Ring out the old, ring in a cascade of eagerly anticipated album releases from some of pop’s biggest names.

This month alone we have new full-length outings from The Weeknd, Manic Street Preachers, Franz Ferdinand, David Gray and Ringo Starr who becomes the latest legend to turn his hand to country music next week in collaboration with T. Bone Burnett.

Will Lana Del Ray climb into the saddle too? Early reports suggest she aims to move closer to country on her tenth album, The Right One Will…