OHMYGOSSIP — Nile Rodgers has hailed Thom Bell as “one of the greatest musical geniuses of our time”.
The Grammy Award-winning producer – who was best known as one of the Mighty Three co-creators of the Sound of Philadelphia along with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff – passed away on Thursday (22.12.22) at the age of 79 and the Chic star has admitted he always “worshipped” the songwriter and arranger.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: I worshipped Thom Bell. He was one of the greatest musical geniuses of our time. I think of him in the same way as Stevie Wonder or Burt Bacharach or Lennon and McCartney. He was on that level.
“Sometimes people take music for granted, ‘It’s a pop song.’ But when you dissect it and really listen to it and take it apart and understand it on a granular level, those records he made have some of the best arrangements you can imagine, up there with Bacharach, Mancini, and Bach.”
Nile praised Thom for taking his songs away from the “traditional” R’n’B formula, which he credited to him being a “seriously schooled musician”.
He added: “By listening to his arrangements, instrumentation, and orchestration, you can tell Thom was classically trained, a seriously schooled musician.
“If you looked at traditional R’n’B records at the time, they were more gospel and blues based, if you will. That wasn’t where Thom was coming from. He represented an air of sophistication and elegance. It was soul music that was orchestral and beautiful.
“Whenever I would see the name Thom Bell on the records, I knew the music was going to be classy and soulful.”
And the 70-year-old musician admitted Thom had a huge impact on his own career.
He said: “That sound was so much a part of music I loved and respected that when I finally formed my own band, we believed we were the next generation of Black upward mobility. We were not a gutbucket funk band. We weren’t the Ohio Players or Earth, Wind and Fire. We were totally Thom Bell-inspired, and that’s why we had strings and Luther Vandross as our background singer.
“It was classy, which is what Thom represented to me and to a lot of other people. This was not just hardcore, sweaty funk and R’n’B. This was the beginning of a shimmery, very elegant type of R’n’B, which was the inspiration for everything that I would do in my band Chic.”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Kate Bush has had a “crazy, rollercoaster” year.
The 64-year-old singer has reflected on the ups and downs of 2022, including the “horrific” invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the death of Queen Elizabeth, and her own career resurgence after her 1985 single ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ featured in ‘Stranger Things’.
In a message shared to her website titled ‘Merry Christmas’, Kate wrote: “I don’t think any of us have ever known a year like this one.
“Life became incredibly frightening in the pandemic, but just as we think it might be over soon, it seems to keep going. It’s a bombardment — the horrific war in Ukraine, the famines, the droughts, the floods… and we lost our Queen.
“It’s been a crazy, rollercoaster year for me.
“I still reel from the success of [‘Running Up That Hill’], being the No 1 track of this summer. What an honour!(sic)”
After being featured in the show, the track topped the charts in the UK and Australia, went to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and returned to the top 10 of the Alternative Airplay chart after a 28-year absence.
And Kate admitted it was “such a great feeling” being introduced to a whole new audience.
She said: “It was such a great feeling to see so many of the younger generation enjoying the song.
“It seems that quite a lot of them thought I was a new artist! I love that! Again, thank you so much to everyone who supported the track and made it a hit.”
The ‘Wuthering Heights’ hitmaker closed her post with a message of hope.
She wrote: “I used a little robin in some of my Christmas gifts to friends this year. I felt that this humble little bird, which symbolises Christmas could also symbolise hope in the context of Emily Dickinson’s beautiful words: Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
“I‘d like to think that this Christmas when joy is so hard to find, hope will perch in all our souls. Merry Christmas!”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Beyonce is set to give a concert for the first time in almost five years.
The 41-year-old superstar – who released her highly-anticipated seventh studio album ‘Renaissance’ earlier this year – has not performed a full-length concert since 2018 but is reportedly gearing up for an hour-long show at the five-star Atlantis, The Palm resort in Dubai on January 21, following in the footsteps of fellow pop legend Kylie Minogue.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Beyonce is being lined up to sing at Atlanis as part of a huge event. The hotel has put on a range of massive performances recently, with Kylie Minogue booked in to perform on New Year’s Eve.”
The insider went on to add that invites have already been sent out for the event and teased that tickets to see the ‘Crazy in Love’ hitmaker – who is thought to have signed a deal worth £20 million for the show – are like “gold dust”, noting that several celebrity guests will be in attendance.
The source added: “Invites have been sent out for the event with Beyonce – which is being billed as an hour-long performance – and it’s the hottest ticket in town. Afterwards, there is a party with Swedish House Mafia who are booked to do a DJ set. This will be Beyonce’s first proper live show since she performed at the Global Citizen Festival in Johannesburg in 2018.
“Tickets are like gold dust and it will be a who’s who of the showbiz world on the night. ”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Terry Hall had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which had spread to his liver before his death.
The late Specials frontman’s bandmate Horace Panter has revealed Terry, who was 63, battled cancer and subsequently got diabetes when he was due to record a reggae album with his Specials bandmates in Los Angeles.
Horace, Terry and the ska group’s guitarist Lynval Golding were headed across the pond to work on the record in November before he became too unwell.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (20.12.22), he said: “Terry had the framework for 8 tunes. Confidence was high. We were set to meet up with Nikolaj [Larsen, Specials keyboardist] and make magic. This was in September. Terry e-mails everyone and says he’s in bed with a stomach bug and can’t do the first week of pre-production sessions. No big deal, we can knock everything back a week. We’re not due to fly out until November 4th.”
It was Terry’s wish that his cancer battle was private.
Horace continued: “This is serious. Like life-threatening serious. He has developed diabetes due to his pancreas being attacked. This has to be treated first, then it’s a regime of chemotherapy. There is nothing anyone can do. Everything is put on hold. Terry is emphatic that no-one be told about this. If anyone asks, he’s managing his diabetes.
Horace anticipated that if the chemotherapy did it’s job, they’d be able to get into the studio by March next year.
He said: “The chemo treatment starts favourably but it seems that it would be March 2023 at the earliest before we’d be in any position to work. He is in and out of hospital to stabilise the diabetes issue and also to manage pain. It then goes quiet.”
The ‘Ghost Town’ band’s manager Steve Blackwell contacted Horace and said he feared Terry was “slipping away” on December 15, and he passed he a few days later on December 18.
Horace added: “He calls me on his return journey and says things are not looking promising. Terry is dying.
The next day he is put on morphine and is more-or-less unconscious for most of the time. I thought it would be best for me to go and visit but Lindy, his wife, advises against it.
“She has held her phone to Terry’s ear so that his sisters and Lynval can say their goodbyes. She suggests I do the same. So, I did. It was tough. Terry died around half past 5 the next evening, Sunday 18th December. The world has lost a unique voice and I have lost a good friend.”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie has paid a touching tribute to his late bandmate Martin Duffy.
The band’s 55-year-old keyboardist – who also played in the likes of Felt and the Charlatans – tragically suffered a brain injury from a fall at home on December 18.
And Bobby has spoken highly of his late bandmate, who he dubbed “the most musically talented of all of us”.
He began: “Hard to write this. We never know how to speak around death other than polite platitudes. All I want to say is that our soul brother Martin Duffy passed away on Sunday. He suffered a brain injury due to a fall at his home in Brighton. We in Primal Scream are all so sad.
“I’ve known Martin since he was a teenager in Felt. He played keyboards on every album of ours from the first to the last. Finally joining the band in 1991. Martin was a very special character. He had a love and understanding of music on a deep spiritual level. Music meant everything to him.
“He loved literature and was well read and erudite. An autodidact. A deep thinker, curious about the world and other cultures. Always visiting museums in every city we played or looking for Neolithic stones in remote places. Opinionated and stubborn in his views.”
He continued: “He could play piano to the level where he was feted not just by his peers in British music, but old school master American musicians such as James Luther Dickinson, Roger Hawkins and David Hood and producer Tom Dowd.
“I witnessed a session at Abbey Rd in 1997 for a Dr John album where his record company had assembled a bunch of young Indie Brit musicians where Mac Rebenac (Dr John) seemed bored and uninterested in the session until Martin started playing, then suddenly the good Dr started knocking some funky piano chops and I instantly knew it was because his ears had pricked up when he heard Martin play and the session at last came alive.”
Bobby added: “Martin was the most musically talented of all of us.
“His style combined elements of country, blues and soul, all of which he had a God given natural feel for. He never played the same thing twice, ever. He was all about ‘the moment’, better have that ‘record’ button on when Duffy was on fire. His timing was unique, funky and ALWAYS behind the beat.”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Janelle Monáe has a new album in the works.
The 37-year-old actress-and-singer has promised fans a follow-up to 2018’s ‘Dirty Computer’ is on the way, joking that she has a clone that works away in the studio while she’s acting.
Asked in an interview with NME if new music is on the way, the ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ star replied: “Actually, you will! You will get new music because I now have a clone. That clone does all of my music, and I have another clone for acting. I’m not going to tell you if it’s me or not. They’re in the studio right now!”
She added: “I just feel so humbled and super, super blessed to be doing anything. Doing something like this, you don’t take it lightly.”
Janelle’s return to the studio comes after she suffered anxiety attacks while recording ‘Dirty Computer’.
She admitted working on the acclaimed album was tough because of the political climate in the US at the time due to then-President Donald Trump.
She told NPR at the time: “It was one of the first times I felt very afraid. There was a lot going on in the country during that time and I didn’t know if this was going to embolden them, at the time, to do something to people like me who were speaking out against racism and sexism and xenophobia and Islamophobia, and everything that they represent. I just didn’t know.
“So I started to just have anxiety attacks about it, and I’m thankful I didn’t let that stop me, because I think what that album represented, especially one of my songs, ‘Americans’, … deals with that. It deals with how I’m not going to back down and we’re not going to back down and become silent and quiet and watch this president tear this country apart and tear down the people that helped build this country.
“My ancestors built this country. They helped build the White House. And so that just says: I’m American and you will never take that away from me. And we’re not running, we’re not hiding. We’re not allowing you to dominate us.”
Janelle also spoke about working with the late music icon Prince on the record before his death from an accidental drug overdose in 2016.
She said: “He was working with me on ‘Dirty Computer’ before he transitioned on. Prince was helping, sending me song inspirations and we were going back and forth.
“And so when he transitioned on, I felt that I had to continue to finish that album. And I was always asking myself, ‘What would Prince do?’ in these moments whenever I couldn’t figure out a lyric or music or instrumentation or melody.”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Brian May has hit back at criticism of Yungblud’s performance of Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’.
The guitar legend was flooded with people’s opinions after he re-shared the 25-year-old rocker’s rendition of the 1977 hit for Apple Music, which he hailed “very classy”.
Brian, 75, compared the negative comments to those the late frontman Freddie Mercury received in the early days of joining Queen.
He had captioned the clip: “Every now and then, while idly scrolling in the park, you come upon something that makes you go ‘wow.’
“And you just have to press that ‘follow’ button. Very classy.”
Responding to the hate, he wrote: “Well, this has been an eye-opener for me. I’m smiling quietly at all the ‘no’ comments. I remember so clearly the same kind of derision being poured on Freddie when we started out as Queen. As soon as I see someone who can inspire such strong reactions, positive and negative, I’m sure this person is a star performer.”
He added: “But just carry on kicking if you need to; perhaps it will make you feel better! I think the rest of us will keep an open mind.”
The high praise from Brian comes after another rock icon, Sir Mick Jagger, honoured Yungblud for carrying the torch for rock ‘n’ roll in the 21st century by presenting him with a guitar inspired by the late Buddy Holly’s Gibson J-45.
It was a “dream come true” for the pop punk star, who is keen to work with the Stones now.
He said: “He’s a real hero of mine. We talked about music, the state of rock ’n’ roll, the energy within it and the diversity in rock music right now.
“Thank f*** people are getting p***** off again. “People need to be p***** off.
“That’s what rock ’n’ roll is founded on – energy and love.”
Asked if a Stones collaboration is on the cards, he replied: “I’d love that. We’re in contact, we’ve met and if the opportunity arises, absolutely.”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Snoop Dogg has announced the rescheduled dates for his UK and Ireland tour.
The hip-hop icon will kick off the arena jaunt at Belfast’s SSE Arena on March 14, followed by dates in Manchester, Glasgow, London, Dublin, Leeds, and Birmingham.
Snoop will be joined by his peers and collaborators Warren G, Tha Dogg Pound, Obie Trice and D12.
Irish rap duo Versatile are also hitting the road with the icons of the West Coast scene.
Meanwhile, Snoop and Dr. Dre have collaborated on a new album called ‘Missionary’.
The hip-hop idols have teamed up on their first new music in three decades.
He spilled in October: “Me and Dr. Dre have been working on an album for the past two months.”
Asked about the sex position moniker, he replied: “The first album was ‘Doggystyle’…”
Dre produced the acclaimed 1993 LP.
The album title confirmation comes after Eminem shared a snap in the studio with the pair in September and captioned it: “Just a few bros.. hangin out.”
Snoop and Dre reunited earlier this year for an epic performance at the Super Bowl halftime show – along with Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar.
And following whispers that the pair were in the studio, Snoop told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: “We’re cooking up a little something.
“I don’t wanna talk about it too much, but we’re back together again.
“It’s been 30 years since we worked on a record, and we’re doin’ something, we’re workin’ on something.”
Snoop shot to fame in 1992 when he featured on Dre’s debut solo single, ‘Deep Cover’, and his solo LP ‘The Chronic’.
Earlier this year, Snoop bought Death Row Records, the label that launched his career.
The rapper – whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr – acquired the company from MNRK Music Group for an undisclosed sum.
The 51-year-old megastar said in February: “I am thrilled and appreciative of the opportunity to acquire the iconic and culturally significant Death Row Records brand, which has immense untapped future value.
“It feels good to have ownership of the label I was part of at the beginning of my career and as one of the founding members. This is an extremely meaningful moment for me.”
Death Row – which was also the home of the likes of the late Tupac Shakur and Nate Dogg – filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was sold in 2012, after founder Suge Knight faced serious financial and legal issues.
The 57-year-old former music executive is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for a fatal 2015 hit-and-run.
Ticket presale takes place at 9am Thursday (22.12.22) and general on-sale 12pm via https://www.tegeurope.com/events/snoop-dogg.

Snoop’s 2023 UK and Ireland tour dates are:

14th – Belfast, SSE Arena
15th – Manchester, AO Arena
16th – Glasgow, SEC Hydro
21st – London, O2 Arena
26th – Dublin, 3Arena
27th – Leeds, First Direct Arena
28th – Birmingham, Resorts World Arena

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Blink-182’s new album will be out “in a few months”, according to Tom DeLonge.
The pop punk legends have been back in the studio for the first time in a decade as the original lineup of Tom, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, and released the new single ‘EDGING’ in October.
And now, co-frontman Tom has teased a release date for the LP, writing on Instagram: “New Album Coming in a few months.”
The ‘All The Small Things’ rockers are also set for their biggest tour to date, with concerts in the UK, Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and their first-ever shows in Latin America.
The mammoth tour will begin next March and will conclude in February 2024.
The three original Blink-182 members met up before Mark was undergoing treatment for cancer last year and he revealed that the three were in a good place earlier this year.
He said of the band’s relationship: “It’s actually better than it used to be.
“There was no agenda (when they met up). There were no lingering grudges. It felt very back to what it should be: three friends sitting in a room.”
Mark, 50, added: “I keep writing music, and I’m open to whatever the next phase of Blink is. I’m hopeful for the future. I’m just damn glad to be here.”
Blink released 2016’s ‘California’ and 2019’s ‘Nine’ with Tom’s stand-in, Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba.
The last record with Tom was 2011’s ‘Neighborhoods’.

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Travis Scott and Kid Cudi’s ‘The Scotts’ album has been scrapped.
The hip-hop stars premiered their first collaboration in almost four years, the song ‘The Scotts’, during Travis’ 2020 live ‘Astronomical event’ on the battle royale game ‘Fortnite’.
It marked their first song together since 2016’s ‘Through The Late Night’ from the former’s LP ‘Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight’, and ‘Baptised In Fire’ from the latter’s record ‘Passion, Pain and Demon Slayin”.
The title ‘The Scotts’ was a nod to the fact they both share Scott as a name, with Cudi’s real name being Scott Mescudi.
An album with the tentative name of ‘The Scotts’ was then in the works, but Cudi has now confirmed it’s no more.
This week Cudi tweeted: “Workin on something special for y’all as we speak (sic)”
And one follower asked if ‘The Scotts’ is “still on the cards,” to which he replied: “Naw im not doin that. (sic) The moment has passed.”
There is still a chance that fans might be drip-fed songs from the abandoned album, however, as during his ‘Road To Utopia’ Las Vegas residency, Travis debuted a previously unheard song with Cudi.
Meanwhile, Cudi has promised fans one final album before he calls it quits.
The rapper recently declared that he feels he is “kinda nearing the end” of making music and would love to become a kindergarten teacher – but he plans to release one final record, the follow-up to September’s ‘Entergalactic’.
He tweeted: “Im doin 1 more album and then im done w my deal and not sure what ima do after that but yea, 1 more.
“Wont be next year. Keep u posted. (sic)”
He added: “This is for all my fans that have been ridin w me for so long. This will be all new music. The songs ive teased ill prolly put out as singles here and there to hold u over. (sic)”
The 38-year-old star had admitted he is coming to a close “on all things Kid Cudi”, and isn’t sure it he wants to make albums for “too much longer”.
When speaking about the likes of hip-hop stars Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Eminem, and Nas, Cudi said: “I feel like, I don’t have what they have. I just don’t know if I want to do … music, drop albums for too much longer.”
But he has come up with an alternative career.
Speaking on ‘Hot Ones’ on YouTube channel ‘First We Feast’, he added: “I’m really curious to see what else I can do.
“I was thinking about this, this is like a wacky idea I had years ago.
“It would be cool to one day be a kindergarten teacher.
“Just do that for a couple years. When I’m like 50 … infect the youth with that freshness. Then those kids will sprinkle the freshness to the world.”
In 2012, Cudi admitted he was an “aspiring kindergarten teacher”.
He wrote on Twitter at the time: “Cudder Fact: Im a silent conspiracy theorist and anarchist. As well as an aspiring kindergarten teacher ha (sic)”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Justin Bieber is reportedly closing in on a deal to sell the rights to his entire music catalogue for a whopping $200 million.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the pop idol is nearing completion on the sale to Hipgnosis Songs Capital, who just gave Justin Timberlake half as much for his catalogue.
If it goes through, it will be the biggest acquisition in music history.
It will include the ‘Sorry’ hitmaker’s six studio albums, several singles and even collaborations.
Meanwhile, Bieber has just been in the headlines after he accused high street store H+M of selling a merchandise collection without his permission.
The 28-year-old musician took to social media on Monday (19.12.22) to berate the fast-fashion clothing company as he claimed he did not approve of their latest line based around him.
He said: “I DIDN’T APPROVE ANY OF THE MERCH COLLECTION THAT THEY PUT UP AT H+M. All without my permission and approval SMH I WOULDN’T BUY IT IF I WERE YOU.”
In a second post, the ‘Baby’ hitmaker – who has been married to fashion model Hailey Bieber since 2018 – labelled the collection as “trash” and insisted his fans steer clear.
He added: “The H+M MERCH THEY MADE OF ME IS TRASH AND I DIDN’T APPROVE IT DONT BUY IT. When everyone finds out I didn’t approve any of this merch smh.”(sic)
Following the outburst, a representative for the clothing retailer alleged that proper protocols had been followed before launching the line, but hours after Bieber made the claims, it appeared that all but one piece of merch from the range – a $15 tote bag bearing his face – had been removed from the website.
In a statement, the representative said: “As with all other licensed products and partnerships, H M followed proper approval procedures.”
Meanwhile, the singer recently launched an official water brand at the Qatar World Cup, teaming up with premium alkaline water company Geneoristy to provide refreshments to those attending the games in the Middle East country via refillable fountains in an effort to “protect the people.”
He said: “I want the world to have access to the best water. I also want
countries to know how to best protect their people. The overuse of plastic is hurting us, we need to be more sustainable.”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Arctic Monkeys take a flight case that turns into a pop-up bar on tour with them.
According to Inhaler frontman Eli Hewson – whose band supported the indie legends in Europe this summer – Alex Turner and co advised them to get their own portable bar to give any room an ambience.
He said: “They were telling me about this flight case, which has a lamp in, a table, so they bring the bar with them (on tour).
“They were like, ‘Get one of these as soon as you can. It’ll make any drab room feel mint’.”
Drummer Ryan McMahon admitted he didn’t feel “worthy” of opening for the “greatest rock and roll band in the world”.
He told Far Out Magazine: “Every night, we just got to watch them be the greatest rock band in the world.
“They’re just so on it, and for a band that hadn’t toured in like three years, they really proved why they’re still at the top, and their new album is so fun to listen to. The fact we get to do it all again goes back to that imposter syndrome. We don’t feel worthy of it at all.”
Inhaler will once again hit the road with Arctic Monkeys on their 10-date jaunt in 2023.
The run kicks off in Linz, Austria on April 24, 2023, and wraps on May 9 in Paris, France.
The ‘R U Mine?’ hitmakers will then kick off the UK leg in Bristol on May 29, before heading to North America in August.
It was recently reported that the ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ hitmakers have signed up to headline Glastonbury 2023.
They are said to have already started preparations for the gig, which will be the third time they have joined the festival and 10 years since they last appeared on the festival’s Pyramid Stage.
A source told The Sun: “Alex Turner and the band are coming back to Glastonbury, and this time their set is going to be even bigger and better.
“The lads have signed on the dotted line and will return to the Pyramid Stage next June.
“It is really special for them to be doing a hat-trick on that stage and it is something they have wanted to do for a while.
“After the festival dates lined up with their upcoming tour they said they couldn’t not play there again.
“The band are in the process of putting together their team and are working on making their performance one of Glastonbury’s most memorable.”
They left a telling gap in the dates that coincides with Glastonbury 2023, which will run from June 21 to 25.

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 2020.
The heavy metal band’s sticksman is thankfully cancer-free after having the tumour surgically removed within a week of the discovery.
The drummer gave an interview with the University Of Miami Health System last September, in which he shared how he knew something wasn’t right when his voice changed and he had to clear his throat more than usual while talking.
He said: “When I play drums with the band, I actually sort of scream and yell while I play, like a Judo guy slapping the mat.
“When you are lying down in a quiet room and you speak and hear your voice in your head and have a cold, you sound different. This happened to me.”
He continued: “I thought this is very reminiscent – this different sounding voice of mine – to when I finish a tour or after a show. I didn’t have a cold or any symptoms of illness at all. I started to feel that I was clearing my throat more when I was in conversations. So, I just took it on myself to call my doctor.”
The 70-year-old rocker was fortunate that the cancer was caught early at stage 1, and has implored anyone who notices changes in their voice to get checked out.
He said: “I thoroughly recommend that anyone who may feel there is something different with their voice to go and get it checked out. And don’t put it off. It was very good for me that I caught it in stage 1.”
Nicko’s doctor, David E. Rosow, commented: “Many cases present with a voice change like Nicko’s and often when the tumour is as small as one to two millimetres, which makes the tumour easier to completely remove. The prognosis with early (stage 1) tumours is excellent, with published cure rates of 95 per vent and up.”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Kate Bush has called for an end to the war in Ukraine in her annual Christmas message.
The 64-year-old music legend reflected on the tragedies of 2022, including Russia’s continued onslaught on its neighbouring country and the passing of Queen Elizabeth, whose death “became a focus for grief, for unexpressed loss” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
She wrote in a post on her website titled ‘Merry Christmas’: “Every year seems to fly by a little faster. They say this happens as you get older, but there’s no doubt that the speed of life is accelerating at a greater rate than ever.
“It’s a bombardment, the horrific war in Ukraine, the famines, the droughts, the floods… and we lost our Queen. Many of my friends were surprised at how upset they were at her death especially as we aren’t royalists, but I think her passing became a focus for grief, for unexpressed loss that so many people had felt during the pandemic.”
The lengthy note also saw Kate reflect on her 80s hit ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ re-entering the charts three decades later thanks to its inclusion in Netflix series ‘Stranger Things’.
She said: “It’s been a crazy, roller-coaster year for me. I still reel from the success of RUTH, being the No 1 track of this summer.
“What an honour! It was really exciting to see it doing so well globally, but especially here in the UK and Australia; and also to see it making it all the way to No 3 in the US. It was such a great feeling to see so many of the younger generation enjoying the song. It seems that quite a lot of them thought I was a new artist! I love that!”
Kate hopes there will be a resolution for the war and the nurses strike in the UK by this time next year.
She pondered: “I wonder where on earth we’ll all be at the end of next year? I hope the war will end. I hope that the nurses will be in a position where they are appreciated – they should be cherished. Let’s all hope that next year will be better than this one. I keep thinking about hope and how it was the last to fly out of Pandora’s box. Sometimes it’s all that seems to glow in the dark times we find ourselves in right now.”
She wrapped the post: “I used a little robin in some of my Christmas gifts to friends this year. I felt that this humble little bird, which symbolises Christmas could also symbolise hope in the context of Emily Dickinson’s beautiful words: Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
“I‘d like to think that this Christmas when joy is so hard to find, hope will perch in all our souls. Merry Christmas!”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Lana Del Rey has seemingly thrown shade at her ex Sean Larkin by only promoting her new album in his hometown.
The ‘Born To Die’ hitmaker had a billboard erected in the police officer’s home city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, advertising her upcoming LP ‘Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the ‘Video Games’ singer posted a selfie of herself in a car with the billboard seen in the background.
The picture was posted on the star’s private Instagram account and had the caption: “There’s only one and it’s in Tulsa.”
And when asked by a fan why she chose Tulsa, she replied: “It’s. Personal.”
Lana’s fans have praised her for her level of pettiness.
One commented on the screenshot of the post shared on Reddit: “God I need this level of petty-strength, advertising your album probably about how sad you are in your ex’s hometown – only Lana, this is why I love her.”
Lana had already released the title track on Sean’s birthday (07.12.22).
She spent a lot of time with Sean in his hometown.
In a profile with the New York Times, Sean said: “When we were in Tulsa we hung out with my law enforcement friends and their spouses. We all Super Bowl partied together, dinners and things like that. Normal things couples do with their friends.”
They started dating in September 2019, but went their separate ways in March 2020.
However, it was said to be amicable between them.
Lana said: “We still talk and whatnot, we just have busy schedules right now.”
The 37-year-old star is known for her heartbreaking lyrics about tragic romances.
And Lana has previously had to defend herself after being labelled anti-feminist for enjoying a “really physical relationship”.
She said: “For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants. If my choice is to, I don’t know, be with a lot of men, or if I enjoy a really physical relationship, I don’t think that’s necessarily being anti-feminist. For me the argument of feminism never really should have come into the picture. Because I don’t know too much about the history of feminism, and so I’m not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation. Everything I was writing was so autobiographical, it could really only be a personal analysis.”

Source: IconInsider.com

OHMYGOSSIP — Journey’s Neal Schon has filed a cease and desist against bandmate Jonathan Cain for performing at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago.
The 68-year-old lead guitarist was not impressed to say the least when the 72-year-old keyboardist performed ‘Don’t Stop Believin” at the former President’s Florida resort in November, because Journey “is not, and should not be, political.”
Jonathan – whose wife Paula White-Cain was a spiritual advisor to Trump – is accused by his bandmate of “unauthorised affiliation of Journey” with Trump’s politics.
Neal’s lawyer wrote: “Although Mr. Cain is free to express his personal beliefs and associations, when he does that on behalf of Journey or for the band, such conduct is extremely deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarises the band’s fans and outreach. Journey is not, and should not be, political.
“Mr. Cain’s unauthorised affiliation of Journey with the politics of Donald Trump has the band’s fans up in arms, as is demonstrated by a sample of the attached emails and Twitter comments.”
Jonathan claimed it has resulted in “irreparable harm” to the group’s brand and “earning potential”.
The letter went on: “This has caused, and continues to cause, irreparable harm to the Journey brand, its fan base and earning potential, especially in light of the forthcoming tour.
“Mr. Cain has no right to use Journey for politics … he should not be capitalising on Journey’s brand to promote his personal political or religious agenda to the detriment of the band.”
Jonathan has hit back and accused his bandmate of lying.
He responded: “Schon is just frustrated that he keeps losing in court and is now falsely claiming the song has been used at political rallies.”
The band has had a number of legal fallouts over the years.
Back in March 2020, Journey fired longtime bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith for an alleged “malicious and very ill-conceived” coup attempt to gain control of the band’s copyright from Neal and Jonathan.
The pair’s lawyer told Rolling Stone magazine at the time: “The Journey name is controlled by Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain. And for very good cause, they don’t want to perform with Smith or Valory anymore, they don’t want to have anything to do with them, and that’s their right. They’re going to go on with Journey, continue with the great success of the past and these two guys are going to get replaced.”
Ross – who was also fired by the band in 1985 and replaced by Randy Jackson – and Steve later countersued.
Randy returned to the group in May 2020.

Source: IconInsider.com