Pop Music - Pet Shop Boys have been confirmed as the main support for Take That's record-breaking summer Progress tour. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe will join the reformed boy band for the series of gigs starting on 27 May in Sunderland. Pet Shop Boys said, "We look forward to every night being a huge celebration of pop music." In a statement Robbie Williams said he was a "huge" fan of the band adding, "for me it will be an absolute joy to be able to watch them every night".
Classical News - Operatic quartet Il Divo are to receive an honorary accolade recognising them as 'artists of the decade at the Classic Brit awards next month. The newly created honour will reward them for sales of 25malbums around the world. They will also perform at the Classic Brits ceremony - formerly known as the Classical Brits - at London's Royal Albert Hall on 12 May. The group were created by Simon Cowell and released their debut album in 2004. Record label body the BPI, which organises the ceremony, said the award recognised "the massive impact that Il Divo have made worldwide on the ever-changing public face of classical music".
Return of The Wall - Roger Waters has confirmed he is likely to be joined on stage by former Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour on his forthcoming tour of The Wall - but only for one gig. Waters told Sky News the tour may be the last time he ever does anything on this scale. The set comprises a 240ft wide and 35ft tall wall, which is broken down during the course of the night and combines an evening of music with state of the art staging, lighting and sound. "Constructing something like this indoors - I'll probably never do anything this big again, the technology of projection we've used in this show is breathtaking," he said.
(Jim Evans)
(5 April 2011)
