Apple and EMI announced on Monday (2nd April) that they would start selling songs without the restrictive Digital Rights Management software that only allows songs downloaded from the iTunes Store to be played on an iPod.

Under the deal, iTunes will offer a higher price of $1.29, 1.29 euros or 99 pence for every track of EMI’s catalogue available online in a higher-quality format without DRM. EMI albums sold on iTunes will automatically be sold without the software and at the higher sound quality for the same price.

Consumers who have already bought standard tracks or albums with DRM will be able to upgrade for 30 cents (dollars and euros) and 20 pence per track. EMI music videos will be available via iTunes DRM-free with no change in price.

To mark the deal The Good, The Bad and The Queen performed the songs ‘Herculean‘ and ‘Nature Springs‘.

The band’s self title album is the first available under the new DRM system and will remain the only one until the rest of EMI’s online catalogue is upgraded.

EMI is also home to Blur and Gorillaz as well as other acts such as Coldplay, Robbie Williams and KT Tunstall.

The Good, The Bad and The Queen; First London Outdoor Show

The Good, The Bad & The Queen will play their first summer outdoor show at the Tower of London on Monday July 9th.

A celebration of London’s musical identity and history, this will be the first summer-time performance of The Good, The Band & The Queen. The album has been played live at many winter gigs around the UK and Europe but this Tower of London show will be the first outdoor gig in London, naturally the venue is of fitting historic significance sitting alongside the oft mentioned River Thames.

Tickets for The Good, The Bad and The Queen at Tower of London go on sale at 9am tomorrow, Tuesday April 3rd see www.Aeglive.co.uk or www.Ticketmaster.co.uk for further details.

via Blur Fan Club

The Good, The Bad & The Queen will headline the Saturday night of the Latitude Festival, taking place on 12-15 July at the Henham Park Estate, Southwold, Suffolk.

Arcade Fire, Damien Rice, Wilco, CSS, Magic Numbers and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are also confirmed. More info can be found at the Festival site - www.latitudefestival.co.uk

via Blur Fan Club

FULL LINE UP JOIN THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE QUEEN IN A FAREWELL TO HAMMERSMITH PALAIS

A line up of very special guests has been confirmed to join The Good, The Bad and The Queen at Hammersmith Palais on Saturday night (March 31st).

The Tony Allen Orchestra will be the first to take to the stage, followed by performance poet John Cooper Clark, and DJ Don Letts is also due to play a set before The Good, The Bad and The Queen is played. The night will close with a DJ set by Jose Carretas from Restless Soul Productions.

This line up should ensure a truly legendary farewell to Hammersmith Palais.

The Good, The Bad and The Queen is out now on Parlophone, the album features Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Tony Allen and Simon Tong.

Bit of a Blur by Alex James is published by Little, Brown Book Group on 7th June. Hardback £16.99

For Alex James, music had always been a door to a more exciting life: a way to travel, meet new people and, hopefully, pick up girls. But as bass player of Blur – one of the most successful British bands of all time – his journey was more exciting and extreme than he could ever have predicted. Success catapulted him from a slug-infested squat in Camberwell to a world of private jets and world-class restaurants. As ‘the second drunkest member of the world’s drunkest band’ life was always chaotic, but Alex James retained a boundless enthusiasm and curiosity at odds with his hedonistic lifestyle. From nights in the Groucho with Damien Hirst, to dancing to Sister Sledge with Bjork, to being bitten on the nose by the lead singer of Iron Maiden, he offers a fascinating and hilarious insight into the world of celebrity. At its heart, however, Bit of a Blur is the picaresque tale of one man’s search to find meaning and happiness in an increasingly surreal world. Pleasingly unrepentant but nonetheless a reformed man, Alex James is the perfect chronicler of his generation – witty, observant, frank and brimming with joie de vivre.

As well as still being in Blur, Alex James is now a farmer and a Visiting Scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Europe’s largest space research facility. He lives with his wife and children in the Cotswolds.

Pre-order Bit of a Blur now from Amazon.co.uk for only £11.21.
via Blur Fan Club