‘I love Shane MacGowan. He’s the ultimate ... one of the last punks’

Musician and film-maker Don Letts on Shane MacGowan, The Clash and being black in Britain

Alexander Hamilton, celebrated in Hamilton musical, owned slaves, says new research

A researcher says overlooked evidence shows that ‘Abolitionist Founding Father’ Hamilton bought, sold and personally owned slaves

RuPaul’s Drag Race: do those with more junk in the trunk deserve the crown?

Reality TV round-up: midway through Drag Race, many queens have fallen, but Kameron Michaels is holding on, while Vanessa ‘Vanjie’ Mateo has become a pop culture icon

Childish Gambino - Awaken, My Love! album review: a deeper, wider groove

The vinyl frontier: coming soon to a furniture store near you

Dedicated record stores may be closing, but vinyl lives on - in the décor and pillows section

Beatyard festival releases stage times and details

Heading to Dún Laoghaire this weekend? Here’s everything you need to know

Beyoncé’s way with words: lyrics of style and substance

No sooner has Beyoncé unleashed a line than it seems to become everyday slang. She crafts lyrics of substance and style from “Becky with the good hair” to Destiny’s Child

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Purple reign comes to an end as Prince dies aged 57

The US singer was a driven perfectionist whose creative output was staggering

Prince live in Ireland: ‘We gotta go – I got too many hits’

Cork in 1990; Dublin in 2002; and again in 2011, after that no-show in 2008, Prince showed his live game was every note as sharp and groundbreaking as his studio work

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Taylor Swift wins album of the year at the Grammys

Swift also wins Grammys for best pop vocal album for 1989 and best music video for Bad Blood

Seven Davis Jr: Universes | Album Review

Raw materials bravely brought to life at African-American museum

America Letter: Washington museum will tackle sensitive issues of the past and present

For Fred Wesley, the army was easier than playing with James Brown

And working with George Clinton was a cinch compared to playing with the godfather of soul

Top 10: music acts most likely to ‘do a Rodgers’

Nile Rodgers, Bobby Womack and Johnny Cash have all showed how musical reinvention is done – who’s next?