Paolo Nutini announces his first album in eight years as he returns with two new songs
YOU wait eight years for a new song from Paolo Nutini, then two come along at once.
The Scottish star made his grand return to music last night when he dropped a pair of singles and announced a brand new album — his first since 2014’s Caustic Love.
But he made sure to keep fans waiting, originally saying they would be out at 7.30pm but then not releasing them until much later.
The record, his fourth studio album, will be called Last Night In The Bittersweet.
It has been described as a 70-minute epic spanning “from classic rock to post-punk”.
His first two singles, called Lose It and Through The Echoes, give fans an ample taste of what to expect from the record.
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But they could barely be more different from each other, suggesting it will be his most eclectic album to date — and quite the departure from the sound he became known for on his first three albums.
The delay to the releases was believed to be due to Paolo making sure he was 100 per cent happy with the tracks, which have been years in the making.
A source said: “Paolo has spent so long working on this new music that he has been extra hands-on in making sure everything is completely perfect.
“He cares so much about the songs and wants to give his fans, who have waited years for new music, the best experience possible.
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“Paolo was insistent that only a handful of people in his inner circle listened to the songs before they were released.
“And hardly anyone has heard the album yet.
“He is a very private person and wasn’t going to risk anything leaking at the last moment.
“Things have been kept under lock and key for months but now he is finally ready to release it.”
He first shot to fame in 2006 with his love song Last Request and went on to have hits including Jenny Don’t Be Hasty, Pencil Full Of Lead and Scream (Funk My Life Up).
But his gravelly voice hasn’t been heard for years, as he hasn’t performed — and has barely been seen — since going on hiatus in 2017.
He will return to the stage this Saturday with a performance at the 900-capacity Leadmill in Sheffield, followed by further intimate shows at central London’s 100 Club and Corran Halls in Oban in his native Scotland.
Tickets for those shows sold out in seconds earlier this week but he will also play a string of festivals this summer.
As one of the nation’s best singer-songwriters, it’s good to have him back.
IS THAT FLOORED EAST?
FLEUR EAST took a tumble as she got out of her car for the Pride of Manchester awards on Tuesday night.
But the former X Factor runner-up managed to keep it together to pose on the red carpet — despite breaking her shoe.
She told listeners to her Hits Radio breakfast show yesterday: “I’m trying to cover and protect my modesty as I’m getting out of the car.
“I lose my footing, fall to the ground on to my knees, my heel breaks and I hear a collective gasp from the crowd.
“Miraculously, I got up, I had no cuts, no grazes on my knees. The heel was broken but I still managed to walk on it somehow. It was terrible.
“I ended up wearing these shoes that belonged to the hotel manager of the venue, one size smaller than my own, and now I don’t actually know where my broken heel is.
“It’s somewhere in Manchester.”
BELLA YELLA FOR FELLA
BELLA HADID looks ready for summer in this yellow top and shades.
The model wore the cleavage-baring top and PVC trousers for a date night in New York with her art director boyfriend Marc Kalman.
The duo have been seeing each other for almost two years, though they managed to keep the romance under wraps for several months — one of the few benefits of the pandemic. Now their every move is being caught by snappers.
Earlier this month Marc joined her at a Met Gala after-party, but he wasn’t there when she “blacked out”.
Clarifying an article this week that said it was caused by her tight corset, Bella wrote on Instagram: “My corset fit perfectly, with enough room to eat and drink.”
I’m not sure I’d even fit in a corset, let alone be able to eat and drink in one.
CHARLI’S TO-ITALY IN TO GEORGE
CHARLI XCX has confirmed her romance with The 1975’s George Daniel as they jetted off on a romantic holiday together.
The Used To Know Me singer shared photos on Instagram of them on the trip, which she said was “delicious”.
They are believed to have flown to Italy for the getaway ahead of the European leg of her Crash world tour, which starts in Dublin tomorrow.
The couple first met when they worked on a song called Spinning, which was released last spring. Then they teamed up to make her album Crash, which was released in March.
George co-wrote and produced the title track and persuaded her to end the record with her song Twice. She explained: “George Daniel, who is very good with tracklisting, simply said, ‘You’re an idiot if you don’t put this song last’.”
Despite his less-than-charming language, they later grew close following the breakdown of her long- term relationship with video game producer Huck Kwong last year.
Now they are quite the power couple, with 22 Top 40 hits and five No1 albums between them.
But with The 1975 expected to return with even more new music this year, organising their diaries so they actually have time to see each other will be quite the mission.
LIAM BLASTS WOKE BANDS
WE’VE had our differences over the years but I can totally get behind Liam Gallagher on this one.
The former Oasis legend has blasted the idiotic woke brigade and says new musicians are too afraid to be hell-raisers for fear of being cancelled.
When asked about his thoughts on cancel culture, Liam said: “Who the f*** are these people cancelling you, anyway?
“Like, f*** off. Unless they come to your house and say you’re cancelled, you’re still going to do your thing.
“They don’t speak for everyone, do they?
“The cancelling people just speak for the cancelled world.
“You can still do your gig — there are people out there who are going to like what you say. Bring it f***ing on, you f***ing squares!” Speaking on The 2 Johnnies Podcast, Liam also admitted he believed the shift in culture had left young rock stars too afraid to be controversial, as he was during his heyday.
He added: “No one is really blowing my mind, if I’m honest.
“I just think this world now — there’s a lot of people who are scared to say what they want to. They’d get cancelled.
“I’d hate to think I was the last rock star, because that’s just f***ing sad.
“I’ve got a problem with a lot of these bands today who go, ‘I’m an artist’.
“No you’re f***ing not. You’re a geezer in a band, so shut the f*** up.
“They’re pretentious, talking about the artistry and all that.
“Behave, man.”
REBEL’S BACK IN SCHOOL
REBEL WILSON is looking good after shedding 5st — and now she is going back to school for her latest role.
The Aussie actress plays cheerleader Stephanie Conway, who wakes up after a 20-year coma, in Netflix film Senior Year.
Rebel posed on the red carpet at the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday, wearing this emerald dress.
Speaking about the quirky comedy, which is out tomorrow and also stars This Is Us actor Justin Hartley, she said: “I just thought it was a really funny concept for a movie to play a girl who wakes up after a 20- year coma and goes and re-does her senior year.
“I think a lot has changed in 20 years in terms of now there is a lot of wokeness in society so that was something that we could make fun of but also point out in the film.”
I’D GO ZAC TO MUSICAL ROLE
ZAC EFRON has revealed he’d love a High School Musical reboot.
The actor starred in the original 2006 Disney Channel film opposite Vanessa Hudgens — as well as the sequels in 2007 and 2008 — and wants to bring back his character Troy Bolton.
He told E News: “To have an opportunity in any form to go back and work with that team would be so amazing. My heart is still there. That would be incredible. I hope it happens.”
Since then he has starred in big-budget movies including The Greatest Showman, Baywatch and Hairspray.
But with High School Musical being one Disney Channel’s most successful franchises, I’m sure moves for a reboot will be made in no time now Zac is keen — whatever the cost.
JADE HAS A PAL IN DJ CAL
IF Jade Thirlwall wants to make it in dance music, she may have got the perfect solo single to kick things off.
Little Mix will go on hiatus following their final show at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday and Jade has hinted her first tune on her own could be a collaboration with Calvin Harris.
Teasing his first album in five years on Instagram, the DJ shared a photo of himself alongside some flamingos and wrote: “Funk Wav Bounces Vol 2 — coming soon.”
Jade then wrote on the post, “We’re ready”, accompanied by a flamingo emoji, before the comment was liked by their shared label Sony Music.
Fans then flooded them both with messages and said: “Possible collab in the works?”
Former Fifth Harmony star Normani, who is also rumoured to be on the album, comment: “Let’s gooo.”
It’s already shaping up to be a very impressive record.
FRESH from his Best Short Film win at the Oscars, Riz Ahmed has landed his biggest role to date, playing Hamlet.
The Sound Of Metal actor will play the leading man in a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic.
In the play, Hamlet is haunted by his father’s spirit and is driven to increasingly unstable heights.
But the new retelling will see the story told through the character’s involvement in London’s elite circles and high-end parties.
He will also produce it, while Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn will play Laertes and Bafta Rising Star nominee Morfydd Clark will play Ophelia.
OUT LATE SUMMER
AUSSIE band 5 Seconds Of Summer have announced their fifth studio album, 5SOS5, will be out on September 23.
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The bumper 19-track record will be their first since 2020’s No1 Calm, and will feature their latest single Me, Myself and I, which is out today.
Frontman Luke Hemmings said: “Me, Myself & I explores the emotional cycle of feeling like you can do everything on your own and that you don’t need anyone else, but eventually realising that sometimes you push away the best things in your life.”