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Little Britain vies for TV trophy
BBC hits Little Britain and Strictly Come Dancing are among numerous British shows nominated for the prestigious Golden Rose television awards.
Homegrown reality programmes dominated that category, including Channel 4's Supernanny and ITV1's Hell's Kitchen. EastEnders and Coronation Street were overlooked in the soap category, but Doctors and Family Affairs gained nods. The festival, which honours the best TV from around the globe, will take place in Lucerne, Switzerland from 3-8 May.
Little Britain, which is now in its second series, faces competition from BBC Two's The Catherine Tate Show and Sacha Baron Cohen's creations Borat and Bruno. In the separate sitcom category, dark comedy Nighty Night - which began life on BBC Three - will do battle with mainstream BBC One show My Family.
BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, which saw celebrities compete against each other to become champions of the dancefloor, is among five British nominations in the varirty category. Lenny Henry, who won a Golden Rose for his In Pieces series in 2001, picks up another nomination for his recent BBC show. British television music shows have picked up six nominations, with BBC Three's Flashmob - The Opera up against the UK Music Hall of Fame series, which was screened on Channel 4. British television has performed very well in the arts and specials category, gaining a total of 11 nominations. The BBC leads the way with its programmes on The Sound of Music, Agatha Christie and Rolf On Art - The Big Event - which saw Harris lead an effort to produce a life-size painting in London's Trafalgar Square.
British shows - which picked up a total of 48 nominations - will have to overcome competition from a host of other countries, including the US, Canada, Japan and across Europe. UK nominee TV Diaries, which is shown around the world, is owned by a British company but has yet to be screened in this country. Previous UK winners have included Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Pop Idol, Channel 4 show Faking It and comedy duo French and Saunders, who became the first winners to receive and honorary Golden Rose. Individual performers will also be rewarded, with prizes for best comics, best sitcom actor and actress and best gameshow host. Last year actor Shane Richie won an award for his portrayal of Alfie Moon in EastEnders. | entertainment |
Springer criticises Opera musical
Talk show host Jerry Springer, whose programme inspired the controversial opera shown by the BBC, has said he would not have written it himself.
The BBC received 47,000 complaints before the musical was broadcast, and protesters demonstrated outside BBC buildings across the UK. Springer helped launch the West End show and attended the opening night. "I wouldn't have written it. I don't believe in making fun of other religions," he said.
The TV host said he understood how people could have thought the musical had gone too far. "You know, on our TV show if people use inappropriate language we bleep it out, if there's nudity we cover it up, so that viewers at home don't get to see any of this," he said.
Asked whether he thought the BBC should have screened the controversial musical he said: "I don't know if they should have had it on television but, good Lord, if you don't like what's on television, that's why God gave us remote controls. "My show is about dysfunctional people and I defy anyone to watch the show and suggest to me the people on it aren't to some degree dysfunctional."
"If I did a show about the war in Iraq, it wouldn't make me a warmonger, I would just be doing my job to report on the war. "In the case of my show, it's my job to report on the dysfunctions that take place in society." The British-born presenter is in London to speak at a fundraising dinner for the United Jewish Israel Appeal. The dinner, on Tuesday, is expected to be attended by more than 800 guests. | entertainment |
CSI shows give 'unrealistic view'
People have unrealistic expectations of forensic science thanks to the success of the CSI TV shows, real experts say.
Evidence submitted to forensic labs has shot up as a result of the programmes, at a time when many have large backlogs, science investigators claim. Lawyers also fear the effect because jurors have a distorted view of how forensic evidence is used. The issue was discussed at a major science conference in Washington DC. Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) and its spin-offs, CSI: Miami and CSI: New York, have proven exceptionally popular with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Each episode, a team of forensic investigators goes about solving a crime through the ingenious appliance of science - and the extensive resources at their disposal. "The CSI effect is basically the perception of the near-infallibility of forensic science in response to the TV show," said Max Houck, who runs a forensic science graduate course at West Virginia University, US. "This TV show comes on and everyone starts watching it - including the cops and prosecutors - and submissions to forensic laboratories go through the roof," he told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The American forensics expert said there were roughly 200,000-300,000 backlogged DNA samples in US labs. Yet these constituted just 10% of the total test backlog, said Dr Houck. Forensic pathologist Dr Patricia McFeeley said she had started to see the show's influence in dealing with the families of victims. "What I find is that families now are more dissatisfied with the investigation than was previously the case," she explained. "For example, on television, the toxicology results are available almost instantaneously. But when people find out that it can take several months, they can find that very difficult."
Dr McFeeley added that the accuracy with which forensic investigators can determine time of death was far lower than most people's perceptions. The show's influence can follow forensic investigators all the way into the courtroom, making lawyers jittery. "Prosecutors fear the CSI effect with juries because, for example, they wonder: 'why wasn't everything tested?' Well, in fact, not everything needs to be tested," Dr Houck explained. "Defence attorneys also worry about the CSI effect because they think that jurors come in and have this view of science as a juggernaut; this objective method that's always accurate." However, he admitted the show had had positive as well as negative effects on the field. "My university course started with four graduates in 1999; we're now the largest major on campus - with 400 students," he said. Dr Houck added that there was an urgent need for better funding of forensic science at the university level: "There's more money spent in this country on holistic medicine than there is on forensic science research." | entertainment |
Ethnic producers 'face barriers'
Minority ethnic led (Mel) production companies face barriers in succeeding in the film and television industries, research has suggested.
The study, commissioned by Pact and the UK Film Council, included interviews with industry experts and individuals. They indicated that career progression and a lack of role models are among the main problems within such companies. The research indicated that about 10% of independent production companies in the UK are minority ethnic led.
A minority ethnic led company is defined as one in which the majority of decision-making power rests with an individual or individuals from a minority ethnic group. The report also explored the problems faced by such companies when attempting to compete within the film and TV industries. It said they are often smaller than other companies and lack the resources, so are often squeezed out of the market by bigger firms. The research recommended that minority ethnic led companies could benefit from such positive actions as career training and business advice, plus improved communication within the film and TV sectors. "The UK has a rich and diverse culture and it is essential that it is reflected on film and television," said Arts minister Estelle Morris of the findings. "I welcome this report which I hope will lead to more doors being opened and all businesses in our film and television industries being given the same opportunities." | entertainment |
US TV special for tsunami relief
A US television network will screen a celebrity TV special to benefit the tsunami relief effort in South Asia.
NBC will encourage viewer donations during an hour-long show featuring musical performances on 15 January. Actress Sandra Bullock has donated $1m (£525,000) to The American Red Cross and actor Leonardo DiCaprio pledged a "sizable" aid contribution to Unicef. Meanwhile 70 Hong Kong music and movie stars re-recorded We Are the World in Mandarin and Cantonese to raise funds.
The song will not be released as a single, but will be played regularly during a Chinese telethon on Friday in aid of victims of the Boxing Day disaster. Around 140,000 people were killed and five million left homeless or without food and water after an earthquake below the Indian Ocean sent waves crashing into coastal communities in 11 countries.
The United Nations warned that the number killed in the disaster could rise sharply, with aid yet to reach some remote areas. Performers have yet to be confirmed for NBC's aid relief benefit later this month. It follows a two-hour telethon carried by all four major US television networks 10 days after the 11 September terror attacks in 2001. America: A Tribute to Heroes raised more than $150m (£79m) to help victims of the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. | entertainment |
Gervais writing Simpsons episode
The Office's Ricky Gervais is writing an episode of hit US cartoon The Simpsons, following an invitation from its creator Matt Groening.
Gervais has already begun writing the script but is keeping its subject matter a closely guarded secret. He will also write a part for himself in the episode. "I've got the rough idea but this is the most intimidating project of my career. The Simpsons is the greatest TV show of all time," he said. Groening recently heaped praise on The Office, saying: "Everybody on The Simpsons is a fan of The Office - it's one of the best shows on TV in the last decade." Gervais has already said he would not guest star in the show as his Office character David, having left him behind for good in the Christmas specials. The Office became a surprise US success when it was screened on cable channel BBC America. The first series won two Golden Globes in 2004 for best comedy and best TV actor for Gervais.
In winning it beat the likes of Sex and the City and Will and Grace. An American version was produced, but so far only a pilot has been broadcast - to much criticism that it failed to live up to the original. At the British Comedy Awards on Wednesday, Gervais was handed a special achievement award for writing. But The Office missed out in the best comedy show category to Little Britain. Matt Groening was also at the awards to collect the award for best international comedy for The Simpsons. | entertainment |
John Peel replacement show begins
The permanent replacement for late DJ John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show goes on air on Tuesday, with three hosts chosen to fill the legendary presenter's slot.
Rock DJ Huw Stephens will go on air in the 2300 slot every Tuesday, with black music champion Ras Kwame on Wednesdays and dance DJ Rob Da Bank on Thursdays. Rob Da Bank filled in after Peel had a heart attack aged 65 in October. All three will play "diverse, unpredictable and non-commercial" songs under the banner of the OneMusic show.
Radio 1 said the station was not trying to replace Peel, but would rise to the "challenge" of "keeping his legacy alive" with unpredictable music. The three DJs were chosen for their "in-depth musical knowledge across a variety of musical genres", the station said.
Rob Da Bank is one of the hosts of The Blue Room, an early morning weekend show which plays electronic and dance music. Huw Stephens has been one half of the Thursday night show Bethan and Huw in Wales, which explores new music, especially up-and-coming acts in Wales. And Ras Kwame is host of 100% Homegrown on Radio 1's digital station 1Xtra, dedicated to showcasing the best hip-hop and garage. Another change to the station line-up will see Sara Cox return after maternity leave. She will host the lunchtime show on Saturdays from this week.
Good luck to all three of them, not one DJ could fill Peels boots so it's probably a good idea to get them all contributing. This time next year I hope we are saying how well these DJs have done, but I fear this time next year we will really realise how much John Peel will be forever missed.
Very good idea to continue the legacy without attempting to replace John Peel. Also, there will surely be a wider spectrum for international music as three top radio DJs unite under the One World name. Congratulations!
The whole glory of John Peel was the fact he was not commited to one genre. He played what he liked across the range of music.... this is not going to be the same, and all they seem to be doing is what they already have. Bring back Steve Lamacq.
The obvious heir to John Peel is the marvellous, wonderful and talented Claire Kember from totallyradio.com. This lady is young and fresh and is one of the most knowledgeable and likeable people in British broadcasting today. Everyone who listens to her show understands and compares her to the ledgendary John Peel. BBC Radio should seek out the real talent from internet radio stations, people who are making a real impact on the world of music and the world in general. | entertainment |
Brookside actress Keaveney dies
Actress Anna Keaveney, who appeared in Brookside, My Family and A Touch of Frost, has died of lung cancer aged 55.
Keaveney, who played Brookside's Marie Jackson when the Channel 4 soap began in 1982, died on Saturday. Born in Runcorn, Cheshire, she also starred in numerous films including 1989's Shirley Valentine. She played Nellie in Mike Leigh's latest film Vera Drake, which won the Golden Lion prize for best film at this year's Venice Film Festival.
And most recently she appeared alongside Richard Wilson in ITV's King of Fridges and with Martin Clunes in Doc Martin. Other TV appearances included the part of Matron in ITV drama Footballers' Wives and a cameo role as Tom Farrell's mother Sheila in BBC comedy Gimme Gimme Gimme. Keaveney's career also included stage performances in Neaptide for the National Theatre, Private Lives and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. The actress died in hospital. Her agent Barry Brown said: "Anna was due to have had another operation on Friday but unfortunately she was too weak." | entertainment |
£1.8m indecency fine for Viacom
Media giant Viacom has paid out $3.5m (£1.8m) to end investigations into indecency in its US radio and TV shows.
The settlement to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ends a long-running saga dating back to 2001. The FCC was looking into 50 shows, including those by "shock jock" Howard Stern and two New York DJs. Stern recently announced he was leaving Viacom while the two DJs were sacked after their show featured a couple purporting to have sex in a church. After the church incident two years ago Viacom agreed to install audio delay equipment at its radio stations that broadcast live programming.
It also agreed to train its broadcasters and employees about indecency laws. The agreement cancels investigations into about 50 radio and television shows, said Richard Diamond, FCC deputy secretary of communications. The shows were broadcast by Viacom-owned stations across the United States. Viacom has five days to pay the $3.5m fine, according to the agreement. The payment is not related to the FCC's $550,000 (£293,000) fine levied against Viacom after the exposure of singer Janet Jackson's breast during the CBS Super Bowl halftime show in January. Viacom is contesting that fine. It is not the first time that Viacom has paid out over indecency charges. Infinity Broadcasting, which is owned by Viacom, paid cumulative fines totalling $1.7m (£907,000) in 1995 to settle FCC violations by Stern. | entertainment |
Celebrities get to stay in jungle
All four contestants still remain in I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here as no evictions were made on the television show on Saturday.
Contestants Paul Burrell, Joe Pasquale, Janet Street-Porter and Fran Cosgrave were told by hosts Ant and Dec. Natalie Appleton's decision to quit the show last Monday had given them all a stay of execution, the group were told. Model Sophie Anderton was the last person to be voted off the ITV1 show, set in the Australian jungle. The four remaining stars will do a joint Bushtucker Trial on Sunday.
Former All Saints singer Natalie Appleton,31, walked out of the show after learning she would face a fifth so-called Bushtucker Trial. The celebrities are chosen by the viewers to pass trials in order to win food for the rest of the camp. Appleton had endured a torrid time during the programme, including a well-publicised row with Sophie Anderton. And on 26 November singer Brian Harvey quit as a contestant after he had a blazing row with Janet Street-Porter. | entertainment |
Triple triumph for Little Britain
Top TV cult hit Little Britain has triumphed over The Office at the 15th annual British Comedy Awards.
The BBC show beat The Office Christmas Special in the best TV comedy category and took the people's choice award. Matt Lucas and David Walliams also jointly won best TV comedy actor over The Office creator Ricky Gervais, who won a special award for writing. It was also a good night for Ant and Dec who clinched two awards, including best comedy entertainment personality. The Geordie duo also secured best comedy entertainment programme for Saturday Night Takeaway, beating I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, which they also host, and the BBC's Have I Got News For You.
The ceremony was presented by Jonathan Ross from ITV's London Studios headquarters on the capital's South Bank. Little Britain began life as a radio series on Radio 4, with Walliams and Lucas playing a range of misfit characters from an alternative Britain. It was later commissioned for BBC Three, where it proved a huge success, with the second series also shown on BBC One. After receiving his award for best TV comedy actor with Walliams, Lucas said: "It's a great honour to be nominated alongside Ricky Gervais and Martin Clunes."
The show also won the people's choice award, which is the only gong on the night voted for by viewers. Speaking after receiving the award for best comedy, Walliams said: "It was a real shock but I don't think we deserved to beat The Office which is a great show and more than just a comedy. It's a beautiful piece of work." Gervais and The Office co-writer Stephen Merchant received a special award for writing, presented by Noel Gallagher and Tom Stoppard. Gervais said: "The show has won an awful lot of awards in the last couple of years, too much. It's got embarrassing to be honest." Other winners at the awards included Caroline Quentin, who took home best TV comedy actress for Life Begins and Von Trapped.
Catherine Tate, from The Catherine Tate Show, was also nominated for the same award, but she did walk away with best comedy newcomer, over James McAvoy from Shameless (Channel 4) and Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding from The Mighty Boosh (BBC Three). Nighty Night was named Britain's best new TV comedy over ITV1 shows Doc Martin and Life Begins. But Doc Martin won best TV comedy drama, over Jonathan Creek (BBC One) and Shameless. Winner in the best international comedy category was The Simpsons, beating Sex and the City and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The prize was accepted by Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, who also received an outstanding contribution award from scientist Stephen Hawking, who has been featured in the series. School of Rock was voted best comedy film beating Shaun of the Dead and Shrek 2.
Matt Lucas & David Walliams (Little Britain, BBC Three)
Caroline Quentin (Life Begins/ Von Trapped, ITV1)
Ant & Dec (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway/ I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!, ITV1)
Catherine Tate (The Catherine Tate Show, BBC Two)
Nighty Night (Baby Cow Productions, BBC Three)
Little Britain (BBC Three)
Doc Martin (Buffalo Productions, ITV1)
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (Granada, ITV1)
The Simpsons (Twentieth Century Fox, BBC Two/Sky One/Channel 4)
School Of Rock | entertainment |
BBC 'should allow more scrutiny'
MPs have urged the BBC to give watchdogs more freedom to scrutinise how £2bn in licence fee money is spent.
The Public Accounts Committee called for the National Audit Office to be given a "free hand" to investigate how the BBC offers value for money. Although six areas are to be opened up to scrutiny the audit office should have more power to choose what it investigated, the MPs said. The call was made in a report into the BBC's Freeview digital service. "Our aim is not to rewrite the storyline of EastEnders but simply to ensure that the BBC is as accountable to parliament as any other organisation spending public money," said the committee chairman, MP Edward Leigh. "The BBC's spending is not subject to the full independent scrutiny, and accountability to parliament. "Parliament requires television owners to pay a licence fee and expects the comptroller and auditor general, on behalf of parliament, to be able to scrutinise how that money, over £2 billion a year, is used."
A BBC spokeswoman said: "We share the committee's interest in ensuring the public money we receive is spent well. Though in its infancy, we think the arrangements with the NAO are working well and should be given time to mature." The report said the Freeview digital service has had an "impressive" take up since its launch but the BBC must still dispel confusion about the service. The committee found the BBC had succeeded in ensuring subscription-free access to digital channels following the collapse of ITV Digital in 2002. But the fact that one in four homes could not access Freeview remained a problem.
The report said that while gaps in the coverage were largely due to landscape issues, there was need for detailed explanations on the Freeview website and on promotional literature as to why it was not available in specific areas. The government has proposed switch off of the analogue television signal, with 2012 the most recently proposed date. The BBC launched Freeview in 2002 as an alternative to satellite subscription services such as Sky, to allow its digital channels such as BBC Three and News 24 to be seen. There have been an estimated five million Freeview set-top boxes sold since the launch and prices have fallen considerably. The corporation plans to spend up to £138m on Freeview before 2014 to ensure people can receive the service throughout the UK, and are aware of it. | entertainment |
Greer attacks 'bully' Big Brother
Germaine Greer has criticised Celebrity Big Brother's "bullying" of housemates after quitting the reality TV show.
She said "superior" bullying tactics, like making housemates cold and hungry, could encourage playground bullying. She also condemned the "complete irresponsibility" of adding Brigitte Nielsen's former mother-in-law Jackie Stallone to the house on Monday. Nielsen had panicked that if she reacted badly it could harm her access to her children, Greer said. The feminist writer and broadcaster said Big Brother had behaved "like a child rather than a parent" by taunting contestant John McCririck after denying him a cola drink. "I thought it was actually demonstrating the role of taunting in the playground and there are so many children whose lives have actually been destroyed by taunting in the playground," Greer said. She also said that her fellow housemates had publicity-seeking "agendas".
"I had no idea who would be in here and it's wrong for me to present myself in the same context as they are." Media observers had been surprised by Greer's initial decision to join the third celebrity version of the Channel 4 reality TV show, given that she has written critical articles about the format in the past. As she packed her suitcase to leave the house she told fellow housemates: "I'm leaving over specific issues, but best for everyone if I don't discuss them. "I have a problem with decisions, I make them fast and when I make them, I stick to them." Greer had earlier failed to persuade other contestants to stage a naked protest against Big Brother.
Other celebrities to walk out of a reality show TV include Sex Pistol John Lydon, former EastEnders actress Danniella Westbrook and ex-E17 singer Brian Harvey who all left I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. Previous Big Brother housemates to leave before their time were Sunita Sharma and Sandy Cumming from the third series of the non-celebrity version of the show.
VOTE Was Germaine Greer right to leave Celebrity Big Brother? Yes No Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinion
Happy Mondays dancer Bez is now 2-1 favourite to win the show, followed by Blazin' Squad singer Kenzie at 5-2 and actor Jeremy Edwards at 4-1. Ladbrokes spokesman Warren Lush said that the series was still "wide open", adding that the last 24 hours had also seen a rush of bets on McCririck slashing his odds to 8-1. DJ Lisa I'Anson is the outsider with odds of 40-1, while Jackie Stallone, who joined the house on Monday, is also one of the less popular housemates at 20-1. The first eviction of the series has now been postponed after Greer's exit unexpectedly reduced the number of competitors. The eight remaining contestants are competing for a £50,000 prize, to be donated to the charity of their choice, if they survive a series of public votes. For every 50p vote cast by viewers by telephone or text during the programme's run, 9p will go to a tsunami charity appeal. | entertainment |
No charges against TV's Cosby
US comedian Bill Cosby will not face charges stemming from an allegation of sexual misconduct.
Authorities in Philadelphia said they found insufficient evidence to support the woman's allegations regarding an alleged incident in January 2004. The woman reported the allegations to Canadian authorities last month. Cosby's lawyer, Walter M Phillips Jr, said the comedian was pleased with the decision. "He looks forward to moving on with his life," he said. District Attorney Bruce L Castor Jr, who was in charge of the case, said that detectives could find no instance "where anyone complained to law enforcement of conduct which would constitute a criminal offence.
He also said that the fact the woman waited a year before coming forward, and she had had further contact with Cosby during that time, were also factors in his decision. The unidentified woman's lawyer, Dolores M Troiani, said her client was likely to sue the comedian. "I think that's the only avenue open to her. She felt, as we did, that it's a very strong case and she was telling the truth." She also said that the woman supplied further evidence to prosecutors that she believed strengthened her allegations. Cosby emerged as one of the first black comics to have mainstream success in the US. He was a successful stand-up before hosting the children's show Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and starring in The Cosby Show, one of the biggest sitcoms of the 1980s. | entertainment |
Wife Swap makers sue US 'copycat'
The British producers of US Wife Swap are taking legal action against a show they claim is "a blatant and wholescale copycat" of their programme.
RDF Media, which makes the show for US network ABC, has filed a damages claim for $18 million (£9.25 million) against Fox's Trading Spouses. ABC bought the rights to the British show, which was first aired in 2003 and became a hit on Channel 4. The US network is not part of the claim, but has supported RDF's action. "We respect our producing partners' right to protect their intellectual property in whatever manner they deem most appropriate," said ABC in a statement. A spokesman for Fox said it had not seen the details of the legal action and could not comment.
Their show was first screened in June, and was criticised in the press for its similarities to Wife Swap. ABC originally planned to call their programme Trading Moms, but changed it to avoid confusion with the Fox version. Earlier this year, the NBC network claimed that Fox's boxing show The Next Great Champ had been hurriedly produced to ensure its programme was the first to be screened. NBC alleged that boxing regulations had been violated, but failed in their attempt to have the show pulled. The Fox show proved a ratings flop, while NBC's The Contender is due to begin in February. | entertainment |
Show over for MTV's The Osbournes
Rock star Ozzy Osbourne has said his family will not make any more episodes of reality TV show The Osbournes.
"At the end of it I didn't like having cameras around the house all the time," the Black Sabbath singer told reporters at the MTV Europe Awards in Rome. His wife Sharon, who also appears in the popular MTV show based on the Osbournes' family life, agreed. "Now everybody's doing reality shows. He's done it, he's been there, he's got to do something else," she said.
Ozzy Osbourne said he had had enough of the work involved in making the series. "When you watch a 25-minute episode, I've been filming all day," he said. Sharon Osbourne is currently appearing as a judge and mentor in ITV1 talent show The X-Factor alongside Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh.
Earlier this year she topped a poll of the most important people in rock, for her part in guiding the career of husband Ozzy and her family. She was the driving force behind The Osbournes, which ran for three series, earning the family a reported $85m (£46m). The renewed popularity for Ozzy has seen sales of his merchandise hit the $50m (£27.2m) mark, a record for a heavy metal artist. Sales of T-shirts, accessories and action figures have rocketed since The Osbournes hit screens. At its peak, The Osbournes had a regular audience of eight million, with America's TV Guide magazine describing the series as "a cross between The Simpsons and This Is Spinal Tap". Osbourne himself was at a loss to explain its popularity: "I suppose Americans get a kick out of watching a crazy Brit family like us make complete fools of ourselves every week." | entertainment |
Jungle TV show ratings drop by 4m
The finale of ITV1's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here drew an average of 10.9m viewers - about four million fewer than the previous series.
The fourth series of the show peaked on Monday at 11.9m and 49.2% of the audience, just before Joe Pasquale won. This compared with a peak of 15.3m at and a record 62.2% of the TV audience when Kerry McFadden won in February. Comic Pasquale beat former Royal butler Paul Burrell who came second, nightclub owner Fran Cosgrave, who was third. Pasquale follows Kerry McFadden, Phil Tufnell and Tony Blackburn as winners of the show.
Singer and TV presenter McFadden was the show's first female winner. When cricketer Phil Tufnell won in May 2003, 12.3 million people - 50% of the viewing public - tuned in to watch. And when Tony Blackburn won the first show in 2002, 10.9 million people saw the show. Pasquale had been the show's hottest ever favourite to win, and its hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, known as Ant and Dec, said Monday's deciding vote was the closest in the programme's history.
Pascuale has been flooded with offers of TV work, according to his management company, but one of his first jobs on his return is pantomime.
Before joining I'm a Celebrity, he had signed up to play Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk in Birmingham, and tickets for the show have become increasingly popular since he joined the TV show. His manager Robert Voice said: "We've had interest from different TV producers. Some are for comedy shows, some are new-type projects. "There are a number of things Joe wants to do. He is very ambitious. "He wants to play the West End and do different things other than straightforward comedy. We are talking to a couple of West End producers about a musical." | entertainment |
Duran Duran show set for US TV
Chart stars Duran Duran are to appear in a VH1 special in the US including interviews and concert footage.
The show airs on Tuesday and will feature a studio performance, behind the scenes footage and fan interviews. "They seemed like a perfect fit with our audience," said Rick Krim, VH1's vice president of music and talent. The band recently released a new album, Astronaut, the first from the original line-up since 1983. They will also tour Japan and the US next year.
"When we started playing together, we didn't try and make a really sort of mature album. We just really wanted to make a great Duran Duran album," said keyboard player Nick Rhodes. "It's pretty much in line with a lot of stuff out there." Duran Duran are currently promoting the album's second single, What Happens Tomorrow.
Simon Le Bon said earlier this year that the group were not trying to update their sound too much. "We wouldn't want to lose them [older fans] by trying too hard by trying to connect with a new audience," the singer said. Le Bon also said the five members were getting on very well. "We're like any people who get very close. Sometimes you argue with each other. But the fact is we inspire each other musically. "Nobody else does it for me," he said. "It's just very special." | entertainment |
US show sued for rat-eating stunt
A US TV network is being sued for $2.5m (£1.3m) by a viewer who says he was disgusted by watching contestants eat dead rats in a stunt show.
Austin Aitken is taking action against NBC over its programme Fear Factor. He said watching the show caused his blood pressure to rise so high that he became dizzy and light-headed. The legal assistant said NBC was "sending the wrong message to viewers that cash can make or have people do just about anything beyond reasoning". The hand-written, four-page lawsuit said: "To have the individuals on the show eat and drink dead rats was crazy and from a viewer's point of view made me throw-up as well as another in the house at the same time." Mr Aitken, who lives in Cleveland, said that after becoming light-headed, he ran towards the bedroom and knocked his head in a doorway. A spokesman for NBC said it had no comment on the lawsuit, but confirmed the stunt show did feature a rat-eating scene in New York's Times Square on 8 November. Past shows have featured viewers eating spiders and live worms. The programme has been screened in the UK on Sky One. | entertainment |
Muslim group attacks TV drama 24
A British Muslim group has criticised the new series of US drama 24, which is about to be aired on Sky One, claiming it portrays Islam unfairly.
The Muslim Council of Britain has complained to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom. It says the programme breaches editorial guidelines. The group's members met with Sky executives on Tuesday after viewing previews of the first five episodes. The drama, now in its fourth series, begins on Sunday evening. The new series portrays a Muslim family as a sleeper terrorist cell. The Muslim Council of Britain said in a statement: "We are greatly concerned by the unremittingly hostile and unbalanced portrayal of Muslims in this series of 24 based upon a preview of the first five episodes that we have seen." "There is not a single positive Muslim character in the storyline to date. At a time when negative stereotypes of Muslims are on the increase we feel that Sky - as a major UK broadcaster - has a responsibility to challenge these insidious views, not help to reinforce them." But Sky denied the programme breached broadcasting guidelines. A spokesperson said: "During a useful meeting yesterday, Sky listened to the concerns raised by representatives of the council. Sky does not believe that the episodes that it has reviewed to date breach Ofcom's programme code." Fox TV, which shows the series in the US, is broadcasting public service announcements showing Muslims in a positive light after complaints about the series. | entertainment |
Brookside creator's Channel 4 bid
The creator of defunct TV soap Brookside has written to the culture minister to offer to buy Channel 4.
Phil Redmond, now chairman of Mersey TV, told Tessa Jowell he would run it with its current remit intact for the next 10 years. But media watchdog Ofcom has said the the commercially funded public service broadcaster will not be privatised. A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said there were no plans to sell the channel.
He added that primary legislation would be required for the station to be sold off, which the government was not intending to introduce. Brookside was axed in 2003 after its ratings slumped from a peak of seven million to just 1.5 million. Redmond also brought teen soap Hollyoaks to Channel 4 and created Grange Hill, the school-based drama serial which was first broadcast on BBC One in 1978. He was awarded the CBE for services to drama earlier this year. | entertainment |
Little Britain two top comic list
Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams have been named the most powerful people in TV comedy, in a poll by listings magazine Radio Times.
The duo kept Phoenix Nights creator Peter Kay at number two and The Office star Ricky Gervais in third place. A Radio Times panel compiled the list, taking the comedians' critical acclaim and financial success into account. Newcomers to the annual list included Nighty Night star Julia Davis at seven and Black Books' Tamsin Greig at 19.
Lucas and Walliams won numerous awards for Little Britain in 2004, including National Television, Royal Television Society and British Comedy awards. More than 1.8 million people watched the first episode of the latest series of Little Britain on BBC Three in October, giving the digital channel its highest rating ever.
They topped the Radio Times list after rising from 10th position last year. Other big risers over the past year included presenting duo Ant and Dec at five, up from 13 in 2004, Stephen Fry rising nine places to 15 and BBC Three controller Stuart Murphy, who moves to number 18 from 32 last year. Last year's winner, chat show host Graham Norton, fell to number 16 following relatively few television appearances in 2004. Production companies also featured in the top 50, including Steve Coogan's Baby Cow, which created Nighty Night among others, Hat Trick - behind The Kumars at Number 42 - and The Vicar of Dibley production company Tiger Aspect. | entertainment |
TV show unites Angolan families
Angolan families who are attempting to track each other down, after being separated by nearly 30 years of war, are succeeding thanks to a hugely popular TV show.
Meeting Point has become one of TV Angola's most watched programmes, and has reunited hundreds of families. It runs daily, not only on the television but also on the radio. Every Friday, hundreds of people gather in Luanda's Independence Square to record a message in front of the TV cameras, in the hope that a lost relative will see it. Many relatives have been reunited on air. "At the beginning there was an absolute explosion - huge, huge crowds," Sergio Gera, the programme's chief co-ordinator, told BBC World Service's Assignment programme. "Now things are a little calmer, there are slightly less people - but, after two and a half years of broadcasting, there are still a lot of people going."
The media in the southern African country, twice the size of France, has been gripped by the quest of so many people to find their relatives. Hundreds of thousands of people died in Angola's 30-year civil war, which finally ended in 2002, and tens of thousands of people are still missing. Many have not heard anything for 10 or more years - in all, 90% of Angolan families have lost someone.
The idea of recording in Independence Square was modelled on a square in the Argentine capital Buenos Aries, where mothers go to talk about the dead and the missing, and to exchange news. One woman, Victoria Lapete, found her sister - the only remaining member of her family - in Independence Square live on Meeting Point. She had not seen her sibling for 28 years. "When we saw each other, we threw ourselves into each other's arms," she told Assignment. "We started to cry. I felt very, very happy, because I'd spent so long without any family. Suddenly I had a sister again." However, Angola is one of the poorest countries in Africa, and the number of people with access to either a television or radio is comparatively few. This means that elsewhere in the country, the task of reuniting families lies primarily with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In the city of Wambo, the ICRC runs the Gazetta - a 200-page, tabloid-size book which contains 13,000 names of missing or displaced.
Their task is made much harder by the huge number of landmines dotted around the country. "It's very difficult - there are many displaced," stated Joaquim Sahundi, head of tracing in Wambo.
"As they try to go back [home], others are trying to relocate their relatives. Many people are getting injured because of that - in the villages, in the bush, there has been no clearance of mines. "When people are crossing these areas, they step on mines." The ICRC also uses the media where it can, running four daily broadcasts of their lists of the missing on Radio Angola. Meanwhile, there remain massive challenges to Angolan families even once they are reunited. "The programme of family reunification is extremely important, but for these families to remain reunified, there has to be social integration, job access, education, healthcare," said Rafael Marques of the pro-democracy George Soros Foundation for Southern Africa. "Essentially the government is waiting for the international community to pay for the reconstruction - that's why it has been persistently calling for a donor's conference. That is just a way of detaching itself from its political responsibilities." | entertainment |
Volcano drama erupts on BBC One
Supervolcano, a docu-drama about a volcanic eruption in Yellowstone National Park in the US, is among the highlights on the BBC One this winter.
The £178m winter schedule also includes the return of Doctor Who and a drama about Angela Cannings, who was wrongly convicted of killing two of her babies. Sarah Lancashire and Timothy Spall will star in the real-life drama, Cherished. ITV also unveiled their festive season on Tuesday, which includes Stephen Fry in a remake of Tom Brown's Schooldays. Supervolcano, follows in the footsteps of last year's Pompei, which drew 10 million viewers to BBC One in October 2003.
The programme merges science, drama and computer imagery to reveal what could happen if Yellowstone - home to the only currently active supervolcano in the world - were to erupt again. BBC Two will run a two-part documentary, The Science Behind Supervolcano, in conjunction with the transmission. Other educational highlights include a documentary about infamous Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan and Grandchild of The Holocaust. Grandchild of The Holocaust, part of the BBC commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day, follows Adrian, 13, on a journey to uncover the truth about what happened to his grandmother in Auschwitz and Belsen.
New drama includes Archangel, an adaptation of the Robert Harris best-seller, which stars Daniel Craig on the trail of Stalin's diaries in Communist Russia. And Sarah Waters' gets her second adaptation on BBC One with Imelda Staunton and Charles Dance lined up to star in Fingersmith. The adaptation, about a conman in Victorian England, will make an interesting contrast to Julie Burchill's Sugar Rush - a lesbian teenage drama part of Channel Four's winter season. On a lighter note, Jessica Stevenson will star in new BBC One sitcom, The World According to Bex, penned by My Family creator Fred Barron and the Two Ronnies return for a celebration of their classic comedy series.
Fry's portrayal of headmaster Dr Arnold dominates a muted Christmas schedule on ITV1, which sees the channel retreat from broadcasting blockbuster movies in favour of extended soap episodes and popular quiz shows.
Sir Paul McCartney, wife Heather Mills and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will join a celebrity edition of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? on Christmas Day. Also on Christmas Day, John Nettles will return in a one-off edition of Midsomer Murders, while two episodes of the new Miss Marple drama will air over the festive period. Films on ITV1 include Gus Van Sant's Finding Forrester, starring Sean Connery, and classics such a Mary Poppins, Star Wars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. In contrast, BBC's Christmas season includes terrestrial debuts of the first Harry Potter film, Shrek and Steven Spielberg's AI, as well as new epipsodes of the Vicar of Dibley and the final Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. | entertainment |
South Bank Awards honour hit soap
Coronation Street has become the first soap to triumph at the South Bank Show Awards, which traditionally reward highbrow and groundbreaking culture.
The soap beat fellow ITV1 show Filthy Love and Channel 4's Shameless to win the best TV drama prize on Thursday. Little Britain was named best comedy while Franz Ferdinand beat Morrissey and The Libertines to the music award. Shane Meadows' Dead Man's Shoes picked up the best film award, beating Shaun of the Dead and My Summer of Love. The two award ceremonies reflect the achievements the industry believes have been made in the last year.
In 2004, Coronation Street pulled away from its BBC One rival EastEnders in the ratings and dominated other TV awards. Last year, the South Bank Award for best TV drama went to Steven Poliakoff's period piece The Lost Prince, while Bloody Sunday, about the 1972 killings in Northern Ireland, won in 2003. In other South Bank categories, Little Britain's second series beat Nighty Night and The Green Wing to the comedy trophy while Alan Bennett's The History Boys won in the theatre category. Author David Mitchell made up for losing out in the Booker Prize to Alan Hollinghurst by beating him to the literary award with his book Cloud Atlas. Shameless, State Of Play and Clocking Off creator Paul Abbott got a lifetime achievement award while former Grange Hill actress Amma Asante won the breakthrough award for writing and directing her first film, A Way Of Life. | 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 BBC2 for the first month since last July. However the channel's share of the audience fell from 11.2% to 9.6% last month in comparison with January 2004. Celebrity Big Brother attracted less 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 |
Baywatch dubbed 'worst TV import'
Surf show Baywatch has won the title of worst TV import of all time in a poll of UK television executives.
The programme, which starred David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson during its 12-year run, was shown in 140 countries at its height. Model Anna Nicole Smith's reality show and The Dukes of Hazzard were runners-up in the Broadcast magazine survey. The Simpsons and Dallas and 24 were among the magazine's list of the best all-time imports from the US. Soap operas Knots Landing, Falcon Crest plus The Bold And The Beautiful all made the top 10 of Transatlantic TV howlers. The Jerry Springer Show, which came in at sixth on the list, did not fare well.
Broadcast magazine said: "British TV never realised how low it could go before Jerry showed the way." Baywatch rose to the top of the list for having "mind-numbingly predictable scripts: beachgoer is saved from drowning," according to the magazine. Just inside the all-time worst top 10 came Extreme Makeover, which sees members of the public given thousands of pounds worth of plastic surgery. Other American shows which won praise were The X-Files, I Love Lucy, Twin Peaks and Star Trek. | entertainment |
Stern dropped from radio stations
Controversial DJ Howard Stern has been dropped from four US radio stations because he keeps promoting his move to a network broadcasting on satellite.
Cidatel Broadcasting said Stern had transformed his show into a "continuous infomercial promoting Sirius, his new satellite radio employer". Stern will join the Sirius subscription service, which is not governed by US regulators, next year. Citadel pulled Stern's show from stations in New York and Pennsylvania. Stern had been holiday for two weeks but his show did not return to the four stations as expected on 3 January. Citadel said it did not yet know whether it would return to its network.
Stern announced in October that he was leaving conventional radio, where his syndicated show goes out across the US, for the relatively restriction-free satellite service. The DJ's broadcasts are well known for landing in trouble with regulators for obscene and sexually explicit rantings. Stern was dropped by six stations owned by media giant Clear Channel in 2004 after it had to pay the Federal Communications Commission $1.75m (£950,000), over breaches indecency laws. Media giant Viacom has also reportedly agreed to the FCC's demands that if Stern is issued with another indecency violation then his show must be pulled from all of its stations. Viacom has also been hit with record fines of $3.5m (£1.8m) over Stern and two other New York DJs. But Stern continues to be one of the most popular talk show hosts, particularly in the 25-54 age category. | entertainment |
US TV host Clark suffers stroke
Veteran US television host Dick Clark is in hospital in Los Angeles after suffering a mild stroke.
The 75-year-old presented long-running show American Bandstand from 1956-87 and has since hosted game shows and produced award ceremonies. Clark is scheduled to welcome in the New Year on the ABC network, a job he has done for 33 years. The presenter said that he is "hopeful" of getting better in time to lead the festivities in New York's Times Square. Clark's publicist Paul Shefrin said the television host was "recovering" and there was no cause for alarm. Clark, who produces the Golden Globe and American Music Awards, disclosed last year that he was suffering from diabetes.
His popular music show American Bandstand was first broadcast in 1952, and attracted an audience of 20 million people after it was picked up by ABC in 1957. The long-running weekly series, which featured guests including Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Aretha Frankin, came to an end in 1989. Clark was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 for his contribution to the music industry. He has also been responsible for television series such as TV Bloopers, Celebrity Boxing and drama American Dreams. Clark is also expected to act as executive producer for the upcoming Golden Globe Awards ceremony, which is taking place on 16 January. | entertainment |
New media battle for Bafta awards
The BBC leads the nominations for the Bafta Interactive Awards, including one for the Radio Times website and one for Sport Interactive's Euro 2004 coverage.
The awards, which were started in 1997, recognise the best websites, digital TV shows and CD roms. Other nominees include The Guardian news website, the National Theatre, MTV, the Science Museum and the London Stock Exchange. The winners from 12 different categories are crowned on 2 March 2005. There were nearly 400 entries this year - a third more than last year. The BBC has 16 nominations while The Guardian has three nominations.
"This year's nominees are a testament to the creative and innovative work going on within the industry," said Grant Dean, chair of the interactive committee. Categories include interactive TV, film, digital TV, mobile phones and music. Shaun of the Dead, Oasis' Definitely Maybe, Really Bend It Like Beckham, The Chaplin Collection and The Day Today will battle it out in the DVD category.
ITV's Great British Spelling Test takes on the BBC's Olympics and Spooks Interactive for the interactive TV award. And the Guardian takes three of a possible five nominations in the news and sport category for its website coverage of Euro 2004, the Tour de France and the US elections. The BBC's iCan site is up for the technical and social innovation award alongside the likes of Nottingham University's Uncle Roy All Around You. In 2002, the British Academy of Film and Television decided to split the awards into separate games and interactive ceremonies, to fully cover the range of innovation outside the gaming industry. | entertainment |
Bets off after Big Brother 'leak'
A bookmaker has stopped taking bets on Celebrity Big Brother after claiming "sensitive information" about the Channel 4 show had been leaked.
William Hill made the move after four people tried to place bets on Friday's surprise double eviction. "This is highly unlikely to have been an inspired guess," William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said. However, a Big Brother spokeswoman was "satisfied" that sensitive information about the show remained confidential.
The bookmaker said its suspicions had been aroused by betting for the last two contestant evictions, when people were still trying to place large sums despite odds as short as 1/14. But William Hill's "overwhelming evidence" came on Friday when four unknown callers asked to place bets on the show's surprise double eviction.
Shortly afterwards model Caprice and actor Jeremy Edwards left the show. Mr Adams believed someone had gained access to figures which revealed how viewers were voting, and was using them to predict which celebrity would be evicted next. "We think somebody somewhere has got them and has been trying very hard to take us to the cleaners," he said. The bets were not taken. Mr Adams did not believe anyone from Channel 4 or Big Brother producer Endemol had tried to place the queried bets. But he added: "They need to look at how many people are privy to the sensitive information."
Big Brother's spokeswoman said: "Only a handful of senior production executives are privy to any sensitive information regarding eviction voting and there are strict procedures in place to keep this information strictly confidential. "We do not feel the need to investigate this further as we are satisfied that these measures are effective." The show's independent adjudicator - the Electoral Reform Services - was also satisfied, she added. The current series of Celebrity Big Brother ends on Sunday, with Happy Mondays star Bez, actress Brigitte Nielsen and Blazin' Squad rapper Kenzie competing for a £50,000 charity prize.
Bookmaker Ladbrokes said it would continue to accept bets on the final, with Kenzie its favourite at 2/9. "We felt no need whatsoever to close the book," spokesman Warren Lush said. "We've seen absolutely no suspicious betting patterns." Mr Lush added that people sometimes vote on short odds "because they think it's like buying money". "You do have to risk quite a lot of money for a very small gain but if they think there's no chance of an upset they will still do it," he said. | entertainment |
School tribute for TV host Carson
More than 1,000 people turned out on Sunday to pay tribute to late US TV presenter Johnny Carson in the Nebraska town where he grew up.
Carson, who hosted the Tonight Show for 30 years, died on 23 January from respiratory disease emphysema. He lived in Norfolk, Nebraska from the age of eight until he joined the Navy, but returned regularly and donated $5m (£2.7m) to local causes. Old school friends were among the crowd at the school's Johnny Carson Theater.
Carson, who was one of the best-loved TV personalities in the US, asked not to have a public memorial in Los Angeles, where he lived in later life. He began his showbusiness career in Norfolk, performing magic under the name The Great Carsoni from the age of 14. His donations included $600,000 to Norfolk High School in the 1980s to build a new performing arts centre. When Carson died, President Bush led the public tributes, saying the presenter "had a profound influence on American life and entertainment". | entertainment |
Singer Ferguson 'facing eviction'
Three Degrees star Sheila Ferguson is the favourite to be evicted from ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here on Monday.
Bookmakers Ladbrokes says the singer has even odds of being the first contestant to be voted off the show. "It's going to be close but Sheila is favourite as she has shown herself to be a bit of a troublemaker," said Ladbrokes' Warren Lush. Comic Joe Pasquale remains odds on favourite to win the reality show. Mr Lush added that Nancy Sorrell's chances of an early departure had increased since the surprise arrival of husband Vic Reeves in the jungle camp last Wednesday. Notwithstanding, comedian Reeves remains 3/1 favourite to win the show, after Pasquale.
Huggy Bear actor Antonio Fargas also remains a contender for eviction having "done nothing to live up to the pre-show hype". "There has been a big gamble on Natalie [Appleton] to go... but bookies fancy the millions at home will keep piling on the misery by putting her through more bushtucker trials," added Mr Lush. The former All Saint star has performed dismally in bushtucker trials which have seen her plunged into glass tanks containing putrid waste and challenged to eat fish eyes. On Friday, Ladbrokes suspended betting after singer Brian Harvey quit the show folllowing a blazing row with Janet Street-Porter. Harvey, who entered the camp a day later than other contestants after learning that his grandmother had died, reached the end of his tether following days of meagre rations and rows. | entertainment |
Farrell due to make US TV debut
Actor Colin Farrell is to make his debut on US television in medical sitcom Scrubs, according to Hollywood newspaper Daily Variety.
The film star, who recently played the title role in historical blockbuster Alexander, will make a cameo appearance as an unruly Irishman. The episode featuring the 28-year-old will be screened on 25 January. Farrell's appearance is said to be a result of his friendship with Zach Braff, who stars in the programme. It will be the actor's first appearance on the small screen since he appeared in BBC series Ballykissangel in 1999. The gentle Sunday night drama came to an end in 2001.
He has since become one of Hollywood's fastest-rising stars, with a string roles in major league films such as Minority Report, Phone Booth and Daredevil. Farrell is pencilled in to play the role of Crockett in a film version of 1980s police drama Miami Vice. Scrubs, which appears on the NBC network in the US and has been shown on Channel 4 on British television, is an off-beat comedy about a group of hospital doctors. Other film stars to have appeared in Scrubs include Heather Graham, while Friends actor Matthew Perry has guest-starred and directed an episode of the show. Its leading star, Zach Braff, has recently been seen on the big screen in Garden State, which he also directed. | entertainment |
Stallone evicted from Big Brother
Jackie Stallone, mother of actor Sylvester, has become the first star to be evicted from Celebrity Big Brother.
She and John McCririck faced the public vote on Friday - 67% of people voted to keep the racing pundit in the house. Stallone, 71, appeared not to have enjoyed her time in the house saying: "I'm a total wreck, I need a vacation, this was a nightmare". But she was pleased to have patched things up with actress Brigitte Nielsen, her former daughter-in-law. "That alone was worth $1m," she said. Stallone joined the Channel 4 show on Monday as a surprise for Nielsen. She was hot favourite to be evicted first, with odds of 1/4 to leave.
But McCririck has made some enemies with his outspoken views about women. Ladbrokes spokesman Warren Lush said: "We may have underestimated the power of the anti-McCririck brigade, but it's so hard to call with him, there are people out there who either love him or hate him, there is no middle ground." The bookmakers have made former Happy Mondays dancer Bez favourite to win the show at 7/4, while Blazin' Squad singer Kenzie is second at 2/1. "Bez has wooed the viewers and looks the one to beat, he's kept his nose clean and doesn't take anything too seriously," Mr Lush said. Earlier on Friday 15 protesters from the Fathers 4 Justice campaign group were arrested after entering the Big Brother compound at 0300 GMT and throwing fireworks. Feminist icon Germaine Greer quit the show earlier in the week over what she called "bullying" tactics used by the programme's producers. The show is currently attracting an average audience of about 4.2 million viewers a night. | entertainment |
Fox 'too reliant on reality TV'
The head of US TV network Fox has admitted the broadcaster had relied too heavily on reality TV shows such as the poor-rating Who's Your Daddy.
Chief executive Gail Berman said "in the case of this fall we drifted to too much on the unscripted side". The series Who's Your Daddy, where a young woman tries to pick her natural father for a cash prize caused outrage from adoption groups and rated badly. Last season, Fox's prime-time audience fell by 600,000 to 5.9 million. Ms Berman said: "I think the audience expects loud things from Fox. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't."
Who's Your Daddy, the first episode of which was shown on 3 January, pulled in a disappointing audience of 6.3 million, according to the Nielsen ratings system. Five other episodes of the show had also been filmed will be dropped from Fox's schedules, Ms Berman said. She was predicting a drop in ratings even for some of the network's established reality shows, such as American Idol, which is due to start its fourth series this week. Fox had unveiled a new strategy last year promising to launch new shows every season, including the traditionally quiet summer season. Though that had met with a poor reception, Ms Berman said "there's no question that the audience, in our mind, is ready, willing and able to accept new programming in the summer". Fox has changed this plan, launching new shows in May instead of June. One of the new shows will be the animated series American Dad, made by Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy. That series, after becoming a hit on DVD, is also set to return with new episodes. | entertainment |
George Michael to perform for BBC
George Michael is to perform live at London's Abbey Road studios as part of a BBC Radio 2 special next month.
The session, which will broadcast on 18 December, will also see him talk about how his biggest hits came about. Michael's appearance is part of the station's Sold on Song initiative, which explores the art of songwriting. The station also confirmed that Chris Tarrant will be hosting a one-off New Year's Eve programme. He left London's Capital FM this year after 17 years. The former breakfast show host - who attracted some of the highest ratings in Britain, despite only broadcasting to London - will offer his own individual take on the year in the two-hour show. "This should be great fun," Tarrant said. "I've had a fantastic year and I know that lots of other people have as well. I'm definitely looking forward to being on Radio 2." Other Christmas specials from Radio 2 include singer Jamelia hosting a Christmas Day concert from the London Community Gospel Choir, while actor Christopher Lee will read Fireside Tales from the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, E Nesbit and Ambrose Bierce. Comedian Harry Hill will host a spoof nostalgia show on Christmas Day, while singer Jamie Cullum will perform a live concert for the station. | entertainment |
Joy Division story to become film
The life of late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis is to be made into a film, it has been announced.
The Manchester-based production is called Touching From A Distance, after a book by Curtis's widow Deborah which forms the basis for the film. Music mogul Tony Wilson, who headed the record company Joy Division were signed to, will be co-executive producer. The musician committed suicide in 1980 aged 23, shortly before the band were due to go on tour in the US. Mr Wilson, who has remained friends with Curtis's widow and daughter Natalie, who he says asked for his involvement to make the film "official". "People have different ideas as to why Ian committed suicide, so maybe the film will reflect those different views," he told the BBC News website.
Plans for a separate Joy Division film had been announced at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, but the project did not get off the ground as it failed to get the backing of Curtis's family. Mr Wilson, who was also involved with Joy Division's sucessor band New Order, as well as the Happy Mondays, said he would "rather not" appear in the film. He made a cameo appearance in 24 Hour Party People, in which his leading role was played by Steve Coogan. "I'm not an actor and I did a lousy job playing my part in 24 Hour Party People," said the Factory Records founder, who has been associated with the Manchester music scene since the 1970s. "Film people have a tendency to mess up when they touch music, but I hope this one works.
"This is much more than the music - they want to do the real story of Ian," he said. The film is to be directed by Dutch-born Anton Corbijn, who has made music movies for Depeche Mode and U2. It will be produced by a US production company, while the widow of Ian Curtis will also be an executive producer. | 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. Alison Howe, producer of TV show Later... With Jools Holland, booked the group to appear the day after seeing them at a west London pub.
"They played like they were headlining the main stage at Glastonbury," she said. "Great songs, a good look, a touch of attitude and a cracking live band."
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 |
Aaliyah claim dismissed by court
Late R&B star Aaliyah's record company has failed in an attempt to sue the video producer who booked the ill-fated flight on which she died in 2001.
A New York appeals court has told Blackground Records that only the singer's parents had the right to launch a claim for wrongful death. The 22-year-old singer's family came to an undisclosed settlement over a negligence claim in 2003. Aaliyah had completed a music video when the plane crashed in the Bahamas. She and eight others were killed on the plane, which crashed as if left for Florida. Blackground Records' lawyer Frank Penski said he had yet to examine the decision and did not know whether they would pursue the case.
An investigation into the crash revealed the twin-engined Cessna was overloaded by 700 pounds (320kg). A post-mortem carried out on the remains of the pilot showed there was cocaine and alcohol in his body. Aaliyah was a rising star in music and film before she was killed. She was honoured with a string of posthumous awards and her single More Than A Woman went to number one in the UK. | entertainment |
Three DJs replace Peel radio show
The late John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show is to be succeeded in February by three shows hosted by three DJs focusing on diverse, non-commercial music.
Huw Stephens, Ras Kwame and Rob Da Bank will each host the mid-week, late-night timeslot, showcasing UK talent. Radio 1 said the show would not try to replace Peel, but would rise to the "challenge" of "keeping his legacy alive" with unpredictable music. Peel died after suffering a heart attack in Peru in October. Radio 1 said the three DJs had been chosen for their "in-depth musical knowledge across a variety of musical genres". Rob Da Bank has been hosting The John Peel Show since the DJ's death. He is also one of the hosts of The Blue Room, an early morning weekend show that plays a mix of old and new electronic and dance music. Huw Stephens is currently one half of the Radio 1 Thursday night show Bethan and Huw in Wales, which explores new music, especially up and coming acts breaking through in Wales. And Ras Kwame is the host of 100% Homegrown on Radio 1's digital station 1Xtra. His show is dedicated to showcasing the best of UK black music and broadcasts live sessions, often giving new artists their first chance to perform on live national radio.
All of the three DJs will continue to host their current shows on Radio 1. "It is widely accepted that John Peel can never be replaced," said the radio station. It added that One Music would support both signed and unsigned talent, and said: "It will seek out those making music for music's sake rather than for commercial success. "Above all it will provide support to emerging genres of music and styles that have not yet and may never reach the mainstream."
One Music is not new to Radio 1 as it already exists as a website, offering advice on aspects of the music industry, such as recording a demo and signing a record contract. Radio 1's controller, Andy Parfitt, said: "We believe that by having a series of DJs hosting a selection of shows under the One Music title, we will ensure that his legacy lives on." Stephens said he grew up "listening to John" and that it was a "massive honour" to continue Peel's work championing new music. The show will be broadcast from 1 February on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2300 GMT - 0100 GMT. | entertainment |
Connick Jr to lead Broadway show
Singer and actor Harry Connick Jr is to star in a Broadway revival of 1950s hit musical The Pajama Game.
He will play the supervisor of a US pyjama factory who has a romance with a union activist during labour unrest. Jeffrey Richards, the show's co-producer, said Connick was "an actor of enormous charisma and skill, a wonderful singer and a bona fide star". He has recently starred in hit US comedy Will and Grace as the husband of Grace, played by Debra Messing. The musical will open in November, said Mr Richards, who added that no other casting had been announced yet.
The original book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell will be revised by playwright Peter Ackerman, who co-wrote the screenplay for the movie Ice Age. It has a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, and Adler is writing two new songs for the score, which includes numbers including Hey There, Small Talk and Steam Heat. Connick appeared with his band on Broadway in 1990, and he wrote the score for a musical based on Emile Zola's novel Therese Raquin, called Thou Shalt Not. It had a three-month run on Broadway in 2001. | entertainment |
Elvis fans hold birthday bash
Elvis fans around the world have been marking the legendary singer's 70th birthday on Saturday.
A three-day Elvis convention took place in Blackpool, England, over the weekend with the aim of finding the best European Elvis impersonator. His Graceland, Tennessee, home was the focus for US celebrations with four days of events including a concert by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Elvis' single Jailhouse Rock became the UK's number one on Sunday. Fans in France celebrated with a tribute concert by Elvis cover bands and a special exhibition of memorabilia is on display in Bonn, Germany.
Jailhouse Rock is now the 999th number one single in UK pop history. Record company SonyBMG are releasing Elvis' 18 number one singles at the rate of one a week in Britain, complete with original artwork and a collector's box. Hit single One Night will follow next week - with the chance of becoming the 1,000th number one as interest surrounding Elvis' birthday grows. HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: "It would be a fantastic and truly fitting way to celebrate Elvis' landmark birthday." | entertainment |
Elvis regains top chart position
Elvis Presley has scored his 19th number one single in the UK charts with the re-release of Jailhouse Rock, 27 years after his death.
Elvis knocked X Factor winner Steve Brookstein down into second place after three weeks in the charts. In at number three was Iron Maiden for the Number Of The Beast and Erasure entered the chart at four with Breathe. Elvis's number one is the 999th in chart history and comes the day after what would have been his 70th birthday. Fans around the world held tribute events for the singer on Saturday, ranging from concerts to memorabilia exhibitions. Meanwhile, a poll carried out by royalty payments group the Performing Right Society found that The Wonder of You is the Elvis song most performed by live bands and tribute acts.
Record company SonyBMG are releasing Elvis's 18 number one singles at the rate of one a week in Britain, complete with original artwork and a collector's box. Hit single One Night will follow next week - with the chance of becoming the 1,000th number one as interest surrounding Elvis's birthday grows. Elsewhere in the singles charts, the Scissor Sisters went straight in at number five with Filthy/Gorgeous. Band Aid 20 slipped to six after seven weeks in the chart with Do They Know It's Christmas. The other two new entries are Dana Rayne with Object of My Desire at seven and Kasabian who are at number eight with Cut Off. Making up the top 10 are Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day, down three places to number nine, and Out of Touch by Uniting Nations, also down three places to 10. In the album charts, the Scissor Sisters went to number one with their self-titled release, knocking Green Day's American Idiot to third place. The Killers' album Hot Fuss moved up three to number two. | 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 |
Franz Ferdinand's art school lesson
Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand, who shot to prominence in 2004, have won two Brit Awards.
With their self-titled debut, Franz Ferdinand have achieved what most rock bands crave - high credibility and critical acclaim while also selling stacks of CDs. They have risen to the head of the UK's art rock ranks with an album of songs that are catchy, creative and original enough to sound fresh. With a cool, spiky, fun sound previously associated with bands like Talking Heads, they hit upon a style that had been out of fashion for a while and so was ripe for another airing. Their first UK single hit number three last January, followed by two more top 20 hits, while the album has sold more than 600,000 copies in 11 months on release. In September it was named album of the year winning the prestigious Mercury Music Prize.
On the festivals circuit, they have been one of the main attractions for huge crowds at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Reading/Leeds. They have also found success in Japan, Europe and the US. By September the album had sold 500,000 in the States and total sales were pushing two million worldwide. They have been nominated for three Grammy awards in the US as well as the US music industry's Shortlist award, but lost the Shortlist prize to US band TV on the Radio. Nevertheless Franz Ferdinand were the only UK band to win an MTV Video Music Award this year, taking the breakthrough video crown for Take Me Out.
The four-piece met two years ago when drummer Paul Thomson was working at the Glasgow art school where bassist Bob Hardy was studying. Singer Alex Kapranos was studying English at university but had friends at art school, and the line-up was completed when guitarist Nick McCarthy moved from Munich, Germany, to the city. At the turn of the year, Kapranos told BBC News Online the band were fed up with serious bands in "that post-rock thing that seemed to be doing its damndest to avoid any bloody tune".
"We want people to go away from the gigs humming the tunes that we were singing. But at the same time bringing an edge to it." Franz Ferdinand had a question they asked themselves every time they wrote a song, Kapranos said. "Where's the fun in that?" they pondered at every stage, making enjoyment the top priority and ensuring they did not disappear up their own muso posteriors. The band started out with a DIY ethic that saw them take over a disused art-deco warehouse in Glasgow and rename it The Chateau. The venue soon became legendary - so well-known that the police spent a month trying to find it, eventually raiding it and arresting Kapranos. But the charges of running an illegal bar and contravening health and safety, fire hazard and noise abatement laws were dropped.
The band took over an abandoned Victorian courtroom and jail instead, and named that The Chateau. The buzz about the band soon spread around the music industry and 40 record labels turned up to one gig in Glasgow - which the band thought was "totally ridiculous". "I'm really glad it was almost comical because we weren't overwhelmed by the seriousness of it," Kapranos said. They signed with independent label Domino, home of Smog, Sebadoh and Four Tet, in June 2003. | entertainment |
Singer Knight backs anti-gun song
R&B star Beverley Knight said she sang on an anti-gun single after being "haunted" by the fatal 2003 shooting of two teenage girls in Birmingham.
Knight and drum 'n' bass star Roni Size have released No More in a bid to reduce gun use among young people. She said she was "horrified" by the deaths of Charlene Ellis, 18, and Letisha Shakespeare, 17. Size, whose New Forms album won the 1997 Mercury Music Prize, said gun use was "nothing to be glamorised".
There were more than 10,500 firearms offences and 70 gun crime deaths in England and Wales between June 2003 and 2004, according to Home Office figures. Knight said the scale of the problem became clear to her after the 2003 shootings in Aston, near Knight's Birmingham home.
"It haunted me to be honest, it haunted my sleep," she said. Size became involved after two friends, Donna Small and Asha Jama, were shot in his Bristol hometown in October. Jama, 25, lost her sight in one eye while 22-year-old Small suffered serious head injuries. Size said he collaborated on the single, which was released on Monday, because he has "a bird's eye view of what's going on". "Over the last 10 years, I have seen a lot of things happen and it is nothing to be glamorised, it really isn't," he said. | entertainment |
Portishead back after eight years
Cult British group Portishead have revealed they are writing their third album, their first in eight years.
Founding member Geoff Barrow told BBC 6 Music the record was well on the way to being completed. "We're actually into it as we speak. We took some time off for Christmas, but generally we're doing another record," Barrow told the digital radio station. News of their album plans comes after confirmation the Bristol band will play a tsunami charity show next month. Portishead will play alongside fellow Bristol band Massive Attack at Oxfam's Tsumani appeal, held at the Bristol Academy on 19 February. Barrow said he was surprised people thought the band, who won a Mercury Music Prize in 1995 for their debut album Dummy, had split up.
"We've just had our heads down really, we've never actually broken up, or parted, or whatever. "So for us it just seems, even though we haven't played for years, we still see each other and write - we just haven't released a record for a long time." Portishead will not play any new material at next month's concert, which will feature singer Beth Gibbons playing with an acoustic backing. Other acts appearing include Liverpool band The Coral and former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant. Portishead became an international success and a deeply influential band despite their scant recorded output. Dummy was a critics' favourite in 1994, hailed for its blend of menacing sounds and hip-hop beats married to old soul samples. The follow up, Portishead, was released three years later. | entertainment |
Fightstar take to the stage
Charlie Simpson took his new band Fightstar to the stage on Friday night, just hours after officially announcing his departure from pop band Busted.
He was greeted by a sell-out crowd at the University of Warwick. Confirmation of Busted's long-rumoured split had come earlier in the day, when Simpson held a press conference in London with bandmates Matt Willis and James Bourne. All three band members stressed that the break up was amicable, although Bourne admitted he was "devastated" to hear of Simpson's departure. "This has been a really difficult decision," 19-year-old Simpson revealed, "I hope the fans will understand."
While Simpson declared he would look back with pride on Busted's enormous success, his focus turned immediately to Fightstar, with Friday's press conference coinciding with the start of the band's 13-date tour of the UK. Fuelled by this news, all 1,400 tickets to see Charlie's first post-Busted live appearance - at the University of Warwick's Student Union - sold out rapidly. Mike Eccleshall, the venue's Promotions Coordinator, said: "Tickets had been selling strongly over the past few days, but sales went mad after the news broke. We had completely sold out by 4pm."
With queues outside the venue long and expectations high, the pressure was on Fightstar to impress. Although many dedicated fans travelled to the gig from around the country, they faced a tough crowd made up chiefly of students, the average age of the audience far exceeding that of any Busted concert. Gone were the screaming girls to which Simpson had become accustomed. Support act Brigade, fronted by Simpson's brother, played a short set first and were met with general approval. When Fightstar eventually took to the stage around 11pm, however, a riotous cheer easily drowned out any hecklers lurking in the crowd.
Unfortunately, the band were initially hindered by technical teething problems as Simpson's guitar amplifier failed to work. As sound technicians rushed to fix it, other band members did their best to improvise. When they eventually got under way, Fightstar's blend of emotionally charged rock was warmly received. Far heavier and less commercial than Busted's chart-topping pop-punk, the band will undoubtedly appeal to a more mature fan-base. Warwick student Helen Clutterbuck admitted: "I came to check out Fightstar because of all the controversy. "I've never heard them before, but I'm pretty impressed." Less impressed were fellow students Ryan Crabbe and Gordon Rennie, who observed, "With Fightstar, Charlie has clearly progressed from Busted's sound, but they're still not very inspiring." Fightstar played for around 45 minutes, showcasing material from their forthcoming EP called They Liked You Better When You Were Dead, due for release in February. | entertainment |
Elvis 'set for chart hat-trick'
The late US legend Elvis Presley is likely to score his third UK number one single in three weeks on Sunday, according to early sales figures.
The king of rock 'n' roll has already had consecutive chart-toppers with Jailhouse Rock and One Night. A Fool Such As I, the next in a series of 18 reissues, is on course to beat the Chemical Brothers to the top. But his next single, It's Now Or Never, will face a challenge from tsunami charity single Grief Never Grows Old. Sir Cliff Richard, Russell Watson, Boy George, Bill Wyman and members of the Bee Gees, the Beach Boys, America and the Eagles are expected to feature on the charity song.
Bookmakers have offered odds of 10/1 for all Presley's 18 hits to go back to number one. A Fool Such As I would become the 1,001st number one single in UK chart history after One Night took the 1,000th place on Sunday. The latest release is currently outselling the Chemical Brothers' comeback single Galvanize plus other new releases from Athlete, Ciara and Feeder. Presley's 18 original number ones are being reissued as limited release singles, with fans eager to buy the set to fill a collector's box that went on sale in the first week. Record company Sony BMG is now manufacturing 5,000 more copies of each single than originally planned to meet demand, taking the total number of copies of each song on sale to about 28,000. | entertainment |
Youssou N'Dour wins music prize
Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour has been named a winner of a BBC Radio 3 World Music Award.
His album Egypt won the critics' award for album of the year, while the best newcomer accolade went to Argentine Chango Spasiuk. Winners were chosen from ten categories to reflect different continents. A special Poll Winners concert, hosted by Eliza Carthy and Benjamin Zephaniah will take place at The Sage in Gateshead on 5 March.
The concert will be broadcast on Radio 3's World Music Day the following evening and will feature performances by many of the award winners. It will also include the announcement of the Audience Award, chosen by Radio 3 and BBC World Service listeners, alongside BBC Four viewers.
Winner in the Africa category was Malian desert blues band Tinariwen, formed from the nomadic people of the southern Sahara. Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes and flamenco singer Diego El Cigala, responsible for critically acclaimed album Lagrimas Negrasmusic, won an award in the "boundary crossing" category. Each winner will receive a specially commissioned sculpture entitled Planet by Anita Sulimanovic who won a competition to design the award. Highlights of the Poll Winners Concert, to be held at The Sage, Gateshead, will be televised on BBC Four on 11 March. | entertainment |
TOTP turns to Elvis impersonator
Top of the Pops has turned to the star of Elvis Presley musical Jailhouse Rock after the late rock legend scooped the UK's 1,000th number one single.
Mario Kombou, who plays the Presley role on stage, will sing One Night on Friday's BBC One show as producers are unable to use Presley video footage. It is his second number one in a row. The show used Presley photos last week. Presley will feature in the charts for several more months as all 18 of his original UK chart-toppers are reissued.
A Top of the Pops spokesperson said: "It's a very special number one as it's the UK's 1,000th. "We wanted to pay tribute to Elvis in the best way we knew how, so we thought getting a professional would be the best way for Top of the Pops to do that." Kombou is likely to appear on the show again next week as the next Presley re-release, A Fool Such As I, is on course to give him his third number one in three weeks. Kombou plays Vince Everett in Jailhouse Rock - the same role Presley played in the 1957 film of the same name. | entertainment |
Blue beat U2 to top France honour
Irish band U2 have been honoured at France's biggest music awards, but were beaten to a prize by boy band Blue.
U2 received a special achievement prize at the NRJ Music Awards, but Blue beat them to the international group award. US band Maroon 5 was named best new international artist, and took the best international song title for This Love. More than five million radio listeners voted in the awards. The international male and female prizes went to Usher and Avril Lavigne respectively. Collecting his band's award from model Naomi Campbell at the Cannes ceremony, U2 frontman Bono said in French: "I'm not from this country but I'll make a little confession to you - it's at the Cote d'Azur I feel at home."
Hosted by radio group NRJ, the ceremony featured performances from Usher and Jennifer Lopez, who was accompanied by dancers clad in schoolgirl outfits. US pop act Black Eyed Peas picked up the best international album gong for Elephunk. Singer Jenifer also took home two awards, for best French female singer and best French album. French-Canadian pop star Roch Voisine was named best Francophone male artist. | entertainment |
Ten-year tragedy of missing Manic
Richey Edwards, guitarist and lyricist for The Manic Street Preachers, vanished 10 years ago, on 1 February 1995. His disappearance remains one of the most tragic mysteries in rock music.
For his devoted fans, Richey Edwards was an inspired and inspiring poet, a man who articulated their desperation and despair, who shouted the things most kept hidden. The Manic Street Preachers may only have become stadium-conquering rock giants since his disappearance - but Edwards was the figurehead for their first, dangerous and dazzling incarnation. Edwards did not feature in the original line-up of the band, though. Singer/guitarist James Dean Bradfield, bassist Nicky Wire and drummer Sean Moore were originally accompanied by a rhythm guitarist called Flicker. But Edwards replaced Flicker in time for the band's self-financed debut, Suicide Alley, after designing the record's artwork.
After becoming a full-time member, Edwards became a critical part of the band, writing lyrics and playing guitar - though in many concerts, he was not actually plugged in. But the fiercely intelligent Edwards - who name-checked writers such as Sylvia Plath, George Orwell and Philip Larkin - battled depression, alcohol problems, eating disorders, and self-harm. By the time the band released their third album, The Holy Bible, in October 1994, Edwards had been admitted to hospital with depression. But in his last interview a few months later, seemed to be making plans for the future.
Edwards walks out of the Embassy Hotel in London in the early morning, ahead of the band's US tour to promote The Holy Bible. In the following days, police issue a missing person alert and his parents, Graham and Sherry, plead for their son to let them know he is safe and well.
Police discover Edwards' car in a car park near the Severn Bridge near Bristol - a notorious suicide spot. The discovery leads many to believe he has killed himself. The rest of the band stop touring and recording.
The band play their first concerts since Edwards' disappearance as a trio, performing support slots for The Stone Roses on their UK stadium tour.
The Manic Street Preachers release their first music since Edwards' disappearance. A Design For Life reaches number two in the UK singles chart. The album Everything Must Go follows.
The Manics win best band and best album for Everything Must Go at the Brit Awards.
A fan says she saw Edwards in the hippy resort of Goa, India. Interpol are alerted but do not track him down.
Graham and Sherry Edwards fly to the Spanish island of Fuerteventura six weeks after reports a man fitting their son's description has been seen in a bar called Underground. The report comes to nothing.
Edwards' sister Rachel makes an emotional TV appeal five years after the disappearance. "I'd just like to say to him if he is able to listen that we do love him very much and we'd like him to come back - me, mum and dad," she said.
The band play a concert in the Cuban capital, Havana - the first contemporary western rock band to play there.
On the seventh anniversary of his disappearance, police offer Edwards' parents the opportunity to sign a death certificate. They refuse. The Big Issue magazine, which supports homelessness charities, prints the last known picture of Edwards in a fresh plea for information.
A pair of trainers containing human bones washed up on the banks of the River Severn have no link to Edwards, police say.
The last song written by Edwards - a song called Judge Y'Self, which was to have been used for the Judge Dredd film soundtrack - is released on the B-side compilation Lipstick Traces. A skeleton found by the River Severn is not Edwards, tests reveal.
The Manics' seventh studio album, Lifeblood, features a song dedicated to Edwards called Cardiff Afterlife.
The remaining Manic Street Preachers members continue to pay a quarter of the band's royalties into an account held in his name. | entertainment |
Mogul Wilson backing UK rap band
Tony Wilson, the music mogul who established the influential Factory Records in the 1980s, is to launch a new label - convinced he has discovered his "third major band".
Factory were the label of both Joy Division - who became New Order after singer Ian Curtis committed suicide - and the Happy Mondays. Now Wilson believes rap act Raw T - signed to his F4 label, the fourth incarnation of Factory - will "complete the hat-trick". "Suddenly, when Raw T came into my life, I realised they are my third major band," he told BBC World Service's The Music Biz programme. The group are set to release their first single on 21 February, and follow it up with an album, Realise And Witness, in March.
Wilson has twice tried to resurrect Factory - which lasted for 14 years before folding - but conceded these efforts had been "despondent and dismal experiences". But it has not put him off. "Of all the things I do in my life the most exciting thing I've ever done, and the thing I have most loved, is being part of a record company," he added.
"The idea of working with brilliant young musicians, and being close to the centre of popular culture, is just the biggest thrill in my life." Wilson explained how his son persuaded him to go and see Raw T, but he had initially been reluctant saying he "detested" young British people rapping. "It's always inauthentic, it's always crass, it never really works for me," he said. "I went to see this group, Raw T - which stands for Realise And Witness Talent - and like everyone else in the room that night, we were utterly blown away." Wilson believes Raw T could be "to F4 as Joy Division were to Factory records".
The story of Factory records - which also owned the legendary Hacienda club in Manchester - was told in the Michael Winterbottom film 24 Hour Party People, in which Wilson was played by Steve Coogan.
Wilson stressed that the independent music scene remained "as important" as it had been during the 1980s, when labels such as Factory and Rough Trade proliferated. He pointed out that Franz Ferdinand and The White Stripes - "perhaps the two most important bands since the millennium" - were signed to indies. "I think that is a reflection of how useful and how powerful the indie philosophy is, and how bands prefer it," he added. "They can make more money that way - it's a more generous relationship, and also it's a more understanding relationship. "I think independents are in a wonderful position at this moment in time." | entertainment |
Singer Sizzla jailed for swearing
Reggae star Sizzla, whose UK tour was cancelled after protests at his "anti-gay" lyrics, has been jailed in Jamaica for swearing on stage.
The singer must serve 15 days in prison after he consistently swore during a concert in St Thomas, Jamaica, in January despite warnings by police. He was charged under a law which prohibits indecent dress or expression. Sizzla's five-date UK tour was cancelled last November after protests by gay rights campaigners.
Sizzla, whose real name is Miguel Collins, has released 25 albums since 1995 and is credited with taking dancehall music back to its reggae origins. Many Jamaican entertainers have appeared before the courts for use of profanity in recent years but they usually receive a verbal warning, a suspended sentence or community service. Sizzla's UK tour was cancelled after Scotland Yard's Racial and Violent Crime taskforce announced it was examining lyrics by eight reggae artists. It would not confirm that Sizzla was among them. One of his most controversial songs, Pump Up, contains the Jamaican patois lyrics "fire fi di man dem weh go ride man behind", translated by gay rights group OutRage! as "burn the men who have sex with men". | entertainment |
Spears seeks aborted tour payment
Singer Britney Spears is suing eight insurance companies that have refused to reimburse her for cancelling her 2004 world tour.
The pop star cancelled her Onyx Hotel tour last June after suffering a knee injury during a video shoot. She is now seeking to be reimbursed for the tour's £5m ($9.3m) costs in a claim filed at New York State Supreme Court. Seven London-based companies and an eighth Paris firm have been given up to 30 days to respond to the complaint.
The 22-year-old star initially missed a number of shows on the 82-date tour after injuring her knee during a show in Illinois last March. But she was rushed to hospital and needed surgery after a later incident while filming a video for her song Outrageous, leading her to cancel the rest of the tour, including dates in China. "She obviously took a wrong step and blew out her knee," a Jive spokeswoman said at the time. "It was an old dance injury." The legal submission described Spears as "one of the most recognised performers in her industry". The Onyx Hotel tour was cited as "a highly crafted production which included the well-known music and dancing of Spears, supported by elaborate costumes, complex choreography as well as cutting-edge video production, lighting and other effects". In September Spears married Kevin Federline, who had been a dancer on the aborted tour. | entertainment |
Deal to ban 'homophobic' reggae
The reggae industry is to refuse to release or stage concerts featuring homophobic songs under a global deal struck with gay rights groups.
A damaging campaign against stars such as Beenie Man and Sizzla has been waged over lyrics that allegedly call for gay people to be killed or assaulted. The campaign, which led to gigs being scrapped and a UK police investigation, will now be dropped under the truce. Brett Lock of gay group OutRage! said they were "wiping the slate clean". The protests had been led by the Stop Murder Music coalition, an umbrella group including OutRage!, the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group and Jamaican movement J-Flag.
That coalition has reached a verbal agreement with major dancehall reggae record labels and concert promoters covering eight of the scene's biggest stars. But the artists themselves were not involved in the negotiations and have not directly signed up. Instead, the record companies have pledged not to release or re-release any offensive songs - many of which date back a number of years. And it is believed promoters will make stars agree not to perform such tunes on stage. "The reggae industry will work with the artists while still maintaining their freedom of speech and artistic freedom," according to media and PR strategist Glen Yearwood, who is representing the reggae industry.
The industry would halt any attempt by an artist to perform or release a song inciting violence against any group or gender, he said. "We'll advise them this is not the way forward in a civilised society." The Stop Murder Music campaign saw protesters picket gigs, resulted in Sizzla's UK tour being cancelled in November, forced Mobo award organisers to drop artists from nominations and saw Beenie Man dropped from an MTV show in August. Police have also been investigating whether lyrics incite the assault and murder of gay people. The campaign was a blow to the reggae industry, Mr Yearwood admitted. "If you can't have major stars touring, then you don't sell many albums," he said.
But the artists - Beenie Man, Sizzla, Elephant Man, Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, TOK, Capleton and Vybz Kartel - will not have to apologise for past songs or comments. OutRage!'s Mr Lock said: "The main players in the dancehall reggae industry will attempt to regulate the industry themselves to ensure that there aren't any violently homophobic or gay-bashing lyrics in the future. "As a gesture of good faith, the Stop Murder Music coalition has agreed to suspend our aggressive campaigning against murder music. "So we shall not be picketing concerts or calling for prosecutions to give the industry the space to regulate and reform itself." Record companies VP and Greensleeves, distributor Jet Star and concert promoters including Jammins and Apollo Entertainment are all on board. | entertainment |
Soul sensation ready for awards
South West teenage singing sensation, Joss Stone, has been nominated in three categories in Wednesday's Brit awards.
The 17-year-old from a small east Devon village near Cullumpton, received nominations for Best Solo Female, Best Urban Act and Best Breakthrough Artist. Her second album Mind, Body & Soul reached number one in the UK charts last October and went straight into the US charts at number 11. Ms Stone is due to perform at the 25th award ceremony at London's Earls Court. The teenager also has Grammy nominations in the US, normally dominated by home-grown acts. Born Jocelyn Stoker, the Devon diva started her career in a BBC talent programme, and was then discovered at a New York audition by a US record executive, Steve Greenberg. The 17-year-old singer is hoping to tour in Japan, Australia and the US in 2005. | 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 |
Brit awards for Devon music acts
Devon singer Joss Stone and rock band Muse won coveted Brit awards during the event's 25th anniversary.
Seventeen-year-old Stone, from near Cullumpton, won two awards: best British female act, and best urban act out of three award nominations. Muse, whose members met in south Devon, beat Franz Ferdinand, Jamie Cullum, Kasabian and The Libertines for best British live act. The band has sold about two million records worldwide.
After beating Amy Winehouse, Jamelia, Natasha Bedingfield and PJ Harvey to the best British female prize, Joss Stone said: "I don't know what to say. I don't like doing this at all. I'd like to thank my family for being really supportive and everybody that made my record with me." "I don't even know what to do right now. Thank you all you guys for voting for me, I feel sick right now." Viewers of digital music TV channel MTV Base voted Stone the winner in the best urban act category. Ms Stone also performed her song Right To Be Wrong, backed by a gospel choir, at the 25th award ceremony at London's Earls Court. Her second album Mind, Body & Soul reached number one in the UK charts last October and went straight into the US charts at number 11.
The teenager also has Grammy nominations in the US, normally dominated by home-grown acts. Born Jocelyn Stoker, the Devon diva started her career in a BBC talent programme, and was then discovered at a New York audition by a US record executive, Steve Greenberg. Indie Rock group Muse consists of Matthew Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard who met in their early teens in Teignmouth, south Devon. Dominic Howard said of winning: "We love playing live, it's very important for our band. So to win something like this really feels great." The trio met aged 13 and formed the band Gothic Plague, changing its name to Fixed Penalty, Rocket Baby Dolls and finally Muse. The band released its first self-titled EP in 1998. The third studio album, Absolution, was released in 2003, providing the hit singles Time Is Running Out, Hysteria, and Butterflies And Hurricanes. | entertainment |
Rock star sued by ex-girlfriend
Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars is being sued by his ex-girlfriend for $10 million (£5.4 million), claiming he broke a promise to take care of her.
The woman, Robin Mantooth, said Mars promised her repeatedly that he would provide financial support in the event of the couple breaking up. When they split in December, Mantooth says Mars denied any such agreement. She is asking a Los Angeles court to award her half the musician's property, a monthly allowance and damages. Mantooth added that the pair became lovers in 1990, after which she abandoned her career as a documentary film-maker to move in with the guitarist at his Malibu home.
She is also claiming that Mars, 53, has failed to provide her with any material support since they ceased to be a couple. Motley Crue recently reunited after being apart for a period of five years. They originally formed in the early 1980s and scored six hits in the UK, including Girls Girls Girls in 1987. They are embarking on a world tour later this year which will take in 60 cities across the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. Mars - real name Bob Allen Deal - underwent hip replacement surgery in October. He suffers from a degenerative rheumatic disease which causes ligaments and tendons to attach to the bone. | entertainment |
Scissor Sisters triumph at Brits
US band Scissor Sisters led the winners at the UK music industry's Brit Awards, walking off with three prizes. The flamboyant act scored a hat-trick in the international categories, winning the best group, best album and best newcomer awards. Glasgow group Franz Ferdinand won two prizes, as did Keane and Joss Stone, who was voted best urban act by digital TV viewers. Robbie Williams' Angels was named the best song of the past 25 years. Scissor Sisters frontwoman Ana Matronic collected the best international album prize from singer Siouxsie Sioux. She told the audience: "If you told us a year ago we would be getting these awards today we would have called you crazy. You guys made our dream come true."
The band - whose self-titled LP was 2004's biggest-selling album - thanked "all the members of the sisterhood", adding: "We wouldn't be here without you." The US band, who opened the show with Take Your Mama, won the best international act and newcomer awards, as well as best international album.
Franz Ferdinand, who were shortlisted in five categories, won best rock act and best British group, an award they dedicated to late DJ John Peel. But they missed out on best British live act, which went to Muse. Keane won best British album and breakthrough act. Will Young won the best single prize for Your Game. McFly won the best pop act prize, and Gwen Stefani picked up the best international female artist award. Eminem won the male prize.
Best British male artist winner Mike Skinner - aka The Streets - does not usually attend award ceremonies, but the Birmingham hip-hop artist performed his hit Dry Your Eyes at the ceremony. However, he did not collect his prize. A bandmate informed the crowd Skinner was "in the toilet". After beating Amy Winehouse, Jamelia, Natasha Bedingfield and PJ Harvey to the best British female prize, Joss Stone said: "I don't know what to say. I don't like doing this at all. I'd like to thank my family for being really supportive and everybody that made my record with me." "I don't even know what to do right now. Thank you all you guys for voting for me, I feel sick right now." Viewers of digital music TV channel MTV Base voted Stone the winner in the best urban act category.
Little Britain comedy duo Matt Lucas and David Walliams presented the best song prize to Robbie Williams dressed as his former Take That colleagues Gary Barlow and Howard Donald, leading him to quip he was "always the talented man of the band".
Williams' track beat songs by Will Young, Queen, Kate Bush and Joy Division in a vote by BBC Radio 2 listeners to mark 25 years of the UK music industry ceremony. It is his 15th Brit award, having already received 10 solo awards and four with Take That. He told the audience: "I'm just amazed that my career keeps going." Keane frontman Tom Chaplin thanked fans for enduring "rubbish gigs" after they won the British breakthrough act prize. He added: "A lot of people don't think it's cool that we've had the guts to be ourselves but it's a vital part of who we are as a band and receiving this is recognition of that."
Natasha Bedingfield - in the running for best British female and best pop act - performed with her brother Daniel for the first time at Wednesday's event.
The chart-topping siblings duetted on the Chaka Khan hit Ain't Nobody. Meanwhile, Joss Stone performed Right To Be Wrong backed by a gospel choir, while Lemar and Jamelia performed the Robert Palmer track Addicted To Love. Bob Geldof won a prize for his outstanding contribution to music. Of the 15 Brit awards for achievements in 2004, 10 were won by artists tipped in the BBC News website's Sound of 2004 list of artists to watch, published at the start of last year. Scissor Sisters, Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Joss Stone and McFly were all in the Sound of 2004 top 10. The other five Brits winners were already established before Sound of 2004 was compiled. The ceremony will be televised on ITV1 on Thursday.
I'm speechless. Best song of the last 25 years? Yeah right.
I very much doubt that 'Angels' was even the best song of the week that it came out. Like every track Robbie has released as a single, it's a blatant but poor facsimile of something that someone else has done better before.
Give us a break...!!!
Best song in 25 years, you must be joking. Its good if you like that sort of thing, but really!
Listened to Angels on Radio 1 this morning when I was driving into work. Had not heard it for a while. I love Robs voice, the lyrics and tune. Perfection!
As usual, the public have short memories when it comes to voting for "the greatest". There must be more than a dozen songs in the last 25 years that deserve this award more. It's not exactly groundbreaking. Presumably, the age range that could be bothered to vote is is pretty low...
I'm actually embarrassed to be British if that is the best song we have produced in the last 25 years!!
What about The Specials - Ghost Town, The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love With Someone... Happy Mondays - Kinky Afro, McAlmont & Butler - Yes, Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart... Angels is middle-of-the-road rubbish.
Angels is a awful piece of sentimental claptrap. It's musically and lyrically inept; and fantastically overrated, a bit like Mr Williams himself. This result isn't very surprising though, The Brits has a long history of celebrating rubbish music!
Best of the last 25 years? Maybe. Cunning to make the timescale not include Stairway to Heaven or Bohemian Rhapsody, but it does kind of make it a bit of a hollow award really. Not much competition in the last 25 years after all.
It's alright for a pop song - but the best song of the last 25 years???
There is no way on earth that song should have been voted the best of the last 25 years....it's a travesty.
Rubbish! Who voted it for it to be included in any list? I am a regular listener to Radio 2 but I don't recall the invitation to vote for this bland, slushy rubbish which might appeal to the masses who wouldn't know a good song if it jumped up and bit them on the nose but is certainly NOT the best song of the last 25 years. How depressing and just when we thought manufactured 'pop' was on the way out - where on earth did this dreadful list appear from?
While I am biassed in that I thought Love Will Tear Us Apart should have won, in all seriousness, I think that the best song of the last 25 years should not include songs less than 5 years old as that would exclude songs which are popular because of novelty. Then again, well done Robbie, good show.
You've got to be kidding.
Angels is a great song, but not the best song of the last 25 years. Only the best song to be up for nomination at the Brits.
I think Angels is a great song and deserved to be in the run up for this award but I don't think its the best song from the past 25 years! Right enough, it is better than some of the others in this catergory, for example, what was Will Young doing being nominated in the first place - he is alright but the song isn't that good! I'm happy for Robbie himself though!
Best song in the last 25 years? What a Joke! Think of all the great rock and pop songs released in the 80s and pretty much all of them are better than Angels. Phil Collins doesn't deserve awards for all the good songs he wrote? Angels is an overrated song, that got tiresome even before you had finished listening to it. Soppy rubbish at best. Hopefully manufactured rubbish will die down soon, and let the real artists who worked hard for there glory receive awards.
So boringly obvious and typical of the bland nature of mainstream music in Britain today, for me it's proof that music and democracy just don't mix. Still, at least it wasn't Will Young...
Oh it's all just a bit of fun. People take these awards too seriously! Robbie has millions of loyal fans, while even non-fans know the words to angels. Him winning obviously reflects who votes in these awards. Personally I wanted Will Young to win, but that was not really due to his musical talent!
I hate the song, all it brings back is memories of school discos and no-one to slow-dance with!
I agree about Angels. I never get fed up hearing it. Whenever the song comes on the radio I turn the radio up, smile and sing along (very badly, that is why the radio has to be turned up to drown my voice out). The song makes me calm and serene and happy. Well done Robbie.
I think that although Robbie Williams is a good performer, that Angels isn't really that good a song. It certainly isn't anywhere near as good as Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division or Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush.
Angels is a fantastic song. All credit to Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. It's a song that will be played forever and bridges all age groups.
Robbie did in no way deserve that mantle. Whenever we have these awards it is always 'artists' from the past five years that seem to win the best of the best...We forget about the late 80s and early 90s for example. They weren't cool at the time, but because they are cool again now shows that the songs have greater longevity than people think.
Yes Angels is the best song since the past 25 years, because it touches the soul as it carries a lot of meaning.
I've always disliked Angels intensely. I believe it to be symbolic of the general capacity of British pre-teens, teens and middle aged women to accept low quality/ low aspirational music as "classic" songwriting. It's 'orrible. It seems obvious to me that people who like Robbie are people who don't particularly like music all that much. Folks without collections; folks who have never engaged in that madness one experiences when falling under the spell of pop music. Angels adds nothing - it is merely an irritating distraction - a wasp that refuses to go away on a summer's afternoon picnic. What a dreadful result. If you voted for it - you should feel ashamed of yourself - you probably only know a dozen songs or so don't you - so where do get off applying this uninformed filter and casting this ridiculous vote. Booo hisss
Angels, best song? You are kidding, right? Last five years I might be willing to accept, but 25, no way. Did whoever voted for this actually have ANY music knowledge prior to, say, 1995? Really quite insulting to the British music industry of the past quarter of a century.
No surprise about Robbie Williams considering the list. Where on earth did the nominations list come from???? Compiled by an eleven year-old girl perhaps?? I mean, Will Young? Come on.
What a load of crap, best song in the last 25 years - I don't think so!! What about all the REAL artists out there over the last 25 years - the list is endless, but Robbie Williams doesn't even come close.
What a joke. That song has become such a bane to me that I have developed a Pavlovian response to the word 'Angels' where I thrash around, and scream "no no no no no" until someone tells me "the radio's off". Why a half-baked cheesy ditty like Angels, which has become the anthem for millions of romantic sops (think how many times it was sung on Pop Idol for example, and by whom), should be voted the best song of the past 25 years, is beyond me. If this is the song against which all others are judged, then musicians may as well give up.
Why do we reward mediocrity so highly in this country?? The initial list was very weak anyway, but Angels the best song of the last 25 years!!!! I think not, I didn't realize Radio 2 had so many listeners under the age of 10!!
People have such short memories! A great song yes, but the best of the last 25 years? Not a chance. I think the person as opposed to the song has been voted for here.
The Great British Public at work again. It's a mediocre, sentimental and safe song. Granted, it's not too bad, either. But can it stand up against ANYTHING by The Smiths (in particular "How Soon is Now?") or anything from the Stone Roses' first album? Nope.
No, Because I'm not female and I'm not 10!
Ok I like Robbie and Angels is a decent song. But it is no way the best song of the past 25 years! The shortlist wasn't great but him winning it is a joke!
Predictable and laughable.
The success of Angels at this years Brits reflects poorly on the state of British music over the last 25 years. The British public are brainwashed by the corporate pulp that is presneted to them as cutting edge music and true talent is being sadly missed. Whilst Angels is a popular song it is not even the best song in Robbie's repertoire never mind best song of the last 25 years.
I am a huge Robbie fan and love that song. But I think there are a lot more outstanding songs / music out there that influenced music today, unfortunately they were left out of the list.
Have Radio 2 listeners even heard of Joy Division? A band who, through two albums, have had a bigger impact on music, and continue to do so, over the last 25 years than Robbie Williams ever will.
No doubt about it. There's not a song done by anyone with more emotion and feeling. Some people will adopt their slightly snobby stances, but Angels has hit home with a far larger audience than any other song.
It should have been Joy Division.Those guys have played an influential part in shaping modern day music while Angels remains yet another pop song. I sincerely do not believe that in 25 years from now, the most influential artists will argue that Robbie Williams inspired their art in the way that the Byrds, the Beatles and Nick Drake have done for music today.
Yes!! I think its a brilliantly written song with different meanings to different people. There were other great songs in the category... but somebody had to win! Robbie was a deserved winner.
I am astounded that such a second-rate record has beaten such a line up of amazing songs! it's a terrible song, voted for by the masses who don't have the brains to appreciate innovative and exciting music.
The best song of the past 25 years? Really? Come on, this is surely a joke? No? I think I need a long lie down...
It just goes to show that the british public do not have a clue about good quality music when they pick Robbie Williams over the beautifully talented Kate Bush and Joy Division. I suppose it's confirmed one thing - the British public are consistently dull :- <(
No offence Robbie, but pleeease! There must be a thousand better songs than a formulated cheesy pop song for kids. No one agrees with this and quite frankly it is an embarassment to the integrity of British music, and a further nail in the coffin!
I think Robbie deserves it, he has been the most iconic of any stars we have had in Britain since John Lennon and is an idol to millions worldwide. Anybody who says he doesn't deserve it is jealous of his success. The only real challenger was Queen but hey, Another One Bites the Dust!!
Obviously all the Karaoke singers in the UK voted for it.
If this is the best song of the last 25 years then the British Music industry is in trouble. Sure Robbie is talented and produces excellent material, but this is not the best record.
A sad day for music
It's not the type of music I normally like, but even as a diehard rock fan, I recognise that it is a good song and appelas to most people. That's why it has been voted best song of the last 25 years. It's a good all-rounder. Just like Robbie.
Best song in 25 years? Since 1980? I'm confused. "Angels" isn't a bad song. It's a nice, catchy, formulaic anthem that ticks all the boxes. But this is not great music. If anything it's regressive. Bland even. I suppose it's just more evidence of how redundant the Brit Awards have become.
Granted angels is a good song, however it really wasn't up against any other proper competition. The Queen's song was lackluster, and apart from Kate Bush, the other choices were pathetic! Also, why weren't the Stones there, David Bowie, etc, there are so many greater songs than Angels...I wonder if it was simply the fact that Robbie wasn't getting more awards so they had to make one up for him!
Best song of the last 25 years? What a ridiculuous concept, and an even more ridiculous winner. Sigh. On the upside, at least it wasn't Bohemian Rhapsody, for which we should all be thankful.
Angels is without doubt a great song but I really don't think it deserves the title of best song in 25 years.perhaps the vote had more to do with teenage opinion on Robbies' goodlooks than the actual song!!! Don't get me wrong, I'm not disputing his looks, but there are more deserved winners.
It would have been a travesty had Angels not won. Without Angels, Robbie Williams may well not be where he is now, and Britain would have been deprived of one of its most charismatic and talented performing artists. It has to be seen performed live, with 125,000 people singing along to be fully appreciated. Well done Rob.
I find it hard to believe that 'Angels' is the best we have to show for the past 25 years! I'm rapidly redifining 'best' in my own head now to mean 'most gratuitously played at weddings and funerals because people think it has deep meaning'. What about Britpop? Blur, Oasis, Suede, Pulp... not only making fantastic songs but also making changes, doing something different. Why must 'best' always come down to most commercially popular?
I've nothing against Robbie, I actually like his music, but how can this possibly be the best song from the last 25year? The Brits has proved to be nothing more than a bargaining tool between the pop moguls to boost band profiles and record sales. The same goes with the Scissor Sisters, I think this is a superb record and thoroughly deserves the newcomer award, but the album comes no where near U2's new record, neither are they in the same league. Once again there have been some baffling discisions made, they are not for artisic reasons, but for profit.
No surprise really, it's voted for by the general public. Since when did they have taste in music?
Personally I find Angels by Robbie Williams to be one of the most irritating songs I have ever heard!
It absolutely deserved to win. It is a song that has united the generations and will continue to be played for many years to come.
It's an absolute joke, however most of the original 25 were very poor choices as well. All in all a pretty pointless exercise !
The song is overplayed and oversentimental. Out of the rather poor five choices that were left, it should have gone to either Joy Division or Queen. I suppose we should be thankful that it didn't end up in the hands of Will Young though.
Although it has nostalgia value, there is no way it deserved to win. Everybody knows the words to Bohemian Rhapsody, Nothing Compares 2 U, etc. Much better songs and more timeless. Give it to someone with real talent.
Although Angels is a good song I think that anyone with the slightest musical taste will realise that this is not the best song of the last 25 years. This is just another example of record company manipulation to keep an artist in the public eye. Why not give him an award for the greatest pair of trousers if that's all it means! | entertainment |
Jamelia's return to the top
R&B star Jamelia had three Brit nominations to go with her triple triumph at last year's Mobo awards.
The Birmingham-born singer, full name Jamelia Davis, was signed to a record label at the age of 15 and released her first single So High at 18. She released four number ones from her 2000 album Drama, including the top five hit Money featuring the vocals of reggae artist Beenie Man. She racked up five Mobo nominations in 2000, winning one for best video. But in the same year she also fell pregnant and decided to take a break from music to bring up her daughter Teja, who was born in March 2001. While she originally planned to get back to work pretty swiftly after giving birth it was actually two years before she released another single. During her absence R&B music exploded and a whole host of female artists were on the scene, meaning Jamelia had to once again prove herself. Her comeback song Bout featuring Rah Digga only just scrapped into the top 40.
It was her next single, Superstar, that really put her back on the map as one of Britain's most popular female R&B singers, holding her own in a music scene dominated by US artists such as Beyonce and Ashanti.
Superstar was followed by Thank You, winner of best single at the 2004 Mobos, which reached number two in the UK charts. The autobiographical song, which deals with domestic abuse, hit number one in New Zealand and Australia. Next came the song See It In A Boy's Eyes, which was especially written for her by Coldplay's Chris Martin. His involvement with the song meant not only was it given massive publicity but it was also greeted favourably by a new audience who would not usually listen to R&B. She now combines singing with modelling and supporting charities including the NSPCC and Make Trade Fair. Despite her huge success in recent years, Jamelia remains down-to-earth about her fame and her chances of lasting in the fickle music business, partly due to motherhood. "When I first got into the industry, I'd be away from home for months at a time. But now I have other things in my life. I still want to make it, but it's not the end of the world if I don't," commented Jamelia. | entertainment |
Cult band Kasabian surge forward
Indie dance band Kasabian built up a cult following throughout 2004 to secure three Brit Award nominations.
The four-piece Leicester band blends dark electronics with rock, earning Kasabian places on the best British group, rock act and live act shortlists. They have also earned a reputation as outspoken and charismatic, in contrast to fellow Brit nominees such as Keane and Snow Patrol. "British music needs a kick up the arse and Britain needs a new band to breathe life into the British people again," declared Kasabian's singer Tom Meighan.
"No-one's doing it at the minute. Music feels like it's in the afterlife right now. We don't want people to give up on it. "The serpent's going to rise from the sea and scare all the pirates away!" Meighan grew up in Leicester with Kasabian songwriter/guitarist Sergio Pizzorno and bassist Chris Edwards, a trio which began making music from the age of 17.
They enlisted guitarist and keyboard player Christopher Karloff after spotting him in a pub. "We saw his long sideburns and thought 'hey, he looks the part, we'll ask him,'" said Meighan. Inspired by Britpop and a mutual love of hardcore, an early 1990s genre that fused house music with hip hop beats and a dark sensibility, they added an electronic element to the traditional guitar sound. "We got a computer and we cut rock'n'roll up, because there's no point in going back to how it was," said Meighan. "It's all about new ideas and creativity."
The band's original approach is reflected in its name, inspired by Linda Kasabian - the getaway driver of US serial killer Charles Manson. Coincidentally it is also the Armenian term for "butcher". Kasabian moved into a remote farmhouse in Rutland to record their debut album, benefiting from its isolation but also managing to sneak in a few parties while they were there. Signed to the RCA record label, Kasabian tested the water with two singles, Club Foot and LSF, which reached numbers 19 and 10 in the UK singles chart respectively.
They built up their following on the summer festival circuit, opening both Glastonbury and T in the Park, and at a series of "guerilla gigs" at unusual venues including Half Time Orange, a pub next to Leicester City football club's headquarters. Kasabian's self-titled album was released last September to widespread critical acclaim, its indie dance stance drawing comparisons to The Stone Roses, Primal Scream and The Happy Mondays.
Regarding it as "both a fiery assertion of rock 'n' roll ethics and proof that a siege mentality is alive and well in the badlands of Rutland Water", the NME's praise was typical of the album's reception. As 2004 progressed Kasabian would score a further two hits - Processed Beats and Cutt Off - and embark upon a well-received UK tour. "We take our music seriously, definitely, but we want to have fun with it," said Pizzorno. "This is not a job to us," added Meighan. "This is the best life we could ever have. This is what it's all about and without it we'd be lost souls. But music needs us as well." | entertainment |
Brits debate over 'urban' music
Joss Stone, a 17-year-old soul singer from Devon, beat Dizzee Rascal, Jamelia, Lemar and The Streets to win best British urban act at the Brit Awards. Her victory has reignited the debate about what urban music is.
I'm not really comfortable with the word urban. It's a word that's been manufactured in this country and America to describe black music. The word urban seems to cover such a broad range of black music that it's wrong. How far are the Brits removed from inner-city music and what people are doing? It's so far removed that I don't expect them to get it bang on. The music industry isn't championing music from our particular genre very well anyway. People don't feel like that's anything to do with us. I don't feel like urban music's just been celebrated by [Joss Stone] winning or her being nominated, or by the Brits acknowledging that there's an urban music scene because it's all a kick in the teeth at the end of the day. It's not really relevant. If Joss Stone is the closest thing that they feel comfortable championing because of what she looks like and how she sounds and who she's signed to, then so be it. It's got nothing to do with what's really going on.
Urban as a genre is very broad. If you look underneath urban, there are a number of core elements that include hip-hop, R&B, garage and into that obviously comes soul. Joss Stone is a soul artist. Her first album was called The Soul Sessions. So urban is a very broad brushstroke that is the umbrella over the top of sub-genres, and there are offshoots of all of those. Joss Stone has had amazing success [in the US] given that she's a UK artist. What has really captured everybody's imagination is that here you have a 17-year-old from Devon with a voice to die for and a bunch of really, really good tunes and she looks good - I think that's what's done it.
The award for best British urban act was voted for by viewers of MTV Base.
I don't think Joss was not a worthy winner. She makes soul music and that definitely comes under the category of what we describe as urban. The fact that she's from Devon is the interesting thing because most of the music we cover is made in large cities and she's literally rural. The great thing about urban music is that there's a big range. If there is some sort of root with black music or dance music in Britain, I think that's where you can call it urban - that's where this new sub-category, or uber-category, has come from. Joss Stone is certainly not old enough to have had some of the experiences of an older soul singer, but you couldn't argue that she was being inauthentic with her emotions - it is coming from somewhere genuine. It has to come across as real. That's the only cut-off point we have here and that's the only way by which we judge people.
What urban means to us as an organisation is the politically correct term to describe music which originated from a black background. Music should become inclusive and if we are fighting for a multi-cultural Britain, then we should be fighting for inclusion rather than exclusion. If Joss Stone can be accepted within the urban music community, I think acts from other ethnicities doing classical music and rock should be accepted too. Race doesn't make a difference if everyone is included. Out of all the awards dished out yesterday, I'm still trying to find out what people of other races received any sort of recognition or award.
A type of music (especially street music) that originates from a city, and typically reflects or is characteristic of urban life.
She might not be urban, but when did R&B become the hip hop tainted thing it is now? R&B stands for Rhythm And Blues, remember!
That Joss Stone is rubbish is certain. If anyone deserves to win an award for urban music (I think probably should include Hip-Hop, Soul & Funk at least but not rock or pop) this year its the Streets, although Dizzee Rascal stakes a good claim
She definitely deserved to win a prize, Joss Stone's albums are quite simply amazing, easily better than anything else that was released last year. This whole debate about what is urban, what isnt urban is completely pointless and probably fueled by urban artists who weren't nominated or didn't win. I cant see why people can't just congratulate her for the talent that she is.
She did deserve it, but I agree with the comments about urban music. Its a stupid phrase, and particularly British. In the states they tend to use hip hop and R&B, if I say hip hop here a lot of people have no idea what I'm talking about. Very strange.
What's in a name? A rose by any other name etc... If people want to call it urban, why not? If we really analysed it, the term 'dance music' is misleading because it doesn't describe everything you can dance to.
Whilst I agree that the term 'urban' is open to interpretation, it strikes me as simply weird that Joss Stone has won. 'Urban' to me is what I hear being played in parties in the inner cities - I live in Brixton and have never heard The Soul Sessions pumping out of of a bass heavy sound system in any parties I've been to. Good luck to Joss Stone, let's celebrate her victory - let's also question why, with artists so successful and talented as Jamelia, Lemar, Kanye West, Dizzee Rascal, Alicia Keys and Outkast - we didn't see a single black artist on stage collecting an award.
So, what you're saying is that any music that has black heritage is not allowed to be sung by anyone who isn't black. And, if it is, then they shouldn't be acknowledged for it even if they're pretty dam good at it? She's 17, has an amazing voice, and won. Good on her. Oh, but she's not "black" well, let's make her feel real bad about it then. How dare she! Though hang on, didn't the so-called 'public' vote on this one?
This idea of pigeonholing whatever is popular at the time is no different than what was happening in the 1940s and 50s in relation to what "Jazz" was. The media then called anything that had a swinging beat, syncopated melody or soulful feeling "Jazz", much to the chagrin of the artists. It would mean that "blues" would be put in the same mould as "bebop", "cool" and "ragtime", all very different styles at that time. Jazz was and remains such a massively misunderstood term. And so what of "Urban" music? In truth it's a lazy term to categorise music that you don't really understand. Soul and garage are worlds apart musically (Marvin Gaye v Tuff Jam?), but no doubt have their connections. If we just let the music speak for itself and not judge the success of an artist by the number of awards won, then maybe we can enjoy the music for what it is, rather than what it represents.
I demand a prize for rural music! Sucks to the cities- it's way better out here. We have hay, for one thing.
Excluding her from what has become known as urban music would be as bad as excluding Lenny Kravitz or Hendrix from rock music for being black surely? I dont understand the point that Ty is making. If Lemar, who makes music which is less soulful than Joss' work won, he might have said nothing. (btw i'm black too)
How can she be "urban" if she spent most of her life in the Devon countryside? Nonsense.
I love Joss to bits and don't care what her branding is - it's amazing music, full stop. Stop puting it all in brackets and let's just call it music, and let's especially drop the black / urban tag - nearly all music came from black origin, this just sets an example that it is ok to pigeonhole people and their music by their colour.
Surely the point of having an urban music category is simply to acknowledge artists that are making what is (historically) considered urban music, irrelevent of the colour of their skin, or where they originate from. Joss Stone is simply singing a certain type of music that can be considered urban in style, just as someone from an inner city, and indeed not from the USA could sing country music. If that person was good at it and authentic in sound, would we criticise it being referred to as country music or the artist for representing that style?
The term urban in reference to a music genre in UK has developed, in part, from the controversy surrounding the branding of the MOBO Awards. The very term 'Music of Black Origin' has confused and offended many people. This is particularly strange given the existence of the Asian Music Awards. It appears that the use of 'black' or 'white' in relation to music makes people feel uncomfortable. The term 'urban' therefore, has been invoked to sidestep the debate of which type of music came first 'black' or 'white' thereby rendering the issue colourblind. The result is now a redundant new debate as to what 'urban' also means. Perhaps we should have created a new term altogether to describe the various strains of soul/RnB and Hip-Hop, one which does not also mean something else - as we have done with 'Crunk'.
Urban is just a word that's come about recently to describe "black" music that's become popular now. The word wasn't even in use, or common use five of six years ago. It's just a way of the industry clumping it all together without having to call it black music, because some people are oversensitive and might call them racist for it.
I'm in a band that has been called "urban", and I despise the label. I'd hate to think I belonged to any neat marketing niche, because that's all it is. Ever since the music channels and record comapnies tried to fracture what they consider 'music of black origin', these labels have been used to undermine the status of good music into a commodity. Look at all the TV broadcasters, unable to reach young people without condesending, they simply play some 'urban' music on the soundtrack as if its some dreadful cheap lift music. Ignore the labels, it is what it is, just music.
As a black man, I think I agree with some of the statements at least the statements made by the key executives. Black people should lead the music they invented . We should stop calling a genre meaningless, northing is meaningless. The real question is would Joss Stone would have been that successful doing the music she was doing if she were black? Same thing, with Streets, Amy Winehouse, etc. Who's ever heard of Terri Walker or Rhian Benson.. They are both 10 times better than Joss Stone and both of them have won Urban Music Awards and i think Mobos , but why not Brits????
So what if Joss Stone won the Urban awards. Her music is great soul and surely that is under the 'Urban' banner? What if The Streets had won? Would people be whining because Mike Skinner is white... It seems that a lot of the fuss is about race where the real issue should be music and nothing else.
Urban is PC version for saying black music. I'm not doubting Ms Stone's talent, but why didn't Jamelia or Lemar get a Brit? This reminds me of what happened to Craig David and Soul II Soul in the past, getting nominations are easy to get, but picking up a Brit seems to be the hardest thing.
Refreshing to see people making reasonable, intelligent comments on any topic these days. More power to you, people! You have said it: there is music you like and music you don't like - who cares what label you put on it?
That entire category was a mess. How can you have people like Dizzee Rascal up against Joss Stone? Its like putting Eminem against Bob Geldof. She should have been nominated for Best British R & B act. Joss Stone deserved to win an award for her talents, but I don't think it was very 'urban' of her to sing angels with Robbie Williams.
Urban is a nonsense term - music of black origin? Well doesn't that include rock? Music made in the inner cities? Well almost all bands end up making music in London/Manchester etc. And doesn't that make some weird implication that all black people live in cities? It doesn't make any sense.
Why does music have to be put into a genre? It's music, you like it or you don't. Simple as that.
I play in a heavy metal band. We are urban music as far as I'm concerned. We live in cities and spend our working life in an urban environment; It therefore directly shapes what we write musically.
"Urban" seems to be the new name for all styles of black music. Why it needed a rebrand I don't know as the name is misleading. Oasis originate from a city and characterise the urban life they know, therefore more than fit the term "urban" yet as they're a white rock band they won't be described as such.
Joss Stone has a fantastic voice and great timing and delivery - what other reason do they need to award her the Brit? All this "urban" and other such categorisation is just the red-tape of the music business and is best ignored.
Yeah, she deserved it. She is talented. Urban is a crap, meaningless, politically correct and probably actually racist marketing term though. There's only two kinds of music: good and bad. | entertainment |
Row threatens Hendrix museum plan
Proposals to open a museum dedicated to Jimi Hendrix are flailing because of a row over the home of his late father.
The run-down house in Seattle has already been moved wholesale once and local authorities are now demanding it be moved to another site. Hendrix supporters hoped to turn the home into a museum for the guitarist. "The mayor is going to go down as the mayor who destroyed Jimi Hendrix's house," said Ray Rae Marshall of the James Marshall Hendrix Foundation. The foundation moved the building, in which Al Hendrix lived between 1953 and 1956, when the land it was built on was to be developed for housing in 2002. Now the City of Seattle wants its new plot to be used for development, giving a deadline of 22 February for the home to be moved. Mr Goldman said the authority had promised the house could remain on its new site and be turned into a memorial and community centre. Seattle officials said no such deal had been offered.
"We never said, 'You can own this property,'" said John Franklin, chief of its operations department. "From our perspective, it was a temporary situation. We have not threatened to demolish the house. We've simply asked that they have to move it." Now Mr Goldman is calling for the authority to pay to move the building to Seattle's central district, where Hendrix grew up. Janie Hendrix, the guitarist's stepsister, said the family were still hoping the guitarist would be honoured by having a road named after him. "That's something my father really wanted to see," she said. "It would be nice if we didn't have to fight for everything to get it." Hendrix was widely considered one of the most important guitarists of his time. He died of drug overdose in 1970 at the age of 27. | entertainment |
No jail for singer Courtney Love
Singer Courtney Love has been spared jail for assault and drug offences, but must serve three years probation.
She had back-to-back court appearances in two separate cases in Los Angeles, first pleading no contest to attacking a woman with a whisky bottle. In the second, Ms Love, 40, pleaded guilty to possessing a forged prescription and painkiller oxycodone. She must also do 100 hours community service, have drug treatment, attend Narcotics Anonymous and pay a fine. The ex-Hole singer's lawyer Howard Weitzman said Ms Love had "turned her life around" and she was "clean and sober".
The assault charge stemmed from April 2004, when Ms Love found musician Kristin King in her boyfriend's home. Ms King said the singer "threw the bottle at the left side of my face" in an "angry, vicious and erratic" attack. Ms Love was originally charged with the more serious offence of assault with a deadly weapon, but that was reduced to assault. Judge Rand Rubin said she must:
- Spend three years on probation
- Have one year's anger management counselling
- Have one year's drug rehabilitation
- Do 100 hours community service
- Pay $1,000 (£535) fine
- Have random drug tests
- Go to three Narcotics Anonymous meetings per week
In the drugs case, she was sentenced to 18 months probation, to run concurrently with the probation for the assault. That offence stemmed from October 2003, when she suffered an overdose after breaking a window at her boyfriend's home. In a separate case relating to the same incident, Ms Love was sentenced to 18 months in drug rehabilitation for being under the influence of cocaine and opiates. In another case last October, she pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for hitting a man on the head with a microphone stand at a New York City nightclub. Last month her lawyers said she had won back custody of Frances Bean, her 12-year-old daughter with former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The girl was removed from her care following her double arrest in October 2003. Cobain committed suicide in 1994. | entertainment |
Rapper Kanye West's shrewd soul
US hip-hop star Kanye West - who leads the race for this year's Grammys with 10 nominations - rose to prominence by producing songs for artists such as Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.
He then emerged from his behind-the-scenes role to become an artist as well as a producer. But his solo career almost ended before it began after a near-fatal car crash left West with his jaw wired shut in 2002. The resulting song, Through the Wire, became West's first UK hit in April 2004 and subsequent album The College Dropout became a transatlantic success, both critically and commercially. West, 26, began rapping as a teenager at his Chicago school, inspired by the beats and rhymes of 1980s pioneers Run DMC.
Hip-hop producer No ID encouraged West to sample old soul and R&B hits then revive them with an updated sound, an approach that would become his trademark. "I feel like a lot of the soul that's in those old records that I sample is in me," he said. "So when I hear them and I put them with the drums and I bring them to the new millennium, it's just like God's doing that. I'm one with them records right there. It's a blessing."
Leaving his Chicago art school after only one year - a move which would later inspire the title of his album - West began his music career co-producing songs for artists Mase and the Madd Rapper. This drew the attention of superstar rapper Jay-Z, who signed West up to his Roc-A-Fella record label to produce numerous artists on his roster. West's work gained mainstream recognition when he produced the singles Takeover and Izzo (HOVA) on Jay-Z's own 2001 album Blueprint. Incorporating samples of Five to One by The Doors and the Jackson Five's I Want You Back respectively, the hits were credited with injecting soul back into hip-hop.
As their success attracted further production work for Jay-Z ('03 Bonnie & Clyde) and artists such as Ludacris (Stand Up) and Alicia Keys (You Don't Know My Name), West announced plans for a solo album. Driving home from a late-night Los Angeles recording session in October 2002, he was involved in the car crash that left his jaw fractured in three places. "Anytime I hear about any accident my heart sinks in and I just thank God that I'm still here," he later said. "That steering wheel could have been two inches further out, and that would have been it."
West's account of the accident sampled Chaka Khan's hit Through the Fire to become the heart of his completed solo album The College Dropout. Released last year, it was by turns smooth, humorous and sharp and largely avoided the clichéd hip-hop preoccupation with guns, girls and jewellery.
Through the Wire was quickly joined in the UK and US charts by Slow Jamz, on which West collaborated with rapper Twista and Ray actor Jamie Foxx. The College Dropout spawned two further UK hits and a string of award nominations. West was shortlisted for 10 Grammys - including nominations for artist and album of the year - and took the best hip-hop artist, producer and album titles at last year's Music of Black Origin (Mobo) Awards. Now a respected rapper and producer in the influential field of hip-hop, Kanye West is unlikely to regret his decision to leave college early. | entertainment |
Singer Christina Aguilera to wed
Pop star Christina Aguilera is to marry music executive Jordan Bratman, the singer's agent has confirmed.
Bratman, 26, proposed to Grammy-winning singer Aguilera, 23, on holiday at an undisclosed location. The pair have been together for more than two years. "No wedding plans have been set yet," said Aguilera's agent Meghan Prophet. Aguilera burst onto the pop scene in 1999, winning a best new artist Grammy in 2000. Her hits include What a Girl Wants, Dirrty and Beautiful. Bratman presented his fiancee with a diamond ring designed by jeweller Stephen Webster on Friday, said Ms Prophet. New York-born Aguilera reached number one in the UK with her debut hit Genie in a Bottle in October 1999. Her early success was cemented by two further Grammys in subsequent years. In 2002, Aguilera won best pop collaboration for the hit track Lady Marmalade with Lil' Kim, Maya and Pink, and last year she picked up the award for best female pop vocal performance for Beautiful. Her most recent single, Car Wash, featuring Missy Elliott, reached number four in the UK charts last November. | 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 |
U2's desire to be number one
U2, who have won three prestigious Grammy Awards for their hit Vertigo, are stubbornly clinging to their status as one of the biggest bands in the world.
The most popular groups in the history of rock all have several things in common. The music must be inspired and appeal across generations and be distinctive, if not always groundbreaking. But such success is down to more than music. They have to be compelling performers, charismatic and intelligent enough to make good decisions and keep their feet on the ground. They also have to want it. They have to want to be the biggest band ever and not stop wanting it. The Beatles had it, the Rolling Stones still have it, REM hold onto it and Queen were it in a catsuit. And U2 have it in spades, and keep churning it out. Their new album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, comes 28 years after the schoolfriends got together in Dublin and 17 years after The Joshua Tree cemented their place on the all-time rock A-list.
They may have lost some of the edginess and raw, youthful force that propelled them to the top, but they have lost none of the desire or ability to craft songs and albums.
Vertigo, the first single from the new album, went straight into the UK singles chart at number one, knocking Eminem off the top spot and giving them their 26th top 10 hit. "The challenge is to be bigger and bolder and better - to make records the whole world will listen to," Bono recently said. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr echoed those sentiments: "We're very competitive - we want to be on the radio, have big singles. We don't want to be thought of as a veteran band." The band have done "everything in their considerable powers" to ensure they remain the biggest band in the world, according to Q magazine editor Paul Rees.
"This makes them hugely determined and formidable." He added: "They are equally determined to push themselves to make music that continues to stand up. "As such, they've constantly re-invented and challenged themselves. They are, perhaps, alone as the only rock band that has got better with age." The other key ingredient was the fact they were highly organised, Mr Rees said. "They do everything in the right way." The group were born when Mullen put an appeal for bandmates on a high school notice board, attracting fellow pupils Paul Hewson (Bono, vocals), Adam Clayton (bass), David Evans (The Edge, guitar) and his brother Dick.
Dick Evans soon dropped out and the four-piece were known as The Feedback and The Hype before settling on U2.
By 1978, they had won a talent contest and got noticed by a manager, Paul McGuinness. "They were brilliant, but very coarse," McGuinness recently said. "In a way, they were doing exactly what they do now. Only badly." They struggled to attract record company attention, later being described as "pretty damn average" and "strange and eerie" by scouts who saw them live. They released two Ireland-only singles, which topped the national charts in 1979 and 1980, leading to a deal with Island and their debut album Boy. The stadium-filling, anthemic sound was U2's aim from the start, and their third album, War, saw them make the breakthrough on both sides of the Atlantic, going to number one in the UK and 12 in the US. Songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day brought success and an image as a political and spiritual band - which Bono rejected as a cliche.
His stage performances - which included flag-waving, speaker-climbing and drum-throwing - earned him a reputation as an electric performer, and their appearance at 1985's Live Aid is widely seen as sealing their global stardom.
In 1987, The Joshua Tree broke sales records and saw the band reach the height of their powers with hits including Where the Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and With Or Without You. Those songs took the band's epic, atmospheric sound to a simple, powerful and popular pinnacle. The end of the decade marked a crucial point for the band - they had reached the top but still yearned for new challenges and achievements. These came in the form of explorations of different branches of rock and forays into electronic dance music, plus wildly extravagant stage shows, while still trying to retain their mass appeal. The Achtung Baby album in 1991 was followed by Zooropa, Pop and their corresponding stadium tours, which featured giant olives, flying cars, live phone calls to the White House and Bono's transformation into alter-egos The Fly and MacPhisto. He was also building a parallel reputation - not always to the pleasure of his bandmates - as a campaigner on issues from global debt to Aids. Before the release of How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, they had sold 125 million albums around the world. But they still want more. | entertainment |
Lasting influence of legend Charles
Ray Charles, who has won a string of posthumous Grammy Awards, belonged to a pioneering generation of artists that had a huge influence on the course of rock and pop music.
His sound encompassed so many styles - blues, gospel, jazz, rock 'n' roll, even country - and had a real impact on the nascent UK beat and R&B scenes.
Compared in stature to Elvis Presley by some commentators, Charles' songs cast their spell on such 1960s stalwarts as Joe Cocker, Steve Winwood, Eric Burdon and Van Morrison. His influence has extended to contemporary artists such as Norah Jones, with whom he recently recorded a duet. If James Brown was the godfather of soul, then Ray Charles was indisputably one of its founding fathers. Along with Sam Cooke, he was instrumental in bringing together the gospel fervour of the deep south Baptist church with the "devil's" music of R&B to pave the way for a new generation of soul artists.
Without Charles, it is hard to imagine the tear-stained Atlantic R&B sound of Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett. He was also a talented jazz composer, arranger and band leader, playing at the Newport Jazz Festival and Carnegie Hall and recording with noted jazz musicians such as Milt Jackson and David "Fathead" Newman. Unfortunately, he also shared another trait common among many jazz artists of the era - that of heroin addiction, which led to him being arrested in 1965. His string of 1950s Atlantic R&B successes included songs that would be covered by the first-generation rock 'n' roll greats, including I've Got A Woman (Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley) and Hallelujah, I Love Her So (Eddie Cochran). After the exuberance of his 1959 signature song What'd I Say, Charles turned towards a more pop-oriented style, recording Hoagy Carmichael's sentimental string ballad Georgia On My Mind, and the upbeat Hit The Road Jack.
He also won acclaim in the country arena with his interpretations of Hank Williams standards such as Your Cheating Heart and You Win Again. More than 40 years after its release, his 1962 ABC album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music is still regarded as a classic. His version of Don Gibson's I Can't Stop Loving You topped the pop and R&B charts in the US. In 1972, he made a rare foray into protest songs with his album A Message from the People.
On it, he took a stand on poverty and civil rights - echoing similar recordings of the era from progeny such as Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. More than 20 years later, he would embrace contemporary production with his 1993 album My World, which featured hip-hop beats - although Charles claimed at the time not to know what hip-hop was. Among the tributes that poured in from all sections of the music world when Charles died aged 73 in June 2004 was one from his friend, the producer Quincy Jones, who described him as a "brother in every sense of the word". "There will never be another musician who did as much to break down the perceived walls of musical genres as much as Ray Charles did," he said. Former Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones, who sang on 1960s hits such as Come Tomorrow and Sha La La, said Charles was one of his heroes. "I'm quite sure my own writing was influenced by him," he told BBC News Online. "I would put money on the proposition that Ray Charles will have an influence on music forever." | entertainment |
Grammys honour soul star Charles
The memory of soul legend Ray Charles dominated the music world's leading music ceremony on Sunday as he was given eight posthumous Grammy Awards.
Charles, who died in 2004, got honours including record and album of the year, while Alicia Keys and actor Jamie Foxx performed a musical tribute to him. R&B star Keys won four awards herself at the Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles. U2, Usher, Norah Jones and Kanye West got three each. West led the race going into the ceremony with 10 nominations.
Charles' last album, Genius Loves Company, a collection of duets that has sold more than two million copies, was named album of the year and best pop vocal album. His song Here We Go Again with Norah Jones won record of the year and best pop vocal collaboration, while Heaven Help Us All with Gladys Knight picked up best gospel performance. Jones said: "I'm glad he's getting recognised, because of who he is and how much I love him." Actor Jamie Foxx - who is nominated for an Oscar for playing Charles in the hit movie Ray - dedicated a rendition of Georgia on My Mind to "old friends". Keys, looking to replicate her Grammys success of 2002, when she won five, picked up best R&B song for You Don't Know My Name and best R&B album for The Diary of Alicia Keys. She also shared the award for best R&B vocal performance by a duo or group with Usher for My Boo.
Usher's other victories were for best contemporary R&B album for Confessions and best rap/sung collaboration for Yeah!, featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. Kanye West dominated the rap categories, winning best rap song for Jesus Walks and best rap album for The College Dropout. But in one of the night's biggest shocks, he lost out in the battle to be named best new artist to pop rock act Maroon 5. Vertigo by rock giants U2 won three trophies - best rock song, best short video and best rock vocal performance by a duo or group. One of the other main awards, song of the year, went to US singer-songwriter John Mayer for Daughters. Mayer also won best male pop vocal performance. Britney Spears picked up her first ever Grammy for her song Toxic, which was named best dance recording.
Rod Stewart also won the first Grammy of his career, getting the best traditional pop album award for Stardust... The Great American Songbook: Volume III. In 2003, Stewart said he was "astounded" he had never won a Grammy - but "they tend not to give it to the British unless you're Sting". There were few other high-profile British victors this year. Annie Lennox, metal group Motorhead and dance act Basement Jaxx all took home trophies. But Elvis Costello, who had four nominations, and Joss Stone and Franz Ferdinand, who were both up for three awards, got nothing.
Beach Boys veteran Brian Wilson was another first-time winner - for best rock instrumental performance. "It represents triumph and achievement in music that I feel that I deserved, and I'm really glad I won," he said. A live recording of composer John Adams' 11 September tribute, On the Transmigration of Souls, performed by the New York Philharmonic, won three classical prizes. And former US President Bill Clinton picked up the second Grammy of his career, winning the spoken word award for the audio version of his autobiography My Life. | entertainment |
Abba reunite for musical premiere
The original stars of Swedish pop quartet Abba have reunited for the home premiere of hit musical Mamma Mia! which is based on the band's songs.
It is the first time in almost 20 years that the four, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, have met publicly. Faltskog has been a virtual recluse since the band split up in 1982. The musical, which has become a global phenomenon, will be performed in Swedish for the first time. Fans camped outside Stockholm's Cirkus theatre in the snow for a glimpse of the stars. The premiere marks Abba's first public reunion since the legendary band's acrimonious break-up in the early 1980s. It was thought that Faltskog would appear in London for the musical's fifth anniversary celebrations in April 2004 but she stayed away due to her fear of flying.
Original Abba member Bjorn Ulvaeus set about translating the musical into the band's mother tongue for the celebrated homecoming, alongside Swedish artist Niklas Stromstedt. Almost all of Abba's original songs, which have sold more than 350 million records worldwide, were written and recorded in English. The musical, set on a small Greek island, tells of the story of a young woman and her fiercely independent single mother. The show will include such classics as Super Trouper, SOS and Dancing Queen. There are currently 14 productions being staged worldwide, including New York and London, with road shows in Toronto, South Korea and Madrid. More than 20 million people around the world have seen the show. | entertainment |
Help for indies in download sales
A campaign has been launched to help independent labels get their music online and benefit from the growing trend for downloading music.
The British Phonographic Industry has identified a lack of independent music available for download. "We want to ensure that independent repertoire is as successful in the download world as it is in the physical world," said BPI chief Peter Jamieson. Downloaded singles have now overtaken physical singles in the UK. Mr Jamieson said his organisation was lobbying music service providers, which include iTunes and Napster, to urge them to promote independent releases. Download sales are due to be incorporated into the UK singles chart later this year. "With downloads shortly to be eligible for the singles chart, this is a key commercial issue on which the BPI committed to assisting its members," added Mr Jamieson. As part of the campaign the BPI is running a series of seminars entitled Getting Your Music Online, focusing on how independent labels can embrace digital music. The US has already begun incorporating download sales in the Billboard's Hot 100 chart. | entertainment |
T in the Park sells out in days
Tickets for Scotland's biggest music festival have sold out in record time, five months before the event is held.
The 12th annual T in the Park festival, which takes place at Balado near Kinross in July, sold out just four days after the line-up was announced. Green Day, the Foo Fighters and Keane are among the acts that had already been lined up to appear at the event. However, the organisers have revealed Scots favourites Travis as well as soulman James Brown will also appear.
Last year tickets sold out 10 weeks before the festival but organisers confirmed that all 130,000 for the two-day event had been sold. Geoff Ellis, CEO of festival organisers Big Day Out Ltd, said this year's event promises to be the best yet. "After last year's sell-out, we did think this year's event would sell slightly earlier, however this is way beyond our expectations," Mr Ellis said.
"We are extremely proud that fans are so excited about T in the Park that they have made absolutely sure that their place at Balado is booked for 2005, and we will deliver one of the greatest events yet for them in July." More than 120 acts will play on eight stages over the weekend of 9 and 10 July. Brit Award winners Keane and The Streets are among the main attractions, while The Killers and dance act The Prodigy are also on the bill. Both Green Day and The Foo Fighters last played at the festival in 2002, the same year Oasis and Basement Jaxx were among the headline acts. | entertainment |
Black Sabbath top rock album poll
Black Sabbath have topped a list of the best British rock albums of all time.
The band once fronted by Ozzy Osbourne led a poll of Kerrang! magazine readers with their 1970 self-titled debut. The band have three more efforts on the list, including fifth-placed Paranoid. Osbourne appears more than any other act, with two solo records featured. The top five includes Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden and Sex Pistols. Queen, Muse, Manic Street Preachers and The Clash complete the top 10. A mix of heavy metal, punk, glam rock and even dance music makes up the list. Motorhead, Judas Priest and Prodigy are included along with newer acts like The Darkness and Lostprophets.
Kerrang! editor Ashley Bird said: "It's amazing to see so many incredible homegrown albums in one list, and without any of the abysmal fashion bands that currently clog up the music scene. "These are the real opinions of proper rock fans."
Formed by four teenage friends in the West Midlands in the late 1960s, Black Sabbath are one of Britain's most successful heavy rock bands. Their debut was a UK top 10 hit in 1970 and sold more than a million copies in the US. Osbourne said the band's success in the Kerrang! poll was a triumph for British rock. He said: "Back then you'd hear: 'If you go to San Francisco, be sure to wear a flower in your hair'. "We lived in Aston, Birmingham. The only flowers I ever saw were on a gravestone in our local cemetery." Despite being disliked by many critics, Black Sabbath's subsequent albums included multi-million sellers but internal rows led to Osbourne leaving in 1979. The band continued without Osbourne, who went on to solo success but also had to battle alcoholism and legal action over his music allegedly inciting teenagers to commit suicide. He was eventually cleared of the charges. Osbourne, who bit off the head of a live bat on stage in 1982, rejoined the band to play the Live Aid charity concert in 1985. After many changes in line-up, the original four members reunited to play live dates in 1997. Black Sabbath have reunited regularly in recent years while Osbourne has gone on to wider fame with his family through MTV documentary series The Osbournes. | entertainment |
Michael film signals 'retirement'
Singer George Michael has said that a new film about his life is the start of a retirement from public view.
The pop star said it would be a much more "behind the scenes affair", and called his own genre of music "dead". "I thought I should explain myself before I disappear," said Michael, who was at the Berlin film festival to launch the documentary. The film, A Different Story, chronicles Michael's life and career from the 1980s and his personal struggles. The 41-year-old chart-topper told reporters in the German capital that he wanted to "move his career into a different form", but added that he does not know what it is going to be yet.
"I'm still going to be making music," he said, but added that he was "not going to be around". He hinted at discontent with the current state of music industry, and said: "I don't really think that there is anyone in the modern pop business who I feel I want to spar with." Michael said that the film, directed by Southan Morris, would put his two decades of fame into context. "It's almost as much for me as for my fans, in terms of trying to make sense of the last 22 years and bring it to a close in a proper way," he said. The documentary chronicles the highs and lows of his life in the public gaze, from his meteoric rise as one half of pop duo Wham! to his arrest for lewd conduct in a Los Angeles toilet in 1998. The film also deals with the loss of Michael's partner Anselmo Feleppa from an Aids-related condition in 1993. A Different Story, which is being shown at the Berlin Film Festival, has been screened by BBC One. | entertainment |
Hendrix guitar fetches £100,000
A much-loved guitar belonging to Jimi Hendrix has been sold for £100,000 at an auction in London.
The 1965 Fender Stratocaster was one of a number of guitars included in the sale dedicated to the rock legend. The vast archive of instruments, signed records and posters were collected by a dedicated fan who had become friendly with the star. The auction was billed as the biggest collection of Hendrix memorabilia to go under the hammer. The majority of the items were collected by fan Bob Terry who began collecting at the age of 17. He later sold it on to another collector.
Hendrix, widely considered one of the best guitarists of his era, died of a drug overdose in 1970 at the age of 27. The 1965 Fender Stratocaster was used by the musician on tour and in his studio. A poem written by Hendrix two weeks after his infamous appearance at the Monterey Festival where he set light to his guitar went for £10,000. The Jimi Hendrix Experience's first single Hey Joe, signed by all the band, was sold for £2,000. The sale, hosted by auctioneers Cooper Owen, was held at the Hard Rock Cafe in London. | entertainment |
German music in a 'zombie' state
The German music business - the third largest in the world - is "in the state of a zombie" because it has failed to respond to the challenge posed by downloading and piracy, a leading industry figure has said.
Tim Renner, the head of Universal Music Germany until last year, told BBC World Service's The Music Biz programme that the country's music industry was now struggling to survive. Renner warned that unless the industry accepted "new realties" - such as downloading - its decline could become irreversible. "The problem the music industry has got is that they aren't willing to accept that the classic way of doing business is over and out," he stated. "So the music industry in its current form over here is pretty much in the state of a zombie."
The music market in Germany peaked in 1997, with sales of 2.6bn euros (£1.8bn). Since 2000, sales have plummeted to just 1.6bn euros (£1.1bn) in 2003. In the space of one year - between 2002 and 2003 - CD album sales fell by 13.8%. But a study by the Society for Consumer Research found that at the same time, more than twice as many recordable CDs had music recorded on them than CD albums were sold. Mr Renner pointed out that, because profit comes mainly from the longevity of a good-selling record, this was particularly damaging.
"You need time," he added. However, Peter Zombic, the managing director of the International Federation of Phonographic Industry in Germany, said he did not feel the situation was as "dramatic" as Mr Renner believed. "It's quite true that we have severe problems in Germany - but that's true in other parts of the world and in most developed markets too," he argued. "We have a severe problem with piracy, especially internet piracy, and we also have a severe problem of private copying. "I don't agree that the music industry lost control over the music market - in fact, especially in regard to Germany talent, the market is quite successful." He did, however, admit that copyright owners have "partly lost control of their copyright", due to piracy and copying.
But he refuted suggestions that the industry had been too slow to respond to digital downloading. "We were the first to implement a download service - back in 1997," he argued. "At that time it was not successful, because of the advent of piracy - it was the Napster time, when P2P services became popular. "It still is quite difficult for the music industry to compete with a price that is zero as far as the illegal product is concerned." Mr Zombic also called for a change to the perception in Germany that private copying of music is not a problem. German law does allow people to make copies of CDs for their family and close friends, without fear of breaking copyright. Mr Zombic said that this legal framework was a "huge problem". "There is a widespread attitude that private copying is a hobby, it's nice, it's fun," he added. "We try to make clear it's not nice and it's not fun - it's endangering the creativity in our country." | entertainment |
Musical treatment for Capra film
The classic film It's A Wonderful Life is to be turned into a musical by the producer of the controversial hit show Jerry Springer - The Opera.
Frank Capra's 1946 movie starring James Stewart, is being turned into a £7m musical by producer Jon Thoday. He is working with Steve Brown, who wrote the award-winning musical Spend Spend Spend. A spokeswoman said the plans were in the "very early stages", with no cast, opening date or theatre announced.
A series of workshops have been held in London, and on Wednesday a cast of singers unveiled the musical to a select group of potential investors. Mr Thoday said the idea of turning the film into a musical had been an ambition of his for almost 20 years. It's a Wonderful Life was based on a short story, The Greatest Gift, by Philip van Doren Stern. Mr Thoday managed to buy the rights to the story from Van Doren Stern's family in 1999, following Mr Brown's success with Spend Spend Spend. He later secured the film rights from Paramount, enabling them to use the title It's A Wonderful Life. | entertainment |
Famed music director Viotti dies
Conductor Marcello Viotti, director of Venice's famous La Fenice Theatre, has died in Germany at 50.
Viotti, director of La Fenice since 2002, conducted at renowned opera houses worldwide including Milan's La Scala and the Vienna State Opera. His time at La Fenice coincided with its reopening in 2003 after it was destroyed by fire in 1996. He fell into a coma after suffering a stroke during rehearsals for Jules Massenet's Manon last week.
He conducted some of the best orchestras in the world including the Berlin Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra. Viotti was born in Switzerland and studied the piano, cello and singing at the Lausanne Conservatory. His career breakthrough came in 1982 when he won first prize at the Gino Marinuzzi conducting competition in Italy. Viotti established himself as chief conductor of the Turin Opera and went on to become chief conductor of Munich's Radio Orchestra. At La Fenice Viotti was widely acclaimed for his production of the French composer Massenet's Thais and some of his other productions included Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata and Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos.
The last opera he directed at La Fenice was Massenet's Le Roi de Lahore. Viotti's debut at the New York's Metropolitan Opera came in 2000 with Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly, followed by La Boheme, La Traviata and Fromental Halevy's La Juive. Giampaolo Vianello, superintendent of the Fenice Theatre Foundation, said: "I am filled with extreme sadness because, other than a great artist, he is missed as a friend - a main character in the latest joyous times, during the rebirth of our theatre." Viotti's last public performance was on 5 February when he conducted Vincenzo Bellini's Norma at the Vienna State Opera. | entertainment |
TV presenter Deeley drops CD:UK
Cat Deeley has resigned as host of ITV1's Saturday morning children's music show CD:UK after six years.
The 28-year-old host who also presents Stars In Their Eyes said she wanted to concentrate on new television projects. "I've had a great few years, met some really incredible people and been given some wonderful opportunities," the presenter said. Deeley will host her last show on 5 March and guest presenters will stand in until a replacement is found.
The long-running presenter said: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the CD:UK team and all the viewers that have watched, supported the show and let me gate crash their Saturday morning. "Whilst obviously I am really sad to say goodbye, I'm immensely excited about the future." Deeley formerly co-hosted SM:tv, the children's show which airs before CD:UK on a Saturday morning, alongside hit presenters Ant and Dec. She won a Children's Bafta award for best presenter in December 2001 and also fronted BBC One's Fame Academy series. | entertainment |
The Producers scoops stage awards
The Producers has beaten Mary Poppins in the battle of the blockbuster West End musicals at the Olivier Awards.
The Producers won three prizes at the UK's most prestigious annual theatre awards, while Mary Poppins won two. Mel Brooks' hit show triumphed in the battle for best new musical, where it was up against Mary Poppins and Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White. Alan Bennett's The History Boys was the big winner in the straight theatre categories, picking up three trophies. But all eyes were on the musical prizes after The Producers, Mary Poppins and The Woman in White all had high-profile openings in the last six months.
The Producers' Nathan Lane, a last-minute replacement for Richard Dreyfuss, beat his former co-star Lee Evans to win best musical actor. Lane has already left the production. A smash hit on Broadway before moving to London, the show also won best musical performance in a supporting role for Conleth Hill, who plays director Roger DeBris. Mary Poppins' awards came for best choreography and best musical actress for its star Laura Michelle Kelly. It led the nominations going into Sunday's ceremony at London's Hilton hotel, up for nine awards. Both shows are stage adaptations of 1960s films. The History Boys, set in a grammar school in the early 1980s and partly based on Bennett's experiences as a teacher, was named best new play.
It also won best actor for Richard Griffiths, who beat his Harry Potter film co-star Michael Gambon, nominated for Endgame, as well as Jonathan Pryce and Ben Whishaw. The play also won National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner best director and Bennett got a special award for outstanding contribution to British theatre. Dame Judi Dench, who starred in All's Well That Ends Well at the Gielgud, lost out in the best supporting role category to Amanda Harris, who played Emilia in Othello for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Olivier Awards have been handed out by the Society of London since 1976.
- Best lighting design - His Dark Materials designed by Paule Constable at the Olivier
- Best sound design - The Woman in White designed by Mick Potter at the Palace
- Best new opera - Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Royal Opera House
- Outstanding achievement in opera - Thomas Ades and the Royal Opera House for the world premiere of The Tempest
- Best costume design - All's Well That Ends Well designed by Deirdre Clancy at the Gielgud
- Best Revival - Hamlet by William Shakespeare at The Old Vic
- Best set design - His Dark Materials designed by Giles Cadle at the Olivier
- Outstanding musical production - Grand Hotel at the Donmar Warehouse
- Best supporting role in a musical - Conleth Hill for The Producers at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
- Best theatre choreographer - Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear for Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward
- Best actor - Richard Griffiths for The History Boys at the Lyttelton
- Outstanding achievement or performance in an affiliate theatre - Andrew Scott for A Girl in A Car With A Man at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
- Best new dance production - Rambert Dance Company's Swamp at Sadler's Wells
- Outstanding achievement in dance - San Francisco Ballet for their season at Sadler's Wells
- Best performance in a supporting role - Amanda Harris for Othello at Trafalgar Studios
- Best actress - Clare Higgins for Hecuba at the Donmar Warehouse
- Best musical actor - Nathan Lane for The Producers at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
- Best musical actress - Laura Michelle Kelly for Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward
- Best director - Nicholas Hytner for The History Boys at the Lyttelton
- Best new play - The History Boys by Alan Bennett at the Lyttelton
- Best new musical - The Producers at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
- Special award - Alan Bennett for his outstanding contribution to British theatre | entertainment |
Rocker Doherty in on-stage fight
Rock singer Pete Doherty has been involved in a fight with his band's guitarist at their biggest gig to date.
Babyshambles played for 5,000 fans at London's Brixton Academy on Tuesday. The former Libertines singer traded blows with guitarist Patrick Walden. They were separated and bundled off stage before returning to end the set. The show was earlier held up due to audience overcrowding. On Monday Doherty faced blackmail and robbery charges in court, which he denies. He is out on £50,000 bail and the judge agreed to extend his 2200 GMT curfew deadline by two hours so he could play the Brixton gig.
Babyshambles, which he formed after his acrimonious departure from the Libertines, played a warm-up show at The Garage, north London, on Monday. On Tuesday, Doherty and his three bandmates were introduced to the crowd by Mick Jones, the former Clash guitarist who produced the Libertines' second album. Babyshambles took the stage to a frenzied reception at 2200 GMT, launching into their last single, Killamangiro, which reached number eight in December. But the group had to stop during the next song to persuade fans not to push forward and allow security guards to pull people out of the crush. Doherty appealed to fans to calm down, saying: "There's a few people getting hurt down the front, you've got to move back."
The music resumed minutes later but after several more songs, the singer appeared to accidentally disconnect Walden's guitar, leading the pair to trade kicks and punches. Bouncers stepped in and the band left the stage, but returned after five minutes and finished their 50-minute performance with no further trouble. Doherty, 25, had to be home by midnight to observe the curfew, which is one of the conditions of his bail. On Monday, the judge agreed to allow him to perform on condition that requests for changes to his bail terms were "not too regular an occurrence". The singer was arrested with fellow musician Alan Wass on 2 February after an alleged dispute with documentary-maker Max Carlish at a London hotel. They are next due in court on 18 April. | entertainment |
The Sound of Music is coming home
The original stage production of The Sound of Music is to be performed for the first time in the Austrian capital, 40 years after the film was released.
The first full-scale theatrical production of the musical will make its debut in Vienna on Saturday. Julie Andrews starred in the 1965 film version of the Rogers and Hammerstein classic set in the Alpine country. But despite being one of the most successful musicals of all time, it is barely known inside Austria.
The film was never shown in any cinema in Austria and was not broadcast on television until the early 1990s. The musical is based on the true story of the von Trapp family who formed a singing troupe and escaped from Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938.
Sensitivities about Nazism during wartime Austria and issues towards the von Trapp family themselves could explain Austria's reluctance to embrace the musical. Another source of irritation for Austrians is the song Edelweiss, which is considered an traditional folk song by many filmgoers. The song was actually an invention by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Many also consider the film to portray a kitsch image of Austria, including yodelling, goat-herds and lederhosen. The production is being staged at a Viennese opera house, the Volksoper, beginning on Saturday. Maria, the novice nun who falls in love with Baron von Trapp, will be played by Austro-Australian actress and singer Sandra Pires. | entertainment |
Download chart debut is delayed
The inclusion of downloaded music in the official singles chart has been delayed for a month.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) had planned to include download formats in the chart from 20 March. But the date has been put back to 17 April to create a "level playing field" for independent labels. The BPI is concerned that independent repertoire is not adequately represented online and said they were looking at ways of rectifying it.
BPI chairman Peter Jamieson said: "The inclusion of download formats in the Official UK Singles Chart is the most significant development in the charts for 20 years.
"But for a multitude of reasons the current chart representation of independent repertoire at the major download outlets is poor. "I am very pleased we have secured this delay on behalf of independents. We have to try and establish a realistic 'level playing field' of opportunity. The Official UK Charts are run by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC) - a joint venture between the BPI and the British Association of Record Dealers (BARD). At an OCC board meeting on Wednesday, the OCC board agreed with BPI members that the 20 March start date be postponed. Download formats will now be included in the Official UK Singles Chart for the first time in the chart published on 17 April - the sales week beginning 10 April. The US has already merged downloaded singles into its Billboard Hot 100 chart. | entertainment |
Rapper films music video in jail
A US rapper awaiting trial for murder has filmed part of a music video in jail, angering a sheriff who says he was tricked into letting TV crews in.
C-Murder, a former member of rap group Tru, was filmed in his orange prison suit for the video for his Y'all Heard of Me single in a New Orleans jail. He is awaiting a second trial after an original conviction was thrown out. "I'm not pleased," Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said. "He will not make another video in my jail." Footage for the video was filmed by two crews who had permission to interview C-Murder - one from Court TV and one from a local cable show.
But Mr Lee said he did not know the rapper had filmed the video and made an album behind bars, and said he was fooled into letting the cameras in. The rapper's lawyer Ron Rakosky said: "The bottom line is, we didn't do anything wrong." Mr Rakosky said it was better than C-Murder, real name Corey Miller, "just sitting there, wasting away". "Here's a guy in jail, making constructive use of his time instead of withering away," he said. "He's lost more than three years of his life, locked up for a crime he did not commit."
But local group Victims and Citizens Against Crime said he should not be working behind bars. "He is a suspect in a murder case. I don't think he should be allowed these privileges, especially earning money, until his name is totally cleared," the group's president Beverly Siemssen said. In 2003, C-Murder was found guilty of killing a 16-year-old in a nightclub, but that decision was thrown out last April. He is now facing a second trial on a charge of second-degree murder. With two brothers in the group Tru, he had two US top 10 albums in the late 1990s before going solo, when he scored another three top 10 albums. | entertainment |
Music man to the Oscars
Bill Conti's job of musical director of the Oscars show is not for the faint-hearted since conducting the orchestra is the ultimate plate-spinning assignment.
This year marks Conti's 17th turn at the helm of the Academy Awards orchestra. "The excitement is a live performance as a musician," he says. "All of your colleagues, everyone in the film industry is in the theatre. All the important people. "I guess it's just a television show but we always think it's a bit more.' The orchestra strikes up more than 110 times during the average Oscars show. As well as playing the presenters and winners on and off stage, it also performs during the commercial breaks to entertain the live audience in the house.
"It's a very busy evening, it takes a certain amount of preparation of music, orchestrating, sketching rehearsing, before the show. But you don't know what the unexpected will be and as the musical director, it's exciting," explains Conti. And much of the preparation goes into mastering scores that will never be performed. "We don't know who the winners will be. So when they say, 'the winner is', we have five different pieces of music in front of us, they say the name, we play the appropriate one immediately," adds Conti.
The orchestra is often called upon to play when the winners ramble on too long during their acceptance speeches, despite being told to be brief by the show's producers.
The decision to drown out or 'kill' the offending star with music is relayed from the director's box to the orchestra via Conti's earpiece. "I don't feel good about it at all. It's not my call though," he says. "When the director says 'music' the orchestra plays and he takes a long shot of the hall. We don't usually see the person speaking while his microphone is cut off. "The person that's been cut off, who's 10 feet from me, is glaring at me like it's death time." On occasions, some stars have taken it upon themselves to send a warning shot across the bows of the musical director before they start to speak. "Julia Roberts, when she came on, she asked me to not get ready to play because she had so much to do," he says. Conti received an Oscar in 1983 for the original score of The Right Stuff. He also received two nominations in the original song category in 1976 for Gonna Fly Now from Rocky and in 1981 for the title song from For Your Eyes Only.
"It's a moment in the sun," he says. "When people get up there, some people, this is hard to believe, people that spend their lives in front of the camera or audiences entertaining, might get a little flustered. "But there's this moment in time when the biggest award that they could possibly get in their life has been handed to them and they're either not in control or they want to thank everyone that they ever met."
The image of the Oscars telecast is one of slick presentation and smooth transitions between performances and the award categories. Behind the scenes, the key players, such as Conti, have a bewildering array of technical props to deal with. "There's a big script and video monitors you have to watch and there are also audio controls. I can control hearing in my ears, the left ear or the right ear - different things at different times.
"I have to communicate with the director. I have a little microphone that's attached to my headset. To open up that microphone, I have a footswitch," he explains. Conti's most nerve-wracking moment came during his first Oscars show as musical director, in 1977, when a member of the orchestra alerted him that they could smell smoke. Conti immediately told the show's director: "I start cursing and screaming, I tell him we're not going to die for this show - you must do something or I'm going to climb out of this pit with 60 musicians and we're going to be home in 10 minutes. "'Oh no Bill don't do anything," came the response. "Imagine these elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen of the orchestra, 60 or so of them in the pit and while we're playing, firemen with their helmets and their hatchets crawling among us trying to find the reason for the smoke." The smell turned out to be new paint smouldering on the music stands. "No one died, it's not a big story, but it was scary at the time," laughs Conti. When the ceremony is over, the music director attends the annual Governor's Ball with his family. "I have a drink and relive the show," he says. "I'm not for too much carousing. I go home and unwind. It takes me about a day." | entertainment |
Church urges Nelly show boycott
Church ministers are trying to prevent rapper Nelly performing in Arkansas, saying they do not want his "vile and filthy lyrics" in their town.
More than 20 Jonesboro ministers urged music fans to boycott Nelly's 12 March concert at Arkansas State University in a bid to have it cancelled. "Jonesboro is a wonderful city because of what does not come here," said the Reverend Adrian Rodgers. But a venue spokesman said more than 5,500 tickets had been sold so far.
Mr Rodgers, of the Fullness of Joy Church, said he was concerned about the rapper's lyrics that include references to drugs, sex and violence, and songs that the minister said were demeaning to women. Ministers were worried that bringing such acts to Jonesboro would lead to problems. "Tear the tickets up," Mr Rodgers said. "Do not go and do not allow your children to go."
Tim Dean, director of the Arkansas State University venue, said ticket sales had been brisk. "It would appear that with ticket sales over 5,000, many others have expressed their right to find Nelly's music entertaining and worth spending their time and money on," he said. Nelly has sold more than 30 million singles and albums worldwide, and in September 2004 simultaneously occupied the number one and two positions in the US albums chart. He has had 12 UK hit singles, including Hot in Herre, Dilemma and recent number one Over and Over. | entertainment |
Rap feud in 50 Cent's G-Unit crew
US rap star 50 Cent has said he has thrown protege The Game out of his G-Unit gang in a feud that has apparently involved two shootings.
In a radio interview on Monday, 50 Cent said the newcomer was disloyal in conflicts with other rappers. A man was shot in the thigh outside New York's Hot 97 studios while 50 Cent was on air. More shots were fired outside his management offices two hours later. 50 Cent appeared on The Game's debut album, which was number one in the US. 50 Cent, whose second album is about to be released after his debut made him one of hip-hop's biggest stars, has been involved in recent rivalries with fellow artists including Fat Joe, Nas and Jadakiss.
He has claimed credit for the success of The Game, who has become the hottest new star on the rap scene. Both were drug dealers and were shot before turning to music.
In an interview with Hot 97 on Saturday, The Game described some of 50 Cent's rivals as "my friends" and said he would not turn on them. "Nas is one of my friends, and Jada's really a homie," he said. "50's beef is 50's beef and I really don't know where all this stems from." When 50 Cent appeared on the same station two days later, he said The Game was no longer a member of G-Unit. "Every record he's selling is based on me being on his record with him," he said. When the shooting took place outside the studio, the interview was ended and the rapper was escorted out of the building by security personnel.
An unidentified 24-year-old Los Angeles man is stable with a gunshot wound to the upper thigh. Police say The Game's associates may have heard the interview and gone to the studio, where they confronted 50 Cent's entourage. Officers are also investigating a later shooting in which eight bullets were fired into the door of 50 Cent's management company, Violator. No arrests have been made in relation to either incident. 50 Cent's second album, The Massacre, is released on Thursday, five weeks after The Game's debut, Documentary, went to number one.
Elliott Wilson, editor-in-chief of hip-hop magazine XXL, said the feud would boost publicity for 50 Cent's release. "It helps him obviously in terms of exposure. You can't ask for better promotion," he said. But he added: "I think he's making more and more enemies. "You definitely feel like is he doing too much of a Tupac spiral, like me against the world. You bring more people wanting to see you fail." Tupac Shakur was shot dead in 1996. | entertainment |
Prodigy join V Festival line-up
Essex act Prodigy are to headline the second stage at this year's V Festival, joining main stage headliners Scissor Sisters and Franz Ferdinand.
The event, which is in its 10th year, will be held at two venues - Hylands Park in Essex and Weston Park in Staffordshire on 20 and 21 August. Meanwhile, rock veterans New Order have joined the T in the Park line-up alongside Athlete and Green Day. The Manchester band will play on 9 July at Scotland's biggest festival. It will be their debut performance at the music event which is held over the weekend of 9 and 10 July in Balado near Kinross. Other bands at the sold-out festival include Queens of the Stone Age, The Killers, Keane, The Streets and Foo Fighters.
A month later at the V Festival, Prodigy will play at Weston Park on Saturday 20 August and Hylands Park on Sunday 21 August and the Chemical Brothers vice versa. It will be the Chemical Brothers' only UK festival performance of the year. V festival director Bob Angus said: "With the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers now confirmed to headline the second stage, we are headed for a really stellar line-up. "We pride ourselves on putting on an unbeatable live music experience and V Festival 2005 will not disappoint." Tickets for the V festival go on sale on Friday 11 March. | entertainment |
DJ double act revamp chart show
DJ duo JK and Joel are taking over BBC Radio 1's flagship chart show on Sunday, adding showbiz news, celebrity interviews and between-song banter.
They hope to boost ratings for the long-running show, which has been overtaken in popularity by independent radio's Hit 40 UK rundown. "Radio 1's chart show is an institution and remains the station's single most popular show," says JK, also known as Jason King. "For years people have been tuning in at four o'clock with their tape recorders ready to record their favourite tunes. Not that I ever did that. "But things have moved on a lot now so it was time for a change."
That change involved ejecting previous host Wes Butters and relocating King and DJ partner Joel Ross from their weekend afternoon Radio 1 slot. The pair have worked together for a decade - meeting on Viking Radio in Hull before moving to Manchester station Key 103 and winning two Sony Radio awards. They also presented gadget series Playboyz and car show Motor Maniacs for cable TV channel Granada Men and Motors, and Pure Soap on BBC Three.
On the revamped chart show their cheeky, laddish banter will punctuate star interviews and competitions, film and DVD charts plus a look at future single releases, in addition to the singles chart itself. "The chart rundown is no longer the only point of the programme," says Ross. "The show used to be the only way to discover who was in the Top 40. Now you can just click on the internet to find that out, so the show has plenty of extra items too." The show's reduced reliance upon the Top 40 also reflects the fact that music fans are now more likely to download songs in digital format rather than buy them on compact disc, vinyl or cassette.
"I personally buy downloads rather than CD singles," says 27-year-old Ross. "Even my grandma can download songs now. JK is still struggling with the technology, though." "But it's premature for people to say that the singles chart is dead," Ross adds. "While sales of singles on traditional formats are down, interest in songs has been revived by download sales, which will be incorporated into our main chart rundown from April. "Music fans still want to know what is the most popular song of the week."
Ross will be plumping for chart success from rapper Verbalicious and the Stereophonics on Sunday, while King is more of an R&B and dance music fan. "So listeners will get the advantage of both our music tastes," says King, 30, who describes outgoing host Butters as "an extremely professional and competent broadcaster".
"The advantage Joel and I have is that we're a double act, with a rapport between us that makes the show much more interactive," King says. "Wes has a great broadcasting career ahead of him. And if not, I could always use a cleaner," he jokes. Ross says the pair have done their best to ignore the weight of expectation placed upon the revamped show. "Other people can worry about that, we are going to continue doing what we do well," he says. "At the end of the day this is a radio show that is meant to be entertaining. Nobody died." | entertainment |
Rapper 50 Cent scores chart first
Rapper 50 Cent has become the first solo artist to have three singles in the US top five in the same week.
His track Candy Shop remained at the top of the charts, while Disco Inferno crept up from six to five. 50 Cent also appears on rap protege The Game's song How We do, number four in the US but now outside the UK top ten. The pair had a recent dispute which saw The Game thrown out of 50 Cent's rap collective G-Unit, accusing him of disloyalty in an ongoing feud.
50 Cent, who burst onto the music scene in 2003, has had less success in the UK charts, with three singles making the top ten. His debut album, Get Rich And Die Tryin', narrowly missed out on becoming a UK chart topper.
But in the US, he headed the 2003 end of year charts for the album and R&B and hip hop artists. Newcomer The Game's debut reached the top of the charts five weeks ago, while 50 Cent's second collection The Masscre was released in the US at the end of last week. Last May, R&B star Usher scored a chart first, with three concurrent singles in the US Top 10, a feat which was previously matched only by The Bee Gees and The Beatles. The hit songs were taken from the 24-year-old's Confessions album, which topped the American chart for eight weeks. | entertainment |
Goodrem wins top female MTV prize
Pop singer Delta Goodrem has scooped one of the top individual prizes at the first Australian MTV Music Awards.
The 21-year-old singer won the award for best female artist, with Australian Idol runner-up Shannon Noll taking the title of best male at the ceremony. Goodrem, known in both Britain and Australia for her role as Nina Tucker in TV soap Neighbours, also performed a duet with boyfriend Brian McFadden. Other winners included Green Day, voted best group, and the Black Eyed Peas. Goodrem, Green Day and the Black Eyed Peas took home two awards each. As well as best female, Goodrem also took home the Pepsi Viewers Choice Award, whilst Green Day bagged the prize for best rock video for American Idiot. The Black Eyed Peas won awards for best R 'n' B video and sexiest video, both for Hey Mama. Local singer and songwriter Missy Higgins took the title of breakthrough artist of the year, with Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian taking the honours for best pop video. The VH1 First Music Award went to Cher honouring her achievements within the music industry. The ceremony was held at the Luna Park fairground in Sydney Harbour and was hosted by the Osbourne family. Artists including Carmen Electra, Missy Higgins, Kelly Osbourne, Green Day, Ja Rule and Natalie Imbruglia gave live performances at the event. | entertainment |
REM announce new Glasgow concert
US band REM have announced plans to perform for 10,000 Scottish fans in a rescheduled gig.
The band will play in what has been dubbed Europe's biggest tent on Glasgow Green on Tuesday, 14 June. They were forced to pull out of a concert at the SECC in Glasgow last month after bassist Mike Mills contracted flu. Fans who bought tickets for the original 22 February show can attend the rescheduled concert. The June gig will act as a warm-up for REM's open air concert at Balloch Castle Country Park, on the banks of Loch Lomond, four days later.
Promoters Regular Music booked Glasgow Green as the SECC was not available on the most suitable date. Mark Mackie, director of Regular Music, said: "It is fantastic news and it really shows REM's commitment to their Scottish fans that they are coming back to Glasgow for what will be a truly unique gig." The REM gigs will kick-start what promises to be a memorable summer for Scottish music lovers.
Grammy Award winners U2 will play Hampden on 21 June while Oasis will also perform at the national stadium in Glasgow on 29 June. Coldplay have announced a concert at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on 1 July and T in the Park will be held at Balado, near Kinross, from 9-10 July. Ticketweb and the SECC box office will write to customers who bought tickets for the February gig asking if they want to attend the new show. Those who bought tickets in person are being urged to return to the point of purchase. Anyone who cannot make the concert will be given a refund. The cut-off date for swapping tickets is 1 April, when those remaining will go on sale to the public. | entertainment |
Rapper 50 Cent ends protege feud
Rapper 50 Cent has ended his public feud with his protege The Game as the pair said they wanted to be good role models for their communities.
The row blew up when 50 Cent threw The Game out of his G-Unit crew and accused him of being disloyal. A member of The Game's entourage was reportedly shot outside a radio station where 50 Cent was being interviewed. But the pair shook hands as they handed over money to music projects for New York's deprived areas on Wednesday.
The Game, whose real name is Jayceon Taylor, told a news conference: "I want to apologise. I'm almost ashamed to have participated in the things that went on over the last few weeks." Chart-topper 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, said the truce came on the anniversary of the death of the Notorious BIG in 1997, who was part of a volatile feud between the east and west coast rap scenes. "We're here today to show that people can rise above the most difficult circumstances and together we can put negativity behind us," 50 Cent said.
"A lot of people don't want to see it happen, but we're responding to the two most important groups - our family and our fans." The Boys Choir of Harlem got a cheque for $150,000 (£77,800) from 50 Cent, while The Game handed over $103,500 (£53,400). The Game also made a contribution to the Compton schools music programme. 50 Cent announced he has launched the G-Unity Foundation "to help people overcome obstacles and make a chance for the better in their lives".
"I realised that if I'm going to be effective at that, I have to overcome some of my own," he said. "Game and I need to set an example in the community." 50 Cent is no stranger to feuds, with rapper Ja Rule among the targets for ridicule in his songs. On his latest album, released earlier this month, he turned his attentions to Fat Joe and Nas, who have both worked with Ja Rule. Both he and The Game have admitted drug dealing in the past and have both been shot. | entertainment |
Musicians to tackle US red tape
Musicians' groups are to tackle US visa regulations which are blamed for hindering British acts' chances of succeeding across the Atlantic.
A singer hoping to perform in the US can expect to pay $1,300 (£680) simply for obtaining a visa. Groups including the Musicians' Union are calling for an end to the "raw deal" faced by British performers. US acts are not faced with comparable expense and bureaucracy when visiting the UK for promotional purposes.
Nigel McCune from the Musicians' Union said British musicians are "disadvantaged" compared to their US counterparts. A sponsor has to make a petition on their behalf, which is a form amounting to nearly 30 pages, while musicians face tougher regulations than athletes and journalists. "If you make a mistake on your form, you risk a five-year ban and thus the ability to further your career," says Mr McCune.
"The US is the world's biggest music market, which means something has to be done about the creaky bureaucracy," says Mr McCune. "The current situation is preventing British acts from maintaining momentum and developing in the US," he added.
The Musicians' Union stance is being endorsed by the Music Managers' Forum (MMF), who say British artists face "an uphill struggle" to succeed in the US, thanks to the tough visa requirements, which are also seen as impractical. The MMF's general secretary James Seller said: "Imagine if you were an orchestra from the Orkneys? Every member would have to travel to London to have their visas processed."
"The US market is seen as the holy grail and one of the benchmarks of success, and we're still going to fight to get in there. "It's still very important, but there are other markets like Europe, India and China," added Mr Seller. A Department for Media, Culture and Sport spokeswoman said: "We're aware that people are experiencing problems, and are working with the US embassy and record industry to see what we can do about it." A US Embassy spokesman said: "We are aware that entertainers require visas for time-specific visas and are doing everything we can to process those applications speedily." "We are aware of the importance of cultural exchange and we will do our best to facilitate that," he added. | entertainment |
Angels 'favourite funeral song'
Angels by Robbie Williams is the song Britons would most like played at their funeral, a survey has suggested.
While the melancholy hit topped the UK poll, Europeans favoured Queen's more upbeat anthem The Show Must Go On as their first choice. Frank Sinatra's My Way was second in the UK vote with Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life in third place. More than 45,000 people were surveyed by digital TV station Music Choice.
The European chart, which included Denmark, France and Germany, put Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven in second and AC/DC's Highway to Hell in third. Queen's Who Wants to Live Forever was highly favoured by both UK and European voters.
Both lists featured only one traditional or classic song each, with Britons requesting the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards' Amazing Grace and their continental counterparts opting for Mozart's Requiem. "Wanting to share your most treasured musical gem with those you're leaving behind is the perfect way to sign off and leave a lasting impression," Music Choice music and marketing manager Simon George said. | entertainment |