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Mumford & Sons Fans Pranked By Masquerading Comedians In 'Hopeless Wanderer' [Video]


Mumford And Sons Jason Sudeikis Ed Helms Will Forte Jason Bateman

The video begins just like any other Mumford & Sons vid; nothing to suspect here. Rays of sunlight obscure the banjo twanging members as they play in the middle of a country field. There's out of focus striding through long grass and slow motion walking up a dirt track with their folk instruments. There's no reason to believe the band on video could be any other performers than the British folksters themselves.

Mumford & Sons
The Group Let Themselves Be Parodied.

That is, until the sun-streaked dust clears and our suspicions are aroused. Is that really Marcus Mumford? Isn't Ted Dwane's beard looking a bit raggier than usual? Wait a minute - that worn, rustic, wooden instrument isn't really being played. They're fakes!

Continue reading: Mumford & Sons Fans Pranked By Masquerading Comedians In 'Hopeless Wanderer' [Video]

As Fans Gather For 'T In The Park,' Police Crack Down On Drugs


Mumford And Sons Rihanna The Killers Yeah Yeah Yeahs Of Monsters and Men Kraftwerk Kendrick Lamar Kesha The Proclaimers Alt-J T In The Park

The sun is shining, the line-up is terrific; T In The Park 2013 is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary with thousands of fans and seven stages. Performers during the three day festival will include Mumford & Sons, Rihanna, The Killers, Ke$ha, Kendrick Lamar, Emeli Sandé, The Proclaimers, and many more massive mainstream names. The recently revived German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk will also be making their festival debut in a hotly anticipated set that is rumoured to include 3D visuals, as well as My Bloody Valentine.

Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk To Bring Their Machine-Like Electronica To T In The Park.

T must surely rival similarly huge English festivals Glastonbury and Download for the strongest line-up of the year, with Mercury Prize winning Alt-J, New York's Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Frank Ocean, Paloma Faith and Icelandic newcomers Of Monsters and Men also playing across the weekend to celebrate two decades of the Scottish event. Festival director Geoff Ellis said, according to BBC's Newsbeat, "It doesn't feel like 20 years since we started and it's a milestone." The festival, which has been held annually since 1994 has been held at Balado airfield in Kinross-shire since 1997 and now attracts 85,000 fans and 35,000 campers to the second largest greenfield event in the UK.

Continue reading: As Fans Gather For 'T In The Park,' Police Crack Down On Drugs

Mumford & Sons Release Video For Latest 'Babel' Single


Mumford And Sons

Mumford & Sons have released the video for the title track of their latest album, Babel. The video is simple in its music hall location and black and white shots yet, cleverly, many Mumfords are shown playing their instruments as the camera pans round the room to reveal the quartet multiplied. The four members of the band are shown playing their instruments with passion as lead singer and guitarist Marcus Mumford sings with vigour "Like the city that nurtured my greed and my pride/I stretched/my arms into the sky/I cry Babel! Babel! Look at me now/Then the walls of my town, they come crumbling down."

Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons Release New Video For 'Babel' Track.

It's been a rollercoaster of a few months for the Mumford four - their 2012 album Babel won the Grammy award for 'Album of the year' whilst the band won the BRIT award for 'Best British Group.' They set off on a festival tour of the US only for bassist Ted Dwane to experience a terrifying health scare where a blood clot was found on the surface of his brain, requiring immediate surgery and a string of cancelled tour dates whilst he recuperated.

Continue reading: Mumford & Sons Release Video For Latest 'Babel' Single

Mumford & Sons Are Kings Of The Charts After Glasto Success


Mumford And Sons John Newman Arctic Monkeys Jake Bugg Rolling Stones Michael Buble Tom Odell

It's been a rollercoaster of a few months for West London's folk rockers, Mumford & Sons. They've headlined Glastonbury in June but had to deal with bassist Ted Dwane's terrifying blood clot health scare that required immediate brain surgery and several cancelled US festival appearances. Dwane rested until Glastonbury Festival when the quartet resolutely took to the stage armed with their banjos, mandolins, guitars, and even a brass section to show the world the Little Lion Men were unstoppable. They played a barn-storming headline slot, blasting their hits with defiance and making the entire Vale of Avalon take notice.

Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons Now Back At No.1 After Glastonbury Success.

Such was the success of the Sunday headliners that many in the crowd were converted to Mumford & Sons' distinctive banjo-tickling ways and rushed home to purchase a copy of their most recent album: September 2012's Babel, despite lead single 'I Will Wait' having premiered nearly a year ago. The album has enjoyed 40 weeks in the charts but Mumford's festival success induced a 384% sales increase, propelling the 12-track record up 15 places to the No.1 roost in the week following the festival and beating Michael Bublé's To Be Lovedby just 125 copies, according to The Independent. Their 2009 debut Sigh No More also climbed to the 12th place after their sunny Somerset hoedown.

Continue reading: Mumford & Sons Are Kings Of The Charts After Glasto Success

Daft Punk And Robin Thicke Take Over UK Charts, Mostly Thanks To Digital Sales


Daft Punk Robin Thicke Pharrell Williams Rolling Stones Arctic Monkeys Mumford And Sons

Well, it’s the middle of the year and about time to recap the big events in music in 2013 – particularly, the best and worst sales numbers of the year. the It turns out, not so surprisingly, that French electronic duo Daft Punk have broken records both for album and single sales this year. However, it’s not just Daft Punk, who are getting a hefty chunk from the retail pie – sales of both singles and albums are up from this time in 2012 – with singles experiencing a 2.5 percent increase, while compilation sales are un 9% (according to the Telegraph). It seems that the music business has didital sales to thank for whatever increase there is in the overall numbers, seeing as how 99% of all UK sales this year have fallen into the digital category.

Daft Punk, Leeds Wireless Festival
Unless lightning strikes twice, Daft Punk are set to come out as this year's clear winners.

In terms of singles, it is no secret that Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, featuring Pharrell Williams and Chic's Nile Rodgers easily takes the top spot for sales. Since its release ten weeks ago, the summer hit has passed one million individual sales in the UK. Not only that, but the record has also broken records for number of plays on streaming service Spotify – and it managed to do it in just 24 hours after its release. Clearly, the Frenchmen are on a roll this year, since the full album – Random Access Memories, also broke the Spotify streaming record on its release shortly after. The second single, not so unexpectedly, is Robin Thicke’s single Blurred Lines – also a collaboration with Pharell Williams – with 828 000 copies sold to date.

Continue reading: Daft Punk And Robin Thicke Take Over UK Charts, Mostly Thanks To Digital Sales

The Rolling Stones At Glastonbury VS. Die Hard- And The Winner Is...?


Rolling Stones Glastonbury Festival Arctic Monkeys Chase and Status Vampire Weekend Example Elvis Costello Mumford And Sons Keith Richards Mick Jagger Ronnie Wood Michael Eavis

The Rolling Stones headlined at Glastonbury on Saturday (29th June) but the viewing public were more interested in watching Bruce Willis' 1988 classic action film, Die Hard, according to The Daily Mail. 2.54 million tuned into the BBC to watch The Rolling Stones' performance whilst 2.78 million watched Bruce Willis punch, kick and shoot in Die Hard

Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger with Ronnie Wood in the background performing at Glastonbury.

The BBC sent over 300 staff members to the Glastonbury Festival, at the cost of £2 million, but more people tuned into watch Bruce Willis' Die Hard than Saturday's (29th June 2013) coverage. 

Continue reading: The Rolling Stones At Glastonbury VS. Die Hard- And The Winner Is...?

Mumford And Sons Will Definitely Be Playing Glastonbury Despite Bassist's Health Scare


Mumford And Sons

Mumford And Sons will definitely be headlining Glastonbury Festival this Sunday, with the mega-popular folk popsters putting to rest any concern that they might not be able to appear as the final act of the festival following bassist Ted Dwane's recent blood clot. The band had already been forced to pull out of their Bonnaroo set last weekend and it was thought they may have to do the same with Glasto, but alas the group will go on as planned.

The band recently announced that they were re-scheduling a number of shows due to take place this August, when the band were initially due to begin their tour of North America, by moving them instead to the end of September. This had caused doubts to arise around their Glastonbury performance, due to take place in Somerset on June 30, but keyboard player Ben Lovett was quick to dispel any potential rumours when he told the Radio Times on Monday (June 24); "All we feel is incredibly grateful and happy that he's going to be OK, and that we're going to get back out on that stage at Glastonbury as four brothers and do what we do."

Dwane suffered a brain clot in his brain and was rushed to hospital to undergo emergency treatment earlier this month. The band had a number of festival appearances and live, solo shows due to take place between then and now and were forced to pull out when he was taken into surgery. Fortunately the bassist has so far made a full recovery and as we will see on Sunday when the band headline the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm with Dwane in tow.

Continue reading: Mumford And Sons Will Definitely Be Playing Glastonbury Despite Bassist's Health Scare

Normal Service Resumes - Mumford And Sons Bassist Back On Track After Blood Clot


Mumford And Sons

Thank the lord of folk; Ted Dwayne – the bassist from Mumford And Sons who recently suffered a blood clot in his brain – is safe, sound and out of hospital recovering well.

With a freshly shaved head – you didn’t expect the doctors to work through that thick mane of hair did you? – Dwayne posted a picture of himself after being discharged from hospital on the official Mumford wesite. Alongside the snap was a message that read: "Bear with a sore head!" it reads. "Thanks so much for all the well wishing, it seems to be working! I’m home."

Mumford and Sons were forced to cancel some tour dates due to their bassists ailment, but are still nailed on to headline Glastonbury having confirmed that there are "no plans to cancel or postpone any other appearances along this current tour".

Continue reading: Normal Service Resumes - Mumford And Sons Bassist Back On Track After Blood Clot

"Bear With A Sore Head": Mumford & Sons' Ted Dwayne Is Home After Blood Clot


Mumford And Sons Jack Johnson

After being hospitalised with a blood clot on his brain that required immediate surgery, bassist Ted Dwayne posted a message on the band's website on Monday (17th June), reassuring fans and thanking them for their support under the headline 'A Message From Ted', reading "Bear with a sore head! Thanks so much for all the well wishing, it seems to be working! I'm home. Ted xx"

Mumford & Sons have been forced to cancel several US performances as a result of Ted's condition: "It is with sadness that we have to announce the cancellation of our scheduled performances at both Bonnaroo and Telluride Festivals, and our show at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, KS.", due to medical advice stating that Ted needs time to recover before the quartet hit the road again.

US acoustic singer, Jack Johnson had stepped in to take their place at Tennessee's Bonnaroo festival.

Continue reading: "Bear With A Sore Head": Mumford & Sons' Ted Dwayne Is Home After Blood Clot

Mumford And Sons Pull Out Of Bonnaroo Set Amidst Blood-Clot Drama


Mumford And Sons Jack Johnson

Popular alt-folk pansies Mumford And Sons had kept their fan's hopes up that they would be able to perform their headlining set at this year's Bonnaroo despite the recent news that bassist Ted Dwane has had to receive treatment this week for a blood clot on his brain. On the day before the performance though (June 14) the band decided, with a heavy heart, that they couldn't go ahead with the performance with Ted in his current state and the band have had to pull out of their scheduled performance.

The band took to their Facebook page to say that their 'Summer Stampede Tour' has come to a premature end, announcing the cancellation of the weekend set and two other sets the band were supposed to perform at before the summer is over. The statement from the band began on a positive note, saying that Ted had been discharged from the hospital and was well on his way to recovery, however the tone of the statement soon shifted as the band announced their plans to pull out of the planned performances at Bonnaroo, as well as Telluride Festival and a solo show at the Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas, rather than simply find a replacement bassist.

The statement went on to read, after detailing the decision to drop out of the planned shows and tell fans that Ted is getting better; "On behalf of Ted, and all of us really, we would like to thank every one for their compassion and support at this time and we are very excited to get back out on tour as soon as we can."

Continue reading: Mumford And Sons Pull Out Of Bonnaroo Set Amidst Blood-Clot Drama

Mumford & Sons Bassist On The Mend After Blood Clot


Mumford And Sons Carey Mulligan

After an initial scare, Ted Dwayne – Mumford & Sons bassist – is “recovering nicely” from surgery on a blood clot. The popular band had to cancel a few dates in America, much to the dismay of their loyal fans.

Winston Marshall was kind enough to keep us abreast of his buddies’ state of health on Twitter. He wrote: ‘Ted is recovering nicely from surgery. He's a brave little boy. Thanks for all your support. We are very grateful”. The folk band announced the news about their 28-year-old bandmate in a statement via their website. It read: “Our friend and bandmate Ted has been feeling unwell for a few days, and yesterday he was taken to a hospital to receive emergency treatment. The scans revealed a blood clot on the surface of his brain that requires an operation. Ted is receiving excellent care and we are being assured that he will recover quickly from surgery.” We hope Mr Dwayne achieves a healthy recovery from that scary ailment.

Marcus Mumford and Winston were seen out in Texas as they waited for important news about their bandmate; they were joined by Carey Mulligan: the wife of Marcus. The pair wed a year ago in April after just one year together, having known each other as youngsters when they would write to each other as pen pals. That's nice.

Continue reading: Mumford & Sons Bassist On The Mend After Blood Clot

Mumford & Sons Postpone Shows In Light Of Bassist's Illness


Mumford And Sons

British folk-rockers Mumford & Sons are never ones to disappoint fans, but recently they were forced to cancel a few shows off their US tour, due to bassist Ted Dwayne needing emergency brain surgery. According to Reuters, the Grammy award winning act had announced that Dwayne hadn’t been feeling well for a few days and was hospitalized on Monday.

“Ted is receiving excellent care and we are being assured that he will recover quickly from surgery,” said the official statement on the band’s website. The three postponed shows were to be held in Dallas, Woodlands and New Orleans on the 11th, 12th and 13th of June respectively. Fortunately, the fans who have already purchased tickets will not have to miss out or be refunded, since the shows will be rescheduled as soon as possible, with all tickets purchased previously being honored on the new dates of the gigs.

 Dwayne is a crucial member of Mumford, playing bass, drums, guitar, and even singing with the four-member band that formed in 2007.Apparently doctors are predicting a speedy recovery for the musician, since the band explicitly stated that they are not planning to postpone any additional shows on their current "Summer Stampede" tour of North America that started in Calgary on May 21. The next performance is scheduled for the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee, on June 15.

Continue reading: Mumford & Sons Postpone Shows In Light Of Bassist's Illness

Blood Clot Halts Mumford And Sons' American Dates


Mumford And Sons

Mumford And Sons, who, to the detriment of everything that is good in the world, have been described as ‘neo-folk’, are to delay a few American gigs, which comes as a relief to everyone except ticket holders for those gigs.

The seriousness of the reason, though, is no laughing matter as their bassist, Ted Dwayne, was hospitalized on Monday (June 10) with a blood clot in his brain. "Our friend and bandmate Ted has been feeling unwell for a few days, and yesterday he was taken to a hospital to receive emergency treatment," said a joint statement from the group. "The scans revealed a blood clot on the surface of his brain that requires an operation. Ted is receiving excellent care, and we are being assured that he will recover quickly from surgery.”

Mumford – a growing band in America following a successful tour or two - were one of the headliners at next weekend's annual Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, a performance that is now in jeopardy too. "Sadly we have to postpone three upcoming headline shows planned for this week in Dallas on Tuesday 6/11, Woodlands on Wednesday 6/12, and New Orleans on Thursday 6/13. All dates will be rescheduled and will be announced as soon as we can; all tickets for this week’s events will be honoured at their rescheduled dates"

Continue reading: Blood Clot Halts Mumford And Sons' American Dates

Mumford & Sons Bassist Rushed To Hospital With Blood Clot On Brain


Mumford And Sons Noah and the Whale Rolling Stones Arctic Monkeys

Ted Dwayne, the bass player with huge-selling British folk-rockers Mumford & Sons, has been hospitalized with a blood clot on the brain. The band issued a statement on its website, saying, "Our friend and bandmate Ted has been feeling unwell for a few days, and yesterday he was taken to a hospital to receive emergency treatment."

"The scans revealed a blood clot on the surface of his brain that requires an operation.  Ted is receiving excellent care and we are being assured that he will recover quickly from surgery," added the statement. Mumford And Sons says it will postpone its next three shows and reschedule "as soon as we can." The shows affected are Dallas, Woodlands and New Orleans. The band adds, "We're all wishing Ted a speedy recovery.We have no plans to cancel or postpone any other appearances along this current tour. We're all wishing Ted a speedy recovery."

Mumford & Songs are set to headline the Glastonbury Festival later this month, alongside Arctic Monkeys and The Rolling Stones. Ted Dwayne, who also provides backing vocals as well as drums and guitar on some tracks, is a founding member of the band which emerged out of the West London with the likes of Laura Marling and Noah and the Whale. After two selling albums they have risen to become one of the biggest bands in the world.

Continue reading: Mumford & Sons Bassist Rushed To Hospital With Blood Clot On Brain

Glastonbury 2013 Line-Up Revealed, But Is It A Let Down?


Mumford And Sons Rolling Stones Arctic Monkeys Glastonbury Festival

“Boo, the Glastonbury line-up’s rubbish … Yaaay, the Glastonbury’s line-up’s amazing.” It happens every year, but so it goes when you’re a festival the size of a large town with about 100 hundred stages which basically means your line-up is anyone in the world on tour. Anyone can manipulate the names to make the bill look brilliant or terrible, watch us do it now: so you wouldn’t get us going to a festival if we were told the line-up was The Courteeners, Newton Faulkner, Hurts, Jake Bugg and Miles Kane. They just don’t float our boat. But tell us that it’s a festival featuring Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Phoenix, The Horrors, Portishead and Foals? We’d probably snap your arm off for a ticket (and we would, if any Glastonbury PR happens to be reading this.)

Mumford & SonsMumford & Sons are headlining Glastonbury for the first time

The point? Glastonbury is never just about the headliners and it’s never just about one stage. Sure you could argue that this year’s Pyramid Stage bill toppers amount to nothing more than a dinosaur act merely ticking off the last career accomplishment they’d not yet completed, coupled by a band who woefully under performed last time they headlined and another group who half the country want to start picking up pitchforks and farming for, and who half want to pick up pitchforks and want to start farming their organs, but if you were only going for The Rolling Stones, The Arctic Monkeys and Mumford & Sons then you’ve really missed the point of the festival entirely.

Continue reading: Glastonbury 2013 Line-Up Revealed, But Is It A Let Down?

A Week In News: Seth Divides Oscars Viewers, Jennifer Lawrence Wins Big And It's Goodbye To Affleck's Beard


Seth Macfarlane Jennifer Lawrence Ben Affleck Daniel Day Lewis Mumford And Sons Justin Timberlake Bobby Brown Harry Styles Anne Hathaway Johnny Depp

Best BRITS Moment: Winston Mumford Turned Away From His Own Party


Mumford And Sons

Winston Mumford is really letting the team down. He's going to have to start carving out a unique new look or begin dressing more Mumford And Sons-sy, after being turned away from his own BRIT Awards after-party this week. Young Winston, feeling on top of the world after his band scooped Best British Group, strode up to the Universal Records bash in the early hours of Thursday but was duly rejected. He's only the banjo player, so it's no biggie.

According to The Sun, poor Winston was left standing in the cold asking if anyone had a spare ticket after bouncers said he wasn't allowed to enter. The musician was eventually granted entry and certainly made the most of it, hitting the dance floor and spending time chatting with Taylor Swift. They even swapped numbers before the party wound up at around 3am.

Harry Styles' ex-girlfriend was manning the decks alongside Brits host James Corden, Rizzle Kicks, Marcus Mumford and wife Carey Mulligan. Elsewhere, Jessie J partied away with Ellie Goulding and actor Jeremy Irvine and, somewhat bizarrely, West Ham player Mark Noble and ex-Spurs defender Ledley King bopped away too. Cool guy Frank Ocean just played it, well, cool.

Continue reading: Best BRITS Moment: Winston Mumford Turned Away From His Own Party

Brit Awards 2013 - Why They Were The Blandest Brits, And Who Should Have Won...


Harry Styles Nick Grimshaw James Corden Rita Ora Plan B Ben Howard Emeli Sande Amy Winehouse Mumford And Sons One Direction Frank Ocean Michael Buble Damien Hirst Brit Awards

Awards ceremonies are supposed to make you laugh. They’re supposed to make you cry. They’re supposed to make you angry. They’re supposed to shock the living daylights out of you. They are supposed to provide some serious ‘water cooler’ moments for you to talk about at work the next day. Did The Brits do any of these things? Did they heck. The most animated we got last night was when we managed to muster up the energy to actually yawn.

Ben Howard

Ben Howard at the Brits 2013, possibly the blandest year ever?

Continue reading: Brit Awards 2013 - Why They Were The Blandest Brits, And Who Should Have Won...

Why Did Frank Ocean Not Win More At The Grammys?


Frank Ocean Chris Brown Mumford And Sons Gotye

Frank Ocean and Chris Brown provided an interesting subplot at The Grammys; the latter refusing to stand up and applaud his counterpart when he won Best Urban Contemporary Album, but for us, the real story is Ocean’s lack of awards.

Alright, he did win two – that last one and as part of as part of the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration prize – but leading up to the awards, Ocean was mooted to take more than that. Epic-folk perpetuators Mumford & Sons picked up album of the year for their effort, Babel, which is a decision we can’t quite believe. Channel ORANGE was unanimously praised, and even broke new boundaries, suggesting that someone involved in hip hop, RnB and rap might be gay. Ocean deserved album of the year. Best New Artist is another category we can’t get our head around, and for the reasons listed under best album, we think Ocean deserved this one too. Record of The Year we can just about understand. Thinkin’ Bout You isn’t Ocean’s best track, and 'Somebody That I Used to Know' - Gotye Featuring Kimbra is a deserved winner.

So Mr. Ocean will have to make do with one major award, but given his prodigious talent, we predict that next year he’ll clean up song and album of the year easily. Unfortunately, the best new artist gong has passed him by forever. 

Continue reading: Why Did Frank Ocean Not Win More At The Grammys?

Grammys Preview: Taylor Swift Plans To Avoid Carrie Underwood, Why?


Taylor Swift Carrie Underwood Frank Ocean Fun Mumford And Sons

Though Frank Ocean is going to win every award, it might be worth tuning in to the Grammy Awards this Sunday (February 10, 2013) if only to witness the possibility that Taylor Swift might bump into fellow country star Carrie Underwood. According to an insider, Grammy executives have been ordered to keep Swift, 23, and Underwood, 29, "from crossing paths." Their reason? "They hate each other!"

The feud appears to have begun when Underwood and Brad Paisley mocked Swift's split from Conor Kenned while hosting the Country Music Association Awards in November. "The greatest trade of the year had to be the Kennedy family. They somehow traded Arnold Schwarzenegger for Taylor Swift," Paisley joked about Swift dating the 65-year-old bodybuilder's nephew through marriage. When Underwood whispered in his ear that the young couple had split up, Paisley feigned disbelief "What? Why don't I ever hear about these things?...I'm the last one to know. Are they ever gonna get back together?" Underwood, of course, said, "Never, ever." The whole thing was rather cringe-worthy, but was enough to get Taylor's back up, according to the insider. A source close to the singer - known for writing songs about her failed relationships - told US Weekly magazine, "Taylor feels Carrie is always rude to her, so she steer clear of her."

It's set to be a big night for Swift in particular, who will open the show at Los Angeles' Staples Center on Sunday." What's interesting is we presented this performance to the Grammy committee . . . and they said, 'Okay, cool, you have a performance spot.' And then like a week ago they call us and are like, 'Oh, by the way, you're opening the show," Swift told Ryan Seacrest Thursday. Despite her prominent live slot, it's unlikely that Swift will walk away with anything too prestigious at the biggest night in music, with Frank Ocean, Fun, Mumford & Sons and Goyte likely to lead the charge for the major prizes. 

Continue reading: Grammys Preview: Taylor Swift Plans To Avoid Carrie Underwood, Why?

What Are The Grammys Scared Of? Performers Banned From Baring Breasts And Buttocks


Rihanna Mumford And Sons Justin Timberlake

Live performers were sent a warning email ahead of the 55th Annual Grammys Awards this Sunday (February 10, 2013), requesting that all “talent appearing on camera adhere to Network policy concerning wardrobe.” The main problem areas for the Grammy organizers seem to be the breasts, the buttocks and (we would say this is a given, really) the genitalia. In fact, the email, which was obtained by Deadline.com is really quite specific when it comes to the organisers’ expectations in those areas.

“Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic.” Male breasts, it seems, are off the hook at the Grammys. “Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack.” Now, looking down the list of performers, here, we’re imagining that that the Grammys organizers probably had Rihanna in mind when they wrote this list. We can’t see Mumford & Sons taking to the stage in cut off denim hot-pants, somehow. “Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic. Please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast nipples.” Fair enough, they’ve got Justin Timberlake in the house and we know how much he likes wandering around exposing ladies’ nipples.

This next bit though: “Please be sure the genital region is adequately covered so that there is no visible ‘puffy’ bare skin exposure.” We have no idea quite what genital-exposure-related traumas these people have suffered in the past but this sounds truly horrific. Puffy bare skin exposure? Yuk! Keep your junk hidden, performers! We want none of this! 

Continue reading: What Are The Grammys Scared Of? Performers Banned From Baring Breasts And Buttocks

Weighty Line-Up Announced For The Grammys; Rihanna, Taylor Swift And Fun Set To Play


Rihanna Taylor Swift Mumford And Sons Fun Black Keys LL Cool J

To say that the Grammys have attracted a star-studded line-up is a bit like saying there might be a couple of handy actors knocking around the Oscars next month. However, once again it is the crème de la crème of mainstream music that will be attending the annual music ceremony, with the first batch of performers being announced for the event on February 10, 2013.

Many of the nominees for this year’s 55th Grammy Awards are set to put in a turn performing. MTV reports that leading the list are six time nominees and the only act honored in each of the so-called Big Four categories, Record and Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist, Fun. British folk duds Mumford & Sons will also perform – the group are also up for six categories this year - while five-time nominees the Black Keys and three-time nominees Rihanna and Taylor Swift will also be taking a turn each. Studded with stars as you can see.

LL Cool J’s been doing a pretty bang up job of hosting the huge event in recent years, and it’ll be he who once again guides everyone through the evening, with plenty more stars still to be confirmed to perform. Hopefully this will be a year where the event won’t be befallen by tragedy, as it did on the eve of last year’s when Whitney Houston passed away in her hotel room.

Continue reading: Weighty Line-Up Announced For The Grammys; Rihanna, Taylor Swift And Fun Set To Play

Despite UK Artist Success, CD Album Sales Down 19.5%, Overall Album Sales Down 11.2%


Adele One Direction Mumford And Sons Sia Ed Sheeran

It's no real surprise that sales of CD albums have dropped by 19.5%, with the rise of mp3 players and everyone using laptops, phones, and tablets along with the internet for all their musical needs, the CD is fast becoming redundant. However, as the BBC reports, overall album sales have dropped by 11.2% while fans opt to download singles (sales of which have risen by 6%) rather than an artist or band's full set of new music. 

The British Phonic Industry (BPI) have released the data, and their Chief Executive, Geoff Taylor, commented on the statistics, Like all other industries in the nation, the Olympics helped out. "The Jubilee celebrations and the London 2012 Olympics provided a great showcase for British music internationally," he said, adding that "market conditions at home remained difficult and pressure on the 'leisure wallet' impacted music sales on the high street." Indeed, numerous artists saw as much success overseas as at home, including One Direction, Mumford & Sons and Adele, all of whom have enjoyed number one albums in the USA. The highest selling album artists of the year were Adele with 2011's album 21, Emeli Sande's Our Version of Events, and Ed Sheeran's +.

The final week of December saw the highest downloads of the year with "more than 1.3m albums and 5.6m singles" being downloaded. Streaming music has also become increasingly popular, while "UK music fans streamed more than 3.7 billion tracks in 2012." Most streamed tracks included  Somebody That I Used To Knowby Gotye ft Kimbra, Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen and Titanium by David Guetta ft Sia

Spotify Proves Financial Worth To Artists, And Give QandA About New Features


Metallica Mumford And Sons Sean Parker

Every single publishing industry, from music, to academic journals, to books have fretted enormously over the impact that digital publishing and online streaming may have on their revenues. Spotify has been part of revolutionising the legal streaming of music, and has come under great fire from a variety of musicians for being a catalyst in the breakdown of how lucrative the music industry is.

However, as Rolling Stone report, using Mumford & Sons second album Babel as a case in point, Spotify have shown that their impact is not a negative one: Babel sold 600,000 albums in one week, and also broke Spotify records for most streams in a week. 

Metallica is one band that has criticized similar streaming platford, notoriously suing Napster in 2000. Lars Ulrich, from Metallica, was at the Q&A that Spotify held this week, as was the ex- Napster owner Sean Parker (who was famously played by Justin Timberlake in The Social Network), and the two managed to kiss and make-up. "This was never about money," Mr. Ulrich said, quoted by The NY Times. "It was just about control." Now that they have control the Enter Sandman band have chosen to allow their music on Spotify.

Continue reading: Spotify Proves Financial Worth To Artists, And Give QandA About New Features

Grammy Nominations 2013: Who Will Win? Who SHOULD Win?


Mumford And Sons Black Keys Fun Frank Ocean Jack White Kelly Clarkson Janelle Monae Gotye Kimbra Taylor Swift Alabama Shakes Hunter Hayes The Lumineers Miguel Carly Rae Jepsen

The nominations for the 55th Grammy Award Nominations in 2013 have officially been announced by the award's organisers. Here’s a run down of some of the main awards, and our tips for Grammy's Glory.

Album Of The Year:

El Camino — The Black Keys

Continue reading: Grammy Nominations 2013: Who Will Win? Who SHOULD Win?

Big Players For Balado: T In The Park Announces Rihanna And Mumford And Sons


Rihanna Mumford And Sons Paloma Faith Jake Bugg T In The Park

T In The Park have announced their 2013 headliners and they’ve got some of the biggest players in the world of rock and pop at the top of their bill next year. Both Rihanna and Mumford & Sons – responsible for two of the most significant album releases of 2012 – will be headlining separate days of the festival, which celebrates its 20th birthday. And what a way to celebrate!

Also announced are this year’s Mercury Music Prize winners, Alt-J, everybody’s favourite flame-haired nutcase, Paloma Faith and highly-lauded newcomer Jake Bugg. T in the Park has long been the most significant event in the Scottish festival calendar and its organisers have erred towards the mainstream in more recent years; a move which has clearly paid off and seen crowds flock to the festival in their thousands. On Friday (December 7, 2012), a limited number of tickets will be available at 2012 prices – a move that echoes an announcement from the organisers of Reading and Leeds festivals who are doing the same, in an attempt to secure early business from cash-strapped music fans.

The festival’s director, Geoff Ellis, said “it seems like only yesterday that the first band took to the stage at Strathclyde Park for our inaugural T in the Park in 1994, now here we are in 2012 announcing two of the world's biggest and best acts to headline our 20th edition.” T in the Park 2013 will take place in Balado, Scotland, on July 12 – 14.

Mumford And Sons Claims Bob Dylan Was Unauthentic


Mumford And Sons Bob Dylan

UK folk-popsters Mumford And Sons have hit out at claims that they are an unauthentic package during an interview with The Guardian, claiming that Bob Dylan - a supposed influence on the band - was as 'unauthentic' as they come.

Despite being the voice of numerous generations and possessing more storytelling and songwriting ability in his little finger than the whole of Mumford and Sons, that didn't stop frontman Marcus Mumford said, "Not since I came to the realization that Dylan, who's probably my favorite artist ever, the richest artist for me, didn't give a sh*t about authenticity... [He] lied to everyone about who he was."

Mumford and Sons, known for making songs of the same quality, and same sound, with the same lyrics and chord progression over and over, have also shot down claims that they are not a religious band either, despite their spiritual lyrics and Christian background. Bass player Ted Dwane said, "We're not all religious. In fact none of us are, really. We, er, we have a full spectrum of beliefs."

Continue reading: Mumford And Sons Claims Bob Dylan Was Unauthentic

Mumford & Sons Working On Elton John Sounding Third Album


Mumford And Sons The National Elton John

It's been less than two months since Mumford And Sons released their number one selling second album 'Babel', but the folk band have already begun to create a new set of songs for album number three. 

Banjo player Winston Marshall revealed to NME that they plan to write a lot more music following their remarkable success. 'We've started working on new songs, got a rehearsal studio', he said. 'Got a few new tunes out of it. It was great, sounds really cool. They're bones [of songs] but really exciting bones. Sturdy bones.' In a recent interview with The Guardian, he also insisted that their latest sound shares similarities to The National and The Band 'without doing either of them justice' while bass player Ted Dwane likened it to 'the glory-days Elton John'. 

Marshall is also desperate to get the band together for the Glastonbury Festival next year having missed 2012's - the first year they've missed since their first appearance in 2008. 'We've done every Glastonbury that we could have and I've been every year since I can remember', he said. For now though, they have their Tour Of Two Halves to beat beginning in Torquay's Princess Theatre on November 21st 2012.

A Week In Celebrity News Featuring: Justin Bieber, Julianne Moore, Mumford And Sons, Hulk Hogan And Much More!


Bieber's Web History? Justin Bieber has been left laptop-less after a thief swiped some of his most treasured belongings during a gig in Washington state. The pop superstar told Twitter followers that both his laptop and camera had been stolen!

A Week In Celebrity News - 11, Octber 2012

Royal Rumble! Hulk Hogan is angry. The former WWF Champion says he will hunt down the person responsible for leaking his sex tape, which emerged on the web last week, which emerged on the web last week. The woman in the video has been named as Heather Clean, the ex-wife of Hulk's best buddy Bubba The Love Sponge!

Hulk Hogan

 

Continue reading: A Week In Celebrity News Featuring: Justin Bieber, Julianne Moore, Mumford And Sons, Hulk Hogan And Much More!

Ellie Goulding's Halcyon: A Soundtrack For Your Engagement Proposal


Ellie Goulding One Direction Mumford And Sons

Ellie Goulding's Halcyon hits shelves on Tuesday (October 9, 2012) and has its sights firmly fixed on the upper echelons of the Billboard chart. It seems domestic success isn't good enough for the Hereford born star and Goulding is likely to emulate the recent US success of British offerings from Mumford And Sons, and One Direction.

The majestic lead single from the record, Anything Could Happen, has already featured in a commercial for Beats By Dre and looks likely to chart high in the U.S. singles chart. However, in conversation with MTV News, Goulding revealed her more far-reaching ambitions for the track, "I'm hoping it will make people go out and propose to their girlfriend and do that holiday they never ended up doing," she said, adding, "I hope it will provoke positivity as opposed to making people really sad." Though her 2010 debut 'Lights' suggested Goulding would continue down the EDM path, the 25-year-old appears to have moved in a different direction with her sophomore effort, "I've got more influences and different influences.I think it's a different sound. It is kind of a bit more tribal, a bit more anthemic.

Goulding will begin a mini-tour of the United States and Canada in New York on October 11, 2012, before heading to the Sound Academy in Toronto (14th), the Troubador in Los Angeles (16th) and Amoeba Music (17th).


Mumford And Sons Break Records Topping American Billboard Chart


Mumford And Sons Justin Bieber Lady GaGa

British music occasionally suffers a real drought of popularity with our cousins across the Atlantic. In 2006 there were an entire three weeks in which no British music found its way in America's top 100 at all. They were three weeks filled with fear. However, this has all spun around rather dramatically in the past few years, with the rise of multi-platinum selling artist Adele, and most recently Mumford And Sons, whose second album 'Babel' has deservedly shot to number one in the US this week.

Not only has Mumford and Sons topped the charts, but they have in fact smashed 2012s current record having sold well over half a million copies of the album, and beating Justin Bieber (that's right music fans, you can breathe a sigh of relief) by 226,000. 'Babel' follows their 2009 debut album 'Sigh No More' which hasn’t dropped out of the Top 75 in the Billboard Chart since entering in July 2010, selling 2.5million copies in the country. All of this means that Mumford and Sons now sit only behind Lady GaGa’s Born This Way in the list of biggest selling digital albums.

The band’s success is undoubtedly found in the impeccable musical arrangements, effortless layering, as well as Marcus Mumford's lyrics, that clearly touch the hearts of millions. To celebrate their success the band have added a second date to their tour in England, at the O2 Arena in London on December 18th this year.



Mumford And Sons Crush Bieber To Land Fastest-Selling Album Of The Year


Mumford And Sons

Mumford & Sons have long since conquered their native Britain, but it now looks like they're transatlantic takeover is truly up and running after news that the folk group have topped the American Billboard charts with the fastest selling album of the year, according to BBC's Newsbeat.

The folkies have ousted teen singing sensation Justin Bieber as the fastest selling album of the year after their second effort Babel topped 600,000 sales to go in at the top of the charts, on the way to double what Bieber achieved with his 374,000 copies sold of Believe. Talking to Newsbeat about their phenomenal success in the States, Marcus Mumford commented: "We're equally as overjoyed as the UK. We're quite surprised. It's quite daunting. We're happy with the record which we've made. We've toured there a lot. I think live shows really connect with people, the way you can't on record."

The news only seems to have rebounded on their debut album Sigh No More too, with that record now having topped 2.5 million sales in the USA. Another sign of their dominance comes in the stat that Babel was streamed more times in its first week on Spotify than any other in the streaming site's history.


Are Mumford And Sons The New One Direction?


Mumford And Sons One Direction Drake Justin Bieber No Doubt

“The Brits are coming,” yelled Paul Revere in the 1800s, though we’re not sure he was talking about Mumford And Sons and One Direction. Nevertheless, it’s the two British groups who have dominated the notoriously difficult to crack US charts this year, proving that success on both sides of the Atlantic can be a realistic prospect for Blighty’s finest pop stars.

Folk rockers Mumford and Sons notched up the largest selling debut of the year this week, selling just under 600,000 copies of their second record ‘Babel’ and topping the US Billboard 200. The figures obliterated Justin Bieber’s ‘Believe’ which opened with sales of 274,000 back in June. According to Nielsen/Soundscan, Mumford and Son have sold the most albums in a debut week since Drake’s ‘Take Care’, which moved 630,000 copies in November 2011. The group’s single ‘I Will Wait’ currently sits atop the ‘Rock Airplay Chart’ while their previous effort ‘Sigh No More’ has risen from No.28 to No.12 on the album’s chart too. Mumford’s success this week meant Green Day had to settle for No.2 with a comparatively paltry 138,600 and No Doubt landed a credible No.3 on their return.

Back in March this year, boy-band One Direction became the first ever British group to score a Billboard No.1 with their debut album. ‘Up All Night’ romped to the top of the charts in its opening week and it’s likely their sophomore effort ‘Take Me Home’ will do the same upon its release in November.


Is Mumford And Sons Marcus Mumford To Give It All Up For Farming?


Mumford And Sons

Mumford And Sons' rocker Marcus Mumford has revealed that he's planning to go back to college in order to study farming. The front man for the fast-rising indie group married Hollywood star Carey Mulligan on a farm in the south of England in April and has evidently decided that a place in the countryside is for him. Mumford has previous higher education experience; he once took a course in classics at Edinburgh University in Scotland but dropped out to pursue his music career.

Continue reading: Is Mumford And Sons Marcus Mumford To Give It All Up For Farming?

Mumford & Sons ITunes Set Attracts The Stars


Mumford And Sons Emma Watson Simon Pegg Chris Martin Adele One Direction Lana Del Rey Plan B

When Mumford & Sons performed at the iTunes Festival, they probably didn't expect some of the U.K's biggest stars to attend, but that's exactly what happened according to The Sun.

Adele, Chris Martin, Simon Pegg and Emma Watson were all in attendance as the folk-pop quartet bashed out tunes from their latest album, Babel. Company indeed! "We've been all around and now we're home, it feels so good," said Frontman Marcus Mumford. "This is our album launch party, celebrate with us." The band have been touring for years now, and experienced some tough times in some of the far corners of the earth, so they'll be glad to be playing in front of home crowds again. A review of their Roundhouse gig in The Telegraph says: "The show's highlights were when the band loosened their grip on the anthemic jugular. A shimmering Timshel was played unplugged, and the band displayed an enviable mastery of the crowd, who fell deathly silent." Their new album, Babel, which the band describes as "an advert for our live shows" has received mixed reviews, to put it lightly. The Guardian gave their follow up to the incredibly popular debut album, Sign No More, 2 stars. But over in America, where the band is making significant inroads, The Huffington Post described it as "a joy".

The iTunes festival represents 30 days of free music in London, with fans vying for tickets on a competition basis. Acts include One Direction, Lana Del Ray and Plan B.

Mumford And Sons New Album Splits American And British Critics


Mumford And Sons

British folksters Mumford & Sons second album Babel came out this week on the back of some mixed critical reviews, suggesting that the much vaunted nu-folk movement that began a few years ago with the likes of them, Laura Marling and Noah & The Whale all breaking through into the UK charts might soon be at an end.

That said, America still seems to be a fan: "The band has mastered the emotional gut-punch of quiet/loud dynamics, exploding from low-murmured harmonies into full Appalachian freak-outs" said Entertainment Weekly, whilst Billboard commented "Babel reveals a band happy to remain entirely Mumford - although a larger, smoother Mumford, offering fresh nuances and textures while emboldened by the promise of the initial mission."

Trouble comes for the band when they run into critics from their native homeland. "With every crescendo of catgut and steel, their lack of nuance becomes wearing" writes The Observer, whilst Uncut says "the focus on matters of the heart is limiting, reducing the genre to the level of rusticised boy-band pop." However they find friends in Clash Magazine, who write "It's very much a 'if it ain't broke' album and, for now, that's okay." An average score of 68 on Metacritic won't set the hearts racing, but you sense they might be a big enough act now to get by without the help of the critics.


Mumford And Sons To Showcase ‘Babel’ On Tour Of Two Halves


Mumford And Sons

Mumford And Sons are set to show off their brand new album ‘Babel’ on a two month long UK and Ireland tour entitled Tour of Two Halves.

The folk quartet will grace the stages of theatres and arenas all across the UK this autumn/ winter with their highly anticipated promotional tour. The first half will kick off at Torquay’s Princess Theatre on November 21st 2012 with a further five theatre dates to follow, closing with a show in Wales at Llandudno’s Venue Cymru on the 27th. The second half will hit the UK’s arenas beginning with the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle on December 4th 2012 and coming to an end at London’s O2 Arena on the 10th. Tickets are scheduled to commence sales this week on September 28th at a reasonable £23.50 for the November leg and £29.50 for December.

Their second studio album ‘Babel’ was released yesterday (September 24th 2012) on the same day they made a headlining appearance at the iTunes Festival at The Roundhouse in London. It looks set to become a major hit if their 2009 debut multi-platinum certified, BRIT Award winning album ‘Sigh No More’ is anything to go by; a record which peaked at number two in the UK and US charts and number one in the US Alternative chart.



Continue reading: Mumford And Sons To Showcase ‘Babel’ On Tour Of Two Halves

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Proves A Hit As SNL Host


Joseph Gordon-Levitt Seth Macfarlane Saturday Night Live Jason Sudeikis Mumford And Sons

Joseph Gordon-Levitt followed on from Seth Macfarlane's well-received appearance on the first episode of the new Saturday Night Live series with an equally impressive show of comic talent and timing.

The Dark Knight Rises star tickled funny bones across America with his two spoof beer commercial skits, in which he played the son of the 'Most Interesting Man in the World.' The two skits, spoofs of the popular Dos Equis adverts, featured Gordon-Levitt as the underachieving son promoting 'Tres Equis' and detailing his life as a man who is the polar opposite of his famous fictional father. Some of his 'achievements' included using fake names at Starbucks and dating a model (who in actual fact isn't a model but stared in commercial for her dad's car dealership) as well as being the proud owner five differently styled fedora hats. The character explained that Tres Equis is "one Equis more than my dad's beer, because he was never there for me. [It's] two parts Dos Equis, one part none of your business."

For the second skit, the deadbeat son is joined by his father (played by Jason Sudeikis) who berates his son for his disappointing exploits.

Continue reading: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Proves A Hit As SNL Host

Mumford And Sons Tell Cynics To “F*ck Off”, But Does ‘Babel’ Stand Up To Scrutiny?


Mumford And Sons Carey Mulligan

Mumford And Sons have hit back at the folk purists who remain sceptical of their rootsy sound despite the band’s huge success on both sides of the Atlantic. The London-based group are set to return with new record ‘Babel’, which they claim will attract a different audience to those who bought and enjoyed ‘Sigh No More’.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper, drummer Ben asserted, “The cynics can just all f*** off…We think this new record will attract a different audience which is really exciting. And broaden people’s view of us,” with bass guitarist Ted adding, “We have made so many sacrifices and we’ve not taken the easiest route…And so I hope people do understand where we are coming from because it’s a good place, not a capitalistic venture at all…We have made compromises…but it means integrity as everything we do is a conversation between the four of us.” The band have made huge inroads in the U.S market, something nudged along nicely by Marcus Mumford’s marriage to Hollywood star Carey Mulligan, though the group insist they have remained grounded, with Winston saying, “Basically it’s been four mates having the best three years of their lives… And that’s simply going to continue.”

Babel – the band’s second record on Island Records – hit stores on Monday (September 24, 2012). So far, the record has received positive reviews from critics, with the Guardian newspaper saying, “Essentially it's a honing of their 2009 debut, Sigh No More, but with more of the ferocity you encounter in their live show.”


Mumford And Sons Not Keen On Indian Return After Disastrous Gig


Mumford And Sons

Mumford And Sons won't be returning to play Indian dates any time soon, not after their disastrous time in Calcutta, anyway, reports MSN Entertainment.

The west London quartet, known for their incredibly catchy pop-folk tunes, didn't have the best of time in South Asia last time they were there: "The time we went to India... It wasn't really our fault. The infrastructure just wasn't there for touring. One night in Calcutta a woman was shouting at us to go home." Now that's not very nice is it! But the band are willing to learn from their mistakes, explains bassist Ted Dwane. "Your first album is always a learning process. You're scared to miss things and feel you have to play as many places as you can but we had some awful shows that we won't want to repeat...In Hyderabad, we had to resort to being a trip-hop band as we couldn't hire any instruments we needed. Ben was there with a little Casio keyboard like the one kids play on. It was literally toy instruments. Only 15 people turned up - and they were all English anyway."

Now that Mumford have been through the worst of it, they'll be able to tailor their live tour to avoid any awkward gigs. Their new album Babel is released on 24 September on Gentlemen of the Road/ Island Records.


Frank Ocean Makes Waves On Saturday Night Live


Frank Ocean Seth Macfarlane John Mayer Odd Future Joseph Gordon-Levitt Muse Mumford And Sons Daniel Craig

Frank Ocean’s appearance on Saturday Night Live and the release of his new video for Pyramids made for a busy weekend, reports MTV News.

The critically acclaimed singer songwriter took the stage on Saturday Night Live for the premiere of its 38th season. Introduced by Family Guy creator, Seth McFarlane, the Odd Future member trilled out his high-pitch hit ‘Thinkin Bout You’ under a lone spotlight on a retro stage, with vintage arcade machines scattered in the background. The lights shifted to reveal co-star on the show, John Mayer on guitar, who managed to get a solo performance in when Ocean returned to the stage to perform his song Pyramids. It was a bite size version of the track, as the album version runs for nearly 10 minutes, but it was still an impressive performance. The background arcade machines were utilised when Frank left to twiddle his thumbs on the joysticks, whilst Mayer did some of his own thumb twiddling on the guitar. A video for Pyramids was also in the offing for Ocean’s busy weekend, and MTV described it as a “dark, druggy thing that doesn't provide any answers; instead, it only poses more questions about the mercurial star.”

Overall it was a successful return for SNL, which will welcome Joseph Gordon-Levitt to present the next episode on September 22nd, with Mumford And Sons, Daniel Craig and Muse next in line on October 6th.

Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More Album Review


Review of Mumford And Sons album Sign No More.

Continue reading: Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More Album Review

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