Friday, November 26, 2010
Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits dropped 4 spots to #6 on the U.K. Albums chart. Rod Stewart's Fly Me To The Moon... The Great American Songbook Vol. 5 fell 8 places to #16. Barbra Streisand's The Ultimate Collection dropped 6 spots to #22. Neil Diamond's Dreams fell 7 places to #25. Annie Lennox's A Christmas Cornucopia debuted at #27. Ray Davies' See My Friends dropped 16 spots to #28. Elaine Paige's Elaine Paige And Friends' fell 8 places to #31.
Budgie vocalist/bassist Burke Shelley had to undergo an emergency surgery for an aortic aneurism in Poland which has forced the band to cancel their tour dates in Poland and the Czech Republic. He was feeling sick before the tour and complaining of abdominal pains during one of the tour dates. Tests showed him having a 6cm aneurism of the aorta that was already leaking blood and could have burst at any time. Shelley is at home recovering and does not have an idea of what the future holds.
Spandau Ballet are gearing up for the digital release of the re-mastered special editions of their first 4 studio albums which can be ordered at SpandauBallet.com. They are also offering a free download of "To Cut A Long Story Short" which was recorded live at Sadler Wells, London, in 1983 for those signing up here.
Jon Bon Jovi recently told StarPulse.com, "When you're going places where they don't have their own electricity, and you say, 'Don't worry, we'll bring our own,' it's time to take a break. We have to go to bed. But I'm not retiring -- for an old man who has no plastic surgery, still has all his own hair and wears a 30-inch waist, I'm doing okay." The band have concert dates booked through Europe and North America until June with more dates expected to be booked through late summer.
The reissue of George Michael's solo debut album, Faith, has been moved to Jan. 31st and will come in a deluxe edition and special edition. The deluxe edition has a hardbound book of photos, notes and an interview with the singer as well as other fan goodies. The special edition and double-CD set will be released on Feb. 1st.
Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder was bitten by an Australian carpet python during the recent airing of the reality series I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! The good news is that it wasn't poisonous and the person he was up against for immunity -- he got bit as well. 3 celebrities are gone (including the other one that got bitten) and Ryder is still in the running. You can follow the show here.
Billy Joel underwent a double hip replacement surgery last week at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. The performer had been suffering from chronic hip problems for several years. According to his spokesperson, "Billy Joel is doing extremely well following bilateral hip replacement." Joel is hoping that, with his new hips, he will be allowed to get back to performing on the road.
'Weird Al' Yankovic recently told Mojo Magazine that, several years ago, he turned down a $5 million offer to become an ongoing spokesman for a beer company. He said that his reason for turning it down was that "a lot of my fans were young and impressionable, so ethically I believe I did the right thing, but not a day goes by when I don't think, 'Hmm, an extra five million dollars would really come in handy'."
Wendy Dio has urged the remaining members of Heaven & Hell (Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice) to continue under a different name. She spoke glowingly of her late husband's bandmates recently to VH1 Radio, "I mean, the band was amazing, an amazing band and they should carry on to do something. It won't be called Heaven & Hell but whatever they call it, it will be great. It will be amazing." The band members announced during their tribute show to Ronnie James Dio that what fans were seeing was their last performance as Heaven & Hell.
Retroactive Records have released Mass' previously-unreleased 1982 album, Fighter, and '84 Unchained (which collects 4-track self-titled EP with a previously-unreleased bonus track, "Bones") via their website.
Hear Music / Concord Music Group have announced that "Get Ready For Christmas Day" will be the first single from Paul Simon's upcoming album, So Beautiful Or So What. The song includes a sample recorded in 1941 from preacher and gospel singer Reverend J. M. Gates. The album is due out in the spring but you can find the new single right now at iTunes.
Alabama, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin and Kris Kristofferson are among the artists paying tribute to late country legend Waylon Jennings on the new album, The Music Inside: A Collaboration Dedicated To Waylon Jennings, expected to be the first of a trilogy of Jennings tributes. The first single, Alabama's "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way," will be released on Nov. 29th and be their first new recording in a decade.
Paula Abdul has co-founded AuditionBooth, an online discovery platform that allows aspiring singers to connect with casting directors, producers and managers. The beta test site surfaces next week enabling users to answer casting questions and record (and re-record) casting videos via webcams. Fox reality series MasterChef will be among the first shows using the product to sort through auditions for their show.
Axl Rose has filed a $20 million lawsuit against Guitar Hero III manufacturer Activision. According to Rose, he only gave permission for the appearance of the song "Welcome To The Jungle" to the company as long as Slash and his new band Velvet Revolver weren't featured. Rose had previously licensed "Sweet Child O' Mine" to them for Guitar Hero II. But for those that purchased Guitar Hero III in 2007, Slash was on the game's cover. According to Rose's legal papers, "Activision began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and VR prominently in GH III but also promote the game by emphasizing and reinforcing an association between Slash and Guns N' Roses and the band's song 'Welcome to the Jungle,' " The other sticky issue was the promotional use of the song "Sweet Child O' Mine" in the promotional campaign for Guitar Hero III and not II which it was licensed for. Skip Miller, Guns N' Roses' legal advisor, has said, "This lawsuit is about protecting Guns N' Roses and Welcome To The Jungle, and it's about holding Activision accountable for its misuse of these incredibly valuable assets. The relief we are seeking is disgorgement of profits and compensatory and punitive damages." Activision have yet to release a comment.
Ray Davies has been forced to cancel his upcoming U.S. tour dates due to an undisclosed "medical condition." According to a statement released on his behalf, "Ray, personally, did not want to cancel this tour but was ordered by his doctors not to fly or travel until his medical condition has stabilized to their satisfaction."
A 5,000 limited-edition vinyl run of U2's new EP, Wide Awake In Europe, is in U.S. independent record stores this Black Friday. The collection has renditions of "Mercy," "Moment Of Surrender" and "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" and is going out to select independent stores to draw fans to shops that helped them personally discover music.
I guess the best thing about mechanics are that if you weren't happy with the service, location or parts used, you can always find another one. Well, it seems that may be where Mike Rutherford is going for the next Mike & The Mechanics album, The Road, due out in April via Arista. He's brought in vocalists Tim Howar and Andrew Roachford (you should remember his 1989 hit "Cuddly Toy".)
I know, many of you that missed it have been wondering how Motley Crue's Vince Neil would handle his first performance on Skating With The Stars. Well, we have some footage below but it seems the judges weren't generous with their grades -- giving him and his partner the lowest scores of the night -- a 28 out of 60.
Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV and Coil keyboardist Peter Martin Christopherson, 55, died in his sleep in his Bangkok, Thailand, home on Wednesday. Affectionately known as Sleazy, Christopherson started his career as a commercial artist, designer and photographer with an artistic team called Hipgnosis -- who would create album covers for Pink Floyd, A Certain Ratio, Dave Ball and even Peter Gabriel's first 3 albums. In 1976, he'd be involved in the creation of Throbbing Gristle and release albums with them until they split up in 1981. Christopherson formed Psychic TV with Genesis P-Orridge and later created Coil with John Balance. There were some early recordings with Psychic TV before he concentrated his attention on Coil which would release several singles including a haunting rendition of "Tainted Love" in 1985. If that weren't enough, Christopherson was a highly respected music video director who work on videos for Coil, The Firm ("Radioactive"), Marc Almond, Erasure ("Chains Of Love," "A Little Respect" and "Stop"), Gavin Friday, Barry Gibb, Front 242, Paul McCartney, Ministry ("Over The Shoulder," "Just One Fix" and "N.W.O."), Nine Inch Nails, Robert Plant ("Tall Cool One"), The The ("Infected," "Heartland" and "The Mercy Beat"), Sepultura, Rollins Band, Van Halen ("Can't Stop Lovin' You" and "Don't Tell Me"), Yes ("Owner Of A Lonely Heart") and many others.
Chicago blues guitarist/vocalist Little Smokey Smothers [born Albert Abraham Smothers], 71, died of natural causes in a Chicago hospital on Saturday. Known as a mentor to Paul Butterfield and Elvin Bishop, he played with blues legends Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Junior Wells and Earl Hooker. In 1989, Smothers joined The Legendary Blues Band and recorded Woke Up With The Blues. Elvin Bishop compiled a benefit album in 2009, Chicago Blues Buddies, that collected recordings by Smothers and Bishop going back as far as 1992 with proceeds going to medical costs for Smothers -- as he had, by now, had both legs amputated due to diabetes.
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