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A piece of history for $550,000 A set of legal letters that foretold The Beatles‘ split in 1969 are set to go on sale for $550,000. The pair of letters were sent to John Eastman and Lee Eastman in January and April that year. John and Lee were the father and brother of Linda, who Paul McCartney married in March 1969. In the first letter, all four Beatles members and Apple Corps head Neil Aspinall write to John Eastman to inform him that “we retain you and authorise you to act on our behalf in negotiations in respect of all contracts proposed”. However the second piece of correspondence, which has become known as “the split letter”, sees John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr end their working relationship with Lee Eastman to work with Rolling Stones’ managers Allan Klein, while McCartney would stay working with the family. “This is to inform you of the fact that you are not authorized to act of to hold yourself as the attorney or legal representative of ‘The Beatles’ or of any of the companies which the Beatles own or control,” wrote the three Beatles in April 1969. “We recognize that you are authorized to act for Paul McCartney, personally, and in this regard we will instruct our representatives to give you the fullest co-operation.” Moments In Time are selling the January 1969 letter for $225,000, and the April 1969 letter for $325,000. Tensions within the band would grow over the writing, recording and release of final album ‘Let It Be’, before the Fab Four officially split in 1970. Meanwhile, it was recently announced that The Beatles have teamed up with Sir Peter Jackson for a new film documenting the band’s final days. Made by the band’s Apple Corps Ltd. and WingNut Films, the movie is based around 55 hours of never-released footage of the Fab Four in the studio recording final album ‘Let It Be’, shot between January 2 and January 31, 1969. It culminates with their final gig on the rooftop on their Apple HQ in London. The as-yet-untitled film does not currently have a release date but will be followed by the previously confirmed restored version of the original Let It Be movie directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg next year. Meanwhile, it was recently reported that The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ was almost shelved as a single thanks to its “pornographic” vinyl cover.

"So far, 21 Savage memes have been my favourite part of the Super Bowl." Demi Lovato has deleted her Twitter account, after facing a backlash from seemingly making light of 21 Savage‘s arrest. The Atlanta rapper was arrested by immigration officials last night, amid allegations that he is actually British and outstayed his year long visa after arriving in the US as a teenager. Confirming his arrest, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman said that he is being held ahead of removal proceedings. In the wake of the incident, a string of memes began circulating on Twitter that made light of his apparent British heritage. But Lovato faced immediate backlash after admitting that she was enjoying the endless stream of online jokes. “So far, 21 Savage memes have been my favourite part of the Super Bowl,” wrote Lovato on Twitter. Hitting back at Lovato, The Internet’s Syd Tha Kid wrote: “Well @ddlovato you are a sore loser for making fun of @21savage nobody made funof you when you were poppin them drugs…Keep that negative energy way over there, I’m praying for you too…Stay blessed. #21savage.” Referencing Lovato’s personal battles, another user said: “Nice change for you, usually it’s heroin. #ICE isn’t a joke you stupid fucking crackhead, he is separated from his family now and the country he’s known all his adult life.” Although not specifically naming Lovato, Migos’ Offset also refused to see the funny side. “All the memes and shit ain’t funny,” wrote Offset. The comments also attracted the attention of 21 Savage’s Kei Henderson, who claimed that the rapper had supported Lovato when she suffered a drug overdose last year. “Damn. We was def Demi Lovato fans. When she was going through her shit I remember being on the tour bus and Savage said I hope she make it through that shit. People r weird bro,” wrote Henderson. After subsequently deleting her Twitter, Lovato attempted to clarify her comments on social media. “Wasn’t laughing at anyone getting deported, I know that’s not a joke,” she wrote. “The meme I posted/was talking about was of him being writing with a feather pen. Sorry if I offended anyone, but it’s no excuse to laugh at someone’s addiction let alone their OD.” Speaking after 21 Savage’s arrest, his lawyer Dina LaPolt confirmed they are working to secure his release. “We are working diligently to get Mr Abraham-Joseph out of detention while we work with authorities to clear up any misunderstanding,” said LaPolt. “Mr Abraham-Joseph is a role model to the young people in the country — especially in Atlanta, Georgia and is actively working in the community leading programs to help underprivileged youths in financial literacy.”

Ellie also reveals her New Year's Resolutions... Wolf Alice‘s Ellie Rowsell has spoken of the band’s 2019 plans, when they’ll be headlining their first major festivals and writing new material. The band enjoyed a whirlwind 2018 after winning the Mercury Music Prize for their acclaimed second album ‘Visions Of A Life‘. Now, the band are enjoying a rest before working on album number three and playing a handful of summer festival shows. Speaking of stepping up to top the bill at this year’s Standon Calling Festival, Ellie told NME: “This is our first [headline set] with a big line-up. It’s really exciting and it’s nice to have something in the diary to look forward to. “It’s a really good line-up. Obviously Chic have got about 1000 bangers, so that’ll be fun. I also saw that Fleetmac Wood are playing so I’d love to go and watch a serious covers band. IDLES are playing too, so there’s loads of good stuff.” Does the band view this as the next stage before headlining Glastonbury or Reading & Leeds? “I guess I’m going to treat these headline slots as one of the biggest things we’ve done,” Ellie replied. “It doesn’t matter what festival it’s at, I’m just really honoured to have a slot like that. It’s going to be a taster of what that kind of responsibility feels like. I’m quite nervous to be honest, but it’s an honour to be asked to headline. I’m really chuffed.” Asked if the band could debut new material, Ellie said: “It’s too early to say at this point, but ideally I’d like to have something new. I’ll still be just as excited if we didn’t, but that’s six months away so I’m not going to be chilling that hard the whole time! “Once we have new material then we’ll see where plans go, but this is like a holiday so we’re trying not to think about it too much. We’ve never really worked in a way where we’ve discussed how we wanted to change. We always take things very naturally. It’s all a mystery about what it will sound like. Your guess is as good as mine.” Meanwhile, the band are currently enjoying downtime before they will “casually start writing again” for their third album. As 2019 rolls on, Ellie said that was keeping her New Year’s Resolutions to “stay inspired, stay curious, stay positive and stay happy.” “It can be anything to me – I keep my mind open to try new things, be constantly reading, going outside, seeing people,” she told NME. “It’s nothing drastic. You never know what’s going to inspire you. I think watching TV and films is key, sometimes. I’m not like, going through the back catalogue of Friends or anything.” She continued: “I’ve just read the book Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine [by Gail Honeyman]. That was quite a good read. I’ve been listening a lot to that new Crows song. I’ve been trying to listen to a bit of country music. I’ve never written country and I don’t know anything about it, so you can listen to it without putting on your analytical ears. That’s quite relaxing to me as a punter. “I used to play Irish music so I’ve been trying to get back into that.” While Slaves recently said that they felt it felt like there was more an an acceptance towards punk and guitar music at the moment and IDLES agreed that it was “absolutely more popular right now“, Ellie said that she didn’t believe that the mainstream’s perception have shifted much. “It’s hard for me to answer these questions because I’m so involved,” she told NME. “Most of the people I follow on Twitter are in guitar bands or listen to them. My world is quite small in that sense, and to me it’s always there because it’s hard for me to step outside.” Ellie added: “I don’t feel like it’s changed that much. If I turn on the radio, I don’t hear that many new guitar bands. When I speak to people who perhaps are in this world, they don’t really seem that aware of what’s going on with guitar music.” Standon Calling Festival takes place from July 25-28. Visit here for tickets and more information.

A stellar lineup Truck Festival has announced its first wave of acts with Foals, Wolf Alice, and Two Door Cinema Club heading up the Oxfordshire festival this summer. It will be the Foals’ first homecoming show in over five years, and marks 12 years since the Oxford band’s triumphant set at the festival’s Barn Stage. Wolf Alice make another step into the world of festival headlining. The London quartet also top the bill at this year’s Standon Calling. Slaves, IDLES, You Me At Six, Shame, Lewis Capaldi, Kate Nash, The Futureheads, Fontaines D.C., and many more acts will play at the festival at Steventon’s Hill Farm between July 26 and 28. Last year’s headliners included Friendly Fires and George Ezra. Ahead of today’s (February 4) official announcement, the festival had teased punters over the weekend with….potatoes. Yes, Truck had written a variety of artist names on spuds and posted them to fans and ticket-buyers of the festival. Recipients posted their discoveries using the hashtag #truckpotato The likes of Foals, Wolf Alice, You Me At Six, Nothing But Thieves and Slaves were some of the acts written across the potatoes. Elsewhere, Truck Festival posters were plastered around Oxford on Saturday (February 2) with the truck monster logo and the slogan ‘they’re coming home’. It’s now apparent that this referred to Foals.

They do however, promise to "bring it in May" Foo Fighters have been forced to cancel a gig in New Orleans after a bandmember is said to have injured themselves. After the band were joined onstage by Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello and Queen’s Roger Taylor during a pre-Super Bowl gig in Atlanta this weekend, they’ve now announced that they won’t be able to play Christen The Fillmore this weekend at the inaugural re-opening show as one of the Foos has suffered a mishap. They do however, promise to “bring it in May”. This isn’t the first accident for the band in 2019. Frontman Dave Grohl fell off the stage at their very first show of the year last month. Grohl has form in this department. In 2015, he fell off stage and broke his leg at a gig in Sweden. It forced the band to cancel headlining Glastonbury Festival – the slot then being filled by Florence And The Machine. The Foos returned to top the bill and play Worthy Farm in 2017. In 2018 Grohl pranked fans on the band’s return to Sweden by pretending to fall off stage again. Meanwhile, Foo Fighters will return to the UK this summer to headline Reading & Leeds festival alongside The 1975, Post Malone and Twenty One Pilots this August.

"Let us love you, with our 7”, this Valentine’s Day" The Distillers’ first new music in 15 years is to be released on vinyl this Valentine’s Day. In September 2018 the punk legends returned with ‘Man vs Magnet’ with AA-side, ‘Blood In Gutters’. The comeback single marked the LA-based band’s first new material since 2003’s’ Coral Fang’. Now, fans have the chance to get their hands on physical copies of the tracks in the form of an exclusive pink 7″ vinyl via Jack White’s Third Man Records. Fans can either head to their online store on February 14 or buy the vinyl at one of their shows, although copies are limited. The new songs arrived after frontwoman Brody Dalle confirmed the return of The Distillers last year. After breaking up in 2006, Dalle began teasing their comeback in a series of cryptic Instagram posts. Dalle confirmed earlier this month that the band will be heading into the studio to work on a new album due for release in 2019. Posting a recent set of holiday photos to celebrate Christmas and her 40th birthday on Instagram, she wrote, among other things,: “HELLO making a Distillers record in April , oh yes das right.”

The man denies manslaughter A man is to face trial for manslaughter after a young woman died from taking 2CP at Bestival. Ceon Broughton, 29, of Enfield, north London denies the charge. It’s alleged that he supplied Louella, the daughter of Holby City and Coronation Street star John Michie, with the drug at the music festival in 2017. Broughton also denies the charge of supplying the class A drug to the 25-year-old. Louella was found dead in a wooded area on the edge of the Bestival site at Lulworth Castle in Dorset just before 1am on 11 September 2017. A post-mortem examination showed she died from the use of 2CP, ketamine and MDMA. Her father is due to give evidence at the trial at Winchester Crown Court. John Michie said in a statement in 2017 that his family had “lost an angel”. His statement continued: “She touched so many lives. She was so very positive, so bright, so out there. She had such energy. The tributes to her have been incredible.” Rapper Loyle Carner posted a tribute to Louella whom he had known since a young age. Louella’s death prompted Bestival to reiterate its no-tolerance policy on drugs. “We are very clear in the guidelines set out to both fans and staff about the procedures we have in place, as agreed with key stakeholders involved in the running of the event,” a statement read.

The 'Empire' star has clarified details about a vicious assault Empire star Jussie Smollett has clarified the details of an alleged homophobic and racially motivated attack in Chicago last month. The 35-year-old actor and singer told fans at a concert at West Hollywood’s Troubadour club on Saturday (February 2) that he wasn’t hospitalised following the January 29 assault, as previously reported. CNN reports that he told the crowd that he was left with bruises but went to see a doctor immediately instead of going to hospital. He also clarified that his ribs were neither cracked nor broken, as had also been previously reported. Additionally, he revealed that he defended himself during the attack. “I had to be here tonight, y’all, I couldn’t let those [expletives]… win,” he said. “Above all I fought … [expletive] back.” He said that he isn’t “fully healed yet,” before adding, “But I’m going to (be), and I’m gonna stand strong with y’all.” The incident has been described by the Chicago Police Department as a “possible racially-charged assault and battery.” Speaking to Essence last week, Smollett said: “Let me start by saying that I am okay…my body is strong but my soul is stronger. More importantly I want to say thank you. The outpouring of love and support from my village has meant more than I will ever be able to put into words.” Yesterday, Smollett’s family also issued a statement about the incident in which they thanked people for their support whilst also speaking out about the incident in more detail. The statement read: “Our family thanks everyone for their prayers and the huge amount of love he has received. We are thankful to our village for your immense support during this trying time. “Jussie is a warrior whose light cannot be dimmed. We want people to understand these targeted hate crimes are happening to our sisters, brothers and our gender non-conforming siblings, many who reside within the intersection of multiple identities, on a monthly, weekly, and sometimes even daily basis all across our country. Oftentimes ending fatally, these are inhumane acts of domestic terrorism and they should be treated as such. They will continue to occur until we hold each other accountable.” The statement concluded: “Make no mistake, words matter. Hateful words lead to hateful actions. Radical love is the only solution, but passivity will be our downfall. We, as a family, will continue to work for love, equity and justice until it reigns supreme in our nation and all over the world.” Adding to his own statement, Smollett went on to echo the words of his family, saying that such incidents are not rare. He said: “As my family stated, these types of cowardly attacks are happening to my sisters, brothers and non-gender conforming siblings daily. I am not and should not be looked upon as an isolated incident. “We will talk soon and I will address all details of this horrific incident, but I need a moment to process…Most importantly, during times of trauma, grief and pain, there is still a responsibility to lead with love. It’s all I know. And that can’t be kicked out of me.” On the day of the attack The Chicago Police Department released further information about the “hate crime” incident. They wrote: “A 36-year-old man was walking…when two unknown offenders approached him and gained his attention by yelling out racial and homophobic slurs towards him. “The offenders began to batter the victim with their hands about the face and poured an unknown chemical substance on the victim. At some point during the incident, one of the offenders wrapped a rope around the victim’s neck. The offenders fled the scene. “The victim self-transported to Northwestern Hospital and is [in] good condition. Area central detectives are investigating.” Smollett was in Chicago ahead of a concert that he was due to perform. The night before, the actor and singer posted in Instagram, saying that he had arrived in the city “after spending 7 hours on a plane for a 2 hour flight.” LGBTQ campaigners GLADD released a statement following the incident, offering help. They said: “GLADD reached out to Fox and Jussie’s team today to offer assistance as well as support for him. Jussie is a true champion for LGBTQ people and is beloved by the community and allies around the world.” The Chicago Police Department have asked that anyone with information about the incident should contact 312-747-8382 or report it anonymously to www.cpdtip.com.

"These conversations, if successful....would allow us to meet all of our outstanding obligations" Crowdfunding website PledgeMusic has issued a further statement in response to musicians claiming that they haven’t received the money they’d fundraised via the platform. Since its formation in 2009, the website has offered a platform for artists to receive funding from their fans for upcoming projects. Artists including Weezer, Sum 41 and Slash have all successfully launched albums using the platform in the past. As Pitchfork reports, US band OhGr claimed that they were owed $100,000. Fastball also alleged that they were still owed over $21,000. PledgeMusic issued a fresh statement on Saturday (February 1) to inform the public about its progress after formerly vowing to directly address the funding problems. Part of the statement reads: “We are in discussions with several interested parties about a potential partnership with or acquisition of PledgeMusic. These conversations, if successful, would lead to a transaction which would allow us to meet all of our outstanding obligations. As a result, we are hopeful that, as long as the company is given some breathing space to operate, a solution to these current problems will be found. Elsewhere the release states: “To you artists especially, we understand that every last penny is vital to your project’s successful delivery and as such we wanted to share with you some of the concrete action that we have undertaken to date.” “We ask for patience. We know that for a lot of you this must be wearing very thin, but we can only reiterate that we are fully focused on making this situation right.” Last month, the crowdfunding platform said, “We deeply regret that recently we have not lived up to the high standards to which PledgeMusic has always held itself. We acknowledge that many artists have and continue to experience payment delays. These delays to artists are unacceptable—not only to them, but to us.” “Since its beginning, PledgeMusic has successfully serviced over 45K artists from emerging acts to some of the biggest names in the industry. We’ve supported 60 Grammy-nominated artists and helped springboard 100s of unsigned bands to successful careers. Our efforts have assisted over 375 artists with chart position on the Billboard Top 200. Our platform has provided close to $100m of revenue to its artist community.” In a follow-up statement, co-founder Benji Rogers vowed to correct the situation despite ending his direct involvement with the company in 2016. “Once again I am truly sorry to any and all of you who have been harmed as a result of what I made,” he said. “Please know that I will do all that is within my power to make it right and to fix what I can if given the opportunity to do so.” The latest statement adds that Rogers has returned to PledgeFund as “a volunteer strategic advisor and observer to the board of directors.” “Benji will assist and advise the new management and finance team on the inherited and existing issues, as well as with the forward planning for the company.” PledgeMusic added that it is in advanced discussions with an independent third-party company to manage all artist funds going forward.

The future of punk is coming to a town near you Fontaines D.C. have announced details of a lengthy 2019 UK tour. The rising Irish punk band, tipped for great things in the NME 100 of essential new artists for 2019, are expected to drop their hotly-anticipated debut album later this year. Now in addition to their shows in the UK and Ireland this Spring, Fontaines D.C. will be back for a long run of shows in the Autumn calling at Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Oxford, London, Brighton, Bristol and Southampton. The band’s full upcoming UK and Ireland tour dates are below. Tickets to the new November shows will be on sale from 10am on Friday February 7 and available here. FEBRUARY Friday 22 – LIMERICK CITY Dolans Warehouse APRIL Thursday 11 – BRISTOL Thekla Friday 12 – LEEDS Brudenell Social Club Saturday 13 – MANCHESTER Manchester Gorilla Sunday 14 – GLASGOW King Tuts Tuesday 16 – NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms Wednesday 17 – LONDON Garage Thursday 18 – BRIGHTON Haunt NOVEMBER Tuesday 19 – MANCHESTER O2 Ritz Wednesday 20 – LIVERPOOL O2 Academy2 Liverpool Thursday 21 – GLASGOW SWG 3 Friday 22 – LEEDS Stylus Saturday 23 – SHEFFIELD Leadmill Monday 25 – BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute2 Tuesday 26 – OXFORD O2 Academy Oxford Wednesday 27 – LONDON O2 Forum Kentish Town Thursday 28 – BRIGHTON Concorde 2 Saturday 30 – BRISTOL SWX DECEMBER Sunday 1 – SOUTHAMPTON 1865 “The world is in disarray in a way that it hasn’t been before,” frontman Grian Chatten told NME about the current music scene. “It’s more confusing than it was before – there’s just a huge lack of trust in any form of media or narrative voice. No one really believes anything, and what we’re having to do is form some kind of truth for ourselves. I think that anger [in modern guitar music] is just confusion, in a way.” Speaking of the band’s live show, he added: “There is a truth there. It’s an invisible truth, between us and the crowd.” Meanwhile, IDLES’ Joe Talbot said of the band: “They’re friends of ours. I’ve got their album on my phone and it’s fucking sick. That could be THE album. It fucking should be. “I hope it happens, just to change the scenery.”

The hand tattoo was meant to say '7 Rings' Ariana Grande seems to have had enough of people making fun of her botched tattoo, after tweeting that people need to ‘get off her nuts’. The pop star first shared the photo of a new tattoo on her palm last month, which featured Kanji characters. Kanji is used in both Chinese and Japanese but has completely different meanings in each. She intended for the characters to translate as ‘7 Rings’, the name of her latest single which recently hit number one in the US charts. In Chinese, the inking translates to “7 rounds” or “7 wheels”. However, in Japanese, it translates to “shichirin”, which is a small barbecue grill. When fans pointed out the mistake she replied, that she was a “huge fan of tiny bbq grills”. Last week, Grande attempted to fix the tat, sharing a snap of her newly inked hand. “RIP tiny charcoal grill. Miss you man. I actually really liked you,” she wrote. However, a Twitter user pointed out that the tattoo now reads: ‘Japanese BBQ finger’. Over the weekend, TMZ published a report that claimed the singer was offered $1 million to get the tattoo removed. Grande took to Twitter to hit back at the claims writing, “i’ll give y’all a million to get off my nuts” Fans were quick to get behind the singer, with one writing: “That’s what the hell im talkin about !!!” Another added: “you had the chance to say get off my grill” ‘7 Rings’ is the latest track to be released from Grande’s upcoming new album ‘Thank U, Next’. The record, which comes just six months after her last release ‘Sweetener’, was released on February 8.