maiden’s first track in six years, “The Writing On The Wall”

Iron Maiden have released their first new music in six years with the track “The Writing On The Wall” – listen below.

The metal band, whose last studio album The Book Of Souls arrived in 2015, teased back in April that they had something “very, very exciting” in the works. “I think it’ll be worth the wait, put it like that,” said guitarist Adrian Smith.

It came after frontman Bruce Dickinson revealed last year that the group were back in the studio working on new material.

Yesterday (July 15), Iron Maiden made their long-awaited return with a spectacular, six-minute single after teasing their comeback online. “The Writing On The Wall” was written by Smith and Dickinson, with Kevin Shirley and bassist Steve Harris on production duties.

The song arrives with a suitably epic animated video, the creation of a collaborative team including former Pixar executives Mark Andrews and Andrew Gordon (The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo).

Dickinson explained: “I had a pretty clear idea of the concept to accompany the song and when I met Mark and Andrew, on Zoom, it quickly became clear we were all very much on the same wavelength, and this was reinforced with the addition of Nicos and his young BlinkInk team. Our weekly team Zoom meetings were then usually both highly creative and a lot of fun!

“I’m very proud of the way the video turned out, it’s more like a mini-film really. I knew it was going to work out as soon as Mark brought my treatment to life with his incredible storyboards – I thought we could make something very special together. I think we did and hope our fans will agree. In fact it’s pretty much created by Maiden fans!!”

Details of Iron Maiden’s upcoming new album are yet to be revealed.

Iggy Pop, Sharon Van Etten, Michael Stipe, St. Vincent and more set for The Velvet Underground & Nico tribute album

Will Richards
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Iggy Pop, Sharon Van Etten, Michael Stipe, St. Vincent and more set for The Velvet Underground & Nico tribute album

Iggy Pop, Sharon Van Etten, Michael Stipe, St. Vincent, Matt Berninger and many more are all set to contribute to a new tribute album to The Velvet Underground & Nico.

The 1967 album paired the Lou Reed-fronted New York rock legends with German singer Nico, and became one of the most lauded albums of all time.

On September 24, Verve Records – the original home of The Velvet Underground – will release I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground & Nico, which will feature every song on the album covered by an array of stars. The album was produced by the late Hal Willner, Lou Reed’s dear friend who died last year, making it the final album he ever worked on.

Joining the names above will be Fontaines D.C., King Princess, Courtney Barnett, Thurston Moore, Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Bird and Kurt Vile, the latter of whom has shared his version of “Run Run Run” yesterday (July 14) to announce the album.

“I literally covered ‘Run Run Run’ when I was a kid, in my late teens with my band at the time,” Vile, who recently signed to Verve Records himself, said in a statement.

“So it was pretty cosmic, let’s say. There is a direct connection to certain indie bands and beyond w/ the Velvets. That’s why the Velvets are a classic. You know it can have doo-wop in there and things like that, but it can also have this jagged noisy thing, and it immediately let me feel like I could do anything.

“The possibilities are endless. You’re completely free. Unapologetic and effortless.”

Listen to the cover and see the tracklisting for I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground & Nico below. Pre-orders for the album are available here.

1. “Sunday Morning” – Michael Stipe
2. “I’m Waiting For The Man” – Matt Berninger
3. “Femme Fatale”– Sharon Van Etten (w/ Angel Olsen on backing vocals)
4. “Venus In Furs” – Andrew Bird & Lucius
5. “Run Run Run” – Kurt Vile & The Violators
6. “All Tomorrow’s Parties” – St. Vincent & Thomas Bartlett
7. “Heroin” – Thurston Moore feat. Bobby Gillespie
8. “There She Goes Again” – King Princess
9. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” – Courtney Barnett
10. “The Black Angel’s Death Song” – Fontaines D.C.
11. “European Son” – Iggy Pop & Matt Sweeney

Meanwhile, The Velvet Underground were recently subject to a new documentary from Todd Haynes.

In our first-look review of The Velvet Underground, which came out this month, we wrote: “Director Todd Haynes is looking at the band from the perspective of a fellow artist rather than an archivist. The director of I’m Not There is trying to understand what the Velvets achieved rather than laying out the facts of where and when they did it. Which is just as well, because the Velvets story is famously slippery.”

Billy Bragg announces details of 10th studio album, The Million Things That Never Happened

Will Richards
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Billy Bragg announces details of 10th studio album, The Million Things That Never Happened

Billy Bragg has announced the release of a new album – get all the details on The Million Things That Never Happened below.

The legendary songwriter’s 10th studio album will come out on October 8 via Cooking Vinyl, and was previewed yesterday (July 14) with first single “I Will Be Your Shield”.

“To m, ‘I Will Be Your Shield’ is the heart and soul of the album,” Bragg said in a statement. “I’ve come to the conclusion that empathy is the currency of music – that our job as songwriters is to help people come to terms with their feelings by offering them examples of how others may have dealt with a situation similar to that in which listeners find themselves.

“After what we’ve all been through, the idea of being a shield, physically, emotionally, psychologically, really resonates,” he added.

Watch the video for the new single and a trailer for the forthcoming album below:

The Million Things That Never Happened was produced by Romeo Stodart and Dave Izumi at Echo Zoo studios in Eastbourne, Sussex. The record features a song called “Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained”, a track that closes the album and was co-written with Bragg’s son, Jack Valero.

See the artwork and tracklisting for The Million Things That Never Happened below:

The Million Things That Never Happened cover art Billy Bragg

1. “Should Have Seen It Coming”
2. “Mid-Century Modern”
3. “Lonesome Ocean”
4. “Good Days And Bad Days”
5. “Freedom Doesn’t Come For Free”
6. “Reflections On The Mirth Of Creativity”
7. “The Million Things That Never Happened”
8. “The Buck Doesn’t Stop Here No More”
9. “I Believe In You”
10. “Pass It On”
11. “I Will Be Your Shield”
12. “Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained”

On September 9, ahead of the album’s release, Bragg is set to play a special livestreamed concert called Billy Bragg On…, which will see him perform songs from the new album as well as from across his back catalogue. Donations can be made to the Music Venue Trust during the show.

Bruce Springsteen says he hopes to resume touring next year

Sam Moore
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Bruce Springsteen says he hopes to resume touring next year

Bruce Springsteen has said that he hopes to resume touring next year.

While he is currently continuing with his solo Broadway residency at the St. James Theatre in New York, Springsteen previously confirmed that he won’t be touring in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball yesterday (July 14), Springsteen said that he is now hoping to restart touring in 2022.

“We’ll be touring next year if everything goes well,” he told Ball. “The E Street Band will be back on the road – you know, depending, of course, on the virus and what’s opening up.”

Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen (Picture: Kevin Kane/Getty Images)

Springsteen also took time during the interview to praise his fans in the UK, saying: “I’d like to take one moment to thank my UK fans, particularly for the support they’ve continued to give to my new music.

“Letter To You was so well-received in the UK and it really touched by heart, and I deeply deeply appreciate it.”

Springsteen last performed with the E Street Band during his appearance on Saturday Night Live back in December, marking their first live performance together since 2017.

The artist is set to headline a “homecoming” concert at Central Park in New York this summer alongside the likes of Paul Simon and Jennifer Hudson.

“This is going to be one of the greatest Central Park concerts in history,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said of the show, which is being organised by veteran music mogul Clive Davis. “This is something for the ages.”

Bobby Gillespie: “Everyone in Primal Scream is really flattered that Lorde was influenced by ‘Loaded'”

Andrew Trendell
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Bobby Gillespie: “Everyone in Primal Scream is really flattered that Lorde was influenced by ‘Loaded'”

Primal Scream‘s Bobby Gillespie has spoken of how “flattered” the band are that Lorde was influenced by their seminal “Loaded” for her recent single “Solar Power”.

The New Zealand musician made her return last month, four years after the release of her critically-acclaimed second album Melodrama. She went on to speak about Primal Scream’s influence on her comeback single – pinpointing “Loaded” as a key inspiration behind it – before the indie veterans took to Twitter to share that they “loved” the song.

Now, frontman Bobby Gillespie has revealed that the whole band are “flattered” that they had inspired Lorde.

“I need to hear [the whole album],” Gillespie told NME. “I’ve heard that one track. I was watching the Italy vs Spain match and they were playing Lorde over the goals at the end. It’s incredible.”

He continued: “I’m really, really flattered, we all are. Everyone in Primal Scream is flattered that she was influenced by ‘Loaded’. It’s really cool.”

Lorde had previously revealed that she had spoken to Gillespie about the similarities between the songs and that he was “so lovely about it”.

“He was like, ‘You know, these things happen, you caught a vibe that we caught years ago,’” she explained. “And he gave us his blessing.

“So let the record state ‘Loaded’ is 100 per cent the original blueprint for this, but we arrived at it organically. And I’m glad we did.”

This comes after George Michael’s estate recently praised Lorde when connections were made between the singer’s new single “Solar Power” and Michael’s hit “Freedom ’90”.

“We are aware that many people are making a connection between “Freedom ’90” by George Michael and “Solar Power” by Lorde which George would have been flattered to hear, so on behalf of one great artist to a fellow artist, we wish her every success with the single,” the short statement from Michael’s estate reads.

Lorde will release her new album Solar Power on August 20, before heading out on a huge world tour next year.

Gillespie meanwhile, recently released Utopian Ashes – a collaborative album with Savages’ Jehnny Beth.

Lindsey Buckingham: “We slapped everyone across the face going from Rumours to Tusk!”

Tom Pinnock
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Lindsey Buckingham: “We slapped everyone across the face going from Rumours to Tusk!”

Lindsey Buckingham steps out into the afternoon heat of west Los Angeles. Surrounded by dogs, he takes the short walk across the yard from his home to his out-house studio.

“We’ve got way too many actually,” he explains. “We’ve got one miniature poodle, a miniature Australian shepherd, a white lab and two Pomeranians. Yeah, I think one is enough…”

Based around an old reel-to-reel tape machine, the studio appears to be a fairly primitive set-up – at least for a man of Buckingham’s wealth and reputation. But then, Lindsey Buckingham has always been one to confound expectations. He hasn’t used the studio much since 2018, when the 10 songs on his new, self-titled solo album – his first in a decade – were recorded. Back then, things were different. Buckingham’s heart was doing fine, Covid was unheard of, and he was still a member of Fleetwood Mac.

In fact, the subject of Buckingham’s departure from the group in 2018 – after he requested a delay to their upcoming tour so he could release his own album – comes up early in our conversation, after Buckingham himself raises it. It is, he explains, inexorably tied in with the origins of this new album.

“Once I’d been ousted from the band – which in itself was just so absurd after all the troubles we’d been through and managed to overcome for 40-plus years – I was poised to put the album out. Then I ended up having a bypass operation, so we had to kick it down the road a little further. And then the pandemic hit. So it’s been a sort of running gag, to have so many false starts.”

Here at last, post-Macxit, the Lindsey Buckingham album has many highlights – including the chiming, propulsive I Don’t Mind and the striking and experimental Power Down – that bring into focus Buckingham’s melodic gifts as well as his hunger for unconventional thinking.

“It’s just a one-man show, me playing and engineering,” he says. “It’s like painting. It does start to become a one-on-one, like with a canvas.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN UNCUT SEPTEMBER 2021

St. Vincent announces Down And Out Downtown, her first-ever livestream concert

Will Lavin
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St. Vincent announces Down And Out Downtown, her first-ever livestream concert

St. Vincent has announced her first-ever livestream concert, Down And Out Downtown – see more details below.

In support of her acclaimed sixth album Daddy’s Home, the singer (real name Annie Clark) will perform songs from the record, as well as new arrangements of hits and deep cuts from her back catalogue, in a special virtual gig.

A synopsis for the show reads: “Down And Out Downtown is a sepia toned tour de force of gritty grooves, hungover glamour and spellbinding musicality. From rollicking full band rave-ups to delicate acoustic interludes, Down And Out Downtown brings the ’70s-inspired sensibilities of Daddy’s Home to life in a celebration of unforgettable songs and peerless musicians.”

The gig will see Clark perform alongside her Down And Out Downtown Band, comprised of Justin Meldal-Johnsen (bass), Jason Falkner (guitar), Rachel Eckroth (keys), Mark Guiliana (drums), and backing vocalists Nayanna Holley, Sy Smith and Neka Hamilton.

Airing via digital live platform Moment House on August 4 and August 5 (depending on territory), you can find out more information and buy tickets here.

You can see the dates and times for the livestream by territory below:

North & South America

August 4, 6pm PDT

Australia & New Zealand

August 5, 7pm AEST

Asia

August 5, 8pm JST

Europe, UK & Africa

August 5, 6pm BST

Jethro Tull announce first studio album in 20 years, The Zealot Gene

Will Lavin
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Jethro Tull announce first studio album in 20 years, The Zealot Gene

Jethro Tull have announced the release of The Zealot Gene, their first studio album in 20 years.

The new record will mark the prog rock legends’ first release as part of a new record deal with InsideOutMusic/Sony Music.

“After 54 years in the world of music recording, it is with great pleasure that I now sign Jethro Tull to a record company which reminds me, in many ways, of the old Chrysalis label – both as an independent and in its later years in partnership with EMI,” frontman Ian Anderson said of the new signing.

“Here are real music guys with a passion for the best and most creative in rock music. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship and more releases to come.”

While a release date for the new album has not yet been revealed, The Zealot Gene – which is the band’s first proper studio LP since 1999’s J Tull Dot Com (not counting 2003’s The Jethro Tull Christmas Album) – has been completed, according to a press release.

Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull in 1978. CREDIT: Brian Cooke/Redferns

News of the new album comes after Anderson revealed last year that he is suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Speaking to Dan Rather on his show The Big Interview, the legendary singer and flautist stated that his “days are numbered”.

Anderson believes one of the main factors in contracting the disease was his exposure to smoke machines during live performances with Jethro Tull.

“I’ve spent 50 years of my life onstage amongst those wretched things that I call smoke machines,” he told Dan Rather on The Big Interview. “Today [they] are lightly referred to as ‘hazers’ as if they’re somehow innocent and not damaging to your lungs. I really do believe that’s a very significant part of the problem that I have.”

The current Jethro Tull line-up consists of Anderson, guitarist Joe Parrish-James, drummer Scott Hammond, pianist John O’Hara, and bassist David Goodier. Guitarist Florian Opahle also contributed The Zealot Gene, but is not a part of the core line-up.

LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy on working on David Bowie’s Blackstar: “I talked myself out of a job”

Sam Moore
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LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy on working on David Bowie’s Blackstar: “I talked myself out of a job”

LCD Soundsystem‘s James Murphy has reflected on his experience collaborating with the late David Bowie on his final album Blackstar, revealing that it “broke his heart” that he wasn’t able to fully integrate himself into Bowie’s set-up.

Murphy contributed percussion to Bowie’s final studio album, which was released in January 2016, two days before Bowie’s death.

Speaking on the latest episode of the podcast WTF with Marc Maron, Murphy recalled his first encounters with Bowie which led to him being invited to work on Blackstar.

“I made a mix for Bowie, a remix of a song from ‘The Next Day’. It went really great and everybody was really happy, apparently he was quite happy,” Murphy told Maron. “He also came in to record on the Arcade Fire album [Reflektor] I was helping make. We met then, became friendly and exchanged emails.

“I remember being on a trip once and writing him an email, being like: ‘Hey, I’m away right now. But one of these days it’d be great to get together and I’d love to make some music with you.’ This is a big thing for me: I’m like the guy asking someone on a date for the first time, working up the courage. He writes back: ‘Funny you should say that, please come and see me when you’re back and we’ll talk.’ I’m doing backflips and losing my mind, I’m like: ‘I’m gonna make a record with David Bowie!'”

Murphy said that he then hoped that he and Bowie would be able to work on a project together, but found that the late artist was already working on demos for Blackstar.

“He’s like: ‘You feel like you can add something?’ And I’m like: ‘I definitely feel like I can add something.’ So the time comes, I’ve signed all the NDAs – this is for Blackstar – and I go to work. I come in, meet all the players in the band: love ’em, they’re so nice, there’s a really great rapport.

“When I walk in, I see David sitting in his chair and the rest of the band are in the other room playing,” Murphy recalled, before becoming unsure of his place in the studio and comparing it to “walking into a cockpit and all the chairs are full”.

“I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I was struggling to find my way into this already-moving machine… I’m like: ‘Oh, excuse me while I insert myself… Oh hey guys, have you considered hearing what this fucking guy thinks? Maybe you’ve heard my songs?’

David Bowie
David Bowie (Picture: Press)

“It started dawning on me that maybe what my job was was to be the disturber of the process,” he continued. “The remix I did was so disturbing: it was take this thing and turn it upside down, reverse it and put it out this way – but that’s not what I do with people. I didn’t know [Bowie] at all, but he definitely seems to have a kind of confidence that they weren’t handing out when I was born in 1970.”

Murphy said that while he was “having a good time” working on Blackstar, he eventually told Bowie: “‘Look man, I think I need to take these things to my studio and work on these things myself – that’s the instrument I play’.

“It wasn’t a good fit and it broke my heart,” he added. “I had to leave: I kind of talked myself out of a job. I don’t have that gene, man.”

Last week LCD Soundsystem announced a 10th anniversary reissue of The Long Goodbye: LCD Soundsystem Live At Madison Square Garden.

Oasis announce release date for Knebworth 1996 documentary

Will Lavin
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Oasis announce release date for Knebworth 1996 documentary

Oasis‘ much-anticipated Knebworth cinematic documentary, Oasis Knebworth 1996, will arrive in cinemas on September 23 this year.

The new film – which is being released to mark the 25th anniversary of the band’s legendary August 1996 shows – is made up of never-before-seen archive concert and backstage footage from the gigs, with additional interviews with the band and concert organisers.

Set to arrive in cinemas on September 23, tickets for Oasis Knebworth 1996 go on sale on August 10. For more information and to sign up for ticket alerts, you can visit the official Oasis Knebworth 1996 website here.

According to a press release, the Jake Scott-directed film is “a joyful and at times poignant cinematic celebration of one of the most iconic live concert events of the last 25 years, driven entirely by the music, and the fans’ own experiences of that monumental weekend”.

Oasis Knebworth 1996 is produced by Black Dog Films, with both Noel and Liam Gallagher serving as executive producers.

“Knebworth for me was the Woodstock of the ’90s,” Liam said in a statement. “It was all about the music and the people. I can’t remember much about it, but I’ll never forget it. It was Biblical.”

Noel added: “I can’t believe we never played ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’!”

Oasis Knebworth

Oasis played to 250,000 fans across two days in August 1996 at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire. They set several records with the epic two-dayer, including securing the largest-ever demand for gig attendance in British history with more than two per cent of the population applying for tickets.

Last month, Noel confirmed that the Knebworth gigs will be released as a live album at some point in the future.

Speaking to Matt Wilkinson on his Apple Music Hits show, Noel called Oasis Knebworth 1996 “fucking outrageous”. He said he was impressed with the upcoming documentary film after watching it for the first time, admitting it made him quite emotional.

“Mate, it’s fucking outrageous,” he said. “I did get quite emotional watching it. The sound is fucking great. Liam is at his absolute peak, looked great with great clothes, sounds amazing. And of course being that close to that band, you kind of perceive it differently to everybody else.”

He continued: “But actually standing back and watching it, I was like, ‘Fucking hell, we were fucking unbelievable. We could really, really play.’ And I was like, ‘Is that me playing the guitar?’ Because my guitar playing suffered a bit because now I’m just singing and strumming. I was on fire that fucking night.”

David Bowie’s New York City apartment sells for $16 million

David James Young
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David Bowie’s New York City apartment sells for $16 million

The New York City apartment that once belonged to the late David Bowie has sold, after less than a month on the property market.

The Independent (via New York housing site StreetEasy) reports that the Manhattan high-rise sold for $16.8 million (£12,110,280) – approximately four times the cost of what Bowie himself bought it for in the late ’90s.

The apartment was reportedly put on sale by real estate group Corcoran in mid-June, selling officially this past Sunday (July 11).

The apartment was one of several residences that Bowie owned and lived between with his wife, model Iman Abdulmajid, whom he married in 1992. The couple also resided in Bowie’s native London, in Sydney and on a private island in the Grenadines.

Bowie and Iman moved to New York circa 1999, shortly before the birth of their only daughter Lexi.

The selling of the apartment comes just weeks after one of the singer’s original paintings sold at an auction in Canada for $108,120 (£63,115). The collector, Rob Cowley, originally bought the painting for a meagre $5.

Elsewhere, Bowie’s lost 1979 film Just a Gigolo will be released on Blu-Ray for the first time next month.

Welcome to the new Uncut: The Beatles, Lindsey Buckingham, Curtis Mayfield and more

Michael Bonner
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Welcome to the new Uncut: The Beatles, Lindsey Buckingham, Curtis Mayfield and more

Walking round town about a month ago with my family, we came across a band busking in the street. Half way through their set – programmed with the casual shopper in mind, so heavy on classic rock anthems like “All Along The Watchtower”, “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” and “Come Together” – I suddenly realised that this was the first live music I’d seen for 14 months. Jolt over, it made me realise how much I’ve missed the profound pleasure of seeing four people play amplified music together. Long may it continue.

We continue to celebrate the return of live gigs in this month’s Uncut where we carry reports of shows by Eliza and Martin Carthy and Black Country, New Road – both, coincidentally, reviewed in Brighton. Meanwhile, in just a few months’ time, the Uncut team will be heading en masse to Wiltshire for the End Of The Road festival. More on that nearer the time – but suffice to say for all of us, End Of The Road will be an unmissable highlight after being deprived of live music for so long. Incidentally, you can find further updates and lineup information at here and on www.uncut.co.uk.

Elsewhere in the issue, we also have our first face-to-face interview for many long months – with Leon Bridges, who Stephen Deusner meets in his hometown of Forth Worth, Texas. It’s a welcome change from the Zoom chats that have constituted our interviews lately. Ah, I can almost smell the coffee brewing in Leon’s local, the Cherry Coffee Shop.

What else? Exclusives with Lindsey Buckingham – he brought up the subject of Fleetwood Mac first, I’m reliably informed – and also Big Red Machine, the collaborative project created by The National’s Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. For this, their second album, they’ve recruited Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold among other notable guests. His presence finally unites on record three contemporaries whose eclectic, progressive and ambitious music has been a critical part of Uncut’s aesthetic for the past 15 years or so. Laura Barton corrals Dessner, Vernon and Pecknold for her excellent piece – and I’m pleasantly surprised to learn that Vernon and Pecknold have only ever met once so far, in a lift in Phoenix, Arizona.

There’s more, of course. For our Revolver cover, we’ve asked 14 Beatle heads to each talk about their favourite song from their 1966 masterpiece. Our panel consists of fellow ‘60s luminaries including Brian Wilson, Roger McGuinn and Steve Cropper, card-carrying fans like Johnny Marr, Norman Blake, Margo Price and Wayne Coyne and also two Beatles’ scions – Sean Ono Lennon and Dhani Harrison, both of whom make plausible cases for Revolver as the band’s greatest album (it is).

Beyond that, there’s Curtis Mayfield, Curtis Mayfield, Steve Gunn, Ripley Johnson, Mercury Rev, the Sugarcubes, Lovin’ Spoonful (it is summer, after all), Martha Wainwright, Springsteen, Bowie and much more.

Before I go, I should also pay tribute to Alan Lewis – IPC Magazines’ former editor-in-chief, who helped launch Uncut back in 1997. Alan had a brilliant, intuitive understanding of magazines, as evidenced by the many successes he was involved in – from Melody Maker, NME and Sounds to Loaded, Kerrang! and many, many more. He was a lovely, self-deprecating person, too – full of wisdom and advice and always great company in Uncut’s old local, The Stamford Arms.

As ever, let us know what you think by writing to us at letters@www.uncut.co.uk.

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner

Uncut – September 2021

Uncut
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Uncut – September 2021

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The Beatles, Lindsey Buckingham, Big Red Machine, Leon Bridges, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Gunn, Curtis Mayfield, Shannon And The Clams, Mercury Rev, The Sugarcubes, Ripley Johnson, The Beach Boys and The Lovin’ Spoonful all feature in the new Uncut, dated September 2021 and in UK shops from July 15 or available to buy online now. As always, the issue comes with a free CD, this time comprising 15 tracks of the month’s best new music.

THE BEATLES: Is it any wonder that The Beatles nearly named their seventh studio album after a magical invocation? After all, no other word captures the feats of creative alchemy that transpired on Revolver… Fifty-five years on, Uncut has assembled a crack team of Beatles heads – including Johnny Marr, Brian Wilson, Graham Nash, Roger McGuinn, Rickie Lee Jones, Sean Ono Lennon, Dhani Harrison, Steve Cropper, Margo Price and Wayne Coyne – to explore their favourite tracks from this, the Fabs’ finest body of work. Even Paul McCartney is on hand to tell Uncut about the origins of his experimental side.

OUR FREE CD! HEAVY ROTATION: 15 fantastic tracks from the cream of the month’s releases, including songs by Son Volt, Liam Kazar, Nathan Salsburg, Bnny, Shannon And The Clams, Suzie Ungerleider, The Scientists, Villagers and more.

This issue of Uncut is available to buy by clicking here – with FREE delivery to the UK and reduced delivery charges for the rest of the world.

Inside the issue, you’ll find:

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM: There’s not much that can keep this singer-songwriter down. Not heart surgery, the pandemic or even his exit from Fleetwood Mac. As he resumes his solo career as one of rock’s most discreet musical radicals, Buckingham tells Uncut about false starts, his “crisp and dirty” new songs, the death of Peter Green and the ongoing soap opera around his alma mater. “Who knows, maybe the five of us will end up doing something…”

CURTIS MAYFIELD: He covered a vast amount of ground during the ’60s with The Impressions – but as a solo artist he went into overdrive. Bandmates and family tell Graeme Thomson about the soul superstar’s creative peak in the early ’70s – from pioneering anthems of empowerment to killer live sessions, a blaxploitation soundtrack and beyond…

BIG RED MACHINE: Deep in upstate New York, The National’s Aaron Dessner is masterminding the next phase of Big Red Machine – the musical collective he founded with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. Friends and contributors – including Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold and Anaïs Mitchell– join Laura Barton to discuss community, collaboration and creative “mess”… Reveals Dessner, “We’ve never had a master plan!”

LEON BRIDGES: Blending avowedly ‘retro’ R&B with lo-fi garage grit, Leon Bridges became a Grammy-winning Texan success story. Back home in Fort Worth, he tells Stephen Deusner of the nocturnal LA sessions that birthed his third album Gold-Diggers Sound. “It’s hard to unlock a sexy vibe at 11am,” he reasons.

THE SUGARCUBES: It is 1987 and the Sugarcubes’ extraordinary debut single, “Birthday” is galloping up the charts. As the band put the finishing touches to their breakthrough album Life’s Too Good, Melody Maker’s Chris Roberts learns the Icelandic art of creation, and inspiration from Björk, Einar and their cohorts.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: The Boss’ acclaimed autobiographical show makes an emotional return to Broadway.

MERCURY REV: From their base in the cosmic Catskills, Jonathan Donahue and Grasshopper recall rolling with Alan Vega, deafening Bob Dylan and a ruckus at the Royal Albert Hall.

THE LOVIN’ SPOONFUL: The making of “Summer In The City”.

RIPLEY JOHNSON: Album by album with the eccentric star.

STEVE GUNN: New album Other You is a beguiling and mercurial folk gem.

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In our expansive reviews section, we take a look at new records from Shannon And The Clams, David Crosby, Son Volt, Sault, Nathan Salsburg, Liars, Liam Kazar, and more, and archival releases from The Beach Boys, George Harrison, Aztec Camera, Christine Perfect, Jackie Leven and others. We catch Eliza and Martin Carthy and Black Country, New Road live; among the films, DVDs and TV programmes reviewed are Riders Of Justice, Summer Of Soul and Night Of The Kings; while in books there’s Baxter Dury and Genesis P-Orridge.

Our front section, meanwhile, features Bruce Springsteen, Karen Black, Edward Bell, and Juni Habel, while, at the end of the magazine, Martha Wainwright reveals the records that have soundtracked her life.

You can pick up a copy of Uncut in the usual places, where open. But otherwise, readers all over the world can order a copy from here.

CLICK TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR

Peter Jackson explains why Beatles fans will be surprised by new docuseries, Get Back

Ella Kemp
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Peter Jackson explains why Beatles fans will be surprised by new docuseries, Get Back

Peter Jackson has explained why Beatles fans are likely to be surprised by his new docuseries Get Back.

The filmmaker opened up in a new interview about what fans can expect from the forthcoming project in which he’s revived hours of footage from 1969.

Discussing the format of Get Back, which focuses more on conversations than music, Jackson said the series will be very “intimate”.

“I think people will be surprised by the series for two reasons,” Jackson told GQ. “One, it’ll be far more intimate than they imagined it to be, because everyone is used to seeing music documentaries being a bit kind of MTV-ish, sort of together in a poppy kind of way and it’s just the music, music, music, you know? The music isn’t at the forefront of this film: weirdly, it’s what goes on behind the music at the forefront.

Beatles biopics
The Fab Four pose for a picture in June 1966. Credit: Getty

“I mean, even in the rooftop concert, we have the concept that we’re inter-cutting all the time to the street and to the policeman and everything else.

“And that’s really true of the whole series – it’s not a sequence of MTV video clips of them doing songs. There’s probably more conversations with The Beatles in the films than there is actual singing.”

Describing the second aspect which might surprise fans, Jackson addressed the footage’s sense of humour.

“And the other thing that I think will surprise people is how funny the films are, which, considering the reputation of this footage and the Let It Be movie, you don’t associate with January 1969, but they’re very funny films,” he said.

The Beatles: Get Back will air on Disney+ between November 25-27.

The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger to release memoir Set The Night On Fire

Charlotte Krol
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The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger to release memoir Set The Night On Fire

Robby Krieger has announced his first-ever memoir, Set The Night On Fire: Living, Dying, And Playing Guitar With The Doors, which is set to shed light on the band’s history.

The guitarist’s memoir is released on October 12 via Little, Brown and Company, and promises to reveal new aspects about the band’s mythological career.

A description of the 300-page book [via Consequence Of Sound] says readers can expect to learn about “never-before-told stories from The Doors’ vital years” as well as new perspectives on the band’s iconic moments.

“Through a series of vignettes, Krieger takes readers back to where it all happened: the pawnshop where he bought his first guitar; the jail cell he was tossed into after a teenage drug bust; his parents’ living room, where his first songwriting sessions with Jim Morrison took place; the empty bars and backyard parties where The Doors played their first awkward gigs; the studios where their iconic songs were recorded; and the many venues where concerts erupted into historic riots,” reads part of the memoir’s description.

“Krieger also goes into heartbreaking detail about his life’s most difficult struggles, ranging from drug addiction, to his twin brother’s mental breakdown, to his own battle with cancer. Counterbalancing the sorrow are humorous anecdotes about run-ins with unstable fans, famous musicians, and one really angry monk.”

Pre-orders for Set The Night On Fire… are currently ongoing here.

The news follows a recently announced documentary focused on Jim Morrison, which features never-before-seen content from the artist.

Beck and Natalie Bergman share new collaborative cover and remix

Will Richards
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Beck and Natalie Bergman share new collaborative cover and remix

Beck and Natalie Bergman have shared a pair of new collaborations – listen to both below.

The former tourmates have teamed up for a cover of Lion’s track “You’ve Got A Woman”, with Beck also remixing Bergman’s recent track “Paint The Rain”.

In a statement about the new releases, Bergman said that touring with Beck as part of the band Wild Belle in 2019 was “a highlight of my career”.

“He has always fostered a spirit of collaboration through music,” she added. “Getting to work alongside him is a dream. He’s a visionary, and a true-blue friend. ‘You’ve Got a Woman’ is your new favourite summer jam!”

Of “Paint The Rain”, Beck added: “[Bergman] asked me to sing it with her on the album but unfortunately I never made it to the studio in time. Soon after, she emerged with a record which does the difficult job of translating one’s life and the world in its darkest hour into song.

“To navigate those experiences and emotions and translate them into songs that can be sung and felt is much more difficult and fraught than one can imagine. To overcome despair and rework it into a thing of beauty takes a kind of strength.

“As I hear songs created as the world was coming apart and in the aftermath of loss it seems to be even more miraculous when you consider its redemptive quality which even comforts and uplifts, like the gospel music that inspired many of the songs.”

He added: “Where art making and healing intersect, there’s a particular sense of transcending. She has gone into the wilderness of that moment and painted the rain, invoked a kind of hope that is hard earned and offered a sense of healing, even finding there is still a joy in the world.”

Beck recently rescheduled his forthcoming UK tour to 2022 and added several new dates. The singer-songwriter was set to head out on a UK and European tour this summer, but he was forced to postpone the dates due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Jim Morrison to be honoured in new all-encompassing documentary

Debbie Carr
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Jim Morrison to be honoured in new all-encompassing documentary

Jim Morrison is set to be the subject of a new documentary detailing his multi-disciplined career, from being the frontman of The Doors to stints in poetry and filmmaking.

The feature – which is currently untitled – is being developed by the Morrison estate and Jampol Artist Management (JAM Inc.), who oversees the legacies of The Doors and Janis Joplin. It’ll be produced by independent studio Gunpowder & Sky, alongside Jeff Pollack of FourScore Entertainment.

“Jim Morrison has been known as the leather trousers-clad Dionysian rock star, the Greek god handsome, amazing singer, shaman and performer. But Jim was a polymath. Jim was a poet and a writer and a filmmaker long before he ever thought about music,” Jeff Jampol, CEO of JAM Inc., told Billboard.

“All these decades everybody talked about Jim Morrison the rock star, which he certainly was. But we really felt it was time to even the playing field and talk about these other aspects of Jim, which were either not as known or celebrated or discussed.”

This documentary marks the first to focus solely on Jim Morrison, as opposed to his role within The Doors, as seen in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic of the band.

The approval of Morrison’s estate has meant producers will be able to access a wide collection of never-before-seen music, poetry and art from the late artist.

“They just unearthed all these diaries and notes and that’s what’s intriguing to me: having footage, writing and information about Jim that’s never been exposed,” Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler explained.

“It takes a unique filmmaker to really pull that out. If you do it right, it doesn’t really matter what preceded it – sort of like the eighth version of A Star Is Born, it’s new to a generation.”

Being in such early production stages means the documentary is still yet to have a director, with Jampol disclosing they are still searching for someone “who understands the import and the depth and the gravity” of Morrison.

“You need a director who is empathetic to the human and the artist and the art, [who] understands the history and context. It’s a very tall order, but it’s a very tall artist.”

The film is loosely scheduled for release in late 2022 to early 2023.

A week and a half ago, fans remembered Jim Morrison on the 50th anniversary of his death (July 3). To mark the occasion, many fans journeyed to his grave at the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.

Thom Yorke releases slowed-down remix of Radiohead’s “Creep”

Patrick Clarke
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Thom Yorke releases slowed-down remix of Radiohead’s “Creep”

Thom Yorke has officially released a remix of Radiohead’s “Creep” that he produced for a Japanese fashion show earlier this year.

“Creep (Very 2021 Rmx)” sees Yorke slow down the acoustic version of the track significantly, stretching it out from just under four minutes to nine minutes, and add synths.

The track arrives with a music video animated by Jun Takahashi. Listen to the remix below:

The “Very 2021” remix of “Creep” was first premiered during Takahashi’s UNDERCOVER 2020-2021 autumn/winter collection Creep Very back in March.

Earlier this year, Yorke debuted a new project, The Smile, along with Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. The singer also said it’s “a collaboration with Nigel Godrich,” Radiohead’s long-term producer. The three-piece performed for the first time at Glastonbury’s Live At Worthy Farm livestream in May.

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