The eyes of the world are watching. The airwaves are waiting. It’s been three years since the four mild-mannered stadium lords last came out survey their lot. But as the glorious summer dawns on 2008, their vast empire has begun to excitedly scurry in preparation of their emergence since the first assertive noises emanated from their self-enforced creative exile. Finally stepping up once more to their rightful place at the top of rock’s round table, the monarchs of music are ready to reign –with a totally revised regime. All hail the new sound. All hail Coldplay.

Riding high on the crest of a soul-wave that has witnessed Duffy race to Number One in the charts with the Lulu-stomping ‘Mercy’, the ash-blonde spark plug grabs a Fifties microphone for leverage and pipes up to her own reigning creation on the iPod stereo. Met with laughter, Duffy gives as good as she gets. “What?” she twinkles. “I don’t know the words to any other songs.” Shaking and shimmying on the spot to ‘Mercy’’s hand-clapping chorus and the verse takes care of itself. This 23-year-old from the small town of Nefyn, Wales, is up for a good time. And boy, is she getting it… Meanwhile, life has definitely taken a strange turn for Jamie Lidell. He’s still signed to experimental label Warp but now makes music that sounds like the Greatest Hits record Sam Cooke might eventually have ended up with had he not been shot, crazy and naked, in 1964. Jamie’s new album, ‘Jim’, is a riotous journey from the heartfelt pop-soul of the Sixties through leftfield early-Seventies funk and onto the Parliament/Funkadelic era, with a snatch of rock guitar and cheesy Bacharach horn thrown in for good measure. The whole uplifting experience hinges on a voice that really has no business emerging from a bespectacled white boy from Cambridgeshire. It’s a freak of nature.

Here we are again – old friends embracing, knowing smirks capturing fond memories. Clash and The Kooks go way back, and there’s lots to catch up on, but something is drastically different. There is a dark cloud hovering, and soon the creased faces flip to concerned frowns. This morning we learnt of the irrevocable departure of original bassist Max Rafferty, and for a band as tight-knit as this, it has hit them hard. Releasing your second album is scary enough, but with one man down and a long road ahead, this really does feel like make or break…

Mick and Tony both reveal how Carbon/Silicon's album felt like their debut 'The Last Post', they go on to discuss the problems of giving music away for free despite both their support for downloads and how they've slowly moved from techno grooves back to their rock'n'roll roots.

Clash talks with one of the most important artists in the history of Rap music on his revolutionary band, the music industry, the power of the internet and his future plans.

Clash met with Dave Grohl for the main feature of their current issue. Presented here are selected highlights from the interview as Dave reflects on his time in Nirvana, his headlong dive into fatherhood and the perils of taking his mom on tour.

Part 2 of Clash Magazine's exclusive chat with Sir Paul McCartney

Macca personally requested to be covered by the burgeoning indie music publication Clash. And, in one of his most revealing interviews in years, the legendary ambassador of British music talks frankly to life-long Beatles fan and Clash Editor, Simon Harper. Starting things off with a bang, Macca discusses: - His controversial signing to the Starbucks label - The Beatles' quality control and highly sensitive pretension meter - His method for dealing with overzealous fans - His legacy - Why Sgt Peppers was his baby - The songwriting process, giving a generous insight with an exclusive example.