‘It was a damn unicorn’: the pioneering, divisive power of Paul Simon’s Graceland at 40

On its anniversary, the author of a new book about the album explains the complex legacy and masterful musicianship of the 1986 classic

Christian metal band sues Netflix over KPop Demon Hunters name

25-year-old band Demon Hunter says name of streamer’s hit movie creates ‘substantial confusion’ among consumers

Jah Wobble on covering the Beatles, London buses and why punk went wrong: ‘Being kind is seen as square’

The maverick former Public Image Ltd bassist takes us on a typically picaresque journey through his ‘Kafka-esque’ days at Transport for London, being named by Sid Vicious and his spiritual learnings

ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard dies aged 77

Tributes paid to ‘great friend and collaborator’ who played with band for 56 years and died in hospice care in Texas

Gang of Youths are back: ‘Does it sound like a cynical gesture towards pop radio stardom?’

Four years since their last album, the anthemic Australian band are back with a fresh sound and new music about finally being ‘overwhelmingly OK’

‘You’ve got to see this girl!’ Tanita Tikaram on making Twist in My Sobriety

‘People tell me it helped them with their rehab. I have to explain: Sorry, it’s not about alcohol – I was just a kid singing about injustice’

Next year’s Eurovision host is Burgas, not Sofia. Some Bulgarians are baffled

Next year’s competition won’t take place in the country’s capital, an announcement that even surprised Bulgarian winner, Dara

‘I had to learn how to be a feminist’: Greg Dulli on surviving grunge, shunning misogyny, and Afghan Whigs’ glorious return

With a soulful sound and soul-baring lyrics, the Afghan Whigs rode the post-Nirvana boom to the big leagues. Their frontman explains his exploration of the male ego – and how Usher got the band back together

Brandon Flowers: Thrasher review – Killers frontman’s country pivot is a rootin’ tootin’ cowboy-bootin’ hoot!

Even a couple of bafflingly misguided social commentary songs can’t detract from the joys of Flowers’ classically full-throated commitment to the Nashville bit

Ariana Grande Eternal Sunshine tour review: pop illusion at its most effective – for good and bad

On her last live dates before she steps back from the public eye, Grande holds her own – but it’s also impossible to avoid feeling concerned for her wellbeing

Rock stars Ash look back: ‘Mark broke his feet jumping off a balcony – for the rest of the tour he self-medicated with gin and buckets of ice’

The Northern Irish band on jamming together at school, booze and breakdowns, and being a weirdly functional family

‘I thought – if I die, I’ve had a good innings’: producer James Ford on life, death and making an album from his hospital bed

The Arctic Monkeys, Pet Shop Boys and Pulp collaborator was Britain’s most in-demand producer when leukaemia struck. ‘I realised life is exceptionally fragile,’ he says

‘Have I tried having sex to my own music? God, no!’: Natalie Imbruglia’s honest playlist

The singer was wooed with some knocked-off Joni Mitchell and might even be persuaded to sing Torn at karaoke. But what fan comment winds her up the most?

Family affair: how pop-star siblings Audrey Hobert and Malcolm Todd stormed the charts in parallel

Following in the footsteps of Michael and Janet Jackson, and Kylie and Dannii Minogue, the Hobert siblings have simultaneously struck pop gold – with no rivalry

Add to playlist: the heartbreak post-mortems of Cape Town’s Rowlene and the week’s best new tracks

The South African singer has been a memorable guest artist, but the unhurried, emotional tracks on new album Some Strings Attached show she’s ready for the spotlight