Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has entered
rehab to
receive treatment for his addiction to prescription
painkillers. In a statement released by the singer, "With the
help of my family and team of medical professionals I am taking
responsibility for the management of my pain and am eager to be back on
the stage and in the recording studio with my bandmates Joe Perry, Joey
Kramer, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford." Tyler also denied
that reports of a 2-year hiatus and says he wants to get back to
writing, recording and performing with Aerosmith.
U2 bassist Adam Clayton has filed a lawsuit against his personal
assistant Carol Hawkins claiming she stole £1.8 million from
his accounts. It is believed that Clayton fired her last
month after she confessed to "misappropriating" some of his money
although in court it came out that he kept her on and altered his
financial arrangements. A temporary Dublin High Court order
to freeze her assets had been secured as she allegedly spent the money
on property, expensive cars and jewelry. An investigation
into the issue reportedly found that she had been using Clayton's
credit and debit cards for herself. Hawkins admitted using
the cards in court but has disputed the amount of money
involved. The court continues to hear the case on Jan. 18th.
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has been cautioned by British
police after his arrest on suspicion of assault on Dec. 3rd.
Wood has been released on bail until his January court date.
Gene Simmons of Kiss recently fought off a restraining order filed by
Nathan Marlowe and Cynthia Manzo in L.A. County Superior
Court. Marlowe claimed that he was at a shopping mall when he
tried to film Simmons, asked him about "his public persona about
monogamy," was grabbed by the throat, head-butted and choked by Simmons
who responded, "I will end you." Simmons reportedly took the
camera and then grabbed Marlowe's wife by the throat and threatened, "I
will kill you," before driving away in his SUV with the
camera. The judge threw out the claims saying she rejected
the petition partly because the couple failed to show "a threat of
future harm."
As part of the Freedom of Information Act, the FBI has released their
more than 300-page dossier on Michael Jackson. The files
revealed an extortion attempt against the singer in 1992 and local
authorities attempts to reach out to the bureau to see if they were
interested in "working a possible federal violation against Jackson
concerning transportation of a minor across state lines for immoral
purposes" (which the singer was ultimately found not guilty.)
Meanwhile, Jackson's Captain EO will return to Disneyland for a limited
engagement starting February of 2010.
Former Stone Roses vocalist Ian Brown, 46, has reportedly been released
without charge after being questioned on suspicion of spousal assault
last month.
According to the Examiner.com, John Lennon's star on Hollywood's Walk
of Fame has been relocated next to George Harrison's. Ringo
Starr's will join them on Feb. 8th.
Glee Cast's Glee: Season One: The Music Vol. 2 fell 7 places to #10 on
the Billboard 200 albums chart on sales of 111,000 copies.
Michael Jackson's This Is It soundtrack climbed 1 spot to
#11. Glee Cast's Glee: Season One: The Music Vol. 1 fell 3
places to #14. Sting's If On A Winter's Night... dropped 2
spots to #26. Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
soundtrack climbed 7 places to #30. Michael Jackson's Number
Ones climbed a spot to #32. Jimmy Buffett's Buffet Hotel fell
19 places to #36. Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas: 25th
Anniversary Collection dropped a spot to #40.
Eminem featuring Dr. Dre's "Hell Breaks Loose" debuted at #29 on the
Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Reba McEntire has scored her 34th #1 single on the Billboard Country
Songs Chart with "Consider Me Gone."
Sometimes an artist releases a collection that they call 'number ones'
and it includes some new material. Well, Janet Jackson's new
album, Number Ones, can say they all are #1 hits as her newest single,
"Make Me," has taken the top spot on the Billboard Dance/Club Play
chart.
Queen's Absolute Greatest dropped 6 spots to #12 on the U.K. Albums
chart. Rod Stewart's Soulbook fell 4 places to #13.
Michael Jackson's This Is It soundtrack dropped 2 spots to
#16. Fleetwood Mac's The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac climbed 4
places to #21. Bette Midler's The Best Bette climbed 3 spots
to #23. Foo Fighters' Greatest Hits fell 3 places to
#26. Paul McCartney's Good Evening New York City debuted at
#28. UB40's Best Of Labour Of Love dropped 4 spots to
#33. Rod Stewart's Some Guys Have All The Luck climbed 5
places to #34. Shirley Bassey's The Performance dropped 5
spots to #37. Madonna's Celebration fell 6 places to #40.
Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" retained the #9 spot on the U.K.
Singles chart. George Michael's "December Song (I Dreamed Of
Christmas)" debuted at #14. The Pogues featuring Kirsty
Maccoll's "Fairytale Of New York" held steady at #18. Queen
& The Muppets' "Bohemian Rhapsody" debuted at #32.
Pet Shop Boys' "It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas" debuted at #40.
Physical copies of George Michael's latest single, "December Song (I
Dreamed Of Christmas)," sold out across retail outlets in the U.K.
within 24 hours. Eyeing a possible Christmas #1, his record
label released the single in time but underestimated how many copies it
would take to outsell the latest X Factor winner, let alone the reissue
of Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name."
Metallica's 1991 self-titled album (affectionately called 'the black
album') has crept past Shania Twain's 1997 album, Come On Over, to
become the best-selling album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking
sales for Billboard (on Mar. 1, 1991.) As of now, the album
has sold 15,490,000 copies.
Daniel Ash of Love And Rockets and Bauhaus has released a new 4-track
EP, It's A Burn Out, via iTunes. The release comes 6 months
after the release of his one-off recording of his cover of David
Essex's "Rock On" with Zak Ambrose.
J. Geils Band vocalist Peter Wolf will release his new studio album,
Midnight Souvenirs, on Apr. 6th which features collaborations with
Shelby Lynne, Merle Haggard and Neko Case.
Soft Cell's Marc Almond has signed a deal with Cherry Red
Records. The label with reissue expanded remastered versions
of the singer's last 3 albums as well as his next studio effort,
Variety, due out in June.
NME reports, Ozzy Osbourne's next album will be titled, Soul Sucka, and
is scheduled for release in June. Meanwhile, the singer has
scheduled several book signings in support of the U.S. hardcover
release of his autobiography, I Am Ozzy, due out on Jan. 24th via
Sphere Publishers.
Original Spin Media have announced a new series of documentaries called
Innovators In Music set to debut on Bravo! on Jan. 7th. The 6
half-hour episodes focus on Steve Earle, Levon Helm, Mickey Hart, Dave
Stewart, Billy Bragg and Sonic Youth.
Boy George has released his new digital single, "White Xmas," which is
now available at Amazon.com. Meanwhile, High Court judge
David Bean has dismissed the singer's appeal of London's probation
service ban of him appearing on Channel 4's Celebrity Big
Brother. Officers believe allowing him to appear on the show
would undermine the reputation of the probation service and public
confidence in the judicial system.
The Outfield have been busy in the recording studio working on their
7th studio album with original members Tony Lewis, John Spinks and Alan
Jackman.
Chart Attack recently reported that U2 plan to release, Artificial
Horizon, a limited edition remix album containing some previously
unreleased material next year to members of their official fan club.
The Wall Of Sound record label has announce the signing of the Human
League to a recording contract with a new album expected out as early
as 2010.
According to Reuters, Def Leppard have entered a wide-ranging deal with
music publishing company Primary Wave, which is developing various
marketing and branding opportunities. Among them is a cartoon
television series that is still in the early stages and has not been
pitched to networks yet. It reportedly will depict all 5
members of the group in a fictional, adventurous setting.
The new book The Dark Monarch: Magic and Moderism in British Art has
the distinction of including an essay, "The Bleak Moor Lies," by
Morrissey. The apparently fictional story concerns a group of
friends who travel to Saddleworth Moor and encounter a ghost and is
expected to be included in his forthcoming autobiography (which doesn't
have a release date yet.)
Tom Waits recently told the Los Angeles Times that he's started work on
his next studio album. "You're never sure how long it will
take. You write two songs and put them in a room together and
they have offspring."
Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley will release Behind The Player, a new
retrospective DVD chronicling his work over the years as one of the
world's most influential guitarists, due out Jan. 19th via IMV, Rocket
Science Ventures and Sony/RED.
Head over to Blondie's official Web site (www.blondie.net) to get a
free download of their new Christmas single, "We Three Kings."
Vocalists Matt and Luke Goss have announced plans to reunite their
group Bros with bassist Craig Logan next year for a one-off comeback at
somewhere like the O2 Arena in London.
Come Dancing, the musical written and fronted by Ray Davies of the
Kinks, has been canceled. The show made its first run in 2008
and closed this year but was set to be revived by a new director next
year.
In a recent interview with Release, Skinny Puppy discussed the delay in
releasing their new studio album, In Solvent See, due to internal
issues with German label SPV. "We have been approached by the
insolvency company which has been approached by the (German) government
which has been approached by SPV. In the summer there was
talk about a solution coming by August 22 2009 and it went on and
on... We committed to this tour before it all
happened. We followed the promise of what it meant to our
fans. The show production and finances became a "do it
yourself" type thing."
The Pet Shop Boys have recorded their recent performance at London's O2
Arena for a live CD and DVD to be released early in 2010.
Grammy-winning performer Jose Feliciano has received an apology from
Human Events editor Jed Babbin over the posting of, "The Illegal Alien
Christmas Song," by radio producers and writers Matt Fox and A.J. Rice,
a parody of the classic "Feliz Navidad." Feliciano, a Puerto
Rico-born singer, released a statement on Wednesday saying that he was
"revolted beyond words" and that the song was never meant to be "a
vehicle for a political platform of racism and hate." He
said, "When I wrote and composed 'Feliz Navidad,' I chose to sing in
both English and Spanish in order to create a bridge between two
wonderful cultures during the time of year in which we hope for
goodwill toward all." All links and mentions of the song have
been removed from the Web site.
Rose Tattoo founding guitarist Mick Cocks lost his year-long battle
against liver cancer on Dec. 22nd. Cocks is the 4th member of
the band to have died from cancer in the last 3 years. He
co-wrote many of the band's songs and was called "a unique player who
had a style and rhythm that was entirely his own."