Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang Van Halen is blaming the coronavirus pandemic for possibly preventing his late dad from receiving more treatment abroad due to international travel restrictions in place when Eddie died on Oct. 6, 2020, following a battle with cancer. Eddie's cause of death was determined to be a cerebrovascular accident, or a stroke. He also had several underlying causes, including pneumonia, the bone marrow disorder myelodysplastic syndrome and lung cancer. Wolfgang, in an interview with the Washington Post, now reasons that his father might still be here had the pandemic not stopped international travel, which resulted in Eddie not being able to get further radiation treatment. "In the summer of 2020... if I were to open for Van Halen, he would come out and play a solo for a song," Wolfgang said. "That would have been the end-all dream.... I will forever loathe Covid and how it was handled because they stole that moment from me." Wolfgang is gearing up to open for Guns 'N Roses on the US leg of their summer 2021 tour, and his debut album, Mammoth WVH, drops on June 11. 
It features the previously unreleased tracks "Don't Back Down," "Think It Over," "Feel," and "Distance." In February, Wolfgang dedicated a TV performance of the latter song to his late father, with whom he played with in Van Halen. Home videos of Wolfgang as a baby with his dad played behind his new band Mammoth WVH as they performed on the late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, including footage of the pair at the beach and Wolfgang playing the drums. - New Musical Express, 6/3/21...... In other Van Halen-related news, co-founding vocalist David Lee Roth has released a new song titled "Giddy-Up." The track was originally issued to accompany his interactive graphic novel The Roth Project, which debuted online in Nov. 2020 and can be experienced in full at TheRothProject.com. The Roth Project incorporates illustrated visuals with music and narration, all made by Roth. The story blends classic Western with sci-fi themes, imagining a future where artificial intelligence has gained the capability to imitate human behaviour. The 17-chapter comic features original music performed by Roth, written with guitarist John 5 of Rob Zombie's band. "Giddy-Up," which has been shared on YouTube, is the second single to be officially released from its soundtrack, the first being "Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill." The artwork for that single arrived with a dedication to Roth's former bandmate Eddie Van Halen, who died in Oct. 2020. - NME, 6/1/21...... Barbra Streisand is preparing the release of Release Me 2, the follow-up to her 2021 collection Release Me which featured rare and previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1967's Simply Streisand and 2011's What Matters Most. Streisand announced the new LP on her Twitter page alongside the album cover artwork of her face: "Release Me 2 - Coming August 6 - A new collection containing previously unreleased tracks from Barbra's vault." A track-listing for the set of previously unreleased songs is yet to be shared, however the album will reportedly feature "duets with Willie Nelson and Kermit the Frog.... with songs by Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Barry Gibb, Paul Williams, Randy Newman and Carole King," among others. Streisand's last studio album was 2018's Walls, which she said was inspired by ex-Pres. Donald Trump and the political climate at the time. "These times gave me energy," she said in an interview then. "I felt so passionate about it. And music gave me that creative way to express my feelings." - Music-News.com, 6/3/21...... 
Webster's Dictionary defines "pansexual" as "a person who is not limited or inhibited in sexual choice with regard to gender or activity," and The Who's Pete Townshend has revealed that he thinks he used to be one. In an interview with The Daily Star's "Wired" column the guitarist/singer said at one point in his life he would have been involved sexually with anybody, regardless of their biological sex, gender or gender identity. "With 'I'm A Boy' [a 1966 The Who single] it's the idea of masculinity and the way that men are seen to be at a time when I often forget, to be homosexual, to be pansexual, as I think I probably was, but not anymore. But I think I was ready to fall into bed with anybody that would have me," Townsend said. He continued: "I think I forget that homosexuality was still illegal, so these adventures had to be couched in vignettes of humour and irony." In February 2021, Townsend told the UK's Uncut mag that he's been working on new music and "wants to make another" record after Covid 19 restrictions ease if it makes financial sense. "If the moment comes, I'll go in and start," he said. The Who's last album was 2019's WHO, their first record in 13 years. - NME, 6/1/21...... KISS vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley is praising a "really good" and "interesting" script for the forthcoming KISS biopic Shout It Out Loud helmed by Pirates of the Caribbean 5 director Joachim Rnning. In an interview with the UK's Download Festival host Kylie Olsson on June 1 ahead of KISS's headline slot at this year's festival, Stanley said: "Look, you get once chance to do it, and I would rather not do it than do it half assed or poorly. Our director is the real deal. He did Maleficent 2, and he's not some hack; he knows how to make movies. It should be great. Casting hasn't begun yet. But that will be interesting too." When Stanley was asked which actor he would like to play him in the forthcoming film in the interview, which has been shared on YouTube, he answered: "For casting to be accurate in terms of age, we are looking at actors in their early 20s. Honestly, I don't know a whole lot of actors in their early 20s. When people get asked these kinds of questions, they'll say, 'Oh, Brad Pitt,' or this one or that one. Well, those guys are in their 50s or 60s, so you're talking about another generation of actors. And I'm the first to say I'm not up on a lot of them." He continued: "But as the casting process goes on, I'll certainly be there and watching. It'll be interesting to see how someone else -- be it the casting people or the director -- how they view who I am and who they see doing that. I think I'll learn a lot about their perception of me by who they cast." Shout It Out Loud is a co-production of Atmosphere Entertainment and Universal Music Group, and Netflix is reportedly close to securing a deal for it. - NME, 6/2/21...... 
Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters has shared the liner notes for the band's remaster of its 1977 Animals album, claiming his ex bandmate David Gilmour wanted them removed because of credit disputes. Waters is alleging that Gilmour wanted the true extent of his songwriting and artistic contributions buried because, as Rogers put it, Gilmour intended to "claim more credit...than is his due." In a Twitter post on May 31, Waters pointed fans to his official website RogerWaters.com for more details on how he claims Gilmour "does not dispute the veracity" of the liner notes, which place Waters at the center of the project's conception, songwriting and cover art design, but that Gilmour "wants that history to remain secret." "What precipitated this note is that there are new James Guthrie Stereo and 5.1 mixes of the Pink Floyd album 'Animals', 1977. These mixes have languished unreleased because of a dispute over some sleeve notes that Mark Blake has written for this new release," Waters noted in his message. He continued: "This is a small part of an ongoing campaign by the Gilmour/Samson [Polly, Gilmour's wife] camp to claim more credit for Dave on the work he did in Pink Floyd, 1967-1985, than is his due. Yes he was, and is, a jolly good guitarist and singer. But, he has for the last 35 years told a lot of whopping porky pies about who did what in Pink Floyd when I was still in charge. There's a lot of 'we did this' and 'we did that', and 'I did this' and 'I did that.'" Waters went on to post Blake's liner notes, which will not feature on the long-delayed remastered release of the iconic prog-rock band's 10th album. Elsewhere in the post Waters said that he's been working on his memoirs during the coronavirus pandemic, and in his forthcoming book he will reveal more instances where it's alleged that Gilmour claimed too much credit. - NME, 6/1/21......Queen drummer Roger Taylor has announced he'll launch a 14-date solo UK tour this fall, launching on Oct. 2 at the O2 Academy in Newcastle. The "I'm In Love With My Car" singer, who will release his sixth studio album Outsider the day before, will be performing cuts from that LP alongside Queen classics and also visit Manchester, York, Cardiff, Liverpool, Norwich, Bath, Bournemouth, Plymouth, Nottingham, Bexhill, Guilford and Coventry before wrapping on Oct. 22 at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. Ticket information can be found on the Shop.EMI.com site. News of Taylor's solo tour follows Queen + Adam Lambert summer 2021 tour being rescheduled for 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tour will be Taylor's first live performances outside Queen in more than two decades. - NME, 6/1/21...... 
Famed American criminal defense attorney F. Lee Bailey died on June 3 under hospice care in Atlanta, Ga., after a period of ill health, one week before his 88th birthday. Mr. Bailey's name first came to nationwide attention for his involvement in the second murder trial of Sam Sheppard, an Army surgeon accused of murdering his wife. He later served as the attorney in a number of other high-profile cases, such as Albert DeSalvo, a suspect in the "Boston Strangler" murders, heiress Patty Hearst's trial for bank robberies committed during her involvement with the Symbionese Liberation Army, and US Army Capt. Ernest Medina for the My Lai Massacre. Mr. Bailey was also a member of the so-called "dream team" in the trial of former football player O. J. Simpson, who was accused of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. For most of his career he was licensed in Florida and in Massachusetts, where he was disbarred in 2001 and 2003 respectively, for misconduct while defending marijuana dealer Claude Louis DuBoc. Following his disbarment, he moved to Maine, where he ran a consulting firm. He later sat for the bar exam in the state of Maine, though in 2013 he was denied a law license by the Maine Board of Bar Examiners, a decision upheld by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in 2014. Mr. Bailey also once participated in a mock trial about the Paul McCartney "Paul Is Dead" rumor that was aired locally in New York City on Nov. 30, 1969, and was never re-aired. He was also the host of the short-lived TV series Good Company on ABC in 1967 and the syndicated Lie Detector show in 1983. Mr. Bailey was married four times and had two sons from his first marriage and another son from his second marriage. - Wikipedia.com
Grammy-winning pop singer B.J. Thomas, known for such million-selling hits as "Hooked on a Feeling" and the No. 1 "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", died on May 29 at his home in Arlington, Tex., due to complications from stage four lung cancer. He was 78. Thomas's official Twitter page confirmed the news later in the day with the brief post: "It is with profound sadness we confirm the passing of BJ Thomas." Born in Hugo, Okla. on Aug. 7, 1942, Thomas grew up in Houston, Tex. where he absorbed a wide range of influences, from Hank Williams' traditional country to the soul of Jackie Wilson and Little Richard. From humble origins of singing in church, Thomas first found success with a cover of William's "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" in 1966, which became his first million-selling single. Over his career, Thomas won five Grammys, sold 70 million albums worldwide and has eight No. 1 hits and 26 Top 10 singles. Among his hits were "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song", "I Just Can't Help Believing," "Don't Worry Baby," and "Hooked on a Feeling." Thomas' hit single "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, won the best original song award at the Academy Awards as part of the classic Paul Newman and Robert Redford film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. 
Sales soared to over 2 million copies and the tune has continued to find its place in such beloved movies as Forrest Gump and Spider-Man 2. Shortly after his chart-topping single, Thomas fell into substance abuse. He cited meeting his wife Gloria as a turning point, at which point he became a born-again Christian, quit drugs and turned to gospel music as a way of expressing his faith. His 1976 album, Home Where I Belong, earned a Grammy and a Dove Award. Beyond his beloved hits, Thomas also sang the theme song for the sitcom Growing Pains, "As Long As We've Got Each Other," and voiced several commercials for companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi. He also appeared in the film Jory and Jake's Corner, and penned his autobiography, also titled Home Where I Belong. Thomas is survived by Gloria, who he was married to for 53 years; their three daughters, Paige Thomas, Nora Cloud and Erin Moore and four grandchildren, Nadia Cloud, Keira Cloud, Ruby Moore and Billy Joe Moore. "I'm so blessed to have had the opportunity to record and perform beautiful songs in pop, country, and gospel music, and to share those wonderful songs and memories around the world with millions of you," Thomas said in a statement when he was first diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in March and was admitted to a Texas health care facility for treatment. A private funeral will be held soon, and the family says in-memoriam donations can be made to Mission Arlington, Tarrant Area Food Bank and the SPCA of Texas. - Variety/New Musical Express, 5/29/21.
The Village People have spoken out about their recent Grammy Hall Of Fame induction, claiming the Recording Academy doesn't pay enough attention to classic artists. The '70s disco stars' classic anthem 
Meat Loaf announced on Mar. 22 he is launching a new reality competition series called I'd Do Anything For Love... But I Won't Do That. The show is based on the Texas rocker's 1993 hit single of the same name, which appeared on his sixth studio album Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell. According to Deadline.com, the relationship-based program is being produced by Nobody's Hero -- the production company of Christopher Potts and Jonty Nash, who are two of the people behind Netflix's Nailed It!. Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, will serve as an executive producer on the project. The musician previously dabbled in the world of reality TV when he appeared as a contestant on the US version of The Apprentice in 2011. - NME, 3/22/21...... A suit once worn by David Bowie is expected to reach between £10,000-£15,000 when it is auctioned in March. The two-piece suit was worn by the rock legend on a single night out at historic New Romantic hang-out The Blitz Club, and was claimed by legendary promoter Steve Strange after it became left in London club's cloak room. Bowie left the Issey Miyake-designed suit behind after noticing several cigarette burns on it, and changed into a fresh outfit. It eventually made its way into the hands of musician Jayce Lewis, who is auctioning the suit. Specialist Stephen Ferguson at Auction Antiques said: "Unusual items with a famous history are always the best and as a lifelong Bowie fan, this piece ticks all the boxes, as it will with other Bowie fans." - NME, 3/23/21...... Elton John has recruited rising singer Dua Lipa and actor Neil Patrick Harris to help celebrate the 2021 Oscars with a livestreamed pre-party special. John has been hosting his annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards event for the last 29 years, but with ongoing COVID concerns, he has decided to mark the run-up to Hollywood's big show on Apr. 25 with a virtual countdown bash. Harris will co-host the one-hour party with Elton and his husband, producer David Furnish, while Dua will be among the performers, with others set to be announced in the coming weeks. "This year, we are bringing our Oscar Party into people's homes for the first time virtually for an unforgettable evening with David, myself, our dear friend Neil Patrick Harris, and the incredible Dua Lipa plus many fabulous surprise names," Elton said in a statement. The event will stream at four different times to line up with each region's Oscars broadcast, with North America's taking place live at 7:00 pm EDT on Apr. 25 -- just before the awards take place in Los Angeles. - Music-News.com, 3/23/21...... The ashes of late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister were placed in bullets and given to his closest friends, it has been revealed by Riki Rachtman, former host of the MTV show Headbangers Ball. Sharing his Lemmy-engraved bullet on 
Controversial conservative rocker Ted Nugent has responded to allegations of racism, denying the claims and calling himself "the anti-racist." Nugent's remarks came after it was recently revealed that he lost a sponsor for his TV show Spirit Of The Wild due to allegations of racism made against him. Saying he "paid homage and reverence to the black heroes of music" for his entire life in a 
Veteran actor George Segal, known for his everyman quality, often playing an unlucky-in-love professional or writer who gets in over his head in such films as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Bye Bye Braverman, 
In a new interview with USA Today, KISS vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley said he doesn't "really see a reason" for KISS to deliver any new music before they finally call it a day when their current "End Of The Road" farewell tour comes to a close. "I don't really see a reason for it, to be quite honest," Stanley said. "For the most part, when classic bands put out new albums, they're looked at and listened to and thrown away because they don't have the gravitas, they don't have the age that comes with something being a time capsule or being attached to a certain period of your life." Stanley continued: "I'm not alone in that. When you see any classic bands on TV or if there's a concert video, turn off the sound and I'll tell you every time they're playing a new song because the audience sits down. So it's odd to me that people always want you to do a new album, but then they go, 'That's great. Now play your hits.' So honestly, at this point, there isn't a real reward in it. There's much more of a reward in changing lanes -- I'm still going forward." Instead of new KISS music, Stanley says he's busy on recording the debut album from his Soul Station side project. The last KISS album was 2012's Monster. In other KISS-related news, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has taken to Twitter again to blast people who are skeptical of wearing face masks amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "You must stop at a red light, and you must put on your seatbelt, and you can't drive over the speed limit. Your rights stop if you effect others. So why should you have a say in not wearing a mask in public?," Simmons posted on his 
As the new Aretha Franklin biopic Genius debuts on Mar. 21 on the National Geographic cable channel, the Queen of Soul's family has spoken out against the series, saying they "do not support it." Franklin's granddaughter Grace recently posted on TikTok about the show, which stars Cynthia Erivo as the late soul singer, and her family's feelings on it. "As the immediate family, we feel that it's important to be involved with any biopic of my grandma's life, as it's hard to get any accurate depiction of anyone's life without speaking to the ones closest to them," Grace said. Grace's father -- and Franklin's son -- Kecalf has also spoken to Rolling Stone about Genius, who said any communication between the family and National Geographic ended when his cousin Sabrina Garrett-Owens stepped down as the representative of Franklin's personal estate. Kecalf said the Franklin family's lawyers reached out to NatGeo to "see the film and say what we like and what we didn't like about it" but they responded that it was "too late, production had already wrapped up and that they didn't want to work with us." He added that the family's issues with Genius were not related to money. "This is about common, decent respect for our family. If I was to do a movie on your family, I would try and speak with you, your sons, daughters, grandchildren and people like that. And we just never felt like we got a shot to speak to them freely from my heart about our family member," he said. A spokesperson for NatGeo said in a statement that both parties had the same goal -- "to honour and celebrate the life and legacy of Aretha Franklin" and they "worked with many people who knew Ms. Franklin -- from Clive Davis to members of her family's estate -- to make sure we told her story in an honest and authentic way." Meanwhile, another Aretha biopic with Jennifer Hudson in the lead role, Respect, is currently set to premiere in the US on Aug. 13, 2021, after being delayed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic. - NME, 3/21/21...... In other soul music news, expanded digital editions of The Jacksons' last three studio albums will drop on Apr. 30, Epic Records and Sony's Legacy Recordings has announced. The three LP's, 1980's Triumph, 1984's Victory and 1989's 2300 Jackson Street, will be reissued with bonus tracks. On Mar. 21, a new remix of their song "Can You Feel It" featuring spoken word recordings from the late Martin Luther King's acclaimed "The Drum Major Instinct" speech at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta in 1968 was released. It also features excerpts from former Pres. Barack Obama's first inauguration speech. On Mar. 26, a 2-LP 12" vinyl edition of The Jacksons Live! from their 1981 North American "Triumph Tour" will be released. In February, extended editions of 1977's The Jacksons LP, 1977's Goin' Places and 1978's Destiny were released. The Jacksons last toured in 2019, when Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon Jackson embarked on a World Tour. - Music-News.com, 3/19/21...... 
In an interview in the new Reader's Digest, former Police frontman Sting said he regrets reuniting with the Police in 2007, labeling it "an exercise in nostalgia." Bassist/vocalist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stuart Copeland reunited in 2007, 19 years after they split, and then embarked on a global tour the year after. Sting said the reunion didn't leave him feeling the way he hoped it would. "At the time I labelled the tour an exercise in nostalgia. That was simply how I felt and is still how I feel today," he said. "I think it's OK to be honest about your feelings and that was the way it went for me. That's not a slight on the people I was with or the way things panned out, it's just how I saw it by the end, and let s be honest, that's not how I wanted to remember it. If I thought that would be the emotion I'd be leaving with, I wouldn't have done it in the first place," he added. Meanwhile, Sting, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, and Sleater-Kinney are among the special guests who will feature on the upcoming new series of Audible's Words + Music. - NME, 3/21/21...... Nathan Apodaca, the man who went viral in 2020 for miming along to Fleetwood Mac while drinking Ocean Spray on a skateboard, is selling the original video as a non-fungible token (NFT). Apodaca's TikTok video caught the attention of millions last September, including Fleetwood Mac themselves, with bandmembers even re-creating the skater's ode to "Dreams." The feel-good video also secured him a virtual spot at Pres. Joe Biden's inauguration in January. On Mar. 19, Apodaca put his 23-second clip on auction as an NFT with a reported starting bid of $500,000 (£358,437), according to TMZ.com. They added that Apodaca sees giving someone else ownership as a way to spread his success around, since he has made lucrative gains from it. The video, however, will not include the original audio snippet of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" because he does not own the copyright. The viral star reportedly plans to use the money earned from the auction to buy his parents a house and open an event center in his hometown of Idaho Falls. - NME, 3/18/21...... In a new interview with Cleveland.com, former Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler announced that he is working on his autobiography. Butler says he's halfway through writing the book, in order to give his grandchildren a look back at his illustrious career. "I started out because when my parents died, I always wished I'd asked them a lot more things than I knew about," Butler said. "I don't really know much about my mum and dad, 'cause they were always just there. So, I started writing a memoir for my grandkids to read, and that's been fun going through stuff -- old times and growing up in Birmingham, and all that. I'm right in the middle of doing that at the moment." Meanwhile, former Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne is under attack from another former co-host of her talk show The Talk as she battles back from an awkward stand-off on the daytime show and racism allegations. A day after Leah Remini told the New York Post she heard Sharon call a former Asian-American sidekick "slanty eyes" and "wonton," actress Holly Robinson Peete has blasted Sharon for the way she handled the controversy. Peete took to social media and wrote: "If your only response to a disgusting allegation of racist behavior is to tell 'little people' to 'f--- off' you're clearly not holding yourself accountable." Sharon shocked many with a denial statement on Mar. 17, when she repeated the word "wonton" twice and told her critics to "f--- off." Osbourne's war of words began on an episode of The Talk in the third week of March, when she was challenged over comments she made during the live show defending her longtime friend Piers Morgan following his controversial take on Prince Harry and Megan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey. An exchange between Osbourne and co-host Sheryl Underwood became heated when the comedian suggested Morgan's comments were racist. CBS network bosses put The Talk on hold while they investigate the incident and Osbourne is considering whether she will return to the show when it re-airs the following week. - NME/WENN-Canoe.com, 3/18/21...... 
During a Zoom Q&A session on Mar. 18 to promote his new EP 
Director Edgar Wright's new documentary on the '70s L.A. pop-rock duo Sparks will be released in US and Canadian cinemas later in 2021. The Sparks Brothers will investigate the careers of brothers Ron and Russell Mael over five decades, complete with an archive of TV and concert clips. A string of musical guests were interviewed for the documentary, including Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, Alex Kaprano of Franz Ferdinand, and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Sparks Brothers premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier in 2021. Now, Edgar Wright has confirmed on 
Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote the upcoming 40th anniversary reissue of their 1984 album Stop Making Sense, Talking Heads said that they didn't want the album to be "too Spinal Tap." When host Jimmy Fallon asked the band whether they had approached Jonathan Demme, the director of their Stop Making Sense film, with any "notes" on how he should capture their performance onscreen, Talking Heads bassist/singer Tina Weymouth said, "We said, 'We don't want all the gimmicks. We wanted the cameras to be like a sensitive eye; the way an audience member would be seeing it, without the camera getting in the way and playing around.'" She went on to say that the group wanted "no split screen" and "no interviews" to be featured. "That would be too Spinal Tap," Weymouth added, referring to the classic comedy rock mockumentary -- which was released the same year as Stop Making Sense. Later in the interview, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne recalled how he had "improvised" his famous dance moves for the Stop Making Sense performance. "I'd be inspired by preachers or people feeling the spirit," he explained. "And I'd see the kind of moves they were doing. I felt [like], 'Oh! Music makes me feel like that, too.'" Byrne added: "I put on some of the music [to rehearse] -- some of our songs -- and go, 'This might make me move in a certain way. How do I wanna move with this song?'" The singer then watched some of the old rehearsal footage back in the talk show studio. He said: "Those moves that you just showed everybody - none of those ones got used. So still available! [Laughs]" The 40th anniversary edition of the Stop Making Sense album will be released along with the remastered live film on July 26 as a 
London's High Court has ordered disgraced '70s glam-rocker Gary Glitter to pay over £500,000 in damages to a victim he was convicted of sexually abusing. Glitter (real name Paul Gadd), had the lawsuit filed against him in March by one of the three victims he was convicted of assaulting in the landmark 2015 case. The incidents originally took place between 1975 and 1980. Gadd denied all the charges, but was acquitted of three other counts. In the current lawsuit, Gadd was ordered to pay over £500,000 to the claimant. He may also have to pay her legal fees, though that is currently undecided. Gadd did not respond to the compensation claim or attend the hearing. In the decision, the judge began the assessment of damages by stating: "There is no doubt that the claimant was subject to sexual abuse of the most serious kind by the defendant when she was only 12 years old and that has had a very significant adverse impact on the rest of her life." According to the document, Gadd met the claimant and her mother backstage at one of his shows and "plied them with champagne," eventually isolating the young girl and assaulting her. The judge wrote there were "further sexual assaults," including an incident taking place at Gadd's house in London. "Gadd's refusal to engage with the process merely proves his utter lack of remorse, something we will be reminding the Parole Board about if he makes another application for early release.," the claimant's lawyer told The Guardian. "We will be pursuing Gadd for payment and will continue to support our client through this process." A parole board recently ruled that Glitter will remain in prison until his next hearing. - NME, 6/12/24...... Legendary producer/songwriter/musician Quincy Jones is set to receive an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' 15th Governors Awards on Nov. 17 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. It will be the second honorary Oscar for Jones, 91, who was voted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1994. Jones accepted that award on the Oscar telecast in 1995 from his longtime friend Oprah Winfrey, saying in part, "This moment, this evening, this spot where I stand tonight was not my destination when I was young and full of vinegar. I did not engineer this journey. To tell you the truth, I don't think I could even see this far. And now that I'm older and full of wonder, I can see that maybe other forces were at the wheel." Jones has received seven Oscar nominations, but has yet to win a competitive Oscar (keeping him from being an "EGOT" (Emmy/Grammy/Oscar/Tony) winner). Nonetheless, Jones has made Oscar history many times. He was the first Black musician to be hired as music director on the annual Oscar telecast, and in 1967, he became the first Black composer to receive an Oscar nomination for best original song for "The Eyes of Love" from Banning. Other films in which he has been nominated for an Oscar include In Cold Blood (1967), The Wiz (1978) and The Color Purple (1985). The Honorary Award is given "to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences of any discipline, or for outstanding service to the Academy." - Billboard, 6/12/24...... Alexander Morris of the legendary R&B vocal quartet The Four Tops has sued a hospital for alleged racial discrimination and false imprisonment. Morris has filed the lawsuit against a Michigan hospital, who he claims put him in a restraining jacket when Morris told them he was in the legendary Motown group. The Four Tops singer went to the emergency room at Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital on Apr. 7, 2023, as he was apparently suffering from chest pains and had difficulty breathing whilst singing and touring with The Temptations. However, upon telling the hospital about his profession, Morris alleges white hospital staff "wrongfully assumed he was mentally ill" and placed him in "a restraining jacket and/or a four-point restraint mechanism." He went on to accuse staff of removing his oxygen, and ordering him to wait for a compulsory psychological evaluation. The lawsuit also claims staff refused to confirm his identity, his "significant" history of cardiac disease, or even see his identification card. According to Morris, upon offering to show his card, a white male security guard told him to "sit his Black ass down": "None of the nursing staff intervened to stop the racial discrimination and mistreatment," the lawsuit also reads. Morris was said to have been released from his straitjacket upon convincing a nurse to watch a video of him performing at the Grammys (Morris has been part of the group since 2019). The nurse apparently then "realized" he was a member of the Four Tops and told other hospital staff; only then was the psychological evaluation said to have been cancelled and Morris released from his restraints and treated. The lawsuit alleges he was eventually diagnosed with a "severe heart condition and pneumonia." According to the lawsuit, a hospital security guard contacted Morris afterwards to notify him the guard who restrained him allegedly had a history of making racist comments and "frequently used excessive force with patients." The guard also claimed employees tampered with Morris' incident report, and that employees were instructed not to discuss what took place. In a statement sent to Rolling Stone, Ascension Hospital said although it couldn't comment specifically on the incident, "we do not condone racial discrimination of any kind. The health, safety and well-being of our patients, associates and community members remains our top priority. We remain committed to honouring human dignity and acting with integrity and compassion for all persons and the community." - NME, 6/12/24...... 
Styx and Foreigner kicked off their co-headlining Renegades & Juke Box Heroes Tour on June 11 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Touring together for the first time in a decade, the two classic rock icons will visit 36 North American dates through August, and will also release a joint compilation album, Renegades & Juke Box Heroes, on vinyl in conjunction with the trek. Available at tour stops and, as of July 12, at retail, it features four songs from each band, divided onto separate sides. With former The Babys frontman John Waite opening, the tour will be filled AOR-era hits, from Foreigner's "Feels Like the First Time," "Cold As Ice," "Urgent," "Juke Box Hero" and "I Want to Know What Love Is" to Styx's "Lady," "Come Sail Away," "Renegade" and "Mr. Roboto." Foreigner, in the midst of a farewell tour that's slated to go into 2025, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Oct. 19 in Cleveland after its first nomination, following an extensive campaign spearheaded by founder Mick Jones' son-in-law Mark Ronson. Styx is still waiting for that honor but has been (comparatively) prolific in the last decade, with new albums in 2017 (The Mission) and 2021 (Crash of the Crown). "It's always been good, the respect and admiration we have for Foreigner and their music," Styx's Tommy Shaw told Billboard of the kinship between the two groups. "They're going for excellence all the time, and they're achieving it. I think they are also true to the DNA of the music and really do a great job of playing the songs people have loved for so many years." Current Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen adds that, "Both bands came out of the same era, the same kind of machinery of the time, of the '70s, when recording techniques were expanding colossally, when all different kinds of bands on a wide spectrum were all on the same radio station together, when every song you heard was completely different. It was a really a bountiful time, and I think that's something both of these bands have experienced that kind of bonds us and creates a camaraderie." - Billboard, 6/11/24...... Gladys Knight glistening through renditions of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia," and Patti LaBelle kicking off her shoes during a spirited rendering of "Oh, People" were only two of the events that wowed the audience of the Juneteenth celebration on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. on June 10. The second White House concert in celebration of Juneteenth was a joyous affair from start to finish. Knight's and LaBelle's performances were bookended by opening remarks from Vice-Pres. Kamala Harris and closing comments from Pres. Joe Biden, who both stayed for the entire event that took place three years after Pres. Biden signed bipartisan legislation establishing June 19 as a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. Musical performances spanned a gamut of genres and decades, with the likes of Anthony Hamilton, Brittney Spencer, Trombone Shorty, Raheem DeVaughn, Doug E. Fresh and Patina Miller also taking the stage. - Billboard, 6/11/24...... Peter Frampton was honored with the 2024 Les Paul Spirit Award at the Gibson Garage Nashville on June 9, which would have been Paul's 109th birthday. Frampton spoke about his admiration for and friendship with Les Paul, after which he performed. The award was made from a piece of wood from Les Paul's acoustic wall from his home in Mahwah, N.J., and was presented by Michael Braunstein, executive director of the Les Paul Foundation, in partnership with Gibson Gives. The annual award, created and presented by the Les Paul Foundation (this year, in partnership with Gibson Gives, the philanthropic division of Gibson), goes to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the late Les Paul through innovation, engineering, technology and/or music. In addition to the award, a grant from the Les Paul Foundation will be made in the honoree's name to the charity of his choice. Frampton is the fourth recipient of the award, following Bob Weir, Nile Rodgers and U2's The Edge. - Billboard, 6/11/24...... Elvis Presley's actress granddaughter Riley Keough has cowritten a book with Lisa Marie Presley based on her late mother's writings and tapes which Lisa Marie requested Riley to help her finish only a month before Lisa Marie's 2023 death. Entitled 
Steve Nicks brought her solo headling summer to Connecticut's 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena on June 9. Nicks was a lively conversationalist, letting her sense of humor shine while telling the crowd about her early days with Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s, how her debut solo album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1981, and what's currently on her mind in 2024. Ahead of singing, she used her platform to nudge people to vote in the upcoming US presidential election, something she failed to do for many years. One of Nicks' only regrets -- of which she has very few, she says -- is not voting earlier in her life. "We should all vote," Nicks told the crowd. "We should. I didn't vote until I was like 70 years old," she said. The show featured setlist staples like "Dreams," "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," "Stand Back," "Leather and Lace," "Rhiannon," "Gypsy" and an encore of "Landslide," a beautiful tribute to late best friend and bandmate Christine McVie, who sadly passed away in 2022. Mixed in with the chart-toppers were the singer-songwriter's stories, almost like mini lessons on the history of Nicks' path. After leaving the stage briefly toward the end of the concert, Nicks and her band returned for a two-song encore, likely the most-anticipated pair of Fleetwood Mac songs Nicks would deliver that night, "Rhiannon" and "Landslide." Her eyes glistening as she sang, Nicks delivered a beautiful performance of "Landslide," the 1975 FM ballad that's more than stood the test of time. As fans sang along, a video montage played of photos featuring McVie (many being snapshots of Nicks with McVie) across the big stage screen at Mohegan Sun Arena. With the stage set up in her memory, Nicks closes the show backed by the spirit of her longtime friend and musical collaborator each night she performs. Meanwile, the full line-up has been announced for Nicks' headline UK show at BST Hyde Park 2024 has been announced on 
Songwriter Mark James, who composed several of the most iconic songs in pop and rock history, died at his home in Nashville on June 8. He was 83. Mr. James was known for penning such famous hits as Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds," Willie Nelson's (and Pet Shop Boys') "Always On My Mind," and B.J. Thomas' (and Blue Swede's) "Hooked On a Feeling." Mr. James won two Grammy Awards -- song of the year and best country song -- for "Always on My Mind," an exquisite ballad he co-wrote with Johnny Christopher and the late Wayne Carson. The song was also named song of the year by the Country Music Association in both 1982 and 1983. Mr. James was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame the following year. Thomas and Hunter Hayes performed Mr. James' songs at the latter event. His other notable hits included "The Eyes of a New York Woman," a top 30 Hot 100 hit for B.J. Thomas in 1968; "Moody Blue," a top 40 Hot 100 hit for Elvis Presley in 1977 and the title track of his last studio album released in his lifetime; and "Sunday Sunrise," a top 10 hit on Hot Country Songs in 1973 for Brenda Lee. Born Francis Rodney Zambon on Nov. 29, 1940, in Houston, Tex., Mr. James befriended B.J. Thomas, who grew up in nearby Rosenberg, Texas, while both were still young. (Thomas died in 2021 at age 78.) By the late 1960s, Mr. James was signed as a staff songwriter to Memphis producer Chips Moman's publishing company. Moman produced Thomas' versions of James' songs "The Eyes of a New York Woman", "Hooked on a Feeling" and "It's Only Love" (which James co-wrote with Steve Tyrell). All three singles made the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968-69. Mr. James released his own version of "Suspicious Minds," also produced by Moman, on Scepter Records in 1968. Presley's 1969 version, co-produced by Moman and Felton Jarvis, topped the Hot 100 in the issue dated Nov. 1, 1969, becoming the final No. 1 for the King of Rock and Roll. In 1972, Mr. James signed a long-term contract with Screen Gems-Columbia Music. In 1973, Brenda Lee landed a top 10 hit on Hot Country Songs with Mr. James' "Sunday Sunrise." Anne Murray revived the song with some success in 1975. Fine Young Cannibals, Jay-Z, Dwight Yoakam and Bill Withers are among the other artists who have recorded Mr. James' songs, and his songs have also been featured in such films as Kramer vs. Kramer, Black Hawk Down and Reservoir Dogs. - Billboard, 6/13/24...... Angela Bofill, one of the first Latina singers to find success in R&B and jazz with hits like "I Try" and "This Time I'll Be Sweeter," died on June 13 at age 70. Born in Brooklyn of Cuban-Puerto Rican descent, Bofill had her first hit in 1978 with "This Time I'll Be Sweeter," and also sang backing vocals for Diana Ross. After suffering a stroke in 2007, the singer returned to the stage five years later, and was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2023. Singer Sheila E. paid tribute to Bofill on social media, calling her "my sister my queen." - People, 7/1/24...... NBA legend Jerry West, whose image was the model for the NBA's logo, died on June 12. He was 86. Mr. West, known as "Mr. Clutch," spent his entire 14-season career from 1960 to 1974 with the Los Angeles Lakers and was known as a guard who could make a shot under pressure. With an average of 27 points per regular season game, Mr. West is still the eighth-highest scorer in NBA history. Tough on the court (his nose was reportedly broken nine times), Mr. West made another significant mark as the Lakers' GM when the team won three championships with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson and when, in 1996, he signed Kobe Bryant. - People, 7/1/24.
Music PR exec Alan Edwards, founder of the celebrated British PR film The Outside Organisation, has published his memoir 
Among the things Roger Daltrey fans won't see on Daltrey's 11-date North American tour which kicked off June 10 in Glenside, Pa., is The Who frontman's famous banshee-like scream near the end of the Who classic "Won't Get Fooled Again." "We don't use a tape loop for the instrumentation. We do it on real instruments. It just takes it off the rails and gives me more room as a singer," Daltrey told Billboard during a Zoom call from his native UK. That said, Daltrey notes, "I'm not gonna do the scream. I'm gonna get the f---ing audience to do the scream. I've done that scream for 55 years, and I've had enough of it. I don't even want to try it now; it's brutal on the vocal cords. They can do the scream, and I'll do everything else. I'm more into singing these days. At the age of 80, I think I deserve to be." Daltrey describes his June tour as "a mostly acoustic set of Who gems, rarities, solo nuggets and other surprises," along with Q&A opportunities for the audiences. Daltrey's band for the tour includes Who backing musicians Simon Townshend (Pete Townshend's younger brother) on guitar, guitarist Doug Boyle, bassist John Hogg, keyboardist Geraint Watkins and drummer Scott Devours, with various other musicians on violin, mandolin, harmonica and accordion. As for the Q&A part of the night, Daltrey says he did something similar for a show in England back in 2022 and enjoyed it. Fans will be able to submit written questions to boxes at the venues before the show, then the band will review them backstage and choose "the most interesting ones -- and I just draw them out of a hat. It creates a great deal of fun, and you can get some good comedy out of it if you're lucky." "I'm actually looking forward to a tour!," adds Daltrey, who most recently did symphonic tours he and Pete began in 2019. "I'm out there to have a good time this time." Hitting mostly medium-sized cities in the Eastern US and Canada, along with Boston (6/20) and Detroit (6/25), the tour wraps on June 29 in Highland Park, Ill. - Billboard, 6/7/24...... Former The Sex Pistols members Paul Cook, Glen Matlock and Steve Jones, along with vocalist Frank Carter, have added an extra show to their run of gigs at London's Shepherd's Bush Hall in August, in which they'll be performing the Pistols' iconic 1977 album 
David Draiman, frontman of the UK band Disturbed, is continuing his feud with former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters, describing him as "anti-Semitic to his rotten core." Draiman, who is Jewish, shared his opinion of the rock veteran during a new interview with Linda Advocate, in which he looked back at the considerable accusations of anti-Semitism Waters has faced over recent years. "He's a piece of work, that deluded old freak," Draiman began. "Antisemitic to his rotten core. Just ask David Gilmour and his wife -- they'll testify to it." The latter part of the comment refers to the tension between Waters and his Pink Floyd bandmate. In 2023, Gilmour's wife Polly Samson claimed that Waters was "antisemitic to [his] rotten core," as well as "a [Vladimir] Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac." Gilmour reposted that tweet as well, and told his followers that his spouse's claims were "demonstrably true." Draiman, who has been vocal about his feelings towards Waters in the past, continued his tirade: "He's a coward. He's a hypocrite. He is a supporter of dictators and dictatorial regimes all over the world. He's an apologist for Putin and apologist for anybody that's on the wrong side of history. He's a deluded wannabe-socialist as well. The guy is a bully. It's all about hate-fuelled anti-Semitic, spite-filled narrative that continues to fuel this narrative of demonisation of our people. He's a monster." Commenting on the Israel-Hamas war, Draiman said that although he does have "empathy for the Palestinian people," he believes that "Hamas celebrates death" and needs "to be eradicated." For his part, Waters has always denied all accusations of anti-Semitism made against him, and during a 2023 concert in Birmingham UK told the audience he was "pissed off" at "the antisemitism bullshit." He added: "They're trying to cancel me like they cancelled Jeremy Corbyn and Julian Assange. I will not be cancelled." - NME, 6/6/24...... As she opened the annual Country Music Association (CME) Fest in Nashville on June 6, Dolly Parton revealed to fans she's "finally developing" a Broadway show about her life. Dolly says the musical will be called "Hello, I'm Dolly," which is named after her first studio album release in 1967, and that it's set to debut in 2026. "Very excited about that, so you'll get to know all my life up to now, and it's not a jukebox musical," the 78-year-old star said. She added she's been writing the script, music and lyrics for "several years." "I tried for years, how to do my life story and make it make sense," she told the crowd. The show is different from the London West End jukebox musical "Here You Come Again," which features Dolly's songs and is currently on tour in England. At CMA Fest, the 11-time Grammy winner also announced two other ventures. "Dolly Wines" is a line of vino that will be available beginning in July, and feature sparkling wines, as well as a rosé and a Chardonnay. She also confirmed she is opening a hotel and museum in Nashville, called the Songteller Hotel. The museum will feature clothing items and artefacts from her six-decade long career, and will sit next to a hotel. "I've always wanted a hotel here in Nashville and a museum here," she said. The Songteller is the name of Dolly's 2020 autobiography. Dolly also recently told E! News that she wants to be involved in a remake of her hit 1980 comedy 9 to 5 in which she co-starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Parton says she'd like Fonda, 86, and Tomlin, 84, involved as well. "I'm hoping they use my song, and I'm hoping they might find a way to have Lily, Jane and me come back in," she said. - Music-News.com, 6/7/24...... 
The Detroit-based proto-punk band MC5 have shared details of Heavy Lifting -- their first new studio album in over five decades -- and shared its lead single, "Boys Who Play With Matches," on