If you’re not British and have never heard of Jedward before then prepare to bring your dinner up. The novelty act of this year’s The X Factor have released a single. It’s a mash-up of Queen and David Bowie’s Under Pressure, and Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby. And it’s terrible. Unsurprisingly.

We’ve had Darius, we’ve had the Cheeky Girls, and now we have Jedward. All acts from a reality TV show who have defied belief in getting as far as they do on the show before releasing a few pointless and utterly crap records after they were finally booted off.

This isn’t the official video for Jedward’s Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby) because the record companies are idiots and won’t allow embedding. So I’ve had to post a live performance of the track from GMTV instead. But no matter, as if anything it shows up the twin turds for their lack of talent even more.

Read More – Jedward – ‘Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)’ Single Review

The UK music charts may mean less now than they used to but they’re still an indicator of what’s hot on the popular British music scene right now. This week’s Top 10 singles and Top 10 albums are listed below.

This week’s singles chart has seen Owl City hold off the challenge of Jedward – that awful twin beast of baloney from The X Factor – for the number one spot. The fact that Jedward can’t even make number one with help from Vanilla Ice doesn’t bode well for their future career. Timbaland and Katy Perry jumped 14 places to number three with If We Ever Meet Again, while the rest of the charts pretty much stayed as was.

This week’s albums chart has seen Paolo ‘I wish I was black’ Nutini knocked off the top spot by Alica Keys. I suddenly adore the woman. Corinne Baily Rae entered straight in at number five with second album The Sea, which isn’t bad considering the extended break she’s taken from music. Ke$ha’s Animal and Pete Andre’s Unconditional Love Songs are both new entries in the top ten.

Read More – UK Music Charts – Feb. 7 – Owl City & Alicia Keys

It looks as though Liam Gallagher is so eager to move on from Oasis that not only is he definitely dropping the name, he’s even willing to completely destroy the sanctity of it by suggesting it was crap anyway. Oh, how we love you, Liam.

Oasis split last year, with the Gallagher brothers finally admitting they hate each other to the point they cannot work together a moment longer. Noel is preparing to release a solo album, while Liam has forged a new band out of the ashes of Oasis.

According to Digital Spy, Liam was asked by U.K. radio station XFM whether the new band will be called Oasis, and, in his usual eloquent style, he replied:

“No, it’s not Oasis, that was a shit name anyway. I’m glad to see the back of it.”

“There’s a name that we’re digging at the moment, but we’re going to get on with the music and see how it goes. If we haven’t got a better one by then, we’ll go with the one we’re into.”

That’s it Liam, dump on the memory of Oasis, the band you and your brother turned from Manchester scallies into one of the best rock bands in the world. That doesn’t come across as bitter or petty in the slightest.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

After the ludicrous number of flags being flown at last year’s big music festivals a debate has raged as to whether they should be banned or not. Reading and Leeds banned flags last year, and Download has followed suit this year. Will Glastonbury join them?

A couple of flags being waved here and there in a festival crowd in fine. It’s manageable and doesn’t ruin the enjoyment of people watching from further back or watching on TV from their comfort of their own homes.

However, it’s got silly over the past couple of years, with more and more flags of increasing size plaguing all the main British music festivals. And in my opinion they should be banned.

Read More – Glastonbury Festival Asks Fans Opinions On Flag Banning

Things have been a little quiet on the Amy Winehouse front of late. Sure, she’s still getting drunk and making a fool of herself regularly, and there’s the whole on/off relationship mess with Blake Fielder-Civil, but she’s out of the limelight in terms of music. Mainly because she hasn’t released anything for over three years now.

Back To Black was released in October 2006 and did fantastically well. It turned Winehouse into a huge star around the world, but also led to the party lifestyle which has left her skinny and scarred.

Winehouse has been working on her new album for well over a year now. At least in fits and starts. The problem seems to be her lack of self-control and willingness to just get on with it. There may also be an element of worry that it can’t possibly live up to Back To Black.

Read More – Amy Winehouse Finishing New Album Off In Jamaica

Paul McCartney is a man who incites very different reactions in people. You either love him or you hate him. Or like me, you respect him for being a former Beatle but don’t like his output since then or particularly like him as a man. So I wonder what his son James is like?

We’ll soon get to find out as James McCartney is about to embark on his first full tour as a singer songwriter. He played a number of secret gigs late last year under the guise of Light. But he’s now truly revealing himself.

Read More – Paul McCartney’s Son James Embarking On UK Tour

The Who are absolute legends. Without them there wouldn’t have been half the rock bands there has been over the past three decades. They started trends and they created classic albums, one of which is Quadrophenia, which the band are set to play in full at a forthcoming gig.

Quadrophenia is a quality film and an even better album. And The Who are preparing to play it in full for their Royal Albert Hall gig on March 30 in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Read More – The Who To Play Quadrophenia Album In Full For TCT Gig

Lily Allen’s days of being a “neo-luddite” look to be over as she has returned to Twitter. So why the four month break in the first place? Did she just fancy a break from the endless publicity and press attention or is there more to it than that?

Lily Allen had a strange second half of 2009. She threw her hat into the ring as being against file-sharing, setting up a blog to explore the issues surrounding it. And then she quit the blog, quit Twitter, MySpace, and her BlackBerry, and threatened to quit music.

Her last tweet from September read, “I am a neo-luddite, goodbye.” But she’s now back on the micro-blogging social network, returning with the short and sweet, “hello, I’m back.”

Read More – Lily Allen Back On Twitter – Has “Exciting Stuff To Share”

As someone who covers the U.K. music charts every Sunday, I’m intrigued to hear that the midweek placings are to be revealed to the public for the first time from later this year. They’ve always been available to the music industry, but now the public will get to hear them too.

There’s no doubt the music charts mean less now than they used to. The way we consume and listen to music has changed, with file-sharing and streaming services muddying the waters considerably. But the charts are still the best indication of what’s popular.

Read More – Midweek Charts To Be Officially Announced On Radio 1

The UK music charts may mean less now than they used to but they’re still an indicator of what’s hot on the popular British music scene right now. This week’s Top 10 singles and Top 10 albums are listed below.

This week’s U.K. singles chart sees Owl City retain the number one spot with Fireflies, while Iyaz and the cast of Glee swap places in two and three. There are still two versions of Don’t Stop Believin’ hanging around in the top 10 (don’t do it, Joe). Alica Keys and Jay-Z are the big climbers, with Empire State Of Mind (Part II) and Young Forever respectively climbing into the top 10.

This week’s U.K. albums chart has a deja vu vibe about it, with Paolo Nutini somehow climbing back to the top spot. I’m starting to doubt my fellow Brits’ taste in music. This concern is backed by the fact the soundtrack to Alvin & The Chipmunks 2 – The Squeakquel is sitting at number six. Biffy Clyro redress the balance at number nine, while Mumford and Sons further augment my restored faith.

Read More – UK Music Charts – Jan. 31 – Owl City, Paolo Nutini… Again