ROCK 'N' ROLL NEWS

ROCK 'n' ROLL news

Ian Hunter's decision to break up Mott the Hoople was apparently sparked by a solo offer from CBS that will "set him up for life," it is said. He will continue to work with Mick Ronson, if contract hassles can be straightened out; Mick's currently all over Lou , Reed's next album, which better be a killer. The remaining ex-Motts are going to lumber on in a band called The Hoople.

Neil Diamond will rake in a million dollars plus expenses for his five-date "tour" of Australia. The bodies on which members of Grand Funk superimposed their mugs for the cover of All The Girls in the World Beware belong to, among others, Arnold Schwarznegger and Franco Colombu, who hold among their titles M*. World, Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe. Says Sports Illustrated, "Arnold Schwarznegger is enough of a legend for his first name to evoke a response wherever a barbell is picked up with a purpose." And they oughta know.

Jimmy Page on Los Angeles: "I just view it all with amusement. Like the whole Rodney's scene thing, which is just ridiculous. 1 mean, you walk in and the next thing you know there are cameras everywhere and you're ducking under the bar to get away ... Actually the last time I was in LA there was this incredible groupie feud which was getting down to razor-blade sandwiches. The competition thing out there is incredible and you've got to keep out of the middle of it or else, y'know it... it gets to you too."

Lou Reed turned down the invitation to produce Elliot Murphy's next album.

Before arriving here in the States, Led Zeppelin played five dates in Europe as a sort of warm-up. After they finish this U.S. tour, they'll play selected concerts in Merry Olde.

Paul McCartney's Wings will reportedly be in the States this Spring on one leg of a worldwide tour that will also include dates in Europe, Japan and Australia. *

Linda McCartney is a judge on the panel of the International Male Elegance Awards, due to be presented this month.

Whire all those British musicians are, taking up residence in America (in order to avoid British tax laws), Country Joe McDonald has up and moved to France.

Mike Bloomfield has a deal with the Mitchell Brothers porn film group (Resurrection of Eve, Behind the Green Door) to score some 50 films, starting with Hot Nazis. The Electric Flag, meanwhile, broke up. Again. Already.

In England, Mike Heron of the now-defunct Incredible String Band is being touted as "the next Bruce Springsteen." We'll believe that one when we feel like it.

Give those Commies an inch and they'll take a mile. Locomotiv GT, the Hungarian band that was in the U.S. last Fall, lost guitarist Thomas Barta, who quit to marry Carol Russin, an employee of their producer Jimmy Miller. The official statement is that he did it out of true love, not because he wanted to stay in this country.

Aussie Helen Reddy has become a U.S. citizen.

Wings drummer Geoff Britton was on the British karate team that battled Japan in an international tournament. He drew on one mgtch, and won the other. He's a black belt, needless to say.

Denny Seiwell and Chrissy Stewart, the former rhythm section for Wings, are scouting for members to make up a new band.

Crosby, Stills and Nash have been in Nashville recently, cutting their first studio material together in about three years, and joined by Young for only part of the sessions. They were backed by the band Neil used on Harvest.

Macon, Georgia, officials are naming a million dollar bridge there after Otis Redding.

Erratummagumma: we got had, Chuck Ruff and Edgar Winter got had, everybody got had except the schmatzohs in Atloona, Pa: (near Pitts) who sent in a letter purporting to be from Chuck Ruff of the Edgar Winter Group and saying some mighty uncomplimentary things about groupies in general and Sable Starr in particular. Turns out the whole thing's a sham and an embarrassment to Chuck, who wants it known in no uncertain terms that not only did he not write the letter in question, he mightily appreciates the services of all the sweet creem ladies that come his way. Please accept our apologies, Charles, and girls, sic "im!

Even the Beau Brummels, one of the first American groups to be mistaken for Englishmen, have put*together a reunion album,

Good news from the perennially bubbling under Nils Lofgren: a new album which features drummer Aynsley Dunbar and bassist Wamell Jones (borrowed from Eddie Kendricks), and a new road band which may include Dunbar.

Frank Zappa and Robin Trower locked in mortal combat with each other? Must have been a crappy idea to put them together for a tour in the first place.

Due to "personal problems,"

Steve Miller gave up work after seven songs on the follow-up album to The Joker, the title song of which was his first ever hit single. Capitol, mean while,* is left holding the bag - which in this case comes in the form of 400,000 already-completed album jackets. *

A big "welcome back" to Spirit, featuring the inimitable Randy California. Can Kaleidoscope be far behind, or is that asking for too much?

Lawsuits are hardly new to the music biz, but here's a new one for you. Angered that Neil Young played far too short an Oakland concert, a fan has filed a class action suit (on behalf of the audience of 14,000) against him for $80,000.

Following the cue of David, Shaun Cassidy has become the most recent member of that illustrious clan to perform solo. Rod Stewart's evaluation of his Faces mates: "Woody's wasted, Mac's wastedIf anything, Mac's more wasted than ever. And Tetsu ... I thought I could drink, but yesterday he was drinking from ten hi the morning till four the following morning. Tetsu's the only sinful drinker in the band. It's that olive skin which makes him look fit."

Following a December 20 farewell Christmas concert in England, Sparks moved its base of operations to the States — not particularly because of the tax system, they say, but because they are getting more popular here and want to cinch it up.. They're touring here this month, too.

Alex Harvey and his band are looking for a rock "n" roll bagpipes player to take on their next tour.

Up from firecrackers: a new concert fad in Birmingham, England, is the bombing of rock halls. Among other precautions taken since that occurred, Rod Stewart and Gary Glitter were frisked before going on stage.

After reading Bob Greene's Billion Dollar Baby, reviewed hpre a couple issues back, Alice Cooper told friends he'd never play in a band with those guys again" because of the things they say behind his back.

Keyboard player Ian Kewley of Strider suffrered a broken nose, badly bruised ribs, and an injured hand when he and others from his group were "involved in a late-night disco fracas."

Rod Stewart has been walking at a slant lately due to a very weighty cast on an arm he broke playing football.

CREEM's own Lisa Robinson now has a three-nigh ts-a-week syndicated radio show called "Rock News From New York" featuring five minutes of interviews, gossip, news and anecdotes. The other two nights of the week British disc jockey Bob Harris is host of "Rock News from London."

Flushed with the success of BTO, Iris record company has asked Randy Bachman to cut a solo album. He plans to use BTO members, as well as Larry Knechtel and Jim Horn, maybe some of Chicago, Tower Of Power and The Beach Boys, and hopefully guitarist Mike Pinera of Cactus and Bob Seger to sing a few harmonies.

Elton John agreed to be the godfather of his agent Howard Rose's daughter only if he could name her. It was a deal, so the poor girl is now stuck with the handle Melissa Umbrella Rose.

The Tubes, a horrendous theatrical rock group popular in the San Francisco Bay Area, will have their first album produced by Rick Wakeman.

Elton John's drummer Nigel Olsson has done gone and gotten himself engaged to one Jozy Pollack, whose previous conquest was David Cassidy.

Say, this Elton John tennis fetish is getting serious. In the World Team Tennis player draft, Billie Jean King's team the Freedoms actually drafted Elt Or, as the New York Times put it, "wasted a choice,on pop star Elton John."

Noted scrunge Kinky Friedman was offered $10,000 by Gillette to shave off his beard for a commercial, but he turned the ' offer down.

A co-defendant in a Canadian murder trial is said by her mother to have been driven to the deed by Alice Cooper: "She became depressed and took to remaining in her own room playing terrible Alice Cooper records..They were records from the devil. would have made anyone depressed."

Rick Derringer claims to be working up a new version of "Hang On Sloopy," which his group the McCoys had a big hit with in 1965.

Bob Dylan attended the ACLU's benefit showing of Lenny, but had no comments about the film.

Greg Morgan (stage equipment road manager for BachmanTurner Overdrive) was wed to Colleen McDonough (who works in the cabinet finishing department at Heil Sound) in November at the home of Bob and Judy Heil, in Marissa, Illinois. Boy Howdy Beer and cake were devoured in abundance at the reception.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive assured that the opening of the NFE in New York would be a sell-out. The initials, by the way, stand for New Fillmore East, but Bill Graham wouldn't allow the new proprietors of that rock landmark to use his corporate name. David Barretto and Bob Seger were billed below BTO, though neither was advertised,