Keyboardist Kooper Almost A Rolling Stone

Al Kooper told the British magazine Word that he had a little voice inside his head not to join the Rolling Stones. He was offered Mick Taylor's spot back in 1974 by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards but he turned it down over fear of the band's reputation.

"I had this flash that said, 'Don't do it, you'll never get on with Mick and Keith musically because you're heading in a different direction'. There's the thing. There's the crossroads. If I'd turned left I'd have been a multi-millionaire Rolling Stone...and dead."

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Supergrass members form band with Radiohead producer

Supergrass' Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey have joined forces with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich for a new side-project.

The trio are working on a covers album and record under the moniker The Hot Rats. They are working on songs by The Kinks, Gang Of Four, Syd Barrett, Roxy Music and the Sex Pistols.

The Hot Rats plan to release their debut album in the autumn.

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Bloc Party to release all-new single in August

'One More Chance' doesn't appear on any previous albums

Bloc Party are set to release a new single unavailable on any formats before on August 10.

Non-album track 'One More Chance' was recorded with producer Jacknife Lee, who produced the band's latest album, 2008's 'Intimacy', alongside Paul Epworth, and was mixed by Phillipe Zdar of Cassius.

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Charlatans ponder special debut album gig

Tim Burgess wants to play 'Some Friendly' in its entirety

The Charlatans have revealed that they're considering playing a special gig to mark the 20th anniversary of their 1990 debut album 'Some Friendly'.

The band are hoping to play the album in its entirety providing singer Tim Burgess can persuade his bandmates.

He told Absolute Radio: "We are thinking about that [playing the album live]. It's kind of up in the air at the moment.

"Not everyone in the band wants to do it, it's very rarely that we all agree on everything."

The band are also lining up a special 20th anniversary edition of their debut - although they are yet to announce release details.

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Santigold starts work on new album with Pharrell Williams

Singer hits the studio for new effort

Santigold has started work on the follow-up to her 2008 self-titled debut album with producer Pharrell Williams.

The singer told NYLON that she had enlisted Williams as well as Diplo and Switch, who worked on her debut, and rap/dance outfit Spank Rock on production duties on the album.