2003 – On the final night of her Farewell tour, Cher is named the year’s biggest touring female by Billboard. She grossed $145 million and drew 2.2 million fans to over 200 concerts.
2003 – The Flaming Lips are forced to cut short a concert in Birmingham, England, after one of their dancing pandas collapses onstage.
2003 – Paul Weller dismisses rumors that he will reform The Jam (“Going Underground”) for a series of five huge concerts in 2004, labelling them “Bollocks.”
2003 – Jane’s Addiction play a surprise “flash mob” gig outside London’s Brixton Academy immediately after their Halloween show there. Fans were invited to the karaoke-styled set via text message.
2003 – Lionel Richie files for divorce from his second wife, Diane, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
2003 – Britney Spears cancels a French concert to promote her new album In the Zone after she comes down with a flu and severe throat infection.
2003 – Over a hundred police Police are called to a Marilyn Manson concert in Kansas City after fans push down a security barrier twice and the shock-rocker abruptly ends his show.
2003 – Guitarist Terry Corso leaves Alien Ant Farm, the punk/poppers best known for their hit cover “Smooth Criminal.”
2003 – Australian punks The Living End do a little taking care of business, signing with Universal Music Publishing.
2003 – Jennifer Lopez unveils her new line of perfume – Still Jennifer Lopez. She describes the scent as “very true to my passions and my relationship to the public.”
2003 – The file-sharing application Napster returns to the Internet as Napster 2.0, offering a paid-for downloading service.
2003 – Paul McCartney, 61, becomes a dad again as his wife Heather Mills gives birth to a baby girl, seven-pound Beatrice Milly.
