Songwriting UK — Winter 2017

(Axel Boer) #1

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HE REMARKABLE longevity of the
Now That’s What I Call Music albums is
one of the surprise success stories of
the digital age and it’s one that doesn’t show
any signs of coming to an end.
Combing figures from both Apple Music
and the iTunes download store, it has been
revealed that Apple’s ten biggest albums of
2017 include four releases from the series. Now
95 proved to be the most popular, coming in at
No 3 in the year-end chart.
Though Ed Sheeran’s Divide and Rag ‘n’
Bone Man’s Human bagged the top two slots
respectively, the presence of Now 95, Now 96,
Now 97 and Now That’s What I Call Christmas in
the list mean that it’s been another spectacular
year for the brand whose first release came in
1983 and contained songs by Phil Collins, Mike
Oldfield and Bonnie Tyler.

NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL A GOOD YEAR


NEWS


INAUGURAL HIGH NOTE MUSIC PRIZE


The United Nation to honour a recording artist with the award


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HE UNITED NATIONS will be
awarding their inaugural High Note
Music Prize in 2018. The organisation’s
High Commissioner for Human Rights will be
handing the accolade to a recording artist in
recognition of their outstanding contributions
to humanity as well as the promotion of human
rights through music and it will be presented
during the High Note Honors Concert in
London.
The award is part of the High Note Poject,
a new global social justice intitiative launched

by producer David Clark. In a statement
to Billboard, Laurent Sauveur, director of
external affairs for the Office of the UN High
Comissioner for Human Rights said “Music is
also a force to be reckoned with, and musicians
have the power to mobilize. We are proud to
help launch The High Note Project and High
Note Music Prize in an effort to galvanize
global awareness of the importance of human
rights, and at the same time honor artists who
passionately use their work to promote and
protect the rights of others.”

The compilation series dominated Apple in 2017


BRITROCK ON TOUR


NEW YORK DOCUMENTARY


Reef, Terrorvision and The
Wildhearts to hit the road

Meet Me In The Bathroom to
be turned into TV series

FANS OF anthemic British rock music from
the 90s can rejoice with the announcement
of the ‘Britrock Must Be Destroyed’ tour


  • featuring Reef, The Wildhearts and
    Terrorvision.
    Looking ahead to the shows, The
    Wildhearts’ frontman Ginger says, “We are
    honoured to be a part of this legendary tour.
    Mainly because it means that we’re still alive,
    but also because it gives us a chance to prove
    that we were always the best band of this
    whole bunch.”
    Confirmed dates are: Manchester 4 May,
    Birmingham 5 May, London 6 May, Glasgow
    19 May, Newcastle 20 May, Leeds 24 May,
    Bristol 25 May and Portsmouth 26 May.


LIZZY GOODMAN’S Meet Me In The
Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock & Roll in NYC
2001-2011 was one of 2017’s most illuminating
reads, shedding a light on the days that bands
like The Strokes ruled both the Big Apple and
the indie landscape.
Now comes news that the book is to
be adapted into a four-part documentary;
combining first-hand testimony with archive
footage. Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern,
the duo behind the 2010 Blur doc No Distance
Left To Run are set to direct the series.

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