News Roundup: 10/26/2009
October 26th, 2009 | 4:30 pm est |
Morrissey was released from the Great Western Hospital in the English city of Swindon on Sunday, where he had been held overnight after collapsing on stage during his concert in the city Saturday night. The 50 year-old singer fell to his knees after finishing the first song of the show, the Smiths’ “This Charming Man.” Morrissey is due to continue his European tour with dates in October and November. [Billboard.com]
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. In a statement, Lloyd Webber’s publicists said that the disease is in its early stages and that he is now undergoing treatment. He will continue with Love Never Dies, a continuation of the stories in his smash hit musical Phantom of the Opera. [SeattleTimes.com]
The 23rd annual Bridge School Benefit happened on Sunday at Mountain View, CA’s Shoreline Amphitheatre, featuring acoustic performances by No Doubt — whose cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” was a standout — Wolfmother, Fleet Foxes, and Monsters of Folk. Coldplay, Sheryl Crow, and concert organizers Neil and Pegi Young were among the other leading lights going unplugged for a good cause. [RollingStone.com]
Pitchfork has the lowdown on CMJ’s highlights. [Pitchfork.com]
“Wrecking Ball,” the song Bruce Springsteen wrote to commemorate New Jersey’s Giants Stadium at his pre-demolition concerts there earlier this month, has been officially released as a single and video on iTunes. [TwentyFourBit.com]
Public Enemy has raised $50,000 towards a fan-funded album, asking for donations for the project via the online service SellaBand. The band’s goal is $250,000, which will cover making, marketing and releasing the album, which will be their 13th, worldwide. Fans who donate receive incentives ranging from T-shirts and concert passes to studio visits and profits from album sales. [AllHipHop.com]
U2’s Broadway-bound play Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark has been delayed again. The show is now scheduled to preview and open later in spring 2010 later than originally planned, due to difficulties recruiting additional investors and production delays. [Spinner.com]
Nice tidbit on the Bridge Benefit. Now I need to scour youtube and elsewhere to see if there’s video or audio of that.
Agree on the Bridge Benefit. Sounds like an impressive line-up although my own experiences with attending concerts and events with impressive line-ups often leave me dissatisfied or disappointed. I have been listening to Monsters of Folk a lot lately but I want to hear more M. Ward. It’s like the frustration of seeing She & Him and while Zooey Dechannel can carry a tune, is charming and unaffected, it’s weird seeing M. Ward just providing guitar support.
The sequel to ‘Phantom of the Opera’ doesn’t sound like a good idea but what do I know. I have not even seen ‘Phantom’ yet but know the delicate chamber opera that it is. And the problems in mounting ‘Spider-man’ onstage should serve as a cautionary tale that financing is not always reliable even to big-name artists, and more importantly, the audience may no longer care when it gets mounted finally. Hope I’m wrong.
I have seen this Great Western Hospital.I hope he’s well. I saw him in concert last March for the first time and enjoI hope he’s well. I saw him in concert last March for the first time and enjoyed the show very much.yed the show very much.