Richard Hawley and  Reverend and the Makers will perform on BBC2's The Culture Show on Saturday, 1 December, at 7.10pm, repeated at 1.40am the next morning.  The latter will play a William Blake tribute in the form of his Jerusalem to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth.  The programme will also include a chat with Todd Haynes, director of Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There.

 

The excellent Teddy Thompson plays Dingwalls on 23 January 2008.  Tickets are a mere £12.

 

Scritti Politti will be playing the Luminaire on 17 December.  Tickets are £12.

 

TCM will once again be showing the Michael Antonioni classic Blowup, which captures the swinging 60s wonderfully when a fashion photographer played by the late David Hemmings thinks he's stumbled upon evidence of a murder.  The film features a performance by The Yardbirds when both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck were in the band.  Apparently their 'part' was meant to be taken by The Who but a contract dispute saw the Yardbirds take their place.  Tune in at 11.05pm on Friday, 30 November 2007.

 

Josh Rouse will perform at the Shepherd's Bush Empire with the intriguing Jens Lekman opening for him on Sunday, 9 December.

 

Later...with Jools Holland on Friday, 30 November, will include the fantastic Josh Ritter as well as Stephanie Dosen and Common. I'd tell you more but the Beeb site has something annoying embedded in that page that keeps crashing Explorer before I can read anything more.  Ritter will also be playing live at Shepherd's Bush Empire on 22 November, with the delightful Kate Walsh opening for him. Tickets are £15.

 

Robert Wyatt will be Matthew Wright's guest on The Weekender on Friday, 30 November, at 10pm on BBC Radio 2.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Pentangle will play the Royal Festival Hall on 29 June 2008.  Tickets will sell from £15 to £30.

 

Kanye West will be the musical guest on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on Friday, 30 November, at 10.35pm.

 

ITV2 will be broadcasting the 35th annual American Music Awards on Wednesday, 28 November, at 9pm, with performances by Duran Duran as well as Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige, Avril Lavigne and some (frankly) horrors of the North American pop chart.

 

Squeeze have added 5 December to their sold-out date at the Hammersmith Apollo.

 

Channel 4 will be showing a video exclusive of The White Stipes' new song Conquest on Thursday, 29 November, at 12.10am, repeated at 4.25am

 

Alison Moyet will play the Palladium on 27 January 2008.  Tickets are £33.50.

 

Girls Aloud fans might want to tune into GMTV's This Morning on Tuesday, 27 November, between 10.30am and 12.30pm to hear the band perform their new single in the studio.  K T Tunstall will appear in the earlier GMTV slot on Friday, 30 November, between 6am and 9.25am.

 

A somewhat tenuous link for die-hard Sting fans: see his wife Trudie Styler acting in the 2001 film Me Without You, which will be shown on BBC1 at 11.35pm on Tuesday, 27 November.  (Mind you, if I included a note of whenever she appeared on the telly, I'd have to add a lot of good old Miss Marples of the perfect Joan Hickson era, as she features in The Body in the Library).

 

The glorious tenor Ian Bostridge will be one of Andrew Marr's guests at 9am on Start the Week on Monday, 26 November, on BBC Radio 4.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Stephen Duffy & the Lilac Time have released a new album, Duffy's first  for five years, called Runout Groove on Fruitcake/Universal.

 

Jackie Stewart will be Jools Holland's guest on BBC Radio 2 at 10.30pm on Monday, 26 November.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

A link between rock and physics....on Monday, 26 November, BBC4 will be showing at 9pm Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives, where Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett (aka E)  explores the work of his late father, quantum physicist Hugh Everett III and his theory about parallel universes.  The programme has been selected by the Radio Times as Choice viewing, and the Times' The Knowledge magazine included a feature on Everett and his 'brilliant, tragic father' on 24 November.

 

4Music: Foo Fighters: Live in Hollywood will be shown on Channel 4 at 12.50am on Tuesday, 27 November, featuring acoustic renditions of the band's In Your Honour album.

 

Duran Duran have released a fairly well-received album, Red Carpet Massacre.

 

BBC Radio 2 will be broadcasting X-amining Kylie at 10.30pm on Tuesday, 27 November, where Kylie Minogue discusses her life including her forthcoming appearance on the Doctor Who Christmas special and tracks from her new album, X.

 

Alison Moyet and Thomas Dolby will be the impressive guests on The Music Club with Simon Mayo at 11.30pm on Monday, 26 November, on BBC Radio 2.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Tom Baxter will play the Shepherd's Bush Empire on Thursday, 31 January 2008.

 

The full original line-up of The Pogues will play Brixton Carling Academy on Tuesday and Wednesday, 18-19 December.  Whilst Billy Bragg is their guest in Manchester, the rest of the tour's shows will be opened by The Holloways.

 

TCM will be showing The Who's rock opera Tommy, which also features performances by Elton John and Tina Turner, at 11.20pm on Sunday, 25 November.

 

Gary Numan will play IndigO2 on Saturday, 15 March 2008.

 

BBC4 will be showing the much-missed Help! starring The Beatles, who perform many wonderful songs in between a lot of delightful silliness, at 7pm on Sunday, 25 November.  The film has finally been released on DVD as well.

 

Madness with The Bees will play the O2 Arena on Friday, 14 December.

 

The Biography Channel, around the anniversary of Michael Hutchence's death, will be showing INXS: Live Baby Live (on Sunday, 25 November, at 12pm, and repeated at various times over the next few days) and Michael Hutchence: The Loved One (same Sunday at 2pm, and also repeated).  On Monday, 26 November, it will show Fleetwood Mac: Rumours at 7pm, and a programme at 11pm on Tina Turner.   On Thursday, 29 November, at 11am, they'll show a programme on Phil Collins' Face Value album, a programme at 5pm on Pink, and at 7pm and midnight on The Who--Who's Next.  Most of these programmes are repeated over a few days.

 

Joe Cocker will perform at Indigo2 on Sunday, 16 December.

 

Legendary jazz bassist Charlie Haden will be Michael Berkeley's guest on Private Passions at 12pm on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday, 25 November.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards

 

Cowboy Junkies have released Trinity Revisited, their 1988 highly praised debut re-done with guests including Ryan Adams, Natalie Merchant (of the 10,000 Maniacs) and Vic Chesnutt.

 

How's this for a fun 80s revival: ABC, Curiousity Killed the Cat, Rick Astley, Paul Young, Bananarama and others, playing Wembley Arena (shame) on 16 May.  Tickets are £36.50, which when you think of it is four extra acts for only £5 more than kd Lang.

 

Eagles' singer/drummer Don Henley will perform live on BBC Radio 2 on Johnnie Walker's show at 4.30pm on Sunday, 25 November.     You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.  The Eagles have released a comback album called Long Road Out of Eden.

 

Marc Almond will play the Indigo2 on Saturday, 8 December.

 

ITV3 will be showing the 2002 open-air concert in Auckland, New Zealand, of the tenor Russell Watson--The Voice at 7pm on Sunday, 25 November.

 

Editors will play Alexandra Palace on 5 March 2008.  Tickets are £20.

 

Athlete will be performing live on Jonathan Ross'  BBC Radio 2 programme at 10am, which will come live from a Wakefield bus depot, on Saturday, 24 November.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

kd Lang will perform at the Hammersmith Apollo on 30 January 2008.  Tickets are £31.50.

 

The South Bank Show on Sunday, 25 November, will be all about Annie Lennox, including a rare in-depth interview with her, where she also talks about Dave Stewart and being the Eurythmics, while also rehearsing live performances.  You never know, if they show old footage of the band, you might catch a glimpse of Eddi Reader when she was their backing singer; TOTP2 sometimes shows a clip of her joining the band on stage for Top of the Pops in the early 1980s.

 

Billy Ocean will play at the Ocean, of course, on 16 December.  Tickets are £22.50.

 

Rilo Kiley will be performing live on Dermot O'Leary's programme at 2pm on Saturday, 24 November, on BBC Radio 2.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.  They'll also appear on Tom Robinson's programme on BBC6 Music on Monday, 26 November, and you can listen to that online for up to a week as well.  For those who don't know, one of RK's singers is Jenny Lewis, who released an enjoyable album as part of Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins last year

 

The Hoosiers will play the Shepherd's Bush Empire on 4-6 March 2008.  Tickets are £14.

 

The Fall plays the Galtymore Ballroom on 30 November.  Tickets are £16.

 

On Sunday, 25 November, David Gray will be featured in concert at St Luke's on BBC1 Sessions, shown at 11.20pm.

 

Rodrigo y Gabriela will play the Hammersmith Apollo on Sunday, 9 December.

 

Capercaille plays the Cadogan Hall on 30 November.  Tickets are £20.

 

BBC Radio 2 finishes its two-part series Days in the Life: Pink Floyd at 40  at 8pm on Saturday, 24 November, featuring interviews with the surviving members of the band. You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Aqualung plays the London King's College Student Union on Tuesday, 20 November.  Tickets are £12.

 

The Beach Boys will play the Hammersmith Apollo on 4 April.  Tickets are £37.50.

 

BBC4 will profile the legendary American bandleader/singer/entertainer Louis Prima, also the husband of the band's singer Keely Smith and the figure of the anticipated visit in the delightful film Big Night, at 9pm on Friday, 2 November.  It's repeated a few hours later at 1.20am on Saturday.  In addition, Capitol/EMI have released Jump, Jive An' Wail: The Essential Louis Prima, also featuring Smith on vocals.

 

James Taylor's One Man Band CD/DVD will be released in November.

 

The intriguing Patrick Wolf will play Shepherd's Bush Empire on 20 December.  Tickets are £15.

 

BBC4 on Friday, 2 November, will show a new series of four programmes on the Cambridge  Folk Festival 2007 at 8.30pm, featuring Mike Scott of the Waterboys, Idlewild's Roddy Womble and others.

 

The Magic Numbers will play the Royal Festival Hall on 5 December.  Tickets are £18.50.

 

Dar Williams' Live at Bearsville Theatre DVD will be released on 16 October.

 

Channel 4 will show a video exclusive of The Killers' forthcoming single Tranquilise at 12.05am and 3.10am on Saturday, 3 November.

 

Later...with Jools Holland returns for its 30th series on Friday, 2 November, at 11.35pm on BBC2, featuring performances by Siouxsie Sioux, Richard Hawley, Hard-Fi, Laura Marling, Soil and Kaki King.

 

On Wednesday, 31 October, at 8pm on the Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie programme, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will (at first glance bizarrely) perform a live set together.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Ian Hunter plays the Shepherd's Bush Empire on 28 October.

 

The Music Club with Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 2 at 11.30pm on Monday, 29 October, will feature Michael Stipe discussing REM's new live album, which was recorded at Dublin's Point Theatre in 2005.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

The Beat will play Jazz Cafe on 10 November, and Orchestra Baobab will perform there on 18-20 November.

 

On Monday, 29 October, BBC2 will show BBC Electric Proms: Highlights at 11.20pm, featuring footage of the Roundhouse concerts of Mark Ronson, Bloc Party, Ray Davies, Paul McCartney and Kaiser Chiefs.  On the same day at 7pm, BBC Radio 1 will broadcast highlights of the Electric Proms, which can be heard online.

 

Hot Chip will play Electric Ballroom on 22 November.  Tickets are £15.

 

BBC Radio 3's Performance on 3 at 7pm on Tuesday, 30 October, will be an Eartha Kitt concert with the Nash Ensemble from December 1972.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Seal will be a guest on The Paul O'Grady Show at 5pm on Monday, 29 October, on Channel 4.  His new album, System, is released on 20 November.

 

Karine Polwart plays the London Bloomsbury Theatre on 11 November.

 

A live set from Willy Mason will be broadcast on Tom Robinson's show on BBC 6 Music at 7pm on Monday, 29 October, and Tuesday, 30 October.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

Stephen Duffy will be Jools Holland's guest at 10.30pm on Monday, 29 October, on BBC Radio 2. You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Captain will play the KCLSU on 22 November.  Tickets are £10.

 

Biography on Sunday, 28 October, will be showing a Tom Jones documentary at 9am followed by Tom Jones Live from Cardiff Castle at 10am, with both programmes repeated at 2pm and 3pm, respectively.

 

The episode of the brilliant Father Ted featuring Altered Images lead singer Clare Grogan will be shown on More4 at 11.05pm on Sunday, 28 October.

 

ITV4 is showing The Story of Punk at 10pm and 11pm, with interviews and archive footage of punk bands including the Sex Pistols in concert, on Sunday, 28 October.

 

BBC Electric Proms on Sunday, 28 October, at 11.50pm on BBC2 shows a concert in the Roundhouse by former Kinks frontman Ray Davies playing tracks from his new album, Working Man's Cafe, which he gave away free in the Sunday Times recently, as well as classics.

 

Young jazz singer Peter Cincotti will perform on Parkinson on ITV1 on Saturday, 27 October, at 10.20pm.

 

The Handsome Family will perform on The Culture Show on BBC2 on Saturday, 27 October, at 9.20pm, repeated at 1.20am BST the next morning.

 

Finally, someone is showing The Beatles' 1965 film Help!, although we reach this stage right before it is released on DVD.  BBC2 on Saturday, 27 October, will show the 'musical comedy' at 7.50pm.

 

The Halloween version of TOTP2 showing on Dave on Saturday, 27 October, at 10am includes a clip of Split Enz's old video for the brilliant Neil Finn-scribed number, I Got You.

 

Stuart Maconie will have Paul Anka as his guest on BBC Radio 2 at 4pm on Saturday, 27 October, just after Dermot O'Leary's 2pm programme that will include sets from David Gray.  You can listen to both online for up to a week afterwards.

 

The Osmonds--yes, The Osmonds--will play Wembley Arena on 30 May 2008.  Tickets will be £39.50.

 

BBC4 will profile the legendary Belgian singer/songwriter on Legends: Jacque Brel--Ne Me Quitte Pas on Friday, 26 October, at 9pm.  The excellent programme will be repeated on Tuesday, 30 October, at 8pm.

 

Kate Nash will play the Hammersmith Apollo on 10 March 2008.  Tickets will be £16.50.

 

BBC4 on Friday, 26 October, at 8.30pm will show the last of the current series of Transatlantic Sessions, hosted by Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas who duet, and featuring several other performers worth watching.

 

Singer Russell Watson, "The Voice", is critically ill in hospital after a three-hour operation on 25 October to treat a brain tumour.  The next 48 hours are crucial for the 40-year-old father of two, so please send prayers and/or positive thoughts his way.

 

Athlete and The Hoosiers will play the Union Chapel on 21 November.  Tickets are £35.

 

Duran Duran have split with guitarist Andy Taylor, who reportedly was unhappy with such things as the decision to work with Justin Timberlake and producer Timberland.

 

BBC Electric Proms on Friday, 26 October, at 11.35pm on BBC2 will feature coverage of the Kaiser Chief's collaboration with composer David Arnold performed at Camden's Roundhouse.

 

Hugh Masekela will perform at the Barbican on 28 November.  Tickets range from £6 to £30.

 

Mick Hucknall has announced the end of Simply Red after 25 years, although he's the only original member who is still part of the band.  He says they will split in 2009 at the end of their tour, and he will focus as a solo performer on blues/R&B, and has apparently just recorded a tribute album to Bobby 'Blue' Bland, a much admired legend who has performed with Van Morrison in recent years.

 

The Shins will play Hammersmith Apollo on Wednesday, 7 November.

 

Bill Nighy continues to read from Eric Clapton: the Autobiography at 9.15pm on Friday, 26 October, on BBC Radio 2.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Chris Rea will play the Royal Albert Hall on 28 March 2008.  Tickets will be £27.50.

 

Duran Duran will perform live (a toned-down version of their performance) on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on Friday,  26 October, at 10.35pm on BBC1.  The programme will be repeated the next night.

 

Hazel O'Connor will play Dingwalls on 18 November.  Tickets are £15.

 

Specials vocalist Neville Staple will be Mark Lamarr's guest at midnight on Saturday, 27 October, (ie late on Friday) on BBC Radio 2.  You can listen  online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Paul Heaton, ex-Housemartin and The Beautiful South frontman, will play Bush Hall on 19 November.

 

If you were a Wet Wet Wet fan, you will want to tune in to GMTV on ITV1 on Friday, 26 October, probably after 8.35am, to see them perform live.

 

The blessing of the new Diva TV is that the magnificent Late Show with David Letterman will be shown in the UK again!  Hurrah!  It will be shown nightly at 9pm, several weeks after each show airs in the US.  Most nights will feature a musical guest.  For instance, Rihanna will perform on Thursday, 25 October; Iron and Wine on Friday, 26 October; Patti Scialfa on Friday, 27 October; and Arctic Monkeys on Sunday, 4 November.

 

Andy White is playing a FREE gig at a country-dominated night at What's Cookin' at Leytonstone Ex-Servicemen's Club, E11, at 8.30pm on Wednesday, 17 October.

 

E4 is showing The Chris Isaak Show at 2.35am on Thursday, 25 October.

 

Steve Earle will play the Roundhouse on 18 February 2008.  Tickets are £24.50.

 

Barry Adamson will play the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 20-21 November.  Tickets are £15-20.

 

The Verve will play O2 Arena on 13 December.  Tickets are £32.50.

 

According to the Radio Times, the guest on the Rob Brydon-narrated programme about Kiwi comedy "band" The Flight of the Conchords on Thursday, 25 October, at 11.30pm will be Neil Finn.  You can listen to the radio programme online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Keane and Rilo Kiley will perform at the Union Chapel on 28 November.  Tickets are £35.

 

Hard-Fi's performance at the Ibiza Rocks festival can be seen on Channel 4 at 12.05am on Friday, 26 October.

 

Amy Winehouse will play Brixton Academy on 16 and 17 December.  Tickets are £22.50.

 

Rufus Wainwright will appear on the Graham Norton Show on Thursday, 25 October, at 10pm on BBC2.  The programme is repeated at 12.20am on Monday, 29 October.

 

Josh Ritter with guest the fantastic Kate Walsh will play the Shepherd's Bush Empire on Thursday, 22 November.  That would be one worth attending even if you have not yet experienced their talents.

 

The Buzzcocks and Alternative TV will be amongst the bands performing at Indigo2 on 30 November.  Tickets are £15.

 

Powderfinger will play the Hammersmith Apollo on 7 December.  Tickets are £22.50.

 

Paul McCartney's live performance at the Roundhouse for the BBC Electric Proms will be broadcast on Thursday, 25 October, during Stuart Maconie's show at 8pm on BBC Radio 2 and at 11.20pm on BBC2.  You can listen to the radio programme online for possibly for up to a week afterwards.

 

Siouxsie plays the Roundhouse on Monday,  5 November, promoting her new Mantaray album.

 

Aimee Mann will be Stephen Merchant's guest on his BBC6 Music programme at 3pm on Sunday, 2 September.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

Joy Division's albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer as well as compilation Still are being re-released by Warner Brothers with bonus live tracks.

 

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross returns at 10.35pm on Friday, 7 September, at 10.35pm on BBC1, featuring music from The Polyphonic Spree.

 

Some forthcoming impressive acts at the Pigalle Supper Club include the magnificent Luka Bloom on 3 September, the gloriously voiced classical singer Alfie Boe on 5 September, and Alison Moyet on 15 and 16 October.

 

BBC4 on Friday, 7 September, at 9.20pm will show BBC1 Session: Elton John, showing a performance by the singer in the beautiful, intimate LSO St Luke's in London.

 

Toots and the Maytals will pay the Forum on 29 November.  Tickets are £22.50 each.

 

Patti Scialfa, aka Mrs Bruce Springsteen, will be promoting her new album by appearing on Johnnie Walker's BBC Radio 2 programme at 4.30pm on Sunday, 2 September.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

An odd new series on ITV1 called Don't Call Me Stupid kicks off on Tuesday, 4 September, at 10pm with the Happy Mondays' Bez trying to teach royal correspondent James Whitaker a bit about his life and vice-versa as they swap roles in a game show format.

 

Linda Thompson's highly rated follow-up to her 2002 comeback album is called Versatile Heart and naturally has son Teddy as one of the guests.

 

Channel 5 will show Stoned, Stephen Woolley's 2005 the biopic of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, at 11.05pm on Monday, 3 September.

 

Tunng's new album, Good Arrows, is getting consistently high reviews from the press.  They will be performing at 229 on Great Portland St, W1, on 17 October, and tickets cost £12.50 each.

 

Editors perform tracks from their second album on Tom Robinson's programme on BBC6 Music at 7pm on Monday, 3 September.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

BBC2 will show highlights of the Reading and Leeds Festivals at 11.35pm on Friday, 31 August.

 

The Jesus and the Mary Chain are playing Brixton Academy on Friday, 7 September, with Evan Dando as support.

 

Session musician and writer Andrew McGibbon, who has also played with Peter Gabriel, Bucks Fizz and many others, reports on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday, 4 September, about his time as a drummer for Morrissey in the aptly named I Was Morrissey's Drummer.  You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Athlete apparently returns to form with their self-produced third album, Beyond the Neighbourhood.  They will also appear on Channel 4's The Album Chart Show on Saturday, 1 September, at 12.55am (repeated on Saturday, 8 September, at 12.25am), and on that channel's 4Music: 4Play at 1.05am on Monday, 3 September, which will profile the band.

 

Singer Pauline Black, once of ska-band The Selecters, fronts a programme on BBC Radio 4 on Monday, 3 September, at 11am called Welcome to My World, where she travels to the "white" southwest of England to meet a black farmer and prospective Tory MP, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones. You can listen online for up to a week afterwards.

 

Cherry Ghost will be the support act for Manic Street Preachers at the Brixton Academy on Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 and 12 December.

 

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour will respond to listeners' queries on the Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie programme at 8pm on Thursday, 6 September, on BBC Radio 2, and talking about the film documentary of his Royal Albert Hall performance.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

The impressive guitarist and singer-songwriter José González has released his second album, In Our Nature.

 

Stuart Maconie focuses on the Dixie Chicks' anti-war statement made at their performance at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire in 2003, which led to a huge backlash against them in the States, including the modern version of record-burning (CD-crushing), in his programme Seven More Days that Rocked the World, on Thursday, 6 September, at 11pm on BBC Radio 2.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

Ben's Brother will play at Dingwalls on Tuesday, 18 September.

 

Mark Knopfler has a new album out called Kill to Get Crimson with an apparently country/pop/folky feel.

 

Chris Hawkins' show on BBC6 Music at 1am on Wednesday, 5 September, will include a performance by Badly Drawn Boy.   The following morning will include an archive set from 1983 by Depêché Mode. You can listen online for up to a week.

 

Mark Eitzel will be playing the Luminaire on 14 October.  Tickets are £12.

 

Iron and Wine have released an apparently impressive album, The Shepherd's Dog.

 

Peter Gabriel and Genesis will be one of the specialist subjects on Mastermind on BBC2 at 7.30pm on Monday, 3 September, if you want to try to match wits with that constestant.

 

Marc Almond is performing at the Indigo2 on Saturday, 8 December.

 

BBC4 will be showing BBC1 Session: Amy Winehouse, a concert  recorded in the intimate Porchester Hall, at 9pm on Friday, 31 August  That will be followed at 9.55pm by Originals: Dinah Washington--Evil Gal Blues, a profile of the jazz singer.

 

Annie Lennox has released a new album, Songs of Mass Destruction, described as "bluesy" and "soulful".

 

The vibrant Hot Hot Heat has a new album out called Happiness Ltd.

 

K T Tunstall's released her "difficult second album", as they say, Drastic Fantastic.  She will be Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie's guest on their BBC Radio 2 programme at 8pm on Monday, 3 September.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

White Chalk, P J Harvey's latest, is impressing the critics and is said to be more stylised and peaceful, as she turns to piano rather than guitar.

 

The last ever Heaven & Earth with Gloria Hunniford on Sunday, 2 September, at 10am will feature performances by the Proclaimers and Beth Neilsen Chapman as well as a look over its nine year history, which could possibly include some of the excellent musicians they've had perform live in the studio over the years (from memory, this included Loudon Wainwright III, Bic Runga, Joan Armatrading, Martin Joseph, k d Lang and possibly Brian Kennedy)....perhaps when renaming the show to add Gloria's name they should have made it clear it wasn't a religious programme, which no doubt scared off viewers.

 

The Stranglers will perform a 30th anniversary show "Rattus at the Roundhouse" on Sunday, 4 November.

 

Josh Ritter has a new album out, The Historical Conquests of ...., and he will be performing at Monto Water Rats on Gray's Inn Road, WC1X, on 13 and 14 September.

 

Joni Mitchell's new album, Shine, is released on Hear on 24 September.  It's apparently as excellent as you would expect, and samples can be heard on Amazon.  Amongst the 10 songs is a reworking of her classic Big Yellow Taxi (she was largely right but rather than putting all the trees in a tree museum, they simply cut them down....).

 

If you love Leonard Cohen, you'll surely be wowed by Howe Gelb, who will be performing at the Luminaire on 18 September.  Tickets are £12.50.

 

The Mercury Prize 2007 will be broadcast live on BBC4 from 9pm on Tuesday, 4 September, hosted by Jo Whiley and Jools Holland, with several live performances.

 

Richard Hawley will promote his new album Lady's Bridge by performing at the Roundhouse on Wednesday, 5 September, but the evening may be stolen by his support act, the wonderful Kate Walsh.

 

E4 will show The 100 Greatest Pop Video, presented by comedian Jimmy Carr, on Saturday, 1 September, at 9pm for over four hours, including talking head contributions by Peter Gabriel, Bjork, Dave Stewart, Jarvis Cocker and Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim and ex-Housemartin).

 

Awkward Annie is Kate Rusby's seventh solo album, released on Pure on 3 September.

 

Hard-Fi will appear on 4Music Presents on Channel 4 on Saturday, 1 September, at 12.25pm.  The channel's Album Chart Show later will be a Hard-Fi Special, beginning at 12.30am on Sunday morning (2 September), followed at 1am by a programme of the band Live in Concert, shown at the Astoria.  A profile of the band will be shown on that channel at 12.55am on Saturday, 8 September.  Also, both Hard-Fi and Athlete will appear on The Music Club with Simon Mayo at 11.30pm on BBC Radio 2 on Monday, 3 September.  You can listen to that online for up to a week.

 

The Proclaimers' new highly rated album, Life With You, is released on 3 September.

 

Manu Chao performs at Brixton Academy on Tuesday, 2 October.  His other dates there have sold out.

 

Deborah Harry is releasing her first solo album in 14 years, called Necessary Evil, on 17 September.

 

The October 2007 issue of Mojo magazine contains a welcome feature article on the wonderful Edwyn Collins, who has thankfully improved so much following his 2005 massive brain haemorrhage that he is releasing a new album, Home Again, on EMI on 17 September, which the magazine describes as 'probably his finest solo album.'  Single You'll Never Know (My Love) is released on 10 September.

 

Turin Brakes is promoting their new album, Dark on Fire, which is released on 17 September, with a tour that hits London's Forum on Thursday, 11October.

 

BBC4 on Wednesday, 5 September, at 10.20pm will show Arena: The Strange Story of Joe Meek, about the "eccentric, pioneering" record producer who committed suicide in 1967, having won an Ivor Novello Award and produced such hits as The Tornados' Telstar (the first American No. 1 by a British group) and The Honeycombs' Have I the Right?

 

A 25th anniversary edition of The Young Ones will be released on DVD before the end of the year, called Extra Stupid Edition.  The series included some performances by Madness, Jools Holland and The Damned.

 

The reformed Van der Graaf Generator is working on a new album for release in early 2008.

 

VH1 will be showing Queen Live at 8pm on Friday, 31 August, and again at 10.10pm on Wednesday, 5 September.  If that weren't enough for you, also on 5 September, ITV4 will show Queen Live in Rio, a concert from 1985, at 10pm.

 

The refreshing Irish singer/songwriter perhaps the Irish Billy Bragg, Damien Dempsey, will play the Luminaire on 7 October to promote his new album, To Hell or Barbados.

 

Channel 4 at 11.35pm on Thursday, 6 September, will show iTunes Festival: London--Paul McCartney, a concert of the ex-Beatle at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts.  That will be followed at 12.35am on Friday, 7 September, by 4Music Presents: Editors, where the band discusses their career and perform tracks from both albums.

 

Billy Bragg is said to be working on his first new album in five years, to be released in January.

 

Edwina Hayes is playing at the Green Note in NW1 at 7pm on Wednesday, 29 August.  She sings gentle country-tinged folk and has opened for Loudon Wainwright III, Van Morrison, Nanci Griffith and Jools Holland.  Her 2004 album Out on My Own was produced by John Wood and Clive Gregson, the latter of whom performs on the album along with Christine Collister, Neill MacColl and Kate St John, and the album contains a song, Lost, that was co-written with Boo Hewerdine.

 

Jon Boden and Paul Sartin from Bellowhead will be Mark Lamarr's guests on his Alternative 60s programme (curiously) on BBC Radio 2 at 10pm on Wednesday, 29 August.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

David Gray's The World To Me tour reaches London's Roundhouse on Monday and Tuesday, 12 and 13 November, with tickets going on sale at 9am on Friday, 31 August.

 

BBC Radio 2 will broadcast live the Blackpool Illuminations, on Friday, 31 August, with Dr Who's David Tennant throwing the switch, and some run-of-the mill pop stars playing, including Natalie Imbruglia, Ghosts and Natasha Bedingfield.   You can listen online for up to a week.

 

Photographer Paul Slattery's book of his photos of The Smiths in 1983 and 1984 called The Smiths: The Early Years is out now, published by Omnibus and priced at £19.95.

 

Editors will be playing Brixton Academy on 8-10 October.  Tickets are £17.50.

 

A 1980 set by the great Joe Jackson and a 1984 set from Screaming Blue Messiahs will be broadcast on George Lamb's programme on BBC6 Music on Tuesday, 24 July, from 10pm.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

Rufus Wainwright and band will perform three songs on Tom Robinson's show on BBC 6 Music at 7pm on Monday, 23 July.  The same show will include a session by the Manic Street Preachers.  You can listen online for up to a week.  Rufus will also be choosing two of his ten favourite records each day in Tracks of my Years on Ken Bruce's programme between 9.30am and 12pm each day for a week from Monday, 23 July, on BBC Radio 2.

 

The Decemberists will play the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall on 2 October.  Tickets are £15 to £20.

 

The Thrills will be Lauren Laverne's guest on The Music Club on BBC Radio 2 on Monday, 23 July, at 11.30pm.  You can listen online for up to a week.

 

ITV3's Best of Talk on Sunday, 22 July, at 8pm, will show highlights of Russell Harty's chat show career, including interviews with the Who, George Harrison, David Bowie, Ringo Star and Elton John.

 

Channel 4 will show T4 on the Beach on Sunday, 22 July, from 1.45pm, naturally including a (headline) set by Kaiser Chiefs with performances also from Athlete, Kate Nash, Badly Drawn Boy, Kate Nash, Mark Ronson, Calvin Harris, the Maccabees, Funeral for a Friend, Super Furry Animals, Just Jack and many others.