Search Results for: dublin

Arista recording artist Avril Lavigne’s Try To Shut Me Up Digital Download EP, her first official commercially released live concert tracks, became the #1 best-seller overnight following its July 15th launch on the Apple iTunes Store, it was announced today by Antonio “L.A.” Reid, president and CEO, Arista Records. This is the first live digital-only album released by a major artist on legitimate digital distribution services. The 5-track digital-only album is currently available exclusively (for 30 days) on iTunes for $4.95 download. On August 15th it will become available on all legitimate digital distribution services, including eCast, LiquidAudio, Musicnet, Pressplay,… Read more »

Avril Lavigne is sending a subtle message to Metallica, Linkin Park and other groups who have pulled their music off Apple’s iTunes recently – Let Go. While several artists have distanced themselves from the online music store because it makes tracks available individually, the Canadian singer is supporting the new service by giving iTunes an exclusive live EP. The five-song collection, available only at iTunes beginning Tuesday (July 15), features “Sk8er Boi,” “Losing Grip,” “Nobody’s Fool,” “Unwanted” and a cover of Green Day’s “Basket Case.” Each track is 99 cents. The material was recorded March 23 at the Dublin, Ireland,… Read more »

U2 frontman Bono spoke adamantly about the need to step up efforts to combat world poverty, threatening to wage a civil disobedience campaign, at the launch of the United Nations’ Human Development Report in Dublin. During his speech the singer said, “The people I represent-the activists from my community-will take a very, very different tack in the next few years if these trends are to continue in Africa.” Bono threatened that he would get very “noisy” if wealthy countries didn’t start to help in the fight to end this pervading world issue. He added, “The issue is the defining issue… Read more »

Controversial Irish singer Sinead O’Connor, once famously booed offstage for tearing up the Pope’s picture, declared on Thursday that she’s had it with the music business and with being famous. “As of July 2003, I shall be retiring from the music business order to pursue a different career,” wrote O’Connor – who distinguished herself in the 1990s as much with her shaven head and brash opinions as with her music – on a Web site devoted to all things Sinead, (http://www.sinead-oconnor.com). Although the site is not the official home page for the singer, Lellie Capwell, a spokeswomen for Vanguard Records,… Read more »

A U2 album of all-new material could arrive by next summer, according to the band’s guitarist, the Edge. Speaking with Ireland’s Hot Press magazine, the guitar player, whose real name is Dave Evans, said the group plans to have a new album completed and in stores by mid-2003. He told the Dublin-based magazine that the band is on a roll in the studio, and likened the new recordings’ sound to U2’s early days, with “simple, stripped-down arrangements.” The band’s sessions at Hanover Quay studios have already resulted in two new songs, “Electrical Storm” and “The Hands That Built America,” both… Read more »

Bono, the globe-trotting, conscience-tugging singer with Irish rock group U2, is the most powerful man in music, according to a poll of music industry figures. Bono, whose given name is Paul Hewson, tops a list compiled by music magazine Q. The top 10 names were released Thursday. U2, formed in Dublin more than 20 years ago, remains one of the world’s top-selling groups. Bono, 42, has also emerged as a powerful lobbyist for causes such as relieving the debt of the world’s poorest nations. Earlier this year, he traveled through Africa with U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill. Time magazine profiled… Read more »

From Luciano Pavarotti ( news – web sites) to Bob Geldof, the record industry hailed its stars on Wednesday at a ceremony to acclaim the artists who have sold the most albums in Europe over the past two years. But the multi-billion-dollar bootlegging business cast a giant shadow over the Platinum Europe Awards, as the industry fights to combat pirates whose counterfeit CDs have flooded markets around the world. The awards – given to all albums that have sold over one million copies in Europe – are sponsored by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) trade body which… Read more »

Scottish pop group Travis said on Wednesday they had canceled four European concerts after drummer Neil Primrose suffered a suspected spinal injury in a French swimming pool accident. Primrose was knocked unconscious after striking his head on Sunday while relaxing in the pool following a concert at Belfort in eastern France, the band said in a statement. He was taken by ambulance to hospital, where early indications suggested he had a fractured vertebra. He has been kept in hospital for further tests, the statement said. “Neil has had a terrible accident,” a spokesman for the band told the Daily Mirror.… Read more »

The final seven dates of the European Ozzfest tour have been canceled after guitarist Zakk Wylde departed due to illness. Wylde, who has been playing with Ozzy’s band as well as his own Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society, was on his way back to the United States at press time, according to his publicist, who said the specifics of Wylde’s condition were unknown. The dates affected were in Zurich, Switzerland (June 8); Copenhagen, Denmark (June 10); Stockholm, Sweden (June 11); Helsinki, Finland (June 13); St. Petersburg, Russia (June 15); and Moscow, Russia (June 16). A show was also scheduled for… Read more »

Billy Bob Thornton’s counting on an Elvis sighting. The “Monster’s Ball” actor and screenwriting Oscar-winner for “Sling Blade” began a two-week, nine-city concert tour Friday showcasing his rockabilly musical roots. He announced he’s going to team up with rocker Elvis Costello on dates in Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio. Thornton, who began his music career playing drums and opening for artists including Humble Pie, Hank Williams Jr. and the Earl Scruggs Review, met Costello during the actor’s recent European tour. Costello joined him on stage for a surprise guest appearance in Dublin. “I have always been an admirer of Elvis Costello,… Read more »