NEWS EXTRA! Thursday, June 12

12:56 PM GMT 12/06/2008

Multi-instrumental genius and vocal gymnast Joanna Newsom will be perform at Somerset House on Sunday, July 20. Her appearance follows much-lauded concerts at the Sydney Opera House in January and at the Royal Albert Hall last autumn.

Be quick, tickets cost £25, and went on sale this morning at 10am. Call Ticketmaster for details on 0845 847 2317.

Damon Albarn’s Oriental opera, Monkey: Journey To The West, will make its London debut next month. The show’s short run will take place at the Royal Opera House between July 23 and 26. The opera, conceived by Albarn along with director Chen Shi-Zheng and Gorillaz collaborator Jamie Hewlett, is an adaptation of the 16th century Chinese novel Journey To The West by Wu Cheng’en. Billed as a “circus opera”, the show features 40 Chinese singers, acrobats and martial artists along with an orchestra of Western and traditional Chinese instruments. It premiered in a sold-out run at Manchester’s International festival last year.

Tickets go on sale today from 2pm. Call 0207 304 4000 or visit the Royal Opera House website for more details.

Real World Records (the world music label founded by Peter Gabriel) has licensed Venus On Earth, the latest CD from LA-based Cambodian rock band Dengue Fever, for release outside the US and Canada. The Real World version will include an unreleased track called One Thousand Tears Of A Tarantula, recorded live for radio in Philadelphia. The band are also heading to the UK for live shows. They have been confirmed to play at the London ICA on November 20, with more shows in the works.

The BBC will release thousands of hours of unreleased music from the likes of Pink Floyd, David Bowie and The Beach Boys, in a recently clinched deal between the broadcaster and EMI. Unheard treasures include live radio sessions by early Floyd, a 1975 documentary on David Bowie and an acoustic set by Coldplay. The deal only covers EMI artists, allowing the label to raid the Beeb’s vaults for material to release. In return, the BBC can make use of the material for future broadcasts.

A mountain of items belonging to late, great funk/soul legend James Brown is to be sold off next month by auction house Christie’s. Among the lots will be handwritten lyric sheets, jumpsuits worn by Brown and the Grammy he won in 1896 for Living In America. Photographs and letters from Presidents Bush and Reagan ought to fetch a pretty penny, too.

And finally...Happy Birthday Roy Harper! The folk experimentalist is 66 today. Here he is on the Whistle Test with One Of Those Days In England...

Chris Lo

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 12:56 PM GMT 12/06/2008

Mojo - The Music Magazine

Navigation

Disc of the day

Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement

New issue

News