N.K Pop

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Heaton and Abbott have already previewed the forthcoming ‘N.K-Pop’ with the singles “Still” and “Too Much For One (Not Enough For Two)”. With the former song, the pair aimed to “raise awareness for folk who have lost a child, whether by miscarriage, stillbirth or in infancy”. When you were writing Still, was it difficult to tread carefully with such emotionally raw subject matter? I’m really inspired by everyday people,” he says. “I know it sounds corny, but I’m just naturally inquisitive about people. I like stopping and talking, especially to older people, because they often won’t know who I am. I find it interesting sharing stories.

Leicester indie alt-pop outfit easy life match their previous chart peak, with new LP MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE… debuting at Number 2. Prior to this the group, comprising Murray Matravers, Oliver Cassidy, Sam Hewitt, Lewis Berry and Jordan Birtles, have enjoyed Top 10 success with 2020 mixtape Junk Food (7) and 2021 release life’s a beach (2).

Heaton I was about 30 and somebody passed a comment about my facial lines. I started writing about how each wrinkle was because of having fun, but then twisted it and made it about my mum and dad and their happiness as they aged together. We took some chairs outside and boozed,” he laughs. “I fell over and managed to get myself a new scar on my head.” The relative anonymity suits him. “I’m more famous for my songs than I am facially. I probably could have walked into a few of those pubs and sat down and had a drink and wouldn’t have got noticed,” he says. “And that’s how I like it.” Paul, in the 1989 song Love Is … you estimated your life expectancy as 52. Given that you are still going strong, any reason why you envisaged such a short lifespan? BernardMunch Not a lot, really, but there’s quite often one scene in my mind and it spreads from there. On this one, I had a really vivid image of a pub with a fireplace, and I fleshed it out by having a conversation with myself. I thought about what might have happened there, and the landlord running the place on his own after his wife has gone. Sometimes I think of a song as an unfinished crossword puzzle and it’s my job

Well, we gave the label the LP and said we think this, this and this could be a single,” he explains. “I preferred I Drove Her Away With My Tears because it’s quite immediate and it’s always sounded good in my head. But also When The World Would Actually Listen. It’s a kind of handicap race.” Earlier this year Heaton spoke to NME about how he and Abbott had played a number of free concerts for NHS staff as a thank you for their efforts throughout the COVID pandemic. He also discussed giving away free pints at 60 UK pubs to mark his 60th birthday, and why he thinks the British Royal Family should be privatized.While some of the songs slip into genericity, such as the forgettable There’s a First Time For Everything, others are 80s-inspired, synth-led earworms. Smells Like Me stands out as one of the album’s highlights, a masterclass in pop writing with an ultra-memorable hook. The opener That’s Hilarious serves an early reminder of just how good Puth is at writing ridiculously catchy hooks; how simple-but-effective his melodies are. Elsewhere, Beyoncé sees her former Number 1 record RENAISSANCE return to the Top 10, vaulting 13 places to Number 7. It’s thanks, in part, to latest cut CUFF IT proving a viral success and also enjoying uplift on the Official Singles Chart. I have an ageing-related question regarding Perfect 10 . You sang you love “her body, especially the lines”. How do you feel about getting older? DaddyPig

Do you think your anti- royalist, anti-Tory credentials have cost you in terms of sales over the years? Hibernica So, what’s the plan for 2032? Paul will be blowing out 70 candles then, but you feel that even that day will be celebrated with the giddy enthusiasm of someone turning 21. “Oh, I can’t tell you yet,” he teases, “but I’ve got a really good idea!” Almost 30 years after meeting outside an old St Helens nightclub, it's hard to say their harmonies were anything short of perfect as they rattled off 'Song for Whoever', 'Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)', 'Don't Marry Her', and 'A Little Time'. That 60th birthday thing was a chance to celebrate and tell people I’m 60 ’cause I’m sort of proud!” he laughs. “Forty was a bit more murky because I was drinking a lot. Fifty was brilliant because I did the cycle tour all the way around Britain and Ireland.” John Murphy of musicOMH found that "While much of N.K. Pop is firmly in the tradition of radio-friendly pop, it's the lyrics that give these songs their extra dimension", concluding that "There are songs on N.K. Pop that stand squarely alongside some of Heaton's best" and that the "famous fire of his shows no sign of being extinguished". [3] Reviewing the album for Record Collector, Terry Staunton opined that there is "wry humour throughout" the album and that "Heaton remains the go-to chronicler of the Everyman condition" with Abbott providing "a vital contribution as both equal-billing foil and relatable conduit of female perspectives in these songs". [7]

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After over a decade of incessant touring, the shift was a conscious move by Andrews to reclaim her life and process all that has happened to her so far. Barely into her 30s, she had already released several slow-burning country-indie albums when 2020’s Old Flowers crept to the top of countless Album of the Year lists. Its bruised intimacy revealed the breakdown of a long-term relationship with suffocating sadness and eventually left Andrews ready to make a change.