New Led Zeppelin Tour Rumors Star Dave Grohl, R.E.M. Confirm LP Title, Jessica Simpson Explains Turn to Nashville and More
2 January 2008
- It’s a new year, with new Led Zeppelin tour rumors: The latest speculation has Foo Fighter Dave Grohl waiting on an invite to drum on an alleged reunion tour. Grohl, who has expressed his willingness to do the job, was allegedly up for Jason Bonham’s gig at last month’s one-off show. Bonnaroo buzz has also returned, despite Robert Plant’s scheduled tour with Alison Krauss, after an “insider” told The Mirror “[Fans] have been bombarding [Led Zeppelin’s] Web site to get back together for good but only Robert Plant wasn’t keen to commit. Now he’s had a change of heart and if it goes well they are also talking about touring.”
- R.E.M.’s fourteenth studio album will be called Accelerate and, as Michael Stipe revealed last month, will hit stores on April 1st. Stipe recently told Uncut, “We spent less time making this record than we have in twenty years. … I feel like there’s a confidence in the material, and a communication between the three of us that hasn’t been there for some time.”
- Jessica Simpson has confirmed she’s in Nashville working on her country debut, telling Billboard, “I am a country girl. I grew up in Texas, and country music was what I listened to.” The album is scheduled for a 2008 release on Columbia Nashville.
- Five of James Brown’s children have challenged the late singer’s will, claiming it should be invalidated because “former advisers used undue influence to get him to create charitable trusts that the advisers would profit from.” The bulk of Brown’s financial legacy has been allotted for trusts to educate his grandchildren and other needy kids, and one of Brown’s advisers calls this latest attack “an act of desperation.”
- Teenybopper crime spree! A five-year-old boy and nine-year-old girl used a gift card to break into a New Jersey home on Christmas Eve and steal $200 worth of presents, including Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers CDs. Hannah Montana hysteria was also to blame for a six-year-old Texas girl lying about her father dying in Iraq. The girl and her mother wrote an essay about the fake experience to secure tickets to the sold-out show, but forfeited their win after the truth came out. The girl’s mom explained, “We did whatever we could to win.”
