| CMU Daily - on the inside 20 Jan 2003 |
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In today's CMU Daily:
• Major AIDS benefit cancelled,
• Chicago successes at the Golden Globes,
• Ms Dynamite calls for end to gun crime,
• So Solid members in court,
• Review: Ed Harcourt - All Of Your Days Will Be Blessed,
• ITV digital – you can keep your boxes,
• Bobby Brown faces a week in jail,
• Zoe and Norm marriage on hold,
• Smith looks for new deal,
• Ladytron secure wink remix,
• Key 103 criticised for Hindley sweepstake,
• Strummer fans encouraged to buy a tree,
• Strut and Junior release Soul II Soul rarities,
• Live Review: Dashboard Confessional @ London Metro,
• Carlton look for club staff in new reality show,
• Rape allegations against Dion’s husband probably extortion,
• BMG release Brits DVD,
• Lennon Jagger track goes under hammer,
• Review: Unrest - Erlend Øye,
• Jackson Five reunion now likely,
• Robbie bad mouths labels’ piracy war
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Two songs, two artists – same song title – which two artists have released tracks called ‘Blue Monday?
Answer tomorrow
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OUT TODAY: RECOMMENDED RELEASES
Singles: Fionn Regan – Resevoir; Hell Is For Heroes - You Drove Me To It (EMI/Chrysalis); Mountain Goats - Tallahassee (Beggars/4AD); Wilt - Understand (Mushroom); Bob Sinclair - The Beat Goes On (Defected); Nylon Pylon Pushin (Warner); Smoke 2 Seven – Envy (Warner)
Albums: Mary Lorson & Billy Cote - Piano Creeps (Cooking Vinyl); DPZ - Turn Off The Radio; Erick Sermon – React (BMG); Kinky - Kinky (Warner)
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CHART UPDATE
Good news, and bad news. The good news is Girls Aloud are finally off the number one spot in the singles chart (I ask again, who is still buying this record?). The bad news, my favourite pop act of the moment, the posh boys from Busted, had to make do with number two with their incredibly catchy ‘Year 3000’ – Fame Academy’s David Sneddon taking number one with ‘Stop Living the Lie’. Sneddon was very gracious when being interviewed by Scot Mills after getting the number one spot, and he did write the song himself, so we should be nice to him. But the track is rubbish.
Elsewhere in the singles chart, new entries on the dance side of things for Jamieson feat Angel Blu with ‘True’ at number 4 (sadly not a Spandau Ballet cover) and for Panjabi MC with ‘Mundian to Bach Ke’ at 5 (is this Knight Rider theme sampling track cool and innovative, or just plain irritating – you decide?).
On the rock tip Feeder go in at 9 with the postponed release of ‘Just The Way I’m Feeling’, the fantastic Flaming Lips go in at 18 with the ‘Yoshimi’ track, and The Libertines, despite a slagging at the CMU message board, enter the chart at 20 with ‘Time For Heroes’.
Albums wise, if pop has to rule then a top five consisting of Avril Lavinge, Justin Timberlake, Pink, Daniel Bedingfield and Busted is fine by me (apart from Daniel Bedingfield that is, but he’s inoffensive so we’ll let that one go). Still a bit quiet in the whole albums chart, though interesting to see a Brits nomination has pushed The Streets back into the Top 40 with ‘Original Pirate Material’.
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MAJOR AIDS BENEFIT CANCELLED
A disagreement between funders and organisers has led to a major AIDS benefit concert in South Africa to be called off.
As previously reported the event, first proposed by Nelson Mandela, was due to bring together the likes of Coldplay, Jimmy Cliff, Queen, Bono, Macy Gray, Shaggy, Nelly Furtado and Ms Dynamite for a concert held on Robben Island at the prison where Mandela was held for 18 years during the country’s apartheid regime, which has now been converted into a museum.
The concert, which would also have been screened in a stadium in Cape Town and on TV networks across the globe, aimed to promote awareness of the AIDS crisis in Africa, and to raise funds for those organisations attempting to battle the epidemic.
But the event will now not be staged after the Nelson Mandela Foundation, who were backrolling the concert, couldn’t come to an agreement with their producers.
"We were overwhelmed with the enthusiastic response to Madiba's [Mr Mandela's] call by the international artists who rose to the occasion to offer support for this proposed historic Human Rights Concert," John Samuel, chief executive of the Foundation, told reporters. "We have, however, concluded that the concert cannot take place since the proposed producers were not able to come to a satisfactory agreement with the foundation."
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CHICAGO SUCCESSES AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES
The movie version of the West End musical Chicago performed well at the Golden Globes last night. For some reason musicals are lumped in with comedies at the Golden Globes, which put the film up against some tough competition, but it still won through: Renee Zellweger taking best actress, Richard Gere best actors and the best musical/comedy movie overall.
Elsewhere on the musical side of things U2 took the award for best original song in a movie for ‘The Hands That Built America’ from ‘Gangs of New York’.
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MS DYNAMITE CALLS FOR END TO GUN CRIME
Ms Dynamite has called for an end of gun crime at a concert held yesterday in remembrance of the two teenagers shot dead in Birmingham over Christmas. In a poem she called for people in the black community to "start loving instead of killing each other".
Although a letter from Tony Blair was read out promising the police will find and bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of Charlene Ellis and Latisha Shakespeare, Beverley Knight used the occasion to accuse the government of being "irresponsible and misguided" in their approach to Britain's gun culture.
She criticised Home Secretary David Blunkett for picking on music as a "soft target" in explaining violence on Britain's streets. "Violence is inextricably linked with poverty and communities that have had an economic break-down - that brings the guns and the violence,” she said.
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SO SOLID MEMBERS IN COURT
Despite rejecting claims they promote gun use, two So Solid Crew members - Kaish and G-Man – were in court on Friday facing charges of being in possession of a gun and ammo. Kaish was also been accused of selling drugs.
The two Crew members have been in custody since they were arrested before Christmas, and will now have to wait another week for any decision - police told the judge they needed another week to gather evidence, so the duo will reappear this Friday.
Elsewhere in the world of the So Solid Crew, Go Beat Records have announced they have “parted company” with Harvey. The label were releasing the rapper’s solo work – but they were disappointed with the performance of his last single which only just scraped the top 25.
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REVIEW: Ed Harcourt - All of Your Days Will Be Blessed (EMI/Heavenly)
"This song features my wonderful pump organ," states Mr. Harcourt. And what a mighty fine organ it is too! Also known as a harmonium (why, what were you thinking of?) it imbues this first taster from Mr Harcourt's forthcoming second album with an otherworldly, fairground feel. Like a one man Polyphonic Spree, there's a magic in this tune that makes you think of old caravans and Jeff Buckley, even though you haven't got the faintest clue what he's actually singing about. LA
Release date: 3 Feb
Press contact: EMI IH [all]
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ITV DIGITAL – YOU CAN KEEP YOUR BOXES
The liquidators of defunct digital TV service ITV Digital have said former customers can keep their set top boxes for free. Accountancy firm Grant Thornton caused uproar last month when they demanded £40 off every former customer in return for their set top box – which can now be tuned to receive the Freeview service. The fact the customers had put up with losing their TV service overnight as the mismanaged ITV Digital collapsed didn’t seem to come into it. But, concerned at the further damage the debacle would do to their battered brand, ITV Digital’s former owners Carlton and Granada have finally stood in and said they will cover the cost of the boxes. Those who have paid £40 will have their money refunded.
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BOBBY BROWN FACES A WEEK IN JAIL
Bobby Brown was jailed for eight days and banned from driving for a year on Friday when he finally faced drink drive charges from 1996. The singer skipped the charges at the time, but was forced to reface them when he was arrested for new driving offences in Atlanta last month. He didn’t help his cause by breaking his bail conditions by leaving Georgia to attend the American Music Awards last week. After hearing his sentence, which also included 240 hours of community service, $2,000 in fines and two years probation, Brown was taken straight into custody.
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ZOE AND NORM MARRIAGE ON HOLD
Media gossip of the weekend - Zoe Ball and Norman Cook confirmed they were to separate four years after they married. It was Zoe’s agent Vivienne Clore who confirmed the couple were separating to give themselves "a bit of time and breathing space".
But after tabloid allegations that marital problems had been caused by Norman "partying hard" while she stayed at home to look after their two-year-old son, Zoe spoke to reporters direct. Denying the tabloid stories she said the separation was "amicable", and that the problems were "just the usual ones that anyone goes through".
She continued: "There's really nothing to say apart from the fact that the reasons are not because my husband has been partying hard, not looking after the baby. That's not the reason, that's not the reason at all as one paper wrote today. And that it's nothing to do with me missing the limelight or the lifestyle I used to have while I worked in television."
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SMITH LOOKS FOR NEW DEAL
Will Smith is being courted by major labels after Sony confirmed he was not re-signing with Columbia after the US release of a greatest hits album last year. According to Billboard DreamWorks have put a multi-million pound deal on the table which would include projects across their music, TV, movie and video game divisions. A DreamWorks spokesperson has denied knowledge of a deal but confirmed that Smith has been working with the label on the soundtrack for their upcoming animation feature ‘Shark Slayer’.
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LADYTRON SECURE WINK REMIX
Ladytron have secured Josh Wink to remix the next single release off the ‘Light And Magic’ album. The producer, who has remixed the likes of No Doubt, Radiohead, Paul Oakenfold, Lenny Kravitz and Depeche Mode will rework ‘Blue Jeans’ for release later this year.
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KEY 103 CRITICISED FOR HINDLEY SWEEPSTAKE
Manchester pop station Key 103 has been criticised by the Radio Authority for running a sweepstake on the time of death of child murderer Myra Hindley. After it was announced Hindley was dieing on 16 Dec the station invited listeners to guess the exact time of death, with the closest guess winning £500. The Radio Authority upheld three complaints and ruled the station had acted irresponsibly, saying: "We believed that the depth of feeling within the area against her was a perfectly legitimate topic for the station to explore. But it could have been handled more responsibly and sensitively to reflect the revulsion felt in a less sensationalist manner."
Key 103 had previously defended their broadcast saying: "It captured something of the mood of the audience, providing our listeners with the opportunity to express their often very impassioned views about Miss Hindley."
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STRUMMER FANS ENCOURAGED TO BUY A TREE
Fans of the late Joe Strummer wanting to make some sort of tribute are being asked to support Future Forests, one of the Clash singer’s favourite environmental groups. They want fans to ‘donate a tree’ so they can grow a forest in his memory.
In the latter part of his life Strummer paid for enough trees to be planted to offset the carbon dioxide emissions created from the production of his CDs and his tours. "Joe absolutely loved forests and trees and helped get Future Forests started," a spokesman for the group told reporters.
“His inspiration and energy backstage at Glastonbury 1996 was the spark that got Future Forests going. Joe said 'bands must be contributing to global warming by their buses, equipment trucks and the diesel used to power the stages. Can you imagine how much CO2 the pressing and the distribution of a CD creates? What shall we do about it?'."
Strummer’s commitment to the planting of forests encouraged the likes of Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Pulp, David Gray and Mel C to support Future Forests – also funding the planting of trees to set off CO2 omissions caused by their work.
The memorial forest will be planted at Orbost on the shores of Loch Bracadale, on the Isle of Skye.
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STRUT AND JUNIOR RELEASE SOUL II SOUL RARITIES
Dance label Strut and Junior will release a Soul II Soul collectors CD in March which will feature a number of exclusives from the flagship 80’s dance act. ‘Soul II Soul at The Africa Centre – The Story Of A Sound System’ will include an exclusive mix from Jazzie B featuring many of the anthems played at the parties he held at the Covent Garden Africa Centre back in the day. This will be backed up by exclusive tracks recorded for Soul II Soul by Shabba Ranks, Horace Andy, Caron Wheeler and Barrington Levy. The album will be out on 24 Mar.
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LIVE REVIEW: Dashboard Confessional @ London Metro on 16 Jan
Some people hate Dashboard Confessional. Singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba was described on buddyhead.com as “Pure Evil…a pussy with the really bad hair do.” But the guy has his fans, as a rammed Metro proved last Thursday. As the band enter the stage – my god he has got bad hair – the fever of excitement rivals any London show I’ve seen. In fact the audience are so keen on one song Chris doesn’t even have to sing – he lets the audience do it for him.
Dashboard Confessional are Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity in music. Character ‘Dick’ would love it, ‘Rob’ would listen to it when he had girl issues, while ‘Barry’ would just say it sucks ass. Acoustic-emo-pop songs on despair, girls and alienation aren’t everyone’s thing. From this display though (and the fact I’m a sucker for songs about girls) Dashboard Confessional were clearly mine.
Songs were played with talent and feeling venturing from the simple acoustic to big riff, space-rock out during the encore. The excitement and atmosphere of the crowd just added to the event. Dashboard Confessional tour again in February/March, its recommended you get there before the DC-fanatic crew beat you to it. DH
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CARLTON LOOK FOR CLUB STAFF IN NEW REALITY SHOW
Carlton TV are still looking for people to take part in yet another reality TV show – this time based on the world of clubbing. The show will focus on three clubs, each being run by a celebrity. Each celebrity will pick a staff from an audience made up of punters – who will work for them for at least a week. At the end of each week the celebrity will decide which staff members to keep on, and which to fire. It will probably be dreadful, but if you know anyone who wants to be in the audience and have a chance to be on the workforce they should apply at www.itv.com/theclub asap. The show will air next month.
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RAPE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST DION’S HUSBAND PROBABLY EXTORTION
A California woman who claimed Celine Dion's manager husband Rene Angelil raped her has been arrested and charged with extortion. Yun Kyeong Kwon Sung and her husband Ae Hoe Kwon of Pasadena were arrested on Thursday. The couple made the rape allegations last March, claiming Angelil had raped Sung in Las Vegas two years earlier in March 2000.
A police spokesman said that during a meeting between the couple’s attorney and Angelil’s legal people last Thursday it “became very clear and apparent that we had an extortion."
Responding to the news Angelil’s lawyer stressed his client’s innocence to all charges, and told reporters: "Apparently, these people have now been accused of trying to extort Mr. Angelil. We're pleased the police have taken this action."
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BMG RELEASE BRITS DVD
BMG have confirmed they will release a DVD of videos by Brits nominees next month – the official Brits DVD will include the likes of Ms Dynamite, The Street’s Sugababes and a reality TV threesome with music from Will Young, Liberty X and Gareth Gates. The DVD will be released on 17 Feb.
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LENNON JAGGER TRACK GOES UNDER HAMMER
A previously unreleased musical collaboration between John Lennon and Mick Jagger will be auctioned off in the latest rock n roll auction next month. The track, a version of blues song ‘Too Many’ with Jagger on vocals and Lennon on guitar, was picked up on acetate disk for £20 by a London record dealer four years ago. Jagger has confirmed the recording is genuine, saying it was made in 1974.
The dealer – Tom Fisher – says the record was among a bunch sold to him by a man who claimed to be a friend of Ronnie Wood. That's why he became curious when he played the unlabelled record and recognised Jagger’s voice.
Other items on sale at the same auction include Jimi Hendrix's famous white Fender Stratocaster and the black left-handed Fender Stratocaster used by Kurt Cobain on Nirvana's Nevermind tour.
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REVIEW: Erlend Øye - Unrest (Virgin / Source)
It's the all new Frazier Chorus! That's the meaningless reference out of the way, let's get down to the record. Erlend Øye is a King of Convenience, and this is his solo album, ten tracks recorded in ten cities with ten different producers. A lot of it's fairly standard trendy bar fare, but good for all that. First track ‘Ghost Trains’ is probably the best, with nods to early eighties and early nineties electro and even (faintly) Joy Division. Much of the rest, with the best will in the world, drifts past. ‘Prego Amore’ (recorded in Rome) wakes things up wakes things up, a spoken vocal over sparse and occasional squelches, but ‘Every Party Has a Winner’ and ‘Loser’ sends the spectre of Mick Hucknall swimming into view (circa Fairground), forcing a temporary retreat to the kitchen. ‘The Athlete’ is slowed-down Fischerspooner (and too many forebears to mention) and is nice on-your-own-with-a-view-at-night music. This is a frustrating album. Øye is obviously a good songwriter, but hides his talents behind a wilful curtain of bland. MB
Release date: 10 Feb
Press contact: Virgin IH [all]
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JACKSON FIVE REUNION NOW LIKELY
Jermaine Jackson has told the Larry King Show in the US that the Jackson Five will reunite for a world tour – the first time Michael has joined his four brothers on stage since their 1984 Victory Tour. "The Jackson Five will reunite, with a world tour this time,” Jermaine said. “It's not going to happen this year but it will definitely happen." Insiders reckon Michael, the brother who has blocked past attempts at a reunion, may be warming to the idea after his disappointment at the performance of his last solo album.
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ROBBIE BAD MOUTHS LABELS’ PIRACY WAR
Robbie has been doing his best to piss off his record label by telling reporters he can’t see how anyone can stop music fans illegally downloading copyrighted music, and that the record labels seem pretty clueless when it comes to tackling the problem.
Speaking at a music trade fair in Cannes he said of downloading tracks: "I think it's great, really I do. There is nothing anyone can do about it.”
He went on to say that when discussing music piracy with record label bosses: "I heard a lot of hot air. The heads of the record labels don't know what to do about it."
While Robbie’s comments may have been made to grab some press coverage, or just to piss off label bosses, you have to admit, for once he does have a point!
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Answer to Friday's pop quiz:
Last awards question for now - who won the Best Male award at the first ever BPI awards in 1977 - and why was it pretty damn impressive when he topped the same category at the second BPI awards?
Mr Cliff Richard won the Best Male Award at the first and second BPI awards – this was quite impressive because there was a five year gap between the first and second BPI awards (the first was in 1977, the second in 1982 – ah, do you remember career longevity in pop?)