Wednesday 27 October 2010, 11:02 | By CMU Editorial

Cheryl Cole to ‘amplify’ advertising with Facebook Places

Digital

In a campaign similar to one launched by James Blunt last month, Cheryl Cole has announced (or rather her label, Universal/Polydor has) that she will use Facebook Places to promote her new album, ‘Messy Little Raindrops’, which is out on 1 Nov.

Outdoor poster advertising for the album will invite fans to ‘check-in to win’. At this point, if they pull up Facebook’s app on their smartphone and register their location on Facebook Places, they will be added to a prize draw to win various prizes, including two tickets, travel and accommodation to see a live ‘X-Factor’ show. It will also announce the album’s release to the person’s Facebook friends.

Polydor Digital Marketing Manager Aaron Bogucki told CMU: “Location-based apps like Facebook Places are allowing marketers to amplify offline advertising directly into users Facebook walls. Whereas outdoor advertising was a one-dimensional experience, with this campaign we’re allowing fans to actively engage with the ad and help spread the message across their network. Furthermore any consumer who enters the sweepstakes becomes a fan of Cheryl’s Facebook page, opening up another channel for engagement”.

Paul Smernicki, Director of Digital, Polydor added: “Cheryl has a massive profile as a celebrity so we wanted to create an engaging mechanic that gave Cheryl the artist cut through. We also feel that this part of the overall Cheryl campaign gives fans all across the country a physical location to engage with and be part of the excitement around the release of her new record, whether they live in London or Stockport – no one is excluded”.

They have phones in Stockport now?

Students – vote in the Record Of The Day Awards

Awards Media

Calling all students, calling all students. Yes you, pay attention now. You have just five days to put yourselves forward for the student categories in the Record Of The Day Music Journalism & PR Awards. So if you are student who writes about music or takes photos of music people and you fancy winning an award next to the great and the good of the professional music media, then get yourselves over to CMU’s sister website CreativeStudent.net, where you’ll find all the info you need.

And once you’ve done that, do this. Once again Record Of The Day is also inviting student music people to vote for their favourite music journalist and music media. These student voted categories will also be presented at the ROTD awards next month. To vote in the student categories you just need to go to www.recordoftheday.com/awards and click on the student vote button. Do it NOW. Aside from having an influence over two categories at the music media’s premiere awards event, you could win a pair of tickets to the awards bash plus a year’s subscription to Record Of The Day which in itself is worth £150. Woo.

Meanwhile, the rest of you, ie you non-students types. You should also be voting in the non-student categories for this year’s ROTD Awards. Voting is already open in the journalism categories, and the PR categories will be open for voting soon. More info at www.recordoftheday.com/awards

This year’s awards will take place on 25 Nov. Terri Hall will get the Outstanding Contribution To Music PR prize while the rather great Mick Rock will be presented with the Outstanding Contribution To Music Photography prize.

Jedward make complaint about Heathrow staff

And Finally

Jedward have reportedly made a formal complaint against security guards at Heathrow who, they say, have been “bullying” the pop twosome every time they pass through the airport.

A source has told The Sun: “They always pull the twins in for extra screening just to pick on them and try to look big in front of their mates. Then last week, the same guy who usually taunts them pulled Edward in and was joined by three mates. There were four big oafs standing laughing at a nineteen year old kid”. And, it would seem, the complaint is justified, or at least an apology from airport operator BAA is circulating, which would presumably suggest at least some Jedward mocking has been going on. The statement reads: “Nothing excuses the behaviour. We have spoken to the staff members concerned”.

You’d have thought Jedward would be immune to being mocked by now. Though, to be fair, you possibly don’t expect it in a room where people are meant to be concentrating their energies on looking for bombers and suchlike.

Andre on Church’s QVC stint

And Finally

So, Charlotte Church has a new album out this week called ‘Back To Scratch’, the long player at the heart of her previously reported Power Amp-created business venture that is backed by £2 million of City funding.

Obviously keen to keep the money men happy, Church has been doing some heavy promotional work over the last fortnight, which even included a stint last week on shopping channel QVC. It’s not a standard stop off on the music publicity trail, but as The Guardian pointed out, with seven million viewers a month, perhaps it should be.

We’ve resisted mentioning Church’s QVC stint so far because, obviously, what we really wanted to know about the whole thing is this: what does Peter Andre think? But, God be praised, he’s now told us via his column in New magazine.

“I thought this was a really strange thing to do at first”, Andre admitted, possibly shocked Church had actually found a TV channel where he’d never appeared flogging tat himself. “But it turns out it’s her nanna’s favourite channel and she did it to make her happy. I think that’s so funny and I admire Charlotte for being a little bit different”.

So, now you know, and that’s all resolved.

Q&A: Gabby Young And Other Animals

Artist Interviews

Once upon a time, Gabby Young was the youngest ever person to join the National Youth Choir Of Great Britain. These days she’s fronting Gabby Young And Other Animals (the name was a bit of a give away, huh?), playing jazzy, baroque pop with influences from burlesque and cabaret. She and the band released a repackaged version of their 2009 debut album, ‘We’re All In This Together’, this week with bonus tracks and remixes. Ahead of that release, we caught up with Gabby to find out more.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
It was never a conscious decision I don’t think. I just remember growing up around horses, as my mum was a racehorse trainer and wanting to be inside playing the piano. I begged my parents for a violin when I was six and haven’t shut up ever since!

Q2 What inspired your latest album?
Well, it’s mainly autobiographical so things that happen to me, experiencing something I feel would make a good song. I have a song in there that directly talks about my cancer and another that is about finding someone that you want to share things with – but none of it is obvious… I like to dress up my thoughts and feelings in an outrageous costume and send it out onto stage with it’s own persona and character for anyone to read into it how they want. Lots of things inspire me – people and their actions seem top of my list right now.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
It’s actually different every time. Sometimes I have a little melody idea and then chords and lyrics will come later, or I have a few words that I turn into a song. I don’t like to change my lyrics – if I sit down and press record I usually keep what randomly came out and the meaning starts to come clear later on. When it comes to recording in the studio I like to go in with a good idea of what I want but leave the edges frayed so there is room for finishing it there. I am lucky to have a great band and co-arranger, Stephen Ellis, to help me add new bits – like a trumpet line that perfectly finishes my little ditties!

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
People that are independent and creative influence me in all sorts of ways. I wanted to be a opera singer like Maria Callas until I heard Jeff Buckley and decided to write my own music. Then I discovered Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and how to use the guitar, closely followed by an obsession with the jazz era. Nowadays I pick up inspiration from anyone that I think is doing something original or with great style.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
“I hope you like it!” Haha… maybe I’d ask them to give my songs time and take from it whatever you want. I don’t expect everyone to like it but I hope it makes people feel something.

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
I have many ambitions but most of all to create new experiences for people – where music, art, fashion and other forms of culture collaborate to excite and inspire. We are hoping that our upcoming UK tour will do this as we are planning much more than ‘just a gig’ to take across the country. Also next year we will be taking this show much further afield – US, Europe and Australia – and I can’t wait to see how they will perceive us! Who knows what the future holds? I can only hope that we will continue to surprise people and come up with more ways to keep you all interested!

MORE>> www.gabbyyoungandotheranimals.com

Approved: Jessie J – Do It Like A Dude

CMU Approved

“Stomp Stomp, I’ve arrived”, announces Jessie J on her debut single, ‘Do It Like A Dude’. You could argue such an audacious statement was unnecessary, as this Essex girl has already penned songs for the likes of Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus, and has had Justin Timberlake proclaim her to be “the best singer”. But, whatever, if you’re going to arrive anywhere, ‘Do It Like A Dude’ is the song to do it with.

Due for release through Universal/Island on 6 Dec, the track is a great piece of urban pop, far removed from the two ballads that accompany it on her MySpace page. The smart interplay of clean and heavily Auto-tuned vocals is an amazingly effective production technique, particularly towards the end when it’s used in lieu of a key change. And speaking of great production, the single comes backed with amazing remixes by Labrinth and Jakwob.

www.myspace.com/jessiejofficial

Single Review: Paul Smith – Our Lady Of Lourdes (Billingham Records)

Single Reviews

Sweeping his fringe of one giant curled hair out of his eye and under the brim of his ever-present trilby, Maximo Park frontman Paul Smith has set about making his solo effort, ‘Margins’.

‘Our Lady Of Lourdes’ is the first single taken from that very album and definitely goes some way to showing a different side to the man. Seemingly keen to explore the serious artist lurking within this famously energetic and rather eccentric lead singer, Smith has foregone the obvious routes of big choruses and fast guitars topped off with a Northern twang. Instead he has gone for something far subtler, as echoing guitars and a chugging beat are embellished by strange, layered vocals and wailing.

Less direct and far more haunting in both its lyricism and sound than the student union jukebox noise of Maximo Park, ‘Our Lady…’ sounds like a much more mature Smith, and is all the better for it. JL

Buy from iTunes

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Album Review: K’s Choice – Echo Mountain (Sony)

Album Reviews

Another comeback album from ties broken a little less than a decade ago, ‘Echo Mountain’ is the fifth full-length studio recording from Belgian alt-folk outfit K’s Choice.

A band more recognised for their work in the early to mid 90s – when every indie chick’s poster girls of choice were Alanis Morissette and Fiona Apple, and boy was I no stranger to that – K’s Choice did and continue to cater to a certain demographic of coolly sensitive but passionately outspoken young women (and men, I suppose). I’m slightly embarrassed to say I discovered them via a guest spot in an early episode of ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’. But, despite that exposure, they were never so widely embraced as they perhaps should have been.

The new album is split into two discs of seven tracks each and is clean and delicate, sometimes sadly to the point of mundane. But where it shines, it shines, and standout track ‘Killing Dragons’ is geared more towards the echoing and beautiful melancholy that KC are so good at churning out. Though, I remain a little confused as to why it’s been spread across two discs; stylistically, each side is not too different from the other, and the music would work just as well sitting together without a moment for a quick breather. The album is so relaxed as a whole you really don’t need a rest.

‘Echo Mountain’ has been touted as a hopeful rebirth, and while its subtle minimalism and borderline poppy hooks may not reap any new fans, the old ones can be assured that the Betten siblings are more or less back on form. TW

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Album Review: Josephine Foster & The Victor Herraro Band – Anda Jaleo (Fire)

Album Reviews

On her last album, ‘Bright As A Star’, singer Josephine Foster reinterpreted the poems of Emily Dickinson, that doyen of sexually repressed and intensely lonely verse, as folky laments. On ‘Anda Jaleo’ she does the same to the work of Federico Garcia Lorca.

The album’s eleven sparse, meditative tracks are re-imaginings of a series of songs written by one of Spain’s eminent and most enduring writers – songs that were banned under Franco’s reign. Having no Spanish myself, and only being already familiar with Garcia Lorca’s play ‘The House Of Bernard Alba’, the intricacies of the album’s lyrics are lost on me. As a result the record, for the uninitiated, becomes an exercise in guitar and vocal interplay and is, for the large part, somewhat dull.

Castanets crackle in the background every so often and the odd harp is plucked, but the emphasis is on Foster’s delicate voice (and it is, to be fair to the album, a beautiful, haunting, crackly 78rpm voice) and how it intermingles with classic flamenco guitar. This combination faithfully evokes visions of Spanish plazas at dusk, all flouncy skirts, olive skin and cold sangria. But sometimes it’s nicer to have those memories as memories, rooted firmly in time and place, than as an uneventful folk record.

Foster’s intentions should be applauded but not necessarily enjoyed. JAB

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Single Review: Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – The Key (Fire & Manoeuvre)

Single Reviews

Unfortunately, nothing can be said about Ou Est Le Swimming Pool without referring to the tragic way their summer ended, with the band’s lead singer, Charlie Haddon, committing suicide in August. But with condolences and sympathies duly accepted, the remaining members of the trio have forged ahead with the release of their debut album ‘The Golden Year’ and this single.

‘The Key’ doesn’t do anything startlingly different to their previous releases of hook-laden electro-pop, but that’s not a bad thing. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool make the kind of catchy sounds that The Pet Shop Boys wish they could still muster… this typically anthemic single has even got bloody bells on! Only time will tell what the future holds for the band, but for now it should not be overlooked how well put together the music they have already recorded is. JL

Buy from iTunes
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Single Review: Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand (3 Beat Records)

Single Reviews

Dubiously titled duo Duck Sauce is the titanic pairing of Armand Van Helden and A-Trak.

The pair exploded in a hail of afro wigs and platform boots last year with their massive, Final Edition-sampling hit ‘aNYway’. And that was exactly what we expected from the collaboration: A-Trak digs around for a long forgotten golden soul sound while AVH mashes some keys around on his synthesisers and a drum machine, then everything is thrown together to make a perfectly danceable if slightly off-centre club track.

‘Barbra Streisand’, a new entry at number three in the singles chart this week, follows a similar formula but with very different results, as the duo slap us across the face with some generic funky house. The Boney M-sampling beat is nothing special and the obscure reference to the titular large-conked actress is just baffling and, yet, somehow this is really good. Chart position justified, I reckon. JL

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Terra Firma v Citigroup: Wormsley takes the stand

Business News EMI Sale Timeline Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

So Gary ‘The Guy’ Hands wrapped up his testimony in the Terra Firma v Citigroup court case in New York yesterday by reminding us once again that this huge corporate barney is really a story of two men; two former best buddies who fell out spectacularly when their biggest deal together went horribly wrong.

In their report on the proceedings, Reuters remarked how these two men were friends outside the deal making room too, taking in operas, dinner parties and holidays together. They often took their wives along, but when they make this into a movie they’ll probably gloss over that part and turn the whole thing into some kind of love affair. Everything was wonderful before EMI. Now, Gary says, he just feels “betrayed”.

Asked one last time about his relationship with Citigroup’s David ‘The Worm’ Wormsley, who advised both Gary and the bosses of what was then EMI plc during Terra Firma’s big buy into the music business, Hands remarked: “He was a friend. He was someone I trusted. He had given me good information on companies we had purchased in the past”.

But the good information stopped with EMI, Gary claims. As much previously reported, the equity man has spent much of the last week telling a panel of New York jurors that The Worm lied about a rival bidder’s intentions regards EMI to persuade him and his equity company to bid fast and bid high. Had Wormsley not lied – in three phone calls over the two days before Terra Firma’s bid – Gary may never have sunk millions of his and his investors’ money into the sinking ship that was Electrical & Musical Industries.

The Worm, of course, denies lying and insists he never made those three phone calls, though when he slid onto the witness stand yesterday there was barely time for him to confirm his name. Gary’s lawyer David Boies used what time there was to show just what efforts the banker had gone to in order to win his client’s trust.

He showed the court emails between The Worm and Gary, and The Worm and his staff, from back in 2007. One of the latter read “for reasons I won’t go into, we have to show big love to TF”. Wormsley admitted he went out of his way to prove to his equity group client that he was a trustworthy guy. Asked by Boies how he did this, he told the court “principally, [through] my general demeanour toward him. I would always be as truthful and honest as I could be”.

While Wormsley is happy to admit the lengths he went to in order to win Hands’s trust, presumably he will not concur when Boies – as he probably will today – accuses the banker of abusing that trust to get EMI’s shareholders a better deal than they really deserved, at Terra Firma’s expense.

The case continues.

Eddy Temple-Morris joins Cage Against The Machine campaign

Releases Top Stories

Xfm presenter and CMU columnist Eddy Temple Morris has announced that he, along with Ou Est Le Swimming Pool’s Joe Hutchinson, has joined the previously reported Cage Against The Machine project, which aims to get avant-garde composer John Cage’s ‘4’33”’ to Christmas number one.

Proceeds from the sale will go to five charities, including the British Tinnitus Association, of which Temple-Morris is a patron, and CALM, an organisation which seeks to reduce suicide amongst young men, and which Hutchinson became involved with after the tragic death of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool frontman Charles Haddon earlier this year.

Cage’s piece, of course, is four minutes and thirty three seconds of silence, the idea being that, in reality, there is no such thing as silence and that the audience should be driven to appreciate the ambient sounds around them. Eddy writes in his CMU column this week: “I just kept thinking that ‘4’33″‘ for people with tinnitus, and young people with depression, would be a horrid place, and they couldn’t appreciate this piece for its raison d’etre, so we decided to join forces and make this happen”.

For the release, Eddy and co are assembling a team of musicians to record a new version of ‘4’33”’. He explains: “We decided … to put together a band of serious leftfield, avante garde, upcoming and established musicians from many genres, including classical music, and to, in much the same way as Band Aid, get them to a given place at a given time, have a conductor count off and a producer record the atmosphere in that room”.

Join the campaign at www.catm.co.uk or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cageagainstthemachine. You can read Eddy’s column about Cage Against The Machine in full later this afternoon at www.completemusicupdate.com/eddysays.

Ari Up died from cancer, Slits bandmate confirms

Artist News

Tessa Pollit, bassist with The Slits, has confirmed that her bandmate, Ari Up, was suffering from cancer when she died last week, aged 48. She added that she and the rest of the band had not known just how ill their frontwoman had been.

Pollit told the NME: “Ari didn’t want me or the rest of the group to tell anyone that she was ill. [And even] we didn’t realise [just] how ill she was. Out of respect for the family I don’t really want to talk about it. It was cancer, that’s all I’ll say. [She was] a total rebellious soul, such a compassionate person, the original wild child if you will… and a musical genius not really given the recognition [she deserved] in her lifetime”.

Charlatans drummer makes live return

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Charlatans drummer Jon Brookes made a brief live return for the last song of the final date on the band’s UK tour on Saturday, as he continues to recover from a brain tumour.

As previously reported, Brookes collapsed and stopped breathing on stage at the Johnny Brenda’s venue in Philadelphia in September. He received treatment in the US and was initially said to be improving, though the band postponed the rest of their American tour. Back in the UK, he underwent more tests before doctors reached the tumour diagnosis.

Writing on the band’s website, Brookes said: “A huge feeling of goodwill came head on towards me as over 2000 Charlatans fans let me know that I was welcome back on stage. I took the deepest breath and tried to let it flow. I hope it sounded OK, but to be honest I have no real measure, it was like I would imagine doing the 100 metres in the Olympic games would feel like!”

Frontman Tim Burgess revealed late last month that Brookes was hoping to be well enough to return to playing with the band full time for their Australian tour next month. While he recovers, The Verve’s drummer Pete Salisbury has been standing in as the band continue with their touring commitments.

Gene Simmons collapses at airport

Artist News

Does this mean the geeks have found a way to DDoS direct into your brain? Gene Simmons, whose websites recently went down after pro-file-sharing campaigners launched a so called Distributed Denial Of Service attack, was admitted to hospital on Sunday after collapsing at LAX Airport.

According to TMZ, the Kiss man fainted and cut his forehead. After being taken to Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, California it was confirmed he was suffering from dehydration. He was released from hospital yesterday.

Simmons became a target for the pro-file-sharing dudes recently when he said the US record industry should have sued ever single kid who ever illegally file-shared.

Gregory Isaacs dies

Obituaries

Reggae musician Gregory Isaacs died yesterday at his London home, it was confirmed. He was 59 and had been suffering from lung cancer.

Born in Jamaica in 1951, Isaacs began his recording career in the late 60s, scoring his biggest hit, ‘Night Nurse’, in 1982. He worked as a producer and ran his own independent label, African Museum, releasing a number of hits, before signing to Virgin Records in 1978, to release the ‘Cool Ruler’ album (the title later adopted as a nickname for the singer by fans). Issued through Island, his 1982 album, ‘Night Nurse’, like the single it shared its name with, was his biggest commercial hit. However, shortly after its release, Isaacs spent time in prison in Jamaica for having an unlicensed firearm at his home and also cocaine possession.

Although he continued to struggle with drug problems, Isaacs’ career in music carried on up to the present day, with his most recent album, ‘Brand New Me’, released in 2008, while he contributed vocals to ‘Six Months’, a track on Dub Pistols’ ‘Rum & Coke’ album, just last year.

Gregory Isaacs is survived by his wife Linda and children.

Q Awards winners announced

Awards

Okay, those without a strong stomach (by which I mean, people who find mainstream music aimed at the middle-aged sickening) might want to skip this bit. Yes, it’s the ever popular Q Awards, which took place in London yesterday lunchtime.

Florence Welch was the only person who managed to take away more than one award, despite Arcade Fire and Plan B having led the nominations. She picked up Best Track and Best Female gongs. Meanwhile, Kasabian were named The Best Act In The World Today. Yes, best act in the whole world. Kasabian. Well, I did tell you that you might want to skip this bit.

As previously reported, Suede were named the winners of the Inspiration Award and Neil Finn was given the Classic Songwriter Award.

Here are all the winners in full:

Best Male: Paolo Nutini
Best Female: Florence Welch
Best Album: The National
Best Track: Florence And The Machine
Best Live Act: Green Day
Best Video: Chase & Status
Breakthrough Artist: Plan B
Best New Act: Mumford & Sons
Next Big Thing: Clare Maguire
Innovation In Sound: Mark Ronson
Best Act In The World Today: Kasabian

Classic Album: Wings
Hall Of Fame: Take That
Icon: Bryan Ferry
Classic Songwriter: Neil Finn
Idol: Madness
Hero: Chemical Brothers
Inspiration Award: Suede

Coldplay make music to sleep to

Artist News

The last time I accidentally listened to a Coldplay record I was in a coma for four months, so it’s no surprise that the band have topped a poll of acts people like to fall asleep to. More surprisingly, Michael Buble is second. A lot of his stuff is quite upbeat isn’t it? Terrible, but upbeat.

Anyway, yet another a survey by Travelodge has found that 84% of Brits find playing smooth music can aid a good night’s sleep, while 15% said they had a much better night’s sleep if they listened to music as they drifted off. Last time I stayed in a Travelodge I found using the support line for their WiFi service provider helped. After all, there’s only so many times you can hit your head against a brick wall before you’re out cold.

Anyway, here are the acts that make most people feel sleepy:

1. Coldplay
2. Michael Buble
3. Snow Patrol
4. Alicia Keys
5. Jack Johnson
6. Taylor Swift
7. Mozart
8. Barry White
9. Leona Lewis
10. Radiohead

Nine Inch Nails to re-issue debut album

Releases

Trent Reznor has announced that he will release a remastered version of the first Nine Inch Nails, ‘Pretty Hate Machine’, next month. Announcing the news, Reznor said: “UMe [Universal Music Enterprises] and Bicycle Music Group managed to locate the original mixes, so I went in the studio with Tom Baker and remastered it for a greatly improved sonic experience. In addition, Rob [Sheridan, NIN art director] reinterpreted Gary Talpas’ original cover to make for a fresh new package”.

He added: “It’s been an interesting trip watching the fate of this record float from one set of hands to another (a long and depressing story) but it’s finally wound up in friendly territory, allowing us to polish it up a bit and present it to you now. We had fun revisiting this old friend, hope you enjoy”. The album will be released worldwide on 22 Nov.

Crystal Castles to release single with Robert Smith

Releases

Crystal Castles have announced that they will release a new version of ‘Not In Love’ from their latest album ‘Crystal Castles II’. The new version features vocals from a certain Robert Smith of The Cure. The single will also include acoustic demos of ‘Celestica’ and ‘Suffocation’, and will be released on 6 Dec via Fiction.

Underworld dig records

Artist News

Underworld have been talking about why – despite being an act who put content online all the time – they still like to record a full album on occasion. The dance duo’s Karl Hyde was talking to Washington website DCist about their recent long player ‘Barking’.

Hyde: “Since we’ve started doing stuff on the internet, an album is just a thing we release. We publish on the internet every day and have done so for ten years; music, short films, words, links to other artists. The internet has given us the ability to break out of the traditional format of records and racking in record shops”.

He continues: “But the truth is we love records. And records today are a calling card. Unfortunately they don’t sell in the way that they used to, even when we were an indie band in the early 90s. [But] a record is a calling card to say we’re here and we’ve got something new to play for you”.

Beach Boys criticised for miming, badly

Gigs & Festivals

The current incarnation of The Beach Boys, led by founding member Mike Love, have come under fire after fans accused them of miming, badly, at a recent gig in Australia in front of 20,000 people. The band played the first ever concert to be held alongside motor-racing event the Gold Coast 600.

According to reports, many fans drifted away from the gig because of the bad lip-syncing. One gig goer told Sky News: “The Beach Boys were a fraud, they were miming everything. You could tell they weren’t even singing, he [Love] was barely even moving”.

But Shane Howard, the COO of V8 Supercars, which promoted the event, leapt to Love’s defence, though without really addressed any of the criticism. He told reporters: “They really put the crowd in a great frame of mind to end the night. They are rated among the top twelve bands in history and their music is recognised by all ages, all walks of life”.

Bands miming when playing live has been quite a contentious issue down under in recent years.

Take That announce 2011 tour dates

Gigs & Festivals

Take That held a press conference at the Savoy hotel in London this morning to announce their 2011 tour dates. Why they couldn’t just send out an email, I’m not sure.

Sage Francis quits touring

Gigs & Festivals

Rapper Sage Francis has announced that he has decided to stop touring. Whether this means he’s decided to stop performing live altogether isn’t clear.

In a statement posted to his Facebook page, Francis said: “I just finished my very last show of my touring career. No fireworks went off. No confetti dropped from the ceiling. There was no champagne involved. I did push someone with my foot off of the stage. I did grab his crotch and rip a patch of denim off of his jeans. I did tell many jokes and have fun. I did perform songs that I enjoy. I did do an encore. I did go directly back to my hotel room so I could watch this over and over again. I love beautiful things with style. Here’s to being beautiful and stylish at whatever you do”.

The “this” he refers to, by the way, is this: youtu.be/dK9TPs_yUz. And he’s right, it is pretty cool.

Francis released his latest album ‘Li(f)e’ earlier this year.

IFPI welcomes Masterbox raids

Business News Labels & Publishers Legal

The International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry has welcomed a series of police raids as part of an investigation into a bootleg CD operation called Masterbox.

The piracy franchise made boxsets available which contained CDRs carrying MP3s from up to 60 albums at a time. Numerous major league acts illegally appeared on the CDs, which also including some pre-release albums. The boxes were sold at forty euros a shot on mainland Europe, though mainly the Netherlands. It is thought 450,000 copies of 50 editions of the Masterbox series were sold.

This week police from four countries – Belgium, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Spain – raided premises of people believed to be linked to the piracy venture. Three men were arrested and a fourth held for questioning. It’s not the first time buildings have been raided in relation to the Masterbox enterprise, though it’s the first time a cross-border raid has been staged.

IFPI anti-piracy man Jeremy Banks told CMU: “This was a major cross-border anti-piracy action against an operation that we believe was causing very significant losses to the legitimate music industry. Police took action against a gang that had generated millions of euro in illegal revenues by infringing the rights of artists, songwriters and record producers”.

BPI launches Innovation Panel to talk to digital types

Digital

UK record label trade body the BPI has pledged to directly support both new and established digital music services through the creation of a new Innovation Panel. The organisation says the new service will share consumer research, help to identify and value unfulfilled market opportunities, and provide “a unified forum for dialogue with labels on service design and market strategies”.

Some key players in the digital music space bemoan how hard it is to work with the record companies when establishing new services, especially if you’re not in a position to write large upfront cheques.

Because the record industry does not license music collectively in the digital domain, separate talks are required with each content owner and, while all labels have an interest in seeing the launch of viable and engaging new digital services, this often means digital companies feel they aren’t sufficiently supported by the wider industry.

Given the BPI insisted the music business was supporting digital innovation while lobbying for the Digital Economy Act earlier this year, the new panel is presumably an effort to prove there is some collective work going on in the industry to do just that.

Says BPI boss Geoff Taylor: “I am determined that the BPI should do everything it can to help digital services reach their potential and provide the most compelling experience possible for music fans. With this in mind, the BPI Innovation Panel has been created to offer new and existing digital music operators and record labels a forum where they can share consumer insight and drive innovation to meet the different aspirations and needs of every kind of music consumer”.

Times rock critic steps down

Media

Peter Paphides, chief rock critic with The Times, has left the broadsheet, though is expected to continue to write for the paper on a freelance basis. Paphides, who started out his career writing about pop tunes at Melody Maker (RIP) in the early nineties, also worked at Time Out before joining The Times in 2005.

No word yet on a replacement at the daily paper.

Canadian DJ criticised for mocking Bieber fans

And Finally Media

A Canadian shock jock has been criticised by the country’s broadcasting regulator after he lashed out at fans of Justin Bieber.

CFNY-FM’s Dean Blundell started mocking the Biebster’s famously tetchy teen fans after they started bombarding the radio presenter with insults after he’d dissed their hero on Twitter. The radio presenter used the micro-blogging site to confirm he hated the Canadian teen star and his terrible music. He also reportedly insinuated that Bieber was most likely gay. Somewhat unwisely, given most of Bieber’s fans are kids, Blundell then started reading out some of their insults on air and throwing an insult or two of his own back.

He told one female teen Bieber fan to “save your energy for puberty or to fend off your dad tonight while you’re sleepin”, while he remarked that a twelve year old boy who digged the Biebster was almost certainly a “future chugger” (by which he seemingly meant “rent boy”, or at least a gay guy who enjoys giving oral sex, and certainly not someone who bugs you for cash on behalf of charitable organisations).

The Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council unsurprisingly ruled that Blundell’s Bieber fan baiting was inappropriate, calling the comments “gratuitous and unnecessary” and a violation of the Equitable Portrayal Code. That said, the station’s penalty is to read out the Council’s ruling during peak-time twice, which seems rather cushy. Perhaps the CBSC find Bieber’s loony fans a bit tedious too.

Drunk Bono lost in Number Ten

And Finally

Bono has revealed that he once got drunk with Tony Blair in Number Ten Downing Street and then got lost trying to find his way out. Well, that’s what The Daily Star says, anyway.

According to the tabloid, after getting pissed up together, Tony had to go and take a phone call and asked the U2 frontman to let himself out. He failed. Luckily, a guard was on hand to show him the way.

This is basically the top level rock star equivalent of being manhandled by bouncers after someone drops a shot of vodka in your pint at the local night club and you lose control of your faculties. It’s not clear if, having left Club No 10, Bono was beaten up by some local kids or was sick onto the chips he may or may not have bought from a kebab shop on the way home.

It’s also not clear what sort of phone calls the then Prime Minister was taking after drinking vodka depth charges with his rock star mates.

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