The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Winehouse family hopes to set up drug rehab centre Posted: 01 Aug 2011 04:51 AM PDT LONDON (AP): The family of Amy Winehouse is seeking political backing to set up a drug rehabilitation centre in her name. The late singer's father, Mitch Winehouse, is meeting British politicians Monday to discuss a center aimed at young people. He is due to have talks with crime minister James Brokenshire and opposition Labour politician Keith Vaz. Drug treatment is currently offered through local health bodies, or at expensive private clinics. Rehabilitation workers say there is often a waiting list for the local bodies, while the latter is unaffordable for many. Winehouse, who had struggled for years with drug and alcohol addiction, was found dead at her London home on July 23. The results of toxicology tests to determine the cause of death are due later this month. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2011 12:57 AM PDT It was 40 years ago today when the first notable benefit concert was staged, an event to raise funds for Bangladeshi refugees in Madison Square Garden. CHARITY concerts are arguably one of the best ideas ever conceived by the music industry. They always feature a great lineup, make sure you have a great time (well, almost) and the audience invariably helps people in need. Whether it's to raise awareness or raise funds, charity concerts have also been great events where great things happen. Audiences of Live 8 saw the reunion of Roger Waters with sonic genius Pink Floyd. SARS Benefit Concert brought together Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters) and James Belushi (According To Jim) — the younger brother of the late John Belushi, who paired up with Aykroyd to form The Blues Brothers — and performed under the name Have Love, Will Travel, which reminded many people of the famed Blues Brothers. Concert For New York had a taste of Operaman (Adam Sandler's secret identity) and in Live Aid, Mick Jagger ripped off Tina Turner's dress during their duet. That, or maybe the CSNY (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) reunion. I can't decide which one was better. Concert for Kampuchea saw the birth of Paul McCartney leading many greats like Pete Townshend, Kenney Jones, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Gary Brooker, Steve Howard, Ray Cooper and more in an aptly-named Rockestra. And the root of all these benefit shows? Concert For Bangladesh, but of course. The historical event that was held on Aug 1, 1971 (that's 40 years ago today!) began with a question posed by sitar master Ravi Shankar to his good friend George Harrison on what they could do to help the victims of the double tragedy that was the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the 1970 Bhola Cyclone that brought with it devastating floods and humanitarian disaster. Initially, Harrison recorded the single Bangla Desh to raise awareness and pushed Apple Records to release Shankar's single Joy Bangla in a dual-pronged effort to raise funds. Then, Shankar asked Harrison for advice on staging a small fund-raising concert in the United States. But being a former Fab Four, Harrison took on the idea and started calling all his close friends, persuading them to join him in a large concert at Madison Square Garden to help the refugees in Bangladesh. The first idea that popped into Harrison's mind was a Beatles reunion and although Ringo Starr was game, Paul McCartney and John Lennon never made it to the stage. It mattered little that McCartney and Lennon weren't around though, Harrison had already called in more than enough friends to ensure it would've been a great spectacle, regardless. With the names of Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, Badfinger, Leon Russell and more pencilled in – combined with Phil Spector as the musical director – this stellar cast was ready to do what they were made for. Under the leadership of Harrison, the group recognised, in a deliberate, self-conscious, and professional way, that they had a responsibility – and dealt with it in a way that only musicians could. In both afternoon and evening shows, it started with Shankar and the late sarod ustad Ali Akbar Khan playing a 17-minute raga in a packed-to-the-brim Madison Square Garden before making way for Harrison to play a string of songs from his All Things Must Pass LP. After which, piano master Billy Preston proceeded to quake the stage with his powerful song That's The Way God Planned It before getting up from his bench and dancing across the stage and back to the centre, singing without the piano. Then, Ringo Starr performed his song, It Don't Come Easy, before making way for Beware Of Darkness and While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which featured Harrison, Leon Russell and the then heroin-gripped Clapton. Clapton's assessment of his playing that day was that it was one of his worst performances. But seriously, 80% of the guitarists in the world who are playing at their best probably wouldn't be able to top Clapton's "worst" performance. On the record, While My Guitar Gently Weeps is hauntingly beautiful with both Clapton and Harrison's guitars like lovers entwined in a sweet embrace. As the show progressed, Russell then linked the British invasion classic Jumpin' Jack Flash and The Coasters-penned Young Blood together, which in a way showed the rock 'n' roll roots of the show. Another highlight of the show was when the acoustic set was brought in with Badfinger backing Harrison in a rendition of Here Comes The Sun, only to pave the way for a Bob Dylan on the wane. But this wasn't a mediocre performance by Dylan, no siree. A wild Dylan of the early-60s appeared! The freedom-demanding, defiant young man who laid the groundwork for so much of the rock and roll which we now take almost for granted, shook the doubters with his first performance since his near-fatal motorcycle accident. He performed his early works like A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall and Blowin' In The Wind to an awestruck, almost disbelieving crowd before finishing off with Just Like A Woman. And after that awesome set, one might ask, how could Harrison compete? Why simple, bring out the biggest gun: the superb Beatles hit, Something. But all things must pass and the concert finally hit the finale with the concert's most meaningful moment – the group performance of Bangla Desh. Concert For Bangladesh was a great show, brilliantly led by an artist who not only knew how to assemble great musicians, but also how to present them and their music with honesty, dignity and maturity to achieve the given goal. The concept of an amazing concert as a vehicle for aiding starving refugees did not become incongruous, only because both musicians and audience conducted themselves with self-respect. Concert For Bangladesh established the model for the many superstar benefit shows that followed to this day. It is doubtful, however, that any will ever achieve the spontaneity and sincerity of this historic performance. In times when your faith in the power of music fades, pull this one out and rediscover your faith in humanity. ■ In conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the Concert For Bangladesh, free streaming of the concert can be watched at georgeharrison.com, theconcertforbangladesh.com and iTunes! Also, the album will make its exclusive digital debut in iTunes! Proceeds from the album and DVD (distributed by Apple records) or donations made to theconcertforbangladesh.com will be directed to the George Harrison Fund for Unicef. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2011 12:54 AM PDT Jennifer Lopez is single ... again. WITH the announcement of her break-up with third husband, pop singer Marc Anthony, here is a look at the highs and lows of the love life of actress, singer and American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez, 42. Celebrity boyfriend #1(1999-2001) Sean "Diddy" Combs, 41, rap impresario. He was still "Puffy" while dating Lopez on and off. History: They were among the first 'bling-bling' couples, with lavish nightclub parties, jets and jewels. What went wrong: He got her involved in a weapon possession police case, when a gun was found in the front seat of their car in 1999. The ensuing trial, although he was eventually found not guilty, took a toll on their relationship. Celebrity boyfriend #2(2002-2004) Ben Affleck, 38, Oscar winner. They were called Bennifer and were the first celebrity couple with a conjoined tabloid name. (He is now one half of another, quieter Bennifer, with actress wife Jennifer Garner.) History: Theirs was a loud and public love affair. He rubbed her legendary derierre in her video Jenny From The Block and she professed her affection for him in the song Dear Ben. Oh, and he got her a 6.1-carat pink diamond Harry Winston engagement ring. What went wrong: The media circus surrounding Bennifer was out of control and their 2003 romantic comedy, Gigli, was written off before it opened. Months after it died at the box office, so did their relationship. Husband #1 (1997-1998) Ojani Noa, 37, waiter. He lasted 13 months. History: They met when he was a waiter in a Miami restaurant. After they divorced, she made him the manager of her Pasadena restaurant in 2002, but had to fire him six months later. She has since been trying to stop him from cashing in on their relationship and selling their sexy honeymoon video. What went wrong: They were too different, obviously. He was a waiter and she was a pop superstar-to-be. Husband #2 (2001-2002) Cris Judd, 41, dancer. He lasted nine months. History: They married a year after they met while making the video for Love Don't Cost A Thing. What went wrong: He was just not the one, apparently. It was said that she wed him to get away from ex-boyfriend Sean "Diddy" Combs. Husband #3 (2004-2011) Marc Anthony, 42, Grammy winner. They were a pop-power couple and their seven-year marriage is her longest relationship yet. Their twins, Max and Emme, are three. History: They go back a long way, having dated briefly in the late 1990s. In 2004, they had a low-key wedding, days after his divorce from beauty queen Dayanara Torres was finalised, and months after J. Lo ended her engagement to Affleck. They made a high-profile debut as a couple at the Grammys the next year, performing a duet, Escapemonos, on a stage that looked like a bedroom. What went wrong: Rumour has it that he was controlling and did not like her to dress sexily. Reports have also linked her to model William Levy, 30, who is in her new music video, I'm Into You, but he has denied it. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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