Britney attacks 'false tabloids'
Pop star Britney Spears has attacked "false" and "desperate" US tabloid magazines, questioning their honesty after they reported she was pregnant. In …
Wife Swap makers sue US 'copycat'
The British producers of US Wife Swap are taking legal action against a show they claim is "a blatant and wholescale copycat" of their programme. RDF …
Paraguay novel wins US book prize
A novel set in 19th century Paraguay has won the $10,000 (£5,390) fiction prize at the US National Book Awards. Lily Tuck's The News From Paraguay is …
BBC 'should allow more scrutiny'
MPs have urged the BBC to give watchdogs more freedom to scrutinise how £2bn in licence fee money is spent. The Public Accounts Committee called for t…
No charges against TV's Cosby
US comedian Bill Cosby will not face charges stemming from an allegation of sexual misconduct. Authorities in Philadelphia said they found insufficien…
Ring of Fire hit co-writer dies
Merle Kilgore, co-writer of the country hit Ring of Fire, has died of congestive heart failure aged 70. He started out as a singer and songwriter befo…
Downloads enter US singles chart
Digital music downloads are being included in the main US singles chart for the first time. Billboard's Hot 100 chart now incorporates data from sales…
Brits return Keane to number one
Brits success has helped return Keane's award-winning album Hopes and Fears back to the top of the UK album chart. The debut album, which took the bes…
Abba queen enters music rich list
The woman behind the Abba musical Mamma Mia! has joined a list of British-based music millionaires. Producer Judy Craymer is the highest new entry in …
Court halts Mark Morrison album
Premiership footballer and record company boss Kevin Campbell has gained a court injunction stopping R&B singer Mark Morrison from releasing an album.…
Beastie Boys win sampling battle
US rappers Beastie Boys have won their long-running battle over the use of a sample in their song Pass the Mic. The punk-rappers used three notes of m…
Singer Knight backs anti-gun song
R&B star Beverley Knight said she sang on an anti-gun single after being "haunted" by the fatal 2003 shooting of two teenage girls in Birmingham. Knig…
Musicians to tackle US red tape
Musicians' groups are to tackle US visa regulations which are blamed for hindering British acts' chances of succeeding across the Atlantic. A singer h…
Label withdraws McFadden's video
The new video of former Westlife singer Brian McFadden has been pulled after a Dublin school complained about being associated with his song Irish Son…
No jail for singer Courtney Love
Singer Courtney Love has been spared jail for assault and drug offences, but must serve three years probation. She had back-to-back court appearances …
Star Trek fans fight to save show
Star Trek fans have taken out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times in an attempt to persuade TV executives not to scrap Star Trek: Enterprise. Made…
Rap boss arrested over drug find
Rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight has been arrested for violating his parole after he was allegedly found with marijuana. He was arrested in Barstow, Cal…
US 'to raise TV indecency fines'
US politicians are proposing a tough new law aimed at cracking down on indecency and bad language on US TV. Fines of up to $500,000 (£266,582) could b…
Rapper Jay-Z becomes label boss
Rap star Jay-Z is to become a record company executive after being put in charge of one of hip-hop's most influential labels, Def Jam. Jay-Z, who said…
Goodrem wins top female MTV prize
Pop singer Delta Goodrem has scooped one of the top individual prizes at the first Australian MTV Music Awards. The 21-year-old singer won the award f…
Download chart debut is delayed
The inclusion of downloaded music in the official singles chart has been delayed for a month. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) had planned to i…
Rock group Korn's guitarist quits
The guitarist with US rock band Korn has quit the music business, saying he made the decision after experiencing a religious awakening. Brian 'Head' W…
Youssou N'Dour wins music prize
Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour has been named a winner of a BBC Radio 3 World Music Award. His album Egypt won the critics' award for album of the…
Glastonbury fans to get ID cards
Fans who buy tickets for this year's Glastonbury festival will be issued with photo ID cards in an attempt to beat touts, it has been confirmed. The c…
US actor 'found with gun residue'
Actor Robert Blake had gunshot residue on his hands and clothes the night his wife was shot dead, a court has heard. But it may not have come from the…
Rap feud in 50 Cent's G-Unit crew
US rap star 50 Cent has said he has thrown protege The Game out of his G-Unit gang in a feud that has apparently involved two shootings. In a radio in…
Dance music not dead says Fatboy
DJ Norman Cook - aka Fatboy Slim - has said that dance music is not dead, but has admitted it is currently going through a "fallow patch". The commerc…
Elton plays Paris charity concert
Sir Elton John has performed at a special concert in Paris to raise money for the victims of the Asian tsunami. The British singer played to a 2,700-s…
Elvis 'set for chart hat-trick'
The late US legend Elvis Presley is likely to score his third UK number one single in three weeks on Sunday, according to early sales figures. The kin…
Little Britain two top comic list
Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams have been named the most powerful people in TV comedy, in a poll by listings magazine Radio Times. …
Branson show flops on US screens
Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's US TV show, The Rebel Billionaire, is proving a flop in the ratings. The programme suffered poor viewing figures on…
T in the Park sells out in days
Tickets for Scotland's biggest music festival have sold out in record time, five months before the event is held. The 12th annual T in the Park festiv…
Snow Patrol feted at Irish awards
Snow Patrol were the big winners in Ireland's top music honours, the Meteor Awards, picking up accolades for best Irish band and album on Thursday. Th…
New York rockers top talent poll
New York electro-rock group The Bravery have come top of the BBC News website's Sound of 2005 poll to find the music scene's most promising new act. T…
Rapper 50 Cent scores chart first
Rapper 50 Cent has become the first solo artist to have three singles in the US top five in the same week. His track Candy Shop remained at the top of…
Pete Doherty misses bail deadline
Singer Pete Doherty will have to spend the weekend in jail because he could not come up with £150,000 bond money for his bail on time. The former Libe…
Fightstar take to the stage
Charlie Simpson took his new band Fightstar to the stage on Friday night, just hours after officially announcing his departure from pop band Busted. H…
Prince crowned 'top music earner'
Prince earned more than any other pop star in 2004, beating artists such Madonna and Elton John in US magazine Rolling Stone's annual list. The singer…
REM concerts blighted by illness
US rock band REM have been forced to cancel concerts after bass player Mike Mills was taken to hospital suffering from "severe flu-like symptoms". The…
Dirty Den's demise seen by 14m
More than 14 million people saw "Dirty" Den Watts killed off on Friday, marking EastEnders' 20th anniversary, according to unofficial figures. Den's d…
Pixies take on Reading and Leeds
Pixies, Foo Fighters and Iron Maiden will headline this summer's Leeds and Reading festivals. The trio of rock heavyweights will top the bill for the …
Black Sabbath top rock album poll
Black Sabbath have topped a list of the best British rock albums of all time. The band once fronted by Ozzy Osbourne led a poll of Kerrang! magazine r…
Queen recruit singer for new tour
The remaining members of rock band Queen are to go on tour next year with former Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers taking Freddie Mercury's pla…
Singer Ian Brown 'in gig arrest'
Former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown was arrested after a fight during a concert in San Francisco on Tuesday, his spokesman has said. A fan jumped on s…
Rapper 50 Cent ends protege feud
Rapper 50 Cent has ended his public feud with his protege The Game as the pair said they wanted to be good role models for their communities. The row …
Wal-Mart is sued over rude lyrics
The parents of a 13-year-old girl are suing US supermarket giant Wal-Mart over a CD by rock group Evanescence that contains swear words. The lawsuit, …
UK 'world's biggest music buyer'
UK consumers are the biggest music buyers in the world, according to new figures released on Tuesday by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). But g…
Alicia Keys to open US Super Bowl
R&B star Alicia Keys is to open February's Super Bowl singing a song only previously performed there by Ray Charles and Vicki Carr. Keys, who will sin…
Duran Duran show set for US TV
Chart stars Duran Duran are to appear in a VH1 special in the US including interviews and concert footage. The show airs on Tuesday and will feature a…
'My memories of Marley...'
To mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of reggae star Bob Marley, Rob Partridge - Marley's former head of press at Island Records - remembers the m…
George Michael to perform for BBC
George Michael is to perform live at London's Abbey Road studios as part of a BBC Radio 2 special next month. The session, which will broadcast on 18 …
Sir Paul rocks Super Bowl crowds
Sir Paul McCartney wowed fans with a live mini-concert at American football's Super Bowl - and avoided any Janet Jackson-style controversies. The 62-y…
Charity single for quake relief
Singers including Sir Cliff Richard and Boy George are recording a charity single to help raise funds for victims of the Asian tsunami. They hope the …
Rapper Snoop Dogg sued for 'rape'
US rapper Snoop Dogg has been sued for $25m (£13m) by a make-up artist who claimed he and his entourage drugged and raped her two years ago. The woman…
Elvis regains top chart position
Elvis Presley has scored his 19th number one single in the UK charts with the re-release of Jailhouse Rock, 27 years after his death. Elvis knocked X …
Stern dropped from radio stations
Controversial DJ Howard Stern has been dropped from four US radio stations because he keeps promoting his move to a network broadcasting on satellite.…
'Christmas song formula' unveiled
A formula for the ultimate Christmas single has been revealed by chart bible British Hit Singles and Albums. The recipe includes a reference to Father…
Eurovision 'greats' to do battle
Stars of the Eurovision Song Contest from the show's 50-year history are to compete against each other to celebrate the contest's anniversary. Viewers…
Portishead back after eight years
Cult British group Portishead have revealed they are writing their third album, their first in eight years. Founding member Geoff Barrow told BBC 6 Mu…
Muslim group attacks TV drama 24
A British Muslim group has criticised the new series of US drama 24, which is about to be aired on Sky One, claiming it portrays Islam unfairly. The M…
Rocker Doherty in on-stage fight
Rock singer Pete Doherty has been involved in a fight with his band's guitarist at their biggest gig to date. Babyshambles played for 5,000 fans at Lo…
John Peel replacement show begins
The permanent replacement for late DJ John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show goes on air on Tuesday, with three hosts chosen to fill the legendary presenter's s…
US composer recreates Bach score
A US musicologist has recreated a lost musical score by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The 1728 composition, called Wedding Cantata BWV 216, w…
£1.8m indecency fine for Viacom
Media giant Viacom has paid out $3.5m (£1.8m) to end investigations into indecency in its US radio and TV shows. The settlement to the Federal Communi…
New York rockers top talent poll
New York electro-rock group The Bravery have come top of the BBC News website's Sound of 2005 poll to find the music scene's most promising new act. T…
Jungle TV show ratings drop by 4m
The finale of ITV1's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here drew an average of 10.9m viewers - about four million fewer than the previous series. The f…
Police praise 'courageous' Ozzy
Rock star Ozzy Osbourne has been praised by police for "very courageously" tackling a burglar who stole jewellery from his house. The singer grabbed a…
Media seek Jackson 'juror' notes
Reporters covering singer Michael Jackson's trial in California have asked to see questionnaires completed by potential jurors. Lawyers for news organ…
Jarre joins fairytale celebration
French musician Jean-Michel Jarre is to perform at a concert in Copenhagen to mark the bicentennial of the birth of writer Hans Christian Andersen. De…
UK TV channel rapped for CSI ad
TV channel Five has been criticised for sending "offensive" and "threatening" advertising material to viewers for a new show about murder scene scient…
Top of the Pops leaves BBC One
The BBC's flagship pop music programme Top of the Pops is to move from BBC One on Fridays to Sundays on BBC Two. The new programme will combine with a…
Band Aid retains number one spot
The charity single by Band Aid 20 has held on the chart top spot for a second week, strengthening its chances of becoming the Christmas number one. Do…
Campaigners attack MTV 'sleaze'
MTV has been criticised for "incessant sleaze" by television indecency campaigners in the US. The Parents Television Council (PTC), which monitors vio…
Beatles suits sell for $110,000
Four suits worn by the Beatles on their Please Please Me album cover have sold for $110,00 (£59,000) at a US auction. But some of Elvis Presley's earl…
TV show unites Angolan families
Angolan families who are attempting to track each other down, after being separated by nearly 30 years of war, are succeeding thanks to a hugely popul…
Singer Ferguson 'facing eviction'
Three Degrees star Sheila Ferguson is the favourite to be evicted from ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here on Monday. Bookmakers Ladbrokes say…
Springer criticises Opera musical
Talk show host Jerry Springer, whose programme inspired the controversial opera shown by the BBC, has said he would not have written it himself. The B…
U2 stars enter rock Hall of Fame
Singer Bruce Springsteen has inducted Irish rock band U2 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in New York. The lavish ceremony, celebrating the 50th a…
Spark heads world Booker list
Dame Muriel Spark is among three British authors who have made the shortlist for the inaugural international Booker Prize. Doris Lessing and Ian McEwa…
CSI shows give 'unrealistic view'
People have unrealistic expectations of forensic science thanks to the success of the CSI TV shows, real experts say. Evidence submitted to forensic l…
New Harry Potter tops book chart
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has topped Amazon's book chart less than 24 hours after its release date - 16 July - was announced. Thousands o…
Three DJs replace Peel radio show
The late John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show is to be succeeded in February by three shows hosted by three DJs focusing on diverse, non-commercial music. Huw…
Abba reunite for musical premiere
The original stars of Swedish pop quartet Abba have reunited for the home premiere of hit musical Mamma Mia! which is based on the band's songs. It is…
Public show for Reynolds portrait
Sir Joshua Reynolds' Portrait of Omai will get a public airing following fears it would stay hidden because of an export wrangle. The Tate Gallery uns…