Author: Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent

Letter signed by hundreds of creative figures including PJ Harvey, Anish Kapoor and Rufus Wainwright calls on government supportCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore than 400 of the UK’s leading artists, musicians and creativ…

Lost Map Records’ residency invites musicians to spend week in secluded cabin and compose musicAs the rest of the UK resists the temptation to head outside during a hot Easter bank holiday, a music label on the tiny Hebridean isle of Eigg is making a v…

Posthumous albums grow in popularity as labels seek to bring music to new audienceTwo new David Bowie records will be released this year, with a digital EP featuring unheard versions of songs being released weekly and a live session, which will be out …

Leeds nightclub’s listening sessions and a slew of new and re-releases reflect revived interest in the genreWhen Wire, a nightclub in Leeds city centre, recently announced its first residency, it came with a calm-inducing addition: ambient listening se…

Heavy is the Head poised to become one of UK’s most streamed albums of 2019Stormzy’s long-awaited second album looks likely to become one of the most streamed British albums of the year only hours after its release.Heavy is the Head was No 1 in the App…

Ben Lovett says UK risks falling behind rest of Europe without more grassroots supportThe UK’s music industry risks falling behind its European competitors unless action is taken to support smaller venues and nurture the talent developing at grassroots…

Ben Cook says he wanted to honour a musical hero but he is sorry costume was offensiveBen Cook, a key figure in the success of Ed Sheeran and one of British music’s most powerful figures, has stepped down as the president of Atlantic Records in the UK …

Artists including Little Simz and slowthai tackle climate crisis, austerity and racismIndustry experts have hailed the return of political music in the run-up to this year’s Mercury prize, with British and Irish artists on the shortlist addressing the …

Fab Four devotees make pilgrimage to St John’s Wood to reenact 1969 album coverIn 1969, when Iain MacMillan climbed a ladder on the corner of Abbey Road and Grove End Road and took a picture of the Beatles, he probably wouldn’t have predicted that exac…

Vague promises of ‘exposure’ used as cover for poor pay and insecure working conditions, Guardian toldLast year, one of pop’s rising stars was heading to London for a show and needed local dancers to accompany her. The singer’s management only wanted t…