Joe Kavanagh's Music News

The Irish music world was rocked by news of the sudden death of Stephen Gately, who failed to wake up after a night out while holidaying in the Spanish island of Majorca. The well-known member of Boyzone was only 33-years old and had become something of a gay icon in the music world since 'coming out' a decade ago. Spanish police claim that there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death but there was no further elaboration on the cause of his demise as we went to press. Tributes to Gately were led by his band-mates, manager Louis Walsh, Elton John and a host of celebrities from around the music world who attested to his unassuming character and modest nature in a business renowned for its egos. The four remaining members of Boyzone have all flown out to Majorca to assist his family in their time of need...

Speaking of shocks, albeit less tragic, Bono recorded a video message for the British Conservative Party conference, which was held in Manchester last week, crossing something of a political threshold, given the party's past reputation for harboring a particularly anti-Irish component. His appearance was made all the more curious by his outspoken support of the Labour Party in the past, and the fact that he also recorded a video message for that party's conference, which was held in Brighton one week prior. The U2 front man exclaimed: "Hello there, if you can swallow an Irish man saying what's great about Great Britain, indulge me for a minute, because what's happened over the last few years in Britain's relationship with the developing world has been so inspiring to me. It's a brave thing: keeping Britain's aid promise to the developing world, but it is the right thing to do and it is what's great about Great Britain." Under the Labor Party Britain contributes 7% of its GDP to developing nations but given the Tories notorious fondness for slashing budgets, I think Bono could be having a number one in the wind on this one...

While Bono's words may have impressed the celebrity-starved Conservative Party members, it fell far short of the mark with outspoken social activist and Reverend and the Makers front man, John McClure, who made the following posting on his Twitter account shortly after the U2 singer's appearance: "Bono you are more of a c*** than i can possibly express! i hope u choke on satans c***!" Bono you have had a s*** with your clothes on with that tory stuff mate!" Not one for mincing his words, McClure was also in the news last week when he waded in on the ongoing debate pertaining to file-sharing, which has seen Lily Allen and Muse emerge as champions of those advocating a government clampdown on the practice. Talking to the Sun newspaper, McClure raged: "We've got Iraq today, Afghanistan, bankers are taking the p***, MPs are taking the p***, BNP are on the rampage, plus we're melting the ice caps. There's a lot to be angry about but nobody wants to do it. What upsets me is last week Lily Allen and Muse came out and said 'We've got to campaign against file sharing. We're having breakfast with Peter Mandelson and we're gonna tell him to shut down kids' internets.' Now, what a crying shame it is that all you can get angry or upset about is kids nicking your music. The thing with Lily is, I think when you get your nipples out in GQ and you're trying to make serious political comment with the government, you're putting yourself in a silly position." Say what you like about McClure but nobody can ever accuse him of being one of these sanitized stars who is afraid to stand for anything for fear that they offend any potential fans...

While she may not be quite as vocal as McClure, UK soul singer Adele is also against overreacting to the problem of file-sharing, telling an interviewer last week: "I'm either/or when it comes to downloading. My main worry is my next record and I think every debut artist should worry more about their second album than whether people will buy it or not. People can listen to it for free and then they'll come and see you live. I know I'll get in trouble for that now. Sorry, Lily." That noise you just heard was the people at Adele's record label choking on their cornflakes...

It's surely ironic that the one week during the past two years where Lily Allen did not actually say anything to the media, she still managed to find herself in the news, with yet another story relating to her coming by means of UK 60s icon, Donovan (I'd also have accepted 'Bob Dylan without the talent' as a description). The Hurdy Gurdy Man singer claims that he wants to collaborate with Allen on an upcoming project, telling a journalist last week: "I'm hoping to do so on my tour - there will be an open invitation to young songwriters in the capitals of the world I'm playing in to join me onstage so I can highlight what they're doing. I collaborate mostly with girls because of the goddess aspect. The girls work better with me than the boys. There are many throughout the world which I am going to discover I am sure." Perhaps the reason that he works better with girls is the fact that they're not as likely to punch his lights out for spouting such pseudo-spiritual claptrap as that statement about the "goddess aspect." C'mon now...

Electronic pioneers, Kraftwerk, are set to enter the studio in the city of Dusseldorf in their native Germany, during the coming weeks, in order to begin work on their first studio album since the departure of co-founding member Florian Scheider, who left last year after almost three decades in the iconic act. Speaking of their upcoming recording session for their first album since 2003's Tour de France Soundtracks, fellow co-founding member, Ralf Hutter stated: "In the winter it's pretty gray here (Dusseldorf, Germany), so it's a good situation to go into the studio." Quite frankly, I'm amazed that Schneider lasted as long as he did with happy clappy chappies like that around him. If they're looking for gray then they should camp out over here in Ireland, because we'll show them gray. This place is grayer than a communal comb in a Florida retirement home...

Simon Cowell celebrated his 50 birthday last week, with some 400 guests, at a lavish party held in a Hertfordshire mansion. The king of mean reportedly received 179 mirrors as presents, and was quoted in UK tabloid the Daily Mirror as saying: "They came in all shapes and sizes - big ones, small ones, full-length ones, even dental ones so I can look at my teeth. A couple of people even bought me magnifying ones to help me inspect my wrinkles." Perhaps they aren't for checking out wrinkles, although there are wrinkles around the item they could be designed for viewing. They are definitely not for checking out his ego anyway because you can see that thing from space...

Dido is ready to begin work on her fourth album, and is set to return to the more electronically-edged sound that defined her earliest work. She is also enlisting the help of her older brother Rollo, who is well known for his work with internationally renowned dance-act, Faithless. Speaking to website, Angry Ape, the Here With Me singer declared: "The last few months has been spent mostly at home just writing and recording away on my own in the kitchen - still the place I get the most done. I'm really enjoying what I've been doing. I've been embracing my electronic roots again which is even more enjoyable than ever before after all I've been learning in the last few years."...

Finally, tickets for next year's Glastonbury festival sold out within 12 hours of going on sale last week despite no acts being confirmed as yet. Bookmakers have installed the Rolling Stones as 4/1 favorites to headline the musical extravaganza, ahead of other names like Coldplay, David Bowie and Muse. Mick Jagger was subsequently quoted as saying that the 'Stones were "never really offered" a gig at Glastonbury before which is kind of half true because I think what he meant to say was that they were never really offered enough money, if reports are to be believed. Those old codgers are so money-hungry even in their dotage that they'll probably say they won't do it in public, watch the odds go up and then place a bet on themselves playing it before finally overcharging Michael Eavis for their attendance. Legend has it that if you look closely enough, you can actually see the dollar signs in Mick Jagger's eyes.