| CMU Daily - on the inside Wednesday 20th December |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Ono chauffeur charged with grand larceny
- SonyBMG settle with Texas and California over Rootkit
- RIAA dismiss Santangelo case, likely to pursue her kids instead
- Power gets CBE
- Eminem and Kim divorce completed
- Mike Dickin dies
- Timberlake fans offered chance of Grammy appearance
- Bright Eyes album
- !!! confirm album
- Grinderman album release date, limited edition single
- Kaiser Chiefs new single
- Noisettes mini-album
- Good Charlotte album news
- Yorke on those new songs
- Arctic Monkeys album
- Kubichek confirm album stuff
- Free Cortney Tidwell remix
- The Frames, album, tour
- Muse to tour with MCR
- Chinese P2P fined for copyright violations
- More Live Nation acquisitions
- OnesToWatch launch on YouTube
- Kiss FM MD stands down
- Zane returns to Xfm
- This time it's Joseph
- This isn't news
- Sponsors distance themselves from Control Room ad campaign
- Wham! reunion narrowly missed
- Paul McCartney doesn't know who Jason Donovan is
- Anderson covers Aguilera
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IT'S THE END OF THE YEAR AS WE KNOW IT>>
VOTE FOR THE CMU TRACK OF THE YEAR - FINAL 10
Now, I'm not saying Misty's people have been out there canvassing votes - what I'm saying is that Misty's people have been out there canvassing votes. And why not? A barrage of votes for the wonderful 'Fashion Parade' means it is now second in our Track Of The Year poll (and I think a load more votes came in over night for that track which haven't even been counted yet). But if that's not your favourite from our final ten, then you need to get voting right now. Here are the ten final nominations for Track Of The Year, in order of votes received so far, most popular first.
Simian v Justice - We Are Your Friends
Misty's Big Adventure - Fashion Parade
Nelly Furtado - Maneater
Jarvis Cocker - Running The World
Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
Amy Winehouse - Rehab
Hafdis Huld - Tomoko
Jim Noir - Eanie Meanie
The Rapture - Get Myself Into It
But it is still all quite close, your vote really could make a difference. No, really. So, if you haven't voted already, then do so now, just put the artist you'd like to vote for in a subject line and email it to [email protected] You can vote until Thursday at 3pm. We'll then add up everyone's votes and publish the overall winners in our Review Of The Year edition on Friday.
FAVOURITE ALBUM OF 2006 #9: Akira The Don - When We Were Young (Something In Construction)
I can say for certain that I first came across Akira The Don via Mr Eddy Temple Morris, who played the brilliant single 'Clones' on his Xfm radio show aeons ago. From there I stumbled on the now somewhat legendary Akira The Don website, where I would regularly access his always good mixes, often spot on rantings and occasional bootlegs, while keeping an eye (well, ear really) on the slowly growing catalogue of original Akira tracks. With talk of a deal with US mainstream hip hop giants Interscope around about this time last year, I started to get rather excited about the prospect of a full length Akira The Don album, and a major label funded marketing campaign that would get Akira's brand of hip hop to the masses, certainly here and possibly across the Atlantic too. And with the right marketing campaign Akira should be huge, because he makes the kind of hip hop that has real mainstream potential (his tunes are always infectious, invariably dance-able, and more often than not a lot of fun), but with a lyrical attitude (and subject matter) that would ensure credibility (OK, on tracks like 'Thanks For All The AIDS' the latter might hinder the former, but in the main that's not the case). But alas, talk of a major label deal fell by the way side, though the good news was that release plans for the debut album went ahead anyway, and so we here at CMU were finally able to get our hands on the debut Akira The Don album. And boy what an album. Bringing together some of the tracks we'd sampled on the aforementioned website over the last eighteen months, but with a number of brand new tracks that are really special too, this is exactly the kind of album that the hip hop genre needs - and, to be honest, if anything the US scene more so than ours. Of course, the independent release, without a major label budget, meant that despite the mainstream potential, this album is yet to enjoy mainstream attention. That said, with the combined influence of the album, his live shows, and the aforementioned website, this is a man with a growing fan base, and a very dedicated fan base at that, so it wouldn't surprise me if the mainstream don't latch on here, eventually, through good old fashioned word of mouth rather than Universal's hip hop budget. Frankly, the mainstream are missing out until they do so. We caught up with Akira just as the album was being released a couple of months back, and if you missed the interview, check it out here and get yourself converted to the Don of UK hip hop.
Read our interview with Akira The Don at:
http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk/albumsoftheyear
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CLASSIFIEDS>>
INTERESTED IN SELLING YOUR RECORD LABEL?
Music Gain is acquiring record labels and catalogue. If you are thinking of selling, or are interested in a long term capital partner, please contact us. Introduction and spotters fees also paid. Please visit us - http://www.musicgain.com
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ADVERTISE YOUR SERVICES & 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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MYSPACE OF THE DAY: PETER AND THE WOLF
I think it's because I have a seemingly permanent headache at the moment (and don't come to the conclusion that it's because I've been attending too many drunken Christmas parties, because that would be unfair, and wrong) that I am tending to listen to quiet, understated, folky music most of the time. Well, that and all my Christmas compilation CDs. It is the season, after all. Anyway, Peter And The Wolf are the purveyors of more of that understated folk pop stuff, beautifully melodic and calming. Now's a good time to make friends with these chaps because they've just released a six track EP, 'Storyteller' via Skinny Dog, the label set up by Elbow's Guy Garvey and I Am Kloot's Peter Jobson, and it's had a great critical response. I haven't heard the full EP (I'd like to) but you can preview three of the tracks from it here on the MySpace page. So why don't you?
http://www.myspace.com/peterandthewolfmusic
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ONO CHAUFFEUR CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY
That chauffeur who is accused of trying to extort $2 million out of Yoko Ono has been charged with first-degree attempted grand larceny (which is a grand sounding charge, if ever I heard one) and has been jailed without bail because the judge hearing the case reckons he might run off if he was allowed out pending trial, most likely to home country Turkey. And immigration officials had requested he be detained anyway, because there are allegations he is in the US illegally.
As previously reported, Koral Karson denies the charges against him, which include allegations he threatened to release recordings of private conversations with, and revealing photos of Ono if she didn't pay him $2 million. It is also alleged Karson said that he had people "on standby to kill" Yoko if she didn't meet his demands.
On the allegations that Karson is an illegal immigrant, his defence attorney, Robert Gottlieb, said yesterday that his client entered the country legally in 1992 on a work visa, that he had "worked non-stop since then to get a green card" in order to secure permanent residence, but that it had transpired that the immigration lawyer he had hired was a fraud, and that that lawyer had subsequently died, meaning there was some confusion as to Karson's current immigration status.
It is not clear how soon the criminal case against Ono's former driver will now come to court.
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SONYBMG SETTLE WITH TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA OVER ROOTKIT
Can you believe we're still reporting on the old rootkit debacle? The latest bit of news relating to the dodgy DRM that SonyBMG installed on a string of North American CD releases is that the major has settled with two US states in legal action pursued against them by those states' Attorney Generals.
Texas was the state that took the most proactive interest in the major record company's use of the rootkit technology, which was designed to stop people from ripping and sharing music from the CDs on which it was installed. As previously reported at length, the technology proved controversial because it automatically installed itself on users' computers, then made those machines more susceptible to virus attack, and was then more or less impossible to de-install until the major subsequently released an extra bit of 'de-install' software (which they only did after the shit hit the fan in PR and legal terms).
Although SonyBMG quite quickly realised that they'd fucked up big time in using the dodgy technology, and then instigated measures to compensate those customers affected by it, legal action was launched against them, both by individual customers and, in Texas, by the State, on the grounds the major had breached the duty of care it owed its customers and their PCs. The individual lawsuits quickly became a class action, therefore representing anyone who had bought one of the 'infected CDs', and that action was resolved earlier this year when the courts approved a settlement by the major that was more or less the compensation package they had already made available to affected customers.
But the litigation against them in Texas was unaffected by the resolution of the class action, and negotiations between the major and the Texas Attorney General continued until this week when the case was settled with SonyBMG agreeing to pay $750,000 in compensation, and to put any future DRM technologies used on CDs through a third party audit before releasing them in the public domain (not that SonyBMG are especially likely to use such technologies, given the PR nightmare rootkit proved to be). That settlement will enable anyone in Texas who was affected by the dodgy CDs to claim $175 in compensation to cover the cost of PC repairs, over and above any settlement they have already received from SonyBMG as a result of the aforementioned class action.
But it doesn't end there. Other States have also been investigating the rootkit affair, and with a deal having been done in Texas they will probably now seek a similar settlement within their own jurisdiction. To that end the Attorney General in California launched his own legal action against the major on Tuesday, which was resolved almost immediately in line with the settlement in Texas, and with SonyBMG handing over another $750,000.
With a dozen more States now reportedly considering taking action over the rootkit issue, SonyBMG may well be writing out a lot of $750,000 cheques in the coming months. Which should remind everyone that when IT people come along with some neat trick to help you cling on to an outdated business model, it's probably a better idea to find a new business model.
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RIAA DISMISS SANTANGELO CASE, LIKELY TO PURSUE HER KIDS INSTEAD
Talking of overly paranoid record labels doing stupid things, more on the long running litigation being pursued against one Patricia Santangelo by the Recording Industry Association Of America.
As previously reported, the RIAA has been pursuing legal action against single mum Santangelo after detecting that copyrighted music files were being shared via the internet connection in her home. It is likely, however, that any file sharing that went on was done by one of Santangelo's children or, even more likely, one of their friends. Certainly Santangelo had a good case to prove she herself was not guilty of copyright infringement - so much so she decided to reject the industry association's settlement offer and mount a defence, even though at times she couldn't afford legal representation. With a single mom single-handedly taking on all of the major record companies the case quickly became something of a David & Goliath type story, which posed a number of PR challenges for the RIAA, who secured more bad media coverage for themselves and their members. Especially given that Santangelo had a good defence case, even if file sharing had, indeed, gone on on the computer in her house.
Presumably recognising the strength of her case, the RIAA has now asked for the case against Patricia Santangelo to be dismissed, indicating that they will pursue action against her two children instead. That said, they have requested the action be dismissed "without prejudice", leaving things open for future litigation to be launched against Patricia should they wish to further inflict PR pain against themselves at some point in the future. Which they probably will. Not that suing two teenagers who already have publicly documented evidence to suggest they themselves didn't share music on their family PC (the Kazaa identity in question is similar to the identity used by one of their friends elsewhere) will be an easy ride in PR terms either.
PR nightmares like these really should remind everyone that when a lawyer comes along with some neat trick to help you cling on to an outdated business model, it's probably a better idea to find a new business model.
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POWER GETS CBE
Mean Fiddler founder Vince Power has been given one of those CBE thingimys in recognition of his services to the music industry. The award was presented by that Tessa Jowell woman yesterday.
On receiving the award, Power, who sold the Mean Fiddler venue and festival empire in 2005, said: "I am surprised and pleased to be given this honour. It's been a long road, 25 years in the music industry. I hope I will continue to contribute to the British music industry in the years to come".
Jowell added: "Mr Power has done a huge amount to raise the profile of live music in the UK. Through his work with music festivals and venues, his contribution has been fundamental in shaping the landscape of music in Britain today."
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EMINEM AND KIM DIVORCE COMPLETED
Eminem and Kim Mathers have divorced, less than a year after they married for the second time. As previously reported, the couple were first married in 1999 and first divorced in 2001, before their decision to remarry on 14 Jan this year. Eminem filed for divorce again on 5 Apr.
The rap star and his high school sweetheart agreed via private settlement on the division of property and the shared custody of their ten year old daughter Hailie. The judge in the case, Antonio Viviano, explained that the couple did very well at getting divorced, which may not come as such a surprise as they've had one practice at it already. Viviano said that they "conducted themselves with dignity and respect," adding, "all in all, they are a very fine couple to deal with."
Both parties declined to comment following the hearing.
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MIKE DICKIN DIES
Talksport phone-in host Mike Dickin has died in a road accident near his home in Cornwall, at the age of 71. The presenter, involved in a pile up on the A30 on Monday, was airlifted to hospital but subsequently pronounced dead.
Dickin, known to listeners as 'The King', due to his supposed resemblance to Henry VIII, started out as a musician in the sixties, as a singer and bass player. He began his broadcasting career at BBC Radio Oxford back in the seventies, before moving on to a stint at Australia's 2UE. Returning to the UK, he spent the next seventeen years working for the likes of Radio 4, LBC and Capital Radio. He joined Talksport, then known as Talk Radio UK, in 1996.
Known for his outspoken views, listeners dubbed Dickin 'Britain's angriest man' for his passionate take on issues such as crime, young people and transport. Paying tribute, colleague James Whale called him "the original grumpy old man", concluding: "Radio will never be the same again".
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TIMBERLAKE FANS OFFERED CHANCE OF GRAMMY APPEARANCE
Justin Timberlake is offering one fan the chance to join him on stage when he appears at next year's Grammy Awards, set to take place on 11 Feb in LA. The singer is holding the competition, which will see him perform a duet with an aspiring fan, in association with Yahoo! Music US. Contestants need to submit a minute long clip of themselves performing Grammy-winning songs a cappella. The best videos will be screened on Yahoo! Music and on CBS, and viewers will vote to find a winner. See http://music.yahoo.com/mygrammymoment for more info.
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BRIGHT EYES ALBUM
Conor Oberst has confirmed details of a new Bright Eyes album, set for release on 9 Apr next year. The new long player, 'Cassadaga', will be preceded by the release of a single 'Four Winds' on 2 Apr, and features guest appearances from M Ward, Gillian Welch and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney. Oberst says: "We're really wanting to be experimental with this one. Sort of folky and trippy and hopefully a little more cosmic."
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!!! CONFIRM ALBUM
!!! have confirmed that they will release their new album 'Myth Takes' (see what they did there?) on 6 Mar. Singer Nic Offer explains how the album evolved: "The songs are basically written four times. We write them in the practice space and then we test them on the road. Then we take them back into the studio and rewrite them before we tour them again. So they evolve."
So there you go.
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GRINDERMAN ALBUM RELEASE DATE, LIMITED EDITION SINGLE
The previously reported new project from Nick Cave, Grinderman, have confirmed that their eponymous debut album will be released on 5 Mar next year, with a limited edition 7" single and download release 'Get It On' out on 8 Jan. The download bit isn't limited by the way, it's the 7" singles that are limited. Very limited actually - there'll only be 1000. And Nick Cave himself will provide a unique vinyl etching on the b-side (which presumably means he'll scratch a picture into the vinyl) so these should be really quite collectible.
Here, band members Marty Casey, Warren Ellis, Jim Sclavunos and, of course, Cave, talk some nonsense about the single:
Ellis: "This song is sung across an excoriating mandolin loop based on an obscure lute melody from the 11th century".
Casey: "12th Century".
Cave: "It is a lament for the messianic rock n' roll hero and begins, of course, with a statement of intent."
Casey: "Mice, dogs, baboons, hyenas".
Cave: "Yeah, well, for me all the enemies of inspiration assume animal shapes, they are all around us... and of course, inside us."
Ellis: "From all the loops I originally sent you, this was the first one that really cried out to be used".
Sclavunos: "Yeah, it grinds...it ground..."
So now you know. Press info from [email protected]
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KAISER CHIEFS NEW SINGLE
Kaiser Chiefs have announced that they will release a new single, 'Ruby', on 19 Feb via CD and limited edition 7". The track will be available digitally from 12 Feb. It will be the first single release from the band's as yet untitled new album.
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NOISETTES MINI-ALBUM
Those Noisettes are releasing a special five track digital 'mini-album' on Boxing Day which will be available via iTunes for £3.99 and will feature the following: 'Don't Give Up', 'A Little Destruction', 'Count Of Monte Cristo', 'Speedhorn', and 'Mind The Gap'.
Here's what the band say about it: "As a Christmas present to you - the peeps who have waited beyond the call of duty for our album to appear (a gnarly two years!!!), here is an EP version for a super cheap price featuring three key tracks from the album plus two songs that were hotly contended to be a part of 'What's The Time Mr. Wolf'? These two tracks are very important cos they were the cause of a band punch-up when it came to deciding what made the final cut!"
The full album, 'What's The Time Mr Wolf', is due out on 5 Feb. Press info on all this from Gilotti PR.
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GOOD CHARLOTTE ALBUM NEWS
Golly, there's lots of new release news this morning. This time it's Good Charlotte, who've confirmed a release date for their fourth studio album, 'Good Morning Revival'. It'll be out on 20 Mar, preceded by the release of a single, 'The River', sometime in January.
'The River' is a collaboration with M Shadows and Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold. Good Charlotte's Joel Madden explained how it came about: "This wasn't planned, but it ended up working out. We were sitting around listening to some new music and they liked that song so we asked them to jump on. It felt right and sounded really cool."
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YORKE ON THOSE NEW SONGS
Thom Yorke has responded to reports that the two songs he performs on the previously reported new web TV show 'From The Basement' will appear on Radiohead's much anticipated new album, which is expected next year. In a statement, York says: "Oh really? Says who? They obviously know more than I do myself". Though he then talks specifically about one of the new songs he performs, 'Videotape', and very much implies the band are working on it for the album, by observing: "It [his performance of the song] doesn't sound like the version that we are working on now...Which is even better...They are sketches obviously just me on the piano. Check it oot".
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ARCTIC MONKEYS ALBUM
Yes, yet more new album news. Hang in there. Arctic Monkeys have almost finished their second album, and frontman Alex Turner has been talking to The Sun about it.
Speaking about the difference between writing the new long player and their 2006 debut, the frontman says: "With the last one everything was already written and it was just a case of recording. But with this we've been writing while we've been in the studio which I always thought would be difficult. We've also been getting more help from our producers, Mike Crossey and James Ford from Simian Mobile Disco who we'd worked with before on b-sides."
He continues: "It's definitely different — a step on, I guess. We're all better at playing us instruments. It's as simple as that really. It's a bit louder and a bit faster in places but we've still got the slow bits as well."
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KUBICHEK CONFIRM ALBUM STUFF
Yes, more. Kubichek have confirmed that their Dave Eringa produced debut album 'Not Enough Night', will be released in March next year, preceded by the release of new single 'Nightjoy' on 26 Feb. The band are on tour early next year, dates as follows:
24 Jan: Carlisle, The Brickyard
25 Jan: Barnsley Lucorum
26 Jan: Swindon Brunell Rooms
27 Jan: Coventry Colosseum
1 Feb: Kingston, The Works
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FREE CORTNEY TIDWELL REMIX
Independent label Ever are celebrating their first year of existence by making a Ewan Pearson remix of a Cortney Tidwell track available for free from this URL - go see...
http://ecards.k7-de.com/Christmas_2006/
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THE FRAMES, ALBUM, TOUR
The Frames will [a] release new album, 'The Cost', on 8 Jan and [b] play one of those gig things at the following locations on the following dates:
20 Jan: London, Scala
21 Jan: London, Scala
22 Jan: Leeds, City Varieties
24 Jan: Glasgow, Oran Mor
25 Jan: Manchester, Lowry
26 Jan: Birmingham, Glee Club
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MUSE TO TOUR WITH MCR
Muse are to support My Chemical Romance on their 18 date 2007 tour of the US, beginning in New Hampshire on 22 Feb and winding up in Nevada on 16 Mar. MCR's frontman Gerard Way has said of his band's upcoming live dates: "We're going to retain the essence of a rock show. It's not going to be like seeing 'The Wall'. It's going to bring the music and the band and the record to life. It's going to be theatrical without detracting from [the music]; it's not going to be surface over substance".
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CHINESE P2P FINED FOR COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS
A P2P network in China has been ordered to pay infringement penalties after music company Shanghai Push Sound Music & Entertainment Co sued them through the Chinese courts. According to the Interfax China News Agency, P2P company Kuro charged a monthly subscription to users who could then access music off Kuro's own servers, and off the PCs of other users. Given that the P2P is pretty organised, and that it takes subscription fees off its users, it would be quite hard for Kuro to distance itself from any copyright violation committed by any of its subscribers. That said, it has been fined just over $26,000 as a result of the legal action, which is relatively modest in the whole scheme of things. Kuro's original P2P service in Taiwan was closed down after similar litigation there - though the company is thought to be trying to establish and legit fully licenced P2P service in the country.
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MORE LIVE NATION ACQUISITIONS
Live music conglom Live Nation continues to expand, having just acquired Spain's largest concert promoter Gamerco and having agreed to buy the majority stake in Jackie Lombard Productions, a leading concert promoter in France. The latest takeovers mean Live Nation now proactively operates in seven of the top ten global music markets.
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ONESTOWATCH LAUNCH ON YOUTUBE
Levi's is launching a YouTube channel for its OnesToWatch new music initiative. The new venture will see Levi's upload footage from its various LOTW showcases to the video sharing platform. The first footage to go live there will come from the current LOTW tour, which features The Fratellis, The View, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Mystery Jets, Forward Russia and Humanzi. You can see it for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/levisonestowatch
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KISS FM MD STANDS DOWN
Kiss FM's MD, Bill Griffin, is leaving the dance station just months after leading a complete overhaul there. Griffin will leave in mid-January and will take up a new job at an as yet unnamed communications agency. He will be replaced in the short term by EMAP Radio Marketing And Communications Director Steve Parkinson, while a new fulltime replacement is sought (I could do it, I reckon I'd be great).
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ZANE RETURNS TO XFM
No, not that Zane... Alex Zane. The comedian and Popworld presenter is returning to Xfm to present the Friday breakfast show - where he will take over from Shaun Keavney who, as previously reported, has jumped ship to rival BBC 6Music.
Confirming the appointment Xfm PD Ande Macpherson said this sentence: "Firstly, Lauren thinks he's great, he's coming back to his radio home and he lives and breathes new music. We thought it was about time he got back on air."
Xfm has had a different presenter for its Friday breakfast show for sometime, a decision based on the station's "Fridays are different" strategy, of course, and nothing to do with main breakfast show presenter Lauren Laverne wanting an extra lie in once a week.
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THIS TIME IT'S JOSEPH
Well, you could see this as a move to ensure gender equality, or as a cynical bid to cash in on a popular format, but either way the BBC has announced it will again work with Andrew Lloyd Webber to stage a TV search for a new West End star, this time for a bloke able to take the lead in a West End revival of Lloyd Webber's own 'Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' (actually, I think they're looking to find several cast members this time). Which might mean another series of tedious telly, but it will also piss of everyone I know who works in the theatre (who don't approve of such tacky things as reality TV) so it's not all bad news. The new show will be called 'Any Dream Will Do' (obviously) and will, like its Sound Of Music predecessor, be presented by Graham Norton.
Confirming the new series, Lloyd Webber told reporters: "The success of 'How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?' this summer was a real boost for musical theatre in Britain and I was particularly thrilled with the reaction from schoolchildren up and down the country. I cannot wait to get them involved in Any Dream Will Do and to get back into the studio with Graham".
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THIS ISN'T NEWS
People are reporting that the debut single from X-Factor winner Leona Lewis, which goes on physical release today, is going to be the Christmas number one this weekend, though we all knew that anyway, so I don't see how that is news, so we won't report on it.
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SPONSORS DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM CONTROL ROOM AD CAMPAIGN
Microsoft and Ford cars are distancing themselves from a US-based ad campaign designed by live music streaming company Control Room which features the Pink song 'U And Ur Hand', and which includes the straplines "Don't you and your hands have better places to be" and "See the real Pink". The plan was to reportedly use the ads on a number of celeb gossip websites known for reporting on or picturing celebrities, erm, "at their barest". As far as I know the ads are yet to be released, but some people are already getting cross about the innuendo used in them, and that has led to Ford and MSN, both clients of Control Room, to publicly distance themselves from the marketing campaign. A statement from Ford said they "knew nothing about this" and that they "would never be involved in this kind of activity". MSN said that the ad campaign ran "contrary to its brand identity". Insiders say Control Room are now likely to dump the ads, such is the way things work over there in the land of the free.
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WHAM! REUNION NARROWLY MISSED
A proposed Wham! reunion set to take place at George Michael's Wembley Arena gig on Sunday supposedly did not take place because the other half of the eighties pop duo, Andrew Ridgeley, was too nervous to get up on stage.
The Sun quote a source as saying: "George had pleaded with Andrew to join him on stage to play a couple of Wham! Songs, but Andrew was so sick with nerves at the thought of appearing on stage after all these years that he backed out."
According to reports, Ridgeley attempted to launch a solo career in 1990, but I don't remember that at all. He's married to Bananarama singer Keren Woodward, too, apparently. Something else I didn't know about him.
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PAUL MCCARTNEY DOESN'T KNOW WHO JASON DONOVAN IS
Talking of George Michael's Sunday gig at Wembley Arena, Jason Donovan apparently attempted to get his picture taken with Paul McCartney when they were seated near each other when attending the event. According to the ever-reliable Sun, a source said: "Jason had asked Macca's aides if he could have a picture taken with him but they said 'No'. He did get to shake Macca's hand because they were all sitting near each other, but Paul didn't have a clue who he was."
I think McCartney should be ashamed.
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ANDERSON COVERS AGUILERA
Footage of Brett Anderson covering Christina Aguilera track 'Beautiful' at the piano has surfaced on YouTube. It's cool. Lookee here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib-KSpQese0.