The Killers, The Stone Roses and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds to headline V Festival

Reunited Mancunian rockers The Stone Roses, Las Vegas quartet The Killers and rock god Noel Gallagher have been announced as the headlining acts for the seventeenth edition of V Festival.

The legendary foursome that was reformed last October, Brandon Flower’s troop and Brit pop hero Noel Gallagher will be joined by a host of superstars, including Snow Patrol, Tinie Tempah, two-time Brit Award winner Ed Sheeran, Welsh Tiger Tom Jones, Keane or James Morrison.

Following last year’s ‘American Revolution’ with performances from Eminem and Rihanna, feisty US rapper Nicki Minaj will be gracing the fields of Hylands and Weston Park, and after his show stopping set in 2011 David Guetta will be accompanying her.

Talking about this edition confirmations, the festival director Simon Moran said: “We’re really delighted with the line-up this year. We have a great mix of artists topping a bill that will see the welcome return to live performance of Manchester’s finest export, along with some of the biggest acts in the music industry today including The Killers,Tinie Tempah, Ed Sheeran and the legendary Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds.

“The mix of established and exciting breakthrough acts promises to give festival goers a cracking weekend.”

The festival, sponsored by Virgin Media, will also include performances from other topping artists such as Madness, Nero, Emeli Sandé, Friendly Fires, Happy Mondays, Professor Green and Olly Murs, across the four stages.

Forming X Factor singer Olly Murs said: “Coming back to play at V Festival for a second year is fantastic! I've been going to the festival as a punter for years, so performing there is always going to be special - especially on that main stage. I'm bringing my full 10 piece band with me this year, it's going to be immense - I can't wait.”

Over the festival weekend there will also be sets from Noah & The Whale, Ben Howard, Rizzle Kicks, Frank Turner, Labrinth, Maverick Sabre, The Enemy, Miles Kane, Dappy, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Pixie Lott, Lissie, Shed Seven, The Ting Tings, The Human League, The Proclaimers, The Stranglers, Reverend and the Makers, Inspiral Carpets, The Rifles and DJ Fresh.

Tinie Tempah’s pal Labrinth said: “So happy that I'm going to play V festival!  Can't wait to get out there and rock the crowd. V Fest is special! See you there!”

The event will take place next 18 and 19 August over two sites at Chelmsford and Staffordshire, and will see the return of the Glee Club Comedy Tent with side-splitting performers including Doc Brown, Justin Moorehouse, Kevin McCarthy, Natan Caton, Gary Delaney, John Fothergill and the V Style camping.

Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am from V Festival’s official site.

Kanye West and Jay-Z to conquer European territory with ‘Watch the Throne’ tour

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Grammy awarded hip hop duo Kanye West and Jay-Z announced on Tuesday they will bring the ‘Watch the Throne’ tour to Europe in 2012.

The longtime friends and rappers who joined their extraordinary talents to form the group The Throne will visit arenas in the UK -including gigs in London, Manchester and Birmingham-, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Belgium, Germany and Ireland to present their first album together “Watch The Throne” (Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation, Def Jam), which was released on August 8 last year.

The record debuted at number one and features production from The RZA, The Neptunes and Kanye’s longtime collaborator Mike Dean.

The short list of featured vocals includes Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Curtis Mayfield and Mr. Hudson and the lead track, Otis, weaves Otis Redding’s Try A Little Tenderness.

Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday priced at £60.00/£49.50/£39.50 for London’s concert and £55.00/£47.50 for regional shows and will be available from Live Nation’s website.

‘Watch the Throne’ European 2012 tour dates:

May

Sunday 20 - O2 Arena London
Monday 21 – O2 Arena London
Tuesday 22 - O2 Arena London
Thursday 24 - Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Saturday - 26 Herning Arena, Denmark
Monday -28 Oslo Telenor Arena, Norway
Tuesday 29 - Stockholm The Globe, Sweden

June

Friday 1 - Paris Bercy, France
Saturday 2 - Paris Bercy, France
Sunday 3 - Antwerp Sportpaleis, Belgium
Tuesday 5 - Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Friday 8 - Dublin O2 Arena, Ireland
Monday 11 - Manchester Arena
Tuesday 12 - Manchester Arena
Wednesday 13 - Birmingham LG Arena

Dr. House to perform in the UK this summer

Comedian and musician Hugh Laurie will return to the British isles this summer with his band the Copper Bottom to perform their biggest headline shows to date.

The new dates were announced last Wednesday via Live Nation following the critical success of the intimate shows performed at the end of last year including London’s Union Chapel and the 100 Club as well as the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, where Laurie and co. presented their debut album “Lets Them Talk” (Warner Bros Records, 2011), which was released last summer.

The album garnered massive international success achieving Top 10 charts positions worldwide and was later released as a Special Edition format, which contained four new recordings and a DVD with the live performance and a documentary featuring legends such as Sir Tom Jones, Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint.

The tour will include gigs at the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow on June 29, The Lowry in Salford on July 1 and London’s Hammersmith Apollo a day after.

Tickets are priced at £35 and £40 for London (subject to booking fee) and are available from Live Nation’s website.

The Madonna 2012 World Tour will stop in the UK

The Like a Virgin singer, Madonna, has announced she will return to the UK in July to offer two headline shows in London and Edinburgh as part of her 2012 World Tour.

The blond ambition, who follows an extraordinary week which along with her Bridgestone Super Bowl halftime performance saw the release of her new single, Give Me All Your Luvin, from her highly anticipated new album “MDNA” (Live Nation/Interscope Records), is set to perform in 24 other European cities including Paris, Milan, Barcelona and Berlin.

Talking about the multi-talented star’s upcoming tour, Arthur Fogel, CEO Live Nation Entertainment Global Touring, said: “Madonna’s track record as a world class entertainer and touring artist speaks for itself.  Her artistry, talent and creative productions get bigger and better with each tour and “Madonna 2012” will be no exception.

“We are thrilled to have her back on the road and know her fans feel the same.”

The shows will kick off in Tel Aviv, Israel on May 29 and will include arenas, stadiums and special outdoor sites like the Plains of Abraham in Quebec and a return visit to South America and Australia, where she has not performed in 20 years.

Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday and will be available from the tour’s international promoter Live Nation’s website.

London Hyde Park’s concert will take place on Tuesday July 17 and prices go from £70 to £125, while the show in Edinburgh Murrayfield Stadium will be held on Saturday July 21 and prices start from £45.

“MDNA” is scheduled to be released on March 26. 

Lady Antebellum to tour the UK in the Summer

Country pop trio Lady Antebellum have announced they will be returning to the UK for a string of shows this summer as part of their “Own the Night World” tour.

The American ensemble will play headline gigs in London’s Hammersmith Apollo on July 16, Manchester Apollo on 15 and a day before in the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow.

The band, which has just won ‘Best Group’ at the American Music Awards, is set to release the new single, Dancin’ Away with my Heart, on March. 

The song is taken from the band’s most recent album, “Own the Night” (Capitol Nashville, 2011), which entered the UK album charts at no. 4 in October and has sold nearly 100,000 copies in the UK to date, alongside its 1.2million US copies where it’s still in the Top 5 of the Billboard charts and featured in the Top 10 best-selling albums of 2011.

Lady Antebellum are competing against Fleet Foxes, Foo Fighters and Maroon 5 to get a Brit Award for Best International Group.

Tickets go on sale 9am on Friday priced at £27.50/£30.00 (London) and will be available from Live Nation’s website.