Will Smith was awarded an apology, damages and legal costs in London's High Court last week. The lawsuit dealt
with World Entertainment News Network publishing the December article "Smith: Hitler Was A Good Person."
Smith's solicitor told the court that the article was "deeply distressing" to him and had caused him
"acute embarrassment." "The article alleged the claimant had declared in an interview that Nazi
dictator Adolf Hitler was a good person." she stated. "The allegation is false and without any foundation.
It wholly misrepresents the claimant's actual words, given in an interview to the Daily Record, a Scottish newspaper
and website." The newspaper's solicitor responded to the ruling, "Through me the defendant offers its
apologies to the claimant for any distress and embarrassment by this article. The defendant accepts that the allegations
concerning the claimant were misleading and published in error." Smith's solicitor said after the ruling "his
reputation has been entirely vindicated: and therefore "would not proceed any further in his action."
No word on what the amount of damages agreed to by he news company were.
Lawyers for Prince and the Village People are reportedly working on a lawsuit against the owners of Pirate Bay
for allowing users to acquire their songs without their consent from the Swedish download site. The site is already
facing legal action from a British law firm and the new suit is currently determining whom the legal action would
be directed against. Meanwhile, Prince is reportedly facing a hip replacement surgery soon which may sideline his
stage performances for a little while. The purple one was healthy enough to host an exclusive Oscar party at his
Hollywood Hills mansion on Sunday night.
With Gene Simmons' estimate of having had sex with 4,600 women, you would expect that a sex tape would have been
surfaced before hitting 5,000, right? Well, you'd be correct. On Feb. 20th, Simmons responded on his Web site to
the tape being sold on GenesSecret.com, "You may have heard or seen the garbage that has sprung up from my
past. Rest assured the proper legal team is looking at all ramifications and options." TMZ has reported that
Simmons' legal team has contacted those responsible for the site's content by ordering them to cease and desist
because of copyright infringement. The site uses a picture of the Kiss bassist in his face paint and word is that
Simmons heard about the tape a few years ago and purchased the rights to the tape. Gene Simmons Family Jewels season
3 debuts on A&E on Mar. 11th.
Asia and ELP drummer Carl Palmer has been cleared by doctors to resume his tour duties. Palmer recently underwent
an angioplasty procedure. He is expected to be busy launching a world tour with Asia next month in support of Phoenix,
their first new studio effort with the group's original line-up in 25 years.
The 2008 Grammy Nominees various artist compilation has climbed one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart to #4.
Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters sailed up the chart after winning a Grammy pushing the album from #159
to #5. The Eagles' Long Road Out Of Eden climbed 10 places to #16. Lenny Kravitz' It Is Time For A Love Revolution
dropped 13 spots to #17. Garth Brooks' The Ultimate Hits dropped 3 places to #19. k.d. lang's Watershed fell 12
spots to #20. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising Sand jumped up 18 places to #23. Kenny G's Rhythm &
Romance fell 15 spots to #29.
Michael Jackson's Thriller 25 sold 166,000 copies to debut at #1 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog chart and #2 on
Billboard's Comprehensive Albums chart ("where catalog titles mix with current best-sellers.") The album
has done extremely well abroad in France and Belgium going to #1. It hit #2 in Germany, Australia, the Netherlands,
Norway and Switzerland. The disc debuted at #3 in the U.K., Denmark and New Zealand. It also charted well in Spain
(#4), Austria (#5), Ireland (#5), the Czech Republic (#6) and Italy (#6).
Santana featuring Chad Kroeger's "Into The Night" fell 8 places on the Billboard 100 singles chart.
Michael Jackson's Thriller 25 fell 3 places to #6 on the U.K. Album chart. Billy Fury's His Wondrous Story: The
Complete Billy Fury holds steady at #15. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising Sand is #18. Kylie Minogue's
X climbed 14 places to #24.
Kylie Minogue's "Wow" jumped up 13 places on the U.K. Singles chart to #5.
The first-ever Freestyle Music Awards will be held in Miami, Florida, on Mar. 26th. Despite having early intentions
to have no artists perform at the event, they have decided to have performers showcase new music at the show. Sweet
Sensation are scheduled to perform.
VH1 and VH1 Classic plan to televise a 1-hour special, VH1 Classic Presents: Aftermath: The Station Fire Five Years
Later, on Easter Sunday, Mar. 23rd. The show will share survivor's stories and feature concert highlights from
the Feb. 25th Phoenix Rising! Musicians United To Benefit The Victims Of The Station Nightclub Fire benefit. Performers
include Alabama's Randy Owen, Tesla, Twisted Sister, Stryper (featuring Tom Scholz and Gary Pihl of Boston), Winger
and many others.
In an effort to raise money for a cancer research facility in Melbourne, Australia, Olivia Newton-John will walk
along the Great Wall of China starting on Apr. 7th. The event is expected to take her 21 days to reach Beijing.
She personally survived breast cancer in the '90s.
Paul McCartney's spokesperson has announced that a follow-up to Memory Almost Full is in the works. "Paul
started recording last week, but has been writing for a while. It should be ready by the summer." McCartney
is also reportedly working with producer Youth on the album.
The Wedding Present have announced that the title of their new studio album will be El Rey (which means 'the king'
in Spanish.) The set was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini and is due out in May.
Bob Dylan has been recruiting various artists including Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams to help record an upcoming
compilation of unfinished Hank Williams.
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds have released their new single, "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!," on CD, limited-edition
7" single and digital download (at iTunes, Amazon and 7digital.com). The song is the title track of their
new album due out Mar. 3rd.
Fuse TV has premiered their new series, Live Through This, with an episode on Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx. The series
"takes a look at some of your favorite musicians and their heroic tales of recovery." According to sources
close to the band, Motley Crue has set aside July 8th as the date to release their new studio album, The Dirt.
Again, these are sources and it is worth noting that the band did release a 2001 autobiography with that title
(The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band) and they have a film in the works based on the
book for a 2009 release directed by Larry Charles.
It seems there have been more discussions when it comes to a possible reunion for The Kinks. Although Ray Davies
previously mentioned that it was going to happen, he has said that new material would have to be included. He told
Billboard, "They have to be able to do, like, 10 percent new material." As of yet, Dave Davies hasn't
refuted this in a post on his Web site's messageboard.
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder plan to release a Bill Monroe tribute album, Honoring The Fathers Of Bluegrass:
Tribute To 1946 And 1947, on Mar. 25th via his Skaggs Family Records label.
The Blow Monkeys have finished recording and are mixing their new studio album and pre-orders for a signed, numbered
and personalized edition can be made at their official Web site TheBlowMonkeys.com.
Lou Gramm has been placing the finishing touches on his new studio album which is expected out this spring.
Spinner.com recently caught AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams in Los Angeles for an interview and came back with some
information about the long-awaited new studio album. The band do plan to head into the studio on Mar. 1st.
The new book, Willie Nelson: An Epic Life, will be released on Apr. 21st. Music journalist Joe Nick Patoski based
the work on interviews with his family, band members and friends.
1991's Mistaken Identity was the last time Donna Summer released a new studio album (of all new material.) 17 years
later, that will change as she has signed a deal with Sony BMG's Burgundy Records to release Crayons on May 20th.
Erasure plan to release their new DVD, Live At The Royal Albert Hall, on Apr. 7th. Pre-orders are available at
www.liveherenow.co.uk/artist/erasurealberthall/
Def Leppard are expected to make a few television appearances in April. They are scheduled to appear on ABC's Dancing
With The Stars on Apr. 29th and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Apr. 30th.
Kylie Minogue and Aretha Franklin were among the celebrities singled out by People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals on their list of the worst-dressed. The queen of soul received PETA's crown for wearing "yet another
vulgar fur" at the Grammy awards.
J Mascis will release his second album, Paralyzed, with Witch this spring on Tee Pee Records. Witch's self-titled
debut was released in 2006.
Morrissey's Greatest Hits will come in three different editions when released in the U.S. via Decca on Mar. 25th.
There will be a single-disc 15-track edition, double-disc with an additional CD of 9 live tracks and a double-vinyl
LP edition.
The Wolfmen will release their new single, "Needle In The Camel's Eye," in April prior to the June release
of their debut album. The group features Adam And The Ants' Marco Pirroni.
Juliana Hatfield has been busy working on new material for her follow-up to 2005's Made In China due out in June.
Hatfield released a 6-track EP, Sittin' In A Tree..., with Frank Smith last year.
U2 are reportedly in a Dublin studio starting work on their new album with long-time producer/collaborators Daniel
Lanois and Brian Eno. Lanois has said that the sessions could yield enough material for two albums. Meanwhile,
Bono and the Edge have joined Chris De Burgh, Sinead O'Connor and Gavin Friday on an Irish charity single, "The
Ballad Of Ronnie Drew," that will benefit the Dubliners' vocalist/guitarist who is fighting cancer.
A remastered version of Johnny Hates Jazz' 1987 album Turn Back The Clock is scheduled to be released in the U.K.
in May.
"Dirty City" has been released as the first single from Steve Winwood's upcoming album, Nine Lives. The
track features Eric Clapton and an exclusive video clip for the song will appear on www.stevewinwood.com starting
today. Nine Lives is due out Apr. 29th.
The Charlatans U.K. release their new single, "Oh! Vanity," as a free download today at www.xfm.co.uk.
Two weeks later (on Mar. 10th), it will be available to download at TheCharlatans.net. This will be the second
single from the group's upcoming album, You Cross My Path, due out at www.xfm.co.uk as a free download on Mar.
3rd.
Simply Red and Warners have announced the joint release of a Collector's Edition of Stars this week in the U.K.
(dates may vary worldwide.) The set includes the original release, 4 tracks from the Robert Johnson sessions, 6
tracks recorded live in Hamburg, a second disc featuring mixes, a DVD containing 25 tracks recorded live at the
Montreux Jazz Festival and 5 promo videos.
A video for Steve Lukather's latest single, "Ever Changing Times," has been made available on YouTube
(at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO7e4bYVvaU). The song is the title track from his recently released album via
Frontiers Records.
A new Duran Duran documentary has been in the works. Something You Should Know is expected to include interviews
with the band, fans and celebrities as well as live footage.
L.A. Guns' Phil Lewis has filmed his first acting role since an appearance on Melrose Place. He will portray the
character of Dr. Gordon in the upcoming movie Witch Master General.
Canadian folk musician Willie P. Bennett, 56, passed away in his Peterborough, Ontario, home from natural causes
on Friday. Bennett did suffer a heart attack last year. The Juno award-winning performer enjoyed 3 decades of success
in his homeland despite problems replicating that abroad. Due to a lack of interest in folk music during the 80s,
his sole release during the decade would be 1989's The Lucky Ones. His last studio effort would be 1998's Heartstrings
but he continued to guest on other artists albums, last being Fred Eaglesmith's Milly's Cafe in 2006.