Beyoncé is playing five more dates in the UK and Ireland before the extended European portion of the I Am… Tour comes to a close.  These extra dates throughout November, which have taken in London, Dublin, Belfast, Nottingham, Liverpool, Birmingham and Newcastle, were announced in response to the overwhelming demand for Beyoncé tickets in advance of the initial leg in May and June 2009.

On Saturday 14th November at London’s O2 Arena, guest rapper and professional affirmative-action proponent Kanye West joined Beyoncé on stage to give his mad props to the former Destiny’s Child singer he thought should have won at October’s MTV Video Music Awards, instead of Taylor Swift – whose acceptance speech he gategrashed in order to give us all the benefit of his opinion.  But despite this, Beyoncé‘s reputation in Europe remained strong after she became a triple award winner at the MTV Europe Music Awards on November 6th, winning Best Female, Best Song, (“Halo”) and Best Video, (“Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”).  Beyoncé gave the crowd a storming rendition of current chart hit “Sweet Dreams”.

Tickets to Beyoncé’s remaining five shows in the British Isles are available to compare and buy now – at tixdaq.com.

Despite the fact that the official UK box office has sold out of Paul McCartney tickets, Tixdaq can confirm that hundreds of Paul McCartney tickets are still available to buy from a number of trusted online exchanges.

Unsurprisingly, the single Paul McCartney concert – which is set to take place at the London O2 Arena on December 22 – sold out in minutes when the Paul McCartney tickets went on sale this morning (October 26).

The only UK date on the forthcoming Paul McCartney tour was always going to be in demand and there is no surpirse that the show sold out so quickly. Thousands of fans were left disappointed as they scrambled to get hold of Paul McCartney tickets first thing this morning.

Despite the fact that Paul McCartney tickets are no longer available at the UK box office, we can confirm that there are hundreds of tickets available to compare at Tixdaq,com. Paul McCartney tickets are available to compare and buy online with ticket prices starting below £100.

The 2009 ATP World Tour Finals are set to take place at the London O2 Arena next month. The ATP Finals begin on November 22 and the final match takes place a week later on November 29.

The 2009 ATP World Tour Finals features only the top eight seeds of the current ATP roster and UK fans will have the chance to see the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in action.

Following Andy Murray’s failure to capture his first Grand Slam title this year, he will be looking to make his mark at the ATP Finals in front of his British fans. Whilst Andy Murray will be in a confident mood, last year’s ATP World Tour Final winner Rafael Nadal’s will no doubt be looking to secure his second successive championship.

Tixdaq can confirm that there are still hundreds of ATP World Tour Finals tickets available to compare online. ATP Finals tickets are available for every day of the event.

Whitney Houston fans can see her perform on The X Factor TV show this weekend, but whoever wants to see her live in concert in April 2010 are going to have to scramble for tickets as a massive frenzy is to be expected.

It has been announced that the Whitney Houston tour will play at the Manchester Evening News Arena (April 8), Glasgow SECC and Clyde Auditorium (April 11), Birmingham LG Arena (April 13) and the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (April 22) before drawing the tour to a close at the London O2 Arena (April 25).

Tickets go on general sale on Friday October 16 at 9am, however fans looking to secure their tickets now and avoid the massive rush can already do so with Tixdaq.com.

Whitney Houston tickets are available to compare and buy now at Tixdaq.com with prices starting from £99, but be aware that fans may have to pay more if they do not get theirs soon.

So far Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro have all gained enough ATP points to qualify, but there are now only three places remaining.

If the current rankings stand, the three remaining spots will be filled by Andy Roddick, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nikolay Davydenko, who are playing in this week’s Shanghai Masters hoping to secure their places.

However, also participating in the Shanghai Masters and still in with a chance of making the top eight are Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Simon, Robin Soderling and Fernando Gonzalez.

It seems the final line-up for the ATP World Tour Finals still hangs in the balance if the results so far in the Shanghai Masters are anything to go by.

Fernando Verdasco lost to Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the Shanghai Masters second round whilst Andy Roddick failed to make the third round after retiring with a left knee injury playing against Stanislas Wawrinka.

This could prove to be a huge disappointment for Fernando Verdasco as most players surrounding him in the rankings are through to the Shanghai Masters third round.

World number eight Nikolay Davydenko faces the number twelve Fernando Gonzalez in the third round, the world number ten Gilles Simon faces Tomas Berdych whilst the world number seven Jo-Wilfried Tsonga takes on the world number eleven Robin Soderling.

However, out of the running for Shanghai Masters victory is Juan Martin Del Potro after retiring in the second round with a right wrist injury against Jurgen Melzer. This could present a real opportunity to get some points on the board for those who really need it.

To do this, players will still have to contend with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who beat Fabio Fognini and James Blake respectively to advance to the Shanghai Masters third round.

You can catch all the action from the ATP World Tour Finals live from the London O2 Arena from November 22.

Hundreds of ATP World Tour Finals tickets are still available to compare and buy now at Tixdaq.com from £21 for every day of the week-long tournament.

Pink performed her last US tour date in Madison Square Gardens, New York and some reports have described the show as theatrical and well choreographed, giving an indication to what Pink fans can expect if coming to see Pink live in action in the UK.

Pink began the show wearing an outrageous orange outfit full of feathers to perform Just Like A Pill, but later revealed red hot pants and matching cheetah-print top as she sang Who Knew.

There were more eccentric costume changes throughout the night but the song that seemed to really get the crowd up on their feet was during U + Ur Hand, after Pink told the crowd that this song made her want to dance around like an idiot to then encourage the crowd to join her and do the same.

Some spectacular choreography could be seen during So What, where female dancers in their underwear staged a playfight whilst pushing a male dancer around on top of a bed, with more feathers flying about all over the place from the pillows used to beat up the only male.

However, events later turned into a sombre affair for the performance of Family Portrait, where Pink sang next to a pianist and violinist whilst wearing a white tank top, jeans and no shoes. This was later followed by the performance of Dear Mr. President to continue the serious mood, as the large screen in the background showed clips of broken families, war and poverty.

Things later returned back to its lighthearted nature just as the show was coming to an end, where Pink gave a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

During the title track to her album Funhouse, all connotations to the word could be seen. Imagine a circus; glitter, mirrors, clowns and dancers doing acrobatic moves in the air with twirling ribbons. Pink was also lifted in the air to join in with her own moves to really give the wow factor to her performance.

Tickets are still available to see whether the UK Funhouse tour will match up to what was already witnessed in the States, but Pink fans will need to be quick.

The Pink tour will visit major UK arenas such as the Manchester Evening News Arena (October 23-25), Birmingham National Indoor Arena (October 30 & 31) and the London O2 Arena (December 8 & 10).

Pink tickets are available to compare and buy now at Tixdaq.com, with prices starting from £35.

They join Green Day and Leona Lewis who were the first names revealed on the line-up.

Green Day are nominated for Best Live Act, Best Group and Best Rock.

However, Lady Gaga and Kings of Leon top the list of nominations with five each, followed by Beyonce with four.

Green Day’s performance at the MTV EMAs will come a few days after the final date of their UK tour for the album 21st Century Breakdown.

The Green Day tour begins at the Glasgow SECC and Clyde Auditorium (October 19) and will be stopping off at other major UK arenas such as the London O2 Arena (October 23 & 24), Birmingham LG Arena (October 27 & 28), Manchester Evening News Arena (October 30 & 31) and the London Wembley Arena (November 1).

Beyonce will be sticking around Europe after the MTV EMAs as her UK tour for the album I Am Sasha Fierce begins at the Liverpool Echo Arena on November 11 before playing other major UK arenas like the Birmingham National Indoor Arena (November 12), London O2 Arena (November 14 & 16), Manchester Evening News Arena (November 18), Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (November 19) and the Nottingham Trent FM Arena (November 20).

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl will also be in Europe this Winter as part of Them Crooked Vultures as they embark on their headline UK tour throughout December to coincide the November release of their eagerly anticipated new album.

Them Crooked Vultures tour the UK from December 10 at the Plymouth Pavilion before heading for venues including the Birmingham O2 Academy (December 14), Edinburgh Corn Exchange (December 15) and the London HMV Apollo (December 17 & 18).

Hundreds of Green Day tickets, Beyonce tickets and Them Crooked Vultures tickets are all still available to compare and buy now at Tixdaq.com

Teenage country singer Taylor Swift won the Best Female Video award for the single You Belong With Me and was in the middle of her acceptance speech before rapper Kanye West stormed onto stage, grabbed the microphone and declared Beyonce should have won for her video for Single Ladies.

Beyonce revealed that before the winner was announced, Kanye West had already said to her “You have this award”, so she already knew his intentions to “stand up for art”.

When her name was not announced as the winner, Beyonce saw how shocked Kanye West was and she became increasingly mortified as he invaded the stage before declaring his opinion out loud.

In the end, Beyonce felt the night was not ruined and even seemed pleased when she did not have to make her own acceptance speech when she won Video Of The Year at the same awards ceremony, instead giving Taylor Swift her second chance to come back on stage to give the acceptance speech she couldn’t before.

Both Taylor Swift and Beyonce will take to the stage in the UK for their upcoming headline tours next month.

Taylor Swift will perform songs from her current album Fearless at the London Wembley Arena on November 23 and the Manchester Evening News Arena on November 24.

The Beyonce tour for the album I Am Sasha Fierce will start at the Liverpool Echo Arena on November 11 before playing major UK arenas like the Birmingham National Indoor Arena (November 12), London O2 Arena (November 14 & 16), Manchester Evening News Arena (November 18), Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (November 19) and the Nottingham Trent FM Arena (November 20).

Hundreds of Taylor Swift tickets and Beyonce tickets are still available to compare and buy now at Tixdaq.com

Speech Debelle has had an impressive year so far having won the prestigious Barclaycard Mercury Prize last month for her debut album called Speech Therapy.

There might even be a chance of seeing Speech Debelle and Basement Jaxx performing something special together on stage, as Basement Jaxx are known to collaborate with various singers on their dance tracks.

Tickets are still available for your chance to catch Speech Debelle and Basement Jaxx live in action in a town near you just before Christmas.

The Basement Jaxx tour will kick off at the Swindon Oasis Leisure Centre (December 6) and will also be playing at the Glasgow Barrowland (December 12), Wolverhampton Civic Hall (December 13) and the Bournemouth International Centre (December 16) before drawing the tour to a close with a massive show at the London O2 Arena (December 17).

Basement Jaxx tickets are available to compare and buy now at Tixdaq.com

A few new revelations about Beyonce have come to light as the UK starts to get ready for her upcoming tour for the album I Am Sasha Fierce.

It has been reported that Beyonce claims she is a disastrous cook and the way she prepares to host a dinner for friends is to order takeaway from the best restaurants and having it delivered to her.

She has also revealed that she loves ordering room service at hotels and that in some hotels, she is so familiar with the menu already that she looks forward to ordering her favourite dishes as soon as she arrives there.

However, when Beyonce is not touring from city to city, she likes to spend her free time riding her bike. She said she enjoys cycling with other members of her entourage, such as her stylist and her assistant, and rarely gets recognised.

Beyonce said that cycling helped keep her grounded as she is able to cycle as normal without being stopped as onlookers tend not to realise it is actually her and when they do realise, it is too late.

It also seems that video games is something else Beyonce is interested in outside of music because she has revealed she would like to create a new dance fitness video.

Admitting she is a fan of the Nintendo Wii Fit game, Beyonce claims that dancing and choreography is the most fun way of working out and thinks women would also think the same, especially when compared to running on the treadmill.

Beyonce will have to wait a while for her free time as her massive UK tour is set to start at the Liverpool Echo Arena on November 11.

The Beyonce tour will also play at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena (November 12), London O2 Arena (November 14 & 16), Manchester Evening News Arena (November 18), Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (November 19) and the Nottingham Trent FM Arena (November 20).

Hundreds of Beyonce tickets are still available to compare and buy now at Tixdaq.com

The Big Day Out festival is scheduled to take place throughout January 2010, playing a total of six shows in Auckland (January 15), Gold Coast (January 17), Sydney (January 22), Melbourne (January 27), Adelaide (January 29) and Perth (January 31).

Muse and Kasabian are two rock bands who have been announced for the Big Day Out so far. Other UK acts due to appear include Lily Allen, Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris.

All these artists have upcoming UK tours to complete before heading to Australia and New Zealand.

The Muse tour for the album The Resistance is taking place at many major UK arenas such as the Sheffield Hallam FM Arena (November 4), Liverpool Echo Arena (November 5) and the London O2 Arena (November 12 & 13).

Also throughout November, Kasabian will be performing songs from their current album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum as they tour across the UK across, playing at venues like the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (November 10), London Wembley Arena (November 14 & 15) and the Manchester Evening News Arena (November 20).

Touring the UK this November and December, Lily Allen will be performing songs from current album It’s Not Me It’s You at venues including the Manchester Apollo (November 17 & 18), Birmingham National Indoor Arena (November 24) and the London Brixton O2 Academy (November 27 & 28, December 15 & 17).

Lily Allen will also headline two shows together with Dizzee Rascal at the Manchester Evening News Arena (March 5 2010) and the London O2 Arena (March 7), with tickets going on general sale on Friday October 9 at 9am.

The Dizzee Rascal tour is already underway this month where the Tongue N Cheek rapper will perform at the Birmingham O2 Academy (October 17), London Brixton O2 Academy (October 22) and the Leeds O2 Academy (October 26).

Calvin Harris is also touring the album Ready For The Weekend this month and in November, with gigs at the Manchester Academy (October 24), London HMV Forum (October 28) and the Glasgow O2 Academy (November 4).

Tickets to all these tours are still available, even for shows which may have already sold out after general release.

Muse tickets, Kasabian tickets, Lily Allen tickets, Dizzee Rascal tickets, and Calvin Harris tickets are all available to compare and buy now at Tixdaq.com

Miley Cyrus had recently been suffering from throat problems which led to a handful of shows for the Wonder World Tour being cancelled.

However, as well as declaring her love for performing in Michigan, she told her Twitter followers that doctors had given her the all clear and she was ready for the crazy show ahead.

Miley Cyrus returns to the UK for a host of headline concerts this December.

The Miley Cyrus tour kicks off with two dates at the London O2 Arena (December 13 & 14) and will also return to the same venue on December 19 & 20. Miley Cyrus will also play two dates at the Birmingham LG Arena (December22 & 23) and two dates at the Manchester Evening News Arena (December 27 & 28).

Miley Cyrus fans will need to be quick as tickets for these shows are selling out fast.

Miley Cyrus tickets for all her UK shows are still available to compare and buy at Tixdaq.com

Lily Allen, whose album It’s Not Me It’s You could be her last as previously reported on Tixdaq News, will be performing at the Manchester Evening News Arena (March 5 2010) and the London O2 Arena (March 7 2010) with the East London-born rapper.

Dizzee Rascal has already collaborated with Lily Allen for the single Wanna Be, which featured on his third studio album Maths and English.

Both have shown their excitement about the forthcoming shows. Lily Allen said she’s a huge fan of Dizzee Rascal’s work whilst Dizzee Rascal is expecting the shows to be memorable as they have worked well together in the past.

Tickets for the Lily Allen and Dizzee Rascal tour go on general sale on Friday October 9 at 9am.

However, you can still catch Lily Allen and Dizzee Rascal in action before the end of the year during their separate headline tours.

The Lily Allen tour kicks off at the Sheffield O2 Academy (November 16) and will also be playing at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena (November 24), Liverpool Echo Arena (December 9), two nights at the Manchester Apollo (November 17 & 18) and four nights at the London Brixton O2 Academy (November 27 & 28, December 15 & 17).

The Dizzee Rascal tour, which coincides with the new album Tongue N Cheek, will be performing at venues like the Newcastle O2 Academy (October 6), Birmingham O2 Academy (October 17), London Roundhouse (October 21) and the Leeds O2 Academy (October 26).

Lily Allen tickets and Dizzee Rascal tickets are all still available to compare and buy now at Tixdaq.com

It has recently been confirmed that the Arctic Monkeys will embark on a UK tour this November. The Sheffield band are set to play nine dates across the UK to support their recently released album Humbug. The 2009 Arctic Monkeys tour will call at a number of major UK cities including their hometown of Sheffield (Novermber 14).

The Arctic Monkeys tour kicks off at Liverpool Echo Arena on November 13. The Arctic Monkeys are also set to perform live at Wembley Arena (November 18), Manchester Evening News Arena (November 21) and Glasgow SECC (November 24).  The Arctic Monkeys tour draws to a close on November 25 at Belfast Odyssey Arena.

Tickets are due to go on sale this Friday (September 11) and will be available to compare at Tixdaq.com.

Andy Murray says that his past experiences has led him to think that there might be some surprise results as the US Open tournament progresses, meaning the draw could be blown wide open.

Speaking of the draw, Andy Murray could face the big server Ivo Karlovic in the US Open second round, and there are potential matches against the world number six Juan Martin del Potro and the world number three Rafael Nadal along the way.

Andy Murray also says that he is constantly trying to improve regardless of where he is in the rankings, and that this mentality was key to the success of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal over the years; the motivation to keep improving despite already being at the top of their game.

The world number one Roger Federer played his first round match against the wild card teenager Devin Britton in the opening day of the tournament, and Roger Federer took one hour and 28 minutes to kick start his US Open campaign winning 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.

The scoreline suggests that the defending champion had it all his way, but was made to work hard as the American Devin Britton did manage to break Roger Federer twice and nearly set up a tie break in the third set to please the home crowd.

After the match, Roger Federer admitted it was a tricky game as his opponent had nothing to lose, whilst he had to deal with the pressure of playing as a five-time defending champion. Next up for Roger Federer is Simon Greul.

Also through to the US Open second round are Andy Roddick and Nikolay Davydenko, both coming through in straight sets. The world number five Andy Roddick will face Marc Gicquel next whilst the world number eight Nikolay Davydenko will play against Jan Hernych.

Other top seeded players hoping to make it safely through to the US Open second round are Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fernando Verdasco.

The world number four Novak Djokovic faces Ivan Ljubicic, world number seven Jo-Wilfried Tsonga faces Chase Buchanan, and the recent ATP 250 New Haven champion Fernando Verdasco faces Benjamin Becker. All these matches are scheduled to take place later today.

The US Open is taking place at the New York Flushing Meadows until September 13. However, not only are players hoping for success in this last Grand Slam of the year, but are hoping to qualify in the top eight to compete at the end-of-season Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which takes place from November 22 at the London O2 Arena.

So far, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have qualified, so players will be hoping to rack up as many ATP points as they can from the upcoming ATP tournaments, including the US Open, in order to be in the top eight with the most ATP points.

Hundreds of ATP World Tour Finals tickets for each day of the tournament are still available to compare and buy at Tixdaq.com.

It seems that the number one seed Roger Federer is the one to beat once again, after becoming the 2009 French Open champion and the 2009 Wimbledon champion, breaking the previous record held by Pete Sampras with 15 Grand Slam titles. Roger Federer is the top seeded player for the US Open for the fifth time.

Roger Federer also won the ATP 1000 Cincinnati Masters title earlier this month, despite some suggesting the birth of his twin baby girls would cause detriment to his tennis performance.

Roger Federer has had a chance to reflect on his recent developments both on and off the court, claiming that it was unbelievable for him to win the French Open followed so closely by the win at Wimbledon.

He also claims that regaining the world number one at Wimbledon was amazing and came at the right time, now being able to call himself the world number one to his new twin daughters, Charlene Riva and Myla Rose.

Roger Federer was quick to dispel any suggestions that having the twins was going to negatively impact his career, saying that he does not see anything changing in terms of his tennis future and that he does not feel like he is being pulled back in any way. He says any impact the twins make is a positive one.

Meanwhile, Britain’s number one Andy Murray, who has been seeded second for the US Open, has declared that he can win his first Grand Slam title at the US Open and that he feels better coming into this tournament than ever before.

He seems to believe that momentum is the key, claiming that if he plays well then he can win. Andy Murray has also suggested that being able to last physically during the potential five-set matches was something he feels he has improved on.

It seems improving his fitness was something Andy Murray was serious about, having spent several weeks doing intensive training in Miami after Wimbledon, and all the hard work seems to be pulling off having won the ATP 1000 Montreal Masters (the Rogers Cup) earlier this month.

Despite trying to become the first Briton to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936, Andy Murray claims to feel no extra pressure because of the pressure he already puts on himself.

After all the 22 year-old has achieved and the improvements he has made to his performance, Andy Murray says winning a Grand Slam is the last thing for him to do. He would want to do it at what he describes as the best court in tennis, describing his love for the atmosphere at the US Open and his love for New York City.

Andy Murray recently booked his place to be in the top eight players competing at the end-of-season Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which takes place from November 22 at the London O2 Arena.

Hundreds of ATP World Tour Finals tickets for each day of the tournament are still available to compare and buy at Tixdaq.com.

Calvin Harris has entered this week's album chart at number one with Ready For The Weekend.

This week’s number one album saw a battle between two of this year’s successful artists: Calvin Harris and Tinchy Stryder.

It was Ready For The Weekend by Calvin Harris that came out on top whilst Catch 22 by Tinchy Stryder had to settle for the number two slot.

Both artists have enjoyed much chart success recently. Calvin Harris, who stormed the charts with his collaboration with Dizzee Rascal on Dance Wiv Me, has rarely been seen out of the charts since.

Meanwhile, Tinchy Stryder already has two number one singles to his name. The single Never Leave You featuring Amelle Berrabah from the Sugababes is the number three single this week having hit the number one spot in its first week. The single Number One, which was a collaboration with N-Dubz, is now spending its 18th week in the top 40.

Another act who is hanging around in the charts is Beyonce with the album I Am Sasha Fierce, which is spending its 40th week in the chart and is this week’s number three album.

All these acts who have enjoyed album chart success this week are also gearing up for their forthcoming UK tours.

You can catch Calvin Harris live at Creamfields 2009, which takes place at the Halton Daresbury Estate over the weekend of August 29-30.

Then the Calvin Harris tour kicks off at the Norwich UEA LCR on October 15 and will be stopping off at the Leeds O2 Academy (October 21), Manchester Academy (October 24), London HMV Forum (October 28) and the Glasgow O2 Academy (November 4).

The Tinchy Stryder tour starts at the Cambridge Junction on September 17 and will also be playing at the Liverpool O2 Academy (September 19), London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (September 25), and the Bristol O2 Acadamy (October 5) before drawing the tour to a close at the Sheffield O2 Academy on October 8.

Also, the Beyonce tour kicks off at the Liverpool Echo Arena on November 11 before stopping off at the London O2 Arena for two dates (November 14 & 16), the Manchester Evening News Arena (November 18), Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (November 19) and the Nottingham Trent FM Arena (November 20) before taking the tour to Ireland.

Creamfields 2009 tickets, Calvin Harris tickets, Tinchy Stryder tickets and Beyonce tickets are all available to compare and buy at tixdaq.com

Later today, Andy Murray will take on Julien Benneteau in the quarter final of the 2009 ATP Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. Murray will go up against Benneteau as he looks to secure his second Cincinnati Masters title in a row.

Andy Murray will be in a confident mood after defeating Radek Stepanek 6-4 6-1 in the previous round.  Murray is likely to face the world number one, Roger Federer, if he victorious in this evening’s match. Federer will face Lleyton Hewitt in his quarter final which also takes place later today. On the other side of the draw, Gilles Simon takes on Novak Djokovic and world number three, Rafael Nadal, will face Tomas Berdych.

Andy Murray will be boosted by his recent good form as he gears up for this year’s ATP US Open. The 2009 US Open kicks off at Flushing Meadows on August 31.

British tennis fans will be glad to hear that they have a chance to see Andy Murray and other top seeds live in action in the UK later this year at the 2009 ATP Finals. The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals takes place from November 22 at the London O2 Arena.

Hundreds of ATP World Tour Finals tickets for each day of the tournament are still available to compare at tixdaq.com

Tennis fans can watch Andy Murray live at the ATP Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati online with TennisTV.

Andy Murray will face Radek Stepanek in round three after beating Nicolas Almagro.

Andy Murray is on course to winning his second consecutive Masters series title with victory over Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters, overcoming a rain delay in the process.

Andy Murray, who will become the new world number two when the new ATP world rankings are announcd, beat Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Cincinnati Masters final to win his first ever ATP 1000 Masters series title.

Andy Murray has had little time to prepare having won the Montreal Masters, otherwise known as the Rogers Cup, last Sunday in three sets against Juan Martin Del Potro.

Winning the ATP 500 Washington title two weeks ago and then reaching the Rogers Cup final last week seems to have taken its toll on Juan Martin Del Potro.

The world number six has pulled out of the Cincinnati Masters due to fatigue, tournament organisers announced. Hopefully taking time out means Juan Martin Del Potro will feature in the upcoming Grand Slam: the US Open, which begins on August 31.

Andy Murray will now face Radek Stepanek in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters.

Andy Murray has complimented Radek Stepanek’s approach to games, describing him as a tricky player as he serves and volleys a lot.

Andy Murray claims that he will have to overcome any  mind games and return well in order to make it through to the Cincinnati Masters quarter finals.

Elsewhere in the tournament, world number one Roger Federer beat Jose Ascuso 6-3, 7-5 and David Ferrer awaits him in the third round.

Current world number two Rafael Nadal had to win two tie breaks 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) to eventually beat Andreas Seppi and will face Paul-Henri Mathieu in round three.

World number four Novak Djokovic beat Ivan Ljubicic 7-5, 6-4 and will next face Jeremy Chardy.

However, there were defeats for world number five Andy Roddick and world number seven Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Andy Roddick lost 7-6 (11), 7-6 (3) to fellow American Sam Querrey, whilst Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost 7-6 (12), 6-2 to qualifier Chris Guccione.

Not only are players gearing  towards the upcoming US Open, a place in the world’s top eight and qualification for the ATP World Tour Finals is at stake, the end-of-season tournament.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals takes place from November 22 at the London O2 Arena.

Hundreds of ATP World Tour Finals tickets for each day of the tournament are still available to compare at tixdaq.com

Placebo have had to cancel dates for their North America tour so that frontman Brian Molko can recover from illness.

Last week, Brian Molko caught a virus whilst touring Asia and in combination with jet lag and exhaustion, fainted on stage in Osaka, Japan whilst performing at the Summer Sonic Festival after the first song.

Now, Brian Molko’s doctors have ordered him to take a six-week break and recover at home in London, resulting in the cancellation of their North American dates, which would have begun in Portland on September 12.

The statement on the official Placebo website from Riverman Management claimed they would try to rearrange the cancelled dates as soon as possible.

However, there has been no announcement as to whether Placebo will still be appearing at the Reading and Leeds Festival.

The Reading and Leeds Festival is taking place over the bank holiday weekend of August 28-30 at Reading Richfield Avenue and Leeds Bramham Park.

If Placebo do not perform at the Reading and Leeds Festival, fans will be pleased to hear that the band are scheduled to return to the UK to tour in December.

The Placebo tour of their current album Battle For The Sun kicks off at the Birmingham LG Arena (December 8 ) and will be playing at the London O2 Arena (December 9), Bridlington Spa Theatre and Royal Hall (December 11), Manchester Central (December 12) and the Glasgow SECC and Clyde Auditorium (December 14).

Reading and Leeds Festival tickets and Placebo tickets are all available to compare at tixdaq.com

Andy Murray won his opening match of the Montreal Rogers Cup against Jeremy Chardy.

Andy Murray was back to winning ways in his first competitive match since Wimbledon at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal, otherwise known as the Rogers Cup.

After receiving a bye in the first round, Andy Murray took one hour and 33 minutes to beat Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-2.

After the win, the world number three Andy Murray claimed that he needs to work on his match sharpness and wants a good run of games in this tournament especially as he has been in Miami to work on his game in the weeks leading up to the Rogers Cup.

He also admitted that the match was tougher than the scoreline suggests, claiming both players had their chances but Jeremy Chardy made a few more errors and Andy Murray was able to raise his game when needed.

Andy Murray will now face Gael Monfils or Juan Carlos Ferrero in the Montreal Rogers Cup third round.

Another top seed playing his first match of the tournament was world number one Roger Federer. A rain delay forced Roger Federer to wait for his return to tennis action since Wimbledon and had a tough time against his second round opponent Frederic Niemeyer.

Roger Federer came through winning 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 whilst Frederic Niemeyer, who is retiring at the end of the season, played with the spirit like he had nothing to lose and even saved three match points before Roger Federer eventually wrapped up the win.

Roger Federer reflected on his opening match, saying he was pleased with his performance as he played the big points well, especially as his opponent was playing in front of his home crowd.

Another player playing in front of his home crowd was Peter Polansky, who gave the world number four Novak Djokovic a run for his money in the second round of the Montreal Rogers Cup.

Novak Djokovic looked far from his best as he beat Peter Polansky 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) and will face either Mikhail Youzhny (who beat the 14th seed Marin Cilic) or John Isner in the ATP Montreal Masters third round.

Scheduled to play later today are the world number six Juan Martin Del Potro against Jan Hernych, world number five Andy Roddick against Igor Andreev, and the world number two Rafael Nadal against David Ferrer.

As the tennis season draws to a close, the world’s top eight players will battle it out to be the champion of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which takes place at the London O2 Arena from November 22.

Hundreds of ATP World Tour Finals tickets for each day of the tournament are still available to compare at tixdaq.com

Andy Murray will start his Rogers Cup campaign in Montreal later today against Jeremy Chardy

Andy Murray returns to action since Wimbledon for the second round of the Montreal Rogers Cup, an ATP 1000 Masters event with 1000 ATP points up for grabs.

Andy Murray has recently been preparing for the Rogers Cup in the heat of Miami and after receiving a bye in the first round, will face Jeremy Chardy in the second round scheduled to play later today.

The Rogers Cup also sees the return of Rafael Nadal, who missed the entire Wimbledon Grand Slam earlier this year due to tendinitis in his knees. His return got off to a good start with a doubles win with partner Francisco Roig against Novak Djokovic and partner Dusan Vemic.

All the top names in men’s tennis are competing in the Montreal Rogers Cup in preparation for the final Grand Slam of the season: the US Open.

British number one Andy Murray is in the same half of the draw as the world number one Roger Federer, and so if the two were to meet it would be at the semi-final stage.

World number two Rafael Nadal is in the same half of the draw as the number four seed Novak Djokovic, number six seed Andy Roddick, and the recent Washington Legg Mason Classic champion Juan Martin Del Potro.

Rafael Nadal has admitted that retaining the Montreal Rogers Cup title was not on the cards because of his lack of practice, and that his main focus was to work hard and try not to suffer any more injury setbacks. He says that he was aware he was going to Montreal to lose, and that winning was almost impossible.

Also suffering from lack of match practice was Roger Federer, who is returning to action since the birth of his twin daughters three weeks ago.

As well as Andy Murray, other top seeds scheduled to play later today include Roger Federer against Frederic Niemeyer, Novak Djokovic takes on Peter Polansky, and the world number eight Nikolay Davydenko against Paul-Henri Mathieu.

So far at the Montreal Rogers Cup, the first shock result was the 14th seed Marin Cilic losing to Mikhail Youzhny 4-6, 7-6, 6-1 despite winning the first set.

Players on the cusp of qualifying for the end-of-year Barclays ATP World Tour Finals include 9th seed Gilles Simon, 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez and 11th seed Fernando Verdasco.

Only the top eight players can compete at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and so they hope to play as well as possible at the Montreal Rogers Cup to gain as many ATP points as possible for a place in the top eight.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals takes place at the London O2 Arena from November 22. ATP World Tour Finals tickets are available to compare at tixdaq.com

Muse are reportedly set to return to the town where the band originally formed to play shows this September. According to a local Devon paper, Muse are set to play two gigs at The Den in Teignmouth.

The paper claim concert promoters SJM have applied for a live music licence from Teignbridge Council. It has been suggested that the concerts will have maximum capacity of 10,000. The reports indicate local residents will receive priority ticketing.

The eagerly anticipated 2009 Muse tour kicks off this November at Sheffield Hallam FM Arena (November 4). The Muse tour also features performances at Liverpool Echo Arena (November 5), Glasgow SECC Arena (November 9) and Birmingham National Indoor Arena (November 10). The Muse tour draws to a close with two shows at London O2 Arena (November 12 & 3). Hundreds of Muse tickets are available to compare at Tixdaq.com. Muse ticket prices start at £55.

Muse are due to release their new album The Resistance on September 14.

Big Green Gathering ticket holders now have the chance to see Basement Jaxx at the Big Chill Festival

Those who originally bought tickets to the now cancelled Big Green Gathering can attend a different festival instead.

The Big Green Gathering, which was originally due to take place at the Somerset Fernhill Farm from July 29 – August 2, was cancelled because of the threat of an injunction from the local council.

Now, Big Green Gathering tickets can be traded in for tickets to attend the Big Chill Festival, providing an additional payment of £20 is also made to make up for the value of the Big Chill Festival ticket.

The Big Chill Festival will take place at the Herefordshire Eastnor Castle Deer Park from August 6-9.

Some of the acts confirmed to appear at the Big Chill Festival are Orbital, Basement Jaxx, David Byrne and Spiritualized.

The Big Chill Festival tickets are available to compare at tixdaq.com, however these acts appearing have also got other UK tour dates planned.

Orbital begin a headline tour at the Birmingham O2 Academy (September 17) and will also play at the Manchester Academy (September 18 & 19), Newcastle O2 Academy (September 21) and the London Brixton O2 Academy (September 24 & 25).

The Basement Jaxx tour, which will heavily feature the new album Scars, commences at the Swindon Oasis Leisure Centre (December 6) before stopping off at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall (December 13), Plymouth Pavilion (December 14) and the London O2 Arena (December 17).

David Byrne has two upcoming headline shows at the Southampton Guildhall (August 4) and the Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre (August 8 ) as part of the Edge Festival.

The Spiritualized tour starts with two dates at the London Royal Festival Hall (October 12 & 13) and will also play at the Manchester Apollo (December 14), London Barbican Centre (December 16 & 17) and the Sage Gateshead (December 19).

Orbital tickets, Basement Jaxx tickets, David Byrne tickets and Spiritualized tickets are all available to compare at tixdaq.com

Jay-Z, who is currently writing a book, will be performing three UK shows with Coldplay in September

It seems that rather than focusing on rehearsals and other touring duties, Jay-Z and Coldplay have been pursuing other non-musical interests in the run-up to their upcoming shows in the UK.

Details of a new autobiography by Jay-Z have been revealed, and surprisingly he is to open up about his wedding and marriage to fellow American artist Beyonce.

The couple have always kept their relationship private but a source claims Jay-Z will write about everything from his days as a drug dealer to his wedding day, and how he writes his lyrics and records his songs.

No title or release date for the book has been announced, though a spokesperson did confirm that Jay-Z was writing a book and fans can expect his upcoming new album titled The Blueprint Volume 3, which is released on September 11.

Meanwhile, Coldplay will be making a cameo appearance on The Simpsons, where frontman Chris Martin will play himself and the band performs a private show for Bart and Homer after Homer wins the lottery, but then the show has to stop when Bart goes to the bathroom.

Coldplay and Jay-Z are going to be playing three massive UK dates together at the Lancashire County Cricket Ground in Manchester (September 12), Glasgow Hampden Park (September 16) and the London Wembley Stadium (September 19).

Another Coldplay date will feature Girls Aloud, which is at London Wembley Stadium on September 18.

Jay-Z’s wife Beyonce is also touring the UK in November.

The Beyonce tour of the album I Am Sasha Fierce kicks off at the Liverpool Echo Arena (November 11) and will be stopping off at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena (November 12), London O2 Arena (November 14 & 16), Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (November 19) and the Nottingham Trent FM Arena (November 20).

Coldplay tickets, Jay-Z tickets and Beyonce tickets are all available to compare at tixdaq.com

Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs broke a rib whilst supporting Green Day at Madison Square Gardens, New York.

A statement from the Kaiser Chiefs reports that frontman Ricky Wilson broke a rib whilst performing in New York at Madison Square Gardens as the support act for Green Day.

Ricky Wilson was jumping between the barrier and the stage when he injured himself, but after treatment it was found that the injury was not serious enough to cancel any upcoming dates they have.

It seems Ricky Wilson has a habit of injuring himself whilst on tour of the US. He has already broken his ankle in Seattle in March 2005 and then suffered ankle ligament damage at the Austin Limits Festival in September 2007.

Kaiser Chiefs will be returning to the UK for the Reading & Leeds Festival, which takes place at Reading Richfield Avenue and Leeds Bramham Park (August 28-30).

Green Day will also be touring the UK later this year in support of their latest album 21st Century Breakdown.

The Green Day tour begins at the Glasgow SECC & Clyde Auditorium (October 19) and will be playing the major UK arenas such as the London O2 Arena (October 23 & 24), Birmingham LG Arena (October 27 & 28) and the Manchester Evening News Arena (October 30 & 31) before closing the tour at the London Wembley Arena (November 1).

Reading & Leeds Festival tickets and Green Day tickets are available to compare at tixdaq.com

Tom Jones will join a host of other acts for the Nordoff-Robbins 'Rockwell' charity gig at the London O2 Arena

Tom Jones and David Gray are just two of the acts in the line-up to play a charity gig at the London O2 Arena on September 11 for the Nordoff-Robbins Trust.

Razorlight, Joss Stone, Supergrass and Robert Plant are the other acts confirmed to perform the ‘Rockwell’ show, where unique collaborations are to be expected.

Robert Plant took part in the 1990 show for the Nordoff-Robbins charity at Knebworth, where 120,000 people attended the concert and raised over three million pounds.

The Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy is the largest of its kind in the UK, where thousands of therapy sessions help improve the quality of life for children and adults suffering from illness, mental health issues, autism and other learning difficuties.

Pre-sale tickets for Rockwell are available from August 3 at 9am.

Some of the acts confirmed for the Rockwell gig are also set to perform elsewhere in the UK.

The Tom Jones tour begins with three shows at the Cardiff International Arena (October 9-11) and will also play at the Manchester Evening News Arena (October 16), Liverpool Echo Arena (October 17) and the London Wembley Arena (October 24).

The three-date David Gray tour will play at the London Roundhouse (September 14), Manchester Ritz Ballroom (September 15) and the Glasgow ABC (September 16).

Razorlight are due to appear at the V Festival, which takes place at Chelmsford Hylands Park and Shifnal Weston Park (August 22-23).

Supergrass are going to perform with the Lightning Seeds and The View at the West Sussex Arundal Castle on August 21.

Tom Jones tickets, David Gray tickets, V Festival tickets and Supergrass tickets are all available to compare at tixdaq.com

Eddie Vedder and the rest of Pearl Jam will play at the London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on August 11

Pearl Jam are already set to perform at two major UK arenas as part of their European tour but will now also play a much more smaller venue for a more intimate atmosphere to their live show.

It was already announced at the end of April this year that Pearl Jam were going to perform at the Manchester Evening News Arena (August 17) and the London O2 Arena (August 18).

However, it has now been announced that Pearl Jam will also perform at the London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on August 11.

Pearl Jam tickets for the new show will go on general sale on Thursday July 23 at 9am.

Pearl Jam are also set to release their ninth studio album titled Backspacer in September featuring the new single The Fixer.

Backspacer was produced by Brendan O’Brian, who worked with Pearl Jam for their 1998 album Yield and has also recently also worked with Bruce Springsteen.

Pearl Jam spoke of how in the past, they and Brendan O’Brian did not agree sometimes on how a song should sound, but now Brendan O’Brian was one of the very few people outside the band they could trust with their music and they like how honest he is when it comes to deciding what is good and what is bad.

Pearl Jam decided it was time to work with him again since Bruce Springsteen had recently listened to his ideas.

Pearl Jam tickets for the now sold out UK arena dates are still available to compare at tixdaq.com

Basement Jaxx will play five dates starting at the Swindon Oasis Leisure Centre (December 6) before stopping off at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall (December 13), Plymouth Pavilions (December 14) and the Bournemouth International Centre (December 16) before closing the tour with a major arena show at the London O2 Arena (December 17).

Basement Jaxx fans can expect them to showcase new songs from their upcoming album titled Scars, which is due for release on September 14.

Tickets for the Basement Jaxx tour will go on general sale on Wednesday July 8 at 9am.

However, if you want to catch Basement Jaxx in festival action, you will be pleased to hear that tickets are still available for their upcoming festival appearances.

Basement Jaxx will be at The Big Chill Festival, which is taking place at the Hertfordshire Eastnor Castle (August 6-9), Creamfields 2009 at the Halton Daresbury Estate (August 29-30) and finally the Jersey Live Festival at the Trinity Royal Jersey Showground (September 5-6).

Basement Jaxx tickets, The Big Chill Festival tickets, Creamfields 2009 tickets and Jersey Live Festival tickets are all available to compare at tixdaq.com

British number one Andy Murray will face 76th seed Robert Kendrick for his first round match later today on Centre Court at the All England Club.

Andy Murray will be one of the last of the top seeds to play their first round match and would have already seen many of the top seeds cruising into the second round of Wimbledon.

Last year’s finalist Roger Federer, who lost his Wimbledon crown to Rafael Nadal (who had to withdraw this year through injury), beat Yen-Hsun Lu 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, playing in the first competitive match at the new Centre Court featuring the new roof.

Roger Federer will now face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round.

Also through to the second round is world number four Novak Djokovic despite losing the first set, eventually beating Julien Benneteau 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4. Novak Djokovic faces Simon Greul next.

World number seven Fernando Verdasco beat James Ward 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 and will face Kristof Vliegen in the Wimbledon second round.

Earlier today, the number five seed Juan Martin Del Potro beat Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 and is now due to take on former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt in the second round.

The biggest shock of the tournament so far was the first round loss for world number 17 James Blake.

James Blake reached the final of the Wimbledon warm-up tournament the AEGON Championships before losing to Andy Murray, but despite having plenty of practise playing grass-court tennis, he was beaten 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 by Andreas Seppi.

The 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships is in full swing now and fans will be pleased to hear that also in London in November 2009 will be the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which is being held at the London O2 Arena.

At the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the top eight players will compete to become champion in this end-of-season tournament.

Wimbledon tickets and tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are all still available to compare at tixdaq.com.

Taylor Swift will be performing material from her second studio album, Fearless, at the London Wembley Arena on November 23 – her only UK date.

Tickets for the new Taylor Swift show will go on general sale on Saturday June 20.

Taylor Swift fans can also catch her in action at the V Festival which takes place at Chelmsford Hylands Park and Shifnal Weston Park over the weekend of August 22-23.

V Festival tickets are available to compare at tixdaq.com

Meanwhile, fellow American teenage singer Miley Cyrus has announced that two new dates have been added to her first ever UK tour.

The two new dates are both being held at the London O2 Arena on December 19 and 20.

Miley Cyrus, who plays Hannah Montana in the Disney TV series and movie, is already playing at the London O2 Arena to begin her tour on December 13 and 14.

Other shows already announced for the Miley Cyrus tour are to be held at the Birmingham LG Arena (December 22 & 23) and the Manchester Evening News Arena (December 27 & 28).

Tickets for the two new Miley Cyrus dates will go on general sale on Friday June 19 at 9am.

Miley Cyrus will most likely be performing songs from her last album Breakout, which was released in September 2008.

The support act throughout the Miley Cyrus tour will be Metro Station, featuring Miley Cyrus’ older brother Trace Cyrus.

Metro Station fans can also catch the band in action at the London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on July 1, and at T4 On The Beach from Weston Super Mare Beach on July 19.

Miley Cyrus tickets for the previously announced dates, Metro Station tickets and T4 On The Beach tickets are all still available to compare at tixdaq.com.

Pet Shop Boys have announced that they have added four more dates to their Pandemonium tour this December.

The four new UK arena shows will be at the Glasgow SECC and Clyde Auditorium (December 17), Birmingham National Indoor Arena (December 18), the Manchester Evening News Arena (December 20) before drawing the tour to a close at the London O2 Arena (December 21).

Pet Shop Boys fans can expect to see them perform the hits from any of the ten studio albums they have released so far.

However, more emphasis might be placed on their most current album titled Yes released in March 2009.

Tickets for the new Pet Shop Boys tour will go on general sale from Friday June 19 at 9am.

Tickets are also available for fans who want to see the Pet Shop Boys in July at a few summer festivals.

Pet Shop Boys will be appearing at T In The Park at the Kinross Balado Airfield taking place from July 10-12.

Then the Pet Shop Boys will move onto the Latitude Festival at the Southwold Henham Park, taking place from July 16-19.

Also as part of the Summer Pops Festival, the Pet Shop Boys will be playing at the Liverpool Echo Arena on July 13.

T In The Park tickets, Latitude Festival tickets and Pet Shop Boys tickets are all available to compare at tixdaq.com

The Kings Of Leon record label is a joint venture with the music publisher Bug Music, who are based in Los Angeles.

Kings Of Leon will have the opportunity to sign new acts and help develop their careers.

The first act to get this support are The Features, a band from Tennessee where the Kings Of Leon are from.

The Features toured the UK and the US with Kings Of Leon in 2007 and their album Some Kind Of Salvation is the first to be released from the new record company.

The track listing and release date for The Features album Some Kind Of Salvation will be announced in the coming weeks.

The CEO of Bug Music John Rudolph claims that Kings Of Leon have what it takes to attract new artists to their label because of the honesty in their own music.

Fans of Kings Of Leon will be pleased to hear that tickets are still available for the Kings Of Leon tour of the album Only By The Night, and for the summer festivals where they will be making an appearance.

The Kings Of Leon tour will take place at the Manchester Evening News Arena on June 22 & 23 and drawing to a close at the London O2 Arena on June 30.

Then, Kings Of Leon will be appearing at T In The Park at the Kinross Balado Airfield (July 10-12) before taking on the Reading and Leeds Festival at the Reading Richfield Avenue and Leeds Bramham Park (August 22-23).

Kings Of Leon tickets as well as T In The Park tickets and Reading and Leeds Festival tickets are all available to compare at tixdaq.com

Brian Molko of Placebo will be at the London Roundhouse for the iTunes Festival on July 14

Four more acts have been added to the line-up for this year’s iTunes Festival.

The iTunes Festival, now in its third year, is taking place at the London Roundhouse throughout July.

The four new confirmed acts and dates for the iTunes Festival are:

Placebo (July 14)

Calvin Harris (July 18)

Bloc Party (July 20)

Mika (July 31)

Tickets are free but are only available to competition winners only.

Fans who cannot win tickets will be pleased to hear that tickets are still available for other live shows featuring the same artists as those announced for the iTunes Festival.

Placebo, whose album Battle for the Sun entered this week’s album chart at number eight, will be touring the UK this December.

The Placebo tour kicks off at the Birmingham LG Arena (December 8 ) before stopping off at the London O2 Arena (December 9), Manchester Central (December 12) and the Glasgow SECC & Clyde Auditorium (December 14).

Meanwhile, Calvin Harris recently revealed that he is going to write and record a song in Los Angeles in December with Katy Perry for her next album.

The Calvin Harris tour begins at the LCR of the University of East Anglia (October 15) and will also play at the Leeds O2 Academy (October 21), Manchester Academy (October 24) and Glasgow O2 Academy (November 4) plus many more.

Also with plans for new material are Bloc Party, who plan to release a brand new single called One More Chance in August, which does not appear on their most recent album Intimacy.

The Bloc Party tour, called Bloctober, starts at the Blackpool Empress Ballroom at Winter Gardens (October 2) and will stop off at many UK venues such as the Sheffield O2 Academy (October 10), Bristol O2 Academy (October 20), Brighton Centre and ending at the Bournemouth International Centre (October 31).

Placebo tickets, Calvin Harris tickets and Bloc Party tickets are all available to compare at tixdaq.com

Kasabian topped this week’s official UK albums chart with their latest release, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.

Kasabian beat off competition from Little Boots, Bruce Springsteen and Placebo, who also released albums this week.

Just behind at number two was last week’s number one album Sunny Side Up by Paolo Nutini.

Little Boots will be pleased to see her debut album, Hands, reach the number five spot in this week’s album chart.

In at number seven was the Greatest Hits release by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. One place behind was Battle for the Sun by Placebo, their sixth studio album.

These artists and bands are also preparing for their performances and tours at various venues around the UK.

Little Boots will be appearing at various festivals this summer such as the Latitude Festival at the Southwold Henham Park (July 16-19), Field Day at London Victoria Park (August 1), Reading & Leeds Festival at Leeds Bramham Park and Reading Richfield Avenue (August 28-30), and the Bestival 2009 at the Newport Robin Hill Adventure Park (September 11-13).

Latitude Festival tickets, Field Day tickets, Reading & Leeds Festival tickets, and Bestival 2009 tickets are all available to compare at tixdaq.com

The Kasabian tour has already kicked off and will be making stops at Nottingham Rock City (June 24), Sheffield O2 Academy (June 29) as well as two dates at the London Brixton O2 Academy (July 16 & 17) and the Wolverhampton Civic Hall (August 24 & 25).

The Paolo Nutini tour begins at the Blackpool Empress Ballroom (September 27) before stopping off at the London HMV Apollo (September 30), Manchester Apollo (October 5) as well as two dates in his home town at the Glasgow O2 Academy (October 14 & 15).

Bruce Springsteen will headline Hard Rock Calling at London Hyde Park, taking place from June 26-28. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will also perform at the Glasgow Hampden Park on July 14.

The Placebo tour kicks off at the Birmingham LG Arena (December 8 ) before stopping off at the London O2 Arena (December 9), Manchester Central (December 12) and the Glasgow SECC & Clyde Auditorium (December 14).

Kasabian tickets, Paolo Nutini tickets, Bruce Springsteen tickets, and Placebo tickets are all still available to compare at tixdaq.com

Andy Murray will face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the AEGON Championships third round

Andy Murray is through to the third round of the AEGON Championships at London Queen’s Club, the warm-up event to this month’s Wimbledon Grand Slam Championships.

World number three Andy Murray eased past Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-4 and is due to play against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez later today.

Following Andy Murray’s third round match will be a mouth-watering clash between world number six Andy Roddick and current Lleyton Hewitt.

Both Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt won the title at this tournament four times each since 2000 before world number one Rafael Nadal took the crown last year.

Lleyton Hewitt beat Frederico Gil 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to set up the third round clash against Andy Roddick.

Elsewhere, world number seven Gilles Simon found it tough to beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(7), 7-6(5) but is now due to play his third round match against Mikhail Youzhny after the Andy Roddick vs Lleyton Hewitt match.

There is a lot of tennis action taking place in London over the next few months. In fact, British fans can still buy AEGON Championships tickets which are currently available at tixdaq.com.

The AEGON Championships is followed by the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships, which takes place from June 22.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will be held in November at the London O2 Arena where the top eight players will compete to become champion in this end-of-season tournament.

Wimbledon tickets and tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are all available to compare at tixdaq.com.

Michael Jackson makes bizzare requests for tour

Michael Jackson has reportedly asked for some particular additions to his upcoming shows at the London O2 Arena.

In an email sent to the concerts promoter AEG, Michael Jackson has asked for a children’s choir, with exactly equal numbers of white, black, Asian and mixed-race children, all capable of doing sign language.

It is also claimed that in the email, Michael Jackson has asked for six marching snare drummers but they all had to be clean shaven.

The children’s choir and the marching snare drummers are to perform on stage for the This Is It shows.

The start of the Michael Jackson tour was pushed back from July 8 to July 13 and tickets for the July 10, 12 and 14 shows were now valid for the rescheduled dates in 2010.

The delay to the opening shows for the residency at the London O2 Arena was due to more time needed for dress rehearsals.

However, it has been suggested that the real reason behind the delay was because of Michael Jackson’s poor health.

Arthur Phoenix, former pubicist for the Jackson 5, thinks that Michael Jackson is in no physical, mental and spiritual state to last all 50 shows of the This Is It tour, and that fans with tickets should not get their hopes up.

Arthur Phoenix, who is Michael Jackson’s brother Tito’s advisor, also claims that family members share the same opinions as him but are too afraid to speak about their concerns.

The Michael Jackson tour at the London O2 Arena is currently running until March 6 2010, and Michael Jackson tickets for the This Is It tour are still available to compare at tixdaq.com

Andy Murray in AEGON Championships action today

World number three Andy Murray is due to play his opening match of the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club London later today.

Andy Murray faces Andreas Seppi after receiving a bye into the second round, but will be hoping to overcome the disappointment of losing his second round doubles match with partner Lleyton Hewitt.

Yesterday, Andy Murray and Lleyton Hewitt were beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach.

In the singles draw, Lleyton Hewitt faces Frederico Gil in the second round of the AEGON Championships, also due to play later today where the winner will face world number six Andy Roddick in the third round.

Yesterday, Andy Roddick won his opening match of the AEGON Championships by beating Kristof Vliegen 6-1, 6-4 in less than an hour.

Also due to play later today is world number seven Gilles Simon with his opening match against Grigor Dimitrov after receiving a bye into the second round.

Meanwhile, world number two Roger Federer has pulled out of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany which was going to be his warm-up tournament in preparation for this month’s Wimbledon Grand Slam Championships.

Roger Federer said exhaustion was the cause of pulling out of the tournament he won last year after winning the French Open Grand Slam earlier last week, his record equalling 14th Grand Slam title.

Also resting in preparation for Wimbledon is world number one Rafael Nadal.

Rafael Nadal was scheduled to play at the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club London, but has since said that he was doing everything he can to be fit to defend his Wimbledon title after having medical tests on his knee problems.

There is a lot of tennis action taking place in London over the next few months. In fact, British fans can buy AEGON Championships tickets which are currently available at tixdaq.com.

The AEGON Championships is followed by the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships, which takes place from June 22.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will be held in November at the London O2 Arena where the top eight players will compete to become champion in this end-of-season tournament.

Wimbledon tickets and tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are all available to compare at tixdaq.com.

Depeche Mode were back on the road after frontman Dave Gahan recovered from an operation to remove a tumour from his bladder.

Depeche Mode performed in Leipzig, Germany last night, which was the date the band announced they would return to the stage after doctors ordered Dave Gahan to rest.

Cancelled shows due to Dave Gahan’s illness are due to be rescheduled at a later date, where tickets purchased will remain valid.

Dave Gahan fell ill in Athens, Greece in early May suffering from gastroenteritis whilst on the Depeche Mode Tour Of The Universe after the April release of the album Sounds Of The Universe.

After last night’s show in Leipzig, Dave Gahan declared ”I’m grateful to the fans for showing their support and thankful to my family, friends and all of the doctors who looked after me so well. Being back onstage is an incredible feeling and I’m looking forward to each and every show.”

Depeche Mode fans who missed out on seeing them live this Summer will be pleased to hear that tickets are still available for the Depeche Mode tour in December this year.

Depeche Mode will be performing at the major UK arenas, like two dates at the London O2 Arena (December 15 & 16) before drawing the tour to a close at the Manchester Evening News Arena (December 18).

Depeche Mode tickets are available to compare at tixdaq.com

Andy Murray is the top seeded player in action for the AEGON Championships this year as he prepares for the 2009 Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

The AEGON Championships, held at The Queens Club London, will also feature top seeds including Gilles Simon and Andy Roddick, who like Andy Murray, received a bye into the second round of the AEGON Championships.

Andy Murray’s second round opponent will be Andreas Seppi, however Andy Murray is due to play his second round doubles match later today with partner Lleyton Hewitt after beating Andy Roddick and Rajeev Ram in the first round 3-6, 6-3, 12-10.

Both Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt will be hoping to win this tournament held at The Queens Club London for the fifth time.

Andy Roddick is due to play his opening singles match at the AEGON Championships against second round opponent Kristof Vliegen later today.

Lleyton Hewitt made an impressive start at the AEGON Championships with his first round 6-1, 6-0 win against Eduardo Schwank.

Last year’s champion Rafael Nadal pulled out of the AEGON Championships due to his persistent knee problems and is having medical tests at the moment in Barcelona to decide whether he can defend his Wimbledon crown.

A decision on whether Rafael Nadal can compete at Wimbledon is expected later today.

There is a lot of tennis action taking place in London over the next few months. In fact, British fans can buy AEGON Championships tickets which are currently available at tixdaq.com.

The AEGON Championships is followed by the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships, which takes place from June 22.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will be held in November at the London O2 Arena where the top eight players will compete to become champion in this end-of-season tournament.

Wimbledon tickets and tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are all available to compare at tixdaq.com.

Muse have recently confirmed that they are set to play six arena dates in the UK this November. The Muse tour kicks off at Sheffield Hallam FM Arena on November 4. Muse also visit Liverpool Echo Arena (November 5), Glasgow SECC (November 9) and Birmingham NIA (November 10). The Muse tour climaxes at London O2 Arena with two massive shows (November 12 and 13).

The forthcoming Muse album, The Resistance, is set to be released later this year in time for the tour.

Tickets for Muse’s headline arena tour go on sale on Friday (June 5) at 9am.

Last night, Rafael Nadal’s reign as the King of Clay came to an abrupt end at the hands of Robin Soderling, the world’s twenty third seed, at the 2009 French Open at Roland Garros.  The world number one had not lost a match at Roland Garros since making his debut  in 2005, and had looked on course for a record fifth successive French Open title. However,  in one of the biggest upsets in French Open history, Rafael Nadal’s dream of clinching a fifth title was crushed by Robin Soderling.

Robin Soderling will now meet the world number ten, Nikolay Davydenko, in the quarter-finals of the 2009 French Open.

Elsewhere, world number three, Andy Murray, beat Marian Cilic in straight sets to claim his spot in the quarter-finals of this year’s competition.

Today’s remaining fourth round matches sees Andy Roddick, Roger Federer and Juan Martin Del Potro all fighting for places in the quarter final

The next Grand Slam tournament after the French Open is the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships. British tennis fans can catch their favourite players in action at Wimbledon, which takes place from June 22.

Then the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will be held in November at the London O2 Arena where only the top eight players will compete to become champion in this end-of-season tournament.

Wimbledon tickets and tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are available to compare at tixdaq.com.

As previously reported on Tixdaq.com, Dave Gahan’s sickness has already forced Depeche Mode to cancel a number of the recent dates on the 2009 Depeche Mode tour. However, it was expected that Dave Gahan would recover in time for the imminent show at the London O2 Arena.

It has now been confirmed that Depeche Mode have been forced to postpone their show at London O2 Arena which was scheduled to take place this Saturday (May 30).

In a statement made on the official Depeche Mode website, the band said: “Dave Gahan sincerely thanks his fans for their support, understanding and patience. Depeche Mode deeply regret any problems or inconveniences the cancellations and postponements may have caused.”

The show will rescheduled for a later date and tickets will remain valid.

Dave Gahan will obviously have fully recovered in time for the start of the UK winter Depeche Mode tour. The Depeche Mode kicks off at Glasgow SECC on December 12.  Depeche Mode are also set to perform live at Birmingham LG Arena (December 13) , London O2 Arena (December 15 & 16) and Manchester Evening News Arena (December 18).

Tickets to see Depeche Mode live in concert on their UK winter tour are still available tompare at Tixdaq.com.

Andy Murray won his second round match against Potito Starace at the Rolland Garros French Open, but it was far from a straight forward victory.

Andy Murray survived a four set battle, winning 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes. It took one break of serve in the fifth game for Andy Murray to win the first set, but in the second set Potito Starace took advantage of Andy Murray’s unforced errors and finally found his serving rhythm to win the second set convincingly.

In the third set, Potito Starace kept up the pace and was 5-1 up, but failed to be clinical with his dominance and could not win his set points at 5-2 and at 5-4. Andy Murray recovered to win six games in a row to win the third set.

Andy Murray’s momentum continued, winning break point at 4-4 before eventually winning the fourth set 6-4.

The third round opponent for Andy Murray is Janko Tipsarevic, who is going to need to recover from his 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 second round win against 28th seed Feliciano Lopez from earlier today, which lasted for almost four hours.

Other second round winners from today at the French Open include number seven seed Gilles Simon and number eight seed Fernando Verdasco.

The next Grand Slam tournament after the French Open is the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships. British tennis fans can catch their favourite players in action at Wimbledon, which takes place from June 22.

Then the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will be held in November at the London O2 Arena where only the top eight players will compete to become champion in this end-of-season tournament.

Wimbledon tickets and tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are available to compare at tixdaq.com.

It has recently been revealed that Little Boots and The Maccabees will join the list of top acts set to perform at this year’s Oxegen Festival which is set to take place at Punchestown Racecourse this summer (July 10-12)

Bands including The Killers, Snow Patrol, Kings of Leon and Blur have already been confirmed as the headline acts for the 2009 Oxegen Festival.

Fans will be glad to learn that some of this year’s Oxegen Festival headline acts will also be on tour in the UK this summer.

Blur kick off their 2009 tour at Southend-on-Sea Cliffs Pavilion on June 24. The 2009 Blur tour also calls at Newcastle O2 Academy (June 25) and Manchester Evening News Arena (June 26). The Blur tour climaxes at London Hyde Park with two massive shows (July 2 & 3). Meanwhile, Kings of Leon perform five huge arena concerts in London and Manchester. The Kings of Leon tour includes three shows at London O2 Arena (June 15,16 & 30) and two performances at Manchester Evening News Arena. (June 22 & 23). Tickets to see both Blur and Kings of Leon are available to compare at Tixdaq.com.

The 2009 Oxegen Festival will also feature live performances from Bloc Party, Elbow, Razorlight, The Specials and Lily Allen.

Oxegen Festival tickets are currently available to compare at Tixdaq.com.

Organisers of the Sonisphere Festival, the first ever in the UK, have revealed the line-ups for the two main stages for this year’s event which is set to take place at Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire.

Acts scheduled to appear have already been revealed but festival-goers will be glad to hear that the performances on the two main stages will happen alternately so fans don’t have to miss any of the top acts on the bill.

The headline acts for this year’s Sonisphere are Linkin Park on Saturday August 1, and Metallica on Sunday August 2.

Meanwhile, Linkin Park band member Mike Shinoda has been talking about the follow up album to Minutes To Midnight, which was released in 2007.

Linkin Park are currently half way writing their new album, expected to be released in early 2010, but it won’t be rushed as Linkin Park would rather take a step back if required to make it their best album yet.

Mike Shinoda wants to make a different and cutting-edge album with Linkin Park, and is expecting it to be genre-breaking.

Also on the Main Stage on Saturday August 1 at Sonisphere are Heaven & Hell, Coheed & Cambria, Fear Factory and Taking Back Sunday.

Taking Back Sunday are on tour of UK venues just before Sonisphere, like at the Liverpool O2 Academy on July 30 and at Cardiff University on July 31.

On the Second Stage on Saturday August 1 at Sonisphere are Bullet For My Valentine, Airbourne, The Used, Anthrax and Skindred.

Skindred are also touring the UK with many dates throughout October this year. The Skindred tour currently begins at The Waterfront Norwich on September 30 and ends at London Electric Ballroom on October 20.

Taking Back Sunday tickets and Skindred tickets are still available to compare at tixdaq.com

On the Main Stage on Sunday August 2 with Metallica are Nine Inch Nails, Machine Head, Lamb Of God, Mastodon and Killing Joke.

Nine Inch Nails will be performing at two major UK arenas this summer as well as their Sonisphere appearance (Manchester MEN Arena on July 14 and London O2 Arena on July 15).

Mastodon tour the UK with a few June dates, beginning with the Sheffield Corporation (June 5) before ending at the O2 Academy Islington (June 9).

Nine Inch Nails tickets, Mastodon tickets as well as Sonisphere tickets are all still available to compare at tixdaq.com

Andy Murray is scheduled to play his second round match of the French Open at Rolland Garros today against Italian Potito Starace.

So far, the top seeded players have breezed past their first round opponents. World number four Novak Djokovic was leading 6-3, 3-1 before opponent Nicolas Lapentti was forced to retire with an ankle injury.

Novak Djokovic will now face Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round of the French Open.

Novak Djokovic’s clay court performance seems to be getting better and better having narrowly missed out on a place in the Madrid Masters final earlier this month.

Novak Djokovic also missed out on the French Open final over the past two years. All of these semi-final losses for Novak Djokovic have been against world number one Rafael Nadal.

Novak Djokovic aims to add to his Australian Open Grand Slam title from 2008 after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is also through to the second round of the French Open after beating fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau and will now face Juan Monaco.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is currently ranked world number nine and is hoping to improve this in order to qualify for this year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the end of the tennis season where only the top eight players will qualify.

Currently ranked at number five is Juan Martin del Potro after easing past Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.

Juan Martin del Porto, who recently lost to Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters, will now face Viktor Troicki in the second round of the French Open.

Top seeded players scheduled to play their French Open second round matches later today are Rafael Nadal against Teimuraz Gabashvili, Frenchman number seven seed Gilles Simon against Robert Kendrick, and number eight seed Fernando Verdasco against Philipp Petzschner.

The next Grand Slam tournament after the French Open is the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships. British tennis fans can catch their favourite players in action at Wimbledon, which takes place from June 22.

Then the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will be held in November at the London O2 Arena.

Wimbledon tickets and tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are available to compare at tixdaq.com.

The sixth studio album from Placebo called Battle For The Sun is released on June 8 and is the first album with new drummer Steve Forrest.

The first single taken from the new album is For What It’s Worth and is available to download now, with the CD format released on June 1.

The new Placebo tour dates will play at the Birmingham LG Arena (December 8), London O2 Arena (December 9), Bridlington Spa Theatre and Royal Hall (December 11), Manchester Central (December 12) and the Glasgow SECC (December 14).

Placebo tickets for these new tour dates will go on general sale from Friday May 29 at 9am.

As well as the Placebo tour later this year, Placebo will be performing at Rock Ness 2009 which takes place at the Inverness Clunes Farm (June 12-14) and Placebo will also be at this year’s Reading & Leeds Festival (August 28-30).

Rock Ness 2009 tickets and Reading & Leeds Festival tickets are available to compare at tixdaq.com

Andy Murray is one of many top seeded players to have won their opening game of the French Open at Rolland Garros.

The number three seed, Andy Murray, beat 2004 French Open quarter finalist Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina with an emphatic straight sets victory (6-2, 6-2, 6-1).

Andy Murray hopes to pass the third round stage of the French Open tournament for the first time in his career.

Also through to the second round at Rolland Garros is world number one Rafael Nadal who had to work hard to beat Marcos Daniel 7-5, 6-4, 6-3.

Andy Murray is in the same half of the French Open draw as Rafael Nadal and the two could meet in the semi-final stage.

In the other half of the draw are world number two Roger Federer and world number four Novak Djokovic.

Roger Federer beat Alberto Martin 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 and may face Rafael Nadal for the fourth consecutive time in the French Open final.

Roger Federer has lost the previous three finals against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros but can take comfort with his win at their most recent meeting at the Madrid Masters, which was Roger Federer’s first title win of the season.

Top seeds due to play their opening games of the 2009 French Open later today are Novak Djokovic who will face Nicolas Lapentti, while recent Madrid Masters semi-finalist Juan Martin del Potro is up against Michael Llodra of France.

Other top seeded players through to the second round of the French Open are Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco and Gilles Simon.

The top eight seeded players by the end of the tennis season will qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November, being held in the London O2 Arena.

However, the next Grand Slam tournament after the French Open is the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships. British tennis fans can catch their favourite players in action at Wimbledon, which takes place from June 22.

Wimbledon tickets and tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are available to compare at tixdaq.com.

The second Black Stone Cherry tour will take place at the Birmingham O2 Academy  (October 10), Newcastle O2 Academy  (October 19), Bristol O2 Academy  (October 21) and the Oxford O2 Academy (October 24).

Black Stone Cherry tickets for the new October shows will go on general sale on Friday May 22 at 9am.

Fans can expect Black Stone Cherry to perform songs from their current album Folklore and Superstition, which was released in August 2008.

However, if fans don’t want to wait until October to catch Black Stone Cherry in action, you can see them as support acts for Nickelback on their current UK tour for the album Dark Horse.

Nickelback are on tour now and are still set to play at the London O2 Arena on May 28 and the Sheffield Hallam FM Arena on May 29.

Also, Black Stone Cherry will feature at the Download Festival at the Derby Donington Park taking place from June 12-14.

Nickelback tickets and Download Festival tickets are available to compare at tixdaq.com