Fans lamenting the break-up of Britpop colossus Oasis have been given a ray of hope after former frontman Liam Gallagher revealed he and fellow Oasis members Andy Bell and Gem Archer were hoping to have new album of material out by July.

Speaking to Xfm's breakfast DJ Dave Berry, Gallagher confirmed the band were about to enter a studio soon and already had eight new songs ready to go.

He said, "A lot of these songs I wrote before the band [Oasis] split up.

"I mean, there's a few new ones on there that are coming out now."

He continued, "We're going in [the studio] in April with a producer, we're going to do three songs with him and if he doesn't balls it up and we don't balls it up then we'll go in and do the whole album with him."

Gallagher minor then lamented what he saw as Oasis' slender musical output. "Seven albums for Oasis is not good, I don't think. We've been going 18 years, 16 years or whatever and all we've done is seven albums. Ian Brown's on his seventh solo album. I just think it's poor, really. Having like four or five years off is just no good."

He also gave an insight into his current schedule saying that he was working with the new, as-yet-unnamed band on Tuesdays and Thursdays, looking after his Pretty Green clothing range on Wednesdays and -- very possibly -- counting his money on Fridays.

David Byrne Teams Up with Fatboy Slim and Every Available Female Singer to Release Concept Album, Due February 23

by Rachel B on 01-28-2010

Oh, concept records. We love 'em, and we kinda hate 'em. Okay, but we really do love them, especially when they are born of David Byrne's imagination, and HE CAN DO NO WRONG. NO WRONG!

What's more, Byrne has teamed up with dance/electro DJ Fatboy Slim on the record. Fascinating... so does this mean we can expect to catch Byrne in a hotel busting a move in mid-air on a bike while Spike Jonze leads a troupe of mediocre dancers outside? Okay, enough brazen questions.

As cool as my aforementioned scenario would be, Byrne and Fatboy Slim actually intend to release a 22-track record about the life of Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines and her childhood servent, Estrella Cumpas. The record, which will be titled Here Lies Love, will also feature performances by Santigold, Florence Welch (of Florence and The Machine), Sia, Steve Earle, St. Vincent, Natalie Merchant, Tori Amos, Sharon Jones, and more. Not a bad lineup there, Byrne.

Here Lies Love will be released via Todomundo/Nonesuch Records on February 23.

• David Byrne: http://www.davidbyrne.com
• Nonesuch Records: http://www.nonesuch.com

Eric Clapton will go on an extensive tour this year, starting in March and running at least through mid-June.  The dates will feature special guests guitarist and former bandmate Jeff Beck, Who frontman Roger Daltrey, and seminal blues-rock icon Steve Winwood.  The three guests artists will appear on separate dates.

For an in-depth look at one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time, look no further than 'Just for the Record,' a five-part, five-hour documentary that follows the Rolling Stones through each decade of their existence.

To form a comprehensive look at the band's still-thriving career, makers of the 'Record' interviewed a multitude of Stones experts including friends, family, fellow musicians, biographers and former managers. Each part is jam-packed with concert footage and new interviews. Enjoy part one of 'Rolling Stones - Just For The Record' after the jump, free courtesy of our friends at SnagFilms.

Short clips of Gorillaz’s upcoming Plastic Beach have been popping up on the animated band’s official Website, and now Rolling Stone has the latest tease of what the Sunday night Coachella headliners have in store on their third album. It looks like Damon Albarn’s cartoon crew has constructed an island made entirely of consumer goods in the middle of the ocean. The video up top is a short little trip to Plastic Beach, including a little taste of the beats that might appear when the album is released on March 9th.

As Rolling Stone previously reported, Plastic Beach’s first single “Stylo” leaked out a tad earlier than expected, leading Gorillaz member Murdoc to tweet, “A leak! A leak! Plastic Beach has sprung a leak! One of those Russian pirates has put a bullet hole in my island! My single’s leaked!” “Stylo” features guests Bobby Womack and Mos Def, who appears on a pair of Plastic Beach songs as the character Sun Moon Stars. Other guests who sunbathe over at Plastic Beach include Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, De La Soul, Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys, the Fall’s Mark E. Smith and the Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon.

For more Plastic Beach teasers, check out the group’s YouTube page.

Related Stories:

• Gorillaz’s “Stylo” Leaks, New Album “Plastic Beach” Out March 9th
• Gorillaz Attempt to Draft Bobby Womack For Upcoming Album
• Jay-Z, Muse, Gorillaz, Pavement Booked for 2010 Coachella Fest

Following Classic Rock’s exclusive news that both Paul Rodgers and Billy Idol were sounded out by guitarist Joe Perry to be Aerosmith’s new singer, we can reveal the name of another star who Perry believed could replace Steven Tyler: Chris Cornell.

A source close to the Aerosmith camp tells Classic Rock:

“Joe approached Chris Cornell and asked him if he would be interested in the Aerosmith job, because the band were running out of patience with Steven.

“But Cornell, to his credit, didn’t take Joe’s request very seriously. He thought he was joking and was surprised when Joe said he wasn’t.

“In fact, I overheard Cornell telling Joe: ‘Fuck off, can you imagine how ridiculous that would be?!’

“In any case, Cornell told Joe he was committed to Soundgarden’s reunion, so it [Cornell joining Aerosmith] could never happen.”

If you missed our previous stories about Joe Perry’s ongoing hunt for a new Aerosmith singer, you can read about Paul Rodgers here and Billy Idol here.

The March issue of Classic Rock, which goes on sale next Wednesday, February 3, features Joe Perry on the cover and contains more exclusive Aero-revelations.

Geoff Workman, who collaborated as a producer and engineer with some of the greatest names in rock, has died.

Not much is known about the circumstances of Workman’s demise.

However, session guitarist Michael Riesenbeck posted the following on Facebook:

“Guys, we lost Geoff Thursday morning. He was at home, in his bed and it was peaceful. We will be making funeral arrangements early this coming week. It has been rough. Please pass this on to anyone who knew him or loved him.”

Workman’s career stretched back to 1970, when he was the tape op on the King Crimson album Lizard.

Subsequently, he worked with Queen, Journey, Foreigner, Mötley Crüe, The Cars, Twisted Sister and Toto.

Workman engineered the Crüe’s Shout At The Devil album. That’s his voice you can hear on the intro track, From The Beginning.

Trey Anastasio of PhishMuch like they did after Hurricane Katrina, Phish has announced the archival release of one of their historic shows as a fundraiser for Haiti disaster relief. The show, which took place at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vt. on November 19, 1992, is revered by Phish's faithful as a "must-hear" concert and, indeed, is notable for several reasons. The show was the season opener for Phish's 1992 Fall Tour and includes numerous debuts of songs that would quickly become fan favorites ("Axilla," "Fast Enough for You," "Lengthwise"), an impromptu cover of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" and a special guest appearance by pedal steel master Gordon Stone. Wild improvisational jams are interwoven with teases of "Those Were the Days" (the theme song to 'All in the Family') throughout the performance. The night also featured the very first "Big Ball Jam," during which four colored balls were thrown into the audience, with each band member replicating the movements of one of the balls on their instrument. The show ends with a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Bold as Love."

Black Sabbath are about to join the Guitar Hero brigade.

From February 18, the following Sabbath classics are to be made available through Guitar Hero 5: After Forever, Into The Void and Sweet Leaf. All, of course, are from the Sabs’ third album Master Of Reality.

This is the first time that Sabbath have made any tracks available via a game.

For further info, go to www.blacksabbath.com