48 h. ago ‘Their songs are rousing, trippy, witty, moronic. I’ve sung along to them all’: Simon Armitage hails the return of Oasis

Ahead of the first tour date tonight, the former poet laureate explores the ‘brotherhood and chemistry’ that forged the band, repelled the Gallaghers and brought them together againIn retrospect it all seems so obvious. Form a band, plunder the Beatles’ back catalogue for riffs, guitar tabs, chord changes and song structures, then bang it out in a key that a stadium crowd could put their lungs into but which suited the subway busker, too.The resulting success now looks so inevitable. In 1994, dance music flooded the UK charts but not everyone thought a rave DJ wearing oversized headphones and playing records counted as a gig. Some people – a vast number, it turned out – still yearned for meat-and-two-veg pop-rock with guitars and drums, and for songs played by groups. Throw in some Manc bluster, the death throes of a Tory government that had occupied Downing Street since for ever, and the first glimmers of a cooler Britannia, and hey presto: Oasis. Continue reading...

Politics

66 h. ago Vic Reeves and wife Nancy Sorrell delight fans with ‘lovely’ beach day photos

The couple, who have been married for more than two decades, shared a series of candid snaps as they enjoyed the hot weather

Culture

4 d. ago Beach warning as Brit tourists urged to take just one photo that could save your child's life

Families flock to the UK’s many beaches during hot spells for fun in the sun and to cool off in the sea but there are many hidden dangers at our favourite coastal spots - here’s how you can help keep your kids safe this summer

Events

9 d. ago Brian Wilson's cause of death revealed days after Beach Boys icon's shock passing aged 82

Beach Boys icon Brian Wilson's cause of death has been revealed publicly two weeks after his passing at 82.

Events

9 d. ago Brian Wilson's cause of death revealed after Beach Boys legend died aged 82

Brian Wilson's family announced the music legend's passing earlier this month, after it emerged he'd been diagnosed with a neurocognitive disorder similar to dementia

Events

1 week ago Amanda Holden's lookalike daughter Lexi, 19, follows in her famous mother's footsteps as she models for same bikini brand as the BGT judge

The Britain's Got Talent judge, 54, took to Instagram on Monday to gush over her daughter's new photo shoot with swimwear brand Naia Beach.

Events

1 week ago Barbados poet laureate on mission to share stories of enslavement

Esther Phillips says her poetry’s ‘ultimate goal’ is to achieve justice for those who suffered at hands of European colonisersEsther Phillips, the Barbados poet laureate, grew up next to Drax Hall Estate, once one of the Caribbean’s notoriously violent slave plantations, where tens of thousands of Africans are said to have died in terrible conditions during the transatlantic slave trade. But she was well into her career when the harsh realities of slavery hit home.The poet began writing at a young age, and was inspired at first by the “trees, flowers, birds, the smells of the plants or shrubs, the air, the cane fields” she encountered as she walked to school. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago The beautiful scenes captured by photographer who visits the beach every morning at dawn

James Richardson lives opposite the beach at Penarth and goes out every morning to capture the daybreak dippers

Culture

2 w. ago Photos of top surfing dogs catching waves at Huntington Beach

Fans flocked to Huntington Beach on Friday to watch top canine athletes compete in the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge surf contest. Dogs ranging from 2 to 13 years old — Corgis, Dalmatians, Pit Bulls, Labradors and more — showed off their skills riding waves, drawing cheers from beachside spectators as they aimed to “hang ten” and secure a spot in K9 surfing history.

Culture

2 w. ago Sister act Haim keep the spirit of Brian Wilson alive with an album of sunny California pop, writes Adrian Thrills

I Quit is ostensibly a break-up record, but even when Danielle, Este and Alana sing about heartache, they find it hard to stop the sun from breaking through.

Politics

2 w. ago Who will have the 2025 song of the summer? We offer some predictions

What makes a great song of the summer

Politics

2 w. ago ‘His music documented an America that no longer exists’: Brian Wilson’s brilliance, by key collaborator Van Dyke Parks

Wilson bought Parks a Volvo when he’d barely met him – and together they brought sublime poetry to pop. He remembers the making of Smile, Surf’s Up and moreIt was the Beatles’ publicist Derek Taylor – who I met backstage at their first concert at the Hollywood Bowl – who first declared “Brian Wilson is a genius” as part of a [1966] publicity campaign. I knew that word would come back to haunt Brian and it did: from then on he was competing in a world of heightened expectations, but he did that very bravely all his life. He was basically forever competing against a previous version of himself, but as the great American beat poet Lewis MacAdams said: “If it’s not impossible, I’m not interested.” As for lyrics, you can’t beat “I’m a cork on the ocean” [in Til I Die] for a redux of thought from a Beach Boy. I will call that genius and I think the word does apply to Brian.He had so many gifts. One of them was mutual empowerment. He brought out the best in everyone around him. In the stud...

Culture

3 w. ago Brian Wilson 'became detached' after battling Long Covid says Beach Boys band pal

Bandmate Al Jardine says legend Brian started to go down hill three years ago and suffered mobility issues after undergoing several ops on his back – which affected his mental health

Events

3 w. ago ‘I yearned to be a California Girl – but I lived in Burnley’: readers on their love for Brian Wilson

From memories of photoshoots and telephone calls with the late Beach Boy, to appraisals of his complex but pure music, Guardian readers pay tribute to a greatWhether wistful or euphoric, Brian Wilson made pop’s most overwhelmingly beautiful musicRay Davies, Graham Nash and others on Brian Wilson’s songwriting geniusEndless summer: how Brian Wilson soundtracked CaliforniaI remember the Christmas after my mother’s death in 1989 when I was 15, I purchased the best-of collection from Asda, interested to see what I would hear. It had the hits, of course, but also a few of the deeper cuts from Pet Sounds and onwards. To say this changed my life is an understatement – Brian’s music, harmonies and subject matters struck an incredible chord in me. It did exactly what he existed for, bringing comfort to a heart and soul that needs it. I’ve been a fan ever since – I saw him at the Royal Festival Hall on his first Pet Sounds tour, watched him perform Smile in utter disbelief and wonder in Liver...

Events

3 w. ago Living Colour opens 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame to honor new inductee George Clinton

The funk rock group Living Colour opened an energetic 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame Thursday night to honor new inductee George Clinton

Politics

3 w. ago Mike Love and John Stamos pay tribute to Beach Boys' Brian Wilson

Mike Love is looking back fondly on Brian Wilson, his cousin and Beach Boys collaborator who died Wednesday at 82

Politics

3 w. ago LCD Soundsystem honour Brian Wilson and Sly Stone at residency’s opening night

The New York group played at London’s Brixton Academy.

Politics

3 w. ago ‘The joy shot out of his voice’: Ray Davies, Graham Nash and others on Brian Wilson’s songwriting genius

With the innocence of a child and the vision of a god, his craft was astonishing. From Jessica Pratt to Jim James and Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, top musicians explain why he was like no other‘He taught the world how to smile’: Brian Wilson bandmates pay tribute along with Bob Dylan, Elton John and moreTwelve of Brian Wilson’s greatest songsFor all the sophistication that everyone talks about, Brian never loses the thread of the song: the emotion. They have this childlike quality. These days we’d probably say he’s on the spectrum – there’s a sort of Asperger’s type innocence. He makes the lyrics and the melody speak. It’s so welcoming and without edge; it’s not part of a cynical adult world. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Brian Wilson death: Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and John Cusack lead tributes to Beach Boys star

Bob Dylan and Wilson’s longtime Beach Boys bandmate Al Jardine also paid their respects

Events

3 w. ago Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson hailed as a 'true giant' by music legends

Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and Bob Dylan were among the famous faces paying tribute to Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson following his death at the age of 82

Politics