Paul McCartney has denied claims that he is set to retire after completing his next world tour.

Tabloid reports last week (July 31) stated that the former Beatle was on the verge of announcing details of what would be his last tour, which would apparently see him call at unusual venues including China's Tiananmen Square and Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie.

However, an interview with the Boston Herald saw McCartney laugh off the reports, even comparing them to the notorious 'Paul is dead' rumours that made headlines in 1969.

"All I can say is that I'm not retiring," he confirmed. "It's like 'Paul is dead'. 'No, I'm not,' is all I could say. I did talk about retirement in one sentence in one story and only to say 'No way, Jose.' But someone must have only read part of that one sentence."

McCartney added that he currently wants to continue playing live for as long as possible.

He said: "As long as people want to come and hear me, I’ll probably be doing this. It's just so easy to start rumours."

The veteran rocker also praised two of the acts supporting him on his current tour – Thievery Corporation and MGMT.

"Tonight [August 1] we're playing Washington and we have Thievery Corporation, this local group, opening up. And MGMT [who open McCartney's two Boston Fenway Park shows on August 5-6], well, I just happen to like them."

Source NME

Rare BBC Sessions by The Specials, Dexys Midnight Runners, Gang of Four, PiL and more are to be released digitally from September 2009.

The recording sessions, many made for John Peel's Radio 1 show also include rare live tracks by Ultravox, The Stranglers and The Skids.

Three installments of releases have been confirmed for the sessions which were recorded between 1977 and 1980, details as follows:

September 14:

The Stranglers (first John Peel session, March 1 1977)
Rich Kids (first John Peel session, October 31 1977)
Rich Kids (second John Peel session, March 20 1978)
The Skids (first John Peel session, May 16 1978)
999 (John Peel session, October 25 1978)

November 9:

The Skids (second John Peel session, August 29 1978)
Gang Of Four (second John Peel session, July 2 1979)
Public Image Limited (John Peel session, December 10 1979)
Angelic Upstarts (second John Peel session, September 17 1980)
Angelic Upstarts (third John Peel session, June 23 1981)

December 7:

The Specials (BBC In Concert, December 15 1979)
The Selecter (BBC In Concert, December 15 1979)
Ultravox (BBC In Concert, January 14 1981)
The Selecter (first John Peel session, October 9 1979)
Dexys Midnight Runners (John Peel session, February 26 1980)
Dexys Midnight Runners (Kid Jensen session, 1980)

Source UNCUT

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry said today (August 7) that the band may have to cancel their ongoing tour as a result of the injuries frontman Steven Tyler sustained after falling off the stage in South Dakota earlier this week.

Speaking on the WXRX-FM radio in Illinois, the guitarist said that he didn't know whether they could continue on the tour because of the state Tyler was in. "We still don't know if we're going to keep the tour up or what. It's breaking my heart," he said.

The band have cancelled their show scheduled for tonight in Winnipeg, but have not yet announced any other cancellations. Details of the extent of Tyler's injuries have not yet been released.

The veteran band's tour has been plagued with troubles from the outset. Tyler contracted pneumonia before the tour began in June and injured his leg at a concert in Connecticut soon afterward. Meanwhile, Perry has had to deal with a knee infection.

.Source NME

Bob Dylan is working on a covers album of Christmas songs, according to reports.

He has already recorded versions of 'Must Be Santa', 'Here Comes Santa Claus', 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' and 'O Little Town of Bethlehem', states Bullypulpit.com.

Though Dylan is yet to confirm the album himself, he is alleged to have begun work on the Christmas album in May this year, with sessions taking place at Jackson Browne's Groove Master's Studios in Santa Monica, California.

Fansite Bobdylanisis.com claims that the mooted album is a personal project for Dylan, rather than one done in conjunction with a record label.

Source NME

Barbra Streisand, the legendary singer who first appeared at the Village Vanguard 48 years ago, will return to the intimate jazz club on Sunday, September 26 for a one-off performance. Streisand, who rarely performs concerts, will sing songs from her new album,  a collection of jazz standards and classics entitled Love Is the Answer. Her last performance at the club was 1961 as the opening act for Miles Davis.

The show will be free, with the few tickets given away to fans who  either purchase the CD in advance or fill out an entry form. Details about the concert and tickets are available at barbrastreisand.com.

Streisand's last U.S. tour,  in 2006, tour grossed more than $92 million, according to Billboard Boxscore, setting house gross records in 14 of the 16 arenas it played.

Source Billboard

Following the news that The 88 recorded a complete song on the iPhone, New York duo Nuclear O'Reilly have upped the ante by producing what they claim is the world's first iPhone album.

Phoning It In was created entirely using Intua Software's Beatmaker, a pad-based mobile production studio for Apple's handheld devices.

"The freedom of this mobile studio app allowed us to create our newest music on the go: at friends' houses, parties, on the crosstown bus, and on the world famous A train, to name a few spots," say Nuclear O'Reilly (AKA Brad Naprixas and Jared DiDomenico).

"And no, we're not an Apple or Intua street team disguised as a music duo, we're a music duo disguised as male escorts for librarians."

You can watch a video documenting the making of Phoning It In below, while the album can be downloaded for free via Nuclear O'Reilly's website.

Source music-radar