The Black Keys have announced they have signed to new management following a public split from their former team.
The band recently took to social media to claim they were “fucked” after their North American tour was cancelled and they split from their management on June 7. The Black Keys were due to play their ‘International Players Tour’ in the US and Canada from September to November this year, but it was reported late last month that the entire run of gigs had been abruptly scrapped, with no explanation provided.
Amidst speculation the cancellation was due to low ticket sales, the band opened up about the tour, saying it was axed and re-planned in favour of smaller theatre venues as featured on their recent European dates.
Billboard went on to report that the band had split from their management team, Irving Azoff and Steve Moir of Full Stop Management, in what was described as an “amicable parting”.
Now, Rolling Stone have reported that The Black Keys have signed to Red Light Management, whose clients include The Dave Matthews Band, The Strokes and Chris Stapleton. They cited a source “close to the situation”; CEO of Red Light Management Coran Capshaw did not immediately reply to a request for comment, whilst Azoff’s representative declined to comment.
Before then, The Black Keys spoke to NME last year and recalled their time working with the “incredible” Noel Gallagher in the studio.
“He’s hilarious and super talented,” said Carney. “We were referring to him as ‘The Chord Lord’ because he’s just a perfectionist with it.”
The band’s 12th studio album ‘Ohio Players’, which includes ‘On The Game’, was released on April 5. In a three-star review, NME wrote: “It feels like it’s about impact over depth, tamping down flyaway elements into a homogenised whole that more closely resembles last year’s ‘Dropout Boogie’ than any of the seven inch singles that got an airing during the writing process.
“The Black Keys might have a killer record collection but ‘Ohio Players’ is the work of a band who are perhaps too good at being themselves.”
In other Black Keys news, Dan Auerbach appeared on the new Johnny Cash song ‘Spotlight’, released last week.
The track features vocals from the country icon that were first recorded in 1993, with Auerbach one of a number of musicians that added new parts to the recording to bring it up to date. The song will feature on ‘Songwriter’, an entire album of unreleased songs by Cash, set to be released later this year.
Lewis Capaldi reportedly picked up the bill for an entire pub packed with England supporters following their dramatic World Cup win against Mexico.
The singer songwriter was spotted enjoying the match with Rita Ora at the Marlborough pub in Mayfair as the Three Lions secured a thrilling 3 to 2 victory.
Even though his home nation, Scotland, endured a disappointing tournament and were knocked out during the group stage, Capaldi still joined in the celebrations after the final whistle by treating the England fans in the pub to a round of drinks.
“Lewis bought every single person in the Marlborough a drink,” one customer told The Sun. “The bar staff were told to put every drink ordered on his tab. By the end of the night it came to almost £2,000.”
The pubgoer continued, saying it was “such a generous surprise and a genuinely lovely thing to do, especially from a Scotland fan… Lewis was an absolute legend. Not only did he buy everyone a drink, but he was also so kind to every person who came over to say hello.”
Ora also posted several videos from the lively celebrations, writing: “NOTHING beats a London pub game EVER… It’s coming home!!! The fact I woke up with my hair clips in and my hair has not moved says. Watch it till the end… trust me.”
Throughout the celebrations, Capaldi and Ora sang each other's songs before joining the rest of the crowd in celebrating England's victory by chanting, “Football’s coming home, it’s coming home…”
The celebrations come just before Capaldi headlines BST Hyde Park this weekend. The Scottish singer songwriter is set to perform at the London concert series on both Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12.
Those huge outdoor performances are part of his UK and Ireland headline tour this summer, and any remaining tickets can be found here.
Capaldi recently revealed that one of the BST Hyde Park concerts will also be streamed live worldwide on YouTube.
The performance will be the biggest headline show of his career so far. Fans across the globe will be able to watch for free on YouTube without a paywall. The broadcast will feature 26 cameras capturing every moment, along with aerial footage filmed by drones.
Joining him on the July 11 BST Hyde Park lineup are The Vaccines, Absolutely, Nieve Ella, Tyler Ballgame, Kerr Mercer, NECKBREAKERS, Benjamin Steer, Luz, Sebastian Croft, and Luke La Volpe.
Meanwhile, England will face Norway in the World Cup quarter finals on the same evening as Capaldi's opening BST Hyde Park performance.
