Central Park Gears Up For Summer
The schedule of this year's Central Park Summerstage?a series of free concerts put on in the Rumsey Playfield area of New York's largest park?has been announced, with artists including Television and Neko Case slated to take stage. In addition to these free shows, at least two pay-for-admission benefit concerts will take place in the Playfield: Joss Stone, Common and Ryan Shaw will open the series June 8 and the Decemberists will perform July 16 alongside Grizzly Bear. As it develops, more information will become available on the Summerstage website. |
John Cooper Clarke joins tributes to Tony Wilson
Poet John Cooper Clarke has paid his tribute to Tony Wilson who died on Friday (August 10).
The Factory Records legend passed away in Manchester after battling kidney cancer, and the poet - who Wilson was a big supporter of - admitted he was shocked by his friend's death.
"It's a real tragedy. I was talking to him a couple of months ago, and he seemed to think he was gong to be back on his feet pretty soon. I told him 'Not to worry, Tony. My dad had it, you can beat it'," Cooper Clarke told NME.COM.
"I honestly can't think of a bad thing to say about him," added the wordsmith who toured with many punk bands in the late 1970s as well as recently collaborated with Arctic Monkeys. "He gave me my first television gig, actually. On his Granada show. He came out to see The Buzzcocks, and I was third on the bill, and ended up getting chucked out of the venue for something or other, but he noticed me and said 'No, give him a chance'. It really gave me a leg up - in those days it was really hard to get on TV, and it tripled my audiences overnight."
Cooper Clarke added that support for new talent was typical of Wilson.
"He was very into giving things a chance. He always had the next big thing in his sights. Just the other week he was talking to me about Enter Shikari, how amazing they were, how they were the new Sex Pistols. He would walk miles to see a new band if he had to," he explained. "He was also something of a svengali to Joy Division. I remember them when they were called Warsaw, and they were dreadful, but he said: 'No, change your name to Joy Division, play it like this'. He knew what he was doing - he was very intuitive." |
Secret Machines set for secret New York show
The Secret Machines will play a 'secret' show in New York tonight (May 17).
The band are in the city to perform as part of the David Bowie-curated Highline Festival, with their official performance happening at the Highline Ballroom on Saturday (May 19).
Tonight's performance will take place at The Annex on the Lower East Side.
While the Highline Ballroom show is sold out, some tickets are still available for tonight's intimate show at Ticketweb. |