music
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Chaka Khan postpones tour to enter rehab for addiction to painkillersSinger says she is fighting addiction to the same drugs that led to the death of Prince earlier this year -
Stevie Wonder tells audience at London concert 'black lives matter'Singer urged 65,000-strong crowd to choose ‘love over hate’ after week of violence in the US
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'I broke down – I considered walking away'The opera singer played the jealous general opposite Imogen Stubbs and Ian McKellen in a 1989 RSC version. He remembers the play as a crushing experience -
A look back at Woodstock - in picturesA collection of photographs, exhibited in Camden’s Proud Galleries and taken by Baron Wolman, document a journey ‘three days of peace and music’ which took place at Woodstock during the summer of 1969
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Two weeks on, is this the worst Glastonbury cleanup ever?Thanks to the terrible weather and selfish punters, staff are still clearing the site at Worthy Farm of everything from abandoned tents and gas bottles to debit cards and clothing. The good news is that you might still get your lost phone back
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Michael Hutchence: unreleased songs and documentary on his final years dueAccording to Ron Creevey, who has been developing the project, of the 15 songs, ‘at least five are brilliant’
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Cliff Richard takes legal action against BBC and South Yorkshire policeSinger confirms move on website, saying televised raid turned life ‘upside down’ and ‘unnecessarily damaged’ reputation
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Beyoncé's call for justice has been more evolution than revolutionPolice killings of black people are so rampant, singer’s stance should come as no surprise – many artists have be known to shape art around politics of the time
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T in the Park review – Stone Roses piped onstage as T parties through its troublesStrathallan Castle, Perthshire
Disclosure, Calvin Harris and Jamie xx on terrific form as controversy plagues festival -
Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio/Dark Twin review – rapturous moments, with a bit of ramblingNicola Benedetti and her proficient trio give their Mark-Anthony Turnage ‘love duet’ a solid airing, while Australian pianist Zubin Kanga took us in new musical directions
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Take Her Up to Monto – still too strange for the bigtimeMany a critic has lamented the failure of the record-buying public to embrace Roísín Murphy’s unique pop vision – but this is clearly not mass-appeal stuff
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In the 80s, the Wag Club was glorious but it could never happen nowIn the 1980s, The Wag Club was the destination for cutting-edge kids and superstars alike, but changes to London are killing its nightlife, says the club’s founder
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'Women weren’t allowed to be like that in public’After the release of Wannabe on 8 July 1996, the Spice Girls briefly became the biggest band on the planet. So what did it mean to be a devoted fan of Ginger, Sporty, Posh and co?
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video
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Paloma Faith: 'Musicians are scared to speak out' – videoPaloma Faith tells Owen Jones that she thinks few musicians discuss politics because of the abuse directed at them on social media
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Led Zeppelin win copyright case over intro to Stairway to Heaven – videoLed Zeppelin musicians Robert Plant and Jimmy Page have won a lawsuit brought by the estate of guitarist Randy Wolfe, which alleges that the introduction sequence of the famous hit Stairway to Heaven was copied from Taurus, by Wolfe’s band Spirit
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Never before seen footage of the band backstage in 1965 – videoThe footage, shot by an Australian woman, shows The Beatles getting their make-up done for the special The Music of Lennon & McCartney in November 1965
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Remembered by fans across America – videoFans in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and the artist’s home city of Minneapolis pay tribute
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Eagles of Death Metal return to Paris for first time since BataclanEagles of Death Metal play live in Paris on Tuesday for first time since their gig at the Bataclan was the scene of a massacre in November’s terrorist attacks
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Lady Gaga nails The Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl 50The singer wows the crowd at Levi’s Stadium with her performance of the US national anthem before kick-off
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'I'm a musician. And I am music'
Ringtones are evil. Islamic countries are fun. The internet is like 'a carjacking', where there are no boundaries. Prince on being pop's 'loving tyrant'
interviews
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Webchat – as it happenedThe Scottish rock titans answered your questions, on everything from their cathartic lyrics to fighting duck-sized horses
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Kathleen Hanna: ‘I'm a punk rock stripper with sexual abuse counsellor training’The musician and feminist activist, 47, on having pen pals, being the face of Riot Grrrl, and her fear of alligators
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‘We couldn’t tell each other we hated being on stage’Tegan and Sara’s relationship might be tumultuous but their music proved cathartic for many after the Orlando shootings. They explain why moving into pop has opened up new worlds
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‘You decide your fate. Are you going to fall apart or own it?’The punk-poet genius behind Horses is finally fulfilling her wish to play Hyde Park next month. She talks about life as an outsider, New York’s scuzzy past and why she loves Peter Pan
quizzes
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Do you know your summer pop hits?It’s the season for songs of sunshine – but will our quiz leave you with the summertime blues?
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Sounds and sweet airs: Shakespearean operas quizIn this year of Shakespeare celebrations, the opera world too is marking the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death. Glyndebourne not least, with one new and one old Shakespearean productions in their summer season. Do you know your Titania from your Trinculo? Try our quiz
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Glastonbury 2016 quiz – how well do you know the world's greatest festival?Here are 10 questions to sort the seasoned welly-wearers from the first-timers in flip-flops
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Quiz: how well do you know your music award-show speeches?After this year’s Grammy’s and ahead of the Brits, see how many of these famous speeches you can match to the probably sozzled winner as we plough into the heart of awards season
in pictures
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Jewish pop – in picturesFrom superstar cantors to Streisand and CBGB’s roster of rebels, Jews have played an influential part in the rise of popular music. The new exhibition Jukebox, Jewkbox! charts the highs of Yiddish theatre, punk politics and Israeli folk
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How to remake a Blue Note jazz albumThe vinyl revival continues. Founded in 1978, Music Matters Jazz is dedicated to re-releasing new pressings of historic Blue Note jazz titles. Each of the reissued albums is restored and remastered from the original analogue master tapes
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For the Record: 60s Pop Through the LensA new exhibition in London celebrates the cultural boom of the 60s, as captured by photographer Stanley Bielecki. Shooting Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and the Supremes, the Polish refugee who arrived in Britain after the second world war worked for titles including Pop Weekly, Teen Beat and Melody Maker
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Backstage with the Rolling Stones – in picturesCharlie peeing in the sink, Brian fixing his hair and Mick meeting Bo Diddley ... how did the band fill the long hours between stage-time on their 1965 and 1967 tours? Photographer Gered Mankowitz shares his album – and memories
you may have missed
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10 songs in the key of 2016The blistering revenge of a superstar scorned, an anthem to the rise of gender fluidity... Observer and Guardian writers to pick the songs that most reflect the state of music – and the world – right now
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'I thought my music was beautiful all along'She was subjected to decades of vilification. Now everyone from Gaga to Sparks are lining up to pay tribute. How does the 83-year-old artist feel about the world catching up to the Yoko Ono sound?
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Why working-class voices are music to Darkstar's earsWhy did these two men hang around Huddersfield railway station asking young people what they did today? Electronic duo Darkstar explain their most daring LP yet
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The women with triple-A access to the 60sIn 1969, Rolling Stone shocked the world with an issue about the rock ‘supergroupie’. A new book tells all
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'I like everything people say about me – you gay, you a punk, you can't rap, you're the hardest'Atlanta’s Young Thug is the gender-fluid, surrealist rapper who’s being anointed as hip-hop’s next titan. Don’t know what to make of him? You’re not the only one
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Blur: 'We used to take it in turns to punch each other'Back in Hong Kong, where they recorded their album The Magic Whip, Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave talk about falling out and making up, the state of British pop music and why 90s Britpop was a wasted opportunity
The Invisible's Dave Okumu ‘I find it funny when people resent complexity’