A-Ha have announced they are to split next year, after completing a farewell world tour.

The Norwegian trio released a statement on A-ha.com saying that, after 25 years together, they have decided to concentrate on other projects.

"We've literally lived the ultimate boy's adventure tale, through a longer, more rewarding career than anyone could hope for," the band said in the statement.

"Doing this now will give us a chance to get more involved in other meaningful aspects of life, be it humanitarian work, politics, or whatever else – and of course through new constellations in the field of art and music.

"We are retiring as a band, not as individuals," the statement continued. "Change is always difficult and it is easy to get set in one's ways. Now it is time to move on."

A-Ha will play their final show together in Oslo on December 4. Tickets for the gig go on sale tomorrow morning (October 16) at 10am (CET). See Billettservice.no for more information.

The band's most recent album, 'Foot of The Mountain', was released in June and reached Number Five on the UK album chart.

Source NME

Paul Anka has given his reaction to a track he worked on with Michael Jackson in 1983 being released as a single earlier this week (October 12) without initially crediting him.

You can watch a video interview with Anka talking about the situation with 'This Is It' by scrolling down now.

Speaking to TMZ, Anka revealed that he has now been officially credited for his role in the song, and added that he felt there was no malice originally intended.

He said: "[It was] an honest mistake. I want to clear the record. I have spoken to the estate, they have understood that this has been a mistake – an honest mistake. They have clarified the issue.

"We are proceeding forward in a very, very positive manner. I've heard the record, they've made some major adjustments on the production that I started with Michael in my studio in '83. I like the way that it sounds."

Anka added that he is now set to receive royalties from the single, which is the first posthumous release of a 'new' Jackson song.

He stated: "They've [Jackson's estate] been very forthright. They're giving me exactly what is fair and deserved in terms of my ownership of this track and the song, and we are moving forward."

Anka added that he now wants to put the issue behind him.

Watch the video at NME

On Sunday, rock & roll pioneer Chuck Berry will turn 83. It’s a respectable enough age for kicking up one’s heels and taking it easy, but Berry’s got a still-active touring schedule, and the duck-walking octogenarian still performs once a month at Blueberry Hill, a restaurant in his native St. Louis.

Just like clockwork last night, Berry strutted onstage at the stroke of 10 decked out in a sparkly shirt and sailor hat with that famous cherry red Gibson around his neck, nimbly ripping into the opening riff of “Roll Over Beethoven.”

Berry’s shows at Blueberry Hill take place in the restaurant’s downstairs level, a smoky basement called the Duck Room. There are only four rows of seats, making it easy for nearly everyone to be no further than 30 feet away from the man himself. The sets are hit-packed, jumping from “School Days” to “Nadine” to, yes, “My Ding-a-Ling,” the novelty record that became Berry’s sole Number One hit. “I see all those cameras lighting up on ‘My Ding-a-Ling,’ ” he joked with the audience, which gleefully sang along with the chorus.

When it comes to vocals, Berry has set aside his youthful rapid fire delivery and settled into more of a wizened storyteller sort of voice, like a winking, all-knowing grandpa. His guitar playing is still in full effect, particularly on the solo of “Rock and Roll Music,” and during a fiery take on “Reelin’ and Rockin’,” the evening’s rowdiest number. Although he’s backed up by his son on guitar, there’s no mistaking where the twang that slices through the entire mix is coming from. (And, as always, his stance on guitar tuning can be described as “arbitrary at best.”)

Berry closed the night by inviting all the ladies — young and old — onstage to dance during “Johnny B. Goode.” But when the song ended and it was time for the good nights, Berry was long gone, having slipped out the state door during the free-for-all. November’s show will be his 150th at Blueberry Hill, bringing in a fresh crowd to eat out of the palm of his hand. His age will have increased by one, but his spirits seem to have remained in high school.

Source RollingStone

Noel Gallagher has confirmed that he plans to embark on a solo career following the break-up of Oasis in August.

The guitarist told the Daily Mirror that he was looking forward to releasing music of his own now he was free of the band's shackles.

"I'm looking forward to doing my own thing, bringing out my own music," he said. "I'm glad that's what people want to hear. I am not thinking about much else, Oasis or Liam, I'm just having a good time."

Liam Gallagher recently said that he too would continue to make music, but not under the Oasis guise, as had previously been rumoured.

Source NME

Paul McCartney will play a one-off Christmas show in London this December. The former Beatles will perform at the O2 Arena on December 22.

The gig will be McCartney's first arena gig in the capital for over six years. It will be 46 years to the day since The Beatles played their first Christmas show at Liverpool's Empire Theatre.

Since his last UK tour in 2003 McCartney has only played three major shows: his Glastonbury festival headline slot in 2004, the BBC Electric Proms in 2007, and the European Capital Of Culture show in Liverpool last year.

The singer will also embark on a series of European dates, taking in six cities including Berlin and Paris.

Tickets go on sale at 9am (BST) on Monday (October 26).

To check the availability of Paul McCartney tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

Paul McCartney will play:

Hamburg Color Line Arena (December 2)
Berlin O2 World (3)
Arnhem Gelredome (9)
Paris Bercy (10)
Cologne Koln Arena (16)
Dublin O2 Arena (20)
London O2 Arena (22).

Source NME

Simple Minds will be joining forces with their 2009 tour special guests OMD, playing a cover version of Kraftwerk's 'Neon Lights' with them during the Graffiti Soul shows later in the year.

Both bands have covered the song – from Kraftwerk's 1978 album 'The Man-Machine' – previously, but these will be the first times they have played the song together.

"Kraftwerk were the link between a whole generation of kids in the UK that used synthesizers to define some of the ’80s' most glorious pop music," Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr said in a statement. "In our own way we want to honour their influence by performing 'Neon Lights'."

"Kraftwerk's contribution to music is timeless," added OMD's Andy McCluskey. "Kraftwerk was the reason why we formed OMD. Simple Minds and OMD listened to Kraftwerk before we started making music, but eventually our individual styles of music ventured into different directions."

Simple Minds and OMD will play at:

Newcastle Arena (Nov 30)
Birmingham LG Arena (Dec 2)
Manchester MEN Arena (3)
Sheffield Arena (5)
Cardiff CIA (6)
London Wembley Arena (7)
Glasgow SECC (11)
Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre (12)

To check the availability of Simple Minds and OMD tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

Source NME

Al Martino, a crooner who had several pop hits spanning more than 20 years and played Johnny Fontane in the 1970s "Godfather" movies, died Tuesday at his childhood home in Springfield, Pa. He was 82.

He was born Alfred Cini on Oct. 7, 1927, in South Philadelphia. Encouraged by his boyhood friend Mario Lanza, Martino began his singing career in the late 1940s. His single "Here in My Heart" hit No. 1 in the U.K. in 1952 and stayed on top for a record nine weeks. He performed for Queen Elizabeth at the London Palladium that year, and Martino's publicist, Sandy Friedman, said the singer planned to return for an anniversary performance at the Palladium next year.

Martino had a run of chart singles through 1953, but his career stalled with the advent of rock 'n' roll. He caught fire again in 1963 with the Top 5 hit "I Love You Because"; it was the first of six consecutive top 40 singles in less than two years, including "I Love You More and More Every Day," peaked at No. 9 in 1964.

The string of hits propelled a pair of Martino's albums -- "I Love You Because" and "Painted, Tainted Rose" -- into the top 10 in 1963. He also scored a top-10 disc with "A Merry Christmas," which made Billboard's holiday chart for four consecutive years. His last top 10 album was "Spanish Eyes" in 1966, his only RIAA-certified gold record.

The Italian-American Martino continued to hit the pop charts through the mid-'70s, reaching the top 20 with "To the Door of the Sun (Alle Porte del Sole)" in 1974. But a new audience got to know him as the coddled -- and connected -- heartthrob singer and would-be actor Johnny Fontane -- godson of Don Vito Corleone -- in the best picture Oscar winners "The Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather Part II" (1974). He sang "I Have but One Heart (O Marenariello)" during the first film's wedding scene and on its score album "The Love Theme From 'The Godfather.' "

A longtime resident of Beverly Hills, Martino is survived by his wife, Judi; a daughter, Allison; a son, Alfred; a brother, Frank; two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Services are pending.

Source Billboard

Dickie Peterson, bassist, vocalist and founding member of proto-metal trio Blue Cheer, has passed away in Germany at the age of 61. A cause of death is yet to be identified.

Named after a strain of Owsley LSD, San Francisco's Blue Cheer (Peterson, guitarist Leigh Stephens and drummer Paul Whaley) blazed a trail through the Summer Of Love with their cauterising meld of super-charged rock 'n' roll and psychedelic blues - a sound that would reverberate through the years eventually influencing a generation of bands including all the key players in Seattle's grunge scene.

Spearheaded by a bludgeoning version of Eddie Cochran's Summertime Blues, their debut album, Vincebus Eruptum, hit number 11 in the Billboard Charts in 1968. Plagued by line-up changes, the band released another five albums (including the 1969 classic Outsideinside) before splitting in 1972.

Peterson and Whaley reunited in 1979 before going on to produce 1984's The Beast Is Back. Peterson's two solo albums, Child of the Darkness and Tramp, were released in 1998 and 1999. Blue Cheer's last studio LP appeared in 2005.

Source MOJO