rock music

NOEL Gallagher has reportedly grown close to socialite Tori Cook following his split from long-term girlfriend Sally Mash.

Friends of the pair have told the Mail on Sunday: “Tori and Noel are getting on really well and are enjoying each other’s company.”

According to the publication, Tori split from her husband three years ago, with whom she has two daughters with.

Noel, 58, and Tori, 44, are said to have been friends for almost a decade and she’s also pals with Sally.

She was on hand to support him at the Brit Awards where he was awarded Songwriter Of The Year in his home city of Manchester.

The two celebrated his win at an after-party at Soho House, along with his daughter Anais, 26, who she has “formed a bond” with, according to pals.

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She shared a snap at one of his Oasis tour dates last year with a group including the man himself and Sally.

The Sun have contacted Noel’s representatives for a comment.

It was announced this week that the Oasis singer had split from now-ex Sally after two years together.

Friends claimed that the pair called it a day earlier this year but insisted there was no “bad blood” between them.

A pal told The Sun: “Noel and Sally split earlier this year.

“There was nothing dramatic, it was amicable. They just weren’t right for each other.

“Noel and Sally have stayed the best of friends. There’s no bad blood there.”

The Sun first revealed the couple were dating back in October 2023.

Sally, whose exes include former Pop Idol judge Neil Fox, was Noel’s first public relationship since the end of his marriage to Sara MacDonald.

Noel confirmed it the following April, saying: “I’ve punched above my weight several times in my life. I think if you can make a girl laugh the battle is more than won.”

Noel also said she was “cool” about 1996 Oasis hit Don’t Look Back in Anger, on which he famously belts out the line: “So Sally can wait.”

Sally joined Noel on the Oasis tour last year — the band’s first since Noel and brother Liam’s bitter break-up in 2009 — including backstage at the momentous opening night in Cardiff in July.

The following month, Sally, who runs a private members’ club in Chelsea, was with Noel and ex-Doctor Who star Matt Smith at dinner in London.

Noel is dad to three children – he had daughter Anais with his first wife Meg Mathews and sons Donovan and Sonny with his second wife, Sara MacDonald.

The icon took to the stage at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester last week to accept his Songwriter Award.

During his short acceptance speech Noel thanked his Oasis bandmates, including his brother Liam Gallagher.

“They brought those songs to life, without them I’d just be a singer-songwriter and no one gives a s**t about singer-songwriters,” Noel began.

He also said a big thank you to their millions of fans.

“More importantly, I’d like to thank you, the people who’ve kept those songs alive for the last 35 years.

“Without you, you’ve given us the most extraordinary life, and thank you very much for that. Have a great night,” Noel concluded.

SUZI Quatro has revealed how her first husband, and the father of her children, has Alzheimer’s and that she’s now in charge of his finances.

The American rock star, 75, who is now married to her second husband Rainer Hass, revealed the sad news whilst speaking to Kaye Adams.

Michigan-born Suzi, who is credited with helping women break into the world of rock and roll music, opened up on the Loose Women star’s podcast, How To be 60.

In a candid interview, the singer talked about how her first husband Len Tuckey is battling Alzheimer’s Disease.

Suzi married Len, who was her long-time guitarist, in 1976, but they divorced in 1992.

During their relationship they had two children together, Laura, 44, and Richard, 42.

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Speaking to Kaye’s podcast, Suzi, who is now married to her second husband Rainer who she wed in 1993, talked about the breakdown of her first marriage to Len.

She then talked about how despite their divorce they remained good friends, and how she became his “power of attorney” because of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Suzi made the admission when she talked about when she decided to leave Len, and how she came about that decision.

“When I did leave, I was sure. I wasn’t doubting. I was sure that it’s time to go,” she revealed to Kaye.

“So I gave it the six years to turn it around. You know, that’s fair.

“You got two kids together, you know. Don’t break it up if you don’t need to. I really tried, but I can’t lie to myself. Nobody can lie to themselves.”

Continuing Suzi said: “I remember saying to him one time during Andy Get Your Gun, actually when that had finished, so it would have been 87, I remember we were sitting in the room here talking. And I said to him, ‘Do you realise how far away you’ve let me go?’

“So I gave him hints along the way, many, many hints, but he didn’t take them.

“And I’m his executor and power of attorney, so we’re still close.

“And he lives in my son’s house because he’s got Alzheimer’s.”

American singer-songwriter Suzi shot to fame in the 70s as the first female bass player to became a major rock star.

The star is known for singles like Can the Can and Your Mamma Won’t Like Me, and has sold more than 50 million albums.

She is credited with helping women become part of the rock and roll era.

Speaking about this, Suzi once told the Metro Times: “Before I did what I did, we didn’t have a place in rock ‘n’ roll.

“Not really. You had your Grace Slick and all that, but that’s not what I did. I was the first to be taken seriously as a female rock ‘n’ roll musician and singer.

“That hadn’t been done before. I played the boys at their own game.

“For everybody that came afterward, it was a little bit easier, which is good.

“I’m proud of that. If I have a legacy, that’s what it is. It’s nothing I take lightly. It was gonna happen sooner or later.”

Over the years Suzi has also dabbled in acting, and was famously on Happy Days.

HE FINALLY patched things up with brother Liam for the Oasis reunion last summer.

And it seems that Noel Gallagher is now closer than ever with his nephews Gene and Lennon — after teaching them how to party hard at Sony Music’s official Brit Awards after-party.

The Rock ’n’ Roll Star songwriter proved he was exactly that, as the last man standing at 3:45am yesterday at the do in Manchester’s amazing Soho House — despite knocking back endless bottles of Peroni until the bar stopped serving.

An onlooker said: “Noel and Liam’s sons are really close, and they hung out all night at the Sony bash.

“He might be in his fifties now but Noel still knows how to party and he put his nephews to shame with the amount of booze he could knock back.

“Noel was in really high spirits after getting the Songwriter Of The Year award and he had so many people coming up and congratulating him.

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“Gene and Lennon tried to keep up with Noel but they couldn’t, he out-partied them by a country mile.

“Even Noel’s daughter Anais gave up trying and left at 3am — Noel just carried on drinking bottles of Peroni.

“When Noel left, it was amazing he could walk straight.

“But he is a proper rocker and showed all those young ones right up.

“When Gene finally decided he wanted to try and one-up his uncle, he went to the bar and was told they’d stopped serving.

“He tried three times to be served and was in a huff when he was told no.

“To be fair it was almost 4am — and he should have just kept up with Noel when he had the chance.”

Noel’s hedonism clearly rubbed off on the other stars at Sony’s bash, which was the best of all the star-studded after-parties, thanks to its stellar guest list.

Brits host Jack Whitehall told me earlier this month that he would be having an early night because his fiancée Roxy Horner and their toddler daughter were coming to Manchester to be with him.

But he ended up partying into the early hours of yesterday morning.

I spotted him holding court with a group of his mates upstairs near grime star Skepta, with Jack finally heading back to his hotel at 3am.

Hopefully he had some Nurofen stashed in a bag because I think yesterday could have been blighted by one almighty hangover — and a very excitable toddler.

LIAM GALLAGHER praised his brother from home as Noel collected his award.

He posted on X: “All hail the greatest songwriter this country has ever seen since Lennon and McCartney.”

He also showed his support for former foe Robbie Williams’ tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, writing: “He was unreal”.

Liam also revealed why he didn’t go to the event at Co-op Live. He told a fan: “I was scared… Of all those cool folks in 1 room, they make me nervous.”

Olivia’s up fur a party

OLIVIA DEAN had good reason to smile as she headed to an after-party following her incredible four wins.

The singer scooped Artist and Pop Act, plus Album and Single of the Year for her record The Art Of Loving and her Sam Fender collaboration, Rein Me In.

Olivia wrapped up in a fur coat which covered her sparkly minidress – but didn’t hide her legs from the northern chill.

She did opt to wear sunglasses too, but at that time of night, they certainly weren’t needed.

LILY GIVES DO COLD SHOULDER

LILY ALLEN pulled out of attending the Brits as she’s desperately trying to recover in time for the launch of her first tour in seven years.

She was up for three gongs – although she was pipped to the post for all three by Olivia Dean – and had been due to travel to Manchester on Saturday morning.

But Lily made the last-minute decision not to attend after battling a brutal cold last week.

She launches her Lily Allen: Performs West End Girl tour in Glasgow this evening and has been trying to conserve energy.

Last Tuesday, she told fans she had been in bed for two days because she was “so sick” and hadn’t been able to rehearse.

When she did get back to practising, she said she had lost the lower register of her voice.

There are very high expectations for the tour, as every date sold out on the day they became available.

So a night of partying probably wouldn’t have done her any favours.

ALEX WARREN performed Ordinary at the ceremony but it’s his new single Fever Dream which is climbing the charts.

The American, who was accompanied by James Blunt on piano at the show, released the track on Friday and it’s on course to be his second No1.

But Ordinary is also rising – up four places to No15 in the midweek charts.

Jade throws shade

JADE THIRLWALL’s feud with Noel Gallagher started at the Brits five years ago.

Following Little Mix’s win for British Group, he said they were “not in the same league as Oasis.”

And she made her feelings towards him clear when Noel was accepting his Songwriter Of The Year gong at this year’s awards – by swiftly exiting the room.

She chose that exact moment to head backstage as she prepared to present the International Artist of the Year award to Rosalia.

Back in 2021, Jade hit back at Noel’s comments and said: “We are the most successful girl group in the country – but he’s not even the most successful performer in his family.”

Something tells me she isn’t praying for another Oasis tour.

JOEL: NOT GRIM UP NORTH

WOLF ALICE drummer Joel Amey told me he’s pleased the Brits came to Manchester.

The North West city will host the ceremony for the next two years and, speaking backstage, and despite being a Londoner, Joel think it is a great move.

He said: “Not everything being in London is a good thing. Manchester has an incredible band culture, it has an incredible heart – it’s nice not to be in the same place all the time.

“As Londoners, we get so much there and people get a jaded – we need more of this feeling around the country. The Mercury Awards were in Newcastle and everyone got behind it, we need more of it.”

Of next year’s ceremony, Joel has a suggestion for the Global Icon award.

He added: “I would love to see Andre 3000 get it. I love him, everything Outkast has done is amazing and he has been doing this for ever.

“He was ahead of his time and we can see how influential he is now.”

STYLES HAS SPA QUALITY

HARRY STYLES kept things gentle at the Brits, having first kicked off the day at a top health spa in nearby Warrington.

The Aperture singer was seen getting a sweat on at the Park Royal Hotel, where one guest told me: “It was about 10.30am and Harry walked into the gym and started working out.

“I had to do a double take and other people clocked him, but no one bothered him. It was all very low key, you would never have known he is one of the biggest stars on the planet. It felt so surreal.”

Harry was very much man of the night at the Co-op Live Arena, but after his incredible opening performance, he didn’t go wild.

Despite having a table, Harry never left his backstage area and once the show had ended, he headed to Sony’s after-party for a quick 30-minute appearance.

A source said: “Harry was keen to be seen supporting Sony and the Brits but also is aware his tour kicks off on Friday at the Co-op Live Arena back in Manchester.

“It was a very low-key weekend for him, he left the party after half an hour.”

One person who was happy to let her hair down after performing though was Dua Lipa.

She hot-footed it to Warner Music’s official after-party alongside her family, who were taken to Manchester by her record label on the cool British Pullman Train, specially hired by the label for the weekend.

Dua made a beeline for the dancefloor with a gaggle of about ten pals before taking some time out for a cheeky ciggie in the smoking area.

Keen not to let her night end there, the Houdini singer was whisked across town to attend Sony’s after-party.

There she hung out with Mark Ronson and drank picantes until the early hours.

Mark so dashing

MARK RONSON delivered one of the most memorable sets of the night.

He played a medley of his hits and was joined on stage by Dua Lipa, and US rapper Ghostface Killah.

But the producer made a mad dash to the Manchester airport in the early hours and only just made his flight home to New York.

Following his Outstanding Contribution To Music win and stellar performance, he celebrated at Sony Music’s party at Soho House and took to the decks until 2am.

But he was forced to make a desperate plea for help after his hour-long DJ slot ended and no one had turned up to take over.

Mark, who was supported by Dua on the dancefloor, told the crowd: “I’m having a lot of fun but I have to catch a flight in two hours so can the other DJ please report to the booth.”

I’m told he made it to the airport by the skin of his teeth, and arrived safely back in the chilly Big Apple.

It’s a good thing he’s used to exceptionally late nights.

AFTER picking up two awards, Sam Fender was in the mood to party – but he shunned the posh dos for a backstage booze-up.

“Sam and his mates loaded up on cans of lager and stayed in the Co-op Arena,” one of my backstage moles explained.

“The stage was being dismantled and all the parties were open but Sam decided to hang around. He was on a massive high and was singing and laughing with his mates as they went to the artists’ green room to crack open some tinnies.”

Never change, Sam.

THE BRIT Awards are back again tonight, and music fans will be excited to see if they are any shocking moments on the show.

While the award ceremony celebrates musical talent, the event hosted by Jack Whitehall, is also infamous for being host to an array of wild celebrity moments.

As we gear up for the likes of global hitmaker Alex Warren, pop legend Harry Styles and KPop Demon Hunters to take the stage this evening, we take a look back at the wildest moments that took place at the Brits over the years.

Danny Dyer shocked viewers as he dropped the c-word (2025)

EastEnders legend Danny, 48, was chatting with host Jack Whitehall, 37, when he made the X-rated blunder, forcing producers to mute the audio.

The actor was discussing his new film Marching Powder when he struggled to find the right words to describe it without getting himself into trouble.

And, while Danny’s comments didn’t make the airwaves in their entirety, The Sun captured it all from the crowd.

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“It’s basically Bridget Jones, but with the word c**t,” he quipped, leaving Jack scrambling to remind him, “Danny, like when I said say anything, not bad words, obviously.”

Producers silenced some of his comments, swiftly cutting to an ad break before things got even worse.

Lewis Capaldi’s sweary speech (2021)

The singer, 29, appeared at the O2 to present the award for British Album of the Year.

However his speech had to be muted due to the amount of swear words he used.

Lewis said to the audience: “Hello motherf***ers! Listen guys… I’m f***ing sweating – it’s like a swamp down there, I’m telling you. Sweaty b****cks.”

He added: “It’s been a great year for albums….

“Most of all because I haven’t f***ing released one!”

The award was given to Dua Lipa for her album ‘Future Nostalgia’.

Jack Whitehall and Little Mix (2019, 2021)

Jack has had a couple of awkward moments with Little Mix at the awards ceremony.

In 2019 he brought up a comment about the girls made by Piers Morgan after they posed nude.

Jack asked Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson and Jade Thirwall: “What would you say to that dutty wasteman?”

The girls were left lost for words, with him adding: “What? I want some beef at some Brits.”

Then in 2021 he chatted to the band again, but this time as a trio after Jesy Nelson left in 2020.

Leigh-Anne and Perrie proudly showed off their growing baby bumps, to which Jack said: “The next question on my card is, “What do you do to pass the time in lockdown?”

“He went there, he actually went there,” Leigh-Anne joked back.

Madonna’s cape fail (2015)

Madonna took a tumble down a flight of stairs at the 2015 awards, she later blamed the fall on the design of the cape she had been wearing.

But the cape’s designer, Giorgio Armani claimed that the cape was originally designed with a hook – but Madonna has requested a tie.

He said:  “Madonna, as we all know, is very difficult. That’s all there was to it.”

Liam Gallagher vs. Peter Kay (2010)

At the 2010 ceremony, the Oasis frontman made a surprise appearance to accept his award for Best Brits album of the past 30 years – but then went on to give a rambling and foul-mouthed acceptance speech.

Liam then threw his microphone into the crowd, causing a 10 minute delay.

Host comedian Peter Kay eventually got back on stage where he referred to the Oasis member’s actions by saying: “What a k***head.”

Brian McFadden vs. So Solid Crew (2002)

This may not be on of Brian’s best thought out moments, but reportedly the then-Westlife singer threw a bottle of water over all 24 members of So Solid Crew backstage at the 2002 awards.

Apparently, he’d consumed two bottles of vodka and eight cans of Red Bull before he decided it was a good idea.

We don’t think either of the band’s would have been happy about that.

Robbie Williams vs. Liam Gallagher (2000)

Who could forget the time that Robbie used his acceptance speech to offer Oasis singer Liam Gallagher a fight?

In 2000, Rob famously used his Brit Awards acceptance speech to offer to fight Liam, leading the rocker to call Rob a “fat f***ing idiot”.

Robbie said: “So, anybody like to see me fight Liam?

“Would you pay to come and see it? Liam, a hundred grand of your money and a hundred grand of my money.

“We’ll get in a ring and we’ll have a fight and you can all watch it on TV, what d’you think about that?”

Robbie was quickly escorted away from the stage.

Ronnie Wood and Brandon Block (2000)

In one of the most awkward moments in the history of the Brits, dance DJ Brandon Block was so drunk that when his friends joked that he had won an award he staggered onto stage to accept it – interrupting rock legend Ronnie Wood’s speech.

Brandon was pulled back but broke free from security and squared up to the Rolling Stone’s rocker.

Ronnie then retaliated by throwing a drink in his face.

ROBBIE Williams will pay tribute to late rocker Ozzy Osbourne at the Brit Awards. 

The singer, 52, will perform a special arrangement of Ozzy’s 1991 track No More Tears alongside some of the Black Sabbath rocker’s former bandmates and musician pals. 

It will celebrate the posthumous Lifetime Achievement award being made to Ozzy, who died in July aged 76, at tomorrow night’s ceremony. 

His wife, Sharon, 73, will be in the audience at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena.

A source said: “Sharon personally asked Robbie to perform the tribute to Ozzy. He is a huge Ozzy fan and has been a friend of the family for decades. 

“For Sharon, Robbie seemed the perfect person to perform this song for him. She has curated the special arrangement for No More Tears. It will be a performance that goes down in the Brits’ history books and will be a very special moment.” 

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A Brits insider added: “Robbie’s performance with some of Ozzy’s closest friends will celebrate his legacy as one of the most influential rock icons of all time. 

“The Brits have a special relationship with Ozzy. He hosted the ceremony with Sharon and his children Jack and Kelly in 2008. 

“This will be an incredibly emotional and fitting way to celebrate the impact he had on not only British music, but globally, too.” 

Others who died in the past year will also be remembered during an In Memoriam segment. They are expected to include Stone Roses bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield. 

Ozzy, who died just five days after after giving his final concert, joins music royalty John Lennon and Freddie Mercury in being posthumously honoured. 

The awards will be hosted by Jack Whitehall and will air on ITV and ITVX from 8.15pm. 

Harry Styles, Olivia Dean, Raye, Wolf Alice, Sombr, Alex Warren and Mark Ronson will perform. 

ANT McPartlin says he and co-presenter Declan Donnelly never want to host the Brits again because: “Everybody in the room just wants to get drunk.” 

GARY “MANI” MOUNFIELD’s legacy lives on thanks to a huge vault of unreleased music.

The rocker was laid to rest in December following his sudden death the month before.

I’m told there have been talks with his Stone Roses bandmates about releasing a song dedicated to him.

A source said: “Tracks Mani recorded with the band after their reunion in 2011, along with songs he made with Primal Scream, are all in a vault which could soon be opened.

“Mani was one of the most prolific musicians around and as well as playing with The Roses and Primal Scream, he was involved in numerous side projects.

“There are tracks featuring him by The Stone Roses, Primal Scream, Free Bass and Mantra Of The Cosmos.

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“The hope is that these tracks will come out in tribute to him, possibly even as a compilation. It’s all early days but there are ongoing discussions about how best to pay tribute to his music legacy.”

After The Stone Roses reformed for concerts in 2011, they went into the studio to record new material and released two singles, All For One and Beautiful Thing.

But a third album never materialised, despite there being more songs.

Zak Starkey, son of Beatle Ringo Starr, revealed Mani agreed to be the bass player for Mantra Of The Cosmos but had to walk away after initial sessions to care for his wife Imelda, who died in 2023.

Drummer Zak said: “Due to his amazing strong woman Imelda being very sick, he couldn’t commit to Mantras.

“There was no substitute for Mani so we never had a bass player, it just wouldn’t have been right.”

Bella in nightclub hold-up

IT’S not often we see celebs falling out of nightclubs these days, given they’re more prone to neck a protein milkshake than a martini.

But Bella Hadid almost took a tumble outside the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles.

Luckily for Bella, all those years walking in heels on catwalks means she’s a pro at keeping her balance – and she grabbed on to a handily parked 4×4 car to keep her upright.

Bella shared snaps from her night out at the trendy haunt and revealed she was with New York designer Noah Ruttenberg and her stylist Mimi Cuttrell before making this spectacular exit.

EX-Coronation Street actor Adam Rickitt is relaunching his solo career.

He got the part of Nick Tilsley in 1997, and went on to have a No5 song with his debut single I Breathe Again in 1999.

But after album Good Times limped in at No41, he was dropped from his label.

Adam said online about going back into the studio: “We did a version of Breathe Again, which was nice. We’ve got a really good song idea. We’re going to record a new song.”

SCAM FEAR CUT SHORT J-LO HAIRDRESSER GIG

CELEBRITY hairdresser Chris Appleton thought Jennifer Lopez was a scammer when he first got an email from her.

He told Roxie Nafousi’s Rise With Roxie podcast: “I remember I got an email from J-Lo’s team.

“It was like, ‘Jennifer Lopez is doing her Vegas tour and she would, you know, want to work with you.’ I remember I ignored the first email because I thought, ‘Oh this is probably just spam or something’. And then I got another one and I remember thinking, ‘How does J-Lo know who I am?’.”

Unluckily for Chris, who counts Kim Kardashian among his famous clients, he ended up missing the boat because he failed to respond.

BANDS including A Day to Remember, The Primals and Creeper have joined the list of rock gods playing Download Festival.

The mega event taking place at Donnington Park from June 10 to 14 will also feature acts such as headliners Limp Bizkit, Guns n’ Roses, Linkin Park, plus Cypress Hill, Trivium, Bad Omens and Pendulum.

Tickets for the festival in Leicestershire will go on sale at 10am tomorrow.

JAIL JOB STIRS UP MARCUS

MARCUS MUMFORD says working with jail inmates gave him inspiration for new album Prizefighter.

The Mumford And Sons frontman said: “Alley Cat, I wrote in a prison actually. I go into prison and do poetry workshops and that came out of one of those sessions with the lads.

“I felt slightly conflicted about it to start with.”

While the track hasn’t yet been picked as a single, the record is going down a storm.

Prizefighter is on course to give Mumford And Sons their fourth UK No1 album on Friday, after topping the chart in the midweek update.

Marcus has been volunteering in prisons since the end of lockdown.

The singer added: “If all of us were defined by the worst thing we ever did, we’d all be f***ed.

“I believe in grace, I believe in mercy, I believe in responsibility, choices, consequences, of course.”

Good for him.

CRUZ GETS HIS BREAK IN EUROPE

CRUZ BECKHAM AND THE BREAKERS are making waves with sold-out shows in London, Brighton, Southampton and Leeds.

Now the youngest son of Posh and Becks has announced a European leg including gigs in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Cruz said: “I’m so excited to get out on the road.

“I’ve always been inspired by bands who do it the right way.”
Their run of shows kick off tomorrow night at Mama Roux’s in Birmingham.

“LINDA looks so beautiful, so cool,” says Paul McCartney.

He’s just been watching a film about the decade of his life after The Beatles broke up — and it is filled with images of his much-missed first wife.

“The Linda stuff was very emotional,” he admits at the Man On The Run launch event in London.

“Linda, the kids, me and John [Lennon] — all these memories. It’s like my life flashing in front of me.”

Macca is talking to an intimate gathering that includes his daughter Stella, son James, superfan Noel Gallagher and the actor who will play him in a forthcoming biopic, Paul Mescal. Oh, and me.

He continues: “Seeing me and Linda interacting is special because, you know, she’s not here.

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“So is seeing the kids when they were little, because they’re not little any more. They’ve got kids of their own now.”

The film stirs memories of forming his own band, Wings, with Linda in 1971, prompting this from McCartney: “We tried to follow The Beatles — it’s mad!”

It also brings into sharp focus his relationship with Lennon, which broke down in the wake of The Beatles split but, as we see, they reconciled shortly before John’s death.

Directed by Oscar-winning Morgan Neville, Man On The Run is a masterpiece of ­documentary storytelling.

Rich in source material, partly because Linda was a professional photographer who also shot home movies, it is raw, heartfelt, funny, poignant and, crucially, not remotely sugar-coated.

Before the screening starts, Sir Paul, looking fit and well for his 83 years, strolls on to the stage and quips: “I just want to say thank you to Morgan for keeping in all the embarrassing moments that I asked him to take out.”

But let’s get back to the big ­question: How DO you follow The Beatles?

It was a conundrum that weighed heavily on McCartney as the ­Swinging Sixties drew to a close.

As he puts it himself in the movie, the first thing he did was “escape” and then he had to learn how “to grow up”.

He had married American Linda Eastman in March, 1969, at Marylebone Town Hall, London, and soon afterwards adopted her daughter Heather from a previous marriage.

McCartney was still only 27 when, on April 10, 1970, he told the world that he, John Lennon, George ­Harrison and Ringo Starr were going their separate ways.

The announcement came amid acrimony over the band’s crooked business manager Allen Klein, favoured at the time by John and the others but later described by Paul as “a sort of demon”.

It was all over for the band of four likely lads from Liverpool who changed popular culture for ever.

In private, McCartney had known for months that his songwriting partner Lennon was leaving.

“John broke up The Beatles,” Macca affirms in Man On The Run. “But I got the rap. And that’s a bit of a weight to bear.”

Around the same time as ­Lennon’s bombshell, in late 1969, there were rumours across the US and around the world that “Beatle Paul may be dead”.

There’s a hilarious moment in the film when his younger brother Mike is asked whether it’s true.

“It’s a hoax, it’s a con,” he exclaims, before being asked when was the last time he saw his brother.

Mike replies: “The last time? It was his funeral, I think!”

It turned out that McCartney had the perfect bolthole, in an archetypal middle of nowhere, to hide away and reset his life.

In 1966, he had bought High Park Farm, a 183-acre sheep farm on the Mull of Kintyre (yes, that explains the song) in Argyllshire, only reached via a “long and winding” track.

With its corrugated iron roof and general state of dilapidation, it was, as someone in the film points out, the sort of place a poor farm labourer might baulk at accepting.

But, as the Sixties ebbed to a close, Paul, Linda, their daughters, Heather and baby Mary, plus their Old English Sheepdog ­Martha decamped to the Scottish wilds.

In the movie, McCartney suggests, “We got up there to escape”, and ponders whether he would write “another note of music” before confessing to drowning himself in one wee dram of Scotch after another.

But, with the responsibility of supporting a young family on his shoulders, he realised that “it was a question of HAVING to grow up”.

At the Man On The Run launch, McCartney reflects: “With The Beatles, we were just lads. Everyone, all our management, used to call us ‘the boys’.

“Then I got married and then there was a baby [Mary] on the way.

“I had to grow up. I thought, ‘We can’t just be these ‘boys’ any more’. It was time to think about stuff.

“Even though the film is kind of madcap and you see all our insane decisions, in the background there were some sensible decisions, too.”

He remembers how Linda was his guiding light through those years.

“If there was an idea that was a little bit crazy, I’d say, ‘Should I do that? Could I do that?’ She’d say, ‘It’s allowed’. It was a brilliant philosophy in life.”

Director Neville picks up on this theme: “I looked into the questions Paul was trying to ask of himself, questions that I felt were universal.

“How do you deal with your own legacy and the expectations people have of you? How do you balance your career with your family?

“In Paul’s case, he made them one and the same. And that, I thought, was completely inspirational.”

Though Kintyre provided a necessary respite from the dazzling glare of publicity, Macca has never been far away from making music. It’s in his blood.

In 1970, he released his debut solo album, simply titled McCartney, with its intimate DIY aesthetic and featuring at least two songs with his beloved partner in mind — The Lovely Linda and Maybe I’m Amazed.

In 1971, he formed Wings with ex-Moody Blues musician Denny Laine and, controversially, Linda, who until that point had little or no experience, as core members.

Rehearsals for their debut album Wild Life took place at Macca’s converted barn in Scotland, dubbed Rude Studio.

It felt to him as if he was starting over, at the bottom of the pile.

“It was so impossible to do something like that,” he says today.

“Just go back to square one, show up at a university, don’t book hotels, take the dogs in a van. For some reason, we thought it was a great idea!”

If Wings took time to take flight, everything changed in 1973 when they released third album Band On The Run, loaded with classic tunes such as the title track, Jet and Let Me Roll It.

Recorded in extraordinary ­circumstances at EMI’s studio in Lagos, Nigeria, not far from where Paul and Linda were mugged at knifepoint, it paved the way for ­stadium-sized shows in America.

Without the McCartneys’ sojourn to Scotland, there would have been no Mull Of Kintyre, which, at the time of its release in 1977, became the biggest selling single of all time.

A “love song” to that remote idyll, it featured Great Highland bagpipes played so passionately by the local Campbeltown Pipe Band.

Yet, interwoven with stories of Wings’ upward trajectory, there are musings on McCartney’s strained relationship with Lennon during the Seventies.

We’re reminded of John’s caustic song How Do You Sleep?, directed at Paul with its line, “The only thing you done was yesterday”.

And there’s his old buddy left thinking, “Aside from Yesterday, what about Eleanor Rigby, Lady Madonna, Hey Jude, Let It Be and the rest?”

Macca says: “As it shows in the film, I knew John from a very early age — we were just a couple of rock and roll fans.

“We enjoyed hanging out together and we started writing little songs round at my place.

“My dad had a pipe in his drawer. So we thought we’d smoke it. We couldn’t find any tobacco so we smoked tea! We had all those ­memories in common.

“Then we went through the whole trajectory of The Beatles. But John was always just that guy to me, even when he was being really mean and I was having to take it.

“At the same time, it was like, ‘Yeah, it’s just John, he does that’. He’d always done that — so that made it a little bit easier.

“But I loved him, you know. I loved all the guys in The Beatles.

“I try and think of how else it could have been, but with just me, John, George and Ringo, it was a magic grouping. And we did OK!”

Near the end of Man On The Run, you see McCartney being confronted by camera crews about the shocking death of Lennon, who had been shot the day before outside the Dakota Building apartment he shared with partner Yoko Ono in New York.

Macca was criticised at the time for a rather cool, unemotional response — but one look in his eyes reveals his utter devastation.

As for the aforementioned “embarrassing moments” on display in the film, they are what make it so refreshing and endearing.

Hence you see McCartney singing Mary Had A Little Lamb wearing a red clown’s nose with Wings guitarist Henry McCullough looking as if he wants the earth to swallow him.

There’s a moustachioed Paul in a baggy pink suit performing the cabaret-style Gotta Sing Gotta Dance, complete with dancing girls, for his 1973 variety show.

And what about him getting ­busted by Japanese cops in 1980 for having 219g of cannabis in his luggage, spending nine days in custody before being booted out of the country?

McCartney was supposed to be embarking on a Wings tour of Japan but, as it turned out, they never played together again.

He says: “So many bits are embarrassing. The look on Henry McCullough’s face! He’s not happy.

“I was thinking, ‘Maybe we could cut those bits, the dance routine, cool out my image’.

“But Morgan said, ‘No, let me keep them in. You’ll see all that stuff but because you overcame it all and found yourself, you won in the end’.”

Finally, McCartney takes a long hard look at himself — at the ­person “growing up” in Man On The Run and the man he is today.

He says: “You start to see yourself, not just in the mirror, but to realise what your character is like.

“It’s natural for me to be enthusiastic so I don’t always see pitfalls, With me, it’s, “Nah, nah, just do it’.”

GRAMMY-nominated salsa legend Willie Colón has died aged 75.

Heartbreaking tributes have poured in for the musical pioneer – with Bad Bunny calling the star “one of the legends who contributed to this beautiful and legendary genre”.

The iconic artist passed away on Saturday surrounded by loved ones, his manager confirmed.

Colón was a trombonist, composer, arranger, singer and social activist.

Over his decades-long career, he produced more than 40 albums that sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

His manager Pietro Carlos said: “Today, we’ve lost an architect of the New York sound, a trombonist who made metal his banner and wrote eternal chapters in our musical history.

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“Willie didn’t just change salsa; he expanded it, politicized it, clothed it in urban chronicles, and took it to stages where it hadn’t been heard before.

“His trombone was the voice of the people, an echo of the Caribbean in New York, a bridge between cultures.”

He added: “Today we say goodbye to a master, but his legacy lives on.”

Meanwhile, Grammy-winner Bad Bunny said on Instagram: “Today, one of the legends who contributed to this beautiful and legendary genre passed away.”

The star continued: “So, on behalf of myself and Los Sobrinos, we wish Willie Colón peace.

“Much strength to his family.

“The inspiration of so many of these great musicians who left their mark on this earth will never die as long as there are talented young people like those here, keeping the music, salsa and all Caribbean rhythms alive.”

Colón’s cause of death has not been confirmed, but Saturday’s tragic news follows reports from last week claiming that the star had been hospitalised for respiratory problems, according to TMZ.

A pivotal architect of urban salsa music, Colón collaborated with a long list of fellow icons, including the Fania All Stars, David Byrne and Celia Cruz.

His critically acclaimed collaboration with Rubén Blades, Siembra, which touched on social issues in salsa, became one of the bestselling albums in the genre of all time.

The musician, born to Puerto Rican parents, was nominated for 10 Grammys and one Latin Grammy.

Colón was born in the Bronx, New York, before being raised by his grandmother and aunt, who from a young age nurtured him with traditional Puerto Rican music.

When he was 11 years old he ventured into the world of music, first playing the flute, then bugle, trumpet and finally trombone.

His interest in trombone was sparked after experiencing Barry Rogers playing it on Dolores, Mon Rivera’s song with Joe Cotto.

He recalled in 2011: “It sounded like an elephant, a lion … an animal.

“Something so different that, as soon as I heard it, I said to myself: ‘I want to play that instrument.’”

Colón’s main musical traits included the fusion of rhythms.

The genius harmonized jazz, rock, funk, soul and R&B with the old Latin school of Cuban son, cha-cha-cha, mambo and guaracha.

His style also encompassed traditional Puerto Rican sound including jíbara, bomba and plena music.

A passionate advocate for civil rights, he fought mostly in the US for the Latino community among others.

In 1991 he was awarded the Chubb fellowship from Yale University, a public service recognition also awarded to John F. Kennedy, Moshe Dayan, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Ronald Reagan.

And he even served in politics – working as a special assistant to David Dinkins, New York’s first Black mayor, and an adviser to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Colón had his own stints running for public office too – but had little luck challenging the then-US Rep. Eliot Engel in the 1994 Democratic primary.

In 2001 he also came in third in the Democratic primary for New York’s public advocate.

The late star also appeared in films such – taking roles in Vigilante, The Last Fight, and It Could Happen to You.

On TV, he featured in Miami Vice and Demasiado Corazón.

The icon also appeared in Bad Bunny’s music video for NuevaYol.

Colón is survived by his wife and four sons.

IT was the long, hot summer of 1995, John Major was in No10 and Blackburn Rovers were Premier League champions.

The music charts had been dominated by acting duo Robson and Jerome, until one crazy week in August when Britpop’s heavyweights began slugging it out.

Oasis and Blur released their new singles Roll With It and Country House on the same day in a race for the No1 spot — and the nation was absolutely mad for it.

It was an era-defining, pop culture moment, billed as North v South, working-class v posh boys and sing-along anthems v lyrical sophistication.

Yet even their most ardent fans would have struggled to imagine that 30 years down the line the rivalry in all its boozy, sweary glory would be transformed into a theatrical production.

The Battle — which opened at the Birmingham Rep theatre this week — is a comedic caper that tries to recreate the 90s vibe.

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So Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher — played by George Usher — is seen snorting lines of coke, swigging champagne and threatening to knock Blur singer Damon Albarn’s block off.

And the production includes more uses of the C word than have been uttered in much of the rest of British stage history put together.

The play’s writer, best-selling novelist John Niven, tells me he had to explain the context of the expletive-laden script to the actors.

He said: “The young cast found some of the language challenging at first.

“I had to say that that was just the way people spoke back then. It was more full-on and a much more unfiltered time.

“There’s five or six c***s in it but I guess that’s a lot for the theatre.

“But there’s no way you could accurately reflect those musicians over a five-month period without a few C-bombs dropping. It wouldn’t be authentic.”

John, 60, said he took inspiration for the narrative from a comment by Oasis manager Alan McGee about the rise of his band from a tough Manchester suburb.

He recalled: “Alan said, ‘The thing is, Blur think this is all good media fun but you’ve got five lunatics off a council estate in Burnage who actually want to f*****g kill them’.

“Blur moved the release date of their record to coincide with the Oasis single, so Liam thought, ‘Right, they’ve offered us out’.”

With actor George, 21, successfully aping Liam’s loping gait, he also gets to deliver the most one-liners.

John, who spoke to Blur’s bassist Alex James while writing the play, added: “Someone like Liam is so seductive to write for.

“Noel and Liam are both very funny in completely different ways.

“Noel is really dry and has got great timing, like a stand-up comedian, while Liam is much more surreal, random and unfiltered. He’s a delight to write dialogue for.

“Sometimes you think, ‘F***, have I gone too far there?’

“And then you could go online and find an interview with Liam where he said something ten times crazier.”

John — who began writing the play in 2023, long before the triumphant Oasis reunion last year — also had to explain to the young cast how the Britpop battle came to dominate the national conversation.

He said: “It was such a big cultural phenomenon. The whole country, from six-year-olds to 60-year-olds, knew about it.

“It went from the music papers to the broadsheets to the tabloids to News At Ten. Back then, things spread via radio, TV and the Press, whereas now the culture is so atomised.

“I’ve got teenage kids and you can have acts with a billion TikTok followers who play Wembley Stadium and I’ve never heard of them.”

After a blast of Blur’s Girls & Boys, the play begins at the February 1995 Brits, where Blur won four awards to Oasis’s one.

Collecting the prize for best British group, Damon insisted: “I think this should have been shared with Oasis.”

Interviewed later, Noel Gallagher said: “As far I’m concerned, it’s us and Blur against the world now.”

But the love-in didn’t last. Later that year Noel said of Blur: “The bassist and the singer, I hope the pair of them catch Aids and die because I f***ing hate them two.”

(The guitarist would later appologise, insisting he was “f***ed” on drugs when he made the remark).

When John began writing the play, he recalled the resentment that had built up between the bands in a few short months.

The former music company executive who was at the Brits that year, added: “I thought. Now there’s a dramatic arc.

“Back in February they had all been mates with Noel giving an interview saying, ‘It’s us and Blur against the world now’.

“Now he was saying he hoped they died.”

Then, in August Oasis’s record company Creation announced their new single Roll With It would be released a week before Blur’s Country House.

John added: “Blur’s manager Andy Ross was worried that Oasis would have a massive No1.

“Back then a single could top the charts for a month so Andy was worried the Blur would be stuck at No2.”

Andy, played by Gavin and Stacey star Mathew Horne, decides to move Country House’s release date forward to coincide with Oasis and all hell was unleashed.

The then influential music magazine NME produced a front cover with the headline, British Heavyweight Championship, Blur v Oasis.

A then 29-year-old Clive Myrie reported breathlessly for the BBC News At Ten on the brewing rivalry.

Like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the 1960s, the two bands divided friends and families into rival camps.

An exclusive in the The Sun revealed that Oasis-mad Mandy Vivian-Thomas had kicked out her husband Richard for being a massive Blur fan.

Richard said: “Mandy’s been a nightmare. She’s spent a fortune on trash about Oasis and the last starw was using my card to buy their record.

“I’m out on my ear but I’m hoping things will calm down.”

Headlined, You Blurty Rat, the Sun article takes centre stage in The Battle.

It’s cited by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon as a symptom of how the chart battle has seen his band drift away from their indie ideals and into the mainstream.

John explained: “It became apparent how different the two bands were because I think Noel and Liam loved being in the tabloids and wanted to be that big.

“They had no problems with having loads of reporters outside their door. They thought, ‘We want to be the biggest band in the world and this is part of it’.

“But I reckon Blur found it all much more uncomfortable, especially Graham. That when you get that big you’ve got the tabloids banging on your door.

“I think he thought, ‘This is getting crazy now.’”

In the end, it was Blur who would win the Battle of Britpop with Country House topping the charts but Oasis would go on to have a more stellar career.

John added: “Damon and Noel are pals now.

“When men are in their 20s and 30s and they’re really ambitious, they’re all claws and teeth, sharp edges and hustling.

“You hurt people trying to get where you want to be but I think as men get older in their 40s and 50s they get a lot nicer and they calm the f*** down a bit.”

John hopes the play will transfer to the West End after runs in Birmingham and Manchester.

“I don’t think we’ll see a time when two bands dominate the national consciousness in a way like that again,” he said.

“It’s almost impossible to imagine.”

TOUCH OF TARANTINO

EFFING and jeffing as he struts around the stage like a rampant chimp, George Usher has Liam Gallagher down to a tee.

I’m supping a lager in the stalls at the Birmingham Rep, where if you suck your gut in and comb your hair forwards, it could be 1995 all over again.

With blasts of their hits, and aided by newsreel and radio clips, the great Battle of Britpop is fought once again.

The dialogue is pacy, comedic and very sweary. Yet with two bands, assorted managers and girlfriends to cover, there is little time for character development.

However, just as the play seems to be running out of narrative, it plunges into a Quentin Tarantino-esque sequence.

It’s a fittingly surreal end to this parable of a drug-addled decade.

★★★☆☆

AN AMERICAN rock star has quit an iconic emo band after nine years with the group.

It has been confirmed that rockers Dashboard Confessional will be losing a group member – nine years after he was first drafted into the band.

Drummer Chris Kamrada took to Instagram to confirm that he would be parting ways with his group in an emotional online message.

Writing his statement, the star penned: “After an incredible run together, Dashboard Confessional and I are parting ways.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the eight years spent travelling the world, playing and creating music together, and contributing to moments that I believe fans will never forget.

“After 20 years of doing this professionally, this chapter of a musician’s career will forever be bittersweet.

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“With that said, I simply want to say thank you to Chris, everyone in the band, family and close friends in our circle, our touring crew, and everyone involved behind the scenes.

“I’ll see you out there.”

Reacting to the news, he had a slew of fans replying to him in the comments to wish him luck in his next ventures.

One fan said: “I feel honored I was able to see you twice and then meet and hang out with you.”

Another added: “Absolute legend.”

With a third penning: “Amazing run. Cant wait to hear what’s next, friend.”

Before a fourth went on to write: “An incredible drummer in my favourite band.

“Still remember being handed a drumstick by you after a gig in London!”

The band were first formed in 1999 and have been performing ever since with various different members coming and going over the years.

Frontman Chris Carrabba had led the band since it’s inception.

The band achieved most of their success Stateside with their third and fourth albums both charting at number two on the US Billboard 200.

Chris previously played the drums for band There For Tomorrow for over a decade.

ROCK band The Enemy have been forced to cancel a string of gigs after a “medical emergency” as they issue an apology to their fans.

The group have revealed that their Glasgow and Edinburgh shows for tonight and Tuesday have been cancelled.

Taking to Instagram to share the news, their management posted a statement on their behalf.

It read: “Due to a family medical emergency within the band, they have had to rush back home and both tonight’s show at King Tut’s Glasgow and tomorrow night at The Caves Edinburgh have been cancelled.

“Refunds will be issued within the next 24 hours.

“We are so sorry for the disappointment caused, your support means the world to the band, thank you on their behalf for being so understanding of the circumstances. Many thanks, Management,” they signed off.

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The group are still currently scheduled to perform at Brudenell in Leeds on Friday 27 and 100 Club in London on March 4.

Their beloved fans rushed to the comments section to send them their well-wishes as they navigate the emergency.

One concerned fan penned: “Hope all is well. Family should always come first. The shows can wait.”

Another understanding social media user commented: “Sending loads of love, hope everything is ok. Family is always first priority.”

Somebody else said: “Gutted. Hope everything is ok though,” while a fourth added: “Sorry to hear this, family first.”

The English indie rock band was formed in Coventry back in 2006 and consists of members, Tom Clarke, Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts.

The Enemy’s debut album, We’ll Live and Die in These Towns was released in 2007 and went straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart.

They followed this up with a further three albums and are gearing up for their fifth studio album, Social Disguises, which releases this week.

After disbanding in 2016, the trio reunited in 2022 for two reunion shows in their hometown of Coventry as well as embarking on a UK tour.

While Tom is on lead vocals as well as guitar, piano and strings, Andy is on bass guitar and vocals and Liam is in charge of drums.

The group revealed earlier this month they’re releasing their newest album, Social Disguises.

Taking to Instagram, they penned: “We can officially say that there is a brand new album by The Enemy being released THIS MONTH.

“It’s been a while since last time we said that!

“Massive love to everyone who’s listened to singles and pre-ordered the record! Go get yours from our website.”

This Summer is also set to be a good one for the band’s fans as they’ve been lined up to play Tramlines in Sheffield, Y Not? Festival in Derbyshire and Victorious Festival in Portsmouth.