Paul McCartney has reportedly come to a $63 million out-of-court settlement with former wife Heather Mills ending
6 months of bitter divorce talks. But lawyers for Mills have denied there has been a settlement offered or accepted.
The body of James Brown has been moved according to the late singer's attorney. Brown's family has reportedly been
seeking advice from the family of Elvis Presley on how to create something similar to Graceland out of Brown's
estate. Meanwhile, according to the singer's probate attorney Strom Thurmond Jr., Brown's will was signed on Aug.
1, 2000 (prior to Brown's marriage to Tomi Rae Hynie and birth of their son.)
The Canadian Press reports, guitarist Jeff Healey is recovering after successful surgery in a Toronto hospital
to remove cancerous tissue from his lungs. This is his third cancer operation in the last 18 months (two sarcomas
were removed from his left leg previously.)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers grabbed the #1 spot on Billboard's Modern Rock chart with their single, "Snow (Hey
Oh)." This becomes the second time that the band has had 3 songs from an album top the chart (which ties them
with Green Day.) The band have also become the first to land 10 #1 hits on that chart.
Pirates Of The Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer appeared on Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics show in Las
Vegas and confirmed that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards will appear in the upcoming film Pirates Of The
Caribbean: At The World's End.
Danielle Dax has been forced to cancel her spoken work performances in Greece and Italy scheduled for the end of
this month and early February due to ill health.
Former Jane's Addiction bassist Chris Chaney was expected to join his new band The Panic Channel on the start of
their North American tour but, due to family obligations which prevent it, he and the band have amicably parted
ways. Their new bassist is Siggy Sjursen.
Neil Young is expected to release Archives Volume 1, a collection of 8 CDs and two DVDs of unreleased live and
studio tracks, this autumn.
Coldcut release their new DVD, Sound Mirrors Videos & Remixes, this week. The disc collects a collection of
collaborative videos created as an expansion beyond their recent Sound Mirrors album.
Stone City Records has announced plans to celebrate the 3-year anniversary of Rick James' death by releasing the
last album he was working on. The first single from the album, "Deeper Still," will be released later
this month. James' autobiography, Memoirs of a Superfreak, will be released in April and his estate has given the
green light to work on a film about the singer's life.
Elton John will reportedly be celebrating his 60th birthday with his 60th performance at New York's Madison Square
Garden on Mar. 25th. The special birthday show is expected to be broadcast on British network ITV as a 90-minute
special.
Loretta Lynn has been busy recording. She is currently working on a gospel album, Christmas album and a new greatest
hits collection.
Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor have been working in the studio with Paul Rodgers on some new material. The
group are excited about the new songs plan to test them on tour in May.
Crowded House have confirmed they will reform for the first time in over a decade for a tour this year that will
coincide with a new studio album. This would be the first studio effort following the suicide of drummer Paul Hester
in 2005 and follows the reunion of Split Enz for a tour last year.
XYZ's Terry Ilous will be releasing a new CD next month. The disc will be a 'best of' featuring rare, newer and
older tracks recorded over the last few years with several friends including Jeff Pilson, Vinnie Appice, Sean McNabb,
the late Randy Castillo and many others.
Former XTC bandmates Andy Partridge and Barry Andrews have a new project with drummer Martyn Barker called Monstrance.
The trio recorded an improvised, live-in-the-studio double album from the two studio sessions. The self-titled
album is due out in April.
In an effort to aid in the reconstruction of New Orleans, Harry Connick Jr. has created an album of songs inspired
by and associated with the town entitled Oh My Nola which is due out Jan. 30th.
Rhino plans to release some early Dokken material with unissued bonus tracks. The CD, From Conception: Live 1981,
and DVD, Unchain The Night, will be released on Mar. 13th. The band recently went back into the studio to work
on their 9th studio album, Lightning Strikes Again.
A new Johnny Cash gospel music compilation entitled Here Was A Man: The Ultimate Gospel Collection is in expected
to be released on Mar. 6th via Sony.
Anita Baker, Johnny Mathis, Donna Summer, Vanessa Williams and Barry Manilow will guest on saxophonist Dave Koz's
new album, At The Movies, due out on Jan. 30th.
A new 20-track compilation entitled Casey Kasem Presents: The Long Distance Dedications will be released this week.
Among the 80's hits included in the collection are songs by Whitney Houston, Sarah McLachlan, Cher, Phil Collins,
Chicago, Mike & The Mechanics, Richard Marx, Amy Grant, Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram and Diana Ross &
Lionel Richie.
Stryper have been working on their next studio album with plans to release it in late spring/early summer.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are preparing a documentary film and live album from their Freedom of Speech '06
North American tour with expectations of releasing both this year.
Diana Ross appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote her new album, I Love You, and mentioned that
she will serve as a mentor on the new season of American Idol.
Sony BMG/Legacy have scheduled a Mar. 20th release date for the eponymous collaborative album by Ricky Skaggs and
Bruce Hornsby.
Bad Brains will release their new 14-track Adam Yauch-produced studio album, Build A Nation, later this spring
via Megaforce Records.
Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price have finished work on their 22-track double-CD collaborative effort,
Last Of The Breed. The album is due out on Mar. 20th and features guest appearances by Kris Kristofferson and Vince
Gill. A March tour is being planned.
Sandra releases her new single, "The Way I Am," on Jan. 26th. The song comes from her upcoming album,
The Art Of Love, due out Feb. 16th.
StingUs.net posted news that the Police open the Grammy Awards show on Feb. 11th which would launch 80 live concert
dates from the reunited trio. The site removed the article after receiving a request shortly after.
Metalblade Records is scheduled to reissue a remastered version of Lizzy Borden's 1989 album, Master of Disguise,
on Mar. 6th which will include the previously-unreleased demo track "Vampires Kiss."
According to a post on Bjork's official Web site, the singer has started work on her next studio effort and recruited
producer Timbaland for two songs. The album is expected out in late spring.
They Might Be Giants and J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr.) are among the artists that have contributed tracks to the new
album, Dig For Fire: A Tribute To The Pixies, due out this fall.
A Feb. 4th Super Bowl pre-game performance by Stevie Nicks will kick off a few performances early this year. Nicks
is also planning to release a greatest hits collection this spring.
OneTwo have re-released their single, "Cloud Nine," which was co-written and features guitarwork from
Depeche Mode's Martin Gore. The single preceeds their new studio album, Instead, due out Feb. 26th.
San Francisco metal act Havoc plan to reunite for a tour of Northern California. The group are also working on
re-releasing their 1986 album, The Grip, and have some new material.
Bob Dylan's new song, "Huck's Tune," will join songs from Bruce Springsteen, George Jones, Liza Minnelli
and Kris Kristofferson on the Lucky You soundtrack due out Mar. 13th.
A speech made by Bono at the White House in 2005 will be released on Apr. 3rd as a book entitled On The Move with
royalties going to the ONE campaign.
The Offspring frontman Dexter Holland has launched his new Gringo Bandito Hot Sauce in the U.S. The sauce can be
purchased online at www.gringobandito.com which also contains recipes.
Michelle Shocked will see 9 of her albums become available for download at iTunes. An previously released exclusive,
Live EP, will be made available and there are plans for an iTunes Essentials package. The singer is also working
on her new studio album due out in August and her Austin City Limits performance could be released on DVD in June.
As is becoming customary with new releases, John Mellencamp's Freedom's Road will different bonus tracks (mainly
different versions of album tracks or DVD tracks) depending on the retailer (Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City and
iTunes) you purchase it from. The Tour Edition at Target provides a digital code to allow you to purchase 4 pre-sale
tickets for the upcoming tour. Participating independent music stores give out a bookmark. Mellencamp.com offers
a special bundled discount when you purchase the CD and an "Our Country" t-shirt. A preview of the album
at Sneak Peek (http://clearchannelmusic.com/cc-common/mfeatures/johnmellencampSP/) is up but will not be available
after the album is released.
According to a post at his official Web site, Michael Sadler has announced that he will be departing the band Saga
later this year. It cites his reason for leaving as mostly being of a "personal nature."
Mixing begins this month on Nine Inch Nails' new studio album, Year Zero, with plans to release it in April.
The Broadway musical version of the 1980 film 9 To 5 will feature a score written by Dolly Parton (who portrayed
Doralee Rhodes and sang the Oscar-nominated title song) when it opens in New York this fall.
Kristin Hersh of the Throwing Muses will release a new EP entitled In Shock this month followed by her new solo
album, Learn To Sing Like A Star.
The original lineup of the dB's (Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Gene Holder and Will Rigby) performed in New York
City for the first time in over 25 years last week.
Vixen's new studio album, Live & Learn, will be released via Demolition Records in the U.S. on Jan. 30th.
U.K. rock act Shy have announced that Lee Small will be their new lead singer. The band plan to spend much of the
year working on new material for release early next year. Former vocalist Tony Mills left the band last year to
join TNT.
The Goo Goo Dolls have announced that they are building a recording studio in their hometown of Buffalo, New York.
They don't expect to make money on the project but see it as a not-for-profit project that can assist friends,
family and local talent.
The Cult will be entering the recording studio to start work on their next album with plans for a fall release.
A DVD is also in the pipeline from their Nov. 2006 at Irving Plaza in New York City.
Bad Religion are preparing a new studio album for release in on June 26th. Meanwhile, frontman Greg Gaffin is teaching
Life Science 1: Evolution and Biodiversity at UCLA.
Stiff plans to reissue Tracey Ullman's 1983 debut album, You Broke My Heart In 17 Places, in the U.K. on Mar. 12th
featuring 4 bonus tracks.
Scotland's the Silencers will reunite for a rare one-off benefit concert in tribute to their cancer-stricken guitarist
Cha Burns on Feb. 9th.
Death metal act Obituary recently released a new DVD and are writing new material. The band plan to head into the
studio in March and release the new album in July.
Producer Colin Thurston passed away last week after a long illness. Thurston influenced the sound of 'new wave'
on the first two Duran Duran albums as well as albums by Human League, Talk Talk, Kajagoogoo, Gary Numan, Howard
Jones, Bow Wow Wow, Iggy Pop and Camouflage.
Former Social Distortion and Agent Orange bassist Brent Liles, 43, was hit by a truck and killed while riding his
bike last week. An investigation into the accident is ongoing but the driver of the truck was not cited.