Media Round-Up / Thursday 29th October 2015

• Bowie's back again

After many rumours peddled by the Times, David Bowie has now confirmed that he is going to release a new single this November 20th, and then a new album on his 69th birthday, January 8th, 2016. Entitled Blackstar, it will have absolutely no relation to the Lazarus stage play which Bowie has written, premiering in December. However, no information has been released concerning these upcoming recordings by the Thin White Duke, and some have linked the news to an extract of forty seconds of new music from Bowie, used to help advertise the TV series The Last Panthers:

• Chopin Contest: and the winner is…

The final of the 17th annual Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, held in Warsaw, was won by Seong-Jin Cho. He beat the competition of 77 other participating pianists, all hailing from 20 countries. Trained at the Paris Conservatory in the class of Michel Beroff, this South Korean pianist, aged 21, won 30,000 euros and the chance to play a tour of concerts across the world. Born in Seoul on May 28th, 1994, Seong-Jin Cho is no rookie entrant, having already won the Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in 2008, and achieved third prizes in the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition and in the Arthur Rubinstein Contest, respectively! The jury of the prestigious 2015 of the Polish competition had Martha Argerich, Philippe Entremont and Nelson Goerner in its ranks.

• Hello Adele!

« My last album was a break-up album, and if I had to describe my new one, I would say that it is an album of reconciliation. I am reconciling myself with myself, I am reclaiming lost time, I am reconciling myself with all that I did and did not do. » Without doubt, Adele is back! The British soul sister just released Hello, her new single heralding her third album entitled 25. Scheduled for the 20th November 2015, we understand it will contain eleven tracks: Hello, Send My Love (To Your New Lover), I Miss You, When We Were Young, Remedy, Water Under The Bridge, River Lea, Love In The Dark, Million Years Ago, All I Ask and Sweetest Devotion. As an appetizer, Adele offers us a composition that is both strong and emotionally intense. A superb song that engages with an intimate feeling, rather than leading up to a bombastic and grandiose brand of soul. Hello really showcases the ample, widescreen talents of the Londoner’s voice, who is, today, aged 27. Adele is perhaps today’s most worthy descendent of the greats of blue eyed soul. The new single is accompanied by a superb video realised by the Quebecois native Xavier Dolan:

It was a video that immediately gave rise to many pastiches, of which this one was particularly hilarious:

• Elton John, the new and the old

Elton John has announced the release of his first album in three years in early 2015. Recorded with musicians who have accompanied him since his early days, Wonderful Crazy Night will be available worldwide from the 5th February, the 68-year-old singer announced in an official statement. One of these pieces, Looking Up, illustrates the return of Elton John to the characteristic blues-rock melodies that were found on his debut, alongside a strong presence of guitar accompaniment. His last studio album, The Diving Board, was published in September 2013, and was his first in more than 30 years not to feature his backing band. This is, happily, not the case with his latest opus, his 33rd record, which will mark his reunion with the drummer Nigel Olsson and the guitarist Davey Johnstone.

• The death of the charismatic manager of The Smiths and Johnny Marr

Joe Moss, the former manager of The Smiths and of Johnny Marr, has died at the age of 72, taken by cancer. By the early 1980s he was already a legend in Manchester, working in the legendary Twisted Wheel club, and also managing an array of cult clothing stores. This Joe Moss pushed Johnny Marr to persevere with music, and closely attended The Smiths’s development in their infancy. He became the band’s manager, but gave it up when the Morrissey led group flew to the U.S to tour in 1983. « Without him, there would be no Smiths », declared Johnny Marr, after Moss's death. « He stepped in when I was 17. It was he who encouraged me to go knock on Morrissey’s door. He invested time and money in our group at a time when no one else cared. And his belief in our music pushed us to move forward. He was a beatnik, a true bohemian, and respected by everyone. All who met him loved him. He will never be replaced… » After The Smiths, Joe Moss invested further in the Mancunian scene in the 1990s by organizing numerous concerts in the Night and Day Café, in particular. He managed the group Marion, whose 1998 album The Program was produced by Marr. He did the same thing with the group Haven, for whom he worked equally as a guitarist and as a producer… In 1999, Joe Moss became Marr’s official manager, a position he held until his death.

• For sale: The Boss's house

The house in which Bruce Springsteen composed Born To Run is for sale! The Boss lived in this house, constructed in 1920, between 1974 and 1975, which is situated in Long Branch, New Jersey. In 2009, it was purchased by three fans who had planned to transform it into a museum. Apparently, this project fell through… To acquire this beautiful Springsteenian relic, you need to pay the small sum of 299,000 dollars.

• Joni Mitchell on the mend

Joni Mitchell is feeling much better, according to her sister July Collins. The singer took to her Facebook page to post the following comment: « I learnt through a mutual friend that Joni has been walking, talking, painting, doing some daily physiotherapy and generally making good progress. » A few days ago, People magazine claimed to have got hold of official documents indicating that Joni Mitchell is expected to make a full recovery from the aneurysm which she suffered last March.

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