Author: SKYNEWS

Professor Brian Cox has joined his former D:Ream bandmates on stage at Glastonbury to perform the track that became a defining political anthem of the 1990s – and seemingly again this year after its re-emergence ahead of the general election.The TV physicist received rapturous applause from the crowd at the festival’s Glade Stage as he was brought on by frontman Peter Cunnah, providing his musical expertise on keyboards once again for sleeper hit Things Can Only Get Better. Following its release in 1993, the song topped the charts after a remix the following year. But it was in 1997 that…

Damon Albarn has made a surprise appearance at Glastonbury – addressing politics and the Israel-Hamas war as he turned up on stage to perform with Bombay Bicycle Club.The band performed on the Other Stage this afternoon, ahead of artists including Anne-Marie, D-Block Europe and Idles. Blur and Gorillaz star Albarn features on Bombay Bicycle Club’s 2023 song Heaven, and speculation he would join them had been rife ahead of their Glastonbury set.They had teased a special guest, without revealing a name, and the @secretglasto Twitter account hinted beforehand that the mystery artist “could make Bombay Bicycle Club’s set go by…

The owners of Cineworld are leaning towards putting its British operations through a formal restructuring process after holding initial talks about a sale with prospective buyers.Sky News has learnt that the cinema chain and its advisers at AlixPartners have begun formally exploring a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) – a mechanism widely used by retailers and restaurant chains during the COVID pandemic to close stores and slash rents. The details of a potential Cineworld CVA are still to be determined, with no visibility yet about any site closures or rent negotiations with landlords.However, one insider said that an insolvency mechanism such…

James Golding was once one half of a unicycling camel at Glastonbury. He also appeared on the Pyramid Stage with The Levellers in 1992, and has a story about how he and his former partner one year convinced everyone, press included, that she was Debbie Harry.Having been to every festival for the last 40 years, this is the go-to man for a Glastonbury anecdote.As a New Age traveller who hitchhiked from North Wales to Somerset and first jumped the fence in 1985, he is now very much part of the furniture – a chainsaw sculptor by day, he even makes…

An expert on the Post Office Horizon IT systems has denied suggestions he was “protecting the monster” in evidence he gave to the trial of a sub-postmaster who was wrongly convicted while pregnant.Former senior Fujitsu engineer Gareth Jenkins told the Post Office Inquiry he did not hide glitches in the branch accounting system at the trial of Seema Misra in 2010 – widely seen as a crucial test case at the time. Mrs Misra was jailed for 15 months on the back of his evidence as an expert witness.On his fourth day in the witness box at the inquiry, Mr…

“Well, you didn’t think we were gonna let you down, did you?”So said Jarvis Cocker as he addressed the enormous crowd at Glastonbury’s Park stage in 2011; thousands and thousands of people stood in front of him to see perhaps the worst-kept secret in the festival’s history, and one of its greatest live music experiences. The speculation that the then newly reformed Pulp would play the surprise set that day – after Radiohead the previous day, no less – had grown so intense that latecomers reportedly had to be turned away, such was demand.Beyonce, Coldplay and U2 headlined that year,…

A total of 27 Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested on suspicion of planning to disrupt airports this summer, the Metropolitan Police has said.The arrests were made in London, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Devon, Essex, Manchester, Surrey, Sussex, Norfolk and West Yorkshire. “Among those held were several high-profile members of Just Stop Oil who we believe to be key organisers,” the force said.Four people were arrested on Tuesday after being identified at Gatwick Airport and have since been released on bail.On Thursday, six more people were arrested at an east London community centre “as part of a publicly-advertised event promoting airport…

Pearl Jam have cancelled their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium gig on the eve of the event because of “illness in the band”.Fronted by Eddie Vedder, they were due to play the London stadium on Saturday but said in a statement on Friday on Instagram that there was “no other option” but to cancel. Tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase, and stadium officials said the concert will not be rescheduled “despite best efforts”.Standing tickets for the gig on the Dark Matter Tour, which sees the band supported by former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft and Irish indie rockers The Murder…

The government’s sale of its stake in NatWest Group will reach a new milestone in the coming days when it falls below the threshold at which the Treasury is treated as a related party under stock exchange rules.Sky News can reveal the taxpayer’s shareholding in the high street lender is likely to be reduced below 20% at some point next week – and possibly on the day of the general election. Under proposed changes to UK listing rules expected to be adopted later this year, the classification of related parties is to be raised from a 10% shareholding to 20%.Money…

Michael Jackson was more than $500m (£395.3m) in debt when he died in 2009, new court documents allege.The King of Pop was in a deep financial hole when he died aged 50 of acute propofol intoxication, according to a petition the executors of his estate filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court and seen by Sky’s US partner network NBC News. “At the time of Michael Jackson’s death, Michael Jackson’s most significant assets were subject to more than $500 million of debt and creditors’ claims, with some of the debt accruing interest at extremely high interest rates, and some debt…