Even though Fatboy Slim said he was backing off from live dates for the next year, his label, Astralwerks, just announced that Norman Cook will return to the turntables to DJ two nights in the round at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom on Dec. 17-18.| "He knows how boring it is for fans to watch a DJ spin, so he wanted to be right in the thick of things," said his label rep. This is the first time Cook has deejayed in New York in more than a year. Also on his schedule is a stint at Toronto's Warehouse on Oct. 27 and an appearance at San Francisco's Warfield Theater on Oct. 29. He'll be doing a show for KROQ contest winners at the American Legion Hall in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, but the only way you can get into that is to sneak in . . .
Diverting some attention away from their usual pet charity, Tibet, the BEASTIE BOYS have extended their generosity toward four different organizations that have been working to help Kosovar refugees -- CARE, MADRE, UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders. The Beasties were able to raise $200,000 for those charities via downloads of three of their songs posted at launch.com . . .
QUEEN frontman FREDDIE MERCURY, who died eight years ago at the age of forty-five from AIDS, is being celebrated with a traveling photo exhibit. Mercury's mother, Jer Bulsara, has organized a collection of ninety-four photographs of her famous son -- including a shot of Mercury as a five-month-old infant winning a Baby of the Year Competition -- and put them on the road. The photographs -- snapped by some of rock's leading lights -- initially were exhibited in London before traveling to France, Germany and Romania. This month they'll go to India, where the singer spent his childhood, to raise AIDS awareness in that country . . .
Former STONE ROSES guitarist JOHN SQUIRE has joined forces with former VERVE bassist SIMON JONES and are currently ensconced in a Manchester rehearsal studio writing new material. The remainder of the band is comprised of former-Seahorses drummer Mark Heaney and an unnamed singer from Manchester that the newly formed duo is keeping under wraps. No name has been announced, but NME bandied about John Squire's Skunk Works and Reluctance as two possible contenders . . .
JEWEL's Pieces of You and MATCHBOX 20's Yourself or Someone Like You have been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. sales in excess of ten million units. Other Diamond acts include SHANIA TWAIN, DEF LEPPARD, GUNS N' ROSES and HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH . . .
If you were throwing the "Concert of the Century" with stars like ERIC CLAPTON, GARTH BROOKS, SHERYL CROW, B.B. KING and LENNY KRAVITZ, where would you stage it? If you're VH1 and Tommy Hilfiger, you'd pull a few strings and mount the extravaganza this Saturday on the White House lawn, right where they hold the Easter Egg Hunt . . .
Contrary to reports that MADONNA is doing the soundtrack for The Next Big Thing, her press office indicates she will actually only be doing one or two songs for that project. In the meantime, she is working on the follow-up to her hugely successful foray into the electronica mainstream, Ray of Light. British DJ SASHA, who did remix work on the material girl's last effort, is said to be working on ideas for her to listen to ...
The CURE ended their hibernation -- for a night, anyway. The band taped eleven songs at New York's Sony Music Studios for an episode of VH1's Billboard Live, to air next spring. "We haven't played in front of people for quite a long time, so be kind to us," joked ROBERT SMITH through his trademark red lipstick. Dressed all in black, Smith and the boys ran through recent album tracks and a few ditties from their upcoming album Blood Flowers (due in Feb.). While the Cure paused for the tape to be changed, an audience member clamored for Smith to tell a joke. He didn't take the bait, however, and instead led his band through an impromptu "Boys Don't Cry" ...
LAURYN HILL, 'N SYNC, CELINE DION, ELTON JOHN, BILLY JOEL, CHER and others will lend their voices to A Rosie Christmas, ROSIE O'DONNELL's Christmas album to benefit her All Kids Foundation. The album is due Nov. 2 and will be followed by an ABC TV special on Dec. 5 ...
BILL CRANDALL, JENNY ELISCU, JOLIE LASH, DAVID SPRAGUE, JAAN UHELSZKI
(October 20, 1999)