Michael Jacskon R.I.P.

After the recent exciting announcement that Michael Jackson was to play his first full concerts since 2001 comes shock news that Jackson has died aged just 50. In the early afternoon on Thursday, paramedics were called to the suburban Los Angeles home he was renting and he was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. An autopsy is expected to be performed on Friday or Saturday. Sadly, despite his excellent early work with the Jackson 5 and later solo hits like the albumThriller (which was released in 1987 and went on to become the top-selling album of all time), much of his later life was dogged by accusations of molestation and weirdness. However in 2005, he was acquitted of child molestation and he was apparently keen to get back onstage, where he seemed most at home - coincidentally with 750,000 tickets sold for his planned run of gigs at London’s The O2 venue questions are now being asked about refunds for those re-sold through the secondary market. With opinions so divided it's a sure bet that Jackson will continue to make headlines for a long time after hi passing.

Beatles Contract Up For Grabs

On 1st October 1962 Brian Epstein handed the four Beatles a revised management contract. Their previous management contract with Epstein had been signed by all four Beatles on the 24th January 1962 but Epstein deliberately refrained from signing the first contract to give the Beatles the ability to walk away from the agreement, if he did not fulfil his promise of a major recording contract for the young band and on the 1st October 1962 Epstein's signature was finally added. With a recording deal with EMI already established and the first single 'Love me Do' about to be released, Epstein now felt he had fulfilled his role and was about to reap his rewards in the form of 25% of the gross earnings of the band and one lucky Beatles fan is set to win this incredibly rare artifact courtesy of the Imagine Corporation. Needless to say they're not giving the bugger away (lest we forget John Lennon's hand-written "All You Need is Love" lyric sheet sold for £750,000), and each entry will set you back a tenner, but we can think of far less exciting ways to part with your dosh so why not pop along to www.imagine.uk.com and find out how you can bag this historical document, Over 70,000 Beatles fans from around the globe have already done just that.

Head-On Clash

Fancy owning this nattily attired Mini Cooper? Of course you do, who wouldn't. However not only could you lie a bit and pretend you were in the Italian Job you could also truthfully be telling folks 'this used to belong to Topper Headon'. No foolin'. Topper has donated his lovingly customized car as a raffle prize with all proceeds going to Strummerville - Joe Strummer's New Music Foundation (a registered charity that aims to create new opportunities for aspiring musicians). For less than the price of a couple of packets of fags you can be in with a shout at owning this little beauty and you can find out more info by toddling along to www.strummerville.com

Bootleg Aliens

We like the sound of this, Live music retailer, Concert Live will be producing instant CDs of shows from Jeff Wayne’s musical version of The War of The Worlds which is on tour in June and July. 14 of the 20 performances will be recorded allowing fans to take home a live double CD and bonus CD of photos from the evenings performance. Retailing at £20.00, the CD will be available at every date on the tour and exclusively online at www.concertlive.co.uk, where you can also find out exactly which shows are lined up to be recorded. All togther now 'The chances of anything coming from Mars was a miilion to one he said'

Passing Through Solid Air

The announcement on January 29 that John Martyn had passed away was not in itself particularly shocking. The singer, songwriter and guitarist’s health had been in a parlous state since the amputation of part of his right leg in 2003, and the effect of his legendary excesses was increasingly evident on his massive, bear-like frame. No, the devastating aspect of the news lay in the fact that Martyn’s extraordinary voice and facility with the guitar had been silenced forever. Genre-traversing popular music is nothing new these days, but with his often jaw-dropping fusion of folk, rock, blues, jazz and funk, Martyn was a genuine trail-blazer. While the acoustically-oriented Bless The Weather (1971) and Solid Air (1973) are often cited as his major works, it is the beautiful One World (1977) that best conveys his full range. Infectious jazz-rock, haunting love songs and visionary sonic experimentation – all facets of Martyn’s music are here. As with many of his contemporaries, Martyn’s later output was prone to inconsistency, but he was still capable of sublime moments (check out ‘My Creator’ from 2004’s On The Cobbles) and his recent live recreations of Solid Air and Grace & Danger were widely acclaimed. Tantalising reports that Martyn had two new albums’ worth of material squirreled away in the vaults suggest that there could yet be a coda to his extraordinary career, and you can also read an interview Martyn did for TotalMusic in 2005 here.

Stooges co-founder bids farewell

The first week of the new year brought the sad and entirely unexpected news that Ron Asheton – guitarist, co-songwriter and co-founder of The Stooges – had been founded dead, aged 60. The cause of death has yet to be confirmed, although it is believed that he suffered a heart attack. While The Stooges is often most closely identified with iconic singer Iggy Pop, Asheton’s explosive guitar playing was an integral part of the band’s raw, garage band sound. In particular, his contributions to the band’s first two albums, The Stooges and Fun House, influenced a generation of rock guitarists with their dual-emphasis on attack and precision. While moved to bass for 1973’s Raw Power – the band’s final album in its initial phase – Asheton was back on the six-string when the group reunited in 2003. Although the resulting album, 2007’s The Weirdness, received patchy reviews, it showed that Asheton’s playing had lost none of its edge. Generally regarded as a quiet, modest man, Asheton also carved out an acting career and collaborated on projects with J. Mascis and Thurston Moore. His premature death is almost certain to put a final full stop to the remarkable story of The Stooges.

Jammin' In The UK

Further to our recent news piece on Lego album covers we have now discovered album covers created entirely our of food!! OK, we have absolutely no idea what a Bento Lunch Box is – it's the standard lunchtime meal for millions of Japanese office workers (smug Ed)- but if you want to see some rather incredible food derived copies of popular album covers originally wrapped around music by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Rage Against The Machine, Aphex Twin or indeed King Crimson (this effort was created with Mentaiko (cod roe), kamaboko, ham, nori, rice, mmm, tasty), then head along here. And don't talk with your mouth full.