Noel Gallagher was assaulted by a supposed fan at the V Festival at Toronto Island Park, Canada last year. Midway through the band’s set, Sullivan stormed the stage and pushed Noel roughly from behind. Gallagher fell awkwardly onto his monitor speakers. Oasis were forced to cancel a number of gigs as a result.

According to the Toronto Sun, Sullivan’s attacker has now pleaded guilty to the charges. Crown attorney Ruth Neilson read an agreed statement of facts to Justice Richard Schneider in the Ontario Court of Justice which stated:

“Sullivan managed to make his way up to the main stage area, run past the electrical cords set up along the stage, pass the drum kit and lunge toward Noel Gallagher, shoving him violently from behind with great force.”

“Sullivan almost made it to Liam Gallagher, but was tackled by security and was taken to the ground on stage. He was held backstage for police to attend. Police report Sullivan was resisting, struggling and screaming as he was arrested. Officers tried to calm him down.”

The 48-year-old Sullivan will be sentenced on Feb. 5, 2010. And while the 14 years in jail that was once predicted seems unlikely (and a little harsh in hindsight) I’d still hope Noel’s attacker is made an example of. At least he won’t be able to do the same again at an Oasis gig because the band split up earlier this year.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

That doesn’t, however, mean that she has suddenly stopped caring about the subject. Although she does seem a little mixed up with her views on how her music is shared over the Internet and burned on to pirate CDs.

According to NME, in a recent interview on radio station Key 103, Allen claimed:

“If someone comes up with a burnt copy of my CD and offers it to you for £4 I haven’t a problem with that as long as the person buying it places some kind of value on my music.”

So, for Lily Allen at least, it isn’t about people stealing money from her when they share her music but turning her music from something with value into a devalued commodity. Which kind of makes sense in one way but not in others.

Is Allen really that much happier to see others making money from her hard work than to see her music being shared openly and freely? It’s a strange opinion to hold and at odds from what she was saying on her blog just a few months ago.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

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Glastonbury was the big winner, with organizer Michael Eavis taking home the award for ‘Best Major Festival’ and seeing Blur carry of the prize for ‘Best Headline Performance’ for their Glastonbury set. Bestival and Beach Break Live also racked up multiple wins at the ceremony held at London’s O2 Arena last night (Nov. 19).

UK Festival Awards Winners (Courtesy of NME)

Best Headline Performance: Blur, Glastonbury
Best Major Festival: Glastonbury
Anthem of The Summer: Kings of Leon, ‘Sex On Fire’
Festival Fitty Award: Damon Albarn, Lily Allen
Best Breakthrough Act: Florence & The Machine
Best Family Festival: Camp Bestival
Best Toilets: T in the Park
The Greener Festival Award: Croissant Neuf Summer Party
Best Metropolitan Festival: Gaymers Camden Crawl
Best New Festival: Sonisphere
The Grass Roots Festival Award: Leefest
Virtual Festivals’ Critics Choice Award: La Casa Azul
Best Brand Activation Award: The Schuh Welly Exchange
Best Overseas Festival: Oxegen
Best Dance Event: Creamfields
Promoter of the Year: Beach Break Live
Best Line-Up: Lounge on the Farm
Best Small Festival: Beach Break Live
Best Medium Festival: Bestival
Lifetime Achievement Award: Katrina Larkin

[Photo Source: Newscom]

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I Dreamed A Dream is being released on Nov. 23 but has already outsold all-comers. The online retailer Amazon has announced that Susan Boyle has broken the record for the largest number of global CD pre-orders.

According to Digital Spy, spokesman Julian Monaghan said:

“Just eight months ago, no-one was aware of the talents of Susan Boyle. Now, she has generated more Amazon pre-order CD sales globally than any other artist. That is an incredible achievement and is testament to the fact that she has captured the hearts of people all over Britain, America and the rest of the world.”

I must admit I’m not actually that big a fan. I, like everyone else, was blown away by Boyle’s first audition on the show because the voice was so unexpected. But in the end I’d got used to it and didn’t actually rate her. And I’m glad Diversity won the show.

However, you can’t take anything away from Boyle as she’s making her talent go as far as it possibly can and is sure to become a millionaire within the next few months. And good luck to her. It’s just that I won’t be one of the people buying her album.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

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Rumors of the original Sugababes line-up reforming first appeared in September before being brought up again at the beginning of November, with a gossip blog reporting that Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena, and Keisha Buchanan were joining forces once again.

And now the rumors have resurfaced, despite the girls having denied the earlier ones. The Sun newspaper is claiming that the reunion is gathering pace, with PR guru Claire Powell now on board to ensure the project is a success. This is the woman who turned Jordan into Katie Price so she clearly knows what she’s doing.

A record label source reportedly said:

“The comeback is gathering momentum. Mutya had a lot of convincing to do to get the girls around the table to sort things out. That happened last week and they are all game to give it a go.”

“The other girls are delighted to be back in touch. They are bang up for it with the new management team. They are now looking for a record deal and have started planning for a big launch next year.”

This could be true or it could be absolute hokum. It should be noted that The Sun claimed that the Led Zeppelin reunion was back on when it clearly wasn’t.

Part of me wants to see this happen; it would be nice to see the original line-up back together and set up an almighty bitch fight in the charts next year between the original Sugababes and the New Sugababes. But another part of me thinks it could only end in tears. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if anything official is announced.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

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The song was debuted on this week’s The X Factor, with all 12 live finalists returning to perform the song which is being released to raise money for Great Ormond Street children’s hospital. It’s surely destined to reach number one in the British music charts and raise a ton of money.

Music video and review after the cut.

The cover is actually very nicely done. Sure, it follows the usual Simon Cowell pattern by being over-produced and having all the life and soul of the song sucked out of it, but it’s still a good version of an average song.

The video is also very standard fare, with The X Factor finalists shown standing like some over-aged school choir and clips designed to tug on the heart strings inserted at regular intervals.

I have two slight problems with this song. 1. The song is retailing for £3.98 yet only £1 from each sale is being promised for the charity. Where’s the rest of it going? 2. The choice of a Michael Jackson song to raise money for a children’s charity is a little bizarre considering the allegations that blighted the man’s career.

Putting those two issues aside, You Are Not Alone by The X Factor Finalists is a decent pop song. It will sell millions of copies and raise a lot of money for a good cause. And that’s a brilliant thing at the end of the day.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

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Lloyd Daniels and Jamie Archer found themselves in the bottom two this week. Each of the judges chose their favorite and it went to deadlock yet again. This is becoming standard now, and it makes having 4 judges rather than 3 appear to be a mistake. In the end, Jamie Archer, AKA Afroboy, lost out in the public vote.

The best part of the show was actually Jedward’s performance. Not because they blew everyone away with their vocals but because Calvin Harris invaded the stage while wearing a pineapple on his head. Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh may not have liked it but I certainly did. In fact, I thought it was genius.

Jamie Archer

Started poorly but ended up making the song his own. A little over-reliant on the backing vocals to carry him through. Ended up good but not great. Possibly deserved to go as he was a one-trick pony.

Lloyd Daniels

Totally unimpressive yet again. However, this was his best performance so far, which probably saved him. Still looks unsure of himself and uncomfortable on stage. The song actually suited his voice well.

Olly Murs

Started terribly but improved through the course of the song. What was the stupid jig all about? The novelty dancing is out of hand. Concentrated too much on moving and not enough on vocals. Becoming smug and arrogant, even more so than Danyl.

Joe McElderry

A difficult song handled superbly. A great vocalist who just needs a little more life in him to truly compete. If he can up the personality to match the singing then in with a shout of winning.

John and Edward

One of them nearly fell over on their way out and that set the tone for another laughable performance. Ruined the song by breaking into Vanilla Ice. They can’t sing, can’t rap, and can’t dance. Hell, they even have trouble walking in a straight line.

Stacey Solomon

I’m starting to get Stacey. Finally. I still don’t like the way she talks, which strikes me as a little false, but her singing speaks for itself. A little off-key to start with but soon improved. Bad song choice but made the best of it.

Danyl Johnson

Missed the first notes then hit form. A little weak for the song but could be the same problem of underplaying it again to avoid being branded arrogant. Still my favorite singer in the contest and the one most likely to have a career.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

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This week’s singles chart has seen a bit of an upset. The Black Eyed Peas managed to jump from number three to number one with Meet Me Halfway, keeping Leona Lewis off the top spot. I’m guessing Simon Cowell won’t be mentioning this on The X Factor. Last week’s number one JLS dropped to number three and Cheryl Cole dropped to four. N-Dubz entered at five and the new-look Sugababes entered at eight with About A Girl.

This week’s albums chart also saw something of an upset with JLS beating the returning Robbie Williams to number one. The former (and maybe future) Take That star has to settle for number two. Snow Patrol’s latest Up To Now entered at number three while Cheryl Cole saw a huge drop-off from number one to seven. The brilliant Biffy Clyro entered at number eight with Only Revolutions.

Top 10 UK Singles

1. (3) Black Eyed Peas: ‘Meet Me Halfway’
2. (-) Leona Lewis: ‘Happy’
3. (1) JLS: ‘Everybody In Love’
4. (2) Cheryl Cole: ‘Fight For This Love’
5. (-) N-Dubz: ‘I Need You’
6. (6) Ke$ha: ‘Tik Tok’
7. (-) Britney Spears: ‘3′
8. (-) Sugababes: ‘About A Girl
9. (4) Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne: ‘Down’
10. (5) Alexandra Burke ft. Flo Rida: ‘Bad Boys’

Top 10 UK Albums

1. (-) JLS: ‘JLS’
2. (-) Robbie Williams: ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’
3. (-) Snow Patrol: ‘Up To Now’
4. (5) Soldiers: ‘Coming Home’
5. (10) Black Eyed Peas: ‘The E.N.D.’
6. (3) Michael Bublé: ‘Crazy Love’
7. (1) Cheryl Cole: ‘3 Words’
8. (-) Biffy Clyro: ‘Only Revolutions’
9. (4) Foo Fighters: ‘Greatest Hits’
10. (-) Rod Stewart: ‘Soulbook’

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

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It took a while for Liam Gallagher to work out exactly what he wanted to do. In fact, the only thing he seemed clear on was his love for the British honey bee.

He then revealed that he had no interest in a solo career, instead aiming to join or start a new band. And now, according to NME, Liam has detailed his plans while also talking about what went on with Noel at the end of their professional partnership. He told Italian station Radio DeeJay:

“I’ll be back doing that [playing live] within a couple of months. I’ve just done a tour, I always miss singing songs. I miss the people. We’re sort of doing things at the moment. Not Oasis, Oasis is done. Everyone except for Noel.”

“To be quite honest, I think our kid [Noel Gallagher] wanted out. But you’ll have to ask him when he comes in and does his little solo thing. We had an argument – but we’ve had bigger ones, about more important people. Basically, I think he wanted out, wanted something different, but he hadn’t got the bo***cks to tell the band or the fans.”

Back to playing live in a couple of months? That sounds intriguing. Liam either plans to forge a new band very quickly or is going to guest with other bands over the next few months. Both of which sound good to me.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

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And now, Patrick Wolf has put the boot in as well. He may not be as big a name as Sting but his opinion still counts, especially as he is the complete opposite from the contestants on the show: him being alternative and home-grown; the contestants being manufactured.

He told Digital Spy:

“I do watch The X Factor. It’s like watching the Royal Variety show or something, I don’t take it seriously as music, it’s light entertainment. There’s no music TV shows apart from … Jools Holland.”

“The only place you can experience music on a mass level seems to be X Factor. If there were more platforms on TV then there would be more ways of having access to artists.”

“But it’s entertainment, it’s not music. It’s like You’ve Been Framed or something – it’s got nothing to do with music at all. Generations are going to think that that is what the music industry is about, but it’s not. It’s like a version of Benny Hill or something. It’s not music.”

Wolf has hit the nail on the head. The X Factor is pure entertainment, but it’s television and not true to the music industry. As Sting suggested, real talent happens naturally, developing organically in pubs and clubs and not being foisted on the public by Simon Cowell and his cronies.

I love The X Factor but apart from a select few gems, most of the contestants aren’t going to have long or sparkling careers.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

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