ROCK ‘N' ROLL NEWS

ROCK ‘N' ROLL NEWS

Twiggy: towards Times Square?

Now that Grand Funk are in retirement or whatever, Terry Knight has a new scam: Twiggy! That’s right, the very same, shapeless model of yesteryore. Twiggy and her co-host, Justin de Villeneuve, are partners with Terry in a new motion picture production company, TwiggyGood Knight Productions.

Knight is reputed to have invested about a million pounds (roughly three million U.S. dollars) in the venture. Villeneuve said of the Funk maestro, “He is the only person of my generation whom I trust. I find that we operate on the same level.”

Twiggy looming over Times Square? The mind boggles . ..

Instant Karma: Chases’ private plane ran into a fuel truck at Chicago airport. No one was hurt

Swamp Dogg has his own label, Swamp Dogg Presents.

Steppenwolf has broken up, and wound up in a pair of new groups. Leader John Kay will shortly appear with his first solo lp, and will operate a group under his own name which will include current Steppenwolf members Kent Henry and George Blanda. Also in Kay’s band will be Whitey Glen and Hugh O’Sullivan, recently with Bush whose other two members recently joined the James Gang. Goldie McJohn and Jerry Edmonton, a pair of Steppenwolf veterans, are joining a couple members of a Montreal group, Damien, in a new band called Manbeast. Manbeast doesn’t have a recording contract yet; all the rest record for ABC.

In conjunction with the demise of the band, Mayor Sam Yorty of Los Angeles proclaimed Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) “Steppenwolf Day.” A resolution from the City Council credited Steppenwolf with disproving “the idea of an unconquerable ‘generation gap’ by contributing its masterful talents to campaigns against drug pushers, to drives for voter registration and other urgent social needs.” Yeah, like “Sookie Sookie.”

Lee Otis Johnson, the black Texas activist who was given a thirty year sentence on charges of possession of one joint of marijuana, won an appeal in a Texas court January 20.

Otis lawyers argued that he had never received a fair trial since a change of venue from Houston (where Otis was wellknown because of his activities with SNCC) was not granted. Maximum sentence for possession of marijuana in Texas is life; the district attorney had asked that Johnson be given twenty years.

He served three and one half of the eventual thirty year sentence. Johnson has consistently maintained that the bust was a frame-up based on his political activities, and with a retrial outside of Houston, there is a good chance that he may soon be free, permanently.

Ringo’s new cinematic move is direction. His first film will be shot in England and star — yup! — Marc Bolan.

Allen Klein’s corporation Abkco, is suing New York magazine for $150 million as a result of an article by Peter McCabe which alleges that Klein has taken a profit of $1.14 from each copy of the Bangla Desh album. The album price structure, says McCabe, leaves that amount unaccounted for according to reports of dispensation of funds given by Abkco,

Named in the suit, filed in NY Supreme Court on February 28 were: New York Magazine, NYM Corporation, McCabe, Sheldon Zalaznick and Aeneid Equities, Inc. The suit charges, among other things, that “publication of the article had seriously impaired sales to the public of the Concert for Bangla Desh album.”

Klein announced, in a press conference held February 28, that any monies derived from the suit would be donated to the U.S. Committee for UNICEF for the Benefit of Refugee Bangla Desh Children.

Klein was upstaged at the press conference, however, by a confrontation between noted Dylanologist Alan Weberman and Phil Spector; the legendary record producer apparently insulted Weberman’s wife and they offered to punch each other out in the lobby afterwards. However, even though Spector showed up with his bodyguard and Weberman, with his friends, a plea of nolo contendre was entered for both.

There’s a fine book on Spector being released this spring, incidentally, by Outerbridge and Dienstfrey. Written by Melody Maker’s Richard Williams, it deals with Spector as historical figure and record producer, and the Spector legend is not illuminated but magnified. There’s a great opening sequence involving the production of “Happy Christmas (War Is Over).”

Joe Cocker almost didn’t get to do the American tour he’s just completed. An injunction was obtained by Cocker’s former management, Dee Anthony’s Bandana organization, which would have prevented Joe from doing the tour. But, fortuitously, the case was settled out of court and the tour began March 15 and 16 at Madison Square Garden.

Cocker’s new manager is Nigel Thomas. A second suit with Premier Talent Associates was also settled out of court; Cocker resigned with them, for exclusive representation in the U.S. and Canada. The terms of the Thomas-Cocker/Anthony-Bandana settlement were not revealed.

The Beach Boys have added two new members, Blondie Chaplan and Ricky Fataar. Fataar plays drums, Chaplan rhythm guitar and bass. Both are “non-whites” from South Africa, formerly of the Brother group, Flame.

Jazz Composer’s Orchestra Association has finally released their long-awaited second album, another three-record set, Carla Bley’s Escalator Over the Hill. She calls it a “opera/chronotransduc-'' tion”; it was written by Ms. Bley, in conjunction with Paul Haines. The set features Linda Ronstadat, John McLaughlin, Roswell Rudd, Gato Barbeiri, Charlie Haden among others. The set was produced by Michael Mantler. More information is available from JCOA at 1841 Broadway, New York, NY 10023.

Chris Farlowe, who had the original British hit with Rod Stewart’s current song, “Handbags and Gladrags,” and was most recently the singer for Colosseum, has joined Atomic Rooster.

Just in case: Lord Sutch has offered a $1,000 award for return of his famous Rolls Royce, painted like a Union Jack, which was stolen in Beverly Hills recently.

Joe Cocker: on the road ... finally

Black Oak Arkansas, Leon Russell and Helen Reddy are part of an experiment that may save your life.

Dr. James Barrett, Chairman of the Division of Behavioral Sciences at Southern Colorado State College, is using Black Oak, Russell and Reddy in an experiment designed to determine the effect of music on the heart. Dr. Barrett has hypothesized that fibrillation — uncontrolled beating of the heart — might be inhibited by strongly rhythmical music corresponding precisely to the heartbeat of the individual. Other kinds of music might increase the flow of adrenalin (yup!), or alter thd production of sex hormones (hmmm . ..).

“Call me in a year,” Barrett says, “and I think I’ll have some tentative results.” Hope we don’t lose the number.

B.B. King and F. Lee Bailey (the latter’s a lawyer) will be cochairmen of the Foundation for the Advancement of Inmate Rehabilitation and Recreation, which will headquarter in Washington. Does make strange bedfellows, don’t it.

B.B. has also been inked to do five Tijuana Smalls commercials for 20 grand each. And he’ll take five weeks off to finish writing his autobiography this spring.

Paul McCartney’s new single has now been banned, in Britain by the BBC, ITA and Radio Luxemborg, as well as the U.K. Post Office! The song is called “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” and is getting some U.S. airplay as we go to press.'

In the meanwhile, McCartney and Wings are traveling through England, playing free concerts as the mood strikes them. At press time, they’d already played at Nottingham and Y ork Universities.

Paul’s reaction to the “Irish” mess: “I thought this was a free country.”

Also banned recently was McGuinness-Flint’s “Let the People Go,” described as “a song about Ireland 1972.”

Manufacturers and sellers of Howard Hughes T-shirts have Been sued for invasion of privacy by the famed billionaire’s

associates. However, attorneys for the firms involved did get the court to take under advisement the question of whether or not Hughes is alive, since none of his attorneys have ever seen the man. Under New York law, the complainant must be alive in suits for invasion of privacy. Hughes’ attorneys did obtain an injunction prohibiting the sale of any more of the t-shirts until the suit is settled, however.

And You Think They Ain’t Gonna Litter?: Mary Travers has organized an Ecology Day in New York in May. The Day will center around a free “picnic concert” in Central Park.

Mick Jagger now has a ruby filling in his upper right incisor. (No kidding!) He is also not so sure he likes it and is thinking about having it removed. We will avoid, of course, any mention of Stones’ songs which might be applicable. After all, yesterday don’t matter ...

Are the Staple Singers really going to have a cross country press party on a 747? Swear that’s what their p.r. firm told us — and all because there’s a Delta 747 on their new album cover, Be Altitude — Respect Yourself, Weird, that’s what it is!