Royal Blood

Royal Blood's Mike Kerr doesn't ''consider himself'' a bass player.

The 28-year-old singer - who is joined in the duo by drummer Ben Thatcher - may play the bass guitar on stage but he regards his instrument, which he only learned to play in 2013, as just a ''tool'' that makes the sounds he's looking for.

He said:''I've never considered myself a bass player. I see it as a tool that helps me make the sound I want to make.

Continue reading: Royal Blood's Musical Tools

There aren't many weekends of the year that most of the country pray for rain, all except the fortuitous 250,000 people that descend on a farm in Glastonbury as most of the country sit at home and watch with what the twitter hashtag describes as #glastoenvy. There are of course some benefits to being an armchair viewer of Glastonbury Festival. The beer is always cold, the toilets are always clean and set clashes are not a concern. 

So as the likes of David Beckham, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Corbyn all hit Worthy Farm for the weekend, these were the five best sets of Glastonbury 2017 that are well worth re-watching from the comfort of home - accompanied by a great sound system. 

Continue reading: Five Sets From Glastonbury Festival Well Worth Re-Watching

Royal Blood think achieving headliner status is ''surreal''.

The rock duo topped the bill on the Where It Begins stage at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Hull last weekend and are high up on the Glastonbury line-up later this month, and the pair - singer Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher - can't believe how far they've come since they started in 2013.

Mike told Newsbeat: ''When we began, we spent £500 on making half a record.

Continue reading: Royal Blood's Surreal Stage Times

Foo Fighters have announced they'll be returning to the UK in September, just months after Dave Grohl’s broken leg forced the band to cancel arena shows and pull out of their Glastonbury headlining slot. The band ended up having to cancel the rest of their European tour in June when Grohl broke his leg after falling from the stage during a gig Sweden.

Foo Fighters will return to the UK in September.

The band will play two shows at Milton Keynes Bowl on September 5th and 6th, with support coming from legendary Stooges frontman Iggy Pop. Then on September 8th they’ll head to Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium, will Royal Blood opening.

Continue reading: Foo Fighters Announce Return To UK With Three September Shows

Bonnaroo is in full swing and while we've seen some pretty impressive acts so far, the musical forecast shows things are not going to get quieter anytime soon. One of America's biggest and most diverse summer events, fans flock in their thousands to Tennessee this weekend to welcome some of the world's top entertainers.

Friday's line-up is a particularly mixed bag; where you've got music veterans the likes of 80s new wave legends Tears For Fears and 70s R&B band Earth Wind & Fire, you also got newer names such as LA duo Mini Mansions, who recently won acclaim for their second album 'The Great Pretenders', and Brit award winning UK chart toppers Royal Blood. Making some noise on the main What Stage throughout though are house producer Deadmau5, 'To Pimp a Butterfly' rapper Kendrick Lamar and roots rock collective Alabama Shakes. 

Continue reading: Bonnaroo 2015 Is Here! Here's What The Rest Of The Weekend Has In Store

Critically acclaimed artists FKA Twigs, Wild Beasts and Royal Blood have been nominated for Ivor Novello awards. Chart toppers including Sam Smith and Clean Bandit were also recognised for the prizes, which reward achievements in songwriting and composing.

FKA Twigs is nominated for an Ivor Novello award

Sam Smith, Clean Bandit and George Ezra will be fighting it out for the PRS for Music Most Performed Work prize, while Clean Bandit also scooped a nomination for Best Contemporary Song for their monster hit Rather Be. Still, the Surrey-based outfit have strong competition in that category from FKA Twigs and the Mercury Music Prize winning group Alt-J.

Continue reading: FKA Twigs, Wild Beasts, Royal Blood Up For Ivor Novello Awards

More additions have been announced for Bonnaroo 2015 as the June event draws ever closer. D'angelo & The Vanguard, Kacey Musgraves and Songhoy Blues join an already stellar line-up for this 10-stage bonanza, while the full late night sets are also announced.

Adding to a line-up headlined by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Billy Joel and London Grammy winners Mumford And Sons are soul collective D'angelo & The Vanguard, young country star Kacey Musgraves and Mali four-piece Songhoy Blues. As usual, the epic festival - which is set to play host to a massive 85,000 music lovers - presents one of the world's most diverse line-ups as it prepares to hit Manchester, Tennessee this summer from June 11th to 14th.

Continue reading: Bonnaroo 2015: More Thrills Added To The Summer Line-up

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

Tonight Britain’s finest musical stars (plus a few from across the pond) will gather in London’s O2 for the annual Brit Awards ceremony. With Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Madonna all set to perform, this year’s awards looks to be one of the most star studded in recent years and perhaps even the most memorable.

Can Ed Sheeran expect a big night at the Brits?

The big talking point of the night will probably be the return of the queen of pop Madonna, who will take to the Brits stage to perform ‘Living for Love’ after a 20 year absence from the awards. Always looking for a new way to shock an audience, a source close to the singer told The Mirror last month there was “no better place for a controversy-filled Madonna performance than the Brits.”

Continue reading: So What Can We Expect From Tonight's Brit Awards?

Chart-topping British rock stars Royal Blood have revealed that they were asked to appear on last year’s Band Aid 30 record for charity, but that they turned the opportunity down when they were told that they couldn’t sing Bono’s line.

The duo were being interviewed by The Telegraph when drummer Ben Thatcher said that the highlight of their meteoric rise was having a lengthy conversation with Bono at the MTV Music Awards. The ceremony took place on November 9th, in the run-up to the recording of the single when the cast was being assembled, and the conversation turned in the direction of Bob Geldof's famous charity song.

Royal Blood in action: Mike Kerr (l) and Ben Thatcher (r)

Continue reading: Royal Blood Turned Down Chance To Perform On 'Band Aid 30' Record