Twisted Wheel are a cocky Oldham trio whose rise has been aided by the patronage of Liam Gallagher and Paul Weller. (Those alarm bells are deafening, aren't they?)

Paul Weller has embraced the dad-rock he once railed against while Pete Doherty looks better but sounds worse

Messrs Jopling, Weller and Robinson prove that when it comes to women, older men are not always wiser

Recession or no recession, the live music industry is banking on the hope that when Christmas approaches, gig-goers will forget how skint they are and reach for their wallets. With Keith Flint back on board, the Prodigy (pictured) have a forthcoming album, Invaders Must Die, and they preview it with a swift tour, commencing next Sunday at the Academy (0151 707 3200) in Liverpool.

Another batch of Wyatt reissues on cool-as-hats Domino, this time the dryish 'Old Rottenhat' (surely his most overrated hat) and 'Dondestan', plus the lovely 'Shleep' from a decade ago.

Cole Moreton asks what the new, improved Tories have to offer this time round

'I can make you laugh until your head wants to explode'

'Leigh is really supportive and honest. he watches everything i do'

It appears that Paul Weller's fractious relationship with members of his former band, The Jam, are now wrecked beyond any possible repair.

Paul Weller's return to Island Records for the first time since 2000's Heliocentric seems like a homecoming of sorts, especially so given the eclectic, engaged nature of his new album. 22 Dreams is like an old-school Island album from the label's Seventies heyday, progressive (but absolutely not prog-rock), tinged with jazz and folksy elements, alert to the turning seasons, capturing the rural breezes, open to hope and fellowship – and, most importantly, its soul rooted in thoughtful, occasionally inspired songwriting. For me, it's the best thing he's done – but then I never much cared for The Jam. Or The Style Council. Or much of his previous solo stuff.

David Cameron's declaration that 'Eton Rifles' is his favourite song has prompted a furious response from Paul Weller. The truth is that politics and pop just do not mix. By Cahal Milmo and Andy McSmith

The Dusty Springfield comparisons are a red herring. Duffy's material – apart from her perky, Martha Reeves-influenced single "Mercy" – reeks of that of a soft-rock chick in the Bonnie Tyler mould. The former Wawffactor (the Welsh equivalent of Pop Idol) contestant possesses a formidable screech, and tonight her brief seven-song set, all from her deliriously successful debut album Rockferry, slipped by unobjectionably. You could picture the 23-year warbler from Gwynedd going down a storm on cruise ships.

Independiente’s artistic and commercial breakthrough came remarkably quickly. Riding the Britpop wave, Travis’s 1999 release The Man Who was soon sitting in one in eight homes in the UK, opening the way for Coldplay and Snow Patrol.

Despite the chatter, don't bet your house (even if it is one you have bought outright with a parliamentary second home allowance) on Michael Martin, the hitlisted House of Commons Speaker, resigning before this year's summer recess.