Joe Kavanagh's Music News

Although Snow Patrol has enjoyed the most successful 12 month period in the band's career, not all is sweetness and light in their world, with word that they are being sued by former bassist, and founding member, Mark McClelland, who left the band in 2005, citing "creative differences". He is now laying claim to a quarter of all the band's earnings over the past 12 months, which would include all income from their multi-platinum breakthrough album, Eyes Open. According to a source quoted by UK tabloid, The News Of The World: "This'll get really messy unless they make a deal. Mark's deeply aggrieved and wants what he sees as his share. When you consider the sort of success the band went on to enjoy, Mark's being advised his damages could run into the millions." Of course none of this would have to do with the fact that McClelland couldn't sell out a phone booth with his new band, Little Doses. Talk about a no-show job. The Westies wouldn't even have the stomach for this fight...

People are quite used to seeing the Osbournes fighting but it was the Arden family that was involved in a very public spat last week. Confused? Well, allow me to explain. Don Arden, legendary manager of the Small Faces, is also the father of David Arden and Sharon Arden, better known nowadays by her married name: Osbourne. In the same week that Arden senior was honored with a plaque on a London street for his work with the seminal psychedelic band, his offspring fired barbs at each other through the media. Last weekend, David Arden gave an exclusive interview to UK tabloid, News Of The World, in which he painted a far from flattering portrait of his sister. In the piece, Arden claims that Sharon only got together with Ozzie to irk fellow Black Sabbath member, Tony Iomi, saying: "The truth is Ozzy was way down on her list. Sharon had no interest. In fact she always referred to Ozzy as 'the w**ker'. When the label was having hard times, she actually tried to get Ozzy fired." He also claims that she was temporarily fired from her job as a judge on X-Factor, (UK version of American Idol) for constantly making gay jibes at fellow judge, Simon Cowell. According to her brother: "She tells everyone he's gay. She claims he's in the closet and doesn't know yet he's homosexual, which is ridiculous." In recounting yet another of her curious ways, he recalls a particular incident that occurred involving his sister and Elton John, claiming: "Sharon and Elton both fancied the same young man in Los Angeles. And when Elton was the one who finally got him into bed Sharon was furious. Accompanied by a friend of ours, who told me everything, she sneaked up to Elton's Beverly Hills mansion, defecated on his driveway then used it for her own dirty protest all over his Rolls-Royce. It was absolutely appalling. But that's just the way Sharon always retaliates." Spokespeople for Sharon were quick to refute the claims but happily claimed that the public should wait until the publication of the second installment of Sharon's autobiography, which is due for release this October, before adding menacingly: "He (David) should be trembling with fear." Given the fact that this woman would allegedly poop on your wheels (though I can't for the life of me conceive how that is meant to embarrass the victim more than her) or even send you a 'number two special' in the mail (a practice of hers recounted by her own children), if I were David I think I'd be moving to outer Bangladesh and calling myself Mutayeh Pantasowar, right about now...

Although it's been a while since the last bout of trans-Atlantic barbs between musicians, there was an incident last week that might suggest that things are heating up. The most surprising aspect of the controversy was its source, for this was not a bust up between hip hop icons or the vitriolic ramblings of a mouthy punk band, but rather the fresh-faced (however he manages that without botox or surgery at his age is beyond me) mullet-rocker, John Bon Jovi. In an interview with Glamour Magazine, the singer, whose band are currently embracing country music, gave his opinion on many of the most prominent entertainers associated with the UK. Among those he shared his views on were, Robbie Williams ("That guy? He couldn't fill a bar. He couldn't even sell 500 tickets."), Oasis ("(Oasis) couldn't fill a bar, either - and they're full of themselves."), Pete Doherty ("We're not familiar of anything other than his antics and the fact that he's always in trouble - I've never heard a single one of his songs.") and even David Beckham ("Is he past his prime?"). While it's seemingly obvious that Mr Jovi is not the world's greatest Anglophile, I think he might want to look up the phrase 'getting chinned' before he takes his next sojourn around blightyland...

Finally, I read last week where charges of assault were dropped against Olie Sykes, lead singer of up-and-coming UK act, Bring Me The Horizon. The frontman was facing the charge at Nottingham Crown Court, stemming from an incident last year where he was accused of urinating upon a female member of the audience. The charges were dropped when magistrates cited a lack of evidence in the case, which might be good news for Sykes in the long run but certainly precludes him from ever being bestowed with a great rock nickname like Olie 'The Snake' Sykes or some such.