Recognition of John Newman’s ability took a little longer. But his recently released debut single, Love Me Again, shot straight to No 1.By Geoffrey RowlandsJohn Newman already knew the euphoria of hitting No 1 on Britain’s singles chart before releasing his first record. The 23-year-old singer, musician and songwriter was the featured vocalist on Rudimental’s 2012 chart-topper, Feel The Love. Hearing the song played on radio for the first time was a particularly special moment for him.“I was in hospital recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumour. It wasn’t cancerous but a brain tumour is definitely not something you want. I’d just woken up and heard Feel The Love on the radio. It felt surreal but brilliant. I said to the nurse, ‘That’s my tune.’ She was pretty fit too so it was a memorable day.”John had moved to London from the small town of Settle in North Yorkshire. He originally intended to work as a car mechanic, hopefully with a motor racing team, but music had long since overtaken this ambition.“My mum loved Motown and northern soul music. I grew up listening to her records but was primarily into house music. My taste developed into everything from Ben Harper to Led Zeppelin but I got laughed at by school friends when I talked about the possibility of a career in music.”Despite this, his friends were happy to have John DJing at their birthday parties. He transformed a cupboard under the stairs at home into a cramped studio and created his own house or hip hop instrumentals. He eventually decided to sing over these beats and began performing gigs in local venues advertised by his own design posters.“I put everything on MySpace and got much bigger gigs. I realised a career in music really was possible. I spent three years studying at Leeds College of Music before deciding to see if I could make it in London. I wanted to form a band. One of the first musicians interested in joining me was Piers Agget who you’ll now know as a member of Rudimental.”John’s band was short-lived but his friendship with Piers led to featured vocalist and co-writing credits for songs on Rudimental’s UK chart-topping debut album, Home.“The Rudimental guys are all about working with largely unknown artists who they believe have talent. Look at the personnel on their album and see the kind of recognition within the music industry that most of us now enjoy. Emeli Sande is the perfect example. She worked on two tracks as an unknown singer/songwriter and is now a superstar.”Recognition of John’s ability took a little longer. But his recently released debut single, Love Me Again, shot straight to No 1. The song pays an appropriate tribute to the musical heritage endowed by his mother possessing a chorus which has been described as “a hip-swinging throwback to northern soul.”“It was really pleasing that critics understood the northern soul theme. We emphasised it in the music video with dancers re-creating the kind of moves which were developed in specialist northern soul venues like the legendary Wigan Pier.“I co-wrote the song with Steve Booker and sensed we’d made something really special. But you can never be certain so it was fantastic to realise the enormous pre-release popularity of Love Me Again and then see this translate into such a massive hit.”inbriefKings of LeonKings of Leon are the latest band to feature in the series of webcast concerts sponsored by American Express.Their gig at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire will be s treamed on both YouTube and VEVO. Directed by former Saturday Night Live comedian Fred Armisen, the performance is scheduled for 9pm GMT, midnight Qatar time, on August 9. A trailer for the show can be seen at www.youtube.com/user/americanexpressmusic/UNSTAGED.This is one of several concerts Kings of Leon will perform to promote their forthcoming sixth studio album, Mechanical Bull, which is set for release on September 24. A lyric video for lead single, Super Soaker, is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb9lvUT55co.The Postal ServiceA 14-minute documentary chronicling American electronic supergroup The Postal Service is available to watch online.Made by The Creators Project and directed by Justin Mitchell, Some Idealistic Future charts the band’s progress from the initial collaborations which eventually developed into their 2003 album, Give Up. After their eight-year hiatus, the documentary captures the band’s re-formation, takes viewers behind the process of digitally reconstructing their music and contains footage from their sold-out concert at New York’s Barclays Centre.The film can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoSP7lNJTqk.A 10-year anniversary deluxe edition of Give Up has now been released. It features 15 bonus tracks, two of which were newly recorded. An audio posting of the entire album is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lkjNhNqFMw.Miley CyrusMiley Cyrus didn’t hold the first 24 hours on VEVO viewing record for too long. The video for her smash hit single, We Can’t Stop, registered 10.7mn views on the first day of issue last June. But One Direction has surpassed Miley’s mark with 12.3mn views in the first 24 hours on VEVO for the video accompanying their new single, Best Song Ever.If Miley may be a little disappointed to lose the first day viewing crown, she can console herself in the knowledge that We Can’t Stop has set a new VEVO record for the fastest time to reach 100mn views. We Can’t Stop can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco. “Best Song Ever,” the lead single from One Direction’s third studio album Where We Are, is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_v9MY_FMcw.Maroon 5Maroon 5 have been matching records rather than setting new marks. The band’s latest single, Love Somebody, has equalled chart records previously established by Pink. They join her in registering a total of eight number ones on Billboard’s Adult Pop Songs chart and match her record of five consecutive Adult Pop Songs chart-toppers.As Pink also has an active streak of five straight number ones, both records could change hands several times over the course of the next few months. The video for “Love Somebody” can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU8B4XDI3Uw. The Green Children It never ceases to amaze how so much kudos is given to multi-millionaire bands such as U2 for their supposed philanthropic efforts. They receive countless honours and awards despite rarely seeming to hand over any of their own cash.Contrast U2’s ‘generosity’ with that of largely unknown duo The Green Children. After meeting as students at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the Anglo-Norwegian pairing of Marlow Bevan and Milla Sunde have done everything they could to help those in need by donating their own money, not making demands upon others.Unlike U2, donations from Marlow and Milla built an eye hospital in Bangladesh. They have also helped a myriad of worthy causes supporting microcredit, healthcare and education programmes as well as established charities such as Boys and Girls Clubs, PAWS and SOS Children’s Villages.Their new album, Connection, has just been released. A lyric video for lead single, Feel The Light, is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FgfogiaB0A. Several more videos can be accessed from www.youtube.com/user/TheGreenChildren.