In the new, monster-sized issue of Music Week, we present our annual Q4 preview and look ahead to the biz's busiest time of the year. For our huge cover feature, we bring you the story of one of 2018’s biggest releases as we catch up with The 1975 frontman Matthew Healy and his manager/Dirty Hit label boss Jamie Oborne in LA. Together they outline the bold ambitions behind the band's upcoming album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, and unravel the bond behind their rise to the top.
Music Week has already set-up some of the other big albums for Q4 – subscribers can click here to read our our recent cover feature on the return of Mumford & Sons – but here we round-up some of the other key releases coming your way from Universal, Sony, Warner, PIAS, BMG and the NOW series...
TAKE THAT
ODYSSEY
Polydor
November 23
Odyssey is a celebration of both Take That’s past and present. Produced by Stuart Price, this Greatest Hits album features tracks that span the band’s journey from their debut Take That And Party, right up to the present day. The tracks are brilliantly ‘reimagined’ versions of Take That classics giving fans the opportunity to hear the songs as they’ve never been heard before. In addition to these magnificent reinterpretations, fans are treated to three new tracks and exciting collaborations. The release of Odyssey will kick off the band’s 30th anniversary celebrations which will include a tour in 2019. Earlier this week, the group confirmed details of a special one-off programme coming to BBC One later this year as part of the celebrations of their 30th anniversary.
LITTLE MIX
TBC
Syco
TBC
The BRIT Award-winning, superstar girl band Little Mix return with their highly anticipated fifth studio album, which the band have spent the year writing and recording. It’s the follow-up to the triple platinum Glory Days, which saw them achieve the most weeks in the UK Top 40 of any girlband in chart history – overtaking The Spice Girls and The Supremes. With over 45 million global record sales, this album is set to be their biggest to date and, with some exciting features, it will set the tone for the new era of Little Mix. This week, the group revealed that its first single, Woman Like Me [feat. Nicki Minaj], will be out on Friday October 12 and teased the song via an a capella snippet on Instagram.
RITA ORA
PHOENIX
Atlantic
November 23
The follow-up to Rita Ora’s platinum-selling debut album comes this November. Phoenix, which showcases Rita’s vocal ability and unrivalled pop credentials, already contains four Top 5 singles including the huge hits Anywhere and Your Song. With the brand new single Let Me Love You already a Top 10 record and multiple TV performances throughout Q4, Phoenix is sure to be one of the biggest selling albums of the next 12 months.
THE PRODIGY
NO TOURISTS
BMG
November 2
No Tourists is The Prodigy’s first album in three years and is a 10-track attack of cut and destroy euphoria that screams: “We are The Prodigy, champions of London”. From the opening jackhammer impact of first single Need Some 1, No Tourists takes you on a journey through the twisted, party-hard psych of a band that has resolutely followed their own route through the underbelly of popular culture since day one. It’s their most direct, concise and pure statement yet. The band head out on a massive UK and European arena tour starting on the day of the album release and playing to 75,000 fans in the UK alone.
THOM YORKE
SUSPIRIA (MUSIC FOR THE LUCA GUADAGINO FILM)
XL Recordings
October 26
Suspiria consists of 25 original compositions written by Radiohead's Thom Yorke specifically for the Luca Guadagnino reimagining of Dario Argento’s 1977 horror classic. The album is a mix of instrumental score work, interstitial pieces and interludes, with more traditional song structures featuring Thom’s vocals, such as Unmade, Has Ended and Suspirium, the album’s first single featuring the melodic theme that recurs throughout the score.
NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MUSIC! 101
November 23
After celebrating its 100th edition, Now That’s What I Call Music is back with Now 101. The legendary compilation continues to include all the biggest chart hits and latest releases. Available on November 23, it’s the perfect soundtrack to winter 2018. You can read what Sir Richard Branson had to say about the series' incredible legacy here.
To read the full Universal Music preview subscribers can click here.
