Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds have finally released the much-talked-about Robert Smith remix of their lead single, ‘Pretty Boy’.
Gallagher had previously teased that he’d spent some time with The Cure frontman both inside and outside of the studio in the lead-up to this new album, Council Skies, revealing that the fellow alt-rock and Britpop icon had even done his own twist on ‘Pretty Boy’, which released back in October 2022.
Speaking to Radio X in January, the former Oasis man told Dan O’Connell he doesn’t usually go for collaborations, at least not on his own music, but after noting that the track sounds like The Cure, he simply asked himself: “wonder if [Smith] does remixes… wonder how easy it’d be to get hold of him?”
Cut to just a couple of emails later, “it turns out it wasn’t that difficult” and before he knew it, he had a song with The Smiths’ Johnny Marr playing the guitar and remixed by Robert Smith. Two British rock legends for the price of one.
As Noel went on to explain, Smith “loved” the track and while he may have thought achieved a ‘Cure-esque’ vibe on the first attempt, he admitted that “the remix sounds exactly like The Cure”.
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The 55-year-old singer-songwriter insisted that he’d “been fan of The Cure since [he] was at school” and that he’d recently seen them perform an “amazing” set at Wembley arena, reiterating: “they’re very, very good”.
He called Robert Smith simply a “lovely man” and as for the Blackpool-born musician himself, as it happens, he had similarly positive things to say about Noel and ‘Pretty Boy’ too.
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Speaking in a statement released shortly after the remix dropped, the 63-year-old said: “I was surprised and delighted when Noel asked me to remix this gorgeous song, and I had a lot of fun slowing it down and spacing it out”.
You can listen to Robert Smith’s remix of ‘Pretty Boy’ in full below:
We think we might prefer the remix — no offence, Noel.
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He went on to detail how “Cure drummer Jason Cooper gave [him] a great vibey drum track to play along with – and the rest just phased into place under the starry sky of my distant moon…” Never has there been a more Robert Smith sentence uttered.
Featured Image — Noel Gallagher/Robert Smith (via IG)/Wikimedia Commons
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Rochdale Feel Good Festival announces headliners with MAJOR 90s act
Thomas Melia
The highly-anticipated Rochdale Feel Good Festival is returning to Rochdale Town Hall for a night of impressive live music.
Summer is fast approaching and one way the residents of Greater Manchester town Rochdale know this is the line-up for its major outdoor festival has just been released.
The festival has been running since 2007, taking place right outside the distinctive Rochdale Town Hall , this will be the shows grand return since its massive renovation.
This town centre music celebration is known for drawing in some of music’s biggest names like Cast, Scouting For Girls, Razorlight and most recently Heather Small.
Rochdale Feel Good Festival is coming to the main stage at Rochdale Town Hall this summer / Credit: Press Shots (Supplied)
Rochdale Feel Good Festival has continued this streak of securing some big pop stars and this time is no different as they’ve bagged a major 90s act with some equally notable bands on the line-up too.
Topping the bill is legendary pop-soul artist Gabrielle, known for chart-topping hits like ‘Dreams’ and ‘Rise’ as well as ‘If You Ever’, ‘Out Of Reach’ and ‘Sunshine’.
This phenomenal UK act has seen her 1999 LP Rise and 2001 compilation album Dreams Can Come TrueVol. 1 get certified platinum not once but four times.
Gabrielle is headlining Rochdale Feel Good Festival on Saturday 8 August / Credit: Press Shot (Supplied)
Gabrielle might be more familiar with Rochdale than we think, as she recently collaborated with Middleton born singer-songwriter for his single ‘Sad Song’.
Also announced is indie-rock band Ash, who have seen similar chart success by achieving 18 UK Top 40 hits such as ‘Oh Yeah’, ‘Shining Light’ and ‘Goldfinger’.
Another act joining the main stage is critically-acclaimed rock band Starsailor and with tunes like ‘Alcoholic’ and ‘Silence Is Easy’ it’s about to be a stellar night of performances.
Recognised rock bands Ash and Starsailor are also joining the line-up for Rochdale Feel Good Festival Credit: Press Shots (Supplied)
If that wasn’t enough to tempt you, Rochdale Feel Good Festival will be announcing more acts in the next few weeks making this line-up one of the best yet.
Rochdale Feel Good Festival is coming to the main stage at Rochdale Town Hall on Saturday 8 August with Gabrielle, Ash, Starsailor and more acts to follow – tickets and more info HERE.
Featured Images – Rochdale Borough Council / Press Shots (Supplied)
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Myles Smith announces HUGE arena gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Singer-songwriter Myles Smith has just announced his biggest headline tour and is set to play a huge arena gig in Manchester this year.
Quit ‘Stargazing’ and get ready to fight for tickets as Myles Smith has just announced he’ll be visiting Manchester later this year for his biggest arena gig to date.
Known for hits like ‘Nice To Meet You’, ‘Stay (If You Wanna Dance)’ and ‘Wait For You’, this BRIT School graduate is now heading on the road for some headline shows across the UK.
Recognised for his folk-pop sound, Smith has built quite a name for himself just three or so years into his career, with solo efforts and a few collaborations under his belt.
Myles Smith is heading to Co-op Live, Manchester, on tour this year / Credit: Press shots (supplied)
Recently, the Luton-born artist collaborated with some well-known names like Shaboozey on their track ‘Blink Twice’ and even features on a new single from former One Direction member Niall Horan titled ‘Drive Safe’.
It was only last year that the ‘Stargazing’ songwriter visited the music capital of the North, bringing his high-energy hits to Manchester Academy back in February.
The star visited Manchester a second time, too, playing at the Co-op Live alongside some of music’s biggest names for Hits Radio Live back in November.
Now, Smith is ready to take to the Co-op Live stage again and is expected to raise the roof when 23,500 fans flock to the star’s show this winter.
Titled after his upcoming album My Mess, My Life, My Heart, Smith will be playing a variety of well-known and brand new hits when he makes his way up North.
Co-op members and fans who are signed up to the official artist presale can get exclusive access to tickets from Wednesday, 25 March at 10am, with the window closing on Friday, 27 March at 9am.
Meanwhile, general admission tickets go live by 10 am that same Friday (27 Mar).
Myles Smith is embarking on his ‘My Mess, My Life, My Heart’ tour this winter and visiting Co-op Live, Manchester on Sunday 15 November – tickets and more info HERE.