American pop stars don’t venture to British shores all that often, and hardly ever to play tiny 250-capacity venues. We decided to check out the girl who, at the time of writing, has been at the top of the UK charts for 5 weeks with her single I Kissed A Girl. Perry has an obvious gift for performance, and this evening’s show is anything but dull. She struts and slithers her way across the......

Some say there are over 100,000 Poles now living in London. You may be getting to know their pierogi or drinking their wódkas - but just how much do you know about Polish pop music? The UK's first Polish pop music festival - PKO BP London Live - being held on September 7 at Wembley Arena gives you a chance to find out more. The festival - free to attend - will be an......

You know how we love our random Scandinavian pop music. Well tomorrow night the particularly barking As In RebekkaMaria hits us up for one of her first UK shows. Formerly the singer in Danish-Swedish band Lampshade, she's since released her solo album 'Queen of France' on the continent. Spoken about in the same breathe as the likes of Robyn and Lykke Li, she's had amazing reviews for her quicky electronica back home and we're......

Good new girl groups are far and few between. While we may have loved Sugababes back in the day and Girls Aloud are still owners of our heart, for everyone of them there's also been a Clea, a Mania and a Frank. Now, more than ever since the time of Spice Power, new girl groups are trying to make it, with Red Blooded Women being one name in a long list. Put together by......

Foxy new girl group Red Blooded Women will be touting their wares tonight at Water Rats from 8pm. Continuing the 80s theme of the last 18 months, they're not afraid to be pop and mainstream, never more so in the Yazoo sampling 'Color Me Bad'. Download a megamix of their album for free here and if you like it come and join us on the dancefloor tonight. Tickets are £6 here.......

Like your pop music big, loud and bouncy? American #1 Katy Perry is coming to town for her first UK gig this September. Tickets have just gone on sale for the tiny Water Rats and we're pretty sure that once people clock on it'll sell out really quickly. Added to iTunes yesterday she could be looking at a UK #1 on Sunday with the trashy 'I Kissed A Girl'. Tickets are £7.50 here......

We're playing dot to dot with Listen Up! this week. After Toy! Toy! recommended 24 year old Cherry Suicowe thought we'd get in touch to find out what she's all about. Who are you what do you do? My name is Cherry Suico and i'm a singer/songwriter currently working with my band called The Crazy 88s. How did you get here? I started singing as a child. Wasn't really the performing arts school kid......

This week, we offered you the chance to go and see rising star Jack Savoretti on April 1st, enjoyed a triple bill of metal, mayhem and melee, and previewed El Guincho's looped tropical rhythms which are coming to the capital this week. Looking ahead to this week, Easter Monday offers the tantalising line up of R.E.M., Foals, The Duke Spirit and Robyn Hitchcock all at the Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the ICA's 60th birthday.......

A changeable week around the capital, as we caught up with the marvellous Black Cab sessions, saw Laura Marling live at Union Chapel on Tuesday, got excited about Radiohead playing the Beeb, had a quick chat with quickly rising stars Clocks, finally conceded that not even Ken can save the Astoria, and realised that Damon Albarn may have his fingers in too many pies. Meanwhile, looking ahead to this week things are rather quiet as......

Clocks sprung onto our radar early this year when we got very excited by the incorrect idea that 90s dance 'pioneers' Clock had reformed. Instead we were presented with a fun, new poppy indie band from Epson making the type of music that puts a spring in your step and a summery smile on your face. Genuinely feelgood - we went to check what they were all about. Have a look at the video......

It was New Year's Eve. You stood looking up into the sky as the fireworks faded and the boom and crack of them rang faintly in your ears. That was it, you thought. That's the last party until spring time. But you were wrong! Because in London, you can have New Year's celebrations several times over before the clocks go forwards, starting with the Russian 'Old New Year' in Trafalgar Square this Sunday! And......

The first full week back at work, and with that we start to get a few decent gigs happening. The Spice Girls continue their record-breaking run of nights at the O2 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Tickets are still available from See Tickets and Ticketmaster for all three nights, and for the rest of their shows this month in London. If you like your music a lot heavier than some camp pop, then you might......

London’s got its very own comics festival, and it’s kicking off this weekend. But don’t let yourself envisage flocks of overgrown adolescents in ill-fitting capes – Comica’s appeal is that it casts its eye more broadly, bringing in arresting art and affecting stories from around the world. Normally it’s the heroes in tights hogging the spotlight. Comica gets them to step aside for a couple of weeks a year in favour of the unusual......

We’re sticking to our laurels – we just don’t care about London Fashion Week. But we do care about Prince, our Purple Hero of Pop. Thus, this morning, we cast our eye for a protracted second on a more enjoyable fashionista blurb – “Prince wows London fashion elite.” Turns out the artist formally known as Prince not only joined Matthew Williamson’s show, but stole it, leaping onto the stage to cajole all with his......

By definition there must be at least two sides to every dispute. But we're really struggling to find empathy with the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union after it broke ranks with other unions to insist on shutting down most of the tube network until Thursday. Next week they will cripple the tube again, if there's no agreement. The strength of the RMT argument doesn't seem to be making much headway in the......

The Aftershow. It's got that exclusive ring to it, smacking of VIP-ness and celebrity glamour. How exciting then, when it was announced that O2 Prince shows would also have an aftershow party at nearby Indigo where you - the people, the fans - could get intimate access to the Purple Hero of Pop, party with his band and generally have one stonking night to remember. But of course, being so little and not, in......

The past few years haven't been kind to Brighton's finest Goth punk psychobilly exports, Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. In the years since 2004's phenomenal "The Royal Society" album, they were scandalously dropped by their record label, parted with guitarist and founding member Andy Huxley and witnessed The Horrors steal the hearts of the nations Goth youth. They have a lot to prove tonight. Within 30 seconds of taking to the stage lead singer Guy......

As soon as the sun came out, half of you probably rushed to the nearest beach. Or the nearest pub. Or the nearest airport. Now you're back in the real world and you've spent all your money. It means that we can't go and see the Summer exhibition at Buckingham Palace (we love an excuse to be nosy!) and we can't go and see Orlando Bloom in 'In Celebration' (apparently it's not very good......

Rockabaret is fabulous. Dress up. Be crazy, silly, decadent, beautiful. And then dance the night away to your favourite songs! Londonist had a chat with Nikkie Amouyal, director of Rockabaret, who runs the night with Tony Maggs. The next night is on Saturday 21st July at the Cobden club: Viva La Revolution! What is so different about your club night? It's glamorous, extravagant, elegant and what a rock star party should be! We have......

Londonist's favourite electro-punk outfit Robots in Disguise are headlining Club Eat Your Make Up this Thursday, a new club night which promises sleazy indie and electro-trash in abundance. If the name Robots in Disguise is new to you, then you may recognise them from their numerous cameo appearances in The Mighty Boosh, as The Electro Girls, and The Goth Girls. In fact, Noel Fielding himself is an occasional live-only band member. We've had a......

There are plenty of nice places to walk around in the posh Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC): Kensington Palace, Kings Road, Harvey Nichols... Streets, parks, palaces and shops are all a shade nicer than the rest of town but only a very select handful of privileged people get to call it local. You jammy gits. Nonetheless, this summer, the Arts Service team of the RBKC have kindly put together a lovely little......

Ahhhh, Greenwich Indoor Market. How do we love thee... let us count the ways. 1. The Arts Collective. A whole little street of wonderful artists covering everything from the abstract to modern art to photography. Check out Anna Hillmans 'amazingness' stand. 2. Essential Music. Selling the best music at extra cheap prices. Don't be deterred by the closing down sign: it always says that to trick the tourists into going in. Hehehe! 3. The......

Another exciting week of music in the capital coming up, with us here to give you the best guide through what's hot and what's not in the indie / pop scenes this week. Want a lazy way to spend your Bank Holiday Monday? Why not see Good Shoes at Morden Park bandstand? They're on at 2pm, and we previewed it earlier last week here. Later on Monday evening The Holloways play The Electric Ballroom......

Thoughtful, haunting and slightly odd, Scout Niblett's music is the kind that creeps up on you unawares and sinks its beautiful, fuzzy-guitared teeth in. With a new EP out on Monday and a show at Bush Hall the same night, Scout's a busy woman but we managed to catch up with her by email to discuss more important matters: Rugeley, astrology and stink bombs. Oh, and supporting Iggy Pop at this summer's Meltdown... So,......

The nicer the weather gets, the busier we get across the Ist-A-Verse. But we like being busy. Here's a peek at what we've been up to since last week! Chicagoist had an interview with Audrey Niffenegger, whose popular book, The Time Traveler's Wife, was based in their fine city. They also had a heated discussion about Rush Limbaugh's controversial Barack Obama parody, talked about whether Uncle Julio's Hacienda is a good place to get......

That most eclectic of musical festivals, the South Bank Centre's Meltdown, has announced its line-up for 2007. After a hiatus last year while the Centre was undergoing a much needed facelift, the festival is back with a bang - and this year it's being curated by channel-hopping, square-jawed music man, Jarvis Cocker. "We shall rouse you from your slumber. And you're going to love it," writes the bespectacled one on the South Bank website.......

We loved Maximo Park when they first appeared, we love them now, and we particularly love the fact that they once sang a bit of Billie Piper down the phone to us. Having checked them out at a small Scala gig two weeks ago, we've got no doubt that their new material is as good as the old. After creating an overnight queue of 1000 people wanting tickets in Argyll Street last week, they......

Eurovision selections continue apace all around Europe this week. The biggest and finest selection of them all is that of the mighty Sweden. Melodifestivalen is a Swedish national institution which has been running for almost 50 years. Many people in Sweden claim that the contest is even more important than Eurovision itself, with the show getting huge ratings and generating huge media interest. Melodifestivalen is a massive affair: 32 songs are in the running......

Loads of skyscraper speculation this week. And we'll say from the outset that all info is sourced from the peerless SkyscraperNews. Go visit. Pop Art Tower for Old Street Roundabout? There it is, pictured. What do you reckon? Bold, distinctive, certainly very different - although the use of bright colours in buildings seems to be a bit of a trend at the moment (one we're sure to regret in 10 years or so). The......

Tomorrow, the BBC announce the acts that will be in contention to represent the UK in Eurovision. Making Your Mind Up, the show, will be held sometime in the next few weeks. Whispers have been flying around for months about who'll be in the running, with some rumours hitting the headlines (yep, Morrissey), but as yet, nobody knows for sure. This year marks the UK's 50th Eurovision entry, as well as the 40th anniversary......