There’s a stereotype that all Scots are brash, vocal misanthropes who will call a spade a spade even if it’s a trowel. And Alan McGee is unfortunately doing nothing to change that stereotype.

OK, so I’m quite opinionated, something which has cost me many friends over the years, and on Brit Music Scene I’ve even criticized some artists for their musical output or life choices. U2, mainly, but still, I have nothing on Mr. McGee.

British music has been widely recognized and loved around the world since the early 1950s. And sixty years on, each successive decade has proved to be a beast of its own, unique making. The British Music Experience charts these six decades of music in an interactive and entertaining way.

The British Music Experience is a permanent exhibition at the O2 in London. It has made a home in the O2 Bubble, just one small part of the huge complex formerly known as the Millennium Dome, which now has the O2 Arena at its heart.
The British Music Experience opened in March 2009, …read more

What is it about Coldplay that seems to have convinced so many people they’ve stolen their songs. Either Coldplay and Chris Martin are plagiarizing thieves or there are a lot of money-grabbing opportunists with delusions of grandeur out there.

December 2008 saw guitar god Joe Satriani accuse Coldplay of plagiarism over Viva La Vida, which allegedly bears an uncanny resemblance to If I Could Fly. The case was eventually dismissed from court, although an out-of-court settlement was probably involved.
Cat Stevens then also implied Viva La Vida ripped off one of his songs, this being Foreigner Suite.

Some album covers are instantly forgettable, and only there to liven up an otherwise boring piece of plastic. But some go beyond their intent, and become art that inspires people and sums up periods in their life. And the Royal Mail are now celebrating these album covers with a new collection of stamps.

The album covers being featured in the Classic Album Covers series of stamps are:

Blur – ‘Parklife’
Coldplay – ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’
David Bowie – ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’
Led Zeppelin – ‘IV’
Mike Oldfield – ‘Tubular Bells’
New Order – ‘Power, …read more

It’s now 2010, the start of a new year and a new decade. So now is a fitting time to look back at the noughties, the decade that gave us a lot of brilliant new music. But what were the biggest selling albums of the decade that ran from 2000 to 2009?

The Official Charts Company compiles the UK charts every week based on sales. And, according to NME, it recently released details of the Top 10 biggest selling albums of the noughties, which are as follows:-
The Top 10 Albums Of The Noughties
1. James Blunt – ‘Back To Bedlam’
2. Dido – …read more

They may not get played on the radio any more, and they may not have had a hit record for 20 years or so, but Status Quo have been named the hardest working band in the British music scene for 2009. Fellow oldie Cliff Richard came second. I thought stamina was meant to fade with age.

How do you judge how big and successful an artist is these days? Is it purely down to record sales, even though these can be manipulated by a number of factors (one of which has an X in front of it). Or is there more …read more

Rather than being known as Johnny Rotten, or a former Sex Pistol, or punk royalty, maybe John Lydon should come to be known as ‘Rent-a-quote’ from now on. It seems that the man is always ready with a barbed comment when asked a question by a journalist or reporter.
His latest saw him hating on Coldplay and Radiohead.

According to The Sun, Lydon recently commented:
“Coldplay and Radiohead bug the hell out of me because it’s so soulless. It just seems pointless. It’s nice, but it’s tosh. They don’t care about you. They care about lining their coffers. There’s nothing about heart and …read more

Coldplay are reportedly already working on their next album, and it could be released as early as next year. They may have only just finished their huge world tour in support of Viva La Vida in September but the band almost immediately went back to work. But it could be a different sound this time around.

According to The Sun, Coldplay have moved into a rundown church in North London to work on their new album. Brian Eno, who produced Viva La Vida, is back, and all four band members are said to have thrown themselves into the music.

U2 have been confirmed to be headlining Glastonbury 2010. It will be the Irish band’s first appearance at the long-running festival. Although they’ve been rumored to appear multiple times through the years they’ve never actually made the final bill. Muse, David Bowie, Coldplay, and The Rolling Stones are rumored to be joining them on the bill.

Speaking on the event’s official website, Glastonburyfestivals.co.uk, organizer Michael Eavis said:
“I promised the best possible line-up for the show next year and the confirmation that U2 will play their first ever Glastonbury – and their first major festival gig since the early 1980s – is …read more

If you haven’t yet experienced Muse live then you are missing out on a truly wondrous experience. It’s amazing to see three guys on stage making that much noise and the crowd making almost as much noise back in appreciation of their efforts.

You may be lucky enough to have secured tickets for Muse’s arena tour in November, in which case you will likely (unless you are one of those people who arrives late) see one of the support acts, The Big Pink. You may not yet have heard of them but they have big ambitions for the tour.