| CMU Daily - on the inside 24 Jul 2002 |
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What piece of military equipment did Aphex Twin famously buy? Answer tomorrow
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FULLER WANTS TO MAKE MONKEES 2
Pop Idol supremo and Spice Girl creator Simon Fuller is reported to be talking to US TV network NBC about recreating the hit TV show the Monkees. If successful Fuller plans to recreate the cult series with a new handpicked American all-male group, the show could Autumn 2003. Fuller was behind S Club 7 which, with a TV series and pop releases, was based on the same idea as the Monkees, though quite different in style. The updated Monkees would feature many of the elements that made the original series popular, including comedy sketches and infectious music. The original TV series finished in 1968 as the group strove for musical independence. Though they have reunited several times in the past 15 years, and three of the members went on tour, relations between the band’s members remain acrimonious.
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MARK MORRISON GIVES HIMSELF UP
R&B star Mark Morrison, who is back in trouble with the law after accusations that he abducted a woman, has given himself up to police after jumping bail at the end of last week. He was arrested on 12 Jul on suspicion of kidnap and car theft after he failed to attend a Paddington police station for questioning. Morrison claims that the woman he is accused of abducting stole an £8,000 gold bracelet from him. NME.com have reported that a police officer has been arrested and charged with accepting a bribe to grant the star bail, though a spokesman for Morrison denies the bribe allegations.
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NO WORD ON NSYNC BOY’S ALBUM
While ‘Nsync’s label speak freely about Lance Bass’ attempts to get into space, they are somewhat quieter when it comes to talking about Justin Timberlake’s debut solo album, which he has been working on all year. But rumours are rife about the album which is sure to be a hit when it is finally released, probably this Autumn (in an interview Timberlake predicted an Autumn release, though Jive Records do not have it on their schedules yet). Production wise, word is the Neptunes are working on a number of tracks, and P Diddy and his production partner Mario Winans have donated an up-tempo track. On the collaboration front Brian McKnight's manager said he has already recorded with Timberlake, who appeared on his ‘My Kind of Girl’ from last year, while Nelly has told reporters he is discussing another collaboration. Meanwhile Angie Stone revealed early in the year that she had been in the studio with Timberlake and Usher said last month he hoped to do some recording with him too.
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BIG MAC POPSTARS
McDonald's will sponsor series two of Popstars this autumn in the fast food chain's biggest ever sponsorship deal, worth an estimated £4 million. They will get sponsorship on the ITV1 show, ITV2 extra coverage and the show’s website. McDonalds will also promote the show in its stores. "Popstars: The Rivals is a fantastic new concept show building on the success of the first series," Martin Lowde, the director of sponsorship at Granada Enterprises, told the Media Guardian. "We're delighted that McDonald's has teamed up with us for what promises to be the most exciting hit this autumn." Word is youth focused brands had been lining up to sponsor the new series of the show.
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BIZKIT IN STUDIO DESPITE NO GUITAR
After Wes Borland quit Limp Bizkit to set up Eat The Day, Fred Durst began a national search for a replacement. Although no new guitarist has been announced the rest of the band are already recording their next album, with Durst telling fans on his website that they have recently picked a producer and recorded two-and-a-half songs. He did not confirm a producer name, nor did he give any real information on the direction of the album. “We have some great ideas all ready to be recorded," he wrote. "We can’t wait. It has been an inspirational year for us. There are a lot of layers to be shed on this album. Some will feel a little familiar, others will take you places we've never taken you before. We are definitely on an emotional journey into the future." Durst, who is also working on a movie project with Fight Club director David Fincher, tried to get Borland to rejoin the band by giving fans his email address so they could lobby him. But the stunt seems to have caused only friction between the guitarist and his former band.
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VIVENDI DUMP CANAL PLUS CHANNELS
Troubled entertainments giant Vivendi Universal is dumping the loss-making overseas operations of its Canal Plus pay TV company as it works on managing the financial crisis it fell into after reports of false accounting earlier this year. The sale will include Canal Plus’ operations in Italy, Spain and Poland. The French wing, and profitable bit, of Canal Plus will then be grouped with some remaining spin-off channels (like documentary station Planete, youth channel Canal Jimmy and movie service Cineclassics) into a new company 49% owned by Vivendi. Further cash could be raised by floating the remaining 51% stake on the stock market, though the appetite for media shares remains weak due to the poor performance of the likes of Vivendi. There is still now word on how restructuring work will effect Vivendi’s music operations – Polydor, Mercury and Island in the UK.
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RADIOHEAD PLAY IN SPAIN
Radiohead played their first gig in nine months on Monday night at the Lisbon Coliseum in Portugal. The set saw the performance of nine new tracks in a 26-song performance. Amongst the new tracks were ‘There There’, ‘We Suck Young Blood’ and ‘Myxomatosis’. Recordings of several tunes are already circulating on the Internet. According to fan reports Thom Yorke played keyboards on three of the new songs. The band is touring around Portugal and Spain until the 7 Aug, when they are expected to continue work on their sixth studio album for Parlophone.
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OASIS DON’T
Oasis, meanwhile, had to cancel one of their Spanish gigs after Liam Gallagher fell ill. Via their website the band said: "Oasis have been forced to cancel their show today in Salamanca due to singer Liam Gallagher suffering a throat infection. The doctors have ordered him to rest his voice which means that he will be unable to undertake this evening's performance. At this point in time there is no reason to believe that tomorrow's show in Vigo is under threat.” Oasis’ European tour has three more dates – in Vigo and two in Rome – before the band return to the US to tour in August and back to the UK for more gigs in September.
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EMAP PLAN OLDER HEAT
EMAP gossip mag Heat is launching a new “irreverent showbiz spin-off” aimed at ‘adults’ (ie an older readership than its current twenty-something market). It is expected the media group hope to topple the dominance of Hello! And OK! in this area. The news follows the launch of Sneak last April, dubbed the "baby Heat", which attempted to fill the gap in the market between teens and twenty-somethings addicted to showbusiness gossip. The ‘mature Heat’ should hit the newsagents later this year and Jane Johnson, former features editor of the Sunday Mirror, is tipped to be involved, though she has not confirmed anything. "Emap is known for doing the most thorough research in the market. It will be very well researched before they take the plunge. With the knowledge they've built up from Heat anything they do will be taken seriously," former editor of Hello! and the News of the World Phil Hall told the Media Guardian. "Hello! caters for the Daily Mail and Telegraph end of the market and OK! for the Sun and Mirror end, so it's hard to understand where the gap is, but if anybody can do it Emap can."
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Answer to Tuesday’s pop quiz:
Which band was Jeff Beck a key member of before he went solo, and what was his best selling solo single? For a bonus point: which film's soundtrack included tracks by his band alongside the work of Herbie Hancock and Tomorrow?
Jeff Beck was in The Yardbirds who contributed to Michaelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up soundtrack. His best selling single was ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’.