Joe Kavanagh's Music News

Bob Geldof's mouth has gotten him in trouble again, or rather his pen, after he incurred the wrath of his neighbors in the English county of Kent. The former Boomtown Rat and current savior of the world wrote a letter that was published in his local council newsletter, bemoaning the state of his adopted home area. The letter read in part: "It's a mad mystery - the battle of the ugliness of (Kent seaside town) Margate against the charm of its beaches. Kent is a bit scruffy and worn at the edges and some of its ugliness is inexcusable." The harsh words infuriated residents who were quick to tell Geldof what to do with his opinions and I would imagine that he will come in for a bit of stick the next time he is out getting his groceries. To be honest, phrases like "a bit scruffy" and "worn at the edges" could just as easily be used to describe Bob...

It didn't take Pete Doherty long to climb back into the headlines, although even he outdid himself last week with the amount of media ink he generated. First was news that he has just about finished recording his first solo album, although he insists that the project does not spell the end for his band, Babyshambles. I would imagine that it will be out sooner rather than later, given the anemic sales of Babyshambles last effort. Doherty also made news when financially strapped German soccer club, KFC Uerdingen asked him if he could use his celebrity status to generate some revenue for the club, who are facing the prospect of bankruptcy if their gate receipts do not improve. As the son of a British serviceman, Doherty spent time living on a military base in the western German city of Krefeld, home of KFC Uerdingen, and he is on the record as saying that he is a huge fan of the club. A spokesperson for the singer said that he is interested in helping the club out and he is expected to meet with club officials when he plays in Germany this week. If Pete can't do anything, then perhaps a certain colonel might be able to help them out, given the first three letters of the club's name. As usual with Pete, it's not all good news however, as a 20-year-old woman has come forward and claimed that she is three months pregnant with the singer's baby. Laura McLaughlin, who is a straight A-student and was even offered a place in Harvard University, claims that she became pregnant after a brief encounter with the singer last year, telling a UK tabloid: "The baby is Peter's. There is no doubt about that. I was a virgin when I met Peter and when we had sex. He knows about the baby. I told him I was pregnant the moment I found out." Doherty's spokesperson claims that the singer has no idea who the girl is, although given how out of it he has been over the past three years, that's really no guarantee that he wasn't with her. I'd say you could fill an aircraft hanger with what Pete Doherty has forgotten over the course of the past couple of years. Incidentally, young Miss McLaughlin just happens to be the goddaughter of one Alex Ferguson of Manchester United...

I read where Joss Stone recently told an interviewer that she "despised" her first two albums and I was just thinking that that's probably the first time I've ever agreed with anything she's had to say. As a matter of fact, I could probably go one further and say that I'll more than likely despise her next two albums too...

Kelly Osbourne claims that she will never suffer from an eating disorder because she witnessed her own mother's intense battle with bulimia. Speaking in the media last week, the sometime "singer" said: "I think watching my mother being bulimic made me never, ever, ever, ever want to have an eating disorder. I don't diet and I didn't even realize I had lost weight until a dress literally fell off me." Man, that must have been one big dress...

Gary Glitter (real name: Paul Gadd) was rushed to hospital from his cell in a Vietnamese prison last week after suffering a heart attack. Speaking to the media, a prison spokesperson announced: "Mr Gadd suffered a heart attack. He remains very frail and his blood pressure is still dangerously high. When he is well enough he will go back to prison but at the moment he is still a very sick man." Gadd/Glitter is serving a prison sentence for having sex with two young girls aged 12 and 11 and we wish him a painful recovery. Kind of... It seems that Robbie Williams Rudebox album was not a total waste of time after all, with news that millions of unsold copies are being shipped to China, where they will be used to resurface roads. At least some good came of it because that was a tough cloud to try and find any silver lining on...

The Sex Pistols have announced that they are working on a new album, which they intend to release some time this spring. The record will be their first since they released their only album, Never Mind The Bollox, Here's The Sex Pistols, way back in 1977. The band are slated to perform at all of the major upcoming summer music festivals and say they want to "modernize" their set...

German rapper, Massiv, hit the headlines in his native country last week when certain segments of the media claimed he orchestrated a shooting to generate publicity for his upcoming album. The rapper claims that he was standing by his car in Berlin, when a masked gunman walked up to him and shot him three times. According to his version of events, he was then taken to hospital but checked himself out later that night. While authorities do agree that shots were fired, they say that Massiv miraculously only suffered a single graze, despite his contentions to the contrary. Their suspicions were also aroused by the fact that the shooting was announced on the rapper's website within minutes of its occurrence. One police official told reporters: "Several shots are supposed to have been fired at the singer from close range, so we are rather surprised that only one bullet grazed his arm. However, there is no doubt that there was an incident." The rapper adamantly denies that the entire event was a publicity ploy to promote his album, One Man, One Word, which is due for release next month. German rap eh? Now that sounds like a scary proposition.