Demon Music Group has completed a long-term licensing deal for Belinda Carlisle’s catalogue.

The Carlisle catalogue has been with Virgin/EMI to date and runs out in May. It contains four original studio albums, all which went Top 10 with 15 Top 40 hit singles – seven of which were Top 20.

Highlights include No.1 hit Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Circle In The Sand (No.4), Leave A Light On (No.4), We Want The Same Thing (No.6) and I Get Weak (No.10).

“We are proud to have secured this deal,” said Demon Music Group’s commercial director Adrian Sear. “It will add to our strong artist roster.”

Bluff City icons W.C. Handy, Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Al Green, were among the names announced as part of the first class of inductees to the new Memphis Music Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

The initiative, part of the Smithsonian-connected Rock 'n' Soul Museum, was launched with an event at downtown's The Warehouse. City of Memphis mayor AC Wharton, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Rock 'n' Soul executive director John Doyle, and Memphis Convention and Visitor's Bureau President Kevin Kane, as well as various local music notables, were on hand to confirm the first class of 25 inductees, who will be honored with a ceremony on 29^th November at The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. The event will be open to the public.

Others set to be honored as part of the 2012 class include R&B great Bobby "Blue" Bland, blues singers Howlin' Wolf and Memphis Minnie, big band leader Jimmie Lunceford, and producer Jim Dickinson.

Memphis' significant labels are well represented among the first class with Sun Records (Sam Phillips, Presley, Lewis), Stax Records (founders Estelle Axton and Jim Stewart, Rufus Thomas, Booker T. & the MGs, Isaac Hayes) and Hi Records (Green, producer Willie Mitchell) all getting multiple nods.

The list of names reaches beyond rock and R&B, with figures from the world of jazz (trumpeter George Coleman) hip-hop (Academy Award winners Three 6 Mafia) and gospel (spiritual composer Lucie Campbell) being recognized.

Several other artists, hailing from areas other than Memphis but who made a significant contribution to the city's musical reputation, will also be inducted; this group includes Otis Redding, the Staples Singers and ZZ Top.

The inductees were chosen earlier this year by the Hall of Fame's nominating committee, which includes a cross section of music industry professionals, cultural historians and authors, and museum and foundation directors.

Daniel O’Donnell is preparing to commence his 2013 tour on 10^th February 2013, on an exclusive Caribbean Cruise.

The tour will run until 21^st October at a variety of venues across the UK.

The tour dates are as follows:

10 February 2013 - 17 February 2013 Caribbean Cruise 

6 August 2013 - Bundoran Gt Northern Hotel

7 August 2013 - Bundoran Gt Northern Hotel

9 August 2013 - Cork Opera House

10 August 2013 - Cork Opera House

12 August 2013 - Wexford Opera House

14 August 2013 - Drogheda The Tlt

15 August 2013 - Belfast Waterfront Hall

17 August 2013 - Galway Leisureland

19 August 2013 - Ballyconnell Slieve Russell Hotel

20 August 2013 - Kilkenny Lyrath Hotel

22 August 2013 - Derry Millenium Forum

24 August 2013 - Castlebar Royal Theatre

25 August 2013 - Limerick U.C.H

5 October 2013 - Inverness Eden Court

6 October 2013 - Inverness Eden Court

8 October 2013 - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

9 October 2013 - Gateshead The Sage

10 October 2013 - Harrogate International Centre

11 October 2013 - Birmingham Symphony Hall

13 October 2013 - Norwich Theatre Royal

14 October 2013 - Norwich Theatre Royal

15 October 2013 - Croydon Fairfields Hall

16 October 2013 - Eastbourne Congress Theatre

18 October 2013 - Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions

19 October 2013 - Cardiff St David's Hall

20 October 2013  Manchester Lowry Theatre

21 October 2013 - Llandudno Venue Cymru

Daniel is also planning the release of a new DVD, ‘Daniel At 50’, due for release later this year.

BBC Four's Chas & Dave documentary will be aired on Friday October 26th at 9PM.

The show will feature contributions from Jools Holland, Phill Jupitus, and Pete Doherty among others, plus tons of unseen footage and is not to be missed.

The duo  will be playing a Christmas special gig at London's indigo2 on December 8th where they'll be playing side one from 1983's Jamboree Bag 2 album (as featured on the 100 Hits boxset) live for the first and only time. 

The legendary Scottish brothers of Pat & Greg Kane, formally known as Hue & Cry remain one of the shining pop lights to come out of the 80’s.

The due are now back; after a recent UK tour, with a further tour of Scotland in October, a new album, ‘Hot Wire’ and also a brand new 2CD collection by Music Club Deluxe.

The new collection, ‘A’s and B’s’ features the 10 UK chart Top 50 singles including the legendary “Labour Of Love” (#6) and their first 2CD collection also highlights key album tracks, rare mixes and 12” cuts.

Scottish tour dates –

Fri 12^th Oct        Fat Sams, Dundee

Sat 13^th Oct        The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen

Sun 14^th Oct       The Ironworks, Inverness

Fri 19^th Oct        Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline

Sat 20^th Oct        The Town House, Hamilton

Sun 21^st Oct       Queens Hall, Edinburgh

Click here to buy tickets

Having sold in excess of 18 Million albums worldwide, with over 1 million UK album sales and three gold albums, Foster & Allen are now taking things a stage further with their own brand new TV show  ‘The Foster and Allen Show’.

The show, due to air on Showcase TV, SKY Channel 191, commences on the 24th September from 7-8 pm and will be a 1 hour show packed with music, entertainment and featured artists, kicking off with the late great Joe Dolan and footage from a special Gay Byrne Radio Show, never before broadcast.  Other guest artists featured on the first few weeks include Daniel O’Donnell and The Irish Rovers.

The launch of the Irish duo’s TV show perfectly coincides with the release of their new album ‘The Ultimate Collection’, due for release on Monday 12th November.  This new album is a 2CD collection of all their hit songs plus 12 new recordings.

Further to this, Foster& Allen are due to start a 26 date UK Tour on the 30^th October with their new Show.  A full list of dates and ticket information can be found here.

This month sees The Beat start their three month tour across the UK.

Starting off in Devon on 22^nd September, The Beat will perform gigs up and down the country all the way up to Christmas, coming to a close on the 23^rd December in Brighton.

Tour dates as follows:

Sep 22 Tavistock Wharf, Devon

Sep 29  Kingsmeadow, Kingston

Oct 05   Eric's, Liverpool

Oct 12   Islington Assembly Hall, London

Oct 14   Rescue Rooms, Nottingham

Nov 01  Empire, Middlesbrough

Nov 02  York Duchess, York

Nov 10 Brook, Southampton

Nov 11  O2 Academy 2, Oxford

Nov 22  Brewery Arts Centre,  Kendal

Nov 24  HMV Picture House, Edinburgh

Dec 01 Roadmender, Northampton

Dec 07 Trinity Arts Centre, Bristol

Dec 09 Guild Hall, Gloucester

Dec 14 Globe, Cardiff

Dec 15 Town Hall, Birmingham

Dec 20 Manchester Ruby Lounge, Manchester

Dec 21 Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Dec 23  Concorde 2, Brighton

The tour coincides with the recent reissue programme of all three of the band’s albums, each in Deluxe 2 CD + DVD digipaks, featuring the original albums along with all the non-album A- and B-sides, the many 12” mixes and live tracks, as well as the best of their BBC radio sessions from John Peel, Mike Read and David Jensen’s shows. The DVDs feature the singles promo videos, Top Of The Pops performances and bonus appearances from ITV shows and documentaries.

Click here for The Beat gig tickets

Ian McCulloch will be performing songs from all the Echo & The Bunnymen albums and highlights from his four solo records, live across the UK in September, October and November.

The shows will be in support of the Bunnymen frontman’s first three solo albums that are being reissued on the Eddel label in expanded collectors’ editions, packed with bonus tracks including non-album singles, B-sides, live cuts and remixes. They will be released to coincide with the singer’s forthcoming UK acoustic tour.

The deluxe reissue series will include 1989’s 'Candleland' and 1992’s 'Mysterio' in two CD editions with 22 and 18 bonus tracks respectively. 'Slideling', originally released in 2003, will get a single-disc reissue, with the original album supplemented with seven bonus tracks.

The fourth solo album 'Pro Patria Mori' will be released by Demon in early 2013, alongside a live album of Ian’s stunning solo show recorded at the Union Chapel earlier this year and mixed by Youth.

Among the bonus material 'Candleland' features McCulloch’s debut solo single, a cover of Kurt Weil’s 'September Song' that was released in 1984, plus all of the album’s B-sides, including seven remixes of 'Faith and Healing'.  'Mysterio' includes 'Return to Sender', previously found on the NME cassette 'The Last Temptation of Elvis', plus the unreleased tracks 'History Chimes', 'Honey Drip', [Early Version] and 'On One'.  And finally, the 'Slideling' reissue features covers of David Bowie’s 'Prettiest Star' and John Lennon’s 'Jealous Guy'.

Accompanying Ian will be Ian Broudie making these intimate evenings an event not to be missed!

The dates are as follows and on sale now via www.ents24.com

15/09/12           Coventry - Kasbah

16/09/12           Cardiff - The Globe

20/09/12           Manchester - Factory 251

21/09/12           Hull - Tokyo

23/09/12           Leeds - Brudenell Social Club

28/09/12           Newcastle - O2 Academy2

06/10/12           Preston - 53 Degrees

07/10/12           Wrexham - Central Station 

19^t/10/12          Stockton – The Arc

01/11/12           Stoke – The Sugarmill

08/11/12           Brighton - Concorde 2

22/11/12           Nottingham - Rescue Rooms 

23/11/12           Sheffield – Leadmill

Those who were watching the Paralympics Opening Ceremony last night may have noticed the use of a couple of Demon tracks throughout the proceedings.

To start, the lyrics to The Blockheads “Spasticus Autisticus” filled the Olympic Stadium just prior to the flame being lit.  A live version of the track appears on the ‘Reasons To Be Cheerful - The Best Of Ian Dury’ album, available now for purchase or download.

To finish the show, Beverley Knight led the finale with an incredible performance of “I Am What I Am”, taken from the recent Music Club Deluxe release ‘Beverley Knight – The Collection 1995 – 2007’.  This album is out now.

Demon would like to wish the Team GB Paralympians the best of luck throughout the games.

Click here to view ‘Reasons To Be Cheerful - The Best Of Ian Dury’ album details

Sunday 9^th September will see London’s Hyde Park play host to BBC Radio 2’s Live In Hyde Park for another ‘Festival in a Day’.

Following on from the huge success of last year’s event, Radio 2 will once again transfer the station from the studio to Hyde Park in an amazing day-long concert, headlined by Tom Jones, with performances from other artists such as Jessie J, Status Quo, Mick Hucknall, Paloma Faith, Emeli Sande and Average White Band.

Jeff Smith, Head of Music Radio 2 and 6 Music said “Music is at the heart of Radio 2's output, and with more incredible artists to be announced in the coming weeks, there will be something for everyone at this year's Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park. What better way to end the summer than with a truly British celebration of music?”

Click here for more details about the event.

2012 sees the long-awaited release of ‘The Hipsters’, the first studio album for eleven years by multi-platinum selling band Deacon Blue and marks the bands 25th Anniversary since their debut album ‘Raintown’ was released. 

The release of the new album, on 24^th September, coincides with a 15-date tour from 4^th - 22^nd October, with two additional concerts in Scotland in December.

Further to this, Edsel will soon be embarking on the reissue project of all six of the band’s albums; “Raintown”, “When The World Knows Your Name”, “Fellow Hoodlums”, “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing”, “The Rest”, “Homesick…plus”.  Each album will include all the non-album a- and b-sides, remixes and live tracks, as well as the promo videos in usual Edsel fashion.

Also, as part of a larger PR campaign, Deacon Blue will play a special show for Radio 2 featuring performances of ‘When The World Knows Your Name’ in full for the first time at the BBC Radio Theatre in London. The show will be broadcast on September 24^th and will also feature tracks from their new album ‘The Hipsters’.

The Soldiers, made up of Corporal Ryan Idzi, Sergeants Richie Maddocks and Gulf War veteran Sergeant Major Gary Chilton, made history by becoming the first group of serving members of the armed forces to hit the British pop charts.

The guys are now touring throughout August, dates below, and will be supported on some of their dates by Demon’s latest signing, The Ukuleles.

Tour dates are as follows:

16th      Fleetwood: Marine Hall

17th      Fareham: Ferneham Hall

18th      Eastbourne: Congress Theatre

20th      Bournemouth: Pavillion Theatre

21st      Plymouth: Plymouth Pavilions

22nd     Worthing: Pavilion Theatre

23rd      St. Albans; The Alban Arena

28th      Southend-on-Sea: Cliffs Pavilion

Last year The Soldiers released their album “Message To You” and are currently working on another, due for release at the end of the year.

Click here to visit The Soldiers website.

On Saturday 15^th September friends and fans of Marc Bolan will take to the stage of the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire to pay tribute to the legend and celebrate his musical legacy.

The line-up includes T.Rex producer Tony Visconti, John's Children band-mate Andy Ellison, T.Rex saxophonist Howie Casey, glam-rock contemporaries Alvin Stardust and Steve Harley, Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, Linda Lewis and T.Rex fan Boy George.  Many more acts are also soon to be announced. Official Marc Bolan tribute band T.Rextasy with Danielz will also be performing to support the acts.

The latest line-up and ticket details can be found here.

Demon is currently in production of the DVD for the last Marc Bolan “The Celebration Concert”.  This new release, due out on 17^th September, captures the event which took place five years ago, on 15^th September 2007, also at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire.  This event marked sixty years after the birth of Marc Bolan and thirty years after his death.  T. Rextasy and a whole host of guests performed thirty of Bolan’s songs and Marc Almond duetted with Gloria Jones on “Tainted Love”.  This is a true must-have for any Marc Bolan fan.

90’s pop star and Doctor Who star, Billie Piper is set to make her debut at the National Theatre in a new play by Enron playwright Lucy Prebble, called “The Effect”.

Also starring Jonjo O'Neill, Tom Goodman-Hill and Anastasia Hille, the play will explore questions of sanity, neurology and the limits of medicine. It is due to open at the Cottesloe in the autumn.

With a wealth of successes under her belt, including several awards for her portrayal of the Doctor's companion Rose Tyler and acclaim for ITV's Secret Diary of a Call Girl, in which she played the high-class London escort Belle de Jour, Billie’s career has gone from strength to strength.

Now, over a decade since the release of her first album “Honey to the B” Music Club Deluxe gives a nod to the musical start of Billie’s path to stardom with a greatest hits album, due for release later this year. 

The album will be the first ever 2CD collection featuring alternate mixes – b-sides and more and will feature all of the massive chart singles including ‘Because We Want To’ and ‘Girlfriend’.

Demon is pleased to announce that we have agreed a long license to represent the Tabu label; a legendary USA label owned by Clarence Avante.

The catalogue contains 33 hits by Alexander O Neal, SOS Band and Cherrelle among many others, featuring highlight hits such as`Criticize` ( No4) and `Fake `88( no 16)  by Alex O Neal , `Just be good to me ` (No13) and `The Finest `( No 17) by the SOS Band and  `Saturday love`( No 6) and `Never knew Love like this` (No 26) from Cherrelle .

Our rights will include CD and Digital and all Licensing rights.

DMG TV is proud to announce the release of this summer’s most exciting duo, The Ukuleles, debut album released August 20th.

A new Ukulele phenomenon has taken the world’s schools, University campuses, beaches and homes by storm. This small 4-string guitar has been riding high on a wave of popularity of late and has become a symbol of laid back, relaxed and good will vibes.

The Ukuleles are a fresh new young and exciting band who are capturing this musical moment in history.

Logan, a self taught player discovered his love of the instrument at a very early age when he lived in Hawaii, met 24 year old Martha at the site of Brighton’s Great Escape Festival as she floated through a beautiful set on the ACM stage. A few beach jams later combining their exquisite playing and stunning harmonies and The Ukuleles were born.

Their self-titled debut features a cracking collection of beautiful Ukulele reimagining’s of some of today’s chart-toppers including “Rolling in the Deep”, “Call Me Maybe”, “A-Team” and “I’m Yours” as well as some catchy originals written by some greats of the UK industry.

To celebrate the forthcoming Olympics, a series of events will be held in Hyde Park, with two sister events running in Victoria Park and Trafalgar Square. 

London Live in Hyde Park will provide unparalleled viewings of the Olympic games with a series of large screens, including the UK’s largest.  Each evening the main screen will transform into a live music stage bringing huge headliner performances to Hyde Park from around the world.

The early evening events start at 5:40PM with more live music from 9PM, with two incredible celebration concerts on 27^th July and 12 August for the Opening and Closing ceremonies.

London Live in Hyde Park will be free to access from 28^th July – 11^th August, although the Opening and Closing ceremony concerts will be commercially ticketed.

Demon artists The Beat will be joined by The Levellers to perform on Wednesday 1^st August at 06:40PM and the full line-up can be found here.

Tatton Park is gearing up for their annual ‘Back To The 80’s Picnic Party’ on Sunday 29^th July.

The event will see a host of sensational 80’s acts celebrating the era, featuring artists and songs such as Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) - True, Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up, Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals – She Drives Me Crazy, Heaven 17 – Temptation and Altered Images  - Don’t Talk to Me About Love.

The evening will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display.

Click here for more details about the event.

80s favourites Bananarama have released an album to celebrate their 30^th anniversary.

‘30 Years of Bananarama’ brings together, for the first time on DVD, the group’s music videos, a total of 35 in this set, and also includes 22 of their greatest  hits such as “Venus”, “Cruel Summer”, “Help” and “Robert De Niro’s Waiting”.

Music Club Deluxe have also released a Bananarama compilation, ‘Bananarama - The Collection’, which includes 31 of the band’s hits.  This album is beautifully packaged with sleeve notes by Michael Heatley and is out now!

On 7^th and 8^th July, Harewood House in Leeds will be heaving with music and food lovers for MFest: a feast of British music and food!

Headliners including Texas, The Human League, Scouting For Girls and Cher Lloyd will be joined by Demon artists The Farm, Heaven 17 and Beverley Knight.

The festival, produced by Superchannel Live and with curators Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) and Bruce Foxton (The Jam), brings together the finest musical acts, chefs, comedians and sports personalities from across the country to celebrate the best of British.

Popular children’s TV presenter, Justin Fletcher MBE, is to take to the stage in a brand new arena tour, Justin Fletcher & Friends which is set to tour throughout the UK over Easter 2013.

The tour, presented by BBC Worldwide, will bring together Justin’s most-loved characters in one incredible show, bought to the fans by the team who created the hit production CBeebies Live! Reach to the Stars which performed to rave reviews from parents in Easter 2012.

Justin said: "I am so excited. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring together all of my favourite characters into one special live show, and I cannot wait to get on the road again".

Justin will be joined by some of the biggest stars from the CBeebies channel to sing and dance and perform brilliant comedy sketches, which will have the entire audience on its feet joining in!

The tour will visit nine cities around the UK over the Easter Holidays in 2013 and will debut in Newcastle on 31^st May.

Click here for ticket details.

On 15^th July British Reggae recording artist, Maxi Priest, will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Reggae-themed concert will see Tuff Gong Worldwide and Ziggy Marley salute the legends of Reggae, alongside Maxi Priest, Toots and the Maytals, Freddie McGregor and Bob Andy, with Jeremy Sole hosting the event.

The Bowl will be rocked with the very best roots reggae artists from Jamaica and beyond!

Click here to view details of the Hollywood Bowl concert.

This year marks Jamaica’s 50 years of independence and their Golden Jubilee. 

To celebrate, countries all over the world are getting involved and are arranging events to mark this historic occasion.

In London, indigoO2 will play host to the Jamaica 50 Festival with some of the most iconic reggae, ska and dub artists appearing together on stage.

The artists due to appear are as follows:

25 July: Lee Scratch Perry / Junior Murvin / Mad Professor

26 July: Damian Jr. Gong Marley

28 July: Tappa Zukie / U-Roy / Yellowman / Dennis Alcapone & Winston Reedy / Ras Lawi With Reggae Vibes

29 July: Jamaican Legends Band: Ernest Ranglin, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare & Monty Alexander

30 July: Mutabaruka Live With The Lloyd Parks Band / The Abyssinians / Jah9 / Benjamin Zephaniah

31 July: John Holt / Mighty Diamonds / Leroy Heptones Sibbles

1 August:  Freddie Mcgregor / Marcia Griffiths / Maxi Priest / Johnny Osbourne

2 August: Tarrus Riley / Gyptian / Nomadz / Natty

3 August:  Toots & The Maytals / Junior Toots / Chantelle Ernandez / Followed By Sir Lloyd Coxsone & Fatman Hi Fi Until Late

4 August:  Horace Andy / Johnny Clarke / Michael Prophet With The Dub Asante Band / Followed By Jah Shaka Sound System Until Late

5 August:  Morgan Heritage / Shaggy / Raging Fyah

6 August:  Jimmy Cliff & Oneness / Derrick Morgan / Max Romeo / Gaylads / Bob Andy / Followed By David 'Ram Jam' Rodigan Until Late

Nascente will also be celebrating with the release of the brand new series “Bass Culture”; a collection of four albums each showcasing tracks from different periods, due for release on the 16^th and 30^th July.

Click here to view the Bass Culture series.

Ska revival band The Beat have signed a long-term global deal with EMI Music Publishing ahead of the reissue of their entire recording catalogue.

EMI Music Publishing A&R & catalogue SVP Fran Malyan said: “We’re thrilled to be working with The Beat. They’re one of the bands that truly define their genre and their era. The upcoming reissue campaign will delight all the band’s long-time fans as well as enable them to reach out to an entirely new generation.”

The reissue programme will be rolled out by Edsel Records and the three releases, ‘I Just Can’t Get Enough’ ‘Wha’ppen?’ and ‘Special Beat Service’ will be available from Monday 25^th June.  The albums will be packaged in deluxe two-CD and DVD digipacks, which will include both the original album plus bonus material such as B sides, 12-inch mixes, live tracks and BBC sessions.  The DVDs will include singles promos, Top Of The Pops performances and other TV appearances.

This weekend music fans will converge en masse to London’s Victoria Park to celebrate “A Decade of Love” at the 10 year anniversary of the festival Lovebox.

The festival runs from Friday 15^th – Sunday 17^th June and headliners include Hot Chip, Friendly Fires and Grace Jones, as well as Demon artists Chaka Khan and Chic (feat. Nile Rogers).

Lovebox is described as being “London’s biggest disco” and will have 12 stage soundsytems under the trees, which may be beneficial to the festival-go’ers if the weather continues as it has been!

Information about the festival can be found here.

Football fans will be eagerly anticipating the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012, which kicks off on Friday 8^th June.

Hosted by Poland and Ukraine between the 8^th June and the 1^st July, the first matches are between Poland vs. Greece and Czech Republic vs. Russia.  England will play France on 11^th June.

To get you in the mood, why not download one of two offerings from Demon Digital.  First up is the 15-track compilation ‘Euro Football Classics’, featuring classic football anthems such as Fat Les’ “Vindaloo”, “Hey England” by Showaddywaddy and Bell & Spurling’s “Living For Football”. 

There is also a shorter version of the album, called “Best Euro Football Hits”; a 5-track sampler, just perfect for a taste of the full album.

Click here to view the full Euro 2012 fixtures.

Demon Music Group are delighted to announce a brand new album of T.Rex’s Top 40 hit singles exclusively with the personalised CD website, MixPixie.

T.Rex and Marc Bolan fans can not only get the “T Rex - The Hits (Top 40 Hit singles from 1972-1977)” album for the first time on CD but they can also personalise the album making it a truly unique keepsake.  

With the ability to write your own text and upload photos, this T Rex album is the perfect gift for every fan and, with Father’s Day rapidly approaching, make sure you give Dad something he really wants this year.

Click here to visit the MixPixie website for more information.

Across the country masses of people are eagerly planning their extended weekend of street parties and celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and Crimson has produced the perfect soundtrack to accompany this momentous event!

As Her Majesty prepares to mark her 60^th anniversary on the throne join in the festivities with tracks such as “Welcome The Queen”, “State Occasion” and, of course,  “The National Anthem – God Save The Queen”, all played beautifully by Her Majesty’s Coldstream Guards and Her Majesty’s Welsh Guards.

If you are not planning your own Diamond Jubilee street party, why not take a look at all of the events that are taking place this weekend, here.

Bob Mould fans will be pleased to hear that the singer will be performing at a free in-store acoustic gig at Rough Trade East on Thursday 31^st May.

The gig will takes place at 1PM at the store on Brick Lane and wristbands are not required, fans just need to turn up on the day.  Full details can be found here.

For those who are unable to make the lunchtime session, Mould will also be signing copies of the recent Edsel reissue “Copper Blue” at Fopp Covent Garden, 1 Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LL.  A Facebook event has been created with more details here.  Once again, tickets are not required, just turn up on the day.

“Copper Blue”, due for release on Monday 28^th May, is the first in a series of Bob Mould / Sugar reissues from Edsel.  Following on from this will be the release of “Beaster” on 4^th June, “F.U.E.L” on 11^th June and Bob’s “Bob Mould & Last Dog And Pony Show” on 18^th June.

Harmless Label Manager Ian Dewhirst was joined by the legendary Philadelphia International Records co-founder Kenny Gamble and Philly expert and compiler of the Philadelphia International 40^th Anniversary Box Set, Ralph Tee, to discuss the history of the label.

Due to be released just in time to coincide with the ‘Jamaica 50’ celebrations, which sees  Jamaica celebrate 50 years of independence, the brand new Bass Culture range from Nascente is sure to provide the perfect celebratory soundtrack. 

The new series presents a mix of much-loved classics & tracks considered pivotal to the genre plus tracks that haven’t appeared on many compilations, underground sound system hits and tracks that are becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to find on CD.

Whilst the biggest names in Jamaican music are regularly represented, Nascente have opted for less-exposed material, such as b-sides, album tracks or 45s that were only ever released in Jamaica.  The new series is split into four periods – ‘This Town Is Too Hot!’ featuring tracks from the 1960’s, ‘Boss Sounds’ from 1968 – 1972, ‘When Reggae Was King’ containing songs from 1970 – 1980, and finally ‘Mash You Down’ showcasing tracks from 1978 – 1985.

The albums feature rarities including Bob Marley & The Wailers – One Love (ska version), Big Youth – Love We A Deal With, Peter Tosh – Get Up, Stand Up (acoustic version) and Early B – History Of Jamaica and are due for release in mid – late July.

British singer-songwriter and Bee Gees star Robin Gibb lost his long-running battle with cancer last night.

A statement released by relatives said: "The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time."

The announcement of his death prompted an outpouring of grief and tributes to the star by friends and fans.

Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini described the musician as "talented beyond even his own understanding" and "one of the important figures in the history of British music", while stars including Bryan Adams and Mick Hucknall also paid emotional tributes.

Gibb was diagnosed with cancer of the colon and subsequently of the liver after the tumor was discovered during surgery on his bowel for an unrelated condition 18 months ago.  He then fell into a coma last month after contracting pneumonia and was given 10 per cent chance of survival but astounded loved-ones with his recovery, “beating the odds" just days after doctors said he "was in God's hands".

Last year Robin joined forces with The Soldiers to release the charity single “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You”, which was the official Poppy Appeal single for 2011.  Robin Gibb spearheaded the campaign for the Bomber Command Memorial which will be unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen this year.

Fans of Little Feat will be happy to know that they are playing a show on Monday 2^nd July at the Islington Assembly Hall in London.

First formed in 1969, Little Feat’s sound is a mix of rock and roll, blues, R&B, boogie, country, folk, gospel, soul, funk and jazz.

Edsel has released a 2CD compilation of Little Feat’s last two studio albums with Lowell George;  Time Loves A Hero and Down On The Farm.

Ticket information can be found here.

Click here for ‘Time Loves A Hero & Down On The Farm’ album details.

It’s arrived! The first copy of the 10CD state-of-the-art ‘Philadelphia International: The 40^th Anniversary Box Set’ unveiled for the first time. This is an item of rare beauty which includes a 60 page book with the complete Philadelphia International Records and related labels full discography for the very first time in print.

Out on the 21^st May, watch out for the forthcoming promo-clips of an exclusive interview with Philadelphia International Records co-founder and creative genius Kenny Gamble.

Over this past weekend, Engelbert Humperdinck performed on The Graham Norton Show. Humperdinck sang the ballad, Love Will Set You Free, his entry for the UK in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Other guests on the show chatting with Graham Norton were Twilight star, Kristen Stewart; U.S. comedian Chris Rock; and actor Stephan Mangan.

In case you missed it, you can watch Engelbert’s performance here.

Eurovision is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 26^th May.

Music Club Deluxe has just released a 2CD collection of titled, The Incomparable.

For ‘The Incomparable’ album details, click here.

English electric folk band, Fairport Convention is gearing up for the start of their 20-date Spring 2012 Tour.

The tour will start off on the 4^th May, when Fairport Convention play at the Montgomery Hall, Wath Festival in Wath Upon Dearne.

Dates are as follows:

·         4^th May : Montgomery Hall, Wath Festival, Wath Upon Dearne

·         5^th May : The Pavilion, Hailsham

·         6^th May : Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, Canterbury

·         7^th May : David Hall Arts Centre, South Petherton

·         9^th May : The Platform, Morcambe

·         10^th May : The Ferry, Glasgow

·         11^th May : The Birnam Institute, Birnam

·         12^th May : The Subscription Rooms, Stroud

·         13^th May : The Festival Theatre, Hever

·         14^th May : The Village Clube, Nettlebed

·         16^th May : The Borderline, London

·         17^th May : The Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek

·         18^th May : The Little Theatre, Chipping Norton

·         19^th May : The Waterside Theatre, Sale

·         20^th May : The Gala Theatre, Durham

·         21^st May : Forest Folk, Trampers Lane, North Boarhunt

·         23^rd May : Colston Hall 2, Bristol

·         24^th May : The Cornerstone, Didcot

·         26^th May : The Watermark, Ivybridge, Devon

·         27^th May : The Arts Centre, Lichfield

Demon has released the album “Encore, Encore”, originally called “Farewell, Farewell”, which was Fairport Convention’s ‘final’ album before they reformed in 1985.

Click here for ‘Encore, Encore’ album details.                               

One of the UK’s leading ladies of soul music, Jaki Graham will be doing a live show on Friday 18^th May. Jaki, along with Dune FM’s top Soul and Motown DJ Jon Jessop , will be performing at the Pontins Southport Holiday Park in Southport for a Soul & Motown Night.

In the 80s and 90s, Jaki Graham scored some Top 20 UK hits such as her most known ‘Set Me Free’, ‘Breaking Away’, and ‘Round And Around’.

Music Club Deluxe have released a very special 2CD Greatest Hits collection album entitled ‘Absolute Essentials-The Very Best of Jaki Graham’, featuring Jaki’s biggest hits from the 80s and 90s.

Ticket information can be found here.

Click here for ‘Absolute Essentials- The Very Best of Jaki Graham’ album details.

One of the great bands from the 70s, Showaddywaddy are playing a few shows this May and June. With their 50’s throwback rockabilly sound, Showaddywaddy had 10 Top Ten hits including ‘Pretty Little Angel Eyes’ and ‘Three Steps To Heaven’; not to forget about their #1 single ‘Under The Moon Of Love’.

Tour dates in the UK are as follows:

·         Sat 5^th May: Elgiva Theatre, Chesham

·         Sat 12^th May: Huntingdon Hall, Worcester

·         Fri 25^th May: The Platform Theatre, Morecambe

·         Sat 26^th May: Strathpeffer Pavilion, Strathpeffer

·         Fri 1^st June: Glastonbudget Music Festival, Turnpost Farm, Wymeswold

·         Sat 2^nd June: Whitehaven Music Festival, Harbourside, Whitehaven

·         Sat 14^th Jul: Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

Click here to view all Demon released Showaddywaddy albums.

For this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the UK’s entry will be sung by Engelbert Humperdinck.

Engelbert is hoping to get the win for the UK with his performance of the ballad, Love Will Set You Free. 

The 75-year-old singer has sold more than 150 million records worldwide and is best known for his 1967 hit Release Me.

As Humperdinck told The Sun newspaper “I have been in the business for 45 years and with my experience and the amount of countries I have visited in Europe, I can bring this home.”

This year’s 57^th annual Eurovision Song Contest is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 26^th May.

 Music Club Deluxe is set to release a 2CD collection titled, The Incomparable, on 14^th May. This set showcases Engelbert’s talent and will tell you why Britain turned to him as their Eurovision champion.

Click here for ‘The Incomparable’ album details.

Tonight is the night of the prestigious Music Week Awards, which is to be hosted at The Brewery in central London.

The categories include:

Demon Music Group has been nominated for the Catalogue Marketing Campaign for the Suede Re-issues that were released on the Edsel label in 2011.  The other nominations in this category were:

The Smiths Complete (Rhino)

Steps: The Ultimate Collection (RCA/Sony)

Why Pink Floyd? (EMI)

The Who: Quadrophenia (Universal)

Nirvana: Nevermind (Universal)

Keep an eye on the Demon Music Group website, Facebook and Twitter for the results!

FINGERS CROSSED!!

XL Recordings have released a video which documents the making of Bobby Womack’s comeback album “The Bravest Man In The Universe”, which is co-produced by Damon Albarn and XL boss Richard Russell.

Womack calls the recording "the best sessions I've ever been in" - as he says Albarn and Russell "gave me back the confidence I used to have... they let me be me".

The album is due for release on 11^th June but Bobby Womack fans can enjoy the choicest cuts from Womack’s greatest period in the 70’s and 80’s on the Music Club Deluxe 40-track collection “Check It Out:  The Best Of Bobby Womack”, which features tracks originally recorded for the Minit, United Artists and Beverly Glen labels along with some of his late-60’s sides.

The Beat was formed in Birmingham in 1978, with members Dave Wakeling (vocals, guitar), Ranking Roger (vocals, toasting), Andy Cox (guitar), Everett Morton (drums), veteran Jamaican saxophonist Saxa, and David Steele on bass.  The band was part of the West Midlands ska revival scene that also produced The Specials and The Selecter, whilst London saw the formation of Madness and The Bodysnatchers.  The Beat’s first single was an arresting version of Smokey Robinson’s “Tears Of A Clown”, given a completely new feel, and was backed with their own composition “Ranking Full Stop”.  Released in a one-off deal on Jerry Dammers’ Chrysalis-backed 2-Tone label, the single stormed into the Top 10 in December 1979, and saw the band appear twice on Top Of The Pops.  Backed by Arista, the band formed their own label Go-Feet Records.  The first release in February 1980 was another Top 10 hit, “Hands Off... She’s Mine”, and was the first of twelve chart singles for the band on Go-Feet.

Edsel Records is proud to announce its reissue programme of all three of the band albums, each in Deluxe 2 CD + DVD digipaks, featuring the original albums along with all the non-album A- and B-sides, the many 12” mixes and live tracks, as well as the best of their BBC radio sessions from John Peel, Mike Read and David Jensen’s shows. The DVDs feature the singles promo videos, Top Of The Pops performances and bonus appearances from ITV shows and documentaries.

The first album “I Just Can’t Stop It” (1980, # 3) features the hits “Tears Of A Clown”, “Hands Off... She’s Mine”, “Mirror In The Bathroom”, “Best Friend” and “Stand Down Margaret” as well as 19 bonus tracks, including nine previously unreleased BBC radio sessions. The DVD features three promo videos, five TOTP appearances and a live performance recorded for ITV’s “Alright Now”.

The booklet features an individual note especially written by Rhoda Dakar of The Bodysnatchers, along with the lyrics and photos, memorabilia and ephemera from the band’s own collection.

First there was the phenomenally successful Disco Discharge series, next up is Disco Recharge.

Disco Recharge is a brand new series which will highlight individual artists and producers and provide further depth to the world of serious Disco music. Each will be compiled by MrPinks with sleeve notes by the co author of the best selling book ‘Saturday Night Forever’, Alan Jones.

The first of the Disco Recharge series to be released by Harmless is a 2CD special edition of the 1977French Disco classic ‘Voyage’ by Voyage.  This edition includes the original album as well as a first volume of the ‘Special Instrumental’ album which includes instrumental versions of tracks from ‘Voyage’ and the follow up album ‘Fly Away’.

Disc 2 of the set is full of alternative mixes and edits including pre Voyage rare grooves ‘West Coast Drive’ and ‘Please Love Me Again’ by V.I.P. Connection.

Disco Recharge: Voyage-Special Edition is set to be released on 28^th May.

Click here for ‘Disco Recharge: Voyage-Special Edition’ album details.

Vocal quartet, The Manhattan Transfer, will play at Ronnie Scotts in London on Monday 21^st May with Ronnie Scott’s All Stars.

In the mid-to-late 70s, Manhattan Transfer scored six UK chart singles, including the #1 “Chanson D’ Amour”.

Originally released in 1976 and 1978, Edsel has released a reissue of Manhattan Transfer’s second and third albums, ‘Coming Out’ and ‘Pastiche’, all in one package. Similarly, Music Club Deluxe released a 2CD ‘best-of’ album entitled “Chanson D’amour: The Very Best of Manhattan Transfer”.

For more information about the show- go here.

Click here for ‘Coming Out & Pastiche’ album details.

Click here for “Chanson D’amour: The Very Best of Manhattan Transfer”

Former member of the band ‘Yes’ and now solo artist, Rick Wakeman  will be hosting a night of chat with Ian Lavender on Sunday 27^th May at the Theatre Royal in Bury St. Edmunds.

The pair will be reminiscing about their careers and David Croft’s longest creation, Dad’s Army with favourite clips, memories, and stories.

Money raised at this fundraising event will help support the Theatre Royal’s community and education programme.

Ticket information for the show is available here.

After Wakeman took some time off from Yes, rock’s most celebrated keyboard player, released the album “Cirque Surreal”.  Released on Demon’s Edsel, the album is a mixture of instrumentals and songs featuring some vocals by Chrissie Hammond.

Click here for “Cirque Surreal” album details.

Eighties pop band, China Crisis will be performing at Cox’s Yard in Stratford-upon-Avon on Friday 16^th November.

Well-known China Crisis hits include ‘Christian’, ‘Wishful Thinking’, and ‘African And White’.

Music Club Deluxe have recently released a ‘best-of’ album entitled ‘Ultimate Crisis’, featuring a 34-track compilation that follows China Crisis’ story from 1982’s ‘African And White’ –the first release on the local Inevitable label- throughout their singles chart career.

Ticket information for the show can be found here.

Click here for ‘Ultimate Crisis’ album details.

The new titles include ‘Rock n Roll Jukebox’, featuring artists such as Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison, ‘Magical Musicals’, which includes classics tracks from musicals including Grease, Singin’ In The Rain, Starlight Express, Cats and The Phantom Of The Opera, ‘Northern Soul’, which features hits  from artists such as Freda Payne, Just Brothers, Willie Mitchell and Chairmen Of The Board, ‘Reggae Greats’ which showcases a range of tracks by artists including Chaka Demus & Pliers, Aswad, Gregory Isaacs, Donna Marie and John Holt and finally, ‘Legends Of Soul’, including top tracks from artists including Ike & Tina Turner, Al Green, Etta James, Bobby Womack and Average White Band.

Edsel is proud to announce the re-issued ‘Copper Blue’; the classic 1992 debut album by Sugar, on 28^th May.

Sugar was front-man Bob Mould’s opportunity to reclaim an alternative rock legacy that he helped to create after being openly acknowledged by the likes of Nirvana and The Pixies as a huge influence when he played in former band Hüsker Dü.  Bob and Sugar’s debut ‘Copper Blue’ entered the UK album chart at #10 and was NME’s Album Of The Year.

Twenty years on, the album has been lovingly remastered from the original tapes, and is presented in improved fidelity.  Remastering engineer Jim Wilson comments: “Just in terms of the size and power and

clarity of it all, the effect of this 2012 remastering is going to be immediately obvious to anybody.”

The new deluxe expanded edition includes all the non-album b-sides, a BBC radio session and a full length 1992 live concert. The concert, a favourite of Bob Mould’s, was recorded by Chicago college radio station WXRT and has been much bootlegged, however, this is the first legitimate release, with pristine sound quality, and features the only recorded versions of Sugar covering “Armenia City In The Sky” by The Who and “Dum Dum Boys” by Iggy Pop.

This new package also includes a DVD, which features all the promo videos from Copper Blue alongside TV appearances from the BBC and MTV archives.

Harmless are produce to announce the long-awaited release of the ‘Philadelphia International: The 40^th Anniversary Box Set’ – the most complete and comprehensive study of the Philadelphia International catalogue to date.

Following on from the recent Top 40 album ‘Philadelphia International: The Re-Edits’ and the amazing ‘Philadelphia International Classics: The Tom Moulton Remixes’, this new box set contains over 13 ½ hours of pure quality music from one of the greatest labels of all time.

Compiled by world acknowledged Philadelphia International expert Ralph Tee, the package also includes a 60 page full-size booklet containing full sleeve notes and track details and also a number of archive photos and key album scans as well as a fully comprehensive complete discography of all U.S. Philadelphia International and related labels.

The ‘Philadelphia International: The 40th Anniversary Box Set’ is due for release on 21st May.

British indie pop duo Everything But The Girl are back with four two-disc set reissued albums, including rare and previously unreleased tracks.

All four albums; Eden, Love Not Money, Baby, The Stars Shine Bright and Idlewild, will be presented as a beautiful 2CD case bound book sets put together with the full involvement of Ben and Tracey, and each one featuring a newly-written note by the couple, and all the lyrics.

The first package contains their debut album, 1984’s ‘Eden’, featuring seventeen bonus tracks: 8 non-album single A- and B-sides (including hits “Mine and “Native Land”), 5 previously unreleased home demos and 4 contemporary previously unreleased BBC radio session recordings, personally selected by Ben.

This is followed by ‘Love Not Money’, which was originally released  in 1985, which features eleven bonus tracks: 5 non-album single B-sides, 3 previously unreleased home demos and 3 contemporary previously unreleased BBC radio session recordings, personally selected by Ben.

1986 originally bought ‘Baby, The Stars Shine Bright’, and the new 2CD set features twelve bonus tracks: 7 non-album single B-sides, and 5 previously unreleased home demos.

And finally, in 1988, the duo released ‘Idlewild’, who’s reissue features eighteen bonus tracks: 10 non-album single A- and B-sides, and 7 previously unreleased home demos, and a previously unreleased version of “Apron Strings”, recorded for, but not used in the John Hughes film “She’s Having A Baby”.

These albums will be available at the end of May.

Click here for ‘Eden’ album details

Click here for ‘Love Not Money’ album details

Click here for ‘Baby, The Stars Shine Bright’ album details

Click here for ‘Idlewild’ album details

Sarah Joyce, better known by her stage name Rumer, is getting ready for the release of her latest album ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, on the 28^th May.

Following her debut album ‘Seasons Of My Soul’, Rumer’s new release is a cover album featuring songs from the 1970s that are not as well known and that were all originally sung by men. 

The two-time BRIT nominee will cover the fairly obscure Todd Rundgren song “Be Nice To Me”, and tracks by other artists including Townes Van Zandt, Ronnie Lane, Issac Hayes and Bob Marley.

Fans of the original artist, Todd Rundgren, can find the track “Be Nice To Me” on his recently re-issued album ‘Runt + The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren’.  Other Rundgren albums that have been reissued on the Edsel label include ‘A Cappella & Nearly Human & Second Wind’, ‘A Wizard, A True Star + Todd...Plus’, ‘Hermit Of Mink Hollow + Healing + The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect’ and many more.

Click here for ‘Runt + The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren’ album details.

Click here to view all Todd Rundgren albums currently available.

The Drifters are getting ready to embark on their 62-date Masquerade Tour of the UK starting Sunday 1^st April at the Queens Theatre in Hornchurch.

Tour dates are as follows:

Sun 1^st April                   Queens Theatre, Hornchurch

Mon 2^nd April                  Queens Theatre, Hornchurch

Sat 21^st April                  Lyceum Theatre, Crewe

Sun 22^nd April                 Hippodrome, Bristol

Fri 27^th April                   Wyvern Theatre, Swindon

Fri 4^th May                     Theatre Royal, St Helens

Fri 18^th May                   Mansfield Palace Theatre, Mansfield

Sun 20^th May                  Kings Theatre, Southsea

Sat 26^th May                  Embassy Theatre, Skegness

Fri 1^st June                    Corn Exchange, Kings Lynn

Sat 2^nd June                   The Spa, Bridlington

Thurs 7^th June                Empire, Sunderland

Fri 8^th June                    Grand Opera House, York

Sat 9^th June                    Auditorium, Grimsby

Fri 15^th June                   Southport Theatre & Convention Centre, Southport

Sat 23^rd June                  Linlithgow Festival, Linlithgow

Thurs 28^th June              Princess Theatre, Falmouth

Fri 29^th June                   Regent Centre, Christchurch

Click here to take a look at the rest of the 2012 The Drifters Masquerade Tour.

The Music Club Deluxe label will be releasing The Drifters & Ben E. King “Their Greatest Hits” album on the 16^th April. This two-disc 50 track collection includes their best known hits from the 50s, through to their sting of 70s hits, with some solo recordings from lead singer Ben E. King included as well.

Click here to view The Drifters & Ben E. King “Their Greatest Hits” album details.

Suede have confirmed their attendance at this year’s Hop Farm Festival, a UK festival exclusive, and will be the closing headline act.

The headline acts consist of folk legend Bob Dylan (another UK exclusive) and iconic singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel And The New Blood Orchestra.  Other acts include Damian Rice, Primal Scream, My Morning Jacket, Maximo Park, Patti Smith And Her Band, The Stranglers, Dr John And The Lower 911, Joan Armatrading, Billy Ocean, The Psychedelic Furs, Lianne Le Havas, The Jezabels, Slow Club, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Frightened Rabbit, Tom Vek, White Denim, Ben Kweller, Lucy Rose, FiN, Dog Is Dead, Race Horses, Steve Smyth, Sian Sanderson, Ligers with many more to follow.

Alongside the main music stage there will be a further three stages, including a comedy stage, a Camp Acoustic stage and Buskers Boulevard stage.

The festival takes place on Friday 29^th June – Sunday 1^st July at Hop Farm Paddock Wood in Kent and will, once again, maintain its ‘no sponsorship, no branding’ ethos and will also stick to its low price ticketing, with weekend tickets costing £150 (first 10,000 tickets only).  This price includes the three day festival ticket, four nights of camping and parking.  Children under 12 go free.

Click here for Hop Farm ticket information

Record Store Day 2012 was launched at a secret London location last night, with performances by PiL and Orbital, in front of a crowd of invited journalists and was also streamed live via a Boiler Room TV stream.

Record Store Day's UK coordinator Spencer Hickman said of the event: "The support of artists and labels and music fans for this annual celebration of the indie record shop has been amazing and is really appreciated. To have PiL and Orbital play at our launch is not only a real honour, but it's a sign of how much Record Store Day has developed".

This year 350 exclusive releases are being made available on 21st April, including three releases by Demon.  Demon are planning to offer three different 7” singles each pressed onto coloured vinyl for Record Store Day, featuring a 7” single by T. Rex (A – Telegram Sam, AA – Metal Guru), another 7” single by The Beat (A – Mirror In The Bathroom, AA – Too Nice To Talk To) and lastly, a third 7” single by Sugar (A – If I Can’t Change Your Mind, AA – Clownmaster).  There will be 750 copies of each of the singles up for grabs at the 180 independent record stores across the UK

Other artists who have announced their plans for special RSD releases include Coldplay, Gorillaz, Florence And The Machine, Bat For Lashes, Common, 2manydjs,  Belle & Sebastian, Blondie, Morrissey, Arctic Monkeys, Noel Gallagher, Metronomy, Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Cure, The Kinks, The Velvet Underground, The White Stripes, Bruce Springsteen and many more.

Hickman continued: "Record Store Day has now become an established part of the music calendar and what makes it special is the character and individuality of record stores. There's nothing to beat the enthusiasm and atmosphere of a great record shop. The reason great indie stores succeed is that they love music as much as their customers do. Record Store Day is like one huge festival taking place in every part of the UK. It's primarily about the record stores and the events, not just the products available".

A succession of pop stars, including Rick Astley, Jason Donovan and Bananarama, are to join forces for a one-off gig in London’s Hyde Park on 11^th July for the “Hit Factory Live” gig.  The show is being billed as a celebration of the SAW team (Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman), the songwriting team who are one of the most successful pop production outfits of all time.

Pete Waterman said: "I've been saying no for years to a Hit Factory concert but now, 25 years on, the timing feels right. It's time to celebrate the hit single and we have a tremendous lineup of our classic artists confirmed to play … it's set to be the biggest and best ever celebration of SAW and PWL!"

Recently reformed Steps will be headlining the bill, and will be joined by other acts including Pepsi & Shirlie, Sinitta, Princess, Hazell Dean, Sonia, Sybil, 2 Unlimited, Lonnie Gordon and Brother Beyond, as well as Dead or Alive – the act who gave SAW their first No 1 in March 1985 with You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).

Mother’s Day is fast approaching (Sunday 18^th March) but there's still time to order the perfect gift for the special woman in your life!

The hugely successful 100 Hits label boasts the fantastic 5 CD boxset 100 Hits Mum, which has been expertly put together to include all Mum’s favourites. It includes classic tracks from the likes of Jamie Cullum, Eva Cassidy, The Corrs, Simply Red, All Saints, Sugababes, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Sister Sledge, Carly Simon and many more.

Songs For Mum from The Red Box is a great value gift, featuring Billie Holiday, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole among others. I Love You Mum and The No. 1 Woman Album are also great selections of songs perfect for Mums everywhere.

Another option is a selection of classic compilation albums from the 100 Hits – Legends range. With a great variety of artists to choose from, these beautifully packaged boxsets are sure to please any Mother. Other great artist albums are available from the likes of Nina Simone, Daniel O’Donnell, Elaine Paige, Rick Astley, Al Green, Cliff Richard, Michael Bolton and the late, great Teddy Pendergrass.

Have a happy Mother’s Day!

Australian pop star, Jason Donovan, is back with a brand new album, “Sign Of Your Love”, which was released this week.

The album was inspired by some of Jason’s musical icons, including Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and features big-band covers of ‘That’s Life’, and ‘Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart’, as well as reinterpretations of ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’ and ‘They Can’t Take That Away from Me’.

Fans of Jason Donovan’s earlier tracks can find two of his most popular albums which currently available on the Edsel label – ‘Ten Good Reasons’, featuring the Number One hit duet with Kylie Minogue ‘Especially For You’, ‘Too Many Broken Hearts’ and ‘Nothing Can Divide Us’ – and ‘Between The Lines’, including ‘When You Come Back To Me’, ‘Hang On To Your Love’ and ‘Another Night’.

Click here to view ‘Ten Good Reasons’ album details

Demon Music Group are proud to announce that the recent Suede reissues have been nominated as a finalist in the Catalogue Marketing Campaign category of the Music Week Awards 2012.

The finalists in the category are as follows:

Suede Re-issues (Demon)

Nirvana: Nevermind (Universal)

The Smiths Complete (Rhino)

Steps: The Ultimate Collection (RCA/Sony)

Why Pink Floyd? (EMI)

The Who: Quadrophenia (Universal)

The awards are due to take place on Thursday 26^th April at The Brewery in London, tickets for the event are still available on the Music Week Awards website.

Click here to visit the Music Week Awards website

This year Fairport Convention are once again curating the Fairport's Cropredy Convention, featuring acts including Squeeze, Joan Armatrading and Bellowhead.  Click here for the full line-up.

The annual event takes place on Thursday 9^th to Saturday 11^th August and is held in Cropredy.  Fairport Convention & friends will headline the Saturday night show.

This year also marks Fairport Convention's forty-five years together as a band.  To celebrate, a BBC4 documentary will focus around the band and they will also be releasing two new albums; "By Special Request", a studio album featuring brand new versions of Fairport's most popular songs as chosen by the band's fans, as well as a second anniversary CD.

This second release revives one of Fairport Conventions most popular musical projects.  2011 saw the fortieth anniversary of "Babbacombe Lee", the band's 1971 'folk rock opera' and, to mark the occasion, Fairport performed the work in ite entirety at each gig on the 2011 winter tour.  These performances were recorded and will be released in a new, live version of the original concept album.

The album “Encore Encore” by Fairport Convention is currently available for Digital Download.

Go West will be performing at the “Back to the 80’s Ball” for Boot Out Breast Cancer on Saturday 10^th March at The Point, Lancashire Cricket Ground, Old Trafford, Manchester.

Along with fellow Music Club Deluxe artist Heaven 17, Go West will be the night’s entertainment to aid in fundraising.

Later this year, Go West will be performing at The iExplore Ball at the Indigo 2 in the O2 Arena in London on Thursday 19^th April along with The Wanted and Escala.  They are also due to perform on Saturday 12^th May at the Let’s Rock The Moor festival in Berkshire alongside Billy Ocean, Heaven 17, Boney M, Toyah and China Crisis.

Go West are set to release their newest album, “The Very Best Of Go West” this March.

Stiff Little Fingers’ latest album, “The Very Best of Stiff Little Fingers” is set for release in March.

Their new album ties in perfectly with the start of Stiff Little Fingers’ UK March Tour. The tour starts Wednesday 14^th March in Aberdeen and comes to a close in Manchester on Saturday 31^st March, after fourteen dates across the whole of the country.

The March tour will be in celebration of the band’s 35^th anniversary and each gig will have an appearance by special guests, Spear of Destiny.

The tour dates are as follows:

Wednesday 14^th March               Lemon Tree, Aberdeen

Friday 16^th March                       Fat Sam’s, Dundee

Saturday 17^th March                   Barrowland, Glasgow

Sunday 18^th March                      O2 Academy, Newcastle

Monday 19^th March                     Robin 2, Wolverhampton

Wednesday 21^st March               The Waterfront, Norwich

Thursday 22^nd March                  The Junction, Cambridge

Friday 23^rd March                       53 Degrees, Preston

Saturday 24^th March                   O2 Academy, Leeds

Monday 26^th March                     Rock City, Nottingham

Tuesday 27^th March                    The Assembly, Leamington Spa

Thursday 29^th March                   O2 Academy, Bristol

Friday 30^th March                       HMV Forum, London

Saturday 31^st March                   HMV Ritz, Manchester

Click here to go to the Stiff Little Finger’s website to buy tickets.

Eighties pop band, China Crisis will be performing at the Let’s Rock The Moor on Saturday 12^th May.

The festival, returning for its 4^th year, will be held in the village of Cookham in Berkshire and is an action packed day of live music at this boutique, family friendly, 80's festival with live music, a small circus, and rides.

The line-up includes Billy Ocean, Boney M with Maizie Williams, Toyah, Nick Heyward, China Crisis, Modern Romance, along with fellow Music Club Deluxe artists Go West and Heaven 17.

Ticket information for the gig can be found here.

China Crisis are also set to release a new best-of album, “Ultimate Crisis” this March.

90’s boy band, East 17, are back with a new album and a totally new sound.

The new album, Dark Light; the band’s first LP since 1999, is due for release on 2^nd April and, according to the band’s press release, the LP “showcases the band’s new transatlantic rock sound, reminiscent of bands like Kings Of Leon and U2 and even artists like Brian Adams and Billy Joel”.

It adds: “It’s a brave move and one that’s paid off on a record that’s as catchy as Summer of ’69 and as soft rock and big sounding as it gets.”

Songwriter Mortimer said: “I think everyone is subconsciously inspired by American music and rock ‘n’ roll and this time around we wanted to do something more live with less tricks.”

The band currently consists of three of the original members; Tony Mortimer, John Hendy and Terry Caldwell but Brian Harvey has not returned to the band.

Fans of the band’s original material can find a collection of the greatest hits on the Music Club Deluxe release Stay Another Day: The Very Best Of East 17.

The Farm will reform to play their Number One album ‘Spartacus’ from start to finish in a series of intimate dates across the UK in April and May this year, 21 years since the album was first released.

Kicking off in Edinburgh in April, and closing at the Club Academy in Manchester in May, the band will be returning to the stage to perform some of their classic hits, including the top ten singles 'Groovy Train' and 'All Together Now'.

Tour dates include:

·         28^th April: The Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh

·         4^th May: The Tivoli, Buckley

·         5^th May: The Picture House, Holmfrith

·         6^th May: Guild Hall, Gloucester

·         10^th May: 02 Academy, Newcastle

·         11^th May: Queens Hall, Nuneaton

·         12^th May: King Georges Hall, Blackburn

·         13^th May: The Venue, Derby

·         17^th May: Robin 2, Wolverhampton

·         19^th May: Academy, London

·         20^th May: The Brook, Southampton

·         25^th May: Club Academy, Manchester

Peter Hooton lead singer of The Farm commented 'we played a few festivals in the summer and the reaction was absolutely tremendous with lots of people saying they had forgotten how great our live shows were. Playing the recent Justice Tonight tour made us realise just how much we have missed playing live.'

The critically acclaimed album which went straight in at No 1in March 1991 has never been performed live in it's entirety, in the UK.

The album “Spartacus” is available via the Demon website and is also available for digital download.

Click here to view the ‘Spartacus’ album details

Lesley Garrett will be releasing a new album, ‘A North Country Lass’, on the 23^rd April.

“In the folk- inspired, classical tradition of Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst and Benjamin Britten, Lesley returns to her north country, folk music roots to record an inspired collection of British and Irish songs, with powerful authentic instrumentation providing a dramatic contemporary sound.”

With a 23-date UK tour starting on 22^nd February at the Wyllotts Centre in Potters Bar and running through until 8^th September, where it will come to a close at the Scarborough Spa Orchestra Anniversary Concert, Lesley’s tour will span the country and will include numerous dates to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Gala.

Fans of Lesley can find a collection of 32 tracks, including outstanding renditions of favourites from stage and screen on the Music Club Deluxe release ‘Songs To Sing’.  This album is also the perfect introduction to Lesley Garrett bringing together some of the most famous pieces of all time.

Terrorvision burst onto the scene in early 1992, with Joe Elliott of Def Leppard calling them “possibly the best band I’ve heard to come out of England in the last 12 years.”  

They are now back with a three-date tour; dates as follows:

03/03/2012        Tattoo Tea Party, Manchester

18/05/2012        Bearded Theory Festival, Derby

08/06/2012        Download Festival, Midlands

This coincides with the release of “Essential Terrorvision”, a collection of the band’s hits, on the Music Club Deluxe label, due for release on 12^th March.

International Soul Sensation Jaki Graham has teamed up with Manchester based producer/ DJ Nick Shaw (AKA Nine Lives) to create the new single entitled ‘1985’, influenced by Jaki’s 1985 smash ‘Round and Around’ (to be released on Vendition Records).

Jaki will be releasing her brand new studio album (the first since her 1998 release ‘My Life’) on 16th February, which will contain Jaki’s own unique interpretation on some of the classic soul and jazz standards on which she was raised.

Filming is also underway for her documentary which should be commissioned to air in October to tie in with Black History Month and the release of her Autobiography Absolute Essentials - The Very Best of Jaki Graham, detailing her personal struggles alongside her ongoing successes to date.

Jaki Graham fans should get their hands on her Greatest Hits collection, ‘Absolute Essentials - The Very Best of Jaki Graham’, a special 2CD set containing all Jaki’s 80s hits from EMI on one CD and all her Avex 90s hits on the other for one truly original collection.

The 100 Hits label is celebrating today after the 100 Hits Legends range passed the 300,000 over-the-counter sales milestone! 

The range has achieved strong sales across a number of titles, specifically The Rat Pack (32k), Foster & Allen (41k) and Otis Redding (21k).

Launched in October 2007, 100 Hits has sold over 3.5 million units to date.  In October 2009 two new ranges were launched under the 100 Hits banner – 100 Hits Legends, and 100 Hits Presents.

100 Hits Legends offers 100 tracks from some of the most successful recording acts in history including Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Doris Day.  Presented in a 5CD set along with a slipcase, the package also includes a full biography of the artist.

Click here to view the full 100 Hits Legends range

Don't forget that next Tuesday is Valentine's Day (Tuesday 14th February)!

Make sure you get your orders in for our fantastic range of love albums.  They would make a perfect gift for your partner, or could be played to create a perfect ambience for a romantic dinner or night in.

The six titles include three from the hugely popular 100 Hits range – ‘80’s Love’, ‘Rock’n’Roll Love Songs’ and ‘Love Karaoke’.  The remaining three, ‘Love Hits’, ‘Rock’n’Roll Love Songs The Collection’ and ‘Love Songs The Collection’ make for an excellent range of albums to cover a variety of tastes.

Artists featured among these albums include Jason Donovan, The Everley Brothers and Luther Vandross.

On Saturday 11^th February Dionne Warwick will be joining Jonathan Ross on his famous sofa to chat about her career and also her involvement in The Hunger Project. 

The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organisation committed to the sustainable end of world hunger and on Monday 28^th May, Dionne Warwick will be joined by an international star cast and will perform a spectacular celebration of her music and more with a full orchestra in order to raise money for the charity.

The aim of the concert is to raise significant awareness of the very first World Hunger Day and the inspiring work of the Hunger Project to bring an end to hunger and poverty. It is also hoped that significant funds will be raised to enable the project to continue to work in 13 countries across Africa, South Asia and Latin America.

Also appearing on the Jonathan Ross show will be Denzel Washington, Keira Knightly and Tom Hardy.

Demon control two Dionne Warwick albums – ‘All The Love In The World: The Dionne Warwick Collection’ and ‘Sings Bacharach & David’.  We also control the ‘Sweet Memories’ album by Elaine Paige.

Click here for more information about World Hunger Day and the Gala Concert.

Chris Rea is gearing up to embark on his 14-date tour of the UK in March / April this year.

The tour will kick off on the 16^th March 2012, when Chris will be taking over Belfast’s Ulster Hall. Dates as follows:

16.03.12            Belfast, Ulster Hall

20.03.12            Bournemouth, BIC

21.03.12            Oxford, New Theatre

22.03.12            Brighton, Brighton Centre

24.03.12            Harrogate, International Centre

25.03.12            Manchester, Manchester Apollo

26.03.12            Sheffield, City Hall

28.03.12            Edinburgh, Usher Hall

29.03.12            Glasgow, Clyde Hall

31.03.12            Newcastle, Newcastle Arena

01.04.12            Birmingham, NIA

02.04.12            Nottingham, RCH

04.04.12            Plymouth, Plymouth Pavillions

05.04.12            London, Hammersmith Apollo

The Music Club Deluxe label have recently released a new ‘Best Of’ album of Chris Rea’s hits; a double CD collection titled ‘The Journey 1978-2009’, including such enduring Rea’s smash hits as The Road To Hell, Let’s Dance, On the Beach, Fool (If You Think Its Over) and Auberge, as well as choice album tracks and rarities such as Saudade, his soulful tribute to the late Formula One racer Ayrton Senna.

Click here for tour ticket details

To celebrate the launch of the 'World Routes: On The Road' compilation, catch two extraordinary live performances by Gochaq Askarov & Hari Vrndavn Sivanesan, and also a conversation between presenter Lucy Duran and producer James Parkin.

The event takes place TONIGHT (Friday 3^rd February), at 17:30 – 20:00, at the Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London.

World Routes is the BBC's flagship world-music show listened to by hundreds of thousands of radio listeners in the UK on BBC Radio 3, and millions across the globe via the World Service.  'On the road' is a 30 track compilation of previously unreleased material recorded on location by the programme over the last ten years, featuring some of the most thrilling artists from across the world.

Gochaq Askarov is Azerbaijan's finest exponent of the classical art form the mugham vocal style. The drama and virtuosity of Gochaq's voice, combined with his simplicity and modesty as a performer make him, without doubt, one of the finest voices in the world today. Gochaq's inclusion in this event has been made possible by The European Azerbaijan Society

A young veena player from the UK who was the recipient of the BBC Radio 3 World Routes Academy scholarship in 2011, Hari Vrndavn Sivanesan has toured with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and was chosen by him to perform on the Chants of India album produced by Ravi and George Harrison.

Lucy Duran and James Parkin will talk about some of the highlights of their travels over the last decade as well as signing copies of the album which will be on sale.

'World Routes' is OUT NOW!

English heavy metal and hard rock band UFO are planning on embarking on a 16-date UK tour.

Dates are as follows:

15th March        The Junction, Cambridge

16th March        HMV Picture House, Edinburgh

17th March        02 Academy, Newcastle

18th March        02 Academy, Leeds

20th March        Academy, Dublin

21st March        Spring & Airbrake, Belfast

23rd March        The Stables, Milton Keynes

24th March        The Wharf, Tavistock

25th March        02 Academy, Bristol

27th March        Rock City, Nottingham

28th March        Waterfront, Norwich

30th March        HMV Ritz, Manchester

31st March        Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton

1st April            The Brook, Southampton

3rd April            Concorde 2, Brighton

4th April            Forum, London

The band will be playing many of their greatest hits, many of which can be found on the latest Music Club Deluxe UFO release “Too Hot To Handle: The Very Best Of UFO”.

President Barack Obama paid homage to Al Green on Thursday night at the historic Apollo Theatre in Harlem during a fundraiser event.

Obama broke out into song during his speech, with the opening line of the hit “Let’s Stay Together” by Rev. Al Green.

 “I…I’m…soooo in love with you,” Mr. Obama sang.

In a message to the watching crowds of “Let’s Stay Together”, the response was one of huge cheers and roaring applause.  Obama continued with his admiration of the singer:

"Don't worry Rev, I cannot sing like you, but I just wanted to show my appreciation,” the president said.

The fundraiser was Obama’s fourth campaign event of the night in New York City. It was filled with music performances, including one by soul singer Green earlier in the night.

“Let’s Stay Together” can be found on the Al Green Greatest Hits collection available on the Edsel label.

Daniel O’Donnell fans will be pleased to hear that the second part of his ‘Live From Nashville’ DVD will be available from 5^th March 2012.

Filmed at The Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, the one-time home of the Grand Ole Opry, the DVD is the second part to his 3 hour sell-out show and which features his special guests, long-term singing partner Mary Duff and Country legend, Charley Pride.

Uplifting, jaunty and full of country favourites, ‘Live From Nashville-Part 2’, is a spectacular musical event featuring favourites chosen by Daniel. Songs such as ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’, ‘He’ll Have To Go’ and ‘Crystal Chandeliers’, sit alongside the country ‘Green Grass To Bluegrass Medley’ and old favourites such as ‘Stand By Me’ and ‘I Just Want To Dance With You’.

Also included in this package is a 23-track ‘Live From Nashville’ concert highlights CD, which features songs from across the entire concert.

Full details and tracklistings will be available shortly.

An Exclusive Limited Edition DVD Book Set of Suede’s legendary comeback concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 24^th March 2010 is now available to pre-order from the Suede Official Store only.  

This Strictly Limited Edition Set contains

·         A DVD of the entire concert, featuring twenty-one songs

·         Stereo and 5.1 audio mixes

·         An exclusive DVD of backstage footage produced and edited by Simon Gilbert, a film of Brett Anderson’s visit to the Teenage Cancer Trust’s Oasis Centre in Cambridge, and a Paul Khera photo gallery

·         Two CDs of the audio of the entire concert

·         A 48 page booklet, featuring specially-written individual notes by all five band members, and Paul Khera’s amazing photos

What the press said about this concert:

"Suede have never sounded this brutal, so determined; the best British punk, rock ‘n’ roll, sex-pop-glam band of the past 20 years. Many of the diehards present proclaimed this to be the best Suede gig they've ever seen." - NME

"Hugely influential... they sound better than they did at their commercial peak" – The Guardian

"Astonishing return to the spotlight" – Independent on Sunday

"Sensational" – The Times

"Suede had lost none of its energy 17 years on... a timeless slice of euphoric indie rock" – Evening Standard

£40.00 + P&P, only from www.suede.co.uk

This item will ship on 24^th March 2012, the second anniversary of the concert.

Midem, the world’s largest music industry trade fair, is fast approaching and the Demon guys are getting ready to jet off to Cannes!  Starting on Saturday 28^th January and running through until Tuesday 31st, Demon Music Group will be hosting a stall, number R07.04, at the event.

This year the main Midem event will be accompanied by a festival, which will take place in a specially-constructed 3,500 capacity venue set up on the Croisette with acts including the Ting Tings, 2 Many DJs, OrelSan and 21-year-old Belgian singer Selah Sue.  French rock band Shaka Ponk, French folk duo Brigitte, Parisian indie rock band Stuck In The Sound and Lille’s Skip The Use will also be performing at the event.

The festival will be open to Midem attendees and the general public – the first time that Midem has opened up to the general public in this way.

Demon are pleased to announce that we have signed the world rights (excluding Japan and the USA) to the Sugar/ Bob Mould catalogue.

The catalogue includes the iconic album ‘Copper Blue’ which sold over 300,000 copies, and was a 1992 album of the year.  ‘Copper Blue’ and the other albums in the catalogue, ‘Beaster’ (which reached #3) and ‘File Under Easy Listening’ (#7) all charted Top Ten.   Demon will also control a live album from Sugar and two of Bob`s solo material.  Bob Mould’s first band, Husker Du, was a huge influence on bands such as Nirvana and the Pixies.

Demon will re-issue these albums in the same types of format as our successful re-issues of both Suede and Jesus and Mary Chain with extra tracks and lush packaging, we will also have exclusive licensing and digital rights.

Bob Mould will also be touring the ‘Copper Blue’ album during 2012 to sold out shows.

Doris Day has released her first album in 17 years this month.  The new album, “My Heart”, includes 13 never-before-heard renditions of songs including ‘Daydream’ and ‘Stewball’ and was produced by her son Terry Melcher, the producer of the Beach Boys and the Byrds who died in 2004 at 62.

Sales of the record will support the Doris Day Animal Foundation.

An interview with the star can be found here.

Doris Day fans can get all of her classic tracks on the 5 CD “100 Hits Legends – Doris Day” album.

Click here to view 100 Hits Legends – Doris Day

Fans of The Soldiers will be pleased to hear that they will be touring throughout January and February next year.  The dates are as follows:

Sun 8th Jan 2012            Potters Leisure Resort, Great Yarmouth 

Thu 12th Jan 2012          St David's Hall, Cardiff 

Fri 13th Jan 2012           Wyllyotts Theatre, Potters Bar 

Sat 14th Jan 2012           The Camberley Theatre, Camberley 

Sun 15th Jan 2012          The Capitol Theatre, Horsham 

Wed 18th Jan 2012         Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne 

Thu 19th Jan 2012          Rothes Halls, Glenrothes 

Fri 20th Jan 2012           Horsecross (Perth Theatre & Concert Hall), Perth 

Sat 21st Jan 2012           Motherwell Civic Centre (Concert Hall & Theatre), Motherwell 

Sun 22nd Jan 2012         Aberdeen Music Hall, Aberdeen 

Tue 24th Jan 2012          Cheltenham Town Hall, Cheltenham 

Wed 25th Jan 2012         Hall For Cornwall (HFC), Truro 

Thu 26th Jan 2012          Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury 

Fri 27th Jan 2012           Buxton Opera House, Buxton 

Sat 28th Jan 2012           Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre, Stevenage 

Sun 29th Jan 2012          Billingham Forum Theatre, Billingham 

Mon 30th Jan 2012         Theatre Royal, Norwich 

Thu 2nd Feb 2012          Central Theatre, Chatham 

Fri 3rd Feb 2012            Towngate Theatre & Conference Centre, Basildon 

Sat 4th Feb 2012            Embassy Theatre, Skegness 

Sun 5th Feb 2012           Venue Cymru, Llandudno 

Click here to visit The Soldiers website

It’s been a great year for the Edsel label, with an array of awards and nominations under their belt for the 2011 reissues.

MOJO magazine voted Suede’s “Dog Man Star” at #6 and Jesus And Mary Chain’s “Psychocandy” at #8 in their ‘Reissue Of The Year’ category. 

NME also rated Suede’s “Dog Man Star” and placed the album at #8 and Jesus And Mary Chain’s “Psychocandy” at #9 ‘Reissue Of The Year’.

Uncut put Jesus And Mary Chain’s “Darklands” at #5 and Suede’s “Suede” at #30 in the category of ‘Reissues, Compilations And Box Sets’.

Art Rocker nominated John Foxx & Harold Budd’s “Nighthawks + Translucence + Drift Music” as the ‘Reissue Of The Year’ but was beaten by another Edsel title, Jesus And Mary Chain’s “Psychocandy”.

Finally, Rolling Stone magazine voted Suede’s “Suede” at #9 in the “10 Best Reissues Of The Year”.

Click here for all the Suede reissues

Click here for all the Jesus And Mary Chain reissues

The final on Saturday night favorite, the X Factor has contributed to a surge in popularity of vintage girl band En Vogue and also Jackie Wilson.

The winners, Little Mix, chose to sing En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go” for a second time during the series, explaining their decision to do so because it would mean a lot to their fans.

The original song “Don’t Let Go” can be found on the recent Music Club Deluxe release ‘Don't Let Go: The Very Best Of En Vogue’.  The single has benefited from the show, climbing to number 27 from last week's 89.

Also on the same night, runner-up Marcus Collins reprised his performance of Jackie Wilson’s “Higher And Higher”.  Marcus believed that it was his best performance of the series, a thought that was echoed by judge Tulisa: “That definitely was your best song of the series and it was better this time! I predict a very bright future for you.”

The original Jackie Wilson track can be found on the Music Club Deluxe album Best Of The Original Soul Brother.

Click here to view ‘Best Of The Original Soul Brother’ album details

Harmless is proud to announce the release of the third set of 10 albums in the Backbeats series to add to the existing 20 titles on catalogue:

Backbeats - Soul A La Mode – 1970’s Modern Soul

Backbeats - What’s The Word? – Socially Conscious Soul Music

Backbeats - Smooth Grooves – Sophisticated 80’s Philly Soul

Backbeats - Phillybusters – Underground Philly Dance Floor Gems

Backbeats – Bustin’ Out – Ghetto Grooves from Dusty Cellars

Backbeats -2 Steps To Soul Heaven – More 70’s & 80’s Steppers

Backbeats - They Call It Crossover – More Mid-Tempo Soul

Backbeats - Mod Life Crisis – 60’s Mod Anthems

Backbeats - Lost In Time –More Northern Soul Treasures

Backbeats - The Pain Goes Deep – More Deep Soul Gems

Backbeats continues to widen the net of Backbeats collaborators, so joining the core team of Ian Dewhirst, Dean Rudland and Sean Hampsey, we’re delighted to welcome two more veterans of the Soul Music scene – Ralph Tee and Kev Roberts. Ralph Tee runs Expansion Records and continues to be an all-round authority on Soul music, whilst Kev Roberts adds to his rich history in the Soul Music business by currently being the hardest working promoter on the Northern Soul scene. A big Backbeats welcome to both of these experts!

The Backbeats series specialises in releasing material which is either impossible or hard to find elsewhere and for which there is substantial core demand. The third series continues to scour the vaults from such iconic labels as G.S.F., Sound Stage 7, Hi, Paula, Curtom, Brunswick, Chi-Sound, Dynamite, Sound Plus, Metromedia, Sansu, Instant, Philadelphia International, Douglas, Invictus, Strata East, Hot Wax, House Of The Fox, Toddlin’ Town, T.S.O.P., Soul Power, Ronn, Jet Stream, Gemigo, Cream, Alaska, Mayfield, SSS International, Seventy 7, Canyon, Dakar, Deesu, Share, Philly Groove, Soulville, Nola, Pameline, Vee-Jay, Tollie, One-Derful!, Thomas, Audio Arts, Jewel, Mar-V-Lus, Constellation, Blue Cat and numerous others - all music which may not otherwise be heard or commercially available these days.  

Two Demon titles have featured in MOJO magazine’s ‘The Best of 2011’ lists in the Reissue of the Year category.

At number 6 is the recent Suede ‘Dog Man Star’ release and at number 8, ‘Psychocandy’ by The Jesus And Mary Chain, both on the Edsel label.

The first place spot went to Mickey Newbury’s ‘An American Trilogy’, followed by The Beach Boy’s ‘The Smile Sessions’,  The Who’s ‘Quadrophenia’ and ‘Sweet Inspiration: The Songs of Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham’.

The Demon reissues beat other huge albums, such as Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadelica’ and Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ in the list which is great news for both the Edsel label and Demon.

Click here to view Suede – Dog Man Star album details

American singer-songwriter, Don McLean, has announced the details of his UK and European tour in October 2012.  The tour also celebrates the 40^th Anniversary of the “American Pie” European tour.

Confirmed dates are as follows:

UK

Fri 19^th Oct        Bristol Colston Hall

Sat 20^th Oct        Manchester Bridgewater Hall

Sun 21^st Oct       Gateshead The Sage

Tues 23^rd Oct     Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Thurs 25^th Oct    London Royal Albert Hall

Sat 27^th Oct        Birmingham Symphony Hall

Sun 28^th Oct       Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Wed 31^st Oct      Basingstoke Anvil

Europe

Tues 6^th Nov      Amsterdam Carre

Thurs 8th Nov    Düsseldorf Tonhalle

Following the UK tour Don travels to mainland Europe for additional concerts and more dates are expected to be added.

Don McLean fans can purchase some great albums in preparation for the tour on the Demon website, with titles including ‘Live Greatest Hits And For The Memories’ and ‘Prime Time And Chain Lightning And Believers’ as well as some other digital download albums also available.

Click here to view Don McLean tour details

The En Vogue track “Don’t Let Go” has re-entered the charts after being covered by the last remaining group on the X Factor, Little Mix.

The girls performed the track on the 7^th live show of the series, as part of ‘Movie Week’.  The single was a 1996 Grammy-nominated track from the Set It Off soundtrack, appearing on the band’s third album ‘EV3’.  It also features as the first track on the Music Club Deluxe’s ‘Don't Let Go: The Very Best Of’ album.

Click here to view the Don't Let Go: The Very Best Of album details

A brand new compilation of Frank Sinatra’s greatest hits, entitled ‘Sinatra – Best of the Best’, has been released by EMI.

Frank’s greatest recordings for Capitol Records and his own Reprise Records have been gathered into one collection and are now available in single-disc and deluxe 2CD packages, with track notes written by Frank Sinatra, Jr.

Many of Sinatra’s tracks can also be found on a range of Frank Sinatra albums available in the Demon Catalogue, with releases including ‘100 Hits Legends: Frank Sinatra’, a fantastic 5CD, 100 track set, ‘The Early Years’, ‘The Essential Collection’,  and, perfect for the festive season, ‘The Christmas Collection’.

Click here to view the Best of the Best album

The nominees for the 26th annual fRoots Critics Poll Albums Of The Year have been announced and a Nascente title is a contender!

 fRoots world music magazine has polled experts in the UK and internationally every year since 1986 to decide the Album Of The Year in folk, roots & world music.  This is the most extensively researched and prestigious annual poll of its kind, with over 300 writers, broadcasters and activists worldwide invited to vote.   It's "The best researched guide to the key world roots albums of the year" (BBC Radio 3).

At 11PM on Friday 2^nd December this year’s winners will be revealed exclusively in a special edition of BBC 3’s World On 3, hosted by Mary Ann Kennedy.  Full winner’s details will also be available on the fRoots website and in a dedicated Amazon.co.uk section from 3rd December, and in the Jan/Feb 2012 double issue of fRoots published in mid-December.

Nominees for the Re-issue Or Compilation Of 2011:

Home Service: Live 1986 (Fledg’ling)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Tell My Sister (Nonesuch)

Hedy West: Ballads And Songs From The Appalachians (Fellside)

Various: Bambara Mystic Soul: The Raw Sound Of Burkina Faso 1974-1979 (Analog Africa)

Various: 80s World Music Classics: When The World Was Young (Nascente)

All the winners to date can be found here. 

Click here to visit the fRoots website

Click here to view 80s World Music Classics: When The World Was Young album details

Fans of popular children’s TV entertainer Justin Fletcher headed to Belfast on Saturday to watch the star switch-on the city’s Christmas lights.

A 20,000 strong crowd turned up to the event at City Hall for the annual event, 10,000 people more than expected.  A Belfast City Council spokesman said:

“This was the biggest crowd we have had at the event since President Clinton performed the switch-on.”

“It was almost three times the number who attended last year, and more than attended the Snow Patrol concert as part of the MTV EMA awards two weeks earlier.”

Justin Fletcher performed his new single “Hands Up” to the crowd, which was taken from his forthcoming album “Hands Up…The Album”, due for release in March 2012.

Click here to view Hands Up…The Single details

Today, Monday 21^st November, is set to be the busiest online shopping day of the year with people rushing to buy their Christmas presents to ensure they receive them in time for the big day!

It is anticipated that millions of British and worldwide consumers will take to the internet searching for Christmas gifts, with UK sales expected to reach around£424 million throughout the day and an average spending of about £300,000 per minute, it’s not dubbed ‘Mega Monday’ for nothing!

This year marks a change in trend as it is usually the Monday closest to December, after the last monthly pay packet, that the shoppers hit the internet.   But, according to research by shopping comparison website Kelkoo, people are stocking up early to avoid the issues called by severe weather conditions last year, preventing the delivery of post and presents.

Also, with the increasing number of Smart phones making it easier to access the internet and online retailers, it is expected that online sales will rise this year.  A spokesperson from Kelkoo said:

“In particular, we were interested to see that this year, shopping on mobile phones is set to increase significantly, opening up more opportunities for retailers to sell any place, any time.”

Online retailers are being urged to prepare their stock supplies ready for a surge in demand for items, especially if they are offering particularly attractive offers and prices. 

It is believed 33.7 per cent of online spending will be on gifts, 24.5 per cent on Christmas travel, 20.6 per cent on decorations and 6.7 per cent on food and drink and people revealed convenience, reduced stress and cheaper prices as reasons for buying gifts on the internet.

All of the Demon products shown on the website are available for purchase at online retailers including Amazon, HMV and Play.

Fans of The Blockheads will be pleased to hear that the band will be performing at Ronnie Scott’s this week on the eve of their 35th anniversary for a 3 night residency, from Monday 21^st until Thursday 24^th November.

The line-up of the band due to perform at Ronnie Scott’s features:

Gilad Atzmon - Saxophones

Mick Gallagher – Organ, Piano and Synths

Derek Hussey – Vocals and Ambience Co-ordination

Chaz Jankel – Guitars and Keyboards

John Roberts - Drums

John Turnbull - Guitars

Norman Watt-Roy – Bass

The release of an album of new material in 2009, and also “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” (the recent biopic of their erstwhile front man and lyricist Ian Dury) resulted in a resurgence in the bands popularity.  Many of the classics from the illustrious back catalogue, as well as some new material , will be played at the gigs and can also be found, available for purchase, on the Demon website.

Click here to view the Ronnie Scotts website

The recent reissue of The Jesus And Mary Chain’s ‘Psychocandy: Special Edition’ has been nominated as a contender for the ‘Reissue Of The Year’ category by Artrocker magazine.

The first ever Artrocker Awards will take place on the 2 December 2011 at XOYO venue in Shoreditch, London and will be hosted by Radio 1's Jen Long.

Other nominees include:

Can ‘Tago Mago: 40th Anniversary Edition’
The Fall ‘The Nation’s Saving Grace: Omnibus Edition’
John Foxx & Harold Budd featuring Ruben Garcia ‘Nighthawks’
Nirvana ‘Nevermind: 20th Anniversary Edition’

Although the awards show is VIP only, XOYO will be opening its doors to the public between 8pm and 3am for the Artrocker Awards Live Show, with Gruff Rhys, The Jim Jones Revue and more performing live, plus DJ sets by Gary Numan, Tim Burgess, Is Tropical, Tribes and Heavenly Jukebox.

Marc Sallis, Editor of Artrocker said:

“A lot of awards these days are made to fill up time on TV and fill pages in glossy magazines spreads, Artrocker aims to make its first-ever awards about the music, the bands and giving the public a great gig with a line-up that will recall the heady days of The Brats and inject some much needed drunken fun and rock'n'roll back into the industry. The inaugural Artrocker Awards are cutting back the ever-expanding gloss and going for the true spirit of music; there will be no fireworks, stage tricks and countless re-takes, it's quite simple Rock'n'Roll in its simplest and rawest form."

Click here to visit the Artrocker website

The Soldiers will be performing their official Poppy Appeal single “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” live on the pitch at half-time during the England vs Spain match at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 12^th November.

Click here to view the I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You single

One of the most successful acts of the acid jazz scene, The Brand New Heavies, are returning to the stage to play two pre-Christmas party nights celebrating 20 years of bringing wholesome soul grooves to the world.

The Brand New Heavies are best known for their hits including ‘Never Stop’ and  ‘Dream Come True’ and also for their reinterpretations of tracks such as ‘Midnight At The Oasis’, Carole King’s ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ and the Stevie Wonder classic ‘I Don’t Know Why (I Love You)’.

The Heavies will be playing these intimate gigs at Under The Bridge in Fulham on the 13^th and 14^th December 2011; a great Christmas present for their fans!

For the two special nights at Under The Bridge, the sassy and gifted singer Honey Larochelle will be the latest phenomenon to front the funk.

The release of a brand new Music Club Deluxe album, The Brand New Heavies ‘The Best of 20 Years’, is perfectly timed to prepare The Heavies fans for these gigs.  Featuring all the classics, this album was approved and sequenced by the band and gives the fullest picture yet of a British music institution whose unique mix of jazz, funk and soul has lit up the dance scene for well over two decades, and continues to do so.

Suede front man, Brett Anderson, appeared on BBC show “Later With Jools Holland” last week.

Brett joined Jools in the studio along with Florence and the Machine, Pete Townshend, My Morning Jacket, Bombino and Al Spx.

Brett performed “Brittle Heart” and “Crash About To Happen” from his new album, ‘Black Rainbows’.

With Justin Fletcher’s new single “Hands Up” due for release on the 20^th November, it is thought that the UK’s most popular children’s performer may be in with a chance of nabbing the Christmas No.1 top spot!

The single, from Justin’s forth-coming album ‘Hands Up…The Album’, due for release on the 26^th March 2012, has already had great feedback from everyone who has heard it and is accompanied on the album by other kid’s classics including “The Hokey Cokey”, “Music Man” and “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic”.

The video for “Hands Up” is also available to watch on YouTube now:

Click here for Hands Up The Single details

Fans of the fantastic 100 Hits series will be pleased to know that we are releasing a new batch of 8 titles on Monday 21^st November and a further 2 titles on 5^th December.

The titles include ‘100 Hits Classic 60s’, ‘100 Hits Super 70s’, ‘100 Hits 80s Classics’, ‘100 Hits The New Romantics’, ‘100 Hits Ladies Nights’, ‘100 Hits Driving Rock’, ‘100 Hits Punk And New Wave’ and ‘100 Hits New Years Party’, followed by ‘100 Hits 90s Anthems’ and ‘100 Hits Dance Classics’ on 5^th December.

These new titles span a range of genres and feature artists such as The Beach Boys, Duran Duran, Lily Allen, Supergrass, Blondie and Leo Sayer.

Welsh rock and roll singer, Shakin’ “Shaky” Stevens is about to embark on a huge 26-date tour throughout November and December.

Kicking off in the Assembly Halls, Tunbridge Wells, on Wednesday 9^th November, and coming to a close at the Theatre Royal in Brighton on Sunday 11^th December, the tour spans the whole of the UK.

09/11/2011        Assembly Halls, Tunbridge Wells

10/11/2011        Corn Exchange, Kings Lynn

11/11/2011        Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon

12/11/2011        G Live, Guildford

13/11/2011        IndigO2 at the O2, London

15/11/2011        The Hawth, Crawley

17/11/2011        The Assembly, Leamington Spa

18/11/2011        Fairfield Halls, Croydon

19/11/2011        Swan Theatre, High Wycombe

21/11/2011        Congress Theatre, Eastbourne

22/11/2011        Hall for Cornwall, Truro

23/11/2011        The Anvil, Basingstoke

25/11/2011        Civic Hall, Wolverhampton

26/11/2011        New Theatre, Hull

27/11/2011        The Forum, Malvern

28/11/2011        Southport Theatre, Southport

29/11/2011        O2 ABC, Glasgow

02/12/2011        St George’s Hall, Bradford

03/12/2011        Charter Hall, Colchester

04/12/2011        Colosseum, Watford

05/12/2011        Winter Gardens, Margate

06/12/2011        O2 Academy, Sheffield

08/12/2011        Grand Theatre, Swansea

09/12/2011        Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham

10/12/2011        Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage

11/12/2011        Theatre Royal, Brighton

Shakin’ Stevens fans can now enjoy a collection of his top tracks, including 24 UK Top 20’s, 7 Top 5’s and 4 Number 1’s, in a comprehensive 2CD set available from the Music Club Deluxe label, complete with artwork, compilation and sleevenotes by Shakin’ Steven’s himself.  

Click here to visit the Shakin’ Stevens website for more tour information

The Soldiers have scored their third consecutive chart album, with ‘Message To You’, which entered the Artist Albums Chart at #11.

‘Message To You’ is the fifth highest New Entry in this week’s chart, behind Coldplay, Michael Buble’s Christmas album, Kelly Clarkson and Tom Waits.

The Soldiers will be promoting this new album with special appearances, including the ‘Silence In The Square’ performance, where they will be performing live at Trafalgar Square to an audience of 8-12000 people on the 11^th November. 

The Soldiers and Robin will also be performing the Poppy Appeal single, “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” on the ‘Songs Of Praise Remembrance Sunday’ programme, to be aired on the 13^th November.

With Halloween just days away, party preparations are clearly well on the way and the 100 Hits Halloween album is flying up the charts, currently sitting quite comfortably at #9 in the Midweek Compilation Chart!

 
This 4CD collection features original chart hits, including Ray Parker Jr’s Ghostbusters, I Put A Spell On You from Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Alice Cooper’s Feed My Frankenstein, Hunting For Witches by Bloc Party and more, plus a 20 track movie theme disc featuring tracks from classic horror films.  The boxset also contains a fifth disc - a Karaoke DVD, featuring 20 sing-along versions of Halloween classics, including Thriller, Somebody’s Watching Me, Monster Mash and The Time Warp.  The perfect package for any ghostly gathering!
 
Happy Halloween!

Daniel O’Donnell, one of the most popular artists of a generation, has achieved yet another Top 10 album with his newest release ‘The Ultimate Collection’.

The album entered the charts at #7 and is the third highest New Entry in this week’s chart, which sees former Oasis co-founder Noel Gallagher and current X Factor Winner Matt Cardle at #1 and #2 respectively.  Daniel also overtook Katy Perry at the weekend, who benefited from appearing on last Sunday’s X-Factor.

Daniel has an incredible track record and this new album has given him his third chart album in 11 months and his second Top 10 album of 2011.

Click here to view ‘The Ultimate Collection’ album details

Children’s favourite Justin Fletcher, of Something Special and Gigglebiz fame, is back with a brand new album.

The album features 20 classic children’s songs along with a few brand new songs – covering everything from “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic” and “The laughing Policeman” to the great new single “Hands Up”.

Justin Fletcher has been involved in many of the biggest children’s TV shows over recent years, including Tweenies, Timmy Time, Fun Song Factory and Shaun The Sheep.  Justin has also starred in many incredibly popular shows, including Something Special, Tikkabilla, Higgledy House, Gigglebiz and the newest show Justin’s House.

Justin was awarded an MBE in 2008 for his services to children's broadcasting and also won a BAFTA in 2010 for his performance in Gigglebiz on the BBC’s CBeebies channel.

The album will be released on 26th March 2012, and the digital single "Hands Up" will be out in 4th December 2011.

Click here to view ‘Hands Up…The Album’ album details

On Friday 21^st October at 21:10 Janis Ian, Neil Finn and Ryan Adams will be performing on the final concert of the current series of the Songwriters’ Circle.

Neil Finn guides the proceedings with songs from different stages of his career - Crowded House favourites Distant Sun and Don't Dream It's Over are mixed with Split Enz's She Will Have Her Way and Golden Child, a new song written with his wife Sharon about their children growing up and leaving home.

Janis Ian has been a song writer from the tender age of 12 and is still very much at the top of her game.  Janis’ introspective, socially-engaged and intelligent lyrics are complemented by beautiful melodies and delightful guitar playing by Janis herself.  Her performance features classic tracks such as the jazzy Bright Lights and Promises to her evergreen classic At Seventeen.

Ryan Adams delivers a series of exquisitely mournful songs, from his debut solo album Heartbreaker's Oh My Sweet Carolina to Invisible Riverside from his album Ashes and Fire.

Janis Ian fans should check out Edsel’s huge range of albums currently available (also as digital downloads), including the news release ‘Best Of Janis Ian - The Autobiography Collection’. 

Click here to visit the BBC 4 Songwriter’s Circle website

Click here to view ‘Best Of Janis Ian - The Autobiography Collection’ album details

The Christmas single to be released by the X Factor contestants has been revealed!  The final 16 will release a cover of Rose Royce’s “Wishing On A Star”, with proceeds to be donated to ACT & Children’s Hospices UK.

X Factor boss Simon Cowell said: “I’ve seen the amazing work they do for kids and their families who need help and support.

“I am thrilled that the X Factor charity single this year will benefit this charity.”

The single, featuring all of this year’s finalists, will be released on the 19th November and the contestants are said to be very excited of the prospect of releasing their first ever single.

Finalist Frankie Cocozza said it was a “brilliant thing to be doing for a brilliant charity”.

Charity spokeswoman Barbara Gelb said: “The money raised from this single gives us the opportunity to improve the lives of these children and families.

“Every single bought, either online or through the High Street, will make such a difference.”

It is thought that “Wishing On A Star” will be performed by finalists on the show.

Fans of the original artist, Rose Royce, can get hold of copies of their reissued albums ‘Golden Touch & Jump Street’ and ‘Strikes Again & Rainbow Connection’ on the Edsel label.

Click here for ‘Golden Touch & Jump Street’ album details

As The Soldiers and Robin Gibb are the artists who are releasing this year’s Official Poppy Appeal single, many of the guy’s performances will focus around the Remembrance Sunday. 

For the ‘Silence In The Square’ performance, Robin and The Soldiers will be performing live at Trafalgar Square to an audience of 8-12000 people on the 11^th November.  The performance will be aired on The Royal British Legion’s Facebook page.

The Soldiers and Robin will also be performing the Poppy Appeal single, “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” on the ‘Songs Of Praise Remembrance Sunday’ programme, to be aired on the 13^th November.

Further TV appearances can be seen below:

18/10  BBC BREAKFAST (BBC)                                  Interview and performances

24/10  SUNRISE WITH EAMONN HOLMES (Sky)          Interview

24/10  THE ALAN TITCHMARSH SHOW (ITV1)          Live interview and performances

25/10  QVC (Sky)                                                      Live interview and performances

11/11  LORRAINE (ITV)                                             Live interview and performances

11/11  SILENCE IN THE SQUARE (Online)                    Performance

13/11  STRICTLY COME DANCING (BBC1)                    Performance

13/11  SONGS OF PRAISE                                          Interview and performances

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

More details about special TV / radio appearances will be available on the Demon website and Facebook pages as they are confirmed.

Chris de Burgh fans may want to make a note of the following TV appearances: 

17/10  QVC (Sky/Freeview)                                      Live interview with performances

17/10  THE ALAN TITCHMARSH SHOW (ITV1)          Interview and performances

20/10  BBC BREAKFAST (BBC1)                                Live interview

21/10  STRICTLY, IT TAKES TWO (BBC2)                  Live panellist and interview

25/12  SONGS OF PRAISE (BBC1)                             Performances

The ‘Songs Of Praise’ show will see Chris performing “On A Christmas Night” from his new album ‘Footsteps 2’.  He will also be performing “A Spaceman Came Travelling”.

Further details about special TV / radio appearances will be available on the Demon website and Facebook pages as they are confirmed.

Daniel O’Donnell fans may want to make a note of the following TV/Radio appearances:

13/10  QVC (Sky/Freeview)                                      Interview with performances

18/10  LOOSE WOMEN (ITV1)                                   Live interview and performances

18/10  REVELATION TV (Sky/Freeview)                 Live interview and performances

24/12  NORTH ONE TV (C5)                                       Interview

TBC      VINTAGE TV                                                    Mike Read hour-long interview

20/10  Five Live (BBC Radio) - Richard Bacon         Interview                                             

Further details about special TV / radio appearances will be available on the Demon website and Facebook pages as they are confirmed.

“Beginner's Guide To Bellydance: Oriental and Tribal Fusion” has been compiled by Ava Fleming and Samantha Emanuel; two of the bellydance scene's brightest and most glamorous stars.

Ava is a former "Belly Dancer Of The Universe" winner, and currently teaches Raqs Sharqi (the classical Egyptian style of belly dance) at Arizona State University.  She selected the music for CD1 and is a highly sought after teacher who appeals to both Cabaret and Tribal Fusion dancers because of her wide ranging musical tastes and ability to incorporate various styles into her performances.

Sam has selected the music for CD’s 2 and 3 - the Improvisational Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion CDs.  She is a UK-based former Bellydance Superstar (a globetrotting troupe formed by ex-Police and Sting manager Miles Copeland), who's considered an authority in these styles. She is highly sought after both as a teacher and performer.

This compilation has been done in collaboration with regular Nascente compiler and bellydance DJ Phil Meadley, who compiled the first Beginner’s Guide To Bellydance.  Phil has DJ’ed at all of the UK’s biggest belly dance events, as well as DJ’ing global fusion and other club beats at various festivals and venues over the past ten years.

The Jesus And Mary Chain’ Jim Reid will be a guest of Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie on their BBC 6 Music show on Friday 7^th October at 2.30pm.

Jim will be talking about the recent studio album reissue, as well as the band’s career and will be available to listen online here.

All six studio albums have recently been released on the Edsel label - ‘Psychocandy’ and ‘Darklands’ were released on 19^th September, followed by ‘Automatic’ and ‘Honey’s Dead ‘on 26^th September and rounded off with ‘Stoned And Dethroned’ and ‘Munki’ most recently on 3^rd October.

The albums have been receiving rave reviews – an example from the Subba Cultcha can be found here.  They are also running a competition to win the full set of albums.

Todd Rundgren was in the BBC London Radio studio with Danny Baker on Tuesday 4^th October.

Prior to Todd’s arrival Danny had compiled a 22 track CD-R of songs of Todd Rundgren’s recordings and also his productions, including songs by XTC and The Band.  Todd then called out track numbers at random, Danny played the track and the two discussed each one after play.

The show lasted for an hour and can be seen again here.

This coincides with the reissue of Todd’s studio albums this week – ‘Runt & The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren’, ‘Something/ Anything’, ‘A Wizard, A True Star & Todd’ and ‘Initiation & Faithful’. 

BBC Radio Scotland’s Tom Morton will be speaking to Janis Ian about her writing and recording career from the 1960's to the present on Sunday 9^th October at 10:30AM.

The 30 minute show, from the ‘Musical Legends’ programme, will also show Janis giving an insight into her extraordinary life.

As a singer her song 'Society's child', written when she was only 14, dealt with the issue of interracial relationships was banned by some radio stations as being subversive.

Janis's best known and most successful song 'At Seventeen', dealing with teenage angst, won her two Grammy's and led to appearances on some of the top rated TV shows at the time.

Janis Ian has also written songs for some of the best known artists in the business, including Glen Campbell, Nanci Griffith, Bette Middler, Dusty Springfield and Nina Simone.

Edsel have released numerous Janis Ian albums, most recently ‘Best Of Janis Ian - The Autobiography Collection’; a collection of thirty-one tracks, including several rarities, such as her first demo which she recorded as a 13 year old, a lo-fi version of ‘Hair of Spun Gold’, ‘Jesse’, which was a Top 30 hit for Roberta Flack, along with Sesame Street’s ‘Ginny the Flying Girl’.

Also included in the package is a twelve-track DVD filmed during her peak period in 1979 in Japan and Australia.

The recently announced ‘The Cars’ reissues have now been put on hold until further notice.

As soon as more details are received we will update the website and Facebook page but there is no further information at present.

For everyone who wanted to enter the competition advertised on the Demon newsletter – the competition closes at midday TODAY!

Here’s a reminder of the Terms and Conditions:

1.            ELIGIBILITY:

1.1          This prize draw is open to any person resident in the UK, who is 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.

1.2          Employees of Demon Music Group, its group companies, affiliates, subsidiaries and advertising or promotion agencies, members of these employees’ household or family or anyone else connected with this promotion are not eligible to enter this prize draw.

2.            TO ENTER:

2.1          Entrants are required to submit their name via email to win@demonmusicgroup.co.uk stating “DMG December Prize Draw” as the subject title.

2.2          No purchase is necessary to enter the prize draw.

2.3          Entry constitutes full and unconditional acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.

2.4          Demon Music Group reserves the right to disqualify anyone in breach of these Terms and Conditions.

3.            TIMING:

3.1       The promotion will close on the 20^th of the month.   Entries received after the closing date will not be considered for that month’s prize.

3.2       Demon Music Group accepts no responsibility for any entries that are incomplete, illegible, corrupted or fail to reach Demon Music Group by the relevant closing date for any reason.

3.3       Entries via agents or third parties are invalid.

3.4       Only one entry is permitted per person.

4.            USE OF DATA:

4.1          Personal data which you provide when you enter this promotion will be used to administer this promotion only, unless otherwise stated in the entry details.

4.2          Subject to obtaining your consent data may be used in future Demon Music Group marketing activity in accordance with Demon Music Group’s privacy policy.

5.            SELECTION OF WINNERS:

5.1        All correctly completed entries will be entered into a prize draw which will take place on the 20th of the month.

5.2          The first entry drawn at random will be the winner.

5.3          The winner will be informed no later than 7 days after the closing date of the prize draw via the email address provided on the entry. Delivery details will then be requested from the winner.

5.4          If Demon Music Group do not hear from the winner within 14 days of sending notification, Demon Music Group reserves the right to offer the unclaimed prize to a substitute winner selected at random and in accordance with these rules.

5.5          Demon Music Group’s decision as to the winner is final and no correspondence relating to the prize draw shall be entered into.

6.            PRIZE:

6.1          The prize will be as specified in the December Demon Music Group newsletter.

6.2       There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable.

6.2          Prizes are subject to availability. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, Demon Music Group reserves the right (a) to substitute alternative prizes of equivalent or greater value and (b) in exceptional circumstances to amend or foreclose the promotion without notice. The entrant agrees that no liability shall attach itself to Demon Music Group as a result thereof.

7.            WINNERS LIST:

7.1        The winner consents to their surname being made publicly available if necessary and may be contacted for further promotional activity.

7.2        To obtain details of the winner please email stating “Winner Name Request” and the name of the prize draw in the subject heading.

8.            OTHER:

8.1        No correspondence will be entered into regarding either this promotion or these Terms and Conditions.

8.2        Demon Music Group reserves the right to amend, modify, cancel or withdraw this promotion at any time without notice.

8.3        These Terms and Conditions are governed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

8.4          The promoter of the Prize Draw is Demon Music Group Limited of 33 Foley Street, London, W1W 7TL.

8.5       All Demon Music Group promotions comply with the BBC Code of Conduct for competitions which can be found at www.bbc.co.uk/competitioncode.

The Official Poppy Appeal Single for 2011 is the poignant ‘I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You’, performed by The Soldiers with Bee Gees legend Robin Gibb, it was announced today.

To be released on 23^rd October 2011, The Soldiers’ royalties will go to The Royal British Legion’s annual fundraising drive which will be launched nationally on October 27^th. It is the first time serving soldiers have released the Official Single for the Poppy Appeal, which will focus this year on the Legion’s assistance in the recovery of injured Armed Forces personnel.

The track has been produced by the renowned Nick Patrick (Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson) and Jeff Chegwin. Robin Gibb wrote the song with his brothers Barry and Maurice and it was originally recorded by the Bee Gees in 1968, becoming their second number one single on the UK singles chart.

Robin Gibb said:

“Although not written all those years back about soldiers, it can represent the human emotions of servicemen – or in this case, a single soldier. It’s about being trapped in a corner far from home, brave but scared and thinking of loved ones. These men deserve our respect and we need to remind ourselves that they – including of course Ryan, Gary and Richie – are prepared to lay down their lives for our freedoms.”

Russell Thompson, Director of Fundraising for The Royal British Legion, said: