Joe Kavanagh's Music News

A pall continues to lie over Paul McCartney's scheduled appearance at a gig in Israel later this week, as part of the country's 60th anniversary celebrations, due to threats of attack from Islamist extremists. The former Beatle appeared unfazed by threats of suicide bombings when discussing the gig with British media last week, saying: "I like to think that if I go to a place it becomes evident that my message is a peaceful one - and I hope that the idea will spread. It often does happen. You'll go to a place and it can affect the whole audience." Israeli security forces are taking the threats seriously and have reportedly recruited national secret service agency, Mossad, to provide protection for McCartney for the duration of his stay. One Israeli security spokesperson was quoted in UK tabloid, The Sun, as saying: "Anyone who tries anything will be meeting Allah sooner than they thought." The Beatles never performed in Israel, due to a 43-year ban on the group, which was only lifted earlier this year. Speaking of the band, Macca claimed: "They said we were bad for the youth of Israel, and I think that was a mistake - I don't think we were that bad. But you know what, we took it as fun. It didn't really worry us, we just played somewhere else."...

The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White are set to feature in a new documentary, chronicling their influences, and the influence that they have had on how the instrument is used in music. It Might Get Loud, had its official debut at last month's Toronto Film Festival, but will not receive its general release until next year...

Toymaker, Lego, are commemorating the 30th anniversary of their mini-figures by releasing a series of commemorative figures that will include, among others, Amy Winehouse, Madonna and David and Victoria Beckham. I'm not sure that introducing Amy Winehouse to kindergarten kids is all that great an idea, you know, with the whole crack habit, self-harming and alcoholism. Who was it once said: "Show me the toys of your children and I'll show you the next 100 years"? Also, I'm guessing that the Lego Posh and Becks contain more substance than their real life counterparts ...

Speaking of Miss Winehouse, a UK tabloid published a photograph that the troubled singer allegedly posted on her Facebook site, showing her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, standing in a pair of skin-tight, pink underpants, exposing his genitalia for the camera. Fielder-Civil is currently in the middle of a 23-month stretch inside for assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice. I don't know about Blake, but if I was in prison, the last thing I'd want up in the internet is a picture of me with my meat and two veg out, while standing in a glorified pair of pink hotpants...

While Amy Winehouse has a long road to travel to sustained sobriety, Van Morrisson, put all those demons behind him years ago when he endured his own battle with alcohol and drugs. Now, fully reformed, it appears that Van the Man is one of those types that says: "If I can't do it, nobody else can", because the Irish legend has reportedly ordered that the bar be closed during his performances on his upcoming UK tour. Spokes-people for the singer claim that the rule was put in place because Van Morrisson finds fans going to the bar "off-putting". They go on to say that the ban has nothing to do with the fact that Van is a teetotaler. Yeah, and the fact that he's short and bald has nothing to do with him being miserable either...

While touring in Europe last week, Metallica drummer, Lars Ulrich, told interviewers that his only true remaining ambition in music is to tour with U2. Speaking to England's Daily Star, he claimed: "I'll play at one in the afternoon, in a parking lot in Ireland, I don't give a s**t. As long as I can do that." Given the fact that U2 and Metallica would never - could never - have worked together in a live setting two decades ago, the fact that they could now share the same stage shows you how homogenous music has become in recent times. Need more proof? Look at those God-awful MTV Video Awards, where major labels made a good fist of attempting to squeeze every single musical genre into one profitable potion. Dreadful...

Hairy-chested medallion man, Tom Jones, is set to release his first original album in over 15 years, and the Welsh singer claims that Amy Winehouse has been a huge influence on his new work. Speaking to the media last week, Jones attested: "We've been thinking about this for a while, doing a retro sound but new, and Amy Winehouse, she cracked it. When that album came out, my son called me right away and said, 'You know what we've been talking about? Listen to this'." Nice one, Tom Jones is one of the few people that can actually stroke his own ego while paying someone else a compliment...

Amazingly, the Spice Girls won the award for Best Reunion at last week's Vodafone Live Music Awards, ahead of competition from real artists like Led Zeppelin and The Verve. Surely a sign of the impending apocalypse, no?...

While we're talking about The Verve, guitarist, Simon Jones, revealed to the media last week that one of the major influences on how often the band performs live, is the ban on smoking in public, because singer, Richard Ashcroft, cannot live without his ciggies. Jones maintains: "I really feel for Richard because he smokes and that's hard when you've got phlegm on your lungs and you get a cold or whatever. I know that he struggles, especially when we've got a lot of gigs on the run. We're not really made to do that. We can't do that physically." Maybe if they gave up the fags, they'd be more able for it physically. Just a thought...

Poor old Georgie boy, and I'm not talking about the buffoon in the Whitehouse who is - and I quote John McCain in 1999 - "Dumb as a stump"; I'm talking about the former Wham! singer who has once again been caught doing something naughty in a public toilet, except that this time he had his pants up. An apprehensive toilet attendant in London's Hampstead Heath called cops after he saw Michael behaving suspiciously, and when police arrived they arrested him on suspicion of possessing drugs, which reportedly included cannabis and, more worryingly, crack-cocaine. Police claim that the singer was issued with a caution, which some considered surprising, given the fact that he was in possession of a class A drug, but a police spokesman was quick to respond, stating: "The biggest message is that drugs are wrong and people will be punished, but it must be right that there is flexibility in the law." Personally, I think the sooner we realize that making drugs illegal often criminalizes non-criminals, and puts oodles of cash in the pockets of ruthless villains, the sooner we are on our way to becoming a more civilized society. Currently, the US imprisons one out of every 142 US residents, the vast majority of which are on drug charges, meaning that the US government has an incarceration rate that is more than double that of crime-ridden South Africa and over three times the rate in Iran. I would imagine that the singer is glad that he got caught on the right-hand side of the Atlantic but if he does get time, then at least Amy Winehouse will be able to provide him with a few pictures to pin up on his wall.