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Simply a Red: Former guitarist joins Liverpool

Joe Cole is not the only new arrival at Liverpool with former Simply Red guitarist Sylvan Richardson joining the club as their new masseur. Richardson was part of the legendary soul group’s original line-up in 1985 but quit two years later having become disillusioned with the music industry. He is currently with Liverpool for pre-season training in Switzerland. "They have been giving me a lot of stick," stated Richardson. "Especially [assistant manager] Sammy Lee." Richardson’s arrival at Anfield is surely ...

Kylie surprises Glastonbury crowd

Kylie Minogue has made her Glastonbury Festival debut as a guest with Scissor Sisters on the main Pyramid Stage. The pop star was due to headline the event in 2005 but pulled out when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Kylie appeared for one song as a surprise guest to help celebrate the festival’s 40th anniversary. Another unexpected star appeared later, when U2 guitarist The Edge played with headliners Muse. U2 had been due to play but were forced to ...

Radiohead surprise festival fans

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke surprised fans with a set at the Glastonbury Festival, but stand-in headliners Gorillaz struggled to impress the crowd. Yorke and bandmate Jonny Greenwood played on the relatively small Park stage, which normally hosts new bands. Meanwhile, Damon Albarn’s art pop band Gorillaz replaced U2 on the main Pyramid Stage after Bono hurt his back. "Fair play to them for helping out but I do not think they should have headlined," stated one fan, David Wood.

Beatles’ lyrics purchased for $1.2m

John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to Beatles song A Day In The Life have sold for $1.2m (£810,000) at auction, well above the price expected. The double-sided sheet of paper with notes written in felt marker and blue ink was sold at Sotheby’s in New York. The lyric sheet also contains some corrections and other notes penned in red ink. The song – co-written with Paul McCartney – is the final track on the band’s 1967 Sgt Pepper album. The buyer ...

Hill named Oxford poet professor

Geoffrey Hill has been named Oxford University’s Professor of Poetry, following a controversial contest. Hill was elected with 1,156 votes, beating Beat poet Michael Horovitz and biographer Roger Lewis, among others. He replaces Sir Christopher Ricks to become the 44th person to hold the prestigious post. Last year, newly-elected Ruth Padel declined the post when her role in an alleged smear campaign against fellow contestant Derek Walcott emerged. Walcott, 79, withdrew following an anonymous letter campaign reportedly detailing sexual harassment ...

Beatles’ lyrics sell for $1.2m

John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to Beatles song A Day In The Life have sold for $1.2m (£810,000) at auction, well above the price expected. The double-sided sheet of paper with notes written in felt marker and blue ink was sold at Sotheby’s in New York. The lyric sheet also contains some corrections and other notes penned in red ink. The song – co-written with Paul McCartney – is the final track on the band’s 1967 Sgt Pepper album. The buyer ...

Kingsolver crowned Orange winner

Barbara Kingsolver has won this year’s Orange Prize for Fiction with her sixth novel The Lacuna. The US author beat favourite, Booker prize-winner Hilary Mantel, and four other writers, to take the £30,000 prize at a central London ceremony. The award, which recognises the work of fiction written by women from around the world, is now in its 15th year. Author and TV producer Daisy Goodwin, chair of the judges, praised the winning book’s "breathtaking scale".

Corrie postponed after shootings

An episode of Coronation Street due to be aired on Wednesday was replaced by a repeat of Harry Hill’s TV Burp in the wake of the Cumbrian shootings. The soap had been due to feature a siege involving guns, resulting in two characters dying after Tony Gordon escapes from jail. ITV stated the move was taken in light of the "tragic events in Cumbria", where a gunman shot 12 people dead. The network stated revised episode dates and times would ...

US sculptor Louise Bourgeois dies

French-born American sculptor Louise Bourgeois has died in New York, at the age of 98. Based in New York since 1938, Bourgeois gained fame late in her long career and kept working to the end of her life. Her giant spider sculptures have been exhibited around the world and earned her the nickname of Spiderwoman. Her abstract explorations of themes such as birth, sexuality and death made her one of the world’s most influential contemporary artists. Bourgeois suffered a heart ...

Thai film pulls off Cannes shock

The Cannes Film Festival has given its top prize, the Palme d’Or, to the mystical Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. It beat British director Mike Leigh’s Another Year, which was seen as the favourite by many at the French event. Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the winning film is about a dying man who is visited by his late wife and his missing son, who has become an ape. US director Tim Burton led the jury ...