ROCK ‘n’ ROLL NEWS

ROCK ‘n’ ROLL NEWS

DEPARTMENTS

Don’t say where you heard it, but Nick Lowe and his favorite Dixie songbird Carlene Carter have become Basher and wife... Carlene has been in constant attendance on the Rockpile tour, where she can be seen in furtive corners playing kissy-face with her suave bass-playing hubby. {Nick a husband? This we have to see...} Do married people always behave this way? Speaking of which, one of Boy Howdy’s first pups, DaveMarsk, should have made it legal with Barbara Carr, as you read this.

Is Mick dagger relieved that large-footed sweetie Jerry Half s him career has finally blasted off? The tall Texan’s in her home state ca vorting in front of the camera in Urban Cowboy, with John Travolta, while her Rolling Stone is gathering no moss nightclubbing Mound Paris with one of the nubile l||uianeaa girls... that’s one way to make sure the ale keeps flowing... And there’s dagger’s German/Mexican landlady, Linda Ronstadt, who seems to be suffering a certain chill in her relations with wacky beau Bill Murray (one tall blue-eyed reason Linda’s haunting the streets of N VC lately)... with Jerry Brown in a snit over the way the buxom thrush treated thepresson the African wingding, what’s a millionairess to do? Anyone got Geldof s phone number?

prank Zappa's done it again with his foDow-up to Sheik Yerbouti (entitled Joe's Garage) Just a few of the tracks are “WetT-Shirt Nights” and “Why It Hurts When I Pee ” Can’t wait.

The Knack’s cu rrent monster hit, “My Sharona,” turns out to be a real five 18-year-old girl living In Los Angeles. Refusing to give any lengthy interviews to the press, the little tee ny’s reportedly gone underground for fear that adoring Knack fans will skin her alive. Sharona did come out of hiding brie% to drive home the point that the song “is based on my name— not my life!” Oh yeah? Meanwhile, as Detroit’s Romantice are signed to Nemperor but notsetto record yet. the Knack steal their thunder. Knack lead singer Dong Fiagarj of course, hails from suburban Detroit and no doubt saw the Romantics many times while he was doing time in a local band called Sky.

Paul Stanley's been having trouble with his neighbors lately, to the extent of being taken tocourtfor his late-night guitar solos and platform shoe stomping. The Kissman’s been ordered by a judge to pull the plug at a decent hour, or there'll be hell to pay

||^pf^p||tf|ri^ill£urope opening for Brace Springsteen : on the Boas’ lengthy tour there. Mf Mitch’s current record is handled in Europe bfeGerman recced company, which is afeo putting out a compilation of itym Detroit bands, supervised by Mitch Ryder keyboardist Billy Ceeii i#L

And you think you’ve got problems... Thin Lizxy’s replaced guitarist Gary Moore, who was ousted mid-way through their American tour, with Scotsman Midge lire. Just prior to the group’s arrival on these shores, three of their Eurotour dates had to be cancelled after lead singer PhD Lynott suffered from food poisoning. (Better stick to Irish stew, Phift)

Lene Lovich told our reporters that she's trying to convince Inn Onryto change his mind about not touring the States seems fan feels Britain deserves most of his attention, as his tour opening Lon Reed’s show didn’t please him much. Lene feels the time is ripe, and thatthey could come over together, in November or thereabouts.'

Look for the Attee Cooper comic book, based cm hisFrom The Inside LP. The comics code won’t allow ®ie mention of alcohol, though, so ; Coop’s “health” problem will be in the form of “mental exhaustion”...

Chack Barry’s gonna have to pay the piper (and his name is Uncle Sam}0*ce he pleaded guilty to i: charges of income tax evasion. The original rock ’n’ roller was sentenced ’ to four months at a prison form, and will have to give 1,000hours of benefit concerts to make amends.

t Seger Hair Shock: Seems our Bob, out in L. A. mixing the next long-playing-record to be sprung on rfieworfd, has chopped off mosfcof his characteristic chestnut brown mane in favor of a more conservative, collar-sweeping ’do. , We haven’t witnessed this wonder personally yet, but as soon as he’s trodding the streetsand bars of , B’ham again, photographers will be dispatched.

InStadio

New York— Secret Sound: Spyro Gyra; L. A. —Filmways/Heider: Freda Payne, Kenny Loggins;. , • j Kendun: John Mayali, B$y Preston; Hollywood Sound: Bill Medley; Cherokee: Eric Carmen, Foreigner (Roy Thomas Baker producing); Record Plant: Jefferson Starship; Salty Dog: Dwight Twilley; San Francisco—Automatt: Van Morrison, Santana; San Fernando—Dawnbreaker: Manhatta n T ransfer ;*■ ■Miami—Criteria: BobSeger; Seattle—Kaye-Smith: Steve Miller; ' Stockholm—Polar Studios: Michael Rutherford, Tony Banks, , Nashvitte-Soundbh: Dr, Hook. Elsewhere: Rory Gallagher, Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, Andrew Gold, WanrenZevon, Boomtown Rats, John Cale, Jan Hammer, Mam Tanner, Barbra Streisand, Ornette Coleman, Frank Sinatra, Lene Lovich, Ray Manzarek.

Banned in Burbank.,. A series of concert^ that Included die Patti I Smith Group, Todd. • Rundgren, Roxy Music, Blue . | Oyster Cult arid Jackson Browne were cancelled in . ' Johnny Carson’s favorite city .recently, following the Mayor’s *| announcement that “two erf die groups would draw homosexuals, and the rest would bring nonukes and dopers.” His Honor added that the whole affair is “an incredible combination of horrors.” Sounds like a party at Rich Johnson’s house,

Don't bad-mouth Ringo within earshotofthe drummer's ex-wife Maureen, who has nothing but praise for the little guy. And who c£n blame her? Not only did he give her a cool million when they divorced a few years back, he recently gifted her with $500 thou so the little lady can buy her dream pad in London.

The butler didn’t do it.. .Mich dagger’s former bodyguard, James Harrington, recently admitiedtostealing$13,000worth ofjewelry from the Mick’s L;A. f home last year.

Thatpteachy environmentalist, vd singer John Denver, is on his nek^qte’sp irit since drey discovered that the ol’ boy is hoarding gasoline. SeemsJohn-boy installed a 4,000 gallon gas tank, and had two more on order.

We’re saddened to repeat that; midway through a successful solo tour, Lowell George, singerguitarist for Little Feet, died June 29th of a heartattack in his Arlington, Vjfrginta, hotel room.

Itcornes in many colors... Led Zeppelin's latest offing (In The Out Door) Is available in four different colors, andcomes with a plain brown I wrapper. Zeppelin’s concert at .* * *tl| Knebworth(in theU.K., bythb way), included Southeide Johnny A The Anbury Jukes, Todd Ruadgren A Utopia* the *.• Now Barba riana and Mara hall d Tucker Baud Ah, vattetelB

Chicago DJ Steve Dahl, whose .1 ■mane Coho Lips managed to trash ComiskeyF)pldtri Chicago and force the White Sox to forfeit the second game of a double-header to die Detroit Tigers, has signed to Ovation Records, and released his first single, “Do Ya Think I'm Disco?*/ to the bine of guess what. Dahl and his band, Teenage Bsdiation, are due to j tour in the fall, possibfy including disco rafliesf tanks and jeeps hauling disco records in caskets) with the I finale being a diseofunera).

Sop die press! ’Just gotword-that/1 Tom Robinson dumped his entire band. According to the singer, “The bandjust got afr# too tame— I it’s time to move on and try ' something f resh.’Xpiird LFfrpm 1 Robinson will be released soo|l|| Next year— early—ToiamHMH have a new band together.

In what was the most populous, I tjpftcert in the history of the Big '7/ 1 Apple, Jamea Taylor performed a free concert in Central Park to benefit die park’s Sheeps Meadow. A crowd of 250,000 people attended the show, which was I co-sponsored by WNEW Radio and poshy designer GlorlBf VandorbuBB

iThe latest Frank Zappa dropping Is tn the form ofa girl, bom to die singer’s wife Gall. Although Zappa threatened to name the sibling Clint Eastwoodifitwasagirl (Burt Reynolds if male), he settled for Diva (“because she was the loudest screamer iifce hospital,” smirked papa). Oh, well, . • just another ordinary Zappa... His ? previous releases included daughter (Moon Unit) and two son* (Dweezil and Ahmet Rods n).

Gene Simmon* and Cher's hot romance is definitely bn the back bimterthesedays; a Hollywood I chauffeur of our acquaintance saidg ■;^^^pood riddance toiorigtte man/’ or words to that effect. m

The best-selling disco hit in Italy aH takes a u/oppmg 50,000 copies sold to reach this:.stàtus!) is called “Woitvla Disco Dance” (Pope John Raul 0’s last name, for at you non-Pofah/Calhalict out1 there}: “He’s the groove, he’s the man/The new Pope in the} Va-ti-can.”

Not tobe outdone, a group from Chicago (called %nTn*nd ths Pirates) released what’s known to be the first Idi Amin disco record: “Why do people object/Just bdcatisel eat my subjects.” Boqflj append

Joe Jackson’s ne w LP is called Tm TfreMow and produced again by David Kershenbanm; atfi presstime we hadn’t seen the cover, but Joe was puttingforih the rumor, pn the last part of his U.S. tour, that he was going to have himself standing nextto a gaggle of shortish Sliria Costello types, as well as a j yardstick, “to prove how tall I am."'. f;j The second Jackson blitz of the J States started in late AugulHs^ -.;-

The Tabes taped a Hollywood , j Squares, thus bringing theiralby m’s back cover into reality, |

A&M releasing a new’wrto-wave” collection,titled Propaganda and featuring two live tricks each from the PoUciijand Joe Jackson

Don’t blame it on auto pollution this time. !!%ke Gum almost gotthe opportunity to visit the home of J Elvis Presley during their Memphis stopover recently. They had to call the whole thing off when a chemical plant explosion caused a toxic cloud to cover the vicinSty of Graceland, and the group took cover with the rest of the folk... ■,

On Tour

JoniMitcheB; Abba; Temptations; Lou Raw|s;Carly Simon; Dire Straits; Joe Jackson; The Police; I The Knack; REOSpeedwagon, The Cars; RiChaj^^^BGuess Whdjf & Peter T osh; Ga ry Brooker; Eagles; Asleep At The Wheel; Dr, Hook; Little RiverBarid; B-S^s^Odearis.