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Veteran rocker Sting is set to play a charity gig at the Bataclan in Paris, reopening the music venue on the eve of the first anniversary of the horrifying terrorist attack in which 89 people died.

The former singer of The Police, 65, will perform at the iconic venue in the east of Paris on November 12th, the day before the city marks the first anniversary of the atrocities inflicted in a co-ordinated attack by ISIS last year that targeted a number of bars, restaurants and the national football stadium. A total of 130 people died, and many more were injured.

Sting will play a charity gig at Le Bataclan in Paris on November 12th

Continue reading: Sting To Reopen Bataclan Music Venue In Paris With Charity Gig

‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judge David Walliams has been announced as the host of this year’s Royal Variety Performance next month.

The likes of Emeli Sande, Sting and Robbie Williams are among the acts who will be performing in front of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall at the Hammersmith Apollo on December 6th, which will be telecast on ITV.

David Walliams will host the Royal Variety Performance this year

Continue reading: David Walliams Will Host The 2016 Royal Variety Performance

There’s splashing out on your wedding day, and then there’s this. In what’s rumoured to be the most lavish wedding ceremony in history, serious stars such as Sting, Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias performed for the son of a Russian billionaire and his bride in a day of celebrations in Moscow rumoured to have cost over $1 billion.

Said Gutseriev, 28, the son of energy tycoon Mikhail Gutseriev, and his 20 year old bride Khadija Uzhakhova, tied the knot in the Russian capital on Saturday (March 26th). At the subsequent ceremony, rumoured to have been attended by 600 guests, the three pop stars performed their famous hits while attendees enjoyed a nine-tier wedding cake and a huge fireworks display.

Wedding guests took numerous pictures and videos at the ceremony, which appear to feature the venue’s walls completely covered with floral displays.

Continue reading: J-Lo, Sting & Enrique Iglesias Perform At Lavish '$1 Billion' Wedding Of Russian Oligarch's Son

Sting's Broadway musical The Last Ship, about unemployed builders who takeover a factory to build a new vessel, is to close after just three months. After mixed reviews, Sting himself took over the lead role in a bid to revive the ailing ticket sales. 

Sting's apperance in The Last Ship couldn't help revive the flagging musical

However, despite his appearance having a "galvanizing impact", producers felt attendances would drop again once he left. The musical is set to close on January 24.

Continue reading: Sting's Broadway Musical 'The Last Ship' Closing After Three Months

Neil Young was only looking for $800,000 to launch his new Pono Player, but his Kickstarter goal was obliterated in less than 24 hours this week, pulling in $6.2 million. Young's music player - which promises higher-quality sound than any of its competitors - is now the third biggest Kickstarter campaign in history.

Neil Young Is Launching the PonoPlayer

"You have helped to set the stage for a revolution in music listening," Young wrote on the campaign's homepage on Tuesday, "Finally, quality enters the listening space so that we can all hear and feel what the artists created, the way they heard and felt it."

Continue reading: Neil Young's Pono Player Raises $6.2 Million, But Will We Buy It?

Paul Simon and Sting are to go on a joint tour together early next year throughout North America, it has emerged. Eighteen live dates are scheduled from the 8th February 2014 through to the 16th March with additional dates expected to be announced, reports the NY Post.

Sting Will Soon Embark On A Tour With Paul Simon.

The tour announcement may have come as a surprise to fans of either of the artists but it appears that the pair have been close friends for some time: since they lived in the same New York apartment block years ago. The two artists appeared together in May when they performed acoustic versions of 'The Boxer' and 'Field of Gold' at a benefit for the Robin Hood Foundation. The 72 year-old Simon and Garfunkel singer spoke of that set: "After we finished it we both looked at each other and said: 'Wow. That's pretty interesting.'"

Continue reading: Sting & Paul Simon Announce North American Tour For 2014

The Los Angeles County Museum Of Art played host to a host of stars on Saturday night (2nd November). The stars gathered to honour artist David Hockney and director Martin Scorsese at the LACMA Film and Art Gala. In addition to the two honourees, a host of famous names and faces appeared to celebrate the achievements of the famous British artist and New York born director.

Leonardo Dicaprio and Martin Scorsese at the LACMA.

Guests included actors such as Leonardo Di Caprio, who has worked with Scorsese on a number of films included Shutter Island, The Aviator and The Wolf of Wall Street. Other male actors who appeared at the event were comics James Franco and Will Ferrell. 

Continue reading: Stars Honour David Hockney & Martin Scorsese At LACMA Film & Art Gala [Pictures]

Jennifer Lopez has apologized for serenading the controversial Turkmenistan leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov at his 56th birthday celebration. A concert put together on behalf of China National Petroleum Corp for entertainment executives working in Turkmenistan, according to a statement from Lopez's representative obtained by E! Online.

Jennifer Lopez Made A Huge Error Of Judgement

The issue here, of course, is that Mr Berdymukhamedov has an atrocious human rights record and has ruled the country with an iron fist for years - living in luxury while the vast majority of Turkemenistan's inhabitants have nothing. According to a statement by the Human Rights Foundation, he is ranked as one of the nine "worst of the worst" dictators on the planet, while Transparcency International ranks the country as a bottom-seven country in their Corruption Perception Index. Reporters Without Borders label Berdymukhamedov as a "predator of press freedom" and ranks Turkmenistan as the world's third-worst place for journalist, sitting uncomfortably between Syria, North Korea and Eritrea. The leader's 97% landslide in the recent election was apparently so fraudulent that the OSCE declined to even send observers to look over it.

Continue reading: Jennifer Lopez Serenades Tyrant - But She Ain't The First

Sting has not been away from the music scene for long, however the former Police frontman hasn't exactly been at his most creative ebb of late and it's actually been a decade since he released any original material. That will all change though when he releases his new album, The Last Ship, with the songs taken from an upcoming stage musical he has co-written himself.

As reported by the New York Times, The Last Ship will feature songs form the Tyneside-born artist about ship-building in his native region, a once thriving industry in the north east of England that, like so many other heavy industries in the country, gradually disappeared from the area over the course of the 20th century. The album, which is due out in September this year, comes hand-in-hand with the Broadway musical of the same name that Sting has written with Skyfall scribe John Logan and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal) and is a narrative account of the decline of the north east's once prosperous trade.

Set in a shipyard in Wallsend, near Newcastle - the birthplace of Sting himself - The Last Ship is set to a backdrop of the failing shipbuilding industry in the 1980s and is set to be directed by Joe Mantello, he of Wicked fame. The stage show is slated for a 2014 release on Broadway and if it proves to be a hit will no doubt be on the West End soon after and could potentially go out on tour too.

Continue reading: Sting Announces New Album Of Original Material And Accompanying Stage Musical; The Last Ship

Bruce Springsteen has been confirmed as one of the major US acts to play a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, which has blighted the East coast of the United States this week. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be joined by Christina Aguilera, Billy Joel, Sting and Bon Jovi for the televised special, which will air on Friday (November 2, 2012). It will be hosted by Matt Lauer (of the Today show) and the late night chat show host Jimmy Fallon will be making an appearance, as will NBC News’ Brian Williams.

The money collected from the event will be donated to the American Red Cross, who are organising relief efforts for those affected by the devastating storm, as well as other disasters. The Red Cross will provide food, shelter, emotional support and other services to those affected by Hurricane Sandy. After Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, a similar benefit concert raised around $50 million for the Red Cross.

The concert, named ‘Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together’ will air at 8pm EST on Friday, on ET on NBC, NBC.com, USA Network, SyFy, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, E!, Style Network, G4 and more.” However, a spokesperson for NBC Universal has told the New York Times that any channels not owned by NBC will not be able to air the concert.

Barbra Streisand is now half-way through her triumphant homecoming, having performed to a sell-out audience at Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre for the first time last night (October 11, 2012). The screen, stage and studio superstar will head back to her home town’s new massive concert venue for a second time tomorrow (October 13), before hitting the road once again as she continues her already massively successful Barbra Live tour.

Whilst blaSting out the hits last night, there was no shortage of famous faces in the crowd, with Barbara Walters, Jimmy Fallon, Sting, Katie Couric, Woody Allen, Michael Douglas and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg all spotted in the crowd. And if that wasn’t enough, the upper echelons of the fashion world also made an appearance at the show, designers Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors being spotted in the audience.

Streisand's ex-husband, Elliott Gould, was also at the event, in support of his and Barbara’s son Jason, who accompanied his mother on stage. Barbra introduced Jason to the audience as her “pride and joy,” before performing ‘How Deep Is the Ocean’ together.

Continue reading: Brooklynite Barbra Streisand Returns Home For Two Sell-Out Shows

Sting and his wife Trudie Styler have been recognised for their long-running environmental work by being honoured with a 'green Oscar'. The Geordie singer is best known for his work as part of The Police and as a solo singer, whilst his wife Styler is a film producer. However they've long fought for green issues too, and as such will be presented with the International Green Film Award at The Harvard Club in New York by the Cinema for Peace Foundation and the BMZ, Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The couple have also been granted $3 million (£1.8 million) by BMZ officials for their charity the Rainforest Fund, to continue their global outreach programme. Talking to the BBC, Sting said, "This is very special. This is the green Oscar and it is for our environmental work and the reason we do it is not because we get an award, but we are very happy when we do receive something like this."

Styler added, "It is not only the lovely green Oscar, we are getting a fantastic donation from the German Ministry of $3 million for our environmental work within the foundation for the next three years. It will transform many, many lives and it will make a huge difference in the life of the foundation. We obviously need, in order to go on as an organisation, we need funds to keep it going. We're in 23 countries of three continents, that it a lot of need."