Genius, Construction, Or Carefully Managed Myth?
I remember watching a television documentary in which George Martin, speaking quite matter-of-factly, referred to Yesterday as something he had ‘written’ - while a caption on the screen attributed the song to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
From Living Room To Arena: The Gladiators Live Experience Brings The Iconic Show To Life
Back in 1992, ITV launched their equivalent of the hit US series, American Gladiators. While the show had done well Stateside, there was little anticipation that the UK equivalent, Gladiators, would become the 8-series phenomenon that ended in 2000 with a diminishing viewership of around 6 million.
In conversation: Leo Sayer
After more than five decades on the road, beloved British music icon Leo Sayer is preparing to return to the UK in autumn 2026 for what will be his final full nationwide tour. While he insists he is not retiring completely, Leo says the tour marks the end of an era as he begins to slow the pace of live performances after 54 years on stage.
'Yes, M’lady': A Thorn in the Rose By Samantha Lee Howe
When the book arrived, I flicked through it initially and spotted the phrase, ‘Mel…the motorbike’ and thought this may just be for me. The prologue is set in London in 1941 and we’re introduced to Mel Greenway, on her nineteenth birthday, the day ‘the letter’ dropped through the letterbox, the letter inviting her to enlist.
Classical Music: Brahms & Contemporaries, Volume 3
This release is another triumph in what has been a marvellous three-volume traversal, and the news that Kaleidoscope's exploration of Brahms alongside his lesser-played contemporaries is to continue beyond the piano quartets — pairing the master with further unjustly neglected voices — is very welcome indeed. On this evidence, one can hardly wait.
Classical Music: Lionel Rogg Organ Works
.jpg)
Born in Geneva in 1936 and Professor of Organ at the city's Conservatory until 2002, Rogg has also been a composer of quietly persistent originality, and it is to this side of his work that Anne Page now turns in a thoughtfully chosen recital for Regent.
The programme she has assembled covers a wide range. At one end sit the modest Neuf pièces brèves; at the other, the substantial Hommage à Takemitsu, the radiant Yorokobi-Pièce Joyeuse, and two virtuoso toccatas, which frame the disc with an appropriate flourish
Albums: Eurovision Song Contest 2026
The 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is now literally just around the corner. The bookies have been favouring Finland ever since Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkonnen romped to victory with Liekinheiten at this year's edition of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu. However, with 35 entrants competing to take the crown from Austria's JJ on May 16, there is plenty of new music to discover at this year's contest.
In Conversation: Tara Maclean
.jpg)
Singer-songwriter Tara MacLean is bringing something special to the UK this May with her Songs & Stories Tour—a series of intimate performances that promise more than just music. Known for her soulful voice and deeply personal songwriting, Tara blends melody with storytelling, inviting audiences into the heart of her creative journey.
In conversation: Deco
Deco return with Dreamhouse, the serotonin-soaked title track and first single from their forthcoming second album: a confident, uplifting statement that introduces a bold new chapter for the Nottingham-born five-piece.
Bradford Literature Festival Receives Two Awards For Best Civic & Social Organisation Business
.jpg)
Bradford Literature Festival (BLF) has been announced as Best Civic & Social Organisation Business of the Year at both the 2026 SME500 UK and the Global 100 awards. The SME500 UK recognises the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises driving growth, resilience and innovation. They celebrate organisations that are making a difference in the UK.
The CBSO Announces New 2026-27 Season
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) has announced its 2026–27 Season: a year of artistic ambition, civic pride and musical breadth under Music Director Kazuki Yamada. The season brings together major symphonic journeys – including Beethoven and Mahler cycles – with new commissions, international touring and landmark moments such as the CBSO Chorus’s 1000th performance.
Trentham Live Returns For It’s 5th Year
.png)
The Trentham Estate are delighted with the return and complete line-up to their 4-day event TRENTHAM LIVE 2026 taking place in the stunning surroundings at Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire from Thursday 20th August through to Sunday 23rd August. Over four days at the historic gardens and lakeside setting, the event will showcase a strong live music line-up.
Cougar Live Comes To Keighley
.png)
JLS and UB40 featuring Ali Campbell will headline the inaugural Cougar Live Music Experience at Keighley Cougar Park on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th July 2026. Announced by Cougar Live and Horlock House, the new festival will see Brits award winners JLS open proceedings on the Friday night, with reggae icons UB40 featuring Ali Campbell taking the main stage on Saturday.
Yorkshire Choir Stages Northern Premiere Of Jazz-Infused Missa Latina at Wentworth Woodhouse
.JPG)
A 70-strong Yorkshire choir will bring a rare and vibrant fusion of classical music, Latin jazz and klezmer to Wentworth Woodhouse this month. Coro Amici will perform Missa Latina by contemporary German composer Bobbi Fischer on Sunday 10 May, in the historic Marble Saloon.
Eurovision26 Bandidos De Cante
Portugal has long held a distinctive place in the Eurovision Song Contest—an identity shaped by authenticity, musical heritage, and the quiet confidence that culminated in its landmark victory in 2017. That win didn’t just mark a high point; it reaffirmed the country’s commitment to songs that feel rooted rather than manufactured, intimate rather than bombastic.
Poem Of The Week: Happiness By Blake Morrison
Happiness ...but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain THOMAS HARDY Cloudless skies, old roses coming into flower, a breeze flicking through The Mayor of Casterbridge. Toasted granary bread with damson jam, a pair of goldfinches on the bird-feeder. The whiff of fennel and rosemary, the farmer’s quad bike leaving the field.
Albums: Sarah Jane Morris And Tony Remy - The Sisterhood 2
.png)
The album starts off with a folk tune, Longing To Be Free, dedicated to influential American folk singer and activist Peggy Seeger. The emotion in Morris’ voice comes through on the track, she herself sounding like a reformer and aiming to lead the way.
Albums: Melanie C - Sweat
Sweat is an album that lives up to its title. Melanie C has made something of a name for herself with her dance-leaning anthems, and Sweat is chock-a-block full of them. Yet, these aren't just meaningless dance floor anthems with filler lyrics; she has retained the honesty of her lyrical approach that has become something of a signature of her solo releases.
Albums: Kacey Musgraves Middle of Nowhere
.png)
From the opening track, there is a sense of ease that runs through the record. Acoustic guitars shimmer instead of twang aggressively, percussion stays loose and organic, and melodies unfold with an inviting softness. But beneath the comfort is sharp craft. Musgraves has always had a talent for writing lines that feel conversational until they suddenly land with a sting, and Middle of Nowhere is full of those moments.
Jazz: There's a Yearnin'
There’s a Yearnin' There’s a Yearnin Music for Winds and Voice Cruxifiction (not a word) (Lederer); Dolphy Wind Sextet; Coleman Forms and Sounds 1,2,3; Nelson/lyric LaRose Images; Lem and Aide; Nocturne; There’s a Yearnin’; Three Seconds Little (i) Music, May 2026 Jeff Lederer's Ther…
Classical Music: Arcadi Volodos Plays Schubert And Schumann
Seven years is a long silence from a pianist of Arcadi Volodos's stature, and the wait for a new recording from the St Petersburg-born musician has been considerable. His return, captured live in the architecturally arresting surroundings of Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, finds him once again in the company of Schubert, to whose music he has devoted some of his most penetrating recorded statements, and turning for the first time on disc to Schumann's Kinderszenen.
Classical Music: French Orchestral Favourites
The programme itself is a familiar parade of favourites — Dukas's Sorcerer's Apprentice, Debussy's Clair de lune, Chabrier's Marche joyeuse, Ravel's Une barque sur l'océan, Saint-Saëns's Danse macabre and selections from Bizet's Carmen Suites — and the playing is, as one would expect from this hand-picked ensemble, exquisite.
A Century Of The Thistle: Hugh Macdiarmid And Scotland’s Modernist Voice
2026 marks the centenary of a landmark in Scottish literature, though so far little appears to be happening to mark the occasion. Hugh MacDiarmid, whose A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle reshaped Scottish poetry through inventive language and modernist ambition, might not have been surprised by the lack of fanfare.
Percussionist To “Play The Landscape”
Visitors to this year’s Swaledale Festival can expect to experience the Yorkshire Dales in a whole new way, thanks to support from the National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund. From woodland performances to music shaped by the landscape itself, the Fund is helping the festival connect people more deeply with the Dales’ natural environment.
Manic Street Preachers And Suede Announces Co-Headline Tour
.png)
Two of the UK’s most pioneering and celebrated bands Manic Street Preachers and Suede have announced a co-headline tour of some of the UK’s biggest arenas for autumn 2026. The tour kicks off at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on 28th October, before hitting stages in Leeds, Manchester’s massive new Co-op Live, Cardiff Utilita Arena over two nights, London’s O2, Birmingham, Nottingham and Bournemouth.
York Theatre To Host Bold New Adaptation Of The Great Gatsby By Local Company
From the 14th to 16th May, Theatre@41 in York will host a brand-new production of The Great Gatsby, performed by local repertory company Pop Yer Clogs Theatre.
Ne-Yo And Akon - Having The Time Of Their Lives In Leeds
The idea of having two artists tour together with each taking turns on stage is not an entirely new one: Paul Simon and Sting pulled it off together on tour many years ago. Whilst their own music might have been entirely different from each other, the pairing of Ne-Yo and Akon is a good one – both come from the same pop, soul and R&B backgrounds.
Classical Music: Mahler: Symphony No. 5
.jpg)
Runnicles confidently judges the pace from the stark severity of the opening Trauermarsch, which features well-phrased trumpet solos. Runnicles is a conductor who paints in broad strokes without sacrificing detail, and each section of the orchestra phrases with evident care. The drama is conveyed with real conviction, and he shifts mood with the kind of assurance that comes from long acquaintance with this music.
Louis Tomlinson Takes A New Direction In Leeds
As the former One Direction singer, Louis Tomlinson took to the stage at Leeds First Direct Arena; the confetti cannons exploded in a sea of yellow as he, along with the rest of the band, arrived on stage to perform Lemonade – a track from his latest album, How Did We Get Here. That is a question which finding the answer to is not that easy.
Olivia Dean Sparkles In Manchester
.jpg)
For anyone wishing to know the current health of British soul and pop music, then they need to look no further than the Olivia Dean tour to discover that everything is in top shape. Jalen Ngonda provided the ideal match to open for Dean on the second of two sold-out nights at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.