You can say a lot of bad things about Oasis - they’re past it, they’re full of themselves, they’re a decade out of date - all of which are true to a certain extent. But you cannot fault them for the loyalty they show to their fans, who return it in droves, or their willingness to go beyond the pale in order to please their fans.

Thursday saw Oasis play one of their biggest shows since Knebworth. Everything was set for the Heaton Park gig; the tickets were all sold, and six months of planning were in the bag. What could go wrong? Quite a lot as it turns out. First The Enemy had to pull out as support, to be replaced by Reverend and The Makers. Then the sound system blew not once but twice during Oasis’ set.

In all, Oasis were off the stage for 40 minutes during their 23-song set, having been forced to walk off twice due to “technical difficulties”. But the band still played their full set, running well past curfew in order to achieve this. So everyone there got the show they’d paid for.

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Girls Aloud and Sugababes are, without a doubt, the two biggest girl groups in the UK right now. They have crosses genre divides and grabbed fans from all walks of life and are both talented and able pop groups.

While I may like both groups, many fans have chosen to stay loyal to just one of the two, and a rather unhealthy rivalry has cropped up between Girls Aloud fans and Sugababes fans. This is despite the two groups getting along fine, at least on the face of it.

Some would argue that there is enough in-fighting in both camps that an inter-band fight would be over-the-top. And that would seem to be the case. Bizarrely, it’s a couple of video clips on YouTube which has prompted one of the groups to speak out.

The two videos are embedded below. As you can see they show a very badly animated Cheryl Cole and Keisha Buchanan arguing over the merits of their albums with each other. With the monotone speech it’s like South Park meets Stephen Hawking.

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Amy Winehouse has been a mess for a number of years now. As soon as she found fame and fortune it seemed to go straight to her head and set her off on a whirlwind descent into drink, drugs, and destruction.

She has spent the last six months or so relaxing in St. Lucia, having decided to take a break from performing live. She was meant to have written and recorded material for her new album in that time but that doesn’t seem to have happened.

Winehouse made her live comeback last night at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, an annual event now in its 18th year. Unfortunately, it all ended a little prematurely and her appearance wasn’t quite the return to form we’d all hoped for.

Winehouse did manage an hour-long set which included 14 songs. However, she forgot her words on a number of different occasions, constantly looked about to fall over, mumbled to herself throughout, and altogether failed to deliver the goods.

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I think I may be getting too old for this job. Tinchy Stryder is currently sitting at number one in the British singles chart with this song, appropriately titled Number 1. Great, except I hadn’t even heard of him until this week.

I try my hardest to keep up-to-date with all the new music which comes through, but it’s hard, and at my age you tend to get stuck in your ways and stick to what you like and what you know. However, I am open-minded (except when it comes to Michael Jackson and U2).

Stryder is a grime/UK garage artist, although this song is very commercial. There’s nothing wrong with that but he will have to deal with the fact he’s leaving his roots behind in order to sell records - never an easy thing to do.

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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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Arctic Monkeys have just returned from recording their new album in America with producer James Ford. While there, they got up to some rather exciting things. Which prompted drummer Matt Helders to upload a video diary.

Arctic Monkeys, surely one of Britain’s greatest exports in recent times. Quintessentially British, specifically North of England-ish, they have managed to gain fans from all around the world. And rightly so.

P Diddy, formerly Puff Daddy, may belong to a different genre but he is, at heart, a genuine lover of music. Good music at least. Which is why he loves Arctic Monkeys. Don’t take my word for it, watch the video below.

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I’ve been a fan of Maximo Park since they released their debut album, A Certain Trigger, in 2005. Two years later they released their second album, Our Earthly Pleasures, which unlike their peers’ (The Futureheads and Bloc Party) efforts managed to live up to the promise of their first release.

Maximo Park are one of those bands who have a really intense and loyal following but don’t quite ever manage to move into the mainstream. But they have another chance to do exactly that with new album, Quicken The Heart.

The first single to be released from Quicken The Heart is The Kids Are Sick Again, a rousing little number that certainly signals the fact Maximo Park are back again. Video and review after the cut.

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Lily Allen has her critics. And it’s not really surprising because here is a young girl with a big mouth who says what she thinks about anything and anyone. Thankfully, she also makes excellent music with inspired backing tracks and clever lyrics.

In February I reviewed Lily Allen’s new album, It’s Not Me, It’s You. The album is a veritable smörgåsbord of styles, influences, and inspirations. The Fear was the brilliant first single to be released from this second album. And now the follow-up, Not Fair, has arrived.

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There are very few artists who manage to survive more than a few years at the top of their game, especially in the pop genre. While rock music is timeless and bands can carry on seemingly forever (Rolling Stones), pop is somewhat different.

As its name suggests, pop is whatever is popular in the present, so what may have been successful yesterday is now regarded as retro. This means pop stars continually have to reinvent themselves. Madonna and Britney Spears immediately spring to mind.

Pet Shop Boys have been around for almost 30 years now, having started way back in 1981 (I was 4). And yet their music continues to sound relevant and cutting-edge, even if Neil Tennant’s voice does now make him sound like he’s constantly feeding on helium.

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Get five attractive girls together, actually, three attractive ones and two that are a little ropey looking but that can actually sing. Put them in, well, not very much clothing. Have them cover a classic song and stick a cheesy pop beat underneath it and et voila, you have a guaranteed hit on your hands.

A guaranteed hit, but not a guaranteed number one, or so it would seem. The Saturdays are basically a Girls Aloud tribute act. Maybe the record company suspects they’re bound to split up soon, or maybe they’re a little old to appeal to teeny boppers anymore. Either way, The Saturdays have stolen their act.

The Saturdays were chosen to release the charity single for this year’s Comic Relief, which was held last night. As is traditional, the single is a cover, this time of Depeche Mode’s Just Can’t Get Enough. Now with all new Stock, Aitken, and Waterman-style backing track.

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