Joe Kavanagh's Music News

By Joe Kavanagh

Although it's only February, Irish music fans were already dreaming about the summer last week when organizers of the Oxegen Festival began releasing the names of just some of the acts slated to appear on the weekend of July 7/8 this year. Amongst those already confirmed to perform at the country's most popular summer festival are: Snow Patrol, Scissor Sisters, Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, Goo Goo Dolls, Interpol, Amy Winehouse, Tori Amos, Razorlight, Arcade Fire, Daft Punk, My Chemical Romance, Bloc Party, James Morrison, The Kooks, Babyshambles, Klaxons and CSS. Many more acts will be announced in the coming weeks and tickets go on sale to those registered to the festival website on February 28. The general public will have to wait until March 2 to begin buying tickets and considering that it sold out months in advance last year, you might want to act sooner rather than later if you intend on going...

Former Boomtown Rat, Bob Geldof has urged the UK authorities to install the latest technology developed by a company called Groupcall, which is designed to combat truancy rates in schoolchildren. The system works by sending a text messages or email from the school to the parents of children that have failed to show up for classes. The system has already been put in place in several schools in Scotland and Australia, with proponents claiming that it can have a drastic effect on the alarming number of children that dodge classes without their parent's knowledge. The singer took the Blair government to task for reneging on their pledge to do all they can for the country's education system stating: 'I say (to them) why aren't you using this? You came to power specifically on the promise of education, education, education, and here's something that delivers you measurable results in the fight against truancy. It's a no-brainer. There's kids now asleep, who wake up, slope off to the bowling centre, and start drinking and taking drugs, when in fact they could be geniuses out there, who should be in school. We can't afford to have them in bed.' It should probably also be pointed out that Geldof's aims are not entirely altruistic given the fact that he is a major shareholder in Groupcall...

Hotly tipped Dublin band, Delorentos have just revealed that their eagerly anticipated debut album will be titled In Love With Detail and have tentatively slated a mid-April release date for what will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting Irish releases of the year...

More details have emerged on why Scottish act, The View was refused entry to the US last week after newspapers reported that lead singer, Kyle Falconer, is currently facing charges for possession of cocaine in his native Dundee. US authorities have a strict policy regarding disclosure of any such legal matters when applying for entry to the country and immediately cancelled the band's visas, forcing them to call off their entire tour, which included a showcase at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas...

The war of words between Lily Allen and London MC, Lady Sovereign seems to be heating up as the two ladies continued to trade insults through the media last week. Perhaps miffed at the amount of success that Allen is currently enjoying in the States, Lady Sovereign, who was raised on the mean streets of the notorious Chalkhill housing project told a UK tabloid: 'Just because her dad's famous, she doesn't have to work as hard as someone like me.' Allen - the daughter of quasi-famous comedian, Keith Allen - was quick to respond through her Myspace blog this week writing: 'In response to Miss Sovereign, I've spoken to my dad and he says he'd be happy to adopt you if you think it will give you a leg up.' I think we have a winner... With the rash of bands currently reforming and cashing in on the wave of nostalgia sweeping through the music world at the moment, it came as no surprise that Squeeze may be the next 80s act to reform. After resisting previous offers to get back together, lead singer Chris Difford now says that the band will reform when it's 'emotionally, spiritually and financially the right thing.' I'm guessing if there are enough zeros on the cheque then emotionally and financially can be bought out of the equation.