The Beatles 'could dominate the top 20'
The upcoming Beatles remasters could dominate next week's top 20 album chart, it has been claimed.

The studio back catalogue of the Liverpool four-piece is being reissued in full on September 9, with the albums available individually and in stereo and mono box sets.

Gennaro Castaldo at HMV told the Evening Standard: "We feel there's every chance that The Beatles will dominate the top 20 next week, even with only four days sales compared with other artists.

"Chances are Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road will battle it out for the No.1 spot against the current incumbents - the Arctic Monkeys."

He added: "All the albums being reissued next week will comfortably make the top 40, which will create a new record for the official charts."

The BBC will air number of programmes dedicated to The Beatles on BBC Two and BBC Four next week.


Robbie Williams reveals album tracklisting
Reality Killed The Video Star tracklisting in full:

• 'Morning Sun'
• 'Morning Sun'
• 'Bodies'
• 'You Know Me'
• 'Blasphemy'
• 'Do You Mind?'
• 'Last Days Of Disco'
• 'Somewhere'
• 'Deceptacon'
• 'Starstruck'
• 'Difficult For Weirdos'
• 'Superblind'
• 'Won't Do That'
• 'Morning Sun Reprise'

Scissor Sisters 'inspired by sex parties'
Scissor Sisters vocalist Jake Shears has labelled the band's forthcoming album a "dirty record".

The group are currently completing work on their third LP, which is expected for release early next year.

Revealing the inspiration behind the new record, Shears told Q: "It began happening when I moved to Berlin for three months. I thought, 'I need to go out, take a bunch of drugs and have fun'.

"I fell in love with dance music again and stayed out until the sun came up going to these insane sex parties."

He added: "It's a pretty dirty record, even by our standards. At the same time, I can't wait to hear someone's grandmother singing along to it. Now that's subversion."


Black Eyed Peas 'stunned by success'
Black Eyed Peas have spoken out about their collective shock at the group's success.

Having spent a record-breaking 21 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard chart with singles 'Boom Boom Pow' and 'I Gotta Feeling', the band revealed that they are surprised by the scale of their popularity.

"This is crazy right now. It's surreal. It has the same feeling for me as when I joined the Black Eyed Peas and 'Where Is the Love?' took off, and we just started touring around the world and it was complete chaos," Fergie told MTV.

"We're gonna have the biggest tour we've ever had, and we feel very blessed. All we can say is thank you."

Member Taboo also explained how he knew hit single 'I Gotta Feeling' would go on to become an "anthem".

"It was a different format for us, because it was the first song where we all did the verse simultaneously. When we heard it, we knew that it would be the anthem. We all came together and created a great song," he added.


Artists oppose Mandelson piracy plans
Three music organisations have joined forces to oppose government plans to disconnect illegal filesharers.

The Featured Artists Coalition, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and the Music Producers Guild have published a joint statement attacking the "extraordinarily negative" proposals suggested by first secretary of state Peter Mandelson.

It read: "We vehemently oppose the proposals being made and suggest that the stick is now in danger of being way out of proportion to the carrot.

"The failure of 30,000 US lawsuits against consumers and the cessation of the pursuit of that policy should be demonstration enough that this is not a policy that any future-minded UK government should pursue."

The three bodies represent a number of top music stars, including Damon Albarn, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Radiohead and Robbie Williams.

Mandelson recently rejected suggestions that the government's new stance on piracy was improperly influenced by his holiday meeting with record executive David Geffen in Corfu.


Madonna tour 'breaks world record'
Madonna's latest 'Sticky & Sweet' show has been named the highest grossing tour ever for a solo artist.

Finishing in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the global jaunt grossed a total of $408m (£250m).

BBC News reports that the record for all time is held by The Rolling Stones, who made around $558m (£342m) from their 'A Bigger Bang' production, which lasted a full 18 months between 2005 and 2007.

Totalling 85 dates, Madonna played to more than 3.5 million fans in 32 countries. The new record displaces the one the star set herself with 2006's 'Confessions' tour.


Cheryl Cole single to premiere next week
Cheryl Cole's debut solo single is to premiere on the Radio 1 breakfast show next week.

Aled Haydn Jones - producer of The Chris Moyles Show - posted on his Twitter page: "Just heard Cheryl Cole's new song! Oh my God I love it. We have the first play on Monday at 8am."

He later added: "It's not as pop as I'd expected."

However, Jones did not reveal the title of the single or any further details about its release.

Cole is believed to have recorded songs with will.i.am, Xenomania and Taio Cruz for her as-yet-untitled solo album.


Keith Richards 'working with Jack White'
Keith Richards has recorded a number of songs with Jack White.

The guitarist told Rolling Stone that the pair had laid down some material in the studio.

Richards said: "I enjoy working with Jack. We've done a couple of tracks."

Regarding the possibility of White producing the next Rolling Stones album, he added: "I couldn't fuel that rumour any more than to say Jack and I are in touch."

Richards also revealed that he is working on his autobiography, while he and Stones frontman Mick Jagger are currently sorting through outtakes for a deluxe reissue of 1972 LP Exile On Main Street.


Abba's Björn Ulvaeus hails Beatles influence
Björn Ulvaeus has said that The Beatles were the group that most influenced Abba when they were starting out.

The songwriter told Metro that The Beatles were "absolutely by far the most influential and most important band" for himself and Benny Andersson.

Ulvaeus said: "It was the idea that two people in a group could write their own songs and we thought, if they can do it, why can't we?

"That changed everything for us. Before the Beatles, songwriters were very anonymous people and nobody paid any attention to them."

He also confirmed that Abba would never reunite, adding: "I'd like us to be the group who said they'd never make a comeback and never did. We'd be the only ones, I think."

NOTE - Kylie Minogue was recently added to the bill of a one-off Abba tribute show at London's Hyde Park on September 13.


Pete Doherty plays private gig for barred fan
Pete Doherty played a private pre-show gig for a 15-year-old fan who had been banned from a pub concert for being underage, it has emerged.

Matt Richardson from Southampton was told that he could not buy tickets for the show and had to leave the Torriano pub in Kentish Town at 7pm due to licensing laws.

Richardson told GigJunkie: "Because we had travelled close to 100 miles, the owner went downstairs to talk to Peter. Minutes later, she came back upstairs, and said to me, 'Right, you've got a private session with Pete for a bit'.

"On seeing us, he greeted us, and asked us how we were. We explained about all the licensing shenanigans, and he seemed sympathetic."

He added: "He then found his black blazer resting on the sofa, and took out his Moleskine notebook from a pocket. Handing me the book, he told me to write out a setlist, and he'd give us a private gig as a way of saying sorry.

"It was myself, my mum, and Peter Doherty. Just us three together, in the basement of a pub. Don't believe what you may read in the tabloids, this was the real gentleman that is Peter Doherty."

Doherty was later joined by original Libertines drummer Paul 'Mr Razzcocks' Dufour during his official pub show.


Liam Gallagher: 'Oasis over for good'
Liam Gallagher has reportedly revealed to a waiter that there is no chance of him returning to Oasis.

The star informed Vincenzo Della Corte of his decision not to rejoin the band while on holiday in Italy, The Mirror reports.

The 32-year-old waiter told the newspaper: "I had to ask him what the future was and he said it was all over and there was no way he would get back with Noel.

"He said that Noel had his style of music and he had his and they would be going their separate ways."

Della Corte added that Gallagher was very down-to-earth, saying: "You hear all these stories about Oasis being real rock and rollers but Liam was really polite and was very happy to talk.

"They were all having a good time and he didn't seem at all bothered about the fact he had caused one of the world's biggest bands to break up."


East 17 star: 'Glastonbury was emotional'
Terry Coldwell has claimed that East 17 felt loved again after playing this year's Glastonbury.

The singer said that the gig on the opening night of the festival was like the boyband's "early days".

"I don't use the word amazing a lot, but it was amazing. It felt like the early days of the '90s. When we went on stage, I got a rush from head to toe."

"There was 10,000 in the tent and it was spilling outside with people.

"It was weird because we got there late, we missed our original slot and everyone told us when we arrived, 'All the fans are dying to see you!' I associated Glasto with rock music, so to have all these people wanting to see us was absolutely wicked."

He added: "In England we get a bit of a tough time. But just for that one day to be loved in England, it felt brilliant."

Coldwell also revealed that he is hoping to launch a solo career in the near future.

"I have a little studio at home and I've taught myself how to play and record all my music, so I'm at the stage now where I think, 'These songs are actually good'," he said.

"I've been on stage for 17 years, but now I'm at the stage where I think I could put some bits out there. People have always seen me as the guy in the background, but I would now like for me people to know I'm something other than a dancer. It's taken me 17 years to write music and I would like people to see a different side to me now - I think it will shock people."

Coldwell appears on Living's celebrity edition of Four Weddings on Monday, September 7 at 9pm.


Marr mocks Spandau Ballet reunion
Johnny Marr has mocked his '80s pop rivals Spandau Ballet's "chicken-in-the-basket" reunion.

The former Smiths guitarist claimed that he would be happy if someone paid the new romantic band £20 million to cancel their upcoming live shows.

"I can't bear the thought of a Spandau Ballet-style comeback. What's the point? Spandau are reforming, so they put on a big chicken-in-the-basket event, which is all they amounted to in the first place," he told the Daily Mail.

"Maybe someone should pay them £20 million not to reform. Supposedly we were offered $10 million [£6.2 million] to play a handful of Smiths gigs in 2007, and I wasn't remotely tempted."

Marr, who is currently promoting his new Ignore, The Ignorant LP with The Cribs, insisted that he is too busy to consider a Smiths reunion anytime soon.

He added: "I can't speak for Morrissey, but I know that I'm too busy right now to get The Smiths on the road again. Is that likely to change? Who knows?"


Leona Lewis reveals new single details
Leona Lewis has revealed that her new single is called 'Happy'.

It will be released on download on November 8 and CD single the day after, according to her official website.

The song was co-written by Lewis and produced by Ryan Tedder, who previously worked with the singer on 'Bleeding Love'.

It will receive its world premiere on the Radio 1 Chart Show this Sunday.


Lady GaGa: 'I'm compared too much'
Lady GaGa has revealed that she has had enough of being compared to other female musicians.

The 'Paparazzi' singer also claimed that people are always changing their minds over who she sounds like.

She told V: "Look, when I was a brunette, they called me Amy Winehouse. When I was a blonde, they called me Madonna. Then they called me Christina [Aguilera], then Gwen [Stefani].

"I just don't think most people's reference points go back very far."

GaGa has previously admitted that she shares some qualities with Madonna.