In Brief: Ben Harper, Perry Farrell, Iggy Pop
ByApr 14, 2002 10:00 PM
Plus news on Nona Gaye, Clear Channel Communications, the week in radio spins and the PMRC.
Plus news on Nona Gaye, Clear Channel Communications, the week in radio spins and the PMRC.
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Ben Harper, Perry Farrell and Iggy Pop are still on the Virgin Records America label, the company’s chairman/CEO said in a statement. Reports that the three acts have been dropped from the label have been circulating.
“Perry Farrell and Ben Harper are currently in the process of recording new material for upcoming albums and Iggy Pop is writing for his next release on Virgin,” the statement said.
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Actress Nona Gaye, the daughter of the late Marvin Gaye, will replace Aaliyah in two planned sequels to the film “The Matrix.” Aaliyah died in a plane crash last year.
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The most-played songs on radio for the week of April 8-14, according to Broadcast Data Systems:
- Pop: Puddle of Mudd, “Blurry”
- Rock: Nickelback, “Too Bad”
- Alternative: Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”
- Urban: Ashanti, “Foolish”
- Country: Toby Keith “My List”
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The Los Angeles Times, citing unnamed sources, reports that two top concert execs have been ousted from Clear Channel Communications, the nation’s biggest concert promoter. Brian Becker, chief executive of Clear Channel’s entertainment division, reportedly “has been disappointed with the performance of the concert operation’s co-chiefs, Rodney Eckerman and Irv Zuckerman.” Veteran promoters Don Law and Dave Lucas are expected to take over the division.
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The U.S. Justice Department sued Clear Channel last week, claiming that the company’s policy of prohibiting diabetics from taking medical supplies--including hypodermic needles--into its venues is in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
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VH1 will debut an original movie titled “Warning: Parental Advisory” on April 21, which is described as a “comedic look at the War on ‘Porn Rock’ led by Tipper Gore and the PMRC.” It stars Jason Priestley, Mariel Hemingway, Griffin Dunne (as Frank Zappa and Dee Snider.