Music

Long Tall Shorty are a British Mod/power pop band. They were formed at school in 1978 by Tony Perfect and Keith Mono & soon became the darlings of the Mod Revival movement, LTS were signed up by Jimmy Pursey (Sham 69) and released their 1st single "By Your Love/1970's Boy" on Warner Brothers, which incidentally is now worth £150, if you can find one of course. An LP was recorded for Warner's but not released, it has since been released on CD on the Captain Mod label, due to public demand. They gigged constantly in the late 70's and early 80's, with a long running residency at The famous Marquee club in London & an infamous appearance at the Reading Festival in 1981, Girlschool thought it was smashing though!!. Keith & Tony left the band not long after & Tony went on to join the Angelic Upstarts, writing several of their well known and successful songs and touring the U.S. extensively as Tony Feedback. LTS fizzled out after that and ceased to be in the mid 80's. Tony breathed life back into LTS & Tony Perfect again in 2000 because the kids demanded it. The double 'hits' LP “Completely Perfect” came out on Detour Records in 2001 and is still selling well today. Read more »

Answer honestly - there have been times when you suspected your girlfriend of being evil, demonically possessed or a witch. Brooklyn-based folk artist Peter Squires knows how you feel - in the aptly-named video for Witch, he accuses his girlfriend of being a witch.

Witch is from Squires' latest album, Woe Is Me. I've been listening to some of the tunes today, and there's a raw energy in his acoustic work that he couples with humour in his lyrics. Here's a bit more about Peter: Read more »

Hailed at the start of 2009 as one of the big acts to watch this year, Marina Diamandis (aka Marina And The Diamonds) has just announced the release of her debut album, The Family Jewels. Here's a bit more about the album: Read more »

Britney's back, and with a tune that I actually like. 3 has a bit of a Europop vibe. And by that I mean I can't understand any of the lyrics she's singing. But since when was I ever hung up on lyrics?

If you ignore the truly horrible video, 3 is a damned fine pop song. My favourite part is the 'verse', which is sadly only heard once in the entire song. This makes it necessary to listen to it over and over again to get satisfaction. All the same, the cheap and cheerful orchestra hits and brilliant hook on the chorus give us something to sing along to.

The video, however, is a complete train wreck. Since Britney had her meltdown, she's had a slightly vacant look in her eyes. I'm not saying that to be mean, it's true. And in the video for 3, she looks like she's going through the motions. The sad fact is, she's not sexy anymore, so her attempts at wriggling her back are stiff and frankly pathetic. The costumes are tacky, but they have been ever since the Gimme More video. Read more »

95.8 Capital FM presents the Jingle Bell Ball, the ultimate pop event of the year, featuring some of the world’s biggest stars this December in London’s 02 arena.

Performances from amazing artists such as Lady Gaga, JLS, Shakira, Tinchy Stryder, Sugababes, Ne-Yo, La Roux, Dizee Rascal and many more. There's still a chance for you to win exclusive tickets to the Jingle Bell Ball. Simply tune into 95.8 Capital FM for a chance to win pair of tickets every hour!   

For those of you that want a taste of the gig in your own home we're giving you the chance to win a brand new signed Chipmunk and t-shirt and poster.  

All you have to do is email us  with the answer to the question below, and we'll pick a winner at random.

Q. What is the name of Chipmunk’s album? Read more »

See what happened when Marvin from JLS showed ChildLine how to do the Everybody in Love dance!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-dSzaaQQUE

December will soon be here, and the last month of 2009 will very quickly ebb away as we get ready for Christmas. Let's do an open thread on Unreality Shout today - tell me your favourite music of 2009.

I've organised it into five groups - Singles, Albums, Music Videos, Solo Artists and Bands. Leave your answers in the comment thread, and I'll share my favourites of 2009 there as well!

1. Best Single
2. Best Album
3. Best Video
4. Best Solo Artist
5. Best Band

Over to you...

The Alexandra Burke machine keeps on rolling, with Broken Heels reportedly the third single from her debut album, Overcome.

Nice to see her keeping it uptempo with this busy pop track, which owes more than a little bit to Alesha Dixon's The Boy Does Nothing. It's got that same funky pop vibe, with the ever-bolshy Burke claiming that "anything you can do, we can do better/we can even do it better in broken heels".

There are a few suggestive lyrical moments, including the "you grow hard, yes you do..." which kind of push the boundaries (and I'm guessing exclude a primetime weekend plug on X Factor) unless they make a last-minute change!

No video available for the single just jet, but Alexandra is said to be rehearsing in Los Angeles for the shoot. She said on Twitter:

2nd Day of rehearsals for BROKEN HEELS! OMG! I hope u guys love this video! Me and my girls are working HARD!!! :-)

Looking forward to it, and still loving Bad Boys... I'll post the video when it gets released!

Four words. Amazing song. Amazing video.
P.S. How hot does Hayley look with the blonde hair?

Two weeks after the European MTV awards it’s time for the 37th American Music Awards 2009. After a quick glimpse at the list of nominees, it seems clear the night could turn into (another) Michael Jackson tribute (nominated for best pop-rock AND soul-R&B album, best pop-rock male artist and best soul-R&B male artist). The night will also be a new GaGa – Beyoncé dispute for best female artist (will little miss spoilt GaGa turn up this time?). The rest of nominees are the usual: Black Eyed Peas, the American beloved Taylor Swift and the hip-hop / rap category 2009 trio Jay-Z, T.I. and Eminem for best album and artist. Read more »