ROCK 'N' ROLL NEWS

ROCK 'N' ROLL NEWS

Two days after Keith Moon decided he’d like to cut a solo album, he walked into an L.A. studio and started recording, Ringo Starr joined him on harmony for the Beach Boys’ “Don't Worry Baby,” and others who pitched in included Harry Nilsson, Fanny, John Sebastian, and Johnny Rivers. Nilsson and John Lennon contributed a couple songs, as did Ringo. (!) MCA Records threw a birthday party for Keith during the week; their present to him was the jacket that Robert Redford wore in The Sting, Moon’s fave flick.

You know those outdoor concerts, where there’s lots of scaffolding and light towers maybe even a scoreboard. Somebody’s always shinnying up them., and someone else is.always trying to prevent it. No longer, at least in. Chicago’s Midway Stadium, where police require that all such structures be painted with a slick motor oil additive before each concert.

Watch for a big and rumored shakeup among British supergroups which wiU have Humble Pie breaking up, with Steve Marriott re-grouping the Faces (his original group, when they were known as the Small Faces.) Where this will leave Rod Stewart and Ron Wood, who were not members of the original group, is unknown. Ditto Ronnie Lane, who was a Small Face, then a Face, and is now a solo act

Rick Wakeman lives! In midAugust his doctors ordered him to take a break. Two days later, he collapsed in his Buckingham pshire home and was hospitalized "for “nervous and physical exhaustion.” But he made (he Madison Squ ire den opening of his Journey to the Center of the Earth solo tour, and the first thing he planned to do after finishing the tour was go hack to Belgium to record a second album. Need you ask if it’sanother concept album? This one’s about the legend of King Arthur and the Knights ol the Round Table, and Rick plans to celebrate its release early next year with a medieval pageant (jousting knight and all) at Tintagel, Cornwall, site of Arthur’s castle.

Rick, meanwhile, has joined friend Bob Harris in a production deal for Atlantic. Wally (by Wally), the first release, is already out in England, and their next project is a singer named John Golding.

Seems like every time you turn around, Van Morrison has a new backup band. Latest is Sound Hole, a six-piece group from Marin County. .

Iron Butterfly is the latest group to come together, again. Vocalist/guitarist Erik Brann and drummer Ron Bushy from the old group are joined by newcomers bassist Phil Kramer and keyboardist Howard Reitzes.

Pearls of wisdom from ex-Roxy madman Ena: “Remember... the tedium is. the message.” While we’re on the subject, Eno sidekick Kevin Ayers has named his band the Soporifics.

Peppi Marchello, leader of the Good Rats, believes he is the reincarnation of George Gershwin. Sometimes.

Latest Jagger to go before an audience in the States is Professor B.J. (Joe) Jagger, who taught summer seminars on comparative European physical education and recreation to a crowd of about 12 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. “We’re a very close family; Mick wasn’t overly rebellious,” Joe told the Washington Post, “He’s a little against the Establishment, of course, if the Establishment is wrong. And so am I, naturally. In many ways, I agree with him.” Said Papa J. of Bianca, “She’s such a quiet pleasant girl, no problem at all. And, of course, my wife and I spoil our granddaugher, Jade."

Paul McCartney took his summer holiday at a Nashville farm, where country schlockmeisters Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer joined him to cut a 20-year-old song written by Paul’s father. But Paul spent most of his time there writing, and in September went back to London to record the new tunes.

Three-Way Street: Emerson, Lake?, end Palmer are,all due to release, you guessed it, solo albums.

Probable next release from Mott the Hoople: a live album, recorded in London and New York.

Fight of the Century: Members of Mott the Hoople and Led Zeppelin engaged in 4 few rounds of fisticuffs backstage in New ,. York. The issue was rather nebulous, but the punch-up was for real.

David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs four went less than splendidly. At the mid-tour break, several band members and the musical director up and left him. Roxy Music whiz Eddie Jobson (violin, synthesizer) was among those who declined an offer to join up. Bowie, meanwhile, spent several days at Gamble and Huff's Sigma Sound Studio, where he cut some tracks with MFSB. A live album of the, tour, also recorded in Philadelphia, is likely.

Bad Company spent part of September in New Orleans working on their next album. They should be touring Europe right now, after their debut tour here in the States went down a smash.

The Rolling Stones applied for visas to visit China and were turned down cold. Whatsa matter, Chairman Mao, ain’t you ever heard of “Little Red Rooster”?

Guitarist Skunk Baxter and drummer Jim Hodder have left Steely Dan, Baxter to Sit in occasionally with the Doobie Brothers and Hodder to tonn his own band. Six cuts were done on the followup to Pretzel Logic and “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” and the undaunted Dans plan not only to replace the departed, but to add even more I people. Ultimately, they hope to have an orchestra on stage with, them, which just could mean the end of a good thing.

London's Playboy Club is suing Ringo Start for his failure, to pay the sizeable tab he ran up on them.

Grace Slick, Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship added a new singer by the name of Marty Balin for an album due imminently. Who knows what that might lead to?

Jeff Beck supposedly holed up in a small Sussex studio to cut an album by himself, i.e., without Bogert and Appice.

Carly Simon is rumored to be the next superstar to jump ship on David Geffen and Elektra/ Asylum. (If Joni Mitchell doesn’t beat her to it.) To add injury to insult, David’s been having troubles with Cher lately, too.

That merger between Elektra/ Asylum and Atlantic that was announced several months back is on very shaky ground, and may not last at all. There had been some gestures toward corporate reorganization following the announcement, but “technical problems” are cited as the main reason for affecting the six-month delay that was announced in August. Insiders say the real reason Is that neither David Geffen (E/A) nor Ahmet Ertegun (Atlantic) is willing to fire any of his staff members.

Locomotiv GT almost didn’t make it to America this summer. Part of a cultural exchange program in which American jazz artists play in Eastern Europe, the Hungarian band was almost refused a permit from its government to come here. They were saved by a personal telegram to Hungarian authorities from none other than Henry Kissinger.

Elton John’s appearances at the Inglewood Forum gave him the most pleasant kind of problem: every time another show was added, it sold out within eight hours, thus necessitating yet another addition. Four, in all. Total tickets sold: 75,000. Gross receipts: $500,000 plus.

Would you believe the Temptations now have twentyone (21) gold records?

Two stories dominate discussions of Bob Dylan’s re-signing with CBS. The first is that he got a five-year contract guaranteeing a cool eight million bucks. The second is that he signed for a sizeable royalty increaseretroactive, of course-on all his Columbia albums.

“Have you seen AJN 466K?” ran the ad in Melody Maker. That was the license plate number of Elton John’s equipment van, which was stolen along with a whole lot of sound equipment therein. The ad listed all the contents of the van, but didn’t estimate net worth: the reward offered, however, was $2500.

The O’Jays were awarded a citation by the City of Los Angeles for outstanding citizenship and activities enhancing community involvement. Or something like that.

Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label has signed the Pretty Things, the band that out-Stoned the Stones in the mid 60s.

Decisions, decisions: Viva Magazine asked Rick Springfield to bare his everything for a photo spread, but the young Australian had a hard time making up his mind. Not out of modesty, he hastened to add, but out of fear that his stock with teenage girls would drop.