ESPIONAGE TALENT MANAGEMENT IS EXPANDING
Our clients include: Beardyman, Crazy P, Ashley Beedle, Cosmo/Wild Rumpus, Trojan Sound System, Mrs Jones and more. We only deal with vibrance, ambition, creativity and dedication - qualities which we also expect from our staff. Does that sound like you? We are looking to recruit sprightly, experienced, hard-working and tenacious individuals to join the team on our journey. A high level of organisation is required along with cultural understanding and music knowledge. An understanding of music law would be advantageous. Please email [email protected] with your covering letter, CV and with 'TLC JOB' as the subject header.

WEST ON HIS PAPARAZZO ALTERCATION
Kanye West has spoken about that altercation with a member of the paparazzi which led to his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday.

As previously reported, West, who was in the American Airlines terminal to board a flight to Hawaii, approached the unidentified photographer and grabbed his camera, leading to a struggle in which Kanye took possession of the item and broke it by throwing it to the ground. He and road manager Don Crowley also attacked a videographer, damaging his camera, when they realised that the incident had been taped, and the pair were subsequently charged with felony vandalism.

West seems eager to suggest that the photographer in question was at fault. The hip-hop star, who was released from custody on Thursday afternoon on $20k bail, wrote on his blog: "We back in the lab!!! I'm cool with the paparazzi. This guy wasn't cool. I gotta work now... I'll rant later!"

West is due in court on 2 Oct.

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KELIS CLEARED OF DISORDER CHARGES
A judge in Miami has dismissed charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence that were brought against US singer Kelis. They relate to that previously reported 2007 incident which she was accused of disrupting a police operation in the city's South Beach area when she rushed at officers, allegedly screaming racial profanities. I think she did it because they were officers posing as prostitutes, and they were talking to her husband, Nas. Anyway, Judge Antonio Arzola dismissed the case on Thursday.

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OASIS GET NEW YORK BUSKERS SINGING TO THEIR TUNE(S)
Say what you like about Oasis - and we often do - but I'm liking the marketing that's going on for new album 'Dig Out Your Soul'. Following the announcement they'll be cover mounting sheet music for their new songs with the NME, the band promoted their album stateside on Friday by asking buskers around NYC to sing songs off the new album. Selected buskers got to spend some time with the Gallaghers who talked them through songs like 'Bag It Up', 'The Turning', 'Get Off Your High Horse Lady' and 'The Shock Of The Lightning', and gave them some tips as to "how to sound Oasis". New Yorkers were then entertained to renditions of new Oasis songs all over town. Which, for New York based Oasis fans, is the only chance they'll get to hear them this week, because the band were forced to cancel their own gig in the city because Noel Gallagher is still recovering from that on-stage attack in Canada last week.

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THIEVERY CORPORATION TO PROMOTE NEW ALBUM VIA ILIKE AND FACEBOOK
More interesting pre-release album promotion now, though this one back in the digital domain. Thievery Corporation have announced they will be streaming their new album 'Radio Retaliation' via both iLike and Facebook five days ahead of its US release on 23 Sep. Both sites will also carry other exclusive Thievery Corporation content.

Confirming his site's tie up with Facebook for the Thievery Corporation promotion - the first time the two sites have formally collaborated - iLike top man Ali Partovi told reporters: "Artists upload exclusive content to iLike every day, but this is the first time Facebook and iLike have jointly promoted an album. We'll have strategic, targeted placements all across Facebook in order to reach Thievery Corporation fans".

The partnership follows Facebook's designation of the iLike Facebook app as a 'Great App' earlier this summer. On that Partovi says this: "As a Great App, we have a much greater visibility. Facebook recognises that third parties build excellent applications and that we provide a deep level of promotion and visibility for bands".

Thievery Corporation themselves say they went the web route to promote their new album in the US because of a frustration with the country's radio network, a theme of the album, and the reason behind it's title. Eric Hilton says this: "Apart from a few independent bastions, there is no musical or informational freedom on the US [radio] airwaves anymore. They've been bought up, consolidated and homogenized. Music is suffering and 'Radio Retaliation' is about an exodus of conscious people who are willing to acknowledge something is wrong. We chose iLike as the platform to debut this record because it offers us a direct vehicle to share our music and communicate with fans worldwide, free from editorializing or whitewashing of our messages".

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ALLEGED LENNON MOTHER LOVE TAPE CAUSES CONTROVERSY
A tape said to be John Lennon speaking about how, to not put too fine a point on it, he wanted to 'do' his mother when he was a teenager, is causing a bit of controversy. The audio diary is to be used by Beatles writer Philip Norman in a forthcoming biography 'John Lennon: The Life', and Beatles fans aren't down with the idea, and neither, surprisingly, is Yoko Ono. The book also claims that Lennon wanted to have a gay relationship with his colleague Paul McCartney.

According to The Sun, the voice which Norman claims is Lennon's says on the 1979 tape: "I was just remembering the time I had my hand on my mother's tit in 1 Blomfield Road. It was when I was about 14. I took a day off school, I was always doing that and hanging out in her house. We were lying on the bed and I was thinking 'I wonder if I should do anything else?' It was a strange moment, because I actually had the hots for some rather lower class female who lived on the other side of the road. I always think that I should have done it. Presuming she would have allowed it".

The tabloid quotes a friend of Norman's as saying: "This is not what people want to hear - but it's the truth. John was a complex man, even when he was a kid. This audio recording is 100 per cent genuine. It was never meant for public consumption, but has now leaked out".

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DOHERTY ESTRANGED FROM DAD
Pete Doherty says that he and is father don't speak because of all the drug taking. The singer is quoted as saying "My dad does not have a son... I represent all he fought against in his life. As a military man, drugs are a big no-no".

The pair had a brief reconciliation last year, though, apparently, so perhaps there's hope for them yet.

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SINGLE REVIEW: Electrovamp - Drinks Taste Better When They're Free (Universal/Island)
Welsh duo Electrovamp are unabashedly young and distinctly British; their second release is reminiscent of the days when Shampoo were gracing the cover of Smash Hits and pop music had that in-your-face coolness that sadly dissipated under the dull drones of mediocre indie and chart-friendly R'n'B. Holding back on just enough tack to refrain from sounding like regurgitated I've-heard-this-before nonsense, the dirty electro beats and clean-cut vocals of 'Drinks Taste Better When They're Free' guarantee it to become a favourite amongst the pop crowds and a guilty pleasure for the rest. With bands like Girls Aloud, Alphabeat and The Ting Tings crossing pop, dance and indie genres, Electrovamp's sound has that distinctive credible quality to appease all three markets; 'Drinks...' is a poppy, electronic, bubblegum-infused track destined for success on commercial dancefloors. TW
Release Date: 6 Oct
Press Contact: Universal IH [all]

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ALL THE POP BOYS WANT A BIT OF GIRLS ALOUD
All the pop boys want to duet with Girls Aloud, it would seem.

McFly last week told the Sun they have their eyes set on a duet with Girl Aloud and 'X-Factor' judge Cheryl Cole. Harry McFly told the tab: "We'd love to duet with her. We could cover Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven Is A Place On Earth' for Children In Need", while bandmate Tom Fletcher added: "Every time she's on 'X Factor' it's like, 'Woah, she is the most perfect looking woman in the world'. It's ridiculous". Cole should be wary should any duet be arranged however, because Dougie McFly told the tabloid he'd "throw up in front of" Cole if he ever got to meet here.

One would assume the Jonas Brothers would never dream of vomiting on a fellow pop star, however "perfect looking", but they are equally keen on a Girls Aloud collaboration. Perhaps having the girl group support them on their next US tour. Kevin Jonas told reporters: "We're huge fans of Girls Aloud. They are all really talented. We were looking into taking the girls on a US tour this summer but the timings didn't work out. Next time we're going to make sure something does happen".

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JUSTICE LIVE DVD AND DJ TOUR
Weird things happen when Justice tour. So weird that no one ever believes them when they recount the stories later on. So, when they went on their second US tour, they took award-winning directors Romain Gavras and So-Me with them for a week in order to get hard evidence. The resulting film, 'A Cross The Universe', is released on 10 Nov, along with a bonus live CD.

The duo are also heading out on a DJ tour to promote the release, which will include exclusive premiere screenings of the movie in cinemas, press conferences and parties featuring Justice, Busy P, DJ Mehdi and the aforementioned So-Me.

Tour dates:
25 Oct: London, Matter
26 Oct: Dublin, The Ambassador
8 Nov: Manchester, The Warehouse Project

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YOUTHMOVIES ANNOUNCE EP AND TOUR
Youthmovies have announced that they will release their new EP, 'Polyp', via Blast First (petite), on 3 Nov. Guests on the EP include Adam Gnade, Blanket's Vicky Steer and 65daysoftstatic's Joe Shrewsbury. Gnade will also provide support on the band's upcoming tour.

Tour dates:

6 Nov: London, Water Rats
7 Nov: Brighton, Freebutt
8 Nov: Kingston, Fighting Cocks
9 Nov: Norwich, Queen Charlotte
10 Nov: Cambridge, Portland Arms
11 Nov: Birmingham, Bar Academy
12 Nov: Bristol, The Cooler
13 Nov: Oxford, Academy
14 Nov: Derby, The Royal
15 Nov: Leeds, Cockpit
16 Nov: Coventry, Taylor Johns House
17 Nov: Sheffield, Fusion
18 Nov: Manchester, Night & Day
19 Nov: Liverpool, Barfly Loft
20 Nov: Glasgow, King Tuts
21 Nov: Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire
22 Nov: Carlisle, Brickyard

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MADONNA WON'T BE FINED FOR WEMBLEY OVER RUN
Madonna has dismissed reports that her late arrival on stage at Wembley last week could hit her pocket.

Having begun her Wembley set forty minutes late, at 9.10pm, she went past the 10.30pm curfew set by the venue. Wembley wants shows to be done by 10.30pm so the local public transport system has time to cope with the exodus of gig goers, and often makes the completion of the gig by that time a condition of contract with artists who perform there.

Promoters of a George Michael gig were fined £130,000 when he went 13 minutes over the curfew, leading to speculation Madonna's people would now face a similar fine. But her people told the London Paper last week the curfew rules were not binding, so no fine would be forthcoming. They told the paper: "Stage times are only guidelines".

The spokesman also denied there were sound problems on the night after a number of fans (and CMU's representative at the party) said they couldn't hear half the songs, and it was only because fans in front were singing along they could work out what song was being performed. But Madge's rep says there were no technical problems, adding: "I was at the gig and the sound was fine". So that's fine then.

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MCCARTNEY DETERMINED TO PLAY ISRAEL
Paul McCartney says he's definitely going to play his first ever show in Israel later this month, despite pressure from campaigners to cancel the event. The former Beatle told Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth that he was asked to think about cancelling the Tel Aviv gig because of Israel's dealings with Palestine, but did not consider it, saying "I refused. I do what I think, and I have many friends who support Israel".

Speaking about the fact that the Israeli government banned a Beatles concert in 1965 because they thought it would corrupt the nation's youth, he said it was "a bit insulting", adding: "The Beatles had a pretty positive influence on the world and only regimes that wanted to control their peoples were afraid of us. We mostly laughed at the Israeli government decision".

A statement on McCartney's website last month read: "I've heard so many great things about Tel Aviv and Israel, but hearing is one thing and experiencing it for yourself is another. We are planning to have a great time and a great evening. We can't wait to get out there and rock".

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KYLIE TO BE PAID SHITLOADS FOR TWO DUBAI GIGS
According to reports, Kylie Minogue is set to earn a great big load of cash from two performances set to take place in Dubai in November, the fee for just one of the appearances apparently being a wopping £2.3million. A rep for Middle East AEG Live confirmed that the pop star is set to earn "an awful lot of money".

Minogue will appear on 20 Nov at a private party for 2000 celebrities, the gala opening of a new luxury hotel on Dubai's extravagant man made Palm islands. The following day, the singer is will give a concert to an audience of around 20,000 fans in the grounds of a large shopping mall.

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Bestival 2008
This year's Bestival was muddy, but then you probably knew that already. Unless you were in attendance, however, I doubt you can fathom the true scale of crap weather and unfortunate on site conditions (last year's Glastonbury could boast similar misfortune), with some of the weaker festival-goers leaving as early as Friday afternoon after finding their tents washed away by the unhinged rivers of mud running through most of the campsite. Thankfully, despite the weather issues, Bestival's fine spirit was unstoppable, and helped by another excellent line-up it still managed to live up to its moniker. Just.

That said, having unfortunately missed Bestival Friday and sets from a reformed Specials (as 'Special Guests', appropriately) and My Bloody Valentine, Saturday and Sunday had much to live up to. Thankfully, after much wandering and acclimatising to the encroaching tropical storm, the utterly beautiful, cat suit clad Grace Jones was just the right introduction, writhing across the main stage through a number of equally unusual costume changes before ending with a stunning 'Slave To The Rhythm'. From there on it became something of an electronic extravaganza, with Hot Chip and their 'Nothing Compares 2 U' cover a distant memory by the time Hercules And Love Affair hit the Big Top tent. Then, before swarming the Bestival radio tent for late night dancing, there was just enough time to see the end of Florence And The Machine over at the Club Da Da Tent.

Sunday proved a much busier day, with an early start meaning we had time to catch the end of CMU approved Sunday Besters Grand National, who had four sparkly adorned dancers and balloons onstage to end their well received set. From there it's on to the sartorially bonkers Francophone Sebastian Tellier on the main stage, followed by rising star Cock 'n' Bull Kid, a performance of classic cover versions by three men in a box, snippets of The Coral in the Big Top and a deserted DJ Cosmo set in the Hidden Disco area.

Midnight Juggernaughts come next, but never seem to get off the ground despite playing some of their better-known numbers early, so we press on to the main stage for funk legend George Clinton and his array of wet, brown stained party monsters in the recently formed mud pool on top of the left bank. The legends theme continues with a DJ set from former Hacienda resident and electro pioneer Greg Wilson, leading us into the headliners Underworld, who pack out the main field with a greatest hits set and spectacular light show until the early hours of the morning.

With great anticipation we traipsed through the mud to see Buraka Som Sistema who, disappointingly, seem to be playing only a DJ set. We leave, unabashed and still full of just about enough Bestival love for some dancing (again) at the perennial party of the Bestival Radio van. Ace.

Five we most rated:

Hercules And Love Affair
It's taken them a while, but the Andy Butler led disco band is now a formidable live proposition. Androgynous singer Nomi is bolder and brassier than before, seductively writhing throughout and now vocally closer to the emotive tones of Anthony Hegarty on 'Blind'. 'You Belong', meanwhile, stands up to its status as one of the singles of the year. A band designed for Bestival if there ever was one.

The Dukes Box
The Dukes Box is probably already in Bestival folklore, which isn't bad going for what is essentially 3 sweaty rockers in a box styled as a '60s Jukebox. With a 35 track strong repertoire, they cover all styles of songs, from Marvin Gaye's 'Sexual Healing' and AC/DC's 'Back In Black' to a speed garage mash-up that they close their set with. Great fun: one of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences of the weekend.

George Clinton
Joined onstage by a guitarist dressed in a nappy and a roller skating backing singer, funk legend George Clinton was both suitably bonkers and brilliant in his Sunday main stage set. Covering material from each stage of his career (Parliament, Funkadelic, etc), he even managed to incite an excitable troupe into dancing in the mud pool on the hillside, which is the surely the highest payable compliment.

Cock N Bull Kid
Scepticism was rife regarding the hype around Cock N Bull Kid, but after their captivating performance on the BBC Introducing stage I'm all but converted. Mixing live drums, bass, guitar and synths with pre-recorded loops and vocals they're already a fantastic pop outfit, with 'On My Own' standing out amongst a bevy of potential singles.

Florence and The Machine
Despite having only caught half their set, Florence's belting voice stood tall at Bestival. 'Kiss With A Fist' was always a hit, but her cover at the finale of Candi Staton's 'You Got The Love' sent her flying into the stratosphere.

Honourable mention: Sebastian Tellier
Leaving out a note on Sebastian Tellier after he dedicated a song to his "bisexuality" would be criminal. Eurovision entry 'Divine' was, predictably, the highlight.

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BROMLEY MAN JAILED OVER BOOTLEG CD BUSINESS
A Bromley man has been jailed for three years after running a bootleg CD business from his South East London home, in which he counterfeited all kinds of goods, including CDs, DVDs and video games, and then sold them via a website and eBay pretending they were the real deal.

Neil Norton was tracked down as the result of a three-year investigation involving Lewisham Council, Bromley Police, the Federation Against Copyright Theft and record label trade body the BPI. It's estimated he made up to £850,000 as a result of his counterfeiting over an eight year period, funds which helped him buy the Porsche, BMW, personalised number plates, cameras and computer equipment found at his home - belongings the authorities will now seek to confiscate. A destruction order will also be sought to enable all the remaining counterfeit goods, which include fake designer label clothes as well as the CDs and DVDs, to be destroyed.

Commenting on the conviction, BPI top man Geoff Taylor told CMU: "Illegal downloading has created new challenges for the music business, but physical commercial music piracy remains a huge problem. Successful multi-agency enforcement operations significantly disrupt and deter this criminal trade, and we can thank the outstanding continued efforts of the authorities for preventing the problem from spiralling out of control. But we must collectively discourage consumers from fuelling this area of crime. Few musicians are wealthy, and rely on the income from music sales and the investment record companies make in them to earn a living. Everyone deserves to be paid for their work".

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THE REGISTER ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT BAIDU'S MP3 SEARCH, AND THE WESTERN FIRM'S WITH AN INTEREST IN IT
There's an interesting article on IT website The Register today looking into the operations of Chinese search engine Baidu which, as much previously reported, has pissed off the record companies by providing a specific MP3 search service which provides easy-access to online sources of digital music, predominantly illegal unlicensed services.

As previously reported, when the record companies attempted to sue Baidu through the Chinese courts the web firm successfully argued that they were not guilty of copyright infringement because they didn't host any illegal content themselves, they merely linked to it. However, following a change in Chinese copyright rules, the same defence failed for Yahoo! China when they were sued over their MP3 search facility, and as a result the labels are suing Baidu for a second time.

Baidu is one of China's big internet success stories, and at the end of last year it started to trade its shares on the New York based NASDAQ stock exchange - and many US-based banks and investment types have subsequently bought shares in the net firm. With Western investors now taking a stake in Baidu, The Register wondered just how much of their success was down to the MP3 search facility, whether that service really was innocently bringing up illegal content sources as the result of standard searches, and whether the big banks were essentially profiting from one of the net's biggest copyright infringers.

A six month investigations for the IT website found a number of suspicious things were going on with regards the MP3 search facility. First, the facility doesn't seem to search at all the websites of China's biggest two legit download providers 9Sky and Top100.

Second, many of the 'deep links' linked to by Baidu MP3 search are only accessible via the search engine - ie they are stored on servers with not front end - as if they were placed their specifically to feed the search engine's music facility.

Third, many of those tracks are available at many similar but slightly different IP addresses, meaning that if one source is pulled by legal action by a content owner, a replacement is immediately available.

Fourth, and perhaps least surprising, any websites pointing out the dodgy legalities of Baidu's MP3 service - including, presumably, The Register and CMU sites - are automatically blocked by the search engine.

The Register also note the that the Chinese government's Internet Network Information Center admits that "MP3 search is the primary boosting factor for Baidu's high growth".

All of which, one would assume, would be of interest to the likes of Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Fidelity and Goldman Sachs, who are all reportedly investors in the Chinese firm. Even if they don't have ethical issues with owning a stake in a business whose success seems to be based on mass infringement, they would presumably have concerns that Baidu's ability to overcome copyright litigation won't last forever. Not least because China's government and courts - mainly responding to pressure from Western governments - are starting to crack down on corporate infringers in their country. And earlier this year Chinese authorities fined one of Baidu's albeit smaller rivals, Zhongsou, and seized their servers in relation to a similarly infringing MP3 search service.

That said, it's possible the Wall Street firms have other things on their minds this morning. But once melt-down is over, perhaps they should head on over to The Register's report and reconsider their options.

www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/13/baidu_investigation/

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EAGLE ROCK LAUNCH YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Eagle Rock Entertainment have announced the launch of a new channel on YouTube which will see the classic rock company preview upcoming DVD releases via the video website. They also plan to launch specific channels around certain of their products, include 'Live At Montreux', which will sample content from the company's catalogue.

As part of their deal with YouTube, Eagle Rock will make use of the video services recently developed VideoID technology which is designed to stop users from nabbing their content and reuploading it to their own YouTube channels. Or something like that.

Peter Worsley, MD of Digital And Special Interest at Eagle Rock Entertainment told CMU: "Our relationship with YouTube enables us to better connect with our fan base to promote our DVDs and other content and also to help control online piracy".

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NEWS OF THE WORLD SHOWBIZ MAN GOES FREELANCE
The News Of The World has announced that its showbiz man, Rav Singh, is leaving the tabloid to go freelance. Singh was one of the UK's best known showbusiness reporters, and was behind no less than 52 c'leb-based front page stories at the NoW during his eight years with the paper.

Confirming his departure from the paper, Singh is quoted in the Guardian thus: "I have had the best years of my life working at the News Of The World but all great things come to an end. I am keen to try something new and I have big plans which I can't wait to get working on".

NoW editor Colin Myler responded thus: "Rav has been an outstanding showbiz editor. He set the bar for others to follow".

TV editor Dan Wootton is set to take over the paper's showbiz column, which will relaunch in November.

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DAVE PEARCE GOES TO 6MUSIC
Those of you wondering how you'd ever cope without Dave Pearce's 'Dance Anthems' when he leaves Radio 1 next month (anyone?), well, take heart, because Dangerous Dave is taking his ten year old dance show to 6Music. Phew, that was close. The BBC's digital station have announced that Pearce will join them in a Sunday evening slot. They also announced the recruitment of Fun Lovin Criminals man Huey Morgan, who will present an "eclectic musical mix spanning rock, rap, disco, soul, latino and more" every Sunday afternoon.

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MORE ON THE REVOLTUION REVOLTUION
More on the revolution at Oldham based radio station The Revolution which, as previously reported, is going through something of a revamp following Steve Penk's purchase of the local station last month.

According to Radio Today, as the station's indie and alternative playlist is shunned in favour of songs that are a bit more familiar to the mainstream listener, the new presenter line up should sound quite familiar also, with a load of old-timers from the Manchester radio scene set to re-appear - including Gary King, James H Reeve and Penk himself, who will present the breakfast show and one of those no doubt hilarious wind-up shows at the weekend.

The new look station will be headed up by that John Evington chap, who recently jumped the flagging Original 106 ship (the mini-radio network set up and now being sold by Canadian company CanWest), and who also has a previous history in North West based local radio, spending much of his early career at Stoke based Signal Radio, which doesn't quite reach Oldham, but got near with its Stockport based spin off Signal Cheshire.

Look at me with all my North West local radio trivia. I'm going to stop now, before I suggest Penk and Evington give Phil Trow a show. Happy days.

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PAN-EUROPEAN DIGITAL RADIO STANDARDS PUBLISHED
If you thought that was tedious, wait for this little lot. The WorldDMB Forum has published a set of mandatory features and functions which all digital radio set manufacturers are being encouraged to incorporate into their equipment, in order to ensure that said equipment will be able to receive digital radio services across Europe, despite the fact different digital broadcasting systems have been adopted in different territories.

The WorldDMB Digital Radio Receiver Profile aims to ensure that, moving forward, digital radio sets are able to receive DAB, DAB+ and T-DMB Audio broadcasts, which covers most of Europe's digital radio services. Broadcasters will also be encouraged to adhere to the standards to ensure their outputs can be received.

Paul Smith, the General Manager of PURE, whose digital radio technologies are used in more than 80 per cent of DAB digital radios, welcomed the Profile, telling reporters: "Manufacturers and broadcasters will benefit from this important step towards Europe-wide digital radio. But most significantly consumers will in future be able to listen to their digital radios in any country in Europe. Today's announcement will encourage and broaden the take up of digital radio both in the consumer and automotive markets. We therefore whole-heartedly endorse this initiative".

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OFCOM SAYS ITS NOT TO BLAME FOR CANCELLED PICNIC
Sky has called off its Picnic, which is irritating because I'd packed cake and everything. Yes, BSkyB announced last week that it was calling off plans to replace its three channels on Freeview with a pay-TV service, working title Picnic, which would enable Freeview viewers to access some of Sky's premium programmes via the terrestrial digital network.

Sky blamed OfCom for its decision, saying the media regulator had taken too long to consider its proposals - which would need their approval given that it would see the loss of free services on Freeview. But OfCom refuted those claims in a statement this weekend, saying its investigation had been delayed because Sky took two months to provide relevant information.

The OfCom statement said: "Ofcom rejects the implications of BSkyB's comments today. The Picnic proposal raises complex issues and is likely to have a significant effect on the future development of the pay-TV market as a whole. BSkyB took two months to submit the necessary application and a further two months to provide sufficient information to enable Ofcom to publish a consultation document on the matter".

BSkyB says that it had hired 70 staff to work on Picnic, including 40 contractors who had now been let go. It is in consultation with the other 30 staff, which it says it hopes to deploy elsewhere.

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ALBUM REVIEW: P.O.D. - When Angels & Serpents Dance (Cooking Vinyl/P.O.D. Records)
For the sake of a good rock record, I, as well as any other open-minded and open-eared listener, am willing to oversee certain aspects of a band's pre-determined genre that may taint its credibility. Yes, P.O.D. are a Christian metal band, a fact that is known and obvious by themes weaved throughout their work, themes they do not shy away from in their latest offering, 'When Angels & Serpents Dance'. You may remember P.O.D.'s semi-successful mainstream hit 'Alive' back in 2002; 'Angels & Serpents' is a promise to return back to form, seeing the band revert to their original line-up. Produced by Jay Baumgardner (Evanescence, Linkin Park, Incubus), the record is a melting pot of musical influences; Sanatana-esque hooks lead the album's gentleness, but the majority of its sound is overpowered by ear-shattering hardness, albeit melodious in its delivery. Unsurprisingly, the best tracks are those that feature collaborations. Helmet frontman Page Hamilton's appearance on 'God Forbid', for me, saves the entire record from falling short of merit, and Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies fame's input on 'Kaliforn-Eye-A' turns the interlude of the track into an astonishingly pleasurable thrash-metal frenzy. While the lyrics can be a bit preachy at times, listeners should, without much trouble, look past the intricate messages and see it for what it really is - a decently composed metal album with nods toward some unlikely genres. TW
Release Date: 6 Oct
Press Contact: Cooking Vinyl IH [all]

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CHART UPDATE
Well, they say sex sells. And they must be right, because the only single able to end Katy Perry's faux lesbian reign at the top of the chart was 'Sex On Fire' by Kings Of Leon, knocking Perry down to two. Sadly for Cliff Richard, a lack of sex means he only managed to get to number three. A good result normally, but not if you're trying to break your own record for having number one singles in consecutive decades.

Other new entries in the single chart come from McFly at 23, Queen & Paul Rodgers at 33, and Sonny J's 'Can't Stop Moving' at 40, which really should be higher. Let's hope it moves up over the coming weeks. Speaking of tracks that are creeping up the charts, Gym Class Heroes move from 16 to 12, Flobots move from 35 to 18, Iglu & Hartley sadly move from 80 to 21, Basshunter disappointingly manage another top 40 single, moving from 54 to 24, Flo Rida jumps from 36 to 29, Elbow's 'One Day Like This', thanks to their Mercury win last week, leaps from 116 to 35, and Sam Sparro's 'Black & Gold' sidesteps back into the top 40 at 36, while M.I.A. slips in the back at 37 with 'Paper Planes'.

With all that excitement, you might think that the album chart would be a bit of a let down. But you'd clearly have forgotten about the big album chart showdown this week - Metallica vs. Glasvegas. Metallica admitted last week that they were worried about the competition from Glasvegas, but they needn't have been - all that hard work promoting 'Death Magnetic' over the last few months has paid off and, despite not being on sale for the whole week, they roll straight in to the top spot. Glasvegas went in at two. The other album to watch this week, of course, is Elbow's Mercury winner, 'The Seldom Seen Kid', which makes a very respectable move from 61 to 6.

On the new entry front, the run up to his O2 shows and an excellent performance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross put Wonder's re-released 'The Definitive Collection' into the chart at 14. New Kids On The Block's 'The Block' enters at 16, Bryn Christopher's 'My World' goes in at 18, 'The Very Best Of Dave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich' takes the number 24 spot, and Gheorghe Zamfir's 'Spirit Of The Andes' is the final new entry at 31. Other new entries worth noting, despite not being in the top 40 are Laura Marling's 'Alas I Cannot Swim' at 47, Burial's 'Untrue' at 58, obviously not boosted by the Mercury nomination and general hoohaa as had been hoped, and David Holmes' new album 'The Holy Pictures', which comes in at 65.

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. And boy are Warner Music doing well this week. New entries and re-entries marked with a *.

1. Kid Rock - Rock - N Roll Jesus (Warner/Atlantic)
2. Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone (Warner/Roadrunner)*
3. Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown (Warner/Roadrunner)*
4. Disturbed - Indestructible (Warner/Reprise)
5. Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight (Warner Bros)
6. Staind - The Illusion Of Progress (Warner/Roadrunner)
7. Nickelback - All The Right Reasons (Warner/Roadrunner)
8. The Offspring - Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace (SonyBMG)
9. 3 Doors Down - 3 Doors Down (Republic)
10. Weezer - Weezer (Universal/Interscope)
11. Black Stone Cherry - Folklore & Superstition (Warner/Roadrunner)
12. Scars On Broadway - Scars On Broadway (Universal)
13. Queen - Greatest Hits 1,2,3 (EMI)
14. Motorhead - Motorizer (SPV)*
15. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Greatest Hits (MCA)*
16. Journey - Revelation (Frontiers)
17. Led Zeppelin - Mothership (Warner/Atlantic)*
18. Simple Plan - Simple Plan (Warner/Atlantic)
19. Motley Crue - Saints Of Los Angeles (Motley Records)
20. Soulfly - Conquer (Warner/Roadrunner)

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GLASVEGAS DON'T HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS
More chart related stuff, and Glasvegas have said that they never expected their eponymous debut album to chart as high as number 2, and that they wouldn't expect it to happen again. NME.com quote the band's frontman James Allan as saying: "I don't think any kind of artist looks that far down the line and expects that [chart] stuff. You're giving yourself a hard time trying to make something special that's true to yourself".

Adding praise for his band-mates, Allan continued: "I'm so proud of everybody who has been with the band, and the band themselves. Early on, especially with the accent, some people thought we were a joke.The things I was writing about when I was unemployed, the thoughts I was trying to express, now that's in a lot of people's minds. It's in their homes or it's in their cars or it's in a club".

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IRON MAIDEN MAN PICKS UP STRANDED XL HOLIDAY MAKERS
Who'd have thought the collapse of the XL holiday company would have a rock n roll angle.

But yes, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson came to the rescue this weekend after British holiday-makers found themselves stranded in Egypt after their flights home were cancelled as a result of XL's demise. As we've surely mentioned before, Dickinson is a pilot in his spare time, and he was hired by Monarch Airlines to fly a specially-chartered jet to get the stranded tourists back from Sharm el Sheikh to Gatwick Airport.

Confirming that he piloted the flight, he told Sky: "I think they were relieved they were going home and finally that something defnite was happening. It 's obviously very stressful being stuck in a foreign country and not knowing 100 percent what's going on. It's probably even difficult even for reps of the company to find out 100 percent what's going on".

Tomorrow I look forward to reporting on how Bono rescued the collapsing Lehman Brothers bank.

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LOHAN NOT ENGAGED, OK?
A spokesman for Lindsay Lohan says she's not marrying girlfriend Samanthan Ronson, despite rumours that have circulated since the popstar-come-actress was seen wearing a ring. Rumours, it should be noted, that were furthered by Ronson reportedly telling clubbers that Lohan "will be Mrs Ronson" by the end of the year. But Lohan's spokesman denies the ring signifies an engagement, saying: "She bought [the ring] herself. It's an antique ring that she found at an antiques store in NYC".

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ANDRE EXPECTS MARRIAGE TO ULTIMATELY END
If Lohan and Ronson do tie the knot perhaps they could learn some tricks from that other sometime-pop star Peter Andre who has been strengthening his marriage to Katie Price by telling reporters that, erm, the partnership is surely ultimately doomed. He told the Mirror that the couple will probably go their separate ways one day, but they'll be happier as a result. Nice. Still, given the divorce stats these days, perhaps we shouldn't knock Andre for being realistic about these things.

If they do split, it won't be as a result of Price "wearing the trousers" in their relationship. Asked about the perception that Jordan calls the shots in their marriage, Andre told the tab women were welcome to the metaphorical trousers: "Let them wear it, let them iron it and let them do whatever they want with the trousers".

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