Celebration or Cash-In?

Take That's Gary Barlow has decided to arrange a concert to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth. But is this a real celebration or a thinly-veiled cash-in?

Barlow has attempted to pull out all the stops for this concert, recruiting a line-up of musical superstars such as Elton John, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard and Sir Paul McCartney. But Barlow has also contacted a few other musicians in an attempt to get them involved.

Ed Sheeran, Jessie J and JLS are currently confirmed as part of the line-up. But should Barlow have really included these fresh-faced musicians?

The inclusion of these musicians will obviously increase the popularity of the concert by bringing in more of a varied audience as young people will want to come to see those performers. But it also costs the prestige of the event. Surely the musicians that are selected to play a concert to mark such a momentous occasion should be of a higher calibre; reknowned and well-respected musicians as opposed to flavour-of-the-month performers?

No disrespect intended towards those musicians, obviously. But they are fresh faces in the musical world; they won't have even had a real opportunity to earn that respect and recognition yet. What recognition could they have at the moment?
Well, Ed Sheeran does currently hold the record for lowest weekly sales for a number one album of the 21st century...

Barlow has stated that "The Diamond Jubilee concert will celebrate 60 years of the Queen's reign with an amazing line-up of world class artists", but can these new musicians really be counted as world class?

Barlow did attempt to justify the choice, however, by adding "it's going to be a fantastic event that transcends multiple decades of music." This decade has barely begun, Barlow. Should it really be included in this?

Have your say below.

Greater Manchester Music In 2012

Greater Manchester has always been associated with great music and 2012 seems set to continue the tradition of bands from the county dominating the charts and the UK music scene.

For a start, 2012 will mark the return of indie pop duo The Ting Tings. Despite having their début album 'We Started Nothing' chart at number one in the UK music charts after its release in 2008, the band evaded the public eye and their record label by disappearing across Europe following the culmination of their tour in 2009.

Now that the band have returned, they have announced that February 2012 will be the official release date of their long-awaited second album, 'Sounds From Nowheresville'. Only time will tell if the second album will propel the band skyward in the same way that their début album did. But judging by the reception to the release of single 'Hang It Up' in late 2011, 2012 could be the year that The Ting Tings return to the top of the charts.

Having spent 2011 at each other's throats in a very public way, the Gallagher brothers are most likely going to spend 2012 once again attempting to out-do one another.

In summer 2011 Noel Gallagher announced the formation of his new band, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, and the release of their eponymous début album later that same year. But he also mentioned that 2012 would be the year that a collaborative album between himself and electronic-psychedelic duo Amorphous Androgynous would see the light of day. After the massive mainstream success of the High Flying Birds' début album, there will be high expectations for the 2012 collaborative album.

The oft-outspoken, younger Gallagher brother has also hinted at plans for a 2012 album release with his post-Oasis band Beady Eye. In the summer of 2011, Liam Gallagher revealed that the band were working on new material that he believed would be ready for a mid-2012 release.

Is it mere coincidence that both Gallagher brothers are speaking of releasing albums around the same time? Probably not, but it will undoubtedly prove interesting for music fans.

The final reason why Greater Manchester will dominate the UK music scene in 2012 is due to the long-awaited, eagerly anticipated return of legendary Madchester group The Stone Roses in a series of colossal comeback shows at Manchester's Heaton Park.

After months of cryptic clues and rampant rumours, The Stone Roses announced in late 2011 that they would make their return to the stage in summer 2012.

The return of this legendary band has been something many music lovers have wanted to see since the band originally split in 1996 and their return cannot come at a better time. 2011 was the year that slower-tempo songs led to mainstream success with the rising of artists such as Adele and Ed Sheeran. With the return of The Stone Roses, 2012 could well be the year that energy and euphoria returns to the musical world.

In addition to this return, it was reported in December 2011 that the band had signed to UK and US record labels and were "recording songs during their rehearsals". The possibility of a third Stone Roses album is something that is guaranteed to interest music lovers and 2012 could be the year that Britain once again belongs to The Stone Roses.

One thing is for sure: Manchester looks set to be the heart of music in 2012.