| CMU Daily - on the inside 12 Sep 2002 |
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Who described who as "the Perry Como of punk"?
Answer on Friday
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ROWNTREE GOES FOR THE UNION
Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has confirmed he is to stand for election to the Musicians' Union's governing body telling The Stage he wanted to "fight politically for people in bands". Rowntree has been a long critic of the BPI, who he claims uses artists to front their campaigns but are actually only interested in the concerns of the record labels. In fact his motivation to stand for the union came about when the BPI send a letter to record companies looking for artists to front its lobbying efforts on recent European Union copyright legislation. He continued: "The BPI doesn't represent people in bands. It works with and is entirely controlled by record companies and quite often their interests are at odds with bands'."
As the music piracy debate has rolled on a number of industry insiders have questioned just how much the record labels are really defending the interests of their artists. The MU’s role in this area has been rather low key, some claiming infighting has prevented the union taking a real stand for its members. Some hope Rowntree’s involvement may help it gain a more proactive role in the discussions about internet piracy and other issues.
Elections to the 21-member MU executive start on 18 October and results of the postal ballot will be made known on 11 November. If elected, Rowntree will be representing one of the union's London branches on the executive.
Responding to Rowntree’s comments a BPI spokesperson told the BBC: "The BPI does represent record companies - but they have to look after their artists and represent their interests."
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MOBY ADDS TO ARTIST WAR CONCERNS
In a message on his website timed to coincide with September 11th Moby has expressed his concerns over the possibility of an American led attack on Iraq. He says he hopes that political leaders make rational and informed decisions. "Personally, my reaction to September 11 is it's made me moderate - politically, religiously, ideologically,” he says. “For the rest of my life I'll be moderate because I was so offended by the fact that, you know, ideological extremists were the ones who attacked us. And the ideological extremists on the right and on the left sort of used September 11 as a vehicle to further their own views. So, my reaction to September 11 is that it's made me politically, religiously, ideologically as moderate and as tolerant as I can possibly be."
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PRINCE TO PLAY SMALLER UK VENUES
Prince will be back in the UK next month, and will perform gigs in venues much smaller than the stadiums you’d expect him to play – the Hammersmith Apollo in West London on 3-5 Oct and Manchester Apollo on 7 Oct. Tickets will go on sale for all dates on 16 Sep.
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HIL ST SOUL LAUNCH
Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Hil St Soul has a new album out on Gut Records at the end of the month – ‘Copasetik & Cool’ - and to celebrate her label are throwing an exclusive party where new material will be showcased. The party, which will include sets from DJ’s Dodge, Manny Norte (1Xtra BBC) and guests, takes place at the Rouge Club on Charing Cross Road on 25 Sep at 8pm. For more information contact [email protected]
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LOST TOTP RECORDINGS UNEARTHED
A whole load of Top of the Pops audio recordings from 1974 have surfaced providing live performance footage of the likes of Slade, Bryan Ferry, Wizard, Suzi Quatro and the Bay City Rollers. The BBC didn’t keep archive copies of its flagship music programme until 1977, meaning very little footage of the early years remain. But a viewer has unearthed eight audio tapes containing the soundtracks of TOTP shows recorded by holding a tape player up to the TV speaker. Despite the crude recording method the quality is meant to be quite good. Six clips from the tapes have been included on the TV show’s website.
The site’s editor Edward Russell told reporters: "It is sad that we don't have any recordings from the early days of Top of the Pops, but at the time people didn't place so much value on nostalgia and the tapes were expensive so they were reused. I'm sure there are lots of people out there that have similar recordings, who perhaps don't know that the BBC wiped its tapes, and we would love to hear from them. There were also a few video recorders around, although they were very expensive, so there may even be visual recordings around somewhere." Any video footage found may be able to be used on TOTP2 – the spin off show which features classic TOTP appearances.
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KELLY OUT OF FILM PROJECT
The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Kelly Osbourne has pulled out of her film debut. She was due to play the 'musically inclined' best friend of the lead actress Lindsay Lohan in the remake of ‘Freaky Friday’, and to contribute at least one song to the film's soundtrack. But word is she has dropped out of the project for "personal reasons” and will be replaced in the part by Christina Vidal.
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TIMBERLAKE SHOCKED BY HIT AND RUN
Nsync’s Justin Timberlake has responded to an incident outside an LA radio station which led to the death of one of his fans. Reports suggest a Cameron Duty had an argument with a crowd of Timberlake fans outside a radio station where the star was promoting his solo album. After the argument Duty reportedly got into his truck and backed onto the sidewalk where the crowd were gathered, fatally injuring one female fan. Duty then left the scene, but was later arrested and faces charges of murder, hit and run, and drunk driving. In a statement Timberlake said: "I am horrified to learn of the senseless death outside KIIS-FM last evening, and my family and I wish to express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the victim. Our thoughts and prayers are with you."
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B-LINE DISASTER ON TOUR
The mad, bad and very loud Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster are going on tour – with a series of headline dates, and in a support slot with Ragin Speedhorn (support dates marked with a *). The dates:
16 Sep: Northampton Soundhaus
17 Sep: Oxford Zodiac
18 Sep: Southend Chinnery's
20 Sep: Tunbridge Wells Forum
21 Sep: Aldershot West End Centre
22 Sep: Peterborough Park
08 Oct: Liverpool Masque
09 Oct: Stockton The Georgian Theatre
10 Oct: Hull Adelphi
11 Oct: Leicester Sumo's
12 Oct: Cardiff Barfly
13 Oct: Mansfield Town Mill
26 Oct: Brighton Concorde 2*
27 Oct: Manchester University*
28 Oct: Glasgow Garage*
29 Oct: Newcastle Uni*
30 Oct: Leeds Cockpit*
31-Oct Sheffield Leadmill*
01 Nov: London Astoria*
02 Nov: Nottingham Rock City*
03 Nov: Bristol Academy*
04 Nov: Wolverhampton Wulfren Hall*
05 Nov: Exeter Uni*
Press info from Mark at Wild - [email protected]
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EMINEM GETS THUMBS UP FOR ACTING
Eminem’s acting debut has received rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival. Slim Shady’s first movie, ‘8 Mile', is due for a November US release but had a ‘work in progress’ screening at the festival. Although neither Eminem or his co-star Kim Basinger were present the festival audience reportedly cheered a sequence in which Eminem becomes involved in a rapping showdown with a rival performer, as well as a scene in which he stands up for a gay co-worker. Director Curtis Hanson said after the screening he hoped the film showed "what kids have to go through today, and allows non-fans to leave with a better appreciation for rap". The completed movie should be released in the UK in January.
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GARETH GATES STATES THE OBVIOUS
Pop Idol Gareth Gates is said to be worried about the new competition ITV’s Pop Stars is creating. He says he expects the hype around the two groups to guarantee one of them the Christmas number one. "I'm worried, I had better watch my back," he told The Sun. "You saw it with Pop Idol and the hype around the show certainly helped me, so I think it will be the same with this. If there's the same amount of hype then you think they will do really well, which will affect everyone else.”
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Answer to Wednesday’s pop quiz:
Which band have been pronounced ‘best international group’ at the Brits twice – and how many years went by between the two awards?
U2 – of course - 13 years apart (1988 and 2001)