music
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French rock star Johnny Hallyday being treated for cancerVeteran singer denounces ‘alarmist’ reports in some media and says while cancerous cells have been discovered, ‘I am doing well and am in good fitness’ -
Sly and the Family Stone – 10 of the bestFrom the birth of a funk superhero team to claustrophobic social comment, here are the high points in an occasionally terrifying career
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20 years of indie, as told by Fortuna Pop!The legendary indie label, which gave the world Allo Darlin’, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Joanna Gruesome and Let’s Wrestle, is closing its doors. Founder Sean Price takes us through the lessons he’s learned -
George Michael died of natural causes, coroner says53-year-old had heart condition – dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis – and fatty liver, and no inquest will be held
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Why the pop group's return is cause for celebrationMusic snobs be damned – there’s an uncomplicated reason why Steps had so many hits. It’s that people like really good tunes, and they had them
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The hidden message in Stevie Wonder's Happy BirthdayElectronic musician Roberto Carlos Lange, also known as Helado Negro, reflects on how Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday has an activist edge
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Love letters between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears go on displayArdent and joyful love between composer and tenor is revealed in exhibition marking 50th anniversary of Sexual Offences Act
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Chance the Rapper praised by Michelle Obama after announcing $1m gift to Chicago schoolsThe rapper has decided to help fund the city’s school system himself, after criticising the Republican governor of Illinois for blocking a $215m payment to Chicago’s education system
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Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon recording console heads to auctionThe desk was housed at Abbey Road’s studio two from 1971 to 1983, and was also used in the making of albums by Kate Bush, Paul McCartney and the Cure
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Wolfgang Muthspiel Quintet review – jazz guitarist prefers nuances to bravadoThe Austrian guitarist called in Gwilym Simcock to air his group’s new material, keeping a full house rapt with flashes of flamenco and soul-bop
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NHK Symphony Orchestra/Järvi review – an ensemble on bristlingly good formThe Tokyo orchestra’s swashbuckling performance of Mahler’s sixth was fabulously disciplined, crisp and purposeful, if a little too driven
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English Tapas review – a bruising, brilliant post-Brexit tiradeThe speed at which they work makes Sleaford Mods’ albums feel more topical than almost any other band’s – and their first post-referendum album finds them on typically furious, funny form
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÷ – stodgy ballads + craic-hop = winning formulaDivide and rule? The singer’s artery-clogging third album will no doubt return him to No 1
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How singer-songwriters are turning trauma into artThe Magnetic Fields and Mount Eerie are the latest musicians to ditch florid poetics in favor of frank, personal stories that both reveal and heal
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Rebirth of the uncool: why landfill indie should finally get its duesAs the Cribs and the View return to celebrate early albums, perhaps its time this mid-00s scene was re-evaluated. Should we be digging out the winklepickers?
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video
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Katy Perry’s dancer falls off stage as she performs with Trump and May effigies - videoAs Katy Perry performs her single Chained to the Rhythm at the Brit awards, one of her dancers falls off stage
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Brit awards 2017: George Michael tributes, Little Mix, Skepta and more – video highlightsThe 2017 Brit Awards take place night at the O2 Arena in London on Wednesday night
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Inside Jamaica's most chilled-out reggae studio – videoThe Inna De Yard project invites legends of the Jamaican reggae scene to record outdoors, high up in the hills surrounding Kingston
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Watch a clip from The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak – videoPuppets and opera aren’t such strange bedfellows, as this exclusive video of Wattle and Daub’s new show proves
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Bruce Springsteen: 'We are part of the new resistance' in the age of Trump – videoThe rock star, who is on tour in Australia, says ‘our hearts and our spirits are with all the millions of people’ who marched against the new US president
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David Bowie remembered by two of his biggest fans – videoMusician Gary Kemp, a lifelong fan, and Nicholas Pegg, author of The Complete David Bowie, reflect on life without the Starman as they take a tour of some of Bowie’s London haunts
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‘No one's asking you to inspire a revolution. But inspire something’The Manchester rockers’ debut brought them teen adoration and topped the charts. As they prepare to release their second album, frontman Matt Healy talks about stardom, drugs and Taylor Swift
interviews
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'I had no identity. I was socially bankrupt'At the height of her success, Laura Marling quit music and became a yoga instructor. But now she’s back. She talks about falling in love with friends – and why everything’s about sex
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Alison Krauss – as it happenedThe country music star talked about digging around YouTube, bad singing habits and Dolly Parton
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‘Trump is trying to convince us we have no rights’The band’s leader, Alynda Lee Segarra, is defiantly Puerto Rican, but she wants to stand up for all America’s marginalised voices. Now, with a new concept album, she is doing just that
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Cockney Rebel’s Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)Steve Harley: ‘No one knew it at the time, but the song is about the guys who walked out of the band’
quizzes
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How well do you know the life of Freddie Mercury?It’s the 25th anniversary of the death of the Queen frontman on 24 November – test your knowledge of his life and times
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Were you paying attention? Classical music in 2016 – quizHow many of the classical world’s comings and goings, openings and closings, bouquets and brickbats do you remember from the past 12 months? Try our quiz
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How well do you know the Triple J Hottest 100? Try our infinite quizThis quiz features randomised questions dynamically generated from Hottest 100 data between 1993 and 2014
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From Jessie J to Jerry Lee, how well do you know this week in music history – quizIt’s our weekly test of your knowledge of pop arcania – come and have a go if you think you know enough
in pictures
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Guns, gore and ice cream: rap mixtape artworkA new book collects the Photoshopped fantasies of rap mixtape covers – from riffs on Top Gun and Game of Thrones to sadistic violence and political commentary
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Uncovering the forgotten punks of San Francisco – in picturesPhotographer Jim Jocoy’s Order of Appearance is the latest book to shed light on the punk scene in San Francisco which produced bands like the Dead Kennedys
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Highlights, lowlights and shutouts of the Brit awards 2017 – in picturesLittle Mix, the 1975 and the late David Bowie emerge as the night’s big winners while grime artists go home empty handed and George Michael is remembered
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Grammys 2017: Golden Gnarly Davidson, Prince tributes, Adele's awards and more – in picturesHighlights from this year’s award show, from Blue Ivy Carter’s pink Prince homage to Metallica and Lady Gaga’s fiery collaboration
you may have missed
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The enigmatic Godfather of GrimeThe Long Read: After more than a decade of being fetishised and then written off, grime now dominates British pop culture. To understand why, you need to understand the man who created it
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‘Being the voice of a generation is not a pretty place to be’Their seventh album made them superstars. But the fame cost REM a band member and, nearly, their friendships. In a rare interview, five years after splitting, they discuss legacy, Trump and why they’re still sorry for Shiny Happy People
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The rising music stars to look out forFrom squat rock to laptop futurism, 2016’s most creative music is being made away from focus groups, major labels and publicists. Meet the most exciting independent minds in music
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‘Drugs were a crutch for me’Abel Tesfaye’s tortured, genre-bending R&B has brought him millions of fans, a triple platinum album and collaborations with Daft Punk and Beyoncé. Will mainstream success make him happy?
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‘You can change a life in three minutes with the right song’The global superstar talks about the masculine facade of Donald Trump, the strength he inherited from his mother, the philosophy he shares with fans, and the joy he delivers on stage
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‘I sat in a room for 20 years, taking crack and watching the Alien films’In the 80s, the bitchy, ‘bloody gorgeous’ singer was groomed to be the next Boy George. Stardom beckoned – until drugs and a very lengthy breakdown got in the way
When did you last hear live music? Stand up and be counted