Search Results for: the wonder years

A London nightclub bouncer on Tuesday accepted “substantial” libel damages from a tabloid newspaper which printed remarks by Oasis star Noel Gallagher (news) about an alleged assault at the club. London’s High Court was told that Shabazz Nelson had sued the mass-selling Sun tabloid for damages after it ran an interview with the musician about a fracas at celebrity hang-out, The Met Bar. “In the course of the article Mr. Gallagher alleged that he and his girlfriend had been assaulted by door attendants who were referred to as monkeys,” said Nelson’s lawyer, Korieh Duodu. The article was accompanied by a… Read more »

“Surreal” is about the only word to describe it when that kid you remember from “Gremlins” and “Goonies,” all grown up now, is rocking out in the middle of a record store. And surreal it was when Corey Feldman and his band played for a bewildered crowd numbering less than a hundred recently at Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard. As fans and curious shoppers waited (and waited), a drummer, a guitarist, a bassist named Pharaoh and a keyboard player (none of whom would look lost at a construction site) along with two backup singers crowded onto a makeshift stage, where… Read more »

Vertical Horizon re-entered the studio for two days recently to record a version of “I Believe In Father Christmas,” originally recorded by prog-rock heroes Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The song will appear on a holiday release being readied by BMG. The track was produced by John Shanks, who is also overseeing the band’s next album, Go, due early next year from RCA. The recording marks the first time that Vertical Horizon has recorded another artist’s tune. “It was a wonderful experience,” the band writes on its official website ( verticalhorizon.com). “We spend a great deal of time creating our own… Read more »

As the Rolling Stones kickoff their “Licks” world tour in Boston this week, patience is finally paying off for fans who were driven out of their heads over the years by the woeful state of the band’s back catalog of 1960s albums. Key works have long been unavailable on CD, while the albums that are available sounded awful: not surprising since the product on the shelves was transferred to CD back in 1986 when the technology was still in its infancy. But satisfaction has arrived with the recent ABKCO Records release of 22 remastered albums, the fruits of a 10-year… Read more »

Horror movie fans have always figured Freddy and Jason were destined to meet. But could they have guessed that Destiny’s Child would be part of the picture? Kelly Rowland said she starts shooting scenes for “Freddy vs. Jason” this fall, as one of the female leads. “I remember being on the set with Beyoncé on ‘Austin Powers’ and when she did ‘Carmen,’ ” Rowland said Tuesday on another set – that of Nelly’s video for “Dilemma.” “She was like, ‘You go act. I know you can do it.’ She always thought I had personality. I did a couple of TV… Read more »

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, timber cutters, miners, construction workers and truck drivers face the highest risk of injury on the job. Perhaps the Labor Department would add “musical performer” to that list if it bothered to assign someone to study the goings-on at say, Ozzfest or the Anger Management Tour – or even Britney Spears’ Dream Within a Dream Tour – to take note of the amount of blood spilled and number of fingers/arms/knees/backs injured onstage. While many imagine that a music superstar’s day on the job involves such trappings as free-flowing Cristal, gold grills, hovering hotties… Read more »

Newly installed VH1 toppers Brian Graden and Christina Norman are moving quickly to put their stamp on the struggling music cable network, greenlighting an aggressive fall slate of series and specials aimed at building on the channel’s still-strong retro music brand. VH1 is also beefing up its “Movies That Rock” franchise, snagging the broadcast premiere of the Oscar-winning “Moulin Rouge” and several other theatricals. And rather than simply repurposing other networks’ music specials, Graden wants VH1 to sign A-level talent for original concert specials. The flurry of activity comes barely three months after Graden was named entertainment president of the… Read more »

Major record companies, seeking to quash a brewing revolt by pop stars over royalty payments, on Tuesday released a study backing its claim that the embattled industry has negotiated past contracts fairly. The release of the study, commissioned by the Recording Industry Association of America, came as lawyers for musicians told a California state Senate hearing in Sacramento that the record industry has used faulty accounting to cheat them out of royalties. To bolster its claim that the record business is on the up and up, the RIAA released a study by Michigan State University professor Steven Wildman showing that… Read more »

Concert grosses for the first half of the year were up 17 percent, but so were ticket prices – the average cost of a ticket for top tours was about $51, compared to $47 last year, according to an industry report. Attendance at concerts was down for a second straight year, according to the survey released Friday by Pollstar, a weekly trade publication. The survey of the top 50 tours, including those by Paul McCartney, ‘N Sync ( news – web sites), the Dave Matthews Band and Creed, showed that from January to June, the top tours recorded about $538… Read more »

The record industry pleaded on Wednesday with consumers to stop downloading and recording music for free because piracy was strangling the multi-billion-dollar industry. Profits have plummeted, especially in Europe. CD sales in Germany last year were 185 million whereas the number of blank CDs used to copy music was estimated at 182 million. Record executives also believe there are now more unauthorized music files available on the Internet than at the height of Napster ( news – web sites)’s success in the field. “Music for free means less new music, fewer new artists, less choice, thousands less jobs,” said Jay… Read more »