The New Kids On The Block have filed a lawsuit
against
SM Productions, who allegedly attempted "to form a new group also
entitled 'New Kids on the Block'" in 2005. The suit says that
SMP attempted to register the band's name and art from their 1988
album, Hangin' Tough, with the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office.
AllGood Entertainment Inc. have now filed their lawsuit in federal
court contending that the deal they signed with Michael Jackson's
manager, Frank DiLeo, in November for an upcoming U.S. concert would
prevent him from giving another concert before the London O2 Arena
performances in July. The company alleges breach of contract,
fraud and tortious interference with a contract. They are
seeking at least $20 million in compensatory damages and at least $20
million in punitive damages. AEG Live, which is also named in
the lawsuit, has previously called the claims meaningless.
Judge Jose Salinas granted Henry Lee Summer's request on Tuesday to
check into a treatment center for at least 28 days. Summer
[a.k.a. Henry Swartz] is due back in court on Sept. 8th for a trial on
methamphetamine possession and other charges.
Malawi's highest court has ruled that Madonna can adopt 4 year-old
Chifundo "Mercy" James stating that the singer has a genuine interest
in helping the country's orphans and that the child would have a better
life with the star. The ruling comes after appealing an
earlier decision that said Madonna needed to establish residency in
Malawi for 18 months to adopt Mercy.
Missing Persons vocalist Dale Bozzio was sentenced on May 21st to 90
days in jail (with 60 days deferred for 2 years) and ordered to pay
$2,700 in euthanization bills for 12 cats and was ordered to complete
250 hours of community service on an animal cruelty charge.
Poison frontman Bret Michaels was injured during the Tony Awards as he
was exiting the stage after performing "Nothin' But A Good Time" with
the cast of Rock Of Ages. The next stage set was descending
as Michaels left and was hit in the head and knocked to the
ground. Host Neil Patrick Harris quipped afterward that the
incident "gave head-banging a new meaning." A Tonys
spokeswoman said the singer "missed his mark" and that she didn't know
the extent of Michaels injury. Michaels' representatives
released a statement to MTV News on Tuesday, "I find it surprising that
a Tony spokesperson would brush off this incident with a comment
stating 'Mr. Michaels missed his mark' with no concern for his
condition. If everyone at the Tonys were aware that Bret
missed his mark, then they should have been aware enough to stop the
set piece from hitting him or at least slowed it down until he cleared
the stage. I feel had this incident happened to Liza
Minnelli, Dolly Parton or Elton John, the Tonys would have at least
issued a letter of concern." The statement also took aim at
Harris' comments after the incident that also joked that Michaels was
fine and was doing shots backstage. "Comments that Mr. Harris
was doing shots backstage with Mr. Michaels and that Bret was
completely fine were untrue, considering Bret never saw Mr. Harris
prior to, during or after the Tonys, but in fact was being attended to
by medical personnel backstage." In a later blog post by the
singer, "For the record never at any point during my Sunday morning
rehearsal was I ever instructed that the piece was coming down and that
I had very little time to get off the stage, otherwise believe me I
would have stopped or at least ducked so as not to be knocked out at
the Tonys." Michaels was left with fractured/cut nose, facial
contusions and a cut inside his upper lip. He has postponed
his solo performance on Thursday in Myrtle Beach and resumes his tour
today after tests on his head and spine.
Former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz is recovering at home from
open-heart surgery on Friday. Doctors discovered that the
main artery to his heart was almost "completely closed" and Spitz
believes that he nearly died. Spitz had been collaborating
recently with Accept bassist Peter Baltes on a new album.
Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford is currently recovering from an
undisclosed surgery and will not be available for several dates of the
band's Guitar Hero tour. Bobby Schneck will fill in for the
dates which are expected to focus on the Toys In The Attic and Rocks
albums.
Chickenfoot's self-titled debut album landed at #4 on the Billboard 200
albums chart on sales of 52,000 copies. Elvis Costello's
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane debuted at #13. The
Twilight soundtrack climbed 2 spots to #15. Ray Charles'
Genius: The Ultimate Ray Charles Collection re-entered the chart at #35.
Flo Rida's "Right Round" featuring Kesha dropped a place to #18 on the
Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Jim Reeves' The Very Best Of Jim Reeves fell 2 places to #13 on the
U.K. Albums chart. Michael McDonald's The Ultimate Collection
climbed 6 spots to #20. Madness' The Liberty Of Norton
Folgate fell 8 places to #22. The Manic Street Preachers'
Journal For Plague Lovers dropped 10 spots to #26. The Simple
Minds' Graffiti Soul fell 17 places to #27. Iron Maiden's
Flight 666 dropped 17 spots to #32. The Pretenders' The Best
Of The Pretenders/Break Up The Concrete debuted at #35. Bob
Marley & The Wailers' Legend re-entered the chart at #38.
The Pet Shop Boys' "Did You See Me Coming" debuted at #21 on the U.K.
Singles chart. Ironik's "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)"
featuring Chipmunk and Elton John fell 8
places to #24.
Boys Don't Cry's latest single, "Don't Call Me A Country Singer,"
recently climbed 7 spots to #24 on the FMQB A/C charts becoming their
first Top 30 hit in 23 years.
Hanoi Rocks co-founder Andy McCoy will see his autobiography, Sheriff
McCoy: Legend Of Hanoi Rocks, released in English for the first time in
a deluxe hardcover edition due out July 31st via Bazillion
Points. The book includes a new 2009 preface written by McCoy
after the final breakup of Hanoi Rocks.
Devo's first new studio album since 1990's Smooth Noodle Maps is in the
works with expectations of a release in 2010. The band
members plan to send off some of their tracks to producers like James
Murphey (of LCD Soundsystem), Alan Moulder and Sweden's Teddybears.
Former UB40 frontman Ali Campbell has released a video for his new
single, "Out From Under," on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB88tJMxFGA
Former Buzzcocks guitarist Steve Diggle has released his new single,
"Hey Maria," as a digital download. The song is the first to
surface from what will be Diggle's 3rd solo studio album.
Def Leppard has teamed with Ace Marketing & Promotions for
Rockzimity, a mobile experience where fans in attendance at concerts
will be able to download album art wallpaper, voice tones and video
clips. The application is designed for phones with Bluetooth
capabilities or phones that can connect to a Wi-Fi-spot. Fans
can test that out during their tour with Cheap Trick and Poison
starting June 23rd.
Los Lobos has signed a deal with Shout! Factory for the release of
their 18th album due out in early 2010.
Willie Nelson plans to release, American Classic, his first album of
standards since 1978's Stardust on Aug. 25th via Blue Note Records.
Michael Damian will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his chart-topping
single, "Rock On," with the release of a new 2009 version that has
entered the Mediabase AC charts top 40 and has been added to over 100
U.S. and Canadian radio stations. A new CD, Rock On, that
collects the newly recorded version as well as some of his past hits
heads to stores next week.
SPIN magazine will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Prince's classic
film and soundtrack Purple Rain in July. They have
commissioned 9 tracks from the album to be covered for the tribute
album, Purplish Rain, to be made available as a free download for SPIN
magazine readers and subscribers at their Web site starting June
23rd. Greg Dulli and the Twilight Singers paired up with
Apollonia for a cover of "When Doves Cry" for the collection.
Remember that episode of ABC's Samantha Who? that Duran Duran bassist
John Taylor made a guest appearance? Well... no, it didn't
air yet and further episodes are in limbo. But, the good news
is that they plan to air the remaining episodes of the show with
Taylor's appearance surfacing on June 25th.
The Lemonheads have released, "I Just Can't Take It Anymore," as the
first U.K. single from their Varshons album. The 7" single
contains the B-side "Special To Me" and the digital single includes the
bonus track "Green Fuz Fast."
Lita Ford plans to release, Wicked Wonderland, her first new U.S.
studio album in 14 years this fall. Current Guns N' Roses
guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal will be playing guitar in Ford's
backing group which hits the road this month. According to
Bumblefoot, "Lita and I have GN'R's blessing to do this together; all
is cool. This won't interfere with upcoming GN'R plans, I'll
be flying out and coming right back." Actress Alessandra
Torresani has been cast as Ford for the upcoming Runaways biopic,
Cherry Bomb.
A new 35-track double-CD collection, Small Town Boy: The Best Of Jimmy
Sommerville, Bronski Beat & The Communards will be released on
June 15th in the U.K. via Music Club Deluxe. The compilation
covers 25 years of Sommerville's recording career, contains ten top 20
singles, a track-listing created with the advice and approval of the
singer as well as an exclusive interview in the liner notes.
According to Las Vegas Hilton officials, Cheap Trick will team with an
orchestra to perform the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
during a run of 9 shows in September.
Kenny Loggins appeared on QVC on Thursday to unveil his new studio
album, All Join In, due out via Walt Disney Records on July
21st. The album contains some original tracks and covers of
the Beatles' "All Together Now" and "Two Of Us," Traffic's "You Can All
Join In" (featuring Dave Mason) and Donovan's "There Is A Mountain"
(featuring backing vocals by Loggins' 11 year-old daughter Hana.)
Sony plan to release remastered editions of REO Speedwagon's 1980
album, Hi Infidelity, 1982's Good Trouble, 1984's Wheels Are Turnin'
and 1987's Life As We Know It in Japan on July 22nd.
Meliah Rage's new studio album, Masquerade, will be released on July
28th. The album marks the return of their original frontman,
Mike Munro. Coincidentally, the band had been remastering
their final album with the singer, 1996's Death Valley Dream, for
reissue and it will surface around the same time.
Sexy Intellectual and MVD release the new Depeche Mode documentary DVD,
The Dark Progression Unauthorized, this week.
Mastedon will release their third studio album, Mastedon III, this fall
via Frontiers Records. The band (featuring former Kansas
vocalist and keyboardist John Elefante) released their debut album,
It's A Jungle Out There!, in 1989.
Lionel Richie is filming an appearance on ABC's One Life To Live today
that will include a performance of his new single, "Just Go."
Richie also performs 5 songs on A&E Private Sessions on Sunday,
June 14th.
According to ContactMusic.com, Adam Ant is feeling healthy and getting
in shape with talks ongoing for a comeback tour.
Clan of Xymox will release their new studio album, In Love We Trust, on
Aug. 18th via Metropolis Records.
The Eagles will be among the first artists to get a 24-hour a.p.e.
station in July. Clear Channel Radio and Front Line
Management are creating artist personal experience (or a.p.e.) radio
that will allow musicians to produce their own online radio
shows. The stand-alone company will be ad-supported and can
be heard via their iheartradio iPhone and BlackBerry application and
widgets placed on artists' Web sites.
Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess has released his new solo
album, Notes On A Dream. This is his first solo studio
release since 2004's Rhythm Of Time.
The Minus 5 will release their 8th album, Killingsworth, via Yep Roc
on July 7th. Pre-orders can be made at YepRoc.com and you can
hear preview some tracks at http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/1475631
Tracii Guns had been hoping to have a new album released by his Marty
Casey-fronted version of L.A. Guns. With no date scheduled
yet, he has reunited with vocalist Jizzy Pearl for a summer tour of the
band while Casey will return to his Lovehammer band for tour dates.
Front Line Assembly have been forced to postpone their tour due to
their new album release being delayed.
Stevie Wonder has recorded a duet with Brian McKnight entitled "Without
You" that will appear on McKnight's forthcoming studio album.
Zero One Records plan to commercially release, Coming Up For Air, a new
studio album by Dan Reed early next year.
The Bulletboys will release their new studio album, 10c Billionaire,
via Chavis Records on July 7th.
Jazz and pop singer/songwriter Kenny Rankin, 69, died of complications
related to lung cancer on Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center. He released two albums during the 80s (1980's After
The Roses and 1988's Hiding In Myself) in a recording career running
from 1967 to 2002. Rankin was so revered by his fellow
artists that Paul McCartney asked him to perform his interpretation of
The Beatles' "Blackbird" when McCartney and Lennon were inducted into
the Songwriters Hall of Fame.