Billboard UK
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Following a recent license review, London dance venue Drumsheds has been allowed to remain open but was ordered to enforce new safety measures at its events.
Located in Tottenham, a northern suburb of the capital, the 15,000-capacity venue was reported as being at risk of losing its license late last year. This followed a number of serious incidents on the premises and a subsequent investigation launched by Enfield Council.
On Oct. 12, 2024, a 27-year-old man died after attending a Drumsheds event, an incident believed to have been drug-related (as per The London Standard). On Dec. 7, a 29-year-old woman also died after a show by Belfast dance duo Bicep at the venue, with police stating the tragedy was also connected to drug usage. An emergency licensing review was called after the latter incident.
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In November, meanwhile, a man was stabbed inside Drumsheds, with emergency services called to the scene. No arrests have been made in connection with any of these three incidents. The stabbing was later confirmed by police to be non-fatal.
Following a meeting held by Enfield Council Tuesday (Jan. 7), it has been ruled that Drumsheds has permission to remain open, but will need to operate under specific safety measures going forward. The space — a repurposed IKEA unit — will now boast an increased police presence during events, and any serious incidents on the premises must be reported to emergency services immediately.
Issues with the organization of the venue were highlighted online last month, when a public petition was launched amid claims of “overcrowding” at Drumsheds events following a surplus of social media posts related to “unsafe queues.” This happened at the 15th anniversary celebration for U.K. bass label UKF, which took place on Dec. 13 and was headlined by Pendulum, Nero and Knife Party.
As per Mixmag, however, the review findings from the meeting have stated that the venue will not have to reduce its capacity, nor implement mandatory ID scanning and “bomb detection dogs.” It isn’t yet clear how the new measures will impact upcoming events at Drumsheds. The first scheduled event following the review, billed as Red Bull’s Culture Clash, is set to be held on Mar. 8. The line-up features London DJs Jyoty, Kenny Allstar and Teezee.
In December, Robbie Williams‘ film biopic Better Man (Paramount Pictures) was released in cinemas globally, telling the story of the British pop icon, albeit with Williams replaced by a CGI monkey.
The film covers Williams’ rise to fame as a teenager in pop band Take That, his decision to go solo in 1995, his various controversies and struggles with addiction, his recovery and time in the limelight. The film was directed and co-written by The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey and divided critics and fans for its use of the CGI character instead of a traditional actor.
Better Man includes a number of Williams’ greatest hits including “Angels,” “Rock DJ,” and “She’s The One.” A new composition, “Forbidden Road,” is also featured in the movie, and last year was nominated for the Golden Globes as well as being shortlisted for best original song at the 2025 Oscars (March 2).
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That song, however, was eventually removed from the shortlist last month on the grounds that it incorporated material from an existing song that was not written for the film in which it appears. Williams co-wrote the song with Freddy Wexler and Sacha Skarbek, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences deemed that it shared similarities to “I Got a Name,” a 1973 ballad written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox for the Jeff Bridges film The Last American Hero. (The late Jim Croce had a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song.) In a statement to its members about the removal of the track, The Academy said: “This is a decision that both honors our rules and protects the special nature of the Original Song and Score categories.”
The song remained a nominee for best original song at Sunday night’s (Jan. 5) 82nd Golden Globes, where Williams walked the red carpet. Speaking to Deadline, he responded to the disqualification of the song from the Oscars shortlist. Watch the full interview below.
“Listen, the rules is the rules and you have to go by them. It would have been nice, but also as an introvert, it’s another party I don’t have to go to,” he said. “I went through it, I’m on the other side. It’s all good.”
Williams’ song lost the award at the Golden Globes to “El Mal,” co-written by Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard for the film Emilia Pérez, which also scooped best motion picture, musical or comedy.
Later this year, Williams will embark on a massive European tour and recently told NME that he was working on a new album which featured contributions from Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi.
Jade Thirlwall has discussed her time on The X Factor as a member of pop group Little Mix, who won the eighth series of the British version of the talent show in 2011.
Alongside bandmates Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson, the quartet were the first group to win the British version of the show. Little Mix went on to release six studio albums, most recently 2020’s Confetti. The band went on hiatus in 2022 and all members have pursued solo careers in the ensuing years.
Speaking to The Independent, Thirlwall said some parts of the show were “pretty f––ed up” while expanding on the pressures of appearing on the show, and the level of safeguarding contestants were offered. The British version of the show last aired in 2018, though other versions of the franchise continue to air elsewhere around the globe, including Denmark, Italy and Indonesia, among others.
“I think it had to end, I don’t think that kind of show can exist any more. We’re in a different place now,” Thirlwall said of the competition. “We wouldn’t put someone that’s mentally unwell on a TV screen and laugh at them while they sing terribly. The concept of a joke act on a show is just cruel. It’s all very Roman empire. But then at the same time, was it not the best training ever for me to enter the music industry?”
Thirlwall added: “I don’t know anyone that’s come off that show and not had some sort of mental health issue on the back of it, but also, even now, personally I’m conflicted criticizing [it], because it changed my life,” she said. “I was from a very normal working-class family up north, I had tried sending demos into labels, I’d gigged all over, I was doing everything I could to make it, and I needed a show like that to give me a chance.”
Thirlwall, who auditioned for the show three times, also spoke on the housing situation for female contestants who were placed in shared dormitories. “Even at 18, I knew there were people who weren’t mentally well in there, keeping everyone up at night,” Thirlwall said. “I don’t know if there was even security outside the house. It’s scary to think about now, but I was too young to realize that at the time.”
She continued: “I’d say five per cent of the people that went on there have come out of it not unscathed, but having survived; the other 95 per cent have suffered in silence,” she said. “How do you go from being on that show to back to your nine-to-five? How do you get signed to the label, think you’ve made it, and then once your song doesn’t hit the Top 10, you’re just dropped? It’s so savage, this machine that we’re a part of. Even back then, we knew how lucky we were every day that we were still signed.”
In 2023, Rebecca Ferguson, who was runner-up in 2010 to Matt Cardle in season seven, criticized the show and described her experience as “traumatic,” and implored broadcaster ITV to investigate. The show again came under criticism following the death of One Direction’s Liam Payne in October 2024, who also appeared on the show in the same season as Ferguson and faced numerous addiction and mental health battles throughout his career.
Later this week (Jan. 10), Thirlwall will release her latest solo single “IT Girl” via Sony Music. Her 2023 single “Angel Of My Dreams,” which tackled the industry’s darker side, featured in Billboard U.K.’s Songs of the Year list, and “showcased a fierce, focused artist ready to embrace every facet of her new solo era.”
Gracie Abrams‘ “That’s So True” has returned to the top spot on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart for a sixth non-consecutive week. Following a three-week stint at No. 1 for Wham!‘s 1984 classic “Last Christmas” over the festive period, Abrams’ single returns to the top for 2025’s opening week (Jan. 3). “That’s So True” first […]
Ed Sheeran has secured his eighth No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart with his greatest hits compilation +–=÷× (Tour Collection). The collection is made up of Sheeran’s hits from his Mathematical series of records: 2011’s + (Plus), 2014’s × (Multiply), 2017’s ÷ (Divide), 2021’s = (Equals) and 2023’s – (Subtract). A number of […]
Neil Young has announced that he will be headlining Glastonbury Festival in June, just days after he said that he would withdraw from the festival and called it a “corporate turn-off.”
Earlier this week (Jan. 1), Young wrote on his website: “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all time favorite outdoor gigs,” Young wrote in the brief update. “We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
He continued, “We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”
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The Canadian rocker made a new statement on his website on Friday (Jan. 3) posting: “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved. Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!”
The festival will take place at Worthy Farm, Somerset in England on June 25-29, and he will perform with his new band The Chrome Hearts. Young previously topped the bill in June 2009.
At the time of his withdrawal, Young did not expand on the role that the BBC had played in his decision to withdraw. The BBC has been a longtime partner of the festival, broadcasting performances across television, radio and online. In 2009, the BBC broadcast a number of Young’s songs on its channels. In recent years entire sets from headliners have been broadcast live; in 2024, Coldplay and Dua Lipa’s sets were streamed globally on the BBC website.
Festival boss Emily Eavis confirmed the news on her personal Instagram account: “What a start to the year! Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury. He does things his own way and that’s why we love him. We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.”
Young is the first headliner confirmed for 2025’s edition. Other names such as The 1975, Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Styles, Sam Fender and more have all been rumoured to appear. Sir Rod Stewart will take on the traditional Legend’s Slot on the Sunday afternoon.
In November 2024, Young revealed plans for a European tour, which will feature mostly outdoor venues. He followed up with another message on Wednesday (Jan. 1), telling Neil Young Archives readers that “tour announcements for the summer are coming very soon.”
It has been more than six years since Lily Allen’s most recent studio LP — but that could be about to change. In a new update, the British pop star has said that she is “trying to manifest” releasing a new album by “the end of the year.”
Speaking on her Miss Me? podcast, a show she hosts with TV presenter and longtime friend Miquita Oliver, the 39-year-old musician discussed the potential follow-up to 2018’s No Shame, which landed at No. 8 on the U.K.’s Official Album Charts.
“Firstly, I’m going to go and get my head straight for a bit,” she said on the show’s latest episode, which was released Thursday (Jan. 2). “I’m doing a little bit of work on myself in this beginning period of the year, then I’m going to do some more writing, then I’m going to do my play [Allen will star in a new production of Hedda Gabler in Bath, England, in July], hopefully, maybe get an album out by the end of the year. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
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She continued, “It’s not real, I’m just trying to manifest it now.” Later, she added, “Listen, I’ve got this. We’re bringing Lily Allen back in 2025.”
Across her career, Allen has released four studio albums: 2006’s Alright Still, 2009’s It’s Not Me, It’s You, 2014’s Sheezus and 2018’s No Shame. Three of her singles have charted at No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart in the U.K. – “Smile” (2006), “The Fear” (2008) and a cover of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” (2013).
On a previous episode first released in April 2024, Allen revealed that she had been working on new music in Nashville. “I’m in Nashville, where everyone is really good. There’s so much legacy,” she told her co-host Oliver. “I have to say it’s quite intimidating being here. People are really talented.” Prior to that, she also said on X that she had written up to 50 songs for a new album.
In July 2024, Allen shared that she had begun selling pictures and videos of her feet on OnlyFans and that she was receiving more revenue from her pictures than from her music streams. “Imagine being and artist [sic] and having nearly 8 million monthly listeners on spotify but earning more money from having 1000 people subscribe to pictures of your feet,” she said on social media.
Listen to the episode below (music discussion begins at the 6:00 mark.)
Stormzy has been banned from driving in the U.K. for nine months after an off-duty police officer caught the rapper using a mobile phone behind the wheel of his Rolls-Royce vehicle in London. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The 31-year-old born Michael Ebenazer Owuo Junior pleaded […]
Sabrina Carpenter has secured her spot as the U.K.’s Christmas No. 1 Album for 2024. Her sixth album, Short n’ Sweet, first hit the summit of the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart in August, and this is the 25-year-old’s second non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the charts this year. Over the course of the year, […]
It’s official: Wham!’s “Last Christmas” is the U.K.’s Christmas No. 1 for 2024.
It makes for the second consecutive year that the pop duo – made up of Andrew Ridgeley and the late George Michael – have achieved the feat. The song, first released in 1984 and written by Michael, was beaten to the Christmas No. 1 spot at the time of release by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and eventually took the coveted slot 39 years later in 2023.
Speaking on the achievement to the Official Charts Company, Ridgeley said, “37 years to get to No. 1, 39 years to Christmas No. 1, and then like London buses, they all come along at once! I’m especially pleased for George — he would have been utterly delighted his fabulous Christmas composition has become such a classic, almost as much a part of Christmas as mince pies, turkey and pigs in blankets.”
The achievement places Wham! in a rare group of artists to have had multiple Christmas No. 1s on the Official Singles Chart. With its second title, the duo joins Queen (2), Spice Girls (3), The Beatles (4) and the current record-holders, LadBaby (5). The latter, the moniker for YouTube influencer Mark Hoyle, holds the record for number of Christmas chart-toppers with five different songs hitting No. 1 between 2018 and 2022.
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“Last Christmas” is also experiencing success on the Billboard Hot 100, currently placing at No. 3, a new peak for the single. Speaking to Billboard‘s Pop Shop podcast, Ridgeley reflected on how the success both in the U.K. and abroad felt.
“Well, extremely satisfying. You know, Yog [Michael’s nickname], we placed a great deal of importance on being a success in the States. It was, for any artist, of that era … you were nowhere unless you were a big deal in the States. You could be a big noise in the U.K., but the States was the golden prize, really. We were fortunate enough … and one or two of our contemporaries, we had great success in the States.”
Elsewhere, Wham! faced stiff competition over the course of the week. Gracie Abrams finished at No. 2 with her single “That’s So True,” which has enjoyed a five weeks at the top spot already in 2024, while Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” finished at No. 3. Carey’s 1994 song took the honor of Christmas No. 1 back in 2020, more than 26 years after its original release.
Tom Grennan, meanwhile, put up a strong battle to finish at No. 4 with “It Can’t Be Christmas,” his exclusive for Amazon Music U.K., which is also his highest charting solo song on the Official Singles Chart.
See the full Official Singles Chart here.