Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em: The Movie, a 1990 straight-to-video movie starring M.C. Hammer returning to his hometown and, with the help of some funky tunes, defeats a druglord who is using kids to traffic his stuff.
Liam Gallagher’s ‘MTV Unplugged’ Live Album Out April 24
Last summer Liam Gallagher joined the list of all-time greats (Paul McCartney, Page and Plant, Nirvana and many more) who have filmed a prestigious MTV Unplugged session. Having missed Oasis’s 1996 session through illness, the show at Hull’s City Hall found Liam fulfilling some unfinished business entirely on his own terms.
Now Liam is set to release the ‘MTV Unplugged’ live album of the show on April 24th.
The show’s electrifying atmosphere is palpable from the very beginning with a phenomenal reaction as Liam takes to the stage with ‘Wall of Glass’. Material from Liam’s solo career such as his personal favourite ‘Once’ and the joyous ‘Now That I’ve Found You’ resonates in this stripped-back format, with his vocal shining alongside a trio of backing singers and string arrangements performed by the 24-piece Urban Soul Orchestra.
Oasis guitarist Bonehead features on performances of ‘Some Might Say’, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Cast No Shadow’ and Liam’s first ever live vocal performance of the ‘Definitely Maybe’ bonus track ‘Sad Song’. The show concludes on a crowd-pleasing high with an emotive take on the classic ‘Champagne Supernova’.
Liam launches the ‘MTV Unplugged’ album by sharing the new version of ‘Gone’, which was one of the strongest performances of the night. Stripped of the force of the studio recording, ‘Gone’ instead reveals new-found bombastic dynamics and an evocative cinematic atmosphere.
Bee Gees Vinyl Reissue Series To Be Released On May 8
On May 8, Capitol/UMe is set to release five remastered LPs from the storied catalog of the Bee Gees, one of music’s most legendary and acclaimed groups. Each LP has been pressed onto both black vinyl and limited-edition colored vinyl. The five LPs are, in chronological order, 1969’s Best Of Bee Gees (on black and berry vinyl), 1975’s Main Course (on black and whitewater vinyl), 1976’s Children Of The World (on black and sunshine yellow vinyl), 1977’s double live album Here At Last…Bee Gees…Live (2LPs on black and tangerine vinyl), and 1979’s Spirits Having Flown (on black and blood red vinyl). All five albums have been remastered from the original analog LP master tapes at the iconic Capitol Studios by Kevin Bartley and Ian Sefchick.
The Bee Gees’ first greatest hits compilation, Best Of Bee Gees, was released in June 1969, and it features a prime selection of the early hit singles that established the group’s broad musical palette. The twelve gems comprising Best Of are among the most popular songs of the then-burgeoning group’s canon, including the desperately pleading “I Gotta Get A Message To You,” Sir Barry’s classic balladry vocal on “Words,” the harmoniously soulful classic “To Love Somebody,” the pure pop perfection of “Massachusetts,” Robin’s signature vocal on “I Started A Joke,” and the skillful buildup of “Spicks and Specks,” the latter song being the Bee Gees’ first-ever No. 1 record in their homeland of Australia.
June 1975’s Main Course, one of the most significant albums in the Bee Gees catalog, marked a new direction for the group, and in turn created the model for their output throughout the rest of the 1970s by featuring a fresh, R&B-meets-pop sound. Recorded in Miami, Florida, and produced by the legendary Arif Mardin, the album’s infectious No. 1 hit, “Jive Talkin’,” carries a rhythm inspired by the sound the group’s car made on the 163rd Street Causeway Bridge as they drove to and from the recording sessions being held at the fabled Criteria Studios. With Main Course, Mardin and the Gibb brothers continued to explore the use of synthesizers instead of strings in their arrangements. It’s also the first album where Barry Gibb’s hallmark falsetto is most prominent, showcasing the impressive depth of his vocal range. The album’s other hit singles include the dramatic “Nights On Broadway” and the always touching “Fanny (Be Tender With My Love).”
The first single from the Bee Gees’ next album, September 1976’s Children Of The World, “You Should Be Dancing,” went to No. 1 in both the U.S. and Canada, and was also a Top 10 smash in numerous other territories. Children Of The World, which attained certified multi-platinum status in the U.S., was also recorded at Miami’s Criteria Studios, albeit this time produced by the Bee Gees, Karl Richardson, and Albhy Galuten. The album’s other key singles include the uplifting ballad “Love So Right,” the provocatively seductive “Boogie Child,” and the harmony-and-synth-driven title track.
Released in May 1977, Here At Last…Bee Gees…Live, the group’s first live album, was recorded at The Forum in Los Angeles in December 1976. The majority of this palpable 2LP set was made up of songs that had been big hit singles for the Bee Gees, along with tracks from their aforementioned recent hit albums, Main Course and Children Of The World. Highlighting the group’s magical harmonic vocal blend onstage, Here At Last contains definitive live versions of “You Should Be Dancing,” “Jive Talkin’,” “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You,” “New York Mining Disaster 1941,” “Run To Me,” and many more.
Spirits Having Flown, the 15th Bee Gees album, was released in January 1979, and was the group’s first album following the massive success of 1977’s multi-platinum Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The first three tracks released from Spirits Having Flown — “Tragedy,” “Too Much Heaven,” and “Love You Inside Out” — all shot to No. 1 in the U.S., giving the Bee Gees an unbroken run of six U.S. chart-toppers in a one-year period. In addition, the Bee Gees donated the copyright of “Too Much Heaven” to Music For UNICEF, a charity they founded along with their longtime Manager Robert Stigwood and Sir David Frost. Spirits was a No. 1 album for the Bee Gees in the U.K. and topped the charts around the world. The album was recorded at the group’s favored Criteria Studios in Miami, where Chicago was simultaneously recording their own hit album, October 1978’s Hot Streets. The two groups wound up collaborating on Chicago’s “Little Miss Loving,” while Chicago’s lauded horn section guested on select Spirits Having Flown tracks.
The Bee Gees — brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, one of the most successful songwriting teams of all time — have long earned their stature as one of the world’s most popular and bestselling groups ever. Having recorded 22 studio albums and for numerous soundtracks, including November 1977’s monumentally successful Saturday Night Fever, the Bee Gees infused popular culture with dozens of worldwide hit singles that featured their singular and highly influential three-part harmonies. They achieved nine Number Ones and 23 Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including “How Deep Is Your Love,” “Night Fever,” and “Stayin’ Alive” from Saturday Night Fever, in addition to hitting charts around the world with many other classics, including “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” “I Started A Joke,” “Lonely Days,” “Words,” and “You Win Again.”
Among the honors bestowed upon the Bee Gees are eight GRAMMY Awards®, including The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Legend Award; five American Music Awards; a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music; and a Legend Award from the World Music Awards. The Bee Gees have also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, BMI Icons, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the Dance Music Hall of Fame. All three brothers were honored with a CBE as Commanders of the British Empire in 2002, and Barry was knighted ‘Sir Barry Gibb‘ in 2018.
Preorder the Bee Gees vinyl releases — Best Of Bee Gees, Main Course, Children Of The World, Here At Last…Bee Gees…Live, and Spirits Having Flown — here: https://UMe.lnk.to/BeeGeesVinyl
BEE GEES: BEST OF BEE GEES [1LP black vinyl and colored berry vinyl]
Side 1
1. Holiday
2. I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You
3. I Can’t See Nobody
4. Words
5. I Started A Joke
6. Spicks And Specks
Side 2
1. First Of May
2. World
3. Massachusetts
4. To Love Somebody
5. Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You
6. New York Mining Disaster 1941
BEE GEES: MAIN COURSE [1LP black vinyl and colored whitewater vinyl]
Side 1
1. Nights On Broadway
2. Jive Talkin’
3. Wind Of Change
4. Songbird
5. Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)
Side 2
1. All This Making Love
2. Country Lanes
3. Come On Over
4. Edge Of The Universe
5. Baby As You Turn Away
BEE GEES: CHILDREN OF THE WORLD [1LP black vinyl and colored sunshine yellow vinyl]
Side 1
1. You Should Be Dancing
2. You Stepped Into My Life
3. Love So Right
4. Lovers
5. Can’t Keep A Good Man Down
Side 2
1. Boogie Child
2. Love Me
3. Subway
4. The Way It Was
5. Children Of The World
BEE GEES: HERE AT LAST…BEE GEES…LIVE [2LP black vinyl and colored tangerine vinyl]
LP1
Side 1
1. I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You
2. Love So Right
3. Edge Of The Universe
4. Come On Over
5. Can’t Keep A Good Man Down
Side 2
1. New York Mining Disaster 1941
2. Medley: Run To Me / World
3. Medley: Holiday / I Can’t See Nobody / I Started A Joke / Massachusetts
4. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
5. To Love Somebody
LP2
Side 3
1. You Should Be Dancing
2. Boogie Child
3. Down The Road
4. Words
Side 4
1. Wind Of Change
2. Nights On Broadway
3. Jive Talkin’
4. Lonely Days
BEE GEES: SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN [1LP black vinyl and colored blood red vinyl]
Side 1
1. Tragedy
2. Too Much Heaven
3. Love You Inside Out
4. Reaching Out
5. Spirits (Having Flown)
Side 2
1. Search, Find
2. Stop (Think Again)
3. Living Together
4. I’m Satisfied
5. Until
Some Pandemic Advice from Wu Tang Clan
A message from Wu Tang Clan on Instagram about what to do during the COVID-19 pandemic.
1-minute tip for bands and artists: Talk about your biggest accomplishment.
Oh, you can mention two accomplishments, I won’t be mad.
Toronto-Based Pop Singer/Songwriter Jadyn Lamb Is Better Off As “Friends” in New Single — Available Now!
Canadian alt pop singer/songwriter Jadyn Lamb is all about lessons learned when it comes to relationship dynamics in her newest single, “Friends” — available now!
“I dug deep when writing this one,” the Toronto-area artist says, looking back. “This is everything I wanted to say when I was younger, but kept inside.”
It all comes down to gossip, egoism, and a genuine lack of experience, she says. “That’s what ruined my love life in high school. The inspiration for this song comes from years of stifling feelings of being discontent in romantic relationships, and not communicating it.”
It wasn’t for lack of trying, she adds.
“I would practice the words over and over in my head, but when the moment came to tell the truth, my voice would always tremble. It was hard to tell people ‘no’ or how I felt.”
One such instance — and the modern-day muse for this track — came when Lamb grew highly disenchanted with the direction the relationship was heading. “One thing became very clear to me,” she recalls. “We were better off as ‘Friends.’”
“Friends” is Lamb’s second release for 2020, following January’s “Bad Sign” — her sweetly sung pop track detailing a toxic relationship and unhealthy behaviour. That song initially had an ‘audience of one’; Lamb penned it for her younger sister in the midst of helping her navigate an abusive relationship.
For Lamb, who’s debut track “A Day Off” first came into play in 2018, the new song lands as an electrifying pop track layered with lush melodies that soak into the soul. Audiences familiar with previous recordings “Water,” “Quiet Zone” and “Long Way Home” will recognize the artist’s signature silvery vocals paired with powerful synths and spunky guitar riffs; the results are a smooth blend of electro-pop excellence.
“Friends” is available now.
JUNO Award-Nominated Teen Supergroup GIRL POW-R Leading Fans To Help Those In Need During COVID-19
JUNO Award-nominated and chart topping all-girl pop band Girl Pow-R are mobilizing the masses via mobile phones to, quite simply, help in any way they can in this newly uncertain time.
Leveraging the power of social media in a time of increased social distancing, Girl Pow-R continues to embody their core mission of banding together and uplifting those in their community, no matter the circumstances.
“We’re experiencing this quickly-changing and challenging time alongside other young people across Canada and the world,” the members of Girl Pow-R say. “We can only imagine how others feel watching the news, and we know first-hand what it’s like to sit at home and want to do something to help.”
“As a band, Girl Pow-R wants to continue to do our part and share ideas on how everyone can be a ‘helper’ to those who need support right now.”
Those familiar with Girl Pow-R and their management team, led by Canyon Entertainment Group’s Dawn Van Dam, won’t be surprised the girls are rolling up their sleeves to assist where they can amidst the global outbreak of COVID-19; passionately advocating for social causes close to their hearts is an integral part of who Girl Pow-R are, both as individuals, a band, and a growing movement.
Check out their daily videos and posts with the #GirlPowRment hashtag on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, with suggestions and tips about everything from the ‘Bear Hunt Game’ to ‘Caremongering’.
In the past, Girl Pow-R have helped contribute to charities who work on behalf of anti-war and anti-violence, SickKids Hospital, the Toronto Humane Society and SPCA, the Give and Restore Hope Children’s Charity, WE Movement, Food4Kids, anti-bullying, and raising awareness for the occurrence of strokes in minors — a scenario that personally afflicted Girl Pow-R member Maya during a dance class.
With members ranging in age from 11 – 17, Girl Pow-R’s greatest strength lies in the diversity in their ages, backgrounds and life experiences. The universal things that join them together, however, are dynamic skill sets and a shared mission of empowerment among young women in the world today.
In continuing their inspirational mission of spreading confidence and kindness, Girl Pow-R — as seen on Global News, CBC, CBC Kids News, The Canadian Press, CTV, YTV, TVO Kids, CityTV, eTalk Canada, Girls’ Life, Tiger Beat, J-14, Celeb Secrets, Fresh 95.3 and more — saw their debut album This Is Us not only receive a 2020 JUNO Award nomination for Children’s Album of the Year, but encourage over a million girls to stay confident in their individuality and avoid the pitfalls of peer pressure and online influence in today’s hyper-digital age.
The album’s title track “This Is Us” debuted on the iTunes Canada Children’s chart at #2 and #15 in the U.S. and landed in the midst of a summer featuring back-to-back-(to-back) Canadian and U.S. tour stops.
1-minute tip for bands and artists: What’s your superpower?
What are you great at, other than music? What are you hilariously bad at?
Toronto Folk Singer/Songwriter RAINA KRANGLE’s New Single “My Beautiful Dear” Is Straight From a Dream
Canadian folk singer/songwriter Raina Krangle shares a song straight from her dreams in “My Beautiful Dear” — available now!
The track was recently selected as a finalist in the 2020 Blues & Roots Radio’s International Song Contest, and is the premiere single off her forthcoming album, Headbangers – A Musical Recovery From Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
On the surface, Krangle’s inspiration for “My Beautiful Dear” is endearing in itself; the storytelling lyricist draws on her parent’s 54-year long love story and her childhood in a house where Bruce Cockburn’s “All the Diamonds” was the harmonized lullaby of choice.
But to understand why “My Beautiful Dream” is even more poignant to Krangle, it’s to know it stems from her recovery from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) just under a year ago.
“The injury happened while I was at work as an educator,” she says of the accident. “From there, my road to recovery included lots of yoga, nature walks, photography, meditation, and journaling.
“It also included my own music therapy, as well as experiencing first hand how important music was for my brain to heal,” she continues. “I immersed myself in studying brain health having learned from a previous educator workshop at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music how music could affect the neuroplasticity of the brain.
“The act of completely slowing down opened the window to self-reflection, vivid dreams and a vast amount of creative flow.”
The result is Headbangers — A Musical Recovery From Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, an eight track odyssey completed in just five months time.
Raina Krangle’s first foray into an album release was in the late-2000’s for Raina’s Rainbow Party, a critically acclaimed children’s release that seamlessly blended her education as an elementary public school teacher and folk/rock artist. “That album was inspired after my son asked me to write a song about the Disney dinosaur, Aladar,” she recalls. “I then began writing songs with my students on my guitar, which was covered in stickers at the time!”
She was later chosen for the official family-themed showcase at the Folk Music Ontario Conference.
In 2012, Krangle-Solstice released her folk/rock debut LP, Solstice; 2016 and 2017 brought follow-up singles “Home” and “Shine” respectively.
For her work, Raina Krangle has won a Newmarket Songwriting Award, a University of Western Ontario Talent Contest, and was nominated for a Folk Music Ontario’s Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award and the Ontario Arts Council.
A favoured fixture on the festival circuit, including Supercrawl, Newmarket Jazz Festival, Aurora Jazz Festival, Toronto PRIDE, Markham Street Festival, and more, she has been featured on Women of Substance, Music Lynk Radio, Whistle Radio, Rogers Daytime TV, and performed in support of Kids Help Phone.
“A Beautiful Dream” is available now.
Peter Jackson’s Documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, Confirmed For Theatres September 4
The Walt Disney Studios has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to acclaimed filmmaker Peter Jackson’s previously announced Beatles documentary. The film will showcase the warmth, camaraderie and humor of the making of the legendary band’s studio album, “Let It Be,” and their final live concert as a group, the iconic rooftop performance on London’s Savile Row. “The Beatles: Get Back” will be released by The Walt Disney Studios in the United States and Canada on September 4, 2020, with additional details and dates for the film’s global release to follow. The announcement was made earlier today by Robert A. Iger, Executive Chairman, The Walt Disney Company, at Disney’s annual meeting of shareholders.
“No band has had the kind of impact on the world that The Beatles have had, and ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ is a front-row seat to the inner workings of these genius creators at a seminal moment in music history, with spectacularly restored footage that looks like it was shot yesterday,” says Iger of the announcement. “I’m a huge fan myself, so I could not be happier that Disney is able to share Peter Jackson’s stunning documentary with global audiences in September.”
“The Beatles: Get Back,” presented by The Walt Disney Studios in association with Apple Corps Ltd. and WingNut Films Productions Ltd., is an exciting new collaboration between The Beatles, the most influential band of all time, and three-time Oscar®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy). Compiled from over 55 hours of unseen footage, filmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg in 1969, and 140 hours of mostly unheard audio recordings from the “Let It Be” album sessions, “The Beatles: Get Back” is directed by Jackson and produced by Jackson, Clare Olssen (“They Shall Not Grow Old”) and Jonathan Clyde, with Ken Kamins and Apple Corps’ Jeff Jones serving as executive producers.
The footage has been brilliantly restored by Park Road Post Production of Wellington, New Zealand, and is being edited by Jabez Olssen, who collaborated with Jackson on 2018’s “They Shall Not Grow Old,” the groundbreaking film which featured restored and colorized World War I archival footage. The music in the film will be mixed by Giles Martin and Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios in London. With this pristine restoration behind it, “The Beatles: Get Back” will create a vivid, joyful and immersive experience for audiences.
Peter Jackson says, “Working on this project has been a joyous discovery. I’ve been privileged to be a fly on the wall while the greatest band of all time works, plays and creates masterpieces. I’m thrilled that Disney have stepped up as our distributor. There’s no one better to have our movie seen by the greatest number of people.”
Paul McCartney says, “I am really happy that Peter has delved into our archives to make a film that shows the truth about The Beatles recording together. The friendship and love between us comes over and reminds me of what a crazily beautiful time we had.”
Ringo Starr says, “I’m really looking forward to this film. Peter is great and it was so cool looking at all this footage. There was hours and hours of us just laughing and playing music, not at all like the version that came out. There was a lot of joy and I think Peter will show that. I think this version will be a lot more peace and loving, like we really were.”
“The Beatles: Get Back” is also being made with the enthusiastic support of Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison.
Although the original “Let It Be” film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and the accompanying album were filmed and recorded in January 1969, they were not released until May 1970, three weeks after The Beatles had officially broken up. The response to the film at the time by audiences and critics alike was strongly associated with that announcement. During the 15-month gap between the filming of “Let It Be” and its launch, The Beatles recorded and released their final studio album, “Abbey Road,” which came out in September 1969.
Shot on 16mm and blown up to 35mm, the 80-minute “Let It Be” movie was built around the three weeks of filming, including an edited version of the rooftop concert. The GRAMMY®-winning “Let It Be” album topped the charts in the U.S. and the U.K.
The new documentary brings to light much more of the band’s intimate recording sessions for “Let It Be” and their entire 42-minute performance on the rooftop of Apple’s Savile Row London office. While there is no shortage of material of The Beatles’ extensive touring earlier in their careers, “The Beatles: Get Back” features the only notable footage of the band at work in the studio, capturing John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr as they create their now-classic songs from scratch, laughing, bantering and playing to the camera
Shot on January 30, 1969, The Beatles’ surprise rooftop concert marked the band’s first live performance in over two years and their final live set together. The footage captures interactions between the band members, reactions from fans and employees from nearby businesses, and comical attempts to stop the concert by two young London policemen responding to noise complaints.
A fully restored version of the original “Let It Be” film will be made available at a later date.