2010 – At a Ozzy Osbourne book signing at a Florida Barnes & Noble turned dramatic when the bomb squad was called in, due to a fan with some marijuana and homemade fireworks.
2010 – Pete Wentz appointed spokesperson for UNICEF
Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz has been appointed as a spokesperson for UNICEF to raise awareness about the importance of providing clean drinking water for children around the world.
“Water is something that we as Americans often take for granted,” says Wentzy. “The reality is, the lack of clean and accessible drinking water kills 4,100 children under the age of five every day and as a new father I have become highly attuned to the needs of children everywhere. Unfortunately, it’s usually when emergencies like Haiti occur, that the importance of clean water really becomes apparent to the rest of us.”
2010 – Faith No More’s Frontman, Mike Patton, exposes himself on Camera…
Photo by: Carlie Bryce
A photo of FAITH NO MORE frontman Mike Patton exposing himself for the camera during the band’s February 20, 2010 concert in Brisbane, Australia as part of the Soundwave Festival can be found at Dlisted.com. (Warning: Intended for mature audiences only.) The incident apparently occured halfway through FAITH NO MORE’s performance of the song “Just a Man” after the singer made his way towards an onstage cameraman and took over the camera, using it to tape the audience. He then pulled out his manhood, and showed it to the camera before the song’s close.
Video footage of the incident can be viewed below.
FAITH NO MORE will play three shows in the band’s hometown of San Francisco in early April at the Warfield Theatre. The concerts will serve as a warm-up for the band’s appearance the following weekend at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California.
FAITH NO MORE reunited last year and has played European shows, but has yet to announce a full North American trek.
FAITH NO MORE kicked off its reunion tour on June 10, 2009 with a headlining performance at the Brixton Academy in London, England.
Original guitarist Jim Martin is not part of the reunion. Performing in his place is Jon Hudson, who played with FAITH NO MORE during the latter stages of its initial run after Martin departed.
The rest of the band’s best-known lineup — singer Mike Patton, Gould, drummer Mike “Puffy” Bordin and keyboardist Roddy Bottum — is intact.
FAITH NO MORE released “The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection” in June 2009 in the U.K. via Rhino Records.
This double disc set contains the band’s greatest hits on the first CD, while the second CD features b-sides and rarities.
2010 – Ozzy Going Forward With Battle Over Black Sabbath (HeadbangerNYC.com) A Manhattan federal judge ruled Thursday (February 25) that Ozzy Osbourne can proceed with his lawsuit against guitarist Tony Iommi over use of the Black Sabbath name.
Ozzy filed a lawsuit against Iommi in May 2009, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band’s name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Osbourne is suing Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the “Black Sabbath” trademark, along with a portion of Iommi’s profits from use of the name. The Manhattan federal court suit also charges that Osbourne’s “signature lead vocals” are largely responsible for the band’s “extraordinary success,” noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996. [They seemed to do pretty well with Dio and continue to do so with him fronting Heaven and Hell]
2010 – Roger Daltrey wants to start a super-group with Jimmy Page.
The Who singer is keen to form a new band with the Led Zeppelin guitarist and go back to the blues roots he established before he started writing songs with bandmate Pete Townshend.
He told UK radio station BBC6 music: “I’d love to do something, I’d love to do an album with Jimmy Page. He needs a singer to drive him. I’m a great blues singer.
“I don’t sing the blues with The Who, but that’s what I used to be before Townshend started writing. I used to be a great blues singer.”
The project is more likely to happen as the future of The Who is uncertain, following comments made by 64-year-old Pete revealed he may have to stop performing because of a recurring problem with tinnitus – a painful ringing in the ears, a symptom of noise-induced hearing loss.
He said: “If my hearing is going to be a problem, we’re not delaying shows. We’re finished. I can’t really see any way around the issue.”
Meanwhile, Jimmy Page has spoken of his frustration at not being able to make a Led Zeppelin reunion happen.
The other surviving members of the group are busy, with singer Robert Plant recording a new album with vocalist Alison Krauss, and bassist John Paul Jones joining super-group Them Crooked Vultures.
Jimmy said: “You’d better ask Robert Plant what the future of Led Zeppelin is. Musicians can always play together but I don’t think you can go out with a band called Led Zeppelin if you haven’t got the original vocalist.”
Jimmy has, however, spoken of his desire to get a new musical project off the ground this year, which could pave the way for Roger’s plan.
He previously said: “Next year I have every intention of playing music live and manifesting it. I’ve got the music waiting, and that’s what I’ll be doing.”
2010 – U.K. Declares Abbey Road A Historic Site
February 23, 2010
2010 – With all the talk about EMI possibly selling Abbey Road Studios, the U.K. government has stepped in and declared it a historic site so that no radical changes can be made. Culture Minister Margaret Hodge declared the iconic venue a “Grade II” listed building, which means that although changes to its interior are permitted, any proposed alterations must respect the character and preservation of the site. In a statement, Hodge said the listing had been granted “overwhelmingly on the historic merit of the studios” and because “it has huge cultural importance and a very special place in the hearts of recording artists and music lovers alike.”
“The Abbey Road Studios have been listed in acknowledgement of their outstanding cultural interest and to ensure that recording artists for generations to come can continue to make and record music in the same rooms as musical icons of years gone by,” said Hodge’s statement. “Music – of whichever genre – is the thread that follows us through all our lives and Abbey Road Studios have produced some of the very best music in the world. It’s a testament to both the importance of music in people’s lives as well as the passion this kind of issue stirs up, that so much interest has been generated by the perceived threat to the future of Abbey Road.”
Among those calling for the studios to be saved were Sir Paul McCartney and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who signaled that he was a potential buyer. However, EMI said over the weekend that it did not want to sell Abbey Road, although it was talking to other parties about revitalizing the site. EMI said it had been in discussions since November 2009 to find ways to regenerate the studios.
“EMI confirms that it is holding preliminary discussions for the revitalization of Abbey Road with interested and appropriate third parties,” the company said in the statement. “We believe that Abbey Road should remain in EMI’s ownership.”
2010 – (Entertainment Weekly) — NBC confirmed online reports today that Kevin Eubanks, Jay Leno’s affable bandleader, will step down from his post sometime after original installments of “The Tonight Show” resume in March.
Eubanks told the Peacock Network he wants to try other things, a network insider said, though it’s still not clear when he’ll abdicate his late night gig (or whether the entire band will go with him).
For now, he is expected to be present for Leno’s much-talked about return to “Tonight” on March 1.
Eubanks’ potential replacement and the band’s status is one of many logistical issues confronting Leno, as he and executive producer Debbie Vickers prepare for their next chapter in late night.
One thing’s for certain: he and his staff won’t return to “The Tonight Show’s” old sound stage on the Burbank lot, much less take over the fancy new digs that were built for Conan O’Brien in Universal City.
Instead, Leno will tape “Tonight” from the set of his short-lived primetime show, also in Burbank, though the look of the place is sure to change.
NBC has yet to decide, in the meantime, what do with O’Brien’s old sound stage — though it could accommodate, say, a multi-camera sitcom (NBC’s developing five, in fact, for the 2010-11 season).
Once back on “Tonight,” Leno will likely stick with the brief opening segment where he high-fives members of the audience, not to mention running gags like “Headlines.”
NBC is not ready to announce his first guest (Jerry Seinfeld occupied the chair when Leno premiered in primetime just four months ago).
Promos for Leno’s return are expected to start airing this week during the Winter Olympics — though the comedian got a nice boost by participating in a promo for CBS’ “The Late Show” with David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey that aired during the Super Bowl.
The low-cost spot ended up upstaging most of the other commercials that cost millions to produce and air.
2009 – Bon Jovi has added a performance at the 20th anniversary celebration for the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany to what’s already a jammed promotional schedule for its new album, “The Circle.”
The group is currently slated to be the only entertainment act at the Nov. 9 ceremony, performing “The Circle’s” first single “We Weren’t Born to Follow.” Jon Bon Jovi tells Billboard.com that he “wrote a fan letter, ‘to whom it may concern,’ stating about how we’ve had such a relationship with Germany for all these years and how relevant the song is to the situation and how I was there chipping away a piece of the wall 20 years ago when it came down.”
The German government responded with an invitation. “They heard the lyric and got it and said ‘yeah,’” Bon Jovi notes. “It’s a pretty big deal.”
With “The Circle” coming out Nov. 10, Bon Jovi is also gearing up for its Artists in Residence partnership with NBC, which will kick off with a Nov. 4 “Today” show interview from London, where the group is currently promoting the album. The quintet will appear on the show Wednesday during November, with outdoor plaza performances on Nov. 11 and 25 and an in-studio interview on Nov. 18.
Also on the docket are appearances on the “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” participation in the network’s The More You Know public service campaign and an episode of the NBC-owned Bravo channel’s “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” “James Lipton, Christ almighty, that guy’s crazy,” Bon Jovi says with a laugh. “He made us sit there for four hours! He wouldn’t stop asking questions. But it worked. I think it’s gonna make for an interesting program.”
Bon Jovi’s music, meanwhile, will also be used for Notre Dame football and NFL broadcasts; the Nov. 15 prime-time game between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts will feature “This is Our House,” one of three new songs Bon Jovi recorded for greatest hits album that’s slated to be released in late 2010.
While all this is going on, Bon Jovi is gearing up for a world tour that kicks off Feb. 19 in Seattle and is expected to last two years, covering 30 countries. Over the weekend the group sold out the first 10 of its 20-show residence next June at London’s O2 Arena as well as three concerts at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. Bon Jovi says more shows will be added to the latter stand.
“We’re gonna go out for quite while,” Bon Jovi says, “but it’s what I like to call a gentleman’s tour. We take long breaks. I actually told the guys…’Get used to it; we’re actually gonna rehearse for a change.’ They were like, ‘Oh, no…’ We’re not big on pre-production, y’know?”
2007 – The mighty Led Zeppelin’s eagerly-awaited reunion concert in London was postponed for two weeks after guitarist Jimmy Page broke a finger. The tribute concert in honour of late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun scheduled for 26 November would now take place on 10 December. More than a million fans applied for the 20,000 tickets available, which cost £125 each, about $260 US. Profits from the show would go towards scholarships in Ertegun’s name in the UK, USA and the country of his birth Turkey.
1957 – The Everly Brothers had their first No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Wake Up Little Susie’, (a No.2 hit in the UK).
LYRICS:
Wake up, little Susie, wake up
Wake up, little Susie, wake up
We’ve both been sound asleep, wake up, little Susie, and weep
The movie’s over, it’s four o’clock, and we’re in trouble deep
Wake up little Susie
Wake up little Susie, well
Whatta we gonna tell your mama
Whatta we gonna tell your pa
Whatta we gonna tell our friends when they say “ooh-la-la”
Wake up little Susie
Wake up little Susie, well
I told your mama that you’d be in by ten
Well Susie baby looks like we goofed again
Wake up little Susie
Wake up little Susie, we gotta go home
Wake up, little Susie, wake up
Wake up, little Susie, wake up
The movie wasn’t so hot, it didn’t have much of a plot
We fell asleep, our goose is cooked, our reputation is shot
Wake up little Susie
Wake up little Susie, well
Whatta we gonna tell your mama
Whatta we gonna tell your pa
Whatta we gonna tell our friends when they say “ooh-la-la”
Wake up little Susie
Wake up little Susie
Wake up little Susie
“Wake Up Little Susie” is a popular song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and published in 1957.
The song is best known in a recording by The Everly Brothers, issued by Cadence Records as catalog number 1337. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Pop and Country charts and the Cash Box Best Selling Record charts, despite having been banned from Boston radio stations for lyrics that—at the time—were considered suggestive. It got to #2 on the United Kingdom song charts. The song is ranked #311 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Among notable musical groups performing covers of the song are Simon and Garfunkel and the Grateful Dead. During Simon and Garfunkel’s “Old Friends” tour in 2003-2004, they performed this song and others in a segment with the Everly Brothers, who toured in support. Simon and Garfunkel have cited the Everly Brothers as strong influences on their own music. Their live version of “Wake Up Little Susie” reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. The musical duo Evan and Jaron also recorded a version of the song on their album, “52 Sundays.”
In an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show during the 2000 U.S. presidential election, Governor George W. Bush named “Wake Up Little Susie” as his favorite song, erroneously claiming it was by Buddy Holly. Holly never recorded the song.
In 2008 a part of the song was sung in the bluegrass version of The Raconteurs’ Old Enough, featuring Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe.
Song Premise
The song is written from the point of view of a high school boy to his girlfriend, Susie. In the song, the two go out on a date to a drive-in movie theater, only to fall asleep during the movie. They do not wake up until 4 o’clock in the morning, well after the 10 o’clock curfew. They then contemplate the reactions of her parents and their friends.
Although banned in such places as Boston, the song does not state that Susie and her boyfriend had sexual relations. Indeed, it strongly implies that they did not: the couple simply fell asleep because they were bored by the film.
KISS founding drummer Peter Criss announced on his official website that last year he was diagnosed with breast cancer. Yes, you read that right. We’ll let him fill in the details:
This is Breast Cancer awareness month… In ‘08, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, but with (early detection) my great doctor Alex Swistel & staff and the Lord above, who always looks over me, I am cancer free today!!!
I wanted to let you know men get it like women do. Don’t be afraid to let someone know if you have a lump. Do the right thing for you and your loved ones and get it checked. Man or woman, there is no discrimination with breast cancer … we all don’t have nine lives.
Lucy Vodden. The inspiration behind John Lennon's song, 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds'
2009 – Lucy Vodden Dead: ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ Dies At 46
LONDON — Lucy Vodden, who provided the inspiration for the Beatles’ classic song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” has died after a long battle with lupus. She was 46.
Her death was announced Monday by St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, where she had been treated for the chronic disease for more than five years, and by her husband, Ross Vodden. Britain’s Press Association said she died last Tuesday. Hospital officials said they could not confirm the day of her death.
Vodden’s connection to the Beatles dates back to her early days, when she made friends with schoolmate Julian Lennon, John Lennon’s son.
Julian Lennon, then 4 years old, came home from school with a drawing one day, showed it to his father, and said it was “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”
At the time, John Lennon was gathering material for his contributions to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” a landmark album released to worldwide acclaim in 1967.
The elder Lennon seized on the image and developed it into what is widely regarded as a psychedelic masterpiece, replete with haunting images of “newspaper taxis” and a “girl with kaleidoscope eyes.”
Rock music critics thought the song’s title was a veiled reference to LSD, but John Lennon always claimed the phrase came from his son, not from a desire to spell out the initials LSD in code.
Vodden lost touch with Julian Lennon after he left the school following his parents’ divorce, but they were reunited in recent years when Julian Lennon, who lives in France, tried to help her cope with the disease.
Story continues below
He sent her flowers and vouchers for use at a gardening center near her home in Surrey in southeast England, and frequently sent her text messages in an effort to buttress her spirits.
“I wasn’t sure at first how to approach her,” Julian Lennon told the Associated Press in June. “I wanted at least to get a note to her. Then I heard she had a great love of gardening, and I thought I’d help with something she’s passionate about, and I love gardening too. I wanted to do something to put a smile on her face.”
In recent months, Vodden was too ill to go out most of the time, except for hospital visits.
She enjoyed her link to the Beatles, but was not particularly fond of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
“I don’t relate to the song, to that type of song,” she told the Associated Press in June. “As a teenager, I made the mistake of telling a couple of friends at school that I was the Lucy in the song and they said, ‘No, it’s not you, my parents said it’s about drugs.’ And I didn’t know what LSD was at the time, so I just kept it quiet, to myself.”
Vodden is the latest in a long line of people connected to the Beatles who died at a relatively young age.
The list includes John Lennon, gunned down at age 40, manager Brian Epstein, who died of a drug overdose when he was 32, and original band member Stuart Sutcliffe, who died of a brain hemorrhage at 21.
A spokeswoman for Julian Lennon and his mother, Cynthia Lennon, said they were “shocked and saddened” by Vodden’s death.
Angie Davidson, a lupus sufferer who is campaign director of the St. Thomas’ Lupus Trust, said Vodden was “a real fighter” who had worked behind the scenes to support efforts to combat the disease.
“It’s so sad that she has finally lost the battle she fought so bravely for so long,” said Davidson.
It was 40 years ago today that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play and, although she did not perform on the album, a Surbiton housewife confirms today that she was the inspiration for one of its most famous songs.
Myth and rumour have surrounded the real-life inspiration for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, John Lennon’s swirling ode to psychedelia.
It was first thought that the singer’s muse was Lucy Richardson, a Suffolk schoogirl who went on to become a film art director.
Then speculation centred on the daughter of the comedian Peter Cook. And many believe that the song is a disguised paean to the joys of LSD. But Beatles biographers and accounts by the band members confirm that Lucy O’Donnell is the only possible source for the song.
Lucy, now a 43-year-old housewife from Surrey, was a classmate of John’s son, Julian, at Heath House nursery school in Weybridge. Her moment of fame came in 1967, when Julian came home from school with a drawing of a girl surrounded by stars. John asked him what it was. “It’s Lucy, in the sky with diamonds,” Julian said.
Recent Comments