FULL-TIME INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE WITH CMU Yes, come spend some time with Team CMU. Go on, you know you want to. We have 2-6 week full time internships available at our Shoreditch HQ. We are looking for students or recent grads who want to gain skills, make contacts and showcase their work in the worlds of media and music, and who are interested in helping out at the ever expanding CMU during the Summer. You'll be involved in all our various projects, and we'll tell you everything we know about this old music business. If you want to be considered for one of our internships, send your CV and a short summary of what you'd want to get our of an internship to [email protected]. JOIN THE CMU STUDENT REVIEW TEAM Open to students and aspring journalists anywhere in the UK, CMU student reviewers get to receive and review upcoming CDs, with their work published in this here CMU Daily. To apply to join this team simply click here and send your CV plus three recent music reviews you have written.
Advertise your jobs in CMU Daily for just £100 a week (five editions) - more info at www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/advertising, or email [email protected] to book.

BERTELSMANN'S SONYBMG SALE MAY BE CLOSE
Billboard has reported that the deal which will see German media conglom Bertelsmann leave the music business is nearly done.

As much previously reported, there has been growing speculation of late that Bertelsmann will sell its 50% stake in SonyBMG to its partner in the joint venture music firm, Sony Corp. The trade magazine cites "well-placed" sources as saying the latest sell-out deal is being considered by the Bertelsmann board, and a sale could be completed by the end of the month, pending regulator approval.

As expected, Bertelsmann will have to accept a lower than ideal price for their half of the major record company, thanks to that there credit crunch and the continued gloomy view of the record industry in investment circles. Insiders reckon Sony may get complete ownership of the major for as little as $1.5 billion, nearly half the amount Bertelsmann were known to be hoping to raise by selling the record company.

Elsewhere in 'Bertelsmann selling things news', the media firm has announced it has sold its mail order company Direct Group North America, which owns the BMG Music Clubs, among other things. Bertelsmann has been known to want to sell some or all of its mail order companies since the end of last year as it focuses its attention on its core broadcasting and publishing operations. US based private equity outfit Najafi Cos will take ownership of the North American Direct Group business.

Specifics of the deal are not known, though Najafi boss Jahm Najafi has said he intends to keep the current management team in place, and that they plan to hold onto the company for sometime, telling reporters: "Our mode is to acquire operating companies and to work with management teams. Exit strategies is not a variable that we analyse when we acquire companies. The way we look at a deal is for holding it for a long time".

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STUART SOBOL DIES
Veteran US artist manager Stuart Sobol, since 2004 affiliated to leading American management company The Firm, has died from complications relating to a bout of pneumonia. He was only 50. Sobol had a long career in artist management spanning more than two decades. For many years he managed artists via his own company, before merging that with The Firm in 2004. Artists he has worked with in recent years including Three Days Grace, Seether, Hoobatank, Hawthorne Heights, Emily Osment and Eve 6. He is survived by a wife and two children.

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DEATHS AT TWO MUSIC FESTIVALS THIS WEEKEND
Another busy weekend for music festivals, and lots to rave about, though sadly also some deaths to dominate the headlines. First at the Alice Cooper headlined Norway Rock Festival in the Norwegian area of Kvinesdal, where two people have died and six more have been taken to hospital, seemingly after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning from fumes being emitted from a bus they were seemingly sleeping in. The exact cause of death is yet to be confirmed, but a police spokesman told the AFP news agency: "We assume they suffocated on fumes while they were on the bus".

Meanwhile, closer to home, one man was seriously injured and another died in two unrelated incidents at T In The Park in Scotland. The latter festival-goer was found dead in his tent late Sunday morning by friends. The cause of death is not known, but police say there were no suspicious circumstances. The incident causing the other festival-goer's injuries was much more gruesome, he being the victim of a "horrific" knife attack, seemingly after he tried to break up an altercation between two other festival-goers.

Police are still investigating the attack, and said yesterday: "This has been a horrific assault on a 22-year-old man who sustained multiple stab wounds. It was a very serious incident where a camper was seriously assaulted and stabbed numerous times in the head and body. We're urgently trying to trace the males responsible and we're asking any campers or visitors to T In The Park, if they come across a blood-stained knife or similar weapon please leave it and contact any police officer or any steward right away. It's very important we do that because we still haven't found the weapon yet".

The victim was attended to by an onsite doctor, without whom police say he may have died. He was subsequently taken to a hospital in Dundee where his condition is serious but stable. Commenting on the stabbing T In The Park Event Manager Colin Rodger told the BBC: "We are upset this incident took place, but we are extremely pleased to hear the assaulted man is in a stable condition. This is a real testament to the first class response from the emergency services that isolated the incident extremely quickly and provided the very best medical care anywhere in the country".

T In The Park boss Geoff Ellis told NME he was "despondent" about the incident, adding: "Does it cast a cloud over the festival? Well, as serious as it is, it is an isolated incident, and we've had a really well-behaved festival here so far. Unfortunately, we're seeing things like this in society today, it seems to be on the rise in general. The security here is really robust - we've got a big fence around the site, for example, but it'd be foolish to say that it's impossible to get illegal things [such as knives] into the site".

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FRATELLIS TOLD NOT TO BURN THE T
Elsewhere in T In The Park news, The Fratellis have said they planned to incorporate lots of fire into their set at the Scottish music festival, but that festival bosses vetoed their plans on probably quite sensible health and safety grounds. Jon Fratelli told the Daily Star: "We had loads of things that we really wanted to do at T - most of it involving setting fire to stuff. We had this idea of having two huge flaming Fs at either side of the stage. You could light them and they could just go on fire, but we got told we couldn't do that. I wanted to set fire to Mince's drum kit as well - just throw crude lighter fuel over it and see what happens - but that got vetoed also. Guys have always got a thing about fire. I don't know why - there's a lot of fun to be had with it".

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MITCH'S WARNING FOR AMY AND HER DEALERS
Amy Winehouse's always optimistic father Mitch has said his daughter will have a "long, slow, painful death" if she doesn't kick the drugs once and for all. As we all know, Amy likes her drink and drugs lifestyle nearly as much as Mitch likes talking to the tabloids about it, and recent attempts to lead a more healthy life have seemingly not been overly successful, despite various bouts of ill health along the way. Following on from recent tests as to whether the songstress was suffering from emphysema, Mithc told the papers last week: "She will die. But it won't be from a drugs overdose. She will die from emphysema. That will be the most likely scenario if she doesn't check her behaviour. We are talking about a long, slow, painful death - gasping for air. I would like all the people who would give her illegal substances to think about that".

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BABYSHAMBLES SLIPPING TOWARDS THE RED
It wasn't that long ago that Pete Doherty was telling us that he didn't have any money. Well, now it's official. According to accounts submitted to Companies House, Doherty's company (yes, he is a company director) French Dog Blues only made £3,500 in the last year. However, Pete owes his driver £4,000. So, that's that gone. Babyshambles Ltd lost £8,000, but is owed £24,000 from the band's recent touring activity. It would be more, but they forfeited a £65,000 fee for playing a Belgian festival when Doherty failed to show up because one of his cats had given birth.

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VAN HALEN MAN DENIES NUT DRIVE TERROR
Van Halen's Dave Lee Roth has denied reports that he suffered a nut allergy while driving in Ontario in May. As previously reported, it was claimed that police officers pulled the singer over for speeding and discovered he was suffering an allergic reaction. However, Van Halen, complete with Roth, were playing a gig in Madison Square Garden the night the incident happened.

So, now the questions remains, who exactly was it? Both the police officers who stopped the car in question admit that they had no idea who Roth was and wouldn't have recognised him, even if it was the rockstar. Constable Larry Plummer said: "The guys didn't put a report in til later in the week and someone else in the office spotted the name and went, 'Hey!'".

Whoever the nut-allergic speeder was, he seems to have fooled a lot of people. Reports claim that, after he had recovered, he partied with a couple of nurses from Brantford General Hospital, where he had been taken, and that they were under the impression he was, in deed, Mr Roth. As were the drinkers at local bar the Liquid Lounge. The bar's owner Cheri Walsh said: "Was it really him? It seemed to be him and when I asked him, 'Are you David Lee Roth', he said, 'Yes', but there've been a million discussions in here since. We talked for about an hour and he told me all about the peanut allergy and hospital visit". The man apparently even got up and performed a Roth song, 'Ice Cream Man', with the band in the bar.

Constable Plummer concluded: "As soon as somebody wonders if it could be an impostor, everyone starts guessing. The main thing is, whoever he was, he was definitely very much in distress and our guys did an awesome job getting him help".

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CSS REVEAL REASONS FOR BASSIST SPLIT
CSS have revealed the reasons behind the departure of bassist Ira Trevisan earlier this year. Although Trevisan said at the time that she was concerned about her contribution to global warming by touring the world, the band's Adriano Cintra told the NME: "She wasn't interested in playing the bass. She was a terrible bass player and when we all went back to Brazil to start rehearsing the new songs to record, Ana [Rezende, guitarist] went to have piano lessons, but Ira, she went taking French lessons. I was like, 'Oh my god, why are you learning French? And not having bass classes?' - especially when everyone else is trying to improve, and there's just somebody holding you back. And so eventually she went, 'Oh, you know, I don't want to make no drama but I'm going to leave the band'".

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FUTURE OF THE WHO IN DOUBT
Having failed to die before they got old, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are now considering f-f-f-fading away (I'm sorry, I promise never to write anything like that again ... well, not today), following tours of the US and Japan this year. Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Daltrey said: "I think we've done enough already. It would be great to have something new, but it doesn't really matter. No one plays our music better than us. By the end of this year, after we've done this short stint and got Japan under our belts, we'll have a rethink". However, he added: "I would like to do 'Quadrophenia' again. I think that tour was way ahead of its time when we did it back in 1996".

Earlier this year, Pete Townshend said in an interview for The Who's fanclub: "I am no longer a member of a band called The Who. I am Pete Townshend. I used to be in a band called The Who. It does not exist today except in your dreams. I am a songwriter and guitarist who - if I create the right setting - can walk on to a stage with my old buddy Roger Daltrey and evoke the old magic of the Who in the dreams of the audience. It never becomes the Who in my dreams. I'm so sorry, it never happens for me. What remains is the music. John [Entwistle]'s death somehow made that clear to me. We can best honour that old music by gathering great musicians around us. We two can evoke the old Who atmosphere - but by that very act also evoke the enormous vacuum left by Keith [Moon] and John. It is a compromise".

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THE WHO HONOURED BY VH1
Despite the doom and gloom, The Who have been honoured at the VH1 Rock Honours in the US, an annual event designed to celebrate rock legends, this year just The Who. Various bands, including The Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters, Incubus, Tenacious D and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder were in attendance, and each performed a Who classic as part of the celebrations. I wonder if anyone had told any of them that Daltrey reckons "no one plays our music better than us". And I wonder if VH1 execs knew Sean Penn, one of the celebrities introducing the covers, was going to say "we're all here tonight because The Who never did sell out, unlike certain music channels".

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THE FACES TO REUNITE
Talking of old timers, it is looking more and more likely that that previously rumoured Faces reunion, including Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, may happen next year. A tour is looking increasingly likely and there may also be the possibility of a new album, which all sounds like a terrible idea if you ask me. Then again, I think all reunions are a bad idea, so maybe you shouldn't ask me about it.

Keyboard player Ian McLagan told BBC 6music: "I've wanted to [reform] for years and so has Woody and Kenny. Rod is now interested it seems and I'm real pleased about that, and he's serious about it. I mean we're trying to get it together, it's just a question of schedules. We're hoping to get together later this year to play and then we may have some news, but I want it to happen, badly. Rod hasn't wanted to do it for a long time. He didn't see the need in it but I think he really wants to now, I think he wants to rock out. I think it'd be great, great for everybody. It would be great to record new tracks. I have a couple of songs that Rod might like. We'd have to see - I think that would be the way to go, though, not just to go out on tour. It'd be great to have an album".

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RONNIE WOOD SHACKS UP WITH RUSSIAN TEENAGER
Speaking of Ronnie Wood, an eighteen year old Russian cocktail waitress has told The Sun that the Rolling Stones guitarist has left his wife for her and that they've run away to Ireland together. Ekaterina Ivanov apparently met Wood in a bar earlier this year after the premiere of Martin Scorcese-directing Rolling Stones documentary 'Shine A Light'.

However, Wood's wife refutes the claims, saying that the pair have just gone on a painting holiday together. She said: "I was quite all right that she was hanging around with him. They have been staying in Ireland and Ronnie's art man was with them. Ronnie told me she was staying there and I said, 'OK - get on with it and have a drink, go mad. Drink your guts up'".

Actually, if you were wondering if there was just a teeny bit of venom in that last sentence, Mrs Wood continued: "She is mad - she is a terrible alcoholic. I know her - she's been here. She's a friend and he's a guy - I'm going to call her now. And I'm gonna go and call him now and tell him what she's said. He's drinking heavily - maybe two bottles of vodka a day". So, er, yeah.

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GEORGE MARTIN GETS GRAMMY FOUNDATION AWARD
More celebrating old timers, and Beatles producer George Martin was celebrated at a concert at the University Of Southern California last week where Burt Bacharach, guitarist Jeff Beck and singer Tom Jones were among the artists who performed songs made famous by the legendary producer. All the celebrating came about because Martin was being presented with the Grammy Foundation Leadership Award, in recognition of his humanitarian and charitable efforts. The widows of both John Lennon and George Harrison, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, of course, were in attendance, though the two surviving Beatles were not - not that Martin minded. Collecting his award he said: "Yoko and Olivia are here tonight. Paul and Ringo can't be here, because they're doing their own tour. They're workaholics. I can't understand why, but they are".

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SGT PEPPER DRUM SKIN RAISES HALF MILLION
Talking of da Beatles, the bass drum skin that appears on the cover of fab four's 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' album has been sold by auctioneers Christie's for £541,250, almost four times the estimate, which only goes to show that some people have too much money.

Various other items of rock memorabilia were sold in the auction, including John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for his song 'Give Peace A Chance' (£421,250) and the glasses he wore on the cover of his 'Mind Games' single (£39,650), a recording of Jimi Hendrix's performance at the 1968 Woburn Music Festival (£48,050), a Marshall amplifier he used between 1967 and 1969 (£25,000) and a pair of his flares (£20,000), plus a guitar used by The Who's Pete Townsend in 1967 (£32,450).

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NEW OASIS TRACK REMIXED BY CHEM BROS AND PUT ONLINE?
What bloggers seem convinced is a Chemical Brothers remix of a new Oasis song is doing the rounds on the net, and has been posted on YouTube by a member of the bringitondown.net Oasis fan community at the link below. Whoopee. Not sure if it's real, or another old Oasis demo being touted as new material from upcoming new long player 'Dig Out Your Soul'. There was chatter on the net that an un-remixed version of this very track would be played on a Canadian radio station this weekend, but not having listened to much Canadian radio this weekend I can't confirm or deny that.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsgPIc9BHBY

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SINGLE REVIEW: Primal Scream - Can't Go Back (B-unique)
Oh, the pains of being in Primal Scream. One minute they're penning trippy dance songs about Nazis and Swastikas, the next minute they've written a country-themed tune about moral redemption. Now, according to Mr Gillespie himself, the band are going down a pop rock route with latest album 'Beautiful Future' - and first single 'Can't Go Back' certainly supports that claim. The track takes the driving force of 'Country Girl' to power its riffs and gives it the darker, harder sound of 'Miss Lucifer' while staying well within the mainstream pop-rock structure of verse-chorus-verse. Gillespie leaves all political, controversial and overly moral lyrical tones in the past, playing it straight with lyrics about a sexy girl and, erm, his inability to go back. With its catchy charm, simple structure and wooing harmonies, 'Can't Go Back' is a fine song, even without soaring to Primal Scream's usual level of genre-hopping brilliance. RL
Release Date: 14 Jul
Press Contacts: B-unique IH [all]

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T-MOBILE TRANSMISSION RETURNS
Channel 4's 'T-Mobile Transmission' show returns next week for its fourth series. Joining presenters Lauren Laverne and Steve Jones at the show's new home, The Ram Brewery in Wandsworth, on the 25 Jul will be The Ting Tings, The Kooks, Roots Manuva and Santogold, with the latter pair performing an exclusive version of Santogold's 'Shove It'.

The show will air at midnight every Friday for nine weeks, with a condensed repeat on T4 every Saturday morning. For this series, the show is also offering exclusive performances and backstage gubbins via its Bebo profile: www.bebo.com/tmobiletransmission

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ROOTS MANUVA ANNOUNCES UK TOUR
Speaking of Roots Manuva (we were, two stories ago), he'll be heading out on a fifteen date UK tour in October to promote his new album 'Slime & Reason'. Apparently, the shows will focus more on electronics, dub and crashing beats than the live band sound he employed last time out.

7 Oct: Gateshead, The Sage 2
8 Oct: Edinburgh, Liquid Room
9 Oct: Glasgow, Arches
11 Oct: Manchester, Warehouse
12 Oct: Nottingham, Rock City
13 Oct: Coventry, Casbar
15 Oct: Preston, Club 53
16 Oct: Sheffield, Plug
17 Oct: Birmingham, Academy 2
18 Oct: London, Shepherds Bush Empire
21 Oct: Brighton, Concorde
22 Oct: Cambridge, The Junction
23 Oct: Bristol, Anson Rooms
24 Oct: Exeter, Lemon Grove
25 Oct: Plymouth University

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N*E*R*D CONFIRM UK SHOWS
Pharrell Williams' N*E*R*D have confirmed three UK shows next month to promote the band's new album 'Seeing Sounds'.

The dates are:
18 Aug: Sheffield Academy
19 Aug: Birmingham Academy
20 Aug: Manchester Academy

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KIDZAPALOOZA POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT YEAR
Perry Farrell's rock festival for children Kidzapalooza, which was due to debut as a standalone festival (rather than a section of the Lollapalooza festival) at the Hollywood Bowl this September, has been postponed until next year.

A statement on the festival's website reads: "Due to artist scheduling conflicts, Kidzapalooza at the Hollywood Bowl, originally scheduled for September 28th, 2008, will be postponed to Summer 2009. The new date will be included in the Hollywood Bowl 2009 season announcement to be issued early next year".

Kidzapalooza will still run as part of the Lollapalooza festival at Chicago's Grant Park between 1-3 Aug.

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WILL GUITAR HERO OWNERS LAUNCH ITUNES RIVAL?
There was speculation this weekend that the company behind popular 'pretend-to-play-the-guitar' game 'Guitar Hero' may launch a download platform to take on iTunes. As I understand it, said download platform would sell both play-along tracks for use on the game and actual recordings by artists featured or referenced by the game, and would look to gain competitive advantage by combining the game-playing and music-downloading experiences. Or something like that.

Actually, all of this seems to be based around a throwaway remark made by the boss of games publisher Activision, Bobby Kotick, in an interview with the Financial Times. Kotick told the FT: "I don't think there have been a lot of credible alternatives to iTunes, but 'Guitar Hero' certainly has that potential".

Conspiracy theorists note that Activision - who have worked with iTunes on download spin-offs from the 'Guitar Hero' franchise in the past - is suddenly in a good position to launch its own rival download store following the completion last week of the merger between it and the gaming division of Vivendi. Activision Blizzard, as it is now known, is 52% owned by Vivendi who, of course, also own the Universal Music Group, the biggest music company on the planet, and a company whose top execs are known to like any digital music venture that could crack iTunes dominance in that sector.

Whether any of this means Activision is actively considering or developing a download store isn't clear. Other commentators note Activision's previously reported talks with the other Apple - Beatles company Apple Corps - regarding releasing a Beatles version of 'Guitar Hero'. Following the aforementioned merger, Activision are sitting on a large pile of cash, which might come in handy in securing a Beatles deal. A deal with the Fab Four involving a special edition of 'Guitar Hero' and a download package would be a real coup for Activision - given both the makers of rival game 'Rock Band' and Apple iTunes are known to want to do a Beatles deal for themselves.

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MCFLY USE ABSOLUTE TO MARKET THEIR DELUXE STUFF
McFly have signed a deal with Absolute, the company who provide independent labels and artists with the kind of marketing and distribution services that are normally provided by major record companies. The deal follows the band's previously reported decision to go it alone after reaching the conclusion of their record deal with Universal Music's Island Records - all future releases will be relased by the band's own label Super Records.

As also previously reported, McFly's new album 'Radio:ACTIVE' will be released as a cover-mount on the Mail On Sunday next weekend, but there are plans to release a 'deluxe' version of said album in September complete with extra tracks, a DVD and a 32 page booklet. Absolute will lead the marketing and distribution on that release - albeit outsourcing the actual distribution to Arvato, who should know a thing or two about distributing McFly albums, most of the staff their having come from Universal Music after the Bertelsmann owned logistics firm took over the major record company's distribution operations.

Confirming their involvement in the pop band's first big self-release project, Absolute director Simon Wills told reporters: "We're delighted that the McFly team decided to come to us with their first album on their own label. Their approach is highly refreshing and they believe in always challenging the norm. This makes the band a great fit with the Absolute model, and with our approach to creating and delivering campaigns that are outside the norm".

The first single from the new McFly album, 'One For The Radio', is out right now, today, hurrah! You can preview it on that MySpace whatnot - www.myspace.com/mcfly

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ORANGE IPTV SERVICE STILL IN THE PIPELINE
Orange has said it will launch an IPTV service later this year. The net provider and mobile firm has been known to be developing some kind of over-the-internet TV service for the UK market for a while now, to mirror its existing TV service in France, however everything had gone quiet of late regarding the plans. But a spokesman for the company has told Revolution that their IPTV plans are on target, and that it hopes to launch the service later this year.

Talking of web TV services, have you seen this new web video thing led by Tim Lovejoy, previously of Xfm and Soccer AM? Called Channel Bee, it launched earlier this month, it aims to offer a mix of music, sport and comedy, with much of its content at the moment revolving around recordings of last week's Somerset House gigs in London. I have to say the quality of the live gig recordings isn't brilliant, but I do like Lovejoy's pointing at content on the home page bit when you first get to the site. It's online at www.channelbee.com.

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UKTV REBRANDS CONFIRMED
UKTV has announced more details about its previously reported channel rebrands, which follow the successful relaunch of what was UKTV Gold 2 as the panel-show-heavy lad-telly-channel Dave.

UKTV Gold will be relaunched as 'Gold' and will become a channel dedicated to just classic British comedy, while UKTV Gold +1 will become a separate entertainment channel called Watch, which will include a number of brand new programmes - including that previously reported new show from Richard & Judy - plus repeats of newish BBC dramas like 'Torchwood', 'Mistresses' and 'Lark Rise To Candleford'. UKTV Drama, meanwhile, will rebrand as Albi and become a channel dedicated to detective dramas.

Confirming the rebrands, UKTV's Director Of Entertainment Christian Drobnyk told reporters: "With its innovative marketing and strong schedule, Dave became, almost overnight, a top ten channel in multi channel homes; a success that cannot be attributed solely to Freeview as Dave grew by 56% in Pay TV. This success can be replicated across the network with Watch, Gold and Alibi and enables us to exploit the potential of our real estate".

UKTV, of course, is a joint venture between Virgin Media and the commercial division of the BBC, hence its access to a whole assortment of BBC archive shows.

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UKRD EXPECTED TO HAND BACK A SECOND FM LICENCE
Independent radio company UKRD will reportedly hand back one of its FM licences to media regulator OfCom, the second time it's done such a thing, which was previously unheard of. When closing down its local radio service in Stroud in 2006, it said it was handing the licence back to OfCom, rather than trying to sell it, in protest, because they said OfCom rules were making it impossible for smaller independent radio stations to compete. Whether the reported handing back of the licence for the Cambridgeshire based Fen Radio station is also part of a protest I'm not sure.

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Fighting Cocks - Music For Lapdancers (FGZ Records)
There are no bands like The Fighting Cocks. Or maybe there are, and there's actually a huge Gypsy-electro scene I'm missing out on. But even then, I'm pretty sure The Fighting Cocks would stand alone. Their eclectic, or even eccentric, collection of samples means they have most genres covered, from bangra to industrial metal. Add to that a pop group line-up, some jagged guitars, half-shouted vocals and a bit of very Essex rapping and you're in for a treat. In fact, it's surprising how much charm a band whose motto is "if it's too loud, you're a cunt" can muster. But back to those samples. Officially there are only three samples on 'Music For Lapdancers'; two from Atari Teenage Riot and one from a song by MJ Hibbett & The Validators. In reality, the band have been plundering hard and have come up with stacks of beats, surf rock, classical music and Bollywood tunes to throw into the mix. It's a little reminiscent of Culturcide (who flouted piracy laws in the 80s by releasing other bands' hit singles with their own vocals over the top), which is quite fitting for a band who at one time claimed to have come up with the idea of converting CD audio into MPEG format. All of this is doing little to tell you what The Fighting Cocks actually sound like, though. Well, I might have to leave you hanging, there. I could offer names like Gogol Bordello, Girls Aloud, Public Enemy and Asian Dub Foundation, but what help would that be? None at all.
Release Date: 21 Jul
Press Contact: Work Hard PR [All]

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CHART UPDATE
No stopping that Dizzee Rascal who remains atop the good old singles chart this week with 'Dance Wiv Me'. Hurrah. Basshunter move up one spot to number two with 'All I Ever Wanted' while Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown move up one spot to number three with 'No Air'. Kid Rock appears at number 6 with 'All Summer Long', up from just outside the Top 40 last week for reasons I'm not sure of - I'm pretty sure this single was released a few weeks ago.

New entries on the singles chart are few again, but appear at 25 with The Kooks and 'Shine On', then with Sharleen Spiteri and 'All The Times I Cried' at 26 and with the Last Shadow Puppets with 'Standing Next To Me' at 30.

Albums wise, Coldplay, Duffy and Chris Brown still fill the Top 3, while the highest new entry comes from Black Kids with 'Partie Traumatic' at 5. New entries are few and far between on the albums chart too, with Beck's 'Modern Guilt' at 9 the only real one. There are two Abba related re-entries aided by the release of the movie version of 'Mamma Mia' of course. One is the soundtrack to the musical, at 35, though that's the original stage recording and not the official soundtrack that goes with the film I reckon, so a re-entry rather than a new entry.

The chart comes from the Official Chart Company - www.theofficialcharts.com

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TOTAL ROCK WORLD ALBUM CHART
It's the Total Rock World Album Chart, as counted down on Total Rock over the weekend - www.totalrock.com. New entries and re-entries marked with a *.

1. Disturbed - Indestructible (Reprise)
2. The Offspring - Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace (SonyBMG)
3. Judas Priest - Nostradamus (SonyBMG)
4. Kid Rock - Rock - N Roll Jesus (Warner/Atlantic)
5. Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight (Warner Bros)
6. Nickelback - All The Right Reasons (Warner/Roadrunner)
7. Opeth - Watershed (Warner/Roadrunner)
8. Motley Crue - Saints Of Los Angeles (Motley Records)*
9. Guns n Roses - Greatest Hits (Universal/Geffen)
10. Iron Maiden - Somewhere Back In Time (EMI)
11. Led Zeppelin - Mothership (Warner/Atlantic)
12. Foo Fighters - Echoes Silence Patience & Grace (Roswell)
13. Whitesnake - Good To Be Bad (SPV)
14. Daughtry - Daughtry (SonyBMG)
15. Journey - Revelation (Frontiers)
16. The Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden (Universal)
17. Bon Jovi - Lost Highway (Universal/Mercury)
18. Simple Plan - Simple Plan (Warner/Atlantic)
19. Journey - Greatest Hits (SonyBMG)
20. Testament - The Formation Of Damnation (Nuclear Blast)

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MP LOSES HIS CHEEKY GIRL
Cheeky Girl Gabriela Irimia has split from her Lib Dem MP boyfriend Lembit Opik, possibly because of "heated rows" the couple have reportedly participated in recently. According to the News Of The World, Irimia is now refusing to speak to Opik, with one of those sources telling the tab: "Gabby is very stressed and just wants to be on her own. She is very unhappy and has been crying a lot. It's just got too much lately".

An insider, meanwhile, said the couple's increasingly stormy relationship came to a head when both Cheeky Girls played at a gala dinner in London recently. Irimia apparently got pissed off when Opik wouldn't shut up and let her go get ready to perform. Said insider says: "Lembit was going on and on, dominating the conversation like he normally does and was delaying Gabriela, who wanted to get ready to sing with Monica. She was going to be late on stage and decided she'd had enough. She stormed off, did the gig and refused to speak with Lembit at the end or leave with him. Lembit has been frantically texting her but she doesn't want to see him or talk to him. He even turned up at the twins' home in Rye last week but Gabby refused to see him".

Seemingly confirming the split, the tabloid quote Irimia's mother Margit as saying: "Gabriela is upset but is refusing to talk about Lembit".

Assuming these stories are true, it means the end for what was surely the rising power couple of British politics. You saw the Cheeky Girls' turn as commentators on BBC late night political comment show 'This Week' last Thursday right? You should go watch it on the iPlayer, just to see a slightly patronising Diane Abbot quip: "I just want to hear what the Cheeky Girls think about the economy ... what do you think Gordon Brown should do about the economy?"

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COURTNEY LOVE GETS ANGRY AT BILLY CORGAN
Courtney Love has written an angry post on her blog lambasting Billy Corgan for making her daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, cry after he refused to play at her sixteenth birthday party. But it's okay now, because My Chemical Romance are doing it instead. Well, I think that's what she meant. What she actually wrote was this:

"corgan im at work and too tired to find you or geta number you havent sent me out of whatever misguided shame thing your going through thats a private comnversation however YOU DO NOT MAKE CHILDREN CRY. GEARRD WAY WHO WOULD DO IT IN FIVE SECONDS AND HAS EVEN ASKED AND BEGGED EVEN FOR HIS BANDMATE TO NOT HAVE HIS HONEY MOON THAT TIME MADE SURE TO PROMISE TO BE THERE A SWEET SIXTEEN IS A BIG EVENT I THINK SHE L;OOKED UPON YOU AS FAMILY , I KNOW SHE DID AS TRUSTWORTHY AND WISE AND YOU CANT LAY THAT BIG MAN SHIT ON A CHIDL OF 9 AND OF FORTY -MY CHLILD SOBBING DUE TO YOU IS UNACCEPTABLE, I HATE STATIBNG THIS ON SOME RANDOM PUBLIC FORUM BUT THE LINE IS THE KID MAN, THE LINE IS THE KID, AND SHE DOESNT GET TO SHED TEARS OVER YOU, HER FAMILY ALREADY HAS DONE THAT DO FROPM NOW ON AND TRUST ME SHE WONT EVER CALL YOU AGAIN, YOU CAN SPEAK TO ME IF SPEAKMING TO MY FAMILY AND ILL PASS IT ON. WICH WONT HAPPEN EITHER DUE TO THIS ABSURD SHAME YOUR HAVING I WAS AND WONT EVER SAY ANYTHING OF NEGETAIVE CONTENT PUBLIICALLY ABOUT YOU - BUT YOU MAKE MY 14 YEAR OLD CHILD SOB ON PURPOSE, THATS ENOUGH OF YOU,. YOUYR THE LAST MAN ON THE ISLAND YET YOU DOBNT UNDERSTAND HOW COME THEYRE ALL SO ALIENATING. HUBRIS MY DEAR HUBRIS ON A LEVEL IVE NEVER KNOWN THE FRENZY OF RENOWN YOU MISS SO TERRIBLY JUST ADMIT IT ACCEPT IT AND LET IT GO IN THEMEANTIME DONT MAKE MY KID OR ANYONES KID CRY AGAIN I THINK MY CHEM ARE DOI NG IT ANYWAY FRANCES BEANS SWEET SISXTEENS IS BLOODY IMPORTANT TO HER AND TO ME. COURT".

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COUNTRY STAR APPRENTICE NOT IMPRESSED WITH BACKSTREET RIDER
Well, this is fun. US TV recently aired a celebrity version of 'The Apprentice', the final of which including platinum selling American country star Trace Adkins having to organise a charity auction. The band booked to play were those popular has-beens the Backstreet Boys. See what Adkins thought about them and their rider requests with this YouTube clip.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqeKv9kLuKI

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