Rumours

Rip It Up, Issue 118, 1 May 1987, Page 32

Rumours

US & UK - Michael Jackson's record company have denied rumours that release of his new album has been delayed till next year ... chameleon Elvis Costello, using the name the MacManus Gang, is about to release ‘A Town Called Big Nothing’ in Britain. Costello is currently touring the US solo, with a solo Nick Lowe supporting. A Tory MP wants the Beasties banned: “The fact they have a 20-foot hydraulic penis as a prop in their stage show demonstrates the mentality of this group. Our children will be corrupted by this sort of thing” ... Bobby Womack has withdrawn his Womagic LP from sale, unhappy with the sound quality. Now it's back to the studio for remixing and re-recording backing tracks ... Prince is rehearsing his new stage show in Birmingham, of all places. Twisted Sister’s lead singer has published Dee Snider’s Teenage Survival Guide ... nix those Knack

reunion rumours! It's happened! ... the Cure have recorded 20 songs for a double LP at Compass Point, Bahamas, due out this month ... Mick Jagger's second solo LP features Jeff Beck, Dave Stewart, drummer Omar Hakim (from Sting’s band) and bassist Doug Wimbish (from Sugarhill Records’ house band) ... REM’s Michael Stipe sings backing. vocals on Warren Zevon's new LP, with the rest of REM playing instruments ... Eric Clapton is touring with Robert Cray — and a singing drummer not unlike the one in Genesis.

Jerry Dammers, representing Artists Against Apartheid, picketed Paul Simon's recent London concerts ... after security guards beat up his audience in UK recently, Jerry Lee Lewis beat up the hall’s Steinway piano ... new David Bowie and Beastie Boy clips have been banned by the BBC ... Bowie previewed his album to the press playing live in a-small London theatre with Peter Frampton in his band ... Frankie Goes to Hollywood have split — until next year. ;

Brian Ferry’'s new LP will include songs written with the Smith's

Johnny Marr and backing vocals by Madonna ... George Harrison, Bob Dylan and John Fogerty recently joined Taj Mahal on stage in LA, playing ‘Matchbox, ‘Knock on Wood, ‘Midnight Hour’' and ‘Proud Mary’ ... Ronald Reagan's new chief of staff Howard Baker wrote the liner notes to the 1967 soul classic King & Queen by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas ...

rock crit groupies: watch out for a gigantic anthology of Lester Bangs' writing Psychotic Reactions and Carburretor Dung, edited by Greil Marcus, out this spring.

Christchurch : Nightshifts new studio has been occupied by the Bats, the J P Sartre Experience and a few country acts. Response to their weekend workshops has been disappointing so far ... on the move lately have been Running Promeotions, now sharing an office at 248 St Asaph Street with Funtime Productions and Phantom Billstickers (phone no for all is 64 324) ... Burning House Promotions have moved in with Audio Access at Bedford Row.

Audio Access are still working on their compilation album, while Detox, South American?, Prodigies, Belair and the Moa Hunters have been in the studio ... Fat Sally release their first offering through EMI this month. The five-track Shadow of the Night will be followed by an album later this year. :

Kiss the Sky (Eric Johns, Simon Darke, Mike Davison, Kerri Buchanan and Simon Manson) played 60s heavy rock at the Playroom recently ... Get Real (Mike Shields, Eddie Olsen, Dale Monaghan and Simon Manson) are creating a buzz at the Playroom ... new bands include the Hard, Sneeky Feet, Lemonade Goldfish, Salems Lot, the Riff and Thief in the Night ... Dux de Lux has become the place for jazz buffs on Saturdays ... local fanzine Homegrown is about to make a comeback. Any budding writers contact Leesa at 383 034

... finally the competition to guess the number of mistakes in last month’s column has been abandoned due to indecision on the judge’'s behalf. Sorry! John Greenfield

North While Ardijah will be launching their album at the Galaxy on May 21, Herbs will launching theirs in troubled Ruatoria, East Cape, at Queen’s Birthday ... Peter Warren's Rooda gave a polished performance of rockabilly and HM at Auckland’s Birdcage recently — a good outdoor venue under the motorway, but not for late autumn! — with Drew Bowden performing the Sun catalogue, Andrew Langsford throwing in his catalogue of licks, and Exponent Dave Gent proving he can hold it togther under any circumstances ... supporting Rooda around Auckland will be the Dakodas, with Kirkby Reid fronting ... Kerry Brown's video of Shona Laing's ‘Not a Kennedy’ has been screened on Australian MTV. :

Recording LPs at Progressive have been Darlene Adair, Cath Tait and Paul Trenwith; working on demos are the Dark, Screaming Pope (for an EP) ... Ross McDermott, bassist for When the Cat’s Away, is starting work engineering at Progressive... David Eggleton has finished recording a five-track EP of rap poetry and music at the Lab with Terry Moore engineering. Watch for Rap Up on Partisan. Artspace is organising three weekends Free from Error — a programme of NZ experimental music, with workshops, performances, videos, performances and graphic scores. Organised by Ivan Zagni, they'll take place on May 23, July 4 and August 15. Those interested in performing write to Zagni at Artspace, 101 Federal St, Auckland giving an outline. For details phone him at 766 094, or Artspace, 34965. Coming from Pagan soon are recordings by Debbie Harwood,

John Quigley, and new singles by Chrome Safari, Tex Pistol and This Boy Rob ... from Flying Nun in the next month or so are LPs from the Spines, Fold, Rip, Verlaines and This Kind of Punishment.

Palmerston Nth's the End are completing work on debut album The Ultimate Game with Nigel Stone producing. The End’s Paul Campbell is planning a solo tour ...Swiss Kids' Barry Campbell and John Saunders have completed a synthesiser-oriented four-track cassette ... Bassett Rd Murders have recorded two songs for a single ... despite its Rheineck Rock Festival losses, Meltdown is releasing Three Leaning Men's debut LP and the Pterodactyl’s EP ‘We've Done it Now’ in June. Watch for excerpts from the festival on RWP.