Author: SKYNEWS

From stars like The Beatles to Ed Sheeran, it is where they began.UK grassroots music venues have provided a platform to young music talent for decades. But these small, independent spaces are now closing at the rate of one per week.”Around 93% of UK grassroots music venues have got a private landlord,” says Jay Taylor from charity, Music Venue Trust. Image: Jay Taylor from the Music Venue Trust And that private landlord and the venues have got very different objectives. “Landlords want to collect rent: music venues want to champion artists,” he said.And those rents are increasing, year on year.…

Ian King welcomes in the new year by speaking to investment expert Russ Mould about the latest downturn in British manufacturing.He also discusses trading with the chief executive of the furniture retailer The Cotswold Company.And discount retailers Aldi and Lidl have posted record Christmas trading results.:: Listen and subscribe to The Ian King Business Podcast here. Source link

Women have dominated the UK’s music scene in 2023, spending the most weeks at number one in the official singles chart since its inception in 1952. A few familiar names and some new entrants featured in the UK Top 40 as women claimed a record-breaking 31 weeks at number one, according to British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the record industry’s trade association. Miley Cyrus led the way with her post-breakup song Flowers which stayed 10 weeks at the top of the charts, calculated by a combination of streaming and retail sales.Dave and Central Cee’s track Sprinter took second place but it…

HSBC has become the latest lender to cut mortgage rates amid predictions that more banks and building societies will follow suit in the coming weeks.The high street bank said its new deals will be introduced on Thursday. They will include a two-year fixed remortgage rate of 4.49% and a five-year deal of 3.94%. First Direct, a division of HSBC, is also set to announce mortgage rate cuts on Friday.A HSBC spokesperson said: “Our new fixed mortgage rates will see significant cuts across the board which will be a welcomed move.”Specifically, for customers wishing to remortgage, our rates will start from…

Jimmy Kimmel has threatened to take legal action against an American football player over suggestions the presenter’s name may appear on Jeffrey Epstein’s client list.Aaron Rodgers, a quarterback for the New York Jets, said on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday: “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn’t come out. “I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle,” Rodgers added. Image: Aaron Rodgers on the field after a New York Jets game on Christmas Eve Read more:What to know about the documentsThe list refers to…

Tube strikes will affect commuters over several days from 7 January as London Underground workers walk out over pay.A strike by Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) members is set to cause heavy disruption to Tube services until 12 January. Union members from various departments of London Underground will strike on different days, meaning there will be “little to no service” on strike days.The industrial action comes after RMT members voted against the latest pay offer of 5% at the end of last year.Transport for London (TfL) has urged passengers to only travel on the strike days if their journey…

I don’t go to many parties, but I was hardly going to turn down an invitation to one hosted by pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo.I know what you’re thinking… a “grown man” whose idea of cool is getting Lego for Christmas, hanging out with superfans of one of the hottest properties in music. Bad idea, right?Fortunately, this particular party didn’t even require me to leave the house, let alone dress up, have some drinks, and dance the night away with strangers.Instead, it’s the latest example of a music icon making their presence felt in the metaverse – an online space purists…

Two horror films and a video game featuring Mickey Mouse were announced just hours after Disney’s earliest versions of the cartoon character entered the public domain in the US.The copyright on Disney’s 1928 short film Steamboat Willie expired in the US on New Year’s Day, 95 years after it was released. It means the early versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse featured in the film – their first screen release – can be used without incurring a cost. Image: A poster for Steamboat Willie Pic: Snap/Shutterstock Mickey’s Mouse Trap, a slasher film that features imagery from Steamboat Willie, is expected…

A start-up which raised hundreds of millions of pounds to buy digital brands such as the children’s luggage manufacturer Trunki is itself exploring a sale.Sky News has learnt that Heroes, one of a breed of companies set up to acquire third-party Amazon Marketplace merchants, is working with bankers at Houlihan Lokey on options including an outright sale. Sources said on Wednesday that Heroes was working with its advisers to examine a range of options, and that it had approached a range of potential debt and equity investors.A sale of the company was not certain to be its shareholders’ preferred option,…

A teenager from Oklahoma appears to have become the first person to “beat” Tetris.Willie Gibson posted a video on YouTube which shows the moment when the classic video game crashes as he reaches level 157. The stunned 13-year-old gasps: “Oh my god … I’m going to pass out.””I can’t feel my fingers, I can’t feel my hands… I’m going to pass out,” Willie adds, as he tries to catch his breath. “I’m shaking so bad.”It took the teenager, who goes by the name blue scuti on YouTube, just 38 minutes to cause the game to crash – which has never…