AKON TOSSES FANS OFF AGAIN
Akon has been caught on camera throwing two fans off stage at a gig in Guayana, South America, punching one of them first, just days before finding he would stand trial for a similar incident last year.

As previously reported, the RnB singer previously pleaded not guilty to charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment in relation to that earlier incident. It is alledged that Akon got security guards to pick 15 year old Anthony Smith out of the audience after he allegedly threw something at the R&B star during a gig in June last year. Akon then manhandled Smith and ultimately threw him back into the crowd.

That event was caught on camera, as was this new one on 30 Aug in South America. The video shows Akon dive into the crowd and attempt to crowd surf to a podium further out into the audience. When he eventually reaches it he finds two women dancing there. They appear very excited and try to grab hold of him, at which point he appears to punch one of them in the head. The video ends there, but it's thought he may then pushed the dancing women off the podium.

Watch the video here

The singer will stand trial for the original incident on 1 Dec unless he can reach an out-of-court settlement with Smith and his family.

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STUDY FINDS LINKS BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND MUSIC TASTE
A new study of more than 36,000 people by Heriot-Watt University has found that musical tastes and personality traits are very closely linked. Amongst the findings, it was discovered that both heavy metal and classical music fans tend to be gentle and at ease with themselves.

Professor Adrian North, who conducted the research, told the BBC: "We have always suspected a link between music taste and personality. This is the first time that we've been able to look at it in real detail. No-one has ever done this on this scale before".

He added that the findings could have significant uses for marketers. He said: "If you know a person's music preference you can tell what kind of person they are, who to sell to. There are obvious implications for the music industry who are worried about declining CD sales".

He continued: "One of the most surprising things is the similarities between fans of classical music and heavy metal. They're both creative and at ease but not outgoing. The general public has held a stereotype of heavy metal fans being suicidally depressed and of being a danger to themselves and society in general. But they are quite delicate things".

There is still time to take part in the study. Just fill out the questionnaire at www.peopleintomusic.com

Here's what your taste says about you:

Blues: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing, gentle and at ease.
Jazz: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing and at ease.
Classical: High self-esteem, creative, introvert and at ease.
Rap: High self-esteem, outgoing.
Opera: High self-esteem, creative, gentle.
Country & Western: Hardworking, outgoing.
Reggae: High self-esteem, creative, not hardworking, outgoing, gentle and at ease.
Dance: Creative, outgoing, not gentle.
Indie: Low self-esteem, creative, not hard working, not gentle.
Bollywood: Creative, outgoing.
Rock/Heavy Metal: Low self-esteem, creative, not hard-working, not outgoing, gentle, at ease.
Chart pop: High self-esteem, not creative, hardworking, outgoing, gentle, not at ease.
Soul: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing, gentle, at ease.

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BRITNEY DRIVING CHARGES UPHELD, TRIAL EXPECTED
A request to have driving charges brought against Britney Spears earlier this year dropped has been denied. As previously reported, the singer was arrested in LA for driving without a valid licence after hitting a parked car and failing to stop. She was charged for failing to stop after an accident and driving without a valid licence. However, the failure to stop charges were later dropped.

Spears' lawyer argued at a hearing on Tuesday that prosecutors were pursuing the remaining charges simply because she is a celebrity. However, the judge disagreed, pointing out that she had been driving without a valid licence for 17 months, when Californian law requires drivers to submit an application for a licence within 10 days of becoming a resident of the state.

This ruling means that Britney is likely to have to stand trial in October.

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BESTIVAL ORGANISERS FEAR WINEHOUSE MIGHT TURN UP
So, it's Bestival weekend - hurrah! If you're going have a great one, I'm really jealous, I can't go this year. I'll be playing the new 'A-Z of Bestival' CD very loud all weekend instead. It's very good.

Anyway, one last bit of Bestival news, and, while just the other day the festival's organisers were getting worried that Amy Winehouse wouldn't turn up to fill her headline slot at the festival on Saturday, tabloid reports suggest that now they've seen her rider, they're worried she will, in fact, make it, and then cause lots of JD-fuelled trouble. According to The Sun, the singer has requested 48 bottles of whiskey for her and her entourage.

A source told the paper: "It's common for artists to make requests for food and beverages before they arrive. But organisers have heard Miss Winehouse has ordered in an extremely large amount of Jack Daniel's, in fact, a ridiculous amount that she and her team could not possibly consume during their short stay. Everyone is really excited about getting Amy to perform here, and naturally there are now fears she is planning something wild".

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WINEHOUSE DITCHES RONSON
More Winehouse, and according to The Mirror, Amy has completed a number of tracks for her next album, but not with Mark Ronson, who produced the bulk of her last album, 'Back To Black', and her rejected Bond theme song. She has gone back to Salaam Remi, who she worked with on her debut album, 'Frank', and four tracks on 'Back To Black'.

Her spokesman reportedly confirmed that the singer was working with Remi and said: "There has been some music written, recorded and done but details aren't forthcoming as yet".

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GENE SIMMONS SUED OVER RACING DEAL
Gene Simmons is being sued for fraud and slander. Allan Brown claims that the Kiss bassist and two business partners cut him out of a marketing deal between Simmons and the Indy Racing League which he helped to set up. He also says that they told officials at the racing league that he was "lazy". As he's now suing for slander presumably he denies the 'him being lazy' claims.

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GROOVERIDER FREED FROM DUBAI PRISON
Grooverider has been released from prison in Dubai by President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan as part of Ramadan celebrations in the country. As previously reported, the DJ and former Radio 1 presenter was arrested at Dubai International Airport in November last year for possession of 2.16 grams of cannabis and jailed for four years. However, his release was granted earlier this week as one of the 700 pardons granted each year during the Muslim festival of Ramadan.

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BURNT HENDRIX GUITAR SELLS FOR £280,000
The first guitar ever set on fire by Jimi Hendrix has been sold at auction by £280,000.

Hendrix set fire to the guitar at a gig at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, London in March 1967. While roadies extinguished the flames and Hendrix was treated for minor burns, the star's press officer Tony Garland took it and stored it in his parents' garage and promptly forgot about it. It remained there until Garland's nephew discovered it last year.

The 1965 Fender Stratocaster went up for sale at the Idea Generation Gallery in London and was bought for £280,000, just over the estimate. The new owner, Daniel Boucher said: "I thought I'd have to pay a little bit more for it, actually. I am going to play it, I hope some of it rubs off on me".

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SINGLE REVIEW: Sonny J - Can't Stop Moving (EMI/$tateside)
Sonny J, much like The Go! Team, Lemon Jelly, and Mr Scruff, pulls in samples from a hugely diverse palate of sources to create a huge musical collage. The result is powerful - a smack-in-the-face of a song, in a good way. 'Can't Stop Moving' is sunny and summery, as well as upbeat and uplifting. It's ridiculous at times, too - particularly the whooping and hollering at the start and the kids near the end crying out "singing these songs makes me want to love everybody!" Although it never feels like a chore to listen to, it doesn't leave much of a lasting impression either - this is a fantastic summer single, but it does fade as quickly as it arrives. A bit like our summer then. DG
Release Date: 8 Sep
Press Contact: Tomorrow Never Knows [all]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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CLIFF DISCUSSES RELATIONSHIP WITH PRIEST
Excerpts of Cliff Richard's new autobiography, 'My Life', have appeared in The Daily Express. In them, Richard reveals various things about his private life and then asks everyone to stop talking about it.

He reveals that he has considered marriage twice, first to singer Jackie Irving and then to TV presenter and former tennis player Sue Barker. However, he eventually decided to stay a bachelor boy as long as he could be, and now lives with a former missionary, Father John McElynn, who he met in New York seven years ago.

He says: "Our arrangement has worked out really well. John now spends most of his time looking after my properties, which means I don't have to. John and I have over time struck up a close friendship. He has also become a companion, which is great because I don't like living alone, even now. People often make the mistake of thinking that only marriage equals happiness. I may suddenly meet someone and feel differently, but right now I am not sure marriage would enhance my happiness".

However, before you vocalise what you were just thinking, he says: "As for my sexuality, I am sick to death of the media's speculation about it. What business is it of anyone else's what any of us are as individuals? I don't think my fans would care either way".

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MC5 AND SEX PISTOLS RE-RECORD FOR GUITAR HERO
The next edition of the popular 'Guitar Hero' game will feature new recordings of songs by The Sex Pistols and MC5.

MC5's Wayne Kramer went into the studio with Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clark to record a new version of 'Kick Out The Jam'. The Sex Pistols have also re-recorded 'Pretty Vacant' for the video game.

'Guitar Hero World Tour' is set for release in October.

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ALICE IN CHAINS TO RECORD NEW ALBUM
Talking of Alice In Chains, which we were a bit, the grunge pioneers are set to record their first album since 1995, albeit without frontman Layne Stayley, who died of a drugs overdose in 2002.

Jerry Cantrell told The Pulse Of Radio earlier this year that the band, who reformed for live shows in 2006, were working on new material with new singer William DuVall but were not in a rush to start recording. He said: "We've been working about the last four months, and there's a good bulk of music and a good body of work so far, and we're having fun, and you know, we're taking our time and trying to figure out where William fits in and where we need to step up, and I have all the confidence in the world in the guys. The most important thing to me is that we're all together and, you know, it's been a tough and painful experience at times, but it's been very rewarding at the same time".

Now, the band's official website has confirmed that they are working on a new album. 'The Baldy' wrote: "The guys gathered in a rehearsal studio in North Hollywood for the last few days of July and the first few days of August, and began running through the new material and shaking off the rust. After four days of going through the songs alone, the producer for the upcoming record joined the guys and they spent another three days polishing and spit-shining the songs together. A lot was accomplished in that week, and everyone is eager to move forward. There's another rehearsal session this month, and a one-off concert in September. After the concert the band will also spend a few more days in pre-production rehearsals working on material. Then October will arrive and Alice In Chains will reconvene to record the new album".

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METALLICA ALBUM TO BE RELEASED EARLY IN FRANCE
Well, if you release it early once, you might as well release it early twice. Following the accidental sale of Metallica's new album, 'Death Magnetic', on Tuesday by a record shop in France, Universal Music France will release the album on 9 Sep, three days ahead of the official worldwide release date. The album was leaked in full online within hours of the accidental sales. However, now officially releasing the album early in France is surely more likely to accelerate its illegal distribution around the world rather than slow it down, so it's not really clear why this decision has come about.

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FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND LOSE BASSIST
Funeral For A Friend have parted company with their bassist, Gareth Davies. He will be replaced by former Hondo Maclean man, Gavin Burrough.

The band said on their MySpace page: "It's with sadness that we announce Gareth Davies has left Funeral For A Friend. As some of you may know, Gareth has been living in America for the past couple of years, and recently got married. Ultimately, the strain of travelling between continents has taken its toll and Gareth made the decision that it would be in the best interests of himself, his family and Funeral to leave the band. We totally respect and understand his choice, wish him all the best in his future and we thank him for being part of our lives for the past six years. We'll miss him. We'd like to take this opportunity therefore to welcome Gavin Burrough (Ghostlines/Hondo Maclean/The Future) to the family. Gav is a super-tall, super-talented dude whom we've all known a long time and we're sure you're gonna love him as much as we do. Weird fact - Gav was born on the same day as Gareth. AND both their names begin with a G. Crazy stuff".

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THE MUSIC DISILLUSIONED WITH DOWNLOADS
The Music's frontman Rob Harvey has said that the digital music revolution has affected the industry negatively and has made it much harder for new bands to make their mark.

He told BBC Newsbeat: "Songs have just become an accessory now, they're not something to believe in anymore and they can't change lives like they used too. I think it's becoming increasingly more difficult for unsigned bands to do anything and I find it bizarre that bands who give music away act like saviours when they could quite easily be helping smaller bands on the label who can't afford to even tour. I just feel there is less investment in real music now. Music is throwaway now and you can just get hold of a song by pushing a button. I remember when people used to save their pocket money and go and stand outside a record shop and be excited about the doors opening. That's not there anymore. It's missed".

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CLEARLAKE ANNOUNCE TOUR
Here's some very good news; Clearlake are back with a new single and tour. The single, 'Dark Blue', is out now and only available from www.clearlake.uk.com, with all proceeds going towards the recording of their new album

Tour dates:

18 Sep: Salisbury, Old Ale
19 Sep: Bristol, Louisiana
20 Sep: Chichester Inn
21 Sep: Portsmouth, Fat Fox

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DIZZEE RASCAL UK TOUR
Dizzee Rascal will embark on a UK in November. Dates are likely to sell out fast, following the success of his recent single 'Dance Wiv Me', so I'd get in quick, if I were you.

Tour dates:

1 Nov: Sheffield, Plug
2 Nov: Liverpool, University
15 Nov: Glasgow, ABC
17 Nov: Norwich, UEA
18 Nov: Southampton, Guildhall
19 Nov: Leeds, Academy
20 Nov: Lincoln, Engine Shed
22 Nov: London, Forum

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MGMT SINGLE AND TOUR
If you can't hum at least one MGMT song on demand right now, I would like to know exactly where you've been for the last few months. The band release 'Kids', the third single from their debut album, 'Oracular Spectacular', on 13 Oct via SonyBMG's Columbia. They will also be back in the UK yet again in November for some of those live show things.

Tour dates:

5 Nov: Leeds, Academy
6 Nov: Nottingham, Rock City
7 Nov: Bristol, Academy
9 Nov: Glasgow, Barrowlands
10 Nov: Birmingham, Academy
11 Nov: Manchester, Academy
27 Nov: London, Forum
28 Nov: London, Shepherds Bush Empire

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LEVELLERS ANNOUNCE ALBERT HALL SHOW
To celebrate their 20th anniversary together (yes, really), The Levellers have announced that they will play an acoustic show at the Albert Hall on 27 Sep, alongside some very special guests. Expect rabble-rousing songs from across the bands career, including some from their new album, 'Letters From The Underground'.

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LAST SHADOW PUPPETS SINGLE AND TOUR
The Last Shadow Puppets release their new single 'My Mistakes Were Made For You' on 20 Oct.

Taken from their Mercury-nominated debut album, 'The Age Of The Understatement', the single will include a new version of 'Separate And Ever Deadly', recorded with the duo's live band, and covers of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra's 'Paris Summer' and Burt Bacharach's 'My Little Red Book'.

Also, the video for the single was shot at Pinewood studios and directed by really rather funny comedy man Richard Ayoade.

Oh, and I nearly forgot in all that excitement, the band will also be touring in October. Tour dates below:

11 Oct: Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
12 Oct: Manchester, Apollo
13 Oct: Leeds, Academy
22 Oct: Glasgow, Academy
23 Oct: Sheffield, City Hall
24 Oct: Liverpool,Philharmonic Hall (BBC Electric Proms)
26 Oct: London, Hammersmith Apollo
27 Oct: Newcastle, City Hall

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ALBUM REVIEW: David Holmes - The Holy Pictures (Universal/Mercury/Canderblinks)
'The Holy Pictures' feels like an old, lumpy sofa on which Northern Irish native David Holmes has stretched out, kicked off his shoes and feels really at home. Each of those lumps represents someone or something that has helped to mould the man he has become, making this his most blatantly personal release to date. Having achieved much acclaim amongst Hollywood circles, Holmes has put his lucrative scoring career on hiatus to finally lay down this biographical body of work, which has been in the pipeline for over a decade now. His first solo album in eight years marks a violent shift in style, both musically and thematically. As far as the melodies go, Holmes has almost abandoned his usual sample heavy electronic norm for exploratory forays down a multitude of musical routes. These range from Eno-esque ballads and ethereal soundscapes that evoke the vocal layers created by Kevin Shields and Belinda Butcher to full on Jesus And Mary Chain style rock-outs. Thematically, he looks no further than his life and the family, friends, loves and losses that have touched it. Possibly a result of the personal subjects covered in his self-penned lyrics, this is the first time he has found confidence in his own vocals, which turn out to be entirely inoffensive. 'The Holy Pictures' is definitely a reflection of the maturity Holmes has gained from the experience of life and all her trappings but is miles away from his usual stomping ground. I fear that this could be hard to swallow for a few hardcore Holmes fanatics, but is undoubtedly likely to get a few fresh bodies on the bandwagon too. MB
Release Date: 8 Sep
Press Contact: Darling Dept [all]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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MONKEYS MANAGEMENT SPLIT
The two directors of London-based artist management firm Wildlife Entertainment, who manage the Arctic Monkeys, Craig David and Travis, have announced they are ending their business partnership after five years. No reasons for the split have been given, though they say the split is "amicable". Billboard say McAndrew will continue to work with Arctic Monkeys while Lester gets Craig David, which sounds a bit like the short straw to me. Perhaps he'll get Travis thrown in too.

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METALLICA O2 SHOW TO USE NEW PAPERLESS TICKETING SYSTEM
Metallica have announced that they will be using paperless ticketing for their upcoming charity album launch show at the O2 Arena, which means fans can gain access to the gig by swiping their credit card and showing photo ID.

They will use Ticketmaster's paperless ticketing system which was used for the recent Tom Waits tour in the US, but which hasn't been used in Europe yet. The aim is to speed up and reduce the costs of the ticketing process and, of course, to make it that little bit harder for touts to sell tickets on, especially for a show like this which is raising money for charity.

Ticketmaster UK MD Chris Edmonds told reporters: "Paperless ticketing means no box-office collection queues for these tickets with entry being given on the swipe of the credit card used for the book and photo ID checked by venue staff. This benefits both the consumer and the venue allowing secure, smooth and fast entry to events".

Stuart Galbraith of Kilimanjaro, co-promoters of the Metallica show, added: "By working closely with Ticketmaster and the paperless ticket technology, we can deliver the band's wishes and minimise the possibility of charitable tickets being resold in the secondary market".

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NEW STREAM MEDIA SIGN UP ALL MAJORS TO O2 LIVE RECORDING VENTURE
Talking of The O2, New Stream Media, the dome's 'digital content partner', has announced it has now completed licensing deals with all four major record companies which gives them the rights to record concerts by those majors' artists which are held in the main O2 arena and the smaller indigo2 venue (well, subject to artist approval).

Those recordings will be mainly distributed via O2's proprietary content platform, accessible to the phone firm's customers. NSM have already recorded gigs with Keane, Sugababes, Elton John, Bloc Party and The Cribs. Deals with the bigger indies are expected to follow.

Here's what NSM's Managing Director Abigail Hemingway has to say for herself: "Signing framework deals with the major labels allows us to approach the majority of artists coming to perform at The O2 with a compelling proposition: we shoot their show in HD, combine distribution and marketing with huge audience networks and collaborate with labels in terms of synching the content up with an existing release schedule to add value".

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HMV TO LAUNCH MP3 STORE THIS MONTH
HMV has announced it will launch its MP3 store later this month, meaning the high street reseller will start selling music online in the DRM-free, iPod compatible format rather than that useless WMA format. Which is nice. As previously reported, 7Digital are expected to announce they now have music from all four major record companies available via their MP3 download service later this month - just 9 months after the last of the majors confirmed it would start making its content available without digital rights management technology embedded. Speedy.

HMV announced its digital plans in a trading update to precede its Annual General Meeting. They also announced sales growth of 4.3% in the UK and Ireland, and 2% globally, though that was primarily through the sale of games and technology rather than music or even DVDs. They also confirmed another of their 'next generation' stores would open this week, in Liverpool, their biggest new look store to date.

Chief Executive Simon Fox said this: "In what is, undoubtedly, a tough consumer environment, the solid start made by the group to the new financial year means that our plans are in line with the board's expectations, and I remain confident that our strategic initiatives are on track. As we approach the peak selling period, our focus is on continuing to provide our customers with the very best offers, from what is shaping up to be a strong line-up across all product categories for Christmas".

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THE ORCHARD GET ACCESS TO JAZZ CLASSICS
Independent digital aggregator The Orchard has announced a licensing deal with MusicMasters, which is the label owned by the Musical Heritage Society and which owns all kinds of jazz classics from the likes of Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman, some dating back to the 30s, and many of which haven't been proactively distributed for a while. The deal means Orchard will distribute the catalogue digitally. The Musical Heritage Society's Jeff Nissim told reporters: "Reviving the MusicMasters label has long been a hope of mine".

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GRASS ROOTS UNCONVENTION TO RUN ALONGSIDE ITC
So, are you all going to In The City next month? If so, you'd better book your tickets quick. While you're up in Manchester that week you might also want to check out a new music business convention which has been set up as a sort of fringe event to ITC.

Taking place in the neighbouring city of Salford (and Salford is a city before you ask, we just checked), the Un-convention will focus on the grass roots music industry, which I kind of thought ITC did already, but perhaps were talking seedlings here. Topics up for debate include the future of record labels, the resurgence of live, new music business models and how new bands can gain media exposure.

Radio One's Huw Stephens, Melodic's Dave Cooper and New Music Strategies' Andrew Dubber will all take part. Various unsigned bands will also play acoustic sets.

Both ITC and the Un-convention will take place from 5-7 Oct. There's more about the latter at unconvention.wordpress.com.

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MORE GLOBAL JOB CUTS EXPECTED
More redundancies are expected at the merged Global GCap following the news the mega-sized radio firm is planning on to relocate their London based traffic operations and their Birmingham based finance departments to a new office in Reading. Up to 30 jobs may go as part of the move according to reports. Media Week says staff were informed about the changes in an internal email sent yesterday.

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BBC LAUNCH NEW SOCIAL NETWORK TO TRACK LISTENER OPINION
The BBC is piloting a new social networking site through which registered users can access all BBC radio services and, crucially, comment and rate programmes as they listen to them. The service is called Radio POP and would let station managers track precisely what their listeners think as programmes air. Well, what the sort of listeners who like to sign up to social networking sites and then bitch about radio shows think, anyway. Registered users can also link to friends and track what they are listening and thinking.

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STEVE PENK BUYS OLDHAM RADIO STATION
Former Key 103, Capital and Virgin DJ Steve Penk who, you might remember, was flavour of the month for a while before his prank phone calls got a bit tiresome (the fact he used all the same sketches on his London and national shows that he'd used on his Manchester shows in the early nineties didn't help), has bought a radio station in Oldham called The Revolution. The purchase follows Penk's sudden departure from Oxford's Fox FM earlier in the year, and follows a sudden and unexplained format shift at The Revolution a couple of weeks back. Another relaunch is now expected for later this month.

Confirming his purchase, Penk told reporters: "For some time I've been looking at various possible acquisitions but was very keen to find something in the two UK markets I know best, the North West and the South East. The Revolution fits the brief perfectly and I have big plans for the radio station. The North West is a fantastic market currently dominated by the huge radio groups and the BBC".

Elsewhere in the world of truly independent radio stations (ie those local stations not owned by one of the big groups or the BBC), a Merseyside station called KCR106.7 has been bought by Southport based and family run Polaris Media. It's the station's fourth owner in four years - originally Chrysalis had an interest, then The Local Radio Company bought it, they sold it to founder Ray Ferguson, who has now sold it to Polaris.

Confirming the purchase, Polaris Media said in a statement: "We are delighted to announce our recent acquisition of KCR FM 106.7. KCR has experienced a very turbulent and unsettling year so far and has managed to ride out multiple unsuccessful purchase propositions. We have every faith that our new management team can provide excellent quality local radio and boost the profile of the station on Merseyside; something which has proved challenging in the past. We have inherited a versatile and talented team and we have every intention to aid them in gaining the status we feel is deserved for the station".

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DJS ACCUSED OF GLAMOURISING BINGE DRINKING
A Department Of Health funded study has accused presenters at Radio 1 and Kerrang! Radio of encouraging irresponsible attitudes to drinking. At the former they cited Chris Moyles, who they said spent 74 seconds of his 3.5 hour show discussing excessive drinking. On commercial stations like Kerrang! presenters were accused of nearly always talking about excessive drinking in positive way, rather than taking a neutral or negative attitude to alcohol.

Both Radio 1 and Kerrang! have issued statements disagreeing with claims their presenters promote binge drinking. A spokesman for the BBC station said: "We don't agree that our presenters encourage a culture of drinking. In fact, we have run a high-profile campaign on the radio and online asking listeners to think about the amount of alcohol they drink. This report has made me very angry. So angry I think I need a whisky to calm my nerves. Make it a triple. Drink anyone?" Well, they said some of that.

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GNR WEREN'T IN IT FOR THE MONEY
Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has told New Zealand's 3 News that, contrary to popular opinion, his forme band got together for a love of music, rather than fame or money.

He said: "Actually the [early] gigs never did pay that well but somehow they managed to... yeah, they paid the rent in one place that we used to squat in. We actually looked forward to getting paid after a gig, but it was usually for the beer, you know. I'd a lot of jobs, at some point there was a little hustling involved as far as like, a little bit of drugs, a little bit of this and that, but prior to that it was just, you know, I kept a straight job for a while. Everybody else is making compromises and concessions so that they can make it big and get their, you know, their picture on the cover of Teen Beat or Us Weekly or whatever, you know, so, so...There's a sort of, kind of, selling out to that. But I think what was great about Guns N' Roses is that we made it on our own integrity and we didn't give up anything to anybody and made it on our own merit".

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BEYONCE WANTS TO BE AN ICON
Beyonce is bored of being a pop star. Pop stars are so yesterday. Now she wants to be an icon and live forever.

She told Marie Claire: "There is a time limit on being a pop star, yes. Being a legend, an icon? Absolutely not. I'm over being a pop star. I don't wanna be a hot girl - I wanna be iconic".

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SPEARS AND TIMBERLAKE TO RECORD DUET
It's the rumour that just won't die. Despite the fact that it's never happened at any time during the many years the rumour has been doing the rounds, people just won't let it die. It's like that whole second coming of Jesus thing. Kind of.

Anyway, yes, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears are going to record a duet together with Timbaland. Then they're going to get married and have twelve babies and live in a big castle. A source told The Telegraph: "He's been sent her new music, and his feedback is really positive. She's strong again, and she wants Justin to see that. Musically she wants to blow him away".

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PROMOTER COMPLAINS ABOUT TOPLESS DJ
Club promoters Class Concept International have complained that a Russian topless DJ they booked faked her DJing with a pre-prepared mix CD when she, er, performed at one of their clubnights in Spain recently.

Class Concept told Mixmag that DJ Mari Ferrari had played "from already pre-mixed music sessions from one or two CDs and was faking the movements. She wasn't really doing it for real, just acting". They also claim that her DJing skills were being closely observed by six people in the DJ booth and a cameraman for Fashion TV.

The Russian DJ agency, Girl DJs, told the magazine that this was "a false testimony".

Do people really book topless DJs for their mixing skills?

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