49 m. ago Dance legends to bring classic 90s floor fillers to Ayrshire club this weekend

They'll be playing their huge hits along with some old school anthems.

Politics

66 m. ago Paul McCartney announces new book about the history of Wings

‘Starting from scratch after The Beatles felt crazy at times,’ says McCartney

Culture

67 m. ago ‘Champagne for my real friends!’ Francis Bacon masterpiece escapes to the artist’s old drinking den

Seeing Bacon’s stunning depiction of his lover Peter Lacy hanging in a reincarnation of the watering hole where his skeletal friends would drink, stagger and cackle was a fleeting yet unforgettable experienceWhen a work of art fails to excite, interest or move me, the word that comes to mind is “dead”. Bad art is lifeless, good art is alive and great art is supervital. And it’s a supervital masterpiece I am looking at right now. Face as sharply hewn as a Congolese mask, with a flesh-coloured pullover melting into the shadows of his loins, Peter Lacy dominates the room, captured in a gold-framed portrait by his lover Francis Bacon.That room is the Colony Room Green in London, not the original Colony Room but a bar nearby that lovingly recreates, with the precision of an art installation or stage set, the bohemian drinking den run by Muriel Belcher where Bacon would order drinks all round with his famous toast: “Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends!” Its gre...

Politics

79 m. ago Dr. John Cooper Clarke 'knocked out' as he is named recipient of top northern music honour

'I’m honoured to be recognised in this way'

Culture

91 m. ago Green Touring Goals Boosted at London’s International Live Music Conference

Green Touring Goals Boosted at London’s International Live Music Conference  Billboard

Society

2 h. ago Boygenius’s Julien Baker and Torres on their queer country album: ‘We committed to the bit and here we are’

After putting their cowboy duo on hold while boygenius toured the world, the Tennessee pair are releasing the music they wrote before Post Malone and Zayn made country records. They talk to Hannah Ewens about how they met, strained feelings about religion and taking on Beyoncé

Politics

2 h. ago Brit Awards 2025: When is it, who is performing and who will win?

Charli XCX is the most nominated artist of the night, while Sabrina Carpenter and Jade are set to perform at the awards’ 45th ceremony

Events

2 h. ago As the far right surges around the globe, what can a new TV series about Mussolini teach us? | Caroline Moorehead

Joe Wright’s new drama gives a theatrical take on the dictator’s flaws but there is so much more history viewers need to knowOn 3 January 1925, Benito Mussolini delivered the most important speech of his life to the Italian parliament. His career was about to be over. The body of the socialist deputy and his bitter foe, Giacomo Matteotti, had been discovered in a shallow grave near Rome and mounting evidence pointed to Mussolini’s responsibility for his murder. With the king, the old liberal democratic elite, the left and many of his own party pressing for his dismissal, Mussolini declared that everything – the fascist violence, the immorality, the turmoil into which Italy had sunk – was his fault, “because I, I alone, created it”. By the same token, he alone was the man “capable of dominating the crisis”. Parliament, stunned, sat silent. There was no voice of protest. The dictatorship was saved.Based on the first volume in a trilogy of the same name by Antonio Scurati and garlanded...

Culture

2 h. ago ‘The killers I met in jail didn’t scare me’: singer Rokia Traoré on why prison was ‘a privilege’

After serving time in Paris, Rome and Brussels, the Malian star is ready to perform again – and planning a book and a stage show about her fellow inmates and her own prison experiences‘It’s been like a kind of military training,” says Rokia Traoré of the nine months she has just spent in European prisons. “It was very hard. I was in a bad psychological state because I was separated from my children, but at the same time it was a kind of privilege because I was learning things it’s not possible to learn without being in that situation. Everything is much more intense. Sharing a small space with someone – in a week you know more about them than their mother. You know everything: when she is happy, when she cries, when she goes to the toilet, when she has a shower. You see everything.”Born and based in Mali, she is one of the most inventive and adventurous female artists in Africa; a singer who can switch from delicate acoustic styles to rock, powered by her bluesy electric guitar work...

Events

2 h. ago Western Europeans say immigration is high and poorly managed, survey finds

Significant proportion in seven nations surveyed for YouGov poll believe immigration has had negative effectMost western Europeans think immigration over the past decade has been high or too high and their governments have handled it badly, with more believing immigration has been negative for their country than not, a survey has shown.Days after the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) doubled its score in a German election dominated by the question, the YouGov poll found majorities in all seven countries surveyed felt immigration had been high. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Pink Floyd to rerelease restored 1972 Pompeii concert film in Imax

Iconic performance amid Roman antiquity has been restored from original negatives, with a soundtrack newly mixed by prog star Steven WilsonOne of the most distinctive concert films in rock history, Pink Floyd at Pompeii, is to be rereleased in cinemas – including in Imax format – and have its first soundtrack release.Filmed in 1971 and released the following year, the film (previously titled Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii) captures the band shortly before The Dark Side of the Moon ushered in their most commercially successful phase. It will be in cinemas worldwide on 24 April. Continue reading...

Culture

4 h. ago UK's biggest tribute festival featuring more than 30 acts coming to Stockport

Tickets for the two-day music day event start from £15 for adults and £10 for children

Politics

4 h. ago 15 music groups from the ‘90s that are still dominating Spotify playlists today

Here’s 15 bands and musicians from the ‘90s that still, to this day, appear regularly on digital playlists 🎶📱⏲

Politics

5 h. ago Gloating Celtic fans shake off Barry Ferguson fear factor as Hotline tells Rangers what boss will REALLY achieve

The appointment has sent shockwaves through Scottish football - and continues to dominate the phones

Politics

5 h. ago Fur and fringe dominate the Jil Sander runway at Milan Fashion Week

The German fashion house brought fur, fringe and sparkle to the autumn/winter 2025 runway.

Politics

5 h. ago Starmer may need to play his Royal Trump card for difficult White House talks

Starmer will get a ‘respectful’ greeting but is going to face a difficult meeting with Trump as subjects like Ukraine, trade, free speech and Chagos dominate discussions, as David Maddox reports. Could the prospect of a royal visit help the prime minister’s cause?

Politics

6 h. ago Pitbull mania sweeps the UK as his tickets sell out in minutes with people dressing up in bald

Both those in their teens and their parents alike are bound to have heard the club classics put out by the Miami-born rapper, from Hotel Room to Give Me Everything.

Politics

6 h. ago Music fans are only now learning what The Weeknd's name really means

The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, has been a huge name in the music industry for years - but it seems fans are only just realising what his stage name means

Politics

7 h. ago Skunk Anansie’s Cass diagnosed with stage 4 cancer while recording new album

Rock musician said he kept his diagnosis and treatment from his bandmates while they were working on their new album, ‘The Painful Truth’

Science

7 h. ago 'Mr Worldwide, why?': Pitbull fans share frustration at ticket prices for Manchester and London shows

'Absolutely not paying that for Pitbull'

Sport