The Scissor Sisters opened the 27th annual Brit Awards at London's Earls Court. Their rousing and colourful performance of I Don't Feel Like Dancing featured Japanese puppetry, and was followed by host Russell Brand's arrival to the throes of The Smiths This Charming Man.

This year's Brits is the first live television broadcast of the ceremony since 1989.

Muse were the first award-winners. Their British Live Act award - whch was voted for by listeners of BBC Radio 2 - was handed over by actor Keith Allen, father of treble-nominee Lily.

The second live performance of the night came courtesy of Snow Patrol, who delivered a ghostly version of Chasing Cars. That was followed by Jarvis Cocker presenting the British Breakthrough Act - as voted by BBC Radio 1 listeners - to The Fratellis. They beat hotly tipped favourites Corinne Bailey Rae, Lily Allen and James Morrison to the honour.

The winner of the Best International Breakthrough Act was Orson, who beat Gnarls Barkley, The Ranconteurs, Wolfmother and Ray Lamontagne.

James Morrison was named Best British Male, after Amy Winehouse performed a semi-acoustic version of Rehab.

Justin Timberlake accepted his Best International Male trophy via satellite. His speech was followed by The Killers' performance of When You Were Young.

Amy Winehouse was named Best British Female to huge applause, before her International equivalent, Nelly Furtado, accepted her trophy from Ricky from The Kaiser Chiefs

Arctic Monkeys were named Best British Group, and accepted their award via video, dressed as the cast of The Wizard of Oz. They returned as members of The Village People to accept their second honour - Best British Album for Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not.

The Killers won Best International Group and Best International Album for Sam's Town. They thanked the audience for 'making their dream possible'.

Take That won the first-ever live vote, when they took home the Best British Single for Patience.

Oasis accepted their Outstanding Contribution to Music Award from host Russell Brand, despite rumours suggesting Ringo Starr would hand them their gongs. Noel explained why they broke with convention:

"It's the first time no-one's ever presented an award to the top artist. We couldn't find anybody suitable. They came up with a list of names which I thought were all ridiculous, and the people that we wanted to do it were either in America or dead."

They closed the night with a medley of their hits: Cigarettes and Alcohol, Meaning of Soul, Morning Glory, Don't Look Back In Anger and Rock and Roll Star.

Anthony Wilson, the music mogul behind some of Manchester's most successful bands, has been diagnosed with cancer. The Salford-born entrepreneur, who managed New Order, Joy Division and the Happy Mondays, underwent emergency surgery last month to remove a kidney.

The 56-year-old, who launched Factory records and the Hacienda nightclub, is due to start a chemotherapy course at Manchester's Christie Hospital.

The disease was found during a routine visit to the doctor.

Two minutes into his check-up the doctor identified that something was "seriously wrong" with his right lung.

After having the lung drained a scan revealed that his right kidney was "completely consumed" by cancer.

It was then removed at the Manchester Royal Infirmary and he is now set for two five-day treatments at the Christie.

Mr Wilson, who is a presenter on BBC Radio Manchester, rose to fame after he co-founded Factory Records and the Hacienda nightclub which was famously known as the birthplace of the "Madchester" music phenomenon.

The semi-fictional story of both the music label and the historic club was told in the 2002 film, "24 Hour Party People".

You can almost certainly expect some kind of controversy later as the Brit Awards 2007 kick off at a special ceremony in London.The bash is being hosted by Russell Brand who is likely to have his work cut out. Free speaking Oasis will be handed the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award and the whole event will be broadcast live on television.

Russell Brand said: "I am doing it because Oasis are getting this award and it will be so exciting, it will also be a good chance for me to show off with them!"

As well as Oasis the cream of the music industry will be out in force for the event - the music equivalent to the Oscars.

Snow Patrol are one of four acts leading the nominations. Last week the five-piece were the bookies' favourite to walk away with the gong for Best Album for the chart-topping Eyes Open but this week the race is neck and neck between them and Mercury Award winners Arctic Monkeys.

Also in the running for Best British Album are Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen and Muse.

The winners will be chosen by a text vote during the live Brits show from 8pm tonight.

In total 46 artists will be crossing their fingers when the glittering bash gets under way at London's Earls Court.

Lined up to perform are Snow Patrol, Take That, Amy Winehouse, the Killers, Scissor Sisters and Oasis.

The Police have announced they are to reunite and will hit the road for a world tour.Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland will kick off the tour on 28th May in Vancouver, supported by Sting's son Joe Sumner's band, Fiction Plane.

The band gave fans a taster as they opened the Grammy's bash in LA last week slamming out their hit "Roxanne" to rapturous applause.

Tour dates in Mexico, South America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are also expected to be announced soon.

Tickets for the Vancouver show will go on sale this Saturday, while those for the Boston and New York dates will be available from next Tuesday.

At the press conference in West Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go club Sting said:

"Yes, I am certifiably insane. If anybody comes at me with a white coat I'll just let them through. We had such a good time last night we thought we'd dig a few songs out of the vault and rehearse them."

Other North American shows will include a headline performance at the Bonnaroo Festival near Nashville, an appearance at Boston's historic Fenway Park and two dates at New York's Madison Square Garden.

The tour will continue in the autumn in the UK and Europe, including appearances in Holland, Germany, Italy and France, with more countries to be announced.

Computer giant Apple has finally settled its long-running trademark dispute with The Beatles' company, Apple Corps Ltd.The deal could now pave the way for the Fab Four's songs to be sold on the iTunes music store. The band are one of the few whose music has not been licenced for digital services.

The two companies agreed that Apple Inc would own all the trademarks related to "Apple", and would license certain trademarks back to The Beatles' Apple Corps for continued use.

"We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.

Neil Aspinall, manager of Apple Corps, said it was great to put the dispute behind them and move on.

Bookmakers William Hill are offering 10/1 that the Beatles will have all the top ten tracks in the official charts at some time in 2007, and make Hey Jude their 8/1 favourite to be the first Beatles number one of the digital era.

"Beatlemania was at its height in the mid sixties, but making their songs available for download could spark a whole new outbreak," said spokesman Rupert Adams.

A spokeswoman for EMI, the band's record label, declined to comment on whether there were any immediate plans for the Beatles' music to be sold online.

The long-running dispute centred around a 1991 trademark agreement between the two sides regarding the use of their respective apple-shaped logos. The music firm had said that the computer company had violated the agreement by moving into the music business through its hugely popular iTunes online store which has sold over a billion downloads.

In May 2006, a High Court judge in London sided with Apple Inc, which said iTunes was a data transmission service. Apple Corps - which is owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and the estate of George Harrison - had said it would appeal.

But an agreement has now been reached. The trademark lawsuit between the two companies has now ended, with each party bearing its own legal costs.

Ok Go have revealed the plans for their eagerly awaited new video for forthcoming single "Do What You Want".Having made the world's inboxes groan as previous lo-fi videos for "A Million Ways" and "Here It Goes Again" become email and Youtube hits, the band are aiming to clog up the internet again.

The original treadmill clip for "Here It Goes Again" has been viewed over 10 million times thanks to the band's amazing online presence.

Fans passed the one-take video across the internet after Ok Go filmed it at their local gym free of charge - and have since earned a Grammy nomination for it.

The video for "A Million Ways" was similarly successful, featuring the group dancing in their backyard.

Both videos have even spawned a host of copycat fan videos across Youtube.

Now Ok Go admit they're going for basic charm again for new single "Do What You Want"

"It's the most basic setup you can get," explained Damian Kulash. "One camera shot, one room, one background, no tricks - its about achieving as much diversity as you can within that one shot."

A sneak preview of the clip reveals the new video features the band's trademark fussy wallpaper background, with the quartet garbed in the same pattern head to toe in the foreground.

The band then squeeze as many actions and dances as possible into the clip, hoping that it will follow its predecessors around the globe's computers.

"It's great to use videos as more than a promotional tool but as a creative idea," added Kulash.

A release date for single "Do What You Want" is yet to be confirmed.

Former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown has been talking about his eagerly-anticipated new album.Talking at length about his follow-up to 2004's "Solarized", Brown revealed he was working with Smiths legend Andy Rourke and had already recorded with a 30-piece orchestra.

He told the BBC what his timetable had been so far.

He explained: "I started thinking about which songs I'd used in February to April last year, then I started on writing the music and working with my producers Black Ox, working on it all July, August.

"By October/November, I had a clear idea of what songs I wanted to do and then we went into the studio in December, so I've done a month now."

He added he'd gone for a much bigger sound on this record. He revealed: "I recorded with a 30-piece orchestra last week. It's going to sound amazing!"

He also revealed he was working with his old friend and former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke and that he hoped to release the new record by the end of the year.

Brown said: "Andy Rourke is doing his usual funkateer basslines. The thing is, a lot of people don't realise that before he was in The Smiths, Andy was always in funk bands. He gave The Smiths that funk undercarriage, that groove, so I wanted to try and bring that out in him again. And I think we've done it."

Brown also headlines the Manchester Against Cancer charity gig on 30th March at the city's MEN Arena, which is also organised by Rourke and features him on the bill along with Echo And The Bunnymen and The Charlatans.

Further acts have yet to be announced. For more details, click here: http://www.versuscancer.org/

Air have announced tour dates in support of their forthcoming album, "Pocket Symphony".The French duo will hit various cities throughout Europe in addition to playing four dates in the UK, as previously announced.

The tour kicks off in Glasgow on 14th March and will conclude in Paris on 29th March. The band also plan to play major festivals in Europe and Japan throughout the summer, and continue touring to the end of the year.

Air's new album, "Pocket Symphony", will be released on 5th March and features guest vocals by artists including Jarvis Cocker, and Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy.

The tour dates are:

Glasgow ABC (14th March )
Manchester Academy (15th)
London Forum (16th)
Berlin Gleishalle (19th)
Hamburg Docks (20th)
Cologne E Werk (21st)
Munich George Elser Halle (22nd)
Fribourg Frison (24th)
Milan Alcatraz (25th)
Amsterdam Meklweg Max (27th)
Brussels Ancienne Belgique (28th)
Paris La Cigale (29th)

Brian Eno has revealed that he is producing Coldplay's fourth album. The band have been locked away in their North London studio working on the album, since the release of their last album X&Y in October.

Ex Roxy Music musician Eno is famous for his pioneering work in ambient and electronic music, and also for his work with David Byrne and The Talking Heads.

Eno also said he thought that most music around today sounded just like The Talking Heads, and he would be making a special effort with this album NOT to imitate them.

Some of the work will be roadtested on Coldplay's Latin American tour next month.

Arctic Monkeys are the first band to confirm they'll play a headline slot at Glastonbury this year.The news of their scheduled performance on the Pyramid Stage comes a day after Michael Eavis exclusively told BBC that the band and Bjork would perform in June.

Eavis also let slip that The Who are set to play at the event.

Michael spoke to the Music Week's Julie Cullen in his first major broadcast interview yesterday, where he revealed that the main source of concern for him was ticket touting.

This year's festival will boast a new system that aims to prevent ticket-holders re-selling their tickets online at inflated prices.

"What you do from the 1 February is, you have to get a form from the website or got into a Millets Shop - there are 200 of them around the country - and you get a passport-sized photograph and send them to us. You have four weeks to do that. That's called pre-registration exercise. From April 1st, at 9am, the phone lines open for ticket sales. The first 150,000 people that come through that will be booked in; we'll already have the information on those people their pre-registration forms and photos, so they can't sell those tickets on. In theory, that's how its gonna work."

When it came to the regular Glastonbury guessing game - who will be playing and headlining - Eavis refused to confirm headliners but was happy to confirm that Bjork and Arctic Monkeys will both be performing. He also clarified that Bjork isn't booked as Kylie's replacement, telling us:

"Most of the line-up's done now. Bjork's playing, but she's not headlining. She's brilliant. She's so good. She's not on the main stage. She's very, very valuable to us. We simply love her to bits and we're so thrilled she's coming. She's not replacing Kylie. She's brilliant."

He admitted that the 'biggest band in the world' had contacted him direct about performing, but he denied it was U2.

"I've never said they were playing. From day one, I put on the website that U2 were not playing. And no, its not Coldplay. You won't know until after April 1st." When we asked him what his personal highlight of 2007's festival would be he told us: "I'm looking forward to seeing Arctic Monkeys."

While he plays his cards close to his chest about the live acts, Michael admitted that there was still a lot of work ahead:

"We're building on site. We're improving the offices - we've got flood relief. Loads of things are going on. It's a huge logistical exercise, cos we're hopefully gonna get 177,000 all together."