A tribute album to the late, sometimes-great John Martyn (betcha couldn't see that coming).

Given that he (allegedly) recommended Andy Coulson as Tory comms director, and (allegedly) invited James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks to his 40th birthday party, you may be surprised to learn that George (né Gideon) Osborne is said to be intensely relaxed about the imminent publication of ministers' meetings with media execs.

The names and faces of Colin and Christine Weir may not remain in the public's consciousness for quite as long as some of the people whose worldly wealth theirs now exceeds – David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins – but their decision to go public is an increasingly rare one among lottery winners in an increasingly media-savvy world.

The last work of a crumbled genius, recorded in the year before his death, some 30 years after his last great work.

The low-key, chill-out format of the Late Night Tales series of band-curated "mixtape" compilations lends itself well to Midlake, whose selection tracks the fringes where disparate strains of art-rock, folk and folk-rock rub up against each other.

Liverpool 2 Bolton 1

Boasting a rich career that started with mod-punkers The Jam more than 30 years ago, Paul Weller struck gold again this year. Delirious reviews welcomed the Modfather back to the UK charts in April with his 10th solo album, Wake Up the Nation, a short, sharp and striking work of fresh experimental hits nominated for the Mercury Prize. It's this new material that dominates Weller's set on the last night of his UK tour at Wembley yet, surprisingly, his performance massively misses the mark.

It was meant to have ended with punk. But the much-maligned musical genre, with its protracted guitar solos and pretentious album titles, is back. So do you know your Atomic Rooster from Van Der Graaf Generator? Let Jonathan Brown be your guide

It's exit stage left for The Sun's theatre critic, Bill Hagerty. The veteran former Mirror hack has been let go in a round of cuts, even though his son, Will, is a senior executive at the paper. It is unclear whether a replacement will be appointed, although given the Sun's interest in TV talent show stars who end up in the West End, it's not such a daft idea. But Hagerty will probably still be seen in theatreland: his wife, Liz Vercoe, is also a critic, so no doubt he can still go – on her arm.

Is there a glass of Pol Roger champers in your hand? Have you spied former Telegraph editor Charles Moore without a tie? Is Piers Morgan getting hot under the collar with newsreaders Emily Maitlis, Andrea Catherwood, and girlfriend Celia Walden? Yes? Then you're at the 2009 Spectator summer party. And that's more than could be said for the magazine's former editor, London Mayor Boris Johnson, whose tardy arrival at the mag's Westminster offices last Thursday was greeted with the words: "The bar is closed, move along please."

As one of the biggest British groups ever, Genesis have sold in the region of 130 million albums worldwide. Both the original vocalist Peter Gabriel and the drummer-turned-lead-singer, Phil Collins, have enjoyed hugely successful solo careers, while the keyboard player Tony Banks and the guitarist Mike Rutherford, the two mainstays of the group, have also reaped the benefits of the work the band did in the late Sixties and throughout the Seventies. The drummer John Mayhew was only with them between August 1969 and July 1970, but he contributed to the recording of Trespass, the group's pastorally tinged second album, and their first for the Charisma label.

'Uncle B was my dad; we named our debut album after him, as he died just before we got our latest record deal.'

Before he passed away this week at the age of 60, the singer and guitarist John Martyn had cheated death many times. A former heroin user and lifelong alcoholic who suffered numerous injuries in falls, he also seemed to treat being shot at, pancreatic failure, and a broken neck sustained when his car collided with a bull as occupational hazards.

He has persuaded MPs to campaign to keep the fictitious drug "cake" off the streets, and musician Phil Collins to warn children against paedophiles while wearing a "Nonce Sense" T-shirt. Now the satirist Chris Morris is tackling his most controversial topic yet: wannabe suicide bombers.