Joe Kavanagh's Music News

Pete Doherty has slipped further down the spiral, making the recent high hopes for his wellbeing seem a tad overoptimistic. Last week, UK tabloid, Daily Mirror, printed a series of photographs that appeared to show the troubled singer cutting up and sorting five lines of cocaine, only weeks after he had assured the public that he finally had a handle on his addictions, in the wake of yet another stint in rehab. Despite initial claims that he would return to rehab immediately, insiders claim that he is only attending as a day patient, which is kind of like keeping Dracula cooped up each day in the hope that he will beat the whole biting on the neck habit. Another UK tabloid published a series of diary entries that Doherty purportedly made while attending the Clouds rehab clinic, which appear to show that he is finally coming to grips with the depth of his problem. One entry read: "If I don't pack in drugs, particularly crack and heroin, I am likely to either die, go bankrupt, go mad or end up permanently institutionalized. I'm on a direct course for all four." Yeah, but the first one kind of trumps the other three...

Last week also saw a Scottish fan pay an astounding $170,000 for a pair of tickets to the upcoming Led Zeppelin reunion gig. Glasgow man, Kenneth Donnell paid the money as part of a charity auction, with all the money going to Children In Need. Kind of puts a dent in that whole stereotype of the tight Scotsman... In contrast, tickets to an upcoming Sex Pistols reunion gig changed hands for as little as one cent on eBay last week, which sounds about right given the poor press that has accompanied their performances on their recent "this is definitely the last tour we will do, ever" tour...

The Pistols shouldn't feel too bad though because you could probably trade one of their tickets for an entire row of seats for the imminent Boyzone reunion, which is due to take place in May of next year. So far, the announcement of their return has failed to set the world alight and "the tumbleweed tour" might be an appropriate name for this one...

Celine "why the long face?" Dion announced last week that her impending tour will most likely be her last, as she seeks to concentrate on her family. Finally, some good news. The saccharine singer claimed: "If I had a child now I'd never want to go back on the road again." Now there's a job that would test the very limits of Viagra... It must be something in the air because Ray Davies was the latest to throw his hat into the reunion ring, by telling a recent interviewer that the Kinks look set to reform in the near future. To his credit, Davies claims that he would only be interested in the proposition if the band were to release a new album, because he fears that anything else would simply be "karaoke Kinks"...

Katie Melua addressed questions pertaining to her sexual persuasion last week, saying that she enjoys the ambiguity that surrounds her sexuality. The singer claimed: "People can think whatever they like. I like to keep some mystique around my public image. In a sense the less you give, the better." You know, I get really tired of vacuous celebrities pandering to different groups in such a cynical manner, so I'm going to do the girl a favor. Katie Melua is totally straight. She was going out with Luke Pritchard of the Kooks, until he dumped her because he allegedly found her "too needy". Her public attempts to woo him back kind of made her look a little pathetic and reminded you that no matter how good looking and sophisticated a celebrity appears, they are just as prone as the rest of us to making a complete ass of themselves when it comes to matter of the heart. Now, are we all clear? ...

Radiohead's decision to release their album online for whatever price fans felt like paying has continued to generate plenty of controversy throughout the music industry. Until now, most artists have been quick to praise the Oxford outfit's revolutionary release, but several spoke out against the move last week. Lily Allen branded the decision as "arrogant" claiming that Radiohead are making it more difficult for smaller acts, who depend on record sales to keep their boat afloat. The singer declared: "You don't choose how to pay for eggs. Why should it be different for music?" Even Gene Simmons piled on, asserting that the band must be "on f***ing crack" to make such a move, although he could have been talking out of his a**e, which is a virtual certainty given the amount of facelifts he has undergone over the years...

Joss Stone told an interviewer from the BBC last week that she has been hurt by the backlash she has endured from the British public in recent times and says that she cannot understand why they are being so hostile, saying: "It's funny because the only country that hasn't liked [my album] is my own. It's just like, 'Well, thanks guys!' It's like coming home and having them be like, 'Go away, we don't like you'". On the positive side, at least she has gotten the message.