Libya rediscovers its hidden talent

31 December 2012 Last updated at 11:43 GMT By Rana Jawad BBC News, Tripoli Listen to Black Devil by The BlackForce

For decades, Libya appeared to be starved of talent. The entertainment industry is still virtually non-existent. But since the uprising that toppled the only man allowed to be famous in the country - Col Muammar Gaddafi - Libyans are leaving nothing to chance.

In a small music shop tucked in a street in central Tripoli, the owner is busily tuning a guitar.

Rows upon rows of instruments line the store's walls. The gleaming, colourful electric guitars are in a league of their own against other instruments, including the traditional darbuka (drum).

This is where a heavy metal band that recently re-grouped meets three times a week after sunset.

In the shop's basement, there is a small soundproofed room lined with many large speakers, and a shiny drum set. It is separated by a glass window from a recording studio.

Nasser, Saleh, Jallal and Adel make up The BlackForce, a band of middle-aged heavy metal enthusiasts now practising what they love.

They generally look like a polite version of stereotypical metalheads. You will not find anyone sporting leather trousers here.

Nasser al-Geedi has a voice ranging from deep and husky to high-pitched anarchy. He is the lead vocalist with chin-length greying hair - not a common site in Libya. His black electric guitar has tiny white skulls along its neck. He abuses its stings with a familiar ease.

Mystery Eyes, written and composed by al-Geedi in the 1980s, is a mix of a soft power ballad and ultra-fast electric beats.

At the end of the practice session, al-Geedi shouts: "Thank you, Las Vegas!" and an infectious round of laughter fills the cramped room.

This band represents a generation that felt it lost its voice decades ago.

Talent show

Saleh al-Khuweldi, the band's drummer, tells me they all met in the early 1980s and formed their group at a time when heavy metal was not really welcomed by people and government alike. They were limited to playing at some weddings and private gatherings.

"We played regularly in the 1980s, until the former regime [publicly] burnt all the musical instruments - that's when Western music became impossible in Libya," al-Khuweldi explains.

Nasser al-Geedi's voice ranges from husky to high-pitched anarchy

After Col Gaddafi was toppled, the band re-grouped and bought new instruments.

Al-Khuweldi proudly points to his drum set that has witnessed as much tribulations as he had.

"That's not new," he says, although its sheen could have fooled anyone.

"I hid it from the former regime when they went after all the instruments. They bothered us a lot, they would even cut off our electricity at home.

"Our goal now is to deliver the music that was buried here for a long time - everything we play was written and composed by us in the 1980s," he recalls.

But without proper distribution channels for local artists and no real music industry to speak of, that aspiration may still be a long way away.

It's not just the nostalgic older generation.

Tripoli's decrepit Soviet-style theatre hall was once known as The People's Hall and mostly used to declare unshakable allegiance to Col Gaddafi.

Earlier this year it was the venue for a public talent show where Libyans went to show off their skills at everything from freestyle football, abstract paintings and portraits of Hollywood and MTV celebrities, to singing about Islam.

The theatre gradually filled up with a curious public of men, women and children, including a young former fighter who told me: "I'm here to forget the war."

The novelty of events like this becomes glaringly obvious with all the system failures - and backstage and on-stage mayhem that drew a few laughs.

It resembled a primary school show with talent in its infancy stages.

Regardless, there was a sense of pride at the mere opportunity and ability to stage an event and showcase young talent like this now.

Art of humour

Suheib Tantoush, 17, studies law in Tripoli university.

His true passion however, lies in pencil and paper, and a tablet computer.

He breathes life and wisdom beyond his years into caricatures highlighting the political and social malaise in Libyan society.

"It's not any kind of drawing - it's what we call the art of humour, putting things in a sarcastic way."

One of the many sketches scattered in his bedroom shows a young boy asking his father:

"Daddy, what does Libya hurra mean? The father answers: "It's something Libyans say when they've done something wrong."

Libya hurra - meaning Libya is free - was the post-revolution mantra on the streets.

Tantoush explains that it is now being used as an excuse for everything.

His recurring theme is the Libyan youth "not accomplishing their goals in life".

"Just hanging in the street, not doing anything productive. Getting bored. I hope that mentality changes," he says in a mixed tone of sadness and optimism.

He says he would gladly give up law to pursue his true passion if mainstream avenues were created for his type of art.

'We had a dream'

Back in the recording studio, The BlackForce play on, seemingly revelling in the beat of a lost generation.

The lead vocalist is as passionate today as he was in his 20s.

"We had a dream - we had to play good music for Libyans and for the world," he says.

"I don't need to play my guitar and sing songs under pressure or under bad regimes, OK? I have to sing freely. That's why we feel now something like this - that's why we're going to start one more time. We like music and we want to play this music, that's all."

Libya does not have many famous voices, artists and poets.

But that could change, as a country that was robbed of creativity and passion for decades starts to rediscover its hidden talents.

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Spectacular plan for Culture year

31 December 2012 Last updated at 06:58 GMT By Michael O'Donnell BBC News Londonderry is the UK's first City of Culture

They say start as you mean to go on and the opening event of the Derry-Londonderry 2013 City of Culture year is going to be a moment to remember.

Even before the clock ticks over into 2013, the city centre is going to be bathed in the most spectacular display of pyrotechnics ever seen in the area.

The fuse will be lit at exactly 20:13 GMT on New Year's Eve.

It will herald the beginning of the historic, first ever UK City of Culture year.

'Precious gift'

The excitement began in July 2010 when the city was awarded the title ahead of rival bids from Birmingham, Norwich, and Sheffield.

At the announcement, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the award was "a precious gift for the peacemakers" in Northern Ireland.

Actor James Nesbitt is chancellor of the University of Ulster, which has the Magee campus in the city.

He said: "This decision confirms what many of us in the province and further afield have known for many years - that Derry-Londonderry is a cultural powerhouse.

Continue reading the main story

This decision confirms what many of us in the province and further afield have known for many years - that Derry-Londonderry is a cultural powerhouse”

End Quote James Nesbitt Actor "Whether it is writers like Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane, songwriters and performers like Phil Coulter or the Undertones, artists like Willie Doherty, film-makers like Margo Harkin and Tom Collins, or actors like Amanda Burton, Roma Downey and Bronagh Gallagher, the city has asserted a huge influence on the arts internationally."

Television producer and writer Phil Redmond, who headed the UK City Of Culture judging panel, said the award was "a cultural tool to bring people together".

"When people read Derry's bid... it's about acknowledging the past, not shying away from the past, and using that point that the past informs our present and helps shape our future," he said.

"If that is not the role of culture then I don't know what is."

'Musical heritage'

The event will open with a Sons and Daughters concert on 20 January 2013 in the new, purpose-built building in Ebrington Square.

The aim of the concert is to celebrate Derry's rich musical heritage and will be broadcast by the BBC.

The Turner Prize will also be staged in the former military barracks on Ebrington Square. It will be the first time the prestigious art competition has been held outside England.

Playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea will return to the city with the Field Day theatre company, which was founded in the city in 1980.

They will present a new work by playwright Sam Shepard.

Derry City Council's Brendan McMenamin, lead programmer of the New Year's Eve event said it is going to be a great occasion.

"From 6:30pm (18:30 GMT) church bells across the city will ring out calling people to join in the celebrations and from 6.50pm (18:50 GMT) the show will commence," he said.

'Brighter future'

"It will be accompanied by a musical arrangement that captures the journey of the city towards 2013, including some of the signature moments as part of the bid.

"The show will place the Peace Bridge and the river centre stage and conclude with the sounds of the shirt factory horns to welcome the New Year and our ambitions for a brighter future for the city."

After the fireworks and pyrotechnic show, Culture Company's Sound of the City will provide musical entertainment across a number of venues in the city to mark the transition to 2013.

Irelands leading electronic music festival, Celtronic, will stage an event at the historic St Columbs Hall.

It will be headlined by one of the world's leading DJs and producers, Ewan Pearson.

The Nerve Centre will host a celebration of Derry's thriving music scene when some of the city's leading bands will ring in the New Year.

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Child sex charge singer in court

31 December 2012 Last updated at 12:18 GMT Ian Watkins appeared before Cardiff Crown Court on Monday The lead singer of rock band Lostprophets has appeared in court on child sexual offence charges, including conspiracy to rape a baby.

Ian Watkins, 35, of Pontypridd, appeared via video link at Cardiff Crown Court from Parc Prison, Bridgend.

Wearing a black suit, shirt and tie Mr Watkins appeared along with two other female defendants who cannot be named for legal reasons.

They were remanded further until 11 March.

Mr Watkins faces a charge of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child under 13 and four offences relating to possession and distribution of indecent images of children.

The alleged offences date from May to December this year.

A 24-year-old woman, from Bedford, has been charged with the same offences as Mr Watkins, while a 20-year-old woman from Doncaster is charged with five of the same offences but not conspiracy to rape.

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Rare Beatles LP sells for £12,000

31 December 2012 Last updated at 15:15 GMT The signed album had been expected to fetch £15,000 at the Worthing auction A rare copy of a Beatles LP signed by all four band members has finally been sold - for the sum rejected at auction in Sussex a few weeks earlier.

Chris Collins, from Eastbourne, and his sister, Liz Chambers, from Worthing, initially turned down a £12,000 bid for a copy of the album, Please Please Me.

They had hoped to get £15,000 for the LP, which was given to their late father during a drinking session.

But the siblings have now accepted £12,000 from private buyers.

The album was signed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr after they used it as a drinks coaster during a card game in 1963.

Kept in drawer

Mr Collins had played it repeatedly until an expert revealed that because of its provenance - and the fact that it had the rarer black-and-gold label - it was worth a substantial amount.

The album went into Mr Collins's sock drawer until they finally put it up for sale, at Campbell's auction house in Worthing, just before Christmas.

It was withdrawn from sale after failing to reach its £15,000 reserve price, but auctioneer Paul Campbell said: "The record has now sold for a hammer price of £12,000, to a private buyer."

He said the vendors had decided to cut their losses and accept £12,000 following renewed interest from a Dutch Beatles enthusiast living in Worthing and his father.

The auction house even slashed its commission to enable the sale to go through.

"The sale came just too soon for these buyers, but they came back immediately after the sale and said they would have it," Mr Campbell added.

Please Please Me was The Beatles' first album, released in March 1963.

The earliest copies had black and gold labels and are more valuable than the subsequent versions, featuring black and yellow ones.

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Oscar winner dies in raft tragedy

31 December 2012 Last updated at 10:51 GMT Michael Hopkins posed with actress Jennifer Garner at the 2006 Oscars Oscar-winning sound editor Michael Hopkins, who worked on films including the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the 2005 King Kong remake, has been killed in a rafting accident in New Zealand.

Hopkins, 53, from Greytown, New Zealand, died after being thrown from his raft on Sunday, police said.

He won Academy Awards for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in 2003 and King Kong in 2006.

He also worked on Blade Runner, Superman, Octopussy and Transformers.

Hopkins first worked with director Peter Jackson on his 1992 movie Braindead, and was also part of Jackson's team for Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners as well as the three Lord of the Rings epics.

Hopkins shared his two Oscar wins and one further nomination with US collaborator Ethan Van der Ryn.

The accident happened in the Waiohine River on New Zealand's North Island. His two rafting companions both survived.

Police Senior Sergeant Carolyn Watson said: "Police would like to thank all those who assisted in the recovery of Mr Hopkins and the rescue of his companions, particularly the jet boat operator who came to our aid and, at considerable risk to himself, was able to rescue the female.

"All three were wearing life jackets, wetsuits and helmets at the time and it appears that Mr Hopkins got into trouble after they were ejected from the raft in a fast flowing eddie."

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Blockbusters on the way in 2013

By Natalie Jamieson
Newsbeat entertainment reporter

Action and fantasy look set to dominate the box office in 2013 but it will also be the year One Direction add to their global teen takeover by releasing a concert movie.

To start with though, there are a handful of films being referred to as the new Twilight, such as Beautiful Creatures, the first in the four part Caster Chronicles.

The story centres on teenager Lena, a 'caster' who can use magic and will either be claimed for the Light or the Dark on her 16th birthday.

In August, Mortal Instruments: City of Bones arrives, part one of a six part series, starring Lily Collins, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Jamie Campbell Bower, and introducing us to Shadowhunters, described as half-angel warriors.

Plus Twilight author Stephanie Meyer has a new film adaptation due out in March - The Host is about rebel humans fighting back against an alien race that's been taking over Earth.

Like sequels?

As is the norm now, many sequels will be released in 2013, not necessarily cheaper to make but certainly cheaper to market with a known brand and built in fan base already in place.

Bruce Willis is tasked with helping his son (who somehow ends up in trouble in Russia, hopefully at Christmas) in the fifth Die Hard movie, A Good Day to Die Hard.

Willis also pops up in the second G.I. Joe film, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, once again starring Channing Tatum, whose role was reportedly increased after his success at the box office in 2012.

Plus there's Fast and Furious 6, The Hangover 3, Despicable Me 2, and Kick-Ass 2.

Superheroes return

2013 will also see a mini-trend for ditching the sequel number in some film titles.

The number '2' is missing from Star Trek Into Darkness, Thor: The Dark World, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Monsters University, which is Pixar's follow up to Monsters Inc.

Watch out for Hollywood spinning words such as, 're-imagining', 're-boot' but never 're-make', despite various familiar tales being retold.

The most anticipated, perhaps, is Man of Steel, the latest crack at Superman, starring Henry Cavill and Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

There's a new version of cult horror film Carrie, a focus on the wizard in Oz: The Great and Powerful and Jack Ryan, with Chris Pine now taking on author Tom Clancy's character, previously played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck.

Finally - if you love grand drama, as the Oscar voters do, then there's musical Les Miserables starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman, Leonardo DiCaprio will become The Great Gatsby, the hunt for Osama bin Laden is chronicled in Zero Dark Thirty and Naomi Watts' will be seen as Princess Diana in a new biopic.

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The Hobbit keeps box office crown

31 December 2012 Last updated at 10:39 GMT Peter Jackson previously directed The Lord of the Rings trilogy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has topped the North American box office for the third weekend in a row.

The prequel to Lord of The Rings took $32.9m (£20.3m) over the weekend, dwarfing new releases Les Miserables and Django Unchained.

Director Quentin Tarantino's western Django Unchained came in second with $30.7m (£18.9m).

Star-studded musical Les Miserables, directed by Tom Hooper, was third, taking $28m (£17.3m).

Universal's president for domestic distribution, Nikki Rocco, described the musical's takings as "phenomenal, especially considering we went into the weekend with $40m (£24.7m)".

"People really love this movie, which is even more rewarding and gratifying," Nikki Rocco said.

Les Miserables surged past The Hobbit with $18.1m (£11.2m) on its opening on Christmas Day.

But Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth is in its third week of release and has now grossed $222.7m (£137.3m) in North America.

The Hobbit outperformed the US debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Peter Jackson's previous best opening in December 2003.

Elsewhere, comedy Parental Guidance, starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as grandparents, was fourth with $14.8m (£9.2m).

Continue reading the main story The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($32.9m)Django Unchained ($30.7m)Les Miserables ($28m)Parental Guidance ($14.8m)Jack Reacher ($14m)Tom Cruise's crime drama Jack Reacher, which sees him playing a former military investigator solving a fatal sniper attack, landed in fifth with $14m (£8.7m).

Judd Apatow's This is 40, starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as a middle-aged couple, was sixth with $13.2m (£8.2m).

The movie cost $35m (£21.6m) to produce and has so far taken $37m (£22.8m) after two weeks.

The seventh spot went to Steven Spielberg's historical film Lincoln with $7.5m (£4.6m). It has now made $132m (£81.6) in total domestically.

A rush of high-profile films in December is expected to push 2012 to a domestic box office record.

The current record is $10.6bn, set in 2009.

Meanwhile, James Bond's Skyfall has now topped the $1bn (£618.2m) mark internationally.

Sony Pictures say it is the most successful James Bond film yet in the 50-year franchise.

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Kanye West is to become a dad

By Anthony Baxter
Newsbeat reporter The rapper Kanye West says Kim Kardashian is pregnant with his baby Kanye West has announced his girlfriend, the American reality TV star Kim Kardashian is pregnant.

The rapper made the announcement at a concert in Atlantic City on Sunday 30 December.

He told the crowd of more than 5,000 by singing: "Now you having my baby."

Later some of Kim's family confirmed the news on twitter. Her sister Kourtney Kardashian posted "been waiting to shout from the rooftops with joy and now I can."

The message went on to say: "Another angel to welcome to our family. Overwhelmed with excitement!"

Beyonce, husband Jay-Z, Kanye West and his girlfriend Kim Kardashian sat together in the front row of the BET Awards in July.

Kim's other sister Khloe wrote: "I'm excited for Kanye and my sister! There's nothing like bringing life into this world!"

Kanye West also told people at the concert to congratulate his "baby mom" and that this was the "most amazing thing."

The couple started dating in March. Kim Kardashian is best known for her role in the American reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

In 2011 she split from her husband, the basketball payer Kris Humphries after just 72 days.

https://twitter.com/BBCNewsbeat

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Political drama 2012: Fact v fiction

31 December 2012 Last updated at 07:11 GMT By Kevin Young BBC News Some of the storylines in The Thick of It seemed to mirror real-life events

It was a year which saw ministers and spin-doctors appearing before a judicial inquiry into a political scandal.

The economic downturn brought bad news for people who had considered themselves immune from cutbacks.

And the driver of a bus full of VIPs became lost on his way to the Olympic Park.

But although you might have seen these stories on the Ten O'Clock News, you were just as likely to have come across them on supposedly made-up TV series The Thick of It, Downton Abbey and Twenty Twelve respectively.

How have fact and fiction become so intertwined?

Political satire The Thick of It ended this autumn, but not before its main characters gave evidence to an inquiry into a man's suicide.

The plot coincided with the conclusion of the Leveson hearings, but there were also echoes of the earlier Hutton Inquiry, after the death of Dr David Kelly.

One Saturday night episode centred on the idea of spending £2 billion to create a bank.

Less than 36 hours later, Business Secretary Vince Cable was at the Liberal Democrats' conference, where he announced plans to devote £1 billion to… a new bank.

'Omnishambles Budget'

The programme also spawned what the Oxford English Dictionary would call its word of the year.

Omnishambles was defined as a situation "comprehensively mismanaged, characterised by a string of blunders and miscalculations".

Spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker was grilled at a judicial inquiry as part of the final series of The Thick of It

It was "a word everyone liked, which seemed to sum up so many of the events over the last 366 days in a beautiful way", said lexicographer Fiona McPherson.

And it appeared to have entered the mainstream when Labour leader Ed Miliband mocked the government's "omnishambles Budget".

Twenty Twelve, set in the offices of the Olympic Games' organisers, was another series with an uncanny knack of pre-empting events.

There were problematic countdown clocks (the real one stopped a day after its launch); security concerns (echoed by the G4S scandal); and bus drivers unable to find the stadium in east London (a coach carrying athletes from Heathrow subsequently took a long detour).

This merging of fact and fiction was described by London's mayor, Boris Johnson, when his autobiography was serialised.

"A large chunk" of the VIP party almost missed the opening ceremony in July, he wrote, as nobody had told the bus driver "with sufficient clarity where to exit from the A12".

"A sort of panicky hilarity took hold of me - an unreal sense that this was beyond anything dreamt up by [The Thick of It creator] Armando Iannucci or the satirical scriptwriters of Twenty Twelve."

'Age of austerity'

The potential consequences of another major real-life story, the economic downturn, were reflected in Downton Abbey, where the Earl of Grantham unexpectedly faced losing his estate through a risky investment.

Twenty Twelve starred Hugh Bonneville (centre), who was also heading the cast of Downton Abbey

Tying up his wife's fortune in the Canadian railways turned out to be a bad idea when the firm hit the financial buffers, and the threat of downsizing loomed large.

However, it was no surprise that the human cost of the recession became a plot on one of the country's highest-rated programmes, according to Radio Times editor Ben Preston.

"2012 has been a year characterised by big events and we now live in an age of austerity, which is affecting everyone," he says.

"We've seen scriptwriters grappling with the task of explaining this to people."

Programmes such as The Thick of It and Twenty Twelve were also reflecting reality, albeit "with artistic and comedic licence", Mr Preston added.

"One of the great geniuses of The Thick of It is that we live in a world where the line between politics and spin doctors and satire gets ever thinner."

Borgen sees a fictional Danish prime minister battling to keep her coalition government together

He believes comedy can be used to tell stories which although important to many people, may seem dull or worthy to others.

"If you look at the US election campaign, you saw The Daily Show was a source of a vast proportion of the under-30s' information," Mr Preston says.

"In a world of 24-hour news, it's only when someone as funny and sharp as [presenter] Jon Stewart gets hold of it that it starts to mean something to them."

January brings the second series of Danish drama Borgen, which follows Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg as she battles to maintain order within her coalition government.

The first episode sees her visiting her troops in Afghanistan - and so it seems TV's blending of fact and fiction is set to continue into 2013.

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Beyonce, Bridget Jones and Manet: 2013's cultural highlights

31 December 2012 Last updated at 10:43 GMT What are the cultural events to look forward to in 2013? The BBC's arts and entertainment team picks some of the big books, films, tours, exhibitions and shows for the new year.

Sir Anthony Hopkins (r) plays 'Hitch' while Dame Helen Mirren (l) is his wife, Alma Reville

As is now customary, the first two months of the year will be dominated by a slew of high-profile titles either in contention for film awards, or hoping to be so.

These range from Asian tsunami drama The Impossible and the film of Les Miserables to Quentin Tarantino's western Django Unchained and Kathryn Bigelow's dramatisation of the Bin Laden manhunt, Zero Dark Thirty.

Daniel Day-Lewis is believed to be an Oscar frontrunner for his role as 'Honest Abe' in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, while Sir Anthony Hopkins is generating similar buzz for playing the title character in Hitchcock.

Away from awards season, there appears to be no end to the appetite for comic book blockbusters about masked superheroes, as the success of Avengers Assemble, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises showed this year.

Hugh Jackman takes his shirt off and gets his claws out in The Wolverine

Following hot on their booted heels are fresh adventures for Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man, his Marvel stable-mate Thor and clawed X-Men character Wolverine, played as ever - without a mask - by Hugh Jackman.

Superman returns in Man of Steel in the guise of Britain's Henry Cavill, while Aaron Taylor-Johnson will doubtless give the DC Comics icon a run for his money in Kick-Ass 2.

But its not just comic books that are spawning mega franchises. Every animation house has got to have one, too.

Witness the emergence in 2013 of Monsters University, a prequel to the Pixar studio's 2001 success Monsters, Inc; Planes, a spin-off set in the same universe as Pixar's Cars films; and second visits to the worlds of Despicable Me and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Newcomers to this crowded field include Wreck-It Ralph, a Disney comedy about an unloved arcade game character, and Epic, a fantasy set against a leafy forest backdrop.

In the live-action realm, there will be a third instalment of The Hangover, a second Sin City and a follow-up to 2009's Star Trek reboot - with Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch as its chief villain - sure to be embraced by those who appreciated their predecessors.

The fifth Die Hard film sees Willis's John McClane (left) joined by his son (Jai Courtney, right)

The end of the year also brings second instalments in the Hobbit and Hunger Games film series, as well as a return for Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan.

Before then we'll see James Franco play the young Wizard of Oz in Sam Raimi's Oz: The Great and Powerful, and Johnny Depp play Tonto beside Armie Hammer's Lone Ranger.

Steve Coogan, meanwhile, will bring his most famous comic creation to the big screen at last in Alan Partridge: The Movie.

Arnold Schwarzenegger? He'll "be back" as a sheriff defending the US-Mexican border in The Last Stand. Sly Stallone? He'll be back as well, in graphic novel adaptation Bullet to the Head.

Bruce Willis, meanwhile, will be rarely off our cinema screens, whether reviving John McClane in A Good Day to Die Hard, reuniting with Dame Helen Mirren in Red 2, or bolstering the toy-inspired heroes of GI Joe: Retaliation.

Tom Cruise and Will Smith will bring us futuristic action in Oblivion and After Earth respectively, while Brad Pitt faces a zombie outbreak in World War Z.

Matt Damon plays an ex-convict living on a ravaged Earth in September release Elysium

But maybe the most enticing prospects of 2013 will come, not from the stars, but from idiosyncratic film-makers used to forging their own distinctive paths.

Terrence Malick (To the Wonder), Gus Van Sant (Promised Land) and Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby) are among the big names with new work to share.

Ron Howard, meanwhile, recreates the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda in Formula One biopic Rush, while District 9's Neill Blomkamp heads to the future in sci-fi parable Elysium.

And after the acclaim he received for the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, it will be fascinating to see what Danny Boyle conceives next in art heist thriller Trance.

Jones's diaries have been opened again

If you found an e-book reader in your stocking this Christmas, what might you be downloading onto it in 2013? Or indeed buying in a bookshop - if that is the way you prefer to do things.

Well, expect to hear a lot of noise around the return of Bridget Jones, as Helen Fielding's girl of the nineties steps into a new decade.

Readers eager for more Hilary Mantel will have to wait. She is hard at work on the final part of her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell.

But another twice Man Booker prize winning author, JM Coetzee, has a new novel out. The Childhood of Jesus is a mysterious story about a man and a boy who arrive in a new land. In the process though, their memories are wiped out.

There are also new books from former Man Booker winners Julian Barnes and Margaret Atwood.

Mohsin Hamid follows up The Reluctant Fundamentalist with How to get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. Written in the guise of a self-help book, it is about a boy who goes from rural poverty to become a corporate tycoon.

Khaled Hosseini, whose debut The Kite Runner was such a sensation, returns with And the Mountains Echoed, his first book in six years.

While other high profile names with books published in 2013, include John Le Carre, Kate Atkinson and Tracey Chevalier.

Look out too for William Boyd's new James Bond novel.

Stephen King is returning to one of his most famous creations

Even though he once said: "I can't bear fiction", there's a new novel from Peter Ackroyd. For the first time he uses invented, rather than historical, characters, and Three Brothers is set within living memory.

A Hologram For The King by Dave Eggars arrives on a tidal wave of praise from the United States.

While fellow American writer James Salter, 87, is back with All That Is, his first novel for more than three decades.

And Elizabeth Gilbert, best known for Eat, Pray, Love, returns with her first novel for twelve years, The Signature of All Things.

For readers more interested in new talent one of the most eagerly anticipated debuts is a family drama from the British-born, American-raised Taiye Selasi, Ghana Must Go.

Expect plenty of fanfare in August, with the global publication of the first novel in a seven part fantasy series by Samantha Shannon, called The Bone Season.

And the following month, much attention will be paid to Stephen King's sequel to his horror novel The Shining. Thirty six years after the original was published, Dr. Sleep will follow Danny Torrance, the young boy who survived the horrific events of the first book.

Happy Reading.

Where (and when?) will the Doctor travel for his golden anniversary

Doctor Who may be over 900 years old, but the programme itself will turn 50 in 2013.

Its half century celebration is certain to be one of the more anticipated TV events of the year. A drama written by Mark Gatiss about the programme's genesis in 1963 has already been announced, with details about how the show itself will mark the anniversary also expected at some point.

Meanwhile, Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat will also be helping to oversee another eagerly awaited BBC drama....

Sherlock's second series ended with Benedict Cumberbatch's detective appearing to fall to his death. Since then the internet has been awash with theories as to how he survived. The solution, expected to be unveiled at the start of the third series late in 2013, might well provoke just as much discussion.

Jeremy Piven plays Harry Gordon Selfridge, while Frances O'Connor plays his wife, Rose

ITV will be hoping to have a hit of Downton-sized proportions with Mr Selfridge, a 10-part drama about the man who revolutionised shopping in the early 20th Century.

Its impressive pedigree includes a script by celebrated dramatist Andrew Davies, and multi-Emmy winning, charismatic Jeremy Piven (Ari Gold on HBOs Entourage) as Harry Selfridge.

But after a year when its lost out to Strictly Come Dancing, the channel knows it may well have to make some changes to The X Factor. While it is overly harsh to judge a series that has still consistently delivered high viewing figures as a failure, by its own high standards, the show simply hasn't performed following Simon Cowell's departure as a judge. Could the answer be as simple as his return?

Few programmes have provoked such diverse reactions as Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror. The first series of Channel Four's dark comedy drama was the subject of hundreds of complaints to the broadcaster and Ofcom. But also went on to win a Golden Rose at the Rose d'Or television festival.

Brooker isn't known for his restraint, and whatever his second series of three films consists of, they're certain to be some of the most talked about programmes of 2013.

Beyonce is rumoured to be in the studio with Justin Timblerlake, The Dream and Kanye West

If you look at this year's "best album" lists (and there are hundreds of them) the most noticeable thing is the lack of consensus.

There were dozens of contenders, but no album unified critics and audiences in the same way Adele's 21 had a year earlier. Will 2013 be any different?

Beyonce gets the ball rolling with a half time performance at the Super Bowl in February. It looks like she'll have an album ready by then, too, judging by the recording studio pictures she's been posting on Instagram.

Also hard at work on new material are Canadian seven-piece Arcade Fire, who have already got 35 tracks in the bag, according to their manager.

Three of those have been recorded with LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy - but we'll have to wait 'til the end of the year to find out whether they've made the final cut.

Lady Gaga returns in the spring with her fourth album, ArtPop, which she describes as having a "stoned Disney princess kinda vibe".

Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga - working together and apart in 2013

It is likely to include Princess Die, a melodramatic piano ballad written about Princess Diana, and other role models who died young, including Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse.

Other big-hitters returning in 2013 include Vampire Weekend, Metallica, Katy Perry, Nick Cave, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Katy B, Foals, The National and Eminem, who confirmed his eighth studio album on a baseball cap.

The rapper will also be headlining the Reading and Leeds festival, as well as a massive solo show at Ireland's Slane Castle.

But the big question is who will climb to the summit of the Pyramid Stage when Glastonbury returns on 26 June?

The rumour mill already has it down as a Stones double bill - with The Rolling Stones one night, and a revitalised Stone Roses the next.

That leaves one headline slot left to fill. Other European festivals have already secured Blur, Rihanna and Mumford and Sons - which probably puts them out of the running. Maybe Radiohead or Kanye West, then?

One Direction are scheduled to play 120 shows on their 2013 world tour

Elsewhere, Robbie Williams is off on a European stadium tour with perma-grinning chart botherer Olly Murs; Fleetwood Mac are back on the road, sadly without Christine McVie, and The Killers play their first ever UK stadium date at Wembley in June.

This year's biggest boy band, One Direction, embark on a world tour in February, while prog rock legends Yes will be performing three of their classic albums in their entirety. Neither of these shows are for the faint of heart.

But the year's hottest ticket is undoubtedly Kraftwerk's concert series at the Tate Modern. The eight dates have already sold out - but if you're feeling rich, they're changing hands on eBay for about £300... Each.

If you'd rather sample some new music, you should check out the BBC's Sound Of 2013 list, whose winner will be revealed on Friday.

Debut albums from dance acts Rudimental, Disclosure and Charli XCX are also heavily tipped, and there's also a record on the way from Thom Yorke's side project, Atoms For Peace.

And, if all goes to plan, it looks like new mother Adele might deliver the follow-up to her first two albums, 19 and 21, in time for Christmas. Dan Wilson, who co-wrote Someone Like You, says he's been exchanging ideas with the singer over email.

Presumably, this one will be called 24.

The Manet exhibition comprises more than 50 works, including this portrait of Antonin Proust

The Royal Academy's Edouard Manet portraits show will kick 2013 off in blockbuster style when it opens in January. There will be crowds, there will be bruised toes, and audio guide-wearing visitors acting like automatons might even cause a punch up, but it is a must see. (For some peace and quiet, aim to go first thing on a Monday orTuesday).

The year will conclude with the Turner Prize being awarded in Londonderry. It is the first time the prestigious art prize has been held in Northern Ireland, and hopes are high in next year's City of Culture that it will be a big hit.

If the experiences of Liverpool and Gateshead are anything to go by, it can expect around 100,000 people to turn up.

In between those two exhibitions comes the Venice Biennale, the international art fest that sees artists and oligarchs sharing Bellinis and boats for a week of hedonism at the end of May. It is a bizarre occasion, a million miles and over a century away from Manet's time, when Monet and Van Gogh were penniless and their art rejected, and the great Cezanne worked in glorious isolation.

These are the exhibitions that will get the attention, but don't forget the publically-funded modern art galleries up and down the country that show great art all year round, from the Bristol Art Museum to the National Galleries of Scotland.

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VIDEO: Coming to our TV screens in 2013

31 December 2012 Last updated at 00:16 GMT Help

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BBC Sound of 2013: Chvrches

31 December 2012 Last updated at 07:14 GMT By Mark Savage BBC News entertainment reporter Chvrches' Iain, Martin and Lauren visit their favourite pub in Glasgow

Glasgow electro-pop trio Chvrches have come fifth in the BBC's Sound Of 2013 new music list.

The list, compiled using tips from more than 210 tastemakers - made up of music critics, editors, broadcasters and bloggers - aims to highlight some of the most exciting emerging artists.

We are revealing one artist from the top five in reverse order every day until Friday, when the winner will be announced.

Musical polygamy is everywhere.

Sixteen of this year's number one singles had a featured artist. Calvin Harris and David Guetta collect guest singers like Top Trump cards. Flo Rida it seems has appeared on roughly 1,300 songs in the last 12 months (you do wonder whether he's heard them all).

Collaborations are now so commonplace, it's easy to forget what it must be like for the singer.

You walk up to a studio door, swallow hard, and enter another musician's world. Presented with a song they've been working on for days, you've got to deliver the goods in a measly afternoon.

Lauren Mayberry knows the feeling only too well.

Last October, she was called away from her band Blue Sky Archives to sing on a couple of demos by her producer Iain Cook and his friend Martin Doherty.

"My fear initially was that I was going to go in there and it would be two guys who had written the stuff and they just wanted me to sing it," she recalls.

At 25, singer Lauren Mayberry is the baby of the group. Martin Doherty is 30, while Iain Cook is 38

"But it wasn't like that at all, and that was definitely a relief."

In fact, the sessions went so well, they ditched the demos and formed a new band. It was christened Chvrches, using a Roman "v" so Google wouldn't confuse the group with actual churches.

"We were really fortunate that each of our strengths matched up to make this easy," Mayberry says.

Anonymous

All three members of Chvrches had played in bands before. Doherty toured the world with brooding noise terrorists The Twilight Sad, while Cook was a member of Aereogramme and supplemented his income by writing music for film and TV.

"Lots of adverts and a couple of children's TV series," he says, adding mysteriously: "The names will remain a secret."

When the trio began writing in earnest last winter, the songs came thick and fast.

"There was something really exciting about that time," says Doherty. "There was no attention on the band, no-one knew who we were. We were doing it all behind the scenes."

The Mother We Share, one of two singles that tickled the armpits of the internet last year, took just 48 hours to write and record from start to finish.

In lesser hands, it would be a catchy, but unremarkable, pop tune. Chvrches shove it face-first in the dirt, roughing up a pretty "woah-oh" chorus with corrugated synths and distorted samples.

Prince is a big influence - but the band also cite Depeche Mode, Eliot Smith and Kate Bush as inspirations

"My vocals are kind of quite sweet," says Mayberry. "If the music was produced in a certain way, it could be horribly saccharine and awful.

"The fact we have that sweetness in the vocals means you can go a bit further - making it a bit darker, a bit dirtier."

Mayberry's vulnerable delivery is the band's secret weapon. Raw and untrained, her voice cuts through the clattering synths with an unexpected emotional resonance. And it's all delivered in her soft, Glaswegian accent.

"It's not put on, or anything," she protests.

In fact, she can't understand the fuss that's being made of her Scottish twang.

"I don't think singing in your accent should be a badge of honour," she says. "I also don't think it's something you have to bury so your band will be more acceptable on radio. That's twisted."

Mayberry mentions she recently started taking lessons in an effort to build up her vocal strength.

"I'm pretty sure if I had done that before, I wouldn't have the horrible vowel sounds that I do!"

Tour terror

By September, Chvrches' first two songs had earned them hundreds of eager converts online. Among them were US indie darlings Passion Pit, who invited the trio on their recent UK tour.

For a group who had only played nine shows in total, the first night - playing to a sold-out crowd at Dublin's Olympia - was a "terrifying experience".

"I certainly felt for Lauren," says Cook. "In all her previous projects, she has had something to hide behind. She played drums in a couple of bands and then she was behind a keyboard. Now she's the singer."

"She is good with a tambourine but you can't hide behind a tambourine," he laughs. "Although I suppose you can channel the spectre of Stevie Nicks..."

The band survived their first major gigs with "only a few" technical hiccups

"We're still finding our feet in terms of the live shows," concedes the eyelinered singer. But, aside from a few technical wobbles, "the response has been good".

The band celebrated the end of the tour with a smaller headline show in London's Electrowerkz - a venue so small that Mayberry "could see into the toilets from the stage".

She serenaded the sinks with a cover of Prince's I Would Die 4 U - a song which has rapidly become a staple of their live set.

"Prince is one musical touchstone that we all have," Cook says.

With the tour wrapped up, the band have retired to Glasgow to work on their debut album in Cook's basement studio.

"We have 18 songs in various states," says Cook. "We're going to try and finish all of this material by the end of January and then take February to come up with a couple more."

They keep office hours "wherever possible" ("it's good to have a regime," says Doherty). Someone has even set up a collaborative Google document for the band to suggest ideas for an album title.

At the moment, Cook says, "it's completely devoid of text".

Nonetheless, things are moving fast... Phones ring, emails demand attention, and people are hassling them for an EP.

It's already making the band nostalgic for the peace and quiet of last year.

"I sound ungrateful, and of course I'm not," says Cook. "But at the same time, it's harder to stay focussed."

Meanwhile, Chvrches have one non-believer left to convert.

"It's my mother," says Mayberry, who holds a law degree and a masters in journalism.

"She still cries herself to sleep that I didn't pursue a legal career!"

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VIDEO: A sketch for every day in 2012

31 December 2012 Last updated at 09:30 GMT Help

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X Factor winner tops chart again

30 December 2012 Last updated at 19:22 GMT Sales of Impossible mean James Arthur is the most successful X Factor winner since Alexandra Burke in 2008. X Factor winner James Arthur has returned to the top of the singles' chart, a week after missing out on the Christmas number one spot.

Arthur's single Impossible went straight to the top of the charts on its release earlier this month.

But it was beaten to the festive top spot by the Hillsborough disaster tribute single, He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by the Justice Collective.

The chart-topping track, featuring Sir Paul McCartney, fell to number five.

The single, a cover of the 1969 Hollies' hit, is raising money for the families of 96 Liverpool fans who died in a crush at Hillsborough stadium in 1989. It features artists including Robbie Williams, former Spice Girl Mel C and Gerry Marsden.

Will.i.am's Scream & Shout, featuring Britney Spears, stands at number two this week, with Psy's Gangnam Style in third place and Olly Murs' Trouble at number four.

Murs' latest album, Right Place Right Time, was also in second place in the album chart this week.

But it was Emeli Sande, who became the voice of London 2012 after she sang in the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, who remained at the top of the album charts.

The Scottish singer's Our Version Of Events is the biggest-selling album of the year, with sales of more than 1.32 million.

Rihanna's Unapologetic was at number three and Michael Buble's Christmas album was in fourth place. At number five was Bruno Mars' Unorthodox Jukebox.

The Bruno Mars album became the fastest-selling solo album of 2012 with 136,000 sales in its first week earlier this month, according to the Official Chart Company.

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S4C agrees deal over Welsh music

29 December 2012 Last updated at 16:15 GMT The BBC could find itself unable to play 30,000 popular Welsh language songs S4C has reached agreement over the broadcast of Welsh language music by artists represented by a new agency.

More than 300 musicians and composers broke away from the Performing Rights Society (PRS) claiming they were being short-changed for their work.

The TV channel has been given the go-ahead to use music by members of the Eos agency from New Year's Day.

Talks between Eos and the BBC remain deadlocked and could leave Radio Cymru unable to play many popular songs.

The dispute arose from a change by PRS in 2007 which many Welsh language artists claim cut their royalty payments by as much as 85%.

Since then, an alliance of Welsh musicians and composers have sought to improve the payments made by broadcasters, launching a new agency in August this year to handle the licensing of their work.

From 1 January, 2013 the rights to music by 331 artists will transfer from PRS to Eos, requiring radio and TV stations to make agreements with the new agency to continue using music by those artists.

'Spirit of co-operation' Continue reading the main story

We're glad that through this agreement we can show once again our commitment to Welsh musicians - and to our audience who wish to hear their work”

End Quote Elin Morris S4C director of corporate and commercial policy Gwilym Morus, chair of Eos, said: "We're very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with S4C. It means that the music of Eos members will continue to be used by our national television channel.

"We thank S4C managers for holding these talks in the spirit of co-operation in order to reach an agreement."

Elin Morris, S4C director of corporate and commercial policy, said: "We're glad that through this agreement we can show once again our commitment to Welsh musicians - and to our audience who wish to hear their work.

"Through this agreement, we have been able to avoid any break in the use of Eos members' music and we can enjoy the benefits of a blanket licence for all the works of Eos members.

"But above all, we are able to continue including works by a variety of Welsh musicians on S4C services in order to meet the needs of our audiences."

Shortly before Christmas, BBC Cymru Wales said Eos had turned down a substantial offer to settle the dispute.

The agency criticised the offer but said it was willing to continue talks.

Radio Cymru could lose access to play over 30,000 songs if no agreement is reached before Tuesday.

On Saturday, a BBC spokesperson said: "We welcome the fact that Eos have reached an agreement with S4C - it's good news and shows that an agreement is possible.

"We are in discussions with Eos and hope that a successful outcome can be achieved as soon as possible."

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Roberts new Dancing On Ice judge

Roberts was in the Pussycat Dolls with X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger Ashley Roberts has been announced as a new judge on ITV's Dancing On Ice.

The former Pussycat Dolls singer joins head judge Robin Cousins, who returns for his eighth series.

Ashley Roberts said: "I'm beyond excited to be joining Dancing on Ice as a judge. To work alongside Torvill & Dean is such an honour. They're absolute legends."

Jason Gardiner returns to the show after a year's break with Karen Barber also re-joining the judging line-up.

Ashley Roberts left the Pussycat Dolls in 2010 after going solo and to try her hand at acting.

She was also a contestant on this year's series of I'm a Celebrity... Get me out of Here!

The 31-year-old finished as runner-up to EastEnders star Charlie Brooks.

Next year's contestants include Pamela Anderson, The Only Way Is Essex star Lauren Goodger, Anthea Turner, Keith Chegwin and Coronation Street actress Samia Ghadie.

Emmerdale actor Matthew Wolfenden won last year's series.

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VIDEO: 'Fashion rebel' Hepburn celebrated

30 December 2012 Last updated at 09:06 GMT Help

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VIDEO: Illustrator Quentin Blake knighted

29 December 2012 Last updated at 00:26 GMT Help

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BBC Sound of 2003: Where are they now?

28 December 2012 Last updated at 08:09 GMT By Ian Youngs Entertainment reporter, BBC News The top five acts on the BBC Sound of 2013 new music list will be revealed next week. The first list was BBC Sound of 2003, when 10 new artists were tipped for the top.

We reveal who is still going strong, who has appeared on Dancing With the Stars and who is now a part-time squash coach.

Their ups and downs hold lessons for this year's crop, as well as illustrating the seismic changes that have taken place in the music industry over the past decade.

BBC Sound of 2013: Full coverage

50 Cent recently made his debut as a boxing promoter

50 Cent's debut album was called Get Rich Or Die Tryin'.

He got rich.

A mythologised rise from teenage crack hustler on the mean streets of New York to Eminem's protege, via a couple of assassination attempts, gave the rapper both gangsta credibility and commercial appeal.

His debut album was the fastest-selling release in the US since records began 12 years earlier.

But by his third album in 2007, he faced a backlash from hip-hop purists who felt he had lost his street cred.

His fifth studio album, Street King Immortal, has been mired in delays and disputes with record label Interscope, but is now scheduled for release in February, preceded by the single My Life, featuring Eminem and Maroon 5's Adam Levine.

50 Cent also recently became a boxing promoter, with Cuban former Olympic flyweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa on his books.

Electric Six singer Dick Valentine says the band are sustained by their enthusiastic live following

Good time Detroit rock 'n' rollers Electric Six made a splash with their high-octane hits Gay Bar and Danger High Voltage in 2003.

The first album came out on record label XL and the follow-up was on Warner Brothers. After that, they learned to become "self sufficient", singer Dick Valentine says.

"We got good at being dropped from labels and how to respond to that and taking matters into our own hands."

There have been many personnel changes - Valentine is the only remaining member of the original line-up - but he has now presided over eight studio albums.

"We've been sued by a couple of ex-band members and people we've worked with," he says. "We've had moments that could certainly be considered downs. But the ups certainly outweigh them."

Their reputation as an exciting live band has helped them keep a loyal following. "We do a pretty good job of keeping costs down on the road," Valentine says. "We don't carry too many roadies. We're not afraid to be seen loading our own gear.

"If somebody comes up to us and says 'You're rock stars, why are you loading your own gear?' they usually get punched in the mouth. We do everything we can to keep it going and make it profitable."

Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O wrote the soundtrack for the film Where the Wild Things Are

Riding the garage rock revival led by The Strokes and The White Stripes, this New York trio, led by the distinctive Karen O, became cult favourites.

Their debut album Fever To Tell earned a Grammy nomination and was named the best album of 2003 by the New York Times.

The second and third albums both reached the UK top 10 and a fourth will arrive in the spring.

Between band duties, Karen O wrote and performed the soundtrack for the film Where the Wild Things Are and guitarist Nick Zinner has published and exhibited his photographs.

The Thrills singer Conor Deasy is currently working on a solo album

Irish indie quintet The Thrills became known for carefree, sun-drenched tunes like Big Sur and Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far).

But they were dropped by EMI after their third album in 2007.

"The Thrills have never split up but there came a point where we just did not want to do anything any more," says guitarist Daniel Ryan.

"EMI had been taken over by [private equity firm] Terra Firma before our third album came out and it was like going from a Premiership soccer team to a fourth division side. The whole record company shrank."

Ryan is now managing the Dublin band Little Green Cars - who are on the BBC Sound of 2013 longlist. Thrills singer Conor Deasy is making a solo album with Paul Butler, who produced the debut by the Sound of 2012 winner Michael Kiwanuka.

Drummer Ben Carrigan released a solo album in 2011 and composes music for films and games, while bassist Padraic McMahon works as an account manager for the professional social network Linkedin.

Ryan adds: "I think back when The Thrills was happening and I was just caught up in how exciting the whole thing was. But for me now as a manager, I don't get excited because I don't want to be looking at another band on their third album that are completely irrelevant.

"That's the worst thing about The Thrills - I feel we made a good third album and we would have had another good album in us. But there comes a point in the music business when your credit just runs out and your stock just isn't worth anything any more.

"The most important thing was knowing when that time had come. And I definitely knew that."

Dizzee Rascal performed at the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony

When Dizzee Rascal performed at the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, he was revisiting old haunts - the stadium was built on the site where he performed on pirate radio at the start of his career.

Dizzee has taken east London grime to the big time and paved the way for a chart take-over by home-grown urban artists.

His first album Boy In Da Corner won the Mercury Prize in 2003, but it took another five years for a real commercial breakthrough.

Despite a fall-out with his label XL, he scored five number one singles between 2008 and 2010, including Dance Wiv Me and Bonkers. The first single from his fifth album will be unveiled on 1 January.

Interpol have just released a 10th anniversary edition of their debut album Turn on the Bright Lights

The majestic melancholy of Interpol's debut album Turn on the Bright Lights earned it a place in NME magazine's top 10 albums of the 2000s.

Their commercial success grew steadily, with follow-up Antics reaching number 21 in 2004 and Our Love To Admire hitting number two in 2007. Their self-titled and most recent album made the top 10 in 2010.

Guitarist Daniel Kessler puts their sustained appeal down to the five years they spent learning their craft before their debut album came out as well as old-fashioned leg-work since.

"Our first record was released in the twilight of the old guard of the music industry and the dawning of the new one," he says. "We put out a record and toured it and built a word-of-mouth fanbase. That helped us.

"When bands come out today, they get swept up a lot quicker because you can discover bands in two seconds on the internet. When we came out, we didn't have that."

Singer Paul Banks released a solo album this year and a 10th anniversary edition of Turn on the Bright Lights has just come out. The group have started writing material for a fifth Interpol album.

The remaining original member of the Audio Bullys has been playing in Russia, Holland and Argentina

The "dirty house" duo, with bulging beats and geezer vocals, provided the soundtrack to many a debauched night out.

Their biggest smash was a reworking of Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down), which reached number three in 2005.

But one half of the duo, Tom Dinsdale, left this February and said he would perform under his own name.

The remaining Audio Bully Simon Franks has been working on new material and says he is still making "a good living" from playing live in places like Russia, Holland and Argentina.

"But I think it's time, if I'm going to keep it going, to put out some new music," he says.

"I'm at a crossroads - I've got all this music and I'm not doing it with Tom at the moment, so how do I do it? Do I keep the brand going or do I start something new? That's the question I keep asking myself."

Mario appeared on US TV series Dancing With The Stars six years after releasing his debut album

R&B singer Mario Barrett was 15 when his debut album reached the US top 10 in 2002.

He hit his peak two years later with his second album Turning Point, which earned two Grammy nominations and included the hit Let Me Love You.

But he never quite joined pop's A-list. After two more albums, he appeared on Dancing With The Stars in 2008.

He also made an MTV documentary titled I Won't Love You to Death, in which he helped his mother get treatment for heroin addiction. He is now working on a new album.

The members of The Datsuns all have other enterprises on the go in order to make a living

Raucous New Zealand rockers The Datsuns blazed onto the scene and were named best live band at the NME Awards in 2003.

"We had that first wave of success in the dying gasp of the music industry, before downloading changed everything," says guitarist Christian Livingstone.

The desire to play music, rather than achieve fame and fortune, has kept the band going, he says.

"When you get in that situation we got [into], there is the inevitable backlash which did occur and was very harsh and unpleasant. But we kept on going because the fame and all that stuff was not the reason for doing it.

Continue reading the main story

We put out our latest record ourselves because that's just the best way for somebody like us to do it”

End Quote Christian Livingstone The Datsuns "So when that [fame] reduced in scale, we soldiered on and here we are, 10 years later and five albums in, still doing it."

But The Datsuns no longer make enough money to live off their music alone. So Livingstone has a sideline building guitar pedals, singer Dolf DeBorst runs a recording studio in Sweden, guitarist Phil Somervell is a squash coach and drummer Ben Cole is a session musician and drum teacher.

"Everybody's got something on the side to keep the ball rolling," Livingstone says.

The guitarist recalls the effects of turmoil in the music industry. Staff levels at their record label V2 were continually shrinking until the label itself vanished.

"Now you have to do things in a different way if you want to keep going," he says. "We put out our latest record ourselves because that's just the best way for somebody like us to do it."

His advice to bands on the Sound of 2013 list? "Make hay while the sun shines," he replies. "The ability to monetise music is a limited and narrow thing these days. So if you have the opportunity to do it, do it while you can."

Sean Paul has been nominated for six Grammy Awards

The Jamaican star has remained one of the biggest names in reggae and dancehall for the past decade.

He broke into the mainstream with his Grammy-winning second album Dutty Rock in 2002.

All three subsequent albums have been nominated for the Grammy Award for best reggae album.

He has scored 13 UK top 20 singles, including several collaborations with the likes of Beyonce, Jay Sean and Sasha.

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