The Corrs are back with a brand-new album called "In Blue", produced by Mutt Lange, Shania Twain's husband, 14 tracks.

Also, the Corrs have finally scored their first ever Number One on the 09/07/00 with their comeback single "Breathless", going straight to the top of the U.K. charts.

Duran Duran have got a new album out called "Pop Trash". They are currently touring the U.S.

Duran Duran did a performance for VH1's STORYTELLERS on June 25^th, to be to aired on August 25^th, including these songs:
Ordinary World, Playing with Uranium, Hungry Like the Wolf, Rio, Save A Prayer, Pop Trash Movie, Notorious, Girls on Film, A View to a Kill etc.

Latino girl Gloria Estefan is back in the limelight. Not only does she still look great at 42 but, after about 21 albums, she has a new one out, titled "Alma Caribena". It's a mixture of Cuban and south american rhythm, deals with past problems in Cuba and is dedicated to her dad whose believe she idolizes.

5ive have been working together with Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor from Queen on a new version of their once famous chart topper from the 70s, "We Will Rock You". It soared straight to number one on the 23/07/00!

At Oasis' gig at Wembley Stadium, U.K., on 22/7/00 Liam Gallagher seemed out of control. So what's new???During Happy Mondays' support performance he stormed out on stage, hugging frontman Shaun Ryder while the latter had started an Elvis impression. And 2 songs into their own set Liam sang ‘Thank you for the sun, the one that shines on everyone, who deals drugs’ instead of ‘Who feels love’. He was constantly swearing, calling Wembley a shithole and demanding silly things from the crowd, such as to bare their breasts, refusing to continue until he saw some on the screen behind them. He was also having a dig at his brother Noel, claiming, while Noel sat at home, he’d been touring the world making money for him. Moreso, Liam couldn't help making comments about his split from Patsy Kensit, calling her a bitch who had left him. And at the end of their concert he even refused to leave the stage before the band’s encore, giving a repeat at the very end, still staying on after the rest of the band had long gone, and messing with Noel’s guitar. He told the audience, "I’ll go if you go. You go first."

Liam Gallagher and wife Patsy Kensit have decided to call it a day, after weeks of speculation that their brief and turbulent marriage is over. Liam told reporters, "It's finished, over, gone. That's it. Maybe I was too young but I don't think I'll be marrying again. I'm just trying to get on with my music and being a good dad. We're still talking on the phone though."
Last month they put their Primrose Hill House on the market, already fuelling speculations about their split. Patsy, who is said have called off the marriage while Oasis were on tour in the USA in May, was spotted travelling recently without her wedding ring.

According to Daryl Hall, half of the famous duo from the 80s, Hall & Oates, their new album is "99% finished". A release date has not yet been named.
However, fans attending their recent concerts have been treated to a brand new song, titled "Man On A Mission," an extremely catchy tune.

According to Dotmusic, Whitney Houston performed a disastrous live show earlier this month, when she stumbled through a set in the U.S.A. Apparently she had to stop on and off at the gig in New Jersey, constantly forgetting the words to some of her songs. On other hits, such as "I Will Always Love You", her voice couldn't meet the higher notes. Her excuse was, "I'm not singing this song, my voice isn't up to it."

However, her fans hit back at Dotmusic, denying the concert disaster, and bombarding them with emails, protesting that she didn't forget words to her songs and insisting she's not on drugs.

INXS seem all set to make a comeback, with new vocalist Jon Stevens stepping into Michael Hutchence's shoes. Since the death of Hutchence, who commited suicide in a hotel room in Sydney in November 1997, the band performed their first concerts in Melbourne, Australia, without him.

Jeweller David Orgell of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, is suing Michael Jackson, a regular customer in his store for the last 10 years, for failing to pay for and returning a damaged $ 1.9 million diamond watch. Jackson's representatives are apparently unaware of the legal action.

Spokesperson for the store, Ali Soltani, told in an interview, "On October 30^th last year Michael Jackson visited our store, he looked at the watch and was very impressed with it." About a month later Jackson reportedly returned and took the watch home. Soltani explained, "What I've done for the past 10 years is send the copy of the invoice to his agent and in a couple of days I got paid, but this time I did not get paid".
On the 13/04/00 the jewellers were sent a package containing the watch. Soltani claimed that "the watch had lotion on it, the watch was scratched, it had food particles intertwined on it, it was a gem of a watch but was obviously used."

Nik Kershaw is currently working on his new album, due to be released in 2001 and recorded at Peter Gabriel's studio.
A compilation album, "The Essential Nik Kershaw", is also on its way, apparently out around August this year.

Later this year English Heritage, purveyors of Memorial Blue Plaques, hope to unveil a plaque at 251 Mendip Avenue, Liverpool, where John Lennon was brought up by his aunt, prompting speculation that if his former bandmates attend the ceremony, a reunion of the remaining Beatles could be on the cards. But the organisation's publicity department claimed the excitement is 'all hype', and that an invitation list for the event has yet to be drawn up. As the Blue Plaques can only be awarded 20 years after the recipient's death it will probably be the 20^th anniversary of Lennon's death, the 8^th of December this year.

Also, footballer David Ginola has unveiled a monument in memory of John Lennon - shot dead by his obsessed fan Mark Chapman 20 years ago - at Trafalgar Square, London. The sculpture, a revolver with a knotted barrel, was created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reutersward and commissioned by the Non-Violence Foundation International, a Swedish organisation dedicated to preventing young people turning to crime which is setting up a branch in Britain.

Madonna's forthcoming single "Music" - which had recently sparked outrage with the singer herself by somehow leaking out and having been published on the internet for fans to access and download it - is now due for release on 21st August. The album of the same title will follow around the beginning of September and is co-produced by Mark 'Spike' Stent, William Orbit ("Ray Of Light") and Mirwais.

Sir Paul McCartney is planning to work with Elvis Presley's backing musicians. The project is launching an upcoming film about Sam Phillip's legendary Sun Studios, where Elvis made his first recordings, and the record label it produced in the process, and is due to be released early next year. Paul wants to record a new version of "That's Alright Mama", for the movie.

Sad news once again:
Vocalist of Mike & The Mechanics, Paul Young, has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 53. He apparently collapsed at his home in Cheshire.
Paul Young first found fame with the band Sad Café, then joined Paul Carrack and Mike Rutherford, forming Mike & The Mechanics in 1985 to release well-known hits, such as "The Living Years" or "Silent Running", probably the band's most successful and recognised tunes. Mike Rutherford is said to be terribly upset and shocked at his loss.
Paul has only recently toured through Switzerland with namesake singer Paul Young and ex-Marillion vocalist Fish. His wife told in an interview that he lived for his family, motorbikes and his music.

Queen's drummer, Roger Taylor, slammed the organisers of the Prince's Trust's Party In The Park concert (09/07/00) for letting so many of the acts mime or play to backing tapes. He called it 'a farce' with just 5 of the 34 acts performing live.
Together with 5ive, him and the other remaining members of Queen - Brian May and John Deacon - gave a rendition of their cover of "We Will Rock You". Taylor told that "I didn't enjoy it at all. There were only a few acts playing live and we were one of them – the rest all mimed or sang over backing tracks. It makes me so angry. I cannot understand how they allow so many acts to mime. That's not what music is about." Also, Roger Taylor complained about the lack of organisation as he didn't get to do a sound check before the show.

In September a ballet featuring Queen tracks is planned to open at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre. "Ballet For Life", devised by choreographer Maurice Béjart, was written as a tribute to Freddie Mercury as well as for a former dancer of Béjart's dance company, who also died of an Aids-related illness. In an interview with a U.K. newspaper Queen's Roger Taylor described the ballet as "a wonderful thing, visually stunning, very moving for anyone who knew Freddie Mercury".

Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bass player Mike Mills have worked together in Vancouver in between April and May on material for the new R.E.M. album. Stipe called the new album 'a joy', easy to make. It's being produced by Pat McCarthy (engineered 'Ray Of Light' by Madonna) and features former Beck drummer Joey Waronker. No release date is set as yet.

Ron Wood, guitarist with the Rolling Stones, has banned all alcohol from his home in Ireland and even closed down his garden bar in a desperate bid to quit the addiction.
Wood has already spent two weeks in The Priory, famous drying-out-clinic in South West London, after many years of alcohol abuse, in preparation to the Rolling Stones' world tour next year. Fingers crossed for him!

Reports have it that all 23 dates left on the 'Diana Ross And The Supremes Return To Love You Tour' - featuring only Diana Ross herself as the one original member - have been cancelled.
The tour started in June this year, excluding founding members Cindy Birdsong and Mary Wilson. The decision, made by the producer of the tour, was possibly prompted by poor ticket sales. Nonetheless, producers have only confirmed cancelling 3 shows in Pittsburgh, Washington and Long Island.
In a personal statement Diana Ross said, "I am severely disappointed that TNA and SFX have decided to cancel the remainder of 'The Diana Ross and The Supremes Tour'. I was very much looking forward to performing for our fans. I promised our fans that I would be there for them ....and I will find a way to reconnect with them as soon as possible."

Dotmusic has announced that Britney Spears will go online live to chat to her fans. Date is yet to be announced Monday, 31^st of July, on Dotmusic's site.

Britney Spears' aide, Felicia Culotta, is about to write a book with the title "Every Step of the Way", detailing the singer's rise to fame. Britney recently told of the support Culotta has given her throughout her career. She has given her blessing to the biography being written.
She told, "I'm often asked about my gruelling work schedule" and "How do I keep my energy going show after show? What grounds me, making me stay confident – and sane – when the world is watching every step I take? In a word an answer to all these questions is Felicia. It gets kind of lonely when I'm on the road, I miss my mom and the advice she gives me, Felicia comes through. God has given me many gifts – talent, determination, family and friends. He's also given me Felicia, who always there, armed with a notebook and a camera."

On a different matter, Spears has had to cancel her Denver show on July 26^th at the Red Rocks Stadium, because it isn't big enough. Less than an hour after they went on sale, 9.000 greedy fans grabbed tickets for the show.
It was discovered that the singer's lavish production is too big for the natural ampitheater, once used by U2's "Under A Blood Red Sky" video in 1983. Fans have had to be refunded and the show was cancelled.

AND:
According to her publicist, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, singer of 'N Sync, have no plans to marry. Reports in one of U.K.'s Sunday newspapers stated Timberlake had proposed to Britney 2 weeks ago and that she had accepted, though no date had been set.
Lisa Kasteler, the artist's publicist, issued a statement on the 10^th of July saying, "Contrary to what has been erroneously reported, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake are neither engaged or married. The story is, not surprisingly, completely without merit." Kasteler admits the two are friends but are definitely not romantically involved.
In fact, yet another report in a U.K. tabloid stated that Britney would like to marry Prince William. Gets to show that she's just like any other teenager, only accompanied with wealth and success, having a crush on someone out of reach.

One more, how's this for a laugh:
As some Britney fans tried to steal dirt from the garden of her family home in Louisiana, USA, her mother, Lynne Spears, invited them into her home to proudly show them photos of her daughter. Not only did they eventually leave with 'Spears garden dirt', they were generously presented with souvenirs donated by Britney's mum as well. Sometimes it proofs worth the hassle!

The Spice Girls were ordered to pay £ 400.000 to Italian motor scooter manufacturer Aprilia, who sponsored the 1998 Spiceworld tour, by a High Court judge.
In February they were accused of breaching a sponsorship deal with Aprilia, who maufactured the 'Sonic Spice' scooter, featuring a silhouette of the Spice Girls' original line-up. The company claimed that Geri Halliwell's decision to split from the group had cost them millions. Also, the girls have to come up with £ 350.000 for legal costs.

Sting has lost his fight against claiming the Internet-address 'sting.com' on the 27/7/00. A private internet user has had the address for 8 years now and has no intent of making money with his site. The decision was ruled by the UN-organisation WIPO - dealing with copyrights and domain-grabbing since last December -, explaining that the word 'sting' is not only Gordon Sumner's alias but also a commonly used english word.

On the 06/07/00 Sting bravely tried to compete in a charity fund-raising match against the legendary chess grand master Gary Kasparov whom he has played before. In Thursday's match - live on US TV show Good Morning America and also broadcast via a massive screen in New York's Times Square - Kasparov triumphed yet again.

There's finally some news on Tiffany's new album. Titled "The Color Of Silence" it's first single will be "Open Your Eyes." Release date for the single will be around August 28^th, with the album following later. To promote the album there are, of course, a few appearances on radio and TV planned, and she's also in an issue of Us Magazine.

On the 16^th of July '00 Tina Turner played her last UK date at Wembley Stadium. Her show featured a mixture of songs spanning from her early work with ex-husband Ike Turner to her hits up to date, but also covers, ie. "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" (Marvin Gaye). She was supported by fellow artist Lionel Richie. The 60-year-old singer is said to be looking forward to spending more time with partner Erwin Bach at their Swiss home.

According to reports from NME, U2 will release a limited-edition live album - from the band's performance on the 3^rd of December '97 in Mexico City, titled "Hasta La Vista Baby" - in summer. However, access to the album will be limited to subscribers to the official U2 fan magazine, Propaganda, reports NME.com. If you'd like to subscribe to the magazine, go to http://www.u2.com.

On their web site 'www.U2.com' - officially freshly launched in September this year - U2 have announced the plan of putting a web camera into their studio for fans to watch them complete their as-yet-untitled album, which is supposed to be out in on sale in autumn.
Their site, designed to look like a virtual recording complex, has a studio where the webcasts of recording sessions will be seen, a control room for information on the recording and a lounge where you can read the 'the lastest gossip and articles', but also a 'green room' where Bono, Adam, Larry and The Edge can 'share their thoughts about the songs they're working on' and where fans can hear clips of new tracks as they're finished.

Paul Weller is about to release an EP later this month with the title "Helioscentric", a selection of dance remixes.
The EP will also include remixes by Noonday Underground, The Psychonauts and Portishead. "Helioscentric" will be released on 31/07/00 via Universal/Island.

The Who have announced a Greatest Hits world tour later this year.
The remaining members of the band, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, will play 7 shows. Guest appearance will be Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey on drums and John Rabbit Bundrick on keyboards.
They'll be supported by ex-Clash member Joe Strummer and his band The Mescelaros throughout the gigs.

Yet someone else who makes fun of pop stars who mime. In his first TV commercial for a Pepsi campaign Robbie Williams first performs in concert, then goes backstage to speak to a reporter. The reporter asks Williams what he thinks of artists who mine and he answers, "Miming? It's disgusting. You'd never see me doing that." Then the singer faces the camera and takes a gulp from a bottle, while his words continue to come out, revealing that the scene was actually dubbed.
Williams wrote a new song, called "United", for the Pepsi advert in association with HMV, who are offering copies of a CD-rom version in exchange for can ring-pulls. He's donating money from the campaign to his own charity 'Give It Sum'.

However, Robbie's latest video promoting his new single "Rock DJ" has been banned in the U.K. from being screened on the famous Top Of The Pops chart show. According to sources the video not only shows the singer stark naked and a bunch of people practise canibalism, Robbie's also simulating sex during the film. Some close friend of his even claimed the video is only meant to be 'a bit of fun'!
 

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