Image © Steve GullickColdplay and The Killers singers help Travis Raze The Bar on new single Travis follow the March release of Gaslight, the lead track from new album L.A. Times, with Raze The Bar featuring additional vocals from Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Brandon Flowers of The Killers. A bittersweet story about the closure of Black & White Bar, a much-loved New York haunt for the band, Raze The Bar utilises Fran’s masterful songwriting to tell of a fictional last night in the Greenwich Village bar. Speaking about the track, Fran Healy says: “There was a great bar in New York City. It d ..read more

Classic Pop looks back at the rise, fall and rebirth of a magical era in popular culture: The story of disco music…  During the summer of 1979 disco dominated the airwaves. Nightclub dancefloors around the world were awash with pretty young things, busting moves in the sharpest of satin suits and polyester. Everything that glittered was gold… and wrapped in lamé. However, not everyone was digging this new boogie wonderland… on 12 July 1979 a baying mob, fired up by disgruntled radio DJ Steve Dahl, descended on Comiskey Park baseball stadium in Chicago. Thousands of long-haired white male ..read more

Duran Duran to reissue iconic first five studio albums Long out of print and long overdue, Duran Duran, Rio, Seven And The Ragged Tiger, Notorious, and Big Thing, will be reissued in the original 1LP and 1CD format for the first time since their initial release. Both LP and CD will feature the latest album remasters, with vinyl editions cut at Abbey Road Studios. The album artworks have been closely restored to the original sleeve designs, overseen by Malcolm Garrett, the visionary designer behind the band’s first three albums. Duran Duran’s first five albums – 1981’s Duran Duran, 1982’s Rio ..read more

Image © Vincent ArbeletThe Miki Berenyi Trio release first official single The Miki Berenyi Trio, fronted by Miki Berenyi, best known as the lead singer of shoegaze icons and Britpop darlings Lush, have released their first official single Vertigo. The track comes as the collective prepare for an upcoming U.S. headline tour with support from Lol Tolhurst x Budgie. Completed by Miki’s Piroshka collaborators Kevin ‘Moose’ McKillop on guitar and Oliver Cherer on bass, the single’s performance video is filmed by French director Sébastien Faits-Divers in the Consortium Museum (Contemporary Art Cent ..read more

Classic Pop’s essential guide to The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 Following Sweden’s victory at last year’s celebration of music in Liverpool, The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 heads to Malmö for the 68th edition. This will be the seventh time Sweden have hosted the contest and it will be presented by comedian Petra Mede with actress Malin Åkerman. Last year’s event, hosted by the BBC in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine, united audiences across the world and reached 162 million people over its three live shows. The winning song, Tattoo, performed by Loreen took the prize with 583 points. In ..read more

Image © Jamie NoiseAn intimate evening of stories and song promised as extra dates are added to Will Young tour Due to overwhelming demand, Will Young is adding more shows to his Light It Up Live 2024 Tour in Falmouth, Gateshead, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff and a third London date. To celebrate his forthcoming new album Light It Up, Will is embarking on his most intimate tour yet – taking shape as an up close and personal evening of acoustic performances of all his hits and new songs, stories and conversation. The 50-plus-date UK tour will kick off in September through to December. About the ..read more

Top 20 B-Sides of the 80s We remember some of the best B-sides of the 80s… By Barry Page It’s easy to forget in today’s era of streaming and downloading just what a treasure trove of additional material the flipsides of vinyl singles offered in the creatively fertile 80s. If you were unlucky, your favourite 45 would include either an instrumental, a live track, or, worse still, a previously released album cut, but for every dud there was a veritable gem. The humble B-side offered many acts the opportunity to experiment in the studio and present themselves in a different light, while others tre ..read more

Let’s go girls… Shania Twain celebrates summer shows with limited edition release Shania Twain has announced that she will be releasing a special limited edition LP to celebrate her UK and Ireland tour this summer. Featuring a number of best-selling hits, Greatest Hits Summer Tour Edition 2024, will include newly remastered versions of multi-platinum tracks such as Man! I Feel Like A Woman!, That Don’t Impress Me Much, and You’re Still The One’ as well as the single Giddy Up! from her recent UK No.1 album, Queen Of Me. Tracklisting Side A 1 Forever And For Always (Pop Red Edit) 2 I’m Gonna G ..read more

Pet Shop Boys – Nonetheless (Parlophone) Neil Tennant is in the form of his life as the synth-pop legends celebrate going back home with one of their most diverse albums to date Returning to their original label of Parlophone 12 years after Elysium looked like being the final album on their natural home, Pet Shop Boys mark the occasion with their most stately work since that polarising record. Neil Tennant promised CP last year that “The strings are back”, which is in truth a worrying sign for those fans who found Elysium and Release just a little too sombre. That their new producer James For ..read more

The Brand New Heavies: Andrew Levy, Angela Ricci and Simon BartholomewThe Brand New Heavies celebrate 30 years of Brother Sister with UK tour Released in 1994, The Brand New Heavies’ third album, Brother Sister, changed everything for the band. Propelled by the classic singles Dream On Dreamer, Midnight At The Oasis and Back To Love, the record achieved huge success and cemented their position as the pioneers of Acid Jazz. Still sounding as fresh and timeless as it did back then, the group featuring original members Andrew Levy and Simon Bartholomew with the vocalist Angela Ricci, will pe ..read more