John Lennon to appear on new £5 coin

John Lennon is set to appear on a new commemorative £5 coin.

The late Beatle won the Royal Mint's public vote to be immortalised on a limited edition coin, as part of their 'Great Briton' series.

Winning with 92% of the vote, Lennon beat the likes of Jane Austin, John Logie Baird and Walter Raleigh, reports BBC News.

"It's entirely fitting that John Lennon has been chosen by the public in what would have been his 70th year," Dave Knight, director of commemorative coins at Royal Mint said. "The massive proportion of the vote he received shows clearly just how much his untimely death still resonates with the nation."

Only 5,000 coins have been issued, plus a one-off 24-carat gold version of the coin, which will be given to John Lennon's estate.

The price of the coin is £44.99. For more information visit RoyalMint.com

As previously reported, fans from around the world paid respect to John Lennon on what would have been his 70th birthday on October 9. A number of tribute concerts took place and even a memorial statue was unveiled in Liverpool.

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Mumford And Sons to release 'live album'

Band making London gig available as part of new edition of debut album 'Sigh No More'

Mumford and Sons are set to release a live album as part of a new edition of debut 'Sigh No More'.

The band's shows at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire in the spring will be available as a download record.

The live album, along with a DVD featuring three short films shot in India, America and Europe – with a link to the final part which is out in December – and a new song 'Hold On To What You Believe' will be sold as a physical "deluxe" version of the album through Mumfordandsons.com.

However, fans will be able to download the bonus content if they already have the album.

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Mark Ronson and Annie Mac to play New Year's Eve shows in London and Manchester

Mark Ronson and Annie Mac are to appear at New Year's Eve events in London and Manchester this year.

The duo will play The Warehouse Project in Manchester and London's Together night on December 31, with various other artists on the bill for both events.

The Warehouse Project in Manchester takes place at the Store Street venue, while Together in London is held at the O2 Academy Brixton.

The line up for The Warehouse Project on New Year's Eve is:

Mark Ronson
Annie Mac
Retro/Grade
Jaymo & Andy George
Krysko
Greg Lord
Now Wave DJs
Ken Evil
Rich Reason
Juicy
Will Tramp

The line up for Together is:

Mark Ronson
Annie Mac
Fake Blood
Hervé
Zinc

Tickets for both events are on sale now. To check the availability of Mark Ronson and Annie Mac tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

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The Black Keys announce 'Brothers' box set details

Collection will include a 10-inch vinyl featuring six previously unreleased live songs

The Black Keys have announced details of a limited edition box set of their 2010 album 'Brothers'.

Released on November 26, the collection will include the album on CD and double 45-rpm vinyl, a poster and a bonus 10-inch vinyl record.

The 6-song bonus disc features previously unreleased live renditions of a number of tracks including 'Everlasting Light', 'She's Long Gone' and past single 'Tighten Up'.

For more information, visit Nonesuch.com.

The tracklisting for the 'Brothers' bonus disc is as follows:

Side A

'Everlasting Light'
'Next Girl'
'Tighten Up'

Side B

'Howlin' For You'
'She's Long Gone'
'Too Afraid To Love You'

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Peter, Bjorn and John to release 'pop rock album'

Peter, Bjorn and John have revealed that their upcoming new album will see them going back to their roots to release a "pop rock album".

Set for release in early 2011, the group's sixth studio effort is the follow up to 2009's 'Living Thing'.

"We originally planned to make a punk rock album," drummer John Eriksson told Spin. "But listening to it now it's definitely a pop rock album. But it sounds more punk rock when we play the songs live!"

"We've sort [of] gone back to the beginning," he continued. Adding that the songs have elements of new wave and power pop. "It's like Back To The Future!"

The album was produced by Per Sunding (The Cardigans), who Eriksson admitted was to blame for the band drinking in the studio and that even new song 'Tomorrow Has To Wait', is all about being drunk during recording sessions.

"We were more drunk this time," the drummer said. "We have to blame the producer for that. He made us drink more. A lot of the final cuts were the drunken versions."

Currently untitled, the group have been asking their fans to help them out with a name.

""We've been working on an album title for six months," Eriksson explained. "We've been asking our fans on Twitter, We have everything from 'Clever Pig' to 'Stupid Sock', which have been working titles. But it's not going to be called anything like that. We're working on it!"

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