Joe Kavanagh's Music News

Michael Jackson has not even taken to the stage for his upcoming 50 date residency at London's O2 Arena, and he is already causing controversy. Animal rights activists have taken issue with the fact that the gloved one will allegedly incorporate a number of wild animals into his act and has reputedly requested to be carried onto the stage each night on the back of an elephant. As one might expect, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are up in arms, with a UK spokesman telling the media: "Michael Jackson gave away his chimpanzee, and left giraffes, elephants and other animals in appalling, cramped conditions when he vacated the Neverland Ranch. These exotic animals belong in Africa, not the O2 Arena among screaming fans, bright lights and stage explosions. These wild animals are deprived of everything that is natural and important to them when they are forced to perform under stressful conditions. Michael needs to learn to leave exotic animals alone." Hey, at least there are no children involved, so I'd call that a result and does a statement like that mean that PETA are against all circuses also? Imagine the stink he'd have caused if he requested to be carried out on a bed by a troop of scantily clad young boys, with Gary Glitter as his opening act...

Duran Duran's latest comeback must have hit something of a brick wall, after producer, Mark Ronson, announced last week that he had called upon Kaiser Chief drummer/co-songwriter, Nick Hodges, to assist the band in their songwriting process. Given the fact that the Kaiser Chiefs last album Off With Their Heads, was about as popular as a banker, well anywhere really, I'd say Duran Duran are in a little trouble...

Speaking of trouble and Mark Ronson, the producer has himself been called in to rescue Amy Winehouse's latest album after bosses at her record company expressed concern over her new direction. It appears that Amy's extended stay on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia has inspired her to add a reggae flavor to her latest album, which has reputedly left her label, Island Records, utterly unimpressed, which is hardly surprising given what reggae did for Sinead O'Connor's career. With the album's deadline now looming, panicky label suits have drafted in Ronson, who initially turned down the request due to Winehouse's appalling behavior the last time the pair worked together. With the latter now free of drugs, Ronson is once again willing to work with her, although the same cannot be said of her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who is apparently still intent on seeking a divorce. Winehouse and Fielder-Civil have reportedly been trying to patch things up but the latter apparently cannot get past his wife's highly publicized affairs, which had her enjoying flings with everyone from two-bit actor Josh Bowman to the pool boy, if the tabloids can be believed. I can't say I blame him to be honest because if only a fraction of the reports are true then he surely has grounds for divorce, and Amy cannot retract are the statements she gave journalists regarding her husband. Statements like: "Blake was rubbish in bed. Do you know what? Almost every time I slept with him it was like I was dead. Our whole marriage was based on doing drugs. So being with someone like Josh is much better for me." Ouch-ch-ching...

Production on the John Lennon biopic, Nowhere Boy, has been thrown into doubt after an author began legal proceedings against the company behind the movie, seeking financial compensation for the use of his work. Geoffrey Giuliano co-wrote a book titled John Lennon, My Brother, with Lennon's sister, Julie Baird, during the 1980s, detailing Lennon's life before the Beatles hit the big time. Baird subsequently published Imagine This: Growing up with my brother John Lennon, in 2007, which the current movie is based upon, but Giuliano claims that much of the content of this book was lifted directly from his work on the predecessor. The author maintains: "In doing my own research, I filled in a lot of blanks for her. More than half the material in the book is a result of my research. Additional information in Imagine This was uncovered by me in my original research. I was the person who conceptualized the original book." I wonder if Julia Baird walks around with a t-shirt emblazoned with the words "I am John Lennon's sister, just ask me", or says things like "could you pass me the salt please, did you know I'm John Lennon's sister?" Kind of sad really and I'm sure John would be proud...

Lemmy, is constantly surprised at the amount of celebrity Motorhead fans that come across his path, according to an interview he recently gave to Spin magazine. The legendary front man related a story about being approached recently by actor Jude Law, saying: "He came to a show we did in England at the Royal Festival Hall. He showed up backstage while I was still covered in sweat and told me he loved it." The music or the sweat? Under ordinary circumstances I wouldn't have to ask but this is Jude Law, and given his well-documented quirky sexual predilections, you have to ask. Lemmy also claimed that during his time with Hawkwind, he often saw Johnny Rotten in the crowd selling drugs but did not remember the fact until he bumped into the Sex Pistols singer at a gig years later, telling Spin: "I was standing at the bar, and this bush behind me said, 'I used to sell acid at all-night shows...' and I turned round and it was Johnny Rotten. I remembered him - he used to have long hair, with pockets full of drugs." If Lemmy was engaging in conversation with a bush then I'm pretty sure that he had indulged in a few tabs of what Johnny was selling. Either that or he's the first man to talk to a bush since Moses...

The alleged killers of South African singer, Lucky Dube, have finally appeared in court in relation to the cold-blooded murder of one of the country's biggest stars. The 43-year-old reggae star was murdered in Johannesburg, during a suspected car-jacking in 2007, although lawyers for the defendants claim that the alleged killers did not know who their victim was until discovering his identity in subsequent newspaper reports. Sfiso Mhlanga, Julius Xowa and Thabiso Maroping stand accused of the killing and with names like that, the court might want to look into hiring Klunk from Wacky Races to announce the defendants' arrival each day...

Guitarist Frank Allen, of The Searchers, has just released an autobiography, in which he claims that legendary singer Dusty Springfield once asked him to father her child. Allen maintains: "She talked about her body clock ticking away and how she longed to have a child before it was too late. She suggested that if we had a child together it would be a beautiful baby and that she'd take all the responsibility for looking after it. The thought of fathering a child in my mid-twenties was a frightening one. To my absolute astonishment she placed one of her hands slap bang in my groin. I have often wondered, had I called her bluff, what the results and consequences would have been. But it was all too sudden and unexpected." All very convenient that Springfield (real name Mary O'Brien) is not around to refute such claims given the fact that she died in 1999, at only 59-years-old. Springfield remained deliberately ambiguous when it came to discussing her private life, once saying: "The catchphrase is: I can't love a man. Now, that's my hang-up. To love, to go to bed, fantastic; but to love a man is my prime ambition... They frighten me." No wonder she was frightened of men if she hung around men of low character like Allen, who keep their friend's secrets until they can make money from them.