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Milk for the Kittens |
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Pop trio Atomic Kitten are to front a new nationwide poster campaign to
encourage their young fans to drink milk.
Singers Jenny Frost, Natasha Hamilton and Liz McLarnon are pictured
wearing "milk moustaches" as part of the campaign, which is funded by
government agency, the Milk Development Council and milk producers.
A similar milk campaign in the US 'Got Milk?' - has seen stars
including Britney Spears, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Backstreet Boys, Mandy Moore
and Whoopi Goldberg appearing in the same style of adverts.
According to the BBC, the posters will appear on bus stops, magazines
and milk cartons throughout the UK, carrying the message that
semi-skimmed milk contains little fat and high levels of calcium and vitamin A.
"It's really important that kids grow up healthy and start making the
right choices about what to put into their bodies from an early age,"
said Atomic Kitten star Liz.
"Girls in particular need to watch their calcium intake to ensure that
they develop strong, healthy bones."
She added: "You won't be able to follow our dance moves if you don't."
The Scottish Dairy Marketing Campaign, a consortium of Scottish
dairies, is also provoding funding for the appeal.
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Peace One Day |
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This year's Peace One Day intercultural and musical celebration, will
see Faithless, Lamb (pictured), Dave Stewart (Peace One Day's creative
director), Tom McRae, 1 Giant Leap, Slovo, Norman Jay and Bran Van
3000's James Di Salvio performing at the Carling Academy, Brixton, on
Saturday September 20.
The event is being held on the eve of International Day Of Peace, a day
of global ceasefire and non-violence, and will cost £25 in advance.
Peace One Day was launched in September 1999 by British filmmaker
Jeremy Gilley and in September 2001 it achieved its primary objective when
the United Nations passed GA Resolution (55/282) establishing the
International Day Of Peace.
The event will also include messages of support from UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan (Video address), UN Messengers of Peace (Video messages)
and Jeremy Gilley, Peace One Day Founder.
Stella McCartney has designed an exclusive t-shirt, which she has
donated to Peace One Day to assist in supporting the event and promoting a
greater awareness. The t-shirt will be available in Stella McCartney
flagship stores in London, New York and Los Angeles and on Peace One Day's
website.
The first day of global ceasefire and non-violence, in 2002, saw
reported activities in 98 countries, 27 of which were at governmental level.
Peace One Day is confident that an estimated 244 million people
globally are now aware of the Day. This year's goal is to reach 1 billion
people.
http://www.peaceoneday.org/
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Britney's new single out in November |
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Britney Spears has enlisted Moby, the Matrix and R. Kelly to produce
tracks on her next album, due in November. She describes the new material
as a departure from her previous three records.
"I'd describe it as trance-y," Spears says. "Kind of a vibe record.
Something you could listen to that's not so song structured." After
getting personal on her last album, 2001's Britney, Spears says the new album
is a little more distant. "This record is definitely personal to me,"
she says. "But it's not shockingly personal. I think once you start
being so self-serving with your music . . . I did a little bit of that with
my last record, and I really didn't want to put myself out there that
much."
Spears has spent much of past year in New York working on record. The
Moby collaboration, "Early Mornin'," sounds like the aftermath of one of
Spears' much publicized late nights at bars. "It's about going out at
night and feeling like shit the next day," she says.
The Matrix production and songwriting team contribute "Shadow," which
sounds like a mid-Nineties Aerosmith ballad, while Kelly wrote and
produced "Outrageous." And the lyrical fare is considerably less innocent
than that found on Oops! . . . I Did It Again, with lines like: "Oh, it's
so hot, and I need some air/Boy, don't stop, 'cause I'm halfway there..."
"Of course I'm not doing '. . . Baby One More Time' and those big,
massive hits anymore," Spears says. "I think this record is where I'm at
right now in my life. It's sensual, it's sexual . . . I'm probably
writing about that subconsciously because I don't have that right now."
The first track to be lifted from Britney's new album, 'Me Against The
Music' is an uptempo call-to-arms that begins with the chanted
introduction, "All the people in the crowd/Grab a partner/Take it down".
Though much has been made of Britney's new 'mature' direction, the new
single is not drastically different to her older material and is
arguably reminiscent of the singer's 2001 hit, 'I'm A Slave 4 U'.
Video footage of the performance suggests that Britney opted to
lip-synch along to a backing track instead of sing the song live.
According to reports, 'Me Against The Music' will be released in
November 3, with the album set to follow on November 17.
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Kylie's new release |
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Diminutive pop princess Kylie Minogue is to release a brand new single
before the end of the year.
'Slow', the first track to surface from recent recording sessions in
London, Ireland and Spain, will be released in the UK on November 3.
According to Kylie's official website, the track was penned by Kylie,
Emiliana Torrini and Mr Dan, and will feature on the singer's
forthcoming ninth album.
B-sides and formats for the new single are yet to be confirmed.
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Busted enter the Matrix |
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Busted have teamed up with US songwriting and production team The
Matrix for work on their upcoming second album.
According to reports, the chart-topping trio are currently working on a
number of new tracks with the popular hit makers at a studio in Los
Angeles.
The Matrix - a.k.a. Graham Edwards, Lauren Christy and Scott Spock -
have previously penned hits for the likes of Avril Lavigne and Britney
Spears and recently signed their own deal with Columbia Records.
Busted, who kick off their first ever arena tour of the UK next spring,
are due to release their eagerly awaited new album this autumn.
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Stefani going solo ! |
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Gwen Stefani has teamed up with hip-hop luminaries Outkast and Missy
Elliott to record material for her debut solo LP.
Whilst the album is still described as "a work in progress", the
artists involved say they have been encouraged by the No Doubt star's
open-mindedness in the studio.
"I think the album will sound totally different than her No Doubt
stuff," said Outkast's Andre 3000. "And that's cool. Step out and do
something new sometime. It could be interesting."
"It's kinda like mid-tempo, like Outkast," said Big Boi of the new
material, "but something you wouldn't normally hear her on.
"You just submit something that you think might cause them to switch to
something new, something where they don't do their usual [thing] on it,
something where they sound a little different.
"Give it to her and see how she's freaking it and [how] she brings it
back."
According to Missy Elliott, she and Stefani are yet to complete any
tracks but have been working on a number of concepts together.
The rap star told MTV: "She came down the studio and we vibed
instantly, worked out a couple of ideas. But she's still figuring out her
direction, so I'm waiting on her at the moment."
She added: "When we get together, when she does this record, it's not
going to be just another record. It's going to be an event."
Meanwhile, according to No Doubt's official website, the band have been
working with producer Nellee Hooper in recent weeks, recording a track
that will be included on an upcoming singles compilation.
That album, along with two DVDs and a "B-Sides & Rare Tracks" album, is
scheduled to be released before the end of the year.
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Duran Duran featuring Justin Timberlake |
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Eighties new romantics Duran Duran are planning to record a single with
US pop star Justin Timberlake, it has emerged.
The band, who met Timberlake at last week's MTV Video Music Awards
after winning a Lifetime Achievement Award, say they hope to get into the
studio with the 22-year-old soon.
Singer Simon Le Bon told The Sun: "We went to Justin's party to
celebrate winning our award and we had a great night. We spent a lot of the
night with him. He is a great bloke.
"I told him I think his album is fantastic and we talked about doing
something with him."
He added: "It was such an honour for us to get the award".
As previously reported, Duran Duran are to play three live dates with
Robbie Williams in Australia and New Zealand this December.
The group's brand new album is due to be released internationally in 2004.
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Simon and Garfunkel back on stage |
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Often-estranged '60s folk-rock legends Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
have evidently buried the hatchet, and have announced plans for a
two-month tour that gets underway in October.
The approximately 30-city outing--the duo's first major tour since
1983--opens on Oct. 18 at the Detroit-area's Palace of Auburn Hills. A list
of cities that the tour will visit was issued on Tuesday (9/9), and
other specific dates will be unveiled soon, according to a press release.
Tickets for some shows will hit the market on Sept. 15, according to
organizers, who suggest that fans consult their local media beginning
this weekend for details on ticket availability.
During the tour, each night's set will feature a mix of songs played
acoustically and backed by a seven-piece band. In a Tuesday press
conference in New York, Simon said that the bulk of the duo's set list will
come from the five Simon & Garfunkel's studio albums. A few songs from
the artists' respective solo catalogs may also be included.
The stage for the reunion was set with Simon & Garfunkel's February
performance at the 2003 GRAMMY® Awards, where they received the Lifetime
Achievement Award. In what was their first performance together in a
decade, they opened the telecast by playing "The Sounds of Silence," one
of their signature songs.
"I never actually thought that we'd lost our ability to sing together
and have a blend," Simon told reporters at the press conference. "What
we had was a friendship that was estranged, and the GRAMMYs was an
opportunity to put that behind us. That's exactly what we did."
"This is a very deep, old friendship," Garfunkel said. "It's like
family for the two of us. Our moms know each other."
The last Simon & Garfunkel tour took place in 1982 and 1983, and they
also played a lengthy series of New York City concerts in 1993.
According to tour publicists, Simon & Garfunkel have sold more than 40
million albums as a duo in the U.S. alone. They were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
In conjunction with the tour, Columbia/Legacy will release "The
Essential Simon and Garfunkel," a two-disc career retrospective, on October 10.
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Settlement relating Aaliyah's death |
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A small measure of payback for Aaliyah's parents. Michael and Diane
Haughton have ended a series of legal battles stemming from the plane
crash that claimed the life of the R&B star and actress two years ago.
The Haughtons have settled wrongful-death lawsuits against Aaliyah's
label, Virgin Records, as well as several video-production companies and
the owner and operator of the twin-engine Cessna that went down shortly
after takeoff in August 2001 killing all aboard.
The suits, one in federal court in California, the other in federal
court in Florida, were tentatively settled earlier this summer, according
to family lawyer Robert Spragg.
Spragg expects the settlements to be finalized soon and filed under
seal, meaning terms will not be publicly disclosed.
"I don't believe the Haughton family will ever recover fully from the
loss of Aaliyah," Spragg says. "It's been a very difficult two years."
The Haughtons initially filed suit in May 2002 in Los Angeles Superior
Court, claiming the defendants' negligence and recklessness contributed
to the August 25, 2001 deaths of the 22-year-old entertainer (whose
full name was Aaliyah Haughton) and eight others, who were in the Bahamas
to shoot a video for her track "Rock the Boat."
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, said the Cessna was
"not an appropriate aircraft" for the entourage. The family also alleged
the plane was improperly loaded in a "dangerous and unsafe
configuration" and claimed the pilot, Luis Morales III, should not have been behind
the controls.
The defendants, the suit asserted, had "knowledge that the operation of
the [plane] by an inexperienced and unqualified pilot and the selection
of an inappropriate aircraft for the charter flight could and would
result in a crash."
An autopsy revealed Morales, who was not licensed to fly the plane, had
cocaine and alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. A
preliminary report issued in 2001 by the National Transportation Safety Board
confirmed suspicions that the Cessna 402B was severely overloaded,
triggering the fatal plunge shortly after its takeoff from Marsh Harbour
Airport on Abaco Island bound for Florida.
The lawsuit was subsequently moved to federal court in California. A
separate suit was filed in federal court in Florida against the plane's
owners and operators, Atlantic Flight Group, Blackhawk International
Airways, Skystream and Gilbert Chacon.
The Haughtons' legal crew notified the judge overseeing the California
case that a settlement deal had been hammered out on July 28, Spragg
says. The lawyers said the same thing to the Florida judge at a status
conference hearing last Friday.
Word of the settlement comes as celebrity psychic John Edwards reveals
in his new book, After Life, that Diane Haughton came to him to contact
her deceased daughter.
Edward, who hosts the syndicated one-man séance show Crossing Over,
writes that he felt "a presence" while attempting to contact the Queen of
the Damned star.
"I need to make sure that you know that she's okay," Edward told
Haughton, according to an excerpt of After Life printed in the New York Daily
News, "and she's making me feel like it's really important that you
know she appreciates everything you tried to do and that you continue to
do."
In death, Aaliyah remains a major force. Her posthumous album, I Care 4
U, notched a Top 10 debut last December and earned her a Billboard
R&B/Hip-Hop Award last month for Best Female Artist.
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