Emergency services scrambled to Trafford Park fire

Reading & Leeds would look very different this year if it weren’t for grassroots music venues.As revealed in a concept poster shared by the Music Venue Trust, the festival would be missing virtually all of its 2024 artists – including headliners Liam Gallagher, Fred again.., Lana Del Rey, Catfish And The Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon – if it weren’t for their foundations in grassroots venues.The reimagined poster highlights how many of today’s most successful artists came up by playing smaller music venues, which continue to face indefinite closure across the UK without urgent government action and investment.“Today’s festival headliners can only sell thousands of tickets because of the essential role played by these venues in their development,” the MVT shared in a social media post today (Monday 25).“Nurtured in grassroots music venues, they built their audiences from tens to hundreds, laying the foundation for their success on the grand stages of festivals like Reading & Leeds.”Check out the bare line-up poster below.The Reading & Leeds festival lineup poster, minus any artists who launched their careers in Grassroots Music Venues….Posted by Music Venue Trust on Monday, March 25, 2024Only artists like Reneé Rapp, who started in theatre, Digga D, who rose to prominence with freestyles, and Kenny Beats, who came from a production and industry background, would remain on the bill.It’s not just the Reading & Leeds line-up that would lose most of its acts were it not for grassroots music venues.

Hugh Grant has revealed it has “crossed his mind” to go into politics, though admitted he would find it “almost impossible to actually get anything done”.The actor, who is currently appearing in HBO political TV series The Regime alongside Kate Winslet, has been politically active, notably in campaigns against the British tabloid press, and has played politicians on screen, including in Love Actually and A Very English Scandal.Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Grant was asked whether he would ever want to go into politics himself, the star replying: “It has crossed my mind. But what I really see close up is that it’s almost impossible to actually get anything done. It’s just impossible.

Drake has appeared to hit back at Kendrick Lamar, following the latter dissing him on a recent track.The tension between the two arose when Kendrick Lamar took aim at Drake and J Cole on a new track, ‘Like That’, which was shared as part of Future and Metro Boomin’s new collaborative album ‘We Don’t Trust You’.Others to star on the album include The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Playboi Carti and Rick Ross, however, it was Lamar’s appearance that turned heads, seemingly responding to J Cole’s verse on ‘First Person Shooter’ from Drake’s 2023 album ‘For All The Dogs’.“Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali,” J Cole rapped on the track, with “K-Dot” referring to Kendrick Lamar (via Independent).However, on ‘Like That’, Lamar seems to dismiss the idea that they’re in the same league, saying: “Motherfuck the big three, n****, it’s just big me/ N****, bum, What? I’m really like that/And your best work is a light pack.”He also went on to liken their rivalry to the ‘80s conflict between Prince and Michael Jackson.This comes as in ‘First Person Shooter’, Drake compared his chart success to that of Michael Jackson, but On ‘Like That’, Lamar points out: “N****, Prince outlived Mike Jack.”Now, while both Drake and J Cole are out co-headlining their ‘It’s All A Blur’ tour, the former seems to have weighed in his opinion on Lamar’s comments.“A lot of people asking me how I’m feeling… the way I’m feeling is the same way I want you to walk out of here feeling tonight about your fucking selves.

The 1975 have surprised fans by performing the early rarity ‘Anobrain’ live for the first time in eight years. Check out footage of the set below.The moment took place during the band’s ongoing run of live shows across Europe, held as part of their ‘Still… At Their Very Best’ tour.Taking to the stage at the Palladium venue in Cologne, Germany on Friday night (March 22), Matty Healy and co.

Batman fans have shared their reactions to the new trailer for The Penguin TV series, with some calling it “peak crime drama”.The new teaser for the HBO series, which focuses on Colin Farrell‘s The Batman villain (aka Oswald Cobblepot), was released last week.The clip sees the titular character tell the story of gangster Rex Calabrese, a “big deal” in the neighbourhood when he was a kid.Speaking of the gangster’s death, Cobblepot tells an unseen person: “In my neighbourhood, they throw a parade in his honour. A friggin’ parade.”“And it wasn’t fancy, but it was the gesture.

The Cribs have announced a one-off show in Liverpool, celebrating 20 years of their debut album by playing their first two albums in full. Find ticket details below.The British Indie giants announced news of the forthcoming show on Instagram this morning (March 25), and confirmed that it will be their only headline gig in 2024.Set to take place at the Olympia venue in Liverpool, the gig will be held on May 24 and will see them celebrate the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut by performing their two first albums in full.They will also play a second set on the night, which will comprise entirely of fan favourites from across their discography.“We were not intending on playing any headline shows this year, but to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our debut album, we will be hosting a special 2 SET event at the beautiful Olympia in Liverpool,” The Cribs wrote on Instagram.

Michael Jackson’s son, Bigi, has taken his grandmother to court in an attempt to prevent her from using funds from his father’s estate as part of a legal battle.Bigi – whose legal name is Prince Michael Jackson III, and is also known as Blanket – has requested that Katherine Jackson be prevented from using the funds to finance her legal battle against executors.Attorneys have said that Katherine’s legal services requests do not benefit the estate, so a judge should not approve them (per USA Today).It comes after reports emerged last week that the late pop legend’s son was filing a legal injunction against his grandmother.The filing was thought to be in response to Katherine’s opposition of the recent landmark deal the estate made with Sony to sell half of Michael’s music catalogue for $600million (£475million).The deal is expected to be the biggest-ever valuation of an artist’s music assets, with sources valuing it at between $1.2billion and $1.5billion in total (£950million – £1.19billion).Bigi previously claimed that he and Katherine presented their arguments against the deal, but ultimately the court ruled against them – which seemingly brought the legal issue to a close.However, a filing states that “despite the expense and long odds, Katherine decided to pursue an appeal.”The court filing said the Sony deal was “of paramount significance to Bigi, both financially and personally”, who has decided to move on from the court dispute.Katherine had previously told the court that Michael never wanted his music catalogue to be sold.Last week, Billboard reported that Katherine Jackson has received more than $55million (£43.5million) since the singer’s death in June 2009, according to claims from Michael Jackson’s estate

The Enemy have announced details of an ‘Indie Til I Die’ UK tour, set to kick off later this year. Find ticket details below.Announced today (March 25), the shows come following the British indie rock band reforming back in 2022, and going on to play a number of festival slots across summer 2023.

Kate Middleton has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing preventative chemotherapy. The Princess of Wales released a video statement revealing that tests after her abdominal surgery earlier this year found that cancer had been present.The news comes after weeks of speculation surrounding her whereabouts. Speculation that turned into conspiracy theories, going viral on social media.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is sending her love to the Princess of Wales. The Welsh actress penned sweet words for the royal after Her Royal Highness announced on March 22 that she is undergoing preventive chemotherapy.James Middleton’s message for his sister the Princess of Wales will bring tears to your eyes Meghan Markle and Prince Harry react to sister-in-law the Princess of Wales’ cancer news“Wales and the World is with you ♥️ HRH Princess of Wales.

MSNBC‘s Morning Joe co-anchors Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski called on NBC News to reconsider its decision to hire former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor.

The Berlin Film Festival’s parent org the KBB, which oversees state-backed cultural events in the German capital, has posted job ads for four key executive roles ahead of the arrival of the event’s new director Tricia Tuttle in April.

Esteemed British writer David Nicholls is not precious when it comes to adaptations of his novels and cites Netflix’s recent adaptation of his 2009 novel One Day as being a perfect example of how being open-minded to fresh ideas on established material can result in good work. 

With creator Sam Levinson still working on scripts for the upcoming third season of HBO’s Euphoria, filming plans have been temporarily put on hold, with the cast given permission to take other acting jobs in the interim.

Jamie Lloyd’s acclaimed London production of Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger will open on Broadway this fall at the St. James Theatre, producers announced today.

Through a spokesman, Sacha Baron Cohen is disputing characterizations by actress Rebel Wilson that he behaved like a “massive a**hole” while shooting the Louis Leterrier-directed hard R-rated comedy The Brothers Grimsby. She played the wife of his character Nobby, a soccer hooligan who is enlisted by his secret agent brother (Mark Strong) to thwart a plan to set off two bombs during a football match. The film is full of outrageous comic scenes, and Wilson claimed Baron Cohen pressured her to appear nude and do other unsavory things.

As Kevin Hart sat in the audience with family and friends for The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize, there were many jokes about his height, quips about his wealth and jabs at his productivity.

Comedian Tom Segura on Monday announced new dates set for the second leg of his latest global stand-up comedy tour, “Tom Segura: Come Together.”

Andrew Scott has been awarded Best Actor at the 33rd Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards. The win makes the Irish actor the first performer to be handed top honors from both of the UK’s national critics bodies. 

Coronation Street star Sair Khan has been seen cradling her blossoming baby bump as she enjoyed a 'day to remember' ahead of the arrival of her first child. The actress is currently preparing to welcome her first child into the world with her partner Nathan Chilton.

Strictly Come Dancing star Nikita Kuzmin prompted an apology live on Loose Women when he slipped up with a word not to be uttered on daytime TV. The dancer was on the panel show on Monday (March 25) to discuss his time on Celebrity Big Brother.