Birmingham born, multi-talented artist, Dapz On The Map has written a brand-new track for the music charity responsible for Town Hall and Symphony Hall titled ‘Stay Safe’. The Grime MC’s brand-new song scores a video showcasing the digital broadcasts which have been shared from the iconic Birmingham venues during the pandemic.

As concerts are cancelled and postponed to 2021 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Town Hall Symphony Hall has continued to bring live music to the people of Birmingham and beyond. Digital broadcasts from Town Hall & Symphony Hall have amassed over a quarter of a million views since they began in April.

Dapz OTM's songs touch on various issues, both personal and political and he often talks of the struggle he's faced as an aspiring artist attempting to balance being both a father and a musician. Soft-spoken yet intense in his passion for words and music, Dapz new track ‘Stay Safe’ includes lyrics such as “heard of the bounce back scheme might apply for a bounce back loan, can’t get furlough” and “places of worship are closed but they’ve got a 10pm curfew for pubs”.

He has had a steady rise up the ranks in the urban UK music scene with including national radio play with his music being playlisted on BBC Radio 1xtra, and other specialist stations such as Rinse FM. He made his debut appearance in the festival scene performing at the Great Escape Festival, before going on to do other major festivals. Dapz supported the likes of Kano and Skepta on tour before going on to selling out his 1st headline show at the O2 Academy Birmingham.

Nick Reed, Chief Executive for the music charity responsible for Town Hall & Symphony Hall said: “The future of Birmingham’s Town Hall and Symphony Hall, and our future as the music charity responsible for them, looks very different from the plans we began the year with. Over the last few years we have evolved into an organisation that earns more than 90% of its turnover from our trading activities and this supports every aspect of what we do, from presenting international superstars on our stages to supporting emerging talent and creating first musical experiences for children in local schools.

“The digital performances and activities we have continued - and will continue to deliver - in these desperate times have been made possible with the support of Town Hall and Symphony Hall’s audiences.”

The accompanying video highlights many of the broadcasts from the music charity responsible for Town Hall & Symphony Hall, including performances from artists such as Lady Sanity, Casey Bailey, Tom Aspaul, Xhosa Cole and Mark Kingswood.

Highlights also include broadcasts from cultural partners, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Symphony Hall’s resident orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Little Mix band member Jesy Nelson has left saying being part of the pop group had "taken a toll on my mental health". She explained: "I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard."

Writing on Instagram, the 29-year-old said being in the band had been "the most incredible time" but it was now time to "embark on a new chapter". Her former bandmates said it was "an incredibly sad time for all of us but we are fully supportive of Jesy".

The news comes a month after Nelson said she was taking an "extended" break from the pop group for "private medical reasons". Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall performed as a trio on Strictly Come Dancing at the weekend.

In her statement, Nelson said she had made her decision "after much consideration and with a heavy heart".

"I need to spend some time with the people I love, doing things that make me happy," the singer continued. The remaining members added: "We know that Jesy leaving the group is going to be really upsetting news for our fans.

"We love her very much and agree that it is so important that she does what is right for her mental health and well-being." They said they were "still very much enjoying our Little Mix journey" and would continue as a trio.

Little Mix formed on The X Factor in 2011 and have gone on to record six UK top 10 albums and four number one singles. They are currently number five in the chart with their hit Sweet Melody.

Last year, Nelson was widely praised for discussing her mental health struggles in a BBC Three documentary. The group were recently seen looking for a new backing band to join them on tour in the BBC One talent show Little Mix: The Search.

A special ‘The Vicar Of Dibley In Lockdown’ proved its usual incredibly funny self but it gained a greater following than ever after vicar Geraldine was seen ‘taking a knee’.

Walking around the quiet village in the middle of lockdown, she was reflecting on her duties as a woman of the cloth, and the obligations she has not just for the parish, but also for the world at large. And, while speaking to one of the programme’s other major characters, Owen, the vicar, played by Dawn French, said: “This last week, I’ve been thinking about this Black Lives Matter thing, and the horror show that was, the murder of George Floyd.

“Now this is tricky for us in Dibley, because we’re not the most diverse community,” Geraldine said, “but I don’t think it matters where you’re from, I think it matters that you do something about it – because Jesus would, wouldn’t he?” 

She went on: “Listen, I’m aware that all lives matter, obviously, but until all lives matter the same, we’re doing something very wrong. So I think we need to focus on justice for a huge chunk of our country men and women who seem to have a very bad, weird deal, from the day they’re born.” 

As she walked to the parish notice board, she then took down old posters from the 1970s, and replaced them with a homemade poster that bore the words ‘Black Lives Matter’. 

She continued: “I think that in Dibley, perhaps we should be thinking about taking down some of our old notices, like this, and perhaps, we put up one like this instead”.

The show ended with Geraldine taking the knee in front of the noticeboard, looking out over the village.

As the episode ended, she paid a poignant goodbye to beloved best friend Alice, who on the show died of cancer three years earlier. Emma Chambers, who played Alice, died in 2018.

Country music legend Charley Pride has died after complications from Covid-19. Pride, who passed away on Saturday, his website said. Rising to fame in the 1960s, while he was not the first Black singer in country music, he became one of its biggest stars during a period of division in the US.

He won three Grammy Awards, followed by a lifetime achievement award in 2017 before being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000 - the second African-American to become a member.

The son of a sharecropper on a cotton farm in Mississippi, Pride was born in 1934 and served in the army, played baseball and worked in a smelting plant before later turning to music.

Fifty-two of his songs reached the country Top 10, including the hits All I Have to Offer You (Is Me) and Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'.

Another - Crystal Chandeliers - is still popular in Northern Ireland thanks to concerts he staged there when touring was difficult due the conflict in the 1970s.

"We're not colour-blind yet, but we've advanced a few paces along the path and I like to think I've contributed something to that process," he wrote in his memoir.

He was awarded the Country Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in Nashville, Tennessee, in what would be his last public performance.

Fellow country star Dolly Parton, who described Pride as "one of my dearest and oldest friends, said she was "heartbroken" at the news of his death.

‘I’m so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. It’s even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you. (1/2)’

— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton).

Billy Ray Cyrus calling Pride a "gentleman... legend and true trail blazer", adding: "He took down walls and barriers meant to divide," whilst Reba McEntire wrote: "Charley Pride will always be a legend in Country music."

He was 86.

British espionage writer John le Carré has died, following a short illness, his literary agent has said.

The author of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy died from pneumonia. Fellow authors paid tribute, with Stephen King calling him "a literary giant and a humanitarian spirit".

Historical fiction writer Robert Harris said le Carré, who chronicled the world of Cold War spies, was "one of the great post-war British novelists". Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood tweeted that his novels featuring spymaster George Smiley - described by le Carré as an "antidote" to James Bond - were the "key to understanding the mid-20th Century".

Historian and novelist Simon Sebag Montefiore described le Carré as "the titan of English literature" and said he was "heartbroken".

Jonny Geller, the author's agent, said he was an "undisputed giant of English literature" who "defined the Cold War era and fearlessly spoke truth to power".

"We will not see his like again," he said in a statement.

Mr Geller said he represented the novelist, whose real name was David Cornwell, for almost 15 years and "his loss will be felt by every book lover, everyone interested in the human condition".

"We have lost a great figure of English literature, a man of great wit, kindness, humour and intelligence. I have lost a friend, a mentor and an inspiration." A statement shared on behalf of the author's family said: "It is with great sadness that we must confirm that David Cornwell - John le Carré - passed away from pneumonia last Saturday night after a short battle with the illness.

"David is survived by his beloved wife of almost 50 years, Jane, and his sons Nicholas, Timothy, Stephen and Simon.

"We all grieve deeply his passing. Our thanks go to the wonderful NHS team at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro for the care and compassion that he was shown throughout his stay. We know they share our sadness."

The statement said his death was not Covid-19 related.

Several of le Carré's 25 works were turned into films including The Constant Gardener, The Tailor of Panama and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, while the Night Manager became a successful BBC television series. Smiley, his most famous character who first appeared in Call for the Dead, has been played by actors including Rupert Davies, Alec Guinness and Gary Oldman.

Oldman, who appeared in the 2011 film of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, said le Carré was "a very great author, the true 'owner' of the serious, adult, complicated, spy novel" and was "always a true gentleman".

Born as David Cornwell in Poole, Dorset, in 1931, he wrote under the pseudonym of John le Carré. He studied at the university of Bern, in Switzerland, and then Oxford, before entering a career in undercover intelligence.

After teaching at Eton for two years he joined the Foreign Office, and was initially based at the British Embassy in Bonn.mDuring his time there he worked in the intelligence records department, giving him access to files with insights into the workings of the secret service. He also wrote his first novel, Call For The Dead, which was published in 1961.

This meant the need for a pen name as Foreign Office officials were not allowed to publish books under their own name.

In 1963, his third novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, brought him worldwide acclaim and allowed him to take up writing full time. Le Carré said his manuscript was approved by the secret service because they "rightly if reluctantly" concluded it was "sheer fiction from start to finish" but he said the world's press took a different view, deciding the book was "not merely authentic but some kind of revelatory Message From The Other Side".

His career as a spy came to an end in 1964 after his name was one of many given to the Soviet Union by a double agent, an incident which inspired a plot line in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

He was 89.

With 1.5 billion streams, 5.6 million monthly listeners at Spotify and sold-out arena shows, Gavin James has achieved phenomenal global success by simply letting his songs speak for themselves. He excels at music’s essential qualities: immediately memorable songwriting and telling engaging stories that are delivered with a voice that can seemingly effortlessly hone in on the depth of the sentiment.
 
Now, however, Gavin James is set to step into the spotlight with arguably his finest moment to date, his brand new track ‘Man On The Moon’.  

 
The emotionally-charged new song tells the story of the desolate loneliness of the ‘Man On The Moon’. Despite being distanced from the world at large, “everyone loved him but he never knew.” It’s a powerful metaphor for a love that goes unspoken, but also a story that reflects our current times. Families, couples and friends have spent much of the year separated from the ones that they love, and the song offers a timely reminder that distance can’t break our bonds.
 
Propelled by little more than delicate acoustic guitar and the tenacious soul of his voice, the song was produced by Gavin and Ollie Green (Freya Ridings) and mixed by Serban Ghenea (Taylor Swift)
 
“For ‘Man On The Moon’ I tried to picture someone on the moon, thinking that they are all alone and not realising that the whole world is thinking about them. It’s about looking after the people you love because some days, they may feel like they have no one to talk to,” explains Gavin. “In particular this year, people might feel more disconnected than usual from their friends and family. This song is a gentle reminder that you are never alone”.
 
‘Man On The Moon’ is released alongside a series of beautifully animated lyric videos. It introduces ‘Man on The Moon: A Collection Of Short Stories’, a collection of emotionally compelling short films which further explore the themes of loneliness and separation that Gavin addresses in the song. It comprises the following chapters, which will be shared via Gavin’s social media accounts, with the final part seeing fans create and share their own stories, e.g could be via art, words, animation, music or dance.
 
Chapter 1: ‘Hedgehogs’ by Brian An Phan
Chapter 2: ‘The Presence in the Absence’ by Michelle Jane Williamson. 
Chapter 3: ‘Contact’ by Katy Wang. 
Chapter 4: Create your own story
 
Gavin James’ own story is just as remarkable. Back at school, the Dubliner was told that he’d never achieve anything in music, a story that he recounts in his recent single ‘Boxes’ (a #1 hit on Ireland’s national airplay chart). In time he proved them wrong, as he rose from busking on Grafton Street to playing shows with Niall Horan, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith to selling-out his own world tour including two headline shows at the 13,000 capacity 3Arena.
 
He’s also making a growing international impact, with 22 Platinum records across the world and an unlikely #1 hit in Brazil. ‘Man On The Moon’ represents his next big step towards even greater global recognition.