Simple Minds vocalist Jim Kerr and his brother
Paul
have been charged with attempted extortion, slander and defamation by,
the former manager of Villa Angela, Salvatore Moschella according to a
report received by the Procura of Messina (which is similar to the
Italian D.A.'s office.) Moschella had been charged with
stealing money from the Taormina hotel and even using the location for
his sexual encounters with minors. He was later fired by
hotel owner Kerr. Moschella has charged the Kerr brothers
with stalking and threatening to ruin his reputation unless he withdrew
the recent charges against them. Jim and Paul have denied
those charges and the matter is currently under investigation by a
magistrate. Meanwhile, 'collector's editions' of the band's
Sparkle In The Rain and New Gold Dream will be released in April.
Gilby Clarke has updated fans to his recovery. "Injury
update... my 1st surgery went well & I'm home from the
hospital. If everything looks good Friday, I can have the 2nd
surgery next week. Thanks again for all the kind thoughts
& prayers, they're working..."
According to his agent, Charlie Daniels, 73, was snowmobiling in
Colorado on Friday when he suffered a mild stroke. He was
released from the hospital two days later and is currently recovering
at home. Daniels has no plans to cancel any upcoming concert
dates -- the first being Feb. 27th in Florida.
Bruce Springsteen has been nominated for International Male Solo Artist
during the upcoming 2010 BRIT Awards. Phil Collins' No Jacket
Required and Sade's Diamond Life are up for BRITs Album of 30 Years.
The Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel soundtrack fell 3 places to
#9 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Michael Jackson's This
Is It soundtrack climbed 6 spots to #17. Glee Cast's Glee:
Season One: The Music Volume 2 fell 7 places to #22. Glee
Cast's Glee: Season One: The Music Volume 1 dropped 7 spots to
#27. Michael Jackson's Number Ones climbed 4 places to #31.
Sade's "Soldier Of Love" is the highest charting song on the Billboard
Hot 100 singles chart -- debuting at #58.
Queen's Absolute Greatest retained the #24 spot on the U.K. Albums
chart. Fleetwood Mac's The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac held
steady at #31. Whitney Houston's The Ultimate Collection
retained the #39 spot.
Glee Cast's "Don't Stop Believin'" debuted at #5 on the U.K. Singles
chart topping Journey's original version of the song which holds steady
at #6.
Today, Friday the 22nd of January would have been INXS frontman Michael
Hutchence's 50th birthday. Fans have been encouraging other
fans to purchase a copy of "Don't Change" via iTunes in hopes of
getting Michael a #1 hit for his birthday. But since you are
getting this today, it'll be a hair too late. Proceeds from
the song will be donated to the Red Cross Haiti relief effort.
Also today, Hope For Haiti: A Global Benefit For Earthquake Relief,
will be be broadcast on MTV for 2 hours to raise funds for Haiti relief
efforts. Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Stevie Wonder,
U2's Bono and the Edge and several other performers are scheduled to
perform in New York City, London and Los Angeles with many celebrities
making appearances. Musical performances will be available
for pre-order for purchase and download at iTunes and the, Hope For
Haiti Now, full performance album. Meanwhile, Quincy Jones
and Lionel Richie are planning a 25th anniversary re-recording of "We
Are The World." Originally recorded in 1985 for Africa hunger
relief, reports claim the proceeds will go to Haiti relief.
Other Haiti charity songs include "Are You Listening" by Artists United
For Haiti (a collective of gospel recording artists) and "Stranded" by
U2, Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz that is expected to be sold on iTunes.
Armored Saint have made, "Left Hook From Right Field," the first single
from their upcoming, La Raza, album available for preview at their
MySpace page. The album, their first since 2001, heads to
stores on Mar. 16th.
Peter Gabriel has announced that he will not be joining his former
Genesis bandmates onstage for the group's induction into the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame in March -- and may not be attending the
ceremony. (Gabriel said that without rehearsing, it wouldn't
come out that well.) Meanwhile, Gabriel and Slash are among
the artists that are donating never-before-released music via Download
To Donate For Haiti that will help raise funds and promote awareness of
the recovery efforts. Slash's new self-titled album will be
released in Japan on Mar. 24th.
Tears For Fears' Curt Smith will release his new single, "All Is Love
(featuring Zoë Keating)," on Jan. 24th. He plans to
play a few dates to support it but not too many as he and bandmate
Roland Orzabal head to Australia to tour with Spandau Ballet in April.
Paul Weller of the Jam recently reunited with long-estranged bassist
Bruce Foxton in the studio and have recorded two songs for Weller's
upcoming album, Wake Up The Nation.
Sudden Death Records has announced that punk act D.O.A. start recording
their 13th studio album, The Machine Kills Fascists, this
week. Meanwhile, plans are to re-release the group's 1985
album, Let's Wreck The Party, on Mar. 16th.
It looks like there is another reason Prince is known as the 'purple
one'. Last week, during the Minnesota Vikings' playoff game
against the Dallas Cowboys, the Minneapolis native appeared and
unveiled his Vikings anthem, "Purple And Gold."
Michael Jackson will be the focal point of the Grammys this year with
an unprecedented posthumous tribute that will include a 3-D clip he
made for his hit "Earth Song" (which was meant for his comeback
concerts.) Celine Dion and Smokey Robinson are among the
singers that will perform alongside the clip. It will also be
the first time the show will feature 3-D. Glasses for the 3-D
viewing will be available for free from Target stores starting Sunday
until Jan. 31st when the awards show takes place. Jackson
will also be honored with a lifetime achievement award from the
Recording Academy during the show. Meanwhile, Michael
Jackson's This Is It heads to retail outlets this week on DVD and
Blu-ray.
Alan Wilder has remixed the Nitzer Ebb song, "I Am Undone," from their
upcoming album, Industrial Complex, due out Jan. 22nd via Major
Records. The remix is featured on the bonus disc included in
the package.
The Who will release their 22-track album, Greatest Hits Live,
exclusively at the iTunes store on Jan. 19th.
Whitney Houston will see the release of The Deluxe CD+DVD Anniversary
Edition of her multi-platinum debut album this week which will contain
5 bonus tracks, rare video performances and a brand new interview with
Houston and Clive Davis.
Gary Moore will see a double-DVD/CD set of his performances at Montreux
from 1990 to 2001 released on Feb. 23rd via Eagle Rock under the title
Definitive Montreux.
UB40 plan to release their 4th volume of the Labour Of Love series on
Feb. 8th. Their last collection, Labour Of Love III, was
released in 1998. Two songs from the new album ("Don't Want
To See You Cry" and "Bring It On Home To Me") appeared on the Best Of
Labour Of Love collection released in November.
Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry recently told Canada's QMI Agency that
the group has begun their search for a singer. Vocalist
Steven Tyler released a statement on Dec. 22nd claiming he planned to
"enthusiastically be writing, recording and performing with Aerosmith
as soon as things are handled." It seems to have muddied the
waters. "It's kind of hard to get a straight answer about
what's going on." said Perry. "He has to have leg surgery and
foot surgery and it's basically going to take him out of the picture
for about a year, year and a half. So, in the meantime, the
rest of the band wants to play. And I want to play with the
other guys in Aerosmith. So the four of us are just making
our plans. We're gonna find somebody to get in there and fill
that spot. Just like when Tom was sick -- we got David Hull
to come in and play bass. When Brad was sick, we got somebody
else to come in and play for him. That's basically how I look
at it; we need another singer to fill in." According to Jam,
Tyler reportedly made a public appearance at a Palm Desert karaoke
contest at the Tilted Kilt pub -- agreeing to sing "I Don't Want To
Miss A Thing."
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Jeff Beck will release his new
solo album, Emotion & Commotion, on Apr. 13th.
Dirty Looks has seen their first three independently released albums
(1984's Dirty Looks, 1986's In Your Face and 1987's I Want More)
reissued via FNA Records. Their debut album will include the
'ultra rare' white E.P. as a bonus.
David Bowie will see the release of his 30-track A Reality Tour Live
double-CD set on Jan. 26th. For the first time since its
original release, the set contains three previously unreleased songs
("China Girl," "Breaking Glass" and "Fall Dog Bombs The Moon.")
According to bassist Mani, Primal Scream have started work on their
follow-up to 2008's Beautiful Future.
Duran Duran will reportedly release double-CD/DVD editions of their
1986 album, Notorious, and 1988's Big Thing when reissued in April.
The BoDeans have announced that they will release their 15-track new
studio album, Mr. Sad Clown, via 429 Records on Apr. 6th.
Eric Avery recently posted to his Twitter account that "I am not
writing with janes addiction." This comes after word that
Jane's Addiction had started writing new music. This
obviously leaves Avery's position in the band in limbo.
EMI Records plans a March release for Paul McCartney's Golden
Globe-nominated song, "(I Want To) Come Home," from the forthcoming
Miramax film, Everybody's Fine.
It seems fans were a little blindsided by Ozzy Osbourne naming his
upcoming album Soul Sucka. "When we put that on the Internet
none of my fan base liked the title. They were like, 'I can't
imagine me walking around the f***ing house with the words 'Soul Sucka'
on my T-shirt.' So I was like, 'F*** it. I've got
to come up with something else!'" The album will have a new
title when released in July.
The The fans should consider visiting www.TheThe.com at the beginning
of each month for episodes of Radio Cineola. "Broadcasting
from London Town to every corner of the world." They will
preview releases by the band, talk with collaborators, play works in
progress and exhume previously-unheard material from the archives.
It seems that Erasure's hit, "A Little Respect," has seen a resurgence
in popularity thanks to recent covers by Jody Watley (off her The
Makeover album), Theoretical Girl and Audio Playground.
Willie Nelson plans to release his new T Bone Burnett-produced studio
album, Country Music, on Apr. 13th. Burnett won a Golden
Globe award for Best Song for "The Weary Kind" (the theme song from
Crazy Heart.)
Santana's Supernatural will be released in a deluxe Legacy Edition on
Feb. 16th. The set contains a completely remastered version
of the original album and a second CD containing outtakes, remixes and
unreleased songs.
Lou Reed, Bobby Womack, De La Soul and Mark E. Smith (of the Fall) have
recorded guest appearances for the next Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach,
due out Mar. 9th. The first single, "Stylo," featuring Mos
Def and Bobby Womack hits digital retailers on Jan. 26th.
Great Buildings, the band led by Danny Wilde and Phil Solem before
forming The Rembrandts, will see their previously unreleased second
album, Extra Epic Everything, released this week via Wounded Bird
Records.
Kevin Seconds has started randomly posting new song demos and
unreleased tunes at KevinSeconds.bandcamp.com to hear and purchase.
Marshall Crenshaw and Ian Hunter are among the guest performers on
Christine Ohlman's new studio album, The Deep End, due out Apr. 6th.
Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey of Midnight Oil have paired up
with Violent Femmes bassist Brian Richie to form a new surf rock band
called The Break. Their mostly instrumental debut album,
Church Of The Open Sky, will be released via Bombora on Apr. 16th.
Saxon vocalist Biff Byford has teamed up with Metal Hammer Magazine to
head a campaign to get heavy metal recognized as a religion in the U.K.
and adopted by metal fans before the start of the 2011 census.
D.R.I. have announced that a remastered version of their 1987 album,
Crossover, will be released on CD, LP and digital download on Apr. 13th.
Folk singer and songwriter Kate McGarrigle, 63, lost her nearly 4-year
battle with a rare form of cancer on Jan. 18th. Kate was half
of a duo with her sister Anna and released 10 albums from 1975 to 2005
(including 1981's Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse and 1982's Love Over
And Over.) Both were honored in 1993 and appointed members of
the Order of Canada.