Search Results for: Queen

Beyonce Knowles may be “Crazy in Love,” but she kept her cool Sunday at one of the more sober Grammy Awards shows in memory. She was the night’s big winner, taking home a record-tying five trophies to join recent Grammy queens Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Norah Jones with the most wins in a single year by a female performer. OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below won Album of the Year, giving the eccentric Atlanta funk/rap group three wins, including Best Urban Alternative Performance and Best Rap Album. British band Coldplay took home the prize for Record of the Year for “Clocks,”… Read more »

As Johnny Rotten once snarled, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” To the dismay of aging punk fans, a British television company announced Monday that the former Sex Pistols singer and angry punk icon – now known by his real name, John Lydonhas agreed to appear in the reality show “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” “I’m gobsmacked,” said Tony Wilson, a British journalist and music entrepreneur who knows Lydon. “I’m shocked, but I have faith… I’m sure he’s doing it for the right reasons.” Other punk fans were appalled. “The announcement made me feel instantly old….… Read more »

Keith Richards has criticized his old friend and fellow Rolling Stone Mick Jagger for accepting a knighthood. In an interview published in the December issue of the music magazine “Uncut,” the Stones’ guitarist was quoted as saying, “I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs (awards) from the establishment when they did their very best to throw us in jail,” in a reference to his and Jagger’s 1967 conviction on drug offenses, later overturned on appeal. “Just as we were about to start a new tour, I thought it sent out the wrong message. It’s not what… Read more »

The Lostprophets are preparing for the release of Start Something, the successor to the group’s 2001 independently released, The Fake Sound of Progress. The new Lostprophets album is produced by Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, Good Charlotte) and features the first single, “Last Train Home,” which was the unexpected #1 most added track at modern rock radio this week and #2 most added at the active rock format. The stations who have added the track include the Los Angeles based modern rock pacesetter KROQ. Start Something is scheduled to be released on February 3, 2004. The group recently… Read more »

Composer, conductor and arranger Michael Kamen, who led the San Francisco Symphony in its collaboration with Metallica for the band’s 1999 S&M album, died at home in London of an apparent heart attack Tuesday (November 18), according to his publicist. He was 55. Known for being something of a rock and roll classicist, in 1974 Kamen served as musical director for David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs tour, and he’s worked on orchestrations for Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Queen, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan. In 1991 he arranged an orchestral version of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” for MTV’s 10th anniversary celebration, but it… Read more »

International artists are joining MTV in a multimedia campaign to raise awareness of the impact of HIV and AIDS in South Africa. The “46664” initiative takes its name from the prisoner number of former South African president Nelson Mandela when he was jailed under the apartheid regime in his country. Mandela is the figurehead of the new campaign. He was in London for the Oct. 21 launch of 46664, which will deliver a concert, CD and DVD and organize a global petition on AIDS. “AIDS today in Africa is claiming more lives than the sum total of all wars, famines… Read more »

Britney Spears, 50 Cent, Beyoncé, Pink, Shakira, Bono and many others will take part in a benefit concert for AIDS awareness on November 29 in Cape Town, South Africa. The extravaganza will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a 90-minute special will air on MTV on World AIDS Day, December 1. A simultaneous feed will be available at no cost to all TV and radio stations around the globe Proceeds from the concert will go to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The event is expected to draw 40,000 people and will be recorded for CD and DVD release. In addition,… Read more »

The Beatles again proved their enduring popularity when an auction of several pieces of the Fab Four’s memorabilia, including a rare early concert poster and a program for a 1965 U.S. concert tour, fetched thousands of dollars. The Beatles’ mementos were among hundreds of items from artists such as the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Queen and Madonna at Christie’s biannual pop memorabilia auction. Items up for sale Wednesday included autographed material, lyrics, gold discs, unpublished photographs and clothing. Christie’s said the total raised in the one-day auction was $632,030. “Once again, The Beatles topped the bill at Christie’s pop sale,”… Read more »

The battle-weary music industry surveyed the wreckage of another dismal six months on Wednesday as global data showed music sales tumbled almost 11 percent, piling more pressure on music companies to do deals to survive. Despite big hits from pop queen Christina Aguilera and rapper 50 Cent, Internet downloading and CD-burning continued to ravage the industry, dragging music sales down to $12.7 billion in the first half of this year, a leading industry body said. However, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) indicated the rest of the year may not be so gloomy, with a strong release schedule… Read more »

A Perfect Circle, described by Rolling Stone as “that rare supergroup… of veteran musicians that actually adds up to more, not less, than the sum of its parts,” announces their next round of concert dates and releases their much- anticipated second album in stores today, THIRTEENTH STEP, propelled by its first single, “Weak and Powerless.” The song has jumped to #3 Alternative and #7 Active Rock on both the Mediabase and BDS charts. The countdown now begins toward the first leg of A Perfect Circle’s 2003 arena tour, opening on Halloween in San Antonio (please see initial dates below in… Read more »