Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on May 17th, 2018

Elton John is reportedly set to serenade Prince Harry and Meghan Markle onstage as the two tie the knot at a Royal Wedding set for May 19 in Windsor, Berkshire. It is not known if Sir Elton, who was a close friend of the late Princess Diana and has been close to the royal family for years, will play during the ceremony or the reception. John famously delivered a rewritten version of "Candle in the Wind" as a heart wrenching tribute at Diana's funeral in 1997. - TMZ.com/Billboard, 5/16/18...... The Rock and Roll Playhouse, a family concert tour hosted at the Brooklyn Bowl, The Capitol Theatre and other New York venues, has announced it will stage 16 Grateful Dead-themed shows on Father's Day weekend as it expands across the U.S. in 2018 with shows in Los Angeles, Nashville, Tenn., Boulder, Col. and Berkely, Calif. At a typical concert, a band of local musicians dive into covers of music by the featured acts as the kids frolic underneath a parachute to the beat of the drums or hula-hoop on the sidelines. A spokesperson says this summer's Rock and Roll Playhouse show in New York City will feature the music of such artists as David Bowie, Van Morrison, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley and Simon & Garfunkle, among others. - Billboard, 5/17/18...... Jeff Beck is the subject of an upcoming documentary of his life called Still on the Run: The Jeff Beck Story which covers the guitar legend's life from his days in The Yardbirds through his solo career, with rock legends including his rival Eric Clapton paying tribute. Beck has told Rolling Stone magazine that he was surprised Clapton agreed to take part in the doc. "I must admit there was a tear -- especially with Eric," Beck says. "I never expected him to bother to be in it. I studied his face over and over, just to make sure there wasn't something else going on [laughs]. But no, it was just overwhelming." Beck added that he learned from Clapton's former wife, Patti Boyd, that "there definitely was [rivalry]" between the two, "especially with the Stevie Wonder stuff. He was not too amused about me doing something successful with Stevie. I think that maybe got under his skin a bit." - New Musical Express, 5/17/18...... Speaking of Stevie Wonder, the Motown legend has announced he will play five shows in Las Vegas this summer at the Park Theater starting Aug. 3. The 5,300-seat venue is located at the Park MGM casino-resort, formerly known as the Monte Carlo. It previously hosted the residencies of Cher and Ricky Martin. - AP, 5/16/18...... A two day Julien's auction featuring memorabilia from the likes of Prince, Bob Dylan and George Harrison will be held at the Hard Rock Cafe New York and online during the third weekend in May. The first auction day, on May 18, is dedicated to Prince, the musical legend who died in April 2016. The items include a guitar the artist had commissioned, as well as a number of outfits he wore at different performances, and handwritten lyrics. The second day's items on May 19 include guitars played by Dylan and Harrison, as well as costumes and jewelry. - AP, 5/15/18...... Iggy Pop will be among the headliners at the 2018 Cal Jam festival, set for Oct. 6 at Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, Calif. In 2017, alternative band Foo Fighters helped revive the long-forgotten festival that took place in the '70. Its 1974 concert boasted such rock giants as Deep Purple, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and the Eagles. In addition to Pop, the Foo Fighters will also be headlining the upcoming Cal Jam, along with Tenacious D, Garbage, Silversun Pickups and Manchester Orchestra. Pop will be reuniting with his former backing band Post Pop Depression during his performance. - Billboard, 5/14/18...... Bob Dylan has announced he will kick off his 2018 summer tour in Asia at the Fuji Rock Festival on July 29, 40 years since his first tour of Japan. The festival, held at Naeba Ski Resort, marks Dylan's 101st performance in Japan. After Japan, his tour travels to Hong Kong on Aug. 4 and Singapore on Aug. 6. - Billboard, 5/15/18...... Power pop artist Nick Lowe will release a new EP with Los Straightjackets entitled "Tokyo Bay/Crying Inside" this summer which will feature a cover of Dionne Warwick's 1982 Bee Gees-written (and produced) his "Heartbreaker." Lowe says his easygoing, laid-back version of "Heartbreaker" was a song he played during soundchecks on tour "...something we might play before the show. I always thought it was a really, really great song, and like a lot of Bee Gees songs it really has got sort of hidden depth. I'm a great fan of the Bee Gees; You don't necessarily know what they're singing about a lot of the time, but they just make this fantastic sound and a lot of their songs are really soulful when you strip them all back. And that song 'Heartbreaker' I always thought was a really soulful song. I just started doing it in the soundchecks and then the Straitjackets liked it. They said, 'Let's have a go at doing that' and it really turned out well, I thought." Lowe's new EP will drop June 15 via Yep Roc Records, a week before he kicks off a US summer tour with Los Straightjackets in Jersey City, N.J., on June 22. Lowe says although releasing EPs "was a perfectly legitmate thing to do" in the early days of his career in England, he adds he "doesn't know if anyone buys EPs nowadays -- or albums anymore... everything about the marketing of records nowadays is a complete mystery to me." - Billboard, 5/16/18...... Interviewed at the Global Creators Summit during Canadian Music Week 2018 in Toronto on May 12, legendary producer Steve Lillywhite shared his memories working with such iconic artists as the Rolling Stones, U2, David Byrne and more. Lillywhite said that he was referred to the Stones by Elton John, "who is always on everything," and he went over to Paris and got the job. "So I was brought in by Mick Jagger, but the very funny thing, when I walked into the studio saying hi to all the engineer guys, everyone has these lock knives. Not great knives, it was just a thing to do. Two weeks later, I had my own. You become part of the whole scene [laughs]. I was brought in by Mick, but it was much cooler to hang out with Keith [Richards]. Lillywhite is currently living in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he is running a CD and sports shop, and recently worked on his ninth U2 album and has been producing Indonesian acts. - Billboard, 5/15/18...... In more Rolling Stones news, it has been revealed that the name of the investigation into Pres. Donald Trump's alleged ties with Russia was inspired by the Stones track "Jumpin' Jack Flash." During the pre-election stages of the investigation, it was known as "Crossfire Hurricane" -- a lyric lifted from the band's 1969 classic. Now, The New York Times has confirmed that the code name was in fact a direct reference to the track. "[The lyric] was an apt prediction of a political storm that continues to tear shingles off the bureau," according to a report entitled "The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation." An accompanying post also states that Keith Richards is to thank for the words. "In his book Keith Richards: The Biography, [author Victor] Bockris wrote that Mr. Richards was born amid the bombing and air raid sirens of Dartford, England, in 1943 at the height of World War II. 'I was born with those sirens,' he said." Now run by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III, the investigation is no longer known by the Stones-inspired name. Meanwhile, in an interview with the BBC on May 16, Keith Richards revealed that he once "stuck a knife in a table" in order to "get rid of" private citizen Trump as the promoter of one of their shows. "He [Trump] was the promoter for us in Atlantic City," Richards said. "[It was billed as] 'Donald Trump presents The Rolling Stones' [with the band's name written in miniature]. I got out my trusty blade, stuck it in the table and said: 'You have to get rid of this man!'" Richards added that "now America has to get rid of him. Don't say I didn't warn you!" - New Musical Express, 5/16/18...... The first trailer for the long-awaited Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was released on May 15. It opens with Freddie Mercury, played by actor Rami Malek, wearing a fluttering white cape, engaging in the familiar call-and-response with an audience that was one of Queen's signature live concert staple moves, before cutting to snippets of Malek as Mercury in a gold lame jumpsuit, a black leather outfit and shirtless while wielding the late singer's iconic half microphone stand as the instantly recognizable strains of "Another One Bites the Dust" kick in. The trailer then depicts Mercury's first meeting with guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), and then to a scene in which Brian May plays the central "Rhapsody" riff in the studio and Mercury informs him from the mixing board "this is where the operatic section comes in." The trailer peaks with a glimpse of the massive crowd at Wembley Stadium in 1985 when Queen leaped into history with their unforgettable set at Live Aid. Bohemian Rhapsody will hit theaters on Nov. 2. - Billboard, 5/15/18...... Def Leppard has announced it is teaming up with Seattle's Elysian Brewing Company to craft "Def Leppard Pale," a brand new brew that will make its debut on May 23, the second date of Def Leppard's upcoming coheadlining summer tour with Journey. The potent 6% ABV beer will be available at most stops on their tour, as well as select bars and restaurants. "The best of British beer is the malt body and that beautiful malt balance. And the best thing about American beer is the citrus, piney hops," says Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott. "So we've taken those two aspects, put them together and come up with a beer you can actually drink a few of -- 6% ABV you can drink all night long." The Def Leppard/Journey tour kicks off May 21 and runs through Oct. 7. - Billboard, 5/14/18...... Metallica performed a funky cover of ABBA's "Dancing Queen" when their current world tour hit Stockholm, Sweden, in early May. Metallica are currently covering tunes relevant to the city they're playing in each night, and when in Norway they offered up a version of A-Ha's "Take On Me." - New Musical Express, 5/9/18...... In a new post on his official Facebook page, Neil Young says he's leaving the popular social media site to focus on expanding his NeilYoungArchives.com site, which he describes as "a giant time machine cabinet filled with "albums and tracks, bits and pieces, manuscripts and art, film and video." "Each song is being backed up with the archival material that relates to it and to the creation of it, from song writing, to band jams, the history of this music is there," Young continues. "It's never finished, it is huge and growing. We work night and day expanding the window you can see this archival stuff through. The musician added that as of June 1, he plans to charge $1.99 a month, or $19.99 a year for access to NeilYoungArchives.com. "If you want to hear my music and would like to have the option to listen to it with all the depth and glory of high resolution, it will be there," he says. "All my new records can be heard there first, before they get released anywhere else. New unreleased albums from the archives, old unreleased albums from the archives. Will always be heard there first." Young will kick off a 2018 summer tour on June 28 in St. Louis, also visiting Chicago (6/30, 7/1), Detroit (7/3) and Detroit (7/11, 7/12). - Spin.com, 5/14/18...... During a show in Los Feliz, Calif., on May 11, former Fleetwood Mac member Lindsey Buckingham addressed his departure from the iconic rock band. "I have sadly taken leave of my band of 43 years, Fleetwood Mac. This was not something that was really my doing or my choice," Buckingham said. "I think what you would say is that there were factions within the band that had lost their perspective. It harmed the 43-year legacy that we had worked so hard to build," he said of the group's decision, "and that legacy was really about rising above difficulties in order to fulfill one's higher truth and one's higher destiny." Buckingham refrained from commenting when one audience member yelled "F--- Stevie Nicks." Buckingham was performing at a campaign fundraiser for Mike Levin, a California Democratic congressional candidate. On Apr. 9, Fleetwood Mac issued a statement saying that Buckingham "will not be performing with the band" on its upcoming tour, and "wishes Lindsey the best."I t was also revealed that he would be replaced by former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House's Neil Finn on tour. - Billboard, 5/12/18...... A Prince symphony concert series was announced on May 16, with the funk/rock icon's hits performed by a full symphony orchestra. "4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince" will be co-curated by Questlove of The Roots and feature guest vocalists as well as videos and photos provided by Prince's estate. The 32 concert run will get underway on Sept. 6 in New Brunswick, N.J., and wrap on Oct. 19 in San Antonio, Tex. - New Musical Express, 5/16/18...... A new Robin Williams autobiography dubbed Robin by New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff was released on May 15. Itzkoff shows how Williams's comic brilliance masked a deep well of conflicting emotions and self-doubt, which he drew upon in his comedy and in celebrated films like Dead Poets Society; Good Morning, Vietnam; The Fisher King; Aladdin; and Mrs. Doubtfire, where he showcased his limitless gift for improvisation to bring to life a wide range of characters. Itzkoff also shows how the former Mork & Mindy star struggled mightily with addiction and depression topics he discussed openly while performing and during interviews and with a debilitating condition at the end of his life that affected him in ways his fans never knew. - Macmillan.com, 5/15/18...... Billy Joel's ex-wife Christie Brinkley was spotted chatting with Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, N.Y., on May 13. It's unclear what they were discussing, but Brinkley once claimed Donald Trump hit on her one time while he was married to Ivana Trump, and when she was dating Billy Joel. She said Trump invited her to Aspen on his private jet, but she declined. Avenatti later said that he and Christie are friends: "She's a classy, smart woman with great insight." - TMZ.com, 5/14/18...... Actress Margot Kidder, perhaps best known for her role as Lois Lane on 1978's Superman - The Movie and three Superman sequels, died on May 13 at her home in Livingston, Montana, of as yet undisclosed causes. She was 69. Kidder also starred opposite leading men including Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper and Richard Pryor in Some Kind of Hero. She even appeared in Superman-inspired television series Smallville in 2004 (though as another character). Superman director Richard Donner said he cast Kidder after seeing her on the James Garner western series Nichols, which she appeared in from 1971-72. "She was charming and very funny. When I met her in the casting office, she tripped coming in and I just fell in love with her. It was perfect, this clumsy [behavior]," said in 2016. The Canadian-born actress acquired American citizenship in 2005, and became a political and women's rights activist alongside her acting. "Thank you for being the Lois Lane so many of us grew up with. RIP, Margot Kidder," the official DC Comics Twitter account posted on May 14. - The Hollywood Reporter, 5/14/18...... Acclaimed author Tom Wolfe, who chronicled everything from hippies to the space race before turning his sharp eye to fiction, died on May 15 in a New York City hospital. He was 87. Mr. Wolfe's "new journalism" writing style was rife with exclamation points, italics and improbable words, and among his acclaimed books were The Right Stuff and The Bonfire of the Vanities, a satire of Manhattan-style power and justice that became one of the best-selling books of the 1980s. Mr. Wolfe, known for his signature three-piece white suits, was also an unlikely interloper into the heady LSD parties hosted by Ken Kesey and the Grateful Dead in the mid-1960s. Mr. Wolfe's 1979 book The Right Stuff, about the personal lives of Apollo astronauts, was turned into a hit 1983 movie of the same name starring Fred Ward, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Lance Henriksen, Sam Shepard, Dennnis Quaid and Barbara Hershey. - AP, 5/15/18...... American guitarist/composer Glenn Branca, who played a key role in the nascent "no wave" scene in New York City in the '70s and '80s, died on May 14 after a battle with throat cancer. He was 69. Branca was said a Facebook post from his wife and frequent collaborator Reg Bloor to have "lived a full life with no regrets" and that there will be no public memorial as per the guitarist's wishes. - Billboard, 5/14/18.

Foreigner has topped Billboard's Classical Albums & Classical Crossover Albums chart for the first time with its new live album, Foreigner With the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. The release, which reinterprets some of Foreigner's biggest rock and ballads hits including "Feels Like the First Time" and "Urgent" with a classical twist, moved 3,000 copies in the week ending May 3, according to Nielsen Music. Foreigner has previously topped the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, the Mainstream Rock Songs chart and the Adult Contemporary Songs chart. - Billboard, 5/11/18...... In other chart action, sales of ABBA music in the U.S. has jumped 57% after the quartet announced it has reunited to record new music for the first time in 35 years. On-demand streams of ABBA songs rose 37%, for a total of 6.38 million streams, up from 4.69 million a week earlier. "Dancing Queen" was the most streamed ABBA song, with 1.42 streams which was a 19% increase, and combined sales of the group's catalog of albums and songs jumped by 57% to 11,000 (up from 7,000 the week previous), while the act's overall equivalent album units tally spiked by 39% to 8,000 units (up from 6,000). ABBA also debuted on the Billboard Social 50 chart at No. 35, thanks to a surge in interest of the group on social networks -- especially on YouTube and from visits to the group's Wikipedia page. - Billboard, 5/9/18...... A new career-spanning box set from late Eagles member Glenn Frey, Above the Clouds: The Collection, hit stores on May 10 and showcases many sides of the Detroit-born musician, including his work with the Eagles, solo music and his love for multiple genres, including R&B and soul. Frey's widow, Cindy Frey, says she wants people to remember the diversity of her husband's sound with the new release, which includes Glenn's hit songs, classic songs he covered and the pre-Eagles music he wrote with JD Souther. "It's hard to get beyond the sad part of, the longing of missing Glenn. But in a deep sort of weird way, it's a way of healing and living through grief for our family," Cindy told the AP. Glenn Frey died in 2016 at the age of 67, and his 24-year-old son, Deacon Frey, has been performing with the Eagles in his father's shoes, and his daughter, Taylor Frey, serves as road manager on the Eagles tour, which started up again on May 9 in Vancouver. - AP, 5/10/18...... A new Grateful Dead box set entitled Before the Dead provides a glimpse of late Dead frontman Jerry Garcia's early excursions into fold music. Compiled and assembled by longtime Dead publicist Dennis McNally and TV sound mixer Brian Miksis, Before the Dead boasts 84 tracks over 5 LPs or 4 CDs. The collection spans from May 1961 to 1964, when Garcia was playing often around Palo Alto, Calif., in coffee shops and at local radio stations and playing in such obscure groups as the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers, the Wildwood Boys, and the Black Mountain Boys. Before the Dead follows several collections of Garcia material that have been released in the last several years, including GarciaLive and a stand-alone release of the Hart Valley Drifters, an early folk band that also is featured on the box set. - Billboard, 5/11/18...... A new Prince album comprised of previously unreleased material from the late funk/rock icon's vaults is being planned for 2019. Prince's estate and the Tidal streaming service, which is owned by rapper Jay-Z, announced on May 11 that the as-yet-untitled album will stream exclusively on Tidal for two weeks before it is released in physical formats. It will also be available to download seven days after its debut, though it's unclear if or when the album will be shared with non-Tidal streaming services. An agreement between Prince's estate and Tidal was approved in probate court on May 9, which effectively ended a copyright dispute between the two parties over the streaming service's prior claim to streaming rights of Prince's catalog. The two parties entered into an exclusive agreement before Prince's death in April 2016 that gave Tidal the right to stream Prince's HITnRUN albums, although Tidal claimed it had an arrangement giving it exclusive rights to the artist's entire catalog. - Billboard, 5/11/18...... Iconic pop singer/songwriter Paul Anka has revealed that he and current singing sensation Drake will be teaming up for a new project that will drop in June 2018. "I'm working with a brilliant young artist who is as hot as you can get right now, a fellow young Canadian and his name is Drake," Anka said on May 10 during the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards, where he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from his friend Michael Bublé. "We recorded something that will be released, out in June. That's all I can tell you," he added. Anka, 76, wrote his first No. 1 hit "Diana" at age 15 and went on to pen such classics as "My Way," "Puppy Love," Lonely Boy," "Put Your Head On My Shoulder," "She's a Lady" and "(You're) Having My Baby," as well as the theme to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. - Billboard, 5/11/18...... Michael Jackson will appear on a new Pepsi can as part of the soft drink company's #PepsiGenerations campaign this summer, it was announced on May 11. Jackson will appear alongside similar retro designs featuring Pepsi-affiliated artists including Ray Charles and Britney Spears. #PepsiGenerations highlights Pepsi's biggest pop culture moments over the years, starting with February's "This is the Pepsi" Super Bowl commercial narrated by Jimmy Fallon. Jackson began appearing in Pepsi spots in 1984, when his hair famously caught fire during one shoot. He also appeared posthumously in a series of 2012 Pepsi ads to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his album Bad. The Jackson Pepsi can will also be available in select other countries around the world. - Billboard, 5/11/18...... The Beach Boys have announced they'll make their own foray into orchestral music with a new LP dubbed The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The unique collaboration, due out June 8, will pair some of the iconic American band's classic songs like "God Only Knows," "In My Room" and "California Girls" with an orchestral backdrop. "I always knew the vocal arrangements I did back in the 1960s would lend themselves perfectly for a symphony," Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson says. - Billboard, 5/10/18...... The Rolling Stones have announced details of pop-up stores across the UK that will see some of their most famous outfits going on display. Beginning on May 14 for three weeks, fans will will have the chance to see the band's iconic stage wear at their Corner Shop installation at Selfridges stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham, including a green oak leaf sequin jacket worn by Mick Jagger at Glastonbury in 2013, and a denim jacket worn on the Steel Wheels US tour in 1989. The Stones will launch a massive UK tour later in May. - New Musical Express, 5/8/18...... Stevie Wonder hinted that his next project could be a collaboration with Donald Glover and Childish Gambino during an intimate two-hour set at the Peppermint Club in Los Angeles on May 9. Billed as "The Stevie Wonder Song Party: A Celebration of Life, Love and Music," the show was attended by such celebrities as Motown founder Berry Gordy, actress Angela Bassett, actor/comedian Craig Robinson, T.I., Nick Cannon and actor/activist Jesse Williams. During the evening, Wonder also referenced his forthcoming album, Through the Eyes of Wonder, telling the audience that he wanted to play some of the new material, "but unfortunately, the players don't know it." Wonder, who turns 68 on May 13, also revealed he intends to mount a new national tour behind his new album, although he did not mention a specific start date or itinerary. - Billboard, 5/10/18...... Neil Young has announced he's planning to produce and release a 35-minute film he conceived to go along with his 1982 album Trans some 16 years after it was first conceived. Young says the film was never actually created because his then record company Geffen "pulled the funding for the videos because they didn't like the record," which featured him singing through a vocoder over stiff synth grooves and earned him a lawsuit from the record company. Young says the backstory of Trans is poignant: he created it as a statement about the difficulty of communicating with his son Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy and unable to speak. (Hence the chilly, difficult-to-understand vocals.) The planned film would elucidate this concept more explicitly, featuring "electronic-voice people who were working in a hospital, and the one thing they were trying to do is teach this little baby to push a button," according to the Neil Young bio Shakey. Young also says he plans on releasing "four or five" previously unheard collaborations with his band Crazy Horse via his Neil Young Archives digital library project. - Spin.com/Yahoo News, 5/8/18...... Country music icon Dolly Parton was on hand at a senior center dedication ceremony in her hometown of Sevierville, Tenn., on May 7 to give the facility a new name: the My People Senior Activity Center, in honor of her parents, Robert and Avie Lee Parton. The 72-year-old Parton joked that she's a senior, too, and made fun of her plastic surgery, shouting "girl power" when she saw more women doing woodworking at the center than men. At the event, Parton gave her own secret to staying young: "Be busy, stay active and get involved." - AP, 5/8/18...... Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at the 2018 New Jersey Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Asbury Park Convention Center om Asbury Park, NJ, on May 6 to introduce his longtime friend and guitarist Steven Van Zandt into the hall. The two joined forces onstage and played "I Don't Want To Go Home," trading vocals and eventually welcoming the entire class of inductees -- and many of their family members -- onstage to close the show. "We did the impossible: We made New Jersey hip," said Van Zandt, who is from Middletown, NJ. Other performers getting the nod included Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry, of Hawthorne, NJ. Disco queen Gloria Gaynor, who is from Newark, turned the hall into a giant dance party as audience members leapt from their seats and boogied to her hit "I Will Survive." Frankie Valli, who also is from Newark, and his Four Seasons bandmates Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Joe Long, also were inducted. Bruce Springsteen himself was admitted into the NJHOF a decade earlier. - AP, 5/7/18...... London's AIR Studios, one of the world's largest and most prestigious recording facilities, has been put up for sale by its owners. Founded by Beatles producer Sir George Martin in 1969, the studio has been used by some of the biggest names in music with Paul McCartney, Adele, Coldplay, U2, Muse, George Michael, Kate Bush, Liam Gallagher, David Gilmour, Mumford & Sons and Katy Perry among the many artists to have recorded there. The facility's cavernous hexagonal shaped live room is big enough to house a full symphony orchestra and choir simultaneously, which has also made AIR an in-demand booking for film composers and Hollywood studios. Film scores for Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Wonder Woman, Justice League and Alien Covenant are among recent projects recorded at the state-of-the-art studio, based at Lyndhurst Hall, a Grade II listed converted church in Hampstead, North London, since 1991. AIR Studios also boasts an enviable collection of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment (including one of the world's largest Neve 88R consoles), collectively said to be worth around £3 million ($4 million). Co-owner Richard Boote, who acquired the London facility from Chrysalis Group and Pioneer in 2006, says he and his partner Paul Woolf decided to sell the facility because "we're a pair of old farts, basically." - Billboard, 5/7/18...... Phil Collins announced on May 7 that he'll mount his first major North American tour in 12 years beginning on Oct. 5 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Entitled the "Phil Collins Not Dead Yet, Live!" tour after his recent autobiography Not Dead Yet: The Memoir, the trek will be a limited engagement of 15 shows also visiting Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Newark, NJ, Brooklyn, NY, Montreal, Cleveland, Oh., Columbus, Oh., Minneapolis, Chicago, Oakland, Calif., and Las Vegas before wrapping in Los Angeles on Oct. 28. Collins will be accompanied by musicians including his longtime guitarist Daryl Stuermer and his 16-year-old son Nicolas Collins on drums. - Billboard, 5/7/18...... Redmond O'Neal, the troubled 33-year-old son of Ryan O'Neal and the late Farrah Fawcett, was arrested on May 8 at 3:00 a.m. by the Los Angeles Police Department Pacific Division for robbing a convenient store with a knife. According to an LAPD spokesperson, Redmond "entered the store with a knife and approached the clerk and demanded money from the register. The clerk, who was in fear for his life, gave him the money." Though he fled on foot, O'Neal was caught by officers after matching the description of the suspect. "O'Neal was detained and identified as suspect from the robbery," the spokesperson continued. "Officers found the knife and cash in his possession." O'Neal was taken to jail, and is currently being held with a $50,000 bail. In recent years O'Neal has had multiple arrests, and spent a year in prison after being found guilty of drug charges. He had originally been sentenced to three years in prison for violating his probation in an ongoing drug possession case. He struggled for years with his sobriety, and was released from prison in 2016. - RadarOnline.com, 5/10/18...... German-Israeli singer Abi Ofarim, who had hits including "Cinderella Rockefella" in the '60s with his wife in the musical duo Esther & Abi Ofarim, has died in Munich after a long illness. He was 80. Born Abraham Reichstadt in what is today Israel, Ofarim started performing there with Esther Zaled in 1959, and the two married in 1961. After hits in Germany, their greatest success came with "Cinderella Rockefella," which reached No. 1 in Britain in 1968 and led to appearances in London and New York. After the pair separated in 1970, Ofarim worked as a producer and manager but had little success with a solo career. In recent years he'd been working with a Munich organization to help seniors. - 5/4/18.