Launched 40 years ago with the largely instrumental Tubular Bells (a 48-minute suite conceived by 19-year-old guitar prodigy Mike Oldfield that went on to sell 15 million copies), Virgin Records has staked its reputation on doing the unexpected. Since its early days the label has emphasised and supported the maverick, creative drive of its artists; whilst along the way, it has achieved global success in breaking some of the biggest and most influential acts of the past four decades.

Virgin and its artists have been at the forefront of almost every key musical movement of the past forty years. It was the underdog label that signed the Sex Pistols when they had been rejected by the rest of the music establishment and forged ahead to enjoy great critical acclaim in the post-punk era with the likes of Simple Minds, PiL, Magazine, Devo and XTC.

By the Eighties it was spearheading a colourful new wave of British pop acts, helping to steer Boy George's Culture Club and The Human League to the top of the charts. Then through London's Soul II Soul and Bristol's Massive Attack it helped to push DJ and sound system culture into the mainstream.

In the Nineties the label set a vibrant new benchmark for pop music with the rise of the Spice Girls, oversaw the birth of new, electronic dance genres with Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers before changing the post-Britpop landscape with The Verve's, Urban Hymns.

The pace has barely slackened in recent years with Virgin signing the superstar DJs Swedish House Mafia, nurturing the huge talent of critically acclaimed female singer-songwriters Laura Marling and Emeli Sandé as well as launching the career of indie pop newcomers Bastille.

It’s this desire to think creatively, challenge conceptions and take risks that has established Virgin Records as one of the most innovative record companies of the past four decades.  Founder Richard Branson said,

“Virgin Records is where it all started for Virgin and 40 years later it's great to see we are still being innovative. This exciting series of events is the perfect way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Virgin Records and the artists, from Mike Oldfield to Emeli Sandé, who continue to disrupt the status quo."

Taking place in the autumn and including artists past and present, the events to celebrate Virgin Records ‘40 years of disruptions’ will be supporting the charity, War Child. War Child protects children from the brutal effects of war and received the Special Recognition Award at this year’s BRIT Awards.

Events are as follows

1) Exhibition
The creative direction for the exhibition will be overseen by Adrian Shaughnessy, George Lee and the team at This Is Real Art. It will include photos (seen and unseen), seminal videos (including props) and memorabilia that capture the symbiotic collaborations between the cultural icons of the day. The location will be an exclusive venue in Mornington Crescent.
 
2) Book
A beautiful art book will be edited by leading music journalist Adrian Thrills. Adrian began his career editing the punk fanzine 48 Thrills before becoming one of the main feature writers for NME in the Eighties. He contributed fifty cover stories for the paper championing the 2-Tone movement and many of the post-punk, reggae and dance acts of the era; as well as writing the first ever cover story for iconic style magazine The Face featuring The Specials. The book will be designed by Adrian Shaughnessy.

3) Documentary  
A film produced by Leopard Films, one of the UK’s leading production companies, and directed by Paul Tilzey, the director of many award winning documentaries for BBC and Channel 4 including ‘The 70s’. Executive producer Todd Austin and Fiona Morris' projects include ‘Do it Yourself; The Story of Rough Trade’ (BBC Four) and ‘Imagine: Damon and Jamie’s Excellent Adventure’ (BBC One) respectively.
 
4) Events    
A series of live events. Virgin Records will be taking over legendary Camden venue KOKO in October. The shows will celebrate four decades of disruptions involving icons and luminaries from Virgin’s roster past and present.    
 
5) Compilations     

A compilation CD with 2 x Cd set; one disc with current Virgin artists covering Virgin classics, another disc with original Virgin classics. There will also be a series of Virgin 40 compilation CDs spanning the four decades.

Virgin Records four decades of artists include: Mike Oldfield, Sex Pistols, Neneh Cherry, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, N.E.R.D, The Human League, Public Image Ltd., Spice Girls, George Michael, The Rolling Stones, Culture Club, Massive Attack, Swedish House Mafia, Kelis, The Kooks, KT Tunstall, Bastille, Heaven 17, The Verve, Genesis, Iggy Pop, Tangerine Dream, Lenny Kravitz, MeatLoaf, Simple Minds, Laura Marling, Phil Collins, Professor Green, The Smashing Pumpkins, Janet Jackson, XTC, UB40, Malcolm McLaren, Emeli Sandé, Soul II Soul, Air, Peter Gabriel, Inner City, David Guetta, Daft Punk, Everything But The Girl, The Chemical Brothers.

http://www.virgin40.com/

TICKETS INCREDIBLE VALUE AT JUST £5

Propaganda is thrilled to announce an extensive tour with one of the UK’s most compelling rock bands, The View. These will be some of the most exciting nights yet at Propaganda.

After making a glorious return with last year’s Top 10 album ‘Cheeky For A Reason’, which received numerous glowing reviews – some of the best of the band’s career so far - and also saw them winning Best Album 2012 at the Sunday Mail’s Great Scotland Awards and Album of the Year 2012 at The Scottish Music Awards, The View have compiled some of their finest moments to date on the ‘Seven Year Setlist’ album which will be released on June 17th on Cooking Vinyl. The release of the album comes just days before they support the legendary Stone Roses in front of 50,000 people at Glasgow Green on June 15th.

"Over the years there's been four studio albums, thousands of gigs, too much vodka and loads of memories on this crazy rock n' roll journey,” says vocalist / guitarist Kyle Falconer. “So we wanted to create an album that was kinda like stopping and looking back over the years - with a few new tracks too. That’s the Seven Year Setlist."

‘Seven Year Setlist’ spans The View’s journey to date from ‘Face For The Radio’ which originally featured on their self-titled debut EP which was released in 2006 up to the present day with two new songs in the shape of ‘Dirty Magazine’ and ‘Kill Kyle’. Along the way, it visits the #3 hit ‘Same Jeans’, ‘Wasted Little DJs’ which won Best Track at the NME Awards, another Top 15 hit with ‘Superstar Tradesman’, a Dirty Version of the ‘Which Bitch?’ album highlight ‘Shock Horror’ and ‘How Long’, the first single and opening track from ‘Cheeky For A Reason’ which was accompanied by a video starring Red Road / A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints actor Martin Compston.

The new material on the album reunites the band with Owen Morris (Oasis, The Verve) who produced their Mercury Prize-nominated, #1 album ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’. The majority of the songs on the album were written by Falconer and bassist Kieren Webster, and features further production courtesy of Mike Crossey (Artic Monkeys, Foals) and Youth (Primal Screan)

The View – completed by guitarist Pete Reilly and drummer Steven Morrison – recently completed their first full North American coast-to-coast tour which included a sold-out show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, a date at famous Los Angeles venue The Troubadour and a set at SXSW.

Formed in Dundee in 2005 by four former school friends, The View have hit the charts with all four of their albums – ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’ (#1), ‘Which Bitch?’ (#3), ‘Bread and Circuses’ (#14) and ‘Cheeky For A Reason’ (#9) – accumulated over 3.5 million views at YouTube and have excelled at numerous major festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, T in the Park and One Big Weekend. Highlights of their recent tours include headlining to almost 7000 people over three Scottish shows split between Dundee’s Caird Hall and Glasgow’s Barrowlands, as well as a raucous set at Rockness which was abandoned due to safety fears and upgraded to a bigger tent due to the phenomenal turnout from fans.

 -----

 Propaganda has become the touring partner of choice for the UK’s most important guitar acts and the last 18 months have seen live shows and DJ sets from the likes of Mumford and Sons, The Vaccines, Bloc Party, Ed Sheeran, Bombay Bicycle Club, Rizzle Kicks, Razorlight, The Enemy and Miles Kane. Tickets for each Propaganda show with The View are extraordinary value at £5 as Propaganda continues to offer music lovers a hugely enjoyable and affordable night out with some of the best bands in the country.

The View At Propaganda Dates

May

Fri 24th May - Propaganda Birmingham @ o2Academy Birmingham
Sat 25th Mat - Propaganda Newcastle @ o2Academy Newcastle
Fri 31st May - Propaganda Sheffield @ o2Academy  Sheffield

June

Sat 1st June - Propaganda Leeds @ o2Academy Leeds
Fri 7th June - Propaganda London @ o2Academy Islington
Sat 8th June - Propaganda Oxford @ o2Academy Oxford
Fri 14th June - Propaganda Northampton @ The Roadmender
Fri 21st June - Propaganda Glasgow @ o2 ABC 
Sat 22nd June- Propaganda Edinburgh @ The Picture House

"Over the years there's been four studio albums, thousands of gigs, too much vodka and loads of memories on this crazy rock n' roll journey,” says vocalist / guitarist Kyle Falconer. “So we wanted to create an album that was kinda like stopping and looking back over the years - with a few new tracks too. That’s the Seven Year Setlist."

‘Seven Year Setlist’ spans The View’s journey to date from ‘Face For The Radio’ which originally featured on their self-titled debut EP which was released in 2006 up to the present day with two new songs in the shape of ‘Dirty Magazine’ and ‘Kill Kyle’. Along the way, it visits the #3 hit ‘Same Jeans’, ‘Wasted Little DJs’ which won Best Track at the NME Awards, another Top 15 hit with ‘Superstar Tradesman’, a Dirty Version of the ‘Which Bitch?’ album highlight ‘Shock Horror’ and ‘How Long’, the first single and opening track from ‘Cheeky For A Reason’ which was accompanied by a video starring Red Road / A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints actor Martin Compston.

The new material on the album reunites the band with Owen Morris (Oasis, The Verve) who produced their Mercury Prize-nominated, #1 album ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’. The majority of the songs on the album were written by Falconer and bassist Kieren Webster, and features further production courtesy of Mike Crossey (Artic Monkeys, Foals) and Youth (Primal Scream).

The full album tracklisting is:

1. Kill Kyle
2. Grace
3. Wasted little DJ’s
4. 5 Rebeccas
5. How Long
6. The Don
7. Skag Trendy
8. Realisation
9. Face For The Radio
10. Tacky Tattoo
11. The Clock
12. Underneath The Lights
13. Tragic Magic
14. Same Jeans
15. Dirty Magazine
16. Superstar Tradesman
17. Sunday
18. Shock Horror

The View – completed by guitarist Pete Reilly and drummer Steven Morrison – recently completed their first full North American coast-to-coast tour which included a sold-out show at New York’s Bowdery Ballroom, a date at famous Los Angeles venue The Troubadour and a set at SXSW. In addition to the Stone Roses show, The View’s summer touring plans encompass two intimate homecoming shows at Dundee’s 20 Rocks venue (May 9th and 10th), a headline set at the Mighty Boof At The Playground festival (May 17th) and a return to T in the Park in July.

Formed in Dundee in 2005 by four former school friends, The View have hit the charts with all four of their albums – ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’ (#1), ‘Which Bitch?’ (#3), ‘Bread and Circuses’ (#14) and ‘Cheeky For A Reason’ (#9) – accumulated over 3.5 million views at YouTube and have excelled at numerous major festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, T in the Park and One Big Weekend. Highlights of their recent tours include headlining to almost 7000 people over three Scottish shows split between Dundee’s Caird Hall and Glasgow’s Barrowlands, as well as a raucous set at Rockness which was abandoned due to safety fears and upgraded to a bigger tent due to the phenomenal turnout from fans.

www.theviewareonfire.com

The first joint activity brings together Deutsche Grammophon, Universal Music's iconic classical label, and B&O PLAY, Bang & Olufsen's new brand that lets music aficionados enjoy outstanding acoustics in even more places. B&O PLAY has recently introduced a new generation of award-winning design products specially created for digital enjoyment and mobile lifestyles – with uncompromising dedication to premium sound.

Universal Music's next "Yellow Lounge London" event will take place today on April 8, 2013 at Fabric in Shoreditch, and B&O PLAY will be making a significant product introduction to all Yellow Lounge attendees. Founded in Berlin, Universal Music's Yellow Lounge movement has brought classical music to new audiences in new locations in a number of major urban centers.  Yellow Lounge London guests will be the first to try out a brand new B&O PLAY product, and compare for themselves how the performances sound both live and in a Deutsche Grammophon recording – played on the latest B&O PLAY equipment.Subsequent B&O PLAY launch events are planned around the world at outside venues. In the USA, an event will be held May 8in New York City to support the product introduction.

Bang & Olufsen CEO Tue Mantoni notes that the collaboration is a first for Bang & Olufsen. "We are extremely proud to join forces with Universal Music, and to make common cause for excellent sound with a global leader in recorded music. Universal Music works with some of the greatest artists and labels of all time, and they share our mission of bringing people musical experiences that are as close to the original as possible."

Both companies will introduce further aspects of the new collaboration later this year, including exclusive Bang & Olufsen Yellow Lounge events in four major European cities during 2013 – all in the cause of musical excellence.

"We're very pleased to be teaming up with Bang & Olufsen," says Max Hole , chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group International.  "Our artists are driven by excellence in creating their music while Bang & Olufsen stand for excellence in listening to and enjoying music; we're very excited about what we can achieve by working together."

Bang & Olufsen was founded in Struer, Denmark, in 1925 by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen , two innovative, young engineers devoted to high quality audio reproduction. Since then, the brand has become an icon of performance and design excellence through its long-standing craftsmanship tradition and the strongest possible commitment to high-tech research and development.

Still at the forefront of domestic technology, Bang & Olufsen has extended its comprehensive experience with integrated audio and video solutions for the home to other areas such as the hospitality and automotive industries in recent years. Consequently, its current product range epitomizes seamless media experiences in the home as well as in the car and on the move. For more information on Bang & Olufsen, please visit www.bang-olufsen.com.

Images are available free of charge from the Bang & Olufsen media centre: http://mediacenter.bang-olufsen.dk. If you are a first-time visitor, please follow the instructions and register as a new user.

Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group is the global music leader, with wholly owned operations in 60 territories. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's premier music publishing operations worldwide.

Universal Music Group's record labels include A&M/Octone, Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol Records, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Geffen Records, Interscope Records, I.R.S., Island Records, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, Manhattan, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Republic Records, Universal Music Latino, Verve Music Group and Virgin Records, as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalogue of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG's catalogue is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes Global Digital Business, its new media and technologies division and Bravado, its merchandising company.

Universal Music Group is a fully owned subsidiary of Vivendi.

Yellow Lounge London – learn more at http://yellowlounge.co.uk/

“The work ethic, the amount of energy was immense,” he told Spinner.com. “When we did more of the recording in L.A., I was lucky enough to work with a guy called Benjamin Wright, who arranged the strings. So many things were popping up while I was there.”

One thing that popped up out of the blue was the opportunity for the former Verve frontman to compose music for Matt Damon’s latest thriller, ‘The Adjustment Bureau.’

"It came out of the director, George Nolfi, hearing 'Are You Ready' and wanting to use it as the outro of the film,’ Ashcroft explains. “Then he suggested we do something together for the start of the film."

Watch the video for ‘Are You Ready’ below.

The concert, called ‘Killing Cancer’, will be happening at the London Hammersmith Apollo and will also feature performances from The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft and guitar-slinger Jeff Beck.

Jeff Beck said of the concert: “I am pleased to be asked to support such a vital cause.  Any new breakthrough in cancer treatment should be taken very seriously and we want as many people to know about that as possible.”

Proceeds from the concert will go towards Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) – a method of treatment involving a laser to kill cancer cells – research and to raising public awareness.

The Who are not strangers to cancer research gigs as frontman Roger Daltrey is the yearly organiser of the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at the Albert Hall in London. Watch a clip of one of these concerts below:

The Verve formed in 1990 and first broke up in 1995, before reforming for 1997's 'Urban Hymns'. The band split again in 1999, reunited in 2007, then released 'Forth' before splitting up for a third time.

When asked about their second reunion, Ashcroft said, "We didn't massacre the past. And X amount of people from a generation got to see us who never got to see us before. So, I'm trying to look at the positives now."

Ashcroft returned this year with a new band, United Nations of Sound, and has teamed up with the producer No ID.

"When I look at it, I could have attempted this in the '90s, 1997, when I was making 'Bitter Sweet'. I could have been working with these guys then, it just took a long time to get there," he reflected.