‘I’m not a quitter!’ Rubén Blades, the salsa supremo who acted with Jack Nicholson, inspired Bad Bunny – and served as Panama’s tourism minister

As he prepares to play the UK, the 25-Grammy-winning musician (and Harvard law graduate) looks back on his astonishing journey from the barrios of Panama City to global stardom

Chris Martin’s lost James Bond theme goes on auction with unheard Coldplay tapes

Acoustic recording of a song titled The World Is Not Enough included in wide-ranging auction featuring formative Coldplay recordings

It’s a love story – or is it? The surprising conflict and chaos in Taylor Swift’s songs about commitment

A pop superstar widely perceived as a romantic has in fact mostly written love songs troubled by strife, ghosts and delusion. Ahead of her wedding, we strip away the gossip to see what Swift-as-songwriter has spent 20 years telling us

The Black Lights review – Mica Levi, Moin and Klein thrill at an awesome addition to the UK festival circuit

Tapping into the kitsch and romance of a Blackpool weekender, this debut offering from Manchester’s White Hotel becomes a triumph of pan-genre experimentalism

Quincy Jones emailed saying, ‘Hey man, I need to have a word’: how Jacob Collier made In My Room

‘Stevie Wonder and Prince played all the instruments on their albums, but in recording studios. I did it all in a back room at home – and then it won two Grammys’

Bad Bunny review – dynamic Latin superstar hosts thrilling party

The Puerto Rican musician kicks off in a white suit fronting a salsa band in full flow, then switches up with a swaggering, chaotic rave in a replica island home

‘I’ve only been addicted to two things – funk and praise’: Eddie Marsan’s honest playlist

The actor dances his insecurities away and wells up at a particular Eric Clapton song. But which double act brings out his inner cockney?

I was a whinger, a cynic, a misanthrope. Then I saw Harry Styles live – and I will never be the same again

I knew my 11-year-old son would love an evening at Wembley with his favourite star. But nothing prepared me for what it would mean to me, writes Polly Hudson

Haunted hooks and bone-chilling screams: how Chanel Beads became the indie breakout of the year

Tipped by Lorde and Billie Eilish, the New York musician twists sublime folk and chaotic synths into bewitching new shapes

Madonna & Graham review – it’s ‘gay heaven’ when Kylie arrives

You can’t blame Graham Norton for being tongue-tied over the icon. They have a nice, hammy time – and another pop queen serves them drinks – but where is the naughtiness?

Metallica review – metal legends break out the pyrotechnics … and a Proclaimers cover

Armed with four drum kits, an arsenal of hits and a 50,000-strong snake pit, Lars Ulrich and co deliver a masterclasss on their marathon world tour

The Surge review – a wild and haunting wake for Sinéad O’Connor

The late singer gets a thrilling tribute from a cast of 10 dancers in Sonya Tayeh’s heartfelt show

‘I can out-dance Bowie and Jagger!’ Martha Reeves on Motown, Dancing in the Street and smashing crockery with Dusty Springfield

Now 84, the voice of Heat Wave and Jimmy Mack is releasing a new album. She answers your questions on Marvin Gaye, popularising the roundabout and why she hates cover versions of her songs

‘Elon Musk is dangerous and crazy. And I kind of used to like him’: Interpol on their political awakening – and making their masterpiece

They were a big 00s buzz band – but looked in danger of fading out. Empowered by fatherhood and anger at war and AI, the New Yorkers explain why they ‘really showed up’ again

David Clayton-Thomas, lead singer for Blood, Sweat & Tears, dies aged 84

The Canadian musician, who achieved major hits such as Spinning Wheel and You’ve Made Me So Very Happy, died peacefully at a Toronto hospital