Joe Kavanagh's Music News

Musicals have long had a tradition of choosing curious subject matter as the focus of their tenuous storylines. In the past, productions like Cats, Jerry Springer and Eva Peron have all employed peculiar plotlines, while Hair appeared to revolve around naked hippies rolling around while simultaneously belting out cheesy show tunes. The latest unlikely subject of a musical opened to warm reviews last week, when a production based on the life of legendary footballer George Best, began its run in Belfast's Grand Opera House. Dancing Shoes tells the story of Best's colorful life, from his humble Belfast beginnings, through his time as one of the most famous footballers on earth, to his death in 2005, at only 59-years-old, due to organ failure brought about by chronic alcoholism. The show is set to run for just over two weeks, and has already just about sold out, with thousands of fans booking their tickets in advance. The musical's cautionary tale of one of the north's most famous son's was given all the more precedence by the death of another of the city's most famous sporting exports, snooker player Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins, who died last week at only 61-years-old...

Speaking of which, as you might have expected from a man who brought something of the rock n' roll ethic to snooker, Alex Higgins - like Best - also moved in celebrity circles that often brought him into contact with the world of music and, along with Oliver Reed, he was reputedly the only other human being alive that could hold his own while partying in the company of legendary drummer for The Who, Keith Moon. Several musicians confessed their sadness as his passing last week, most notably close friend Ron Wood, who told UK tabloid The Sun: "I miss him already. He was a terrific guy and a good friend. Much of my love of snooker came from watching him - just magic. He was a brave and courageous player, as he was to prove in his last great fight against cancer. God bless our Alex." Personally speaking, I've never bought into the mantra which states that you should never speak ill of the dead. While Alex Higgins was, for a brief shining moment, one of the most exciting snooker players ever to lift a cue, let's not forget that he was also an incredibly violent, obnoxious egoist, capable of attacking men, women and children with no provocation. I'm not saying that we have to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but it helps when people at least admit that the bathwater is downright putrid...

Peaches Geldof is reportedly set to enter her second marriage, at the ripe old age of 21-years-old, with word that the socialite daughter of Bob Geldof, will tie the knot with director, Eli Roth, this coming January. Peaches and the 38-year-old Roth, reportedly intend to marry in a quiet Jewish ceremony in New York, with the former allegedly converting to Judaism. The most wayward of Geldof's daughters married musician Max Drummey in August of 2008, but the union only lasted seven months. Recounting her first foray into married life, Peaches claimed: "I'm realistic, you can't ignore divorce rates. Every friend of mine has parents who are divorced. I didn't go into it with Max thinking, 'This is going to last forever,' but I did go into it thinking, 'I love him right now and I know that I'll continue to love him for a long while.'" And here was me thinking that marriage meant that you were supposed to at least try and stay with the person for life. I've loved pairs of shoes for longer than she's loved her first husband and I'm guessing that she'll be 0-for-2 before long. I would actually speculate that there's a good chance that she will eventually end up with more 0-fors than a blind baseball player after extra innings...

Having already infuriated the music industry by essentially legalizing file-sharing in their country, Sweden's Pirate Party, has now decided to take on the might of the US government, by offering the same legal cover to Wikileaks, after the American government announced that it is considering going after any internet service provider (ISP) that assists the whistleblower website. Pirate Party spokesperson Anna Troberg declared: "Given that Wikileaks' activities strike at the very heart of American power, it's probably just a matter of time before they [the Swedish government] act." The Pirate Party, which currently holds two seats in the Swedish parliament, caused a stir with record labels when it essentially gave legal protection to file-sharers by hosting the notorious website Pirate Bay. The Pirate Party's stated aim is its dedication to "promoting global legislation to facilitate the emerging information society." Just in case any of you out there thought that members walk around with parrots on their shoulders saying things like: "Here be our latest bill mateys, and if ye don't pass it, we'll hang ye from the yard arm and send you straight to Davey's Locker. Aaaargh!" Who knows, maybe that's how they actually do talk...

If he were still alive, John Lennon would have turned 70-years-old on October 9, but despite his absence fans and family of the late Beatle intend to celebrate his life in a number of ways this fall. Son Julian will unveil a special 18-feet high peace monument, which is being erected in his honor in a park in Liverpool, in order to act as a lasting commemoration of his dedication to the pursuit of global peace during his lifetime. A day before his birthday, Yoko Ono will host a ceremony where a time capsule will be placed in the ground in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, in Ohio. Fans are encouraged to send in their wishes, thoughts on his life and even their own music for inclusion in the capsule, which will be opened on the day Lennon would have turned 100-years-old. As my entry, I'm nominating Chris de Burgh doing a cover version of Beatles track A Day In The Life. He's only small, so he should fit in easily enough. There might even be room to put Gary Glitter beside him...

One of the more unusual stories thrown up in the music news was the confession by Belgian singer Plastic Bertrand that he did not in fact sing the one hit wonder song, Ca Plain Pour Moi, which has been attributed to him since its release in 1977. The punk-tinged, single was a global smash hit upon its release and many wondered why the Belgian singer was unable to replicate anything approaching its success. Until now, at least. In 2006, producer Lou Deprilich released a cover version of the track and was promptly sued by record label AMC, only for the Deprilich to claim that he was the real singer on the original song. While many scoffed at his contention, an expert on languages told a rapt courtroom that the performer on the track could not have been Plastic Bertrand, as the singer's accent came from a particular region in France. Last week, Bertrand finally admitted that Deprilich was in fact the original singer, thus adding his name to the list of imposters headed up by the likes of Milli Vanilli. From here on out, I'm going to take a page out of Bertrand's book and tell people that I sang the vocal on Four Non Blondes, What's Up? but the label had a hot chick mime it in the video for aesthetical purposes...

Fran Healy swears that he is sticking to his pledge to Paul McCartney to become a vegetarian, as the former Beatle has promised to return the favor by playing bass on his upcoming solo debut album, which will be titled Wreckorder. The Travis singer told Spinner.com: "I'm quite Scottish about it. Whether you promise your dog you're gonna take him for a walk, it's a promise and I'm quite loyal when it comes to things like that." Healy also claimed that McCartney even sent him a parcel in the mail with a selection of vegetarian recipes devised by his late-wife Linda McCartney, and claims his favorite dish is Linda's special lasagne, saying: "We made it and yeah, it was really great." He probably threw that baby in the deep fat fryer for a couple of minutes, and I'd like to see Paul McCartney try to talk a Scot out of using that device in his cooking. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Hey, it wasn't me that came up with the motto for Scottish cooking, which states: "If it moves, or even if it doesn't, deep fry it in batter." I better get off this subject now or it'll be me that gets battered the next time I go to Scotland...

Remaining on the topic of vegetarians, Kate Nash maintains that she gave up meat in order to save the life of her beloved pet rabbit, Fluffy. For those of you out there thinking that the Foundations singer was contemplating serving her pet rabbit up with a nice Chianti, as most rational people would, she actually decided to quit eating meat when her pet rabbit went to the vets, in order to undergo a life-saving operation. Nash suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and confessed that she became convinced that her rabbit would survive the operation if she gave up eating meat, despite her theory having no solid basis in reality. Still, Nash says that she does not think that her decision to go meat-free will be a permanent one, as she enjoys eating meat too much. If I were Fluffy, the longer my owner goes without meat, the more nervous I would become, because with OCD like that, who's to say she won't get it into her head that the only way she can overcome her vegetarianism is by eating the very animal that put her on that path. There might come a day when a friend or relative of Nash's walks catches her standing over the half-eaten remains of Fluffy, and tears streaming down her face as she repeatedly sobs: "Now look what you made me do!" ...

In still more vegetarian related music news (what can I say, it's like buses, not one vegetarian story for years and then three come along), Johnny Marr told an interviewer last week that he is thrilled when people approach him to tell him that The Smiths' album Meat Is Murder, provoked them into becoming vegetarians. The former guitarist for The Smiths claimed: "I am very proud of the fact that 20 years on people tell me they became a vegetarian as a result of Meat is Murder. I think that is quite literally rock music changing someone's life." It's a good job then that they didn't call it Burgers Taste Good, but I would agree with him that music can affect the way that we look at food. In the past, James Blunt songs have been known to put me off my dinner...

Although this column is dedicated to music, I thought that in the interests of symmetry I might sign off this week with my favorite George Best story, which is not all that far off the reservation, considering he was known as the "fifth Beatle" during his heyday. The legendary footballer famously told a story about a night some 35 years ago, when his reputation as a party animal had begun to supersede his reputation as a preternaturally talented footballer. Best was staying at an unnamed hotel after a particularly heavy night's drinking and gambling at a casino, when he ordered up more champagne for room service. A young bellhop dutifully arrived and opening the door, walked in to find a half naked Best, sprawled upon the bed with a similarly half naked Miss World, all around them strewn empty chamapagne bottles and an eye-popping amount of cash, the illicit gains of a successful night at the casino. The young bellhop, who happened to be Irish, took a moment to survey the scene, before shaking his head in disdain and uttering the immortal phrase: "Jaysus George, where did it all go wrong."