Rolling Stones Page 5

In the weeks leading up to the Oscars, pundits were divided about which documentary would win the big prize, most predicting The Act of Killing, the innovative, staggeringly powerful exploration of Indonesia's death squads. But anyone who had seen the background singer doc 20 Feet From Stardom knew it was probably more likely to take the award.

Darlene Love in '20 Feet From Stardom'

Not only is the film a hugely crowd-pleasing movie that leaves audiences smiling and tapping their toes in joy, but it has serious subtext as well, examining America's civil rights struggle through the eyes of musical artists. It also makes a potent statement about today's digital, auto-tuned recording industry in which non-singers make records and do their own backing vocals, but neglect to infuse their records with the passion and energy that fills the classic songs of the past few decades.

Continue reading: Why '20 Feet From Stardom' Deserved The Oscar For 'Best Documentary'

Despite cancelling their massive Australasian tour in the wake of L'Wren Scott's tragic death, The Rolling Stones have announced plans to play a historic concert at Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 4. Promoter Shuki Weiss announced the long-coveted show on Tuesday morning (March 25, 2014), just days after the Stones cancelled seven shows in Australia and New Zealand following the death of Mick Jagger's partner. 

Mick Jagger Performing in London's Hype Park

"This is a historic and very meaningful visit," Weiss told the Jerusalem Times this morning, "In these days when we hear calls for boycotts from around the world, it's not taken for granted that a band of this magnitude will come to Israel."

Continue reading: After Cancellations, The Rolling Stones Set For 'Historic' Concert In Israel

It has been a week since L'Wren Scott's body was discovered at her Chelsea apartment in New York and funeral arrangements appear to be in their final stages. Reports suggest the fashion designer's body is to be buried in Los Angeles within the next few days and Mick Jagger and his family are in the city finalising arrangements.

L'Wren Scott's body has been flown from New York to Los Angeles.

Read more L'Wren Scott news on Contactmusic.

Continue reading: L'Wren Scott's Funeral Arrangements Fraught With Family Disagreements?

The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has spoken of his disbelief at the tragic news that his partner, the fashion designer L'Wren Scott, took her own life in New York earlier this week. The fashion world went into mourning after it was announced that Scott was found dead in her Chelsea home - no suicide note was found at the scene.

Mick Jagger [L] and L'Wren Scott [R] 

The band has now cancelled the entirety of its Australasian tour, saying in a statement, "Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood wish to thank all of their fans for their support at this difficult time and hope that they will fully understand the reason for this announcement.

Continue reading: Mick Jagger On L'Wren Scott: "I Will Never Forget Her"

Mick Jagger has opened up on the death of his long-term girlfriend and fashion designer L'Wren Scott, who was found hanged in her Manhattan apartment yesterday morning. The Rolling Stones singer did not appear to be able to cast any more light on the reasons why Scott chose to take her own life, but paid tribute to his "lover and best friend."

Mick Jagger Is Devastated By The Loss Of Girlfriend L'Wren Scott.

"I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way," said Mick in a statement on his website, adding "We spent many wonderful years together and had made a great life for ourselves." Having been together for 13 years, the couple met in Paris in 2001 when Scott was working as a stylist on a photoshoot.

Continue reading: Bereft Mick Jagger Speaks Out On Girlfriend L'Wren Scott's Death

L'Wren Scott has been found dead in her Manhattan apartment this morning after what is believed to have been a suicide. The 49 year-old fashion designer and girlfriend of The Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger was found by her assistant who received a text from L'Wren asking them to "come by," according to the NY Post.

Fashion Designer L'Wren Scott Was Found Dead By Her Assistant This Morning.

A spokesperson for New York City Police Department did not confirm that the body found was Scott's but said: "A 49-year-old female was found this morning at 10.05am at 200 11th Avenue. She was unconscious. She was pronounced dead on arrival by the emergency medical services. The investigation is ongoing. We are awaiting medical examiners to determine the cause of death."

Continue reading: L'Wren Scott Death: Bianca Jagger Leads Tributes To Fashion Designer And Mick Jagger Girlfriend

L'Wren Scott, the fashion designer and Mick Jagger's girlfriend, has been found dead in her Manhattan apartment after an apparent suicide. According to the New York Daily News, Ms Scott, 49, was found hanging from a scarf on a doorknob by her assistant at 200 11th Avenue around 10am, police said.

L'Wren Scott Was Found Dead on Monday

Authorities do not suspect foul play, but the Medical Examiner's Office will determine the cause of death.

Continue reading: L'Wren Scott Dead: Mick Jagger's Girlfriend Found In Manhattan Apartment

Keith Richards is to publish a book for children which is due to be released this autumn. The Rolling Stones guitarist has teamed up with his daughter, Theodora Richards, to produce an autobiographical book aimed at children. Gus & Me: The Story of My Granddad and My First Guitar will detail Richards' relationship with his grandfather Theodore Augustus Dupree.

Keith Richards Is Publishing A Children's Book.

Known as Gus, Richards' grandfather was in a jazz big band and introduced Keith to music at a young age. Richards' artist daughter was named after Gus and will illustrate the upcoming book. "To be able to explore my father's relationship with his grandfather was a gift in itself," she said in a statement, via the LA Times. "The things that I've learnt during this whole process have just been life affirming."

Continue reading: Keith Richards Writes Children's Book With Daughter Theodora: 'Gus & Me: The Story Of My Granddad And My First Guitar'

Mick Jagger has once again refused to write a memoir to detail the events of his colourful life to the world. The Rolling Stones' frontman has explained that he has lots of other projects he'd rather focus on and would "rather be doing something new" than revisiting memories from long ago.

Mick Jagger Is Not Planning A Memoir. Full Stop.

The 70 year-old rocker bluntly told THR that a memoir wasn't something he'd want to make money from: "If someone wants to know what I did in 1965, they can look it up on Wikipedia without even spending any money," he said. "I think the rock'n'roll memoir is a glutted market," Jagger revealed, adding "I'd rather be making new films, making new music, be touring."

Continue reading: Mick Jagger Rules Out A Memoir: "Look It Up On Wikipedia"

Britney Spears starred in her own fly-on-the-wall documentary I Am Britney Jean for E! over the weekend, in a feature-length outing that allowed fans to see the singer as she prepares for her upcoming residency in Las Vegas. The documentary gave us some revealing tidbits into her set and showed what life as a famous working mother was like, as well as uncovering some of Britney's plans for the future.

Britney Jean might be Brit's last album

While her immediate plans for the future involve her singing at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the next two years, after that Britney reckons that she might be finished with the showbiz industry. The mum-of-two wants to be able to spend more time with her kinds and return to a simpler life, like the one she had in her native Louisiana .

Continue reading: Britney Spears Becomes The Latest Star To Threaten Retirement

Bon Jovi made over $205m (£125m) collectively over the last twelve months of being on tour; an impressive amount by all means, ensuring they finish 2013 as the highest grossing touring group of the year. Since January, the band have performed 90 sets to over two million fans, according to Billboard's yearly rankings, with each show a sell-out, making them easy victors in this year's rankings.

Bon Jovi performed to millions of people across the globe and made millions back in return

The Michael Jackson-inspired 'Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour' by Cirque Du Soleil came in second and despite not scoring a single sell-out performance, they contortionists still managed to bring in $157m Third and fourth place was decided by a few (hundred) thousand, with Pink edging out Bruce Springsteen for the No. 3 spot. Her 114 shows in 2013, 111 of which sold out, earned the singer $147.9m as she performed to over 1.5 million people across the globe. Springsteen saw his 53 tours sell out in 36 locations, with over 1.3 million people paying a combined $147.6m to see The Boss.

Continue reading: Bon Jovi Record Highest Earning World Tour Of 2013

British rock legends The Rolling Stones will be heading down under early next year.

It won't be just to start any tour either, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Woods will open the newly developed Adelaide Oval on March 22nd 2014.

The new venue's makeover cost $535 million and The Stones haven't been to Adelaide in 20 years, so the occasion will liekly to be special.

Continue reading: Rolling Stones Confirm 2014 Adelaide Oval Concert To Mark Opening Of Brand New Venue

Located along the Tennessee River is Muscle Shoals - a small town in Alabama and an unlikely breeding ground for some of America's most creative and interesting music. Under the influence of "the singing river" as the Native Americans called it, Muscle Shoals has helped create some of the most important songs of all time.

Etta James Recording At Muscle Shoals Studio

At the heart of the Muscle Shoals sound is Rick Hall - sounds like a wrestler, actually the founder of FAME studios, home of house band The Swampers.

Continue reading: Muscle Shoals? You Know, Home Of The World's Greatest Songs [Trailer + Pictures]

Friday 26th July 2013: 70 years of planetary life for the illustrious Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger as he celebrates becoming a septuagenarian. After an energetic Glastonbury performance back in June and a whole host of rock 'n' roll activities - not least dinner with Nick Clegg - hitting the headlines, The Stones have shown that they can still capture the interest of the media and convert a tonne more young fans for themselves despite having formed 51 years ago in 1962.

Jagger: Why Give Up When You Can Look Good Doing This?

After Glastonbury there was no time to sit down, hang up the bandanas and nestle into a future filled with colostomy bags and porcelain dentures. Instead, the band looked forward to two more mega headline sets in London's Hyde Park on 6th and 13th July to mark the close of their 50th anniversary tour and record some live tracks.

Continue reading: Mick Jagger Still Rocking As He Rolls Into His 70s: What A Career.

The list of artists supposedly boycotting Florida because of the controversial Stand Your Ground law reads like a who’s who of modern music. Usher, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Kanye West, Rihanna, R. Kelly, Wale, Jay Z, and the Rolling Stones are all on it, but are the latter really in the boycott club?

The Stones performing in Hyde Park

A spokeswoman for the Rolling Stones, she said she was "not aware of this," according to Mother Jones, who contacted her, and actually broke the news to her. Representatives for the band in the UK added: "nobody's heard anything about this,” which suggests the band really aren’t involved in Stevie Wonder’s campaign against the Stand Your Ground Law, which is thought to have been a key factor in George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the Trayvon Martin case.

Continue reading: Are The Rolling Stones Boycotting Florida And Its 'Stand Your Ground' Law?

Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine is engaged to Behati Prinsloo. His representative confirmed their engagement in a statement issued on Tuesday 16th July. The statement, made to People magazine, reads: "Adam Levine and his girlfriend Behati Prinsloo are excited to announce they are engaged to be married"

Adam Levine at the launch of his fragrance, Macy's, New York. 

The couple started dating in May 2012 but separated earlier this year. It's come as something of a surprise when Levine proposed to Prinsloo over the weekend. It's certainly a romantic story with such a spontaneous demonstration of love. However, the singer's involvement with Behati is somewhat cliché.

Continue reading: Adam Levine Certainly 'Moves Like Jagger': He Is Engaged To Model Behati Prinsloo

It sounds frankly ridiculous to suggest the Rolling Stones should be taken seriously, though thanks to the ageism levelled at the band in recent months you would have been forgiven for assuming Mick Jagger was going to be wheeled on-stage at Glastonbury burning £20 notes and playing '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' over, and over, and over, and over.

Of course, Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts made a mockery of the sceptics and delivered one of the most explosive and entertaining Glastonbury sets in years. The Sunday papers were awash with five-star reviews, greatest hits albums flew off the shelves, everyone LOVED the Stones again - but Hyde Park was still to come.

Delighting 65,000 fans in London on Saturday (July 6), The Stones just about managed to clutch onto their tag as the world's greatest rock n' roll band with an unstoppable setlist that included 'Paint It Black,' 'Gimmie Shelter,' 'Sympathy for the Devil,' 'Midnight Rambler' and 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.'

Continue reading: The Rolling Stones At Hyde Park: The Rockers Have Plenty More To Offer

A measly lock of Mick Jagger’s hair has been sold for an incredible £4,000. That would be ridiculous enough, but the news is: it was sold for around 4 times more than his bandmate, Keith Richards’ hair.

According to The Guardian, the Rolling Stone's former girlfriend Chrissie Shrimpton sold the hair to raise money for the Changing Faces charity, which works with people who have suffered facial disfigurements. A set of handwritten lyrics by British singer David Bowie for his song "The Jean Genie" also sold for £18,750 at the auction where a guitar owned by rock group Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page also sold for £26,250 alongside other music, film and entertainment memorabilia. Jagger recently played Glasto with The Stones, which will have no doubt upped the price of his product. "Festivals are great to be at, but not always the easiest things to play," he told the Radio Times before performing. "You've got to really work at that bit, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I've been working hard."

The band were responsible for one of the biggest crowds seen at the Pyramid Stage, where they headlined the festival on the Saturday night. They were on top form, giving the swelled audience all the hits they were craving. And all this while Jagger approaches his 70th birthday this month. Ridiculous. 70!

Continue reading: Mick Jaggers Hair Is Auctions For £4k – 4x More Than Keith Richards’

Mick Jagger considered being a teacher, a politician and a journalist. 'Start Me Up' singer revealed his early career plans during a televised interview. Speaking on the Today programme, The Rolling Stones singer said a career as "a schoolteacher would have been very gratifying". Had the singer gone on to be a teacher he would have kept his families' tradition as both his father and grandfather were teachers.

Mick Jagger in New York, 2011

Teaching is surprisingly more rock and roll than you'd expect. Sting was a teacher before he became a hit in the 80's, as was Sheryl Crow, Gene Simmons, Brian May, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. 

Continue reading: Schoolboy Blues: Mick Jagger Wanted To Be A Teacher!

Liam Gallagher and his band Beady Eye played an unbilled set at the Glastonbury Festival on Friday morning (June 28, 2013), officially opening three days of music set to be headlined by Arctic Monkeys, The Rolling Stones and Mumford & Sons. The show took place on The Other Stage at the rather early time of 11am, though thousands made the journey from their soaked tents to watch the former Oasis man.

Liam Gallagher Performing With Beady Eye At The Glastonbury Festival

Though Beady Eye's show did not feature in the programme, frotman Liam has dropped a major hint earlier in the week, tweeting, "11am Friday - BE there or BE square.LG," while photographs showed the band travelling to Glastonbury on the train. Gallagher had always vowed never to return to the Pilton site following his former band's headlining set in 2004, telling The Sun, "The sound is s*** and really quiet. You can hear the crowd talking while you're playing.It's like Bond Street with mud, with loads of celebrities walking around in their boots and umbrellas. I'm not having it."

Continue reading: Liam Gallagher Opens Glastonbury Festival With Oasis Songs [Pictures]

Liam Gallagher was given the enviable job of opening the 2013 Glastonbury Festival with a surprise set on The Other Stage on Friday morning (June 28, 2013). The singer, who aired his dismay for the festival following his former band Oasis' set in 2004, arrived on-stage and immediately launched into Flick of the Finger, a recent single for Beady Eye.

Liam Gallagher Performing With Beady Eye At Brixton Academy

The cloudy weather and early start did nothing to deter the famous Mancunian, who was on typically brash form. "It's never too early for a bit of Rock'n'Roll aggro, is it?" asked Gallagher as his new band launched into Morning Glory, an Oasis hit written by his brother Noel Gallagher.

Continue reading: Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye Open Glastonbury Festival With Morning Set

Many Glasto goers woke up to the pitter patter of rain on canvas this morning as Wednesday's warm, humid weather well and truly dissolved into rain. By the Thursday evening, the site was drenched - what had initially been forecast as a "short sharp shower turned into an all-day deluge," according to the BBC. And where there's rain, there's mud: big sticky, gloopy, welly-stealing piles of it. This didn't deter any of the 118,000 ticket holders already onsite, with revellers retreating to indoor tents or embracing the wet weather and sludge with gusto by making mud slides. As the main festival wasn't even fully underway by then, we can't say we'd like to be sharing their tent this weekend - let's hope they've brought some babywipes!

Glastonbury Festival Organisers Michael & Daughter Emily Eavis.

Unlike everywhere else in the country, the rest of the weekend in the South-West is set to be mild, but not exactly toasty, with mean temperatures of 18°C combined with average windspeeds of about 15mph: so that little weather forecaster's cartoon of a grey cloud will pretty much sum up the weekend. 2009's extreme weather saw torrential downpours and thunderstorms lighting up the valley but was followed by 2010's glorious sunshine, which caused sunstroke and dust problems. Punters have a whole weekend of musical, comical and performance joy ahead of them to distract them from any weather woes though. Saturday night will be headlined by The Rolling Stones who have described the Glastonbury headline slot as an experience they were "destined" for, with organisers Michael and Emily Eavis "thrilled" to have the legendary Stones perform.

Continue reading: Glastonbury Weather Dries Up Ready For The Big Acts

Mark Fisher OBE – the talented stage designer for bands like The Rolling Stones, U2 and Pink Floyd, passed away yesterday (Wednesday, June 26). He was 66. Fisher, who also worked with celebrities like Robbie Williams and Lady GaGa, reportedly died peacefully in his sleep, according to NME. It was the end of his long-standing battle with illness.

Fisher had worked with The Stones for the past two decades.

Fisher – who was also an architect, had worked on the set design for Stones tours for the past twenty years. The rockers expressed their condolences in a statement, which read: "We are all extremely saddened to hear of the death of our dear friend Mark Fisher. The remarkable sets he designed for us over the last two decades played a major part in the success of all those tours. His passion, dedication and professionalism was infectious."

Continue reading: Beloved Stage Designer For The Rolling Stones, Mark Fisher, Dies At 66

The weather forecast for the Glastonbury Festival this weekend does not look brilliant: expect a lot of cloud. However, those visiting the Glastonbury Festival this year may be pleased (or rather not depending on your predisposition) to hear the traditional mud is likely to be back. Around 135,000 people attend the festival annually and this year is no exception. The festival site, located near the Somerset village of Pilton, opened its gates for early goers. Most slept in their cars overnight lying in wait to get a decent (probably on higher ground) site to set up camp.

Beyonce Played A Barmstorming Set At Glastonbury In 2011

The weather forecast for Shepton Mallet (the closest town to the festival site), according to the BBC, is:

Continue reading: Glastonbury Festival Weather 2013: Get Your Wellies On

Mick Jagger's recent quip about the ongoing Edward Snowden scandal during a concert in Washington D.C. didn't go down quite as well as he'd hoped, with his comment about President Barrack Obama listening in on the concert being met with jeers from the crowd.

The band were performing at the Verizon Center in the capital on Monday night (June 24), with Jagger taking a pop at the on-going NSA surveillance scandal at the beginning of the concert. Luckily the rest of the performance wasn't as awkward. The frontman was chatting with the crowd whilst the rest of the band warmed up behind him, discussing past concerts in the capital and how former presidents and first ladies had come down to their shows in the past. He went on to jest, “I don’t think President Obama is here tonight, but I’m sure he’s listening in,” but few people managed to see the funny side as his comments were met largely with jeers. You can watch the video - courtesy of CBS News - below and see what you think.

Continue reading: Mick Jagger's Obama Jibe Met With Boos During Washington Gig

With such a ginormous festival site at 900 acres, and plenty of drunken hoardes and muddy puddles to fight through, the simple act of walking from one stage to another can be a difficult task. Throw in a lost mud-sucked welly and inebriated disorientation and you haven't a hope in hell of deftly navigating your way in between acts - even with that overpriced festival lanyard you spent half your first day's budget on.

Glastonbury returns in 2013 after having taking a well needed break in 2012 - the Eavis family, the cows and the grass all had a rest whilst the portaloos and crowd barriers were in London for the Olympics. The festival this year marks it's revival with an exciting line-up, including The Rolling Stones, Mumford & Sons, Arctic Monkeys, Chic feat. Nile Rodgers, Chase and Status, and Public Enemy.

However, with all star-packed line-ups comes inevitable clashes: fan of both Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds AND Smashing Pumpkins? Too bad - they're both on around 20:30 on the Sunday with a good half mile hike between stages, meaning you'll have to forego one sullen frontman for another.

Continue reading: Glastonbury Festival 2013: Your Guide To The Biggest Clashes!

Glastonbury Festival will be returning after a year off this weekend (June 28 - 30) and after a year away it looks as though at least one classic Glasto tradition will be void from this year's itinerary; the rain. Weather forecasts are indicating that in a much-needed break from the norm, the weather at this years Glastonbury will actually be good for a change and the sun will shine on in Somerset for the full stretch festivities.

BBC Weather is predicting an overall mix of sun and cloud over the course of the week, with a few chances of rain cropping up at points. Of course this is the British summer, and the British summer is never complete without buckets of rain at the worst possible time. Forecasters are predicting that the rainfall will only really be a problem on Tuesday and Thursday, which might make setting up the festival a living hell for organisers, and the same for earlier-comers on Thurs, but hopefully the sun will pull through and things will go off without too much disruption.

Temperature wise, weather experts are predicting an average in the mid-teens, with highs of 24C on the Sunday, when the headliners are Mumford And Sons. Also playing headlining slots during the weekend are the Arctic Monkey and Rolling Stones, who are making their first ever appearance at the festival in it's many years as a British summer institute - not that you'll be able to see them unless you have tickets for the festival that is.

Continue reading: The Forecast Looks Good For A Sunny Glastonbury Festival

red hot chilli peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis was made to do some cooling down on Friday (June 21) after he was spotted brawling with a security guard outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. The singer and the hired muscle apparently traded blows with each other after Kiedis was refused entry to the building, and the whole thing was caught on tape.

If you head over to TMZ, you can see the footage of Kiedis as he trades blows with the security personelle, neither one of them backing down as the whole scene gets violent very fast. In the footage, the RHCPs frontman approaches the hotel with a female friend and is blocked from entering by the bouncer. As Kiedis tries to get around him, the security guard flings himself at the singer and the fighting begins.

There was some reason behind the crazy scene however, as it turns out the Rolling Stones were staying in the same hotel as Kiedis and were leaving the hotel when he had arrived. Mistaking Kiedis for a crazed fan, the bouncer did what he thought necessary to warn off any potential threat to the veteran rockers. So everything makes sense right, well, not entirely.

Continue reading: Chilli Pepper's Anthony Kiedis Assaulted By Security Guard Outside Four Season Hotel

Arctic Monkeys have returned with 'Do I Wanna Know,' the first single to be taken from their fifth studio album.

The new track, first played at a concert in California last month and subsequently used as a set opener during the bands Scandinavian shows, is now available to download on iTunes. A new video for the track has also rolled out online.

Featuring a thudding beat throughout and a rip-roaring Queens of the Stone Age-esque chorus, Do I Wanna Know is certainly an interesting track, if a little unremarkable. The band have also premiered new song 'Mad Sounds' at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden on Friday (June 14, 2013) and again at the Danish NorthSide festival on Sunday. Both new songs re likely to feature on the band's forthcoming new album.

Continue reading: Arctic Monkeys Return With New Single 'Do I Wanna Know' [Listen]

Diehard Rolling Stones fans must be wondering what the hell’s going on. The band reformed, charged hundreds of pounds for live tour tickets, and now that they’re finally getting to see their idols, people like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are appearing on stage!

Fans of the We Are Never Getting Back Together singer won’t have been too bothered, though. Fans of really long song titles won’t have been, either. Swift joined Jagger on stage at their concert in Chicago on Monday, June 3. "Filing this under 'never in my wildest dreams.' Thank you Rolling Stones for inviting me to Chicago to sing with you," she Tweeted after the show, posting a picture of her and the legendary rocker to accompany it. It wouldn’t have been much of a surprise, though, as Jagger tweeted ahead of the performance, saying: "Looking forward to singing with @taylorswift13 tonight! Wonder which song we will do?"

She’s not the only mainstream popster to share the stage with the 70s giants; Katy Perry, too, got the chance to fulfil her dreams – dreams she probably only thought up when someone fooled into thinking she worked in music. She also thought Twitter would be the best place to boast about this. "Yes, I just did gyrated on Mick Jagger. What?!" she posted after the May 11 show. Lady Gaga, the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Florence Welch and Tom Waits have all made guest appearances, too.

Continue reading: Taylor Swift Joins The Rolling Stones On-Stage, But Why?

Justin Bieber is happy to have you round to his house in Calabasas for a party, but you'll have to sign a $5 million waiver. Yep, that's right, TMZ.com have obtained a copy of a document that EVERYONE must sign before entering Bieber's residence, that warns that anyone who blabs about ANYTHING that happens inside the mansion will get sued big time. That includes "the physical health, or the philosophical, spiritual or other views or characteristics" of Bieber or the guests.

The document makes it very clear that anyone who violates the terms will automatically be sued for $5 million in damages. Oh, and if you tweet about the party? It's $5 million. If you Instagram anything from the party, it's $5 million. The form warns there might be activities which are "potentially hazardous and you should not participate unless you are medically able and properly trained," while risks include "minor injuries to catastrophic injuries, including death."

The pretty hilarious document confirms that Bieber's parties are easily as unruly as those thrown by the likes of The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin back in the day. So if you manage to get into one of the bashes and happen to see Bieber roaring through the hallway on a motorbike, don't you dare upload a Twitpic of that. Don't you dare.

Continue reading: Want To Blab About Justin Bieber's Parties? It'll Cost You $5 Million

This could so easily have been a ‘Mick Jagger has a heart attack on stage’ story, but it’s not, thank the gods of aging rockers. No, this is a story about Katy Perry performing live with Mick Jagger as the Rolling Stones play L.A. Although, ironically, this might mean the death of Jagger for a lot of Stones fans.

The ex-wife of Russell Brand joined the Rolling Stones on stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to duet with Mick Jagger on a rendition of their 1978 hit 'Beast of Burden.' This isn’t the first ‘star’ to perform with the Stones on this tour; fellow singers like Gwen Stefani and Tom Waits have also been privileged by the presence of those rock legends on stage. The MGM Grand will be blessed with a plethora of stars yet again next Sunday (May 19) for the 2013 Billboard Music Awards. People like Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Jennifer Lopez, Lil Wayne, Christina Aguilera will perform.

Continue reading: Katy Perry Gyrates Against Mick Jagger On Stage [Video]

It's quickly becoming a case of you can't always get what you want for the Rolling Stones, after it emerged tickets were still available for tonight's show at the Los Angeles Staples Center (May 3, 2013) after punters failed to snap up the hideously overpriced $600 floor seats, based on the website of Anschutz Entertainment Group Inc, the owner of the Staples Center and promoter of the Stones' tour.

"To anyone not working in investment banking, these are extremely expensive tickets," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in- chief of Pollstar, a concert-industry magazine. In order to fill the center for tonight's show, AEG has begun lowering prices with more $85 tickets being made available (according to Rollingstones.com.) Initially, they were the only tickets sold out for the May 3 show, according to the AEG website.

"By the time the show starts, they'll fill every seat at the arena," Bongiovanni said in a phone interview with Bloomberg, "It just won't be with people who paid $600 a seat." AEG offered an explanation of sorts, saying in a statement that the date of the first show had to be moved by a day because of professional basketball and hockey playoffs at the arena, requiring the company to offer some refunds. "We fully expect Friday's Staples Center show to be sold out and are very pleased with ticket sales for all upcoming shows," it added. 

Continue reading: Why Can't The Rolling Stones Sell Out The Staples Center?

Keith Richards says he isn't a fan of Apple iPod device and favours CDs, vinyl and sometimes cassettes to MP3's. The 69-year-old says music lovers are "all being short-changed" with the sound that comes from an iPod, which first launched in 2001 and has gone onto become a must-have piece of technology on a global scale.

"I don't have an iPod. ... I still use CDs or records actually. Sometimes cassettes. It has much better sound; a much better sound than digital," he said in a recent interview with the Associated Press, "My old lady's got one. My kids have got them. I say, 'Look me up this.' Or, 'Oh I like that. Check me that. I know what these things can do. I'm not totally anti-them."

The Rolling Stones guitarist, who kicks off the band's '50 and Counting Tour' in Los Angeles tonight (May 5, 2013) says he's accepted that the music industry is digitally driven nowadays, "They're sucked into it and they can't get out of it, nor can we; so is the public.There's something missing there, but it's the price of the future I guess," he said.

Continue reading: Is Keith Richards IPod Snub Another Sign Of The Stones' Being Out Of Touch?

Albums of Note... Bonobo, aka Simon Green, may not have found instant stardom in his career but his work is characterised by a steady progress that is reflected in his tracks. North Borders is the fifth studio album from Bonobo and he calls on a range of influences, from hip-hop, soul, jazz and dubstep, to create a sound that has gradually developed into his own distinctive sound. Bonobo calls on a few friends for this album, notably Erykah Badu, who sings on ‘Heaven for the Sinner,’ a twinkling take on modern soul.

“What sets Bonobo apart in an overly crowded marketplace… is an expert ability to channel myriad influences from outside of his sphere into something that works perfectly inside it, not just within a single track but start-to-finish across an album.”

Continue reading: A Week In Music - Bonobo Builds On Steady Career, Little Comets Supply Astronomical Memories, Palma Violets Return With Raucous Video

You’d think Bill Wyman would be kicking himself for leaving the Rolling Stones, wouldn’t you? The famed bass player left the band back in 1993 but insists he has no regrets over it. In fact, he reckons that the life he leads instead has left him happier than the guys that carried on without him. In an interview with The Telegraph, the man that was often labelled as the ‘boring’ member of the British group reveals his obsession with archiving the band’s history and going metal detecting in his spare time.

“When I said I wanted to leave they told me I was probably giving up £20 million for the next two years. But I had three great houses and some nice cars,” Wyman explains. “I got married again and worked on books, and started a band to subsidise my living expenses. And I don’t regret it because I’ve never been happier… I’m sure I’m happier than they are in their lives.” Wyman was also keen to point out that of all of the Stones, he has had the most successful solo career: “I don’t push it. You have to swallow your pride and let it go, otherwise you get knotted up. I went away and had the biggest solo success of anyone in the band with (Si, si) Je Suis Un Rock Star. A world hit.”

It’s not hard to see that there’s little love lost between Wyman and the band’s leader Mick Jagger though, which would probably prevent Wyman from rejoining the band even if he wanted to, "He can start a sentence by saying Yes and by the end of it you realise he has said No.” Wyman might not be headlining Glastonbury this year then, but seems all the happier for it. 

Continue reading: 'I'm Happier Than They Are' - Bill Wyman On Life Without The Rolling Stones

Britain, like many other Western countries today, is in a recession, in which just about every ordinary person is feeling the pinch. Four people, who don't seem to have much of a clue about the current financial crisis affecting the world, are veteran rockers the Rolling Stones. Today The Stones made the tickets for their upcoming summer concert in London's Hyde Park available to buy, with the cheapest possible ticket selling for £95, plus fees!

Despite the ridiculous pricing of the tickets, it did't stop fans of the dinosaur rockers from snapping up the tickets in minutes, with all 65,000 tickets for the 6 July show being sold within five minutes of going on sale. If you thought the £95 for a standard ticket was bad (without taking the £10-30 booking fees into account), more pricer tickets were also sold, costing up to £300 (again, not taking into account for booking and admin. fees), with only the £299 (face value) VIP tickets offering the chance of being slightly closer to the stage than any of the other tickets.

It was thought that, following the outrage of the prices that the band were asking for during their run at the O2 Arena last year, the prices would be a little lower this time round. Alas going to see one of the richest bands in the world will still cost you an arm and a leg. Still, the show will have a bit of history to it nonetheless, as it will be the band's first performance in Hyde Park in 44 years. That particular concert, held 5 July 1969, came two days after founding guitarist Brian Jones drowned in his swimming pool and was a free event, a far cry from the money-grabbing nature of this concert.

Continue reading: Rolling Stones Hyde Park Gig Tickets Sell Out In Minutes Despite Absurd Prices

Tickets for The Rolling Stones' concert at Hyde Park this summer has sold out in just three minutes. According to The Telegraph, 65,000 tickets for show - part of Hyde Park's British Summer Times gigs - were completely sold out by 9.03am on Friday morning (April 5, 2013).

The Stones will play in London just days after they headline the Saturday night of the Glastonbury Festival on June 26. It's 44 years after the legendary rockers last played at Hyde Park in 1969, just two days after guitarist Brian Jones was found dead at his home in Hartford, East Sussex. As ever, the band were accused of exploiting fans with overpriced tickets and the cheapest for the Hyde Park show were £95.00. Many were priced at £299 while ticket marketplace Viagogo has already begun selling tickets for £1,097 each. A place in the coveted "Diamond Circle" area will cost you around 2,500.

"It seems like yesterday," guitarist Keith Richards told the BBC of the last time his group played Hyde Park, "It's going to be a great summer, man.All the gigs we haven't done or wanted to redo are popping up." At the original gig, Mick Jagger famously wore a white dress on stage and read a Percy Bysshe Shelley poem dedicated to Jones. Thousands of butterflies were released into the air. 

Continue reading: Overpriced? Fans Snap Up Rolling Stones' Hyde Park Tickets In 3 Minutes

For everyone shelling out £200+ for a Glastonbury ticket, you can pretty much be sure that their dreams include winning the lottery or playing the Pyramid Stage. But it turns out, not even all rock stars want to play the festival.

And we’re not talking any rock stars, but the Rolling Stones – this year’s headliners of the now infamous stage. Alright, not all of them, just Charlie Watts, the drummer. “I don't want to do it,” moans Charlie in an interview with The Guardian. “Everyone else does. I don't like playing outdoors, and I certainly don't like festivals. I've always thought they're nothing to do with playing. Playing is what I'm doing at the weekend. That's how I was brought up. But that's me, personally. When you're a band … you do anything and everything. But Glastonbury, it's old hat really. I never liked the hippy thing to start with. It's not what I'd like to do for a weekend, I can tell you.” This is all great news for those you have actually shelled out the pricey cover fee for a ticket. Now they know the drummer of the headline act would rather be at home drinking tea.

“The worst thing playing outdoors is when the wind blows, if you're a drummer, because the cymbals move … it really is hard to play then,” adds Charlie, giving a musical reason why outdoor playing isn’t the best.

Continue reading: Got That Festival Spirit? Charlie Watts Doesn’t - He Really Doesn’t

Albums of Note... It’s been a long two years since James Blake released his debut eponymous album and now, the pioneering producer returns with Overgrown, album number two. Peppered with quality collaborations, with hip-hop legend RZA and electronic music’s figurehead Brian Eno, Overgrown is the sound of an artist still trying to find his niche, but releasing high quality, accomplished tracks, whilst he’s on his journey. “Blake really is a talent to behold, as his ingenious moulding together of poles apart genres and production wizardry clearly shows… when you're already as accomplished at all manner of musical exercises as he is then it will obviously be hard to focus all this talent and all this energy into one place.”

Splitting opinion like musical Marmite, John Grant returns with Pale Green Ghosts. This album may sound unrecognisable as Grant, to anyone already familiar with his work. He’s hooked up with Gus Gus’ Biggi Viera and has decamped to Reykjavik. As a result, a new reliance on vintage-sounding synthesisers and a nod to club-land has John Grant sounding like an altogether different proposition to the John Grant of days gone by.“Grant's dyspeptic edge may be blunted, but when called upon the man can make a fine ass post-modern disco song, like we ever doubted that he could, and Blackbelt is a tweaked remix away from the transient world of A Lists, charts and chat shows. Cleverly poignant, its way with knock out disses would give Jake Shears something to think about if it proved to be a permanent change of direction…”

Continue reading: A Week In Music - James Blake Still Seeking His Niche, Yeah Yeah Yeahs Triumph With Lily Cole Video, Eels Stage A Love-In In Bournemouth

Chris Martin can rest easy. It wasn’t an April Fool’s joke. It turns out that Radio 2’s listeners really do hold his band Coldplay in higher regard that the likes of The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. So much so, that they have voted the Coldplay album A Rush of Blood To The Head as their favourite of all time. Coldplay beat the likes of Keane, Duran Duran, Pink Floyd and Dido, who filled out the rest of the top five places.

The poll, according to BBC News, had been held to coincide with the BBC season The Golden Age of the Album and the station’s listeners voted on their favourite albums. The Coldplay album, released in 2002, sold over 2.8 million copies and included the singles The Scientist and Clocks. Jeff Smith, the head of music at Radio 2 said “Musicians such as Coldplay and Dido have struck a chord with listeners and are in good company in the top 10 alongside legendary bands like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, whose appeal remains undiminished after all these years.”

The Rolling Stones didn’t enter the chart until sixth place, with their 1971 album Sticky Fingers and The Beatles went in at eight, after The Pet Shop Boys, with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Continue reading: Better Than The Beatles? Coldplay Top Radio 2 'Favourite Albums' List

We've all had that moment; looking at photos of our favourite celebs and then jumping out of our seats screaming, 'He's HOW old?!' Well, we've been doing a lot of that here at ContactMusic. Some stars seem to have crept up the age ladder pretty sneakily, the odd wrinkle and grey hair barely registering on our radar, while others don't seem to have aged at all! English football player David Beckham was in his twenties when he rose to global popularity and, looking at his recent H&M underwear advert, it seems that his iconic hairstyles and tattoos are our only way of working out the old from the newer pictures of him. However, he is only 37 and has plenty of time to catch up yet. It's the over-50s that have really had our mouths agape in recent times as we've been scouring the net for the most youthful looking middle to old aged stars. 

(Anthony Kiedis, Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey)

Continue reading: Good Genes Or Good Ops: Which Male Celebrities Don't Show Their Age?

It’s a real mixed bag for the biggest album releases today and the most popular is bound to be the accompanying CD release to the 12-12-12Benefit Concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy. The tracklisting reads like a who’s who of the biggest names in rock and pop, with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band contributing ‘Land of Hope And Dreams’ and ‘Wrecking Ball,’ whilst The Rolling Stones liven things up with ‘You Got Me Rocking’ and ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash.’

And of course, a who’s who isn’t a who’s who without The Who, who also make an appearance, with ‘Who Are You,’ ‘Baba O’Riley’ and ‘Love Reign O’er Me.’ It’s very much a line-up full of (ahem) ‘experienced’ male musicians. The presence of Alicia Keys doesn’t exactly balance things out, as she sits there alone, with one track breaking up the compilation and ‘Empire State of Mind’ closing things out. The latter track, though, an affection paean to one of the cities destroyed by the hurricane, is an obvious highlight of this emotionally-weighted compilation.

Watch Bruce Springsteen discussing Hurricane Sandy and the 12.12.12. concert

Continue reading: Out Now - US Albums Releases: 12-12-12 Concert Compilation Features Who's Who Of Rock, Aaron Neville Makes Blue Note Debut,

"The NME Awards is the highlight of the music calendar and the most Rock'n'roll party of the year," says NME editor Mike Williams. He's not wrong, and this year's nominations, which have just been released, prove to make this year's party even better.

The bands to be most proud of their nominations this year are new-comers Haim and Tame Impala, both of which have never been nominated in the awards before. Haim's nominations are for 'Best New Band', 'Best Track', 'Best Music Video' and 'Best Twitter' for Alana Haim (@babyhaim). We're not entirely sure what makes a good Twitter, but we're sure she deserves it, mostly because she posted a photo of her kissing a trout. Tame Impala's nominations are for 'Best International Band', 'Best Album', 'Best Track' and 'Best Music Video'. Also with four nominations each are veterans The Rolling Stones, and controversial act, M.I.A. 

This year's heroes and villains are an interesting bunch with Harry Styles and David Cameron undoubtedly leading the troupe for the villains, while Frank Ocean, Barack Obama and Pussy Riot are all up for the Hero award. 

Continue reading: NME Award Nominations Announced: HAIM And Tame Impala Four Nominations Each

The Rolling Stones have been in the news a whole lot more than we’re used to recently around their 50th anniversary tour.

But, if you were afraid that this was only a temporary blip before another long hiatus, don’t fret. Apparently, The Stones will keep performing for a long time to come, at least if Ronnie Wood is to be believed.

It may be his recent marriage to 34-year-old Sally Humphreys that’s given him this newfound lust for life, but Wood sounds more determined than ever to rock out for as long as he possibly can. “I think of Howlin’ Wolf plugging in to his kidney machine, however old he was, 80 or something, and still playing,” says Wood for The Telegraph, “You just rock till you drop.” Well, that didn’t exactly rhyme, but it is an admirable sentiment none the less.

Continue reading: Rolling Stones Won't Go Without A Fight, Says Ronnie Wood

Are The Rolling Stones lined up to headline Coachella Festival in 2013?

It looks as though the people that make the band’s official iPhone app may have just secretly leaked details of their plans for 2013. On Friday (December 14, 2012), the band’s app had details of a performance on April 12, 2013, at Indio, at the Coachella Festival, NME reports. Although the date was later removed, in the age of the screen grab, there’s no stopping news like that form going viral.

The last time the band performed at a festival was back in 2007, when they played at the Isle of Wight Festival and the fans of the band who have a ticket for Glastonbury Festival 2013 will probably still be holding out hope that Jagger & co. will still be announced as one of the UK festival’s main acts, too.

Continue reading: Is The Cat Out Of The Bag? Rolling Stones To Headline Coachella Festival 2013?

Albums of Note... Rihanna’s seventh studio album, Unapologetic has been met with a mixed response and our reviewer reckons the Barbadian pop star phoned this one in. As her career becomes more of a marketing cash cow than an artistic endeavour, so her albums impress less and less.

Of course, there is also the ‘elephant’ that seems to appear in every room Rihanna walks into… an elephant known as ‘Chris Brown.’ He makes an appearance on the album, duetting with RhiRhi on a track called ‘Nobody’s Business.’ “Fun: it's something that's lacking a lot in this album, Unapologetic rattling on machine-like but with very little given away to the spirit of enjoyment… She doesn't have to feel apologetic for anything, but what's more concerning is that Rihanna doesn't seem to feel anything anymore, something all too apparent on this turgid LP.”

Continue reading: A Week In Music – Rihanna Disappoints, Cee-Lo Green And The Muppets Get Us In The Festive Spirit, The Rolling Stones And Paul McCartney