15 May 2007,London - For the first time in over three decades original 10cc members, Kevin Godley and Graham Gouldman, have reunited to record new music. Best known for such classic 10cc hits as “Rubber Bullets”, “I’m Not In Love” and “Things We Do For Love”, as well as Godley and Creme’s mega-hit “Cry”, Godley and Gouldman have recorded five new songs available for download on their official website www.ggo6.co.uk.

Kevin Godley, former half of the pioneering duo Godley and Creme, who has also directed and produced some of the most successful music videos in rock and roll for such artists as Duran Duran, U2, Peter Gabriel, Herbie Hancock, Rod Stewart, Keane and The Police to name just a few, graces all five tracks with his tremendous voice - arguably one of the great vocalists in music today. “I always figured Kevin had the best voice in the band,” complements Gouldman, “ironic that he never sang lead on a 10cc single… Even I managed that. Now justice has been done. Kevin’s voice and razor sharp lyrics take us places we haven’t visited before… Always a good place to start!”

Graham Gouldman, a prolific songwriter since 1965, who still maintains a touring 10cc, before joining the band penned such classic songs as “For Your Love”, “Heart Full Of Soul” and “Evil Hearted You” for The Yardbirds, as well as “Look Through Any Window” and “Bus Stop” for The Hollies and “No Milk Today”, “Listen People” and “East West” for Herman’s Hermits. He has also worked with the likes of Andrew Gold and The Ramones. “It was exhilarating to hear a haunting Graham Gouldman chord sequence,” says Godley about their recent collaboration, “wrap some words around it and feel something actually come to life, in real time, again. These first five tracks are pretty lean by our previous standards. They’re more heartfelt, focused, less layered and lyrically they’re tougher.”

The five new Godley and Gouldman songs are as followed:

1) “The Same Road ” - A burned-out, homesick, American executive, snarled up in traffic on the Westway, fantasizes about finding a soul mate in a pressurized, loveless world.

2) “Johnny Hurts” - In a dark hotel room, late at night, a man tries to comfort his best friend’s new wife as a disastrous wedding party winds down in the bar.

3) “Beautifulloser.com” - A rich man recalls, with regret, his lost youth and his part in an extraordinary woman’s downfall.

4) “Hooligan Crane ” - Years after the event a victim of school bullying meets his vicious tormentor. Old wounds re-open. For the victim nothing’s changed. For the bully everything has.

5) “Son Of Man” - Hotlegs morph, noisily, into 10cc via self -medicating, mutant primate and northern work ethic. (This is part one of “The Son Of Man Diaries”, a sporadic, mostly audio but occasionally visual look at Godley and Gouldman’s collective history).

Why a reunion now after so many years? “In a nutshell… unfinished business,” explains Godley. “In all the years we’ve known each other we’ve only written three pure, Godley/Gouldman songs. That, and a desire to find out if the music muscle still worked with someone I enjoyed and didn’t have to spend weeks getting to know.” Upon listening to the duo’s new work unquestionably the spark is still there, picking up where they left off in 1976 but with a newly found, contemporary edge. Says Gouldman, “Kevin and I have always stayed in touch even though we haven’t actually worked together for many years, so I was delighted when he called to suggest we write some songs. When I asked ‘Why?’ He said, ‘No reason… just to do it and see what happens.’ A good enough reason for me!”

Much to the elation of Kevin Godley/Graham Gouldman fans worldwide, new material by the dynamic duo are currently in the works.

For downloads and more information visit the official Godley and Gouldman website: www.gg06.co.uk

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Tom McRae - an artist rightfully recognised for his intelligent song craft and remarkable vocals - returns with his eagerly awaited fourth studio LP ‘King of Cards’ on V2 Records, May 14th.A download only EP ’Set The Story Straight’ precedes the album on 16th April, and a single ‘Bright Lights’ follows on 11th June.

Written by Tom McRae and produced by Sean Genockey – whose previous credits include Manic Street Preachers, Kula Shaker, Suede -‘King Of Cards’ is an album centred round escape, identity and disappearance. His most accessible work to date, it’s a stellar collection of instantaneous melodies and heartfelt lyrics, all driven by Tom’s unique voice.

“Most of my records are a reaction to the one before, and I was in a pretty dark place when I wrote the last LP,” Tom says. “This time I was spending more time in New York, just getting some distance from everything I’d done previously… and letting the songs come out as they happened.”

“All the songs were written in a 5 month period at the start of last year. I wanted to write in a different way to usual, just to see if I could make something more upbeat, energetic and eclectic. For me every record has to be slightly different, even if it means leaving your comfort zone and trying something unfamiliar.”

Influenced by contemporaries that include Nick Drake, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and Jeff Buckley, album highlights include the thundering piano keys of ‘Bright Lights’ (the LP’s first single, released June 11th), the Dylan-esque heartbreak of ‘Deliver Me’ and ‘The Ballad Of Amelia Earhart’ - a vibrant, lyrical masterstroke.

His eponymous first album was released in 2000 and – among glowing reviews - was nominated for both the 2001 Mercury Music Prize and the 2001 BRIT Award for Best Newcomer. ‘Just Like Blood’ followed in 2003 before the equally lauded ‘All Maps Welcome’, which was recorded and released in 2005.Tom McRae performed two triumphant fan-shows at London’s Cargo earlier this year. Forthcoming dates are listed below.

June
MON 4 PORTSMOUTH WEDGEWOOD ROOMS
TUE 5 BRIGHTON CONCORDE 2
WED 6 READING FEZ
THU 7 BIRMINGHAM ACADEMY 2
SAT 9 MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2
SUN 10 LEEDS COCKPIT
MON 11 GLASGOW ABC
WED 13 BRISTOL TRINITY
THU 14 NOTTINGHAM RESCUE ROOMS
FRI 15 LONDON SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE

Live, Tom McRae will play as a trio, featuring long-term band members Oli Kraus on cello and Olli Cunningham on keyboards.“Recording is like trying unsuccessfully to pin a butterfly to cardboard. Playing live is like helping it soar into the rafters.

The album ‘King Of Cards’ is released on V2 Records, May 14th.The single ‘Bright Lights’ follows on June 11th.

www.tommcrae.com
myspace.com/tommcrae

In advance of the release, an exclusive album track ‘Got A Suitcase, Got Regrets’ available to download [MP3 format, 128kbps, 3.6MB] for FREE from the below link in exchange for your email address:

v2digital.net/uk/ecards/tommcrae

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‘Bank Holiday Monday’ Available May 28th, Download Only.

To celebrate the release of the Stereophonics’ eagerly anticipated 6th studio album ‘Pull The Pin’ this autumn, the band unveil a taster track ‘Bank Holiday Monday’ as a download only May 28th.

The single has been added to Radio One’s C List this week, and gets a world exclusive first play from Chris Moyles on Tuesday of next week (1st May).

Written by Kelly Jones and produced by Kelly and Jim Lowe, the forthcoming CD boasts 12 new tracks and is a rock record of epic proportions. Mixed by Spike Stent, it looks set to be one of the definitive albums of their incredible ten-year career.

Stereophonics - Kelly Jones, Richard Jones and Javier Weyler – release ‘Pull The Pin’ on V2 this autumn.

Live dates will be announced shortly.

stereophonics.com

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After a whirlwind autumn spent touring in Europe with the likes of Jet and Albert Hammond Jr, Five O’Clock Heroes spent the last part of December in Japan as part of the hmv sponsored British anthems tour. They managed to spend the new year in their home town of New York, selling out the mercury lounge on their homecoming show, but now are back in the uk and started off 2007 with a storming show that was the talk of the Eurosonics festival. The brand new previously unreleased single ‘Skin Deep’ is taken from their debut album ‘Bend To The Breaks’ and is accompanied by the new acoustic track “Every night, all night long”.

You can check the video here:

Real Media High : Medium : Low

Windows Media High : Medium : Low

Quicktime High : Medium : Low

You can also get a live version of “White Girls” as a FREE DOWNLOAD here:

thefiveoclockheroes.com/freedownload

Live dates here:

MARCH:

16th - STOKE - SUGARMILL
18th - SOUTHAMPTON - JOINERS
19th - BRISTOL - THEKLA
20th - NOTTINGHAM - SOCIAL

Web site: thefiveoclockheroes.com
My Space: myspace.com/fiveoclockheroes

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Music by Air, lyrics by Jarvis Cocker, vocals from Charlotte Gainsbourg; How can it not be great?

The video for ‘The Songs That We Sing’ is available here [Quicktime Movie].

The much lauded album from which the single is taken, named ‘5:55′, is to come out on Because Records on April 24th.

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Electrelane are moving from strength to strength. Soon to be out on the road with the infamous Arcade Fire before heading onto a number of their own headline dates around the world, the new album No Shouts No Calls will be released in April - the first fresh material since 2005’s Axes. And still they continue to tease and tantalize us with yet another all too exciting announcement.

Electrelane will be playing a very intimate and strictly fans-only gig within the next two weeks. There are a very limited 100 tickets available and the only way to get your hands on a pair is to check out all the details announced inside this month’s too pure podcast.

Listen here: http://www.toopure.com/listen/

Subscribe here (iTunes): http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=214854604

For the full list of Electrelane dates, see toopure.com.

www.electrelane.com
www.myspace.com/electrelane

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On the verge of releasing their new album ‘They Came From The Sun’, Newcastle’s YOURCODENAMEIS:MILO have just started a national tour with Enter Shikari.

In honour of being one half of the loudest tour in the country, YCNI:M will be offering a free download exclusively on their website.  Fans will be able to download ‘Translate’ only by visiting http://www.yourcodenameismilo.com

‘Translate’ is one of the twelve tracks that make up ‘They Came From The Sun’ which also includes the upcoming single ‘Understand’

‘Understand’ will be released as a download-only single on the 26th of March.  ‘They Came From The Sun’ will be available from the 2nd of April.

The band are on tour through March with Enter Shikari and have also just announced a full UK headlining tour:

March (w/ Enter Shikari)
01 - Bar Solus, Cardiff
03 - Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton
04 - University, Southampton
06 - Leadmill, Sheffield
07 - Barrowlands, Glasgow
08 - University, Newcastle
09 - Academy 2, Manchester
10 - Hammersmith Palais, London
11 - Hammersnith Palais, London
22 - Waterfront, Norwich
24 - University, Hull
25 - Met University, Leeds
26 - Junction, Cambridge
27 - Civic Hall, Aylesbury
28 - Pyramids, Portsmouth
30 - Princess Pavilion, Falmouth
31 - Pavilion, Bath

April (Headlining Dates)
11 - Cockpit, Leeds
12 - Underground, Stoke
13 - Rock City Basement, Nottingham
14 - Barfly, Birmingham
16 - Joiner’s Arms, Southampton
17 - ULU, London
19 - Fuzz Club, Sheffield
20 - Zodiac, Oxford
21 - Thekla, Bristol
22 - Barfly, Cardiff
23 - Academy 3, Manchester
25 - Whelans, Dublin
26 - Speakeasy, Belfast
29 - Academy 2, Liverpool
30 - King Tut’s, Glasgow

May
01 - Academy, Newcastle

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Manic Street Preachers are giving away a free track to promote upcoming new album ‘Send Away the Tigers‘. The song, ‘Underdogs’, will be released as a free download from 19 March, ahead of the release of the long player on 7 May.

The band’s Nicky Wire says of the track: “[It’s] all out punk metal - Alice Cooper - Stooges guitar outro. Could have been on ‘Generation Terrorists’. A celebration of the unique, a post ‘Everything Must Go’ address to the fans ten years after the first time we did it. In a Britain dominated by generic, one diametrical multi branding, let us embrace the difference - the downtrodden - the losers and the opposition. Let us fall in love with individuality again.”

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This download single from The Black Keys follows on from the success of the recent release of ‘Magic Potion’ and brings with it a UK Tour (see below).  Their slightly fuzzy, languid, effortlessly cool and almost nakedly simplistic blues rock is a brilliant alternative to a lot of the more frantic and melodramatic modernisers of that classic American sound.

The Black Keys are on tour in February the remaining dates are…

Sun 25th Bournemouth, The Old Firestation
Tue 27th London, Shepherds Bush Empire
Wed 28th London, Shepherds Bush Empire

Label: V2
Release Date: 26 February 2006
Tracklisting;

1. You’re The One
2. The Way I Feel When I’m With You (Magic Potion Out take)
3. Work Me (Live@The Avalon in Boston)

The Black Keys are Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney

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V2 are pleased to announce the launch of our free quarterly digital sampler.

Throughout the year we will be bringing you four ‘5 track’ samplers, available to download for free [96kbps, 16.6MB, MP3], featuring exclusive tracks from the V2 roster.

The first sampler ‘Winter 07′, is available to download from the V2 website now and features exclusive new album tracks from The Rakes and Soulsavers as well as tracks from Cold War Kids, Little Man Tate and Duke Special.

The full tracklisting is:

Little Man Tate - Down on Marie
Soulsavers - Jesus of Nothing
The Rakes - Leave The City and Come Home
Cold War Kids - Passing The Hat
Duke Special - Portrait

Click here to get yours now:
http://gb.v2music.com/site/digitalSingle.asp?ID=45

Look out for ‘Spring 07′ in April.

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