Steeped in history the event has attracted the best artists that the music world has to offer in its many years of existence, names such as The Who, The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, The Small Faces, T Rex, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple have all supported the festival over the years.

More recently Nirvana made their last UK appearance at the festival in 1992, Stone Roses played their last show together in 1996, and Metallica reached their full potential in 1997.

The headline acts at this years Reading & Leeds festivals include the return of Guns N’ Roses, Blink 182 and Arcade Fire, supported by Queens of the Stoneage, Paramore and The Libertines.

As with all music festivals it is not just about the headline acts and as usual at Reading & Leeds there is a stellar line up across all the stages at this years event.

LCD Soundsystem, Pendulum and Klaxons head up the NME/Radio1 stage, while Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion and Roots Manuva headline the Lock Up Stage.

Marina & The Diamonds, Ash and British Sea Power head the Festival Republic Stage, while the Alternative Stage will be home to comedians Emo Phillips, Stephen K Amos, Jason Byrne, Kevin Bridges, Russell Kane and Rufus Hound.

An incredible line up of support on all stages throughout the weekend is promised at Reading and Leeds and some forward planning may be required to fit in all your favourite acts.

As part of an agreement with Reading Borough Council made in 2009, to increase the capacity at the festival by 10,000 over three years, an extra 3,500 tickets for the Reading Festival were released for sale over the weekend.

If you haven’t done so already, there couldn’t be a better time to purchase tickets for Reading/Leeds Festivals.

Reading & Leeds Festival Ticket Information
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Paramore add UK tour dates

Due to popular demand Paramore have added two brand new dates to their November UK tour schedule, treating the good people of Nottingham and Manchester to their very own Arena shows.

Nottingham becomes the new start date for the much anticipated UK tour, kicking off on November 8th at the Trent FM Arena and Manchester will become the penultimate night in the UK for Paramore, on November 19th they will perform at the MEN Arena.

Tickets for the two new shows will go on sale this Friday (July 9th) at 9am through www.gigsandtours.com or from the 24hour credit card hotline at 0871 2200 260.

Paramore release the fourth single from their number one album Brand New Eyes on July 12th, it will be one of singer Hayley Williams live favourites, Careful.

Hayley says of the song: ‘So psyched to release Careful as a single. It’s one of my favourite songs to play at shows… Heavy, fast, and just a really intense song. Hope people get into it!’

Paramore – Careful

Paramore will be in the UK to headline at the Reading/Leeds festivals in August before they return for the Arena tour in November.

Paramore UK Dates November 2010

Mon 8           Nottingham      Trent FM Arena         NEW DATE

Wed 10          Liverpool       Echo Arena              0844 8000 400

Thu 11          Sheffield       Arena                   0114 265 5656

Sat 13          London          O2 Arena                0844 856 0202  SOLD OUT

Mon 15          London          O2 Arena                0844 856 0202

Tue 16          Birmingham     LG Arena                 0844 338 8000

Thu 18          Newcastle      Metro Radio Arena        0844 493 6666

Fri 19          Manchester     MEN Arena                NEW DATE

Sat 20          Aberdeen       AECC                     0844 4999 990 SOLD OUT

Back 2 Skool will be second track to be taken from the incredible City Of Thieves album and features Sonic Boom’s distinctive break neck guitar riffs and dance sensibilities with a massive anthemic call to arms chorus.

To support the single Sonic Boom Six will be embarking on a full UK tour throughout October where they will be supported by The Skints, who have recently signed to the Sonic Boom Six’s own Rebel Alliance Recordings label.

The Sonic Boom Six UK tour dates:

OCTOBER 2009

TUE 6th TUNBRIDGE WELLS FORUM
WED 7th BRISTOL COOLER
THU 8th YORK DUCHESS
FRI 9th BIRMINGHAM ACADEMY
SAT 10th NARBETH QUEENSHALL
SUN 11th UK LEEDS COCKPIT
MON 12th PORTSMOUTH WEDGEWOOD ROOMS
TUE 13th OXFORD ACADEMY
WED 14th NORWICH WATERFRONT
THU 15th LONDON GARAGE
SAT 17th LIVERPOOL ACADEMY
SUN 18th GLASGOW STEREO
MON 19th ABERDEEN TUNNELS
WED 21st MANCHESTER ACADEMY
THU 22nd NEWPORT TJS
FRI 23rd PETERBOROUGH PARK
SAT 24th SHEFFIELD ACADEMY
SUN 25th NEWCASTLE ACADEMY

What the critics had to say about ‘City of Thieves’:
‘This is witty, vital and utterly infectious fare.’ KKKK – Kerrang!
‘It’s smart, joyous music that has plenty to say and does so eloquently.’ 4/5 – Big Cheese

And my personal favourite:

‘A hundred word analysis cannot do this album justice, so let’s just say it’s one f*cking excellent album and get on with out lives? Agreed? Agreed.’ 9/10 Rock Sound

The Black Lips

Drugs is taken as on of the standout track¡s  from The Black Lips album 200 Million Thousand. The video chosen to accompany the track is made by a Black Lips fan, who sent the production to the band.

The Black Lips will be appearing at the Leeds/Reading Festival this weekend, somehow squeezing a visit to Valencia in between.

Here are the UK dates:

26 Aug 2009 – Brighton
Concorde 2

28 Aug 2009 – Reading
Reading Festival, Republic Stage

29 Aug 2009 – Alaquas nr Valencia
Festival FRA Alaquas

30 Aug 2009 – Leeds
Leeds Festival, Republic Stage

Arctic Monkeys announce third album - Humbug

The Arctic Monkeys‘ third album, Humbug, will be released on Monday 24th August 2009.

Humbug features 10 brand new Arctic Monkeys’ songs and was produced by Josh Homme in the Mojave Desert and Los Angeles and James Ford in Brooklyn.

Arctic Monkeys – Humbug tracklisting:

1. My Propeller
2. Crying Lightning
3. Dangerous Animals
4. Secret Door
5. Potion Approaching
6. Fire And The Thud
7. Cornerstone
8. Dance Little Liar
9. Pretty Visitors
10. The Jeweller’s Hands

The Arctic Monkeys will be headlining the Reading and Leeds Festival in August and playing the following shows over the summer:

Thursday 2nd July
Opener Festival, Gydnia, Poland

Saturday 4th July
Rock For People, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

Sunday 5th July
Vienna Arena, Austria

Tuesday 7th July
Prokurative, Split, Croatia

Thursday 9th July
Exit Festival, Serbia

Saturday 1st August
All Points West, New Jersey, USA

Sunday 2nd August
Osheaga Festival, Montreal, Canada

Friday – Sunday  7th- 9th August (date TBC)
Lollapalooza, Chicago, USA

Thursday 13th August
Oya Festival, Oslo, Norway

Friday  14th August
Way Out West, Gothenburg, Sweden

Saturday 15th August
Beat Day Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark

Friday 21st August
Highfield Festival, Erfurt, Germany

Saturday 22nd August
Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt, Belgium

Sunday 23rd August
Lowlands Festival, Holland

Friday 28th August
Leeds Festival

Saturday 29th August
Reading Festival

Friday 6th  November
Zenith, Paris, France

Frank Turner - third album & UK tour

Frank Turner is currently putting the finishing touches to his third album Poetry Of The Deed which will be released in September on Xtra Mile Recordings in UK and Ireland and Epitpah for the rest of the world.

To help promote the forthcoming album, Frank Turner will be playing this summer’s Reading & Leeds Festivals on the NME/Radio 1 Stage on Sunday (Reading) and Saturday (Leeds).

His performance in the Lock Up Tent last year catapulted him to exciting new levels of success so who knows what could happen this year!

The first single to be taken from Poetry Of The Deed will be released the day after the festival on 31st August.

October will see Frank Turner embark on his largest UK headline tour to date and with the Manchester date already sold out – 5 months in advance – tickets are going very quickly.

Frank Turner UK tour dates:

OCTOBER
13 Dublin, Academy 2
14 Belfast Stiff Kitten Club
15 Glasgow QMU
16 Manchester Academy 2 – SOLD OUT!!
17 Newcastle Uni
18 Nottingham Rock City
19 Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
20 Oxford Academy
22 Leeds Met University
23 Cambridge Junction
24 Plymouth University
25 Exeter Lemon Grove
26 Bristol Anson Rooms
27 Cardiff University
28 Winchester Guildhall
29 London Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Tickets are £10, £13 in London

Supports for all dates are Fake Problems and Beans On Toast.

Buy Reading Festival tickets.

This is the first time any major music festivals have signed a partnership of this kind. Viagogo is not a primary ticket seller but allows fans to buy and sell tickets with 100% guarantees that all tickets that are bought and sold are genuine tickets. Viagogo guarantees the transaction and delivery of tickets so fans who buy will actually get their tickets, and fans who sell will actually get paid.

Buy Leeds Festival tickets.

The online secondary ticket company will also have a physical pick-up point at Leeds and Latitude festival sites and a pick up point in Reading town centre to allow fans to collect their tickets.

Buy Latitude Festival tickets

Since 2006, viagogo has provided the official ticket resale service for top football clubs such as Manchester United, and Chelsea FC. The Manchester United and Chelsea FC ticket exchanges allow season ticket holders to sell their spare tickets to other fans. This new deal follows viagogo’s partnerships with Madonna and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group.

Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic said:

“There were some disastrous ticketing issues last year leaving many fans disappointed after ‘buying’ non-existent resale tickets. A number of rouge ticketing websites sprung up offering fans tickets to our festivals that they did not posses. We have therefore agreed to work with viagogo as the recommended and only official ticket exchange for the Reading, Leeds, and Latitude festivals. If fans use other ticket exchanges or buy from unauthorized agents they risk being defrauded and not getting their festival tickets.”

Eric Baker, CEO of viagogo said:

“viagogo is thrilled to have been chosen as the official ticket exchange for 2009’s Reading, Leeds and Latitude festivals. It is an honour to be working with these events, which are among the premiere music festivals in all the world.”

viagogo has also signed a similar deal with the Isle of Wight Festival to become the official secondary ticketing and ticket exchange partner of the festival.

John Giddings, Isle of Wight Festival organiser said:

“With the recent media speculation over untrustworthy ticket touts we wanted to make sure that festival-goers could purchase tickets from a reliable source. The Isle of Wight Festival has signed viagogo as they are undoubtedly the market leader in their area. They provide unparalleled expertise in secondary ticketing and we have absolute confidence that they will offer the best possible service to our customers.”

Buy tickets for The Isle of Wight Festival 2009

Glastonbury will play host to possibly the biggest of the summer festivals from Wednesday 24th  – Sunday 28th June. The last of the tickets went on sale  yesterday, and like many of this years festivals, all tickets have now been sold.

The full line-up is still to be confirmed.  And even though many artists are officially stating they will be performing, the only “official” Glastonbury list of artists, so far is Lily Allen, Fleet Foxes, Neil Young, Blur, Bruce Springsteen, Emiliana Torrini, Doves, Franz Ferdinand, The Ting Tings, Echo And The Bunnymen, White Lies and Florence And The Machine.

T in the Park will be held over the weekend of Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July at the Balado Airfield in Kinross-Shire. The Main Stage will play host the headline acts: Kings Of Leon (Friday), The Killers (Saturday) and Snow Patrol & Blur (Sunday). While the Radio One/NME Stage will be headlined by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Friday), Nine Inch Nails (Saturday) and Keane (Sunday).

Other acts already confirmed to play the various stages and tents include Razorlight, Pet Shop Boys, Elbow, Franz Ferdinand, The Specials, James, Bloc Party, Jane’s Addiction, Paolo Nutini, Florence & The Machine, Ladyhawke, The Script, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lily Allen, Manic Street Preachers, Ting Tings, Katy Perry, Maximo Park, Pendulum, Seasick Steve, James Morrison, Peter Doherty, White Lies and Squeeze.

The most exciting of all the live summer festival line-ups, as far as I’m concerned, will at Reading and Leeds.

Reading Festival
Friday 28th August
Kings Of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo, Fall Out Boy, Deftones, Funeral For A Friend, Jamie T, Friendly Fires, Florence & The Machine and more.

Saturday 29th August
Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy, Maximo Park, Ian Brown, Gossip, Glasvegas, White Lies & more.

Sunday 30th August
Radiohead, Bloc Party, Yeahs Yeahs Yeahs, Vampire Weekend and more.

Leeds Festival
Friday 28th August
Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy, Maximo Park, Ian Brown, Gossip, Glasvegas, White Lies & more.

Saturday 29th August
Radiohead, Bloc Party, Yeahs Yeahs Yeahs, Vampire Weekend and more.

Sunday 30th August
Kings Of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo, Fall Out Boy, Deftones, Funeral For A Friend, Jamie T, Friendly Fires, Florence & The Machine and more.

V Festival takes place at two separate locations and takes place on 22 & 23 August. Tickets to V Festival Hylands Park, Chelmsford have already sold out and there are only a few remaining tickets for Weston Park, Staffordshire, too.

The following acts will play Hylands Park, Chelmsford on Saturday 22nd August & Weston Park, Staffordshire on Sunday 23rd August:

The Killers, Razorlight, The Specials, Lily Allen, The Script, Fatboy Slim, Pendulum, The Ting Tings, The Wombats, Happy Mondays, Pete Doherty and much more.

The following acts will play Weston Park, Staffordshire on Saturday 22nd August & Hylands Park, Chelmsford on Sunday 23rd August:

Oasis, Snow Patrol, Elbow, James, Biffy Clyro, James Morrison, Ocean Colour Scene, Keane, The Enemy, Paulo Nutini, Katy Perry, Dizzee Rascal, MGMT, Lady Gaga, The Streets and many more.

Isle of Wight festival will include The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Pendulum, and The Ting Tings on Friday 12th June.

On Saturday 13th June, Stereophonics, Razorlight, Maximo Park, White Lies, The View, Paulo Nutini, The Zombies and more.

On Sunday 14th June, it’s retro night with headline perfomances from Neil Young, The Pixies and Simple Minds.

Though not officially confirmed, Kings of Leon & the Arctic Monkeys had both been mentioned, but it was the third act that had spawned rumours such as the mighty AC/DC. Now that would have been something special, and also made sense as it would have seen the band return to the UK after the massive success of last year’s studio album, Black Ice, selling no less than six million copies.

If it wasn’t going to be difficult enough to buy festival tickets this year, the third headline act at the Leeds & Reading Music Festival is … [drum roll] Radiohead; a massive wow factor that has pushed all other festival headline acts into the shadows.

Surprisingly, Radiohead have never headlined at either the Reading or Leeds Festivals, but it promises to be a great live spectacle; and if there wasn’t a rush for tickets before the announcement, there soon was!

Radiohead last headlined Glastonbury in 2003 with an unforgettable set, and already I’m thinking this will be the live performance of summer 2009. With no suggestion of new material to promote, let’s hope they do a ‘greatest hits’ show with a grand finale of Creep.

Kings Of Leon proved they are headline material with a great opening night performance to kick start last year’s Glastonbury Festival amidst reports of poor ticket sales and ‘rock against rap’ controversy. They also headlined at T in the Park and V Festival in 2008, and their UK festival performances helped to boost their commercial success. Their fourth album Only By The Night was their most successful to date and spawned the hit singles Sex On Fire & Need Somebody.

It’s good to see the return of The Arctic Monkeys too, after a year off while singer/songwriter Alex Turner performed with Miles Kane to promote side project, The Last Shadow Puppets.

The Arctic Monkeys played an excellent sets at the 2006 Leeds & Reading Festivals, though were overshadowed by an amazing over-the-top headline performance by Muse; and in 2007 they played a great sing-a-long Saturday night headline set at Glastonbury.

The Arctic Monkeys are currently recording their third album, so expect a live set of old and new songs.

These headline acts alone are going to make this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival tickets the ones to have. This is by far the best festival headline act line-up so far this year. If you haven’t already got your tickets, good luck!