| CMU Daily - on the inside Tuesday 6th June |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- The Pirate Bay supporters step up their raid protests
- Meat Loaf sues Steinman over Bat Out Of Hell trademark
- Elton and Corinne honoured at Mojos
- Canadian Mercury Music Prize thing launches
- DMX in traffic trouble again
- Album Review: Jimpster - Amour
- Doherty: there was no syringe, okay?
- Kaiser Ricky on that hit and run
- Doves on new material
- Slade stuff to get reissue
- New Charlotte Gainbourg album
- Muse to play teeny show
- Gang Of Four for Indian summer
- Creamfields launches this Friday
- Single Review: The Long Blondes - Weekend Without Makeup
- Warner form mobile alliances
- EMI sign up to legit P2P
- Live Nation appoint new chiefs for New York operation
- Album Review: Frank Black - Fastman/Raiderman
- Morrissey says 'no Smiths reunion' shocker
- Littlest Hanson to wed
- Robbie Williams is very expensive
- Michael doesn't mind bad press
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TOP BIT>>
OK, so I think this is important, so I've elevated it up into the Top Bit, up here, instead of running it as a story way down there. Those with the better memories among the CMU readership will remember how War Child last year asked people working out there in music / media / marketing land to donate any old promotional items that they had lying around the office which they thought may have some kind of collectable value. Last year's donated items included Charlotte Church tissues, an Alicia keys keyboard and two life size models of the blue lady from Tron and Lara Croft. The War Child team then auctioned those items off via eBay and in doing so raised over eight grand, a significant contribution to War Child's effort to help those young people around the world affected by the horrors of war. The War Child team are planning on doing the whole thing again, and are therefore asking everyone to scan round their offices for those bits of merchandise that currently provide an obstacle between you and the coffee machine but which, when put up for auction, could raise some cash for charity. If you see something of value that you're willing to donate, then email [email protected] with the details. And while you're at it, forward this on to anyone else likely to be sitting next to a box of old promotional nick nacks and get them to donate too.
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EVENTS N STUFF>>
*** BRANDS, BANDS & AUDIENCES 7th June 2006, The Waldorf, London
Do you want to secure global brand partnerships? Are you looking at new media as an extra revenue driver? Do you want to meet leading brands, music labels, new media giants, and those with the knowledge to help drive the profile of your music? Emap's one day event - Brands, Bands & Audiences - in association with Kerrang, Audience, Smash Hits, Media & Marketing Europe, In the City, Record Of The Day, Kiss, Magic, Q, and Mojo IS THE ONE PLACE to gain expert advice from all sectors of the industry. Can you afford to miss out? Full info at http://www.mandmeurope.com/brandsandbands
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PRESS ROOM>>
HUM
Leyline and TCR once again team up to present another storming breaks all nighter this Saturday night, 10 Jun - yes, HUM is back. Take one Rennie Pilgrem. Add in the Breakfastaz and Hyper. Top it off with Vlad Sokolov and Tom Real. And put Clive X Nubile Disco and Miss Pup in Room 2 and boy, what a way to celebrate (we hope) the result of the England vs Paraguay match. And that's before we mention the special prices on Brahma beer and double JDs all night. All takes place at the seOne Club on Weston Street in London from 10pm to 6am, tickets are a tenner or £6 if you guest list in advance at http://www.leylinepromotions.com. Press info from Leyline.
More info: http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/hum
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RIGHT NOW IN THE CMU BEATS BAR>>
MySpace Of The Day: Sergio Mendes
This MySpace Of The Day feature is, you would think, an opportunity for us to tell you about the new stuff we like; new bands, unsigned bands, on-their-way-up bands. So you might wonder why I'd nominate the MySpace of a 65 (?) year old musical legend, a veteran of 35 (?) albums? Well, because I've been listening to his new LP a lot over the last few weeks, and he's therefore very much on my mind. The MySpace Page features four tracks from that new album 'Timeless', one of which is the reworking of 'Mas Que Nada' featuring will.i.am Peas, and which I understand has featured on some Nike ad or other, and some FIFA World Cup game of some kind, but I didn't hear it until I played the album. The album is a compendium of such collaborations, incidentally - producer will.i.am is all over it (yes, perhaps a little too much all over it), but there are also appearances from Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, India Arie, Q-Tip and Justin Timberlake. I think it works quite nicely, even if the result is not what you might call classic Mendes. Anyway, worth checking the MySpace for some of these tracks, the blog updates, the tour dates and, erm... the lovely shade of green on the backdrop...
http://www.myspace.com/sergiomendes
More on today's MySpace Of The Day at http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk
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THE PIRATE BAY SUPPORTERS STEP UP THEIR RAID PROTESTS
Hey, those Swedes are pretty full on when it comes to opposing attempts by the entertainment industries or authorities to clamp down on the illegal distribution of copyright content online. Following those previously reported raids by Swedish police last week that shut down BitTorrent search engine The Pirate Bay (for a couple of days at least), those who reckon punters should have the right to share content online have become more proactive in their support for the dodgy search engine. Allegations are now circulating that some of those supporters hacked into government and police servers, forcing official websites to go down.
The Swedish government's website was down for about nine hours over the weekend, while the country's police force's website went down last week, and both are believed to have been caused by hackers attacking the respective organisations' servers. Sweden's Security Police intelligence agency is now investigating both incidents, and allegations that supporters of The Pirate Bay may be behind the hacks. They have also advised other state authorities to step up the security of their online operations.
Several hundred supporters of The Pirate Bay staged a protest in Stockholm this weekend. It was perhaps the most public opposition so far to the country's recently introduced rules to combat the illegal sharing of content online. Opposition to those rules has been much greater in Sweden than in other countries, where most opposition is confined to pro-P2P chat rooms.
Meanwhile, a number of legitimate online companies have criticised the Swedish police's raids, claiming that their servers were also taken when the authorities tried to shut The Pirate Bay down. A spokesman for one of the affected companies, Game Switch, told reporters: "As a result of this seemingly irrational and disproportionate move by police, our entire business, in effect, has also been seized".
Despite the raids, The Pirate Bay went back online at the end of last week, now hosted on servers in the Netherlands.
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MEAT LOAF SUES STEINMAN OVER BAT OUT OF HELL TRADEMARK
Ladies and gentlemen, I present, for your Tuesday morning pleasure, my Meat Loaf joke which, if I remember rightly, has only ever appeared once before in the CMU Daily. Here we go. Why don't many people ever see Jim Steinman, the man behind Meat Loaf? Because it's hard to see anyone standing behind Meat Loaf. I thank you, I'm here all week. (OK, Caro would like it to be stressed that this joke is not only unfunny, it is also inaccurate given that it is now a very trim looking Meat Loaf who takes to the stage. So, if you can pretend you are reading this edition of the Daily in 1986 just for the purposes of the gag, that would be much appreciated).
But anyway, I'm guessing Meat Loaf wouldn't appreciate me suggesting that Steinman was that important in his musical legacy this morning, given that he is in the process of suing his former songwriting partner over the rights to the name 'Bat Out Of Hell'.
Steinman, of course, wrote much of both the original 1977 'Bat Out Of Hell' album, and the 1993 follow up 'Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell' - and indeed the original album was conceived by Steinman who brought Meat Loaf in to front the project (in fact, rock legend has it, Steinman only brought in Meat Loaf when a throat infection meant he couldn't do the vocals himself). With all that in mind, in 1995 Steinman successfully trademarked 'Bat Out Of Hell'
That trademark was not an initially a problem for Meat Loaf who still enjoyed a stronger public association with the albums. However, Steinman's trademark became an issue as it became clear Meat Loaf intended to release a third 'Bat Out Of Hell' album without his former songwriting partner's involvement. Steinman's trademark is now getting in the way of that album release, and Meat Loaf's lawyers hope to have it overturned on the basis that it is their client, and not Steinman, who had the strongest claim to the 'brand' from the outset. Confirming the lawsuit, filed at the LA Federal Court yesterday, Meat Loaf's attorney, Skip Miller, told reporters: "The law protects the user of the mark and here there is only one user: Meat Loaf. We were forced to file suit to uphold these rights."
However, Steinman has reacted angrily to Meat Loaf's claims to the trademark, telling CNN: "This is ridiculous. The trademark in America is one I own. [Meat Loaf is] doing the [new] 'Bat Out Of Hell' without me and marketing it illegally. To me, it's like Frances Coppola being fired before Godfather III and being replaced by some hack".
Steinman also claims to have offered Meat Loaf a deal that would allow him to use the trademark on the new album in return for an undisclosed sum, but he says that Meat Loaf's people have knocked that offer back. Steinman: "I'd be willing, if he wanted, to let him use it for the record, even though I think it is insulting to the audience. But he's turned down the settlement every time."
Presumably those comments mean Steinman intends to fight Meat Loaf's lawsuit. A schedule for that court case is still to be confirmed.
By the way, does any one else own a copy of Steinman's own album 'Bad For Good'? You should all get a copy - 'Dance In My Pants' remains one of my favourite songs ever.
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ELTON AND CORINNE HONOURED AT MOJOS
Elton John and Corinne Bailey Rae have been honoured at the Mojo Awards. Elton John, as previously reported, was set to be inducted into the Mojo Hall of Fame whilst Bailey Rae was named Best New Act.
Bailey Rae has, of course, had a very swift rise to fame following the success of her eponymous debut and hit single 'Put Your Records On' - she was, after all, only recently still working as a cloakroom girl in a jazz club.
Accepting the award, she said: "I didn't expect to win at all, so I'm just amazed and really privileged to be accepting this award. I would like to say thank you to everyone who has helped me on my way so far. It's a great award because it's just the start and I feel like it's been really good in the last few months just to write music and to have it out there and to have people listen to it."
The singer then presented Elton John with his Hall Of Fame Award, saying: "I was born in 1979 and the first musician I ever saw on TV was Elton John. I loved him partly for his music, and partly for his flamboyant costumes which I drew over and over again in my scrapbook. He's been around for my whole life and he has influenced the music I write."
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CANADIAN MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE THING LAUNCHES
I would almost put money (well, may be a few cream crackers) on the fact that we've reported on this before, but the CMU Daily archive search engine is playing up a bit and I can't find anything about it in there - and given that the Canadian press are reporting on it this morning I suppose we should too (and there's no Wikipedia listing for it either, suggesting this is, in fact, a new thing).
Anyway, Canada is the latest country to get a Mercury Music Prize type prize - in the form of the Polaris Music Prize. Set up by Toronto based music industry guy Steve Jordan, like with the Mercury and all the other copy cats, this will present a cash prize to the 'Best Album Of The Year' (the best Canadian album in this case, obviously).
Jordan told reporters: "I watched [Canadian literary award] The Giller Prize turn great books into bestsellers, and The Mercury Prize turn unknown artists into stars. With Polaris, we will harness that energy and turn it into something that Canadian music fans will get excited about".
Needless to say, a panel of pundits will select a shortlist of albums worthy of acclaim from which an overall winner will be picked. Expect the shortlist next month, and the winner announcement in September.
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DMX IN TRAFFIC TROUBLE AGAIN
Hip-hop star DMX is yet again in trouble over traffic violations. The rapper, real name Earl Simmons, was stopped on Friday afternoon whilst driving his 2001 Chevy through the White Plains area, because he was apparently travelling at unreasonable speeds and making hazardous lane changes. Once stopped by police, it was discovered that he was not using a seatbelt and was not in possession of a driver's licence. Simmons was given a ticket and told to report to court on 16 Jun.
As you will remember, DMX is developing an increasing inability to travel anywhere without getting the police involved. Last year he served 70 days in prison after that incident when he crashed into a gate at Kennedy International Airport and in doing so broke the conditions of his parole, conditions relating to previous traffic violations. Subsequent incidents saw the star crashing his vehicle into a police car in the Bronx, and most recently being cautioned by British police after becoming abusive whilst travelling on a flight from New York to London.
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ALBUM REVIEW: Jimpster - Amour (Freerange)
Jimpster, as I may have told you before, is multi-tasker Jamie Odell, who is head honcho of Freerange, lead keyboardist for 'The Bays' and who sometimes records as Audiomontage. With 'Amour', he presents a true artist album of tracks ranging from killer peak-time house to some alternative bits and bobs, but with Jimpster, but with a few constants: the passion and the attention to detail. With the first track, 'Analogue Way' we have a roll in - big beats and brass sound out. 'Left and Right', with Capitol A on vocal duty, is a relaxed little roller - the backdrop on that one is awesome. There's plenty of dancefloor here, too, of course; 'Push It' is housey, whilst 'Seventh Wave' is reminiscent of early Luke Slater's minimal tech, and 'Love You Better' has some Robert Owens styled wisps from Alex East. 'Secret Sun' is an off centre cut with East London's sparkling talent, Rasiyah, on vocals. Finisher 'Distant Light' is a powerful ending - supremely cool chill, and just listen to those little tabla inflections. This man is a proper musician and has created a socker of an LP. Grab a copy. PV
Release date: 5 Jun
Press contact: Trailer Media [all]
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DOHERTY: THERE WAS NO SYRINGE, OKAY?
Pete Doherty has responded to last week's reports that Easyjet staff on the Babyshambles star's flight to Barcelona found a blood-filled syringe in the toilet after he'd vacated it. The singer insists that it's a big fuss about nothing, there was no syringe, he didn't take any drugs aboard the flight, and what's more, when he and his party were searched at the airport, they were not found to be in possession of anything illegal.
Doherty said: "When I came out [of the toilet], they shut the door and locked it and got a big fucking luminous sign up saying 'hazardous area'. They stopped people using the toilet. If they found a syringe, they can produce it in court."
He continued: "We got off the plane and we all got the rubber glove treatment. They wanted to see if we had anything in our bottoms. The police searched me and then half-heartedly searched a few other people and then said, 'Enjoy the concert and enjoy your stay.'"
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KAISER RICKY ON THAT HIT AND RUN
Chief Kaiser Ricky Wilson has been talking about that recent hit and run injury in a new interview with NME. The incident, as previously reported, occurred in Wilson's hometown of Leeds, as the singer was walking home after seeing Hard-Fi performing at Millennium Square. He was, of course, legitimately making his way across a pedestrian crossing when the vehicle approached and escaped serious injury, apparently, due to the use of one of his trademark jumps.
Wilson said: "It will teach me to leave Hard-Fi early. I wanted to get home to watch Phone Booth which was on at 10pm. I was crossing the road, it was a green man. I walked past one car that had stopped and when I got half way across a car came out of nowhere. You know how they say you see it coming in really slow motion, well it did. I jumped in the air and it clipped my shins and flipped me over and I hit windscreen."
Actually, I'd say that will teach him to want to watch 'Phone Booth'.
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DOVES ON NEW MATERIAL
Doves have started work on material for a new album, and have been writing about the process on their website. The band, who are setting up a studio on a farm near Manchester, say: "We've been in there for a couple of weeks now mainly setting gear up and ironing out our usual technical problems! The idea is to record everything here and maybe mix elsewhere and produce the record ourselves, but knowing us lot, that could all change if we get sick of the smell of cow shit on the farm! It's very early days so don't expect anything too soon, but there's loads of ideas kicking around and we're all well excited about where we're going to go on this one."
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SLADE STUFF TO GET REISSUE
I'm getting a sense of deja vu with this story too, but just in case we haven't reported on it before, reissue specialists Union Square Music have acquired the Slade back catalogue, and are planning to re-release the lot. New imprint Salvo Records will re-issue the original re-mastered albums accompanied by bonus tracks, many of which, apparently, have never been released on CD. An anthology box set is also to see a release.
The schedule begins with the release of 'Beginnings', 'Play It Loud', 'The Slade Live Anthology' 'Slayed' and ' Old New Borrowed And Blue' on 21 Aug, with further LPs slated for re-issue later in the year, and in 2007.
Band member Noddy Holder says: "The re-issue of the entire Slade catalogue will satisfy the lust of any true rock fan and tickle the fancy of anyone who has yet to be initiated. Keep On Rockin'."
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NEW CHARLOTTE GAINBOURG ALBUM
Charlotte Gainsbourg is to release a new album this autumn. Produced by Nigel Godrich, it includes collaborations with the likes of Air, who wrote and played music on the LP, and Neil Hannon and Jarvis Cocker, who contributed lyrics. '5:55', out on 4 Sep, also features string arrangements from Beck's Dad, Canadian composer David Campbell, and contributions from Nigerian drummer Tony Allen. Press info from Coalition.
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MUSE TO PLAY TEENY SHOW
Muse are to play a teeny show next week, and just ten fans will be able to go. The band will stage the gig at a secret location (somewhere in London) on Monday, for an AOL session, and to be in with a chance of being there, fans must send an email with name, mobile number and postal address to [email protected]
As previously reported, Muse release new album 'Black Holes & Revelations' on 3 Jul, preceded by a single, 'Supermassive Black Hole' on 19 Jun.
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GANG OF FOUR FOR INDIAN SUMMER
The recently reunited Gang Of Four have joined the line up for Scotland's Indian Summer festival. The band join acts such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Guillemots, Antony And The Johnsons and Hot Chip on the bill for the event, which takes place in Victoria Park in Glasgow from 2-3 Sep.
Guitarist Andy Gill says: "In 2005 we played a few gigs in England but we were very conscious we missed out Scotland, which was always a great territory for us. We jumped at the chance to take part in Indian Summer. It's a brilliant bill."
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CREAMFIELDS LAUNCHES THIS FRIDAY
Creamfields will officially launch this year's festival at their Babycream bar in Liverpool this Friday - that's 9 Jun. There'll be food and drink and music from resident Babycream DJs, so if you're a media type around about Merseyside this weekend, you should get in touch with [email protected] , or [email protected] Creamfields, of course, takes place at Daresbury in Halton on 26 Aug, with Goldfrapp, The Zutons, Scratch Perverts, Paul Oakenfold, Gnarls Barclay and 2 Many DJ's all on the bill.
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SINGLE REVIEW: The Long Blondes - Weekend Without Makeup (Rough Trade)
Yeah! I love it when my sisters (and two boys) cut through the BS and release the freshest, cleverest stuff. And I love it when the hype - these are the artists formerly known as "the best unsigned band in Britain" - is actually justified. "Well I'll feed you/ But I need you/ To make a little more effort" snarls singer Kate over a wonderfully disjointed guitar / drum base. The chorus kicks in, and the song just keeps building up until, inevitably, it suddenly ends. I would like to make references to 'Disco 2000', and why shouldn't I, actually, considering this was produced by Pulp's Steve Mackey? It works a treat, it's catchy, dancy AND rocky, and it actually deals with stuff you might recognise from your life even if you do not do drugs, such as alienation in a relationship due to work pressures and personal doubts. That subject matter sounds a bit boring, so it is testament to The Blondes' genius that this is the most glamorous single I have heard in a long time. Believe the hype, thank God. SIA
Release Date: 19 Jun
Press Contact: Darling Department [all]
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WARNER FORM MOBILE ALLIANCES
Warner Music has just taken a minority stake in Tokyo based Frontmedia - a company that specialises in mobile radio and video content. As part of the deal Warner will give Frontmedia access to its artists for content streams on Japanese mobile networks DoCoMo, Vodafone and KDDI. The deal formalises an informal relationship between the two companies, and follows a similar deal between Warner and South Korean tel co SK Telecom.
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EMI SIGN UP TO LEGIT P2P
EMI, meanwhile, has announced a deal with Qtrax, which will be, apparently, "the world's first ad-supported, legal peer-to-peer music service", ie a legit P2P platform.
As with other (mainly proposed) subscription based legit P2P outfits, Qtrax, which began life as a very much non-legit P2P, will track music being shared over its network, dividing up subscription revenues between the labels who own the music being shared. A free version of the P2P will also available that, in theory at least, filters out any copyright music.
Confirming the deal with Qtrax, EMI's North America boss David Munns told reporters: "Our collaboration with Qtrax will give us great consumer insight and help us gauge the boundaries between sampling and purchasing music. The Qtrax service will also ensure that our artists are compensated for their works and that the value of their music and integrity of our content is protected."
EMI is the first major label to sign up to Qtrax - they now hope to get the other three in place before they launch in the Autumn.
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LIVE NATION APPOINT NEW CHIEFS FOR NEW YORK OPERATION
Concert and live event promoters Live Nation (you know, the concert company we no longer describe as the 'concert company formerly known as Clear Channel') have announced that Bruce Moran and Phil Ernst will take on the roles of President and Senior VP respectively at their New York office.
The duo will replace current President Jim Glancy, who has announced he will leave the company when his current contract expires at the end of July.
Moran, formerly CEO of OCESA Presents/CIE USA, will oversee Live Nation's regional concert booking, marketing and promotion while supervising the New York office. Ernst, who has worked with Moran at OCESA Presents/CIE USA since 2000, will specifically coordinate Live Nation's bookings in the region.
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ALBUM REVIEW: Frank Black - Fastman/Raiderman
This is the twelfth studio album from the ex-Pixie man since the band split up and is a much more upbeat affair than 2005's 'Honeycomb'. I suppose the polite review would read, 'The record pays homage to some of the greatest artists rock music has produced'. The other review would read, 'On this record Frank Black rips off a load of old Neil Young tracks'. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Whilst Frank does sound unmistakably like Neil Young on 'Fast Man', he also sounds like Nick Cave on 'When the Paint Grows Darker Still' and Lou Reed on 'The End of the Summer'. That breath of 'homage' can't be all bad news. 'In the Time Of My Ruin' echoes Pixie classic 'The Thing', but it's the horn driven psych-blues of 'Dog Sleep' ('I'm livin' on Horsemeat but I could not win') that provides the standout moment, whilst the Eagles-esque drivel of 'Kiss My Ring' deserves to be skipped. The latter is one of the few duds over the two discs and, despite the potential arrogance of a 27 track issue, 'Fast Man' doesn't feel too bloated. So, it's a good album with a hatful of catchy songs that 'reference' some of the greats but it still leaves you wondering how Frank Black would've done them. EM
Release Date: 19 Jun
Press Contact: Cooking Vinyl IH [all]
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MORRISSEY SAYS 'NO SMITHS REUNION' SHOCKER
Morrissey has reiterated the fact that he has no intention of ever, ever indulging in a Smiths reunion. You will remember that he recently revealed that he'd been offered £5million to do so.
The singer said: "I'm not placed on the Earth to torment ex-musicians. My life is gratifying at the moment musically, so why become part of The Smiths again? What's the point? I feel as if I've worked very hard since the demise of The Smiths and the others haven't, so why hand them attention that they haven't earned? We are not friends, we don't see each other. Why on earth would we be on a stage together?"
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LITTLEST HANSON TO WED
Youngest Hanson brother Zac is to marry his long-term girlfriend Kate Tucker this weekend in Atlanta, according to the band's publicist Kate McNeill, who confirmed in a statement that "the couple is planning an intimate ceremony with close family and friends."
Of course, Zac Hanson is only twenty years old. Kate Tucker is 22. They have been together for five years. Hanson, therefore, was just fifteen when they met. Which seems quite young, really, doesn't it?
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ROBBIE WILLIAMS IS VERY EXPENSIVE
Well, we all know Robbie Williams can be a bit expensive, but he's now apparently to set to play one of the most pricy gigs ever held in Hong Kong - with VIP tickets selling as high as HK$2,480, which is about 170 quid - which is seemingly extortionate by Hong Kong standards.
A report in the South China Morning Post reported on the VIP ticket prices, though added that the rest would be sold for the slightly more reasonable rates of between 500 and 1000 dollars - between about 35 and 70 pounds.
Promoters Midas have confirmed that the gig will take place in November, with specific date and venue to be announced next week.
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MICHAEL DOESN'T MIND BAD PRESS
George Michael says he doesn't mind getting bad press if it helps to promote his work. And he has been getting some bad press in recent weeks, let's not forget, what with his bashing into cars and slumping over the wheel, and possessing maryjane and whatnot.
The singer said that the stuff that is written about him is only "50 per cent true", but added: "In all honestly it does me good. I take crap for a couple of weeks but it promotes my new single. I hate to say it but it's true."