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On Tuesday 1 January 2025, BBC Two broadcasts Jools’ Annual Hootenanny!

Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Jools’ Annual Hootenanny” promises to be a lively celebration of music. Jools Holland will once again take the stage, bringing his signature style and energy to the event. This year’s show features a fantastic lineup of musical guests, making it a must-watch for fans of various genres.

Among the guests are Kathy Sledge, known for her powerful voice and soulful performances. Roger Taylor, the legendary drummer from Queen, will also join the festivities, adding a rock edge to the night. Jade, a group with a rich history in R&b, is set to deliver some memorable moments, while Paul Carrack, with his smooth vocals, is sure to impress. Marc Almond, famous for his unique sound, will bring his own flair to the stage. The Boomtown Rats, known for their energetic performances, will round out the impressive roster.

“Jools’ Annual Hootenanny” kicks off at 12:30 Am on Tuesday, January 1st, 2025, on BBC Two, ringing in the New Year with an unforgettable musical celebration. Hosted by the ever-charismatic Jools Holland, the show brings together his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra alongside an impressive lineup of musical guests. This year, viewers can look forward to performances by a star-studded cast including Kathy Sledge, Roger Taylor, Jade, Paul Carrack, Marc Almond, and The Boomtown Rats.

As the clock strikes midnight, the Hootenanny promises a blend of lively tunes, special collaborations, and classic hits that are sure to keep spirits high. Whether it’s soul, pop, or rock, the show offers something for every music lover. Jools Holland’s hosting style ensures that the evening is filled with laughter, energy, and plenty of surprises. “Jools’ Annual Hootenanny” has become a beloved tradition, and this year’s edition is bound to be another memorable start to the New Year.

An animated video for Mark Knopfler’s all-star charity single “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” – which brought together a stunning lineup of over 60 guitar gods to raise funds for Teen Cancer America and the Teenage Cancer Trust – has been released. It features the final recording of Jeff Beck along with contributions by Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, Slash, Ronnie Wood, Joan Jett, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, and Sting.

The song came out a week ago, but it was difficult to discern who was playing what part throughout the ten-minute song.

Mark Knopfler has teamed up with a host of fellow guitar legends to record a version of his song “Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)” to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.

The Dire Straits frontman tapped Eric Clapton, Slash (Guns N’ Roses), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Brian May (Queen), Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Pete Townshend (The Who), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Bruce Springsteen, Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones), Joan Jett, and many more, forming what he has dubbed “Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes.” Notably, the star-studded version opens with the final recorded guitar track by the late Jeff Beck.

Knopfler’s longtime collaborator Guy Fletcher handled the production of the track, which might be the greatest assemblage of guitar talent to co-exist on a single song. The Sgt. Pepper‘s-style artwork was created by Sir Peter Blake.

The full song can be heard below now, featuring...

Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler has united with over 60 artists — including Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, Slash, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Sting, Brian May, Joan Jett, Nile Rodgers, and Brian May — to create a new version of his 1983 instrumental “Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero.”

The song arrives on March 15, though you can hear a brief sample right now. It’s the final recording Jeff Beck created before his death in January 2023. All proceeds from the release will benefit Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is out with his 2021 Spotify playlist, in the spirit of other political figures who’ve taken to releasing their end-of-year favorites.

Blinken’s choices actually are two lists — one an “at home” compilation of American artists, the other an “on the road” selection inspired by places he’s visited over the past year.

The “at home” list — which you can see here — includes 17 choices, including Olivia Rodrigo’s “Traitor,” Taylor Swift’s “State of Grace,” Jon Batiste’s “Freedom,” Chris Stapleton’s “You Should Probably Leave” and “Leave the Door Open” from Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic, as well as “Holy” from Justin Bieber, featuring Chance the Rapper.

The “on the road list” — available here — includes three dozen selections.

This is also a bit of a cultural and diplomatic exercise, as the selections highlight artists from different regions of the world,...

From 1978 until her retirement in 2013, Nanci Griffith, who died August 13th at age 68, included numerous cover songs in her repertoire from writers as diverse as Nick Lowe and Paul Carrack (“Battlefield”) to Guy Clark (“Desperados Waiting for a Train”) and Julie Gold, whose “From a Distance” had been roundly rejected until Griffith became the first to record it. She even once covered the Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations” on Austin City Limits.

See Nanci Griffith Cover the Rolling Stones’ ‘No Expectations’

But it was Griffith’s original material that helped boost the careers of Kathy Mattea,...

Eric Clapton is returning to the road in September for an eight-city run of North American shows. It kicks off September 13th at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, and wraps up September 26th at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. According to a press release, these will be his only North American dates for the year. Tickets go on sale this Friday on Ticketmaster.com, and will also be available on Vivid Seats.

His band will include guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, organist Paul Carrack, bassist Nathan East, drummers Sonny Emory and Steve Gadd,...

“All I Need Is a Miracle” is not a Phil Collins song. But had he not become a solo star in the Eighties, giving his Genesis bandmate Mike Rutherford the time and incentive to launch the side project Mike and the Mechanics, the song would not exist. It was the second single off their 1985 self-titled debut and it became a big hit all over the world.

Collins was very fond of the tune and often sang a snippet of it when introducing Rutherford to the audience at Genesis concerts in...

It’s been three decades since Ringo Starr founded his All Starr supergroup and took the stage with some of rock and roll’s biggest luminaries, creating an exceptional legacy of performances of some of the greatest hits of all time culled from Starr’s extraordinary catalog as a solo artist and as Beatle, as well as the All Starr Band members’ substantive songbook.

In celebration of this milestone, and just in time for the holiday season, a new limited-edition retrospective hardcover book titled “Ringo Rocks: 30 Years Of The All Starrs,” will be sold online exclusively beginning Wednesday, December 16 at juliensauctions.com.

This not to be missed commemorative photo memoir features some never-before-seen photos of the All Starr Band’s 30 record-setting years in the spotlight and life on the road, compiled by Henry Diltz and Jill Jarrett (who have followed Ringo Starr’s All Starr career since 1989), as well as...

The dawn of the Eighties was supposed to make prog bands like Genesis, Yes, and Rush die out like the dinosaurs, now that we were in the age of MTV and New Wave. That’s not quite how it played it out, however. The men of these bands chopped off their long hair, cut their standard 20-minute songs down to size, and somehow became more popular than ever. They even joined forced in various short-lived supergroups and charted with slick hits that competed for Top 40 airplay alongside the latest offerings by Madonna and Michael Jackson.

David Gilmour made a rare public appearance earlier this week when he played two Leonard Cohen songs at the digital book-launch event for A Theatre for Dreamers, a new novel written by Polly Samson, his wife and longtime co-lyricist. The book takes place on the Greek island of Hydra in the early Sixties, and Cohen, who lived there at the time, is a character.

It was a relatively unique chance to see Gilmour play music written by another artist. His solo shows going all the way back to his first...

Ace’s “How Long,” a No. 3 hit in 1975 for the British rock band, was the first single to introduce music audiences to the voice of Paul Carrack, who went on to become a vocalist for other influential groups like Squeeze and Mike & The Mechanics. And thanks to a buzzy new TV campaign from Amazon’s Prime and Echo Show tablet, Carrack’s first hit is finding a whole new audience.

The slinky, blue-eyed-soul jam soundtracks a spot dedicated to the streaming-era phenomenon of “binge cheating,” or watching the next episode of a show behind your paramour’s back. The song’s signature bass line and catchy, spurned-lover chorus “How long / has this been going on?” quickly resonated with music fans. In the three days following the commercial’s first airings on March 2, digital sales for the track soared 2,059% to 4,000 downloads, while streams jumped to 831,000 in the week ending March 5, according to Nielsen Music.

An incredible lineup of musicians — including Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Rick Wakeman, Tom Jones, Bonnie Tyler and Nick Mason — came together at London’s 02 Arena on Tuesday night for the Music for the Marsden charity show, which raised money to fight cancer.

Procol Harum’s Gary Brooker was the musical director of the show and he worked alongside keyboardist Paul “Wix” Wickens, guitarists Andy Fairweather Low and Robbie McIntosh, bassist Dave Bronze and drummers Graham Broad and Ian Paice.

Highlights included Van Morrison and Eric Clapton jamming...

Eric Clapton assembled an incredible roster of musicians on Sunday evening to honor the late Ginger Baker at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith in London: Roger Waters, Nile Rodgers, Ron Wood, Steve Winwood and Paul Carrack, along with Baker’s son Kofi.

The show was centered around songs by Cream and Blind Faith; Clapton and Waters kicked it all off with “Sunshine of Your Love.”

“I called him Peter Edward,” Clapton told the crowd, referencing the drummer’s real name. “I think he’s here somewhere and he’ll be playing...

Eric Clapton will perform his first Crossroads Guitar Festival in six years in Dallas on September 20th and 21st, featuring the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Sheryl Crow, Joe Walsh, Bonnie Raitt, Gary Clark Jr. and more. Before that, the guitarist has announced he will head out on a small run of U.S. dates in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

It’s good news for Clapton, who has threatened retirement for years. In 2014, he said, “The road has become unbearable” and that he was looking into calling it quits. Two years later,...

Mike Rutherford had a lot working against him when he revived Mike and the Mechanics in 2010. Not only had it been 15 years since the band — best known for their songs “The Living Years” and “All I Need Is a Miracle” — scored a hit, but original singer Paul Young died in 2000 and his co-frontman Paul Carrack went back to his solo career four years later. But with help of new singers Tom Howar and Andrew Roachford, the guitarist and songwriter has re-established the group as a busy live and recording unit.

Roxy Music have been eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ever since their debut single “Virginia Plain” turned 25 in 1997, but they were always more popular in their native England than America and even members of the band are a little surprised they got in this year. “I always felt we were a little too far out there for the general public in America even though we have a strong following in some pockets over there,” Roxy saxophonist Andy Mackay told Rolling Stone late last year. “It was very surprising to hear.

Thirty years ago this month, one of the most profoundly sad songs in pop music history hit Number One on the Hot 100. It was “The Living Years” by Mike + the Mechanics, which forced everyone within earshot of a radio throughout much of 1989 to consider that fact their parents will inevitably die and leave them with profound regret. “I wasn’t there that morning/When my Father passed away,” Paul Carrack sings in a typical verse. “I didn’t get to tell him/All the things I had to say.”

Like many things in the Eighties,...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and specialty items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

AC Comics

Femforce #166, $9.95

Action Lab Entertainment

Princeless Volume 1 Tp (New Printing), $11.99

Adhouse Books

Basewood Hc, $19.95

Antarctic Press

16-Bit Zombies #1, $3.99

Ghost Cop #3 (Of 3), $3.99

Applause Publishing

Stephen King Films Faq Sc, $24.99

Zombie Film From White Zombie To World War Z Sc, $29.99

Arcana Studio

Spotlight Gn, $14.95

Steam Engines Of Oz Volume 2 The Geared Leviathan Tp, $19.95

Archie Comic Publications

Archie’s Funhouse Double Digest #3, $3.99

Fox #5 (Dean Haspiel Variant Cover), $2.99

Sonic The Hedgehog #258 (Rafa Knight Return Of Princess Sally Variant Cover), $2.99

Sonic The Hedgehog #258 (Tyson Hesse Regular Cover), $2.99

World Of Archie Double Digest #38, $4.99

Avatar Press

Crossed Badlands #49 (German Erramouspe Wraparound Cover), $3.99

Crossed Badlands #49 (Rafa Ortiz Red Crossed Incentive Cover), Ar

Crossed Badlands #49 (Rafa Ortiz Regular Cover), $3.99

Crossed Badlands #49 (Rafa Ortiz Torture Cover), $3.99

God...

Nick Lowe Lincoln Center, NYC 10 August 2013

A couple months ago, I noticed that Glen Tilbrook of Squeeze and Nick Lowe would both be performing at the Boulton Center in Bay Shore, New York, in August. I can’t go to every show that comes down the pike and some times I have to make tough decisions. Having seen Nick a couple years ago at Town Hall and not having seen Tilbrook (or Squeeze) in five or six years, I suggested to my wife Linda that we opt for the Tilbrook show -- very reluctantly passing on Nick. It wasn’t long before something began to gnaw at me. I had to see Nick again. I noticed that he had a few other gigs lined up in the area and we decided that we would catch him at the Out of Doors at Lincoln Center series on August 10. A schedule of...

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Released: 24th September

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Roxy Music, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, the Eagles – just a few names bursting out of Paul Carrack’s CV. It’s a CV you look at and feel pretty envious about. I mean, how can you not feel a pang of jealousy when the guy’s got his name on more projects than you’ve had cooked dinners? He’s even featured on The Smiths’ debut album, played the organ on Elton John’s Made in England and The Big Picture, and toured with Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band. My green-eyed guts are nearly falling out of my mouth.

You can’t diss the guy for being successful, though. He’s not one of these people who’s had fame handed to him on a plate, much like the sad scene that shows like the X-Factor represent. Carrack has had...

Bedlam Street was originally reviewed during the St. Louis Filmmaker.s Showcase.

Ensemble features can be daunting, so it’s nice to see a low-budget independent feature tackle the challenge. A lot of characters are woven into the tapestry of Bedlam Street, a gritty new feature from St. Louis-based writer/director Paul Wendell. It’s an ambitious story about intersecting lives, but a mixed bag not without flaws. The script could be tighter and it delves into preachiness at times but there’s a bundle of moviemaking bravura packed into its 90 minutes and on balance it’s an impressive debut.

Bedlam Street deals with a convenience store robbery that touches the lives of several people in St. Louis. Most of the film reveals how we got to that particular crime scene, following the threads of several different, seemingly disconnected lives and showing how in fact they all influence one another without ever meaning to.

Ensemble features can be daunting, so it’s nice to see a low-budget independent feature tackle the challenge. A lot of characters are woven into the tapestry of Bedlam Street, a gritty new feature from St. Louis-based writer/director Paul Wendell. It’s an ambitious story about intersecting lives, but a mixed bag not without flaws. The script could be tighter and it delves into preachiness at times but there’s a bundle of moviemaking bravura packed into its 90 minutes and on balance it’s an impressive debut.

Bedlam Street deals with a convenience store robbery that touches the lives of several people in St. Louis. Most of the film reveals how we got to that particular crime scene, following the threads of several different, seemingly disconnected lives and showing how in fact they all influence one another without ever meaning to. There are four major stories going on in Bedlam Street.

Little Walter - The Complete Chess Masters (1950 - 1967) Blues harmonica player and singer Little Walter died over forty years ago, but his influences still can be heard in many blues-rock recordings that employ the instrument. Following his tenure with Muddy Waters' band, his 1952 single "Juke" was Chess Records' first big hit (r&b #1 for weeks), initiating a string of r&b chart toppers for the artist that included "Off The Wall" and "Sad Hours." While maintaining his own career, Little Walter also played on Muddy Waters' solo albums as well as his other Chess teammates' projects. Assembled here are five full CDs of all of the master's Chess material, and although studying someone as mid-level famous as Little Walter might be too insider baseball for some, it's worth the listen, purchase, and Grammy nod in this year's historical category....