Singer/songwriter Randy Newman, 64, has been
forced to
postpone his 18-date European tour due to "physical limitations and
severe pain caused by stenosis in the lower back and neck."
Newman was on tour in support of his latest album, Harps And Angels.
Guitarist Mickey Mike [born Marcel Thiel] of Snowy Red is looking at a
long recovery period after a surgical procedure went wrong leaving him
with a severely dislocated back. Fans can send their support
and well wishes to SnowyRedMike@gmail.com. Snowy Red released
4 albums from 1981 to 1989.
Patrick Swayze, 56, has begun filming again after originally being
given a grim diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and undergoing under a year
of chemotherapy. Most experts say that the form of cancer he
was dealing with has only a 5% 5-year survival rate. Swayze
has been working 12-hour days on his new A&E television series
The Beast on which he plays a veteran FBI agent in the police drama set
to premiere in January.
Dr. Dre has filed a lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court claiming that
he loaned author Bruce Williams $101,377 and was never paid
back. In March, Williams released the book Rollin' With Dre:
The Unauthorized Account: An Insider's Tale Of The Rise, Fall, And
Rebirth Of West Coast Hip Hop. Amazon.com says about the
author: Bruce Williams was Dr. Dre’s go-to-guy for
almost two decades, having been involved in every aspect of
Dre’s personal and professional life. An actor, screenwriter,
and film/TV producer, Williams is currently working on a cable-TV pilot
based on his experiences as “the man next to the
man.”
The Shockwaves NME Awards on Feb. 25th will honor The Cure with their
Godlike Geniuses award. The band will perform a
career-spanning set during the event. New Order, The Clash
and Manic Street Preachers have been previous honorees.
Meanwhile, Robert Smith recently told NME that he had to bend his
principles in order to get the control back of the Cure back
catalogue. Their contract with Polydor was about to be
finished and they offered him a trade-off which allowed them to use a
few songs for commercials (which Smith has been entirely against during
his career.) They agreed to use of the songs "In Between
Days" for Punto and Fiat and "Pictures Of You" for HP which included
only backing music and no vocals.
Bob Geldof was awarded an honorary doctorate in music this week by the
University of East London in recognition of his "lifetime contributions
to international development and unique success in harnessing the power
of popular music to raise funds and awareness of key global issues, and
changing the lives of people worldwide."
AC/DC's Black Ice debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart on sales of
784,000 copies. Metallica's Death Magnetic fell a spot to #5
on sales of 52,000 copies. James Taylor's Covers dropped 6
places to #16. The Mamma Mia! soundtrack fell two places to
28. Lucinda Williams' Little Honey plunged 25 spots to
#34. Sarah McLachlan's Closer: The Best Of Sarah McLachlan
dropped 10 places to #40.
After only 5 days of airplay, Guns N' Roses' new single, "Chinese
Democracy," has impacted the Billboard airplay charts debuting at #7 on
the Rock, #12 on the Mainstream Rock, #15 on the Active Rock and #37 on
the Modern Rock charts. The group have also released a widget
that streams their new single and counts down until the Nov. 23rd album
release. Meanwhile, Kevin Cogill who made 9 songs from the
album available online illegally has had his charge downgraded from a
felony to a misdemeanor.
Jody Watley has scored her 32nd Billboard top 10 hit with her latest
single, "A Beautiful Life," taking the #9 spot on the Hot Dance/Club
Play chart.
AC/DC's Black Ice debuted at #1 on the U.K. Albums chart (their first
time in that spot since the debut of 1980's Back In Black.)
Bette Midler's The Best Bette dropped 4 places to #12.
Michael Jackson's King Of Pop re-entered the chart at #14.
Metallica's Death Magnetic fell 4 spots to #32. David
Gilmour's Live In Gdansk dropped 7 places to #33. ABBA's
Gold: Greatest Hits fell 4 spots to #37. The Mamma Mia!
soundtrack dropped 3 places to #38. Stevie Wonder's
Definitive Collection re-entered the chart at #39. Queen's
Greatest Hits fell 3 spots to #40.
It seems that AC/DC's Black Ice did better in its debut than initial
expectations. The new album debuted at #1 in 29
countries. Sirius XM Radio are broadcasting AC/DC Radio until
Jan. 15th on Sirius channel 29 and XM channel 53.
Barry Manilow will see the U.K. release of his DVD, Happy Holiday!, via
Warner Music Entertainment on Dec. 1st. The disc shows
Manilow's return to A&E Live By Request for his first-ever
Christmas-themed TV special and includes guest appearances by Jose
Feliciano and Cyndi Lauper.
The Minus 5 plan to release their new studio album next year and their
first single from the album will be "Sad Hasselhoff" is available at
independent record stores. The group includes R.E.M.'s Peter
Buck and Young Fresh Fellows' Scott McCaughey.
Dave Alvin has covered Bruce Springsteen's song, "Seeds," and has
released it as a new digital single via Yep Roc. The song
originally appeared on Springsteen's Live 1975-1985 album.
Meanwhile, Springsteen fans can visit The Boss' official Web site at
www.BruceSpringsteen.net (in the news section) for a little Halloween
treat. Check out the new video or download his song, "A Night
With The Jersey Devil," for free.
Former Hush, 3, Ambrosia, GTR and Alliance member Robert Berry will
release his new solo album, The Dividing Line, on Dec. 5th via
Frontiers Records.
Jermaine Jackson confirmed rumors that the Jackson 5 would reunite in
2009 on Wednesday in Australia at an event launching a new "greatest
hits" TV channel for paynet Foxtel. He told the Australian
Associated Press, "It is just the timing, so what we've been doing is
working on the music and all the logistics. It is going to be
more like a family affair, Janet's going to open and, of course, the
original Jackson 5 ... Michael, Randy and the whole family ... We're in
the studio, we're planning on being out there next year."
Shortly after that news broke, Michael issued a statement saying that
he will not participate in the 2009 reunion. "My brothers and
sisters have my full love and support, and we've certainly shared many
great experiences, but at this time I have no plans to record or tour
with them. I am now in the studio developing new and exciting
projects that I look forward to sharing with my fans in concert soon."
Tapulous have released the Nine Inch Nails edition of their popular
iPhone/iPod Touch rhythm game, TapTap Revenge which includes 13 songs
by the band's recent Ghosts I-IV and The Slip albums.
You've heard the Led Zeppelin reunion rumors for years now and the
reunion concert didn't slow them. According to a recent
Billboard article, sources told them that the frontman who has been
rehearsing with the band (sans Robert Plant) is Alter Bridge's Myles
Kennedy. In a recent BBC interview, bassist John Paul Jones
has confirmed the band was planning to tour.
New Order will see their 80s albums (1981's Movement, 1983's Power,
Corruption & Lies, 1985's Low-Life, 1986's Brotherhood and
1989's Technique) released in double-disc remastered collectors
editions on Nov. 11th containing remixes, non-album singles and B-sides.
A new 240-page book, Revolutions In Sound, celebrating the 50th
anniversary of the founding of Warner Bros. Records will be released on
Dec. 9th and include a USB flash drive containing 320 songs showcasing
their stature as one of the most consistently successful labels in
history. The book is authored by music
historian/educator/former Del Fuego's member Warren Zanes.
Queensryche have announced that they are putting the finishing touches
on their 12th studio album, American Soldier, due out this spring via
Rhino/Atco. The concept album examines American wars (World
War II to Iraq) from the viewpoint of those in the trenches and on the
front lines.
Cheap Trick have finished work on their next studio album but no
release date has been set as they are currently without a
label. The band are not in a rush as their Live At Budokan:
30th Anniversary box set is also due out shortly.
One of the victims of the global financial credit crisis has been the
120-meter tower planned for Dublin's docklands area which would house
U2's recording studio. Negotiations over the tower have been
suspended for up to a year due to the uncertainty in the markets and
unfavorable economic environment.
Custom guitars for Guitar Hero and Rock Band are becoming the latest
gaming bling. Gene Simmons has announced that the AXE guitar
will ship on Nov. 15th and is a three-quarter replica of his signature
guitar (compatible with PlayStation 2 and 3) for $79.99.
On top of Janet Jackson's canceled dates due to illness during her Rock
Witchu tour (her first North American outing in 7 years), her opening
act LL Cool J has announced that he is leaving the tour due to unnamed
scheduling conflicts. His final album in his contract with
Def Jam, Exit 13, has sold 80,000 copies in the U.S. since its release
in August.
Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott recently told The Age that the band
are considering going independent, "For the last five or six years we
haven't had the greatest support from our record label." He
also mentioned another good reason to consider a change, "If Radiohead
and the Eagles can go off and do it on their own, that's an acceptable
yardstick to measure our own chances by."
Former Swervedriver member Adam Franklin will see the album debut by
his new project, Magnetic Morning, with Interpol's Sam Fogarino on Jan.
27th. The album, A.M., was released digitally on Oct. 21st.
Orange Juice are reportedly reforming and plan to play in Scotland next
month. The band was led by vocalist Edwyn Collins and scored
several hits in the U.K. from 1980 to 1984 (including the #8 hit "Rip
It Up".) Collins has been performing more in his road to
recovery since suffering a major cerebral hemorrhage in 2005 including
the release of his 6th solo album, Home Again, in 2007.
Reba McEntire has signed on to host the 44th annual Academy of Country
Music Awards on Apr. 5th on CBS recorded live in Las Vegas.
George Strait will be honored with the Artist Of The Decade award in
recognition of his record-breaking career which spans nearly 25
years. Only 4 other artists have received the
award: Marty Robbins (1969), Loretta Lynn (1979) and Alabama
(1988) and Garth Brooks (1998).
China Blue will release their debut album, Twilight Of Destiny, on Dec.
5th. The group includes former Shy/current TNT vocalist Tony
Mills.
Sammy Hagar's new studio effort, Cosmic Universal Fashion, will be
released via Loud & Proud on Nov. 18th. This will be
Hagar's 11th solo album.
The soundtrack to Saw V has been announced and the track list includes
songs by Testament, Ministry, Die Krupps, Skinny Puppy and The
Revolting Cocks.
Danger Danger plan to head into the studio to finish work on their new
album due out early next year. According to vocalist Ted
Poley, "The new D 2 cd is coming out really great. I think
the fans will like it a lot."
X's John Doe has released, The Golden State EP, which featured 5
versions of Doe's "The Golden State" which will include a cover
recorded by Eddie Vedder and Corin Tucker.