Eagle Soars No More

Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey died last Mon.18th, from a combination of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia.
He'd been battling intestinal issues for months and had surgery in November, forcing The Eagles to pull out of appearances.
Glenn was one of the founding members of the band. He co-wrote and sang most of the Eagles hits, including Hotel California, Take It Easy, Tequila Sunrise, Lyin' Eyes and Heartache Tonight.
The star was a major part of The Eagles, helping them land in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with several classics.
When the band split up in 1980, Frey went off on his own and found success. His single The Heat Is On was a chart topper after it was in the film Beverly Hills Cop (1984). He also came out with You Belong to the City, which was used often in commercials. During his solo career, Frey had 12 charting songs in the US Top 100, and he also appeared in several episodes of Miami Vice.
In 1994 he reunited with The Eagles. They launched their Hell Freezes Over tour, which was a massive success.
As a member of The Eagles, Frey won six Grammy Awards, and five American Music Awards. The Eagles have sold over 120 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, the first year they were nominated.
He is survived by his wife Cindy with whom he has three children. Glenn Frey was 67.

Final Change For Pop Chameleon

The Starman has left.
David Bowie, one of the most influential musicians of his era, has passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, after an 18-month battle with cancer.

Bowie's hits included Let's Dance, Changes, Space Oddity, Starman, Modern Love, Under Pressure, Heroes, Rebel Rebel and Life on Mars...to name but a few. He was also well-known for his flamboyant alter-ego Ziggy Stardust.
The singer, who'd been living in New York in recent years, released his latest album Blackstar only last Friday, on his 69th.birthday. It's been well-received by critics and was intended as a "parting gift", says his long-time friend/producer Tony Visconti: "His death was no different from his life - a work of art...an extraordinary man, full of love and life."

Hundreds of fans gathered in his birthplace of Brixton, south London, outside his New York home and also in Berlin where he lived in the late '70s. Tributes have echoed around the world -
Sir Paul McCartney: "David was a great star...his music played a very strong part in British musical history and I'm proud to think of the huge influence he has had on people all around the world."
Brian Eno: "David's death came as a complete surprise, as did nearly everything else about him. I feel a huge gap now."
The Rolling Stones: "...an extraordinary artist...a true original."
Brian May, Queen guitarist: "...a fearsome talent."
Iggy Pop: "David's friendship was the light of my life. I never met such a brilliant person."
Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis: "Bowie's one of the three greatest in the world, ever - Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and David Bowie. There's no-one else even close."
In a career spanning 51 years, Bowie clocked up:
+ estimated net worth of £135m
+ 140 million albums sold, since his first release in 1967
+ 111 singles - averaging more than two a year
+ 51 music videos and a number of film roles
+ 25 studio albums

Born David Jones on 08 January 1947, he changed his name in 1966 after The Monkees' Davy Jones achieved stardom. The title track from his 1969 album Space Oddity became his first UK #1. His breakthrough came with The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972).
Throughout his career, Bowie was an innovative, visionary, restless artist. He reinvented not just his sound but his persona over and over. His style shifted with the sands, but he was always recognisably David Bowie.
Along with the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley, Bowie defined what pop music could be. Described as the 'Picasso Of Pop', he brought art to the pop party, infusing his music and performances with avant-garde ideas.
He also carved out a successful acting career, including his role as an alien seeking help for his dying planet in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Other roles included Labyrinth, Cat People, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Hunger.
The Thin White Duke suffered a heart attack in 2004, after which he largely stopped making public appearances.
He was a great singer, songwriter, performer, actor, producer and collaborator - but beyond all that, David Bowie was quite simply... cool.

Who's Really So Vain?

One of the biggest questions in music history: who was Carly Simon really referring to in her hit You're So Vain?
You remember: "I bet you think this song is about you, don't you?"

Actor Warren Beatty has long been a prime suspect, and now Carly has confirmed it. But Beatty's wrong if he thinks the whole song is about him.
Carly's revealed he was only the subject of the second verse:
"You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved and one of them was me
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and..."
Speaking about her new memoir Boys in the Trees, Simon says: "I've confirmed that the second verse is Warren." Asked if he knew this, she said that, in keeping with the song's theme, "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him!"
You're so Vain sold more than a million copies when it went to No.1 in USA in 1972-73 and, for more than 40 years, Simon has never publicly revealed the name of the subject, hinting that it could be a combination of people rolled into one.
Speculation has ranged from Beatty - once Simon's boyfriend - to her former husband James Taylor, to Mick Jagger (who sang back-up on the track) to showbiz tycoon David Geffen - though Simon squashed that rumour when it surfaced in 2010 (saying she didn't even know Geffen in '71 when she wrote the song).
Two other egotists are yet to be named. Asked if she will ever name the other two men, Simon says: "I don't think so, at least until they know it's about them."

Hello, Adele!

Big...bold...beautiful...
Adele's comeback single Hello is an absolute cracker (just like her, really!). And it's smashing records worldwide.
But let's not get snowed under by stats: here's the song itself. You'll LUV it!

Porn or Pop? Adele Decides

Adele and Oscar

Keep your ears open for Adele's hot new comeback single, Hello…
and your eyes open for the new Rolling Stone mag, featuring the singer on the front cover.
But what a change! Gone is the big trademark hairstyle. She's stripped back to tousled wet hair and minimal make-up as she sits in a white dressing gown for the cover shot.
Adele says she's constantly asked whether she would pose for Playboy: "I've been asked so many times, it's ridiculous, but do they ask me because I'm a woman…or because I'm fat?" With the huge wave of public support for plus-size women, Adele says "...sometimes I'm curious to know if I would have been as successful if I wasn't plus-size. I think I remind everyone of themselves. Not saying everyone is my size, but it's relatable because I'm not perfect, and I think a lot of people are portrayed as perfect, unreachable and untouchable."

27yr.old Adele has enjoyed a phenomenal comeback, with the release of her first single since the James Bond Skyfall theme song in 2012.
An accompanying video for Hello has been released and it clocked a mammoth 100 million views in just five days. It's had the most US downloads sold in a week: 1.11m. It's the first song ever to sell 1m+ downloads in a week.
The catchy song was streamed 47.5m times globally on Spotify, making it the most-streamed song over a week in the online streaming platform's history.
The music video also broke records at entertainment platform Vevo.com, delivering more than 27m views in the first 24 hours after its release.
Can't wait for the new album, called 25, due out before the end of this month!

Goodbye Sailor (2)

One of New Zealand's best-known rock musicians Graham Brazier died Friday morning (04 Sept.), several weeks after suffering a heart

attack.
Brazier came to prominence in the band Hello Sailor in 1975, with iconic songs such as Gutter Black, Lyin' In The Sand, Billy Bold and Blue Lady. Other members were Harry Lyon (guitar), Ricky Ball (drums), Lisle Kenny (bass) and the late Dave McArtney (guitar, who died April 2013). The band's self-titled debut album became the first NZ-made record to be certified gold.

Hello Sailor spent some time in Los Angeles in 1978, going on to Australia in 1979 via NZ, before disbanding in 1980. They made an impression not just in New Zealand but overseas. Tales abound of Brazier being invited to join the Doors after Jim Morrison died. And the guitar solo from The Knack's My Sharona was heavily influenced by Hello Sailor, after they had toured together.
The band was well-known for playing live music in Auckland's pubs and, in his spare time, the erudite Brazier ran a second-hand bookstore in Mount Eden.

Ahhhh, the good ol' days at the Gluepot Tavern in Auckland...

Hello Sailor has reunited for a number of tours since 1980, most recently earlier this year for its 40th anniversary, although those gigs were cancelled after Brazier's August heart attack.
Graham was one of the great kiwi frontmen, captivating and passionate on stage with a great voice. He lived the hard life of a rocker, drank more than most men, lived harder than most men and I suppose his relatively early death was not unexpected - but a sad loss for NZ music nonetheless. He had released three solo albums since 1980 and was just finishing a fourth.
Brazier was 63.

MIB - Kiwi Style

Our national carrier Air New Zealand has a global reputation for its quirky in-flight safety videos.
They've featured surfers, hobbits, numerous celebs, The Simpsons (but let's forget - yeup, forget! - Rico that ridiculous rodent), Bear Grylls, gay kisses, swimsuit models...the sky's the limit!
Air NZ also has a solid track record for supporting our national ball-carriers, the All Blacks. So for its latest vid, it's enlisted some very special Men In Black...
Created in partnership with Sony Pictures, the All Blacks take passengers through the ins and outs of safety with the help of kiwi singer Stan Walker, actor Rip Torn and Frank the Pug (dog) who both starred in the movies MIB I (1997) and MIB II (2002).
All Black Israel Dagg proves he's as good off the field as on. Plus, keep an eye out for some inter-galactic rugby cameos from rugger greats David Campese (OZ), Martin Johnson (UK) and Agustin Pichot (Argentina), alongside A/Bs Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Kieran Read, Kevin Mealamu, Sam Whitelock and their coach Steve Hansen.

This has GOTTA be one of AirNZ's best vids yet! Mind you, check out the very last scene. After all the safety tips for the flight, Israel Dagg flips out his Memory Neuralyzer, and *Zap!* everyone on board forgets... er... EVERYTHING!!!
Hmmm, does that seem ironic to you...or is it just my black humour?

Cilla: A Bit Of Scouse Rough

British tv personality/singer Cilla Black, whose instantly recognisable Liverpool 'Scouse' accent won over generations of fans, died last weekend in Spain of natural causes.
Black (born Priscilla Maria Veronica White on 27 May 1943) broke through in the 1960s as a buck-toothed pop singer in the Merseybeat boom, and went on to become one of the enduring stars of UK tv light entertainment (her name change was the result of the local Mersey Beat newspaper mistakenly calling her by the wrong colour!).
Championed by The Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein, she began her singing career in 1963, and her first hits Anyone Who Had a Heart (1964) and You're My World (1964) both reached No.1. Black had eleven Top 10 hits on the UK charts between 1964-1971.

By 1965 she'd become the female symbol of British youth. Her version of Anyone Who Had a Heart was the UK's biggest selling single by a female artist in the '60s. By 1968 at 25, she was a millionaire. A quarter of a century later, she was the highest-paid female entertainer on British tv.
Along with a successful recording career running until the early 1970s, Black hosted her own tv variety show Cilla, between 1968-1976. After a brief time as a comedy actress in the mid-1970s, she became a prominent tv presenter in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2013, Black celebrated 50 years in show business.
Cilla Black was named ITV Personality of the Year in 1987 and Variety Club Showbusiness Personality of 1991. She won a Bafta in 1995, and was appointed OBE in 1997.
She made a career out of what one critic described as 'the phenomenon of ordinariness.' Unashamedly working-class, she would laugh: "I was a bit of fun and a bit of Scouse rough and everybody liked me, I was normal. I could have been the kid next door. And then I turned into the auntie next door. And now I'm the granny next door!"
Cilla Black married her long-time boyfriend and manager, Bobby Willis, in 1969. He died in 1999, and she is survived by their three sons. Cilla was 72.
NZ recently enjoyed the TV mini-drama Cilla, which starred Sheridan Smith in the title role - the real Cilla loved it!

History Saved For A Buck

Shand's Emporium stood in Hereford St, Christchurch, since 1860.
It was one of the oldest wooden commercial buildings left in the CBD, and now a simple gold coin has saved it.
Christchurch Heritage has paid property developer Antony Gough just a dollar for the Shand's Emporium building. It is typical of buildings from the early colonisation years and has a Heritage NZ Cat.1 listing.
Gough, whose family has owned the building for more than 75 years, said they could easily have pulled it down but were determined to save it.
The building, which Gough spent $70,000 weather-proofing and straightening post-EQs, will move to Manchester St.in 2-3 weeks, where it'll sit alongside the old Trinity Church, being restored by Christchurch Heritage.
The late-night shift will be fairly straight-forward, apart from the Colombo/High/Hereford Sts.intersection, where there were live tram lines. A 200-tonne crane will lift the building off the transporter and over the tram lines (as the temporary dismantling of the lines would be too costly and time-consuming).
Once at its new site, the building will be put on new foundations and

repaired so that it meets new building standards: the building is in a fairly sad condition currently.
It's the second time Shand's has dodged the axe. In the late 1970s, NZ Post Office planned a new telephone exchange right on top of it. After several thousand signed a petition, the building was saved.
But a big question niggling away at me is: what happened to the Elvis Costello album cover, that sat so iconically in Shand's front window for years?
Has Elvis left the building?

UPDATE: 28 June 2015 - Shands touches down in its new home.

There Shalt Be No Happiness In Iran



Having FUN???!!! How despicable!!!

Six Iranian youths, arrested for video-dancing to Pharrell Williams' song Happy, have been sentenced to up to a year in prison and 91 lashes!
The homemade video (filmed mainly on iPhones) shows three men and three *shock! horror!* unveiled women dancing on the streets and rooftops of Tehran. In six months, it had over a million views on YouTube.
The Happy We Are From Tehran clip was spotted by Iranian "morality" authorities, and the group was nabbed for violating oppressive Islamic laws, which prohibit dancing with members of the opposite sex, and women from appearing without a headscarf. They obviously also broke a secret law about being happy! The Thought Police said their "vulgar clip" had "hurt public chastity". Riiiiiight.
The majority of those in the video were sentenced to 6mths' jail, with one member given a year. However the draconian sentences have been suspended for three years, meaning they will not go to prison if they don't re-offend. But hey - no pressure!

The arrests drew global condemnation and sparked a social media campaign calling for their release. Pharrell Williams also protested at the arrests on Facebook: "It's beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness." His song has inspired over a thousand tribute remakes since it was released last year on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack.
Supporters were quick to quote Iranian President Hassan Rouhani from a public speech he made in June 2013: "Happiness is our people's right. We shouldn't be too hard on behaviours caused by joy."
He obviously speaks the same BS as his predeccessor!

Long-Awaited Return Of Kate Bush

Your memory of Kate Bush may only be of a wafer-thin soprano in her 1978 smash Wuthering Heights, theatrically seeking her beloved Heathcliff.
But for the die-hard UK legions who know all of her ten albums inside-out, the rarer-than-hens-teeth chance to see the multi-award-winner in concert again after 35yrs, was a dream come true. And they snatched the opportunity greedily...
Tickets for Kate Bush's Aug/Sept.2014 comeback have been offered for sale for four-figure sums, only hours after they sold out. All 22 of her London shows sold out in less than 15 minutes! Some of the tickets, originally priced from £49 ($NZ94) and upwards, are for sale online for £1500 ($NZ2884) each! Demand was so high that ticket websites crashed with overload.
The gigs mark the singer's return to the stage 35 years after her one-and-only tour...and to the same venue, the Hammersmith Apollo (then called the Hammersmith Odeon), where she effectively retired from live performances after just six weeks on the road in 1979. She'd topped the charts with Wuthering Heights the year prior - the first

woman to go to No.1 singing one of her own songs.
Over the years, theories about her absence from the stage included her perfectionism, a fear of flying and the death of one of the tour crew during a show. But in a rare interview in 2011, she explained it was simply down to the sheer exertion of performing: her shows relied heavily on dance and mime.
Kate Bush CBE has influenced copious current and past performers, from Tori Amos to Lorde, and her music has uplifted generations of fans. Now aged 56, it's hoped her unique performance style won't burn her out.
I can't imagine what the shows would be like, but it's safe to say they'll be unlike anything most have ever seen. At their heart will be some of the most extraordinary, brilliant, moving, astonishing and incomparable pop songs of all time. And they'll be sung and played (and perhaps even danced?) by a genius.

UPDATE: 27 Aug.2014 - Rave! Rave! Rave!

Horsing Around In Hagley Park

No, NOT another Powershop ad!

Chinese New Year is the most important holiday of the Chinese calendar and one of the most ancient events celebrated around the world.
Observed between late January and mid-February, depending on the lunisolar Chinese calendar, Chinese New Year is a vibrant occasion filled with colour, family traditions and hopes for the future.
Each year, one of the twelve animals from the Chinese zodiac is celebrated and, in 2014, it's the turn of the powerful, gracious and adventure-loving horse.
New Zealand, home to a thriving Chinese community, prides itself on observing the diverse cultures of the many groups that inhabit its shores and the celebration of Chinese New Year is no exception.
This weekend, it's the Christchurch Lantern Festival. After wowing festival goers in Auckland last weekend, the Lantern Festival comes south. It'll be held in the beautiful surroundings of Hagley Park North and offers mouth-watering Asian foods, colourful lanterns, martial arts demonstrations and performances from local and overseas artists like Tang Dynasty, the Shanghai Jiangzhou Drum Troupe, Kite artist Guo Hongli and The Butterfly Troupe.

What: Chinese Lantern Festival in Christchurch
Where: Carlton Mill Corner, North Hagley Park
When: this Sat.22 Feb-Sun.23 Feb., 5-10.30pm

Accolade For Shona Laing

This week the NZ Music Awards announced its nominations.
The highlight is the long-overdue induction into the NZ Music Hall of Fame of kiwi singer/songwriter Shona Laing.
Damian Vaughan, CEO of Recorded Music NZ:
"Not only is Shona extremely talented and deserving of this award, hers is also a pioneering acknowledgment of the role female artists play in our music psyche."
Laing's four-decade career started in 1972 when she was a 17-yr.old schoolgirl, coming runner-up in the tv talent show 'New Faces' with her song 1905. Her first two singles, 1905 and Show Your Love, both certified gold and both peaked at No.4 on the NZ charts.
In 1973 she won two Rata awards: Best New Artist and Recording Artist Of The Year. Laing twice represented NZ at the Tokyo World Song Festival - in 1973 (with the song Masquerade) and 1974.
She travelled to Britain in 1975 and was based there for the next seven years - in 1982, she was a vocalist for Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
Perhaps the most well-known of Shona's hits would be from the 1986 Genre album: (Glad I'm) Not A Kennedy hit No.2 in NZ, and No.14 on US Modern Rock list. Shona even had a cameo singing role in the 1985 movie Shaker Run.
To refresh your memory, here's a kiwi classic from a classy kiwi...

A self-concious video, but a great song...

Explaining Twerking to Your Parents

Every teenager dreads the day when your parents come to you, innocently asking: "What's twerking?"

Can public twerking make you go blind?

Remember: it's far better for you to explain, than for them to learn on their own by searching YouTube.
So...a critical first step is to acknowledge that twerking is a normal part of life and there's nothing shameful in their questions. They’re parents, after all and...well...they're curious.
Explain that twerking is a dance move typically associated with lower-income African-American women, involving the rapid gyration of the hips in a fashion that prominently exhibits the elasticity of the gluteal musculature. They'll be puzzled why Miley Cyrus, who is white and wealthy, does it at every opportunity. Patiently respond that, for Ms. Cyrus, twerking is a brazenly cynical act of cultural appropriation being passed off as a rebellious reclamation of her sexuality after a childhood in the Disney-fied spotlight.
Upon hearing what twerking is, it's natural for your parents to want to experiment with it. They may even proudly announce, "Look at us, we're twerking!" not recognizing the inappropriateness of their actions and words. Try to resist the urge to chastise them; doing so will only increase their desire to twerk in defiance, perhaps in private.
It's also possible that your parents may suggest twerking at their next dinner party. Adopt a strict no-tolerance policy for group twerking unless you're there to supervise, other parents' children are warned beforehand and have given permission, and everyone in attendance is invited to participate.

Blue Smoke Drifts By...

Pixie Williams, singer of the Kiwi classic Blue Smoke, has "drifted by into the deep blue sky": she died last Friday, aged 85.
Pikiteora Maude Emily Gertrude Edith Williams was born in 1928 in northern Hawke's Bay. Her parents died young and, in 1945, she shifted to Wellington and into the YWCA Hostel in Oriental Parade. There, her beautiful voice came to the attention of 28th Maori Battalion veteran Ruru Karaitiana, who was looking for a singer to bring his song Blue Smoke to life.

Karaitiana composed the song while on a troop ship in 1940. It was popular at troop concerts long before it was recorded in 1949 by Pixie Williams and the Ruru Karaitiana Quintette at the Radio Corporation's Columbus Recording Studio in Wellington.
Blue Smoke, sung by Williams, was the first record wholly processed and recorded in New Zealand. It was a huge hit, topping the charts for six weeks and selling 50,000 copies (despite having been rejected by London music publishers). Dean Martin was one of several international artists who covered it.
Pixie couldn't read music but taught herself to play guitar, ukulele, the banjo and piano accordion. Her promising singing career however eventually took a back seat to married life and raising four children. Later, at 73, Pixie decided to teach herself the organ...for something to do.
In 2011, a Pixie Williams CD collection of 13 songs was released. After the launch, The Recording Industry Association of NZ presented Pixie with a Triple Platinum Award for Blue Smoke.

"Music - it's what keeps you going through good times and bad.

When you've got music in your life, you'll be ok."

Pixie Williams (1928-2013)

J.J.Cale: He Don't Lie, Cocaine (No More)...

Influential musician/songwriter J.J.Cale (John Weldon Cale) died last Friday of a heart attack at 74.
Cale was best known for writing Cocaine and After Midnight, songs made famous by his collaborator Eric Clapton.
Cale often played all the parts on his albums, also recording and mixing them himself. He is credited as one of the architects of the 1970s 'Tulsa Sound', a blend of rockabilly, blues, country and rock that influenced - among others - Neil Young and Bryan Ferry.
He won a Grammy Award in 2008 for The Road to Escondido, which he recorded with singer/songwriter Eric Clapton.
Cale recorded After Midnight in the mid-60s, but had given up on the business part of the record business by the time Clapton covered it in 1970. He heard it on the radio that year, and thought "Oh boy, I'm a songwriter now!"
Cale continued to tour and release new music until 2009, but he declined to put his image on any of his covers. He developed a reputation as a private figure and a muso's muso. His songs were covered by the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Cash, The Band, Deep Purple and Tom Petty. Singer-songwriter Neil Young once described Cale as the best electric guitar player he'd ever seen other than the late Jimi Hendrix.
While he never attained Clapton's level of stardom, Cale had a wide-ranging influence, particularly his style of playing the guitar and the songs he wrote for music legends.
Cale once said: "I'd like to have the fortune, but I don't care too much about the fame."

[with thanx to NY Times]

Hello, Is it Beer You're Looking For?

Remember that ever-so-slightly-creepy video?

Almost 30 years after Lionel Richie romanced a blind art college student in the original video for his No.1 hit Hello (from the 1984 album Can't Slow Down), he's back performing the classic in a quirky beer commercial!
Oh, and for the much-younger among the readership, yes, Lionel IS the father of Nicole
(Mrs Joel Madden) Richie, ok?
Anyway...although the tvc doesn't debut for several weeks, below is a sneak peek at the crooner as you've never seen him before - hanging out in a fridge to showcase Lion's new home draught beer dispenser, Tap King.
The word is, it took more than $1.5 million to secure Richie and his signature song!!!
The 60-second ad shows a man peering into the fridge, only to find Richie in there playing a piano (!), then pouring a beer and passing it out. Is that a touch of bro-mance in the air?
Maybe we should leave the boys to share their moment privately...

Houston, We Have A Whitney Problem!

Now and then, we hear of radio stations marking a musical milestone by repeating a song over and over all day...(WHY they think that's a great idea escapes me: after listeners tire of the repetition, they hit the 'off' button.)
Imagine the living hell of being stuck on an plane with no 'off' switch, while one passenger constantly sings I Will Always Love You!
The solo performance began on a recent American Airlines domestic flight. A federal air marshal on board put the woman in handcuffs... but she kept on singing! The pilot changed course halfway through the 6hr.torture session for an unscheduled stop, so police could remove her.
Despite passengers being told they couldn't take photos, we hav ze pictures! WARNING! This video could be dangerous to your health!

May The Force Be With UK

Great news for the British film-making industry...
Filming of the new Star Wars movie will take place in England. This might not be the most surprising news of the day but, after the three prequels were largely shot in Australia, it's good to see the franchise returning to its original roots. The six previous Star Wars films were all partly filmed in the UK at famed studios including Pinewood, Elstree and Shepperton.
In Oct.2012, Disney announced three new Star Wars films, when it purchased George Lucas' Lucasfilm company for US$4.05 billion.
Star Wars: Episode VII (due out in 2015) will be made by director JJ Abrams, and will further boost the British film industry that has been regenerated by the likes of the James Bond and Harry Potter film franchises. It'll continue the story where Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) left off. The Star Wars franchise has grossed more than US$4.4 billion worldwide since we first met Yoda in 1977. 
+ All signs point to Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher reprising their roles of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia. In March, George Lucas said they "had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison - or were pretty much in the final stages of negotiation," though he refused to confirm that the negotiations had been successful. Then in April, Harrison Ford said he was "excited about possibly returning." Later that month, Carrie Fisher said she was happy too  "because they're sending a trainer to my house so I can get in really good shape." So everyone's...er...happy! We can safely assume that all three actors will happily appear. But will Leia's ghastly 'croissant-head' hairstyle be back? Will Skywalker still whine like a spoilt brat? Will Solo need a zimmer frame?
+ And the iconic Star Wars music has been voted the third best orchestral piece ever! The John Williams theme bagged an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe, as well as three Grammy Awards. Now BBC Radio 2 listeners voted it ahead of works by Grieg and Tchaikovsky!! Riiiiiigghhtt!!

19: Remember When...

While veterans remember ALL the warriors from ALL wars, I get the impression at Anzac Day Dawn Parades that many youthful speakers from local schools think Anzac Day is ONLY about Gallipoli.
True, Winston Churchill's Turkish debacle did serve as the starting point for the ANZAC spirit, but it is by far not the sole focus of remembrance on Anzac Day...
One war that's almost bypassed at many a service is Vietnam. Thinking about that campaign - in which we were unnecessarily embroiled through a nebulous tie to our Yank 'friends' - I sought out that classic Aussie song Only Nineteen (A Walk in the Light Green) by Redgum...
This 1983 song is a first-person account of a typical Aussie grunt's (infantryman's) experience in Vietnam, from his training to first-hand combat, and ultimately his return home disillusioned, psychologically scarred and suffering after-effects of the chemical defoliant Agent Orange. It calls a spade a spade, and the lyrics are pretty powerful: no 'Glorious Dead' here, this is "...mud and blood and tears..."
Royalties for the song go to the Vietnam Veterans Assn of Australia, and it's in the Australasian Performing Right Association's Top 30 Australian Songs of all time.