Friday, September 25, 1998

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.