Joe Kavanagh's Music News

U2 will become the first act to perform for five consecutive nights on the Letterman Show when they become Dave's resident house band for a week, beginning March 2. The event is timed to coincide with the release of their latest album, No Line On The Horizon but for all of you that can't wait that long to hear the new material, the band will also be performing live on BBC radio on Friday, Feb 27. Bono and company have been booked to play live sets on Radio 1's Live Lounge early in the day and on the Chris Evans Show later in the evening, when they will play a host of tracks from their upcoming album. Their latest single, Get Your Boots On, comes out this Monday and features a vocal melody that is at times uncannily like Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues...

For a man who is universally recognized as most people's favorite Beatle, John Lennon has certainly been on the receiving end of some hard core hatred, even in effigy. Authorities from the Spanish town of Almeria have admitted that they will have to remove a statue of the former Beatle, after it was vandalized on multiple occasions. The most recent attack came when an unknown vandal poured paint over the statue last week, for reasons that remain unknown to anyone outside the knuckle-dragger who committed the act. Almeria was famed as being the place where Lennon composed the track, Strawberry Fields Forever, which many critics hold up as the band's greatest song. A sculpting of Ringo Starr in Liverpool, was famously beheaded last year, after Ringo made disparaging comments about his home city while on a British talk show. That I can understand, and wasn't it Victor Lewis-Smith that once said: "The Beatles are dying in the wrong order." ...

Bob Marley's family won a landmark decision in the courts last week, giving them control over his image rights, which have reputedly been worth $600 million since his death. Speaking to the BBC, his eldest daughter, Cedella, asserted: "We're open to licensing just about anything. If it is not right, we will not do it. This is a big business for bootleggers. We want to stop some of the nonsense, and make sure the great stuff upholds our standards. We're in control." While you can almost see the dollar signs in her eyes as she utters that first sentence, the rest of what she says is a little more encouraging because Che Guevara is possibly the only person whose image can rival Marley's when it comes to having it plastered on t-shirts, caps and posters around the globe. The late reggae great famously left no will because his Rastafarian beliefs meant that he did not believe in death, in the same manner as most western religions view it...

Cillian Murphy was in the media last week, claiming that he is delighted that he turned down a major label deal in the mid-90s because it would have meant selling out. The critically-acclaimed Irish actor was a member of Cork act, Sons of Mister Green Jeans, and claimed: "We were offered a record deal by a record company in London but it wasn't the right time and I'm very glad in retrospect that we didn't sign because you kind of sign away your life to a label and the whole of your music. Nowadays people can record in their bedroom and they can make something that's full of integrity and then license it to a record label." As a fan of sons of Sons of Mister Green Jeans, I don't mean to be facetious by saying that Cillian might be exaggerating a wee bit when he makes out like they were headed to the top of the industry. They were good, but there are a couple of dozen Irish bands out there at any given time that are equally as good as them, and it wasn't as simple as choosing a career in music or acting...

Pete Doherty claims that he has been offered millions of pounds to reform The Libertines for this year's festival circuit, but claims that his former band mate, Carl Barat has resisted all offers to this point, which must really suck for Pete, given the reports about his financial woes of late. Doherty told a reporter: "We had some ridiculous offers to headline Reading. Like £2 million to headline this festival, £1 million to headline that festival. I said, 'Why don't we just do it? Let's get the old band back together.' He (Barat) said, 'We have to be friends, we can't just do it for the money'. I said, 'Okay, let's be friends! Friends who go and make lots of money' - because I haven't got any money and I know he's skint. He said I had to go and see an energy consultant, some new age guru who is going to measure my energy levels and see if I'm surrounded by darkness. If I am, I'm not allowed to go near Carl because I'll tap into his good energy and I'll sap all the good energy and bring nothing but darkness into his life." If Carl Barat is wasting money on gurus and energy consultants, then he's not that broke, and as for the talk about money and friendship, I'm reminded of Spike Milligan's quote: "Money can't buy friends but it can get you a better class of enemy." ...

A European buyer spent $37,500 for a nude photograph of Madonna, which was auctioned at Christies in New York, last Thursday. The photo was taken in 1979 when 20-year-old Madge was a struggling dancer in New York and answered an ad for nude modeling. I'll bet it really sticks in Madonna's craw that a photo of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy went for $91,000 last year. Mind you, Madonna spent almost as much time naked as Michelangelo's David for a while there, so there are probably quite a few more photos of her in the noddy out there...

UK tabloids reported that Boy George is putting his time in prison to good use by penning a comeback single for Robbie Williams. Given how long it's been since Boy George had a hit single, I would have thought that he could have spent the time working on his own comeback single but there you go. Boy George is currently serving a 15-month prison sentance after being found guilty of assaulting and falsely imprisoning male escort, Auden Carlsen. According to a source who spoke to the Sun newspaper: "Robbie had tapped up George to write some tracks for his new album. They had intended to work together on the songs together, but they can't do that now. George has neglected his song-writing and is determined to hone his skills again. Without the distractions of the outside world he is bidding to write Rob a killer ballad from behind bars." It's not technically true that the two of them could not work together now that George is behind bars. There are any number of ways they could be reunited really, Robbie could rob a bank, impersonate a cop or even just break a window with a brick and the two of them could be working on I Love You, Just Not In That Way, by this time next week...

Morrissey spent much of his time during an interview with radio station XFM last week, bemoaning the state of the music scene and the fact that there are not more colorful characters on the scene. Mozza claimed: "I think everyone is quite boring in music. I can't see any voices who are taking the plunge and risking anything. They're padding down the plank and everyone's just lining up and accepting awards. It's very, very difficult for me and very distressing." Not half as distressing as it is having to listen to Morrissey constantly go on about how things were better in his day and moan like some pensioner who has just missed the early bird special. That tune is getting old but I suppose he was never really known for his sunny disposition so I shouldn't be too surprised...

Peaches Geldof and Chester Drummer have just announced they are to divorce after only six months of marriage, upon issuing a joint statement online, which reads in part: "After much soul-searching we have made the mutual decision to end our marriage and have agreed to go our separate ways. Our parting is amicable and both of us still respect and care about each other immensely. There were no other people involved in this decision and we both look forward to a future as good friends." They should perhaps have tried the soul-searching bit before they jumped into a marriage with each other and if they are such good friends, why are they divorcing? I'm also confused about the whole "no other people involved" bit. Who else could be involved in the decision? Jerry Springer? The Harlem Globetrotters? The cast of Lost? Okay, I'm going to get out of here because I'm starting to sound as crotchety as Morrissey.