Rock History

1954 – Avant-garde guitarist Eugene Chadbourne, who has made an underground name for himself playing the electric rake and electric toilet plunger, is born in Mount Vernon, N.Y.

2008 – GUNS N’ ROSES: ‘Chinese Democracy’ Track Listing Slightly Revised – Oct. 17, 2008
A slightly revised track listing for the new GUNS N’ ROSES album, “Chinese Democracy”, has now been posted at BestBuy.com, which will exclusively carry the album in the U.S. starting on November 23. A pre-order page for the long-delayed release was posted at the site on Wednesday (October 15), although the pre-order option was later taken off. The page lists 14 song titles for the record, 11 of which have either been played live or leaked online over the past few years. The Pulse of Radio reports that one of those, “Street of Dreams”, was previously known as “The Blues”, while three titles, “Scraped”, “Sorry” and “Prostitute”, have not been heard anywhere.

According to Billboard.com, sources who have heard the album say that it opens with a “blood-curdling Axl Rose scream.”

Two different covers will apparently be available, along with CD and vinyl versions. What appears to be one of the covers has been posted at the Best Buy site, showing what seems to be a bicycle with a basket perched on it.

There has still not been an official announcement regarding the November 23 arrival date for the record.

“Chinese Democracy” has been in the works since the mid-’90s, with speculation and mystery surrounding the album’s 13-year journey, ever-changing roster of players and spiraling recording costs.

Revised “Chinese Democracy” track listing:

01. Chinese Democracy
02. Shackler’s Revenge
03. Better
04. Street Of Dreams
05. If The World
06. There Was A Time
07. Catcher N’ The Rye
08. Scraped
09. Riad N’ The Bedouins
10. Sorry
11. I.R.S.
12. Madagascar
13. This I Love
14. Prostitute

2008 – Armstrong and Getty: Cleavelend’s ‘Rock -n- Roll Hall of fame’ annouces ‘Run DMC’, famed for ‘Walk this way’(written by Aerosmith), will be inducted into the hall of fame.  Excluded from the nominees are Stevie Ray Vaughn and Bon Jovi to name but a few.

Morning talk show hosts ‘Armstrong and Getty’ displayed their dismay of the announcement reffering to it as the ‘RECTUM OF FAME’ and intimating that Cleveland itself isn’t really the city you think of when you think ‘Rock-n-Roll’.  Although, it is argued to be the birthplace of rock because of the DJ who first played it… well why not where it was first recorded… is that Memphis… or Los Angeles… I dunno…

This editor thinks they are greatly in the right by saying so. I think they should make a pre-requistie that you have to know how to play ‘Johnny B. Goode’ on the guitar before you can be nominated.

Run DMC before Stevie Ray Vaughn… it should be called the ‘Hall of Shame’.

Stu-

2008 – One of the bigger breakout hits of the Toronto Film Festival was It Might Get Loud, a documentary that consists entirely of Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge swapping stories, expounding on their experiences and of course jamming with each other. The film, directed by An Inconvenient Truth helmer Davis Guggenheim, will satisfy casual fans as well as hardcore guitar afficianados. “It’s almost like having three carpenters talk about a radial-arm saw,” explains White. “It’s great to use this mechanical device to learn all about these other ideas that surround it.” Click below for more on It Might Get Loud, including what songs the trio played when the cameras rolled.

2008 – Gilmour’s tribute to Floyd star Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Richard Wright
Gilmour said Wright (right) was “gentle, unassuming and private”.

Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has praised late bandmate Richard Wright for his “vitality, spark and humour”.

Writing on his website, Gilmour said he had “never played with anyone quite like” the keyboardist, who has died from cancer at the age of 65.

“In my view, all the greatest Pink Floyd moments are the ones where he is in full flow,” Gilmour added.

He hailed Wright for his songwriting talent, including on two tracks from 1973′s Dark Side of the Moon album.

Gilmour joined the band in 1968 – a year after the group’s first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick’s enormous input was frequently forgotten
David Gilmour

“No-one can replace Richard Wright – he was my musical partner and my friend,” Gilmour said.

“In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick’s enormous input was frequently forgotten.

“He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound.”

Gilmour said the blend of his and Wright’s voices, together with their “musical telepathy, reached their first major flowering” on 1971 track Echoes, which took up the whole of the second side of album Meddle.

Gilmour, Waters, Mason and Wright in 2005
The band performed together at Live 8 in 2005 for the first time in 24 years

Released in 1973, The Dark Side of the Moon went on to become one of the best-selling and most influential albums in rock history.

Wright helped write much of the album, but was responsible for two songs in particular, Gilmour said.

He added: “After all, without Us and Them, and The Great Gig in the Sky – both of which he wrote – what would The Dark Side Of The Moon have been?”

Gilmour has now pulled out of the premiere of a concert film, David Gilmour Live In Gdansk, in London on Tuesday.

But the guitarist has asked for the event to go ahead without him in memory of Wright, his spokesman said.

Joe Boyd, who produced the band’s early records, said Wright’s keyboards were “an integral part of the Pink Floyd sound”.

“He was a very nice and easy going person,” he said. “It’s very sad to hear of his untimely passing.”

‘Influential musician’

Neil Portnow, president of The Recording Academy, which organises the Grammy Awards in the US, added his tribute.

“Richard Wright was an exceptional instrumentalist, whose distinctive keyboard style was essential to the musicality of this world-renowned band,” he said.

“He also scored films and recorded his own instrumental compositions and solo albums.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and fans at this difficult time, as we remember this influential musician.”

The group played at the Live 8 event in Hyde Park in London in 2005, when Roger Waters rejoined his bandmates for a one-off, more than two decades after they fell out.

The four musicians all also played at a tribute concert for Syd Barrett in 2007, with Waters playing a solo set and Wright, Gilmour and Nick Mason making a separate appearance.

Wright’s death was announced in a statement by his spokesman on Monday.

The spokesman said Wright died after “a short struggle with cancer” but declined to give further details.

2008 – Associated Press – LONDON – Richard Wright, a founding member of the rock group Pink Floyd, died today… this day in rock! He was 65.
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Pink Floyd’s spokesman Doug Wright, who is not related to the artist, said Wright died after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. He says the band member’s family did not want to give more details about his death.

Wright met Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason in college and joined their early band, Sigma 6. Along with the late Syd Barrett, the four formed Pink Floyd in 1965.

The group’s jazz-infused rock and drug-laced multimedia “happenings” made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene, and their 1967 album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” was a hit.

In the early days of Pink Floyd, Wright, along with Barrett, was seen as the group’s dominant musical force. The London-born musician and son of a biochemist wrote songs and sang.

The band released a series of commercially and critically successful albums including 1973′s “Dark Side of the Moon,” which has sold more than 40 million copies. Wright wrote “The Great Gig In The Sky” and “Us And Them” for that album, and later worked on the group’s epic compositions such as “Atom Heart Mother,” “Echoes” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.”

But tensions grew between Waters, Wright and fellow band member David Gilmour. The tensions came to a head during the making of “The Wall” when Waters insisted Wright be fired. As a result, Wright was relegated to the status of session musician on the tour of “The Wall,” and did not perform on Pink Floyd’s 1983 album “The Final Cut.”

Wright formed a new band Zee with Dave Harris, from the band Fashion, and released one album, “Identity,” with Atlantic Records.

Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and Wright began recording with Mason and Gilmour again, releasing the albums “The Division Bell” and “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” as Pink Floyd. Wright also released the solo albums “Wet Dream” (1978) and “Broken China” (1996).

In July 2005, Wright, Waters, Mason and Gilmour reunited to perform at the “Live 8″ charity concert in London — the first time in 25 years they had been onstage together.

Wright also worked on Gilmour’s solo projects, most recently playing on the 2006 album “On An Island” and the accompanying world tour.

Richard William Wright (28 July 1943 – 15 September 2008) was a self-taught pianist and keyboardist best known for his long career with Pink Floyd. Though not as prolific a songwriter as his bandmates Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and David Gilmour, he did write significant parts of the music for classic albums such as Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, as well as for Pink Floyd’s final studio album The Division Bell. Wright’s richly textured keyboard layers have been a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd’s sound. In addition, Wright frequently sang background and occasionally lead vocals onstage and in the studio with Pink Floyd (most notably on the songs “Time,” “Echoes,” and on the Syd Barrett composition “Astronomy Domine”). Wright died on 15 September 2008, following a short battle with cancer.

Biography

Pink Floyd career

Wright was educated at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s School and the Regent Street Polytechnic College of Architecture, where he met fellow band members Roger Waters and Nick Mason. He was a founding member of The Pink Floyd Sound (as they were then called) in 1965, and also participated in its previous incarnations, Sigma 6 and The (Screaming) Abdabs.

In the early days of Pink Floyd, Wright was seen as a dominant musical force in the group (though not as much of one as Syd Barrett, the band’s chief songwriter and front man at the time) and he wrote and sang several songs of his own during 1967–68. While not credited as a singer on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, he sung lead on Barrett-penned songs like “Astronomy Domine” and “Matilda Mother,” as well as notable harmonies on “Scarecrow” and “Chapter 24.” Examples of his early compositions include “Remember a Day”, “Paintbox” and “It Would Be So Nice”. As the sound and the goals of the band evolved, Wright became less interested in songwriting and focused primarily on contributing his distinctive style to extended instrumental compositions such as “Interstellar Overdrive”, “A Saucerful of Secrets”, “Careful with That Axe, Eugene”, “One Of These Days” and to musical themes for film scores (More, Zabriskie Point and Obscured by Clouds). He also made essential contributions to Pink Floyd’s long, epic compositions such as “Atom Heart Mother”, “Echoes” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”. His most commercially popular compositions are “The Great Gig in the Sky” and “Us and Them” from 1973′s The Dark Side of the Moon. He also contributed significantly to other mid-period Floyd classics like “Breathe” and “Time”.

Wright recorded his first solo project, Wet Dream, and released it in September 1978 with little fanfare. However, the album is regarded with some acclaim among Pink Floyd fans. Battling both personal problems and an increasingly rocky relationship with Roger Waters, he was forced to resign from Pink Floyd during The Wall sessions by Roger Waters, who threatened to pull the plug on the album’s tapes if Wright did not leave the band. However, he was retained as a salaried session musician during the subsequent live concerts to promote that album in 1980 and 1981. Ironically, Wright became the only member of Pink Floyd to profit from those hugely spectacular shows, since the net financial loss had to be borne by the three remaining “full-time” members. He was the only member of the band not to attend the 1982 première of the film version of The Wall. In 1983, Pink Floyd released the only album on which Wright does not appear with The Final Cut.

During 1984, Wright formed a new musical duo with Dave Harris (from the band Fashion) called Zee. They signed a record deal with Atlantic Records and released only one album, Identity, which was a commercial and critical flop. Wright rejoined Pink Floyd following Waters’ departure. Because of legal and contractual issues from his “hired gun” status during The Wall world tour, Wright’s photo was not included in the 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason and his name was listed in smaller letters than Mason and Gilmour. By the time of the Momentary Lapse world tour and the 1988 live album The Delicate Sound of Thunder, Wright was contractually a member of Pink Floyd once again. In 1994, he co-wrote five songs and sang lead vocals on one song (“Wearing the Inside Out”) for the next Pink Floyd album, The Division Bell. This recording provided material for the double live album and video release P*U*L*S*E in 1995. Wright, like Nick Mason, has performed on every Pink Floyd tour.

Modern days

In 1996, inspired by his successful input into The Division Bell, Wright released his second solo album, Broken China, including contributions from Sinéad O’Connor on vocals, Pino Palladino on bass, Manu Katché on drums, Dominic Miller (known from his guitar work with Sting) and Tim Renwick, another Pink Floyd associate, on electric guitar. Broken China was considered to be a more focused and artistically successful work than Wet Dream and marked a new phase in Richard Wright’s modus operandi, with extensive use of computer-based recording and production techniques, assisted by Anthony Moore with whom he co-wrote the album’s lyrics.

On 2 July 2005, Wright, Gilmour, Mason were joined by Waters on stage for the first time since the Wall concerts for a short set at the Live 8 concert in London. Wright underwent eye surgery for cataracts in November 2005, preventing him from attending Pink Floyd’s induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame. Roger Waters, who was also unable to attend the band’s induction due to rehearsals for the opening of his opera Ça Ira in Rome, appeared in video link and stated, tongue-in-cheek:
“     Rick actually hasn’t had an eye operation, he and I have eloped to Rome and we’re living happily in a small apartment off the Via Venuti!     ”

Wright contributed keyboards and background vocals to David Gilmour’s most recent solo album, On an Island, and performed with Gilmour’s touring band for over two dozen shows in Europe and North America in 2006 . On stage with Gilmour he performed piano, electric piano and synth leads with his Kurzweil K2600 workstation, Hammond organ and even his long-inactive Farfisa organ, which was resurrected especially for performing “Echoes” and a couple of Pink Floyd’s and Syd Barrett’s older numbers that Gilmour chose to revisit in his recent concerts. He also provided backing vocals and lead vocals (notably on “Echoes”, “Time”, “Comfortably Numb”, “Wearing the Inside Out” “Astronomy Domine” and “Arnold Layne” – the latter released as a live single). He declined an offer to join Roger Waters and Nick Mason on Waters’ The Dark Side of the Moon Live tour in order to spend more time working on an upcoming solo project (which may be an instrumental album released in 2008).

On 4 July 2006, Wright joined Gilmour and Mason for the official screening of the P•U•L•S•E DVD. Inevitably, Live 8 surfaced as a subject in an interview. When asked about performing again, Wright replied he would be happy on stage anywhere. He explained that his plan is to “meander” along and said about playing live:
“     …and whenever Dave wants me to play with him, I’m really happy to play with him. And  you’ll play with me, right?     ”

However, Wright stated that he had no desire to perform as part of an officially-reformed ‘Pink Floyd’ again, saying that the Live 8 concert was nice as a “one off.”

Wright had the lowest profile of any member of a band known for their lack of individual attention seeking. Unlike the three other surviving band members who have emerged as public figures, Wright rarely spoke in public. Wright was very rarely seen in the live footage from the Live 8 reunion performance; with a few exceptions he was only shown in wide shots. Some have suggested that the director of the broadcast did not know which musician was the fourth member of Pink Floyd until the very end when they got together for a group shot.

Personal

He married his first wife, Juliette Gale, in 1964 and they divorced in 1982 after having two children. He married his second wife Franka in 1984 and they divorced in 1994. Wright married his third wife Millie (to whom he dedicated his second solo album Broken China) in 1996; their one child is named Ben.

In 1996 Wright’s daughter Gala married Guy Pratt, a session musician who has played bass for Pink Floyd since Roger Waters’ exit.

Wright died on 15 September 2008 after a battle with cancer.

Influence

Wright’s style fuses jazz and neoclassical influences that complemented the simple harmonic structures of the more blues and folk-based songs written by Roger Waters and David Gilmour. As a keyboardist, he is more interested in complementing each piece with organ or synthesizer layers and tasteful piano or electric piano passages. Unlike his contemporaries Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks or Keith Emerson, only occasionally did he opt for solo playing, notably in “Atom Heart Mother”, “Echoes”, “Any Colour You Like”, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” Parts 1-5 and 6-9, “Welcome to the Machine”, “Dogs”, “Run Like Hell” and “Keep Talking”. Another notable solo is the first solo in Syd Barrett’s song “Love Song”. Wright is known for his ghostly atmospheric textures such as the Leslie piano arpeggios at the beginning of “Echoes”, the echoed Farfisa Organ in the live versions of “Careful with That Axe, Eugene” and “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”, the distinctive Minimoog solos in “Any Colour You Like” and, more famously, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and the jazzy electric piano passages in “Money”, “Time” and “Sheep”. In “A Saucerful of Secrets” and “Sysyphus” he experimented with ‘treated piano’. “Sysyphus” also made extensive use of Mellotron sounds, something of a rarity in the Pink Floyd canon. Wright also used Indian modal scales in “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” and “Matilda Mother”. Although he is not often mentioned among the ‘synthesizer greats’, it is widely acknowledged that Wright’s inventive use of keyboards and synthesizers with Pink Floyd has been pioneering.

Equipment

In the early days of the band, Wright dabbled with brass before settling on the Farfisa organ as his main instrument onstage (in addition to piano and Hammond Organ in the studio). For a brief period in 1969, Wright played vibraphone on several of the band’s songs and in some live shows, and he even played trombone on “Biding My Time” (also dating from this experimental period). During the formative years of Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett, Wright relied heavily on his Farfisa organ, fed through a Binson Echorec platter echo, to achieve distinctive sounds that helped the band gain their “psychedelic rock” edge. He started using a Hammond organ regularly onstage thereafter, and a grand piano later became part of his usual live concert setup when “Echoes” was added to Pink Floyd’s regular set-list. For tours in the 1970s centering around The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, the Farfisa was dropped (although it was brought back when Wright toured with David Gilmour on his On An Island tour), and an array of other instruments were added to the lineup, such as: Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer and Hohner electric pianos, VCS 3, Minimoog, ARP String Ensemble and Prophet 5 synthesizers. Since 1987 Wright favoured Kurzweil digital synthesisers for reproducing his analogue synthesiser sounds, even though he still used his favourite Hammond C-3 organ. However, the one that he used with Pink Floyd at Live 8 and with David Gilmour was a “chopped” version (being stripped down of unnecessary weight and put into a more compact casing).

Discography

Further information: Pink Floyd discography

Solo albums

* Wet Dream – 15 September 1978
* Broken China – 26 November 1996

Zee albums

* Identity – 9 April 1984

With David Gilmour

* David Gilmour in Concert (DVD) – October, 2002
o Appears on two tracks: “Breakthrough” (Keyboard / Vocals) & “Comfortably Numb (With Bob Geldof)” (Keyboard)
* On an Island – 6 March 2006
o Appears on two tracks: “On an Island” (Hammond organ) & “The Blue” (Keyboards / Vocals)
* Remember That Night (DVD) – September, 2007

With Syd Barrett

* The Madcap Laughs – 3 January 1970
* Barrett – 14 November 1970

2008 – Coldplay announced plans to release a new EP and album.

Chris Martin said the band are planning two further releases including the full-length follow up to Viva La Vida, by the end of 2009.

He told BBC 6 Music: “We’re going to put an EP out at Christmas called Prospects March and we’re going to release an album next December to end the decade.”

The band played a one-off show at the BBC Radio Theatre at the weekend.

New material

Martin also said that the EP is recorded but they are still to work on their next album.

The singer also joked his band might disappear from the public eye after the release of their fifth LP.

He added: “And then we’re gonna be ‘Whooosh! Where’ve they gone?’, just like [The Usual Suspects' mythical film villain] Keyser Soze.”

The band will embark on a UK tour later this year visiting London, Manchester and Glasgow.

They are currently offering a free new song, Death Will Never Conquer, available to download from their website.

Coldplay have also been nominated for the best special effects award for Violet Hill at this year’s MTV VMA awards.

Russell Brand will host the event which is due to be held at LA’s Paramount Pictures Studios on 7 September.

Grammy Awards

2008 – Grammys still on.

While the writers’ strike put a damper on the Golden Globes, the Writers Guild of America announced Tuesday (January 22) that the striking union will not protest the upcoming Grammy Awards, as had been expected.

The unresolved writers’ strike already resulted in a scaled-back Golden Globes and was looming over the Grammy telecast, which is scheduled to air live February 10 from Los Angeles.

Beyoncé and the Foo Fighters had been the only acts to commit to perform at the event so far. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, more artists should begin to announce their intentions to attend the Grammy Awards as well.

“We are pleased with the decision made by the WGA today,” said Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science, which organizes the Grammy telecast. “In light of this, we are gratified that the 50th Annual Grammy Awards will focus solely on the great music, artists and charitable work resulting from our show. We look forward to unveiling the exciting lineup of artists who will give our worldwide audience one of the most memorable Grammy shows ever.”

The production of the show, however, is still fraught with concerns — particularly over writers’ participation. The Recording Academy is still working on securing a deal with the WGA to permit its staff writers to contribute to the production of the show.

According to a spokesman for the WGA, a decision to grant an interim agreement has not been reached yet. Billboard is reporting that a meeting between the WGA board of directors and the Recording Academy is set for Tuesday night to discuss finer details of the proposal.

Last week Beyoncé’s father, Mathew Knowles, and Foo Fighters manager John Silva made statements that were optimistic that an agreement would be reached to ensure the telecast. Both men also expressed support for the writers.

“The work of the Recording Academy is vital to the music industry, and we have every intention of being with the entire music community to celebrate the Grammys,” Knowles said.

Silva echoed Knowles’ sentiments. “We are hopeful that we will see a resolution to the current situation affecting our entire industry,” he said. “[The] Foo Fighters have always had nothing short of amazing experiences with the writers, producers, fellow artists and audiences at the Grammys and every television show the band has ever played.”

As reported by MTV News

2007 – Quiet Riot Singer Kevin DuBrow Died Of Cocaine Overdose: Report
Coroner said toxicology results, which were released Monday, show that musician died of accidental drug overdose.

Two weeks after news of his death first made headlines, the autopsy results on late Quiet Riot frontman Kevin DuBrow — who was found in his Las Vegas home November 25, dead at age 52 — were released Monday (December 10), according to The Associated Press. DuBrow reportedly died of an accidental cocaine overdose.

The wire service claims Clark County coroner spokeswoman Samantha Charles confirmed the cause of death following the receipt of toxicology results, also on Monday.

DuBrow’s death was ruled accidental, and according to a spokesperson for the Las Vegas police department, there were no signs of forced entry at the home, and police have not suspected foul play.

According to those close to the singer, DuBrow celebrated his birthday the month before in New Orleans and seemed to be in good health.

Shortly after DuBrow’s death, Quiet Riot bassist Kelly Garni asked fans to be patient and not rush to assumptions.

“I ask this to all of you not only for myself but for other friends and family,” Garni wrote in a message posted on a Web site honoring the memory of Quiet Riot founding member Randy Rhoads. “I ask that no one here offer any speculation or opinions, theories or other things that could be construed as negative or, and I’m sorry for this, even sympathetic, right at this immediate time. I am already, within hours of this, having to deal with untrue rumors and speculation and that only adds fuel to that. There is a tendency for the subject of Kevin to incite flames on every board, and now is not the time for that. I will explain to everyone here the facts and the truth in the next 24 to 48 hours as I realize this will affect us all. So please, until then, be patient. All details and other pertinent info will be passed on to you here when it becomes available to me.”

Many other fellow rockers and fans — including Glenn Hughes, Nikki Sixx and others — shared fond memories of DuBrow following his death.

Credited with helping to launch the 1980s glam-metal scene, Quiet Riot are perhaps best known for their cover of Slade’s “Cum on Feel the Noize,” which appeared on 1983′s Metal Health and eventually peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album is widely considered the first by a metal band to reach the chart’s #1 position.

Rhoads formed Quiet Riot in 1975, but the group split four years later when he left to join Ozzy Osbourne’s band (Rhoads died in a plane crash in 1982). DuBrow launched his own band, called DuBrow, and later reverted to the Quiet Riot name.

While Metal Health put Quiet Riot on the map, the band’s subsequent releases weren’t as well-received. Not helping the situation were some of DuBrow’s comments: During the ’80s, the singer was notorious for deriding contemporary metal bands in interviews and even lashed out at the press and the band’s label. Toward the conclusion of the band’s 1987 tour, DuBrow was fired from Quiet Riot; he was left behind in a hotel, while the rest of the band took an earlier flight. However, Quiet Riot’s career with new singer Paul Shortino met with even less success.

The members gradually reunited under the Quiet Riot moniker in the early ’90s and continued to tour and record consistently until DuBrow’s passing. In 2004, DuBrow released a collection of covers as his first solo LP, In for the Kill.

2007 – Marilyn Manson was being sued by a former band member who said he was owed $20m (£9.8m) in shared profits. Stephen Bier, who played keyboards under the stage name Madonna Wayne Gacy, claimed he was not paid properly over a period of almost two decades. In legal papers filed in Los Angeles, Bier claimed Manson falsely told him the band was not making much money and used band money to buy a $2m (£980,000) home and collect Nazi memorabilia, including coat hangers used by Adolf Hitler.

2007 – Bob Dylan and his brother bought Aultmore House a mansion in the Scottish Cairngorms National Park, near Nethybridge, Inverness-shire.

Bob Dylan has just purchased a sprawling Scottish estate. Britain’s The Telegraph reported that Dylan and his younger brother David Zimmerman purchased the secluded property for over $7.8 million under the family name, Zimmerman. The property, called Aultmore House, sits in the foothills of the Cairngorms, near Inverness in the central Highlands — a local that Dylan immortalized in his 1997 song “Highlands,” which closed his Grammy Award-winning Time Out Of Mind album.

The property was built at the turn of the 20th century for a wealthy owner of a Moscow department store, and in recent years has become an upscale wedding venue. The mansion has “ten bedrooms, a billiard room and a garden room with mosaic floor and the interior features pillars, arches and marble fireplaces.”

Dylan, who is an avid golfer and plays off a 17 handicap at Malibu Country Club near his California estate, will be situated close to the Abernethy golf club. Jack McCool, the club’s treasurer, said that Dylan is welcome to come play for the day, but should he decide to become a member, no special privileges will be afforded him due to his celebrity, explaining that, “Mr. Dylan would have to apply in writing just like everyone else and be vetted by the committee.”

Rolling Stone magazine’s associate editor Austin Scaggs told us that Dylan has made a concerted effort over the past decade to seem less enigmatic to the public: “It’s obvious that in the past few years, you know, Dylan it seems has made has kind of made a point to strengthen out some of the historical inaccuracies of what the press has written or what’s been perceived about him.”

Bob Dylan kicks of a 26-date European tour on March 28th in Stockholm.

2006 – Pearl Jam plays a secret show outdoors at the Waimea Valley Audubon Center on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, as part of the opening festivities for the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational surfing competition. Surf’s up!