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Pick at the pops: 10 September 2007

Our weekly round-up of the weird and wonderful world of pop music...

It’s been a week of highs and lows in the music industry – the same as ever, only, um, more so. Surfing the big high were, of course, Klaxons, who confounded everyone by staggering off with the Mercury Prize on Tuesday, leaving Amy Winehouse with only her husband Blake Fielder-Civil to prop her up. She’ll be needing a back-up – we’ve seen sturdier-looking paper bags. Also bereft were Bat For Lashes – the red-hot favourites on the night – but lead ethereal witchy creature Natasha Khan managed to remain chirpy. And so she should be, with her album enjoying a 185% sales increase in the aftermath. We make that 37 copies sold last week.

On the flip side, it’s been a tough week for everyone’s favourite (just edging out the other two) tenor, Luciano Pavarotti. The lad who sang that stirring piece about plucky Gazza’s tears and Chrissy Waddle’s woeful penalty in 1990 sadly passed this week, but he’s not been short of praise. Emperor Bono of U2 offered this: “Some can sing opera, Luciano Pavarotti was an opera.” So he bored people to sleep, and no one could understand what he was on about. Nice tribute, Boner.

Little bit of politics now, with some precisely judged comments and refreshing insight from flamboyant singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, of all people. Rufus bumped into our leader Gordon Brown at a TV studio recently, and afterwards came up with the following measure of the man: “I think Gordon is really sexy. Most women I know feel the same.” Move over, Paxman, there’s a new girl in town.

A tale of triumph, disaster and the folly of ambition would not be complete without a mention of the foremost political satirists of our time: yes, Hard-Fi. Having conquered the twin evils of, er, record sleeve artwork and the album charts, beetle-browed singer Richard Archer has turned his dead-eyed gaze on the tabloid press. Their crime? Making up a story that he’d been having a dalliance with gorgeous Hollywood starlet Scarlett Johansson. The swines. Our hero soon sucked the fun out of that.

Matthew Horton

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• 02/07/2007: Pop stars try to remember Diana >>
• 18/06/2007: Ronnie and Keef in boring row >>
• 11/06/2007: George Michael avoids jail >>
• 04/06/2007: Beth Ditto bares all >>
• 29/05/2007: Stevie and Jacko disappoint Macca >>
• 21/05/2007: Lily vs Cheryl in catfight nirvana >>
• 14/05/2007: Eurovision carve-up shame >>
• 08/05/2007: How is Kurt Cobain still writing diaries? >>
• 30/04/2007: Bez and Mani? It's 1990 all over again >>
• 23/04/2007: MC Hammer inspires Arctic Monkeys >>
• 16/04/2007: Your planet is safe in Madonna's hands >>
• 10/04/2007: Kaiser Ricky fights for pop double standards >>
• 02/04/2007: Weller vs Sting in battle of the spittle >>
• 26/03/2007: Jagger and Trousersnake snubbed >>
• 19/03/2007: Ray Quinn and the death of pop >>
• 12/03/2007: The Jackson Five eye some filthy lucre >>
• 05/03/2007: George is on his way to Wembley >>
• 26/02/2007: Mel C holds up Spice reunion >>
• 19/02/2007: Joss Stone's big love >>
• 12/02/2007: Lily conquers America >>
• 05/02/2007: Oasis to meet Ringo at last >>
• 29/01/2007: Amy Winehouse wows the Savoy >>
• 22/01/2007: Chris Martin: the B-Boy >>
• 15/01/2007: Whitney auctions her belongings >>
• 08/01/2007: The Police to reform? >>
• 02/01/2007: James Brown RIP >>
• 2006 archive >>