Shed Seven return in pure indie style with their new single ‘Stand Together’, their first single since 2024 and the lead track from their forthcoming, self-titled album. It’s a confident statement of intent from the York outfit, signalling both a return to their roots as well as the broadening of their sound. Opening with a classic Britpop-inspired guitar riff, the track evokes the spirit of the 90s and recalls a similar tone to that of The Seahorses. Rick Witter’sunmistakable vocals remain as clear and sharp as ever, carrying the same urgency that helped to define Shed Seven’s original success. Alongside this, the gripping soul of Mary Pearce and Beverley Skeete adds another dimension entirely to the chorus. With gospel-inspired flourishes that reinforce the song's overarching theme of togetherness. It’s an unexpected but effective pairing, lending the track a sense of scale without losing the gritty, guitar-led identity of the band.
Beck has released a second single to go along with the album
announcement. "In The Night" is warm yet haunting, a folk-rock hymn
graced by a gorgeous string arrangement. The song arrives with a music
video starring Denis Lavant, directed by Mikai Karl and produced by Ryan
Smale
Echo & the Bunnymen have announced Apples For Isaac,
their first album of new material in 12 years, alongside lead single
“Brussels Is Haunted,” out now. The Liverpool band’s first new material
in over a decade arrives this September 2026 via BMG. The album is the band’s 13th studio record and follows 2014’s Meteorites and the 2018 retrospective The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon.
“Brussels Is Haunted” finds Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant on
typically atmospheric form, with the band having spent recent months
back on the road ahead of the announcement.
Dave Kendall, who created and hosted the influential MTV show 120 Minutes, has died. His friend Matt Pinfield, who hosted the show after Kendall’s tenure, shared the news on Instagram. Bangkok Post, where Kendall worked from 2017 to 2025, also ran an obituary. No cause of death was given. Kendall was 68, according to Bangkok Post.
The British-born Kendall got his start writing about music for UK and U.S. publications such as Melody Maker and Spin, he explained in a website bio. He relocated to New York City in the 1980s and created 120 Minutes
for MTV, where he spent seven years as a writer, producer, presenter,
and news reporter. The show, conceived as a home for alternative music,
launched in 1986, three years before Kendall took over as its
ever-impassioned host. As well as promoting bands like Sonic Youth and Pixies, Kendall helped to spread the Nirvana explosion, hosting the premiere of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 1991.
Kendall went on to host and co-produce the talk show Music Scoupe,
as well as taking on various radio, TV, and DJing gigs. His website
touts his early 1990s Hot 97 program Planet Traxx as the first
electronica show on commercial radio. From the mid '90s, he embarked on a
career in digital journalism that included some of the first online
video streaming shows. He eventually returned to TV before settling in
Thailand and joining Bangkok Post.
Inspiral Carpets returned with another new single "There's A Better Way" taken from the band's upcoming new album"Burn Like The Sun" for release in January 2027, lead-ups to their upcoming LP, Burn Like The Sun, slated for release in January 2027
Actor Sam Neil, best known for his starring role in 1993's Jurassic Park, has died aged 78.
In a statement his family say Neill's death was "sudden and unexpected" but that he was "surrounded by family". Neill had previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but announced earlier this year that he was cancer-free.
Neill was
an undeniably versatile and accomplished actor, which was demonstrated
no better than in 1993 which saw two of his most outstanding films, he first rose to fame in the
1977 film Sleeping Dogs, before going on to star in My Brilliant Career,
Jurassic Park, The Piano, The Dish and Possession among other films.
He
was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international
fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s
— a list that includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell
Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong.
The actor first came to the
attention of international audiences in Armstrong's 1979 film My
Brilliant Career, which also introduced Judy Davis. He
later appeared in Phillip Noyce's Dead Calm, a classy thriller set at
sea and co-starring the then-relatively unknown Nicole Kidman.
Neill
twice co-starred with Meryl Streep, in Australian director Fred
Schepisi's Plenty and — again for Schepisi — in A Cry in the Dark, a
film about the sensationalised aftermath of a dingo killing a baby in
the Australian Outback. He earned an Emmy nomination for
his performance in the title role of the 1998 mini-series Merlin and
another as narrator of 2017's Wild New Zealand.
He
perhaps achieved his highest level of fame in Jurassic Park, playing
palaeontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island off Costa Rica
where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs. He co-starred alongside Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough in the Steven Spielberg directed hit.
His character was thoughtful and
reasonable, a scientist who warned the mastermind of the theme park
before the chaos: "Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65
million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the
mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to
expect?" Grant survived the
harrowing events when the creatures get loose, but didn't return for The
Lost World: Jurassic Park II in 1997. He came back for the third
episode in 2001 and Jurassic World: Dominion in 2022.
Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland,
Neill emigrated to New Zealand at the age of seven. His family settled
in Dunedin on the South Island and he was sent to boarding school in
Christchurch.
After college, he took the lead in Sleeping Dogs in 1977 — the first feature made in New Zealand in more than a decade. There's no fuss, no entourage and no star ego, writes producer Vanessa Gorman, on filming with Sam Neill. Neill
was also a vintner and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot
noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of
New Zealand's South Island.
On
social media, he often posted images of his farm animals, many of them
affectionately named after celebrities and friends, like Laura Dern the
chicken, Kylie Minogue the duck and Helena Bonham Carter the cow. His
memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? came out in March 2023 and he was
awarded a knighthood in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to
film" — a title approved by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
"I
can't pretend that the last year hasn't had its dark moments," Neill
told The Guardian in 2023, referring to his cancer diagnosis and
treatment.
The British synth pop icon Howard Jones is back with a new single "Stand Up" the song marks his return to the classic analog sound by prominently featuring his restored Roland Jupiter-8 synthesizer. Lyrically, the song is an empowering anthem about recognizing your own greatness, inspired by a 1972 poem from the late Civil Rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson. It serves as the lead single for his upcoming studio album.
Calvin Hayes, a founding member of the British pop band Johnny Hates Jazz, has died aged 63 after collapsing at his home in Washington state. His wife, Kathy, confirmed his death late Friday early on Saturday.
Hayes' former bandmates Clark Datchler and Mike Nocito shared an emotional tribute celebrating both the musician and the lasting legacy of the music they created together. Hayes co-founded Johnny Hates Jazz with Datchler and Nocito in 1986,
helping launch one of the decade's most successful pop acts.
After an
initial single failed to break through, the trio found worldwide success
with "Shattered Dreams" in 1987. The song became an even bigger hit in
the United States than in the UK, climbing to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot
100 and reaching No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was followed
by the hits "I Don't Want to Be a Hero," "Turn Back the Clock" and "Heart of Gold," while the band's debut album, Turn Back the Clock, reached No. 1 in the UK and sold millions of copies worldwide.
In
their Instagram statement, Datchler and Nocito said they were “utterly
shocked and deeply saddened” by Hayes’ death, explaining that they chose
to speak privately with friends and loved ones before making a public
statement “to share our memories, express our emotions, and begin to
come to terms with such a tragic loss.”
Reflecting
on their years together, they wrote, "The three of us were brothers in
arms for an extraordinary moment in time, one in which we managed to
touch the world with the music we created together." They added that,
despite Hayes no longer being part of the band, they knew he remained
incredibly proud that their songs, particularly those from Turn Back
the Clock, continue to resonate with so many people nearly 40 years later.
Following
the band’s initial success, Datchler departed in 1988 to pursue a solo
career, while Hayes and Nocito continued recording with singer Phil Thornalley. That chapter came to an abrupt end after Hayes suffered a devastating car accident
that left him hospitalized for an extended period. He later reunited
with the original lineup for live performances in 2010 before stepping
away from the band once again. Beyond Johnny Hates Jazz, Hayes also
performed with other artists, including Kim Wilde, and
was the son of legendary producer Mickie Most, whose clients included
The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Suzi Quatro and Hot Chocolate.
It was precisely on this date 30 years ago, that the famous total solar eclipse took place. This phenomenon began in the Pacific Ocean and passed over Hawaii, Mexico, and the rest of Central America, including Guatemala, before ending its path in South America, encompassing Colombia and the Amazon region of Peru and Brazil.
Its duration, according to reports, was 7 minutes and 2 seconds at its peak.
In Guatemala, according to the newspaper Prensa Libre, it lasted 6 minutes and 54 seconds. I remember the excitement at the time was unique, as it was the first time such an event would occur in the country. As the date approached, the media emphasized everything that was going to happen and how things might unfold.
This led to a series of fantastical and even fatalistic speculations, with some believing it was a sign of the end of the world.
According to my memories, at that time I was in first grade, and I think that thanks to all the speculation and how risky the phenomenon could be, since according to what was said, if one looked directly at the sun one could suffer irreversible damage, but not while it was hidden, and perhaps that is why they sent us straight home.
From the early hours of the morning, there was special coverage on the local channels. For example, the local channel "Canal 3" was showing documentaries such like "The Longest Eclipse in the World," something like that, about a plane following the phenomenon. Their counterpart "Canal 7" joined altotogether and broadcasted how everything was going dark from various points in the country, such as the beaches of the southern coast, other border cities, and from the capital city on the balcony of the Teletenango studios. Other local channels "Canal 11/13" also had their own special coverage.
Bloc Party are releasing a new album, Anatomy of a Brief Romance,
on September 11. Now they
have shared its second single, “Love Bombs.” At the start of a new relationship our feelings of connection can
make us do dramatic things, explains frontman Kele Okereke in a press
release. "Love Bombs" is the sound of a new love flowering, in
beautiful romantic gestures. But under the surface is the ever present
fear that maybe this new love, although shiny and great, maybe this new
love might not last forever. Video has been shot by Charlie Pryor.
