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Lena Horne sings in a press photograph from January 1940. The singer made her debut film appearance in 'The Duke is Tops' in 1938.

Hollywood says farewell to its first black sex symbol

Lena Horne, the jazz singer who became the first black actress to sign a long-term contract with a major film studio, but whose very public opposition to racial segregation slowed her rise to Hollywood superstardom, has died. She was 92.

Inside Music

Jarvis Cocker curates National Trust album

Jarvis Cocker's transformation from indie music's enfant terrible to unlikely pin-up of the cream tea and country house set appeared complete yesterday, when it emerged that he had teamed up with the National Trust to curate an album of soothing sounds.

Intimacy and friendliness are the themes at the bespoke, boutique festivals

Watching Blur close Glastonbury last year with an emotionally charged performance, it was clear that it remains the king of festivals.

Joanna Newsom, Royal Festival Hall, London (Rated 4/ 5 )

"I found a little plot of land/ in the garden of Eden," opens Joanna Newsom. Sitting at her wooden harp, slender in a diaphanous pink-and-white flowing dress, her hair cascading down her back, she does seem rather celestial, her angelic voice cooing, "I believe in innocence."

Pavement, Brixton Academy, London (Rated 4/ 5 )
All Tomorrow's Parties, Butlins, Minehead (Rated 4/ 5 )
Rihanna, O2 Arena, London (Rated 3/ 5 )

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