Virgin

The wait is over! Today Canada’s hottest summer music festival announced that legendary alt-rockers Pearl Jam and Juno Award-winning Canadian rockers Billy Talent will headline Virgin Festival Alberta this year.  It will all go down at WinSport Canada’s Canada Olympic Park on August 8 & 9, 2009 to an expected throng of 35,000 hard-core music fans.

Other acts joining Pearl Jam on day one are Canadian hip hop artist K-OS, electronic music duo Thunderheist, Hamilton rockers Arkells, indie rockers Mother Mother, and Toronto trio The Cliks.  Joining Billy Talent on day two are new wave indie rockers Metric, Juno award nominees Tokyo Police Club, Brit rockers White Lies and Edmonton natives Shout Out Out Out Out.  More hot talent will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Calgary, we are back! I’m thrilled to announce that Pearl Jam and Billy Talent will headline the second Virgin Festival Alberta on August 8 & 9 at Canada Olympic Park,” announced Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group. “Last year, Virgin Festival Alberta was the buzz of the town, rocking 35,000 fans, and ever since Calgarians have been crying out for us to come back.  I’m delighted that we’re doing it all over again and promise that Virgin Festival will deliver another unforgettable weekend of music and experiences.”

General ticket sales for two-day and VIP Weekend tickets begin Saturday, July 4th at 10 a.m. in person at all Ticketmaster outlets, select Future Shop locations, online at www.ticketmaster.ca, or www.futureshop.ca and by calling (403) 777-0000. Ticket information is also available at www.virginfestival.ca.  Two-day tickets are $132.00 plus $4 facility fee and a $2 donation to Virgin Unite (includes all sales taxes).

As always, when you’re with Virgin Mobile Canada you move to the front of the line. Virgin Mobile Canada customers can get their hands on Early Bird tickets before anyone else.

Keep an eye on www.virginfestival.ca for more line-up announcements. Fans can also keep up to date with Virgin Festival on Twitter at www.twitter.com/virginmobilecan and on the Virgin Festival Canada Facebook® fan page.

Metric, The Roots, Broken Social Scene, Carly Rae Jepsen, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Chris Velan have been added to the lineup for the Virgin Festival to be held at Deer Lake Park, BC, Canada on July 25 & 26. They join Sonic Youth, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Our Lady Peace, Mutemath, Spinnerette, Jarvis Cocker, De La Soul and K-OS on the bill. Tickets are now available at virginfestival.ca/bc/.

Following the brilliant semi-final shows at Brighton’s Great Escape, our mentors Just Jack and The Charlatans had a near impossible task to whittle down the Road to V shortlist and come up with the final six artists who’ll face the fans’ vote. Hopefully no small girls will be made to cry and no one will be carted off to The Priory, once the final result is announced. Fingers crossed.

To find out who’s in the running to open V Festival 2009, just visit roadtov.com

And don’t forget, you can watch highlights of both gigs and see what happened behind the scenes at The Great Escape on Friday 5th, 6.55pm on Virgin 1.

And if you’re a Virgin Media customer you can see full performances from all the finalists, as well as The Charlatans and Just Jack, live at the Great Escape on Virgin TV Music On Demand.

Friday at the Great Escape brought even wetter weather than the day before (it was like Scotland down there!) but once again there was a packed house at Coalition for the second of our Road to V mentor nights, this time hosted by The Charlatans.

Winners of the fan’s vote, The Quotes opened the show and made it all look easy with a powerful multi-vocal performance (watched by their proud producer - none other than former Haircut 100 singer and pop sensation Nick Heyward). Welsh rockers The Last Republic backed up their ambitions to be as big as U2 by performing as if the tiny Brighton stage was Wembley stadium.

But the night didn’t completely belong to rock boys. Akayzia added a chilled sophistication with a set of beautiful Tracy Chapman-tinged songs, while Paul Dixon charmed everyone with his intimate lo-fi beats, clever melodies and observational lyrics. And the last of the semi-finalists, London’s Bleech demonstrated why everyone’s been comparing them to the likes of the Breeders and The Pixies, with their big, grungy pop tunes and stunning female vocals.

It was then left to mentors The Charlatans to bring a real festival spirit to the proceedings. To see such a legendary band in such intimate surroundings was a rare treat. Tim Burgess and co didn’t stint on the hits, with One to Another, The Only One I Know and North Country Boy leaving everyone singing all the way to the after party where the band mingled and chatted with our Road to V artists, well into the early hours.

Hey guys,Just to let you know that the competition to win a pair of tickets to The Great Escape festival in Brighton ends 4th May (Monday).

The winner will get a pair of tickets for the entire weekend at this years Great Escape festival, and we’ve also got 4 pairs of tickets to just the Road to V gigs in Brighton to give away as runner up prizes. That’s 2 pairs to see Just Jack perform along with the first 5 Road to V finalists on 14 May and 2 pairs to The Charlatans gig with the other 5 finalists on 15 May.

If you haven’t entered yet it’s really easy, just visit the Original post and leave a comment stating which headline band you would rather see; Just Jack or The Charlatans in case you get a runner’s up prize.

DON’T FORGET: leave the comment on the Original post, not here!

Good luck.

We’re giving one lucky winner the opportunity to head to Brighton for this year’s Great Escape Festival where you can catch Virgin Media’s Road to V gigs featuring headline performance from Just Jack and indie legends The Charlatans. Not only that but you’ll also have access to all other gigs happening across The Great Escape between 14th-16th May and with a lineup including Kasabian and British Sea Power, you’re pretty much guaranteed a good time.

• check out the full Great Escape lineup

We’ve also got 4 pairs of tickets to just the Road to V gigs in Brighton to give away as runner up prizes. That’s 2 pairs to see Just Jack perform along with the first 5 Road to V finalists on 14 May and 2 pairs to The Charlatans gig with the other 5 finalists on 15 May.

For your chance to win tickets in the prize draw, simply leave a reply to this post here, write on my Facebook wall or tweet my Twitter - saying whether you’d prefer to see the Charlatans or Just Jack if you’re picked as a runner up. How easy is that!?

Top prize:

• 1 x pair of full Great Escape weekend tickets - Brighton 14-16 May.

Runner-up prizes:

• 2 x pairs of tickets to Road to V gig in Brighton on 14 May to see Just Jack + 5 Road to V finalists
• 2 x pairs of tickets to Road to V gig in Brighton on 15 May to see The Charlatans + 5 Road to V finalists

read full terms and conditions

Never ones for exclusion, the Scots look set to bring the diesel power to the summer months as the UK’s best-named festival returns for its fourth year and boasts as an eclectic line up as any set to grace the tail-end pages of the NME in the coming months. Set on the banks of Loch Ness, sightings of mythical beings roaming in its murky waters may well be few and far between during a weekend in June but there’s a concrete guarantee that amazement and wonder will ensue.

A blending of the boundaries that set guitars and hair styles apart from synths and strobes is scribed all over the cards this time round although there are sure-fire hit-makers across the spectrum. From the international to the local, unsigned champions to chart-topping juggernauts, Rockness has every base covered; Super Furry Animals and The Flaming Lips trawl their unique brand of meaningful psychedelia up the Scottish moors and down the other side to the Loch, The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx and Dizzee Rascal bring their mainstream musings to the download-chart generation and Scots Biffy Clyro and Mylo bring their speaker-crunching sonic sytlings to proceedings, brandishing St. Andrews flags all round.

If all sounds somewhat familiar, Rockness has surpassed itself with pristine stereo gems, from the glitchy electro-pop of Chew Lips to the battering beats of Ed Banger, home to Justice and just about every credible French strand of electro since Jean-Michel Jarre. And that’s all before Orbital’s essential return to minimal techno.
Monsters aside, Rockness looks set to strive in its subdued surroundings free from the splatterings of corporate sponsors, bringing this summer’s unmissable party extravaganza to the rolling hills of Clune Farm. Roll on June.

http://www.rockness.co.uk/

UK viewers can now see Road to V on Virgin 1. They’re kicking off with a best-of show, featuring some of the highlights of the last few years of Road to V. They’ve also got exclusive interviews with last year’s winners Matt Tracker and The Rebs. They’ll be giving you a real feel of what it’s like to perform at V Festival, in front of thousands of fans. They’ll also be introducing you to Just Jack and The Charlatans – who’ll be acting as mentors for ten lucky finalists, and will let you know what they’re looking for in this years winners, so don’t miss it.

You can catch the first episode of Road to V on Virgin 1 at the following times:

Friday, April 3 - 6.55pm
Saturday, April 4 – 7.55pm
Saturday, April 11 – 7.55pm

Virgin Media customers can check out extended features and interviews from last years winners, as well as from Just Jack and The Charlatans on Virgin TV Presents, Road to V on Music on Demand.

Radiohead and Kings Of Leon join Arctic Monkeys as headliners of Reading and Leeds Festival 2009. Prodigy, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party all get second billing across the three days from Friady 28 to Sunday 30 August. Other bands added to the lineup include Placebo, Maximo Park, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fall Out Boy, Vampire Weekend, Ian Brown, Funeral For A Friend, Gossip, Glasvegas, White Lies, Florence & The Machine, Friendly Fires and Gallows. Tickets are on sale at seetickets.com or by calling 0871 231 0821.

Arctic Monkeys have confirmed themselves as one of the Reading & Leeds 2009 headline acts.

In a short statement on their website arcticmonkeys.com the Monkeys confirmed they would headline Leeds Festival on Friday 28th August and then Reading a day later on Saturday 29th August.

The main announcement for the first line up announcements is tonight (March 30th) at 7pm when the other two headliners will be confirmed and tickets will go on sale – don’t expect them to hang around long, the last few years have seen unprecedented demand and all tickets being sold within hours.

The announcement represents a coup for organisers Festival Republic with Arctic Monkeys yet to confirm themselves for any other UK Festival this year. Their previous highest appearance at Reading & Leeds was second on the bill behind Muse in 2006.

The Arctic Monkeys are scheduled to release their Josh Homme-produced new album this summer.

It is also rumoured that Radiohead may play a headline spot at the festival this year.

For tickets and info visit: readingfestival.com

18 months seems a veritable age amongst the crests of hype and thundering crashes of the music industry but Latitude clings onto the brightest young things of the British anti-folk/ alternative/ avant-garde/ uplifting lo-fi (delete as appropriate) scene, somehow foreseeing who’ll line the innards of our iPods before they’re even blips on NME’s radar.

Yet around that period of time ago, at 18 I found myself writhing in a field inhabited by sheep dressed as hundreds and thousands, mysterious woodland orchestras and swarms of newborn mosquitoes from the pond around which the summer’s most ephemeral festival revolves. My ears were uncoiled to the ukulele and viola twangs of an infantile Patrick Wolf, hit-makers in-waiting Metronomy waged war on the main stage bringing the party to the secluded, picturesque Lake Stage and Howling Bells enchanted in the seclusion of the truly magical Sunrise Arena. Of course they’ve all since become familiar with international chart summits. Oh how times have changed.

Combining eccentricity with sterling headliners, this year’s initial release of acts splendour in the air in which they dangle, releasing gold dust that melds Latitude into the summer’s forever-expanding script of essential pit stops. Heading up 2009 are a band of universally accepted icons, from the howling rasp of Nick Cave and his fabulously Bad Seeds to the chameleonic camper-than-Christopher-Biggins musings of the outstanding contributors to music, Pet Shop Boys. And to top all that off, how many festivals can lay claim to a headline spot from an original Bond girl (Grace Jones) before gadgetry and Hollywood special effects left Fleming turning in the grave. Backing this year’s blockbusters are the chimerical wonder Natasha Khan (aka Bat for Lashes), Manc-turned-Blade Runner alternative geniuses Doves and melancholic mainstream song smiths Editors. If that weren’t enough to set the adrenaline pulsing through those veins, if you don’t fancy facing the music and dancing nigh on every reputable dance company shall be producing spectacle upon spectacle upon spectacle all from the comfort of deck chairs under tipis. If Southwold’s Latitude doesn’t throw up this year’s majestic indispensable extravaganza you’re away with the fairies.

http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk

Lily Allen is the latest name to be announced at the top end of this year’s Bestival lineup. The cheeky singer will showcase her number one album It’s Not Me, It’s You at the Isle of Wight this summer.

She is joined by other new announcements including La Roux, Jack Penate and Just Jack, as well as a special DJ set from Orbital, with all of the acts set to be in Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight between September 11th and 13th.

Lily will not simply be doing her set and hopping back on the ferry home though, she is getting into the Bestival spirit by judging a new fancy dress competition very month in the run up to the event.

Festival supremo Rob da Bank stated: “Lily Allen chipped up at Bestival 2006 just as she was becoming massive, donned a full rabbit fancy dress outfit with massive pink ears, completely nailed the crowd and hung out all weekend having fun.

“So I’m delighted she’s coming back to do all it again with another brilliant number one album under her belt and not only that but she’s going to judge all your outfits before you even arrive in our Outer Space fancy dress comp!”

Kraftwerk and Massive Attack are the headliners already announced for the end of the festival season bash, but one huge act is still being kept under wraps by the Bestival team.

The lineup so far looks something like this:

Live acts:
65 Days Of Static / Alessi’s Ark /Altern8 / Bastila / Bat For Lashes / Bjorn Again / Blindfold / Bloco Electro / Blue Roses / Chase & Status / Chew Lips / dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip / Diplo Presents Mad Decent Soundsystem – Boy 8 Bit, Buraka Som Sistema, Major Lazer,  Rusko / Dub Pistols / Eat Static / Ebony Bones / Efterklang / Fleet Foxes / Florence & The Machine / Free Peace / Friendly Fires / Frightened Rabbit / Fujiya & Miyagi / Future Sound Of London / Golden Silvers / Goldie Lookin’ Chain / Goodbye Stereo / Heartbreak / Hockey / Introducing / It Hugs Back / James Yuill / Joe Gideon & Shark / Kid Carpet / Kitty, Daisy & Lewis / Klaxons / Kraftwerk / Little Boots / Massive Attack / Metronomy / MGMT / Michael Nyman / Napoleon 111rd / Orkestra Del Sol / Passion Pit /  Peggy Sue / Pivot / Pole / Seasick Steve /  Soulwax / Sportsday Megaphone / Squarepusher / The Beat / The Cuban Brothers / The Ghost / VV Brown

DJs / MCs:
2manydjs / A1 Bassline / Alix Perez / Annie Mac Presents / Beardyman / Coley (Luv Jam) / Derrick Carter / Diplo / DJ Derek / DJ Yoda / Fabio & Grooverider / Fake Blood / Freemasons / Fear of Theydon / Friction / Gilles Peterson / Huw Stephens / Johnno (Bugged Out) / Krysko / London Elektricity / Monsters At Work DJs / Raffertie / Rob da Bank / Sombrero Sound System / Skream / Tayo / Zane Lowe

Road to V is well and truly back, and the response so far has been overwhelming. Registration has only been open for two weeks and there’s already nearly a thousand unsigned artists sign up for their chance to be the opening act at this year’s – now sold out - V Festival.

Just as excitingly, there are currently over 5000 fans, registered on roadtov.com . And this year it’s the fans who decide who wins, so their comments and votes have never been more important.

Register with roadtov.com and you can listen to all the unsigned acts and become a fan of anyone you think deserves to be heard. You can also comment as much as you like on the artists’ profile pages and let everyone know who you rate and who you hate.

There’s also an official Road to V Facebook page. Becoming a fan gets you up-to-the-minute news, and the chance to watch videos, listen to tracks, chat to fans and artists and enter VIP competitions, exclusive to Fans of the Facebook page.

Register as an artist with roadtov.com, and you can start making your profile page work for you. As well as uploading songs and photos, this year artists can add videos to their profile. Each week, the best videos will be selected to be shown on Virgin Media’s Video On Demand service. So they’ll be reaching thousands more potential fans, and appearing on TV sets across the UK!

And remember to keep checking the site for all the latest news, updates and competitions.

• roadtov.com

Will Young is among the new additions to this year’s Camp Bestival lineup, while the much-anticipated fancy dress theme has also been unveiled.Festival-goers heading to the Dorset event will be dressing up to the theme of Animal Magic on July 24th, 25th and 26th. This could mean some creature creations or David Blaine-inspired idiocy; we’re not sure, but it sounds fun.

Organiser Rob Da Bank shed some light, but not too much, on the brilliant beast bonanza: “Read into that what you will… unicorns, bears, elephants, Scooby Doos, Johnny Morris look-alikes and Paul Daniels impersonators will all be very welcome to join our dressing up parade on Sunday afternoon. Roll on July!”

Also added are Phoenix, along with hotly-tipped Mumford & Sons, Baddies, Tinchy Stryder, Kid Carpet and many more.

They join a line-up headed by the mesmerising PJ Harvey, Bon Iver, Laura Marling, Mercury Rev, plus the fantastically foul-mouthed Frankie Boyle and the DJ expertise of Erol Alkan and Boys Noise.

If it all sounds very tempting but the credit crunch is putting paid to any festival fun this summer, CampBestival has a plan. It has launched a new ticketing initiative that allows people to pay over three monthly instalments. Isn’t that nice.

Here’s the line-up so far in full. Oh, did we mention it’s held at a castle?

FRIDAY

MUSIC : BALERIC BROTHERS (DJ) / BARRY PETERS (DJ) / BENGA (DJ) / BOYS NOIZE (DJ) / CHASE AND STATUS (DJ) / CLIFF LAY AND TOSH OHTA (DJ) / DAN BLACK (DJ) / DJ DEREK (DJ) / DRUMS OF DEATH (LIVE) / FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE (LIVE) / FRANKIE BOYLE GILLES PETERSON (DJ) / GREG WILSON (DJ) / HAYSEED DIXIE (LIVE) / HIGH CONTRAST (DJ) / HOCKEY (LIVE) / JOHNNO - SAIL ON SAILOR (DJ) / KID CARPET (LIVE) / LETS GO CRAZY RESIDENTS - JAMES HARWOOD + FABIO LENDRUM (DJ) / MERCURY REV (LIVE) / MUMFORD & SONS / N-TYPE (LIVE) / RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE (LIVE) / RUSKO (LIVE) / SKREAM (DJ) / VV BROWN (LIVE) / WAVE MACHINES (LIVE)

COMEDY: FRANKIE BOYLE / JIM JEFFRIES / TIM CLARK / IAN STONE / JASON JOHN WHITEHEAD / CARL DONNELLY / MATT REED / TIERNAN DOUIEB / PROS FROM DOVER / TIM FITZHIGHAM / JAMIE KILSTEIN / CRAIG CAMPBELL

SATURDAY

MUSIC: ALESSI’S ARK (LIVE) / ANNIE MAC PRESENTS…(DJ) / BASTILA (LIVE) / BON IVER (LIVE) / CRAZY P (LIVE) / DISCO BLOODBATH (DJ) / DJ YODA (DJ) / EBONY BONES (LIVE) / EROL ALKAN (DJ) / GOLDIE LOOKING CHAIN (LIVE) / HUW STEPHENS / (DJ) / IMELDA MAY (LIVE) / INTRODUCING (LIVE) / LAURA MARLING (LIVE) / LUCKY ELEPHANT (LIVE) / MICACHU AND THE SHAPES (LIVE) / PHEONIX (LIVE) / PJ HARVEY (LIVE) / QUAYSIDE CLOGGIES (CLOG DANCERS) / REV MILO (DJ) / ROY AYERS (LIVE) / SCRATCH PERVERTS (DJ) / THE CUBAN BROTHERS (LIVE) / THE SHELLAC COLLECTIVE  (DJ) / TINCHY STRYDER (LIVE) / WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS RESIDENTS (DJ)

COMEDY: ROB ROUSE / CRAIG CAMPBELL / ANDRE VINCENT / MATT REED MC

SUNDAY

MUSIC: AEROPLANE (DJ) / ALELA DIANE (LIVE)  / ANDY C (DJ) / BADDIES (LIVE) / BLUE ROSES (LIVE) / CANDI STATON (LIVE) / CHIC (LIVE)  / DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP (LIVE) / FRANK TOPE (DJ) / FRANK TURNER (LIVE)  /  GOLDEN SILVERS (LIVE) / HORACE ANDY AND DUB ASANTE  (LIVE) / LAURA IZIBOR (LIVE) / MAGIC DRUM ORCHESTRA (LIVE) / MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS (LIVE) / MONSTERS AT WORK (DJ)’S PRESENT THE  PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF MONSTERISM ISLAND (DJ) / O’DEATH (LIVE) / PEGGY SUE (LIVE) / ROB DA BANK (DJ) / ROOTS MANUVA (LIVE) / SOMBRERO SOUNDSYSTEM (DJ) / SOUL OF MAN & THE FINGER LICKIN’ FUNK / THE DUB PISTOLS (LIVE) / THE SHELLAC COLLECTIVE (DJ) / TROJAN SOUNDSYSTEM (DJ) / WILD BEASTS (LIVE) / WILL YOUNG (LIVE) / ZANE LOWE (DJ)

COMEDY: ANDREW MAXWELLS FULLMOONERS / ED BYRNE / AL BARRIE / ANDRE VINCENT / EARLY EDITION WITH MARCUS BRIGSTOCKE,PHILL JUPITUS,ANDRE VINCENT AND CARRIE QUINLAN

SPOKEN WORD, & AMAZING ATTRACTIONS: ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET / RIVER COTTAGE / 100 FREE THINGS FOR KIDS TO DO!!! / PENGUIN CHILDREN’S BOOKS TENT / LET’S GO CRAZY / THE SUNDAY TIMES COFFEE MORNINGS / JOUSTING WITH THE KNIGHTS OF LULWORTH / SILENT DISCO / THE BOOKWORM LIT TENT FEATURING - NEIL BOORMAN -  BONFIRE OF THE BRANDS  / RICHARD   MILWARD - APPLES/TEN STOREY LOVESONG  / CHRIS KILLEN - THE  BIRD  ROOM  / JOE STRETCH -  FRICTION/WILDLIFE  / ROSS RAISIN -  GOD’S OWN  COUNTRY   / DAMIAN BARR AND  HIS LITERARY SALON / THE  BEASTLY  BOOKS QUIZ / LOOPS LIVE  SESSIONS (MUSIC AND  READINGS)  / JOE DUNTHORNE / JOSIE CURRAN AND HER ‘ORGANISED FUN’ ANIMAL GAMES / EXCENTRAL TEMPEST /  POEM INBETWEEN PEOPLE /  TIM CLARE / VENTRILOQUIST / JOHN OSBORNE / CHRIS HICKS / MUSA OKWONGA / JOSHUA IDEHEN / JOHN BERKAVITCH / INUA ELLAMS / MR TUMBLE (JUSTIN FLETCHER CBEEBIES) / SPINAL TAP 25TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING

As I typed Tony Christie’s number into my phone I began to chuckle to myself. I scrolled down my contacts list as if I was a stranger to my phone so I could surprise myself when I stumbled across the celebrity name. My job was to speak to Christie about his new single and even though the legend himself had managed to catch a cold, in true ‘the show must go on’ attitude he battled on with the interview…

Tony Christie’s new single Every Word She Said sounds surprisingly fresh coming from a man who has been in the business for the best part of 40 years. Undoubtedly former Pulp guitarist and producer of his latest album, Richard Hawley, has had a huge influence on this raw sound. It’s a sound that I have never associated with Christie although he assured me that he is going back to his roots with this single. With banging drums and thrashing guitar this was a pleasant surprise as I was expecting an ‘Amarillo’-esque sing along.

Christie decided to leave this single off his recent critically acclaimed album, Made in Sheffield, as he believed it didn’t fit. Without setting out to make a commercial album it received a great reception by the likes of NME, The Guardian and the Times.

Christie is proud of his Sheffield roots, the fact that all the songs on the last album are written or co-performed by Sheffield artists reaffirms this. In terms of musical UK cities he told me: “It’s right up there, it always has been.”  However he also believes that Sheffield bands were never very radio friendly as those that hail from there “always have a cutting edge, a grittiness.”

Being as success hungry as he is, Christie believes that the highlight of his career has yet to come and with his first Glastonbury slot in the summer he may be right. Although Made in Sheffield was only released at the end of 2008 he has already some new projects in the pipeline. One of which is a reworking of his original hits which he assured me sounds “contemporary and up to date” with the helping hands of Richard Hawley.

Although he admitted: “I haven’t a clue what sells these days, I can’t keep up with it”, Every Word She Said is probably the best of his songs that I have heard. It is certainly an improvement on some of the granny ballads that someone my age would usually associate him with.

While finding it hard to compete with youth Tony insisted that you should never change your style. “I would never try to be cool and hip, if I change then I’m not me.”

Being in show business for as long as he has you would think that his passion for music would have wilted by this stage. This is certainly not the case.  Christie talked of his love for analogue music “real guitars, bass, drums, pianos. No computers, the way it used to happen, the human side to music.”

“I’ll go as long as I can”, said Christie, although he did admit that when he has no control over his voice he will stop. “I would hate people to say ‘you used to be good”.

From what I can see Christie is only getting better and if his new single is anything to judge by, I say bring on the next album.

• myspace.com/tonychristie

music.virgin.com has finally gone pop! Self confessed indie boy Bob ’skinny jeans’ Fear and urban wannabee Eleanor ‘OG’ Conway hit up pop starlets and general hotties The Saturdays upon the release of their Comic Relief inspired cover of Depeche Mode’s Just Can’t Get Enough. They even treated us to an exclusive impromptu a cappella performance of the new single…

The Saturdays have now been confirmed as playing this year’s UK V Festivals in Chelmsford and Stafford in August - following in the dainty high-heeled footsteps of Girls Aloud last year. We asked them who they would most like to camp with at V Festival so watch the video interview to find out who picked who out of these chosen plus-ones: Michael Jackson, any of Kings Of Leon, fat Elvis, thin Elvis…

The girls have also just announced their first headline tour (tickets available via gigsandtours.com) and their debut album Chasing Lights has gone platinum.We just can’t get enough of The Saturdays right now. Can you?

• catch up on V Festival lineup and ticket news
• visit vfestival.com
• thesaturdays.co.uk

V Festival has once again almost completely sold out across both sites only hours after tickets went on sale. Tickets to Hylands Park, Chelmsford sold out in under two hours and only coach packages now remain. The last remaining tickets to Weston Park, Staffordshire are going fast from www.vfestival.com. Tickets went on sale at 10am last Friday.

Virgin Media’s V Festival 2009 has two of the biggest and best live acts on the planet headlining in Oasis and The Killers. They will be joined on the 22/23 August by artists such as Razorlight, Fatboy Slim, Keane, The Specials, Elbow, Lily Allen, Pendulum, The Tings Tings, MGMT, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.

The line up so far:

OASIS  • THE KILLERS • RAZORLIGHT • SNOW PATROL • FATBOY SLIM • KEANE • THE SPECIALS • ELBOW • JAMES • LILY ALLEN • THE ENEMY • PENDULUM •  THE SCRIPT •  BIFFY CLYRO • THE TING TINGS •  PAOLO NUTINI • MGMT • KATY PERRY • THE WOMBATS • JAMES MORRISON • TAYLOR SWIFT • PETER DOHERTY • DIZZEE RASCAL • THE STREETS •  LADY GAGA • HAPPY MONDAYS • SEASICK STEVE • OCEAN COLOUR SCENE • ALESHA DIXON • BRITISH SEA POWER • THE SATURDAYS

Oasis and The Killers are set to headline Virgin Media’s V Festival in Chelmsford and Staffordshire on 22 & 23 August. Fatboy Slim, Keane, The Specials, Lily Allen, Elbow, Pendulum, The Tings Tings, MGMT and Lady Ga Ga will also be playing at what will be V Festival’s  fourteenth year. The Virgin Mobile Union stage sees lyrical genius Peter Doherty take to the stage and will be joined by a load of other acts to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday 6 March and fans are being advised to only contact official ticket outlets - and fast!

So ensure you have your dialling finger ready or your web browser refreshed and remember - make sure they’re legit! The organisers of V Festival urge fans to not purchase tickets from unofficial outlets.  Those wishing to get their hands on the hot festival ticket this Summer should make www.vfestival.com - where all official outlets are detailed as below - their first port of call on Friday morning. Buying from any other unofficial outlets could lead to disappointment.

official outlets:
www.vfestival.com
www.gigsandtours.com
www.seetickets.com (0871 230 5584)
www.stargreen.com (0207 734 8932)
www.ticketline.co.uk (0871 424 4444)
www.ticketmaster.co.uk (0844 847 1670)

Ticket Prices: £152.50 weekend pass with camping, £132.50 weekend pass without camping, £73.50 day ticket.

Cut carbon, cut costs and have fun with fellow festival goers all the way to the festival.  Visit www.biggreencoach.co.uk for festival tickets with coach travel.
Here’s the lineup so far folks:

OASIS  • THE KILLERS • RAZORLIGHT • SNOW PATROL • FATBOY SLIM • KEANE • THE SPECIALS •  ELBOW • JAMES •  LILY ALLEN •  THE ENEMY • PENDULUM •  THE SCRIPT •  BIFFY CLYRO  • THE TING TINGS •  PAOLO NUTINI • MGMT •  KATY PERRY • THE WOMBATS •  JAMES MORRISON  • PETER DOHERTY  •   THE STREETS •  LADY GA GA • DIZZEE RASCAL • HAPPY MONDAYS • SEASICK STEVE • OCEAN COLOUR SCENE  • THE SATURDAYS • ALESHA DIXON • BRITISH SEA POWER

The search is on for the UK’s best new unsigned musical talent so fix up, look sharp! Road to V is back and this year is upping the ante. The UK’s biggest and best search for unsigned musical talent, now in its sixth year, is officially open for entries.

So why take part? Two winning acts, as chosen by you, the fans, get to kick start the mighty V Festival this summer, in Chelmsford and Stafford, on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd August.

As if that isn’t a big enough incentive, as part of the competition, ten lucky finalists will also get mentored by, and play alongside, two amazing acts who have been recruited especially for the occasion.

If you fancy yourself as the next hellraising indie outfit, hip-hop heavyweight act, dynamite dance collective or perhaps even the next great soul-shimmering soloist, and want to play to an audience of thousands, here’s what to do:

Head to www.roadtov.com between Monday 2nd March and Sunday 12th April 2009 and register your act, your band or yourself to be in with a chance of winning. Simply upload your best track and tell us a bit about yourselves.

Ten acts will then be selected to go through to the live stage of the competition. The first two finalists will be chosen by the public. Before the two (soon to be announced) artist mentors step in to pick four acts each. All ten acts will then go on to play the same stage as their mentors at The Great Escape festival in Brighton on 14th to 16th May.

The Great Escape this year features headliners such as Kasabian and British Sea Power, with Road to V 2007 finalists Jonny Foreigner joining the Brighton line up. Last year The Great Escape helped break some of 2008’s biggest artists including The Ting Tings, Santigold, Sam Sparro and Vampire Weekend.

The ten lucky finalists and their mentors will also be filmed performing at The Great Escape for the Road to V.  After the Great Escape, the artist mentors will whittle the final ten down to six remaining acts. Then it’s over to the fans to head to www.roadtov.com to decide who wins and gets the ultimate prize of opening one of the UK’s biggest music festivals.

For more information on Road To V visit www.roadtov.com.

The otherworldly aura of Kraftwerk will be among the main attractions at this year’s Bestival.

They will be joined by Massive Attack as headliners, with the bill-topper for the final night yet to be announced.

It will all take place at Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight on September 11th, 12th and 13th this summer.

As well as the big hitters, the cream of the last few years’ breakthrough acts are making the step up to the higher echelons of the bill.

Fleet Foxes, Seasick Steve and MGMT are all confirmed, alongside the return of Klaxons and Bat For Lashes.

In addition, the usual tomfoolery and festivities of the annual bash will all be present and correct, overseen by organiser Rob Da Bank.

Upon the announcement of the latest editions to the line up, he said: “I keep having to look at the scruffy piece of paper I keep the line up on in my diary to convince myself that we are indeed bringing Kraftwerk to the Isle of Wight. Haha! I’m so bloody happy I could cry but then I realise we’ve also got Massive Attack, MGMT, Seasick Steve, Klaxons, Bat For Lashes.

“All my favourite live acts and DJs in a field in seven months time in what I can humbly proclaim is our best line-up yet and when you find out who the third headliner is and then the very special guest too you’ll join me wetting ourselves with excitement. It’s gonna be out of the world – out of space in fact!”

This year’s theme is indeed Out of Space and a brand new layout over 14 stages will reflect the intergalactic excitement that is always guaranteed at this end of season extravaganza.

The line up so far is:

Live Acts:
65 Days Of Static / Altern8 / Bastila / Bat For Lashes / Bjorn Again / Blindfold / Bloco Electro / Blue Roses / Chase & Status / dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip / Dub Pistols / Eat Static / Ebony Bones / Efterklang / Fleet Foxes / Florence & The Machine / Free Peace / Friendly Fires / Frightened Rabbit / Fujiya & Miyagi / Future Sound Of London / Golden Silvers / Goldie Lookin Chain / Goodbye Stereo / Heartbreak / Hockey / Introducing / It Hugs Back / Joe Gideon & Shark / Kid Carpet / Kitty, Daisy & Lewis / Klaxons / Kraftwerk / Little Boots / Massive Attack / Metronomy / MGMT / Michael Nyman / Napoleon 111rd / Orkestra Del Sol / Passion Pit /  Peggy Sue / Pivot / Pole / Seasick Steve /  Sportsday Megaphone / Squarepusher / The Beat / The Cuban Brothers / The Ghost / VV Brown

DJs / MCs
A1 Bassline / Alix Perez / Annie Mac Presents / Beardyman / Coley (Luv Jam) / Derrick Carter / Diplo Presents Mad Decent Soundsystem – Boy 8 Bit, Buraka Som Sistema, Major Lazer,  Rusko/ DJ Derek / DJ Yoda / Fabio & Grooverider / Fake Blood / Freemasons / Fear of Theydon / Friction / Gilles Peterson / Huw Stephens / Johnno (Bugged Out) / Krysko / Monsters At Work DJs / Raffertie / Rob da Bank / Sombrero Sound System / Skream / Tayo / Zane Lowe