Short Takes: Bono, Bruce Dickinson, Gary Glitter, KISS

Bono is about to get even richer. Billboard reports that the singer is managing director and co-founder of Elevation Partners which invests in media, entertainment and technology companies. It just so happens that one of those companies was Facebook, putting in $270 million on at least three occasions as the company grew.

With Facebook about to go public, the value is expected to soar and Elevation could make up to $360 million on their latest $120 million investment and up to $990 million on an early $90 million investment.

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Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson had a dream come true earlier this week when he got to spend three days on-board the nuclear submarine HMS Victorious at Scotland's Faslane naval base.

A member of the Royal Navy told the Helensburgh Advertiser "He was extremely down to earth and hung around with everybody asking questions and chatting about his life. Everyone was happy to have him on board with us. Lots of people were stunned by it but some didn't know who he was."

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Gary Glitter will lose out on thousands of dollars in royalties after the NFL ruled that his song Rock and Roll Part II could not be played during the Super Bowl. The song is used regularly at many sporting events to get the crowd going but it looks like Glitter's very spotty past (child sexual abuse) has finally caught up with his wallet.

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KISS have pushed back the release date of their 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Destroyer to April 17. The 2-CD set will include the original album plus remixes and outtakes.

In addition, Figures Toy Company is issuing 8 and 12 inch retro KISS "action figures" showing the original members in their makeup and costumes. See them at figurestoycompany.com.

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Lou Reed Takes the From VU to LULU Tour to Europe

Lou Reed is going on tour in Europe with a show that will span his whole career with the VU to LULU Tour (referring to the Velvet Underground and his latest album with Metallica).

Never one to worry about critical reaction to his work, Reed has experimented with what is now considered the classic Metal Machine Music and his current album Lulu with Metallica which has seen a range of reactions from poor to listings on year-end best-of lists.

Joining him for the tour will be Aram Bajakian on guitar, Rob Wasserman on bass, Kevin Hearn on keyboards and Tony "Thunder" Smith on drums.

The itinerary:

• 06/06 - Luxembourg, LU - Rockhal
• 06/08 - Nyon, CH - Caribana Festival
• 06/09 - France, FR - Montereau Festival
• 06/11 - Paris, FR - Olympia
• 06/12 - Lille, FR - L’Aeronef
• 06/14 - Amsterdam, NL - Heineken Music Hall
• 06/15 - Brussels, BE - Ancienne Belgique
• 06/18 - Copenhagen, DK - Falconer Salen
• 06/20 - Berlin, DE - Citadel Music Festival
• 06/23 - Mainz, DE - Zollhafen/Nordmole
• 06/25 - Clermont Ferrand, FR - Cooperative de Mai
• 06/26 - Bordeaux, FR - Fete le Vin
• 06/29 - Bonn, DE - Kunst!Rasen
• 06/30 - Dresden, DE - Filmnächte am Elbufe
• 07/01 - Munich, DE - Tollwood Festival at Olympic Park
• 07/05 - Trencin, SK - Pohoda Festival

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Judge Sides With Herb Reed, the Only Surviving Platter, On Others Use of Name

Herb Reed

In another victory for the artists of the 50's and 60's, a federal judge has issued an injunction against a man using the name The Platters without having a heritage with the group.

For years, many early rock and soul vocal groups have seen their names used by artists who have no connection with the original group, many times giving the audience the idea that they are seeing historical performers. Thirty-three states have passed Truth-in-Music laws prohibiting such performers, requiring at least one member of the group to have a connection to the original and a federal law is making its way through congress.

Nevada is one of those states and federal judge Phillip M. Pro used the law to issue an injunction against Monroe Powell who had been using the name The Platters Featuring the Legendary Michael Powell in performances in Las Vegas and other venues around the country. In doing so, he reaffirmed Herb Reed as the only remaining member of the group and the controller of the trademark.

In his 14-page ruling, Judge Pro acknowledged that numerous courts have been asked for years to decide who is "The Great Pretender" when it comes to deciding who actually holds the rights to the famous Platters name writing, "'Only You, Herb Reed have exclusive rights to the mark "The Platters."" He enjoined Powell from using "The Platters" and "any equivalent or phonetically similar names or marks, in connection with any vocal group in any advertisements, promotional, marketing, or other materials..."

Judge Pro went on to state two exceptions, writing that Powell "may use the mark "The Platters" if the word "Tribute" or "Revue" is included and when displayed or advertised, the word "Tribute" or "Revue" is at least one half the font size of 'The Platters."

Responding to today's decision Reed said, "After more than 30 years of court battles that at one time spawned more than 100 groups performing somewhere in the world as "The Platters" the court is restoring my identity to me as the founder and only surviving member of the vocal group. This way, my legacy is and will continue as I intended in 1953."

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Neil Young Has Finished One Crazy Horse Album & Has Started Another

Rolling Stone posted video on Thursday of an interview with Jonathan Demme and Neil Young at the Slamdance Film Festival where Young talks about his current work with Crazy Horse.

According to Young, one album, Americana, is done and a second is in the works. Interestingly, Americana appears to be filled with traditional songs like Oh Susanna and Clementine but reworked by Crazy Horse.

Here are highlights from the conversation courtesy of Rolling Stone:

The full interview can be seen at the Slamdance site.

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Reba McEntire Comedy Pilot Ordered by ABC

Reba McEntire made it one step further towards getting back into the comedy game on Thursday when ABC ordered the pilot for her latest project.

While an ordered pilot does not mean a series is imminent, it does mean that the network saw enough potential in the concept of the show and the stars that they want to take a look at a full episode.

Malibu County would star McEntire as a fictional version of herself; however, in her TV life she will have divorced her rock-star husband and moved her three kids and mother to the west coast to try and restart her career.

Executive producers on the show include Dave Stewart and McEntire's husband, Narvel Blackstock.

McEntire's last show, Reba, ran for six seasons on the WB and CW networks.

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