KIRSTY MACCOLL's duet with THE POGUES, 'Fairytale Of New York', is the most downloaded 80s track of the last five years in the UK according to a recent report, having been downloaded almost 300,000 times. The track heads a top twenty that also features A-HA, MICHAEL JACKSON, NEW ORDER, WHAM! and THE JAM. See NEWS on the website for the full Top Twenty list!

THE ENGLISH BEAT have added more shows to their upcoming US tour. See GIGS for all the dates.

ABBA will be celebrated at a special concert in London's Hyde Park on September 13th. The event 'Thank You For The Music... A Celebration Of The Music Of Abba' will feature ABBA's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus performing the band's hits with a selection of guest vocalists.

DEPECHE MODE have rescheduled more of the dates they were forced to cancel as a result of singer DAVE GAHAN's recent emergency surgery. The shows originally scheduled in Zagreb, London and Dusseldorf in May and June will now take place in February. See GIGS for all the dates.

ALISON MOYET has announced a very special tour for November and December that will see her celebrate her 25th anniversary as a solo performer with twenty-six shows across the UK. She has also collaborated with electronic group My Robot Friend on a new track called 'Waiting' which will feature on the US act's forthcoming album 'Soft Parts' which is scheduled for release on September 29th. See GIGS for all the dates.

GARY NUMAN has announced the dates for his upcoming 'Pleasure Principle' tour which will see him play the classic album at sixteen shows around the country. See GIGS for all the dates.

MADNESS will play a huge outdoor show at Carisbrooke Castle Fields on the Isle Of Wight on August 30th.

ERASURE will release a six-track EP of classic remixes entitled 'Erasure.Club' on August 10th. The mixes were released to clubs on a series of promo-only 12" singles in 1990 and have not been commercially released before. The release includes versions of the singles 'Ship Of Fools' and 'Sometimes' among the six mixes and is available for pre-order with a special Erasure t-shirt at the band's official online shop.

MICHAEL JACKSON will be the subject of a special tribute edition of Smash Hits magazine which is published this week. The publication will be the first edition of Smash Hits to come out since the magazine folded in 2006 and will feature Michael Jackson content from their archives and will include original interviews, news reports and posters. The singer was also reportedly working on two albums prior to his death last week, a pop album with songwriter Claude Kelly and Akon, and an instrumental classical album. It is thought that both albums will receive some sort of release.

NEW ORDER's BERNARD SUMNER and STEPHEN MORRIS's new project Bad Lieutenant will release its first single 'Sink Or Swim' on September 21st with an album, 'Never Cry Another Tear' to follow on October 5th.

SHAKATAK will play Japan's Kutchan Jazz Festival on Saturday July 25th followed by shows ain Tokyo, Fukuok and Osaka. See NEWS for dates and more details.

REM are expected to release a live album later this year featuring songs from the band's five-night residency of 'live rehearsals' at Dublin's Olympia Theatre in 2007. The band will also have an expanded and remastered edition of their 'Reckoning' album released on August 3rd.

Special thanks to: www.remembertheeighties.com - "The 80s... up to date!"