Madonna won for Best Female, while her Ray of Light record was named Best Album at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards. Other winners were Aerosmith for Best Rock Act and Beastie Boys for Best Rap Act.

Warner Bros. has confirmed that, just in time for New Year's Eve, it will re-release Prince's 1982 hit "1999" as a promotional single available only to radio stations. Not to be outdone, Prince himself has issued a few odd messages on his official website (at www.love4oneanother.com) indicating that he will release a newly remastered version of the song on his own label, NPG Records. Site postings also hinted that he might even re-record the entire 1999 album.

The band members of Yes are currently gathering in Vancouver, Canada, for at least a month of rehearsals before going into the studio with Bruce Fairbairn, bassist Chris Squire told MTV News this past weekend. Fairbairn's most recent production job is the just-released Kiss album "Psycho Circus." Past efforts have included Bon Jovi, The Cranberries, INXS and Van Halen.

A special Sinead O'Connor remake of Abba's "Chiquitita" is one of the main highlights of a new charity album being issued for the benefit of the bombing victims in Omagh, Ireland. The previously quiet town of Omagh saw twenty-nine people die and hundreds more injured in a car bomb attack initiated by a group of Irish Republican Army dissidents last summer. British music trade publication Dot Music reports that the album, titled "Across the Bridge of Hope," will also feature tracks from other Irish bands including U2, Boyzone, The Corrs, Ash and Enya.

A blonde Eddie Vedder performed with a broken knuckle on Friday at Boston's Karma Club as the surprise guest of singer/guitarist Neil Finn, formerly of Crowded House and Split Enz. Though it is unknown as to when or how the injury occurred, Vedder seems to be doing well as he performed such songs with Finn as the Split Enz', "History Never Repeats," and "Stuff & Nonsense"; Crowded House's "Throw Your Arms Around Me," and "World Where You Live"; and Pearl Jam's "Off He Goes."

Michael Jackson has settled his libel suit against England's Mirror newspaper, following the paper's portrayal of the singer as "horribly disfigured" by extensive plastic surgery. The paper ran a front page story in June of 1992 containing a large color photo of the singer's face with the caption, "This is the real Michael Jackson." The photo, taken at a London press conference for a charity event, was accompanied by a story that inferred that the hot spotlights caused Jackson's true looks to be revealed to the camera. The text described him as a "scarred phantom" and pointed out a hole in his nose, his sagging chin and that one cheek appeared to be higher than the other. The lawyer for the Mirror had said that the photographs had "been taken honestly" and had not been altered, but that the paper now accepted that they were not representative of the singer's true looks.

Rick James was admitted to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Surgical Intensive Care Unit on Monday after suffering from a stroke and will be operated on by doctors on Tuesday. The 50-year-old artist, who is best known for his song "Super Freak," has numbness in his right side and is unable to walk, however, both his recognition and comprehension are fine. James' condition was brought about by a broken blood vessel in the back of his neck, which occurred while he was performing at Denver's Mile High Stadium on Friday. After the show, James went to a local hospital to seek treatment for his neck pain and was released with the advice to seek further medical evaluation in the Los Angeles-area, where he resides. In lieu of flowers and cards, James asks that donations be made to the Leukemia Foundation in the name of his younger brother, William "Head" Johnson, who died from the disease last week.

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is expected to be back in the U.S. next week, after being rushed to a London hospital over the weekend for an emergency appendectomy. According to his label, Elektra Records, Hammett was in England with his group as part of a promotional tour in support of their upcoming double-album, Garage, Inc. The guitarist is expected to make a full recovery, and the incident will not affect Metallica's previously scheduled North American club tour.

2 Live Crew and Ice-T have teamed up to shoot a no-holds-barred video for their song "The Real One," which will be featured in the Jerry Springer film " Ringmaster" and on its soundtrack. The infamous Crew were brought on board the project when Springer and the film's music supervisor first heard the song, which had been previously recorded for 2 Live Crew's current album, also titled "The Real One." The rap group also recorded two new versions of James Brown's "Living In America" for the picture.

Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, is pregnant by the husband she divorced four years ago, according to reports. Musician Danny Keough and Lisa Mane split up in 1994, with Keough getting a £1 million settlement. Then Presley, 30, married pop star Michael Jackson who at the time faced child sex charges. The marriage lasted just 22 months.

Early 1980s Los Angeles new wave stars Missing Persons will have a live album titled Late Nights/Early Days issued at the beginning of next year. Previously available only in Japan, the disc will come out on Designer Fruit, the label run by the group's former guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and his current Duran Duran bandmate Nick Rhodes. Nile Rodgers' company, Sumthing, is distributing the release. Meanwhile, Cleopatra Records is putting together a remix collection of vintage Missing Persons material. The album includes contributions from ex-Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom, Anthony Resta ("Mental Hopscotch”) and TV Mania (a.k.a. Cuccurullo/Rhodes re-interpreting the hit “Destination Unknown.”)

Paul McCartney may not be able to handle life in the spotlight alone. The former Beatle reveals that he's still so overcome by sadness over wife Linda's death that he may never again perform live. “I might not be able to get up on stage again,” McCartney tells the British tabloid The Sun. “I don't know whether I can go up there and sing, thinking about Linda.” McCartney tells the paper that Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde has invited him to perform in a series of concerts next year that will promote Linda's animal rights causes, but he isn't sure he'll be up to it, saying he'll “play it by ear.” “If I can manage it, then I will,” McCartney says. “But I've said that if I can't do it, she'll just have to forgive me.” McCartney reveals he always carries Linda's wedding ring in his pocket, and admits he's “cried more this year that I have in my whole life.”

Jeff Watson, guitarist for Night Ranger, couldn't have been thrilled when he discovered a vest of his had been stolen from his dressing room during a concert in Wyoming last summer on the bands reunion tour. But his disappointment must have paled in comparison to the surprise he must have felt when he later received a postcard—from the vest itself. The Mann Independent Journal reports that Watson had received several Polaroid photos of a woman covered up by the vest at tourist attractions across the U.S. Along with the pictures are letters written from the vest's point of view. Updates have come from Seattle's Space Needle, a Boston exhibit on the Titanic and from Late Night With Conan O'Brien in New York. Most recently, the vest has traveled overseas—Watson received a postcard from London saying, “Oy, matey. I've just made it over the ‘pond,’ and enjoying it very much. Next stop, the Continent. Always yours, the Vest.”

Today a British High Court ruled against Smiths singer Stephen Morrissey. Morrissey had appealed a 1996 decision stemming from charges that he and guitarist Johnny Marr had taken more than their fair share of band profits from drummer Mike Joyce and bassist Andy Rourke. More than a decade after the band split up, the matter has still been pursued by Joyce; Rourke already settled out of court. Should the decision stand, Morrissey and Marr could have to shell out 1 millions pounds or so, not including legal fees. Morrissey has the option to appeal the decision once again, this time with the House of Lords, the final appeals court for England and Wales.

U2's Edge has been reticent to give too much away for fear of starting a rumor mill. I'm [nervous] about that—after what happened with Pop....the way people started making judgments even before they ever heard it.” The Edge projected a wrap date of sometime in the summer of 1999, but “we don't want to set a firm deadline because we don't want to get into the same trap that we did last time. We made a mistake of establishing a deadline too far in advance with Pop. The last month turned out to be a real scramble to get it out before the PopMart tour.” He continued, “We might have wanted another week to just sit back and relax with it...so that we wouldn't have had to deliver it to the record company the day it was finished, which is what we ended up doing.” The band currently has a new album in the works with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as well as the tour that will likely follow its release.

INXS might not be entirely gone. Their manager Martha Troup has said that more than 40 unreleased songs by INXS exist and might still be issued. Currently there is a hold on the posthumous release of Michael Hutchence's solo material.

Less than a week to go before Tuesday's release of his double-disc greatest-hits collection, Ladies & Gentleman, The Best of George Michael, and he's already back in the hot seat. According to a spokesperson for the Beverly Hills District Attorney's office, the singer was to have completed 80 hours of community service by Tuesday, as per his sentencing in May over a lewd conduct charge. But because Michael had not completely served out his sentence, his attorney approached Judge Charles Rubin on Thursday to try to extend the deadline until sometime in February. The judge, who had a copy of the video in the courtroom, didn't grant the full request, but did extend the deadline to December 21st. During an interview that preceded the new video premier for “Outside”, Michael told an audience of his fans and spectators that police committed entrapment in arresting him, since they used an undercover officer who fooled him into thinking he was interested in engaging in a sex act with the singer. “I got followed into the restroom. I didn't know it was a cop, obviously. He started playing this game — ‘I’ll show you mine and when you show me yours, I'll nick you,’” Michael claimed during the interview. Police have said that the singer was arrested after committing an unspecified lewd act in a public area. It was the new video that made the boldest statement on his recent troubles with the law. Scenes in the video seem to make light of his arrest and conviction. Partially set in a public restroom that becomes a dance club when urinals disappear and disco balls descend from the light fixtures, the video features Michael dancing in a policeman's uniform while a host of couples kiss in various outdoor locales, including the roof of a building, on board a ship and on a golf course.

Aerosmith has pulled out of plans to continue their tour through January and February, putting a string of at least fifteen dates in limbo. Pollstar reports this week that the band's management has indicated that frontman Steven Tyler may need a rest. Concert dates scheduled after January 4th will reportedly be postponed until March or April, according to the report.

Pressed for the most important figure of the 20th Century, few of us would name They Might Be Giants’ John Flansburgh. However the TMBG guitarist now sees his name being bandied about next to Jesus Christ and Adolf Hitler in a serious online poll designed to determine the Person Of The Century. The poll, being conducted by Time magazine's website has logged votes for historical figures like Gandhi, Billy Graham, Winston Churchill, and Ronald Reagan, as well as Flansburgh and a few other surprises. "He's behind, I think number one is I believe Jesus Christ, number two is Adolf Hitler, number three is the wrestler Ric Flair, and Flansburgh is at number four,” his TMBG partner John Linnell told the MTV Radio Network recently. “And then behind him are some very serious notables.” “If I find that Ric Flair, I'm gonna kick his ass,” Flansburgh barked. I'm warning you Ric Flair; it's me, Jesus and Hitler. There's no room for you. Get out.”

Former Page Three model Samantha Fox has been fined £1,000 and banned for 18 months after being caught driving home with more than three times the drink-drive limit. The 32-year-old was followed for more than three miles by a police car with flashing lights as she veered across the road and slowed to five mph at one point on a three-lane dual carriageway, Enfield magistrates court in north London was told. Fox was taken to Edmonton police station where test results showed a reading of 107 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Rush is not in danger of breaking up. The band is just in a holding pattern. At least, that's the viewpoint of Alex Lifeson, guitarist for the venerable Canadian rock trio, which has no long or short-term plans beyond the Nov. 10 release of the triple-CD live set Different Stages. Lifeson and bassist-singer Geddy Lee are giving drummer-lyricist Neil Peart time to grieve the loss of his wife Jackie to cancer this year, following the death of their 19-year-old daughter in a car accident in 1997. "As far as the band is concerned, we're just waiting for Neil to really get better," Lifeson said in a telephone interview yesterday. "I got to think in my heart there are things about what we do that Neil really loves a lot and is not prepared to give up," Lifeson said. But the musician admitted he and Lee, both 45, have "spent hours and hours" talking about the tragic turn of events. They've decided there will be no Rush without Peart.

Considerable urban interest in the band Blondie, mainly stemming from their embracing of rap on their 1981 hit, "Rapture," has prompted Loud Records to release a 10-inch of the song "No Exit," from Blondie's upcoming album of the same name, due Feb. 9 on Beyond Records. The vinyl-only release, due in early December, will feature guest appearances by Coolio and possibly members of the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as several other Loud acts, according to a spokesperson for the band. The band will embark on an extensive U.S. tour in the spring of 1999. They are also currently filming a concert video in Europe which will be released by Hal Duce Productions/Big Events to coincide with the band's American tour.

Recently, a Bjork obsessive broke into her mother Hildur's home, according to the Swedish newspaper Expressen. (Bjork is living in Sweden now while she films the new movie, Dancer in the Dark.) The fan, a Spaniard who's been stalking her for four years, entered the house while Bjork's mother was away and generally made himself at home. He slept in Hildur's bed, ate her food, and left threatening messages for Bjork. When Hildur returned 24 hours later, the man refused to leave, saying it was his home. The police were called and the man taken away. "This is worse than the mail bomb," Bjork said in the article. "My mother would not have to meet strange men in her home just because of my job. In that case, it's better to quit as an artist." Bjork's mother had been receiving strange phone calls for a while, but never told Bjork out of fear of worrying her. "That the people I love are subjected to threats because of me is horrible!" Bjork said. "And the thought alone that someone could hurt my son makes me feel sick. I feel very guilty."

Some Skinny Puppy fans were in for a bit of a shock when they bought the band's new remix album, "Remix Dys Temper." Instead of the godless goth rock of the defunct industrial veterans, they heard songs by a very godly gospel group. Nettwerk's Kim Hardy confirmed reports that a screw up at the EMD pressing plant in Jacksonville resulted in 6,000 copies of the Puppy product being shipped with Puppy packaging intact including the label copy, but with a different band's music. The CD actually featured tracks from an album called "Worship Song" by a Christian duo with the moniker Weeding of the Lamb. Hardy added that the same problem once happened to Puppy's Nettwerk rostermate Sarah McLachlan when some fans buying copies of her ethereal "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" actually heard the decidedly non-ethereal Ozzy Osbourne.

America Online and AOL Live are proud to present Barbra Streisand in her first ever online appearance on Monday, November 2 at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT.

In a recent interview with Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen. "It's like we're bigger than record companies. When you see people at shows singing along, they're not singing [the label's] songs, they're singing our songs. We're bigger than we were 10 years ago, and 10 years ago we had a 'hit' ["The Flame," a No. 1 single] at the time. We were opening for Robert Plant then, and he kept on saying, 'You guys should be closing the show!' But no thanks! People come from all over to see us. It's amazing. And it's not like the Grateful Dead. You don't get free acid or joints at the door. It's not even for sale--that I know of!"

Kiss frontman Paul Stanley and the band's former guitarist Bruce Kulick are being sued for copyright infringement by a music publishing company that claims a song on the group's new album is too similar musically to Alice Cooper's song "Eighteen." Six Palms Music Corp., which filed the complaint, claims that the Kiss song "Dreamin'" from the band's "Psycho Circus" album is a bit too close to the Cooper nugget. The company, which published the Cooper hit, alleges that Stanley (who co-wrote the song with Kulick) must have heard Cooper's 1971 classic track several times as the two groups rose together in the theatrical rock genre. Six Palms is seeking an unspecified dollar amount in the case. A spokesperson for both Kiss and Mercury Records had no comment on the suit, but did say that as of press time, the record label had not been served.

The seminal rap group Run-DMC is now looking to return to the studios for a new album, thanks to a new deal with Arista Records, which has also acquired the rights to Profile's back catalogue. The group, which hasn't issued an album since 1993's "Down with the King," enjoyed a revival of sorts last year when DJ Jason Nevins worked up a series of remixes of Run-DMC's very first hit, "It's Like That," from 1983, a song which will appear on Arista's upcoming "Ultimate Dance Party 1999" compilation. Run says that "quite a bit" of the new album is already completed, and that the rap group hopes to have the album out in the next five months. Run also indicated that they were in discussions with Will Smith's production company to make a movie that he described as "something like a 'Krush Groove 2,'" a sequel to the 1985 hip-hop film that featured L.L. Cool J, Kurtis Blow, New Edition and Sheila E.

Former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown has been sentenced to four months in jail for threatening a British Airways airline pilot and stewardess on a flight from Paris to Manchester last February. According to British press reports, the stewardess had been serving duty free goods when she mistakenly thought Brown had waved her over. She then realized he was actually just putting something in his pocket. She apologized with another wave, at which point Brown complained and threatened to cut off her hands for waving at him. She testified that he kept up the abuse by pointing his finger and using a menacing tone. The captain intervened and Brown repeated the threat. An argument ensued, and after the pilot returned to the cabin to land the plane, Brown got up and spent 20 to 30 seconds pounding on the door as the plane approached the Manchester airport. The pilot radioed ahead and arranged to have Brown arrested after the plane landed. Brown, 35, fronted the Stone Roses, one of the most popular groups in the country, from their late '80s inception to their demise in 1996, which followed a steady exodus of band members including mainstay John Squire who left to form the Seahorses.

The television presenter Paula Yates has lost the custody battle with her former husband, Bob Geldof, for their three children. The former Boomtown Rats singer and Live Aid hero won the right to have the children with him for most of the year after a three-day hearing at the Family Division of the High Court, in London. Fifi Trixibelle, 15, Peaches Honeyblossom, nine, and Pixie, eight, will live with the 45-year-old during term time. Miss Yates, 38, is also facing a possible custody battle over the future of Tiger Lily, her two-year-old daughter by rock star Michael Hutchence. The INXS singer left Miss Yates devastated after he committed suicide in a hotel room in Sydney last year. The child's grandfather Kell Hutchence has launched proceedings in Australia seeking sole custody of the couple's child after concerns over a new relationship Miss Yates began while being treated at a clinic for a nervous breakdown earlier this year.

Fans who pick up a copy of Aerosmith's new double-live disc, A Little South of Sanity, may want to be careful how loud they crank up the volume, based on a lawsuit filed on Monday by a concertgoer who attended an October 1997 Aerosmith show. The plaintiff, Mark Meto, claims that he suffered permanent hearing loss following an Aerosmith performance at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, California, and that he was not made aware of the possibility of such a hearing loss prior to the show, according to the Associated Press. Meto's suit cites both Aerosmith and the publicly-owned Concord Pavilion as the parties responsible for his condition and seeks damages based on incurred medical expenses and lost wages.

There will be a rebroadcast of the Howard Jones RealVideo cybercast from Homdel NJ on LiveConcerts.com, tonight! (October 23rd at 6:30 pm PDT 9:30 pm EDT. 1:30 am GMT). (This performance and original cybercast took place on August 2nd 1998.) http://liveconcerts.com/events/981023howardjones

If you think it’s been a while since you've heard from New Edition or Bell Biv Devoe, you are not alone. The group members (Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell, Ronald Devoe, Ralph Tresvant, and Johnny Gill) are being sued by MCA Records for breach of contract. The record label claims that it is still owed six albums from the New Edition camp, two from Bell Biv Devoe and four from New Edition. In related news, Bivins has moved on to form a label of his own, Biv10 Records, and is currently working on a release from his youngest signees, the pee wee hip-hop outfit Magnificent 7.

Electronic, the duo consisting of Bemard Sumner of New Order and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, are currently mastering their third album, tentatively titled Twisted Tenderness. The album is due to be released early next year and currently are shopping for a U.S. label. Electronic had originally planned on a pre-Christmas release for Twisted Tenderness, but the New Order reunion obviously has taken a large chunk of Sumner’s time away from the album in the past nine months. Touring looks unlikely for Electronic with Sumner leaning towards a ‘99 New Order schedule.

Before hitting the road in support of their latest Greatest Hits album (due Oct. 27th on Beyond/Motley Records), Motley Crue hits the wrestling mats. After a live taping of Raw Is War, the Monday night wrestling show on the USA Network this week they head to Madison, Wis. to tape a live performance. The Crue’s live debut of “Bitter Pill” will air on the USA Network wrestling show Sunday Night Heat on Oct. 25th. They will also perform “Wild Side,” with D-Generation X wrestler Road Dog Jesse James helping out on vocals. “Wild Side” will air Oct. 26th on Raw Is War.

Even after turning up on Christmas ornaments, golf balls, credit cards, and a seemingly endless parade of merchandise, the guys in Kiss are still finding new things to put their faces on. The glam metal icons will take on the Beanie Babies with their own line of bean bag dolls, which fans can order through David Snowden Promotions (at www.davidsnowden.com). Individually, the four dolls are going for $13, but die-hards can order all four in a numbered limited edition set that comes complete with a “Psycho Circus” wagon for $100. The collectibles recently made a brief debut on the Home Shopping Network, where they will turn up once again on October 29th.

De La Soul has been sneaking into the studio to record their follow-up to 1996’s Stakes Is High. After 13 years together and four albums, De La Soul is planning to mix up the chemistry a little for the new album and bring in both old school and contemporary rappers for a string of guest appearances. “De La has always been self-contained over the years,” De La Soul’s Maseo told the MTV Radio Network. “We’ll always do De La records, but there’s so many people in the business we respect and before we say, 'Yo, we retire,' we want to get an opportunity to work with some of the artists that are out there from new to old.” The rappers are being very tight-lipped on who they are working with for the new album, but Maseo did say that it may be a triple album, and according to De La Soul’s label, the as-yet-untitled record should be out in May of next year.

Morrissey returned to the High Court in London this week to appeal against the 1996 ruling that left him over a million pounds poorer following a suit brought forth by former Smiths members Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce. Rourke and Joyce sued Morrissey for performing and recording royalties; their QC claimed that Morrissey and Johnny Marr (the songwriting team behind The Smiths) had paid themselves four times as much as Joyce and Rourke without their knowledge. The appeal rests on a challenge to the understanding of the original agreement between the members of The Smiths.

On the heels of a brief and alluring television commercial that ran in September during the MTV Video Music Awards broadcast, there is now a print version of the ad — which teases the release of the new NIN recording — in the pop-culture magazine Gear. However, the ad offers little more than a few odd clues. “It will all begin to make more sense over time,” explained NIN spokeswoman Sioux Zimmerman. “There will be a little bit here, a bit there. It will all build up [to the album’s release].” The print ad, like the televised clip that gave the first clues of a release, features the word “ninetynine” in orange with the band’s trademark backward 'n's in the same font used on the cover of NIN’s 1992 EP, Broken. It also includes the logo of bandleader Trent Reznor's label, Nothing Records, and a copyright notation. The new album will be NIN’s third studio LP of all-new material since the band’s formation in 1987. In addition to its 1989 debut, Pretty Hate Machine, which featured the alt-rock hit “Head Like a Hole.”

While the Rolling Stones get ready for next month’s release of their new live album, No Security, Mick Jagger is busy lining up a pair of new film deals — one of which may become an acting vehicle for the singer, while the other has drawn the interest of director Martin Scorsese. Jagger is co-writing a movie based on his 30 years worth of rock & roll experiences with Scorsese and Rich Cohen, and Scorsese says he eventually wants to direct the picture, according to ‘Variety.' The Stones singer, who was in drag for his last on-screen appearance in “Bent,” the 1997 film about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals, has also just sold the rights to “Swap,” a role-reversal comedy based on the lives of rock stars and roadies.

America’s premiere rock band, Aerosmith, will make new media history once again this week, when they perform live over the Internet, in the first ever truly interactive cybercast. The cybercast will be broadcast from the band’s sold-out show at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, on October 17th at 9 p.m. EST. However, what really makes this event unique is the viewers’ ability to direct the special themselves, switching live between seven separate camera feeds, each broadcasting a different perspective of the concert. Prior to the cybercast, as they warm up for the show, the band will be participating in a chat via America Online starting at 7:30pm. This will also be simulcast on www.aerosmith.com surfers who register for the show will automatically be e-mailed a digital still, signed by Aerosmith the night of the concert.

Much to their dismay, World Wide Web-sawy fans of the Cure found Wednesday (Oct. 14th) that the largest online source of free live recordings by the band had dried up overnight. “The Cure MP3 Audio Archive” — which hosted 750 live cuts from throughout the modem-rock band’s 23-year career — was removed Tuesday after the student hosting it was ordered to do so by his university, which had been getting pressure from the Recording Industry Association of America. “We brought it to Elektra Records’ attention and said, ‘Let us know if the Cure is OK with the site or [if] they want us to do something about it." said Frank Creighton, the RIAA’s vice president and associate director of anti-piracy. “We got a response from Elektra basically saying that the Cure [were] fine with the RIAA addressing this.” In site owner Hajdik’s eyes, however, the site was doing the band a service by offering exposure and undercutting the market for bootleg live recordings. He is now searching for a new home for his massive library of live Cure works. “A few people have expressed interest, but nobody’s committed to anything,” he said.

Poison frontman Bret Michaels and troubled actor Charlie Sheen and have avoided a court battle. The pleasure-loving bad boys settled a $1 million breach of contract suit on Friday brought by two producers. Alexander Tabrizi and Anthony Esposito claimed in a suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court that they were never paid for finding financing for The Last Child, a film co-written by Michaels and Sheen. According to their lawsuit, the men contend they were promised 5 percent of the pictures budget and a production credit. They say they were never paid and were later fired.

Katharina Schneider, a 34-year-old woman from Humanushaus, Switzerland, flew home October 8th, following her arrest on the grounds of singer Chris De Burgh’s Dublin home three days earlier. After initially being remanded in police custody until next month, Schneider, who had bombarded the singer with telephone calls and faxes, was escorted to Dublin Airport by a doctor and a nurse and placed on the flight. Ronald Lynam, solicitor for the defendant, produced a medical report which suggested she had a history of mental illness. Asking permission from the judge to address the court, Ms. Schneider thanked the precinct and everyone “who has been very nice to me. I hope to come back soon.”

Who’s ready to hear Jackyl perform “The Lumberjack”... 20 times in the same day? That could be the likely outcome of the Southern-fried rockers’ Oct. 21st pursuit in Abilene, Texas: performing 20 shows in 24 hours. Kind of puts a whole new spin on the phrase “rock around the clock.” The band plans to launch the marathon as part of its quest to make it into the Guinness Book Of World Records for playing 100 concerts in 50 days. The stunt follows the recent release of Choice Cuts, a compilation of the band's biggest hits along with covers of the Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus” and Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re An American Band.”

Aussie siren Kylie Minogue saw her new image October 7th, when her waxwork double in Madame Tussaud’s museum was unveiled. The updated model, featuring a slinky low-cut dress, makes her look twice the woman she was when her first dummy went on display in 1989. She said she was surprised at how much she had changed since her first sitting. The former “Neighbours” TV soap star, who has collected 25 Top 20 hits in the U.K. during her 10-year recording career, denied reports that she is giving up music for an acting career.

You might be hearing a lot more Bob Seger on the radio soon. Well, Metallica’s take on Bob Seger, anyway. “Turn The Page,” one of the new covers recorded for Garage Inc., is going to be the first single off of the double disc, due Nov. 24th on Elektra. The band has tapped Jonas Akerland — who directed the Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up” and Madonna’s “Ray of Light” — to direct a video for the song Wednesday (Oct. 21st) in Los Angeles.

Coming off one of the most difficult eras in their nearly 20-year career, Athens, GA.-bred rockers R.E.M. staged a triumphant return to alternative radio last week, with nearly every alternative outlet in the U.S. adding the band’s new single to their playlists. According to Kevin McCabe, director of charts for radio-industry trade-magazine Radio and Records, R.E.M.’s “Daysleeper” was picked up by 120 of the 135 alternative stations that report to the magazine, making it the most-added song last week. The single, from the group’s upcoming album, Up (due out Oct. 27th) — the first not to feature drummer Berry, who departed last fall — has kept pace with a number of other high-profile releases this year, according to McCabe. Another song McCabe said had similarly widespread alternative-radio adds was “Sweetest Thing” by Irish rockers U2.

With his third solo album, Rise, Mike Peters has garnered some of the best reviews of his career. “When I left the Alarm [in the early Nineties], it was like going back into the underground,” says Peters. “I’ve been working in the vacuum for such a long time, and there’s only been a few close friends sticking by me for support, so it’s great to be here now doing all these interviews, having people talk about my record — it’s like, ‘All right! I've made it through, I've crossed the bridge.'” Rise represents a bigger triumph for Peters than critical acceptance, however. lt’s his personal affirmation of winding up on the winning end of a brief but worrisome battle with lymphoma cancer. Nearly every song is an anthem. The finished product crackles with a high voltage guitar and electronica-based rock best summed up by the title track, “White Noise.” Peters gives ample credit for the album’s sonic assault to guests like former Cult guitarist Billy Duffy, with whom Peters plays in a side-project called ColorSound (“lt is what it is,” he explains, “it’s the Alarm meets the Cult.”)

Bruce Springsteen: Tracks, a four CD set containing 66 songs and over four hours of material, will be released by Columbia Records on November 10th, 1998. The collection spans Bruce Springsteen’s entire 25 year career as a recording artist. The box set includes 56 previously unreleased masters, many of which were recorded during the making of The River and Born In The U.S.A. albums. The remaining ten masters on the collection are b-sides, some of which were released only internationally.

Through a cruel twist of editing, David Bowie’s “Sky Life” will not turn up in the upcoming animated “Rugrats” big screen debut. The track, which Bowie worked on with guitarist Reeves Gabrels and producer Tony Visconti, was cut from the film after a bit of re-editing, prompting the film’s musical coordinator, Karyn Rachtman, to say, “I have always wanted to work with David Bowie and I finally had my chance. He delivered a song far beyond my wildest dreams, and now I can’t even use it. The song is beautiful.” The song now, once again, belongs to Bowie and Gabrels, though the future of the track is undetermined. “Unfortunately, it really doesn’t fit in with what I’m doing at the moment,” Bowie said of the track in a written statement. “A shame really, as it was quite sweet for what it was.”

In an effort to help sustain momentum generated by the October launch of Depeche Mode’s first U.S. tour in four years, the band has announced plans to release a new video to accompany the compilation album, Singles 86-98, which arrived in stores this week. Entitled “Depeche Mode: Videos 86-98,” the home video will arrive on November 10th and will include 21 of the British synth-pop band’s music clips, as well as the video for Mode’s new single, “Only When I Lose Myself.” The video collection also incorporates footage of the band discussing its videos and the 25-minute promotional movie “Depeche Mode: A Short Film.”

On Tuesday, 3rd Bass rapper MC Serch confirmed that the Vanilla Ice-dissing hip-hop group is, in fact, preparing to reunite. Serch told MTV News that he will join original partners Pete Nice and DJ Daddy Rich at a surprise show next week at an undisclosed club in New York City. In addition, the band is currently working on a new album featuring cameos by Wylcef Jean and Organized Noize, and hopes to have it released in early 1999. So what have the creators of such classic songs as “Pop Goes The Weasel” and “Gas Face” been up to for the last seven years? Well, Serch currently has his own label, Serchlight Productions, while Pete Nice has apparently left the music business altogether and has been operating a baseball memorabilia business in Cooperstown, New York.

Million Dollar Hotel, the long-talked about film based upon a story idea from Bono of U2, finally appears to be heading into production. German director Wim Wenders has agreed to helm the picture, which will star Milla Jovovich, Jeremy Davies and Oscar-winner Mel Gibson. U2 is expected to provide music for the soundtrack, according to ‘Variety.' The picture will tell the story of a couple (Jovovich and Davies) who get caught up in a murder investigation at the Hotel. Gibson has been cast in a role he knows well from his four Lethal Weapon movies — that of a police detective — and Bono may also be cast in a bit role in the film. Bono has been kicking around the idea for the film for over 10 years, and was inspired after the band stayed at the actual hotel in Los Angeles. U2 even had a Million Dollar Hotel sign constructed for the set of its video for “Where The Streets Have No Name.”

The U.S. version of George Michael's Greatest Hits album will be shy one new song, and the Michael camp is none too happy about it according to his website. The international version of Ladies And Gentlemen - The Best Of George Michael will include a duet with Mary J. Blige on the Stevie Wonder-penned “As,” but Blige’s label, MCA/Universal, has declined permission for the track to be released in America. Far from retreating from the presumably embarrassing, well-publicized incident when he was arrested for performing a sexual act in front of an undercover policeman, he’s having a field day with it, much to the delight of his fans. The greatest hits package had “Ladies And Gentlemen” added to the title reportedly as a bit of toilet humor, supposedly alluding to his favorite hang out. The album’s first single, a new song called “Outside,” opens with a police siren and other similar noises, plus the tune’s lyrics also appear to address the incident. Most recently, the 'London Daily Mirror’ reports that the video for the single contains a scene shot on Wednesday depicting a man being arrested outside a public outdoor washroom after chatting with an undercover officer.

On Monday, singer Bobby Brown turned himself in to authorities in Broward County, where he will serve five days in the county jail for a 1996 drunken driving conviction. Brown flew in from New Jersey accompanied by his brother and an aunt. The Associated Press reports that he was then immediately taken into custody by Broward police. Brown agreed to drop a planned appeal and submit to the jail time along with various court-imposed fines after fighting the charge in court for the past two years.

Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp has been signed to star in the popular British soap opera, The Eastenders, according to England's PA News. The service reports that the singer will be playing the role of a nightclub owner. After disbanding in the late ‘80s, the Kemp brothers both went on to launch acting careers with starring roles in The Krays, a feature film about Britain's notorious siblings. Martin also recently played a murderer on a popular TV crime show called The Bill and is scheduled to be playing at least a "semi-bad guy in the Eastenders." Married to former girl group singer Shirlie from the duo Pepsi and Shirlie, Martin was in the news for a different reason three years ago when he was hospitalized for two months with a brain tumor. He fully recovered following an operation.

“The Boss” apparently doesn't want a collection of his early recordings to be among those remembered when he is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. The Associated Press reports that a New Jersey company has recently filed suit in a federal court against Springsteen in an attempt to establish ownership and right to market the material. The songs in dispute predate Springsteen's first official release, 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ, and Pony Express Records of Bloomfleld, NJ says that the singer has repeatedly attempted to block release of the material by claiming that the company did not possess ownership rights to the songs. Pony Express Records contends that it legally purchased the rights to some 30 songs, which it has collected onto an album marketed under the titles of “Before The Flame” and “Unearthed,” that Springsteen recorded in 1972 for one of his early producers.

Duran Duran will release a greatest hits package and accompanying video compilation November 3, and has scheduled a short pre-Christmas tour of the U.K. to promote the record. There are currently no plans to tour the States. The 19-song track listing includes: “Is There Something I Should Know,” “The Reflex,” “A View To A Kill.” “Ordinary World,” “Save a Prayer,” “Rio,” “Hungry Like The Wolf,” “Girls On Film,” “Planet Earth,” “Union of the Snake,” “New Moon on Monday,” “Wild Boys,” “Notorious,” “I Don't Want Your Love,” “All She Wants Is,” “Skin Trade,” “Come Undone” “Serious” and “Electric Barbarella.” The band has been in the studio recording their next album, tentatively entitled, Hallucinating Elvis, scheduled for release next spring.

Now that becoming a father is out of the way, Adam Ant and his wife, Lomane (who is one of the project's main consultants), can get back to their business at hand: finishing the Adam and the Ants box set. The set is tentatively scheduled to surface on Epic Records U.K. in spring 1999 with a U.S. date to follow down the road. Not much more is known about the project at this time, but there have been rumors circulating around the U.K. of an Adam and the Ants reunion tour with at least two original members, Ant and guitarist Marco Pirroni, who joined the band in 1980 and last toured with Ant in 1993.

Some current shows for Prince have been canceled/rescheduled. Spokespeople for the Artist say that he pulled a ligament while performing “Delirious” after he tripped on a piece of equipment while going down an on-stage ramp. Prince was diagnosed with the ligament strain by a doctor in Cleveland, the next city Prince was set to play. With this unexpected time off, Prince has announced via his official web site, that he will be releasing a new album featuring his early-80s backing band, the Revolution, with which he recorded “1999,” “Purple Rain,” “Around the World in a Day” and “Parade.” The working title for the new Prince and the Revolution album is “Roadhouse Garden,” and Prince says he has offered to let former band members Wendy and Lisa handle some of the record's production duties. He also states that he is not adverse to the idea of reuniting the band for a tour.

Former Duran Duran member John Taylor is reportedly working on a movie this month with director Allison Anders, who's best known for flicks including Grace of My Heart, Gas Food Lodging and Four Rooms. Details are sketchy but the film apparently features Taylor as a rock star, and Rosanna Arquette as his wife. Michael Des Barres and former Spandau Ballet singer Martin Kemp are also in the picture. It's expected to make its debut at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Meanwhile, Taylor's new bend Terroristen recently made their record debut with a live EP recorded this summer on Taylor's own B5 label. Like Taylor's two previous releases, the CD is only available through the Internet. The web site can be found at www.trusttheprocess.com.

A very happy 39th birthday to Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys on Sunday. Also in the news, they have left their old management in the USA and are now working together with a company called ‘Sanctuary’. Sanctuary works with amongst others Iron Maiden. The new album is scheduled for a release in spring 1999, the boys are working with producer Craig Armstrong. The album will both feature brand new songs, and songs from their upcoming musical.

Natalie Imbruglia was the tart. Kylie Minogue, the drunk. And Sinead O’Connor was the unit mother. This is what they called themselves during their surprise incognito appearance with former Eurythmic Dave Stewart on the British television show TFI Fridays. As backup singers for Stewart's performance, they came disguised in wigs and evening gowns, and instructed the show's presenter, Chris Evans, to introduce them as “The Tart, The Drunk, and The Unit Mother.” The show was taped Friday today in London. They performed “Happy To Be Here,” the first single from Stewart's new album Sly-Fi, released on the Internet via N2K’s Digital Artists label. For more information, visit www.davestewart.com. Stewart and the lovely ladies also performed a medley of two Eurythmics songs, “Love Is a Stranger” and “Sweet Dreams,” with O'Connor singing lead on the latter song. Brian Eno also performed, playing the omnichord on all of the songs. Meanwhile, Stewart is writing new material with Eno, as well as with Imbruglia and O'Connor.

Former Guns ‘N Roses drummer Steven Adler was sentenced to 150 days in jail on Thursday for attacking two women in separate domestic violence incidents, which also violates his probation from a 1997 conviction in another domestic violence case. He pled no contest to two counts of battery in a dating relationship and admitted the probation violation in West Los Angeles Municipal Court. Adler was also sentenced to three years of summary probation, with the conditions of undergoing a year of domestic violence counseling and a ban on using illegal drugs.

Some unlikely 80’s characters are coming out of the Madonna-worshiper closet for a tribute to the Material Girl turned Maternal Girl titled Virgin Voices: A Tribute to Madonna, due in February 1999 on Cleopatra Records. The track listing at this point boasts 29 artists, including Bow Wow Wow's Annabella Lwin, Heaven 17, Berlin, KMFDM, Bananarama, Wendy & Lisa, Information Society, Stacey Q., A Flock of Seagulls, Gene Loves Jezebel, and Dead Or Alive. However, more artists could be added, and some still haven't chosen their song yet. The covers span Madonna's entire career from her 1983 self-titled debut to her latest album, Ray Of Light.

Sir Elton John, the celebrated international superstar, is the most recent addition to the growing list of musical giants involved in the upcoming release Chef Aid: The South Park Album. John has written a brand-new song, “Wake Up Wendy,” especially for “Chef Aid.” What you've been told is a lie, the history books have it all wrong. On October 7th, all will be revealed during the new episode of South Park and chronicled on Chef Aid: The South Park Album in stores October 20th.

Keyboard wizard Vince Clarke, one-half of English duo Erasure and longtime dance music czar, is quietly shopping around a dance music project, according to a source in Erasure's camp. Although Clarke is merely named as producer on the as-of-yet untitled project, it is being touted as a Vince Clarke solo effort. Described as wry disco-oriented, the album includes vocal contributions and excerpted words (closer to snippets than entire songs) from Tori Amos, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of the B-52’s, and Reeves Gabrels (Tin Machine, the Cure), who all appear at Clarke's request, according to the source.

Sporty Spice Melanie Chisholm has recorded a duet with Canadian pop-rocker Bryan Adams for a new Adams album, On A Day Like Today, due out in late October. Chisholm's participation was confirmed by a spokesperson at Adams’ management agency in Vancouver. The song is called “When You're Gone.” Producer Bob Rock was scheduled to finish mixing the album at Adams' Vancouver studio this past weekend.

For the fifth year in a row The Norwegian Nobel Committee is arranging a Peace Prize Concert to honor this years Peace Prize laureate. Who will get the Peace Prize for 1998 is to be announced on October 16th. “We are proud of a very solid and broad list of artists, and are especially happy that A-ha will be reunited to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert,” says the producer of the concert, Odd Arvid Stromstad. The concert will be broadcast by NRK TV and NRK Radio P1, and will be distributed all over the world. Last year's concert was broadcast to more than 500 million homes. A-ha will be performing one newly written tune and an older hit song (unannounced.)

Ozzy Osbourne may be heading home... to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Osbourne could make it to the Rock Hall as vocalist for Black Sabbath, one of the 15 artists who have been nominated for induction into the Hall of Fame. Other artists vying to be part of the 1998 class ushered into the Cleveland museum include Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Curtis Mayfield and Steely Dan.

L.L. Cool J has agreed to portray his first big-screen villain for In Too Deep, a crime film based on a real life story in which L.L. will star as a revered drug dealer whose inner circle is infiltrated by an undercover narcotics cop played by Omar Epps, according to Variety. In Too Deep, which is set to go in front of the cameras in Toronto in October, will be L.L Cool J's next project after he wraps work on Deep Blue Sea, the film he's currently shooting in Mexico with Samuel L. Jackson.

Tickets for the upcoming Motley Crue tour go on sale this Wednesday, September 23rd, according to the band's official website. The road trip is now scheduled to kick off October 21st in Ames, Iowa and continue through to mid-December although the site cautions that some of the dates are still tentative and additional dates may be added. Nikki Sixx also reports that the band will be making an appearance on the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) show, RAW. Apparently the show will be taped October 20th and aired October 26th. Sixx posts that the band will be performing two songs, one old and one new.

Bobby Brown has agreed to do five-days in a Florida jail for a drunk driving charge the singer was convicted of last year. According to his attorney, Brown has decided not to appeal his sentence, and plans to turn himself in to Broward County deputies within the next few days, according to The Associated Press. Brown was sentenced in January for the 1996 incident to the five-day jail term, 12 months probation, a $500 fine and 100 hours of community service. The singer also had his driving license revoked for a year.

John Mellencamp's hotly-anticipated self-titled debut album for Columbia Records will be in stores on Oct. 6th. On Oct. 7th (John's birthday), he'll sign autographs and meet his New York fans at the uptown Tower Records in Manhattan.

David Bowie is the latest artist to sign on for the soundtrack to the upcoming Rugrats film and has already recorded his contribution, "Skylife," which reunites him with former producer Tony Visconti. Bowie and Visconti worked on several classic albums including Space Oddity (1969) and Low (1977) but the two had a falling out during the '80s and had not been in a studio together since 1980's Scary Monsters (according to Billboard.)

More details have emerged about the new U2 retrospective, U2 - The Best Of 1980-1990, due out Nov. 3rd. The group recently headed back into the studio with producer Steve Lillywhite to enhance the previously released b-side track, "Sweetest Thing," by adding new vocals and instrumentation. The song was originally recorded as part of the sessions for The Joshua Tree, but was relegated to the flip side of the "Where The Streets Have No Name" single when "Thing" couldn't be completed in time to make the album. U2 plans to release the revamped version of "Sweetest Thing" as a new single on Sept. 29th. The new 14-track record is the first in a pair of 'greatest hits' albums from the band. U2 - The Best Of 1980-1990 will be available at a reduced cost when released as a limited edition double-CD, in which it will be packaged with a 15-track compilation of b-sides taken from U2's singles.

The Smithereens are the latest 80's group hoping to cash in on the current wave of 'college rock' comebacks with plans underway to release a live record and a studio album in the next few months as a part of their new deal with Velvel Records. "The working title for the new record is 'This Is The Way The World Ends, Baby," explains frontman Pat DiNizio, "and I'm approaching it in a more thematic way than with any record we've done before. It's going to be really strange and interesting, sort of somewhere conceptually between Stephen King's 'The Stand' and that Fox TV show, 'Millenium.'"

Wednesday night, the White House rocked with something other than scandal. We're talking real rock 'n roll music with a real rock star: Lou Reed. Stodgy old state dinners may never be the same. The Clintons were in fine form: the President smiling if slightly subdued; the first lady effusively greeting guests. They heard plenty of encouraging words, although Stevie Wonder was the only one to bear-hug both Clintons. "I told the president a long time ago that I was his friend," the singer said. "And I am of the belief that when you say you are someone's friend, it doesn't mean that you're a fair-weather friend. You're there all the time." Also attending were (actress/model) Paulina Porizkova and Ric Ocasek formerly of The Cars.

U2 have worked out an agreement with Polygram Records to release three 'Best Of' compilation albums for a whopping $50 million. The band, currently operates under the corporate umbrella of the Polygram-owned Island Records. According to Dot Music, the first two albums will be released Nov. 2nd on the Island label. The first is tentatively titled The Best Of U2: Volume One 1980-1990 and will contain around 15 tracks. It will be accompanied by a separate B-sides set which may appear as part of a limited edition double package or as a separate release. Volume Two is expected to arrive either the next Christmas or some time in the year 2000. Rock’s favorite Irish export has sold more than eighty-seven million albums worldwide to date.

Who says 80’s artists aren’t doing anything mentionable today? The MTV’s Video Music Awards proved there is still potential in longevity. Madonna picked up 5 awards for "Ray Of Light" and 1 for "Frozen." Will Smith was next in line, as he made his way to the podium two times to pick up kudos for two videos. His "Getting’ Jiggy With It" nabbed Best Rap Video and his "Just The Two Of Us" picked up Best Male Video. Aerosmith also turned four of its nominations into two awards for Best Rock Video for "Pink" and Best Video From A Film for "I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing" from Armageddon. Bjork (formerly of the Sugarcubes) was also an early winner as her "Bachelorette" video picked up the award for Best Art Direction In A Video. Last but not least, The Beastie Boys picked up the coveted Video Vanguard award.

When South Parks' Chef (Isaac Hayes) winds up on the wrong side of a bad legal judgment and suffers financially; Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny discover Chef is more than just the sultan of soul food but is also the creative force behind some of the most important moments in musical history. To help their friend, the people of South Park organize "Chef Aid," a benefit concert that becomes the music event of the decade. As word of Chef's plight spreads to the music industry, Master P, Primus (providers of the South Park theme music), Tim McGraw, Devo and other top music acts flock to South Park to help the man that has meant so much to them and the world.

Representatives for Joan Jett say the singer is doing well after collapsing at an ACLU banquet Tuesday night in Los Angeles. During the opening comments at the dinner honoring a Mercury Records executive, Jett crumpled to the floor and went into convulsions, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jett received treatment from a medical team on the scene and then returned to her hotel. On Wednesday, Jett appeared to have recovered from the incident and was feeling well enough to meet with several people in Polygrarn Records’ office in Los Angeles.

The made-up metal deities, Kiss, have announced plans to launch their own Internet Service Provider later this month to correspond with the release of their Psycho Circus album. For a monthly fee, users will be hooked up with Kiss-customized Internet access including unlimited web access, Kiss e-mail addresses, personal web pages, chat rooms, and more. The service will also serve up multimedia Kiss nuggets like news, auctions, contests, streaming video from the band’s tour, live chats, and more.

One of the breakout hits on So So Def Bass All Stars Volume II was INOJs seductive "Love You Down." On Volume III due out Oct. 6th, INOJ returns with a heartstopping interpretation of Cyndi Lauper’s "Time After Time." "Time After Time" shipped to radio on July 21st and was the #1 most added record at Top 40 radio. The second single from So So Def Bass All Stars Volume III will be "When I See Your Smile" by Ricky Bell (New Edition and Bell Biv Devoe.)

The Rolling Stones’ new live album No Security is said to be scheduled for release in the U.S. on Nov. 17th, according to Billboard. The recordings are from several American shows on the Bridges To Babylon world tour. The publication reports that the release will include songs such as "Sister Morphine" and "Memory Motel" which are not featured on any previous live Stones record.

Tommy Lee was released from the L.A. County lockup this weekend alter serving 16 weeks of his six month sentence for spousal abuse. The rocker was reportedly let out very late Friday night. According to an Internet post by bandmate Nikki Sixx, Lee is expected to soak up some sun for a week or two before settling down to prepare for the group’s pending tour. Motley Crue will be hitting the road to support the album Greatest Hits which features two new tracks, "Bitter Pill" (formerly the title track before a change of plans), and "Enslaved." The album is scheduled for an Oct. 27th release.

Chaka Khan received the Lena Horne Award for outstanding career achievements at The 1998 Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards on Thursday. This show was co-hosted by LL Cool J.

The Beastie Boys will join the ranks of Madonna, R.E.M., David Bowie, and Peter Gabriel when the band picks up a Video Vanguard Award at this years MTV Video Music Awards next week. The Beasties will be rewarded for a careers worth of videos that range from party boy romps like "She’s On It" to the impressionist animation of "Shadrach" to pop culture spoofs like "Sabotage" and "Intergalactic."

BowieNet, David Bowie’s bold venture into the online marketplace, launched Monday with a cybercast that included appearances by Ani DiFranco, Spacehog, the Jesus and Mary Chain and a surprise turn by Bauhaus. The performance, which also included appearances by the Specials and the Jayhawks, marked the launch of www.davidbowie.com, the performers official website/Internet service provider. The service will offer the usual official site nuggets (news, music and video flIes, studio cameras, personal messages from the artist, etc.), and will also offer users Internet access, davidbowie.com email addresses and tech support.

Saying it would create a hazard for her and her child, Madonna filed an affidavit on Monday to halt construction of a YMCA building near her Lincoln Center residence in New York City. Madonna’s sworn statement was part of a lawsuit filed against the YMCA in a New York court room two weeks ago aimed at halting plans for the residential high-rise, according to The Associated Press. As part of her affidavit, Madonna cited last month’s fatal accident in New York’s limes Square, when one person was killed when scaffolding fell into a residential building adjacent to the construction site.

Former band members Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante are suing Deborah Harry, Chris Stein, James Destri and Clement Burke to stop the Blondie reunion album No Exit from being released, according to a 07/25/98 New York Post story. They claim that they are part of a previous partnership and the Blondie reunion can’t legally go on without them. Blondie is mixing its eagerly anticipated new album, No Exit, due out February 1999. Sources close to the band say the current band members have known about the lawsuit for months, and that it will not delay the release of the album. No Exit marks the first original record from the band in more than 16 years.

New Kids On The Block called it quits after their 1994 curtain call, Face The Music, tanked miserably. Now with clones the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync, (among others) currently commandeering the pop music airwaves, the climate seems ripe for the reappearance of Jordan Knight (now 28), the unofficial leader of the group. Knight, who inked a seven album deal with Interscope Records in 1996, will see the release of his as-yet-untitled solo debut next January. He recently spent several weeks in a Minneapolis recording studio with legendary R&B producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Prince, Boys II Men), mixing four of the album’s 10 tracks, including the first single, "A Different Party." Knight plays keyboards on several songs on the album, which he describes as R&B-flavored but with elements of hip-hop and alternative as well.

Word still abounds about a new New Order release in 1999. Until then a New Order box set, tentatively titled Recycle, is on the horizon. Meanwhile, none of the band members have any intentions of quitting their post-New Order projects. Electronic’s third LP, now titled Twisted Tenderness, will surface in January; Peter Hook is polishing up Monaco's sophomore release; and The Other Two, who have labored over the follow-up to their 1993 debut for four years, have reportedly finished their sophomore album as well.

Its been two years since we heard from ex-Cult frontman Ian Astbury, in the form of the rushed, largely unnoticed Holy Barbarians project (his first since the Cult split up in 1995). The record tentatively titled Transcendental Youth Cult is his first true solo effort. "I know it’s the best thing I've done in 10 years," remarks Astbury. That means alot when 10 years encompasses every Cult album since 1987’s Electric. The Cult eventually toyed with the marriage of electronica and rock and roll on their 1994 curtain call The Cult, but it wasn’t until now that Astbury has found perfect harmony between sequenced loops and electric guitars via producer Rick Rubin.

Janet Jackson may enjoy her latest tour more than any other. During each concert a guy is picked out of the audience. After being tied down in a chair, Janet and her dancers do a striptease to her song "Rope Burn." In an issue of Jane magazine she stated, "To me, there’s nothing wrong with being blindfolded and having your hands bound and anticipating your lover’s every move." That ups the value of those really close seats up front during her MGM concert!

Dokken has added former Winger guitarist Reb Beach to their line-up, a replacement (finally) for the long-departed George Lynch. Beach has recently been on the road with Alice Cooper but he will be linking up with Don Dokken, Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown in time to record a new album. The band is still in the writing stages at this point but plan on powering up the console as early as next month, according to manager Nick John. The group is also expected to launch a short tour in October.

In related news, Kelly Gray, who produced Dokken’s last album, Shadow Life, has been officially announced as the new guitar player in Queensryche replacing Chris DeGarmo, who left the group last year and is currently playing in Jerry Cantrell’s band. Gray has been producing the new Queensryche album, which is nearing completion. According to their official website, they’re currently recording vocals.

Columbia Records will be releasing Redneck Wondeuland the latest studio album from Australian rock legends Midnight Oil November 3. This marks the band’s return to Columbia after a brief sojourn on Sony’s WORK Group label. Explaining the album’s enigmatic title, Midnight Oil lead singer Peter Garrett says, "There’s a piece of graffiti in Melbourne by the Yarra River scrawled on an electricity substation: a map of Australia and the words ‘Redneck Wonderland’ written across it. Underneath the map is a statement: 'Will the forest that survived the ice age survive the Howard government? Save Coolengook Forest.’ And those two words just stuck with us?"

New Order will be recording a new studio album in the new year and intend to play more shows including some performances in the U.S. according to the BBC’s 'The Net.' The band headlined the Reading Festival in England this past weekend, their second live show since basically breaking up at that same festival in 1993. Just last month, the group played a special reunion show at the Apollo in New Order’s hometown of Manchester, England. This years reunion and Reading appearance were initially scheduled as a pair of one-off performances, but Peter Hook told the network they were enjoying each others company and they were looking forward to the future.

StrangeLand a film written by and starring former Twisted Sister frontman, Dee Snider, will open on Oct. 2nd. To promote the film, Snyder will tour cities for a month prior to the film’s release. The film’s soundtrack will feature tracks from Marilyn Manson, Megadeth, Pantera, Anthrax, Coal Chamber, Sevendust, a reformed Twisted Sister, as well as the bands that will be heading out on the tour. Snider himself will act as MC on select dates of the tour.

The just announced itinerary for the first leg of Depeche Mode’s US tour didn’t include Las Vegas. There are a few gaps in the schedule and the end of the first leg is in Inglewood, CA (Dec. 18th) so there might be a few more shows on the west coast starting the second leg. The launch of the tour is coinciding with the release of the new double-album retrospective, The Singles ‘86-’98, and the band plans to release a new single recorded specifically for the compilation, "Only When I Lose Myself" to radio on Sept. 15th.

Pop divas Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey have come together for a new song, "When You Believe," the first single off the soundtrack for the upcoming animated film, Prince Of Egypt. The billing for the Houston-Carey track was also the subject of special negotiations between the singers’ respective camps. A spokesperson for Carey confirms reports that Houston's name will appear first on the initial set of the record’s pressings, while Carey’s name will flip-flop to the front on the album’s second pressing. No word on how it will look on the video.

With Aerosmith set to finally kick of its re-scheduled fall tour on Sept. 9th in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the band has announced plans to release a new live album, A Little South Of Sanity on Oct. 20th. The new Aerosmith double-album features 23 songs culled from the 1993-94 world tour in support of Get A Grip, as well as from earlier legs of the band’s current Nine Lives tour. Though the band has built a reputation for its blistering live show, Aerosmith has issued only three concert albums in its nearly three-decade career, including Live Bootleg (1978), Classics Live (1986), and Classics Live 2 (1988).

The only thing that could pull together metal godfather Ozzy Osbourne, hardcore rapper DMX, and big beat techno wizards the Crystal Method is the cultural force known as South Park. DMX is supposed to come in and rap over top of the Crystal Method song "Vapor Trail," and then this week on the West Coast, Ozzy is supposed to come in and sing the chorus. This has the makings of one of the oddest musical collaborations in recent memory. How will South Park work it into a story? That’s a mystery.

Madonna has joined talk show host Rosie O’Donnell, Sabrina The Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart, and several other celebrity names in performing an oral interpretation of the classic children’s fable, The Emperors New Clothes, for a new benefit CD and book. Proceeds raised from the Emperors Clothes box set will benefit the Starbright Foundation. Madonna will read the part of the Empress, of course, for the Emperors Clothes benefit set, which arrives in stores on Oct. 25th.

After capping off a short series of club dates with a thunderous co-headlining appearance at last month’s Intelfest in New York City, the Jesus and Mary Chain have announced that it will bring its waves of guitar distortion back to the States in September. The band will be looking to use its fall tour to rekindle interest and sales in its most recent release, Munki, Jesus and Mary Chain’s first album of new material in nearly four years.

Who says touring is boring? Nick Beggs who plays bass guitar for Howard Jones has a cracked rib. How? From squeezing himself into the fridge in the Human League's dressing room. Why??? "He’s just that sort of guy, anything to entertain!" states Jones in a recent letter to his fans.

"All I can say is that the tracks sound very interesting, it does seem as if a whole new direction is being taken but more towards a ‘grassroots’ type of rock. The music is still big but is very minimalistic. Apparently the band is staying away from heavy aftereffects on the tracks." Doug Martin from Zoonation.com reports in a recent article about U2 in the studio. He also says that the new work seems to get away from the keyboard drivings of the last 3 albums and more a cross of War and Joshua Tree albums.

Feel like talking to Neil Finn (formerly of Crowded House and Split Enz) after his concert in Las Vegas? You can find him Monday August 24th @ 8pm (Eastern) on Sonicnet.

Australian trip-rockers The Church have announced plans for their first tour of the U.S. in 8 years. The tour will support the release of the new album Hologram Of Baal which is due out Sept. 22nd.

Due out Sept. 8th, Patty Smyth's Greatest Hits (Featuring Scandal) is "the only comprehensive look at the gifted singer/songwriter's career both with the band which introduced her to the general public and as a solo artist," writes Rolling Stone's David Wild in the liner notes to the brand new 16-track collection.

Voters in Detroit gave the thumbs down to a referendum proposal to spend tax dollars to help build a $1 billion casino and theme park being promoted by Michael Jackson. Jackson had made several visits to the area to drum up support for the project, in which he was involved with Detroit millionaire Don Barden.

The Drew Carey Show will be seeing cameo appearances by a number of rock musicians in the upcoming episode to be taped later this month. A spokesperson for Warner Bros. television confirmed that various players had been approached including Slash and Lisa Loeb, but declined to say who had accepted or provide more information. Joey Ramone confirmed to MTV News that he had indeed been contacted by the producers, as did a spokesperson for slash.

The long, long delayed George Michael album Trojan Souls is still alive, according to a report in England's Dot Music. The record, which a source close to Michael says features collaborations with 10 vocalists including Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Anita Baker; was halted over Michael's legal problems with his former label, Sony. Meanwhile, Michael's Greatest Hits album on Sony is tentatively scheduled to be released around Christmas with a new single likely to be issued in the fall. The record will include at least 3 new tracks including two new songs recorded in a North London studio last month as well as a Stevie Wonder cover.

A 38 year-old man hanged himself with jumper cables outside a Stevie Nicks concert in Concord, California, on Saturday night following an encounter with his estranged wife. Police say the man's wife ran into her husband, against whom she had a restraining order, in the parking lot of the Concord Pavillion after the show. She summoned the venue's security, by which time he had climbed atop a utility pole. Police and fire departments were summoned to the scene, but despite their efforts the man either jumped or slipped from the pole, hanging himself.

Chico DeBarge was recently phoned by former sister-in-law Janet Jackson and congratulated on his chart-rising new record and single "No Guarantee." Jackson (who's marriage to Chico's brother, James, was annulled less than a year after the couple was wed in 1984) took time out of her U.S. tour to reach out and touch base and even discussed the possibility of working with him on an upcoming project. No word on when or for what such a Janet/Chico team-up might be used, as Jackson's Velvet Rope tour will keep her busy on the road until November.

Seal and long-time producer Trevor Horn (Buggles/Yes) have apparently mended fences after an altercation last year that appeared to have ended their hit-making relationship. The singer is currently working with Horn on his 3rd album leaving behind a still-unspecified incident that saw Horn leave the studio the two were working in last August. Horn produced both of the singer's previous self-titled albums - which were released in 1991 and 1994.

The original members of Kiss have agreed to play themselves in a new movie, Detroit Rock City, a coming-of-age story set in the '70s. The film tells the story of 4 teenagers and their adventures while attempting to get in to a sold-out Kiss show. Kiss will release it's next album, Psycho Circus, on Sept. 15th and plan to kick off a subsequent world tour with a Halloween night concert at Dodger Stadium.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra's latest album, Dirty Boogie, has spent the last month climbing the charts to the Top 25. On the album, Setzer and the band revisit part of the frontman's Stray Cats past with a new swing version of the classic "Rock This Town" which has remained a perennial favorite at Setzer's live performances.

The first concert performances in more than a decade from Australia's Men At Work (led by original members Colin Hay and Greg Ham) are chronicled on Brazil, the first live album of their career. A newly-recorded studio track, "The Longest Night," rounds out the 12 song collection. Brazil has been set for an Aug. 25th release date.

Former Pixies frontman Frank Black took over the web Thursday to premiere to new songs, "All My Ghosts" and "King And Queen Of Siam," from his forthcoming album Frank Black And The Catholics. Internet users can download complete MP3 versions of the song for $.99 each at www.goodnoise.com and in August the whole album will be available for download there for $8.99 - a full month before the actual Sept. 8th release date.

With the current leg of Aerosmith's U.S. tour currently on hold until September, guitarist Joe Perry will spend some of his newly freed time playing a role in an upcoming episode of Homicide: Life On The Streets. A spokesperson for NBC confirmed that Perry will play an undercover narcotics agent in an episode that starts production in Washington, D.C., this week and will be aired in October.

After Bauhaus completed it's 4-night stand in Los Angeles, Peter Murphy headed into a Seattle studio and recorded a five song E.P., Recall, with KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko co-producing. The sessions indicate where Murphy's post-Bauhaus pre-occupations have led him - which was apparently to the sights and sounds of Turkey (where he has been living for the last 8 years.) Recall features remixes of two old Murphy tracks ("Indigo Eyes" and "Roll Call") as well as a pair of new songs.

Santa Barbara, California-based Toad The Wet Sprocket have called it a day. The band's official Web site cited "emerging differences" as the reason for the break-up and a publicist for the Toad's label confirmed that the band was indeed no more.

The 1998 MTV Video Music Awards nominations were announced and Aerosmith received 4 nods for: Best Rock Video - "Pink," Best Video From A Film - "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing," Best Editing - "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" and Best Special Effects - "Pink."

After 15 years together, Slayer unleashes its 7th studio album. The new release, Diabolus In Musica, is their first in 3 years. Slayer carries on the tradition of fiendish speedmetal the group established themselves with on 1983's Show Now Mercy.

According to MTV, Jimmy Jam said that he and Terry Lewis were in discussions with Prince and Morris Day about possibly reforming the Time for a new album. No word yet on when that project might be green-lighted.

The Beastie Boy's chart-topping album Hello Nasty's first week sales figures (which actually come in at 681,572 according to SoundScan) make for the strongest debut since the Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death sold more than 690,000 copies in April of 1997.

Ted Nugent who is currently touring may also roll out new material from a solo album he hopes to release next year. Nugent also plans to re-team with his Damn Yankees counterparts for that group's 3rd album, which may arrive as early as next year.

Phil Collins reportedly hasn't been idle. A greatest hits compilation produced by Babyface is due soon. On it is rumoured to be a remake of Cyndi Lauper's classic "True Colors."

June 23rd was supposed to be the day that small New York label Mutiny Records issued Sweet Revenge, the previously unreleased 1979 album from Billy Idol and Generation X that includes the earliest version of "Dancing With Myself." But the recording is currently in limbo for unspecified reasons, according to a Mutiny spokesperson, with no release date currently in sight. Idol's manager, Tony Dimitriades, told Allstar News that Idol and former Gen X bassist Tony James found out about Mutiny's plans through the news media and have move to block the album's release.

Tom Petty has plopped down approximately $3.7 million for an eight-bedroom house on three acres in Malibu, according to Los Angeles Times' Hot Property Column. The 45 year-old singer's new digs (built in the '40s) is a Mediterranean-style 10,000 square foot home with ocean and canyon views.

The London Times reports that U2 are restructuring their business affairs after a decade of bad investments and poor financial planning. The paper says that the group has lost money on a number of ventures including millions in a string of combined bowling and laser tag facilities. The last U2 world tour was thought to have been a break-even endeavor at best. The Times reports that the band is not broke but they quote management sources saying the members are not as rich as they should be. "They have nice houses and that is about it," said the source.

Billy Squier has just signed to J-Bird Records. What's special about J-Bird is that it proclaims itself as "The First WWW Recording Label." Billy's label debut release will be titled Happy Blue.

A Florida woman attending the Livestock rock festival in St. Petersburg, Florida, last year is suing Motley Crue and bassist Nikki Sixx for head injuries she claims she suffered when Sixx smashed his guitar on the stage and threw it into the audience. According to a report in the St. Petersburg Times, the flying instrument is alleged to have struck the 33 year-old woman in the forehead and knocking her to the ground. She was taken to a hospital by ambulance. The litigation is against Sixx (a.k.a. Frank Carlton Ferrano) and Motley Crue Touring Inc. There's no dollar figure attached other than the minimum filing requirement of $15,000 but she's suing for "pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earnings and loss of ability to earn money." Her husband is claiming "the loss of the care, companionship, society and comfort of his spouse."

During Paul Waaktaar-Savoy's two night stand at Brownies in New York, he reportedly said that this summer, A-ha will be back in the studio to record the next A-ha album. Also he said that there will not be just one in the band's future.

David Byrne (ex-Talking Heads frontman and world music connoisseur) is in discussions to serve as host for the upcoming season of Sessions At West 54th (a live music program carried in most markets on PBS.) The move will bring Byrne back to the show, as he was one of last year's 'session' performers. Sessions At West 54th is currently slated to start taping it's new season during the next few weeks. Byrne released Feelings, his 9th solo album last year.

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer narrowly escaped serious injury when his Ferrari convertible caught fire at a gas station not too far from his Boston-area home. Kramer sustained the most serious burns to his arm and hand as he shielded his face from the flames after a leak in the gas tank hose caused the fuel to ignite. He is being given 2 weeks to recover (the Ferrari won't) and the band will be back on the road mid-August. Their timely tour break was already scheduled after an accident on stage injuring frontman Steven Tyler.

A spokesperson for TVT Records told MTV News last Monday that English pop outfit XTC has inked a deal with the label that should bear fruit early next year. The band, which has been around for more than 20 years, found an audience in the '80s with college hits "Dear God," "Senses Working Overtime" and "Mayor Of Simpleton."

According to a source close to Rattle And Hum film director and band confidant Phil Joanou, U2 are presently recording a totally new studio album set for a 1999 release. The album is said to be a total departure from previous work, not unlike the reinvention that U2 underwent between Rattle And Hum and Achtung Baby.

A fan has won a $2.7 million lawsuit against rapper M.C. Hammer and several security guards for injuries he suffered at one of the performer's concerts 8 years ago. In his suit, Mr. Sneed claimed he was attacked by security at a Hammer concert in Syracuse in 1990 after coming to the defense of a child he witnessed being shoved by one of the guards.

Sinead O'Connor joins a collection of artists including Annie Lennox and Iggy Pop on The Avengers soundtrack. It was officially on Tuesday that O'Connor has signed a worldwide, exclusive longterm recording contract with Atlantic. Her current EP, Gospel Oak, is scheduled to be reissued by the label. She should have her Atlantic debut album out in 1999. Sinead can also be seen on this year's Lilith tour.

A new compilation called The Very Best Of The Human League gets released in 4 days. Great timing when they are on tour with Culture Club and Howard Jones (also with a new album due out.) The new compilation includes most of the hits from the original best of and hits: "Don't You Want Me" Snap Remix, "Heart Like A Wheel," "Tell Me When," "Stay With Me Tonight," "One Man In My Heart" and the movie theme "Together In Electric Dreams" (by Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder.)

MGM isn't the only company that wants to build in Detroit. Michael Jackson has announced that he and business partner Don Barden have plans for a multi-million dollar resort (currently dubbed the Majestic Kingdom) which would include a hotel, casino, nightclubs and restaurants in addition to a Michael Jackson Thriller Theme Park.

INXS is moving on. Tim Farriss announced that the band is going on possibly under a different moniker and possibly as the Farriss Brothers. Upon mention of hiring a new lead singer he stated, "There could never be a replacement for Michael." Farriss also confirmed that invites have been issued to performers close to Hutchence including: U2, David Bowie, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Nick Cave, Iggy Pop and Tom Jones to perform at a large benefit concert (for Paula Yates and their daughter Tiger) to be staged late this year or early next year in the U.S. or Britain. The show would see the artists sing their favorite INXS songs. A more regional production featuring some of Australia's biggest rock stars is also planned for Hutchence's homeland.

Glenn Danzig is resurrecting his '80s goth rock band, Samhain, for a brief tour of 8 to 10 major cities and a new multi-disc box set. Samhain's original members will reunite around Christmas before finally killing off the band for good. Danzig formed Samhain in 1982 after leaving his first group (the punk driven Misfits) and then the singer would go on to form Danzig with the remnants of Samhain 4 years later. Otherwise, Danzig has finished 20 new tracks but is searching for a new label for the next album.

Bobby Brown was arrested in Beverly Hills on sexual battery charges on Sunday according to Associated Press. Further details on the victim or the person that enacted the citizen's arrest weren't available at press time. The New York Post reported that a source indicated that Brown may have been set-up by a tabloid.

Prince has just completed work on the video for "The One" (the first single from the new album New Power Soul.) Oddly enough, the video marks a first for Prince by letting his wife direct.

Nile Rogers is working on closure for his band Chic which he co-headed with the recently deceased Bernard Edwards. He is currently mixing for release the band's last performance which was a special life reunion concert in Tokyo that featured guests Slash, Simon Le Bon, Steve Winwood and Sister Sledge.

MTV reports that Dead Or Alive are on the comeback trail with a tour to support their new album Nukleopatra. The album contains a new remix of "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" and new tracks like "Sex Drive" and a cover of David Bowie's "Rebel, Rebel." But, they have actually been promoting the album since 1996 when it was released as a Japanese import.

VH1's Where Are They Now suggests that Sheila E. has gone MIA and left the 'glamorous life' behind. But, she is currently the band leader for Magic Johnson's late night talk show.

The Metal Mania tour will start grinding it's wheels this week. Iron Maiden, Dio and WASP have teamed up promising to bring old fashioned, high-shrieking heavy metal back to America.

So you wanted to see LL Cool J hit the big screen soon? You will. Originally to be released on Halloween, Halloween H2O has been pushed forward to a Aug. 5th release date. The film brings back Jamie Lee Curtis to the series for what will be the 20th anniversary of the series.

The Big Rewind tour kicks off it's first show on July 23rd with Howard Jones, Culture Club and Human League. The first leg of this tour ends Aug. 16th and a second leg starting July 15th. Jones' new album People gets released July 14th in the U.S. supported by the new single "Tomorrow Is Now."

Ex-Faith No More frontman, Mike Patton, debuted his new band Fantomas in a live show yesterday.

Wondered if Billy Idol was going to release a new album after 1993's Cyberpunk? From Idol himself on his web site: "We are working on it now. I don't want to jinx it by saying too much. Be patient a little longer. Steve Stevens has been helping me. We could be out & rocking for 1999. ha ha!"

Best wishes go out to: Lars Ulrich (Metallica) and Perry Farrell (Jane's Addiction) who are both currently waiting for the water to break. Metallica is actually planning a gap in their tour for the baby's birth especially after frontman James Hetfield was recently made a proud papa to an 8lb. 4oz. baby girl.

See Culture Club on VH-1's Storytellers this Sunday night. Also a Def Leppard special will be aired on June 21st at 9pm (EST) including an original score by Phil Collen. Re-runs at 11pm and on June 22nd at 11am. Also there will be a Def Leppard hour long documentary on VH1 Legends called Behind The Scenes On Def Leppard and is tentatively scheduled to premier on Sunday, July 26th at 9pm (EST.)

Taking time away from acting, Rick Springfield has gone back on the road. During his stop in Las Vegas he announced a September release for his next album and plans to continue touring.

Some bands didn't make the final cut for the much anticipated Depeche Mode tribute For The Masses which arrives on Aug. 4th (two months before DM's 2nd hits collection.) Cuts that made it: Smashing Pumpkins - "Never Let Me Down Again," God Lives Underwater - "Fly On The Windscreen," Failure - "Enjoy The Silence," The Cure - "World In My Eyes," Dishwalla - "Policy Of Truth," Veruca Salt - "Somebody," Meat Beat Manifesto - "Everything Counts," Hooverphonic - "Shake The Disease," Locust - "Master And Servant," Self - "Shame," Monster Magnet - "Black Celebration," Rabbit In The Moon - "Waiting For The Night," Apollo 440 - "I Feel You," Gus Gus "Monument," Deftones - "To Have And To Hold" and Rammstein - "Stripped."

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins/Babble has been busy. He has just finished working on the soundtrack for a movie titled Edge Of Seventeen. Released through Wigwam Films, it's set in the '80s and apparently the kids are nutty for synth-pop. New tunes by Babble are recently popping up on a few compilation albums.

Expect to see a little more of Michael Hutchence. The July issue of Details reports that Hutchence will turn up in a film titled Limp that is currently in post-production. In this role filmed shortly before his death, the singer reportedly plays a music industry scout who ironically speaks of Kurt Cobain's suicide, "It was brilliant on his part. Otherwise, he would have been just another flavor of the day." Acting wasn't exactly new to Hutchence after roles in Dogs In Space and Frankenstein Unbound. Hutchence's manager, Martha Troupe, told Details that Hutchence had received a script for the upcoming From Dusk 'Til Dawn sequel shortly before his death.

For those of you who remember our interview with Vince Neil awhile back, here's a small update. Seems like Tommy Lee was sentenced sooner than they expected and were only able to finish work on two new tracks "Bitter Pill" and "Slave." These 2 songs are among 18 to be included on the new Motley Crue greatest hits package (titled Bitter Pills) to be released in October. They plan to tour to support the release as soon as Tommy gets out. During this off time, bassist Nikki Sixx is working on a film score and finishing up an album with his side-project 1958.