Hello all and welcome back! This week has truly flown by and for those of us in the UK, there is certainly a sense of positivity starting to eek its way back into our lives. The sun is coming out again and the roadmap is out so we say, roll on the Summer!
Indeed, one of the biggest stories of the week has of course been the potential of a Summer 2021 Festival season. Following he optimistic roadmap outlined by the PM on Monday, Reading and Leeds Festival organisers have been given the go ahead for the August Bank Holiday weekend.
This came with the wonderful news that concert halls, music venues and stadiums could reopen from May at the earliest, with nightclubs scheduled to open a month later. If you’ve missed live music nearly as much as we have, you’ll agree with us when we say that Summer is shaping up to be a belter!
This week has been a bittersweet one for fans of the French electronic-duo Daft Punk who have called it quits after 28 years in the industry. The duo revealed their decision in a video called Epilogue, that went viral earlier this week. The names of Parisian artists Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter are probably unknown to most, for Daft Punk were world renowned for their mystique and iconic displays of anonymity, performing fully masked on stages across the world. This playlist of bangers alone proves why they have been canonised as one of the most influential electronic acts of recent times:
Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama have launched a new podcast titled Renegades: Born In The USA. This Spotify original podcast features these two unlikely confidants as they share candid conversations about growing up as outsiders, detailing their musical influences and growing up to the sound of the 70s, as well as their experiences with race and racism in America. The third episode is due to be released on Monday 1st March!
The Ivor Academy have achieved gender balance! Just a couple weeks on from our exclusive interview with ex-Ivors Academy CEO and The F List founder, Vick Bain, we were delighted to hear that for the first time in its history, this week Ivors achieved equal gender representation on both its Academy and Trust Board. This is an important step forward for one of the biggest organisations in the industry, built to principally support and empower young music creators across the UK. Its trustees include professionals from all aspects of the music and technology industries, plus politicians and equality and diversity consultants.
And now for some gloriously camp, totally bonkers light relief….this week, the insanely catchy song UK Hun, first performed by the United KingDolls on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK last week, has cracked the Official Charts Top 40, coming in at number 27! Many fans have been streaming and downloading the track, with many claiming not to be able to get the chorus out of their heads!
Take a look at some of our favourite Twitter memes:
Words by Hermione Kellow and Pia Scattergood
Photo © Apocalypse Music
