The UK's competition watchdog has said ticket resale firms such as Viagogo and StubHub should face tighter rules.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said current laws meant it was not possible to act swiftly and effectively against touts. Another problem came from resellers who speculatively sold tickets they did not own, the regulator said.

Motionhouse today announced the addition of several dates for its world premiere tour of its new production, Nobody. Marking the Company’s return to live theatre performance following lockdown, Nobody will receive its world première at The Peacock Theatre in London from the 22-25 September 2021.

This will be followed by an extensive tour which sees the company visit Denmark, England, Germany, Scotland and Wales. Several of these are first time visits, including three new venues in Germany, Yvonne Arnaud in Guildford and The King’s Theatre in Edinburgh. This marks the Company’s first visit to one of the city’s main stages. 

Jazz FM have announced that they will be broadcasting a special show later this month from B:Music venue Symphony Hall to celebrate the return of live jazz music to the world-famous venue and the rich and diverse talent of the city’s jazz scene. The return of the eagerly anticipated Jazzlines Summer School, after its absence last year due to Covid-19, and the first ever week-long B:Jazz Fest will both feature in the programme.

Jazz FM’s host Nigel Williams will broadcast his Saturday Show direct from Symphony Hall on Saturday August 28 and will feature a number of interviews and performances from musicians and summer school participants. The show will be the culmination of a week of live jazz performances and music-making at Symphony Hall, as for the first-time ever the Summer School is run in conjunction with the B:Jazz Fest, in partnership with Jazz FM.

Amazon Studios’ £336m production of Lord of the Rings should be filmed in Birmingham, UK owing to the city’s close association with Tolkien, a film expert at Birmingham City University has said.

Frank Mannion, producer, director and Senior Lecturer in Film Marketing and Distribution, who is currently enjoying US and European success with his directorial debut, Sparkling: The Story of Champagne starring Stephen Fry, spoke following the news that the Peter Jackson-led production is moving from New Zealand to the UK.

Afro-retro singer & soulful storyteller Ibejii follows his previous release Gonto, which received love & support from BBC 6Music, The Face, Culture Custodian and others, with Happy Me, the second single from his upcoming EP Intermission – a body of work that explores the emotional rollercoaster foisted on many by the combination of a global health pandemic, a global movement for racial justice, the #EndSARS campaign to end police brutality for Nigerians & the daily challenge of keeping it together amidst aloneness, social isolation & multiple lockdowns.

Happy Me is the final puzzle in the EP’s story that sees the listener reclaim mental and emotional wellness after a long season of loss, fear, lockdowns & uncertainty. Produced by DopeL at Natalio Studios in Lagos, Happy Me’s inception came about when Ibejii received a call from a friend saying “I deserve to be happy don’t I?” Having reassured the caller, Ibejii then began a journey to ‘catch happy’.

From his chart-dominating time in JLS to his solo smash ‘Get Stupid’ and a sensational star run on ‘The Masked Singer’, Aston Merrygold has proved to be one of the UK’s most popular personalities. Having returned to Radio 1’s airwaves earlier this year with ‘Share A Coke’, Aston now shares an attention grabbing new song ‘Emergency’.

‘Emergency’ brings a soundsystem of energising elements into a track that sparkles with summertime spirit. It’s got the rhythmic mix of dancehall, and those pop flavours are revealed via a dash of ultra-addictive hooks that hint at JLS’s chart-conquering years. As ever, Aston’s vocal magic is essential to unlocking the track’s potential, with his enlivening mix of Motown soul and bold British personality.