| CMU Daily - on the inside Monday 11th September |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Keane completely cancel US tour
- Arab Strap confirm split, promise farewell tour
- Robbie - missing tickets, more swing, more litigation
- Fightstar and Island part company
- Morrissey disses charts
- CSS put out dress plea
- Fiddy pulled over for traffic violations
- Shears not impressed with Gilmour
- Green Day and U2 might collaborate on charity track
- Kelly on new Stereophonics, Cable relations
- Oasis tracklisting
- The Dears dates
- Seafood dates
- Thomas Truax dates
- Brian Wilson to perform Pet Sounds in London one last time
- Dutch priest charged over Madonna bomb threat
- Arts body launches musical instrument loan programme
- Notting Hill sign city
- Whizz Kid add another senior exec
- Minnelli Gest divorce rumbles on
- Will uses unrequited Orlando love to inspire song writing
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TOP BIT>>
Well, extra late today, but this is Rob da Bank's fault. If he hadn't programmed such a good Bestival we wouldn't have decided to stay over there until this morning, rather than returning yesterday as originally planned, and then we wouldn't have had to compile and write a CMU Daily on Platform 1 of Portsmouth Station this morning, before making a mad dash back to the trusty CMU server so we could input the stories and click send. And if none of that had happened, we'd have got everything to you before 3pm. Ah well, just pretend it's August again, and we'll do our best to get back to normal tomorrow. Bestival rocked by the way - full review tomorrow.
Meantime, some house announcements plugging two upcoming industry events CMU is supporting - both of which take place in London on 28 Sep (which is going to be another busy day for the CMU team). First up, the next MusicTank ThinkTank, which will precede the Classic FM Gramophone Awards at the Dorchester Hotel that day, and which will examine how the digital age could help the classical sector boost its audience and what the classical sector needs to do to make use of that potential. It will be led by Tim Clark of ie:music, an expert on new business models in the wider music space, and he will be joined on the panel by various leading names in the classical sector. It all takes place between 11.30am and 1pm, details from http://www.musictank.co.uk.
Second is the previously reported Copyright Discussion Forum being staged by the Association Of Streaming Media Companies, which will look at what can and should be done to enable both the media and music industries (in the mainstream and independent sectors) from capitalising on the potential of online radio and on demand music services. Needless to say, there's quite a few differences of opinion within the two industries regards this issue - and at this event both sides will provide a summary of their current position and what they hope will happen in the future. Anyone involved in this space is welcome to attend. It takes place at 4pm at the Last FM offices near Old Street - email [email protected] for more details.
Meantime, look out for features on both topics on the CMU Music Network website in the coming weeks, including interviews with panelists speaking at both.
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JOBS N STUFF>>
PRESS OFFICER
Successful and growing independent rock label seek Press Officer and media all rounder to deal with established acts and growing newcomers plus events the label is involved with. A knowledge of rock and metal would be a bonus. Duties would range from developing and maintaining strong relations with national, regional and specialist press, radio and tv contacts, generating features and coverage, press trips, writing press releases to helping to run events. The successful candidate will be highly efficient with strong writing skills, flawless spelling and grammar, and a passion for music. Computer literacy, including confidence with Microsoft Office, is essential.
Please email a covering letter and cv to [email protected] or
post to: PR Vacancy, Visible Noise, 231 Portobello Rd, London W11 1LT
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ADVERTISE YOUR JOBS, SERVICES AND PRODUCTS here for just £50 a week, or £150 for two weeks in the Daily and four weeks on the web. Email [email protected] for details.
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BLATANT PLUGGING>>
CMU IN PRINT! - ADVERTISE RELEASES TO STUDENTS EVERYWHERE
As we mentioned back in July, we will be publishing a special edition of a CMU newspaper which will be distributed around campuses all over the UK as the student population returns for the new academic year later this month - offering a guide to all the great new music coming out this Autumn. This is a brilliant way to engage and excite 100,000s of students and young record buyers at the most important time in the college and music year. A full page costs £1000, a half page £600, a sixth page £260, a 12th page £160. Book your ad spots now - email [email protected]
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KEANE COMPLETELY CANCEL US TOUR
So, bad news for all you American Keane fans out there in CMU land. Anyone? Well, Keane confirmed on Friday that they are canceling their entire US tour which was due to kick off later this month. The tour will not go ahead to give singer Tom Chaplin more time to battle his previously reported drug and alcohol addiction. A string of Keane dates had already been cancelled since it was announced Chaplin had been admitted to a London branch of The Priory, but it was not initially clear how much of the chart topping band's US tour would be affected.
On Friday Chaplin's bandmate, Tim Rice-Oxley, confirmed all dates had now been axed. In a statement he said: "Obviously it's crucial that Tom is given the time to get better properly. With the first dates in America only a fortnight away, his doctors feel there is undue pressure on Tom to rush through rehab and get back out on the road. That's why, between the three of us, we've decided to cancel the North American tour. We'd like to apologise to the fans who've bought tickets, but we've done this in the best interests of our friend - which, ultimately, is in the best interests of the band too.
Regarding other future tour commitments, Rice-Oxley continued: "At this stage we plan to go ahead with the tours of the UK and Europe in October and November. We'll be keeping in close touch with Tom and his doctors about how he's progressing and we'll keep you posted".
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ARAB STRAP CONFIRM SPLIT, PROMISE FAREWELL TOUR
The Arab Strap guys have confirmed the rumours that they are splitting up, but have promised a farewell tour to coincide with the release of the previously reported assorted tracks compilation which will mark the duo's tenth anniversary next month.
In a posting on their website, Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton (you know, I think we might have called Aidan Adrian on Friday, oops) have written: "Yes, it's the end for Arab Strap. After ten years, six studio albums, three live albums and all manner of everything else, we've decided the story should come to a close. There's no animosity, no drama, we simply feel we've run our course and 'The Last Romance' seems to us the most obvious and logical final act of the Arab Strap studio adventure. Everybody likes a happy ending! We will, of course, be celebrating. Our anniversary compilation, 'Ten Years Of Tears' will be released this October/November and we are planning what will be our Farewell Tour (which sounds kind of cool) around the release in the UK and Europe. We hope you'll be able to join us, but if you can't make it then let us take this opportunity to thank you for listening."
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ROBBIE - MISSING TICKETS, MORE SWING, MORE LITIGATION
Trading standards officials have confirmed they are investigating complaints that tickets for some of Robbie Williams' upcoming tour dates (and some for this last weekend's dates in Leeds) have gone missing.
This isn't related to those previously reported missing tickets from Robbie's recent Glasgow gig, rather it relates to tickets sold for upcoming shows by a London agency called Harley Street Ticket Brokers, which has just ceased trading. Officials from Westminster Council say they are now investigating what happened to the tickets the agency was selling, and whether they can be found and passed on to the people who bought them before the concerts take place.
A spokeswoman for the council said they had received a "steady stream of complaints" from people who had bought tickets from the agency, adding: "These complaints, along with being told the company had ceased trading, compelled us to launch an investigation. Westminster's trading standards team are doing everything in their power to get to the bottom of what is going on with this ticket agency."
Elsewhere in Robbie news, we hear Mr Williams is writing a new swing album in a bid to repeat the success of his 2001 hit release 'Swing When You're Winning'. It's not entirely clear if Robbie is working on the easy listening project because he expects his new eclectic and more electro sounding long player 'Rudebox' to get a mixed reception from his traditional fan base - though one 'insider' is quoted as saying: "Obviously he hopes people will take 'Rudebox' to their hearts. But he's canny enough to realise that providing people with the Robbie material they've come to love and buy in their millions is an equally important career move".
And even further elsewhere in Robbie news, word has it that Take That creator Nigel Martin-Smith is planning on suing Williams over allegations made in a song on 'Rudebox'. There's been no love lost between Martin-Smith and Williams, of course, ever since the latter's acrimonious split from Take That back in the nineties which led to the manager successfully suing the singer for breach of contract. In the song 'Nineties' on 'Rudebox', Williams apparently accuses Martin-Smith of being incompetent and corrupt (actually, I think he suggests he must be one or the other, but I guess that's not much better). Anyway, the Mirror reports that Martin-Smith, despite refusing to enter into a fight when Robbie has slagged him off in the past, this time plans to take legal action. They quote a close friend of the former manager as saying: "He has always kept a dignified silence despite all of Robbie's remarks but he has overstepped the mark this time and Nigel is upset and angry".
Whether litigation will follow remains to be seen. In the meantime it's interesting reading Robbie coverage in the tabloids at the moment. The Mirror's 3am Girls, for sure, seem to have decided it's time to lay in to Mr Williams (very much taking Martin-Smith's side in reporting that particular story). Presumably they figure Robbie-dissing is a safe thing to do just now given that, as we said, his mainstream fan base are expected to be disappointed by 'Rudebox' - and those fans may be tempted to shift their loyalties back to the reunited Take That (because, after all, and somewhat ironically, the rest of the former boy band are now the underdogs to Williams' mega pop star status - and we all like the underdogs). Of course the tabloids' willingness to lay into Robbie while he's down won't have anything to do with his comments last year during the whole 'fuck me Kate Moss does drugs' story when the singer accused certain media figures of being hypocrites for slating Moss for taking drugs when they had, Robbie claimed, taken the same drugs in his company in the past.
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FIGHTSTAR AND ISLAND PART COMPANY
Fightstar have 'parted company' with Universal's Island Records. I love 'parted company' - it's my favourite music industry euphemism. The band's Charlie Simpson, who was, of course, the main connection between Fightstar and the major via Busted, has said Fightstar couldn't continue to work with Island because they were insisting the rock band take a more pop approach on their second album.
Contact Music quote Simpson thus: "Earlier this week we decided to tear up the contract. They wanted a pop album and we didn't. I've put so much into this band I don't want to start compromising now. We're thinking about going to America. The market for our stuff is much bigger over there."
Back to more important business, Simpson has also been commenting on his behaviour at the recent Kerrang! Awards where he was photographed 'getting cosy' with Matt Willis' girlfriend Emma Griffiths. Charlie wants to make it clear - mainly to his former band mate and his own girlfriend - that nothing dodgy was going on. He said last week: "I was so excited. Fightstar had been nominated for Best British Band and loads of my heroes were there. But nothing happened with me and Emma. If you saw the picture you can draw the wrong conclusion. I love my girlfriend to bits. I'd never do anything to hurt her. I texted Matt the next morning and I did get a massive rollicking from my girlfriend".
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MORRISSEY DISSES CHARTS
Morrissey has been dissing the way the official music charts are being compiled - and in particular the way download sales are incorporated in the stats. He's not alone in questioning how long the rather complicated digital stats system (whereby only digital sales the week prior to a physical release are counted) can continue to operate, although Morrissey seems to be more concerned about the way digital sales stats will affect his own chart position.
Speaking to fansite True-to-you net, Mozza says: "These absurd new chart rules will change soon, and it's worth remembering that they were introduced on the week that 'You Have Killed Me' entered at Number Three, so you can't blame me for thinking that someone is out to dislodge me. The song that ended up at Number One [which I think was Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy', the first song to go to number one on digital sales alone] wasn't even buyable in any record shop at the time! A very fair system." Whatever you say Morrissey.
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CSS PUT OUT DRESS PLEA
Brazilian band CSS have offered a reward for the return of a dress that belongs to frontwoman Lovefoxxx which was stolen during a gig in Manchester on 5 Sep. The dress, worn for part of the band's set, but then left at the side of the stage from where it was taken, is one of the frontwoman's favourites, so much so she's put out an appeal for its return offering an unspecified reward. If you know something you should let the band know via http://www.myspace.com/canseidesersexy.
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FIDDY PULLED OVER FOR TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS
50 Cent was pulled over by police in New York City on Friday after a traffic incident - something about unsafe lane changing. After being pulled over he was charged with the initial offence, and also for driving with an expired permit, driving without insurance and driving without vehicle registration - which is all pretty naughty, but nothing on DMX with his driving through car park barriers while high on drugs and then claiming he's an FBI agent on a case. Despite initially being cuffed and taken if for questioning, Fiddy is free on bail but will be required to answer the aforementioned alleged offences in due course. And to get a licence, some insurance and register his vehicle, one would assume.
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SHEARS NOT IMPRESSED WITH GILMOUR
Bestival had said no to clown costumes as part of its big fancy dress parade because they feared too many festival-goers might suffer from a fear of clowns and become traumatised by the experience. But no one had told the Scissor Sisters who had a clown theme for their headline set last night ("Sorry guys, we didn't get the memo" Ana Matronic joked), but Bestival bosses were too sensible to object. After all, frontman Jake Shears had been promised he could dress up as a clown, and you don't want to go breaking promises where Jake's concerned.
After all, a recent broken promise from Pink Floyd man David Gilmour left Mr Shears very scarred. Here's what he told Uncut about the ordeal: "Earlier this year, David Gilmour told my manager that he wanted me to sing 'Comfortably Numb' with him at Radio City Music Hall for two shows. So of course I'm emotionally fragile and weeping - a mess. I was so over the moon because I can sing the hell out of that song - I've been singing it for the latter half of my life. So I was practising it and doing my vocal exercises to it, but the day before the gig they decided not to have any guests. They canned me. Bastards! It was one of the worst things you can do to anybody. I kind of hate him for it. It was like taking candy away from a kid. My mom was getting on a plane to come and see me".
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GREEN DAY AND U2 MIGHT COLLABORATE ON CHARITY TRACK
Reports suggest Green Day and U2 might collaborate on a track to be sold in aid of Music Rising, a charity raising money to help New Orleans based musicians devastated by Hurricane Katrina which The Edge has been a supporter of since its inception. The reports say the two bands will record a version of 'The Saints Are Coming', originally a (not actually that big a) hit for Scottish band The Skids.
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KELLY ON NEW STEREOPHONICS, CABLE RELATIONS
Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones has been talking about his band's new album, which they plan to continue working on later this month. Jones told fan site Stereoboard: "The songs are rocking yet different from the last album and it seems they have pretty big choruses. We go back into the studio mid September for another two weeks and continue working on the sound of the record.The songs are there, but we want the record to have a big sound that translates anywhere, so rather than do this record the typical way in one big batch of time, taking breaks in between to analyse it, is working well".
Jones also spoke about his relationship with former bandmate Stuart Cable - who was famously axed from the band back in 2003. He says: "Me and Stuart been talking lately - we bumped into each other in a toilet in Shepherds Bush Empire a while ago and drank together till the morning hours. This week he was telling me about his ringleader outfit he had to wear presenting the Kerrang awards."
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OASIS TRACKLISTING
The only down side of my weekend at Bestival was this nagging need in the back of my mind to know what the tracklisting was going to be for that forthcoming Oasis hits collection 'Stop The Clocks', so imagine my all round relief to discover, on returning to the office, that the running order for that very CD has been announced. It goes like this...
Rock 'N' Roll Star
Some Might Say
Talk Tonight
Lyla
The Importance Of Being Idle
Wonderwall
Slide Away
Cigarettes & Alcohol
The Masterplan
Live Forever
Acquiesce
Supersonic
Half The World Away
Go Let It Out
Songbird
Morning Glory
Champagne Supernova
Don't Look Back In Anger
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THE DEARS DATES
The Dears are going on tour next month - which is great news - because they're great. The tour will promote new single 'Whites Only Party', out on 16 Oct. Here's the dates, do try and go.
14 Oct: Village, Dublin
15 Oct: Limelight, Belfast
20 Oct: Oran Moor, Glasgow
21 Oct: Northumbria University, Newcastle
23 Oct: Academy 2, Manchester
24 Oct: Cockpit, Leeds
25 Oct: Bierkeller, Bristol
26 Oct: Koko, London
Press info from V2 IH.
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SEAFOOD DATES
And also from a file marked 'good news, CMU favourite on tour', Seafood, whose new album we gave a rather nice review to last week, have announced the following live shows. They will also play an instore at London's Sister Ray's record shop on 25 Sep at 6pm.
26 Sep: Derby, Victoria Inn
27 Sep: Leeds, Josephs Well
28 Sep: Glasgow, Barfly
29 Sep: Swindon, Brunel Rooms
30 Sep: Northampton, Soundhaus
2 Oct: Southend, Chinnerys
3 Oct: Exeter, Cavern Club
4 Oct: London, 93 Feet East
5 Oct: Cambridge, The Loft
6 Oct: Brighton, Audio
7 Oct: Coventry, Colosseum
Press info from Cooking Vinyl IH.
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THOMAS TRUAX DATES
And also from that very same file, the rather good and gloriously quirky Thomas Truax is playing some more UK dates this week. Alas I missed his London date last night, what being in Bestival mode and all, but if you're outside of the M25 do try and take in which ever of these is most local:
13 Sep: Nottingham, The Social
14 Sep: Leicester, the Sumo
15 Sep: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
20 Sep: Hull, Adelphi
21 Sep: Newcastle, Cumberland Arms
22 Sep: Barnsley, Lucrocum
23 Sep: Sheffield, Grapes
24 Sep: Stockton, The Waiting Room
26 Sep: Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire
28 Sep: Aberdeen, MUSA
1 Oct: Exeter, Cavern Club
4 Oct: Oxford, Port Mahon
5 Oct: Bath, Moles Club
6 Oct: Cardiff, Club Ifor Bach
9 Oct: Cheltenham Literature Festival
10 Oct: Bristol, Thekla
13 Oct: Winchester, The Railway (tbc)
14 Oct: Bournemouth, Gander
15 Oct: Southampton, Unit 22
Press info from [email protected]
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BRIAN WILSON TO PERFORM PET SOUNDS IN LONDON ONE LAST TIME
Following the news that Brian Wilson will mark the 40th anniversary of 'Pet Sounds' with a live performance of the album in LA, it was confirmed last week that the former Beach Boy will also perform the legendary long player in full at a special one off concert in London, at the Adelphi Theatre on 12 Nov. The rather pricey tickets went on sale on Friday though, and I'm pretty sure they're all gone, which isn't surprising - especially as Wilson says this will be the last time he performs the album in this way in the UK ever.
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DUTCH PRIEST CHARGED OVER MADONNA BOMB THREAT
Prosecutors in Holland have told reporters that a 63 year old priest has confessed to phoning in a fake bomb threat to the Amsterdam venue that hosted two Madonna concerts earlier this month. The priest hoped his bomb threat would cause the concert to be cancelled, and therefore prevent the singer from performing that controversial sequence in which she appears on stage on a crucifix. However, the call was immediately traced to the priest's home and identified as a hoax, so the two concerts went ahead.
The routine has, of course, caused protests from religious groups all over the world although none of the them have so far managed to stop the concert going ahead, or had any real impact on Madonna's ticket sales. Both Amsterdam dates went ahead as planned despite the priest's bomb threat and a handful of protestors standing outside the concert.
Prosecutors confirmed on Friday that the priest had been identified and arrested soon after he made the hoax call, and added that while making bomb threats was quite a serious offence, prosecutors would seek a community service punishment for the priest as it was most likely to be a first offence. Their spokesman, Robert Meulenbroek, told reporters: "He was hoping to stop her from performing her famous 'crucifixion' act. We take bomb threats seriously, but in this case it was clear very quickly that it was not real".
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ARTS BODY LAUNCHES MUSICAL INSTRUMENT LOAN PROGRAMME
The South East bit of the good old Arts Council has announced a new scheme aiming to help musicians get access to new musical instruments.
The scheme, called 'Take It Away', is offering musicians interest free loans of between £100 and £2000 to buy instruments from participating retailers. Musicians will then have ten months to pay back their loan. The aim is to inspire more people of all ages to take up playing an instrument, whatever kind of music they are passionate about.
Announcing the scheme, Felicity Harvest, Executive Director for Arts Council England, South East, told reporters: "The Arts Council is committed to encouraging more people to take part in the arts. I think Take It Away is brilliant for anyone considering buying their own instrument and, as a mother of a teenage daughter who loves music, I can certainly appreciate its practical benefits too."
The scheme is supported by the UK's Music Industries Association, who, as previously reported, published research recently that said that 15.5 million people in the UK do not currently play a music instrument but aspire to do so.
More info at www.artscouncil.org.uk/takeitaway, press info from [email protected]
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NOTTING HILL SIGN CITY
Independent publishing house The Notting Hill Music Group last week announced it had signed up esteemed R&B songwriter and producer Mike City, who has been behind tracks from a string of stars, including Brandy, Jamie Foxx, Yolanda Adams and Usher. The exclusive worldwide deal will see Notting Hill representing and working City's entire songwriting catalogue. The new publishing deal follows the launch of City's own imprint label via Universal through which he will release his own music, as well as working with new artists, like his first signing Carl Thomas.
On the new publishing deal, Notting Hill Music president Peter Chalcraft told CMU: "This is a huge coup for us, we are delighted to have finally inked the deal. Mike is a consistently successful, world class Songwriter/Producer/Artist and to attract someone of his calibre is a fantastic endorsement of The Notting Hill Music Group and illustrates further our ambition to become a major player in the global music publishing industry."
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WHIZZ KID ADD ANOTHER SENIOR EXEC
Elsewhere in appointments type news, Whizz Kid, the content development company set up by Malcolm Gerrie and Ingenious Media Active Capital (the investment outfit investing in a range of music and other content based ventures), have announced the appointment of Rachel Arnold as Controller Of Entertainment. She joins other recent recruits Lisa Chapman and Katherine Allen, who will work as MD and Exec Producer respectively.
Welcoming Arnold, whose background is mainly in TV projects, Gerrie told CMU: "I am delighted Rachel is joining the senior team at Whizz Kid. Her experience of Exec producing large, multi platform, prime time entertainment shows will be invaluable in helping us to deliver and manage this scale of projects to broadcasters both here and overseas."
Arnold herself said: "I'm thrilled to be joining Whizz Kid at a time when entertainment programming both in the UK and overseas has never been stronger. Throughout my career, I've always been passionate about delivering top quality popular entertainment to the widest audiences and I'm very excited by this new challenge and look forward to working with Malcolm and his team."
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MINNELLI GEST DIVORCE RUMBLES ON
The Liza Minnelli / David Gest divorce proceedings rumble on. As you'll remember (because I'm sure we reported on it), because a pre-nup stops Gest from getting any of Minnelli's fortune in the divorce settlement, he is instead suing for $10 million over allegations she physically abused him during their short marriage, hitting him so much and so badly that he was left with, and I quote, "virtually constant, unrelenting pain". Well, the latest word is Minnelli now says that she was in fear for her life throughout the couple's rather odd sixteen month marriage because, she says, Gest was trying to poison her. Minnelli's lawyers are expected to argue that if she did hit Gest it was only because she was afraid for her life, and therefore her actions are justified. It's all decidedly odd, but should make a great movie one day.
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WILL USES UNREQUITED ORLANDO LOVE TO INSPIRE SONG WRITING
Will Young has said that one of the inspirations that helps him write new songs is his "unrequited love" for straight actor Orlando Bloom. Young explains: "Unrequited love's wonderful. You can just sit there and wallow in it and write about it. I have huge unrequited love for Orlando Bloom. I did actually see him in a pub once and I couldn't finish my food; it was so embarrassing". I'm sure Orlando's thrilled.