Do duet, do one duet, do two duets, do no duet?
No, "Rumours" is not the title of Annie's new album although it would be a fun working title after all the unconfirmed stories that are going around. What we know for sure is that she worked with Dave's mate producer Glen Ballard on some songs, that she has recorded a lot in 2006 and that Annie didn't decided about the album title (Wikipedia announced 'Venus') neither met James Brown until July this year (according to her own words in an interview for Scotman).
[ 100% brand new made up imaginary promos ;-) ]
Now there's Dave talking again about a track both him and and Annie recorded with Kelis, Mary J. Blidge is speaking about happily accepting Annie's offer for a duet and the just passed away "Godfather of soul" James Brown is now said to be have recorded a duet called "Venegance" for Annie's album (again titled "Venus") that's set for release in spring 2007. Oh, and before working with Glen Ballard she is said to have been working with Robbie Williams's former mastermind Guy Chambers! Madhouse? Duets album? If we don't want time to tell, there's only one person who can do:
Miss Lennox, please enlighten us for a bright start into the new year!
Medicine show for you
Thank you very much again to Medi for his generous items contributed to ethrill.net christmas giveaway. The correct answer to the question in this year's christmas giveaway competition was: The first single by Medi and the Mediicne Show is "Yeah Yeah" (as you could have found out e.g. by taking a close look at the photo below or watching the video clip for the song). The winners have been contacted by email. Don't forget the still running Charlotte's Web soundtrack competition (details below)!
Everybody: Merry christmas!
Ethrill.net wishes you happy holidays or a merry christmas.
Please don't forget your chances to win in one of the two giveaway competitions that are running at the moment here at ethrill.net (one closing Dec 26th! details below). 
Mudbone (Check out this new page to download his video "Freedom's coming") sends his greetings:
Muddy here, giving a shout out to all my friends, fans old and new, funkateers, geepies, and anyone looking for something musically FRESH and different from the typical everyday commercial blah. Just returning to Paris, after a successful tour of 22 shows with PINK thruout the UK, Ireland, and Wales, which rocked and was totally cool! [...] Keep your eyes and ears open for all updates about "Fresh Mud", most of all, I wish you and yours Happy Holidays! Health n Happiness in 2007,
Mudbone
Diva with 52
Annie Lennox was born at the 25th of December 1954 in Aberdeen, Scottland. Today she's celebrating her 52nd birthday. All the best, may it be a successful, healthy and peaceful year for you!
At the right time for her birthday Annie got the compliment to be part of 'Infinite Variety', an exhibition that is celebrating the beauty of the aging female face in 40 photos. Shown in Stratford at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, among them a promotional shot for 'Bare' (see left). The exhibition shows also images of celebrities like Judin Dench or Jane Birkin and of unfamous people from the street. You find the press release here and listen to a feature about it here. The exhibition closes in February 2007. IMOGEN HEAP: THE RISING OF IMMI
I Megaphone - You Fan?
Imogen Heap, an unusual name of a singer and songwriter of her own kind: she's performing her short electronic, yet melodramatic and epic ballads sometimes surrounded by lots of compuers, sometimes just behind a piano.
Yes, her work is hard to discribe in all its richness.
When I first met the former member of "Frou Frou" in Los Angeles at Dave Stewart's birthday party this year I was not only impressed by her legendary huge hair and statue (2 meters+) but the beauty of her melodies and amazingly surprising and clever arrangements. Dave produced her first solo cd "I Megaphone" (an anagram of Imogen Heap) in 1998 which was long out of print and reissued this fall. The reissue, a growing, successful US tour as well as several contributions to soundtracks and tv series this yer let Immi's star rise higher and higher until she just got two Grammy nominations (Best New Artist and Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media).
[Immmi and St. Paul's Cathedral, large photo!]
Visit Imogen Heap's beautiful homepage and forum to find out about her music, tour and fans. For a nice summary article about her please go here and to see her performing live in the studio visit Rehearsals.com. In January 2007 she's visiting Germany, will I see YOU there?
As suggested by Annie Lennox's favourite tour drummer Steve Barney: Get Immi's latest album "Speak For Yourself"! Available from Amazon Germany
Ladies and gentlemen
According to Billboard an album called "A Tribute to Joni Mitchell" with the following tracklist is due January 30, 2007:
"Free Man In Paris" Sufjan Stevens
"Boho Dance" Bjork
"Dreamland" Caetano Veloso
"Don't Interrupt The Sorrow" Brad Mehldau
"For the Roses" Cassandra Wilson
"A Case of U" Prince
"Blue" Sarah McLachlan
"Ladies Of The Canyon" Annie Lennox
"Magdalena Laundries" Emmylou Harris
"Edith And The Kingpin" Elvis Costello
"Help Me" k.d. lang
"River" James Taylor
The stunning version of "Ladies Of The Canyon" has been released by Annie Lennox already as a b-side of her single "No more "I love you's"" in 1995.
First appearance
Platinum Weird arrived in Germany! Well, at least in Germany's press with their first article in the Rolling Stone magazine (issue December 2006) in this country. Click on the small picture for a larger scan and find a translation below."The toad in the fairy tale forest
Do you recognize the young boy who is on the right side of the old photograph? Dave Stewart was not much older than 20 when he performed on cool London parties with his first band Platinum Weird. They were furthered by Elton John and made one record which was never released because singer Erin Grace disappeared. Now Stewart has released the old tapes for the first time, and he formed Platinum Weird again, this time with Kara DioGuardi. In the documentary that accompanies the album Mick Jagger and Stevie Nicks remember the mysterious Grace - who, in fact, never existed. It is all fake, but the funniest thing that Stewart has done for a long time."
06 / 12 / 19
EXCLUSIVE 'WALK IN' COMIC PREVIEW
Have you heard about outsourcing?
Today I bring you an exclusive preview of Dave Stewart's comic series 'Walk In'. Thanks to Virgin Comics you can see and read the first half of 'Walk In - #1' - only here at ethrill.net!
To order your copy of the comic ($ 2.99), please visit the Virgin Comic Store. For details and fact and a free download of the first 12 (!) pages please visit the features section.
UPDATE, 06 / 19 / 20: Just added: A few words by Dave Stewart for this website about the background of the comic book's story. Enjoy!
The winners Dave and Glen
Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard (! Warning ! Very large photo of the two !) got their first award for their just released song 'Ordinary Miracle'!Song track on the soundtrack for the movie 'Charlotte's Web' has been awarded by The Las Vegas Film Critics Society in the category 'Best Song'! Congrats for winning this award again (after Dave and Mick Jagger got it for 'Old habits die hard' in 2004). 'Charlotte's Web' itself also won the award for 'Best Family Film'. For a full list of the winners go here.
A nominee speaks out, three fans win
To ethrill.net Dave Stewart talked about his and Glen Ballard's award nominated work (see yesterday's news) on the soundtrack for the movie 'Charlotte's web':
"Glen and I wrote the song after reading the script meeting with the director and seeing very rough stages of the film. I came up with the title 'Ordinary miracle' and by the time I saw Glen next day he'd started the song using that title. We then spent quite a while writing and changing the song to fit the end of the movie.
Sarah McClaughlin heard the demo of me singing the song and said she'd love to sing it. She was great to work with we flew up to her studio in Vancouver and recorded her vocals and her piano part."
WIN A COPY OF THE SOUNDTRACK!
To celebrate the award nomination of the song and the start of the movie yesterday in the US I am happy to give away three copies of the soundtrack. To enter the contest please join the ethrill.net mailing by entering your name and address (you might get random news updates and special announcements) and answer this simple question: Who composed the original music score for the movie - Hans Zimmer, Giorgio Moroder or Danny Elfman?
Please enter your answer and details here.
The competition ends January 6th, 2007, 20:00 MEZ, this one is only open for US citizens. The soundtrack for 'Charlotte's web' is available via Amazon.com
. Special thanks to CineMedia Promotion for contributing the cds. MEDI AND THE CHRISTMAS GIVE-AWAY
Ho Ho - Let's go! Ho Ho - Let's go!
I am happy to bring you a christmas give-away of three 7" and three 10" records (yes, vinyl!) of the first single by Medi And The Medicine Club, all kindly donated and signed (!) by the artist himself, as well as a full album cd.
As a special bonus I'm adding to each 10" record a set of the rare six UK promo cards from Laurence Stevens's Eurythmics Art Expo in London and all winners get an exclusive Germany only 'Bare' promo postcard from my own collection (see photo).
Medi aka Mehdi Parisot recorded his album as one of the artist's on Dave Stewart's label "AN - Artist Network" in Dave Stewart's studio in London. Dave Stewart produced the album and co-wrote one song. It finally got released in September 2006 in France by Warner Music (available at fnac.com and ITunes France). It features also the writing and vocal talents of Terry Hall. Medi about Dave:
Meeting Dave Stewart on that hot August day has obviously been a turning point in my career and personal life. Saying more than this would be unuseful [...].
Check out Medi's website for more information, tour dates and songs, his Yahoo! page for exclusive videos, his MySpace page for latest news and watch the simply cool video for his single here. Indiepoprock Live Report has some cool live photos and a recent review up (in French).
To take your chance on winning one of the above described christmas packages please join the ethrill.net mailing by entering your name and address (you might get random news updates and special announcements) and answer this simple question: What is the title of the first single / ep by Medi and the Medicine Show?
Please enter your answer and details here.
The competition ends December 26th, 2006, 20:00 MEZ. All winners are asekd to cover the actual shipping costs (via bank transfer or PayPal). Special thanks to Medi and Warner Music France for their generous contributions. Good luck!
The sweet family christmas movie
As reported on ethrill.net in January this year (see news 06 / 01 / 26) Dave Stewart contributed his talents to the soundtrack of the animal fairytale movie 'Charlotte's Web' (German: 'Schweinchen Wilbur und seine Freunde') which tells the adventures of little pig Wilbur who tries to escape from his pen before the end of the season (pretty movie websites: US / Germany). The movie features the voices of Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey and Robert Redford.
Now the movie opens in the US tomorrow, Dec 15, 2006. Dave and his partner Glen Ballard who wrote the song 'Ordinary miracle' performed by Sarah McLachlan for it, visited the premiere in L.A. this week. The movie soundtrack written by Danny Elfman is available from the Amazon websites (US / UK / German) which also feature snippets of the songs. The video clip can be seen on the above mentioned movie websites.
The song and movie have each already just been nominated for an award ('Best song', 'Best family movie') by the BFCA - Broadcast Film Criitcs Association. Congratulations! Second episode in the making
After the great success of the premiere episode of Dave Stewart's tv show "Off the record" for HBO with Bono and The Edge of U2 (see news 06 / 12 / 05) Dave is doing the next interviews. His next friend to join the show: former Beatle Ringo Starr!
Stay tuned for more about the show here soon!
Aol quotes interest of both
In the past Annie Lennox expressed her admiration for the just again Grammy nominated soul and R'n'B diva Mary J. Blige more than once. According to an AOL music blog the two singers might work together on something or some song:
As for what's on the horizon for her? "Annie Lennox is calling right now for a duet. So I'm like, 'Alright,' because I love Annie Lennox. I'm free to do whatever I want as long as it stays within the lines of what my fans can understand."
No comment by Annie nor offiical confirmation yet.
Out now: The first Mary J. Blige "Greatest Hits" album including the new, amazing collaboration with U2 on their song "One":Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon Germany
Men want a hammock, too
Bonhams, New Bond St. will be holding a luxury auction of items themed around "What Women Want" in aid of Breast Cancer Haven. The items will be the ultimate wish list for the modern day woman, and we hope the auction will raise considerable funds for the charity.
The event is free, and will also include an exhibition of stunning photographs taken by famous photographers, giving their take on "What Women Want". Contributors include Will Young (pictured), Annie Lennox, Bryan Adams, Julian Fellowes, Isabell Kristensen and Tracey Cox. Photographs are on display between Friday 12th January and Friday 18th January, 2007. Bidding closes at midday on Friday 18th January. These photographs are available to purchase by means of a silent auction.
[Annie's photo + quote, from AnnieLennox.co.uk]
Annie says of her photograph: "Every woman wants a hammock strung between two coconut trees from time to time. A place to take the opportunity to simply 'chill'. A small respite from the plate spinning a multi tasking. What else could a girl require? A view of the ocean, and a light breeze. Hey ho..I'm there."
To get an invitation or to find out more about a photo purchase, email Charlotte or call 020 7384 0006.Gabriel, Bowie, Bono, ...
Peter Gabriel is selling off a vintage keyboard from the 1980s signed by over 40 top musicians on online auction site eBay to raise funds for his human rights charity Witness. The instrument is signed by himself and celebrity friends including Bono, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, Sir George Martin, Steve Winwood, Mark Knopfler, Herbie Hankock, Kate Bush, Nick Rhodes, Stuart Copeland, Mike Oldfield, Hans Zimmer, Laurie Anderson, Joni Mitchell, Boris Blank, Midge Ure, Alan Parsons, David Gilmour, John Paul Jones, Trevor Horn, Jim Kerr, Brian Eno, Jean Michel Jarre, Howard Jones, Thomas Dolby, Jan Hammer, Chick Corea, Daryl Hall, Mike Rutherford, Barry Gibb and ... Annie Lennox!
Witness deploys video and technology to promote human rights causes worldwide. It has partnered with groups in more than 60 countries, bringing often unseen images, untold stories and seldom heard voices to the attention of key decision makers, the media, and the general public -- prompting grassroots activism, political engagement, and lasting change. Check out below the exclusive shots of the signatures of Annie, David Bowie and others.
The auction is already running and the price already reached $100,000 (GBP 51,000). The auction is being held in conjunction with the second annual benefit and concert for Gabriel's charity Witness next Monday (Dec 11) in New York City. The auction ends on the very same day, December 11, 2006.
Click here to visit the auction.
"I used every product in this shop"
Last Sunday Dave Stewart celebrated the twice delayed opening of Coco de Mer (see ethrill.net news 06 / 09 / 27) located on Melrose in West Hollywood, L.A..
He got by with a little help from his friends, former Beatle Ringo Starr, Deepak Chopra, author/spiritual advisor/maharishi of merchandising, and Carina Round, blues rocker on his label WME.Inside the burgundy velvet-smothered shop, reminiscent of an 18th century bordello, created by co=owners/sisters Sam and Justine Roddick, were curiousity seekers including Living Thing rockers Eve Berlin and Cory Becker, Monty Python’s Eric Idle, Debbie Mazur, Starr’s wife Barbara Bach, George Harrison's widow Olivia Harrison, photog Greg Gorman, Richard Schiff ("West Wing") and his pole/dancing enthusiast wife Sheila Kelley and former Mistress of the Hollywood Night Amanda Demme. [...]
"I have used every product in this shop," Stewart told his guests gathered on the pink lantern-lit patio. "No, seriously, and its all non-carcinogenic." The he grabbed his guitar and began playing “Walk on the Wild Side” while a blonde burlesque dancer [Kitten DeVille] shimmied around him seductively."Dave and I have been friends for 15 years, done many projects together and he has gotten me into many scrapes but this is definitely the biggest," admitted a smiling Chopra, who once wrote a piece for Playboy entitled "Does God have Orgasms?" To a rapt audience, Chopra explained sexual pleasure as a creative, powerful force of nature and one that is essential to achieving spiritual enlightenment. (L.A. Times)
Check out these thumbnail pics on WireImage!
Watch Bono, the edge
The new tv series "Dave Stewart's Off the record" on HBO had its debut Friday, November 24 featuring Bono and the Edge (U2) as Dave's first guests. The critics described it as "one of the exquisite and rapidly vanishing pleasures of conversational life — sitting around and talking about your favorite albums" and suggest "It certainly will be worth a look." To watch a promo commercial for the show's debut click here, for a preview trailer click here.
So what can you expect from the show?
"[Stewart] presents concert footage and clips of music videos and discusses the 30-year history of U2. He asks solid if sometimes rambling questions, though his first is hardly his best. After recounting some of U2's myriad accomplishments, Stewart asks, "How the hell do you do it?"
But the host's decades-long acquaintance with his subjects, along with the show's eschewing of tight structure, help the hour play more like a friendly chat than just another interview. The Edge comes off as a humble bloke-next-door type, while Bono mostly reins in his usual rock-star persona, save for the gaudy glasses. The revered singer does, however, offer typically indirect and meandering answers that often are as open to interpretation as his lyrics.
The most enjoyable part of the show is when Stewart plays a sort of a musical Rorschach test using album covers. Out of his briefcase come records ranging inviting Bono and the Edge to share their thoughts about David Bowie's ''Low'', ''Marquee Moon'' by Television and other albums by Patti Smith, the Ramones, the Clash, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Van Morrison. Bono and the Edge eagerly discuss the effects each had on them and their band. There's something wonderfully tactile about being able to pick up a 12-by-12-inch cardboard sleeve and hold in your hand a cultural statement and a collection of songs and memories." (Reuters / United Feature Syndicate)
Click on the pictures above for some great shots from the promo clip and some screencaps from the preview trailer! For further air dates check out the show's schedule, for questions and comments about the show HBO offers a bulletin board on the show's official homepage. No further star guests are confirmed yet, the show is planned to continue in January 2007.
Fight it!
December 1st, 2006, was World Aids Day and Annie Lennox lends her support to Oxfam again for their "I'm In" campaign highlighting the impact of Aids in Africa. According to Oxfam, 39.6 million men, women and children now live with HIV. Two-thirds of people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa. With a letter by her sent to people registered with the campaign in the UK and a new video Annie is THE stunning face and loud voice of the campaign:
"Last year, 8,000 people died every single day from AIDS, and there were 14,000 new infections each day. Poor countries are being forced to deal with an unprecedented health crisis without the means to tackle it. Governments can only show how seriously they are taking this crisis by taking immediate action to provide four million extra health workers and to grant those in need access to affordable medicines."
Please watch this new video of an amazingly looking Annie Lennox talking about her support for Oxfam's new initiative to tackle HIV and AIDS and how world leaders need to keep the promises they made at the G8 in Gleneagles in 2005. How lucky we are, how much any help is needed. Are you in? Great pics and a lot of history
After last month was very exhausting it needed a little break for the few non-Eurythmic
things in life. But back again I'm happy to present you a
great Q&A with Dave that appears in the brand new January '07 edition of Uncut magazine in the UK. Enjoy! Full news update (nothing breathtaking happened in the last two weeks, don't worry) is coming soon.