4 h. ago Billie Eilish review – pop’s sharpest commentator plays with fame’s power dynamics

OVO Hydro, GlasgowThere’s nowhere for Eilish to hide as she balances intimacy and spectacle, filming her screaming fans as she paces a stage akin to a boxing ringBillie Eilish’s face is blown up across a four-sided, NBA-style jumbotron. Below, tracked by camera crews, she prowls a bare stage akin to a boxing ring – a rectangle slapped in the middle of the arena, fans everywhere she turns. Such media-heavy, mega-watt staging is immediately at odds with ambiguous opener Chihiro: “You won’t forget my name, not today, not tomorrow, kinda strange, feelin’ sorrow,” she murmurs, featherlight, over distant, rumbling subwoofer and watery electric guitar.The challenge for Eilish’s arena tours has always been to balance her talent for intimacy with her clear interest in spectacle. It’s unfortunate but perhaps inevitable that the intricate production quirks of tracks such as Lunch and Wildflower get lost in the mix tonight, with just the drums pounding through, but she compensates with astute t...

Politics

23 h. ago Coronation Street star Alan Halsall spots 'awkward' soap detail as he's seen with 'daughters'

As fans know, the actor is famed for playing Tyrone Dobbs in the ITV soap

Events

28 h. ago Billie Eilish Glasgow fans camping out at Hydro ahead of tonight's gig

Billie Eilish is set to take to Glasgow's OVO Hydro stage tonight, Monday 7 July, as part of her highly-anticipated Hit Me Hard and Soft tour.

Science

3 d. ago Billie Eilish fans left 'gobsmacked' after discovering who her parents are as they claim 'I thought she looked familiar'

Billie Eilish fans have been left stunned after discovering she has famous parents as they asked if she was a 'nepo baby'.

Society

4 d. ago Billie Eilish Glasgow Hydro set times, support, drinks prices, tickets, setlist

One of the biggest pop stars on the planet is in Scotland this month.

Economics

7 d. ago Donald Macdonald dies as tributes paid to popular kids TV presenter

Famed for hosting children's show Play School, the "showbiz great" lost his short battle with cancer on Monday.

Events

8 d. ago Nile Rodgers and Chic at Glastonbury review – pop’s most reliable band bring the party to the Pyramid

Pyramid stageWhile you might quibble that Chic’s set has become more reliable than revolutionary, you can’t argue with the effects of the greatest pop music ever made on the crowdSunday at 6pm is a point in the Glastonbury experience what you really need is something dependable. You are sunburnt. The heat is still brutal. You are exhausted. The state of the toilets is unspeakable, and you crave a certain straightforward reliability. And, despite his attempts to reboot the Chic brand with a new album a few years back and a handful of fresh production gigs, Nile Rodgers seems largely content to see out his days in the business of straightforward reliability, simply touring the world playing his old songs. In fairness, if you’d written the catalogue of material he has, you might be inclined to ensure people don’t forget about it.The initial shock you may have felt at seeing a reconstituted version of the greatest disco band of all playing Glastonbury’s West Holts stage in 2013 has long...

Politics

9 d. ago Pulp’s secret Glastonbury set review – still the magnificently misshapen oddballs of British pop

Pyramid stageReturning to headline the Pyramid for the first time in 30 years, Jarvis Cocker and co are as dark, grubby and joyous as ever, instantly turning the audience to misty-eyed displays of devotion“Sorry for people who were expecting Patchwork,” says Jarvis Cocker, in reference to the mysterious name that appeared on the Glastonbury bill in lieu of Pulp’s. “How did you know we were going to play?”In fairness, Pulp did their best to conceal their appearance at the festival (as Cocker says, it’s 30 years and four days since they were parachuted into the Glastonbury headlining slot, a now-legendary performance that sealed their ascendancy). Keyboard player Candida Doyle even gave an interview to a local Somerset newspaper insisting that while they wanted to play, Glastonbury “weren’t interested”. But clearly no one was convinced – the Pyramid stage is headlining-set heaving. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Charli xcx at Glastonbury review – a thrilling hostile takeover by a pop star at the peak of her powers

Other stagePlaying to a dizzyingly huge crowd, for many this is Saturday’s true headlining set: a bawdy and uncompromising icon playing alone with no frillsFor my money, one of the best pop tours of the 21st century was Kanye West’s Yeezus tour. Like the album it was supporting, the Yeezus tour was abrasive and minimal and totally spectacular: West stood in front of gigantic bright-red screens and blasted arenas with some of the harshest, most acidic sounds ever considered mainstream. That tour was unrelenting and uncompromising and, as a result, totally compelling.Charli xcx’s Brat tour may be the only clear successor. It is a show whose main components are a curtain, a few stadium strobe light rigs, and one star whose vision is so specific and so well realised that the “necessities” of an A-list pop show – dancers, set pieces, etc – suddenly seem like crutches for anyone less in tune with themselves. This makes sense, given that Charli is also our clearest successor to West himsel...

Politics

9 d. ago Charli XCX brings Brat back to Glastonbury in electric performance

US singer Gracie Abrams performed the viral Apple dance during her set.

Politics

1 week ago Liam Gallagher's 'stern warning' to fans and set times ahead of Edinburgh Oasis gigs

The Oasis reunion tour kicks off in Cardiff on Friday, July 4, and the famed brothers are playing three nights at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium in August.

Events

1 week ago Coronation Street star Alan Halsall 'fights tears' in 'last' update with daughter

The actor, who is famed for playing Tyrone Dobbs in the ITV soap, was seen with his daughter Sienna during a big day

Politics

1 week ago Coronation Stree star Elle Mulvaney goes 'Instagram official' with new beau days after co

The actress, who is famed for playing Amy Barlow in the ITV soap, is currently enjoying a sun-soaked break away from the cobbles

Politics

1 week ago Billie Eilish: The Ultimate 'Hit Me Hard and Soft' Tour Special

Order your copy now, ahead of her sell-out UK tour!

Events

1 week ago Coronation Street star Samia Longchambon says 'does not feel like it' in 20

Samia, who is famed for playing Maria Windass , was reminded of her ITV soap past

Politics

2 w. ago 1975: The Year the World Forgot review — never has pop history been so elegantly told

Dylan Jones puts the record straight on a golden era

Politics

2 w. ago Dua Lipa at Wembley Stadium review: high octane euphoria from the queen of summer pop

The pop star was on top form in what felt like a celebration of how far she’d come

Politics

2 w. ago Skins star looks unrecognisable as he reunites with cast 15 years after show

This star shot to fame on E4's Skins and played the role of one of the show's most-loved characters but now looks unrecognisable as he reunited with his old E4 cast members

Politics

2 w. ago Coronation Street legend 'really proud' as family update supported by co

Andy Whyment is famed for playing the loveable Kirk Sutherland in the ITV soap and often shares his life off-screen

Politics

2 w. ago Tyler Perry accused of sexual harassment and workplace gender violence

Media mogul faces allegations of creating ‘coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic’ in lawsuit seeking $260m in damagesTyler Perry has been accused of sexual harassment, workplace gender violence and sexual assault in a lawsuit from an actor who said the media mogul used his influence and power to create a “coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic”.In the suit filed in Los Angeles last week and first reported on Tuesday, Derek Dixon, who worked on Tyler Perry’s shows Ruthless and The Oval, said Perry promised career advancement but subjected him to “escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery”. Dixon alleges he was subjected to harassment and abuse by Perry while he “held direct control over his employment, compensation, and creative opportunities” and that he faced retaliation when he did not respond favorably to his advances. Continue reading...

Events