| CMU Daily - on the inside Monday 20th March |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- SonyBMG confirm Bowen as COO
- Polydor marketing appointments
- Music producer claims share of James Blunt royalty
- LA cops investigating Biggie shooting again
- Dirty Pretty Things stopped by police
- Jackson shuts down Neverland house
- Eminem talks Fiddy out of album release
- Limp Bizkit over, actually, says Borland
- Monkeys get lukewarm US reception
- Woolworths confirm loss of Tesco contract
- Epic enter partnership with X-Box
- Album review: Jeniferever - Choose A Bright Morning
- AIM to stage second delegation to India
- Sirius reach deal with Universal over track capture
- Plymouth businesses call for OfCom rethink
- Summer Pops adds names to line-up
- Towers Of London announce UK tour
- Wire reveals Manic solo news
- Roxy Music working on new album
- New Cash book based on love letters
- The Modern talk about the chart rigging thing
- Chart update
- This week's Student Radio Chart
- Subshot playlist
- CMU Radio show playlist
- Flaming Lips cite Bohemian influence
- Simpson turns down Bush
- Bez shakes his maracas
- Shakira gets a statue
- Will Young takes ballet classes
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TOP BIT: NEW CMU RADIO SHOW LIVE TODAY>>
So, edition number six of the CMU Radio Show goes live later today, with another two hours of top music and music business related chatter, taking in this week Shirley Manson, Isaac Hayes, Michael Jackson, The New Cars, Trivium, Lil Kim, the hip hop Millers, three tenors in the top ten and loads of Guns 'n' Roses bitching. Oh yes, and digital music developments in the French parliament. No Doherty, for a change. Music wise, some really good stuff - there's a full playlist lower down today's Daily. All of this will be available for listening too later today at http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk/cmuradio - once live you can listen at any time at the click of a button, thanks to the wonders of totallyradio.com and the Windows Media Player. Enjoy.
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PRESS ROOM>>
CARLING LIVE 24... give 24 hours of your life to live music!... Carling Live 24 is back with another incredible line-up, which we can reveal includes Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Ordinary Boys, Ian Brown, Dirty Pretty Things and Goldie Lookin Chain, plus many more artists still to be announced... Carling Live 24 marks the start of the summer for music lovers, bringing the festival vibe to the heart of the city, with great music and cold beer. Carling Live 24 will kick off at 7pm on Friday 28th April and fans with enough stamina can rock continuously through to 7pm the following day. Tickets are on sale now exclusively at http://www.carling.com.
Press info: http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/carling24
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RIGHT NOW IN THE CMU BEATS BAR>>
MySpace Of The Day: The Fratellis
Well, those of you who tune in to the CMU Radio Show this week (which is all of you, surely) will hear the show open with a b-side from recently appointed CMU favourites The Fratellis. If you like the track we play, then you can check out another couple of tracks from these Glaswegian boys on their MySpace page. In fact you can even download one for keeps - and find out about a series of free downloads that are being released via the band's website - which is all rather nice of them, given they are signed to a major label. Actually they're a nice band all round - I can vouch for this because I interviewed one of them last week - an interview which will be only here sometime soon.
http://www.myspace.com/littlebabyfratelli
More on our MySpace Of The Day, plus Student Music Awards finalists WiserVice and National Snack answer the Same Six Questions right now at http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk
PS: While we do love Jeff's MySpace page and were very interested to read about him buying his first car, the MySpace we meant to tip on Friday was, of course, http://www.myspace.com/sundaybestrecordings, and not the same address without the 'recordings' bit. Doh.
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SONYBMG CONFIRM BOWEN AS COO
To be honest this appointment seemed such a foregone conclusion, I thought it had already been confirmed. But anyway, SonyBMG have confirmed that Tim Bowen will become the major label's Chief Operating Officer, reporting to the company's newly appointed CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz. He will have a wide remit, with specific responsibilities for coordinating international operations, especially in the digital domain, as well as leading global Strategic Marketing, Legacy, Master Works and Sales Enterprise divisions.
As previously reported, the role of COO at SonyBMG became vacant at the end of last year when Michael Smellie stepped down from the position. At the time Smellie's decision to retire reportedly heightened concerns among former BMG executives regarding the leadership of then CEO Andy Lack. Smellie was the most senior former BMG man at the merged record company, and concerns that former Sony Music man Lack would put another former Sony person into the number two role was rumoured to be a catalyst for internal moves to remove Lack. At the time Bowen, chairman of BMG UK ahead of the SonyBMG merger, was put forward as the lead contender for the COO role, possibly to placate concerned BMG executives.
However, since Smellie's departure Lack, of course, has stepped back from the CEO role, which has been taken by the former BMG chief Schmidt-Holtz. Therefore, arguably, Bowen's appointment now heightens Bertelsmann's power at the top of the merged record company, although senior execs will presumably make much of the fact Bowen began his career in the music industry working for Sony.
In fact that's exactly what Schmidt-Holtz did when he got on the phone to CMU yesterday (he's lucky he found us in, we were having a chilled weekend in the office): "Tim brings to this role a deep understanding of both the creative and business aspects of the music industry. He has extensive experience with both of the companies that came together to form SonyBMG, and the dedication, passion and vision that are necessary to lead the joint venture into the future. He is clearly the right choice for this key post, and it is a true pleasure to announce his appointment."
Bowen himself added: "I'm delighted to have been given this opportunity. With a dynamic roster of current artists, a catalogue that includes an incredible number of legendary recordings, and impressive capabilities in the areas of marketing, distribution and digital initiatives, we have everything we need to establish SonyBMG as the clear leader in the global marketplace. I look forward to continuing my close working relationship with Rolf, as well as with Managing Directors from around the world and the entire SonyBMG team, as we realise the full potential of the joint venture."
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POLYDOR MARKETING APPOINTMENTS
Not wishing to be left out of this executive announcement craze, Universal division Polydor announced three promotions in their marketing operations at the end of last week. Karen Simmonds is being promoted to the position of General Manager Of Marketing for the label, while Joe Munns will take on her former role in charge of marketing for PAL (that's Polydor Associated Labels, and nothing to do with the video region). Meanwhile Orla Lee will take on the role of Head Of Marketing for Polydor UK, taking over from Peter Loraine who is busy being General Manager for Polydor's newest record label venture Fascination.
Confirming the appointments, Polydor UK co-President David Joseph told reporters: "We have an incredible marketing team at Polydor, with strength and experience across every genre of music. Karen, Orla and Joe are exceptional executives who have all taken artists from nothing to million-plus sellers."
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MUSIC PRODUCER CLAIMS SHARE OF JAMES BLUNT ROYALTY
And the CMU Award For Royalties Dispute Of The Week goes to .... Mr James Blunt. Yep, the Performing Rights Society has suspended royalty payments on six songs off James Blunt's debut album 'Back To Bedlam' after a music producer claimed he is due a share of the revenues.
Producer Lukas Burton says that he helped Blunt develop his songwriting skills, working in particular on some of the early songs that appear on the debut album, but claims that he was cut out of the equation once the singer was signed to Warner division Atlantic. Writing on the Music Towers website, Burton says that when he met Blunt his music was "crude, occasionally laughably direct, and betrayed his relative lack of musicianship or discernible influence". But Burton, who has worked with the likes of Dido, Tina Arena and Samantha Mumba, adds that he nevertheless saw Blunt's potential so agreed to work with him.
Burton: "A couple of people told me I shouldn't be working with him without a contract in place. But to be honest the love couldn't have been thicker in the air - lots of talk about how great the record was going to be and how cool the whole situation was."
But, Burton claims, things changed once Blunt got a record deal with the singer allegedly being advised to sever his ties with the producer. Burton continues: "It wasn't so much that I was angry, just completely gutted. I had pinned an awful lot of hope on the project and devoted a huge amount of painstaking effort to it. James is exactly as successful as I knew he would be, not that it does me, my bank balance or my family much good to say it."
PRS confirmed it had suspended payments on certain Blunt tracks, a standard response when any royalties dispute arises. A spokesman for Blunt dismissed Burton's claims telling reporters: "Traditionally, when a record is this massive, everyone wants to claim credit for its success. This is no different."
I can't remember if we're championing or dissing Blunt at the moment, so let's cover all bases: Poor James Blunt, being picked on by that nasty Lukas Burton. Perhaps he could write one of his insipid, whiny ballads about the whole ordeal.
Oh, by the way, if you want to read Burton's rant, it's here...
http://www.musictowers.com/Features/ViewArticle1234.aspx
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LA COPS INVESTIGATING BIGGIE SHOOTING AGAIN
A new team of police are investigating the still unsolved murder of rapper Notorious BIG, aka Christopher Wallace - hopefully with fewer officers themselves implicated in the killing involved this time round. LA Asst City Attorney Don Vincent has confirmed that officers were "following up on leads" relating to the murder, which occurred way back in 1997, of course.
As previously reported, the rapper's family attempted to sue the LAPD last year over their failure to properly investigate the case, amid allegations that certain officers deliberately sabotaged the case in order to protect former colleagues linked to the killing. When it came to light that the LAPD had 'found' crucial evidence lying in a drawer at the last minute, evidence which would radically alter the Wallace family's case, the judge hearing the lawsuit declared a mistrial and awarded the family $1.6 million damages plus $500,000 expenses for the police force's seeming incompetence.
The announcement that LAPD officers are back on the case comes as the Wallace family prepare to take their lawsuit against the LA authorities back to court later this year.
Elsewhere in Biggie-related legal news, a US judge has stopped sales of the rapper's 1994 album 'Ready To Die' after the owners of music by a funk band called the Ohio Players said that the album's title track had sampled one of their songs without permission. The courts awarded Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records $4.2 million in damages over claims that Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment, who released the album, failed to get their permission to include a sample of the Ohio Players' song 'Singing In The Morning' on the Biggie track.
The case is one of hundreds brought by Bridgeport and Westbound over the unauthorised sampling of their music - most of which have been settled out of court. The defendants in this case, which include Bad Boy Entertainment, Justin Combs Publishing and Universal Records, have said they will appeal. Bridgeport and Westbound originally named the estate of Biggie in the legal proceedings, but later withdrew that claim.
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DIRTY PRETTY THINGS STOPPED BY POLICE
Well, in the normal scheme of things, it's Doherty who gets stopped by police, but on this occasion, it was his fellow former Libertine Carl Barat, although it wasn't because he was erratically driving a car in the possession of class A drugs. Rather, Barat's band, Dirty Pretty Things, had their set at SXSW cut short by local law enforcement last week.
The group were to appear onstage at the Eternal venue in Austin at midnight, directly following a set by The Flaming Lips. The show was running late however, and their performance was halted when police arrived after just five songs, presumably to enforce noise abatement laws of some kind.
A source told NME.com: "Everything was running late from the beginning. The Flaming Lips came on late, Dirty Pretty Things didn't go on stage until just after 12:30 played five numbers before the plug was pulled on Didz [Hammond, bassist]. The band tried to play on, but the police arrived and flashed their badges at the tour manager and the soundman, with arrests looking likely the band had to leave the stage. The band are very frustrated as it was their first show in US."
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JACKSON SHUTS DOWN NEVERLAND HOUSE
Michael Jackson has shut down his Neverland house, which is possibly sensible given that he seems to have no intention of returning to it any time soon. The move, a bid to reduce outgoings, will leave some staff at his ranch redundant, though the rest of the pop star's estate will remain open.
As previously reported, Jackson's financial dealings with regard to the ranch came to something of a head last week when Jackson agreed to settle unpaid staff wages of $306,000 following a threat of legal action. A fine of $169,000 for allowing staff insurance policies to lapse has also been issued. Meanwhile, a local veterinarian is pay-rolling the staff who look after Jackson's collection of animals.
Elsewhere in Jacko news, the singer is reportedly keen to make a comeback by recording with 50 Cent. Apparently Jacko expressed his interested in working with the rapper to DJ Whoo Kid, G-Unit's official DJ, who was in Bahrain recently. One of those sources told the The News of the World: "Michael was talking to 50's DJ Whoo Kid who spoke to 50 there and then about it. The track would catapult Michael back into the limelight, which he is desperate for, and 50 has always been a fan."
No official word from Fiddy on this - though presumably he'd need to run the idea past Eminem before making any decision...
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EMINEM TALKS FIDDY OUT OF ALBUM RELEASE
I say that because 50 Cent has been talking about the fact that he was planning to release an album this July, but that Eminem talked him out of it.
Fiddy told MTV: "Em didn't agree with me, my motivation wasn't really right. I get a little frustrated from time to time and I got so much material that I make that isn't being heard that I was like, 'Yo, I just wanna release an album again.' And he was like, 'Nah, you gotta wait.' I don't care about none of that, I just want the record to go out, but it just makes better sense to take our time and re-create the new album."
He added that he thinks there'll be a great deal of material left over from the album, once it is finally released, saying: "By the time the summer passes, the music that I planned to release will be dated to me and I'll have so many new ideas that I wanna write something else. I don't ever receive the credit I'm supposed to receive for my music. I receive all the checks I'm supposed to receive, I just don't receive all the trophies. But I'm cool with it. I just look at it like I should continue to dominate with it more. I'll get lifetime-achievement awards opposed to best-new-artist awards, so it's cool."
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LIMP BIZKIT OVER, ACTUALLY, SAYS BORLAND
Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland has told MTV that his band are over - even though they never officially split up. Borland said: "We're officially on hiatus, maybe even officially over. It's kind of up in the air. No one said, "We're done as a band." Everyone's just doing their own thing, and don't have time for this band anymore."
He added that he has no real interest in continuing in any case: "I haven't quit, but I've also decided to stop thinking about Limp. I'm not going to keep trying to breathe life into a dying animal. It just ground to a halt. We just basically stopped talking. I feel bad for the fans that think something's actually going to happen with Limp. It's not happening. 'The Unquestionable Truth (Part 2)' is not coming out. If it does, I'd be super surprised. But you can never say never. Anything's possible. As of right now, none of my future plans include Limp Bizkit."
No word from Mr Durst on all this - of course it wouldn't be the first time Limp Bizkit operated without Mr Borland.
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MONKEYS GET LUKEWARM US RECEPTION
It's unusual, to say the least, to have to look to the US for some perspective on any matter - but US music critics are refusing to buy into the Arctic Monkeys hype, and well done them, we say. Not because CMU think that Arctic Monkeys are utter rubbish, not at all, but let's face it, they are a lot over-hyped.
Following the band's first live show in the US, a critic from Variety magazine, describing frontman Alex Turner as initially "openly hostile" to his audience, said that the band "have a long way to go". The review continued: "It was hard to square the generally uninspired performance with the album's youthful energy and crackling intelligence. Maybe this was an off night. Perhaps, for all the sales and hype, the band has been brought up too quickly and isn't ready to headline."
The Hollywood Reporter was a little kinder, saying that the gig was "not the messianic exercise it was impossibly built up to be" but that it still "felt like the real thing" and that despite their disappointing performance "Turner and the group have a rock authenticity that owes to a mix of genuine talent and serious youth. Stay tuned."
The Miami Herald and The Oakland Tribune, however, were pretty merciless. The Herald's piece on the band said "The teen rockers revealed a lack of seasoning. The drummer sang laughably out-of-tune harmonies, its lead singer wasn't especially charismatic, the music felt catchy but unexceptional."
The Oakland Tribune, under a headline which read 'That's It?' wrote: "You'll have to excuse the folks who might still be hanging around out front of the Great American Music Hall looking under rocks and hoping to find something more. How many times will we fall for this? Few bands have fallen short to a greater degree than the Arctic Monkeys did in San Francisco. But, then again, few have had so much room to fall. To be fair, the quartet did put on a likable show. If I had stumbled into the concert without a head full of advance buzz on the band, I might have been somewhat impressed. But we all travel with baggage."
Despite all that, around five thousand people are said to have turned up to try and get in to their SXSW gig in Austin on Friday, at 1200 capacity venue La Zona Rosa.
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WOOLWORTHS CONFIRM LOSS OF TESCO CONTRACT
I have a bit of a mental block when it comes to the crazy area of 'retail music distribution contracts', so apologies if we've reported on this before. Woolworths owned Entertainment UK has confirmed that Tesco will not renew its services for the provision of CDs, DVDs and games when their current contract comes up for renewal next year. I think back in January Woolworths said that Tesco "may" not renew, so I guess this is confirmation. E-UK will, however, continue to supply Tesco with its books, and will still be involved in the supermarket chain's digital entertainment services. Keen to keep smiling, E-UK added that they had just expanded their relationship with WH Smith, who they will now supply with their 'core DVD' product, whatever that means.
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EPIC ENTER PARTNERSHIP WITH X-BOX
SonyBMG US division Epic Records has entered into a partnership with Microsoft's X-Box, which will presumably please execs over at SonyBMG's sister company Sony Computer Entertainment. The new deal will see Epic artists appear in the Artist Of The Month section on the X-box Live service, which is primarily a gaming community platform but which also offers a range of entertainment services. X-box 360 users will be able to access exclusive artist content and high definition videos of each featured artist, should they want to - the first artist to be featured is Natasha Bedingfield.
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ALBUM REVIEW: Jeniferever - Choose A Bright Morning (Drowned In Sound Recordings)
Yet another reminder that the shoegazing revival is now in full flow, Jeniferever are a world, if not universe, away from the Sheffield puke indie of the Artless Munters, or the East London cretin rock scene of Pete Doherty and Co that the record buying kids gullibly lap up these days. Pointless yet customary insults dispensed with, let's get onto the sordid business of describing the music, shall we? Lovingly packaged, to match a delicately curated sound, Jeniferever discreetly mine some Goth influences (check those guitar curlicues), but the colour here is not black, instead screaming of a pure white expanse. One thinks of windswept, beautiful snowy landscapes when hearing this, which is hardly a surprise, considering the band are from Scandinavia, home of all things glacial, windswept and epic, and especially when you think how brilliantly Sigur Ros' 'Hoppipolla' has been used to soundtrack trailers for BBC1's 'Planet Earth'. Whilst it lacks the emotional punch of music made by their influences (Slowdive, Ride, The Cure), it more than holds its own against some of the lifeless post-rock drudgery (that's right Mogwai, I'm talking about you) that this music gets lumped in with today. Enjoyably moody, if not actually essential, this is hopefully a marker for even better things to come. MS
Release date: 20 Mar
Press contact: Stone Immaculate [all]
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AIM TO STAGE SECOND DELEGATION TO INDIA
The Association Of Independent Music has announced it will stage another delegation to India. With support from UK Trade & Investment, a number of AIM members will next week visit the Indian cities of Mumbai (that's Bombay to you colonial types) and Chennai to check out the nightlife there - I mean, to meet with the local music industry and explore possible business opportunities for the UK independent sector.
Among the independent music companies participating are Assi Enterprises, BHX Management, Chevstar Records, Concept Music, DDA Consulting, Goodmedia Ltd, Karmasound, Meem Music, Network International, Sheridans, Smekkleysa and Stepen Music.
Confirming the jaunt, AIM chairman Alison Wenham told CMU: "India represents a massive opportunity for the British music industry, and the AIM missions are proving invaluable to build knowledge and understanding in this rapidly developing country. UKTI, AIM and the delegates gain first hand experience of the market, and we hope to build on already impressive successes, demonstrated by TwoPointNine, an AIM member, who has achieved platinum sales with Juggy D".
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SIRIUS REACH DEAL WITH UNIVERSAL OVER TRACK CAPTURE
US satellite radio company Sirius has come to an agreement with the Universal Music Group over a radio device which enables listeners to capture individual tracks and store them as stand alone MP3s. The major record companies have been expressing growing concern about satellite radio technology which allows the capture and storage of individual tracks, claiming that when listeners acquire music in that way the labels are losing out on potential revenue. Sirius' S50 device, which allows users to record up to 1GB of music, was of particular concern, though it is the concept rather than specific devices that have been getting the record companies nervous.
The issue has been growing in recent months and was threatening to go legal, with a number of high level record label execs briefing against the new radio technology. The agreement between Sirius and Universal, which reportedly precedes a similar deal with Warner Music, will be an attempt by the radio company to avoid any litigation. The specifics of the Universal deal are not known, though presumably Sirius will pay some kind of royalty fee to the major in return for offering the service - certainly insiders are saying the deal won't affect consumer experience in any way.
While the deal should lessen tensions between the music industry and the US's growing satellite radio sector, the new agreement is only said to cover the S50 device, so a wider arrangement will need to be made. Plus Sirius will need to placate the music publishers who have expressed similar concerns, while Sirius' competitors XM will also need to make similar deals regarding its own 'capture-capable' device, which is expected to be launched properly next month.
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PLYMOUTH BUSINESSES CALL FOR OFCOM RETHINK
Not everyone in Plymouth seems to be that excited by the "quicken-your-pulse" radio station being promised by the radio company owned by Australian bank Macquarie and former EMAP radio exec Tim Schoonmaker. As previously reported, Macquarie became the second non-UK based company to own a British radio station after OfCom awarded their Diamond FM station the new Plymouth licence earlier this month. But that decision has met with opposition among Plymouth city officials, who were hoping one of the other three bids - all from Devon based companies - would win.
According to the Guardian, business leaders in the city have written to Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell (who is, despite everything, still Culture Secretary) claiming that OfCom's decision has "provoked astonishment and anger, way beyond the boundaries of this city". The city's Chamber Of Commerce claims to have the support of "every single private sector organisation" in the city, and is calling on Jowell to overturn the decision, (which I'm not entirely sure she has the power to do), otherwise, they say, they will fight to have Macquarie's licence revoked "through to the highest authority in the land".
It's not completely clear how strong resentment to the new station in Plymouth really is, though the local MP and newspaper are backing the Chamber Of Commerce's campaign (though the local newspaper has been good enough to admit that it isn't entirely unbiased given that its parent company, Daily Mail And General Trust, was backer of one of the other three bids) - but let's just say I wouldn't want the ad sales job that involves approaching Plymouth businesses with Diamond FM's rate card.
Schoonmaker has defended his plans for the new station, telling the Guardian: "Diamond is looking forward to offering a great rock music radio station to the people of Plymouth. The radio station won't be just for people who have 100 rock albums in their CD collections, but for people who have just three. The research we conducted showed there are a lot of people would who give our radio station a try and the music will range as far back as Pink Floyd and as far forward as Green Day. We will also run a fully-staffed newsroom that will give a new viewpoint in news and issues in Plymouth".
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SUMMER POPS ADDS NAMES TO LINE-UP
Westlife and Sugababes are the latest names to be added to the line-up for Liverpool's Summer Pops series of concerts, which take place at the Big Top Arena on the city's King's dock. They join previously announced acts such as Bryan Adams, James Brown and The Who. Simply Red, meanwhile, have added a second date after their first date sold out. Here's the line-up:
1 Jul: Oscar Peterson
3 Jul: Whitesnake
5 Jul: The Who
6 Jul: The Who
7 Jul: James Brown
10 Jul: Simple Minds
14 Jul: Ronan Keating
17 Jul: Westlife
18 Jul: Simply Red
19 Jul: Simply Red
21 Jul: Il Divo
23 Jul: Bryan Adams
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TOWERS OF LONDON ANNOUNCE UK TOUR
Towers Of London have announced a UK tour to coincide with the release of next single 'Air Guitar' on 8 May and debut album 'Blood Sweat And Towers' on 29 May. Dates are as follows.
16 Apr: London Brixton Academy (Xfm Big Night Out)
24 Apr: Bristol Louisiana
25 Apr: Nottingham Rock City
27 Apr: Bournemouth Opera House
28 Apr: Birmingham Barfly
29 Apr: Glasgow Barfly
30 Apr: Manchester Roadhouse
2 May: Preston 53 Degrees
3 May: London King's College
9 May: Hull Ringside
10 May: Liverpool University
11 May: York Fibbers
12 May: Oxford Zodiac
13 May: Aldershot West End Centre
4 Jun: Cardiff Barfly
5 Jun: Sheffield Leadmill
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WIRE REVEALS MANIC SOLO NEWS
Manics bassist Nicky Wire has revealed that both he and bandmate James Dean Bradfield have both been working on solo projects. He told Xfm: "I've just done a really crappy punky solo album. James has done a solo album and the Manics are writing as well, so lots of stuff going on".
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ROXY MUSIC WORKING ON NEW ALBUM
Roxy Music are apparently working on a new album. All five members of the original line up are working on the yet-to-be-titled long player, which will be their first to feature Brian Eno since 1973. According to Ananova, no release date has yet been set, but they're collaborating on it with previous Roxy Music producers Rhett Davies and Chris Thomas.
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NEW CASH BOOK BASED ON LOVE LETTERS
A new book by Johnny Cash's first wife, the late Vivian Distin, charting her life with the legendary singer, will focus on thousands of love letters the couple sent to one another during Cash's service in the US Air Force. Distin, who died last year, co-wrote the book with Ann Sharpsteen, who says: "The letters really reveal the real man, unclouded by drugs. Letters were his dreams, fears, a variety of subjects, fidelity, alcohol, faith. It's like reading someone's diary."
As previously reported, Distin's portrayal in the recent Cash biopic 'Walk The Line', which focused on Cash's marriage to June Carter Cash, has been criticized by her daughter Kathy Cash, who says: "My mom was basically a nonentity in the entire film except for the mad little psycho who hated his career. She loved his career and was proud of him until he started taking drugs and stopped coming home."
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THE MODERN TALK ABOUT THE CHART RIGGING THING
The Modern have spoken to The Star about what happened with regard to those chart rigging allegations and the band's subsequent disqualification from the UK singles chart. According to the tabloid, keyboardist Chi Tudor Hart's father bought 141copies of the band's single 'Industry' online, but the group insist that he had no intention to illegally influence the track's chart position. Hart told The Star: "He's in Austria with my mum and he went online to get copies to send to family and friends."
The band initially, as previously reported, blamed the incident on 'over enthusiastic fans', and asked that their supporters buy no more than two copies each of their upcoming album 'Life In The Modern World', when it's released in May.
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CHART UPDATE
Well, I did tell you that Orson were more popular that you probably thought. So much so that they've managed to push Chico into second place on this week's singles chart - which will probably make them even more popular.
The highest new entry singles wise is down there at six - Girls Aloud's 'Whole Lotta History'. Then it goes like this: Joey Negro's 'Make A Move On Me' at 11, Ray J's 'One Wish' at 13, Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' re-release at 15, Beverley Knight's 'Piece Of My Heart' at 16, Massive Attack's 'Live With Me' at 17, Ne*Yo's 'So Sick' at 18, Hilary Duff's 'Fly' at 20, Kelly Clarkson's 'Walk Away' at 21, James Blunt's 'Wisemen' at 23, Be Your Own Pet's 'Adventure' at 36 and Battle's 'Tendency' at 37.
Albums wise, as expected the top ten had a bit of an operatic theme this week. While Corinne Bailey Rae's album moved back to the top spot, tenor Russell Watson got the highest new entry at number two, with fellow tenor Vittorio Grigolo going in at six with 'In The Hands Of Love' and tenor number three Andrea Bocelli staying in the top ten at number five.
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THIS WEEK'S STUDENT RADIO CHART
1. [6] The Kooks - Naive (EMI/Virgin)
2. [1] Kanye West - Touch the Sky (Universal/Roc-A-Fella)
3. [5] Orson - No Tomorrow (Universal/Mercury)
4. [8] Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion (Universal/Polydor)
5. [3] The Strokes - Heart in a Cage (Rough Trade)
6. [NE] Editors - All Sparks (SonyBMG/Kitchenware)
7. [2] Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (Domino)
8. [12] The Feeling - Sewn (Universal/Island)
9. [30] Dirty Pretty Things - Bang Bang You're Dead (Universal/Vertigo)
10. [9] Gorillaz - Kids With Guns (EMI/Parlophone)
11. [11] The Zutons - Why Don't You Give Me Your Love (SonyBMG/Deltasonic)
12. [23] The Fratellis - Creepin Up The Backstairs (Universal/Island)
13. [25] Gnarls Barkeley - Crazy (Warner Bros)
14. [4] We Are Scientists - It's A Hit (EMI/Virgin)
15. [NE] Hard-Fi - Better Do Better (Warner/Necessary)
16. [10] Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On (EMI)
17. [14] The Pipettes - Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me (Memphis Industries)
18. [NE] The Streets - When You Wasn't Famous (679)
19. [7] Hot Chip - Over And Over (EMI)
20. [15] Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies (Warner/Atlantic)
21. [NE] Jack Johnson - Better Together (Universal/Brushfire)
22. [13] Jose Gonzales - Heartbeats (Peacefrog)
23. [16] Fall Out Boy - Sugar We're Going Down (Universal/Mercury)
24. [RE] Jason Mraz - Geek in the Pink (Warner/Atlantic)
25. [NE] The Raconteurs - Steady as She Goes (Beggars/XL)
26. [29] Bell X1 - Flame (Universal/Island)
27. [NE] The Randoms - Two Stripe Trainers (November)
28. [NE] Larrikin Love - Edwould (Warner)
29. [NE] Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline) (V2/City Slang)
30. [22] Massive Attack - Live With Me (EMI/Virgin)
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SUBSHOT PLAYLIST
Once again, the vids being played this week on the SUBtv network in students' unions all over the UK. New additions marked with a **.
A LIST
Blaze (feat Barbara Tucker) - Most Precious Love (Defected)
ColdCut - True Skool (Ninja Tune)
**Embrace - Nature's Law (Independiente)
Joey Negro - Make A Move On Me (MoS)
**The Kooks - Naïve (EMI/Virgin)
Massive Attack - Live With Me (EMI/Virgin)
Morrissey - You Have Killed Me (Sanctuary)
**The Strokes - Heart In A Cage (Rough Trade)
Studio B - Come On Get It On (Skint)
**The Zutons - Why Won't You Give Me Your Love (SonyBMG/Deltasonic)
B LIST
**Akala - The Edge (Illastate)
**Broken Social Scene - 7/4 Shoreline (V2/City Slang)
David Gray - Alibi (Warner/Atlantic)
Fields - Song For The Fields (Black Lab)
**Hard Fi - Better Do better (Warner/Necessary)
Hot Chip - Over and Over (EMI)
**Jamie T - Salvador (EMI/Virgin)
KT Tunstall - Another Place To Fall (EMI/Relentless)
**Mish Mash - Speechless (MoS)
Ray J - One Wish (Sanctuary)
Shapeshifters - Incredible (Positiva)
SemiFinalists - You Said (Regal Bear)
The Pipettes - Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me (Memphis Industries)
White Rose Movement - Girls In The Back (Independiente)
WigWam - WigWam (Instant Karma)
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CMU RADIO SHOW PLAYLIST
The tracks played on this week's CMU Radio show, which, as always, goes live later today at http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk/cmuradio
The Fratellis - The Gutterati? (Universal/Island)
Hoboken - Beauty Queen (Royal Jelly Records)
OK Go - Do What You Want (EMI/Capitol)
Hope Of The States - Blood Meridian (SonyBMG)
Nightmare Of You - The Days Go By Oh So Slow (Bevonshire/Full Time Hobby)
Delays - Lillian (Rough Trade)
Nada Surf - Where Is My Mind? (City Slang)
Uncle Ray - I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Singer Records)
Freelance Hellraiser - Want You To Know (SonyBMG)
Richard Hawley - Born Under A Bad Sign (EMI/Mute)
Terri Walker - No Matter Whatever (Dekkor Records)
Ben Folds - Not The Same (Live) (SonyBMG/Epic)
Go Home Productions - Robbie (Over) Jacko (Under) Pressure (Bootleg)
Swing Out Sister - Breakout (off 12" 80s) (Universal/Mercury)
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FLAMING LIPS CITE BOHEMIAN INFLUENCE
The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne has told Observer Music Monthly that Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody has helped inspire the band's new album. He explains: "Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the most popular songs of all time, and it's one of the weirdest too. We recorded a cover of it last April and after spending five days deconstructing it we said to ourselves, 'Why are we holding back?'
He continued: "Queen clearly never thought they were being too silly, and it takes balls to do that. On our new album you can see us not stopping ourselves. Are you really afraid that someone is going to tell you that you are being ridiculous? The world is full of stupid things that are wonderful."
It's true you know. Some might say I'm stupid enough already, but I'm going to stop holding back on my stupidity nonetheless.
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SIMPSON TURNS DOWN BUSH
God knows whether it's a political statement or not, but Jessica Simpson turned down an invitation to meet George W Bush at a Republican fundraising event last week. According to MTV.com, she was concerned about her favourite charity, Operation Smile, an organization that offers free plastic surgery to children with facial deformities, becoming political.
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BEZ SHAKES HIS MARACAS
Happy Mondays star Bez, an experienced maracas shaker, has helped set a new maracas shaking world record. He was joined by Shaun Ryder and Clint Boon and over four hundred members of the public in a mass shake to mark the launch of Xfm in Manchester, leading the crowd of 406 maracas wielders in a rendition of Mondays track 'Step On'. Guinness Book Of Records editor Craig Glenday told the Daily Record: "This is one of those cool mass-participation records. The whole point is to get together with mates and have fun."
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SHAKIRA GETS A STATUE
This is what I should get. A lovely great statue, of me, in my home, er, village. Well, Shakira's getting one, so why shouldn't I? I may not be a pop star but I have beauties of character you know. And long hair.
However, it's not me, it's Columbian popstrel Shakira who's getting the honour, a sixteen foot tall steel likeness to be erected in her hometown of Barranquilla. The singer, not surprisingly, is said to be delighted at the news, and hopes it will inspire people at home. According to Contact Music she says: "I want people to think that any girl can start working on her dreams and that they will come true."
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WILL YOUNG TAKES BALLET CLASSES
According to The Sun Will Young takes ballet classes three times a week. The singer apparently said: "The gym is so boring. Ballet keeps me toned and I really enjoy it. I'm the only guy there. With my leggings and ballet shoes I'm a real Billy Elliot."