Alice Cooper took a violent fall during his
performance in Redmond, Oregon, last week. He continued the
performance and performed in pain during the next few shows until he
gave in
and got himself checked out. Cooper had broken a rib and
suffered ligament damage and was advised by doctors to take 3 weeks off
to rest and recover. Undaunted, he is ignoring doctors orders
and continuing the Psycho-Drama tour.
Tour gear and instruments that Iggy and the Stooges had stored in a
rented Penske 15-foot yellow truck was stolen from the vehicle in
Montreal early in the morning on Aug. 4th outside the Embassy Suites
hotel. The band will be purchasing or renting replacement
gear for the last 3 dates of their tour but hope the items will be
returned. Anyone with information is asked to contact their
tour manager Eric Fischer at nycentral13@gmail.com. Pop
replied to a fan question posed about the theft after their performance
in Toronto by saying "It's us that play the music. Not the
sticks of wood."
Guitarist Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden had his one-of-a-kind white
Jackson Stratocaster guitar stolen after the group's Aug. 2nd
performance in Athens.
Gary Glitter [born Paul Gadd] will be released from prison in Vietnam
on Aug. 19th. Glitter was incarcerated in March of 2006 on
child molestation charges.
The late Buck Owens will be among the inductees into the Texas Country
Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas on Aug. 16th.
The Jacksons have been named as this year's BMI Icons. They
will be presented with the award during the 8th annual Urban Awards on
Sept. 4th.
The Mamma Mia! soundtrack retained the #3 spot on the Billboard 200
album chart selling 138,000 copies. John Mellencamp's Life,
Death, Love And Freedom fell 6 places to #22. Journey's
Revelation dropped 2 spots to #23. Rick Springfield's Venus
In Overdrive debuted at #28 (becoming his best album debut
ever.) Alan Jackson's Good Time fell 1 spot to #39.
Nine Inch Nails' The Slip plunged 27 places to #40.
ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits climbed a place to #1 on the U.K. Albums
chart. Billy Joel's Piano Man: The Very Best Of Billy Joel
retains the #13 spot. Madonna's Hard Candy fell a place to
#16. Neil Diamond's The Best Of Neil Diamond gained a spot to
#23. The Mamma Mia! soundtrack dropped 4 places to
#24. Nine Inch Nails' The Slip debuted at #25. Eddy
Grant's The Very Best Of Eddy Grant: Road To Reparation fell 7 spots to
#29. Neil Diamond's Home Before Dark dropped 5 places to
#30. Alice Cooper's Along Came A Spider debuted at
#31. Primal Scream's Beautiful Future plunged 23 spots to
#32. Paul Weller's 22 Dreams retains the #36 spot.
Madonna's "Give It 2 Me" fell 3 places on the U.K. Singles
chart to #13. Madonna's "4 Minutes" featuring Justin
Timberlake
dropped 6 spots to #35. Kylie Minogue's new single, "The
One," debuted at #36.
Dead Kennedy's founding member Klaus Flouride has announced he is
stepping down as a performing member of the band after 30 years due to
a recurring medical condition called angioedema.
The release date for Paul Weller's new single, "All I Wanna Do," has
been moved back a week to Aug. 25th. The digital release will
still take place on Aug. 18th.
Annie Lennox will release her first solo career retrospective, The
Annie Lennox Collection, next month. The 14-track set
includes her hits as well as two new recordings (covers of Keane's
"Closer Now" retitled "Pattern Of My Life" and Ash's "Shining
Light.") The album is her last in her deal with Sony BMG and
she is said to be looking to explore her future options.
Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler will write an autobiography for
HarperCollins imprint Ecco that will reportedly be a "personal comeback
story" about his career.
According to Donnie Vie of Enuff Z'nuff, the group's new album,
Dissonance, is available to purchase online at DonnieVie.com via his
VieClub until the official physical release.
Taylor Dayne has been in the studio working on a remastered Greatest
Hits and is recording two new songs for the album due out later this
year. Meanwhile, she will be a guest judge on TLC's The
Singing Office which airs on Aug. 24th.
Sarah Brightman was expected to duet with Chinese singer Liu Huan for
the official Olympic Theme ("You And Me") at today's opening ceremony
of the Beijing Olympics. Brightman previously sang a duet
with Jose Carreras for the 1992 Olympic theme at the Barcelona Games.
Honeymoon Suite plan to release their new studio album, Clifton Hill,
via Frontiers Records on Oct. 10th. Several samples from the
album can be heard at their official MySpace page
(www.myspace.com/hmsuite).
According to the National Enquirer, Cher has reportedly pushed back her
and Tim Medvetz' nuptials due to a mysterious illness that has affected
her son Elijah Blue Allman for the last two years. Allman is
reportedly seeking treatment at Leonards Klinik in Germany.
Sepultura's new studio album will be titled A-LEX. The title
is Russian for "no law" and the album, due out in November, is inspired
by the book, A Clockwork Orange.
Travis Tritt is planning a new album next year to commemorate his 20th
year as a recording artist. He hopes to have long-time friend
Marty Stuart co-produce. Meanwhile, Tritt has filed a $10
million lawsuit against the Category 5 record label for unpaid
royalties and damages related to his latest album, The Storm.
He hopes to one day gain full rights to the album.
The Lemonheads have announced that they will release, Varshons, a new
11-track covers album on Sept. 13th. Butthole Surfers
frontman Gibby Haynes helped produce the album.
Morrissey has postponed the release of his new studio album, Years Of
Refusal, until early 2009. No word on why the delay but
producer Jerry Finn who worked on this album as well as 2004's You Are
The Quarry remains hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering a brain
hemorrhage last month.
Patty Loveless will release her 19th studio album, The Traditional
Country Soul Of Patty Loveless, via Saguaro Road Records on Sept. 9th.
Metallica's new studio album, Death Magnetic, will be released on Sept.
12th via Warner Bros. No word on why it will be released on a
Friday as opposed to the standard Tuesday U.S. release.
The Police have signed an exclusive deal with Best Buy for the Oct. 7th
release of the live CD/DVD Certifiable. Filmed in Buenos
Aires last December, it will be available as a 2-DVD/2-CD set, Blu-ray
DVD/2-CD set and on vinyl with an MP3 download. Meanwhile,
the band took their final bow on Aug. 7th ending a 151-show tour
becoming the third highest grossing of all time with nearly $359
million at the box office according to Billboard Boxscore.
Former Deep Purple/Rainbow/Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Joe Lynn Turner
will release his first-ever live album, Live In Germany, via Frontiers
Records on Oct. 10th.
A fan-influenced 'best of' collection is in the works to celebrate
Michael Jackson's 50th birthday. Fans are asked to complete a
survey (before Aug. 10th) and provide their top 18 favorite songs to
help them decide what will go on, The King Of Pop, due out Aug.
25th. Sony BMG, GMTV and The Sun newspaper have set up the
site at: http://www.gmtvsurveys.com/se.ashx?s=7C7FC32D0ACD6EDE
A new 4-disc Roy Orbison boxed set, The Soul Of Rock And Roll, will be
released on Sept. 23rd via Monument/Orbison Records/Legacy
Recordings. The set includes 12 previously-unreleased
recordings among the 107 tracks in the set. The fourth disc
includes Orbison's later work and includes guest appearances by Bruce
Springsteen and Elvis Costello from A Black And White Night Live
television special.
Armoury Records plan to release Poison's live CD, Seven Days Live,
recorded during their performance at London's Hammersmith Apollo in
1993.
Wynonna Judd, Anne Murray and Amy Grant will be among those who have
recorded duets with 'The King' for the release of Elvis Presley
Christmas Duets on Oct. 14th.
A video has been filmed and will be released on Monday for the next
single, "Fallen," from Bret Michaels' Rock My World album.
REO Speedwagon will release their new DVD, Live In The Heartland, in
the U.K. on Oct. 6th. The 16-song performance was recorded in
high-definition and mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound for the PBS concert
series Soundstage. A similar DVD will be released the same
day for Heart under the title Heart Live.
Jackson Browne has finished work on, Time The Conqueror, his first new
studio album in 6 years. A release date is expected in
September via Inside Recordings.
Guitarist George Lynch recently told the Rockin Metal Revival show in
an interview that his management company has been encouraging a Dokken
reunion and that over the past few years, everyone in the band has
agreed in principle to looking at doing it.
James Taylor will be releasing his new album, Covers, on Sept. 30th via
Starbucks' Hear Music label. The 12-track collection features
songs from the '50s, '60s and '70s.
A Jimmy Page documentary entitled It Might Get Loud will premiere at
the Toronto International Film Festival in September according to
Variety. The film was first screened in May at the Cannes
Film Festival.
Aftermath Cognac, the first alcoholic drink from Dr. Dre and Interscope
Geffen A&M Records joint venture with the Drinks Americas
beverage company, will hit the market in two months followed by a
flavored and unflavored sparkling vodka two months later.
Glen Campbell's new studio album, Meet Glen Campbell, will be released
via Capitol Records/EMI on Aug. 19th.
U2 fans are being urged not to purchase concert tickets currently being
advertised for sale as they are not real and the band haven't confirmed
any live shows.
Sarah McLachlan is expected to release her first hits collection,
Closer: The Best Of Sarah McLachlan, on Oct. 7th. A double-CD
version with bonus tracks is also being prepared for release the same
day.
Laaz Rockit's new studio album, Left For Dead, has been released via
their official Web site (www.LaazRockit.com.)
Bob Mould plans to release his follow-up to District Line, in February
via Anti- in the U.S. followed by spring tour dates.
Rumors have resurfaced again that Depeche Mode have decided to leave
Warner Music Group. The band have been with the label since
their 1981 debut, Speak & Spell.
Philadelphia singer/songwriter Robert Hazard [born Robert Rimato], 59,
died on Aug. 5th at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston following
surgery for pancreatic cancer. In a recent post on his
MySpace page on July 23rd, he mentioned "unforseen circumstances beyond
my control" that forced him to cancel the rest of his summer tour
schedule with plans to return in the fall. He was going to
use the downtime to prep his follow-up to his 2007 album,
Troubadour. Most often remembered for his 1981 single,
"Escalator Of Life," he wrote one of the most enduring hits of the
1980s, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." During his last 3 albums
(2003's The Seventh Lake, 2004's Blue Mountain and Troubadour) he had
moved towards the country genre.