May 19th, 2023 - Andy Rourke, bassist for The Smiths, dead at 59

Frankie Goes to Hollywood is set to return to the limelight, taking the stage at the Big Eurovision Welcome show in Liverpool next month after a lengthy hiatus of 36 years. The announcement was initially made on the BBC One Twitter account and later confirmed by Holly Johnson via Instagram.

Hailing from the thriving Liverpool music scene of the 1980s, Frankie Goes to Hollywood enraptured audiences with their timeless hits “Relax, “Two Tribes,” and “The Power of Love.” On Sunday, May 7, they’ll join fellow Liverpudlian sensations Atomic Kitten, The Real Thing, and The Lightning Seeds for a scintillating performance outside the majestic St George’s Hall. 

Culture Club will head out on the road with Berlin and Howard Jones joining them on all shows. 

July 13: West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
July 15: Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 16: Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place Amphitheatre
July 18: Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
July 19: Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
July 20: Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
July 22: Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
July 23: Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theatre
July 25: Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
July 26: Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
July 28: Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
July 29: Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
July 30: Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at the Mann
Aug. 1: Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Aug. 3: Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 4: Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Aug. 5: Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 8: Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
Aug. 10: Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Aug. 11: The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Aug. 12: Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Aug. 14: Rogers, AZ – Walmart AMP
Aug. 18: Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Aug. 19: San Diego, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Aug. 20: Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion

Social Distortion’s 2023 Tour Dates with The Bell Ray

06/30 – Canby, OR @ Clackamas County Fairgrounds
07/01 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
07/02 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
07/05 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
07/06 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
07/08 – Edmonton, AB @ Midway
07/09 – Edmonton, AB @ Midway
07/10 – Calgary, AB @ Canada MacEwan Hall Concerts
07/12 – Winnipeg, Canada @ Burton Cummings Theatre
07/14 – Milwaukee, WI @ Harley Davidson Homecoming Festival 2023
07/18 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
07/19 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
07/21 – Guelph, ON @ Guelph Concert Theatre
07/22 – Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
07/23 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
07/25 – Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
07/26 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
07/28 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
07/29 – Stroudsburg, PA @ Sherman Theater
07/30 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
08/01 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
08/02 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
08/03 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
08/05 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall
08/06 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
08/08 – Albuquerque, NM @ Revel Entertainment Center
08/09 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre

The Dead Milkmen are back with their first new album in nearly a decade — Quaker City Quiet Pills — and they’ve just debuted lead-off single “Grandpa’s Not A Racist (He Just Voted For One),” a song the band describes as mocking “the mental acrobatics of defending a Trump-loving grandparent.”

The 13-track album will be released June 9 via The Giving Groove, a record label with a charitable giving model that will allow the Milkmen to donate the label’s proceeds of album revenue to Rock the Future, a nonprofit organization that “equips Philadelphia youth with life skills to support current and lifelong well-being through free, student-driven music programs.”

Johnny Rotten is mourning the death of his wife, Nora Forster, who had been living with Alzheimer's disease for several years.

The Sex Pistols frontman, whose real name is John Lydon, shared the news of Forster's death at 80 in a statement posted to social media Thursday. Alongside a sweet picture of the two embracing, the statement said, "It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that Nora Forster - John Lydon's wife of nearly 5 decades - has passed away."

June 23: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, NJ
June 24: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
June 26: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
June 29: Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ON
June 30: Place Bell, Montreal, QC
July 2: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
July 5: Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY
July 7: Veterans United Home Loan Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, VA
July 8: Costal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek , Raleigh, NC
July 11: FirstBank Amphitheater, Franklin, TN
July 13: Hollywood Casino Amphitheater, St. Louis, MO
July 14: Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO
July 16: Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX
July 17: Moody Center, Austin, TX
July 20: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
July 22: RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater, Ridgefield, WA
July 24: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
July 26: Hayden Homes Amphitheatre. Bend, OR
July 27: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
July 29: Toyota Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA
Aug. 1: Acrisure Arena, Palm Springs, CA
Aug. 2: Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA

June 7: Vancouver, British Columbia @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
June 9: Woodinville, WA @ Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
June 10: Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
June 11:Reno, NV @ Silver Legacy Casino Reno
June 13: San Francisco, CA @ Golden Gate Theatre
June 14: Ventura, CA @ Ventura Theatre
June 16: Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
June 17: Las Vegas, NV @ Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort
June 18: Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
June 20: Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion
June 21: Omaha, NE @ Steelhouse Omaha
June 23: Hammond, IN @ The Venue at Horseshoe Casino
June 24: Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
June 25: Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center
June 28: Rochester Hills, MI @ Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
July 1: Lenox, MA @ Tanglewood
July 2: Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
July 5: Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
July 6: Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
July 8: Syracuse, NY @ Landmark Theatre
July 9: Baltimore, MD @ The Lyric
July 12: New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
July 14: Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia

BMG announced that production was underway on the first official documentary about Devo.

Titled simply Devo, the film is being directed by Chris Smith and will follow the band’s story “from their formation in the aftermath of the Kent State massacre, through their years as politically driven outsiders, into their surprising turn to the top of the charts with their breakout hit, ‘Whip It’,” a BMG statement said.

“Forming in 1973, Devo banded together initially as performance artists, disillusioned and radicalized by the shooting at Kent State where they were students,” the statement continued. “Their artistry was a commentary on corruption in the United States, the perceived ‘dumbing down’ of an entire generation by mass media and the commodification of a poisoned society.

“With a mixture of archival footage, interviews from other characters in their orbit and a range of storytelling techniques, the film’s inventive narrative will parallel the revolutionary creativity the band is known for. Ultimately, Devo explores Devo’s evolution from hippie artistes to art-rockers with a message, to their unexpected mainstream success as a hit rock band and the pioneers of the MTV age.”

A24 has acquired worldwide rights to the classic Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense.” A 4K restoration of the movie will be released in theaters globally later this year. 

Jonathan Demme, the acclaimed filmmaker of “Silence of the Lambs” and “Philadelphia,” directed 1984’s “Stop Making Sense,” which is regarded as one of the greatest concert films ever.

THE CURE - 2023 A LOST WORLD TOUR

MAY '23

10 NEW ORLEANS, LA SMOOTHIE KING CENTER
12 HOUSTON, TX TOYOTA CENTER
13 DALLAS, TX DOS EQUIS PAVILION
14 AUSTIN, TX MOODY CENTER
16 ALBUQUERQUE, NM ISLETA AMPHITHEATER
18 PHOENIX, AZ DESERT DIAMOND ARENA
20 SAN DIEGO, CA NICU AMPHITHEATRE
23 LOS ANGELES, CA HOLLYWOOD BOWL
24 LOS ANGELES, CA HOLLYWOOD BOWL
25 LOS ANGELES, CA HOLLYWOOD BOWL
27 SAN FRANCISCO, CA SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE

JUNE '23

01 SEATTLE, WA CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA
02 VANCOUVER, BC ROGERS ARENA
04 SALT LAKE CITY, UT VIVINT SMART HOME ARENA
06 DENVER, CO FIDDLER'S GREEN AMPHITHEATRE
08 MINNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL, MN XCEL ENERGY CENTER
10 CHICAGO, IL UNITED CENTER
11 CLEVELAND, OH BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER
13 DETROIT, MI PINE KNOB MUSIC THEATRE
14 TORONTO, ON BUDWEISER STAGE
16 MONTREAL, QCBELL CENTRE
18 BOSTON, MA XFINITY CENTER
20 NEW YORK, NY MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
21 NEW YORK, NY MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
22 NEW YORK, NY MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
24 PHILADELPHIA, PA WELLS FARGO CENTER
25 COLUMBIA, MD MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION
27 ATLANTA, GA STATE FARM ARENA
29 TAMPA, FL AMALIE ARENA

JULY '23

01 MIAMI, FL MIAMI-DADE ARENA

EUROPE

May 18: Krakow, PL – Tauron Arena
May 20: Verona, IT – Verona Arena
May 21: Milan, IT – Mediolanum Arena
May 23: Paris, FR – AccorHotels Arena
May 24: Lille, FR – Stade Pierre-Mauroy
May 26: Berlin, DE – Waldbuehne
May 28: Munich, DE – Koenigsplatz
May 30: Copenhagen, DK- Royal Arena
May 31: Stockholm, SE – Avicii Arena
June 2: Bergen, NO – Koengen
June 5: Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
June 6: Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis
June 8: Zurich, CH – Hallenstadion
June 10: Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
June 12: Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena
June 13: Frankfurt, DE – Festhalle
June 15: Bordeaux, FR – Arkea Arena
June 17: Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
June 19: London, UK – The O2
June 22: Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
June 23: Manchester, UK – AO Arena
June 25: Dublin, IE – 3Arena

NORTH AMERICA

Sept. 8: Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre
Sept. 9: Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
Sept. 11: Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Sept. 13: Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Sept. 14: Boston, MA – TD Garden
Sept. 16: Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Sept. 18: New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Sept. 30: Chicago, IL – United Center
Oct. 7: Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Oct. 8: Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Oct. 11: San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Oct. 13: Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum

Morrissey has confirmed that he’s recorded a new album called ‘Without Music The World Dies’ and shared its track list. 

No release date has been confirmed for the new LP, but a post on Morrissey’s website detailed that it was recorded at La Fabrique Studios in St-Remy, France and was produced by longtime collaborator Joe Chiccarelli.

Among its 10-song tracklist are tracks titled ‘Suspicious Minds’, ‘Happy New Tears’, ‘The Night Pop Dropped’ and more. 

Tracklist:

1. ‘The Night Pop Dropped
2. ‘Zoom Zoom The Little Boy’
3. ‘Boulevard’
4. ‘Headache’
5. ‘Without Music the World Dies’
6. ‘Suspicious Minds'

7. ‘Notre-Dame’
8. ‘Many Icebergs Ago’
9. ‘Happy New Tears’
10. ‘The Monsters of Pig Alley’

May 10: The Fillmore DC, Silver Spring, MD, USA
May 13: Sick New World Festival, Las Vegas, NV, USA
May 14: Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV, USA
May 15: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA, USA
May 17: The Masonic, San Francisco, CA, USA
May 19: Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR, USA
May 21: Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA, USA
May 23: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA, USA
May 24: Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ, USA
May 26: Bayou Music Center, Houston, TX, USA
May 27: Austin City Limits Live at Moody Theatre, Austin, TX, USA
May 29: The Pageant, St Louis, MO, USA
May 31: Big Night Live, Boston, MA, USA
June 2: Kings Theatre, Brooklyn, NY, USA
June 3: The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA, USA
June 5: The Fillmore, Detroit, MI, USA
June 6: The Salt Shed, Chicago, IL, USA
June 8: Uptown Theatre, Kansas City, MO, USA
June 9: Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO, USA
June 11: C3 Stage, Guadalajara, Mexico
June 13: Circo Volador, Mexico City, Mexico
June 16: Club Chocolate, Santiago, Chile
June 18: Tokio Marine Hall, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Tom Verlaine, who redefined rock guitar in the punk era of the 1970s with his band Television, died Saturday in Manhattan. He was 73.

Verlaine’s death was confirmed to the New York Times by Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of Verlaine’s peer and former partner Patti Smith. She shared that the musician had died “after a brief illness.”

Staking out Hilly Kristal’s funky club CBGB on New York’s Bowery as its laboratory, Television advanced an expansive, ecstatic style that counterpoised Verlaine’s askew, chiming playing against fellow guitarist Richard Lloyd’s more conventionally bluesy yet equally lyrical work.

Critic Robert Palmer noted in “Rock & Roll: An Unruly History” (1995), “When the punk rebellion began taking shape in the mid-seventies, Television in particular carried on the [Velvet Underground’s] legacy of street-real lyrics and harmonic clang-and-drone, with appropriate nods to John Coltrane’s modal jazz and the Byrds’ resonating raga-rock from lead guitarist Tom Verlaine.”

Though the band never found great commercial success, the impact of Verlaine’s freewheeling, jaggedly inventive playing and Television’s combative two-guitar assault would later be widely felt in the music of younger acolytes, from such New York-based bands as the Feelies and Sonic Youth to West Coast-bred players like Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate and Nels Cline of Wilco.

“He was my guitar hero at a time when I needed one most,” Wynn said in a statement. “I spent the entire year of 1981 practicing daily to Marquee Moon. Tom Verlaine’s soloing (and Richard Lloyd‘s as well, of course) showed me you could be a virtuoso and dangerous at the same time, more Coltrane or Ornette than the arena rockers of the day. It was a revelation and I was hoping my Jazzmaster could somehow channel his when I played the solo on ‘Halloween’ on the first Dream Syndicate album. Such an immeasurable influence on me and, of course, on so many of fellow guitarist friends.”

Signed to Elektra Records (after the departure of Verlaine’s close friend and co-founding member Richard Hell), Television issued its groundbreaking debut album “Marquee Moon” in 1977; the collection’s 10-minute title track – written by Verlaine, who also played an extended solo and contributed a distinctively throttled, wobbly lead vocal –was an anomaly among the short, intensely focused songs of such CBGB contemporaries as the Ramones and Talking Heads.

Increasing tension between Verlaine and Lloyd led Television to disband after its second album “Adventure” (1978); the group would reunite for a self-titled 1992 album for Capitol Records and sporadic live appearances. In 2007, Lloyd was replaced in the touring unit by Jimmy Ripp, who had for many years supported Verlaine on his solo albums and tours.

On his own, Verlaine released eight solo albums, which extended the cryptic authorial voice he developed in Television, on Elektra, Warner Bros., Virgin, I.R.S., Fontana and Rykodisc from 1979-1992. A 14-year studio hiatus followed, until the guitarist reemerged in 2006 with the vocal collection “Songs and Other Things” and the instrumental set “Around,” released simultaneously on the Chicago independent label Thrill Jockey.

He was always a reluctant rock star and guitar hero. In a 2006 New York Times story, Ben Sisario wrote, “When asked how his own life should appear in a biography, Mr. Verlaine thought for a moment before offering his preferred self-deprecating epigram: ‘Struggling not to have a professional career.’”

He was born Thomas Miller in Danville, N.J., on Dec. 13, 1949. His family relocated to the working class suburb of Wilmington, Del., in 1956. A love of symphonic music led him to the piano as a child. In 1963, he took up the saxophone after gravitating to the music of jazz avant gardists Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Roland Kirk and Albert Ayler.

Only after his twin brother John played the Rolling Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown” and other contemporary rock records for him did Miller rethink his preferred instrument. “Up until then, the guitar was a stupid instrument to me,” he recalled in a 2001 interview with Mojo. “Those records made me think the guitar could be as good as jazz.”

By 1966, the aspiring musician had become proficient enough on guitar to start a short-lived band with local drummer Billy Ficca. At Sanford Preparatory, a Wilmington boarding school he attended as a day student, Miller encountered Richard Meyers, a rebellious, under-achieving Kentuckian. The two became close friends, and made an attempt to run away to Florida that was squelched by the police in Alabama.

In 1968, after abortive studying at Erskine College, a Christian school in South Carolina, and some bumming around in Delaware, Miller rejoined Meyers, who had moved to New York and was living in Greenwich Village. They tried their hands at poetry and pranks – at one point publishing a book together as “Theresa Stern,” featuring a composite portrait in drag. But the New York Dolls’ glam scene inspired the pair to form a band, the Neon Boys, with Meyers on bass and Ficca recruited as the drummer.

The group fell apart in 1973. But a year later the three musicians reconvened, joined by guitarist Richard Lloyd, whose benefactor Terry Ork employed Miller and Meyers at his Village memorabilia store Cinemabilia.

Armed with original songs by the guitarist and bassist, the quartet debuted at a small Times Square theater on March 2, 1974, with crudely short-cropped hair and, reflecting their ongoing penury, shredded, safety-pinned clothing. (The look was soon exported to England by Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols.) Meyers had renamed himself Richard Hell; Miller took the stage name Tom Verlaine, after the 19th-century French poet; and the band, in acknowledgement of Verlaine’s handle, was renamed Television.

Looking for a regular hitching post, Hell and Verlaine convinced Skid Row bar owner Kristal to give them a steady CBGB gig, and the Bowery shows began to attract attention, as well as other young bands looking for a local slot for their original music.

An early press rave was penned for Rock Scene magazine by Patti Smith, then developing her own reputation as a musician; the review was a virtual mash note to Verlaine, whom she said “plays lead guitar with angular inverted passion like a thousand bluebirds screaming.” The two were soon involved romantically; Verlaine guested on guitar on her 1975 debut album “Horses,” for which he co-authored the song “Break It Up” with Smith, and they collaborated on the book “The Night” in 1976.

Television’s increasingly forceful live performances brought interest from Island Records, but a 1975 demo produced by Brian Eno failed to secure a contract. At the same time, Hell’s agitated stage style and burgeoning heroin habit and Verlaine’s reluctance to play his songs prompted a split. (Some of Hell’s songs for Television were heard on “Blank Generation,” the 1977 debut by his band the Voidoids.)

With Blondie’s original bassist Fred Smith enlisted to replace Hell, the band recorded a storming seven-minute track that was issued across two sides of a single released by Ork on his eponymous label in September 1975. One of the earliest indie singles issued on the New York punk scene, “Little Johnny Jewel” ignited new major label interest in Television, and the band was ultimately signed by A&R exec Karin Berg to Elektra Records in July 1976.

The “Marquee Moon” album and its ambitious title track were both instantly acknowledged as defining statements. But, despite the fact that Television gelled into one of the most formidable live acts on the scene, neither the debut LP nor its successor “Adventure” managed to enter the American charts, and the group dissolved within weeks of the end of its 1978 U.S. tour.

Though he always boasted a devoted cult fan base, Verlaine never succeeded in attaining a commercial foothold on the charts; his 1981 sophomore solo album “Dreamtime,” his lone entry, peaked at No. 177. After the “Television” reunion album and the instrumental set “Warm and Cool” in 1992, he opted out on recording for nearly a decade and a half.

In the interim, the guitarist made appearances in 2001 with Television at All Tomorrow’s Parties in the U.K. and Chicago’s Noise Pop Festival. In the studio, and on tour, he frequently served as accompanist to former paramour Patti Smith, and appeared on her albums “Gone Again” (1996), “Gung Ho” (2000), “Twelve” (2007) and “Banga” (2012). Sessions he produced for singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley before his 1997 were excerpted on the posthumous album “Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk” (1998). 

Sex Pistols‘ Glen Matlock has announced details of a new solo album called ‘Consequences Coming’.

The record is due out on April 27 via Cooking Vinyl, and being previewed today (January 27) by first single ‘Head On A Stick’.

Of the new single, Matlock said: “Peeved at the predictable but ultimately pointless political lurch to the right that has happened in the West over the past few years, one which has been aided and abetted by the vested interests of a client press, I put pen to paper and plectrum to guitar to compose a song that’s a call to arms, a wake up alarm and primal open your eyes scream.

“It might be easy to be wise after the event but some saw where we were headed and in the words of ‘Pete Seeger’ attempted to hammer out a warning. We always thought it can’t happen here but it sadly most definitely has and heads should justifiably roll…”

Discussing the creation of the new album, Matlock said: “The album was written and recorded in Britain over the last 18 months or so with a posse of seasoned but on point performers.

New Order are hitting the road with a new run of tour dates slated for March 2023.

The new wave legends’ newly announced US jaunt is really a tour of the south, with dates scheduled in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, and Austin, Texas, as well as New Orleans, Louisiana. The Austin shows are, of course, for South by Southwest, while the rest will be headlining gigs. Tickets open to the public Friday, February 2nd at 10:00 a.m. local time, while fans can use code TRUEFAITH to access a pre-sale that begins Saturday, January 28th at 10:00 a.m. local time. Grab tickets via Ticketmaster or Stubhub.

On January 27th, New Order will release “definitive edition” box set for their 1985 album Low-Life, featuring previously unreleased material from the era alongside live footage and new artwork. Revisit our list of the band’s 10 Best Songs.

New Order 2023 Tour Dates:
03/09 — Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum
03/11 — San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
03/13 - 03/15 — Austin, TX @ SXSW
03/16 — Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
03/18 — New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater

Sparks have returned to Island Records almost 50 years on from their breakthrough album with the label, Music Week can reveal.

The inventive and enduring pop duo have re-signed to Island for the release of their 26th studio album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, released on May 26.

It’s a surprise industry move for the Mael brothers, Ron and Russell, although it follows a growing global awareness of their songwriting prowess and rich legacy. In 2021, there was the release of both Edgar Wright’s documentary The Sparks Brothers and the duo’s own musical film Annette.

Sparks achieved their critical and commercial breakthrough with Kimono My House, their 1974 debut for Island. The album peaked at No.4 and featured the No.2 single This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us. 

The gold-certified Kimono My House was followed by three more LPs with Island - Top 10 album Propaganda (1974), Indiscreet (1975) and Big Beat (1976) - and a run of Top 30 singles. The duo are now back with the label after a break of around 47 years.

“Sparks have always been one of the most original, groundbreaking and creative groups in pop and their longevity is partly down to their ability to constantly reinvent themselves,” said Island president Louis Bloom. “It’s an honour and thrill having Sparks back on Island. Next year it will be 50 years since Island released Kimono My House. That album sounded like it came from the future and once again with The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, Ron & Russell have created a pop masterpiece that sounds like no one else.”

Cruel World Festival for 2023 has been announced for May 20th of this year.  The festival will be held at the same venue as the one last September, adjacent to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. 

As you can see from the image above that it's an amazing lineup of both 80s new wave as well as newer bands. Tickets go on sale Friday the 27th of January, and are likely to sell out quickly.  Go to https://cruelworldfest.com/ for details. 

May 13: Sick New World Festival, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
May 23: Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, CA, USA
June 13: Circo Volador, Mexico City, Mexico
June 16: Club Chocolate, Santiago, Chile
June 18: Tokio Marine Hall, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Public Image Ltd. this month released a moving new single called “Hawaii,” described by the band as a “love letter” to frontman John Lydon’s wife Nora Forster — mother of the late Ari Up, frontwoman of The Slits — as she lives with Alzheimer’s disease.

A full new PiL album is expected this year, according to the band’s publicists.

Michael Stipe has confirmed that he is still working on his debut album, and that it “should come together next year. 

Speaking of his solo album, the musician said: “I’m working on a solo album, my first. I’m collaborating with a bunch of different musicians and each of those songs, if I get my way, which I think I will because I’m paying for it, will be very different.

“I have no management. I have no label. For the first time in my adult life, I don’t have a contract with anyone except myself. So I get to do whatever I want. Anyway, there will be a visual representation for each of the songs, and it should come together next year. I’m hoping to build slowly.”

He also mentioned “working next year with a lot of dancers” and discussed an upcoming art show, which will take place in Milan at ICA, as well as a new book.

“I’m working on a bunch of sculpture pieces for that,” he noted. “There will be a lot of photo-based portraiture. So I have the record, the show, and then of course to further complicate it and make it difficult on myself, my next book with Damiani will come out as a loose program of the show. And I’m doing something that I’m completely terrified of and not sure that I’m capable of. Actually, I know that I’m incapable, but I’ve started painting.”

Sadly, one of the great singer/songwriters of Ska and new wave has died.  Terry Hall was the leader of The Specials, Fun Boy Three and The Colourfield, as well as his own solo material and working with many other artists. 

He passed after a brief illness and was 63. 

Morrissey has announced the recording of a new album called ‘Without Music The World Dies’.

The soloist and former The Smiths singer confirmed plans to record his 15th album between January and February next year.

‘Bonfire Of Teenagers’, meanwhile, is expected to release in spring 2023. It was originally scheduled for release in February but has since been held with no further details, with the singer citing decisions held “exclusively in the hands of Capitol Records (Los Angeles)”.

Eighties pop duo Eurythmics are in line to reunite for a global tour.  Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart have been offered a huge amount of cash by US promoters to make a comeback next year.

Music insiders claim a 40-date world arena tour could gross a whopping £100million.

Earlier this month, Annie, 67, and Dave, 70, put on an extremely rare performance as they were inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

And the duo could now be tempted out of retirement to reunite for their first world tour in more than 20 years.

Nothing has been agreed yet, but insiders have high hopes for what would be one of pop’s biggest ever comebacks.