Monthly Archives

October 2014

Famous Songs Written by Other Famous Stars

By | Featured, Music

Many musicians get their big breaks in the music industry by writing hit songs for superstars. Here’s a list of celebrities with hit-making genes – a list of recent chart topping songs that were actually, and in some cases surprisingly, written by other famous artists. Some intentionally, some chose to pass on the opportunity seeing it as unfit for themselves, others were inspired collaborations between the artists.

One Direction – Little Things


This song was penned by Ed Sheeran when he was only 17. He had forgotten about the song but when Sheeran started working with One Direction on their second album, a friend (Fiona Bevan) had got in touch and reminded him about a tune they had come up with. Sheeran played it to the young English-Irish boy band and they loved it. Many thought it wouldn’t be the right sound for the lads but they were proved wrong when they released it on their second studio album Take Me Home and it became their fifth top ten hit in Ireland, second Nº1 in the UK (as did the album on which it appeared), fourth top ten hit in Australia, Nº2 in New Zealand, 41 in the Billboard Hot 100, their fourth top 40 hit on the Canada Hot 100 AND went platinum and gold in six countries. Not a bad feat for a song that had been criticized for being “lumpy” and “jarring”. It’s a very sweet acoustic song, and if you listen carefully you can detect Ed Sheeran’s influence all over it.

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Miley Cyrus – Party In The USA


This was written by Jessie J and Claude Kelly with the intention of it being released by Jessie herself. However, once the song was written her team felt that it wasn’t quite the right style for her and so it was offered to Miley Cyrus for the album The Time of our Lives. Miley’s style at the time was clearly not as twerky or shocking as she was still trying to ditch the Disney-girl-next-door persona for her more recent wild child character. Jessie J’s reasoning behind rejecting her own song was that it wasn’t edgy enough, it definitely wouldn’t pass for Cyrus now but back in 2009 it was exactly what Miley needed to bulk up her album. Party in the USA became an international success topping the charts in eight countries and continues to be Hollywood Record’s biggest selling single which went seven times platinum in the US and four times in Canada.

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Ceelo Green – Forget You


Bruno Mars is a huge star in his own right but his talents do not stop at himself. He has written, co-written and collaborated on countless hit songs. One which has raised some debate as to the named credits is CeeLo Green’s F#@k You (more politely named Forget You). Bruno credited himself as the writer but CeeLo has since argued that Mars’ efforts were creditable but only as far as the producer not the writer of the smash hit song. Eventually the agreement resulted in the song having been co-written by Green and Mars. Some of Bruno’s other big hits for which there are no arguments that he deserves the credit for are; Flo Rida’s Right Round, Adam Lambert’s Never Close your Eyes, Justin Bieber and Love Me, Travie McCoy and Billionaire, The Vamps’ Can We Dance, B.O.B.’s Nothing on You (in which Mars actually features) are some of his big behind the scenes accomplishments.

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Madonna – Justify My Love


Justify My Love released in 1990 as the first single from the Immaculate Collection album and later in 2009 was added to the Greatest Hits album. The single went worldwide and topped the charts in seven countries. It is by far her most controversial and overtly sexual song, as promoted by the video which went on to become the highest selling video single of all time. Madonna did write a few words of the song but the majority of the lyrics were written by another famous singer songwriter; the one and only Lenny Kravitz.

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Beyonce – Irreplacable


Originally written with a male vocal in mind by Ne-Yo amongst other songwriters. After some deliberation Ne-Yo felt that the song required a female vocal and so co-wrote a new version alongside Beyoncé. Beyoncé had a few changes to make to it but whatever the two finally recorded seemed to work as it hit the charts in twenty countries. Ne-Yo has penned many songs working with and for the likes of Jay Z, Jennifer Hudson, New Kids on the Block, Rihanna, Jessica Sanchez, Lyndsey Lohan, Kelly Rowland and more.

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Alicia Keys – You Don’t Know My Name


Written and produced by Keys, Kanye West and Harold Lilly this became Keys’ third top ten hit in the States in 2003. Released as the lead single on her second studio album The Diary Of Alicia Keys, You Don’t Know My Name won her a Grammy Award and a Soul Train Music Award. A soulful ballad like this is not Kanye’s typical style of music and so this one came as quite a surprise, but as it turns out West does have a softer side and can turn his pen to many a talent.

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Rihanna – We Found Love


We Found Love was written, produced (and featured) by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris in 2011. The video is yet another controversial hard-hitting portrayal about love, drugs, sex, destructive relationships, partying and hopelessness. This is one of Rihanna’s biggest dance hits; some go as far as claiming it to be a “club anthem”. Collaborating with DJ Calvin Harris on this proved a huge success topping the charts in no less than 25 countries and her longest running number one single. And one of the best selling singles of all time.

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Rihanna – Diamonds


Sia has written songs for many famous artists as well as herself, including the most recent world cup song We are One (Ole, Ola) featuring Pitbull and JLo. Sia wrote Diamonds for Rihanna which became her (Rihanna’s) 12th Nº1 single coming top of the charts in twenty countries. As well as being a very successful musician, singer-songwriter in her own right, Sia has also been the brains behind many other artists’ chart topping hits such as; Cannonball by Lea Michelle, Ne-Yo’s Let Me Love You Until You Learn to Love Yourself, Perfume by Britney Spears, Radioactive by Rita Ora and Beyoncé’s Pretty Hurts to name but a few!

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Pitbull – Mr Worldwide – Celebrate

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Finally a Pitbull music video without boobs and butts… haha! this time it’s Penguins! Join Pitbull in his family friendly video as he jet-sets around the world in Celebrate from the Penguins of Madagascar movie. Directed by David Rousseau, Mr Worldwide jets to various exotic locations across the globe on his private plane, before hitting the studio with Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private. After a brief spell as a cartoon character himself, Pitbull then hits the stage to perform – and yes, there is much too much penguin crowd-surfing! 🙂

(To watch this video in Creation 5, just tap here.)

You might recognise parts of the song as it samples the chorus from the funky rock song I Just Want to Celebrate by Rare Earth (1971). Celebrate is the 3rd single to be released from Pitbull’s upcoming album – following Wild, Wild Love and Fireball.

Celebrate will appear on the Penguins Of Madagascar soundtrack, as well as Pitbull’s 8th studio album, Globalization, which will be out on November 24. The movie – a spin-off of the ‘Madagascar’ trilogy – will arrive in theatres on November 26.

One Direction – Steal My Girl

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One Direction finally released their hugely anticipated video for Steal My Girl yesterday, starring Hollywood legend Danny DeVito. The surreal video also stars sumo wrestlers, ballerinas, Maasai warriors, a marching band, a cute chimpanzee, a lion..it’s amazing and bizarre at the same time. The music video seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the song but its a spectacular visual anyway, just roll with it…

(To watch this video in Creation 5, just tap here.)

One Direction have been teasing clips for the past week and when they finally released the video, it was incredible that servers didn’t crash from the assault of hundreds of thousands of fans going online to watch it. YouTube views are currently standing at almost 5 million after just 24 hours.

Danny DeVito plays the Director of the boys music video and in a rather amusing beginning lectures them on why they are assembled together in the desert: “Gentlemen! Why are we here? We’re here in the name of art! We’re here to commit ourselves to a higher form of expression…I’ve seen your work and today, we’re going to take it to a new level! We’ve come to the most barren place on earth, to create! Today, we bring life to the desert!” He then goes on to label each of the boys with a symbol – Love (Harry), Light (Niall), Power (Liam), Danger (Louis) and Mystery (Zayn).

The use of the animals, especially the chimpanzee, has caused a bit of a scandal with PETA up in arms about it. In an open letter addressed to Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, PETA told the pop stars that they are “concerned about reports that a chimpanzee, a lion and other wild and exotic animals were used in a new One Direction video. You may not know that animals used for entertainment productions, including music videos, endure horrific cruelty and suffer from extreme confinement and violent training methods.”

Controversy aside, One Direction are now gearing up for their 2015 tour to support their new album Four. General tickets go on sale November 1st – although fans have a chance to purchase pre-sale by visiting the One Direction Facebook page on October 29.

White Winter Hymnal – Pentatonix (Fleet Foxes Cover)

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Ever tried clapping games as a kid? Well, Pentatonix’s new video for their awesome cover of Fleet Foxes White Winter Hymnal will show you a thing or two about clapping..Their tight-knit harmonies, energetic vocal arrangements and incredible clapping skills are front and centre in this video.

(To watch this video in Creation 5, just tap here.)

If the clapping thing fascinates you – try watching the tutorial below, to see how they did it (tap here to watch in Creation 5):

The a cappella quintet released their holiday album That’s Christmas to Me on Tuesday via RCA Records and White Winter Hymnal is the first cut from the album. Highly recommended for your Christmas listening pleasure, the album opens with a modern take on Hark The Herald Angels Sing and finishes with a cover of Let It Go from Frozen. In between are lots of other classics like Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Silent Night.

Scott Hoying told The Hollywood Reporter, “I think this album’s more creative than our last one which was just typical Christmas songs with really pretty a cappella arrangements. But this one, I feel there’s more concepts and ideas.”

Its been a really busy period for the group as last month they also released their 3rd EP, PTX Vol. III, which shot straight to No. 5 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart and No. 3 on the Digital Albums Chart. Selling more than 46,000 units in its first week, the EP is the group’s highest debut and chart position.

That’s Christmas To Me Track List

1. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
2. White Winter Hymnal
3. Sleigh Ride
4. Winter Wonderland / Don’t Worry Be Happy ft. Tori Kelly
5. That’s Christmas To Me
6. Mary, Did You Know?
7. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
8. It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
10. Silent Night
11. Let It Go (Bonus)

Waze & Odyssey vs R. Kelly – Bump & Grind 2014

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London house production duo Waze & Odyssey might just be the new Nº1 on the UK charts this weekend with their remix of R Kelly’s 1995 Top 10 single – Bump & Grind. The track is trailing Meghan Trainor’s All About that Bass by a mere 3,000 copies and Friday/Saturday sales could easily see this underground house track claim the top spot.

(To watch the video in Creation 5, just tap here.)

The track is basically a dance remix of R Kelly’s original tune and it has nailed every dance floor around the world. It certainly ruled the airwaves in Ibiza this summer. Every night, as the Ibiza clubs started to fill to capacity, Bump & Grind 2014 could be heard across the island.

Waze & Odyssey formed 3 years ago and they have been releasing music on the house music circuit since then. But their Bump and Grind remix has really taken off in an extraordinary way – the duo talked to the Official Charts Company about its success:

“We made it to play in a DJ set one night. We played it out and it went wild. Then a few DJs asked for a copy and they started playing it out and we were getting all these wild reports back. About a year ago someone approached us about releasing it and so we decided to put it out there for those who maybe hadn’t heard it. It’s been an underground favourite for a while now.”

“It started maybe 2 years ago with Skream dropping it in one room of the Warehouse Project in Manchester, while in the other room Horse Meat Disco were playing it. From then everyone from DJ Ez to Duke Dumont to Rudimental have all been playing it. It’s been very much an underground thing and loads of people will get in touch with us, even now saying that they’d be searching for the track for months before knowing what it was. With it now getting radio airplay, it’s just gone mad!”

BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge 2014

By | Featured, Music

BBC 1 is undoubtedly one of the world’s best radio stations – their constant supply of fresh new music, big name stars and zany humour keeps millions tuned in every day. The Live Lounge is one of our favourite BBC institutions, established since 2006 it was originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid morning radio show and is now hosted by Fearne Cotton. Invited artists usually perform one of their own songs and a cover of someone else’s, always in an acoustic format. The Live Lounge is also a physical studio within Radio 1 studios from where the performances are broadcast. Some shows though, are broadcast from the BBC Maida Vale Studios as the Live Lounge is fairly small.

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We love the shows for many reasons, but mainly because the cover versions are often a totally different genre than the artists normally perform. Jamie Callum performed a cover of Pharrell Williams’s ‘Frontin’ which eventually led to him being signed by Pharrell’s label. The performances are intimate, alive and buzzing with energy.

We have compiled our Top 10 performances – very difficult to do, because all are amazing – and put them into a playlist for your listening pleasure.

Our two favourite performances – Taylor Swift and Ella Eyre – we present below with the original versions of the songs they covered.

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Note: The videos are high-quality and may take longer than usual to load (it’s worth the wait!).

Taylor Swift covers Vance Joy’s Riptide

Vance Joy – ‘Riptide’ Official Video

Ella Eyre – Funk My Life Up (Paolo Nutini cover)

Paolo Nutini – Scream (Funk My Life Up) Official Video

1 – Taylor Swift covers Vance Joy’s Riptide
2 – Clean Bandit & The BBC Philharmonic – Rather Be
3 – Ed Sheeran – Stay With Me (Sam Smith cover)
4 – Ella Eyre – Funk My Life Up (Paolo Nutini cover)
5 – Lily Allen – URL Badman
6 – Coldplay – Magic
7 – Bastille – Earth Song / Common People
8 – George Eza – Barcelona
9 – Paolo Nutini – Someone Like You
10 – Kiesza – So Deep
11 – Justin Timberlake covers the Jackson’s Shake your Body (Down to the Ground)

Well, the last track from Justin Timberlake was not from this year’s series, but it’s too good not to include! Enjoy The Music!

Creation 5’s BBC Live Lounge Playlist

Each year a compilation album is released with some of the best performances. Just recently the BBC announced the track listing for their Live Lounge 2014 album – the 9th volume in the series. The collection includes artists such as Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, The Script, Coldplay and 5 Seconds of Summer covering and performing the biggest hits of the past year.

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This year’s collection will be released on October 27 and includes two discs with a total of 40 tracks.

Full tracklisting for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge 2014:

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Disc 1:
Ed Sheeran – ‘Stay With Me’ (Originally By Sam Smith)
Ben Howard – ‘Hideaway’ (Originally By Kiesza)
Ella Henderson – ‘Say Something’ (Originally By A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera)
Sam Smith – ‘Berlin’ (Originally By RY X)
George Ezra – ‘Budapest’
Foxes – ‘Happy’ / ‘Teardrop’ (Medley) (Originally By Pharrell Williams / Massive Attack)
Ellie Goulding – ‘How Long Will I Love You’
Little Mix – ‘Holy Grail’ / ‘Counting Stars’ / ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ (Medley) (Originally By Jay Z Ft. Justin Timberlake / OneRepublic / Nirvana)
The Script – ‘Superheroes’
Maroon 5 – ‘Maps’
Aloe Blacc – ‘The Man’
Kasabian – ‘Fancy’ (Originally By Iggy Azazlea Ft. Charli XCX)
Paolo Nutini – ‘Scream (Funk My Life Up)’
Bastille – ‘We Can’t Stop’ (Originally By Miley Cyrus)
Labrinth – ‘Shake It Off’ (Originally By Taylor Swift)
Tom Odell – ‘Roar’ (Originally By Katy Perry)
Kiesza – ‘Nobody To Love’ / ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’ (Medley) (Originally By Sigma / Lauryn Hill)
Katy B – Crying For No Reason’
Duke Dumont Feat. Jax Jones – ‘I Got U’
Clean Bandit Feat. Jess Glynne – ‘Rather Be’

Disc 2:
Coldplay – ‘Oceans’
London Grammar – ‘Wrecking Ball’ (Originally By Miley Cyrus)
5 Seconds Of Summer – ‘Amnesia’
The 1975 – ‘Sex’
Indiana Feat. RHODES – ‘Waves’ (Originally By Mr. Probz)
Haim – ‘XO’ (Originally By Beyoncé)
Jacob Banks – ‘Magic’ (Originally By Coldplay)
Hozier – ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ (Originally By Arctic Monkeys)
Nick Mulvey – ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’ (Originally By Drake Ft. Majid Jordan)
Bombay Bicycle Club – ‘F For You’ (Originally By Disclosure Ft. Mary J. Blige)
Mallory Knox – ‘Lovers On The Sun’ (Originally By David Guetta Ft. Sam Martin)
Lower Than Atlantis – ‘Am I Wrong’ (Originally By Nico & Vinz)
James Bay – ‘Forever'(Originally By Haim)
Example – ‘Dark Horse’ (Originally By Katy Perry Ft. Juicy J)
Ella Eyre – ‘Comeback’
Angel Haze – ‘Drunk In Love’ (Originally By Beyoncé Ft. Jay Z)
Wilkinson Feat. Becky Hill – ‘Counting Stars’ (Originally By OneRepublic)
Chase & Status – ‘Strong’ (Originally By London Grammar)
Rudimental – ‘The Monster’ / Story Of My Life (Medley) (Originally By Eminem Ft. Rihanna / One Direction)
Gorgon City Feat. MNEK – ‘Ready For Your Love’


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Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron

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Get your first look at Ultron trying to tear apart Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the rest of the world in the first official trailer for Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Get ready for an epic and action-packed thrill ride!

(To watch this trailer in Creation 5, just tap here.)

Avengers: Age of Ultron is Marvel Studio’s epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige the film is based on the hugely popular Marvel comic book series The Avengers which was first published over 50 years ago in 1963.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk). Scarlett Johansson plays the Black Widow, Jeremy Renner is Hawkeye and Samuel L. Jackson plays Nick Fury. The A team must defeat Ultron, played by James Spader who is a slimy, sickening villain determined to bring about human extinction. Amidst the action the team meet two newcomers Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. They also meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision.

The only bad thing we see about it, is that we have to wait till May 1, 2015.

Top 10 Must-See Music Documentaries

By | Featured, Films, Music

There are countless films based on the successes and struggles faced by musicians in the music industry. Here’s a list of the most eye-opening, shocking, insightful and inspiring documentaries every music lover must see.

Click a title to play it in Creation 5.

Searching for Sugar Man

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This is a multi award-winning documentary about Sixto Rodriguez whose music did not manage to make it big in the US but somehow he became a massive rock icon in South Africa. When his albums flopped in America, Rodriguez’s ‘almost-fame’ slipped away into anonymity in his home land but a bootleg copy of one of his records managed to cross the water and get in the palms (and ears) of the apartheid-suffering South Africans. The messages that Rodriguez’s music conveyed struck a chord with the people there and subsequently he became a huge success.

The story follows two young natives who want to find out more about the illusive Rodriguez following rumors that he had met a gruesome end and all sorts of other inventions about his location and life situation. All sorts of exciting adventures occur on their path to discovering the truth about their idol; with little information to go on they have their work cut out. As the story unfolds there are twists and turns that will shock your socks off.

This is a must-see film written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul (who later committed suicide) about humanity, hope and the eternal intrinsic power of music.

Searching for Sugar Man

Gimme Shelter

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Filmed in 1969 on the last leg of The Rolling Stones’ US tour of that year. This insightful yet ultimately tragic depiction of life on the road with the Stones is truly remarkable. This counterculture era film follows a “reactive” method of filmmaking. The direct cinema style is filmed spontaneously as things unfold rather than reconstructing events that have already occurred giving the film a more realistic feel. The tragic final concert on this tour, and film, is the notorious Altamont Speedway Concert which resulted in death and a hell of a lot of problems. The Hell’s Angels were, in hindsight, mistakenly hired as the security for the event in return for free beer. The crowd got fired up, the Angels got riled up and everything got very messy. Four people were killed; there is even footage of a Hell’s Angel stabbing a gun-carrying attendee to death. This is a dark representation of music culture, but it’s true and it happened. The Maysles directors’ spin on it does add to the sinister undertones with a lot of flashing back and forward to brutal moments in the Altamont disaster, despite this it is a truly remarkable and “must-see” film.

Gimme Shelter

Don’t Look Back

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Don’t Look Back is a film by D.A. Pennebaker, which follows Bob Dylan for four weeks during a tour of England in 1965, in this 96 minute long fly-on-the-wall style documentary. A typical interview, concert depicting documentary this is not as Dylan is shown backstage and in between gigs for more than half of it and gives full on displays of his obvious disdain for the less intelligent folk that cross his path. Despite some seemingly antagonistic and arrogant moments this is a very intimate, emotional and quite wonderful film both musically and personally. Dylan is a musical genius, whether you like his attitude and personality or not, it is not quite a delusion of grandeur with him, it’s more of an utter belief of grandeur in mental stature.
Bob Dylan is one of the most poignant musical stars of our time and so Don’t Look Back is an honest reflection of a life few can comprehend; it definitely set a standard for music documentaries that followed.

Don’t Look Back

The Beatles Anthology

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This is not for the faint hearted – eleven hours worth of film spanning the entire career of the biggest thing to come out of Liverpool probably for all eternity; the phenomenon that is The Beatles. It begins with a bit about their backgrounds and upbringings and follows them right through to their break up in 1970 with footage derived from a plethora of media sources. There are clips of interviews, newsreels, anecdotes, photographs, even home movies are all woven majestically into this timeline of historical success. This is another honest and frank documentary which does not dismiss differences between the band members but rather adds this in to portray the reality of the intensity of their relationships and the pressures of being superstars. Anthology is a staggeringly detailed and intimate account of the life of The Beatles and definitely rates with the best documentaries of all time.

The Beatles Anthology

This Is It

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This really was it, Michael Jackson was no more and this documentary film, the footage originally being intended for his personal library, was made and released as a sort of consolation to his fans that the King of Pop would no longer be performing his final tour as planned. He died before he even reached the first destination and so this depiction of the lead up to the tour is all we have to inform us as to how those concerts would have been. There is rigid choreography, pedantic perfection, a lot of energy and a few strange moments of Michael having “issues” but overall an amazing insight into the illusive character and secret world of one of the biggest and most controversial and talented stars of all time.

This Is It

The Last Waltz (1978)

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The Last Waltz is a moment in legendary rock history never to be repeated, or probably beaten. The Band were signing out as, well, a band and decided to have a farewell concert in their own honour. And what a send off it was. This film by Martin Scorcese documents this night and the major stars which headlined this monumental Thanksgiving on November 25, 1976. Up on stage you will see the likes of Paul Butterfield, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, Neil Diamond, Bobby Charles, The Staple Singers and Eric Clapton performing live at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Critical acclaim has given The Last Waltz the title of being one of the best concert films ever made covering the career and the influences of the band members and fantastic performances by one of the best line ups in history.

The Last Waltz (1978)

Woodstock (1970)

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Woodstock was a legendary event which could never be repeated. It was a one off, unique moment in music history and so any documentary with real footage from the weekend of madness that was Woodstock has to be worthy of a place in the top ten best music documentaries. Whether the coverage is any good or not would be irrelevant but as it turned out the documentary has become one of the most entertaining ever made and was (and is) a huge success winning many accolades including an Academy Award. This culturally historic document was an enormous box office hit and grossed over 50 million dollars in the US. With performances by Crosby, Stills & Nash, Canned Heat, Richie Havens, Joan Baez, The Who, Sha-Na-Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, Arlo Guthrie, Ten Years After, Jefferson Airplane, John Sebastian, Country Joe McDonald, Santana, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, the line-up couldn’t really get much better than that.

Woodstock (1970)

Marley (2012)

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Marley is a film documenting much of the artist’s stand on life, love, music, race and religion. Much of the information is from the memories and knowledge of Marley though his family and friends. The film covers his feelings towards being of mixed race, his family, his political beliefs and involvement, his loyalty to the Rastafari movement and Haile Selassie all of which inspire many of the songs depicted in the documentary. Most of all though Marley’s belief and hope for the future was that we could all share “One Love” and live together in harmony. He was a great prophet, poet and musician and despite a difficult start to his career eventually became one of the most influential and successful reggae artists ever. This “epic and uplifiting” film, featuring a great many performances of his popular work, offers a fascinating insight into this intense and thought-provoked man.

Marley (2012)

Muscle Shoals (2013)

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“Located on the banks of the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Alabama is the unlikely breeding ground for some of the most creative and defiant music in American history”. This is the setting for the documentary which looks at the recording studio which inspired and produced so many of the all time greats. In this movie, legendary artists including Aretha Franklin, Greg Allman, Bono, Clarence Carter, Jimmy Cliff, Mick Jagger, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Wilson Pickett, Keith Richards, Percy Sledge, Steve Winwood and others bear witness to the magnetism and mystery of Muscle Shoals and why it remains a global influence today.

Muscle Shoals (2013)

In Bed with Madonna (Known as Truth or Dare in the US)

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Whether this corset-wearing, overtly sexual and controversial superstar is your cup of tea or not, this insight into the woman with the “Blonde Ambition” is quite a piece of work. There is a lot of backstage and behind the scenes footage, some of which seems quite contrived and ironically does not portray the songstress in the best light, as well as onstage performances from the tour in 1990. Madonna can come across as slightly neurotic with diva tendencies and a lot of seemingly staged offstage filming makes it all look a bit too Hollywood. However, this is one of the most famous women to walk the earth, the biggest selling female artist ever with one of the most chameleon-like careers spanning four decades and counting. Madonna may not be to everyone’s taste but her iconic status and career longevity win her the right to make this film appear on our top ten list. Look out for the cameo appearances by Al Pacino, Kevin Costner, Warren Beatty, the list goes on…

In Bed with Madonna (Known as Truth or Dare in the US)


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Union J – You Got It All

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Union J have released a music video for their new single You Got It All and it’s pretty perfect! The track was written by Magic! frontman Nasri and the moody black and white visuals were directed by Frank Borin.

(To watch this video in Creation 5, just tap here.)

Union J are: JJ Hamblett, Jaymi Hensley, Josh Cuthbert and George Shelley, “It’s the ultimate big ballad and it takes us back to our vocal roots. As the weather turns colder it the perfect song for us to lead through to the winter,” they commented when sharing the track.

You Got It All is the group’s latest single and follows on from their top 10 hit Tonight (We Live Forever). It will appear on their forthcoming album which is coming soon – no release date yet – and promises to be exciting as they have been working with songwriters Jamie Scott (One Direction, The Vamps, 5SOS), Red Triangle (Little Mix, One Direction) and Eric Frederic (Jason Derulo, Cee Lo Green). The single will be officially released on November 30, although you can pre-order it now.

The boys are definitely doing something right – their tour with The Vamps next year sold out the O2 in London in an incredible 44 minutes!

Gwen Stefani – Baby Don’t Lie

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Gwen Stefani has just released her solo comeback single Baby Don’t Lie and the music video is a kaleidoscopic mix of funky shapes and loud colors, very trippy! The single was previewed on last night’s episode of The Voice before the music video was released. Directed by Sophie Miller and Weirdcore (Aphex Twin visuals), it’s best just to sit back, relax and surf on the neon pink and yellow waves with Gwen’s soothing lyrics to complete the dreamscape.

(To watch this video in Creation 5, just tap here.)

It might have been a boring video to make – think green screen – but it’s certainly not boring to watch! You see Stefani strutting down a morphing yellow road where a dance troupe join her and jazz things up a little more. The checkered angular mountains, the neon washes of pink and yellow and the strange dancing partners tell us that Stefani is definitely not on planet earth! The glitchy visuals are right on trend as well, glitch art is very fashionable these days (the aestheticization of digital or analog errors).

Stefani’s manager, Irving Azoff, said that the singer has been in Miami “recording new tracks” with Voice co-star Pharrell Williams. Interscope chairman John Janick commented to Billboard that Stefani is aiming for a December release date on her new solo album, the first since 2006’s The Sweet Escape.

Baby Don’t Lie was released through Mad Love/Interscope and features Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder and Noel Zancanella as producers.