Lily Allen is to appear in Neighbours. The Not Fair singer will shoot her cameo role in the Australian soap when she is in Melbourne next month and may even perform one of her chart-topping hits on the TV show. A source said: “Lily is delighted, she can’t wait. She has been telling all her friends. She can’t quite believe she’ll take a turn on Ramsay Street and meet the stars of the show in person. Her role is pretty straight forward and she will only have a few lines.” The 24-year-old star is set to spend two days filming her scenes followed by a meet-and-greet with cast members. Neighbours star Matt Werkmeister - who plays Zeke on the show - is thrilled at the prospect of working with Lily. He said: “I’m freaking out! I haven’t been this excited for I don’t know how long. I ll be star-struck for sure, but I’ll try my hardest to stay professional. “I’ll definitely want to get Lily s autograph but will probably be too scared to ask her, so I ll be asking someone else to get it for me.”

The Fast Track to FIB Heineken competition kicked off in spectacular style this month as over 1000 bands registered and uploaded their music in an attempt to win a slot at this year’s Benicássim festival in Spain. For the second year running, Vince Power has partnered up with rapidly emerging youth music brand Supajam, to find Europe’s newest super-group, and so far the response has been phenomenal! The contest allows bands to submit their music online and a careful selection process follows (see below) before the final 5 bands battle it out at a live showdown in Piccadilly’s The Pigalle Club. Voting doesn’t officially start until May 16th but with so much interest in the upload stage of the competition, Supajam are preparing themselves for the inevitable onslaught from bands’ fans. Having already confirmed a monumental line up including The Killers, Oasis, Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand, Paul Weller (see photo) , Lily Allen, Glasvegas, Maximo Park, The Horrors, 2 Many DJ’s and Elbow fans have come to expect bands of the very highest calibre, so its no wonder that competition for a slot on the Benicássim bill is fiercer than ever. Last year’s winner JKLMNO have taken massive steps forward since taking home the ‘Fast Track to FIB Heineken’ crown. Since winning the contest they have recorded a live studio session for the BBC and seen their music featured as the ‘Windows Media download of the week’. Set to record a single for physical release in August with Manic Street Preachers producer Greg Haver in the Manics’ own private studio, many are tipping them as one to watch for 2009. Other finalists from last year were Doll And the Kicks who have since supported Morrissey on his European tour and Irish rockers CODES, who shared the stage with Keane on their UK tour. If you want a chance to perform the gig of your lifetime visit supajam now!

TINCHY STRYDER and N-Dubz have knocked Calvin Harris off the top of the UK charts. The collaboration ends the Scottish star’s two-week reign after they went straight to number with the aptly-named song, ‘Number One’. Harris dropped two places to number three with his single ‘I’m Not Alone’, while Eminem’s comeback single, ‘We Made You’, rose three places to five. Scottish rock duo Marmaduke Duke entered at 12 with ‘Rubber Lover’.

The top ten singles in full:

1. (-) Tinchy Stryder ft. N-Dubz: ‘Number One’
2. (2) La Roux: ‘In For The Kill’
3. (1) Calvin Harris: ‘I’m Not Alone’
4. (3) Lady GaGa: ‘Poker Face’
5. (8) Eminem: ‘We Made You’
6. (4) AR Rahman & Pussycat Dolls: ‘Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny’
7. (5) Ciara ft. Justin Timberlake: ‘Love Sex Magic’
8. (6) Beyoncé: ‘Halo’
9. (10) Lily Allen: ‘Not Fair’
10. (7) Noisettes: ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go)’

Robbie Williams is adamant his new album will be a huge success. The ‘Angels’ singer is currently in the studio working on his long-awaited eighth release and says he’s never felt more positive about a collection of songs. Robbie, who is recording with producer Trevor Horn, star: ‘It sounds big. I’m buzzing.’ The former Take That star has penned over 50 potential songs for inclusion on the album and believes every one could be a potential hit single. In a bid to change his image, Robbie recently parted ways with his publicists and hired the people who represent Lily Allen, Radiohead and the Pet Shop Boys to help turn his ailing career around. A source said: “Robbie had nothing but good things to say about his previous firm but it’s time for a change. “He is determined to be involved with a firm specialising in music not celebrity.” Robbie has seen his career wane in recent years, while his former Take That bandmates have enjoyed worldwide success with their comeback. In a bid to boost his flagging fortunes, he is said to be desperate to reconcile with Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Howard Donald. However, Gary - whose rows with Robbie were one of the main reasons why he quit the band in 1995 - denied a reunion was imminent, though he admitted he was keen to eventually work with Robbie again. He said: “We’d all love to do something. It will happen, I just don’t know when.”

In many ways, Jack Penate is Lily Allen minus the sarcasm and the party frocks. The South Londoner’s music is slick, radio-ready pop, but its heart is rooted in the Two-Tone ska revival and the more soulful end of ’80s pop, along the lines of the Style Council and the Housemartins. Add in Penate’s striking vocal resemblance to the young Billy Bragg and he’s like the post-millennial equivalent to the U.K. student discos of two decades previously. Jack Fabian Penate (being of Spanish descent, his surname is pronounced “Pen — yah — TAY,” not “Pen — ate”) was born in Blackheath, a fairly posh London suburb, on September 9, 1984. While still in his teens, Penate formed a band called Jack’s Basement, which also featured his schoolmate Felix White, later lead guitarist for neo-Brit-pop act the Maccabees. When that group broke up as its members went off to different universities, Penate began a solo career, backed by bassist Joel Porter and drummer Alex Robins. While developing a strong live following due in large part to his frenetic on-stage dancing, Penate signed with the Young Turks label and released his debut single “Second, Minute or Hour” (each of the 1000 limited-edition vinyl copies containing a Polaroid self-portrait of the artist) in the fall of 2006. The single’s favorable buzz allowed Penate to jump to the larger indie XL Recordings for his first EP, Spit at Stars, released in the spring of 2007.Jack Peñate will head out on a nine date UK headline tour in June. The tour follows a run of sold out dates earlier this month and the success of Peñate’s acclaimed single ‘Tonight’s Today’, the first taster of his as-yet-untitled second album.

More album details will be announced shortly.

The full June 2009 tour dates are:

Saturday 13th Stoke Sugarmill
Sunday 14th Liverpool O2 Academy 2
Monday 15th Gateshead Sage
Tuesday 16th Edinburgh Bongo Club
Friday 19th Leeds Cockpit
Saturday 20th Coventry Kasbah
Sunday 21st Norwich Waterfront
Tuesday 23rd Northampton Roadmenders
Wednesday 24th Bristol Thekla

Tickets go on sale here.

www.jackpenate.com
www.myspace.com/jackpenate

MySpace has announced that every artist and band can now upload a total of 10 tracks to the music player on their profile page. Previously, musicians have had the ability to stream six tracks to share with their fans and the tool is widely used to promote new singles or albums, whilst also enabling users to add specific songs to their own profile page. MySpace is expecting an increase of new tracks to be uploaded over the coming days as the millions of active artists on the site increase their six songs to an album sized showcase. Dom Cook, Head of Entertainment at MySpace UK, said: ‘MySpace has always been the best place for fans to connect with and discover music and this new functionality will increase the promotional power of the site within the industry. ‘Spreading the word of music across the internet is something we are passionate about and this increased track allowance will give artists and fans more opportunity to share what they love.’ Big names in the music industry such as The Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen became chart success stories thanks to being able to share music direct with fans via their MySpace profiles. To get the guide on how to make the most of being an artist or band on MySpace, go to the music info page: http://uk.myspace.com/musicinfo