The Ting Tings seemed to appear from nowhere at the beginning of last year. Although both members, Jules De Martino and Katie White, had been in other groups for years, The Ting Tings was the first to become really big. They quickly built a sizable fan base thanks to their cross genre appeal, with both clubbers and Indie fans falling for their addictive songs.

Their debut album, We Started Nothing, is astoundingly good, full of catchy tunes perfect for playing on a hot summer’s day. It includes the five singles released which charted, including That’s Not My Name which reached number one in the British singles chart. And now, they’re preparing to record their as-yet-untitled second album.

The Manchester duo recently told BBC Newsbeat of their plans, which see the group going to Germany to try out new material and set the tone for the new record.

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Modern British music has been popular and successful since the UK headed the Rock’n'Roll revolution in the 1950s and 1960s. Since then it has enjoyed a fantastic half-century, providing some of the greatest artists the music world has ever seen.

Like every other country, styles and tastes in music have changed in the UK massively over the last 50 years and the Brits have managed to change with the trends of the day. Consequently, this little island has musicians and artists providing all sorts of genres.

But which genre of music do Brits excel at? Thankfully, the readers of Brit Music Scene have had a good crack at answering that conundrum. Variety isn’t lacking in this country but we do definitely focus on certain types of music.

The question we asked and the results of the poll are revealed below.

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It still amazes me that there are some people in the world who haven’t heard of Muse. Even worse, there are some who have heard of them but rather than react with joy that they’ve discovered a truly great band simply don’t get them or, shock horror, don’t like them. I suppose there is no accounting for taste.

Muse are, for me, the greatest British band around right now. Each album is a carefully constructed opus magnum which cuts across genres and leaves everyone who listens ecstatic at the music they’ve just heard.

Muse released their last studio album, Black Holes and Revelations, back in 2006, and have been extensively touring ever since. But they’ve also spent the last year beavering away on the follow-up.

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Radiohead are, without doubt, one of the biggest groups to have emerged from the UK ever. They are unique in being a modern-day British band just as loved in the Stated as they are in their native country.

When the band released In Rainbows in 2007 they also became great innovators, being one of the first artists to try and use the power of the Internet rather than try and rally against the new ways of distributing music.

Now, Radiohead are well on the way to releasing their next album, the eagerly-awaited follow-up to In Rainbows. Back in September, Ed O’Brien revealed that many of the songs for the next release had already been written, and fellow band member Colin Greenwood has now revealed the band are in the studio recording new material.

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The Libertines, comprising Pete Doherty, Carl Barat, Gary Powell, and John Hassall were the darlings of the new indie/garage rock movement of the late 90s, early 00s. And then it all came to a premature and abrupt halt in 2004 when Pete Doherty was sacked and the band split up without their controversial front man.

Ever since then, despite each of the members of the group going onto other projects, there has been a huge groundswell of demand for a Libertines reunion. Doherty seemed keen, Barat was unsure, while Powell and Hassall decided silence was the best policy.

Barat and Doherty have played together on stage since then but The Libertines seemed like a thing of the past, history. Except that three quarters of the band, Doherty, Barat, and Powell unexpectedly reunited for one night only on Saturday, May 16.

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Maximo Park remain one of my favorite British bands of recent years. More than Bloc Party, The Futureheads, or even Art Brut, here is a group that lives up to the hype time and again, and manages to deliver the goods on a consistent basis.

Maximo Park are preparing to release their new album, Quicken The Heart, due out next Monday (May 11). The first single, The Kids Are Sick Again, was released today and gives a great impression of what to expect from the LP.

I’m eagerly awaiting the new album but lead singer Paul Smith recently told The Daily Star about his worries for the release. The making of Quicken The Heart was apparently a little tricky, with different members of the group wanting to head in different directions.

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Art Brut are one of those bands that remain an obscure secret to many people. When I told friends I was going to the band’s gig at Manchester Academy 3 tonight (April 27) I was mostly met with shrugs of the shoulders and the arching of eyebrows.

Once you hear of Art Brut and listen to a few of their tunes, they then become one of those bands you either love or hate - there’s no middle-ground whatsoever. Luckily, for someone who paid to go and see them play live, I’m in the former camp.

I first heard of Art Brut way back in 2004 when Formed a Band was released and the group were mentioned in the NME. But it wasn’t until I saw them support Maximo Park in 2007 that I fell in love with them. And this from a man who usually hates support acts.

Since then, Art Brut have released two further albums to follow up their debut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll. I reviewed It’s a Bit Complicated in the early days of Brit Music Scene and plan to review new album, Art Brut vs. Satan, soon.

Tonight saw them play Manchester Academy 3 as part of their current UK tour. This was the first time I’d seen them as the main band and they did not disappoint. They played a raucous 70-minute set which included many gems from their back catalog as well as many from Art Brut vs. Satan.

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Calvin Harris is the Scottish dance artist come record producer who doesn’t seem to be able to put a foot wrong. He burst onto the scene with Acceptable In The 80s and The Girls, joint hits which combined styles superbly.

After a couple of less-well received singles he took a break before coming back with Dance Wiv Me, a collaboration with Dizzee Rascal which he wrote and produced. It was a huge hit in the UK and once again mixed different genres; this time dance, grime, and R&B.

After another short break Calvin Harris is back, on his own again but no less successful for it. The single being reviewed today, I’m Not Alone, has already been out a few weeks and has spent two of those weeks at number one in the UK Singles Chart.

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It took me a while to warm to The Ting Tings but they are now one of my favorite new British groups. Their debut album, We Started Nothing, is a collection of ten of the most catchy and feel-good songs ever written.

Not content with already having had massive hits with That’s Not My Name, Shut Up and Let Me Go, and Great DJ, The Ting Tings are releasing a final single from the album. We Walk is released today.

The We Walk music video and review is after the cut…

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It’s been a long time coming but at last Blur are back, having officially reformed with all four original members. Okay, so it isn’t like The Beatles reforming (which they’d have a job doing now anyway) but it’s still a brilliant moment for British music and one I want to celebrate.

Talk of a Blur reunion began last October when the four original members met up for lunch and a bit of a catch-up. But that was it, nothing else happened for almost a year before the petty squabbling seemed to raise its ugly head once again. Damon Albarn was reported to have said “Blur is over,” and Graham Coxon responded with a lengthy rant.

By November, the chances of a reunion were looking better, with Albarn stating how it was very possible he’d rejoin the group once again. By the end of November the band were rehearsing with each other as a four piece again for the first time since 2000, but no further plans were announced.

Now, on December 9, 2008, Blur are officially back. Damaon Albarn and Graham Coxon have apparently patched up the differences that lead to the split in the first place, and Alex James and Dave Rowntree are also along for the ride.

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