News and features from the Christmas break

02 January 2019 - News

See the daily email for more from the Christmas break
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NEWS
US charts (25/12/18): Kodak Black debuts at the top of the Billboard 200 with a figure of 89,000 (Inc 5,000 sales). (Billboard)

US charts (1/1/19): 21 Savage debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, with a figure of 131,000 (inc 18,000 sales). (Billboard)

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COMMENT, ANALYSIS & OPINION
Mariah Carey’s record-breaking day shows how little musicians make from Spotify. (Quartz) 

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MEDIA
Ex BBC bigwig Roger Mosey reveals what it is really like to work with 'mercurial genius' Chris Evans as he departs Radio 2. (Mail)

Radio X's Chris Moyles hits out at Roman Kemp and Vick Hope at Capital for being 'miserable' off air. (Express)

Farewell, Network Chart. (David Lloyd)

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FEATURES
Kitty Empire’s best pop and rock of 2018. (Observer) 

The best songs from 2018 ... that you didn't hear. (Guardian)

DJ Paul Gambaccini on being falsely accused of sexual abuse, and his rage at the Met police. (Times - Decca Aitkenhead)

Dave Hill gets no royalties from Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody. (Times) "I’ve heard it gets more royalties from more countries than any other song that has ever been recorded in the history of music, but I only get performance royalties".

Mark Ronson on how a painful divorce helped him make music that’s not just funky. (Times - Dan Cairns) 

One to watch: Ama Lou. (Observer - Kate Hutchinson)

DJ David Hamilton has never had a week out of work – even when he quit his Radio 2 job ‘on principle’. (Telegraph - Roz Lewis)

The Breunion Boys' mournful songs of heartbreak are directed not at teenage girls but at the 17.4 million Britons who voted to leave the EU. (Times)

Over the decades Christmas No 1s have told the Nativity story in epic ballads or wished everybody season’s greetings. Ian Bradley looks back at how our favourite festive hits shed starlight on changing spiritual trends. (Times) 

Perfect Illusion: Lady Gaga's Las Vegas residency is the role she was born to play. (Independent) 

My perfect Christmas music playlist, by Jarvis Cocker, Tony Bennett, Sarah Cracknell, Mabel, Natalie Prass and John Grant. (Observer - Jude Rogers)

Ariana Grande: a beacon of resilience in her worst and biggest year. (Guardian - Elle Hunt) 

Dave Keuning, guitarist of the Killers, tells Will Hodgkinson about his solo album and why he’s trying to be better. (Times)

2019 music preview. (Mail)

Who were the biggest style influencers of 2018? The ultimate 1990s girl band Spice Girls, of course. (FT - Kate Finnigan)

Country music twins Ward Thomas plan to step back from the distracting ‘quick fix’ on their phones. (Observer)

With her fiery pop-Americana, Jade Bird is determined to make a name for herself in 2019 – all on her own terms. (Guardian - Laura Snapes) 

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SHOWBIZ AND NEWS
Threatin, the wannabe rock star who booked a tour of Britain after setting up a fake online persona is scheduled to return for a genuine concert at Camdem's Underworld, one of the venues he fooled. (Times) 

Sir Mick Jagger is collaborating with his girlfriend, the ballerina Melanie Hamrick, on a ballet that is set to Rolling Stones music. (Times)

A disabled Rolling Stones fan has filed a complaint against the band claiming the band are charging disabled concert goers up to five times more for tickets than the able-bodied. Ticketmaster noted that venues are responsible for establishing their own seating policies. (Telegraph) 

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REVIEWS

Albums
Aiden Moffat and RM Hubert (Observer - Kitty Empire)

Zayn (Observer - 3* Tara Joshi)

The CIA (Observer - 2* Phil Mongredien)

The Willows (Observer - 4* Neil Spencer)

 

Live
Lily Allen - Roundhouse, London (Observer - 3* Kitty Empire)

Rick Wakeman - Union Chapel, London (MoS - 3* Tim de Lisle)

Ellie Goulding, Dua Lipa and Bastille - London SSE Arena, Wembley (Standard - 4* David Smyth)

Richard Ashcroft - Forum, London (Guardian - 4* Mark Beaumont)

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INTERNATIONAL

SiriusXM has announced that a definitive proxy statement/prospectus has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with SiriusXM’s pending merger with Pandora Media. (CA)

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BIGGER PICTURE

What’s gone wrong with Google? (Times)