With acres of newstime to fill, it's easy to get attention for an anniversary these days - BBC News did a big splash about Steven Hawking's birthday a few minutes ago, which is a lot of attention for a very minor character from The Simpsons, when you think about it. It wasn't so easy to get a full-on carnival celebration back in the last century, which makes this - BBC Two clearing an evening to mark Bowie's 50th birthday - almost as much of an achievement as the some of the events it chronicled. [...]

top of the evening. this here is exactly what the title suggests it is. this performance was done right before harvest was released, btw. see ya'll tomorrow. 1. out on the weekend 2. old man 3. journey through the past 4. heart of gold 5. dont let it bring you down 6. a man needs a maid 7. love in mind 8. dance dance dance [...]
The Gaslight Anthem recently played BBC Two's famous late-night, rock program, Later… with Jools Holland. This is an amazing program that airs across the pond in the UK and on Ovation in America. For those of you asking, "Who the heck is Jools Holland?", he founded the band Squeeze and has worked with a lot [...]

Ed Harcourt to perform on BBC Two's Review Show, Friday June 4th Ed Harcourt is to perform a track during tonight's The Review Show on BBC 2 . Set to broadcast at 11pm BST on Friday June 4, 2010, the performance will be a fitting taster session for Ed's wonderful new album, 'Lustre' , which is due for release on June 14th. Buy CDs, MP3s, more: [...]
For reasons that are as unclear as they are welcome, Newsnight's election special at 6.30 tonight is going to feature a live performance from The XX. Possibly they had to be promised junior ministerships at the Treasury to secure the booking.

The winner of the Barclaycard Mercury Prize 2009 is.... Speech Debelle - 'Speech Therapy'! 'Speech Therapy' , the debut album by South Londoner Speech Debelle was released in June 2009 by the influential Big Dada label. The album features contributions from Micachu, Tunng's Mike Lindsay and label-mate Roots Manuva . It includes the much-praised single "The Key" . Watch video from the [...]

2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize Awards Show next Tuesday, 8 September Bat For Lashes Florence & The Machine Friendly Fires The Barclaycard Mercury Prize Awards Show is being held next Tuesday evening, 8 September in London and will feature live performances from all 12 shortlisted artists for the first time. The evening will culminate with the live announcement of the overall winner [...]

A significant year for musical excellence and diversity is highlighted by the 12 Albums of the Year shortlisted for the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize , announced on Tuesday 21 July, 2009. "This has been a rich and creative year for British and Irish music," says Simon Frith , Chair of Judges. "There are seven fine debut albums on the list and five outstanding records from more established acts, all marking out new ground. What most impresses is the imaginative verve with which British and Irish musicians continue to [...]
I know it's churlish to complain about the BBC's coverage, when it offers up so many riches, but... lets complain anyway. Every year, I'm left scratching my head wondering why the press red service on the last night is busily churning out Saturday and Friday sets when there's plenty happening on site; I could understand if there was one screen of all-weekend highlights, but at some points yesterday it was a choice of old, or older: Quo today, or Springsteen or Florence or Little Boots from before? And why can't you bloody stick with a set? [...]
Ah, the senior service on BBC 2 gets a full complement of presenters - Radcliffe and Laverne sharing main duties, but throwing to Zane Lowe down in front of The Ting Tings, and Jo Whiley off in the studio. Jo presents an acoustic performance from Paolo Nutini as if it's some sort of treat, although she does use the phrase "it's the same thing, year after year" so perhaps she was trying to be knowing. They're currently showing a short film explaining who Neil Young is, rather than showing Neil Young playing live. Is there anyone [...]