Alas our race is run for another week.

We'll leave you with a teaser of Iggy Pop's David Bowie track 'reconstruct' exclusive that you can hear in full tonight on 6 Music from 19:00 BST.

Scroll down for the 5 Things We Learned over the past seven days in the world of music. Plus the first look at biopic star Taron Egerton as Elton John, Beyonce tops Radio 4's list of the most powerful women in music and there's a posthumous Leonard Cohen album in the pipeline.

There's also lots of new music from the likes of Lil Wayne, Cher, Olly Murs & Snoop Dogg (yes - together) and lots of BBC Music Day shenanigans, including Bez's Bargain Hunt scandal and Lisa Stansfield singing on the tram.

See you next week and have a top weekend.

Finally today...

Music from 1980s computer games has been used to create a new concert to be played by an 80-piece orchestra.

Hull Philharmonic Orchestra is to play the symphonic celebration of the music of British home computing.

The 8-Bit Symphony concert will feature 100 minutes of orchestrated music from Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC games.

It will include music from Hull-born composer Rob Hubbard, who created music for more than 75 games during the decade.

Read more.

We heard from Gaga this morning (scroll down) on the Oscar buzz surrounding her role as a fledgling superstar in the move A Star is Born.

Now, we can hear her sing with her lead man and director Bradley Cooper on the song Shallow, from the film which is out next week.

Wisely on his part, musical newcomer Brad doesn't try to out-sing Gaga.

1) Chas Hodges was a much loved musician and friend

We started the week with some sad news that Chas Hodges of Chas and Davedied on Saturday aged 74.

His bandmate Dave Peacock paid a glowing tribute to his "fabulous mate" .

"I'm going to miss him terribly," he told BBC News.

Chas recently received treatment for oesophageal cancer and died peacefully in his sleep, external of pneumonia his family said, in a statement.

Known for their rock and cockney style, Chas and Dave enjoyed the height of their fame in the 1970s and 80s with hits such as Rabbit, Snooker Loopy and Ain't No Pleasing You.

Tributes flooded in and renditions of their songs were played at events around the country, including a rousing half-time singalong as Chas's beloved footy team Spurs took on Brighton & Hove Albion.

Read more.

Image source, Getty Images

2) PJ Harvey is to score a play starring Gillian Anderson

The mercurial singer-songwriter confirmed on her website that she will score director Ivo Van Hove’s stage adaptation of All About Eve at London’s Noël Coward Theatre next year.

The play - which was made into an Oscar-winning film in 1950, starring Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a fading Broadway star - will now star X-Files' Gillian Anderson and Lily James and run from 2 February until 11 May.

PJ previously scored theatre project's including productions of Hedda Gabler and Hamlet, so they're in good hands.

Read more.

3) Prince Harry and Meghan's Royal Wedding choir are coming to a city near you

On Thursday the gospel choir who performed at Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding revealed details of a full UK tour.

The Kingdom Choir clearly impressed with their beautiful rendition of the Ben E King classic Stand By Me (above) at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in May and will now head out across the country in April/May next year.

The choir, led by Karen Gibson, signed a record deal with Sony Music UK a few months ago and are set to drop their debut album on 26 October.

Read more.

Image source, EPA

4) Black Eyed Peas want guns banned in US schools

BEP had an announcement of their own this week, in the form of new album Masters of the Sun - out next month - and with it came a provocative music video for new track Big Love.

The video comes with a warning message and depicts, in graphic detail, a school shooting - with all proceeds from the song going to the March for Our Lives, external movement.

Writing on Twitter, Will.i.am said: "They took kids away from their parents, but they can’t take guns away from kids? We need compassion, empathy, understanding, patience, guidance, protection, collaboration, tolerance & #BIGLOVE#VOTE."

Watch below, but remember you have been warned.

Read more.

And finally...

5) K-Pop megastars BTS are making the most of their time in New York

You can say that again.

The biggest boyband on the planet (sorry again 1D fans) showed off their full array of skills when making a memorable debut on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight show.

They performed their track I'm Fine (above), took on Jimmy's dance challenge and also talked about shopping in the Big Apple, their Grammy dreams and addressing the United Nations.

"I was like so nervous and I'm holding on to the paper and if you see, it was shaking," said band leader and translator Kim Nam-joon.

"It was a big deal."

They're a pretty big deal themselves though, after having become the first K-pop band to top the US album charts in May.

Read more.

5 ½) Paul Simon really is Homeward Bound

OK, we're breaking the '5 Things' rules a bit here but this one is definitely worth a mention.

Continuing the New York theme, Paul Simon brought his touring life to an official end with an epic 26-song gig in his home district of Queens.

"This is like two miles from where I played high school baseball,” the 76-year-old told the crowd, before indulging in "a quick game of catch".

He won't tour again but we're told that if you shout loud enough he may do a few more one-off gigs.

All together now: One more song... One more song...One more song...

Read more.

The returning Canadian singer has unveiled the official music video for her first new music in five years.

It was shot on location in Iceland and Los Angeles, earlier this summer.

The track depicts Avril's recent battles with Lyme disease and you can check it above.

Variety

Image source, Getty Images

Nelly's lawyer confirmed the news to Variety, saying:“Both parties agreed to drop the lawsuit. No settlement or money changed hands”.

The rapper - whose real name is Cornell Haynes - was accused of rape by the then-21-year-old woman on his tour bus after a gig in Seattle in 2017.

He denied the charge and prosecutors declined to pursue charges, because his accuser refused to testify in court or help the investigation.

Her lawyer said she did not appear because of the “horrible” public scrutiny and criticism she faced.

After the case was dropped, the woman filed a legal action against Nelly for sexual assault and defamation. Nelly then counter-sued.

In a statement, his lawyer said "This type of reckless false allegation cannot be tolerated as it is an affront to the real survivors of sexual assault,”

Read more, external

Which apparently will in turn help them to free themselves and then free us all generally.

That's the take home message from their new single.

You can taste a sample above and watch five people struggle to get out of the bath fully-clothed. Look a bit closer, there's an easy way out.

The track is The Chems first original new material since 2015 album Born in the Echoes.

It also features on 6 Music DJ Lauren Laverne's must listen to tracks for this weekend,

Unbelievable scenes.

So, Happy Mondays just won the BBC Music Day special edition of the popular daytime show.

Or so they thought... but there was a sting in the tail.

SPOILER KLAXON!!!

Their £8 winning total was achieved via nefarious means, after it was revealed Bez's girlfriend had been planted in the auctions making rival bids to drive up the price.

This breaks all the Bargain Hunt rules and so miraculously, Pulp - on £-95 - were crowned champions.

"I'm speechless," said Pulp keyboardist Candida Doyle.

"It was a genuine error, my girlfriend thought she was helping," said Bez.

He was then forced to pay the £8 fine out of his own pocket for charity.

"I've served my penance," he said.

What drama.

Head to BBC Music Day site now for more high jinx

Who saw this one coming?

Squeaky clean Olly appears to have seen the funny side of his collab with one of the world's most famous gangster rappers.

He posted a series of excited countdown videos last night, as well as a rather funny 'thug life' style video. You'll have to find that one for yourselves due to some thug-like language, however.

For now check out a video of Snoop getting down to the new track, above.

We wonder if the two of them have actually met or if this miracle was born via the wonder of modern technology?

Next up is Jess Glynne proving she paid attention in maths class.

1,2,3 is the third track taken from her second album Always In Between - which is out next month - and reveals the love formula: You + Me is = Enough.

Watch Jess showing her workings, with the help of a brass band, above.

Finally, last year's X Factor winners Rak-Su return today with a new track entitled I Want You To Freak.

The dance-hall track borrows heavily from the Sugababes track, Freak Like Me, external, which in turn took its inspiration from Gary Numan.

Imitation is the best form of flattery.

Check it below.

Ian Youngs
Entertainment and Arts Reporter, BBC News

...has come back to her home city of Manchester to perform on a tram for BBC Music Day.

Lisa Stansfield took her own advice from her 1997 passenger safety announcement-inspired hit People Hold On when she serenaded travellers on the Piccadilly to MediaCity line.

The Rochdale soul siren surprised commuters with songs including So Natural.

Her tones have also been heard on announcements that are being played across the network today.

Lisa's one of a number of musicians who have been ambushing unsuspecting passengers on the Metrolink network for BBC Music Day.

The others include Rowetta, the BBC Philharmonic and rapper Lady Ice, while CBBC superstar Hacker T Dog is also putting in an appearance, although we can't vouch for his singing.

NME

Image source, Getty Images

Matty Healy from The 1975 has been speaking about how equine therapy helped him beat his heroin addiction.

The treatment, which involves activities with horses to promote human physical and mental health, was offered to him during a stint in rehab in Barbados.

After initial scepticism, the singer said it was “the most profound experience I’ve ever had”.

Matty told the NME, external: "Because I’m a very cynical English person who doesn’t believe in energy and vibes and is a sceptic at heart, I thought... what am I going to do? Stand next to a horse for two weeks?

“So I’m stood there, and the first day, to be honest, I am stood next to a horse, and I’m thinking, ‘What a [fool] I am, stood with a horse thinking that I’m going to have a profound moment’.

He added: “In that time, and probably if I went back now, I cared a million times more in a human way about the approval of that horse than I did anybody else."

The band's third album, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships, is out in November.

The funkmaster general returns with a new Chic album today, called It's About Time.

It's the US disco collective's first studio album in 26 years and features the likes of Mura Masa and Lady Gaga (busy lady).

Nile's been on the promotional trail and he popped into late night politics show This Week - minutes into BBC Music Day - to clear up presenter Andrew Neill's confusion over the lyrics to "the biggest composition of my life", Le Freak.

The song, explains Nile, is about New York's famous Studio 54. But apparently a lot of people - who are probably too busy dancing anyway - are just not getting it.

"My mom sings the wrong lyrics, it's ridiculous," he said.

Watch above and check out Neill, failed rock star Alan Johnson and the Wagner fan Michael Portillo all putting politics aside to get up and get down with Nile below.

See kids, politicians are cool*, after all.

*They're really not.

So this is starting as part of BBC Music Day.

Bez has his bargain hunting checked hat on while Jarv looks elegant as usual.

The Fader

The rapper showed up to the US music website on Thursday to talk about his new album Yhandi, which is set to drop on Saturday.

But his pairing of the red baseball cap, made famous during Donald Trump's presidential run; and a jumper bearing the name of the American athlete blacklisted for taking a knee during the US national anthem, has confused people.

According to Fader, Kanye dropped by to play some new songs form the album but shared some more nuggets of his questionable wisdom, suggesting he would have "run, fought, or got killed" if he were a slave before incorrectly stating that there were only 800 slaves in the 1800s.

The number thought to be closer to 3.9 million.

He also said he wants to build a flying-car factory in Chicago with the help of Tesla.

Read more, external

Image source, Getty Images

The US singer enjoyed her role in the Abba-inspired Mamma Mia! film sequel so much she's recorded an entire album of covers by the Swedish pop legends.

Dancing Queen is the 72-year-old's 26th studio album and some early reviews are in.

The Metro, external give it 3/5 stars saying "Cher turns back time with faithful Abba covers."

See what they've done there?

The Times, external gives it two stars, saying on one track, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A man after midnight), external "she sounds like a lascivious robot".

Variety, external describes the album as "sheer Cher-aoke", leaving it up to you to decide whether that's a good or a band thing.

While Cher is currently on tour in Australia, US media is reporting a man has been arrested in her Malibu home.

ABC7 Eyewitness News and The Hollywood Reporter said a 23-year-old, who has been named as Donovan Ruiz, is accused of supplying drugs.

According to TMZ, external he is the son of one of the singer's assistants.

Image source, Getty Images

Party time... excellent.

Seven years after the previous one in the series, the long-awaited Tha Carter V finally arrived at midnight (as promised) as the New Orleans rapper celebrated turning 36 with a Wayne's World-themed shindig.

The album features Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Snoop Dogg, as well as Nicki Minaj and Ashanti. There are also vocals from controversial late rapper XXXTentacion.

Image source, Getty Images

It arrives a week late but at one point it looked like it wouldn't arrive at all when disgraced US businessman Martin Shkreli claimed he'd bought the rights to the album back in 2016.

You'll have to head to your nearest streaming site or record shop to hear it but instead, here's some pics of the fun-looking party.

We believe the policy was BYOS - bring your own skateboard.

Read more about the album and watch a personal message from Wayne himself.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA

In an interview with Canadian broadcasters CBC, external, the late singer's son Adam said he has been working on an unfinished collection of songs by his father.

Cohen Jr served as producer on Leonard's final album,You Want it Darker, which was released in 2016, just three weeks before his death at the age of 82.

“I was tasked with finishing a few more songs of his that we started together on the last album, so his voice is literally still in my life,” he said.

“It’s a bizarre and delicious entanglement.”

Cohen described the songs as "really beautiful" adding they “resemble his older work, something more romantic”.

Leonard Cohen’s final book of poetry, The Flame, external, is due out in October and the album is expected sometime in 2019.

BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

Beyoncé has been named as music's most powerful woman by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

The superstar came first in a list of the industry's 40 most influential women, thanks to her feminism, activism and empowering musical messages.

Taylor Swift (2nd), Adele (4th) and Dua Lipa were also included on the power list, which was unveiled as part of BBC Music Day.

The top 40 didn't just recognise big-sellers and global stars, making room for the unsung heroes who work behind the scenes to champion women.

Third place went to Vanessa Reed who, as head of PRS for Music, has persuaded dozens of festivals to sign up to a 50:50 gender balance on their line-ups by 2022.

Read more

It's not even lunchtime yet but BBC Music is day is well underway.

Singer-songwriter Amy performed with a choir in her native city earlier (above).

Watch above a she's welcomed by fellow Weegie, BBC Entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson

• Pop stars and choirs take over UK train stations

Elsewhere, Gabrielle provided a "surreal" experience for some commuters by busking at Kings Cross station in London...

And Blossoms performed for travelers passing through Manchester Piccadilly.

Don't worry, there'll be another one along in a minute...

The Hollywood Reporter

The first picture of the Welsh actor and star of the Kingsman movies in costume as Sir Elton John has been shared with Paramount Pictures.

And what a picture - showing Taron on board what appears to be a private jet wearing a gold lamé jacket, shorts and matching golden winged boots.

He's also wearing a pair of Sir Elton's trademark 70s glasses and a wig of thinning curls.

The new biopic, Rocketman, is apparently a musical fantasy story about the singer's early years in the music business, his rise to fame and addresses his struggles with drug addiction.

Read more, external