Cool Britannia

Babyshambles’ Pete Doherty is set to release a duet recorded with Dot Allison. Doherty and Allison have recorded enough material to release an LP.

“The initial idea that me and Pete had was to make an album of duets. I really hope it will happen. I’ve got a few sketches that Pete and I need to sit down and finish. One of them is finished already, and he’s got lots of stuff on his computer too,” Allison told Contactmusic.

Allison contributed vocals to Doherty’s solo effort, “Grace/Wastelands” and was featured on a duet with Paul Weller.

Lily Allen has not been afraid to announce her disgust and sadness that she was not chosen as  nominee for the annual Mercury Prize, but these artists can celebrate.

Barclaycard Mercury Prize Nominees:

Bat For Lashes – ‘Two Suns’
Florence And The Machine – ‘Lungs’
Friendly Fires – ‘Friendly Fires’
Glasvegas – ‘Glasvegas’
The Horrors – ‘Primary Colours’
La Roux – ‘La Roux’
Led Bib – ‘Sensible Shoes’
The Invisible - ‘The Invisible’
Lisa Hannigan – ‘Sea Sew’
Kasabian – ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’
Speech Debelle – ‘Speech Therapy’
Sweet Billy Pilgrim – ‘Twice Born Men’

The winner will be announced September 8.

Despite recent rumors there are no future plans for the newly reunited band, Blur. The Britpop band has fulfilled their promised duties and have all gone on their own ways to pursue solo work.

Alex James recently stated, “[We have not talked about] doing anything else whatsoever. [The gigs were] what we said we’d do and we did it and it was great. It hasn’t been mentioned the idea of doing anything else but hey, it was great.”

Rumors were circulating that new compilations and recordings would surface as well as an American tour. These rumors have been squashed.

I can’t help but feel it is just like picking up that LFO or 98 Degrees CD from my shelf. Those CDs are fun to listen to and capture the glory of my pre-teen years, but any new material from those bands would just be embarrassing and below their potential as artists. Maybe it is even best to leave things as they were so that moment in time is not ruined. New material is not always a good thing. Or just maybe Blur is a group of smart men who know if they come back slowly here and there in small doses, there will be a higher demand. That is exactly how economics work.

It’s a love/hate relationship.. Pete Doherty and Keane performing Culture Club’s classic, “Karma Chameleon.” A strange, awkward performance, but unique in its own way?

Blur bassist, Alex James, has joined a campaign to encourage people to eat locally-produced food.

James turned in his rocker lifestyle for life on a farm in Cotswolds when Blur disbanded in 2003. He joins the likes of Judith Chalmers, Jenni Falconer, Colin Murray and Gaynor Faye to promote Sainsbury’s food drive.
The celebrities will spend the next six weeks visiting areas across the UK spreading the word about Eat Britain. James will focus on the Somerset area.

Mick Jones opened the exhibit, “Rock & Roll Public Library” in West Lonodn on July 14 and was keen to discuss the potential reunion of The Libertines.

Jones would love to produce another album by the cult band if the band does indeed choose to reunite. The Clash guitarist produced 2002’s “Up The Bracket” and 2004’s “The Libertines.” Following the break up he produced Babyshambles’ “Down in Albion” as well.

“I haven’t heard anything from them, but I hope they do [get back together]. I love them. If it’s meant to be it’s meant to be, and if it’s written then it’s written. I hope it happens,” Jones told The Quietus.

Jones was premiering his exhibition that features thousands of items belonging to the guitarist since he was a child. Many rooms are full of Clash memorabilia. He invites bands to come use the space for recording.

“You’ll come in, and as part of the exhibition they’ll be actually recording and you’ll be able to walk into the control room and hang out while bands are recording,” he explained.

You can see the exhibition from July 18 to August 23 underneath the Westway at 2 Acklam Road.

Stone Roses’ Ian Brown admitted he does not give his children allowance.

Brown told The Quietus, “My kids… have started selling posters of me on eBay. They get me to sign them and then sell them online for £10. It saves me having to give them [pocket] money!”

The secret was out when the Manchester native was at the Mick Jones’s Rock N Roll Public Library earlier in the week. Brown commented that he was impressed by the the Clash guitarist’s collection of memorabilia and said he has “loads of Roses stuff at home” and should do a similar exhibition.

The Cribs’ Gary Jarman recently underwent an operation to remove nodules from his vocal chords.

The singer and bassist e-mailed The Cribs’ mailing list to inform everyone the operation was a success and “a massive weight off my mind.” He went on to explain that he has had problems with his vocal chords since 2005.

“You may have noticed that my once youthful sounding cherub-like voice from the first album has, over the course of three records, degenerated into the grizzled, bitter old man voice of today. Well, no more! I am currently mute, unable to speak for the next couple of weeks, and on a heady mixture of Vicodin and Throat Coat tea.”

Aside from a health update, Garman wrote that Adam Green and Lissy Trullie will support The Cribs on the UK tour that starts in September.

You can see The Cribs:

Norwich UEA (September 24)
Cambridge Junction (25)
Liverpool Academy (26)
Hull University (28)
Glasgow Barrowlands (29)
Newcastle University (30)
Manchester Apollo (October 2)
Lincoln Engine Shed (3)
Leeds Academy (4)
Exeter Lemon Grove (6)
Southampton Guildhall (7)
Leamington Spa Assembly Rooms (8)
Bristol Anson Rooms (10)
London HMV Forum (15)
Birmingham O2 Academy (December 2)
London O2 Brixton Academy (3)
Doncaster Dome (5)
Edinburgh Corn Exchange (6)

Snow Patrol announced plans to release a series of one-off singles before starting work on the follow-up to “A Hundred Million Suns.” Gary Lightbody told London’s XFM, “We’re recording some new tracks and we’re going to release them.”

Lightbody and company feel they are at a pion where they don’t have to release only full albums. “We have a bunch of songs we’ve been writing recently that we feel are bridging the gap between this record and the next one.”  The band ultimately just want to “keep things fresh.”

Nielson Soundscan data shows that Coldplay is the first artist to sell over one million copies of full albums digitally.

This million copies is on top of the two million physical copies of the band’s four studio albums, live album and EPs floating around the world.

Colplay is currently touring to support their latest release, “Viva la Vida.. and the death of all his Friends.”