DAVID BOWIE is to release a live album in April, featuring a concert recorded during his 50th birthday celebrations at New York's Madison Square Gardens in 1997. 'Birthday Celebration - Live in NYC 1997' will feature a number of special guests including ROBERT SMITH, FRANK BLACK, SONIC YOUTH and LOU REED. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

ERASURE and PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED have both been added to the bill of Surrey festival Guilfest, with both bands appearing on July 17th. Public Image Limited have also announced a short run of UK dates in May and June, see GIGS for all the dates.

GARY NUMAN and PRINCE are among the artists covered on 'Medium Rare', a special edition vinyl album recorded by the Foo Fighters for Record Store Day next month. The album of covers will be released via participating shops on April 16th. See NEWS for the album tracklisting.

MEN WITHOUT HATS have announced a trio of Canadian shows in Edmonton, Clagary and Castlegar in May. See GIGS for all the dates.

ANDY BELL of ERASURE has announced that he will be hosting his own clubnight, 'A Quiet Life', at The Queen of Hoxton in East London on May 13th and will be DJing and performing a short live set at the event which promises electro, pop and eighties music!

MIKE SCOTT of THE WATERBOYS will release 'In A Special Place' on April 25th, and album of his solo piano and vocal demos recorded at the start of sessions for the album that became The Waterboys' classic 'This Is The Sea' album. The fifteen-track album will feature early versions of some of the tracks that made it onto the album, alongside a number of previously unreleased songs. The Waterboys have also announced that they will play at the London Feis, in Finsbury Park, on June 18th this year.

OMD, EDWYN COLLINS and THE WATERBOYS will all appear at this year's Latitude festival in Southwold, Suffolk between July 14th and July 17th.

PEPSI AND SHIRLIE's debut album 'All Right Now' will be reissued on April 25th in an expanded edition that also includes a previously unreleased track 'Who's Gonna Catch You' plus a further five bonus tracks. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

BRYAN FERRY has announced dates across Europe in April, May, June, July and August this year, including a number of shows the UK. See GIGS for all the dates.

Thanks to: www.remembertheeighties.com

On 6 June 2011, Depeche Mode will release Remixes 2: 81-11 on Mute. An inspiring collection of new and classic mixes of material covering their entire career, the album includes remixes of tracks from their 1981 debut Speak And Spell, through to 2009's Sounds Of The Universe, and is the follow-up to 2004's million-plus selling Remixes 81-04. These remixes reinforce Depeche Mode's standing as one of the world's most influential and innovative acts.

Depeche Mode have been at the forefront of remix culture for the best part of three decades and this new compilation includes classic mixes from M83, UNKLE, Trentemøller, François Kervorkian and Dan The Automator, alongside all-new mixes from Stargate, Eric Prydz, Karlsson & Winnberg (from Miike Snow) and Röyksopp. In addition to this, the expanded editions include exclusive remixes by former band members Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder - the first time either artist has remixed tracks for their former colleagues.

Remixes 2: 81-11 will be available in two different CD formats;
Single and Triple Disc versions, as well as Downloads and as a 6 x 12" vinyl LP box set.

Highlights from the selection of classic mixes include reworkings of "Dream On" from 2001's Exciter, "Suffer Well," "John the Revelator" and "A Pain That I'm Used To" from 2006's Playing The Angel and "In Chains," "Peace" and "Wrong" from 2009's Sounds Of The Universe, while the new mixes include "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Puppets" from 1981's Speak And Spell, "Never Let Me Down Again" and "Behind The Wheel" from Music For The Masses as well as "A Question Of Time" from 1986's Black Celebration. Lead single "Personal Jesus", from 1990's Violator, also features several strong remixes as part of the package.

Depeche Mode belongs to a select premier league of groups who have survived from the early 1980s with their ideals, creative vision and core members intact. Formed in 1981, Depeche Mode - Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher - continue to win critical and commercial acclaim across the world both in the studio and on the road. All of the band's 11 studio albums have reached the Top Ten in not only the UK and USA but 20 plus countries around the world including Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and Belgium. All told the band has sold more than 95 million albums worldwide