Oasis honoured

Gallagher brothers to pick up prestigious Silver Clef accolade

04 July 2008 - Oasis are due to receive the prestigious Silver Clef award celebrating their contribution to the music industry later today (4 July).

The Manchester rockers will be honoured at the ceremony in London’s Park Lane Hilton hotel.

Oasis shot to fame in the 1990s with their anthemic debut album Definitely Maybe . They continue to have an impact today with their seventh album, Dig Out Your Soul , due out on 6 October.

Fronted by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, they still hold a record with their 1997 contribution, Be Here Now , selling over a million copies in two weeks – establishing it as the fastest selling album in UK chart history.

This year's O2 Silver Clef Awards guest list also includes The Fratellis, Lily Allen, Paul Weller, Russell Brand, Simon Pegg and Meatloaf.

The event is in aid of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, which supports children and adults throughout the country by means of 30,000 sessions and projects.

Other awards to be presented include Best British Band, Best International Band and Icon.

Last year's winners included Snow Patrol, Bryan Ferry, Rod Stewart, The Feeling, John Legend, Paolo Nutini and Andrea Bocelli – with Paul Weller scooping the Silver Clef award.

6 Music will be down at the event bringing you all of the up-to-the-minute news and interviews from the red carpet.

Georgie Rogers

Ian Curtis horror

The Joy Division icon’s memorial stone has been stolen

03 July 2008 - The gravestone of Joy Division's Ian Curtis, who was found hanged in 1980 aged 23, has been stolen.

The memorial stone was discovered missing from where the singer is buried in Macclesfield Cemetery at 9.25am on 1 July.

It had been there at approximately lunch time on 30 June.

Tony Barker, the Public Relations Officer for Macclesfield Borough Council in Cheshire, described the gravestone as, “the most famous memorial curbstone in Macclesfield cemetery, of all its 68 acres.”

Barker described the stolen article as a 30 centimeter wide memorial with Ian Curtis engraved on it, the date of his death - 18/05/1980, and the wording Love Will Tear Us Apart.

“It is the most visited memorial curbstone. It has been visited by people from all four corners of the world,” Barker explained, regarding the impact the gravestone has had, continuing; “given that Control the film was released last year and has had a huge amount of publicity, it seems Ian Curtis is even more of a man of folk law than fans would have realised.”

The missing gravestone has rested in that spot for 28 years and Barker, like the rest of us, was shocked at the news.

He told 6 Music: “It seems so galling, so tragic that someone has robbed an opportunity for true music fans to come and pay their tributes right now, because we are now searching for the missing curbstone, rather than paying tribute to the one that has been there for several years paying tribute to Ian Curtis.”

"It would have taken a great deal of effort to lever this out possibly using a crow bar or something to lever it out from its position."

And he went on to explain that it would have been, by no means an easy feet, to remove it from the Joy Division frontman’s resting place.

“It would have taken a great deal of effort to lever this out possibly using a crow bar or something to lever it out from its position,” said Barker, “a vehicle could have gone down the service road and be used for a quick immediate getaway but – how shocking this is.”

Curtis’ family were made aware of the news and were keen to make it public in the hope that the precious item will be recovered.

Barker said: “Debbie, when we told her, was naturally devastated. I think that family was fresh back from holiday so obviously it was the last thing they wanted to hear which is why she said to us do try and generate as much publicity to music lovers everywhere. If you know something, please tell the Cheshire police.”

Inspector Gareth Woods, of the Macclesfield Neighbourhood Policing Unit, told 6 Music: "This is a very unusual theft and I am confident that someone locally will have knowledge about who is responsible or where the Memorial Stone is at present.

"I would appeal for anyone with such information to contact Cheshire Constabulary on 0845 458 0000 or alternatively anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

Georgie Rogers

Weller plays Jam

Paul Weller speaks about bringing back Jam classics at his gigs

03 July 2008 - Paul Weller has been dipping into his back catalogue – as well as playing the odd unexpected cover at his recent shows.

At his intimate London gig as part of the iTunes Festival on 2 July, Paul Weller played a spontaneous cover of All You Need Is Love by The Beatles and surprised fans with The Jam’s hit Eton Rifles.

Speaking exclusively to 6 Music before the gig, the Modfather explained why he has rarely revisited his former band’s old material.

The former Jam frontman said that his decision was not for any profound reasons, but because he never thought they would fit into his set lists.

He also explained how his attitude to the classic songs has changed with time: “Sometimes you need some kinda of opening really, for me anyway, to play some of these old songs. I think about them in a different way these days.”

And that it wasn’t always easy for Weller to revisit old material: “For a while I couldn’t play some of the old songs, I just couldn’t get my head around it and now I can sort of play them against the new songs and it sounds alright to me, it sounds ok.”

Thanks to the band The Rifles prompting Weller to play Eton Riffles before the encore, he is now lining up a few more tracks from his former band’s back catalogue.

“Yeah. We’ve already started talking about it with me and the band,” Weller explained, “because we’re going to Australia in August, which I’ve not been to for 23 years or something mad - so I’ve got to put some old songs in for the Aussies or I’ll probably get lynched.”

He revealed that people will be able to make requests about what Jam songs they want to hear during his upcoming shows, but at this stage he would not divulge any more information on that.

Weller told 6 Music: “We’ve just started drawing up a shortlist of songs and it’s kinda exciting I think, because I can sort of see now to make them that different, but I can also see how to make them into our sound as well.”

"For a while I couldn’t play some of the old songs, I just couldn’t get my head around it."
Paul Weller

Number one album

Weller has had a mammoth year, turning 50 and releasing a double album 22 Dreams in June, which went to number one.

Despite being thrilled with its success, Weller explained that the prospect of reaching number one and making a profit was not the singer’s intention when he set out to make the record.

He said: “I wasn’t thinking of any commercial aspects when I started making this last year and if anything I was trying to make it as indulgent as possible really and it just seems funny, in a nice way, that it has really connected with people and people like it. I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased to be number one, it was brilliant.”

Live Shows

Finally, Weller reflected on the success of his album which he feels has been reflected in his live shows.

Telling 6 Music about the positive reactions he has been getting to the new material, Weller said: “It has been great actually. Most songs actually start to take on a different life when you play them live.

“It was great because we did the tour before the album came out so obviously people hadn’t heard of most of the songs anyway, so that’s always a challenge.

“But I think it’s a testament to the strength of the songs, because people are still reacting to the things they haven’t heard before.”

Georgie Rogers

Duran/Ronson for Bond?

Is this collaboration the Bond Theme winner?

02 July 2008 - The speculation continues around who will clinch the James Bond Theme deal for the new film Quantum Of Solace.

And now, a Duran Duran/Mark Ronson collaboration has been thrown into the mix.

Speaking exclusively to 6 Music before their one off show in Paris (2 July), the band and producer confirmed that Ronson worked on some material including A View To A Kill for the Smirnoff Experience show - and by no means denied that it could be used for the next film Quantum Of Solace.

Keyboardist Nick Rhodes went on to say: “Actually, Mark’s done an amazing string section piece for the show using a bunch of the bond themes, some of the ones we just mentioned and going into A View To A Kill. That’s a real highlight.”

When asked for his favourite bond themes, Simon Le Bon said: “I do love All The Time In The World. Goldfinger is amazing, You Only Live Twice is amazing…and also what about Live And Let Die? That’s fantastic as well.”

Rhodes explained his preferred theme was Diamonds Are Forever before Ronson interjected: “What about A View To A Kill? Do you remember that one? That’s really good too.”

“Oh yes, oh we like that one,” Le Bon continued, “that’s one of our favourites in fact. Let’s have that one as our favourite.”

After further probing on whether Ronson would be doing more work on this Bond project for the forthcoming film, Ronson did nothing to quash rumours and replied: “I’m not allowed to really talk about that actually.”

Ronson and Duran Duran join the likes of Amy Winehouse, Duffy and even Leona Lewis - other rumoured candidates.

Duran Duran/Ronson collaboration

Before they took to the stage at the intimate venue of La Cigale in Paris, both sides dished all on the collaboration.

They claimed that the unique collaboration came about because of, “Dr Smirnoff,” as Ronson put it.

And explained: “We all got phone calls around the same time. Mark was asked if he fancied hooking up with Duran Duran and we were asked if we wanted to hook up with Mark Ronson - and we all said yes, resoundingly.”

Mark Ronson on Duran Duran

Ronson has previously confessed to being a huge fan of Duran Duran - even once sporting a similar haircut to his idols – and was thrilled to have the opportunity to work closely with the band.

He told 6 Music: “It has been amazing, they’ve welcomed me in and basically they gave me all the tracks so I could make my dream Duran Duran medley, and they’re letting me play guitar with them. It’s pretty amazing.”

Ronson went on to say how awe-inspiring the process has been for him: “We were in rehearsal on Thursday and I’m sitting there playing Planet Earth, rhythm guitar, and I’m thinking this has to be one of the top five moments of my career for sure.”

"I’m not allowed to really talk about that actually."
Mark Ronson

Simon Le Bon on Mark Ronson

The feelings of respect were mutual as Simon Le Bon revealed that he will be singing Ronson’s Stop Me at the show, which he said was his favourite dance floor hit of last year.

Le Bon expressed his admiration for Ronson’s work: “I love Mark’s work very much. He’s a real musician and he knows about having emotional impact and I think that’s why when he started producing music with horns and strings, he brought a romanticism that had been lacking in music back - and that was appealing.”

Working together

Le Bon went on to say that he has high hopes the collaboration will continue in the future.

He told 6 Music: “It has been so much fun digging out all the old things and for us we’ve had to relearn things that we’ve been playing, in some of the songs, in the same way for decades - and suddenly it has changed a bit.”

Working with Mark Ronson has seemingly modernised some of their tracks as Le Bon mentioned one highlight of their partnership.

“One of my favourite things that Mark came up with was sticking the Prince groove for Sign of the Times under I Don’t Want Your Love,” he said, “we would never have thought of that but it has given the song a whole different slant.”

They all concurred that a, “mash up of Duran Duran songs with some other stuff too,” is what we should expect from the fruits of their joint labour.

Georgie Rogers

Duran-Ronson show

The band and producer speak to 6 Music in Paris before their one off show

02 July 2008 - Famed for his work with Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, uber producer Mark Ronson has now teamed up with Duran Duran.

Together, they are performing a one off concert tonight (2 July) in an intimate Paris venue for the Smirnoff Experience show and speaking to 6 Music, both sides dish all on the collaboration.

They claimed that the unique collaboration came about because of, “Dr Smirnoff,” as Ronson put it.

To which Simon Le Bon continued: “We have it on good authority that it is the result of a vodka binge, which we’re quite familiar with in our own little way.”

He explained: “We all got phone calls around the same time. Mark was asked if he fancied hooking up with Duran Duran and we were asked if we wanted to hook up with Mark Ronson - and we all said yes, resoundingly.”

Mark Ronson on Duran Duran

Ronson has previously confessed to being a huge fan of Duran Duran - even once sporting a similar haircut to his idols – and was thrilled to have the opportunity to work closely with the band.

He told 6 Music: “It has been amazing, they’ve welcomed me in and basically they gave me all the tracks so I could make my dream Duran Duran medley, and they’re letting me play guitar with them. It’s pretty amazing.”

Ronson went on to say how awe-inspiring the process has been for him: “We were in rehearsal on Thursday and I’m sitting there playing Planet Earth, rhythm guitar, and I’m thinking this has to be one of the top five moments of my career for sure.”

"My favourite thing that Mark came up with was sticking the Prince groove for Sign of the Times under I Don’t Want Your Love."
Simon Le Bon

Simon Le Bon on Mark Ronson

The feelings of respect were mutual as Simon Le Bon revealed that he will be singing Ronson’s Stop Me at the show, which he said was his favourite dance floor hit of last year.

Le Bon expressed his admiration for Ronson’s work: “I love Mark’s work very much. He’s a real musician and he knows about having emotional impact and I think that’s why when he started producing music with horns and strings, he brought a romanticism that had been lacking in music back - and that was appealing.”

Working together

Le Bon went on to say that he has high hopes the collaboration will continue in the future.

He told 6 Music: “It has been so much fun digging out all the old things and for us we’ve had to relearn things that we’ve been playing, in some of the songs, in the same way for decades - and suddenly it has changed a bit.”

Working with Mark Ronson has seemingly modernised some of their tracks as Le Bon mentioned one highlight of their partnership.

“One of my favourite things that Mark came up with was sticking the Prince groove for Sign of the Times under I Don’t Want Your Love,” he said, “we would never have thought of that but it has given the song a whole different slant.”

They all concurred that a, “mash up of Duran Duran songs with some other stuff too,” is what we should expect from the fruits of their joint labour.

Georgie Rogers

Mark Ronson's Verdict

On Amy Winehouse, The Zutons and performing with Lily Allen at Glasto

30 June 2008 - Mark Ronson played twice at this year's Glastonbury festival, his own guest star-studded slot and he turned up at The Zutons' show on The Other Stage on Sunday evening, to play guitar on their track Valerie.

The band's frontman Dave McCabe paid tribute to the cover version by Ronson and Amy Winehouse, saying: "And guesting on this song, the person who actually made this song what it is, Mark Ronson."

Lily Allen guests

Mark Ronson had played his own show a bit earlier in the evening, with special guests including Daniel Merriweather, Candi Payne and a certain pink haired singer.

"I basically have been asking Lily for about two years to come up and do a show with us," she said. "She is such a Glastonbury kid, this is her twentieth year, and she just said, 'Yeah I'll stay and come'. So what if I had to pay for her chopper to fly her into Glastonbury on Thursday with her Louis Vuitton luggage, but the fact she stayed was brilliant."

Ronson went on to say it was very special for a number of reasons.

"We never played Littlest Things together and to do Oh My God, it was just a nice moment," said Ronson. "On a slightly sad note her grandmother died in the night, and I called her and said, 'If you don't wanna do it, I would never in a millon years ask you to do it.' And then she called me an hour later and said, 'My Grandmother would be so p*ssed if I didn't do it tonight'."

"It's a new Glastonbury" - Mark Ronson

The Winehouse 'punch'

Amy Winehouse managed to make headlines after her performance on Saturday night on the Pyramid Stage ended with her throwing a punch at a punter who apparently tried to grab her, in the front of the crowd.

Ronson says he has never been on the receiving end of one of Winehouse's punches, but he recognised it.
He said: "I remember that slap, like the one you used to get from your sister at the dinner table, with your Mom not looking. No I saw her peforming, she is back on form she was great."

The new Glastonbury

Ronson was also quick to state that this year's festival was a resounding success despite what people like Noel Gallagher might think.

He said: "Noel Gallagher has had a lot of issues with people performing, he said he didn't want hip hop at Glastonbury, he didn't want trumpets at Glastonbury. But here we are doing our jazz funk, it's a new Glastonbury."


Ruth Barnes

Arctic's Album Exclusive

Guitarist Jamie Cook says they are back in the studio this month

01 July 2008 - The Arctic Monkeys are heading back into the studio for album number three this month.

We caught up with guitarist Jamie Cook at Glastonbury, he told us the magic seems to happen in Alex Turner's bedroom: "Well I think we are gonna get finger out next month (July)... next month has been said. We are gonna make a start... (we'll) get back in his room in Sheffield and start writing some tunes."

With their first two albums receiving massive critical acclaim, Jamie wasn't sure which direction this album could take: "I don't know yet, we could go any way. I'm excited yeah... End of last year when we had been touring for a long time, we just needed a bit of a rest. But I think as a band we are just eager to get back in and really... I don't know what."

"End of last year we had just seen each other constantly for about four years" - Jamie Cook

Jamie also admitted that life for the band has been different since they stopped touring: "It's kind of wierd, Al's moved down to London now and we haven't seen each other for a bit. But we all keep on meeting up... it's good, like.

He continued: "End of last year we had just seen each other constantly for four years. Sleeping on a bus and waking up next to each other, it was like, 'I do not want to see you for about... for a long time!' But then you are kind of wierdly missing each other."

Jamie had just caught The Rascals performing their warm up show on the Leftfield stage at Glastonbury, and was quick to sing their praises: "Good yeah really good, the album sounds great... well, they're friends aren't they?"

Arctic Monkey's frontman Alex Turner and Rascals singer Miles Kane's group the Last Shadow Puppets have just announced a UK tour supporting their album The Age of the Understatement.

Could there be an Arctic Monkeys/ Rascals supergroup on the horizon? Jamie: "Oh it could definitely happen, I could see that! Yeah definitely. That's the best idea I have heard in a long time."

Watch this space...

Ruth Barnes