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Johnny Marr has announced that he’ll be releasing a best-of compilation album, Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr, on November 3rd via BMG. The album will feature some of Marr’s favorite recent songs, as well as two brand new tunes, including the album’s lead single, “Somewhere.” Stream it below.

Personally curated by Marr, Spirit Power will celebrate his past decade of output, focusing on highlights from the string of solo albums he released between 2013 and 2022. Joining those tracks are previously-released singles “Armatopia” and “The Priest,” as well as a 2015 cover of Depeche Mode’s “I Feel You.” For the deluxe 2xCD version of the album, fans will also get to hear a handful of previously-unheard demos and rarities. As for the two brand new songs — “The Answer” and the single “Somewhere” — they were both produced by Marr with his co-producer, James Doviak.

Arriving with a cheerful,...

Sam Fender, Little Simz, and Harry Styles are among the artists shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize.

The shortlist was unveiled in July, comprising 12 albums – from rap and jazz to indie and Cornish folk-rock – that will compete for the coveted award at a ceremony held this September.

This year’s entries are among the most eclectic in recent years. Little Simz is shortlisted for the second time with her critically adored Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, following on from her nod in 2019 for Grey Area.

Rock singer Sam Fender receives his debut nomination for his second LP, Seventeen Going Under, as does pop star Harry Styles, who has been shortlisted for his third studio album, Harry’s House. His record is arguably the most “pure pop” album to be shortlisted since Ed Sheeran’s controversial nomination in 2017.

First-time nominees make up most of this year’s nominees, following last year’s shortlist which included 10 debuts.

Harry Styles, Little Simz, Wet Leg, Jessie Buckley, and Sam Fender are among this year’s Mercury Prize nominees. The annual prize, Britain’s most prestigious music award, announced its initial shortlist of 12 albums earlier today.

The Shortlist for the 2022 Mercury Prize with @FreeNow_UK has been revealed!

Flush with awards after The Lost Daughter and Cabaret made her a star, Buckley has made musical alchemy with guitarist Butler. They discuss why being raw and unguarded is essential for great art

In a crowded recording studio in London, a woman’s voice unfurls from speakers, filling every atom in the air. Beyond a glass wall she’s barely visible in semi-darkness, surrounded by three musicians on piano, trumpet and viola. The song, Seven Red Rose Tattoos, is plaintive and stained with regret in the manner of vintage jazz; her voice is colossal and intimate, deep and soaring. We just don’t hear voices like this any more, somehow echoing the liquid vibrato of Scott Walker with the fathomless richness of what Karen Carpenter called her “basement”. Studio crew and colleagues are transfixed. “It set our homes on fire, watch my memories fall away,” Jessie Buckley sings. “I have seven red rose tattoos,...

Taboo is a curio. The eight-episode first season aired on BBC One and FX in early 2017, and was immediately followed by talk of further seasons. Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, the premise had been conceived by actor-producer Tom Hardy and his writer father. It was the story of 19th century antihero James Delaney, a man who scandalised Regency London by going up against the East India Company, the Crown, and societal norms until finally escaping England with a ragtag crew of ‘pilgrims’. Things were left on an ellipsis, not a full stop. And then… nothing.

Steven Knight, who’d worked with Hardy on Locke and Peaky Blinders, confirmed in 2019 that the season two scripts were almost written, but production was then stalled by a combination of the Venom movies and Covid-19. In November 2021, Hardy told Esquire that he was still weighing up the best options for a second season,...

Pet Shop Boys will release their 14th album, Hotspot, on January 24th, 2020. The album, produced by Stuart Price, features 10 new songs written by band members Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. The band has released a radio edit of one of the new tracks, “Burning the Heather” which features Bernard Butler on guitar.

Hotspot follows Pet Shop Boys’ 2016 album Super, which featured single “The Pop Kids” and appeared on Rolling Stone‘s 20 Best Pop Albums of 2016 list. The new album is available for preorder now.

Pet Shop Boys today announce details of...

Britpop band Suede is set to be the subject of a major new feature documentary Suede: The Insatiable Ones.

The film is directed by Mike Christie, who has made films including BBC One doc Sir Alex Ferguson: Secrets of Success and BBC/CCTV/Arte co-pro The Art of China.

It was commissioned by European pay-tv giant Sky, which will air it on Sky Arts on November 24.

Suede: The Insatiable Ones comes 25 years after the band, which was formed by Brett Anderson, Matt Osman and Bernard Butler as well as Justine Frischmann, who left to form Elastica, released its debut eponymous album. In the U.S., the band was known as The London Suede.

It features behind the scenes footage of the band across its career, helped by 25 years of footage filmed by drummer Simon Gilbert.

The London-based band broke up in 2002 following the release of A New Morning but...

For a band that have 19 Top 40 singles and 5 Top 10 albums to their name, Suede have never done things the easy way. Formed around the songwriting partnership of Brett Anderson (lyrics) and Bernard Butler (music), the band released their first single ‘The Drowners’ in 1992 and were almost immediately hailed as the saviours of the then-moribund British music scene. Their first album charted at number one in Britain and won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize, and was followed by the stand-alone single, ‘Stay Together’, which peaked at number three. After that, the band’s fortunes sharply declined. During recording of their second album, ‘Dog Man Star’, tensions between Anderson and Butler reached a head, and the guitarist left the band, never to return. The album itself underperformed, and it seemed that, after only a couple of years, Suede had had their day, superseded by the acts that came in their wake.

Against expectations,...

Texas have performed their new single on Later... with Jools Holland.

The band played 'The Conversation' - the title track from their new studio album - on the popular BBC music show.

Texas also performed new tracks 'Dry Your Eyes' and 'Detroit City' during their visit, which will be broadcast during Friday's extended edition of the show on BBC Two at 11.05pm.

"I think there's a lot of different moods within the album, but we've definitely gone back to our roots at the beginning," singer Sharleen Spiteri told Digital Spy of the band's new collection.

"We've gone back to what we're all about, but the record still sounds modern and current.

"We worked with friends - like Richard Hawley and Bernard Butler - so it was nice that there were no negotiations on how much it was going to cost, it was just mates suddenly writing songs together."

She added:...

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Release date: Monday 18th March 2013

There’s a certain irony that Suede’s comeback album, their first in ten and a half years since 2002′s lacklustre effort A New Morning, should arrive one week after David Bowie’s The Next Day.

Suede’s self-titled 1993 Mercury Prize winning debut was heavily indebted to glam-rock era Bowie, in particular Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and, like that album, had a profound impact on the music of the era. This was an album don’t forget that precipitated the onset of Britpop, attracted almost unbridled adulation from the music press and drew the band comparisons with The Sex Pistols and The Smiths in terms of cultural significance. Bowie’s comeback has been lauded as one of the greatest in rock history; can Suede really pull off a resurgence one week later that anyone really cares about?

Thankfully,...

She prowls across the stage like a tiger… the band her tribal heart-beat. The red neon lit stage and tight space en-cages them. As they strike up the opening chords you feel like you’re on the edge of an explosion about to be reeled back in from that dangerous abyss … This is ‘Lois and the Love’ live at The Macbeth in Hoxton.

Kicking in with a Stooges style riff is live opener ‘Take You Back’ – Lois manoeuvres round the stage like a feline erotic queen warming immediately to her task. The track soon develops into Talking Heads during ‘Psycho Killer’ phase making the band so tight musically from the off the audience are hooked from riff one with this track. Showcasing their superb musical hybrid diversity is ‘Real Love’ matching ‘funky energetic ska’ sounds into one original creation. Lois’s stage persona growing into that of a animalistic performance...

Nerina Pallot has unveiled the music video for her new single 'All Bets Are Off'. The singer is seen sitting on a white horse in falling snow in the clip, which she unveiled on her official YouTube page today. 'All Bets Are Off' - written by Pallot and produced by Bernard Butler (Kate Nash, Duffy) - marks the third cut from her fourth studio LP Year of the Wolf, which was released in June 2011. The singer recently starred as a guest mentor on the German version of singing competition The Voice, where she was reduced to tears by the (more)...

AP Scottish folk guitarist Bert Jansch

Bert Jansch, who helped invigorate the British folk movement of the 1960s, died today in Hampstead, London, following a bout with lung cancer. He was 67.

Born in Glasgow, Jansch was one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century, counting among his fans and followers Bernard Butler, Donovan, Nick Drake, Johnny Marr, Jimmy Page, Paul Simon and Neil Young. As a solo artist, with guitarist John Renbourn and later as a member of Pentangle,...

Suede have unveiled the full details of their upcoming album reissues. As previously announced, the band will release their five LPs complete with bonus tracks and videos on 2xCD+DVD via Demon Records. The group's former guitarist Bernard Butler worked with his ex-bandmates on the reissues. Suede's self-titled debut from 1993 will be available from May 30. The following year's Dog Man Star is released on June 6. 1996's Coming Up follows on June 13, while 1999's Head Music will be released on June 20. The band's final (more)...

Former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler has been working with the band on the content and re-mastering of their back catalogue. The group will reissue all their studio material in CD/DVD packages with bonus tracks via Demon Records in June. Anderson said: "This is the definitive collection of pretty much everything we released in 14 years together - and some stuff which we didn't. "It's all re-mastered and includes unreleased, never-before-heard oddities and gems which even I'd forgotten about. It's the complete audio history of a band and, like any band of interest, it's flawed, strange and sometimes beautiful." He added to Xfm: "I was emailing Bernard about demos from the first two albums this morning, strange things people haven't heard (more)...

Suede's former guitarist Bernard Butler planned to come their reunion and throw peanuts at them. The band reformed for the first time since 2003 in March for a charity show, and Bernard - who left the group 1994 - joked he'd turn up at the show to heckle them.

"Bernard has been very sweet about the reunion," Richard Oakes, the replacement guitar player in the group, told NME magazine. "He did say he say going to come down London's Royal Albert Hall and throw peanuts at us, but he didn't in the end."

"I think he'd have been constantly hassled. We'd have had to smuggle him into the royal box and get him to do a little wave."

Richard replaced Bernard in 1996 at the age of 17 and recorded the band's last three studio albums, "Dog Man Star", "Head Music" and "A New Morning". As the band, fronted by Brett Anderson, prepare for their first full comeback tour,...

Vampire Weekend, Janelle Monáe and more have provided the soundtrack for the first six months of the year, in Bigger Than the Sound.

By James Montgomery

Bigger Than The Sound's Best Albums of 2010 (So Far)

Photo: MTV News

The first half of 2010 is in the books, and if you're a fan of oil spills, Tea Parties and vuvuzelas, well, congratulations on having the best six months of your entire life.

For the rest of us, January through June has been a bit of a bummer. If you're like me, you've found refuge from the bad news in good music, and thankfully, there's been a whole lot of that so far this year too.

If you've been asleep at the switch (or hiding out in your bunker), I don't blame you. But there's really no excuse for missing out on soul-charging, life-changing music — even if some of it really is pretty sad.

Vampire Weekend, Janelle Monáe and more have provided the soundtrack for the first six months of the year, in Bigger Than the Sound.

By James Montgomery

Bigger Than The Sound's Best Albums of 2010 (So Far)

Photo: MTV News

The first half of 2010 is in the books, and if you're a fan of oil spills, Tea Parties and vuvuzelas, well, congratulations on having the best six months of your entire life.

For the rest of us, January through June has been a bit of a bummer. If you're like me, you've found refuge from the bad news in good music, and thankfully, there's been a whole lot of that so far this year too.

If you've been asleep at the switch (or hiding out in your bunker), I don't blame you. But there's really no excuse for missing out on soul-charging, life-changing music — even if some of it really is pretty sad.

We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10.

I’ve heard my share of great music in movies, bought more than one soundtrack that’s introduced me to a band I’ve grown to love. I’ve heard songs in a context that makes me think of it in a new way. But sometimes, the band I love doesn’t really exist outside the world of the movie. Some bands are too over-the-top, too fabulous, or too truly, truly, truly outrageous to live in the real world. This Top 7 list is dedicated to Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and now Get Him to the Greek.

7. Mitch and Mickey from A Mighty Wind (2003)

Recap: Christopher Guest’s mockumentary about a folk reunion concert features many of his regular collaborators, including Eugene Levy as Mitch Cohen and Catherine O’Hara as Mickey Crabbe. They used to be a couple,...

'I don't really stick to one thing,' singer/songwriter says about the eclectic sounds on her new album.

By James Montgomery, with reporting by Kelly Marino

Kate Nash

Photo: MTV News

Kate Nash is an extremely verbose 22-year-old British singer/songwriter who just released her second album, the extremely verbose My Best Friend Is You, an album that's long on lyrics (most of them exceptionally funny, tender and/or biting) and even longer on musical influences. Here, in her own rapid-fire way, is her take the album:

"How would I describe in a few words? Erratic, in the sense that I don't really stick to one thing, because as a human being I go through different mood swings. Sometimes I want to do something raw and a bit more punk-y, like 'I Just Love You More' to 'I Hate Seagulls,' it's a big difference ... and fun, like, I...

Kate Nash has revealed that she wants to learn how to produce records. The singer, whose new album My Best Friend Is You is produced by the award-winning Bernard Butler, said that he inspired her to learn more about how a recording studio works. She told the Daily Star: "I want to do a course and learn to produce and engineer records properly, maybe for other bands. I've always been interested but Bernard has inspired me to take it further. "He makes it fun because he's been on the other side. He's a supportive and humble musician." Nash also said that she (more)...

Kate Nash has announced the tracklisting for her upcoming second album. The singer, who topped the UK album chart with debut Made Of Bricks, will release the as-yet-untitled record on April 19. The 22-year-old teamed up with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler on the LP. She previously revealed that track 'I Hate Seagulls' is inspired by her boyfriend Ryan Jarman from The Cribs. New song 'I Just Love You More' is available to download free now, while lead single 'Do Wah Doo' is (more)...

Bernard Butler has wished his former Suede bandmates good luck as they launch a comeback - after they neglected to ask him to join their reunion. The "Animal Nitrate" hitmakers announced in early January they'll soon be reforming for a charity gig in the U.K. - but Butler's name was excluded from the announcement line-up in favor of guitarist Richard Oakes.

Founder member Butler, who was replaced by Oakes when he quit Suede in 1994, insists he was never approached to play at the charity concert after previously branding Britpop reunions "embarrassing". He said in 2009, "There's an awful lot of Britpop reunions going on at the moment and I find it embarrassing personally."

"I think it's got no relevance to what's going on at the moment. I'm obsessively opposed to nostalgia. I hate the idea of it. It doesn't work. And it doesn't interest me at all." But now he's...

Bernard Butler has confirmed that he will not be rejoining Suede when the band play a one-off show at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust. The guitarist was a founder member of the group and played guitar and co-wrote the songs on their self-titled debut and its follow-up Dog Man Star, before quitting and being replaced by the then-17-year-old Richard Oakes. Butler told BBC 6 Music: "It's a shame for them that my name gets dragged into it to try and stir something up. The honest answer is that I haven't been asked to do it. "I saw Brett the other night socially and it's not really something we're going to go on about. So, it's all in people's fantasies and imaginations really." (more)...

Suede have reportedly confirmed that they are reuniting for a one-off show. The Britpop group, who parted ways in 2003, are planning a headline gig in March and will announce the venue imminently, according to The Sun. Original guitarist Bernard Butler will reportedly not join the reunion. Richard Oakes, who replaced Butler in 1994, will take his place. Suede rose to fame in 1993 with their chart-topping (more)...

Kate Nash has announced that she has completed work on her second album. The singer, who worked with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler on the record, will release the disc within the next few months. Tracks already confirmed for the album have the working titles 'Doo Wa Do', 'Paris', 'Kiss That Girl' and 'Don't You Wanna Share The Guilt'. The 22-year-old revealed that one song, 'I Hate Seagulls', was inspired by her current relationship with The Cribs's star Ryan Jarman. (more)...

Bernard Butler has branded the current trend of 1990s bands reuniting "embarrassing". The former Suede guitarist recently received the Music Producers Guild Award for producer of the year and is currently working with acts including Duffy and Black Kids. He told the BBC: "There's an awful lot of Britpop reunions going on at the moment, and I find it embarrassing, personally. I think it's got no relevance to what's going on at the moment." Butler said he has no intentions of reuniting with Suede, saying that he is "obsessively opposed (more)...

Bernard Butler has won the Producer of the Year prize at the Music Producers' Guild awards. The former Suede guitarist produced Duffy's award-winning debut Rockferry, as well as albums by Black Kids and Tricky. The award doubles up as the Brit Award for best producer, and Duffy presented both to the former Tears man, the BBC reports. Butler said: "Pop music has currency that goes beyond lots of other art forms. "If you can help lift somebody for three minutes out of a dreary existence, then I think that's (more)...

Mark Ronson is among the nominees for the inaugural Music Producers Guild Awards. Ex-Suede star Bernard Butler, who helmed tracks on Duffy's Rockferry LP, Bloc Party producer Paul Epworth and Brian Eno are also nominated. Butler, Eno and Steve Mac are competing for the Producer Of The Year gong and the winner will also receive the Brit Award for Best Producer. The 2009 Music Producers Guild Awards take place at Cafe De Paris in London on February 12. The nominations include: Producer of the Year

Bernard Butler

Brian Eno

Steve Mac Best Live album

David Gilmour - Live In Gdansk

Girls Aloud - Tangled Up

Nephu Huzzband - Live In London UK Album of (more)...

Duffy has admitted that her debut album Rockferry was made "on a shoestring". The Welsh singer spent nearly four years writing and recording the disc with music producer Bernard Butler, but she had no idea that the low-budget project would be so successful. "When I was writing it I never knew what my fate was," Duffy told the Daily Star. "Neither did Bernard Butler or my manager Jeanette [Lee]. At times we wondered if it would ever be released. I'm just this girl from Wales - it could have done nothing and I could have faded into obscurity. "Nobody ever gave Bernard (more)...

It's funny how quickly a band's hype cycle can spin these days. A year ago, barely anyone had heard of Black Kids, a Florida five-piece specializing in bald, fairly cute new-wave rewrites. The band put a four-song Ep on its MySpace page, which Pitchfork gave a glowing review, and soon a number of web folks began debating its merits. An appearance at the Cmj festival in New York prompted some sour notices about the band's live abilities, but that didn't stop Black Kids from being signed to Columbia Records. And without much fuss, they deliver: Partie Traumatic features 10 simple, quickly accessible, cleanly recorded, decently performed songs that the group and its producer, ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, buffed to a shine in the studio. "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" and "Hurricane...