Coldplay, Led Zeppelin Album Covers Featured On New British Stamps

Album art from Pink Floyd, Blur and David Bowie also included.
By James Montgomery


Coldplay's new British stamps
Photo: Royal Mail

On Thursday (January 7), the U.K.'s Royal Mail unveiled a series of 10 new stamps, honoring the most iconic album covers of the past 40 years.

The albums featured in the new series are the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed, Led Zeppelin's IV, David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, The Clash's London Calling, New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies, Primal Scream's Screamadelica, Pink Floyd's The Division Bell, Blur's Parklife and — the most recent album on to make the cut — Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head.

Meant to honor "the most potent graphic images of modern times, many of which have provided a visual soundtrack to people's lives," the series is the end result of a lengthy research process by the Royal Mail, who looked through thousands of album covers by British artists before deciding on the final list. And, during a Wednesday night BBC Radio broadcast, it was revealed that the queen herself actually approved each design.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page — who helped design the cover for IV — was on hand to celebrate the release of the stamps and recalled the mysterious nature of the album's iconic imagery.

"Almost 40 years after the album came out, nobody knows the old man who featured on the cover, nor the artist who painted him," he said. "That sort of sums up what we wanted to achieve with the album cover, which has remained both anonymous and enigmatic at the same time."

Of course, any great honor is befitting of an equally great contest, so, on the same day the stamps were made available to the general public, Coldplay decided to give one of their Rush of Blood stamps away. In a message on their official site, the band held a contest to send one lucky fan "a letter using a Coldplay stamp, postmarked with today's issue date."

"We visited our local post office earlier today and bought some of the Coldplay stamps," the message read. "Very nice they are too."

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Rihanna Caps Off Her BIG Day with a Photo Shoot Session

Ready to spend a little time in front of the cameras, Rihanna was spotted en route to a photo shoot in downtown Los Angeles, California on Wednesday afternoon (July 27).

The fashionably adventurous singer rocked a curly red coif while clad in a colorful green and blue short suit with neon green strappy sandals.

The photo shoot outing comes on what's been quite the big day for RiRi - as her "Battleship" movie trailer was released (watch above) along with the unveiling of her September 2011 cover issue for Glamour magazine.

Among the topics of discussion with Glamour was Rihanna's unique style - which draws plenty of attention from fans and critics, alike.

Of her choice in garb, the 23-year-old dished, ?Getting dressed, I want to pick the most bizarre pair of shorts so I can figure out how to make it look right, or work an outfit that will make people go, ?What the hell is she wearing???

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Britney Spears Says She'd Love To Tour With Usher

In her 'Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale' special, she calls the 'OMG' singer 'really hot right now.'
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Sway Calloway


Sway Calloway and Britney Spears
Photo: MTV News & Docs

What do Britney Spears and Usher have in common? Well, they are both global superstars with a back catalogue of tunes that have kept fans dancing for a really long time and they both recently hooked up with will.i.am for tracks on their latest releases (the Black Eyed Peas mastermind worked on the pop vixen's Femme Fatale tune "Big Fat Bass"). And, if Spears has her way, she and the "OMG" singer could be hitting the road together.

When Spears sat down to talk with Sway Calloway for her "Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale" special — airing Sunday (April 3) at 9 p.m. ET on MTV — the singer revealed that Usher is first on her list of artists she'd like to join her on tour.

"Oh, I'm so excited. I'm really excited about going on tour, very," she explained about her forthcoming summer trek, which happens to have a spot open on the bill now that Enrique Iglesias has pulled out of the gig. "I think Usher's really great right now. I think he's really hot right now. That would be cool [to tour with him]."

The North American road trip is expected to kick off June 17 in Sacramento, California, and will run for 26 dates, winding up on August 13 in Toronto. More details will be announced soon.

The "Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale" special is a mixture of behind-the-scenes footage of the singer as she wraps up production on her album, which dropped this week, as well as an inside look at her life and fans. In addition, those who couldn't make Spears' recent nightclub show in Las Vegas will get to see her as she takes the stage in her latest pop incarnation.

Don't miss "Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale," airing Sunday (April 3) at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.

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?True Blood: Me and the Devil? Favorite Quotes and More

Time for my thoughts on ?True Blood: Me and the Devil!? This season just seems to keep getting better and better! Finally! Sookie and Eric hook up! Then bill walks in. Sigh. Oh, wait that is next week, but I am telling you what ? you wont want to miss my thoughts on next weeks episode! But lets revisit this week once again, ?Me and the Devil.? First up- this weeks episode had some of my favorite quotes yet: Pam ? ?when you f@ck with my face, it?s time to die!? Sookie – “There’s more to you than your worst self.? Lafayette – ?Hookah, you pissed off another vampire and then you took a goddamn nap.? Jason- ?As much as I love it, every bad thing that?s ever happened to me is because of sex.? Jason practices his God voice: ?Jason Stackhouse, you have f**ked too many hot women. Now let?s see how you like it!? . Bill – ?Vampires have often found it advantageous to maintain a hidden presence in humanity?s most powerful institutions, and in the 1600s, that was the Catholic church. And today, as you all know, it?s Google and FOX News.? Can I just tell you [...]

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Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Coldplay Confirmed For I Heart Radio Festival

Two-day fest, set for September 23-24 in Las Vegas, also features the Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood and others.
By James Montgomery


Lady Gaga
Photo: Jag Gundu/ Getty Images

It's being billed as "the biggest live music event in radio history" (whatever that means), and so, the organizers of the brand-new iHeartRadio Festival have pulled out all the stops, delivering a lineup that's appropriately loaded with some of the biggest stars in the business.

Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Nicki Minaj, the Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood and Steven Tyler are just some of the acts set to appear at the inaugural I Heart Radio fest, scheduled for September 23 and 24 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They'll be joined on the bill by the likes of Kenny Chesney, Jennifer Lopez, David Guetta, Rascal Flatts, Kelly Clarkson and John Mayer (to name just a few).

Organizers promise that even more artists will be added to the bill as the summer stretches on. The eternally busy Ryan Seacrest will host the event, which will stream live online and via mobile devices at iHeartRadio.com, and across the websites of all Clear Channel-owned radio stations.

If you'd prefer to be there in person, you can get a first crack at tickets by liking iHeartRadio on Facebook. The pre-sale ends at 1 a.m. ET this Saturday, with tickets going on sale to the general public later that same day (at 1 p.m. ET) through Ticketmaster.com.

Of course, given that this is a radio fest, Clear Channel is also giving listeners plenty of chances to win a free trip to Vegas for the event. For more information on how you can score yours, check out iHeartRadio Music Festival's official site.

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Blake Lively "Sex and the City" Prequel Rumors Heat Up

Back for another long day's work, Blake Lively was busy shooting scenes for her new movie "Savages" in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday (July 26).

Clad in a bright turquoise robe, the "Gossip Girl" beauty hopped in and out of a sporty little Mini Cooper for the Oliver Stone directed film about "two pot growers who face off against the Mexican drug cartel who kidnapped their shared girlfriend."

On another note, rumors have gained momentum regarding Miss Lively signing on to stars in a "Sex and the City" prequel - with the Daily Mail reporting that it's a done deal.

The Daily Mail story adds that Blake will be joined by Selena Gomez, Emma Roberts, and Elizabeth Olsen in the movie to be named "The Carrie Diaries".

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