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RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO!

I was away for most of last week and didn't quite manage to fit in a newsletter so this week's edition is a big one. Make yourself comfortable because there's loads to get through!

My new and EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with ERASURE frontman ANDY BELL is still online this week, and as you missed out on a newsletter last week I have extended the deadline for entries into my current EXCLUSIVE ERASURE COMPETITION (THREE WINNERS will 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) until Friday. If you've not yet checked out the interview or fancy entering the competition you need to get yourself over to the website where it's all waiting for you... next week I will be putting my recent EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with ABC's MARTIN FRY online for you!

I got so much positive feedback after including the PET SHOP BOYS special VIDEOMIX on the website last week that I have decided to do it again, and this week I'm featuring the brand new video for the forthcoming DEPECHE MODE single 'Wrong'... it's a great track and a brilliant - if rather strange and surreal - video. I hope you enjoy it!

I have a great GIVEAWAY for you this week too... THE DAMNED have just reissued their 'Phantasmagoria' and 'Always' albums in remastered 2-CD editions featuring the original albums plus loads of remixes, b-sides, alternate versions, radio session recordings and live tracks (see NEWS on the website for the full tracklistings!) and I have THREE COPIES of my favourite of the two, 'Phantasmagoria', to give away. If you fancy trying to win a copy then you need to email me before 5pm (UK) on Thursday. All entries will be placed into my famous virtual hat and the winners will be informed by email. Good luck!

My recent attempt at a WHERE ARE THEY NOW feature has gone very quiet as no-one has been able to give me any news on the whereabouts of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (despite at least one member of the band being on the mailing list for this newsletter!) so if there's acts you would like current information about, let me know by email and we'll see how we get on next week!

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

MICHAEL JACKSON is expected to announce details, later this week, of a London residency at the O2 Arena in the summer...

DEPECHE MODE have announced US dates for their upcoming 'Tour Of The Universe' which will promote the band's new album 'Sounds Of The Universe' which will be released on April 20th. The band have also revealed that the album will be released in five formats; a standard CD, a vinyl edition, a download, a special edition CD/DVD and a deluxe boxset. The band are also rumoured to be headlining the Glastonbury Festival. See NEWS for more details of the album release, and GIGS for all the dates.

MADNESS have announced more Australian shows which they will be playing in March and April in addition to their appearance on the V Festival bill there. The band will play four shows across the country, see GIGS for more details.

BON JOVI will mark their 25th anniversary with the publication of an official book 'Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful' towards the end of the year which promises previously unpublished photographs and text supplied by the band.

THE DAMNED have reissued their 'Phantasmagoria' and 'Always' albums in double CD remastered editions featuring the original album tracks alongside remixes, alternative versions, live tracks and radio session recordings. See NEWS on the website for the full tracklistings of both albums.

DURAN DURAN have given the War Child charity an exclusive live version of 'A View To A Kill', recorded in Paris last year as part of a collaborative concert with Mark Ronson, which will be available as a bonus download to anyone who buys the European version of the War Child 'Heroes' album, which has just been released.

TEARS FOR FEARS have lined up a run of seven summer shows in the US during July. See GIGS for all the dates.

THE REGENERATION TOUR has announced an amended line-up and the first of it's US dates. The tour will now feature ABC, HEAVEN 17, WANG CHUNG, BERLIN and THE CUTTING CREW. See GIGS for the dates announced so far.

PRINCE will release a set of three new albums exclusively via the US chain of Target stores on March 29th. The collection will feature two new Prince albums, 'LOtUSFLOW3R' and 'MPLSoUND' alongside 'Elixer' which has been recorded by his latest protege, Bria Valente.

SIMPLE MINDS will play a show in Liverpool, as part of the city's annual Summer Pops Festival, in July at the Liverpool Echo Arena. See NEWS for more details.

ALEXANDER O'NEAL will headline this year's 'Back To The 80s' show at Glasgow's Braehead Arena which will take place on June 13th and will also feature performances from ABC, BANANARAMA, GO WEST, CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT, BROTHER BEYOND, KYM MAZELLE and a special line-up of FOURGOODMEN featuring OWEN PAUL on vocals.

KRAFTWERK have confirmed that they will be headlining Bestival on the Isle Of Wight this summer...

SPARKS will release a new single 'Lighten Up, Morrissey' on March 23rd as a limited edition vinyl release, the same week as the duo play two shows at the Forum in London.

DEF LEPPARD have announced a tour of the USA with POISON and CHEAP TRICK also on the bill. The 40 date tour will take place between June and September, see GIGS for dates. Def Leppard are also working on expanded and remastered reissues of their classic albums 'Pyromania' and 'Adrenalize' for release around the same time.

RETROFEST has expanded it's weekend line-up with more acts from the 70s, 80s and 90s, and now includes sets from GLORIA GAYNOR, SISTER SLEDGE, RICK ASTLEY, A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS, ASWAD, LEVEL 42, MIDGE URE, ABC, HEAVEN 17, NICK HEYWARD, GO WEST and BAD MANNERS.

GARY NUMAN has added more shows to his upcoming tour, bringing the UK leg of date up to six shows around the country. Numan is also working on two new albums 'Dead Son Rising', an album of new tracks built out of demos he re-discovered last year, and 'Splinter', the full follow-up to his last album 'Jagged'. See GIGS for all the dates.

XTC's side project The Dukes Of Stratosphear will reissue their 1985 EP '25 O'Clock' and the 1987 album 'Psonic Psunspots' later this year via ANDY PARTRIDGE's label Ape House Records. The reissues will contain the original releases alongside demos, unreleased material and bonus tracks.

FAITH NO MORE are set to reunite for a European tour and festival shows later this year and have already announced that they will headline the Download Festival - which also features sets from DEF LEPPARD, ZZ TOP, MOTELY CRUE and WHITESNAKE among others - on June 12th.

GLORIA ESTEFAN is to take her Greatest Hits tour to South America in April with shows in Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador and has announced that the shows will be her last live tour as she wants to retire from live work and commit more time working on other projects and spending time with her daughter.

IT BITES have announced four UK dates in March, as well as a show supporting Wishbone Ash and an appearance at South Wales' Castle Park Rock Festival in May. See GIGS for all the dates.

THE SPECIALS have added three dates to their upcoming reunion tour with the news of shows in Leeds' Millenium Square on May 24th and appearances at Ireland's Oxegen Festival and Scotland's T In The Park Festival in July.

PET SHOP BOYS are still working on their previously announced plan to write a ballet, and the duo have revealed that that the 'electronics and strings' production will be based on a Hans Christian Andersen story and will probably be finished by the end of 2010.

NEW ORDER bassist PETER HOOK has collaborated on two tracks on the new album from the Crystal Method. The album, 'Divided By Night', will be released on May 12th.

MODERN ROMANCE's ANDY KYRIACOU has written a protest song to support the 'No To Bike Parking Fees' campaign. The song is available for free download now, see NEWS for the download link.

OMD will be playing a very special concert with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on June 20th where they will play their sound installation The Energy Suite as well as a selection of tracks from the OMD catalogue.

MINISTRY will release a live album, featuring recordings from their farewell tour, on March 31st. See NEWS for the full tracklisting.

VINCE CLARKE has remixed Franz Ferdinand's 'No You Girls' which will be released as a single on April 6th.

THE BLOCKHEADS will release a new album 'Staring Down The Barrel' on April 6th and have announced a UK tour and European dates asround the same time. See GIGS for all the dates.

INXS have parted company with JD Fortune, the singer they recruited through the 2005 reality TV series 'Rock Star:INXS'. Fortune claims to have been sacked from the band without explanation and his departure from the group puts a question mark over release plans for the new INXS album...

DAF have announced a UK date as part of their 30th Anniversary reunion tour. The show will take place at London's Islington Academy on March 28th with a compilation album, 'Das Beste Von DAF - 20 Lieder der Deutsch Amerikanischen Freundschaft', scheduled for release on March 30th. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

DAVID BYRNE will headline one night of August's Big Chill festival in Hertfordshire. Byrne will play on August 9th, the last night of the festival, with Basement Jaxx and Orbital headlining the Friday and Saturday.

MARTHA AND THE MUFFINS will release a new album, 'Delicate', later this year.

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!

As promised last week my EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with ABC frontman MARTIN FRY is now online for anyone who wants to read it. It was an extremely enjoyable interview to do, and covers not only the forthcoming ABC gig at London's Royal Albert Hall on April 8th - when the band will play 'The Lexicon Of Love' in it's entirety - but also what's on Martin's iPod, the problems involved in making cheese sandwiches for orchestras, the possibility of a return for the gold suit, the ABC song Martin never wanted to play live and news of new ABC material... it's online for you now at the website!

This week's newsletter GIVEAWAY might sound a bit familiar... OK, it's a fair cop, I messed up on last week's THE DAMNED giveaway... not only did I wrongly call their 1986 'Anything' album 'Always' (doh!). I also managed to set up the link for entering the GIVEAWAY in a very clever way that meant it didn't actually work! Apologies to anyone who tried to enter and failed, I am going to run the giveaway again this week for you all (if you've already entered then your entry from last week still counts!)... so, THE DAMNED have just reissued their 'Phantasmagoria' and 'Everything' albums in remastered 2-CD editions, each featuring the original album plus loads of remixes, b-sides, alternate versions, radio session recordings and live tracks (see NEWS on the website for the full tracklistings!) and I have THREE COPIES of my favourite of the two, 'Phantasmagoria', to give away. If you fancy trying to win a copy then you need to email me before 5pm (UK) on Thursday. All entries will be placed into my virtual dunce's hat and the winners will be informed by email. Good luck!

Thank you to everyone who has sent in WHERE ARE THEY NOW suggestions... this week's selection is band very close to my own heart, PROPAGANDA... last thing I know was that they reformed for the 'Produced By Trevor Horn' show in 2005 and released a 12" single called 'Valley Of The Machine Gods' which I bought in 2006... anything anyone can tell me about their current whereabouts would be very much appreciated!

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

MICHAEL JACKSON has announced that he will play a concert residency at London's O2 Arena in July. Billed as the 'This Is It' concerts Jackson has stated that the shows are to be his last in London, causing speculation that he is to retire from live performance. Ten dates have been announced so far with speculation that another fifteen shows might be added following news that over a million people have pre-registered to buy tickets. The shows will start on July 8th, see GIGS for details.

THE LOTUS EATERS, who are currently working on a new album, will play a rare live show at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall on July 25th as part of the Summer Pops concerts.

PET SHOP BOYS, NINE INCH NAILS, JANE'S ADDICTION have all been added to the line-up of Scotland's T In The Park festival and Ireland's Oxegen Festival which both take place over the weekend of July 10th-12th. Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction meanwhile have announced the first of their shared US dates which will start in May. See GIGS for all the dates.

DEPECHE MODE have announced the venues for the US leg of their tour in support of their new album 'Sounds Of The Universe'. See GIGS for all the details.

EURYTHMICS' DAVE STEWART is writing songs for a planned musical version of the film 'Ghost' - which originally starred Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore - set for a West End debut in 2010...

CYNDI LAUPER is lining up European dates for the summer with shows already announced in Germany, France and Switzerland with more shows to be added soon. See GIGS for all the dates.

DEVO will play their 'We Are Not men, We Are Devo' album in it's entirety for the first time at a special concert at London's Forum on May 6th in addition to a show at this year's All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead on May 8th.

U2 have announced the first dates in a world tour to support their new album 'No Line On The Horizon'. The 'Kiss The Future' tour will start in Barcelona on June 30th and see further shows across Europe including UK gigs in London, Glasgow, Sheffield and Cardiff. See GIGS for all the dates. The band are meanwhile reported to be planning the release of a second album this year, a sister release to their current 'No Line On The Horizon' album, entitled 'Songs Of Ascent' which will be preceded by a single entitled 'Every Breaking Wave'...

ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN, WIRE and BILLY BRAGG will all play this year's Camden Crawl festival which will take place on April 24th and 25th at various venues around London's Camden Town.

BLANCMANGE are still working on a new album and are previewing the new material on their MySpace site in the form of a video for a new track entitled 'Drive Me'. See NEWS for the video link.

SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES will reissue three of their key albums - 'Tinderbox', 'Hyaena', Nocturne' and 'A Kiss In The Dreamhouse' - on April 6th in expanded and remastered editions featuring previously unlreased tracks, remixes and demo versions. See NEWS for the full tracklisting of all four albums.

THE HUMAN LEAGUE have announced solo concerts in Sydney and Melbourne in April in addition to their shows as part of the V Festival bill. See GIGS for the dates.

MIDNIGHT OIL will reform for a pair of benefit concerts in Australia on March 14th, playing on bills in Melbourne and Sydney that also include SPLIT ENZ, ICEHOUSE and HUNTERS AND COLLECTORS. The shows, to benefit flood and bushfire charities will also feature Coldplay and Kings Of Leon.

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!

It has been great to have such brillant feedback on my EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with ABC frontman MARTIN FRY which went online last week, and also to hear how many of you are going to the 'Lexicon Of Love' show at The Royal Albert Hall on April 8th. If, like me, you're unable to be at the show then never fear for the interview is still online if you fancy a look!

I received an AVALANCHE of emails following last week's WHERE ARE THEY NOW? appeal for current news about PROPAGANDA, too many to reply to personally I'm afraid, but thank you so much for all the snippets of information. The best came from ZTT RECORDS' own press officer however, who reports...

"Claudia Brucken is working on a special compilation which will combine old and new material which will be released on ZTT later this year. She's also spent the last few years recording as ONETWO with Paul Humphries of OMD. Michael Mertens owns the PROPGANDA name and hasn't released any new material since 'Valley of the Machine Gods' in December 2005. I believe he now works primarily in soundtracks. Andreas Thein also last released a record in 2005, a Playthings Release under the moniker LeeLoo Kobayashi. Propaganda's 'A Secret Wish' was released as a special deluxe edition by ZTT Japan late last year and more reissues are in the planning stages..."

Brilliant! This week I'm looking for WHERE ARE THEY NOW? information on the current whereabouts of TRANSVISION VAMP... if you know anything then please email me and I will update you all next week! In the meantime, given that 'A Secret Wish' is one of my all time favourite albums, I'm now off to hunt myself down a copy of that deluxe Japanese edition!

Before I get to the news I wanted to mention that DEAD OR ALIVE frontman PETE BURNS was hospitalised this week and has undergone a number of operations to remove sixteen stones from his kidneys. His condition earlier in the week was described as 'critical' but recent reports have said that he's doing well and I hope you will all join me in wishing him a speedy recovery!

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

SIMPLE MINDS, OMD, DEAD OR ALIVE, THE LOTUS EATERS, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and THE STRANGLERS are among a host of bands who have been interviewed for a new book about the legendary Liverpool club, Eric's. The A4 book contains over 500 pages of interviews, photographs and memories of the club. See NEWS on the website for ordering details.

BANANARAMA have reportedly selected a cover of the Three Degrees' 'The Runner' as the first single from their forthcoming disco album. Release details are expected to follow shortly.

DEPECHE MODE are expected to announce a headline slot at the forthcoming Lollapolooza Festival in Chicago in August and rumours are also circulating about additional UK shows before the end of the year and Russian dates in February 2010...

THE HUMAN LEAGUE will play the Evolution Festival in Newcastle on May 24th as well as an outdoor show in Thetford Forest as part of the Forestry Commission's annual tour and a headline spot at The Wickerman Festival in Galloway, Scotland in July. See GIGS for details.

DURAN DURAN are back in the recording studio where they are working on the follow up to 'Red Carpet Massacre' with producer Mark Ronson.

OMD are thought to be lining up US dates for the autumn on a bill with SIMPLE MINDS... if reports are correct the two bands will play shows in South America in early September and then move up to North America at the end of the month for shows until the end of October. The two bands are also said to be discussing taking the show to Europe.

KRAFTWERK, DE LA SOUL, LAURIE ANDERSON and THE DURUTTI COLUMN are among artists confirmed to play this year's Manchester International Festival which will take place in venues across the city between July 2nd and 19th.

THE ENGLISH BEAT have lined up US shows through March, April and May, see GIGS for all the dates.

MOTORHEAD will headline the friday night bill at this year's Guilfest in July, with Beach Boys mainman Brian Wilson confirmed to headline the saturday. See NEWS for more details.

MARTYN WARE is to play a very special show at London's Goldsmiths on March 24th. The 'Future Of Sound/Future Of Light' event will take place in the venue's Great Hall and will see the HEAVEN 17 mainman present sound via a innovative 3D music soundsystem capable of delivering an stadium experience in a small space. Further shows will take place in Bristol on April 25th and Gateshead on May 23rd.

MADONNA is thought to be planning to record a number of new tracks to be included on a forthcoming hits package which is tentatively scheduled for a September release.

JUDAS PRIEST are rumoured to be lining up a special tour next year to mark the 30th anniversary of their epic 'British Steel' album.

MORRISSEY has announced five European shows - to take place in Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic and Austria - in July. See GIGS for all the dates.

BOYS DON'T DRY will play a one-off show at Los Angeles' Skinny's Lounge on April 9th.

THE B-52s' FRED SCHNEIDER is working on material as part of a project called The Superions whose first single 'Totally Nude Island' is already enjoying radio success in the USA.

DEVO will release their first new album for almost 20 years in 2010. The currently untitled album will be the first new material from the band since their 2007 single 'Watch Us Work It'.

THE GODFATHERS will play a one-off show at London's Garage on July 24th in addition to their short Spanish tour in May and an Antwerp show on June 13th. See GIGS for all the dates.

THE PIXIES are confirmed to appear at the forthcoming Isle Of Wight Festival, playing second on the bill to Neil Young on June 14th.

POISON frontman BRET MICHAELS will publish his autobiography 'Roses and Thorns: The Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy to My Reality' in June, promising the book will contain 'the sex, the drugs, the rock 'n' roll, but it also gives you the diabetes. It gives you every aspect of my life and what I'm going through...'.

MICHAEL JACKSON has extended his run of shows at London's O2 Arena to 50 shows between July this year and February 2010 after unprecedented demand for tickets during this week's presales which saw around a million tickets sold for the show. See GIGS for all the dates.

FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS frontman ROLAND GIFT has released a new single 'Crushed' via iTunes with an album in the pipeline and live dates expected shortly.

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 never thought I'd see the day but this week SPANDAU BALLET announced that they are to reform for a world tour. The announcement was made at a special PRESS CONFERENCE on the HMS Belfast in London on Wednesday and I was lucky enough to be invited to attend. Obviously I would have taken you all with me if I had been able to, but as I couldn't do that I have done the next best thing which is to make a TRANSCRIPT of the entire press conference and put it online for you at the website. It was a great event and the band were on very good form so if you're a fan then it's well worth a read!

Next week I hope to be doing an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with SIMPLE MINDS about their fantastic new album 'Graffiti Soul' which is due out in May, so if you have any QUESTIONS for the band you'd like me to consider including in the interview then please email them to me and I will do my best to include them!

I also have a GIVEAWAY for you this week that will see THREE lucky winners receive a copy of the excellent new DAF compilation 'Das Beste Von DAF - 20 Lieder der Deutsch Amerikanischen Freundschaft' which is released next week. All you need to do to enter is to email me before 5pm (UK) on Monday and all entries will be placed into my experimental electronica hat and the winners will be selected at random and informed by email. If you're in London then you can see DAF play at the Islington Academy tomorrow night (Saturday)... lucky you!

Last week's WHERE ARE THEY NOW? asked for current information on TRANSVISION VAMP and you can see what I found out, plus this week's Where Are They Now? challenge below the news towards the base of the newsletter!

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

SPANDAU BALLET have reformed their original line-up for a world tour which will start in the UK in October. The band announced the reformation at a press conference aboard the HMS Belfast in London this week and today added a second show at London's O2 Arena after tickets for their first show at the venue sold out in less than half an hour. See GIGS for the UK and Irish dates announced so far.

ULTRAVOX will headline The Big Top stage on the Saturday night of this year's Isle Of Wight Festival on June 13th.

DEPECHE MODE have announced more UK dates - in Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and Manchester - in December, as well as an Irish show in Dublin. See GIGS for all the dates.

RICK ASTLEY will headline a Portugese HERE AND NOW show at Lisbon's Pavilhăo Atlântico on May 29th. KIM WILDE, BELINDA CARLISLE, ABC, NIK KERSHAW and CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT will also appear on the bill.

DURAN DURAN will play a show at Edinburgh Castle in July, one of what has been described as a 'handful' of dates the band will be playing this year, see NEWS for more information. Meanwhile the band have been joined in the studio - where they are working on a new album - by Kaiser Chiefs' Nick Hodgson who is reported to be writing with the band. The album's producer Mark Ronson is responsible for the pairing and based on work so far has said that at least two of the songs from the partnership will make it onto the next Duran Duran album.

RICK ASTLEY will headline a Portugese HERE AND NOW show at Lisbon's Pavilhăo Atlântico on May 29th. KIM WILDE, BELINDA CARLISLE, ABC, NIK KERSHAW and CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT will also appear on the bill.

A-HA have announced three UK shows for November, the dates - in Birmingham, Manchester and London - will be part of the band's European tour in support of a new studio album... see GIGS for all the dates.

BONNIE TYLER's epic single 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart' is SingStar's most downloaded karaoke track according to a recent report which also sees CYNDI LAUPER's 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' at number six.

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS are to reissue four of their catalogue albums 'From Her To Eternity', 'The Firstborn Is Dead', 'Kicking Against The Pricks' and 'Your Funeral… My Trial' - the first releases in a reissues series that will eventually see the band's entire catalogue remastered and released in expanded collectors editions - on April 27th. See NEWS for more details and the full tracklistings.

MANDY SMITH's album 'Mandy' and PRINCESS's album 'Princess' will both be reissued by Cherry Pop on May 12th in remastered expanded editions featuring remixes, demos and previously unreleased material. See NEWS for the full tracklisting of both albums.

HAPPY MONDAYS have been confirmed as the headline act for the Sunday bill of this year's Guilfest, alongside previously announced headliners MOTORHEAD and The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.

TOM TOM CLUB, PAUL WELLER and KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS will all play live sets as part of Island Records' forthcoming series of 'Island Life' gigs celebrating the label's 50th anniversary. All the concerts will take place at London's Shepherds Bush Empire, see NEWS for more details.

GRACE JONES, PET SHOP BOYS and NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS will headline this year's Latitude Festival which will take place in Southwold, Suffolk in July. See NEWS for more details.

ERASURE singer ANDY BELL will play a free DJ set at Hollywood's Amoeba store at 6.30pm on April 9th in support of the US release of Erasure's 'Total Pop!' boxset.

ELVIS COSTELLO will release a new album on June 1st. Entitled 'Secret, Profane And Sugarcane' the album is largely acoustic and features a number of respected country and bluegrass musicians. See NEWS on the website for the full tracklisting.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Last week's WATN? appeal was for information about the current activities of TRANSVISION VAMP and lots of you emailed to say that WENDY JAMES is now based in the US where she fronts a band called RACINE who have released two albums, and she also appears as a DJ. Thank you everyone! next up for the WATN treatment is... HAZELL DEAN. If you know what she's up to at the moment then please email me and I will share your information with the world!

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'm glad to hear that people have been enjoying the ULTRAVOX INTERVIEW I added to the website last week, the interview is still available for you in the INTERVIEWS section if you haven't had a chance to read it yet, but this week I have a brand new DEPECHE MODE INTERVIEW featured on the site courtesy of the lovely people at Mute Records. It's a great interview with all three band members and takes a good look at the band's excellent new album 'Sounds Of The Universe'... I thoroughly recommend it and it's on the website for you right now! Later in the year I hope to bring you a fantastic DEPECHE MODE COMPETITION so if you're a fan then look out for that... I can't tell you what the prize will be until everything is finalised but if it comes off it will be a very exciting competition indeed!

Last week's WHERE ARE THEY NOW? asked for current information on THE THOMPSON TWINS and you can see what I found out, plus this week's Where Are They Now? challenge, underneath the news below.

At some point in the next couple of weeks, to mark the release of his new retrospective collection (see below!) I hope to be doing an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with THOMAS DOLBY for the website, so if you have any questions for him then please email them over to me and I will do my best to include them in the interview, thank you!

Right, I'm off to see ULTRAVOX tonight so that's all from me for this week!

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

SIMPLE MINDS have announced nine UK concerts, to support their forthcoming 'Graffiti Soul' album, in November and December with OMD as special guests. Tickets go on general sale today, see GIGS for all the dates.

DEPECHE MODE have confirmed that they will be appearing at this year's Lollapalooza Festival which will take place in Chicago's Grant Park between August 7th and 9th.

SPANDAU BALLET have announced a show at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam on November 1st. See GIGS for all the dates announced so far.

GRACE JONES will play a show at London's Somerset House on July 9th as part of the venues series of summer shows.

BANANARAMA will headline Manchester Pride on August 28th and have promised to include some new tracks in the set! See GIGS for all Bananarama's upcoming shows.

THOMAS DOLBY will release a career retrospective 'The Singular Thomas Dolby' on May 18th. The CD/DVD set will include all Dolby's singles and videos to date and will precede reissues of his key catalogue albums and a brand new studio album. See NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

SIMPLY RED are to reissue their 1985 single 'Money's Too Tight (To Mention)' this week in a re-recorded version, produced by frontman MICK HUCKNALL. The release is available as a download only and will also feature six remixes by Haji & Emanuel and Alex Gaudino.

KIM WILDE has reissued her first two albums 'Kim Wilde' and 'Select' in expanded CD editions featuring bonus material. See NEWS for the full tracklisting of both albums.

THE PIXIES will release a collector's box set entitled 'Minotaur' on June 15th. See NEWS for more details.

TOYAH has announced a May 1st release for her latest project, THE HUMANS, with guitarist Chris Wong and REM / NINE INCH NAILS drummer BILL RIEFLIN, and I'm very happy to say that RememberTheEighties.com is the EXCLUSIVE ONLINE RETAILER for the release which is available for PREORDER right now in a very special LIMITED EDITION... see the SHOP section on the website for all the details!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Last week's WATN? appeal was for information about the current activities of THE THOMPSON TWINS, and I received loads of emails about them, some accurate and some less so (several people seemed to think that one or more of the Twins had died, which fortunately isn't the case!). To the best of my knowledge TOM BAILEY is now based in France and is still working on his dub project International Observer who released their third album 'Heard' last year and play occasional shows. JOE LEEWAY is based in Los Angeles where he works as a hypnotherapist, and ALANNAH CURRIE is based in London and until recently ran a chic restoration business called Miss Pokeno prior to which she has been active as a glass artist and an environmental activist. She was interviewed last year by the Guardian newspaper where her answer to a question about The Thompson Twins reforming included the quote "We've been offered loads of money to reform, but I'd rather vomit on my boots!" so I don't think we should hold our breath for that one!

Thank you everyone... next up for the WATN treatment is FIVE STAR so if you know what they are up to at the moment then please email me and I will share your information with the world!

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 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or 'We Are The Humans', 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 80s... up to date!"

RememberTheEighties.com - (y)our weekly newsletter!

HELLO!

It seems to have been a bit of a week of cancelled concerts and I want to send my sympathy to anyone who has been affected by the cancellation of shows by DEPECHE MODE and MORRISSEY this week, I hope they get rescheduled soon. On a brighter note, BOY GEORGE was released from prison this week after serving just four months of his sentence for false imprisonment.

The current DEPECHE MODE interview featured on the website will be coming down in a few days to make room for my new EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with SIMPLE MINDS frontman JIM KERR so look out for that if you're a fan. The new Simple Minds single 'Rockets' is released next week with the excellent 'Graffiti Soul' album following on May 25th.

Today I had the very great pleasure of doing an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with TOYAH (if you've read my book you will know how much of a fan I am!) about her new project THE HUMANS which will also be online soon. The Humans' album 'We Are The Humans' by the way, is available online EXCLUSIVELY from my SHOP right now!

Last week's WHERE ARE THEY NOW? asked for current information on TANITA TIKARAM and you can see what I found out, plus this week's Where Are They Now? challenge, underneath the news below.

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

KAJAGOOGOO have announced a UK tour, their first tour since reuniting their original line-up and their first tour together for twenty-five years. The ten-date tour starts in September, see GIGS for all the dates.

CYNDI LAUPER has cancelled her summer dates in Europe according to reports. It is thought that the cancellations are due to the dates clashing with the filming of a new movie Lauper is appearing in. An official statmement about the shows is expected soon.

BLONDIE and PAT BENATAR have announced a joint US tour for the summer with dates announced for July and August with The Donnas as support. See GIGS for all the dates.

NICK HEYWARD will play a Christmas show 'An evening of Christmas Presence' on December 12th at the Cadogan Hall in London.

SPANDAU BALLET have announced another European show at Brussels' Forest National on November 3rd. See GIGS for all their dates.

A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS have joined the bill of the forthcoming Electric Picnic festival in Ireland alongside a host of acts including ABC, MADNESS, THE SUGARHILL GANG and ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN.

SIOUXSIE SIOUX will make her first DJ appearance at the Circus clubnight at Matter at London's O2 on July 4th, as part of the Pride London celebrations. Also on the bill are Frankmusic and Kissy Sell Out among many others.

GARY NUMAN will join DURAN DURAN on the bill of the forthcoming Lovebox Festival in London on July 19th. Numan has also announced an appearance at Kent's Hevy Music Festival in August as well as DJ sets in Copenhagen, Middlesborough and Helsinki. See NEWS for more details.

DEF LEPPARD will release expanded editions of their classic 'Pyromania' and 'Adrenalize' albums on June 8th, with each album coming out as a double CD featuring the original album remastered plus a selection of live tracks, demos and b-sides. See NEWS for the full tracklisting for both albums.

ERASURE frontman ANDY BELL is currently working on his second solo album which will feature collaborations with JANE'S ADDICTION's PERRY FARRELL and THE B-52s' KATE PIERSON.

SUZANNE VEGA has announced a European tour for the summer which will see her play nineteen shows across Europe in June and July. See GIGS for the full list of dates.

DEPECHE MODE and JANE'S ADDICTION are to headline this year's Bilbao BBK Live Festival which takes place over the weekend of July 9th.

KIM WILDE will see her 'Catch As Catch Can' album reissued next week in an expanded edition featuring five bonus tracks and a detailed booklet containing artwork, in-depth sleevenotes and picture sleeves. See NEWS for the full tracklisting.

HUE AND CRY are to headline the forthcoming The Burns An A That Festival in Ayr in Scotland on May 22nd with support from PASSIONATE FRIENDS.

ROXETTE have confirmed that they will reunite and have also announced that they will join the bill of the forthcoming Night Of The Proms Festival in Europe for their first live appearances together since 2001.

KYLIE MINOGUE has announced US and Canadian dates for the autumn with six shows scheduled in September and October including shows at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom and Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl. See GIGS for all the dates.

THE STONE ROSES will mark the twentieth anniversary of their classic 'Stone Roses' album with a special deluxe edition of the release in August. 'Stone Roses: Special Edition' will feature the original album in a remastered edition alongside a bonus CD containing fifteen demo tracks including a previously unreleased track 'Pearl Bastard', and a live DVD of a 1989 Blackpool concert.

GLORIA ESTEFAN's recent farewell show in Buenos Aires has been reviewed in the REVIEWS section.

REM are to reissue their album 'Reckoning' in the US as a special 2-CD set in June. The release will feature a remastered edition of the original album plus live tracks recorded in Chicago in 1984 including eight of the tracks from 'Reckoning' as well as versions of 'Gardening At Night', '9-9. Sitting Still', 'Hyena', 'Driver 8' and 'Radio Free Europe'.

FAITH NO MORE will mark their reunion with the release of a retrospective album 'The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection' on June 1. The release will feature all the band's hits alongside a disc of b-sides and rarities. See NEWS for the full abum tracklisting.

PAUL WELLER will play a one-off show at Cornwall's The Eden Project on July 10th in support of Prince Charles' The Prince's Rainforests Project. Weller will also release an album 'Paul Weller At The BBC' in November.

ULTRAVOX, THE CURE, ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN, THE HUMAN LEAGUE and OMD are all featured on the soundtrack to the new film 'Awaydays' which is released on May 25th. The film, set in Liverpool at the end of the seventies, is based on Kevin Sampson's novel of the same name and 'examines identity, fate, the nature of male longings and their need to belong'. See NEWS for the album tracklisting.

THE POLICE will play an open-air show in Northern Ireland on June 20th and drummer STEWART COPELAND has refused to rule out the possibility of more shows in the future...

ALI CAMPBELL will release his third solo album 'Flying High' in June, his first since album release since leaving UB40. The album will be a mix of original material and covers and will include collaborations with Shaggy, Craig David and The Soweto Gospel Choir. The album will be preceded by a single 'Out From Under' and Campbell will be touring the UK isn support of the album during June and July, see GIGS for all the dates and NEWS for the full album tracklisting.

HALL AND OATES' hit 'I Can't Go For That' has been covered by Trash Fashion and will be released as a download on July 11th.

UFO will release a new album 'The Visitor' on June 1st, while labelmates MAGNUM will release their new album 'Into the Valley of the Moonking' on June 15th.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Last week I asked if anyone knew anything about the current whereabouts of TANITA TIKARAM and thanks to Richard Peat I can report that she is alive and well and working on new material, in fact she regularly blogs about what she's up to and the progress of the album and also has a very cool website. So now you know! Thank you to everyone who responded... next up for the WHERE ARE THEY NOW? treatment is THE THE so if you know what they are up to at the moment then please email me and I will share your information with the world!

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 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' or 'We Are The Humans', 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 80s... up to date!"

Arctic Monkeys speak about strange new song



ARCTIC MONKEYS have revealed that their new single is "strange".
The Sheffield rockers are due to release new track Crying Lightning next month but admitted that it's not like their usual chart hits.
Frontman Alex Turner said: "This was deemed the best signifier of the record. It was a favourite during recording.
"It's strange as far as a pop song goes."
He added that making their upcoming album Humbug was the most fun they'd had recording an album.
Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, Turner said: "We've enjoyed making it more than the other two put together. It does really feel like we're getting somewhere."
Arctic Monkeys will headline this year's Reading and Leeds festivals and say they are more than prepared for it.
Turner added: "I think I'm a bit more ready for that sort of thing than we had been in the past. Glastonbury taught us that, I think we grew up in some way."



Duran Duran pleased with album progression



DURAN DURAN said they are very pleased that work on their new album is going "spectacularly well".
The 80s pop legends have teamed up with producer Mark Ronson and had nothing but praise for his contribution.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Nick Rhodes said: "Mark did a DJ edit for us in Paris last year, which he then told us to play live.
"It worked well and so we talked about recording an album. So far it’s going spectacularly well."
Ronson said he was hoping to capture the sound of the group's early recordings.
He said: "Weve been unearthing all the tricks they pulled off from 1982.
"Nick is using synths he hasn't touched since 'Hungry Like The Wolf'. I'm like a fan, it's what I would want to hear from a Duran Duran record."



Noel wants to join another band



NOEL GALLAGHER has admitted that he would like to sign up to another band.
The guitarist said he has no intention of leaving Oasis, but would enjoy being in a group and have no singing or writing responsibility.
Speaking to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he said: "It's just that at the moment I can't see what more we can do. Bigger tours? More money?
"I need something different to maintain my interest. My ideal would be to join another band."
Referring to earlier comments he made about taking a five-year break from Oasis, he said: "That was just a number. I could have said ten, but Oasis won't break up."



Unheard Beatles song to be released



A NEW Beatles song compiled from archive recordings is to be released by the band's surviving members.
Now And Then - which was composed by John Lennon in 1978 and later worked on by Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr when they reunited to work on the Beatles Anthology project in 1995 - never got released, but McCartney has been adding to it and is now keen for fans to hear the track.
A source said: "The Beatles song Now And Then is finished. All four Beatles are on the track. The original Beatles reunion version from 1995 was embellished with numerous sessions over the last two years by Paul McCartney.
"He wants the song to come out very badly."
As well as featuring Lennon - who was shot dead in 1980 - and McCartney on vocals, Harrison, who passed away in 2001, also sings backing vocals and plays guitar.
If the track does get a release it will be the first new Beatles song to come out since 1996's Real Love, which was composed by Lennon and later re-recorded by McCartney, Harrison and Starr with Lennon's original vocal part.
ELO's Jeff Lynne, who produced the track's original sessions, said: "The song had a chorus but is almost totally lacking in verses. We did the backing track, a rough go that we really didn't finish.
"It was sort of a bluesy sort of ballad, I suppose, in A minor. It was a very sweet song; I liked it a lot, and I wish we could have finished it."
McCartney, 67, had also wanted to release the unheard Carnival of Light, a 14-minute composition, but Harrison was against the plans.



Alison Moyet 25 years revisited tour



Alison Moyet has announced her 25 Years Revisited UK Tour for 2009. Alison is an outstanding singer whose career has stretched from Yazoo in 1982, through the multi-million selling solo hits from Alf, to the critically-acclaimed albums of Hometime, Voice and The Turn.
The breadth of her range is truly remarkable – from electropop, to soaring ballads to sumptuous jazz - she has always delivered amazing performances.
In October 2009 Sony Music will release a career spanning 'Best Of Alison Moyet' album that includes all her best known solo songs.
Alison has been highly involved in the project, and compiled the tracklisting herself (compromising only very occasionally but cheerfully and with good reason).
All the classics are included - All Cried Out, Love Resurrection, That Ole Devil Called Love, Invisible, Love Letters, Is This Love, Windmills Of Your Mind, etc... For the special deluxe edition of the album, entitled 'The Best of Alison Moyet: 25 Years Revisited,' Alison has recorded new live versions of songs from her back catalogue with the band who are accompanying her on this tour.
This is Alison’s personal view on her solo career (as much as you can do that on one disc when you have to include the hits) and it makes for an amazing album. Alison Moyet has been highly involved in editing this press release too (predominantly in the brackets).

To see Alison live she will be coming to the following venues:
NOVEMBER
Wed 11 IPSWICH
Thu 12 BASINGSTOKE
Fri 13 BRISTOL
Sun 15 GRIMSBY
Mon 16 FOLKESTONE
Tue 17 SALFORD
Thu 19 WARWICK
Fri 20 SOUTHEND
Sat 21 BRIGHTON
Mon 23 NOTTINGHAM
Tue 24 OXFORD
Wed 25 NORTHAMPTON
Fri 27 BIRMINGHAM
Sat 28 CARDIFF
Sun 29 POOLE
DECEMBER
Tue 01 LLANDUDNO
Wed 02 YORK
Thu 03 CAMBRIDGE
Fri 04 SALISBURY
Sun 06 LONDON
Tue 08 SHEFFIELD
Wed 09 GLASGOW
Thu 10 GATESHEAD
Sat 12 LIVERPOOL
Mon 14 DUBLIN
Tue 15 BELFAST



REM announce live EP details



REM have announced that they will release a digital live EP before a full concert album later this year.
The band launch the four-track Reckoning Songs From The Olympia on July 7 and will release the full-length 2CD set in October.
A statement on the group's official website said: "Exactly two years ago, the band spent five nights at the venerable Olympia Theatre rehearsing new songs for what would eventually become Accelerate, while also rolling out a dizzying array of older numbers."
The EP will feature tracks recorded during the residency at the Dublin venue and will include over 30 songs.
REM also revealed that they are recording demos for an album of new music.



Sumner inspired by Bad Lieutenant



BERNARD SUMNER has revealed that Harvey Keitel inspired the name of his new band.
The New Order star said he named the three-piece Bad Lieutenant after the award-winning actor's 1992 ultra-violent film.
Sumner has teamed up with former New Order guitarist Phil Cunningham and newcomer Jake Evans to form the band who have recorded a new album with Blur's Alex James.
According to NME.com, they also collaborated with Sumner's former New Order and Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris who is expected to join the group for an upcoming tour.



Dave Grohl working on supergroup



DAVE GROHL is joining forces with Josh Homme and John Paul Jones to form a band.
The Foo Fighters frontman, the Queens of the Stone Age frontman and the Led Zeppelin bassist are reportedly already recording in the studio.
There have been rumours of the trio working together since 2005, but according to Antiquiet.com, they have finally started recording together in Los Angeles.
The group are keeping mum about their plans, but Homme's wife, Spinnerette's Brody Dalle, said she had heard some of the trio's efforts.
She added: 'I'm not at liberty to talk about it, but I think [the project] is pretty fucking amazing.
"Just beats and sounds like you've never heard before.'



The Smiths offered Ł30m to reform



THE SMITHS were offered millions of pounds to reform for a number of live shows.
Former guitarist Johnny Marr said he and singer Morrissey were offered $50 million (Ł30 million) to reunited the band.
Speaking to Xfm, he said it was a "really abstract" and "pretty random" amount of money.
Regarding a possible reunion, Marr said: "It's absolutely nothing to do with money, because the amounts of money that we've been offered, or that I've heard we've been offered, is pretty obscene, it's pretty gross.
"This will be all over the flipping internet - all those twerps running around with it - but seeing as you asked, I think we were offered $50 million for three shows. It might have been five shows."
Last year it was claimed that The Smiths were poised to reunite for the Coachella music festival, but both Marr and Morrissey denied the reports.

Jane's Addiction cancel Australian tour



JANE'S ADDICTION have had to cancel their tour of Australia after their percussionist was admitted to hospital.
Stephen Perkins was taken to the Infectious Disease Ward at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles to be treated for an infection in his elbow.
Although he is expected to make a full recovery from the infection, Perkins will be held at the hospital for a few days for antibiotic treatment.
Perkins discovered the infection after he noticed severe swelling and pain building in his elbow.
The band’s Australian tour was due to start this Saturday.



Kasabian slam deluded Americans



KASABIAN have revealed that they are frustrated that they cannot get any radio play in the US.
The rockers said they are seen as a "cult band" so breaking into the mainstream was proving problematic.
Speaking to Xfm, frontman Tom Meighan said: "You have to be U2 or Coldplay to get radio play.
"Americans are deluded - not all of them - they think they're ahead, but musically they're not. They're 30 years behind."
Kasabian are among the favourites to win this year's Mercury Prize after making the shortlist earlier this week with their West Ride Pauper Lunatic Asylum LP.
And Meighan promised that their upcoming UK arena tour would be "really good to the eye".
He added: "We're going to do something amazing with the cover. You know all the bugs on the middle pages of the inlay? It's going to be a set. I can't give too much away, but it'll be lovely."



Madonna reveals greatest hits details



MADONNA has announced that her Greatest Hits album will be called Celebration.
Her compilation, spanning a 25-year career, will be available in both single disc and two-CD versions, while a DVD featuring her most popular videos will be made available on the same day.
The album will be released in the UK on September 28 and will be preceded by a single, also called 'Celebration', which will receive its first radio play on August 3.
Celebration, produced by Madonna and Paul Oakenfold, is one of two new songs on the album.
As well as the new songs, three of her classic hits have been confirmed for the album's tracklisting which are Everybody, Express Yourself', Vogue as well as recent chart hit 4 Minutes.
The Material Girl has had 62 UK top ten hits since she made her chart debut in 1984, 13 of them number ones.



Imbruglia to play intimate London dates



NATALIE IMBRUGLIA has announced details of two live London dates next month.
The singer will play The Luminaire on August 12 and The Lexington on August 19 before she plays at the V Festival the weekend of August 22 and 23.
Imbruglia, 34, has recently finished Come To Life, her fourth studio album scheduled for release on September 28.
The LP includes songs written by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and her ex-husband Daniel Johns.



Ellis-Bextor hopes to release album this year



SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR has said she would like to release some new material before the year is out.
Speaking to Digitalspy.co.uk, she said: I'm working on finishing my album as soon as I can, but I've got lots of work to do.
"It's coming together really well and hopefully I'll have new material out before the end of the year."
The pop star has recorded between 15 and 20 tracks for her upcoming fourth album and described it as "very dance-pop - quite tough electro".



Dido goes back to what she knows best



DIDO has said she will return to her "electronic roots" for her forthcoming fourth album.
The singer-songwriter is working on the follow-up to 2008's Safe Trip Home, which saw her experiment with a different approach to music.
Writing on her website, she said: "I intentionally didn't use any electronics on the third album. It was a challenge that started as a small thought and then turned into a big theme of the record.
"We had a lot of fun creating sounds from all manner of instruments - bells, wind instruments, strings, brass, pots, pans, cans, sandpaper, anything. This was instead of using anything pre-programmed."
She added: "It was a great learning experience for me and also made me a much better musician pretty quickly!
"It's also making me really appreciate the joy of electronics again on this new album I'm making. It's good to take a break and now I'm celebrating my electronic roots again."
Dido's fourth studio album is scheduled to be released early next year.



U2 nearly fought over drumkit



THE EDGE has revealed that he and Bono almost got into a fight over a drumkit.
Speaking to Jonathan Ross, the U2 guitarist said: "It was one of those early gigs where you really feel your life depends on it being a great gig. Half way through the show Larry's drum kit falls apart and he literally has a set of spanners out trying to fix it.
"Bono didn't see what was going on, so all he knew was that Larry had stopped playing and he just lost it."
Bono added: "I looked down and there was no drummer. "So I lifted the drum kit to have a look at what was going on and a proper little row broke out and then the Edge just caught me with oneI he hit me very hard."
The Edge added: "He hasn't pushed me that far since."



Pet Shop Boys slam the BBC



THE PET SHOP boys have criticised the BBC for axing Top Of The Pops.
Singer Neil Tennant said because the iconic show was no longer broadcasting, new artists were missing out on that "great moment" of being crowned top of the charts.
Speaking at the Latitude Festival, he said: "I think it's a shame. I think it was defeatist to get rid of it."
The BBC took the show off the air in 2006 after 42 years because it said it no longer played a central role in music because of multimedia access.
Tennant added: "I don't see why Top Of The Pops isn't on."



Thom Yorke to write vampire score



THOM YORKE is being lined up to write the soundtrack for the upcoming sequel to Twilight.
The film's director Chris Weitz said the Radiohead frontman has expressed an interest in providing the music for New Moon, the second film in the series based on Stephanie Meyer's books.
Speaking to Rotten Tomatoes.com, he added that Kings of Leon may also contribute.
He said: 'Fortunately, I’m not at the stage where I have to turn anybody down yet, because everything is still kind of up in the air, but I am surprised at some of the bands that have said they’re interested.
'It’s kind of great. The criterion will still always be what’s right for the movie at that given moment, but Thom Yorke is interested; we might, if we’re very lucky, get Kings Of Leon to do something, it’s exciting to be able to have access to this kind of talent.'
Radiohead’s ’15 Step’ featured in the closing credits of 'Twilight’.

Depeche Mode to appear in zombie game



DEPECHE MODE have agreed for their likeness to be used in a zombie computer game. The band said the Valve company could also feature their branding and music in its upcoming zombie survival shooter "Left 4 Dead 2".

Recent press shots for the game have featured Rochelle, one of the main survivors, wearing a pink T-shirt with the band's image and logo on it. The game's lead writer Chet Faliszek revealed that Depeche Mode fully authorised it and they were among the few to reply to Valve's requests to various artists and record labels asking them to feature in the game.
"Left 4 Dead 2" will be released for Xbox 360 and PC on November 17.



Bono admits to being annoying



BONO has acknowledged that people probably find him annoying. The U2 frontman admitted he knows he is disliked because of his ego, but insisted that being big-headed made him successful.
He said: "I can be annoying. I have a kind of annoying gene. As Delmore Schwartz said, 'Ego is always at the wheel.' It's just with rock stars, it's more obvious. The need to be loved and admired doesn't come from a particularly pretty place. But people tend to do a lot of great things with it. Ego, yes, but the ego is in everything human beings are capable of. Without ego, things would be so dull."

The 49-year-old singer also said he is usually the inspiration for his songs. Talking to the Guardian, he said: "The villain is usually me. The hypocrisy of the human heart is the number one target. Rarely do we point the finger at anyone other than ourselves. "U2 choose more interesting targets than other bands. Your own hypocrisies, your addictions we never pick the obvious. I think we make our enemies very interesting."



Echo & The Bunnymen return with new album



Echo & The Bunnymen’s forthcoming album 'The Fountain’ is a massive return to form. It’s a superbly feisty album of pulsating, uplifting rock anthems such as the joyous first single 'Think I Need It Too’, 'Do You Know Who I Am’, 'Forgotten Fields’, 'Everlasting’ and the Bowie-esque pop of 'Proxy’, 'Shroud Of Turin’, all centred around a grand, reflective soul-stirring ballad 'The Idolness Of Gods’. It’s a powerful album that sees the Bunnymen back to their very best and with a truly modern sensibility that should see a whole new generation discover one of the UK’s most iconic bands.

'The Fountain’ was kick-started in 2007 when McCulloch began working on some new ideas with three London-based musicians. 'I thought Will (Sergeant) and I needed to do stuff differently, but so the result still sounded like the Bunnymen,' he says. 'What we got with 'Think I Need It Too’ and 'Forgotten Fields’, I thought, 'Yeah, this is how it should sound.’'
The album was pieced together over the next year, with Mac and Will working on tracks at Parr Street Recording Studios in Liverpool.

Among the album’s greatest moments is the shimmering, impish 'Shroud Of Turin’, in which Mac comes face-to-face with Christ.
'The song is a kind of conversation with Jesus,' says Mac. 'It’s tongue-in-cheek, but it’s also just another way of praying. It was based around a gig in Rimini at a club called, I think, The Transylvania. I saw this image in the monitors, it was Jesus’ face. I stopped the song, and said, If you all want to file past, you can see the Shroud Of Turin’.'

The album’s widescreen, crystalline sound is the work of Scottish producer John McLaughlin, whose credits may come as a surprise to some Bunnymen fans. 'He’s done work with Busted and Five, who I loved!' smiles Mac. 'I just became really good friends with him. I really want a big, solid undertow beneath the lyrics, not all jingly jangly like 'Siberia’. I wanted someone I could trust to get the sound – when he heard me playing 'The Idolness Of Gods’ with just guitar, it made him cry. He gets why I write the way I do. There’s glory in it.'

'I’m just a better writer and better singer these days,' he adds. My voice has got more, honest, which fits these songs. This album is about something, rather than just sounding like it’s about something. It’s about having lived life, but still feeling like a kid. I’m a not traditional songwriter. What I do at my best is poetry.'
If recent live shows are anything to go by Echo & The Bunnymen really do seem like a band rejuvenated. Their sold out 'Ocean Rain’ shows last year at the Royal Albert Hall, London, Radio City Music Hall, New York & Liverpool Echo Arena were met with huge critical acclaim and recent performances at the likes of the Camden Crawl and Glastonbury rightly received rapturous receptions.



Dave Grohl thrilled with street name



DAVE GROHL said he is very happy to have one of his favourite places named after him. The Foo Fighters frontman unveiled Davis Grohl Alley on Saturday in Warren, Ohio, the city where he was born.
In front of a huge crowd of fans and press, he performed at the ceremony and said: "I had to come here, it's such a huge deal. "When I was a kid, I used to love to come here. This is one of my favourite places in the world."

He was also given the key to the city by city director of public safety, Doug Franklin, who to,d him: "You already have the key to our hearts and to top that, I'm going to give you the key to the city."



Stone Roses anniversary release and videos



On 10th August, 2009, exactly twenty years to the day from the moment when four Manchester musicians stepped on to the stage of the Blackpool Empress Ballroom for what would become a legendary gig, Sony Music re-release the classic album that is 'The Stone Roses'. The album will be released in 4 brand new formats. Over two decades, the impact of the band’s debut album has increased exponentially, inspiring musicians to form bands, marking a re-engagement of guitar music with the mainstream and creating a youth culture that retains its influence across music, fashion, politics and art to this day.

As part of the celebration Sony have released all the Stone Roses videos: the band have been releasing one single a week [this week’s being Fools Gold] leading up to the re-issue of their debut album on August 10th. To support these releases, all the band’s videos have been put together in a Stone Roses player featuring the videos for : Fools Gold, Standing Here, Waterfall, I Wanna Be Adored, One Love and She Bangs The Drum.



Coldplay to meet The Simpsons



COLDPLAY have been signed up to make a cameo appearance in the next series of The Simpsons. Frontman Chris Martin will appear as himself in an episode where Homer Simpson wins a million dollars and hires the band to play a private gig for his family. Executive producer Al Jean said in the episode, which airs in September, the band are forced to halt the gig when Bart Simpson goes to the bathroom.

Coldplay follow in the footsteps of other bands and musicians who have lent their voices to the popular animated TV show. One of the first guests was Michael Jackson, who guested under the alias of John Jay Smith, as a mental patient named Leon Kompowsky who is convinced he is Michael Jackson. Three Beatles - Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney - have also appeared on the show, as well as U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Who, R.E.M, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Johnny Cash.