NEW YORK (Reuters) - Madonna fans have turned out in record numbers for her world tour, concert promoter Live Nation Inc said on Thursday, seeking to knock down reports the Material Girl is losing her appeal.
The Los Angeles company said Madonna had sold more than one million tickets -- over 90 percent of those available -- for Madonna's 42-date global "Sticky & Sweet" tour, which kicks off in Cardiff, Wales on August 23.
Live Nation is trying to transform itself into a comprehensive music company, offering artists recording contracts and merchandising deals, as well as touring and access to its live venues. Madonna was one of the biggest names the company has signed for a reported $120 million contract.
The New York Post reported on Tuesday that Madonna was failing to sell out certain venues, including a November date at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles that sold just 27,000 of 43,000 seats.
Live Nation spokesman John Vlautin confirmed the Los Angeles numbers, but said the global tour's ticket sales are on target to gross more than $250 million, which would shatter Madonna's own previous record for a female artist of $195 million from "Confessions On A Dancefloor" tour two years ago.
It has been a difficult month for Live Nation, with speculation mounting on whether the company overpaid to sign artists such as Madonna and rapper Jay-Z to be part of its new '360-degree' business model.
Live Nation lost its chairman, Michael Cohl, last week after a fallout with Chief Executive Michael Rapino over this strategy. Cohl, who was head of Live Nation's artists division, had wanted to sign artists at a quicker pace, but Rapino wanted to sign around four to six marquee names a year. Cohl is now a consultant to the company.
There has also been concern the slowing U.S. economy would hurt nonessential items such as rock concert tickets, which can cost up to $200 each for major artists -- the larger share of Live Nation's revenue streams.
Live Nation's management has said it is has seen no impact from the slowing economy, Vlautin said.
(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Andre Grenon)
Wednesday 2 July 2008
Borat, Meet Sherlock Holmes
Sacha Baron Cohen will trim his legendary Borat mustache into a more refined bit of facial hair, don a pipe and spectacles for the upcoming film about fictional English sleuth Sherlock Holmes. Will Ferrell will play his loyal sidekick Watson.
It's the second time around for the two actors, who first starred together in the 2006 auto racing spoof Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
The not yet titled Sherlock film will be based on the principal characters created by Scottish-born author and physician Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 19th century.
The character of Holmes, a straight-laced english gentleman with an uncanny knack for solving crimes, seems like a stretch for Cohen, who although was educated at England's Cambridge University, has risen to fame playing boorish, irreverant characters such as Borat, ali G and Bruno.
Columbia Pictures says its confident the two actors will breathe new life into the roles.
"Just the idea of Sacha and Will as Sherlock Holmes and Watson makes us laugh," Columbia Pictures co-president Matt Tolmach said in a statement obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.
See Also
Thornton slams quotes on Jolie
Billy Bob Thornton has denied reports he dismissed Angelina Jolie�s relationship with Brad Pitt as a �high school phase,� imdb.com reports.
The actor was quoted in an interview with AskMen.com, saying, �(She�s) dating the quarterback of the football team with Brad Pitt over there. She�ll be waking up from that dream in no time.� But Thornton, who was married to the actress for three years, insists the quotes were completely fabricated and the interview has since been removed from the website.
See Also
Najma
Artist: Najma
Genre(s):
Folk
Miscellaneous
Discography:
Ghazals By Najma
Year: 1988
Tracks: 9
Atish
Year:
Tracks: 8
Najma (born: Najma Akhtar) has apace risen to the upper berth echelon of Indian music. Although born in England, Najma has remained rooted in the pop and movie music of her patrimonial base. Songs from her 1987 debut album, Qareeb, were featured in Hanif Quereishi's moving picture, Sammy and Rose Gets Laid. Her 1988 record album, Ghazals By Najma, featured her interpretations of the traditional Eastern poetical form, while she recorded an album of songs by Indian moving picture composer S. D. Berman, Forbidden Kiss, in 1996.
The Western world has shown their appreciation for Najma's talents, as easily. In addition to tattle harmony with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page on their rendering of "The Battle of Evermore" on their 1994 MTV Unplugged special, she made various invitee appearances on their No Quarter world enlistment. Najma has likewise collaborated with Jah Wobble, Andy Summers, Carol Grimes, and Maartin Allcock. A song that she recorded with Jah Wobble, "Raga," was heard in Robert Altman's moving picture, Pret a Porter.
A chemic engineering graduate, Najma gave small thinking to a career in euphony until victorious an Asian song contest in 1984. Her transcription debut on the number 1 WOMAD/RealWorld digest followed shortly afterwards. Najma's popularity has continued to uprise. In 1991, her s album, Atish, reached the number quadruplet position on the humans music chart compiled by Billboard. Her third album, Pukar (Vocation You), which sold more than 50 1000 copies in Japan alone, was released in North and South America by Miles Copeland's Mondo Melodia label.
Murphy steps out of Bauhaus' dark shadow
Let’s get something straight: For better or worse, Peter Murphy and Bauhaus are two very different things.
While Murphy’s role in the legendary Goth-father quartet is responsible for his ghoulish image and provides an excellent vehicle for his instantly recognizable hair-raising bellow, when he steps out on his own, Bauhaus is merely one ingredient in his musical recipe. It may, in fact, be the tastiest ingredient, but there are a lot of other, subtler flavors in the mix.
Murphy’s out on a curious little jaunt this summer, getting his bearings in between Bauhaus’ umpteenth (supposedly final) split and a new solo collection that he said was finished and ready for mixing to the small but devoted crowd that turned up for his Roxy gig Saturday night.
Stepping out in a tight black suit, the 50-year-old Murphy and his able three-piece band kicked into high gear with “Burning From the Inside,” a Bauhaus staple built of scratched-out guitar licks and a shifty time signature; due to some sound problems early on, Murphy’s voice was so bottom-end heavy the Roxy’s chandeliers seem to shake as he sang. With his ax slung low on his shoulder, Mark Thwaite (who’s worked with everyone from Roger Daltrey to PJ Harvey to Tricky) did a decent job filling in for Danielle Ash, while bassist Jeff Schartoff and former Queens of the Stone Age drummer Nick Lucero maintained an admirable hold on the difficult-to-follow rhythm.
Throughout the gig, Murphy used a handful of Bauhaus tunes to anchor fans who might not be familiar with his solo catalog, busting out with “Black Stone Heart” from the band’s swan-song effort “Go Away White,” out earlier this year, as well as “She’s In Parties” and a lovely, acoustically rendered, “The Three Shadows Part 1.” But if Bauhaus die-hards aren’t satisfied with Murphy’s solo music, it’s because they haven’t accepted that the Peter Murphy they know and love is really playing a character when he performs with his old band - much like the difference between seeing Debbie Harry with and without Blondie.
One noticeable difference from the get-go was how personable Murphy seemed. When he’s out with Bauhaus, he barely speaks to audiences - it’s down to business, and chit-chat will destroy his vampiric spell. Instead he paces the stage, gesticulating as he delivers a song’s narrative as if he were a professor getting a sick thrill while giving a lecture on something gruesome and unsavory.
But at the Roxy, Murphy behaved like an old flame coming by for a drink: gregarious, flirtatious, coy and amusing - he opened the floor to a Q&A about a third of the way through. He made fun of the Boston accent by repeating the phrase “pahhhk the cahhhr” and half-joked that it was a shame the Dresden Dolls weren’t in attendance, play-growling, “Amanda, where ARE you?” to see if maybe they’d turned up after all. He admitted without batting an eyelash that Bauhaus couldn’t stay together because when the four hook up, “We’re like a bunch of Marys.” And several times he stooped down at the side of the stage to hold the hands of his most devoted Boston fans, though there were limits to the intimacy: He pushed away the arm of one woman who went straight for his crotch.
Musically, the solo tunes are brighter, hopeful sounding and significantly more melodic than the Bauhaus lot. And while that might not satiate folks that feed on ominous tones, it’s proof positive that Murphy’s no one-trick pony. “The Line Between the Devil’s Teeth” rocked good and hard with a mosh-worthy beat, and “Deep Ocean, Black Sea” had a punchy moment, but most of the selections were more like “Gliding Like a Whale” and “Huuvola,” written for his children, both of which were fueled by synthy backing tracks (there was no keyboardist on stage) and powerful vocal performances that recalled Bowie’s “Heroes.”
Whether whirling like a dervish at center stage, pogoing around or jumping an imaginary rope, Murphy bounded with enough un-Bauhaus-like playful energy that one must wonder: Maybe he split with them this time because he’s sick of visiting the dark side night after night. Indeed, Murphy has joined the land of the living, and the tone of his forthcoming CD will likely reflect that flickering, fun-loving spirit we saw emerge at the Roxy.
Brooklyn’s Ali Eskandarian opened with a brief set of four tunes that traversed the lines between spoken-word performance art, electronica and alt-folk, complete with mixed acoustic guitar and blasts of key-generated noise. Four songs weren’t enough of a taste to get a real handle on Eskandarian’s shtick, but watching him gyrate his hips and passionately flail around the stage left the impression that based on sheer spectacle value alone, we’ll be hearing more from him.
While Murphy’s role in the legendary Goth-father quartet is responsible for his ghoulish image and provides an excellent vehicle for his instantly recognizable hair-raising bellow, when he steps out on his own, Bauhaus is merely one ingredient in his musical recipe. It may, in fact, be the tastiest ingredient, but there are a lot of other, subtler flavors in the mix.
Murphy’s out on a curious little jaunt this summer, getting his bearings in between Bauhaus’ umpteenth (supposedly final) split and a new solo collection that he said was finished and ready for mixing to the small but devoted crowd that turned up for his Roxy gig Saturday night.
Stepping out in a tight black suit, the 50-year-old Murphy and his able three-piece band kicked into high gear with “Burning From the Inside,” a Bauhaus staple built of scratched-out guitar licks and a shifty time signature; due to some sound problems early on, Murphy’s voice was so bottom-end heavy the Roxy’s chandeliers seem to shake as he sang. With his ax slung low on his shoulder, Mark Thwaite (who’s worked with everyone from Roger Daltrey to PJ Harvey to Tricky) did a decent job filling in for Danielle Ash, while bassist Jeff Schartoff and former Queens of the Stone Age drummer Nick Lucero maintained an admirable hold on the difficult-to-follow rhythm.
Throughout the gig, Murphy used a handful of Bauhaus tunes to anchor fans who might not be familiar with his solo catalog, busting out with “Black Stone Heart” from the band’s swan-song effort “Go Away White,” out earlier this year, as well as “She’s In Parties” and a lovely, acoustically rendered, “The Three Shadows Part 1.” But if Bauhaus die-hards aren’t satisfied with Murphy’s solo music, it’s because they haven’t accepted that the Peter Murphy they know and love is really playing a character when he performs with his old band - much like the difference between seeing Debbie Harry with and without Blondie.
One noticeable difference from the get-go was how personable Murphy seemed. When he’s out with Bauhaus, he barely speaks to audiences - it’s down to business, and chit-chat will destroy his vampiric spell. Instead he paces the stage, gesticulating as he delivers a song’s narrative as if he were a professor getting a sick thrill while giving a lecture on something gruesome and unsavory.
But at the Roxy, Murphy behaved like an old flame coming by for a drink: gregarious, flirtatious, coy and amusing - he opened the floor to a Q&A about a third of the way through. He made fun of the Boston accent by repeating the phrase “pahhhk the cahhhr” and half-joked that it was a shame the Dresden Dolls weren’t in attendance, play-growling, “Amanda, where ARE you?” to see if maybe they’d turned up after all. He admitted without batting an eyelash that Bauhaus couldn’t stay together because when the four hook up, “We’re like a bunch of Marys.” And several times he stooped down at the side of the stage to hold the hands of his most devoted Boston fans, though there were limits to the intimacy: He pushed away the arm of one woman who went straight for his crotch.
Musically, the solo tunes are brighter, hopeful sounding and significantly more melodic than the Bauhaus lot. And while that might not satiate folks that feed on ominous tones, it’s proof positive that Murphy’s no one-trick pony. “The Line Between the Devil’s Teeth” rocked good and hard with a mosh-worthy beat, and “Deep Ocean, Black Sea” had a punchy moment, but most of the selections were more like “Gliding Like a Whale” and “Huuvola,” written for his children, both of which were fueled by synthy backing tracks (there was no keyboardist on stage) and powerful vocal performances that recalled Bowie’s “Heroes.”
Whether whirling like a dervish at center stage, pogoing around or jumping an imaginary rope, Murphy bounded with enough un-Bauhaus-like playful energy that one must wonder: Maybe he split with them this time because he’s sick of visiting the dark side night after night. Indeed, Murphy has joined the land of the living, and the tone of his forthcoming CD will likely reflect that flickering, fun-loving spirit we saw emerge at the Roxy.
Brooklyn’s Ali Eskandarian opened with a brief set of four tunes that traversed the lines between spoken-word performance art, electronica and alt-folk, complete with mixed acoustic guitar and blasts of key-generated noise. Four songs weren’t enough of a taste to get a real handle on Eskandarian’s shtick, but watching him gyrate his hips and passionately flail around the stage left the impression that based on sheer spectacle value alone, we’ll be hearing more from him.
The Kooks : "Coldplay Are Best Band In The World"
Luke Pritchard, frontman with The Kooks has stepped-up to praise Coldplay, even declaring them as the "best band in the world".
"Coldplay are the best band in the world and the single 'Violet Hill' is pure genius, simple as that", Pritchard told the Daily Star.
"I can't believe that they're getting a hard time. It's weird. How can people undermine them? To me Cold�play are other-worldly. People diss it because it's popular. Well, whatever. Say that when it sells millions of albums. Coldplay aren't a short-term thing."
The Kooks man also went on to say, "I've often wondered what it would have been like to see David Bowie in his Space Oddity days and even though it's not as shocking, Coldplay have got a similar thing going on."
See Also
Psychic TV and White Stains
Artist: Psychic TV and White Stains
Genre(s):
Industrial
Discography:
At Stockholm
Year: 1990
Tracks: 1
Bobina
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)