Mickeys

A quadriplegic man has been seriously injured at an AC/DC concert after his friend hit the joystick of his motorised wheelchair, catapulting him into the mosh pit.

AC/DC were playing the second of two shows in Brisbane when the incident occurred

Witnesses said a metal pin used by the 31-year-old man to manoeuvre objects embedded in his eye as his chair crashed more than a metre to the floor of Brisbane’s Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre.

The venue is facing criticism for not placing a proper barrier in front of the wheelchair podium.

The platform had side and rear barriers, but the only barrier at the front of the podium was a strip of timber and plastic caution tape.

The incident happened as more than 45,000 fans enjoyed the legendary Aussie rockers’ second of two sold-out shows in the city.

The man’s friend accidentally struck the joystick with his hand, and the wheelchair shot forward and fell off the platform.

A witness said the man’s friend was “shattered, just devastated by what happened”.

Paramedics immediately attended to the injured man, a former truck driver who was paralysed in an accident.

A hospital official said the man is out of intensive care but remains in a serious, but stable condition.

Stadiums Queensland, the organisation which controls the venue, issued a statement saying it was aware of the incident and was investigating.

story from SkyNews

Music fans can now download Simon Cowell’s charity song which is raising money for victims of last month’s devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Leona Lewis records her vocals for the Haiti charity song

Twenty-one acts have joined forces to record the single, which is a cover of REM’s Everybody Hurts.

Among those stars who have lent their vocals are Robbie Williams and former Take That bandmates Gary Barlow and Mark Owen as well as Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey and Westlife.

X Factor winners Leona Lewis and Joe McElderry, Susan Boyle from Britain’s Got Talent, Rod Stewart and JLS are also participating.

The order of those singing on the record is Lewis, Stewart, Carey, Cheryl Cole, Mika, Michael Buble, McElderry, Miley Cyrus, James Blunt, Barlow, Owen and Jon Bon Jovi.

James Morrison, Alexandra Burke, Boyle, Aston Merrygold and Marvin Humes from JLS, Westlife’s Shane Filan and Mark Feehily, Minogue and Williams complete the line-up.

Proceeds from the sale of the single go to Haiti quake victims

The ballad will be available to buy in shops on Monday, with those behind it hoping it will top the charts and provide much-needed funds for charities in the process.

Originally a hit in 1993, the new version was recorded in London and Los Angeles and got its first airplay on Tuesday.

REM are waiving royalty rights to the charity track, while the Government has said that there will be no VAT cut.

Proceeds will be split between the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and The Sun’s Helping Haiti campaign.

Up to 200,000 people are believed to have died as a result of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, with hundreds of thousands more left injured and homeless.

taken from SkyNews

And The Grammy goes to:

The Grammy for Album of the Year went to Taylor Swift’s Fearless.
But Beyoncé was the queen of the night by winning the most awards: six, including Song of the Year, for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It).”
Back to Swift, she won four, Kings of Leon took home Record of the Year, for “Use Somebody,” and Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Peas won three apiece.
Other multiple winners included Lady Gaga, Maxwell, Jason Mraz, A.R. Rahman and Michael Giacchino (for their soundtrack work on the movies “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Up,” respectively), Michael Tilson Thomas, and Béla Fleck.

Taylor Swift

Best Dance Recording
“Poker Face” – Lady Gaga

Best Electronic/Dance Album
The Fame – Lady Gaga

Best Female Country Vocal Performance
“White Horse” – Taylor Swift

Best Male Country Vocal Performance
“Sweet Thing” – Keith Urban

Best Country Performance by a Duo/Group With Vocals
“I Run to You” – Lady Antebellum

Best Country Collaboration w/ Vocals
“I Told You So” – Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis

Best Country Song
“White Horse” – Taylor Swift

Best Bluegrass Album
The Crow/New Songs For The Five-String Banjo – Steve Martin

Best Children’s Music Album
Family Time – Ziggy Marley

Best Spoken Word Album
Always Looking Up – Michael J. Fox

Best Musical Show Album
West Side Story

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
“Jai Ho” (From Slumdog Millionaire

Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
“When Love Takes Over” (Electro Extended Remix) – David Guetta, remixer (David Guetta Featuring Kelly Rowland)

(continue reading…)

Abba have finally been reunited on stage, but sadly it is only as holograms.

Abba

Two of the legendary Swedish group turned up in London for the launch of a huge exhibition called Abba World, which features memorabilia alongside computer recreations of the band on stage.

But having been bombarded yet again by the reunion question, Sky News wondered if they were thinking “Mamma Mia, here we go again”.

“It is very boring to have that question asked, yes!” laughed Bjorn Ulvaeus.

“There’s been Sheiks and all kinds of people trying to get us back together but we need a musical motivation.

“But it’s nice for people to remember us as we were isn’t it?”

According to pop folklore of course, they were offered a billion dollars for just one show but while other unlikely bands – like Led Zeppelin, and The Police – have given in to temptation, Abba have never been keen to take a chance.

Anni-Frid Lyngstad, aka Frida, says the reason is simple.

“If I picture myself on stage these days I really don’t know what I would do there” she smiles. “I could never do the things I did when I was young. I’m just happy I have these memories.”

Abba World will no doubt be a perfect for fans who have a dream to step through 25 rooms filled with costumes, photos and interactive gizmos.

For anyone else of course it may just be a journey through some decidedly brave outfit choices.

“My costume is high fashion!” smiles Bjorn as we survey what he wore for the band’s breakthrough 1974 Eurovision triumph.

“I think it would be slightly too big for me now, I was overweight. It’s weird, it’s like you become a spectator yourself, I mean it’s almost 30 years since we split up now, and here we are. It’s weird and wonderful isn’t it.”

Frida and Bjorn arrive for the opening of the show, which will eventually tour Europe

“It’s a nostalgia trip” agrees Frida.

“When you get older in a normal world you look back at photo albums but for us it’s something you never get away from. It is weird in a way, I must say.”

:: Abba World is on at Earls Court, West London, until March 28.

taken from SkyNews

Rockers in the US are looking forward to a day of celebrations with the annual Rock and Roll Day falling on what would have been Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday.

Elvis, pictured in the 1960s. His fans are as steadfast as ever

The king of rock’n'roll was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Vernon and Gladys Presley in 1935; he had a twin brother, Jessie Gaaron, who was stillborn.

Elvis went on to become the best-selling solo artist of all time, with worldwide sales of around one billion records.

His premature death in 1977 at the age of just 42 left fans distraught, with so many thousands flocking to pay their respects outside his Gracelands home in Memphis that President Carter took the decision to call in the National Guard.

Graceland is to play host to today’s anniversary party, with Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie and her mother, Priscilla – Elvis’ former wife – attending a birthday cake-cutting ceremony at which Memphis officials are due to announce Elvis Presley Day.

More than 300 fans from the UK are in Memphis for the celebrations but, says Todd Slaughter of the Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain, they are facing one or two problems.

“They’ve got the same weather out there as we have here,” he told Sky News Online.

“So we’re not sure what’s going on.

“The plan was to go to Gracelands and from there to Tupelo but that’s been cancelled because of the bad weather.

Elvis with Todd Slaughter, at Elvis' final concert

“What’ll they do if all else fails? Have a drink I expect – they’re British after all!”

Todd, who runs the fan club, has been taking fans to see Elvis since 1972.

“I thought all that would finish when he died but it’s still going strong. We take anything up to 1,000 people out. They’re ordinary fans – mums, dads, children and they’re just straightforward people who love Elvis.”

Todd himself met Elvis on three times, the first when he was with fellow Elvis fan, Radio Luxembourg DJ Tony Prince.

“Nothing prepared me for meeting him.

“The amazing thing was you didn’t realise he was there. You’d be in the room and he wasn’t there and then suddenly he was, but there was no fanfare, no build up…he was just there, he just appeared.

“He wasn’t a public speaker – some stars get their kicks from all the attention wherever they are, but he wasn’t like that. He was very shy.

“I would think the stage was where he got his release, when he was performing.”

taken from SkyNews

A clip of a new Michael Jackson song has been gathering momentum after being leaked onto the internet.

Another Day is the second new song to emerge since Jackson's death

Another Day, which has been posted on YouTube, is a collaboration with American rocker Lenny Kravitz.

The clip runs at 1 minute 27 seconds and features Jackson singing a verse which appears to be from a Kravitz song called Storm, according to the celebrity gossip website TMZ.

Kravitz gave an interview shortly after Jackson’s death in which he mentioned working with the star on a song that had not yet been released.

The singer called it “the most amazing experience I’ve had in the studio”.

So far, various clips of the track have been viewed more than 20,000 times on YouTube.

It is the second song to emerge from the King of Pop since his death.

A track entitled This Is It, was released as a single in October ahead of the cinema release of the documentary of the same name.

The film featured footage of the star rehearsing for his London comeback concerts just days before his death on June 25, 2009.

taken from SkyNews

Family, friends and fans of the late Boyzone star Stephen Gately will gather in London tonight for a memorial concert in his honour.

Gately, 33, was found dead at his holiday villa in Majorca in October. A post-mortem found he died from natural causes.

Tonight’s memorial concert has been organised by the singer’s civil partner Andrew Cowles.

The four remaining members of Boyzone will attend the event at a theatre on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue.

Some 1,400 tickets have been made available to friends and fans.

Ronan Keating, who sang In This Life at his friend’s funeral service in Dublin, is also expected to sing at the memorial concert.

“Stephen lived for music and performance and the show this evening will reflect that,” a source told Sky News Online.

Gately was just pages away from completing his debut novel, The Tree Of Seasons, when he died.

His bandmates have vowed to finish the children’s fantasy tale in his memory.

Gately had already started work on Boyzone’s next studio album and his vocals will feature on the finished disc, which is due for release next year.

taken from SkyNews

The Pussycat Dolls have split up because of bitter arguments and jealousy over lead singer Nicole Scherzinger’s fame, say reports.

The band are said to have gone their separate ways

The catfight is said to be due to Lewis Hamilton’s girlfriend overshadowing the rest of the group.

“It is war. They have broken up for good,” a source told the New York Post newspaper.

“None of the other girls are speaking to Nicole, who they believe took the limelight, then went off to do her own thing.”

But the band’s founder, dancer and choreographer Robin Antin, has denied the reports.

She told US website Hollyscoop: “The Pussycat Dolls are very much alive and there is no truth to the silent treatment statements.

“Nicole and the Dolls have always been close.

“Nicole is and always has been a strong creative force within this group and I cherish the way we collaborate.”

The girl band started out as a burlesque act in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s and have been through several changes in line-up.

Their first hit was Don’t Cha, featuring rapper Busta Rhymes, which reached number one in 2005.

Reports of an impending break-up have escalated since the quintet announced they were “taking a break” in August.

The band’s record label Interscope was unavailable for comment when contacted by Sky News Online.

story from SkyNews

Los Angeles – Michael Jackson made history by winning four American Music Awards, but he couldn’t beat Taylor Swift as the year’s favourite artist and the evening’s top winner.

The 19-year-old took the show’s top award on Sunday night, giving Jackson his only loss of the night, and giving her five trophies in all.

“Music has never been ultimately about competition,” she said as she accepted the top prize via satellite from London, where she is to perform Monday. “To even be mentioned in a category with Michael Jackson, who we will miss and love forever, is an unimaginable honor.”

Swift was also named favourite female pop/rock and country artist and favorite adult-contemporary artist.

Her album, Fearless, won favourite country album. Jackson was voted favourite male artist in the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories. His 2003 greatest-hits album, Number Ones, also won favourite album in both categories, bringing his career AMA total to 23, making him the most honoured artist in AMA history.

Australian singer Keith Urban won best male artist in the country music category. His was accompanied to the awards by his wife, actress Nicole Kidman.

The victories came during a performance-filled show that closed with an S&M-themed, sexually charged performance by Adam Lambert (which included him shoving a male dancer’s face into his crotch).

Jackson’s trophies were accepted by his brother Jermaine, who paid tribute to his late brother by wearing a glittery white glove. He thanked “Allah for blessing my entire family” and named each of his brothers and sisters.

He said Michael’s message is more important than any award.

“The message that Michael had will live on forever,” he said. “He saw good in everyone and he wanted everyone to do good. He always started with love.”

Jackson’s victories were among the highlights of the evening, which also featured an eye-popping performance by Lady Gaga, a special award for Whitney Houston and that jaw-dropping number from Lambert, who traded in his “American Idol” image for sex, leather and chains on Sunday. (continue reading…)

The two surviving members of the Bee Gees have revealed their determination to keep the band alive following the death of their brother Maurice.

In an interview with Sky’s Lorna Dunkley, Barry and Robin Gibb explained why their creative relationship remains so strong.

Maurice died in 2003 aged 53 after suffering a heart attack while having an operation in Miami.

His sudden death brought to a close the famous trio’s 50-year musical career.

But now, after a difficult six years, Barry and Robin have reunited as a duo.

Barry said working together was “a bit unbalancing” after his brother’s death.

Maurice Gibb died suddenly

But he said: “We’re gravitating towards each other again and I think that’s a great thing.”

Robin, Barry and Maurice started their singing careers in the 1950s. Originally from Manchester, they first called themselves the Brothers Gibb.

Following a spell in Australia, where they won their first recording contract, they returned home to the UK in 1967 to critical acclaim.

Robin said: “This is our life. In reflection, we’ve been doing this all our lives.

“It’s something – I was never going to be comfortable until we were doing something together.”

They are famed for their distinctive, close-harmony singing which survived musical fashion and family rifts.

As the Bee Gees, they have sold over 100 million albums. Their last, in 2001, was entitled This Is Where I Came In.

Barry added: “I would love to have another hit.”

story from SkyNews

Beyonce scooped a hat-trick of prizes at the MTV Europe Music Awards, as Jay-Z joined Best Live Act U2 for a mini-concert in the heart of Berlin.

Triple award winner Beyonce and Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters

Beyonce beat Leona Lewis among others to take home the Best Female gong.

She also won Best Song for Halo and Best Video for Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).

The awards burst into life with a performance by Green Day, followed by host Katy Perry’s mash-up of the five Best Song contenders.

Perry, who is dating comedian Russell Brand, appeared in an array of wacky costumes, inspired by burlesque and Liza Minnelli’s appearance in Cabaret.

She made a whirlwind of more than 10 outfit changes including a huge ballgown with holes cut out and a pair of knickers with a heart emblem.

Having a ball: Katy Perry

Perry set the tone of the awards, asking: “Are you feeling sexy, Berlin?”

The heat was turned up again when Beyonce took to the stage to sing Sweet Dreams wearing a red corset slashed to the navel, suspenders and long red gloves.

She dedicated her Best Video award to rapper husband Jay-Z, saying: “There’s only one person I want to thank and that is Jay for putting a ring on it.”

The event is one of the music world’s most glitzy bashes and was held in Berlin to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a potent Cold War symbol.

Jay-Z strikes a pose

One of the highlights was a live show by U2 at the historic Brandenburg Gate, where they performed One, the anthem inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

They were joined on stage by Jay-Z as they performed Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

The band also scooped Best Live Act, scoring their third EMA award win since the MTV Europe Music Awards began in 1994.

Jay-Z was handed the Best Urban gong, but said: “I go to the studio just like the Jonas Brothers, just like Green Day, and we’re all just artists at the end of the day.”

German band Tokio Hotel were named Best Group, and delivered a stunning performance of The World Behind My Wall.

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong

Another standout set was from former X Factor winner Lewis, who wore a long black gown as she sang Happy with masses of glitter descending.

The show was beamed to more than 500 million homes worldwide.

Eminem won the Best Male category, beating Robbie Williams and Mika among others.

Here are the MTV Europe Music Awards winners:
:: Best Song: Beyonce – Halo
:: Best Live Act: U2
:: Best Group: Tokio Hotel
:: Best New Act: Lady GaGa
:: Best Female: Beyonce
:: Best European Act: maNga
:: Best Push Artist: Pixie Lott
:: Best Male: Eminem
:: Best Urban: Jay-Z
:: Best Rock: Green Day
:: Best Alternative: Placebo
:: Best Video: Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
:: Best World Stage Performance: Linkin Park

story from SkyNews

Los Angeles – Michael Jackson’s This Is It comes too late in the year to be considered for a documentary Oscar, but the film about the late King of Pop’s preparations for a series of comeback concerts could qualify for other Hollywood honours, including the Academy Award for best picture.

The film, which opened around the globe on Tuesday and Wednesday, has already earned rousing praise from fans and critics, who say it restores Jackson’s reputation as a world-class entertainer.

Director Kenny Ortega, a long-time Jackson collaborator who was overseeing his London concert comeback, crafted the nearly two-hour film from more than 100 hours of footage recorded during rehearsals for the London shows, which were to have begun in July. Jackson died June 25 at age 50.

“What we did here was focus on telling a good story and creating a film for the fans really enabling them to understand what Michael Jackson had dreamed for them,” Ortega said on Wednesday.

He added it was his hope “the audience for this film will grow and that as many people come to see it as possible because I think that it’s a wonderful story about a brilliant man. … Awards, Oscars, that’s all great wishful thinking.”

It may be more than wishful, said Steven Gaydos, executive editor of the Hollywood trade paper Variety and a self-described cynic. With the Academy Awards best-picture slate expanded to 10 films this year rather than the traditional five, This Is It could find itself among the contenders, he said.

To qualify, the film must complete a seven-day run in Los Angeles County and filmmakers would need to “submit the proper paperwork”, said Leslie Unger, spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which puts on the Oscars. The movie could also be considered in other categories, she said, including sound and film editing.

Sony, which paid $60m for the global film rights, plans to keep This Is It in theatres for just over two weeks. The studio did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment about whether it planned to submit the film in any of the Oscar categories.

Ortega, a veteran director, producer and choreographer who counts TV’s High School Musical among his credits, could also find himself in contention for a best-director nod, Gaydos said.

“He did a masterful job putting this whole thing together,” he said. “It was so powerful and interesting, so creative and well done, I think he should be considered… Kenny just won over all these critics like me with Michael Jackson that anything interesting could go on with this guy.”

After completing a week long run, This Is It could also be eligible for Golden Globe awards consideration if it’s submitted before the deadline on November 6, said Michael Russell, a spokesperson for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the annual ceremony.

Ortega said an Oscar nod would be a fitting recognition of Jackson’s last work.

“He deserves one,” he said. “Come on people.”

taken from News24

Michael Jackson’s film has been given the thumbs up by fans lucky enough to get into the first screenings.

The show that never was!

Sky News was in Los Angeles for the first public screening of the film This Is It at one of 16 world premieres happening simultaneously.

The movie is mostly constructed from filmed rehearsal footage, shot in the last few months of Jackson’s life while he prepared for his London O2 gigs.

But surprisingly, the most revealing moments come from the backstage scenes that fill the time in between.

Jackson is seen mingling with the performers, instructing them on how to work the crowds, and pushing their patience with his insistence on playing through The Way You Make Me Feel countless times until he hears it the way he wants it.

Other scenes reveal a childlike streak of devilish humour, as Jackson relishes taking a ride on the cherry picker for Beat It, and laughing when he messes up the arrangement on Black Or White, before stating: “And that’s why we have rehearsals.”

There is also footage of Jackson inserted into an old black and white movie as a precursor to Smooth Criminal, and a brand new film for Thriller – which was going to be shown in 3D at the show, with fans all being given special glasses just for that sequence.

If anything, its fault is that it runs slightly too long.

Jackson’s live vocals on most tracks prove he was back on form, but other sequences rely on overdubbed music, which when coupled with the poor quality of some shots serves to add very little.

The gushing rainforest scenes to accompany the Earth Song are about the only points that may prompt some people to run towards the cinema screen and “do a Jarvis Cocker” (the Pulp frontman famously attempting to interrupt the same song at the Brit awards as Jackson took a Christ-like pose).

Aside from looking his usual lean self, there is little here to suggest what would happen.

At best some of Jackson’s dancing is spellbinding, at worst it is only what you would expect from a 50-year-old man.

This Is It holds its own as a document of an icon’s final stand. It will not answer any questions about Jackson’s death, but it does leave you asking a new one.

If this was just the rehearsals, just how exciting would those O2 concerts have been?

taken from SkyNews

Music fans can now watch their favourite artists legally and for free online thanks to a new website called Muzu.tv.

Muzu.tv lets users get free access to thousands of music videos

The site allows users to compile playlists and watch thousands of hours of footage including videos, interviews, live concerts and documentaries – all on demand.

The Dublin-based company also promises to end the hassle of having to trawl through grainy and often homemade efforts on other sites because every high quality video is officially licensed and approved by the artist concerned.

Muzu has signed an agreement with many of the big labels including Universal, EMI, Sony BMG and Warner Music and another 7,000 independent labels meaning it is likely to become a direct rival of Google-owned YouTube.

YouTube has recently been involved in wranglings with record labels and artists over payments.

The video sharing website has just ended a nine-month long dispute with Warner Music which demanded content by its artists including Madonna and Missy Elliott was taken off last year.

This week the label made an agreement to reinstate the videos on the condition that they get a larger share in advertising revenue.

Muzu allows users to basically create their own music TV channel which they can then share online with their friends on social networking sites like Facebook, Bebo and MySpace.

The company said in a statement: “Whether you’re an R n’ B diva or a hair metal rocker, Muzu.tv’s got the lot.”

The site is also hoping to be able to provide archive episodes of cult music shows like The Tube and Top Of The Pops.

taken from SkyNews