Joe Kavanagh's Music News

Of all the expected beneficiaries of Ireland's national smoking ban in the workplace, it is safe to assume that the world of Irish traditional music was not expected to be among them, but a recent study has shown that the ban has had the effect of improving the listening experience for fans of the genre. A study conducted by doctors at Dublin's St. Vincent's Hospital surveyed people who clean, maintain, repair and renovate bellows-driven instruments such as accordions and uilleann pipes, and found that older instruments tended to be clogged with ash from continuous exposure to smoky rooms. The buildup of dirt affected the instrument's performance and even influenced what key the musicians would play in. Now that smoking is no longer permitted in pubs, clubs and venues, instruments sound brighter and more in tune. I know, I don't quite understand how this study is helpful in any medical sense either. It was probably just a great excuse for a few doctors to go on a two-week, all expenses paid bender through Irish traditional music hotspots...

In an increasingly bitter public feud, Sharon Osbourne's brother, David Arden, continued to fire off barbs aimed squarely at his sister, through the medium of the UK tabloids last week. Arden, who has been estranged from his sister since the two fell out in the wake of their music mogul father's death earlier this year, claimed that Sharon's public recollections of the hardships of her of her childhood are nothing short of nonsense. Talking to a UK red-top, he said: "She said she could remember bailiffs coming round every week and taking the furniture out and then having it brought back. Absolute codswallop (nonsense). We had hand-made clothes... We also went to private schools. She oversensationalizes her life. When she says her father used to pull her hair... he would never do that. She was his little Jewish princess. He never physically hit me. He would shout and scream at me. And Sharon never told me that he hit her. She said he would lock me and her in the coal cellar together. That was a lie." He also claimed that Sharon is in danger of working her husband to death, telling the journalist: "I have known Ozzy since 1970. He is going to do 40 shows on the bounce (all at once), starting in mid-October and he's talking about a Black Sabbath tour after that. I think he's worn out. When the cameras are off he just sits there quietly. Sharon will keep Ozzy on the road until he dies on stage. Sharon needs him to work because of her exorbitant spending - although, in fairness to her, Ozzy wouldn't know what to do if he ever retired." Courtney Love also lashed out at Sharon Osbourne in the media last week, after Osbourne recently accused the Hole singer of introducing her son Jack to hard drugs. Responding to the allegation, Love told the London Eye: "I never did that. I would never give drugs to a teenager. F**k you Sharon - as if I would ever give drugs to a teenager." Ah, that Courtney, she's got a certain way with words, no? ...

They may have sold a staggering 250 million albums but the enduring appeal of Pink Floyd remains a potent force, as evidenced by a music poll conducted by British company, Music Choice, last week. THe extensive survey found that Pink Floyd was the band that most people wanted to see reform, topping the poll with 26% of the vote. Abba came in second place with 19%, while Guns N' Roses placed third with a healthy 16%. The survey also revealed some interesting results when respondents were asked which act they would most like to see break up. The Spice Girls reunion has already been something of a damp squib, so it won't please them to hear that they were runaway winners of the category with 22% of the vote. Irish warblers, Westlife, fared slightly better with 16%, while Girls Aloud took third place with 8.8%...

While we're on the subject of the Spice Girls, their reunion has fared so poorly in the publicity stakes that the band are now allegedly in talks with Bono, with insiders claiming that the U2 frontman is close to agreeing to a collaboration with the group, in order to widen their appeal. Personally, I don't think Ferdinand Magellan himself could right this ship...

In a week that saw their frenzied fans believe that they had cracked a hidden Radiohead hieroglyphic code, then even go so far as to set up a hoax website promising exclusive revelations about the band, the Oxford five-piece finally broke their silence regarding their upcoming seventh album. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood left a simple statement on the band's official website stating: "Hello everyone. Well, the new album is finished, and it's coming out in 10 days; We've called it 'In Rainbows.' Love from us all. Jonny" The new collection will be released exclusively online on October 10, but will not receive a physical release until December 3, when it will appear in a 'disc-box' format, which will feature a CD and two 12" records featuring a host of new tracks...

Paul McCartney has reportedly entered talks to score the music to Shrek 4, after being urged to do so by his three-year-old daughter, Beatrice. Producers are apparently also considering asking the Beatles legend to provide the voice for one of the characters in the movie...

They are probably more well-known for their drug-fuelled antics than their music but Babyshambles drummer, Adam Ficek, swears that the band has learned from their mistakes, and vowed that their exalted reputation for no-shows at gigs is a thing of the past. In an interview with the British media he reported: "This is us saying that those days are over, that we know we can't muck about any more. Peter can take care of business on drugs, but it's easier when he isn't [on drugs]. His arrests and the court cases have made it hard for us to find time to write as a band. We're planning the next album, and it'll be the first one where we've had time to properly rehearse songs." Why do the words 'counting', 'chickens' and 'hatched' keep springing to mind?