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More big names have been announced for the exciting 20th anniversary line-up of V Festival in Essex! Example, Maverick Sabre and former JLS band member Aston Merrygold join the already incredible bill alongside a host of others as the Summer weekend draws ever nearer.

Among the other new acts announced for the Hylands Park extravaganza on August 22nd and 23rd are Mark Ronson with a DJ set, Londoners Scouting For Girls, Jack Antonoff's Bleachers and Sweden's Youtube Music Award winner Tove Lo. They'll be adding to a fantastic set which also includes previously announced Kasabian, Sam Smith, Olly Murs, Hozier, Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding, Paloma Faith and George Ezra.

Continue reading: The 20th Anniversary Of V Festival Now Joined By Mark Ronson And Example

The 23rd edition of the Netherlands' Lowlands Festival sees yet another wave of incredible artists hit the bill ahead of the date this summer. Hot Chip and Kendrick Lamar are among the major new additions, with seventeen more acts also announced.

Following the enormous success of his worldwide number one third album 'To Pimp A Butterfly', Kendrick Lamar is bringing his hip hop talent to the festival circuit with Lowlands just being the latest in a string of gigs this summer; he will also be playing Bonnaroo, Summerfest, Outside Lands and Reading Festival in the UK. Hot Chip will be supporting their own new album, 'Why Make Sense?', which is set to be released on May 15th 2015.

Continue reading: Lowlands 2015! We Have Good News And Bad News...

The biggest selling single of the year so far has seen a significant change to its writing credits. Mark Ronson’s record-breaking ‘Uptown Funk!’ now includes the writers of The Gap Band’s 1979 hit ‘Oops Up Side Your Head’.

It’s not clear as to how this alteration came about – there have been no court cases or lawsuits in the offing – but five extra names are now included on Ronson’s hit, according to Music Week. They are The Gap Band’s three members Ronnie Wilson, Charles Wilson and Robert Wilson as well as producers Lonnie Simmons and Rudolph Taylor.

Mark Ronson has altered the writing credits for 'Uptown Funk!'

Continue reading: 'Uptown Funk!'s Writing Credits Changed To Include The Gap Band

All headliners for Wales' Festival No. 6 have now been announced, with Metronomy now heading the bill with Grace Jones and Belle & Sebastian. Further new acts have also been added to the line-up, while many more acts are yet to be announced.

British electronic collective Metronomy head the bill with Jamaican crooner Grace Jones and Glasgow pop group Belle & Sebastian as a host of other new bands are added to the festival line-up. The fourth instalment of this uniquely cultured festival is set to hit Portmeirion from September 3rd to 6th, bringing with it some fine artists such as Catfish & The Bottlemen, Jame Bay, Stornoway and Blossoms to name but a few.

Continue reading: Metronomy Round Off Their Album Tour As Festival No. 6 Headliners

Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith were the big winners at the Brit Awards. The annual music industry spectacular rewarded the two biggest-selling artists of last year by bestowing two trophies on each on Wednesday night (February 25th).

Sheeran won the two biggest prizes for which he was nominated – those of British Male Solo Artist and Best British Album for his sophomore record X. He beat four other UK Number 1 albums to do so – rival Smith’s In The Lonely Hour, Royal Blood’s self-titled debut, indie stars Alt-J’s This Is All Yours and George Ezra’s slow-burning debut Wanted On Voyage.

Ed Sheeran arriving for Wednesday night's Brit Awards, where he won twice

Continue reading: Ed Sheeran And Sam Smith Win At Brit Awards

Mark Ronson is no stranger to the UK Singles Chart, but the surprising success of his collaborative hit with Bruno Mars, 'Uptown Funk', has seen him finally at number one - for a full seven consecutive weeks.

Mark Ronson is a UK Chart fix right now

The funk-infused single has gone multi-Platinum since its release in November 2014, and became the first release from his number one fourth album 'Uptown Special'; an album which also featured collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Andrew Wyatt, Jeff Bhasker and Mystikal. His previous most famous single was his cover of The Zutons' 'Valerie' with the late Amy Winehouse; a much loved hit that surprisingly only reached number two in the UK, though with a Platinum certification.

Continue reading: Mark Ronson Takes 'Uptown Funk' To Number One For It's Seventh Week

Rockers Fall Out Boy have scored their third US Number 1 album, the latest Billboard 200 chart reveals. The group’s sixth studio album American Beauty / American Psycho shifted 218,000 units across all formats during the week ending January 25th, according to figures given by Nielsen SoundScan.

The new record knocked Meghan Trainor’s debut Title, which sold 86,000, down to Number 3, and fended off non-mover Taylor Swift at Number 2 with 119,000 units. It marks the first time since 2010 that a January sales month, typically a quiet time for major releases, has seen two albums debut at the top with sales of over 150,000.

Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, who top the US Billboard charts this week

Continue reading: Fall Out Boy Score Third U.S. Number 1 Abum

Mark Ronson's domination of the U.K. music scene continues as he earns the No.1 single with his latest number 'Uptown Funk' featuring Bruno Mars for the fifth straight week with combined sales figures of nearly 126,000.

Ronson earned this week's U.K. No.1 single with his track 'Uptown Funk'

The duo's soul-funk track has now achieved the most weeks at the top of the chart since Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' in 2013.

Continue reading: Mark Ronson Reigns No.1 On U.K. Singles Chart For Fifth Straight Week

The 2015 Brit Award nominations have finally been announced with, it seems, a few surprises alongside the obvious candidates. There's no prizes for guessing who's come out on top for this year's list of award-winning possibles.

Sam Smith leads nominations

Awards season rears its ominous head for another year, with some major ceremonies - in both film and music - having already taken place. We've seen prizes sent out for 2014's films; I.e. Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice Awards, People's Choice Awards, AFI Honours; and now it's time for music, with the BBC Sound of 2015 having already taken place and now The Brits and the Grammys have unveiled their candidates.

Continue reading: Brit Awards 2015 Nominations Announced: Sam Smith, George Ezra And Royal Blood Are Major Contenders

This week in the UK Singles Chart, Mark Ronson held onto the top spot with his single Uptown Funk, featuring Bruno Mars. The catchy tune maintains its position for the third non-consecutive week, having set a streaming record with 2.5 million plays in its third week on top. The song’s combined sales reached a total of over 156,000, presumably enough to take Mr. Ronson’s future children through university.  

Mark Ronson is in his third week of UK Chart domination, alongside funk champion Bruno Mars.

In second place this week, there’s a finally a newcomer – Phillip George, a 21-year-old DJ entered the chart with his debut single, Wish You Were mine. The loved up theme holds strong throughout the chart with Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud taking the third spot this week. So does that mean that people are extending their winter cuddle time past the holidays and into January? That’s the only logical explanation for all these ballads.

Continue reading: Mark Ronson's 'Uptown Funk' Ft. Bruno Mars Maintains Chart Topspot

As the year comes to a close, Mark Ronson is left reigning No.1 on the U.K. singles chart with his latest number ‘Uptown Funk’ featuring Bruno Mars, which earns its second non-consecutive week at the top spot with combined chart sales of 187,000.

Ronson's 'Uptown Funk' is No.1 in the U.K.

The soul-funk track climbed to the top of the chart by dethroning last week’s No.1 and the winner of this year’s X-Factor Ben Haenow, whose debut single ‘Something I Need’ lands in this week’s No.2 spot.

Continue reading: Mark Ronson Achieves Last U.K. No.1 Single In 2014 With 'Uptown Funk'

Mark Ronson has released a new track 'Daffodils' from his upcoming album Uptown Special. The track features Tame Impala's Kevin Parker. 

Mark Ronson has released a new track 'Daffodils'.

Read More: Mark Ronson Rush Releases 'Uptown Funk' After Fleur East Performance.

Continue reading: Listen To Mark Ronson's Latest Track 'Daffodils' Featuring Tame Impala's Kevin Parker [Audio]

The release of Mark Ronson's new single Uptown Funk has been moved forward by five weeks after X-Factor contestant Fleur East performed a stunning rendition of the song on last week's show. The live recording shot to the top of the iTunes chart on Monday, prompting Ronson to rush-release his version.

After her Uptown Funk performance, Fleur East is now the overwhelming favourite to win the X-Factor

Some bookmakers subsequently stopped taking bets on the track to become Christmas number one. 

Continue reading: Mark Ronson Rush Releases 'Uptown Funk' After Fleur East Performance

Rhod Gilbert has been named as the permanent host of comedy panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks. The BBC2 show has lacked a permanent presenter since 2009 when Simon Amstell departed so he could work on his own comedy tours and performances. 

Rhod Gilbert is the first permanent Buzzcocks presenter in five years.

Read More: What Caused Huey Morgan To Smash His Mug & Storm Off During Never Mind The Buzzcocks?

Continue reading: 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks': Rhod Gilbert First Permanent Host In Five Years

Sir Paul McCartney has launched a fresh single from his forthcoming record, and has announced that his new album will be called just that; New. Thinks could get confusing for music journalists describing "Paul McCartney's new New Album," or his "new album New" but for now we'll focus on the exciting new release that has been sneakily dropped online, also called 'New.'

Sir Paul Teased Twitter Fans, Tweeting Words Related To 'New.'

Produced by Mark Ronson, the bouncy new song, 'New,' harks back to The Beatles sound with its marching piano chords, nostalgic harpsichord effect and lovesick lyrics. Of course, because it's had Ronson within 10 feet of it, it has a bulbous horn section but has been thankfully saved from the grating trumpet-plagued ubiquity of the producer's work of yesteryear.

Continue reading: Paul McCartney Drops Surprise 'New' Single Ahead Of 'New' Album [Listen]

Bruno Mars has revealed a slightly surprising influence on his new album Unorthodox Jukebox – the late British blues singer Amy Winehouse! We reviewed the multi-million selling 27 year-old’s second album and, though we found ourselves impressed with it, we must admit we’d be hard-pushed to pinpoint the Winehouse influence stylistically.

However, talking to The Associated Press, Mars said "I felt like everything I've been saying, everything I wanted to do, she did it. It was one of those things like, 'Damn it! Damn it!' It was perfect.” He went on to enthuse "You couldn't put it in a box 'cause it could be played on rock stations, it could be played on rhythmic stations, it could be played on pop radio, and I've always wanted to make music like that – that could be spread out, and can't be pigeon-held to one thing. And they did it. Her and Mark Ronson."

Mars once again re-enlisted the help of his song writing pals The Smeezingtons for Unorthodox Jukebox but also has Mark Ronson on too – who of course was instrumental in Winehouse’s fame. Talking of the additional collaborations on the album – several producers are involved – Mars enthused “That's when the fun comes in. Now, it's time to have some fun. Let's put the dream band together... I love their take on pop music... It was a big ole science project.” Unorthodox Jukebox is out now and, a challenge from The Game notwithstanding, should find itself on top of the US Billboard 200 this weekend.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Reveals Amy Winehouse As Surprise Influence On Unorthodox Jukebox

Like many artists that eventually plough their way out of the woodwork, Bruno Mars began his career as a writer for other singers. His work crops up in the portfolios of Flo Rider, Alexandra Burke, Sean Kingston, Travie McCoy, Adam Levine and Brandy. He even co-wrote Cee Lo Green's 'Forget You'. However, he always set his sights very high and revealed in an interview recently that he aspired to the musical heights of Amy Winehouse- which, it appears, is why he's now teaming up with Mark Ronson, the producer that pushed Amy into super-stardom.

"It was perfect," he said, of Amy's Back to Black album. "You couldn't put it in a box 'cause it could be played [anywhere]... And they did it. Her and Mark Ronson." Having grown up listening to a wide variety of music, all of it has rubbed off but in a kind of mis-matched way, he's an endearing if not brilliant patchwork quilt. His latest album 'Unorthodox Dukebox' is also a great patchwork, as Mars has brought together some of the business' best producers including Diplo, The Smeezingtons (who did his entire first album), Jeff Bhasker, Paul Epworth, and Emile Haynie. He described these collaborations to the Associated Press as "a big ole science project."

The album has got fairl good reviews so far but he's already joking about a future 'comeback', saying "You know my sister sings, my brother plays drums in my band. My whole family is a bunch of musicians. So, when the right time comes, you'll see it on some kind of reunion tour, CBS special, 'Behind the Music: Bruno's Family,' trying to revive my career." 

Oh My God: Nick Hodgson Has Announced His Departure From The Kaiser Chiefs

Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson has quit the band after 15 years. The drummer, backing vocalist and primary songwriting announced the news on Twitter on Tuesday (December 4, 2012), telling fans of the Leeds band, "I can confirm I have left Kaiser Chiefs after 15 spectacular years. I'm moving on. I wish the rest of the band the very best!"

His band-mates tweeted their support for Nick's decision and there doesn't appear to be any bad blood over his departure. Lead singer Ricky Wilson said, "@nickkaiserchief The door is on the latch and the key under the mat," while bass player Simon Rix said, "good luck to @nickkaiserchief with his plans. I can exclusively confirm we will still be collaborating on pints in pubs." Named after Kaizer Chiefs, the South African football team and onetime home of Leeds legend Lucas Radebe, the Kaisers formed after Hodgson met Wilson and guitarist Andrew White (firstly calling themselves Runston Parva, and then Parva). He played with the band for six albums in total and wrote a string of their biggest hits, including, Oh My God, I Predict A Riot and Ruby.

Continue reading: Kaiser Chiefs Founder Nick Hodgson Quits Band After 15 Years