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Wine comedy wins critics' award
Quirky comedy Sideways was named the best film of the year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
The US movie also picked up four other accolades including best director for Alexander Payne and supporting actor for Thomas Haden Church. British actress Imelda Staunton has again been recognised for her role in Vera Drake, winning best actress, while Liam Neeson won best actor for Kinsey. The awards will be handed out on 13 January at a ceremony in Las Vegas.
Sideways tells the story of two men who take a road trip through California's wine regions and also stars Paul Giamatti. Virginia Madsen was also named best supporting actress for her performance in the film. House of Flying Daggers, directed by Yimou Zhang, was named best foreign language film, while the animation award went to The Incredibles. Unusually, the runners-up in categories were also named with Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby just missing out on the best film award. The best director runner-up was Martin Scorsese for The Aviator. A career achievement award will be handed to veteran actor and comic Jerry Lewis at the ceremony next year. | entertainment |
Actor Foxx sees Globe nominations
US actor Jamie Foxx has been given two nominations for Golden Globe awards, with Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman and Cate Blanchett also up for prizes.
The stars were shortlisted on Monday for supporting roles, with the main nominations still to come. Foxx has starred in Collateral and Ray. Clive Owen, David Carradine and Natalie Portman are also up for awards. The Golden Globes, Hollywood's second most prominent awards, are the first major nominations to be announced. Last year, The Lord Of the Rings: The Return Of the King was named best drama movie while Lost In Translation won best musical or comedy. Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger all won acting awards - mirroring the eventual Oscars outcome. The Golden Globes ceremony will take place on 16 January, with the Oscars following on 27 February. | entertainment |
Godzilla gets Hollywood fame star
Movie monster Godzilla has received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, honouring both his 50th birthday and the launch of his 28th film.
An actor dressed as the giant creature breathed smoke over photographers on Monday as Godzilla received the 2,271st star on Hollywood Boulevard. "Godzilla should thank you for this historical and monumental star," said Final Wars producer Shogo Tomiyama. "But unfortunately, he cannot speak English," he added. Hollywood's honorary mayor, Johnny Grant, said: "I do hereby proclaim this Godzilla Day in Hollywood.
"He's loose, he's wild, and I'm getting the hell out of here," he added. The premiere of Godzilla: Final Wars at Grauman's Chinese Theatre followed the ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard. The monster was joined by co-stars including Japanese pop star and actor Masahiro Matsuoka. Director Ryuhei Kitamura said it may not be Godzilla's final outing, as it has been billed. "That's what the producers say. But the producer's a liar," he said. "[Godzilla's] been working for the last 50 years. So, I think Godzilla just deserves a vacation." And producer Shogo Tomiyama added: "So long as Godzilla can fascinate people, I believe he will be resurrected by new generations of filmmakers in the future." Godzilla first appeared in 1954 as a prehistoric lizard woken by atomic bomb tests. | entertainment |
God cut from Dark Materials film
The director and screenwriter of the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is to remove references to God and the church in the movie.
Chris Weitz, director of About a Boy, said the changes were being made after film studio New Line expressed concern. The books tell of a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow God. "They have expressed worry about the possibility of perceived anti-religiosity," Weitz told a His Dark Materials fans' website. Pullman's trilogy has been attacked by some Christian teachers and by the Catholic press as blasphemy. Weitz, who admitted he would not be many people's first choice to direct the films, said he regarded the film adaptation as "the most important work of my life".
"In part because it is one of the few books to have changed my life," he told bridgetothestars.net. The award-winning trilogy - Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - tell the story of Oxford school child Lyra Belacqua. She is drawn into an epic struggle against the Church, which has been carrying out experiments on children in an attempt to remove original sin.
As the books progress the struggle turns into a battle to overthrow the Authority, a figure who is God-like in the books. Weitz, who directed American Pie and About A Boy, said New Line feared that any anti-religiosity in the film would make the project "unviable financially". He said: "All my best efforts will be directed towards keeping the film as liberating and iconoclastic an experience as I can. "But there may be some modification of terms."
Weitz said he had visited Pullman, who had told him that the Authority could "represent any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual, whether it be religious, political, totalitarian, fundamentalist, communist, what have you". He added: "I have no desire to change the nature or intentions of the villains of the piece, but they may appear in more subtle guises." There are a number of Christian websites which attack the trilogy for their depiction of the church and of God, but Pullman has denied his books are anti-religious. His agent told the Times newspaper that Pullman was happy with the adaptation so far. "Of course New Line want to make money, but Mr Weitz is a wonderful director and Philip is very supportive. "You have to recognise that it is a challenge in the climate of Bush's America," | entertainment |
Aviator wins top Globes accolades
The Aviator has been named best film at the Golden Globe Awards, with its star Leonardo DiCaprio named best actor.
Hollywood veteran Clint Eastwood took the best director prize for Million Dollar Baby while its star Hilary Swank was best actress. Quirky comedy Sideways was named best screenplay and best comedy. Ray star Jamie Foxx was best actor in a musical/comedy while Briton Clive Owen and Natalie Portman won prizes for best supporting roles in Closer.
The Aviator, in which DiCaprio plays millionaire Howard Hughes, edged ahead of its rivals at the Beverly Hills ceremony by winning the best original score prize. This give it a total of three awards while Million Dollar Baby, Sideways and Closer took two Golden Globes each. Accepting his best dramatic actor prize, DiCaprio described director Martin Scorsese as "one of the greatest contributors to the world of cinema of all time".
Annette Bening won best actress in a musical/comedy for Being Julia while Spanish movie The Sea Inside was named best foreign language film. Swank, who previously won the Golden Globe and Oscar for Boys Don't Cry, paid tribute to Million Dollar Baby director and co-star Clint Eastwood. "You guided us so brilliantly, while you also, in my humble opinion, gave the performance of your career," she said. Foxx was nominated for three awards but was beaten to the best supporting actor title by Owen and the best actor in a TV movie prize by Geoffrey Rush in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
A BBC co-production, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers was also named best TV movie. Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart won the best original song award for Old Habits Die Hard from movie re-make Alfie, while Ian McShane was named best actor in a TV drama for his lead role in Deadwood.
Other UK hopes Kate Winslet and Imelda Staunton went home empty-handed despite lead actress nominations for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Vera Drake respectively. Winning a Golden Globe is said to improve a film or performer's chance of subsequently winning an Academy Award. Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes split awards by genre - one prize for dramas and the other for musicals and comedies. The Globes also honour the best in television, with suburban series Desperate Housewives named best TV comedy show. Actress Teri Hatcher beat fellow Desperate Housewives stars Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman to the best comedy actress prize.
Hatcher thanked the show's cast, crew and "a network who gave me a second chance at a career when I couldn't have been a bigger 'has been'". Cosmetic surgery series Nip/Tuck beat The Sopranos and Deadwood to the best television drama title. Arrested Development star Jason Bateman was named best TV actor in a musical or comedy series. The Golden Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, comprising film reporters based in Los Angeles and working for overseas outlets. Robin Williams, a five-time Globe winner for such films as The Fisher King and Good Morning, Vietnam, received the Cecil B DeMille award for career achievement. He dedicated his prize to Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who died last year. | entertainment |
Singer's film to show at festival
A documentary which takes a candid look at the life of chart-topping singer George Michael will be shown at this year's Berlin Film Festival.
A Different Story will screen in the Panorama section of the festival, which runs from 10-20 February. It features the singer talking about both his career and his personal life, from his days in Wham! through to more recent events. Michael will attend the festival to introduce the screening on 16 February. Director Southan Morris and executive producer Andy Stephens will also attend the festival.
The 93 minute film will see Michael discussing his early days in Wham! along with his later career, including his legal battles with record label Sony and his stance against the Iraq war and American politics. It will also touch upon his turbulent personal life, including his arrest in a Beverly Hills park toilet in 1998 for "lewd behaviour", and the death of his boyfriend Anselmo Feleppa from Aids. The film, which includes previously unseen footage of the singer also features contributions from Michael's former Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, as well as ex-Wham! backing singers Pepsi and Shirlie. Other contributors include Sting, Mariah Carey, Elton John, Noel Gallagher, Geri Halliwell and Simon Cowell. This year's festival will open with Man To Man, a historical epic starring Joseph Fiennes and Kristin Scott-Thomas. It will be one of 21 films competing for the festival's top prize, the Golden Bear. Other films in competition will include The Life Aquatic, a quirky comedy starring Bill Murray, and the biopic Kinsey, which features Liam Neeson. The full programme will be announced on 1 February. | entertainment |
Surprise win for anti-Bush film
Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 has won best film at the US People's Choice Awards, voted for by the US public.
Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ won best drama, despite both films being snubbed so far at US film awards in the run-up to February's Oscars. Julia Roberts won her 10th consecutive crown as favourite female movie star. Johnny Depp was favourite male movie star and Renee Zellweger was favourite leading lady at Sunday's awards in LA.
Film sequel Shrek 2 took three prizes - voted top animated movie, top film comedy and top sequel. In television categories, Desperate Housewives was named top new drama and Joey, starring former Friends actor Matt LeBlanc, was best new comedy. Long-running shows Will and Grace and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation were named best TV comedy and TV drama respectively.
Nominees for the People's Choice Awards were picked by a 6,000-strong Entertainment Weekly magazine panel, and winners were subsequently chosen by 21 million online voters. Fahrenheit 9/11 director Michael Moore dedicated his trophy to soldiers in Iraq. His film was highly critical of President George W Bush and the US-led invasion of Iraq, and Moore was an outspoken Bush critic in the 2004 presidential campaign inwhich Democratic challenger John Kerry lost.
"This country is still all of ours, not right or left or Democrat or Republican," Moore told the audience at the ceremony in Pasadena, California. Moore said it was "an historic occasion" that the 31-year-old awards ceremony would name a documentary its best film. Unlike many other film-makers, Passion of the Christ director Mel Gibson has vowed not to campaign for an Oscar for his movie. "To me, really, this is the ultimate goal because one doesn't make work for the elite," Gibson said backstage at the event. "To me, the people have spoken." | entertainment |
Da Vinci film to star Tom Hanks
Actor Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard are reuniting for The Da Vinci Code, an adaptation of the international best-selling novel by Dan Brown.
Distributor Sony Pictures said production will begin next year, with a planned release in May 2006. Hanks will play Robert Langdon, who is trying to solve the murder of a member of an ancient society that has protected dark secrets for centuries. It will be Hanks' third collaboration with Howard. They previously worked together, along with Howard's producing partner Brian Grazer, on Splash and Apollo 13.
Hanks is one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, with his presence in a movie almost guaranteeing box office success. Brown's book has become a publishing phenomenon, consistently topping book charts in the UK and US. It has sold more than eight million copies worldwide in little over two years. It is a classic whodunit, which centres on a global conspiracy surrounding the Holy Grail mythology and places heavy emphasis on symbols and cryptography. Its protagonist is a Harvard professor likened to a contemporary Indiana Jones, who also appeared in Brown's first book Angels and Demons. The tale mixes art history with mythology, semiotics with medieval history. | entertainment |
Controversial film tops festival
A controversial film starring Hollywood actor Kevin Bacon as a convicted paedophile won top honours at the London Film Festival on Thursday.
The Woodsman won the Satyajit Ray Award, named after the Indian director. The low-budget film, directed by Nicole Kassell, is about a convicted child molester trying to rebuild his life after 12 years in jail. Judges said the film tackled the contentious subject with "great insight and sensitivity". Previous films to take the prize include the Oscar-winning Boys Don't Cry, which was about the true life story of murdered transsexual Brandon Teena.
British writer-director Amma Asante won the UK Film Talent Award this year for her debut feature A Way Of Life. Set in South Wales, the film is about a teenage single mother who becomes embroiled in a tense stand-off with a Turkish neighbour. Also on Thursday night, the Fipresci International Critics Awards went to Aaltra, a Belgian film about the handicapped; and the Sutherland Trophy, which was won by Jonathan Caouette for his film Tarnation. The festival closed with a screening of the film I Heart Huckabees, starring Jude Law and Dustin Hoffman and directed by Three Kings film-maker David O Russell. The festival this year also included the first European screening of the new Pixar animation The Incredibles, and the British film Bullet Boy, starring So Solid Crew rapper Asher D. | entertainment |
Fockers retain film chart crown
Comedy Meet The Fockers has held on to the number one spot at the North American box office for a second week.
It took $42.8m (£23.7m) at the weekend, making its overall takings more than $163m (£90m) in 12 days, according to studio estimates. It took $19.1m (£9.9m) on Christmas Day alone, the highest takings on that day in box office history. The sequel to the Ben Stiller comedy Meet The Parents stars Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand. The success of Meet the Fockers could help produce record box office revenue for 2004, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the industry's tracker Exhibitor Relations. "We've had a much stronger than anticipated final week of the year that helped the industry end on a high note," said Mr Dergarabedian.
Meet the Fockers also broke the box office records for the most money taken on New Year's Eve, when it made $12.2m (£6.2m), and New Year's Day, when it took $18m (£9.4m). The previous New Year's Eve record was set in 2000 by Cast Away with $8.5m (£4.5m). The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had held the New Year's Day title with $12.8m (£6.7m). However, Christmas takings were down 26.5% on 2003's figures - which was blamed on Christmas falling over a weekend this year. This weekend's top 12 films took an estimated $125.4m (£65.8m), a 4.3% increase on the same weekend last year. But there were no major releases last week to provide competition to Meet the Fockers or Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which finished in second place with $14.7m (£7.7m). The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes, ended up in third position after taking $11.2m (£5.9m). Comedy Fat Albert - co-written by Bill Cosby - moved down the chart to fourth place after taking $10.7m (£5.6m). | entertainment |
Sundance to honour foreign films
International films will be given the same prominence as US films at next year's Sundance Film Festival, with movies dominated by the theme of war.
The independent film festival will feature two new international cinema competitions, during its 20-30 January season in Utah. Forty-two films will debut at Sundance, including The Liberace of Baghdad by British director Sean McAllister. The prestigious festival was founded by actor Robert Redford in 1981.
"We have always had an international component, but from next year they will enter a jury competition," festival director Geoffrey Gilmore said. "We wanted to give world cinema more emphasis and have now put it on par with the American dramatic and documentary competitions." Twelve films competing in the new world cinema documentary category focus on countries and people under siege.
The Liberace of Baghdad features an Iraqi pianist hiding in a hotel as he waits for a visa, while Finnish film The Three Rooms of Melancholia looks at the war in Chechnya. Shake Hands With The Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire tells of a UN mission to Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, while French-Israeli production Wall looks at Israel's controversial security wall separating it from the Palestinian territories. The 16 films competing in the new world cinema dramatic category include works from Germany, South Korea, Angola, China, Denmark and Australia.
Several Hollywood stars feature in the festival's American independent drama category, including Keanu Reeves and Benjamin Bratt. Vince Vaughn stars in quirky movie Thumbsucker while 21 Grams actress Naomi Watts plays a budding Hollywood actress in Ellie Parker. The top Grand Jury prize at this year's festival went to low budget sci-fi thriller Primer, written and directed by Shane Carruth. Morgan Spurlock earned the directing award for Super Size Me, which became an international box office hit. | entertainment |
Day-Lewis set for Berlin honour
Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is to be presented with an award for his career in film at the Berlin Film Festival.
The 47-year-old, whose credits include his Oscar-winning performance in My Left Foot, will be presented with the Berlinale Camera award on 15 February. The honour, awarded since 1986, honours figures in cinema that the festival feels "particularly indebted to". Man to Man, a historical epic starring Kristin Scott Thomas, opens the German festival on 10 February. A candid documentary about the life and career of singer George Michael, A Different Story will also be screened at the 10-day event. '
Day-Lewis has competed four times at the Berlin Film Festival, with films In The Name Of The Father (1994), The Crucible (1997), The Boxer (1998) and Martin Scorsese's Gangs Of New York (2003). The festival praises him for his "sensational start" with roles in My Beautiful Launderette and costume classic A Room With A View, and a "great number of celebrated roles" in subsequent productions. Japan's oldest film studio will also be honoured along with Day-Lewis. Shochiku film studios, which was founded 110 years ago, will become the first cinematic institution to receive the Berlinale Camera award. Famous Japanese directors including Akira Hurosawa have had films produced at the studio. | entertainment |
Downloads enter US singles chart
Digital music downloads are being included in the main US singles chart for the first time.
Billboard's Hot 100 chart now incorporates data from sales of music downloads, previously only assigned to a separate download chart. Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams is currently number two in Billboard's pop chart, and tops its digital chart. Download sales are due to be incorporated into the UK singles chart later this year.
Digital sales in the US are already used to compile Billboard's Hot Digital Sales chart. They will now be tallied with sales of physical singles and airplay information to make up its new Hot 100 chart. Its second new chart - the Pop 100 - also combines airplay, digital and physical sales but confines its airplay information to US radio stations which play chart music. In addition to Green Day, other artists in the current US digital sales top 10 include Kelly Clarkson, The Game and the Killers.
Sales of legally downloaded songs shot up more than tenfold in 2004, with 200 million track purchased online in the US and Europe in 12 months, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported last month. In the UK sales of song downloads overtook those for physical singles for the first time at the end of last year. The last week of December 2004 saw download sales of 312,000 compared with 282,000 physical singles, according to the British Phonographic Industry. The UK's first official music download chart was launched last September, compiling the most popular tracks downloaded from legal UK sites - including iTunes, OD2, mycokemusic.com and Napster. Westlife's Flying Without Wings - a 1999 track reissued for the occasion - was the first number one of the UK download chart.
A spokesman for the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said the first combined UK download and sales chart was due to be compiled "within the first half of this year". "Work is going on across the music business right now to make sure the new chart works to plan," he said. The BPI spokesman described the UK music download chart, compiled by the Official Charts Company, as having been "a great success" since its launch. "It has provided a focus for the industry and has really driven interest in downloads among music fans," he said. | entertainment |
Glasgow hosts tsunami benefit gig
The top names in Scottish music are taking part in a benefit concert in aid of the victims of the Asian tsunami.
All 10,000 tickets for Saturday's concert, featuring Franz Ferdinand, Belle and Sebastian and Travis, at Glasgow's SECC sold out in 36 hours. Mull Historical Society, Deacon Blue, Idlewild, Texas, Mogwai and Teenage Fanclub are among the other acts performing at the concert. Organisers hope to raise at least £250,000 from the show.
It follows a Cardiff gig starring Eric Clapton, Keane and Jools Holland, which raised more than £1.25m. And it is taking place on the same night as a tsunami benefit show in Bristol, which will see Massive Attack and Portishead share a stage for the first time. Colin MacIntyre, of Mull Historical Society, was playing another gig on the same day but said he was determined to make the Glasgow benefit. He said: "I think we were all affected by seeing the reports coming from the Far East. "We all know somebody who was there, but more than that it was that we had never seen a wave of destruction, a natural disaster, like this in my generation. "I'm lucky as an artist to be able to perform at something like this." | entertainment |
Pop band Busted to 'take a break'
Chart-topping pop band Busted have confirmed that they plan to "take a break", following rumours that they were on the verge of splitting.
A statement from the band's record company Universal said frontman Charlie Simpson planned to spend some time working with his other band, Fightstar. However they said that Busted would "reconvene in due course". The band have had eight top three hits, including four number ones, since they first hit the charts in 2002. Their singles include What I Go To School For, Year 3000, Crashed The Wedding, You Said No, and Who's David?
The band, which also includes members Matt Jay and James Bourne, made the top ten with their self-titled debut album, as well as the follow-up, A Present For Everyone, in 2003. They won best pop act and best breakthrough act at the 2004 Brit Awards and were nominated for best British group. Most recently they topped the charts with the theme from the live-action film version of Thunderbirds, which was voted Record Of The Year on the ITV1 show. The band have capitalised on a craze for artists playing catchy pop music with rock overtones. The trio are seen as an alternative to more manufactured artists who are not considered credible musicians because they do not write their own songs or play their own instruments. However, recent rumours have suggested that Simpson has been wanting to quit the band to focus on Fightstar. He now plans to take Fightstar on tour. | entertainment |
Streets have 'album of the year'
The Streets, aka British rapper and songwriter, Mike Skinner have topped a poll to find the year's best album.
A Grand Don't Come for Free beat Keane's Hope and Fears in second place with Franz Ferdinand's self-titled album third, in the Q magazine poll. Skinner uses blunt beats under streetwise lyrics about such things as falling in love and drink and drugs. Q Magazine said: "A Grand Don't Come for Free captured the country's mood in a way no one could have predicted." A Grand Don't Come for Free is the second album from The Streets. It followed Original Pirate Material. Q Magazine also had praise for the runners-up in the poll. Keane's Hopes and Fears, was described as a "revelatory debut" which showed "they had songwriting flair to spare". It also said Franz Ferdinand's album sounded "natural, unforced (and) under-produced". Rock band U2's latest album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb came fourth while Razorlight's Up All Night was in fifth place. Others notables on the list included Dizzee Rascal in at number 12 and The Zutons at 20. Estelle came in at 39, Joss Stone was 40th and Jamelia took the 44th place. | entertainment |
Manics in charge of BBC 6 Music
The Manic Street Preachers are to take over the helm of BBC digital radio station 6 Music for a week in December.
The Welsh band, whose hits include Design For Life and If You Tolerate This, have already chosen which records to play between 6 and 12 December. Their albums of the day include Who's Next by The Who and U2's Joshua Tree. The group will also perform their own live session. They follow in the footsteps of Radiohead, who took over the station for a week last year.
Bass player Nicky Wire will join Phil Jupitus on his morning show on Monday 6 December, while vocalist and guitarist James Dean Bradfield will appear on Andrew Collins' afternoon show on Thursday 9. The group have also chosen documentaries to air, such as The Leonard Cohen Story and Guitar Greats - Jimmy Page. The live concert session tracks they have picked include The Specials' Rat Race recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in London and Public Enemy's Fight The Power and Rebel Without A Pause. The band will also answer questions e-mailed in by 6 Music listeners. | entertainment |
Media seek Jackson 'juror' notes
Reporters covering singer Michael Jackson's trial in California have asked to see questionnaires completed by potential jurors.
Lawyers for news organisations said it was "really vital" for the responses of 250 potential jurors to be made public "to serve as a check on the process". Santa Barbara County Superior Court is due to consider the request on Monday. Mr Jackson denies child molestation. It is estimated his trial will cost Santa Barbara county up to $4m (£2.13m).
Meanwhile Michael Jackson's mother has said she is "100% certain" her son did not commit the child abuse charges he faces. The court is currently selecting 12 jurors and eight stand-by jurors for the trial, a process delayed until at least Thursday after a member of the star's legal team was hit by family illness. Defence lawyers argued against the bid by Associated Press and other news organisations to have potential jurors' responses made public.
"The release of the completed jury questionnaires does not serve any purpose other than to add to the sensationalist coverage of this case," a motion by Mr Jackson's lawyers stated. The estimated total costs of the trial, expected to last five months, range from $2.5m (£1.33m) to $4m (£2.13m) of local taxpayers' money. Those estimates do not include costs to the city of Santa Maria, the Superior Court or for the investigation and prosecution of the case. The cost of security and other needs around the courthouse has been estimated at $40,000 (£21,000) per day, said Jason Stilwell, a special projects manager at the county administrator's office.
Mr Jackson, 46, denies plying a boy with alcohol and molesting him. His mother Katherine Jackson told US TV network Fox News on Sunday that her pop star son told her he was innocent. "I believe that for one reason - I know his character," she said. "He loves children. You don't molest anything that you love." Describing Mr Jackson as "a good person", the mother-of-nine said she feared he would not be given a fair trial. "I can't sleep thinking about what these wicked people might try to do to him," she said. | entertainment |
Band Aid retains number one spot
The charity single by Band Aid 20 has held on the chart top spot for a second week, strengthening its chances of becoming the Christmas number one.
Do They Know It's Christmas, featuring artists including Chris Martin and Jamelia, held off Kylie Minogue to remain the week's biggest single. Next week's chart will reveal who will have the festive chart-topper Minogue's latest release I Believe in You went in at number two, pushing down Ice Cube's You Can Do It to three. Destiny's Child also slipped one place to four with Lose My Breath, followed by Girls Aloud at five with the Children in Need record I'll Stand By You.
The only other new entry in the top 10 came from Robbie Williams track Misunderstood, a new track written for his Greatest Hits album. There were no new releases in the entire top 40 album charts as record companies put out all the big releases early hoping to cash in on the lucrative Christmas market. U2's How to Dismantle a Bomb remains at number one for a third week in a row, followed by Williams' Greatest Hits. Opera band Il Divo have moved up one place with their eponymous album to number three. Maroon 5's album Songs About Jane has moved up to number seven despite being released 47 weeks ago. And the Abba Gold greatest hits album has crept back into the top 40 more than nine years after it was first released. | entertainment |
Rap boss arrested over drug find
Rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight has been arrested for violating his parole after he was allegedly found with marijuana.
He was arrested in Barstow, California, on Saturday following an alleged traffic offence. He is expected to be transferred to a state prison while a decision is made on whether he should be released. Mr Knight, founder of Death Row Records, served a 10-month jail term in 2004 for punching a man while on parole for an assault conviction. Police said Mr Knight was stopped on Saturday after performing an illegal U-turn and a search of his car allegedly found marijuana.
He is also accused of not having insurance. A 18-year-old woman in the car was arrested for providing false information and having a fake ID card. She was later released. It was his second alleged violation, having previously served half of a nine-year sentence for breaking the terms of his parole. Mr Knight, 39, was jailed in October 1996 following his involvement in a fight with a rival gang just hours before rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting. He was driving Shakur's car at the time and was shot in the head. At the time he was on probation for assaulting two musicians. Mr Knight, a former bodyguard, set up Death Row records in the early 1990s with Shakur and Dr Dre among his protegees. But the label has always been dogged by allegations it supports gang culture and fuels the east and west coast rap rivalry. | entertainment |
Elton plays Paris charity concert
Sir Elton John has performed at a special concert in Paris to raise money for the victims of the Asian tsunami.
The British singer played to a 2,700-strong audience on Sunday at the French capital's Bastille opera house. The concert was also part of an attempt to bring a broader range of events to the famous venue. Money raised will go to the Fondation pour l'Enfance (Foundation for Childhood) which aims to rebuild a children's shelter in Sri Lanka. Sir Elton played hits from his vast back catalogue to a sell-out crowd which included former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing and his wife Anne-Aymone. The veteran pop star played piano accompaniment throughout the concert which lasted for three hours without an interval.
He told the crowd: "Throughout the years, I've done a lot of drugs and alcohol. It's true that I was a nightmare, impossible. For the last 14 years I've been normal. Now my drug is called David" - a reference to David Furnish, his partner. The crowd, who greeted each song with a standing ovation, also included French singer Charles Aznavour and British ambassador Sir John Holmes. Sir Elton has also teamed up with Phil Collins to record a version of Eric Clapton's 1991 hit Tears In Heaven to raise money for the relief fund. A release date has yet to be set for the recording, which was organised by Sharon Osbourne. | entertainment |
Elvis set to top UK singles chart
Rock 'n' roll legend Elvis is set to top the UK singles chart on Sunday, 27 years after his death.
The re-release of hit song Jailhouse Rock was out-selling X Factor winner Steve Brockstein's cover of Against All Odds by 2,000 copies on Tuesday. If the record does make the top spot, it will be Elvis' 19th UK number one. The last time he topped the charts was with the remix of the little-known song A Little Less Conversation, which was number one in June 2002. If Jailhouse Rock does reach number one on Sunday, it will be the 999th in the history of the UK pop charts. The song first topped the charts in 1958. Chart analysts say Elvis could score the 1000th number one as well. His record One Night will be released the following week, followed the week after by A Fool Such As I, as part of his record company SonyBMG's new Elvis campaign. It has called it "the most ambitious singles release campaign in the history of the UK record industry". | entertainment |
Wal-Mart is sued over rude lyrics
The parents of a 13-year-old girl are suing US supermarket giant Wal-Mart over a CD by rock group Evanescence that contains swear words.
The lawsuit, filed in Washington County, alleges Wal-Mart deceived customers by not putting warning labels on the cover. Trevin Skeens alleges Wal-Mart knew of the offending word because it had censored it on its music sales website. Wal-Mart said it was investigating the claims but had no plans to pull the CD. Wal-Mart has a policy of not stocking CDs which carry parental advisory labels. Mr Skeens said he bought the Anywhere But Home CD for his daughter and was shocked to hear the swearing when it was played in their car.
"I don't want any other families to get this, expecting it to be clean. It needs to be removed from the shelves to prevent other children from hearing it," said Mr Skeens of Brownsville. The lawsuit seeks to force Wal-Mart to censor the music or remove it from its stores in Maryland. It also seeks damages of up to $74,500 (£38,660) for every customer who bought the CD at Maryland Wal-Marts, and also naming record label Wind-Up Records and distributor BMG Entertainment in the legal action. "While Wal-Mart sets high standards, it would not be possible to eliminate every image, word or topic that an individual might find objectionable," Wal-Mart spokesman Guy Whitcomb told the Herald-Mail of Hagerstown. | entertainment |
Pete Doherty misses bail deadline
Singer Pete Doherty will have to spend the weekend in jail because he could not come up with £150,000 bond money for his bail on time.
The former Libertines singer had been granted bail with curfew restrictions at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on charges of robbery and blackmail. But his lawyer said the money could not be raised on time. Mr Doherty, 25, was arrested following an alleged incident in a London hotel on Wednesday evening. Musician Alan Wass, 23, also of north London, appeared in court accused of the same offences.
Magistrates imposed a range of bail conditions on Mr Doherty including a curfew between 2200 and 0700, except when he attends a drug rehabilitation centre. He was told he would not be able to leave his home without being accompanied by a security firm. He must also surrender his passport and report daily to a local police station. Mr Wass was also given a curfew and told to surrender his passport. Mr Doherty left The Libertines at the end of June 2004, but continued performing with his band Babyshambles. The singer, who has been linked to supermodel Kate Moss, was arrested after police were called to the Islington hotel in response to claims that a man had been assaulted. A man in his 30s was later taken to University College Hospital, London, with facial injuries, before being discharged. A lawyer representing Mr Doherty and Mr Wass said outside court the pair strenuously denied the charges. | entertainment |
Rapper Snoop Dogg sued for 'rape'
US rapper Snoop Dogg has been sued for $25m (£13m) by a make-up artist who claimed he and his entourage drugged and raped her two years ago.
The woman said she was assaulted after a recording of the Jimmy Kimmel Live TV show on the ABC network in 2003. The rapper's spokesman said the allegations were "untrue" and the woman was "misusing the legal system as a means of extracting financial gain". ABC said the claims had "no merit". The star has not been charged by police.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles on Friday, says the woman's champagne was spiked and she was then assaulted. The rapper's spokesperson said: "Snoop will have the opportunity to prove in a court of law that [the alleged victim] is opportunistic and deceitful. "We are confident that in this case, [the alleged victim's] claims against Snoop Dogg will be rejected." The lawsuit names Snoop Dogg - real name Calvin Broadus - plus three associates, The Walt Disney Company and its parent company ABC Inc.
The woman waited two years to sue because she was trying to negotiate a settlement with the media companies, her lawyer, Perry Wander, said. Disney and ABC "failed to provide a safe working environment for my client," he said. The legal action comes after the rap star sued a woman who claimed they tried to blackmail him to keep quiet about an alleged assault. The 32-year-old rapper has enjoyed six US top 10 albums since bursting onto the music scene with hit songs like What's My Name? and Gin and Juice in 1993. | entertainment |
Legendary music studio to close
The New York music studio where John Lennon spent his final hours is to close next month.
The Hit Factory, which opened 37 years ago, has played host to some of the biggest stars in music, including Paul Simon, Madonna and David Bowie. However, the rise in digital recording has affected business at the studio, which is relocating to smaller premises in Miami. Lennon recorded his final album Double Fantasy at the studio in 1979.
The studio was founded by Jerry Ragovoy in 1968. In 1975 it was sold to fellow producer Edward Germano, who turned it into a 100,000 square foot studio with seven recording rooms and live mastering suites. His first client was Stevie Wonder, who recorded part of his classic album Songs In The Key Of Life there. Other well-known albums to be recorded or partially recorded at the studio include Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA, the Rolling Stones' Emotional Rescue and Paul Simon's Graceland. Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Jay-Z and Beyonce are also among artists who have used the Hit Factory in the past, as well as 50 Cent who survived an attempt on his life as he left the premises in 2000. The studio made history in 1994 when it won a record 41 Grammy nominations for songs recorded, mastered or mixed there, including the soundtrack to the Whitney Houston film The Bodyguard. | entertainment |
Rapper Jay-Z becomes label boss
Rap star Jay-Z is to become a record company executive after being put in charge of one of hip-hop's most influential labels, Def Jam.
Jay-Z, who said he would make no more music after 2003's The Black Album, will become the company's president and chief executive from January. Def Jam's parent company, Universal, made the appointment after buying Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella label. Def Jam's artists include LL Cool J, DMX, Ludacris, Ja Rule and Ashanti. Jay-Z will continue to run Roc-A-Fella, which he founded with Damon Dash in 1995 and has Kanye West and Beanie Sigel on its roster. Universal said on Wednesday it had bought the 50% of Roc-A-Fella it did not already own.
Antonio "LA" Reid, chairman of The Island Def Jam Music Group, said: "I can think of no-one more relevant and credible in the hip-hop community to build upon Def Jam's fantastic legacy." He hoped Jay-Z would "move the company into its next groundbreaking era", he added. Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, said: "I have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop, Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella.
"I feel this is a giant step for me and the entire artist community." One of the most successful and respected rap stars of the last eight years, Jay-Z's hits have included Hard Knock Life, Dirt Off Your Shoulder and 03 Bonnie and Clyde with his girlfriend Beyonce Knowles. He said he would retire after The Black Album, but has just released an album and been on an ill-fated tour with R Kelly. Def Jam was founded in 1984 by Russell Simmons and producer Rick Rubin and signed artists including Run-DMC, The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy. | entertainment |
REM concerts blighted by illness
US rock band REM have been forced to cancel concerts after bass player Mike Mills was taken to hospital suffering from "severe flu-like symptoms".
The band were forced to cut short Monday night's show in Sheffield, and have cancelled Tuesday's Glasgow date. Mills could "hardly stand up, let alone play", said an REM spokesman, who added he is now "resting" in hospital. The remainder of the band played a short acoustic set on Monday. Tuesday's gig has been rescheduled for 15 June. Those who had a ticket for the show in Glasgow are being advised to retain their ticket stub so they can attend the new date. The band's spokesman said that they would review their remaining dates on a "day-to-day basis", based on doctors' advice to Mills. "Obviously we all want Mike to get better, and clearly we all want to play the shows. Rest assured we will do so as soon as possible," he said.
The band were still hopeful they would be able to make their Wednesday date, added the spokesman. REM played accoustic versions of their hits Losing My Religion, I've Been High, Leaving New York and The One I Love to the Sheffield Arena audience on Monday. The band had originally been scheduled to play four dates in the UK as part of a world tour. In 1995 former drummer Bill Berry collapsed in Switzerland while the band was on tour, having suffered a ruptured aneurysm. He made a full recovery, only to leave the band two years later. | entertainment |
Ring of Fire hit co-writer dies
Merle Kilgore, co-writer of the country hit Ring of Fire, has died of congestive heart failure aged 70.
He started out as a singer and songwriter before going into music management, looking after country star Hank Williams Jr. He wrote Ring of Fire with June Carter Cash, the future wife of Johnny Cash who went on to score his most popular hit with the track. Kilgore had heart surgery in 2004 and was also diagnosed with lung cancer. His death has been attributed to treatment he was undergoing for the cancer. His first self-penned top 10 hit was Dear Mama in 1959.
One of the first songs he wrote for other artists was Wolverton Mountain, which sold 10 million copies when recorded by Claude King. He then wrote Ring of Fire with June Carter Cash, which was about her unrequited love for Johnny, who she later married. It was first recorded by her younger sister Anita Carter before Johnny went on to make such a success of it. June Carter Cash previously said it upset her husband when Kilgore talked about the song without crediting her and believed he should not have been credited on it. Last year, Kilgore turned up an awards dinner in a wheelchair expecting to honour Hank Williams Jr, but instead he was the surprise recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the International Entertainment Buyers Association. | entertainment |
'My memories of Marley...'
To mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of reggae star Bob Marley, Rob Partridge - Marley's former head of press at Island Records - remembers the man behind the legend.
Partridge worked with Marley from 1977 until the Jamaican musician's death in 1981.
: "I joined Island Records in 1977 and the first week I was there I worked on his show at the Rainbow Theatre. It was one of the last dates he did in London."
: The album Exodus came out in 1977 and that provided five hits and confirmed his global superstar status. "By 1979 he was the biggest touring attraction in the world. I remember going to see dates in Milan and Turin and they were enormous concerts."
: Bob was one of the most mesmeric people I've ever had the privilege to work with. "He must have had an iron will to succeed. Bob was a very driven individual. You realised from the start there was a manifest destiny within him that he believed in. He didn't suffer fools gladly. At the risk of stating the obvious, he was an extraordinary song writer and his stage act was perhaps the greatest I've ever seen. I saw him many times."
: "I recall in 1978 he came to the UK for Top of the Pops and a Daily Mirror journalist did a half-hour interview. It was interrupted to do a rehearsal. He came back into the dressing room to resume the interview but saw a World Cup match on TV.
"He sat down in front of the TV and after 10 minutes it was obvious he wasn't going to move. That was the end of it. The Mirror had a very truncated interview. "The last time I saw him was in London in 1980. I arranged for him to play four days of football indoors in Fulham. "Bob was a good player. We are talking about Jamaican-style football. He was an attacking midfield player. His team assembled wherever his gigs were. We played in Brazil against some World Cup-winning players."
: It was always a struggle for him to connect with Black America. Reggae did not correspond with disco in the 70s. But Bob in the 1990s became one of the great icons in America and the Third World. "In 1991, ten years after his death, he sold more records than at any time during his life. "We saw Black America taking Bob into their hearts for the first time."
: "Bob, in worldwide terms, is the greatest music star there has ever been. If you went to Africa he would be recognised everywhere, in places John Lennon or Elvis wouldn't be. "No disrespect to the other artists but a case can be made for him as the greatest, the best and the most influential artist in popular music."
: Well 1981 was to be the year he toured Africa with Stevie Wonder. He had only performed in Zimbabwe and Guinea before. "Of course the 1981 tour never happened, but the whole of Africa would have embraced him. We can't speculate but he was at the height of his powers and just 36 years old. I had no sense his career was going to go downhill."
: "Bob was endlessly optimistic about the way Africa would turn out. He realised that nothing was perfect but he had total belief in the power of mankind. "I'm sure if he were alive today he would believe Africa would firstly become politically free and secondly be able to defeat the Aids epidemic."
: "The final tune of his final album was Redemption Song - one of the most incredible classics of all time." | entertainment |
Belle named 'best Scottish band'
Belle & Sebastian have been named the best Scottish band of all time after a three month-long public poll.
The group beat Travis and Idlewild into second and third place respectively. Franz Ferdinand, who recently picked up five Brit Award nominations, ended up in 15th place, while the Eurythmics wound up at a lowly 38. Other Scottish acts, such as the Mull Historical Society who also featured in the top 50, performed at a party in Glasgow where the result was announced. Scottish-based band Snow Patrol, who finished 14th in the vote and have been nominated for a pair of Brit Awards, were among the performers who covered well-known Scottish pop songs at the party on Wednesday night.
Indie stalwarts Belle & Sebastian have enjoyed a chart career stretching back to 1997. They were the surprise winners of the Brit Award for best breakthrough act two years later. Scottish bands from earlier musical eras also made it into the final list, including 1970s tartan boy band the Bay City Rollers and goth favourites the Jesus and Mary Chain.
Scottish magazine The List recently compiled a list of the top 50 Scottish bands of all time, but left the final decision to the public. The magazine's music editor Mark Robertson said: "The idea behind the project was simple - to rediscover the very best of Scottish music, from the finest musical talent spanning from the age of 70s rock through to 80s pop, right up to today's international stars." "Everyone has strong opinions about this and we wanted to open it up to the public to decide," he added. BBC Radio Scotland presenter Vic Galloway, who has been involved in the project, said it had been "great fun" to look back at Scotland's musical heritage and take note of up-and-coming Scottish acts. | entertainment |
Dance music not dead says Fatboy
DJ Norman Cook - aka Fatboy Slim - has said that dance music is not dead, but has admitted it is currently going through a "fallow patch".
The commercial failure of the latest albums by Britain's two biggest dance acts - Fatboy Slim's Palookaville and The Prodigy's Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned - has been coupled with the closure of many "superclubs," and the folding of three dance music magazines. Last month the Brit Awards announced they would no longer be awarding a Best Dance Act prize, with the Brits committee announcing that "dance music is no longer where it's happening in music." These developments lead some to suggest that dance was finished as a popular music genre. Cook acknowledged that much change in the dance world in the four years since his last album, Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars, but he stressed this did not mean the dance scene was permanently over. "Every week when I was making the album, I was reading articles about the demise of dance music - and obviously that affects you somewhat," he told BBC World Service's The Ticket programme. "I personally don't believe it's either dead or going to die, but it's going through a bit of a fallow patch. "So I think, consciously or subconsciously, reading every week that dance music was dead I would think 'right, scrub that track then'."
Although his album sales in the UK are down - Palookaville stayed in the UK top 75 for just three weeks - Cook has achieved recent global success with his beach parties. And event on Brighton sea front in 2002 attracted 250,000, people, while a later one in Rio achieved a crowd of 360,000. The DVD of the Rio set was the biggest seller of that year.
"With a crowd that big, if the weather's nice, the atmosphere before I even go is so good that about halfway through the first record I think 'I've got them'," Cook said. "I'm always really really nervous before the big ones - they had to give me Valium before Rio, because two hours before I was literally just pacing the floor. "For some reason, especially now I've got a reputation for it, the atmosphere and the joie de vivre that's already going on means all I have to do is play 'up' records." He promised more such parties in more locations around the world - despite problems after the Brighton event, which ended in chaos with many revellers finding themselves stranded as transport ground to a halt. One man also died of a heart attack, and a woman fell to her death during the free party. "We're having to widen our horizons from just beaches, because there's landlocked countries that want to get involved," Cook said. "We're doing Rio at the carnival, at the Maracana, and Sao Paolo - our new gig is famous football stadiums."
The DJ admitted, however, that his massive worldwide success had a downside, with intense media interest in his personal life. In particular, he said he had struggled to cope with tabloid intrusion during the temporary break-up of his marriage to Radio One presenter Zoe Ball, after she was linked with DJ Dan Peppe.
"The tabloid thing has been difficult at times," Cook said. "Especially the me-and-Zoe-Gate - it's quite scary." He said that he had been "determined" that what had happened with Ball did not affect the album. "At first I was doing deliberately jolly tunes so that people wouldn't think I was depressed," he explained. "Then I thought, 'that's not right'." And he highlighted a bizarre coincidence - that one song written before they split had turned out to have a great deal more meaning than intended. "I said to Zoe, 'I did this track called My Masochistic Baby Went And Left Me, do you mind if it's on the album?'" he recalled. "She said, 'yeah, it's hilarious, because your masochistic baby did leave you'." Cook also added that he had some ways of coping with the intense paparazzi pressure, which accumulates at the end of the private road he lives on - where Paul McCartney is a neighbour. "It's almost like prisoners rattling the bars with their mugs," Cook explained. "If there's a pap at the end of the road, everyone knocks on each other's doors - Paul comes round, and we warn him, because we don't know who they're after." | entertainment |
Label withdraws McFadden's video
The new video of former Westlife singer Brian McFadden has been pulled after a Dublin school complained about being associated with his song Irish Son.
St Fintian's High School says it is clearly identified in the video, while McFadden never went there. McFadden makes claims that he was beaten at his own school in the song's lyrics, saying it had "cell blocks". The performer's record label Sony BMG has withdrawn the video and issued replacements to television stations. The label believed the school name was fictitious until they received the complaint. They have said the reference to the school was unintentional and coincidental.
The head of Christian Brothers' school St Fintian's, Richard Fogarty, said the video implied that the 24-year-old pop star had attended his school and was abused there. "The school has always treated its pupils with respect," Mr Fogarty said in a statement. McFadden makes specific references to the Christian Brothers in his song, but did not attend St Fintian's. Corporal punishment was outlawed in Irish schools in 1982 when McFadden was two years old.
McFadden, whose debut solo album is released next week, has said that every song is autobiographical and "a true story". Alcoholism and domestic violence are among the other topics dealt with in his songs, half of which have been written with Robbie Williams' former collaborator, Guy Chambers. McFadden, who quit chart-topping group Westlife in March, went to number one in September with his first solo single Real To Me. He enjoyed 12 chart-toppers with the boy band before parting company with them. | entertainment |
Byrds producer Melcher dies at 62
Record producer Terry Melcher, who was behind hits by the Byrds, Ry Cooder and the Beach Boys, has died aged 62.
The son of actress Doris Day, he helped write Kokomo for the Beach Boys, which was used in the movie Cocktail, earning a 1988 Golden Globe nomination. He also produced Mr Tambourine Man for the Byrds, as well as other his such as Turn, Turn Turn. Melcher died on Friday night at his home in Beverly Hills, California, after a long battle with skin cancer. He joined Columbia Records as a producer in the mid-1960s, and also worked with Gram Parsons and the Mamas and the Papas.
Earlier in his career, Melcher had hits as part of duo called Bruce & Terry, with future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, which evolved into the Rip Chords group. Melcher also worked closely with his mother, producing The Doris Day Show and helping to run her charitable activities. In 1969 his name became linked with the Charles Manson murders, which saw the deaths of actress Sharon Tate and four of her friends at a home which Melcher once rented. Rumours circulated that Melcher - who knew Manson - was the killer's real target, because he had turned him down for a record contract. But Los Angeles police discounted the rumours, pointing out Melcher had moved to Malibu, and Manson knew of his new address. | entertainment |
Snow Patrol feted at Irish awards
Snow Patrol were the big winners in Ireland's top music honours, the Meteor Awards, picking up accolades for best Irish band and album on Thursday.
The Belfast-born, Glasgow-based band collected the prizes at the ceremony at Dublin's Point Theatre. Westlife won the award for best Irish pop act, voted for by the public, beating former member Brian McFadden. Franz Ferdinand picked up best international band and album while Paddy Casey collected best Irish male. Singer-songwriter Casey beat Brian McFadden and Damien Rice. Juliette Turner was named best Irish female.
In the international categories, Morrissey beat Eminem, Usher and Robbie Williams to best male while PJ Harvey pipped Kylie Minogue, Joss Stone, Anastacia and Natasha Bedingfield to the female crown. The 8,000 fans at the ceremony were treated to performances from US rapper Snoop Dogg, Brian McFadden with Delta Goodrem and The Thrills featuring Rolling Stones star Ronnie Wood. Snow Patrol's success came after a year in which they made a chart breakthrough with their third album Final Straw. "I think a lot of bands should go through a wee bit of a kicking before the make a success," singer Gary Lightbody and drummer Jonny Quinn said. "It has been good for us, but also hard for us over the past six years." Snow Patrol will support U2 on their European tour later this year - but U2 were not nominated for best Irish band and album. | entertainment |
Doves soar to UK album summit
Manchester rock band Doves have entered the UK album chart at number one with their new release, Some Cities.
The trio replace flamboyant US act Scissor Sisters at the top. The album follows single Black and White Town, which reached number six. R&B star Nelly has the new number one single with Over and Over, which sees him team up with Tim McGraw. Girls Aloud, Akon and Kaiser Chiefs all have new singles in the top ten, as do Futureheads and Usher.
The latest Elvis Presley re-release, (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame, entered the chart at number three, one place ahead of Girls Aloud's Wake Me Up. Hip-hop performer Akon's Locked Up is at number five, while hotly-tipped Leeds band Kaiser Chiefs have their second chart hit at number six with Oh My God.
Futureheads' cover of Kate Bush's Hounds of Love entered the chart at number eight, while Usher's Caught Up was a new entry at number nine. In the album chart, operatic quartet Il Divo's eponymous debut rose 23 places to number six, while crooner Tony Christie's Definitive Collection is a new entry at number 10, making it the highest-charting album of the singer's career. | entertainment |
Downloads enter US singles chart
Digital music downloads are being included in the main US singles chart for the first time.
Billboard's Hot 100 chart now incorporates data from sales of music downloads, previously only assigned to a separate download chart. Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams is currently number two in Billboard's pop chart, and tops its digital chart. Download sales are due to be incorporated into the UK singles chart later this year.
Digital sales in the US are already used to compile Billboard's Hot Digital Sales chart. They will now be tallied with sales of physical singles and airplay information to make up its new Hot 100 chart. Its second new chart - the Pop 100 - also combines airplay, digital and physical sales but confines its airplay information to US radio stations which play chart music. In addition to Green Day, other artists in the current US digital sales top 10 include Kelly Clarkson, The Game and the Killers.
Sales of legally downloaded songs shot up more than tenfold in 2004, with 200 million track purchased online in the US and Europe in 12 months, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported last month. In the UK sales of song downloads overtook those for physical singles for the first time at the end of last year. The last week of December 2004 saw download sales of 312,000 compared with 282,000 physical singles, according to the British Phonographic Industry. The UK's first official music download chart was launched last September, compiling the most popular tracks downloaded from legal UK sites - including iTunes, OD2, mycokemusic.com and Napster. Westlife's Flying Without Wings - a 1999 track reissued for the occasion - was the first number one of the UK download chart.
A spokesman for the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said the first combined UK download and sales chart was due to be compiled "within the first half of this year". "Work is going on across the music business right now to make sure the new chart works to plan," he said. The BPI spokesman described the UK music download chart, compiled by the Official Charts Company, as having been "a great success" since its launch. "It has provided a focus for the industry and has really driven interest in downloads among music fans," he said. | entertainment |
Top gig award for Scissor Sisters
New York band Scissor Sisters have won a gig of the year award for their performance at this year's V Festival.
The award was voted for by listeners of Virgin Radio, which compiled a top 10 which was mostly dominated by newcomers on the music scene this year. The quirky disco-rock band beat The Red Hot Chili Peppers who came second for their Hyde Park performance in June. Virgin Radio DJ Pete Mitchell said: "This year has seen an amazing array of talent come into the mainstream." He added: "The Scissor Sisters are one of the most original, eccentric bands to come through and it's no surprise the British public are lapping up their performances." Newcomers Keane came in third place for their August gig at the V Festival, followed by Maroon 5 and Snow Patrol.
Music veterans The Who and David Bowie, both earned places on the list, at number eight and 10 respectively. At number seven was Oxfam's Make Fair Trade gig at London's Hammersmith Apollo in October, which featured performances by REM, Razorlight and Coldplay's Chris Martin. Glasgow's Franz Ferdinand earned a place at number nine for their home-town performance in April. The annual survey was voted for by nearly 4,000 listeners. | entertainment |
Brits return Keane to number one
Brits success has helped return Keane's award-winning album Hopes and Fears back to the top of the UK album chart.
The debut album, which took the best British album title at the Brits on Tuesday, moved up seven places from number eight to number one. Also capitalising on Brits success were the Scissor Sisters whose eponymous album moved three places to number two. U2's latest single Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own took the top spot in the singles chart, ahead of Elvis. The track, from their current album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, pushed Eminem's Like Toy Soldiers from number one to number three.
Elvis' Wooden Heart, which entered the chart at number two, is the sixth in a series of 18 reissues to mark the 70th anniversary of Presley's birth. There are currently six re-released Elvis' tracks occupying spots in the top 40 singles chart including Are You Lonesome Tonight at number 20, It's Now or Never at number 27 and Jailhouse Rock at number 37. Soldier, by Destiny's Child, Ti and Lil Wayne, debuted at number four, while Almost Here, the duet from former Westlife star Brian McFadden and Delta Goodrem, fell from number three to number five. There was more follow up to Brits success for Franz Ferdinand won best rock act and best British group last week. Their self-titled album moved from 13 to number four. Last week's number one album Tourist, by Athlete, fell to number three. | entertainment |
Charity single for quake relief
Singers including Sir Cliff Richard and Boy George are recording a charity single to help raise funds for victims of the Asian tsunami.
They hope the song will raise more than £2m for the relief fund. The song, titled Grief Never Grows Old and described as a melancholy ballad, was written by radio DJ Mike Read. Former Boyzone singer Ronan Keating may also take part if a studio can be found close to where he is holidaying in Switzerland. Other music stars being approached include Robin and Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees, jazz sensation Jamie Cullum, Chris Rea and Olivia Newton-John.
Sir Cliff has recorded his vocal part in Barbados, while Boy George has recorded his in New York. Read wrote the song before the Boxing Day tragedy but had thought it was too gloomy to release. Now he plans to have it recorded by a collection of pop stars under the name One World Project. "It's a natural home for it because people kept saying to me, 'it's such a good song', but it's such a sad song," Read said.
He said the song was a slow ballad and would work with around 10 singers, rather than a "sing-along" like the Band Aid 20 single raising money for famine relief in Africa. The backing track has already been recorded and organisers hope it can be finished within the next week to get it into record shops as soon as possible. Read went to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which is co-ordinating the British relief effort, with the idea the day after Boxing Day. "I was totally shocked at the enormity and suddenness of the disaster and in tears on seeing the orphaned children wandering aimlessly in search of their parents," he said. Read said all the funds raised by the record would go to the DEC. "I'd only be pleased in terms of what it meant for sales if it got to number one," he added. The charity welcomed the news of the single and said money raised would help its agencies working in the affected region to rebuild survivors' lives and livelihoods. | entertainment |
Franz man seeks government help
Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos has called for more government help for musicians, while taking part in an Edinburgh Lectures discussion.
"For any cultural output to thrive there needs to be some kind of state input to that as well," he said. But Kapranos warned against musicians being too closely linked with MPs, at the University of Edinburgh event. "I think the role of musicians is to question politicians rather than to go to bed with them," he said.
Kapranos joined the prestigious lecture series to discuss Scotland's role in making 21st Century music. "There are elements of our musical output which require sustenance because they aren't self-sufficient," he said. "But so-called commercial music would benefit from investment as well." He warned musicians against being allied to a particular party, however. "I don't know if having tea with politicians is always a good idea."
Kapranos and his Glasgow four-piece band have been nominated for five prizes at next week's Brit Awards, including best group and best album. Their self-titled debut album won last year's Mercury Music Prize and spawned three top 20 singles. He told the 300-strong audience at the University's Reid Hall that musicians should listen to a wide range of music and should not be restricted by stereotypes. "We say 'I like this'. Because I listen to Nirvana and Korn I am a troubled individual, I'm riddled with angst because I listen to Chopin and Debussy, I listen to Kylie Minogue and Scissor Sisters because I'm upbeat and I like to party, I listen to Wagner because I like the smell of napalm in the morning." Kapranos said there was a general "hostility" towards classical music, adding: "There is very little done to break that hostility other than Classic FM."
He concluded: "We define ourselves as a nation by the way we encourage our creativity." Fellow speaker and classical composer James MacMillan agreed: "We need to rediscover our ability to listen." Previous speakers at the Edinburgh Lectures series have included former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and author Professor Stephen Hawking. Kapranos described his appearance on Wednesday as "more daunting by a long way" than their upcoming Brits performance. "I don't really care about the Brits," he said. "It's going to be great to go down but I have actually had to exercise part of my brain tonight."
I think the government should do more to help up-and-coming artists be discovered by scrapping the entertainment licences for live venues. Also they should do more to help independent record labels have a louder voice within an industry dominated by commercialised major labels.
Rather than expecting the government - i.e. the taxpayer - to fork out, why don't some of the megastars put something back in? Some of Britain's wealthiest people are musicians who have raked it in from albums, concerts etc. There are far more important demands on government funds.
If they can fund football, why not fund music?
Areas of the arts are funded by government and lottery grants, so why not music? We already have the opera receiving huge grants and it would clearly be beneficial for diversity in music to have the same opportunities in other areas of the music. The only problem would be how to judge what merits state cash.
The government has enough problems funding schools and health services. If Alex Kapranos genuinely thinks a multi-billion pound industry should also have government funding then his own education was seriously lacking and more money should be put into that.
As a Scot living in England, I appreciate the value of Scottish music and culture being a success, so I can see no problem with it! Franz Ferdinand, Travis and Snow Patrol are just recent examples of the success Scottish music can have in the world, so we should do what we Scots are good at and support our own goods!
I think the issue is more fundamental: should the government be spending money on subsidising a multi-million pound industry when health and education are in such a sorry state? The answer is most definitely no. Those people who are lucky enough to pursue their passion to get their pay cheque shouldn't be looking for government subsidies. I know that if I was lucky enough to be able to pursue my dream of show jumping I would want to finance myself until I was in a position to pursue corporate sponsorship.
Yes the government should fund music - it brings joy to the masses.
There are already thousands of state-funded musicians out there sitting around, twiddling their thumbs on the "new deal". Getting the government even more involved would only waste money that could be put to better use.
As long as the Government was funding real talent it would be a great move. I would hate to see more Pop Idol-type funding of music though, as it would only serve to reinforce the stereotypes that Alex talked about.
Only if the proposals make financial sense. Franz Ferdinand must be paying serious amounts of tax on their record sales - if they'd had a government grant to get started they'd have more than paid it back by now, so the Treasury would be making far more than it paid out. However, the government has better things to spend its money on than to give charity to everyone who decides they're a musician. The government shouldn't "fund" music - it should "invest" in music and those investments should be treated like any other investment.
I think the government needs to provide facilities and for young groups and bands to form and practise. The equipment is not cheap and can be well beyond the means of many people. However, I do feel this should be the extent of their role, to provide the conditions for the talent to flourish and let it go from there.
I do agree that the government should help to fund music but there is also a responsibility held by record companies! They generally always opt for the tried and tested and tend not to want to break any moulds or risk losing any money which ultimately, the directors are in the business for! If labels were more willing to put money forward towards smaller breakthrough acts then the government wouldn't have to fork out a great deal.
Yeah, why not? Music should be government funded, particularly the work of modern composers and veteran bands/artists and stuff. Pop music pretty much rules the earth, so more attention should go to the other fraternities
I agree with funding the arts to make it more accessible to the public but I am not convinced that pop music requires financial support from the taxpayer. There is a great deal of money generated through pop music - perhaps a tax on pop could be ploughed into the public performance of other forms of music for everyone to enjoy. Perhaps we could financially penalise really bad Pop Idol-style music - that is, the music industry sector without any artistic merit or originality whatsoever and that which is specifically designed to line the pockets of music producers. Call it a tax on music "pollution", if you like.
Though I really like Franz Ferdinand, I have to disagree with Mr Kapranos. Once government gets their hand into the private sector, it will destroy the creative and possibly controversial avenues the artist pursues. Many years ago, this was the case with the US NEA, when the government started to question what was considered art for the money they were allotting. The solution Mr Kapranos should pursue would be privately-funded organizations, like Save the Music in the US. | entertainment |
Hard act to follow for OutKast
US rap duo OutKast's trio of trophies at the MTV Europe Awards crowns a year of huge success for the band.
The latest triumph adds to the three Grammys and four American MTV gongs won earlier in this year. Andre 3000 and Big Boi's album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below has been critically acclaimed since its release and sold in large quantities around the world. The double album - which saw the pair produce one disc each - topped the charts in the US at the same time as single Hey Ya! It took another track from the exponents of southern hip-hop - The Way You Move - to displace it from the top spot. The Georgia pair's year of critical and commercial triumph leaves them with a tough act to follow - what can be next for a musical act that has done it all?
G Money, a presenter on the BBC's urban music station 1Xtra, thinks a hiatus is inevitable after such a sustained period of exposure - giving the band time to think about other interests. "They might be more appearances outside the band, such as producing for other artists, while they have a number of fringe music projects. "Andre 3000 would like to go into acting, so we might see him a film, while Big Boi already has a dog-breeding business," says the DJ.
"But in a couple of years they will be back with another album which will be a collaboration unlike their double CD. "Their greatness has become clear with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. We haven't seen the last of them," he adds. OutKast's musical career spans 10 years and they have enjoyed commercial and critical success in the past, with their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik going platinum. But it took until 2001 for the pair to score their first hit in the UK with Ms Jackson, while their album Stakonia saw their fame spread beyond the US.
1Xtra's G Money says it took the latest album, released in 2003, for him to be "assured of their genius". "They have always been experimental, some of it has worked and some hasn't," he adds. But G Money acknowledges that making the next move for a band that has reached a pinnacle can be tough. "What can you do next when you've done it all?" he says. With ten years of success behind them and worldwide fame, it seems that OutKast is not a name that is likely to be forgotten in a hurry. | entertainment |
Sir Paul rocks Super Bowl crowds
Sir Paul McCartney wowed fans with a live mini-concert at American football's Super Bowl - and avoided any Janet Jackson-style controversies.
The 62-year-old sang Hey Jude and other Beatles songs in a 12-minute set at half-time during the game in Florida. Last year, Jackson exposed a breast during a dance routine, causing outrage among millions of TV viewers and landing the CBS TV network a fine. Sir Paul, however, did nothing more racy than remove his jacket as he sang. Organisers were widely considered to be playing it safe this year by booking 62-year-old Sir Paul for his second Super Bowl show.
Three years ago, he was invited to perform at the first Super Bowl after the September 11 attacks and performed his specially-written song Freedom. This time, he started off the show, at the Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, with the Beatles numbers Drive My Car and Get Back. He then performed a mellow version of Live And Let Die, the James Bond theme he recorded with the band Wings. Finally, he closed the show with a rousing version of Hey Jude. The former Beatle resisted any temptation to refer to Janet Jackson's headline-grabbing performance last year, instead keeping banter between songs to a minimum in order to squeeze as much music as he could into his slot. The singer removed his black jacket halfway through the show - but any fans hoping for a second "Nipple-gate" were to be disappointed as he kept his red sweatshirt on underneath.
Earlier, the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys had provided the night's other high-profile entertainment by performing in a pre-game show. Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie was dressed in a tight orange top and purple hotpants, but nothing in her performance was likely to upset TV watchdogs. After the controversy last year - which saw CBS fined a record $550,000 (£292,000) by federal regulators - Super Bowl organisers had turned to producer Don Mischer to oversee this year's half-time show. His previous production credits included Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. The Super Bowl is watched by an audience of 144.4 million in the US, with many of the people watching are said to tune in specifically to see the entertainment put on around the event. Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Diana Ross, Gloria Estefan and Phil Collins are among the stars who have previously graced the Super Bowl stage. | entertainment |
Rock group Korn's guitarist quits
The guitarist with US rock band Korn has quit the music business, saying he made the decision after experiencing a religious awakening.
Brian 'Head' Welch told a radio station in California that his bandmates respected his decision to leave. A replacement guitarist has yet to be named by Korn, who are currently at work on their eighth studio album. Welch added that he would appear at a church in Bakersfield to explain how he "got to this place in life". The remaining members of Korn, who are known for their hardcore brand of rock, said they hoped Welch "finds the happiness he is looking for".
The 34-year-old made reference to the band's aggressive brand of music and its young fans in his parting statement. "Anger is a good thing, and if kids want to listen to Korn, good, but there's happiness after the anger," he told his local radio station in Bakersfield. "I'm going to show it through my actions, how much I love my fans," added Welch. Korn have enjoyed a moderate degree of chart success in the UK, with 10 singles breaking into the Top 40. Their best performance to date in the UK has been 2002's Here To Stay, which reached number 12, while their album Untouchables, released in the same year, made it to number four. | entertainment |
Vibe awards back despite violence
The US Vibe awards will be held again next year despite a stabbing which happened during the ceremony.
Vibe magazine president Kenard Gibbs said the attack earlier this month in Santa Monica was "sickening". He said not holding the awards would be counter to the work the magazine has done to promote hip hop music. Rapper Young Buck has been charged after allegedly stabbing a man who hit Dr Dre as he was about to receive a lifetime achievement award.
The rapper, whose real name is David Darnell Brown, is due in court on 20 December after being arrested on one charge of attempted murder and a second charge of assault with a deadly weapon. The performer is one of the members of 50 Cent's G-Unit group, which is signed to Dr Dre's record label. The man who was stabbed, Jimmy James Johnson, suffered a collapsed lung and is in a stable condition at a Los Angeles hospital. Mr Johnson allegedly approached Dr Dre, who was seated at a table in front of the stage, and appeared to ask for an autograph before punching him. During the ensuing scuffle - which involved many of the 1,000-strong crowd - Mr Johnson was stabbed as he was being dragged away by security staff, | entertainment |
'Christmas song formula' unveiled
A formula for the ultimate Christmas single has been revealed by chart bible British Hit Singles and Albums.
The recipe includes a reference to Father Christmas, sleigh bells, a children's choir and a charity element. The song should also include Christmas in the title, wishes for peace on earth and lots of airplay at office parties. "There are common musical elements linking nearly all the big Christmas number ones of recent times," said editor David Roberts. The book's analysts commissioned chart prank group Moped to create the first Christmas single using the whole formula - the song is called Gonna Have a No 1 This Christmas by Moped Vs Santa.
"Everybody says that Christmas number ones are formulaic, but Gonna Have a Number One this Christmas is the first song to crack the formula and combine all these elements into one ultimate Christmas track" said Mr Roberts. "Surprisingly, there's no Santa listed among the 8,000, top 75 chart performers in the book, so this is our chance to help Santa to his rightful place in British recording history." Big festive hits over the years include Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas?, Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody, Wham's Last Christmas and Sir Cliff Richards' Mistletoe and Wine. Band Aid 20's remake of Do They Know It's Christmas is set to be confirmed as number one in the charts on Sunday. | entertainment |
Glastonbury fans to get ID cards
Fans who buy tickets for this year's Glastonbury festival will be issued with photo ID cards in an attempt to beat touts, it has been confirmed.
The cards will include a photograph of the ticket-holder plus an electronic chip with their details to prevent tickets being sold on or forged. Tickets for the June event are expected to go on sale in April. "There is only one place in the world where you will be able to get tickets," festival organiser Michael Eavis said. "That will be the official source. If you get them anywhere else, you won't get in." Fans not wanting to carry the entrance card could present their passport or driving licence instead, he added.
More than 153,000 people are expected to travel to Mr Eavis' Somerset farm from 24-26 June, but the event's rising popularity has meant an extremely high demand for tickets in recent years. When the ID card idea was floated, Mr Eavis' daughter Emily said it would be "quite a big step in terms of ticketing for events" if implemented and they were "going as far as we can" to cut touting. "As long as it's approached in the right way, it might really work, it might really change the system," she said. In 2004, all 112,000 tickets for the public sold out in 24 hours. They were personalised with the names of purchasers, who were asked to bring identification, such as a driving licence, passport or household bill. But some forgot to take the right information while some touts simply offered to supply their own bills along with the ticket bearing their name. No details of this year's line-up have been confirmed but rumours have suggested U2 and Coldplay may be among the headliners. | entertainment |
Queen recruit singer for new tour
The remaining members of rock band Queen are to go on tour next year with former Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers taking Freddie Mercury's place.
Guitarist Brian May has said he expects to be on the road with Rodgers and drummer Roger Taylor from April. May said: "Suddenly the Queen Phoenix is rising again from the ashes and will take precedence over... our lives." Queen have played with many different singers since Mercury's death in 1991 but have reportedly not toured. May performed with Rodgers at a concert to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar in London in September.
"We were both so amazed at the chemistry that was going on in [Free hit] All Right Now, that suddenly it seems blindingly obvious that there was 'something happening here,'" May wrote on his website. They teamed up again for a concert to mark their induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame, and were joined by Taylor. "The show went so incredibly well from our point of view, and we got so many rave reactions from out there, we decided almost then and there that we would look at a tour together," May wrote.
Queen went to number one in 2000 with a version of We Will Rock You sung by boy band 5ive and they have also played with Robbie Williams, Will Young and Bob Geldof. Queen bassist John Deacon has currently retired from the stage. Rodgers was singer with early 1970s rockers Free, who had a global hit with All Right Now, before forming Bad Company, a successful "supergroup" with members of King Crimson and Mott the Hoople. He has also been in The Firm with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and The Law with The Small Faces and The Who drummer Kenny Jones. | entertainment |
U2 to play at Grammy awards show
Irish rock band U2 are to play live at the Grammy Awards presentation in the US next month, organisers have said.
Other acts to play include soul singer Alicia Keys, country singer Tim McGraw and punk band Green Day at the event on 13 February in Los Angeles. U2 are nominated twice for their recent single Vertigo, including a nomination for best rock song. This year the Grammys have been dominated by rap star Kanye West, who is in contention for 10 awards. US comedian Ellen Degeneres and singer Christine Milian will present awards at the event. Last week Grammy producers announced the show will be hosted by rap star and Chicago actress Queen Latifah. It will be held at the Staples Center. U2 had number one success in the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic in November when their latest studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, topped the US and UK charts. The band, who are also dominated for best international album at this year's Brit Awards, are to undertake a major world tour this year, their first for four years. | entertainment |
Rock band U2 break ticket record
U2 have smashed Irish box office records with ticket sales for their Dublin concerts, after more than 150,000 were sold within 50 minutes.
Tickets for the two concerts at the city's Croke Park stadium were released at 8am on Friday morning. "Nothing like it has ever been seen in Ireland before," said Justin Green, spokesman for organisers MCD Promoters. "We could have sold a million tickets." The Dublin dates on June 24 and 25 form part of the worldwide Vertigo tour. The tour begins in San Diego on 28 March and will cover 13 US cities. The band will also play 24 European gigs, finishing in Lisbon in August.
Mr Green said that ticket outlets had been "bombarded" by U2 fans. "Unfortunately there's thousands and thousands of disappointed fans all over the country which is disappointing, but there's only two dates confirmed," he said. Many fans camped on the streets of the Irish capital for three days to ensure they were first in line at Ticketmaster in St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, where the tickets went on sale on Friday. However the majority of tickets, priced at between 59.50 and 80 euro each, were sold online. Earlier this week, Bono announced that the band would play two shows at the venue, which holds almost 80,000 people, due to the phenomenal demand for tickets. | entertainment |
Police praise 'courageous' Ozzy
Rock star Ozzy Osbourne has been praised by police for "very courageously" tackling a burglar who stole jewellery from his house.
The singer grabbed an intruder who then jumped 30ft (10m) from a first floor window as the star gave chase at his Buckinghamshire home on Monday. "I acted on impulse," Osbourne said. "In hindsight, it could have been a lot worse. It could've got really ugly." A £100,000 reward has been offered for information leading to a conviction. His wife Sharon, who called the police, said her wedding rings were taken from her bedside table as she slept.
The heavy metal star said he could have met the same fate as late Beatle George Harrison, who was repeatedly stabbed in a break-in in 1999. "I could have been badly injured or shot or anything," Osbourne said. "I just thank God that no-one got injured." He added he was glad the intruders were not hurt. "I wouldn't want anyone to get injured." The singer did not want to talk in detail about his actions but when asked whether he would do the same again replied: "Is the Pope a Catholic?" The incident happened at 0400 GMT on Monday in Chalfont St Peter. Detective Inspector Paul Miller of Thames Valley Police said it appeared a man used a ladder to get into the house through a first floor bedroom window. "Whilst selecting items of jewellery, the burglar was disturbed by Ozzy who very courageously tackled this burglar and pursued him from the house," he said. Ozzy said he was "just coming to grips" with what had happened and his opinion of the UK had been lowered after 12 relatively trouble-free years in the US.
"We lived in Los Angeles where people get shot every day and have been trailed by lots of different stalkers - and yet we come back to England and I'm very disappointed." At a press conference on Tuesday, Sharon Osbourne gave details of nine stolen items. They included a diamond wedding ring and two handmade wedding bands Ozzy gave her when they renewed their vows two years ago. She said she wished she had worn them at night. "I always take them off and put them beside my bed and that's where they were, right beside me on my bedside table." Also taken were a pearl necklace and a sapphire bought as an investment for their daughters described by Sharon as "one of the only 24-carat sapphires that is absolutely pure".
A daisy chain necklace that was a 20th anniversary present and a Franck Muller watch Sharon said was one of only 10 made were also stolen. She expressed her anger at the person who "hasn't worked and wants to take what's yours". "But the thing is, we worked for everything. I came from Brixton. Ozzy came from not a very nice part of Birmingham and everything we've got we have worked our arses off for." "If I choose to make an investment for my kids in whatever way I choose to make it, that's my business and I worked for every God damn penny." Ozzy also lamented two years in which the family has been plagued by problems, including his critical injury in a quad bike accident, his wife's colon cancer, their childrens' drug problems and now the burglary.
On Sunday night, the Osbournes had been celebrating the birthday of singer Sir Elton John's partner David Furnish. Police described the intruder as well-built, about 5' 10" tall and said he was wearing a ski-mask, a light-coloured jacket and trainers. They believe he may have injured himself when he jumped from the window. There is no description of his accomplice. Police think the pair were driving a large vehicle, possibly a van, and are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen one leaving Chalfont St Peter at speed. Police appealed for public help to find the perpetrators and stolen items on 0845 8 505 505 or 0800 555 111. | entertainment |
New York rockers top talent poll
New York electro-rock group The Bravery have come top of the BBC News website's Sound of 2005 poll to find the music scene's most promising new act.
The Bravery, who have been compared to The Cure and New Order, were the most heavily-tipped act in the survey of 110 impartial critics and broadcasters. Rock band Keane won Sound of 2004 while US rapper 50 Cent topped Sound of 2003. Other new artists in this year's list include London indie group Bloc Party at second and UK rapper Kano third. The Bravery played their first gig in 2003 and have since supported bands including The Libertines, Interpol and Echo and the Bunnymen.
They were the subject of a record company bidding war in 2004 and their debut single, Unconditional, caused a huge buzz when it was released in the UK in November. Singer Sam Endicott said he felt "great" about coming top of the Sound of 2005 list. "Anyone that says they don't want a zillion screaming fans is a jackass, a liar," he said. One of the experts to tip The Bravery was The Times' music critic Paul Connolly, who said they were "spiky but in love with pop". Chris Hawkins, host of BBC 6 Music's chart show, said the band had "great guitars and a mastery of the electro-clash sound". "The Bravery are proof alone that New York City is still home to hot new talent," he said. Nigel Harding, head of music at London rock radio station Xfm, said every track from their live set "sounded like a potential single".
Unconditional reached the summit of the station's listeners' chart within a fortnight of its first play, which Mr Harding described as "an unheard of achievement for a debut single".
Q magazine reviews editor Ted Kessler said they were "pretty-boy New York clothes horses" with "an unusually nimble ear for concise, yearning pop in the mould of Duran Duran or The Strokes". Other pundits to take part in the survey included BBC Radio 1 DJ Trevor Nelson, NME editor Conor McNicholas, Top of the Pops presenter Fearne Cotton, Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis and BBC Radio 2 music editor Colin Martin. Elsewhere on the top 10, second-placed rock band Bloc Party began their rise after supporting Franz Ferdinand and UK garage MC Kano, in third, is signed to The Streets' record label. US rapper The Game is hip-hop great Dr Dre's latest protege while Leeds group Kaiser Chiefs came fifth with a promise to lead a Britpop revival. In last year's survey, Keane were followed by Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight and Joss Stone in the top five - all of whom were virtually unknown outside the music industry at that point.
Boy band McFly were sixth while Scissor Sisters, who had the UK's best-selling album of 2004, were seventh. In the survey, the pundits were asked for tips for three acts they thought were capable of reaching the top in their chosen genre, either in terms of sales or critical acclaim. The artists could be from any country and any musical genre, but must not have had a UK top 20 single, been a contestant on a TV talent show or already be famous for doing something else, such as a soap actor. Those tips were then counted and compiled to make the top 10. | entertainment |
Blair buys copies of new Band Aid
Prime Minister Tony Blair purchased two copies of the charity single Band Aid 20 in Edinburgh on Friday.
Staff were surprised when the Prime Minister walked into HMV at 0900 GMT, accompanied by aides and local police. "When Mr Blair came in unannounced, we were all pretty gobsmacked," said HMV manager Clive Smith. "Our customer helper approached him... it was only then we realised he wanted to buy copies of the Band Aid single, rather than the latest Eminem album." Predicted chart-topper Do They Know it's Christmas? is expected to sell at least 300,000 copies by the time the new chart is announced on Sunday. However, the new version of the 1984 single is not going to be released in the US, despite being sold in many countries around the world. US record shops are stocking an import version of Do They Know It's Christmas, which is said to be selling very well in Los Angeles and New York. The original track was released in the US, and reached number 13 in the singles chart. British stars who appear on the current recording, such as Dido and Coldplay's Chris Martin, are well-known to music fans across the Atlantic, along with U2 frontman Bono.
Record company Universal is responsible for the global distribution of the single, which will be available across Europe, Asia, South America and Canada. But music fans in the US are still able to access the song and download it on Band Aid 20's official website. In 1985, a group of high-profile American stars known as USA For Africa came together to record their own fund-raising single, We Are The World. The song was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, with Quincy Jones as producer. It topped the US charts for three weeks and went on win Grammy awards for best record and song.
Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and Tina Turner were among the line-up of performers. It is predicted that the Band Aid 20 song will sell 300,000 copies in the UK by the time the new chart is announced on Sunday. The record is also tipped to become this year's Christmas number one, as the original version did in 1984. Proceeds from the sales are going towards relief for the Darfur region of Sudan and to combat HIV and Aids across Africa. | entertainment |
Eminem beats Elvis to number one
Rapper Eminem has denied Elvis his fourth number one of the year, after his song, Like Toy Soldiers, stormed to the top of the singles charts.
The track claimed the top spot ahead of The King's latest re-release, Are You Lonesome Tonight. It is the fifth in a series of 18 reissues to mark the 70th anniversary of Presley's birth. Almost Here, the duet from former Westlife star Brian McFadden and Delta Goodrem, went in at number three.
Like Toy Soldiers, from Eminem's Encore album, is sampled from Martika's 1980s hit Toy Soldiers. It takes a swipe at hip-hop feuds and follows the success of Just Lose It. Last week's number one, Elvis's It's Now or Never, slipped 13 places to number 14, but all five of his re-released songs are in the Top 40. One World Project Tsunami fundraiser, Grief Never Grows Old, slipped four places to number eight. Featuring Cliff Richard and Boy George, the song was written by former DJ Mike Read. In the album charts, Athlete's latest offering Tourist claimed the top spot, toppling the Chemical Brother's Push The Button Down, which fell to number six. | entertainment |
Sir Paul rocks Super Bowl crowds
Sir Paul McCartney wowed fans with a live mini-concert at American football's Super Bowl - and avoided any Janet Jackson-style controversies.
The 62-year-old sang Hey Jude and other Beatles songs in a 12-minute set at half-time during the game in Florida. Last year, Jackson exposed a breast during a dance routine, causing outrage among millions of TV viewers and landing the CBS TV network a fine. Sir Paul, however, did nothing more racy than remove his jacket as he sang. Organisers were widely considered to be playing it safe this year by booking 62-year-old Sir Paul for his second Super Bowl show.
Three years ago, he was invited to perform at the first Super Bowl after the September 11 attacks and performed his specially-written song Freedom. This time, he started off the show, at the Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, with the Beatles numbers Drive My Car and Get Back. He then performed a mellow version of Live And Let Die, the James Bond theme he recorded with the band Wings. Finally, he closed the show with a rousing version of Hey Jude. The former Beatle resisted any temptation to refer to Janet Jackson's headline-grabbing performance last year, instead keeping banter between songs to a minimum in order to squeeze as much music as he could into his slot. The singer removed his black jacket halfway through the show - but any fans hoping for a second "Nipple-gate" were to be disappointed as he kept his red sweatshirt on underneath.
Earlier, the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys had provided the night's other high-profile entertainment by performing in a pre-game show. Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie was dressed in a tight orange top and purple hotpants, but nothing in her performance was likely to upset TV watchdogs. After the controversy last year - which saw CBS fined a record $550,000 (£292,000) by federal regulators - Super Bowl organisers had turned to producer Don Mischer to oversee this year's half-time show. His previous production credits included Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. The Super Bowl is watched by an audience of 144.4 million in the US, with many of the people watching are said to tune in specifically to see the entertainment put on around the event. Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Diana Ross, Gloria Estefan and Phil Collins are among the stars who have previously graced the Super Bowl stage. | entertainment |
J-Lo and husband plan debut duet
Singers Jennifer Lopez and husband Marc Anthony, a Latin pop star, are to perform a duet at this month's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
Anthony became Lopez's third husband in June 2004. He won a Grammy in 1998 and is nominated for two more this year. The 13 February ceremony will also include a rendition of The Beatles' Across The Universe by Bono, Stevie Wonder, Norah Jones and Brian Wilson. The song will go on sale online to raise money for the tsunami aid effort. The awards show will also feature performances from U2, Green Day, Alicia Keys and Kanye West - but the Lopez and Anthony duet is likely to be one of the biggest talking points.
Anthony, born in New York to a Puerto Rican family, is reported to be the biggest-selling salsa artist of all time. He is nominated this year for best Latin pop album and best salsa/merengue album. The tsunami tribute song will also feature Alicia Keys, Velvet Revolver and Tim McGraw. Fans will be able to download it for $0.99 (£0.53) from iTunes, or purchase the video from the CBS TV network's site. Kanye West, the rapper who leads the awards with 10 nominations, will perform alongside John Legend, Mavis Staples and the Blind Boys of Alabama. There will also be a tribute to Ray Charles featuring Bonnie Raitt and Billy Preston and a celebration of southern rock with Tim McGraw, Gretchen Wilson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dickie Betts and Elvis Bishop. Ray Charles, who died in June 2004, has seven posthumous nominations. Alicia Keys and Usher share eight nominations each. | entertainment |
Beastie Boys win sampling battle
US rappers Beastie Boys have won their long-running battle over the use of a sample in their song Pass the Mic.
The punk-rappers used three notes of music from flautist James Newton's Choir in their track from 1992. Although the group had paid a licence fee for the sample, Mr Newton said his copyright had been infringed. But the US Court of Appeal upheld its original decision that the group did not have to pay an additional fee to license the underlying composition. The Beastie Boys - Michael Diamond, Adam Horowitz, and Adam Yauch - are considered to be one of early pioneers of sampling music.
Sampling, now a standard practice among musicians, involves taking a segment of one track and using it in a different song. A three-judge panel of the court held in 2003 that the band had abided by copyright protections by paying a licence fee for a sample of Mr Newton's recording. That finding upheld a lower-court dismissal of the case in favour of the Beastie Boys. "We hold that Beastie Boys' use of a brief segment of that composition, consisting of three notes separated by a half-step over a background C note, is not sufficient to sustain a claim for infringement of Newton's copyright," Chief Judge Mary Schroeder wrote in her opinion. Mr Newton is a critically acclaimed jazz and classical flutist, composer, performer, and university professor. Mr Newton and the Beastie Boys were not available for comment. | entertainment |
Pupils to get anti-piracy lessons
Lessons on music piracy and copyright issues are to be taught to secondary school pupils in the UK.
The lessons, aimed at 11 to 14-year-olds, will introduce them to copyright - including the issues of downloading from the internet and the illegal copying of CDs - and its role in protecting creativity.
Music piracy, including illegally swapping music online, costs the UK music industry millions every year and has been blamed for a decline in world-wide CD sales. British Music Rights (BMR) - which was formed to represent the interests of songwriters and composers - worked with education experts to put together a learning pack.
Songwriter Guy Chambers, who has worked with stars including Robbie Williams, has thrown his support behind the scheme. He said as well as educating children about music piracy, it would also protect young people planning a career in the music industry from "unscrupulous" individuals. At a debate in London to launch the scheme, Chambers said: "I think it is important that young people receive practical and engaging learning in schools. "These lessons will give them an insight into how the creative industries work which will help them in possible future careers." The education pack, which has already been requested by more than 1,600 secondary schools, is aimed at giving children an understanding of copyright in relation to the music industry. It will also teach children about the importance of royalties and raises awareness of different careers in the music industry, particularly in the digital age.
Henri Yoxall, general manager of British Music Rights, told BBC News schools had been crying out for a resource to help them educate pupils about the issues. The scheme - which is an extension of BMR's Respect the Value of Music campaign - is also being backed by singer-songwriters Feargal Sharkey, Lucie Silvas and Grammy Award-winning composer David Arnold. Silvas said: "I think it is so important that students gain an understanding of how the music industry works when they are at a young age. "I wish I had been given an opportunity like this when I was at school." Emma Pike, director general of British Music Rights, said: "We believe that copyright is an essential part of teaching music in schools. It is vital that the creatives of the future know how to turn their ideas into value. "Copyright education has always been important... creatives are facing more challenges and more opportunities from technological change. "Technology is allowing people to create music and distribute their music to the public in a whole host of new ways." | entertainment |
Spector facing more legal action
Music producer Phil Spector is facing legal action from the mother of the actress he has been accused of killing.
Donna Clarkson, whose daughter Lana was found dead in Mr Spector's home in February 2003, is seeking unspecified damages in a civil action. The legal action accuses Mr Spector of murdering the actress at his LA home. Mr Spector is currently free on $1m (£535,000) bail and is awaiting trial. The 64-year-old has denied the killing, saying her death was accidental.
Ms Clarkson's legal action, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also accuses Mr Spector of negligence and battery, alleging he "grabbed, hit, fought with and restrained" Lana Clarkson before shooting her to death. Her lawyers said in a statement: "The Clarkson family had hoped that there would be some resolution with regard to the criminal proceedings before moving forward with the civil action. "However, Ms Clarkson and her family understand that the fair administration of justice takes time and in light of the numerous changes Mr Spector has made in his legal defence team over the last two years, Ms Clarkson was forced to file the action before (the statute of limitations expired) on 3 February 2005." Mr Spector, known for his work with the Beatles, has claimed that Lana Clarkson committed suicide. His lawyers, led by Bruce Cutler, have vowed to prove him innocent at trial.
Mr Cutler said: "Phil did not cause the death of this woman, he's not criminally responsible and he's not civilly responsible either. "But I'm not surprised they filed a suit for money, that seems to be de rigueur nowadays." A Los Angeles Superior Court judge is expected to set a trial date later this month for Spector, who was indicted on murder charges in September. Roderick Lindblom, one of Ms Clarkson's lawyers, said: "Our intent is to let the criminal proceedings go forward and not do anything that would interfere with the prosecution." | entertainment |
Usher leads Billboard nominations
R&B singer Usher is leading the race for the Billboard awards with nominations in 13 categories, including best male.
Alicia Keys has 12 nominations for the awards, which will be held on 8 December at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Other multiple nominees include Maroon5, OutKast, Kanye West, R Kelly, Gretchen Wilson, Hoobastank and Jay-Z. Soul singer Stevie Wonder will receive Billboard's Century Award, the magazine's highest honour for creative achievement, at the ceremony.
The awards will be hosted by American Idol presenter Ryan Seacrest, and will feature performances by Usher, Gwen Stefani, Nelly and Green Day. Usher and Keys will be battling it out for prizes including artist of the year, Hot 100 songwriter of the year and Billboard 200 album of the year for their respective albums Confessions and The Diary of Alicia Keys. Maroon5 and OutKast are also up for artist of the year, while OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is a finalist for Billboard 200 album of the year, alongside Josh Groban's Closer. The awards honour the year's leading artists and songs as determined by their performance on Billboard's weekly charts. | entertainment |
Eminem secret gig venue revealed
Rapper Eminem is to play an intimate gig in London on Saturday, following a show on the River Thames on Friday.
The US star will play just two songs at a night showcasing his label Shady Records at the Islington Academy. Eminem performed on HMS Belfast on Friday, which is docked on the River Thames, where he filmed two songs for BBC One's Top of the Pops. He arrived in the UK on Friday following his appearance at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Rome. Other rap acts who may appear at the Islington gig include Stat Quo, Proof, DJ Green Lantern, Swift and Obie Trice.
Eminem's latest album soared to the top of the US chart after just three days on sale in record shops. Encore is now a chart-topper on both sides of the Atlantic following its debut at number one in the UK. The fourth album from the rap star was on sale for two days before it outsold all of its rivals. The album was released early in an effort to combat both physical and online piracy.
Eminem's album includes the track Mosh, which is a tirade against US President Bush and the presence of US troops in Iraq. The rapper was criticised earlier this year after a performance on BBC One's Top of the Pops in April led 12 viewers to complain he was "lewd" and "offensive". The complaints about the star grabbing his crotch were upheld by the BBC. "The performer had been asked to tone his act down after rehearsal but ignored this request during the live broadcast," a BBC statement read. "Although his gestures were part of the rap culture, they had gone beyond what is expected." | entertainment |
Beatles suits sell for $110,000
Four suits worn by the Beatles on their Please Please Me album cover have sold for $110,00 (£59,000) at a US auction.
But some of Elvis Presley's earliest recordings - including takes of All Shook Up - failed to sell at the Bonhams and Butterfields two-day sale. A private collection of six tape recordings of Presley valued at between $30,000 (£16,000) and $50,000 (£27,000) did not meet their reserve price. A signed Presley photograph managed to fetch $2,115 (£1,140).
Auction spokesman Erik Simon said the Presley tapes were withdrawn because "they did not meet the minimum price set by the owners".
He said the family of sound engineer Thorne Nogar did not want to divulge the price they had set or the offers they had received. The RCA tapes date from September 1956 to September 1957. The "pre-masters" include a take of Jailhouse Rock, religious songs, material for his first Christmas album, and banter between Presley, members of his band and Mr Nogar.
"We've had them for a lot of years, and I think the people should enjoy them. And frankly, we could use the money," Mr Nogar's son Stephen, 57, said before the auction. Mr Nogar, who died in 1994 aged 72, always used to make two tapes of sessions as a back-up in case RCA producers wanted to make late changes to songs. "He called them his 'ass-saver' tapes," his son said. The quality is said to be noticeably crisper than that of a new vinyl record. Because the family does not own the copyright to the music, the tapes could only be sold for "personal enjoyment" and cannot be copied for commercial gain. The auction made a total of $1.1m (£600,000). | entertainment |
OutKast win at MTV Europe Awards
US hip-hop duo OutKast have capped a year of award glory with three prizes at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Rome.
They won best group, best video and best song for hit Hey Ya! after getting five nominations. R&B singer Usher won best male and best album for Confessions, while UK rock band Muse were named best alternative act and best British artists. OutKast will add their awards to the four they won at the US MTV Awards in August and three Grammys in February. Not only was Hey Ya! one of the biggest global hits of last year, but OutKast have been widely acclaimed as one of the most exciting and innovative acts in music. Their double CD album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which saw Andre 3000 and Big Boi each produce one disc, was hailed as the album of 2003 by many critics.
Andre 3000 thanked fans "for supporting OutKast throughout the years". "We really appreciate it," he said. "I hope you don't get tired of us, but we only do what we do." Also competing for best group had been the Beastie Boys, the Black Eyed Peas, D12 and Maroon 5. And Anastacia, Britney Spears, Maroon 5 and Ludacris had been on the shortlist for best song.
OutKast did lose out in the contest for best album - which was won by Usher, another award favourite. Usher, who performed a duet with Alicia Keys, also beat off competition from Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Nelly and Robbie Williams to take the best male crown. He had four nominations going into the ceremony, with seven artists nominated in three categories.
Eminem's group, D12, were surprise winners in the best hip-hop category, beating the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Nelly. Eminem told the crowd: "D12 finally won an award, thank you very much." The rapper opened the show with a performance of his songs Like Toy Soldiers and Just Lose It, for which he was joined on stage by a crowd of children. The Black Eyed Peas - who had a global hit with Where is the Love? - picked up the prize for best pop act, beating Anastacia, Avril Lavigne, Robbie Williams and Britney Spears. Spears was named best female, sending a message of thanks on video saying the award "means so much to me". Alicia Keys, Anastasia, Avril Lavigne and Beyonce Knowles had featured alongside her in that contest.
Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington described their prize for best rock band as "quite an honour" while Muse said their win for best alternative act was "a real surprise for us". Muse were also named best UK and Ireland act, ahead of Franz Ferdinand, Natasha Bedingfield, Jamelia and The Streets. Referring to the fact that winners of 11 of the 12 main awards were from the US, Muse singer Matt Bellamy said: "There needs to be more European bands." The 11th annual awards were hosted by hip-hop artist Xzibit and watched by 6,000 people at the Tor Di Valle arena, plus millions more on TV around the world. The ceremony featured performances from the Beastie Boys, who entered the stage on bicycles and skateboards, No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani being lowered from a giant clock and Nelly doing a duet with Pharrell Williams. MTV also organised a huge open-air concert featuring Anastacia and The Cure outside the Italian capital's ancient Colosseum, with some estimates putting the attendance there at 200,000. Last year's big winner at the MTV Europe Awards, held in Edinburgh, Scotland, was Justin Timberlake, who walked away with three trophies. | entertainment |
Oasis star fined for German brawl
Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has been fined 50,000 euros (£35,000) after a fight in a German hotel two years ago.
Gallagher was arrested along with drummer Alan White and three other members of the band's entourage after the brawl in Munich in December 2002. The band said they were victims of an "unprovoked attack" in a nightclub. But police said Gallagher kicked an officer in the chest and had large amounts of alcohol and drugs - possibly cocaine - in his blood. Gallagher lost two front teeth in the fight, which led to the band abandoning their German tour. His brother and bandmate Noel was in bed at the time.
"The process has stopped by paying 50,000 euros," said Anton Winkler, spokesman for the Munich prosecutor. At the time, police said a "physical altercation" broke out among the musicians at about 0200 local time. That led to one of the group being "jostled" and falling onto the table of five Italian guests - causing the fight, they said. The fight continued outside, where "one of the officers was kicked in the chest with full force by Liam Gallagher... and suffered minor injuries", they said. | entertainment |
Disputed Nirvana box set on sale
A box set featuring 68 unreleased Nirvana tracks has gone on sale in the US, after years of legal wrangles.
With the Lights Out was intended to be released in 2001, to mark the 10th anniversary of the album Nevermind. It was blocked by Courtney Love, the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who did not want unreleased song You Know You're Right on the box set. The dispute between Love and surviving band members Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl was settled in 2002. Work began on the box set in 1998, but legal battles put the project on hold. The legal fight centred on a studio recording of the unreleased track You Know You're Right, regarded by fans as one of the unreleased gems of Nirvana. The set, released on Tuesday, features three CDs and a DVD of rare performance and rehearsal footage. The DVD also includes the first performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit, the track that launched Nirvana on to the international stage in 1991. "The band wasn't always pretty, or always in tune. This is not Nirvana unplugged. It's Nirvana unedited," said Cobain biographer Charles Cross. The band's development ended tragically when songwriter Kurt Cobain committed suicide in April 1994. | entertainment |
Usher leads Soul Train shortlist
Chart-topping R&B star Usher is leading the field at this year's Soul Train Awards, with five nominations.
The singer, whose album Confessions has sold close to eight million copies in the US alone, is already in the running for eight Grammy Awards. Newcomer Ciara - who recently beat Elvis Presley to the UK number one spot - has four nominations, while Alicia Keys has three. The Soul Train Awards ceremony will take place in Hollywood on 28 February.
Usher has already swept the board at the American Music Awards with four titles, including two best album awards. His Soul Train nominations include best male R&B-soul album and best male R&B-soul single for Confessions Part II. Usher's work with rappers Ludacris & Lil Jon won him nominations for best R&B-soul or rap music video and best R&B-soul or rap dance cut for the song Yeah!, while his duet with Keys, My Boo, earned the pair a nod for best R&B-soul single. Keys' album The Diary of Alicia Keys was also up for best R&B-soul album by a female. Her song If I Ain't Got You received a best single nomination in the female R&B-soul category. Newcomer Ciara's four nominations include best female R&B-soul album and best R&B-soul or rap by a new artist. Beyonce, Prince, Destiny's Child, Jill Scott and New Edition all received two nominations each. The Soul Train Music Awards, which started 18 years ago, celebrates artists in R&B, hip-hop, rap and gospel music. | entertainment |
US charity anthem is re-released
We Are The World, the American charity anthem inspired by the success of Band Aid, has been re-issued to raise money for Aids research and tsunami victims.
More than 40 stars sang as group USA For Africa, including Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen. It topped the charts in the US and UK, raising millions of dollars for African famine relief. The re-release also marks the 20th anniversary of the original recording. It has been re-issued as part of a two-disc DVD set, which will also feature footage from the recording session of the track in January 1985. The single was originally released in the US on 7 March 1985 and sold 800,000 copies in its first week. It went on to win Grammys for song of the year and record of the year. | entertainment |
Queen recruit singer for new tour
The remaining members of rock band Queen are to go on tour next year with former Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers taking Freddie Mercury's place.
Guitarist Brian May has said he expects to be on the road with Rodgers and drummer Roger Taylor from April. May said: "Suddenly the Queen Phoenix is rising again from the ashes and will take precedence over... our lives." Queen have played with many different singers since Mercury's death in 1991 but have reportedly not toured. May performed with Rodgers at a concert to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar in London in September.
"We were both so amazed at the chemistry that was going on in [Free hit] All Right Now, that suddenly it seems blindingly obvious that there was 'something happening here,'" May wrote on his website. They teamed up again for a concert to mark their induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame, and were joined by Taylor. "The show went so incredibly well from our point of view, and we got so many rave reactions from out there, we decided almost then and there that we would look at a tour together," May wrote.
Queen went to number one in 2000 with a version of We Will Rock You sung by boy band 5ive and they have also played with Robbie Williams, Will Young and Bob Geldof. Queen bassist John Deacon has currently retired from the stage. Rodgers was singer with early 1970s rockers Free, who had a global hit with All Right Now, before forming Bad Company, a successful "supergroup" with members of King Crimson and Mott the Hoople. He has also been in The Firm with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and The Law with The Small Faces and The Who drummer Kenny Jones. | entertainment |
Band Aid 20 single storms to No 1
The new version of the Band Aid song Do They Know It's Christmas? has gone straight in at number one in the UK singles chart.
The charity record is also tipped to be this year's Christmas number one. It features vocals from the likes of Chris Martin, Dido, Robbie Williams and the Sugababes. The original version - which was the Christmas number one in 1984 - sold 750,000 copies in its first week and 3.5 million in total. It was released in the US, and reached number 13 in the singles chart. However, Band Aid 20 is not going to be released in the US, despite being sold in many countries around the world. US record shops are stocking an import version of Do They Know It's Christmas, which is said to be selling very well in Los Angeles and New York.
British stars who appear on the current recording, such as Dido and Coldplay's Chris Martin, are well known to music fans across the Atlantic, along with U2 frontman Bono. Record company Universal is responsible for the global distribution of the single, which will be available across Europe, Asia, South America and Canada. But music fans in the US are still able to access the song and download it on Band Aid 20's official website. In 1985, a group of high-profile American stars known as USA For Africa came together to record their own fund-raising single, We Are The World. The song was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, with Quincy Jones as producer.
It topped the US charts for three weeks and went on win Grammy awards for best record and song. Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and Tina Turner were among the line-up of performers. Proceeds from the sales of the Band Aid 20 single will go towards aid relief in Africa, in countries such as Ethiopia and Sudan. The money raised will also be used to help combat HIV and Aids across the continent. The Band Aid Trust which was set up 20 years ago, when the original single was released, handed out $144m (£75m) to famine relief projects across Africa between January 1985 and November 2004. | entertainment |
iTunes now selling Band Aid song
Ipod owners can now download the Band Aid single from iTunes after Apple reached agreement with the charity.
Apple had been unwilling to raise the cost of the single in line with other download services, said Band Aid. But the single is now on sale for 79p - the usual cost of a song from iTunes - with Apple donating a further 70p to the charity for each song downloaded. A copy of the original 1984 song is also available for download at 79p - with all proceeds going to the charity.
More than 72,000 copies of the new Band Aid single were sold on its first day of release on Monday, according to sales figures. The track has become the fastest-selling single of the year so far, shifting more copies than the rest of the top 30 combined, HMV claimed. Dido, Robbie Williams and Chris Martin are among those featured on the new version of Do They Know It's Christmas?, which is raising money to fight hunger in Africa. If the track sold 500,000 copies, more than £1m would be raised for charity. The CD is being sold for £3.99, with HMV, Virgin and Woolworths all donating their profits. | entertainment |
Court halts Mark Morrison album
Premiership footballer and record company boss Kevin Campbell has gained a court injunction stopping R&B singer Mark Morrison from releasing an album.
The Everton striker signed Morrison to his fledging 2 Wikid Records label and claims he spent thousands of pounds producing his album Innocent Man. Now he is attempting to prevent Morrison releasing the album on Monday through another label. But Morrison vowed to ignore the order, saying "no judge is gonna stop me".
Morrison, who is now as well known for his brushes with the law than his music career, rose to fame with the 1996 single Return of the Mack.
But the Leicester singer has struggled to repeat its success following two spells in jail. One was for hiring a stand-in to complete his community service for possession of a stun gun and three-months following a nightclub fracas. He signed to Mr Campbell's label a year ago and has released one single, with the label saying the album was due for release on 24 January. But Mr Campbell said he learned that Morrison planned to release the album through Jet Star, which is advertising it on its website. Mr Campbell said: "I'm glad we were granted the injunction but I'm completely gutted that we have had to go that far. "Mark Morrison was given everything he asked for by 2 Wikid but it seems that he couldn't help but return to his old ways.
"I've worked hard to realise my ambition in football but had hoped that my future career would be in the music business. "I have always dreamt of starting a record label but now Mark Morrison has spoilt that dream for me. There is no loyalty in this business - just greed."
But Morrison is determined the album will be released on Monday. He said: "The injunction is ludicrous. "I signed a new deal with a new record company because I was not getting the support I needed from 2 Wikid. "I was with that label for a year and in that time released just one record, which was not properly promoted. He added: "The whole world is waiting for this album and it will come out on December 27. No injunction or judge will stop it. The Mack will return." The case is set to be heard in the High Court on 20 December. | entertainment |
Prince crowned 'top music earner'
Prince earned more than any other pop star in 2004, beating artists such Madonna and Elton John in US magazine Rolling Stone's annual list.
The singer banked $56.5m (£30.4m) from concerts, album and publishing sales with his Musicology tour and album. He kept Madonna in second place, as she earned $54.9m (£29.5m) while embarking on her global Re-Invention Tour. Veterans Simon and Garfunkel were in 10th place, their comeback tour helping them earn $24.9m (£13.4m) last year.
"Prince returned to centre stage after a decade in the commercial wilderness," the magazine reported. The singer's 2004 tour took $90.3m (£48.5m) in ticket sales and he sold 1.9 million copies of his latest album Musicology.
Although she grossed more than Prince last year, Madonna remained in second place because of the "monumental" production costs of her tour. Heavy metal band Metallica's Madly in Anger with the World tour helped push their 2004 earnings up to $43.1m (£23.1m). They were ahead of Sir Elton John, who took fourth place and almost $42.7m (£23m) from performances including a debut on the Las Vegas Strip. Other seasoned performers in the list included Rod Stewart, whose sold-out shows and third volume of The Great American Songbook covers album helped net him £35m (£19m). The highest-ranking rap act in the list was 50 Cent, who at number 19 took $24m (£13m) to the bank. | entertainment |
Early Elvis recordings go on sale
Some of Elvis Presley's earliest recordings - including takes of All Shook Up - are going under the hammer on Sunday at a Los Angeles auction.
The six unedited reel-to-reel tapes - which were owned by the engineer who recorded them - are valued at up to $50,000 (£29,000). Highlights of the two hour-long collection will get their public debut at Bonhams auction house on Saturday. The RCA tapes date from September 1956 to September 1957. The "pre-masters" include a take of Jailhouse Rock, religious songs, material for his first Christmas album, and banter between Presley, members of his band and engineer Thorne Nogar.
"We've had them for a lot of years, and I think the people should enjoy them," Nogar's son Stephen, 57, said. "And frankly, we could use the money." Nogar, who died in 1994 aged 72, always used to make two tapes of sessions as a back-up in case RCA producers wanted to make late changes to songs. "He called them his ass-saver tapes," his son said. The quality is said to be noticeably crisper than that of a new vinyl record. Because the family does not own the copyright to the music, the tapes can only be sold for "personal enjoyment" and they cannot be copied for commercial gain. | entertainment |
Parker's saxophone heads auction
A saxophone belonging to legendary jazz musician Charlie Parker is expected to fetch up to $1m (£535,000) at an auction of jazz memorabilia next month.
The sale, at Guernsey's Auction House in New York, will feature instruments from other musicians including John Coltrane and Benny Goodman. Other items will include an evening gown belonging to Ella Fitzgerald. Organisers said the auction was the first in the US to be devoted to items belonging to jazz musicians.
Other items that will be auctioned include unreleased tape recordings of music by Parker as well as handwritten sheet music by jazz composers John Coltrane and Theolonius Monk. Among the instruments in the sale will be a trumpet which belonged to Dizzy Gillespie, which is expected to fetch around $500,000 (£267,000), as well as JJ Johnson's trombone and a vibraphone which beloned to Lionel Hampton. Works of art by musicians including Miles Davis and Bruni Sablan will also be featured. The proceeds from the auction, which will take place on 20 February, will go towards several organisations including the John Coltrane Foundation, a foundation set up in memory of Benny Goodman, and the Red Cross. | entertainment |
Comic Morris returns with sitcom
Comedian Chris Morris, who created controversial TV show Brass Eye, is to return to screens with a new sitcom about a spoof London media worker.
Morris will direct and co-write Nathan Barley - a character from cult website TV Go Home - for Channel 4. It is a send-up of the stereotypical "cool" metropolitan media scene, with Nicholas Burns in the title role. A Brass Eye satire of the media handling of paedophilia sparked 2,500 complaints in 2001.
Nathan Barley will be "a character-driven comedy", according to Charlie Brooker, who created TV Go Home in 1999 and has co-written the series. Barley is described as a "webmaster, guerrilla film-maker, screenwriter, DJ and in his own words, a 'self-facilitating media node". The story will also feature Dan Ashcroft, a style magazine columnist, and his sister Claire, a film-maker who hates the "cool" scene. As well as Brass Eye, Morris was behind another news show satire, The Day Today, and dark sketch comedy Jam. The new show is expected to begin in February. | entertainment |
TV station refuses adoption show
A TV station in the US has refused to show a controversial new series where adopted children try and pick their birth father - and win a cash prize.
The WRAZ-TV Fox affiliate in North Carolina was the only one of 182 stations to refuse Monday's show. Who's Your Daddy promises $100,000 (£52,000) to the contestant if she correctly identifies her father. It was met with protests by the National Council for Adoption, which said it "exploits" sensitive emotions. "It exploits the sensitive emotions of adoption," said Thomas Atwood, president of the National Council for Adoption. "It trivialises them. Adoption is a very personal, meaningful experience and it should not be commercialised like this." On the pre-taped programme, the contestant is presented with eight men who may or may not be her natural father.
If she picks the correct man from the line-up, the contestant wins the jackpot prize of US$100,000 (£52,590). However, if she picks the wrong man, then the impostor takes the money. Fox producers defended the show, saying it was a "positive experience". They have made six specials, though only one episode has so far been broadcast.
"The special was thoroughly vetted by our standards and practices department to ensure that it was appropriate for broadcast," said a Fox spokesman. "However, any network affiliate that feels the programming may be inappropriate for their individual market has the right to pre-empt the schedule." WRAZ-TV instead chose to air an independently-produced film, I Have Roots and Branches... Personal Reflections on Adoption, a documentary about families with adopted children. "We just don't think adoption is a game show," said Tommy Schenck, WRAZ-TV's general manager, though he said his decision had not been influenced by public protests. | entertainment |
A-listers flock to Gervais sitcom
Hollywood actors Samuel L Jackson and Ben Stiller have signed up for Ricky Gervais' new sitcom, the comedian has told BBC News.
He said they had both seen the scripts and had agreed to appear in an episode each of the sitcom Extras. They join British stars Jude Law and Kate Winslet who have been booked for guest roles. The comic and actor said he had drawn up an A-list of stars he wanted and all had agreed to be in it. "We wanted actors who had iconic status but that we could also deconstruct," Gervais told BBC News.
"It's not about the zeitgeist. We wanted people who would still be around in 20 years, not just the winner of Big Brother to take part." Gervais admitted he was cautious about revealing who would be taking part until they had all signed on the dotted line. But he has met with Stiller and Jackson and they enjoyed the scripts enough to commit to it.
"I didn't want to start revealing names until it was all sorted because people just mention people who haven't even been asked. "I have been linked with ridiculous stories recently such as I'm going to be in a remake of 10 taking Dudley Moore's part. I haven't been approached and I wouldn't take it anyway."
He said Stiller and Jackson would be playing "twisted" versions of themselves in Extras and that the jokes about them "would sail pretty close to the bone". Gervais and his writing partner Stephen Merchant are currently refining the scripts for the six-part series, in which Gervais plays a struggling actor who bitches about the stars. Meanwhile, Gervais is gearing up to promote his cartoon book Flanimals which is released in the US in March, around the same time as NBC begin showing the US version of The Office. The film rights to Flanimals have already been snapped up but Gervais is keen for the project to be taken slowly. "A film will happen over the next three years but I don't want it to be a $50m movie straight away because it is not well enough known and it wouldn't be another Spider-Man or Batman. I would like to do something small on TV with it first." | entertainment |
Campaigners attack MTV 'sleaze'
MTV has been criticised for "incessant sleaze" by television indecency campaigners in the US.
The Parents Television Council (PTC), which monitors violence and sex on TV, said the cable music channel offered the "cheapest form" of programming. The group is at the forefront of a vociferous campaign to clean up American television. But a spokeswoman for MTV said it was "unfair and inaccurate" to single out MTV for criticism.
The PTC monitored MTV's output for 171 hours from 20 March to 27 March 2004, during the channel's Spring Break coverage. In its report - MTV Smut Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs and Alcohol - the PTC said it witnessed 3,056 flashes of nudity or sexual situations and 2,881 verbal references to sex. Brent Bozell, PTC president and conservative activist said: "MTV is blatantly selling raunchy sex to kids. "Compared to broadcast television programmes aimed at adults, MTV's programming contains substantially more sex, foul language and violence - and MTV's shows are aimed at children as young as 12. "There's no question that TV influences the attitudes and perceptions of young viewers, and MTV is deliberately marketing its raunch to millions of innocent children."
The watchdog decided to look at MTV's programmes after Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" at last year's Super Bowl. The breast-baring incident generated 500,000 complaints and CBS - which is owned by the same parent company as MTV - was quick to apologise. MTV spokeswoman Jeannie Kedas said the network follows the same standards as broadcasters and reflects the culture and what its viewers are interested in. "It's unfair and inaccurate to paint MTV with that brush of irresponsibility," she said. "We think it's underestimating young people's intellect and level of sophistication." Ms Kedas also highlighted the fact MTV won an award in 2004 for the Fight for Your Rights series that focused on issues such as sexual health and tolerance. | entertainment |
US actor 'found with gun residue'
Actor Robert Blake had gunshot residue on his hands and clothes the night his wife was shot dead, a court has heard.
But it may not have come from the shot that killed Bonny Lee Bakley in 2001, Mr Blake's murder trial was told by criminalist Steven Dowell. Mr Dowell told a Los Angeles court the residue may have come from Mr Blake's revolver, his gun collection, his presence at the crime scene or police. The 71-year-old former star of US TV drama Baretta has denied murder. Mr Blake said he found Ms Bakley, 44, dead in a car after they left a restaurant.
He said he briefly returned to the restaurant to collect a gun he had left behind and discovered her body when he returned. The gun he collected was not the murder weapon. It could also have been picked up if he touched or leant on the car when he found the body, or from a police box in which his clothes were later stored. The box had come from an area where officers went after being on the firing range. But Mr Dowell also said the residue would have been present if Mr Blake fired a gun that night. Witnesses have already told the trial Mr Blake "stood out as being quite nervous and agitated" at the restaurant before the murder. The actor, who won an Emmy for playing a maverick detective in the 1970s TV cop drama Baretta, could face life in prison if convicted. | entertainment |
EastEnders 'is set for US remake'
Plans to create a US soap based on the BBC's EastEnders have reportedly been drawn up by the Fox TV network.
EastEnders' head writer Tony Jordan and music mogul Simon Fuller are involved in the project, according to reports in the Hollywood Reporter trade newspaper. It said scripts have been commissioned for a series about a community of working class people in of Chicago. The original EastEnders was pulled from BBC America last year after it proved a failure in the ratings. US versions of other British hits have proved less successful across the Atlantic.
BBC comedy Coupling was remade with a US cast, but lost its primetime slot on the NBC network due to disappointing ratings. At home, EastEnders has been facing its own ratings battle, recently losing out to rival ITV soap Emmer dale. Primetime soaps on US television have made a recent comeback, following the success of ABC serial Desperate Housewives. The series takes a "darkly comedic" look at the goings-on of a group of characters living in the suburbs. | entertainment |
US 'to raise TV indecency fines'
US politicians are proposing a tough new law aimed at cracking down on indecency and bad language on US TV.
Fines of up to $500,000 (£266,582) could be imposed each time broadcasters transmit nudity or profanities. The proposal, unveiled in the House of Representatives, also seeks to revoke a broadcaster's licence after three violations have been committed. The exposure of Janet Jackson's breast at last year's Superbowl landed CBS with a $550,000 (£293,264) fine. Entertainers could also be liable for fines under the proposed legisation from both US politcians and officials from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). A Republican senator from Kansas, Sam Brownbeck, is set to call for a maximum $3 million (£1.6 million) fine for repeated violations.
The current maximum fine stands at $32,500 (£17,320) - 20 of the stations in the CBS network were each penalised these lesser amounts for the Jackson incident. Republican politician Fred Upton, who chairs the committee responsible for broadcasting, said current fines are "more of a cost of doing business rather than a deterrent". Last year's Janet Jackson 'wardrobe malfunction' encouraged the FCC to impose tougher rules, but the US Congress adjourned last year without agreeing on a new level of fines. New figures have to be decided before new legislation can be put before President Bush. Certain broadcasters, like Fox, claim the material they carry does not violate indecency laws and is protected under the right to free speech. | entertainment |
Eurovision 'greats' to do battle
Stars of the Eurovision Song Contest from the show's 50-year history are to compete against each other to celebrate the contest's anniversary.
Viewers will choose 14 past songs to be performed by the original artists or others in the spirit of the originals. Past Eurovision performers include Abba, Celine Dion, Bucks Fizz, Nana Mouskouri, Lulu and Julio Iglesias. Fans will then vote as usual to pick the all-time best Eurovision song during the show in Denmark in October. The first contest was organised by the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, in 1956, and has become an annual event pitting pop giants against musical minnows - with often surprising results.
While some regard it as an essential celebration of continental talent, others see it as an equally unmissable parade of the reasons some countries do not normally produce international stars. The 50th annual contest will be held in Kiev, Ukraine, in May, after Ukrainian singer Ruslana won last year. The 50th anniversary special will be held in Denmark later this year because the Danish Broadcasting Corporation came up with the idea for the all-time contest. A plan to hold it in London was scrapped because of problems finding a suitable venue. Ireland has been the most successful country in the show's history with seven victories, followed by the UK, France and Luxembourg with five each. | entertainment |
UK TV channel rapped for CSI ad
TV channel Five has been criticised for sending "offensive" and "threatening" advertising material to viewers for a new show about murder scene scientists.
Five mailed thousands of fake dossiers including photos of murder victims and an e-mail suggesting the recipient was being stalked by a serial killer. Following complaints, the Advertising Standards Authority contacted Five to cease promotion of crime show CSI:NY. Five admitted it had sent out 55,000 promotion packs but had now stopped. The promotion material was sent in brown envelope of the type used by investigators in the series, a spin-off from the highly successful CSI: Crime Scene Investigation series, which also runs on Five. The pack also features pictures of forensic evidence from a crime scene and a wanted poster, which did have a CSI:NY logo printed in large at the bottom.
Five said it had received 100 complaints but that it had been surprised at the reaction because it was "obvious this material is promoting a drama". A Five spokesman said: "In light of the efforts we have made to make the nature of the contents so transparent we are surprised a very small minority of recipients have mistaken it as anything else. "Everyone who was sent this promotion has expressed an interest in receiving details about this particular genre of programming on various websites. "We have also received emails and calls from recipients praising the originality and imagination of the campaign." | entertainment |
X Factor show gets second series
TV talent show The X Factor is to return for a second series after being recommissioned by ITV.
Judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne are in discussions to sign up for the new series. The final of the first series will take place on 11 December. Last Saturday's show was beaten in the ratings by the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. "Working on the X Factor has been a blast... I predict series two will be even better," said Cowell. "I think the production team have done an amazing job," he added.
The Pop Idol-style show votes off a group or contestant every week - the two that receive the lowest public vote have to perform a second time before the judges make a final decision. Rowetta Satchell, Steve Brookstein, Tabby Callaghan and group G4 are the remaining finalists. ITV's controller of entertainment, Claudia Rosencrantz, said she had no hesitation in recommissioning the show. "There's much more to come this series as we build towards the final next month and it's great to have secured this terrific format for our viewers for another series," she said. | entertainment |
Alicia Keys to open US Super Bowl
R&B star Alicia Keys is to open February's Super Bowl singing a song only previously performed there by Ray Charles and Vicki Carr.
Keys, who will sing America the Beautiful, will be accompanied by 150 students from the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. Charles, who died last year, attended the school as a child in 1937. Keys said she was "very excited", describing Charles as "an artist I admire, miss and respect". "I know that this is going to be a very touching and memorable moment," she said.
It will be her first performance at the Super Bowl, which will be watched by millions in the US on 6 February. Sir Paul McCartney will provide the half-time entertainment in the slot filled by Janet Jackson last year. Organisers have promised there will be no repeat of her nipple-baring incident that sparked thousands of complaints on US TV's most-watched broadcast. A National Football League spokesman said they were "comfortable" this show would be acceptable to a mass audience. The game and show were watched by 144 million people in the US in 2003.
Twenty CBS-owned TV stations were fined $550,000 (£300,000) by the country's TV regulatory agency after more than 542,000 complaints were made about Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction". Sir Paul said: "There's nothing bigger than being asked to perform at the Super Bowl. "We're looking forward to rocking the millions at home and in the stadium." | entertainment |
'Comeback' show for Friends star
Friends actress Lisa Kudrow is to play the lead role in a new series about a one-time sitcom star, according to the Hollywood reporter.
Thirteen episodes of Comeback have been commissioned by cable channel HBO, home of hits such as Sex And The City. Kudrow, who played Phoebe in Friends, co-wrote the pilot episode and will also act as executive producer. HBO has been looking for its next big comedy hit since Sex And The City drew to a close in the US in February. Comeback is the first 30-minute comedy series that the channel has picked up since the Sex And The City drew to the end of its six-year-run. Friends ended its 10-year run on the NBC network in May, and attentions have turned to which projects its six individual stars would pursue.
Matt LeBlanc is starring in a Friends spin-off sitcom, charting Joey's fortunes in Los Angeles as he pursues his acting career. Jennifer Aniston, who was Rachel in the long-running show, has enjoyed a series of successful film appearances, with further projects in the pipeline. Courteney Cox Arquette (Monica) has been working on a drama project along with husband David Arquette for HBO, called The Rise And Fall Of Taylor Kennedy. Matthew Perry, who played Chandler, has appeared on the West End stage, and has a film, The Beginning Of Wisdom, currently in production. And David Schwimmer (Ross) directed during his time on Friends, and has also worked on Joey. | entertainment |
Hillbillies singer Scoggins dies
Country and Western musician Jerry Scoggins has died in Los Angeles at the age of 93, his family has said.
Scoggins was best remembered for singing the theme tune to popular US TV show The Beverly Hillbillies. The Texan-born singer approached the producers of the programme with theme tune The Ballad of Jed Clampett for the pilot which was screened in 1962. The show, which told the story of a poor man striking oil and moving to Beverly Hills, ran until 1971.
Scoggins' daugher Jane Kelly Misel said that her father never tired of the song and would sing it at least once a day. "He'd sing it at birthdays and anniversaries and variety shows. He never stopped performing it," she said. When a film version of The Beverly Hillbillies was made in 1993, Scoggins came out of retirement to perform the theme tune. Scoggins sang the lyrics while bluegrass stars Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs played guitar and banjo. | entertainment |
Branson show flops on US screens
Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's US TV show, The Rebel Billionaire, is proving a flop in the ratings.
The programme suffered poor viewing figures on its debut on the Fox network three weeks ago, and has lost one in five of its viewers since then. The show is seen as Fox's answer to The Apprentice featuring tycoon Donald Trump, a ratings hit for rivals NBC. Sir Richard's show sees a group of young entrepreneurs compete to become the president of his business empire. The Rebel Billionaire has averaged five million viewers and is 91st in the rankings of all prime-time shows. The Apprentice, which has already completed its first season, is still managing to pull in 16 million viewers, while its prime-time ranking is number four.
But Fox has said it plans to stick with Branson's show throughout its 12-episode run. "It's going to remain on the air," said the network's spokesman Scott Grogin. "Creatively we're extremely pleased with the show and hope the audience will find it," he added. Contestants on Sir Richard's show are confronted with business tasks to solve, similar to The Apprentice. They are also subjected to stunts like walking a plank suspended in mid-air. The Rebel Billionaire has marketed itself as a less materialistic version of The Apprentice, with Sir Richard shown jumping out of a taxi, while Trump is seen in a limousine. | entertainment |
Housewives lift Channel 4 ratings
The debut of US television hit Desperate Housewives has helped lift Channel 4's January audience share by 12% compared to last year.
Other successes such as Celebrity Big Brother and The Simpsons have enabled the broadcaster to surpass BBC Two for the first month since last July. BBC Two's share of the audience fell from 11.2% to 9.6% last month in comparison with January 2004. Celebrity Big Brother attracted fewer viewers than its 2002 series.
Comedy drama Desperate Housewives managed to pull in five million viewers at one point during its run to date, attracting a quarter of the television audience. The two main television channels, BBC1 and ITV1, have both seen their monthly audience share decline in a year on year comparison for January, while Five's proportion remained the same at a slender 6.3%. Digital multi-channel TV is continuing to be the strongest area of growth, with the BBC reporting Freeview box ownership of five million, including one million sales in the last portion of 2004. Its share of the audience soared by 20% in January 2005 compared with last year, and currently stands at an average of 28.6%. | entertainment |
McCririck out of Big Brother show
Racing pundit John McCririck has become the latest contestant to be evicted from Celebrity Big Brother.
He was nominated to leave the Channel 4 show by fellow housemates, alongside Happy Mondays dancer Bez. At one time Bez was among the most popular contestants but he has since become withdrawn and argumentative. McCririck was ordered to leave the house on Monday, following Jackie Stallone, the actor Sylvester's mother, who was first to be evicted. Bez reacted badly to the news that he had been nominated by five of his fellow housemates, whilst John received four votes against him. Sylvester Stallone's ex-wife Brigitte Nielsen nominated both John and Bez. She said: "Bez is a difficult human being. There's something wrong with him. Even though he's making an effort, he's not very happy in here." Former Holby City actor Jeremy Edwards said he had nominated Bez after he became agitated on Friday night and talked about escaping over the wall to go clubbing. He said Bez was being "loopy" and "stressed". According to bookmaker Ladbrokes, John McCririck was 1/3 favourite to be evicted on Monday while Bez was at 9/4 . McCririck faced the public vote on Friday and received 67% of the vote to keep him in the house, whilst Jackie Stallone was evicted. | entertainment |
Chris Evans back on the market
Broadcaster Chris Evans has begun selling thousands of his possessions from a stall in Camden Market, London.
Evans perched on a stool as shoppers wandered around the open-fronted shop packed with his furniture. Among the items from his homes in Los Angeles and London were countless sofas, chairs, pictures, beds and memorabilia from his past TV shows. Asked the reason for the sale, Evans said: "I just want to get rid of it all, it's just a headache." He added: "It feels good to be selling this stuff, it's a weight off my mind. "Look at it all, there's so much clutter. I've enjoyed every bit of furniture and every poster but it's not important anymore." The normally gregarious Evans cut a peculiarly unshowbusiness-like figure as he sipped coffee and smoked cigarettes, wrapped in a big coat and scarf in front of his Aladdin's cave.
However, the ostentation of some of the items on sale painted a picture of the eccentricity that endeared him to the British public in shows such as Channel 4's gameshow Don't Forget Your Toothbrush. The most striking thing about many of the pieces was their sheer size. Sofas looked like they could seat a small party and a bed seemed big enough for four. The elaborate nature of the pieces, many custom-made, had to be admired, particularly a huge red and gold upholstered "throne" and a stripy deckchair from the Queen Mary liner.
To help people in their browsing, Evans had given the pieces labels with not only the price but a helpful, often comic, aside. "Isn't it great" was the comment on the £1,950 throne and "Bob Dylan's old sofa - honest" was written on a dark wood couch priced £4,250.
The prices were steep by a lot of people's standards but Evans said it was not deterring shoppers. "I've sold quite a lot already. Everything here is on sale for less than I bought it for but it's not really about the money. It's about getting rid of it all. We've all been bartering, that's what it's all about." He added that he was not going to reveal what he was going to do with the money he was making. Vintage TV and film posters also lined the walls, including a rare portrait of Raquel Welch and an original advertising print from the Benny Hill Show. And, almost hidden at the back of the lock-up, were the two giant toothbrushes from his former Channel 4 show, although these were not for sale.
Despite the sheer curiosity value of the sale, there was a healthy trickle of interest from the public rather than the perhaps expected crowds. Some wandered in just to browse, as they would any of the other stalls, not knowing that it belonged to Evans.
Paul Burgess said: "I didn't realise. I thought it was just a load of junk. I should go back and have a better look." But local resident Francesca Detakats came specially to the stall and left happy with her purchase of an original 1960s photograph of The Who by David Wedgburg. Ms Detakats said she was a collector and did not mind paying £350 for the print. "If you like something, you don't really count it like that," she said.
Martin Hellewell, who had also made a point of visiting Evans' shop, said he thought it was a great idea. "Why not, if you've got stuff to get rid of it's a good place to do it," said Mr Hellewell. Evans has taken out the stall with business partner Pete Winterbottom. They plan to open every day if possible, although Evans did not know how often he would be there. "We'll stay definitely until Christmas and then maybe a week after that," said Evans. | entertainment |
Top stars join US tsunami TV show
Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro and Hugh Grant have been added to the line-up for a two-hour US TV special to raise money for victims of the Asian tsunami.
Andy Garcia, Lucy Liu, Natalie Portman and Jay Leno are also among the new names for Saturday's Tsunami Aid. They will join A-list singers Madonna, Sir Elton John, Nelly and Usher plus actors Kevin Spacey, Halle Berry and George Clooney on the NBC broadcast. Viewers will be urged to phone in to make donations throughout the night. Norah Jones, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Maroon 5, Mary J Blige and Eric Clapton will give musical performances on the show described as "A Concert of Hope".
Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Douglas, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore and Tim Robbins are among the other movie superstars due to put in an appearance. George Clooney recently reacted angrily to a TV host's suggestion that not all funds raised would go towards tsunami relief. Fox TV's Bill O'Reilly said he would be "watching to see if the money gets to the tsunami victims" and warned the celebrities taking part "had better be involved all the way down the line". But Clooney accused O'Reilly of creating a fuss for his own personal gain, saying viewers may now be "afraid that their money will do no good".
He urged O'Reilly to co-present the TV special, adding in a letter: "We're not playing games here, we're trying to save lives. It's as simple as this - you're either with this joint effort or against it." Organisers say all funds will go to the American Red Cross. The commercial-free benefit show will also be aired by a string of cable broadcasters and Clear Channel's radio stations across the US. In addition, performances will be available to buy on the internet as downloads from Sony's Connect music store. A similar TV benefit carried by all four primary US TV networks after the 11 September terror attacks raised more than $150m (£80m).
- The Bangkok International Film Festival got under way on Thursday in the Thai capital in the shadow of the country's 5,300 deaths from the tsunami. The red carpet gala opening night was ditched in favour of a more subdued first night. Six different films were shown at six cinemas, with all money from ticket sales going to charity. | entertainment |
Star Trek fans fight to save show
Star Trek fans have taken out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times in an attempt to persuade TV executives not to scrap Star Trek: Enterprise.
Made by the UPN TV network, the latest spin-off from the hit sci-fi show is due to end in May after four series. But fans around the world have pitched in to pay for the advert, which had the headline "Save Star Trek". They are also asking the Sci-Fi Channel to pick it up from UPN and will stage a rally in Los Angeles on 25 February.
The advert described the Star Trek franchise as a "cultural icon". Enterprise stars former Quantum Leap actor Scott Bakula as Captain Archer and is set before the original 1960s Star Trek series. "Captain Archer and the crew of the NX-01 need your help to continue their journeys!" the advert said. It also included a cut-out coupon for fans to send to UPN's parent companies Paramount and Viacom plus the Sci-Fi Channel. It also urged supporters to join the rally outside the Paramount studios.
Fan website Trek United is hoping to raise $32m (£17m) from donations by the end of March to pay for a fifth series. More than $23,000 (£12,000) has been pledged so far, according to the site. The 98th and final episode of Star Trek: Enterprise will air in the US on 13 May. The fourth series has averaged 2.9 million viewers per episode - half the amount it got in its first series. Star Trek: Enterprise began in 2001 following other Star Trek spin-off series The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager. | entertainment |
Top of the Pops leaves BBC One
The BBC's flagship pop music programme Top of the Pops is to move from BBC One on Fridays to Sundays on BBC Two.
The new programme will combine with archive show TOTP2, mixing new music with footage of classic bands. The corporation said the new show "aims to appeal to a diverse audience of music lovers". The move is the biggest shake-up in the history of the show, which was first broadcast in 1964 and has always been on BBC One. Top of the Pops was relaunched in a blaze of publicity in December last year in an attempt to reverse a long-term decline in audience figures.
The All New Top of the Pops was fronted by newcomer Tim Kash and was put together by producer Andi Peters, who was brought back to the BBC from Channel 4 to revitalise the series.
About three million people a week were watching the show on Fridays - less than half the total it was attracting in the mid-1990s - as the programme went up against popular ITV soap Coronation Street. But despite the relaunch audience figures failed to rise and still remain around the three million mark. Tim Kash has since been replaced as host by Fearne Cotton. The new show will launch in Spring next year in an extended format. BBC Two controller Roly Keating: "It's an exciting new era for Top of the Pops. We want to make it bigger and better so that it becomes the ultimate pop music show for music lovers of every generation." Mr Keating described BBC Two as the "natural home" of Top of the Pops. He added: "The addition of Top of the Pops will also extend BBC Two's offering to younger audiences."
A BBC spokeswoman said Andi Peters would continue as executive producer on the show. She said that issues over the exact format of the programme and a time slot were still to be decided. The programme will have a close relationship with the BBC Radio 1 chart show, which suggests the relaunched show may be transmitted at about 1900 on Sundays. "Hopefully the audience for Top of the Pops will find it on BBC Two. "We think that the new slot will create a buzz around the programme as for the first time viewers will discover the news of who is number one as it happens." | entertainment |
Oscar host Rock to keep it clean
Oscar host Chris Rock said he will steer clear of bad language when he fronts the awards on 27 February.
The comedian, who recently got into trouble for poking fun at the ceremony, is renowned for his heavy use of expletives during his stand-up routine. The live ceremony will be broadcast with a transmission delay on US network ABC to ensure swear words are removed. "I've been on TV and been funny not cursing," he said during an interview for CBS network's 60 Minutes show. "As far as content is concerned, I will talk about the movies. I'm not really worried about it. I'm sure ABC might be more worried about it than me," he added.
The 40-year-old comedian caused a furore when he said in an interview with US magazine Entertainment Weekly recently that he hardly ever watched the Oscars and labelled awards ceremonies "idiotic". The show's producers defended Rock and confirmed that he would still be presenting the Oscar ceremony, saying his comments were "humorous digs". Meanwhile, the Academy has announced that Oscar-nominated actress Natalie Portman will present an award at the ceremony. Portman, who has been nominated for a best supporting actress gong for her role in Mike Nichols' Closer, joins a growing list of stars set to bestow an award at the ceremony including Dustin Hoffman, Drew Barrymore, Renee Zellweger and British-born actress Kate Winslet. | entertainment |
Johnny and Denise lose Passport
Johnny Vaughan and Denise Van Outen's Saturday night entertainment show Passport to Paradise will not return to screens, the BBC has said.
The ex-Big Breakfast presenters were recruited to host the BBC One family variety show last July. "There are currently no plans for another series," a spokeswoman said. She added the pair "brought a real warmth to Saturday night, but in the end we felt we had done enough with the format of the show".
Passport to Paradise involved a combination of games and outside broadcasts with a high level of audience participation. The first instalment attracted more than 4.1 million viewers - but that had dropped to fewer than 2.7 million by the time it ended. The BBC spokeswoman said Graham Norton's Strictly Dance Fever would be a priority for 2005. "That's very much on the cards for next year, and we're concentrating at the moment on Strictly Come Dancing, which is doing phenomenally well," she said. | entertainment |
Double eviction from Big Brother
Model Caprice and Holby City actor Jeremy Edwards have both left the Celebrity Big Brother house in a surprise double eviction on Friday.
Caprice, who left in the scheduled fourth eviction having gained just 5% of the public vote, afterwards said: "I am so happy, I am so glad I'm out." Edwards then left in a surprise eviction, with 12% of the vote. Nineteen-year-old Blazin' Squad singer Kenzie is currently favourite to win the £50,000 charity prize. Caprice had been the pre-show favourite to be voted out of the house, with bookmakers Ladbrokes offering odds of 1/5 on her departure. Ladbrokes spokesman Warren Lush had said she was "the hottest eviction favourite so far this series".
Odds on Kenzie's victory have been slashed from 4/6 to 1/2, although bookmakers have said they are not ruling out a late rally from former Happy Mondays star Bez. The other remaining housemate is actress Brigitte Nielsen. DJ Lisa I'Anson became the third housemate to be voted out on Wednesday when she became the victim of a surprise eviction during a game of hide-and-seek on the Channel 4 show. I'Anson said she was "glad to be out" and predicted that Kenzie would emerge as the winner. The winner is due to be announced on Sunday night. | entertainment |
Celebrities get their skates on
Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne will join EastEnders' actress Scarlett Johnson on BBC One's Strictly Ice Dancing.
The one-off Christmas special will also star television presenter Carol Smillie and Jessica Taylor from Liberty-X. Each celebrity will be paired with a professional skater to impress a panel of judges and win the audience vote. The BBC is yet to confirm the final two stars who will battle it out to become Ice King or Queen.
Veteran presenter Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly will host the programme, which follows hot on the heels of the current Saturday night series Strictly Come Dancing. The celebrities will have to practise a stipulated ice dance and perform it at an ice rink with their partner. The judges will have 50% of the vote to decide who wins the contest, with the ice rink audience making up the rest of the vote. The show forms part of the BBC's festive schedule. Ice skating duo Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are to front a similar celebrity ice dance show for ITV, titled Stars on Thin Ice. The contestants on Stars on Thin Ice will each be paired up with a professional skater and will learn a new routine every week. At the end of the series, one celebrity will be crowned the winner. | entertainment |
Holmes wins '2004 top TV moment'
Sprinter Kelly Holmes' Olympic victory has been named the top television moment of 2004 in a BBC poll.
Holmes' 800m gold medal victory beat favourite moments from drama, comedy and factual programmes, as voted by television viewers. Natasha Kaplinsky's Strictly Come Dancing win was top entertainment moment and a Little Britain breast feeding sketch won the comedy prize. The 2004 TV Moments will be shown on BBC One at 2000 GMT on Wednesday. Double gold medal winner Holmes topped the best sports moment category, beating Maria Sharapova's Wimbledon triumph and Matthew Pinsent's rowing victory at the Olympics.
She then went on to take the overall prize of Golden TV Moment. The sight of former royal correspondent Jennie Bond with dozens of rats crawling over her in ITV's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here was named best factual entertainment moment. Michael Buerk's return to Ethiopia, 20 years after originally reporting its famine, topped the factual category for BBC programme This World. Long-running soap EastEnders won the best popular drama moment title when character Dot confided in Den Watts that she was unwell. | entertainment |
Veteran comic Cyril Fletcher dies
Veteran comedian and broadcaster Cyril Fletcher has died aged 91 at his home in Guernsey.
Fletcher will be remembered for his "odd odes" and amusing misprints on TV show That's Life in the 1970s and 80s, as well as a long variety career. He was also a regular on Does the Team Think?, a comic version of radio information show The Brains Trust. That's Life host Esther Rantzen said he was "so lovely" and a "delight" to work with. "The thing about Cyril was that he was, to use a slightly old-fashioned phrase, an English gentleman," she said. "He was courteous, and understated, and he adored gardens, particularly creating them for his beautiful wife.
"He was funny and witty to work with. He was a real friend and I shall miss him." One of the last comedians of old-time variety era, Fletcher made his first TV appearance in 1937. A year after BBC Television began, he was seen reciting humorous poems, appearing in a revue, Tele-Ho, and playing the Emperor of Morocco in the first televised pantomime, Dick Whittington. He went on to become a regular voice on radio, have a string of TV shows in the 1950s and appear in several films, including 1947's Nicholas Nickleby. He married actress Betty Astell in 1941 and in the 1950s and 60s, they produced pantos and summer shows, discovering new stars including Harry Secombe. In the mid-1990s, Fletcher said he had made a "fabulous living" since the age of 22 and had never had a day out of work.
He was most recently seen presenting a gardening programme for Channel TV. Fletcher was described as a "consummate professional" by his friend and fellow broadcaster Michael Pointon. "It really was a pleasure to work with him - he had met everyone and done everything," Mr Pointon said. "He was a whimsical, droll fellow, but also a very artistic man. As a friend, he was very kind, and generous." Fletcher's daughter Jill said her father would be sorely missed. "He was greatly loved by the public," she said. | entertainment |