All Saints were a good band. Possibly not good enough to warrant three separate comebacks, but it’s safe to say that posterity has seen them trounce contemporary girl band rivals in the back-catalogue stakes. Their latest return will see the foursome play a headline show (KOKO, NW1, 4 Apr) – their first in a decade – and while new single One Strike is dreary, they’re sure to dust off the spookily now-sounding likes of Never Ever.
It may be the year of the bard, but it’s also the year of the Boss, as Bruce Springsteen returns to the UK after four years away (25 May to 5 Jun, tour starts Etihad Stadium, Manchester).
The most conventional set-up to emerge from the PC Music movement, Kero Kero Bonito combine the collective’s sickly pop sound and half-spoken, London-accented vocals, covering studiously superficial subject matter with nods to Japanese culture (The Courtyard, N1, 14 Apr).
Possibly the only festival that has Raymond Blanc in a headline slot, Oxfordshire’s Wilderness festival of music and gourmet food returns. Robert Plant, the Flaming Lips and Blanc’s banquets provide the pull (4 to 7 Aug, Cornbury Park).
