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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La Roux are a new British duo, not a solo act like many have assumed. Elly Jackson is the quiff-wearing front woman, with co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid taking a more backseat role. Think of the Pet Shop Boys if Chris Lowe stayed even more in the background than he does already. Their music is a mix of electro-pop and dance, all with an eighties flavor running through it.

La Roux have already released two singles, Quicksand and In For The Kill, the latter of which managed to reach number two in the UK singles chart. Then came their third release, Bulletproof (video embedded below), which hit number one at the weekend. Michael Jackson may have dominated the latest charts but it’s La Roux who made it to the top.

The question for me is whether this success signals yet another 1980s revival? It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened, and with La Roux looking and sounding like the love children of The Human League and Heaven 17, it seems likely to happen.

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Michael Jackson was always popular in the U.K. in life, and the same can now be said of him in death. Just three days after Michael Jackson died, the latest British charts have shown what a massive effect his passing has had on people. It seems as though most of the population went out and brought his music in the days following his death from cardiac arrest on Thursday (June 25).

Michael Jackson had, prior to his death last week, been kind of out of the news for a while. There were, of course, the 50 shows he’d promised to perform at the London O2 Arena, of which we still don’t know the fate. But apart from that, no one was really that interested in him, his life, or his music. His death changed that completely overnight.

Not only has the death of Michael Jackson provoked an outpouring of grief and been the biggest media event for years, it’s also had a huge effect on sales of his records. Retailers around the U.K. are now reporting they’ve sold out of all his albums. Jackson’s albums occupied the top 15 slots on Amazon’s Bestsellers list, while HMV “experienced an 80-fold increase in demand for his music,” according to Digital Spy.

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I doubt there’s a man, woman, or child not shocked by the sudden and unexpected death of Michael Jackson at the tender age of 50. Whether you loved him or hated him, thought he was a freak or just an eccentric, believed all the many stories told about him or not, you cannot argue that he wasn’t a musical genius. He entertained and enlightened many people from all walks of life and it’s a sad loss to the world.

Paul McCartney worked with Michael Jackson on a number of different occasions, including duets Say Say Say (embedded below) and The Man. The pair eventually fell out with each other after Jackson outbid both McCartney and John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono for the publishing rights to The Beatles back catalog. There’s now a rumor that Jackson left these rights to McCartney in his will.

Paul McCartney was clearly as shocked and upset about Michael Jackson’s premature death from cardiac arrest, and posted a heartfelt tribute to the man on his official Web site.

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N-Dubz aren’t my favorite group in the world, or even in the U.K., but they are growing on me and I do have a grudging respect for their music and how they’ve become hugely successful. The group are currently working on a follow-up to their debut album, Uncle B, and preparing to play the Wireless Festival in London in July.

Last month, while N-Dubz were riding high in the charts with their collaboration with Tinchy Stryder, Number 1, Tulisa was rushed to hospital with suspected swine flu. It turned out to be nothing of the sort, and she actually just had the regular sniffles which most of us get a few times a year. But it gave the group some nice publicity, which is never a bad thing.

In an interview with BBC Newsbeat, where she also spoke about being back in the studio writing songs for the group’s second album, and having to spend every day with Dappy and Fazer, Tulisa spoke about the prospect of playing the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park. She, and hopefully her band mates as well, seem to truly understand what’s required to do well at a festival.

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It probably comes as little surprise that we here at Brit Music Scene love British music. It is, without a doubt, the best music in the world, with more important artists to have emerged from the UK than any other country. Which, considering the size of this little island, is pretty damn amazing. But not everyone holds the British music scene in such high regard.

Moby has recently come out and dismissed the British music scene in no uncertain terms. Moby is releasing his new album, Wait for Me, but I’m sure that has nothing to do with these headline-chasing comments. In an interview with The Sun newspaper, Moby claims to have been heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Sex Pistols, and Rod Stewart in his younger days but now isn’t a fan of the UK’s output.

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The last couple of years have seen British female solo artists emerge like never before. At one point, we boasted of Annie Lennox and that was about it. Now, the UK has Amy Winehouse (for all her flaws), Lily Allen, Kate Nash, Leona Lewis, Duffy, Adele, and many others. And now there’s a new singer to add to the list: Pixie Lott.

Pixie Lott scored a huge debut number one last Sunday when she topped the British singles chart with Mama Do. In doing so, she became the first British female solo artist who hasn’t emerged from a reality TV show to do so. It’s an annual occurrence for someone from The X Factor to do so - Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke - but here is a gem of a singer not to have taken that route.

Lott has a very similar Pop/R’n'B sound to her as Duffy and Adele. She’s like a combination of the two, with a little Winehouse thrown in for good measure. Which is quite a heady mix. Mama Do shows off her style really well, allowing her to sing around a catchy bassline which accentuates rather than overbears her voice.

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Don’t you just hate those people who offer you something and then either revoke the offer or moan about it afterwards. If so, you’ll inevitably dislike Noel Gallagher after he criticized the 20,000 fans who registered for the full refund from one of Oasis’ Manchester homecoming gigs. Why offer it in the first place if you’re then going to bitch about on your blog afterwards?

Oasis played three gigs at Heaton Park in Manchester at the beginning of June. The second and third went off without a hitch but the first was blighted by trouble. First of all, The Enemy pulled out as support, to be replaced by Reverend and The Makers. Then, during Oasis’ set, the sound system blew twice, causing the band to be off stage for a total of 40 minutes.

When Oasis returned to the stage, both Liam and Noel both apologized before offering everyone present a refund. Details of how to claim were then posted on the official Oasis Web site, and 20,000 people have registered their name and address to claim the full face value of the ticket. Which should please Oasis because there were 70,000 people in attendance, meaning less than a third of all attendants have asked for a refund.

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There are some strange little pop stars who seem to pop in and out of existence time and time again. Dido is one, having been huge on the back of Eminem’s Stan sample, then again in her own right, before disappearing off the face of the planet. And Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the daughter of a Blue Peter presenter who was many young schoolboys’ first crush, is another.

It’s entirely possible that you’ve never even heard of Ellis-Bextor (I’m already sick of writing the double-barreled name), but she’s been in and around the music scene for well over a decade. She’s just never been able to sustain a top level Madonna or Kylie-style career.

She started out in an indie band called theaudience in 1997, before disappearing for a year until a triumphant return in 2000 singing on Groovejet by DJ Spiller. Then came a debut album containing the still-brilliant Murder on the Dancefloor, and there have since been two more albums since, with a fourth on the way.

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Blur announced last year they were getting back together to play as a foursome again after a self-imposed exile from the business as Blur. Then last week saw the band complete their comeback by playing together live for the first time in a decade. What’s left to achieve? Well, apart from the huge arena shows and festival headlining slots, there’s the small question of new material, a question which blights any reformed band.

Graham Coxon has already spoken about the possibility of Blur recording music together again, stating back in April that it will likely happen but it won’t be immediately. Now, other members of the band have backed up Coxon’s remarks but also revealed that the magic is already returning, with rehearsals turning into impromptu jamming sessions.

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