| CMU Daily - on the inside 17 Jul 2002 |
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What about Madonna? Can you name twelve films she’s been in? Answer tomorrow.
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BEACH PARTYGOER DIES
The 25-year-old Australian nurse who was taken to hospital after an accident at Fatboy Slim’s Brighton Beach Party has died from her injuries. Karen Manders, who lived in east London, died yesterday at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. A Sussex Police spokeswoman described her death as "a tragic accident" and confirmed they are not treating her death as suspicious. During the event itself a man in his 40s died on the beach after suffering a heart attack, although his death is being treated as coincidental to the event.
With local authorities stating the event should not happen again, Fatboy Slim has told reporters he will not repeat the beach party unless the public's safety could be guaranteed. He told the local Evening Argus newspaper: "We probably won't do it again. I don't take safety issues lightly. I will only do it again if we can guarantee people's safety and if that many people are going to come then we can't." He admitted he began to worry that a "nightmare scenario" might occur as the crowds grew and grew. "For me it was a fantastic event but I did have a bit of a wobble. I felt very stressed because at one point I thought my nightmare scenario, that I might be responsible for someone being hurt or killed, was coming true."
A massive clean-up operation - partly paid for by the DJ - was still underway yesterday amid reports that many pieces of broken glass would prove impossible to retrieve from between the beach pebbles. Chief Superintendent Doug Rattray, who led the police operation over the weekend, has said Brighton should consider ticketing any future events of this kind. The Edinburgh Hogmany street party has been ticketed ever since the crowds who filled the city around midnight got out of control. Tickets are free and distributed first come first served by a central box office. Bars and restaurants have passes for their customers, and a set amount are reserved for locals. "If an event like this was to happen again in Brighton we would have to look at changes,” Rattray told reporters. “I do not think we will close the city down as a public place for entertainment, but clearly the public's safety needs to be looked at."
Whether other events already planned for the area will now go ahead, including a T4 party this Sunday at which bands are scheduled to play on the beach, is unclear.
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REMIXERS WANTED
London station Xfm is offering its listeners the chance to become remixers again. The station’s Remix show, hosted by James Hyman and Eddy Temple Morris, is planning a second compilation album this Autumn. On the show’s first album listeners were invited to remix Gorillaz’ ’19-2000’. Entries were judged by the Gorillaz boys and the winning remix was included on the album. This time the station is inviting listeners to remix the Air track '10,000hz Legend'. Parts of the track on online at www.xfm.co.uk/theremix and wannabe remixers have until August 23rd to submit their remixes. Air will pick the winning remix which will be featured on the album. Press info from Sacha or Chris at Xfm on 020 7766 6623 or email [email protected]
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MORE MUSIC STARS ON TV
Now Nelly is in talks with TV companies about his own show, though this one will be more along the lines of the Fresh Prince than the Osbournes. The rapper, whose second album has already sold more than a million copies, is in negotiations with the Paramount Network to produce and star in a new sitcom. A spokesperson for Paramount could not reveal any details saying it is still in ‘the development stage’. If it goes ahead Nelly will follow Will Smith and LL Cool J in the sitcom route to an acting career. LL Cool J made the move to prime time in the US comedy ‘In the House’ from 1995-1999.
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NO CLEAR ANSWERS FROM AALIYAH CRASH REPORT
The Bahamas Department of Civil Aviation have confirmed that the pilot in the plane crash that killed Aaliyah last summer had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his body. Reports say the autopsy of Luis Morales III, who died in the accident with the singer and seven members of her entourage, showed cocaine in his urine and alcohol in his stomach. The department is still investigating how the substances might have affected the 30-year-old pilot. Word is that just twelve days before the crash, Morales pleaded no contest to cocaine possession in Pompano Beach, Florida, and was sentenced to three years of probation. His pilot's license should have been revoked as a result, but this had not happened by the time of the crash. The report also noted that fuel-pump wiring modifications that had been required on the jet being used three years prior to the accident may never have been done. The department is still working to track down the owner of the plane and inspect the aircraft log, which should provide maintenance records. The report confirms the plane's engine, airframe, propeller and fuel tank showed no malfunction, but makes no exact conclusion on the cause of the crash. In May Aaliyah's parents filed a lawsuit against the owners of plane, Virgin Records and several other companies, alleging negligence and recklessness caused the crash.
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LIVERPOOL CLUB DESTROYED
Garlands, one of Liverpool’s main clubs, seen by many as the alternative Cream and voted the No.1 club by Mixmag, has been destroyed in a fire. It took 50 fire fighters to get the blaze under control, though the club was empty at the time so no one was hurt. One of the clubs promoters Hugh Garry, currently in Ibiza, told Radio 1: "At the moment we're just looking at alternative venues to relocate short-term and find somewhere else long-term, but we will find somewhere else. Garlands is more than just about bricks and mortar."
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EARLY BEASTIES BOYS IN THE RATCAGE
New York thrash/punk label RATcage Records, silent for some time, has resurfaced in Switzerland, and its first batch of releases includes a rare recording of a 1982 concert featuring a pre-rap Beastie Boys, Reagan Youth, and the Young and the Useless. The recording, made at the NYC punk haven CBGB, was a benefit gig for the label, who had already released the Beastie’s ‘Polly Wog Stew’ EP. It was four years before their Def Jam release ‘License To Ill’ and the group included founding members MCA (Adam Yauch) and Mike D (Mike Diamond) as well as guitarist John Berry and future Luscious Jackson drummer Kate Schellenbach. Meanwhile the Beastie Boys are at work on their first album since 1998's EMI Capitol release ‘Hello Nasty’ which should be released next year. The rerelease at can be bought at www.ratcagerecords.com/mp3.html.
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PREVER GOES TO MAGIC
Heart 106.2 DJ David Prever is joining rival station Magic 105.4 as its new drivetime presenter. Prever used to host Heart London’s award winning breakfast show, but was shunted onto early breakfast when Jono Coleman joined the station a few years back. The new show for Magic, where he replaces current presenter Martin Buchanan who is moving to evenings, will give Prever bigger exposure around the capital. On announcing the new show Magic Programme Director Trevor White said: “David has been on our wanted list for a long time, he is a huge talent and will bring a new dimension to our line up”. Prever added: “I’m really excited to be joining the Magic team and looking forward to the challenges my new show will bring.”
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JARVIS GETS HITCHED
Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker has married his long-term girlfriend, fashion stylist Camille Bidault-Waddington, in a private ceremony in a small village in North France. The other band members were there, and the Pulp website describes the event as "beautiful" and "romantic" but with lots of drunken antics. Further proving his cool credentials Jarvis is reported to have turned down a lucrative deal to sell the wedding snaps to a glossy magazine. Pulp will be playing the Reading and Leeds festivals at the end of August.
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MORRISON SUED FOR CANCELLING PUB GIG
Van Morrison is being sued for more than £150,000 after pulling out of a gig at a country pub in Everleigh, Wiltshire. Pub landlord Gary Marlow signed him up for a one-off concert after two years of persuading the legendary star to play. The couple say they put up £37,000 of their own money to fund the gig and had even built a special stage, and that when the star pulled out it caused them major financial problems. But Morrison’s people say the star pulled out after the Marlow’s breached their contract. "This was a unique event requiring specific terms of agreement relating to the sale of tickets," Morrison's spokesman said. "These terms of agreement have been blatantly breached by the promoter and Van Morrison has had no alternative but to cancel the arrangement. Van would never cancel any gig without very good reason and greatly regrets disappointing any fans." Solicitor Timothy Hardacre, acting for the Marlows, said: "High Court proceedings have been issued against Mr Van Morrison and Exile Productions Ltd seeking substantial damages arising out of the cancellation of the performance.” The Marlow’s hotel has something of a tradition of landing big name stars to play in its pub garden. Last year Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green, absent from the music scene for many years, played a set at the 16th Century pub at a cost of £18,000, which left the Marlows with no profit.
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KYLIE SUCCESS CONTINUES
More good news for Kylie. Not only is she back at the top of the Billboard singles chart with ‘Love At First Sight’, her second US number one this year, but she has been nominated for 'International Viewers Choice' for the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. Is there no stopping the Kylie comeback?
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NOW NEWS GETS CENTRALISED
Tony Blackburn once said national radio did not work because “why do you want to know there are delays on the M25 when you live in Newcastle?” Now there are fears the local news and information role of local radio may become a thing of the past as six stations in the South West merge their news operations.
Plymouth Sound, part of the GWR group, has won the approval of the Radio Authority to carry out a six-month experiment that will see its news programmes - and those of five sister stations in the south west - assembled at a single "news hub" and then relayed back to individual stations. Critics say the move will inevitably reduce each station’s ability to report on local stores, and will no doubt lead to redundancies amongst the news team.
Many fear news will go the same way as music policy at many local stations. The music played on stations owned by the major radio groups is normally programmed at national headquarters rather than by local DJs. This means local radio has lost the ability to pick up on new, and especially local, music talent.
Tony Stoller, chief executive of the radio authority, recently reflected these fears when he called for clear guidelines over what constitutes "local" programming if stations are going to be programmed from "7,000 miles away".
His comments were a thinly veiled reference to the ambitions of US radio giant Clear Channel, who hope to take advantage of new media legislation which will enable them to move into the UK radio market. When the group moved into Australia it was accused of programming the stations from its Texas headquarters – allegations the group deny. "It is extremely difficult to define exactly what 'local' is," Stoller continued. "The regulator and the industry will need to draw up a code together. The code should not be interpreted as a regulator meddling; rather it is a backstop power to maintain certain levels of standards."
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BEDROOM SESSIONS TONIGHT
Mixmag’s Bedroom Sessions return to Cargo tonight with a Bootleg Special featuring Freelance Hellraiser, plus a live showcase from Subject 13 and sets from Neil Mitchell and residents Agent Sumo. Doors open at 7pm, £5 before 10pm, £7 after, £3 with flyer or NUS card. Press info from [email protected]
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Answer to Tuesday's CMU pop quiz:
With David Bowie everywhere in the media at the moment – can you name eight films he has been in?
You could have chosen ‘The man Who Fell To Earth’ (1976), ‘Just A Gicolo’ (1978), ‘Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983), ‘The Hunger’ (1983), ‘Absolute Beginners’ (1986), ‘Labyrinth’ (1986), ‘The Last Temptation Of Christ’ (1988), ‘The Linguini Incident’ (1992), ‘Basquiat’ (1996).