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And they are all we will be listening to on the way home now.

Scroll down for tributes to the late great Mark E Smith from the likes of Frank Skinner and Liam Gallagher, a #TBT from The Fall and a look into their mercurial leader's many career moves, from ship clerk to singer - via diplomat and football announcer.

Also music stars prepare to take a stand by wearing white roses at this year's Grammys, Elton plans an epic farewell tour and Drake out-streams Taylor.

We'll leave you with Catastrophe, external actress and comedian Sharon Horgan reminiscing about her favorite band.

She's not on her own.

See you tomorrow for New Music Friday.

Image source, Getty Images

Many wore black at the recent Golden Globes and now music stars including Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Halsey, Kelly Clarkson and Cyndi Lauper, as well as Rages Against The Machine's Tom Morello, have all signed up to wear white roses at 'music's biggest night' on Sunday.

According to organisers, the flower symbolises " hope, peace, sympathy and resistance".

The protest is in aid of Time's Up, who provide subsidised legal support to those who have experienced sexual harassment, assault, or abuse in the workplace.

The planned demonstration has been put together by execs Meg Harkins from Roc Nation and Karen Rait from Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records.

As Billboard reports, external, Karen said: "It is an important conversation politically in our country and it's also a conversation we need to have internally with our artists and our companies.

"We need to say if anyone is feeling like they're being discriminated against and they don't feel safe in their workplace, they have people who will support them.

Don't forget you can keep up with our Grammys coverage from 2300 GMT on Sunday night/Monday morning.

It's bound to be an eventful evening in New York.

Elsewhere, Nashville-based all female collective Song Suffragettes, have tackled the subject in the best way they know, with a new track.

The lyrics in Time's Up reference the the imbalance between men and women in the industry and the harassment that many women face;

They say good things come to those who wait / But we've waited long enough

Our time is here / Our time is now / Our time has come

Listen above.

Image source, Steve Gullick

The late great Mark E Smith once cited the famous Lesser Free Trade Hall gig by The Sex Pistols in Manchester as a seminal moment in the history of his band.

But he didn't intend it as a compliment.

He said words to the effect of "our lot aren't as bad as these. We're better."

Now, another influential punk band The Damned have returned with a new video for their track Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow.

It's taken from their new album Evil Spirits, produced by Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T-Rex), which is out on 13 April.

The single is “an optimistic song even though it is about a dark subject, in a world obsessed by ‘self’,” said frontman Dave Vanian.

“The exploration and colonization of other worlds is something we will face in the not so distant future.

“My fervent hope is that we do not take our fears and prejudices with us and repeat the mistakes we have made on our home planet.”

I think we all hope that deep down Dave.

The Damned will perform the track across the land on their 17-date UK tour, which kicks off tomorrow night in Newcastle and culminates in two gigs in London on 16/17 February.

Where else could we turn today with our #TBT than the mercurial Manc singer and his ever-changing band or merry men and women.

Check out some of the highlights of their Worthy Farm set from two and a half years ago on the Park Stage.

"Come on" he cries to his band, mid song, like a frustrated supply teacher.

"Give a go!"

And it sounds exactly what you think it would sound like.

Listen above to the first taster of the unlikely pairing's new album, the Caribbean-inflected 44/876, which is due out on 20 April.

"The most important thing to me in any kind of music is surprise," Sting told Rolling Stone.

"And everybody is surprised by this collaboration – by what they're hearing. We're surprising."

Not us.

Drake's latest single God's Plan has just smashed through first day streaming records on the two services.

The track was apparently streamed over 14 million times worldwide on Apple and more than 4m on Spotify - a record previously held by Taylor Swift's Look What You Made Me Do.

Drizzy celebrated by posting a photo of him and LeBron James, who also broke his own record by entering the 30,000-point club after his game against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

"Congrats King. Samesies," the Toronto rapper wrote.

Image source, Getty Images

Questlove of hip hop group The Roots has been accused by two former employees of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon - which has The Roots as its house band - of having them fired because they were white.

A legal action filed by Kurt Decker and Michael Cimino, who worked as cameramen on the show, claims they were disciplined after receiving "an unsolicited racist and misogynist text message" from a fellow employee.

They said they did not respond to the message and reported it to two senior managers.

The two men said there were both immediately suspended, while a black colleague, who was also sent the text, was not.

They have accused drummer Questlove of pressuring broadcaster NBC "to fire all of the Caucasian employees involved in the incident”.

In a statement, Questlove - whose real name is Ahmir Khalib Thompson - has denied "the ridiculous allegations".

"Racism is REAL," he added, "and exists throughout the world and for these gentlemen to claim victim is not only disrespectful to Questlove and his bandmates, but to all that truly endure racism on a daily basis.”

In a further statement, NBC said "all individuals are treated with respect and dignity".

Read more, external.

Image source, Getty Images

New dad Enrique Iglesias has accused Universal Music Group of "systematically underpaying" his streaming royalties.

He's filed a legal action against the label in a Miami court, Billboard has reported.

According to court documents, Iglesias is seeking to inspect Universal's bookkeeping after receiving what is described as a "small fraction" of his 50 percent royalty rate for streaming.

He reckons it's cost him millions and is demanding the court enforce his streaming rate and force the label to pay lost royalties.

"Despite this record-breaking success, Universal has wrongly insisted that artists like Enrique be paid for streams in the same manner as they are paid for physical records despite the fact that none of the attendant costs (production, distribution, inventory, losses) actually exist in the digital world," said his lawyers.

Who can blame him, he has mouths to feed after all...

Read more, external.

OK so you know about The Chemical Brothers at Blue Dot Festival already (scroll down).

Now three more festivals for your diary that should provide something for pretty much everyone.

First up Green Man festival in the Welsh Brecon Beacons will play host to the likes of The War on Drugs, Fleet Foxes and more from 16-19 August.

For fans of nostalgia (though we think it's not what is was), check out Rewind Festival (above) this summer across their three sites in Perth, Cheshire and Henley, where you will find the likes of OMD, Status Quo, The Jacksons, Kool & The Gang and Billy Ocean.

Elsewhere, Download have announced a raft of new additions to join Ozzy Osbourne on their lineup at Donnington Park from 8-10 June.

Get those work holidays booked in nice and early to avoid disappointment.

Musician Brix Smith Start has paid tribute to her ex-husband Mark E Smith.

The pair met at a Fall concert in Chicago in 1983 and they married later that year.

She joined the group on guitar and vocals and remained part of the band until they divorced in 1989, though she came back to play on two later albums.

On Twitter, she said: "He was my musical mentor, my cultural anchor and my first love."

We're sure many of you can relate to that notion.

It's the latest track taken from the indie band's forthcoming fourth studio album Combat Sports which is released on 30 March.

Listen above and check out his chat with Zane Lowe on Beats 1 as he explains the thought process behind the song.

BBC 6 Music

The Bluedot festival, external - a heady mix of science and music at Jodrell Bank observatory - has announced its headliners this year.

The Chemical Brothers, The Flaming Lips and Future Islands will top the bill at the festival on 19-22 July.

There will also be a special Blue Planet in Concert show on the opening night.

Tom from the Chems has been speaking to 6 Music about their plans for the show and a new album...

The enigmatic frontman

Mark E Smith will be best remembered for his eccentric leadership of post-punk outfit The Fall.

The band began in Manchester in 1976 and continued performing and recording in various forms for over 40 years.

Their final public appearance of sorts was at the Fiddler's Club in Bristol in November, where the band were forced to apologise after the gig was cancelled just minutes before they were due to perform, external, due to Mark's ill health.

Check him out above performing The Fall track Big New Prinz in his inimitable style alongside the Michael Clark Company in 1988.

Artists as varied as the Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and LCD Soundsystem have cited the frontman as an influence.

The 'Sack Master'

"I've got this reputation as a sack master...I don't see what the problem is" said Mark, with reference to innumerable lineup changes in his band, across four decades.

The only constant being...well...him, frankly.

This morning on BBC 6 Music, breakfast show hosts Shaun Keaveny and Matt Everitt (above) reflected on his life and career.

The football announcer

Manchester City fan Mark allowed The Fall track Theme From Sparta FC to soundtrack the BBC football results service, Final Score, for years.

In 2005, by way of thanks, then-presenter Ray Stubbs invited the singer to read out the day's scores live on air.

Hilarity ensued.

What was that Tottenham v West Ham score again, Mark?

Watch above.

The diplomat

The late BBC DJ John Peel openly declared The Fall to be his favourite band of all time.

Newsnight spoke to Mark about his relationship with the DJ after his death in 2004.

"Me and John had an agreement, we never were friends or anything like that", he told the programme.

"This is what I admired about him, he was always objective"

Watch above.

The dock clerk

"Dock clerk, messenger boy and docker" to be more precise.

Before finding fame with his band - named after an Albert Camus novel - Mark actually worked as a clerk on the old Salford Dock.

That site is now the media complex where 6 Music DJ's Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie broadcast their show from and Mr E.Smith popped in for a chat ahead of the release of The Fall's 29th studio album Re-Mit in 2013.

"It was a lot of railway lines round here" he reflected, about his old stomping ground.

"I just had to go bombing on a bike to Dock House...If a ship came in from Nigeria or something."

Listen above.

Sir Elton John has announced he will stop touring in order to prioritise his family.

Speaking in New York, the 70-year-old star said he would say goodbye to fans with a series of 300 dates spanning three years.

"I always thought I was going to be like Ray Charles, BB King - on the road forever," he said.

"My priorities have changed. We had children and it changed our lives. That doesn't mean to say I'm not going to be creative. But I'm not going to travel."

The star denied reports in the press that he was retiring due to ill health.

"Last year, I picked up an infection and I was very ill and it knocked me sideways," he admitted. But I still did 96 shows.

"Believe me - if you ever do 300 shows, you're not in ill health."

His website was in ill health though last night apparently after crashing due to huge demand.

His Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour will run until 2021 though, so no rush...

Read more.

Demi Lovato is offering free therapy to fans before the concerts on her US tour.

The singer, who has been open about her own struggles with bipolar disorder, says its "really important to take away the stigma of mental illness".

Fans with concert tickets will be able to sign up to therapy sessions and listen to speakers talking about mental health.

"It'll be incredible and a very moving and inspiring experience," she told Good Morning America, external.

Read more.

One of the former members of The Fall has shared his memories of meeting the late frontman Mark E Smith for the first time.

Simon Wolstencroft played drums in the band for 11 years (as well as for an early incarnation of The Stone Roses) and he spoke to BBC News.

Listen above.

The Charlatans frontman posted a lovely image of himself in the pub with the late Fall singer (scroll down).

He also spoke to the BBC about his memories of befriending the leader of the band that he loved growing up.

"He was always unpredictable," Tim said.

"He'd be quoting Nietzsche one minute, then scrounging a cigarette the next minute..."

Watch above.

Mark E Smith, the distinctive frontman of Manchester post-punk band The Fall, has died aged 60.

Pam Van Damned, Mark's partner and the band's manager, said he died at home on Wednesday morning and a more detailed statement would follow "in the next few days".

Paying tribute, Smith's former bandmate and 6 Music DJ Marc Riley said last night on air that the singer "taught me a lot about life and he taught me a lot about music".

Smith famously hired and fired more than 60 bandmates over a 40 year career.

Comedian, Absolute Radio DJ and Fall fanatic Frank Skinner has penned a touching tribute too, describing him as making "the most original, thought-provoking, spine-tingling music I've ever heard."

Check out the full statement below and read more about the cult rock hero

Liam Gallagher offered a simple "R.I.P", while Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh wrote that he "greatly admired" the singer's "eccentricities".

Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Lisa Stansfield, Gorillaz and many more, including Smith's beloved Manchester City FC, have been paying their respects online too.

Morning all.

We wake up to the sad news that Mark E Smith of The Fall has passed away.

We'll bring you tributes to the Mancunian maverick today and look back at some of his most memorable moments.

Plus, Demi Lovato offers free mental health counselling to fans, the US music biz decide to wear white roses in support of #TimesUp to the Grammys and Drake breaks a Spotify streaming record previously held by Taylor Swift.

New music from The Vaccines too and much more.

We'll start though by looking back into the Totally Wired world of The Fall (above).