| CMU Daily - on the inside 16 Dec 2002 |
|
In today's CMU Daily:
• Eavis talks about losing Glastonbury licence,
• Promoters confirm Guns N Roses cancellation,
• Radio 1 announce new chart host,
• Van Halen disputes,
• World Service celebrate 70 years with 5 city concert,
• Bond director defend’s Madonna track,
• Will Smith impersonator jailed,
• Review: Vikter Duplaix – International Affairs,
• Blackburn quits Capital,
• Timberlake and Apears – the latest pop feud?,
• Aphex Twin remix album planned,
• Fame Academy winner on his new life,
• Public Enemy confirmed for ATP – tickets on sale for rescheduled Dedbeat,
• Westlife cancel single release
------------------------------------------------
Cryptic Christmas songs - which festive number is this clue referring too?
‘Seasons greetings (but wishful thinking?)’
Answer tomorrow
------------------------------------------------
CHART REPORT
Well, if you had to be in a boy band this morning I’d be in Blue. As expected, their duet with Elton John (a cover of Elton’s ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’) went straight in to number one in the singles chart this week. Meanwhile their last single ‘One Love is still in the Top 40 (at 37) and their album sits at number 2 in the Album Chart.
Elsewhere in the singles chart Gareth Gates scored one position higher than expected with ‘What My Heart Wants To Say’ – though a new entry at five, below existing Top Ten tracks from David Bedingfield, Eminem and the Cheeky Girls, is something of a come down for the pop idol. As the battle of the Popstar rivals kicks off, has the bubble burst?
Still a very poptastic chart as we head towards Christmas – though a new entry from Pink (in at 11 with ‘Family Portrait’) is always welcome round here.
Albums wise the news is no news! No change in the top four (still Robbie, Blue, Westlife, Elton). No new entries to talk about – though some of the big albums of the year climb again as the Christmas shopping rush begins (Coldplay, David Gray and Red Hot Chili Peppers among them).
All talk onto Christmas number one now – the boys, the girls or Death in Vegas? Probably the former. For anything more interestingly musically – you’ll have to wait for January I’m afraid.
------------------------------------------------
EAVIS TALKS ABOUT LOSING GLASTONBURY LICENCE
Michael Eavis has been talking to the NME about Mendip District Council’s decision he refuse a licence for Glastonbury 2003.
"It was unbelievable. I could not believe it. It was the best application we have ever had. It was the strongest and most robust. We'd already succeeded with the fence, we'd proved that we can do it. We were confident. We had the police on our side. We should have won really." Eavis reckons the absence of six members of the licensing committee went against him. "It was really close, we should have really won it. People were away doing other things. It's just a shame, it was really bad timing. "
The four reasons for refusing the licence were given as follows: the festival has an unacceptable environmental impact, it causes an unacceptable increase in crime and disorder, particularly in the village outside the Pilton site, the location of the site is unsuitable and “taking into account the past failure to comply with licensed conditions the applicant is unfit to hold the licence".
The crux of the problem is that increased security on site this year in order to stop the traditional ‘fence hoppers’ pushed non-ticket holders into local villages. Eavis' proposal pledged to fund security officers and extra police off site to combat this problem next year – but the opposition were unconvinced.
Defending last year’s festival he told NME: "They say there was a lot of trespass, but there was no actual violence, no one got punched or anything like that. Two-hundred people were roaming around the village generally being a nuisance, but they weren't fighting people; people weren't assaulted or anything."
Eavis will appeal against the ruling immediately and is confident of eventually winning permission to hold the event next June.
------------------------------------------------
PROMOTERS CONFIRM GUNS N ROSES CANCELLATION
Clear Channel Entertainment have officially confirmed that all future dates of the latest Guns ‘n’ Roses tour have been cancelled – though they still gave no reason. Their statement simple said: "The remainder of the Guns N' Roses concert dates promoted by Clear Channel Entertainment have been canceled. Refunds will be available at point of purchase."
The official announcement from the Philadelphia venue that had to cancel a show at the last minute last week said a band member had been taken ill – other reports suggested that the band member was Axl Rose. But no further official comment has been made as to whether illness caused the whole tour to be cancelled.
------------------------------------------------
RADIO 1 ANNOUNCE NEW CHART HOST
23 year old former Galaxy presenter Wes Butters will front the new look Top 40 show when it launches on Radio 1 next February. Mark Goodier left the show on the chart’s fiftieth birthday last month – since then different Radio 1 presenters have been taking it in turn to present the countdown. According to The Sun, Radio 1 bosses hope the new look show fronted by such a young DJ will give the programme a younger, trendier feel.
------------------------------------------------
VAN HALEN DISPUTES
David Lee Roth has filed a lawsuit against his ex-Van Halen bandmates claiming that Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony hid royalties from him, breaching their fiduciary duty to Roth. The suit alleges the band signed a deal with Warners in 1996 without his knowledge or authorisation for increased royalties from album sales. As a result he reckons he is $200,000 out of pocket.
Roth now wants an accountant to review the royalties and determine the interest on them. He then expects to receive said royalties plus compensation. Roth fronted Van Halen for eight years before going solo in 1985. He worked with the band again in 1996 recording lead vocals for tracks on the greatest hits album.
------------------------------------------------
WORLD SERVICE CELEBRATE 70 YEARS WITH 5 CITY CONCERT
The BBC World Service celebrated its seventieth birthday this weekend with five concerts around the world – the events in Dakar, Mumbai, Kabul, Mexico City and London featuring musical talent from around the world including Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal and Ms Dynamite.
In what was a real technical challenge all five concerts were broadcast on the Service in a programme fronted by Radio 1 DJs John Peel and Emma B in London.
------------------------------------------------
BOND DIRECTOR DEFEND’S MADONNA TRACK
The director of the latest Bond movie has been defending Madonna’s title track. The ‘Die Another Day’ theme song has come in for much criticism. Even the film’s composer, David Arnold, called it “tune-free”.
But the movie's director Lee Tamahori has told Australian music website Undercover that he likes the song. "There is no secret that for 40 years the Bond movies have always employed 'The Ballad'. The Shirley Bassey template that was set in Goldfinger set the tone forever. Then somewhere in the 80s they started experimenting with Duran Duran and so and so. But, as a fan of the genre, it always seemed to me to be a little behind the 8 ball. By the time it came out it was like "oh wasn't that last years...." So anyway, it was flavour of the month all through the 80s. I have always like the ballad but when it came to the 20th movie, 40th anniversary we wanted to move beyond the ballad. It was a conscious decision to do so."
"People love this song, people hate this song" he continued. "Bond traditionalists don't seem to like Madonna coming in with her electronic, techno, dance, track. However, there is a huge audience out there, a much younger audience who don't care about Shirley Bassey and all the great themes".
------------------------------------------------
WILL SMITH IMPERSONATOR JAILED
A man accused of using credit cards fraudulently gained in Will Smith’s name has been given a three year jail sentence. Carlos Lomax of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty to spending almost $33,000 on unauthorised credit cards which he acquired using Will Smith’s name. Investigators said they found a computer at Lomax’s home which had been used to search the Internet for personal information on actors, sports figures and their families.
------------------------------------------------
REVIEW: Vikter Duplaix – International affairs (Hollywood)
This is a long awaited album. And no anticlimax now that it’s finally here. Having worked in the studio and on the mic, with artists including Jazzanova, Erykah Badu, King Britt and Jamiroquai, as well as a number of mind-blowing solo tracks, this album is his first solo long player. Although much of his solo work to date has been groundbreaking future soul/broken beat, the album has a very smooth and slick production edge underneath his sweet heartfelt now-soul vocals. While many of the beats show where he’s been musically and stylistically, some tracks lack the ruggedness of his previous projects. This is mere expectation: the fact is, that here is a forward-thinking and ceaselessly beautiful album of contemporary soul with a range of tempos and beats that go from emotional to insatiably sexy. Any remixes will surely blow us away.
Release date: 27 Jan
Press contact: Smash [all]
------------------------------------------------
BLACKBURN QUITS CAPITAL
Tony Blackburn is quitting his show on oldies station Capital Gold to take up the weekday breakfast show at rival network Classic Gold. The UBC owned station hopes that Blackburn’s boosted profile post ‘Get Me Out Of Here’ will help win new listeners. Blackburn currently presents weekend shows on both the Capital and UBC stations – which both broadcast in cities around the country – but when he takes over the breakfast show at the latter he will part company with the former, fifteen years after he joined Capital.
Talking about the move Blackburn told Media Guardian: "I am excited at the prospect of returning to my breakfast roots. The Classic Gold network already feels like home to me following my Saturday morning shows with them and I am looking forward to working six days a week with such a great team. I'm sorry to be leaving the Capital Group after 15 years but I felt, entering my 39th year on air, this was such exciting opportunity I just couldn't turn it down."
------------------------------------------------
TIMBERLAKE AND SPEARS – THE LATEST POP FEUD?
Gossip from the world of pop. According to American celebrity magazine US Weekly former couple Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake have dropped the ‘we’re still good friends’ routine and are engaging in something of a feud.
The magazine presents the video for Timberlake’s new single as evidence. The video features 18-year-old model/actress Lauren Hastings - looking rather like Britney – cheating on Timberlake. The video seems to pay tribute to rumours that Spears cheated on Timberlake with choreographer Wade Robson while they were still an item.
Responding to the video on MTV’s Total Request Live Show Spears denied there was even a resemblance between herself and Hastings, and when asked what she thought about the video said "Boys will be boys."
Other evidence? US Weekly point to Spears wearing a t-shirt bearing the slogan ‘Dump Him’ (allegedly a message to Timberlake’s new girlfriend), to Timberlake discussing the couple’s sex life (implying that, despite Spear’s claims to the contrary, they did have sex) and to Timberlake’s questioning of Britney’s decision to make the movie ‘Crossroads’.
Of course cynics suggest that the ‘feud’ is a useful technique for Timberlake to boost his profile and sales of his solo album, while others point out US Weekly has a habit of publishing vicious rumours with no real proof!
------------------------------------------------
APHEX TWIN REMIX ALBUM PLANNED
Warp are set to release a double CD from Aphex Twin which compiles ten years' worth of remixes under the catchy title of ‘26 Mixes for Cash’.
Talking about the remixes Aphex Twin told reporters: "Basically, I'll take a song and make it into something that I like. The original comes to me in a form that I hate, then I have to do a serious bit of alteration to it, and sometimes I don't even bother -- I just give them a track that has nothing to do with the song."
The album should be released in March.
------------------------------------------------
FAME ACADEMY WINNER ON HIS NEW LIFE
David Sneddon has been talking about his victory on the BBC’s much criticised reality talent show Fame Academy. Commenting on his prize – a year of luxury living in Notthing Hill and a million pound record contract – he assured reporters his family would help him keep his feet on the ground, though he admitted his new life would be a little different to what he was used to. "I am so ecstatic, I am very grateful and very humble. Winning really will change my life. I was so skint. I borrowed a lot of money from friends and my girlfriend and I was struggling to get through those times thinking that my music wasn't getting anywhere." No word yet on what releases we can expect from Sneddon, though judges commended his songwriting in particular, so for once he might launch his career with an original track!
------------------------------------------------
PUBLIC ENEMY CONFIRMED FOR ATP – TICKETS ON SALE FOR RESCHEDULED DEDBEAT
Public Enemy have been confirmed as amongst the line up of next year’s All Tomorrow’s Parties. They join Aphex Twin, Cannibal Ox and The Fall on the line up at the Camber Sands event, taking place from 4-6 Apr. More info at www.alltomorrowsparties.co.uk
Meanwhile organisers of the Dedbeat weekender, postponed last month, have put tickets on sale for the rescheduled event – now taking place from 28 Feb to 3 Mar. More info at www.dedbeat.net
------------------------------------------------
WESTLIFE CANCEL SINGLE RELEASE
A Christmas gift from RCA – they have confirmed Westlife have decided to scrap the release of their next single ‘Miss You Nights’, which was due to go on sale in January. Apparently band members Shane and Nicky are both unwell and would be unable to proceed with the promotional work attached to the release (Shane’s the one who sings, so it would be a bit of a problem!). According to their group’s website the track will now feature as the b-side to their next single release ‘Tonight’ – which currently has a March release date.
------------------------------------------------
Answer to Friday's cryptic Christmas song:
Cryptic Christmas songs - which festive number is this clue referring too?
“No one else around on the 25th?”
‘Lonely This Christmas’ by Mud