Singer wins Mojo unsigned prize

14 July 2011 Last updated at 15:17 GMT Elinor Alicia's winning song was Kill the Fire (Here they Come) A 20-year-old singer from Moray has won a major competition to find the best unsigned singer-songwriter.

Elinor Alicia, of Rothes, was picked as the Mojo New Voice for 2011.

She was chosen after performing a live set in front of an invited audience and a judging panel made up of key figures in the music industry.

Elinor has recently been playing small gigs in the Liverpool area with her band Deafen the Creatures. Her song was Kill the Fire (Here they Come).

She said: "I had lost my faith in the music industry as I felt it had become cheap and simple.

"Entering the Glenfiddich Mojo New Voice competition however has helped me regain my love for music."

She wins coverage in Mojo magazine, a selection of music software, and career advice from industry insiders.

Mojo's editor in chief Phil Alexander said the response from young, unsigned artists was "phenomenal".

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Singer Annie Lennox collects OBE

28 June 2011 Last updated at 14:05 GMT Annie Lennox collects an OBE from the Queen. Video courtesy British Ceremonial Arts.

Singer Annie Lennox has collected an OBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace for her charity work fighting Aids and poverty in Africa.

The former Eurythmics singer, 56, said: "It's quite magical. It's really meaningful to me that it's for charity work.

"To get this acknowlegement means people are listening," she added following the investiture ceremony.

Lennox was accompanied by her daughters Tali and Lola.

"Campaigning has been taking up a great deal of my commitment for quite a few years, and what it means is that there's a significance to what I'm doing - I'm not just working in a void," said the star.

She added that she had been "so affected" by the issue of human rights, especially where women and girls in the developing world were concerned.

Lennox is an Oxfam ambassador and founded the Sing campaign to raise awareness of Aids in Africa.

Lennox's foundation of Sing in 2007 was inspired by Nelson Mandela to help children and women affected by the illness.

The musician is also a Unesco Goodwill Ambassador for Aids and a prominent peace activist.

Lennox has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide with the Eurythmics and as a solo artist.

The singer released her latest album in November - A Christmas Cornucopia - topping off three decades of UK chart hits.

She has collected the Best Female Singer title at the Brit Awards on six different occasions.

An exhibition of the life and inspirations of Lennox is set to go on show later this year.

The Aberdeen-born star will feature in a display at London's Victoria and Albert museum for five months from 15 September.

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Singer Glen Campbell has Alzheimer's

22 June 2011 Last updated at 21:07 GMT Glen Campbell performing These Days

US country music star Glen Campbell has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the 75-year-old and his wife have told People magazine.

Kim Campbell said if her husband "flubs a lyric or gets confused on stage", she wanted fans to know the reason.

Mr Campbell plans to retire from the music industry later this year with a series of farewell concerts.

The singer, diagnosed six months ago, is known for hits like Rhinestone Cowboy and Wichita Lineman.

"I still love making music, and I still love performing for my fans. I'd like to thank them for sticking with me through thick and thin," Mr Campbell said.

The Grammy Award winner, who will launch his final tour in October, said he was suffering from short-term memory loss for years, prior to his diagnosis.

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Coasters singer Carl Gardner dies

14 June 2011 Last updated at 10:41 GMT In 2005 Carl Garner retired as The Coasters lead singer and was succeeded by his son The Coasters lead singer Carl Gardner has died aged 83, it has been announced on the band's website.

The star passed away at a hospice in Florida. He had been suffering from congestive heart failure and dementia, his wife Vet said.

"He loved his singing. That was his whole life," she told news agency The Associated Press.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, The Coasters had hits including Yakety Yak in 1958.

The song went to number one in the US chart Billboard Hot 100 and was used as the theme tune for Clive Anderson's television programme in the UK during the 1990s.

The R&B group also had hits with Searchin', Poison Ivy and Young Blood.

"He was such a humble person. If you met Carl, you would never know he was famous," his wife added.

Gardner, who founded the band in 1955, retired in 2005 and was succeeded as lead singer by his son Carl Gardner Jr.

The star was also fought for legislation, which was passed in 2007, which prevented bogus groups from using the names of famous acts including The Coasters.

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