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ALL WHISTLING OUTLAWED AFTER WHAM TUNE FIASCO
A controversial law has been passed in the cold and desolate state of Slabovia that effectively bans whistling.
Slabovia's fearless dictator, The General Gregory Schmerdiakov, ordered the "whistle and die" mandate after he heard one of his subjects squeezing 'Freedom' by Wham from their puckered lips.
"This Western influence will not be tolerated", The General spat. "No one shall blow tunes from their mouth!" The only exception to this obscure rule is the whistling of Shangri La's 'Leader Of The Pack', which is one of The General's top 100 tunes.
HUDSON'S NEPHEW FOUND DEAD
Police searching for the missing nephew of singer and actress Jennifer Hudson have confirmed that a body found in a white SUV in Chicago yesterday is that of the seven year old boy, Julian King. As previously reported, the child had been missing since Friday, following the murders of his grandmother and uncle (Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson and brother Jason Hudson). Hudson, who identified the body, had, of course, offered $100,000 reward for information leading to his recovery.
Superintendent Jody Weis said: "Today a family and community are grieving but we want them to take comfort in knowing Chicago police and detectives will continue to work around the clock to make sure that justice is served".
King's stepfather, William Balfour, was arrested in relation to the murders, although he has not been charged and is currently being held in custody over a separate parole violation. It's not clear whether he is the prime suspect in the case.
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MERL SAUNDERS DIES
Keyboardist Merl Saunders, who worked with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis, and collaborated over a long period with Jerry Garcia, has died at the age of 74 in San Francisco. He was being treated for the complications caused by a stroke he suffered back in 2002.
Saunders was born in San Mateo in California, and came to notice with the aforementioned collaborations with Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, as well as through his own bands. During his prolific recording career, he released more than twenty albums, and appeared on dozens more, and also had a very active live schedule, playing with his own bands, and with fellow artists like Garcia, Tom Fogerty, Bonnie Raitt, BB King and Sheila E.
A message posted on his official website by his family reads: "We loved him very much and we know that you, his fans, did too. Sad as we are to lose him, we're very aware of being comforted by the affection coming from all those touched by that smile and that wonderful music".
He is survived by his partner, two sons and a daughter.
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FEEDER IN TOUR BUS FIRE
Feeder's tour crew had a narrow escape this weekend when the bus they were travelling in caught fire on the M62 while travelling from Glasgow to Lincoln, following the band's sold out show at Glasgow Barrowlands. At around 5.30am on Saturday morning, the driver of the bus saw flames coming from the back of the bus. He immediately pulled onto the hard shoulder and woke the 13 people on board.
Everyone escaped unharmed from the bus but everything inside it was destroyed, including equipment, merchandise and everyone's clothes. Thankfully, JD Sports kitted them out with new outfits when they finally made it to Lincoln. The band themselves had been travelling separately.
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KILL HANNAH IN TOUR BUS FIRE
It seems touring is a dangerous business, with Feeder not the only band to lose a bus to fire last week. On Tuesday, the members of Kill Hannah, their support band My Passion and their crew awoke to discover their tour bus was on fire. All managed to escape without injury, but the bus was completely destroyed and all possessions on board were lost. Two dates in France and Belgium were cancelled, but all UK dates, which began on Friday, will go ahead as planned.
Kill Hannah frontman Mat Devine wrote on the band's MySpace blog: "It was a view from a postcard that turned into a nightmare. This morning at 9am driving on our tour bus from a show in Bologna, Italy to Paris, France we woke up somewhere in the Swiss Alps to the smell of toxic smoke and the serious tone of our tour manager shouting three words you never want to hear: 'Bus On Fire'. Within seconds all band members (including our support act My Passion), crew and guests were standing shirtless and shoeless on the side of the winding road as the entire two floor 45ft bus was fully engulfed in flames. Windows began bursting from the heat and there were several large explosions. It took Swiss firefighters less than 15 minutes to respond to the blaze, but by that time the bus and virtually all of our possessions were lost: luggage, clothes, passports, wallets, laptops, shoes, phones, and countless irreplaceable sentimental items, including many gifts given to us by fans as we've crisscrossed the UK and Europe over the last month on tour".
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GALLAGHER ATTACKER'S TRIAL DELAYED
Daniel Sullivan, the man who pushed Noel Gallagher over on stage at Virgin Festival in Toronto earlier this year, leaving him with three broken ribs, has had his court case pushed back by a month. The case was due to tried on Friday, but at a hearing that day, was adjourned until 25 Nov.
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AMY WINEHOUSE RUSHED TO HOSPITAL
Amy Winehouse was reportedly "rushed" to hospital at the weekend, because of suspicions that she was suffering from a chest infection. Yes, I know what you're thinking. "Why didn't she just go to the doctor and get some anti-biotics?" Well, I dunno. Except she is a celebrity, and they do things differently in their world. Plus, if those reports a while back about her having emphysema were true, well, I suppose one might want to be extra cautious. Anyway, the Daily Mirror says she is expected to be home soon and to make a full recovery.
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SINGLE REVIEW: Paul Weller - Sea Spray/ 22 Dreams (Island Records)
Unearthing originality in a thirty-one year old career is usually about as successful as the Sex Pistols reunion. Although, for Paul Weller, it seems as embedded into his daily routine as his hair straitening regime. For this double A-side, Weller has juxtaposed two contrasting tracks. 'Sea Spray' is an acoustic number which usurps Paul McCartney in the ageing career use of mandolin stakes. It plays to Weller's husky voice, though it does drag into a fairly uninspiring folk drone. It is in '22 Dreams' that Weller's natural ear for originality shines. An undulating rhythm punctuated by brass and spiky blues guitar proves there's no sign of arthritis in these joints and carries Weller's voice to new heights. This is further proof that where many solo artists begin body snatching their back catalogue, Weller continues with the same zeal and innovation he brought to The Jam, and will continue to do so. GB
Release Date: 3 Nov
Press Contact: Universal IH [All]
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MAXIMO PARK BEGIN WORK ON THIRD ALBUM
Maximo Park have begun recording their third album in LA with producer Nick Launay. The as yet untitled album is due for release in spring next year.
Frontman Paul Smith wrote on the band's MySpace blog: "We are (fairly) hard at work on the new album with a man called Nick Launay, who has worked with a lot of legends and he's just finished the latest Yeah Yeah Yeahs album too. We're hoping his magic powers will rub off on our new songs... Up to now we've been going through songs, it's been a long process, but it feels tantalizing now we're recording them. As we're in the Valley, there aren't many distractions (especially since I can't drive), although there is a cable channel that shows English, Spanish and Italian football. I've already set my alarm to watch the early Premiership matches. The whole affair is going to be quite stripped down compared to the last album because we don't like to repeat ourselves. Nick thinks it's a dance record, and who are we to disagree? Don't be alarmed though, we won't be donning face masks and gore-tex like Altern-8, or dancing like electric monkeys. Apart from [keyboard player] Lukas".
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CRAIG DAVID RECEIVES HONORARY DEGREE
Craig David is to be made an honorary Doctor of Music by Southampton Solent University at a graduation ceremony at Southampton Guildhall on 7 Nov, recognising his contribution to the music industry. Seriously, I'm not making this up. And if you don't believe me, you'll be able to watch the ceremony via a live webcast.
Elsewhere in Craig David news, the singer will release a greatest hits compilation on 24 Nov, and will be preceded by a new Jim Beanz-produced single, 'Insomnia', on 17 Nov.
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GELDOF GETS HONORARY DEGREE TOO
Elsewhere in music related people (however much of a stretch that may be) getting degrees news, Bob Geldof recently got an honorary one from the University of East London.
Lining up with hundreds of other students receiving their degrees in science and technology, Geldof joked "I actually thought you were going to be a bunch of musos, it turns out you're geeks. I've absolutely no idea what you've just received your degrees for - empirical studies, expressive external systems engineering - whatever, I thought engineers built bridges".
He also said this: "East London means to me mostly where my kids go out at night, and I have to go and pick them up - Shoreditch, Dalston, those kind of places. I have lived in London most of my life, and east London is probably the most fluid part of London. There's a constant influx of people, immigrants like myself, so it's great to come here and see this mix of people now all amazingly well-qualified".
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NME SAY THE CURE ARE NEXT GODLIKE GENIUSES
NME have announced that The Cure will be the recipient of their 2009 Godlike Genius award, which is nice for them. The band will play live at the NMW Awards ceremony in Feb next year, and the band's Robert Smith has promised a retrospective set, telling NME.com: "I think it is a recognition of all The Cure has done over the years, so it would be pretty dumb to accept the award with a, 'Hey! Have you heard our new stuff?'. So we won't be doing that! It's all a question of balance. We are not going to turn up and start being weird! We'll play some new stuff, some old stuff and some stuff from in between, trying to distil 30 years into 30 minutes!"
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ALBUM REVIEW: SebastiAn - Remixes (Ed Banger Records)
Electro musician Sebastian Akchot‚, better known simply by his first name, with a capitalised 'A' added at the end for a dose of French chic, has a lot going for him these days. As one of the premier acts for DJ and producer Pedro Winter's electro house label Ed Banger, standing alongside the likes of Justice and Uffie, SebastiAn already has both cool and credibility factors to his name. Making his start opening for Daft Punk on their early 'Homework' tours, SebastiAn has had a slow rise from obscurity through the Parisian underground scene, before signing with Ed Banger back in 2004. Following on from acclaimed EPs 'Smoking Kills' and 'Ross Ross Ross', comes this release collecting the myriad fantastic remixes SebastiAn has slowly collated. The hitlist includes the likes of Daft Punk, Bloc Party, Klaxons, The Rapture, as well as a virtually unrecognisable track from Annie. Perhaps the most interesting moments on the selection comes at the times where SebastiAn feels like he is challenging himself, rather than following a tempting route of French-house-by-numbers. A remix of Kelis' 'Bossy' allows the track to remain mostly intact, taking nothing away but adding a lot to make this song arguably as good as the original. Overall, it was definitely time for these remixes to be released as a collection. 'Remixes' is surprisingly coherent and showcases Sebastian's brilliant talent for making songs his own. TA
Release Date: 27 Oct
Press Contact: Darling Department
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LIVE NATION SIGNS NEW DEAL WITH ROYAL PARKS
Live Nation has signed a three year deal with Royal Parks, meaning that they can continue to stage large scaled events like Party In The Park, Hard Rock Calling and the Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park until 2011. As well as recurring events, the promoters have staged one off gigs from the likes of Bon Jovi, Shania Twain, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Simon & Garfunkel in the park in recent years.
Live Nation's festival director John Probyn said: "Hyde Park is a unique venue in the middle of a unique city. We intend to continue to bring the very best in music and entertainment to the heart of the community. I am delighted that we can continue to develop shows in Hyde Park and work with the professional agencies who support us such as Royal Parks, Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Police and our partners".
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AIF LAUNCH SECURITY TASK FORCE
The Association of Independent Festivals has announced an initiative to try and deal with the problem of campsite crime at music festivals, including the theft of tents. A new 'Security Task Force' has been formed and will attempt to target the gangs acknowledged to be responsible for the majority of this sort of criminal activity.
It's hoped that the Task Force will enable festival organisers to share intelligence on the aforementioned gangs, and therefore tackle the issue more effectively, maintaining a consistent presence at all participating festivals whilst working with event security companies and police services to identify known criminals before they've even set foot on site.
AIF board member and Loud Sound director Jim King says: "Whilst still statistically low, thefts at UK festivals have to be addressed. Customer experience and safety is a most important part of the whole festival experience and we want to act to ensure that customers have a great time at our events without experiencing the upsetting scenario of being a victim of crime".
Rob da Bank, Bestival promoter and AIF co-founder adds: "Tent theft at our festivals has always been very low, but any theft at all is really upsetting for the promoter and the people involved. This was one of the main reasons I wanted to set up AIF and I really believe we can make a difference with this initiative".
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EMI MAKES DEAL WITH INMOTION
EMI Music have cut a deal with InMotion Entertainment, a major US airport based entertainment retailer, to put their content into the company's PlayPoint Media Hotspot kiosks, a touch screen facility used by travellers to download MP3s ahead of boarding their flights.
InMotion have a total of forty five of the machines at twenty of the largest US airports. Users need a credit card and their own portable player, of course, to use the download platform, which will retail albums at a cost of $11.99.
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GMG'S MYERS TO BE REPLACED BY TAYLOR
GMG radio chief exec John Myers has, as previously reported, announced that he'll stand down in April. The news today is that he'll be replaced by current deputy chief executive Stuart Taylor, also the chair of RATL, the Radio Academy's trading company.
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ISLAND CELEBRATES 50TH BIRTHDAY WITH FESTIVAL
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of Island Records, and to mark this milestone, the label's founder Chris Blackwell is organising a whole host of events. This will include a week-long festival of live shows by Island artists past and present at The Shepherds Bush Empire, with all proceeds from the shows will be donated to Amnesty International and The Oracabessa Foundation in Jamaica. As well as this there will be a film festival, exhibition of photographs, artwork and memorabilia, reissues, TV and radio documentaries and a new book.
Founded in Jamaica in 1959, Island relocated with Blackwell to London in the early 60s, building up a diverse catalogue of artists from Bob Marley to U2. The history of the label is so interesting, that it is now taught in Music and Music Business courses at over 50 UK universities and colleges.
Blackwell told CMU: "When I recorded 'Lance Hayward At The Half Moon' in 1959 at Federal Records Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, I had no inkling what path this had set me on. It has been an honour and a privilege to work with some of the greatest musical artists of all time. It was always my intention at Island to make records that stood the test of time, and I'm proud that Island is still a potent force in music 50 years since that first release. I'm very excited to be collaborating with the label to organise a number of events to celebrate Island's 50th birthday in 2009".
Island Co-President Darcus Beese added: "When I first started at Island in Promotions in 1988, Chris was still running things and I was in awe of him because the artists he signed soundtracked my life. I can't say that I've got over being in awe of him, but I can say that I'm immensely proud and humbled to be attempting to build on the incredible legacy that he created and it is a pleasure to be working with the great man to mark Island's 50th birthday".
More info at www.island50.com
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DEADLINE APPROACHES FOR STUDENT RECORD OF THE DAY AWARDS
As announced last week, this year music industry daily digest Record Of The Day is teaming up with us here at CMU and collecting society PPL to champion the best music journalists of the future by launching two new awards for student media people as part of its annual Music Journalism And PR Awards - Best Student Music Journalist and Best Student Music Photographer. Any students wishing to enter should act now, though, as the deadline for entries is 3 Nov.
Their work will be judged by an impressive bunch - NME features editor James McMahon, Observer Music Monthly editor Caspar Llewellyn Smith, Clash magazine editor Simon Harper, and music journalists Jude Rogers and Caroline Sullivan - and the overall winners will receive an award at the bash in London on 27 November, as well as the opportunity of work experience at both the Observer Music Monthly and Clash magazine, and a commission from NME.com.
So, how to enter... it's simple, it really is.
If you are a student journalist who writes about music, all you have to do is write a 150-200 word review of the track 'Steel' by new Dublin-based band Noise Control, which you can check out at this URL - www.muzu.tv/noisecontrol/Steel/32047 (though review the song not the video), and submit it along with two other music reviews or features that have been published in your student newspaper at some point in 2008; plus tell us your name, your university and the student newspaper you write for. You can email your entries to [email protected], or mail cuttings to RotD Awards, CMU, Unicorn House, 221-222 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6PJ.
If you are a student photographer it's even easier. Simply email three photos of artists or bands you have taken this year to [email protected]. The pictures can be band portraits, live or studio shots. You should tell us what bands feature in the pictures and where they were taken, plus your name, your university and the student newspaper you work for. Photos should be saved as JPEGs and be no more than 300k each.
And that's it. It goes without saying that all work must be your own. So, spread the word. All entries must be received by 3 Nov.
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CMU UNSIGNED MONTH BEGINS NEXT WEEK
Another pressing opportunity to promote upcoming talent is approaching, too. This time it's the turn of Unsigned bands. As previously reported, CMU is teaming up with MUZU to champion the best unsigned talent throughout November. Each day we will tip a different unsigned or self-releasing band in our SNAP Of The Day slot, linking to their MUZU channel and featuring their content on the CMU-Tube. All unsigned bands are invited to put themselves forward. Obviously, November is not far away so if you're in such a band, or know someone who is, get on over to www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/unsigned and find out how you can put yourselves forward for consideration.
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LIVE REVIEW: Mogwai at Hammersmith Apollo on 24 Oct
Mogwai have been together for over 10 years now and as a result have a polished live performance with energy, power and precision, allowing their quiet/loud dynamic to pulverize the listener into almost an altered state. Frontman Stuart Braithwaite gave a virtuoso display; conducting his guitar orchestra and cutting a dash in his hoodie, and drummer Martin Bulloch's recently reported illness, which led to the cancellation of their US tour, was not evident as he pounded out a solid backbeat through. The set was a treat, with a sparkling light show. Imaginative and unusual, there were mirrorballs, bright blinding white and an array of colours to help us drift. Of course, an almost entirely instrumental performance can be difficult to stick with, but this isn't an Arctic Monkeys crowd and the sold out Apollo erupted after each piece of beautiful, frightening or blissful music with equal measure and, from my point of view, the fact that I was transported from being hungover and half asleep to euphoric and buzzing (albeit half deaf) by the end is testament to the sheer force of this music. Am I gushing? No, it was that good. IM
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WOMBATS TEAM UP WITH LES DENNIS
According to reports, The Wombats are teaming up with comedian Les Dennis on a charity Christmas single. The entertainer, who became involved after he heard that the band were looking for a Liverpool celeb to collaborate with them, does a spoken word intro to the track, which is entitled 'Is This Christmas?'
Dennis said he was thrilled to be taking part in the project, and said of The Wombats: "They were great and cool and I loved their music. They are a great Liverpool band - I think it's great that they have done this". He added that the song was witty and ironic and "a real indie Christmas song".
Proceeds from the single, to be released on 15 Dec via download only, are to be donated to Mencap.
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BRITNEY TO PLAY BRITNEY
According to reports (or perhaps, rumours), Britney Spears has agreed to play herself in a film about her life. Which is a recipe for disaster if you ask me. The movie, described as "dark and gritty" is apparently in pre-production right now. There's still time to back out, kiddo.
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COLDPLAY SUPPORT OBAMA
Not hugely surprising that the members of Coldplay would support Barack Obama over John McCain in the US presidential race, but I suppose it's still news that they've come out and said it on US TV. The band played a three song set on Saturday Night Live at the weekend, and the band's Chris Martin wore a white armband with Obama's name on it, and also shouted his name at the close of the performance.
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MORE ZEPPELIN TALK
I suggest a large proportion of you skip reading this item, as you probably just don't care any more whether Led Zeppelin tour or not. But there's been a bit more talk about it, and I feel duty bound to report it. Bassist John Paul Jones has said that he "really hopes" that he, Jimmy Page and Jason [son-of-John] Bonham will do some live dates and has told BBC Radio Devon that the group are trying out some vocalists to replace Robert Plant.
Jones is quoted as saying: "We are trying out a couple of singers. We want to do it. It's sounding great and we want to get on and get out there. It's got to be right. There's no point in just finding another Robert. You could get that out of a tribute band, but we don't want to be our own tribute band. There would be a record and a tour, but everyone has to be on board".
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JO WHILEY GIVES BIRTH
Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley has given birth to a baby girl and called it Coco Lux. Coco is her fourth child with former Virgin exec Steve Morton. Whiley said: "The whole family is very much smitten with Coco".
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GROHL EXPECTING SECOND CHILD
More baby news, and Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl is expecting his second child with his wife Jordyn. Speaking to People, he said: "We don't talk about how much we drank last night [anymore]. [Now] it's how much sleep we got, how much sleep the baby got, diaper rash, formula. We used to go on the road for three months at a time. It's a struggle for me to leave for even 12 days. I realised the life I always imagined beginning once the band ended has to begin now".
He also clarified that previously reported hiatus that his band are going on, confirming that it's a haitus from playing in the UK, rather than one of those disguised split things. He said: "We're over in the UK every year, every summer, so I think it's time to take a break and come back over when people really miss us".
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KATY PERRY PROMOTES CHILDHOOD OBESITY
Katy Perry has responded to claims that she thinks knife crime is good, after a picture of her posing with a knife appeared in The Sun last week, by posting a picture of herself holding a spoon on her blog. Along with it, she added the message: "...But I DO condone eating ice cream with a very large spoon. Dear Sun: You deserve a time out. Your 'journalistic' approach has half the soul of the National Enquirer. Shame on you".
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