3 h. ago ‘Aretha Franklin hits notes that bring me to shivering tears of ecstasy’: Mick Hucknall’s honest playlist

The Simply Red singer gets emotional over Aretha and wakes up to Ravi Shankar. But which record healed his broken teenage heart?The first single I bought One of the first albums I bought was Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones; the first single was The Last Time. I was about 11 when my dad bought me my first record player, and I wore it out by listening to it so much.The first song I fell in love with My first love was an unrequited crush. I heard Let’s Stay Together by Al Green on the radio, went out and bought it, and played it over and over to heal the pain of teenage rejection. Continue reading...

Events

6 h. ago 20 school assembly songs we loved to sing that were absolute bangers

From Lord of the Dance to Colours of Day, there is no denying that there were some great songs to sing along to

Culture

67 h. ago Connie Francis was a trailblazing pop star haunted by tragedy

The late star, who broke through with Who’s Sorry Now, paved the way for solo female singers in the highs of the 50s and 60s but her life was hit by devastating lowsConnie Francis, 1960s US pop star known for Pretty Little Baby, dies at 87There may be more widely revered singers, but the statistics don’t lie – worldwide, the Italian-American Connie Francis was the best-selling female vocalist of the 50s and 60s.Her breakthrough hit, 1958’s Who’s Sorry Now, was written as far back as 1923 and had been a hit for Johnnie Ray just a couple of years earlier, with a swinging, uptempo arrangement. But what made the 19-year-old Francis’s version click was the way in which she took pleasure in her ex’s misery, coolly and coyly cooing over the slow-rocking backing while picking his failed love life apart; for a finale, she ended the song with impressive, high-kicking spite. In contrast, her second UK No 1 was the daffy Stupid Cupid, written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, and loaded wit...

Politics

67 h. ago Connie Francis was a trailblazing pop star haunted by tragedy | Bob Stanley

The late star, who broke through with Who’s Sorry Now, paved the way for solo female singers in the highs of the 50s and 60s but her life was hit by devastating lowsConnie Francis, 1960s US pop star known for Pretty Little Baby, dies at 87There may be more widely revered singers, but the statistics don’t lie – worldwide, the Italian-American Connie Francis was the best-selling female vocalist of the 50s and 60s.Her breakthrough hit, 1958’s Who’s Sorry Now, was written as far back as 1923 and had been a hit for Johnnie Ray just a couple of years earlier, with a swinging, uptempo arrangement. But what made the 19-year-old Francis’s version click was the way in which she took pleasure in her ex’s misery, coolly and coyly cooing over the slow-rocking backing while picking his failed love life apart; for a finale, she ended the song with impressive, high-kicking spite. In contrast, her second UK No 1 was the daffy Stupid Cupid, written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, and loaded wit...

Politics

7 d. ago ‘Is Peter Gabriel in my vocal range? I don’t care. I’m singing it at karaoke’: Xzibit’s honest playlist

The rapper, actor and TV presenter wakes up to Run the Jewels and starts the party with Snoop Dogg, but which legendary hip hop anthem inspired him to become a musician?The first song I fell in love withFight the Power by Public Enemy from their Fear of a Black Planet album touched my soul. Hearing the vibrant production on that record is what really inspired me as a child to become a musician. I listened to it so much, I nearly wore it out. It was crazy.The first single I boughtRuff Rhyme (Back Again) by my friend King T on cassette tape from Tower Records in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It has the Ruff Mix remix on the B-side, and to this day he and I fight about which is best.The song I do at karaokeIn Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel. Is it in my vocal range? I don’t give care if I’m singing it right. I’ll do my best. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Stevie Wonder closes off Love, Light and Song tour in heatwave Hyde Park

The 75-year-old musician played a two-hour set in front 65,000 people.

Society

2 w. ago ‘The best song to have sex to? Anything by Marvin Gaye. Nothing by Rick Astley’: Rick Astley’s honest playlist

The pop veteran works up a sweat to Biffy Clyro and recognises the dancefloor power of Abba, but which Kylie banger hits a little too close to home?The first song I fell in love with I’ve got two older brothers and an older sister. My sister played the grooves out of Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. When I got my chance, I’d put on I Wan’na Be like You from The Jungle Book.The song I do at karaoke Tale As Old As Time from the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack, even though it’s a duet. My daughter Emilie is 33, but when she’s home, we’ll watch a Disney film together. She turns into a five-year-old, I turn into a young dad and it’s just lovely. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Our stage is a giant pair of open legs!’ Meet Glastonbury’s most obscure acts

It’s not all about the headliners. Away from the big stages, feminist punks are singing songs about UTIs and Elvis has been reborn as Kurt CobainWith 80 stages hosting more than 3,000 performers, there is a terrifying amount of things to see and do at Glastonbury. While the headline acts dominate the coverage, what of the lesser-known artists listed further down the bill? Is anyone stumbling to their strange shows?From an Elvis-fronted Nirvana tribute act to a feminist punk group singing songs about UTIs, via a taxidermy mouse circus and a singalong performance of school-assembly hymns, we went in search of Glastonbury 2025’s most obscure acts. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Olivia Rodrigo at Glastonbury review – full of bile and brilliance, this is easily the weekend’s best big set

Pyramid stageWith a genuinely surprise appearance from the Cure’s Robert Smith and a magnificent theatricality to her lovelorn songs, Rodrigo totally steals the entire festivalOlivia Rodrigo’s first Glastonbury appearance in 2022 was the stuff of minor legend. Aged 19, already the author of an 18m selling debut album, but something of an unknown quantity in festival terms, she turned out to be rather more feral and off-message than you might have expected a former Disney Channel star turned teen-popper to be. At one juncture, she named each individual judge responsible for overturning Roe v Wade that weekend, shouting “We hate you! We hate you!” then performing Lily Allen’s Fuck You in duet with its author.Three years on, with another huge-selling album in the bag, and lifted to the status of headliner, nothing quite so likely to stir up controversy on Fox News happens. But the singer is still capable of springing surprises, when she announces the arrival of a special guest – “perha...

Politics

2 w. ago Review: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at Manchester Classical 2025

The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra took to The Bridgewater Hall to perform songs of life, love and death on Saturday, June 28

Politics

4 w. ago ‘I find it sad and difficult to listen to the Smiths’: Ana Matronic’s honest playlist

The Scissor Sister has a complex relationship with the Smiths and gets parties started with Grace Jones, but who’s her (not so) guilty pleasure?The first song I fell in love with I was obsessed as a child with the Muppets and Sesame Street. My grandmother made me a puppet of the Count to help practise my counting. I loved The Pinball Number Count with the Pointer Sisters counting up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 / 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 / 11/ 12 which is prophetic because I still consider the Pointer Sisters one of my all-time favourite bands.The first record I bought I was playing Delirious by Prince for my mother in 1982, and she said: “He sounds like Little Richard.” I said: “Who is Little Richard?” and she said: “Get in the car, young lady,” and we went and bought a Little Richard greatest hits set. It was the start of a long conversation about music with my mom. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago I’m no Ed Sheeran fan, but he’s right: when it comes to musical plagiarism, guilt is in the ear of the listener | Simon Price

Musical history is littered with cases like the failed $100m suit against the singer, and they risk stifling pop musicLeave Ed Sheeran alone. Four words I never expected to write, but we live in very strange times.Cards on the table: I’m no fan of his music, but that’s neither here nor there when it comes to making sense of the recently concluded epic battle over alleged copyright infringement. To catch you up to speed: on 20 June 2014, Sheeran released his second studio album X, a worldwide chart-topper. On 24 September 2014, he released the third single from it, Thinking Out Loud, a standard love song about vowing eternal devotion, which was another worldwide chart-topper. In between, that July, BBC Radio 1Xtra announced its Power List of the most important figures in black and urban music, which, to much derision, placed the very white Sheeran at the top. This was nothing new: Sheeran had already received four nominations for a Mobo Award. And, at least according to the owners of...

Politics

last month ‘No one is immune to grief’: the team turning A Single Man into a sexy, grimy, heartbreaking ballet

Musician John Grant was blown away by Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel, finding deep resonances in its tale of gay love and loss. Now, he’s put songs to choreographer Jonathan Watkins’s new dance adaptation“I can’t believe that somehow I was able to make it all the way to the age of 55 without having read that book!” says American singer-songwriter John Grant. “It’s a transformative book. I was just completely blown away by it; I’ve been trying to get everybody that I’ve ever met to read it.”The book Grant is telling me about, enthusing from his sofa at home in Reykjavík, is Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man, published in 1964, turned into 2009’s most stylish film by first-time director Tom Ford, starring Colin Firth, and now about to be a ballet, premiering at this year’s Manchester international festival. Grant, the former Czars frontman and now an acclaimed solo artist (with albums including Pale Green Ghosts and his latest, The Art of...

Politics