Kele Okereke to release solo album to Bloc Party

Working on a solo album Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke is reportedly, according to producer Hudson Mohawke. BBC Radio in an interview 1Xtra's Benji B, Mohawke mentioned a forthcoming collaboration with Erykah Badu "… and I'm also kinda doing a little bit of stuff for Kele from Bloc Party's solo album as well".
Mohawke – a DJ whose real name is Ross Birchard – also said Okereke is "doing a record" with "one of the guys" from Baltimore club duo Spank Rock. It's not clear whether Mohawke means an album or just one track, though producer Alex Epton, aka Armani XXXchange, is widely reported as the Spank Rocker in question. XXXchange has previously remixed songs by Thom Yorke, Beck, Lady Sovereign, Santigold and others, as well as producing Amanda Blank and the Kills.
Though Okereke's solo work has not been formally announced, the project has been widely speculated since Bloc Party revealed plans for a band hiatus. "I definitely don't think this will be the last you'll hear of the people who make up Bloc Party," drummer Matt Tong said in October. "Kele is an insatiable workaholic so you'll definitely hear from him again." The group currently wrapped up a UK tour and have only one more date scheduled, 19 November in Osaka.

Former Bloc MP elected as Longueuil mayor

Former Bloc Québécois MP Caroline St-Hilaire was elected mayor of the city of Longueuil on Montreal's South Shore on Sunday, ousting a party that has been in power for 27 years.
Hilaire, leader of the Action Longueuil Party, defeated Jacques Goyette — recently the chairman of the city's executive committee.
Goyette had succeeded outgoing Mayor Claude Gladu at the helm of the Parti Municipal Longueuil.
In a speech to supporters, St-Hilaire called her election a victory for democracy, and promised to put the city on the "road to ethics, integrity and transparency."
St-Hilaire will have a minority on city council, with the Parti Municipal Longueuil having won 16 of 26 seats.
The former Bloc MP and daughter of the late Longueuil city councillor Jean St-Hilaire called on members of the opposition party and mayors of de-merged municipalities on the South Shore to work with her "to restore harmony at the agglomeration [council]."
Other South Shore results
Boucherville: Jean Martel succeeds outgoing Mayor Francine Gadbois.
Brossard: Challenger Paul Leduc defeated incumbent Mayor Jean-Marc Pelletier.
Châteauguay: Nathalie Simon succeeds Mayor Sergio Pavone, who did not seek re-election.
The agglomeration council oversees the management of shared services in the region.
In an interview with CBC's French language service, St-Hilaire said she would also work with the provincial government to "clean house" in municipal politics.
She said the political class has a "collective responsibility" to regain the public's confidence.
St-Hilaire will have a minority on city council, with the Parti Municipal Longueuil having won 16 of 26 seats.

BLOC PARTY: BLOC PARTY'S TONG HINTS AT DEPARTURE

BLOC PARTY's drummer MATT TONG has hinted he will not return to the band following its upcoming hiatus because he's considering 'trying something else for a while'.
The hitmarkers Helicopter are set to take a break at the end of the year (09), following months of promoting their third album, Intimacy. And although Tong is convinced his bandmates will almost definitely be involved with music during their time out from Bloc Party, he confesses he isn't so sure what lies in store for him.He says, "I definitely don't think this will be the last you'll hear of the people who make up Bloc Party. Kele (Okereke) is an insatiable workaholic and creating is something he is so connected to, so you'll definitely hear from him again, along with Russell (Lissack) and Gordon (Moakes). As for me, I don't know, I wouldn't mind trying something else for a while."

Bloc Party Play: Victoria Hall in Hanley

THE awesome Bloc Party will be playing at the Victoria Hall, Hanley, for one night only tonight (Wednesday).
The band is now in its 10th year, but they released their debut album that there was only four years ago, Silent Alarm, to critical acclaim.
Their most current album along with song, Intimacy, they will be playing a number of top tracks such as Flux and The Prayer.
They have been nominated for more than a dozen awards, but have won only one for Best Indie Rock Album in the 2006 PLUG Awards for Silent Alarm.

Bloc Party dates and Brand New Single

This year out earlier, album of the bands debut has already been hailed as one of 2009's great reaching, and currently finished runner up in Drowned in Sound's alternative Mercury award the Neptune Music Prize. Personally invited have been grammatics to play main support on Bloc Party's 23 date 'Bloctober' tour, kicking off on 2nd October.

Live Dates

8th October - City Hall, Hull (w/ Bloc Party)

10th October - Academy, Sheffield (w/ Bloc Party)

11th October - Academy, Leeds (w/ Bloc Party)

12th October - Engine Shed, Lincoln (w/ Bloc Party)

14th October - Victoria Hall, Stoke (w/ Bloc Party)

15th October - Academy, Birmingham (w/ Bloc Party)

16th October - Centre, Newport (w/ Bloc Party)

18th October - Arena, Llandudno (w/ Bloc Party)

19th October - University, Liverpool (w/ Bloc Party)

20th October - Academy, Bristol (w/ Bloc Party)

22nd October - Hall For Cornwall, Truro (w/ Bloc Party)

23rd October - Pavilion, Plymouth (w/ Bloc Party)

24th October - Centre, Brighton (w/ Bloc Party)

26th October - Cliffs Pavilion, Southend (w/ Bloc Party)

27th October - Corn Exchange, Cambridge (w/ Bloc Party)

28th October - Rock City, Nottingham (w/ Bloc Party)

30th October - Rivermead, Reading (w/ Bloc Party)

31st October - BIC, Bournemouth (w/ Bloc Party)

Genre joy Bloc Party's

Bloc Party don't worry about their fans' opinions.
The pair say they are glad to change genres with every album they release as they always want a new challenge, even at the risk of alienating their supporters.
Asked about the effect the change in sound has on their fan base, bassist Gordon Moakes said: "That kind of thingworry was doesn't us.
"We've been conscious of that from when we were demoing. We come from a place of not needing to do what we've done before we've been talking about from day one. You might say we are no bigger a post punk band but why do what we've already done? That's how we've ended up where we are recently."
Despite an extensive back catalogue, the pair are always striving to give the best performance possible when they play live and scraps to make life easy for themselves.
Gordon added to the North Wales Chronicle newspaper: "I think in a way we've gone out of our way in how we attack our recording and how we then interpret that for the live stage. One of the most important things is how we play that music instead of pre combining it into a hard drive.
"I know it mean for me a lot for me to be honest about how we replicated tracks, I didn't just need to let the backing track go, I needed to find an actual way of going that. That has been an interesting journey. I have learned a lot learned to play some instruments better. It's a bit of a non sequiter, but someone said if you're not learning you should quit. That's a nice analogy to put into music."

Top 5 interrupted gigs, Music poll

The Doors' 1967 gig at the New Haven Arena in New Haven, Connecticut tops the list of most famous interrupted gigs, according to a current poll by the ticket agency, viagogo.
During that performance or half-performance singer Jim Morrison was arrested on stage by police for breaking the state's obscenity laws and inciting the crowd to riot. (In a video below, Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek gives a full account of the incident.)
A 2007 concert in Utrecht, Holland by Bloc Party comes in a close second: The band stopped playing when the crowd spotted a couple having sex in the audience. This prompted other members of the crowd to do the nasty. Realizing they were now in the midst of an orgy, Bloc Party exited the stage.
Third place goes to Britney Spears for her May 2009 gig in Vancouver. Britney stormed off the stage after 15 minutes, claiming the auditorium was too smoky and she was uncomfortable with the number of fans smoking marijuana. Spears returned to the stage 40 minutes later and admonished her fans for smoking weed.
The Top 5 interrupted gigs
1. 9 December 1967 - The Doors, New Haven Arena, New Haven, ConnecticutJim Morrison was arrested on stage by local police for attempting to incite a riot.

2. 28 April 2007 - Bloc Party, Utrecht, HollandRampant sex stops the gig. After a couple in the audience started getting it on, the crowd started cheering and followed suit. The band brought the concert to an early end. (Talk about premature climaxes!)
3. 8 April 2009 - Britney Spears, GM Place Stage, Vancouver, British ColumbiaBritney Spears sulks off the stage, reportedly saying it was too smoky in the venue for her to perform. Fans were stunned at her reaction and booed her for leaving. When she returned, she told the audience not to smoke pot.
4. 7 June 1977 - The Sex Pistols, River Thames, LondonHaving just released God Save The Queen, The Sex Pistols performed on a private boat, sailing down the River Thames, past Westminster and the Houses Of Parliament. The event was designed to mock the Queen's river procession planned for two days later to celebrate her Silver Jubilee, but it ended in chaos with police forcing the boat to dock and constabulary surrounded the gangplanks on the pier.
5. 21 February 2008 - Vampire Weekend, ULU, LondonThe pair abandoned the stage at the Shockwaves NME Awards Show after the fire alarm sounded mid-way through the appropriately titled The Kids Don't Stand A Chance, forcing the Brooklyn band and the audience to evacuate the building.
As for us, we would have voted for the many incidents during The Rolling Stones' free concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1969 (drummer Marty Balin for the opening act Jefferson Airplane got knocked out by a Hells Angel; later, the Stones stopped playing several times because of fights breaking out in the crowd and then, of course, there was that horrifying stabbing).