AlternativeMusic Forum - NEWS

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO...

Great to know that so many of you have enjoyed my current EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with MARI WILSON and have also been enjoying her new album 'Emotional Glamour' and her current UK dates (see GIGS on the website for her upcoming shows) The interview is still featured on the front page of the website if you fancy a look!

Next in the RememberTheEighties.com interview hotseat will be STEPHEN DUFFY, he who was formerly known as 'TIN TIN', was a founding member of DURAN DURAN, an 80s solo star, founded THE LILAC TIME and wrote an album with Robbie Williams, among many other adventures. Stephen will be talking about all those things, plus the expanded reissue of his solo album 'The Ups & Downs' and his many and varied future plans, so if you have any burning questions for him that you would like me to consider including in the interview then please email them to me, thank you!

Here is all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

What's that you say? I haven't plugged my BOOK yet this week? You're right... my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia' - which inspired one discerning reader to email me to say "I really believe the book could be the definitive reference for popular culture in the eighties, everything is in there!" - is available to buy right now via the SHOP section of my website as well as in all good bookshops. Thank you for reminding me!

Here's the news...

GEORGE MICHAEL is to play one of the biggest concerts ever staged in the United Arab Emirates in December 1st when he plays a show in Abu Dhabi as part of the local National Day celebrations. See NEWS for more details.

LIONEL RICHIE has announced European dates in March, April and May next year with shows already scheduled in Ireland, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. See GIGS for all the dates.

BOY GEORGE will headline a one-off German HERE AND NOW concert in Dortmund in March next year. He will be joined on the bill by PAUL YOUNG, KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS, NIK KERSHAW, RICK ASTLEY, CUTTING CREW and T'PAU. See NEWS for more details.

THE CURE, who this week release their new album '4:13 Dream', have been named Godlike Geniuses by NME and the band will collect their award and perform at the music magazine's annual award ceremony in February. See NEWS for more details.

THE JACKSON FIVE have announced that they will reunite their original line-up - including MICHAEL JACKSON - for an album and a tour next year with JANET JACKSON confirmed as the support act on the tour. Michael Jackson however, who is the subject of persistent rumours that he will play a 30 city world tour in 2009, has reportedly wished his family well while denyingf that he will be involved...

THE HUMAN LEAGUE were forced to pull out of their Dublin show with ABC and HEAVEN 17 this week due to technical and logistical difficulties, however ABC and Heaven 17 both played extended sets and their performances have been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

GO WEST have announced UK dates for February and March in addition to a number of festival and one-off appearances next year. See GIGS for all the details.

BOB GELDOF was this week awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music by the University of East London in recognition of his 'lifetime contributions to international development and unique success in harnessing the power of popular music to raise funds and awareness of key global issues, and changing the lives of people worldwide'.

GRACE JONES' new album 'Hurricane' has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

THE WONDERSTUFF's MILES HUNT has organised a special acoustic show 'Shared' which will take place in Birmingham in January. In addition to a set from Hunt the evening will also feature acoustic performances from WAYNE HUSSEY (The Mission) and RODDY FRAME (Aztec Camera). See NEWS for more details.

U2's new album, thought to be titled 'No Line On The Horizon', may be released early next year according to reports. The band are currently working with producer Brian Eno on the album which Bono has already described as the band's 'best ever'.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO...

I've got a great GIVEAWAY for you this week (and next week!) courtesy of THE ALARM who are out on tour right now to support their excellent new album 'Guerilla Tactics' (see GIGS for all the tour dates and REVIEWS for a review of the album)... the band are playing a unique UK tour which will see them play three shows in each of four cities (Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester and London) with each show a week apart! Next week THE ALARM will be at The Point in Cardiff on Thursday (13th), Glasgow's King Tuts on Friday (14th), Manchester Academy on Saturday (15th) and the following Tuesday (18th) at London's Islington Academy and I have a FREE PAIR OF TICKETS to giveaway for all four shows. If you fancy entering to win tickets to see the band live (and they are fantastic live!) all you need to do is email me before 5pm (UK) on Monday 11th (don't forget to tell me which show you'd like to see!) and you will be tossed into the trusty virtual hat! Good luck, and remember that next week I will have tickets to GIVAWAY for the final week of shows...

You may remember that last Christmas I did a very special INTERVIEW with DURAN DURAN to mark the festive season (it's still available in the INTERVIEWS section if you missed it) and if all goes well this year I will be doing the same with the one and only BOY GEORGE so if you have any questions for him then please email them over to me and I'll see if I can fit them into the interview, thanks!

Here's this week's plug for my BOOK 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia' from one of your fellow newsletter subscribers... "The book brought back so many memories. I think its wonderful!" the book is available to buy right now via the SHOP section of my website as well as in all good bookshops. You will also be able to hear me talk about the book on BBC RADIO ESSEX at around 10am on Monday morning!

Here is all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

ULTRAVOX have announced via their official website that they are to reform their classic line-up of WARREN CANN, CHRIS CROSS, BILLY CURRIE and MIDGE URE for a UK tour in April next year. Tickets go onsale on Wednesday November 12th, see GIGS for details.

ERASURE will release a new his compilation 'Total Pop! The First 40 Hits' on February 23rd. The duo will also release the album as part of a special 4-disc boxset featuring the original 'Pop!' compilation in a remastered edition alongside the new album, a live CD and a DVD of classic TV performances.

BRYAN FERRY is to reissue his 1989 concert video 'New Town' on DVD under the title 'The Bęte Noire Tour'. The DVD edition, released on November 10th, will additionally include the previously unreleased 'Konixxtreffen 2002' concert which was filmed in Germany in 2002 and showcased a selection of solo and ROXY MUSIC hits. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

MICHAEL JACKSON's classic album 'Thriller' is being turned into a musical which will open at London's Lyric Theatre in January. The production will feature all the classic hits from Jackson and The Jackson Five and will run until April when it is believed to be going on a UK tour.

GARY NUMAN has announced four Australian shows - in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Meredith - to take place next year. See GIGS for details.

RICK ASTLEY won the public vote to take the 'Best Act Ever' award at last week's MTV Europe Music Awards...

ALEXANDER O'NEAL is to headline a 'Soul Icon All-Stars'show at London's O2 Arena on November 21st. Other acts on the bill include HEATWAVE, KENNY THOMAS and JUNIOR.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN may release a new album in January, in time to coincide with the inauguration of Barack Obama, accoring to online reports.

METHODS OF DANCE, the recent CD reissue featuring the best of the tracks from the two 'Methods Of Dance' compilations released in the early 80s, has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

ORANGE JUICE are to reform for a one-off performance, their first since 1982, at Scotland's Tartan Clef Music Awards which is to take place on November 22nd at Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket.

DEPECHE MODE frontman DAVE GAHAN has recorded vocals for a new track on the debut album from up and coming band Fryars. The track is called 'Visitor' and will be a downloadable single in advance of the album release next year.

UB40 have announced dates for a 'Labour Of Love' tour which is scheduled to take place in December next year. See GIGS for dates.

MORRISSEY has confirmed that his new album 'Years Of Refusal' will be released on February 23rd and will be preceded by a single entitled 'I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris' which will include two new non-album tracks as b-sides including 'Shame Is The Name' which features additional vocals from THE PRETENDERS' Chrissie Hynde.

PET SHOP BOYS will receive the prestigious 'Outstanding Contribution To Music Award' at next year's Brit Awards which will take place in February and will include a live set from the duo.

THE CURE are to follow their recently announced London appearance at the NME Awards on February 25th with a second London show for the magazine at the O2 Arena the next night, February 26th, when they will headline the 2009 NME 'Big Gig'.

LIONEL RICHIE's new album will be released in the new year and will be preceded by a single entitled 'Good Morning'.The album, 'Just Go', will be released on February 17th and will feature collaborations with both Akon and Ne-Yo.

DURAN DURAN's 'A View To A Kill' has been voted the best ever Bond theme in a recent online poll. MADONNA's 'Die Another Day'came fourteenth in the poll with SHEENA EASTON's 'For Your Eyes Only' at eighteen and A-HA's 'The Living Daylights' at nineteen.

KYLIE MINOGUE is said to be considering a return to her acting roots, and is particularly interested in playing comic roles, saying 'It's not that well known that I'm funny, but I am funny. People who know me will tell you.'

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO...

If you've been paying attention to these newsletters you will know that KAJAGOOGOO have reformed their original line-up and are back doing what they do best; playing gigs (they are on tour in Germany right now in fact!) and making records, and to celebrate their return they are playing TWO very special hometown CONCERTS at The Stables, near Milton Keynes on DECEMBER 10th and 11th where they will be playing all the old hits and may even showcase some new songs from their forthcoming new EP 'Death Defying Headlines' which will be out soon. To celebrate the band's return we have a very special EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION on the website this week that will see THREE WINNERS make off with all sorts of AUTOGRAPHED bits and pieces, including signed copies of 'Death Defying Headlines'... it's all on the website for you right now if you want to enter!

Tonight two RememberTheEighties.com newsletter subscribers are off to see THE ALARM in Glasgow with FREE TICKETS from last week's giveaway, tomorrow two more winners will see the band in Manchester and next week two more winners will do the same in London... and the good news is that THE ALARM are playing all those cities again as part of their 'Guerilla Tactics' tour (see GIGS for all the tour dates and REVIEWS for a review of the album) and once more I have a PAIR OF TICKETS for each show to GIVEAWAY... the band will be in Cardiff on Thursday (20th November), Glasgow on Friday (21st), Manchester on Saturday (22nd) and will finish the tour in London on the following Tuesday 25th... if you fancy trying to win tickets to see the band at any of those shows then all you need to do is email me before 5pm (UK) on Monday 17th (don't forget to tell me which show you'd like to see!) and you will be carefully placed into my marvellous virtual hat! Good luck!

I also have another GIVEAWAY for you... next week the fantastic ZTT label will release a 4-disc BOXSET as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations, 'Zang Tuum Tuum – The ZTT Box Set' features THREE CDs, a DVD and a special BOOK and features hits, remixes, rarities and unreleased material from all their acts including FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, PROPAGANDA, 808 STATE and THE ART OF NOISE (see NEWS for the full tracklisting) and I have TWO BOXSETS to GIVEAWAY. All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning this brilliant prize is to email me before 5pm on Monday, all entries will be put into the virtual hat and the winners will be selected at random and notified by email!

Here's this week's plug for my BOOK 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia' from one of your fellow newsletter readers... "The book looks marvellous and is a really good and personal read"...which is nice! The book is, of course, available to buy right now via the SHOP section of my website (AUTOGRAPHED copies are available!) as well as in all good bookshops.

Here is all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

ULTRAVOX will release a special CD/DVD hits compilation to coincide with next year's reunion dates. Tracklistings will be finalised soon but are being put together in consultation with the band. See GIGS for the full list of reunion shows.

GRACE JONES is the subject of a forthcoming documentary by British filmmaker Sophie Fiennes which follows the eccentric star over the last four or five years, taking in performances, everyday life, family and the making of her new album 'Hurricane'.

NIK KERSHAW, KAJAGOOGOO, UB40, HOWARD JONES, TONY HADLEY, NIK HEYWARD, HEAVEN 17 and PAUL YOUNG will all appear on the bill of a special TV show 'Now That's What I Call 1983', marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the classic 'Now' compilation series, which will air on ITV next week. See NEWS for more details.

SPARKS have announced a special US show at the Royce Hall at Los Angeles' UCLA on February 14th when they will perform their new album 'Exotic Creatures Of The Deep' in its entirety alongside a performance of the entire 'Kimono My House' album and a selection of live favourites.

MOTLEY CRUE have announced a twenty-five date US tour to take place in February and March next year at which point the band will take a break before taking the tour to Europe in June. See GIGS for all the dates.

PET SHOP BOYS singer NEIL TENNANT is said to have written a verse for the forthcoming Christmas collaboration from ELTON JOHN and The Killers...

THE HUMAN LEAGUE, DURAN DURAN, CULTURE CLUB, THE SPECIALS and DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS are all featured on a DVD to accompany the forthcoming 'Top Of The Pops - Number 1s' compilation. See NEWS for more details.

JOHN FOXX will release a six-disc boxset 'Cinemascope' on December 1st containing the solo albums 'Crash and Burn', 'Electrofear', 'Cathedral Oceans III', 'Tiny Colour Movies' and 'From Trash' alongside his 'Cathedral Oceans' DVD and six prints of Foxx's artwork.

IRON MAIDEN have announced the final dates of their 'Somewhere Back In Time' world tour with news of shows in Dubai, India, New Zealand and Mexico. See GIGS for all the dates.

THE FAT BOYS have reformed for new recordings and performances and original members PRINCE MARKIE DEE and KOOL ROCK-SKI are currently recruiting for a new member to take the place of BUFF LOVE who passed away in 1995.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

Ultravox make a live return after 20 year abscence



Ultravox are to tour the UK in April 2009 after an absence of 20 years.

The tour, which will feature Ultravox’s original 1980’s line up of Midge Ure, Chris Cross, Warren Cann and Billy Currie, will perform 14 shows across the UK. Fans can look forward to the band performing material from all their albums, including Vienna, Rage in Eden and Quartet.

Ultravox were one of one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the early 1980’s.

'Over the years we have all been caught up with a number of individual projects. When Billy and me were approached by Absolute Radio to perform an acoustic set at their inaugural launch in October at Abbey Road Studios, we took up the offer,' said Midge Ure. 'We were overwhelmed by the response of our fans, which confirmed within the band that perhaps the time was right to re-form.'

APRIL 2009 DATES:

FRIDAY 10 EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
SATURDAY 11 GLASGOW CLYDE AUDITORIUM
MONDAY 13 NEWCASTLE CITY HALL
TUESDAY 14 MANCHESTER APOLLO
WEDS 15 SHEFFIELD CITY HALL
FRIDAY 17 BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY HALL
SATURDAY 18 BRISTOL COLSTON HALL
MONDAY 20 CARDIFF ST DAVIDS HALL
TUESDAY 21 NOTTINGHAM ROYAL CENTRE
THRSDAY 23 BRIGHTON DOME
FRIDAY 24 LONDON HAMMERSMITH APOLLO
SUNDAY 26 BOURNEMOUTH BIC
MONDAY 27 PLYMOUTH PAVILLIONS
TUESDAY 28 PORTSMOUTH GUILDHALL



Led Zeppelin reunion not Led Zeppelin



Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham will not be enough to use the legendary name Led Zeppelin, a spokesperson for Page has said.

Jones revealed last month that the former Led Zeppelin stars planned to tour minus their frontman after Robert Plant ruled himself out of any further performances.

When asked about the collaboration, an unnamed spokesperson for Page's management company, Qprime, told Rolling Stone: "Whatever this is, it is not Led Zeppelin. Not without the involvement of Robert Plant."




Guns N' Roses file sharer walks free



The lawyer for the Los Angeles man charged with uploading nine unreleased Guns N' Roses tracks from the upcoming Chinese Democracy album, Kevin Cogill, has said his client's plea deal with prosecutors does not require any prison time.

"We're looking at straight probation as a result of taking this deal," attorney David Kaloyanides said in a telephone interview. Probation, which includes minimal restrictions, is usually a year, he said.

Cogill is accused of uploading the songs to his music site, antiquiet. Kaloyanides would not say whether, under the deal, Cogill would divulge where he got the tracks.



Kings of Leon break ticket records



London and Manchester shows sell-out, but don’t worry – more shows have been added. You’re going to need to be quick though,

Kings Of Leon’s June dates have disappeared in record time. The shows at London’s O2 Arena on June 15 sold out in two minutes and the Manchester’s Evening News Arena gig on June 22 sold out in shotgun style.

Since then a second date has been added at the O2 Arena on June 16 which (clearly) has also sold out. A third date has now been added on June 30 (dont hold you're breath).

A second Manchester show has also been added on June 23.



Damon Albarn has hinted Blur will play London’s O2 arena



The 'Beetlebum’ singer – who recently revealed he had repaired his friendship with former guitarist Graham Coxon – indicated the band are considering playing a reunion concert at the massive venue.

Damon said: 'I went over to see Kanye West at the O2 this week and it was good. Do I miss all of that? Not really, but I’ll probably do it again at some point.'

When asked which of his groups – Blur, Gorillaz or The Good, The Bad and The Queen – Damon would play there with, the frontman simply smiled enigmatically.

However, earlier this week Damon said a reunion for Blur – who released their last album, 'Think Tank’ without Graham in 2003 – was looking increasingly likely.

He said: "I can tell you genuinely that I'm getting on really well with Graham at the moment, so it's distinctly possible."

Damon’s opera 'Monkey: Journey to the West’ runs at London’s O2 arena until December 5.

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO...

I'm going to start the newsletter this week with a plug for my BOOK, which if you've not been paying attention over the last few weeks is called 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', and for a change I'm not going to use a quote from someone who has read and loved the book, instead here is an INTERVIEW I did with the East Anglian Daily Times a couple of weeks ago which is all about the story of RememberTheEighties.com and the book as well as all sorts of other bits and pieces about me - including my small part in the Marilyn Manson story - and there's even a nice smiley photograph! The book is available to buy in the online SHOP!

The EXCLUSIVE KAJAGOOGOO COMPETITION I put online last week has been attracting a lot of attention and as people have been asking for more information about Kajagoogoo's new material, and as a preview for the band's TWO special hometown CONCERTS at The Stables, near Milton Keynes on DECEMBER 10th and 11th, I have added a LIVE VIDEO to the competition page of the REUNITED band performing one of their new tracks, 'Space Cadet', on their German tour a couple of weeks ago... it's well worth a look and while you're there you will be in the perfect place to enter the competition that will see THREE WINNERS make off with all sorts of bits and pieces, including signed LIMITED EDITION T-SHIRTS and AUTOGRAPHED copies of the forthcoming Kajagoogoo EP 'Death Defying Headlines'... it's all on the website for you right now if you want to enter!

Here is all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

HEAVEN 17 will release a new album at the end of the month. 'Naked as Advertised - Versions '08' is available for pre-order and features a selection of tracks derived from the band's live set, each newly recorded especially for the album, including classic tracks, covers, oddities and rarities. See NEWS for the full tracklisting.

PAUL HEATON's recent gig at Dublin's Academy has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

MUSICAL YOUTH, CAROL DECKER, SONIA, ABC's Stephen Singleton, JOHN PARR and Ben from CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT have all autographed flyers from September's 80s Live show for Muscular Dystrophy which are being auctioned on eBay to raise money for Eastbourne's Hospital Radio station. See NEWS for more details.

THE BLOW MONKEYS have announced a handful of UK dates in February and March next year. See GIGS for all the dates.

KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS will join BELINDA CARLISLE and CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT as performers at the forthcoming Here And Now Christmas Party at London's IndigO2 on December 18th.

ENIGMA will release a DVD edition of their recent album 'Seven Lives Many Faces' on December 1st. The DVD will feature videos for each track on the album created by director Thomas Job alongside an audio commentary from Enigma's Michael Cretu and an exclusive photo gallery. See NEWS for the full DVD tracklisting.

JOHN FOXX's recent compilation 'Glimmer: The Best Of John Foxx' has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

CYNDI LAUPER has collaborated with Swedish rock band The Hives on a special Christmas track 'A Christmas Duel' which is to be made available as a free download from November 28th.

MAGAZINE's recent 'The Complete John Peel Sessions' album has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

BON JOVI are putting the final touches to a live DVD and documentary package for release sometime in 2009. The band are also working on new songs to be included on a planned Bon Jovi hits package.

MARI WILSON has announced a three-night residency at London's legendary Ronnie Scott's in December, see GIGS for all the dates.

BILLY JOEL and ELTON JOHN are said to be teaming up for a double-headline tour tentatively scheduled to start in March next year...

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN will release a new album in January. 'Working On A Dream' will feature twelve new songs and will be released on January 27th. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

ICICLE WORKS frontman IAN MCNABB will play his annual Christmas show at Liverpool's The Picket on December 18th.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO...

I usually enjoy the interviews I do for RememberTheEighties.com but it's not often that an interview will make me laugh out loud when I'm reading it back before putting it on the website, and that's exactly what happened with my brand new and EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with the very funny STEPHEN DUFFY... we talk about the reissue of his solo album 'The Ups & Downs' of course, and we also touch on his time in DURAN DURAN, talk about the name TINTIN, his work with THE LILAC TIME and THE DEVILS and writing an album with ROBBIE WILLIAMS! A thoroughly enjoyable interview even if I say so myself and it's on the website for you right now, plus there's an EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION giving every one of you the chance to WIN one of THREE AUTOGRAPHED copies of the reissued STEPHEN DUFFY album 'The Ups & Downs'!

I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the link I posted in the last newsletter to an INTERVIEW I recently did about my BOOK, in fact as a result I have been asked to do more interviews about it (thank you!) and as soon as I have links to them I will share them too! In the meantime here's another recommendation to read 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia' from one of your fellow newsletter readers... 'It's a fabulous book, a real time capsule of the whole decade!'. It's available to buy right now in the SHOP - the AUTOGRAPHED copies seem to be making very good Christmas presents if you're stuck for ideas - or from all good bookshops!

I should also mention that the THIS IS NOT RETRO compilation CD that I released a couple of years ago is currently HALF PRICE in the SHOP... nineteen new tracks from nineteen of the artists who helped define the 80s! I need to free up the space because I hope 2009 will see the release of THIS IS NOT RETRO 2. Watch this space!

Here is all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

ERASURE have announced the tracklisting of their forthcoming 'Total Pop!' compilations which will be released on February 23rd next year. The album will be available in a 4-disc deluxe edition featuring three CDs and a DVD, or as a standard 2-CD edition featuring the same tracklisting as the deluxe edition's Pop! and Pop2! discs. See NEWS for the full tracklisting.

GEORGE MICHAEL will release a free download single on Christmas Day entitled 'December Song (I Dreamed Of Christmas)' which he has written in collaboration with David Austin.

DURAN DURAN are the subject of a brand new official book 'Would Someone Please Explain' which features the best questions put to the band's official 'Ask Katy' information service plus extra text, images and photographs. See NEWS for more details. The band are also reportedly in talks with KYLIE MINOGUE about a possible collaboration on her next studio album...

KYLIE MINOGUE will release an album of remixes entitled 'Boombox' in January. The release will feature sixteen remixes produced since 2000 and will include reworkings by Chemical Brothers, Mylo and Fischerspooner as well as the 'Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head' bootleg, featuring NEW ORDER.

ADAM ANT is to release a live album featuring his solo show at London's Bloomsbury Theatre last year. The release includes extracts of Adam reading from his autobiography 'Stand & Deliver' as well as some of the songs he performed on the night as well as onstage dialogue. See NEWS for more details.

JIVE BUNNY will release an 'Ultimate Christmas Party Album' on December 8th featuring a medley of classic Christmas tracks alongside a selection of dancefloor favourites from the last thirty years...

BILLY OCEAN has announced seven UK dates for the first part of 2009. See GIGS for all the dates.

MIDGE URE has been awarded his forth honorary degree this week when he became an honorary Doctor at Glasgow Caledonian University in recognition of his musical and humanitarian achievements.

DEPECHE MODE have added more dates to their 2009 tour with more shows in France and Germany. See GIGS for all the dates.

CYNDI LAUPER's recent concert in Buenos Aires has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section!

LIMAHL will appear live at a special Retrofest Reunion night at the Tiger Tiger club in Glasgow on December 18th. The evening will also feature fancy dress, karaoke, DJs and and a Headphone Disco.

THE POGUES will play a short US tour in March which will include a special St Patrick's Day show in Washington DC on March 17th. See GIGS for all the dates.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO...

Thank you for the great response to the STEPHEN DUFFY INTERVIEW and COMPETITION that went online last week, I'm very glad so many of you have enjoyed it and that it made you laugh too... for what it's worth my favourite bit is probably when he talks about the potential merchandise opportunities of a spoken-word tour with NICK RHODES! If you still haven't had a read it's still on the website for you, as is the EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION giving you the chance to WIN one of THREE AUTOGRAPHED copies of the reissued STEPHEN DUFFY solo album 'The Ups & Downs'!

Thank you also to everyone who has sent such enthusiastic feedback about my book 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia' which is shaping up to be THE CHRISTMAS GIFT of choice for the discerning 80s fan! I am also delighted that so many of you have been able to find your own quotes included in the book from the hundreds of QUESTIONNAIRES you submitted while I was writing it. Here's this week's comment from a newsletter reader who has already read the book; 'The book is brilliant, thanks for taking the time to do it for all us die hard 80's fans!'... it's available to buy from the website and from all good online and high street booksellers. Thank you so much for your support, I do really appreciate it!

Here is all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

BOY GEORGE will headline the first of the HERE AND NOW outdoor Summer shows to be announced for 2009. The shows will also feature BANANARAMA, KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS, ABC, GO WEST, HAZEL O'CONNOR, CUTTING CREW, VISAGE, HOWARD JONES, NIK KERSHAW, ALTERED IMAGES and DR AND THE MEDICS. See NEWS for more details.

THE SPECIALS have announced the first dates for their long awaited reunion tour which will take place in April next year and will celebrate their 30th anniversary. At this stage the band will include Terry Hall, Neville Staple, Sir Horace Gentleman, Roddy Radiation, Lynval Golding and John Bradbury. Jerry Dammers is not confirmed for the line-up although he remains on friendly terms with the rest of the band. See GIGS for details.

MORRISSEY has announced three UK dates to mark the release of his new studio album 'Years of Refusal' which is set for a February 16th release date. The shows will take place in Manchester and London and includes a Manchester show on the singer's 50th birthday. See GIGS for the dates.

SIMPLE MINDS will play a special celebratory concert at Edinburgh Castle on July 18th next year as part of the band's 30th anniversary celebrations. Meanwhile the band's concert at Sheffield Arena this week, with DEACON BLUE in support, has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

FLEETWOOD MAC have announced a greatest hits tour for 2009 with news of US dates in March. Dates elsewhere are expected to be announced at a later date. See GIGS for all the dates announced so far.

THE PRETENDERS have announced a massive US tour which will start in January and run through until March. The outing will be the band's first full tour since 2003 and will support their recently released album 'Break Up The Concrete'. See GIGS for details of all the dates announced so far.

GRANDMASTER FLASH will release his first new album for twenty years on February 23rd. The nineteen-track album, entitled 'The Bridge: Concept Of A Culture', features a host of collaborations including work with Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, KRS-One and Snoop Dogg.

BILLY OCEAN has extended his UK tour dates next year to thirty-nine shows around the country in January, February and March. See GIGS for all the dates.

ULTRAVOX's recently reissued expanded editions of their 'Vienna' and 'Rage In Eden' albums have been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

ALEXANDER O'NEAL has announced UK dates running from the middle of this month through to March next year. See GIGS for all the dates.

LAID BACK have released a comprehensive hits package entitled 'Good Vibes - The Very Best Of Laid Back' in their native Scandanavia and in Germany with a UK date currently in the pipeline. The release comes in the form of a 2-CD package featuring twenty hits and a further twelve rare remixes. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK's recently reissued album 'Greatest Hits' and 'Merry, Merry Christmas' have been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

ERROL BROWN has announced a twenty-one date UK tour for February 2009 to mark 40 years since the formation of his former band HOT CHOCOLATE. See GIGS for all the dates.

KYLIE MINOGUE's collaboration with Coldplay, 'Lhuna', will be released as a charity download via (Red)Wire to raise money to combat HIV/AIDs in Africa.

THE THOMPSON TWINS' recent reissues of 'A Product Of...' and 'Set', combined into one package, have been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

THE POLICE's 1983 album 'Synchronicity' is one of the classic albums to be chosen for the Grammy Hall Of Fame this year by a panel of historians and music experts.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

The Smiths finally set to reunite



The Smiths are set to reunite.

The British band, who were huge in the 80s, have fuelled rumours of a possible tour after frontman Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr – who is now a member of UK rockers The Cribs – ended their bitter feud dating back to Marr’s departure in 1987.

A source told Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper: 'The very fact they are talking again is the most hopeful thing in years. The industry has been buoyant with talk of them getting back together.

'A lot of people think of them as the best thing since The Beatles. They’d fill stadiums many times over.'

The pair recently teamed up to put together compilation album 'The Sound Of The Smiths' - which was named by singer Morrissey and digitally updated by the guitarist - featuring a mixture of singles and rarities.

It was recently rumoured the band – which also included bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce – would play next year’s Coachella music festival in California.

Morrissey - who has enjoyed a successful solo career - has always been adamant he would never reunite the group, recently saying: "I'd rather eat my own testicles than reform The Smiths - and that's saying something coming from a vegetarian."

The Smiths had nine top 20 singles after forming in 1982.



Bon Jovi named top-touring act of 2008



BON JOVI have been named the biggest-grossing touring band of 2008.

Twenty five years into their career, the New Jersey band are still going strong on the road, as today's figures from Billboard Boxscore's top 10 show.

The band grossed Ł140.9million ($210.6million) on their Lost Highway tour of North America and Europe this year.

They beat fellow New Jersey-native Bruce Springsteen, whose tour with the E Street Band came in second for grossing Ł136.5million ($204.6million).

Madonna, who recently broke her own record for the highest-grossing solo tour artist, came in third place for making Ł108.4million ($162million) for her Sticky & Sweet tour, which is currently playing across South America.

Others making the list include Celine Dion, who made Ł60.8million ($91million), The Spice Girls, who raked in Ł46.8million ($70million) and Neil Diamond, who pocketed Ł54.3million ($81.2million) for his world tour.



Paltrow & Martin try to save marriage



GWYNETH PALTROW and Chris Martin are staying in England over Christmas in an attempt to save their marriage.

According to the New York Daily News, the actress and her Coldplay frontman husband are holed up in their London home as they try and iron out their differences.

The couple, who married in 2003 and have two children, daughter Apple, four, and son Moses, two, have been recently dogged by rumours their marriage is in trouble.

Speculation about their relationship mounted after Martin was pictured leaving the family's London home alone on Friday (05Dec08) - the day of their fifth wedding anniversary.

But friends said Paltrow, 36, is so desperate to make her marriage work, she will stay with Martin, 31, and their children in London rather than spending the festivities with her family in the U.S.



Rolling Stones honoured with street names



THE TOWN where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards grew up is to honour its famous sons by naming a set of new streets after their songs.

Dartford Council are currently deciding what song titles should be given to 13 streets on the new 1,500-home, Ł400million Bridge estate.

Names being considered include Satisfaction Street, Stones Avenue, Angie Mews and Ruby Tuesday Drive.

The idea is due to be given approval after council cabinet meeting tomorrow.

Dartford council leader Jeremy Kite joked: "You can't always get what you want, but in this case I think we can get some satisfaction."

Local resident Julia Swan, 34, said: "I think it's a great idea. To live on Ruby Tuesday Drive would be fantastic, but God knows what the postman will think. He'll probably think it's a wind up."

Neighbour John Warner, 42, said: "It's a great idea. For once the council has come up with something which makes a bit of sense.
"I reckon Mick and the band would be dead chuffed to have their songs on road names."

But local police have already warned that die-hard fans could steal the signs after Beatles fans in Liverpool stole road signs for Abbey Road and Penny Lane.



Robbie Williams to rejoin Take That



Robbie Williams would “love” to rejoin Take That. The 34-year-old singer – who has lived in Los Angeles for the past five years – insists he is “over the moon” about the group’s recent success and is keen to reunite with his old bandmates.

Robbie – who has had the band’s double-T symbol tattooed on his right arm as a mark of support for the group - said: “I’m over the moon for the boys. I was worried at first. I was following their meteoric return, but every photo of the lads I saw they didn’t look happy. Then they just seemed to take full stride again. Having met up with them I can tell you they’re having a ball.

“I’m really proud. I love their new album ‘The Circus’ too – I haven’t stopped listening to it. I’d love to be in the band again but I’ve got some unfinished business of my own to do first.”

Robbie, who has further fuelled rumours of a reunion after purchasing a Ł7 million mansion in the English county of Wiltshire, left Take That in 1995 after his relationship with frontman Gary Barlow disintegrated.

Writing on his Inner Sanctum website, Robbie insists he has repaired his rift with Gary, and is on good terms with the other three members Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald.

He said: “Just thought I’d set a few things straight about me and the boys.

We got together a lot over the summer. It was amazing. We’ve all matured a lot since we parted. I’m very pleased to say the differences we’ve had have just melted away.

“We had a lot of serious chats. Everything we had problems with each other about just boils down to one thing - victims of circumstance. We mainly laughed, which is what we used to do in the early days. In fact we didn’t really stop.

“After they left, I felt like a ton of bricks had been removed from my shoulders. We’d put right what an awful lot of other broken bands fail to do. I celebrated by getting the Take That symbol tattooed on my right arm.

I’m proud to know the boys and I’m proud to have been in the band.”

A spokesperson for Robbie could not be reached for comment.



Blur Reuniting, Unveils London Show Plans



U.K. rock act Blur will reform for an open-air show in London's Hyde Park next summer. The band has been on hiatus following the campaign for its album "Think Tank" (Parlophone).

The Hyde Park show takes place on July 3 and is promoted by Live Nation and Metropolis Music, in association with CMO management and booking agent X-Ray Touring.

Guitarist Graham Coxon, who quit the band for a solo career in 2002, has signed up to the reunion, which features the full original lineup of frontman Damon Albarn, drummer Dave Rowntree and bassist Alex James.

There has also been speculation in U.K tabloid the Sun that Blur will headline the Glastonbury festival in June, but there has been no official confirmation.

Coxon last performed with Blur in 2000 at London's Royal Festival Hall. While he has focused on solo albums, Albarn has worked on several projects outside Blur, including the animated group Gorillaz and the Mandarin language opera, "Monkey: Journey To The West."

The band, which formed 20 years ago, released seven studio albums, five of them reaching No. 1 in the U.K.

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO...

This is the last newsletter of 2008 so the first thing I want to do is to say THANK YOU to each and every one of you for all your support over the last twelve months, and to wish each of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR... I hope you all have a fantastic, restful and peaceful festive season.

It has been a brilliant year for me and for RememberTheEighties.com, not only did I see my book 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia' (with contributions from so many of you!) published at last, but I also got the chance to INTERVIEW some fantastic people - including DAVE WAKELING of THE BEAT, JIM KERR of SIMPLE MINDS, VINCE CLARK of YAZOO and ERASURE, GLENN GREGORY of HEAVEN 17, all of THE HUMAN LEAGUE, ANDY MCCLUSKEY of OMD, DAVE BALL of SOFT CELL, ex DURAN DURAN guitarist ANDY TAYLOR, MARI WILSON and STEPHEN DUFFY, all of which are on the website for you if you missed them at the time - gave away some great competition prizes and giveaways, and ran the ULTIMATE 80s SINGLE POLL which over ten thousand of you took part in... not a bad year at all!

This newsletter will be back in the new year of course but between now and then I would be really interested to know what YOU consider were the HIGHLIGHTS and the LOW POINTS of the year from an 80s-related point of view? The ALBUMS and SINGLES, the CONCERTS and the TOURS, the COMEBACKS, the REUNIONS and the SPLITS... and also let me know what you're looking forward to in 2009! I have a vague idea that I might make a podcast, looking back at 2008 and looking forward to 2009, to go online in January so please email me with your thoughts!

See you next year!

Here is all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

ERASURE have revealed the tracklisting for their forthcoming 'Pop! Remixed' release which is to precede the February 23rd release of their 'Total Pop!' retrospective album and boxset. 'Pop! Remixed' will be released as a CD and a download. See NEWS for the full 'Pop! Remixed' tracklisting.

DEPECHE MODE have reportedly finished work on their new, as yet untitled album, their follow up to 2005's 'Playing The Angel'. The album is said to see a return to the band's analogue synthesiser roots and to include tracks called 'Wrong', 'Peace Will Come To Me', 'Hole to Feed', 'Comeback' and 'In Chains'.

THE STEEL CITY TOUR featuring HEAVEN 17, ABC and THE HUMAN LEAGUE has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section .

THE SPECIALS have announced extra dates for their reunion tour after the original shows sold out in hours. The band will play extra shows in Glasgow, Manchester and London and will end their UK reunion dates with a special hometown show at Coventry's Ricoh Arena on May 15th. See GIGS for all the dates.

ULTRAVOX will release more remastered and expanded editions of their classic albums in the new year with the release of a CD/DVD edition of 'Monument' and a 2-CD edition of 'Quartet' on February 16th.

U2's new album will be called 'No Line on the Horizon' and will be released on March 3rd next year.

MORRISSEY has followed the recent announcement of UK gigs around his birthday with news of a full UK tour in April and May and has signed a record deal with Lost Highway for the US release of his new album 'Years Of Refusal' which is now scheduled for February 17th. The album tracklisting has also been revealed alongside the US dates for the US leg of Morrissey's upcoming tour. See GIGS for all the dates and NEWS for the album tracklisting.

THOMAS DOLBY will be the subject of a CD/DVD retrospective package entitled 'The Singular Thomas Dolby' in March next year.

THE PRETENDERS have recorded a festive EP featuring their classic '2000 Miles' alongside the band's own versions of 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus', 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' and 'Blue Christmas'. The download only release will be available through iTunes.

MADNESS will celebrate their 30th anniversary next year with the release of their new album 'The Liberty Of Norton Folgate' in February alongside a number of catalogue marketing initiatives including a series of physical and downloadable reissues which will start to appear in July next year to coincide with the band's London 'Madstock' festival. In the meantime 'The Liberty Of Norton Folgate' is available to preorder in a special limited edition boxset edition, see NEWS for more details.

THE BLOW MONKEYS will play a special warm-up show for their 2009 dates on February 7th at Portsmouth's The Cellars...

KYLIE MINOGUE has announced the tracklisting of her forthcoming remix album 'Boombox' which is scheduled for release at the end of January. See NEWS for the full tracklisting.

MARC ALMOND fans are staging a convention to celebrate the career of the SOFT CELL singer on May 2nd next year at Birmingham's The Flapper. Artist Val Denham, who painted many of the Marc and the Mambas and Marc Almond sleeves, will be a special guest. See NEWS for more details.

MADONNA's recent concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

NIK KERSHAW has announced more dates for 2009 including acoustic shows in Denmark and Germany as well as more UK performances. See GIGS for all the details.

MICHAEL JACKSON is auctioning hundreds of personal items in a five-day auction scheduled for April next year. Lots include one of the singer's iconic white gloves. The memorabilia is expected to be exhibited at venues in London, Tokyo, New York, Dubai and Santiago in advance of the sale.

A-HA, ADAM ANT, CYNDI LAUPER, MICHAEL JACKSON and TIFFANY are featured among the fifty-three tracks featured on a second Irish CD/DVD release celebrating 'The Very Best Of MT USA', a compilation of artists featured on the groundbreaking Irish TV show 'MT USA' which ran from 1984 to 1987. See NEWS for the full CD/DVD tracklistings.

BONNIE TYLER has announced a one-off UK show at Ipswich's The Regent on March 29th.

SHAKIN' STEVENS' recent concert in Dublin has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

18.12.2008
'No Line on the Horizon'

No Line On The Horizon, the new studio album from U2, will be released on Monday 2nd March 2009.

Written and recorded in various locations, No Line On The Horizon is the group’s 12th studio album and is their first release since the 9 million selling album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, released in late 2004.

Sessions for No Line On The Horizon began last year in Fez, Morocco, continued in the band’s own studio in Dublin, before moving to New York’s Platinum Sound Recording Studios, and finally being completed at Olympic Studios in London.

The album calls on the production talents of long-time collaborators Brian Eno and Danny Lanois, with additional production by Steve Lillywhite.

---

Multumim, lex!

U2 album in 5 formats



The 12th U2 album `No Line On The Horizon` will be available in 5 different formats.

Album Versions:

Standard jewel case - with album CD and 24 page booklet

LP vinyl - limited edition with 2 black vinyl discs, gatefold sleeve, and a 16 page booklet

3 Limited Edition Versions with Unique Bonus Material:

Digipak format - limited edition with album CD, 36 page colour booklet and fold out poster. Features access to exclusive downloadable Anton Corbijn film.

Magazine format - limited edition with album CD, with 60 page magazine. Features access to exclusive downloadable Anton Corbijn film.

Box format - limited edition bespoke box containing digipak format album CD, DVD of Anton Corbijn's exclusive film, 64 page hardback book, plus a fold out poster.



Sir Elton John to have street named after him



Sir Elton John is to have a street named after him.

Councillors in the London borough of Harrow are considering honouring their most famous former resident following a Local Government Network report which encourages the celebration of local heroes.

Deputy leader of Harrow Council Councillor Susan Hall said: "We are supportive of any initiative that supports pride in our streets and strengthens a sense of community.

"As long as local people back the idea, in Harrow we could look at Elton John Avenue or similar to mark the achievements of a true international achiever.

“I saw Sir Elton in Las Vegas earlier this year and thought he was wonderful.

"He is a real showman. He came from humble beginnings and it shows that if you have talent and drive you can become as famous as him."

The council will discuss their proposals with the 61-year-old star – who was born Reginald Dwight – before unveiling the scheme in a full council meeting early in the New Year.

Under the scheme, other possibly names being considered for the honour include ‘Foundations’ star Kate Nash, comedian Matt Lucas, and singers Simon Le Bon, Billy Idol and Peter Andre.



Madness to release new album



Madness will continue their backtogetheragainess with another a new album in 2009.

The 80’s British ska group will release 'The Liberty of Norton Folgate’ on March 2nd. It will be their 9th studio album.

The album will be their first new material in a decade. Their last new album was 'Wonderful’ in 1999 although they released the covers album 'The Dangermen Sessios Vol. 1’ in 2005.

Although a 2009 release, the album was recorded in late 2006. With Liam Watson who engineered The White Stripes 'Elephant’.

Songs from the album were showcased in June this year.

The album will be released on Lucky Seven Records.



The Faces live reunion



Faces keyboard player Ian McLagan has confirmed that rehearsals for The Faces reunion in 2009 went well.

At his official website macspages.com, McLagan posted 'The rehearsals were a lot of fun, everybody was in fine form and things are looking good for a gig or two next year, but these things take time to work out and I'm just going to wait until there's something solid to report, so I'm not getting excited just yet.
............I'm holding my breath'.

The Faces line-up will be McLagan on keyboards, Ronnie Wood on guitar, Kenney Jones on drums and Rod Stewart on vocals with Red Hot Chili Peppers Flea playing bass in place of the late Ronnie Lane.

The Faces evolved from 60s band The Small Faces and became known as The Faces in 1969 when Rod Stewart joined the band.

They released four studio albums, the biggest being 'A Nod Is As Good As A Wink’ featuring the classic 'Stay With Me’ which is still a staple in Rod Stewart’s setlist to this day.

The band split in 1975. Rod Stewart had for the previous three years juggled his job as lead singer with his other job as superstar.

The extent of a tour is yet to be worked out. 'We just have to sort out when and where and drop all of the management egos and just do what we can. We know we can do it. It’s just a matter of getting everyone’s availability sometime next year,' Ronnie Wood told Rolling Stone.



The Four Tops to be honoured at Grammys



Motown legends The Four Tops will be honoured at next year's Grammys with a Lifetime Achievement award.

The organisers of the annual music awards said the group will be given the honour alongside the late Rat Pack star Dean Martin.

The Four Tops were best known for their 60s hits such as Reach Out I'll Be There, I Can't Help Myself and Baby I Need Your Loving.

Abdul "Duke" Fakir is the only surviving member of the band after Levi Stubbs died in October this year.

Dean Martin, one of the members of the Rat Pack in the 50s and 60s alongside Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jnr and had success with songs such as That's Amore, Mambo Italiano, died on Christmas Day 1995.

The prizes will be given at a ceremony in Los Angeles on 7 February, one day before the 51st annual Grammy Awards.

Neil Portnow, President of The Recording Academy which runs the Grammys said the recipients were a "prestigious group of legendary performers, creative architects and technical visionaries".

He added: "Their outstanding accomplishments, legendary passion and artistry have positively affected our culture and will continue to influence and inspire generations to come."

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO...

Happy New Year!

I hope that you have all had wonderful festive seasons and are refreshed and ready to tackle 2009... I managed to take a couple of weeks off and although I only started back this week I have to say that there are already all sorts of very exciting things on the horizon for RememberTheEighties.com and I hope to be able to tell you more about them very soon!

Thank you so much to everyone who emailed me with festive greetings and messages, and a big welcome to all of you who are receiving this email for the first time after finding the website as a result of receiving a copy of my book 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia' for Christmas (and thank you also to so many of you who wrote to me to say such nice thigs about the book!).

I am also very aware that I still haven't responded to all the emails that came in over the holiday but I promise I will get around to them as soon as possible...

It's good to be back!

Here is all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

ULTRAVOX have added a second London date to their forthcoming reunion tour. The show will take place at the Roundhouse on April 30th and will also be filmed for a special DVD release. The band will also release a CD/DVD edition of their 1983 live release 'Monument' on February 16th. 'Monument' was originally released as a six-track mini album and a live VHSand the new edition features the original six tracks plus a number of bonus tracks. See NEWS for the full CD an DVD tracklistings.

PET SHOP BOYS will release their new album 'Yes' at the end of March and will precede the album with a single entitled 'Love, Etc'. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

BANANARAMA are currently mixing their new album with a view to annoucing a release date shortly. The album will feature five new tracks and five covers of classic disco anthems.

DURAN DURAN, YAZOO, ABC, PET SHOP BOYS, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, THE CURE and IMAGINATION are among artists featured on a forthcoming mix album entitled '80s Niteclub' which will be released on February 2nd. The 3-CD collection features fifty key 80s tracks, many in their 12" versions, presented in the mix. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

DEPECHE MODE's hit 'Personal Jesus' has been sampled on 'Reach Out', the new single from Hilary Duff which will be released in the UK on January 19th. The song has been recorded as one of two new tracks on the retrospective album 'The Best of Hilary Duff' which will be released a week later.

GO WEST will release a new single 'Man On Fire' on April 6th following their UK 'Go West By Request' dates in February and March. The single will feature a single remix of the track that features on their recent album 'Futurenow' which the band will be repromoting at the same time. See GIGS for all the dates.

UB40 will release a twenty-track collection of their best known ballads as 'Love Songs' on February 2nd, in time for Valentine's Day. The band are also expected to announce dates for 2009 in the near future. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

BILLY OCEAN will release a new album 'Because I Love You' to coincide with his forthcoming UK dates which start at the end of January. A live album, recorded on the 2008 Billy Ocean dates will also be available at the forthcoming shows. See GIGS for all the dates.

KAJAGOOGOO have announced three shows in Poland in February. See GIGS for all the dates.

HUE AND CRY will release a new single 'Heading For A Fall' on January 12th in advance of a short UK tour in February and March. See GIGS for all the dates.

KILLING JOKE's recent 'The Peel Sessions 1979-1981' has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

MORRISSEY has announced three US shows to support his forthcoming new album 'Years Of Refusal'. The shows will all take place in New York, the first at the Bowery Ballroom on March 21st followed by shows at Webster Hall and Carnegie Hall.

KRAFTWERK will support Radiohead on their forthcoming South American tour in March, followed by a German tour in April although the line-up will not feature FLORIAN SCHNEIDER who this week announced that he is leaving the band, leaving just one original member, RALF HUETTER, in the line-up.

HOWARD JONES' December show in Dublin has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

PRINCE is apparently planning three album releases for 2009, including 'Lotus Flower', some of the tracks of which have already been played on US radio, an electro-pop collection tentatively entitled 'MPLSound' and 'Elixir', a collaboration with his new protege Bria Valente.

MADNESS are to host the fifth Madstock Festival, which they will also headline, in London's Victoria Park on July 17th.

MT USA 2, the recent Irish CD/DVD collection has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

ELVIS COSTELLO, STING, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and STEVIE WONDER are all expected to play at Barack Obama's forthcoming inauguration concert on January 20th, or at other music events in Washington DC to mark the presidential inauguration.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

U2’s new album 'No Line On The Horizon’ is inspired by Led Zeppelin and the White Stripes



The band’s guitarist The Edge has revealed the group were influenced by the legendary British rock band and Jack White after the Irish axe man appeared in a programme documenting the history of the electric guitar with Jack and Led Zeppelin star Jimmy Page.

Speaking about his part in documentary 'It Might Get Loud’, The Edge, 47, said: 'I was just fascinated with seeing how Jimmy played those riffs so simply, and with Jack as well.'

The Edge, real name David Howell Evans, also revealed how he and his bandmates – frontman Bono, bass guitarist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. – took an unconventional approach to making the record, which is released in March.

He added to Rolling Stone magazine: 'It started just with me playing and Larry drumming, and we took it from there. It’s very raw and very to the point. It’s like rock'n’roll 2009!'

Meanwhile, The Edge has revealed the scheduled opening date of the new 'Spider-Man’ musical he has been working on with Bono, director Julie Taylor and scriptwriter Glenn Berger.

He said: "It is happening. It's a pretty good state, and I hope it will be open this year. We are not sure where in the world but most likely it will be in New York."



Bono to write for New York Times



BONO is set to be a columnist for the New York Times.

The U2 frontman will make his writing debut in Sunday's (Jan. 11) paper which will be accompanied by a podcast.

New York Times page editor Andrew Rosenthal said Bono was "an extraordinary man who thinks deeply about his art and the major issues confronting the world."

He added that Bono's column, which will appear on an occasional basis, would cover a diverse range of topics.

The singer said it was "an honour" to be writing for the renowned publication, adding that he's "never been great with the full stops or commas."



British bands top global sellers list



Coldplay, AC/DC and Amy Winehouse together sold over sixteen million albums around the world in 2008, end of year figures show.

Overall, the top five biggest selling albums of last year were all made by British artists - and sold a combined 25.5million copies.

Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends' was the year's biggest album, selling 6.6million copies, while Winehouse's 'Back To Black', first released in 2006, sold 5.1million. AC/DC's long awaited 'Black Ice' was third, selling 5 million copies, while the fourth biggest seller, 'Rockferry' by Duffy, sold 4.5million.



ABBA top reunion fan chart poll



Take That, Led Zeppelin and The Police have already done it with great success and next year Blur, The Specials and Cliff and The Shadows are set to join them. Reunion tours are becoming the biggest ticket on the live music circuit...and according to a new poll by viagogo there are plenty of other bands that music fans would like to see take the stage for one final encore.

ABBA is the band the British public most want to see reform and play live again in 2009. They came top of the viagogo poll which asked fans to nominate the one act they would like to see dust down the old costumes and belt out the hits in front of a packed crowd. The Mama Mia DVD is now the best selling of all time in the UK and there is little doubt that this would be the ultimate live ticket of not just next year but the decade!

The Swedish pop legends beat off strong competition from Manchester indie darlings, The Smiths, in the viagogo reunion chart. They have already turned down millions to reform but with relations thawing between Morrissey and Marr could one of the most unlikely reunions now be on the cards?

Next on the list comes a band that have already settled their differences and returned in fine style...but with one man missing. A full Take That reunion with Robbie Williams back on stage with Gary and the boys would be one of the most hotly anticipated shows of 2009. What’s more it could even now be the most likely as rumours abound that Robbie is ready to return.

In fourth position on the chart are fellow Mancunians, The Stone Roses, who split in 1996. As with The Smiths, any reformation is reliant on the thawing of relations between the chief protagonists, Ian Brown and John Squire. Fans certainly feel there is unfinished business after the band were forced to drop out of their headlining slot at the 1995 Glastonbury festival due to Squire’s broken arm.

Their album was 15 years in the making and if Chinese Democracy did not receive the plaudits Axel Rose was expecting, there is little doubt that reforming the original band with Slash on guitar would set everyone’s pulses racing. Guns and Roses are number 5 on the chart.

Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, The Faces, Wham! and The Jackson Five complete the top 10 dream line up. Now the race is on to find out who will crack first and give the fans what they want in 2009...

Eric Baker, CEO of viagogo said, 'On viagogo we have already seen huge demand for reunions from the likes of Blur, Take That and Cliff and the Shadows. But ABBA would be the ultimate comeback tour according to fans on viagogo – and who could put a price on that ticket?'

Top ten bands music fans would like to see reform in 2009:
1. Abba
2. The Smiths
3. Take That with Robbie Williams
4. Stone Roses
5. Guns and Roses with Slash
6. Pink Floyd
7. Talking Heads
8. The Faces
9. Wham!
10. Jackson Five



Kraftwerk member quits



One quarter of Kraftwerk has quit according to the band’s official fan web site.

Florian Schneider, one of the co-founders of the German electro act, gave no reason for his departure.

Schneider did not appear on the band’s world tour last year, and is now understood to be working on a solo venture.

In September other remaining original member Ralf Hutter told the New Zealand Herald that Schneider has spent the last few years "working on other projects."

The news comes just after the German electronic legends were invited to support Radiohead in Latin America.

Kraftwerk will support Radiohead throughout their Central and South Americanan tour, starting in Mexico City on March 15.



Radiohead Snags Kraftwerk For Spring Shows



Radiohead has drafted legendary German electronica act Kraftwerk to support its spring tour of Latin America, which begins March 15-16 in Mexico City. Kraftwerk will also play headlining shows April 25-26 in Wolfsburg, Germany.

However, the group's lineup appears to be in flux. Founding member Florian Schneider, who did not appear onstage with Kraftwerk during its 2008 world tour, has left the group, according to Kraftwerk's official fan Web site.

Lone remaining original member Ralf Hutter told the New Zealand Herald in September that Schneider has spent the last few years "working on other projects; technical things."

Last year, Schneider was replaced onstage by Stefan Pfaffe. The group also includes Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz.

Here are Kraftwerk's tour dates:
March 15-16: Mexico City (Foro Sol)
March 20: Rio de Janeiro (Praca da Apoteose)
March 22: Sao Paulo, Brazil (Chacara Do Jockey)
March 24: Buenos Aires, (Club Ciduad)
March 26-27: Santiago, Chile (San Carlos De Apoquindo)
April 25-26: Wolfsburg, Germany (Altes Heizkraftwerk)



Robyn, Lykke Li Guest On New Royksopp Album



Norwegian electronica duo Royksoop's first album in three-plus years, "Junior," will arrive March 23 internationally and the following day in the United States via Astralwerks.

"Every once in a while we surface to share our music and shed some light in an otherwise bleak reality," the group wrote on its Web site. "And that time is soon upon us, ladies & gents."

The follow-up to 2005's "The Understanding" features guest appearances from Robyn, Lykke Li, Anneli Drecker and the Knife's Karin Dreijer. First single/album opener "Happy Up Here" will be available March 9.

"The Understanding" debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Electronic Albums chart and spawned the singles "Only This Moment" (No. 18 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play tally) and "What Else Is There?" (No. 8 on Billboard's Hot Dance Singles Sales chart).

Here is the track list for "Junior:
"Happy Up Here"
"The Girl and the Robot"
"Vision One"
"This Must Be It"
"Royksopp Forever"
"Miss It So Much"
"Tricky Tricky"
"You Don't Have a Clue"
"Silver Cruiser"
"True to Life"
"It's What I Want"

Beatles downloads for free



During this month NRK (The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) will be podcasting the documentary series of "Vĺr daglige Beatles", - "Our Daily Beatles", that chronologically tells a short story of every Beatles original 212 releases, along with the song in its entirety. The documentaries was broadcasted in the radioprogram 'Norgesglasset' on NRK radio.

NRK has a newly signed deal with the Norwegian music rights holders TONO, allowing them to podcast previously broadcasted radioshows containing less than 70 percent music. Podcasts containing the music are available for four weeks from publishing date.

The podcasts is available from january 5 from this location: http://podkast.nrk.no/program/beatles_komplett.rss



Stooges Guitarist Ron Asheton Dead At 60



Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton was found dead on 6th January at his home in Ann Arbor, Mich., according to local police. He was 60.

Ann Arbor Detective Bill Stanford tells Billboard.com that police were called to Asheton's house early this morning by Dara Hytinen, his personal assistant, who had not been able to reach him for several days.

Hytinen let officers into the house with her key and Asheton's body was found in his bedroom. Stanford said he "looked fairly peaceful" and that there was no sign of foul play or drug use. Asheton, who had likely been dead since New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, had high blood pressure but no other major medical problems.

Asheton's body was taken to the University of Michigan medical center, where an autopsy was to be conducted this afternoon. Stanford said a cause of death likely won't be determined until toxicology reports are complete, which should take about a month.

Asheton and his drummer brother Scott formed the Stooges with Iggy Pop in Ann Arbor in 1967. Amid a music scene that also reared acts like Bob Seger and the MC5, the Stooges stood out for their reckless abandon, theatrics and pummeling style, a clear precursor for punk and alternative rock.

Asheton's riffs were at the heart of classic Stooges tracks such as "No Fun" and "TV Eye." And while albums such as "Fun House" and "Raw Power" would later be viewed as some of the most influential of the era, the band never enjoyed commercial success at the time, eventually splitting up in 1974. Pop then embarked on a solo career.

"No one ever said, hey, I quit," Ron Asheton said during a 2007 South by Southwest panel devoted to the Stooges' legacy. "It was just like, I need a break. It was a long break, but we needed a break." Seeing Pop play Stooges songs as a solo artist was no easy pill to swallow, but Asheton acknowledged, "It's show business and it's a wicked animal. You take the offers you get and see what happens."

Asheton also fondly discussed making whole grain waffles for his bandmates when they lived at the Fun House in Ann Arbor, where watching an old black-and-white TV and smoking pot were day-long activities. "We were foodies early on," Pop said. "I made the salad everyday," Asheton added.

"For all that knew him behind the facade of Mr. Cool & Quirky, he was a kindhearted, genuine, warm person who always believed that people meant well even if they did not," the Stooges said in a statement. "As a musician, Ron was The Guitar God idol to follow and inspire others. That is how he will be remembered by people who had a great pleasure to work with him, learn from him and share good and bad times with him."

Speaking to Billboard.com, MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer remembered Asheton as "unique amongst rock guitarists. He had his own take on what the electric guitar was all about. He was one of the guys that understood that you not only play the guitar but you play the amp, too. He was into the sound of the guitar -- the sound was almost more important than the notes. He had a real visceral, raw expression."

Matthew Smith of the Detroit-based bands Outrageous Cherry and the Volebeats recalled meeting Asheton while both were en route to New York in 2004 when the Stooges performed at Little Steven's International Underground Garage Festival on Randalls Island.

"I asked Ron if he'd had a chance to see any of the other acts," Smith said, "and he told me he hadn't. He'd isolated himself in a trailer all day with his guitar, just to be able to concentrate without any distractions so he'd be in the right frame of mind to go onstage with the Stooges. He said he needed to do this for every gig. This is how Ron prepared for 'battle' ... which is what it must've literally been, back in the early '70s."

Detroit-born rocker Marshall Crenshaw concurred that Asheton's sound was "utterly singular. It was just like World War III. It was this monumental onslaught of sound -- and ideas, too. You just go, 'How on Earth does he do what he does?' It was a mystery to me."

After nearly three decades of inactivity, the Stooges reunited in 2003 to play the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., and toured frequently in recent years.

With Mike Watt filling in on bass for the late Dave Alexander, the group also returned to the studio in 2006 to record a new album, "The Weirdness," released the following year by Virgin. "The one thing that kind of amazes me is that it sounds like us," Pop told Billboard of the album at the time. "You put it on, and right away, you'd know, well, that's them. There they go."

The Stooges had just completed a European tour last month. Funeral arrangements are pending for Asheton, who is survived by Scott and a sister, Kathy.



Aerosmith Gets Back To Work After '08 Break



Aerosmith is ready to return to work on its next studio album, according to a Web post (Jan. 5) from drummer Joey Kramer.

"Today is the first day [bassist] Tom [Hamilton] and I are getting back together," he wrote. "We just rehearsed for two hours and it feels so good! We can't wait to get back into the studio and get back out on the road to do what we do best."

As previously reported, work has already begun on the band's first album of original material since 2001's "Just Push Play." Aerosmith pressed pause on the project last year while band members recovered from a variety of medical issues.

"Like a lot of other things in life, you don't get to call the shots on these things, do you?," guitarist Brad Whitford told Billboard.com last fall. "We're just ... getting older."

There's no date for the new album, but it's expected to be out sometime this year via Columbia. Aerosmith also has one live show lined up on Feb. 1 at Estadio Olimpico in Caracas, Venezuela.

U2 "Get On Your Boots” – A First Listen & Review

Snippets: http://www.scribblescribblescribble.com/blog/2009/01/16/new-u2-single-get-on-your-boots-snippets-posted/

Review by Alan Cross:

There are some new sounds that could only come from an Eno/Lanois production, which left me with a feeling similar to what I experienced when I heard “The Fly” for the first time.

This is NOT a back-to-basics guitar/bass/drums track like “Vertigo” or even “Beautiful Day”. There’s some definite sonic evolution going on here.

It does rock. To find the last time a first single was a ballad, you have to go all the way back to “With Or Without You.” That worked out all right, but I can’t imagine U2 doing that again in the prevailing musical environment.

Bono manages to rhyme “submarine” with “gasoline” and says something about “don’t talk to me about the state of nations.”

There’s a portion of the melody that somehow reminds me of the cadence of the verses in Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up,” but as I write this, I’m not completely sure. Still, part of the song reminded me of…something else.

Did I like it? I didn’t hate it—but I need to hear it more before I really make up my mind about what I think about….anything to do with the song.

Like so many U2 songs—especially ones produced by an Eno/Lanois/Lilywhite nexus—it’s filled with far more subtleties and complexities that anyone can hear with one listen. I need to examine it, ponder upon it and otherwise live with it.

But that’s the cool thing about U2. There’s just so much THERE there that it can take a while to sort through it all. Suffice it to say, however, that if you’re a U2 fan, you’ll be pleased.

If the song isn’t on the radio by the end of this week, I’ll be shocked. I first heard bits of “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” from a broadcast on a Croatian radio station. There was a leak at the record pressing plant and somehow this dude got himself a big scoop.

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO...

It's been back to business as normal this week which means I have been lining up all sorts of INTERVIEWS, COMPETITIONS and GIVEAWAYS for you all, kicking off on monday afternoon when, if all goes well, I will be interviewing ERASURE frontman ANDY BELL about the forthcoming Erasure 'Total Pop!' CD/DVD boxset which is due for release - alongside a ten-track remix EP and a 2CD edition - in February. If you have any QUESTIONS for Andy then please email them over to me before midday (UK) on Monday and I will try to get as many of them answered as I can!

A few people have emailed me to ask what happened to the BOY GEORGE INTERVIEW I was promised before Christmas. Well, as I'm sure you all know, life has been rather complicated for George over the last couple of months and he has been keeping a low profile in the run up to his court hearing, and was TODAY sentenced to FIFTEEN MONTHS in prison for false imprisonment. I wish him all the very best, and hope to talk to him again when his life goes back to normal!

I'm still catching up on answering your emails, but I am getting through them I promise! Have a great weekend!

Here is all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

DEPECHE MODE's new album will be called 'Sounds Of The Universe' and will be released on April 21st. The album, the band's twelfth studio set, will be preceded by a new single entitled 'Wrong'.

GARY NUMAN will play a UK show at London's Shepherds Bush Empire on July 25th and will also be playing a DJ set at Winchester's The Railway Inn on March 28th.

U2 have released the tracklisting for their forthcoming new album 'No Line On The Horizon' which is scheduled for release on March 2nd, preceded by a new single entitled 'Get On Your Boots'. See NEWS for the full tracklisting. The band have also announced that they will perform live at this year's Brit Awards which are set to take place at London's Earls Court on February 18th. PET SHOP BOYS will also be appearing live and will receive the 2009 'Outstanding Contribution To Music Award' causing rumours to circulate that the bands will join forces for a special performance of 'Where The Streets Have No Name'...

KAJAGOOGOO have announced a UK gig at Birkenhead's Pacific Road Arts Theatre in May. See NEWS for more details.

GRANDMASTER FLASH and THE SUGARHILL GANG are among the artists lined up for this year's Beachdown Festival which will take place near Brighton over the last weekend of August. Other acts already confirmed include THE FALL and SECRET AFFAIR.

BLONDIE, JOY DIVISION, DAVID BOWIE and THE CLASH are among artists who have nominated up and coming acts to cover their classic tracks in aid of the charity Warchild. The album, 'Heroes', will feature fifteen tracks and includes Franz Ferdinand taking on Blondie's 'Call Me', Hot Chip covering Joy Division's 'Transmission', TV On The Radio covering Bowie's 'Heroes' and Lily Allen's version of The Clash's 'Straight To Hell'.

PAUL WELLER will play a series of UK outdoor shows this summer as part of this year's Forestry Commission shows. Weller will play the six shows in June with profits from the gigs going to the Forestry Commission's woodland, environmental and social work. See GIGS for all the dates.

BOYS DON'T CRY, best known for their track 'I Wanna Be A Cowboy', have released a 30-track downloadable compilation entitled 'White Punks On Rap' via iTunes and other download stores. The band are planning a full return and are working on a new album with the working title 'Just Thinking About Sex At The Time'...

HERE AND NOW's recent Irish show at Castlebar - featuring CUTTING CREW, CAROL DECKER, BUCKS FIZZ, PAUL YOUNG, BELINDA CARLISLE and BANANARAMA - has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

RUN DMC and METALLICA are among the 2009 inductees to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame it has been announced. The induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland on April 4th.

MORRISSEY is rumoured to be planning his retirement from music following comments from the star in a recent interview with US magazine Filter...

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH are to reunite this year, although without singer PAUL HEATON or guitarist DAVE ROTHERAY. The new version of the band will go under the name The New Beautiful South and will make their live debut at Hull's Welly Club in March. See NEWS for more details.

MARC ALMOND fans have moved the date of their forthcoming convention at the Birmingham Flapper to May 9th following a double booking on the original May 2nd date.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

The Prodigy release 'Omen'

Omen is the first official single to be taken from The Prodigy's highly anticipated album Invaders Must Die. A white hot shot of pure pumped-up, punk rock Prodigy adrenaline beamed straight into the moshpit from rave central, Omen is everything you have ever wanted from The Prodigy condensed into three eardrum bothering minutes.


The band put out a free download as a taster of what's to come. This was a huge success and was hailed as the Hottest record in the world by Zane Lowe (Radio 1). On www.theprodigy.com the download and accompanying video stream received in excess of 1 million plays globally in the first 5 days and a further 350,000+ streams in the following week.

'Invaders Must Die' (released 23rd February) is 40 minutes of having your head battered by future nostalgia, serotonin levels twisted by feel-good horrorcore and your synapses snapped by whiplash attitude. It's the sound of The Prodigy mixing up genres, contorting the past and rewiring the future, ram-raiding through the tranquility of music's status quo like a blot on the landscape of England's dreaming.

Invaders Must Die is the unique sound of The Prodigy, still trespassing after all these years, walking the path they've created for themselves. And with that free party attitude still breaking and entering where other's can only dream of following.

www.theprodigy.com / www.cookingvinyl.com

The Prodigy's 5th studio album, "Invaders Must Die" is released 23rd February 2009 through Take Me To The Hospital / Cooking Vinyl.



Pet Shop Boys Spread The 'Love'

Synth-pop veterans the Pet Shop Boys will release a new album, "Yes," March 23 internationally through Parlophone/EMI. A North American release has yet to be announced.

First single "Love Etc" arrives March 16. The album is a collaboration with production team Xenomania, best known for its work with U.K. pop titans like Girls Aloud and Sugababes. Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr guests on several cuts, while Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett contributed orchestral arrangements.

"Yes" is the follow-up to 2006's "Fundamental," released in North America by Rhino.

Of late, the group has been a fixture on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart via a collaboration with Robbie Williams dubbed "We're the Pet Shop Boys." They also co-wrote, with Xenomania, the new Girls Aloud single "The Loving Kind."

The Pet Shop Boys will be honored with the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the BRIT Awards, to be held Feb. 18 in London.

Here is the track list for "Yes":
"Love Etc"
"All Over the World"
"Beautiful People"
"Did You See Me Coming?"
"Vulnerable"
"More Than a Dream"
"Building a Wall"
"King of Rome"
"Pandemonium"
"The Way It Used To Be"
"Legacy"

U2 Break Down 'No Line on the Horizon'

Key tracks from the band's eclectic new album > http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/25328725/u2_break_down_no_line_on_the_horizon

In early December, Rolling Stone traveled to London to visit U2 in the studio as Bono and Co. worked on the upcoming No Line on the Horizon. The journey was as spellbinding and energizing as you might imagine, and you'll be able to read all about it when our new issue hits newsstands on Wednesday, January 7th. To tide you over, here's a track-by-track preview of 10 choice songs (and you can dig deeper into all our U2 coverage in our archive):

"Get On Your Boots"
The likely first single, this blazing, fuzzed-out rocker picks up where "Vertigo" left off. "It started just with me playing and Larry drumming," the Edge recalls. "And we took it from there."

"Stand Up Comedy"
Another hard rock tune, powered by an unexpectedly slinky groove and a riff that lands between the Beatles' "Come Together" and Led Zep's "Heartbreaker." Edge recently hung out with Jimmy Page and Jack White for the upcoming documentary It Might Get Loud, and their penchant for blues-based rock rubbed off: "I was just fascinated with seeing how Jimmy played those riffs so simply, and with Jack as well," he says.

"Crazy Tonight"
"It's kind of like this album's 'Beautiful Day' — it has that kind of joy to it," Bono says. With the refrain "I know I'll go crazy/If I don't go crazy tonight," it's the band's most unabashed pop tune since "Sweetest Thing."

"Unknown Caller"
This midtempo track could have fit on All That You Can't Leave Behind. "The idea is that the narrator is in an altered state, and his phone starts talking to him," says the Edge.

"Tripoli"
This strikingly experimental song lurches between disparate styles, including near-operatic choral music, Zooropa-style electronics, and churning arena rock.

"Cedars of Lebanon"
"On this album, you can feel what is going on in the world at the window, scratching at the windowpane," says Bono, who sings this atmospheric ballad from the point of view of a war correspondent.

"Magnificent"
"Only love can leave such a mark," Bono roars on what sounds like an instant U2 anthem. Will.i.am has already done what Bono calls "the most extraordinary" remix of the tune.

"Moment of Surrender"
This seven-minute-long track is one of the album's most ambitious, merging a Joshua Tree-style gospel feel with a hypnotically loping bass line and a syncopated beat.

"Every Breaking Wave"
A swelling soul-pop song, with bright synth sounds influenced by OMD and, Bono says, "early electronica." "You don't hear indie bands doing blue-eyed soul [like this]," he adds.

"No Line on the Horizon"
The title track's relentless groove began as a group improvisation. "It's very raw and very to the point," says the Edge. "It's like rock & roll 2009."

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO!

In a flurry of GOOD INTENTIONS I have decided to try and get the newsletter out earlier in the week whenever possible so it doesn't get lost forever in your weekend emails, so here I am bright and early... I hope you're having a good week!

Many thanks to everyone who sent me questions for my INTERVIEW with ERASURE frontman ANDY BELL last week, there were loads and loads of them and I got as many answered as I could in my time with Andy! The interview will go online in a couple of weeks, but rather excitingly I have a bit of a treat for you before then if you're an ERASURE fan, because the band have given me a track from their forthcoming 'Pop! Remixed' EP (due out on February 9th) to stream EXCLUSIVELY all next week... check the website from Monday to hear 'Stop! (Vince Clarke Sync 82 Remix)', only on RememberTheEighties.com!

If even that is too long to wait I have a fantastic GIVEAWAY for you this week as I have FIVE COPIES of a brand new compilation called '80s Niteclub' to give away! This isn't just another run-of-the-mill 80s compilation, oh no, this is FORTY-EIGHT of the best 7" and 12" singles of the decade mixed together over THREE CDs including tracks from NEW ORDER, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, SOFT CELL, DURAN DURAN, TEARS FOR FEARS, VISAGE, PET SHOP BOYS, WHAM!, YAZOO, LIONEL RICHIE, SHALAMAR and IMAGINATION among many, many others (see NEWS for the full tracklisting) and will be in the shops next week... if you fancy trying to win a copy then all you need to do is email me before 5pm (UK) on Friday, all entries will go into my legendary virtual hat and the winners will be chosen randomly and notified by email. Good luck!

Finally I want to try a NEW FEATURE in the newsletter this week... I get emails all the time from people who want to know what their favourite 80s act are up these days and although sometimes I can answer them without any problem, there are times when I just can't and in those situations I want to use the newsletter to ask for your help... so to kick off I would love to hear from anyone who knows what AMAZULU are doing now, just email me if you know anything and I will let everyone know next week, and if there's an act who you want to know about then let me know that too! Thank you!

Here's all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

ABC are to headline this year's 'Regeneration Tour' in the USA. The bill also features HEAVEN 17, WANG CHUNG, MEN WITHOUT HATS and BERLIN. The tour will last around a month and will run from mid-June to mid-July.

KYLIE MINOGUE has been confirmed as one of the presenters for next month's Brit Awards where U2 will play live and, according to recent rumours, PET SHOP BOYS will perform with The Killers...

A-HA have announced three shows in South America, playing two gigs in Brazil and one in Chile in March. See GIGS for all the dates.

PASSIONATE FRIENDS will open for THE BLOW MONKEYS at Glasgow's King Tuts on February 10th. Passionate Friends reformed in 2008 and are currently working on new material, the follow up to last year's 'Stealing Seconds' release.

H2O's 'Faith' album, featuring their hits 'Dream To Sleep' and 'Just Outside Heaven', has been reissued in an expanded CD edition featuring the original ten track album supplemented by a further six bonus tracks. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

MICHAEL JACKSON's 'Thriller' video is being turned into a full stage musical show, fully authorised by Jackson himself who will also help the develop the show.

SISTERS OF MERCY have announced two UK dates as part of a massive tour that will see the band playing all over Europe and South America between February and June this year. See GIGS for all the dates.

THROWING MUSES frontwoman Kristin Hersh will play a solo gig, part of the Get It Loud In Libraries series of shows, at the Lancaster Library on May 23.

THE CURE and A-HA have both had songs covered for a new Valentine's compilation 'Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Sing Their Favorite Love Songs' which will be released by Starbucks on January 30th in the US. The Cure's 'Lovesong' has been covered by Death Cab For Cutie while A-Ha's 'Take On Me' has been reinterpreted by New Pornographers' frontman AC Newman.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN has announced the first European shows of a summer tour in support of his new album 'Working On A Dream' which is scheduled for a January 27th release. Six shows in Scandanavia have been announced already with more in the pipeline including a reported six UK stadium shows and a rumoured headline spot at the Glastonbury Festival. See GIGS for dates.

DAVID BOWIE has started work on a new studio album in Berlin - the city where he recorded 'Heroes', 'Low', and 'Lodger' - although there is no word on when new material might see the light of day.

THE BLOW MONKEYS, THE CHRISTIANS and SQUEEZE frontman CHRIS DIFFORD have all been confirmed on the bill of this year's 'Acoustic Festival of Britain' which will take place at Derbyshire's Catton Hall Park between May 22nd and 25th.

MODERN ROMANCE will play at a special family day to raise funds for the Herts Air Ambulance Appeal at Broxbourne's Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire on April 26th. The event, the first 'Bikers In Paradise' day, is being put on by Hertfordshire Biker magazine.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

McCartney, The Killers and The Cure join Coachella

The Coachella line-up is out with Paul McCartney headlining the first night on Friday April 17.

"I have heard that Coachella is one of the greatest festivals in the world. I'm really excited to get out there and rock!" McCartney said in a statement about his first ever US festival appearance.

The Killers and Amy Winehouse will top the bill on Saturday April 18. The Cure will headline the Sunday show.

Coachella Valley & Music Arts Festival started in 1999. It is held in Indio, California.

The line-up for this year’s COACHELLA (as of 1/30) is as follows:

FRIDAY APRIL 17: Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Beirut, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings, The Crystal Method, Ghostland Observatory, Crystal Castles, The Airborne Toxic Event, We Are Scientists, N.A.S.A., Patton & Rahzel, M. Ward, The Presets, The Hold Steady, A Place to Bury Strangers, Felix da Housecat, Buraka Som Sistema, Ryan Bingham, Bajofondo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Noah & the Whale, White Lies, The Bug, Alberta Cross, Los Campesinos!, Craze & Klever, Molotov, Switch, Gui Boratto, Steve Aoki, The Aggrolites, People Under the Stairs, The Courteeners, Cage the Elephant, Dear and the Headlights.

SATURDAY, APRIL 18: The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Atmosphere, Mastodon, TRAV$DJ-AM, Henry Rollins, Crookers, Turbonegro, Hercules and Love Affair, Superchunk, Glasvegas, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the DBT’s, Amanda Palmer, The Bloody Beetroots, Surkin, Para One (Live), Calexico, Liars, Bob Mould Band, Zane Lowe, Electric Touch, Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison, Drop the Lime, Glass Candy, Thenewno2, Gang Gang Dance, Billy Talent, Ida Maria, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Zizek, Cloud Cult, Tinariwen.

SUNDAY, APRIL 19: The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, The Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, The Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.



Chris Cornell & Timbaland unite for new album project

It’s not often that two legends in music get together to record a full album, and even rarer that they’re from completely opposite ends of the musical spectrum. Ex-Soundgarden/Audioslave vocalist Chris Cornell has teamed up with hip hop and pop super-producer Timbaland to create an extraordinary new album entitled 'Scream’ which will be released on March 9th.

The collaboration, which Chris Cornell calls 'the best work I’ve done in my career', is also possibly the bravest work either man has ever undertaken. The end result is a genre-breaking, pop-rock record for the 21st century that gives you a glimpse into the future of music via some of the most innovative and revolutionary arrangements ever crafted.

All the songs on 'Scream’ which were written by Chris Cornell and produced by Timbaland make up an album that was inspired partly by Pink Floyd’s all-time classic album 'The Wall’. All 13 of the songs on 'Scream’ flow into each other giving it the feel of one complete work with no breaks, drawing on both artists talents to re-write the modern musical rulebook. Tracks such as the title song 'Scream’ ripple with electro-synth and beautifully complex drum patterns only Timbaland could pull off, rolling like inter-planetary trains piloted by the powerful and unmistakable Chris Cornell vocal. The long player theme is also intended as a resurrection of the original album format – in an age of a la carte downloading – to try to shine a light back on a piece of music that made sense as a whole as well as in parts.

'Scream’ sees Chris Cornell, who has time and time again proved himself as an undisputed pioneer in his field, pushing the boundaries into another uncharted territory. From his involvement with Soundgarden in the 90s making him one of the chief architects of the grunge movement, to the formation of super-group Audioslave, to being the first male vocalist to record an original James Bond theme Cornell’s always aimed to carve new pathways rather than follow others.



U2 to buy the Olympics

U2 are to buy the Olympics.

The Irish rockers are close to making an offer on the EMI-owned Olympic studios in South West London - where they recently recorded new album 'No Line on the Horizon' - after the record label put the legendary venue on the market.

A source said: "Bono, Edge and the rest of the band really enjoyed their time in Olympic. They knuckled down and really responded well to the place's atmosphere."

The building, which is reportedly worth millions, has played host to musical royalty including Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones.

U2 already own studios in Dublin, Ireland, but are seriously considering snapping up the Olympic as a London base.

The source continued: "They feel that Olympic could be a very wise investment. They're totting up some figures at the moment. If the maths works out there's every chance they'll put an offer in."

'No Line on the Horizon' is released in Ireland on February 27, and in the rest of Europe and the US on March 2.



Franz Ferdinand blew up a pub

Franz Ferdinand blew up a pub in their 'craziest' show.

The 'Take Me Out’ musicians – who recently released their third album 'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand’ in the UK – once accidentally destroyed a Scottish venue before getting into a fight with the barman.

Alex Kapranos, the band’s frontman, explained to NME magazine: 'I think the craziest was when we played the Captain’s Rest, a pub in Glasgow.

'We got three songs into it but we’d plugged the PA and all the amplifiers and the lights into one socket and we fused the whole place and ended up getting in a fight with the barman because we’d blown the whole pub up.'

The band recently revealed they now play their new songs on a piano to see if they have written a potential hit or not.

Alex explained: "We would play all our ideas on an old upright piano, because then it's really obvious whether you've got a decent tune or not."

Having spent 18 months working on the new material, the singer says the group now sound like an 'updated version of themselves' and is hopeful their new album will be a hit.

He said: "I really want it to have an impact on the world. I want to be in a town on the other side of the world, and somebody walks up and says, 'That music you made in Glasgow, I listened to it every day, and it moved me.'

"Is that a bad thing? Ambition is sneered at by some bands. It seems like a pretty good thing to me."

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO!

I hope you're having a good week? There's quite a lot of bits and pieces this week so in a fit of efficiency I have divided them into little sections for you, here you go...

ERASURE - EXCLUSIVE STREAMING REMIX
As promised I am streaming a brand new ERASURE REMIX on the website this week so if you fancy an listen to Vince Clarke's 'Sync 82 Remix' of the classic Erasure hit 'Stop!' then you need to get yourself over to my website straight away! It's a great mix which is EXCLUSIVELY available this week on RememberTheEighties.com in advance of its release on the forthcoming ten-track Erasure EP 'Pop! Remixed' which is out next week. Enjoy!

'TOTALLY WIRED' BOOK - DOWNLOAD AND GIVEAWAY
I have FIVE COPIES of the brand new book 'Totally Wired - Post Punk Interviews & Overviews' by SIMON REYNOLDS to give away this week, and there's a FREE DOWNLOAD containing the full contents list and a couple of chapters for you right HERE! 'Totally Wired' is published next week and is the follow-up to Simon Reynolds' 'Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk, 1978-1984' (the best view of the post-punk years ever written in my opinion, if you've not read it then you should get yourself a copy!) and features INTERVIEWS with some of the movers and shakers of the time - including PHIL OAKEY, GREEN GARTSIDE, STEVEN MORRIS, TREVOR HORN, STEVE SEVERIN, JOHN PEEL, MARTIN RUSHENT and DAVID BYRNE - alongside some longer essay pieces on the post-punk years in general... DOWNLOAD the sample and if you fancy trying to win a copy then all you need to do is email me before 5pm (UK) on Friday. All entries will go into the virtual bobble-hat and the winners will be chosen at random!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Well it seems that AMAZULU may have vanished without a trace as no-one was able to give me any information on their current whereabouts, but the 'Where Are They Now?' idea itself has been very well received, so I'm going to run it again this week and ask you all if you have any information about the current activities of THE ADVENTURES? If you do then email me and I will share the news next week!

Here's all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

DEPECHE MODE have announced the tracklisting for their forthcoming new studio album 'Sounds Of The Universe' which will be released on April 20th, preceded by a new single 'Wrong' - which will be premiered live by the band at the Echo Awards in Germany later this month - on April 6th. Meanwhile the band's hit 'Just Can't Get Enough' is to be the 2009 Comic Relief single in a version recorded by UK girl group The Saturdays. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting and more details on the Echo Awards and Comic Relief.

SISTER SLEDGE, KIM WILDE, CHINA CRISIS, HEAVEN 17, TOYAH, T'PAU and RICK ASTLEY are all on the bill for the 80s REWIND FESTIVAL which is to take place near Henley on Thames over the weekend of August 22nd and 23rd. See NEWS for the full twenty-five band line-up!

MADNESS have announced the first of their 2009 gigs to mark their 30th anniversary with news of four outdoor shows in June and July in support of their new album 'The Liberty Of Norton Folgate' which is due for release on March 2nd. See GIGS for all the dates.

SPANDAU BALLET are reforming for a 30th anniversary tour to take place in November and December this year according to unconfirmed tabloid reports. The tour will apparently be filmed for a live DVD and dates are said to be announced in March.

MADONNA has announced that she will continue her 'Sticky & Sweet' tour this year with a new London show and a succession of European dates in cities she didn't visit last year. See GIGS for more details.

MARC ALMOND is to replace BOY GEORGE on the bill for the forthcoming HERE AND NOW concert at Blickling Hall on July 18th. The bill also features ABC, GO WEST, BANANARAMA, KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS, CUTTING CREW, HAZEL O'CONNOR and VISAGE.

BARRY MANILOW has confirmed the UK release date for 'The Greatest Songs Of The 80s', his album of 80s covers that includes versions of songs made famous by GEORGE MICHAEL, PHIL COLLINS and CYNDI LAUPER among others, will be released on March 16th and will include three bonus tracks. See NEWS for more details and the full album tracklisting.

RICK ASTLEY is working on a script for a musical film based on his own songs. The project is only at the planning stage and Astley, who will headline the forthcoming HERE AND NOW tour, is realistic about it being accepted, saying 'nothing may come of it and I totally understand that'.

SCARLET FANTASTIC singer Maggie De Monde has teamed up with MARC ALMOND collaborator Martin Watkins to form a new partnership, Maggie & Martin, who are previewing new material on their MySpace page. See NEWS for more details.

THE CURE, MORRISSEY, PAUL McCARTNEY, THROBBING GRISTLE, PUBLIC ENEMY and PAUL WELLER have all been confirmed on the bill of this year's Coachella Festival which takes place in California in April.

SPARKS have announced three Japanese shows in April, performing two classic album sets in Tokyo and a career retrospective set in Osaka. See GIGS for all the dates.

THE DREAM ACADEMY's classic hit 'Life In A Northern Town' has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Country Collaboration with Vocals category, as performed by Sugarland, Jake Owen and Little Big Town. The Dream Academy meanwhile are planning a new compilation album while the band's GILBERT GABRIEL has just released a solo album, 'The Chapel', on iTunes under the name The Chapel Of Dreams.

THE DURUTTI COLUMN will release a new album 'Love In The Time Of Recession' on April 20th, preceded by a handful of UK dates in February. The album includes a track, 'In Memory of Anthony', dedicated to Factory Records founder Tony Wilson who originally signed the band to Factory Records thirty years ago. See GIGS for all the dates.

CHRIS DE BURGH will release his seventeenth studio album on March 9th, a collection of cover versions of his favourite songs, alongside two new songs of his own, entitled 'Footsteps'. De Burgh has also announced six UK dates in April and May to support the release. See GIGS for all the dates.

MOTORHEAD have announced a UK tour for November, see GIGS for all the dates.

SPANDAU BALLET, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, THE PROCLAIMERS, TENPOLE TUDOR and SAXON are all featured on the soundtrack to the new film 'Faintheart' which is released this week.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN has confirmed more European dates in support of his new album 'Working On A Dream', see GIGS for details.

THUNDER have announced that after twenty years of touring and recording they will split after a farewell tour of the UK which will take place in July. See GIGS for all the dates.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' (back in stock shortly!) or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO!

I hope you're having a good week? Thank you to everyone who has given me such positive feedback on the EXCLUSIVE STREAM of VINCE CLARKE's 'Sync 82 Remix' of ERASURE's 'Stop!'... the ten-track 'Pop! Remixed' EP the tack is taken from is in the shops this week! The stream is still running on the website and I'm also very happy to be able to tell you all that my EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with the band's ANDY BELL will be online next week, along with a VERY SPECIAL ERASURE COMPETITION!

Talking of INTERVIEWS I am currently lining up a much overdue EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with ABC's MARTIN FRY and will be talking to him about ABC's forthcoming 'Lexicon Of Love' concert at The Royal Albert Hall (see the news section below for more about that!). If YOU have any questions you'd like me to consider using in the interview then please email them over to me by the end of the week and I will do my best to get them answered when I speak to Martin. Thank you!

ULTRAVOX will release DOUBLE DISC editions of their classic albums 'Quartet' and 'Monument' next week and I have THREE SETS of BOTH ALBUMS to GIVE AWAY! 'Monument' was originally released as a six-track mini-album and a live VHS and the new CD/DVD edition features both releases, plus a fanclub-only release of 'The Voice' and three more bonus tracks, including a previously unreleased track. 'Quartet' will be released as a 2-CD album featuring a remastered edition of the original album plus a bonus disc of thirteen live, remixed and rare tracks... you can find the full tracklisting for both releases in the NEWS section on the website. If you fancy trying to win a copy then all you need to do is email me before 5pm (UK) on Friday. All entries will go into the virtual hat and the winners will be chosen at random!

You may remember that last week I gave away FIVE COPIES of SIMON REYNOLDS' brand new book 'Totally Wired - Post Punk Interviews & Overviews' and I'm very happy to say that the prize copies are winging their way to the winners as we speak! The response to the giveaway, and to the DOWNLOAD sample chapters in particular, was brilliant and the book's publisher FABER & FABER were so pleased that they have offered a special 20% DISCOUNT to all my newsletter subscribers who buy the book online from the Faber & Faber WEBSITE... all you need to do is use the discount code 'rtesimonreynolds' at the checkout. Postage and packing is FREE (although F&F currently only ship to UK addresses) and the offer extends to ALL SIMON REYNOLDS TITLES which includes 'Totally Wired: Post-Punk Interviews and Overviews', 'Bring The Noise: 20 Years of Writing about Hip Rock and Hip Hop' and 'Rip it Up and Start Again: Post-Punk 1978-1984', all of which I can heartily recommend... offer is open until the end of March and the 'Totally Wired' DOWNLOAD is still available!

Here's all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

ABC will play a very special London show at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall on April 8th when they will perform their classic album 'The Lexicon of Love' in its entirety, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra who will be conducted by ART OF NOISE's ANNE DUDLEY who arranged and played keyboards on the original album. The show will be introduced by producer TREVOR HORN.

MIDGE URE, RICK ASTLEY, BAD MANNERS and ASWAD are among the first acts announced for this year's RETROFEST which will take place in Glasgow over the last weekend in August. Other bands announced include The Bay City Rollers, Right Said Fred and the Average White Band.

THE CURE are to be the subject of a free tribute CD which will be given away by the NME on February 25th to mark the band being awarded the Godlike Genius Award at the magazine's award ceremony on the same day. See NEWS for more details.

DOLLAR, SHAKATAK, VISAGE and BUCKS FIZZ are among the acts filmed for a new LivingTV series entitled 'Pop Goes The Band' which starts broadcast in the UK on February 23rd at 10pm. The show promises to resyle the acts for today through a combination of surgery, diets and fitness regimes...

SUPERTRAMP's ROGER HODGES has been announced as another headline act at the forthcoming Acoustic Festival Of Great Britain which takes place at Catton Hall Park on the weekend of May 22nd-25th. Hodges joins a line-up which will also feature CHRIS DIFFORD, THE CHRISTIANS and THE BLOW MONKEYS.

MADONNA has extended her 2009 dates with the announcement of extra shows in London and Manchester in the summer. See GIGS for all the dates.

JOHN FOXX and former JAPAN percussionist STEVE JANSEN will release their collaborative album 'A Secret Life' on March 23rd. The album was started in 2005 but put on hold until Single Cycle Recorder's Steve D'Agostino revived and completed the project. The album will be released through Foxx's Metamatic label under the name D'Agostino / Foxx / Jansen.

FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS have released a new compilation featuring thirty tracks across 2 CDs including their best known singles, key album tracks and a selection of remixes. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

RICK ASTLEY, CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT, ALTERED IMAGES, BUCKS FIZZ, NIK KERSHAW, HOWARD JONES and THE REAL THING will all play at a special HERE AND NOW gig at Ascot Racecourse on August 8th.

STATUS QUO's recent show at Portlaoise in Ireland has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

TRACIE YOUNG, former solo artist and backing singer for THE JAM, will play her first show for nearly twenty years on June 6th when she supports Billy Franks at London's Shepherds Bush Empire.

JEAN MICHEL JARRE has announced four UK dates for May during which he will perform material from all stages of his career using his original analogue synths. See GIGS for all the dates.

NICK HEYWARD has denied that he will be performing at the forthcoming 80s REWIND FESTIVAL in Henley on August 22nd despite an announcement to the contrary from the festival organisers...

THE THOMPSON TWINS and NEW MUSIK are among a host of early 80s acts featured in unique footage for a US DVD documentary 'Listen To London' charting London's post punk movement. The film was originally made in 1981 and was shown on the US college circuit and has been remastered and revived for a new DVD release. More details in the NEWS section on the website.

BANANARAMA fans may be interested in listening to a couple of demo tracks of songs that have been posted on producer PETE WATERMAN's website... both tracks are early versions of songs that were renamed, given new lyrics and released at a later date. More details in the NEWS section on the website.

ANNIE LENNOX will play an intimate acoustic show at Los Angeles' Grammy Museum on February 13th which will also feature a live interview with Robert Santelli and a question and answer session with the audience.

KAJAGOOGOO will play a free concert in Aylesbury's Market Square in August, headlining the town's annual Hobbles On The Cobbles event. See NEWS for more details.

BELINDA CARLISLE will see a special edition of her 'Heaven On Earth' album released on April 20th.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
I was amazed by the response to last week's appeal for information about THE ADVENTURES, thank you to eveyone who emailed me about them, it seems they are still held in high regard by many, many people! The Adventures released their last album 'Lions and Tigers and Bears' in 1993 before going their seperate ways although they have actually reformed briefly a few times since then for one-off gigs and for an Irish tour in 2007. Since then the band's PAT GRIBBEN has reportedly been working on new songs with singer RYAN MALLOY - who was drafted in as FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD's singer for their brief reunion a few years ago - so it seems likely that we may hear new things in the not too distant future! Next up for the 'Where Are They Now?' treatment is the aforementioned FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD... if you have any news of their current activities then please email me!

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' (back in stock shortly!) or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

RememberTheEighties.com is also on FACEBOOK here and MYSPACE here... come along and join the fun!

Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"

GOOD NEWS FROM THE NEXT WORLD!

Simple Minds unveil NEW Album 'GRAFFITI SOUL' - release date: 25th of May 2009!



Hot on the heels of their 30th Anniversary Celebration Tour that saw them playing to over a quarter of a million people during their sold out 2008 European/UK arena tour, and their performance at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday concert in London's Hyde Park, Simple Minds are about to enter the most prolific period within their extensive career with the highly anticipated brand new album 'Graffiti Soul' due for international release on May 25th by Universal Music Records label.

Their 15th studio album, 'Graffiti Soul' was initially written on location in Rome, Sicily, Antwerp and Glasgow. Simple Minds then returned for the first time in almost three decades to the famous Rockfield Studios where the Scottish group originally recorded their earlier seminal albums 'Real To Real Cacophony', 'Empires And Dance' and sowed the seeds of 'New Gold Dream'.

Produced by Jez Coad and Simple Minds, the new album was mixed in Los Angeles by the legendary Bob Clearmountain, who previously mixed Simple Minds multi platinum 'Once Upon a Time album', and who's mixing credentials include Bruce Springsteen's 'Born In The USA', David Bowie's 'Let's Dance', and 'Roxy Music's 'Avalon'.

"Graffiti Soul is a bold and energetic collection of songs, and we could not be happier with the result," says lead singer, Jim Kerr. "Stylistically, this is a truly vibrant rock'n'roll album that's bursting at the seams with quite possibly the most ballsy pop songs we have written in years."

Although the heart and soul of 'Graffiti Soul' is contemporary in sound, the feel of classic Minds is evident, although the spirit of some of Simple Minds' original contemporaries such as Joy Division, Magazine and the Stranglers, are not far away.

Continues Kerr, "It's taken us a while, but over the last couple of years Charlie Burchill and I have put together a great team of individuals to work with, and that, as well as a revitalised and energetic new commitment has triggered an effect that has dramatically overhauled Simple Minds. 'Graffiti Soul' is testament to that."

In addition to the launch of the new album, Simple Minds are in the process of confirming an extensive 'Graffiti Soul' world tour that will encompass a lot of songs from the new album, plus the band's best loved classics including 'Alive and Kicking', 'Sanctify Yourself', 'Waterfront', 'Promised You A Miracle' and 'Don't You (Forget About Me)'.

"It was a great pleasure making the new album," concludes Kerr. Sometimes you hit a period where everything just fits together perfectly and turns out exactly as you hoped it would. 'Graffiti Soul' reflects that very sentiment, and much more."

Is it wrong for me to enthusiastically expect Grafitti Soul more than Sounds Of The Universe or No Line On The Horizon?

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO!

My brand new and EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with ERASURE frontman ANDY BELL is online now, plus there's an EXCLUSIVE ERASURE COMPETITION that will see THREE WINNERS each receive a deluxe 4-DISC CD/DVD edition of 'Total Pop - The First 40 Hits' as well as a very special archive photograph of the duo AUTOGRAPHED by ANDY BELL and VINCE CLARKE. If you fancy entering the competition or finding out Andy Bell's favourite Erasure tracks, the progress of his upcoming solo album, and news of Erasure's forthcoming album and tour plans you need to get yourself over to the website where it's all waiting for you!

Also on the website is a special VIDEOMIX featuring some of the best known hits from the PET SHOP BOYS in honour of their receiving the 'Outstanding Contribution To Music' honour at tonight's Brit Awards, so if you're a PSB fan then that's just another reason for checking out the website this week!

If you're among the many, very patient, people waiting to buy TOYAH's new album, the excellent 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen', then I'm very happy to be able to tell you that it is now back in stock in the SHOP section of the website... thank you for your patience!

Tomorrow morning I will doing an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with ABC's MARTIN FRY about his forthcoming 'Lexicon Of Love' concert at The Royal Albert Hall in April. Last week I asked you to email over any questions you might have for Martin and I have received loads, however if YOU have any questions you'd like me to consider using in the interview then please email them over to me straight away and I will do my best to get them answered. Thank you!

Here's all the news that has been added to the website since the last newsletter...

DURAN DURAN will headline the forthcoming Lovebox Festival in London's Victoria Park in July 18th, the band's only UK show in 2009. See NEWS for more details.

SPANDAU BALLET reformation rumours have escalated after moving from the UK tabloids to the rather more respected paper The Telegraph who have reported that the band are getting back together although an official confirmation is to follow shortly. The band's original manager, Steve Dagger, who is behind the reunion is quoted as saying the exercise is 'not just a nostalgic re-run of the old, but a fresh slant on what Spandau Ballet are all about'...

PET SHOP BOYS have announced a special edition version of their forthcoming new album 'Yes'. The special edition will feature a bonus CD entitled 'Etc' featuring remixes of album tracks alongside a new track 'This used to be the future' which features guest vocals from THE HUMAN LEAGUE's PHIL OAKEY. 'Yes' is released on March 23rd. See NEWS for the full 'Etc' tracklisting.

NINE INCH NAILS and JANE'S ADDICTION will tour together later this year according to NIN mainman TRENT REZNOR who has also revealed that he has been in the studio working on new material with the recently reformed Jane's Addiction.

DEPECHE MODE have been covered by female trio Red Blooded Women who will release their version of the classic 'Enjoy The Silence' as a single on March 29th although the track is already available as a free download (see NEWS for the download link). The news follows the recent announcement that Depeche Mode's 'Just Can't Get Enough', covered by girl group The Saturdays, will be this year's official Comic Relief charity single.

KIM WILDE will headline two Irish HERE AND NOW shows in April. The shows will also feature HEAVEN 17, KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS, ABC, TOYAH, and ALTERED IMAGES, see NEWS for all the details.

ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN's singer IAN McCULLOCH will play low-key solo shows at Liverpool's Zeligs in March and April, see NEWS for more details.

SIMPLE MINDS will release a new studio album, 'Graffiti Soul', on May 25th this year. The album, which frontman JIM KERR descibes as 'a truly vibrant rock'n'roll album that's bursting at the seams with quite possibly the most ballsy pop songs we have written in years', will be supported by a world tour.

GARY NUMAN has announced more UK shows in April and June this year as well as festival appearances in Estonia and Belgium. See GIGS for all the dates.

THE HUMAN LEAGUE and MADNESS will both be among the bands performing at Australia's V Festival which will take place at three locations around the country in March and April. The bands will play on a bill that also includes sets from Snow Patrol, The Killers and Duffy. See GIGS for all the dates.

BELINDA CARLISLE will be one of the dancers on the new series of the US version of 'Dancing With The Stars' which starts on March 9th.

ZTT RECORDS' recent CD and DVD boxset has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

JOHN FOXX has teamed up with THE COCTEAU TWINS' ROBIN GUTHRIE on a collaborative album entitled 'Mirrorball' which will be released on May 4th.

DEACON BLUE will play a one-off show at Liverpool's Echo Arena in July as part of the city's annual Summer Pops series of shows. See NEWS for more details.

VINCE CLARKE has remixed 'Other Too Endless' for his Mute Records labelmate Polly Scattergood.

THUNDER have moved the London show for their forthcoming farewell tour to the large Hammersmith Apollo after selling out the original show in less than 48 hours. The band have also added a show in Glasgow on July 3rd.

MADONNA has added more shows to the 2009 leg of her 'Sticky & Sweet' tour. The shows, in Marseille, Barcelona, Budapest, Sofia and Gothenburg will take place in July and August, see GIGS for all the dates.

That's all for this week, but please do visit the website for all the latest TOUR DATES, INTERVIEWS, LINKS, RELEASES and REVIEWS... please also support the site and think about buying my book, 'Remember The 80s - Now That's What I Call Nostalgia', a copy of our 19-track compilation CD 'This is Not Retro' (nineteen NEW tracks from nineteen of the eighties' most enduring artists!) which is currently HALF PRICE, or LOTUS EATERS frontman PETER COYLE's fantastic solo catalogue, TOYAH's brand new album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or any of the Hi-Bias RETRO:REMIXED and RETRO:ACTIVE titles in the SHOP section...

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Cheers!

Richard

www.remembertheeighties.com - "The eighties... up to date!"