Blur on recording their new album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’: “There were moments of utter joy”

Blur performed ‘Sing’ for the first time in 10 years in Madrid last night, and added ‘Country Sad Ballad Man’ to the setlist for the first time since 2015. Check out footage of the show below.The free gig took place at La Riviera in Madrid last night (June 8), and saw the newly-reformed Brit-pop legends perform fan-favourites, tracks from their upcoming album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ and rarities from throughout their discography.Originally, the show was meant to be held during the opening night of Primavera Sound Madrid, but was relocated due to extreme weather conditions in the city which led to the opening night of the festival being cancelled.Amid the 22-song setlist, Damon Albarn and co surprised fans with a rendition of ‘Sing’.

Noel Gallagher has shared his thoughts about the recent reunions of his former Britpop peers Blur and Pulp – as well as the lack of offers made for Oasis to do the same.Former rivals Blur recently kicked off their comeback tour, as well as announcing their surprise new album ‘The Ballad Of Darren‘, with Pulp also returning to the road their first shows together in a decade.Asked about how he feels about being on the road at the same time as his ’90s peers in support of his acclaimed new solo album ‘Council Skies‘, Gallagher wished them well when speaking to NME as part of the latest in our In Conversation series.“I didn’t know that, but good luck to them!” he said. “Blur never split up, did they? Pulp never split up, they just went and did other things, which is the adult way of doing it.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Allison Russell had one of the most acclaimed records of 2021 with her solo debut, “Outside Child,” in spite of — or because of — the fact that reviews described just how tough much of the subject material was. But she’s taking a break from “harrowing” with her second release, “The Returner,” which has just been announced as coming out Sept. 8. With its increased twin focus on grooves and celebration, it might not be inaccurate to call the album a party, albeit with the understanding that the celebration is a hard-fought party. “I thought about returning, and what that means to me,” Russell tells Variety, offering a preview of what to expect from the end-of-summer release. “And I thought about survivors’ joy, and how we don’t talk about that enough.”

Noel Gallagher says writing his latest album has helped him “come to terms” with life events including his recent divorce.

Thania Garcia Laura Pausini, the multi-lingual Italian performer and 10-time Latin Grammy-award nominee, has been named the Latin Recording Academy’s 2023 Person of the Year for her decades-long career as a multifaceted artist and for her social justice efforts. Pausini has released 14 studio albums with songs performed in Italian, Portuguese, English, French and Spanish. As one of Italy’s top female acts, Pausini has sold over 70 million albums worldwide and has been nominated for an Oscar, winning one Grammy and one Golden Globe for best original song for “Io sì (Seen)” which she co-wrote with Diane Warren for the 2020 film “La Vita Davanti a Sé.”

Mike Wass The road from boy band fame to solo stardom is notoriously bumpy, but Niall Horan made the transition look easy with 2017 debut album “Flicker.” Eschewing the pop of One Direction for earthier, singer-songwriter fare, the Irishman carved out his own artistic identity — one hit at a time. Horan, 29, then broadened his sonic horizons on “Heartbreak Weather,” but its release coincided with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and promotion suddenly ground to a halt. With time on his hands for the first time in a decade, the pop star looked inward and started writing “The Show.” His third album, due June 9 via Capitol Records, finds Horan laying his feelings bare as he opens up about love and the rigors of adulthood. “If I made this album four years ago, I probably wouldn’t have written some of those songs,” the hitmaker muses. “The pandemic was a good time for me to reflect on everything that’s happened up until that point.”

Ethan Shanfeld Buck Meek, the Texas-born singer-songwriter and guitarist of Big Thief, has signed to 4AD and announced his third solo album, “Haunted Mountain,” slated for an Aug. 25 release. Meek teased the upcoming release with a music video for the lead single, also titled “Haunted Mountain,” which is co-written by Jolie Holland. The album, according to the announcement, is about love and “something bigger than love, something that doesn’t challenge love exactly but stands in contrast to it. A soulfulness, or a soul-seeking fullness.” In Meek’s own words, “Not break-up songs, but an actual love song written in earnest? That is taboo now. Sometimes it can feel like all the great love songs have already been written.”

over 11 seasons, an indomitable walker-killing mom and onetime leader of the Hilltop Colony, is venturing into NYC with Negan (former Alexa cover star Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the reformed baseball bat-wielding maniac and killer of Maggie’s husband, Glenn (Steven Yeun). It’s an inspired pairing, and things are gonna be awkward: In the “Walking Dead” finale, Maggie tells an apologetic Negan she can never forgive him.For a performer who’s spent more than a decade steeped in fictional death and destruction — yes, the walking dead on the show can be metaphorical, but also, there’s a lot of killing — Cohan really comes alive talking about the experience.

Niall Horan had a heck of a first season on — and he went out with a truly stunning performance!The first-time coach — who has already signed on for season 24 — took the stage with his last-standing Team Niall finalist, 19-year-old Gina Miles, during Tuesday's live results show, and the pair blew the crowd away with their performance of Billy Joel's «New York State of Mind.»«Every time I get drunk, I sing it at karaoke,» Niall joked of the track, as the pair promised to «slay» their performance. And slay they did, in coordinated black ensembles in front of a cityscape backdrop, earning a standing ovation from the crowd and their fellow coaches.ET spoke with Niall ahead of Monday's finale performance show, where he opened up about becoming fast friends with longtime Blake Shelton this season — and bidding him farewell as he departs the show after 23 seasons.«We're gonna have a few drinks, no doubt,» Niall said with a smile. «I'm gonna miss him.

was false. And on Monday, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes had fun with the whole thing, in particular Fox News primestime star Laura Ingraham.Ingraham was tasked with disclosing the mistake, saying the network “had no clue” why anyone would make that story up.

Maggie Rogers has confirmed that she has finished writing and recording her third album.As revealed in a new Instagram post, the follow-up to last year’s ‘Surrender’ LP was laid down at Electric Lady Studios in New York.“That’s a wrap on LP3 !!!!” she told fans, adding that the album was “written + recorded + off to mixing.”Alongside photos and videos from the studio – including a tiny snippet of new music presumably taken from the album – Rogers added: “So so so in love with these songs and cannot wait to start playing them for you this summer.”This summer, she will head out on her biggest US tour to date, that will see her playing alongside Soccer Mommy and Alvvays.Rogers recently brought her ‘Feral Joy’ tour to United States in support of ‘Surrender’, and since then detailed new dates for summer.Ahead of the tour, the singer hosted a pre-sale window of in-person ticket sales at box offices before regular online sales begin.She explained on Instagram: “There’s a lot of conversation right now about combatting bots and making sure tickets get directly into the hands of fans, and at a reasonable price. Ticketing fees have never been higher and a lot of people, me included, are justifiably frustrated and concerned.“I’ve been thinking about this over the last few months and wanted to provide you with another option.

Miley Cyrus has no plans to ever again mount a massive arena tour.

Martha Stewart, Kim Petras and Brooks Nader are three of the newest Sports Illustrated cover stars, and they celebrated the feat at a launch party for the publication’s Swimsuit Issue on Thursday night (May 18) in New York City.

William Earl Dave Matthews has a lot on his mind. When asked “What inspired the new Dave Matthews Band album?”, he pauses for a moment and then unloads. By his account, “Walk Around the Moon” (out today, via RCA) touches on: his children; “the futility of our struggles” as a human race; gun violence; love; modern political discourse; gratitude. But then he backs up, and mentions how he’s been considering “The sheer magnitude of how impossible it is that we’re here, that we exist. What an awe inspiring event it is, and that this planet is so hospitable.” It’s a sentiment that’s been at the core of Matthews’ songwriting for decades. One of his earliest hits — the gentle fan favorite “Satellite” — has the singer marveling at the titular device swirling through the cosmos: “Look up, look down, all around.” It’s a curiosity for life that’s guided him into becoming one of the most successful rock artists of all time.

Blur are coming out with a new album this summer. The Ballad of Darren is out July 21 via Parlophone, and will be the ninth studio project from Damon Albarn and Co.

Thania Garcia Blur will be releasing their first album in eight years, “The Ballad of Darren,” later this summer, the band announced on Thursday morning. The news arrived with an early taste of the 10-song collection, a guitar-driven single titled “The Narcissist.” The album, which will be released on July 21 on Parlophone, follows their last reunion album — 2015’s “The Magic Whip” — and was produced by James Ford, who last worked with Blur’s Damon Albarn for the Gorillaz’s 2018 album “The Now Now.” “This is an aftershock record, reflection and comment on where we find ourselves now,” said Albarn of the new record in a statement. Lead guitarist Graham Coxon added, “The older and madder we get, it becomes more essential that what we play is loaded with the right emotion and intention. Sometimes just a riff doesn’t do the job.”

Blur have announced details of a surprise new album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ and shared the first single ‘The Narcissist’. Check it out below.The returning Britpop legends first announced their comeback back in November with news of a huge Wembley Stadium show – before going on to reveal a second date at the venue before a run of European festival shows and an intimate UK warm-up tour,  which kicks off in their hometown of Colchester tomorrow (Friday May 19).Now, the band have revealed that the 10-track ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ will arrive on 21 July via Parlophone, and is available for pre-order here.

Ariana Madix is getting candid about her personal life.

The New York Police Department confirmed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were involved in a “challenging” incident after their appearance at the 2023 Women of Vision Awards on Tuesday, May 16.

Kiefer Sutherland is ready to reprise his role as corporate spy John Weir in “Rabbit Hole”.