There's been increasing traffic between the folk and classical fields of late, though it's rare for a contemporary songwriter to be the focus, as in this "Elizabethan Tribute to Nick Drake".

This New Zealander's second album is a rattling, twanging, guitar-thumping celebration of the inebriated underdog as tragicomic hero.

Hit Eighties' songwriter blames today's singers for taking the easy option

But for a chance encounter in a B&B in west Wales, Jodie Marie might never have got a record deal. She still can't quite believe it's all happening, she tells Elisa Bray

You might remember King from such pop classics as “You've Got A Friend”, “Natural Woman”, “It's Too Late”...

This New York-based trio's name has always irritated because it fails to convey how musically eclectic they are.

Independence and hard work are the threads of this life's rich tapestry

The success of British musicians abroad and the rise of digital services including iTunes and Spotify has seen the amount of royalties paid to UK songwriters increase.

“It’s been a while,” Willy Mason confesses. “It’s nice to see y’all.” The low-fi, alt-folkie has returned after a lengthy absence (five years, give or take the occasional low-key UK gig) to finally showcase new material.

“Sometimes I'm scared of being Ozzy Osbourne. But it could have been worse. I could have been Sting.”

PJ Proby, the veteran pop singer, has been cleared of benefit fraud after the prosecution dropped its case following the discovery of new evidence. Proby, 73, was acquitted on all nine counts after being accused of cheating the benefits system out of more than £47,000 by claiming he had just £5 in the bank.

American-born pop singer PJ Proby has been cleared of benefit fraud after the prosecution dropped its case following the discovery of new evidence.

Miss Fortune in name and deed. Sad to say but Judith Weir’s sixth opera is an embarrassment.