Off the wall?

On 25 June 2009, the world and its Swarovski crystal glove mourned the passing of a pop giant. Michael Jackson: a living legend; a musical visionary; a bona fide 20th-century icon.

ABBA to take over Jacko gigs?

There’s no doubt it would be quite a coup, but could it happen? The Sun reports today that long-split Swedish pop monoliths ABBA have been approached by concert promoters AEG Live to bravely step into the Jacko breach and play those O2 gigs this summer. How good would that be?

Pick at the pops

Let the tributes begin. Well, OK, let them continue. Hmmm, how about we just stop the tributes? That appears to be the view of Justin Timberlake, who shows signs of discomfort about a planned gig in Michael Jackson’s honour. The Trousersnake is apparently on a shortlist of stars wanted by concert promoters AEG Live to perform in memory of King Of Our Hearts Jacko, but he’s anxious about the idea: “I just feel like if there would be any pretension, it would not be good. That’s my worry. It would have to be done properly.” It’s almost as if JT’s concerned it would be one massive glitzy cash-in by a concert promoter currently poised to lose hundreds of millions of pounds in refunded tickets. Almost.

Jacko's wackiest videos

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' didn’t just change the way we made pop records. It also radically altered the way we visualised those pop records in video format. At 14 minutes long, the mini-horror spoof cost a massive £500,000. With this in mind, and in memory of  one of the world's greatest showmen, we’ve put together a collection of the best and most outrageous Jacko videos of all time...

Pick at the pops

Yes, it’s your chance to grab a piece of history. The Imagine Corporation (no, we don’t know where they got the name either) is offering punters the chance to win The Beatles’ original management contract, and all you have to do is guess its value.

Graham Coxon - Brave The Storm (Live Exclusive)

Ahead of Blur's hotly anticipated return performance at Glastonbury next week, guitarist Graham Coxon sat down to give us a wonderful acoustic performance of 'Brave The Storm' from current solo album, The Spinning Top. You can buy the album here, and check out the video below (allow a few moments for it to load).

Pick at the pops

“I don’t think they did it on purpose.” And thus Cat Stevens – OK, Yusuf Islam – lets Coldplay off the hook, having earlier claimed that the British rock knaves had made off with the melody of his ‘Foreigner Suite’ for their own ‘Viva La Vida’.

Pick at the pops

The life of the journalist is a tough one. No, wait, come back! This is no self-pity piece, but we do feel sorry for beleaguered NME writers today. Lego-haired Oasis grand poobah Noel Gallagher has banned representatives of this most august publication from attending his band's summer gigs.

Eminem Vs Bruno

Eminem had an evening of two halves at last night's MTV Movie Awards (31 May).

 

The Detroit MC performed a medley of his hits to a rapturous reception at Los Angeles' Gibson Amphitheatre before becoming the victim of a stunt by Sacha Baron Cohen.

Sacha, best known for his characters Ali G and Borat Sagdiyev, was in the guise of his latest alter-ego, Bruno, for the evening. Scheduled to present the award for Best Male Performance, Bruno was lowered into the crowd from the rafters after an apparent costume malfunction. Unfortunately for Em, he was literally dropped into his lap (click here to see the video).

Glastonbury interview: Francis Rossi

Denim-clad chugging rock legends Status Quo will be getting Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage crowd going on the Sunday, which struck us as the perfect opportunity to catch up with frontman Francis Rossi over the phone. So there I was, clutching my list of questions, when things went a bit “off-piste”…