BLINK-182 are on the verge of signing contracts to headline next year’s Reading and Leeds Festival.
I have been told the American band will bank around £1million for their efforts over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
And the All The Small Things rockers have even made sure that it fits in with their world tour – leaving a gap in their schedule before they jet to Belfast.
A source said: “Blink-182 is a huge get for Reading and Leeds, given the band’s recent surge in popularity.
“They are planning to do a two-hour set and it will really put the festival on the map, with fans set to travel from all over the globe.”
A Reading and Leeds spokesman declined to comment.
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The news comes as Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker welcomed his first child with Kourtney Kardashian earlier this month.
The birth certificate shows the couple have named their baby boy Rocky Thirteen Barker.
Discussing the quirky moniker, Travis said: “I was like, ‘He’s going to come out of my wife doing front kicks and push-ups’,”
Maybe Rocky will join them on stage . . .
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A Reading and Leeds spokesman declined to comment.
LEONA: DAD’S MY SAVIOUR
LEONA LEWIS has revealed that she has her dad to thank for avoiding #MeToo incidents during her career.
The X Factor winner said her father Aural was adamant that he would accompany her into the studio if she wanted to work in music.
Asked if she has been put in uncomfortable situations with men in the music business, the singer told Biz On Sunday: “I have been so lucky.
“I know a lot of people who have gone into music and have had really bad experiences.
“But even before I went on The X Factor, when I was going to the studio and stuff, I always had my dad with me.
“He would kind of chaperone me. I always had someone in my corner.
“Had I not had that, I don’t know what could have happened.”
Leona, right – who starts her Christmas With Love tour later this month – added: “He was like, ‘If you want to do this, I need to protect you’. I’m his only daughter and he is very protective.
“His way of safeguarding me was to not expose me to anything where I ever felt uncomfortable so I think I am one of the lucky ones.”
CAUGHT LIVE
BEVERLEY KNIGHT @ The London Palladium
★★★★☆
IN a sequined catsuit and killer heels, Beverley Knight lit up The London Palladium on Tuesday evening.
Opening with Greatest Day, the soul singer enraptured the auditorium with her velvet voice and smile.
She then had fans on their feet as she played tracks from her new album The Fifth Chapter.
Defying her 50 years, she high-kicked her way into a groove with pop songs Systematic Overload and A Little More Love. Then the singer rolled back the years with 2002 hit Shoulda Woulda Coulda.
She also spoke about how heartache and friendship inspired her track Gold.
Referring to her friend in the audience, Beverley told the crowd: “She said to me, ‘Sometimes people don’t see the gold that is right in front of their faces’. I thought to myself, ‘There’s a song in that’.”
With girlfriends like that to call on, it looks like Beverley will have plenty more hits up her sleeve.
A$APPY DAYS FOR RIHANNA
A$AP ROCKY just could not keep his hands off girlfriend Rihanna at the launch of his Puma x F1 fashion collection.
She sported an edgy quilted leather coat for the Las Vegas promo, while he teamed a grey jacket with bright-yellow gloves from his first collab with the sports brand.
The couple must have got a babysitter after welcoming their second child in August. Son Riot Rose joins older brother RZA Athelston.
Liam’s lad has music in genes
AN OASIS reunion may be a way off, but I can reveal Liam Gallagher’s teenage son is working on his debut solo album, which will be released next year.
I’m told Gene – whose mum is Liam’s ex-wife and former All Saints singer Nicole Appleton – has been in the studio with his famous dad.
The insider says: “Gene is working with the best producers because of Liam’s connections in the music world.
“The album features both R&B and rock – and there might be a collaboration with his father.”
This isn’t the first time Gene has proved he is a chip off the old Gallagher block.
In 2018 he briefly sang and played guitar in three-piece rock band Grimmo with two of his best mates.
He also performed with his father during a gig in Dublin before the pandemic, and last summer he got behind the drum kit at Liam’s gig at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium.
My source added: “As both of his parents are musicians, Gene has always felt compelled to go down this path.”
CHERRY’S GREENER PASTURES
ED SHEERAN shocked fans this week when he was walked on stage at a pal’s gig in East London – but he isn’t the only one full of surprises.
The singer’s wife Cherry Seaborn has switched roles on her return to work so she can help save the planet.
She has moved from a role in technology and innovation to become a sustainability advocate at Deloitte, an international business consultancy service.
Clearly she is the right woman for the job.
Cherry describes herself as: “An entrepreneur with a love for nature and genuine concern for the health of the planet – environmentally, socially and economically.”
She and Ed got married in 2019 and the pair now have two daughters, Lyra and Jupiter.
CAUGHT LIVE
DAVE STEWART @ The London Palladium
★★★★☆
DAVE STEWART, hit the stage in a silver suit, to celebrate his and Annie Lennox’s Eurythmics hits at The London Palladium on Friday.
A line-up of performers, including Dave’s singer daughter KAYA – who impressed on There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart) – took various turns to emulate Lennox.
Backed by a superb all-female band, they silkily delivered fan faves with Aussie singer Vanessa Amorosi shining on Who’s That Girl and Thorn In My Side.
As did R&B singer RAHH on Missionary Man and Here Comes The Rain Again.
Plus, special guest Beverley Knight soulfully belted out feminist anthem Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves.
A pumping Sweet Dreams closed out a special trip through one of pop music’s most treasured songbooks.
