New Jersey company Speed of Sound has filed a $107,000 (plus interest) lawsuit in state Superior Court for Essex
County against Guns N' Roses for non-payment for gear-handling and other services during their 2006 tour.
Boy George [a.k.a. George O'Dowd] has been released on bail after being accused by a 28 year-old male escort of
"false imprisonment and common assault." George reportedly met the man online, offered him $800 to pose
for photos and later (with the help of a second man) chained him to a wall in his Shoreditch, East London, home.
George reportedly is planning to release his first new studio album in 5 years soon.
The estate of former Pantera/Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott has reached a settlement in
its wrongful-death lawsuit against the North Side nightclub. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. The
lawsuit filed by the Abbott family and two band employees injured in the 2004 shooting was dismissed earlier in
the week after they agreed to a "nominal settlement."
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas suspended David Hasselhoff's visitation privileges with his two teen
daughters for two weeks on Monday after worldwide viewing of the singer/actor intoxicated on a leaked video. A
follow-up hearing will be held on May 21st to decide if the ban should be extended.
Italian beverage group Davide Campari-Milano SpA have announced that they have signed an agreement to purchase
an 80% stake in Cabo Wabo Tequila for $80 million. The tequila brand is among the fastest growing brands in the
U.S. spirits market and was founded by major shareholder Sammy Hagar in 1996. The deal also allows the company
to purchase the remaining 20% by 2015.
Several rumors of W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless, 51, experiencing chest pain and being taken to a hospital
after 50 minutes on stage on Apr. 28th in Karlskrona, Sweden, have been denied by the band. Meanwhile, W.A.S.P.'s
new album, Dominator, has been released in Europe but has no date scheduled for the U.S.
David Bowie will be honored on June 5th with a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award at the Annual Webby Awards ceremony.
The international honor is given to those who promote excellence on the Internet.
The Hoodoo Gurus are among the artists to be inducted at the 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame to be held in Melbourne in
July.
Al Kooper has been announced as one of the latest inductees on the Rock Walk in Hollywood.
Juliana Hatfield will release a new EP with Frank Smith, Sittin' In A Tree..., via Ye Olde Records on May 29th.
Tangerine Dream have released Sleeping Watches Snoring In Silence, Madcap's Flaming Duty and Springtime In Nagasaki:
Part One From The Five Atomic Seasons for purchase online at the Eastgate Music Shop.
Porter Wagoner and Marty Stuart have filmed a video for Wagoner's rendition of Johnny Cash's "Committed To
Park View." The song is expected to be a single from Wagoner's upcoming album on which Stuart is producing.
"Life Is Beautiful," a new song by Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx, James Michael and DJ Ashba, is now available
for download on his MySpace page. The song appears on the Heroin Diaries soundtrack.
Nick Cave's new Grinderman project will release their new single, "(I Don't Need You To) Set Me Free,"
as a download on May 7th. A 7" single of the track will be released on May 14th.
Bette Midler has signed on to replace Celine Dion as the headliner at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The deal is
for two years and 100 shows per year beginning Feb. 20th. Elton John is scheduled to continue his 50 shows a year
there through 2008.
According to an interview with Xfm, New Order bassist Peter Hook when talking about being involved with Perry Farrell's
Satellite Party, "I spoke to Perry, and he asked me to play bass as he'd heard about New Order splitting up.
Well yeah, me and Bernard aren't working together." Essentially, Hook's involvement in Satellite Party and
Freebase is a sign of no new New Order work in the near future.
Police guitarist Andy Summers has recorded a new instrumental album, At First You Build A Cloud, with Yale classical
guitar professor Ben Verdery. Remastered editions of his 1982 collaboration with Robert Fripp, I Advance Masked,
and his 1985 album, The Rhythmatist, head to stores on June 5th. His new photo book, I'll Be Watching You: Inside
The Police 1980-83, published that month. Meanwhile, a new eponymous 28-track double-CD collection of hits by the
Police is due out June 5th.
Kelly Clarkson has two hits on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. Jeff Beck is featured on one, "Up To The
Mountain," which debuted at #56.
Epic Records will release Steve Vai's live double-CD, Sound Theories Vol. 1 & 2, on June 26th. The set compiles
rare material from 5 European performances, studio sessions and soundchecks between mid-2004 and 2005 in collaboration
with the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra.
A career-spanning DVD, The Other Side Of Rick Wakeman, is on the way on Aug. 28th featuring music from Yes, his
solo career and a few cover songs that he was a session musician on.
On June 26th, U2 will release a DVD version of their 1998 home video PopMart Live From Mexico City which was filmed
on Dec. 3, 1997 in Foro Sol Autodromo. The sound and video have been remastered for the set which will come in
single-DVD and special limited-edition set with a second disc.
The Alarm have recorded the first EP from their Counter Attack album project. The 7-track disc, Three Sevens Clash,
is due out soon. Meanwhile, the band will be part of the Rockin The Colonies tour with the Psychedelic Furs and
the Fixx in July.
Former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland will see his 1991 live album, Return To Metalopolis Live, reissued via Lion
Music.
Neil Sedaka's The Definitive Collection has debuted at #22 on the Billboard 200 album chart with sales of 24,000
copies. This is his first time on the chart since 1980's In The Pocket. The album beat out Donny Osmond's new album,
Love Songs Of The '70s, which entered the chart at #27.
A new book, Anchored In Love: An Intimate Portrait Of June Carter Cash, by John Carter Cash will go on sale June
19th.
According to an interview with me-me-me.tv, Tori Amos revealed that she is privately working on a big stage project
at least 23 songs in mind.
Former Dead Can Dance member Lisa Gerrard releases her new studio album, The Silver Tree, this week. The album
is her first solo effort in 17 years. During an interview with Billboard, she recently noted that she doesn't expect
to be seen with Dead Can Dance any time soon.
Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades will be performing on the May 9th episode of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! according to a
post on Shaw's Web site.
The new James compilation, Fresh As A Daisy: The Singles, debuted on the U.K. Album chart at #12 followed by Rush's
new album Snakes & Arrows.
Alice Cooper has published his memoir, Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock 'n' Roller's 12 Steps To Becoming A Golf
Addict. The book talks about how he went through rehab in the late '70s and early '80s and has been clean and sober
since 1983 by starting a new addiction to golf. Cooper has also counseled other celebs about kicking their addictions.
After his summer tour, the singer plans to get back to recording his new concept album about a serial killer, Along
Came A Spider, due out next year and may be a double-CD.
Erasure's "I Could Fall In Love With You" has become their 33rd consecutive hit U.K. single. A limited-edition
version of their upcoming album, Light At The End Of The World, will include 2 new bonus tracks ("Be My Baby"
and "I Don't Know Why.")
According to a recent interview with Billboard, Billy Joel hasn't ruled out the possibility of writing songs again.
He considers himself a composer at the moment. His last single, "All My Life," was created as a first
anniversary gift to his wife Katie Lee Joel with hopes that Tony Bennett would record the track.
The Cult's Ian Astbury has recorded vocals for two songs ("Burn My Shadow" and "When Things Explode")
for UNKLE's new studio effort, War Stories, due out July 24th.
The Very Best Of Bucks Fizz will be released in the U.K. next week in a CD/DVD package containing 18 hits and 17
videos.
Former Heart guitarist Howard Leese has finished work on 10 new songs with two more needing the lead vocals recorded
for his upcoming solo album. One of the new songs, "The South Summit," is being performed by Paul Rodgers
while he's touring.
Nine Inch Nails' latest album, Year Zero, has dropped from #2 to #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart with sales
of 58,000 copies.
A new 2007 Kajagoogoo track has surfaced. A video for the track, "Rocket Boy," featuring Nick Beggs playing
around in the studio can found on their MySpace page as well as YouTube.
Social Distortion will release their first-ever career-spanning retrospective, Greatest Hits, via Time Bomb Recordings
on June 26th. The album includes the new single, "Far Behind," which heads to radio on May 15th. A limited-edition
vinyl version will be released on the same day as the CD.
The first single from Marc Almond's new covers album, Stardom Road, will be his rendition of Dusty Springfield's
"I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten." The album is due out via Sanctuary Records on June 4th.
The Rhapsody digital music subscription service has finalized a licensing deal with Dischord Records which is home
to Fugazi and Minor Threat.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark released a deluxe reissue of 1981's Architecture And Morality last week in the
U.K. The set includes a digitally remastered version of the album as well as a live DVD with promo videos, a performance
of the album in 1981 and a performance on Top Of The Pops.
Tom Petty's 2006 album, Highway Companion, will be reissued on June 5th in an expanded version featuring demos
of album tracks and unreleased songs ("Home" and "Around The Roses.") Director Peter Bogdonavich
is working on a documentary on Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers due to be released later this year.
Linda Thompson will release her guest-packed new studio album, Versatile Heart, via Rounder on Aug. 14th.
Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx will see his 2002 book, An Education In Rebellion: The Biography Of Nikki Sixx,
reissued with additional interview material in 2008.
Eagle Rock Entertainment will release the new DVD, Madonna: Wild Angel, The Unauthorized Story, on May 15th.
A new Bananarama retrospective, The Greatest Hits & More More More, will be released in the U.K. this week
marking their 25th anniversary.
The new Beastie Boys album, The Mix-Up, will be their first-ever album of instrumental material when released on
June 26th. The album features no samples, no scratching and no words.
Tesla have started their own record label, Tesla Electric Company Recordings, in an effort to promote their releases
the way they should be. Their new album Real To Reel heads to stores via the new label on June 5th.
A new live China Crisis album, Singing The Praises Of Finer Things, is available as an import via Dream Catcher.
The performance was recorded in September of 2005 at Liverpool's Institute Of Performing Arts.
The Mission U.K. will reissue their first 3 albums (1986's God's Own Medicine, 1987's The First Chapter and 1988's
Children) with many bonus tracks in time with their new album God Is A Bullet.
Time Life will be releasing a DVD compiling Jerry Lee Lewis' television appearances and performances in the collection,
Jerry Lee Lewis: Greatest Live Performances, due out May 22nd.
We previously reported that the first single from Paul McCartney's Memory Almost Full was entitled "Dance
Tonight." Although a video (starring actress Natalie Portman) has been filmed, it is only the lead track to
the album. Some press releases and sites (Billboard and SkyNews among others) have claimed the song to be the lead
single but others (The Rock Radio and LiverpoolBeatleScene.com among others) state the song "Ever Present
Past" as the first single from the album. Could be that one will be released first in the U.K. and the other
in the U.S. or that "Dance Tonight" will be the second single. Meanwhile, his classical music release,
Ecce Cor Meum, has earned Album of the Year honors by the Classical Brit awards.
Ten Years After will celebrate their 40th anniversary with a tour and plan to debut some unrecorded material during
the shows. That material will likely show up on the new studio album they are working on.
Vocalist Steve Skaith of Latin Quarter will release his new solo studio album, Imaginary Friend, on June 4th in
the U.K.
The first ever live DVD featuring the original line-up of Asia is on the way in September via Eagle Rock Entertainment.
The newest version of Psychic TV is using the name PTV3 and will release their new album, Hell Is Invisible...Heaven
Is Here, on June 4th.