• Melbourne’s Japanese Wallpaper has had quite an amazing year. Not only did the 17 year old win Triple J’s ‘Unearthed High’ competition, but one of his tracks made it onto the soundtrack for a Zach Braff feature film and he’s sold out countless live shows across the country. So now, in a move that’s virtually guaranteed to keep the good karma flowing in his direction, he’s giving back with the release of his 2014 remixes EP. All profits from its sale (HERE) will be donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, which as he tells us, “provides housing, health care, legal appointments & other services to support asylum seekers in Australia.”
• The Pretenders have confirmed the release of a super-deluxe box set in the UK in February. Comprising super-deluxe CD/DVD editions of all eight albums released under the Warner Music imprint over a 20 year period up to 1999, the box set encompasses demos, live recordings, videos and live performances. It’s due on Feb 16 in Britain, but there’s been no word yet from Warner as to whether there are plans to release it here.
• Aussie outfit The Church has decided to get into the festive spirit by offering up a free download of a new song entitled ‘Xmas’. The previously unreleased track is available to all and sundry HERE.
• The all-important Christmas number one has been decided over in the UK. And the No.1 mantle this Christmas (as in years past) goes to the ‘X Factor’ winner, who this year was Ben Haenow. His track ‘Something I Need’ premiered in the top spot, knocking Mark Ronson and Ed Sheeran’s tracks down one spot respectively. But the new Olly Murs/Demi Lovato track lived up to its name, moving ‘Up’ the charts in a big way; bulleting from No.43 to No.4… impressive when you consider the pre-Christmas competition. Internet phenomenon Wealdstone Raider (AKA Gordon Hill), who’s a bricklayer by trade, debuts at No.5 with ‘Got No Fans’ (check it HERE).
• And the No.1 album in the UK this Christmas? That’d be Ed Sheeran’s LP ‘X’, which maintains its heading for a second successive week. It’s a male dominated top five too; Sam Smith’s at No.2, Olly Murs is at No.3, George Ezra moves up to No.4 and Take That is at No.5. In fact Taylor Swift (No.8) and Barbra Streisand (No.9) are the only laydees in the UK top ten this week. 5 Seconds Of Summer’s ‘LiveSOS’ gets lost in the pre-Christmas rush, debuting at a lowly No.31.
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