The Oxfordshire country studio in which a teenage Mike Oldfield recorded the classic 1973 Album ‘Tubular Bells’ is up for sale.

A sixteenth century house at Shipton-on-Cherwell, The Manor was converted by Richard Branson into the UK’s first ever residential recording studio.

The Grade II listed building opened its doors in 1971 and saw the likes of Gong, Sandy Denny, John Cale, Vivian Stanshall and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and Tangerine Dream record there in the early 1970s, reports The Independent on Sunday.

"Before the Manor rock musicians would go in just like classical musicians, three-hour sessions, then go home – very un-rock'n'roll!” said Richard Branson, who was 21 when he converted The Manor. “They liked to record through the night and sleep through the day.”

The studio was also popular throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with Black Sabbath, The Cult, Cast, Radiohead and Teenage Fanclub all recording there.

Source NME

U2 look likely to play at the Glastonbury festival next year after having cancelled their June 25 headline slot for this year, a spokesperson for the event has said.

Gorillaz have been announced as U2's replacements on the bill after Bono had emergency back surgery last month. Now, a spokesperson for the festival has told the Irish Post that U2 could return in the future.

"They've never played here before and we're very disappointed they can't perform," the spokesperson explained, "but they could well be back next year."

Muse and Stevie Wonder are set to play headline slots at the sold-out Somerset event, as well as Gorillaz.

Source UNCUT

Paul McCartney serenaded Michelle and Barack Obama in the White House in Washington, DC yesterday (June 2), as he accepted the third Gershwin Prize For Popular Song award.

Playing a gig in the home of the US President, McCartney serenaded the first lady by playing The Beatles' song 'Michelle' and directing the lyrics at her, reports The Guardian.

Barack Obama praised the singer and bassist for helping "to lay the soundtrack for an entire generation", while McCartney added: "I don't think there could be anything more special than to play here."

Other acts who paid tribute to him at the show included Jack White, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Dave Grohl, The Jonas Brothers and Faith Hill.

Source UNCUT

Elton John told the Scissor Sisters that their proposed third album wasn’t up to scratch, causing the band to rewrite and record the entire album.

The initial follow up to 2006’s ‘Ta-Dah’ was played to Elton by the band’s guitarist, reports The Sunday Times.

“We had a whole album of material but we just weren’t sure we believed in it,” says frontman Jake Shears.

“Babydaddy played it to Elton John, and next thing I get a call from Elton. He just says, ‘This isn’t it, this isn’t the record. It’s just not right.’ So I went to Berlin and pressed the reset button. I had to be by myself, and dream, be sexy and, you know, be bad.”

'Night Work’, the Scissor Sisters’ Stuart Price produced version of the third album – which features a spoken word cameo from Sir Ian McKellen - is set for release on June 28.

Source musicradar

Faces guitarist Ronnie Wood says the reunited band "haven't ruled out" getting original frontman Rod Stewart to play with them again.

The band are confirmed to play the Sussex Vintage At Goodwood festival (August 13-15), but have recruited Simply Red's Mick Hucknall as a replacement for Stewart.

Speaking to Uncut's sister publication NME about Hucknall, Wood said Stewart wasn't on board because of schedule clashes. He also claimed they were on good terms and he may join them in the future.

"We haven't ruled Rod out," he said. "It's just that his schedule is totally crossing over exactly when we wanted him. We've got Mick Hucknall because his voice is just like Rod's was in the '70s."

He added: "The door's not closed to Rod, but we're carrying on because it's worth it."

Wood said that the band may tour in January and hoped to play Glastonbury and other festivals in 2011.

Source Q

The Roots have made their new song, Dear God 2.0, available to download for free from their official site. The track is a reworking of Monsters Of Folk's Dear God and features contributions from My Morning Jacket's Jim James.

The hip-hop collective's new album, How I Got Over, is due for release on June 22 and is set to also include re-imaginings of tracks by Joanna Newsom and John Legend. The group released their last album, Rising Down, in 2008.

Click HERE to download Dear God 2.0!

Source MOJO