Janet Jackson was rushed to the Royal Victoria
Hospital on Sept. 29th after she "got suddenly ill" during the
soundcheck for her show at the Bell Centre Montreal. The show
was postponed and Jackson stayed at the hospital for two hours before
being released. Her Boston and Philadelphia shows were also
postponed as she recuperated with plans to resume the tour on Saturday.
According to Natalie Cole's spokeswoman, the singer is resting in bed
at her Los Angeles home after being hospitalized for about a week last
month in New York. She is expected to spend most of October
on bed rest before resuming some of her schedule in November.
Bret Michaels has requested that his participation in the production of
the Rock Of Love Bus series be temporarily suspended in his deepest
sympathy as he attempts to reach out to the families of the victims of
an auto accident on Friday afternoon on Interstate 57 in southern
Illinois. A crew member from 51 Minds Entertainment was
driving a box truck hauling sound equipment when he reportedly fell
asleep at the wheel crossing the interstate median. Two were
killed in the crash and two were seriously injured. "As a
father of two, I cannot even imagine what the families must be going
through at this time. I will make every attempt to reach out
to them to let them know that my heart and prayers are with them during
their time of grief," said Michaels in a statement.
Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir, 60, broke some of his ribs while on
his tour bus. The accident happened when Weir fell awkwardly
when the driver braked suddenly on the way to a fundraising concert.
E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren underwent replacement surgery on
both hips on Tuesday. In a note on his official Web site,
"Hello everyone, hope you're all in good health and spirits. My
bilateral hip surgery went great and I'm just starting the long rehab
process with some great people. Amy's here taking great care of me and
although it's going to be slow going at first, I'm in a great hospital
with great help! Our families are already visiting in shifts and will
continue to, which we're very grateful for." In a previous
post he said that 40 years on the road that "included back flips with
guitars, dive rolls, leaping off drum risers and trying to break stage
floors with pounding legs" in addition to "thousands of hours playing
aggressive basketball" led to the destruction of both his hips.
Madonna was reportedly fined nearly $270,000 for her concert at
London's Wembley Stadium which went 40 minutes over curfew, causing
traffic problems.
The Allman Brothers Band will be honored with the Legend Of Live award
at the 2008 Billboard Touring Awards scheduled for Nov. 20th in New
York.
Metallica's Death Magnetic retains the #1 spot on the Billboard 200
albums chart for a third straight week on sales of 132,000
copies. The Mamma Mia! soundtrack fell 3 places to
#16. Jackson Browne's Time The Conqueror debuted at
#20. David Gilmour's Live In Gdansk debuted at #26.
New Kids On The Block's The Block dropped 11 spots to #38.
Bette Midler's The Best Bette debuted at #6 on the U.K. Albums
chart. Metallica's Death Magnetic fell 6 places to
#7. David Gilmour's Live In Gdansk debuted at #10.
Stevie Wonder's The Definitive Collection dropped 4 spots to
#15. ABBA's 18 Hits fell 2 places to #17. Queen +
Paul Rodgers' The Cosmos Rocks dropped 13 spots to #18.
ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits fell 6 places to #20. Michael
Jackson's King Of Pop dropped 8 spots to #25. The Mamma Mia!
soundtrack fell 5 places to #26. Queen's Greatest Hits
dropped 6 spots to #37. Dave Edmunds' The Many Sides Of Dave
Edmunds: The Greatest Hits debuted at #38. Madonna's Hard
Candy dropped 10 places to #39.
Neon's new collection, Memories 1980-1986, debuted at #1 on the Italian
Alternative Chart. Fixmer/McCarthy's Into The Night climbed 3
places to #4. Front 242's Moments... debuted at #5.
Coil's The New Backwards debuted at #10.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have signed on to perform at
Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Feb. 1st during the
Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Show on NBC.
George Strait releases his new album, Classic Christmas, this week
containing recordings of his 10 personal favorite holiday songs.
Robert Plant has squashed rumors of a 2009 Led Zeppelin tour or
recording by the band with a statement on his Web site saying he "has
no intention whatsoever of touring with anyone for at least the next
two years." He also said, "I wish Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones
and Jason Bonham nothing but success with any future
projects." This could be seen as a nod to recent rumors
claiming the other members working with replacement vocalists.
Paul McCartney has announced that he has returned to Fireman, his
collaborative project with producer Martin "Youth" Glover, for the
release of Electric Arguments on Nov. 17th via MPL.
Former Art Dèco member Claudio Valente will release his new
studio album, Un Po'(P) Piu' Adulto, via the Top Music label in
November.
Morrissey has signed with Irving Azoff for management after leaving ie:
music last month. His new studio album, Years Of Refusal, is
due for international release on Feb. 2nd via Universal.
Former Replacements drummer Chris Mars released his first book,
Tolerance, which collects 159 paintings that he created between 2000
and 2007 via LaLuzDeJesusPress.com.
Nine Inch Nails have announced their plan to release a branded version
of the popular iPhone music game application TapTap Revenge which will
feature edited or remixed versions of songs from their recent albums
The Slip and Ghosts I-IV later this month.
After many years out of print, Carcass' seminal debut album, Reek Of
Putrefaction, has been reissued as a limited edition DualDisc in Europe.
An extensive Rod Stewart catalog reissue campaign will be launched by
Warner Bros. on Nov. 18th starting with The Definitive Rod
Stewart. The double-CD collection will include the
previously-unreleased song "Two Shades Of Blue." A deluxe
edition will include a DVD of 14 music videos. Stewart is
also expected to release a new album via J Records next year.
Marc Almond has been working on a new DVD/CD package entitled Marc
Almond In Bluegate Fields -- Live At Wilton's Music Hall.
Almond recently released a 6-track EP entitled Brel Extras.
Invisible Hands Music has announced the release of From The Jam's
DVD/CD, A First Class Return, due out Oct. 27th.
Shout! Factory have announced the release of Hall & Oates Live
At The Troubadour in DVD, DVD/double-CD and Blu-ray DVD versions on
Nov. 25th. An abridged version of the show will be broadcast
on VH1's Rave HD channel later this year.
Flea has enrolled in the University of Southern California's music
program during the Red Hot Chili Peppers hiatus with hopes to better
understand the "math and academics" of music structure.
Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan has recorded vocals for the song "Nostalgia"
for the self-titled debut album by Mirror. A video has also
been filmed for the track. The album can currently be
purchased online at CDBaby.
Paul Carrack plans to release his 14th solo album, I Know That Name, on
Oct. 20th. The first single from the album will be, "I Don't
Want To Hear Anymore," which features the Eagles on backing
vocals. The Eagles recorded a version of the song for their
recent album, Long Road Out Of Eden.
Nick Cave has announced that he is working on, The Death of Bunny
Munro, his first work of fiction in nearly two decades due out in
September 2009. Cave is also working on the soundtrack for
the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road with longtime
collaborator John Hillcoat.
The new musical, It's Only Make Belive. Conway Twitty: The
Man, The Music, The Legend, based on the life of the late country
legend makes its world stage premiere on Oct. 12th.
In their next phase of Thompson Twins reissues, Edsel have released
double-CD versions of 1981's A Product Of... (Participation) and 1982's
Set featuring B-sides and remixes.
In November, Wal-Mart will exclusively release the AC/DC Live: Rock
Band Track Pack which is a special edition of the game devoted to the
band that includes 18 songs from their Live At Donnington
DVD. AC/DC also exclusively release their new album, Black
Ice, via Wal-Mart due Oct. 20th.
NWA's classic 1988 album, Straight Outta Compton, will be celebrated
tonight 20 years after its release on the new VH1 Rock Doc, NWA: The
World's Most Dangerous Group.
U.K. metal act Saxon plan to release their new studio album, Into The
Labyrinth, on Jan. 13th (Jan. 9th in Germany and Jan. 12th in Europe.)
A remake of the 1980 musical Fame is under production with a tentative
release date of Sept. 25, 2009.
Founding Kingston Trio member Nick Reynolds, 75, died on Wednesday
after his family took him off life support. Reynolds had been
hospitalized with acute respiratory disease and other
illnesses. In 1983, he collaborated with Lindsey Buckingham
and former bandmate John Stewart on a new album, Revenge Of The
Budgie. Reynolds reunited with the Kingston Trio in 1987 and
continued to tour with them for 11 years before retiring in 1999.
Debbie Bayley, manager and wife of singer Blaze Bayley, died on Sept.
27th after having suffered a stroke two days earlier. She had
a cerebral hemorrhage on July 6th. A statement from Bayley's
webmaster has been posted at PlanetBlaze.com.