George Thorogood remembered Bo Diddley, his friend and influence who died of heart failure today (June 2).
The singer/guitarist, who covered Diddley's 'Who Do You Love' and name-checks him in one of his songs, told NME.COM that he was turned on to Diddley by The Rolling Stones.
�??I first heard Bo Diddley in 1966," said Thorogood. "I knew The Rolling Stones were big on this guy and I got a copy of Bo Diddley�??s '16 All-Time Greatest Hits' and flipped over it, and played it constantly."
Thorogood said that he still performs his cover of 'Who Do You Love', as well as 'Ride On Josephine', which was heavily influenced by the 'Bo Diddley beat'.
"I first met him in 1979, and as years went on we got closer and closer," he said. "It�??s an honour to be associated with his great music. I just had �??Hand Jive�?? on last night. It goes, �??A doctor, a lawyer and an indian chief/They all dig that Diddley beat.�?? That says it all.�?�
--By our Los Angeles staff.
Find out more about NME.
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Simmons: 'Kiss are like herpes'
Kiss bassist Gene Simmons has compared his band to herpes.
Simmons claimed the group is impossible to get rid of like the viral disease.
"Trends come, fashion comes. But we don't go away. We're like herpes," he told the Daily Star.
Speaking about the possibility of the band recording new material, Simmons commented: "There is no record industry around so we're going to wait until everybody settles down and becomes civilised.
"As soon as the record industry pops its head up, we'll record new material."
Kiss headlined the Download Festival last weekend.
> Simmons: 'It is rude to ignore groupies'
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Simmons claimed the group is impossible to get rid of like the viral disease.
"Trends come, fashion comes. But we don't go away. We're like herpes," he told the Daily Star.
Speaking about the possibility of the band recording new material, Simmons commented: "There is no record industry around so we're going to wait until everybody settles down and becomes civilised.
"As soon as the record industry pops its head up, we'll record new material."
Kiss headlined the Download Festival last weekend.
> Simmons: 'It is rude to ignore groupies'
See Also
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Arctic Monkeys dominate NME Awards
Arctic Monkeys have dominated the NME Music Awards again this year, picking up three gongs.
The Sheffield rockers claimed the awards for Best British Band, Best Track for 'Fluorescent Adolescent' and Best Video for 'Teddy Picker'.
The group also won the awards for Best Album and Best Band at this year's Brit Awards.
The Klaxons claimed the award for Best Album for 'Myths of the Near Future' and newcomer Kate Nash was named Best Solo Artist at the ceremony.
Amy Winehouse, who was nominated for four NME Awards, picked up just one award on the night, for Worst Dressed.
The award for Best New Band went to The Enemy, Muse picked up the Best Live Band gong and The Killers won Best International Band for the second year in a row.
Pop singer Kylie Minogue was voted Sexiest Woman, while Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty was named Hero of the Year at the awards.
Check out our NME Awards photo gallery here.
The Sheffield rockers claimed the awards for Best British Band, Best Track for 'Fluorescent Adolescent' and Best Video for 'Teddy Picker'.
The group also won the awards for Best Album and Best Band at this year's Brit Awards.
The Klaxons claimed the award for Best Album for 'Myths of the Near Future' and newcomer Kate Nash was named Best Solo Artist at the ceremony.
Amy Winehouse, who was nominated for four NME Awards, picked up just one award on the night, for Worst Dressed.
The award for Best New Band went to The Enemy, Muse picked up the Best Live Band gong and The Killers won Best International Band for the second year in a row.
Pop singer Kylie Minogue was voted Sexiest Woman, while Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty was named Hero of the Year at the awards.
Check out our NME Awards photo gallery here.
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Steven Spielberg - Lucas Says He Reassured Spielberg About Indy Leaks
Director Steven Spielberg was "depressed" over the number of leaks about the plot
of the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that appeared
in the ...
of the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that appeared
in the ...
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Underwood pulls out of Dancing on Ice
'GMTV' presenter Michael Underwood has been forced to pull out of 'Dancing on Ice' after breaking his ankle.
The television presenter was learning his new routine for the next live show when he fell awkwardly on his ankle.
According to the show's official website, Underwood was rushed to hospital by ambulance, with X-rays later showing that he had suffered a break.
Speaking on 'GMTV' he said: "I'd like to say that I was attempting some amazing triple axel or something, but I was just trying to stop."
A 'Dancing on Ice' spokesperson said: "After breaking his ankle last night, Michael Underwood can no longer compete in 'Dancing on Ice'."
"The whole team are sad to see Michael leave the competition in this way and wish him a speedy recovery."
The television presenter was learning his new routine for the next live show when he fell awkwardly on his ankle.
According to the show's official website, Underwood was rushed to hospital by ambulance, with X-rays later showing that he had suffered a break.
Speaking on 'GMTV' he said: "I'd like to say that I was attempting some amazing triple axel or something, but I was just trying to stop."
A 'Dancing on Ice' spokesperson said: "After breaking his ankle last night, Michael Underwood can no longer compete in 'Dancing on Ice'."
"The whole team are sad to see Michael leave the competition in this way and wish him a speedy recovery."
Marvel Activates Super Hero Squad
The Super Friends are getting some super company on the small screen.
Fresh off the boffo debut of Iron Man, and with a slate of new superhero flicks in the pipeline, Marvel...
Lindsay Lohan Confirms Engagement To Samantha Ronson?
A UK tabloid is reporting that Lindsay Lohan has confirmed her engagment to gal pal Samantha Ronson – to ex-fling Calum Best of all people.
Rumours that the actress and the DJ are lesbian lovers reached fever pitch when the pair were snapped apparently locking lips at a yacht party thrown by P-Diddy in Cannes.
Lilo later teased the press at the Dolce & Gabbana party at Baoli restaurant by flashing a ring on her engagement finger.
Despite the public denials, the Daily Star claims that Lilo is telling pals - including Best - that she’s happier with a woman and plans to make it official in July at Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s theme park.
Lindsay recently launched a website appealing for sponsors for her 22nd birthday bash, also to be held in July.
Rumours that the actress and the DJ are lesbian lovers reached fever pitch when the pair were snapped apparently locking lips at a yacht party thrown by P-Diddy in Cannes.
Lilo later teased the press at the Dolce & Gabbana party at Baoli restaurant by flashing a ring on her engagement finger.
Despite the public denials, the Daily Star claims that Lilo is telling pals - including Best - that she’s happier with a woman and plans to make it official in July at Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s theme park.
Lindsay recently launched a website appealing for sponsors for her 22nd birthday bash, also to be held in July.
Baby on the way for Gwen Stefani
It is reported that singer Gwen Stefani and her husband Gavin Rossdale are expecting their second child.
The website People.com quoted Rossdale's father Douglas as saying: "the whole family are delighted."
He continued: "We are very much looking forward to another grandchild."
Thirty-eight-year-old Stefani and 40-year-old Rossdale have a son, Kingston, who was born in 2006.
The website People.com quoted Rossdale's father Douglas as saying: "the whole family are delighted."
He continued: "We are very much looking forward to another grandchild."
Thirty-eight-year-old Stefani and 40-year-old Rossdale have a son, Kingston, who was born in 2006.
Kristin Davis KO'd Sex & The City Nude Scene
Kristin Davis had to fight to keep her clothes on while filming the Sex & The City movie - because writer/director Michael Patrick King wanted her to get naked.
The filmmaker knew he'd never get his star Sarah Jessica Parker to disrobe - because she has a no-nudity clause in her contract - so he called on Davis to get naughty, alongside Sex's regular exhibitionist Kim Cattrall, who plays maneater Samantha.
But David was horrified at the prospect of baring all - even in a shower scene.
She says, "He (King) tried to get me to be naked in that shower scene but I feel like I can't do that stuff. I feel really panicky about that stuff."
To peep out the stars who don’t share Kristin’s modesty, click here for our Stars Get Naked On Film gallery.
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Fans say goodbye to Joe Dolan
More than 4,000 people gathered in Mullingar in Co Westmeath today to pay their respects to the late singer and entertainer Joe Dolan, who died on St Stephen's Day.
Mr Dolan's family were joined by fans and friends from all over Ireland and abroad at Gilsenan's Funeral Home in the town.
Queues began forming at the funeral home shortly before 1pm and the doors were opened to the public at 1.30pm.
By mid-afternoon the queue stretched along nearby streets and onto Dominic Street.
Earlier today Westmeath County Council opened a book of condolences in the foyer of the county buildings in Mullingar.
The singer's funeral at Walshestown Cemetery tomorrow follows 11am mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King.
Mr Dolan's family were joined by fans and friends from all over Ireland and abroad at Gilsenan's Funeral Home in the town.
Queues began forming at the funeral home shortly before 1pm and the doors were opened to the public at 1.30pm.
By mid-afternoon the queue stretched along nearby streets and onto Dominic Street.
Earlier today Westmeath County Council opened a book of condolences in the foyer of the county buildings in Mullingar.
The singer's funeral at Walshestown Cemetery tomorrow follows 11am mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King.
Face/Off - 6/3/2008
It's hard to remember the whooshing sighs of disappointment from his fans that greeted John Woo in 1996 when, after so many half-steps and mis-starts, he made his big Hollywood debut with the stolen-nuke thriller Broken Arrow. Having left the Hong Kong business on a high with 1992's psychotic near-parody Hard Boiled, Woo did a Jean-Claude Van Damme flick -- 1993's Hard Target, which was heavily botched by studio interference but still contained some brilliant work -- before deciding to go seriously Hollywood. For Broken Arrow, he toned down his trademark mix of ultra-violent flourishes and teary-eyed humanism to concentrate on doing a by-the-book mid-'90s action flick that was generic in the extreme but raked in the money. The next year, though, Woo proved it had all just been an extraordinarily canny maneuver to allow him to make Face/Off, possibly the greatest, and definitely the most exuberant, action film to come out of the studio system in that decade.
A schizoid doppelganger mind-bender wrapped around your standard ticking-bomb scenario (it's hidden somewhere in Los Angeles and could take out the whole basin if detonated -- or something), Face/Off is an utterly lunatic film in the best possible way. Originally a futuristic thriller, the script was retooled for a modern-day setting, keeping several of its sci-fi elements but focusing more intently on its personality-shifting aspects which seemed to come straight out of Woo's international breakthrough, The Killer. An FBI agent, Sean Archer (John Travolta) has been hunting jet-set super-criminal Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) for years. For Archer, it's gone beyond personal to haunted obsession, particularly after Troy tried to shoot Archer but missed and killed his son instead. After a gonzo opening sequence involving a Humvee/private jet showdown on a runway and about ten thousand expended rounds (mostly fired by people flying sideways in slo-mo, of course), Archer's team brings down Troy.
The hook comes after the arrest in what should be Archer's greatest success. He's convinced by his superiors of the need to infiltrate Troy's organization to find that ticking bomb, and wouldn't you know the only way Archer can do that is to have an operation that surgically grafts Troy's face onto his, leaving his own floating in a beaker. Of course, this wouldn't be that interesting if, after Archer's left with his new look, Troy didn't wake up and force the surgeon to then graft Archer's face onto the bloody mess that's left of his. So, deceptions within deceptions and spiraling cascades of mirroring result as the men take on each other's lives, with Travolta doing his best Cage impersonation and vice versa, leaving everyone around them baffled as to what's happening. As schizophrenically fascinating as all this is, it doesn't get in the way of Woo's many bravura shootouts, some of the most kinetic and balletic ever to hit screens, and even adds to them in his typical fashion. Consider the scene in which Troy and Archer face off with each other on the opposite sides of a wall of mirrors, each of them aiming a gun at their reflection, which is now actually their enemy's reflection -- considering the psychological ramifications of that shot alone could leave one in therapy for a good while.
This is not to say that Face/Off should really be taken seriously, we're in high operatic Grand Guignol territory here from the moment that Troy steps out of his limo, sunglasses on and black coat flapping bat-like in slo-mo, and he receives a wooden case containing two glittering gold guns, a pack of Chiclets and a small pile of joints. The body counts are ridiculous, with henchmen and cops falling like dominos in scene after scene, and a small war's worth of ammunition fired. The acting is on the razor's edge of cartoonish, Travolta and Cage hamming it up with delirious glee and only Joan Allen, as Archer's straight-arrow wife, playing it straight and as a result acting as the film's moral anchor. Woo consistently takes a couple steps past rational, amping up one climatic shootout by viewing it from the eyes of a child standing in the middle of the flying bullets, while "Over the Rainbow" plays on the soundtrack. There's a savage grace here, amidst all the twirling bodies, fluttering pigeons and empty shell casings, that helps carry through the characters' humanity. Face/Off resides far past the edge of sanity, and is all the better for it.
The 2007 two-disc special collector's edition contains a wealth of deleted scenes, most of which were wise cuts (including a redundant murder), though one scene in which Archer, as Troy, finds out some particularly disturbing information about his nemesis' twisted childhood, would have added some well-needed dimension to the character. There are also a number of making-of documentaries that are well-stocked with information, but it's mostly of the back-slapping Hollywood-insider variety.
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The Kooks launch free barge gig tour
The Kooks' Luke Pritchard played an acoustic set on a barge between Victoria Park and Camden at the weekend (May 10) to launch the River Rat Pack Tour, which will see various bands perform barge gigs in June.
Jay Jay Pistolet, Mumford and Sons and SixNationState are among bands who are set to play free water-based gigs.
Nat Jenkins, Derek Meins, Josh Weller, Beans On Toast, The Golden Silvers and Naked And The Boys are also set to perform on the tour.
The bands will busk on the top of a barge as part of the tour as well as play gigs in a venue at each location they moor at. All the gigs will be free to attend.
The River Rat Pack Tour calls at:
London Camden Lock 17 (June 1)
Henley The Bull (4)
Reading The Oakford (5)
Goring riverside (6)
Abingdon The Unicorn Theatre (7)
Abingdon The Stocks (7)
Oxford The Cellar (8)
Jay Jay Pistolet, Mumford and Sons and SixNationState are among bands who are set to play free water-based gigs.
Nat Jenkins, Derek Meins, Josh Weller, Beans On Toast, The Golden Silvers and Naked And The Boys are also set to perform on the tour.
The bands will busk on the top of a barge as part of the tour as well as play gigs in a venue at each location they moor at. All the gigs will be free to attend.
The River Rat Pack Tour calls at:
London Camden Lock 17 (June 1)
Henley The Bull (4)
Reading The Oakford (5)
Goring riverside (6)
Abingdon The Unicorn Theatre (7)
Abingdon The Stocks (7)
Oxford The Cellar (8)
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