Music News

Freddie Mercury stormed out of recording sessions with Michael Jackson because he insisted on bringing his pet chimp to the studio.
The two late music icons came together nearly 30 years ago to duet on 'There Must Be More To Life Than This', an uncompleted track that had been left in a vault to gather dust.
The song - released this week - was eventually discovered by Freddie's Queen bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor who decided to complete it with the help of producer William Orbit and include it on new compilation LP 'Queen Forever'.
In an upcoming new book by showbiz writer David Wigg - who knew Freddie Mercury well - he reveals: "Freddie got very angry because Michael made Bubbles sit between them and would turn to the chimp between takes and ask, 'Don't you think that was lovely?' Or, 'Do you think we should do that again?' After a few days of this, Freddie just exploded ... 'I'm not performing with a f***ing chimp sitting next to me each night.'
"He phoned his manager and told him to 'get me out of this zoo.' Freddie then flew back to London, leaving the track musically unfinished."
'There Must Be More to Life Than This' was first penned by Freddie in 1981 and he worked on it with Michael in 1984 in Los Angeles.
A version of the song did appear on Freddie's 1985 solo album 'Mr. Bad Guy' in 1985.
Talking about the finished duet, Orbit recently said: "Hearing Michael Jackson's vocals was stirring. So vivid, so cool, and poignant, it was like he was in the studio singing live. With Freddie's vocal solo on the mixing desk, my appreciation for his gift was taken to an even higher level."
Two other previously unheard tracks which appear on 'Queen Forever', Giorgio Moroder collaboration 'Love Kills' and 'Let Me In Your Heart Again' which was written by Brian May.

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has been described by his son as "a good guy" who "wouldn't harm anyone" following his recent arrest.
The 60-year-old musician was arrested and charged with attempting to procure murder, making threats to kill and possession of illegal substances (methamphetamine and cannabis) last week following a raid on his New Zealand home, but the murder-related charge was dropped due to lack of evidence.
His son Thomas Rudd has now publicly spoken out in support of father, telling the Daily Mail newspaper: "All I will say is that my dad is a good guy. He's not perfect but wouldn't harm anyone."
A neighbour of the sticksman described him as a "good neighbour ... he's a pretty nice guy. He's very chatty and friendly. But he's pretty private. We don't see or hear anything (from him)."
Rudd still faces charges pertaining to drug possession and threatening to kill and a court ruling yesterday forbidding him from leaving the city of Tauranga or having any contact with any individuals related to the charge.
The 'Rock 'n' Roll Train' hitmaker is due to appear in court again on November 27. If found guilty he could receive a prison sentence up to seven years.
AC/DC - fronted by Brian Johnson - are releasing new album 'Rock or Bust' on December 2 and then intend to go on a world tour.

Ozzy Osbourne hailed his MTV EMA Global Icon win as "incredible."
The 65-year-old Black Sabbath frontman was honoured at the ceremony in Glasgow last night (09.11.14) for his contribution to music throughout his 40-year career.
Speaking on the red carpet, the rocker said: "I can't believe it, it's just incredible."
Presenting the award on stage, Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash honoured the star and joked about the notorious incident in 1982 when the rocker bit the head off a bat during a show in Iowa.
He said: "For four decades the Prince of Darkness has rocked anyone who dared to listen.
"This is a guy who does not know how to do ordinary. He scares the hell out of most people and all bats. But to me is a gentle man and a gentleman."
When given the award, the 'Paranoid' singer joked: "I don't know where they got this icon s**t from but it's good to be here tonight. God bless you all, thank you for coming."
His wife Sharon Osbourne - who announced on Friday (07.11.14) that the family will shoot eight new episodes of their reality television show 'The Osbournes' next year - also praised her husband of 32 years.
The 62-year-old TV host gushed: "I'm so proud. It's his night. I just want him to have the best time."
The ceremony - presented by 'Anaconda' rapper Nicki Minaj - was held in Glasgow, with One Direction picking up three gongs for Biggest Fans, Best Live and Best Pop act, with other wins for Ariana Grade, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber.

Robert Plant "tore up" a deal worth over £500 million to reform Led Zeppelin.
The 66-year-old legend stunned promoters of a proposed tour that would have saw the group - who split in 1980 and reformed for a one-off gig in London in 2007 - perform 35 dates in three cities for the staggering paycheque by refusing the deal, even though bandmates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones had signed on, as had Jason Bonham, who replaced his late father John on drums for their previous reunion show.
A source said: "Jimmy, John and Jason signed up immediately.
"It was a no-brainer for them but Robert asked for 48 hours to think about it. When he said no and ripped up the paperwork he had been given, there was an enormous sense of shock.
"There is no way they can go ahead without him.
"They have tried to talk him round but there is no chance.
"His mind is made up and that's that."
Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson made the offer, which would have seen one of his Jumbo jets rebranded The Starship to carry the group for the tour and the back 20 rows would have been sold for £100,000-a-seat.
The source added to the Sunday Mirror newspaper: "Branson tried to pull out all of the stops. But even his money was not enough to get Plant to sign up. He is gutted."
An insider said while Jason would receive a wage, the three founder members would receive £250 million for 35 shows in London, Berlin and New Jersey and an additional £70 million in merchandise profits. There was also an option to do 45 more gigs in five venues.
The 'Stairway to Heaven' singer has previously insisted he isn't interested in getting back on stage with his bandmates again.
Speaking about the chances of a reunion happening, he said: "If I really wanted to be loved by the public, I know what I'd have to do, which I'm not going to do - so I have nothing to lose.
"Anyone who is famous is dealing with the same s**t. It's just a question of how you deal with it. Now I can see how ridiculous I am, or at least, was. Am I a pop singer, a rock singer, the guy from Led Zeppelin? Actually I'm just a bloke with the facility to get out all these emotions within the musical company I'm keeping. And I'm burning every bridge as I go."

James Blunt is not earnest.
The 40-year-old musician is in the midst of a career rival following the release of his fourth studio album, 'Moon Landing', earlier this year, and James concedes that the broad perception of him is markedly different from the reality.
Reflecting on his career, James said: "I probably suffered from over-play of over-emotional songs. I found in my writing that I could express emotions that as an everyday person I have no interest in expressing. These strange things that girls talk about called feelings."
Blunt - who was once a member of the British army - said fame has barely made an impression on his character.
He told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: "I'm a fairly unaffected human being. I'm easy to talk to, I hope. I'm not too bothered about the clothes I'm wearing. I've been misquoted in interviews as to appear earnest. Which I am not."
An upturn in James' recent popularity has been linked to his amusing messages on Twitter, which have helped to change the public's perception of him.
He said: "Twitter has given me my own voice. After I posted my first two tweets, the record label phoned me and asked me to stop. I said, 'I really can't because I've opened a Pandora's box and I'm enjoying it."

Redfoo thinks sending naked photos online is 'ridiculous' after revealing that he is on Tinder to "meet people".
The 39-year-old 'New Thang' singer claims that women will need to meet him in person to see him naked because he doesn't share nude photos of himself online.
Talking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, Redfoo said: "No, no. I've never sent nudes. I couldn't do that. That's ridiculous. If you gotta see me nude, it's gotta be in the flesh. So I just tease. But no, I wouldn't do that. Not my thing."
However, the singer - whose real name is Stefan Kendal Gordy - has admitted that he is open to finding a girlfriend on the dating app Tinder - as long as they don't minding fitting into his hectic lifestyle.
He explained: "I do like the girl-next-door. I like that. I think that it keeps my in touch with what's really going on. But at the same time, I don't really think about it, like, famous or not famous. It's interesting.
"It really comes down to like careers. If you're dating someone who a strong focus on their career, that's always challenging. They're busy, you're busy. Sometimes you meet someone and they're not that busy. Maybe they're on vacation or something and can afford to just hang out.
"You gotta be in the same world I think. I think Tinder says to everybody: 'I'm here to meet people.'"
The 'Sexy And I Know It' singer did note that he is "picky" when selecting a potential date on the social app as he added that he sometimes just uses it for the company while travelling.
Redfoo shared: "I'm pretty picky. I swipe left a lot. I can just tell. 'Nah, that person has attitude'. But I do read the bios.
"A lot of it is the chatting. You know, you can meet all these people without going to the club. You can sit back at home and talk to people, so sometimes it's a mini vacation. It's a relaxing thing."
Redfoo's new single 'New Thang' is out on December 15th.

Noel Gallagher's new album is a mixture of "space jazz" and "disco".
The 'AKA...What A Life!' hitmaker has been working on a "sister project" with electronic duo Amorphous Androgynous and claims he's incorporated their "space jazz" style into his own new album 'Chasing Yesterday'.
He said: "Space Jazz? I've gone there. There's more than a couple of sax solos on the record on the record. I could play you two of those tracks with saxophones and you'd go, 'Wow, it's like a f***ing space jazz record!'
"Then I could pick two other tracks that've got a disco feel, and you'd think it was that. But then there's rockers on there, and emotional songs that you would associate with me. It's very eclectic."
Noel, 47, has also reworked two of Amorphous Androgynous' tracks for his LP and claims they're unlike anything people will have heard from him before, especially his songs with Oasis.
He explained to Q magazine: "There's one called 'The Right Stuff', which is very out-there. When you hear it, you'll think, 'It's probably as far removed from 'Supersonic' as you could possibly get."

Ozzy Osbourne has "sold his soul to the Devil".
The 67-year-old Black Sabbath frontman believes that he will be going to hell when he dies because he has done so many things he shouldn't have.
When asked what he would sell his soul to the Devil for, he said: "I already have. Well, you sell your soul to the Devil when you do something yourself that you shouldn't, and I already have. I've f***ing lived my life to the fullest. If there's an afterlife, I've got a good f***ing spot in the furnace, you know?"
A lover of the dark arts, Ozzy even named his 1982 solo album, 'Speak Of The Devil' in homage to the supernatural entity and went out of his way to deliberately cause controversy.
Speaking about the album art - which showed the topless rocker with blood dripping from his mouth - he explained to Kerrang! magazine: "There was blood in my mouth - f***ing cranberry sauce. I said, 'Put something on the album that will get censored.' If you get censored, you'll sell more records."
He then revealed that he would love to spend his remaining days in darkness as he recalled his late-night drug binges during the 1970s.
He said: "Night-time forever - I'm the Prince of Darkness! I like night. In saying that, when I used to do all that powder, you tend to sleep in the day and you're awake all night. I'd wake up and see the sun, and I used to hate seeing the dawn. When I go on tour, I have to have blacked-out windows in the bedroom. I have them sealed."

Jay Z wants to sign Cara Delevingne to his record label.
The '99 Problems' hitmaker is reportedly "convinced" the British model - who has been in the recording studio with Pharrell Williams - has what it takes to be a musical superstar and thinks his Roc Nation label would be the perfect home for her.
A source said: "Jay is seriously pushing for her to sign to his label. Industry insiders are saying it would be an amazing fit.
"What's more, he and Pharrell have been in close conversation about their plans for her - they've worked together in the past and it's needless to say there's no one more suited than these two to launch Cara's music career.
"As far as Jay is concerned there isn't another woman around who could achieve the type of multifaceted stardom he believes Cara is set for. She has the same relentlessness and cool attitude as the likes of Rihanna or Beyonce, plus the added appeal of being a genuine international supermodel. He's convinced she can make a huge mark on the music industry over the next five years."
Cara has been working 15-hour days in the recording studios and consulting her pop star pals for advice as she is determined to be taken seriously when she launches her new career.
The source told LOOK magazine: "Rihanna has been offering her a lot of support, teaching her about the craft and how to put on a big production.
"She's also been speaking to Taylor Swift about songwriting. Cara wants her work to be as authentic as possible and that includes writing her own lyrics - something Taylor is obviously famous for."