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Yungblud reveals legendary rock act lined up for his huge new festival Bludfest
Bludfest will be a one-day event on August 11 at the Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire
THE spirit of rock was in the air on Monday night after Yungblud promised his fans an exciting announcement.
They turned up in their thousands to hear what he had to say, with people queuing almost half a mile down the road to get into North London’s trendy Camden Market.
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And they weren’t disappointed, after the punk rocker announced his very own festival, Bludfest, a one-day event on August 11 at the Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire.
With their screams ringing in my ears after he put on a free show for those lucky enough to get into the venue, Yungblud, real name Dominic Harrison, invited me backstage for a chat about his plans.
And there is no doubt, this man is on a mission.
Yungblud said: “I want Bludfest to happen annually and then I want to go global.
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“My goal is to get The Cure for 2025. Or The Smashing Pumpkins. One of those two.
“I spoke to (Cure frontman) Robert Smith and he couldn’t make it happen with The Cure this year but they all love the idea. And (Smashing Pumpkins’) Billy Corgan, I love, he is sick.”
As well as performing at the event, Yungblud has been doing all the legwork for it too.
He added: “I am doing all the bookings myself. I’ve been calling up, emailing. I have a team around me that are mad enough to go with it.
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“I came up with the idea at Christmas. I was thinking about what is the next logical step for us and it’s the first time I’ve ever taken a beat.
“I’ve been on the road since I was 17 and I’m 26 now. It’s the first time I’ve gone inside my head and thought, ‘What do you want to do?’
YUNGBLUD - teresa
“I want to f***ing shake it up a bit. I want it to be different. This festival is about unity. F*** genre and f*** limitations. We are so caged by the festival circuit in this country. I am a pretty established artist and you’ve got to suck its d. I’m like, ‘F *** that’.
“It’s not representative, the tickets are too expensive, they are forgetting about the people and that doesn’t fly with me.
“Our tickets are £49.50 plus fees for seven acts.”
Headliners for this year’s event include punk legends The Damned, Nessa Barrett and Lil Yachty, who teamed up with Yungblud on his latest track When We Die (Can We Still Get High?).
Tickets are set to go on sale on Friday.
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Our conversation was punctuated by screams from the fans outside with Yungblud grinning as he heard them shouting out to him.
His devoted — and growing — fan base is a mixture of old and young, something he admitted is very important to him.
He said: “Yungblud is about inclusivity and there are no divisions here. The system at the minute does not reflect the cost-of-living crisis, it does not reflect the bulls*** that is going on in this industry.
“It’s an outdated, corporate system that serves the man. And f*** that. It’s time to shake it up.”
Most importantly though, I asked, will the pints be cheaper than Glastonbury, where San Miguel was £6.80 a pop?
“I f***ing hope so,” he said with a grin. “If not, I’m up for a f***ng fight.”
I don’t doubt that one bit. But I can’t see anyone wanting to stand in his way.
ARIANA'S BIG BILL FOR SPLIT
ARIANA Grande's divorce from estate agent Dalton Gomez has been finalised – and it’s costing her an arm and a leg.
The Thank U, Next singer has made a one-off payment of £980,000 to Dalton and will cough up £19,000 of his legal fees.
Luckily for Ari, the payment won’t make too much of a dent in the millions she’ll make from her new album Eternal Sunshine.
She wrote about their break-up on the record and said her track We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) only took her 20 minutes to write.
Producer Ilya Salmanzadeh shared texts from the singer on Instagram after he sent her the melody for the track, which is at No3 in the singles chart.
In the messages, Ari wrote: “I was in my kitchen freaking out”, prompting him to reply: “And 20 minutes later you sent a version with lyrics.”
That’s not too bad for less than half an hour’s work.
BEYONCE GALLOPS UP CHART
SHE’S been riding high at the No1 spot on the singles chart for a month with Texas Hold ’Em – and now Beyonce is back on the horse to promote her upcoming album, Cowboy Carter.
The superstar has this red, white and blue leather jumpsuit with a sash with the record’s name on in the spectacular cover art.
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In a rare statement, Beyonce explained the album was born out of feeling unwelcome in the country music world.
Referencing her success in the US, Bey said: “I feel honoured to be the first black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart.
“My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.
“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed – and it was very clear that I wasn’t.
“But because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
Teasing the album, which is said to include a cover of Dolly Parton classic Jolene, Beyonce added: “I have a few surprises on the album and have collaborated with some brilliant artists.
“I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound.
“This ain’t a country album. This is a Beyonce album.”
Cowboy Carter is the second in a trilogy and, given her last collection Renaissance went straight to No1, I have no doubt this follow-up will do exactly the same.
A world tour, including more UK stadium shows, has also been tipped for this summer.
You can bet we will be there front and centre in our cowboy hats.
ANASTACIA $3K SHOES GET BOOT
GIVEN the number of ASOS return bags around our desks, we know all too well how easy it is to regret splashing the cash .
And it turns out Anastacia is exactly the same.
During her BBC Radio 2 Piano Room performance due today, she tells host Vernon Kay how she spent £2,300 on a pair of shoes from a posh New York department store with her first major music pay cheque – before freaking out.
The I’m Outta Love singer, below with Vernon, said: “I bought three pairs of shoes. One pair was $3,000. I thought I had bought a Ferrari. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m never gonna take them off!’ and then I brought them back.
“I was like, who the heck needs to have $3,000 shoes? They’re not that comfortable’.”
Anastacia is due to sing some of her classics on Radio 2 from 9.30am. You will be able to watch it back on BBC iPlayer.
It’s not to be missed.
ONE SMASH HIT TOO FAR, DUA
DUA LIPA has been properly suffering for her art.
The Houdini singer had to book in for an emergency MRI scan after hitting her head backstage during a quick costume change while Stateside in Detroit on her Future Nostalgia tour.
Dua said: “In the first half of my tour I’d have this lift that would take me up to the top of the stage then bring me down so I could change before the next act.
“One night it didn’t go all the way down. I was in such a rush and as I opened the door I smacked my head into the stage. I was so discombobulated.”
On Drag Queen Trixie Mattel’s YouTube channel, Dua added: “I quickly did my outfit change then I ran back out on stage, and I was performing, and I forgot my words, ’cos I was so concussed.
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“The next day, I was like, ‘I’m gonna go get an MRI’ because I was feeling bananas.”
I’m just as clumsy as Dua, so I do feel her pain.
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