Aretha Franklin TRIBUTES POUR IN

The world of music is in mourning this weekend, following the passing of legendary singer Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, on Thursday at the age of 76. Tributes have been pouring in from the great and good of the worlds of music and beyond.

Sir Elton John took to social media and said he “adored and worshipped” the singer, and “the loss of Aretha Franklin is a blow for everybody who loves real music.”

Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney wrote: “Let's all take a moment to give thanks for the beautiful life of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of our souls, who inspired us all for many many years.”

44th US president Barack Obama, for whom Franklin performed at his 2009 inauguration, said: “Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade - our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace.”

Aretha Franklin

Katy Perry WORKING ON NEW MUSIC?

Katy Perry is apparently in the studio working on new music with producer Zedd – although he doesn’t think the resulting tracks will actually see the light of day.

Rumours of a collab came after Zedd, who has been supporting Perry on the Australian/NZ leg of her Witness World Tour, was shouted out on Perry’s Instagram page, when she asked fans whether they should work together.

The Russian-German DJ told Australian radio presenter Smallzy: “I’m always relatively open about the fact that I make a lot of music with people. It doesn’t always come out, but we’ve been working. I always wanted to release a song with her, so if we all get lucky, then maybe we’ll finish the song and it will come out.”

Katy Perry

Lily Allen ANNOUNCES NEW BOOK

Hot off releasing her latest album No Shame, which has been nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize, Lily Allen has announced she’ll be publishing a tell-all autobiography later in 2018.

Published on September 20th but available to pre-order now, ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ is billed as a collection of essays that explore her life, thoughts and opinions.

“Some of it I think might be uncomfortable and shocking and brutal. There will be good stuff in there too, happy times. I will try and make it funny,” Allen said. “I know it’s about me but I hope that a lot of it will ring true with anyone who reads it,” she continued. “It won’t be written with shame. It will be true.”

Katy Perry

ICONIC CAMDEN LOCK VENUE TO STAY OPEN DESPITE SALE

Happy news for London-based indie fans as the new owners of The Lock Tavern, a much-beloved small indie venue in Camden, announced that it would stay open despite its recent sale and rumours that it would be closed.

Bradley Lomas of East London Pub Co, a group which also owns Ten Bells in Spitalfields, said: “The Lock Tavern has a fantastic history and we are looking forward to breathing new life into this Camden institution and honouring its musical heritage.”

As such, The Lock Tavern will remain open with “a full schedule of live music and DJs on a weekly basis.”

Richard Ashcroft ANNOUNCES NEW SOLO ALBUM

Former frontman of The Verve, Richard Ashcroft, has revealed details of a new studio album, Natural Rebel, in addition to a short UK tour in late 2018.

Ashcroft’s fifth album since The Verve’s second disintegration at the turn of the millennium, Natural Rebel will be out on September 19th. He’ll also be embarking on a short tour of five intimate venues across the UK in October and November.

“With experience comes knowledge and for me this is my strongest set of songs to date,” Ashcroft said about the new record. “All my favourite sounds distilled into something that will hopefully give my fans lasting pleasure. It is for them. Music is power.”

Richard Ashcroft

More: Aretha Franklin – Seven of her most memorable songs