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Phil Oakey has said that he would be interested in recording new music with Martyn Ware in the future. Ware formed The Human League with Oakey and Ian Craig Marsh in the late 1970s, but Ware and March split off acrimoniously in 1980 to form Heaven 17. Oakey and Ware have since reconciled and The Human League and Heaven 17 shared a bill in 2008, together with fellow Sheffield band ABC, as part of the 'Steel City Tour'. Asked if he would work in the studio with Ware again, Oakey told Digital Spy: "Oh yeah, I could do that at some stage. Yeah, we've talked about that. I had lunch with him about three weeks ago." On what the collaboration could be called, Oakey's bandmate Susan Ann Sulley laughed: "It (more)...

From Kevin MacDonald's examination of the YouTube phenomenon to a cab ride with Osama bin Laden's former bodyguard, cheap technology is allowing film-makers to stretch the form as never before

"Right now, documentary film-making is like malaria," says Hussain Currimbhoy, curator of the Sheffield Doc/Fest, Britain's premier showcase for new documentaries from around the world. "It's a virus that's spreading fast and far and wide."

In the past week, the festival has screened 120 new documentaries – including shorts as well as feature-length films – from 26 countries. As well as fly-on-the wall documentaries about well-known figures, such as the American comedian Joan Rivers and the English playwright Alan Bennett, there were music documentaries about subjects as diverse as Elgar and Heaven 17, and biographical documentaries about the beat poet William Burroughs, the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and a taxi driver who once worked as Osama Bin Laden's bodyguard.

This year,...

London Children's Film Festival

It's a win-win at this kids' cinema event: the anxiety of plonking your children in front of the screen for some (quality) passive entertainment is offset by energetic activities. It's parental guilt neutral. There's a mass outdoor balloon release to go with German girl drama Here Comes Lola, and a Finnish breakfast to warm you up for Moomins And The Comet Chase. The Spiderwick Chronicles is complemented by star Freddie Highmore and a Halloween workshop, while Megamind, with Will Ferrell and Brad Pitt, gives the whole family a chance to veg out.

Venues inc Barbican, EC2, Sat to 7 Nov

Leeds International Film Festival

England's biggest film festival after London, and though it features some the highlights of its rival including Never Let Me Go, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, and The King's Speech, Leeds is very much its own show, with a mostly...

Heaven 17 have said that their upcoming live shows will be more true to themselves than their recent nostalgia gigs. The band have played several of Tony Denton's Here & Now '80s tours, but are now taking their debut album Penthouse And Pavement on the road this November to mark its 30th anniversary. Singer Glen Gregory told The Quietus: "Well, we've done both to be honest but this is more true to how we are." Keyboard player Martyn Ware added: "We've been doing Here & Now tours for quite a while now. We supported Erasure in a big arena tour and supported Boy George and we've (more)...

Heaven 17 have announced plans to tour their 1981 debut album Penthouse And Pavement. The group's current lineup features founding members Glenn Gregory and Martyn Ware backed by Billie Godfrey, Asa Bennett, Joel Farland and Julian Crampton. Heaven 17 will be supported on the 30th anniversary gigs by DJ Mark Jones. Concerts will also feature a live digital visual show coordinated by lighting designer Pip Rhodes boasting (more)...

La Roux singer Elly Jackson has revealed that she is eager to collaborate with Heaven 17 again. The two acts teamed up to perform a session for BBC 6 Music, which will be aired tonight on Steve Lamacq's show. "We'd definitely be up for it," Jackson told the station. "If you respect each other and like making music it's only ever a matter of time and schedule unfortunately, which is annoying. "For us, we've got to write our (more)...

La Roux and Heaven 17 have been confirmed to perform a collaboration early next year. The two acts will record together at Maida Vale Studios in London, with the session being broadcast on BBC 6 Music on January 29. "Heaven 17 have always maintained an open mind and collaborative attitude towards new musical ideas, and when the opportunity to work with La Roux came up, we jumped at the chance," keyboardist Martyn Ware said. "We really like their attitude towards pop writing, and we're also fans of Elly's voice - we're sure that our writing and performance experience combined with La Roux's youthful energy and talent will create a unique and exciting collaboration." La Roux singer Elly Jackson added that bandmate Ben Langmaid has long been a fan of the The Luxury Gap (more)...

La Roux have confirmed that they are holding talks with Heaven 17 to work together. The 'Bulletproof' duo, made up of singer Elly Jackson and producer Ben Langmaid, named Heaven 17 as an influence behind their '80s synth sound. "Glen Gregory, the lead singer with Heaven 17, heard I was a fan and has been in touch. We email each other a lot," singer Elly Jackson told the Daily Star. "We finally met at an awards do recently, he's lovely. "Greg and Ben are going to meet up to have a coffee and discuss some things. We'll see what happens." (more)...

La Roux singer Elly Jackson has blasted critics who say that the duo are trying to recreate an '80s sound. The 'Bulletproof' star admitted that their debut album was inspired by acts popular two decades ago, but told people who accuse them of relying on a tried-and-tested formula to "get a grip". "I don't get it. Obviously there's elements of Human League, Heaven 17, Blancmange and Simple Minds, we're not denying that because those were our influences with the album," she told The Quietux. "But we (more)...