Well, we made it down and back in one piece, which judging by the nick of Ian Brown as we left the VIP area, is a feat unattainable by other sons and daughters of Manchester. What did we see whilst there? Well, for a kick off the one thing we hardly saw any of was any bleedin’ taxis. I know it’s not the most Keef thing in the world to moan about, but in the name of Drew if you’re gonna put a festival on, put some bloody transport on too. Minor, slightly uncool whines aside, IoW wasn’t half bad. Apart from the fact that there is an increasing number of folk who, like me, are slightly grossed out by Iggy, who still don’t get the fuss about The Zutons and who could go the rest of their born days without hearing another spew of spittle soaked mockney bile from Lydon and his deeply un Sexy Pistols. Yeah, apart from THAT, the festival wasn’t half bad. Now it may have been the liberal jugs of Pimms available on site, but we found ourselves actually enjoying a NERD set, with Pharrell managing to inject some humour and charisma into his tiny unsmiling frame, and at least four recognisable from the original songs making their way over the heads of the arena. Oddly, The Wombats also managed to reach the increasingly rowdy fans (I blame the free drink pavilions that looked over the arena crowd) whilst as usual The Kooks succeeded in taking an open and happy crowd and sending them all off to the burger stands during their set. One thing - if you’re the headline act who’s taken the lucre for an appearance, and justified it in some convoluted inversion of your original manifesto, surely you would at least repay your loyal fans by spending some of the fee on a few lights and a bit of a show? Given your vocal performance and staged bile no longer cut the mustard, a few strobes and bit of dry ice wouldn’t break the bank would it? So why did Lydon and co ask us to crown an otherwise great days’ music with lukewarm delivery and 8 60 watt bulbs framing the stage?…something to dwell on as you wait on your bus home….

Yes sir… Flyposter will be at the Isle of Wight Festival this weekend, hopefully soaking up the sun, interviewing some of the top acts and catching their performances…

Watch this space [FLYPOSTER] for the updates as they come in…

Now don’t get me wrong, I was as staggered as i’m sure you all have been by the Shannon Matthews ‘abduction’ story. As the grim details of the faked abduction and her appalling family’s plot to bleed public sympathy and coffers dry emerged I didn’t think I could feel any more sorry for Shannon and her torment. Until they pictured the photographs of her hideaway in the newspaper today. Not only was the room little more than a hovel, but for her entertainment she had only a keyboard, a glue gun and a BUSTED CD…….

Check out the whole hilarious interview with Gill and IAMX here…

Lots of intimate details about the bands musical journey and life in Berlin

Also check out the IAMX biography...

now, not a great deal can yank me from my bubble of one, but when i read this little nugget i nearly swallowed my glands with rage. so Lily Allen’s pulled out of the Isle of Wight festival, using the time immemorial (for male bands anyway) excuse that she will have no record to promote. Whilst it’s OK for male groups to cancel appearances without fear of any sweeping statements being made as to the validity of their reason, and its reflection on their gendered brethren, it would appear that should a female artist choose to pull an appearance, it will immediately be presumed that it is down to her ‘excesses’ (you know, struggling with high octane fame, getting over a miscarriage, a relationship breaking up, her TV show bombing…), and not a simple desire to make sure her appearance is relevant and entertaining.

(thanks to CMU for sending me this):
IOW Promoter John Giddings told BBC 6 Music that he
wouldn’t be getting legal about Allen’s pulling out, but that he thought her
reason for not performing was not good enough, adding “I didn’t book a
record, I booked an artist”. He also questioned whether the official reason
for Allen’s decision to pull out was the truth, observing: “I read in the
tabloids a load of different reasons”.

He concluded: “Unfortunately this country has developed some great new girl
singer songwriters, but they seem to be having a few problems don’t they?”

so, apparently, Lily Allen is representative of EVERY UK FEMALE RECORDING ARTIST in this hoary old goat’s addled mind. nice one mr giddings - and im sure adele, laura marling, kate nash, duffy etc are really glad you cleared up the real reason behind any future female singer songwriter’s no shows….

sorry for harsh words, i guess it’s just that time of the month…..

Hey it was the Brit Awards last night and although we weren’t there we’ve done our homework and have been scouting around to find out who won? Who’s had the best album? The Best single and all that Jazz.

So without further ado, here is the roundup of all the results from the 2008 Brit awards ceremony…

The winners of this years brits are….

Outstanding Contribution To Music - Paul McCartney

British Album Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

British Single - Take That - Shine

British Group - Arctic Monkeys

International Album - Foo Fighters

British Female Solo Artist - Kate Nash

International Group - Foo Fighters

International Female Solo Artist - Kylie

British Male Solo Artist - Mark Ronson

International Male Solo Artist - Kayne West

British Breakthrough Act - Mika

Critics Choice - ADELE

British Live Act - Take That

In support of the The Teenage Cancer Trust, muse have been announced as headline act at the Royal Albert Hall in April.

Muse will also be headlining the V festival later in the year.

Muse official site | Muse on Myspace