Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Chart Watch Britain: Week of February 13, 2010

Our weekly recap of veteran artists on the current British music charts. Chart highlights:

  • Journey is hot right now in Britain.  Their Greatest Hits album jumps from 107 to 12 while the single, Don't Stop Believin', remains in the top ten for an eighth week, dropping 8 to 9.  The Glee Cast version of the song continues to dominate, dropping 2 to 4.
  • George Benson has the highest debuting album by a veteran artist with Love Songs, starting out at number 30.  Just down a few spots at 38 is the premier of Marvin Gaye's Love Marvin: The Greatest Love Songs. 
Previous week position noted in parenthesis. (N) is a new entry. (R) is a re-entry. Grayed charts were not available for update at time of publication.

Greatest HitsTop 100 British Albums

Don't Stop Believin' b/w Natural ThingTop 100 British Singles
  • #1 (1) - Fireflies - Owl City
  • #2 (N) - Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby) - Jedward Featuring Vanilla Ice
  • #3 (17) - If We Ever Meet Again - Timbaland Featuring Katy Perry
  • #4 (2) - Don't Stop Believin' - Glee Cast
  • #5 (7) - Empire State of Mind (Part II) - Alicia Keys
  • #9 (8) - Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
  • #54 (51) - More Than a Feeling - Boston
  • #90 (160) - Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.
  • #98 (41) - Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) - Jay-Z, Bono, the Edge, Rhianna
The R&B, Rock and Dance Charts are after the cut.

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Touring: Deep Purple, John Mayall, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Asleep at the Wheel

The following veteran artists have posted new touring dates (number of new shows in parenthesis followed by geographic location of new dates):

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Monday, February 08, 2010

Sammy Hagar and Tom Jones Are Latest Names Floated for Aerosmith, Ozzy Has Number 2 Book, more

The Aerosmith rumor of the day has Sammy Hagar fronting the band for an upcoming world tour while Steven Tyler works out his personal life.  Classic Rock magazine reports that they have "a source" that the agreement is already in place.
MusicRadar.com talked to Hagar's manager, John Carter, who said "Good authority must mean The Enquirer because his Led Zep gig conflicts with the Aerosmith job,"

Joe Perry later told Classic Rock that he would seriously consider Tom Jones for the temporary position.  "He’s got a great set of pipes, so why not? I’ve played with him before, and know he could bring something extra to the band. We haven’t approached him yet, but if he were interested that would be great. Imagine the interest Tom would generate."
The February 16 show by Yoko Ono and the new version of the Plastic Ono Band at the Howard Gilman Opera House in New York sold out immediately, so they have added a "dress rehearsal" for February 15.  It is doubtful that some of the guest artists will be present for the rehearsal show.
Ozzy Osbourne's autobiography is officially a hit.  I Am Ozzy is currently the number 2 non-fiction hardcover on the New York Times' Best Sellers list.
Dave Mustaine of Megadeth has changed the name of his autobiography from Hello Me...Meet the Real Me to Wake Up Dead: A Heavy Metal Memoir.  The book is due August 13 from HarperCollins.
It looks like Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars have quite the affect on their fans.  A couple was ejected from the January 29 Motley Crue concert in Winnipeg, Manitoba for allegedly engaging in a sex act in the audience.  According to witnesses, the activity lasted for four songs and was cheered on by those around them until someone alerted security...and, yes, there is a tape of it floating around on YouTube.

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Dr. Conrad Murray Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter

Michael Jackson's live-in physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was officially charged with involuntary manslaughter in the singer's death by the Los Angeles prosecutors.  Murray entered a plea of not guilty and is being held on $75,000 bail.

During the morning, the Los Angeles district attorney filed the charges with the court, saying that Dr. Murray "did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson...in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony; and in the commission of a lawful act which might have produced death, in an unlawful manner, and without due caution and circumspection."

Prosecutors in the case had requested $300,000 bail; however Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz opted for the lower amount which is still three times more than the norm for an involuntary manslaughter case. In addition, Schwartz told Murray "I do not want you sedating people."

The atmosphere was not friendly when Murray arrived at the court, with fans screaming "murderer" and "justice for Michael" as he walked to the building.  Inside the courtroom, a number of members of the Jackson family sat and stared at the doctor, including parents Kathryn and Joe and some of his brothers. The family has expressed their disappointment at the level of the charge.

If found guilty, Murray faces up to four years in prison.

To see the full autopsy report, go to the Smoking Gun website.

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Over 375 Upcoming Releases By Veteran Artists

The following are the new releases by veteran artists broken out by release date. Note that you can also click through all of the dates by using the link at the bottom of each page.

Our upcoming release lists include brand new music, new expanded editions and remasters of albums by veteran artists.  We are also including reissues of existing albums on new labels as there are collectors who are completists about their collections.  We generally do not include issues of existing albums at exorbitant prices (mainly Japanese issues).  Various artist albums are only included if they are of historical significance (i.e., compilations of label's catalogs, hard-to-find music) or a re-release of a significant album from the past (i.e., K-Tel reissues). 

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Who Rock Super Bowl, Judds to Do One Final Tour, more

The Who did a credible job at this year's Super Bowl for the halftime show.  While Roger Daltrey was a bit rough on the opener, Pinball Wizard, he settled down quickly for the rest of the set of Baba O'Riley, Who Are You, See Me Feel Me and Won't Get Fooled Again.  Pete Townshend is still windmilling with the best of them, although the leaps are no longer in his repertoire and Zack Starkey did a nice job on drums, although he just doesn't have the power or flair of Keith Moon.

Steve Wiuwood played the pre-game concert, including what has been said to be a strange take on Higher Love.  Ads during the game included appearances by Stevie Wonder and KISS.

Wynonna Judd announced on the Saturday morning Early Show on CBS that she and her mother Naimi will be doing a final Judds tour.
U2 have been selected for the Playboy Music Hall of Fame in this year's reader's poll.  Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi was named Best Jazz Album and the Beatles' Abbey Road received Best Reissue.
The authorized biography of Johnny Winter, Raisin' Cain: The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter, will be released this May.  The book, by Mary Lou Sullivan, is the result of hundreds of hours of interviews that she conducted with the blues-rock guitarist.

Winter commented, "I love this book. It has everything. All the things that I wanted people to know, from how hard it was growing up in Texas being an albino, my career, the early days, my problems with drugs ... It’s excellent and very realistic.  It’s exactly what happened."
Leif Garrett was charged on Friday with felony possession of heroin stemming from last Monday's arrest.  He posted $10,000 bail and will be arraigned on February 24.

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Chart Watch Australia: February 8, 2010

Our weekly recap of veteran artists on the current Australian music charts. Chart highlights:
  • Make it five non-consecutive weeks for Them Crooked Vultures as the biggest selling veteran artist in Australia.  Their album drips 11 to 15.
  • There are no new titles by veteran artists this week; however, two albums return to the top 50.  The Beach Boys Sounds of Summer is at 38 while The Ultimate Whitney Houston returns at 48.
  • For the first time in months, a veteran artist is on the Australian singles chart.  Bobby Womack debuts at 29 as part of the Gorillaz song Stylo.
Previous week position noted in parenthesis. (N) indicates new entry. (R) indicates re-entry.

Them Crooked VulturesTop 50 Albums

Top 50 Singles
  • #1 (2) - Replay - Iyaz
  • #2 (1) - Fireflies - Owl City
  • #3 (5) - Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons
  • #4 (4) - Blah Blah Blah - Ke$ha
  • #5 (3) - Tik Tok - Ke$ha
  • No Veteran Artists Charting
The Urban/R&B and Country charts are after the cut.

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Sunday, February 07, 2010

Preview: Sting in the Tail - Scorpions (Their Final Studio Album)

Sting in the TailArtist: Scorpions
Title: Sting in the Tail
Release Date: March 23, 2010
Label: UMe
Format(s): CD, Digital

The Scorpions have announced a March 23 release date for their final studio album, Sting in the Tail.  The album was recorded in Hanover, Germany under the eye of Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen. 

The group will follow the release with a three-year world tour before calling it a day.  Over their forty-year career, the group has sold over 100 million albums and has received numerous awards, including the Echo, Germany's equivalent to the Grammy.

Track List: 

  • Raised On Rock
  • Sting In The Tail
  • Slave Me
  • The Good Die Young
  • No Limit
  • Rock Zone
  • Lorelei
  • Turn You On
  • Let's Rock
  • SLY
  • Spirit Of Rock
  • The Best Is Yet To Come

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Saturday, February 06, 2010

Jose Feliciano Harassed By Mystery Calls

Feliciano!Singer Jose Feliciano has called Lehigh Acres in Lee County, Florida his home for the last five years.  The thing is, someone seems to want him out.

Feliciano has filed a report with the Lee County Sheriffs Office stating that he and his companion, Grisselle Velazquez, have been the victims of numerous calls from a mystery male who says in a muffled voice "he needs to get out."  The calls started on January 30 and have been fairly constant with Velazquez receiving three this past Monday.

The Fort Myers News-Press reached Feliciano by phone on Friday night, but the singer seemed to be taking it in stride.  "This isn't Tiger Woods. It's just something that happened and like any other citizen I filed a report.  There's no story here, no interest or importance."  He did, however, tell police when he filed the report that he was concerned. 

Feliciano, 65, put out his first album, The Voice and Guitar of Jose Feliciano, in 1964.  In 1968, he reached number 3 in the U.S. with his version of the Doors' Light My Fire.  Two years later, he released his most enduring record, the holiday perennial Feliz Navidad.

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BBC Doing Boy George Film, Ginger Baker Hates Gary Moore, more

Kissing to Be CleverThe BBC has announced that they are making a 90-minute film on the life of Boy George from his days as a cloakroom attendant to his worldwide fame.  Newcomer Douglas Booth will play George while Mat Horne (Gavin and Stacey) will be drummer Jon Moss.  Marc Warren (Hustle) and Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen) are also set to star with Tony Basgallop (Hotel Babylon) directing and Julian Jerrold (Brideshead Revisited) directing.  Worried About the Boy is expected to be broadcast in the Spring.

Nicola Schindler, Executive Producer, said "At Red Production Company we always try to tackle provocative subjects with humour and warmth and this is exactly what Tony's script does with Boy George. I was very excited at taking such an iconic British character and showing a different side to a story everyone thinks they know. The early Eighties magical setting of the Blitz Club and the New Romantics is fun, visual and new to TV drama."

Drummer Ginger Baker has told England's Classic Rock magazine that playing with Gary Moore in the band BBM (also with Jack Bruce) pretty much "finished rock 'n' roll for me."

"That was a terrible time, playing with the Pampered Pompadour Of Pop. One gig was canceled when he [Moore] cut his finger opening a fucking tin. Eric [Clapton] would have put a plaster on and played. Oh no, not Gary.

And, again, it was so loud I had to have baffle boards on either side. I hate volume. Why does rock music have to be so loud? That was rock’n’roll finished for me."
Also from Classic Rock, Joe Perry has told the magazine that Steven Tyler is NOT out of Aerosmith.

"Steven hasn't quit the band, nor have we sacked him. We're taking the attitude that he's going on a vacation from Aerosmith. While he's away working on other projects, the rest of us (Perry, Whitford, Hamilton and Kramer) want to carry on playing live. So we will be bring another singer to make this happen. We're not daft enough to think we can replace Steven, and that's not our plan. But after 40 years of working together we just don't wanna stop. How long with Steven be away? He says it'll be two years, but I believe he'll be back a lot sooner. It may end up that we only do 10 shows with the new person!"
Merle Haggard has signed with the independent Vanguard label and will release I Am What I Am on April 20.
The documentary Ain't In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm has scheduled its world premier for the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.  The festival runs March 12 to the 21 with film times yet to be announced.
This Monday, you will be able to watch a live stream of Ringo Starr receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  It will be the 2,401st star on the walk and is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the day construction was started on the walk.  The event starts at 7 PM (we assume PST) at the Beatles' website.
KISS' Sonic Boom album is being released in a limited vinyl edition of 1,000 each in red, purple, green, blue and black.  The album will include a 22" x 33" poster.

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Chart Watch America: Week of February 13, 2010

Our weekly recap of veteran artists on the current American music charts. Chart highlights:

  • The Hope for Haiti Now soundtrack remains the top seller by or with input from veteran artists, dropping from 1 to 2.
  • Barry Manilow debuts at number 5 with the latest in his Greatest series, The Greatest Love Songs of All-Time.  It's a much better debut than the last edition, dedicated to the 80's, which never made the top ten.
  • Michael Jackson's This is It jumps 17 to 6 on the Album and back to number 1 on the R&B Album charts after the release of the movie's DVD.  It has also fueled interest in a number of his catalog titles.
  • Charlotte Gainesbourg's IRM premiers at number 69, giving her, by far, the highest charting record of her career.  Her only previous chart entry was 2007's 5:55 which peaked at 196.
  • Jazz guitarist Pat Metheney debuts at 114 on the Album and 3 on the Jazz Album charts with Orchestrations.  It's the highest he's been on the Album chart since 1995's We Live Here peaked at 83.
  • Charlie Sexton has the highest charting single of his career with the collaboration with Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris on the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah.  It's at number 16 on the Hot 100 this week, one spot better than his 1985 hit Beat's So Lonely.
  • Blues man Eric Bibb debuts at number 3 on the Blues Albums and 34 on the Americana chart with Booker's Gone.  That equals his highest charting Blues Album, 2008's Get Onboard. 
  • Speaking of Americana, they sure do love progressive country singer Ray Wylie Hubbard who takes over the top spot after only three weeks on the chart, unseating the multi-month leader, Roseanne Cash's The List.
Previous week position noted in parenthesis. (N) is a new entry. (R) is a re-entry. Grayed charts were not available for update at time of publication.
Comprehensive

Hope For Haiti NowTop 200 Albums

Hallelujah (with Matt Morris and Charlie Sexton)Top 100 Singles
  • #1 (1) - TiK ToK - Ke$ha
  • #2 (3) - Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
  • #3 (4) - BedRock - Young Money Featuring Lloyd
  • #4 (11) - Imma Be - Black Eyed Peas
  • #5 (7) - Sexy Chick - David Guetta Featuring Akon
  • #16 (48) - Hallelujah - Justin Timberlake & Matt Morris Featuring Charlie Sexton
  • #74 (69) - Soldier of Love - Sade
  • #84 (83) Consider Me Gone - Reba (McEntire)
  • #85 (16) - Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) - Jay-Z, Bono, the Edge, Rihanna

The Digital, Radio Airplay, R&B, Blues, Country, Bluegrass, Folk, Rock, Adult Contemporary, Dance, Jazz and Americana charts are after the cut.

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The 11th Edition of Ringo Starr's All-Star Band Announced

Y NotRingo Starr will be hitting the road this summer with the 11th edition of his All-Star Band, starting on June 24 and 25 at the Niagara Falls Casino Resort in Niagara Falls Canada.

As with all of the past All-Star Band tours, fans can expect to hear a full compliment of Ringo's songs, both with the Beatles and solo, including a few from his recently released Y Not.  Scattered throughout the evening will also be trademark songs from many of the members of the band and, with the pedigrees of this years group, there should be some great music.

  • Rick Derringer (guitar) - Original member of the McCoys (Hang on Sloopy) and guitarist for both Johnny and Edgar Winter.  Solo work includes the 1974 album All American Boy with the hit Rock and Roll Hochie Koo (1974/#23).
  • Richard Page (bass) - Founding member of Mr. Mister who three major hits with Broken Wing (1985/#1), Kyrie (1985/#1) and Is It Love (1986/#8).
  • Wally Palmer (bass) - Original member of the Romantics who scored with What I Like About You (1980/#49) and Talking in Your Sleep (1983/#3)
  • Edgar Winter (keyboards/saxophone) - Multi-genre artist with a basis in the blues, Winter is remembered for the hits Frankenstein (1973/#1) and Free Ride (1973/#14).
  • Gary Wright (keyboards) - A member of Spooky Tooth in the late-60's and from 1973 to 1974, Wright went on to a successful solo capped by two 1976 songs that went to number 2, Dream Weaver and Love is Alive.
  • Gregg Bissonette (drums) - Has played in the studio and on the road with Don Henley, Ray Charles, Duran Duran, David Lee Roth and Carlos Santana.

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Leonard Cohen Injures Back, Delays European Tour

Leonard Cohen has injured his lower back while exercising and doctors have advised the 75-year-old to undergo a course of four- to six-months of physical therapy. 

Cohen had a 13-date European tour set to start on March 1 in Caen, France but the injury has forced him to reschedule the full run to the fall.  The tour will now run September 15 to October 7.

Leonard's manager confirmed the injury, saying that doctors advised him to "follow the typical four to six month regime of physical therapy prescribed for athletes with similar injuries ... Doctors have confirmed that Mr. Cohen is otherwise in terrific shape, thanks to years of exercise and careful diet, and simply needs appropriate time to recover from the lower back injury."

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Aaron Neville Working on Three Albums, Jack White Wants to Produce Dolly Parton, more

Aaron Neville is very busy at the moment, working on three new albums, according to Billboard.

  • His third gospel album with producer Joe Henry
  • A project with Allen Toussaint celebrating the 50th anniversary of Aaron's first record
  • A covers collaboration with Dr. John.
    Dolly Parton is the latest artists that Jack White has approached wanting to produce an album.  In the past, White produced Van Leer Rose for Loretta Lynn and has just finished sessions with Wanda Jackson.
    Parton told Spinner, "I've thought about doing it. He seems to be a fan but who knows. You never know what I might do.

    "Every now and then I get offered those things, and I know if and when the time is right. I'm certainly not opposed to doing that. I usually have a set notion of where I'm headed with a certain project and what I want to get out of it. But Lord only knows what I might do when I get a chance to sit down and think about it."
    John Paul Jones has confirmed that Them Crooked Vultures will be going back in the studio later this year to record their second album.  He told Stuff.co.nz "We'll do a second album this year. By the end of summer, something like that . . . We're all hard workers. In a way we need to do this for ourselves. Once we committed to it we worked as hard as a young band would, put the hours in. It's got to be good -- we've got reputations to uphold more than anything else."
    Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue will be hosting a daily radio show starting this Monday in syndication across the country.
    There's no one in the world quite like Nikki Sixx, and there's nothing on the radio quite like his show "Sixx Sense." Each night, he'll be talking about the music and topics on everybody's mind, but filtered through the unique perspective and attitude of someone who has seen it all, done it all, and is still hungry for more. You'll get a backstage look the world and mind of a rock star. But not just any rock star, Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue. You'll get the inside stories that others are too afraid or ashamed to tell. Nikki will get straight, honest talk from special celebrity guests, bands and friends, no matter how notorious or nefarious. Plus, he'll play all the hottest music in rock. The program airs nationwide Monday through Friday from 7 pm to midnight local time.
    To see if you are in the area of one of the show's initial 29 affiliates, check out Sixxsense.com.
    Michael Eavis, organizer for the Glastonbury festival, has told a conference audience that it was very probable that Stevie Wonder will be headlining on Sunday night, filling out their roster of U2 on Friday and Muse on Saturday.
    Pete Seeger ended an auction he had started on eBay for his banjo head early when he decided to donate the instrument to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  He was originally going to sell it for money to donate to planting trees in Haiti.
    A Nielsen study says that, on average, Super Bowl halftime show performers see their sales jump 555% in the week following the event.  It will be interesting to see how the Who, with no new releases except their recycled Greatest Hits album, fares.  The big bump could be in the downloading of the songs performed during the show.

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    Colin Hay Issues Statement After Court Ruling on Men At Work's Down Under

    Man at WorkColin Hay issued a statement after the court ruling that the Men at Work song Down Under was partially taken from the song Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree. 

    For Those Interested,

    The song Down Under is my friend. It has always been my friend, ever since it was born. I have been playing it for over 30 years, to audiences the world over, and will no doubt play it for as long as I am able. We look after each other very well. I co-wrote this song known as Down Under, with Ron Strykert, sometime in the winter of 1978. I remember because we had played the song at the Cricketers Arms Hotel in Richmond one Thursday night, and on the way home to Arthur's Creek, just north of Melbourne, with Ron and my girlfriend Linda in the car, I fell asleep at the wheel, and ran off the road into a ditch. We ended up with the car pointing toward the sky, and we found ourselves staring through the condensation streaked windscreen at the stars above. It was cold, very cold, you know that two o' clock in the morning Melbourne cold, the kind that chills your bones.

    The Federal Court ruling of Justice Jacobson regarding Down Under, and Marion Sinclair's song Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree, came down today. I am as we speak, wading through the 60 page document of his ruling. Clearly, I've had better days.

    The copyright of Kookaburra is owned and controlled by Larrikin Music Publishing, more specifically by a man named Norm Lurie. Larrikin Music Publishing is owned by a multi-national corporation called Music Sales.

    I only mention this as Mr Lurie is always banging on about how he's the underdog, the little guy. Yet, he is part of a multi-national corporation just like EMI Music Publishing. It's all about money, make no mistake. He litigated against EMI Music Publishing, who controls the copyright of Down Under, and Ron Strykert and myself, the writers of Down Under. He alleged that we appropriated a "substantial" part of Kookaburra, and in so doing, infringed upon that copyright, and incorporated it into the flute line of Men At Work's recording of Down Under. It is indeed true, that Greg Ham, (not a writer of the song) unconsciously referenced two bars of Kookaburra on the flute, during live shows after he joined the band in 1979, and it did end up in the Men At Work recording. What's interesting to me, is that Mr Lurie is making a claim to share in the copyright of a song, namely Down Under, which was created and existed for at least a year before Men At Work recorded it. I stand by my claim that the two appropriated bars of Kookaburra were always part of the Men At Work "arrangement", of the already existing work and not the "composition".

    When Men At Work released the song Down Under through CBS Records, (now Sony Music), in 1982, it became extremely successful. It was and continues to be, played literally millions of times all over the world, and it is no surprise that in over twenty years, no one noticed the reference to Kookaburra. There are reasons for this. It was inadvertent, naive, unconscious, and by the time Men At Work recorded the song, it had become unrecognizable. It is also unrecognizable for many reasons. Kookaburra is written as a round in a major key, and the Men At Work version of Down Under is played with a reggae influenced "feel" in a minor key. This difference alone creates a completely different listening experience. The two bars in question had become part of a four bar flute part, thereby unconsciously creating a new musical "sentence" harmonically, and in so doing, completely changed the musical context of the line in question, and became part of the instrumentation of Men At Work's arrangement of Down Under.

    Justice Jacobson has ruled, and for the most part, not in EMI's or my favour. What was born out of creative musical expression, became both a technical and mathematical argument. This ruling will have lasting repercussions, and I suspect not for the better.

    Mr Lurie is a music publisher, and today Judge Jacobson ruled mostly in his favor. Mr Lurie claims to care only about protecting the copyright of Marion Sinclair, who sadly has passed away. I don't believe him. It may well be noted, that Marion Sinclair herself never made any claim that we had appropriated any part of her song Kookaburra, and she wrote it, and was most definitely alive, when Men At Work's version of Down Under was a big hit. Apparently she didn't notice either.

    I believe what has won today is opportunistic greed, and what has suffered, is creative musical endeavor. This outcome will have no real impact upon the relationship that I have with our song Down Under, for we are connected forever. When I co-wrote Down Under back in 1978, I appropriated nothing from anyone else's song. There was no Men At Work, there was no flute, yet the song existed. That's the truth of it, because I was there, Norm Lurie was not, and neither was Justice Jacobson. Down Under lives in my heart, and may perhaps live in yours. I claim it, and will continue to play it, for as long as you want to hear it.

    Sincerely, Colin Hay

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