ContactMusic — Dame Judi Dench Emma Thompson and Sting are among the stars who have donated signed memorabilia to raise funds for an environmental charity Rockers U2 and funnyman Stephen Fry have also handed over personal items for The Rainforest Foundation U K s o... more info

Guardian Music — Those beloved songs of the past? There's no need to drape them in orchestral trappings A curious wheeze afflicts the occasional "maturing" rock star – waste bands. That's waste, not waist. I'm talking orchestral manure in the art, the revisiting of... more info

ContactMusic — Sting is convinced his rocker daughter Coco will ultimately benefit from the chart failure of her debut album as she will learn the importance of resilience and hard work The 21-year-old daughter of The Police star and Trudie Styler released The Cons... more info

ContactMusic — Rocker Sting is struggling to write songs as he gets older because he is now more critical of his work than ever before The Police frontman who turned 60 earlier this month Oct11 was a prolific songwriter at the start of his career but admits it is r... more info

Guardian Music — OK kids, it's time to remember what you learned in school – Egyptians, Romans, Greeks – for songs about ancient historyBack in the mists of time, when I was a boy, we used to talk about "the olden days". Well, ancient history is even older than t... more info

Guardian Music — (Fuzzy Moon) The great British jazz singer Norma Winstone has just passed her 70th. Having spent much of her career working with composers who've used her range and precision as a texture, she has blossomed in recent years, with the superb Grammy-nom... more info

NME — Sting, Patti Smith and My Morning Jacket will also feature on new compilation more info

The Good, The Bad and The Unknown — I was turned onto an article by the AV Club referring to something called the five-album test.  It's actually an old music cliche that was originally coined by Sting decades ago.  I guess some writer thought he could pass it off as his own, hoping ... more info

ContactMusic — Sting Patti Smith and KEHA are teaming up to cover songs by folk legend Bob Dylan for a new charity compilation British soul star Adele and the Dave Matthews Band are also contributing tracks to Chimes of Freedom Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years ... more info

Guardian Music — (Deutsche Grammophon)It goes without saying that Anoushka Shankar is a virtuoso sitar player, but one can never be sure how she will use her skills. She has given some memorable performances in the past, playing ragas alongside her legendary father a... more info