Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 8-14:

June 8: Comedian Jerry Stiller is 81. Comedian-talk show host Joan Rivers is 75. Actor James Darren is 72. Actor Bernie Casey is 69. Singer Nancy Sinatra is 68. Singer Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night) is 66. Singer Boz Scaggs is 64. Actor Don Grady ("My Three Sons") is 64. Guitarist Mick Box of Uriah Heep is 61. Actress Sonia Braga is 58. Actress Kathy Baker ("Picket Fences") is 58. Country guitarist Tony Rice is 57. Singer Bonnie Tyler is 55. Actor Griffin Dunne is 53. "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams is 51. Actor-director Keenan Ivory Wayans is 50. Singer Mick Hucknall of Simply Red is 48. Keyboardist Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran is 46. Singer Doris Pearson of Five Star is 42. Actress Julianna Margulies ("Canterbury's Law," "ER") is 41. Actor Dan Futterman ("Judging Amy") is 41. Actor David Sutcliffe ("Gilmore Girls") is 39. Singer Nicci Gilbert of Brownstone is 38. Actress Kelli Williams ("The Practice") is 38. Actor Mark Feuerstein ("West Wing," "Good Morning, Miami") is 37. Guitarist Mike Scheuchzer of MercyMe is 33. Rapper Kanye West is 31. Fiddler Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek is 27.

June 9: Guitarist-inventor Les Paul is 93. Sports commentator Dick Vitale is 69. Keyboardist Jon Lord of Deep Purple and Whitesnake is 67. Actor Michael J. Fox is 47. Actor Johnny Depp is 45. Actress Gloria Reuben ("The Agency," "ER") is 44. Bassist Dean Felber of Hootie and the Blowfish is 41. Bassist Dean Dinning (Toad the Wet Sprocket) is 41. Musician Ed Simons of the Chemical Brothers is 38. Actress Michaela Conlin ("Bones") is 30. Actress Natalie Portman is 27. Actress Mae Whitman ("Arrested Development") is 20.

June 10: Singer Shirley Alston Reeves of The Shirelles is 67. Actor Andrew Stevens is 53. Bassist Kim Deal of The Pixies is 47. Singer Maxi Priest is 47. Actress Gina Gershon is 46. Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn is 45. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin (Smashing Pumpkins, Zwan) is 44. Actress Kate Flannery ("The Office") is 44. Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley is 43. Guitarist Joey Santiago of The Pixies is 43. Guitarist Emma Anderson (Lush) is 41. Country guitarist Brian Hofeldt of The Derailers is 41. Singer Mike Doughty (Soul Coughing) is 38. Singer JoJo of K-Ci and JoJo is 37. Singer Faith Evans is 35. Actor DJ Qualls ("Hustle and Flow") is 30. Actor Shane West ("ER," "Now and Again") is 30. Singer Hoku is 27. Actress Leelee Sobieski is 26.

June 11: Actor Gene Wilder is 75. Actor Chad Everett is 71. Comedian Johnny Brown ("Laugh-In") is 71. Singer Joey Dee is 68. Actress Adrienne Barbeau ("Maude") is 63. Drummer Frank Beard of ZZ Top is 59. Singer Donnie Van Zant of .38 Special and of Van Zant is 56. Actor Peter Bergman ("The Young and the Restless") is 55. Actor Hugh Laurie ("House") is 49. Singer Gioia (JOY'-ah) Bruno of Expose' is 45. Country singer Bruce Robison is 42. Bassist Smilin' Jay McDowell (BR5-49) is 39. Bassist Dan Lavery of Tonic is 39. Bassist Tai Anderson of Third Day is 32. Actor Joshua Jackson ("Dawson's Creek") is 30. Actor Shia LaBeouf ("Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "Holes") is 22.

June 12: Singer Vic Damone is 80. Disney composer Richard Sherman is 80. Actor-singer Jim Nabors is 78. Jazz musician Chick Corea is 67. Sports announcer Marv Albert is 67. Singer Len Barry is 66. Singer Reg Presley of The Troggs is 65. Singer John Wetton of Asia and King Crimson is 59. Drummer Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick is 57. Country singer-guitarist Junior Brown is 56. Singer-songwriter Rocky Burnette is 55. Actor Timothy Busfield is 51. Singer Meredith Brooks is 50. Actress Jenilee Harrison ("Dallas," "Three's Company") is 50. Accordionist-keyboardist John Linnell of They Might Be Giants is 49. Rapper Grandmaster Dee of Whodini is 46. Blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd is 31. Singer Robyn is 29.

June 13: Actor Bob McGrath ("Sesame Street") is 76. Magician Siegfried of Siegfried and Roy is 69. Singer Bobby Freeman is 68. Actor Malcolm McDowell is 65. Singer Dennis Locorriere of Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show is 59. Actor Richard Thomas is 57. Comedian Tim Allen ("Home Improvement") is 55. Actress Ally Sheedy is 46. Former "Early Show" co-host Hannah Storm is 46. Bassist Paul DeLisle of Smash Mouth is 45. Singer David Gray is 40. Musician Soren Rasted (Aqua) is 39. Actor-singer Jamie Walters is 39. Singer-guitarist Rivers Cuomo of Weezer is 38. Actor Steve-O ("Jackass") is 34. Actor Ethan Embry ("Can't Hardly Wait," "That Thing You Do!") is 30. Singer Raz B (B2K) is 23. Actresses Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen are 22.

June 14: Actor Gene Barry is 89. Actress Marla Gibbs is 77. Actor Jack Bannon ("Lou Grant") is 68. Singer Rod Argent of The Zombies and Argent is 63. Singer Janet Lennon of The Lennon Sisters is 62. Businessman-TV personality Donald Trump is 62. Drummer Alan White of Yes is 59. Actor Eddie Mekka (Carmine on "Laverne and Shirley") is 56. Actor Will Patton is 54. Singer Boy George is 47. Actress Yasmine Bleeth is 40. Actress Traylor Howard ("Monk," "Two Guys And A Girl") is 37. Actor Daryl Sabara ("Spy Kids") is 16.

See Also

• Miley Cyrus - Cyrus Escapes Injury On Set
• Tony Soprano makes an offer — his wardrobe
• Toni Braxton’s Las Vegas Show Canceled
• Online Now - soundflag.com - The First Worldwide Online Record Label

Celia Nicklin, Barry Davis - O

   
Artist: Celia Nicklin, Barry Davis - O

   Genre(s): 
Drum & Bass
   

---

Discography:


   
 Divertimento In C, K188/240B

   Year: 1989   
Tracks: 6

---

 





Brad, Ange splash out on nursery

Franz Ferdinand Announce UK Tour In Intimate Venues

No sooner did Franz Ferdinand announce a low-key intimate London date earlier today, the band have now mapped-out a full UK tour of smaller venues.

The seven date jaunt will call at a number of tiny venues previously un-visited by the band - similar in spirit to their shows at Glasgow's Grand Ole Opry and across the highlands & islands of Scotland last summer.

Tickets go on sale at 9am tomorrow morning (Friday June 6th), limited to 2 per person and priced at �15 - available directly from the venues.

Franz Ferdinand will be playing old favourites, as well as airing a number of new songs from their third album - now in its final week of recording in their Govan hideaway with Dan Carey.

June Dates:

21st - York Fibbers

22nd - Hull Adelphi

24th - Bristol Thekla

25th - Bath Moles

26th - Yeovil The Orange Box

28th - Cardiff The Point

29th - Leeds Faversham

See Also

• Toni Braxton’s Las Vegas Show Canceled
• Paul McCartney Plays Liverpool Concert to 36,000 Fans
• Miley Cyrus - Cyrus Escapes Injury On Set
• Sharon Stone not welcome in Shanghai

Hulk to Larry King: "It's God's Will"

Hulk Hogan almost broke down on "Larry King" last night, but neither that -- nor him getting asked about his ex's 19-year-old boyfriend -- was the most outrageous part.

How about when he said he believes Nick's accident, which put friend John Graziano in a vegetative state, was God's plan to make John a better person?





See Also

• Sensifeel
• Taylor Swift - Swift Signs For Montana Cameo
• ‘Sex and the City’: Afterlife, By Kurt Loder
• Dubai goes from business to music mecca

Laura Marling to play UK church tour

Laura Marling has announced details of a tour of churches in the UK.

The singer/songwriter will begin the four-date jaunt in Glasgow on June 9 and end it at Birmingham's St. Paul's church on three days later.

Laura Marling will play:

Glasgow Gilmore Hill and Upstairs at Oran Mor (June 9)
Manchester St Phil's (10)
London St James' (11)
Birmingham St Paul's (12)

To check the availability of Laura Marling tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/GIGS now, or call 0871 230 1094.





Sep 8, 2008 at Academy 2, Manchester -
More Laura Marling tickets

Apoptygma Berzerek

   
Artist: Apoptygma Berzerek

   Genre(s): 
Other
   

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Discography:


   
 The 2nd Manifesto

   Year: 1992   
Tracks: 5

---

The Norwegian industrial band Apoptygma Berzerk is actually one Stephan Groth, sometimes known as Grothesk. Groth released his first single as Apoptygma Berzerk in 1991 and got his international break with an appearance on the Sex, Drugs and E.B.M. compilation. He gestural with Metropolis Records, which issued a career rundown in 1998 entitled The Apopcalyptic Manifesto, a collection of early singles and tracks from the Norwegian album Soli Deo Gloria. The full-length, all-new 7 followed later on in the yr, and in early 2000 Apoptygma Berzerk resurfaced with Welcome to Earth. Kathy's Song followed a class later on.





Potential Bad Boy

New Big Brother house is unveiled

The new 'Big Brother' house has been unveiled ahead of the launch of the ninth series of the show.
This year's house is a brightly-coloured purpose built complex and is the biggest house ever used for the show.
The exterior walls are painted in pink, orange, yellow and green and the garden will once again have a swimming pool.
The bedroom, in the usual dormitory style, is less luxurious than in previous years, with thin, scratchy blankets and uncomfortable mattresses.
There is a large living area with comfy sofas and plush coverings as well as an ultra-modern separate kitchen area with a red theme.
The bathroom houses a swan tap attached to a huge bath, which is surrounded by flowers, greenery, gold statues and blue velvet sofas.
The garden also has an enclosed seating area this year, with an Alice in Wonderland-proportioned giant ashtray for smokers to sit in.
Sharon Powers, creative director of 'Big Brother', said: "We've got a really exciting group of housemates ready to go into the 'Big Brother' house."
"But they need to remember that the 'Big Brother' rules are there for a reason - 'Big Brother' will not tolerate rule breaks and will be tougher than ever on housemates. It's going to be really exciting to see how they rise to the challenge of life in the house."
"For the housemates, and the viewers, it's going to be a summer to remember."
'Big  Brother' begins on Thursday 5 June, with Davina McCall once again hosting the show.

Missy Elliott - Elliott Vows To Continue Timbaland Collaborations

Hip-hop star MISSY ELLIOTT has vowed never to part ways with her producing partner TIMBALAND - because the music-making duo have irreplaceable chemistry in the studio.

The Work It hitmaker has repeatedly released hit after hit with the help of longtime collaborator Timbaland, but the superproducer was a notable absence from her last studio LP The Cookbook.

However, Missy insists she will never outgrow her partnership with Timbaland and has rekindled their studio magic for her forthcoming album Block Party.

She tells Billboard magazine, "People always ask if we're still working together, and the answer is we will always work together. He's always going to be involved, even if it is just on one record.

"That's my brother. I respect and honour what he says. It's deeper than this music industry thing for Timbaland and I. There's a chemistry between us that will never leave."

See Also

• Gultskra Artikler
• Hollywood Freak Show
• K3
• New York Dolls Announce Tiny UK Tour

The Lillingtons

   
Artist: The Lillingtons

   Genre(s): 
Rock: Punk-Rock
   

---

Discography:


   
 Shit Out Of Luck

   Year: 2002   
Tracks: 15


   
 Too Late Show

   Year:    
Tracks: 11

---

 

Parents fret as even toddlers love 'High School Musical' and its products

NEW YORK - Talya Appelbaum recently had a "High School Musical" birthday party. She got special balloons and a slice of cake decorated with the spoiled Sharpay, her favourite character because "she's with Ryan."

Jemma Fox has an HSM karaoke microphone and trading cards of the East High gang.

Talya and Jemma are three years old. They have tot-sized insights but large obsessions with the wildly popular Disney franchise that has jumped from TV show to hit song factory to merchandising mania since 2006, when the Wildcats first took kid culture by storm.

But it's high school, and now senior year at that. Do Talya and Jemma need to "bop to the top" or demand "all things fabulous?" And what about the kissing, the backbiting and the big-kid fashions?

With the October release of the third HSM movie - this one in theatres rather than on the Disney Channel - parents of extra young aficionados are debating whether the phenom is innocent dance-'til-you-drop fun or not quite appropriate.

"It really is insipid and Disney starts early and has some clever ways to get to the kids who don't even watch movies, listen to the radio or read," said Jemma's mom, Jennifer Hawkins of New York.

Appelbaum has three older kids, including a four-year-old daughter. All are HSM fans. Appelbaum isn't sure she could shield her youngest, even if she wanted to. But HSM's popularity among young children, along with similar adolescent fare like Hannah Montana - the other Disney mega-franchise - isn't limited to those exposed through older siblings.

Jemma, who has a two-year-old brother, stumbled on HSM at a Target store, where Hawkins bought "what I thought was an innocent toy." She didn't know the microphone was preprogrammed with two HSM songs and admits: "I didn't really look at the packaging."

Five-year-old Valencia White got hooked after dad bought tickets to "High School Musical: The Ice Tour" last year.

"She went straight from Disney princess to 'High School Musical,' " said her mother, Virginia Duplessis of El Cerrito, Calif. "The child has never seen the movies, yet she knew the songs immediately. It just got to a point where it's everywhere and the more we were trying to make it this forbidden fruit, the more interested she was getting."

Therein lies the parenting challenge, said Jean Twenge, a social psychologist and associate professor at San Diego State University who studied young people and pop culture for her book, "Generation Me."

The pressure to succeed, materialism, an emphasis on outer beauty, narcissism, romance trouble and other issues faced by high schoolers may not be what draw in young children, but the issues are there nonetheless, Twenge said.

"How do you even talk to a three-year-old about this stuff? Think before you leap. If you've leapt, then cut her off. There are things you have to take a stand on," she counsels parents.

Any hint of parody or sarcastic nuance is most likely lost on the very young, Twenge said.

Consider Sharpay, the brash and popular HSM schemer who wants heartthrob Troy to herself and makes dark-haired, brainy Gabriella miserable in the process. While Sharpay may learn some life lessons on the way, her journey might be difficult for the very young to process.

Like three-year-old Talya, Duplessis' daughter Valencia is a Sharpay fan.

"I say she seems kind of mean, and she says, 'Oh but she's so pretty and I really like that song "Fabulous."' " Duplessis said. "It's the focus on clothes, appearance. That's what bothers me the most. It's good clean fun with Jimmy Choo flip flops, perfect hair and makeup. I would just rather her focus on being a kid and having fun and getting dirty."

Before "High School Musical" entered their lives, Duplessis and her husband, David White, restricted their kindergartner's TV-watching mostly to PBS in their crunchy liberal area just outside Berkeley. Now Valencia's grandparents, aunts and uncles have bought her HSM notepads, a backpack, cups and a T-shirt.

Disney spokeswoman Patti McTeague said children younger than six have an eight-hour dose of Playhouse Disney geared just for them on the Disney Channel.

"We recognize that younger siblings most often watch Disney Channel with their older brother or sister and that some aspects of our programming, including the music of 'High School Musical' and 'Hannah Montana,' can strike a responsive chord with younger kids," she says, but she adds that outside of Playhouse Disney, most shows "reflect themes more relevant to kids age 6-14."

Talya's mom, Melanie Appelbaum of Harrison, N.Y., doesn't worry about the teen themes.

"They don't really kiss until the end of the second movie," she says. "So much of what people are worried about is going over their heads. I think you can overanalyze anything."

Selling products to the very young is perhaps the bigger danger, said Juliet Schor, a psychology professor at Boston College who explored the effects of marketing on children in her book "Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture."

Hawkins agrees. The microphone Jemma has is bright pink, "looks like a baby toy" and was placed on a low store shelf in a section for young children, she said. And this year's big-screen movie release "High School Musical: Senior Year" includes three new sophomore Wildcats aimed at keeping the franchise fresh.

"They're trying to appeal to a much younger child in order to prepare them for being hooked in," Hawkins said. "One piece of the scenario leads to the next."

While social psychology has much to say on the extension of adolescence through one's 20s, Twenge said, there's an extension down the age ladder as well.

"Pretty soon adolescence is going to last from age five to age 35," she said.

See Also

• Winehouse taken to hospital after fainting spell
• Aliyah
• Putumayo World Music
• Housemates awaiting first eviction

Another Breath

   
Artist: Another Breath

   Genre(s): 
Other
   

---

Discography:


   
 Not Now, Not Ever

   Year: 2004   
Tracks: 8

---

Fulton, NY's Another Breath deals in semi-melodic hard-core and, at the time of the band's 2004 debut EP, Not Now, Not Ever, featured Ted Winkworth (vocals), Jon Davis (guitar and vocals), Scott Gillard (guitar), Matt Garrett (bass), and Bob O'Neil (drums). Bassist Garrett was after replaced by Sean Barr.





AFTRA, studios keeping quiet