Fronted by AntiProduct bassist and current Sisters Of Mercy live guitarist Chris Catalyst, Eureka Machines formed in 2007 and played their first ever gig with ¡Forward, Russia! at the request of frontman Whiskas, before being dragged around the country by The Wildhearts, at the request of that band's frontman, Ginger. Performances at Reading and Leeds and airplay on Radio 1, Radio 2, 6music and Xfm followed, stirring up excitement for the band's debut album, 'Do Or Die', which was released by much-loved Leeds indie label Wrath Records last October. They release a new single, 'Everyone Loves You', which is taken from that album, on 4 May.

Chris told CMU about the inspiration for 'Do Or Die': "Spending a whole lot of time not really doing very much and thinking 'maybe I should do something'. I realised recently it's essentially a musical version of 'Why Don't You (Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go and Do Something Less Boring Instead?)'. You just wait for the next album - a 72 minute prog-metal opera based on 'Geordie Racer'!"

You can read the full SSQ interview with Chris here

San Diego four piece The Donkeys operate chilled out summer jams ideal for the mid afternoon festival slot. 'Lower The Heavens' would certainly fit in perfectly, a grooving instrumental with reams of Fugazi-aping guitar that ends up redolent of Electrelane's final album (obviously minus the vocals). Flitting from this to 'In The Morning' and 'Nice Train' and your hitting territory somewhere between My Morning Jacket and the chirpiness of The Shins, however - blissful and simplistic, and tremendously difficult not to fall for.

www.myspace.com/thedonkeys

Trois-strikes is back people. Yes, less than a month after French opposition MPs sneakily took advantage of a low pre-Easter turn out in the country's parliament to bump government proposals for new rules regarding copyright online, including the introduction of the much discussed three-strike system (illegal file-sharers get two warning letters, then lose their internet), was reintroduced in the French legislature yesterday.

As previously reported, the French parliament's upper chamber, the Senate, had already passed the proposed new laws, and the lower house, the Assembly, had voted in favour of most of the individual provisions within it. However, when the Assembly voted on the new legislation as a whole a low turnout of government supporting MPs led to the proposals being defeated. They will now have to be approved by both Senate and Assembly anew.

The French government are committed to forcing their 'Creation And Internet' laws, including the three-strikes system, through both chambers of parliament this time. However, the Easter defeat, while in theory just a delay, has given a boost to those groups who oppose the proposals, and who now claim that even some MPs within the ruling UMP party, who have drafted the proposals, are nervous about some of the provisions, in particular the three-strikes system.

The delay also means the final vote in the French parliament will now come after a recent vote in the European Parliament which passed an amendment to new European telecom regulations, which were originally drafted to support the three-strikes system, but which will now say "no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users without a prior ruling of the judicial authorities".

The whole point of the three-strike system is that content owners can tackle online piracy without having to take every suspected file-sharer to court. Individual file-sharer lawsuits are time-consuming and normally result in nominal damages being awarded, and the existence of such civil action by content owners has not proven to be a deterrent to other file-sharers. The three-strike system, which would be administered (in France anyway) by a government agency rather than a court, would give content owners a quicker, simpler and cheaper way to target persistent file-sharers and the threat of disconnection could possibly prove to be a bigger deterrent.

But some would argue that any system that cuts off an individual's net access without a court hearing would breach the aforementioned European telecoms regulation. Certainly the MEP who proposed the amendment, Guy Bono, reckons it would, and he is quoted as saying that the new Euro-rule ends all ambitions for a three-strike system being introduced in any European Union jurisdiction.

But the UMP party in France thinks otherwise, and President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been a big personal supporter of the 'Creation And Internet' proposals, has reportedly said he plans to have the new laws passed by his country's parliament by 14 May.

The content industries, meanwhile, continue to talk in support of Sarkozy and his 'Creation And Internet' laws. A group of music and movie companies have issued a statement calling on the French parliament to not get "abused by those who brandish a threat on liberties in front of a text which is mainly educational, preventive and dissuasive", while the national board of the Directors Guild Of America have "unanimously passed a resolution in support of France's 'Creation And Internet' law, which seeks to combat the growing problem of digital piracy through an education and warning system that would ultimately result in a temporary discontinuation of internet service for those people who repeatedly upload or download content illegally".

Manic Street Preacher Nicky Wire has said The Horrors remind him of his band circa the mid-nineties, around about the release of 'The Holy Bible'. Wire was talking about the XL-signed five piece in an interview with The Quietus because they have remixed the Manic's upcoming new single 'Doors Closing Slowly'.

Calling The Horrors' new album 'Primary Colours' his album of the year, Wire said: "They just follow their own path. I mean I liked them initially because they were a bit like us and were portrayed as the cartoon band with spiky hair and eyeliner, which I always love anyway. Now they're a bit like us when we recorded 'The Holy Bible', they just locked themselves away, they haven't listened to anyone and they've come out with this album which really stands out".

Both 'Primary Colours' and the Manic's new long player 'Journal for Plague Lovers' are out next month. The Manics interviews goes online on The Quietus today.

Rihanna shall have her jewels, so that's nice. Not that they were hers to start with. Prosecutors preparing the case against Rihanna's ex-boyfriend and beater Chris Brown have said they will return various items of jewellery which the songstress was wearing the night her other half beat her up.

They had been holding on to the jewellery, worth an estimated $1.4 million, as evidence, but the singer asked for it to be returned, mainly because she'd borrowed it for the pre-Grammy party she'd attended before her altercation with Brown, and was keen to return it to its actual owners.

Prosecutors yesterday said they'd photograph the jewellery in case they needed it in their court case against Brown, and would then return it to Rihanna. Her lawyer, Donald Etra, welcomed the decision, telling reporters: "Rihanna just wants the owners to get their goods back".

Elsewhere in Rihanna/Brown news, the latter's lawyer, Mark Geragos (who you might remember as Michael Jackson's legal man in the earlier stages of his child abuse case) has said he plans to file a motion in court to get his hands on the LAPD's files relating to his client's case, which, he reckons, will help him better defend the alleged R&B wifebeater. It's also thought he'll be looking for possible police misconduct in the investigation into the Rihanna/Brown fracas.

Etra, meanwhile, again said this week his client would testify if asked to do so, though added that she was hoping the case could be resolved without a trial, presumably through some kind of plea deal.

Prince doesn't give interviews very often, but they're always worth the wait. This week the musician and Jehovah's Witness appeared on US talk show 'Tavis Smiley' and revealed that an angel cured him of epilepsy when he was a child.

He said: "My mother and father didn't know what to do or how to handle [my epilepsy] but they did the best they could with what little they had. My mother told me that one day I walked in to her and said, 'Mum, I'm not going to be sick anymore'. She said 'Why?' and I said 'Because an angel told me so'. Now, I don't remember saying it, that's just what she told me".

Prince alludes to this in his 1992 song 'The Sacrifice Of Victor', which contains the line "Epileptic 'til the age of seven". In the lyric sheet the word "true" is printed backwards next to this line.

Keith Duffy of Boyzone has had an emergency procedure to fix a double hernia, just days after completing the London Marathon. According to the group's website, the 34 year old singer and actor has been advised to rest following surgery at a Dublin hospital, but will be well enough to join the rest of the band for their upcoming reunion tour, which begins on 25 May.

Duffy, who spent a long while appearing in Coronation Street after the band's initial demise, finished the marathon in 3h54m, twenty or so minutes ahead of his bandmate Ronan Keating, who also completed the course, in 4h15m.

Country singer and songwriter Vern Gosdin has died in Nashville at the age of 74. He had recently suffered a stroke.

Gosdin, nicknamed 'The Voice' because of his rich baritone, was born in Woodland, Alabama, to a musical family who were known as such for their radio show, the 'Gosdin Family Gospel Hour'. Vern and his brother Rex moved to California in the early sixties, performing with bluegrass group the Golden State Boys, before deciding to perform together as The Gosdin Boys. They achieved moderate chart success, and often performed with and opened for The Byrds, the band's Chris Hillman having been a member of the aforementioned Golden State Boys.

In the late sixties and early seventies Gosdin left the music industry, but came back to it in 1976 when he signed to Elektra Records, kicking off a solo career that saw him chart a string of 41 singles and eight albums through a number of different labels, his final studio album appearing in 1993.

I knew Capital FM's plans to launch a Summertime Ball could only lead to something sinister, and I was right. Blue are going to reform to play the event. Yeah, like we need that. And not only will the tedious foursome warble their tunes at the London party on 7 Jun, they're also refusing to deny plans to record new material together later in the year. Blue man Simon Webbe simply told reporters: "We don't want to give anything away". The Ball, by the way, is Capital FM's first major live event since it quietly pulled the Party In The Park in 2006. If you're visioning ball gowns, chandeliers and waltzes, you probably should remember it's being held at the Arsenal football stadium. And Blue are headlining.

Talking of pop reunions, the Blazin Squad are back, oh yes. Which is both happy and sad news, of course, because those of us with our fingers crossed for a second Friday Hill album are now almost certainly going to be disappointed.

For those of you who haven't been following the Squad as closely as you perhaps should have been, the former ten-piece had a go at making it with just four members in 2006 after three of the original line up, let's call them Karl, Keith and Kenzie, left to form the aforementioned Friday Hill, and another three, let's call them Bob, Bill and Benjamin, just left. All ten of the Squad then appeared at some nostalgic (for 2003) live shows last year, but the latest incarnation consists of just five of the original line up, the aforementioned Karl, Keith and Kenzie, along with Bob and one other. He's called Marcel.

The five hangers on have recorded a new song, the aptly titled 'Let's Start Again', and it's scheduled for a 1 Jun release. You can check it out here.

EMI's Virgin US division have re-signed LA rockers 30 Seconds To Mars, who count actor Jared Leto among their number, of course.

The deal is interesting because EMI last year sued the band claiming they were in breach of their original recording contract for failing to provide three original albums. The specifics of the new deal between the major and the band are not known, though the lawsuit has been dropped.

Confirming the new deal, EMI's A&R chief Nick Gatfield told reporters: "We are thrilled to have set aside our differences and signed a new agreement with 30 Seconds To Mars".

Hotly-tipped new boy on the block Frankmusik has claimed via Twitter that he's producing Cheryl Cole's solo album, which, you know, might be true. Or it might turn out to be like when Calvin Harris announced that he was supporting Michael Jackson. Everyone knows that David Copperfield is supporting Michael Jackson with a special magic show.

Anyway, here's what Frankmusik said: "I want to make a lady out of GaGa. Talking to people who only fill me with a terrifying sense of what I could have been, I am producing Cheryl Cole's solo album!"

According to The Sun, Coldplay's new material is heading in more of a dance direction. Apparently drummer Will Champion has bought a drum machine and is now "pushing it to its limits". A source told the tabloid: "His most recent offering is turbo-charged, to say the least, but the lads have been having a great time working with it".

Another song is apparently being written in the 7/4 time signature. The source claims that it's "only the most adventurous of jazz people who compose anything with such an irregular beat" but that's bullshit.

Cornershop will return with their first album since 2002 this year. The first taste of the as-yet-untitled LP will come with a single, entitled 'The Roll-Off Characteristics (Of History In The Making)', on 25 May. They'll also be touring. I walked past Tjinder Singh in the street recently. That's not really relevant to this story, though.

Tour dates:

25 Jul: Oxford, OA2
27 Jul: Manchester, Moho
28 Jul: Bristol, Thekla
29 Jul: London, Heaven
31 Jul: Birmingham, BA2
1 Aug: Liverpool, LA2

Seminal shoegazers Loop are set to re-release the final two albums from their long out of print back catalogue this summer. 'A Guilded Eternity' and singles and b-sides compilation 'The World In Your Eyes' will hit shelves on 1 Jun, courtesy of the Reactor label, remastered and packed with extra tracks.

Note to readers: You need these.

Here are the tracklistings...

A Gilded Eternity Disc 1:
Vapour
Afterglow
The Nail Will Burn
Blood
Breathe Into Me
From Centre To Wave
Be Here Now

A Gilded Eternity Disc 2:
The Nail Will Burn (Burn Out) (Free 7" version)
Shot With A Diamond (Free 7" version)
From Centre To Wave (Peel Session)
Afterglow (Peel Session)
Sunburst (Peel Session)
Arc-Lite (House In The Woods Demo version)
Breathe Into Me (House In The Woods Demo version)
Vapour (House In The Woods Demo version)
The Nail Will Burn (House In The Woods Demo version)
Be Here Now (House In The Woods Demo version)

The World In Your Eyes Disc 1:
16 Dreams
Head On
Burning World
Spinning (Parts 1&2)
Brittle Head Girl
Deep Hit
I'll Take You There
Brittle Head Girl (House In The Woods Demo version)
Burning World (House In The Woods Demo version)
Spinning (Spun Out) (From the Good Feeling compilation)

The World In Your Eyes Disc 2:
Collision
Crawling Heart
Thief Of Fire
Thief (Motherfucker)
Black Sun
Circle grave
Mother Sky
Pink Moon (From the Nick Drake / Neil Young covers compilation)
Cinnamon Girl (From the Nick Drake / Neil Young covers compilation)

The World In Your Eyes Disc 1:
Arc-Lite (Sonar)
Arc-Lite (Radar) (Daniel Miller Remix)
Sunburst
Arc-Lite (Radiated) (Daniel Miller Remix)
Afterglow (From the Prisma Uber Europa Promo Live 12" version)
Got To Get It Over (From the Prisma Uber Europa Promo Live 12" version)
Burning World (From the Prisma Uber Europa Promo Live 12" version)
Like Rats (Loopflesh) (From the Loop / Godflesh split single)

If you're going to put together an anniversary compilation for a genre that had no discernible starting point and didn't really exist anyway, it would be weird not to include the two bands who were inexplicably the figureheads of it. But that's what Universal have done with 'Common People', a new three disc compilation celebrating the 15th anniversary of Britpop. Although there is actually some quite good stuff on it, Blur and Oasis are nowhere to be seen. The controversy!

Here's yet another incredibly lengthy tracklist:

Disc 1:
The Auteurs - Lenny Valentino
Elastica - Stutter
Gene - Be My Light Be My Guide
Stone Roses - Love Spreads
James - Laid
Dodgy - Staying Out For The Summer
Saint Etienne - You're In A Bad Way
Dubstar - Stars
Blake Grape - In The Name Of The Father
Duffy - London Girls'
Marion - Sleep
These Animal Men - Speeed King
SMASH - Shame
Cast - Alright
Bluetones - Slight Return
Perfume - Lover
Boo Radleys - Wake Up Boo
Menswe@r - Daydreamer

Disc 2:
Pulp - Common People
Supergrass - Alright
Sleeper - Inbetweener
Echobelly - Great Things
Powder - Afrodisiac
Northern Uproar - Rollercoaster
Paul Weller - Thechangingman
Divine Comedy - Something For The Weekend
Baby Bird - You're Gorgeous
My Life Story - 12 Reasons Why
Denim - It Fell Off The Back Of A Van
Kula Shaker - Tattva
Mansun - Wide Open Space
Salad - Drink The Elixir
Placebo - Nancy Boy
Longpigs - She Said
Ocean Colour Scene - Riverboat Song
Shed Seven - Chasing Rainbows

Disc 3:
Super Furry Animals - God! Show Me Magic
Suede - Trash
Kenickie - In Your Car
theaudience - A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed
Catatonia - Mulder & Scully
Space - Female Of The Species
Embrace - All You Good Good People
Gomez - Whippin' Piccadilly
Geneva - Into The Blue
Rialto - Monday Morning 5:19
Seahorses - Love Is The Law
Hurricane #1 - Step Into My World
Monaco - What Do You Want From Me
Spearmint - Sweeping The Nation
Lodger - Always Round Here
Earl Brutus - SAS And The Glam That Goes With It
Stereophonics - Bartender & The Thief
Gay Dad - Oh Jim

Jamie T is to release a new four track EP, 'Sticks and Stones', on 29 Jun, and will precede that with a UK tour. A new album is expected later in the year, but for now, here are those dates:

11 Jun: Leeds Cockpit
12 Jun: Cambridge Junction
13 Jun: Northampton Roadmender
14 Jun: Nottingham Rescue Rooms
16 Jun: Newcastle Stage 2
17 Jun: Aberdeen Moshulu
18 Jun: Edinburgh Studio 24
19 Jun: Coventry Kasbah
21 Jun: Bristol Thekla
23 Jun: Manchester Moho Live
24 Jun: London Electric Ballroom

SUMMER SERIES, Somerset House, 9-18 Jul: The Enemy are among the latest acts to be confirmed for this year's Somerset House Series, along with The Mars Volta, Bat For Lashes and Super Furry Animals. www.somersethouse.org.uk/music

GUILFEST, Stoke Park, Guildford, Surrey, 10-12 Jul: The Lightning Seeds have been confirmed to play Guilfest this summer, joining Motorhead, Brian Wilson and The Happy Mondays. The Hamsters will be joining the likes of We Are The Ocean, The Ghost of a Thousand, Hexes and Sharks for the Rock Cave stage, with Rusko, Pendulum and Chris Liberator performing in the Funky End Dance Tent. www.guilfest.co.uk

OXEGEN, Punchestown Racecourse, County Kildare, 10-12 Jul: Calvin Harris, The Noisettes, The Saw Doctors and Starsailor are the latest acts to be added to this year's Oxegen line up. Spinnerette, The Coronas, The Blizzards, The Answer, The Horrors and Iglu & Hartly have also been confirmed. www.oxegen.ie

SUPERSONIC, various venues, Birmingham, 26-28 Jul: 70's horror film soundtrackers (including 'Dawn Of The Dead') Goblin confirmed, joining acts including Head Of David (first show in 23 years), 65 Days of Static, Berg Sans Nipple, Caribou, Nancy Wallace, PRE, Scorn, Skullflower, Taint, Thorr's Hammer, Venetian Snares and zZz. www.supersonicfestival.com

SOUTH WEST FOUR, Clapham Common, 29 Aug: Richie Hawtin is the latest act to be added to the South West Four line up, joining previously confirmed Dubfire, Timo Mass, Steve Lawler and Layo & Bushwacka! www.southwestfour.com

END OF THE ROAD FESTIVAL, Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset, 11-13 Sep: Herman Dune, The Leisure Society, Bob Lind and First Aid Kit have all been confirmed for the Dorset event, along with David Thomas Broughton and Willbird And Peacedrums. Darren Hayman, Dirty Projectors, Iain Archer, Neko Case, Richmond Fontaine and Tiny Vipers are also set to perform. www.endoftheroadfestival.com

EXIT FESTIVAL, Petrovaradian Fortress, Novi Sad, Serbia, 9-12 Jul: Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, Moby, Manic Street Preachers, Kraftwerk, Madness, Korn, Grandmaster Flash, Patti Smith and The Prodigy are all set to play Exit's Main Stage this year. To celebrate a decade in dance, Exit have also announced back to back sets from Kissy Sell Out vs Alex Metric, Eric Prydz vs Adam Beyer, Carl Cox vs Green Velvet and Richie Hawtin vs Dubfire, plus many more. www.exitfest.org

HMV saw its year on year sales volume increase by 11.7% for the four months leading up to 25 Apr. You see, years of rejigging and revamping and rebranding, and all HMV bosses needed to do to turn round their business was push Zavvi over a cliff.

HMV boss Simon Fox admitted that his firm's good fortune in growing even its music sales, while CD sales continued to decline market wide, was much to do with "changes in our competitive landscape" since Christmas, the demise of Woolworths and Zavvi in particular, of course. He added that his team had been "working hard to take advantage of the opportunities arising from those changes".

Despite the temporary boost following their competitors' demise, Fox says that he recognises that his company's physical music sales will continue to decline, adding that his business plan accounts for an annual drop in CD sales of 10% per year for the foreseeable future. DVDs already amount for 50% of the entertainment retailer's business, and games are about to overtake music to be the second of the firm's three main products (music and gaming are currently more or less equal).

Though, of course, while DVDs and video games may help HMV overcome declining CD sales in the short term, as the digital delivery of movies and games starts to properly take off, physical DVD and gaming sales have a limited lifespan too. Which is why the retail chain are busy diversifying even further. In his financial report this week, Fox again noted his company's previously reported alliance with the MAMA Group, which took the retailer into the live music space, and also announced a new partnership with Orange which will see the mobile firm have a in-store presence in HMV shops, initially in fifteen stores, but potentially across the chain in due course.

The entertainment seller is also dabbling with cinema, having formed an alliance with independent film distributor Artificial Eye, who run the Curzon arthouse cinemas in London. The plan seems to be to put mini cinemas into some of the retailer's stores, piloting the venture in Wimbledon. Fox said yesterday: "We are really focused on opening our first one or two trial cinemas before we decide exactly the pace of rollout. Around 20 stores could have the capability to operate cinemas within a few years".

Which is all well and good, but what about recorded music, is that set to just become an occasional sideline for the iconic record shop brand? Well, Fox hopes not. He stressed that he is still very much interested in the digital music business - of course HMV do sell downloads via their website - though he didn't want to be drawn on what the future of digital music may be, or HMV's role in it. Admitting that he admires new streaming services like Spotify, he added: "Spotify and others are yet to be profitable. Our focus is to be profitable".

Digital distributor INgrooves has announced a new deal with Concorde Music owned classical and jazz label Telarc, which also includes the Heads Up label.

The US independent, which operates pretty autonomously from the rest of Concorde, represents a number of pretigious classical and jazz outfits, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Dave Brubeck, Michael Brecker, George Duke and Oscar Peterson.

INgrooves will digitally distribute the Telarc catalogue everywhere outside the North American market. INgrooves main man Robb McDaniels says: "Telarc and Heads Up have amassed an impressive slew of Grammy awards and are well regarded as two of the leading independent classical and jazz labels".